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Green Neighbors is an evolving group of Maryland residents focused on local solutions to environmental problems & the greening of our Potomac River neighborhoods. We support events and initiatives that encourage sustainability, strengthen our community ties, & are fun. we offer this website as a networking tool for communities. |
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Ocean Plastics Linked to Washing Synthetic Clothes |
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by Mark Kinver, Environment reporter, BBC News
Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a study has warned. Researchers traced the "microplastic" back to synthetic clothes, which released up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they were washed. Earlier research showed plastic smaller than 1 mm were being eaten by animals and getting into the food chain.
The findings appeared in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. "Research we had done before... showed that when we looked at all the bits of plastic in the environment, about 80% was made up from smaller bits of plastic," said co-author Mark Browne, an ecologist now based at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "This really led us to the idea of what sorts of plastic are there and where did they come from."
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Help Save Nick's Organic Farm in Potomac |
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By now you may have heard about the plight of Nick's Organic Farm in Potomac. Farmer Nick Maravell has farmed 20 acres on Brickyard Road for more than 30 years as an organic seed farm, the only one in the County. The property is owned by the Board of Education and had been leased to Maravell. The county has recently decided it wants to build and operate four soccer fields on the farm site. In December, the County Council agreed -- after receiving a petition signed by 50,000 farm supporters -- to extend Nick's license through August 2012. This is a step, but not good enough. Supporters of the farm would like to extend the lease indefinitely.
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'Gardening for Wildlife' Talk in Cabin John Lots of Fun |
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On January 2012, over 20 neighbors from Cabin John, Brookmont, and Carderock Springs came to a talk by Master Gardener Marie Rojas titeld "Gardening for Wildlife". Marie, a Cabin John resident, offers consultations through her company, Borders and Butterflies, emphasizing a sustainable approach to landscaping. She provides Integrated Pest Management services to homeowners, nursery growers and commercial properties and has been a Montgomery County Master Gardener since 1994. A wildlife gardener for more than 20 years, she also serves on the board of the Professional Grounds Management Society's Washington D.C. Branch. Read on for more information about the event and for a copy of the handout given at the event.
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The Compost Crew - Residential Compost Pick-up Service |
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The US sends over 25 million tons of food waste to landfills, roughly one-third of our total solid waste stream. Besides the obvious burden this puts on solid waste management, decomposing food scraps in landfills produce huge amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide. There is good news to this story, as there is a solution to the problem -- composting. Many municipalities across the country have already added composting to their residential curbside recycling programs. San Francisco, Seattle, Boulder, many San Francisco Bay Area and Minnesota municipalities, and -- as of one week ago -- Portland, Oregon all collect residential food waste along with other curbside recyclables.
Montgomery County isn't quite there yet, but it is likely to be soon enough. For this issue of the Village News, Green Neighbors interviewed a new, local company that is taking the first needed steps toward making this possibility a reality. Since their founding in May 2011, The Compost Crew is the first company in Montgomery County to offer homeowners a residential compost pick-up service that turns our food waste into rich soil.
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