MOTHER EARTH NEWS August - September 2016

One of the best parts of being a member of an active and enthusiastic community is that folks readily reach out to help one another, answer questions, and generally work together to advance the common good. I routinely notice this on the MOTHER EARTH NEWS website and Facebook pages, and even in my email inbox. As the new kid on the block, I want to thank all of you for your kind words and passionate advice. We survey you folks routinely, and you let us know that DIY is on your mind most days. You also indicate interest in topics such as approachable alternative energy, and you crave instructions for developing near-perfect garden soil, the financial map to living debt-free, and real-life accounts of how other folks made the transition…

“Without the forward-thinking content in MOTHER EARTH NEWS, the preservation movement of heritage breeds would be hindered.” EDITORS’ PICK Bring Back the Almanac I’ve been a huge fan of your magazine since I read my first issue back in 1994. I love what you guys do. I just recently came across The Mother Earth News Almanac, which was published by the staff of MOTHER in June 1973. This book contains a wealth of knowledge and information, but someone cut pages out of the book I found. How do I go about obtaining this book for my personal collection? Trent Troupe You’re in luck, Trent! We’ve updated this classic guide to self-sufficiency. Don’t worry, the bones of that 1973 book are still intact — those classic how-to articles, the clever writing style, and the signature line drawings…

Have you ever wondered which pieces of pristine-looking produce to avoid at the grocery store because of chemical remnants? For 12 years, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) has conducted a thorough annual analysis of 48 popular types of produce to answer just that question: Which fruits and vegetables contain the most pesticide residues? The EWG publishes the results in its annual “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce,” ranking the worst offenders in its Dirty Dozen list and giving a shoutout to the relatively residue-free produce on its Clean Fifteen list. While apples topped the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list for five years running, strawberries came in No. 1 as this year’s most contaminated conventionally grown type of produce. According to the EWG, 98 percent of strawberry samples tested had detectable pesticide…

Installing a home solar system may provide long-term benefits to your household’s bottom line in reduced energy costs — but there’s another key financial perk to consider. A report produced last year by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, analyzed just how much a home’s value could be boosted by donning solar panels. The report looked at data from eight different states, comparing the values of more than 22,000 homes with and without solar systems, and the results are sure to pique the interest of any homeowner looking to make improvements before putting their house on the market. According to the report, a home’s value will increase about $15,000 if it includes an average-sized PV system (about 3.6 kW). When analyzing the data…

Several studies have raised concern about the endocrine-disrupting effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a compound that’s commonly used in plastics manufacturing and other applications, including as the lining of many canned foods and beverages. Endocrine disruptors, such as BPA, have been linked to an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, infertility, type 2 diabetes, obesity, asthma, and ADHD. Today, you’ll find canned foods labeled “BPA free” in many grocery stores — especially co-ops and health foods stores geared toward conscientious eaters. So is the overall use of controversial BPA in canned foods really declining? And what exactly is the manufacturing difference for those BPA-free can linings? A March 2016 report (available at http://goo.gl/Wne4Qs) collaboratively produced by five nonprofit organizations says we still need to be concerned about BPA and its replacements.…

For years, researchers, environmentalists, and community members living near horizontal hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) sites have argued that this questionable method of extracting natural gas contaminates drinking water. In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a controversial draft report regarding an investigation of groundwater pollution related to fracking operations near Pavillion, Wyoming. After examining above- and belowground instances of contamination, the report found that fracking processes can contaminate drinking water. However, EPA scientists were unable to show a widespread, systemic pattern of risk, and the investigation was prematurely withdrawn. Eventually, one of the EPA scientists leading the original investigation, Dominic C. DiGiulio, left the agency for a job at Stanford University. This year, he and Robert B. Jackson published findings from the Pavillion study in Environmental Science & Technology. Their…