Sanctuary of the Winds

 

On a day-to-day level, reduce contact and risk by following the ten tips outlined in The World Wildlife Fund's online pamphlet Reducing your risk: A guide to avoiding hormone-disrupting chemicals.

• Eat lower on the food chain.
• Do not microwave in plastic, use heat-resistant glass or ceramic containers instead of plastic containers or plastic wrap. Minimize plastic wrap’s direct contact with food. In particular, reduce consumption of fatty foods (cheese and meat) packaged in plastic and heat-sealed containers.
• Drink distilled water.
• Do not use pesticides (inside, outside, or on pets and kids).
• Quit smoking.
• Treat dead batteries as hazardous waste.
• Wash hands, floors and windowsills frequently.
• Avoid "super-strength" specialty cleaners.
• Avoid mercury fillings.
• If you golf, keep your hands, tees, and golf balls away from your mouth because most golf courses are sprayed intensively.
• Read labels and call 1-800 numbers for information on product formulations.

Write or call local, provincial and federal politicians, asking them to take action to reduce hormone- disrupting chemicals in our environment.

Genetic engineering refers to a technology where scientists transfer genes from one species to another. This practice goes far beyond selective breeding or hybridization. For example, scientists have spliced genes from viruses, bacteria and animals into food crops. Presently, two thirds of processed foods are made with a genetically engineered organism. Our laws do not require long-term testing for safety, so long-term effects are still unknown. Although U.S. companies now promote and sell genetically engineered foods, many other nations worldwide believe the known or potential dangers of this technology, requires legal safe guards. Many countries have enacted laws or policies (or are in the process of doing so) to restrict use of genetically engineered products in their foods.

These nations have practical and ethical objections to putting genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) into the environment. Ecological concerns include the irreversible affects on the environment if these genes spread to other plants:

• Cross pollination between GEOs and a wild relative could establish the engineered gene in nature, where it could cause irreparable damage to natural habitats, forever.

·         Genes that add resistance to weed killers or pests can spread to nearby weeds, creating a new invasive plant that could replace native plants.

·         The Bt toxin gene, a common gene spliced into plants, gives plants resistance to insect infestation. However, the toxin of the altered plant also kills beneficial insects like monarchs, lace wings and lady bugs. The plant exudes the toxin into the soil. This changes soil biology that that can affect nutrient cycle processes and soil fertility.

• Bt is a natural insecticide organic farmers use. It is not known if extensive planting of crops with the added Bt gene cause the toxin itself to loose its effectiveness.
  
  The reasons companies give for gene splicing is that the added gene offers resistance to insect pests or weed killers. Some modifications increase the size or speed of plant growth. In practice gene modification allows a company to hold a patent on the altered seeds. A farmer cannot legally gather seeds from this year’s crop to share or to plant the next year.

Petrochemical Industry

The petrochemical industry is the biggest polluter—every Superfund site in the US is petrochemical- related. A Superfund site is any land in the United States that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified as contaminated by hazardous waste and therefore a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or to the environment.

We need new laws that use what ecologists call the precautionary principle. As described by John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander, in Alternatives to Economic Globalization, “proponents of a practice or product should bear the burden of proving that it is safe,” because it can take years to find scientific proof of harm.

Germany and Sweden have this law, and other countries are considering doing so. Currently, we use the policy of “risk assessment,” which requires governments to provide absolute proof of harm of new technologies and techniques before they can stop their use. Any preventative measures used to stop a product or practice, the WTO names as illegal barriers to trade and orders them stopped. Without the adoption of a precautionary principle, citizens lose the right to decide what risks they or the natural environment should be exposed to.

Environmental Defense Fund Scorecard.  EDF has set up a huge interactive site that enables anyone in the US to learn about what pollutants are being released into the air, water and soil of any community, and by whom--all by entering a ZIP code, or clicking on their maps. http://www.scorecard.org/  

:: New air pollution problems

Among the atmospheric pollutants, there is new emphasis on tropospheric ozone, both because of its impact on the climate as a greenhouse gas, and because of the key chemical role that ozone plays in atmospheric chemical reactions, health impacts and environmental damage. Small particulates less than 10 microns in diameter are another recently recognized dangerous pollutant, causing early death among those suffering from lung and heart disease. This fine dust is produced by diesel exhausts, power stations and industry. The UK has estimated the safe level for these particles is exceeded in most cities 10 per cent of the time, causing 2,000 to 10,000 extra deaths a year (WHO, 1995; Martinson, 1996). Aerosols need to receive more attention, as they are now believed to play an important role in the climate change issue, but this has not been well assessed or quantified.

While acid rain has long been recognized as a problem in the industrial north, there is now evidence of the increasing danger of acid rain in South-East Asian countries (WMO). Emissions of sulphur dioxide have declined significantly in Europe and North America with reduced coal use and the application of emission clean-up techniques, and further progress is expected (EEA, 1995). This has reduced the sulphur contribution to acid rain, but surprisingly has also resulted in sulphur deficiencies in some agricultural soils, causing falling yields and the appearance of new diseases. (Schnug, Ewald, et al., 1995) A lack of sulphur may also contribute to increasing ozone pollution by reducing the ability of plants to oxidize it.

The same improvement has not been seen in nitrogen oxides and other pollutants from vehicles, where the reduction in emissions due to catalytic converters has been counterbalanced by a growing number of vehicles. Urban air quality in Europe has thus continued to deteriorate (EEA, 1995).

The worst pollution problems may appear in unexpected places, such as the Arctic, where high levels of toxins such as PCBs, DDT, toxaphene, hexachlorobenzene, chlordane, lindane, dieldrin, mercury and dioxin have been found. There appears to be a global process of distillation where pollutants evaporate in warmer areas, are transported by winds to the Arctic, and then condense out to become concentrated in Arctic food chains (Kidd et al., 1995).

 

Now that I have it, how can I save water?

You have water running in your sink, in your bathroom, and in your washing machine.  Saving water is easier than you think!  The first thing you need to know is how much water is being used at home.  Here are some examples:

Dishes--washing by hand:  10-20 gallons

Dishes--with dishwasher:  25 gallons per load

Washing hands, brushing teeth:  10-20 gallons

Bath:  30-40 gallons

Shower:  30-60 gallons  [6-10 gallons per minute]

Clothes washing:  30-32 gallons per load

Flushing a regular toilet:  5 gallons per flush

Flushing a water-saving toilet:  1.6 gallons per flush

Sink use per day:  20 gallons

Yard hose [3/4"]:  300 gallons per hour

 

Most of the time, saving water will also save money, too.  If you use town water, you are paying for it AND the fuel it takes to heat it.  If you have well water;  you are paying for the fuel that it takes to heat it AND using up valuable water.  We found out that the body needs about 3 pints of water a day and Americans actually use about 180 gallons.

 

              How is water used in YOUR home?

We were water spies in our homes for a week.  Our goal was to find things that our families did that wasted water by using water register.  When we combined our lists, we found that our families wasted water in the following ways:

30 minute showers

Running water while you wash your face or brush your teeth.

Running a washer or dishwasher that didn't have a full load.

Leaving the outside hose on.

There were other things like taking a full glass of water and only taking a sip.  Long showers were on everyone's list.   This helped us think of ways that we could help the Earth by saving water.  Some of these are:

Two words:  QUICK SHOWERS!

Fix leaky things like faucets and toilets.  About 20% of all toilets leak.  Toilets are the biggest user of water in the house.

Get a newer, water-saving toilet.  You can save between 8000-21,000 gallons of water a year just by doing that.

Whenever you use a dishwasher or clothes washer, make sure you have a full load.

Don't rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher.  Most dishwashers have settings for dirtier dishes.

When you brush your teeth, turn off the water.  Turn it on only when rinsing.

Go to Water Problems page