June 2010
52 posts
Stop Talking and Start Building Green Power
_By S. David Freeman_ We keep staring in frustration and anger at the giant flow of oil spilling into the water in the Gulf of Mexico. It is a disaster. But what is even a greater disaster is what we would see if we looked up, rather than down, and opened our eyes to the millions of deadly toxic “spills” into the air we breathe from cars, trucks, buses, power plants, ships, oil refineries, etc....
Butter Bean Salad
Butter beans belong to the same family as lima beans, but each variety is slightly different. Like lima beans, butter beans are large and flat, but they’re distinguished by their white or yellow color. Traditional lima beans are also large, but they’re quite green. The smaller varieties are often labeled “baby limas.” Today’s picnic-ready salad recipe is chockfull of butter beans, sun-dried...
Perk Up Your Organic Picnic
Summer is officially here, and there’s no better time for an organic picnic at your local park or beach. Simple recipes are the way to go, but try to flex your culinary muscles by experimenting with new recipes and flavors to make casual alfresco dining a special experience. Try these new twists on old favorites: *
Organic Beer is Exploding in Oregon
Admittedly, going up to the bar and ordering an organic brewski isn’t as cool as a dry martini or a Jack and Coke, but that hasn’t stopped the organic beer industry from growing, especially in Portland, Oregon. Tomorrow Portland hosts the 6th annual North American Organic Brewers Festival, a three-day celebration of certified organic beer. And the festival has seen its attendance grow...
6 Easy, Healthy Recipes to Make for the Summer...
Summer! Time for road trips and family vacations. But if you’re anything like me, it’s the time of the year that you feel the pull of fast-food restaurants. After all, they’re cheap, convenient, and filling, right? Wrong. You might have heard that some McDonald’s toys were contaminated with cadmium, and Subway’s recent salmonella outbreak sickened at least 97 people....
Cancers of Sweat Glands, Skin Structures...
Tumors of the hair, nails, sweat glands and mammary glands are rare, but rates appear to be rising in the United States, according to a study published in this month’s _Archives of Dermatology_. Caucasian men are more susceptible, reports lead author Patrick W. Blake of the National Cancer Institute, and risk increases with age. Researchers found a 170% increase in cancer diagnoses involving the...
Natural Balance Issues Dog Food Recall
Pacoima, Calif.-based Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc., a manufacturer of natural and organic pet foods, is voluntarily recalling its Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food because it may be contaminated with salmonella. The affected products, sold in 5- and 28-lb. bags, have a “Best By” date of June 17, 2011. During routine FDA testing, a random product sample was found to be contaminated. No...
Michael Pollan Dishes on Michelle Obama and Food...
The Seattle Times interviewed food movement hero Michael Pollan about his latest book, Food Rules, the state of the food in America, and Michelle Obama. About the first lady, Pollan says, She’s a very important voice in the food movement now, and I think is raising people’s consciousness, people who haven’t read a book like “Omnivore’s Dilemma” or “Food...
How to Destroy an Ecosystem in 3 Easy Steps
Hey, Tony “I Would Like My Life Back” Hayward! Now that you’re no longer the bloated public face of BP, it seems your narcissistic wish for some “me time” has been granted. Hope you enjoyed sailing off the oil-free shores of Britain on your $270 million yacht. What else would one expect from a tone-deaf CEO whose 2009 salary and bonuses totaled about $4.5 million? http://dlvr.it/1xFSj
Supermarket in DC Bans Water Bottles
Plastic bottles are bad news. Sure, the water inside might be from a “natural spring” but the bottle itself is risky business. You can find a lot of nasty stuff in plastics used to package our foods, such as water bottles. The most notorious is BPA - short for Bisphenol A - a compound used to make plastic, which has been linked to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and neurological...
March for Clean Energy in Los Angeles and New...
If you’re interested in cool technologies that could help stop global warming, or just celebrity spotting, I’ve just the thing for you. Director and activist Josh Tickell is holding a major press conference in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. Mayor Villaraigosa, the national press, and plenty of celebrities are all going to be there. Tickell is coordinating the event with the DVD...
Oil Industry Resorts to Scare Tactics
The oil industry, whose image couldn’t be worse in the wake of the BP spill, was less than thrilled that Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) resolution to handcuff the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was defeated. Predictably, Big Oil’s spokesmouth employed the usual Freddy Kruegeresque scare tactics. “Massive and rapidly imposed restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions would harm the American...
Do-It-Yourself Organic Fertilizer
Ever feel guilty about throwing away vegetable and fruit peels, rinds or scraps? Your intuition may tell you there’s a better way to handle these leftovers. Composting is a great way to make use of organic matter that you would otherwise trash. Building a compost heap is relatively easy, and it will continually give back to your garden and the environment. http://dlvr.it/1sP4K
Tomato-Feta Frittata
Treat Dad to a home-cooked Father’s Day brunch on Sunday. Today’s frittata recipe will awaken everyone’s taste buds, with the richness of eggs and cheese plus the added kick of picante sauce. Prep time is 20 minutes, bake time is 40 minutes, and all of the ingredients should be available at a well-stocked natural and organic food store. http://dlvr.it/1qyMB
Teach Your Child to Be a Backyard Scientist
Children love summer vacation, but parents often find it difficult to keep them engaged in productive activities. Most kids experience a learning slump during their time away from school. At best, they show little or no academic growth over the summer, according to the National Summer Learning Association. At worst, they lose 1 to 3 months of learning. It is, however, possible to keep your...
Michelle Obama Enjoys Sustainable Fine Dining in...
The First Lady Michelle Obama took her daughters out to Los Angeles restaurant Lucques for Sunday supper. Obama Foodorama reports that Michelle, Malia, and Sasha made the trek up from the Camp Pendleton Marine base in San Diego County to have dinner in the city of angels. Good choice. Lucques is a great restaurant in West Hollywood that supports sustainable agriculture and serves innovative and...
How to 'Bee' Good to Honey Bees
_Article by Liz Corcoran, originally published May 2010 on Tonic._ The dwindling honeybee population has the world abuzz, and from the White House garden to Great Britain and beyond, the fight is on to save agriculture’s busiest workers. Here’s what you can do to help. Environmentalists and bee keepers have long advocated the planting of wildlife gardens to provide nectar for foraging...
USDA Boots an Organic Inspector from China
In 2008, China had a little problem with milk. You might have heard about it. Melamine, a dangerous chemical, somehow got into there baby formula, sickening 54,000 babies and killing four. And China didn’t take it lightly. They executed two company executives held responsible for the outbreak, so needless to say, any food imports from China need strict inspection. That’s why the U.S....
Federal Agencies Assess Gulf Seafood
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have ramped up inspection efforts to ensure fish and seafood from areas near the BP oil spill are safe to eat. “Closing harvest waters that could be exposed to oil protects the public from potentially contaminated seafood because it keeps the product from entering the food supply,” says NOAA...
Vermont Senator Stands Up to...
My environmental hero of the week is Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), who actually cares about the ramifications of climate change and the quality of the air we breathe. Before the June 10 defeat of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) resolution to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its power to enforce the Clean Air Act, Leahy employed an apt “punt, pass and kick” football analogy to...
