Daniel Tencer, via Huffingtonpost.ca

Add a new word to your lexicon: Biopiracy.

That’s what U.S.-based agribusiness giant Monsanto has been accused of in India, where the government is planning to charge the company with violating the country’s biodiversity laws over a genetically modified version of eggplant.

In doing so, India has placed itself at the focal point of the movement to challenge genetically modified crops, which opponents say are destroying traditional crops and threatening farmers’ livelihoods.

“This can send a … message to the big companies [that] they are violating the laws of the nation,” K.S. Sugara of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board told France 24 (see video below). “It is not acceptable … that the farmers in our communities are robbed of the advantage they should get from the indigenous varieties.”

India announced last month it is pursuing charges against Monsanto for “stealing” an indigenous crop — eggplant — and using it to create a modified version without permission, a violation of India’s decade-old Biological Diversity Act. It’s the first prosecution of a company for the act of “biopiracy” in the country, and possibly the world.

At the heart of the issue is the phenomenon of the commercialization of indigenous knowledge. Indian farmers argue that they developed the strains of eggplant grown in India over generations, and Monsanto has no right to come in and build a product out of their own indigenous species.

Monsanto took locally-grown eggplant “without any conformance with the biological diversity act, and therefore it is biopiracy,” said Leo Saldanha, director of the Environmental Support Group, an Indian NGO. Saldanha filed the initial complaint that prompted India to pursue charges.

It is not actually illegal to develop GM foods from indigenous crops in India, but the the government placed a moratorium on eggplant development last year after an outcry from farmers. It’s this moratorium that Monsanto is accused of breaking.

However, in the month since the government announced it intends to file charges, no actual charges have been laid. France24 correspondent Vikram Singh said India may be coming under pressure from Monsanto and other multinationals not to pursue the case.

But Singh said government officials insist they are simply taking their time to build a water-tight case.

Farmers’ opposition to Monsanto and genetically modified crops in India goes back to before the eggplant controversy, and traces its roots at least partly to an earlier controversy about genetically modified cotton.

After successfully introducing GM cotton to India, Monsanto was besieged by bad publicity when a failed crop allegedly caused farmers to commit suicide. Crop failures are common in India, but when the GM cotton crop failed, the farmers growing it were saddled with enormous debt.

By some counts, the suicide toll related to GM crop failure is in the hundreds of thousands, though some observers have challenged that notion.

The company has also been accused of using child labour in its cotton seed production operations.

Monsanto has largely refused to comment to the media about the eggplant controversy, but France24 reported that the company is blaming its Indian sub-contractor for the unauthorized use of eggplant species.

France 24’s Singh said the case “will have ramifications beyond this incident. … It’s hugely important because how they handle this will set precedent for cases in the future.”

The stakes for Monsanto are huge. Besides cotton and eggplant, the company sees an enormous potential market for genetically modified corn in India. The St. Louis-based firm’s sales in India have been growing rapidly in recent years and now stand at around $7 billion per year.

Image source: Flickr, theblacksmith

GREG SEAMAN, EARTHEASY.COM
The bright lights and fast action of city living may be losing some appeal to the growing number of people today who are out of work and short on funds. It’s an uneasy feeling to set our fate in the hands of a job interviewer, or to risk our last bit of savings on new skills training for a job that may never materialize. The future seems uncertain, and trust in the systems in place to ensure our welfare seems to be eroding.

My wife and I felt this way when we were young, even though times were better back then, and so in 1980 we moved to a rural area to try our hand at homesteading. It turned out to be a great move for us. We’ve raised a family and found security and independence which, in today’s economic climate, seem especially appealing. I would think many young people today might benefit similarly.

Since the 1920’s there has been a trend of people migrating from rural areas to cities in search of job opportunities and living standards which feature convenience, access to educational opportunities, more diverse economic activity, and more social alternatives. For nearly a century this migration has served peoples’ needs, and even today many rural communities are seeing an exodus of residents in search of a better life.

Today, many rural communities are looking for ways to reverse the trend in depopulation. The intention of bringing residents back to rural communities is to stimulate and help sustain local economies and institutions, and in some parts of the country, free land is offered as an enticement to prospective new residents.

Homestead Living has Changed
Modern homesteaders have more lifestyle choices and income opportunities than their pioneer forebears. There is a wealth of information available today to help people experience the benefits of self-reliance without suffering the setbacks of greenhorn homesteading mistakes. Gardening and farming know-how is easy to come by thanks to rural agricultural extension services, library-by-mail programs and of course the internet.

Job opportunities in remote areas, thanks to the internet, have improved greatly. Online businesses can be inexpensive to set up, and since the cost of living in rural areas is lower than living in town, the requirements for a successful online business are lower. One of my neighbors, for example, has a small website which provides information about wood cookstoves, with a link to suppliers who provide referral fees on sales. The business may only bring in a few thousand dollars per year, but this covers about half of the annual homestead fixed expenses.

The isolation of rural living is also mitigated by internet access to social networks. Whatever niche captures your interest, there will be a forum online with like-minded individuals sharing ideas and providing social stimulation. Online friends are no substitute for a close neighbor, but modern homesteaders can maintain a social discourse, and good mental balance, thanks to modern wireless technology.

So where is the free land?

Colorado
Meadow lark Cooperative – Located a few miles south of I-70 and Agate. With 60 acres of donated land, a couple from Arvada has started the Meadowlark Cooperative and they’re giving away parcels of property for free. Aaron Brachfeld and Mary Choate say with job loss and widespread foreclosures, this future town could be the answer to freedom for a lot of people.

“When customers are having a hard time paying rent and are losing their homes and are going out on the street,” said Aaron Brachfeld, Vice-President of Meadowlark Cooperative. “I feel an obligation to make sure they can make a place to stay and build a new home.”

For more information, contact Meadowlark Vice-President Aaron Brachfeld at meadowlarkcolorado[at]gmail.com or call 720-295-LARK(5275).

Alaska
The Department of Natural Resources is directed by the state constitution to sell land for settlement and private ownership. There is a Remote Recreational Cabin Sites program where an applicant is allowed to stake a parcel of land in a designated remote staking area for recreational use. The parcels are leased for a limited length of time and purchased at fair market value after the completion of a survey and appraisal. There are no building or “prove-up” requirements required with this program.

Iowa
Manilla – The Manilla Economic Development Corporation offers 15 new single family lots in the New Sunrise Addition Phase II at no cost to qualified individuals or entities that build a new single family residence subject to certain conditions. More info.

Kansas
Several communities in Kansas are offering free land and other incentives to attract new residents. The goal is to help rural areas sustain and grow economically. Look for opportunities in Atwood, Ellsworth County, Mankato, Marquette, and Washington. For a list of communities which offer free land in Kansas, click here.

Maine
Camden – The city of Camden, Maine, is offering 3.5 acres to anyone willing to bring jobs to this tourist town. Visit for more information.

Nebraska
Beatrice – The city of Beatrice has passed “the Homestead Act of 2010,” a plan to give away city land to anyone willing to build a home there and live in it for three years. This has been a successful program, and the last free lot of this initial offering was given away in January of this year. However, if this region interests you, it may be worth contacting municipal authorities in Beatrice to learn of future offerings, or if any of the assigned parcels have fallen through and are up for offer.

Other towns in Nebraska which are offering free land and incentives for new residents include Callaway, Central City, Curtis, Elwood, Giltner, Kenesaw and Loup City. Contact municipal offices in these towns for details on their land offerings.

Ohio
Dayton – Dayton is following the example of Beatrice, Nebraska, and charging would-be homesteaders only nominal fees for homesteading land.

Where else is there free land?
Opportunities for free land are available to those willing to think ‘outside the box’ and take a chance on an adventurous new lifestyle. If you can narrow down your search to a specific region that appeals to you, here are a few suggestions which may yield good results:

Look for care-taking opportunities.
As any homesteader knows, rural homes and properties need to be lived in or they will deteriorate rapidly. Roofs need frequent repair, homes need to be heated in winter to prevent mould and rot taking over, fences need attention, water lines need draining in freeze-ups, and the list goes on. But the life situations of many rural landholders may change. People get old and move to assisted living, but may want to retain their homestead for future occupants.

One of my friends care-takes a magnificent waterfront property with garden and orchard, and is even paid $1500 per month for his efforts. The owner, due to financial misdeeds, will be spending the next 15 years in prison. My friend was thinking out of the box when he found this opportunity!

Care-taking someone else’s property has the secondary advantage of letting you try out the homesteading lifestyle to see if it suits you. When a homestead is already developed, you can learn what works and what mistakes to avoid, and apply this knowledge to your future homestead as it develops.

Look for cooperative opportunities
The mention of the word ‘cooperative’ may stir anti-socialism sentiments among the paranoid and uninformed, but I have been living in a land co-op for 31 years and the experience has been most rewarding. In fact, I owe my homestead lifestyle to the co-op model, since my wife and I could never have afforded the collective land we share with others.

Cooperative living arrangements are nothing new, although land co-ops are not as common as housing co-ops which proliferate in cities and towns. But friends can pool their resources and look for land which can accommodate multiple dwellings. Shared orchard and garden space can make food production practical when more hands are available. In our co-op, some of us specialize in growing certain crops which we share with others in exchange for a share of their specialty crop. It makes the gardening process much easier when you can focus on a few crops rather than trying to produce the many crops which provide a varied diet.

Perhaps the biggest concern in land co-ops is the matter of equity. Homes built on co-ops do not build equity the way homes on private lots do. (Or used to!) It is not easy to sell a home on co-op land, since the buyer needs to be accepted by the other group members. You won’t be able to take out a home equity loan. This can be a good thing though, looking back over the past few years, since these loans have put many people financially “under water”.

Approach holders of large parcels
A group a 6 friends in Oregon approached an older man with 160 acres of land, and made a proposition to him. If he would let them put an organic garden on a piece of his land, they would share the harvest with him. After the first season, the owner grew fond of the company of young people, and offered to let them park their bus beside the garden. The relationship grew and blossomed, and today the landowner has given 5 acres to the young group to build their homestead cooperatively. The landowner benefits by feeling a part of the sustainability movement, and by sharing ideas and knowledge with young people. The young people benefit by having free land, of course, but they also enjoy the benefit of an older person’s experience and perspective.

People’s life situations change over time, and opportunities arise for those who seek them out. If you’re feeling insecure living in the city, or if the notion of self-reliance appeals to you, homesteading can provide a feeling of independence and some measure of control over your life.

Homesteading may seem old-fashioned to many, but we think there’s going to be a lot more interest in this way of living as the global economy continues to unwind.
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By Rhonda Winter via Ecolocalizer

When we speak of “growing” a more sustainable local economy, the term is usually not meant literally; but in the case of an innovative design for a new transport vehicle, we may actually be able to grow our way into a more sustainable future. A beautiful new three-wheeled recumbent bicycle has been created that is constructed from renewable organic materials. The bamboo bike was derived from techniques used in arborsculpture, a more complex form of topiary, which utilizes specifically modified and grafted plants to create shaped structures which are very strong. The process is also known as “grown mobility”.

This award-winning velomobile is known as the “Ajiro”, and was created by student designer Alexander Vittouris. Building this machine involves using sustainable principles to create a transportation vehicle that is almost entirely made of natural biodegradable materials. Using an easily renewable resource like bamboo, with its rapid growth rate (as much as one meter in just a 24 hour period), coupled with its amazing structural integrity, makes this vehicle a very sensible choice. Mr. Vittouris explains a bit about how the recumbent is made:

“In this case, the manipulation and intervention is more akin to a farming process, whereby bamboo plants need time for thorough establishment to form the required energy mass to produce new culms. The vast array of species available also lends such a mobility concept to be locally grown, creating distributed, localized production. For the sake of the research experimentation, Bambusa Oldhamii seems most appropriate for climatic suitability in Australia, and whilst progress has been made in proving its growth and viability, more plant establishment would be necessary.

Embracing a natural process, affords knowledge of a somewhat different kind — products take time to create, they take resources. Growing sections to be used in ones personal mobility teaches that material worth is beyond that of ‘discardability’, ones own efforts, witnessing growth, creates a tangible link to the very history of the product. Growing materials for direct transference to products also indicates other possibilities for maximizing a single materials use, rather than relying on either multiple materials or processes to fulfill criteria.

Possibilities unheard of in conventional production process may allow the opportunity for community farms of vehicles growing once thorough plant establishment has taken place. The Ajiro concept is about rethinking our approach to both design and ecological sustainability of the products we create. Approaches towards sustainable personal mobility will surely be necessary, and growing vehicles may provide that answer.”

Source: EcoLocalizer (http://s.tt/12YGa)

By Sara Novak via Planet Green

Carrie Bradshaw and the rest of the crew from Sex and the City couldn’t imagine a life outside of Manhattan. In fact, they saw no purpose for leaving and rarely did. Urbanites often can’t imagine a life outside of all the glamour of the city. But rural dwellers feel the same. The idea of leaving the peace and quiet of the country and moving to a place of claustrophobia and high rent seems painful.

I find perks on both sides of the aisle so to speak. I grew up in Charlottesville, VA on acres of woods, undisturbed by neighbors. But later on I lived in the heart of DC, enjoying the benefits of public transportation and nightly events. But researchers have recently highlighted that green space and rural living in general is better for your health.

A recent article in Natural News pointed to research which says that city life contributes to a host of health problems while rural life does the opposite. Living with plenty of green space contributes to a longer, healthier life. Scientists pointed to issues of depression and schizophrenia as well as anxiety, other mood disorders and stress.

Feeling Cramped?

The results showed that we like our space and the more cramped we are, the more problems we have.

According to Natural News:

“Previous findings have shown that the risk for anxiety disorders is 21 percent higher for people from the city, who also have a 39 percent increase for mood disorders,” said Dr. Jens Pruessner of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Quebec, who helped conduct the study.

More specifically, “the study found that the region of the brain – the amygdala, which involves mood and emotions – was much more active in city dwellers.” The reduced stress in those living in the country could have been due to more active cingulate cortexes, the part of the brain that reduces stress.

Caveman Days

Part of this is understandable. Living in a larger city means constant stimulation. It means that the nervous system is going a mile a minute just to keep up with its surrounding. In the caveman days stress was a good thing. It served to keep us alive. We felt anxious when a lion was on our tracks waiting for dinner or when the weather was hot and we hadn’t seen water in days. But today, too much stress can do serious damage to our mental state which can lead to so many other health problems.

But whether you live in the city or the country, it’s your ability to manage stress that holds the key to your health. My uncle is a farmer from a town of 1,000 and he’s always stressed out worrying about the weather and his crops. The point is–take an aerial view of your life and be an onlooker to the anxieties that plague you. Realize that in the scheme of things, they’re often no big deal at all. If you’re having trouble managing stress overtime you could do real damage. As for the incidence schizophrenia, I have no idea where that plays into the picture or whether it is dependent on stress.

If you can’t seem to decompress, green space can help. Take the time to reconnect to nature whether that’s in Central Park or Montana.

Sink or Swim: Sustainability by Necessity

Written By BC

Perhaps the biggest blockade to America’s own path towards sustainability is the fault of our country’s mainstream mentality: consumption without compensation, economy over environment, and the false notion that the United States of America is somehow immune to the global consequences of continued abuse of the world’s natural resources.
Creativity is often the child of necessity: when one has less, one simultaneously needs less and creates more with what little he or she has. In “the land of plenty,” however, the opposite phenomenon has occurred.
America’s own excess of material goods (the result of said stale mainstream mentality) has led its citizens to believe not only that the products that they buy and consume will never run out, but that the very wilderness that spawns every gadget, gismo and skyscraper under the sun – Mother Earth – is an inviolable and infinite resource as well.

Imagine a world where less actually was more – an isolated island somewhere, let’s say, blocked off from the majority of international trade and commerce. Due to the island’s necessity for self-reliance, its people quickly learned how to optimize their natural and manmade surroundings in the most practical, renewable and efficient ways possible.
Nothing was thrown away. Items merely changed hands, changing shape along the way. Simple improvements were sometimes made, but in many cases the old, original design turned out to be the best one. Life rolled on – less was more.
With this same approach, history managed to preserve itself. Instead of demolishing centuries of culture and architecture just to fill somebody’s pockets, the island merely let its buildings be. Year after year, the foundations remained solid and the roofs held out the rain. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Well, that one depends on whom you’re asking.

In the United States, the 40s and 50s were a classic period of automobile production. But, as is the American way, newer models came out, the masses were won over with the next big thing, and the only concern with those bygone clunkers was finding a landfill big enough to hold them all.
Suppose, then, that this hypothetical island had the fleeting opportunity to take on huge shipments of these abandoned vehicles for a fraction of their original cost. Being practical people with a good sense of value, the island’s harbors were soon overflowing with American cars. Some worked, others didn’t, but regardless of their condition, the people learned how to get them running – and keep them running to this day – through patience, persistence, and good old resourcefulness.

With little to no electronic distractions, the island’s art scene was thriving. In a magic ally, bathtubs were painted with profound, reusable words and inset on a cobblestone wall as an art installation; every century-old surface was smothered with thoughtful color; every doorway teemed with life; music filled the air.
And as all those American cars grew older, the more valuable they became…

By Lucy Meskill via SuperEco

According to a study, Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings, some Americans do not have a clear idea about how to make a real difference in their energy consumption.

Twenty percent of the people polled voted for measures like turning off lights and unplugging phone chargers, instead of buying more energy-efficient vehicles and upgrading to Energy Star rated appliances.

Participants in the survey didn’t know that things like washing clothing in cold water and switching from central air conditioning to in-room air conditioners can make a huge difference. They also didn’t realize that, while recycling is crucial for conserving precious resources, it is not energy saving.

Micromanaging our carbon footprint with small things is by no means useless, but it must be accompanied by larger, more sweeping moves such as auditing and upgrading larger items and making wise lifestyle choices. Ideally, conservation and efficiency should go hand in hand.

By Michael Bloch via Green Living Tips

I’ve been using LED lights for a few years now and I think the essence of the technology is fantastic. LED lights are great in off grid applications as they sip so little power; even far less than CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) – and without the mercury concerns.

The technology has evolved to the point that they are becoming more commonplace in homes too. LED’s have the potential to contribute greatly to electricity related carbon emissions.

But not all LED’s are created equal and the current situation is putting makers of quality LED products in a difficult position.

Unfortunately, the rise in popularity and pressures of pricing competition has seen an increasing trend of what are referred to (but not marketed as) “disposable” LED lights. These inferior products threaten to give all LED lighting a bad name as the market is riddled with them.

I’ve bought a few LED products that have started out fine, but after a hundred or so hours of use, the lights dim, then after a while longer they flicker, and then ultimately go out.

These are not isolated incidents, nor am I just unlucky – this appears to be the nature of the design in many cases, another example of planned obsolescence.

So how do merchants and manufacturers justify the kazillion hour ratings they advertise for these products?

I’ve been communicating with Tim Gravert of Caberra Systems, Inc.; who have been in the solid state electronic and LED industry for 30 years. Tim is also very angry that many manufacturers are misleading the public in regard to “lifetime ratings” as this impacts on quality companies who provide ratings based on real-world conditions.

It’s my understanding from the information Tim has given me and subsequent research that LED lifetime ratings are often based on the “L70″ standard – a calculation based partly on operating the light in ambient temperatures of just 15 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit. The “70″ means the light should maintain 70 percent of its brightness over the period of time.

Another important point is that the ambient temperature under L70 is meant to be measured in the area immediately surrounding the LEDs, not the general air temperature. Bearing in mind that heat is one of the greatest enemies of LED lights and cheap LED lights tend to be built in such a way that does not allow for rapid heat dissipation either, you can see where this is heading.

While even cheap LED’s run pretty cool in comparison to an incandescent lamp, which is part of what makes them so efficient, I know from my own experience that cheap LED lights get warmish, even when the general air temperature is quite chilly – and most people would have their homes heated to above the 15 degrees Celsius / 59 degrees Fahrenheit mark anyway.

So, when a manufacturer makes the claim the light will last 100,000 hours; the claim is often made with that 15 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit figure under the L70 standard and if you run them at a temperature any higher, which most people will do, bang – it’s a good excuse for a decline of warranty claim and will also ensure that the life of the LED is greatly decreased – and a replacement bought.

Alternatively, given how cheap some of these lights are, you won’t even bother with a warranty claim and just chuck the light away. It’s an issue that manufacturers are well aware of I’m told and in my opinion, it’s a form of green washing.

In environmental terms, this goes beyond just these tiny LED bulbs. There’s usually a good deal of plastic and metal housing and perhaps a stand that comes with LED lighting. Millions of these cheap lamps are being sold around the world and given you can’t replace the LED’s in many these devices, they are bound for landfill much sooner than the purchaser thought they would. Even if the LED’s can be replaced, such as the bulbs that work with standard light fittings, it’s still a lot of waste.

To date, the best bang for buck I’ve received from LED’s wasn’t one of these 28/56 or whatever LED arrangements, but a headlamp with just one Cree LED in it. Although a single LED arrangement, it’s been far brighter than any of the multiple LED lights I’ve had – and maintained its brightness. It cost a bunch more too at the time, but it was money well spent and there will be less waste when it does finally give up the ghost. When I was comparing headlamps, I found the look of it rather weird compared to other models, but the oddness had a purpose that I didn’t realize at the time – to allow for more effective heat dissipation.

I think generally speaking, the more you spend on an LED fitting, the better the life you’ll get – but don’t just take price as a guide. Watch out for the “L70″ standard and quiz merchants on a light’s ability to dissipate heat. Look for ratings that will be guaranteed under real-world temperature conditions.

By the way, Tim tells me L70 isn’t just used with LED lights, but also CFL’s at times; which explains why the quality of Compact Fluorescent Lamps and their claimed lifespan vs. actual can vary quite a bit.

Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
Green Living Tips is an online resource powered by renewable energy offering a wide variety of earth friendly tips, green guides, advice and environment related news to help consumers and business reduce costs, consumption and environmental impact .

Image source: Wikimedia

Green Your Valentines Day

Every February, when Valentines Day rolls around, we see the store shelves fill up with palm oil based chocolates, non-recycled paper gift cards, and conventional flower bouquets laden with herbicides and pesticides. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s actually pretty easy to reduce our environmental impact and “green” our Valentines Day. Here’s 10 simple ideas to get you started:

Stick with fair-trade, organic, or sustainably sourced chocolates.
Did you know that the palm-oil found in many conventional chocolate products has been cited as a major cause of deforestation in the rainforest’s of South East Asia? Sustainable and eco-friendly chocolates usually use organic cocoa butter instead of palm oil.

Give antique or upcycled jewelry.
Why buy something new when there are so many talented artists making cool jewelry out of stuff that would have otherwise been thrown away? Check out uncommongoods.com for some ideas.

Use an e-card instead of a paper one.
The amount of cards sold in the US during the holiday season would fill a football field 10 stories high, and requires the harvesting of nearly 300,000 trees. Try using an E-card from Care2.com or make your own card out of recycled paper.

Make dinner at home.
3.3 million tons of food is thrown out at restaurants every year. Why not cook a nice meal at home this year and make sure to save or compost any leftovers.

Eat local and organic.
If you do go out for dinner, try eating at a restaurant that emphasizes the use of local and sustainably sourced ingredients.
Pick up some organic underwear
Check out Pact for some sexy organic underwear and discover an awesome company with a social mission.

Do it in the dark.
“Who needs electricity when then sparks are flying?”

Take a shower together.
Not only will you save water by showering together, you can also help each other soap up.

Stay at a green hotel.
Green hotels are increasingly easy to find and major chains such as Kimpton and Joie de Vivre are even oferring eco-friendly lodging options. For more ideas check out greentravelerguides.com

Buy organic and fair-trade flowers.
70% percent of all flowers sold in the United States are grown in Colombia and Ecuador
where workers are exposed to up to 127 different chemicals in enclosed greenhouse spaces. Why not skip the pesticides and pick up an organic bouquet from Whole Foods.

By Eco Home Consultations via Greenwala

I am a lucky woman. Not only am I the proud mother of a 15 year old boy, I am auntie to four rambunctious boys and one precious princess girl. I also have many friends with children who I have adopted into my extended family. I love each and every impressionable mind that has graced my life. And boy, do I feel proud when I witness the green light bulb coming on for them!

Earlier this week, I heard a story from a parent of one of these children that made me very proud and sad at the same time. One of my little adopted nieces, Ella, was bringing home a backpack full of recycling from school each day. When her mother asked about it, she was shocked to hear that Ella was bringing it home because her school doesn’t offer recycling! In the greater Seattle area, this seems archaic. But I’ve been checking and there are some places around town that aren’t offering recycling because the thought is that kids can’t get it right so why bother? Well, excuse me while I stand on this soap box for a minute, but I think this is an unfortunate attitude to hold.

Let’s just start by looking at what Ella is doing. She is a seven year old girl who is taking it upon herself to not contribute to the landfill by taking her recycling home! I think this is pretty compelling evidence that kids do get it. Besides, kids are in school to learn – let’s teach them. Why can’t we be leading by example and encouraging our next generation of recyclers to do it right? I mean, recycling isn’t going away and we all have to do it correctly in our adult lives. There doesn’t appear to be a good reason to not offer a recycling can in classrooms, lunch rooms and hallways and I think it is within our abilities as parents to demand it.

Let‘s send a message to our schools. How about sending a little note to school that goes something like this:

Dear Administrator: I understand that our school does not offer recycling. It is important to me and my family, including my children who are students at this school, to recycle as much as we can to keep bulk out of the landfill and to repurpose items that can have another life as another product. Not only does this keep our landfills smaller, but it also means we have to harvest fewer natural resources to make products. Please provide recycling in the classrooms and other areas where waste cans are placed so that our children have the opportunity to make the decision to recycle. If you have a compelling reason why you don’t offer recycling, I am very interested to hear it, although you will be hard pressed to find a reason that I will find acceptable.

Maybe that is too harsh for you, maybe not harsh enough. It’s just an example of something you can say. Feel free to use this as is, or modify it to suit yourself. You can also modify it if your school does offer recycling, and you want to make sure that they continue to do so. The important thing is is that we let the schools know that recycling is important and we are willing to demand it.

Image source: Photo Credit: Flickr/somewheregladlybeyond

Eco Home Consultations provides green living consultation services in the Seattle area, focusing on practical ways to integrate green living into your household. Learn more at www.ecohomeconsults.com or email questions about this blog or other green living issues to Melissa@ecohomeconsults.com.

By By Michael Bloch via Green Living Tips

There are all sorts of teas, but in this article I’ll focus on the world’s most popular flavored beverage made from the dried leaves and buds of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis.

While the amount of tea used in the preparation of a single cup may seem tiny, well over 4 million tons of tea is produced annually around the world.

As far as beverages go, tea is probably one of the more natural as in its simplest form, it just consists of dried plant material without a great deal of processing.

However, like any intensive monocropping, tea farming does have an environmental impact.

To generate that 4+ million tons of dried plant material each year means a great deal of land is utilized for growing the plant. As demand increases, so does the amount of land required. The massive alteration of habitats for farming tea means some plant and animal species native to that area suffer.

Additionally, pesticides and artificial fertilizers are often used in tea plantations to restore nutrients used by the tea bush and to fend off parasites. The resulting soil degradation is a major issue, one usually addressed by using even more fertilizer and chemicals that further compounds the soil degradation problem. Chemical runoff into waterways can also be a problem.

Unlike some other food crops though, the tea bush isn’t ripped out of the ground during harvest – only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked; so in that aspect, it’s quite a sustainable crop. An individual tea bush can be commercially viable for up to a century.

When we see images of tea plantations, the bushes are only around waist height; but tea plants can actually grow to an incredible 50 feet high if left unharvested.

After the tea is picked, it’s fermented for a period depending on the type of flavor to be achieved. This fermenting is called “withering” and as the name suggests, it just consists of the leaf drying for a period naturally.

After the withering, the leaves are rolled through machinery and then they need to be fully dried. This is not carried out by air-drying – the leaves are heated using fuels such as wood or gas. According to information from WWF, in Sri Lanka it takes between 1.5 and 2.5 kilograms of wood to produce 1 kilogram of tea. While the wood required for drying is increasingly grown in plantations, in some cases it is still taken from local forests.

Some of the above sounds a little un-green, but compare it to other beverages and tea seems quite environmentally friendly; until we come to the packaging involved with some tea products.

Loose leaf tea usually just comes in a box with a liner – so nothing terribly environmentally evil there (comparatively speaking). Where packaging does have a particular impact is in relation to tea bags made of nylon. Traditionally, tea bags have been made from special paper derived from Abacá (a type of banana tree) , but a few years back there appeared to be a major push by tea companies to use nylon. I haven’t seen too many brands using nylon tea bags in Australia…yet.

Probably the only other major environmental issue is that of food miles – as tea plantations are predominantly in Africa, Asia and India, it can be very a long way from farm to cup.

As I was perusing various tea company sites while researching for this article, it was encouraging to see many of them featuring an environmental section where they detail their efforts and plans to further minimize the impact of their operations. Some are switching to organically grown tea leaves, aiming for Rainforest Alliance Certification, using biodegradable boxes and pouches and importantly – implementing fair trade concepts; so looking after people as well as the planet.

If you have a favorite brand of tea, visit their company web site to find out what environmental efforts they are making.

Tip: I’m not a big tea drinker, but I’m told the tea in tea bags is generally rather low quality stuff – tea “dust”. So by switching to loose leaf tea, you’ll not only cut down on packaging but you’ll get a better tasting cuppa.

Bonus tip: If you do use tea bags, instead of throwing them into your household trash bin – they can be composted or added to a worm farm.

Michael Bloch
Green Living Tips.com
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