Over the weekend, a friend shared with me how a local university banned bottled water on their campus. On one hand, I knew the reason behind this change, and celebrated it. Plastic water bottles have become an enormous source of trash, with three out of four bottles going into landfills or incinerators rather than being…
Rain garden in St. Stephen’s Lake Park in Columbia, MO (Photo courtesy of Steve Johnson, Executive Director of the Missouri River Communities Network) Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone? They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot! Joni Mitchell warned us years ago about…
Twelve years ago Bob and Pat Belshe bought their farm in Cuba, Missouri to have a place to relax in the country. Over the years they invested in a number of conservation projects to create a more sustainable farm operation, and were awarded the “Farmer of the Year” by the local district of USDA and…
There is growing receptivity in the workplace to the benefits of “going green.” Businesses find that this can improve their bottom line. Managers have discovered that it leads to higher employee morale. More and more organizations are creating “green teams” to implement cost-cutting, planet-saving solutions in big and small ways. One of the first steps…
I suspect the vast majority of folks are eager to close the book on 2009 as the year of the Great Recession. While it may have been difficult or uncomfortable, we focus on the blessings that the year brought, whether they be simple joys or valuable lessons learned. As we celebrate the new year, think…
With a name like O’Rourke, it was relatively easy to conceal the truth that my mother was a full-blooded German American. Growing up in the 60’s, I sensed a very subtle stigma about being German, and the association with the crimes of Hitler and Nazi Germany. I don’t recall any holidays like St. Patrick’s Day…
In order to achieve energy independence in our homes, we need to create a net-zero energy home. In short, this is where we produce as much energy as we consume using any number of renewable forms of energy. To do this, though, we need to use renewable energy conservatively and efficiently. This is the first…
In order to achieve energy independence in our homes, we need to create a net-zero energy home. In short, this is where we produce as much energy as we consume using any number of renewable forms of energy. To do this, though, we need to use renewable energy conservatively and efficiently. This is the second…
In order to achieve energy independence in our homes, we need to create a net-zero energy home. In short, this is where we produce as much energy as we consume using any number of renewable forms of energy. The first two parts of this three-part series focused on using energy conservatively and efficiently. Once you…
As we learn more about the causes and effects of climate change, we see how complex the problem is. The depletion of our forests, particularly the rainforests of the Amazon, certainly reduces the earth’s capacity to naturally store the carbon from CO2 and produce the oxygen we breathe. Ironically, much of this land is being…
