Algae in our lakes - alarm bells should be going! Have a look at these pictures of floating, stinking gurgling masses (are algeal blooms like this called "floes", like ice floes, or "mats"?). Our lakes are in distress and immediate action is needed to reduce pollution into the lakes (and this includes fertilizers and soaps, even biodegradable ones as all these products provide nutrients for algae). See the fascinating research being done by Ohio State University's water research station on Gibraltar Island in western Lake Erie:
The experience of many small lakes, rivers, and bays has shown that algeal overgrowth virtually kills the water body as it blocks sunlight from getting into the lake and to organisms that depend on sunlight.
Lots in news lately about cell towers and Wi-Fi exposures
Canadian headlines read "Does Wi-Fi make you sick?" (Toronto Star), and "UK expert warns against Wi-Fi" (Toronto Star), "Wi-Fi may cause generational effects" (Montreal Gazzette), and "Woman feels the Waves" (Toronto Sun) to name a few.
Without being alarmist, or inciting radical action, there are plenty of small things we can do to reduce our exposures. Firstly, we need to know where the exposures are coming from, so have a look at 2 useful sites to determine where high frequency electro-magnetic radiation from cell towers is coming from:
Often more electric fields and high frequency fields are created by appliances or devices within the home, or home-office. For example, cordless phones are “always on”. They use 5.8 or 2.4 or 1.8 gigahertz Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telephone (DECT) technology (the higher the frequency the more radiation). These phones radiate microwaves as soon as the base station (cradle) is plugged into an electrical outlet. Dr. Magda Havas has concluded that these high frequency radiation devices affect the heart. See her informative video presentation. It's well worth the time: http://www.magdahavas.com/2010/08/16/dect-phones-affect-the-heart/
Summer - the great out-doors.
I've just returned back to the city after getting much needed clean(er) air, natural water, less electrical pollution, and dark nights. Hummm... so valuable!
As usual, when I return I'm inspired to bring some of the lessens learned back to the city. How can we use less water? less hot water? fewer detergents and soaps? etc.
The composting systems work well in the north, why aren't we using more of them in the city?
Windows!
I am often asked about windows and heard old wood windows referred to as "old growth windows". What a great term, as it puts value on those precious openings of our buildings. See this great article comparing window materials:
The 3 easy things you can do that will improve your life.
Substantial improvements to your home can be made by making realistic changes to the following 3 things (cleaners, cell phone habits, and internet habits). After this, then please call in the experts. Environmental Health Consulting can help you find more things in your home that may be influencing your well being, and be able to determine if the measures you have taken are effective.
You might wonder - what's the silver thing doing here? Well, it's an antique silver toast server! Imagine!
I had wondered how I could clean it safely, so I tried the first of these recipes. It worked PERFECTLY as you can see.
- 1 part club soda, and 1 part baking soda.
- Cream of tartar and enough vinegar to make a paste.
- Lemon juice (use the skins after using the lemon).
- A piece of aluminium foil into a container big enough to hold the item to be cleaned, add hot water and salt, dip the silverware into solution for a few seconds. This works because Aluminium is very active metal and silver is quite inert (although it slowly reacts with sulphur creating tarnish). Aluminium reacts with the tarnished silver and frees up the silver metal.
- For copper, and pewter, spray with hot vinegar and a Tbsp. or 2 of salt.
So, you can see, there are many good alternatives to conventional cleaners, some of which contain hazardous ingredients (including thiourea, which Health Canada has newly identified as one of the 16 substances that pose a high risk to humans). So, I`m off to the hazardous waste facility with yet another cleaner!
Realistic Cell Phone Habits
- Use land lines
- Use cell phone for voice mail; return call on a land line
- Keep cell phones as far away from your body as possible
(not on your body, or under your pillow)
- Use speaker-phone
- Use headphones (an air-tube variety)
- Use text messaging
- Turn it off when you don't need it (sleeping)
- Use external antennae in cars (any metal enclosure)
- Use older technology (not G3 technology or i-phone)
- Don’t add a relay station/booster
Realistic Internet Phone Habits
- Use wired connection when possible (at home/office)
- Hard wire router or LAN (to connect modem & desktop/laptop using wall jacks in rooms or long Ethernet cables (with couplers)) and, turn off wireless function (the default is to be on, even if you are wired). To disable your computer go to "Control panel", "Device manager", "Wireless device", then "Disable".
- Keep wireless routers as far away from your body
- Keep laptops away from your body (not on your lap)
- Turn off wireless function off (laptop, computer, router) when you don't need it, and when you are sleeping
Realistic cleaners, pesticides, deodorizers
- Store conventional cleaners out of the breathing air space
- Minimize # of conventional products
- Read labels and follow directions ("must be rinsed with soap and water after handling", etc. are acknowledgements from the manufacturer of harm)
- Mix in the stated proportions (higher concentration will not work better; may be very harmful)
- Reduce the need for hazardous cleaners (don't use difficult to clean products)
- Virtually everything can be cleaned with: soap, baking soda, vinegar, borax, oil
- Soap is preferable to detergent
- “Natural soap” (animal or vegetable oil) is preferable to “soap” (petroleum oils)
- Do not use commercial fabric softeners or dryer sheets. Use vinegar instead.
- Do not use pesticides. Deter insects (ants, cockroaches, aphids, bed bugs) with Diatomaceous Earth (DE), or Borax
- Do not use commercial deodorizers. Control Odours with: vinegar, or minerals (clay, Zeolite crystals or powder, baking soda)
By using nature as the guide, we should ask is it natural for our bodies to encounter this chemical, or this electro-magnetic wave?
Can you see the bug on the leaf?
- a true symbiosis of life and environment.
Other general Healthier Spaces Tips
- open your windows every day to allow fresh in inside; have a furnace or stove with fresh air supply
- air out your bedding
- disable your wireless device in your device driver on your computer or laptop if you do not need it; contact your service provider to disable your router or modem
-Each time the router is rebooted, it may enable the wireless by default. The signal from your router and modem is checked at all investigations.
Use non-toxic alternatives for synthetic chemicals (pesticides, air-fresheners, fabric softeners, fungicides, paints, and stains)
- use natural non-toxic things. No commercial "products" are needed to clean your home or your body. Almost anything in your home can be cleaned with these 5 ingredients: vinegar, borax, baking soda, pure soap, (essential) oil.
Bedrooms should be especially wholesome, allowing rejuvenation of cells, hormone balance, and metabolism during sleep
- Learn about electric & magnetic exposures.
-Live away from power lines
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Use Carbon Monoxide (CO) meters in your home. - Have other fuel burning appliances (furnaces, ovens, stoves driers, fridges, fireplaces, heaters...) checked periodically. During home assessments, I check for gas leaks.Very low amounts of CO exposure have been linked to health effects. See MCS association at: www.mcsrr.org/resources/articles.html
Photo: Checking gas leaks with combustible gas meters,
International Institute of Building Biology and Ecology (IBE), 211 seminar, May 2009 (AS)
