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.
After a long, cold, lonely winter, I was more than ready to get back out in the garden and enjoy the warmth and the flowers. With some inspiration from my friends, I made and canned syrups made from my violets and honeysuckle, and I have been drinking them in cocktails as I sit and watch the world come back to life.
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.
Spending a month with my parents in eastern PA allowed me to meet our newest invasive species: the Spotted Lanternfly. This insect has been in Pennsylvania for less than a decade but is already wreaking havoc on a variety of cash crops, including grapes, grains, fruit, and hardwood. This post covers how to recognize them and kill them – because, yes, it is necessary.
I recently saw some deadly misinformation circulating on my neighborhood’s message board app related to hummingbird care. Since they are so tiny, their bodies are incredibly sensitive to what they consume. Pesticides, herbicides, and even some hummingbird nectars contain chemicals that can hurt or kill them. In this post is information that can help ensure the health and safety of your beautiful neighborhood hummingbirds.