June 2009

  • Health Benefits of Blueberries

    By sarajean on 6/30/09 5:17am
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    National Blueberry Month is coming up, but we don’t need that as a reason to enjoy these delicious beads of juicy tartness straight from nature. They’re in season right now (May through October), so they’re sure to be fresh and delicious if you pick some up from the farmer’s market. And like Colin Firth says in Bridget Jones Diary, there just aren’t enough blue foods!

    Though you may love blueberry pie, pancakes, muffins and a slew of other blue-speckled foods (my daughter likes them in her oatmeal), did you know that you’re not only giving your mouth a treat but your body one as well?

    Blueberries are considered a “superfood,” and in fact, one of nature’s perfect foods. Since they’re very low in calories (a cup has about 81) but packed with nutrients and benefits, they’re great as a meal addition, a snack, or a dieter’s food.

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  • Solar Energy Moves Forward

    By ecoscott on 6/29/09 8:53pm
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    Washington is in the midst of a clean and renewable energy revolution, looking for ways to legislate, mandate and then implement and create new sources of energy as the U.S. looks to reinvent our relationship to energy. The powers that be are of course bickering over the details, deadlines and direction of the climate change bill and the related energy creation initiatives, but the U.S. Interior Department has made a bold first step in shaping where whatever solar-focused policy will take place.

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  • Do You Take Premarin?

    By NanoGirl on 6/29/09 4:17pm
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     Premarin (pre-pregnant, mare – horse) is a mixture of “natural” estrogens used to treat menopausal symptoms, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and certain cancers.  Did you know that Premarin comes from the urine of pregnant mares (female horse)?  Did you know that there are such things as “Pee Farms” where they lock up these pregnant horses practically starving them, giving them no where to move and only allowing them water a few times a day, making sure that their urine remains strong?  If you knew all of this, would you stop taking Premarin?  I am curious as to why PETA is not all over this.

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  • Climate Change Legislation Update

    By ecoscott on 6/20/09 9:32am
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    The Democrat-controlled Congress is focusing on creating legislation to combat climate change- perhaps the most far-reaching and influential shift in administrative and legislative policy in decades. The New York Times calls it a comprehensive energy and global warming bill- but how the bill will look once it satisfies everyone enough to pass both the House and the Senate is still anyone's guess.

    In fact, the Democratic Party still doesn't agree with itself on everything, though the House Democrats say that they are close to an agreement and hope to be ready to move forward next week. Whether they have a bill that will satisfy rural and fiscal conservative Representatives is not apparent. 

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  • Climate Change Already Making Its Presence Felt

    By ecoscott on 6/17/09 8:13am
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    It was encouraging to read yesterday that today, June 17, is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (thanks SarahJean!), but the truth is, every day needs to be that and probably a whole lot more we want to do anything about it. Desertification is a slow, gradual process that doesn't change like a light switch, and unfortunately many regions of the world are desertifying. Industrial agriculture, over-grazing, and climate change all do their part to create dryer, non-food-supporting land. 

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  • Cellulosic Ethanol: Escaping the Food vs. Fuel Debate

    By ecoscott on 6/13/09 10:05am
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    The biofuel arm of the clean energy movement is one clouded with confusion, misinformation and a lot of "I don't know what that means" kind of names.

    Here is how biofuel conversations tend to go with my friends:

    Friend 1: What exactly is the definition of a "biofuel?"

    Friend 2: It's, like, fuel that's organic or something. You know, like fuel that's good for the earth.

    Friend 1: Like wind?

    Friend 2: No, like gas that is made from plants or something, or like how you can get the old french fry grease from McDonald's and run your car on it- my friend from up north did that- he retrofitted his BMW to run on cooking oil and drove across the state just stopping at McDonalds! No, I'm serious...

    Today, the conversation would be slightly more on topic, or maybe just slightly more full of posturing and making stuff up:

    Friend 1: Dude, what's cellulosic ethanol?

    Friend 2: I think ethanol is when you make gas out of corn.

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  • The Flatulence of the Lambs

    By lisala on 6/10/09 9:32pm
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    Yes, that's right, blame lamb farts for the Greenhouse effect. At least according to David silent lambsKennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change. A British government study about the causes of greenhouse gases and their effects discovered that the effort to produce 2.2 pounds of lamb released the equivalent of 37 pounds of carbon dioxide.

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  • Florida Farm Owner Charged with Animal Cruelty

    By sarajean on 6/3/09 7:50am
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    Doesn’t it really get your goat when people abuse animals? OK, bad idiom to use, but the sentiment remains the same: when you take on an animal, you are responsible for its health and well-being. End of story. Why the heck would you own a farm if you couldn’t take care of its animals?

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