The Next "It" Girl of the Green Revolution

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:25:00 GMT

Video by EcoDivas TV Being the next "it" girl of the green revolution involves more than just a pretty face. Being America's Top Green Model involves beauty, poise, and green know-how. EcoDivas TV documented Project Green Search, the recent search for a well rounded beauty to take this revolution into the future. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Americans Against Food Taxes?: Who's Really Fighting Preventative Medicine?

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:55:05 GMT

Americans Against Food Taxes It didn't take long. Shortly after several leading health researchers published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine calling for a tax on sugar sweetened beverages as a means of stemming American obesity, an immense lobbying effort to defeat the measure began in Washington and around the country. As is often the case, corporate speech is again being camouflaged as individual angst. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Politics of Seeds: 75% of the Seed Marketplace Controlled by Four Companies

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:25:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak If I were to reference "the big four" in passing you would likely assume I was talking about cars, software companies, or maybe airlines. But unfortunately in this instance you'd be wrong. Scary as it may be, 75 percent of the seeds sold come from four companies, according to Michael Olson from Food Chain Radio. Could you guess which companies they are? ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Your First Season of Allergies? Global Warming Could Be to Blame

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak If you've never before been plagued with allergies, it ain't pretty. Sniffling, sneezing, congestion--symptoms can vary dramatically but more and more people are getting them. According to an article in Time Magazine, climate change is to blame.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Pronghorn Antelopes Are the True Marathoners of the American West

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: W.B. Karesh Modern technology came in handy for several scientists tracking the marathon migration of pronghorn antelopes. Using GPS collars, the scientists were able to follow the species in what is being called the longest migration of any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Organic Watchdog Group Files a Complaint With the USDA Against Target

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:37:00 GMT

photo: J Novak In response to what the Cornucopia Institute calls a continual blurring of the line between organic and all natural, last week they filed a complaint against Target with the USDA. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Elegance in Composting with Valentina

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:49:00 GMT

photo: Priscilla Woolworth The Valentina sounds more like a designer handbag than that of an outdoor composting bin but the message is clear, composting can be as stylish as this season's high boots if you ask designer Priscilla Woolworth. For urban dwellers in compact places, this beautiful outdoor composting bin makes getting rid of all your biodegradable waste simple.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

There's No Need For Revolution, Just Get Back In the Kitchen

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:25:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak It's easy to get radical when faced with the blatantly unsustainable food system in this country, but the most obvious solution is much less sweeping than a revolt. We just need to learn how to cook, according to the Nation's Dan Barber.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

What Remains After the Continued Leveling of Appalachia

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:16:43 GMT

Click to view the Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining. One of the most advanced eco-systems in the world is being systematically destroyed as we speak leaving behind more devastation than the Exxon Valdez and Three Mile Island according to a recent video by Yale Environment 360. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Superfoods a Super Waste?

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:12:08 GMT

photo: J.Novak From acai to goji and raw cocoa to spirulina, superfoods have blossomed into an industry that's expected to reel in upwards of $10 billion by 2011, according to Small Footprint Family. I admit at first I was in awe of such luxurious ingredients, day dreaming of being wrinkle-free at 100 and doing headstands into my nineties. But recently I've been having second thoughts about the fossil fuels used to fly these often tropical tastes to my doorstep. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Camden's Garden Club Doubles Its Community Gardens to Feed the Jobless

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Camden Children's Garden While the nation's unemployment rate climbed to an alarming 9.5 percent this month, it still pales in comparison to Camden, N.J.'s most recent jobless rate of 18 percent. More and more people are struggling to put food on the table and as a result, area soup kitchens are struggling to feed hungry mouths. While finding a silver lining to the ominous cloud that still blankets this hard hit community would seem quite the arduous task, the Camden City Community Garden Club has succeeded in providing this struggling city with a reason to smile. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Organic Nation TV Finishes East Coast Tour

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:28:00 GMT

Organic Nation TV host Dorothee Royal-Hedinger and camera man Mark Andrew Boyer have been traveling the country visiting sustainable farmers and providers, and getting a sense of the "sustainable food landscape." ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Beer Wars: When Corporate Conglomerates and Microbreweries Go Head to Head

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Dominion 3 We're in a beer renaissance in this country. And, according to Anat Baron, it's a welcomed change from the tasteless watered down beer for which we've come to settle. Microbrews are on the rise and more and more people are choosing to taste richness in their beer. Organic breweries are even getting a share of the marketplace. But, though your taste buds may crave an Organic Nut Brown Ale or a Dogfish Punkin' Ale, the big guys are fighting tooth and nail to keep their share of the marketplace. In the recently released documentary Beer Wars, sent over from Dominion 3, Anat Baron invites us into the lives of small time brewers battling corporations for just a small piece of the pie. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Organic Grocers Expanding Local Offerings

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:16:00 GMT

photo: J Novak You can't help but to get a bit irked when you enter organic markets and find loads of organic produce trucked in from 3,000 miles away. Unless you're from the small patch of earth in California that seems to be the Mecca of organic mixed greens and arugula, you'd better hit the farmers' market to find the good stuff. Earth Fare is Columbia's equivalent of Whole Foods, but a much smaller chain and last Saturday, Earth Fare's Columbia, S.C. location played host to their first ever all local farmers' market event as a part of its new emphasis on local producers.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

EPA Study: Up to 62% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Influenced by Materials Management and Land Management

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:56:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak It wasn't until very recently that the EPA declared that carbon dioxide poses a threat to human health. With the government's stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 83 percent by 2050, a recent EPA study examines the actual impact of carbon dioxide emissions. While the study considers the impact of carbon dioxide emissions in broad terms, it provides a general idea of which areas control the largest pieces of the impact pie.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

When Farming Goes Corporate

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak At TreeHugger, genetically modified organisms (GMO) have long provided reason for concern. Large monocultures, which are typical of GMO, can be riddled with pests. As a result, monocultures are often dressed with a toxic cocktail of pesticides so that they can survive the onslaught. In addition, monocultures can deplete the nutrients in soil and lead to erosion. But the problems with GMO go way beyond freakishly round, tasteless tomatoes. According to New York Times columnist Verlyn Klinkenborg, GMO "represent the final transfer of the collective farming wisdom of the human race into corporate hands." ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Half Century Old Ford Assembly Plant to Become One of the Nation's Largest Renewable Energy Manufacturing Facilities

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:40:00 GMT

photo: Ford Regardless of your opinions regarding the American auto industry, we can all agree that it's been a rough ride for American manufacturing. Nevertheless, some good news is coming from Ford this week. The company has just finalized a deal to bring renewable energy manufacturing, and 4,000 green collar jobs, to Michigan. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

After A 90 Percent Oyster Decline, Can North Carolina's Oyster Population Be The Comeback Kid?

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Frank Harmon Architect PA It's pretty hard to stomach such a decline in east coast oysters, mighty sad in fact. But the eastern oyster population in North Carolina has declined an estimated 90 percent since the early 1900s. With your usual culprits to blame including habitat loss, a decline in water quality, and over harvesting. But the construction of a new hatchery research center at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington is working to prevent such a decline and their aspirations are pretty large.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

A Glimpse Into The White House and a Discussion About the Way Our Nation Looks at Food (Video)

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

We at TreeHugger were thrilled when the White House announced earlier this year that they would be planting the first garden since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden. And now in the second installment of Inside the White House: The Garden, we're equally delighted with this year's harvest.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Gentlemen Farmers Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell Document Life on the Farm

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Chow.com City slickers giving it all up for life on the farm. It's a romantic reverie for most of us; leaving a 9 to 5 existence for a simpler life with less people, less traffic, and more blue sky. But for Dr. Brent Ridge and his partner, Josh Kilmer-Purcell the purchase of an old estate in Upstate New York and the launch of Beekman 1802 meant the realization of that dream. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

XSProject Turns Jakarta's Excessive Trash into Treasure

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

. Click on image to view Ann Wizer's Video on XSProject photo: XSProject USA Indonesia is a land of intrigue, beauty, and deep cultural strong holds. But the uglier side of this exotic culture comes in the form of an enormous trash problem. Heaping trash found in the streets, water, and seemingly everywhere that the eye can see. Ann Wizer, visual artist and environmental activist, is doing her part to shed some light on this filthy issue by turning Jakarta's trash into consumer items. Check out the intensive process behind the art in this video.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

A Minneapolis Couple Celebrates Their 50th Anniversary By Installing Rain Gardens For Their Block

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Ecoscapes Sustainable Landscaping Most couples toast to 50 years with a nice bottle of champagne, flowers, or maybe a weekend away. But not the Wolks, instead they chose to mark the occasion with a rain garden block party. See why their anniversary will not soon be forgotten.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Breaking Even with a Clay Oven

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:18:00 GMT

photo: Nature Heads While many might think that an outdoor clay oven is a bit Medieval, for Kevin and Donna Philippe-Johnson, their homemade $100 clay oven helped them through some tough financial times. The couple turned this self reliant baking technique into a modest business. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Organic Planet Festival: Transforming Harmful to Healthful

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Organic Planet Festival The fifth annual Organic Planet Festival is coming up and if you're anywhere near Humboldt County, Calif., it looks like quite the organic extravaganza. It's the largest green event in the area featuring organic food and beverages, an eco-fashion show, bands, workshops, and you can even dive into the World's Largest Organic Salad. Find out details on the upcoming event.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Is This Really an Eco-Resort? If You're Asking Questions, Maybe Not

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:50:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak I know that eco-resorts are growing in popularity, and that's a great thing. According to Sustainable Travel, 58.5 million Americans say they would pay more to use a travel company that strives to protect and preserve the environment. But hanging up the towels so that they don't get washed two days in a row just doesn't cut it. Being a green hotel , takes much more than green washing. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Pesticides Deform Two More Species of California's Frogs

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:35:00 GMT

photo: istock Pesticides are again doing a number on California's amphibian population according to a new study by Don Sparling of Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Mongabay. A poisonous cloud of endosulfan is blowing through the Sierra Mountains and into crucial frog habitats. Which frogs are falling victims and why is the die off so dramatic?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Can Social Networking Save the Bees? Let's Hope So Because Nearly 1/3 of the World's Food Supply Depends On It

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Zenzi Haagen-Dazs has long made saving endangered bees a mission. And that's no small feat, considering that nearly one third of the world's food supply is dependant on an extremely vulnerable bee population. Now Haagen-Dazs and ExperienceProject.com are working together to save these bees through a number of social networking projects.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Water Conservation Really Works: Quenching a Desert City's Thirst Without Running Out of Water

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: J. Novak Many western states, like California, recently have had to contend with some severe water issues, so how has Phoenix, which is located smack in the middle of the desert, managed continually to serve the water needs of nearly 3.5 million people? The answer is a lesson in how a comprehensive water strategy can effectively serve an area not blessed with an overabundance of water, and how these ideas can be utilized throughout the country.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Carrotmob Sets Its Sights on Charleston

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:10:00 GMT

photo: Carrotmob Charleston We've heard about the Carrotmob in San Francisco. Kristin wrote that the organization uses the masses to bring about environmental changes in local businesses. Their first mob scene took place at a convenience store in the Mission District. The store chosen agrees to give a percentage of sales from the event to upgrading the store with green improvements. Now Carrotmob has made its way across the country to Charleston, S.C. where it already "mobbed" the Queen Street Grocery.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rice Biodiversity Techniques Remain Intact in Rural Thailand

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:00:00 GMT

photo: Food Mapping As with other high yield crops like rice, meant to feed large groups of people on the cheap, domesticated crops are chosen to be grown in mass often leaving the crop's biodiversity in jeopardy. But thanks to the time honored rice harvesting traditions of Thai rice farmers, many of the less prevalent but still incredibly important rice crop varieties remain intact. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Sara Novak, Columbia, SC