Belfort Instrument, Weather Observation Equipment

Author: Nathan Brown
There are literally hundreds of ways in which you can help prevent global warming, the hard part is committing yourself to making the change. The good news is that many of the changes that can be made are pretty easy; it just involves changing some small details in your daily routine.
Two Basic Paper Recycling Facts

If you want to help prevent global warming, then you should become aware of where your paper comes from. Think about the paper towels in your kitchen, the Kleenex on your table or the toilet paper in your bathroom. Reports Laurie David in Stop Global Warming: The Solution Is You!, many of the everyday tissue paper products we use, like toilet paper, come from 100 to 150 year old virgin forests in Northern Canada.[1] When virgin forests are cut down to supply our paper needs, they can no longer help process the gases which are warming our planet.

Don’t despair though! The way you spend your money can, in the long term, determine whether or not these trees will continue to be felled. As David notes, “If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin toilet paper with one recycled post-consumer waste roll, 424,000 trees would still be standing.” The problem is that most brand name tissue papers – Kleenex, Scott, Angel Soft, Cottonelle, Bounty, Brawny, Puffs, Charmin –have zero recycled fibers in their products.[2]

Use Your Buying Power to Stop Prevent Global Warming

This means that it is your duty to make the change and actively seek out products which use recycled material. Because non-name-brand tissues don’t carry the high overhead expense of multi-million dollar ad campaigns, these tissues will likely save you money as they help you fight global warming.

At present, the US government does not mandate any policy regarding the fiber content of tissue papers. Furthermore, a mandate which would require producers to include recycled or post-consumer materials in their products is unlikely to occur in the near future. The easiest and perhaps most effective way to discourage destructive forestry practices is to make a financial statement by purchasing from companies that strive to use recycled fibers. The following is a list of toilet paper brands which you can buy for your home which will reduce the number of virgin trees that are cut down and help prevent global warming. If not entirely composed of recycled materials, these companies at least have a high ratio of recycled to virgin fiber in their products:

Best Value, Marcal, 365 Everyday Value, Colortex, Earth Friendly Products, Fiesta, April Soft, Doucelle, Green Forest, Cascades, Mr. Jumbo, Natural Value, Pert, Planet, Seventh Generation Recylced Bathroom Tissue Papericon, Soft’N’ Fluffy, Trader Joe’s, Ultra Val-U and Velvet.[3]

Once you’ve successfully upgraded your toilet tissues don’t stop there! There exists a myriad of recycled products, waiting to be discovered by you. Remember, you as the consumer hold the power to change the way paper products are used.

Everyday brings forth new opportunities. The world seems bright tomorrow; but it is up to you to do what is necessary now to maintain that for the years ahead.

Author: Raynor James
When buying a home, it can be easy to overlook year-around weather issues. You may think you are purchasing a home in a sunny area, but come to find there is always a heavy cloud cover. This is just one of a number of weather issues to consider when selecting your dream home.

Clouds…Rain…Floods

If you must have a sun deck as part of your new home, you better make sure it is going to be sunny! Just because a general geographic area has a lot of sun doesn’t mean your home will. Things to look for include fog and heavy cloud cover for a home in a valley. If the home is located on the side of a hill or valley, make sure you know when it will get sun and shade. Temperatures can be radically different depending upon the amount of sun you get.

When it rains, it really pours! One potential nasty surprise for new homeowners can be the condition of a neighborhood after it rains. In San Diego, for instance, the total rainfall averages roughly 12 inches a year. Despite this low total, there are certain beach communities that grind to a halt because of flooding issues. Even an inch of rain can flood streets to the point that you can’t drive at all. Make sure you stop by a gas station or local store to ask about flooding problems in the area.

I have been known to enjoy a good boating trip and perhaps you have as well. I am pretty sure neither of us would enjoy it in our house. Still, millions of people a year buy homes in flood plains without even knowing it. Eventually, this can lead to a disaster when heavy rains come and you find out the reason they call it a flood plain.

Unlike streets with bad drainage, floods are much more damaging. When a river overflows, flood levels are typically measured in feet. Can you image the effect on your home of a flood that reaches five feet in depth? Well, you probably always wanted to renovate the first floor of your home.

Mother nature has a way of doing whatever she wants. Make sure you avoid her grumpy spells by looking into the effect of weather on your prospective dream home.