jim | 
November 11, 2009 | 
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While on board the Carnival Freedom this past week I got to read a great book called, Everyday Justice.
This book is excellent for giving the “Paul Harvey-Rest of the Story” on many common items such as chocolate and coffee. The book also does a great job giving a big picture overview as well as incremental steps to changing personal habits. I would be happy to loan to anyone local who is interested in reading.
[book cover:0830836284]
Technorati Tags: cruise, reading, Clawson, Everyday-Justice
jim | November 4, 2009 | 0 Comments
The following advice, given by Dr. Oz, makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know:
The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe.)
3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don’t trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water from the ocean is very effective in bringing down viral population.*
5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
Technorati Tags: flu, Dr-Oz, prevention,
jim | September 25, 2009 | 0 Comments
Tonight we are going to have dinner before the High School home coming football game at our favorite local Mexican place called, New Mexico.
The best part of our dinner besides the food! 
… will be our $5.00 dollar of coupon that we redeemed from Recycle Bank with the points from our City of Westland curbside recycling. Each collection we get points for the content for our cart that we can redeem for things like our $5 New Mexico coupon.
Technorati Tags: Mexican-food, New-Mexico, Recycle-Bank, coupon
jim | August 7, 2009 | 0 Comments
This from my Friends @ Plant With a Purpose / Floresta
Posted: 06 Aug 2009 08:59 AM PDT
by Scott Sabin
As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti’s troubles are no secret. Daily headlines such as, “Haitian
Migrant Shipwreck Kills 15, Dozens Missing” describe the plight of this impoverished country. Sadly, this is not new news, but astonishing news nonetheless.
Out of sheer desperation, these Haitians risk their lives by packing into tiny 60 foot boats, sometimes carrying as many as 120 people, hoping to escape poverty and find work and a better life. Because of extreme poverty, people are forced to leave their homeland, their families, and their culture since it is not providing like it used to.
Headlines such as this make Haiti’s circumstance seem hopeless. The country is trapped in a dismal spiral of poverty and despair. The land has dried up as a result of massive deforestation. And hurricanes threaten to wipe out entire communities each year.
Given these facts, it becomes understandable why escape seems like the only viable option of survival for Haitians. All their resources have been depleted. However, this panicked flight does not have to happen. People’s lives can be revived by tracing the problem back to its roots and thus finding the solution: the earth.
Approximately 70 percent of Haiti’s 9 million people work the land. Therefore restoring agricultural production is vital to generating jobs, feeding the hungry, and healing the land. If proper agro-forestry techniques are applied, some of these effects can be alleviated. For instance, by planting trees and terraces along with native crops such as plantains, mangoes and avocados on hillsides, massive mud slides and erosion are prevented.
This past May, one of our program officers traveled to Haiti to meet with communities. Last October we provided relief to Haiti after the four brutal hurricanes hit the country last fall. After speaking with the local communities that were most impacted by the storm, he said he was amazed to see that the people were not entirely discouraged. He explained their attitude as “motivated” as was evidenced by the lush crops that were beginning to bloom. They are replanting trees to hold the soil in place, and this hurricane season they will be better prepared to brace for any storms.
Relief work is beneficial, but for a long lasting solution Haitians must focus on sustainable development. Of course this does not happen overnight; it takes hard work and planning. But the result effects generations to come. My hope is that overtime, Haitians won’t have to flee their country to escape a life of misery. By caring for the earth now, future generation’s lives will be transformed along with the earth and the people will be empowered to reclaim their land. It is a vision that with God’s help can be made possible.
This article was posted on Sustainlane on 8/5/09.
Technorati Tags: Haiti, creation-care, Floresta
jim | July 27, 2009 | 0 Comments
Last week when I came home from work I had a message from a Detroit News reporter wanting to talk to me about the new curbside recycling program in Westland. I called her back and answered all of her questions about recycling in general, our family practices, as well as my opinions about the new curbside program. Today that article is in the Detroit News. You can see the article here.
Technorati Tags: Westland, recycling, article, Detroit-News
jim | July 20, 2009 | 0 Comments
We were hoping to plant a garden this year in our backyard but we were not able to make all the necessary preparations for a full fledged garden so we opted for a “bucket garden”. Below are pictures of how things are shaping up for us.
Purple Bell Pepper
Cherry Tomatoes
Green Bell peppers
Beefstake Tomatoe
Technorati Tags: bucket-garden, vegetable, produce
jim | June 30, 2009 | 0 Comments
Tomorrow at 3:00 the Farmers Market will be happening in the parking lot of the State Theatre on Michigan Avenue in Wayne.
We previously went to the Farmers Market in Livonia on Saturday mornings at the old barn on West Chicago but the Wayne market is much closer.
Recently I had a co-worker give me a hard time for the price I paid for the strawberries at the market, which gets to the questions of why shop at a Farmers market at all.
For us it is never about the price of the fruits or vegetables! You will probably always find a cheaper price some where else but price is not always everything. Our purchases support a local farm family who are trying to make a living wage in Michigan. The only way to get fresher fruits and produce is to grow it yourself. The produce and fruit is usually picked right before coming to market. There is also a benefit in carbon emissions because the produce is coming a relatively short distance within Michigan and not being shipped from agri-business places like California, Florida, and Mexico.
In addition to fruits and vegetables the market also sells other items such as fresh artisan bread, honey, vinegar, as well as a host of handmade crafts and jewelry.
If you live in the NW Suburbs of Detroit you should check one of the markets out.
Technorati Tags: vegetables, fruit, farm-market, Wayne, Livonia
jim | April 8, 2009 | 0 Comments
Curbside Recycling Is For Sure Coming to Westland, MI!!!!!!
Monday night Westland City Council unanimously voted to pass the proposal to implement a bi-weekly curbside recycling program.
Westland will also be the second city in MI to be a part of a cutting edge program called Recycle Bank that will allow Westland residents to turn trash into cash.
The details of the proposal can be found in this article from the Westland Observer.
The program should be hitting the streets some time the first of June.
Stay tuned for more details.
To see a video clip from Channel 4 News about a similar program in Rochester Hills (Westland mentioned in segment)
jim | March 11, 2009 | 0 Comments
Last night Syndie and I attended a committee meeting for the City of Westlands Green Team. Mayor Wild was in attendance and spoke at length about the status of the what has been happening over the last year. Below I will put a recap of what is coming up. I personally have been working on the website sub-committee for the last several months.
Technorati Tags: Westland, Green-Team, update
jim | February 16, 2009 | 0 Comments
I picked this book up at the library this past Saturday. It is a new book for the library so I could only check it out for two weeks. So I jumped right to it and ended up finishing it tonight.
I was interested in the book because of the role I play on the City of Westland’s Green Team. The book is a worthwhile read, in fact I will probably read it again in the not so distant future.
Technorati Tags: green-economy, Van-Jones, books
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