...and justice for all

I am pissed, really pissed. I have been for quite a while. Where is this country headed? Where is the land of abolition and women's sufferage? Social justice is no longer a worthy cause in the country, just a focus of a few "extremists" like Jesse Jackson and the NAACP. Neo-cons are running this country and feeding our fears while taking away our liberties. It is time that those of us who believe in something better stand up and let our voice be heard.

University of Florida - Police abuse of student asking question


Jena High School - Nooses and white-only sitting area incite conflict

No Impact Family

This is a great article on a family in NY city that are trying a one year "experiment." What I love about this story is that the whole family became involved, working together to live as impact free as possible. The picture of their daughter stomping on laundry in the bath tub is a wonderful one. Also, I love the closet composting using red worms. I had heard about this before and am interested in trying it out, look for a post here soon as my family experiments with this technique.

Obviously this family is more hard core than the vast majority of us desire to be, I definitely will stop short of forgoing toilet paper!! Yet it is motivating to know that a busy family, with regular jobs, could successful go through with such commitments. I love the wife's comment about coming home to a drastically slower, quiter pace. Sign me up!! I definitely am challenged to become more serious about living in sustainable ways, if only so I can play scrabble by candlelight!

Green Cleaning

Recently my wife Maranda and I have been tinkering with organic cleaners made from every day natural products (when I say we, I should clarify that the vast majority of this effort is by my industrious and patient wife). The most effective solution that we have used so far is a diluted water and vinegar solution. It turns out to be excellent at removing hard water deposits, sticky residues, and almost any normal household mess. Other than a bit of an odor (which I find mildly pleasing), vinegar water is a very friendly cleaning product, both to the environment and our family.

I was surprised to find that this same solution is very effective at killing mold and mildew. Our squash plants were suffering from a particularly aggressive form of milky mildew, and spraying the leaves with vinegar water appears to have saved some of them. We have tinkered with a few other solutions but are still budding in our efforts to go green with household cleaning solutions. I found a new house cleaning business in St. Louis that is pursuing these ends, thanks to an article over at sustainablog. It sounds like a very effective business model, given the growing concern over the use of harsh chemical cleaners in the home.

Post a comment if you have found a good natural cleaner!