We are very fortunate to live in a time where we have nearly instant access to food of all kinds. That is why when I talk about starting a vegetable garden and growing your own food people give me a strange look. Why spend your time dealing with a garden when you can go to the grocery store and get whatever you want for cheap? This is why.

We need to develop a new economy because the current version is not working. The industrial economy is destroying every aspect of the living planet. And, as it turns out, we need a living planet for our own survival.

In Chicago, the hub of all things green in the Midwest, the ORA Dental Studio has really picked up the concept of eco-dentistry and run with it. Not only do they offer what is now the typical combination of Earth-friendly dental equipment in a relaxing atmosphere, but they do it in a certified green building.

Corn production, like the production of all of the crops (corn, cotton, canola, soy, and now, sugar beets and alfalfa) that Monsanto has so successfully industrialized through its business model of selling patented GMO seeds to increase the use of its pesticides, is very fossil fuel intensive. But that’s just the beginning of Monsanto’s contribution to agriculture’s green house gas emissions. With ever-increasing acreage, where are all those GMO crops going?

With the prospects of a global accord on reining in greenhouse gas emissions seeming ever more remote, the idea of geoengineering ourselves out of our climate-change predicament seems to be gaining more traction.

Have a good weekend everyone!

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How much of fashion giant H&M’s progress is part of an honest, dedicated commitment to doing good, and how much is just great greenwashing? Let’s have a look at some of the facts behind the marketing.

President Barack Obama had a lot to say about energy at Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. The president mentioned the word 23 times in the course of the speech, but his emphasis was mostly on fossil-based energy. He focused the majority of his comments on expanding offshore and onshore oil and gas drilling.

Except for the threads and zippers, all raw materials used in the production of the çöp (m)adam handbags and accessories by Namaste consist of non-used waste materials or materials that have been used, cleaned and sterilized. For example, çöp (m)adam and Namaste are currently producing bags that are hand crocheted entirely out of plastic bags with an interior lining made of flour sack material. Other materials that Namaste is using in production with çöp (m)adam include recycled billboard material and grain sack material.

Haiti’s president says he aims to double the number of rural households with electricity within two years by offering people loans to buy solar kits that can charge cellphones or computers. The $40 million program also calls for installing streetlights in the countryside and repairing power lines in the capital. Only 30 percent of the country’s population is estimated to have access to electricity.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been told by industry and government insiders that while the expansion of the tar sands may be a terrible thing, there’s simply no way to stop it. Well, we’ve found a way. President Obama has just said No to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, meant to carry tar sands oil from Alberta to Texas.

Apple Shines the Light on Its Supply Chain, Warts and All

“Oh, make a little sign,” I was told, “with these markers and some paper and that popsicle stick. You know, make it look like an apple cart from the olden days.” Then the kicker came – write “Organic Fuji Apples” on the label. What? The apples I had just been man-handling were about as organic as a McDonald’s Apple Pie. The box and stickers I had just removed clearly revealed their non-organic origins. Oh yes, I was told, they were organic, they were just labeled wrong. You can’t always trust labels, can you? – Many Restaurants Fake it as Demand for Organic Food Rises

If you were hungry around 10,000 years ago, you likely had a good sharp spear, a stone implement, or a bow and arrow to help. You moved stealthily through grassy inlets, dark forests, and rough waves, or the tall grasses of a savannah, looking for deer, rabbits, fish, elk, anything with a heartbeat. You were a scavenger, too, finding eggs and carcasses. You caught fresh seafood, and you knew what nuts and berries to pick that wouldn’t kill you. … Before there were foodies, there were hunter-gatherers.

Arizona has repealed a lower vehicle emissions program that was patterned after California’s rules after just one year in effect. The state government voted to instead match federal greenhouse-gas regulations.

The global average temperature last year was the ninth-warmest in the modern meteorological record, continuing a trend linked to greenhouse gases that saw nine of the 10 hottest years occurring since the year 2000.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!

Our species has exceeded the sustainable carrying capacity of this planet. You may disagree. At least it is close, and estimates are that human population will peak around 2050, based on current trends. Based on the Kissinger Report, from 1974, when we first felt the bite of oil shortage, there is a lot of focus among the elites on the tractability of a social group. A social group is less tractable, when it has a rapidly growing population, with lots of young people, and not enough resources to provide good prospects for them to advance within the system.

If the Keystone XL oil pipeline were approved today, residents in the six states along its route would not receive equal treatment from TransCanada, the company that wants to build the project. The differences are particularly striking when it comes to tax revenue and environmental protection. States with stronger regulations have won protections for their citizens, while other states sometimes focused more on meeting TransCanada’s needs.

Industry and government are on track to bring down the cost of batteries to power hybrid and electric cars, which is crucial for improving commercial appeal of those vehicles, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Wednesday. Chu said at the Detroit Economic Club the Obama administration is not deterred by soft sales of plug-ins in their first full year in showrooms, nor does it worry about the potential for overcapacity in battery production.

The United States is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) crops with military-style trade wars. In late 2007, the United States ambassador to France and business partner to George W. Bush, Craig Stapleton, requested that the European Union along with particular nations that did not support GMO crops be penalized.

Honeybee populations have been in serious decline for years, and scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields.

Stormwater drains are designed to help mitigate some of the problems caused by large storms and constant runoff. These drains channel the water off the streets and other impervious surfaces and send it straight into our waterways (lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water). Unlike wastewater systems, though, this water will not be treated before it reaches those waterways, so any pollutants and trash it picks up along the way will go with it to the end.

This is one of the most basic reasons. People have grown their own food as individuals or a community for hundreds and thousands of years. Look back at history and you’ll see how societies and civilizations were built up around fertile land and access to water. It’s not until the last 100-200 years that we’ve become so far removed from the process and rely upon others (that we don’t even know) to supply us with what we need to survive. We are humans. We grow food.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Help support The Good Human! If you do your Amazon shopping through my Amazon link, a very modest sales commission is generated. This is true for any product at Amazon, not just the eco-friendly ones. Please keep this link in mind for all of your Amazon purchases, as when you click through one of them and do any shopping, it really helps keep The Good Human going. -> My Amazon.com Affiliate Link. Thanks!