Barbara Rae | 
02 28th, 2009| 
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February 27th's Tip
Composting: Real organic veggies need good organic fertilizer. One of the most natural and simple ways to produce the best fertilizer is to mix 1/3 kitchen compost with 1/3 ... [visit site to read more]Random Posts
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My recent confusion stems from an update on a prior confusion (did ... [visit site to read more]
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His address tonight was to the Joint session of Congress, but he was also delivering a message to the American people: "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
He needed to reassure us that his economic solutions were not a pump and dump play, that he remains confident and hopeful that the American people have the wherewithal to succeed.
"It begins with energy," Mr. Obama said. "We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it. New plug-in hybrids roll off our assembly lines, but they will run on batteries made in Korea."
All valid points and something a number of us have been saying for some time: we need to lead in this space and others are already at the table.
President Obama sounds much like candidate Obama on this point, "I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders – and I know you don’t either. It is time for America to lead again."
He is still calling for doubling the US supply of renewable energy in the next three years, and for laying down "thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country."
Even energy efficiency got its due: "We will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills."
He pushed the point further by saying that "to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy."
He asked Congress to send him legislation that "places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America."
In support of that, he outlined how the US "will invest fifteen billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks."
I got some flak for defending clean coal in Obama's list. (It's okay, I'm used to it.) I simply think we need to invest in figuring out whether clean coal technologies CAN be developed before we dismiss it outright. (Someone on Twitter reminded me of GreenFuel Technologies Corporation, which "recycles" CO2 emissions using high-yield algae farms. The CO2 recyclers seemed to get stiffed in the StimPack, which is unfortunate in my view.)
I'd like to see more details and look forward to tracking this as it develops.
For now, the message was positive: "We can and will," rather than, "Holy Shit, this is worse than I thought." Thank you, speechwriters!
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environmentastic! wants to be your source for environmental information, education, news, and products…
With that goal in mind, each Tuesday environmentastic! will be posting some vocabulary about the environment, for your learning pleasure.
Organic
pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals: organic farming; organic fruits. (definition from dictionary.com)
There are many definitions of the word organic, as you will see if you search for it as I did; however, as it relates to the environment, organic essentially means that whatever the word is referring to was grown without using chemical fertilizers or artificial means of pest-control - and without any kind of hormones or antibiotics (for meat), irradiation, or genetic modification.
In the United States (as well as Japan, Canada, and the European Union), there are special certifications that must be obtained before food may be marketed as organic. In addition to the above requirements, organic farmers must meet standards such as the ones below:
- use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);
- keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);
- maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;
- undergoing periodic on-site inspections.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means. If you’re interested, read more about the United States Organic Standards (yawn).
A better way to keep up-to-date about national organic standards is through the Organic Trade Association or the Organic Consumers Association. Both of these groups have people who enjoy (or at least are paid to be) reading the standards and keeping in-the-loop about what is happening in the world of organics.
Now - for your homework: use this word in your daily conversations at least 10 times, then report back on your results! 
Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley
Do you think organic standards are important for the future of the Earth and humans’ ability to survive on the planet? release your natural reaction in the comments to let us all know how feel about it!
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February 20th's Tip
Greening Your Oven: You may know already that preheating your oven can be a waste of energy. Yes, it can be necessary in certain situations, such as baking bread or other ... [visit site to read more]Random Posts
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