compiled by Sally Cummings – If you have a worm farm, dump the grounds in – I swear the caffeine jolt makes the worms chomp through more. But seriously, it doesn’t seem to do them any harm; but I’d recommend mixing them through the pile so the worms don’t overdose on any residual caffeine. – Use coffee grounds as a plant fertilizer. Sprinkle the grounds around the base of the plant then dig them in a little. They can also…
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by Tom Ellis Albany County legislator Doug “Bullhorn” Bullock has proposed legislation that would ban the use of take-out polystyrene (Styrofoam) food and beverage containers from chain restaurants and eateries in the county. The proposed bill, called the Food Service Waste Reduction Act, has numerous co-sponsors and may be voted on Tuesday, November 12. A poorly attended public hearing in late August was dominated by out-of-state plastics and chemical industries representatives. However, more than ten county residents spoke in favor of the ban at the September 9 monthly meeting and three…
Whether it’s a bottle of baby aspirin in a cabinet above your kitchen sink or a shelf of prescriptions on the bathroom shelf, medication is a common household item. In fact, a Maine Department of Environmental Protection study says the use of over-the-counter medications has risen 60 percent since the 1990s. But what happens when you get rid of the nasty cold and no longer need that cough medicine? Should you throw it in the trash? Or can you…
by Rezsin Adams ALBANY, NY Ñ The SPB September veggie lasagna dinner welcomed Steve Breyman, Director, Ecological, Economic, Values & Policy Program in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at RPI as he spoke about ÒGreening Your World.Ó “ Most people running institutions today have very few or no Õgreen bonesÕ.” Steve Breyman opened his remarks on greening institutions by pointing out that greening is beneficial in at least two ways: in itself it benefits the institution and the…
ALBANY, NY: Eight o’clock AM on a bitter cold December morning saw a dozen Save the Pine Bush volunteers demonstrating over the destruction of the Pine Bush for the building of Avila House. Avila House is proposed to be built in the rare Pine Bush ecosystem. The protesters, with signs and a lot of warm clothes, arrived at the Avila House site to find it completely bulldozed of vegetation. As the protesters stood silently on the edge of the road,…
In the bitter cold, about a dozen people came out to protest the bulldozing of the Avila House site. Though Save the Pine Bush had lost all of its appeals in the courts, we know that we are legally, morally and ethically right. No more construction should be made in the Pine Bush. Avila House site looking west from Columbia Circle Drive Avila House site with bulldozer and bulldozed trees piled in front Protesters walk down Columbia Circle Drive…
City Strangles Downtown Growth City Strangles Downtown Growth Yet Council Encourages Suburban Sprawl By Daniel Van Riper As far as Save the Pine Bush can determine, the City of Albany Common Council has not denied a single application by any large corporate entity that has wanted to erect buildings in the Pine Bush for more than 20 years. At the same time, both the Council and the Board of Zoning Appeals routinely turn down applications by small businesses that want…
Dear Friends & Allies, Please help get your county legislator to say “yes” to the proposed styrofoam ban law. 1. Fill out this online petition even if you’ve completed a paper or online petition before. Go to: https://sites.google.com/riverkeeper.org/albanyfoamban/home. Leave a quick comment. These are powerful! 2. CALL your Albany County legislator – the petition will show you how to find his/her contact info. This petition is being sent to you by a team of volunteers in partnership with: Riverkeeper, PAUSE,…
from TheDailyGreen.com Give Up Plastic (and Paper) Bags Cost: $1 Do you opt for paper or plastic when at the grocery store? Neither is a good choice. Twelve million barrels of oil were used to make the 88.5 billion plastic bags consumed in the United States last year. And it takes four times more energy to make paper bags. The best choice is reusable shopping bags made of cotton, nylon or durable, mesh-like plastic. Put a few reusable shopping bags…
Taking care of a worm bin is so simple! I use one of those large plastic storage containers. I punched some holes in the bottom and near the top on the sides. I use the lid from another old one to place underneath the bin, so that any drainage will be caught. I shred newspaper in my shredder (no colored ads) and put it in a bowl. I save egg shells, so I break up some shells very small,…
from TheDailyGreen.com Give Up Plastic (and Paper) Bags Cost: $1Do you opt for paper or plastic when at the grocery store? Neither is a good choice. Twelve million barrels of oil were used to make the 88.5 billion plastic bags consumed in the United States last year. And it takes four times more energy to make paper bags. The best choice is reusable shopping bags made of cotton, nylon or durable, mesh-like plastic. Put a few reusable shopping bags in…