ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN THOUGHTS
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These are notes from an AMATEUR however, they hold some value.
I myself have done adverse ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGEs on some levels. I am not talking to YOU anymore than I am talking to myself when I say what I say here.
This is about MOVING on and changing our ways as to live HEALTHIER and BETTER as individuals and communities in a UNIVERSE at a large.
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HELLO:
Around the turn of the century I woke to realize the NUMBER one thing I was doing wrong which was NEGATIVELY affecting the environment : CONSUMPTION of animal products.
My BEHAVIORIAL support of such activities involved with placing the animal products on my plate, aside from all the PAIN and SUFFERING that individuals with eyes and ears were put thru, such activities involved various amounts and types of ENVIRONMENTAL degradation; at least from what I hear about the industries involved with such. To be clear ~ even if such ANIMAL PRODUCT industries were "environmentally sensitive", it would still not be right to be doing those horrible things to those animals.(various forms of rape)
After realizing what I realized about other animals I began to realize how I was affecting my fellow man by what I may be doing with that BAG of FERTILIZER or that BAR OF SOAP... I still ask what "adverse-chemicals" am I responsible for BUYING and then UNLEASHING into the ENVIRONMENT? I have to ask : "Are these chemicals which I really want to be using in the first place?" And further more what are they doing to my neighbors WELL WATER?(or my own) Or if you are on MUNIPICAL WATER SUPPLY and SEWER, we have to think of the BURDEN on the treatment systems and how eventually what is being poured down the drain is going to GO SOMEWHERE and affect someone or some ecosystem somewhere.
There are alot of chemicals in our world and some are more dangerous than others... I really think we as man are not as careful on some levels in as far as how we handle certain chemicals.
I do not think certain stuff should be flat out made illegal necessarilly there are definitely things that need to be better handled and it's something that the user should appretiate and recognize the responsibility involved with such... and such as to say.( An example as to why I say certain things would not be made illegal : Perhaps some things may be treatments in medical applications ~ as the user of those substances, you should want to be responsible with your use, as to not negatively/adversely affect your fellow citizens.)
AS a STARTING POINT: Perhaps One Simple Way to attain a cleaner, safer, happier environment is for each of us to ask ourself : What am I PERSONALLY placing into the AIR, the SOIL and the WATER?----------
WATER
The water that we use for DRINKING and BATHING and other purposes comes from various sources.
There may be various contaminants in any given source.
Ground/spring water or municipal-water supplies ~ there are various unknown contaminants and sometimes the methods/chemicals used to attempt treatment actually add certain contaminants to the water. Some people may use ocean water as their source, which they filter or what have you.
From what I understand... Sometimes there are contaminants that are in a water supply that do not interact/react with the water molecule to bond with it, and then there are those types of contaminants that do in fact BOND with the water molecule.
There are LESS than adequate treatment devices on today's MARKET. We need something much better. Ideally we want something that GIVES us PURE water, something that takes care of all forms of contaminants.
PERHAPs: PICTURE a "steener", a device that gives you COMPLETELY PURE water. Something that is a simple "in-line" device that could be installed on/at EVERY water supply. I picture something using some form of SCIENCE maybe like electricity or LAZER-fields/planes or something involving such COMPLEX -SCIENCEs yet so affordable due to MASS PRODUCTION ~ sort of like how a DVD-PLAYER or home computer can be so affordable these days. This is just a preliminary thought, there could be other methods. Perhaps the waste that is "steened-out" would either go into sewer or other containment unit.
Something like this could also perhaps be done at the MUNICIPAL LEVEL.
We are in 21st century, right? We have DVD players(devices we can place a disc in and watch a MOTION PICTURE) Why is WATER quality second place/priority to popcorn and the movies?(we are all getting sick)
We would want the methods that we use to try to "purify" a source to be able to achieve the results we desire ~ WATER PURITY. Also we would most likely want a METER/gauge of some sort to measure/analyze the quality of water, perhaps something that gives us the FULL RUN DOWN analysis of what is coming out of the tap, and if there is a problem a sensor alarm may possibly be rigged to sound or something.
We have to ask ourselves what should really be going down the drain...(whether we have septic or sewage hook ups ~ it all needs to be handled and treated in ways before it re-enters the enviro.) Is the way we TREAT our SEWAGE and wastewater appropriate? Are we poisoning ourselves? Our children's water ways...
MUNICIPAL SEWAGE TREATMENT FACILITIES: we need to have really good treatment ... this can be a tough job due to all the contaminants coming in, if we develop better processes of treatment combined with the notion of each of us being careful with what we place down the drain in the first place, that's the largest piece of the puzzle right there.
SEPTIC TANK SEEPAGE : pollution
What are the concerns ~ IN comparison to all the other stuff that is taken into account when considering stuff we attend to like the LEAKING PETROLEUM "UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKSs"(USTs)? I guess it all depends what the consumer is placing down the drain, eh? Which in this day in age there is alot of stuff in the septic that is just as dangerous as PETROLEUM pollution from UST'S... so what's the deal with all the REGULATIONS for UST's and not septic tanks? I think we need to address this issue. It's like we spend MILLLIONS to clean up PETRO-UST leaks and then on the other hand we dump all sorts of DANGEROUS stuff down the drain that nobody seems to say anything about, it's like we have been pretending nothing is going on as if that will protect us or something... This situation does not seem right, does it? Where are our heads?
Is there a better way to handle PAINT(and certain other liquids) and other such WASTE WATER? Should there be a system where we take the PAINT WASTE back to be disposed of as the HAZARDOUS waste it is?
Either on the contractor level or the private-consumer level, pails/drums/containers etc. Obviously there are all types of products we use that are as HAZARDOUS as PAINT however, what I am getting at here specifically is that we should NOT be dumping PAINT DOWN the drain(or on the stones out in your driveway for that matter), even to wash your BRUSH off, do you want to DRINK that? Do we want some kid to get SICK drinking it? The "WASTE water" and waste paint is what I am speaking about DRUMMING or pailing and returning to a place for disposal... Yes it will cost more to DISPOSE of such waste properly, however that is something that we should be responsible about. This is a MAJOR ISSUE. It is not just paint ~ it is all sorts of stuff that is going down the drain. It's not that big of a deal, we just have to factor it into the cost and time of what we plan on doing. An artist needs to save their waste paint washings from BRUSHes, we can't just go on washing that stuff down the drain, we have to WAKE UP. It's not that big of a deal really when you sit down and think of the BENEFIT we will gain. Responsible Corporations who make products do not just go out and dump their WASTE all over the FIELD or down the drain, they are expected to properly dispose of such, so why wouldn't the INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN be expected to be held to such a standard?... Moreover as I would hope we should WANT to be held to that standard, not needing a law to compel us what we should be doing.
Are there BETTER more environmentally SENSITIVE types of PAINT, which are still VIABLE forms of paint, to begin with?
SOAPS : What are the SAFEST and viable forms of SOAPS for man and for environment?
Yes it is true there are "natural contaminants" however it is also true that we as man have been responsible for water contamination thru the years.
How do we PREVENT further adverse contamination of our WATER SOURCES?
What do we put down the drain?
What types of RUN OFF are we responsible for?
What are we spraying on our lawns? What are we washing our car with? What about our BOATING/watercraft activity?
MANY DANGERS face us from the FARMING INDUSTRY.
People are speaking about HEALTHCARE ~ a large percent of illness is most likely related to BADLY GROWN PRODUCE etc.
What is the Quality of WATER which is being use to irrigate?
WHAT is your baby eating? ~ how is that carrot or spinach grown?We the people need and desire safe synthetic fertilizer and we need and desire safe ORGANIC fertilizer.
There are different types of safety concerns, for example: how does it affect ~ ENVIRONMENT, PLANT, PERSON.
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SOIL
What are we adding to the soil which may be causing PROBLEMS?
Do you know that there are fertilizers in circulation today that would on some levels be deemed MORE dangerous than certain "drugs". What about DIRTY SOIL ~ Soil that is polluted from various sources such as industrial waste etc.
COMPOST~ decayed organic material used as a media for growing plants. There are DIFFERENT types of stuff that find it's way into the compost and some may not be safe for GARDEN-CROPS, sometimes different people have different classification systems that they may use. What I mean is that there are PAPER PRODUCTS or houseplants or other things that are compostable in an extent, however they may not be safe for the garden at least right away without proper attenuation...
Also the notion that certain crops are grown with PESTICIDES and HEAVY fertilizer today so in essence what we have going on is ACCUMULATION of HAZARDS in people's compost heaps...possible OVERLOAD of those chemicals.
Also some people may have been THROWN off by the LINGO : "biodegradable", just because something is biodegradable does not mean you would want to grow your tomatoes with it. (it could be dangerous)biodegradable ~ able to be decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.What about QUALITY CONTROL?(various levels) are we "up to par"?
Where do your growing media/supplies COME from? If a farmer spills /leaks gasoline in his field he should not just TILL that in, he should clean that up.
PLANTS THAT ARE GROWING OFTEN uptake what it is they grow in and they GIVE OFF SUCH BY IN PART in the way of "EMMISIONS"...
AIR
Hopefully we will get out of this CURRENT TYPE OF FUEL BURNING age soon, however while we are still here... what are safer ways to go about it? Is there a way to make cleaner fuel with less emmisions?
What better filtration devices can be placed on our VEHICLES?
Maybe Better MUFFLER type filters that we PERIODICALLY CHANGE?
What about FACTORIES and emmisions?
MOTION of "capping" more waste that can be further used to generate energy by directing it thru DEVICES... and filtering it at same time : to the degree that there is really like ZERO EMMISIONS or very very low emmisions... NOT ONLY PROVIDE ENERGY FOR FACTORY/HOUSE however also relieve stigma that nobody in CORPORATE WORLD cares about environment... it may be a really good thing for publicity ... The hope is obviously that firms would want to be BETTER in environmental ways where possible on their own accord, it's their world too... their kids run and play in parks and streets, you know.
Household cleansers(etc) in CHILDRENs FACEs ... toxic toast...
BURNING which causes PUBLIC HARM in adverse ways... BURN BARRELS and BONFIRES and CHIMNEY SMOKE.
Perhaps with chimneys the issue should come down to filters if people are going to be doing that stuff these days... it fills the air in the entire VILLAGE and it's particulate noxious in a way that affects others than those using such. I understand that part of the problem is that we do not have ADEQUATE CLEAN ELECTRIC and so for HEAT some people still rely on DIRECT COAL or WOOD BURNING. Perhaps we really need to EVOLVE much more on this one. (brother hood)
And as far as BURN BARRELS or BONFIRES, depending on what type of material we are talking about : instead consider RECYCLING or COMPOST HEAPS, sometimes WOODCHIPPERS for BRANCHES that you would other wise have burned, obviously there may be stuff that is adverse that people should not really be burning. What about CAMPFIRES? ~ Are they a thing of the past? PICTURE our newfuture of AWESOME ELECTRIC ~ we'd have devices that give off heat or light that are low to null in emmisions...
Picture hiring a TEAM of EXPERTS to set up and establish a CLEANLY PRODUCED form of ELECTRIC. BRAINSTORM...(perhaps : magnets, light, heat/cold, wind, sound/vibration, colors, ION EXCHANGE: ENERGY SALT EXCHANGE methods, STATIC ELECTRICITY LURE/Vacuums , gravity/antigravity, rubber bands, gears, SAFE Forms of HIGH TECH CHEMICAL-reaction ENERGIES.etc etc ) Maybe people somewhere already have a better form of electricity/energy : THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE AIR, blowing in the wind...electricity all around us perhaps we have to just figure out how to HARNESS IT... lure it in with an ANTENA?? You tell me...
Are there different types of electricity that we have not yet discovered? Is there something BEYOND ELECTRICITY? An entire different way of looking at ENERGY? Maybe another form of power that we are not aware of or not using today?-----
CONSUMER GOODS : CRADLE TO GRAVE
Not only how we use them and how they interact with our environment also how we dispose of them, how will it affect us?
Electronic products, batteries, leachable products. Where are these products going?
Are we concerned about LANDFILLS and LEACHING?(pollution of WATER and SOIL)
Concerning consumer goods, in general ~ should we be more concerned about the ISSUE of "CRADLE to the GRAVE", what is the life of a product and how will it affect society at large?
REDUCE the amount of waste : EXAMPLE: perhaps thru better packaging designs that use less material. IN some cases Reduce the amount of "SOAP" we use.(laundry etc)
REUSE STUFF, maybe some stores will PIONEER ways to have stuff like JUICE-JUG refill lines or LAUNDRY DETERGENT refill lines. Those two products would probably Reduce waste and help the environment more than you think. Also the juice and the detergent could be delivered more affordable if the system is set up right. It could arrive at the store in BIG-storage-CONTAINERS and then people bring jugs in to get refilled.
RECYCLING HANGUPS: if we are going to have various types of products in the market ~ perhaps it's time we start thinking more "composite" concerning the products that are going to be produced from the MEDLEY... so as to accomodate more MATERIAL into this REALM of recycling. (KEEPING IT SAFE OF COURSE)
Maybe one day we will have devices and OPERATIONS that BREAK DOWN stuff to elemental levels. Picture a MACHINE that involves a number of CHEMICAL and PHYSICAL processes perhaps that we simply run the "garbage" thru on a conveyer belt or we dump it in or whatever and then the end result is various PILEs of ELEMENTS. It's not as far fetched as we may think: We already have magnets and fans that separate somE waste streams, that's a first step right?
I think that if it is TRUE alot of CONSTRUCTION/demolition debris can be recycled that is something to have in place, perhaps GATHERED at the COUNTY LEVEL to make it efficient as far as DROP OFF POINTS for the DEBRIS. We have WOOD and CONCRETES/cements as a major portion of this debris.What else? ROOFING and WALL BOARD.
I am considering COMPOSITE material PRODUCTS to produce from this STUFF... if this is DOABLE, obviously when we speak of composites we do not want to make an END-PRODUCT that is CHEMICALLY UNSTABLE or dangerous in ways of giving off toxic fumes etc., that would not be good.
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There are labeling and GUIDELINE STANDARDS that may not be "up to par" as far as how we would like things to be.
In some cases there may be issues concerned with various COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS : for example ~ LABELS of HAZARDOUS versus TOXIC and other things. Some things that are labeled "non-toxic" in today's system really may be toxic, some stuff that is labeled NON-HAZ may really be hazardous... Are the standards TOO LOW?(Whose tolerance level are the standards based on?)
Somethings may be labeled as ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE or ECO SENSITIVE or what have you, however they still may not be good for you to CONSUME.
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LAND WATER and AIR : considering the different types of pollutant emmisions in each of these departments ~ASK: how , why when, where etc.
WHAT IS TAKING MORE of a RESPONSIBILE STAND?
-PRIVATE CITIZENS/consumers
-Private CORPORATIONS/facilities
-GOVERNMENT agencies
The products and services which we generate and support.
What stuff are we using that we really just want to stop using or reduce drastically? (products and product emmisions themselves)
Yes it is true that all sorts of things cause pollution, however some are more adverse than others. On the one hand ~ We are not going to necessarilly do away with all forms of pollution over night however pollution in general is something that we would hopefully EVOLVE to REDUCE over time.On the other hand ~ there may be some DANGEROUS(heavy pollution) things which we have done for a while which we do in fact decide to STOP doing/using FLAT OUT, for the health and safety of OURSELVES and MORE IMPORTANTLY : OUR CHILDREN.
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I say this following note with hesitation, PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS NOTE TURN YOU AWAY FROM MAKING SHIFTS and DOING THINGS WHICH ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE: When we make shifts in how we operate and do things that seem on the surface to be environmentally positive, we need to ask the question: "Is what I am shifting to really causing less pollution or is it simply changing the form and tragically in some cases causing more pollution?" : recycling and solar power ~ Ok, yes we do not have all that waste in landfills however how much POLLUTION is caused by the factories that carry out the actual recycling processes or how about POLLUTION caused by the TRUCKS which pickup the "recyclables", in the BURNING AGE we ask this, perhaps if we had "SAfE environmentally sound produced ELECTRIC/power" this question would not need to be asked. When we make solar power panels how much HAZARDOUS/TOXIC waste are we generating? So, we have to ask ourselves on some levels if the SHIFT we are making is worth it at the present time(maybe we need to do more research), as far as LESS POLLUTION is concerned... and of course relating to ill-health effects.
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For your consideration:
PLANTING TREES
~ parks, greeenspace, reforestation, recreation/erosion control....
IMPORT VEGETATION in some cases may be good for erosion control in areas where other wise SOIL and slopes would have eroded away...
PRIVATE maneuvers to secure lands that later may be donated to be part of GOV PARK system... legacy people wish to leave behind.
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CONSIDER ideations relating to "ENERGY EFFICIENCY"
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The only way we are going to make things really work is if we as individuals more closely pay attention to what we are doing with our own two hands. SENSES