Green Hero of the Day - George Folsom

Congratulations to the first official "Green Hero" of the day for the new GreenforGood.com - George Folsom of Fresno, California.

This is a new feature that we are incorporating into the Green Dirt blog and soon, into the new GreenforGood.com site.

Mr. Folsom was selected for our Green Hero title today because he was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award for the work he does as a leader of two Fresno area non-profit organizations – the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust.

According to a press release issued by the EPA, "Folsom actively recruits volunteers and helps with fundraising events. Folsom’s passion and knowledge as a dedicated volunteer has led him to help preserve and protect thepublic’s enjoyment of the San Joaquin River.

EPA Administrator Steven L Johnson noted, “Dedicated volunteers like Mr. Folsom are inspiring others to join them in delivering America a brighter, healthier future."

The full copy of the release is posted below.

Three cheers for Mr. Folsom - America (and the world) need more Green Heroes like you!

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EPA ADMINISTRATOR  RECOGNIZES FRESNO CITIZEN WITH PRESIDENT’S
VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD


For Immediate Release:  August 8, 2007
Contact:  Margot Perez-Sullivan, 415-760-9161,
perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

SAN FRANCISCO - Yesterday, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson honored
George Folsom with the President’s Volunteer Service Award following an
address to the San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Roundtable in Fresno, CA.

As a leader of two Fresno area non-profit organizations – the San
Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, and the Revive the San
Joaquin, a grassroots organization, Folsom actively recruits volunteers
and helps with fundraising events.  Folsom’s passion and knowledge as a
dedicated volunteer has led him to help preserve and protect the
public’s enjoyment of the San Joaquin River.

“Today we honor George Folsom for answering President Bush's call to
serve a cause greater than himself,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L.
Johnson.  “Dedicated volunteers like Mr. Folsom are inspiring others to
join them in delivering America a brighter, healthier future."

During his travels across the country, Administrator Johnson meets with
individuals like Folsom who are answering the call to volunteer service,
environmental education and pollution prevention.

Folsom has helped to protect the San Joaquin River basin which is 38,000
square miles in size, originating in the high Serra Mountains and
flowing through the San Joaquin Valley out to the San Francisco Bay.
Since 1996 George has served as a member of the board and on the
Executive Committee of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation
Trust, a 22 mile linear greenway of conservation lands with river
access.

He chaired the restoration committee for Hallowell Center for River
Studies
located on the San Joaquin River.  This interpretive center is an 1890
ranch which was restored thanks to George Folsom’s volunteer efforts and
chairmanship of the Restoration Committee.   More than 16,000 people a
year visit the Center.  He also chairs the River Center Committee for
outdoor programs which bring people to the river for education programs.
George is also Board President and a founding member of Revive the San
Joaquin, a non-profit focused on restoring water flows and salmon to the
San Joaquin River

In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush called on
all Americans to make a difference in their communities through
volunteer service. He created USA Freedom Corps, an Office of the White
House, to strengthen and expand volunteer service. Americans are
responding to the President’s Call to Service. Go to www.volunteer.gov
or call 1-877-USA-CORPS to find an existing volunteer service
opportunity in your area or to find more information about service
programs, including national service programs such as the Peace Corps,
AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Citizen Corps. USA Freedom Corps is also
highlighting youth volunteer service. Visit www.volunteerkids.gov for
games and ideas to see how America's youth are making a difference.

The President's Volunteer Service Award was created at the President’s
direction by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
The Award is available to youth ages 14 and under who have completed 50
or more hours of volunteer service; to individuals 15 and older who have
completed 100 or more hours; and to families or groups who have
completed 200 or more hours. For more information about the Award,
please visit www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.

                                 ###

New Studies Broaden Scientific Support for Five Dimensions of the Organic Benefit

This post comes courtesy of The Organic Center and its most recent newsletter.

If you are not familiar with this organization you should really check it out. Lots of great articles and resources for any person or organization interested in all things Organic.

Like many, it took me a long time to learn more about all the benefits associated with using Organic products as much as possible.

One of the more disturbing aspects to me is the linkage established between pesticides and Autism. Most people know that we have seen an increased percentage of children diagnosed with various degrees of Autism over the past 50 years.

I have long felt that it was not a coincidence that this development matched the huge increase of pesticide use in our food chain. As the Organic Center newsletter points out, there are now studies to show that there is indeed a link.

So I just shake my head when I hear a "debate" about the "supposed" health benefits of eating organic food but it's nice to have some verbal ammo to use if and when I'm caught in this discussion.


I. Linkage Established Between Pesticides and Autism

For years epidemiologists have seen hints of a link between pesticide exposure and autism. As of July 30, 2007, these days are over. Scientists working for the California Department of Health Services have found that pregnant women living near fields sprayed with the common insecticides dicofol and endosulfan were six-times more likely to give birth to children with "Autism Spectrum Disorders" (ASD) than women living many miles from treated fields.

Six-times higher risk - it is very rare for such a large and statistically significant difference to be found in a study of this kind. Plus, the authors report that the closer a mother lived to treated fields, and/or the more pounds of pesticides applied, the greater the risk.

These two insecticides are the last widely used organochlorines - the family of insecticides including DDT, chlordane, aldrin, and toxaphene, among others. Both are known endocrine disruptors, they are persistent in the environment, and bioaccumulate up food chains. Residues of these insecticides, in particular endosulfan, are common in conventional fruits and vegetables, especially imports. This study should compel the EPA to finally take decisive action to end exposures to these two insecticides.

The full study appeared in the online version of Environmental Health Perspectives and is available free of charge.

II. Organic Milk and Meat Dramatically Enhances the Nutritional Quality of Mom's Breast Milk

Mothers consuming mostly organic milk and meat products were found to have about 50 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk. This Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is responsible for most of the health benefits of CLAs in milk and meat. The authors of this European study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in June 2007 report that the greater reliance of organic beef and dairy farmers on pasture and forage grasses increases the levels of CLAs in milk and beef, and in turn in the breast milk of women eating organic animal products.

Details on the study are on the Center's website.

III. Organic Farming Practices Improve Water Quality in Minnesota

A team of University of Minnesota scientists studied the impact of organic and sustainable agricultural practices over three years on subsurface drainage and water quality in southwestern Minnesota. Their focus was on corn-soybean farms.

They found that organic and sustainable systems reduced the volume of subsurface drainage water discharges by 41 percent – a major benefit for the farmer, especially in dry years when lack of soil moisture cuts back yields. Organic and sustainable systems also reduced the loss of nitrate nitrogen by about 60 percent, allowing farmers to reduce fertilization rates by nearly half without sacrificing yields in most years. The improved soil quality on the organic/sustainable plots, coupled with more diverse land use patterns, were credited by the team with improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake and water infiltration and use, especially in average to wet years.

The full text of the University of Minnesota study is available free of charge.

IV. Organically Grown Melons Deliver More Vitamin C and Polyphenols

During the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, a team from Colorado State University reported encouraging results from a two-year comparison of organic and conventional melon production systems. The team highlighted the impact of crop genetics on total antioxidant activity, which varied over ten-fold across varieties. Crop genotype accounted for 65 percent of this variation, with production system accounting for most of the rest. Organic management was found to increase both vitamin C and polyphenol.

The team's work is ongoing, and has expanded to include some key Colorado vegetable crops.

V. Pesticide Exposures Increase Risk of Gestational Diabetes

The Agricultural Health Study, underway for over a decade, has produced valuable data on the impacts of pesticides on human health. In an important March 2007 paper in "Diabetes Care," a team of government scientists found that pregnant women exposed to pesticides occupationally (i.e., spraying, mixing pesticides) had more than double the risk of developing gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). Four herbicides, including two in the phenoxy herbicide class that also includes 2,4-D (see the item on pesticide use and biotech crops below), plus three insecticides were found to be associated with elevated risk of gestational diabetes.

Additional information on this study is on the Center's website.