Touchstone's weekly newsletter has a regular feature, Green Piece, that provides a forum for questions, ideas, challenges, and information that relate to global sustainability and our own civic responsibility to our communities – to stewardship of the earth itself. All community members are welcomed to submit articles, and content covers everything from the efforts in our own school gardens to consumer tips for saving energy.
Here is a selection of those articles:

Gardening Information from University of Massachusetts Extension Service

From Leaves to Compost

The Case Against Idling

 Save Energy and Money this Winter

Gardening Information from University of Massachusetts Extension Service
It’s never too early (nor really, too late) to start thinking about your garden – this year’s or next year’s.  You should know, if you don’t already, that UMass Extension has a wealth of information on-line to offer about farming and gardening. Go to http://www.umassextension.org//a> and learn more. You can find resources, including materials appropriate for use in an elementary-level classroom, and more. The UMass Extension Garden Calendar has glorious photos of flowering plants, information about how to choose the right plant, and a practical gardening tip for every day of the year. You can order it at www.umassgardencalendar.org. UMass Extension also has detailed agricultural information available for farmers (on any scale), beekeepers, and home gardeners available at hhttp://www.umass.edu/agland/

From Leaves to Compost
No home should be without a compost pile – even those without gardens…If every family had a mulch pile and use it to recycle their kitchen scraps…and all their leaves and grass clippings, local taxes would be reduced, the price of oil would drop…and the balance of nature would be greatly restored.” (Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew, 1981)
 
Hear, hear! With the return of autumn comes another chance to turn fallen leaves into crumbly, brown leaf mold. Instead of laboriously bagging up fallen leaves and burning gas to truck them away, buy a 16 to 20 foot length of 4 foot wide green-coated wire fencing. Make it into a circle by hooking the ends together. Tuck this instant “compost bin” away in a corner of your yard.  Then rake your leaves onto a tarp, drag the tarp to your wire enclosure, and transfer the leaves into it. Once your leaves have been captured and tucked away, Ma Nature will do the rest of the work. By next spring, what was a giant leaf pile will be a modest heap leaf mold ready to be added to your garden beds. And while you’re at it, go ahead and put your kitchen scraps (minus meat, fat, and bones) in the middle of your leaf pile. Take advantage of the miracle of decomposition to turn your organic “trash’ into “brown gold.”

The Case Against Idling
A recent issue of Greentips, the monthly e-newsletter of the Union of Concerned Scientists, points out that, any time your engine is running, but your car isn’t moving, you are burning gas and getting zero miles to the gallon. “Idling wastes money and fuel, contributes to air pollution, and generates carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warning.” Did you know that today’s fuel-injection cars require only 30 seconds to warm up, regardless of the outside air temperature? What’s more, idling longer than that can damage a car’s engine. For details visit http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/ and choose “vehicles: idling” from the drop-down list of topics. While you’re there, take advantage of the wealth of information available on conservation.
 
So don’t let your car idle any longer than necessary. And when the time comes to buy a new car, choose a hybrid. Not only will its gas engine shut off automatically when the car stops moving – thus no idling – but it will also give you about 50 miles per gallon!

Save Energy and Money This Winter
Here’s a list of tips to keep your home heating system operation at peak energy efficiency this winter. Your family can be warm and cozy, but you’ll use less energy and reduce your heat bill.
            • Give your heating system and annual checkup by a professional.
• Check all radiators for working air vents.
            • Clean or replace filters in heating ducts.
• Repair all cracks in walls, windows and doors that can let cold air in or heat  escape.
• Add insulation.
• Replace cracked caulking or missing weatherstripping.
• Install plastic interior storm windows.
• Clean windows to let the sun help heat your home.
• Install a programmable thermostat.
(Sources: http://keyspanenergy.com/energy/choose_region.jsp?sect=/energy/save/seasonal and http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?story=20031114