You may have noticed many beautifully formed lush street trees and park trees being cut down over the past few years. Most of these are ash trees that are suffering from an infestation of emerald ash borer. At EcoMyths we wondered: Why do the trees have to be cut down? Is there any other way … Read more
For Richer or Borer: Does Loving Ash Trees Mean Cutting Them Down? Miss seeing a few of your favorite trees around town? You can shake your fist at a tiny, most unwelcome guest: the emerald ash borer. This invasive wood boring beetle has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the U.S., and is … Read more
Sacré bleu! Scientists at London’s Kew Gardens recently predicted that before the century’s end, global warming could force into extinction the plant source of most of the world’s coffee. Two main coffee species create the coffees that most people drink: Arabica (Coffea arabica) and Robusta (Coffea robusta). Arabica is most widely enjoyed—about 70 percent of … Read more
Over the years, you may have heard that the recommended way to dispose of unused pharmaceuticals is to flush them down the toilet or pour them down the drain—not anymore. The EPA and FDA backed off this recommendation for almost all drugs (exceptions are listed on the FDA website). Medicines are among the thousands of … Read more
Fishing for the Facts: Is It Safe to Flush Old Meds? What to do when it comes time to ditch old and unused medicine? Flushing old pharmaceuticals down the toilet may seem like a better option than simply trashing them. After all, the FDA recommends flushing some drugs in order to keep them from being … Read more
As the mid-winter chill sets in, a tangy tasting ripe tomato with sweet fresh basil leaves can easily bring summer to mind. But often, grocery-store tomatoes don’t taste good at all times of year and fresh basil is expensive. So how do we find and choose good produce year-round? In this month’s EcoMyths Worldview segment, … Read more
No, “Vampire Power!” is not a rallying cry created by Twi-hards camping out at premier of the new Twilight movie. It’s not even a blood-red energy drink. But if you use electricity at home, vampire power is a phenomenon lurking in your household at this very minute. According to energy expert, Eric Masanet, staff scientist … Read more
No, “Vampire Power!” is not a rallying cry created by Twi-hards camping out at premier of the new Twilight movie. It’s not even a blood-red energy drink. But if you use electricity at home, vampire power is a phenomenon lurking in your household at this very minute. According to energy expert, Eric Masanet, staff scientist … Read more
Power Play: What’s the Deal With Vampire Power? It may seem like a no-brainer: You turn off your TV, your iPod player, your phone charger, and they’re done using electricity, right? Nope. Turns out, plenty of products still suck power even when they’re not on. Standby loss, more popularly known as vampire power or phantom … Read more
Food for Thought: Is Organic Produce Overrated? Welcome to the fall harvest, ground zero for comfort food obsessions. Visions of gourd-laden tables, steaming pots of soup, and fresh-baked apple pie are already dancing in our collective heads. So in celebration of the national treasure that is our produce supply, let’s take a moment to reflect…on … Read more
