Environment (indoor/outdoor)

Good Health - a doorway to freedom

When your health fails, everything else gets put on hold because you often become focused on your illness or pain and moving forward can be difficult.

Regardless of how busy you are, maintaining your health is the most valuable thing to make time to do. And it’s simple...open the windows and doors and breathe in the fresh air (away from air conditioning), get outside into the sunshine, go for a walk, drink water and eat fresh food. Food that comes from the earth, not from packages.

Good health allows you to be free to focus and enjoy the things in life you love most.

Lack of time in nature is linked to depression, attention deficit disorder

"An emerging body of scientific evidence suggests not spending much time outdoors connected to the natural world can be connected to rising rates of depression, attention deficit disorder, Vitamin D deficiency (an epidemic in the world), and child obesity." Being in nature is connected to cognitive development, the ability to learn, and the ability to control ourselves," Richard Louv says.
Exposure to nature is so beneficial.

Humans are hard-wired genetically for an affiliation with the natural world and suffer when they're deprived of it. ("biophilia" theory)

The brain relaxes in nature, entering a state of contemplative attention that is restorative or refreshing. Attention Restoration Theory (ART)

Louv says there's enough evidence of the physical and mental health benefits of time in nature that schools should be mandated to include it in the standard curriculum.

Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, says spending time in nature has a wide range of benefits for physical and mental health.

By Pauline Dakin, extract from CBC News

Electric Magnetic Radiation - Be safe at home and school

 

Beneficial Insects in the Garden

Insects play a super important role in the health of our gardens. We all know about the need for bees for pollination but there are many other unsung insect heroes that should be encouraged into our gardens and nurtured. The good news is that it’s actually pretty easy to do this. Read on to learn more.

The Low Down on Beneficial Insects
Ladybeetles, praying mantis, hoverflies, lacewings, robber flies, predatory mites, assassin bugs and more! These are just some of the weird and wonderful insects that help keep pests in balance in your garden. Even though they are so varied they all really only need the following basic things to thrive:

1. Food supply
2. Moisture
3. Shelter
4. Non-toxic environment

The major food supply for some insect is obviously the pest they are going to eat. The larvae of lacewings can feed on 60 aphids per hour! How hungry is that? For most though they actually require a secondary food source in the form of pollen and nectar. Adult lacewings for example only feed on pollen and nectar.

The best flowers for providing pollen and nectar to beneficial insects are daisies, herbs and certain annuals like alyssum. In general they tend to be plants with a long flowering period and that produce many small flowers at once. Special seeds mixes are also available (like the Backyard Buddies Bed & Breakfast seed mix).

Like all life insects need moisture. Some will obtain enough from the juices of their prey or the nectar they drink. Some however require a water source to live in (like juvenile dragon flies) or simply to drink from regularly. Installing a water feature will easily tick this box.

Shelter is another simple thing to provide for these useful guys. Growing a mixture of plants, including those mentioned above for pollen and nectar, will automatically provide resting spots and places for them to hide from their own predators.

Providing a non-toxic environment is probably the most important thing to do. Many of the commonly used garden insecticides and fungicides are deadly to our beneficial friends. Unfortunately a lot of them are also very residual, continuing to kill for days or weeks after their initial application.

In reality most insects in our environment are non-harmful and don’t need to be killed. Take some time to observe the insects in your garden to determine if they are actually causing real damage to your plants. The Garden Guardians book is a great source of information on beneficial insects and is easy to digest. It will help you to identify if an insect is a goodie or a badie.

In some cases you may need to intervene to protect your plants. The good news is that there are some organic options which won’t kill off your beneficials and will help to keep your ecosystem in balance. The eco-organic garden range includes insecticides and fungicides which are Certified Organic and are safe for the good insects. Being Certified Organic they are also safe for you, your children and pets! Included in the range are the Backyard Buddies which are five different beneficial insects that you purchase and release into your garden. They’re a great way to boost your beneficials population quickly and to treat any troublesome pest outbreaks.

If you’d like to learn more about The Garden Guardians, the eco-organic garden range and the Backyard Buddies visit http://www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au.

 

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Organic food mitigates climate change

Visit the full article at http://www.organicchoice.com.au/news.php?id=219.

Why genetic engineering won't feed the world's poor

In more than 70% of developing countries where hunger is prevalent, the exporting of commodity-based cash crops takes place, in most cases to provide animal feed for cattle in Europe. In these developing countries underlying inequities exist to deprive people, especially women of economic opportunity and security. If the native population cannot afford to buy food, the owners of land and capital orient their production to more lucrative export markets.

Download the full article

POWER OF POSITIVE WORDS

Our thought and words have a great influence on how we feel about ourselves and others. Children respond to words that give positive encouragement and these will empower them to do well. Negative words usually result in them feeling despondent, unworthy and unable to cope with what is expected of them.

Your subconscious mind works through your thoughts, so have happy and positive thoughts to help ensure a happy positive outcome for yourself and your family.

Negative or Disempowering Words Positive or Empowering Words

More information:

  • Exposure to Volatile Compounds

    Exposure studies reveal that people come into contact with toxic volatile organic compounds and pesticides more indoors than outside. Most people's exposure to breathable particles during the day is higher than ambient levels in t..... read more.

  • Emissions Samplers

    Carbon monoxide measurer uses an electrochemical cell as a gas sensor. The small electric current generated by the cell varies with the ambient level of carbon monoxide. By monitoring this current, an internal microcomputer can ca..... read more.

  • Sources of Benzene Emissions

    Benzene, a volatile organic compound that causes cancer in humans, is quite common. But the sources that produce the greatest quantity of emissions (automobile exhaust and industry) contribute only modestly to the exposure of th..... read more.

  • Everyday Exposure to Toxic Pollutants

    Environmental regulations have improved the quality of outdoor air. But problems that persist indoors have received too little attention...... read more.

  • Examples of Everyday Exposure

    Daily routines expose many people to potentially harmful substances, including particles smaller than 2.5 microns in size (yellow bars), toxic volatile organic compounds (red bars) and carbon monoxide gas (gray line). The Enviro..... read more.

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