Saturday, January 18, 2020

TOP 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP SAVE THE PLANET


HALLIE EPHRON: As everyone who follows us knows, I have a thing about the small matter of saving our planet. About conserving, cutting down on waste and recycling, and trying to ensure quality of life for our grands and great grands, along with the flora and fauna with whom they'll share the earth.


Today I’m welcoming a kindred spirit who is much more informed and much more emphatic than I. Kyla Bennett is a PhD ecologist and an environmental lawyer working for a Washington DC based environmental whistleblower non-profit organization. A lifelong environmentalist (and vegan), she's trying to save the world.



I’m thrilled that she’s give me the okay to share her advice. Some of it’s easy-peasy and you're probably already doing it. Some of it’s a stretch.

Hang onto your hats because what you're about to read may feel a bit stronger what you’re used to finding  on Jungle Red. Think of it as bracing. And literally, food for thought.

Kyla has promised to drop
by today to field questions and comments, so please add on and share your thoughts!



KYLA BENNETT: It's that time of year where I get on my soapbox and tell you what YOU can do to save the earth.



Guys, it's 2020. We have tipped over the precipice and we may not be able to save ourselves. But we have to try, right? So here are the top 10 things you can do to help. Because if you're not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.



Yes, I KNOW we have to hold fossil fuel and chemical companies and plastics industries and the government accountable, but that doesn't mean we are helpless. EVERYONE HAS TO DO SOMETHING. Don't you have children, grandkids, people you love? Australia is on fire. The earth is literally burning. We are destroying our planet, and we have to stop. Failure is not an option.



Okay, here goes.



1) Go vegan. Seriously. Or at least cut down substantially on meat, fish, poultry and dairy. It's not hard, it's better for your health, the planet, and it's humane. And it’s too late for snarky comment about how they can't give up their bacon, or how plants have feelings too, or how veganism is harder on the environment than meat. We have to make some concessions here if we want to save the planet. (Plus, have you SEEN any of the footage coming out of some of those slaughter houses??? Have you no compassion???)

I urge you to watch Forks Over Knives, or if you're an athlete,
Game Changers. Make it a resolution, and do it soon, because I think Forks Over Knives is getting taken off of Netflix soon. And yes, I know, small family farms are better than the big industrial farms, but seriously....how many people buy from those small family farms?

How about this: if you're going to eat eggs or drink milk or eat meat, buy it from a small family farm. Otherwise, just don't.


2)
Stop using pesticides. It's 2020. There is an insect apocalypse, and we NEED insects to survive. I live in Ground Zero for EEE (eastern equine encephalitis) and WNV (West Nile virus), and we don't use pesticides. I use Repel's Lemon Eucalyptus spray on us, and it works, and it's not bad for the environment, and it doesn't have PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) Yes, many pesticides have PFAS. Stop killing the bees. Stop spraying carcinogens that destroys the brains of children.

Just. Stop.



3) Minimize/eliminate plastic. There is too much plastic. Microplastics are everywhere, in the ocean, in our water, in our food. It's dangerous. It's killing marine mammals and sea turtles and birds and mammals. It's killing us.

Here are some of the things I've done: switched to
Little Seed Farm
deodorant, which comes in a glass jar. It works. Switched to Viva Doria toothpaste, which comes in a glass jar. I use Etee's concentrated dishwashing liquid, which comes in a biodegradable pod. I bought some glass pump jars, and I reconstitute it in that. I've gone back to bar soap (added bonus: no palm oil, which is killing orangutans). I like Kirk's and Meliora soap. Speaking of Meliora, they have a great laundry powder in a cardboard container - no plastic. And a cleaning scrub. I clean with vinegar and essential oils.

Try to avoid plastic wrapped fruits and veggies. I bring
mesh bags
to the grocery store for my produce and my bulk foods. I buy bulk organic oats, and put them in glass jars (I like Anchor Hocking from Target, because there is NO plastic!). Buy from your local farm when you can, and bring your own reusable bags.

Bring your own
mug to the coffee place (I like Stojo, because it collapses down to nothing). I even make my own granola, because I can't get a straight answer out of the cereal companies as to whether their plastic inserts have PFAS. And as you all know, I have gone down the PFAS rabbit hole. Speaking of which...


4) PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Get rid of your Teflon/non-stick pans. No, NONE of the so-called "green" non-stick pans are safe. Get cast iron and season it well. Or get stainless steel if you are okay with using oil. Get rid of your waterproofing crap, check with companies to see if they use ANY PFAS when buying rain gear, shoes, carpets, car seats, makeup, etc. Use a brand of dental floss that doesn't use PFAS, like Desert Essence. Use the PFAS free ski wax, and furniture polish. I use Kenetrek for waterproofing, and all natural furniture polish for my wood furniture.

GET A FILTER. We are all contaminated, and this is all about minimizing risk.

Avoid plastic. A ton of it has PFAS in it. Home Depot and Lowe's have allegedly banned all PFAS from their carpets as of now, but check. Don't buy biosolid fertilizer. Avoid the "flame retardant" clothes and fabrics. It all has PFAS.

Look, this isn't just about YOUR health. Whenever YOU use a Teflon pan, and wash it, that plastic goes down the drain and ends up in MY water. You're contaminating everyone. Just stop.


5)
Read labels and buy wisely. Did you ever notice how many things have palm oil? We have to stop. Email companies and tell them to remove it. We are destroying rain forests, which are the lungs of the earth. We are killing orangutans. We just have to stop. Even sustainable palm oil. We don't need it, and it's not healthy. I even gave up my beloved Dr. Bronner's soap because of palm oil.



6) Cut down on flying. Yeah, I know. But really... try. 

7) And cut down on driving, if you can.



8) Go solar. Yes it works. We generate 118% of what we need, and sell the rest to the grid. If you live in an apartment or condo or you can't afford to buy solar panels, switch to green energy with your electric company.



Turn off your friggin' lights and stop wasting water. Why do you leave your porch lights on all night? Turn off lights when you leave the room. Make sure you have energy efficient bulbs. Stop watering your lawn. Really? Just stop. Oh, and hang dry your clothes. I got a great drying rack from Lehman's. Dryers use a ton of electricity.



9) Avoid chemicals. Did you know there are 80,000 chemicals on the US market, and EPA has banned only 9? Yeah. Well, that doesn't mean that only 9 are dangerous.



10) Teach children about nature, and wildlife, ecology, and biology. If they don't spend time outside, if they don't understand how we're all connected, and how vulnerable humans are as animals, we are doomed. Teach them to love and appreciate wildness and other species. Teach them empathy and compassion and curiosity.

"In wildness is the preservation of the world." - Henry David Thoreau.



Okay, I'm done. Thanks for reading. Never underestimate our power. We can change things if we all act together. We cannot afford to wait any longer. Do something. And #vote.



HALLIE:  What did I tell you? Bracing, right?

I’ll be switching to green energy with my electric company. And changing my toothpaste. I stopped buying plastic wrap and tin foil and I try not to use plastic bags or paper towels. I don't water my lawn. I'm switching to Kyla's toothpaste and dental floss. Never owned teflon pans so that's easy. And all our carpets were made before PFAS were invented. And...

Baby steps, I know. But if we all do it, it makes a difference. (Remember when dog poo was everywhere and airplanes had no smoking sections?)
 
What have you done in 2019 and what will you be trying to do in 2020 save the planet?

34 comments:

  1. Thank you, Hallie and Kyla . . . everyone needs to help save the planet.

    We talk to the grandchildren about taking care of the planet and try to show by our actions that we’re trying to help. We have solar panels. We take reusable bags to the store, no plastic bags. We have reusable straws, so no plastic there, either. We have glass jars for the bulk groceries. We water the garden, but not the lawn. We use compost to fertilize the garden. I have cast iron pans and we have our own coffee cups. We use bar soap. I hate to drive, so I have no problem with cutting back on that!

    In the grander scheme of things, somehow it doesn’t seem like we’re doing very much, but we are trying . . . .

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    1. Sounds like you're doing a ton of stuff, Joan. Solar panels scare me... I need to learn more about them but we just paid a small fortune to switch from oil to natural gas.

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    2. Joan, you are doing all the right things! Thank you.

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  2. Essential oils can be dangerous to house pets.

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    1. Really? Hoping Kyla can weigh in on how to get around that.

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    2. She is right! Some essential oils, like tea tree oil, can be dangerous to dogs if ingested, and to birds if they breathe them. I use lemon!

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  3. I do all of what Joan said, and try to water the garden only with rain barrel water. I hang my clothes outside during most of the year - but not right now, and I don't have room for a clothes rack inside our small house. I do buy my eggs and meat/chicken from local farms and do all my local errands on foot, plus we own two older Priuses, so when we drive we don't use much gas. I think I'll try that toothpaste and deodorant when my current supply runs out. And maybe invest in a couple more sizes of cast iron.

    Thank you for the prod, Hallie and Kyla!

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    1. Also, I realized ordering clothes online? They all come in plastic bags. Grr. And does anyone else use the waxed reusable wraps for things like cheese?

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    2. Edith, I do use the waxed cloth. It doesn't do great for things like cheese, but the silicone bags work great!

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    3. Edith, I'm using waxed paper wraps for cheese and they are great.

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  4. Buy local, hang dry, "no-drive" days, no pesticides, use my own shopping bags, eliminating plastic containers, switched to all glass for leftovers. Thanks for the update!

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    1. We're gradually switching over to glass for leftovers and storage. Must order more! And...never pesticides or herbicides. Never.

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    2. Thank you both! Also, I save my glass jars from things like peanut butter, etc., to store small things in (like nuts).

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  5. Thank you for the tips. I live in DuPont country, so chemicals have been on my radar for a long time.

    A small thing, but tomorrow I’m presenting a workshop and I have been in discussion about providing snacks. The venue wants me to bring water bottles. I said no. That’s at least 30 single use plastic bottles. Surely everyone knows by now to bring their own water if they need it. If not, they’re going to find out tomorrow!

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    1. I was at a meeting at the offices of an environmental group last week, and they had a big jug of water with metal and glass glasses. You can buy cheap glasses at thrift stores. In fact, we had a birthday party for my husband, and instead of paper plates, I went to the Christmas Tree Shop and bought 30 ceramic plates for $1 each. Now I can use them over and over!

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  6. Thank you Kyla for this post and your efforts to save our planet. I feel overwhelmed because even if I do my best , I know that it is not enough and that I have to do more.
    I don't use pesticide and I'm afraid of chemicals . I use correctly the contenants of garbage, recycling and compost.
    I'm more vegetarian than vegan and could cut more on animals products. I fly rarely and maximise my car's use in mixing errands, meetings and hobbies .
    Not aware of PFAS vs teflon and when I bought my ceramic plate stove, it was written to not use cast iron skillet on it, so I stopped using mines. Do you use them anyway ?
    I use less and less plastic : no more bags , wrappings, bottles ( I was shocked of the number of plastic bottles and glasses of water that were used during last Bouchercon). I have to try to find more bulk products and buy less plastic contenants.

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    1. Hmmm, good question about cast iron on a ceramic plate stove. Maybe stainless steel would be okay? I imagine it's the weight of the cast iron that is of concern? RE: plastic, only 8.4% of plastic that is put in recycling bins is ACTUALLY recycled. So, we definitely have to stop it at the source.

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  7. This is great! I am proud to say to follow much of her advice but I see where I can do more. I love my indoor drying racks and whether it is true or not, I tell myself by drying things inside I'm doing just a bit to counter the dry air this time of year.
    But here's a question for those of you with cats - how do you deal with the kitty litter? I use those terrible bags (that will soon be banned here) from the grocery store and then into the garbage. Anyone have a better idea? I have looked for bags that will decompose but haven't found any. I wouldn't want one for daily use but weekly use.

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    1. I've heard you can get compostable kitty litter, Judi. Not for the vegetable garden, though.

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    2. Thanks for that Edith; I may look into it. I know that there are supposedly "flushing" kinds of litter but I'm not about to attempt that with my septic system.

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    3. Can you dump the contents of the whole pan into the kitchen garbage bag? I've stopped lining my small garbage pails with plastic...I just dump them into the kitchen garbage (the only garbage with a plastic bag) and clean them out. The stronger kitchen garbage bags aren't as much of a problem as the single use grocery plastic. The single use bags are thinner and they break down into microplastics and blow in the wind. So the stronger bags aren't nearly as bad. Not great, but better than single use. Also, I found this: https://tofukittyclub.com/blog/the-environmental-impact-of-cat-litter-how-eco-friendly-is-your-cats-litter

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  8. Great tips! Thank you so much! I am seriously considering switching to an electric powered car because we have too many Spare the Air days in California, meaning "do not drive when the air is so bad". Fortunately, my car follows the "clean air" standards, meaning that it is LESS polluted than the cars before the environmental laws passed. We bought the car just before the 2016 election. The bad news is that several auto companies have agreed to roll back the clean air standards so I am hoping that we will not need to buy a new car for a while. I did notice that these companies sold out their electric cars!

    Regarding palm oil, we saw a documentary at a local film festival about how a community of people living in trees have lost their homes because of corporations coming in to cut down trees in order to produce palm trees.

    And as much as I love technology, I do not want to buy a coffeemaker nor an espresso machine until they invent a solar powered coffeemaker / espresso machine.

    A few days ago there was a Jungle Reds post about air fryers ? and new gadgets. I mentioned that I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint.

    Diana

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    1. Excellent point - I was just extolling the virtues of non - power tools. Still I’m not going back to a typewriter 😣

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    2. Hallie, I love the old typewriter. The electric typewriter is too noisy for me. Every time I use an electric typewriter, the table shakes! Different experiences for different people. Computers are easier than typewriters because of the automatic formatting.

      When I was in college, I could not afford a computer so I went to a typewriter shop across the street from campus. I bought an old typewriter for 45 ? dollars when computers was way outside my budget. That was years before the Apple Mac stores.

      Diana

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    3. Diana, I use a Chemex coffee maker. Non electric. But, almost year round I do cold brew coffee. I put room temperature filtered water in a glass jar, and ground coffee in an organic coffee "sock" (they sell them all over). 24 hours later, you have DELICIOUS coffee, with no electricity. The only downside is you have to remember to do it 24 hours in advance! Leave it out on the counter, not in the frig. Another benefit is that it reduces the acidity of the coffee.

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  9. I have needed to replace my cookware for awhile now and love my Mom's cast iron, never giving it up, so it's kind of a no brainer, I just need to do it. I'm charged for grocery bags, so I generally bring my cloth ones, but I grew up using paper grocery bags for household trash, so now I shop about once a month without bags so I can restock my supply. The larger chain grocery stores carry my local dairy, but in larger sizes which is wasteful in my single person home so I shop the smaller local with smaller containers. My car uses less gas due to the switch to battery. It still freaks me out when the engine goes quiet. My driving distance is short. If I wasn't so lazy and need to avoid the sun I could spend 30 minutes twice a day and walk, but I am , as I said, lazy. I'm usually reading JRW in the morning. Yes, I like my bacon but my soy protein allergy does make other proteins a necessity, but I shop at that smaller chain and they are using local farms as much as possible or so all the in-store ads say.

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    1. We still use grocery bags for household trash, too. There's much less of it in the summer when I can dig the vegetable waste into the garden.

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  10. Good post. We got solar panels about three years ago. I never water the lawn (and it sometimes looks it but I don't care). I avoid using plastic bags when buying veggies, and rely on lots of cloth bags at farmers' markets in warm weather. I rarely eat meat, but giving up chicken and fish along with dairy is hard. Since my husband and I are both retired, I drive less and can walk to the train or up town to meet friends or go to the library. My husband threw out the two or three pieces of teflon cookware we had some years ago. I'll look for the specific items mentioned above.

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    1. Susan, it may not be as hard as you think to cut back on chicken, fish and dairy! It takes about three weeks to get used to it. We eat very simply...I often make what I call "Buddah bowls" - some kind of starch (brown rice, white or sweet potato, quinoa), then fresh veggies and protein. Chick peas, beans or soy curls for protein, and lettuce, cukes, carrots, peppers, corn, etc. for veggies. And we just use F. Olivers vinegar for dressing. Best vinegar I've ever had! Side benefit...the weight just falls off.

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  11. Thank you for sharing this. Lots to think about. Already taking some small steps and time to add more

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  12. I do some of the things that you mentioned but I don't see how not eating meat helps the environment. If everyone stopped eating meat, most of the cows, pigs, etc. would be killed because the farmers and ranchers couldn't afford to feed them. Even worse, the farms and ranches would be developed into housing developments, warehouses, or malls. That would impact native plants and animals and mean more concrete and less ground to absorb water. My Dad said over 30 years ago when a local mall was built that that was when the local creek started to flood.

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  13. You’re speaking my language, Kyla! I’m a planet lover and am all over saving our home. You’ve given us some great advice! Thank you!

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