Our home seems to be cursed. We always have one toilet out of order due to leaks or improper closing of flaps, or any number of weird and wonderful problems. It has been such since we moved here over 4 years ago. I recently had the sublime experience of sitting upon a truly royal throne at my friend’s place. Not only was the seat comfortable – gently hugs my ample butt without leaving any line indentations, but it didn’t have those little annoying screws at the bottom that are pee and rust magnets. Its base goes right to the floor. No fuss and/or muss. These features, however wonderful, pale in comparison to the round, segmented button on top of the tank; a dual flush toilet. I need only press the left button if yellow and the right button if brown. More water and greater suction are supplied if more.. er.. matter finds itself needing to be disposed of.

The dual flush toilet came about as a result of consumers demanding water conserving toilets, but not at the expense of having to flush more than once for everything to go down the tube. The initial low flow toilets used a mere 6 liters of water (about one and a half gallons) per flush. Rudimentary designs by manufacturers simply swapped the standard 13 liter tank for a 6 liter tank, while leaving everything else the same. The problem with this design is that the pushing power of 13 liters is far greater than the pushing power of 6 liters, necessitating multiple flushes to do away with waste. Many municipalities enacted codes that made installation of these toilets mandatory in all new building projects. Most early model low flow toilets ended up using more water than their 13 liter brethren because it took 2-3 flushes to remove all traces of a bowel movement from the toilet.

A great man, an engineer, who suffered at the hands of these streaky 6 liter toilets knew there had to be a better way. He began a company called Veritec Consulting, whose soul purpose is to evaluate water loss in municipalities and work with government to find ways to conserve water. His company has rated over 700 different toilets using Maximum Performance testing (MaP). The potty mind in me finds the testing media interesting. Obviously, for safety and hygeine reasons, using real human feces for testing purposes was a no go, but Veritec came up with a suitable alternative after testing the average male and average female fecal output eating a regular diet: textured, extruded soy fake poo. Is there anythingt the soy bean can’t do? These tests resulted in the design of the dual flush toilets; many of which use suction rather than mere gravity to push the waste down.

Who makes these toilets and how much do they cost?

American Standard makes the FloWise ™ toilet that retails for $300 and up.

Toto makes several different models of dual flush toilets between $300 and $600 dollars.

Caroma, the pioneers of this technology carry an extensive line of dual flush toilets that vary wildly in cost.

I was interested to read the research out there. Long ago, I decided to stop burning paraffin wax candles in my home, knowing that they are petroleum derived and that burning petroleum products releases a whole host of carcinogens. Aside from my assumption, I knew very little about the actual danger associated with burning candles. The research out there is even scarier than I had originally thought.

Lead

In order to make the wicks more durable, candle makers have been using a lead or zinc core surrounded by cotton or other materials. When burned, this lead ends up in the air as particulate matter and settles on surrounding furniture. Lead is toxic to humans and there is a lawsuit pending against a retailer who sold a woman candles containing lead that subsequently produced lead poisoning in her family members. The lead concentration in her home, caused by burning candles with lead wicks was 27 times the safe allowable amount in her area. To avoid candles with lead wicks, gently scrape away a little bit of the top layer of wax at the base of the wick to look for metallic fibers. Unless the candle specifically states that it contains no lead, don’t buy or burn the candle. Zinc is used as a wick stablizer as well, but I was unable to find any specific health claims related to zinc; that is not to say that there aren’t any. Another way to check for a lead wick is to gently fan the fibers at the top of the wick and look for shiny metal mixed in. This also indicates and lead or zinc core. Another problem with burning candles containing lead, aside from the airborne particulate matter is the soot produced by the burning. If you are dusting your house and notice the cloth contains darker “dust” than normal, you may have soot build up. Whether you candles have lead or not, burning creates soot. When children put their hands in this dirty dust, then into their mouths, they are getting an even higher dose of lead and other burning byproducts.

Smoke Anyone?

The National Candle Association states that candles and other home products such as cooking oils  are “everyday household sources of soot are not considered a health concern.” According to the EPA, however, paraffin wax candles, when burned are known to release benzene and tolulene – cigarrette anyone? When I was a child, my parents used to burn dollar store candles in the house to “burn the smoke out of the air”. Although it made no appreciable difference to the amount of cigarrette smoke, it probably made the situation worse! The soot from burning candles causes financial hardships as well. Heating and air conditioning manufacturers are successfully fighting law suits over apparently “deffective” units because the build up of soot from candles caused the equipment failure. So who to believe? Well, obviously both parties have agendas, but I am going to side with the EPA on this one. But, keep in mind, it was the soot from all burning candles; not just paraffin candles.

Making Sense of Scents

Another addititive to watch out for, in paraffin, soy and other candles is artificial scent. People with allergies have known for years that articial scents found in insense, perfume, air fresheners and candles causes their asthma to spike, their nose and eyes to water and their sinuses to become irritated. Many of the scents used make therapeutic aromatherapy claims. There are some companies that use genuinely good quality essential oils when making their candles, but many (probably most) don’t, and furthermore, need not disclose the ingredients used to generate the “tranquility” or “sensual” aromas they give out. The smell generated to “improve” the odour in your home serves only to mask other smells with a more powerful chemical smell. In addition, many artificially scented candles have been shown to release volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), another significant health hazard. A happy alternative would be to purchase good quality essential oils and place a few drops into boiling water to infuse your house with a natural smell. The American Lung Association suggests avoiding scented and long burning candles.

Soy, Palm and Beeswax Candles: Are They Safer Alternatives?

Both soy and beeswax candles burn at a cooler, slower rate and, according to the sources that I could find, produce much less soot than paraffin wax candles. Soy candle drippings are easily cleaned up with soap and water. My understanding is that anything that can burn, can produce unused carbon particulate matter. Soy candles are no exception. My internet research turned up the same conclusion. Any websites that made the “soy” is less toxic claim have been websites that sell candles. Hardly unbiased. Most sources that I read that attempt an unbiased opinion based on science say there is no real difference between the soot produced from soy candles and the soot produced from paraffin candles. All candles will produce soot, and all will produce soot in greater quantities when the wick is too long, or the flame is disturbed away from its normal teardrop shape. A tangible benefit to beeswax and soy candles is they both come from a renewable resource; whereas paraffin comes from crude oil which is non renewable. Some sites I visited claimed soot from parafin candles is equivalent to burning diesel fuel in your home; while others say there is no difference. The great debate continues. Beeswax candles produce a natural “honey” scent without the addition of chemicals. These are what I opt for in my home.

Here is my conclusion, based on the research: all three kinds of candles produce soot which can clog air filters and deposit particulate matter into the indoor environment. Minimize the soot produced by trimming the wick to 1/4 inch, taking care to disturb the flame as little as possible. One of the biggest contributing ingredients to indoor air pollution in candles are their added fragrances. Most companies don’t divulge the exact ingredients that make up their special aromas. As I said above, I like beeswax candles because they naturally produce a honey scent when burned. I still feel uncomfortable burning paraffin candles in my house, simply because it is a non renewable, petroleum product (and the above claim that burning paraffin candles could be the same as burning diesel fuel). My research revealed no conclusive evidence on either side of the equation, but I will continue to burn only beeswax in my home… just in case.

Maybe you want to create a delightful fragrance without burning anything? Check out this site for ideas.

Check out more tips for examining our impact on our planet at Cirque du Vert.

I have been really uncomfortable as of late about wrapping and throwing away used sanitary napkins. They are filled with plastic, and put into my plastic garbage bag to preserved for time immemorial. I have been taking a look at the products available and will provide a little bit of information about how they work and where you can get them.

Natracare provides a whole line of hygeine products from pads, tampons and panty liners to incontinence pads. Their tampons are made from 100% organic cotton with the option of biodegradable applicators or no applicators. Their pads are made from 95% biodegradable products and are compostable under the right conditions. The moisture barrier in their pads is made from plant cellulose. I haven’t tried this brand, but it is a reasonable price and widely available. They also have a line of nipple shields and post birth pads designed for extra comfort in an understandably sore region. For more information, check out Natracare.com.

Flushaway, an exciting new product line of pads and panty liners that are completely flushable. They have created a cousin to plastic called B-9b film that acts like plastic. They say this film was developed using nanotechnology. When they come in contact with water, they begin to break down and easily flush down the toilet. Once in the sewer system, they breakdown in 71 days. They are supposed to be available at Wal*Mart and KMart, but were not on the Wal*Mart Canada or KMart website. Upon further digging, I discovered that Consolodated Ecoprogress Technology is a Vancouver (my hometown), BC based company, but they have been recently acquired by a Hong Kong company called PayChest Inc. The Flushaway website is currently under construction.

Mooncup is manufactured by the same company that makes The Keeper. It is exactly the same save for what it is made from; a soft, flexible, silicone cup you insert into your vagina to collect menstral blood. The Keeper is made from natural rubber. It needs to be emptied once every 4 to 8 hours dependant upon your flow and comes in two sizes. Fit is determined by the condition of your pelvic floor muscles. One for women who have had a vaginal birth and one for women who have not. The Moon Cup and Keeper can be ordered online at Keeper.com

The Diva Cup is similar to the Mooncup. It was developed in Canada (a plus for me) and is made of silicone; a good alternative to women with latex allergies. The Diva Cup is available at Lunapads.com

Lunapads are 100% organic cotton, reusable cloth pads that come in a variety of funky patterns. Lunapanties are available especially for your period time and designed to be used with the Lunapads. They have extended their product line to some baby products, creams and essential oil blends. These pads were developed in Vancouver (a plus for me!), BC and are available individually or in kits online at Lunapads.com.

Gladrags are a product out of Portland, Oregon similar in concept to Lunapads. They carry a product that I had never seen or heard about before: sea sponge tampons. Exactly as you are probably envisioning, they are a tampon made entirely out of sea sponge and only sea sponge. It comes in one size and you can trim it to the size you need it. They are washable and reusable by following the instructions on the Gladrags website.

Seventh Generation makes environmentally friendly pantyliners, maxipads and tampons (and a whole host of other environmentally friendly products for the home). The pantiliners are not flushable, and go into the garbage, so they are not as good as a reusable pantyliner. The tampons are made from 100% unbleached, organic cotton.

With a wide variety of alternative feminine hygeine products available at a reasonable price, don’t you think we can get rid of the plastic pad in the plastic bag to be unearthed in a million years, with a record of both our DNA and wastefulness?

If you are interested in reading similar articles about how we can consume more responsibly, check out the All Things Eco Blog Carnival.

RAM, or random access memory is the temporary memory that the computer uses to perform its functions while being used; that is, the when the computer is actively running, it is constantly storing and erasing bits of information. When you shut off your computer, that information is gone. It is like using a whiteboard with erasable ink: you can use it over and over and over, but once you erase something, it is gone forever; unless you recreate it from scratch.

ROM, or read only memory. In its pure form, ROM is the data that is permanently written to a chip, that there is no way of overwriting. An example of ROM is the program that you computer uses to reboot. It is essential to the core functioning of the computer. You might be familiar with Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory in the form of a flash drive.

The Tsar Bomba was the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated. The project to build the Tsar Bomba was commissioned by Nikita Krushchev in 1961 during the height of the Cold War. This bomb was detonated just one year before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Tsar Bomba was a tool used by Krushchev to demonstrate Russia’s dominance in the nuclear weapons race. It was so big, that it had to be dropped by a plane and not by a missile launcher. The firepower of this baby was the equivalent of 10 times all of the explosives used in World War II: 50 megatons. Only one live bomb and one replica bomb were made as the bomb was too big and to damaging to be practical. The mushroom cloud was 60 kilometers high, and felt as far as Finland; breaking windows on houses!

Interestingly, one of the physicists who worked on Tsar Bomba’s development, Andrei Sakharov became strongly opposed to nuclear weapons. In the late 1960′s he ramped up his opposition to nuclear proliferation and helped to broker the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963. When ABM’s (anti ballistic missiles) came onto the scene), he was strongly opposed to them, saying that they would increase the likelihood of a nuclear war. He was awarded the Nobel Peace in 1975 for his work in promoting peace and for his role in establishing the Moscow Human Rights Committee. Sadly, he wasn’t allowed to leave Russia to claim the prize, so his wife accpeted it on his behalf. He was also strongly opposed the Soviet Invasion of Afganistan.

I have seen differing numbers on this, but the two numbers that keep popping up are 260 days and 6 months. This is just for the one way trip at the time when Mars is closest to the Earth. Once you reach Mars, you need to wait another 1.6 years before the two planets are closest together in order to make the return trip. So, in total, 6 months to and 6 months from, then 18-20 months on Mars to wait until the planets are in the right position.

Various propulsion systems are being contemplated/designed that would bring you to the red planet much more quickly. Among them, are anti matter drives that could get you there in days or even hours. The problem with this out there technology is that it would require about 1 kilogram of anti matter to power this trip, and the Earth doesn’t even have one millionth of this amount. Another technology being considered is the Solar Sail. This provides an unlimited amount of flight time, but makes the trip way longer than traditional rocket fuel. Nuclear powered rockets are much more powerful and could get us there quickly, but political and environmental concerns interfere in exploring this option further. Lastly, an ion propulsion system, using charged xenon gas could get us there more quickly. I am not sure of the exact time, but I have seen estimates of 30 to 90 days for a one way, or round trip.

The difference between Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl are the creatures and control over Dialga (diamond) or Palkai (pearl). You cannot collect the same characters in Pokemon Diamond as in Pokemon Pearl, so for those who are completists out there, you will want both. The game is virtually identical in all other regards. Sales of Pokemon Diamond have, by far outpaced Pearl. A thorough review can be found at 1up.com

A copy of this article along with others about search engine optimization can be found in Blogging Tips To Attract Reader.

When talking about Chemistry, organic refers primarily to the study of carbon and hydrogen with some phosphorus, silicon and sulfur, chlorine, flourine, bromine and iodine. Organic chemistry is somewhat misnamed because the term organic was meant to imply all things associated with living matter, but there are many “inorganic” compounds necessary for normal body functioning. Inorganic chemistry, therefore, refers to everything not covered by Organic chemistry with some overlap.

When referring to agriculture, in most countries, food cannot be Certified Organic unless it meets the following criteria:

Produced without synthetic chemicals, genetically altered organisms, or sewage sludge on land that has been chemical free for at least 3 years, with strict production and sales records and no contact with food not produced organically and with techniques subject to periodic inspection. It is important to note that a label of organic on meat and other animal products doesn’t necessarily mean that those products are cruelty free. Consumers are demanding organic products for consumables other than food; specifically in beauty and body care.

The difference between analog and digital can best be described in terms of an audio recording. An analog recording is a recording of the actual sound wave. When you play this recording back, you are listening to a true representation of the original sound. That sound recording can be converted to digital. A computer or other device will take “snapshots “in time up and down the curves of the analog wave and convert this data to numbers. Imagine that the sine wave on the right has little dots along the wave. These dots can represent moments in time that the digital sampler picks up. There can be an infinite number of dots. The more snapshots that are taken, the more accurate a duplication of the original recording will be. For example, say you have a 5 minute song recorded on a tape. A sampler; which is a device that converts from analog to digital could take 100 different snapshots to produce a recording that vaguely sounds like the original. This sampler could take 1000 snapshots to produce a sound much closer to the original.

Many audiophiles prefer to listen to vinyl records rather than DVD’s because records are an actual representation of the waves and they feel that there is a certain something missing from a CD, however, beyond a certain number of snapshots, the human brain can’t detect the difference between an actual recording and a digital version. To give you an idea of a digital sound that only has a few snapshots of the actual waves, think of Cher’s song Believe. When you hear that weird sound effect in her voice, you are hearing a poor digital quality; albeit to achieve a cool effect.

The difference between AC and DC is that AC is an alternating current (the amount of electrons) that flows in both directions and DC is direct current that flows in only one direction; the product that is flowing being electrons. AC power is what fuels our homes. The wires outside of our house are connected at two ends to AC generators. DC is found in batteries and solar cells. Both AC and DC employ magnets to repel electrons. Electrons are negatively charged particles that are one of 3 components that make up an atom. Negative charges will repel negative charges and positive charges will repel positive charges, so one only needs to introduce a negatively charged item next to electrons to force them to move in the opposite direction. Likewise, you can attract electrons by introducing something that is positively charged into their environment drawing the electrons to it. This property of electrons is what allows for AC power to work; that is, they switch directions constantly. The picture to the left is a demonstration of AC power at work. The constant switching of directions is evident in the dotted appearance of the light lines.

DC power was invented by Thomas Edison and first used to power our homes in the late 1800′s. Its main drawback being that in order to receive DC power from a generating station, your home had to be located within a one mile radius of the station. DC power degrades as it moves away from its generating source; the further away, the less power. In addition, it is difficult to convert very high power DC current into the lower power current needed in our homes.

Nikola Tesla discovered AC and sold his design to Westinghouse. AC power degrades very little over 100′s of kilometers. When the power reaches an electrical pole outside our homes, a transformer converts to high voltage (the amount of energy carried with the electrons) to the low voltage needed to fuel our appliances. To convert AC to DC, a device needs an item called a rectifier. Many monorail systems use DC power. In addition, if you have a portable stereo, you may notice a button on the back that can switch from AC to DC; this means that you can power your device by plugging it in (AC) or by using batteries (DC).