They say that low expectations are the key to happiness – and there is some truth to that. While I didn’t have low expectations for Italy, I tried to keep them realistic. As is the case when traveling, we encountered inconveniences, setbacks, and even some scary moments during those two weeks, but keeping perspective and flexibility helped us laugh about them, if only in retrospect.
It is impossible to travel without creating an impact, and the one I talk about most frequently is carbon footprint. Ecological impacts from travel can be significant, which is why if and when I do visit new places, I want to make sure that my other impacts can be positive ones, such as supporting the local economy and being a good cultural ambassador.
Probably the only thing that makes me retreat indoors during summer is mosquitoes. I can handle heat and rain in high quantities, but once I become a buffet, I’m ready to call it quits. Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying; they can carry serious diseases. There are a number of natural solutions to help keep these pests away if you’re looking for an alternative to synthetic repellents.
People have been asking the question for years: are real or artificial trees better for the environment. My husband says that reusing his plastic tree for years is better than cutting down a live one. I say that carbon footprint is an important factor, but not the only one. Will a Life Cycle Analysis funded by the artificial tree industry put this question to rest?
A variety of factors are making Christmas trees (both real and artificial) harder to come by this year. Because of climate change and clogged supply chains, availability is dropping and prices are rising. We’ll take this opportunity to look at the pros and cons of each and see if there is a “correct” choice of tree, based on aspects of conservation, health, and economics.
Aphids can drain a plant of the nutrients it needs, thereby damaging or killing it, but they can also spread disease from one plant to another. Since my garden is exploding with them, I wanted to understand the best ways to get rid of them or even prevent them in the first place. But that’s easier said than done, as they have some unlikely allies.
Some of my most controversial, infamous, and still-talked-about Facebook posts of all time involve something that seems to draw opinions from even the most reserved people I know: expiration dates. Many people believe that the “sell by” or “best by” dates stamped on food are the end-all, be-all, definitive line between “safe” and “not safe” for food, and in almost every case that is not accurate.
On this, the second anniversary of Radical Moderate, we will be looking into the traditional second anniversary gift: cotton. It is one of the most widely produced textiles on earth, with farms spread across multiple countries. Unfortunately, it usually requires a lot of land, water, and chemicals to produce. This post will look into consumer options and how to make the most responsible wardrobe choices.
In general, it appears that CSAs can help out in the area of reducing one’s carbon footprint, but not why we think. It’s not so much because the food is local; rather because they generally encourage you to eat more in-season produce and less meat. In this final post, we’ll review what aspects of your food purchases make more (or less) of an impact.
While buying local food is beneficial for local farmers, it doesn’t make that much of a difference to the environment. Transportation-related greenhouse gases are a drop in the bucket compared to GHGs associated with land use, farming, and methane produced by cows. Looking at the numbers shows that it’s what you eat, not where it comes from that makes the biggest impact.