EcoNewMexico.com

The garden can be full of surprises. An interesting vine sprouted a few months back. Although I didn't recognize it, I decided to let it grow. My theory is that with as many wildflower seeds as I've sown I try to give any new plant a fighting chance to prove it's not a weed. My bet paid off with a Morning Glory.

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Those were the simple directions at the end of The Omnivore's Dilemma. It's a straightforward and direct answer to the question "What should people eat?" Yet somehow, that wasn't clear enough for a lot of people. What is food? How much is too much? What kind of plants? Etcetera and so on. So, Michael Pollan wrote In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto.

UPDATE - July 2, 2008
The BLM has reversed its earlier decision and will continue to receive and review applications for utility scale solar power projects while it develops a unified PEIS. Click for the Press Release. It looks like the public comments had a direct influence on the BLM!

Got Garlic?

Freshly harvested Allium sativum L. (i.e. Bosque Early Garlic). I dug these bulbs up yesterday evening and they are now hanging up to dry. The laundry room is quite aromatic at the moment. My wife informed me that we will be planting 'three times as many' after seeing the ten garlic plants I pulled up. I have no argument with that whatsoever. I may have to try a few different varieties like Spanish Roja or a hard-neck garlic.

More Info:
Wikipedia: Garlic

Most of us have seen recycling bins next to trash cans in public places. Recycling isn't quite universal yet, but it has become common enough that many of us expect it. I will often carry plastic or aluminum home if I can't find a recycling bin nearby. But, this is the first time I've seen a compost bin in a public place.

What: Sustainability Week and GreenBuilt Tour New Mexico
When: May 10 - 18, 2008
Where: Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos, NM

I've been reading about Green Building and scores of new ideas and technologies being developed. With so many possible building designs and techniques the choices can be overwhelming. I think it's time to check out some green homes and buildings to see what works and what doesn't. Just in time for Spring home improvement and house hunting season here comes Sustainability Week and the New Mexico GreenBuilt Tour.

In a New York Times Earth Day column, Michael Pollan asks
 "Why Bother? That really is the big question facing us as individuals hoping to do something about climate change, and it’s not an easy one to answer."

While the real estate market is currently in a flat spin, housing is still a basic need. Choosing a home may be the biggest way you can affect your personal CO2 footprint. If a yurt doesn't meet your housing needs there are other low CO2 options. If you are choosing between a new and a used home, which is the better option? The answer, of course, is that "it depends".

If you live in the suburbs, like I do, the yard around your home is the closest you come to the natural environment on a day to day basis. This begs the question - Is your yard a natural environment?

Cordless and cell phones, laptops, digital cameras and camcorders, remote control cars and cordless power tools. Each of these devices rely on rechargeable batteries, which given enough time and use fail to hold a charge. What do you do with the formerly-rechargeable Nickel Cadmium, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion, and Sealed Lead batteries? Recycle them, of course!