Election Results: Good News, Bad News, and... it's Complicated

This election was truly historic, and everyone has their own spin on the issues. Well, here's mine:

Presidential Race: Barack Obama's slam dunk victory! OMG, indeed. Obama's election represents a victory over racism and xenophobia, the extreme conservatism and failed policies of the last 8 years, and a vindication of the power of the people to rise up and demand change. Walking around Minneapolis last night, I've never felt anything so powerful. The hope and excitement in the air was tangible. People who woke up during this election season, people who got involved, who voted for the first time or volunteered for a political campaign for the first time, this victory will embolden them to continue to be involved and demand their enfranchisement in the future. As long as we continue to see voter turnout rates at 80% and this level of involvement among young people, I doubt we'll ever see an administration like the W. Bush regime ever again.

But. There's a but. I have serious doubts that this victory would have been possible without the current severe economic recession. Certainly, the Bush administration's policies have, to some extent, precipitated this crisis, but there is realistically only so much a president's policies can do to affect the economy. Had, by some strange twist of fate, the economy been stable these past few months, I don't think we would have seen an Obama victory. That said, there continues to be a powerful contingency in this country who will stop at nothing to oppose the kind of progressive politics that Obama stands for. We will have to remain vigilant if and when the economy rebounds to ensure that our gains are not lost as Americans return to their apathetic and consumption-driven ways. An Obama presidency is an opportunity to make change, it is not in and of itself the change that we have sought.

Strong Schools Strong City Referendum: Oh, yes! Minneapolitans once again proved that they are prepared to make sacrifices and do whatever is necessary to ensure that all our children have the best education to prepare them to be excellent neighbors and citizens, and that even in difficult times we are willing to pay whatever price to ensure our future. We also showed that we cannot be intimidated by outsiders who will use dirty, illegal tactics to try to destroy our public school system. Minneapolis residents have shown that they are proud of their schools, proud of their communities, and proud of their commitment to the future, and they are ready to stand together to defend what they value. Huzzah!

On the other hand, now I'm unemployed! (Or, as Zoe likes to say, "funemployed.") No worries, friends, I'm lining up jobs and should be gainfully employed soon!

Senate Race: Ugh. This race has been brutal, and it's far from over. It saddens me, and sort of befuddles me, too, to see Minnesotans join together to elect Obama, and then launch into the nastiest, dirtiest, most cutthroat competition over this senate seat that Coleman should never have held in the first place. (I still contend that, had Wellstone not been killed in 2002, Coleman would never have seen the inside of the U.S. Senate.) But, I'm not blaming Coleman -- I blame everyone. Franken has run a terrible campaign which has only heightened the negativity and frustrated Minnesotans who universally prefer never to speak a harsh utterance against anyone. Barkley's campaign wasn't any better, but was likely a protest vote candidate for folks who were sick of the back and forth between Franken and Coleman. This was the worst instance of nose-holding whilst voting I've ever witnessed in my (albeit short) time as an eligible voter. My one hope is that this experience will convince more Minnesotans that Instant Runoff Voting is a necessary reform.

At this point, my principal lingering frustration is that people -- the politicians, their campaigns, and even the pundits -- seem not to realize that it doesn't really matter who got the most votes. When the election is this close, nobody is getting a mandate, and whoever actually takes that senate seat is going to have a hard road ahead to convince the majority of Minnesotans that they legitimately represent them. I believe it is necessary to go through with the recount because I think there cannot be any doubt in anyone's mind that one of the candidates did not actually receive a majority of the votes legitimately cast, and I think it's utterly disgusting that Coleman has suggested that this recount is not only unnecessary but is a waste of the state's resources. He's probably correct in assuming that a recount will not change the outcome, but the legitimacy and transparency of this and every election is a cornerstone of the democratic process. Coleman's assertion is symptomatic of his entire world view and persona. For Coleman, the only rules that apply to him are the ones he chooses to follow. Still, Franken will need to give a concession speech not unlike the one given by McCain -- he will need to convince Minnesotans that Coleman is and will be their senator, and we will all have to work harder to ensure that Coleman does, in fact, do his duty to represent Minnesotans in the senate (and not just continue to do what is politically convenient). Coleman also needs to acknowledge that this has not been a victory for him, and he will have to work hard to get back into our good graces or be prepared to find a new job in 6 years (or less if we catch him or his wife with their hands in the cookie jar).

Constitutional Amendment: Surprise! When I went to bed last night I assumed that the amendment had failed, so when I woke up and heard the news I thought maybe I was still a little hammered from the night before. The good news is that Minnesotans have demonstrated their commitment to invest in the arts and our natural resources, and I think this victory represents both a tangible financial investment in our future as well as a signal to lawmakers that Minnesotans really do support policies that support good stewardship of the environment.

But. Yes, another but. Some people feel this was a misuse of the constitution. I'm not so sure I agree, but I do think that the use of the sales tax was wrong. The sales tax will now go up from 6.5% to 6.8ish%. Because a sales tax is not graduated based on income it disproportionately negatively impacts low and middle income folks. From an environmental justice perspective, this is actually a step backward. Environmental problems tend to affect low and middle income people to a greater degree for a variety of reasons -- if you're rich, you can move to a neighborhood with cleaner water, less pollution, or purchase water filtration systems or organic foods, etc. Now, with this constitutional amendment, poor and middle income people will be forced to bear a larger proportion of the costs of cleaning up the environment. Why did it have to be a tax applied to consumer products? Why not a business tax? Or, estate tax? Property tax? Any number of other funding mechanism could have been applied. This, to me, seems like a huge mistake.

Proposition 8: Oh dear. True, this is California, but it is said that how California goes, the rest of the nation follows, so I think it's worth a mention. The passage of Proposition 8 (in case you haven't heard) changes the definition of marriage in CA to be a union between "one man and one woman," and hence has made gay marriage illegal and possibly will delegitimize recent marriages of same-sex couples (something the courts will have to determine). While Obama's election was a blow against racism, Americans clearly still struggle with bigotry. I continue to hold out hope for a day when we can look back on our treatment of homosexuals as barbaric and ignorant, but that day is not this day.

All in all, I'm so full of hope and joy that I can hardly contain myself! I don't know how to be, I don't know what it's like to live under a political regime that I actually whole-heartedly support! Let's congratulate ourselves for a job well done, and get ready to work even harder to make the changes that this presidency will make possible. This is a revolution, and I think all revolutions need certain semantic changes, changes in the discourse among the citizenry. Like, I noticed Wonkette was calling Obama-philes "Hopeys." I sort of like that. I also think we could incorporate "yes" and "yes we can" into a lot more of our regular discourse. I think it would make a nice greeting to say "yes we can!" Or, imagine ordering at a coffee shop: "Yes we can! have a grande latte!" (Maybe the first person plural is a bit much, not sure.) Anyway, think about it.

Secession!

[A good friend emailed this to me]

Dear Red States:
If you manage to steal this election, too, we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UCLA, Berkeley and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in
9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

--Blue States

Obama reads Michael Pollan!

This quote was excerpted from a recent interview with Joe Klein:

I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it's creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they're contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs. That's just one sector of the economy. You think about the same thing is true on transportation. The same thing is true on how we construct our buildings. The same is true across the board.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

American Stories, American Solutions

In case you missed it.... (I did.)

Fireroast Mountain Cafe in Minneapolis

http://www.fireroastmountaincafe.com/


I stumbled upon this little cafe in south Minneapolis today as I was delivering "Vote YES for Kids!" lawn signs in that neighborhood. It was very opportune, as I was extremely hungry and ready for a cozy place to sit and have a hearty lunch. This cafe is not only adorable, but also they've got great food, much of it organic, and books and other amusements. I snagged a paperback John Grisham novel to gear me up for a little work on my law school applications -- nothing like a little inspiration! I highly recommend you check this place out if you're in the area.

Strong Schools Referendum on KARE11

This is a great spot on the referendum -- Courtney does a fantastic job getting the message out, and the classroom scenes are adorable! VOTE YES! And, hey, why not VOTE TODAY at your city hall!

A Tribute to Paul Wellstone

Tomorrow is the 6th anniversary of Paul Wellstone's death. This day always brings a certain sadness and a sense of great loss to my mind, but his memory and everything he stood for gives me hope. I see that reflected in Barack Obama -- our future president! Let's win this for Paul!

Michelle Bachman incites Powell's endorsement of Obama

Ok, it wasn't ALL her -- but note the reference to a crazy republican in Minnesota -- that's GOT to be Bachman he's talking about!

Letter from Eve Ensler

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for 'The Vagina Monologues', wrote the following about Sarah Palin:


Drill, Drill, Drill


I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.


I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.


But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.


I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.


Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, 'It was a task from God.'


Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will
should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.


She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.


Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking.

From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.


Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.


Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when
war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.


I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.


If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, 'Drill Drill Drill.' I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.


Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?


Eve Ensler
September 5,
2008

Wendell Berry article from Harpers

http://harpers.org/archive/2008/05/0082022

At last, the full text of the article is now available for free online! "Faustian Economics" is a marvelous essay -- classic material from W.B. As always, it's about far more than it's title encompasses.

This man will save the world!

Did I mention he also invented the Segway? (Ok, not a "world saving" device by comparison, but instigator of hilarious comedy [see also, "Arrested Development"].)

It's funny because it's true...

Obama Leads in... Soda?

At www.campaigncola.com you can vote with your wallet, and land some tasty, "micro-brewed" soda pop (or just plain "coke" if you're from the south). Best part, it's made with pure cane sugar, none of that factory farm byproduct high fructose corn syrup. Oh, and Obama is wayyyy ahead. Psst... my birthday's coming up, ya'll!

Indecision 2008: The Update

As you may recall, I had been trying to make a big decision about my future recently. I was debating about taking a another volunteer position, this time with the Lutheran or Jesuit Volunteer Corps. As some of you already know, I have decided not to take either position, and I may not be going to San Francisco after all. What I have decided is that I'm going to take a much needed break after the completion of my VISTA year on August 10 (36 days to go... but who's counting?). I'm going to spend at least a month working on my law school applications and figuring out what I'm going to do for the remaining time I have before I start law school next fall. So, that means I'll be in the Twin Cities between at least the month of August and the end of September. From there, who knows? Maybe San Francisco, maybe Minneapolis, maybe some other totally random location. As long as I can get a job and an affordable place to live and be around friends (or people who would fast become my friends), anyplace sounds good to me.

Also, I got my LSAT scores back... I won't say what I got, but I will say that it's ok. Not great, but ok. I'm thinking about shelling out (or, rather, letting my mom shell out) several hundred dollars for a prep course this fall so that I can retake the LSAT in October and raise my score. I guess if I do that, I'll definitely be staying in the Twin Cities through October, so I don't know. It also seems kind of silly to me to spend that kind of money on preparing for an exam that I've already taken and done well enough on. I mean, the point of trying to get a better score would be to try to get into a more "elite" school, which is really about making more money when I get out of law school, which is fine but sort of conflicts with my ideas about "living simply" and my sense of class consciousness. The point of going to law school is not about walking away with some elite credentials to blow away prospective employers; the point is to learn the law so I can serve the under-served. Not to mention the inherit disparity in a system that rewards people who can afford to attend expensive preparatory classes to improve their scores on high stakes exams. Is this a system I want to perpetuate? On the other hand, maybe this is an opportunity to fight the system from within. I take the course, I score better, I get into a "better" school, and my enhanced credentials improve my credibility as I argue for social justice. That would be money well spent. After all, I just let my mom shell out $1500 to fix my car, which only serves me and my work site, and leaves me with a gargantuan environmental footprint (not to mention my gas expenses). And, there's one other minor detail: do I even want to take this course? It's going to be hard. Each classroom session is four hours long, adding up to 80 classroom hours in only a handful of weeks. Sheesh. Well, maybe it's good to prime the pump a little before law school -- see if I can still hack the academic rigor...

Stay tuned as Indecision 2008 continues...

Amy Sedaris + Bunnies = Love!

See Amy Sedaris and Office 2007 in Rabbit Rescue

This is actually a commercial for Microsoft Office, but it is adorable nonetheless. Kudos to Microsoft for making a truly great product -- this video!

Indecision 2008: What's Next for Ms. Kay-Z???

As some of you know, my current job is set to expire officially in mid-August, at which point I will have to find gainful employment (or gainful free-loading) elsewhere. What's the plan? Well, I don't rightly know, but I'm investigating a few options:

Plan A: Service Corps job with the Lutheran Volunteer Service or the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Basically, this would be very similar to what I've been doing, only I'd be doing it while living in a intentional community based on Lutheran or Jesuit spirituality (depending on which program I get accepted into). What's the upshot? I can live and eat in San Francisco for FREE! And, if I get my first choice job placement I could be working in legal aid, which might even help me get into law school next fall. Plus, it fits perfectly into the academic year, freeing me up to start law school in '09.

Plan B: Farm internship in California. A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the porch at WEI, drinking a beer and watching the clouds in the east turn from white to pink to grey as the sun set behind me and the songbirds sang their final notes and the bats began their noiseless insect hunt in the hastening twilight of evening, and I thought to myself, "damn, I love this." What more could I possibly want? So, I'm looking into doing another farm internship, this time in California, as close to San Francisco as possible. I might not be able to start work until next spring, but I could take a few months off to be a freeloader at home, which would give me a chance to study for the LSATs, work on law school applications and scholarship applications, and just generally reflect on my life. There's nothing sexy about living at home, or spending another winter in Minnesota, but still I'm liking this plan more and more -- I'm tempted to call this Plan A.

Plan C: Get a regular job in San Francisco. (See a theme? Yeah, I really want to go to San Francisco. Maybe I'll change my mind after I visit SF next week... but, I doubt it.) I'm considering a job as a campus organizer or administrator with U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). It's 40 hours a week, decent pay, an option to buy into their health insurance plan, and it's only for the academic year. I'm not sure I'm crazy about another community organizer job, but I'd be working on college campuses with people who are mostly my peers (read: potential friends -- omg, I could have friend again! and, a social life! wow.) And, I have lots of experience, and I'd probably be good at it. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I sort of like this. I'm anxious about not having the chance to play in the dirt for a whole year, but maybe I could volunteer somewhere, or I'm sure they have community gardens in SF, right??? If I can't get the PIRG job, there are lots of other food service or administrative assistant type jobs, the type that wouldn't make me ecstatically happy, but that wouldn't suck up all my energy for living, either.

Other ideas...
- I applied for a VISTA Leader job in St. Paul, and they offered me the position, and I haven't officially turned them down yet, but I think I'm probably going to. When I applied, I was thinking it would be sort of a "backup" option. First obvious flaw -- not in SF. Second, it only pays $1100 a month, and I'd basically be doing what I'm already doing (and I'm not real fond of that anymore). It was a confidence-booster, though, to get the job offer, but now I feel lousy for having to say "no thanks."
- Living at home at temping. The living-at-home part is loathsome, and doing temp jobs would probably be loathsome, too, but there's nothing like the offer of free room and board, and let's face it, I really like the T. C. I could do a lot of volunteering with my favorite orgs, like LSP, IATP, WEI, RTC, and that would more than make up for having a crappy part time job, and it might even make up for indignity of moving back with my mom... maybe. (Nothing personal, Mom. I love you. But, I'm turning 25 in August, and that's just embarrassing.) I also had this harebrained idea that I could spend more time on my fiber arts hobby, spin more, design some patterns, set up an Etsy.com store... A lady can dream, right? Well, probably this is what I would be doing during the winter if I go with Plan B, anyway.

So, there you go. There are pros and cons to all my plans, and I have to admit that I'm not really in control of what happens next. A lot of things will have to fall in place if any of my plans are to work out. C'est la vie.

Agriculture Bridge

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Wish this could have been around when I was a student! This short video talks about a new program linking agricultural researchers in the field with students to disseminate information about sustainable agriculture and encourage collaboration. Cool!

Spotlight on Lighthouse Farm

I received a lovely email from Lighthouse Farm in Princeton, MN updating me on spring happenings on the Mesko family's farm. They recently purchased two milk cows which they intend to milk by hand (I presume primarily for the family's consumption). One of the cows, Valery, has a damaged utter from when she slipped and fell at the commercial dairy from which she was sold. She could no longer be milked on commercial milking machinery, so they were going to send poor Valery to slaughter! Instead, the Mesko's are nursing her back to health, taking her off her diet of corn and putting her on a more natural diet of 100% grass, and they are still getting plenty of milk by milking her by hand. This is something that could only happen on a small family farm, and it is just a wonderful example of the kind of compassion that small family farms engender. (The photo above shows Valery -- on the left -- being milked.)

Please check out their website: www.lighthousefarm.com

Recession Impacts Americans, While Oil Companies Make Off Like Bandits!

Since 2001, the top five oil companies have increased their annual profits by an average of 500%!!!

Here are some good tips from the OCA on how to increase your vehicle's fuel efficiency:

1. Don't be a jerky driver: Jumpy starts and fast getaways can burn over 50 percent more gasoline than normal acceleration. Use cruise control once accelerated. (And, let's be honest, slamming on the gas doesn't really get you there any faster!)
2. Drive slower: According to the U.S. Department of Energy, most automobiles get about 20 percent more miles per gallon on the highway at 55 miles per hour than they do at 70 miles per hour.
3. A well maintained car (oil change, fuel filters, tire pressure, alignment) gets an average of 10 percent better fuel efficiency.
4. Turn off your engine if you stop for more than one minute. (This does not apply if you are in traffic.) Restarting the automobile will use less gasoline than idling for more than one minute. (That's one I never knew -- I always thought it would be better to let the car idle...)
5. Decrease the number of short trips you make. Short trips drastically reduce gas mileage. If an automobile gets 20 miles per gallon in general, it may get only 4 miles per gallon on a short trip of 5 miles or less.

OCA Guide to Bodycare Products

When it comes to organics, what you put ON your body is just as important as what you put IN your body. (Remember, your body's largest organ is your skin!) Unfortunately, deciphering labels on body care products is much more difficult than reading food labels, and with all the strange chemical names it's difficult to keep straight what's safe and what's not. The Environmental Working Group has an excellent website that lists hundreds of brand-name products and rates them for safety, but when you're out shopping you can't exactly access that information. So, I was pleased to discover that the Organic Consumers' Association (OCA) has a one-page fact sheet to help customers figure out what to steer clear from. Next time I go shopping, I'll be sure to print this out and bring it with me. It's not just about your health, it's also about the environmental impact of chemical intensive farming to produce the "herbal extracts" that go into supposedly natural body care products.

Environmental Working Group website: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

OCA's fact sheet on body care: http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/CCad05.pdf