The First Nations of Canada sent a letter to Stephen Harper and Christy Clark asking for investigation into the Mount Polley disaster and for mining reform.
I’m sure Stephen Harper will jump right on that…/snarky for sure
My blog on Mount Polley here.
…or selling our destiny…depending on your point of view. Naomi Klein was on DN! today, talking about climate change and our need to change the things we value in order to save the planet.
Perhaps it would be better stated to save ourselves…the planet will survive, i.e., after the humans and animals and plant life are dead from toxicity, the planet will re-emerge clean…like a phoenix rising up from the ashes.
Klein makes a point that the Green movement has been co-opted by the very targets they were fighting against. Sadly, she states that The Nature Conservancy has been drilling. Incredible! Back in the day, it was one of the organizations I donated to. That and Sierra Club, but when I found that Sierra was “partnering” with Clorox bleach…yeah, I stopped supporting them even before my life took its downturn.
She mentions the indigenous taking on the big corporations –asserting land rights. You might recall about a year ago, with the natives of Canada protesting fracking exploration on their lands–
My posts on the events:
October 20th. October 22nd. November 4. November 8. November 24. December 1. December 15.
Klein asserts that those who stand to lose the most from the change in what we value–solar over oil, coal, and nuclear energy–are fighting a dirty war with the help of politicians and others who are bought and paid for.
They don’t care what ill health effects are created by the toxic environment. It’s just mindboggling how they think that their pollution is not going to affect them–do they think they live in a bubble, immune from what happens around them?
An example–the pollen counts have been high here lately, so I haven’t been outside to jog. I went yesterday morning, and then had problems with deep coughing. I haven’t really had that deep coughing in awhile. There has to be a connection. Not only to the “normal” pollution, but from chemtrails, aka bioengineering–as I saw several trails in the sky to the East of me. They have been spraying them above the clouds so it’s harder to see them, but they’re there.
I saw these from twenty miles away, Sunday:
Just recently, Joe Donnelly, Dan Coats, and Jackie Walorski, Indiana politicians, have come out against EPA regulations. The local radio station is airing commercials (surely paid for by those in the industry) stating that the EPA is a threat. I kid you not.
Dan Coats here–from an “EPA abuse” website, most likely being supported by the coal industry; and here and here–this extension period was needed so they could flood the airwaves with the commercials I’m now hearing….
Notice the “job-killing” tactic–classic playbook. Why doesn’t Sen. Coats tout renewable energy jobs that would be created if we stopped supporting the dirty coal industry?
Jackie Walorski here: jackiewalorski.com/walorski-farm-bureau-take-aim-epa/
And here–a big thank you from the Farm Bureau. Pfft.
Note the scare tactics of “big government” and “regulating every faucet”….
Farmers need to realize their part in polluting the water. And they need to be given some incentive for going organic, and not using chemicals in food production. Where is the money for that?
Our water flows into the Ohio, which flows into the Mississippi, which flows into the Gulf. It has been noted that Indiana is one of the biggest polluters (17 million pounds of toxins into our waterways EVERY YEAR), and the coral and sea life are dying because of it.
All the while, mercury in Indiana waterways is ABOVE the standards set from the USGS website.
| Mercury contamination in water and fish throughout Indiana has routinely exceeded levels recommended to protect people and wildlife. About 1 in 8 fish samples tested statewide had mercury that exceeded the recommended safety limit for human consumption. The causes include mercury in the rain and mercury going down the drain, according to a recently released federal study.The most significant source of mercury to Indiana watersheds is fallout from the air. Much of the mercury in the air comes from human activity. In Indiana, coal-burning power plants emit more mercury to the air each year than any other human activity. In urban areas, wastewater discharge contributes a substantial portion of mercury to waterways. |
So…been thinking about the whole situation in Syria….and I can’t get away from that bad feeling that something is not right.
Last year, the Russians moved warships into the area when we threatened Syria. They are again making statements that we should not mess with Syria.
My gut feeling last year was that if we went into Syria, World War III would break out, bringing Russia and the U.S into war against one another, plus the Middle East.
This year, I am still feeling the same, but now with ISIL, Saudi Arabia is threatened. And they have threatened us, as well. Now they have beheaded a British citizen, guaranteeing that the UK will be involved in any effort against ISIL.
And I don’t know what to say. I hate war, as you all know. But when diplomatic efforts are ignored or even laughed at, what does one do?
I have always maintained that violence is unacceptable–only in cases of self-defense, with someone coming at you with gun, knife, or fist– is that justified. Here we have a group that is killing innocent people whom, to my knowledge, have done nothing against them.
I watched DN! the other day with Medea Benjamin (Code Pink) saying how terrible the U.S. is–and believe me, I’ve read People’s History of the United States, so I know we’re no angels–but when do you say that too many people have died? She did not offer any evidence to the contrary of the innocent people being killed. Would she have the same opinion of Nazi Germany? Should we have left them alone, too? Where is the line drawn?
There is so much more about the Middle East that I don’t know–the history, for one. I’m trying to inform myself, but it is not easy. The Middle East grew out of several of the areas in uproar right now–Syria being one of them. There’s more history there than we Westerners know–blame that on our isolationist education–a comprehensive history not given nearly as much importance as Math, technology, and repeating facts from memory instead of thinking for yourself, via NCLB and Race to the Bottom.
Like I said, there is something nagging at me about this situation–something isn’t right. And I can’t shake that feeling of dread of it escalating into a full scale war with Russia.
…er, I mean, Hillary Clinton has once again morphed like a chameleon to put on the false face of concern over the general American public….what an opportunist. Pfft.
…cause, you know, she was poor once, too. /snarky to the extreme
My post on the case against Hillary as President here. In the non-ad, McCain says that she “gets attention when she arrives” Really? That’s a qualification for running the most powerful country in the world? Because I could gain attention when I arrive, too, by tripping down the steps. *snort*
And the comments about her flying all over the world? What’s up with that?? Yeah, I’d take trips all over the world if I could charge it off to the American taxpayer. (Not really, I have more ethics and scruples than that.) But one has to wonder what exactly she was doing on those trips…because they never really quite get around to telling us that, do they?
And if Henry Kissinger gave me “very high marks”, I’d want a recount. He doesn’t hold humanity in high regards.
Finally, in the end, when President Obama is slobbering over her, I begin to wonder if this isn’t as much a political ad for Israel’s chosen candidate as it is America’s….
Hillary and Bill Clinton with Eli Broad, who wants to destroy public education. Note pictures of Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee with the Broads. Poor impoverished Hillary Clinton…she must have had to use the drapes, a la Gone with the Wind, to make her dress…../snarky, for sure
$31 million. Pocket change, apparently, for Hillary Clinton (along with $200k speaking fees).
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren, among others, came out against the Keystone XL. You won’t hear that from Hillary, as you see in my other posts on her–she is all for it.
The Third Way, Clinton Democrats….not to be confused with real Democratic Party.
Hillary Clinton, Rose Law Firm, Bill Clinton, and Monsanto. This, alone, should be reason enough not to vote her into office.
Finally, a recording of Hillary Clinton laughing about how a rapist she represented as a lawyer was not convicted…and she knew it and was laughing about the lie detector test that he passed. Note also her description of someone on the “wrong side of the tracks”…clearly a poor/racial prejudice.
She got a rapist off with time served…two months. For raping a 12 year old girl. And bragged and laughed about it.
I had heard this report was out but hadn’t seen it until now–about our toxic waterways. Indiana, unfortunately, heads the list for toxic load. It’s worse than I first read about–the number now is 17 million pounds of toxins into our waterways. 43 million pounds released into the Ohio river, THE most toxic river. Good Grief.
And Joe Donnelly, Dan Coats, and Jackie Walorski, paid by their bosses (in the form of campaign $$, and God knows what else), are fighting for the industries’ right to poison us. Some of them are so bold to say they’re fighting for us and our families….seriously. 17 million pounds of toxins. Whom is irresponsible, Mr. Coats?
NY Times has a page up on fines and violations…and how nobody takes responsibility.
The Sierra Club’s take on the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Mis-Management, including a dog boiled alive by hot water discharge, and a coal industry lobbyist being appointed to…wait for it…the IDEM–for prosecuting the polluters. If this wasn’t so serious, I would be laughing my arse off.
I’ve read a few good posts on the Middle East-– Iraq and the U.S.’s role in the mess there.
I have to agree with the writer’s premise–that we have made a mess of things and they need to work this out for themselves without us riding in on a white horse to only make matters worse.
They know how many Americans feel about Muslims–led by a biased media willing to portray them as all thinking alike. That is as stupid as portraying all women as thinking alike. Or anyone, for that matter.
My other posts on Iran here and here.
Palestinians cry for help.
Presbyterian Church divests itself of U.S. corporations helping Israel to destroy the Palestinians.
Have these people completely lost their minds?
One New York state study found radioactivity in fracking waste water at 267 times the level considered safe for human consumption. Other studies found several cancer-causing contaminants in fracking waste water. The report cites arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, barium, chloride, sodium, sulfates, boron, benzene and radioactive agents.
~~~~~~~~
You might remember hexavalent chromium…it was the stuff used by PG & E featured in the movie, Erin Brockovich.
It, as well as benzene, are known cancer causing agents. Arsenic and lead, of course, are heavy metals that cause neurological damage and in enough amounts–death.
It is just mindboggling that the fracking proponents look the other way at the damage caused by the fracking process. All that matters to them is getting the gas out of the ground, no matter the consequences. Well, it has a way of coming back on you…quality of life goes down…healthcare costs go up…and each generation suffers more DNA damage.
A member of the mercury support group posted this link to the Spring Caustic Commentary on the Weston Price Foundation website.
It’s pretty informative for those who are unfamiliar with Weston Price’s work. He was a dentist who traveled the world, observing the indigenous tribes. He discovered that they had perfect teeth–no dental decay. When they became industrialized, and ate a more Western diet, their dental health began to suffer. Price also observed the changes in mouth structure–before the Western diet, the parents had bright, wide smiles….but the generations afterward had more narrow smiles and misshapened teeth by overcrowding the mouth. And yet, Western doctors refuse to see the connection between diet and overall health and wellbeing.
**edited to add the link. Geesh.
This just in…the utmost in hubris–the $$ Kochs $$ don’t even want to pay for their own lobbying efforts against public education, pollution control, unions, poor people, elderly, dogs and cats…(okay, I added the dogs and cats.)
August 28, 2013
CONTACT: Nikolina Lazic, nikolina@prwatch.org
WISCONSIN PREPARES TO HAND HALF-MILLION IN TAXPAYER FUNDS TO KOCH-TIED GOP LOBBY SHOP
A small GOP lobby shop tied to the Tea Party and David Koch’s Americans for Prosperity, and which was active in the state’s recent recall elections, was awarded $500,000 in taxpayer dollars in what some are calling a backdoor, sweetheart deal cooked up by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) State Chair, outgoing Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder.
Send an email to the commission which will review the sweetheart deal tomorrow:
http://org.salsalabs.com/o/632/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14195
The United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation was the only applicant for a newly-created grant to promote hunting, fishing, and trapping in the state, despite the organization having no record in outdoors training. The grant was slipped into the budget bill by Suder and barely advertised, and other outdoors groups with more experience in the area were largely excluded. Suder has ties to United Sportsmen, and announced last week he would be leaving the Assembly for a higher-paying job in the Walker administration.
The organization’s record, thus far, appears to be that of a lobbying organization for an array of Republican priorities, from mining to the “Castle Doctrine” — neither of which has anything to do with hunting or fishing — and working with Americans for Prosperity to organize events and support Republicans in the 2011 recall elections. The Foundation wing of the group, which has received the grant, only incorporated in January.Although United Sportsmen describes itself as a membership organization, there is little indication it has a wide membership list; its Facebook page, for example, only has 290 followers, many of whom are politicians or right-wing leaders.
The grant, if approved by a panel reviewing the application on Thursday, will go almost entirely towards paying the salaries of United Sportsmen’s staff and consultants.
“This last minute, half million dollar raid on the public treasury ought to be rescinded immediately,” says Jay Heck of Common Cause Wisconsin. “To award this huge chunk of scarce, taxpayer money to a new group with no track record or experience in hunting, trapping and fishing and with obvious partisan, special-interest ties appears, at the very least to be a quid pro quo conflict of interest.”
Taxpayer Dollars Funding the Tea Party?
United Sportsmen was incorporated in June 2011, just weeks before the hotly-contested Senate recall elections when, apparently in coordination with Koch’s Americans for Prosperity, it sent misleading absentee ballot applications with the incorrect date for the elections.
At the time, minimal information was available about the organization, but readers of the Brad Blog uncovered how United Sportsmen’s website was purchased by John W. Connors, an Americans for Prosperity staffer and former Walker campaign volunteer.
This was not Connors’ first foray into the dark money arts. Earlier in 2011, the Center for Media and Democracy uncovered how Connors had also purchased the domain name for a mysterious group called “Citizens for a Strong America,” which subsequently spent hundreds of thousands on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. (That election, between Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and challenger Joanne Kloppenburg, was being treated as a referendum on Governor Scott Walker’s controversial anti-union legislation). The street address for the domain name registry was the same as that of AFP.
United Sportsmen of Wisconsin received $235,000 from Citizens for a Strong America in 2011, according to the latter group’s tax filings. That same year, Citizens for a Strong America funnelled a stunning $916,045 to a pro-life organization called Wisconsin Family Action, which also appeared to have been involved in Americans for Prosperity’s absentee mailing scheme: its address was the same as the “Absentee Ballot Application Processing Center” listed as the destination for AFP’s absentee ballot submissions.
Unlike Citizens for a Strong America, United Sportsmen continued its political activities after the recall elections. It aso maintained its AFP ties. In October of 2012, for example, the group worked with AFP and the National Rifle Association to sponsor “Freedom Fest,” a party at the Kalahari Resort featuring politicians like U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, right-wing talk show host Vicki McKenna, and Brian Fraley of the MacIver Institute, as well as the head of Governor Walker’s Department of Natural Resources. Activities included a “Freedom Phone Bank” and presentations titled “Rules for Radicals” and “Grassroots Lobbying.”
United Sportsmen presents itself as an organization focused on hunting and fishing, but its lobbying efforts suggest a broader agenda. The main legislative priority for the group this session in terms of lobbying hours was the promotion of a bill to ease the way for a controversial open-pit iron mine that environmentalists and tribal groups fear will contaminate groundwater. That bill was a top priority for Governor Walker and legislative Republicans (as well as Americans for Prosperity), who promoted it as a jobs measure.
“Conservation only happens when people have jobs,” United Wisconsin said in a statement at the time.
Narrowly-Tailored Sweetheart Deal Involves Suder’s Former Chief of Staff
The sportsmen’s grant was slipped into the Wisconsin budget with minimal debate by then-Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, who has close ties to many of those involved with United Sportsmen.
For example, one of the educators listed in the United Sportsmen grant is Luke Hilgemann, Suder’s former Chief of Staff and now Chief Operating Officer of the national Americans for Prosperity in Washington DC After leaving Suder’s office in 2011, Hilgemann led the Wisconsin chapter of AFP; he was promoted to the national group earlier this month. (AFP-Wisconsin is now led by David Fladeboe, who was also a Suder staffer.) Other educators include Darren LaSorte, a longtime Washington DC lobbyist for the NRA. United Sportsmen board members and their families gave Suder $2,500 last year.
Send an email to the commission which will review the sweetheart deal tomorrow: http://org.salsalabs.com/o/632/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14195
And, the grant requirements were narrowly drawn to make few organizations eligible besides United Sportsmen, and was opened for bidding with essentially no public notice. According to Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
The motion said the grant can be given only to groups that are “not an affiliate of a national federation or organization.” That meant conservation groups such as the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and state chapters of Pheasants Forever, National Wild Turkey Federation and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation were prevented from applying for the grant.
And due to the lack of public notice, several eligible groups weren’t aware of the grant until after application deadline. Reached last week, Don Kirby, executive director of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, said he had no knowledge of the grant.
“Our organization would have been interested to pursue this,” Kirby said. “I’m more than a little disappointed to find out now.” The Wisconsin Waterfowl Association has a long history of running Learn To Hunt and other training events.
George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, praised the purpose of the grant but questioned the narrowly-drawn criteria. “We aren’t criticizing the purpose of this at all,” said Meyer. “We think its purpose is important. But clearly it looks like it was put together for one group.”
In contrast with United Sportsmen, the Wisconsin Wildlife Foundation lobbied against the mining bill, expressing concern about mining’s impact on lakes, wetlands, and groundwater.
Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine), who was part of the budget committee, told the Journal-Sentinel he hadn’t realized how uncompetitive the grant really was. “In hindsight, it seems like a sweetheart deal for one group that has ties to Scott Suder,” Mason said. “That was not how it was described.”
Led by Right-Wing Apparatchicks
United Sportsmen’s Tea Party and right-wing ties are well established. For example, United Sportsmen boardmember John Meegan is president of the Sauk County Tea Party, and worked with the political training group American Majority to train Tea Party activists and organize pro-Walker rallies at the height of anti-Walker protests. In addition to training Tea Party activists and grooming candidates, American Majority sponsors the Media Trackers website. Meegan is also on the board of the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families, which promotes for-profit virtual schools like those operated by ALEC member K12 Inc.
Also working with the group is Annette Olson, who makes the vast majority of posts on the group’s Facebook page and has testified on behalf of United Sportsmen. Olson leads the Tea Party groups Women United for Liberty (which appears to have an association with Freedomworks) and the pro-gun Tea Party group Uninfringed Liberty. Uninfringed Liberty describes itself as having “a strong emphasis on the second amendment because it protects all liberties and freedom,” and says it works to “participate in vetting and promoting conservative candidates that best exemplify the basic principles of liberty.” The group boasts of its lifetime membership in the NRA and Gun Owners of America, and supports “open carry.” Both Uninfringed Liberty and Women United for Liberty have also held activist trainings with American Majority.
At the state Republican Party convention in 2012, Olson was peeved that the convention hall didn’t allow concealed carry, and sponsored a motion urging the party to only hold its events on properties that do.
Those extreme views on guns are reflected in United Sportsmen’s lobbying efforts. It was one of just a handful of groups to lobby in favor of Wisconsin’s “Castle Doctrine Act,” which mimics the infamous ALEC “Stand Your Ground” law implicated in the Trayvon Martin case. No other group purporting to focus on hunting, fishing, and conservation is listed as lobbying on the bill.
Olson and two other United Sportsmen representatives stood behind Governor Walker as he signed the “Castle Doctrine Act.”
Will Wisconsin Fund Tea Partier Salaries, in Perpetuity?
The grant will pay United Sportsmen $200,000 this year and $300,000 in 2014. According to the group’s grant application, $370,000 will be spent on staff salaries and $20,000 on staff benefits, plus $56,000 on consultants, the Journal-Sentinel reports.
A five-member committee dominated by Republicans will review the grant on Thursday, and then disband. The committee will include Scott Gunderson, DNR executive assistant and a former Republican legislator; Sen. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee; Rep. Al Ott (R-Forest Junction), chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee; and two both appointed to the committee by the DNR.
If the grant is approved, United Sportsmen will receive $450,000 in every two-year budget for perpetuity.
Many have noticed how odd it is for a Tea Party-connected group opposed to government spending to turn around and use their political connections to ask for a handout.
[bolds mine]
“How ironic that this phony front group, with such close ties to Americans for Prosperity — which professes to be in favor of cutting government spending — would burden Wisconsin taxpayers in this manner,” says Common Cause Wisconsin’s Heck. “They should have asked the Koch Brothers — who finance AFP — for the handout instead.”
TAKE ACTION! SEND AN EMAIL TODAY AT: http://org.salsalabs.com/o/632/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14195
———-
CONTACT:
The Progressive
409 East Main Street, Suite 100
Madison, Wisconsin 53703-4929
Phone: (608) 257-4626
Well, this is news I didn’t need to wake up to today.
Methinks the writer is an oil industry proponent…by the slanted view of this piece.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said last Thursday that he was prepared to bring a measure approving the pipeline to the Senate floor despite the administration’s continued reluctance to determine the project’s fate.
Reid is no fan of the pipeline, but he is feeling heat from his own members to bring the issue up for a vote – possibly this week – provided Republicans agree to support a separate energy efficiency bill drafted by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH).
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Ever heard of “just say no”, Harry? Tell me, what price is a soul going for nowadays? $10,000? $100,000? $1,000,000? Because the Keystone XL is the end of us. The Earth cannot take any more–we are at the point of no return–that point where if we stopped destroying the environment, the Earth just might have a chance to recover.
People are overwhelming against the Keystone XL—yet Reid, Landrieu, et al, try to say that they are feeling the heat from their constituents. I find that hard to believe….because they’re not hearing from people made ill by petroleum refineries, as in the folks in Texas. And what about Louisiana, which has had its own battle with fierce nature…the more we destroy the environment and increase climate change, the more fierce the weather will become. I don’t think Louisiana can afford Katrina times ten. And they’re not listening to the environmentalists.
So…who are they listening to…?
On gue$$. They’re promoting Keystone XL, while investing in it…
The Clintons connection to XL. This is probably the biggest reason that they are pushing Hillary Clinton’s bid for the Presidency. God help us if she gets elected.
BP and the Tar Sands connection.
All is not lost, folks…there are some decent people in Congress after all…who care about the truth and the lies of the Hillary Clinton State Dept.’s hoax. I do hope Elizabeth Warren runs for President. Like I said before, I’ll knock on doors and do whatever it takes to help get her elected.
And, just to quash the naysayers who claim environmentalists are phonies (while doing nothing for the environment themselves…here is my own journey:
…my advocating for the environment has been a slow evolving process that includes my experience with mercury poisoning, growing awareness of what we’re doing to the atmosphere, and a spiritual component of realizing everything is connected.
Here are some of the things I do:
–use cloth bags when going to the grocery. I might use plastic for meat, but I re-use those bags, too, bringing them to the grocery along with the cloth bags. If you use the cloth bags for meat, be sure to launder them before using again, to avoid contamination.
–avoid plastic packaging. …well, plastic *everything*. This has been much easier following the GAPS diet because you don’t eat the processed food in packaging, but real food. If I am given an option, I will buy something in glass packaging before plastic.
—re-use the glass containers for drinking glasses, food storage, plants, etc. I try to avoid ziploc bags when possible.
—don’t purchase synthetic materials like nylon and other materials requiring petroleum. The list I think is a catch-all, because I think some of the things listed are made with petroleum if plastic or manufactured cloth such as nylon, so some of the products listed could be okay if not using those materials. Here’s a website on organic cotton, fyi.
–When I had my home, I made a conscious decision not to pave the driveway–it was gravel. I didn’t spray for weeds, either. I let my grass grow to 3 inches so that the roots could grow deeply enough to avoid having to water the lawn, especially during the dry time in July–this also helped keep the weeds down. Meanwhile, my neighbors practically shaved the grass off and…wait for it…had to waste precious water to keep the grass from dying in July. I let a patch of ground that was the former owner’s garden, grow its natural way, without my interference. Yeah, I was the neighborhood hippie…
—use baking soda, borax, and vinegar for cleaning. A formula I found in a natural health mag goes like this: Bathroom cleaner: 6 T vinegar, 2 T borax mixed with a cup– of warm water. Put this in a 1 qt. spray bottle and fill the rest with water. Works great, especially if used every day.
—I use non-toxic natural cleaners for laundry, dish washing, etc., when I am able to afford them. Oh, and fyi, avoid dishwashers–the detergent used in them is highly toxic.
—ride a bike or walk when going somewhere. This was easier for me when I lived in Fort Wayne, where everything was within walking distance. I could get to the downtown in 45 minutes to an hour. There is something to be said for walking or riding–you are much more connected to what is going on around you. You hear the birds sing. Feel the breeze. Hear the ripple of water along the river…driving a vehicle cuts you off from so much, besides polluting.
—use flannel cloths instead of toilet paper and re-wash them. I know, I know, some of you are going “ick” right now. No. 1 is fine…No. 2 still requires paper. So there.
—cloth pads instead of chemically manufactured pads.
—use less. I just use less. This was part of the learning process of being poor–you just learn how to manage on less. Not easy, for sure. I became much more adept at planning meals and using food up before it went to waste. I didn’t buy as much at the grocery until I needed it. This is easier if the grocery is within walking distance….which is becoming harder as the independents are being forced out while big box stores are situated out in no-man’s-land, forcing people to drive there.
—garden organically, using compost from kitchen waste, and if you’re really adventurous, pee and poo. This is not for sissies…so come with your brain in active mode and your determination to get away from petroleum and chemicals. You will succeed, but you can’t give up when challenged. Nature does challenge you, but also gives such splendid rewards. 😉
This is an ongoing process, for sure. I didn’t just wake up one day and start doing all of this. It was a gradual endeavor with every new discovery of my own contribution to pollution.
So…there you have it…my efforts towards helping instead of hurting the environment.
I think if we all took those first steps, and built on that, we would greatly reduce our dependency on petroleum. Everything helps and every bit matters.
Eagle 
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