Blame for the Gulf Coast BP Oil Spill

We recently visited the coast and was amazed at the many locals' unwillingness to pass blame for the Gulf Coast BP oil spill. I found this very surprising because that's pretty much the focus of the talking heads on the news shows that I've watched. Basically, they have been shouting about who did or didn't do this or that blaming everybody from President Obama right on down to the original contractors who built the well.

Speaking of the Prez, while we were down there I got to get a look at the Presidential motorcade via my review mirror! Out of respect, we pulled over and let them pass while thoughts were flying through my mind like "What would I do if they stopped to talk to me in order to get opinions from visitors to the area", etc. I would have loved to have been able to tell my grandchildren that I had the honor of speaking to the President of the United States, but there you go...it didn't happen.

Getting back to the BP oil spill on the Gulf Coast, well, I chatted up as many people as would talk to me including people who live in the area to workers who were scooping up the tar balls.

The main concern of the workers (at the moment) was that they weren't keeping up. It was obvious that the amount of goop coming in was increasing and the residents are living in dread of the economic devastation and in fear of a hurricane. Visitors who have historically taken vacations in the area feel they are saying farewell to those wonderful oysters and shrimp and wondering if this will ever be considered the vacation spot that it was in its prime ever again.

As far as who is to blame for the Gulf Coast BP Oil spill, the locals don't say much about that. They don't want to think about the past, they just want the oil spewing geyser in the ocean to STOP! Maybe they are like me and know that big oil shouldn't shoulder all the blame, we have to raise our own hands and admit that our greedy consumption of oil and lack of concern for the environment has made us the guilty party.

On this trip, I bid the coast of my childhood a fond farewell and said a prayer that my girls would grow up to be more responsible than my generation has been and take going green to the next level. Hopefully, with God's blessing, our country can break free of our oil addiction and save the planet.

BAD SUNSCREEN INGREDIENTS

Not surprisingly we are getting the news that sunscreen may be dangerous. There are several bad sunscreen ingredients, but the one that the powers that be are really taking a look at is oxybenzone which according to reports is found in more than half the sunscreens on the market.


The problem with this particular chemical is that is can be absorbed through the skin and when it does it just might cause allergic reactions and disrupt hormone function. Basically, this stuff (in my humble opinion) should not be used on ANYBODY but we should especially not be slathering it on our children or on ourselves if we happen to be pregnant.

But is oxybenzone the ONLY bad sunscreen ingredient hiding in our kids' sunscreens?
I, personally, was not surprised to learn that a large percentage of sunscreens have dangerous chemicals lurking in them.

WHAT'S A MOM TO DO?

We are told that sun blocking cream that have either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide are best but guess what? There's a chance that titanium and zinc could be toxic if absorbed into our kids bloodstream. So far there is no reason to believe that this danger could become reality but....well, how's that been working for us so far? Just when you start to get comfortable with a particular study's results, here comes one that refutes the previous study and cites a chemical as dangerous as all hell.

NATURAL SUNSCREEN

After doing a search, I found lots of sunscreens that are marketed as NATURAL SUNSCREENS but I haven't had time to read all the reviews and to check if any of them have bad sunscreen ingredients hiding in the fine print.

HOW TO MAKE NATURAL SUNSCREEN

What I found more intriguing was information I found on the ingredients for natural sunscreen that I saw in some recipes!

For instance, did you know that Sesame oil resists 30 percent of UV rays and plain old olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil and cottonseed oil block out about 20 percent?

HERE'S A RECIPE FOR NATURAL SUNSCREEN

Perhaps it's best to make your own sunscreen with none of the dangerous chemicals in it. Be aware that even some of the homemade sunscreen recipe have zinc oxide or titanium oxide mixed with almond oil and beeswax as their main. But I would prefer recipes that don't have ANY bad sunscreen ingredients in them because to me having a green and natural home means eliminating all the chemicals that I can.

COMMON SENSE

Do I believe that a homemade sunblock eliminating the bad sunscreen ingredients will completely prevent my babies' skin from blistering in the harsh UVA and UVB rays of the sun? Well, I haven't tested the recipe yet and I would never take a chance on letting my baby get a sunburn which I believe compromises her already less than super immune system. I DO use something that some people seem to avoid at all costs, COMMON SENSE which is one of the best natural sunscreens in my book!

To be smart we should:

• 
  Avoid direct sunshine
  
• Go outdoors when the sun’s rays are not as strong before 10.30 am and after 3pm
  
• Wear sun hats with wide brims
  
• Wear protective sunglasses
  

To the Punk Who Almost Ran Over My Baby with a Car

This is an open letter to the punk who almost ran over my baby with a car in our very own yard. Did you bother to stop to see that my baby girl who was standing right there in our own front yard when you squealed up into our driveway after doing a u-turn in the middle of the street? Would you have even cared if she was alive? I wonder.

I invited my nieces to drop in for a visit this afternoon because their mom had a bad headache and I thought that they might be a little tired of having to tiptoe around the house. Plus, I thought my sister might appreciate a little break from worrying what they were up to or that when she was able to hold her head up without pain that she would walk into the kitchen mess from hell….

I drove over to her house after sending a text message to the older of the two girls with the invitation. The cell hadn’t hit the table before it buzzed with a YIPPPEEEE message in return begging me to hurry and come over to pick them up! Surprisingly, they didn’t even ask what we were going to do in the way of entertainment.

After I washed the girls’ faces and checked to see if the youngest ones were dry (for the moment) we proceeded toward the car and I started buckling the little ones into their respective seats. My sister only lives a couple of miles from my house so I buzzed right on over to pick up our visitors.

Once I arrived, I wanted to check in on my sister without having to go through the car seat routine once again. I got my nieces to go ahead and get in the car to play “I Spy” or something else while I slipped into the invalid’s sick room to give her a kiss and tell her to feel better soon.

The day was pretty average until the punk who almost ran over my baby with a car entered my world. When we got home I pulled into our driveway, the girls helped me get all but the littlest one of our group out of the car and then I heard squealing, squalling tires and the girls screaming.

I spun around only to see your rapidly approaching vehicle speeding up the driveway and then if that were not bad enough, you wrenched the steering wheel to the right to do yet another u-turn in our driveway. Never mind the fact that my daughter was standing frozen, still as a statue in the yard.

I know that you saw kids running all over the place, but you never even hit the brakes. You just slammed the car in reverse and let the transmission take over which is amazing given the rate of speed you were traveling.

There was no look of alarm at what almost happened on your face and no apologetic look. My daughter came far too close to being a statistic and you seemed to be anything but sorry.

Just so you know, this letter is my way of letting it go. I’m sending it out there so that I won’t waste time being angry at you. Well, I’ve typed and spell checked and I’m still pretty steamed at you, the guy who will from this day forward be known as the punk.

I would like to believe, that you had just gotten dreadful news and that you had no choice but to play fast and loose with the lives of my and my sister’s children and that you weren’t just being a selfish self-centered little shit with no thought for anyone but yourself. I hope that you taken the time to say a prayer to thank God that He spared you from the worst that could have happened.

I know that you, the guilty party, will never read this but maybe someone who does will stop and think how to maintain control at all times and THINK! As it is, a careless jerk ruined our afternoon BUT if a child were killed or hurt it could have ruined many lives.

I apologize that this post had nothing to do with going green but I just had to get this off my chest. Thanks for listening.

Here's a video that I would like to dedicate to the punk who almost ran over my baby with a car.