Organic Flowers, Natural Beauty And Habitat For Pollinators (compost recycling)
No commentsBy Gen Wright
Organic flowers have risen in popularity largely due to Fair Trade practices that promote small farms in other countries growing organic produce or fruit to earn their own income. The typical bouquet that you would have delivered by a florist or one that you pick up in the supermarket has been grown in a foreign country where the crops are sprayed with large amounts of herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers exempt from U.S. regulations.
The result is that many of the workers have suffered terrifying illness to the extent that their very DNA has been altered permanently and their immune systems no longer function adequately. There are also links to various forms of cancer associated with repeated exposure to these toxins. Remember that the next time you lean in close to those flowers and take a deep breath and inhale!
It sounds preposterous I know, but some of these same chemicals are used right here in the United Stated on our own crops, just in smaller doses. Think of it as a slow bullet. One such chemical is Glyphospate. It is marketed in the United States under the brand name Round Up. Have you read the warnings on the label? It is there for your protection, that alone should be a warning to you. This chemical is designed to kill, the only problem is that is continues to do so long after the weed is dead.
The United States is facing a crisis and apiarists have been aware of this growing problem for years now. Our honey bee population, butterflies and even hummingbirds have been decimated. Now there is new evidence that the use of cell phones disrupts the bees innate navigational system and they die before ever finding their way back to the hive, leaving the queen and eggs abandoned. It is so common now that is has been termed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Strange as it seems parasites and other wildlife that normally raid honey, after a colony dies refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives. Leave the cell phone in the house may be god advice.
An estimated 60 per cent of its commercial bee population has been lost on the West Coast of The United States and on the East Coast it is estimated that 70 per cent are gone. Many can recall Albert Einstein saying that if the honey bee disappeared man would die off in four years. I really don’t want to test his theory considering his track record. Do you? Now is a good time to start your own organic flower garden to provide a natural and safe habitat for nature’s pollinators. You can do your part by maintaining organic flower beds for bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. There are a wide variety of flowers that you can choose from that bees find irresistible.
Here is but a partial list of the best known varieties. Asters, Buttercups Catnip, Clover, Comfrey, Daffodil, Fennel, Geranium, Goldenrod, Hollyhock, Lavender, Marigolds, Marjoram, Mint, Rose, Rosemary, Sage, Strawberry, Sunflower, Thyme and Zinnias. This should give you a few possibilities to think about.
You will be helping to preserve and reclaim your portion of the environment while your plants absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. Did you know it is an old practice for greenhouses to vent exhaust from the heating units into the greenhouse? Plants need carbon dioxide to live and raised levels actually increase plant growth. Growing your own organic flowers is a lot of fun and there is a a natural calming sense when you are outside tending to your flowers. You can start with a simple container and progress to a raised bed garden as space and experience permit.
Declare your garden a chemical free zone and encourage others to follow your example. Enjoy the natural beauty and fragrance without risking the side effects associated with exposure to chemical toxins.
Greg Traver is a free lance copywriter and viral marketer who has a passion for organics. His writing is informative and entertaining, which explains why he is featured on millions of websites world wide. To more information or to contact him visit ===>
http://www.organic-gardening-for-life.com.
Keeping your family safe from intruders
By Josef Strong
According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), violent crime is on the rise. The FBI estimated that over 1.4 million violent crimes occurred in 2006 (the last year for which complete data are available), an increase of almost two percent over the previous year. The Bureau found that aggravated assault topped the list of violent crimes, followed by robbery (31.6 percent) and rape (6.5 percent).
While these statistics are startling, those who have been victimized by violent crime and those who have had brushes with crime but managed to escape know that it’s critical to protect yourself and your family from attack or intruders. According to experts, there are two primary ways to do so:
Home Alarm Systems
Home alarms are one of the best and easiest ways to both deter and detect crime. Even if you don’t have the money to install a full system, there are products you can buy to help protect your home. Wireless home security systems, for example, can monitor windows and doors. Typically, if the system is activated and then breached, an alarm goes off, and the system’s base unit will consecutively call phone numbers on your programmed list. When someone answers, he or she can choose between listening to the activity in the room, speaking through the base unit so anyone in the room can hear, or disarming the system.
Similarly, motion alarms can be set to protect certain areas. You can set one up so that it covers the area near your front door, and another that covers the area near your back door. If the system picks up movement, a loud alarm goes off and it calls a series of phone numbers that you pre-set. Most of these motion alarms use infrared technology to detect intruders.
Personal Security Devices
There are two primary ways of defending yourself against attack: mace pepper spray and personal alarm systems. Mace pepper spray is a self defense product that is made from what are, essentially, chili peppers. The pepper is suspended in fluid and then aerosolized into a spray. You can buy pepper spray in small, easy-to-carry containers that can easily be put on a keychain or tucked into a handbag. Some states in the U.S. have restrictions regarding the legality of pepper spray, either in terms of who is authorized to buy it or the strength of the spray, so you should check your state’s laws before you buy.
Personal alarm systems are in some ways similar to home alarms, except they’re small and easy to carry. These devices’ features vary by model, but can incorporate a high-decibel alarm and a flashing light. They are usually activated by either pulling a pin or pushing a button and are effective because they draw the attention of passersby, and hopefully cause the criminal to run.
Of course, there are a number of other steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from attack or intruders. For example, you should regularly review and practice the steps you will take if you are confronted by a criminal in a variety of scenarios. Experts often say that those who survive attacks are people who have trusted their intuition, planned possible escapes ahead of time, and kept a clear head throughout the crisis.
Learn about white clematis and sweet autumn clematis at the Clematis Care site.
Helping your child deal with puberty
By Josef Strong
Virtually every parent experiences anxiety as his or her daughter approaches puberty. Although adolescence is a perfectly natural stage of child development, parents know that it’s a time wrought with inner turmoil, bodily changes, and shifts in family and relationships. Although both girls and boys experience the hormonal changes associated with adolescence, puberty for girls can have a more significant and long lasting social impact.
Menstruation
Traditionally, the onset of menses has been a rite of passage for girls, signaling that they have made the transition from little girls to young women. However, health statistics indicate an alarming trend that menstruation is occurring in ever-younger girls, often as young as seven or eight. Although no one knows for certain why girls are menstruating so early, researchers have put forth hypotheses ranging from the higher incidence of childhood obesity to environmental factors like the long-term consumption of beef cattle that are injected with growth hormones. The onset of menstruation in young girls can be confusing and embarrassing, whereas menses in eleven- or twelve-year olds is often held up as a badge of honor among a girl’s peers.
Breast Development
In many ways, breast development is more significant for girls than the start of menstruation. From an historical perspective alone, women’s breasts have been revered and defiled, the source of humankind’s most basic sustenance and the source of men’s most base desires. The earliest statuary and art depict women’s breasts as the ultimate in feminine beauty.
Within the context of student life, a girl’s breast development often defines her standing in the social pecking order, as well as her desirability to boys. Girls who develop breasts at a young age, or who develop large breasts often find that family and relationships shift dramatically. Girls who have male friends may find that the boys begin to distance themselves as girls’ breasts develop, or that their attention shifts from platonic interests to sexual interests.
Perhaps even more significant, girls are subject to intense breast envy. Early developers may be ostracized or gossiped about, and late bloomers may suffer the same fate. Because girls who develop large breasts often receive more attention from boys, breast envy in smaller-chested girls can rear its ugly head. Promiscuity-related rumors, although untrue, may plague large-breasted girls, although they, in turn, may exclude those with smaller breasts from popular cliques.
Parental Roles in Self-Esteem
As mothers themselves can painfully recall, puberty for girls lays the foundation for a woman’s self-esteem. In order to help their daughters navigate the waters of adolescence, it’s crucial that parents understand the underpinnings of breast envy, and how that phenomena can transform some girls into alpha females. Puberty is such a confusing time for girls that guidance from parents, in the form of open communication as well as the sharing of books and other resources, can go far to ensure that their daughters grow up with a healthy sense of self-esteem.
Article Source : Article King Pro - Free Reprints and Distribution
Want to find out about clematis alpina and clematis cirrhosa? Get tips from the Clematis Care website.
Your Source For Composting Instructions And Information
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 7:15 am and is filed under gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
