Chelsea Green Blog

Nature & Environment

beaver

The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter

“Beavers, the animal that doubles as an ecosystem, are ecological and hydrological Swiss Army knives, capable, in the right circumstances, of tackling just about any landscape-scale problem you might confront.” From promoting salmon populations to capturing more water for agriculture, author and “Beaver Believer” Ben Goldfarb wants us all to appreciate beavers more. A better…

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brewing beer

Brewing California Sagebrush Beer: The Foraging Brewer

Hyperlocal brewing, making concoctions only out of the ingredients available in your immediate environment, is a fun way to become more familiar with your surroundings and the possibilities within them. According to wildcrafting author Pascal Baudar, “the number of possible ingredients you can use is mind boggling.”  And the end results can be so rewarding! The…

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drawing of a village

Victory Over Big Ag: How a small town said “Yes!” to a pesticide-free future

A Precautionary Tale shares the inspiring story of a group of citizens in Mals, Italy who fought Big Ag and won and, in doing so, became the first place on Earth to ban pesticides by a referendum vote. Their colorful, courageous, and ultimately savvy campaign is being heralded around the world as a landmark effort in…

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basket of mushrooms

Foraging for Mushrooms: Gourmet Root Systems

For people who enjoy foraging for food in the wild, there are plenty of mushrooms to choose from — “ten thousand mushroom species to be considered on the North American continent alone”. But foraging for mushrooms should never be thought of as a game of chance. You need to know all the clues when it comes to identifying…

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kimchi

Strong, Spicy, and Pleasant: Wild Green Kimchi

Experiment with what you have, anything from the mustard family will work extremely well.

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overlooking a village

How One Small Town Banned Pesticides: Freedom from Poison

Years of apparent collusion between companies producing pesticides and other chemicals and regulatory agencies such as the EPA. So how did a tiny town in Northern Italy prevail against big agriculture and make their town a pesticide-free zone?

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produce

Organic No-Till: Farming like the Earth Matters

If we could do one thing for the planet it would be to ditch the plough. When we turn over soil, the air and sun wreak havoc on the microbes, which is why we need chemicals to bring the fertility back. No-till creates thin furrows in the soil and drops seeds in. It’s difficult to…

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microscope - LDN

LDN Treatment Helps to Kill Cancer Cells

According to a report in The International Journal of Oncology, giving low dose naltrexone (LDN)  to cancer patients can improve the immune system’s ability to kill cancerous cells, as well as improve the efficacy of standard cancer treatments and immunotherapy. This major breakthrough gives research credence to what some doctors have observed in their cancer…

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A Mini-Festo for Earth Day – Rebuild the Foodshed

For the days leading up to Earth Day in years past, author Philip Ackerman-Leist runs a Twitter MiniFesto campaign – each day sending out a new tweet designed to spark conversation and pass along some lessons he learned whilst working on his book, Rebuilding the Foodshed. You might also know Philip as the author of…

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