Whole Green Blog

The Real Cost of Cheap Food

Time magazine’s cover story, ‘The Real Cost of Cheap Food’ (Aug 31, 2009) links farm animal health and welfare with consumer health, the big missing link in current debates over human health care reforms. About time indeed! But the statement ‘There’s no firm evidence that organic is more nutritious than conventional food’ is incorrect. Studies comparing the nutrient content of organic versus conventionally grown crops report significantly lower levels of potentially toxic aluminium, mercury and lead in the organically grown, that also had higher levels of many essential trace minerals and other nutrients, notably boron, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium and zinc; also more vitamin C and other antioxidants, and less nitrates and water. Read More

Fall for Gardening

After 10 years of tending my own vegetable garden, I was feeling pretty successful. Each season I harvested lots of tomatoes, peas, lettuce, peppers and even a few more challenging crops like potatoes, onions and melons. But despite repeated tries, never had I produced a single salad bowlful of spinach. Either I planted the seeds too early in spring – tempted by a warm spell – and the little sprouts froze before they reached an edible size. Or I planted too late and the leaves turned bitter as the temperatures heated up in late spring. I had just about given up trying spinach (which my kids willingly eat only if the leaves are small and fresh-picked) when I met a gardener who told me she plants spinach in the fall. With her advice, I now harvest spinach in fall and early spring. In the process, I’ve discovered a whole new growing season. Read More

Life Cycle: Shade of Green

Being “green” has tipped into the mainstream current somewhere in the course of the past few years. Amidst the changing landscape of a verdant eco-centric market, a question that pervades the good will of Americans and jockeys through savvy marketing to compete for our hard-earned dollars is: what is “green”? True, “green” is a hue in the spectrum of visible light, but “green” has also become an attribute of products throughout the spectrum of consumable goods. What they have in common is a relative scale of depth in shades and authenticity. So, how do we figure out how authentically “green” a product really is? Read More

New Green Office Products

Innovation is rapid, ongoing with green office products. Here’s a sampling that did not make the print edition: Read More

Total Green Solution

Want to go green with document management, just like that! Check out Ricoh’s Total Green Solution, one-stop shopping for businesses that want to get greener, faster. Says Ricoh in its press release: “Recently launched, The Total Green Office Solution takes a holistic approach to document management, combining green consultative services, energy-saving imaging equipment and software solutions to help customers meet their sustainability goals such as saving energy, reducing waste and minimizing pollution. In addition, it ensures that Ricoh imaging equipment meets green procurement mandates and is designed to minimize environmental impact at every lifecycle stage.” Read More

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