With the holidays here, it's easy to get overwhelmed with all the glitz and the glam of gifting. Often times, we find ourselves trekking through a crowded mall, looking for the "perfect gift" for everyone on our list. Aside from the stress that comes with this, there's also another problem: Waste. The holidays are not known for being sustainable, and the same can be said for gifts.
In light of the recent United Nations climate report, it's important we all do our part to protect the environment. According to the report, we only have 12 years left to reverse climate change without creating catastrophic damage. If this disturbs you, I do have good news: You can make a difference. The battle has just begun, and we all need to take part in it this time around. Here are 5 ways you can reduce your carbon footprint and put a stop to climate change.
As we progress through November, it is easy to think that the harvest season is over. There are many plants, however, that are still ready to harvest and make a great addition to your fall larder. Acorns and wintergreen are mostly found in deciduous forests such as those found on the East Coast of North America; however, you can find different varieties of the same plants in many places. For instance, the greatest acorn producing oak tree on the east coast is the white oak, whereas the scrub oak is prevalent in the Rocky Mountain region.
With cold and flu season upon us, it's important to focus on something we normally forget about: Waste. Being sick produces a lot of waste, from tissues to throat drop wrappers. All of this waste heads directly to a landfill where it will sit for decades. Here are three ways to have a low waste sick season without hurting the environment.
Halloween should be a fright fest for the kids, not the environment. Unfortunately, all the waste produced from single-use costumes, candy wrappers, and face paint takes its toll on our earth. Try greening your Halloween with some of these eco-friendly tips.
The beginning of autumn is an incredible abundant time of harvest, and many plants are just coming into the height of their fruiting. This includes many plants that would normally be considered “weeds.” Many of these plants, however, are performing important ecosystem services in addition to being beneficial to humans. Get out your wild edibles guidebook and go hunting for these three plants you can find in early fall.
The conventional methods of putting the garden away involve pulling up your hard-grown plants and tilling your soil. While this method works for a few seasons, permaculture has a longer-term view of soil health. Tilling the soil destroys much of the delicate soil structures that allow for high levels of biodiversity. There are little pockets of water and air in the soil where nutrient-carrying mycorrhizal fungi can grow and beneficial insects can reside.
Getting your period can be a pretty wasteful event: A woman can easily go through a whole pack of pads once a month. Unfortunately, these go straight to the landfill. While a woman should never feel ashamed of her period, there are ways to curb waste during the menstrual cycle. Here's how to create a low waste menstrual cycle that will also help you save money while bettering your health.
A weed by definition is a plant that is unwanted and is growing in competition with cultivated plants. However, many "weeds," when taken out of human judgement, are playing vital roles in their ecosystem, be it holding the soil onto a hillside or feeding the bees that pollinate our vegetables. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many plants that are considered weeds are actually very useful and beneficial to humans as well. Here are some special plants coming into season right now that might surprise you with their usefulness.
I recently returned from a writing residency in Slovenia, the small country that sits east of Italy and lays wedged between Austria to the north and Croatia in the south. Few people are aware of its existence, and prior to spending several weeks there, I considered myself to be fairly unaware of it, too. Unfortunately, Slovenia deserves a lot more credit than it gets, specifically for its greenness—think low pollution levels, preservation of natural resources, encouragement of biodiversity, and more.