This concludes my meditation on handicapped devices for the home. It was never meant to be a catalog or even a realistic sampling. After all, this is a blog about energy and the environment. That said, this is not a blog that envisions humans being good to the planet and using nonpolluting energy sources as living in a cave huddle around a fire. It is actually about improving the efficiency and quality of life for everyone including the handicapped. Today’s post is one is from my deep past. My grandmother was in a wheelchair for 30 years. Her legs were paralyzed from the waist down. We had a Hoyer lift in our home for that whole time. So here is to you Treva where ever you are.

http://www.1800wheelchair.com/product/5463/hoyer-heavy-duty-lift-with-optional-scale

Description

Features

• Power operated base
• 6-Point cradle design for maximum patient comfort
• Long, padded handles offer a plethora of grip choices
• Extended reach for floor pick-up
• Emergency stop for added safety
• Power manual lowering
• 700 lbs. Weight capacity

Included

• One Hoyer Heavy-Duty Power Lift with Optional Scale
• Free Shipping
• Limited 1 Year Warranty

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Go there and read. More next week.

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I have been talking about a workshop regarding being handicapped and the last disability that I tried out was an arm amputation. They used a fancy belt to tie down one of your arms. They chose your dominate hand to immobilize so you would get a stronger effect. I have to admit that it made things pretty difficult. Opening doors was ok, but writing was nasty and do not get me started on going to the bathroom. They asked us to commit to picking a handicap and “living it” for a week. I chose to be an amputee and did it for 5 days. It made going to college a big deal.

And on a seperate note, there is some confusion about whether these things we have been discussing are aids or aides. Some people including google seem to be confused about which one is right to use so I have been using them interchangablely. I am no word geek so you can figure proper usage out on your own. This people get around it by calling it assistance.

http://www.disabilityproducts.com/cgi-bin/disabilityproducts.cgi/scan/fi=products/st=db/co=1/sf=additional_categories/se=Bedroom%20Comfort%20%26%20Safety/op=rm/nu=0/ml=50/tf=description/to=x.html?mv_session_id=AQsksk89&mv_pc=3&header=Bedroom%20Comfort%20%26%20Safety

COMFORTABLE FOAM WEDGE
Our new, polyurethane foam wedge allows you to relax more comfortably in bed with less back and neck fatigue. You can sit upright or lay back, simply by changing its position, for visiting, reading, writing, watching TV, or other activities. Unlike stacked, lumpy pillows, this lightweight foam wedge maintains its shape and position during use. It features a removable, machine washable, white zippered cover that breathes for comfort, and will not retain heat. Each wedge is 24″ x 24″ wide, in a choice of three different elevations. Use the Available Options drop down menu to choose the wedge that’s right for you.
#HEFW40-

Available Options: 

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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When I played at being deaf, it was surreal. They challenged us to try to participate in a activity while experiencing one of the handicapped conditions. I was hungry and they did not provide lunch so I went to the student cafeteria and ordered as best I could by speaking, but there were a few things I had to write down. I also smacked into people a couple of times because I could not hear people coming at me. To top it all off it made the room all bright and glarey. Some kind of weird sensory enhancement I guess. Anyway it was pretty cool. This post is not about hearing however, it is about Bathroom Safety Products.

  http://www.easierliving.com/all-products/bathroom-safety-hygiene/default.aspx

	Bathtub & Shower Safety
	The bathroom can be a dangerous place for anyone, let alone someone with a disability or limited strength and balance. Make you or your loved one’s bathroom safer with our selection of bath grab bars, safety rails, shower seats and more bathroom safety products.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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I promised that I would talk about the Child’s Playhouse today and I will but I have not talked about my experiences both of the other three disabilities and the week long pledge I took. The playhouse was a put together huge 2 rooms, built on a scale as if human adults were children. each of the two rooms illustrated many of the challenges children face like tables, counter tops, drawers, and cabinets (the organizers quickly pointed out that they were not saying children WERE handicapped much like pregnancy can be described as a disease but it is really not), and the second room had furniture, peoples legs and a partial staircase. It was so cool because to get stuff, especially if you couldn’t talk you had to climb on things and the stairs were a huge challenge and kinda scary as was walking around peoples legs.  It was big fun. Here is another thing that helps the disabled and I got to tell you from trying to open the door to the playhouse – it was real hard.

http://www.power-access.com/Model-2300-door-opener.html

Model 2300 Residential Door Opener

To assist disabled individuals toward independence, or for anyone who finds a closed door a problem… Power Access 2300 residential door opener makes access by opening the door and egress by closing the door easier.

Installation Ease

• No modification of the door or jambs
• Plugs right into a regular 115vac wall outlet
• Complete instructions are packed with every door opener
• Virtually maintenance free
• Fits in most interior and some exterior door applications
• Left and right hand door openers are available (hand can be changed in the field in a matter of minutes)
• Low profile model, for limited room above the door
• Door opener opens and closes the door

An Array of Companion Controls (wired or wireless)

• Push Plate Wall Switches
• Push Button Wall Switches
• Coded Radio Transmitter/Receiver
• Keyless Entry Systems
• Electric Door Lock (Strike)

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Unlike some environmental groups, they first do no harm. And they do not support quackery. You go guys.

http://www.audubon.org/newsroom/news-stories/2012/because-conservation-doesnt-have-party

Because Conservation Doesn’t Have a Party

By Audubon President & CEO David Yarnold

Published: Oct 16, 2012

You have to get out of shouting range of the politicians in Washington to appreciate what’s really important to Americans.  Americans like Barbra from Arizona: “‘Environment’ is not a swear word, but too often it is treated like one in the halls of our legislatures.”

Barbra is one of thousands of Americans — Republicans, Democrats and independents — who have joined a national grassroots conversation aimed at taking the politics out of conservation and returning preservation of our wilderness land, waterways and wildlife to its original roots as a unifying, rather than divisive force in America.

Judging from responses from all across America, perhaps we are not a nation as divided as our political leaders would like us believe. We’ve heard from angry Republicans.  “Since when did breathing clean fresh air, drinking pure clean water and protecting our precious natural resources and environment become something that only Democrats should value?” wrote Lorrie from Pennsylvania.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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First on the list of actual green active organizations is Greenpeace. As with most activists organizations, you like them or you hate them based on those actions. When they challenge the whalers, I applaud. When they unroll banners from bridges over the Mississippi River or chain themselves up in trees, I must admit I become embarrassed. I have never been a member needless to say.

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/

Happy whales have sanctuaries

My Greenpeace colleagues aboard the Rainbow Warrior in the Indian Ocean shared a heartwarming experience when a frolicking group of humpback and minke whales put on quite a show. It’s not a stretch to say these whales were happy and playful. Why wouldn’t they be as the entire Indian Ocean is a whale sanctuary where they can live in peace? What a contrast this is to other parts of the world where whales not only don’t have protections but face a myriad of direct threats from humans. One huge emerging threat to whales, dolphins and other marine wildlife is happening now in the coastal waters of California. Read more

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Water is a utility issue, an environmental issue, an energy issue and a residential issue. So it makes sense to cover it here. Next week I turn to the energy policies of the Presidential candidates.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2019013218_apusdroughtwellwitchers.html

Originally published Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 5:14 AM

In drought, drillers offering even water witching

Well driller Randy Gebke usually uses a geology database and other high-tech tools to figure out where to sink new water wells for clients. But if asked, he’ll grab two wires, walk across the property, waiting for the wires to cross to find a place to drill.

By DAVID MERCER

Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —

Well driller Randy Gebke usually uses a geology database and other high-tech tools to figure out where to sink new water wells for clients. But if asked, he’ll grab two wires, walk across the property, waiting for the wires to cross to find a place to drill.

Gebke is water witching, using an ancient method with a greater connection to superstition than science.

Thousands of wells have gone dry this summer in the worst drought the nation has experienced in decades. Some homeowners are spending as much as $30,000 to have new ones drilled, and Gebke said most potential customers in his area expect water witching to be part the deal.

“Over 50 percent of the time in that conversation, they ask do we have a witcher on the crew,” he said. “And my response is, `We have a witcher on every crew.’”

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Why do I say that. Because the Sun is finally into its warming phase. The Sun always has 4 cycles: cooling, quietude, warming and maximus. These cycles inhabit an 11 year cycle most probably related to the creation of some of the heavier elements in its core. What does change in no known sequence is which is bigger the cooling cycle or the warming cycle and I suppose some brief time periods of equilibrium. For the last 30 years (almost 3 full cycles) the cooling side of the cycle has been bigger than the heating cycle and the last quietude was almost 2 full years which I believe is the biggest in recorded history. Here is the point. The planet should be cooling but it isn’t. During the cooling we still had some pretty hot years. Why. There is no other thing to blame, but humans. Now that the Sun is heating up and for the 3 years or so, Watch Out!

http://www.examiner.com/article/drought-affects-nation-s-energy-prices

If you think the drought of summer 2012 is only increasing the prices of the nation’s corn and grain supplies, you’re missing a large part of the picture. Drought reaches into every corner of American pockets, affecting even the cost of driving a car and what we pay for air conditioning.

Current drought conditions

The United States is experiencing the most severe drought, with the highest percentage of land affected by it, in over 60 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center‘s July 17 report. (See August 5 Palmer drought severity map at left. Yellow = moderately dry, orange = severely dry, red = excessively dry.)

Parched conditions have now led to disaster declarations in more than half the counties in the nation–1,584, in 32 states–this growing season. The declarations make these areas eligible for government aid, including low-interest emergency loans to hold the line until farms and ranches recover.

And the ripple effects of this brutal weather will extend farther than the farms in the Midwest, where corn and soybean crops are failing. It will affect meat production nationwide as well because pasture and grazing land has been blighted, forcing farmers and ranchers to seek other–and more expensive–feed for cows and other animals.

In some areas, cattle have to be fed with next year’s grain reserves because local pasture lands have dried up. Almost four million acres of federal conservation land has been opened for haying and grazing. Crop insurers have also begun to provide penalty-free 30-day grace periods on 2012 premiums.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Already a group of scientists and volunteers moved a butterfly north because of the warming climate. Our zoos are being referred to as “lifeboats” for extinct “in the wild” animals. This is no longer funny. People should be going to jail for this but it turns out that jails are only for poor people and white collar criminals not the uber wealthy who control the literal power structure that is causing this.

http://www.livescience.com/17719-species-extinctions-climate-change.html

“We have really sophisticated meteorological models for predicting climate change,” Urban said in a statement. “But in real life, animals move around, they compete, they parasitize each other and they eat each other. The majority of our predictions don’t include these important interactions.”

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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I am addressing SAGE today and want to keep focused on that.  I promise I will make up for it tomorrow. But I will leave you with a song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yERTIErjTE4&feature=g-vrec&context=G2532f8dRVAAAAAAAACA

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Much more tomorrow.

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