EcoHearth Environmental Website - Best ecology websites, environmental blogs, news, activism, green jobs, green products

My older siblings were products of the hippie era. Growing up, I was in awe of their rebellion against the establishment and their embrace of earthier ways. I never felt compelled myself to strongly oppose my parents; I was grateful for the opportunity to watch my brothers and sisters’ contentious transition into adulthood from the sidelines. There were a lot of us, so there was a lot for me to observe. Read on…

When I went to pick up my daughter from her friend’s this summer, I noticed fresh laundry pinned to an extension cord strung across the family’s back patio. The friend’s mother apologized, saying the dryer was broken. I probably run my dryer fewer than five hours a year, I bragged. Why beat up your clothes in a hot, noisy machine for an hour when nature can do the job gently in half an hour? Read on…

"If we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force the issue onto the national political agenda.”
- Sen. Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day Founder

When Gaylord Nelson launched Earth Day 42 years ago, he envisioned it as a grassroots teach-in to make Washington aware of growing public concern over the state of the environment. Historically, our lawmakers have been more concerned with the Gross National Product—maintaining economic growth at any cost—than the ecology. It’s odd that the environment should take a back seat to the economy. The environment is the economy. Read on…

My husband has devoted many hours of labor this summer to a local community garden, despite the ponderous commitment he planted himself into at with our garden at home. (I always know an unwieldy garden is ahead when his February breakfast reading includes titles like The Soul of the Soil and Carrots Love Tomatoes). But when he returned recently from the community garden, he was dismayed by the neglect and lack of participation.

Many people want fresh organic food, but few are willing to put out the effort to grow it. Nevertheless, the tomato vines were sagging with luscious, sweet fruit. Only the prairie dogs were taking advantage of them. Yet not half a mile away, he noted, hungry people were lining up for donations from the local food bank. Read on…

As divulged in an earlier blog entry, I am from a large family. In the tiny Montana town where I was born, my family made up 2% of the entire population of 600. That’s ten kids and two parents. Catholicism, the baby boom, family tradition and wide-open spaces all contributed to my parents’ decision to heartily help populate our town. And we weren’t the only sizable family around. There was one positive aspect to this upbringing, though. I was taught not to waste food. Read on…