We asked you recently what kind of food you think it's most important to limit your intake of. From the poll options, an overwhelming number of you chose Processed Foods as the food to eat less of, with Sugar coming in a distant second. Here are the complete results:

Of the following, which food do you think it's most important to limit your intake of?

There are many other foods and ingredients that people choose not to consume that weren't in the poll, from caffeine and artificial sweeteners to gluten or any kind of meat. The reasons why we choose to limit some foods are just as varied: flavor, health reasons, weight loss, personal ethics, political statements. For some, it's not a choice but a neccessity, either for financial reasons or as the result of a food intolerance or severe allergy.

Knowing that MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers are often health-conscience and choose to grow their own food, we're curious: Have you cut back or eliminated certain ingredients or foods from your diet? If so, why, and what affects have you noticed as a result?

What are you growing inside this winter, and how do you do it? Have you had success in the past growing food indoors? Please share your ideas, tips and tricks with each other in the comments section below.

About a month ago, my wife and I were enticed by a sale ad to visit our local Sherwin Williams store. We were about to embark on another room remodel and we needed paint.

We had bought Sherwin Williams’ Harmony low-VOC paint — aka “green” paint that doesn’t have harmful volatile organic compounds in it — a couple times before and had great experiences with it. The color and spread were great, but perhaps best of all, it was actually fun to paint with because we didn’t get headaches or have to open every window in the house to ventilate like did when we last painted a few years before. Sure, we weren’t thrilled at the higher cost of this paint when we bought it, but the old saying “you get what you pay for” rang true when the rubber hit the road, or in this case, when the paint hit the walls. 

This time, though, we’d find the best of both worlds. Looking at the sale prices on the low- and no-VOC paint compared to the regular options, I did a double take. Per gallon, the Harmony paint was a few cents cheaper. Really? Really.

If memory serves, the last time I bought the Harmony paint it was about $9 more per gallon than the conventional options (exactly how much more varies throughout the year and from region to region). But today the entire Harmony line was on sale. It was our lucky day. As if we had discovered some pricing mistake that was going to be corrected at any second, we quickly told the salesclerk which colors we needed and bought four gallons. The next day, I actually went back to get more for a down-the-road room redo. 

Such sales typically happen at least once or twice a year. So if you can wait for the right time and plan accordingly, it is possible to find low-voc paint at a comparable — or even lower — price than the regular stuff. Here are two more general tips: 

• Sign up for the promotional e-mails from paint companies who make green paints because every so often they’ll put these paints on sale and/or send you general coupons.
• Buy the paint when it’s on sale, add specific color later: For no additional charge, some stores will let you add the specific color tint whenever you’re ready. So don’t let a color debate between you and your significant other stop you from getting the paint when it’s on sale.

So what about you? Have you used low- or no-VOC paint before? Did you notice a difference in the color quality or ease of application from regular paint? Do you have a favorite brand? How much did you pay for that green paint? Got any tips to find smoking deals? Please share your stories by posting a comment below.

Learn More about Low VOC Paint, More

Stick with Safe Paint

How to Choose Paint

Make Safe, Natural Paint

Green Rookie: Adding Color With Low-VOC Paint

A Paint Primer

10 Best Non-VOC, Low-Toxic Interior Paints

We’ve said before that our magazine specializes in both the here-and-now and the later-and-wow. With no limitations, what would your ideal future homestead look like? What would you grow? What animals would grace your pastures? Close your eyes, plan it out, and tell us all about it. If you are lucky enough to be living your dream, go ahead and brag about it!  

The recent PBS series National Parks: America's Best Idea has drawn some great attention to our nation's protected wilderness areas and, hopefully, has reinvigorated our appreciation of the parks in the process. Along those lines, as pointed in Don't Be a National Park Bagger (from Utne Reader, MOTHER EARTH NEWS's sister magazine), it also elicits some important questions about the environmental impact of travel and about how we travel, specifically, the impact of taking fewer but more engaged trips versus that of taking many more cursory trips.

From carbon footprints to added wear and tear on everything from trails to monuments, travel of any kind leaves its mark on the environment, a point that's been discussed in MOTHER EARTH NEWS and, even more so, in travel-oriented blogs such as Vagablogging and World Hum. The difficulty of balancing the environmental effects of your travels with a desire to see and appreciate firsthand the natural and manmade marvels of the world isn't an easy task, and is an issue that's inspired numerous blog posts, articles and passionate discussions on travel forums and other online communities. What do you think? Would you travel less, or otherwise change the way you travel, out of concern for the environment?

Photo by ISTOCKPHOTO

Do you have tricks up your sleeve for storing tomatoes into the fall and winter? What's the longest you've been able to keep your summer tomatoes around? If you've got any tips and ideas for storing tomatoes, please share them by posting a comment below.

See also: 

• Enjoy Fresh Tomatoes All Year
• Winter Tomatoes 

Photo by L. Shat/www.fotolia.com

It's time for green tomatoes again — yippee! I've been making all of the following with all the green tomatoes that are coming in from my CSA:

• Fried Green Tomatoes with a Cheesy Crust 
• Thai Green Tomatoes with a Coconut Crust 
• Roasted Green Tomatoes 
• Green Tomato Relish 
• How Do You Use Green Tomatoes? 

If you've got tips, tricks and recipes for using up all those end-of-season green tomatoes, please post them to the comments section below.

Most of us prefer to heat and cool our houses or apartments with simple-to-use machinery such as furnaces and air conditioners. The next level of difficulty in heating might be the use of a woodstove for heat, or opening and closing windows for cooling. But you can go one step further and build a heat grabber.

A heat grabber is a simple box, painted black, that hangs outside of a south-facing window. The box is hollow and insulated. The sun strikes the black flat face, heats the air inside the box and the hot air flows naturally up and into the room. Some folks add a small fan to the unit to move the air further into the room, but it can be used effectively in a small room even if you don’t use a fan.

So, would you be willing to build and use a heat-grabber box to heat a cold room in your house? If so (or not), tell us about it in the comments section below.

Using compact-fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is an easy way to save energy and money at home. These energy-efficient bulbs use much less electricity than an incandescent light bulb. (For a quick and fun overview of the benefits of CFLs vs. incandescents, check out the Common Craft video below.)

Over the last few years, CFLs have become much cheaper and easier to find. However, some people are concerned about the small amount of mercury in CFLs. Others are more interested in using LEDs — another type of energy-efficient light bulb. (Background information on both LEDs and CFLs is available on the Energy Star website, including this fact sheet on mercury and CFLs.)

We’d like to hear what type of light bulbs you’re using at home. Are you using CFLs, and why or why not? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

Not that long ago, around this time of year, friends and family would gather in celebration of the harvest. There was a little hard work, but it was followed by lots of fun and fellowship.

I remember shucking ear after ear of corn with my aunts, as they prepared to freeze a particularly large bumper crop one year. All winter, as we enjoyed our "hard work corn" (as my mom would call it), we remembered the fun that went into preserving it. What are your favorite memories of the harvest? Do you still attend harvest parties today?

Photo by iStockphoto/Thomas Perkins

This Sunday, Sept. 27, PBS kicks off their six-part series by Ken Burns about America’s national parks. The series is magnificent, as befits the subject, and hopefully it will inspire a reinvigorated interest in our nation's most beautiful natural spaces. (Find out more about the series in The National Parks: America’s Best Idea – A New Series from Ken Burns and PBS, a write-up by the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors covering all six episodes.)

Along the same lines, we asked you a couple of weeks ago which national parks you visited most recently. The exciting news is that of the 949 readers who took the poll, 711 have been to a national park recently. And of the specific parks listed, Great Smoky Mountains National Parks recorded the highest number of poll-taking attendees, with 210 votes. (You can see the full survey results below.)

And that’s not all. Some of our readers have been sharing remarkable photos from their national park visits at the MOTHER EARTH NEWS photo-sharing site, cu.MotherEarthNews.com — from the Great Smoky Mountains to Glacier National. If you have photos from a recent park visit, put ’em up! We love them, and, who knows, they may appear in the CU department of the magazine.

Now, though, we want to hear your stories. What’s your favorite memory of our national parks? We know that MOTHER’s readers have some good ones, so take a minute to share them below. Haven’t been yet? Where do you want to venture first?

Photo by iStockphoto

Which U.S. national park have you been to most recently?

1. Grand Canyon National Park 10% (92 votes)
2. Yellowstone National Park 11% (104 votes)
3. Yosemite National Park 6% (58 votes)
4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park 22% (210 votes)
5. Olympic National Park 3% (31 votes)
6. Other 23% (216 votes)
7. None 25% (238 votes)

Total Votes: 949

How long has it been since you last checked the real-world gas mileage of your car? Have you ever done it?

It can be all too easy to assume your car gets 30-something mpg — or whatever the sticker said when you bought the car — and never realize that its actual gas mileage has declined over the years and now is far off what you expect. But it's important to keep tabs on your car or truck's mpg.

First and foremost, "knowing is half the battle," as they used to say in the old G.I. Joe cartoon PSAs from my childhood. In other words, the first step to increasing your car's gas mileage (and saving money) is to know what it actually gets. Also, unless you're lucky enough to have a real-time mpg display in your car, there's no better way to better understand how driving habits influence gas mileage than to check the numbers. As in, on this tank I ran the air conditioning more than usual (you would see the mpg decline), or on this tank I drove the speed limit to work rather than speeding to make up lost time (you would see improved mpg). Last but not least, regularly checking your vehicle's mpg can spot maintenance issues before they become leave-you-stranded and wicked-expensive problems.

If you're a gas mileage geek like me, you'll calculate your car's mpg after every fill up. But even just checking mpg once a month or so will give you real numbers that will make it easy to adjust your driving habits so you save gas and money. Think of it as a personal challenge and you'll find it easier to get excited about the math — can you beat last month's personal best of 36 mpg? Can you beat the official EPA fuel economy estimate for your car?

And, to top it all off, you'll probably be surprised how easy it is to calculate gas mileage. Even a mathematically disinclined journalist like myself can do it. All it takes are two numbers and simple division. How to Calculate Gas Mileage will walk you through the steps.

For what it's worth, here's my system. I write down the number of miles on my trip meter on the credit card receipt from the gas station, which lists the number of gallons I bought. I also write down the car's overall mileage, just to help me track the car's mpg over time. I then plug all those numbers into a super-simple Excel spreadsheet, which does the simple division for me and automatically fills in the mpg for each tank. I can then track the car's mpg over time and see how it changes with the seasons, my driving habits, as I put off maintenance, after I got new tires, etc.

So, do you ever check your gas mileage? If so, how do you do it? If not, why not? Share your two cents by posting a comment below.

Farming is a noble profession, but it can sometimes be a dangerous one as well. According to a 1990 report from the National Safety Council, farm accidents and other work-related health problems claim as many as 1,300 lives and cause 120,000 injuries a year. Have you ever been injured on the farm? Please share your experience in the interest of promoting farm safety — perhaps you can keep it from happening to someone else. 

Photo by iStockphoto/ Alistair Scott 

We recently asked our readers (you) whether they would be getting a flu vaccine this year, either for H1N1 (swine flu) or seasonal flu. Given the large — 924 votes! — and interesting response, we wanted to know a bit more. For reference, let’s start with the poll and results:

Q. Are you going to get a flu shot this year?

1. No, I never do. 56% (516 votes)
2. No, I’m worried about the side effects of vaccines. 16% (152 votes)
3. Yes, I do every year. 18% (164 votes)
4. Yes, I’m specifically getting the shot for swine flu (H1N1). 6% (54 votes)
5. Yes, a seasonal flu shot, but not a swine flu shot. 4% (38 votes)

Total votes: 924

For starters, more than half of you won’t be getting a flu shot this year (which seems to match an informal poll taken around the MOTHER EARTH NEWS office). Of the 28 percent that are getting flu shots, only 6 percent plan to get the H1N1 vaccine. However, we first asked this poll two weeks ago, and in that time H1N1 has renewed it’s appearance in the media as cases are being reported around the United States, particularly, it seems, in university settings. It will be interesting to see, as flu season heats up, how these numbers shift — or don’t.

Personally, I'm not getting a flu shot (I never have), though that’s my personal decision, and not in any way a recommendation. I will be extra diligent about frequent hand washing and enjoying herbal teas (ginger, echinacea) and elderberry supplement drops. I’ll also be sure to up my veggie and fruit intake and keep the “junk” snacks to a minimum. And I will detour off the all-natural path to do a twice daily Listerine rinse. My dad swears by it. (Have you ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Remember the bride’s father and his faith in Windex? This will give you an idea of my dad’s feelings about Listerine. Though in all fairness, I have yet to see him actually spray it on anyone.)

Now that we’ve gotten the poll results in, I’d like to hear, in your words, whether you’re planning to get a flu shot (or have already) and why or why not. If you’re not getting a flu vaccine, what other tactics do you use to stay healthy and flu-free during the fall and winter?

Photo by iStockphoto

My paternal grandmother lived about three hours away from my family, so I saw her only once or twice a year. But two summers, after third and fourth grades, I spent a week at Grandma’s house, along with my cousin, who also was my age.

We spent our week doing pretty much the same thing each day: In the morning, there were some chores to do, then we would walk to a neighborhood park that had a wading pool. Once during the week, Grandma would give us each ten cents (this was 1954) and we would get a brown paper bag of penny candy from the little store across from the park. After lunch we took an hour nap. My cousin had a bout of scarlet fever and she needed to rest each day, so I did also — I usually read for the whole hour. Then we might play Go Fish with Grandma.

But the best indoor activity we did each day was building marble mazes out of blocks made from 4-inch 1-by-4s. Grandma had a whole box of them that a friend gave to her. They were perfect for building castles and houses, but especially for making marble slides and mazes. We spent hours, both summers, spreading our creations across the living room floor. I can still remember the piney smell of the blocks.

Kids love to build forts and space ships, and create secret places to dream and imagine. What was your most cherished childhood building project? Share your childhood memories in the comments below.

Many of our readers are interested in renewable energy, and for some of you there’s a simple and easy way to get your electricity from renewable sources — many utilities offer a green power option.

If you’re looking for more information on green power in the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy has some helpful information about green power programs, including a map and chart showing where they’re offered.

We’d like to hear more about your experiences with green power. Is it available where you live? How does the price compare to what you would otherwise pay for electricity? Why have you — or haven’t you — chosen this option? You can share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

Photo by Istockphoto/Nicholas Homrich

Ah, September. The Kansas State Fair is coming up soon, and I fondly remember my days as a 4-Her, (im)patiently waiting for the judges to tie their ribbons on my entries. Red? Blue? Purple? Champion? Grand Champion? Oh please, oh please. 

How did you fare at the county or state fair this year? Tell us about your projects. If you’re still awaiting yours, what do you plan to enter?

Photo by iStockphoto/Jan Tyler

Working on new projects around the house or farm is a perfect opportunity for dangerous — or potentially dangerous — situations to arise. Let me give you an example: Many years ago (about 50) my father was checking out the shingles on our tall Victorian house. He had a rope wrapped around his waist and around the chimney — just in case. On the ground, three stories below, a small group of elderly neighbors had gathered, ooing and ahhing about how he might fall and what would happen to him and our family if such a terrible thing were to occur.

Now, my dad was known for his mischievous ways. He gloried in April Fool’s Day and jumping out of dark closets scaring the you-know-what out of me. So, it was no surprise to my mother when she heard a blood-curdling scream from the knot of neighbors. Since Dad was so far up, the rope around his waist was not quite visible from the ground. He got a good grip on the rope, fell backwards and yelled as he “fell” off the roof. Needless to say, the knot of neighbors disbursed quickly, if not happily, after discovering they were the butt of his joke.

So, back to the original premise that DIY projects set the stage for potentially dangerous or embarassing condtions — what is the most embarrassing situation you have found yourself in while working on a DIY project? Share your tale in the comments section below.

For decades, environmentalists have extolled the virtues of recycling everything from plastic grocery bags to computer components. More recently we've been encouraged to give up single use items, such as paper napkins and plastic water bottles, and return to more sustainable products, such as washable cloth napkins, steel water bottles and glass food storage containers.

We'd like to think that our efforts are having a major impact on the amount of refuse being produced each day - but are they? Are we truly making a concerted effort to give up the convenience of single use products or is the practice so engrained in our culture we can't escape its effects? Read It's Time to Throw Out the Throwaway Economy by Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, then, in  the comments section below, share your most radical return to a non-single-use product in your life.

White roofs, aka cool roofs, have caught attention lately as an offbeat but relatively simple and effective strategy for reducing air conditioning costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

The idea is simple: white reflects heat instead of absorbing it. It's also a favorite idea of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who said "when you're thinking of putting on a new roof, make it white" in his appearance last month on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (you can watch the video below).  Chu added that white roofs costs about the same as traditional black roofs and for those in a warm climate, a white roof can reduce air conditioning costs up to about 20 percent.

When Chu talks white roofs, he cites research from Art Rosenfeld, the commissioner of the California Energy Commission. Rosenfeld calculated that pervasive white roofs and white streets throughout the United States would create a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions — the equivalent to getting rid of all cars for 11 years. You can learn more about Rosenfeld and his passion for energy efficiency by watching the second video below.

The New York Times also covered cool roofs in White Roofs Catch On as Energy Cost Cutters.

"We come home on days when it’s over 100 degrees outside, and the house is at 80 degrees,” white roof owner Jon Waldrep of Sacremento, Calif., told The New York Times.  

According to research by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, nearly every state could see significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions if 80 percent of commerical buildings were converted to have white roofs, even if white roofs meant increased heating demands in winter. You can see how much each state would save in Imagining a Cool-Roof Nation.

So what do you think? Should commercial buildings switch to white roofs? What about for your home? If it meant significant savings in your air conditioning bills, would you choose a white (or lightly colored) roof the next time you need new shingles? Or would that be too much of a color clash? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

Coming up in the October/November issue, contributing editor and DIY expert Steve Maxwell shares the many lessons he learned during his twenty years as a homesteader. Man, is there a lot of trial-and-error involved in the process of honing those skills! Veteran homesteaders: Please, please share your wisdom with those of us who are just getting started down the path to self-sufficiency — what are the most important lessons you learned along the way?

Photo by iStockphoto/Moira De La O

It seems that almost everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time — and for those with chronic sleep problems, it can get pretty painful. At some point several years ago, I unwittingly embarked on a four-year string of fitful or all-out sleepless nights. And when I really dug in to figuring it out, it easily took a year before I started experiencing full nights of sleep night after night. Once I got a taste of falling asleep within a few minutes, sleeping straight through to morning, waking up ready to go and enjoying (relishing) an entire day feeling alert and energized, I was hooked. The tricks and tweaks that work for me aren't exciting or new, but now that I know what it feels like to be well-rested on a regular basis, I have become fiercely protective of my nights. Which may be rule No. 1 in getting a good night's sleep: Once you know what works for you, stick with it.

For anyone who's curious, the staid, tried-and-true tricks that worked for me are outlined below. Please note that when I was tinkering with my sleep, I just made a list of ideas that seemed to have potential and then adjusted (or ditched, in some cases) them until I found a system that worked for me. These are ideas I came across in reading or just thought to try, and in no way should they be construed as medical advice. An insomnia-addled editor whose greatest expertise swings from website optimization to 19th-century literature hardly qualifies as a medical expert. There are five points in bold, in no particular order.

No caffeine after lunch. For the first couple of years, I stuck with this vigilantly, but one afternoon, feeling dangerous, I decided to risk some green tea and discovered that it, as well as white tea, is perfectly safe sleep-wise; though I still call it quits on any non-herbal tea by about five o'clock. 

Everyone has a different caffeine tolerance, and if you've been drinking a pot of double-strength brew every day since your 12th birthday, I would definitely recommend gradually cutting back rather than going cold turkey. I've never been that into hyper-caffeination, but some of my coffee-junkie friends become noticeably less pleasant if they go too long between cups — and that's just from being off by a couple hours. Another warning: Though never in the pot-a-day club, I used to drink far more caffeine, and having cut back, am now much more attuned to its effect on my system. One mug of full-strength coffee just about puts me over the edge (this is actually physically uncomfortable), and anything beyond that makes my brain jig around just thinking about it.

*I've also noticed that having a glass of wine or other alcohol right before sleep pretty much guarantees that I'll be waking up every few hours. However, sticking with one glass and wrapping up 90 minutes or so before bed seems to be enough to ward off any ill effects.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This is a biggie, and by far one of the least titillating (especially for a 27-year-old). Everyone has a different schedule, both work-wise and biologically, but with a traditional 8-to-5 gig, I'm in bed by 10 p.m. and up about 6:30 a.m. I'm usually asleep within 20 minutes or so (and sometimes get under the covers a little before my revised turn-into-a-pumpkin hour), so I clock pretty close to eight hours every single night.

This is challenging in two ways. First: Saturday mornings! But experience has shown that if I play lady of leisure and doze past 7:30 a.m., I’ll be wide awake come 10 p.m. and a vicious cycle will have begun. On weekend mornings when “regular sleep schedule” isn’t that enticing, I lure myself out of bed with the promise of a chai latte at the local coffee shop. Works every time.

Second, getting home at 6:30 p.m. and going to bed at 10 p.m. leaves precious little time for the rest of my life. The few times I’ve stayed up because I just couldn’t make myself put down a book, I’ve been fairly miserable the next day, and outright trollish around 3 p.m. However, how you spend your time is key. It’s probably all in my head, but I’ve noticed that the occasional exception for a good evening with great people (be it dinner or anything else) has almost zero negative effects. Maybe it’s the residual buzz from being with my favorite people, but the next day is always fine (though rolling in at midnight a few times a week would quickly put an end to that — I’d be dozing right about the time business starts in California).

Quiet your brain. This one takes the most practice (even after you’re getting good at it), but has wicked wonderful effects, from better sleep to better focus during waking hours and being a calmer, happier person in general. This is also the item that you would probably need the most help with in learning how to do it, either from books or some kind of practice (such as meditation). This simple (not easy) practice will help you be master of your thoughts and turn them off when it’s time to sleep — which is important, because it’s darn near impossible to drift off when dozens of lists, worries and ideas are zipping around your gray matter at warp speed.

Personally, my Iyengar yoga practice has been by far the biggest help for me in learning how to wrangle all that mental noise into submission. And don’t trick yourself into thinking you’ve got it down and get lazy. I’ve been consciously practicing for three years and still have weeks where I fall off the wagon, and it’s always work to get back into mental shape. The more you practice, the better you get, and if you find after making progress that you’ve suddenly gone backwards, it’s a good sign that it’s time to reinvigorate your efforts.

Exercise outside. Long brisk walks around the neighborhood hills are better than any sleeping pill (OK, I avoid all pills unless it’s just ridiculous not to take them, but I’d still wager this is true). They mean time outside, time unplugged, and they burn all that fifth-gear energy that bristles in first gear all day while I sit at my desk. More important for this post, though, is that regularly getting outside and doing something physical makes for a great crash at bedtime. Maybe Frisbee golf is your passion or you’re doing serious physical work around your farm, but there’s something about fresh air and physically wearing yourself out that makes sleep particularly sound and sweet.

Cut the sugar and other processed foods. There might be some great physiological explanation for this, but this post is getting long enough already, so the quick and dirty is that for some reason, cutting sugar, refined carbohydrates and other processed foods — in general and especially after 5 p.m. — seems to help me sleep better. It could be as simple as the fact that doing this makes you feel better overall anyway, which just helps your sleep that much more. I also wouldn't be surprised to find that the effect on your blood sugar is key, but really don’t know. I do know that wolfing down a candy bar or potato chips (no, organic junk food is not exempt) as a late-night snack doesn’t do me any favors once it’s time for lights out.

Finally, a few simple sleep environment tips: Making the bedroom as dark as possible is a huge help — no distracting lights, plus a full darkness that's a good cue to go to sleep and makes the sunrise an effective cue to wake up. Another trick is only using the bed for going to bed. Doing work in bed just dilutes the effect of being in bed as a cue to go to sleep. Finally, for me, keeping work and all electronics (minus a cell phone for an alarm) out of the bedroom is key. Just seeing a stack of papers, calculator, computer or television makes me feel like I should be doing something other than sleeping, and they're constant reminders (staring at you while you're trying to nod off) that there are always things that can be done. Remember that when it's time to sleep, the only thing that needs to happen is sleep, and that's where your attention should be.

I’m sure that some of you have figured out your own tricks for kicking insomnia or just sleeping better in general — what are they? Share your ideas, tried and pending, in the comments section below.

Photo by Tambako the Jaguar/Flickr Creative Commons

Have you tried hunting for wild foods? Do you look forward to sleuthing out succulent morels and versatile dandelions each spring? What’s the biggest, baddest wild harvest you ever brought in? Are you aware of great local resources for foraging information? Please share your food foraging tips and stories with each other in the comments section below!

Haven't gotten on the local-food-hunting bandwagon yet? Learn more:

• Food Foraging: Find and Enjoy Wild Edible Plants 
• Eat Your Weeds (but Get to Know Them First)
• Interview with Euell Gibbons, the Modern Forager

The idea of heating water with the power of the sun is as old as … the Earth! But capturing that energy to efficiently heat water for domestic use is a more recent innovation. You can purchase and install manufactured solar hot water systems or build one yourself. Beginning in 2010, all new-house construction in Hawaii will be required to have solar water heaters.

Rather than a whole-house system, you can erect a simple outdoor, solar-heated shower.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS readers have been inventing ways to produce solar-heated water for decades. Have you built a solar water heater? If so, in the comments section below, tell us about it and how well it performed.

Riding a bicycle is a great form of green transportation. Getting around on a bike doesn’t consume any fossil fuels, and it’s great exercise, too. A bicycle is also a relatively inexpensive purchase — at least compared to a car or motorcycle. (Check out our tips for finding a great new or used bike.)

We’d like to hear more about your biking habits. How often do you ride a bike? Do you ride more for transportation or for recreation? Is your community bike-friendly, or is it hard to get around safely? Share your thoughts and any tips for less experienced bikers by posting a comment below.

For decades, we’ve relied on antibiotics to treat infection. In a scary turn of events, however, we’re finding that when used improperly, these drugs are ineffective or can even worsen the problem by creating “superbugs” — bacteria that have become antibiotic-resistant. 

Probably the most egregious example of improper antibiotic use comes from the livestock industry. Some 70 percent of total antibiotic use occurs in the livestock industry to speed growth and ward off disease, and some in the medical community are warning that we’re headed for disaster. Antibiotics are routinely used whether the animals are sick or not — breaking the first and most important rule of protecting antibiotic efficacy. 

Enter Rep. Louise Slaughter’s H.R. 1549/S.619: The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009. The bill is designed to prevent the agricultural use of antibiotics important to human health unless the animals are sick. 

Livestock organizations such as the United States Cattlemen’s Association state that if passed, American producers could no longer compete with foreign markets and our meat would have to be imported. Opponents claim that at the very least, meat prices would skyrocket to offset the increased costs experienced by producers. 

Supporters of the bill maintain that antibiotic resistance adds millions to healthcare costs — $4 to $5 billion per year, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. The group also states that 300,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths are caused by food contaminated by dangerous pathogens and bacteria such as Salmonella and E. Coli each year, and these bugs are becoming increasingly antibiotic-resistant. 

What do you think?  Do you support this legislation? Let us know your thoughts.

Photo by iStockphoto

Global warming (or climate change) is still one of the most hotly debated topics today — it seems there’s no end to the research and opinions on the topic. And it’s not just a rhetorical exercise. Much of the debate revolves not just around whether or not we’re to fault (or to what degree), but also regarding what we’re going to do (or not do) about it. With facts and “facts” appearing in books, blogs, the nightly news, and print and online media, it can be a challenge to find reliable sources for information. What books, websites, news anchors or other resources do you go to for the information you need to make informed, intelligent decisions about global warming?

Photo by: iStockphoto

“Better Things for Better Living...Through Chemistry.” Remember that DuPont Corporation jingle from TV? Science has given us burpable Tupperware, sticky notes, Windex and … Super Glue. Ah — that wonderful bonding liquid that can repair almost anything from a child’s toy to grandma’s best china. But in tiny print on the tube is a warning that you must not get any of the glue on your skin or you may have body parts that become glued together.

Recently, a fellow staff person was trying to open one of those tiny tubes of Super Glue, the kind you have to poke a pin into to make an opening for the glue to be squeezed out. Right! We all know what happened next, the pin went in and the pin came out along with a squirt of glue that lodged itself between our colleague’s fingers, which she had pressed together accidentally. She said it took most of the day soaking her fingers in dishwater to get them separated without ripping her skin off.

We’re sure there are many of you who’ve had unfortunate experiences with Super Glue, and we’d enjoy hearing about them. You can post your story in the comment section below.

Do you remember? I do!

My husband and I were moving from Buffalo, N.Y., to Richland, Wash. Rather than stay in motels, we decided to camp our way across the country. On the night of July 20, we were setup in a campground in Montana, just west of Yellowstone National Park. It was a clear night and the moon was shining through the pines. We lay with our heads on a log, the campfire at our feet and marveled that at that moment there were humans walking around on the luminous orb in the sky. Far out!

Did the walk on the moon affect your life on July 20, 1969?  If so, please post your story in the comments section below.

If you’re considering installing solar-electric panels or a home wind turbine, one of the first questions to ask is whether you want to be on the grid or off the grid.

What’s the difference? A grid-tied system connects to the local electric utility, so you can sell power to the utility, or buy power when you need it. A grid-independent system does not connect to the local power lines. Instead, you produce all the power you need for your own home.

Both options have their pros and cons.  First, a grid-connected system is usually cheaper. For one thing, you don’t have to produce all your own power, so you can choose to purchase a smaller system. You will also need to purchase less equipment, because a grid-tied system doesn’t require batteries.

However, for some people off the grid is the only way to go because it allows you to be truly independent of the utility. During a power outage, your lights stay on. And who needs fossil fuels? You’re producing all the power you need from clean renewable energy. Also, if you live in a remote area that doesn’t already have electric service, an off-grid system can end up being cheaper than extending electric lines to your house.

So, tell us what you think. If you installed solar-electric panels or a wind turbine, would you want to connect to the grid? If you already have a home renewable energy system, what did you decide about a grid connection, and are you happy with that decision? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

On May 21, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) introduced the Paid Vacation Act of 2009, HR 2564, in an effort to guarantee paid vacation time for employees that work 25 hours a week or more. (Note: Tourism is Florida’s largest business, according to Grayson’s website.) Without the Paid Vacation Act, the United States is currently the only industrialized nation without a minimum annual leave law. From the U.S. Department of Labor website:

“The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative).”

The Paid Vacation Act would require companies with 100 employees or more to offer a week of paid vacation for employees that work 25 hours a week or more (or 1,250 hours a year, including both full-time and part-time employees) after they’ve worked at the company for a year. Beginning three years after the law goes into effect, those same companies would be required to provide two weeks of paid vacation. At that same time, employees at companies with 50 or more employees would be entitled to one week paid vacation.

Supporters of the bill argue that regular vacations improve health and productivity. One of the opponents’ arguments is that such a law would encourage employers to hire fewer workers.

What do you think about a law that requires companies to provide a minimum annual paid leave? Would you support it?

Photo by iStockphoto

If time is of the essence, sometimes a one-pot meal is all we can manage to scrounge up. It happens to the best of us. But quick and simple doesn't have to mean bland and generic — or expensive, unhealthy and ordered out — now does it? Plus, the beauty of one-pot meals is that they usually can be prepared in advance. That way, you can do the prep work when you have the time, and skip being chained to the stove when you don't.

If you have recipes for easy one-pot meals (or crockpot/slow-cooker, pressure cooker and casserole recipes ... that sorta thing), please share them below. A home-cooked meal is almost always cheaper and healthier than takeout, so just think of all the families you'll be supporting with your fab recipes!

Never heard of a one-pot meal? Check out this slew of crockpot recipes.

Here's one I want to try soon: Vegetarian Crockpot Stuffed Zucchini. Doesn't sound bland to me!

Organic clearly isn't limited to food anymore — you can find organic makeup, skincare products, toys, clothing, mattresses, furniture and much more. But most of us pick and choose what to buy organic, often because of cost and because we think it's more important to choose organic with certain items. We want to know, what do you buy organic and why?

Do you grow gnarly pumpkins, extra-long cukes, dark black peppers? We want to know about the funky foods you’re growing this season, and why. And hey, why not post some photos of your weird produce over at our photo-sharing site?

Are you a fan of pink, grey or brown salt? What about red sea salt or smoked salts? When do you use specialty salts, and why? Got any recipes to share? Here are some of my favorite salts:

* Grey Sea Salt is unrefined, still a bit moist, usually hand-harvested, and contains trace minerals from the sea because it hasn't been processed. And you can really taste the minerals. It's a bit like drinking mineral water, and you'll love it! I always use far less grey sea salt than I would any other kind of salt, because its flavor is pretty potent. One of the best things I ever tasted was half of a baked Kobucha squash, dotted with grey sea salt and cultured butter, and eaten with a spoon! (A brand I really like is Celtic Sea Salt.)

* Gomasio is a mixture of sesame seeds and sea salt, and is a staple in Japanese kitchens. Frequently, I use black sesame seeds and also mix in dried garlic. You can buy gomasio ready-made, or mix your own to save a little money. This is my all-purpose seasoning blend; I use it in just about everything.

* Lemon Zest Salt is a blend I make myself with coarse sea salt and the zest of lemons (or sometimes other citrus fruits, especially grapefruit). The zest perfumes the whole blend, and the flavor is delicate and really just special. My favorite use for lemon salt is over grilled asparagus.

* Herbed Salt is another easy-to-make blend. Finely chop a small amount of herbs, blend with sea salt, and use on anything savory. Fresh rosemary salt is particularly intoxicating.

* Truffle Salt is fine sea salt mixed with ground black (or white) truffles. Even a small quantity of truffles in the blend will perfume the salt heavily. In fact, the aroma just about knocks me over (with ecstasy!) every time I open my jar. I use this precious salt blend over items that are otherwise largely unseasoned. Try it with roasted celery root, mashed potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, or over a simple green salad. Again, you can mix your own or buy a ready-made product. Beware the cost of truffles, and remember it doesn't take much!

* Smoked Salt is usually pretty powerful stuff. It may be smoked with different kinds of wood or flavorings. The best one I've come across is Maine Sea Salt Company's Apple-Smoked Salt. It makes roasted new potatoes sing. And if you're lucky enough to live near that company, you could be treated with locally harvested salts with your CSA subscription.

* Cheese Salt is for making cheese. It melts easily and contains no iodine, which could kill the bacteria that you are trying to support in your cheeses. I use it in cheesemaking. It doesn't cost much more than table salt, so it lasts a long time. I get mine from New England Cheesemaking Supply.

* Rock Salt is used for making homemade ice cream (yea!). The briny solution surrounding your ice buckets draws heat away from the ice cream mixture, allowing it to freeze as you churn.

OK, now it's your turn! Please tell us about your favorite salts and how you use them in the comments section below.

Say you had $1,000 to invest in green home improvement — how would you spend it? 

Don't worry about where the money came from — if you must, say you earned it, or it came from the green home improvement leprechaun.

Would you buy new, energy-efficient windows? Or bamboo flooring for the living room? What about more insulation for the attic to help lower your heating and cooling bills? What about an on-demand water heater? Or perhaps an upgrade for the exterior of your house, such as a new paint job or fiber-cement siding? Speaking of paint, would you add new color to rooms with low- or no-VOC paint? Would you want new, energy-efficient appliances, such as a new refrigerator? In general, would you want to focus on energy-efficiency improvements to help you save money over time? Or aesthetic improvements you can feel good about?

Obviously $1,000 may not cover all expenses for some of these projects, especially at a large scale. But take a second to daydream: If you were handed a grand of green to make your home more green, what would you most want to do? Share your daydreams by posting a comment below.

Most good cooks rely heavily on a decent chef's knife and a few basic spoons and spatulas. But do you have other specialized kitchen utensils whose absence in your kitchen would incite serious depression? Yea! We want to know about them.

Please post a short report about your favorite kitchen utensils in the comments section below. And if you happen to know a great retail source for obtaining them, do tell.

Photo: ISTOCKPHOTO

Some projects require detailed plans. You may need to have precise measurements, a materials list and templates to duplicate the fancy hutch project you saw in a woodworking magazine. Other projects allow for more flexibility and personalization, such as those in Build Your Own Tables. At times, you might simply want to start building without even a sketch — only working from the plan in your mind.

Are you good with math and measurements? Do you follow building plans step-by-step? Or are you the kind of person who just envisions a project and jumps right in?

We all have our preferred styles for doing and learning. Some can eyeball measurements and see the end result and just make it happen; others prefer precision and the guidance of instructions. How are you wired? Share your thoughts and stories by posting a comment below.

For people interested in low-cost, hands-on building, there are many natural building methods to explore.

To name a few: You might consider building a straw bale home, a log cabin, or a timber frame or cordwood house. You might also look at earth-building techniques, including adobe and earth bag construction.

We’d like to know what you think about these types of natural building and about any hands-on experiences you might have had. Have you ever attended a straw bale plastering party? A cordwood-building workshop? Are you interested in learning more about building with adobe?

Share your thoughts and experiences by posting a comment below.

ISTOCKPHOTO

Will consumers make healthier beverage choices if the cost of soda increases?

A new federal tax on soda and other sugary beverages has been suggested recently as a way to pay for part of the major overhaul of the U.S. health-care system proposed by the Obama administration.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based watchdog group that pressures food companies to make healthier products, plans to propose a federal excise tax on soda, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas. It would not include most diet beverages."

Supporters argue that the tax would have multiple benefits. In addition to partially funding health-care reform, supporters argue that a tax on sugary beverages would likely discourage their consumption, potentially relieving some of the burden on taxpayers covering the medical costs incurred because of overweight and obesity.

Addressing these issues, a recent article from the New England Journal of Medicine reports, "For each extra can or glass of sugared beverage consumed per day, the likelihood of a child’s becoming obese increases by 60 percent," and that "a review conducted by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity suggested that for every 10 percent increase in price, consumption decreases by 7.8 percent."

Finally, the article states that "The contribution of unhealthful diets to health care costs is already high and is increasing — an estimated $79 billion is spent annually for overweight and obesity alone — and approximately half of these costs are paid by Medicare and Medicaid, at taxpayers’ expense. Diet-related diseases also cost society in terms of decreased work productivity, increased absenteeism, poorer school performance, and reduced fitness on the part of military recruits, among other negative effects."

The same Wall Street Journal article notes that "The main beverage lobby that represents Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and other companies said such a tax would unfairly hit lower-income Americans and wouldn't deter consumption.

'Taxes are not going to teach our children how to have a healthy lifestyle,' said Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association. Instead, the association says it's backing programs that limit sugary beverage consumption in schools."

What do you think of a tax on sugary beverages? Would you support it?

Many people dream about powering their homes with solar energy, but aren’t ready to make the investment in solar panels just yet. But chances are you’re already using solar power at home, even if it’s only in a small way.

There are a growing number of small, inexpensive solar-powered gadgets available that fit nearly every budget. That includes not only the familiar solar calculator, but a growing array of solar flashlights, radios, cell phone chargers, outdoor motion lights and more. Solar-powered products also are useful around the homestead, for example, for solar-powered electric livestock fencing.

Over the last couple of weeks, we ran a poll asking people if they were using these small solar-powered products and a surprisingly large number of people —almost 90 percent — said yes!

Now we’d like to know more about what you think of these solar gadgets, including what products you’re using and why — or why not. For example, do you have a solar cell phone charger or radio around because it’s a good backup for emergencies? Are you using solar motion lights because they’re convenient? Do they save you money?

Beyond that, what do you think about these small solar products in general? Are they gimmicky? Interesting? Useful?

Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

For the last several days, the media and blogosphere have been discussing almost nonstop the recent H1N1 flu virus outbreak (or "swine flu," as it's previously been called). If you're following the news, you've probably heard the numbers: As of May 8, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed H1N1 in 43 states, for a total of 1,639 U.S. cases, including two deaths. Worldwide (including U.S. numbers), the World Health Organization has confirmed 2,500 cases in 25 countries, including 44 deaths in Mexico.

According to CDC's acting director, Richard E. Bresser, MD, in the New York Times, "About 5 percent of the people with confirmed cases have been hospitalized [including 35 of the 1,639 U.S. cases]. That is a much higher proportion than normal for seasonal flu, and the median age is 15, which is unusually young. But because some states are now testing only seriously ill patients for the novel virus, such skewing of the data is to be expected."

The responses to the outbreak so far have been varied. Early on, Egypt ordered the slaughter of its 300,000 to 350,000 pigs — though no cases of the virus had been reported in the country at that time. In New York and other states, schools issued temporary closings after students were confirmed to have caught the virus. In other cases, travelers have cancelled vacations, either after hearing of cases at their destination, or to avoid possible exposure from other travelers en route. As a general precaution, the CDC has posted a quick list of tips for staying well:

"What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

1. Stay informed. The [CDC] website will be updated regularly as information becomes available.

2. Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

3. Take everyday actions to stay healthy. 

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
• Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

4. Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

5. Find healthy ways to deal with stress and anxiety.

6. Call 1-800-CDC-INFO for more information."

The CDC also has posted general information about H1N1; flu updates; safety information for specific groups, such as pregnant women, child care providers and others; and more.

How worried are you about H1N1? Are you and your family doing anything differently in response to the outbreak?

I’ve recently started testing the Power 8 Workshop. This 18-volt rechargeable tool package includes a circular saw, drill/driver, jigsaw and flashlight. The setup includes two batteries and the charging station. But the thing that really sets this package apart is that you can attach the power tools to a small table (it also functions as a toolbox) to make a small table saw, drill press and scroll saw.

I haven’t tested the tabletop features yet, but I’ve drilled pilot holes for screws and driven up to 3-inch screws with the drill/driver. The keyless chuck is convenient. The batteries recharge quickly; I haven’t had to stop working to wait for a fresh battery.

The blade of the circular saw is to the left of the handle — an important safety feature that most saws don’t have. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but it’s a good feature. The saw cuts just deep enough to get through a 2-by-4. Sometimes it leaves a sixteenth inch of wood at the bottom of the cut. Cutting dry cedar 1-by-6s was easy.

Have you seen similar rechargeable tool packages or tried the Power 8 Workshop? How do you like them?

Yesterday, to coincide with Earth Day, representative Jim Moran (D-Va.) introduced the Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009, proposing a five cent tax for single-use bags — including grocery sacks, dry-cleaning bags, take-out food bags, retail bags and service station bags — to take effect January 1, 2010. The funds collected from the tax would be distributed four ways. Of the five cents, one cent would cover a tax credit for retailers implementing a qualified carryout (single-use) bag recycling program, one cent would go to the Land and Water Conservation Fund,  one cent would be dedicated to state and local trash reduction and watershed protection programs, and the remaining two cents would go toward reducing the national debt.

To find out more about the proposed bill, view a PDF of the Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009, read the National Plastic Bag Bill press release from Moran's page at the House of Representatives' website, or check out New bottle deposit, bag tax bills touted for combating pollution from the New York Times.

What do you think of the Plastic Bag Reduction Act — would you vote for a federal tax on non-reusable retail bags? 

Last year, reader Mindy Moore reported that a mixture of coffee grounds and eggshells protected her cabbages from pest damage. Crushed eggshells are generally thought to repel slugs, but using coffee grounds was not an idea we had heard before.

We would like to encourage you to try out this technique this summer and report back to us. The caterpillars of several kinds of moths often damage cabbage, broccoli and other brassicas. Bt, an organic insecticide, kills the worms, but spent coffee grounds would be a much cheaper and greener option, if it works consistently. We’re thinking that the odor from the coffee grounds probably makes it difficult for the moths to locate the plants.

Give it a try — just sprinkle the grounds around your plants, and let us know how it works out. Post your report in the comments section below.

In the June/July 2009 issue of Mother Earth News, food historian William Rubel will bring us a fantastic and easy technique for making sweet cream and cultured butter at home. So we're interested in reader recipes that capitalize on the divine qualities of freshly made butter, and of course that other delicious product of butter making: fresh buttermilk. If you've got any great butter or buttermilk recipes, please share them with other readers in the comments section below.

For example, I made butter last week and used the buttermilk to cook my breakfast oatmeal — and of course enjoyed a melting pat of fresh butter on top!

The old house I just moved into doesn’t have screens for most of its windows. The storm windows are separate — they aren’t integrated with the main window frames. I enjoy having windows open whenever possible, but prefer to have screens to keep out the flying bugs.

I’ve thought about trying to figure out how to make a wooden-framed screen to insert into the window frame. But, in all honesty, I am not very good at envisioning how to do this. A do-it-yourself book might show me how, but I think I’d be more successful if one of the home improvement stores offered a class on making wooden window frames. I’ll have to check out the classes from my local stores to see if anything along those lines is available. Knowing how to do wood joinery with mitered corners would be a useful skill.

Both Home Depot and Lowe's offer classes and clinics on common household DIY projects. Check their websites for ones scheduled in your area.

What’s the DIY project in your home that you most want to do, but haven’t yet? What’s holding you back? Time? Money? Knowledge? Share what you dream of remodeling or fixing by posting a comment below.

Have you considered installing renewable energy systems at your home? For example would you be most likely to have a wind turbine, or solar electric panels? Have you thought about a solar water heater, a solar space heater or solar-powered outdoor lights?

Tell us what you’ve considered and why; whether you’re dreaming big or starting small; and how far in the future you hope to be able to make it happen.

If you’re looking for more information on your options, this article, All Kinds of Solar, is a quick list of the many different ways people use solar energy. Another good introduction to home-scale renewable article is the article Choosing Renewable Energy, which discusses one couple’s efforts to get off the grid with wind power, solar power and wood heat.

FOTOLIA/ROLAND SCHMIT

They may not be kids any more, but these pretty goats  are probably just as giddy about fresh green grass  snacks and warm weather as any newbie.

Finally! Today is the first day in Kansas that's really felt like spring. We've gotten oh-so-close a couple of times before, but today's a perfect 66 degrees Fahrenheit, with the sun streaming down and literally not a single cloud in the sky. Even the slight breeze is warm. It's the kind of day where the only right thing to do is get outside and drink it in, let the warmth chase the chill from your bones.

Actually, winter is my favorite season, hands down. But spring more than carries its weight as a season to celebrate. Living in Kansas, it's the variance of the seasons — the melting and mixing that draws a new face on the earth and an altered mood into the air — that sings with life. The seasons here roll through constant change, usually in a moderate flux, sometimes calming into a steady hum, and, occasionally, exploding in roiling, earthshaking assertions of vigor. The changes seem to mirror all the moods and stages we go through, from rowdy jubilance to the quiet moments we each sometimes crave, to rest, reflect and regenerate. Though winter carries the most magic in my heart, it's the moving onward that's fully captivating and invigorating. And it's the full expression of each season that leaves us hungry for the next, so we can grasp the gifts and trials of each, fresh and eager with anticipation.

So, as it does every year, the land here is transforming. Colors that have hidden for months are peeking hello. The earth is softening in a gesture of hospitality to seeds and saplings, and all variety of animals and birds are making sounds, rustling and chatting as they shake out their fur and stretch high into warm wind. As all of this busyness is commencing, we're all looking forward to something, maybe seeing a particular flower or enjoying dinner on the porch. 

For me, spring's knob-kneed kid goats make everything right in the world. And there are few things more reassuring than the spattering, sliding and sometimes clamoring sound of spring rain on the roof. But truth be told, nothing says spring (or home) more than the deep, pungent smell of freshly turned soil. Every inch of our farm exuded that fragrance this time of year. Whether you were in the middle of the walnut grove or smack in the center of a field waiting for corn, it was inescapable, rich and smelled more than anything else like life. You can do anything with soil like that. It carries all the promise in the world, if you're willing to do your part. Even if you don't, not an inch will go to waste. A few weeks from now, flowers, weeds, grasses and insects by the dozen will be pushing and buzzing and thriving in and around that soil. There's nothing like that smell, nothing.

What are you most looking forward to, or already relishing, this spring?

With media outlets from the New York Times to individual blog "reporters" typing at their kitchen tables covering the recession — with news, conjecture and as many opinions as there are people — one facet of all this doom and gloom that isn't getting much attention is the impact of the recession on our collective environmental footprint, especially all that consumer-culture waste we seem so eager to flog ourselves over.

The Washington Post reported that landfills around the country are noticing significant decreases in the amount of trash they're receiving, and it's logical to conclude that if a newfound frugality means less shopping, that also means less waste for the trash pile. Think about it: fewer purchases means less packaging (cardboard, plastic, packing peanuts, Styrofoam, etc.), and not just when you're talking about a new flat-screen t.v. Cooking at home often translates into more fresh produce and fewer frozen dinner purchases. And since we're all buying fewer new things, it seems we're more inclined to repair what we have or purchase or trade used items. All of these decisions result in less trash. Not to mention that a lower demand for goods can  — and does, as we've been seeing a lot lately — lead to factory closings. The obvious, serious, bad news there is that hardworking men and women are losing their jobs and their ability to support themselves and their families, at least temporarily. On the other side, one less factory running means one less factory sending contaminants into the air and/or water. Looking around, it seems that one silver lining to the current state of economic affairs might just be less environmental damage from our particular species.

What do you think? Have you noticed less waste and trash in your life because of the recession? Do you think that we might hold on to the better lessons from this experience as we move forward, ultimately, to more prosperous times?