I spend a good bit of time in my garden, weeding more than anything else. A year or so ago, Christian suggested that I use a weed barrier so I wouldn’t have to work as hard. I never knew of any weed barrier options other than plastic sheeting, so I didn’t consider weed barrier a viable option until a coworker mentioned her grandmother’s method.
When the weather gets hot, you need to stay hydrated, but how do you do that if you’ve pledged a Plastic-Free July? Sports drinks come in plastic bottles, and are further secured on flats in layers of plastic film. This summer I turned to an old recipe that predated plastic (and probably the Roman Empire) to help me through the heat and my zero-plastic challenge.
We’ve examined both sides of the issue, and it’s still less than clear. Are juries deciding cases based on fear instead of facts? Are scientists being muzzled? What happens if we get rid of glyphosate for good – is it a win-win, or will there be some losers? Here are some final thoughts, organic alternatives, and ways to get involved, if you so choose.
It would be hard for anyone to parse all the information available on Roundup – there is just so much of it. One count claims over 3,300 peer-reviewed studies on connections between glyphosate and cancer. But what do these studies tell us, and is cancer the only risk? Glyphosate is winding up in our stomachs and may be having an impact on our gut bacteria.
Give anybody a controversial topic and the internet, and sparks are sure to fly. In this post we will go through the history of glyphosate studies and the contradictory results that have left two intensely opposed camps in their wake. We will also take a look at some questionable actions on Monsanto’s part that are not helping parent company Bayer through its current legal battles.
About a year ago, I was out in my garden doing battle with weeds when my neighbor casually suggested that I use Roundup so I didn’t have to work as hard. Once I figured out that he wasn’t joking, I was shocked and horrified. Since then I’ve followed the ups and downs of Roundup, Monsanto, Bayer, scientific studies, and court cases.
Everything is connected on this blog, and this week’s topics are no exception. In order to maintain my pollinator garden cheaply and sustainably, I wanted to set up a greywater reclamation system to use wastewater from my laundry, and in order to ensure that only plant-safe compounds were winding up in my garden, I had to do some research on biodegradable laundry detergents.
I recently came across a link for “Plastic-Free July” in my Facebook feed. As the name would suggest, the mission is to reduce or eliminate plastic use during the month of July. I have kept up with a lot of my habits from my zero-waste Lent this past spring, but, I thought this new challenge was worth a look.
Getting a new roof is (hopefully) not something you have to think about more than a handful of times in your life, and this is certainly the first time I’ve ever been in this situation. While I’m not thrilled about the expense, I am excited about the prospect of learning about our options and making an environmentally-responsible choice.
Our third night in the woods of Virginia met with some interesting effects on my brain in particular. How much of it was a legitimate effect versus my expectation of finding something unusual? I can’t answer that, but I can say that I did feel better (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) while camping and plan to make time for more of it in the future.