BAGS BANNED!!! Dear Terra I thought there was a state ban on single use plastic bags, but I still see small produce bags in the grocery stores. I’m confused! Baffled by Bags Dear Baffled, Let’s try to “unpack” the new plastic bag ban that went into effect on Oct. 1. Read more…
Dear Talking the Talk, This week we address the second part of your question about how to contact your legislators. There are MANY sites you can refer to, but here are some constants I gleaned. Letters and emails are both effective, but if time is critical, snail mail, is, well, Read more…
Dear Terra, I want to be an activist in the fight around climate change, but I am a chicken when it comes to writing to politicians. Is there a resource I can use that has pre-written, ready-to-sign letters or petitions to express my views? Is it effective to send letters Read more…
Dear Terra, We LOVE Halloween! Can we be earth-friendly and still go wild? Hyper for Halloween Dear Hyper for Halloween, We love Halloween, too, but not at the expense of our world. Americans will spend over $8 billion on Halloween this year on cheap, plastic, disposable, packaging-heavy trash. What to Read more…
Dear Terra During the last election, I saw a few signs in the neighborhood with the message “Vote Climate”. I am interested in putting one in my yard this fall but don’t know where to get one. Can you help me? “Green” Voter Dear “Green” Voter, Of course! I have Read more…
Dear Terra This seems like an elementary thing that maybe everyone but myself knew about all along, but it’s been revelatory for me. At an a local hardware store, I purchased a gauge with two metal probes on it that can be stuck into the ground, a couple of inches or Read more…
Dear Terra, I need a potluck dish for this weekend that is Earth-friendly and uses some of the produce from my yard. Any suggestions? Headed to the Lake! Dear Headed to the Lake, Here’s a main dish salad that looks yummy! I clipped it from the Spokesman Review this morning Read more…
Dear Terra, I recently saw an article that said mealworms can eat plastic. Can this be true? Signed, Looking On The Bright Side Dear Looking On The Bright Side, According to an article I found from Stanford about plastic-eating mealworms, it’s true! They can eat plastic as a steady food Read more…
Did you know that about 40% of food in America is thrown out? That brings us to our sixth and final R: Rot/Compost. We all have those science experiments in the back of our fridges, but when food is wasted, so is the land, water and energy used to produce Read more…
Sadly, many people justify excess waste because they recycle. But not everything tossed in our blue bins is actually recyclable. Let’s look at how to recycle the most effectively. Know what’s recyclable in your area. This is the most important step in recycling! Each waste hauler accepts different items, which is determined Read more…