In almost every area of our lives, today’s economy has made a major shift towards the world of ecology, going green and eco-friendly. Consumers are emphasizing an eco-lifestyle and companies are investing in everything from renewable sources of energy to completely ecologically safe products. Cities, counties, and entire states in the U.S. and around the globe are focused on reversing global warming. In this environment it comes as no surprise that there is a walk-of-shame for states in the U.S. that are listed as the ‘least green’.
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There are a surprising number of companies cropping up all over the world that are taking advantage of reclaimed wood. A reclaimed wood product is finding incredible popularity becauseit is not taken from a living tree and therefore no forests are harmed in the process.
Reclaimed is one of the ecology hot key terms these days. Reclaiming, in its simplest explanation means reusing. There are specific certifications that are required; however it’s not a norm as a requirement in the decorative wood industry. Reclaiming wood can come from a number of sources: existing homes or buildings as well as fallen trees in the forests and even floating logs in lakes and rivers. Artists that specialize in wood working are now seeking out companies that offer reclaimed wood and home builders looking to keep their new house ecologically balanced are using reclaimed wood for both structural supports as well as internal esthetics.Reclaimed wood that has been previously used in construction will often have a used look. Some areas may appear where nails were hammered into the wood; some may have remnants of glue. A more worn or used look has become popular for its esthetics.

Over the last twenty years there has been a hot debate as to whether China should assist in the cost of global pollution. Countries around the world are all jumping on the band wagon to clean up the earth; each with the small or large part that they can play. China, on the other hand, has not been quite as reticent to join. The opinion of the Chinese government seems to have been that they shouldn’t have to pay to clean up a mess that they really didn’t participate in.

The topic of sustainability has been bantered around in the last few years, but very few people actually know what it means. Most understand that it is something that is good for the earth and our environment, but can’t quite wrap their arms around how they can adapt to sustainability in their own lives.

Our Western culture seems to be enamored with bottled water. Whether fresh from the spring or just out of the tap, it seems to be an easy method in our quasi race to be healthy.
You have probably seen some of the television and online commercials displaying the massive quantity of plastic bottles that this love affair is producing. In our attempt at complying with the medical reason to drink water, we have taken this topic to excess (as usual) and we are producing a major pollutant that is rising as a priority environmental problem.

Because the oil prices have soared in the last few years, investors are increasingly looking into putting their money into oil penny stocks. These are also known as micro stocks, nano stocks, or oil small cap stocks. Oil penny stocks make an attractive investment, because they are affordable to virtually any investor due to their low prices.

According to a global risk assessment company called Maplecroft, it is mostly developing nations that pertain to countries with the most natural disasters risk. This is mainly due to the fact that they have fragile infrastructure to begin with and their healthcare is not prepared enough to deal with the aftermath of a natural disaster. This is why they are most susceptible to natural disaster risk and deaths that result.

The word pesticide has become a nasty term, and rightly so. While one or two generations enjoyed attractive fruits and vegetables they were closer to the apple from the story of Sleeping Beauty. Laced with toxins that harm the body, the pesticide chemicals that were at one time freely sprayed are frowned upon today. If you think that we are pesticide free, you are wrong, the chemicals are still there and the caution remains the same.

If you use a lawn company and they put a sign on your lawn to caution animals and children after they spray. You might want to get a list of the chemicals they are dumping on your grass. According to the EPA there are about twenty eight pesticides used for home, food and general pest control. Of these, approximately forty percent are listed in the category of concern for health of humans including probably or possible carcinogens.

Scientists around the globe pretty much rally to the call that yes Virginia, global warming is indeed a reality. Those of us on the side of ecology for the last thirty years have been saying a simple message: we can’t continue to dump pollutants in and on Mother Earth faster than she can naturally clean them up. And as we all know, it’s not nice to make Mothers mad. With all of the statistics, study and results-driven charts, there are still some nay-sayers that believe global warming is simply a myth.

The first thing that must really be called to everyone’s attention is that the topic of global warming is not just about harming the earth and us; it’s about the business of big business. There are billions of dollars at stake in the corporate world regarding the topic of global warming and many of those dollars will go into the red if this is a reality. So before we go any further, we must always ask who the doubters are and if they have any hidden agendas.

I first became aware of the topic of drugs in the water system about six years ago. One of the local students had submitted a school science project for the science fair which examined the amount of estrogen that was contained in the city water. The project was conducted so well that the county used her information to create their own analysis of all pharmaceuticals contained in the water. The final statistics of the study was pretty astounding. Yes, there are drugs in the water system.

Many counties and states have created their own research teams to continue the direction of finding out exactly what pharmaceuticals are in drinking water and why. The Associated Press also started their own individual study and found a surprising amount of drugs in a variety of drinking sources. One might envision people simply dumping their medication down the drain, but a vast majority of the pharmaceuticals are simply from people taking their medication and having it leave their bodies naturally. When the toilet is flushed, it includes left over meds from the body. Since most areas are accomplishing the cleaning of reclaimed water, not all of those drugs are being removed.