APPLYING MAKEUP WHILE DRIVING

Shot at Lal Bagh Gardens, Bangalore, India

Bamboo plants are one of the world's most versatile resources. Bamboo, because of its strength and flexibility, has been used for hundreds of years as a major building material in countries like Japan and China. But aside from furniture building and architecture, bamboo plants are also used for a wide array of purposes. One of the most interesting areas where bamboo is used is in the creation of instruments. Because bamboo is hollow like pipe, it makes for a natural wind instrument, and cultures from all over the world have used it to their musical advantage.

Wind moving through bamboo forests or thickets makes symphony orchestras seem impotent. Wind moving little pieces of bamboo to strike against each other gives joy and peace to those who hear it.

Like grass it grows rapidly and propagates itself if left alone. Like wood it is strong, grows many places and has many, many uses. Given its way, bamboo will hold hillsides in place against raging waters unleashed from above. Given its way, growing profusely among peoples judged materially poorest on the planet, without gigantic industries cutting, gathering, processing, transporting it; bamboo is here, waiting to serve. It is here to shelter, to fashion tools, to weave baskets, to help water obey, to provide beauty and sounds.
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family (Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae). Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family.

In bamboo, as with other grasses, the internodal regions of the plant stem are hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, even of palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering.

Bamboos are also the fastest growing woody plants in the world. They are capable of growing up to 60 centimeters (24 in.) or more per day due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. However, this astounding growth rate is highly dependent on local soil and climatic conditions.

Bamboos are of notable economic and cultural significance in East Asia and South East Asia where the stems are used extensively in everyday life as building materials and as a highly versatile raw product, and the shoots as a food source.

There are more than 70 genera divided into about 1,450 species] They are found in diverse climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions. They occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin through to Northern Australia, and west to India and the Himalayas.They also occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Americas from the Mid-Atlantic United States south to Argentina and Chile, reaching their southernmost point anywhere, at 47°S latitude. Continental Europe is not known to have any native species of bamboo.

Bamboo is the fastest-growing woody plant on Earth; it has been measured surging skyward as fast as 121 cm (48 in) in a 24-hour period,[6] and can also reach maximal growth rate exceeding one meter (39 inches) per hour for short periods of time. Many prehistoric bamboos exceeded heights of 85 metres (279 ft). Primarily growing in regions of warmer climates during the Cretaceous period, vast fields existed in what is now Asia.

Unlike trees, all bamboo have the potential to grow to full height and girth in a single growing season of 3–4 months. During this first season, the clump of young shoots grow vertically, with no branching. In the next year, the pulpy wall of each culm slowly dries and hardens. The culm begins to sprout branches and leaves from each node. During the third year, the culm further hardens. The shoot is now considered a fully mature culm. Over the next 2–5 years (depending on species), fungus and mould begin to form on the outside of the culm, which eventually penetrate and overcome the culm. Around 5 – 8 years later (species and climate dependent), the fungal and mold growth cause the culm to collapse and decay. This brief life means culms are ready for harvest and suitable for use in construction within 3 – 7 years

Source: Wikipedia, Odysey Leadership Centre.

with flickr notes - and links in the notes for where to buy!
For FGR: environmentally friendly
for the April Scavenger Hunt: Earth Day

I've always been fairly environmentally minded - I recycle, I take public transportation, I reuse my takeout containers... but lately I've become more and more distraught by the condition of our environment and the fact that we CAN make a difference, but many people either don't know, or don't care.

April 1 of last year I started refusing plastic bags. It's amazing what you notice when you make a small change - people are consuming mindlessly, and so many people are on auto-pilot in both handing out and receiving plastic bags. People are simply not educated about plastic bags - they do not biodegrade, so they'll be around FOREVER, and when they do start to break down, they photodegrade, which leaches chemicals into the soil and causes nutrient depletion, amongst other things. Wildlife chokes on plastic bags, they get caught in trees... the list of ill effects goes on and on, but my favorite ones is: the more plastic bags you use, the higher oil prices will go. why? plastic bags are a petroleum product.
I alway carry a bag with me (I have a very lightweight one that folds into a pouch and clips onto anything) I carry bamboo or metal silverware in my purse, and I try to avoid one-time-use plastic or styrofoam (which IS plastic, in case you didn't know) packaging.
I've also become concerned with the safety of plastics, so I've made the switch to safer plastics and metal, glass, bamboo, and stoneware products for food

At home, I pay attention to what is in my cleaning products (many laundry detergents and household cleaners are petroleum products), and what chemicals are in my every-day health and beauty products. I try to buy natural and/or the least harmful... most messes can be cleaned up with plant-based products, and often they're more effective.

Several years ago, I stopped using disposable menstrual products. The amount of waste created by disposable menstrual products is RIDICULOUS. These products are also filled with dioxins and other chemicals that really shouldn't be so close to your mucous membranes, and most of them aren't fully biodegradable, so they will be around FOREVER.
Another benefit is that I've bought maybe 1 box of (non-applicator 100% biodegradable, thankyouverymuch) tampons in the last 10 years...
Ladies, add up the money you spend on pads and tampons each month (they are NOT cheap), multiply that by 120, and think of what you could do with that money instead....
Men, imagine never having to hear the words "oh, honey, can you pick me up a box of..." again. It's good stuff.

I try to buy products that are made with fair wage/labor/trade, and using sustainable materials and a lack of excess chemicals. Sometimes I get overwhelmed because it's nearly impossible to do EVERYTHING "right" environmentally, morally, and health-wise. I just keep reminding myself that nobody's perfect, every little bit helps, and hopefully others will see the example I'm TRYING to set and follow suit.