A few weeks ago, Layla and I committed to recycling nearly everything we could. This included pop cans. When you recycle pop cans, you save about 60 percent energy that it takes to make them from scratch.However, recently, we began to think about the pop cans themselves and the harm that may be caused to the environment by buying things like pop cans.
As a result, we are committing to eliminating pop cans for our life. The reason we chose to do this is two-fold, and it has to do with our own health and the environment.
First, the environment. When aluminum cans are made from scratch, it has to use aluminum that is processed from the Earth. This is VERY energy intensive, so it contributes heavily to greenhouse gases, and the mining itself destroys local habitats.
The second reason is our health. While we are not doctors, we recently chose to buy only natural personal care products to keep harmful chemicals out of our lives. Well, aluminum is the main component of cans, and some studies have shown that Alzheimer's Disease can be caused by aluminum. Now, we are not saying it does cause it, or that if you use aluminum cans you will get Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, but we are not taking the chance.
This is why we are going to begin making our own drinks (stay tuned for making your own soda this week) and keeping it in reusable containers.
If you do use aluminum cans, please remember to at least recycle it!
If you can, check out a great website called Tree-Nation (www.tree-nation.com), which will let you buy your own tree and become the guardian of that tree. If you can't plant a tree, this is a good place to check out.
Also, Layla and I saw a news report last night about how the government is changing the designation of lakes across the country so that mining companies can dump toxic mine waste into the isolated lakes. This will kill the lakes, and despite what the mining bosses say "It is the safest way to dispose of it and we have many lakes", it is not a good thing to do. Over 50 lakes are already designated in such a way that they will be polluted with toxic waste. Read more about it here:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/16/condemned-lakes.html?ref=rss
Please join our Facebook group to help stop this:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17741112868
UPDATE: Our garden is coming in great, and here are some pictures of the garden and the veggies that are coming in, including peas, potatoes, radishes and corn. Thank you to KBS Radio and Organic Living Magazine who interviewed us about Our Green Year. If you know of any media who may be interested, contact us at crwbaird@gmail.com and I will send you a press release.
