Local college programs teach business, pleasure, preservation, and skills for eco-friendly job opportunities.

Since Dr. Karen Duston has been at the helm of San Jacinto Community College’s Environmental Studies program, she’s seen it grow from a fledgling set of courses into a full-blown Associate of Science degree. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for the college, but Duston believes it also makes a statement about the role SJCC’s students will play in future environmental issues affecting Houston.

Backyard farming couple in Dickinson sows vegetables, community reaps rewards.

Part of our occasional “Farmer Crawl” series featuring local growers and ranchers that are meeting the needs of the local food movement—consumers demanding more healthy, fresh, organic, and locally grown food.

Greener pastures produce healthy, humane meat in Dickinson, Texas.

The image of the noble Texas longhorn—with its lanky body and long, curved, 10-foot horns—represents an iconic image of the Old West. The longhorn evolved, prospered, was brought to the brink of extinction, recovered, and is now on its way to becoming one of the world's most useful breeds of cattle once again.

Galveston serves local food scene with new weekly farmers market.

For overall health, we’re learning to choose “living plants” (with roots and leaves) over “refinery plants” (corporate concrete and chemicals). But our choices for the freshest live foods have been limited. Enter local farmers markets. They are sprouting up all over the Bay Area, with the newest on Galveston Island.

Consider Soil Quality, Native Plants and Water Needs.

As you decide what to plant in your fall garden or landscape, it’s easy to be tempted by colorful annuals and exotic plants that look so beautiful in catalog photos or at a garden center. Yet if you are looking to save some time, expense, water, and the environment as well, perennials and native plants may be a better choice.

Anybody see any food growing around here?

The term foodshed may be unfamiliar to most. Researching this term proved that it is difficult to characterize in the Houston metropolitan.

Corporate agriculture’s food production recipe is loaded with oil and carbon.

There is oil in the food. We know oil is in our cars, plastics, and household chemicals. But do we know how much oil is in our hamburgers and fries?

The real cost of bottled water on personal health and our environment.

Have you heard of the 8th continent? It’s located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan—occupying an area up to twice the size of the continental United States and comprised entirely of plastic.

Going green when you’re expecting a baby is healthy for everyone.

Few events impact quality of life more than a new baby, creating new demands on parents’ time, money and energy. And for those parents who have chosen a lifestyle of environmental impact awareness, trying to do it all “right” can create even more stress.

Smart phone apps make it easy to purchase based on what’s most important to you.

Like many 21st century consumers, I spend a lot of time reading labels. A simple trip to the grocery store for a jar of peanut butter can easily morph into a twenty-minute headache-inducing ordeal as I try to sort past the high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil while my three youngsters turn cartwheels down the aisles.

After losing popularity in the feminist sixties, aprons are on again.

When I recently inherited my great-grandmother’s vintage aprons, I realized that the utilitarian garments have a strong emotional pull.

LED lighting and technology advances brighten your life.

The phase out of incandescent light bulbs has begun. Many retail stores are discontinuing their stock. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law by President George Bush, requires that all general lighting be 30 percent more efficient than traditional light bulbs.

Easy steps to sustainable living.

We’ve all heard about the benefits of adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle- from saving on energy costs to creating a healthier future for the next generation.

Show your stuff with creative (and handy) holiday gift wrap and décor.

This year, leave the chaotic shopping trips and useless gift selections behind and opt for creative and unique holiday style. Beth DeLozier Hayes, the force behind the Houston-based lifestyling firm Tres Chic Designs (www.treschicdesignshouston.com), offers some fresh ideas and easy ways to add your brand to this holiday celebrations.

GMOs: Good or Bad Idea?

There’s always some debate going on regarding food and how it’s being served up, but unless you live on a self-sustaining farm or co-op, you must rely on the powers that be to ensure that your food is not only nutritious, but safe.

Get to know your local grower.

Farm-to-table is a new phrase and a current craze that is beefing up our relationship with our food.

Local teens relive grandma’s greatest pleasure.

Generations before us created handmade crafts, learning from family members and friends in community gatherings. In our current technology-dependent society, so many people have missed out on learning the art of creating from scratch.

Develop a thirst for native plants landscapes.

This year’s drought is tough on all of us. But our plants are taking the hardest hit. Volunteer and mandatory outdoor watering restrictions in Harris and Galveston counties are creating a “survival of the fittest” scenario for once-lush landscaping.

Soak up some water saving habits

Recently, I was asked a fairly simple question: Where does our city’s drinking water come from? Hmmm. I didn’t know. Beyond that, I was probed: How ample is our supply? I drew another blank.

Ode to the Clothesline

Natural, cheap and easy on clothes

When I was a young girl I loved to help my grandma hang clothes on the clothesline. She in her pedal pushers, me in my Sears summer shorts and matching top, we used our own energy and the energy of the sun to get the job done.