Alternatives to Oil in Plastics

I had originally planned on getting the majority of our plants in the ground over the past few days.  I have, however, been sidelined with back pain from overdoing it in the garden and reorganizing the house.  To move forward with our pledge to do something every day to live better, I spent many hours researching ways to reduce our dependence on oil, and I ordered a new cell phone.  That may sound incongruous, as most new phones would represent market demand for new oil, but wait...

I'm not a techo-gadgety type, but it was finally time to upgrade my cell phone.  I've been avoiding getting a new one because each new phone represents more oil-based plastics.  With the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, I was expecting to feel some guilt in contributing to market demand for petroleum. 

My carrier offers a couple of cell phone models at no cost to customers, and the offers change every couple of months.  This time, their free offerings included the Samsung Reclaim, a phone that boasts 80% recycled materials, and 40% of new plastic used as corn-based bioplastic.  Of course, I would be happier if the phone were manufactured in the USA, and if there were no components made from new petroleum, but is a step away from oil dependency. 

In order to prevent another disaster, we need to reduce our overall consumption of petroleum.  But, can we do this when we are so accustomed to our conveniences and gadgets which are often made of plastics?  One emerging option is bioplastic.  Bioplastic made from corn is already used to make plastic containers for organic and natural cosmetics and in water bottles. 

Walmart, in its efforts to do damage control and revamp its image, has given bioplastics its largest market boost by agreeing to package some of its produce in bioplastics.  I'm not suggesting that people now shop at Walmart, but the fact that the largest retailer in the US is now using some bioplastics funnels more resources to the bioplastics industry. 

Of course, there is a catch.  We could easily be trading Big Oil for Big Agribusiness.  While bioplastics can be made from the starch of many different soures, much of it comes from corn.  Also, some bioplastics are being designed to come from genetically modified sources.  If we opt to continue producing corn on gigantic farms requiring large amounts of petroleum-based agricultural chemicals and petroleum-based fuels to run the extra-large farm equipment, there will be a tipping point where we will not be saving on petroleum consumption. 

The issue that would hit consumers more immediately, however, is that bioplastics cost about twice what petroleum plastics cost.  That may change, however, as petroleum costs continue to rise and newer, more efficient ways to manufacture bioplastics are developed.

As alluded to in my last blog entry, I'm putting together a comprehensive guide to reducing oil dependency.  I will be adding a section on bioplastics where their application seems appropriate.  I will let everyone know when it's completed.

Live better, a little every day.

Supporting links:
USA Today Article on Biodegradable Plastic
BioBag, 100% Biodegradable & Compostable Plastic (made from non-GMO plant starch)
Corn Plastic To The Rescue (Bioplastics get a boost from Walmart)

Driven By Oil (Leak)

Earlier today while listening to The Survival Podcast, I was shocked (though I probably shouldn't have been) to learn that there has been another oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico identical to the one in the gulf right now.  In 1979, the Ixtoc oil spill dumped 30,000 barrells of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico after a the blowout preventer failed to stop a blowout.  Sound familiar?  The exact same methods to stop the leak were tried, and they failed.  Remember the "Top Hat" strategy?  Well, 30 years ago it was called the "Sombrero" strategy.  And, guess what... it didn't work then either.  Oh, and the rig was owned by a company called Sedco, which is known today as Transocean.

In the past thirty years, nothing has been done by either our government or the oil industry to improve safety or prevent this kind of leak from happening again, which it so disasterously has.  However, our government knew this has happened before, what worked to fix the leak, and what did not.  Pretending to go along with BP's attempts to fix the leak using failed techniques from thrity years ago is irresponsible.  Why not just come out and say, "Look the only way to fix this kind of leak is to drill a relief well, but that will take many months?" 

I'll tell you why.  No one wants to give the public that kind of bad news.  Our government, along with BP, would like everyone to believe they are doing all that they can with the most current technology to stop the leak.  So, they distract us with failed attempt after failed attempt, rather than deliver the bad news that this leak is going to be active for a long time coming.

I've seen a lot of groups pop up and circulating emails focused on boycotting BP.  That's a start, but the problem is so much deeper than boycotting one company.  These disasters have happened because we have an addiction to cheap oil.  Our oil addiction has made oil companies very rich, and they will go to any length to feed our addiction and ensure that profits keep rolling in. 

Since our government has had 30 years to prevent a problem like the leak in the gulf, and hasn't done so yet, we are on our own if we want to prevent oil leaks in the future.  The only way we will prevent future accidents from risky oil drilling is to reduce the demand for oil. 

So today, I spent the time to compile a comprehensive list of things that individuals can do to reduce their oil dependence.  So far, I have a list of over 85 things that are easy to do that also reduce our individual oil consumptionl  There isn't room here to list all of these, so here are the top 7:

1. Grow a garden.  Oil used to power large farm equipment, in the fuel from shipping around the country and around the world, the powering of food processing equipment, food packaging, and of course, the fuel used in each vehicle used to go to the grocery store.  Gardens also reduce the amount of grass that needs to be cut, so you use your lawn mower less.
2. Whenever possible, walk, ride a bike, or take a bus.  Leave the car at home unless absolutely necessary.
3. Wear clothes made of natural fibers.  Not only do they feel better and breathe better, synthetics are made from petroluem products.
4. Source out natural personal care products.  This includes hair care, cosmetics, deodorants, skin lotions, and perfumes.  Personal care products that contain petroleum-based and synthetic ingredients are linked to health problems, including cancer.  Artificial fragrances are some of the most toxic concoctions ever invented.  Stick to products with natural ingredients, and fragranced with essential oils.
5. Use cloth shopping bags instead of plastic ones.  Besides, do you really need so many bags collecting in your home.  At the very least, bring your plastic bags to be recycled.  Some grocery stores have a recycling recepticle at their entrances for plastic bags.
6. Recycle.  Most towns and cities now have some kind of recycling program, and they will take your plastic water bottles, milk jugs, and other plastics, reducing the need for newer plastics and additional petroluem.  
7. Buy used.  Shop at consignment stores, yard sales, craigslist, and good will stores.  This is another form of recycling.

Live better, a little every day.

Supporting links:
Rachel Maddow, The More Spills change, the More They Stay the Same
Wikipedia, Ixtoc I Oil Spill

Let's Start a Food Fight

Warning: Post contains political opinions.

As we prepare our Fall garden, I've been mulling over how far-reaching the ability to produce one's own food truly is. Growing your own food may be the single most important thing that one can do to promote freedom. By growing your own food, you:

1. Take control over the quality, variety, nutritional value, and safety of your food supply.
2. Reduce the amount of fuel spent transporting, cooling, and warehousing food.
3. Save money that can be reallocated to debt reduction, investing in land, equipment for off-grid living, homeschooling supplies, or to simply hold in savings.
4. Reduces the amount of money being fed into the Broken System.

The first three items are reason enough to grow a least a portion of your food. But, you may not have heard about the fouth. The Broken System is actually a network of systems. This network includes entities like the government, as well as health care, financial and food industries, and so on. Each of these entities share two things

1. a gross lack of accountability to the American public,
2. are wasteful, and operate in an unsustainable manner.

Considering the size to which these entites and industries have been permitted to grow, we are left with few real options with which to reign them in. The most powerful tool we have to take back control is through individual spending habits.

Career politicians, lending institutions, and giant manufacturers try desperately to get us to spend money. It keeps them strong, while keeping the general population weak with debt. But we have a choice whether to listen to them, or to listen to our common sense.

What we need to do is stop spending! Stop listening to the nonsense that it is supposedly patriotic to spend money you can't afford to spend. According to who? Here's the truth: it's patriotic to create strong, debt-free, American families. We can reduce our spending by growing some or all of our own food. You end up with more money in your pocket and better quality food at the same time.

There is a tremendous amount of waste of fuel and energy to grow food on large Agri-business farms, and especially on imported food from foreign countries. More fuel and energy is then wasted in the packaging, shipping, and warehousing of food. All of the fuel and utilities necessary to keep this process afloat is taxed and a source of government income. Considering that most produce travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to store shelves, that's a lot of tax revenue.

I do not know anyone who thinks the government has spent our tax dollars wisely. Yet, even with a completely different party in control of both congress and the White House, we are still subjected to the Patriot Act, paying for a horrendously expensive war, and bailing out companies and banks as a reward for mismanagement. Voting differently certainly didn't do much to help us.

The most effective way to create change is to change our spending habits. By growing our own food, we are refusing to feed into the Broken System. Growing our own food reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Growing our own food is an act of patriotism.

Live better, a little every day.

Markets, In the Sun, and Biodiesel

Yesterday's farmer's market was another slow day for foot traffic. The weather has been so rainy that most of the produce growers haven't been there because their veggies aren't ready yet. Some folks are having trouble with plants rotting in the ground. We still took home a few bucks, so we can't complain.

I managed to get a sunburn on my right arm and the back of my neck. Because I burn easily, I've been making a point to get outside in the sun, a little every day, without sunscreen for the past couple of years. We make Vitamin D from sunlight, as well as getting it from cold water fish and fortified foods. There is a lot of new research on Vitamin D, Vit D sensitive cancers (skin cancer being one of them!), and other Vit D sensitive conditions (including depression and now there's a possible link to Alzheimer's), that would be reason enough to get out in the sun more often.

The other reason that I'm trying to get more sun is to build up my melanin and my tolerance to the sun. The life we're planning will require a lot of outdoor time, and I can't be ducking into the shade every ten minutes if this is going to work.

I grow aloe at home, and have done so for many years to care for my sunburns. However, the past couple of times that I did get too much sun, I put some face cream with royal jelly on the affected areas. Each time, by morning, the burn was completely gone, and I actually had a little color. While some people may find it normal for a burn to have healed overnight, I generally did not have that kind of luck with sunburns. Mine would last for days, and then go from red almost straight back to white- no tan.

Royal jelly is the special food that worker bees feed to larvae to make it a queen bee. Without this royal jelly, the bee would grow up to be a regular worker bee. Scientists aren't even sure what all the different components of royal jelly are, but it is potent enough to create a completely different honeybee. As it is the only ingredient listed on the package that I had never put on a burn before (with my skin, I've tried everything), there's a good chance that it was the royal jelly that healed the burn.

After the market, we went to a presentation on bio-diesel and waste vegetable oil. We need a vehicle that has both power and can seat a few people. An SUV has made the most sense for us for a number of years. However, with an average 13 MPG, this puts a hurting on our personal finances. Plus, I'm not all that fond of giving my money to big oil companies or to foreign oil interests.

We learned a few interesting things. A diesel engine can run on bio-diesel without any conversion or adaptation to the vehicle. When the diesel engine was invented, it was actually intended to run on peanut oil. However, making bio-diesel requires ingredients that are toxic, like lye (the toxic ingredients become inert when they are combined to make bio-diesel), and require careful handling.

The process of converting a diesel engine to run on waste vegetable oil WVO) seemed fairly easy (at least that's what Eddie tells me, but then again, he worked on diesel engines in the Navy). There's a kit that can be purchased, and once installed, you can run it on either bio-diesel or WVO. Restaurants have to pay to have their waste oil removed, so it should not be difficult to find a restaurant that would be happy to give the stuff away for free. There is a little bit of filtering and settling, and it can be messy, but it is essentially free fuel. Compare a few hours of effort each week collecting and filtering WVO to paying $100 to fill up the tank of a large truck or SUV at the pump. I'll take the free fuel, thank you!

Without recycling the WVO, that sludge ends up in land fills. While we dump entirely too much filth into the earth already, why would we throw away a perfectly good fuel that could eliminate our country's dependence on foreign oil?

The only snag in this for us is that one of the requirements to running a vehicle on bio-diesel is that you have to already own a vehicle with a diesel engine. We are not in the market for a new vehicle at the present time. However, tomorrow. we are sitting down to review the timeline for our establishing our homestead, and will fit purchasing a diesel truck into the plan.

Live better, a little every day.