Today is the last Friday of the month, which means it's also "Green Streets Day." The kids and I have participated in this initiative for the past several months. We've enjoyed finding our way to work and school/camp using 'people power.'

Green Streets Day (http://portlandgreenstreets.org/) is my favorite type of public/environmental health initiative: it is fun, it is fairly easy, and it costs nothing (or very little). It gets people out and about, exercising their bodies and minimizing their impact on the world. Portland Green Streets does an admirable job getting the word out...

"On Green Streets Day, we encourage people throughout Greater Portland to:

* Wear Something Green (shirt, pants, socks, whatever!)
* Get Around Green (walk, bike, bus, carpool, telecommute, etc.!)
* And then to Celebrate (by signing in for freebies, discounts, & raffle items from local businesses)!

We hold a region-wide party on that day, with each individual and institution - celebrating and encouraging in its own way.

So throw on something green for the last Friday of the month - and share a car ride, hop the bus, drive your bike, or put one foot in front of the other. And watch out - because you will not only do good, but feel good, too!"

I like this approach. The Portland Green Streets group wants us to enjoy our monthly person-powered commute. They aren't trying to make us feel guilty about the days on which we must use fossil fuels to get around. They simply want to help us experience an alternative.

My family and I experience this alternative regularly--especially the kids. We live close to our schools, the library, the town-sponsored summer camps and many of the playing fields. So my older kids (in seventh and tenth grade) walk and bike more often than not. Whenever possible, I accompany my second grader to school or camp along our neighborhood's wooded paths (we think she's still too small to go by herself). We chat, and occasionally take advantage of the free flowers that our friend sets out on her stone wall. Once we've gotten my daughter to her destination, I return home for my bike, and ride the two miles to my office.

There is nothing better than a bike ride on a beautiful day.

Unless it is a walk with one's second-grader on a beautiful day.

I know I'm lucky to be able to commute this way. Many people have odd schedules, or live too far away from their jobs or schools for this to be a viable option. My husband's job is forty minutes away in Lewiston, and though he has considered biking there, this simply hasn't been practical yet.

So the kids and I will carry the Green Streets torch for now, and we're happy to do it. Thanks to the Portland Green Streets group for making this monthly event something to look forward to. Our bodies and our world appreciate your efforts.

People are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of local foods. When available, they tend to be healthier, better for the environment (using less petroleum to reach us), and sometimes even cheaper. According to Packaged Facts (www.packagedfacts.com), sales of locally grown foods in the United States are expected to rise from about $4 billion in 2002 to $7 billion by 2011.

This time of year, many of us buy local foods through farmers' markets and farmshares. These are an invaluable resource, and one we would not want to do without. Of course, it isn't always possible to predict what might be available through these venues. And then there is the convenience factor: we have grown spoiled by the ability to buy a head of lettuce at 10 pm on a Tuesday night at the nearby supermarket. Needless to say, our 10 pm supermarket lettuce is far less likely to be grown in state. Until recently, local farmers simply have not had the capacity to provide supermarkets with the volume they need to keep us supplied with produce.

Bowdoinham's newly established "Locally Known" (www.locallyknownfoods.com) group is hoping to keep us supplied with fresh, local 10 pm supermarket lettuce. Locally Known greens come from fields cultivated by Atlantic Organics, a farm located near Merrymeeting Bay. According to an article in Monday's Boston Globe:

At full capacity, Locally Known expects to harvest about 60,000 pounds of greens each week, including spinach, arugula, and baby kale. The produce will supply retailers such as Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Hannafords.

It is exciting to have an increasing number of options for purchasing local produce.

It is also particularly timely, given the recent flooding in the Midwest. It is estimated that upwards of 10% of the farmland supplied by the Mississippi River is currently underwater. This has already forced corn prices up (now at an all-time high of $8 a bushel), and will likely have the same effect on soybeans and wheat. According to the World Bank, food prices have already risen 83% worldwide in the last three years. This is thought to be related to supply-decreasing weather problems in the world's major food-producing regions, coupled with increasing global demand. This has lead to scarcity and rioting in many areas of the world.

While we have yet to experience food-related rioting here in the United States, we have felt the impact of rising food prices. And there is a chance that scarcity may at some point become an issue in the future. Obviously, it is not always feasible to rely on someone in other parts of the country (or the world) to raise our food. It makes sense to support efforts such as Locally Known, and get to know other local growers through farmshares and farmers' markets.

When possible, it also makes sense to learn how to grow our own food--and teach our children how to grow food as well--whether at home or through community and schoolyard gardens.

The more self-reliant we are, the better off we will be.

The Department of Energy filed its application this past Tuesday (June 3rd) with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the licensing of a high level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Work began to scope the Yucca site more than 30 years ago, and 20 years ago the DOE was scheduled by law to begin accepting waste from commercial nuclear power plants like Maine Yankee in January 1998. The deadline passed. Maine, along with dozens of other states and the nuclear power producers, sued the DOE for the failure to meet the deadline, thus costing ratepayers the expense of storing “used fuel” on site. Maine’s lawsuit was near the head of the line. It is small consolation that we won the argument, for there is still no place to send Maine Yankee’s high level radioactive waste.

Yesterday's Press Herald contained an editorial suggesting that Maine was jumping the gun in requiring stricter standards for lead in toys. Apparently, a law taking effect later this year will require that toys sold in Maine contain less than 90 parts per million of the substance. The Press Herald is concerned that this legislation is premature, and that Maine would do better to wait for the federal government to set its own strict standards and means of regulation.

I have mixed feelings about this stance. I do agree that we would do better to have uniform legislation, rather than asking manufacturers to comply with numerous different state laws.

On the other hand, lead is dangerous. And it is especially dangerous to a very vulnerable (and voiceless) group: our children.

Here is the skinny on lead, taken from an article I wrote for the Parent and Family Newspaper in 2000:

"Lead poisoning can cause 'damage to the brain and nervous system, behavior and learning problems (such as hyperactivity), slowed growth, hearing problems and headaches' (from www.hud.gov). Pregnant women with high lead levels in their blood may not only pass these problems along to their babies, but they may become sick during pregnancy. Non-pregnant adults are not immune either. They may suffer from memory loss, an inability to concentrate, nervous disorders, high blood pressure, muscle and joint pain, stomach or bowel problems and difficulty getting pregnant. Some of these issues may resolve when a person’s lead level comes down, while others, like mental retardation, are more permanent in nature."

Scary stuff, eh?

Given that we've likely been exposing our kids to leaded toys for years--and that we've previously acknowledged the danger of lead by outlawing its use in paint and gasoline--I don't think it makes sense to wait any longer. And perhaps by taking a stand now, we will be encouraging the government (and manufacturers) to take action more quickly. The California emissions standards certainly have a had an impact on the way automakers approach clean air.

Maine is doing its part for clean air, too. In another May 28 article, the Press Herald reported that our state is joining ten other states (including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island) in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency. The lawsuit wants the EPA to be tougher on smog. In March, it lowered the maximum concentration of ozone from 84 parts per billion (ppb) to 75 ppb. According to an EPA advisory board, this is not adequate--they recommended a limit of 60 to 70 ppb, a limit necessary to protect (again) our most vulnerable (and still largely voiceless) citizens: children, elderly, and those with respiratory problems.

Ozone is particularly troublesome for Maine and other New England states, because we end up being exposed to smog from our more industrial and urban southern neighbors. Levels skyrocket in the summer, causing our public health officials to release repeated advisories against exercising outdoors. That can't be good for a state (or a country) struggling with obesity.

So I applaud Maine for addressing the lead and ozone issues. Sure, we could have waited. But as is always the case when dealing with unpleasantness, someone has to take a stand. When it comes to our health--and the health of our children--that someone might as well be us.

Last month the EPA ordered Scotts Miracle Gro to stop selling and distributing several of its products after it violated federal law. This report has been widely ignored by the media even though the EPA acknowledges that the risks posed by these products are unknown and they are currently conducting lab analysis of the affected products.
The illegal products include:
*Miracle Gro Shake 'n Feed with Weed Preventer All Purpose Plant Food (EPA Reg. No. 62355-4)
*Scotts Bonus S MAX (EPA Reg. No. 538-301)
*Scotts Turf Builder MAX (EPA Reg. No. 538-299)
*SLS Fertilizer with .28 Halts (EPA Reg. No. 538-304)