Archive for the ‘Ecology’ Category

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Natural Pest Control in your Home, Yard

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

by Catherine Haug, June 22, 2011

The May AARP bulletin offered the following information on avoiding the toxins that are found in many commercial pesticides, by trying effective and safe alternatives (1):

Ants: Spread cinnamon, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, salted cucumber peels or leaves from mint tea bags near their point of entry or along basemboards.

Mice: Place cotton dipped in peppermint oil, or used kitty litter, near problem areas. [The kitty litter option seems odd to me, since if you have the used litter you probably have cats and would not have the mouse problem in the first place. However, if you want to try this, I have lots of used kitty litter…].

Mosquitoes: when you barbecue, throw some sage or rosemary onto the coals.

Carpenter ants: Mix 3 cups hot water, 1 cup sugar and 4 teaspoons boric acid. Soak cotton in the mixture and leave it near places where ants are found. [Boric acid can be purchased at most pharmacies.]

Sources

  1. Toxin-Free Ways to Get Rid of Garden and Household Pests

Posted in Ecology, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Updates on the Battle Against GMO

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

by Catherine Haug, June 2, 2011

The battle over GMO (genetically modified organisms)/GE (genetically engineered) foods continues in federal courts and in the court of public opinion. Several crops and foods are at the forefront of this battle.

[See my post Health Hazards of GMO Foods & Crops for more on what GMO/GE means, and how it can be hazardous for your health and that of your family.]

(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO | Comments Closed

GMO crops On/Near Wildlife Refuges in the West?

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

by Catherine Haug, May 3, 2011

Thanks to Sally J for sending me this information.

On March 1, 2010, the Center for Food Safety (with other organizations) “filed a suit in federal court against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service seeks to compel the Service to uproot genetically engineered (GE) crops from its Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. As many as 80 other national wildlife refuges across the country now growing GE crops are vulnerable to similar suits.” For more, see Lawsuit Filed to Bar GE Crops from National Wildlife Refuge.

Now the Center for Food Safety wants our help regarding mountain-prairie national wildlife refuges in the west. Your action is needed by May 6, 2011. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, GMO, Health | Comments Closed

Responsible Disposal of Unused Medications

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, April 14, 2011

Do you have unused or outdated medications (prescriptions, OTC medications and supplements) that you want to dispose of?

Last year we had a once-a-year opportunity to hand these in for safe disposal during Operation Medicine Cabinet 2010, and will have another opportunity this spring (see below for dates & locations). Also below are some guidelines for responsible disposal from the brochure: Pharmaceutical Waste: Disposing of Unwanted Medications, by Waste Not Project in the Flathead Valley (1). (more…)

Posted in Ecology | Comments Closed

Got Food?

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Editorial note: The following article, submitted April 5, 2011, was originally entered as a “comment” to our post: Upcoming Food Shortages: Why and How to Prepare, Apr 2, 2011.

Got Food?

by Robert Seymour

“You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find…
You get what you need” (1)

At a time when per capita global food production and national food self sufficiency ratios are shrinking, a hungry world is set to grow by another 1.6 billion people in the next fifteen years.  This is like adding another China to the world population. China has now replaced Japan as the second largest economy and has become the number one importer of oil after the United States.  As economic pressure on already scarce natural resources intensifies, the availability of locally grown food will be worth its weight in gold. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Ecology, Energy, Food-Nutrition-Health, Gardening, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Toxic Plastics – Not Just BPA

Friday, March 4th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, March 2, 2011 (photo from NPR article)

We’ve all heard that BPA, the plastic used in water bottles, is toxic because it mimics estrogen, and is classified as an endocrine disrupter. Because of this, most of us avoid food and water products in containers containing BPA: soda bottles, water bottles, canned foods, and traditional home canning lids.

In response, you’ve probably heard me say that all plastics are toxic, even if the media hasn’t reported it, or science hasn’t proved it yet. Furthermore, the production of plastic is not sustainable, whether it is made from petroleum or food crops.

Today, National Public Radio (NPR) released a story by Jon Hamilton: Study: Most Plastics Leach Hormone-Like Chemicals (1) that vindicates my belief for ‘most’ plastics.

This study only looked at hormone-like activity. There are also other ways in which plastics can be toxic; will the remaining ‘safe’ plastics someday be found to be unsafe too?

What about those you use in your home?

(more…)

Posted in Ecology, Health | 3 Comments »

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