"Eco-" means home, habitat or environment."-logy" means what is believed to be true about science.

Ecology is the scientific study of the complex inter-relationships between living organisms and their environments.

"CANCER" THE HIDDEN COST OF LIVING IN FLORIDA

If we want a green lawn we spray it with fertilizers, if we don't want too many mosquitoes we spray the air with pesticides, if we don't want bugs in our grass we spray that with pesticides, if we want a clean roof we spray that with toxic chemicals, if we want a stain free driveway we spray that with Acid.

The environments that we are living in are constantly being bombarded with harmful and unnecessary chemicals. It is no wonder that there is a price to pay for living this way, Cancer rates are spiralling upwards, the World Health organization is predicting a rise of 50% by the year 2012.

Many homeowners associations are beginning to realize the tremendous difficulties of maintaining unnatural and superficial environments. Many upscale housing developments built over the last 10 years in Sarasota and Bradenton are struggling with issues relating to the environment one such issue is that of rust stains on concrete sidewalks and drives.

Rust stains on concrete sidewalks and drives are being caused by run off from high Iron content fertilizers which are being sprayed onto the grass to to keep it looking green. These rust stains are unsightly and spoil the "perfect" look of the neighborhood. In response to this problem the Architectural committees send out violation notices asking residents to remove the offending stains or else face a fine.

Many homeowners in this predicament will use Hydrochloric Acid, Muriatic Acid, Oxalic Acid, or other "off the shelf" products designed to remove rust stains. The run off from these chemicals are extremely negative and will kill the grass that residents were trying to keep green.

The residue will also be washed down into storm drains and straight into their holding ponds, the Surface Water Committees are understandably, extremely concerned about the effects chemicals and fertilizers are having on the eco systems surrounding their developments.

This is typical of what happens when we do not understand and work with natural systems, when we create artificial environments we will always lose control of them eventually. Natural systems are finely balanced and have evolved over millions of years, our lack of understanding about how to create naturally sustainable living environments is causing a big problem.

We have to stop pretending that we can control our environments with chemicals, the eco systems that surround us are all on the verge of collapse, we live in sterile and artificial housing developments and the longer we allow them to stay this way the more dependant we will become on chemicals and the worse things will become.

If we all start working with nature instead of fighting it we can protect the blue planet that we all inhabit.

Roof cleaning contractors can help to reduce their impact on the environment by switching to a preventative roof clean system like Bio-Foam Barrier and stop using chlorine to clean roofs.

The clean4life website which has spearheaded the green certification program for roof cleaning has raised a petition to license and regulate the industry. We recognise the need to have a responsible and mature approach towards environmental issues.

Visit the Clean4life.net website and add your name to the environmental petition to license and regulate the roof cleaning industry in florida.