That’s a pretty nice picture, isn’t it? And I’m sure some of you have such jobs already.

But in today’s economic climate of downsizing, out sourcing and company shut downs, many people are having to look at their future and choose another career path.

Here’s a suggestion: Go GREEN.

If you live in the Tampa Bay Area you are in luck. We have a variety of job markets that are begging for

Here are some resources that you might find helpful:

University of Florida Green Degrees
St. Petersburg College Green Degrees
U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Chapterhttp://tampabay.jobing.com/company_profile.asp?i=85227
GreenBiz.com has excellent information on working in a green industry and opportunities as well as job listings. Most of these job listings are not in Tampa, but they will give you ideas on opportunities that can exist here.
Green Job Search
has green job listings throughout the US, including Tampa Bay.
Green for All
The ECO Guide to Careers that Make a Difference book
SustainableBusiness.com

————-

Linda

Fresh pure air can be grown indoors

The secret to naturally creating the pure fresh air you need indoors is very simple……
You can GROW it!

In the following TED Talks video, researcher and activist Kamal Meattle of Delhi, India, discusses how three common houseplants grown in a home or office building, can produce life sustaining oxygen and result in measurably cleaner indoor air.

The three plants discussed in the video are:

1. Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)

• This plant works well during the day
• Great for living and working areas
• Four shoulder high plants per person
• Needs to be brought outdoors every few months
• The leaves of the plant need to be wiped frequently
• The soil used should be of vermi manure or use hydroponics

2. Mother-in-law’s Tongue – also known as the bedroom plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)

• Converts CO2 into O2 at night
• You’ll need 6-8 such waist-high plants per person in the bedroom
• Leaves need to be wiped in the same way as the Areca Palm
• The soil used should be of vermi manure or use hydroponics

3. Money Plant (Epipremnum aureum)

• Excellent for removing Formaldehyde and other VOC’s from the air
• According to the film, best grown using hydroponics but this plant does well indoors in regular potting soil.

And lucky for us, these plants are very commonly found growing in our back yards here in the Tampa Bay area. In fact, I was paying our gardener to remove them from my yard because they are like weeds.

Who knew?

I’m going out today to buy some large pots and will be bringing those babies inside to start a new life freshening and purifying the air our family lives and breathes daily.

Mother nature is amazing, isn’t she?

Linda

Linda Ferguson has been involved in online marketing and writing on a variety of topics for the past 15 years. 

One of the original founders of Create Clearwater – Building a sustainable community in Clearwater Florida, she also has several blogs on the subjects of natural and holistic pet health and natural beauty, health and romance for women.

Use Nature’s Repellents

The simplest repellant is vinegar—any type. You can put it into one of those oil-and-vinegar shaker bottles and just sprinkle it on your face and arms–especially around your ears—whenever you will be around mosquitoes.

There are also repellents made from fragrant essential oils, which are sold at many natural food stores. Most contain oil of citronella and/or oil of peppermint as the active ingredient. You can find a list of commercial herbal repellents at  Debra’s List, or make your own (there are many sources for “recipes” online).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control recommend oil of lemon eucalyptus as an effective mosquito repellent. This natural, plant-based repellent oil is prepared from leaves of Eucalyptus citriodora. It is similar to citronella in smell and similar in effectiveness to a repellent with a low-concentration of DEET. Other herbal oils that repel mosquitoes include citronella, eucalyptus, lemongrass, tea tree oil, cedar oil, and peppermint. If you purchase these as straight oils, mix them with some plain cooking oil first to dilute them before putting them on your skin.

Smoke also discourages mosquitoes, regardless of the source—a citronella candle, a mosquito coil, a campfire, or even a cigarette and incense. They can rid an area of mosquitoes to a certain degree, but are not as effective as applying a repellent right on your skin.

Mosquitoes also hate the smell of garlic.

Natural Treatments for Mosquito Bites

If, after all the prevention, you still get bitten, here are four excellent, natural ways to relieve the itch.

1.    Make a paste of water and baking soda and put it on your bites.

2.    Apply salt water made with natural salt—the water will evaporate and the soothing salt will stay on your skin.

3.    Rub raw garlic over the bites.

4.    Apply aloe vera to the bites, in gel form or straight from the plant.

Caution: Don’t Use DEET

“Cover any exposed skin with DEET” is the standard advice for preventing mosquito bites, but it’s not the best advice for your health.

The warning label on insect repellants containing DEET, the common name for diethyl toluamide, says, “Harmful if swallowed. Avoid contact with eyes and lips. May damage furniture finishes, plastics, leather, watch crystals, and painted or varnished surfaces, including automobiles.” Do you really want to rub something on your skin that could take the paint off my car?

The Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry list a variety of symptoms and even deaths associated with normal dermal use of DEET by both children and adults, but characterize these symptoms as relatively rare. Other research has confirmed that long term exposure to DEET can cause brain impairment rats.

But there’s no need to take any risk at all with all the safe and natural alternatives available.

Debra Lynn Dadd has been researching and writing about how our consumer choices affect our health and the environment for more than twenty-five years, earning her the title “The Queen of Green” from the New York Times. A woman of many interests and talents, she brings her natural curiosity, wisdom, and personal experience to the challenge of living green every day at home. A writer, consultant, and speaker, her prolific website includes everything from a directory of websites that sell green products with 1000+ links, to recipes using natural sweeteners. Her book Home Safe Home has been continuously in print since 1984. www.dld123.com

In times past, some very natural strategies were employed for mosquito relief. Older homes were built with the bedrooms on the second floor because mosquitoes wouldn’t fly that high. In Africa, whole cities are built up mountain sides “above the mosquito line.”

If you can’t move your bedroom upstairs or move your house up a mountain, here are some things to do to “avoid the bite.”

(1) Make Yourself Less Attractive to Mosquitoes

Ever wonder why a mosquito is attracted to you?

Mosquitoes are attracted to us through the carbon dioxide (CO2) we exhale when we breathe. The production of C02 varies from body to body based on its metabolic rate; bodies with a high metabolism tend to burn more C02 and are therefore more attractive to mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are also attracted to lactic acid, which our bodies release after working out, or after eating salty and high-potassium foods, such as bananas, pickles, potato chips and other snack foods.

Mosquitoes are particularly attraced to estrogen-based female hormones and the fruity and floral fragrances found in perfumes and body care products women use. But men may also carry these fragrances from scented sunscreens, fabric softeners and dryer sheets.

Mosquitoes prefer moist, cool bodies, wet from rain, perspiration or swimming.
They also like diabetics–yes, their blood is sweeter, but it’s the high level of acetone in the blood mosquitoes love.

And if you are wearing light-colored clothing, particularly yellow, a mosquito will zoom right in on you.

So, to make your body unattractive to mosquitoes:
•    eat less salt
•    use unscented products
•    dry off your body
•    avoid sweets
•    wear dark colors

(2) Use Environmental Controls

You can greatly reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home with two simple environmental controls.

First, look for any sources of standing water. Mosquitoes can quickly breed in even a small amount of water, so after a summer rain take a look around and see where water has collected. Empty any standing water and make any adjustments necessary to fix any marshy areas on your property (unless, of course, you live in a natural wetland).

Consider putting up bat houses. Bats are out looking for food every night from dusk and dawn—just when the mosquitoes are out. One bat can eat 600 mosquito-sized insects every hour! Many insects are thought to avoid bat-populated areas, keeping a distance of a hundred feet away from bat sonar range.

There are 1,000 species of bats and 40 of these live within the U.S. and Canada. They eat moths, flies and beetles, gnats, termites, flying ants and those pesky mosquitoes. One small brown bat can eat one-third of its body weight in insects each night.

Bat houses are often sold where bird houses are sold. There are many sites on the internet for both ready-made bat houses or plans for building your own. Just type “bat house” in your favorite search engine.

Some tips:
•    Mount bat houses on a building or a tree.
•    Hang at least 10-15 feet from the ground.
•    Shelter bat houses from the wind and power lines.
•    Place the bat house on the sunny side of a tree or building for warmth.
•    Never paint a bat house as chemicals are toxic to bats.
•    Hang your bat house near water if possible.

(3) Put Up a Barrier

The simplest barrier is to cover your skin with clothing. Long pants and shirts with sleeves offer good protection.

If you live in an area with lots of bugs, you’ll want to be sure to put screens on your windows and doors and make sure they are in good repair. Open and close doors quickly so insects don’t come inside. Another cozy solution is a cotton mosquito net for your bed.

Cotton mosquito netting is hard to find. The best selection can be found at A Thousand and One Nets, which sells only cotton mosquito nets in many styles, sizes, and colors. Though they are in Australia, they ship to the USA. If you use mosquito netting outdoors, you may have to consider polyester because natural cotton nets will quickly mold and biodegrade exposed to the elements.

Some tips for using mosquito netting:
•    Do not leave the corners of the net loose around the bed–tuck them carefully under the mattress
•    Do not allow the net to come into contact with your skin while sleeping–mosquitoes can bite you through the net
•    Do not use a torn mosquito net, no matter how small the hole.

In Part Two we will explore natural products to put on the skin to avoid mosquito bites.

Sun exposure that are essential to health, particularly, the body’s need for sun to manufacture vitamin D, so let’s determine a safe approach and not deprive ourselves any longer!

Skin type: Since 1976, dermatologists have used a system for classifying skin types from 1 (pale white skin) through 6 (dark skin). The largest group in the United States “sometimes burns moderately, tans gradually to light brown skin”—skin type 3 (white to olive). If your skin type is 1 or 2, you’ve been burned enough times to have a sun protection strategy already in place. Does it meet the guidelines below?

Sun exposure: What times of day are you commonly exposed to the sun? (Ultraviolet levels are strongest at noon, when the rays have the shortest distance to travel through the atmosphere.) What is the UV exposure of your region at this time of year? Tampa is at 28 degrees north latitude, which puts us in the middle of the subtropics. The sun’s rays travel through less atmosphere to reach us here than in the northern latitudes. The shortest path of all is to the Equator at noon.

Stay indoors at midday

This is a piece of advice the experts and agencies all agree on. Staying indoors at midday is such a time-honored tradition in sunny countries that the entire culture is built around it. In some places, businesses shut down in the middle of the day for the “siesta.” All social activity ceases, resuming in mid-afternoon. Before there was air conditioning, this was essential in such climates.

Wear protective clothing

While loose-weave fabrics are cooler, openings between the yarns allow UV radiation to pass through the fabric and reach the skin. Tightly woven or knit fabrics provide the best protection against the sun. Heat and visible light are reflected from light-colored fabrics, but UV radiation passes through to the skin. Darker colors block harmful UV rays.

Modern technology has taken the concept of protective clothing into the new millennium by developing specific synthetic fabrics that block most UV rays. FDA-approved fabrics are guaranteed to reduce UV radiation by 97% or more. Type “sun protective clothing” into your favorite search engine.

From the extra-wide-brimmed sombreros of Mexico to the prairie bonnets and cowboy hats of the Wild West, hats are the traditional way to shield our faces from the sun. A study at Queensland University in Australia showed the risk to farmers of getting skin cancer was one hundred times greater if they did not wear a hat.

In Victorian times, a parasol was part of every woman’s wardrobe and used whenever she went out in the sun. White skin is no longer in fashion, but a bad sunburn is neither smart nor stylish. If you’re on the beach at noon, get under that umbrella!

Safe sunbathing for health

Once you have determined your own Personal Sun Profile, the most important thing is to find out how much unprotected sun your body needs for good health.

Sunbathing for health is different from sunbathing for a deep, dark tan. The basic rule of thumb is to take care not to burn. Start by exposing your skin to the sun only a few minutes a day.

Sunscreens

Studies have found that people using sunscreen are now spending more time in the sun. The greatest increase in skin cancer was found in countries where chemical sunscreens have been heavily promoted. Even natural sunscreen can interfere with your skin’s ability to produce vitamin D, a nutrient essential to the body’s functioning and to its safety from flu and other diseases.

Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide reflect, scatter, and absorb both UVA and UVB rays. These ingredients typically do not produce allergic reactions, but zinc oxide is an immune system toxin and a respiratory toxicant, along with possible reproductive interference.

According to the Environmental Working Group website Skin Deep (http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2), many FDA-approved active ingredients have health concerns.

If you want to give your skin a darker tan color naturally without going out in the sun, try this concoction:

HOMEMADE NATURAL SUNLESS TANNING LOTION

1)         Boil ¾ cup pure water and brew strong tea with 3 black-tea bags.

2)         Put ¼ cup tea into a blender with ¼ cup lanolin and ¼ cup seasame oil.

3)         Blend at low speed.

4)         Add remaining tea steadily.

5)         Spread sparingly on your skin (try a patch in a hidden spot first to test the color).

Conclusion

Like so many things, exposure to the sun is beneficial when used in moderation, harmful when overdone. Hopefully now you have a better idea of where to draw the line.

Recommended additional reading:

Debra’s Guide to Choosing Natural Sun Protection, the 28-page eBook by Debra Lynn Dadd from which this article was excerpted. The full text includes the complete skin types chart, additional factors contributing to UV exposure, a UV Index chart according to skin type, and much more. Available for $5.00 here.

(Why We Need It And How to Get It Safely)

The summer solstice—the longest day of the year—occurred last week. This ushers in the months of the year where the sunlight is the most intense, so it is a perfect time to reexamine our relationship to this great life-giver. Unfortunately, there is a great fear of the sun today. And this fear is being cultivated to sell millions of dollars worth of products to protect our skin from cancer.

The bad rap the sun has been getting is an understandable result of the discovery of the ozone layer, and the potential for an increased exposure to ultraviolet  rays.  We have been thoroughly warned away from the sun, and persuaded to cover ourselves completely with sun blocks.

But there have been recent  rumblings in the scientific community that we may have been premature in banishing the sun from our lives.

This perception of the sun is very different from how the sun has been regarded since the beginning of our species, which is a bringer of life. From early times, people could see that the abundance of life forms on earth came and went through the seasons of the year in correspondence with the strength of the sun.

Living things need the light of the sun to grow and flourish—and our bodies are no exception. The interaction of sunlight with skin produces Vitamin D, a vital nutrient that is not adequate in our modern diet. Vitamin D occurs naturally in egg yolks, liver, yeast, shrimp, salmon, tuna, and fish liver oils, and is added to fortified milk and enriched bread. However, sunlight is still needed to help the body synthesize vitamin D from these sources. Vitamin D is essential to the optimal function of every cell, tissue, organ and system in our bodies.

So important is our ability to synthesize vitamin D to our health that our bodies have a mechanism—skin color—to ensure that the right amount of sun reaches our skins, regardless of where an individual dwells on Earth. The first humans lived near the equator. Their bodies developed dark skin rich with melanin that protected them against burning, while still letting enough sunlight penetrate the skin to make vitamin D. As migrating tribes started to move away from the equator into areas where the sun became progressively weaker, their skins became lighter and lighter—less and less pigmented—to make best use of the available sun.

Sunlight activates the body’s absorption of calcium and other minerals. So simply taking a calcium or mineral supplement or eating foods containing these nutrients isn’t enough. Our bodies need sunlight to assimilate them.

Since ancient times, sunbathing was considered a restorative for health. Even cave paintings show an understanding that exposure to sun was essential to life. The healing powers of the sun were celebrated by ancient peoples around the world, from the Eqyptians, Greeks and Romans to the Aztecs and Incas.

Prior to the discovery of penicillin in 1938, sunshine was routinely used to treat many ills. Conditions known to be helped by sunshine therapy include tuberculosis, colitis, anemia, gout, cystitis, arteriosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, acne, herpes, lupus, sciatica, asthma, and kidney problems.

Modern studies have shown that exposure to sunlight can

•           lower blood pressure

•           uplift mood

•           enhance the immune system

•           lower blood sugar in diabetics

•           help us tolerate stress

•           increase the efficiency of the heart

•           reduce cholesterol

•           assist in weight loss

•           stimulate the thyroid gland

•           improve psoriasis

•           kill infectious bacteria

•           improve asthma

•           increase sex hormones

•           increase the hormones that affects the body’s responses to sunlight and darkness

…and have other good effects.

So as we reintroduce ourselves to this vital part of life itself, we can also approach it wisely. Our relationship with the sun can be like our relationship to fire—when its nature is respected, we can harness fire to meet our own human needs for heat and light. When we disregard the laws of fire, however, it can destroy and kill.

In times past, the human customs revolved around respect of the sun. Whole cultures have developed around staying indoors during the heat of midday and doing the activities of life during the morning and evening. Clothing and shelter reflected local needs to shade or capture the sun.

It’s important to both allow your body the benefits of the sun while also protecting your skin from the most damaging rays. The best way to do this is to forget about sunscreen and sunglasses and develop your own “safe sun strategy.” We will have much more regarding safe ways to get more sun in Part 2, coming in our next issue.

The sun is essential to life on Earth. Let’s return to celebrating it as a positive influence and utilizing it for our good.

Tree Shading

Tree shading of the home is a huge benefit – not only does the shade cool the home but the sun pulls moisture from tree leaves (called transpiration) and this action also cools the area.  Property with large trees can be 10 degrees cooler than those exposed to full sun. If you plant deciduous trees, the sun can heat your home in winter and the shade will protect it from heat in the summer – the best of both worlds.

A miracle tree we highly recommend is the moringa tree.  The leaves and beautiful white flowers are edible and highly nutritious, full of vitamins and minerals.  We add them to our salad but they can also be cooked.  The pods can be prepared as vegetables.  It is fast growing, grows well in sandy soils and is drought tolerant though it does need water to get established.  This is an attractive shade tree and also has many other uses. Moringa: The Miracle Tree

Energy Audits

Making your home more energy efficient can be very cost effective in saved energy bills. It’s worthwhile to get an energy audit from your utility company or try using one of the popular online energy audits like these:

http://www.smeco.com/customer/audit/index.html

https://touchstoneenergy.cooperative.com/public/programs/energyefficiency/lblfiles/launch.htm

There are many inexpensive and simple ways to reduce your energy needs in the home, and these audits will help you focus in on what might be most effective for your house.

Indoor Waterfall

Here is an unusual idea – use a waterfall to cool your home!  The University of Maryland is working on a waterfall that dehumidifies your home.  The less humidity, the less air conditioning is needed (since a big part of what central air conditioning does is dehumidify).  In Florida, this can mean being able to cut back considerably on energy costs.  This particular model is aesthetic and uses solar energy in part, reducing energy use even further.  http://www.solarteam.org/page.php?id=641

Ceiling Fans and Cool Cloths

Using a ceiling fan in the room you are using, and putting a cool, damp cloth on your neck can also cool you down considerably.  When you think in terms of cooling your body down rather than the whole house, you can save quite a bit of energy, and the breeze of a fan and a cool cloth on the neck can feel really great.

Close vents

Close vents to rooms you don’t ordinarily use during the heat of the day, like bedrooms, and open the vents a short time before you go to sleep.

We’ll be sharing more ideas about staying cool as the summer progresses, stay tuned!

Please share your ideas and successful actions for staying comfortable without cranking up the AC in the comments section!

Natural pools are the rage in Europe and are catching on in the US as well. Instead of using harsh chemicals to filter and clean the water, they use nature’s own filters—plants. The water is clean enough to drink, by municipal standards, and swimming in it is like swimming in a fresh, clear pond. In contrast, chlorine contains dioxin, one of the most toxic substances we release into the environment and on our bodies. With a natural pool, there is no need to shower after swimming, no need to worry about absorbing highly toxic chemicals into your body or introducing them to the environment, and best of all, these pools are beautiful.

They are often designed with a shallow water area—where plants grow—that absorbs the sun’s heat and naturally heats the pool.

Here is how one version of the system works:

You can retrofit your existing traditionally shaped pool:

Or create more natural edges:

Imagination is your only limitation!

Some people are raising edible fish, like tilapia, in their pool, which are either in a walled off section or just allowed to swim freely, like in a lake or pond.

It is possible to create an entire aquatic ecosystem in your pool which is quite balanced and can provide food, both plants and fish, as well as swimming enjoyment. The pool can be used to capture rainwater for the garden too. So use your imagination—instead of having a toxic, artificial consumer of resources in your yard, you can turn your pool into an ecosystem asset that serves multiple productive functions.

The nice thing about being eco-friendly is that it tends to be more healthy, more aesthetic, and more fun.

We found a bottle of apple juice recently that had ingredients in it from six different countries!  That is a lot of gas and oil energy used to bring you food that could be grown locally or at least in the SE United States.

Supporting a local economy means there is more money and jobs in the economy, which is good for all of us.  It creates food security – by having a robust local food supply, the area is safer in times of disaster.  Buying locally directly from the farmer at Farmer’s Markets can eliminate middle men and can help the small family farmer be financially successful.

Buying fruits and vegetables locally means they are fresher and have more nutrients. They also taste better.

At Farmer’s Markets you can get to know your local farmer and even influence them to grow organic if they are not already doing so.

There is nothing like the taste of fresh fruits or vegetables picked that very morning!