| Oil spills are arguably one of the most serious of all | | | | statistics include: |
| man-made environmental hazards. Pictures of wildlife | | | | ? Routine ship maintenance and washing containers |
| devastation from places like Prince Edwards Island, | | | | account for 137 million gallons of oil in our oceans. |
| scene of the Exxon Valdez disaster, and other parts | | | | ? Natural seepage of oil bubbling up from the sea |
| of the world are haunting reminders of the cruel | | | | bottom dump 62 million gallons |
| effects of this kind of calamity. | | | | ? Large Spill accidents spill 37 million gallons |
| Now mats made of natural hair are being used to | | | | ? Offshore drilling leaks 15 million gallons |
| mitigate the disastrous environmental effects of these | | | | ? Air pollution generates 92 million gallons flowing into |
| spills. | | | | our oceans. |
| San Francisco nonprofit Matter of Trust | | | | Mats woven from human hair are successfully |
| (matteroftrust.org) has been fashioning recycled hair | | | | alleviating these man-made environmental disasters. |
| into products that soak up spilled oil since 2002. | | | | "A mat can soak up a quart of oil," Gautier said, "and it |
| It takes about a pound of recycled hair to make a hair | | | | can be wrung out and used up to 100 times -- as long |
| mat that's a foot square and half an inch thick, said | | | | as there's no sand in it." |
| Lisa Craig Gautier, who established Matter of Trust | | | | There are over 300,000 hair salons in the US and |
| with her husband, Patrice Olivier Gautier. | | | | each cuts an average of a pound of hair per day. |
| Last year over 2,600 oil spills occurred around the | | | | Even noted Paul Mitchell salons participate in this |
| world. Most had a devastating impact on the | | | | worthwhile program. Participating salons pay out of |
| environment. Phil McCrory, a hair stylist from Alabama, | | | | pocket for postage to send their swept up hair |
| was the first to discover how hair can help remedy | | | | clippings to Matter of Trust’s warehouse spaces. |
| this problem. | | | | Matter of Trust takes any type of human hair -- |
| While watching CNN coverage on the 1989 Exxon | | | | straight, curly, permed, straightened, processed and |
| Valdez oil spill, he noticed the fur on the Alaskan otters | | | | dyed -- "but only HEAD hair," says its website. |
| was completely soaked with oil. He began testing how | | | | Salons and businesses can learn more about |
| much oil he could collect with the hair clippings from his | | | | participating in this extraordinary program at |
| salon. Phil then invented the hairmat, a natural product | | | | This amazing mat has other practical applications. |
| that acts like a sponge. | | | | Since hair provides a slow protein release, it’s |
| Every year, an estimated 706 million gallons of oil enter | | | | excellent for flower growers as a natural fertilizer. For |
| our planet's oceans. Used motor oil accounts 363 | | | | more information on this, see SmartGrow.net. |
| million gallons spilled into our oceans. Other startling | | | | |