Because of public concerns, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is urging meat producers to lay off the juice. "The juice" in this case is antibiotics.

They pump — literally, antibiotics are in the animal's food and water — their livestock full of the drugs so that they can grow bigger, fatter, seemingly healthier meat products for us to consume. (And, let's be real, so they can make more money, faster.) The problem is this: that practice is one of the things that has led to antibiotic resistance in both livestock and humans.

Essentially, the bacteria the antibiotics are intended to fight are evolving and becoming stronger, making it more difficult to fight them off. Enter methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and resistant strains of tuberculosis and pneumonia. These antibiotic-resistant bacterium are killers because our drugs aren't evolving fast enough to combat them. Scientists believe that inaction on the matter could hurdle us back to a time when we didn't have any antibiotics at all.

The FDA now admits that antibiotic use in meat production poses "a serious public health threat." They'd like to see meat producers only use antibiotics when the animals actually need them, instead of using them to prevent problems they don't already have.

It's akin to the warnings from our physicians to avoid using antibiotics unless we actually have a bacterial infection.

Makes sense, right?

Of course, right now, the FDA is only suggesting the change, not mandating it, which has public health advocates, like Keep Antibiotics Working, frustrated.

On the other side, meat producers are not thrilled about the FDA telling them how to do their jobs. They swear antibiotics are necessary to keep the animals healthy (and to get them as big and profitable as possible, as fast as possible).

Here's a peek at the science behind the issue:

Have folks gone bat shit crazy, or what? We've got people camping out for days to see a movie premier in L.A. and folks hiding in their cars in South Park in order to be first in line to get a cell phone. This is not normal.

From The Huffington Post:

Siegel, a college sophomore, spent more than $1,000 on airfare, camping equipment and a motel to make it to California with her two friends, whom she met through a Twilight Facebook page. The motel, at $60 a night, was for showers only: Siegel and her pals have been sleeping and living in their brand-new tent since Sunday.

"I've never gone camping in my life," Siegel said. "We're paying for a hotel room we can't sleep in - but we can shower!"

From The Charlotte Observer:

First in the door was Stephen Martin, 42, and his daughter Gabi, 12, and son Sam, 15. They’d arrived at the mall at about 5 a.m., just as the mall security guards began letting people line up in the parking garage. The guards been politely running people off for hours, telling them the line couldn’t start forming until about 5.

"We got really lucky," Martin said. "There were people trolling the parking lot. There were people hiding in the stairwells. I think there might have been people hiding in the mall."

Melissa Ishage, 27, got to the mall about 4:30 and hid in her car after security told her to leave and come back at around 5.

Listen, folks: Get a life. Get a job. Get some hobbies. Being first doesn't mean much. It's a momentary high, but then it fades and what do you have? A ticket stub, a phone and lost time — time you can never get back. Stop wasting it.

It's cool that you're passionate about something. Now, how about refocusing that zealousness toward something that really matters? Something that will benefit our community, our future — your future?

Sure, new things are neat. But, face it, a new iPhone isn't going to change your life and Robert Pattinson isn't going to sweep you off your feet. In fact, he seems to be a little freaked out by all of the attention ...

The scene from Twilight's premier in Los Angeles yesterday:

In only slightly good news, Duke Energy is challenging its $40 million property tax bill in Ohio, not North Carolina.

In bad news, it's the kids who will suffer.

And, this is where I'll remind you how damn frustrating it is that the Charlotte-based energy company loves to talk about what a great corporate citizen they are, how they love their neighbors (you and me) and how they always do the right thing (i.e. follow the letter of the law).

Even in this news story, the company seems to be saying: Yeah, our employees will suffer too. That's too bad. It's business, not personal. It's all about the Benjamins, you know?

This is where I'll also remind you that all that talk sounds might nice, but would a loving corporate neighbor do this? Can you imagine how CMS would suffer if the company decided to pull the same stunt here?

CINCINNATI — Three state education groups are criticizing Duke Energy’s decision to withhold millions of dollars in property taxes, saying the move “will have a devastating financial impact on many Southwestern Ohio school districts.”

Area school districts stand to lose out as Duke challenges its personal property taxes to the tune of $40 million. The immediate effect is a $20 million shortfall in personal property taxes paid out weeks before the end of the fiscal year.

The Ohio School Boards Association, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators and the Ohio Association of School Business Officials released a statement Tuesday, June 22, saying they take issue with Duke requesting its tax obligation be reduced by 40 percent despite a 4 percent increase in property values from 2008-09. Educators are concerned other Ohio utility companies might follow suit.

Duke has notified its 700 entities most affected in Butler, Warren, Preble, Montgomery, Clinton, Highland, Hamilton, Clermont, Brown and Adams counties.

“It’s a difficult message to deliver,” Duke spokeswoman Sally Thelen said. “We have employees that work and live in these communities and felt like we had to be straight-forward and communicating.”

Duke filed an appeal from December 2009 with the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, asking to cut $40 million from its property taxes annually. Thelen said it has been seven months with no resolution. While the dispute is worked out — a resolution could take years, Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds said — Duke by law can pay what it deems as fair value.

Read the rest of this Dayton Daily News article, by Lindsey Hilty, here.

Further reading: Duke Energy profit jumps 29 percent — Triangle Business Journal, May 4, 2010

Apparently Duke Energy has ticked people off in Indiana, too:

It's no secret our state is broke. To fill gaps in the budget, it's looking for new ways to generate revenue. That's why the state wants to tax your online purchases, and they're trying to force online giants like Amazon.com to help them in their quest.

The state is seeking detailed information about customer purchases as part of an effort to collect sales taxes on online purchases.

Such sales are largely untaxed, and the state says its tax receipts are falling as a result.

The ACLU says the state’s attempt to get customer information is unconstitutional because it violates Internet users’ rights to “free speech, anonymity and privacy.” The ACLU is intervening in a lawsuit brought by Amazon to stop the department of revenue from collecting personally identifiable information that could be linked to customer’s specific purchases on Amazon.

The the entire Charlotte Business Journal article, here.

Instead of mining the Internets for our personal information and telling corporations how to do business, the state could generate extra tax revenue by legalizing marijuana -- a tax smokers and growers alike are begging to pay. Not only will the state make more money, it will also save legal fees as well as the cost of housing these so-called criminals in our already packed jails. It will also help quell the violence in Mexico, caused by American's insatiable demand for the plant.

So, why aren't we seeing more movement on that front?

People who know me can tell you that I like to eat; it's obvious from just looking at me. I grew up in a family where food was a major focus since we grew most of it ourselves. We raised chickens for eggs, meat and compost. Same goes for the pigs (minus the eggs), whom we often named things like "Bacon" and "Pork Chop" so we didn't get confused. My parents also grew everything you can imagine in their organic garden.

Because of that, we didn't eat out much. Instead of going out, when we wanted a t-bone or a good burger, all we had to do was visit the deep freeze. That's where we stored the half-cow we bought every year from my great aunt's farm in L.A. (Lower Alabama) or the occasional deer, which was usually a gift from a hunter.

So, with that upbringing, it was pretty shocking, after moving to Atlanta, to discover that store-bought tomatoes, which can be as hard as baseballs, made for better weapons than food. The meat didn't taste so good either.

It was also pretty shocking to discover that a lot of grocery store meat is pumped full of all kinds of things, like hormones and antibiotics, that I'm not too keen on eating. (Watch the documentary Food Inc. for more on all that.)

These days, I'm still trying to get a grip on organic gardening and eating the right things at every meal. Like a lot of people I know, I'm busy and it seems easier to eat out — which we do more than we should. I've got to tell you, though, with rare exception, the food we buy in restaurants isn't nearly as good as the food we make at home — or as good for us. (We stay much fatter on restaurant-food diets than we do on DIY diets.)

The problem we face, and maybe you do too, is figuring out how to keep healthy, fresh, organic food in stock without spending a bundle or having to run all over town to fill the 'fridge. One solution I've found is to buy less more often, and from local suppliers.

Fortunately, Charlotte's Slow Food Movement, which encourages that sort of thing, is taking hold. This past weekend, at Mount Holly's farmer's market, I picked up some freshly baked sour dough bread — you know, the kind that starts in a jar on the counter — and some locally raised, grass-fed beef from Apple Orchard Farms, which is located just up the road in Stanley. I also met some amazing artists and farmers, all of whom produce their goods within a 50-mile radius of the market.

Once home, we mixed our farm-fresh goods in with some yard-fresh veggies and, I am telling you, that food tasted as good as home feels.

But, eating more locally grown food isn't just good for your gut, it's great for our local farmers and our local economy.

In good news, farmers markets are popping up everywhere. Find one near you here. You should also check out PickYourOwn.org where you can find berry farms, among others, that will let you pluck your produce right off the vine, tree or bush.

Further reading:

• From The Daily Beast: 40 Burgers that can kill you
• From Mother Jones: Death by hamburger?

Check out the recent Farm to Fork picnic, held near Hillsborough, N.C., this spring:

• David Merryman today at Mountain Island Lake

Our Catawba Riverkeeper, David Merryman, challenged Duke Energy at a press conference on the edge of Mountain Island Lake today. He is demanding that the company close an 80-year-old coal plant within six months and clean up the plant's two unlined high-hazard coal ash ponds that drain into the lake, which is part of the Catawba River.

Andy Thompson, a spokesperson for Duke Energy, says that's not going to happen; however, he also says the company has tentative plans to close the plant by 2017.

Merryman's challenge came in response to the results of sampling tests his organization conducted this spring. Those results indicate there are elevated levels of arsenic and barium near where the company discharges water from the coal ash ponds into the lake — Charlotte's main drinking water reservoir. The tests also indicate the presence of barium, selenium and mercury in a composite sample of large mouth bass.

Read Merryman's press release and review his findings.

Charlotte Mecklenburg's Water Quality Program Manager, Rusty Rozzelle, says the Riverkeeper's numbers line up with the results from testing samples taken by his department as recently as last month. As with Merryman's results, samples taken further away from the coal ash pond discharge indicate lower levels of the substances.

The coal plant is outside of Mecklenburg County's jurisdiction. But, since Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities draws 80 percent of the area's drinking water from the reservoir, the county has stepped up its monitoring of some, but not all, of the substances listed in Merryman's test results.

Notably, the county doesn't sample fish. The last time the state tested Mountain Island Lake's fish was in 2001. At that time, both mercury and PCBs were found in every fish pulled from the lake.

Nine-year-old test results aren't good enough, says Merryman, adding "the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources must get out here and sample our fish immediately and tell us whether they're safe to eat."

Merryman also wants to know why the state's discharge permit for the plant, which is up for renewal this year, doesn't limit the amount of arsenic the company is allowed to release into Mountain Island Lake.

Rozzelle would also like to see the state cap the amount of arsenic Duke Energy can discharge from the coal ash ponds into the reservoir. He says the county suggested the state add that restriction when it commented on the renewal of the plant's discharge permit.

Meanwhile, Thompson says the plant, Riverbend Steam Station, "has been a great neighbor for the Carolinas." Because of it and the energy it creates, he says, Charlotte and the surrounding areas have grown and prospered.

"We don't have any plans to change how Riverbend is operated," Thompson says, adding that Duke Energy frequently monitors the health of both the lake and its fish and that the plant doesn't have a significant impact. "Our data shows that the water quality in Mountain Island  Lake is excellent and that the fish habitat is good," he says.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities recently released a federally mandated water quality report, which you should have received in the mail. (If you didn't, you can review it here.) According to that report, our drinking water is fine and the levels of any substance found in the water are well within federal guidelines.

Merryman doesn't claim that Duke Energy is breaking any laws, nor does he claim our drinking water is in violation of federal standards. What he is calling for are tighter regulations from both the state and federal government. He also wants to remind people that Charlotte Mecklenburg Utility's customers are the ones who pay to have our drinking water cleaned when it's dirty.

"If we can protect our water on the front end, why should we pay ten times more on the back end?" Merryman asked at the press conference.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities does treat the water for arsenic. Vick Simpson, a spokesman for the department, responded to Merryman's comment by saying, "Sure. It's logical. The cleaner your source water is, the less expensive it will be to treat it for drinking water safety."

However, the utility will not detail their plan of action should Mountain Island Lake become compromised. Simpson says doing so would compromise the plan.

Merryman has declared coal ash "enemy No. 1" on the Catawba River, which was declared one of the 10 most endangered rivers in America, by the advocacy group American Rivers, in 2008 and, this year, one of the top 10 most endangered places in the Southeast, by the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Merryman says the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation will conduct the same types of testing at the four other coal ash ponds along the river if their funding comes through. The tests that were conducted on Mountain Island Lake were funded by grants made by two organizations, Patagonia and the Turner Foundation.

For more than 30 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has struggled in its efforts to reclassify coal ash as a hazardous waste. Doing so would place the substance under the supervision of the federal government. The agency has released two proposed rules for coal ash. One lists coal ash as a "special," or hazardous, waste and the other puts it in the same category as household garbage.

Read the EPA's proposed regulations.

The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation encouraged citizens to write letters to the state requesting a public hearing on coal ash. So far, it is unclear if that request will be granted.

The North Carolina Department of Natural Resources has yet to respond to our request for comment on this story.

More proof that one person can make a huge difference: Joshua Mater, a U.S. Army Veteran, has brought his vision for micro financing green projects abroad to Charlotte.

Mater’s experiences in Iraq led him to start The Michael Scott Mater Foundation, named after his father, who died of cancer in 2002.

The foundation’s initiatives are twofold. Firstly, it is bringing together representatives from academia, government and industry to help introduce green building and sustainable energy projects in countries such as Iraq, Ukraine and Russia.

The second initiative focuses on microlending for existing and new businesses. The foundation says it works with local leaders in developing and promoting small businesses so as to foster promote entrepreneurship, sustainable economic growth and job creation. Since 2008, the nonprofit has loaned over $30,000 to small businesses in Peru, the country of origin of the foundation’s co-founder and chief operating officer, Jesus Quispe.

Now Mater is launching the Micro Loan Initiative in Charlotte, the first and only U.S location.

Read the rest of this Mecklenburg Times article, by Sam Boykin, here.

You can also follow the Michael Scott Mater Foundation on Facebook and Twitter, where the profile reads, "The Michael Scott Mater Foundation (MSMF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building relationships between the United States and Foreign Nations."

Check out one of the organization's teaching sessions from late last year:

If there's one good thing about North Carolina's beleaguered textile industry, it's that most of the businesses that once tortured the Catawba River with little or no regulation aren't pouring pollution into our water like they used to.

I've heard county officials, local historians and long-time residents say the river used to change colors during the textile industry's heyday. And I don't mean from brown to light brown, I mean it turned bright orange and purple, among other colors.

So, it's no real surprise to learn that Pharr Yarns was recently cited for violating the Clean Water Act since it's an industry-wide tradition; however, it is astounding to learn the company was cited for 20 violations.

Now, a couple of years ago, I met the fine folks who run Pharr Yarns. (They're the same folks that transform McAdenville into Christmas Town USA every year, never charging the public a single penny.) Many of them have worked for Pharr Yarns all of their lives, just like their daddies did. The people I met are upstanding citizens who look out for their neighbors and their community.

Of course, the hunt for profits can make a person do — or overlook — things they normally wouldn't.

With that in mind, I'll tell you — and I don't know for sure (they aren't talking now), I suspect the people who run Pharr Yarns never intended to do any harm to the river or anything else. At the same time, while their newest and fanciest facilities produce some of the most advanced fabric products on the planet — NASA's a big fan — their older facilities, still nestled in the heart of McAdenville, are as close to ancient as buildings get around these parts ... and perhaps they've outlived their use.

This article in the Charlotte Business Journal seems to speak to my hunch:

EPA has issued an administrative order requiring the company to submit and implement a plan to remedy the violations. State environmental enforcement officials assessed penalties for 20 violations of discharge limits in recent years. State officials also say the treatment plant may not be “of suitable design or configuration” to consistently adhere to discharge limits.

Catch a fleeting glimpse of the old plant in this video about Christmas Town USA:

A bit of trivia: Thomas Edison once visited McAdenville. What did he bring with him? Light in a bottle, of course. Local storytellers tell me people walked from as far as 50 miles away to see those light bulbs.

• Ladybug House

My family is learning a lot about gardening this year. With so many people on a tight budget, we decided to start an organic, multi-family garden in our yard.

I'm happy to say that, despite the fact that all of us combined don't know much about gardening, we have a plot full of healthy plants and we're beginning to enjoy the fruits -- or vegetables, rather -- of our labor.

What I didn't expect to learn so much about, though, are bugs. And, as it turns out, some bugs are an organic gardener's best friend.

Ladybugs, for instance, like to nosh on all sorts of other bugs. Who knew? I mean, besides experienced organic gardeners and people who actually raise and sell ladybugs?

Once we learned this, my husband found a source for ladybugs online where, for $10, he not only bought a bunch of the prissy beetles, but he also bought them a temporary home. It's a little cardboard thing, but it's full of hay and hormones that are supposed to encourage them to breed. You can also attract them to your yard by planting marigolds, which is on my list of things to do this week. For next year, we're looking at building the ladies a house that won't melt in the rain.

We also learned that to combat Japanese Beetles, which are extremely destructive and likely gnawing on plants in your yard right this second, you can set traps and treat your yard with a bacteria called milky spore.

The traps are pretty cheap, around $7-8 at a gardening supply center, but you'll need more than one if you have a large yard. Bonus: They're easy to set up and very effective.

• Japanese Beetle Trap

Saturday morning, our crepe myrtles were — literally — covered in Japanese Beetles. We did a quick Internet search, asked the Twitters and went straight to the pest control aisle for the solution. By Saturday afternoon, there were hundreds of beetles in the traps and none on the plants.

ProTip: Place the traps away from your plants. A friend of ours learned this lesson the hard way. Remember, the traps attract the bugs. Don't encourage them to snack on their way to meet their fate.

Milky spore, on the other hand, takes a little longer to work and it combats the beetles when they're still known as grubs. From what I've heard, it takes a couple of years to really make a difference, and it's most effective if you can talk your neighbors into spreading it on their yard, too.

Here's how it works: The grubs eat the bacteria, which kills them. As they decompose, they release more milky spore bacterium which continues the cycle of death until — bingo — no more Japanese Beetle swarms in your yard.

I've also learned that you want to squash Squash Bugs before they hatch. Turn over the leaves of your squash plants — all varieties — and look for brown spots. Now, squish them. Those brown spots are egg sacks. By squishing them, you're greatly reducing the number of bugs that will first attack your squash, then your tomatoes.

There are many more ways to incorporate garden friendly bugs into your organic garden, and you can read about some of them here.

Meanwhile, I promise to report back from the wilds of my yard as I discover more about how to grow a successful organic garden in Charlotte's thick red clay.

If you've got any organic gardening tips you'd like to share, please do so.

*fist pump*

A bill to create a 25 percent tax credit for the construction of facilities used to manufacture renewable energy has cleared the N.C. House. It now heads to the state Senate’s finance committee.

The credit, to be taken against state income or business franchise taxes, applies to the construction of a variety of renewable-energy projects, including biomass, hydro-generation, solar, wind and geothermal heat pumps.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article, and find out how Duke Energy may be affected, here.

A discussion on what renewable energy is, and how it can impact our economy, at Stanford University, recorded in April 2009, that's worth watching: