Fracking, again.

Hydraulic fracturing is a process to release natural gas from shale by pumping thousands of gallons of water mixed with sand and other chemicals into the ground, cracking the rock and releasing the gas.
Residents living near fracking sites have been able to light their tap water on fire, which 'bubbles' when it comes out of the faucet. Oh, and the returning mixture of fluid and natural gas also brings up radioactive elements from the shale. Lovely, considering we don't know what these chemicals could be doing to our health.
Fracking companies, such as Halliburton, have been able to get through loopholes in many environmental regulatory acts, such as the clean water act.
While states such as New Jersey and Maryland are pushing legislation to outlaw fracking, in Ohio Governor Kasich is pushing for MORE fracking, in parks and public places.

*all the links above redirect to recent articles outlining the states' views on fracking.

Earth Fest 2011!

Earth Fest 2011 will be held on April 17 at the Cleveland Zoo. I highly recommend attending if you are interested in environmental issues, health issues, or if you're just looking for something different to do! I haven't been before, but I will be volunteering this year at the Naturehood booth, where we will be making seed balls with native plants. Earth Fest is put on by Earth Day Coalition, and you can find more information on their website, here. Or you can just ask me if you have any questions, since I will be representing them at one of the booths!

P.S. My lovely company of Starbucks Coffee will also have a booth there  :)

oops, it's been a while.

I haven't posted in a while because I am in the process of moving! I moved into a house in Lakewood on the 15th, so I have been busy with moving and setting up utilities. I can relate this to the environment though!

When getting settled into my new house, I learned that the city of Lakewood has a mandatory recycling program. You can recycle paper and cardboard with your curbside glass and metal recycling - something Berea, my current city, doesn't offer. Currently, if you want to recycling paper or cardboard, you have to take it to a special facility, usually found in the metro parks.

What does everyone think about mandatory recycling?

E-Waste

Wonder what happens to all those old electronics you throw away? When you get a new phone every two years?

Please buy organic dairy!

I found an article by friendsEAT that discusses the recent confession from Kraft foods that recombinant bovine growth hormones are present in their food (rBGH).

What is rBGH and why should we care?
Introduced by seed monopoly Monsanto, rBGH is injected into cows to make them produce more milk. Our food is not labeled if it contains this hormone because of the "revolving door" between Monstanto and the government. (Monsanto has people in the FDA, etc. etc.)

rBGH is illegal in every country except for the United States and Brazil. It's illegal everywhere else for good reason... "milk from cows injected with recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) increases risks of breast and colon cancers in humans. (friendsEAT)"

Not to mention the increase in PUS in cow's milk, along with other nasty things.

So, if you want to avoid this, first and foremost, organic dairy needs to be hormone free, such as Organic Valley. So, you can buy organic dairy, but there are a few non-organic brands as well that do not have rBGH in their products. A sample list:  General Mills (Yoplait yogurt), Dannon yogurt, Costco's "Kirkland Signature," Target's "Archer Farm," Sam's and Walmart's "Great Value," Safeway’s "O," Publix’s “High Meadows,” Giant's "Nature's Promise," Fresh and Easy store brand, and Kroger store brand (Natalie Lovins).

Here's a great link to rBGH free products by state. I highly suggest that everyone takes a look at this and starts buying organic/rBGH free. After all, in a market economy, if we buy more organic, more organic things will be produced! :)

This blog is turning into a blog about vegetarian eating...

I've been slacking on my posts! But some more delicious vegetarian foods...
I got take out from Wah Fu in Middleburg Heights the other day... Tofu and Vegetables. 7.25 for a hugeee container... also the BEST tofu I've ever gotten from a restaurant. I definitely recommend it for anyone. If you've never had tofu but want to try it, this is probably your best bet for your first tofu meal.

 

My other good vegetarian food shout out goes to Dominex! They make a bunch of frozen eggplant foods. I got the eggplant vegetarian meatballs, they were delicious.