MOM’s Organic Market’s ER Blog

I thought readers of the MOM’s blog would find this interesting..

greg

Startling fact about formaldehyde November 24, 2008

Posted by Kirstin @ 9:51 am on tryingtobegreener.wordpress.com

I was watching “Stuff Happens” on Planet Green yesterday and Bill Nye was talking about insulation for your home. He mentioned that formaldehyde is in traditional fiber glass insulation and the “anti-green” issue with it is that after we’re through with it, it goes in a dump, thus reeking havoc on the environment. Two “greener” alternatives to fiberglass insulation were given. One was recycled blue jeans and the other was vegetables, believe it or not. There is now a vegetable oil polyurethane insulation foam where bubbles within it trap air. Both are amazing products.

What really struck me during this segment was a horrifying fact he gave about formaldehyde. Twenty years ago, two times the amount of formaldehyde was needed to embalm a body. Now, only half the amount is needed due to the fact that we have so much formaldehyde already in our body. Here are typical products that contain it:

• cosmetics
• paper
• wood
• clothes
• mouthwash
• nail polish
• hair spray
• perfume
• floor polish
• toothpaste
• wax
• spray starch
• deodorant

According to Wikipedia, formaldehyde is “classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that there is “sufficient evidence” that occupational exposure to formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans. Formaldehyde has been banned in cosmetics in both Sweden and Japan.”

Scary, isn’t it? Probably the simplest ways to reduce the amount of formaldehyde you come in contact with is to read the ingredients on all your personal care products, visit Skin Deep for safer ones, and use “greener” cleaning supplies. Remember, small changes over a long period of time can make a big difference.

UPDATE: December 1, 2008 - The EPA has announced that it will be looking into the health risks of formaldehyde in pressed wood products

Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.

Global warming is affecting more countries than ever, and the United States is beginning to see it’s effects more each year. One way is the reduction of water availability, and this group is trying to raise awareness through educating kids as to what it is like trying to get water in other parts of the world..

greg

Press Release: Local Montessori Students “Walk For Water”

LOCAL MONTESSORI STUDENTS “WALK FOR WATER” TO RAISE MONEY AND AWARENESS FOR GRASSROOTS WELL-DIGGING PROJECT IN NIGER, WEST AFRICA

DERWOOD, MD (May 17) —More than 170 students and parents from local Montessori schools will walk around the perimeter of Rock Creek Park’s Lake Frank, in hopes of raising money and awareness for a program which seeks to lessen the marathon journey—which can be a stifling 35 miles roundtrip—that children in the Azawak region of Niger must face each time they and their families need a cup of water to drink.

Sponsored by Honest Tea, My Organic Market and Signs By Tomorrow, the second annual “A Walk for Water” will be held on Saturday, May 17, starting at 10 a.m. Although the walk will be only a fraction of the distance that children in Niger’s desert must journey for water, to the students, who have been learning about the children of the Azawak in their classes, the event will symbolize their solidarity with the Nigerien children.

Each participant will raise funds to benefit Amman Imman, a program which digs borehole wells—reaching depths as far as 3,000 feet below the Earth’s surface—for the people living in the Azawak. Sponsored in part by money raised through the first annual Walk for Water one year ago, Amman Imman built its first well last summer. The well provides water for 25,000 people and their animals. This year’s walk—kicked off in the company of a native from the outskirts of the Azawak—will support Amman Imman’s second well.

“The focus of involving students in “A Walk for Water” is to bring them together in the spirit of collaboration to make a positive change in the world,” said Debra Kahn, associate director of the Oneness Family School, in Chevy Chase, Md. and organizer of the walk. “The Amman Imman project appeals to their natural desire to help humanity and to reach out to children who are just like them, yet have a lot less.”

Extreme poverty coupled with a warming climate has made life in the Azawak increasingly difficult. Currently, the majority of the 500,000 people living in the Azawak have no water for nine months out of the year due to a lengthening draught. During the three months that they do have water, it is brackish, brown and thick with mud, dirtied by the people and animals which bathe in the marshes. With no schools, health centers or roads nearby, the Azawak is largely abandoned by the outside world.

Ariane Kirtley, founder and director of Amman Imman, hopes that by building more wells, Amman Imman will act as an impetus to change all of this. “Until there is a permanent and sustainable flow of water in the region, no organization will come to the Azawak,” she said. “I hope that our work will serve as a catalyst for humanitarian organizations to bring much-needed developmental aid, such as food aid, health care, education and gender equity to the region.”

Participating schools include: The Oneness-Family School, Chevy Chase, Md.; The Barrie School, Silver Spring, Md.; Henson Valley Montessori School, Upper Marlboro, Md.; Aidan Montessori, Washington, D.C.; Boyd School, from multiple locations in Virginia.

Program Amman Imman is a Washington, D.C.-based program, working in partnership with the American non-profit The Friendship Caravan. For more information on Amman Imman’s collaboration with local schools, visit: http://montessori-amman-imman-project.blogspot.com/

By getting rid of all the construction material that is dumped there on a daily basis. Think about it… All of the used drywall, plywood, wood, sinks, cabinets, flooring, bathtubs, decks, and everything else that is torn out of houses. (more…)

So, I just went on a tour of Trex yesterday. They are located in Winchester, Virginia and they take plastic grocery bags and turn them into deck material. It is made by mixing other ingredients in with shredded up plastic bags, and then the bags act as a kind of glue holding the other stuff together.

I had a chance to see the whole process, and it was very cool, but I don’t want to give away details as I did sign a confidentiality agreement and I’m not sure what is public knowledge.

What I can tell you is that I saw literally three gigantic warehouses full of bales of bags, and got to see it from the delivery of the bales to the end product coming out of the machines.

Another aspect which I found interesting, is that I got to see how random objects included in the bale could mess the entire piece up. I saw a rubber band sticking out of one piece, and what could have been a shredded up soda bottle in another. They told me stories of finding diamond rings, cats, dogs, money and all sorts of things while sorting the bags.

So double check your bags when you take them to the grocery store. Even if you don’t do it to save the people sorting them time and trouble, you should make sure nothing else got inside along the way.

I also wanted to say thank you to Samara and Ray, who were very courteous and informative, for taking me on the tour and showing me how everything works. I am a natural skeptic, and wanted to see the process in action. I’m convinced!!

You can find information about their company HERE.

greg

So, I went to see Ozzy tonight.  It was a great time, and I had not seen him since 1984.  Started out a metal head, and somewhere along the line turned into a Dead Head.  I remember going to see the Dead and thinking I was in store for a metal show.  With a name like The Grateful Dead, it had to be metal, right?

Anyway, I’m looking at all of the trash cans overflowing with plastic bottles, and just wondering how hard it would be for the Verizon Center, and any other center for that matter to put recycling bins in for all the plastic beer bottles.  Maybe even charge a quarter extra or something, and give it back when you return the bottle.  Got to be a way to figure it out somehow.

Collect all the bottles, and arrange for a pick up after each major event.  How hard could it be?  Mr. Pollin?  Mr. Leonsis?  Any thoughts?

greg

Please see first comment for the blog….

Hi everyone,

My name is Greg Keyser, and I am the new Environmental Coordinator for MOM’s. For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis, you probably feel like you knew Jen so I want to let you know that she moved to the West Coast to be closer to her family. She was a very kind person, and a friend of mine. In addition, she genuinely cared about our planet and the people who live on it. We can’t have enough people like that, and I’m going to miss her very much.
It’s going to be a month or so before I am able to really kick into gear, but I am very excited to working in this position. Please give me time to get acclamated to everything, and then you should see some changes made to the site and how it is organized.

I wanted to just give a little background about myself so you all can get know me a little better. I am 35, and I have three kids. My son is 11 and his name is Wylie. I have two daughters, Sage who just turned 10, and Grace who is 4. You will probably hear some about them via the blog as they join me in many of my green adventures, and share a love of life with me.

I have believed since a very young age in the power of small steps equaling big changes. Instead of trying to get everyone else to bend, I’ve felt the trick is to start with yourself and then hopefully set a good example.

When I went to George Mason University, I did individualized research on volunteering. I wanted to know why people volunteer, who they are, when they start, why they stop, what makes people choose not too, why they continue too, etc.

I ended up founding a volunteer group called HOPE which stood for Helping Other People Everyday, and we focused on short term projects available to all people. My goal was to provide opportunities to people who did not have a lot of time or money to pay dues. Big commitments scare people off, and I found that by keeping it simple, I was able to get more people involved.

That is what I plan to focus on here on the Daily Compost. I think by now, most people reading this blog know they need to do all they can, and it is just a matter of working it into our daily routine. It’s give and take, and I’m just hoping to learn some myself.

I’ve noticed there were not a lot of response to these posts in the past, and I hope to change that. I’d like to get some serious discussions going, and get all the green events posted possible. Each week, I’m going to put a post called Green Events this week. Please respond with your event if it revolves around helping the environment in some fashion. Hopefully, this way we can get a little more publicity for each event.

I will tell you that many of the staff from MOM’s are going to take part in a Garlic planting in Sheperdstown, WV on Oct 20th. It is taking place a farm that is a friend of MOM’s, and one that utilizes huge compost piles instead of the alternatives. Basically we are all going to carpool up to the farm, and it only lasts a couple of hours in the morning from 10 till noon. There will be lunch provided (veg and non), and all you need to bring are gloves and drinking water. We are attempting a pot luck dessert too, so bring goodies if you can. If you are interested in going, please e-mail me at gregk@myorganicmarket.com
That’s it for now, as I seem to have written a mini novella here. I hope all of you are well, and please take care of each other. Feel free to write me or post a response with any suggestions or ideas.
greg

This past weekend was a moderately eventful one filled with a lot of heat, humidity and lessons learned. As learned by my roommate and something I actually wrote about in the MOMs sales flyer article this month; “When you are wading in the water or playing on the shores, no matter where you are, beware of things you cannot see. From rocks and stumps to pollution in our waterways, these things can be buried in the sand and lurking in deep water. Take precautions before diving in. Wear water-friendly sandals to protect the soles of your feet to be extra cautious in murky river bottoms.”

My roommate, who is to remain nameless, made the mistake of wading into Rock Creek in the heart of DC, in efforts to retrieve a ball they saw lodged between a rock and a fallen branch. They took off their tennis shoes and socks and began their voyage into murky water, when BAM, they stepped on something hidden below that caused them to cry out in pain, as it cut the bottom of their foot. With a disgruntled look on their face they reached into the water to find out the cause and found a rusted out soup can with sharp edges. Not only did they now have a cut foot from a rusted can, but they now had a cut foot with contamination ridden Rock Creek water inside of it.

Lesson for the weekend: as said before, beware of things you cannot see, especially when wading into water. It is safer to wear water shoes and respect the safety signs around bodies of water.

…get with the program. Ever since I’ve lived in this area, I’ve been urked about the lack of recycling in and around the DC area. Sure, some businesses and homes recycle, but not all. In fact, a lot of people I’ve talked to who live in apartment or condiminium complexes say that recycling is not available to them. I don’t know if you have ever had the pleasure (?) of walking around downtown or have even attended any of the numerous concert pavilions around the DC area, but you’ll rarely find a recycling bin. On every corner, and in between, you’ll find a street vendor selling hotdogs, sodas, water, etc., and on every street corner you will find a trash can loaded to the brim with the discarded bottles.

I’ve tried to look at the bright side to this, but I don’t see one. What I see is a) perfectly good recyclable materials going into the trash b) overflowing trash cans that spill into the roads and gutters and finally c) DC is home of the EPA and capital to the nation and we don’t know how to recycle?!?!

When will DC and surrounding areas turn this around and lead by example?

Last night I was sitting up on my rooftop watching the fireworks show from DC, and in between the “oooohhhhhs” and “aaaahhhhhhhs”, I thought about the smoke that was filling the air and the debris that will ultimately be left behind. I know… it does take some of the fun out of the watching experience, but really, how can I ignore it? And then I thought about the fact that a similar show is happening in every city throughout the states, with people setting off their own show from their back yard. This happens year after year, and year after year I think the same thing.

Fireworks and their effect on the environment isn’t a widely discussed topic, and I think partially because it is normally a once or twice a year thing. The fact of the matter is that fireworks are typically propelled by the ignition of gunpowder and can produce smoke and dust that contains various heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds and other noxious chemicals. Different elements are used to produce the magnificent colors that we see bursting before us. Barium = Green. Copper = Blue. etc. All this stuff in the air basically causes a fall out of toxic pollution into the environment, waterways and even our lungs, and is probably in violation of the Clean Air Act.

SO, I suppose the question is: at what point do we change the American way and find a friendlier way to celebrate? Why aren’t fireworks discussed more?