IS Foundation

I think most of you know that I am committed to doing my part to help preserve the environment and will support anyone I can in their efforts. That's why I want to encourage you to support the Ian Somerhalder (IS) Foundation. The goal of the IS Foundation to ”…empower, educate, and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures.” Today is the official kick off and the foundation is asking for donations. Ideally, they would like for you to donate $32 to help celebrate Ian’s 32nd birthday, but it doesn’t have to be $32. If you are unable to give that much or if you have more to give, you can just click on this link and donate what you can afford. In addition Vampire Support, who’s mission is to “…raise awareness of the Gulf oil spill…” is selling t-shirt and donating the profits to the IS Foundation. The shirts feature one vampire biting a bunny with the words human rights activist and another vampire biting a human with the words animal rights activist. You can check out the design and purchase a t-shirt here. I hope that you will consider donating to this worthy cause, I know I will.

Green Gift Monday

Now that Black Friday is over it's time to focus on Cyber Monday. Five years ago Cyber Monday became the biggest on-line shopping day of the year. The Nature Conservatory wants to turn Cyber Monday into Green Gift Monday. The goal here is to give green gifts this holiday season.

The Daily Green has some great green gift ideas for everyone on your shopping list. I especially like their eleven ideas for not giving 'stuff.' I for one would love a volunteer vacation or a year of farm fresh produce. Treehugger also offers up some great ideas ranging from organic baby toys to recycled dog beds. If you really feel that you have to have a gift wrapped and placed under the tree Why Go Ecotourism offers eco friendly polar fleece blankets and reusable grocery shopping bags as gifts that can be given year round.

For those of you that like to send flowers why not send an organic bouquet this year. Or if you'd rather, Fiddler's Green Farm offers organic gift baskets at very reasonable prices. Of course you're going to need Christmas cards so why not buy your cards from Pear Tree. They have a variety of green holiday cards to choose from.

Don't forget that all that wrapping paper is only going to end up in a land fill unless you try out some more creative ideas. You can make the wrapping a part of the gift. Why not use a scarf or towels instead of paper or maybe give a tea pot with a gift card inside to that chef who has everything. If you are a die hard traditionalist the Green Field Paper Company offers 100% recycled wrapping paper. Have a very green Christmas!

give more; spend less

Today is Advent Sunday. This is a season that we, as Christians, prepare for the coming of Jesus. I want this season to be about more than running around to parties, fighting the traffic and getting the right gift. In preperation our family went and served Thanksgiving lunch downtown at Brownstone's Free Thanksgiving Dinner. It felt good to be take a small amount of our time and help out those who are under resourced.

Last year our church introduced us to The Advent Conspiracy.
The AC encourages congregations to, "think of meaningful acts of kindness as meaningful gift options to replace traditional gifts." This grassroots movement also supports Living Water International. LWI is addressing the world's water crisis in Ethiopia, Brazil, Haiti, and Mexico just to name a few places.

Another organization that has recently entered the scene in the Ian Somerhalder Foundation. They want to, "empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures." Vampire Support has teamed up with the IS Foundation and is selling t-shirts where, "All profits made will go directly to the IS Foundation. [The foundation] will set aside the money from the shirts for projects with The National Wildlife Federation and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean up efforts."

If you are interested in supporting an organization that's goal is to end poverty and hunger, you may want to give to Heifer International. We had the opportunity to tour Heifer International's green office in Little Rock, AR several years ago. HI believes that they can't end world hunger without also saving the earth. Their philosophy is offer a long term solutions by empowering those in poverty and encouraging them to pass along their knowledge and the off spring of their animal to others is their community.

Rice and Bean Ministry is trying to feed 500 families for a month. It takes approximately 100 to feed each family. I know Fred and his team would appreciate your support. They are, of course, trying to feed families all year around in Costa Rica. It only cost $10 dollars to buy a bag a food to feed a family for a week.

If you are ready to give more and spend less (two of the AC founding principles) I encourage you to consider giving some of what you would normal spend on Christmas gift to one of these worthwhile causes.

GM Foods

I spoke to a farmer recently that, like many in is business, support genetically modified crops. His argument was that the poor wouldn’t be able to feed their families if crops were grow organically because it is so much more expensive to raise crops using natural methods. He also said that the extra expense would spill over into other products like sugar, milk, and bread. I can’t argue against the cost of growing GMO’s, but I can’t support it just because it’s more cost effective. According to US Department of Agriculture the percentage of GM corn grown in the United States grown from 7 to 70 percent, and 93 percent of the soybeans grown in the US are GM.

I’m sure you’ve read Jonathan Berr's article that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA )is considering whether to approve the production and sale of genetically modified fish, or frankenfish as it’s being called. Apparently, the argument is over labeling. The biotech industry is concerned that consumers won’t buy the fish if the product label spells out that the fish is genetically modified. Most fish in the US are raised on fish farms, but salmon, by in large, is still caught in the wild. The fishermen aren’t able to keep up with the demand and the supply of wild salmon in this country is shrinking. I assure you, the solution is not to make a frankenfish. According to CNN

"The fish's rapid growth will be boosted by the injection of a combination of a growth gene (GH-coding sequences) from the Pacific Chinook salmon and genetic material (the AFP gene) from the ocean pout - a large, eel-like fish - into the fertilized eggs of Atlantic salmon, making the recombined DNA present in cells throughout the body of the fish. The Chinook gene promotes the growth to market size, and the pout gene allows the fish to grow in the winter as well as the summer."

The FDA is only looking at whether this fish is safe compared to other farm raised or wild salmon. Today is the last day for your voice to be heard concerning the labeling of this potentially dangerous fish. Aquabay Technologies plans to breed the salmon in an inland facility in Canada, however, they will raise the fish in Panama.

This past summer, according to Micheal J Crumb of the Associated Press, a California judge halted the planting of GM sugar beets until the USDA could complete an impact study on how these organisms affect the traditional crops. Fifty percent of the US’s sugar comes from sugar beets that have been planted with products like Genuity Roundup Ready Sugarbeets. The apparent benefit is that farmers are able to use pesticides on the crops without killing the plant itself. Companies like Monsanto would have you believe that farmers and consumers will suffer if GMO’s aren’t allowed to be planted, but that isn’t the case. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an office of the USDA, has opened a comment period asking for input from retailers, farmers, university professors, dealers, and agricultural organizations on the Environmental Assessment. All interested parties have until December 6 to make their voices heard.

It is essential that we, as consumers, stay informed. The Non-GMO Project supports the verifying and labeling of products and that believes we have the right to make informed choices about whether we want to consume GM products. The Project’s role is to make certain we have accessible Non-GMO alternatives in our future. Voting Block is a site that allows you to tell your elected representatives where you stand on the issue and what they should to earn your vote. Remember to let your voice be heard!

************UPDATE*************

Article: "Public Says No To Transgenic Fish, Demands Mandatory Labeling "

GMO VS Organic; which do you want to eat?

Whether you have a garden in your backyard, buy your produce at the local farmer's market or purchase it at a superstore, organic food is better for the health of your family. Many years ago all of our crops were grown without the assistance of genetic engineers; that is not so now. Conventional farming today consists of any agriculture that demands high yields. This requires the use of genetically modified seeds, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

There are advantages and disadvantages to genetically modified organisms (GMO). Plants that have been modified by genetic engineers are drought resistant, tolerant to herbicides, have a tolerance to the cold, and are resistant to many diseases. There by providing an abundance of food at an affordable price. However,these crops do not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. In fact these plants are causing allergies and cancers in humans yet we continue to accept and consume them on a daily basis. If you don't believe me read this article about the effects of rats eating genetically modified potatoes.

Genetically modified foods are not only grown for our consumption, but for the consumption of animals. Once the animal eats the GMO feed it transfers foreign DNA into that animal which is then passed on to any humans consuming that beef, pork, or poultry. Even more disturbing, is that the FDA is considering approving the first genetically modified animal for human consumption. If you don’t want to eat genetically modified salmon, you can let your voice be heard here.

I understand that not everyone can grow a self sustaining garden in their back yard, but we can all make well educated decisions when shopping. We have the greatest influence on what is being offered. Europeans have shunned GMO’s. If we refuse to accept foods that have been genetically altered, the farming industry will stop giving into the genetic engineers and biotech companies. One of the ways to make your voice heard is to join the True Food Network. You can also reading labels, buying only organic meat and produce, and eating foods that are in season.

The Oil Spill Six Months Later

With the rising demands for oil and the shrinking reserve, the oil industry has move drilling from the shallow rigs to deep water. One of the problems is that clean up methods have not been keeping pace with technology. Since 1969 there have been ten platform spills including Deepwater Horizon. The federal agency, Minerals Management Service, that regulates off shore drilling claimed that there was less that one percent chance of a blowout.

Then, on April 20, 2010 the 9 year old semi-submersible Deepwater Horizon drilling rig leased to BP exploded after fail-safe blowout preventer allowed methane gas to spewed out of the drilling column. Eleven platform workers were killed and 17 others were injured. Many of BP's decisions have been brought into question. Decisions like having one long pipe, or the decision to have only six centralizers instead of 21 when there were indications that the well wasn't stable. They [BP] underestimated the worst-case spill and listed a marine biologist that had been dead for years as an emergency responder. Poor decisions don't start there, if you look at BP's history you will find that after the merger with Amaco and ARCO BP forced experienced workers into early retirement. All of these factors added up to their bumbling the worst oil spill in history.

For three months 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico from the sea floor. Skimmers were brought in along with local shrimp boats that corralled the oil on the surface and ignited it with homemade napalm. It is estimated that BP only cleaned up a quarter of the oil. The oil that has fallen to the bottom in the Louisiana marshes will not be broken down and can debase the environment for decades.

On July 15 the well was capped. Five months after the explosion the federal government declared the well "effectively dead." Since that time this disaster has moved to the back pages. We cannot forget the tremendous devastation that has resulted from this incident. There has been damage to the marine life, to tourism, the fishing industry, and the oil industry. As a resident of South Mississippi, I fear these issues are being swept under the rug. I have heard stories from friends on the coast of cover ups by BP employees, to mask the scope of devastation and present an inaccurate picture of the clean up efforts to government officials.

Even if you haven't been directly affected by the oil spill, it is our responsibility to know what's happening. To keep up to date on the clean up efforts and the effects on our environment check out the following sites.

http://www.restorethegulf.gov/ http://www.gulffuture.org/

The Audubon's Oil Spill Videos Huffington Post Sea Turtles of the Gulf Oil Spill from Nov 9, 2010 The Daily Green Sea Turtles Threatened article National Public Radio Oil Spill Investigation Posted Nov 8, 2010

Ways to make a difference in the environment.

I realize that most of us aren't going to go out and live in a tree like my hero Julia Butterfly Hill . She live in the tree, Luna, from December 10, 1997 to December 18, 1999. But, there are some very simple things that we can do around our homes that can make a real difference.

Let's start with the no cost actions we can all take. The simplest is to just TURN OFF THE LIGHTS! I am the worlds worst, but I figure there are enough people in this house that if we just keep reminding each other, we'll eventually get the hang of it. Other simple step we can take are to unplug our electronics, air dry our dishes, and wash our cloths in cold water. Also, if you will wash your cloths in the cooler part of the day the heat generated by the dryer won't cause your air conditioner to use more energy trying to cool your home. Unless of course, you're willing to forgo to dryer all together and hang you clothes out on the line to dry.

Now get out your shopping list. I promise none of these suggestions will break the bank, in fact you might find some nice savings on your electric bill this year if you'll give them a try. The first thing I want you to do is to buy energy saving light bulbs. Then when it's time to replace your old bulbs they will be in the cabinet ready to use. I know the cost may be slightly more than what you're used to spending, but you will be saving money because they use less power and have a longer rated life. Just keep in mind that they contain small amounts of mercury and need to be recycled so that the mercury doesn't leach out into our water supply. If you will take your unbroken bulbs to any Home Depot we can leave these bulbs on the positive side of your shopping list. (To read more about Home Depots CFL Bulb Recycling Initiative just click here)

While you're making that environmentally friendly shopping list, go ahead and add an air filter. Make sure you write down the correct size so you don't get confused with all of the choices. If you are unsure of how often you need to change your air filter or which one to buy you can find answers here.

Now add weather stripping and caulk to your list since they can save you hundreds of dollars on your electric bill. If you don't know how to install the stripping just check these these simple steps from BobVila.com.

And finally, make sure you don't leave off the washers and gaskets because according to the Environmental Protection Agency, your household is losing 10,000 gallons of water each year due to dripping faucets and other water leaks, besides fixing leaky faucets can lower your water bills by 10 percent.

Turn your pencil over and start erasing. I want you to stop buying single use batteries. They contain lead, nickel and mercury. When incinerated toxic substances are released into the air that you breath. There are perfectly good rechargeable batteries available so buy them instead.

You will also need to take off all those cleaning products that contain toxic chemical. Imagine what those chemical are doing to your respiratory health. If you're really brave you can make your own or simply read labels.

Now that you're filling your cabinets up with eco friendly products don't make the mistake of tossing out products that are dangerous. For example, did you know that it isn't safe to throw away or flush your prescription or over the counter medications because they are harmful to wildlife and to our water supply. Just recently DREAM (Drug-free Resources and Education Alternatives in Mississippi ) teamed up with local law enforcement and hosted a drug drop off day where people in our community were able to turn in their medications so that they could be properly disposed of instead of contaminating our enviroment. If you aren't sure how to properly dispose of your medications just read this this article.

When it comes to tossing things in the trash don't dispose of any electronics. They contain lead and it may even be illegal to toss out that old computer monitor or antiquated TV. Think about donating or recycling it first.

Also remember that if you currently have products that are toxic, like paint and pesticides, they need to be disposed of properly. Most cities have a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) disposal site . If you aren't sure where to take them Earth911 offers easy access to drop-off locations in your area. I have discuss the problems with pesticides in a separate post, but know this: PESTICIDES ARE DANGEROUS!

I also want you to remember what I said about freecycle and cloth bags. If you've forgotten just click here and I'll refresh your memory. If you'll pick up one or two cloth bags every time you go to the store, you'll have enough to cut out using all those horrible plastic bags.

If you have, or are planning to have, children consider using cloth diapers. If not all of the time, you should at least use them when you're home, we did. With the advances in cloth diapering system it's really much easier because they have all-in-one diapers and biodegradable inserts.

I've said it before, stop buying bottled water and get yourself a water purification system and some reusable bottles. It's not only good for Mother Earth it's better for your health.

Stop taking bathes and start showering. A bath takes up almost twice as much water as a bath. You can even improve on that by shortening your shower times or better yet shower with a buddy!

Don't forget to buy locally! Take advantage of that farmers market or farmer on the side of the road, you will not only be helping your local economy you will decrease food miles and intern decrease carbon emissions.

If you live somewhere that you access to public transportation, take advantage of it, but if you must drive keep in mind that a properly maintained car will improve it's performance there by decreasing your cost at the pump.

Another simple step you can take is to go paperless. Do you really need all of the bills sent to you by mail when you have a perfectly good email account just itching to fill up. Not only can you receive your bill electronically, you can pay them that way too. No more running out of stamps, hunting up a pen that actually works to write out a check, or forgetting to get it in the mail in time.


This week is national recycling week so, don't forget to recycle, recycle, recycle!

A cup of tea for your garden

I have heard from every organic gardener I know that I should use compost tea in my garden. Up until three years ago, I had no idea what compost tea was or why I should use it. Well, there are a number of benefits to using it. First, it will improve your soil structure. Second, it enhances the taste of your fruits and vegetables. Third, it is safer for you, for animals and the environment because it is natural/organic. And finally, it helps to fight off disease in your plants by increasing the number of organisms on and around the plant that will compete with disease-causing organisms.



So now that you know the benefits, here is how to make a batch of simple compost tea.

You will need:
5-gallon bucket
mature compost
Water (not tap water)
Cheesecloth
Spray bottle

1) Fill the bucket about 1/3 of the way with mature compost. Then fill the bucket with water, leaving room to stir the mixture without spilling.
2) Leave the bucket out of direct sunlight, stirring at least once per day for 5 to 7 days. Stirring the mixture at least once a day will provide adequate oxygen for the tea making process. Without enough oxygen, anaerobic bacteria can start to grow and make your compost tea useless.
3) Strain the compost tea by pouring the tea through cheesecloth into a separate 5-gallon bucket.

The finished compost tea is concentrated and will need to be diluted before you apply it to your plants. Add approximately 10 parts water (not tap water) to every 1 part of compost tea.

To apply, simply fill a spray bottle with compost tea and use it to spray plant foliage. It's best if you spray the plant's leaves early in the morning or in the evening near dusk. Apply once or twice per month to control garden pests and to attract beneficial insects.

What You're Really Eating

I've talked about how important it is to buy locally and eat seasonally. Neither of which are very easy things to do when we are so used to getting what we want when we want it. So yes, I buy produce at the grocery store, all of the time.

Now if I'm eating my own fruits and veggies I know I can just rinse them off and they're safe. If I buy from my local farmers market I can just ask the guys I'm buying from if they use any pesticides. Of course I won't buy from them if they're using anything stronger than compost tea. But what about the lettuce I get at the Corner Market?

Did you know that there are pesticides that are actually absorbed by the plant? Systemic pesticides circulate through the plants tissues. The idea is to increase food production by killing the insects that feed on the plant, but unlike traditional pesticides, you can't wash off the residue because it's in the plant's tissues. These chemical are absorbed by the plant and poison all of the plant including the pollen and nectar of the flowers. The butterflies and bees that pollinate these plants are in turn poisoned. Imagine how this affects our entire ecosystem. After a good soaking with these pesticides, this poison is not only eking its way into the tomatoes you’re planning on putting in your salad, it’s in the soil. Now imagine that it rains, those poisons are being washed into our public water supplies and our streams where they are contaminating the fish and other sea food that we eat. Pesticides are poisonous! The most notable case would have been the Bhopal, India disaster in 1984. I realize that may be an extreme example, but people are poisoned by pesticides every year.

There are alternatives to buying contaminated produce. You can purchase organic produce and you don’t even have to search out a speciality health food store anymore. Organic fruits and vegetables are offered at most grocery stores, in fact, I’ve seen them at that big superstore that we invariability run to every week for some necessity. However, you may need to ask for organic fruits and vegetables if they are not currently being offered in you local grocery store.

Another option for avoiding contaminated produce is to support organizations that are trying to protect the health of people and the environment. One such group is the Northwest Coalition of Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP). Supporting organizations like the NCAP is a great way that we can help make pesticide use nothing but a bad memory.

If you want to read more about systemic pesticides you can find an article in the October/November 2010 issue of Mother Earth News .

more green ideas

Just a quick review, for the sake of, I don't know, saving the planet. Beth Aldrich and Airwear are teaming up to make sure everyone knows that there are greener choices out there.
Some of the choices we have made are to buy locally when ever possible. If you have a fresh market in your area, you should find out what local farmers are growing. I promise that you will find a lot of healthy choices and you will also be supporting your local growers.
Another greener choice is to use cloth grocery bags when you go shopping I wrote about it here. If you will just buy one bag every time you go to the store, before you know it you won't have to use any plastic bags and you will be saving money. Yes, that right! Many local stores will reimburse you whenever you use your cloth bags.
Most recently, I wrote about using filtered water instead of bottled water here. Plastic bottles aren't not only bad for mother earth, the chemical are dangerous to our bodies too!
Another "environmentally friendly thing we do around here is to recycle.
Any and all of these choices are great. And don't forget that Airwear is using environmentally conscious practices. For example they use 100 percent recycled water and 100 percent recyclable packaging.
Oh, and for those who are plagued with noxious paint fumes, the University of Southern Miss's
polymer science department had developed an environmentally friendly paint. You can read more about it here.

Bottled Water Versus Tap Water; What's Your Choice?

Many times what is right for me and my family isn’t what is right for you and your family. And yes, it is difficult to make the right choice, but I am going to try and forgo convince for the sake of the environment. I drink a lot of water, all bottled. There are so many different thoughts on bottled water. Many people talk about the cost of buying water verses just simply drinking tap water. According to this article here “Commercially-bottled water costs $.25 to $2/bottle…[while] Municipal tap water costs less than a penny to fill a gallon jug! This article here talks about the rise in tooth decay due to the lack of fluoride in bottled water. But, I am only going to focus on two issues; one the chemicals in the bottle that may or may not harm you and two the concern for the environment.

I’m sure you’ve heard the discussions about the chemical bisphenol A (or BPA) but, if you haven’t you need to know that BPA’s a chemical found in soft/flexible plastics that has been found to leach into the food or liquids you drink when heated. Environmental Health News has an article here that explains the side effects of BPA including heart disease and diabetes. The main concern is said to be when the plastic is heated in the microwave or left in the car, but now there is a Harvard study that says BPA is also leached into cold liquids. If BPA is as dangerous whether the food/liquid is cold or heated makes me just a little nervous. If you are concerned about the BPA's in other products, the Green Guide has a great article here about what to look for when purchasing plastic containers.

Being concerned for the environmental is another reason to stop purchasing plastic drinking water.I didn’t feel so bad about my use of plastic bottles while we were collecting them to recycle, but as we found out while living in central Arkansas, no one would take our plastic for the purpose of recycling and we were forced to throw away several large garbage bags of plastic bottles. Now I don’t know what your local recycling center accepts, but you may want to find out before you dismiss the issue. Just click here and enter you zip code to find a recycling center near you.

According to this article only 12% of plastic bottles were recycled in 2003. In fact, I dare you to keep up with ALL the plastic your family uses in a week, including what you use outside the home. Put it all in a garbage bag then at the end of a week look at how much plastic your family has throw away. Now I want you to multiply that by the 112 million families that live in the United States. That’s a lot of plastic; what do you think happens to all of that plastic?

I'm a realistic individual; I know our family won’t be able to give up plastic all together. I'm just talking about taking a small step toward reducing our carbon footprint. So, we decided to buy a PuR water system.

We picked this one up at Sam's Club. It was very reasonably priced and will hold up to 18 8oz cups of water, it even came with 2 aluminium bottles. As you can tell it doesn't take up much room in the fridge.

Okay, so who's up for the challenge? Let see how many plastic bottles we can keep out of the landfill this year!

We Have a Voice

Barack Obama has consistently voiced his support for organic agriculture. We, as organic consumers, have an incredible opportunity to shape the future of federal food policies. President-Elect Obama is in the process of formulating policy and assembling his transition team. He is considering nominees for The Secretary of Agriculture, who is responsible for directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its $90 billion annual budget. Obama has said that he wants to hear from the public in order to formulate his policies. So, let's take him up on his invitation. The Organic Consumer Association has a petition letter to President-Elect Barack Obama that you should sign and urge him to take a stand in support of organic food and farming. Please go here to sign the petition.

Liquid Laundry Soap

I have a recipe for sud-less laundry soap I thought I'd share. If you've never made your own soap I challenge you to give it a try, it's really not that difficult and you will see a difference in your pocketbook.

Here's all you'll need:

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
1/2 bar Fels Naphtha Soap

Grate the Fels Naphtha with a food grater. Put in a saucepan with 3 pints of water. Heat slowly to melt the soap.

Add washing soda and Borax.

Stir to dissolve all the powder.

Put 1 1/2 quarts of hot water into a 2 gallon bucket. Add the mixture. Stir to mix.

Add more water, making 2 gallons total.

Pour into separate containers.

The laundry soap will be ready to use the next day. Use 1/2 cup per load.

green is my favorite color

I hope you are using cloth grocery bags! At Kroger we get 3 cents back for every bag we have. In less than 34 visits to the grocery store the bags have payed for themselves. I absolutely love to go into the store do my shopping get in line, hand the clerk my bags, and watch her subtract money off my total all because we brought in our own bags. And yes, I am that obnoxious person in front of you that turns and says, see it pays to be green!



Another good idea that we love is Freecycle. If you haven't heard of Freecycle then you are really missing out. Freecycle is a grassroots movement to keep perfectly good stuff out of landfills. Membership is free and they are nation wide. All you have to do is go here , search out a group in your hometown and sign up. You can get daily e-mails with posting of items that people are giving away.


If you know if any other green ideas please post them here. I always love to hear how others are helping out mother earth.

What Makes Food Organic?

First and foremost organic foods must not be genetically modified. It must be produced according to certain production standards, meaning it is grown without the use of conventional pesticides (including herbicides), artificial/synthetic fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and it cannot be processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.

Organic production standards also include strict rules on the composting and application of manure. Organically raised livestock must be given organic feed and kept free of growth hormones and antibiotics. Organic farm animals must have access to the outdoors, including pastureland for grazing.

When buying organic, look for the following regulated terms on food labels: Food labeled "100% organic" has no synthetic ingredients and can legally use the USDA organic seal. Food labeled "organic" has a minimum of 95% organic ingredients. It is eligible to use the USDA organic seal. Food labeled "made with organic ingredients" must contain at least 70% organic ingredients. It is not eligible for the USDA seal. Meat, eggs, poultry, and dairy labeled "organic" must come from animals that have never received antibiotics or growth hormones.

Go here to read more on organic safeguards.

Why Recycle?

If you've ever wondered why you should recycle

or thought, "what's the use it's just one aluminum can"

then please read the following.

Each of us uses approximately one 100-foot-tall Douglas fir tree in paper and wood products per year.
To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.
If you recycle a 4 foot stack of newspaper you will save a 40 foot tree.
If only 100,000 people stopped their junk, mail, we could save up to 150,000 trees annually. If a million people did this, we could save up to a million and a half trees.
Recycled paper can also be made into paper towels,construction products, notebook paper, envelopes, copy paper and other paper products, as well as boxes, hydro-mulch, molded packaging, compost, and even kitty litter.

Lighting consumes up to 34 percent of electricity in the United States.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are an energy-saving alternative to incandescent bulbs. CFL's produce the same amount of light, use one third of the electricity, and last up to ten times as long. If every household replaced its most often-used incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, electricity use for lighting could be cut in half.

About 75 percent of the water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom.If just 1% of American homes replaced an older toilet with a new Water Sense labeled toilet, the country would save more than 38 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. That's enough electricity to supply more than 43,000 households for one month.

The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute. Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals 240 gallons a month. A full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.

Americans throw away enough glass bottles and jars every two weeks to fill the 1.350-foot towers of the former World Trade Center. Glass never wears out, it can be recycled forever. We save over a ton of resources for every ton of glass recycled.

Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap Texas. Americans go through 2.5 million plastic bottles every year. If every American household recycled just one out of every ten plastic bottles they used, we’d keep 200million pounds of the plastic out of landfills every year.

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours. An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now.


I hope I've convince you to start recycling. Remember you can make a difference.

Enviromental Issues

If you haven't been keeping up, I have some very strong opinions on environmental issues.

Now I'm not going to tell anyone who to vote for,

I just hope that you know what each candidates plans to do about our environment.

Senator McCain's Policies are:

That he plans to establish a market-based system to curb
greenhouse gas emissions, mobilize innovative technologies, and strengthen
the economy.

He plans to work with our international partners to secure our energy
future, to create opportunities for American industry.

He proposes cap-and-trade system that would set limits on greenhouse gas
emissions while encouraging the development of low-cost compliance options.

To support the cap and trade system, he will promote the innovation,
development and deployment of advanced technologies.

He will foster rapid and clean economic growth.

He believes that there must be a global solution to global climate
change.

He will also develop a climate change adaptation plan based upon national and
regional scientific assessments of the impacts of climate change.

Senator Obama believes:

That the U.S. must take aggressive action now to reduce the emission of
greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

That one of the greatest threats facing the Great Lakes is aquatic
invasive species and he was successful in ensuring that Illinois receives
adequate federal funding to operate a barrier to prevent Asian carp from
entering Lake Michigan and disrupting the balance of the lake's ecosystem.

That mercury contamination in can cause serious developmental problems
in children. To address this problem, Senator Obama introduced two bills that
would significantly reduce the amount of mercury that is deposited in oceans,
lakes, and rivers.

In the elimination of childhood lead poisoning.

Please vote with a conscious.

Herbicides, more than just weed killers

I recently read an article about and epidemic called colony collapse disorder (CCD) that is wiping out commercial bee hives. It seems that this is another one of those cases where pesticides are having a negative impact our food supply. You can go here and watch PBS's introduction to the series "Silence of the Bees".

I read an article in the Oct/Nov issue of Mother Earth about how Dow's herbicides persist for years. These herbicides have been found to to contaminate compost. Confront, Dow's clopyralid, was found to be the contaminant that killed many nursery and home garden plants in several states. You can go here and read more.





If you don't know what GEO's are then think about it this way. You want your corn to have specific characteristic, such as being drought resistant, so a scientist inserts specific genes into your corn's genetic make up without having to go through the trial-and-error process of selective breeding.

Some farmers have been planting round-up ready seeds. Round up is a herbicide that kills everything it touches. By planting these roundup ready plants the farmers can spray round up without killing their crops. This is supposed to reduce production costs and increase yield, so food becomes less expensive. Now how do you feel about eating a plant that was genetically altered to resist a herbicide?

The bio-tech industry is exploiting the nations concerns about the future by telling us that GEO are the only way we will be able to feed ourselves in the future and this just isn't true. They are hoping that this scare tactic will allow them to expand there GE crops into other countries. I believe we need to think of the human health concerns.

The studies just don't show that GE crops are yielding more that natural crops. In fact, there ares some weeds that have developed a resistance to the herbicides that are being used with the GE crops. We can garden naturally and get better results if we simply put some for-thought into our crop rotation. For more information on GE foods go here.

Heifer International

I first heard about Heifer International several years ago when our church handed out small plastic ark banks to the children. The idea was for each child to fill the bank and return it as a donation to to the Heifer project. Heifer's mission is to end hunger. They work with communities all around the world providing livestock and training to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide.

Heifer has a central office in Little Rock. Yesterday we went on a tour of the Heifer Green Building. It is one of the most "earth friendly" buildings I have ever visited. They offer free tours twice daily during the week. You can learn about what Heifer International does and even more about why the building is designed in such an unusual way by going on the tour.

As you look at the building you can tell that it is very long and narrow with many window. That design allows the building to be lit primary with sunlight. The building also captures rain water which it utilizes for the toilets, heating and cooling.

There are a videos here or go here if you want to learn more about how you can help.

Being Green

There was a time that the three R's were readin', riting' and rithmatic, but those time have long since past. Do you know what the three R's are now? Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. We are told to Reduce the amount and toxicity of trash we discard, reuse containers and products; repair what is broken or give it to someone who can repair it, and to recycle as much as possible, which includes buying products with recycled content. Being green is big business. Not that I'm complaining, I think we need to be more aware of the way we treat mother earth. I just hate that it cost us to be earth conscious. We have moved around over the past several years and I can tell you some states/communities are much more conscious (or should I say they are more green) than other places.




One thing that's really easy is to use cloth bags instead of plastic or even paper when you go to the store. I workied at a home decor store and was sickened at the amount of packaging required to ship merchandise. Trust me when I tell you that that company did not recycle. Each week they received 300 + boxes of merchandise wrapped in plastic and styrofoam.

I think composting is another way to to decrease the amount of garbage and it helps out your backyard garden too. My parents gave me this counter top compost keeper that has a filter in the top that keeps the stench out.

Does you community have curbside routing?

Go check out the World Environmental Organization here to learn how you can reuse different household items.

What are you doing to help out the environment?