4 Ways To Crush The Debt
That’s Been Crushing You
Debt continues to be a crushing burden for many Americans. From credit cards to auto loans, mortgages, student loans and medical bills, a high percentage of the nation’s households have one or more of those types of debt.
According to a NerdWallet debt analysis in 2017, the average American household carrying credit card debt owed a balance of $15,654. The average balance for a household with auto loans was $27,669; it was $46,597 for a student loan; and $173,995 for the average remaining on a mortgage.
“Debt is that great financial enemy we’d all love to defeat,” says Garrett Gunderson, founder/chief wealth architect of Wealth Factory and co-author of 5 Day Weekend: Freedom to Make Your Life and Work Rich with Purpose (www.5dayweekend.com) with entrepreneur Nik Halik. “People struggle to get out of debt because they don’t have a wise and coherent strategy to pay debt down.”
Getting out from under a mountain of debt can be a challenge, but Halik says a consistent plan founded upon discipline can open a path toward financial freedom. He and Gunderson give a four-step strategy for paying down debt:
“The big picture purpose in paying off debt is to free up cash that you can then use to invest in passive income vehicles,” Gunderson says. “The best place to start is to maximize the efficiency of your existing resources. You may discover, as most people do, that you actually have a lot more to work with than you think.”
About Garrett B. Gunderson
Garrett B. Gunderson is the founder and chief wealth architect of Wealth Factory, an Inc. 500 financial firm. He also is the co-author, with Nik Halik, of 5 Day Weekend: Freedom To Make Your Life And Work Rich With Purpose (5dayweekend.com), a Forbes contributor, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths That Are Destroying Your Prosperity.
About Nik Halik
Nik Halik is an entrepreneur, world-wide adventurer, angel investor, speaker and the co-author, with Garrett B. Gunderson, of 5 Day Weekend: Freedom To Make Your Life And Work Rich With Purpose (5dayweekend.com). Nik has dived to the wreck of the Titanic, climbed some of the world’s highest peaks, and is a certified Russian cosmonaut. He has traveled to 149 countries and recently visited North Korea.
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Kinder Morgan Altamont and Colorado Interstate Gas resolve Clean Air Act chemical risk management violations at Utah and Wyoming gas processing facilities
Companies to pay $179,099 penalty and spend $387,500 on flaring project to reduce air emissions
DENVER (March 9, 2018) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a Clean Air Act settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in which Kinder Morgan Altamont and Colorado Interstate Gas have agreed to pay a $179,099 penalty and improve the maintenance of process equipment that will reduce the risk of an accidental release of hazardous chemicals at natural gas processing facilities in Altamont, Utah and Sinclair, Wyoming.
"Risk management plans protect the public by making sure that facilities collect and share safety information and have measures in place to prevent and respond to any accidental releases of chemicals," said Suzanne Bohan, director of EPA's enforcement program in Denver. "EPA appreciates Kinder Morgan’s efforts to address these deficiencies."
The settlement, lodged as a consent decree in the District of Utah, resulted from EPA inspections at the Kinder Morgan Altamont and Colorado Interstate Gas facilities which revealed violations of the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program regulations. The violations included deficiencies associated with safety information, hazard analysis, mechanical integrity, and incident investigations. Under the consent decree, the companies will also have an industry expert conduct mechanical integrity audits at four facilities, submit corrective action plans to EPA, and correct any violations detected in a timely manner.
In addition to the $179,099 penalty, the consent decree requires expenditure of at least $387,500 on an environmental project that requires the companies to install a system flare, not otherwise required by permits or law, at the Rabbit Gulch gas compressor station in Duchesne County, Utah. This flare will reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere by an estimated 3.7 tons/year and methane by an estimated 9 tons/year. VOCs can contribute local and regional air quality pollution, including ozone formation. Duchesne County is in an area that has experienced violations of the federal Clean Air Act standard for ozone.
The Kinder Morgan Altamont and Colorado Interstate Gas gas processing facilities are subject to Clean Air Act risk management regulations because they process large quantities of hazardous substances. Section 112(r) of the Act requires facilities holding more than a threshold quantity of a regulated substance to develop a risk management program and submit a plan to EPA.
Risk management plans address the proper design and maintenance of equipment such as pipes and vessels, emergency preparedness, and the ability to minimize releases that may occur. They also provide valuable information to local fire, police, and emergency response personnel to prepare for and respond to chemical emergencies. Making these plans available to the public also fosters communication and awareness to improve accident prevention and emergency response practices at the local level.
For more information on the Clean Air Act and risk management requirements: https://www.epa.gov/rmp/risk-management-plan-rmp-rule-overview
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I’m hoping you might have interest in the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program’s Utah State Winner: Caden Scherbel! He grew a beautiful, HUGE cabbage (23.8 lbs!) and was randomly selected by Utah’s Agriculture Department. Caden will receive a $1,000 saving bond towards education from Bonnie Plants. I have his contact information as well as his teacher’s, if you would like to be in touch. I can answer any questions you might have about the program, and can forward to you the high res image of Caden and his winning cabbage pictured left.
I also have a list of all participating schools in the state of UTAH if you’d like to take a look, I can send it over......17,775 kids participated from Utah!
INFO: Utah State Winner: Caden Scherbel/School: Barratt Elementary School/168 N 900 E
Thanks so much for taking a look and I look forward to hearing from you!
Joan
RELEASE BELOW
Kids Grow Green: Cashing in Cabbage: Kids across America are growing, and some are earning, a lot of “green” participating in the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program.
This year, more than 1 million third graders in the 48 contiguous states have gotten hands-on gardening experience, growing colossal cabbages with high hopes to win “best in state” and receive a $1,000 scholarship towards education from Bonnie Plants.
Each year Bonnie Plants, the largest producer of vegetable and herb plants in North America, with 80 greenhouse facilities across the country, trucks free O.S. Cross, or "oversized," cabbage plants to third grade classrooms whose teachers have signed up for the program online at www.bonnieplants.com. If nurtured and cared for, kids can cultivate, nurture and grow giant cabbages, some much bigger than a basketball, tipping the scales, often over 40 pounds!
In 1996 Bonnie Plants initiated the 3rd Grade Cabbage Program in and around headquarters in Union Springs, Alabama, with a mission to inspire a love of vegetable gardening in young people and continue to “grow” our next generation of gardeners.
By 2002 the Cabbage Program became a national endeavor. The program awards a $1,000 scholarship to one student in each participating state. At the end of the season, teachers from each third grade class select the student who has grown the “best” cabbage, based on size and appearance. A digital image of the cabbage and student is submitted online at www.bonnieplants.com. That student's name is then entered in a statewide drawing. State winners are randomly selected by the office of the Commission of Agriculture, in each of 48 participating states.
“The Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program is a wonderful way to engage children’s interest in agriculture, while teaching them not only the basics of gardening, but the importance of our food systems and growing our own”, said Stan Cope, President of Bonnie Plants. This unique, innovative program exposes children to agriculture and demonstrates, through hands-on experience, where food comes from. The program also affords our youth with some valuable life lessons in nurture, nature, responsibility, self-confidence and accomplishment”.
“Over the course of the past 15 years, the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program has proved to be an exciting, successful and worth-while experience that children, teachers, parents and grandparents across the country have embraced. We're certainly extremely proud of our Utah State Winner: Caden Scherbel! We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide our youth with this enjoyable and enriching opportunity and engage their interest in the art and joy of gardening”, said Cope.
Getting It Growing: (see this adorable video on how to grow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkqD0CDWf7A
Growing a colossal cabbage may seem like a giant undertaking for young kids, but it’s easier than you think. All you need to do is:
· Let the Sunshine In: Cabbages need at least six hours of full sunlight, more if possible.
· Survey Your Space: Bonnie O.S. Cross cabbages need at least three feet on each side to spread out. If you don’t have that much space, use a large container.
· Supplement Soil: Work some compost into the soil – cabbages love nutrient-rich soil.
· Feed Your Food Plant: Start your cabbage off right with an all-purpose vegetable fertilizer, then fertilize it according to label directions to keep it growing strong.
· Water Wisely: Your cabbage needs at least one inch of rainfall each week. If it doesn’t rain, use a watering can or garden hose to gently water your plant at soil level.
· Tend To Trouble: Keep weeds out of the cabbage patch – they compete for the food and water your cabbage needs. Be on the lookout for brown or white moths – these come from worms that love to munch on cabbage. If you see any, get rid of them right away. Cold weather can damage your cabbage. If the weather gets below 32° F, cover your cabbage with a bucket or cloth covering.
· Hefty Harvest: In just 10 to 12 weeks, you should have a huge head of cabbage you can be proud of.
Green thumbs and perseverance can pay off, providing participating children with as great sense of pride and accomplishment, a humongous cabbage, and for the lucky state winner, the beginning of an educational fund for college.
A great way to get kids started in the garden is the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program, it’s free to any third-grade classroom in the 48 contiguous states. To see the 2017 winners as they come in and learn more about the 2018 contest, please visit: www.bonnieplants.com
Why a cabbage? Coincidentally, cabbages were the first profitable plant sold by Bonnie Plants in 1918, and are known to be a hearty vegetable. The cabbages provided to the 3rd grade program are “O.S. Cross” cabbages; this variety is known for producing giant, oversized heads, making the process even more exciting for kids.
Green Earth Media Group
Joan Casanova
203 610 2069 (cell)
