Ozville in Action

Making Life Better

2008-05-09T18:39:00.001-07:00

Since ozville began, I've been trying to figure out exactly what to put on it, how to tie things together. I mean, I've got the petition page, the epilepsy page, the main search page, and this eco-blog. Or, it started out as an eco-blog. But really, the main purpose was to introduce you to things that will make your life better. Things that help the environment you live in, things that will keep you healthier. But I'm expanding now. I'm going to include information and suggestions for things that will help you out spiritually, financially, emotionally... I want to hit it all! This blog will be a well-rounded blog! As I move forward and learn new things, I will share them with you here. Here are a few tips for today...
In health and environment!
I had a craving for some SourPatch kids today, but I'm trying to stick to my goal of eating organic. So I picked up some candy at Pharmaca. I picked up some gummy worms, fruity bears, and gummy swirls. None of them (no, I didn't expect the gummy worms to be sour) ended up quenching my SourPatch Kid craving, but they're darn good candy! They're made by Surf Sweets. I also picked up some organic M&M's. So good. They're called SunDrops, by Sunspire. Mmmmm. I actually really like the almond ones, but the peanut was on sale. You have to get these. They make M&M's taste stale.

In financial news...
Right now, I'm looking into a new way of making an income online. I don't really want to say much about it at the moment, I want to see if it works first, but I will give you a progress report later.

In epilepsy news...
I've ordered more bracelets, and should have them by the end of the month. I would appreciate purchases! The more I buy, the better the bulk price is, and the more of your $5 I can put towards more bracelets to hand out at Epilepsy Foundation walks. So I have 300 on the way. But the goal is to have 1000 bought and paid for and ready for the October/November walk (I'm too lazy to look it up right now). I love giving out these bracelets, and if I had a ton of extra cash lying around I would gladly just buy them without having to sell any, but for now... that's how it goes. Thank you everyone who HAS purchased bracelets! You're awesome.

You know you want one....

2008-04-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend, I participated in Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk. and distributed about 70 'epilepsy isn't waterproof' bracelets. They were quite a hit! I left most of them at the info table, on top of a photo of Marieke with the dates of her birth and death, and they went SOFAST! I still have 15 to sell through the website, since that is to help me cover the costs of buying more. Which I will have to do very soon! But if you would like one of your own, to support our mission, please click here.

In other news, I've moved into my new place, and am preparing to green it. I will document this process, but first I have to unpack stuff so it's not such a mess!

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

So, how green were you?? I admit, I didn't do anything especially green today. I threw a couple things into the recycle bin, checked out some green goods at Crate & Barrel. I've actually been trying to get a BIG green project going. I'm buying a mobile home! And GREENING it. :-D Everything I'm buying, everything I'm doing to it, will be green. If it's possible, and in my budget, of course. Which means recycled, second-hand, sustainable, handmade or eco-friendly products. I've already got a few, and when I get settled, I'll be photographing and reporting on it. I'm thinking about a video blog, how would you like that?

In other news, there is a new article online about ozville! It's at two different sites, check them out:

Remembering Marieke & educating about epilepsy

Remembering Marieke: Actress Kendal Brenneman Welcomes You to Ozville to Educate about Epilepsy & Water Safety

I've also sold 9 epilepsy bracelets this month, yay! And this sunday will be the big give-out at Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk.

Stay green.

Green Chic

2008-04-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my notebook, where I've been keeping track of various websites and ideas, and realized how many of them came from this book I just finished. It's definitely a keeper, and I'm sure will be a very useful resource to me in the following months and years. I thought I'd just go ahead and recommend it, because it's a good book, and I'm being lazy today. :-D Honestly, I've just been focusing so much on preparing for my new place and how I'm going to 'green' it that I haven't had time to think of a good blog post! When some of my items arrive, and I see how fabulous they are, I'll be posting about them, of course. I'm actually considering doing some video blogs, but I'm not sure how I want to go about it. I'll keep pondering that. In the meantime, check out this book: Green Chic, Saving the Earth in Style, by Christie Matheson. Christie shares all sorts of easy things anyone can do to make their life more green, without sacrificing their sense of style. It's filled with some great ideas and even more great websites to help you find the perfect bedroom, kitchen or bath supplies. Plus tips on traveling, and food, and what materials you should avoid contact with. Let me know what you think!

Bayer

2008-03-09T03:11:00.001-07:00

Ohhhh this will make you mad. Bayer Gives Kids AIDS

CURE Epilepsy

2008-03-03T10:24:00.000-08:00

As you probably know, one of this site's main focuses is epilepsy awareness and safety. Today, while I was searching the net for some epilepsy-related news articles, I came across a website that I had somehow missed before. CureEpilepsy.org was started in 1998 by Susan Axelrod, whose daughter Lauren suffers from epilepsy. Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy by raising funds for research and by increasing awareness of the prevalence and devastation of this disease. On their website they state that "Since 1998, the budget for epilepsy-related research has increased 25% at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)." Isn't that great?! They accept donations, which you can give by clicking HERE. I recommend watching a few of the videos they have on their video page. The 2006 video features Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. I have to say, I like the video I made better, but these are informative, and not terribly long (about 7 minutes each).

Just thought I'd put it out there. I'd like to do a fundraiser for them, but I have to come up with a brilliant idea first... suggestions?

Green Skin

2008-02-27T17:07:00.002-08:00

Girls, this one is for you.

Cosmetics.

Now, I must admit, I don’t own many natural cosmetics, mainly because of that darn price tag. But I’m easing my way into it, one piece at a time. But I’ve found a very useful website called cosmeticdatabase.org. You can type in the brand name of your cosmetic and see where their products rate on a hazard scale of 1 to 10. Genius! Make use of it! I was hoping they might have something like a ‘Top 10’ list, but I don’t see anything like that. But as long as you know what brand or product you are researching, you should find some answers. I’m seeing Estée Lauder and L’Oréal products with some pretty high hazard ratings here… Revlon, Avon, CoverGirl. Yeah, all the big ones are getting pretty red scores. What are some safer ones? Jane Iredale has low scores, as does Burt’s Bees. I’m not seeing many 0’s or 1’s in these scores though. A company called Miessence has scores all in the green! (Green good, yellow OK, red bad) as does Organic Essance, although these products seem to be mostly moisturizers and exfoliants. Avalon has good scores (green or yellow) on all but about 20 of their products (out of 388) and Jason cosmetics have decent ratings on all but a few products. I could be here all day. Go type in your make-up and see how you’re doing!

Plastic Bags and Poems

2008-02-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

Recently I told you something about a trash vortex (if you didn’t read it, I’ll repeat it for you). Which reminded me of another item found floating around in the sea. Plastic bags.

Every time I go shopping for groceries, I come home with several plastic bags. Some of them are even doubled up, and sometimes they have only two or three items in them. When I buy clothing or pet supplies, I get more bags. I shove them all into a little corner, for those random times I might need a plastic bag. There are way more there than I'll ever need. So sometimes I throw some away. I just trust that my trash is taken care of, and things that should get recycled, are recycled.

Recently, I was made aware of this thing called 'the trash vortex'. This really made me start rethinking the plastic bag collection, and just how many I accumulate and discard. According to Greenpeace:

The North Pacific sub-tropical gyre covers a large area of the Pacific in which the water circulates clockwise in a slow spiral. Winds are light. The currents tend to force any floating material into the low energy central area of the gyre. There are few islands on which the floating material can beach. So it stays there in the gyre, in astounding quantities estimated at six kilos of plastic for every kilo of naturally occurring plankton. The equivalent of an area the size of Texas swirling slowly around like a clock. This gyre has also been dubbed "the Asian Trash Trail" the "Trash Vortex" or the "Eastern Garbage Patch".

This perhaps wouldn't be too much of a problem if the plastic had no ill effects. The larger items, however, are consumed by seabirds and other animals which mistake them for prey. Many seabirds and their chicks have been found dead, their stomachs filled with medium sized plastic items such as bottle tops, lighters and balloons. A turtle found dead in Hawaii had over a thousand pieces of plastic in its stomach and intestines. It has been estimated that over a million sea-birds and one hundred thousand marine mammals and sea turtles are killed each year by ingestion of plastics or entanglement.

If you didn’t see this yesterday when you clicked on the link to Chris' work, check it out now. Every 5 seconds, 60,000 plastic bags are used in the US, and he’s illustrated it for us.

Americans throw away about 100 billion plastic bags each year, according to the Worldwatch Institute, and only 0.6 percent to 1 percent of them are ever recycled.

From www.sixwise.com, here are 6 reasons to give up plastic bags, if you're not already convinced.

1. They Use up Natural Resources: The most common plastic bags you see today are made from polyethylene. This material is made from crude oil and natural gas -- both non-renewable resources.

"Every time we use a new plastic bag they go and get more petroleum from the Middle East and bring it over in tankers," said Stephanie Barger, executive director of Earth Resource Foundation in Costa Mesa, California. "We are extracting and destroying the Earth to use a plastic bag for 10 minutes."

2. They Harm Wildlife and Marine Life: Plastic bags are now ubiquitous in our environment, and animals both on land and in water are being strangled, choked and killed by them. Plastic bags are now the fifth most common debris item found on beaches, according to the Ocean Conservancy, and international coastal cleanups have turned up more than 354,000 stray bags each year.

Meanwhile, Planet Ark, an international environmental group, estimates that, worldwide, 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year.

3. They Create Litter: Plastic bag use is now so prolific around the world that the bags have become a major source of litter. Aside from polluting beaches and waterways, plastic bags blowing around streets in China are so common they've earned the name "white pollution." And in South Africa, the bags littering the countryside are called "national flowers." In some African areas, people are even "harvesting" the plastic bags to make bags, hats and other crafts.

4. They Take a Long Time to Biodegrade: Most plastic bags used either end up as litter or in landfills (less than 1 percent are recycled). In a landfill, it's estimated that one plastic bag takes about 1,000 years to biodegrade. A plastic bag floating around as litter takes about 20 years.

5. They're Expensive: It isn't costly to produce plastic bags, per say, but the estimated costs to retailers who give away plastic bags for free amounts to about $4 billion a year.

6. They can be Hazardous to Humans: Plastic bags pose a suffocation hazard to people, particularly children, and pets. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) receives an average of 25 reports each year in which a child has suffocated from a plastic bag.

But don't just start using paper:

As it turns out, we're no better off (and may actually be worse off) using paper bags than plastic ones. Consider these facts from the EPA:

· Paper bags generate 70 percent more air pollution and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.

· It takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.

· The trees from which paper bags are made are a renewable resource, whereas plastic bags are made from non-renewable resources.

· Paper bags take up more landfill space (2,000 plastic bags weight just 30 pounds, whereas 2,000 paper bags weight 280 pounds).

· Paper bags in landfills don't break down much faster than plastic bags (because they're not exposed to water, light, oxygen and other elements that they need to biodegrade).

· Paper bags are more likely to be recycled (about 20 percent of paper bags are recycled, compared to under 1 percent of plastic bags).

There are many places to buy reusable bags - in your grocery store, in craft stores, or online. There are also some very creative ways of using plastic bags to create more lasting totes, by crocheting or fusing bags together. Try keeping track of how many plastic bags you save, once you start using a tote bag! If you don’t have a tote, buy one from your local Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Or, if you want to support Ozville, you can buy an Ozville tote! You can support other good causes, like TheHungerSite, by buying their totes, too. Tote bags also make good gifts – and wrapping. By putting presents (I know Christmas is over but there are birthdays!) inside a cute tote, you’ve just saved wrapping paper and plastic bags! Voila! You’re on your way to a greener planet.

And now for some poetry.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
-Emily Dickinson

Always Coca-Cola

2008-01-28T18:49:00.001-08:00

Wow. OK, no product to push today, just an interesting article about everyone's favourite poison. Excerpt below, from

India Resource

Coca-Cola Crisis in India

Communities across India are under assault from Coca-Cola practices in the country. A pattern has emerged as a result of Coca-Cola's bottling operations in India.

Communities across India living around Coca-Cola's bottling plants are experiencing severe water shortages, directly as a result of Coca-Cola's massive extraction of water from the common groundwater resource. The wells have run dry and the hand water pumps do not work any more. Studies, including one by the Central Ground Water Board in India, have confirmed the significant depletion of the water table.
When the water is extracted from the common groundwater resource by digging deeper, the water smells and tastes strange. Coca-Cola has been indiscriminately discharging its waste water into the fields around its plant and sometimes into rivers, including the Ganges, in the area. The result has been that the groundwater has been polluted as well as the soil. Public health authorities have posted signs around wells and hand pumps advising the community that the water is unfit for human consumption.
In two communities, Plachimada and Mehdiganj, Coca-Cola was distributing its solid waste to farmers in the area as "fertilizer". Tests conducted by the BBC found cadmium and lead in the waste, effectively making the waste toxic waste. Coca-Cola stopped the practice of distributing its toxic waste only when ordered to do so by the state government.
Tests conducted by a variety of agencies, including the government of India, confirmed that Coca-Cola products contained high levels of pesticides, and as a result, the Parliament of India has banned the sale of Coca-Cola in its cafeteria. However, Coca-Cola not only continues to sell drinks laced with poisons in India (that could never be sold in the US and EU), it is also introducing new products in the Indian market. And as if selling drinks with DDT and other pesticides to Indians was not enough, one of Coca-Cola's latest bottling facilities to open in India, in Ballia, is located in an area with a severe contamination of arsenic in its groundwater.

Destiny Maker

2008-01-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

I received this in my email today, and just wanted to share it. A man by the name of Glen Fenster is raising awareness for epilepsy by biking across the US. I'd love to do something like that. Any suggestions for a skinny, unemployed girl? :-D

From Denver to Miami (The Long Way) - One Man’s 8100 Mile Bicycle Journey for Epilepsy

On April 28thth, 2008 Glenn Fenster will embark on a 8100 mile bicycle journey from Denver, Colorado to Miami, Florida (the Long Way).

Denver
Phoenix
LA
SF
Seattle
Vancouver
Toronto
NY
Philadelphia
Atlanta
Orlando
Miami

His inspiration and reason for this ambitious undertaking is his 14 year-old son, Nyle, who has suffered from acute epilepsy since he was just two years old. Glenn is riding to show his son that no matter what the disability, everyone has the capacity to reach for their dreams. He does not ride just for his son, but for other kids and adults living with epilepsy.

In 2006 Glenn biked 4036 miles from Seattle Washington to Miami Florida, to promote epilepsy awareness, with the support of the Epilepsy Foundation of Florida. Last year’s ride from Alaska added another 2500 miles to his journey, along with the challenges of the ‘northern climate’, which can be unpredictable and definitely much colder then what he experienced previously. According to Mr. Fenster, “This trip pales in comparison to the courage my son and others exhibit each day”.

www.destinymakerevents.com

Bottle or Tap?

2008-01-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

Today I will give you two reasons why you should give up drinking out of plastic water bottles. Yep, I'm going to jump right into this! Plastic bottles are a big problem, did you know that? Well, just read....

1. Bottled water is no better than tap water. In fact, it can be worse.

From Whole Life Times:

“There is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap,” concluded a study of 1,000 samples of 103 brands of bottled water, conducted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 1999. Nearly one fourth of the brands tested by the NRDC were found to have contamination on some level.

And then there’s the question of water quality monitoring, far more rigorous and regular for municipal tap water supplies than for bottled. While tap water is regulated by the EPA, bottled water is mandated by the FDA. The EPA tests tap water more often and for more contaminants than the FDA does for bottled water, including tests for coliform bacteria, E. coli and pathogens such as cryptosporidium and giardia.

And get this:

At least a quarter of all bottled water is taken directly from municipal sources. That’s right: the source of at least 25 percent (and some believe up to 40 percent) of bottled water is not the fairytale mountain streams depicted on the bottle, but rather your own municipal tap.
Whole Life Times

I have to admit, I am absolutely guilty of doing the following – I thought I was doing a good thing by re-using plastic bottles. But it turns out… not so much.

From The Green Guide:
Water aside, the plastic used in both single-use and reusable bottles can pose more of a contamination threat than the water. A safe plastic if used only once, #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) is the most common resin used in disposable bottles. However, as #1 bottles are reused, which they commonly are, they can leach chemicals such as DEHA, a known carcinogen, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a potential hormone disrupter. According to the January 2006 Journal of Environmental Monitoring, some PET bottled-water containers were found to leach antimony, an elemental metal that is an eye, skin, and lung irritant at high doses. Also, because the plastic is porous you'll likely get a swill of harmful bacteria with each gulp if you reuse #1 plastic bottles.

OK, that’s all I’m going to say (or, share) about the water you’re drinking, but now on to #2

2. Plastic bottles create tons of waste (literally)

According to the report (by the California Department of Conservation), more than 1 billion water bottles are winding up in the trash in California each year. That translates into nearly 3 million empty water bottles going to the trash EVERY day and an estimated $26 million in unclaimed California Refund Value (CRV) deposits annually. If recycled, the raw materials from those bottles could be used to make 74 million square feet of carpet, 74 million extra large T-shirts or 16 million sweaters, among other things.

By the way, there’s an interesting exhibit by a guy named Chris Jordan which includes a large (60 X 120 feet) piece depicting 2 million water bottles. Why 2 million? That’s how many water bottles are used in the US every 5 minutes.

According to Greenpeace (and Wikipedia), there are several large trash vortexes floating around in the sea…. The North Pacific sub-tropical gyre covers a large area of the Pacific in which the water circulates clockwise in a slow spiral. Winds are light. The currents tend to force any floating material into the low energy central area of the gyre. There are few islands on which the floating material can beach. So it stays there in the gyre, in astounding quantities estimated at six kilos of plastic for every kilo of naturally occurring plankton. The equivalent of an area the size of Texas swirling slowly around like a clock. This gyre has also been dubbed "the Asian Trash Trail" the "Trash Vortex" or the "Eastern Garbage Patch".

Check this out: Gyre Animation

How many plastic bottles do you think there are there? Have I turned you off to plastic bottles yet? Good! So now what will you drink out of? Here’s the solution – get something like Sigg’s aluminum re-usable water bottle (there are several other brands out there, but this one is available at Whole Foods, and that’s where I go) and fill it up with tap water! Siggs uses a taste-inert, water-based epoxy lining which leaches no detectable quantities of BPA (while other unlined aluminum and polycarbonate bottles do). So good for the earth, good for you! And not that you have to, but I encourage you to sign the Take Back The Tap Pledge! I did. :-D

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Happy (belated. Don't tell me you didn't need a day to recover) New Year! Today I’d just like to challenge you to make 2008 the greenest year ever. I’ve already challenged myself to this – to purchase the greener choice whenever it’s available. Not only the greener choice, but I guess you could call it the most socially conscious choice. You know, try to avoid buying clothing made in sweatshops, or meat that wasn’t raised or killed humanely. Or give up meat all together. I’m going to try to eat more produce that is grown locally (by buying at the farmer’s markets) and look into more natural cures for ailments, rather than popping a pill. I wish I could give up driving, but I don’t see that happening in L.A.! Maybe I'll get a hybrid car, or a SmartCar (SmartCarOfAmerica or SmartUSA). Anyway, I invite you to join me in making healthier choices this year. Subscribe to this blog for occasional tips to help you along. For today's tip, I'm going to share a fantastic website that you should all check out:

2007-12-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

I’d like to start my series of entries by sharing these two articles from the November 2007 issue of Whole Life Times.
Exposed
Healthy Living
And if you’re too lazy to read… in a nutshell:

“For the past several years, government and independent researchers have studied the blood, urine and breast milk of people in all regions of the world. The studies reveal that every single one of us is contaminated with scores of synthetic chemicals that are known to be toxic.
The studies show that:

* Chemical exposure can impact the hormonal system and disrupt normal development at doses far lower than previously expected;
* Genes and chemicals can work together to cause disease;
* Mixtures of chemicals can have enhanced and unexpected effects;
* Early life exposures can lead to health problems that don’t show up until much later in life.”

I share this because many of the products I have been inspired to feature here were in response to these articles. After realizing how many chemicals we surround ourselves with, and unknowingly ingest or absorb, I made it a mission to start surrounding myself with less chemicals, and more organic products.
So for the first of the series of “it won’t kill you” products, I’m going to introduce Earth Science natural deodorant (www.earthessentials.com).

It’s been shown that aluminium and triclosan (also known as irgasan and microban), both in many antiperspirants and deodorants, have negative health effects. There has been evidence that aluminium (which is a powerful neurotoxicant – i.e., toxic to the nervous system) is linked to Alzheimer’s, and triclosan exposure may be linked to cancer. A good article on this can be found at Grinning Planet. According to Wikipedia, Triclosan is found in soaps (0.15-0.30%), deodorants, toothpastes, mouth washes, and cleaning supplies. Apparently (and I’ll be looking into toothpaste sometime down the line as well) researchers that have found that triclosan can react with the chlorine in tap water to form chloroform. This is a toxic chemical that can cause cancer. Yikes.

Ok, so back to the deodorant. I’ve been using the Tea Tree & Lavender ‘flavour’, as I like to call it, and have been very happy with it. This week, I purchased the Mint Rosemary and am going to give that a whirl. Earth Science also has Liken Deodorant (herbal or unscented). The ingredient list for Mint Rosemary (which I have right in front of me) contains: An herbal infusion of Calendula, Sage, Goldenseal, Ginger, Amica and Coriander Extracts in Propylene Glycol, Water, Sodium Stearate, Rosemary Oil, Mint Oil, Lichen Plant Extract, Chamomile Extract, Silica.
You can find Earth Science’s products at Whole Foods and other natural food stores or pharmacies, for about $5.99. You can also order online at places like Amazon.com.
There are obviously more brands that offer aluminium and triclosan-free antiperspirants and deodorants, so shop around for one that works for you. I just enjoy Earth Science. So that’s what I’m recommending! If you have a favourite, please feel free to share!

Let the Blogging Begin!

2007-12-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Ozville! My name is Kendal, and through this blog I aim to introduce you to many exciting new things. Well, OK, maybe exciting isn’t the word to use, but many of them are indeed life-changing. Ozville is dedicated to making a positive difference in lives around the world. In this blog, you will find easy ways to improve the quality of your life, the health of the planet, and the lives of others.

To kick it off, I am going to recommend a website I’ve recently discovered.

Kiva.org is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to an entrepreneur in the developing world.

Step by step, it works like this:

1. Kiva.org partners with microfinance institutions that vet and approve loan applications from low-income entrepreneurs.

2. Approved loans are posted to the Kiva.org website for funding. Internet users choose an entrepreneur they would like to lend to, and select the amount they would like to contribute to the loan (starting at $25).

3. As repayments are made each lender receives an email notifying them of the progress of the loan, and journal updates are posted "blog-style" to the business profile by the Field Partner.

4. When the loan has been repaid, the lenders receive their loan amount credited to their Kiva.org account, which they can then withdraw or reloan to another entrepreneur.

It’s a great way to make a difference in someone’s life, without actually spending any money! I know a lot of us want to do good things for others, but can’t afford to do much. Kiva.org allows you to make a microloan, and get repaid in only a few months. You can also purchase gift certificates, and encourage your friends and family to make a microloan. Gift certificates make great presents for children or teens, especially – allowing them to find an entrepreneur they want to assist, and either continuing to re-loan the money or simply reclaim it to buy that new iPod once the loan is repaid!

Before making your microloan, however, be sure to read the Risk and Due Diligence page. I’d suggest making your first loan to someone who has taken out a loan before, and repaid it in a timely fashion, and who has a Field Partner with a rating of 4 or (even better) 5 stars.

Talk to you again soon!