Post # 42!!!!

Hello,

My name is bwings and I'm a hoopy frood who always know where their towel is!

A towel, you see is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.

"Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it around your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very, very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. 

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Obviously, being the 42nd entry and my being a hippie nerd I simply had to make a H2G2 reference in todays entry. What better topic than towels? I certainly know no eco-friendly space travel fuel remedies!

I am unaware of what sort of towels I have, inexpensive and in their first 6 or 8 washes they shed a lot of blue! In fact the first time Asmerus got out of the shower and dried himself he shouted out, "Can I have a different towel? Preferably one that doesn't make me look like grover!!!"  But I digress.

I'm certain we will someday replace these towels, as towels go, and when I do so I intend to make a more eco-friendly selection. Most towels are made of conventional cotton, it is this cotton that brings about 25% of the insecticide in the world. The dyes in these towels are often derived from petroleum, polluting our waters and drying our face. Organic cotton, hemp or bamboo towels with plant-based or low-impact dyes are a far more eco-friendly choice. Each has their positives and negatives that accompany them.

For instance, bamboo will grow quickly and with little maintenance. It doesn't require pesticides or fertilizers and when cut needn't be replanted as it will simply grow back. Bamboo made towels are highly absorbent and studies have proven them to be 60% more absorbent than cotton towels. Bamboo towels also have a natural silk quality to them making them comparable to cashmere and far softer than cotton towels. They also have their own unique anti-bacteria and bacteriostasic bio-agent making them naturally anti-bacterial. They are 100% biodegradable and quick drying. If used in hot climate it will keep your skin cool and in the cold will keep you warm. They have natural UV properties, anti-static properties and are odor resistant. However making them into fiber for clothing is a massive chemical bath! There are sources available that have more eco-conscious fiber production but they can involve a steeper price tag.

Organic cotton towels would maintain all the qualities of regular cotton towels except without the pesticides.

Hemp towels are durable, absorbent and will withstand far more washings than cotton. They are also far more resistant to mildew than cotton towels. Because of hemps durability the towel will hold it's shape better than other material and won't stretch out. If dyed it will retain the color a lot longer and better than most any other fabric. This is due to it's porous quality, in addition the pores will allow the hemp to breath and keep you cool in the heat while the absorptive quality will keep you warm in the cold. Unfortunately they aren't sold in standard retail stores and so might be harder to find. But with the invention of teh internetz I'm sure a quick google for a local store would turn up something in your area.

Personally I'm sold on the organic bamboo towels and given that my new bathroom lacks a fan I am often growling when I pick up a new towel and find it already stinks of musk! There is nothing I hate more, when it comes to bathing, than coming out smelling clean and drying off with a stinky towel! To me the musky odour of a dirty towel bares resemblence to cat urine and that is a disgusting thought to run through your head after getting out of the shower. I won't even put my kitty litter in the bathroom. I have always kept it tucked in the back of the storage closet and refused to ever move into an apartment that didn't have this option. So I believe I shall venture out early for a few of these bamboo towels. One or two at first to see what I think of them. If they turn out then I may donate the cotton ones to my kitties for their bedding and dry off in anti-bacterial, odor resistent material.

I didn't think I'd be switching quite so quickly but my research has changed my mind before. As Douglas would say,

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

That is all for now, from your neighborhood hippie mom.

OH Christmas Tree!

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I have an artificial tree.

Oh Artificial Christmas Tree, Oh Artificial Christmas tree, they leaves are so unchanging! Hey, that's more true for the artificial tree than the real ones. The real ones have to be watered, maintained and pose more of a fire hazard with those drying, dying leaves. Unchanging my butt!

As I sat glancing at my engagement ring I admit I had no idea what I would blog about today. It was then that I scolded my daughter for slapping the Christmas ornaments. My friend was on the phone with me at the time and commented on my tree. She mentioned how my blog had made her consider using an artificial tree from now on as it's more Eco-friendly. Of course I found myself surprised and flattered again that my blog has impacted another. Although I was mostly just thrilled to have such an obvious topic pointed out to me.

One might call my friend a tree hugger for wanting to save the trees. Perhaps even argue that it's only one tree! Nevertheless one must calculate that one tree per every house that celebrates Christmas every year for their natural life! Let's assume an 85 year life and a natural tree for each of them. That makes 85 trees per person and roughly 6.6677 billion people celebrate Christmas annually regardless of religion. Based on those numbers if everyone were to follow that logic that would be 6,667,700,000 trees per year and 566,754,500,000 trees per lifetime! Still think it's the most logical statement?

This is one of those moments where I admit that I am green because it saved me a buck or two. Not to mention time with decorating. Let me explain the pros with an artificial tree vs. a real one and then maybe offer some solution to those things you like about the real.

My personal pros with my personal artificial tree:

• Pre-decorated - You can have artificial trees with the lights already on them and wired in. I don't have one of those. Still, when I disassemble my tree at the end of the season I remove the garland & lights and leave the Christmas ornaments on the branches. The next year that's one less thing for me to do.
  
• Less maintenance - Depending on the age of your artificial there is little to no mess from fallen leaves. Mine has aged and so when first putting it up there is a dustpan of leaves to sweep up, still far fewer than there would be were it a real tree. I don't have to water it or pick it out in a lot.
  
• Cost efficient - returning to our 85 trees per life theory, let's say your parents bought 25 of those and you bought the remaining 60. At roughly $25 - $100 per tree off the lot that's $1500 - $6000 in a lifetime spent on a tree. Excluding decorations. A high end fake tree with lights already on it would run you $600. Mine cost me $20 and I have no complaints. I've saved myself $1480 - $5980 in trees!
  

Now, let's get a little negative, it's not as green as you think. 

Artificial trees are manufactures using PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) a petroleum-derived plastic. Non-renewable, does not biodegrade and results in unhealthy emission of many carcinogens (ex: dioxin, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride.) In a lot of cases, this may concern you the most, the manufacturers will use lead and other additives to soften the needles. These have been linked with liver, kidney, neurological and reproductive system damage. The trees may shed lead-laced dust, which may cover branches or shower gifts and the floor. Some trees will contain warnings of their lead content. If you suspect your tree contains lead keep children away from them and avoid contact. If you do touch the tree wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face or handling food. Do not vacuum under the tree with a vacuum that does not have a HEPA filter. It would spread the dust through the air creating an inhalation problem. 

Hmmm ...keep your child away from the pretty decorated Christmas tree? Don't touch the shiny tree? Sounds like a Merry Christmas!

But let's not be all anti-artificial. On the flip side one should also consider the pesticides used on the natural tree, likely the case if purchased. Obviously this is bad for the environment as well as the air in your home. In addition to pesticides these trees are often subjected to chemicals to speed growth and therefore production. The positive spin of course would be while they were being produced they were reducing the carbon dioxide produced by industries. Heck, if you wanted to be really chipper about your natural tree, you could say these naturally grown trees were reducing the carbon dioxide produced by the manufacturers of artificial trees. In addition the christmas tree farms are usually placed in areas unusable to other forms of farming since they are such a strong plant. Of course whenever a tree is cut down it will be replaced, naturally as this is the farmers source of income, however did you know most farmers will plant one to three trees for every one they cut down. This is done to increase their annual profit, as a result they increase the tree population thus reducing CO2 in the air that much more. That one tree a year for 85 years  doesn't sound as bad now.

It's obvious you can save yourself some money by purchasing an artificial tree and yes it is reusable. Nevertheless, when you decide you don't like the sparkle of the old one that tree is not recyclable or biodegradable and will significantly impact the environment. These trees when produced added many chemicals to the environment and when tossed out will never break down and become a permanent decoration in a local landfill. If incinerated the PVC will go into the atmosphere, dioxins and other carcinogens will be added to our air..  YAY

So what is my conclusion? I am completely frazzeled? I went into this post today feeling I had chosen an easy topic. Yet again I have forced myself to question my own actions and reconsider my stand on something. This might be reassuring to those reading as it confirms my lack of bias when researching a topic. Still it doesn't settle my mind. I may be a hippie, I am also a nerd and being the nerd that I am I made a chart

{click picture to see in full size}

I have reviewed the chart over and over and still it is quite 50/50 for me. I must admit though, that as far as personal health goes the natural tree is the obvious choice. As far as Environment goes, surprisingly the scales are still tipped, even if only in a slight amount, towards the natural tree.

As a whole Christmas trees (real or fake) are bad for the environment and completely illogical. As far as religion goes what in the heck do they have to do with Christ. What does the day have to do with him. He was allegedly born on another day entirely!! I'm going to celebrate my birthday in June from now on because I always wanted a summer birthday!! If Christ can do it so can I!! 

The last tiny figure to take into account is apartment dwellers. If you, like myself, reside in an establishment that does not permit the use of real trees there are still ways you can reduce your impact on the environment and even further save your money. Do like I did, purchase your fake tree second hand, give a non-biodegradable tree another chance to brighten a room once a year. When you are done with your tree try to sell it or give it away to a needy family. This will not just reduce your carbon footprint but will also improve your karma ;) {later is not a guarantee} If you are worried about your personal health I would worry less about the PVC in this case and more about the lead. Look for labels, warnings and never take for granted what you are purchasing. If you want that smell but will have or have to have an artificial pal then find a scented essential oil that matches that of a tree. If you must go with a scented candle obviously remember to make it as natural as possible. Reduce the smog in your home. 

For now, as with the PVC entry, I must admit I am mostly undecided. Notwithstanding I have no choice in my current situation. My location does not permit natural trees and thus I shall have an artificial or none at all. I will continue to use the tree I have and when I am done with it I will donate it to a worthy individual. Although I will be taking a peek to see if my tree allegedly contains lead. If that is the case, for the health and well being of my daughter, as was the purpose of this entire blog, I will be forced to discard it and seek a healthier substitute. Sorry earth, my hands are tied on this one.

Some fun, light hearted facts, you know, the useless stuff that Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper would throw at you in casual conversation:

The first artificial Christmas trees originated in Germany as metal wire trees covered with greenly dyed goose/turkey/ostrich/swan feathers. By 1930 Addis Brush Company created the first artificial-brush tree using the same machines used to make their toilet brushes! They patented their "Silver Pine" in 1950 which was designed to have a revolving light source under it and used colored gels to allow the light to shine in different shades as it revolved around the tree.

This entry took longer than expected so I must rest, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.