Balancing the Sources of Heat in the Home Landscape Take a leaf. No, actually, don’t you dare touch that leaf! Well, why? It’s dead. No good to me now. Well, actually, it’s as valuable now as when it was on the tree. Why? Because it’s going to rot and then become another tree that produces other leaves. Composted leaves are free fertilizer. They’re nature’s oldest form of recycling. The Xerces Society is a non-profit trying to help wildlife, especially pollinators (bees, butterflies, etc.) and endangered species. A few years ago, they promoted a “Leave the Leaves” project in the fall, so there would be protected places for wildlife over the…
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The Letter C
These days, two C words I think a lot about are Climate and Change. Betty Shelley Does that remind you of Sesame Street? I loved watching it with our son when he was little; it was a good way to have some quiet time with him while learning interesting things. One of the things they did on the show was highlighting a particular letter, explaining how to use it in spelling various words like Cat and Cow and Cup and COOKIE! And they would use the words in sentences to make sure the children Comprehended the meaning of the word. These days, two C words I think a lot about are Climate and Change. Other C words that come to…
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Alternatives Exist for Rare Minerals in Batteries
Greener, Friendlier Alternatives Exist for Rare Minerals in Batteries The Myth For years, commentators have been handwringing about the extraction practices, environmental and social harms, and corporate ownership of mining operations that contribute to clean energy technology, with a focus on cobalt, rare earths, and other rare ingredients of the clean energy transition. Much like governmental, intergovernmental, and private assessments of “critical materials,” these critiques pay far too little attention to how scarcity, usually signaled by price, elicits not only mineral exploration and mine development but also a powerful set of other and faster adaptations and alternatives like efficient use, substitution, and recycling. A major contribution to this genre comes from…
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Permaculture on an Impermanent Planet
A soils instructor at OSU begins his talks by telling his students that we understand so little about soil (and many other things) because we humans are too big and don’t live long enough. He illustrates by holding a handful of garden soil and asks who can see the billion bacteria contained in the soil. No one raises their hand. He asks if anyone has been here for the hundred years it took to create just the top inch of topsoil. Ditto. Needless to say, he doesn’t have to inquire about anyone’s existence throughout the millions of years it took to break down mountains into the clay that is found…
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Local Efforts to Stop Food Waste
LOCAL EFFORTS TO STOP FOOD WASTE PROVIDES A MODEL ON GLOBAL STAGE A panel of West Coast leaders shared programs that yield results in dealing with food waste at U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow Headlines from the 2021 United Nations climate change conference can be discouraging. Time is running out, and the leaders of the world are unwilling -or able to give even a little. Climate scientists, legal experts, and politicians argue the final deal out of Glasgow resulted in incremental progress inadequate to address the climate crisis. Many people don’t realize that these summits do more than bring top leaders together to strike international deals. In the background,…
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Back to Earth Day with Natural Burial
We get many things that we use in our daily lives from “the Land” – the food we eat, fiber for our clothes, and raw material for heat, homes, buildings, and roads. We’re surrounded by element-based things extracted or grown from the soil and fashioned into shapes we find useful or pleasing enough to consume. We’re also getting good at re-using the elements in that fiber, that liquid, that meltable plastic, so we don’t have to use virgin material, thereby reducing costs and impacts on the environment in the process. In fact, our bodies are some of the best recycling machines around. We eat foods that begin as soil, like…
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Bat Fatalities at Wind Turbines
Investigating the Causes & Consequences Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world It represents an important step toward reducing dependence on nonrenewable sources of power. However, widespread deployment of industrial wind turbines has unprecedented adverse effects on certain species of bats that roost in trees and migrate. Bats are beneficial consumers of agricultural insect pests, and migratory species of bats provide free pest-suppression services across ecosystems and international borders. Although the underlying causes of bat fatalities at wind turbines remain unknown, potential clues can be found in the patterns of fatalities. TSH scientists, in collaboration with other U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science centers as well as…
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Global Earth Repair Summit
October 21 – 24, 2022 An Invitation to participate in a global, local event Come together in person, as communities, as local restoration pods to plant trees and do restoration work. Meet Restorationists from far and wide: to network, share information, and do action planning for global, scaled-up efforts. Be part of a growing, global movement to re-green Earth! For more info: www.globalearthrepairfoundation.org Contact Michael Pilarski: friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com
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Pendleton Opens New Store in Salem
1313 Mill Street SE Suite 110, Salem, OR Hours 10 am to 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday Pendleton Woolen Mills has a new store inside the Willamette Heritage Center (WHC) in Salem, Oregon. The store offers woolen blankets, apparel, accessories, and gifts, along with fabric cuts and exclusive mill materials for crafting with wool. This location is a ‘coming home’ for Pendleton Woolen Mill’s descendants of Thomas Lister Kay, where his namesake mill was founded 133 years earlier. Founded in 1863 and located in Portland, Oregon, Pendleton weaves iconic designs in two of America’s remaining woolen mills in Pendleton, Oregon, and Washougal, Washington. With six generations of family ownership, Pendleton…
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Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Offers Consultation Services
Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) recently released a new consultation service to help community members manage weeds and pests without pesticides. Schedule a one-on-one meeting with their staff to learn how to deal with gardening pests without relying on chemicals that can harm people and the environment. Many common pesticide products impact beneficial bug species and contribute to water pollution. NCAP can help you find safe solutions. This service is offered at a sliding scale, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more info: www.pesticide.org/consultation
