AlternativesMagazine

Maintaining our back country trail systems and waterways is everybody's business! We hope you support the "Be Part of the Solution," GoFundMe campaign just launched today. http://www.gofundme.com/solutions

Yesterday we started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign titled BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. Fundraising sites are fairly new (at least to me). It's a way to raise money for personal causes, life-events, new business ideas, products etc. GoFundMe removes the physical barriers traditionally associated with receiving financial support from people who feel a situation, product or service is worthy and support it. That's it. No other bells or whistles. We think Be Part of the Solution is one of those events and hope you will support it.  Here's why: We've been publishing Alternatives Magazine for the past 10 years (hard to believe), with very little, to no financial help. It evolved about the time gas prices went from a $1 to $2. In the beginning, I admit, I knew very little about the environment and really didn't associate Alternatives with the environment, but most people did, and that was fine with me.  The more I learned about the environment and the effects our

by Daniel Barker You might be aware that it is illegal to collect rainwater on your own property in some states, but did you know that doing so could actually land you in jail? That is exactly what is happening to Gary Harrington of Eagle Point, Oregon. He is now facing a 30-day jail sentence and fines of more than $1,500. His crime? Harrington has been collecting rainwater in three reservoirs on his property, and the government doesn't like it. In Oregon, all water is considered property of the state whether it flows from the tap or falls from the sky. Collecting, storing and using rainwater is permitted if you obtain a permit from the state, but Harrington's permits were revoked. The reasons why are not clear. Harrington has been wrangling with Oregon's Water Resources Department for more than ten years. In 2002, the state informed him that they had received "complaints" regarding three reservoirs located on his property. The reservoirs were used to collect an

http://bikeandpaddle.com/membership.html Biking and paddle sports are Americas most popular recreational activities. They allow us to explore the back country and waterways while leaving a small carbon footprint and experiencing the challenge of minimalist travel and a healthy lifestyle. Membership provides many benefits and keeps you connected with other like minded people who enjoy the outdoors. No matter where you live, we'll keep you connected. bikeandpaddle.com

In an effort to bolster its commitment to sustainability, Adidas announced that it would begin developing materials out of plastic ocean waste to ultimately use in its products. They are teaming up with the Parley for the Oceans, a group of artists, scientists, musicians, and designers dedicated to cleaning up the world’s oceans. Together, they plan on developing fibers made from plastic ocean waste that can be used in the manufacturing of clothing and potentially in shoes. In the short term, Adidas also pledged to phase out plastic bags at its 2,900 stores worldwide. Between 5 and 13 million metric tons of plastic waste ended up in oceans just 2010 alone, an amount that’s expected to increase in the coming decades if waste disposal techniques aren’t improved. Another study estimated that the ocean has about 600 pieces of plastic in it per every person living on earth. Each ocean has its own massive whirlpool of plastic debris, but those patches only account for 1 percent of

When you think of reducing your risk of devastating diseases such as dementia and cancer, is exercise at the top of your list? If it isn’t, you may want to reconsider. Compelling evidence suggests exercise can not only help slash your risk of cancer, it also helps cancer patients recuperate faster, and diminishes your risk of cancer recurrence. There’s also plenty of research demonstrating that exercise benefits your brain as much as it does your body, and with rates of dementia rising precipitously, this is another significant reason to make sure you stay more active, regardless of your age. Exercise also improves circulation, driving more oxygen into your tissues, and circulating immune cells in your blood. Earlier research has also found that exercise—in this case weight training—cut men’s risk of dying from cancer by 40 percent. Similar findings have been reported in other studies.   READ MORE >>

I was watching a movie trailer the other day titled, "Divide in Concord," a feature-length documentary about an 84-year-old woman who leads an effort to ban the sale of bottled water in Concord, MA. I was about ready to join the movement, if not in person, at least in spirit. Way to Go Concord! Where do I sign up!   I logged onto their webpage for more information and found they had a section for people to express their PRO or CON opinion. I couldn't imagine anyone NOT being against it. But there were. And quite a few. But not for the reasons I expected. There was one response that stuck out more than the rest. It read: "I hate plastic water bottles and don\'t use them, BUT I'm not for bans -- education is better." Hmmmm. I had my usual WTF you can't have it both ways reaction! But then I thought about it for awhile. A ban usually means government intervention and actually creating a law. And we all know where that road leads. We don't ne

It's been said that, the way California goes, so goes the rest of the country, and if it were a country it would be the 8th largest economy in the world. It supplies 75% of all the fruits, vegetable, nuts, dairy and many other food products for the entire country. The drought has been going on for four years and if it continues, and current weather trends indicate that it will, how will effect the rest of the country?  It has caused some real chatter especially in L.A.'s Mayor's office. Maybe they just realized they are living in a desert and without water things could get a little dicey. L.A.'s Mayor, Eric Garcetti, released a broad-ranging plan that outlines his vision for environmental goals and programs in Los Angeles over the coming decades to combat L.A.’s image as a smog-choked, car-worshipping, insane freeway-entangled sprawlsville. The 105-page booklet — simply titled, in a play on words, “the pLAn." The report sets objectives such as

Unlined waste-water pits produced from fracking and other oil drilling operations  by Julie Cart environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times Water officials in Kern County discovered that oil producers have been dumping chemical-laden waste-water into hundreds of unlined pits that are operating without proper permits. The pits raise new water quality concerns in a region where agricultural fields sit side by side with oil fields and where California’s ongoing drought has made protecting groundwater supplies paramount. The Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources has admitted that for years it allowed companies to inject fracking wastewater into protected groundwater aquifers, a problem they attributed to a history of chaotic record-keeping. “The state doesn’t seem to be willing to put the protection of groundwater and water quality ahead of the oil industry being able to do business as usual,” said Andrew Grinberg of the group Clean Water Action. The pits — long, shallow

Houseboats float in California’s drought-lowered Oroville Lake. Credit Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press Water is the most wasted resource on the planet. However, our leaders have been so focused on oil, pipelines and punching more holes in the earth (where the real money is) that very little attention has been given to water, the drought, hoping that it will rain someday soon and the problem will just go away. But what if it doesn't? What if we actually had to make sacrifices? Looks like we may find out. Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered mandatory water use reductions for the first time in California’s history, saying the state’s four-year drought had reached near-crisis proportions after a paltry mountain snowpack. The lowest since 1950 -- means low levels at state reservoirs, which supply 30% of California's May-through-November water to homeowners, farms, wineries and utilities. The Sta

This one's on everyone who thinks water comes in a little plastic bottle. When are we going to brain up! Nestlé is currently the leading supplier of the world’s bottled water, including such brands as Perrier and San Pellegrino. It has 7,500 employees and 29 bottled water facilities across the U.S. and Canada, and annual revenues were $4.0 billion in 2012, up 6.8% from 2011.  For nearly four decades, activists from an array of organizations have criticized the company for its human rights violations throughout the world.  Only 20% of all plastic water bottles get recycled.  The rest... Environmental and human rights activists, holding plastic “torches” and “pitchforks,” formed human barricades at both entrances to the Nestlé Waters bottling plant in Sacramento March 20, effectively shutting down the company's operations for the day.  Representatives of the alliance said the company is draining up to 80 million gallons of water a year from Sacramento aquifer

So many people world-wide are still in the dark about the amount pollution spreading over the planet and it's effect it's having on the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe and a corrupt government that's allowing it to happen.  Join us! For as little as $25 per month you could be part of the movement to help bring awareness to these problems and the solutions to help end it. Click HERE ! Get started!

By Amelia Urry If you’re a cyclist, you’ve probably already mastered the pedaling-while-patting-self-on-back move: You’re circumventing more carbon-intensive forms of transportation, getting some healthy cardio into your daily commute, and generally making your city a more pleasant and picturesque place — I mean, have you seen Amsterdam? But here’s one more item to add to your good cycling karma list: The bicycle industry is creating a whole bunch of new jobs. Specifically, in Europe, bike manufacturing, tourism, retail, infrastructure, and services provide jobs for 655,000 people. For comparison, that’s way more than Europe’s 615,000 jobs in mining and quarrying, or 350,000 jobs in the entire steel sector. Not bad for a hippie hobby, right? According to the study which pulled together these numbers, commissioned by the European Cyclists’ Federation, this already staggering figure could reach a million jobs by 2020. That’s a bigger potential for growth than th