Another month and yet another food recall. Over the past few years high profile food recalls have seemingly become the norm. These national or regional recalls, whether it's beef, toys from china, spinach, tomatoes, or peanut butter, is a failure of our food and trade agencies. They have failed to do their job and these failures are catching up with us. The 'us' doesn't only include the consuming public, it also means the produce growers in this particular case because the Food and Drug Administration has not yet identified the source of the contamination. It has been several weeks since the start of the outbreak and with no source identified, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tomatoes have gone to rot because they can't be sold or unharvested or destroyed by tomato growers. Lost revenues often means lost jobs.

If you've ever walked barefoot through a lush, thick, healthy green grass lawn, you've probably caught the bug. The bug that drives us all. Having a beautiful lawn full of deep soft grass is probably the dream of almost everyone. Most of us however, feel it's too difficult to attain. In reality though, it's fairly simple to do. You'll need to give it time and attention of course, but it will be worth it in the end.

The first step to having a deep lush green lawn naturally is to prepare the soil for the best possible results. It's a good idea to test the pH levels of your soil, and you can do this by getting a soil testing kit from your local nursery or garden center.

If your soil pH is not quite right, you'll want to enrich it with some natural compost, or by adding some natural elements to it such as lime or sulphur. Ask your local garden center specialists which elements need to be added based on your soil test results, and they're usually happy to help.

http://localfuture.org

Megan Quinn Bachman presents "Surviving Peak Oil, Thriving in Community" from the International Conference on Peak Oil and Climate Change: Paths to Sustainability. This is part two of the presentation

Megan Quinn Bachman is the Outreach Director of Community Service and has been writing and speaking on peak oil since 2003. She serves as Master of Ceremonies for the U.S. Conferences on Peak Oil and Community Solutions in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Quinn Bachman's articles on peak oil appeared in Communities, Permaculture Activist, WellBeing, Vermont Commons, Energy Bulletin and Global Public Media. She co-wrote and co-produced the documentary, The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. Quinn Bachman earned a degree in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs from Miami University and studied abroad at the University of Havana in Cuba.

Hydroponic Onion

Hydroponics, is derived from the Greek words 'hydro' and 'ponics', meaning water working. In hydroponic gardening, plants are grown without using soil; instead nutrients are delivered via the plants' water supply.

There are many different commercial hydroponics systems, available in a variety size, form, and type of materials used. These systems use electric pumps for aeration (the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or substance) and irrigation.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has produced a Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce.

EWG recommends buying organic, but is aware that you cannot always find organic food. The Shoppers Guide features the 12 fruits and veggies with the most and least pesticides so you will know which ones to buy organic, and which conventionally-grown ones are okay when organic isn't available.