Blog entries

Florida Considering Phase-Out of Plastic Shopping Bags

John Allegro — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:49:24 +0100

Here's a video from Capitol News Service. The report tells us that Florida could be the first state in the nation with a plastic shopping bag ban. Their Department of Environmental Protection has developed a five year plan that would either ban the bags or charge a fee for their use.

Good segment about the free market influence; a local food coop removed plastic bags as an option in order to raise awareness.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBJx8D2IuBs&featuRead More...

Got Your Bags?

John Allegro — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:51:17 +0100

Press Release

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Today non-profit, government and business groups joined together to kick off the "Got Your Bags?" campaign - a public education and outreach effort aimed at encouraging Californians to use reusable bags for shopping and bring plastic bags back to the store for recycling.

California state law (AB 2449) requires grocery stores and pharmacies with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space to provide bins for the collection and rRead More...

CVS Pays You Back to Say "No" to Plastic Bags

John Allegro — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:36:48 +0100

CVS pharmacy has come up with a clever program to encourage shoppers to cut down on the use of single-use plastic bags. They've introduced the GreenBagTag which pays back their ExtraCare program members for declining plastic bags when making a purchase. The GreenBagTag is available for purchase at any CVS store, all of which participate in the program. There's no charge to join the ExtraCare program, which gives 2% back on most store purchases.

Here's how it works: The GreenBagTag,Read More...

BagItAgain! at Bialas Farms' Open House November 22

John Allegro — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:41:04 +0100

We'll be joining Bialas Farms again at their annual pre-Thanksgiving open house in their barn on Celery Avenue in New Hampton, NY. The Bialas' are kind enough to open their Winter CSA pick-up days to some other local farmers and vendors twice each season.

The Thanksgiving open house will be held on Sunday, November 22 from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. We'll be offering our natural jute and cotton shopping bags, jute back packs, and our new jute wine bags. We'll also Read More...

Save the Plastic Bag and the False Dilemma - #1

John Allegro — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Had savetheplasticbag.com put forth only reasonable and provable arguments in support of plastic shopping bags, the site would be more helpful to those that wish to make good decisions in the "paper vs. plastic" debate. But then, we'd be deprived of the tragi-comic relief that it provides us with through its faulty logic and incomplete assumptions. That the nature of the site is based solely on the "paper vs. plastic" issue leads us to question whether it is bRead More...

Seattle Votes Down Bag Tax... and Save the What?

John Allegro — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Strike up another victory for the plastic bag lobby. The city of Seattle was to begin a 20 cent fee per non-reusable plastic or paper bag distributed at the checkout counter beginning January 1. The deep-pocketed Progressive Bag Affiliates, which "promotes the responsible use, reuse, recycling and disposal of pastic bags" (huh?), pumped $1.4 million into a campaign to bring the issue to a referendum. The law was voted down by the people today.

ProgressRead More...

Fairfield CT Weighs Plastic Bag Ban

John Allegro — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Plastic bag ban update:

The Hartford Courant recently reported that Fairfield is a step closer to enacting a ban on plastic shopping bags. The town board will be voting next week on an ordinance that was passed unanimously by the Reusable Bag Ordinance Committee.

The Connecticut Post followed up today with a brief, no-nonsense editorial in support of passage of the ban, pointing out that even if plastic bags are "reused a few timesRead More...

To Go?

John Allegro — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0100

The Highland Park News reported yesterday on a public hearing over a proposed citywide ban on plastic foam packaging and single use plastic bags. Local restaurant and retail owners spoke out, claiming that such a law would place undue economic hardship on their businesses.

Claiming that (unspecified) "alternative" packaging would cost three times more than current materials, onRead More...

Sustainable Home for Chickens

John Allegro — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0100

70 six-week old chicks moved into a new sustainably built home, courtesy of some faculty, staff, and students of Vermont's Green Mountain College. The 130 square foot digs was constructed almost entirely from local materials at a cost of about $2,000.

"The lumber comes from white pine that was milled in town and the foundation and floor is made of slate supplied by a local quarry," said Lucas Brown, assistant professor of environmental studies at GMC. The onlRead More...

Got Hemp?

John Allegro — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Congressmen Ron Paul and Barney Frank are introducing a bill for the third time that would remove restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp. The Industrial Hemp Farming Act will be identical to HR 1009 which was introduced in the 110th Congress in 2007.

"With so much discussion lately in the media about drug policy, it is surprising the tragedy of American hemp farming hasn't come up as a 'no-brainer' for reform," says Vote Hemp President, Eric Steenstra. "Hemp is a verRead More...

Newt Gingrich on Human-Caused Global Warming

John Allegro — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

On March 20, Newt Gingrich joined Alan Weverstad from GM and Francine Colonari from Scholastic in a discussion about "The Business of Going Green".

I found this segment of the discussion provocative. I'll ask you first to put aside whatever thoughts you have regarding Gingrich's politics and ability to speak on science.

With a focus solely on the content of Gingrich's comment here, I ask the following questions:

Do you dismiss his opinion on the matter of human-caused globaRead More...

PAMTA Follow-Up

John Allegro — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Text of the press release from the office of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter regarding introduction of legislation that would limit the use of antibiotics in livestock:

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), Chairwoman of the House Rules Committee and a microbiologist with a Masters degree in Public Health, today introduced the "Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act" (PAMTA) in the House of Representatives. This critical legislation is desigRead More...

Legislation to Help Curtail Overuse of Antibiotics on Factory Farms

John Allegro — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D, NY) was set to reintroduce the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 (PAMTA) to congress today. The bill will seek the withdrawal of antibiotics important to human health from use on factory farms unless animals are sick. Medical experts agree that the misuse of antibiotics in industrial farming directly contributes to a dramatic rise in antibiotic-resistant infections in people.

According to estimates by the Union of Concerned ScieRead More...

Win a BagItAgain! Three Pack

John Allegro — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0100

In celebration of the arrival of our new natural cotton bags, we'll be giving away a three pack of reusable totes, winners choice of cotton or jute. Both versions of our bags are all natural fibers, hold about twice as many groceries as plastic bags, and are very strong. You'll also be helping the environment by lessening the demand for plastic bags that don't biodegrade.

The rules are simple:

Enter name, email address, and "Contest" in the subject line iRead More...

Home Gardening on the Rise

John Allegro — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0100

As we try to find ways to beat the pains of the poor economy, more households are planning to grow their own produce in 2009. According to a National Gardening Association (NGA) survey, that's an increase of 19 percent over 2008 survey numbers, almost double the growth in activity from the previous year. Those that plan to "grow their own" fruits, vegetables, and herbs are also seeking improved quality, taste, and safety in the food that reaches their dinner plates.

Watts in a Life?

John Allegro — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Last week, I twice watched inventor Saul Griffith's lecture on "Climate Change Recalculated". For about an hour and a half, Griffith speaks in concise, non-political terms on the amount of energy that is required for us to continue to live at the 'quality of life' that we enjoy today, and how we cannot sustain this existence through the burning of fossil fuels. If we continue on our current course, we'll head dangerously past acceptable limits of carbon in the atmosphere in aboutRead More...

Reyooz

John Allegro — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0100

Reyooz is a site that we just found that provides a simple way for members to give away unwanted "stuff" for free. It's a mash up of the Google Maps application on a friendly looking and easy to use web site.

The goal of the site, according to founders Justin Robinson, Mark Meyer, and Peter MacRobert is "is to get more people to see the benefits in passing things on and increase awareness of our impact on the planet."

The folks at Reyooz areRead More...

"Climate Change - It's What's for Dinner"

John Allegro — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0100

This public service announcement was produced by an organization called "Let's Act Now". The goal of the clip is to raise awareness of the incredible amount of energy that is used in the process of growing meat. And yes, the massive volume of greenhouse gases that are emitted by the livestock themselves! According to a recent report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, animal farming produces more greenhouse gases than all global transpoRead More...

Artexpo New York Hosts “The Global Green Artist Challenge”

John Allegro — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:00:00 +0100

International Artexpo New York is an annual art fair that gives buyers an opportunity to purchase directly from artists across the globe. While it usually comes across as a "commercial" event, I thought it worth a mention because of their new "Global Green Artist Challenge". Artexpo is billing the challenge as "a call to action for artists to utilize art for the improvement of the planet through creating work with environmental themes, using eco-conscious materials,Read More...

NY Governor Signs Legislation to Promote Plastic Bag Recycling and Reuse of Bags

John Allegro — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0100

Press Release, Dec. 13 2008

Governor David A. Paterson today announced he has signed legislation to increase the collection and recycling of plastic carryout bags. Under the new law, A.11725 (Sweeney)/S.8643-A (Marcellino), which will require collection and recycling to begin on January 1, 2009, retail establishments with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space, or those that are part of a chain with more than five stores (each with more than 5,000 square feet of retail space), musRead More...