Are you fired up and ready to vote? I know I am. In fact, I’m so fired up, I’m going to vote early. Down below, you’ll find a link so you know when you can vote early, too.

Why do I care? Because here’s what’s at stake:

The air we breathe.

The way we use energy.

Our health, and the health of our kids and grandkids.

The water we drink.

Nature in all its beauty.

All of my concerns are connected to just one thing: where we get our energy.

Right now, most of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, natural gas.

Air pollution from fossil fuels creates the pollution that causes smog and Code Red bad air days. If you have asthma, it’s worse because of dirty air. Women get more heart attacks than men when they live in cities where the air is polluted. None of us should be outside when it’s Code Red.

Burning fossil fuels is also causing climate change. By now, you know what that means. Worse poison ivy. More mosquitoes and dengue fever. Floods. Fire. Drought. Hurricanes like Katrina and Matthew and Sandy – terrible superstorms that have caused billions of dollars of damage, killed hundreds of people, and ruined our homes and, in some cases, our livelihoods.

Drilling for oil, fracking for natural gas and mining for coal cause some of the worst environmental disasters we’ve ever seen, from oil spills to contaminated rivers to polluted ground water.

Says Clean Air Moms Action, “We must fight to protect the air we breathe and the many treasured places across our country vulnerable to climate disruption.”

Adds North Carolina Mom Caroline Armijo, “I’ve been meeting with moms…we’ve been praying for solutions…And one thing we know we can do right now is vote.”

What Difference Does It Make If We Vote?

The next President of the United States, our elected officials in Congress, our governors, and  our state legislators all hold the power to decide whether our nation continues to burn fossil fuels – or whether we finally make a full and complete transition to the abundant clean energy that is all around us: energy from the wind and the sun. Our elected officials can decide whether to help us save energy, too.

Don’t Miss: Top Ten Reasons to Take Climate Change Seriously

Why Vote Early?

Early voting gives you the peace of mind that you’ve made your voice heard and your concerns count.

Plus, by voting early, you can volunteer to help get the vote out. Clean Air Moms is asking “passionate volunteers to help get their communities out to vote.” You can make a difference by helping register people to vote, educating your community on the issues, and showing up at candidate events.”

As Clean Air Moms Action points out, “There is more on the line during the 2016 election than the office of the President. There are also many “down ballot” races that will have an impact on your daily life and the quality of the air our children breathe.”

Where Can You Vote Early? Find Out Here!

Take the Pledge

I’m joining with Clean Air Moms Action to pledge to vote by or on November 8.

Won’t you join us?

NOTE: This post was produced with support from Clean Air Moms Action. All editorial opinions are my own.

The post Vote Early – and Vote for Clean Air appeared first on Big Green Purse.

There are two ways to protect yourself from mosquitoes: reduce the number of mosquitoes in your area, and reduce your chances of being bitten.

REDUCE BREEDING

Mosquitoes breed anywhere there is standing water. The key to reducing mosquito populations is to limit the places where they can reproduce.

* Empty standing pools of water. Especially after it rains, keep an eye out for standing pools of water that provide perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Those include baby pools, watering cans, old tires, gutters and drains, buckets, and pretty much anything else that can trap water long enough for a mosquito to lay its eggs.

* Keep water moving in ponds and fountains. Use a small pump to keep water circulating, or put some fish or frogs in the pond to eat up mosquito larvae. Here’s a picture of the pond in my front yard, with the pump sitting right in the middle. (We used to keep fish in the pond, but the neighbor’s dog kept jumping in and stirring things up; the poor fish had a hard time surviving among four paws and a tail!).

* Fill in ditches, trenches and ruts. Like pools and ponds, ditches and ruts also collect water and turn into breeding swamps. Fill them in with gravel or dirt, or drain them into a larger pond where the water can circulate.

* Set traps. Traps lure mosquitoes into an inescapable container, where they lay their eggs and then die when they can’t escape. My neighbors and I use these Oak Stump Traps by Springstar to good effect. If you can get several neighbors to use the traps, you get more control throughout the neighborhood. Traps are more effective than electric bug zappers, and use less energy, too.

* Attract animals and other insects that eat mosquitoes. Bats and birds are famous for eating millions of mosquitos, but so do dragonflies. Put up bat bird houses to provide more nesting areas for these friendly creatures, and plant flower gardens to attract dragonflies.

REDUCE BITING

1) First, cover up. The less skin you expose, the less likely you are to get bitten. If you’re working in your garden, mowing your lawn, watering your bushes, or hiking in the woods, wear shoes, socks, lightweight pants, a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt with a collar, and a hat. If you’re sitting on the porch or at an outdoor event and don’t want to wear long pants or long sleeves, drape a light-weight shawl or scarf over your legs or arms. As much as possible, spray your clothes, not your skin (and launder when you get in the house).

2) Light citronella candles or run a small fan when you’re sitting outside. You may still need to squirt bug spray on your ankles and legs, but the candles will emit an aroma that helps keep mosquitoes away from your arms and face. The more candles, the better. A small rotating fan will create enough of a breeze to blow mosquitos away while you’re on your porch or patio.

3) If you’re the do-it-yourself type, pick up a bottle of an essential oil like eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, or geraniol, or try some combination. Get a 4- or 6-ounce pump bottle; add somewhere between 10 and 20 drops of each oil to a couple of ounces of water or rubbing alcohol and shake well. Spray on exposed skin, always avoiding your face. (Pay attention: some herbal oils may irritate the skin. Find one that works for you. I found lavender oil and vanilla worked well for me, which I wrote about here.)

4) Try one of the herbal repellents available in most grocery, hardware, and gardening stores, or order online. They generally cost about the same as conventional, pesticide-based sprays. Consumer Reports analyzed the effectiveness of various bug sprays, and found that Repel, which relies on lemon and eucalyptus to deter bites, is just as effective as brands that contain more toxic chemicals. (We sell Repel in our Amazon store here.)

5) If you feel you must use something stronger than essential oils, choose a product containing Picaridin, which does not seem to irritate the skin the same way DEET does. Always use the lowest concentration that will work for you. Here’s why you should never use DEET or other pesticides on infants or children. If you need a sunscreen as well as a repellent, apply them separately, rather than use one product that contains both, as the sunscreen may contain a more potent repellent than what you might normally use. Wash your hands immediately after applying.

You can find more non-toxic mosquito repellents and traps in our Amazon store here. And please, let us know what works for you!

(Disclosure: We earn a tiny commission on our Amazon store sales, which helps us continue to maintain our blog at no cost to you.)

The post Simple, Non-Toxic Ways to Protect Yourself from West Nile Virus appeared first on Big Green Purse.