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From the 8/28/12 New York Times : Destroying Precious Land for Gas By SEAN LENNON ON the northern tip of Delaware County, N.Y., where the Catskill Mountains curl up into little kitten hills, and Ouleout Creek slithers north into the Susquehanna River, there is a farm my parents bought before I was born. My earliest memories there are of skipping stones with my father and drinking unpasteurized milk. There are bald eagles and majestic pines, honeybees and raspberries. My mother even planted a ring of white birch trees around the property for protection. A few months ago I was asked by a neighbor near our farm to attend a town meeting at the local high school. Some gas companies at the meeting were trying very hard to sell us on a plan to tear through our wilderness and make room for a new pipeline: infrastructure for hydraulic fracturing. Most of the residents at the meeting, many of them organic farmers, were openly defiant. The gas companies didn’t seem to care. They gave us the feel...

Just when you think you've got it under control, junk mail creeps up on you again. If you order something online, you will generally begin getting regular catalogs from the company, even if you had previously asked not to. If you wrote to an organization like the Direct Mail Association, asking to get off mailing lists, be aware that they keep your name in their database for only 5 years. So it might be time to make that request again. Food for thought: Americans spend 8 months of life opening junk mail; 90 million trees are leveled each year to provide the paper for mostly unwanted mailings; out of 5.6 million tons of mailings generated each year, 4.3 million are thrown in the garbage; 340,000 garbage trucks are needed to haul away all the junk mail that doesn't quite make it to the recycling bin.* In your letter, request your name and address be deleted from all mailing and marketing lists. Provide them with all possible ways of spelling your name, as well as the names of a...

With so many areas of the country suffering from drought this summer, we might want to think about ways to conserve water. The average lawn and many gardens use quite a bit of water, but there is no need to do without greenery in our backyards and community gardens. Think about growing plants that require less moisture. Treehugger has a nice slide show on would-be lawns that have been converted into gardens requiring minimum water . The Chicago parkway garden (above) is planted with native and drought tolerant plants that divert rainwater from sewers, provide food and forage for pollinators, and brighten up the neighborhood.

Every year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) releases a list of the 12 fruits and vegetables which routinely contain the most pesticides. If possible, choose to get organic versions of these. Washing your fruits and vegetables won't remove all traces of pesticide and pesticides tend to remain within our bodies over long periods of time. These chemicals have been linked with many health problems such as asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and several types of cancer. The Pesticides Induced Diseases Databases at Beyond Pesticides will tell you more. Here is the current list of fruits and vegetables to eat in organic form whenever possible: Apples Celery Sweet bell peppers Peaches Strawberries Imported nectarines Grapes Spinach Lettuce Cucumbers Domestic blueberries Potatoes EWG also lists a clean 15 --fruits and vegeetables that aren't so bad to eat non-organic.

We're all about reducing waste, and it makes it easier if you have a great new use for would-be waste. Banana peels, for instance. Did you know that a banana peel can be used to remove splinters, polish silverware, polish shoes, reduce the itch of insect bites, and more. Get the details on reusing banana peels . Thanks to Kat G. for passing on this tip! After you're finished using your banana peels and other food waste, you can compost them. If you don't have your own compost, the Grand Army Plaza green market as well as others accepts compostable waste .

Insects are, for the most part, an important part of our ecosystem. Many of us prefer that they stay in the outdoor ecosystem rather than in our homes. Small spiders and ladybugs can easily be scooped up on a piece of paper and returned to the outside world where they and you will be happier. Other kinds of insects, like bedbugs and roaches, have a less clear role in the outside ecosystem and when discovered indoors need to be removed ASAP. Beyond Pesticides has advice about the least toxic pesticide options. Ants, for example, plague many Brooklynites during the summer months. Beyond Pesticides has a factsheet to help you cope. There is helpful information about bedbugs as well. The Food Coop carries food grade diatomaceous earth , a safer alternative to tackle and prevent a number of indoor insects.

As the battle to gain statewide legislation banning hydraulic fracture drilling from New York State continues, various municipalities are passing their own local legislation to protect their water supply. Of course, ground water flows from one area to the next, and we really need statewide legislation to protect our environment, but every bit of local legislation helps. Fractracker has a map showing current fracking moratoria and legislation throughout the state .