Yes, you can…take a deeper dive deeper into the science behind healthy school lunches, herbal remedies, and more!
physical health science + tips
hot herbal remedies science
Yes, medicine DOES grow on trees (and other plants)! Risks and Benefits of Commonly Used Herbal Medicines in Mexico, L. Rodriguez-Fragoso, et. al., Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2008
- Historical Review of Medicinal Plants’ Usage, B.B. Petrovska, Pharmacognosy Reviews, 2012
- Herbal Medicine for Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia: A Review of Psychopharmacology and Clinical Evidence, Jerome Sarris, et. al., European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2011
- Complementary Treatment of the Common Cold and Flu with Medicinal Plants – Results from Two Samples of Pharmacy Customers in Estonia, Ain Raal, et. al., Plos One, 2013
cool herbal remedy tips
- The University of Rhode Island, College of Pharmacy’s Medicinal Garden
- Peterson Field Guide: A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: of Eastern and Central N. America, S. Foster and J.A. Duke, 2014
- Medicinal Plants of the Northeast, an Electronic Field Guide, N. Sylvain at Brandeis University
- University of Maryland Medical Center on Herbal Medicines
hot antibacterial soap science
Scientists say: skip the polluting drama of antibacterial soap. Keeping Great Lakes Water Safe: Priorities for Protecting Against Emerging Chemical Pollutants, Olga Lyandres, Alliance for the Great Lakes, 2012
- Triclosan: Environmental Exposure, Toxicity and Mechanisms of Action, Andrea Dann and Alice Hontela, Journal of Applied Toxicology, 2011
- Triclosan Exposure Increases Triclosan Resistance and Influences Taxonomic Composition of Benthic Bacterial Communities, Bradley Drury, et. al., Environmental Science and Technology, 2013
- The Impact of Bisphenol A and Triclosan on Immune Parameters in the U.S. Population, EM Clayton et. al., Environmental Health Perspective, 2011
- Triclosan Impairs Excitation-Contraction Coupling and Ca2+ Dynamics in Striated Muscle, Bruce Hammock et. al., UC Davis/U Colorado-Denver, 2012
cool antibacterial soap tips
- Environmental Working Guide to Triclosan
- Should I Avoid Products That Contain Triclosan? James M. Steckelberg, M.D., Mayo Clinic
- The CDC’s Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
hot benefits of nature science
Sometimes it’s not lack of access to nature that keeps kids from getting outside… View Through a Window May Influence Recovery From Surgery, Roger Ulrich, Science Magazine, 1984
- Assessing Urban Forest Effects and Values, Chicago’s Urban Forest, David Nowak, Robert Hoehn III, Daniel Crane, Jack Stevens, and Cherie Fisher, USDA Forest Service Research Bulletin, 2010
- The Role of Arboriculture in a Healthy Social Ecology, Frances Kuo, Journal of Arboriculture, 2003
- Active Living Research, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program working to prevent childhood obesity by examining how environments and policies influence children and families
- The Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, Chicago Wilderness’ Leave No Child Inside Initiative
- How to Correct Chicago’s Open Space Shortage: 10 Ideas That Could Help the City’s Park-Poor Neighborhoods Away From the Lakefront, Blair Kamin, Chicago Tribune, 2011
- Outdoor meetup opportunities: Look for fun wintry activities like snowshoeing and cross country skiing
- A Walk in the Woods, John Lofy, Michigan Today, 2006
** For mental health benefits, please see the Humans and Nature Science + Tips page.
food science + tips
hot sustainable produce science
- Food Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States Environmental Science and Technology [PDF], Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews, 2008
- Local Versus Organic: A Turn in Consumer Preferences and Willingness-to-Pay, Damian Adams and Matthew Saloisa, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2010
- “Reinhabiting the Land: From Vacant Lots to Garden,” Barbara Willard, in All the World’s a Stage: Performance on the Environment, coming in 2012
- Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture: Mitigation and Adaptation Potential of Sustainable Farming Systems, U. Niggli et al, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009
- Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives?: A Systematic Review, Crystal Smith-Spangler, et al, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2012
- Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children’s Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides, Lu Chensheng et al, Environmental Health Perspective, 2006
- Pesticides and Other Micro-organic Contaminants in Freshwater Sedimentary Environments, N Warrena, et al, Applied Geochemistry, 2003
- Pesticide Exposure, Safety Issues, and Risk Assessment Indicators, Christos Damalas and Ilias Eleftherohorinos, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2011
- Pesticides and Food: Health Problems Pesticides May Pose, U.S. EPA
- Pesticides in the Nation’s Streams and Ground Water, 1992–2001, USGS
- Association of Pesticide Exposure with Neurologic Dysfunction and Disease, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
cool sustainable produce tips
- Beyond Food Miles, Michael Bomford, Post Carbon Institute
- “A Garden in Eden,” Barbara Willard, in Brute Neighbors: Urban Nature Poems, Essays, and Photographs, DePaul Poetry Institute and DePaul Institute for Nature and Culture, 2011
- Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, James McWilliams, Little Brown and Company, 2009
- Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities, Peter Ladner, New Society Publishers, 2011
- Can We Feed the World and Sustain the Planet?, JA Foley, Scientific American, 2011
- Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen App
- EWG’s Dirty Dozen List
- What’s on My Food
- Organic Trade Association: Health of the Planet and Its Inhabitants
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Pesticides and Wildlife
- Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN: The Environmental Benefits of Organic Agriculture
- Regenstein Fruit and Vegetable Garden at the Chicago Botanic Garden
- Citizen’s Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety (PDF), U.S. EPA
- Pesticide Safety Education Program, University of Illinois Extension
hot food waste science
How best to ditch the food waste? Survey says: Don’t waste it in the first place, bro. Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Food Waste Valorization Options, T. Vandermeerscha, et. al., Resources, Conservation, and Recycling, 2014
- The Food Waste Hierarchy as a Framework for the Management of Food Surplus and Food Waste, Effie Papargyropoulou, et. al., Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014
- Review of Comparative LCAs of Food Waste Management Systems, A. Bernstad and J. la Cour Jansen, Waste Management, 2012
- Life Cycle Assessment of Food Waste Management Options, Sven Lundie and Gregory Peters, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2005
- The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact, J.D. Hall, et. al., PLoS ONE, 2009
cool food waste tips
- The NRDC’s Wasted: How America Loses Up to 40% of Its Food From Farm to Fork
- How to reduce wasted food, EPA-style
- How the U.S. Manages to Waste $165 Billion in Food Each Year, by Brad Plumer for the Washington Post
- Organic Wastes Are Energy-Rich Resources: Towards A New Era of Productive Alchemy, Kendall Christiansen
hot healthy school lunch science
Yes, there IS such thing as healthy cafeteria food! Building Food Literacy and Positive Relationships with Healthy Food in Children Through School Gardens, Andrew Nowak, et. al., Childhood Obesity, 2012
- Healthy School Meals and Educational Outcomes, Michèle Belot and Jonathan James, Journal of Health Economics, 2011
- The Effects of School Garden Experiences on Middle School-Aged Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Associated With Vegetable Consumption, Michelle Ratcliffe, et. al., Health Promotion Practice, 2011
cool healthy school lunch tips
- Eco-Schools USA’s Sustainable Food Pathway
- Healthy Schools Campaign
- Healthy Tools for All Schools
- Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools
- Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution
- USDA Farm to School Program
hot sustainable seafood science
- Effect of Aquaculture on World Fish Supplies, Rosamond L. Naylor, et al, Nature, 2000
- A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems, Benjamin Halpern et al, Science Magazine, 2008
- Commercializing Bycatch Can Push a Fishery Beyond Economic Extinction, Aaron Savio Lobo, et al, Conservation Letters, a Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
- Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood, Monterey Bay Aquarium
cool sustainable seafood tips
- A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems, Benjamin Halpern et al, Science Magazine, 2008
- Effect of Aquaculture on World Fish Supplies, Rosamond L. Naylor, et al, Nature, 2000
- Commercializing Bycatch Can Push a Fishery Beyond Economic Extinction, Aaron Savio Lobo, et al, Conservation Letters, a Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
- Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Drink science + tips
hot tap vs. bottled water science
TKO: Tap water wins; the bottled stuff is down for the count. Energy Implications of Bottled Water, PH Gleick and HS Cooley, Environmental Research Letters, 2009
- The Incidence of Plastic Ingestion by Fishes: From the Prey’s Perspective, Henry S. Carson, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2013
- Human Body Burdens of Chemicals Used in Plastic Manufacture, Holger Koch and Antonia Calafat, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2009
- Components of Plastic: Experimental Studies in Animals and Relevance for Human Health, Chris Talsness, et. al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
- Drifting Plastic and Its Consequences for Sessile Organism Dispersal in the Atlantic Ocean, D. Barnes and P. Milner, Marine Biology, 2009
- Transport and Release of Chemicals From Plastics to the Environment and to Wildlife, Emma Teuten, et. al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2009
- Endocrine Disruptors in Bottled Mineral Water: Total Estrogenic Burden and Migration From Plastic Bottles, Martin Wagner and Jörg Oehlmann, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2009
