The European Union released last month the early results of a 4-year study (!) pointing out the benefits of organic food versus non-organically produced food. The Quality Low Input Food* team announced – what my grand mother have said all along although she never used the word – that organic diet contributes to a healthier and longer life (all things being equal, re: if you breeze sodium hypochlorite or phenols all day long, it might not help as much). What my grand mother could not say is: how much better? Continue Reading »

The CleanTech Crossroads had its premier conference on the new UCSF Mission Bay Campus. A perfect location as UCSF has been one of the strongest adopters of green building, adopting LEED standards and exceeding State’s mandated energy code requirements, so when my friend Rachel Sheinbein of the Keiretsu CleanTech Committee asked me to come along it sounded like the perfect environment to look at the ground covered in the CleanTech space since my last experience with renewable energy in 2003/4. Continue Reading »

This time they are in the kitchen. My mistake, I have waited too long to bring the compost bag downstairs. Last time was during the hot and dry month of July. They had found their way to the restroom in quest of water. These are the two most common causes for ants invasions of our houses along with flooding and cold.

I do not mind ants. They are actually quite fascinating. Continue Reading »

It was one of these evenings I needed to get away from my computer and my books and chose to indulge myself with a little TV watching. Then came the interruption and a TV commercial with kids whispering secrets in each other’s ears in a green – and clean – country like settings. “This is a great ad!” I said to myself. What was my bewilderment when I realized it was a commercial for Clorox disinfecting line of products. Continue Reading »