TheDailyGreen.com’s Blog

Need some time off but think you can't afford a vacation? These vacation ideas are so cheap they're not only recession-proof, they're practically unemployment-proof!

Losing sleep worrying about the economic downturn? You could use a vacation, but who can afford to travel at a time like this? Just about anyone, if you take our advice and try a volunteer vacation. These five vacations provide you with once-in-a-lifetime experiences and the relaxation and rejuvenation you crave, at little or no cost. Ok, so you do have to work a little — but a hard day's work for a good cause will have you sleeping like a baby at night.

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If you're like us, you may be looking out on an expanse of snow and ice right now. But take heart, spring is really just around the corner, and warbling songbirds and longer days aren't as far off as they may seem. If you're also like us, you may already be starting to formulate garden plans in the back of your brain, and are feeling some New Year resolve to eat better and get more abundant results from a bit o' working the land -- even be it a humble garden plot or even a single flower box. Read More »

But I was with him in spirit, which brings us of course to the Thanksgiving bird and is it worth it -- conservationally or gastronomically -- to seek out a heritage turkey, the high-end turkey du jour. The only way you can eat wild turkey is to hunt or know someone who does, but it is getting (marginally) easier to do your bit for conservation by cooking up one of the old-time breeds of domestic turkey, most of which are in far greater danger of extinction than their wild cousins.

Narragansett, Bourbon Red, Royal Palm -- just the names raise the hope of flavor missing from the Broad Breasted Whites that are standard throughout the land. The American Livestock Breed Conservancy defines Heritage turkeys and describes a whole bunch of them here. And if you don't know a local source you might find one -- for next year -- through Local Harvest. (To get the largest number of listings, ask in the search field for "heritage turkey." (Clicking on "Thanksgiving specials" returns far fewer choices.) Several of these farms mail order, as does the well-known Heritage Foods, a pioneer in what might be called the heirloom turkey movement. Read More »

In a report that is the first of its kind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has come to the unshocking conclusion that "bug bombs" -- which fill indoor air with pesticides to kill cockroaches, fleas and other bugs -- are not very good for people's health.

One state, New York, has already seized on the findings and is moving to ban the use of these "total release foggers" by all but professional licensed pesticide applicators. Until that ban takes effect, and in most other states, these products are readily available to the public.

They are designed to release a cloud of poison ...

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