Be a Good Earth Singer! :)

Join a song circle! :)

I can't summarize this in my own words in a blog post; you have to check it out yourself.

Celebrate Earth Day! :)

Earth Day is today!!!!! I'm not going to write my own tips this week; just check out this info about Earth Day 2011 that has plenty of info! :)

Tell the E.P.A.: No more methyl iodide

Cross posted in Foodiscovery

I did not write this message; it's just the copied and pasted "email your friends" message from after signing a petition of sorts.

Dear Friend,

Methyl iodide is a nasty chemical. It is a known neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor, and scientists in labs handle only small amounts using special protective equipment because it is so toxic. But do you know where else it is used? As a pesticide on strawberries and other food crops.

The battle against methyl iodide is being fought on several fronts. Last summer, Washington state banned the use of the pesticide. Unfortunately, the pendulum swung the other way in California, when despite more than 53,000 public comments submitted by CREDO activists and our allies, the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation approved the chemical for agricultural use last December.

But the ultimate power to regulate pesticides lies with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has just decided to reconsider its approval of methyl iodide -- approval that was granted during George W. Bush's administration.

I just submitted a public comment to the EPA, demanding that they ban the agricultural use of methyl iodide. If you care about keeping our food safe, you should do the same. Click below to take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/epa_block_methyl_iodide/?r_by=-3201717-Ic61f1x&rc=paste1

Try to avoid disposable eating utensils!

from Maxistentialism on Tumblr

So what happens to plastic utensils when you're done with them and you throw them out? "According to the Clean Air Council, enough paper and plastic utensils are thrown away every year to circle the equator 300 times. It is estimated that close to 40 billion individual plastic utensils—meaning 14 and 18 billion plastic spoons—are produced each year, and with such low rates of reuse and recycling, most of them end up in our landfills, beaches and oceans. They are likely to remain there for hundreds of thousands of years." ("Ending Take Out Waste")

Washing your spoon when you're done with it takes two seconds! Being out and about, going to work, etc. is no excuse: My husband takes one of our regular forks to work in his lunch bag every day. He brings it back home in his lunch bag and I stick it in the dishwasher. That's it. To me it sounds like that's less effort than if he had to find a garbage can.

What really gets me is when a plastic utensil gets thrown out without having been used because it fell on the floor.

If you must use disposable, such as a large dinner party where it would be impossible to wash that many utensils, there are eco-friendly options. Check out these, for example.