the dr is in

Dr. Hauschka makes some really great stuff. One of the key ingredients that makes their products so great is not really an ingredient at all: quality packaging. According to Dr. Hauschka,

Our Eco-conscious packaging and natural botanical preservatives help keeps products fresh without the use of chemical additives. In this way, we're able to maintain the vitality of our Biodynamic and organic plant ingredients, delivering their nurturing, supportive qualities directly to you.

Plus much of their ingredients are organic or biodynamic, the products don't contain parabens, and there's no animal testing. These features have been part of the principles of the grower of their ingredients, WALA Heilmittel, for over 60 years.

I've used the Rose Day Cream (on the heavier side, making it better for winter) and Cleansing Milk (well worth the price, it lasts a long time). They now make a Rose Day Cream Light for warmer months. And Sunscreen Cream SPF 20 to protect yourself from the summer sun.

They also make a Deodorant which I'd like to try (see my other post about natural deodorant here).

Not ready to commit to any specific products? Try the Daily Face Care Kit, a sampler of products small enough to pack away in carry-on luggage.

the sound of sleep

For years, my boyfriend used an air conditioner to drown out the noises of the city, just to get (and stay) asleep. It wasn't something I was accustomed to, but I learned to get used to it. But then I started thinking about how much energy sucking that air conditioner did, 365 days a year. We tried one of those noise machines with the varying sounds: rainforest, jungle, waterfall, plain old white noise. The problem with those things is that they're a recorded loop of sound. Whoooosh Whoooosh (hic) Whooosh. You can hear the slight skip where the loop starts again. Focusing on that hiccup is not conducive to a sound night's sleep.

Finally we found a sound machine that works. The Marpac SleepMate 980A Electro-Mechanical Sound Conditioner (quite a mouthful, but if you want to experience one, just click the link). It uses a small internal fan to make a whooshing sound. So now we're using a lot less energy and sleeping like babies. Whoooosh Whoooosh zzzzzzZZZZZZZZ

vast expanses of america

Nothing but peaks and valleys, green fields, vast plains for as far as the eye could see. Nothing but cows and their calves, destined for a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation). Nothing but horses and ranches, for hundreds of miles -- from park to park, nation to nation.

On the US side, little in the way of renewable energy resources. With the abundance of land and sunshine, I expected to see solar panels gracing the pastures. None that I could see. On the Canadian side, adjacent the cattle were wind farms.

On both sides of the border, much talk about the consequences of receding glaciers. Drought. Fires. The lengthening summers and conversely shortening winters. The related changes in animal behavior.

Passing Butte, MT, my jaw dropped. As if someone had a giant chisel, the entire landscape was sliced out.

This is the America I experienced on my recent trip out West. Both amazing and alarming, at least from a passerby's perspective. It was beautiful, but I can't help but eco-scan everything I see.