GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings

Victory Gardens Are Needed Again

10/2/2019

Victory Garden, Victory Gardens, World War One, World War Two, World War II, fresh food, food, organic food, growing food, compost, composting, Home Front, Going Green, Sustainable Living, Sustainability, Going True Green

I am sadden how the stories of our past, let them be His-Story or Her-Story, are forgotten or completely changed for a false narrative. I know just a few people reading this Going True Green Blog Post will know what a Victory Garden was so many years ago. Nevertheless, Victory Gardens are needed again.

Victory Gardens were planted by individuals on the Home Front as a patriot sign to make a difference as World War I and World War II were being fought. The premise was simple and the difference made was tremendous. These Victory Gardens were planted in yards, window pots, apartment rooftops and empty plots of land around the neighborhoods. They helped in the battle against food shortages as two world changing wars raged on for years. The food that was produced, was used and shared with those in need.

Today, a Victory Garden would be a major part of the multitude of solutions we can do as an individual. Having a Victory Garden will allow us to eat healthier with fresh organic food and be a positive contributing factor for our changing world. For more facts and information see my Going True Green Blog posts under the Category called: Composting.

If we truly want to be part of the solutions, we all need to have or take part in a Victory Garden. This Fall is the perfect time to start planning your very own Victory Garden for next Spring!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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BPA Is Not Alphabet Soup

9/4/2019

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CSPI, Center for Science in the Public Interest, BPA, BPAs, canned food, glass jars, food storage, plastic, wax paper, porcelain, toxins, microbial contamination, sustainability, living green, green living, going green, going true green

By now many people know about BPAs: Bisphenol-A, which is a chemical that has been in the lining of most cans holding food since the 1960s. The chemical prevents a faster break-down of the can's integrity and prevents microbial contamination of the food within a period of time. This chemical is also used in plastic bottles and in plastic storage containers for items like food.

So over the years consumers have become aware of the health risks that BPA can present, especially to fetuses, infants and young children. Some Health officials are concerned about the role that BPA may have in childhood brain development and behavior problems. Additionally, some studies on animals have shown a possible link between BPA exposure and an increased risk of cancer later in life. Complete evaluation of this data shows tests done on animals, not humankind. Nevertheless, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) had CSPI's nutritionist David Schardt stated: "We don't want to tell people not to eat canned beans or tomatoes, but at the same time, it makes sense for all parents, and especially pregnant and nursing women, to minimize the exposure of their kids' developing bodies and brains to BPA."

Glass Jar of Olives

Several products from different manufacturers now have BPA free packaging and that statement is made on the package. Products in Tetra Paks are more popular today and they are BPA free. Many soups now come in Tetra Paks and so do puree products.

Try to buy items such as Tuna, in glass jars and do the same with olives. Change over your plastic food storage containers to glass within your own budget of time and money. If you are unable to do so, then just wrap the left-over food in wax paper before placing in a plastic container. Wax paper, Glass and Porcelain do not leach toxins into our food. Avoid tomatoes or sauces in cans since they are highly acidic and aid in the leaching process of BPAs into the food. Just remember that most aluminum cans are lined with BPA and so are shiny thermal receipts from some gas station machines, ATMs, lottery or airline tickets, prescription labels, and cash registers.

Some additional information to keep in mind is that the Polycarbonate plastic with a recycling number "7" contains BPA and BPAF, which some studies claim to be worst. Also do not recycle receipts that might contain BPA and do not use a hand sanitizer after holding a receipt in question, because some reports showed that the absorption of BPA is increased with the use of hand sanitizer. Just use good old soap and water.

Now the complete evaluation of this data presents no evidence that we should have a panic attack because, once in a while, we had a tuna sandwich made at a diner that used tuna from a can. However, a serious effort should be made to avoid BPAs when expecting a child or feeding young children. A reasonable effort should be made for adults. In a short period of time, we will see safer food packaging across the market place as a steadfast transition takes hold.

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

8/14/2019

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Going True Green, concerned mother, kids, laminated wood floor

A New Laminate Floor

Going True Green received an email from a concerned mother and member of GoingTrueGreen.com. She was looking for more information on a possible issue with her kids and a laminated wood floor.

Below is that email and our reply published with permission:

Dear GTG,
I heard in the news that laminate floors from various manufacturers have cancer causing agents. My laminate floor is from a family business local to me and is about 5 years old. My kids play on the floor several times a week. I have extra floor boards, should I have them checked?

Hi Maria,

Thank you for emailing us. Many items we buy have one or more chemicals in them, chemicals such as Formaldehyde which is a colorless poisonous gas synthesized by the oxidation of methanol and used as an antiseptic, disinfectant, histologic fixative, and general-purpose chemical reagent for laboratory applications. Some products we buy are worst than others.

I reviewed your concern with Mary, our team's Chemistry Scientist, and she informed me that while polyurethane stains and laminations applied to wood surfaces are highly toxic when in a liquid state, they are harmless once completely dried. She does not believe testing the extra floor boards is necessary at all. Nevertheless if you feel that you need to do so, because you perhaps know of a company that does this type of analysis at a reasonably price, then speak to them for their insight.

Either way, we suggest the following with new laminated floors and rugs that may have a high concentration of chemicals.

You will want to "Air Out" new wood floors and rugs for at least 3 weeks or so with windows and bedroom doors open. Keep the kids off the rug and newly installed wood floor until you did an "air out" and washed the new rug or floor at least once.

For newborns, try to install the rug or new wood floor in the bedroom at least 3 months before the baby is born. Do an "air out" and don't have the expecting mother spend long periods of time in that room when the new wood floor or rug is first installed.

With your situation, since you had the floor for about five years now, your floor has been "aired out" a long time ago and I would not worry. However, if you still have concerns, you should also speak with your pediatrician for additional insight.

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

7/2/2019

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Freedom, Independence, 4th of July, Independence Day, America, 1776, Earth, Environment, Energy, fireworks, statue of liberty, sustainable living, sustainability, saving energy, going green, going true green, log cabin, cabins, oil, gas, fossil fuels, trees, wood floor finish, wood floors, building, lumber jacks, lumberjacks, God, triple C person, environmental hero, Bill Lauto

Allow me to tell you a story about a young man I learned about, who set out to build a sustainable house with mindful principles that used materials and techniques respectful of conserving energy, natural resources and our Earth’s environment.

With great admiration I tell this story, but the admiration is for the lessons learned. The reason for this is because of the basics we all have. We are all given free will from God and as an individual we make choices. This 4th of July we are also reminded of our freedoms in the United States that allow us to make choices, the best choices are always respectful, responsible, under the law and with accountability. These are things that we should all do, not just try, and especially not place fault onto someone or something else for our failures. However, as an individual we need to work hard to obtain the two additional elements listed in this Blog’s title: Intelligence and Illumination.

We can constantly complain and criticize, thus never increasing our intelligence and realization of a complete picture or we can work together on one team to find a real solution. We must stop wasting time, money, energy and intelligence to think of ways to hurt one another and start working together to help one another. If you only go looking for a problem, then you will never be part of the solution. The choice belongs to each one of us and how we stand tall to defend this fact each and every day.

So with that in mind, let us get back to our story…

For various reasons this young man went out to build a log cabin house for his family and office. First he used local materials, such as dead lodgepole pine trees. This reduced costs for transportation. Lumberjacks chopped the trees down and horses were used to drag the logs to the work site for his house. The use of oil and gas was avoided and so were loud noises. The trees were then peeled by hand to again save on the use of fossil fuels.

Alas, after all was said and done, our young environmental hero paused as he looked upon the barren area of the forest where they chopped down all the dead trees. While solving issues to save the world, he realized that he did harm to the world.

Dead trees also have a purpose in nature. When they rot and fall to the ground, they provide shelter for animals, they decompose to provide enriched nutrients for the barren and depleted soil. Bears, deers, sapsuckers, pine martens and so on, are all with a loss. Our hero did place seedlings on the landscape, but he realized that those seedlings were not equivalent to what he took.

For every environmentally friendly action he took, there was a consequence that added to his frustrations. This project was to be a “win, win” for him and the environment, but reality told a different story which he realized and acknowledged.

Another example is the nontoxic all natural wood finish he used on his wooden floors. Extracts of rosemary and orange peel within the finish were safe, but the drying process took a month and a half. The answer was to use electric fans to speed up the drying time and no worries because the electricity was generated by dams; but the dams kill salmon. These two different actions for finishing wood floors had the following facts to compare:
- Polyurethane finish is harmful to apply, but safe after dry
- Polyurethane finish cost 60% lower than the naturally safe brand and dries within a week

The lessons learned tell us that we do not have all the answers. We do not know everything, Nature does, but we don’t. This is why we must all work together on one team, one country. If any one person claims to know what is best for everyone else, she/he is either an elitist fool or Anakin Skywalker about to become Darth Vader.

For me, I know that I don’t have all the answers. I do know that I am a team player hoping to inspire all Americans to work for a better tomorrow together.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Jesus, Upper Room, Easter, L. J. Williams, Shroud of Turin, Jesus' Shroud, resurrection, Jesus the Christ

Goodreads, Jesus, Upper Room, Easter, L. J. Williams, Shroud of Turin, Jesus' Shroud, resurrection, Jesus the Christ

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Grass Catcher

6/25/2019

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lawn, grass, grass catcher, Fiskars, going green, goingtruegreen, cutting lawns, energy savings, saving money, saving Earth, reel mower

Optional Grass Catcher

Many Followers of GoingTrueGreen.com know that I use a reel mower. My GoingTrueGreen blog post on July 22, 2013 called, Mowing Down the Lawn, goes into details. So I have been cutting my lawn without noise, oil, gasoline, oil filters, spark plugs or electrical wires, to save money, energy and Earth. I cut twice a week so I get exercise and only have small grass clippings that compost into the ground. This way I don't have to rake up the grass clippings. I even made a video on the subject called, Less Lawn and More Garden. The Link is under the GTG Video Link above. Take a look, the video isn't long and has some laughs with serious facts.

However, this year's springtime delivered many cool and wet days in my neck of the woods. I could not cut my lawn twice a week. The longer cut blades of grass were turning brown and sitting on top of the newly cut lawn looking ugly. So after all these years I ordered the optional Grass Catcher that hooks onto the front of my mower.

I will still cut my lawn twice a week, but now if I can't cut the lawn because we had rain all week long, I could then use the Grass Catcher.

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

6/10/2019

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litter, litterbugs, pollution, garbage, water bottles, plastic,

We are Infested with Litter Bugs

When will this type of littering stop? One of the largest areas where litter accumulates is a street corner by a red light or stop sign. Especially the street corners at the end of a highway's Off Ramp.

We have an infestation of Litter Bugs and they seem to have an urge to void themselves of all unwanted items after a drive on a highway by tossing them out the car window. From cigarette butts to water bottles and cups we see them piling up and clogging sewer grates.

cigarettes, cigarette butts, litter, litterbugs, pollution, garbage, water bottles, plastic

Cigarette Butt Litter

What these Litter Bugs don't realize is that everything you throw out your car window, even a piece of dental floss, will eventually find its way down the sewer and into our water ways. That means our rivers and oceans. If anyone has gone swimming and a long brownish-gray string came across your face, that is not seaweed, that was someone's used dental floss. More drastic is the fact that fish eat what is in the oceans that we polluted and we eat fish. We are our worst enemy.

Now, since I do not wish to "Be A Triple C" person, that is someone who Constantly Complains and Criticizes. I will also present solutions, because a Triple C person never accomplishes anything and they never help to find solutions or solve a problem. Sadly the majority of our politicians are Triple C people.

Nevertheless, we the individual are the solution and what we need to talk about with our townships is the installation of cameras at the various street corners that have a large volume of litter. The cameras should be relatively easy to move from one location to another when deemed appropriate and should be used to catch people tossing anything out their car windows. License plate numbers will be recorded and a summons mailed to the owner of the car. This money can then be used to clean the litter and our oceans. All without raising taxes.

Don't Be A Triple C and don't be a Litter Bug.

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

5/28/2019

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compost, topsoil, fertilizer, growing food, going green, sustainable living, goingtruegreen, saving money,

Homemade Compost!

I have been cooking my own compost all winter and I opened one of my two bins this weekend to find about 400 pounds of enriched topsoil, aka fertilizer.

Immediately I placed some around my grape vines, fig tree, blueberry bushes, flowers and food garden. End results, I am saving MONEY big time. What I created in my compost bin was equivalent to about 12 topsoil bags from the store weighing 40 pounds each. Additionally, since my soil is enriched with nutrients, I didn't have to buy any fertilizer either.

Composting can be done on a kitchen counter, apartment building roof tops, back yards or balcony. We need to stop buying a "bill of goods" when we can make enriched topsoil for free. Here is the RECIPE:

First make your own compost bin or buy one of many designs and sizes. I recommend a bin with a lid that locks to keep out animals. Next, place the following ingredients into your compost bin, but never more than two (2) inches high of the same element.

Scraps and remains of fruits
Scraps and remains of vegetables
Add trimmed plant life, but NO diseased plants or flowering weeds
Add grass clippings like the way you use salt and pepper, but grass is not necessary
Add leaves every now and then, but avoid twigs from tree branches
Coffee grinds and paper coffee filters are great to add into the mix each day

Never compost Meat, Dairy, Fish, Bones, Cheese, Oil, Fats, Diseased Plants, Coal, Cat Litter, Plastics, Ash and Paper with Ink or print.

In about 10 weeks the finished product will be nutrient rich top soil that will nourish plants and keep weeds from growing. So look into cooking your own batch this year.

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

5/9/2019

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Bill Lauto, roofs, roof repairs, solar, NASA, rain water, collecting rain water, rain barrels, toilets, astronauts, Florida, going green, saving water, saving money, cleaning solar panels, Tesla, gardens, watering flowers, sustainable living, sustainability

Altering Perspective

I have been on a several roof tops recently. A person's perspective is always altered when viewing their surroundings from a different angle, especially from above. I had the good fortune to meet with an American Space Shuttle Astronaut when visiting NASA in Florida one year. His view when in space was an extreme perspective of our Earth. Many astronauts described that view as an altering perspective.

Much closer to the ground, on my rooftop, I just did some air vent repairs and wiped down my solar panels for optimum performance. I also cleaned out the rain gutters to prepare for my next project. Collecting rainwater to flush my toilet!

Tuscany Rain Barrel

I can no longer subscribe to paying money for clean drinkable water to flush away waste. Rainwater is Free and after a filter system to catch roof gravel, I am planning to implement my system for at least one toilet ASAP. I already collect rain water off my roof for my garden and lawn. From Tuscany style rain barrels to a giant rock design holding 80 gallons.

One's perspective must always include all angles to truly see all their surroundings and one's impact on God's green earth.

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

4/30/2019

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Water, rain water, pool cover, swimming pools, pools, going green, sustainable living, Holy Name Society, lower water bills, save money, money saving ideas

Collected Rain Water

The other day at a Holy Name Society meeting, my friend Roger came over to share a water saving action he came up with before removing his pool's cover.

Roger grabbed my attention by telling me that he came up with a great idea and I would be proud of him. So much so, that I would do a Going True Green blog post on the subject. He was right, so below is his water saving idea.

For everyone who owns a swimming pool on their property or the roof of an apartment building and you have some cold months where you cover the pool, the following can occur: Rain water may accumulate on top of the cover and instead of letting the water spill onto the patio/walkway around or into the pool, siphon off the water for your garden. This rain water is perfect to use with a siphoning hose to water your plants coming up in a garden or flower bed.

Several gallons of water can be sitting on a pool cover, so this is an excellent way to save water and lower your water bills. Just another great action, we as individuals, can take towards being a solution and preventing any possible future environmental issues.

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

4/8/2019

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Previously on Going True Green's Blog we spoke about two products that would hopefully save Money, Energy and our Earth. The testing and evaluations are now complete and here are the results:

On February 15, 2019 Going True Green shared information about Eco-Friendly Swedish Dishcloths to see if they would replace a wasteful use of Paper Towels. The blog's title was Cheese Cloth.

On February 26, 2019 Going True Green shared information about Dryer Balls covered in Wool to replace the plastic dryer balls. The blog's title was Woolly Balls - Not Plastic!

Wool, Wool Dryer Balls, no more plastic, plastic, plastic dryer balls, dryer sheets, saving money, saving energy, sustainability, Sustainable Living, environment, green deal, going green, going true green

Wooly Balls

Eco Friendly, sponges, paper towels, dishcloth, cheese rags, cheese cloths, sweetgum, swede, threebluebirds, going green, sustainable living, sustainability, going true green, cellulose, cotton, absorbent, streak free, compostable, biodegradable

Swedish Dishcloths

First I will report on the Wooly Balls for the Dryer. They are working well with no signs of deterioration or ripping. However, sometimes socks do cling to other clothes and this can be observed at the end of the drying cycle when unloading the dryer. They come 3 to a box and all 3 are to be used in the dryer. When 4 Wooly Balls are used in the dryer, the static cling of socks dissipates. The draw back with this, is that we need to buy two boxes instead of just one. For the sake of rating, I will use 5 Oak Leaves with 5 being the best.
The Wooly Balls get 4 Oak Leaves out of 5.

The second product is the Swedish Dishcloths. They are strong and great for cleaning like cloth rags. Also very functional for polishing furniture when mixing a furniture polish/cleaner with water. They show little wear with several rounds of washing them clean. However, they are not good for dusting furniture and they have virtually no absorption ability. This last inability voids any possible replacement of paper towels that are mostly used to dry and clean up a spill.
The Swedish Dishcloths receive 2.5 Oak Leaves out of 5.

That is my report. All in all, the products have their pros and cons. They both help to different degrees, but each one of us will have to decide the full benefits from their use.

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