I Love These Windows

Perfect for the central North Carolina climate. I hope to hear a lot more about these in the coming months. Flip it one way in the summer and the other in the winter. So much easier than putting in storm windows or plastic up or any of the other things we do to help hold heat in during the winter.

Something to share

Since I brought everyone down earlier, now I give you this. Good stuff, and pertinent subject matter I might add.

How Depressing

I found this article today, easily one of the more depressing things I have read in a while. Sorry to be a downer, they really make it sound like there is no hope. We all just have to do what we can.

Conserve Water Now!

The drought situation is getting very desperate in the Southeast, as evidenced by this blog entry on treehugger.com. People in Atlanta have even resorted to painting their lawns (wonder what kinds of chemicals are in THAT?). I would urge everyone to please, please conserve the most water you can. I know your lawn doesn't look nice when it's brown, but what's more important: a pretty lawn or clean clothes and dishes, drinking water and being able to flush the toilet? The Raleigh/Durham area is just as likely to be in Atlanta's situation in the near future.

Before you stock up for Halloween

Before you head to the store and buy the huge bags of candy, think for a second about where that candy is coming from. A lot of good things are mentioned here. It's looking like the kids in our neighborhood will be getting organic chocolate this year. My guess is that they will think it is weird because the wrapper isn't Hershey's, but once they try it they will like it just the same.

Solar Decathlon

I just found out about this a couple hours ago, but definitely want to go. The solar decathlon is going on this week in Washington DC. Looks like a lot of really interesting new ideas and things to see. I really want to get up there, but I'm not sure if I will be able to, but if you are in the DC area I would definitely recommend you check it out. And if you do, give us a report on it!

Carbon Footpring Labeling

According to this, they are soon going to begin labeling food with a carbon footprint in the UK. This is pretty cool and I wish all products had to have it (not just food). I am talking toys, clothes, tools. Anything to get people to think about the hidden costs of the things they buy. I'm not holding my breathe for something like this to happen in the US, but I like it.. I shudder to think what some of the things would say.

An unrelated story, but I heard yesterday that one of the founders of my company is "so frugal" that he figured out that if he bought t-shirts and socks in bulk and just wore them once and threw them away, it would be cheaper than washing them over and over. My first question was, what detergent were you using??? I find it hard to believe that it is actually cheaper anyway, but what a monumental waste. To buy a cotton shirt, wear it once and throw it away... that honestly makes me sick.

I found this article this morning. It is just unbelievable how bad pollution is in some places and how severely it affects people's health. This article goes into very specific detail on what heavy metals are being found there and how they are affecting the local population. I just hope something can be done to help them because as is typical, it always affects children the worst. But really for those out there that do not think that the environment isn't THE issue that we need to concern ourselves with, please read this excerpt;

" According to World Health Organization, a quarter of all diseases affecting the humankind are attributable to environmental risks, with children more vulnerable than adults. Among children under five, environmentally-related illnesses are responsible for more than 4.7 million deaths annually. Twenty-five percent of deaths in developing countries are related to environmental factors, compared with 17 percent of deaths in the developed world. "

This isn't just a problem in third world countries. That is one thing that people in the US need to remember, the stat is still 17 percent of all deaths are attributed to environmental factors. The children in this country may not be in quite the direct danger that the children in Nairobi are in, but the stats on childhood asthma (courtesy of the American lung association) in this country clearly display the very real danger people are in here. "Asthma is the most common chronic disorder in childhood, currently affecting an estimated 6.2 million children under 18 years; of which 4 million suffered from an asthma attack or episode in 2004." I currently work with what they call emergency inhalers for asthma patients. We are actually working on an all new product at this time. These are not new products by any stretch of the imagination, but the pharmaceutical companies believe that the market for emergency inhalers will possibly double by 2020, and probably exceed that. This is a problem that can be directly attributed air pollutants and allergens. If you have ever either had a child, or been around one that was struggling to breathe because of asthma, then you know how serious a problem this really is.

but if you still need more.. check some of these links
Childhood Asthma Still Increasing
ICES Asthma study
Rise in childhood asthma
The environment and asthma in U.S. inner cities.

A Few Things

Found this little editorial this morning, says some interesting things about government environmental policy and how private citizens tend to have a much larger impact than anything the government may be doing. I happen to agree with the assertion that the government does much more to enable polluters than it does to stop them.

There was also this article basically citing a poll that a majority of Americans would support higher taxes in order to help the environment. I would guess that this is the first time ever that people would say that. Whether in practice it is true or not is yet to be seen, but I think it does show that people are starting to really think about what they are spending their money on, and that is never a bad thing.