Monday, November 2, 2009

It's Katie, The Answer Lady.


Last year, Katie joined our Whole Earth Care Virtual Community and agreed to be our very own "Ann Landers" about all things that might concern us as we try to live with more awareness on this good Earth and with the rest of our Earth Family.

Katie, is back from her summer research in the North, back to working on her Masters in Science and back to answering our questions.

So, without further ado, here's Katie.


Q1- I'm thinking of buying a new car and am looking at a secondhand Prius by Toyota. I hear they are good for the environment, but I keep wondering what happens to the batteries and the battery fluid when the battery needs to be replaced in 10 years. Is it still environmentally "friendly"?"

A1- Good question! In traditional gasoline-powered cars, the battery typically lasts 3-5 years. However, according to most hybrid car producers including Toyota, Honda and Ford, tests have shown that the battery in hybrid cars last at least 150,000 miles with no obvious degradation.

These results suggest that you won’t actually HAVE to worry about replacing the battery every ten years because the battery should last the entire lifetime of the car. Once the car’s life, however, is over, the batteries can be recycled. In fact, Toyota’s website states that it has been recycling hybrid car batteries since the first model came on the market in 1998: “Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled.” To sweeten the deal, they also offer a 200$ bounty for every battery that gets returned. Even better news: if, for some reason, your hybrid car battery does not happen to make its way to a recycling facility, the chemicals inside them are much less destructive to the environment than the lead-acid or nickel-cadmium varieties.

Q2- "These days, everything is advertised as ‘natural’, ‘green’, ‘energy efficient’, ‘eco-friendly’, etc. When shopping for products, what symbols should we be looking for to ensure that we've got the real goods?"

A2- You’re absolutely right. There are a number of different brands of products that advertise “green” and “natural” ingredients and services, and it’s easy to get tricked by this so-called “green-washing”. For food products in Canada to be considered organic, they must be produced without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilization, biological engineering, radiation or sewage sludge. Only meat, and other animal products sourced from animals that were not exposed to antibiotics or growth stimulants are considered organic. Look for this symbol – Canada Organic . Biologique Canada - to ensure that your food products have been approved as organic by authorized inspection agencies:

Officially approved energy efficient appliances are also fairly easy to spot. Just look for the Energy Star symbol.

It gets a little bit trickier to ensure that you’re actually getting green products when you’re buying things like cleaning products, as there is no official regulatory body that approves products as “green”. The US based, non-profit organizations GreenSeal and EcoLogo offer verification for products that demonstrate their green-ness throughout their entire life cycle. These two organizations provide complete lists of all the companies and products that meet their green standards:

http://www.greenseal.org/findaproduct/location.cfm
http://www.terrachoice-certified.com/en/greenproducts/consumers/

Q3- "Do you know where I can find instructions to make a solar oven?"

A3- Well, that depends what kind of solar oven you’d like to make! Solar ovens are based on the general concept of funneling sunlight onto a dark, reflective surface where it can be focused and converted into heat. They work best when used with a dark cooking container or pot, since dark colours absorb heat most efficiently. Solar ovens can be made from simple components like cardboard, aluminum foil and duct tape. The following websites have a number of different solar oven designs with instructions as, well. Good luck, and happy cooking!

http://solarcooking.org/plans/
http://www.re-energy.ca/pdf/solaroven.pdf

Thank you, Katie, for this. It’s a delight to have you on our Whole Earth Care Blog Team.

Send in your questions to Katie, The Answer Lady at: moczero@sympatico.ca

Video:

Here are some astonishing statistics. Did You Know This?
http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=1551
To repeat the question – So what does it all mean?
Any answers, anyone?

This year, the hope is that we will begin to pay more attention to the world around us.

Ann sent this in for us to consider.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?


In a Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar; a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen, then looked at his watch and walked on.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: Joshua Bell played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made....

How many other things are we missing?

Thank you, Ann.

This is from Carole, in Greece.

'Well, I haven't won much in the line of awards in my life, and I feel a bit embarrassed, and a lot proud. So odd to think my passions for natural life, for clean beaches and drinking water, could ever be awarded!!!!!!!!

Be great to have the ultimate award: a real clean, virginal world, as we dream of.

Supporting you is so easy, Maureen! I'm enthused by the track you are on, though I'm still learning your angle, new to me, thrilling, but still a puzzle, as are all the 'issues' we look at.

We do things, use materials, plant stuff, find philosophies, and we have yet to learn all the consequences of these acts. What a mystery, eh??

Hang in for following chapters!!
Thanks so much! Hugs
I LOVE the bear!!!
c :)

:-) back to you, Carole.


We are still looking for a Naturalist to help us understand the world around us. Great working environment, satisfaction garanteed. To apply or for more information on this Whole Earth Care Blog position, contact me at: moczero@sympatico.ca

Looking for your photos for the Rogues' Gallery


How many different types of tree leaves can you find in your neighbourhood? Do you know the names of these tree neighbours?

Meet you here next week.

Earth Family First,

maureen
Photos by Google Images

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