Conservation 101

Posted on Mar. 4, 2008 at 3:38 PM in Conservation 101

Conservation 101 is brought to from the minds of Julia (Cherryblossoms) and Croctoria



Coming up on March 21st is Arizona's state Arbor day, unfortunately Bullhead City is not on the 'Tree Cities' list, which is disappointing, but there are other 16 certified "tree Cities". Lake Havasu city being one of them. Total population that participates in Arizona State Arbor day is roughly 2.7 million, with the Pheonix leading with 1.4 million people. Hopefully someday I can make Bullhead City beomce a certified tree city. I'll add that to my 'Conservation to do list' :)

So for AZ's arbor day I shall try to plant trees in my backyard. We have two trees still in their pots on the side of our house. One is a lemon tree, the other a orange tree. They have never given us fruit, possibly because they aren't properly planted in the ground :D I also have other plants planted that I will do a whole post about lol!

Tree's are very important. I just did a brief paper on Urban city pollution and how tree's help eliminate Carbon offsets in urban cities. I will not be posting that paper because it is way to long :) Here is some information about tree's and how they help the Environment:

**Help to settle out, trap and hold particle pollutants (dust, ash, pollen and smoke) that can damage human lungs. 
**Absorb CO₂ and other dangerous gasses and, in turn, replenish the atmosphere with oxygen. 
**Produce enough oxygen on each acre for 18 people every day. 
**Absorb enough CO₂ on each acre, over a year's time, to equal the amount you produce when you drive your car 26,000 miles. 
**Trees remove gaseous pollutants by absorbing them through the pores in the leaf surface. Particulates are trapped and filtered by leaves, stems and twigs, and washed to the ground by rainfall.

Most of us just know the basics of where air pollutants come from. Car's. But there is a whole bunch of different air pollutants in the air and from very different sources.. here are some examples:

***Carbon dioxide: Burning oil, coal, natural gas for energy. Decay and burning of tropical forests.
***Sulfur dioxide: Burning coal to generate electricity.
***Hydrogen floride and silicon tetrafloride: Aluminum and phospate fertilizer production, oil refineries, and steel manufacturing.
***Ozone: Chemical reactions of sunlight on automobile exhaust gases. Ozone is a major pollutant in smog.
***Methane: Burning fossil fuels, livestock waste, landfills and rice production.
***Nitros oxides: Burning fossil fuels and automobile exhausts.
***Chloroflorocarbons: Air conditioners, refrigerators, industrial foam.

IF everyone could see the icky particles in the air many of us would probably try to rid ourself of breathing the ickiness. I know I get irritated when I am trying to breather and all the air I am getting is nasty car exhaust or the other unknowns.

Tree's contribute alot to helping reduce "Carbon offsets" in the air, like stated above. Not only are tree's helpful to the environment but come on be realistic! They are beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They give us shade in the summer and it's been proven that planting three trees around you home can cool it down and cut your air conditioning bill by 10 to 50 percent. Here is some more information:

***Trees are critical to providing and protecting water. Forests cover nearly one-third of the
nation’s land and supply over 50 percent of freshwater flow in the lower 48 States.
Forests protect water quality by slowing runoff, stabilizing soils, preventing erosion and
floods, and filtering pollutants. It is estimated that some 180 million people depend on
forests for their drinking water.

Are you interested in planting tree's now??? The simplest thing you can do to help the environment, as shown above, is plant trees. I talked to my step dad last night and we both agreed to plant trees to outline our property. Mostly because they are helpful to the envrionment and we would like to shade our house and such. So we are both looking into tree's to plant around our property. But most of all we love tree's and they do help the environment. I hope I can plant our Lemon and Orange tree on March 21st.

-Julia

 Information from TreeHugger and Urban Forests

19 Blossoms Drop A Blossom! Permanent Link

Conservation 101

Posted on Feb. 5, 2008 at 2:06 PM in Conservation 101

Conservation 101 is brought to you from the minds of Julia (Cherryblossom) and Croc Toria

                                Ever seen this item around this seagulls neck? If you don't recognize what it is, it's a plastic soda holder  that keep the six packs together. This seagull was probably diving down to the ocean to retrieve fish when this almost invisible plastic holder slid over his head and neck. But the problem is, it stayed there. For days. Maybe months. But only a few. Over time this plastic holder would snag on items, or even get tighter, making it harder and harder for this bird to eat. But who cares? It's just a bird, there's plenty of them around the world. But what if it wasn't "just a bird"? What if it was a Seal? How bout a cat? Or a dog? Would you care then?

   These dangers to wildlife can be avoided by doing the simplest of things. Cutting them up. My mom used to teach me to cut the soda ring holds up because of this. She taught me from a young age. I didn't care at first but the more I thought about it the more I did it. I would feel horrible if I forgot to cut one up and that particular one cause a cat or a dog or a bird to die because of starvation. Wouldn't you? I have done the most simplest of things to teach you that are reading this how to avoid dangers like this. Please follow along.

Step A:
Get plastic holder and scissors
(BTW, this is a three ring holder that held our ketchup we bought from Sam's Club)

Step B:
Cut up all visible "circles" to avoid an animal sticking it's beak through the hole and getting it caught around it's beak/ neck/ body

I believe that is pretty elementary for everyone. What else can you do to help avoid these dangers to wildlife?? Well besides the obvious of recycling we can do several things.

#1- Don't litter

Simple as that may seem if everyone didn't litter then the world would be a whole lot cleaner. Think about it. Would you like someone to come along and throw a dirty diaper on your bed? Well that's the way it is for wildlife. Yes, there are designated places where trash can be disposed of and wildlife doesn't live there. But everytime someone throws a gum wrapper, or a empty Carls Jr cup out the car window that get's deposited into the wild, one way or another. Just think, the wild is the animals pillow.

#2- Pick up trash left in the streets or on the sidewalk

It annoys me to no end when someone throws trash towards a trash can but it doesn't enter the can. Instead it falls several inches to the left or right. Yet that person just walks away even when they do see that there free shot didn't make it into the basket. That just shows me how lazy people are. Like I said that annoys me to no end. But by picking up the trash you ARE helping wildlife and the environment.

#3- Don't feed the wildlife

I know one to many people who place their left over meat outside for the coyotes or wolves or any animal around their area. I would LOVE to put out food for bunny's so I can watch them as they come to feed but giving animals the un natural diet of moldy bread or even store bought lettuce is bad for them. Their natural is the best way to lead to their survival. Now I understand Coyotes around here will actually tip over garbage cans to get at old meat. That is understandable, but purposely putting out food for them could bring several dangers. They loose their fear of humans and eventually will depend on the humans for food, which eventually could lead to them attacking a younger human looking for food. Or if you have a household cat and animals come to feed in your backyard, it won't be to long before they start to go after your cat.

With these simple steps to ensuring the safety of wildlife you to can become a Wildlife Warrior!

-Julia

26 Blossoms Drop A Blossom! Permanent Link

Conservation 101

Posted on Jan. 7, 2008 at 10:33 AM in Conservation 101

Ok first off, I am seperating the Conservation 101 into two groups. Animal Conservation 101 and World Conservation 101. Of course the Animal Conservation 101 will be about animal conservation, pretty obvious. The 'World Conservation 101' will simply be about living a more eco friendly and natural lifestyle. That's simply it. :) So today I thought we should start out with World Conservation 101, and to add to the fun I made a simple banner! :) I also made a banner for Animal Conservation 101 but you won't see that until Les 2 :D

                    
 Did mom ever tell you dont combine cleaners? Did you know  that most cleaners HAVE NOT been tested for harmful chemicals? In other words, of the 2 million chemicals now in exsistence, only a few hundred have been test for the potential of causing cancer, liver or kidney damage, birth defects, and so on. Even though there is a high risk for all this they are still being used.

Thousands of children die each year from accidental poisoning, often from these chemical compounds called cleaners. Most kids mistake these "pretty" boxes to be ceral boxes, or the "pretty" bottles with the red liquid in them to be cherry soda.  A recent study showed that the long term effects of housewives having cancer are doubled because of the cleaners used everyday.

However, we can reduce the number of dangerous chemicals in the home to a very few -- perhaps bleach, washing soda, and ammonia.  We can keep these under lock and key, and use them sparingly.  As for all the rest, the o-phenylphenols and isopropanols, we don't need them.

-Scouring Powder: Combine nine parts whitining (from a hardware store) and one part soap granules. This mixture won't scratch surfaces as commercial products do,and omits the unecessary chlorine, which accidentally combined with other chemicals --such as ammonia-- can produce dangerous chlorine gas.

-Brass and copper cleaner: Vinegar and Salt paste

-Window cleaner: 4tbs ammonia, 2 tbs vinegar, and 1 qt water. Followed by lots of elbow grease and old, crumpled newspaper for a special sparkle. :D

-Drain cleaner: FIRST, try a plunger. If that fails, 1/2 cup washing soda, with 2 cups boiling water. For a stronger treatment combine a handful of baking soda with 1/2 cup vinegar. Close the drain, then let it sit, then flush with water ;) Do this regularly to prevent buildup.  (Danger note: Washing soda is an akali much less caustic than lye, but should be kept locked up. It is dangerous)

-Rug Cleaner: Get the spill scooped up or blotted up fast! Dip a small brush in cold water and work through spot. For a grease spot, sprinkle dry baking soda or dry cornstarch on the spot. Let it stand for an hour or so, then vacuum. If the grease remains try the Magic Spray Cleaner below, and a stiff brush.

-Rug Shampoo mix: Mix 1/4 cup mild detergent or soap, with 1 pint of warm water, and 2 tbs vinegar. Whip into a stiff foam. First vacuum the rug thoroughly, Apply the foam and scrub. Let it dry, then vacuum again.

-Magic Spray Cleaner: (for surfaces other than varnish, aluminum, or asphalt tile) 1/4 cup ammonia, 1/8 cup vinegar, 1tbs baking soda, and 1 quart water.

-Furniture polish: Use paste wax or mineral oil, which are much less toxic than petroleum distillates like "Lemon oil", which isn't from lemons.

-Spot Remover: For fabrics that don't take bleach, apply ammonia diluted with an equal amount of water. Put paper towels underneath to blot. If ammonia odor clings, apply a table salt solution. A last resort for old stains is a dab of vinegar.

-Oven Cleaner: Sprinkle spills with salt, while the oven is still hot. The burned deposit should have no trouble scraping off once the oven cools. For thorough cleaning, set an open shallow dish of full strength ammonia inside the cold oven. Close the door and let it stand over night. The ammonia gas from the solution is absorbed by the grease, which ends up like soap. Do Not use this method on aluminum.

-Deoderizers: Simplest form is baking soda. Pour down the drain, in diaper bins, on baby spit-ups, in refrigerators,  Cat litter and kitche sponges.  Extra: My mom burns cinnamon on the stove top. Just add water to a pot, and as much cinnamon as you like. Put pot on stove top at 'simmer'. Mom turns off the oven at night but lets the same pot sit for days and days so it can be reused.

A company dedicated to use more Eco Friendly products is Melaleuca: The Wellness Company.

28 Blossoms Drop A Blossom! Permanent Link

Page 2 of 2
Last Page | Next Page