Earth Blog

At the end of March, greenhouse developer BrightFarms announced what could prove to be their most ambitious and biggest project to date: a state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse that will span across 100,000 square feet on the roof of a building that used to be property of the United States military.

Located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York the greenhouse is part of the redevelopment plans for an old Navy warehouse that has been vacant since 2000 according to the New York Times.

Good news for organic food and the people who buy it in the United States and Europe: today the
European Union (EU) and the USDA signed an “organic equivalent arrangement.” 

You know how much we love telling you what fancy terms mean and this one will be no exception: the EU and USDA have agreed to trade agricultural organic products between each other. In what is being called a “historic” agreement this “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander”  deal overlooks tiny differences between European organic standards and American standards to open a viable market. Big differences are not being overlooked and there are some foods that are non-transferable.

Marjory Wildcraft is well-known among people who grow their own food and are interested in homesteading or self-sufficiency. She knows people garden and raise animals for several reasons but she is more interested in sharing her knowledge to help the confused who don’t know where to start in their own backyards.

"I came from a business background and could not keep one house plant alive. But now I grow more than half of what I eat. I've learned what works and what doesn't," Wildcraft says.

Comfort is one of the many reasons, if not the most important reason, people buy and wear certain types of clothing. It has long been said that jeans and a t-shirt are the unofficial American uniform. Sartorialists may lament that no one dresses up anymore and as a culture Americans are getting lazier about changing out of pajamas to shop at the grocery store. But in defense of the fashionably challenged maybe they are just being earth-friendly. Have you ever thought about the real cost of an article of clothing made of cotton? How harmful the process actually is to the land and air? And if cotton is a plant is there even a difference between cotton and organic cotton?