HEALTHY PLANET: WHAT MATTERS?

I'm baaaack!  I know I'm a sporadic poster here.  This time I have a pretty good excuse.  Hub and I went on a 3-week vacation that took up most of September.  We traveled through Ireland on a tour as well as some time on our own.  It was a lovely trip.  Hub took many, many photos of energy-producing windmills.  I don't know why.  I think it's because his radar is always up for anything climate-change related.  We learned coal-fired energy production is still a thing and drove past a couple of the plants.  But windmills were in abundance in certain places as well, with plans to move more off-shore in the future.  Their government policy is to reduce greenhouse gases by 51% by 2030. 

The effects of climate change are all around us right now, literally in the air we breathe as once again this year smoke hangs in the air from a nearby forest fire that seems to be particularly persistent.  I read the other day it has been determined the cause was human misadventure of some sort.  It has burned for many weeks now, all the way to the edge of a main east/west highway over the mountain pass, closing that route for many travelers and residents who use it to commute back and forth.

Skeptics will say "human caused fires" are not about the climate.  Yes, they are, as they become more common and more persistent due to disease and drought which ARE climate-related. It's all connected.  Mother Nature...get it?

And of course, Hurricane Ian recently wrecked its havoc in Florida, as a Category 4, "500 year storm", devastating coastal areas up and down the east coast.  These storms are more frequent (much closer together than 500 years), much bigger, and much more damaging to human life (as we persist in developing coastal areas for recreation and habitation), as ocean waters warm and jet streams go wonky.  (That's a scientific term.)

Is this fixable anymore?  Hub is taking a course online for which the premise is we are now in "climate collapse".  We can't stop it.  We're screwed.  This is depressing.

He showed me a chart from the course that I found discouraging.  Here I sit writing about plastics recycling and dutifully dividing my 'plastic film' from my 'multi-layer plastics' from my 'recyclable plastic' from my 'clamshell' plastic....and for what?  Is any of this even making a dent in what we are facing?  I see that I am naively in the second column of the chart, with awareness of all the issues being interconnected from the third column.  

We had to quickly go out and buy some quantity of fruit last week for a family get-together.  We discussed that at Costco all of this would come in clamshell packaging.  I said, "Oh well, I guess that matters little in the collapse scenario."  I was obviously discouraged and ready to give up.  

Still.....there's total collapse and then there's not that bad of a collapse?  Is taking no action in the face of disaster the wise choice?  NO!  We can begin to mitigate the extent of the disaster with our every day actions.  The Inflation Reduction Act with its big pay out for climate policy is a start and is very encouraging.  We, as citizens, can still do our every day absolute best to live more lightly on the earth, with increasing information and awareness of how we made this mess, to knock it off, and take responsibility for helping clean it up best we can in order not to leave some barren armageddon for our grandkids.

So, I'm gonna keep on keepin' on with my efforts.  I hope you will too.  It's what we can do.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet. ©

Photo Credit: Hub, Official Trip Photographer; Chart: www.heartcommunitygroup.org

HEALTHY PLANET: RANDOM THOUGHTS ON CAMPING -- PLASTIC, FIRE, FUEL, AND NATURE

Hub and I took a trip in our truck camper last week to beautiful Mt. Rainier.  We stayed in our favorite campground which is smaller and quieter than many -- no hook-ups, mostly people looking for peace and hiking trails. 

It is very hard to be a "comfort" camper and still be Earth-Friendly.  I totally own that.  I have gone along on camping trips with Hub for over 50 years -- tents, backpacking, tent-trailering, and now in a truck camper with all the bells and whistles, but we rarely use all it can do because we don't want to run the obnoxious generator to power the thing.  Hub got a big portable solar panel and batteries to keep the lights on and that works great. 

I am not a big fan of camping anyway, so I am not going to sleep in a tent and live the outdoor life at a picnic table.  And I'm DEFINITELY not going to carry my worldly possessions on my back to a wilderness site.  I get that these would be much greener options.  And I spent many years doing all of that.  No more.  I am not at peace with my decision vis-a-vis my commitment to earth stewardship, but I am sure about it nonetheless.

And ... there are real life consequences:

The big diesel Chevy truck that carries the camper in its bed is a gas-guzzler made more so with the extra weight of the fully loaded camper.  (We are eager for greater electric truck availability!)  Propane fuels the heater (currently broken, so we didn't use it), refrigerator, and stove.  We hate wood fires (breathing that particulate matter into our lungs, enduring sore throats and watery eyes, and stinking like a smoke jumper when we climb into bed) so Hub got a small propane-fueled fire ring.  We fire it up, gaze a bit, make a couple of S'mores, and turn it off.  

We take reusable storage containers with us for leftover food.  We used them for our sandwiches and chips to eat on our hikes too, sticking them in the daypack even though bulky.  In a previous life trail lunches would have gone into throw-away plastic baggies.  Some progress.  But being plastic-aware didn't really make up for the fossil fuel-fueled camper trip, did it?

I guess there is no way to be 100% "pure" with any of this.  I am doing much better with much greater awareness than ever before.  I am not perfect.  I tell myself one camping trip this summer isn't so bad, right?  But multiply that by millions of people driving RVs, 5th wheels, pulling trailers, carrying truck campers, and rolling along in their camper vans and we've got a very earth-stressful leisure activity going on, don't we?

Maybe being out in nature, taking in the glory of a National Park, an ocean beach, a mountain trail, or a rushing stream can bring us back to our senses and help us see that Mother Nature carries on without us being there at all.  Go see her as lightly as you can, with deep respect and intention, then go home and do your best to honor her by letting her be. Take some personal action in daily life decisions and support politicians and policies that will save her.  It's the least we can do.

Here's to health...for ourselves and our planet. ©

Photo: Not Mt Rainier -- somewhere in 2017 in my photo library.

HEALTHY PLANET: CELEBRATING A VICTORY!

Well, surprise, surprise!  And hip, hip, hooray!  This past week the Congress passed and the President signed the Inflation Reduction Act passed through the Senate budget reconciliation process that required only a majority vote, not the filibuster-blocking 60%.  A month ago this bill was DEAD.  But somehow in the backrooms and bars, in emails and phone calls, through text messages and Twitter feeds something broke loose and out of the blue (it seemed) within mere days it was done.  The Democrats in the Senate were finally all behind it; the Republicans all against it.  The Democratic V.P. was the tie-breaker. The bill heads to the House where it is a sure thing the Democrats will support and the Republicans will oppose. It will pass since Dems have the majority.  The President will sign it into law and here we are!  (P.S. Voting counts.  I hate that all the great things in this bill -- not just climate stuff -- is seen as "partisan".  It's crazy to oppose legislation that will help people, and even which their constituents support, just to stick to the opposing party in a tantrum of party unity over doing the right thing. Democracy broken.)

I'm not going to recount the machinations that got us here, the drama and frustration, the misleading statements and outright lying, the promises and maddening compromises, nor will I outline everything that's in the bill (and what got left out -- which is the disappointing part), because the point is: huzzah! Something got passed and that something is way more than nothing and pretty darn good.

It's easy to criticize that it should have gone further, but to have any bill at all is the cause for celebration.  This is a big piece of legislation that will make a big difference.  We can celebrate the victory of this, while continuing to work for more and better.  That's how this goes.  

Our planet is finally getting some attention.  Part of this bill addresses climate change.  Maybe it's the wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods -- the real consequences of ignoring Mother Nature coming home to roost in every corner of the world.  Maybe it's relentless activism and consciousness raising.  Maybe it's a younger generation rising up to demand their future be livable.  Maybe it's economics -- the world is changing and politicians and corporations finally see some incentive to cash in. 

Whatever it is, this is a good thing that just happened.  I know many folks disagree.  That's OK.  Even if they don't see it, don't get it, and outright oppose it, it's gonna benefit them and their kids and grandkids anyway.  You're welcome.

I'm not an expert on any of this.  My husband is the "climate guy" in our family, giving talks on the health impacts of climate change, working with various organizations to educate the public and lobby the politicians.  But I'm a concerned citizen trying to do what I can in any small way -- the whole plastic thing I've been writing about for example and bugging my local, state, and national representatives to get behind legislation.

So, I'm delighted that $300 billion is earmarked for energy and climate justice reform.  Electrification of transportation, tax credits for electrical consumer goods (cars!), investment in renewable energy infrastructure, limits on greenhouse gas emissions.  All good things; all good places to start to make a difference.

We can and should take every personal action we can to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. And I'll get back to that in future posts. Climate change is human made and needs human intervention.  But our small efforts pale in comparison to sweeping policy change that can have huge, nation-wide, world-wide impacts.  That's why this is cause for celebration.  Let's push on! 🎉

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

Photo Credit: pixabay.com

HEALTHY PLANET: PLASTIC FREE JULY: WEEK FOUR - THE WRAP UP (BUT NOT SARAN WRAP)

 

Plastic Free July is over for this year. I failed to be plastic free.  But I'll visit the whole plastic topic again in this blog and report on how I'm doing over time...

It's a little (a lot!) overwhelming isn't it?  How can we possibly be "plastic free"?

This chart, if one has better eyes than mine or a magnifying glass, is helpful, but just looking at it makes me want to give up before I start.

Plastic Free July has at times made me feel that way -- like giving up.  

By Week 4 my consciousness has been well and truly raised.  I wasn't UNconscious before, but you know how it is -- it's easy to just tune things out, overlook, and take for granted until one makes an intentional effort to be aware.  Now I am just gobsmacked at the plastic world in which we live.

Look around your home, your car, your workplace, your community.  Just sit in one indoor place and look around.  Count the number of items you see that are made, all or in part, of plastic. Or came packaged in plastic.  Or will be thrown in a plastic trash bag when you are through with it.  

There is no going back, of course.  So let's forge ahead!  Are you still with me???

I feel I've made some paltry efforts and that I'm also decades late to being a good earth steward.  I visualize all the "earthy" folks I know and admire who have forever been using old yogurt containers for storing nails or whatever; who have pantry shelves lined with Mason jars full of bulk-purchased beans and rolled oats; who have carried their own hand-sewn shopping bags into whatever health food store they frequent for buying their whole week's worth of organic vegetables and scratchy T.P.  You get the idea.  I have done all of that too -- occasionally.  But I confess: I've been lazy and inconsistent and cost-conscious. Convenience-Cheap is my hyphenated middle name. (Not really.)

So I'm heartily patting myself on the back for every effort I've made this month to make a better choice.  

Our local plastic bag ban has made it easy to take reusable shopping bags to the store -- or pay 8 cents for a paper bag, which "cheap" me won't do.  

I've always lamented those rolls of plastic produce bags if for no other reason than how foolish I feel trying to open one of them to receive my apples, especially in Covid times when spitting on my fingers to gain traction is so frowned upon.  I purchased fabric produce bags that I sometimes remember to take into the store with me; I think I'll get better at this.  

I have given up almost completely my beloved Saran Wrap using instead some silicone stretch covers I ordered from Amazon (I know...Amazon...another blog post about them!) that are technically maybe still a plastic product (some say rubber, some say not safe, I say no easy answer), but can be washed and used over and over.  I also often just put a plate over the bowl of whatever in the 'fridge to keep it fresh enough.  

At the bulk foods bins, which we aspire to use more frequently, we use paper bags when they are available, but often they are plastic.  We are committed to bringing our own reusable containers but that's a goal at this point more than a reality since we are unsure how that works re measuring the poppyseeds and not the glass jar we put them in. More info and experience needed.

And I'm learning so much about plastic recycling and what should go in the curbside bin (not everything), what will actually get recycled (not much), and finding resources for those things curbside won't deal with (not many).

So the bottom line is plastic is everywhere, all the time.  Increasing our awareness and changing our behavior is important.  It's also easy to believe that any individual effort is a drop in the bucket, a fruitless and impotent attack on an industry and a culture that just doesn't care.  But doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do is in itself a rewarding experience.  And every little bit really does help -- especially as we model that little bit for others and they adopt some of those practices and soon we've shifted the culture and put pressure on industries to meet our demand for a better way.  I want my grandkids to know I tried to help clean up some of the mess they are inheriting, not for them to notice that I contributed to it without a second thought.

And if bigger action is your thing....politics and pressure.  You know the drill: be aware of pending legislation; contact your legislators.  Vote for those who understand and care about all the contributors to climate change.  Write letters to the editor or post your views and actions on social media. Rally, march, speak out.  

The more we know, the better we can do.  Let's do better.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

Read and Learn:  https://lifewithoutplastic.com/about-us/  (A book and website with lots of info; just google for more resources -- not gonna list them all here)

Watch and Learn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37PDwW0c1so  (Watch full doc on Amazon Prime, maybe elsewhere)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RDc2opwg0I  (YouTube of the PBS doc)

HEALTHY PLANET: PLASTIC FREE JULY: WEEK THREE: COVID AND MEDICAL PLASTIC WASTE

Well, it's not going great. I got Covid.  Which made me recall that medical waste is a tremendous contributor to our plastic scourge. One source (the non-profit, Practice Greenhealth) estimates that 24% of all medical waste from hospitals is plastic.  That's a lot!!!  Every hospital in every city/county/region/state is throwing plastic away as an amazingly large volume.

But we are up against the usual:  cheap to produce, easy to use, sterile, and easy to toss out. Some medical facilities are trying to cut the plastics habit and remembering that not every single piece of medical equipment needs to be new and can be reused: surgical basins and sterilization wraps for example do not come into contact with patients.  Some hospitals are trying to recycle their plastics, but this is fraught with inconsistency and it's easier to just not try.  Most of it goes into the landfills or incinerators -- emitting toxic plastic fumes into the air as smoke belches from the incinerator smokestacks near where many people live and work.

Medical personnel and patients alike are growing in awareness of the financial cost and the "it never goes away" cost of tossing plastic into the waste stream. 

I thought of this as I made my Covid journey last week.  I tested once to see that I was positive.  I tested again after 4 days after starting Paxlovid treatment and again at 5 days post-treatment.  I tested again the morning I left on a trip.  I tested again the day I got home.  And with each test I opened a plastic outer packet within which were 3 plastic inner packets of the test kit, every component of which was also made of plastic.

Awareness abounds.  The solution evades.  But I do know that there are places I can make different choices and places where I cannot.  We can only do what we can do.  But at the very least we must do something.

Here's to our health, for ourselves and our planet...©

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/can-medical-care-exist-without-plastic#:~:text=Practice%20Greenhealth%2C%20a%20non%2Dprofit,most%20of%20which%20is%20plastic.

HEALTHY PLANET: PLASTIC FREE JULY: WEEK TWO: STYROFOAM, A SCOURGE

 July 8:  Hmm..."Miscommunication", he said.  Remember that shipping place I mentioned last post that said they'd take my styrofoam? Nope. 

I had an eye exam appointment early this morning and the shipping place was less than a mile away.  How convenient!  So after my appointment I drove over there to do the drop off, only to discover I had 30 minutes to kill waiting for them to open.  Went to Starbucks at the neighboring QFC grocery and got a Starbucks latte.  Then my dilated eyes spied the bakery department.  Some demon took control of my mind/body and I bought a Top Pot (the best!) apple fritter.  I walked back to the shipping joint, sat in my car reading my Noom (weight loss program) lessons for the day while eating my pastry and drinking my latte, waiting for the the store to open.  (There is SO much wrong with that sentence!)  

Once inside I joyfully announced I was there to recycle my styrofoam and the guy (not the woman I'd spoken with on the phone) told me no.  They will take "some packing peanuts" but no solid styrofoam nor other packing materials.  "Must have been a miscommunication,"  he said.   Uh-huh.  Must have been, even though I clearly explained what I had to the woman on the phone.  Oh well.

I got back in the my car cursing the petrochemical industry for styrofoam, plastics, and wrecking my healthy eating intentions.  I hold them personally responsible for all the ills of my life right now.  Plus, I was in such a sugar junkie fog buying my next fix that I didn't even consider that the fritter came in a little plastic bakery bag until I went to throw it away at home.  Fail. Fail.

July 10:  Still on the hunt to get rid of my styrofoam.  Back to Ridwell.  They will take it in a 45 gallon trash can liner for an extra $9.00 above my monthly pick up fee.  I get it.  Styrofoam is awful and they have to deal with it when I don't want to, or can't, beyond filling up my trash can.   I'm looking at it as the "shipping fee" I didn't have to pay to Wayfair for ordering online and "free" delivery.  Note to self: stop ordering online.  

July 11:  This should be a no-brainer.  But since I'm doing a consciousness-raising exercise this month re my use of plastic, I am not beating myself up too much.  I reach for plastic baggies far too often!  I had some herbs to take to my daughter-in-law yesterday from my proliferating herb garden.  I reached for a baggie.  Caught myself, and rummaged through the "clamshell" recycling I'd set aside for Ridwell, and repurposed a container for the herbs. I asked her to return it to me for recycling.  Same with the fresh raspberries I'd picked for her.  First thought: quart-sized ziplock baggie.  Second thought: that dip container (#5 plastic) that Hub had emptied and can't be recycled.  I repurposed it for at least one more use and saved a baggie.  I bet most people always do this sort of thing; but I really, really dislike a cabinet full of miscellaneous empty containers that may or may not be the right size for whatever I need to store. Yet,  now I'm giving up my cabinet aesthetics to ditch my automatic plastic baggie habit.  When you know better (and live into that knowing), you do better.

July 12:  I got a new little table that of course I had to assemble myself.  Why, oh why, did the assembly parts have to come in individually sealed plastic inside an orange plastic bag?!?  The plastic packaging manufacturers have convinced retailers they need to wrap things up double and triple so their buyers can be assured that little allen wrench won't slip away I guess.  Sheesh.

July 13:  Almost every night I have a little 100 calorie frozen dessert treat while watching TV.  Either a Yasso Bar or a Healthy Choice fudge bar.  I look forward to it.  But now it's ruined by my full awareness that every bar is wrapped in non-recyclable plastic that I throw into the garbage can.  Maybe I can wean off?  Stay tuned.

July 16:  Well, I'm already into Week 3 and have not posted this.  Good excuse though: Covid.  It caught up to me.  I'll write more about that later over on my other blog, "My View From Here", which you can find and click on the top of this page. (Maybe only the browser version?  I'm not sure how this works.  LOL)

Tune in for more plastic awareness next week when I tackle getting all the styrofoam in a big bag for Ridwell to pick up.  In the meantime I share a resource linked below from Plastic Free July -- DIY fun!

Here's to our health, for ourselves and our planet...©

https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Make-your-own-beeswax-wraps_compressed-1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gAZCJet8RAnWBPulDbw5FB6V7QU0vatQdvxDxHn2x2z3TBMoNNxCQKwg

HEALTHY PLANET: PLASTIC FREE JULY: WEEK ONE: CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING

Week One Finished.  Awareness increasing.  Impossible to avoid plastic use completely, but every choice within my power not to is worth something, right?

July 1:  We are doing an aesthetic "remodel" inside and outside our home this summer.  Hub's setting a huge patio of flagstone; I'm re-imagining our indoor spaces with some furniture, accessories, and art updates.  I ordered a couple of chairs and a lamp.  As you might imagine, they all showed up wrapped in plastic and packaged with styrofoam.  Ugh.  Not a good start to Plastic Free July.

With a guilty feeling of dread and defeat, I stuff all that styrofoam in the trash can.  Then I took it all back out.  Instead, we Googled where to get rid of styrofoam -- notoriously hard to recycle.  There are drop off places outside our county (if you live within the jurisdiction, which we don't) and I could pay Ridwell (link to resources at end of post) to take it.  But we found a postal/shipping place not far away who said they would take it, keep what they can use in their business and put the rest in their recycle container for pick up.  Sounds good to me, even though it's a 40 minute round trip.  (Not burning gas in my little EV Leaf!)  So my styrofoam won't go in my garbage can straight to the landfill.  I trust this place has a recycling partner?

I checked with Ridwell -- at least they can take the huge swaths of plastic wrap that came around each chair.  

July 2:  I seem to collect "pretty" rocks that I think I'll strew about my garden or display in a dish or something.  I also have some of those glass pebble things you get at craft stores which I've accumulated for some unknown and undone craft projects.  Gathering up the loose ones rolling around in a shoe box for no apparent reason, I decided to separate them out and store them more efficiently. Of course I ran to the kitchen for a handful of plastic baggies!  Perfect for the job!  Oops.  Nope.  Well, let's see, how about my food storage containers?  Well, then where do I put my food?  Wait!  I just threw a couple yogurt containers in the recycle bin that most likely will never get recycled anyway (#5 plastic -- a type that gets sorted and landfilled).  I dove into the bin, retrieved the containers and voila!  Re-used!  I see how my automatic "go to" is not the best, even if it is a bit more convenient.  I'm still using plastic, but I'm using it more than once...better, right?  Now I just have to learn to make my own yogurt to ditch those big yogurt containers! 

July 3:  I thought I needed a new hose nozzle.  (Turns out I didn't -- Hub found a plethora of them in the garden shed.)  The one I bought, because I have another like it and love it, was plastic but it's not single use, so I felt sort of OK.  But the tag and zip ties that came attached were throw-away plastic. Why???  Sigh.

July 4:  My son gave me a bunch of bamboo toothbrushes for a gift at some point.  He knows my "save the earth" tendencies.  (He buys Hub carbon offsets. LOL)  But I was recently at the dentist and got my "good girl" parting gift of a new (plastic) toothbrush and (plastic-encased) floss.  This morning I decided I might be able to do better.  I Googled and there are eco-friendly alternatives!  I've order the "Starter Kit" from "Bite" (link in resources).  I'll get a bamboo toothbrush, a refillable bamboo floss container with non-plastic floss, a tin of "mouthwash" tablets, and a reusable glass jar of "toothpaste" tablets (you bite into the tab and start brushing and it gets a little foamy), also saving me from buying toothpaste tubes which are not recyclable.  I'll let you know how it goes!

July 7:  Farmer's Market temptation was an amazing looking chocolate toffee candy thing that was enough to share with Hub.  I wanted it!  But the portions were all pre-packaged in clamshell containers.  I asked the proprietor of the booth if he had any that he could just stick into a little paper bag or wrap in a napkin or something.  Nope.  So I said I'd have to pass; explained I was foregoing plastic when I can.   I was sad; he looked perplexed.  

I've noticed that every single day I've dealt with something housed in plastic.  Containers of every type, blister packs, molded plastic containers, wraps and double wraps, styrofoam packaging.  I don't yet know how to avoid it in today's world.  

But...on to Week Two.  Wish me luck.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

If you live within their service area, Ridwell is a great recycling resource.  Check out their website here: https://www.ridwell.com/

Here's some dental alternatives to traditional toothbrushes, floss, etc. : https://bitetoothpastebits.com/

HEALTHY PLANET: PLASTIC FREE JULY: READY, SET, GO!

I'm doing this thing my friend told me about: Plastic Free July.  

Plastic Free July actually started in Western Australia way back in 2011 by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and a small group of government employees, according to their website.  Now it has become just one initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, an award-winning organization working toward a plastic free future.  A daunting task.

Plastic is, of course, a fossil fuel product made from natural gas, coal, and petroleum.  So our "friends" in the fossil fuel industry, and plastic manufacturers as well, are pretty invested in seeing to it that plastic remains a growth industry and something consumers just can't do without -- or easily avoid.

Since fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource that's not good.  And since plastic doesn't easily break down and degrade back to the earth in a healthy way, and does lots of terrible damage to the environment while it hangs around, it is pretty awful in many ways.  The plastic cup your yummy iced coffee comes in could live on for 50 years!  Even if you throw it in the "plastics" recycling bin.  (Unfortunately very little of that stuff is actually recycled.)  More on all of this in future posts.

So, what's a concerned and earth-loving human to do?  Well, I'm doing Plastic Free July.  I know I won't be "plastic free".  But I plan to become more "plastic aware".  

My first step is to raise my own awareness about what actions I can take.  Since plastic is so ubiquitous, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and just give up.  "I'll never be able to NOT use plastic!"  Maybe not.  But I'm starting with watching and noticing every time I DO use and/or buy something plastic (or which is packaged in plastic).  Noticing is the first step.

Next, I will ask myself, "What alternative is there?"  I might come up with some innovative and creative ideas!  

Or I might ask,  "Can I do without this?"  Hmmm...a lesson in discernment between "want" and "need".  (This popped up yesterday when I decided to forgo my much craved Starbucks iced mocha because of the plastic cup it would come in.  I survived.)

I have no solid answers at the moment, just an intention of consciousness-raising and creative problem-solving.  I'll let you know how it goes.  If you want to join me, here's the link to Plastic Free July.    https://www.plasticfreejuly.org

The antidote to despair is action.  Let's act!

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

SUPER BLOG FAIL!!! BUT I'M BACK...

This blog has languished.  There are many reasons.  I'll list a few below.  But I recently happened upon some wisdom I turn to often these days:  "Justification is the enemy of intention (and leads to self-sabotage)". 

INTENTION:  I'll write a blog on personal and planet health!  JUSTIFICATION for not writing: Life, priorities, overwhelm.  

So, join me in forgiving yourself if you've ever had the very best of intentions but still screwed up and didn't follow through.  Forgive and get on with it.

I admit, climate change is a HUGE and OVERWHELMING topic and my tendency to want to be well-researched and thorough meant that each time I thought of a topic to write about, I was drowned in a sea of too much information!  It felt like I was back in school contemplating the daunting assignment of writing a term paper.  With footnotes.  And it's so "science-y"!  That part of my brain goes to sleep at times.  Also a whole raft of personal issues sort of took priority.  Staying alive and functioning takes some time and energy.  Go figure.

So, this time....I'm giving myself permission to write here without expectation of brilliance or even regularity.  When it comes to climate issues, I'm NOT an expert and I am NOT going to write 3,000 words on forest management and wildfire prevalence or whatever.  I'm going to chat about climate related topics, offer some personal story experiences, maybe share a few tips or resources and call it good.  The main thing is to raise awareness, hopefully form some community and conversation around this topic.  I hope you are "in" with that.

I'll also throw in some posts about personal health because our bodies are part of the planet and it's all connected. I find that amongst my age cohort -- older adult -- personal health is a popular and necessary topic.  We can all be each other's support and resource.

Some posts will be about healthy human bodies; some about the natural environment; some about both; and all about health in general and its benefits for self, others, nature, and the future of Earth.

Stay tuned....I'll be back.  This time I mean it!!!

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

HEALTHY BODY & PLANET: UPDATE ON NEWS OF THE WORLD: SATIRE OF A SERIOUS NATURE

Hellooooo!  Well, it's been a good long while since I posted to this well-intentioned new blog where I had hoped to highlight climate and health issues, both global and personal.  But who knew there would be NOTHING to write about?!?!?

I mean, let's see.  Yes, there is a raging coronavirus pandemic, which we lovingly call Covid-19 since it started in 2019, but here we are in the waning months of 2020 and it's still here!  We've all grown accustomed to it and now we are FINE! 

The current president and his family and 25+ other administration officials recently caught the devil virus, but the Dear Leader came out of it declaring he felt better than he had in 20 years and struck a dramatic pose on the Truman Balcony, dictator style, saluting the helicopter that had just flown him "home" from a four-day, all (taxpayer) expense paid stay at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he got the best possible care from top-notch doctors and a nice little cocktail of expensive and experimental drugs to help him feel oh so much better.  I don't know if his happy ending holds true for the other 8 million U.S. citizens who have contracted Covid-19 so far -- some of whom have been very, very ill and continue to have adverse health effects.  Those folks are now called Covid Long Haulers.  And then there are the 217,867 deaths to date -- with numbers rising daily of newly confirmed cases, so....maybe not a Fountain of Youth? 

But as I say, we all are dealing with this in a super positive, empathetic way and looking out for each other.  Well, except those who refuse to wear masks or avoid crowds or stay away from vulnerable others because by god, it is their RIGHT to potentially infect whomever they damn well please.  They call mask-wearers "sheep" for going along with public health recommendations.  Some of these fine folk showed up on some state capital steps, armed with long guns, declaring that they will not comply with mask mandates and threatening elected officials who try to implement such a plan.  Land of the free.   Some people believe in science and wear masks and keep their distance from others; some don't.  Que sera sera, right?  

The whole country was hunkered down for awhile in the spring, as businesses shuttered while we tried to "flatten the curve" so new cases would level off and not overwhelm the health care system.  We did pretty well, until several states (with the current Administration's urging) opened things up too soon, going back to "normal" long before the virus was under control.  I think they must have misunderstood that a flatter curve didn't mean the virus had disappeared like magic (as the current president promised), only that we were barely holding steady on keeping hospitalizations even.  So....some pretty spiky spikes occurred with lots of new cases and people still jammed together at beaches and in bars to celebrate all the summer holidays.  And the pandemic raged.  Party on, dude!!!

It's OK.  I mean many of us older folks, and those with underlying health conditions, really LIKE staying locked in our homes to avoid the ICU/ventilator/death dance.   We super enjoy being isolated from friends, outings, routines, families.  Those gatherings were not really that important to us, and so what if the grandkids are growing and changing every day, with no Grandma/Grandpa hugs and only the occasional glitchy Zoom meet-up to keep the connection going?  It's FINE!

On the climate change front, also, no problem.  There were a few fires across the Western United States, burning 11,593,882 acres, destroying 10,245 structures.  Whatever.  Heat waves and drought may have contributed.  Maybe we are having longer and hotter fire seasons.  

And where there's fire, there's smoke, right?  So who was surprised when whole regions, including our town, were shrouded in a miasma of yellow/gray smoke, officially "Unhealthy" for being outdoors in it?  On what should have been blue sky sunny days, we closed doors and windows and tried to find fresh air to breath for about 10 days, but we were already locked in due to the Covid thing, so not so bad.  

Scientists are sounding climate change alarm bells, but others don't "believe" in climate change (or gravity?).   Our current president blames lax forest management practices and the unwillingness to "rake" the forest floor of debris that catches on fire.  He recently denied emergency funding to California for disaster relief due to the worst wildfire destruction in, well, ever.  The worst.  So, la-di-da. Get out your rakes!

On the other coast, hurricanes seemed to be happily making landfall in record numbers too.  Warm ocean waters create goofball conditions all the way up in the sky and suddenly there is wind and rain and storm surges of record proportions. The worst part of all that is running out of names!  It used to be that only female names were used (oh, yes, the fury of the female!), but some years ago they also added male names to list.  This year, all of the 21 names designated for storms are already used up and there are still hurricanes forming so they've taken to naming storms for the Greek Alphabet: the most recent, "Alpha".  Win-win I say.  It's time we all learned a little Greek! 

So, yes, I've neglected this blog, but as you can see, it's been pretty quiet on the health and climate front anyway.  I'll try to come back here periodically if anything of note occurs.  Otherwise, enjoy the upcoming fall and winter holidays.  I hear the office party is making a comeback!

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

Covid Stats Source: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html

Wildfire Stats Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Western_United_States_wildfire_season

UPDATE: The current president now says he'll shoot some cash toward California after all.  

HEALTHY PLANET (AND BODY): CLIMATE CHANGE, PANDEMICS, BATS

Over on one of my other blogs I've been writing about the current pandemic of Covid-19 novel coronavirus.  We here in the Puget Sound region are the hardest hit so far anywhere in the U.S.  The first case was diagnosed here with that patient (who recovered) hospitalized within 3 miles of where I sit writing now.  Here's a link if you want to read my posts about this and how it's impacting me/our area:  https://myviewfromhere-donna.blogspot.com/2020/03/beware-virus-on-amazon-boxes.html

Curious how this happened and why it has spread from Wuhan, China to my town (and across the globe) in less than two months, I Googled "where did covid come from?"  I waded through some scholarly papers that were above my Liberal Arts degree level of understanding until I found a couple of resources that were accessible to me.

So, where did this Covid virus come from?  Probably bats.  Bats are carriers of many different types of corona viruses (so named because of their uniquely shaped "crown") and this covid-19 is presumed to be one of them.  Bats are not really to blame; they are not malevolent.  Bats just do what they do, live where they live, poop where they poop.  Other animals live alongside them and also do what they do, which sometimes includes eating bat poop (no accounting for taste; I can't abide bleu cheese, so there ya go.)

One of these animals is the pangolin (sort of an armadillo looking creature) whose scales are prized in Chinese medicine and sometimes for its meat.  This animal may well have ended up in a Chinese "wet market" where live animals are kept for sale.  They are stacked in cages; it's a super crowded area with people milling about.  Droplets of pangolin sputum or feces could easily transfer to hands and then nose, mouth, or eyes of those human unwashed hands, infecting that person and on and on and there you have it.

Covid 19 is new (that's why its called "novel") and humans know almost nothing about how it behaves.  There is no treatment, no cure, and it's more deadly than any known flu at this point, especially for those who are older or with underlying health issues.  Health care facilities in many areas are unable to handle the demand for treatment.  It's scary!

But back to how climate change contributes to pandemics...

Get ready.  This won't be the only challenge we will face as the planet warms up.   Humans and animals have always lived together.  But conditions change due to climate change, we come into closer proximity, even competing for habitats.  Bats and human interactions led to the Ebola virus outbreak in Africa and this could be a harbinger of things to come as bats are forced to hunt and feed closer to human settlements as climate changes. Think also about the Zika virus outbreak -- as the earth warms, mosquitoes will expand their habit into areas not normally warm enough for them to live -- they will move farther north to right here in the U.S of A.

Climate stress also causes humans to move around.  We already see large migrations of people due to drought, poverty, and violence moving from rural to urban centers, bringing whatever illness they may have with them.   These illnesses spread like wildfire, through no fault of the folks who contracted these diseases.  It is tragic all the way around.

We live in a changing world, on a changing planet, with changing challenges.  This is no time to throw our hands in the air, hoarding toilet paper and N-95 masks as if we can protect ourselves from every bad thing.  It IS time to be aware, be educated, be cautious, and to be involved.  The personal is political -- vote for people who are well-equipped to lead, who believe in science, who can manage crises, who surround themselves with experts.

And hey, let's lean into kindness.  We are one human community.  We are in this together. 🙏🏽

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/another-deadly-consequence-of-climate-change-the-spread-of-dangerous-diseases/2017/05/30/fd3b8504-34b1-11e7-b4ee-434b6d506b37_story.html

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/did-covid-19-start-in-bats-how-did-it-transfer-to-humans-answering-your-coronavirus-questions/283-a9b29735-c25e-402d-98c2-be2171dc3f3a

HEALTHY BODY: CHECKING IN ON THE SUGAR THING

Well, here I am on the cusp of March.  I started this blog on January 1 to announce I am avoiding sugar.  Then I decided to also talk here about other health-related issues and how they may link with saving the planet.  I note it's been a month since I've written.  I can explain.....it takes every ounce of available energy I have to drive by Starbucks.  Who has time/energy to sit down and write a blog post?!?

HAHA  Just kidding.  The truth is that it's been surprisingly EASY to drive on by.  It's been less easy, but still not terrible (no fingernails bitten to the nubs) to walk on by the dessert table at various events I've attended, to turn down free samples at the market, to gaze, but not buy at the pastry case.   I even said no thanks to birthday cake at my granddaughter's party this week.  This, my friends, is utterly unheard of!

So, still no cookies, candies, cakes, pies, apple fritters, donuts, mochas.  Am I perfect?  Nope.  I'm still eating a bit of my homemade raspberry jam occasionally.   I've developed a taste for Medjool dates (had to stop buying them).  I check labels for added sugars and find it's impossible to find much that has zero added sugar, so I will get if if it's less than 2 grams, which is like 1/2 teaspoon in a serving.  So shoot me.

I immediately lost 4 pounds but then stopped losing weight, which shocks me; I think  I should have lost more of course, so I must be compensating elsewhere.  Just not sure where that is.   New fitness goal is to really and truly commit to YMCA classes and walking the track there when I don't get out to my waterfront walk with Hub.  The waterfront trail we walk is about 4.5 miles and I get my whole day's allotment of over 10,000 steps in about 90 minutes. Efficient, but I'm a fair weather walker so on those drizzly cold days, I just blow it off.  (Spring is on the way!)

I'm reminded that as I grow older, this emphasis on eating well and moving more is a time-consuming proposition.  Some of my friends and I joke that staying alive at our age is a full-time job.  And it often feels that way for sure.  But we are not just trying to "stay alive" but to stay alive in the most healthy and active way possible.  And that takes some effort.

I'm so grateful for the "Sugar-free 2020" FB group, started by a local woman who I've now met and like.  We all log on and share our tales of success and setback -- encouraging each other not just to avoid sugar but to make healthy choices around food and activity every day.  We hold each other accountable and when we slip up we are there for a word of encouragement to keep going.  When we are on track, we get to report that too and the cheering section applauds.

So, on I go.  Determined, setting new goals, feeling positive if not perfect.  And in total amazement that my "avoid sugary treats" intention is taking root.  I'm all about the fruits and veggies these days.  Go figure.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet....©

HEALTHY PLANET: TOXIC ENVIRONMENTS

Bragging: My avoidance of sugar thing is going well.  Day 29 and no sugary treats all month!  No candy, no mochas, no pastries, no cakes, cookies, pies.  I'm busily reading labels and next up will be to avoid the worst of the "added sugars" in the food I buy -- like my very, very favorite poppyseed dressing!  😩

I've lost weight and I feel better.  Most of all I can drive on by Starbucks, and walk on by the bakery at QFC or the candy at the check-out counter and know I won't likely succumb.  That "should I or shouldn't I?" internal struggle is quieter.  (Not silent.) The chemical cascade of horror inside my body is, hopefully, finding its way back to normal equilibrium.  That keeps me on track.  

Too much sugar ingestion is toxic.  It just is.  It pollutes our bodies and causes all kinds of ill effects: Type 2 Diabetes is pandemic (5.5% of the world's population! - International Diabetes Foundation stat) mostly due the the enormous amount of sugar in our diets.  Once I get a better handle on the biochemical data, I'll try to translate it, but apparently my Snickers addiction in high school has left my brain in a state of science-understanding atrophy, so be patient.  Just know it's bad.

I've spent the past couple of days helping edit some writing my husband ("Hub") is doing for his various climate change activities.  He's taken this cause on like a part-time job, bringing his expertise in the medical field to the discussion.  He's focused on the health effects of climate change.  He's gone to nine climate-related meetings in the past two weeks .  Coming up this week are a series of public comment opportunities for which he's preparing his remarks.  Those, along with a Guest Commentary column for the local newspaper, are what I've been editing.  I'm learning a lot.

And I've begun to think of air pollution along the same lines of sugar pollution.  Burning fossil fuels to heat our homes, drive our cars, take long trips on airplanes seems as normal and as American as, well, apple pie.  But just like that apple pie, what goes on inside our 'home' (body and planet) reveals the deleterious effects being played out.  Breathing particulate matter from burning gasoline and diesel (air pollution!) has caused a dramatic spike in diagnosed cases of asthma -- especially for those who live near freeways (generally lower socio-economic communities), as well as increasing likelihood of cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, allergy-related ailments, diabetes, immunosuppression, impaired reproductive success, even dementia.  

Burning fossil fuels, like ingesting sugar, leads to a toxic brew of ill-effects, not the least of which is dependence.  We think we can't live without it.

And we can't as long as we look through the lens of the way things have always been -- at least in our lifetimes.  The rise of fossil fuel (coal, gas, oil) dependence came with the Industrial Age and has increased 1300 fold since 1800 (our world in data stat).   The rise in sugar consumption grew dramatically with the introduction into our food sources of high fructose corn syrup in the 1970s along with the demand for quick, highly processed convenience foods. We became "hooked" on sugar and oil and can scarcely imagine life without them, regardless of the health impacts.

The more I learn about health and climate change, the more I see that there are multiple ways in which we've been snookered by industries, corporations and government to cling to the lie that these things are not harmful and are in fact 'good' for us.  Not true.  It's time to wean ourselves from these substances and create a new vision for our future -- one that removes us from living in toxic environments -- inside and out.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

HEALTHY BODY: LEARNING AND CHANGING - MORE SUGAR BLUES

"Dear Body,
I'm sorry I've been so hard on you.  In your 20's you were slender and beautiful, with smooth clear skin and vibrant red hair.  Still, I criticized your skinny arms and hated your red-headed freckled paleness.  In your 30's and 40's, after the kids came along, I filled up all those sleepless nights, worries, frustrations, and exhaustions with cheese, pizza, and ice cream.  Then I hated what you had become -- overweight and out of shape; lethargic and perpetually tired.  In your 50's you found yourself the middle of a sandwich between acting out teens and failing elders, working full time, stressed to the max.  Hello Chardonnay.  And desserts.  And "fast and easy" anything.  And more pizza.  I was just trying to help!
I'm sorry,
Your Psyche"

Body: "I know.  I forgive you."

And I do.  Coping mechanisms are not always conscious, healthy, and intentional.  They are often detrimental, habitual, and often addictive.  In my case the food industry was in cahoots with my poor eating choices by actually making foods in laboratories with chemicals and ingredients purposely designed to be addicting to humans, ensuring a steady profit margin for the manufacturer of "convenience foods" for the busy, stressed, and overwhelmed working men and women, parents, teens, children, anyone really, who had one serving and said, "I want more!  That tastes good!"

The tail ends and early years of each decade is always a transition time. I look back at my late 50's as a time when I finally started to care for myself with intention and get smart about why certain foods issued a siren call to my cravings.  I went to my first (life-changing) yoga class at 58; in my early 60's I quit drinking alcohol.  I lost 25 pounds.  All those years of struggle with food and drink and the scale were fading into the past, mostly.  The scale is still a nemesis at times.

In my 60's I've been learning more and more about healthful living and how to have a strong body.  Aging will do that -- I can't stop the clock from it's inexorably ticking down, but I can choose to live every ticking minute as healthfully and happy as possible.

Now having just turned 69 and heading into my early 70's, I've completed Yoga Teacher Training and  I'm eating a 90% plant-based diet.  Most recently I have committed to giving up sugar in the form of sweet treats and desserts -- and as much as possible any added sugars in the foods I buy.  That part is super hard since everything (thank you processed food industry) has some form of sugar added to it.  I look at my favorite bread and see it has 2 grams of added sugar.  I still eat it, for now.  I look at my favorite salad dressing and see it has 6 grams of added sugar.  It's off the grocery list.

In my reading about the dangers of sugar, here are a few things the Beating Sugar Addiction for Dummies and Fat Chance books lists for deleterious effects of sugar on our health.  See which ones you you can relate to:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Obesity
• Diabetes (Type 2 is an epidemic!)
• Liver Disease
• Cholesterol imbalance (and attendent cardiovascular health deterioration)
• Metabolic Syndrome (chronic metabolic diseases may result in: heart attack, stroke, heart failure, diabetes, cancer, dementia, cirrhosis of the liver -- all travel with obesity, which is a marker of metabolic disease.)
• Hypothyroid Disease
• Chronic Fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Immune System Impairment
• Bone Loss
• Wrinkles

Does an overload of sugar alone cause each of these.  No, not all, but some.  Does an overload of sugar exacerbate all of these? Yes. There is rock solid scientific evidence demonstrating the biochemical cascade of effects, made worse with each sugar binge, that occur in the body when we "treat" ourselves to a Dairy Queen Blizzard or its equivalent.  

I am not a scientist or a doctor so I have to wade through the lay literature written for people like me and still I get confused.  But I am not so dense as to not see clearly that sugar is not a good thing for us to be ingesting in the enormous amounts we do.  There are real health consequences to our love affair with sugar.  I'm learning about them and making daily decisions around what I put in my mouth just because it tastes good, because the "tastes good" test is one the food industry has forced and fostered, our culture has encouraged, and my sad, addicted taste buds (and brain) craves for all the wrong reasons.  

The more I learn, the more I believe sugar is a toxin to be avoided.  This sounds extreme even to my own ears, so I've a ways to go, and OHMYGOD does this mean no more Costco Tuxedo Cake?  Say it ain't so....   (Yes, it is so.)

In checking my BMI (that marker of healthy height/weight proportion) on my apple shaped physique, I see that I am still one tick over the line into 'overweight'.   I'm determined to rectify that.  This is my year to do it.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet.  ©

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

SOME GREAT RESOURCES:
Beating Sugar Addiction for Dummies by Dan DeFigio
Fat Chance - Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.I.
Salt, Sugar, Fat -- How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

HEALTHY PLANET: DON'T THROW THAT AWAY!

Since this blog will combine information about healthy eating with information about addressing our planet's health, lets move on to Healthy Planet:

I'm reading Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, edited by Paul Hawken.  It's really great .  It can get a bit science-y for me at times (anything with weights, numbers, and percentages should be explained in iambic pentameter, don't ya think?) but also outlines clear solution-based strategies, large and small, that we can use to help our planet survive.

For example, did you know that 1/3 of food produced on the planet doesn't make it to a dinner plate?  The food wasted contributes 4.4 gigatons (that's a lot) of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere annually, or roughly 8 percent of total human-generated greenhouse gas emissions (the bad stuff that is causing our climate to warm up and freak out).  

In low-income countries this can happen due to poor equipment, bad roads, or lack of refrigeration with food rotting on farms, in transit, or at distribution points.  In higher income countries (ie, our grocery stores; our homes) this waste happens when grocers and consumers reject imperfect fruits and vegetables so they are tossed before they are even shipped, or when they arrive at the store; when retail stores and restaurants order more food than they can use; when super-sized portions are left uneaten; when home cooks make too much and the family eschews leftovers; when we over-buy large quantities to save a bit of money (Hello, Costco) believing it cheaper to just throw away what we can't use, to name a few wasteful practices.  Up to 35% of food in high income countries is thrown away by consumers.  Not good!

Reducing just 50% of current food waste is the 3rd most important step we can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   That is significant and has nothing to do with belching smoke from chimneys or driving gas guzzling muscle cars, which we smugly believe to be the main culprits in climate degradation.

Do you ever walk around a grocery store and gape at the enormous quantities and varieties of foods we can buy?  It's overwhelming at times and also something we just take for granted.  Do you think about the farmland, the fertilizer, the migrant worker, the transit and distribution centers, the many stops along the supply chain that got the food to the store and then to your pantry?  Do you honor what it took in terms of landmass and labor to get that food to you by only buying what you will eat?   Do think about how much of it you may throw away?  

It's an exercise in consciousness-raising to really stop and notice.  I've been doing that lately and it is slowly changing my buying decisions.  It's a simple act -- noticing.  It's a simple act -- to be intentional about what we buy and what we eat.  It's a simple act -- that anyone can take.

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

Resource: Drawdown; pg 42-43.

HEALTHY BODY: "SWEET" NEW BLOG

Yikes!  I'm starting a new blog!  I know...I already have two:  My View From Here which is a bunch of random thoughts on being alive in my life.  https://myviewfromhere-donna.blogspot.com/  Also, Circling the Mat, the blog I write for a local yoga studio because I'm passionate about yoga...yoga is life!   https://circlingthemat.blogspot.com/

But I've been ruminating lately on starting this one -- one that weds how we care for our bodies and how we care for our planet and how we (OK, I) fall short on both endeavors.  This is a New Year experiment and we will see how it goes.  Thanks for taking a look and sticking with me while I birth this new project and relearn how to make this blogger template work, already an exercise in frustration.  I want a cookie.  What?!?

Let's get started with HEALTHY BODY:

I'm cutting waaaaay back on sugar!  That sounds like a typical "that's never going to work" New Year's resolution that will soon end up atop the junk heap of "lose weight, stop smoking, join a gym, clean the garage, etc etc", doesn't it?

But with age comes an urgent desire to stop screwing around and focus on staying alive.  I just turned 69 which actually means I'm a couple of weeks already into my 70th year.  Having declared my intention to live to 106 (with adjustments upward as I get older, no doubt), I have to get serious about living the last third of my life with health and vitality!

My annual holiday season sugar binge was particularly bad this year.  I am determined to tame that monster.  I've armed myself with an arsenal of books and articles, have consulted with my own personal "sugar is evil" guru, a friend with lifelong Type 1 diabetes, who is writing a book on the subject of living most successfully with diabetes by sticking to strict dietary practices (not eating any damn thing you want and then "covering" with insulin!), and I've joined a local online FB group that is brand new and committed to providing a safe, encouraging, and motivating resource for others who want to get off the sugar train.

Let me confess right here, however, that I'm not completely giving up sugar forever and always.  What I am committing to is being intentional about sugar consumption.   Too often I invent reasons to eat sugar-laden treats -- like it's Tuesday.  Hahahaha.  More often it's just a habit; an auto-pilot impulsive non-decision.  Passing a Starbucks?  Time for a mocha!  (And a cookie.)  At the check out counter? Snickers!  Getting groceries?  How about a Danish?!?  Summer?  Ice cream!  Winter? Hot chocolate! With marshmellows!  You get the idea.

What I plan to do (and I'll keep you posted with honesty, I promise!) is to be planful about my sugar consumption.

So far I'm 15 hours and 38 minutes into my "no sugar" commitment for today.  I've only had one brief episode of screaming and stomping my feet.  Success!

Here's to health, for ourselves and our planet...©