The problem with polar fleece: it’s in the ocean, it’s in sea creatures, it’s on our plates

...w and again–from fleece blankets to underwear to stretchy jeans to stuffed animals. What to do? I think the quick take-away here is that your instincts about the superiority of natural fibers were always right and you should stick with them and phase out synthetics as much as you can, at least until we either figure out how to make a non-shedding synthetic or figure out how to filter waste water more effectively. I find it interesting that none of...

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Without Merit: poison in your compost

...histle. The problem is that aminopyralid survives the digestive systems of animals pastured on land sprayed with it, as well as compost piles made from their manure. Most other herbicides break down eventually, but this stuff sticks around. An organic farmer using compost contaminated by aminopyralid could lose crops and organic certification for years. If that isn’t enough to worry about, two other nasty herbicides, picloram and clopyralid have a...

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Book Review: My Side of the Mountain

...book enchanted me as a child. George has a keen eye for nature, especially animals, and a deft hand with description. The basic fantasy of running away and living in a tree with animal friends was irresistible to me as a child, and still has strong appeal for me an adult. (I’d allow Mr. Homegrown to visit on holidays, provided he helps me pot up jam for the winter.) Of course, it is a crazy fantasy–no child’s family would just let him go live in t...

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Behold the Ant Lion

...Tracking Team (if you live near Ventura, CA and want to learn how to track animals for fun, look them up). We were under a tagged-up bridge, in a dry river bed. Someone pointed out a hole or divot in the sand and quizzed us: what made the hole? I had no idea. It was a divot that could have been made by a big man’s thumb. I might think it was made by dripping water, if there was ever any water anywhere in this dry land. The answer was “ant lion” —...

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