Not A Scientist…

I am not a scientist. I am not a politician. I am a mom. I am a teacher. I am a writer. I am an environmentalist. I want to protect my family. I care about the planet. When I became increasingly concerned about the food my family eats, the oceans we swim in, the cars we drive and the air we breathe, it became a personal choice to share and engage my readers in a dialogue about creating a lifestyle that supports our environment.

Joining the Moms Clean Air Force has opened up my eyes wider to the issue of clean air. But, just because I consider something vastly important, doesn’t mean I expect you to jump on the bandwagon. I wish you would, but I know creating clean air is not like selling a basket of locally-grown organic vegetables. People get that. They know those fresh goodies will nourish their bodies. They understand how being a locavore will nourish their souls. The message of saving the Clean Air Act is a complex and seemingly abstract problem with scientific theories, historical data, cost analysis and politics.

Just like we need to nourish our bodies and souls with good, clean food and create vibrant communities by shopping local, we need clean air to secure our health.

So let me repeat: I am not a scientist. I knew the Clean Air Act, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the States, has saved thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of cases of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. But, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to reading about babies dying and cancer rates. My biggest fear about joining the Moms Clean Air Force was that I would have to sort through stacks and stacks of reports, regulations, cost anaylsis and really nasty health studies that would leave me glazed over and paralyzed with fear. Although I am a teacher, I am a visual learner like my right-sided brain kids. Scientific technical reading rarely engages my interest for too long.

The exact opposite happened. I do believe informed decisions come from knowledge. I found a nifty tool from the Union of Concerned Scientists that helps embrace the stats. This "ticker" "shows the increase in cumulative net benefits as a result of the Clean Air Act since 1970. The source data for this calculation comes from two EPA reports."

It is scary to imagine that the Clean Air Act is under constant threat. Whether you are a scientist or not, there is one thing we all need to understand - clean air is something we have controlled and lessened...and we all have the power to be part of the solution to continue to preserve clean air.

Honor System Farms: Feast or Famine

Every Sunday before we head out to stock up for the week at our local farmer’s market, cialis we stop at the farm at the end of our road. The farmer sells eggs, viagra 60mg vegetables, and assorted odds and ends. We bring back our empty egg crates and place them in the community basket. We take what we need and write down what groceries we took (so the farmer can keep track of what she needs to restock). The allotted few dollars is deposited in the cash can. If we happen to come at the end of the day, the cash can is brimming with bills. Visitors can clearly figure out the etiquette of the honor system.

The honor system is a philosophically driven way to sell goods that relies solely on the integrity of others. Farm stands use the honor system to keep costs down. Most would agree that honor system driven farms also provide a warm and welcoming feeling to its customers. Generally, if you treat someone with respect and trust, they will return the favor by being honest. Right?

In Vermont’s Addison County the farmers respond enthusiastically to the honor system, “Customers like that they can pull in, grab what they need, and go. When they come home at the end of the day in the summer, they’ll often find most of the vegetables gone and their till full, so they rush out to pick another round of fresh vegetables for the evening crowd.”

When I Googled “honor system farms,” there were many stories recounted like the one above, but there were a few sad stories that headlined like this: “Honor System Thefts Close Such and Such Farm.” One farmer in New Hampshire ran into this trouble. Retired from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, farmer Charlie Ireland planted six acres of vegetables and had been growing corn, tomatoes, beans and “you name it” behind his home and selling it from a stand out in front of his home for four years. But, he had to close his farm stand last summer because of theft. “Anywhere from 50 to a hundred bucks a day — all summer,” Ireland said was stolen from his farm stand, where passersby slipped cash into a box in exchange for his bumper crop.

Is the honor system alive and well in your neck of the woods? Does it work, or is it an easy target for thieves?

Read the original Care2 post with comments here.