Be a Force of Nature

Stormfront

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) partnered to designate March 3-9, 2013, as National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, and is calling upon all Americans to Be a Force of Nature.
Simmons Natural Bodycare is committed to Being a Force of Nature and pledges to do so by: knowing our risk, taking action, and being an example for our families and community by sharing the steps we took. Because we live in an area prone to severe storms, floods, and high wind, the recent severe weather around the country reminds us that this weather can strike anywhere and at any time.

Just last year, there were more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries. Each time severe weather threatens we hear stories of ordinary Americans who do the extraordinary to save loved ones – a mother protecting her children by shielding them from flying debris, a homeowner opening up his storm shelter to neighbors, neighbors helping a senior in a wheelchair get to a safe shelter, individuals ensuring friends are aware of the current watch or warning in their area.
Tornadoes struck approximately 46 states, caused over $1.6 billion in damage and nearly 70 fatalities. There were more than 935 tornadoes in 2012, with 206 in April alone. While April and May are peak months, tornadoes happen all year round.
Building a Weather-Ready Nation requires that every individual and community take action because severe weather knows no boundaries and affects us all. Be a Force of Nature by making a public pledge to be prepared at ready.gov/severe-weather.


What can you do to Prepare?

Knowing your risk, taking action and being an example by sharing your knowledge and actions through your social network are just a few steps you can take to be better prepared and assist in saving lives.

Know Your Risk: The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact you and your family. Every state in the United States has experienced tornadoes and severe weather, so everyone is exposed to some degree of risk.
Here we can lose communication and power due to severe winter storms, have road closures from floods in the low lands, snow or landslides in the mountains. Dangerous driving conditions can arise from ice or hail.
Check the weather forecast regularly and visit ready.gov/severe-weather to learn more about how to be better prepared and how you can protect your family during emergencies.

Pledge and Take Action: Be Force of Nature by taking the Pledge to Prepare at ready.gov/severe-weather. When you pledge to prepare, you will take the first step to making sure that you and your family are prepared for severe weather. This includes filling out your family communications plan that you can email to yourself, putting an emergency kit together, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved.
Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio, and check to see if your cell phone is equipped to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts and sign up for localized alerts from emergency management officials. Stay informed by having multiple sources for weather alerts - NOAA Weather Radio, Weather.gov, and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Subscribe to receive alerts at www.weather.gov/subscribe.

Be an Example: Once you have taken action and pledged to Be a Force of Nature, share your story with your family and friends. Create a video and post on a video sharing site; post your story on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, comment on a blog, or share through any other social media site. Technology today makes it easier than ever to be a good example and share the steps you took to help us achieve the vision of a Weather-Ready Nation.
Join us today and pledge to prepare for the severe weather in our area.


Get Information: Stay informed on the different types of severe weather such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flooding at www.weather.gov and ready.gov/severe-weather or the Spanish-language web site www.listo.gov.

"I have one word for you...Plastics."

"Plastics" That one word made a memorable quote in the 1967 movie "The Graduate". Referring in the story to 'the product of the future' and a great career move. They were right.

The very first plastic was made in 1869, slowly evolving until after World War II. Since then the proliferation of synthesized polymers in every aspect of our lives has made it one of the great material pollutants on earth... not to mention that most plastics are made from oil
( http://www.howstuffworks.com/plastic.htm ).

Here is an excellent article: 
 A Brief History of Plastic's Conquest of the World

What makes plastic so great? It can be made into any kind of object and is resistant to solvents. What makes plastic so bad? Even though plastic products are nearly indestructible, they lose their usefulness and as waste they can take centuries to decay. They are toxic when they burn and only some of them are recyclable.

degraded plastic

Some plastic 'photo degrades'. This means it breaks down in sunlight into smaller & smaller pieces without ever really disappearing, becoming a hazard to wildlife, which ingests it. There are large islands of plastic waste in our oceans ( http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html#5 ).

Try to limit the use of plastic in your everyday life. One easy way is to take a re-useable, washable fabric shopping bag with you to the store. Another way is to purchase items made with natural materials such as wood. Or metal water bottles and glass food storage containers. Try to get items for which there is no natural substitute, made from recycled plastic, if possible. Beth Terry writes about living without plastic. Follow her here.

the oceans are our trash bin

It's practically impossible to get plastic entirely out of your life (this computer, for example), but every little bit helps.

This month, April, is designated as Earth Month, but every month - every DAY -  we should be conscious of how our actions affect the health and future of our planetary habitat. We work toward a sustainable future any way we can.

For some natural alternatives, see our  natural body care tools online