July/August 1980
By the Mother Earth News editors
PROFITABLE HOME VACATIONS : Faced with inflation and rising gasoline prices, 30% of American homeowners say they'll spend more time at home in 1980, and tops among their activities will be lawn care and gardening . . . each of which represents a good investment, since reactors say an attractive landscape can add about 6% to the market value of a house.
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MORE THAN SIMPLE H20: Case Western Reserve University chemists have demonstrated the existence of the hydronium ion (H3O+) in water, while the University of California reports the discovery of another water component, the bihydroxide ion (H3O2-) - ). But, if you were surprised to find that even pure water isn't as simple as you once thought, consider that more than 700 synthetic chemicals have been detected in U.S. drinking supplies.
"HUNT THE DUMP" is a booklet that shows how to find hazardous waste products in your area and how to force polluters to become accountable for the improper disposition of dangerous substances. For your copy, send 25c to M. Wentworth, Environmental Action, 1346 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 80036.
HOT ROCKS! If it's hot enough, the General Foods candy "Pop Rocks" can reportedly explode in the package . . . as, we've learned, a delivery truck driver discovered when his vehicle's doors were blown off.
LESS SPECTACULAR ERUPTIONS: The 1883 Krakatoa eruption was estimated to have spewed nine million tons .: of sulfur into the atmosphere. In comparison, sulfur emission from human activities has been estimated at 100 million tons a year . . . or the equivalent of one Krakatoa-sized eruption every 33 days. The result is our everincreasing acid rain problem.
A FIRST! Quick-freezing of the cornea, using ultracold copper rods, has been found to restore the eyesight of dogs, cats, horses, and other animals suffering from glaucoma . . . and-in tests performed to date-the disease has not returned!
USEFUL DREGS: Louisiana is losing 16.5 square miles of land to the Gulf every year, primarily because of mangy made channels that are dredged through the marshes. Meanwhile, DOE's Argonne National Laboratory has discovered that, in many areas, material removed from waterways by dredging can be used to reclaim even the most severely disturbed, acidic strip-mined lands. In the case of Louisiana, unfortunately, such operations can :be performed only at the expense of the Pelican State's unique marsh environment.
SHARE A GOOD EXPERIENCE: If you've seen your child's behavior or health improve dramatically as a result of a change m lifestyle or d et, send your story to Thom Hartmann, New England Salem Children's Trust, Box 86, Stinson Lake Road, Rumneys, New Hampshire 03666. Thom's compiling a manual-to be distributed to children's institutionson the benefits of a natural foods diet and deinstitutionalized living . . . and he wants to use first-person accounts to illustrate the points made.
