by  Kelly Wenner

With all of the information- and misinformation-that surrounds us daily about organic food most of us who want to join in the organic food movement for the health of our bodies or our planet feel overwhelmed.  Pair that with the fact that some organic foods can cost up to twice as much as nonorganic versions and we’re finished before we even start! In her article “How to Eat Organic Foods on a Budget” Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD shows us some simple ways, however, to incorporate organic foods into our diets without breaking the bank.

First, learn your labels.  While terms like “free-range,” “hormone free,” or “natural” are easily confused with organic, none of those terms are regulated by law.  Look for the following regulated terms:

• “100% Organic” is for foods that have no allowable synthetic ingredients.  These foods are allowed to use the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) organic seal.
• “Organic” foods have a minimum of 95% organic ingredients.  These foods are also eligible by law to use the USDA organic seal.
• “Made with Organic Ingredients” are foods that must contain at least 70% organic ingredients.  These foods are not eligible for the USDA seal.

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by Beth Gray

In February 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the Recovery Act.  According to the Administration’s website established to track the Recovery Act and the funds allocated from it, the purpose of the Act is three-fold: to “create new jobs and save existing ones,” to “spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth,” and to “foster unprecedented levels of accountability and transparency in government spending.”  The Recovery Act included more than $80 billion in clean energy investments.  As institutions of higher education begin addressing their own carbon footprints and the issues related to climate change in general, there are opportunities for them to apply for funds through the Recovery Act in order to implement projects that can help.

Various government agencies have been provided with portions of the total allotted in the Recovery Act and institutions of higher education may find funding for their sustainability projects through these agencies.  For example, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is responsible for some $16.8 billion of Recovery Act funding.  Included in that total is some $11.3 billion for projects related to weatherization, state energy programs, and conservation block grants.  Additionally, according to Financing Sustainability on Campus, a National Association of College and University Business Officer’s publication, the Recovery Act allocated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program (SEP) “for onward allocation by state energy offices to higher education institutions and other organizations within their jurisdictions.” 

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by Jennifer Lefebvre

I recently read a great quick-reference guide called the green book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen.  It is filled with hundreds of little ideas that we all can do to make significant, positive impacts on our planet’s health.  For this article, I’d like to highlight one of the sections I thought was interesting and informative:  How to green your home, one room at a time.

The Kitchen
Composting.  Place fruits and vegetable scraps, as well as coffee grounds in a container or composter and add them to your garden.  These items are food for your plants, they help to recycle valuable nutrients, and save space in the landfills.  You can also save water by not running your garbage disposal, just by composting the items you would normally send down the drain.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that yard trimmings and food scraps constitute 26 percent of the United States municipal solid waste in the landfills.  For additional information on composting please see the recent American Public University System (APUS) Sustainability blog article by Allison Knox on Composting in the Workplace and at Home.

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