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For months, numerous groups and individuals have been petitioning the new administration to be the symbol for all Americans to follow — to lead by example and plant an organic food garden at the White House. Well the dream is becoming an reality. Tomorrow (March 20th, the first day of Spring), Michelle Obama will [...]

I first became familiar with Sara Snow when I was pregnant and on bed-rest. Between reading baby books and eating I watched her Discovery show Get Fresh with Sara Snow and enjoyed her ease and playful approach to environmentalism. I love how Sara always mixes stories of her childhood into her day-to-day recipes for green [...]

I think many of us agree that our food system is a mess.  Our industrial ways are destroying our environment and health.  We had hope that Obama would pick a Secretary of Agriculture who would be good for our future but his choice in Tom Vilsack is problematic. There appears to be a glimmer of [...]

The next U.S. president is going to have the daunting task of fixing all that has gone wrong in this country. However, I believe that both candidates are overlooking an extremely important issue — our food system. As Michael Pollan said on WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show, “It’s true that neither candidate has talked about food [...]

My family and I are strong believers in eating locally and organically. In the late fall, winter and early spring, we get food deliveries from a services called Door-to-Door Organics and in the late spring, summer and fall we are members of a local CSA called Asbury Village Farm.
However, the most local you can [...]

I want my child to connect with nature, but how can a suburban park be designed to both protect visitors from Lyme disease–carrying ticks and restore the natural ecosystem?
—Lena Crandall, Scarsdale, NY
The funny thing about wildlife (even the kind that finds its way into parks and playgrounds in developed areas) is that it’s wild and [...]

Since I write this column for Audubon Magazine, I thought I would share my (laboriously researched) advice with Eco Chick readers.

In considering the hidden costs that come with shipping fruit—trucking it around the globe in refrigerated containers—I’m wondering whether it’s more energy efficient to eat dried fruit?
—Justin Van Kleeck, Charlottesville, VA
This is indeed a [...]

These cool rugs, called Mad mats, are not only made from recycled plastic, they are inexpensive too! And since they’re made from plastic, you can use them on your patio, porch, or deck, or in the garden, or even in a kids’ room (or college dorm). To clean, just hose off!

Ever embarked on a home project, but didn’t have the tools needed or the money/space to buy and store them? Like most renters, buying a huge stash of tools isn’t feasible for me anytime soon. That’s why there are resources like the Berkeley tool library. One of the first libraries to lend hardware to local [...]

I’ve been enjoying the well-written and funny-as-hell GardenRant blog of late, and Susan Harris, who runs the site jointly with two other women, is guest-posting about why she wanted to start a blog that focuses on ecologically intelligent gardening. Check it out!
Why Gardening Matters 
by Susan Harris of GardenRant
When uppity women come together to create a [...]