A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.
I love it when new ideas are simple, eco friendly and still have the power to do immense good.
That’s why I was delighted to read about MesoPaper – a remarkably simple air and water filter.
Last week in this newsletter I wrote about the radium scare in the US, and that water filters might become necessary, depending on where you live.
Mesopaper will help with that, and also in emergency situations, as well as in developing countries where access to clean water is limited. It’s simple, no-frills technology from Silicon Valley which is cheap to produce.
Mesopaper is far more simple than filters like reverse osmosis or chemical treatment, and is much, much cheaper. It looks kind of like a coffee filter – and the idea is similar. To clean water, simply place the paper over a jug or glass and pour water through it. Yes, it’s a simple as that!
It’s said to remove 99 percent of heavy metals and 99.9999 percent of viruses. What a remarkably easy way to get rid of viruses, bacteria, radioactive elements and pollutants like lead, arsenic and mercury! One square foot of Mesopaper can eliminate contaminants from 10 gallons of water.
And it gets better. When Mesopaper reaches the end of its lifespan, water will simply stop passing through, so it will be obvious. And because the filter seals pollutants inside and renders them inert, Mesopaper doesn’t require any sort of special disposal — it’s biodegradable and can be thrown out with household trash, at no risk to the environment – wonderful!
Do you ever get into a conversation about climate change? If so, I’ve got 2 resources that might help you.
Today’s new article is a simple, straightforward answer to a very common question:- “What Causes Climate Change“. It’s important to know. Read it here.
Secondly, if you ever needed to answer someone who says climate change is a hoax, read this article.Â
I don’t know about you, but I’m a lot more confident eating my fresh fruit and vegetables now that I’ve cleaned them in baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and water first (as per last week’s newsletter).
But that means I’m using more baking soda than usual – so it’s good to know that you can also buy it in bulk online. Click here to see the options.
A new report published this month comes to a horrifying conclusion about fracking. Â
But there’s another aspect to fracking that no one is talking about.
I hadn’t given it much thought – until I read the report. Find out what it is, here.Â
Global Green News:
The last male Northern White Rhino has died. Aged 45, he was put to sleep after age-related illnesses. He had been living in Kenya, well guarded against poaching. He was the last male of the sub-species. Rhinos are heavily poached for the cruel ivory trade.
You can read more on social media with the hashtags #TheLoneBachelorGone and #SudanForever.
A new report (it’s not yet peer-reviewed) found large quantities of tiny pieces of plastic in bottled water. Interestingly, the quantity of plastic found, varied between different bottles in the same brand – but all brands contained plastics. It confirms that we are living on a plastic planet – plastic pieces are found in seafood, beer, sea salt and even the air.
U.S. Green News:
The Salvation Army is opening low-cost grocery stores called DMG Foods (Doing the Most Good). The first store is opening in Baltimore, after partnering with Maryland Food Bank which will provide the majority of the food, together with local farmers.
By offering shopping education as well as low prices, DMG hopes to double the amount of food that clients can purchase with food stamps. There is a website with recipes, and there are in-store cooking demonstrations and nutritional guidance to encourage shoppers to choose and cook healthier foods.
It seems like a much better option than the proposed new government program for 2019 which will deliver “America’s Harvest Boxes” which are filled with processed foods, no fresh produce, and there is no choice (what about allergies?).
The Baltimore store is a test – hopefully it will be a great success and stores will open in other cities were they are needed.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Please spread the Green word and share this info.
And if you’re on Twitter, get a daily green tip by following me – @EcoExpert1 . See you there!
It’ taken me a while to get here and get all this read but lots of good information. I love the filter paper and will look into how to acquire it. I’ve learned you cannot convince anyone that wants to believe that global warming is real or fracking is harmful, etc with facts. They don’t care about your facts. They have their own and are not budging. People just don’t care about anything but themselves. Killing animals for the ivory just goes beyond any form of humanity. It will never change. Even here, #45 has changed the laws to allow big game hunters to bring back their kill. It’s good for business he says. I would say more but even that won’t help. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Marlene
The filter paper is really good – it was available on Amazon but sold out almost immediately.
Sadly, I think it’s more true than ever before that people just think about themselves only. Hmm, it figures that 45 would change laws to suit any form of macho cruelty, as well as business cronies of course. On the various peoples’ marches at the weekend protesting gun laws and school killings, there was a lovely placard which read “There should be a background check before the NRA is allowed to buy a senator”. I’m sure you’ve seen it before but it was new to me, and I thought it was very good.
I hope you have a great a great week ahead, and thanks for your comment!