AlternativesMagazine

Many take for granted that their garbage "magically disappears" once it's picked up by the garbage truck, but nothing could be further from the truth. Most garbage does not disappear. It's simply relocated to a landfill or a recycling center. Trash also makes its way down storm drains and into nearby waterways. Our throwaway mentality has created a pollution problem that now threatens the future of humanity itself. Plastic trash is of particular concern, as bits and pieces of plastic are mistaken for food by birds and sea animals. Debris in the ocean also blocks sunlight from which plankton and algae sustain themselves, and this has negative implications on up the food chain as it eventually becomes micronized and winds up in some of the seafood you eat. Inside the Garbage of the World explores how plastic trash has altered the composition of our oceans, and the impact this may eventually have on life. 4.7 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans each ye

By Olivia Vito Police officer pepper spraying students during occupy event. What's almost as alarming is the number of people standing  around taking photo's.   It’s all too easy not to take action these days considering the sheer abundance of injustice that floods our heads via memes and catchy headlines. They inform us of how many minors were shot dead by the police last night and what native communities are currently being ransacked by obscure government policies. We scroll on, heading after heading, viewing our news through pictures and attention deficit inducing mediums, devouring violent captions as though we’re actually going to do something about them – and maybe we had intended to – but the catch 22 is that the more headlines we see, the more we keep scrolling and the less motivation we feel to actually do anything about it. Unless the offense is occurring in our own homes, most of us don’t feel we have the power to stand up against such omnipotent forces. We

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A community incentive promotion to help bring attention to the need  to improve bicycling infrastructure and your middle line. Form your own BIKE SATURDAYS team - where you work, family, school, organizations, church etc. Imagine a system of trails, quiet neighborhood streets, bike lanes and cycle tracks that connect your home with your work, school, shopping, entertainment and other destinations. You could enjoy the freedom of safely and conveniently getting where you re going without being forced to drive a car. Walking and bicycling already account for 12 percent of trips taken in America. But these modes could continue to grow substantially with greater dedicated investment in active transportation networks and focused program administration. Many cities across the county are realizing this and are investing millions to improve biking infrastructure and other safety measures. Studies have also shown that bicycling as a safe mode of transportation brings with it a certain

 Another benefit and service bikes provide Bike messengers swarm the streets of New York on a daily basis, and now Amazon's packages may be stowed in their saddlebags. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is staffing up to test a new delivery service for its products there by bicycle that promises to get orders delivered to buyers within the hour. The Journal says it could be called Amazon Prime Now, and be available in Manhattan to start. Presumably it will also cost more than the company's same-day delivery service, which runs $5.99 per order for Prime members and $8.99 for everyone else. "It might be called "Amazon Prime Now" Amazon's been on a quest to trim delivery times for orders, including the possibility of using aerial drones to make short haul trips with small packages. However that effort remains years out, and requires advances in both the technology and regulatory approvals. The company has also attempted to add incentives to peopl

Paris is already the host to the largest bikeshare system outside of China — currently circulates about 18,000 bikes around the city. From the GRIST -- by Liz Gore Paris is surging toward the front of the peloton of European cities racing for more bike- and pedestrian-friendly streets. Mayor Anne Hidalgo recently announced an ambitious plan to transform the historic city center into a “semi-pedestrianized” zone, where walking and biking will be encouraged, and automobile access will be limited to emergency vehicles, residents’ cars, and delivery trucks. Now, when you finally get around to taking that dream vacation to the City of Love, you can travel via bicyclette — or go retro and rock a penny-farthing — down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées with fewer cars and less lung-choking smog. If Hidalgo gets her way, the ban will start on weekends, and eventually be all week. Hidalgo wants to double the number of bike lanes in the city by 2020 as part of a $147 million cycling develo

It’s called the Inner Harbor Water Wheel, and though it moves slow, it has the capability to collect 50,000 pounds of trash per day.   The timing for John Kellett’s solar-powered creation is crucial—hands and crab nets simply can’t keep up with the growing amount of wrappers, cigarette butts, bottles and other debris carried from storm drains into the harbor. Water Wheel: Harnessing the power of nature to help keep the Baltimore Harbor clean The Inner Harbor Water Wheel uses a combination of old and new technology to harness the power of water and sunlight to pick up litter and debris flowing down the Jones Falls River. The current of the river provides power to turn the water wheel, which lifts trash and debris from the water and deposits it in a dumpster barge.  A solar panel array provides additional power to keep the machine running even when there is not enough water current.  When the dumpster is full, it is towed away by boat and a new dumpster is put in place. READ

The beautiful Athabasca river runs through the Alberta tar pit (in the background) and is at risk of becoming a dead river. THIS WAS POSTED BACK IN 2014, BUT IT'S STILL RELEVANT TODAY One of the most important facts that is missing in the national debate surrounding the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is this – Keystone XL will not bring any more oil into the United States.   The idea that Keystone XL will improve U.S. oil supply is a documented scam being played on the American people by Big Oil, its friends in Washington DC., and especially the Koch Brothers, who will benefit the most by it's approval, own oil leases to 1.5 million acres of the Canadian tar sands.  Keystone pipeline: Obama bashes project while in Myanmar Speaking at a press conference while in Myanmar, Obama offered perhaps his harshest assessment to date of the controversial pipeline. “Understand what this project is: It is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it th

It wasn't a good day for the environment last Tuesday.   Many of the clean air, clean water, food and many other common sense health and environmental issues will no doubt be rolled back, tabled or eliminated completely. But, as they say, the people have spoken. Right? One of the more famous quotes of the late comedian George Carlin could apply to last weeks midterm elections : "Ignorant citizens, elect ignorant leaders."   This applies to all of us, regardless of party line BS, because a recent survey revealed nearly 75% (I think it's even higher) of the people who voted last week do not know the issues, or who they are voting for, or even care. They just check boxes. Name recognition is about as deep as most of us get. Understanding the issues in plain simple everyday language that everyone can understand ranks up there with the buying of politicians. Until this happens twisted elections and the corruption will continue to be part of the game. Her

by Samantha Leach Our healthcare system is out of control. It’s more like “sick care”. Our system medicates people instead of getting to the root of what’s causing the inflammation, the imbalance, the disease.  Most people don’t think about their health until something goes wrong. At home, medicine cabinets are stocked with things like aspirin, ibuprofen, sinus relief, antacids, cold remedies, cough syrup, lozenges, and wound care ointment. What if these drugs are contributing to the problem? They have side effects. They create imbalance. Antibiotics deplete vitamins and are killing our digestive systems. We don’t think twice about putting these chemicals in our bodies. Somehow we were led to believe the answer to all our health issues could be solved with a pill. I want to show you the holistic way to health for you and your family Known as nature’s medicine, plant-based essential oils were civilization’s first medicine and date back thousands of years B.C. They are powerful remedies

  "If you thought they hurt us with the banks, wait 'til you see what they are doing to our health care." – Jeff Hays The new documentary Bought dives deeply into the inner workings of the industries at the core of our food and healthcare system, exploring the truth about how vaccines and drugs are developed and rushed to market and the ongoing secrecy behind the genetic engineering of our food supply. Like the banks, the food and drug industries have grown more powerful and less transparent over time, and profit has become the primary motive. Hays may be best known for his 2012 documentary "Doctored," which exposes how the medical and drug industry conspire to control the health care system. See full article and documentary preview  HERE

The movie tells the story of small, family farmers providing safe, healthy foods to their communities who were forced to stop, often through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies.  The movie succinctly poses and addresses the question “why is this happening in 21 st  century America?” “Many of you have seen Food Inc. and Fresh. Now it’s time for the next level: Farmageddon . Everyone should see this documentary because it takes up where previous documentaries have ended by answering the question: “Why is local food pricey and hard to find?”  You deserve an answer, and this hard hitting video delivers. I can’t recommend it heartily enough. Who owns your body? What kind of terror do America’s food police inflict on heritage food providers? This is strong language, but we live in disturbing times. You owe it to your children to empower yourself with the truth about food safety and food choice. Look at the dates and please go see this movie. Tell them J

SolaRoad has been in the works since 2009, and is the brainchild of Dutch research institute TNO. The power-generating pavers are created by embedding crystalline silicon solar cells in 8.2 x 11.5 ft concrete slabs, before covering them in a one-centimeter layer of tempered glass. Then, reports the Guardian, a “non-adhesive finish and a slight tilt are [added] to help the rain wash off dirt and thus keep the surface clean, guaranteeing maximum exposure to sunlight.” RELATED: Dutch City Boasts Three Times as Many Bikes as Cars   These extra steps are pretty important—the flat surface required for transit isn’t exactly ideal for capturing sunlight for power generation. In bike path form the cells are 30 percent less efficient than they would be placed within a standard solar installation. As a result, when this first test strip is extended to its full 100 meters (328 feet) in 2016, it will provide about enough electricity to power three households. But it does make practical use