The Benefits of Eating Local

Local food is not only fresher and tastier, it is often safer. Even when it's not organic, small farms tend to be less aggressive than large factory farms about dousing their wares with chemicals. And while fruits and vegetables from overseas may seem more exotic, they may also have been produced in countries with weaker environmental standards. Small family farms are also likely to grow more interesting varieties (think lettuce that isn't iceberg and apples that aren't red delicious), making food more flavorful, protecting biodiversity and preserving a wider agricultural gene pool, an important factor in long-term food security.
 
Buying local food not only helps local farmers thrive, it reduces energy consumption. Estimates on how long the average food travels from pasture to plate range from 1200 to 2500 miles. A lot of energy is expended freezing, refrigerating, and trucking that food around. Eating locally grown food means less fossil fuel burned in preparation and transport.
 
Eat Well Guide - find fresh, local, sustainably produced food near you. Lists farms, restaurants, markets, and stores.
 
Local Harvest - comprehensive directory of farmers' markets, farm stands, U-Pick Farms and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.

Greening Your Lawncare

Every year, Americans apply 70 million pounds of pesticides to home lawns, trees and shrubs, roughly 10 times more per acre than is used on farms. Those little flags that spring up after a dousing are there for a reason: many of these chemicals are hazardous to your health and harmful to the environment.
 
According to The Green Guide, "Several studies of professional lawn care workers have shown they face increased risk of non-Hodgkinson's Lymphoma (NHL), currently the sixth most common malignant cancer in the U.S. Workers in pesticide manufacturing plants have been shown to have higher rates of NHL as well as soft-tissue cancers."
 
The key to a weed-free yard isn't deadly chemicals - it's richer soil. Healthy, nutrient-filled humus is naturally capable of battling weeds, bugs, disease, and other insults.  You can test your soil for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements to help pinpoint and correct troubles in order to keep your grounds fertile and pest-resistant.  Soil test kits can be found in nurseries, hardware stores, and garden catalogues.
 
Organic fertilizers require less energy to produce than synthetic fertilizers and release nutrients more slowly than their synthetic counterparts, making them effective for a longer time. Natural pesticides target individual pests rather than kill indiscriminately, letting the "good" bugs thrive and reducing health risks to children. Alternative pest management techniques, like introducing insects or birds that prey on troublesome species, are safer than chemical applications and often have more lasting effects. 
 
Check out Eartheasy's basics of natural lawn care.