Increased Focus on Compostable Products for International Compost Awareness Week

BPI, USCC Announce Increased Focus on Compostable Products for International Compost Awareness Week

Healthy soil and global food security are intertwined, as are composting and diversion of food residuals. The US Composting Council and Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) are solidifying their partnership to facilitate increased food scrap collection, diverting valuable materials from the waste stream for high quality compost manufacturing.

BPI will become a benefactor member of the USCC, the two groups announced today. This is the highest level of membership support for USCC, and builds on the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organizations.

"USCC and BPI have been partners for more than a decade, and the Benefactor membership and MOU formalize that commitment," said Steve Mojo, BPI executive director. "The compostable products industry and composting have a symbiotic relationship as certified compostable materials need composting to close the loop at the end of their life, but they also help to increase the tonnage of food scraps that are diverted from landfills to composting."

BPI and its members have been major supporters of the USCC’s Compostable Plastic Task Force, an industry project to encourage compost manufacturers to work with product designers and developers so that end-of-life impact in composting is considered as decisions are made about compostable plastics. BPI’s benefactor membership solidifies its continuing support for the Task Force by creating an annual budget for the working group.

In the MOU signed between USCC and BPI, the organizations set out these major goals for the coming years:

• Promoting the appropriate use of certified compostable products for collection and recovery of food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic waste streams.

• Developing and providing resources and information in order to educate all stakeholders, both public and private, about the role and performance of certified compostable materials, and the importance of scientifically based standards;

• Promoting the use of professionally produced, high-quality compost;

• Promoting the development of municipal source separated organics (SSO) collection programs and processing infrastructure

"This is a more formal representation of more than 10 years of support by BPI," said Rod Tyler, president of USCC.

A key element of the partnership is for BPI to encourage its members to join the USCC by continuing to offer a significant discount on BPI fees, and for USCC to work with BPI members through the Task Force to ensure that new products are compatible with composting facilities.

About BPI

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is a 503-(c)6, not-for-profit organization that educates, advocates, and certifies compostable materials to be safe for large-scale composting. It then licenses companies to use BPI Compostable Logo on products and marketing materials, helping consumers and composters make informed choices. It is the largest certification organization for compostable products in North America. All certified products meet ASTM D6400 or D6868, based on testing in a BPI-approved laboratory.

About USCC

The US Composting Council, a national organization dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the compost manufacturing industry, was established in 1990 to encourage, support and perform compost-related research. The USCC promotes best management practices, establishes standards, and educates professionals and the public about the benefits of composting and compost utilization. The USCC seeks to enhance compost product quality, train compost manufacturers and stimulate and develop compost markets. USCC members include compost manufacturers, marketers, equipment manufacturers, product suppliers, academic institutions, public agencies, nonprofit groups and consulting/engineering firms.

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Arts and crafts activities are good for you

Arts and crafts activities may be able to ward off dementia

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

If you have ever wanted to try your hand at pottery, woodcarving, basketry or knitting, a new study suggests that doing so might be good for your health, especially your mental health.

Middle-age and older adults who do arts and crafts activities and socialize may reduce their risk of the thinking and memory problems that can lead to dementia, the study found.

Researchers have followed 256 people whose average age was 87 at the beginning of the study. Over four years, 121 participants developed mild cognitive impairment, a condition that means having thinking and memory problems, but problems that are not severe enough to affect daily life.

The people who engaged in artistic activities such as painting or drawing, in both middle age and when they were 85 and older, were 73 percent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who did not engage in artistic activities.

The people who engaged in craft activities such as woodworking or pottery were 45 percent less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than those who did not participate in such activities, the researchers found.

The study also found that the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment was also 55 percent lower among those who socialized in middle age and when they were older, compared with those who did not socialize and people who used a computer when they were 85 and older were 53 percent less likely to be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment than those who did not use a computer.

It is not completely clear why engaging in these activities appears to help lower a person's risk of mild cognitive impairment but is it is likely that these activities maintain the function of neurons.

The new findings are very much consistent with the results of previous studies that have also demonstrated the benefits of cognitively stimulating and social activities and such activities have been shown to lower the rate of cognitive decline, or slow the development of Alzheimer's disease.

While medical science thus far cannot cure mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease, there is increasing evidence that disease risk may be modifiable and it would appear that certain activities, such as arts and crafts, among others, can help do so.

The study was published April 8, 2015 in the journal Neurology.

© 2015

Monkey puzzles: an iconic tree under threat

The monkey puzzle tree is under threat in its native Chile, but UK gardeners can help. Robbie Blackhall-Miles explains how

Listen to Robbie Blackhall-Miles talk about monkey puzzles in our new podcast on trees

I sat in a state of dismay as I read about the forest fires threatening Chile. Climate change has been causing the country’s Araucanía region to become increasingly hotter and drier and the forest fires it sees to become ever more frequent. The impact is being felt greatly by the native monkey puzzle trees, Araucaria araucana; over 1 million of them have been burned in the most recent fire that spread through Chile’s China Muerta National Park. The thought that these trees, some more than 1,000 years old, could be wiped out in a moment fills me with anguish; especially as I know that the ones that are left cover a tiny area; only a quarter of the size of London.*

My life has been influenced greatly by these trees. Growing up in a 1920s semi-detached house with a huge monkey puzzle in the garden instigated my interest in plant life. The idea that a plant family could have survived on this planet since the Jurassic era sparked the imagination of a very young me and led to my lifelong interest in the world’s plants and their evolution.

They don’t just tell a story of plant evolution either. They tell a story of adventure and war and the fate of British society.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2015/may/07/monkey-puzzles-araucaria

How forests can help to feed the world

A new report shows how forests around the world can help eliminate malnutrition while fighting climate change.

Often, feeding the world’s growing population and protecting natural landscapes are pitted against one another. We know that much of the world’s deforestation, particularly in the tropics, is associated with the expansion of crops like palm oil and soy, as well as cattle and cocoa.

Yet a new report from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations shows that forests can play an important role in eliminating hunger and creating more food security. This is important, because protecting forests has been identified as a key and cost-effective means of fighting climate change. So, a better understanding of how forests help feed people may be another tool in the arsenal of their defense.

Over a billion people around the world experience chronic hunger, and twice as many suffer from periods of food insecurity. “Unfortunately, there is little current appreciation of the diverse ways in which these tree-based landscapes can supplement agricultural production systems in achieving global food security,” the authors write.

Read more: http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/how-forests-can-help-feed-the-world.html

Will by 2025 over half of the UK population be dead?

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

In the time between 2015 and 2025 just under half of Germany's population is estimated to die and more than half of that of Britain, according to forecasts by Daegel.com.

The US-Information Service DEAGEL.COM, which has a rather military appearance, has on its website pages with forecasts for the population of most of the countries in the world and in their 2015 forecast they predict a fall in population numbers for the USA in the next ten years, that is to say up to the year 2025, from 319 million to 65 million. For Germany it is a drop from 81 million to 48 million and for Britain a drop from almost 64 million to less than 23 million, which, in the case of the UK is a drop by 65%.

Demographically can this not be explained by the normal aging process and subsequent loss of people through the common way of dying of old age and that of emigration. Such drastic reduction in population historically only came about in conjunction with long periods of war and the diseases that occurred under the population that was ravaged by such wars.

If we are to look at the forecast for the GDP the figures they also are rather alarming, where for the UK the forecast is a fall from USD 2,855,000 Million to just under 255,000 million, a drop of 91%, which would make the UK worse in GDP than Peru.

Either Daegel.com has a strange and maybe faulty crystal ball or they know something that most of us don't know and that the powers-that-be, but should not be, want to keep from us all.

http://www.deagel.com/country/forecast.aspx

© 2015

BRITS’ IGNORANCE OVER INTOLERANCES REVEALED

• Gut horror; 3 in 10 Brits believe gluten is a carbohydrate found in potatoes, pasta and pizza
• More than one in ten Brits have switched to a gluten-free diet
• 91% say they know what coeliac is, yet two thirds of those don’t know the symptoms
• 9%, of young adults, think Coeliac is a famous Italian restaurant
• 1 in 20 think IBS is a Silicone Valley computer company

New research to be revealed on May 11, and in time for Coeliac Awareness Week, has revealed we’re still a nation that’s ignorant about intolerances despite over 1 in 5 of the UK thought to have a food allergy or intolerance.

The research, by Udi’s Gluten Free, has revealed that more than one in ten (11%) have now switched to a gluten-free diet. Indeed 29% of those aged 18-24 have cut gluten out of their diet.

Despite this, ignorance of coeliac disease is still widespread. Just 14% of young adults recognise the symptoms of gluten intolerance; with 9% thinking ‘coeliac’ is a famous Italian restaurant! However, as a nation, 91% claim to know what coeliac disease is, but of those, a muddled 2/3rds don’t know what the symptoms are!

Confusion continues with more than 3 in 10 Brits believing that gluten is a type of carbohydrate found in potatoes, breads and pasta. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 do not realise pasta is not suitable for those with coeliac disease and the same have no idea beer can contain gluten.

Holly Wales, product development director at Udi’s Gluten Free comments; “Allergies and intolerances are on the rise and as a nation it seems we need to be more aware of such things.

“Our research also identified that just under a half (41%) of the UK feel sorry for those living a gluten-free diet. People who are coeliac or are leading a gluten-free life don’t want to be felt sorry for; they want to feel normal and eat free-from foods where they don’t have to compromise on taste.”

The study also revealed that other conditions, which baffle us, include irritable bowel syndrome, with 1 in 20 people thinking that IBS is a Silicone Valley computer company.

On average 50% of the UK population have suffered at least one of the main symptoms of coeliac disease, but 61% of those mistook the symptoms for IBS. 1 in 10 of us self-diagnose our symptoms, which can lead to serious problems.

Even so, only 2 in 10 sought help from their GP and the same amount didn’t think their symptoms were important enough to waste their GP's time.

Brits continue to be confused over a number of conditions/illnesses and their symptoms with many (66%) confusing malaria with the flu and just 1 in 10 people able to recognise the true illness.

The symptoms of breast cancer were the most recognised (91%), with coeliac disease and malaria being the least recognized from a list of symptoms.

1. Breast Cancer (91%)

2. Dementia (82%)

3. Scarlet Fever (80%)

4. Influencer (78%)

5. Atopic Dermatitis (74%)

6. IBS (72%)

7. Diabetes (63%)

8. Dyspraxia (57%)

9. Coeliac Disease (31%)

10. Malaria (11%)

The 11th to 17th May, marks Coeliac Awareness Week by Coeliac UK.

For more information, please visit: www.udisglutenfree.co.uk

Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.

This article is for your information only and the GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW does not (necessarily) approve, endorse or recommend the product, service or company mentioned.

Reflections on the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation from Fascism

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Today, on May 8, 2015, is the 70th anniversary of the victory over Hitler fascism.

This victory over Nazi Germany and the liberation of Europe from this nightmare and this perverse, inhumane and misanthropic ideology would have been impossible without the millions of victims of the Soviet army and the peoples of the Soviet Union.

However, this is a fact that the capitalist and imperialist West, with the Germany and the USA in the lead, would like us all to forget for ever, if at all possible. And, according to a new study by ICM Research my 43 percent of respondents in France, Great Britain and Germany, believe that it was the US Army has played the decisive role in World War II. Only 13 percent believe that Europe was liberated from fascism by the Red Army.

If we were to accept the message generated by the US and Hollywood, then we would have to actually believe that the US have beaten Nazi Germany single-handedly and this probably is the reason that so many actually believe that the US military played the decisive role. The brainwashing of Hollywood worked very great, as you can see.

The greatest burden of the struggle against Hitler fascism was carried by the USSR. Had the Red Army and the Soviet Union not withstood it would have looked rather black for the rest of Europe.

What does Great Britain and the British people think what would have have happened had the USSR not withstood? Great Britain would have the same suffered the same fate as France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland.

However, since the Front in the East held fast and the Red Army and the partisans not only stalled the advance of the German troops turned the tables on them and drove them back West. Thus the Nazis could not afford even to consider an attack on Britain and an occupation of the country as they were too stretched in the East.

It was first and foremost the Soviet army which put an end to the specter of Nazism and that is why our greatest thanks for the Liberation of Europe from Hitler fascism must go to the soldiers of the Red Army, the Hero of the Soviet Union, no ifs and buts.

Gedanken zum 70ten Jahrestag der Befreiung

Heute, am 8. Mai 2015 jährt sich der Tage des Sieges über den Hitlerfaschismus zum 70ten Mal.

Dieser Sieg über das nationalsozialistische Deutschland und die Befreiung Europas von diesem Schreckgespenst und dieser perversen und menschenfeindlichen Ideologie wäre nicht möglich gewesen ohne die Millionen Opfer, die die Sowjetarme und die Bevölkerung der Sowjetunion brachten.

Dies ist jedoch eine Tatsache die der kapitalistische und imperialistische Westen mit der BRD und der USA an der Spitze am liebsten für immer vergessen sähen. Und, laut einer neuen Studie von ICM Research meinen 43 Prozent der Befragten in Frankreich, Grossbritannien und Deutschland, dass die US-Armee die entscheidende Rolle im Zweiten Weltkrieg gespielt hat. Nur 13 Prozent glauben, dass Europa durch die Rote Armee vom Faschismus befreit wurde.

Würde man den USA und Hollywood Glauben schenken, dann müsste man doch tatsächlich annehmen das die USA das nationalsozialistische Deutschland im völligen Alleingang geschlagen haben, was wohl auch der Grund sein wird, dass so viele eigentlich glauben das die US-Armee die entscheidende Rolle spielte. Die Gehirnwäsche aus Hollywood hat ganz grossartig funktioniert, wie man sehen kann.

Die grösste Last des Kampfes gegen den Hitlerfaschismus wurde von der UdSSR getragen. Hätten die Rote Arme und die Sowjetunion nicht Stand gehalten dann hätte es für Europa finster ausgesehen.

Was denkt denn Grossbritannien und das britische Volk was geschehen wäre hätte die UdSSR nicht stand gehalten? Grossbritannien hätte das gleiche Schicksal erfahren wie Frankreich, Belgien, die Niederlande und Polen.

Da aber die Front im Osten hielt, und nicht nur hielt sondern es der Rote Armee und den Partisanen gelang den Vorstoß der deutschen Truppen aufzuhalten und den Spiess dann umdrehten und deutschen Truppen zurückdrängten, konnten sich die Hitlerfaschisten nicht auch noch einen Angriff auf Grossbritannien und eine Besatzung des Landes leisten.

Es war in erster Linie die Sowjetarmee die dem Schreckgespenst des Hitler Faschismus ein Ende breitete und darum muss unser grösster Dank für die Befreiung den Sowjetzoldaten, den Helden der Sowjetunion, gelten und das ohne wenn und aber.

© 2015

Woodsrunning knives that don't cost the Earth

by Michael smith (Veshengro)

The first knives of the men of the backwoods, of the Eastern Longhunters, of the Rangers and Woodsrunners, the “coureurs des bois” or “coureurs de bois”, and also those of the Mountain Men of the Rockies, in North America, were not purpose-made knives but simple cook’s or butcher’s knives that had been given a rawhide or other kind of leather sheath, and at times converted somewhat for the tasks they had to perform in the backwoods.

The once standard outdoors' knife of the Australian Bushman for a long time was the so-called “Queensland Butcher”. Those were, basically, ordinary butcher knives, more often than not made in Sheffield, England, and put to use and that even by the mounted constabulary of the various territories of Australia, often worn in a sheath in the riding boot.

The Woodsrunner of old, much like the thrifty homesteader of old and of today, mostly converted other blades for his use or made his own knives from scrap steel.

This method of simply appropriating a knife of this kind, without or with reworking, still works today and is still often the best and certainly the cheapest way to acquire a good working knife for use in the great backyard.

The specially made blades that are associated with the Backwoodsmen and the Mountain Men – such as the predecessor of the Bowie and the Bowie knife itself – arrived much later on the scene.

Personally I find it very satisfying indeed to lay my hands on an old butcher’s or cook’s knife and by sharpening it up, maybe also regrinding the shape of the blade if need be, and otherwise reworking it, and then making a sheath for it (often also by making use of the leather from an old and discarded leather bag of sorts), knowing that I could not have bought a woods knife like that one anywhere or if then it would have cost me a great sum of money. What comes out at the end when one does this is, basically, a custom knife and custom knives are rather costly.

What I am trying to say with this all is that you do not have to spend lots of money in order to get yourself the perfect outdoors knife for yourself or for the youngster in your family who is a budding backwoodsman.

Look at Thrift Stores or at Flea Markets for good old cook’s knives and the like and you will find one, I am sure, that, with a little work, will become the perfect backwoods companion. I have been lucky at some of the so-called Charity Shops in the UK in the past to get such old knives. Alas nowadays they are not allowed to even give them away against a small donation but have to throw any knives, other than table knives, away.

The photo shows just one of the knives that I have got and converted, and this with actually very little effort. I call it my “French Gaucho Knife”. It is a small French chef’s knife and with the sheath that I have given it the knife does look a little like the knives that are carried by the Gauchos on the Argentine Pampas.

This particular knife was bought on a Flea Market for a less than 20 cents US equivalent and with a sheath recycled from an old bag that cost virtually nothing it has become one of my companion for the woods.

While that may not be the shape that suits you or that you like it is but an example and I have many others converted that equally can serve as an as such a wodsrunning knife and the same goes for you. There are surely other knives out there at certain sales that you can find for conversion into your own personal outdoors companion.

Don’t shy away from it just because you haven’t done it before. There is always a first time with everything. But aim to produce the best you can even in your first attempt. If it is not the highest quality immediately do not despair, however. Those things come with time.

Today we keep seeing those so-called Nessmuk knives, and knives that are based upon G W Sears' (“Nessmuk”) design, and other so-called Bushcraft knives, that run into hundreds of Dollars and Pounds in price and this is totally unnecessary and silly. Sear's knife, however, was also a rework, originally, of a knife that was to hand and intended for a different purpose and what he could do we can do too. It is not rocket science.

I have seen many designs of so-called Bushcraft knives – I will not name the Bushcraft schools or or such whence they come – and with some of them I must say that I wonder how they actually are supposed to perform all the tasks, as they often are too long and the thickness of the blade is a little on the fat side. That is because the designers believe that the knife must be capable of chopping firewood or at least kindling.

The next person who wants to chop firewood with a knife I hand a hatchet, I think. Even in an outdoors “survival” situation with only your knife as partner you do not want to chop firewood, not even kindling, with a knife (unless the knife happens to be a machete and then it is all but useless for the smaller tasks).

I think that you get the idea now and also that you realize that all the hype about those knives is all just that, hype. You do not need that kind and do not pay out that kind of money to have a good knife – or knives, for even the backwoodsmen would not have just carried one knife on them – to use in the great outdoors.

© 2015

Pollution, not carbon emissions

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Already in the 1970s the Hippies (of the day), who had developed a link with Mother Earth, warned us about environmental pollution, about the fumes from cars, factory and power station chimneys, and also about the waste created which we were, and still are, dumping wholesale into holes in the ground. “Acid Rain” was then a topic and all the “rage” but that was and is not the only problem. Now the only talk is about carbon emissions, which obscures all the rest.

Brown carbon has become the new term for soot, which is affecting the glacier in the Himalayas and other mountain regions and causing their melt. But why not call it soot, that is to say by its real name? Why not? Simple...

Because you can trade carbon certificates nowadays, the new indulgences, thus everything has to be carbon and if it is not carbon or can be made into carbon we do not talk about it, in the hope that it might go away. If it cannot be made into carbon we also do not – at least the powers-that-be and industry – do anything about it.

Carbon certificates and carbon trading is all, it would appear, what the powers-that-be and industry are interested in. Waste reduction and the real cutting of air pollution is something to be swept under the carpet. Mind you, under that rug it is getting almost as overfull as in our landfill sites.

Britain has jut gotten a rap over the knuckles from the EU as to the missed target for air pollution clean up in London with the Mayor, Boris the Buffoon, just making light of the matter despite the fact that that very pollution being the cause of the increase in asthma, especially among children (and the elderly).

When the Con-Dem coalition regime got in they claimed that they were going to be the greenest government ever. Green with envy, maybe, or with rage – enter the Incredible Hulk – but green as far as the environment is concerned certainly not. More the opposite.

The term emissions has replaced the word pollution in the political speak vocabulary and with that they can play around. However, pollution is the problem and not just carbon emissions and even particle emissions; it is pollution of air, water and soil that we have to fight.

© 2015

Are we all living in an Ochlocracy?

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The term ochlocracy appears to have been coined by Polybius in his Histories (6.4.6) and he uses it to name the "pathological" version of popular rule in opposition to the good version, which he refers to as democracy.

In ancient Greek political thought ochlocracy was considered as one of the three "bad" forms of government (tyranny, oligarchy and ochlocracy) as opposed to the three "good" forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy).

The distinction between "good" and "bad" was made according to whether the government form would act in the interest of the whole community ("good") or the exclusive interests of a group or individual at the expense of justice ("bad").

In his cycle of constitutions Polybius depicts the ochlocracy as a form of decay or degeneration of the democratic systems. In it the orientation of the actions of the government for the common welfare of the people is lost and instead self-interest and greed of one group or individuals govern the actions of the government.

This, I am sure, we can see day in day out in the actions of most of our politicians where they are more interested in lining their own pockets with backhanders from business that come their way by the lobbyists and also though other channels.

Banks are being bailed out because they are “too big to fail” while the working class has to take the hit as if it was the workers and not the bankers that cause the problems and the crises. The poor have to bail out the rich because they, the rich, seriously screwed up by trying to get richer and richer. So, instead of letting them pay their price for their greed and the subsequent losses that they have incurred the poor members of society have to pay for their mistakes.

That is the way the cookie crumbles under this ochlocracy and oligarchy that has replaced all semblance of a democratic system in our countries today. Not that we ever have had true democracy in most of the countries that call themselves democratic and the people of which believe that, simply because they are allowed, every now and then, to vote for a new crew to take over the ship, which then appoints a new captain, while all the wile they continue the same course of that ship, straight towards the abyss.

Elections not a democracy make, let's get that straight. Democracy is a word derived from the Greek language – and even the ancient Greeks, alas, did not apply it properly – and is made up of two Greek words, namely that of “demos” which can mean “the people” or “the village” and “kratos” the meaning of which can be “rule themselves” or “pulls the cart itself” depneding on whether “demos” is seen as “people” or “village”.

However, either way “democracy” means, thus, that it is total self-rule and not being ruled or governed. A free people have no rulers or governors, only slaves and serf have masters, rulers and governors.

The current system that everyone seem to think is a democracy is about as far away from democracy as the Earth is from the Sun, probably further even. But don't for a moment believe that “our” system is broken. It is not, it was designed this way. It was designed to give but an illusion of the people being in charge while, in fact, there are people behind the scenes who, actually, make the decisions well before anyone goes to the polls.

Evidence to that effect can be seen in the “Budget” that George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the current British government, presented as the Budget for the next parliament, even though we are about to have a new general election, and by Labour stating that they would not make no changes to this Budget whatsoever should they become the “ruling” party.

We are living in an illusion of democracy which, in fact, is an oligarchy that, at the same time, is an ochlocracy and vice versa. Democracy does not exist, neither in Britain, nor in Germany, nor in the USA nor in most other countries that claim to be democratic in nature.

© 2015