I pruned back an overgrown bush in my back yard last fall and now the soil around it is covered in dandelions and other weeds. Is there any way to get rid of these weeds without resorting to RoundUp and other chemical herbicides? — Max S., Seattle, WA

Weeds are nothing if not opportunistic. While you may not have bargained for getting one form of eyesore (weeds) by clearing another (an overgrown bush), dandelions and other fast-growing, quickly spreading plants know no bounds when some new territory opens up. They will colonize and spread out given the slightest opening-after all, thats what defines them as weeds.

Of course, conventional herbicides such as Monsantos RoundUp will take down the weeds in a jiffy, but the negative effects on people, animals and the environment may be both profound and long-lasting. Independent studies of RoundUp have implicated its primary ingredient, glyphosphate, as well as some of its “inert” ingredients, in liver damage, reproductive disorders and Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, as well as in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nerve and respiratory damage.

Californias Department of Pesticide Regulation reports that, year after year, RoundUp is the number one cause of pesticide/herbicide-induced illness and injury around that state. RoundUp is also blamed for poisoning groundwater across the U.S. and beyond, as well as for contributing to a 70 percent decrease in amphibian biodiversity and a 90 percent decrease in tadpole numbers in regions where it is used heavily.

Given that youll have to manually remove dead weeds from your yard after applying RoundUp (or any other “post-emergent” herbicide), why not just pull them up by hand in the first place? No doubt, the most eco-friendly way to get rid of weeds is to yank them out without the aid of poisons. Unfortunately, many weeds have long deep roots which need to be pulled completely if you dont want them to grow back; if need be, use a metal weed puller with a hooked end or a mechanical grabber-available at any local garden supply or hardware store-if you dont want to have to pull those very same weeds next year.

Garden expert Dean Novosat of the Garden Doctor website suggests giving the weed beds a good watering the night before you pull weeds. “…the soil will be softened and will yield the entire weed plant, root and all,” he says. Another way to kill weeds, he says, is by pouring boiling hot water over them.

Of course, once youve killed or pulled up all those weeds-and make sure youre thorough or else its waste of time-youll want to make sure new ones dont start showing up in their place. Planting some regionally appropriate and ideally native plants in place of the removed weeds would be a good first step-check with a local nursery about what some good choices might be for your neck of the woods.

Once the area is cleared (and replanted), cover it with three to six inches of mulch. Mulch forms a barrier between the soil and the sun, depriving any new germinating weeds of the sunlight they need to photosynthesize. Mulch is composed of large chunky material such as wood chips and bark nuggets, and works well for weed control also because it is low in nutrients and thus wont fertilize plant starts below.

CONTACTS: California Department of Pesticide Regulation, www.cdpr.ca.gov; The Garden Doctor, www.the-garden-doctor.com.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com.

If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, be sure to check out (or into) the Orchard Garden Hotel, one of California’s greenest.

As proud sister to the award-winning Orchard Hotel, the $25 million Orchard Garden, this boutique accommodation is a short stroll from Union Square shops and theatres, blocks away from the Financial District dealmakers and San Franciscos famous cable cars, and just steps from the Chinatown Gates.

As one of the State’s first hotels built to the specifications of the “Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design” (LEED

By Adria Vasil

Maybe it’s the half-Greek in me, but there’s nothing that makes me giddier then the sight of a table full of food (well, other than actually eating the food). Trouble is most of what we stack onto our plates isn’t just weighing on our hips, hearts and cells, it’s also bloating the planet with packaging, pesticides and climate-changing gases. How can you get your fill without, er, tipping the ecological scales?

Just follow Ecoholic’s 5 earth- and body-friendly tips.

1. Eat Close To Home: And by that I don’t mean ordering takeout from your local pizza joint! Search for produce grown in your own county/state. If you can’t find homegrown garlic/greens/grapes at the grocery store, don’t be shy, ask the produce manager for more local options and trove farmers’ markets for freshly picked goodies. Not only does buying locally translate into fewer dirty fossil fuels trucking or shipping that food to you, it also means you’re helping to preserve nearby farmlands and valuable green spaces. Plus, betchya didn’t know that the vitamin content of a just-picked tomato is higher than in one plucked before it was ripe then carted 2500 miles. It tastes a hell of a lot better, too. To track down the greenest local food sources near you, punch in your zip code at localharvest.org.

2. Try Tofu Tuesdays. Eating fewer meaty meals isn’t just good for your cholesterol count, your waistline and your pocketbook — it’s also one of the top moves you can make for the planet. Gassy livestock literally burp and, um, expel more of the world’s greenhouse gases than cars, trains and planes combined! In fact, one University of Chicago study found that eating 20% fewer animal products every week reduces your greenhouse gas footprint as much as switching from a sedan to an ultra efficient Prius! And since, despite what your mom told you, there won’t always be more fish in the sea, pick your seafood choices wisely with the help of a pocket-size guide from seafoodwatch.org. Smaller fish like sardines aren’t only more sustainable than big daddies like tuna, they’re also way lighter in pollutants like mercury.

3. Get It Fair and Square: Quick, pick three things that get you through the day and I’ll bet you twenty bucks that coffee, chocolate and sugar make the list. Since none of the above grow on U.S. soil (well other than beet sugar), you want to be sure you buy the kind with a Fair Trade Certified label on the package. Why? Well, the workers that pick those ingredients are generally paid so poorly they’d have to work 3 days just to afford a Starbucks grande latte! Fair trade certified farms, on the other hand, pay farmhands in developing countries a decent wage, give their families access to health care and education and forbid the use of ultra toxic pesticides (which makes them better for your health, too). Bonus: your sugar-/caffeine-/chocolate-rush blissfully guilt-free.

4. Pass on packaging (especially the plastic kind): What goes into a Ding Dong is one thing; what’s wrapped around it is a whole other ball of plastic. Just stop emptying your kitchen’s trash bin for a week and you’ll find yourself knee deep in the food packaging (think milk cartons, cereal boxes, frozen food trays and all the double to triple layers of wrap around cookies, crackers, you name it). No wonder nearly a third of all the garbage we toss every year is packaging! Avoid the whole landfill bound mess by buying in bulk and bringing your own storage sacs shopping (you’ll find some at reusablebags.com). Choose loose lettuce instead of the boxed stuff. Buy concentrated ingredients like broth in dry form instead of bulkier watered-down cartons. And when you have a choice, pick the jam/juice/soup that comes in glass (it doesn’t leach dodgy toxins like tin cans and some plastics can).

5. Fork out for the right organics: In my dream Ecoholicland, everything in the grocery stores would be deliciously organic and we could all afford to eat chemical-free 365 days a year. But in the real world, most of us have to budget our pesticide-free picks. If you have young children, look at what they eat the most of (like milk or grapes) and switch those items to organic first. And though, yes, 73% of the fruits and veg checked by the FDA tested positive for pesticide residues, to be fair, some are worse then others. Spend your money on certified organic peaches, peppers and spinach before buying, say, organic broccoli (since conventional broccoli is quite low in residues). For a guide to the 12 worst and best produce items you can print or download to your phone, head to foodnews.org. Of course the cheapest (and tastiest) organics are the ones you grow yourself in your backyard. Okay, fine, so it’s a little late to start tomatoes, but you’re right on time to plant spinach, kale, lettuce and more. Money can’t buy greener greens.

With much green talk amongst industries and households, eco industry watchers are saying the world has officially entered an emerging green economy – a trend that will only continue to gain momentum, says eco-expert Kim Carlson.

“As the economy rebounds, more investment will pour into green start-ups of all kinds,” she says. “Businesses of all sizes will begin to go beyond greening their facilities and products focusing on greening their corporate cultures to insure that sustainability permeates every nook and cranny of their organization for lasting change.”

Kim says green products will expand into more consumer product categories hitting health and wellness first, including: baby and childrens clothing, personal care and toys, the pet category and home and garden.

“Despite the gloomy economy of the past year, green has been on an unprecedented upswing.”

Here, Kim shares some examples with The Green Dove:

Sustainable Business: The recession has seemed to help green rather than hurt it as businesses large and small are finding ways to do more with less during the recession. After all, wasted resources do have a hefty price tag and do-gooder corporate differentiation does have a revenue upside. According to a September McGraw Hill report 76% of firms in the U.S. have made significant commitments to sustainability. While 57% believe sustainability practices are either unaffected or aided by the down economy. Some big announcements from the biggest corporations on the planet: In March, Disney announced a company wide sustainability initiative that will cut their carbon emissions in half by 2012 and waste – much from construction – eventually to zero.

Green Tech: According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, nearly 40% of all tech investment in the U.S. went to green tech start ups in 2008. Even though venture capital dried up in early 2009, there are signs that money is flowing back into green tech start-ups once again as investors are placing big bets on the “next big thing” as governments work on legislation to clean up the environment. This category includes bio fuels, plant-based cleaning products, renewable energy technologies, transportation and green chemistry.

Green Food: On the green foodie scene, the farm-to-table movement has taken root all over the US. The reality is that the food is fresher and perhaps even more nutritious when it doesnt ride in a truck across the country. According to the National Restaurant Association, green is playing big with chefs and customers this year. There is a trend of reducing waste, energy and water use by restaurateurs and suppliers. Technology has now made it possible to convert used fryer oil into electricity for hot water or to keep the lights on. And maybe for the first time ever, the environment trumps service as chefs are feeling emboldened to say “no” to customers who want out of season produce or seafood that is over-fished. Editor’s Note: The best way for restaurateurs to reduce waste, energy and water is by limiting meat and dairy based on their menus, as meat and dairy production is the number one global polluter.

Green Lifestyles: Out of the 27.5% of the U.S. work force that telecommutes, the Millennials or Generation Y workers are the largest group influencing this work behavior trend. There are 14 million Millennials telecommuting in 2009 according to the Gartner Dataquest report. The reason is that Millennials are tech-savvy, multi-tasking, non-cube dwellers that dont want to be chained to a desk or spend time in an office. They have begun to change the way we live and work. As a result we are becoming more virtually than physically connected resulting in a lower carbon footprint. Millennials are not only changing the way that we work, they are also moving us toward green living with their eco-enthusiasm.

Your garden is full of goodies that can be helpful not only in your kitchen, but in your home spa. Fresh plants and vegetables are full of potent vitamins, minerals and other beneficial components that can be used to create fresh beauty treatments at home.

Lettuce

The base of salads everywhere, this inconspicuous green leafy vegetable may have the ability to help soften your skin. Try using fresh lettuce, either shredded, or left as a full leaf, in your next fresh facial mask. The leaves can be mixed with plain yogurt, honey, or other basic wetting ingredients to create a simple, softening facial.

Cucumber

Known for its soothing abilities, cucumber is most classically used as a de-puffing agent under the eyes. To partake in this classic spa tradition, slice the cucumber into thin discs and place one over each eye while you relax with a fresh facial, or a cold cream mask. Cucumbers can also be mashed or pureed to act as a wetting agent in a more complex recipe, such as a facial, scrub, or body wrap.

Marigold

Gardeners often plant marigold flowers around the edges of a garden to help ward of pests. In skin care, marigold, or calendula, can help to relive more irritants as well. calendula soothes and comforts dry, sensitive skin, and can help to reduce itchiness and redness when applied topically. Try adding fresh, cleaned marigold petals to a fresh facial cleanser or mask.

Aloe Vera

Fresh Aloe Vera is a staple in most apothecary or medicinal gardens. The flesh and juice of the Aloe Vera can provide instant relief from the pain of sunburn, poison ivy, or other summer time irritants. Try adding fresh Aloe Juice, or pureed Aloe flesh to facials, cleansers, or to medicinal salves.

Tomato

The acids contained in a fresh tomato are great at exfoliating skin. Mashed or pureed tomato makes a great wetting agent for oily and acne prone facials and masks. Another way to use tomato is to place thin slices directly on the skin. The acids in the fresh tomato flesh can help to get red of blackheads and acne, and can help to brighten dull skin.

Photo by Piku

Carrots

Chuck full of nutritious beta carotene, carrots pack a lot of punch into their bold colored packages. Fresh carrots make great ingredients for fresh facials and scrubs, just be careful to use them sparingly, as too much carrot juice can tint the skin temporarily. Try pureeing or juicing fresh carrots to use them as wetting agents or exfoliants in your next fresh spa recipe.

This article was originally posted on The Natural Beauty Workshop, a natural skin and body care blog provided by From Nature With Love, a supplier of natural and complimentary ingredients for skin care, soapmaking, aromatherapy, and massage. The Natural Beauty Workshop regularly features handmade bath and body recipes, informational articles on ingredients, techniques, and environmentalism. If you enjoyed this article, please visit The Natural Beauty Workshop to learn more about fresh, natural, and handmade beauty.

While many garden furniture brands claim to be “eco-friendly,” “green,” or “sustainably harvested”, unfortunately, few of these products have been rigorously audited to verify such claims. To help consumers make informed choices when purchasing garden furniture, the National Wildlife Federation has released its third annual Garden Furniture Scorecard. The guide catalogs retailers selling Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified garden furniture-the most rigorous system for distinguishing wood products in the market.

According to the National Wildlife Federations survey of major retailers, this year consumers can expect to find a wider variety of styles and prices of FSC-certified wood garden products. The National Wildlife Federation expanded the number of companies invited to participate in its third annual Garden Furniture Scorecard from 13 to 16.

Several retailers, including Cost Plus World Market, Crate & Barrel (Crate & Barrel’s Trovata outdoor dining chair pictured right), The Home Depot, Lowes and Pottery Barn, all scored 4 stars or better, indicating that more than 70 percent of their tropical wood garden furniture is from responsible sources. Notably, this is the largest group of retailers that have attained a score of 4 stars or better, meaning a higher percentage of their wooden outdoor furniture options are environmentally friendly. In addition, several retailers with lower scores have already indicated ways in which they plan to improve their offerings for next year.

“We are pleased that more retailers than ever before have chosen to participate in our scorecard and that they are making better choices about the sources of wood in their furniture offerings,” said Eric Palola, Senior Director of Forests for Wildlife at the National Wildlife Federation. “Retailers now have an increased awareness about where their tropical wood products are being sourced from and they expect they will be asked about the sources of their tropical wood from consumers.”

The U.S. is the worlds largest single importer of wooden furniture from tropical timber-producing countries, with garden furniture representing about one-fifth of the wooden furniture market. U.S. imports of all tropical wood products have increased four-fold over the past decade. As a result, the once biologically rich forests of countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil are being depleted at an unprecedented rate.

Several species of neo-tropical birds that summer in the U.S. and Canada depend on threatened tropical forests in Latin America. A major cause of deforestation is the legal and illegal logging of remaining primary forests to meet the global appetite for tropical wood products.

“What you choose to put in your back yard has an impact on wildlife all around the world,” said Palola. “As major consumers of outdoor furniture made from tropical wood, Americans have an opportunity and responsibility to encourage and patronize those stores who source wood products that come from well-managed tropical forests.”

According to the National Wildlife Federation, consumers who want assurance that their garden furniture is truly green should look for and ask for products with a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo, which means the wood is traceable to a sustainably-managed forest. An FSC distinction assures that wildlife and forest ecosystems are conserved through rigorous environmental and social standards that an independent company audits on an annual basis.

“Because Americans buy more wood and paper than any other country in the world, we can play a major role in helping to protect forest ecosystems and the wildlife and people who depend on them,” said Corey Brinkema, president of FSC-US. “Selecting FSC-certified garden furniture helps support responsible forest management in parts of the world where forests are particularly vulnerable to illegal and unsustainable logging.”

As wood products, FSC-certified goods reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy at all steps of production. The manufacture of metal or plastic garden furniture requires greater quantities of fossil fuels and releases more carbon than the crafting of wooden furniture. In fact, the amount of carbon a tree collects from the atmosphere and stores during its natural growth processes exceeds the amount of carbon emitted when that tree is harvested and made into furniture.

NWF plans to continue its annual surveys of major outdoor furniture retailers to track the progress of making FSC-certified products available to consumers. To download a copy of the Garden Furniture Scorecard 2009, click here. See www.fscus.org to find stores near you that manufacture or carry FSC-certified products.

Nicole Richie (left), Amy Smart and Anna Getty teamed up in Hollywood recently to bring attention to a new project that is set to take students back to basics, by growing their own organic gardens.

Twenty-five schools will be paired with participating celebs including Lance Bass, Rosario Dawson, and Jake Gyllenhaal to create organic gardens and learn about healthy eating habits. The schools may also potentially earn revenue from the sale of flowers and vegetables they grow. Read more here

They say one good deed leads to another. The Dove Project is a series of questions, passed on, by each interviewee, to the person they believe is doing their part to ensure a greener, healthier future, through action and inspiration. Join us as we share earth-loving information courtesy of those who have taken it upon themselves to believe, through action and leading by example, that one person can truly make a difference.

Meet: Lora Hall
Profession: Gardener
Location: Los Angeles

THE GREEN DOVE: Who passed The Dove Project on to you?

LORA HALL: Tricia Mazure. We met when she came over to my house to see my backyard nursery. Tricia is just a beautiful, sweet person. We both are passionate about plants so it is great to have someone to talk to that understands my obsession with all things plant related.

TGD: Tricia’s question to you was: What are your three favorite things about worms?

LH: First, worms are easy to care for and do not smell at all. Worm composting is a great way to turn kitchen scraps into compost in a very small space. And worms are so good at what they do, Charles Darwin wrote his last book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould by the Action of Worms about it. Darwin was enchanted by watching worms turn leaves into what we now call compost.

TGD: What is your green mission?

LH: My greater goal would be to teach people how to live more gentle, fulfilling lives that are less consumer oriented, and more focused on being good to each other and to the planet. In my day to day life and work, my mission is to transform the landscape of L.A., making it healthier, more water-wise and more beautiful. I do this in my services as a gardener, by example with my own yard and also in the conversations I have with people.

TGD: What action, big or small, do you take every day and why?

LH: I always try to turn out the lights when I leave a room, bring my own bag to the grocery store and of course, compost.

TGD: What, in your opinion, are the most helpful things the average person can do to make a positive impact on the planet?

LH: Buy less stuff. Material goods dont make us happy in the end and they just clutter and pollute our world with their production and disposal. At least start with bringing your own bags to the grocery store and look for items with less packaging.

TGD: Name books and/or websites everyone should know about and why?

LH: www.homegrownevolution.com. My neighbors urban homesteading blog. They are awesome, inspirational people and I sometimes guest blog for them. Im an avid composter so I think everyone who is intimidated by composting should get Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof. The book has lots of cute drawings and makes composting with worms very simple and fun.

TGD: How can just one person make a difference?

LH: I believe in leading by example. Dont be high and mighty about how much you recycle-just recycle. It all adds up.

TGD: Your biggest hope for the worlds future?

LH: The cultural shift in the U.S. towards Slow Food, gardening, composting, riding bicycles. All these things are cool now. People are figuring out what really matters and working to create healthy, livable communities.

TGD: Who are you asking to join The Dove Project and why?

LH: My friend Sara Altshul. I told her about worm composting and now she is the expert. She is very talented with the compost. And shes very enthusiastic about new green initiatives, which I think is important.

TGD: What one question would you most like to have Sara answer?

LH: What is the most inspirational idea/project you have heard about lately?

They say one good deed leads to another. The Dove Project is a series of questions, passed on, by each interviewee, to the person they believe is doing their part to ensure a greener, healthier future, through action and inspiration. Join us as we share earth-loving information courtesy of those who have taken it upon themselves to believe, through action and leading by example, that one person can truly make a difference.

Name: Tricia Mazure
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Profession: Gardener

THE GREEN DOVE: Who passed The Dove Project on to you?

TRICIA MAZURE: Patti Penn passed The Dove Project on to me. We met in the dark at a sweat lodge about eight months ago. It is her commitment to healing within herself and assisting others to learn how to do the same that inspires me … and she rides a horse.

TGD: Patti’s question to you was: Why do you care so much?

TM: I honestly believe that we have a fundamental and symbiotic relationship with plants and the more we learn about them and interact with their well being the more they will take care of us.

TGD: What is your green mission?

TM: I would say my mission is to get as many people excited about the life of plants as possible and to consume copious amounts of greens. I have read quite a few books on food as medicine and one quote that resonated is from David Wolfe (pictured right), “If you want to heal the environment heal the environmentalist”. The greener we are on the inside the greener our living spaces will become and who doesn’t love oxygen.

TGD: What green action, big or small, do you take every day and why?

TM: I garden every day and that may mean watering the borage and strawberries, seeding purslane and ojo melons, helping a friend plant a garden or turning compost. Learning as much as I can about our relationship with fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, the seasons they ripen and grow in and why they ripen and grow when they do and understanding how it all serves a purpose.

TGD: What, in your opinion, are the most helpful things the average person can do to make a positive impact on the planet?

TM: Plant a garden and know that this endeavor can be a basil plant on your window sill or a 10 x 3 foot garden bed filled with herbs, squash, green beans, tomatoes, melons, kale and arugula. I recommend sitting outside on a Sunday for hours and watching it grow because something happens when you plant a bean and day by day watch how it bursts out of its shell and notice how one half roots itself to the earth and the other half stretches toward the sky. Plants pull nutrients from the earth; watching food grow out the ground facilitates a consciousness about what we put in to the earth.

TGD: Name books and/or websites everyone should know about and why?

TM: The Freedom Manifesto-how to free yourself from anxiety, fear, mortgages, money, guilt, debt, government, boredom, supermarkets, bills, melancholy, pain, depression, work, and waste by Tom Hodgkinson. I think the title says a lot. This man believes in the importance of gardening and doing nothing. His writing is humorous and gently filled with historical facts. I would also recommend the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico. Ann Wigmore was an advocate for the benefits of wheatgrass and consuming highly nutritious greens. I went last year and knowing how the body can change in two weeks is life altering.

TGD: How can just one person make a difference?

TM: By planting a seed.

TGD: Your biggest hope for the worlds future?

TM: To remember to practice________every day.

TGD: Who are you asking to join The Dove Project and why?

TM: Lora Hall because she’s a gardening punk.

TGD: What one question would you most like to have Lora answer?

TM: What are your three favorite things about worms?