☆ 6 Reasons America needs to say "No" to the Keystone XL Pipeline! ☆

This is a "guest spot" so to speak. I wanted to share this article written over at Care2 which summarizes nicely and directly why the KeyStone XL Pipeline should not be approved. There are related links at the bottom as well as Petitions to sign that I highly encourage you to do so to let your voice be heard on this dire issue. 

Thank you for your love for Earth! xo

by Susan Casey-Lefkowitz
Director, International Program, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Legislation headed to the House this week gives President Obama 60 days to decide whether to approve construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry the dirtiest oil on the planet mined and drilled from under the forests of Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. That’s ridiculous. The Obama administration is on the case and has said it will take another year to conduct a thorough review of the economic, national security and environmental facets of this project. It’s irresponsible for Congress to insist that review be eliminated as a gift to Big Oil. It leaves the administration no choice but to bury this boondoggle for good — and we don’t need 60 days to figure out why.

Take 60 seconds to read six reasons why it’s time to say “No” to the risky and reckless Keystone XL tar sands pipeline now.

1. It would transport the dirtiest oil on the planet.

It takes two tons of tar sands — strip-mined or drilled from the forest floor — to produce a single barrel of bitumen, a low-grade, high-sulfur crude oil that must be extensively refined to be turned into fuel. Producing bitumen generates three times the carbon pollution of producing conventional North American crude oil. And the additional refining required to turn this crud into fuel only makes matters worse.

2. It would kill more jobs than it would create.

House Republicans claim the pipeline will create tens of thousands of jobs. It won’t. The pipeline would create, at most, 6,500 temporary construction jobs, very few of which would be local hires, according to the U.S. State Department. After that, it would leave only “hundreds” of permanent jobs, according to TransCanada, the Canadian company that wants to build the pipeline. A Cornell University study concludes the pipeline would actually kill more jobs than it would create by reducing investment in the clean energy economy that already employs 2.7 million Americans.

3. It would make us more oil-dependent, not more secure.

The pipeline would terminate at Texas refineries and ports along the Gulf of Mexico. From there, tar sands crude could be exported anywhere in the world. Indeed, that’s part of the business plan for some of the companies that have promised to buy the oil. Military experts advise that the Keystone XL pipeline would perpetuate our deadly oil dependence and will not make us more secure.

4. It would require Americans to take on a risk to benefit oil companies that Canadians themselves are not willing to take.

Even Canada has put the brakes on their new proposed tar sands pipelines (the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline to the West coast and the Trailbreaker tar sands pipeline to the East) due to the need to take more time to listen to public concerns about water and safety. Why should Americans carry a risk that Canadians themselves are not willing to take?

5. It would threaten America’s breadbasket and U.S. waterways.

The pipeline would cut through the heart of the Great Plains, land of more than 250,000 ranches and farms, putting our croplands and food producers at risk of oil spills across the American heartland. Republican leaders want an approval of the pipeline despite the fact that Nebraska has not even settled on a route to avoid the precious Ogallala Aquifer, where millions of Americans get their drinking water. Further, Keystone XL would cross more than 1,500 waterways, from the Yellowstone River in Montana to Pine Island Bayou in Texas, threatening them with the kind of accident that dumped 42,000 gallons of oil in the Yellowstone River last summer and put 20 times that much tar sands oil in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 — a spill that still has yet to be cleaned up.

6. It would lay waste to Canada’s Boreal forest, home of our backyard birds.

Tar sands producers have already destroyed an area of Canada’s Boreal forest the size of Chicago, creating an industrial wasteland of toxic sludge dams in the heart of the Boreal. The forest is a critical nesting region for America’s backyard birds and one of the last truly wild places on Earth. If the destruction continues, the total sacrifice area will be as large as the state of Florida.

The pipeline is a conduit to the past. Rather than deepening our addiction to fossil fuels, it’s time we did what presidents reaching back to Richard Nixon have called on us to do and reduce our dangerous dependence on oil.

It’s time to invest in wind, solar and other renewable fuels and the energy-efficient cars, workplaces and homes of tomorrow.

Go to http://www.stoptar.org to take action now.

Related Stories:

Big Oil Attacks Chiquita For Denouncing Tar Sands

GOP Embraces Showdown Over Oil Pipeline, Tax Cuts

The Dirty Truth About Tar Sands Oil Extraction

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/6-reasons-america-needs-to-say-no-to-the-reckless-keystone-xl-pipeline.html#ixzz1hCEgu9nd 

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☆ What's Going On: Smoking; Ugly for You, Ugly for the Planet ☆

They're gross. They're smelly. They cause cancer. They cause pollution. They're bad for you and they're bad for the Planet. Yes, I'm talking about cigarettes. 

There are admittedly fewer things that irk me more than Cigarettes. No offense to Smokers, but most of you are horribly inconsiderate. You smoke everywhere and anywhere, subjecting those around you to your filthy habit. And it is especially sad when those subjected are babies and children. Obviously, not all Smokers are this way. I have seen many that purposely smoke out of people's way in more secluded areas. So to those people, I am appreciative.

Smoke being involuntarily inhaled is one thing, but it's not just this that I find inconsiderate. Cigarette buts are littered carelessly all over the sidewalks, streets, grass fields, parks, highways, and wildlife. And they don't just disappear, they take 18 months to 12 full years to decompose!

Most people know the health hazards (unless you live under a rock) so I don't really need to go too much into that. Tobacco kills one person every 10 seconds. Lung cancer is the ninth most common cause of death in the World and the most common form of cancer, taking someone's life every 30 seconds. It is estimated that smoking a single cigarette lowers one's life expectancy by 10.7 minutes--which may not seem like much, but that's for EVERY cigarette! Add them up and on average that's an estimated 23 years of your life. 

More than 53,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke.  

This is just brushing the surface. 

Now, I'm sorry if I seem a bit frank here, offending people isn't ever the purpose that I write. I'm just trying to just give you a little dose of reality, or at least a little eye-opener. 

Sadly, most people forget the severe environmental impacts of this bad habit. When you light up, you're sending up to 4000 chemicals up into the atmosphere. Amongst that toxic cloud are air-polluting, smog-inducing VOCs such as formaldehyde, benzene, and hydrogen cyanide, as well as ammonia, arsenic, tar and carbon monoxide, just to name a few. Now, put into perspective that there are about 1.2 billion smokers in the world (that's one-fifth of the world's population!) and you've got quite a scary reality to face. 

To make matters worse, the production alone uses over 11.6 million kilograms of pesticides on these crops every year in the US alone. Then consider that most of the production takes place in developing countries where the safety of workers and the protection of rivers and wildlife are disregarded. 

Drying out the leaves has led to serious deforestation in some parts of the world. Tobacco curing and production is responsible for about 200, 000 hectares of chopped trees a year in Southern Africa, and fingered for nearly half of South Korea's deforestation in the 90's. 

Back to that damn littering... Filters have been found in the stomachs of sick or deceased fish, birds, and other creatures who have mistaken them for food. And regardless of where they end up, they all inevitably leach out those thousands of chemicals from your cigarette. As if this wasn't bad enough, all that damn butting was responsible for 14,030 fires between 1995 and 1999 in Canada alone, as well as killing 356 people and searing thousands of acres of beautiful Canadian forest. 

Don't feel guilty enough yet? "One tree is axed to fire-cure every 300 cigarettes rolled in paper. That's one tree every two weeks if you smoke a pack a day, and 26 trees for every year you've been hooked."

Are you really comfortable with that weighing on your shoulders?

I don't know who decided that smoking was sexy, but it is not. I will see a beautiful person but as soon as I see a cigarette laced between their fingers, the hot factor dissipates. It's not cool. You don't look "bad-ass." You don't look sexy. You like a moron, especially when you're standing out it the middle of winter in freezing temperatures just to get your fix. It is just simple not attractive. Teenagers need to wake up (cuz we all know that's almost Always when smokers start and then get hooked for the rest of their lives). Teens needs to realize that there is nothing cool about it and realize that it does not make them look "grown-up"--it's immature, there is nothing "grown-up" about it.  

Sorry people, but there's no upside to the ugliness of smoking. 

Quit the bad habit, for yourself and for the planet.   

Peace & Love,

xo

~Bianca   

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☮ "Be the Change" Clothing & Consumerism ☮

We all do it, we love to buy Things. We all have our vices. Our society teaches us to consume. It is what our economy is based on. The system does not work. But it is why we love to buy so much. We have essentially been taught: You are what you Buy. Your social status, your livelihood, your happiness all depends on what you wear and what you buy. This is not truly the case, of course, but it is the illusion that is embedded into our brains by lovely Society. And it has been working. We are perfect little puppets without even being aware of it.

It is wrong for so many reason, but that rant is for another time ;)

"Things" do not bring true Happiness. A momentary "high"...maybe. But not Happiness or any feeling of true fulfillment. 

Our relentless need to consume is becoming much too taxing on our environment. Economy has been placed above Ecology. And this simply can not work. It is why we will end up killing our planet, and therefore ourselves... all in the name of consumerism and Things. 

Imagine another species of life from another planet observing us... Oh, how did these people die? Well, they destroyed their planet so they could have "things". Wha??!!!! *smacks forhead*

Is this reaaaally how we want to go out?? 

Here's a little look into the Fabric Industry....

It is one of the most polluting on the planet! Cotton soaks up 10% of the world's pesticides and 25% of its insecticides--many of which are carcinogens (cancer-causing), toxic, and cause major water pollution. It takes 1/2 pound of chemicals to produce one regular old t-shirt. Is it worth it? Do you even really want to wear toxins on your skin?

Anyways, there's my little ramble for the day. Now, here are some tips to greening up your footprint when it comes to "Things" and Consumerism...

☮ Buy Organic or Sustainable: such as Organic Cotton, Hemp, Soy, Bamboo, or recycled fibres for clothing and other items. There are so many choices out there now so there's really no excuse! If you have a favorite designer, ask them to use eco-friendly materials as well. Remember consumer-demand is everything!  

☮ Buy Second Hand! There is nothing less environmentally straining than buying something second-hand! We have enough materials out there to easily please us. Be creative and go exploring. There are plenty of fun treasures to uncover and reinvent!  

☮ Buy FairTrade & Close to Home: On top of the above, just as equally important is to be aware of WHERE the products are made. No one wants to support child labour and unfair labour laws! Also, mass production in foreign countries with no pollution laws is a frightening thought--even if the tag does read "Organic." Not to mention all those items then have to cross oceans and travel all over the place before they get to stores and then you. Buying Locally is so important and supporting Handmade goods as well. There are sooooo many amazing products out there that fit this ideal. p.s. Etsy is a great place to search! :)  

☮ Buy LESS: We don't need to consume as much as we do. Remember, you can't buy Happiness. Be happy with what you have. Splurge every once in a while, sure, but learn some restraint. Plus, it's easier on the pocket. Simplicity is environmentally friendly and it's sexy! ;)

☮ Clear out your Closet: Chances are, your closet is over-crowded. There's probably items in there that you barely wear or maybe have only worn once, or maybe that you didn't even know were in there. What are they doing there?? If you don't wear them, give them away, donate them, or repurpose them--but don't just throw them out, that's wasteful. I cleared out my own closet during the recent move--twice. Once while packing, and again when unpacking. I was embarrassed by the humungous pile I had laying on my bed. Someone else will want and/or appreciate some of those things you have, so give a little!  

☮ Re-Wear, Re-Wear, and Wear again! Why on earth do we wear one item and then throw it in the laundry? This is so wasteful! I re-wear my clothes many many times before they go to my laundry machine. And don't give me the smelly excuse. I sweat a lot, I'm a smelly Italian girl ;) and I still manage to re-wear my clothes without being stinky. Even if you just wash the arm-pits of a hoodie and re-wear it, this is still much better than clothes going directly to your laundry machine.  

☮ Do Laundry Less: The above tip is a good one to do Laundry less. It is a new commitment for me, even though I already only did laundry once ever three weeks. I now go at least a month and a half before doing laundry! It is a great feeling to know I can manage to do this! :)    

☮ Hang Dry! If you're able to, absolutely hang-dry your clothes! This eliminates the need for wasted energy from your dryer--and again, is easier on the pocket. 

Even though I was already very eco-conscious in my buying habits before, I still wanted to improve. I have now made 

the Commitment to only buy Organic or Eco-friendly Products. 

Not just for clothes, but for everything I buy, ever. 

I'm enjoying it thoroughly and it is incredibly rewarding. Sometimes you have to dig a little harder if there is something you're after, but there is always a solution. Plus, you end up finding some really neat things this way! ^_^

Remember, no matter what Society will have you believe, You are NOT what you Buy! 

What are Your new Earth Commitments lately?  

Peace & Love,

xo

~Bianca  

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☮ "Be the Change": Clearing up the Kitchen & Food & Such ☮

I haven't taken the time to actually really post much of what I have been up to with this personal challenge, so I decided it was time to check in ;)

I've had a busy two months and I wanted to share some of the things I've taken up lately. Some of these I was already doing, some are new, all will benefit yourself, your pockets, and Mother Earth. 

This post is looking largely to do with the Kitchen and Eating Environment...

☮ Composting: We realized that about 95% of our garbage was compostable so we'd cringe at our last place when we'd be taking out unneeded trash. We bought a composter (second-hand at that!) and so our new goal is to only go through...

☮ ONE GARBAGE BAG for the whole year! So far it's looking good. I hugely strongly encourage you all to do this! By composting and recycling, there is no reason this challenge is not possible. 

☮ Buying in BULK: at our local natural food store they have sooooo many items in bulk, we are totally loving it! We get to reuse containers so creating less waste, plus it's cheaper too! :) 

☮ ReUsing Containers: from food products, such as yogurt containers, cereal boxes (I reuse these as packaging boxes for Alter-Eco), etc etc. They make great containers to store leftovers in and such, so reuse them before recycling!

☮ Steer Clear of Over-Packaging! It is heavily engraved with both myself and the hubby that when we buy something we look at the packaging. Is it recyclable? Bio-degrable? Reusable? Or is it plastic that will end up in a landfill? Be conscious in everything you buy, all the time! 

☮ Reusable Shopping Bags: this one we are seeing everywhere and there is simply no excuse for plastic bags anymore. They are wasteful and they are destroying our habitats, especially our oceans! There is actually an "island" of plastic twice the size of texas in our ocean! Gross and so wrong!   

☮ Bring your own Mug: Next time you go to get your morning coffee, latte, or what have you, bring your own mug! There is no need for that wasted paper cup and plastic lid. Sure, lots of companies are starting to use compostable or recyclable cups but not all places will recycle them (Tim Hortons claims theirs are recyclable when in fact they are not), plus reusing your own cup is much easier on the environment than recycling.

☮ Bring your own Takeout Container: the same thing goes for any kind of takeout. Bring your own tupperware or container instead of using those wasteful takeout styrofoam or plastic ones that restaurants and fast-food joints use. 

☮ Use your own Water-Bottle: This one is a no-brainer yet so many people are still buying plastic bottles instead of carrying their own water-bottle with them. That plastic is aweful!!! And unneccasary! And cancerous and toxic for your body! Always use your own water-bottle. There is simply no excuse. Ever! 

There are so many easy steps we can take to help our Planet. Keep doing new things for yourself and for Earth. It's rewarding! Plus, there might be a world left for our children and theirs to come. 

Peace & Love,

xo

~Bianca   

If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.