If you live in a house that is perfect in terms of insulation and energy efficiency, you are likely living in a house with stale air – or worse: poisoned air.
The old drafty windows allowed air to go in and out freely. Retrofitted with air-tight windows and doors, you keep in the used-up air. People are often not aware that indoor pollution is much worse than outdoor pollution.
Indoor pollution comes from building materials (wood preservers, paints, plastics, glues, etc.) and household cleaners (detergent, laundry softeners) and molds.
The two most important – and easiest – steps are:
• Sleeping with window open so that you don’t re-breathe stale, polluted air all night through.
• Opening your windows at least twice a day for ten minutes each time. Opening the windows wide but only for a short time, is using less energy than keeping a window slanted all the time.
Respiratory diseases – asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, allergies, increased susceptibility for infections, and so on – are furthered by bad air.
If you have mold at your place, the root cause needs to be addressed: moist walls, flooded basements, condensation issues in poorly ventilated spaces. You better ask a specialist. This can come very expensive. But your health doesn’t come cheap either. And once somebody is sensitive to molds, life can get extremely complicated.
The opposite – too dry air – is also inflicting lung ailments. You can put out open dishes with water or hang up moist towels. Both are better than humidifiers that in many instances get grown over with molds and bacteria, adding to the problem instead of solving it.
Green plants help improve indoor air by humidifying and removing pollutants. Philodendron, spider plant and golden pothos are most effective at the task, and they also happen to be unfussy in their needs.
Aromatherapy can improve air quality. Incense actually is detrimental to your health (as nice as it is for your soul), but essential oils, especially eucalyptus, strengthen respiratory passages.
This all will help you indoor air – provided there’s no smoker in the house. Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
We Are Hard-Wired For Awe, Respect, Morals
May 7, 2010
A Yale study just concluded that babies already can differ between good and bad behavior. In eighty percent of cases, the baby chose the “good guy” puppet after they had seen a short puppet show.
Exactly what I always thought: We are hard-wired for awe, respect and morals. Unfortunately, we are also hard-wired to follow peer-pressure – and those two forces fight war over our souls. To enforce the knowledge of good and bad, we need a nurturing culture around us, in families, and schools.
Let’s not take morals too narrowly, though. Most morals have very little to do with sex (after all, it is a biological drive and, in all cultures and religions, has been hard to suppress), and very much to do with money and power. (Does not mean that I am a libertine; just means that sniffing out other people’s bedroom habits is not my cup of tea).
Religions often abuse our innate longing for goodness and request obedience to their rules and superiors. I personally think goodness is already undermined if you have somebody paid as a priest/minister/pastor; I hold that people should come together voluntarily and should stay unpaid lay celebrants. Religions that preach to hate, should be out. Spirituality that fosters kindness should be in.
This is what I want to see celebrated: Nature foremost because we would not be here without Good Mother Earth and her water, air and soil, families, nurturing traditions, worldwide community, justice, music, art, education and books. Read More