British Petroleum or BP has had a tough time of it as of late, and with little wonder. Still reeling from the gulf oil spill of 2010, the petroleum giant seems to be ensnared in a myriad of secrets relating to the incident that’s been noted as the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. Their lack of swift action in the April 2010 catastrophe drew heavy criticism from the public, environmental agencies and the White House, prompting President Barack Obama to begin the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the leak and say “Plug the damn hole” in an unusual show of force and irritation on the part of the usually even keeled president.
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Hurricane season is both an exciting and stressful time to live in many of the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.
As his blue eyes peer out from behind no-frame glasses, 71-year-old inventor Bob Rigby sits drinking his second coffee of the morning. Born and raised in Venice, Fla., Rigby is familiar with the area and smiles at each person walking by. Rigby has experienced all that comes with growing up on the Gulf Coast of Florida, including red tide. After seeing some of its terrible affects, he decided to take matters into his own hands, and in 1992, he began research to find a cure. Nine years later, Rigby found it.
It’s been said that in California, it will be the crowds, the traffic, the cold or the pollution that kills you. Well, in regard to my own personal and eventual death, none of these means appeal to me in particular. Not the smothering by strangely dressed tourists, the collision of a several-ton vehicle impacting my tiny frame of a body, or the slow takeover of freezing cold temperatures gripping me so tightly as to extinguish all the life remaining inside me. But pollution? I don’t think I could imagine the possibility of some thick, smoggy, chemical substance finding its way into my body and then taking over some invaluable major organ, forcing me to battle it out in an end-all, beat-all fight to which I inevitably lose. With this in mind, I don’t know if California is a place I want to visit, let alone call home, any time soon…or is it?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, levels of organic pollutants in our homes – the place where we spend about 90 percent of our time – are between two and five times more polluted than the air outside. And all along you thought not smoking, buying an air purifier and that can of Oust air sanitizer you keep next to your lounge chair for moments when you just aren’t feeling clean enough, were all making a big difference. Indeed, this statistic is frightening, but it’s not one we have to live with. The Daily Herald online has outlined 10 of the easiest, most effective and cost-friendly ways to get greener – and cleaner – in you home. 1) Dump the dry cleaning. Dry cleaning requires harsh chemicals, and those chemicals don’t stay at the dry cleaners when you bring those clothes home. Try steaming your clothes while you’re in the shower and buying more washable fabrics. |
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