Goal For The Green

With the odds of autism being 1:150 here in the US, it cannot compare to the now epidemic proportions of the disorder currently found in the UK.  The rate of autism in the UK is now 1:88 or I in every 54 boys. The belief that autism is solely genetic is unverifiable.  Environmental factors must be considered because, after all, there is no such thing as a genetic epidemic.

Recently,I did an update on autism in the news. The topic of vaccinating as a cause was explored. To anyone who has a child with autism, you may never fully convince them that childhood vaccines had nothing to do with their child’s autism. On the contrary,

Autism fears lead some parents to not immunize children

The CDC (Center For Disease Control and Prevention) stands by their claim that scientist say there is substantial evidence that there is no link. Yet, around the country, there is debate over what role, if any, vaccinations play in autism, and many parents are deciding against immunizations. Most feel that they would rather risk their child getting measles, chicken pox or the flu, than autism.

David Kirby writes in The Huffington Post regarding a new study about “mitochondrial autism” that it is real, and that vaccine triggers cannot be ruled out. This article is a must read for the latest information on this pivotal topic.

Another must read to bring you up to date on this issue is Ginger Taylor’s “Adventures in Autism”. While at Ginger’s blog you may also want to consider reading about how the FDA hid the names of contaminated infant formula products from the public, in the most recent case of melamine contamination.

Special thanks to Google news for these excellent sources of current information on Autism in the news.

About a year ago, Kent Basson, started OddShoeFinder.com, which allows users to buy and sell their mismatched pairs of shoes. It is aimed at people such as polio survivors who must buy a different pair of shoes for each foot due to severely mismatched feet. A few months after starting the site, he was
contacted by several people about accepting large batches of new name brand single shoes.

He started the site after his sister had an injury (due largely to neuropathy from diabetes) that resulted in her having to wear two different sized shoes. He saw that her options were few unless she wanted to spend a lot of money,or go to Nordstrom.  She still lives in their hometown in Alabama, which is far from a Nordstrom.

Kent ended up with over 11,000 shoes that were otherwise heading for a landfill. “We sorted and posted all the shoes we could as mismatched pairs. Rather than buying two pairs of shoes at retail prices, users of the site can buy a pair of shoes that was headed to the landfill for $10-20/pair.”

“We also found a use for boots for which we did not find matches. Construction workers wear boots in two different brands and styles when they pour concrete so that they don’t ruin their good boots,” Kent said.

A lot of perfectly able people also need mismatched shoes.  It is far more common than ever imagined, although most people just buy the larger pair and deal with it unless the difference is extreme. People born with clubfoot are also likely to need mismatched shoes.

He has also rescued quite a few matching pairs from among the thousands, so people who don’t have the problem of mismatched feet also use the site. He has 3000 skates (inline and ice) and cleats arriving next week, so the hope is that lots of people without serious disabilities will use the site as well.

This is not only a great way to save shoes from ending up in a landfill, but also makes filling this need alot easier, and far more affordable.  What a great way to go green and save some green too!

Allow yourself the time to relax, meditate, and enjoy the calming music and  beautiful seascape!