Clean Air and Insect Spray

Clean Air

Clean, clear air of good quality is important to me. 

• I like fresh air. 
• I like sea air.
• I like forest air.
• I like crisp, cool air.

I like the air in my house to be fresh and clean and free of chemicals. We live near the sea and have our windows and doors open most of the time. 

How do Chemicals get into your Home?

You may wonder how chemicals can get into the air in your home. 

Do you you use any of these products?

• toilet freshener
• air wick
• room freshener, even the ones that send out a spray every 30 seconds
• hairspray
• underarm deodorant
• cooking sprays
• insect spray - surface or air
• ant killer
• kitchen cleaning sprays
• oven cleaner
• laundry detergent
• laundry spray
• shoe polish
• dry cleaning
• Glen 20
• scented toilet paper
• perfumed rubbish bags
• those little blobs that stick onto the inside of the toilet

These and many more products are continually advertised to us on our televisions as products that we 'must have' to have acceptable homes. If we don't use them then we are not good housekeepers.

Insect Invasion

Recently some ants invaded my laundry. They were marching up the door jamb and around the windowsill. Usually I will get rid of them by other means like using boiling water or lemon aromatherapy oils to deter them. 

Insect Spray

However they arrived on a day when I did not have much energy and I reached for a can of insect spray. This can of spray had lasted about five years so you can't accuse me of keeping the shops in business. 

I gave a quick spray, much as I hate to kill off the little creatures. If they are outside I will leave them alone. But they should not come into my home. 

The smell of the spray was overpowering. I opened the window and closed the inside door for the rest of the day. The next morning when I went into the laundry the smell was still overpowering.

Do you mean to tell me that the chemicals in that product would not affect me? It could kill the ants and blow flies. Surely it must be having an effect on me too. 

Well, the can of spray was empty and it went into the recycling bin. Good riddance. 

It's clean air for me!

No more chemicals.

Are You Worse for Windy Weather?

 

Even my feathered friends can be affected by the wind

Windy Weather Coming

Today we were warned by the Weather Bureau that strong winds were on their way. Winds were to be from 120-150kms per hour - very strong, the strongest we had had for many years. (75-90mph).

Prepare for Wind

Of course the first thing we do is make sure that anything outside is moves in or stabilized so that it won't blow away.

I had to make sure that my hens were locked in for the night so that they wouldn't get out the next day and be blown away by the wind.

Preparations for Health

Our health can be affected by the wind. To some people that can sound very strange. To others that are affected by the wind, it is very real.

When I was a teacher I came to dread windy days because I knew that the children would be very scatty - hard to control. Even my mother used to get very irritable when it was windy.
 

Allergies and Asthma

A windy day can cause some people to get asthma. Going into the cold icy wind after being in a warm room can cause asthma. Hot north wind in the southern hemisphere or hot southerly winds in the northern hemisphere can bring grief to many people in the form of asthma or hay fever. 

Homeopathy and the Wind

There are some remedies in Homeopathy that can help people who are affected by the wind.
Aconite
People who may benefit from this are affected by cold dry winds.
Belladonna
People are affected by drafts.
Calc phos
People are affected by the east wind.
Ruta and Nux vom
People are also affected by cold wind
Euphrasia
People are affected by the wind
Rhododendron
People are affected by the wind and stormy wet weather

If you are affected by the wind, I hope you can find a remedy that is right for you and take it before the wind comes so that you are not affected.

Why the Wind Affects Us

 

There are more negative ions near the sea

The Wind Is Made Up Of ....

Yes, the wind is made up of different things. How can this be, you ask? No I don't mean dusts and dirt particles, rain and anything else physical that we can see. 

The wind is made up of positive and negative ions

When there is more of one than another we are affected. We are adversely affected by positive ions in the air and positively affected by negative ions in the air.

Physical and Mental Symptoms Caused by Wind

The Swiss Meteorological Institute, in 1974 conducted a study that showed some winds could cause physical problems. Winds can actually cause physical problems, for example 'headaches, dizziness, eye twitching, nausea, fatigue, saline disorders, water retention, respiratory problems, asthma, slower reaction time' and many more serious problems.

Mental disorders are also caused by an increase of positive ions such as nervousness, emotional unbalance, irritation, apathy, listlessness, insecurity, anxiety and depression.
 
People who are affected by allergies are often affected by the wind.
 

The Chemistry of the Wind

Well who would have thought that so much that affects us can be accounted for by Chemistry? I always seem to be mentioning Physics or Chemistry.

Let's presume at the moment that we all have an idea of what an atom is, okay?

Now atoms can get unbalanced. Some lose their positive or negative charge. They are then called ions. The hot dry winds carry positive ions - they have lost their electrons. At the seaside where there is more moisture in the air we have more negative ions - the air has lost its protons. We can also experience negative ions in the air after a thunderstorm or near a lake.

I hope you experience negative ions in your air today

Sick Building Syndrome

 

Building can feel 'sick' with too many positive ions

Positive and Negative Ions can Affect our Health

Negative ions in the air can bring more oxygen to the brain. This makes us more alert and less tired.

It is also thought that negative ions can protect us from germs in the air.

More negative ions in the air sharpen our senses. This has been proven by many studies. It is known in schools that students make less errors when there are more negative ions in the air. 

Negative Ions can Bring Relief

Negative ions can give relief to some physical problems such as sinusitis, hay fever, bronchial asthma, migraines, allergies and even relieve post-operative pain. 

An Excess of Positive Ions in the Air is Bad for Us

Air conditioners and heaters create positive ions in the air. Computers and electrical equipment create positive ions in the air also. These build up in the air of closed homes and offices.

Knowing what you now do about the air quality, think about what your surroundings are like. Are they closed rooms, closed offices, offices full of electrical equipment that give off positive ions constantly or air conditioned offices?

Creating Good Air

 

Spider plants are good for people with allergies. They clear the air

How to Create Good Air Around Us

We can actually help the air around us to be of much better quality. This is by utilizing indoor plants in our environment.

 
Many plants that can be grown indoors actually clear and clean the air around us. The microbes around the roots of the plant eat up the chemicals in the air. Plants put out oxygen. They take in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. This is why forests are so refreshing. The air is more oxygenated. We always say the air is so fresh. Well this is why. We breathe in oxygen in the air and breathe out carbon dioxide.

We can create our own little forest indoors

Scientist have done a wonderful job at deciphering the role of indoor plants. They first worked this out at NASA where they were trying to determine the air quality for astronauts. Bill Wolverton became fascinated with this and worked on a list of many plants that would improve our air quality. 
 

Plants for good air quality

Among these was the Spider plant. Now this plant is familiar to us. It is hardy and happily grows almost anywhere. It is a great plant to have around your computer area or office to gobble up all the chemicals put out by printers and photocopiers. It is also a hardy and attractive plant for the home. It is very attractive in a hanging pot where its leaves and baby plants can hang down. One of my all time favourites.

The Snake plant and Golden pothos are recommended plants to use.

Sick Building Syndrome

Familiar objects around us can be emitting chemicals in the air. You will be shocked to know that facial tissues, paper towel, carpets, gas stoves and the upholstery of your lounge suite all give off formaldehyde.

Symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome are burning eyes and respiratiory problems.

Photocopiers give off xylene and toluene, benzene, TCE and ammonia. Cosmetics contain alcohols and acetone and paints for the walls of your home give off formaldehyde, xylene, toluene, benzene and alcohols.

What a creepy concoction of chemicals is in the air we breathe.

Link Between Fuel and Allergies

 

Gaseous chemicals are bad for everyone

Following on from my article about Renewable Fuel for our cars comes this article showing how there is a link between petroluem and allergies.

Crude Oil to Fuel

The crude oil found in reserves beneath the earth's crust is sucked out from its resting place where it has been for thousands of years. It is then refined into thousands of products. Our world is now made up of products from crude oil.

The thick, black sticky oil contains hydrocarbons like methane, ethane, propane, butane and pentane. You have probably heard of many of these. It is then made into petrol, gasoline,  deisel, jet fuel, kerosene, asphalt, heating and liquified petroleum gas.

Crude Oil to Chemicals

Products made from these substances are pharmaceuticals, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, paraffin wax and plastics.

Can you see how our world has been influenced by crude oil?

Some Gases form these oils are
Butane which is used to power cigarette lighters
Propane which is used for cooking and heating and transportation
Any fuel that burns with a sooty flame may be carcinogenic, that is, cause cancer.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

Some people react badly to chemicals, sometimes many different chemicals including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs include perfumes, petrol or gasoline, deisel, smoke, solvents and are found in paint.

These people usually react to other allergens as well, for example pollens, house dust mites and pet fur and dander.

Symptoms of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity 

burning, stinging eyes wheezing, breathlessness and nausea extreme fatigue or lethargy headaches or migraines vertigo or dizziness poor memory and concentration runny nose - rhinitis

sinus problems skin rashes and/or itchy skin sensitivity to light and noise sleeping problems digestive upsets muscle and joint pain sore throat and cough

 

Toxic chemicals known to be Immune System Disruptors include organochlorines, formaldehyde, pesticides, herbicides and organophosphates. This means that they can upset our immune system.

I hope you have not been frightened off by all the big chemical words, but you would probably have heard of many of them. Now you know how they are all connected.

Renewable Fuel for Cars

References: follow the Links

 

 

Rethinking our Fuel Sources

 

Fuel sources will need to change for factories too

Wikipedia states that there are only about 50 years of crude oil reserves left. Mmmmm. I wonder what we are going to do after that?

The lack of oil won't affect me, but will affect my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I wonder what source of fuel they will be using for transport? Will there still be cars? Will horses become popular again?

Many sources of fuel and different types of engines for cars have been designed in the last 80 years or so and each has been shut down because the motor industry was geared to the petrol engine. Factories were designed for the path they are still on. 

Electric Cars
How many years has it taken to get any electric cars on the road? In Australia, I still do not know of any public place where you can charge your car. I believe there are some in parts of US. In China millions of motorbikes/scooters are electric. However the millions of cars still spew forth petrol fumes. 

Are we in the western civilisation going to do anything serious about providing alternative fuels for our transport? We are thought to be the ones leading the world in new technologies.

Clothing
Our cars and trucks are not the only thing that will be affected when the sources of crude oil run out. I have been writing in some of my recent articles about synthetic clothing. Polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose, acetate and many other synthetic materials are all by products of the fuel industry. These will no longer be made. At least that will be a benefit. People may have to wear natural fibres again. 

Plastics
Lipstick, baby oil, synthetic rubber, plastics and resins and many other products we use each day are also going to be a thing of the past. Well, the old stock will still be there, the things we are using today because they will never break down in the environment. Our plastic utensils in the kitchen will be around for a long time, but new ones will not be made once crude oil runs out. And we will only have to wait for a few million years for some more crude oil to develop. 

The lack of crude oil will not only affect the people who own cars. It will affect the pharmaceutical industry and the agricultural industry as well as the transport industry. As the supply becomes more scarce, the countries who do not have their own reserves of oil or gas will have to pay very high prices to those who control the reserves. 

Start Thinking Renewable
So start thinking RENEWABLE now. Each of us can do it in our own way. Whether it is growing a pot of herbs on the windowsill, growing your own sprouts, growing your own vegetables, walking instead of driving when possible or taking public transport instead of the car when possible. Try to reuse or recycle things before you throw them out. Make new from old. 

Talking Can Help Too
Talking about these problems is also a way to help. Educate yourself and help others become more aware that in the future there will be drastic changes for our descendants unless we become more responsible with the things we use now. Let your voice be heard to help find new and natural ways to fuel our cars or grow our food. We don't want to go down in history as the wasteful, greedy people in the 20th and 21st centuries. 

When you find people trying to preserve our environment, support them and their business. It is the only way we can gain a sustainable future. 

Our children are the future of the world. Train them to renew, recycle and reuse so that they can become responsible citizens of tomorrow. Tomorrow is never far off!

Renewable Fuel for Cars

Painting by Therese Vahland