Plastic Containers for Dental String: WTF??

CAUTION: the below article includes the swearing levels one could find themselves using when stumbling upon the fact that the oceans are chalk full of deadly plastic.

You are living your life, minding your own business, just want to keep your gums clean and healthy. You don't even want to, but you do it because the thought of losing your teeth seems socially unacceptable and only funny in a bad way. As you silently floss (thinking of something else, in a magical world with no flossing), unknowingly you are creating a legacy of nearly immortal useless plastic containers which slowly make their way into the guts of birds and fish via the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (a gyre of swirling plastic that spans from California to China making one of the 5 global gyres of plastic contaminating the oceans for not just you, you of the healthy gums, but for everyone).

Did you ask for this legacy? Apparently your floss provider decided for all of us, and governments said "Yes, Floss-man God". Of course, floss companies are not the only ones who are contributing to a massive single use plastic problem globally (in fact they are minor players in comparison with some ), but let's focus here today. Along with bottled water companies, any single use disposable plastic,and plastic based forms of advertising, they wanted to immortalize their brand as legendary gum string providers into the next millennium.

Will future and current generations conclude that we cared more about special boxes for our gum string than them? Let's not wait to find out.

Why the frack is it necessary that string be contained in a special plastic box, only for it, especially in contrast with the necessity of life for the biosphere? These are the mysteries of the modern world that constantly float by us as if natural. And they are great mysteries to reduce and eliminate (they currently seem to be being reused and recycled).

You've got one of two problems, as far as I can tell. 1.) How to somehow make decorations and gifts out of every single future floss box you inherit from the plastic loving floss daddy in the sky.  Make sure while you are doing this that you are convincing your friends to do the same while maintaining a healthy social life. or, better, 2.) you take on the floss barons. How to do this? Let's take a little inspiration from the Great Canadian film, Mambo Italiano:

Hey! You #@**!!))** (see video)! Can't you just give me some string? No?!! Well guess what! I've discovered string isn't so hard to come by! WHO KNEW! I have some right here, in fact! Until you give me some nice waxed floss without a special box just for it, I'm going old school!(don't actually do this, see my list of tips below) And by the way, making those little boxes is now illegal thanks to the massive peaceful movement I've helped create that is fed up with absolutely useless junk that's killing life! I'll see you in hell! Wait... I don't believe in hell... Bye now!


To floss your teeth safely the old fashioned method is silk string, you don't want to cut your gums with regular string. I'd advocate for "unplugging your floss" but really we should all probably floss more. There is also a company that has even more packaging it seems, but with a biodegradable box. You might want to order some floss from them, or have your local store order some in bulk, and demand that they also eliminate their biodegradable box which (while better than plastic) is still an unnecessary use of energy. The goal is the simple, peaceful beauty of a simple product kept uncomplicated. What could be more desirable than that which does less harm?

To get rid of redundant floss packaging:
Online petition - Stop Plastic Containers for Dental Floss


To get involved and rid of all single use plastics (classified as being different from dental floss) visit The Plastic Pollution Coalition for personal and political ways to make change.

Preparing to Unplug your Fridge

"Heaven isn't so far away as people say. I've got a home, high in my heart. Heaven is right where I come from, I never throw it away. I know the place, and I'm going home." Buffy Saint Marie

Unplugging your fridge is a fantastically easy thing to do. You can just unplug, or make things a little easier with some preparation. Here's a simple list to get you started so that your kitchen is well stocked when you power down. Basically, you are looking at having all of the same foods around that you usually do, but perhaps more in larger quantities than in the past. Having lots of dry goods handy, as well as dried fruits, and longest lasting vegetables means that there are only a few items you need to get more regularly. You'll have these on a week when you don't feel like shopping as your comfort food. Just a note also that canning and drying can be a handy addition to this list.

Veggies: Squashes, Tomatoes, Zucchinis, Peppers, Carrots, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes are all great things to have handy in larger quantities. Smaller, more delicate veggies like lettuce, herbs, and greens need special care. Please see my articles on this.

Protein sources: Big organic bag of lentils, other dried beans, nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. Remember you can also soak the nuts to make nut milks. Lentils are fast cooking, high in iron, and tasty which is why I favor them.

Perishables: Seek out sources of great local dairy or meat products and prepare to pick those up on the day.

Dry goods:

All tastes vary but here is what I keep on hand so that I can always prepare some food!

Grains: Rice, barley, oats, flour.

Pasta: Various pastas and also a jar or two of pasta sauce.

Fruit: Dried fruit, and also as much local fruit as you can handle! Apples will last a long time. Berries need to be eat much closer to the time that you purchase or pick them. Canning fruit - rhubarb, blueberries, apples, is a great way to stay stocked up year round. See notes on canning.

Eggs: A half carton is nice to have around, or a full carton if you like eating eggs a couple of times a week. Buy eggs fresh, keep them in a cool spot, and use in a couple of weeks.

Treats: Chocolate, popcorn, a bag of organic local potato chips. Having ingredients around the house for tasty popcorn or cookie variations is always a plus. I must add here that the more fresh food you get your hands on, the less tasty a lot of junk food will begin to seem.

Oil: Whatever organic, local oils you use, organic butter if you use this kept in a cool place. Remember to be aware of what oils degrade if you heat them. I have heard that olive oil does not degrade if you keep it at the temperature of boiling water, 100 degrees. So, cooking with olive oil and water together is a good option.

You can also see this handy list of things you'd think you need a fridge for, but don't.

Indoor Garden: A nice addition is to also grow your own indoor garlic chives ( I have written about this), as well as your own herbs. That way, even if all you have in the house is pasta and some oil, you can add your fresh herbs and eat better than almost anyone!

Neighbors: Suss out some neighbours who you think would enjoy some of your leftovers. You will likely overestimate from time to time, and can either preserve your food in cool snow or water, or simply share with your closest neighbour. It's an instant way to build community, you won't just be creating dishes when you cook anymore.

"I got my kitchen stocked, I got my door locked, there ain't no demons here, and I don't really care whose name is printed in bigger type, I live in a world full of hope, not a world full of hype. I ain't no saint, I help myself to what I'm in, but I help other people too. I'm sleeping soundly." Ani Difranco, Puddle Dive

Living Well in an 90 Square Foot Apartment

I love this little story primarily because it shows that living with much less can be a great thing! Note the compact fridge!

Plastic Dental Floss Containers: WTF??

CAUTION: the below article includes the swearing levels one could find themselves using when stumbling upon the fact that the oceans are chalk full of deadly plastic.

You are living your life, minding your own business, just want to keep your gums clean and healthy. You don't even want to, but you do it because the thought of losing your teeth seems socially unacceptable and only funny in a bad way. As you silently floss (thinking of something else, in a magical world with no flossing), unknowingly you are creating a legacy of nearly immortal useless plastic containers which slowly make their way into the guts of birds and fish via the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (a gyre of swirling plastic that spans from California to China making one of the 5 global gyres of plastic contaminating the oceans for not just you, you of the healthy gums, but for everyone).

Did you ask for this legacy? Apparently your floss provider decided for all of us, and governments said "Yes, Floss-man God". Of course, floss companies are not the only ones who are contributing to a massive single use plastic problem globally (in fact they are minor players in comparison with some ), but let's focus here today. Along with bottled water companies, any single use disposable plastic,and plastic based forms of advertising, they wanted to immortalize their brand as legendary gum string providers into the next millennium.

Will future and current generations conclude that we cared more about special boxes for our gum string than them? Let's not wait to find out.

Why the frack is it necessary that string be contained in a special plastic box, only for it, especially in contrast with the necessity of life for the biosphere? These are the mysteries of the modern world that constantly float by us as if natural. And they are great mysteries to reduce and eliminate (they currently seem to be being reused and recycled). You've got one of two problems, as far as I can tell. 1.) How to somehow make Christmas tree decorations out of every single future floss box you inherit from the plastic loving floss daddy in the sky (religions other than Christian, pick festival of choice that involves handmade decorations or solve your work "Christmas Present" problem for all time), atheists, i don't know... bookmarks?). Make sure while you are doing this that you are convincing your friends to do the same while maintaining a healthy social life. or, better, 2.) you take on the floss barons. How to do this? Let's take a little inspiration from the Great Canadian film, Mambo Italiano:

Hey! You #@**!!))** (see video)! Can't you just give me some string? No?!! Well guess what! I've discovered string isn't so hard to come by! WHO KNEW! I have some right here, in fact! Until you give me some nice waxed floss without a special box just for it, I'm going old school!(don't actually do this, see my list of tips below) And by the way, making those little boxes is now illegal thanks to the massive peaceful movement I've helped create that is fed up with absolutely useless junk that's killing life! I'll see you in hell! Wait... I don't believe in hell... Bye now!


To floss your teeth safely the old fashioned method is silk string, you don't want to cut your gums with regular string. I'd advocate for "unplugging your floss" but really we should all probably floss more. There is also a company that has even more packaging it seems, but with a biodegradable box. You might want to order some floss from them, or have your local store order some in bulk, and demand that they also eliminate their biodegradable box which (while better than plastic) is still an unnecessary use of energy. The goal is the simple, peaceful beauty of a simple product kept uncomplicated. What could be more desirable than that which does less harm?

To get rid of redundant floss packaging:
Online petition - Stop Plastic Containers for Dental Floss


To get involved and rid of all single use plastics (classified as being different from dental floss) visit The Plastic Pollution Coalition for personal and political ways to make change.

How to Use a Hair Dryer: Don't.

This article is going to be short. Very short. Computers take electricity and I'm not going to waste much of it on why none of us should be using this device! Yes, mountains are being blown up, the boreal forest is being chewed up, and nuclear reactors are hanging out on fault lines in Japan and the US so that we can use this?? Lets face it: none of us need this thing.

One writer spends 38 minutes, and dumps 1.2 lbs of carbon into the atmosphere in over a week for the sake of drying hair faster. That's 43.2 lbs of carbon into the atmosphere per year and 23 hours of a person's life (speaking of which, I've got to go)! Is it the biggest waste of electricity out there? Not compared to fridges and electric cars, but for the love of god, let's stop this thing - you are more beautiful without it and without any toxic hair product that needs it. Air dries hair, and clothes for that matter. Let's give ourselves a free moment instead of blasting ourselves with charred air. "Just a bunch of hot air" is actually our planet.

Mountain Top Removal: One more reason to Unplug and Push for Renewables + Tar Sands and Fukushima

If we don't take too much, we can have heaven on earth.


As a child, my family would take a vacation once a year by driving from Canada down to South Carolina. One of the best parts of our trip was passing through West Virgina and seeing the beautiful mountains awash in fall colors. Our eyes would search for, and find deer leaping on the hills. West Virginia is a place of breathtaking beauty. There is nothing more sacred or permanent than a mountain. How could a mountain die?

Now I've discovered that in order to extract even more coal, more cheaply, the Appalacian Mountains and communities the live there are being destroyed by a new form of coal mining: Mountain Top Removal. These mountains are being destroyed forever. Toxins from the mining then run downstream to anyone further south in the water supply.



It makes me think of what is happening in Canada in Northern Alberta with the Tar Sands. The Tar Sands are also a relatively new form of oil extraction that literally chew up the Boreal Forest - the lungs of the world. Like Mountain Top Removal, the Tar Sands are permanently destroying land the size of the state of Florida for cheap oil. They are poisoning and destroying the way of life of Canada's First Nations Peoples, causing cancers, devastating fresh water supplies, and taking away from all life this beautiful land. These two tragedies are connected to two very unsustainable forms of energy: oil and coal.

Meanwhile in Fukushima, Japan another form of energy - nuclear power is connected to the permanent destruction of land. Nuclear waste has leaked onto the precious land in Japan, causing an evacuation. In all cases, our need for these resources has reached the very soil and earth we need to survive on is being destroyed. Since we all need land, this is destroying life in the long term. Across the world, we people must be united in our call for safe Renewable Energy such as wind and solar. And we must empower one another in our communities to speak up for justice and live more simply, but more happily.

Renewable energy and living more simply are very simple solutions to protecting this beautiful earth. And to respecting the people who have lived on this land for generations. Do we really need a thousand electronic devices rather than a happy healthy planet and justice for its citizens?

Here's an important video on how we can stop Mountain Top Removal. I would also add that reducing our electricity consumption will also take the pressure off this earth that belongs to all past, present, and future generations of animals and people.


Clayton Thomas Muller on the Devastating Consequences of the Tar Sands: