3 posts tagged “green living”
Milk now costs more than petrol (aka gasoline). This is normally the case most of the time, in the US of A. However, with gas now at about $4 per gallon, that makes milk more than $4 per gallon, which is expensive, which is why it is in the news.
A combination of events caused this rise. The obvious is higher transport cost due to higher fuel prices. Milk is transported by diesel trucks, and diesel costs more than gasoline in the US. Another event is flooding. Add droughts to that too. Cows eat stuff that grows in the ground. When the crops they eat are disrupted, the cost of feeding the cow goes up. In case you are not aware (and if you are not, God help you), most milk comes from cows. (That, the most common kind, is the milk that is being discussed here.)
Costco, a US company that sells items (anything from Ralph Lauren jeans to vitamins to tomatoes) in "bulk", or larger amounts (like you have to buy twelve rolls of paper towels instead of one) to the regular person (anyone who buys a membership), has announced it will do its part to lower milk prices by its innovative new square plastic milk jug*. They say this will help with prices, because this enables them to tranport more gallons of milk on the trucks than would normally be the case. (Om...wouldn't weight be more of an issue, since the heavier the load, the more fuel the truck uses? So, if you could stack more jugs in a truck, wouldn't it cost more to move it?)
Costco apparently has the most intelligent rocket scientist geeks on the planet back there in the think-tank working on ideas for them (they snitched them from NASA with lures of chocolate chip muffins in dozen-count boxes and six-packs of Oil of Olay daily cleansing face wash with AHAs).
Newsflash** to Costco:
* Plastic is made from fossil fuel. If you want to use less fossil fuel, do not use plastic.
** Square things to put milk in were invented in 1932.
Botox is not a cosmetic.
Chrysler is not refueling America by promising $2.99 gas for 3 years* after purchasing one of their big arse gas guzzling new cars.
Maybelline's XL Lip Plumper will not make my lips look 30% plumper. The only thing that will do that is an allergic reaction.
Wal-Mart does not give a flying ____ about the environment. **
Buying a Pur water filter will not help the planet. It just means you're paranoid.
Using Clorox disinfecting wipes in my kitchen will not make my family healthier, unless I am raising chickens in said room.
Using a beauty cream by Estee Lauder will not make me look as if I had a good night's sleep when I had a bad night's sleep.
* Using a special card, program participants pay $2.99 per gallon for a maximum number of gallons (which varies depending on model) of unleaded gas or diesel fuel in each of the next 3 years. So no matter what the price at the pump says, you'll never have to pay more than $2.99/gallon.To qualify for the program, you must purchase or lease an eligible Chrysler vehicle from May 7 through June 2, 2008 and have a valid MasterCard or Visa credit card or check card. The gallon allotment calculation used to determine three years of gas at $2.99 per gallon is as follows: 12,000 miles driven per year multiplied by 3 years, divided by the vehicle's adjusted combined EPA City/Highway average miles per gallon (MPG) (average MPG calculated via average of all body models MPG within each nameplate). Please refer to attached matrix to view individual nameplate average MPG blah blah blah...
** You’re invited to play the SpongeBob Eco-Adventure game at www.BigGreenHelp.com, sponsored by Wal-Mart. Help SpongeBob and Patrick save Bikini Bottom from an undersea avalanche of un-recycled trash—and the dreaded dirty bubbles! Enter the code “walmart” to unlock extra levels and for exclusive game content.
See below for a recipe on how to make your own laundry detergent. I made a batch this morning, and am testing it on towels as I write this. We should start with, what makes "soap" work. In washing fabrics, you apparently need a hydrocarbon (which comes from animal or plant, and hello, that includes oil) and a fatty acid. These two things remove the soil by the hydrocarbon bonding with it, as well as send it off by the fatty acid bonding with the water molecules. Which is why when you wash your hands with bar soap, the grease and dirt comes off and washes away in the water. Pretty nifty. Commercial laundry detergents are made from processed petroleum, aka synthetic. In the past people made their own from stuff like olive oil and other natural ingredients. The Romans apparently made soap from ashes and fats, the source of inspiration, reportedly animal sacrifices later dumped in the river (yum). Sulfuric acid is added nowadays to detergents that contain petroleum products to imitate natural ingredients. Enzymes make stains come out more easily. These are proteins, and come from micro-organisms grown in labs. Alkalis (metal compounds like salts) are also added and these are called surfectants and prevent minerals in the water from bonding with the fabric. Add some more chemicals for scent, color, and to increase efficiency. If it is a powder, sodium sulfate for caking resistance. Some contain bleach. Most do not contain phosphate any longer, since it is very bad for rivers and other water bodies, but dishwasher detergents STILL DO. Anionic ingredients come from sodium or potassium salts. Most commercial detergents use ketoesters for perfumes because they will stay in the fabric and be released for weeks. I chose a variety of products to research the ingredients of, in liquid as well as powder form. The thing about powder form is it comes packaged in a recycled fiber cardboard box as opposed to a big arse plastic bottle. Tide 2X liquid laundry detergent ingredients: All they will tell me is "Biodegradable surfectants (including Anionic and Nonionic) and enzymes". Obviously, it has perfumes and dyes as well. The stuff is a funny color and has a strong smell. Where do those come from? Tide Simple Pleasure Vanilla and Lavender detergent (sure to set off your eczema to add to your simple romantic pleasure with the amount of perfumes and dyes in this baby…and do they list them? Naw.) Ingredients: "Biodegradable Anionic, Nonionic Surfactants, Enzymes". 25 uses for $14.99 (well, I DO declare) How is detergent made? Apparently, it is mixed up, dehydrated, jiggled around, and blended. Is it tested on animals? You betcha, unless they say it isn’t. Method and Seventh Gen do not, and I know Tesco brand in the UK says it is not. Seventh Generation uses cocont oil derived stuff as well as "natural water softeners", "non-animal derived enzymes" salt, and sodium gluconate, and oh, a preservative. (And it costs an arm, a leg and a foot.) All the commerical brands have the same ingredients listed. They leave out the obvious, perfumes and dyes and the fact that they are tested on animals, on the package. Arm & Hammer has an added ingredient, baking soda. If you want alternatives that do not cost a fortune, you can buy Dr. Bronner's castile soap and wash your clothes in it, and it is made from organic plant-based oils that are fair trade with no synthetic chemicals added. It costs $8.99 for 16 oz and goes a long way. It is also packaged in 100% recycled plastic.
