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Village in India plants 111 trees every time a girl is born

by da3xs1z Posted on April 12, 2013

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Warhammer 40,000 Altar of War: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

Altar of War missions provide all the information required to play games inspired by the battlefield tactics of the different Warhammer 40,000 armies. This book contains six brand-new missions which you can use instead of the Eternal War missions in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook if you or your opponent has a Tau Empire army, allowing you to master the art of […]

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Codex: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

Codex: Tau Empire is your comprehensive guide to unleashing the might of the Tau upon the battlefields of the 41 st Millennium. This volume introduces the four Tau castes, the Ethereals, and their mercenary allies. This dynamic race has begun its Third Sphere Expansion, setting forth into the stars to grow the borders of their burgeoning empire and bring the […]

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Newborn Puppies – Traer Scott

Dog lovers who haven’t raised puppies from birth have missed out on one of the most remarkable and adorable times in a dog’s life. From one to twenty-one days old, puppies undergo great changes, from needing their mothers’ complete care to opening their eyes and ears to the outside world, growing, stretching their legs, and learning to become […]

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How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days (Revised) – Shirlee Kalstone

For almost twenty years, dog owners have turned to this compact guide for sensible, step-by-step advice how to housebreak their beloved pets–in just one week! Now revised and updated, pet expert Shirlee Kalstone’s foolproof method for housebreaking your dog is available with a fresh new look and up-to-date information. Whether your dog is a puppy or ge […]

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Zero Waste Home – Bea Johnson

Part inspirational story of Bea Johnson (the “Priestess of Waste-Free Living”) and how she transformed her family’s life for the better by reducing their waste to an astonishing one liter per year; part practical, step-by-step guide that gives readers tools and tips to diminish their footprint and simplify their lives. Many of us have the gnawing feeling tha […]

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Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Both inspirational and practical, A Short Guide to a Happy Dog draws on thousands of training encounter […]

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The Honest Life – Jessica Alba

As a new mom, Jessica Alba wanted to create the safest, healthiest environment for her family. But she was frustrated by the lack of trustworthy information on how to live healthier and cleaner—delivered in a way that a busy mom could act on without going to extremes. In 2012, with serial entrepreneur Brian Lee and environmental advocate Christopher Gavigan, […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of German shepherds and as t […]

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How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Tau Empire – Games Workshop

The valiant Fire Warriors, advanced battlesuits and sleek vehicles of the Tau Empire fight at the forefront of their great Third Sphere Expansion. In this Army Workshop, the talented Studio army painters demonstrate how to paint a varied selection of Tau Empire miniatures using the Citadel paint range. Example miniatures featured in this extensive painting g […]

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All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition – Mel Bartholomew

Rapidly increasing in popularity, square foot gardening is the most practical, foolproof way to grow a home garden. That explains why author and gardening innovator Mel Bartholomew has sold more than two million books describing how to become a successful DIY square foot gardener. Now, with the publication of All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition , t […]

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Village in India plants 111 trees every time a girl is born

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The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena

by Myrna Posted on April 12, 2013

A morning meeting with a Surfrider activist underscores the value of our network. Visit site:  The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena Related ArticlesRowing 500 days on the open ocean by yourself, the Roz Savage podcastJack and Coke, no straw pleaseMiami Beach chapter leader, surfer and meteorologist shares perspective on beaches

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The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena

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BUILD Act could make it easier to green toxic brownfields

by AlvinaiTyler Posted on March 7, 2013

BUILD Act could make it easier to green toxic brownfields

By Susie Cagle

Nearly all of America’s cities contain brownfields — contaminated, abandoned sites that can be as big as old rail yards or as small as former dry cleaners. The EPA estimates that there are more than 450,000 brownfield sites nationwide.

MA Dept. of Environmental Protection

A brownfield in Worcester, Mass.

Greening all those brownfields is no easy task, and the EPA’s Brownfields Program still has a long way to go. But a new bill introduced in Congress could help.

The BUILD Act – BUILD stands for Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development — would make brownfields cleanup grants available to a wider variety of groups and local governments, and would generally smooth the way for communities to redevelop these properties. The bill specifically calls for extra assistance for disadvantaged and rural communities.

The legislation is sponsored by a motley bipartisan crew of senators: Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.). That’s right: Republicans are working with Democrats to support the EPA’s efforts to clean up cities. Even in these mad, sequestery times, there appears to be a bit of sanity on Capitol Hill.

The bill has support from the National Brownfields Coalition, and Smart Growth America calls it “great news for America’s neighborhoods.”

“The BUILD Act is a win for everyone — Congress, local governments, business owners and taxpayers,” said Geoff Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America. “Brownfields restoration drives economic growth while giving local governments the flexibility to pursue the projects they need the most. Transforming a community’s financial sinkhole into a new business or residential building is a no-brainer.”

“Smart development and revitalization of our urban areas require the transformation of sites that are contaminated by pollution and hazardous chemicals,” said another urbanist blogger Sen. Udall.

“Brownfields represent tremendous economic development opportunities. The BUILD Act could help communities make it happen,” writes Craig Chester at the Atlantic Cities.

Make it happen! That’s something we don’t generally count on Congress to do. No harm in crossing fingers on this one, though.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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BUILD Act could make it easier to green toxic brownfields

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Electronics Recycling Program Has Real Community Impact

by HartkePoundstone568 Posted on March 7, 2013

According to a recent informal poll, 84 percent of Earth911 readers said they would be more likely to recycle if it benefited a charitable cause. Are you more likely to donate your old electronics knowing it benefits your local job market?

If you are one of millions of Americans with old computers or electronics gathering dust in your home, there’s never been a better time to get rid of your stockpile – and for a good cause.

Photo: Shutterstock

Dell’s free computer recycling program, Dell Reconnect, makes it easier than ever to donate your old computer or electronics through its partnership with Goodwill Industries, whose primary focus is putting people back to work in their local communities. Because all profits from the Dell Reconnect program go directly to Goodwill, you can make your donation knowing it’s good for the planet and your community.

In 2011, Goodwill provided employment training, services, support and resources to over 4.2 million people.

As a non-profit, Goodwill works to assist those with disabilities and disadvantages earn a living and improve their lives through employment and orchestrate educational opportunities, counseling and other resources.

This was a first-hand experience for Goodwill employee Robbie McKolanis, who oversees the Dell Reconnect program at Goodwill of North Central, Penn.

McKolanis started out in his local Goodwill’s school-to-work transition program, Goodwill Works, and was hired by Goodwill after he graduated high school in 2007. Despite struggling with communication challenges with his speech and extreme shyness, his hard work as part of the production team at the Retail Processing Center in Falls Creek got him noticed, and once the Dell Reconnect program started, he was a tapped to apply his skills in a new direction.

Now responsible for all aspects of sorting, weighing and tracking electronics for more than 30 Goodwill locations, McKolanis has come into his own. He is now well known for having great interaction and communication with his co-workers and community, and can attest to the benefits Goodwill’s programs can provide for education and job advancement.

“It took me a while to learn and get used to everyone,” said McKolanis, adding that now, “It’s exciting talking to people and convincing them, ‘don’t be shy!’”

Having come full circle, McKolanis now mentors others participating in Goodwill Works and provides information to visiting guests.

“As Robbie has grown as an employee and taken on the additional responsibilities of the Dell Reconnect program, his potential for opportunities within the employment sector have increased tremendously, “ said Jason Marshall, executive VP of workforce development and retail services for Goodwill of North Central, Penn.

“This partnership with Dell has allowed for Robbie to find his voice and provided another opportunity for us to witness the power of work.”

The power of work is invaluable to those receiving assistance from Goodwill. In 2011, Goodwill helped place more than 23,000 people in need of employment at Goodwill locations, and 189,000 more were placed in jobs within their communities – including tens of thousands of veterans – a new demographic of people facing unique employment challenges.

In 2012, Goodwill expanded its effort to serve post- 9/11 veterans by rolling out Operation: GoodJobs, a program designed specifically for returning military servicemen and women and their families. In addition to job training and placement, the program offers transition assistance programs to help vets re-acclimate to civilian life and individual development plans to assess and assist with personal needs.

Since 2004, Dell Reconnect has diverted more than 250 million pounds of e-waste from landfills. With more than 2,000 participating Goodwill locations throughout the U.S. and Canada the program allows you to simply drop off used computer electronics of any brand and in any condition for free. The trained staff at your local Goodwill will determine whether each item should be refurbished and resold or responsibly recycled.

Editor’s Note: Earth911 partners with many industries, manufacturers and organizations to support its Recycling Directory, the largest in the nation, which is provided to consumers at no cost. Dell is one of these partners.

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Electronics Recycling Program Has Real Community Impact

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USDA says crops will do better but food prices will do worse

by oks23po Posted on February 22, 2013

USDA says crops will do better but food prices will do worse

By Susie Cagle

It’s more cold comfort for drought-stricken farmers this week, and I don’t mean the snow.

USDA chief economist Joe Glauber was all sunshine this Thursday in announcing that normal spring weather is expected to improve corn and soybean yields by huge percentages over last year’s tiny drought-stricken crops. Bigger yields mean tinier prices — Glauber said corn would be down about a third from last year, soy would drop more than a quarter, and wheat would be down about 11 percent.

From the South Dakota Argus Leader:

The recovery should send prices for most oilseeds and grains sharply lower, providing a much-needed reprieve for livestock, dairy and poultry producers struggling with high feed costs, and relief down the road for consumers who have paid more for food at their local grocery store. …

“The critical factor that people will be following is weather,” Glauber said at the department’s annual outlook forum. “While the outlook for 2013 remains bright, there are many uncertainties.”

Way to bury the lede, Glauber. No matter how many times Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says “American agriculture is quite resilient,” there still remains the fact that American agriculture is also in crisis, and forecasters are expecting more hot and dry weather this year.

And even though industrial prices are dropping, the savings won’t trickle down to consumers for at least quite some time — the USDA anticipates food prices will rise this year between 3 and 4 percent.

Richard Volpe, an economist with USDA’s Economic Research Service, said the evidence of last year’s drought is just now starting to really have an effect on consumer prices at the retail level, resulting in higher costs for everything from meat to corn syrup.

Dammit, if it were only meat and corn syrup and not also everything in between…

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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USDA says crops will do better but food prices will do worse

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Are San Francisco oysters a wilderness wrecker or a pollution solution?

by NielPostma231 Posted on February 13, 2013

Are San Francisco oysters a wilderness wrecker or a pollution solution?

By Susie Cagle

OrinZebest

The San Francisco Bay Area has been having some mixed feelings about oysters lately: Are they good for the environment, bad for the environment, or just treats for happy-hour drinkers at the downtown Ferry Building?

Just north of San Francisco in Point Reyes, Drakes Bay Oyster Co. has been fighting to keep harvesting oysters on what was set to become protected wilderness land on Jan. 1. Local environmentalists are split on whether fewer oysters will allow the estuary to “quickly regain its wilderness characteristics” or instead/also lead to a big unfiltered load of seal poop in that wilderness. (Wilderness: It’s kind of gross!)

Either way, we’ll soon find out, as Drakes Bay just lost its federal appeal to stay beyond a Feb. 28 deadline.

Meanwhile, some miles east across the bay on the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Christopher Lim and the Watershed Project are bringing oysters back. The bay had a large native oyster habitat that was wiped out by overharvesting and hydraulic mining. From KQED:

“Oysters, I think, definitely have that connection to people whether it’s through food … (or) the history of oysters in San Francisco Bay,” Lim said. “Part of the reason we would like to restore oysters is because we know of their ecosystem benefits in the Bay, and they were probably here in much greater numbers in the past.” …

Olympias, the only oyster species native to the Bay, are smaller — around two inches long — than the larger and more fast-growing Pacific you probably ordered at a restaurant. Lim said he enjoys the taste of Olympia oysters, but he makes one thing clear.

“The oysters that we’re researching here … we’re not meaning for them to be eaten,” he said. “We’re doing it for the ecosystem benefits that oysters bring to the shoreline and to the subtidal habitat.”

The Bay Area has that Wild West pioneer spirit, though, Christopher Lim. All I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if you attract some rogue divers out there searching for a snack.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Different breeds of urban agriculture duke it out in Detroit

by Myrna Posted on December 12, 2012

Different breeds of urban agriculture duke it out in Detroit

By Susie Cagle

On Tuesday, the Detroit City Council voted to sell about 1,500 city-owned lots to the Hantz Woodlands project to plant trees as a beautification effort.

Supporters say it’s just what Detroit needs: large-scale blight removal and reforestation to reinvigorate the post-industrial wasteland with urban innovation. Detractors say it’s a land grab that jeopardizes a local fast-growing urban farming movement and stands to displace low-income residents of color.

ThisisAGoodSign

One of Detroit’s already-thriving urban farms.

Multi-millionaire money manager John Hantz now has a deal to purchase the lots from the city for $300 each – about eight cents a square foot, which is very, very cheap, even for beleaguered Detroit.

From The New York Times:

A Web site set up by Mr. Hantz, a wealthy entrepreneur, to advance his proposal says the farm would return the city “to its agrarian roots.” The repurposed lots — cleared of blight and planted with roughly 15,000 hardwood trees — would establish an economic zone, raise property values and return vast tracts of abandoned land to the city tax rolls, according to Mike Score, the president of the venture, Hantz Farms. Ideally, the enterprise has signaled, it would eventually become a major source of local food …

Saunteel Jenkins, a City Council member who favors the proposal, argues that the city needs to think in new ways. “Farming will be one of the many things that be part of Detroit’s reinvention,” said Ms. Jenkins, chairwoman of the council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee. “The auto industry used to be our bread and butter, but now we have to diversify.”

But In These Times reports that about 100 people still live in the areas that Hantz plans to demolish, clean, and plant full of trees by next spring. And some Detroiters object to the plan for other reasons:

Local organizers believe the devil is in the details. “Hantz is definitely linked up to the gentrification of the waterfront,” says Lottie Spady, associate director of the East Michigan Environmental Action Council. The land up for grabs is adjacent to Indian Village, a white upper middle class neighborhood filled with grand Tudor and Beaux Arts homes, where former auto barons once made their home. (Incidentally, it’s also where Hantz currently resides.) It’s also a mile away from the Detroit International Riverfront, which underwent development to become a tourist destination and now hosts waterfront luxury condominiums. “A major city planning effort underway shows a green way running through the land to connect to the river,” adds Spady, “Hantz and the city are in cahoots, and the people are losing out.”

City Council member Kwame Kenyatta told The New York Times: “Just because we have vacant land doesn’t mean we should turn Detroit into a farm.”

But many Detroit residents who are far less wealthy and well-connected than Hantz want to do just that, except without the kicking-out-poor-people bit. Community land grabs, not millionaire land grabs!

Detroit’s community garden and urban farming scene is positively blooming, and it stands to grow even more in 2013. Last week, the city’s Planning Commission approved a new zoning ordinance that would officially recognize the city’s gardens and farms, as well as create new ways forward for creating larger farms and reusing vacant buildings. The new rules would also allow for sale of the goods and produce grown. The City Council will vote on the new rules in January.

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Milk sales have declined sharply, perhaps because we aren’t all babies

by Myrna Posted on December 11, 2012

Milk sales have declined sharply, perhaps because we aren’t all babies

By Philip Bump

No one drinks milk anymore! The Wall Street Journal:

Per-capita U.S. milk consumption, which peaked around World War II, has fallen almost 30% since 1975, even as sales of yogurt, cheese and other dairy products have risen, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. The reasons include the rise in popularity of bottled waters and the concern of some consumers that milk is high in calories.

Chelsea PhillipsBlech.

Here are other reasons, probably:

Milk is kind of gross. When you hear something described as “milky,” do you think: Hey, yum, that sounds good? No, you think: Gross. That sounds gross.
Milk is what cows feed their babies, in theory. If you’re anything like me, it’s been years since you’ve suckled on your mother’s breast. And even when you used to do that, if you did, I bet you never found yourself faced with the dilemma of whether you would rather drink milk from your mother or from a cow. Even if you grew up on a farm, even if you were breast-feeding in the barn, and even if you were old enough to make rational decisions (which I hope you weren’t), I doubt you thought, maybe that nipple dragging around in that hay is better! When you drink milk, you are basically wrapping your lips around a cow body part that is like two feet from its anus, but with some intermediary sanitation.
I say “in theory” above because the way we get cow milk now is bananas. Seriously. It’s weird. Here’s everything Grist has written about milk. I’m not going to get into it right now, but let’s just say that forced pregnancy and hormones and giant milk vacuums all play a role in industrial milk production. Makes direct suckling seem like a decent option.
People naturally become lactose intolerant. Your body isn’t stupid. It gets what milk is for. When you’re a baby, milk is like 5 Hour Energy and Powerade and probably Axe Body Spray rolled into one: a quality product. Then your body is like, welp, all grown up now, time for beer, and your stomach starts doing that little dance it does when you drink milk and are lactose intolerant. Most of the population becomes lactose intolerant at some point, which is your body’s way of saying, hey, idiot, stop drinking milk. If coffee gave you a stomach ache and diarrhea every time you drank it, would you drink it? I mean decaf coffee, of course; you’d obviously still drink regular coffee.
Those “Got milk?” ads are super played-out. And how gross were they? What the hell was wrong with America in the ’80s and ’90s that we’d see random silver-medal-winning Olympians in full-page ads in George and think, yeah, that guy’s cream-coated lip sure is making me thirsty? How many times did you head down to the local diner, slap your magazine on the counter, point at Bo Jackson’s photo and say, gimme one of those! Zero. No one ever did this.

Rest assured, the milk industry has all sorts of new ideas for how to get you to drink more milk. Well, I have an idea, too, milk industry: Take all of your containers of milk and empty out the milk and put beer in them and sell beer.

You are welcome.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

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Milk sales have declined sharply, perhaps because we aren’t all babies

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