MOTHER EARTH NEWS June - July 2016

When I was a kid, I spent as much time outdoors as possible and grew to love gardening, growing trees, camping, hiking, and just about any activity that would get me out of the house. I also sought jobs that would offer me independence and a chance to be outside. And though I dreamt of becoming a ranch hand or a grassland ranger, a paper route and a lawn-mowing business were among my earliest bouts of gainful employment. Those early jobs offered me some financial independence, and, more importantly, the wherewithal to lobby my folks to help me make my first couple of mail-order purchases. My folks were not real trusting of the mail-order concept, but in the 1960s, I fixated on subscribing to a magazine called Organic Gardening and Farming.…

EDITORS’ PICK Great Time at Texas FAIR My husband and I really enjoyed the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Belton, Texas, and we came away with so much useful information. The speakers were all well-versed in a wide range of topics and drew crowds of people — quite often it was standing room only! Sometimes we couldn’t decide which workshops to attend because so many of them sounded interesting. I’ve often wondered why there hasn’t been a MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in our great state before, and other attendees echoed that same sentiment. I’m sure many others, besides my husband and me, hope you folks will consider a repeat performance in 2017. After all, Texas is a big state, and people will surely stream in from all around. Lynda DeGroot Richland Springs, Texas Our Natural…

Although the gas naturally circulates among the planet’s plants, oceans, and atmosphere, human activities have released carbon dioxide in excess of what natural systems can sequester, causing the sun’s heat to get trapped in the atmosphere. Because of the ill effects of climate change on various ecosystems, the Environmental Protection Agency classified carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act in 2009. Since then, citizens, governments, and private corporations have pushed polluters to pay for their carbon emissions. One “polluter pays” approach to reducing carbon dioxide involves establishing carbon markets. Governments that participate in the carbon marketplace cap the total amount of carbon dioxide that a state, country, or industry can emit. Industries that rely on burning fossil fuels — including…

The looming 2025 federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) goal of 54.5 miles per gallon across an automaker’s fleet is one of the driving factors behind a series of advancements in more-efficient engine and powertrain technologies. CAFE standards have regulated vehicles’ fuel economy since 1975, with substantial advancements ordered by both the G.W. Bush and Obama administrations. To meet the increasing fuel standards, automakers have relied on a range of vehicle types. Most people tend to think of hybrids and electric vehicles when car talk turns to high efficiency. But gasoline-powered cars and trucks are becoming much more efficient with every new generation of vehicles. Direct Injection is one technology that has made many of these vehicles more efficient by shooting gasoline directly into their combustion chambers under high pressure. This…

Building a home with near-zero winter heating costs may sound like an impossible dream in the snowy Upper Great Lakes region of the United States. Yet, one homebuilder in Viroqua, Wisconsin, has achieved the impossible. Sonya Newenhouse’s 968-square-foot home that she lives in with her family relies on passive solar design to maintain an indoor temperature range of 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, even through the coldest winter nights. Because the home is about 80 percent more energyefficient than the average U.S. home, it can be heated solely with a hair dryer on each floor. (Building codes required a heating system, so the family installed four 24-inch radiant electric heaters.) Passive solar buildings incorporate low-tech solutions, including highly efficient south-facing windows, to strategically capture the sun’s energy in thermal mass —…

In Colonial times, “peas by the king’s birthday” (that would be King George III’s birthday, on June 4) was considered the mark of a good gardener. Indeed, an early pea harvest is a worthy goal. Tender, fresh peas represent the start of the fruiting season after a diet of winter roots. Northern gardeners can hope to celebrate it with fireworks on July 4, and the date advances accordingly as you move south. I’m talking about ordinary garden peas, also referred to as “green peas,” or “English peas” if you must. Much as I love the edible pod types, such as snow peas or sugar snaps, there’s nothing quite like zipping open a newly filled pod and popping that luscious little green row into your mouth. I snack on them raw, standing…