Archive for Earth Friendly
My Organic Garden – The Garlic Decision
Posted by: | CommentsHello fellow green living gardeners. I am writing today as I find myself at an impasse. The summer is coming to an end and as 
the harvest approaches my quandary is this; should I plant garlic in the fall? We all know that garlic is delicious and an integral component to any Italian dish, but did you know of its health benefits? Garlic is an antioxidant like the blueberry which tends to garner all the attention.
As you may (or may not) have read, antioxidants are believed to help ward off heart disease, cancer and even prevent premature aging. Apparently garlic can do all that plus help lower your bad cholesterol, is good for diabetics and can help those with a blood pressure problem. That’s a whole lot of goodness packed into that clove.
When adding garlic into your diet you should know a few simple facts:
- The smaller garlic is chopped or diced the more pungent it is
- Store unpeeled garlic in an open container in a cool, dry place away from other foods
- Whole unpeeled cloves should never be refrigerated or frozen because moisture is a natural enemy to the garlic clove. There is a loophole to this fridge rule though. To save time you can store peeled cloves in a sealed airtight container in the fridge, this helps when cooking in a hurry during the week (say for Meatless Monday). However, garlic should not be store in the fridge for long periods of time. I would say no longer than a week to ten days.
Pakistan flooding and the environmental impact that may follow
Posted by: | CommentsWhile the immediate attention in Pakistan concerns flood relief efforts that have impacted a huge percentage of the land and in turn the population and the lingering impacts on environmental scale may be equally concerning once the waters have receded. The traditional rainy season has been extremely harsh the summer resulting in the worst flooding in living memory causing the deaths of several thousand and the loss of homes for many millions more. Three weeks of extreme flooding has caused rivers to become lakes and entire towns to be submerged underneath dirty brown water, the immediate concerns are of course humanitarian in nature as disease increases while the entire infrastructure of the inner regions of Pakistan is crippled by the flooding.
The crisis itself has grown rapidly over the last few weeks, while gaining a full and proper assessment of the damage is very difficult to compile. 
Even while governments and aid agencies are coming together to provide some degree of relief to Pakistan a government report published today looks at the long-term potential implications caused by the flooding and the damage ecologically to the nation. The two highest concerns are naturally water supplies and the impact on agricultural infrastructure and therefore the food supplies for the nation.
Experts are suggesting that this is the worst flooding to impact Pakistan for many generations, as a result gauging the impact is extremely difficult for the country now has a population estimated at 170 million as opposed to just under 50 million in 1960. The pressures on the food and water supplies for Pakistan are naturally greater than the last time such devastating weather impacted the country. The primary source for water in Pakistan is the now overflowing Indus River and beyond the flooding itself is the damage to sanitation and sewage plants caused by the flooding. Even before this event international observers had published reports expressing that the burden on the food infrastructure and security of distribution was already approaching a crisis level. The flooding can only emphasize just how stretched the food management chain within Pakistan currently is. The immediate aid will hopefully bring a level of stability to those displaced and bring urgently needed help to curtail what is rapidly turning into a major health crisis. It’s the period of time after the flooding that perhaps should bring the most concern. How best to provide the crop assistance, irrigation and sanitation support as well as ensure that food and water can be transported equitably and smoothly into the central region of the country which is under such intense pressure at the moment.
It will of course take great organization and planning to help Pakistan through the immediate weeks but also to safeguard the food and water distribution within the country. The United Nations will take an active role with such planning and we must hope the environmental impacts of the flooding do not bring heightened instability to the country which would be the last thing it needs.
Expedia.com help bring ‘green hotels’ into the marketplace
Posted by: | CommentsThe days of just booking a hotel by calling the chains toll free number have been greatly changed by large online travel agencies who have cornered the bookings part of the market by combining the best in selection, information and pricing - all key factors for someone planning a trip. Expedia.com® have emerged as the largest online travel agency but in addition to value and scope of selection they have also developed 
an online tool that is ideal for the environmentally conscious traveler. Via a very specific approval process hotels can be approved as green properties and customers can now search with that specific criteria in mind .
The Expedia.com Green hotel program has not been activated for very long but new properties keep getting added to the program which now boasts over 2,000 options for the well informed traveler which also is the largest such range of choices amongst online agencies. Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager, Expedia.com adds:
“Expedia.com is committed to helping travelers find the broadest range of ‘green’ properties in the industry, the recent inclusion of Hilton Worldwide’s brands, that use the LightStay system, in Expedia.com’s Green Hotel Program helps fulfill that commitment.”
Expedia expect the choices to grow rapidly in the years ahead as the immportance of a hotel’s practices will soon be akin to their overall facilities and locations as travelers place this ever higher on their list of needs. The company are partnering with a non profit called Sustainable Travel International.org to build even more inroads within the marketplace. Expedia explain part of the approach more fully beneath:
Find green hotels that balance environmental protection and social responsibility—without sacrificing your comfort. Together with Sustainable Travel International, we’ve pinpointed the green hotels that are pioneering green travel practices. Green travel—also known as responsible travel, sustainable travel, eco-tourism, and geotourism—is redefining the travel industry. Hotels and other tourism companies are being challenged to do business in an increasingly environmentally friendly, socially responsible way. This growing demand has spurred many hotels, both large and small, to implement green business practices. To recognize these green hotels, each striving toward the three main areas of sustainability—environmental protection, socio-cultural responsibility, and local economic growth—we’ve compiled a list with the help of Sustainable Travel International!
The example of newly added Hilton’s measurements are a clear indicator of how individual proprerties will be assessed as over 200 operational practices are measured, including housekeeping, paper product usage, food waste, chemical storage, air quality and transportation. Expedia’s purchasing power also means that people who book green are also getting the best available deals for the hotels in question which makes the choice that much easier.
To learn much more about Expedia’s green hotel program please visit for the specific details on their site - or better still bookmark it and use it the next time you travel!!
The Emerald Isle offers its first ‘Green Graveyard’
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s good if a little morbid to know we can still be environmentally responsible after our demise which inevitably happens to all of us. The concept of a ‘green burial’ isn’t new but is gaining rapid popularity in many new places as it is both an eco-friendly end of days but also reduces costs to a great extent.
Blackstairs Mountains in Ireland
A company in Ireland have announced that planning permission has been granted for a 100% natural burial ground along the foot of the Blackstairs Mountains to the southwest of Dublin in a rural part of County Wexford, the first of its kind in Ireland. With the land now secured the processes can be readied for the first burials which are expected to take place sometime this Autumn. The owner of the company has committed to running the company in a completely sustainable method and will be a non-denominational ground so that people of any faith or none at all can be placed at rest in the beautiful location. He chose the site in part for the unspoiled beauty of the location which sits occupying over 7 acres of gentle woodland and soft irish grass.
He also feels the lower costs will make people give extra consideration to the new idea with potential savings of up to $6,000 for a single plot. With pricing for a single plot starting at a price of less than $1,000 he thinks that people who aren’t even environmentally active may participate in an approach that he calls ‘much gentler on the land’. The entire process will be different to tradition in Ireland, for example marble headstones and surrounds will be replaced by the planting of a native tree and a wooden marker. They will offer the alternative of a small stone from a local quarry only.
The owner states that “allowing your funeral to be used as a conservation tool will leave a legacy of care and respect for our planet” he hopes to select other burial grounds soon including one much nearer to Dublin. The first graveyard will allow for about 5,000 burials but he expects the success to mirror what is already happening in the UK where over 250 such facilities exist and ‘natural’ burials account for almost a third of all burials.
He also operates Green Coffins Ireland, which supplies undertakers with a range of “eco” funeral options such as coffins made from willow, cardboard, bamboo and banana leaf. If cremation is preferable they state that each “eco coffin” is accepted and considered suitable by “all the crematoriums in Ireland, North and South” and it also provides “eco-urns” made from “100 per cent recycled paper “ or wickerwork for the storage or burial of ashes.
I expect this option to grow slowly but consistently here in the years to come also, I think it would be a fitting legacy to the land that nurtured us.Learn more about the natural burial concept via their website.