Bioeconomy & plants Ecofacts V.10 n11
Modern humans rely on about 150 plants for their diet & the bioeconomy, out of tens of thousands of edible ones (FAO estimates more than a quarter million) Of those, corn rice and wheat make up two...
View ArticleBanana fibers Ecofacts V.10 n.12
I recently met someone who is helping to build another kind of bio-economy, a rural, local economy that employs people and banana fibers to solve an age old problem. Menstruating girls and women in...
View ArticleThe Other End of Consumption Ecofacts V.10 n.13
We spend so much of our time thinking about, and doing our personal acts of consumption – eating and drinking, and with the water we use, washing. Then there’s the outgo. We are relieved to wash, to...
View ArticleMore or Less Water Ecofacts V.10 n.14
California – great place to live, except for the not anywhere near enough water part! After yet another not rainy season, very low reservoirs and not enough snow to feed our rivers. A third of our...
View ArticleAlmonds and economies Ecofacts V. 10 n.15
I sat this morning happily eating a dish of local almonds and strawberries with some (not local) cereal, coconut and soy milk, and was grateful to have been able to speak to Nate, of Fat Uncle Farms...
View ArticleJuicy flesh, Butter on our toast Ecofacts V.10 n.16
No one wants their meat bony and dry, at least the animals themselves and those who eat them don’t. The point being, in the words of a favorite eco writer - ”It takes a lot of water to grow and feed a...
View ArticleStrawberries , Farming, two glimpses Ecofacts V.10 n.17
SB County’s top crop in 2013 was strawberries, their commercial value being nearly three times that of the next one – wine grapes. Delicious sweetness and intoxicating pleasure, these crops give us a...
View ArticleA look at Nepal Eco Facts V.10 n.18
The country of Nepal takes up an area of between Iowa and Illinois in size, and has a population of around 30 million people, with an average density of over 500 per square mile, however much of the...
View ArticleGOODS not BADS Ecofacts V.10 n.19
I saw a Whole Foods bag that said “Buy Goods, Not Bads” and was struck by this truly great marketing slogan. In a few words, it wants people to see how their market is different from regular...
View ArticleThe Pope and environmental action – Ecofacts V.10 n.20
“Pope Francis’ closest adviser castigated conservative climate change skeptics in the United States Tuesday, blaming capitalism for their views. Speaking with journalists, Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez...
View ArticleEnergy woes,Oil, wake ups & wins – Ecofacts V.10 n.21
Another oil spill, noticed especially because of our very well known local history. Clearly, accidents and their resulting environmental harm are inevitable from drilling and transporting fossil fuels....
View ArticleDrinking Water – Ecofacts V.0 n.22
My journey to find drinking water that I can really enjoy: If it isn’t obvious, I cannot buy water in plastic bottles unless forced to, not liking plastic or BPA or the business of it. I do not like...
View ArticleLocal Governments and Local Living Environment – Ecofacts v.10 n. 22
From my friend Ben Werner, whose work I admire: Is our only hope for survival on this planet to reduce our footprint? This notion presupposes that human impact on our environment is mostly negative,...
View ArticleThe Flow of Oil – Ecofacts V.10 n.23
When the inevitable oil spills occur, it is the thick black stuff flowing onto the ground and waters that gets our attention, and those heart wrenching images of beaches lined with the stuff, of the...
View ArticleGlobe Moral Grounds – Ecofacts V.10 n.24
Discussions around the globe have been sparked by the Pope’s much anticipated book length document on climate change: On Care for our Common Home“. Other spiritual leaders are responding: ”The...
View ArticleThe Sun and Us Ecofacts V.10 n.25
The sun marks our days, it brings us joy and beauty, gives us vitamin D, and in the last few decades, worry. Although it is a primary source of all life, some of its radiation – UV, ultraviolet – can...
View ArticleSunscreens and Skin – Ecofacts V.10 n. 26
Although the Vitamin D given to us by the sun is necessary, our sun exposure has caused skin cancer rates to triple in the last few decades. UVA rays, always present during daylight hours and...
View ArticleBan the Beads / Plastic Polyethylene PE – Ecofacts V.10 n.27
hat a good idea, to load a bunch o’ bits of plastic into skin washes and toothpaste to make us cleaner, eh? Maybe not. The problem is lots of us enjoy scrubbing away the dead stuff to leave our skin...
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