GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings

Glyphosate Study: Killing Both Weeds And Us

8/7/2023

Going True Green, Seneff, Glyphosate, chemical, Dr. Seneff, MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, glyphosate, agriculture, autism, diabetes, cancer, allergies.

How Do You Kill Weeds?

I had read about research done on Glyphosate at MIT by Dr. Stephanie Seneff. Glyphosate is in herbicides that many people use throughout the world as a weed killer.

The data Dr. Seneff presents on Glyphosate is very concerning and she believes that this chemical is a slow kill for humans and other lifeforms. Seneff, a senior researcher from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, believes that the constant use of glyphosate throughout the world in agriculture since 1974, is the reason behind the dramatic increase in autism, diabetes, cancer, and allergies.

One of the earliest glyphosate studies by Dr. Gilles-Éric Séralini, a French molecular biologist, showed that low exposure over a lifetime leads to shorter lifespans and organ damage in rats. Other laboratory studies on human cells show that glyphosate caused a major factor in cancer by DNA breakage in the cells.

For years we have known that farmers have a higher risk of developing NHL (Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma) and a 2002 Swedish study showed the link with glyphosate to a three-fold increase in NHL. Seneff’s study presents that NHL may be due to glyphosate’s effect on micronutrients, particularly from deficiencies in manganese. Glyphosate can bond to metals such as manganese and magnesium.

Dr. Seneff said she is encouraged by the recent Supreme Court cases where manufacturers lost an appeal for their glyphosate use and that the EPA was ordered by SCOTUS to re-evaluate certain products as carcinogenic. Additional recommendations from Dr. Seneff include staying away from highways where there’s a high exposure to car exhaust. Studies in Brazil have shown that the glyphosate in the air around highways and agricultural areas using herbicides is not much different.

Another factor with glyphosate used to kill weeds, many plants such as corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, cotton and alfalfa are genetically modified so that they would not be harmed by glyphosate! This has significantly increased glyphosate content in plants especially when farmers also spraying the plants as opposed to just the weeds.

As for solutions to reduce our intake of glyphosate, eat organic food and drink distilled water. Use a home made weed killer and pull weeds out with tools, such as the one made by Fiskar.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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The Look Of Our Oceans

7/17/2023

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Oceans, Ocean, Water, waterways, pollution, plastic, plastic in our oceans, going true green, back to blue, Nippon Foundation, saving water, saving oceans, out of sight out of mind

What View Do You Prefer?

Going swimming this summer? I have posted several Going True Green blogs about our water supply, our oceans and pollution over the decades. While in many cases pollution in our waterways and oceans has improved, we also have created new ways that cause pollution in our oceans. Plastic pollution being the most concerning - please peruse my blog post: Earth Day Impaired.

Many of us heard the saying: Out of sight, out of mind. Sadly, that is the case many times with our oceans. Work being done under Back to Blue will hopefully end the blackout of information on chemical pollution in our oceans. Below is a release from last year and Links to more information:

TOKYO, JAPAN: March 2022 - Back to Blue, an initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation, is releasing a new report, The Invisible Wave: Getting to zero chemical pollution in the ocean. The main purpose of the report is to raise awareness of marine chemical pollution, the scale and potential impact of which are not widely appreciated, and to focus minds on delivering solutions to achieve a zero-pollution ocean. To visit, use this Link: backtoblueinitiative.com for the full report.

As for “Back to Blue” this is an initiative launched by Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation in 2021 to focus efforts on evidence-based approaches and solutions that tackle escalating ocean challenges, such as those posed by pollution. The Nippon Foundation was established in 1962 and is Japan’s largest philanthropic foundation, providing support to public-service activities in a variety of fields across national borders. In ocean affairs, the Foundation aims to cultivate human resources who will chart a course for the ocean’s future and to pass on the ocean’s riches to future generations.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Uneducated Elitist Set To Harm Environment

6/12/2023

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Remember when just California was doing money wasting and environmental damaging programs?
Case AND Point: See PAINT VS TREES GTG blog post on 5/31/2018.

Well, now we have the infamous minds of many politicians across our nation doing more harm than good to our environment. Multiple moves toward destroying our environment are being set up by our uneducated elitist leaders. Let us just look at a more complete evaluation of just a few... This is Part One of a Four Part Series

Making Gas Stoves illegal

Facts Being Omitted:

Gas stoves and ovens are more efficient than Electric powered stoves and ovens.
With electronic ignition for Gas cooking, there is immediate heat that is controlled far better, thus cooking faster.
Electricity for electric stoves will come from Utility companies.
Utility Companies will be burning Gas and a more polluting fuel known as Oil to make the extra electricity.
Utility companies burning more Gas or Oil to meet demand will put more pollutants into our environment.
America's antiquated GRID will fail with everything being switched to electric power.
Electric cooking has a higher cost compared to cooking with Natural Gas.
Utility companies make more money for the electricity... For example, with a Gas Clothes Dryer costing .25 cents to dry clothes, when compared to an electric dryer doing the same job, the electric cost would be $1.00. A 75% Increase!
Professional chefs only use gas stoves. The restaurant industry and patrons will suffer with higher electric bills.

Questions:

Who benefits from the Law making Gas Stoves OUTLAWS? (It is NOT us or our environment)
What are the utilities doing with all the extra money they will make?
Is there an "under the table" deal between the utilities and the politicians?
Will there be kick-backs to political campaigns from utilities?
Where is American ingenuity with the REAL SOLUTION - Hydrogen Fuel Cells running off of water to make clean energy on demand, such as the Fuel Cells used on our Space Shuttles since 1981?

A MUST READ: Process Of Energy Progression

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Salty Plastic

5/15/2023

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GoingTrueGreen, Microscopic plastics, plastics, seawater, salt, glacier salt, Himalayan salt, cooking, food additives, nanometer, oceans, pollution, ocean pollution, going green, CO2, environmental issues

Micro-Plastic: Photo from Science Codex

Plain and simple, the largest concern we should all have for our environment, is not a carbon issue, but a plastic issue. Cite

Do you consume salt? There is microscopic plastic particles in sea salt. Salt is in a great deal of foods that we consume, even in an ice cream sandwich. Most salt comes from our oceans and our oceans are polluted with plastic.

Microscopic plastics are from plastic litter that is exposed to weathering and physicochemical or biological degradation processes that breaks down the plastic into smaller and smaller and smaller size pieces. We are even seeing nanometer plastic in our oceans from the tons of plastic waste. Plastic is not biodegradable. The potential harmful effects on ecosystems and humankind is only a guessing game now.

A study was published in Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, about 39 various globally salt brands evaluated. Only three of the salt brands studied did not contain any microplastic particles. Sea salt, which is still gathered by the ancient technique of evaporating seawater, was highest, followed by lake salt, then rock salt.

The two safest salts just might be Glacier salt and Himalayan salt. Glacier salt, aka namakier, which is a flow of salt created when a rising diapir in a salt dome breaches the surface of the Earth. These diapirs are rare and are a type of igneous intrusion.

Himalayan salt is rock salt mined from the Punjab region of Pakistan. This salt often has a pinkish color and is primarily used as a food additive to replace refined table salt. Additionally Himalayan salt is used for cooking and food presentation.

We have to realize that we have to learn the true issues ourselves. We have to protect our own health by not buying sea salt anymore and supporting any of the numerous projects that clean plastics out of our oceans. Don't lie to yourself that some government, politician, celebrity, non-profit, corporation or some make-believe super hero is going to save us. We are not told these truths because these truths don't make anyone money and the people with the microphones don't read scientific peer reviewed studies. They make up there own stories to entertain and cause more damage to our environment and humankind.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Clear the Air with House Plants

1/30/2023

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air, air quality, indoor air pollution, indoor air, air filters, plants, boston ferns, hepa filters, NASA, air contamination, formaldehyde, oxygen, trichloroethylene, toxins, fertilizer, toluene, xylene, sunlight, green leaves, benzene, peat moss, goingtruegreen, going green, sustainable living

Electrical Air Filter

VS

Boston Fern

I have purchased many different types of air filters since the 1980s. I stopped buying them just after the turn into this century. Perhaps I was just buying a "bill of goods" just like Bottled Water is today, but some of the HEPA filters did help with my Hay-fever days. Then there was the cost to operate them... the electric bill, batteries, replacement filters. When winter enters the equation, we have the heat on and air circulation is cut dramatically due to closed doors and windows. Unlike AC units in the summertime that have filters, heating systems raise dust and do not filter. Yet, there is always another way, a better way.

About twenty plus years ago, at least three investigators with NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America found that specific house plants were very good at expunging elements expelled by items such as: new rugs, building materials, furnishings, cleaning agents, paints, varnishes, cigarettes, fabrics, preserved foods and other airborne pollutants.

Everyday items found in every home and office contribute to indoor air contamination. So to improve air quality and add oxygen into your living and working spaces, adding certain types of plants will make a difference for the better.

We already know that plants take in carbon dioxide and substances from the surrounding air through openings in each leaf. These elements are pollutants to us, but are broken down by plants to become food through translocation to the roots of the plant. Below is a list of plants that work the best for cleaning indoor air. They are in alphabetical order:

Aloe Vera
Known For:    Treatment for cuts, scraps and minor burns
Accomplish:   Removes benzene and formaldehyde
Care: Sun, well drainage and don’t over water

Areca Palm:
Known For:    Seven foot height, grow 7 inches per year
Accomplish:   Absorbs formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene
Care: Indirect Sunlight, water and fertilizer

Bamboo Palm:
Known For:    Loves the tropical amount of sunlight
Accomplish:   Removes trichloroethylene toxins
Care: Water only when the soil is dry and never overwater
Boston Ferns:
Known For:    Needs space to spread and grow its fronds
Accomplish:   Removes formaldehyde and improves oxygen levels
Care: Water frequently, mist twice per week and add peat moss

Gerber Daisies:
Known For:    A variety of bright colors and broad green leaves
Accomplish:   Absorbs benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene
Care: Direct sunlight and moist soil

Peace Lilies:
Known For:    Inability to tolerate cold, love warm and humid climates
Accomplish:   Absorbs benzene and trichloroethylene
Care: Direct sunlight and moist soil that drains well

Snake Plant
Known For:    Available in yellow, dark and light greens
Accomplish:   Removes formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, xylene, and trichloroethylene
Care: Indirect sunlight and keep the soil dry

There are a few more plants that can help, nevertheless, using house plants in your home or office saves money while being Eco-friendly with cleaning out indoor air toxins.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Best Western Plus in Intercourse, PA Provides EV Stations

11/4/2022

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Peaceful Amish Country Side

The other week I made a trip to Lancaster PA to complete some sustainability work I was doing with some Amish craftsmen. Making various furniture items from new or reclaimed wood and with hand tools is not easy. Additionally, I have to communicate in person or through liaison with the carpenter craftsman. No cell phones, fax machines or emailing pictures is the rule.

After completing my business, I took time to enjoy the peaceful country side during a season with far less tourists. Meals were freshly made and by 8 pm all the horse drawn buggies and most cars were off the road. I enjoyed the modern amenities at the Best Western Plus in Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Operated since 1983 by the Thomas family.

On the third day of my stay, I slept in late and by the time I stepped out onto my balcony, I heard some banging against something aluminum. I looked down and saw something being installed that would never be used by anyone in an Amish community. At least I don't think so, but I could be wrong. The young gentleman from Kyler Electric confirmed he was installing the first of several EV stations to charge electric cars at this Best Western Plus location. He didn't have a confirmed time as to when the EV station would be operational, but he estimated a few weeks.

Kurt Thomas, General Manager

I must admit that I was impressed that management would make the investment to provide this type of amenity. Yet I had already met the General Manager, Kurt Thomas, the other day and based on his impeccable service I was not surprised. Kurt and his staff went the extra mile for every guest staying with them. By the end of the day, the job was done.

Now with EV stations for electric cars the Thomas family is going the extra mile to help our environment. From their LED lighting to EV stations this family is part of all the individuals in our country that are real superheroes helping to make a difference.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Salty Roads and Salty People

1/24/2022

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Salt, road salt, blacktop, roads, winter, black ice, EPA, Prochlorococcus, rain forests, going true green, going green, sustainability, plastics,

Road Salt on Blacktop Roads

In many GoingTrueGreen blog posts I have written about what is on our streets will go into the sewers and then everything will be deposited in our waterways. Yes, everything from animal waste to dental floss. Our streams, rivers and oceans are the recipients of our careless littering and blatant use of toxic products such as paint and road salt.

With winter coming every year for many parts of the world, road travel becomes difficult. So many townships use Road Salt and this will end up in our oceans. Perhaps causing issues with Prochlorococcus, the invisible green forest in our oceans. These microscopic marine cyanobacteria are probably the most abundant organism on Earth. For millions of years they have made our oxygen. So the panic claim made by some people with a big loud speaker about the Rain Forests being the lungs of Earth, is not true.

We have many environmental impact questions about Road Salt and very few answers. We already know Prochlorococcus are being damaged by plastic pollution in our oceans, so perhaps a closer look into Road Salt is needed.

Road salt prevents black ice and saves many lives from winter road accidents. The minerals use are calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Combined with water, this is a solution that doesn’t freeze and is operational in less than 30 minutes.

Nevertheless, what are all the ecological issues created by road salt? I don’t believe we know. EPA states that high levels of salt in water can affect wildlife, insects, fish and humans. Salt has found its way into our drinking water tables, wells and reservoirs. A report out of Columbia University suggested that the road salt's accumulation problems we have today, is from applications made decades ago. Additionally, we do know that soil erosion is enhanced by road salt.

I have read about many alternatives to Road Salt, but will the supply of sugar beet juice or pickle juice meet the demand? Brines help, but will a certain mixture be as effective as Road Salt? Are sustainable de-icers any use? What are the cost comparisons in money, damage, supply and lives?

Many questions need answers, sadly too many pretentious scientists and other salty people from both extreme camps, are busy making money off of politicizing our environment, instead of actually studying and respecting our environment. To sum everything up, use this LINK to visit the recent past after reading this GTG post.

If any reader or someone you know is associated with a study being done on these topics, please let me know. Any additional data from a university or lab study that can be shared would be greatly appreciated so I may update this GTG blog post.
(Click this LINK now.)

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Working so your equipment is as Energy Efficient as possible

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Entrapped by 128 Million Pieces of Waste

10/17/2020

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A Created Low Orbit View of Earth Entrapped by Space Litter!

Perhaps there is something within our genome that causes humans to litter, but I sincerely hope that isn't the case. Yet, too often when we are holding something that we no longer want, we drop that item to the earth at our feet. Most of us do not recycle, reuse or properly dispose of the object, we discard the object. We have become so infected with this syndrome that we also discard human life.

Additionally, look at what we are doing to ourselves. We do not exclusively just litter at our feet, but also far above our heads!

The image I created on the left is an example showing Earth and what is orbiting our planet... Litter, space junk or aka: garbage. We are at the point that we are entrapping ourselves on our own planet.

On October 15, just a few days ago, an old useless 2 by 17 meters Soviet Parus Navigation Satellite that weights 800 Kilograms almost collided with an old Chinese rocket stage, according to U.S. Space Surveillance Network. Object number 19,826 came within 100 meters of object number 36,123 at the event altitude of 991Km or 615 miles above earth. If they collided, these two large items could have created thousands of smaller MMODs which stands for Micro Meteoroid and Orbital Debris. There are 34,000 items larger than 10 centimeters and the balance of the 128 million pieces of orbiting litter are MMODs.

While some people are concerned about a meteor from outer space hitting our planet, we also should not rule out a future collision of two large pieces of space junk in low orbit possibly causing dozens of bullet size pieces to penetrate our atmosphere. If these pieces come in over an empty ocean, thank God. However, what if they rain down over a town or city?

Above is an image created by NASA showing space junk from a high Earth orbit. Two main debris fields are the objects in geosynchronous Earth orbit and the concentration of objects in low Earth orbit.

We are our worst enemy. Times are already challenging to launch a rocket and enter Earth's orbit among the current 128 million pieces of orbiting junk. No program is yet established to remove orbiting space junk, but I suspect and hope the new Space Force with the prototype Chaser space crafts will have that assignment.

So if you think that navigating home through rush-hour congestion is hard in your earthbound vehicle. What will your great grand children be saying when they are trying to visit Earth's orbit, our Moon or Mars? We cannot allow this space litter to freely increase as humankind works more and more in space.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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REALLY... Glove Litter?

5/4/2020

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gloves, virus, covid, covid19, litter, litter bug, litterbugs, careless, medical gloves, wakeup

Discarded Glove: Neighborhood Lawns

Discarded Glove: City Sidewalk

I do not get out much lately due to "stay at home" orders, but every time I had an essential trip (doctor/food) to make... Really? GLOVE LITTER!

Why would anyone allow their glove that may have been contaminated to be dropped or discarded on a street, lawn, hallway or sidewalk?

Each one of us is the solution, but sadly, we are also our worst enemy.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Dead Solar Panels

3/10/2020

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solar, solar electric, solar panels, gallium, solar farms, photovoltaic, solar energy, recycle

Unusable Solar Panels: Recycle or Bury

Solar Panels have a life span of about 20 to 30 years. They help our environment in that time period by reducing the alternatives which would increase our carbon footprint. However, to prevent dark clouds from forming overhead due to the coming waste management issue with old solar panels that are decommissioned, we need a plan toward an efficient infrastructure to recycle up to tens of millions of solar panels.

America has over two million solar installations ranging from roof tops on homes and businesses to rack systems on the ground in solar farms. Many older systems are at the decommissioning stage. Currently, America does not have efficient solar panel recycling policies. The U.S. actually has no national policy.

Europe has policies for solar recycling programs because the Dual Systems laws, which have been in place for years have the manufacturers take back their products to recycle. In July of 2014, I wrote a GTG Blog post on this called:
eRecycling and eWaste. Here in the U.S. the homeowner is on their own, especially with older systems that do not have monitoring abilities in place to inform the contractor or homeowner when the solar panels need to undergo decommissioning.

Solar panels are 99% recyclable since they are made up of glass, aluminum, plastic, copper, lead, gallium, cadmium and silicon. However, the process to recycle solar panels is very involved. Dissembling all parts and separating some of them with melting, lasers, a solvent, cutting or a stream of electrons to selectively break apart components on a surface maybe necessary. Despite all that, great recycling opportunities are coming and an economic upside can come from recycling solar panels. Some estimates state that there will be a 15 Billion dollar business waiting for the new solar recycling industry by 2050.

The time to start is now, so we don't find ourselves burying dead solar panels in landfills.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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