One of the things this festival reminds me of is the process that fiber goes through to become yarn. With sheep, llamas, alpacas and goats parading through, it is hard not to recall that - oh, yeah, that’s where my yarn comes from! It is a chance to speak directly to the shepherds and the spinners and gain a better understanding of how the yarn is produced. And Nature’s Palette is one such company that has a handle on the entire production of their yarns.

Nature’s Palette’s fiber is obtained from flocks of “Green Sheep”, certified USDA organic, in Montana. The fleece is spun using an antique spinner called a “mule spinner,” believed to be one, of only two, found in North America. The resulting yarn is a 90% wool, 10% mohair blend.

The yarn is then hand dyed using all natural dyes and the colors achieved through natural ingredients are stunning. Nature’s Palette offers a variety of colors including such wonderful names as “Spring Grass” and “Indian Paintbrush.” But don’t let the springtime names fool you. This yarn is wool and therefore very warm; perfect for hats, mittens or that sweater pattern you’ve been eyeing.

Nature’s Palette is available online at Naturesong Yarns and at the Yarn Grove. You can also read an in depth review from Knitter’s Review.

Image credit: Naturesong Yarn

Over the years of organic gardening with children, I have learned to relinquish some control to perfect rows, perfect spacing, etc. Now, I have added seed and plant selection to the list of gardening enjoyments I now share with my children. It all started when the seed catalogs started arriving at the end of winter. Both of my children took an active interest in the pictures, so I suggested they start circling varieties they wanted to grow. Now that we are planting, they have a vested interest in our efforts, and I believe this will carry over to trying new foods and healthy eating from our organic garden.

The folks at ZRecs, one of my favorite parenting blogs, have started a new blog called Gardenaut. Although this site is not focused on kids gardening, many of the contributors have children, which can be seen participating in their family’s gardens. Gardenaut is full of resources, such as finding small farms in your area or searching for plant info. The posts can be read by region or state, and the photographs are beautiful.

Image: Safe Gardening

Related posts on gardening with kids:

• Green Family Values: 10 Tips for Organic Gardening with Children

• Little Organic Gardeners Need Little Tools

• 60 Gardening Ideas for Kids

• A Birthday Garden

• Great Children’s Literature: What’s This? A Seed’s Story

• Great Children’s Literature: A Handful of Sunshine

PM Organics, like Near Sea Naturals, is an online shop crammed with “Textiles You Feel Good About.” PM Organics is currently closed as they move cross-country, but I thought I’d highlight them anyway since they are such a great source of eco-friendly fabrics and other supplies. You can sign up for their mailing list if you want an update when they get settled and re-open.

Their knits section includes organic cottons and blends in jersey, rib, fleece, terry, thermal, and interlock. Wovens include a few sateen sheetings, hemp and hemp blends, and twill. They also have organic cotton lace in three widths and 3/4 inch organic cotton twill tape which they note is “perfect for stabilizing seams, drawstrings, reinforcement or trim.” Organic cotton bias tape, elastic, and thread is currently sold out, but folks on the email list will get updated when they become available again.

The black floating seed crepe pictured above is 50% Organic Cotton/50% Tencel Crepe, and it’s only 10 bucks a yard. It also comes in nutmeg and seafoam. I had no idea what Tencel was, so I went to find out.

It turns out that Tencel is a brand name for a fiber called lyocell which is made of the cellulose found in wood pulp. That sounds great from a sustainability point of view compared to synthetic fabrics. But as with all products, you have to do your homework and be aware of the whole picture before making decisions.

The Organic Clothing blog, run by the folks at Lotus Organics Clothing, had a piece back in 2005 called Tencel: Sustainable but not necessarily healthy. It turns out that just like with bamboo, there are parts of the process in making lyocell that aren’t as green as we wish they were. I’m not saying I wouldn’t buy it, but it’s good to keep in mind that nothing is perfect and we just need to make the best informed choices we can.

PM Organics was founded by two moms who were looking for organic fabrics to use for making children’s clothing and cloth diapers:

We were tired of not having reasonably-priced sources of organic fabrics and were sure that others shared our feelings! As word of our fabric co-op got out, more and more people joined. Clearly, people wanted these fabrics, but like us, could not find them, at least not at affordable prices. So, we gathered all the cash we could, bought as many rolls of fabrics as we could, and started offering these wonderful organic knit fabrics as an on-going business venture.

Shops like PM Organics are a great resource for the rest of us, because they bring together so many different fabrics in one place. We wish them well in their move and look forward to updates as they get settled in their new home.

Previous Posts in the Fabulous Fabrics Series:

• Fabulous Vintage Kimono Fabric at Ah! Kimono
• Fabulous Fabrics: Michael Miller Organics
• Fabulous Fabrics: Hemp Linen And Twill From Earth Friendly Goods

When Kathryn Haydn-Hays read a story six years ago about forced child labor in foreign sweatshops, she realized that she didn’t know where her clothes really came from. “I really understood, for the first time, that nearly everything we purchase has a direct effect on people around the world, whether it’s an environmental or socio-economic impact,” says Haydn-Hays.

So she made it her life’s work to raise awareness and create more conscientious consumers. She started Affirm-Aware.org, a website which sells bamboo and organic cotton fabric tee-shirts, soy candles, organic reusable totes, and lovely unique jewelry — all created by 100% sweatshop-free labor.

But Kathyrn wanted to go a step further. She wanted to print affirmations on the tee-shirts so that the wearer would benefit from reading it every time he or she looked in the mirror, so she printed reverse images of the affirmations and called them “AffirmaTees.” (The “Duet” line has the affirmation both forwards and backwards, for those that want to spread the happy thoughts in both directions.) The site also features an “Affirmation Cafe” which has tips for meditation and positive thinking.

The all-natural (and super-comfy) tees have become a hit with Hollywood fashionistas, who probably appreciate the colorful butterfly designs as well as the more meditative message. And the company’s delicious-smelling candles have affirmations for Peace, Love, Prosperity, and Unity, each with a different combination of essential oils.

Affirm Aware works as hard on their philanthropic drive as they do on the integrity of their product line. Kathyrn donates no less than 10% of sales to various like-minded organizations, and her site features “Action Campaigns” where you can easily and directly engage in helping critical situations around the world. Haydn-Hays states, “If one person thinks differently about what they purchase, or begins to foster a more harmonious world because of the affirmations they use in their everyday life, my job is done.”

It’s a good thing really, enabling you to BYOB (bring your own bag) on any numerous shopping excursions.

On one such recent shopping excursion to everyone’s favorite big box store, Target, I found another green offering to the tote world. Made of 100% organic materials, the cute market tote is available with sassy slogans like “Kiss me I’m Organic” and “I don’t do Plastic.”

While not hand made, it is refreshing to see organics and other eco-friendly materials and products making it to the mainstream. And with any of the Fabulous Fabrics, the totes could easily be recreated. Try using either of these projects. Just add your own eco slogan.

“DIY or Die!” anyone?

Summer is just around the corner, and this is the time of year when we really ramp up our lawn activities– watering, fertilizing, mowing, etc. And all of these can have major negative environmental consequences. Did you know that over 50 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend, and contribute as much as 5% of the country’s air pollution? And it’s staggering to realize that the average American grassy lawn can use over 20,000 gallons of water each summer! So, a major part of any green home strategy should be to embrace eco-friendly lawn and garden care.

Here are 12 ways you can make sure you have an eco-friendly lawn this summer

1. Collect rain water and use it for your plants. Getting a rain barrel or two for your yard is a simple way to collect and reuse Mother Nature’s water. Just put it under your gutter’s down spout and you’ll be amazed how fast it fills up. Click here for rain barrels.

2. Make sure you’re not over-watering. Most of us over-water our lawns. Do you have moss growing on your driveway or sidewalk or in your garden? That’s a sign you’re watering too much. Do you have pools of standing water anywhere? Another sign. You can buy a very inexpensive lawn moisture meter that will tell you if you’re over-watering. You might also consider getting an intelligent irrigation control system that attunes your watering to the weather and your lawn’s needs.

3. Don’t hose down your sidewalks and driveway. That water is a valuable resource and the water you send into the gutter is carrying oil and a host of chemicals out as run-off that go on to pollute our rivers, lakes and oceans.

4. Get a push mower for your lawn. Traditional gas mowers are horrible for our air quality and contribute to global warming. They are major environmental offenders. A good-ole push mower is the eco-friendly solution. (Or if you can’t go all the way to push style, get a plug-in electric model– better than gas.) Find mowers here.

5. Say no to leaf-blowers! The gas-powered leaf blowers some people use are major carbon emissions culprits. Say yes to a broom! Your waist-line will thank you too.

6. And when you’re done mowing, leave your clippings on your yard. Those grass clippings make great mulch and will help you save water as well.

7. Be sure to compost your other yard waste. If your city doesn’t collect green waste for composting, please get a composter and do it yourself. It’s super easy and the composter will turn your waste into great mulch for use throughout your yard and garden. Find composters here.

8. Embrace native plants. Plants, flowers and grasses that are native to your region are the most atuned to soil, climate and water particularities. They are great water savers and will thrive with less care than tropical and other imported varieties. And they are gorgeous! Learn more about native landscaping here with our book collection. Or contact a green professional landscape designer or maintainance provider from our green services directory. We have eco-minded landscaping experts listed across the United States.

9. Are you addicted to the look of grass but live in a high-drought area? You may want to consider synthetic grass. It uses no water, lasts over ten years, and looks & feels surprisingly real. Learn more about synthetic grass here.

10. Why not start your own organic food garden? Nothing could be better for the planet or your health. Learn how to get started with organic veggies here.

11. Use non-toxic fertilizers and pest-control agents for your garden and lawn. Not only are these better for your plants (particularly any food you might eat), they reduce the amount of toxins that run-off into our waterways. Find safe alternatives here.

12. Use solar or LED lighting in your lawn. Solar lighting is obviously an energy-saver. If you don’t find solar lights bright enough, check out LED lights—they are very bright and use very little power. They will last 5-10 times as long as standard outdoor lights. Find energy-efficient lighting options here.

Read More about Eco-Friendly Lawn Care:

• Daily Tip: Water Your Lawn Smarter
• Tip o’ The Day: A “Reel” Green Lawn
• Getting America’s Lawns Off Drugs

Image credit: kevindooley at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

North American Environmental News

CANADA — Ontario Bans Lawn and Garden Pesticides

Canada has proven once again that it is way ahead of the rest of world with its progressive government. Ontario has banned the use and sale of lawn and garden pesticides for homeowners. Quebec instituted a similar ban on 20 some pesticide products back in 2006.

The new ban is set to take effect by spring of 2009. Home Depot has already agreed to stop selling the pesticides by the end of 2008! This is a huge victory for anti-toxic supporters all over the continent. If only someone in the United States government could take such affirmative action we could all be spared. Ontario will basically phase out some 80 different chemicals and over 300 products that contain them.

Continue reading this article at the Environmental Blog. Join the discussion about this article at Care2.

South American Environmental News

CHILE — Thousands evacuated as Chile volcano spews ash

Chilean authorities were evacuating the last of thousands of residents from the vicinity of a volcano in southern Chile on Saturday, as it continued to spew fine ash for a second day after a surprise eruption.

More than 4,000 people have been evacuated from the Patagonian town of Chaiten and its surroundings since Friday, many by boat to the town of Castro on the island of Chiloe, slightly further north and Puerto Montt on the mainland.

Continue reading this article at Reuters. Join the discussion of this article at Stumble Upon. Via ENN.

BELIZE — Environmental NGO’s partner to promote organic cacao and ‘Race against Fire’

Fauna and Flaura Insternational’s partner in Belize, the Ya’axché Conservation Trust (YCT), recently held several educational events to support their efforts to conserve the Golden Stream Watershed, one of Central America’s most important stretches of rainforest.

YCT’s agroforestry training programme is designed to encourage local people to manage their forests in an eco-friendly way and consider options for more sustainable livelihoods. In the recent events, men and women from three rural Maya communities in Belize learned new skills in harvesting, fermenting, and drying organic cacao, in a bid to lessen their impact on the fragile forest habitat.

Continue reading this article at Fauna and Flora International. Join the discussion of this article at Care2.

CUBA — Cuba puts first computers on sale to the public

Cubans are getting wired. The island’s communist government put desktop computers on sale to the public for the first time Friday, ending a ban on PC sales as another despised restriction on daily life fell away under new President Raul Castro.

A tower-style QTECH PC and monitor costs nearly US$780 (euro505). While few Cubans can afford that, dozens still gawked outside a tiny Havana electronics store, crowding every inch of its large glass windows and leaving finger and nose prints behind.

Continue reading this article at the Chicago Tribune. Join the discussion of this article at Digg.

Asian Environmental News

IRAQ — Contractors Gone Wild

Allegations of widespread mismanagement and corruption among private contractors in Iraq are nothing new; if anything, tales of cronyism, over-billing, and embezzlement have become so frequent that our national tolerance for them seems only to have increased as the Iraq War has drawn on. Even so, the testimony earlier this week of three whistleblowers before the Senate’s Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) stands out for the sheer outrageousness of their accusations—namely that U.S. private contractors looted Iraqi palaces and ministries, stole military equipment, fenced supplies destined for U.S. troops, and even operated a prostitution ring that may have contributed to the death of fellow contractor. Yet despite its focus on such salacious matters as sex and corruption, the session earned little media attention.

Continue reading this article at Mother Jones. Join the discussion about this article at Digg.

RUSSIA — The World’s Largest & Deepest Lake, 25-million-Years Old, is in Trouble

Already there has been a rise in more common water organisms in the lake—a sight that does not bode well for the lakes original inhabitants.

“We know that Siberia is one of the most rapidly warming regions of the world - the air temperature in Siberia has warmed at a rate that is about twice that of the average global rate of temperature increase. So when we approached this work with the Lake Baikal temperature data, we knew that the lake would have been exposed to a greater ambient temperature increase than lakes in other regions, but I certainly will admit to being surprised that the lake had warmed so rapidly since 1946. Why is it warming so much faster than the air?

Continue reading this article at The Daily Galaxy. Join the discussion of this article at Digg.

INDIA — “TreeCycle” Cyclist To Travel India End-to End For Pledge of 10 Million Trees

In a calorie-burning 3,900-kilometre cycle journey from one end of India to another, a man plans to raise awareness and to gather pledges to plant more trees worldwide. Cycling in the wake of the United Nation Environment Programme’s (UNEP) successful Billion Tree Campaign last year will be Shrenik Rao, creator of the TreeCycle project, CEO of a media company and an avid cyclist.

In partnering up with the UNEP, the aim of the TreeCycle campaign is to raise awareness about global warming and to raise a pledge of 10 million trees for the calories Rao will expend during the cycle ride. Though the project is already on target with pledges from six different continents and walks of life ranging from a few trees to a couple million, they are still looking for more sponsors to publicly support the effort.

Continue reading this article at TreeHugger. Join the discussion about this article at MindBodyGreen.

Oceania Environmental News

PAPAU NEW GUINEA — Papua New Guinea Admits Illegal Logging

As it is prone to do when the donors come a-calling, the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government “has admitted its forestry sector is riddled with corruption” [ark] . This occurred during aid talks with the Australian government, and reflects political posturing to access donor funds on the basis of their rainforest’s carbon holding potential. PNG contains the third largest expanse of tropical rainforests [search], though much diminished through years of heavy industrial mismangement.

Sadly there seems to be little acceptance by those pushing avoided deforestation [search] payments that to be effective, this will require an end to industrial logging of primary forests. Astonishingly, while Australia provided donor funds to PNG this week to protect its forests for carbon benefits, Australia continues to log their own primary forests [action]! To pay carbon monies for rainforest protection without ending barbaric first time logging of ancient forests would be meaningless in terms of both biodiversity and climate protection.

Continue reading this article at the Rainforest Portal. Join the discussion of this article at Care2.

European Environmental News

ESTONIA — Estonians scour country for junk in big clean up

Tens of thousands of Estonians scoured fields, streets, forests and riverbanks on Saturday to amass tonnes of rubbish in the Baltic state’s first national clean-up.

Using Google maps from the Internet and Global Positioning technology to locate junk, people collected every kind of garbage from tractor batteries to plastic bottles and paint tins and ferried it, often in their own vehicles, to central dumps.

Continue reading this article at Reuters. Join the discussion about this article at Stumble Upon. Via ENN.

Global Environmental News

Public Bike Programs Surging

A surge in public bicycle rental programs is giving cycling a shot in the arm in a growing number of cities around the world. Copenhagen, Berlin, and other municipalities in Europe have offered public bikes for several years, but Paris took the concept to a new level last year when it made 20,000 bikes available in its inaugural effort. Some 100,000 Parisians are now subscribers.

Barcelona and Lyon have also started programs in the last two years, with thousands of bikes each, and major new initiatives are planned for Rome and London. Smaller efforts have been started in Cordoba, Seville, Vienna, and other cities.

Continue reading this article at the World Watch Institute. Join the discussion of this article at Stumble Upon. Via ENN.

100% Organic Kids Graphic Tee

The elephant graphic tee is my favorite shirt! I’ve always had an affinity for elephants. The elephant tee is hand sketched and printed on American Apparel’s 100% organic cotton t-shirt. These sweatshop free shirts made in LA are then dyed at Red Fish-Blue Fish Dyeworks in NH “in the most environmentally friendly way possible without harsh fixing agents or formaldehyde.” This is a hip green tee for your child!

100% Organic Kids Lunch Bag

I also like the robot 100% organic lunch bag sold by Toby and Rei. This is a great bag to use for play or lunch, and it reminds me of the Natural, Organic Lunch Bag I reviewed last year, but this one is way cooler. These robots would make any kid think it was want to take a home lunch to school, and you definitely don’t have to worry about lead in these lunch boxes.

Toby and Rei combine organic, sustainable materials with great design.

as fashion designers, we are aware of the impact that standard growing and harvesting practices have on our natural environment, and want to provide an alternative to concerned consumers. as young mothers, we want to leave a positive legacy for our own children and the planet that they will inhabit.

The prices are reasonable, and the quality is high. Toby and Rei also make a super soft bamboo fleece and organic cotton baby blanket, and the tag is embedded with wildflower seeds, so you can plant it!

Related posts on organic clothing for kids:

• Organic, Cotton Clothing for Children From Happy Green Bee
• Divas and Drooligans Goes Organic!
• Tea Collection Goes Organic!

The future city, Dongtan, is growing out of an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta. The unique Ecocity being built on the island is also a creative way to protect the island’s ecologically sensitive wetland environment from China’s fast-paced development.

What will life in China’s first ecocity look like?

A glance at the website of Arup, the company engineering the project, shows all of the fixings imaginable for a modern “EcoTopia.” The company, which also designed Beijing’s “Bird’s Nest” green Olympic Stadium, is putting in place all of the following features:

• Urban design
• Sustainable energy management
• Cultural  planning
• Waste management
• Economic and business planning
• Social development
• Sustainable building design
• Landscape design
• Ecology

Arup’s website puts its wishes for Dongtan succinctly enough:

“The development at Dongtan will represent the turning point in China’s frenetic urban growth, incorporating all of the economic, social and environmental principles that combine to reduce the impact on the natural environment and provide a model for future development across China and East Asia.”

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/I-nCBFeTcMk" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Further reading:

Dongtan Ecocity | Arup

Will The Dongtan Development in China Be The World’s First Eco-City? | TreeHugger

Photo source: Ecocity World Summit 2008

In last week’s Sunday New York Times Magazine (4.20.08), Pollan wrote a provocative essay, “Why Bother? Looking for a few good reasons to go green.” In it, he wrestles with those lurking questions about our everyday choices to stave off global warming. Some excerpts:

Let’s say I do bother, big time. I turn my life upside-down…, but what would be the point when I know full well that halfway around the world there lives my evil twin, some carbon-footprint doppelgänger in Shanghai or Chongqing who has just bought his first car (Chinese car ownership is where ours was back in 1918), is eager to swallow every bite of meat I forswear and who’s positively itching to replace every last pound of CO2 I’m struggling no longer to emit. So what exactly would I have to show for all my trouble?

He looks at the reasons we find for not doing anything: “There are so many stories we can tell ourselves to justify doing nothing,” he writes.

And yet, he resoundingly concludes that those little things are worth the bother.

Why? …. The Big Problem is nothing more or less than the sum total of countless little everyday choices, most of them made by us…

If you do bother, you will set an example for other people. If enough other people bother, each one influencing yet another in a chain reaction of behavioral change…. Driving an S.U.V. or eating a 24-ounce steak or illuminating your McMansion like an airport runway at night might come to be regarded as outrages to human conscience.

Yes, you can make a difference. Pollan asks us to start with planting a garden. There are many more ways you can reduce your carbon footprint, of course. One is to choose food thoughtfully. Here are tips that will not only help the health of the planet but make you healthier, too.

Guidelines for choosing foods thoughtfully

We’ve never had such a variety or abundance of food to choose from. And now we hear about our “food print.” Do we buy cherry tomatoes from Mexico or tomatoes grown locally in a hothouse? Do we get the Granny Smiths from the farmers’ market or the supermarket? Is organic produce healthier for us and the planet?

These are very complex issues that require analysis of many criteria, including the energy used in producing and transporting the food, as well as the type of soil and methods of raising the food. Despite the complexities, there are some general guidelines you can follow that are good for you and the planet.

Eat less meat (eat low on the food chain). Your doctor may have advised you to limit your consumption of red meat because of its unhealthy saturated fat content, particularly corn-fed animals. (Milk, meat and eggs from grass-fed animals are both lower in saturated fats and contain higher levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.)

There are environmental reasons, too. Raising food animals contributes substantially to climate change because a meat-based diet requires more land, energy and water than a plant-based one.

Pollan sums up this principle in his book In Defense of Food: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” (Read an interview with the author in a New York Times blog.)

Eating less meat and more grains and vegetables helps reduce:

• the need to convert forests or grasslands to pasturelands,
• the amount of corn grown for feed (which lessens the amount of fossil fuels used to grow the corn), and
• greenhouse gas emissions from manure (see Farm Animals and Methane).

Buying local may be, but is not always, climate-friendly. We often hear about the benefits of eating locally grown fruits and vegetables, and there are many. They include:

• Less transit, less oil (maybe). The average American meal travels 1,500 miles meal travels from field to mouth — so locally grown foods often (but not always) use much less oil in transport than the foods that make up a conventional American meal. For example, if the state of Iowa shifted just 10 percent of fruits and vegetables from conventional to regional or local food systems, it would reduce CO₂ emissions by about 7 million pounds, according to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
• Better tasting than produce shipped from afar. Locally grown fruits and vegetables can be picked at peak ripeness and may be higher in nutrients. Spinach, for example, loses nutrients at certain temperatures and after several days in storage.

So buyer beware: Use common sense and ask lots of questions when purchasing items.

Things to watch for:

• Energy-intensive local production (such as tomatoes grown in a hothouse that requires energy for heating) may produce more global warming pollution than efficiently producing and shipping foods from farther away.
• Differences in transportation methods—by ship or plane, for example—can also cause greenhouse gas emissions to differ widely even when a food is transported the same distance (see Food Miles: Is Local Always Better?).

Choose less-processed foods. Heavily processed foods tend to be low in fiber and high in fat and sugar. They often contain lots of dyes, colorings, and preservatives that aren’t great for your health. And all that processing uses a lot of energy.

Getting your food from field to table requires multiple steps, including processing the whole food into a refined product, which then may be used as an ingredient in another food product. Still more energy is needed to package and ship the final product to retailers.

More steps in processing generally means more intensive energy use. Take a bottle of ketchup. Tracking a common brand of ketchup sold in Sweden through the 50-plus steps to produce it revealed steep energy and environmental costs, particularly from the processing and packaging steps.

Avoid heavily packaged foods and buy in bulk. Processing and packaging together take nearly a quarter of the energy used in food production. Choose minimally packaged foods or those in the biggest containers available. Fresh fruits and vegetables, of course, are usually not packaged at all (shun those Styrofoam containers!), and they are healthy choices.

Buying organic has benefits, too. Whether growing organic food versus conventionally grown food produces less global warming pollution overall is hotly debated, and the jury is still out. How much the soil is tilled, how much greenhouse gas the soil retains or releases, what type of food is raised (fruits and vegetables, grains, milk or chickens) — these are some factors that must be considered. Still, there are clear pluses for your health and for the environment.

The health benefits of going organic include:

• Organic foods are grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers so you reduce your exposure to hazardous chemicals.
• Organic produce is often richer in nutrients and antioxidants, evidence suggests.

The ecological upsides of growing food organically include:

• Less pollution. Fertilizer and pesticide runoff pollutes rivers and streams and washes into bays and ocean, causing oxygen-starved dead zones where fish can’t live.
• Less energy consumed to produce chemicals. A hefty chunk of energy goes into producing agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, by some estimates as much as 40 percent of the energy used in the food system.
• More biodiversity. Using natural methods to enrich the soil and control pests promotes more variety of organisms.

You also help spur demand for organic foods by buying them. This in turn prods farmers to grow food without harsh chemicals. All your food choices together can have a profound effect on your carbon footprint, as much as the type of car you drive.

More things you can do

• Get more tips for a healthy, low-carbon life.
• Learn more about how your diet can affect global warming.

The publication profiles several weddings every year. I highly recommend picking up a copy (because I also love their recipes and features.) If you can’t find it at your newsstand, here’s a scan of the article where I’m featured.

I’m not just posting this to brag (but seriously, squeeeeee!). I also wanted to point you towards some green catering resources. Whether you’re planning a wedding, a fundraiser, or any other special event, we all know that large groups of people can create a lot of waste. So choosing caterers who specialize in local, organic food is one way to lower your event’s carbon footprint.

When shopping around, we were excited to find just that type of service with our caterers, Back to Earth located in Berkeley, CA. In addition to our buffet dinner, they made our fabulous cake pictured here (flowers, courtesy of Oak Hill Farm). While our menu was all vegan, they work with all kinds of menus. From their website:

“You can taste every element of our food - the organic free-range chicken roaming free in Marin, perfect strawberries from Fully Belly Farm, the fresh spring greens from Riverdog Farm in Mendocino, Wild Salmon caught just miles from the San Francisco Bay, juicy portobellos from Solano Mushroom, artisan organic cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, and a rustic fresh baked organic bread from the Acme bakery, a local Berkeley treasure.”

Not only is their food spectacular, but a number of the vehicles they use for transportation run on biodiesel, and they can help you “green” a number of aspects of your event.

Some other catering companies I’ve found from across the U.S. with a commitment to the environment include:

Seedling Catering in Los Angeles focuses on vegan and macrobiotic menus.

Gail’s Vegetarian Catering in Washington, D.C. does a variety of events, but specializes in vegetarian weddings.

Eco-Goddess Edibles in Aspen, CO bills itself as “organic vegetarian cuisine” although their sample menus featured a number of fish dishes.

Phresh Organic Catering in Portland, OR caters to a more omnivorous crowd, and features a “commitment to sustainability” on its website.

Chowgirls in Minneapolis, MN has an adorable website, and puts a unique spin of things, with a section of “Retro Fare” on their diverse menu.

Pharm Catering in Chatanooga, TN was a bit light on the veggie options, but specializes on organic, local foods.

Herban Feast in Seattle, WA was my favorite of the caterers I looked at in Seattle, which has a number to choose from! Also worth a look is Ravishing Radish.

Lucid Food in New York, NY seems to have primarily done large upscale events, but also does corporate lunches.

There are dozens more in the Bay Area, and plenty more around the world. I’d love to hear your recommendations if you know of any. In the mean time, I’m going back to drooling over pictures of my vegan chocolate wedding cake… mmmm…

Photo by Donya Photography

Asia

Working the land the natural way: Organic farming in China

It’s been almost four years since the project was launched, and of the nine households who have tried organic farming, only four are still at it. The others decided it just wasn’t worth it. Organic farming requires much more labor, the yield can be half or less of that of conventional farming, and besides, hardly anyone in Chengdu is eating organic. Our stock broker-turned-farmer estimates their customer base to be only 0.01% of Chengdu’s population.

Anlong farmer Gao Shengjian believes there’s a link between the use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms and the growing incidences of various diseases among the rural population.

Source: Crossroads China. Vote for this article in social media: StumbleUpon.

China down to 12 days worth of coal

China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation’s most important source of energy.

In certain parts of China, such as densely populated Hebei province in the north, reserves are down to less than a week, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Electricity Regulatory Commission.

In the period since early March, coal reserves have slumped by 12 per cent to 46.7 million tonnes, according to the commission.

Source: News.com.au. Vote for this article in social media: Digg.

Chinese execute Tibetans

[kml_flashembed movie="http://ca.youtube.com/v/rLN4KWxqZ-0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Note: The above video contains long-distance video footage of people being killed. Please watch at your own discretion. Vote for this article in social media: Digg, Care2. Get involved: Students for a Free Tibet.

Europe

Europeans using cars less

Europe generally has far better public transportation than the United States, with workers in countries like Britain, Be

SCA poll by Harris Interactive, conducted in the beginning of April, found that consumers were definitely willing to pay more for green products…up to almost 20% more.

Good news for green businesses. But, take a little closer look at the findings.

64% of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay more for a hybrid car

63% indicated they would spend more for organic, fair trade, or locally sourced food

62% said they would dig deeper into their wallets for green/organic cleaning supplies

57% of those surveyed said they would pay the additional costs for products made from recycled materials.

Obviously purchasing a hybrid car has less to do with being environmentally conscious and more to do with saving money. With gas prices souring, consumers are willing to try anything they can to save on gas.

The next two, though they are green initiatives, they also address health issues. Consumers are willing to pay more and cut back in other areas if their own or their family’s health is at stake.

The last point, addressing consumers’ willingness to pay extra for products made from recycled materials, may be the most vulnerable to inflationary pressures.

Since this survey looked at willingness to purchase, as well as current purchase behavior, the results may only be indicative of consumers hopes, not necessarily their behavior. The survey found that, in a representative sample of the population, close to half of all consumers would be willing to pay more for green products.

The question remains…which half?

Related Posts:

How to Reach Green Consumers - Using Psychographics To Define Your Target Market

Natural Marketing Institute, Nielsen Value LOHAS Mart At $209 bn

How To Package A Green Product

Photo Courtesy: Burning Image at Flickr under Creative Commons License

Vegetarian Potato Leek Soup

Boil in large pot

• 6 cups of water or vegetarian stock

Add

• 6 cups diced potatoes (leave the skins on for optimal nutrition)

Cover and cook for 25 minutes until tender. Turn off the heat, then puree 3/4 of the potatoes and stock in a blender. Add the pureed potatoes back to the pot.

Melt in a cast iron skillet

• 2 Tablespoons butter
  

Saute until coated in butter

• 2 cups thinly sliced leeks (don’t use the tough upper part)
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill

Cover and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes until the leeks are tender. Add to the soup pot, along with

• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste

In the same cast iron skillet, melt and toast for about one minute on low heat

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour

Whisk in

• 1 cup heavy cream

Add to soup, along with

• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Simmer for 15 minutes uncovered, then serve.

This soup does thicken as it sits, so if you save some for leftovers, you may need to thin it with water.

Image: Dallas News

Related posts:
Simple, Vegan Kid-Friendly Soup
Edible Activism: Love those Leeks
Don’t Fear the Brussel Sprout: An Easy Side Dish Recipe

So, in the tradition of your Thanksgiving table, holiday feast and Easter eggs … why not an Earth Dinner? It’s simple, just make your meal on Earth Day a table comprised of local, seasonal, sustainable and/or organic dishes. The concept was created by Theresa Marquez, Earth Dinner founder and chief marketing executive for Organic Valley, the nation’s largest organic farmers cooperative.

“We started Earth Dinners three years ago to honor Earth Day with its own special meal filled with deeper conversations about food,” said Marquez. “Many Americans today are detached from what they eat and the tremendous impact of their food choices. Earth Dinners are a perfect way to bridge that gap, a time to slow down and reflect on each aspect of the food being served, how and where it was produced, the way it tastes and the stories behind it. It’s exciting to see more people than ever before embracing this movement.”

For ideas on menu plans, resources, party ideas and creative hosting ideas, check out Earth Dinner. And, given the global food issues, when you sit down to that “holiday” meal, it sure does take on a new meaning this year.

When my friend, business partner, and the managing editor of our magazine, Relevant Times shared this recipe with me, I was skeptical too. I’ve learned to trust Green Diva Jen’s (AKA Jenifer O’Neill) recipes. She is not only a WiseWoman herbalist, she is an amazing natural foods and Macrobiotic chef.

Ingredients
2 cups raw kale
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup olive oil
1 cup Romano cheese, grated
4 cloves garlic peeled & chopped
salt & freshly group pepper to taste

Directions

Rinse and pat dry kale. Combine the kale, garlic and pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor. While motor is still running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream. Shut the motor off. Add cheese, big pinch of salt and liberal grinding of pepper. Process briefly to combine. Then transfer to a bowl and cover to ready to use.

Keeps well in glass jar or bowl with a layer of olive oil poured over the top. You can also freeze in ice cube tray and transfer cubes to container when frozen and defrost as needed.

Makes 2 cups - enough to sauce 2 lbs. of pasta.

Try it!

A couple of years ago, I made a rare excursion to the doctor. A friend had recommended a holistically minded MD. I was skeptical, but was impressed as he seemed to have a healthy balance in his diagnostic abilities and his analysis of the best course of action, which may or may not include surgery, pharmaceuticals, acupuncture, or homeopathy. He is uncharacteristically knowledgeable about nutrition.

I was particularly impressed when my fiancé, who had seen a medical doctor about an abdominal hernia, went to Dr. Parvalescu for a second opinion. We expected the first doctor to push for surgery. He didn’t and said it wasn’t a big deal. When he went to Dr. Parvalescu, Dr. P insisted he take it seriously and go for surgery ASAP. He turned out to be right and I’ve trusted his judgment and knowledge of various aspects of medicine and health since then.

So, when he said I should start taking 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per day and insisted I get my daughters to do the same, I paid attention. He said he’s got his wife doing it and it has a multitude of health qualities, particularly for women.

I’ve been quite stunned by the things I’ve read. The Weston A. Price Foundation has a great paper, called, ‘A New Look at Coconut Oil’ on it that references a mess of studies. I highly recommend it.

Coconut oil is touted to have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, it has antimacrobial qualities, and it may reduce the risk of some cancers, among other claims.

Virgin v. Refined

The virgin variety is pretty much like it sounds - closest to its original, natural form. I use an organic version of the virgin coconut oil. It comes in a jar and is solid mostly. It melts quickly and happens to be delicious, but not generally used for high-heat cooking. The refined kind is more processed, but is best used for frying or high-heat cooking. Check wikipedia’s descriptions of the various types of coconut oil

I also stumbled upon a great page that has a experiential discussion about the use and benefits of coconut oil.

I love to have some of my coconut oil on toast with peanut butter. Yum.

I want to hear coconut oil stories and see yummy virgin coconut oil recipes, so please comment!

So I thought it was high time to give this online eco-shop their own day in the sun in our Fabulous Fabrics series. Their collection of cotton, wool, and hemp fabrics, yarns and knitting needles, and notions is sure to warm the heart of any green crafter. Since there’s so much to see on their site, I thought I’d take a moment and highlight a couple of the new fabrics they just added.

The White Sands Safari Interlock, pictured above, is 100% cotton and whitened with peroxide instead of chlorine bleach.

I love their description of what it’s good for (emphasis mine):

Soft and comfortable, the interlock feels marvelous against your skin. You’ll love it for sundresses and other summer wear, for a feral baby, for unexpectedly interesting long johns, pajamas, boxer-briefs, and other intimates, for T-shirts and classic tops, …

I didn’t realize feral babies needed clothes, but I guess it does get a little chilly out in the woods!

I also love this pumpkin jersey, also 100% cotton. Although as a pale redhead, I probably couldn’t wear this color, a lack of immediate practical application for a fabric isn’t really a barrier to purchase. (You may have noticed this in my post about thrifted sheets, and look how well that turned out - people have shown up to give me plenty of ideas!)

Near Sea Naturals can send you a swatch of one of their fabrics for 50 cents if you need to see and feel it, or you can get a swatch packet of some of their basic fabrics.

Did I mention the kits? Oh yes, they also have sewing kits. If you need an apron, a tipi, a pair of boxers, or some baby clothes, check them out.

The Near Sea Naturals blog will keep you up to date on new fabrics and products. The pre-cut and clearance page might score you a good deal. What more could you need?

Urban greens is a food cooperative on Providence’s West Side with a mission to provide simple, direct access to affordable, local, natural products and to offer a community-based alternative to corporate supermarkets. The cooperative is guided by its values of equal access, local agriculture, local economy, co-operative principles, community partnerships and social entrepreneurship.

An even higher level of awesomeness dawns when you find out that it’s all held together by a volunteer-run buying club that currently provides a full range of groceries through biweekly orders. Currently, they process orders and display their wares online at www.urbangreens.com. Rumor has it that in the interest of making the cooperative buying model more accessible to the entire community they are working on opening a cooperative market to replace the online buying club and to give a storefront face to this community of online organic food geeks.