clair098

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature&#8212 the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” &#8212 Rachel Carson Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907 and died on April 14, 1964&#8212 at age 57&#8212 of breast cancer. She wrote Silent Spring , credited with starting the current environmental movement. Ms. Carson was alarmed by the hundreds of new chemicals, particularly synthetic pesticides, that were being introduced into the environment each year. The effects of these chemicals on human health and the environment was not known, but even in the course of her lifetime, Ms. Carson observed the "silencing" of spring&#8212fewer birds, bees, butterflies and other life. She was villified by chemical manufacturers, not accustomed to being challenged, especially by a woman. She continued to ...

"The question is not 'can you make a difference?' You already do make a difference.  It's just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, during your life on this planet." -- Julia Butterfly Hill Some coop members are using less plastic these days.  Seven of them were interviewed about what they're doing, how, and why.  Thank you to Anna Amadei, David Barouh, Michael Braudy, Laura Sheinkopf, Moraima Suarez, Majo Tinoco, and Gabriel Willow for generously sharing their experiences and thoughts. The common feature of what these members are doing in the produce and bulk aisles is simple:  they make another choice instead of taking a new plastic bag from the roll.  Either they use no bag or a cloth bag, or re-use an old plastic bag.  Beyond this shared choice, they have individually found other ways to reduce plastic use. Some of what inspired these people to reduce their plastic use:  for Majo, "increasing awareness of the Great P...