Managing Harmful Chemicals
The planet is composed entirely of chemicals; the thinking that "chemicals are bad" is a misnomer. However, there are a number of chemicals that are in fact very bad for us, and everyone has to be mindful of the risks when dealing with them.
Pesticide Use on Lawns
2005 saw a strong push in London for mandated treatment of our lawns with pesticides. It keeps those pesky weeds off our lovely little patches of grass. There's only one problem; it keeps us off of it too, as well our children and our pets (if they know what's good for them). They can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, eye trouble, or worse, and they do so more severely in children, who are often the ones playing in grass. Pesticides can also run off into the water supply or river and cause an even bigger world of trouble. The frightening push for mandatory pesticide use in London failed, in part due to the activism of a Western law professor. In a nice turn of events, 2006 saw a June 12th city council vote to ban cosmetic pesticides altogether. The by-law passed, but doesn't come into effect until September of 2008. Until then, here's your tip: Stay away from pesticides. Weeds don't kill people, but pesticides can. Please don't use them!
If you want to cut down on weeds, you can try a couple of pesticide free approaches. First, try cutting your grass a little bit higher off the ground. At 8-10 cm high, grass has a strong root system that can hinder weed growth. The higher grass also provides habitats for spiders and other insects that eat insect pests. Or even better yet, you can just pick the weeds off your lawn. Have I mentioned you could use the exercise?
London Free Press Story About By-Law Passing
Actual By-Law Signed-in
London Coalition Against Pesticides
Eliminating pests
Avoid Biocides!
You can usually persuade ants to leave within about 4 days by:
(1) sprinkling repellents such as red or cayenne pepper, crushed mint leaves along trails inside a house and
(2) wiping off countertops with vinegar.
Waste Disposal
Don't pour pesticides, paints, solvents, oil, antifreeze, or other products containing harmful chemicals down the drain or into the ground. There is a London by-law, all-be-it an impossible to enforce one, regulating that the pH of disposed liquids be between 5 and 8. Explore the local health department site for more information about disposal here.
Reduce indoor levels of indoor formaldehyde and other toxic gases by growing certain household plants*, planted in a mixture of soil and granular charcoal:
Spider Plant (Airborne Plant) |
removes 96% of carbon monoxide |
| Aloe Vera | 90% of formaldehyde |
| Banana | 89% of formaldehyde |
| Elephant Ear Philodendron | 85% of formaldehyde |
| Ficus (Weeping Fig) | 47% of formaldehyde |
| Golden Porthos | 67% of formaldehyde and benzene; 75% of carbon monoxide |
| Chinese Evergreen | 92% of toluene and 81% of benzene |
| English Ivy | 90% of benzene |
| Peace Lily | 80% of benzene and 50% of trichloroethylene |
| Janet Craig (Corn Plant) | 79% of benzene |
* toxic removal figures indicate percentage of toxin removed by one plant in a 24-hour period in a 3.4-cubic-meter (12-cubic-foot) space.
Investigate London.ca's City Services website for more detailed information on issues that you are particularly interested in, and the city's position on them.