Nature Box... of Plastic.

You can't have "nature"right in your name when you product is directly harmful to Nature. You just can't. That's my new rule. I say it's a good one. Y'know, make whatever product you want, go ahead, but quit pretending to be all super-uber-healthy and wonderful when all your stuff comes in plastic pouches, containers, whatever.

I get these ads slathered all over my social media for this company, NatureBox. Of course now it will be worse because I searched for them.

Look, I'm sure the snacks are wonderful and healthy and oh so delicious. I'm sure they are... convenient. Whatever. Great. But, look: do NOT pretend to be all Nature-tree-huggy-wonderful when you are basically contributing to plastic garbage. Period. Just stop it. Call yourself healthy, go ahead, but how DARE you use the word "Nature" when you are helping destroy her? How?

I can find nothing on their site that even acknowledges that they have 5 plastic bags in every box. Nothing. No, hey these are #2 bags so you can toss them in the recycle bin (which would be a lie anyway), no, hey these bags are compostable... nothing.

OK. I know. They aren't claiming to be anything but healthy snacks. I get that. They aren't trying to save the world. They feed children in need, for crying out loud! Witch, please, you say. Give 'em a break, you say. What do you want, you ask!

I want them to not blaspheme the name of Nature. That's what I want. Don't even hint at Nature. Quit USING her for your own profit when you obviously don't care that much. Here: you get 1 box a month for $20. 5 bags of stuff most people can probably eat in a few sittings. So, 5 bags each month, 12 months in a year, that's 60 plastic bags per household for just the regular sized box. Now, I'm sure they want hundred and thousands of people ordering this box so they may be a viable, successful company. Say, conservatively, just 1000 people receive these delicious snacks all over the country. I'm no math whiz, but my computer has a calculator. (That's a joke.) (Well, it DOES have a calculator, but I promise I didn't need it.) Imagine if they have all the crazy success they want, and they have, say 10 million customers. Isn't that the goal of a company, to have millions of customers? How many plastic bags is that a year, where do they go, what happens to them?

They end up as garbage, that's what happens to them.

Sell your product, whatever. But do NOT simply gloss over the fact that you are contributing to the downfall of the very thing you use as a namesake. Don't pretend this is the best way for people to get healthy snacks to lose weight. Don't pretend you are making life so easy for people. Don't pretend you are doing Nature a favor. Do not.

Yeah. Plastic bugs me. This is not necessary. This can be avoided. I say do that. Avoid. And think like this when you see such things, please. Let's just all be a little more aware.

Natural Glow

"Flawless, Natural-Looking Color." "Finally! Great Color Without Odor!"

Apparently, what it takes to get a truly natural glow, is a lot of chemicals. According to Jergens, Kao USA, anyway. You can achieve a truly natural glow with their product line. Without the odor! In just 3 days!

Let's define our terms, shall we?

nat·u·ral  

/ˈnaCHərəl/

Adjective Existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind.

Hmmm. So. Did Jergens reach out into Nature and pluck this product from a tree? I don't think so, but I could be wrong. Let's look at the ingredients list, shall we?
WATER, GLYCERIN, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, DIHYDROXYACETONE, MINERAL OIL, CETEARETH-20, PETROLATUM, ETHYLHEXYL ISONONANOATE, TOCOPHEROL, PERSEA GRATISSIMA (AVOCADO) OIL, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL, CALENDULA OFFICINALIS FLOWER EXTRACT, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL, AVENA SATIVA (OAT) KERNEL EXTRACT, OCTYLDODECYL MYRISTATE, STEARIC ACID, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, DIMETHICONE, BHT, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, DMDM HYDANTOIN, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, FRAGRANCE, ERYTHRULOSE, CARAMEL, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, MICA.

I'm no scientist, but I seem to suspect that maybe just maybe some ingredients in this product were *created* in, oh, I don't know, a LAB by humankind. Again, I could be wrong. 

I don't care about this product. Go ahead, use it. The tubes will be on the planet long after your natural glow has faded under the onslaught of chemotherapy. But can we just please be a little more discerning of our terms, and the names we throw out there, and think about things as we buy them? Can we demand that companies be a little less irresponsible, a little less stupid? Can we demand better for ourselves? Can we just accept that it's OK to be pale, so as not to slather ourselves with needless chemicals, while adding more trash to the planet?

Am I asking too much?

Probably.

Non-Mothers Need Not Apply

A celebrity died. I shed a tiny tear at first, because it was a great waste, but I really felt she did it to herself. I felt she could have turned it around if she really wanted to. She had more opportunity than do most. I've never gone through anything like that. I've had misfortune, I've had relatively bad things happen to me at times, but mostly I do pretty well. I never had an addiction, so I'm sure I don't know and maybe I have no right to comment.

Comment, though, I did. Silly Rhonda. Silly, silly witch. And after much goings-on back and forth, I was finally told I do not have the feelings a mother does. It would change me.

Wow.

So I get to thinking, as I frequently do, why I do what I do. Why I give a shit. Why I bother to have compassion at all. After all, I don't even have a womb anymore. What do I care that the world will not be fit for us to inhabit if we don't change? Why should driving down the street and seeing homeless people, forgotten elderly people, litter, stray animals... why should that hurt me every single day? Why should I get choked up every single day about random things? I should not have these feelings; I am not a mother.

Wow.

I can't get around this one. I really can't. I thought writing it out would help, but nope. Why DO I do what I do? What don't I just run around using as much plastic as possible, because, after all, why should I care? I'm not a mother. I should just hang it up.

I'm stuck. I'm stymied. I started to write something else altogether, but I couldn't go on. Oh, I'll get over it, but it may take a few. Days. Hours. Weeks. Dunno. Silly me. I thought I loved too much. I thought loving the whole world was good enough. I thought that mattered.

Apologies for the pity party. I'll buck up soon and be back to snark in no time. Thanks for reading.

Nature Made or Man Made?

Sea sponges are really cool. I've always liked them. They are kinda weird. I looked them up: "The Sea Sponge is not a coral, and is not a plant, rather it is classified as an animal which has neither brain nor central nervous system. Sea Sponges live on the ocean floor, they attach themselves permanently to a solid location under the water and they do not move around." Cool, right? They reproduce by budding or breaking off or just catching errant free-flowing sperm from one another! They fascinate me. And sponges are everywhere in our lives, but mostly the fake kind, not the real "animals".

Someone gave me a real natural sea sponge for use in the shower. I'd been using a synthetic one that was also given to me. I've used a loofah before too, but those can be really scratchy. But I like them because they are natural. As, of course, are sea sponges. I really hadn't used one before, I guess, because after trying it, I had to wonder why I don't always use them. It's the perfect blend of soft and scratchy. Mother Nature provides. But, then I got to thinking. I think a lot in the shower. Good ideas come up in there.

Sea sponges are animals. Does that mean vegans are against them? I brought the question to social media, as I have lots of vegan acquaintances. Hazard of the trade. (Little joke there.) I mean, if using worms for composting is a no-no because you are "enslaving" worms by doing that, then surely being so bold as to use a dead animal to exfoliate is a giant oops. The discussion was pretty... enlightening. I thought I would share.

It would seem loofahs are preferable because they are plants and sponges are animals and animals are a "no" even though they really have no brains or awareness... just basic functions. About as alive as a plant, right? So where's the line? Is wool a no? That comes from an animal. But no animal is killed for it. Someone said, no, sea sponges are taken from the ocean and are over-harvested. (Isn't everything?) Another respected friend said, why not use a cloth? Well... there's a sticky wicket. How eco-friendly is cotton? Not very. MASSIVE amounts of pesticide there. Organic cotton? Well, better, but... Bamboo? All these things still require processing which takes chemicals and energy. Sea sponges require... harvesting and drying. They are insanely regenerative, and if harvested responsibly and properly, they are fine. Plus, I would think, an added bonus is the desire to keep the water where they live and breed clean and free from pollutants. So, that's a good thing, right? You don't genetically modify them, you don't pump them full of chemicals or growth hormone, you just let them grow. You let them grow in a healthy ocean environment. To me, that's better than producing cotton. There is incentive to keep their home pristine. That's pretty high up there in my book.

And did I mention that they are the perfect blend of soft and scratchy?

None of the points against really washed for me. (Small pun intended.) Cloth instead? No, manufacturing cloth is probably bigger harm in the long run. Over-harvested? Not if done properly and sustainable, which is easy to do. Animal? I wear leather, I eat meat, so that's not really there for me as an argument. Loofah instead? Maybe sometimes. To me, it boils down to this: Man manufactures, but Mother Nature provides. Why not take care of her so she can continue to do so? Awareness, people. There it is.

I shall continue to use my sea sponge with my Dr. Bronner's soap. And I will thank the Mother every time. (And Dr. Bronner too, I guess.) Will I run out and buy another when this one has finished? Maybe. I'll find a place that harvests them responsibly, of course. Synthetic sponge? Nope. Natural? Yes. Do I need them for dishes, for make-up? No. There are other good things for that. But for this, Nature provides, and I'm good with that.

Good info found on: http://www.seasponges.com.au/information/sea-sponge-facts

Meat Monologues Part 2: I'll Show Ya Suffering

It's an old argument between those who think hunting is cruel, and those who love venison. I bet you can guess which group I'm in, huh? Yup. I love me some venison. It has been forever since I've had it. Pretty common in the towns I lived in back in PA, not so common in Los Angeles. Where I come from, men hunt. And then we eat what they hunt. Seems pretty straightforward. No "sport hunting" I knew of. We were also known to go fishing for food too. One of my favorite meals ever was fresh-caught river trout, hard-won, pan-fried when we got home. YUM. This was a great way to get food. I've even cooked bunnies into a lovely stew. You hunt, you kill, you eat. It's the equation with which I grew up. Someone I knew even had a great relationship with the local game warden, and when a poacher was caught, that guy got the deer. You see, the poacher couldn't keep it, but something had to be done with it... and it got ate, believe you me.

OK, wait, where was I? Oh yeah, the argument. "Hunting is so cruel" versus "If we don't hunt the deer, they'll overpopulate." Allow me to REALLY break this down for all y'all. This is the reality in which we live. This is how it is. Feel free to debate, but... well, I'm right. Deer populate certain areas. Those areas used to have their predators to keep their numbers in check, but because we humans have encroached so much, we tend to knock out the deer's predator because the predator poses a "threat" to us and our way of living, too. So, with Nature's control gone, deer are free to roam and proliferate. Which they do. So then THEY get out of control and eat stuff we don't want them to eat, like OUR crops. So now we have to control their numbers, as we have interfered with Nature and her control. We hunt them. We eat them. It's a controlled hunt; we don't go all out and slaughter them, but we keep their numbers manageable. I'm OK with this, because, as stated, I love me some venison. Cruel?

Yeah, you say. Cruel. I'll TELL you what "cruel" is. We stop hunting altogether and abruptly, because hunting is "cruel". But no: cruel is a bunch of deer, untouched by hunters, protected and free to do as they please, suddenly populating as they would anyway, suddenly faced with a major shortage of food. They are starving in the woods. They raid our fields and gardens. That's not cool, but what to do? Higher fences? Snort. They compete with all those cows we just set free because it was cruel to keep them. Now everyone's starving and SUFFERING and dying. Dying because they are starving. Because we thought it kinder and happier to let them be. SUFFERING. Think about the starving animals. I'll wait.

Sure, sure, the population will eventually balance, if we just left well enough alone. But when, how long? Plus, necessarily, we would see an increase of the predators as Nature tries desperately to balance her creatures. Now there are more predators killing our cats and dogs and cows and horses and chickens, not to mention our children playing in the back yard. What happens to them? We can't be cruel, so we can't kill them either. So I ask, how much starvation and death and stalking predators equals the sudden compassion and "civility" of not hunting anymore? How many years of waiting for that cycle to correct what we humans have effed up in the first place? What is the acceptable, palatable number here?

I'll wait. Go ahead and think on it.

And as you finish reading this and think, "Hm, what's green about THIS topic, GG? Do you have BBQ on the brain today, or something? This isn't your usual green fare," I say this: Green living to me means living WITH Nature, according to Nature, respecting the rules of Nature. Those rules are pretty clear. All other creatures on this planet live with Nature, by her rules. We do not. So now there are too many people and too many dogs and too many cats and too many deer and too many people (yeah I know) and not enough predators and the equation is skewed... and we hunt. And we can't just plain stop. THAT would be cruel.

I just want people to think beyond their own noses for a change. There are consequences to things.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Earth Day Cometh

So... Earth Day approaches. People ask me what I am doing for Earth Day. Hm. Honestly... nothing very special. Every day is Earth Day to me. I try to be as concious and responsible every day as I can. It's like Valentine's Day; I don't love my husband more on a day set aside on the calendar. I love him more than the previous day and not as much as the next, and it's the same for me and Earth Day.

Is it a good thing, though? YES! It's a very good day. Any day that we can raise the awareness of anyone out there is a good day. If people feel they can be a little bit better for at least one day, that's cool. Yes, have the celebrations and have the special events and do everything you can. At least it's one occasion where there will be no plastic trinkets to commemorate the day, like St. Patrick's Day with funny throw-away glasses and hats and beads etc. Or the new year celebrations with throw-away noisemakers and glasses. (what's with all the glasses??) Or Easter. Or Mother's Day with all the cards and food-wastage. Or the above-mentioned Valentine's Day with even more plastic. Yeah... at least we can celebrate this day with more focus on LESS waste. Let's keep it that way. If the time comes that I see a flashing-light pin shaped like a leaf or even the Earth to mark this day, that will be the time I will lose it for sure. I wouldn't put it past anyone, though. Gotta make that buck on cheap plastic Chinese imports....

Yes. Earth Day. It's great it's such a big deal now, but I'll be spending it the way I spend most other days... loving Nature and lamenting its ruin.

Green Gifts: Day 7

Get your aromatherapy on!

For those in your friend/family group who just love aromatherapy, it's an easy choice. Get them their favorites. And for those who always have a scent going on in the home but use chemical products, essential oils are wonderful! You can introduce them to a new world of NATURAL scents. Intimidated at trying to pick a scent for someone? Nah. Just think... when you walk into their home, do you smell cinnamon? Vanilla? Or floral scents, maybe? Lavendar? Are these scents products of Dow and SC Johnson, or Nature? If you have to say anything other than "Nature", then a holiday gift is a wonderful way to introduce someone to a greener way of smelling good. They'll be healthier, the planet will be healthier, and that makes everyone happy!

My wonderful friends back in Pennsylvania are steeped in herbology and essentials. (No pun intended!) You can check them out for great information and wonderful products. They know it all. Almost makes me wish I was still back there to learn with them! Visit Ruth and Tom at  http://www.wellcat.com/herbs.html. They rock! You can also check out the wonderful Tina at http://www.essentialherbal.com/index.php for information, products, and classes. Tina and Maryanne are the original Twisted Sisters!

On this coast, my favorite essential expert is Noelle of http://www.vimessentials.com/philosophy.php. She makes some lovely blends and sells diffusers that are amazing. I have the car diffuser that plugs right in and makes my driving experience a whole lot more pleasant. (Thanks Noelle!) What a great gift for anyone who drives a lot! You can also tune in to the Good Green Witch radio show, when Noelle came in to chat with us about aromatherapy and its many benefits:  http://www.latalkradio.com/images/Rhonda-061309.mp3

I could go on and on about the health benefits of essential oils and aromatherapy, but I'll let you visit these sites and leave it to the experts! I'm just here to suggest the gifts. Suffice it to say, any time you can convert someone to natural oils instead of cans of spray or those Glade chemical thingies, you are helping Green the world.