It’s always something.

Here’s a strange and alarming finding. The chemicals used to seal pavement, parking lots and driveways are showing up at high levels in dust at homes. It’s not just a, it’s a cancer causing. The stuff is a coal tar sealant, a waste product of steel manufacturing that is used to protect pavement and asphalt from cracking and other damage. It’s used in all 50 states. One of the two types of sealants apparently doesn’t stay on the pavement. It wears down and is tracked into homes on our shoes. Coal is a knew carcinogen to humans. The chemical is called PHA and it’s pretty toxic. For more details on this story go to mnn.com or mother nature news.

 

You really are what you eat.

Does this sound familiar? The increase in consumption of processed foods contributes significantly to the high rate of obesity and overweight in Guatemala, the ninth poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to study in the Journal Health Economics. Obesity is increasing in developing countries due to dietary changes. In the past, it was preferable to consume staple foods and whole grains, now the trend is to eat highly processed foods, high in salt, sugar and saturated fat, and with few fibers and other essential nutrients. As caloric intake also affects the weight, the study found the occupation of individuals and the number of hours spent on physical activity and whether they were urban or rural residents. Women and urban residents were more likely to be overweight than men and those living in rural areas.

 

Old is the new new

Americans scrapped more automobiles than they bought in 2009. The United States scrapped 14 million cars and trucks while buying only 10 million last year, shrinking the country’s car and light duty truck fleet to 246 million from a record high of 250 million, according to a report by a nonprofit group called the Earth Policy Institute (EPI). The United States, the world’s biggest petroleum user, “is entering a new era, evolving from a car-dominated transport system to one that is much more diversified.” Because more people live in cities than a few decades ago, young people, particularly those burdened with student loans, are foregoing car purchases. As more people live in cities, some teens are not even bothering to get driver’s licenses. The number of teenagers with licenses peaked at 12 million in 1978 but is now under 10 million 
 

That’s a lot of paper and stuff

Did you know that about half of the 85 million tons of paper products Americans consume each year goes toward packaging, wrapping, and decorating goods, according to Earth 911. So what do you do with Packing Peanuts and bubble wrap? As far as the non edible packing peanuts , your best bet is reuse them yourself or give them away (shipping stores take them back. Another option is to set it aside for another time when you need to ship something fragile, if you have the room to store it. Or give it to someone who has a use for it now. Try listing  bubble wrap on Craigslist, or like packing peanuts bring it to your local mailing center like UPS, Fed Ex or Boxes Etc.

 
That pesky old cell phone

Some cell phone providers are introducing easy ways for you to recycle your old tech phone once you're done with it, but a new company is making it just plain simple.  EcoATM will be deploying kiosks at retailers around the country where you can drop off your old phone, have its value assessed and immediately get an in-store trade-up coupon or gift card. You will see the kiosks in our state in the next couple of month. Word is, the machines will also be able to accept other gadgets like MP3 players, cameras and laptops. The Eco ATMs have cameras that can detect damage to the phone and then come up with a fair value.  If the phone is worth nothing, you can still choose to have it recycled and receive a free waterproof phone case and, for every phone recycled, the company plants a tree.  The machine will also recycle your used batteries. 
 

Tires and Earthquakes.

In light of the recent tragedy in Haiti, we thought this story was important.

A company has come up with a new use for recycled tires – building material for earthquake resistant structures. Re-Tread Products' Tire Logs made their have already made their debut in earthquake prone San Francisco. Recycled tires are put to good use, but these logs are arguably the best recycled tire application yet, as they require the least power to create. They are produced by a commercially available sidewall removing machines. Rather than grinding, which is more energetically intensive, the machines slice tires up. The end result is a tire log. Re-Tread CEO Tom Hanson says the logs have a variety of uses, including retaining walls, highway noise barriers, sandbag replacements for erosion control and security barricades, and as an earthquake-resistant home building material. He states, “It can withstand deformations that would crack or break conventional building materials.” Re-Tread hopes to turn the 300 million tires discarded every year into a flexible and useful product. It has applied for a federal stimulus grant, which will allow it to open a full blown manufacturing plant. 

 

Pedals2People is a non-profit organization here in Spokane. Their mission; to use the bicycle as a tool to empower people and build healthier communities. And they say that the bicycle is an approachable, healthy and sustainable option for  
transportation, and most importantly, it provides a purely enjoyable activity that can strengthen bonds between people. Pedals2People also works to connect with other organizations in order to further extend its ability to recycle, reuse and rehabilitate bicycles back into our community. According to their website, All of their projects fall under these guiding principles: Education, Community Outreach and Environmental Sustainability Empowerment. For more information on a great local organization, go to www.PedalstoPeople.org

 

Chemical Questions? You may be surprised by the number of chemicals you are exposed to through everyday household products. In interviews with women who'd had their homes and bodies tested for various environmental pollutants, researchers found that most were surprised by the number of chemicals to which they'd been exposed. An average of 20 chemicals was detected for each study participant. Much is unknown about the possible health effects of the array of chemicals in everyday household products. The study found that the women were generally surprised at the range of chemicals detectable in their homes and bodies. They were also surprised that even some banned substances, such as the pesticide DDT, were detected. What can you do to keep yourself healthy? The report suggests reducing pesticide use or using fragrance-free detergent and personal-care products. For more details on this study, go to www.silentspring.org

Not your fathers billboard!  The world's first billboard running solely on wind and solar power is to making its debut in the capital of all billboards -- New York's Times Square. Wind whistling between the neighborhood's skyscrapers should keep the giant billboard lit constantly, according to the manufacturer, Japanese copy and photo giant Ricoh Company. The "Eco-Board" weighs 35,000 pounds and will be powered by 16 vertical wind turbines and 64 solar panels. The power generated from the custom-built wind turbines will account for 95 percent of the energy needed to run the sign, which is 47 feet high by 126 feet long, and carries the company's name in huge red letters. The largest environmental factor and the biggest difference between Ricoh's board and its neighbors' in Times Square is what it will not be producing -- 18 tons of carbon annually.

 

Magnetic Climate Change:  The earth's climate has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field, according to a Danish study that could challenge the notion that human emissions are responsible for global warming. "If changes in the magnetic field, which occur independently of the earth's climate, can be linked to changes in precipitation, then it can only be explained through the magnetic field's blocking of the cosmetic rays. The study acknowledged that CO2 plays an important role in the changing climate, "but the climate is an incredibly complex system, and it is unlikely we have a full overview over which factors play a part and how important each is in a given circumstance,"

 

How does it look from space:  Japan's space agency will launch a satellite to monitor greenhouse gases around the world. The Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) will enable scientists to calculate the density of carbon dioxide and methane from 56,000 locations on the Earth's surface. The coverage compares with just 282 land-based observation sites as of last October, Japan’s Space Agency says "To fight climate change, we need to monitor the density of greenhouse gases in all regions around the world and how their levels change.”

 

A Carbon nutral phone: Motorola has unveiled a cell phone made of recycled water bottle s hoping to cash in on the trend for environmentally friendly products. Motorola said it was the world's first carbon neutral phone. As well as using recycled materials for the plastic casing, the company also pledged to offset the carbon dioxide used in manufacturing, distribution and operation of the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. The Motosurf A3100 touch-control tablet supports short-range, Wi-Fi networks and high-speed cellular connections and can be operated using a stylus, a trackball or touching the screen with your green thumbs.

Free electronics recycling:  Washington State residents can now safely dispose of old TV’s and computers for free. A state law began Jan. 1 that allows consumers to bring unwanted computer monitors, laptops and TVs to 200 permanent collection sites at no charge.  In our state, 212 manufacturers formed the Washington Materials Management and Financing Authority to manage the collection and recycling. About 25 million pounds of electronics, or about 4 pounds per person, are expected to be recycled in the first year of operation. You are asked to take your time recycling for fear that the sites would be overwhelmed during the first weeks of operation. For drop off locations in your area, head to this website…E-Cycle Washington: http://www.ecyclewashington.org

 

Convenient but still not Green: Makers of mobile phones produce few "green" models with biodegradable, recycled, or full y recyclable materials. And although most vendors offer recycling options, less than five percent of the world's handsets will be recycled ethically in the end, according to a report released by ABI Research. Cell phones are a growing source of potentially toxic electronics waste. Among some 150 million handsets retired every year, fewer than 20 percent are recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. ABI Research cited Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson as advancing efforts to make mobile phones even greener. Those brands also were at the top of the heap in the latest quarterly Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics. Among new concept designs, Nokia's Remade flip phone cell uses recycled cans, plastic bottles, and car tires. Nokia says that up to 60 percent of the metal in its available handsets comes from recycled materials.

Climate change and our food supply: Half of the world's population could face food shortages by the end of this century due to climate change, according to a new study. According to researchers, there is a 90 percent probability that by 2100 the minimum temperatures in the tropics and sub-tropical regions will be higher than the maximums so far recorded in those areas. The affect on crop-growing in those regions would be dire, according to the projections based on direct observations and data culled from 23 computer models on the planet's evolving climate patterns. David Battisti, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor says stresses on global food production from temperature alone are going to be huge, and that doesn't take into account water supplies stressed by the higher temperatures. Some three billion people, or half the world's population, currently live in tropical and sub-tropical regions, and their number is set to double by the end of the century.