When I first started making soap in 2008, I bought palm oil without knowing much about it’s source.

Palm oil has desirable qualities which include producing a mild and hard bar that lathers well.  From my own experience, I’ve found other good substitutes such as olive oil, rice bran, and coconut oil to be just as nice.

It wasn’t until recently that I knew about the environmental and social implications of using palm oil.

As for the social impact, forests are usually cleared in large tracts of land through burning and clear cutting. This has alienated communities and created tension between locals and the company executing the project.

For the environmental impact, large areas of Indonesian and Malaysian rainforest have been cleared to make way for palm plantations. The spaces used to expand palm plantations are often created by draining and burning peatland, which sends carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

The removing of rainforest is also effecting the orangutan population that dwell in the forest. It is estimated by Borneo Orang Utan Survival Foundation UK that orangutans can disappear in five years. But there is still hope.

Indonesia’s Center for Orang Utan Protection has rescued many baby orangutan orphaned by palm oil companies. As many of the orangutans are seen as pest and are killed off. The center to protect orangutan ask that we use orangutan friendly palm oil (from sustainable palm oil farm) in our food and household products.

This baby orangutan (photo above) seem to be having fun.  Image source.

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One of the cutest animals in the world has to be the Nigalya Ponya (which is the Nepalanese word for “eater of bamboo”).  But they are commonly refer to as Firefox and Red Panda besides the other creative names.  Scientific name: Ailurus fulgens.

Red pandas are native to mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar (Burma), and central China.

Red Panda have this cute round face with dashes of white markings that give them an interesting expression.  Image source.

They are the size of cats and have ringed tails like raccoons. And like giant pandas, they have an extended wrist bone that functions almost like a thumb and aids with gripping. The red panda has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon. It wasn’t until recently considered members of their own unique family - the Ailuridae.

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In the eastern Himalayas, between India and China, there is a place that hasn’t been explored very much. And now a  decade of research done by scientists have discovered 353 new plant and animal species.  From a flying frog to the world’s second smallest deer.

In 2005 they discovered this bird. It was located south of the Tibetan border in Burma’s Kachin State. They call it the “Naung Mung scimitar-babbler” (Jabouilleia naungmungensis). The midsize forest bird uses its big bill to scratch the ground in search of food. It’s like a cross between a small bird and the New Zealand Kiwi.

This little frog has a giant pair of mesmerizing golden eyes, it was discovered in 1999.  It is 1 of 5 new frog discoveries in the Indian state of Assam. It measures just a few centimeters.  Reminds me of the tree frog, but not so green.

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I picked up my latest issue of the Smithsonian magazine and just learned about the narwhal.  Narwhal are considered to be the unicorn of the sea because of their spiral tusk (which is really their teeth).

Image source:  National Geographic

I was surprise that after all these years I’ve never heard about narwhals.  M said he found out about narwhals when he saw the cartoon drawing on a skateboard deck.  He couldn’t believe narwhals were real and thought it was a joke made between a small whale and a unicorn.  But he soon confirmed that narwhals are real and that they live in the Arctic.

In the past, European fisherman would catch and kill narwhals just to collect and sell the tusk.  And many people (in those days) believed the tusk were magical.  It was used to make a “powder” wonder drug.  Members of the royal family would carve the tusk into their thrones and other royal objects.  Some of them can still be seen in Norwegian museums today.

All that killing and hunting for the tusks put narwhals in risk of becoming extinct.  This also reminds me of what is happening with the elephants.  But presently, both the hunting of tusks for elephants and narwhals are illegal (at least illegal to be imported to the U.S.).  So that is a good sign going in the right direction.

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This year California may be facing a severe drought. Our heavy rain season starts around autumn and continues through spring. I can say this year’s rainy season was not so good. I think we had some cloudy winters, but not much rain. Mostly fog in parts of northern California.

Concerned homeowners and avid gardeners may want to look into finding ways to conserve water. But I have mostly desert plants that are in pots, so it won’t be much of a problem for me. My mom said she may cut down on what she will be planting this year too. The latest idea suggest replacing the common lawn and yards with native plants. This idea is termed “naturescaping”. These two front yards are good examples of naturescaping. Photos were taken by City Steward of Portland, Oregon.

There are many benefits for naturescaping and to growing native plants. A great landscape design practice also located in Portland, Oregon named Plant Native gave us 6 good reasons. They are listed below:

1. Low Maintenance - Native plants evolved to grow in local conditions and to predictable sizes. They do not require watering (except during establishment), chemical pesticides and fertilizers, or frequent cutting.

2. Public Health (lowers cancer rates) - Traditional landscaping uses large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, some of which are suspected carcinogens. During rains, these chemicals often run off into public water supplies. Traditional landscaping also contributes to air and noise pollution.

3. Saves you Money - The cost of maintaining a naturescape is dramatically less than that of a traditional landscape because a naturescape essentially takes care of itself. Naturescapes also save you time - and how valuable is your time?

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The last time I was in a health food store in Palo Alto (California) I saw a box of Maggie’s Soap Nuts. They were $10 for 4.5 oz box. I would try it if it was a bit cheaper. But better if they had free samples for customers to try first. At the moment I’ve been using commercial Arm & Hammer Essentials for my laundry and just add some borax for extra cleaning power.

Photo of dried soap nuts from ECO-CAN news.

I’ve never even heard much about soap nuts and decided find out more about them. A few nuts can be placed in a cotton drawstring bag, then add to your wash. It can even be reused several times. Soap nuts are safe for washing silk, woolens and other delicate fabrics. Anything soap related is fun to me , especially ones that grow naturally on trees.

The trees are mostly grown in Nepal and India. Soap nuts contain saponin, which is a natural detergent used to clean clothes. Soap nuts are antimicrobial and are beneficial for septic systems. Soap nuts can be use in the remediation of contaminated soil. They are also used by jewelers, especially in India and Indonesia, to remove the tarnish from silver and other precious metals. Read the rest of this entry »

My favorite classic suede Converse has seen better days and the side is starting to rip. With a little bit of Shoe Goo, it will not end up in the landfill just yet. I plan to use it as my dirty chores shoe now.

Since it’s time to shop for another comfortable walking shoe, I’ve decided to get something made by Simple. They are an interesting green company that was started in Santa Barbara, CA back in 1991. Simple Shoe company is committed to making their product 100% sustainable. Finding materials and processes that make the products sustainable is a method called “Green Toe”. Some of the products found in their shoes are listed in the colorful bubble drawings here - from hemp to bamboo.

The company follows the Deckers Ethical Supply Chain Guidelines. I’ve never heard of it until I came across Simple’s website. It’s a good concept and more companies should strive to do the same. You can read more about it here. A little excerpt below:

“Deckers Outdoor Corporation respects internationally recognized human rights and environmental standards and places them at the core of our business practices. We believe that no business should ever be complicit in human rights abuses. We promote greater environmental responsibility and we encourage the development and use of environmentally friendly technologies. Read the rest of this entry »