Alkaline Earth Metal(s)

"The alkaline earth metals are named after their oxides, the alkaline earths, whose old-fashioned names were beryllia, magnesia, lime, strontia and baryta. These oxides are basic (alkaline) when combined with water. "Earth" is an old term applied by early chemists to nonmetallic substances that are insoluble in water and resistant to heating--properties shared by these oxides. The realization that these earths were not elements but compounds is attributed to the chemist Antoine Lavoisier." (wikipedia)

I am going to choose Calcium due to a powerful and painful experience I had with calcium deposits getting lodged in my kidney and causing me INTENSE pain; commonly called a 'kidney stone'.

Oh Calcium, what is there to understand about this massivley available element?

"It has an atomic mass of 40.078. Calcium is a soft grey alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth most abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust. Calcium is the fifth most abundant dissolved ion in seawater by both molarity and mass, after sodium, chloride, magnesium, and sulfate.<sup>[1]" (wikipedia)

What else?

Oh yes! That's right, our bones are made from this amazing element!! In fact "</sup>As a major materal used in mineralization of bones and shells, calcium is the most abundant metal by mass in many animals." (wikipedia)

I also find it interesting that Calcium is one key element in slaked lime, which is a product used in natural building to seal earthen walls. I actually used some lime mixed with saw-dust as a filler in the spaces between the Cob-Earthen walls and the logs I placed on that wall. WOW



"Other compounds include Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), one of the common compounds of calcium. It is heated to form quicklime (CaO), which is then added to water (H₂O). This forms another material known as slaked lime (Ca(OH)₂), which is an inexpensive base material used throughout the chemical industry. Chalk, marble, and limestone are all forms of calcium carbonate."

That's pretty amazing. we actually need a constant supply of calcium in our diets BECAUSE it is used in various chemical processes and is the primary element that makes up the structure of our bones.