A simple homemade deodorant that WORKS!

Finding a safe and effective deodorant can be a real struggle for many of us. I tried one after the other and honestly only found one that worked for my husband and me. Then they changed the packaging and the formula and I no longer like it. The biodegradable cardboard container is difficult to use, but I would manage it somehow if the deodorant worked. But it doesn't and the mess around the top of the tube just isn't worth it. Too bad. The original packaging and formula worked well, although it did stain lighter clothing. Again, I was willing to put up with that in exchange for not offending people with my B.O.!

I've read lots of articles about how to make my own deodorant, but it all seemed too complicated. So I came up with my own formula. And guess what -- it works! All the time, every time. I couldn't be more thrilled. And as one who doesn't shower or bathe daily (I see no reason to do so), I'm excited to say that I don't need to apply my "deodorant" every day either. **UPDATE: Lindsay, one of the GG community members, let me know that she does this, too, but every once in awhile she develops little red bumps (especially after shaving) and has to stop until they go away. She just switches to crystal deodorant for a bit. I've not had a reaction yet, but it's good to know it can happen.**

So what is this magic formula? I know you're dying to find out.

It's quite simple actually. I place a small amount of baking soda in the palm of my hand and add an equal amount of coconut oil. I mix it into a paste and apply it under my arms with my fingers. Then I wash my hands. That's it. Safe, non-toxic, effective, and cheap!

I even made up a batch in a small container to take with me on all these trips lately. 

My arm pits and I have never been happier! And nothing in this formula is going to give me breast cancer! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Six Reasons You Need a Primary Care Provider

I was fortunate enough to have lunch with a Physician's Assistant at The Write Stuff conference in Bethlehem, PA in early April. We had the opportunity to chat about her job and this blog and we made a connection. In addition to being a PA, Rachel Berros is a writer. Please check out her website at www.rachelberros.com and follow her on Twitter @berrosrachel. Rachel graciously agreed to write a guest post for me about why it is important to have a primary care doctor or physician's assistant. If you're one of the many who believes it's not necessary, I encourage you to read on.

Six Reasons You Need a Primary Care Provider

Image courtesy of George Hodan

As a young, healthy person interested in natural medicine, it is sometimes hard to see the need for a primary care provider.  This is doubly difficult when following a healthy lifestyle and learning home remedies for common ailments.  All one needs is a local urgent (UC) or emergent care department (ER) for those rare times home remedies are not enough, such as broken ankles or severe lacerations, right?  Wrong.

Let me give you five reasons why.

• Urgent and emergent care centers care for ruling out life-threatening illness and treating short term issues, not your long-term health goals. They fix the urgent/emergent issue and then recommend follow-up with either a specialist or primary care provider. If home remedies are not sufficient, then having someone familiar with your health goals is vital. 

• Commonly—mistakenly or not—clinicians believe patients are being seen for answers and solutions for their ailments.  Medical providers use medications to give those solutions.  If you prefer to explore alternative treatments such as physical therapy, medically directed diet changes, or other life-style adjustments, then the common ER and Urgent care provider will be limited in their ability to help you. 

• You can set long-term health goals and save yourself time and frustration.  It’s common to see a different clinician each time you go to an ER or UC, which will require time and effort to have them understand your beliefs and desires.  And almost no ER or UC clinician will discuss long term goals with you.  But by having a single primary provider follow your progress, you can get regular recommendations to reach your goals. 

• You can discuss and request more rarely performed studies.  If you come in to an ER and complain of symptoms of long-term heavy metal exposure, most clinicians will not test you for it unless you have very obvious physical changes.  Minor and vague complaints will not be investigated past ruling out immediately life-threatening conditions.  A chronic provider will be able to tease out many other less likely options, and order those more unique studies, such as heavy metal and vitamin D levels.    

• You can treat pain your way.  Acute pain (lasting less than two weeks) will be evaluated and if a cause is found, it will be treated.  If no specific reason is discovered, then a plan for follow-up and a small supply of pain medication may be provided.  Back pain can be challenging as it is rare to get a definitive diagnosis during an ER or UC visit.  A primary provider can order appropriate testing and review the results with you while working with you on your preferred means of pain control.  Chronic pain should always be managed by a primary care or pain management specialist, not the ER or UC. 

• Cost.  Simply put, everything in the ER will cost more than it would through a primary care office.

PA Primary -- Doing my part

I'm heading out to vote in a little while. My husband just returned from doing the same and we were both discouraged to learn that, so far, voter turnout here in Ross Township in Allegheny County, PA was poor. 

In some ways, I get it. For many of us, this year's choices are dismal. Admittedly, in the past, I voted according to a single issue. That made it easy. However, I see a bigger picture now and can no longer depend on the voter guides of the past. 

Here's my dilemma:

• I'm for candidates who are anti-Monsanto, et al and anti-fracking.
• I'm for candidates who are against abortion. 

Good luck with that, huh? Someone who stands for the right of unborn humans to get a chance at life and stands for the rights of existing and future humans to get a chance for healthier lives, free from the environmental and health risks of glyphosate, GMOs, and fracking. Yikes.

So, I did my research and I'm off to vote. I'm registered with a party only because I want this opportunity to vote in the primaries. Otherwise, I'm independent and vote according to each candidate's platform. I know I will never find an ideal candidate who aligns with my hybrid political stance. But that doesn't give me an excuse not to vote. 

I hope you will not throw away the opportunity to vote, especially you women and people of color. Our ancestors fought hard so we could safely walk into a polling location and make our vote count. Today, I'm voting for all of them and for the future. 

What about you? Did you vote in the primaries or will you be voting? If not, why not?

Earth Day 2016 -- When it's an afterthought

Today is Earth Day. It's a day when people who might not give environmentalism a second thought on any other day of the year, tend to pitch in and do their part. They clean up parks and roads. They conserve water and/or electricity. They might carpool or walk. Yes, those things happen on April 22nd every year, or at least on the Saturday closest to that date. And that's a good thing. The environment can always use a boost in proactive awareness, don't you think?

I have to admit, however, that as busy as I've been this month, I didn't even give Earth Day a thought. It wasn't until I logged on to Facebook that I even realized what day it was. I should be ashamed of myself. Here I am trying to lead all of you onto a path of environmental awareness and change and I was completely unaware. Wonderful.

But it's not too late to do something about it. I think I'll take the opportunity to share a little bit about Earth Day with my middle grandchild. Her birthday's coming up and I think spending a day with this precious soon-to-be three-year-old at Phipp's Conservatory and Botanical Gardens would be simply perfect. They're doing a four-day Earth Day celebration, highlighting their butterfly garden. 

The thing is, it's never too early to start teaching kids about the importance of caring for the earth and its inhabitants. 

What about you? What special plans do you have to celebrate Earth Day/Earth Weekend? I'd love to hear all about it in the comments below. 

Do you know where your favorite pocket is?

Photo courtesy of Karen Arnold

Life is full of pockets. We slip in and out of them unknowingly at times and look back and say, "Wow, I didn't even realize I'd moved on." We journey from experience to experience, emotion to emotion, good times, and bad. 

One of the definitions of pocket is: a small patch of something. We often hear of weather pockets. But today, I'm referring to life pockets. Those small, or not-so-small, patches of life that can thrill, confuse, anger, sadden, or energize us. 

I've been quite busy lately, in a good way. That's why I had to step away from the blog for awhile and deal with other aspects of my life. Spring tends to bring busyness with it for me, but this year my schedule was especially full.

For those of you who don't know me well, I have a business called Speechless. I am a writer, editor, speaker, coach, educator, and voice-over talent. If you have little ones, you might be familiar with some of my work through iStoryBooks.co. I've written over 90 books for the iStoryBooks app. In addition, I narrate all of the English versions of their books under the name Maya Ray. So when your kiddos hear "Hi. I'm Maya. What's your name?", it's my voice they're hearing.

Anyway, that's just one aspect of my business and I've been hard at work completing 5 biographies for them the past couple of months (Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Sacagawea, Princess Diana, and Margaret Brown). Additionally, my writers' conference circuit began, starting with The Write Stuff conference in Bethlehem, PA April 7-9 where I taught 3 workshops. The next weekend, I was in Lancaster for Lancaster Christian Writers Super Saturday, a one-day conference. I repeated a workshop from the first conference. At the end of the month, I'll present 2 workshops at Writing Success 25 in Stoneboro, PA and less than 3 weeks after that, I'll travel back to Lancaster for the annual Pennwriters Conference, where I'll teach 3 more workshops. All together in this short period of time, I'll teach a total of 9 workshops, 4 of which are brand new. That's a lot of preparation. Throw tax day into the mix and maybe you can understand my brief hiatus. 

But what does this have to do with pockets? Everything. I was walking across campus at Lancaster Bible College on Saturday and I couldn't help thanking God for this time in my life. This pocket. It's my favorite one ever. As a matter of fact, I don't know if I've ever been happier. Leading workshops, teaching, writing, coaching... these are the things that make my heart sing. I feel incredibly blessed to be doing what I love. And I do not take it for granted. I know what it's like to hate a job. I vowed to myself back in 1978 that I would never work a job I hated ever again. I would never allow a boss to treat me like crap. I would never allow myself to be belittled or abused. 

I do not ever fail to thank God for the talents, abilities, and gifts He's bestowed on me. I know not everyone can say the same about their jobs. Some people are trapped. They need their jobs, despite the fact that they hate them. They wake up in the morning and dread the day ahead. I am so, so sorry if that is where your current pocket is. I hope that somehow you can find your favorite pocket in the midst of that kind of misery. Figure out what it is and crawl into it whenever possible. It's our favorite pockets that make the rest of life bearable or, if we're lucky, downright enjoyable.

I'll be 59 next month. Numbers scare me. The thought of being 60 in another year freaks me out a bit. Yet, this is the best time of my life so far. Yes, I loved being a stay-at-home mom to my girls. Yes, I loved being a young wife. Yes, I loved my college years. But somehow, the second half of my 50s has been remarkable. And doing conferences and teaching classes for Carnegie Mellon's Osher program and leading an amazing writers' group is my pocket. It's where I feel most alive.

What about you? Where is your favorite pocket? 

Bamboo Moby Baby Wrap Giveaway!

Moby is a leader in the baby wearing community. With their soft and easy to use wraps, they provide many parents with their first baby wearing experience. At first glance, the length of the wrap can be intimidating, but it's really not that complicated. Check out the easy tutorials on YouTube. Without doubt, the tutorials will boost your confidence. To read more about the benefits of baby wearing (according to an occupational therapist) click here. If you have not tried to baby wear yet and are intimated by trying it alone, MamatheFox suggests reaching out to your local BWI (Baby Wearing International) group. Most major (and some smaller) cities have a group of baby wearing pros who meet up on a weekly or monthly basis. You can go and talk to real baby wearing parents and let them teach you in person how to properly wear your child. You can typically borrow carriers, too, before you buy, making the process fun and easy.

Click here to read more about the new 

Bamboo Moby Wrap

Enter below for your chance at winning a 

Bamboo Moby Baby Carrier

Giveaway begins at 12:00 a.m. (EST) on April 15, 2016 and ends at 11:59 on May 15, 2016. Open to US only. 18+.

Bamboo Moby Wrap 

MamatheFox and all participating bloggers are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

On hiatus

Green Grandma is on a brief hiatus. I will be back sometime later this month. 

I promise to deliver some good content then. 

Hana

Making a Product Matter

Disclosure: This is a sponsored guest post

There is plenty of information that is found in books as well as on the Internet. In fact, it seems as though people can become overwhelmed at the large amount of information available today. The abundance of information can make it difficult for people to learn about new products as well as established ones. There are a few tips to remember when it comes to making a product matter.

Making Connections

A good place to begin when making a product matter is to make sure consumers know that a product is beneficial and needed. A particular drink may taste great, feature natural ingredients and be a healthy option. While it might not appeal to everyone, it may be a good option for college students and parents looking for a healthy alternative to sugary drinks. However, if people do not know about the benefits of such a drink, they might be unwilling or unable to purchase it at a store. Therefore, it is good to make a connection as to why a product or service is relevant for consumers, such as Miltek balers.

Brand Highlighting

There are numerous brands of balers on the market today that people are familiar with. One of the reasons people are aware of particular brands is the result of specific marketing. Some of the marketing done is performed at strategic times of the year. There are companies that highlight a product during a major sports event when it is known that millions of viewers will be watching television. Other companies broadcast the same commercial numerous times over the airwaves in order to have people think about their product or brand repeatedly. Both of these options are beneficial. There are other options that can be done as well, and it is up to an individual or company to determine what works best when it is time to highlight a product or service.

When advertising is done well, consumers think about a particular product or service when they have a specific need that has to be met. A jingle, image, or commercial can be quite effective in communicating a message. This can result in satisfied customers.

GMO WARNING: Beware the Arctic Apples

Part 3 of this series takes us to a day when apples no longer brown when cut. It's a dream come true for... someone, I guess. I always just added a little bit of lemon juice to keep them from browning, but why go natural when you can go GMO?

Image courtesy of Dawn Hudson

Why GMO? The Arctic® apples , developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits, Inc. are engineered to be non-browning. Woo hoo.

Here's the thing -- the reason apples brown in the first place is because of a natural enzyme. Remember the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"? Well, with these beauties, that will no longer be the case. Why? Well because these perfectly un-brown apples will no longer be able to fight off diseases and pests without that all important enzyme. Guess what that means? MORE PESTICIDES! Yep, you read that right. Unless you're buying organic apples, you and your family are ingesting more and more pesticide residue. And with these GM apples, it will only get worse.

Initially, the USDA approved the apples, despite much opposition. They later deregulated them, so you won't see them in the stores just yet. They have, however, been approved by the FDA. It's just a matter of time.

They'll be marketed to the fast food industry for those "healthy" alternatives to French fries and such. We can only hope that some of the companies who said no to Innate Potatoes will nix the Frankenfood apples as well. 

On the good news front, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Gerber have already said they won't be buying them. And neither will I. 

Keeping you informed,

Rachel Carson: Environmental Pioneer

Rachel Carson was a pioneer in the environmental movement. Recently, I did research for a children's book I wrote about her and was fascinated by what I learned. So I thought I'd share it with you, in case, like me, you know little about her. My book, which will be published on the iStoryBooks app, is titled Rachel Carson: A Hero for the Earth.

Born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, a small town near Pittsburgh, Rachel grew up fascinated by nature. She spent much of her time in the woods near her family's 64-acre farm and explored along the banks of the Allegheny River. Her curiosity seemed limitless.

Like me, she started writing at a young age. By the time she was 11, her work was being published in St. Nicholas Magazine, where her story "A Battle in the Clouds" won first place in a writing contest for children.

In college, she majored in English with plans to become a writer. However, her plans were derailed after she took her first biology class and loved it. Eventually, her focus turned to marine biology and in 1935, the United States Bureau of Fisheries hired her to write the scripts for a radio show about it. Combining her love of nature with her love of writing, Rachel had stories published in Atlantic Monthly and New Yorker magazines. She found nearly instant success when she began publishing her books, including Under the Sea-Wind, The Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the Sea. Her most popular and successful book, however, was Silent Spring, focused on the dangers of pesticides and insecticides, particularly DDT. 

Rachel discovered that in the areas where DDT was being sprayed, birds were laying eggs with extremely soft shells. This led to a high rate of baby birds dying. Without the birds, she grieved the "silent spring."

Of course, the chemical companies were opposed to everything Rachel Carson was doing, writing, and saying. They tried to silence her because she was threatening their bottom line. Because of her research, President John F. Kennedy demanded more safety tests on the chemicals. Even though Rachel herself never called for the banning of DDT, the government testing agreed with her findings regarding the dangers of DDT. In 1963, many states stopped using some of the pesticides and insecticides, due to the impact they were having on the environment and the dangers they posed to humans.

Ironically, Rachel ended up with cancer and died in 1964. But her passion and drive didn't end at the end of her life. The environmental movement, as we know it today, began with a young western Pennsylvania girl who cared enough to speak up and refused to be silent. 

That's what I'm asking of you. To speak up. To make demands. To research. To vote with your wallet. We are making a difference. But we have to keep it up. 

Do it for Rachel. Do it for your families. Do it because you care.

GMO WARNING: Beware the Golden Rice

In part 2 of this series, I'll be discussing something that hasn't quite made it onto the shelves yet. But it's something you should be aware of. Golden rice.

Photo courtesy of Daniele Pellati

Why GMO? International Rice Research Institute/Golden Rice Humanitarian Board/Syngenta have engineered a type of rice to be loaded with Vitamin A (beta-carotene). That doesn't sound so bad.

But there are some concerns over the rice that the companies have been engineering for over 15 years now, yet still has not been approved. While the need to feed the world is often the reason pro-GMO advocates give, Golden rice doesn't contain nearly enough beta-carotene to actually make a difference. C'mon, nobody eats that much rice! So, for the countries where blindness in children often occurs because of Vitamin A deficiency, golden rice simply isn't the answer. In other words, this is a waste of money. You would think the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board could find better ways to help feed the poor.

As we all try to avoid genetically modified foods, because, let's face it, no one knows the long term affects of it, keep an eye out for golden rice and keep it out of your shopping cart!

Keeping you informed,

Stillness on Golgatha

Night Over Golgatha  Vasily Vereshchagin 1869

And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, the other on the left.

~Luke 23:33

Stillness on Golgotha

Could this man, I worry, bear the load?

Two are hardy mountain brigands, but the third is

Thin and whipped and bleeding still.

His rough-hewn beam weighs more than he.

“Can you lift this load?” I ask him.

No brigand he, and worse, I know

We bring a curse upon our heads

When e’er we punish guiltless men.

“I must,” straight and true he looks at me.

I give the order.  Three men lift beams to backs

We surround them and begin our march.

Now weeping wives beside us wail.

His breath in gasps, he warns:

“Better cry here for yourselves.

In green tree this now happens

And what will happen in the dry?”

A hundred paces more he stumbles,

His rough-hewn beam falls to the ground.

I halt the march,

“We will give you a moment.”

“Bless you,” he tells his executioner -- a stranger.

The moment gone, he nods.  I give the order “march”.

His breath in gasps, his back still seeping blood,

At sixty paces more, legs now shaking, he falls again.

“This is twice,” I must remind him.

He grips his beam with strength renewed,

But no: he cannot lift his load.

City crowds now press too close.

He has no room to move.

My troops all heed, “Jupiter’s thunder!”

Good soldiers all now draw their swords,

Blades flash, slap shields, and clashes sound.

Drowsy passersby start, then flee to other streets.

I give the marching order and he bears his load

Forty paces more, he and rough-hewn beam do fall.

“You cannot bear this load,” I say to him.

Above the crowd stands sturdy Simon

Who looks at me and then away.

I call on him to bear this load.

Cyrenian now lifts beam and man and on we march.

Atop stark Golgotha we stop.

My men now nail two brigands and raise both crosses.

Simon looks at me.  I say, “Set man

And beam beside the post.  Your task is done.”

‘This good man has borne your load and you,’

I leave unsaid.  My duty calls:

The curse lays icy hands on me.

His breath in gasps, he watches me and not the hammer,

As I nail him to the rough-hewn beam he can not carry.

“Now the hardest part begins,” I warn

Ere we raise his cross.

The curse is mine to bear alone:  I pray,

Ye gods who watch this terrible place,

Spare my men, all good soldiers true.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Unbelieving I look at this man his people call healer.

From his cross, his eyes straight at me, he nods.

My load, worse than a thousand beams, is gone.

In the infinite silence all I can do is weep.

~John Sayre 

©2007

John Sayre is in my writing group, Writers at Work. This is one my favorite pieces of his and he graciously allowed me to share it with the rest of you.

Sidetracked by the sun

Do you ever have so much to do, you end up doing something totally different than the things on your to-do list? That's what happened to me yesterday. My husband left for his part time job and I headed out back to enjoy a little bit of sunshine and warmth before going up to my office to work. My workload is heavy right now. I'm currently working on some biographies for first graders that will be published on the iStoryBooks app. So far this month, I completed books on Margaret Brown (the unsinkable Molly Brown), Rachel Carson, and Princess Di. Today, I'm working on a book about Sacagawea and I'll finish up the series with a biography of Jane Goodall. Five fascinating women.

In addition to the books and miscellaneous other work, I'm also preparing workshops for 4 upcoming writing conferences. I'm on the faculty for the following conferences in Pennsylvania: The Write Stuff conference in Bethlehem, Lancaster Christian Writers Super Saturday in Lancaster, Writing Success 25 in Stoneboro, and Pennwriters Conference in Lancaster. Lots of traveling and lots of preparation. Of the 9 workshops I'm presenting, 4 of them are brand new. Brand new = work!

And then there's tax day, which is quickly approaching and I'm totally unprepared for. Yuck.

But I digress. I started out by mentioning spending time not doing any of the above. Here's what happened:

It was a beautiful day here in Western PA. The sun was shining. It was in the 60s, or maybe low 70s, and I just seemed to need some fresh air. I looked around at all the spring yard work waiting for my husband. Everything is popping up earlier this year, following the warmest winter worldwide ever on record. Flowers are blooming, plants are emerging from their winter naps, and nothing is waiting for us to have time to clean up all the leaves and debris leftover from autumn. 

One of my favorite things about spring and summer is the sound of water flowing in our pond. Usually, my husband doesn't get around to preparing the pond until late April. Sometimes, not until May. That was unacceptable for me this year. So, for the first time ever, I decided to do it while he was at work. And that's exactly what I did. 

I started by cleaning up all the leaves and twigs on the hillside surrounding the small pond and filled 6 large trashcans full of debris. We have a woods and a compost pile bordering our yard, so I hauled it all back there and dumped it. Again and again. Sweat was dripping down my back. My hair was soaked. And I felt fantastic. 

I cleaned the leaves and debris from the pond itself and was elated to discover all 5 of our goldfish had made it through the winter. They swished their tails and seemed genuinely happy to see me again as they swam up and nibbled on my fingers. 

I was also elated to see the bees returning to the bee house we hung up for them. At one point, I saw 10 of them making their way in and out of the round bamboo openings. Hooray!

By the time I was done, I couldn't wait for my husband to get home and see what I'd done. You see, with my fibromyalgia and Epstein Barr Virus Syndrome, I'm physically not able to do much of this kind of work. But yesterday, I did it anyway. Am I paying for it today? Of course. But it's good pain, if you know what I mean. Pain that's worth it. As I struggle to get up from my chair, I smile. The look of gratitude on my husband's face makes it all worthwhile. 

By the way, here's what it will look like in a month or so:

I might be a day behind on my work, but a day of hard work in the sun just might be what I needed to make it through the next two weeks until conference number 1 begins. 

So, what causes you to throw aside your own to-do list?

What's more valuable than diamonds, gold, or cocaine?

Did you know that rhino horns sell for $60,000 per kilogram on the black market? That makes them more valuable than diamonds, gold, and cocaine. Why? Well, for one thing, they're becoming rarer and rarer. But why would people pay that kind of money for them? There are two reasons: one involves the wealthy and the other involves the sick.

The wealthy want them as luxury status symbols. 

The sick want them for their medicinal properties. It is believed that crushed rhino horn can work wonders -- from curing hangovers (now that's important) to curing gout to reducing fevers. Whatever.

Photo courtesy of Yathin S Krishnappa

Sadly, as a result of extreme greed, the number of African black rhinos in the wild has fallen from close to a half a million 100 years ago to a mere 4,000 or so now. Every year, more than 1,000 rhinos are killed for their horns. And rhino calves are unable to survive without their mothers until they are 3 years old. That means, many young rhinos are dying due to the senseless slaughter of their mothers. For what? A luxury status symbol. That makes me want to puke. I seriously could not carry on a civil conversation with someone who owned such a thing.

The black rhinos in Africa are facing extinction. Why should that matter? I like what Billy Graham said about it: "To drive to extinction something He has created is wrong. He has a purpose for everything..." When we cause the extinction of a species of animals due to our greed and selfishness, there must be environmental consequences of some kind. The eco-system is disrupted. 

What can we do about it? I'm not sure. But I wanted to make you aware of the issue so you can voice your opinion if the subject arises.

Keeping your informed,

Fracking linked to birth defects

I get really tired of hearing people's pro-fracking arguments. It's all about money. The same things could be said to support GMOs. That's all about money, too. And there are those who blindly back Monsanto and their cronies and actually believe that genetically modifying our food is safe for both us and the environment. But facts reveal a different story.

Same goes with fracking. There are countless studies that prove the harm fracking is doing to people and to the earth. For one thing, you just have to look at how many earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma since fracking became a common practice there. It's now called "America's Earthquake Capital." Yikes.

Then look at how many people have cited fracking as the cause of their health problems. It's frightening. 

But it helps the economy.

Yeah, right. It helps pad the pockets of not only the companies and their workers, but also the bankrolls of doctors and hospitals. And let's not forget how fracking has paved the way for a dramatic increase in prostitution, thus leading to more and more young girls disappearing as they're sold into the sex trafficking industry.

Obviously, I hate fracking and everything about it. I could go on and on.

But for the purpose of this post, I just wanted to let you know about a study conducted by researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health and Brown University. This peer-reviewed study concluded that there is "an association between the density and proximity of natural gas wells within a 10 mile radius of maternal residence and prevalence of congenital heart defects." They also found possible links to brain and spinal cord defects.

This should be startling news. This should be mainstream. But it's not. Why? Because who cares about some babies born with birth defects in light of the multi-million (or is it billion?) fracking industry? Well, I do, for one. And you should, too.

Fracking -- a safe practice that aids our economy and makes us less dependent on foreign oil. Or is it? Do your research and then decide. And if you're with me on this, speak up. Make a difference with your votes and your wallet.

GMO WARNING: Beware the Innate Potatoes

As genetically modified foods continue to lure innocent buyers at the grocery store, I thought it might be a good idea to start filling you in on what to avoid. So, I'll be focusing on a particular type of food in these posts titled GMO WARNING. Keep your eye out for them.

Image courtesy of Charles Rondeau

For this first post, I wanted to tell you about a type of potato that was approved by our glorious FDA just last year.

Why GMO? The explanation sounds good, but beware the dangers. J.R. Simplot engineered this potato to produce less acrylamide. What is acrylamide? Apparently it's something released when potatoes are fried that has a possible link to cancer.

The genetic engineering is also supposed to keep the potatoes from bruising. And you know, no one wants to eat a bruised potato.

J.R. Simplot planned to market the Innate potatoes to fast food chains like McDonald's that fry their potatoes (for French fries and hashbrowns) at very high temperatures. However, some of these targeted chains, including McDonald's, are, at this point, refusing to buy the GMO potatoes. Even Frito Lay's has said no to the spud.

How can you avoid Simplot's Innate potatoes? Since you might not know whether or not the potatoes you're buying are genetically modified, your best option, as always, is to buy organic or Non-GMO Project Verified potatoes and/or potato products. 

Keeping you informed,

Weekend Quote

Blooming too early in Western PA  Winter 2016

"If we are able to prevent the worst effects of climate change, I want my son to know that I was a part of it. And if not, I want him to know we tried really hard."

~Nicole Hernandez Hammer

Southeast climate advocate for the Union of Concerned Scientists

Calling all Pittsburghers!

Pittsburghers -- Construction Junction has an awesome Earth Day challenge going on! Each person, contractor, or business who makes a donation to CJ between now and 6 p.m. on Earth Day (April 22), will be entered to win either a pair of tickets to the Steel City Big Pour (SeptemBeer 10th) or a $250 gift card to Construction Junction! Sweet! 

So, if you have old or surplus building materials taking up space, donate them! Doing a kitchen or bathroom remodel? Tell your contractor you want to donate the old cabinets and fixtures to CJ. Are you getting rid of wood furniture, hardware, or tools? CJ would love to have them! 

All donors will receive a donation receipt and an entry into the drawing.

Here's what you can do to benefit the environment and Construction Junction for Earth Day:

• Drop your items off 7 days a week: Mon.-Fri. 9-6, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-5.
• Call 412.243.5025 ext. 11 to arrange for FREE pick up service if your donation qualifies.
• Call 412.243.5025 ext. 31 for FREE deconstruction service to salvage the usable building materials if you're planning a full renovation of a building, or are tearing down an old property.

It doesn't get any easier than that! Do it for Earth Day and tell them Green Grandma sent you!

Keeping it green for the earth,