A Greener Shade of Performance

Dr. Oz says Eliminate your Mothballs

2009-10-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

Dr. Oz (Oprah Winfrey's resident health expert) has just revealed a list of 10 things to remove from your house to prevent aging. He listed mothballs as one of the top items in your house that are causing you to age prematurely.

At Northern Explorer we knew that people were using mothballs to repel rodents, but we didn't realize that they were so toxic and unhealthy. It turns out that not only are mothballs toxic, but potentially fatal if consumed by a child! Finding out facts such as these just makes us more confident here at Northern Explorer that we are on the right track.

Our entire product line was developed for this specific reason. We were tired of using products that cause cancer, were detrimental to our health, and definitely harm the environment. For example, taken right from our product description of Store It Right:

In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency issued final rule which will make typical rodent baits such as D-CON available only to professional exterminators. Also, other rodent baits will now justifiably require childproof packages, solid bait blocks and other usage restrictions. The EPA felt the need to take such strict action based on potential risks to children and non-target animals, such as household pets.

Store It Right Mouse Pouch is a safe alternative to traditional baits and is perfect for homeowner use. The mouse repellent comes packaged in a pouch for easy application. Just place the pouch in the area where you want to keep mice out. Join the green revolution and use the all-natural way to keep mice away...

We are in this for the future of our families and our planet. We feel that every small step we take towards a greener living is one that helps out everyone as a whole. Don't risk poisoning your pet or your children. Use products that are safe around everyone, it is the right thing to do. Next time you want to use mothballs, try Store It Right!

Putting it Away Properly...

2009-09-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

It is getting to be that time of the year. As you began planning on how you are going to pack up or put away your classic car, your RV, or your cabin for the winter be sure to invest some time in rodent prevention. Nothing is more dissapointing than opening your cabin in the spring and finding that it is compeletely mouse infested, or you load up your RV for your first outing of the year and find out that mice have chewed through every wire they could find!

Don't think that these things don't happen every day, just ask Phil Coconis from autoMedia.com. After he parked his SUV in his garage mice ate through his entire wiring harness costing nearly $2000 to repair. Or you can read what Robert over at WombatNation had to say about what happened after he went on a 1 week vacation.

All in all, it does happen and as the saying goes, "One ounce of prevention is equal to one pound of cure." Let me show you your one ounce:

Before you pack up your RV, boat, cabin or car for the winter be sure you are taking the proper steps.

Remove any food particles from the location
Seal any exterior openings (roll up windows, close vents, etc)
Place a Store It Right mouse pouch near any potential entry points, engine compartment, and interior areas to keep the mice away.
Fill any gaps that are 1/4" or larger as this is all the space needed for a mouse to sneak in
Remove any debris, grass clippings, bird seed, or other possible nesting place from the area

By following these simple steps and picking up a couple boxes of Store It Right, you too can have a mouse free winter with no fear of mouse infestation!

What can you do?

2009-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so at this point everyone pretty much agrees that there are some issues with the environment that are going to keep escalating if we continue our current rate of consumption. So the way I see it is that there is one question we need to answer:

What will you do?

I think the answer here is very simple. As The Green Guy pointed out previously every little bit helps. If you sit back and think about the choices you make, it can truly make a difference. My personal thoughts are start small, very small. Maybe next time you drop in the convenience store you ask them to not bag your purchase. What about walking the couple of blocks to the store instead of driving? Maybe even support a company that is trying to make a difference! It is these small tasks that multiplied by your lifetime would greatly reduce your own impact on the environment.

Maybe you decide to start (or step up your ) recycling. I know that my wife drinks at least 3 cans of soda per day. That equates to over 1,000 aluminum cans per year that she consumes. If we were not avid recyclers these cans would just sit in a landfill and take longer than our lifetime to decompose. All for something that was only for temporary satisfaction.

Did you know?

Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy that would be required to mine bauxite ore and extract alumina; the raw materials needed to manufacture aluminum.
- Activities guide to solid Waste and Recycling (1991) Sacramento County Department of Solid Waste Management

Recycling aluminum results in 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than producing aluminum from natural resources.
-A Week With Waste (1994) California Integrated Waste Management Board

To make a ton of aluminum from raw materials, we have to treat and dispose of 3,290 lbs. of red mud, 2,900 lbs. of carbon dioxide, 81 lbs. of air pollutants and 789 lbs. of solid wastes.
-MOBIUS Curriculum: Understanding the Waste Cycle (1992) Browning-Ferris Industries

So now I leave it to you to decide what you are willing to do to help out our planet. Leave a note in the comments about the small steps you take that will end up making a big difference!

First thoughts...

2009-07-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at writing a blog so please forgive me if I whiff it!! I have been intrigued with the whole blogging concept for a while and have increasingly wanted to give it a try. I think in many ways I represent a lot of people trying very hard to figure out what they can do to make a difference with respect to the environment. At first glance, you might say that I represent the anti-green. I have made a living for over 25 years in the petroleum and chemical industry and feel very proud about what I have accomplished and done. I continue to this day believe that products that are EPA approved and used according to their labels are safe. Despite this, I still feel a very strong need to do more without having to turn our backs on what we have done or everything we have accomplished. I may not be Al Gore but that doesn't mean that I don't care about the environment.

I think there may be many of you out there that feel like me and perhaps if you are reading this, you are one of them. For me, it is the small things that make a difference. When we do this we feel like we can get our arms around things and feel like we are making progress. My family and I are boating enthusiasts and have a spot on the Lake of the Ozarks. We realize that boating can have a negative impact on the environment and we are careful to try and mitigate as much of this as possible. For example, we run the boat at slower speeds to conserve fuel, we use holding tank treatments that work but are safe to the environment when flushed out. When we wash the boat we use only products that are safe to be entered into the lake and when we see trash on the lake, we pick it up.

Some might say that a true greenie would never own a power boat in the first place. Maybe they are right, But I do and I am trying my best to make sure my boating pleasure doesn't come at the expense of the environment. One of the conclusions I am coming to is that better choices make for big differences one boat or one RV/camper at a time. We all can make a difference. For those of you with a financial slant think of it like compound interest; small things over long periods of time, make a huge difference.

So what else can we do? When you go to buy a product ask yourself beyond what the product does what is the bigger job this product does? Does it leave an environmental footprint that is too big for your liking? Can I get something else that leaves a smaller one? Can I get a natural or organic one that is as effective? Green doesn't mean settling for inferior products to feel better, it means making better choices one product at a time.

I have a lot to learn about being green and I am sure that when compared to many of you I am light years away from being able to say I am. I am OK with this because like everything you have to start somewhere. I am extremely motivated to make changes that lesson my footprint without having to give all the things that i like to do; boating, camping, etc. Call it selfish, but I truly think we can do both. Well that's it for my first blogging attempt.

Consider this my first step in putting in writing what I have been feeling for many years. Maybe there are others of you out there that feel like I do? If so, I would love to hear from you and get your sense on what we all can do to make better choices one boat and one camper at a time to ensure we get to enjoy this earth for many. many more years to come.

The Green Guy!