Why is America telling me this?

Almost 2 weeks ago a pipeline spill occurred in Alberta, Canada just south of Fort McMurray.
My only knowledge of this occurred when checking my inbox… What the hell, Canada?

Why have I not heard ANYTHING about this in Canadian news & media?  (to be fair, I haven’t checked CBC)

An American source sent me the email and THAT is how I heard about this! I’m appalled by us Canadians. Where have our values gone?!?
Nation of Change, an entirely non-profit American news source that encourages honest journalism about real issues that are not being covered by mainstream media was created because corporations buy mainstream news agencies and filter/sensor most of the news.
e.x. CP24, owned by Bell Media.
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The oil industry is so big, and with so much at stake for politicians (Harper loves his liquid dinosaurs and is still pushing new pipelines) and corporations.  I am sure covering something so close to home during a time of record-forest fires in Saskatchewan AND THE ELECTIONS is not the best move. When spills happen in California, along the Gulf Coast or in Asia, its o.k. to report: We are removed from the issue because it “does not directly affect us” making the news more sensational as opposed to catastrophic.

So what happened?

 “[…] the largest pipeline spill in the province in 35 years, when a 54,000 barrel oil spill became Canada’s worst-ever pipeline incident.” – Source

& This is not the only issue that has come up recently.

“Meanwhile, Alberta is not the only place where oil spills are demanding attention. Halfway around the world in Australia, a potential oil spill was found on Friday along the Great Barrier Reef. The Reef, an especially delicate ecosystem and World Heritage Site, has come under multiple stressors in recent years, including development, fossil fuel export, and climate change.” – Source

Australia has been extorted by fossil fuel exporters for a long time. With major detrimental effects on the quality of life for people and animals on the island. If you want to know more, watch the documentary I blogged about in  Fracking Our Lives Away

As shocked as I am, I’m not surprised.

These kind of events remind me to keep my eyes open and my mind constantly questioning, asking for more answers. It is our responsibility to take care of this planet. If we leave major decisions and law-making to a select few sociopaths, the next few generations may not have a planet worth living on.

I will leave you with my mantra, in the words of my favorite band ever: Free Thinkers are Dangerous.

xx Arisetotrash

Advertisement

Skin Deep App – Instant Feedback on Personal Care Products.

Last night I picked up the Food Lover’s Issue of Prevention Magazine (March 2014) and discovered something fantastic for Apple & Android Phones.

Skin Deep® is an app created by the Environmental Working Group.   According to their app description, “EWG’s Cosmetic Database is the world’s largest safety reference tool for personal-care products.” With a database of over 74,000 personal care products, 2,500 brands and 9,000 ingredients you have the opportunity to shop smart and safe in a matter of seconds!

Download the app for Apple devices here

Download the app for Android here

Too bad they don’t have the app for Blackberry…

*edit* I managed to try it with Android. You can read my review here.

“When you know what chemicals are in the products you bring into your home and how they may affect your health and the environment, you can make informed purchasing decisions — and help transform the marketplace.”

   

Safety ratings are neatly displayed for individual products and ingredients and there is a page that explains how the rating system works… it’s so convenient. I wish they had the app for my Blackberry!!! :[ I spend FOREVER in stores reading the ingredients and comparing products in effort to make a responsible, environmentally friendly purchase.

It seems to me that EWG is a genuine organization with good moral standings. They have a really great website with current news about the “beauty industry” and other discoveries about various products on the market. For anybody who cares about what they buy, what goes on their body and how that affects the environment I strongly suggest checking out their website.

If you want to know more about EWG:
“The Environmental Working Group is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment.  Our mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. EWG drives consumer choice and civic action with its game-changing investigations and research on toxics and environmental health, food and agriculture, and water and energy. […] EWG’s team of scientists, policy experts, lawyers, communication experts and programmers has worked tirelessly to make sure someone is standing up for public health when government or industry won’t.”

It’s important to have groups that stand up against the corruption of public health through government and industry. Although you may feel like your actions are insignificant or perhaps that your choices will not affect any change, I assure you vote with your money!

Purchasing things that are morally, ethically and environmentally reflective of your own philosophies will send a message to the companies you do (and don’t) support. 

Want an example?
Here is proof that something I thought was impossible may not be so
As Americans Reject Fake Food, McDonald’s Sales Rapidly Decline
I’m still smiling over that small success!

682 Plastic Beaches

8 Million Metric Tons of Plastic Dumped Into World’s Oceans Each Year – NationofChange.

Just finished reading this article on Nation of Change (independent journalism) about the excessive amount of waste in our oceans and how much of it we can’t even see.

Did you know that we have a series of ‘plastic islands’ aimlessly floating in our oceans due to individuals and large companies dumping waste into the water?

It’s incredible how much plastic actually exists on this earth.

Plastic is everywhere! In your clothing, wrapped around your food and in Canada it has even become money!  Most plastic does not break down. Those that do will take years to degrade and even then tiny micro-pellets will still exist. The amount of plastic on the surface of our oceans and beaches is only what we can see. There are hundreds of plastics underneath the ocean floor and broken down in creatures’ bellies that we will never know about.

Most people take plastic for granted and don’t think much of what it is.

Watch this video from Brentwood Plastics to learn more. He talks about what plastic is made of, and the biodegradability of some plastics:

There are a lot of things we can do to limit the amount of plastics we use. Here are 3 examples that are super easy:

• STOP USING PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES  – buy a reusable water bottle and take it with you! You will help save hundreds of water bottles a year. It drives me mad when I see people taking water bottle around their house when they have fully functional glasses that can be washed a reused infinitely.
• BE A SMART SHOPPER – Think about how much packaging you are paying for. Do you need the mushrooms in the plastic tubs, wrapped in plastic? A lot of toys, electronics and other things come with unnecessary packaging. We buy it just to throw it away.
  Next time you shop, choose products that are modest about their packaging.
• RE-USABLE SHOPPING BAGS FTW!! – Seriously. If you carried a roll-up bag in your purse or coat pocket, you could save so many plastic bags from going into the garbage. Less of them will be produced! Which means less water and less oil wasted on recycling these unnecessary objects. If you do have to use a plastic bag, reuse it! You can use plastic bags to carry your lunch or your dog/cat waste or as a liner for your green bin/garbage. Don’t throw away plastic bags, they can always be recycled.

It’s crazy that you can only see the front of this man’s cart. We don’t even know how long it is… SO MUCH PLASTIC!

All this talk about plastic gets me thinking about a really good album… well, it gets me thinking about a lot of things. Some of them are depressing, some make me angry, and others make me hopeful and itching to make a change. It makes me want to share my love for the plants and trees and water and air with everybody!

We don’t need to live life always wanting more, never being satisfied with what we have. I love this life and believe me, mine is in no way perfect. I am a low-income citizen in a big city. I don’t have much, but I have love and knowledge and passion for the things I believe in. It’s better than any material objects I could own because in the end, those are not me and will never become me. they are impermanent and can be tossed away or broken.
I am me.
I am capable of loving every living thing on this earth and truly treating them as they deserve to be treated.

What are you capable of?