Recent News

• December 5, Experts Worry Warmer Earth Will Slash Farm Yields
  
• December 2, Organic Dairying Is on Upswing, But No Panacea
• November 30, Supreme Court Hears First Global Warming Case
• November 30, Humans' love for rare objects could cause conservation efforts to backfire and force species disappearance
  
• November 24, Taking Wheat to its Wild Side Boosts Nutrients
  
• November 21, Earthwatch: Business Must Adapt to Realities of Earth's Ecosystems
  
• November 18, Cow Power
• November 16, Rare Indian Bamboo Bloom Brings Rats, Threatens Crops
  
• November 14, Climate Change Pushing Bird Species to Oblivion
• November 14, World's Forests are Making a Comeback, via PlanetArk
  
• November 10, Making Growth Greener a Tall Task for Economists
  

Presents to the Animals at the Prospect Park Zoo: 12/9&10, and 12/16&17

This Saturday and Sunday, as well as next weekend.

via Science & the City.

Cutting Back on the Holidays

Tips from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Newsletter for reducing the amount of waste we generate during the holiday season.

• When shopping, bring your own reusable tote bag rather than accepting a separate bag for each purchase.
• Choose products that are minimally packaged.
• Give experiences, not stuff.
• Give of yourself.
• Give a gift that keeps giving.
• Donate old things to charity.
• Recycle cardboard and boxes.
  
• Don't use wrapping paper.

And many more. Including, of course:

Compost your kitchen food scraps from holiday dinners and parties. Remember, in yard waste composting, compost fruit and vegetable wastes not meat or grease. [In other words, no animal products.]

Some communities recycle Christmas trees, chipping and mulching them for compost or landscaping materials. Trees must be free of tinsel, decorations, nails, tacks or any other foreign materials. Check with your town office to see if a tree recycling programs exists in your area. You can use branches as mulch under acid-loving bushes and shrubs, such as rhododendrons or evergreens.

New York City has a city-wide Christmas tree recycling program. Trees are usually picked up the first couple of weekends in January.

Festival of the Trees #6

Festival of the Trees #6 is up over on Arboreality. It's a huge edition, with links to many of my favorite gardening and nature bloggers.

If you're visiting this blog for the first time, welcome! Here are some recent tree-related photo posts:

• November 26: Fall Color along Buckingham Road in Prospect Park South, a landmarked Historic District just up the block from my home and garden.
• November 21: Fall Color along Albemarle Road in Prospect Park South
• November 11: More Fall Color in Beverly Square West, my neighborhood
  
• November 4: Field Trip to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the post featured in CotT6.
• October 28, 2006: Fall Color in Beverly Square West