International Earth Day last Wednesday inspired people all across the globe to partake in a whole lot of eco-friendly, earth saving activities. US President Barrack Obama was snapped helping former US President Bill Clinton planting a tree.

One activity I thought was brilliant came from students in Peru who blew up balloons containing the seeds of trees. The seeds were released when the balloons burst during the "Rain of seeds for our ground" ceremony - all done to celebrate Earth Day. My only question is what happens to the balloons once they burst.

I did a little research and discovered that most balloons are actually made from natural latex tapped from rubber trees. Unfortunately, though derived from a natural source, latex balloons can still pose a serious threat to marine animals because they retain their elasticity for at least a year when exposed to seawater.

Latex balloons are biodegradable; in fact they start degrading this minute you begin blowing them up. It's what's attached to them that often does the most damage. Strings and plastic ties are a no no. You need to hand tie them and, if essential, use a natural string like rafia.

If seed spreading via balloons is not quite your enviro bag, perhaps you could follow in the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) footsteps. In aid of their Earth Month campaign the EPA are encouraging us to "Pick 5 for the Environment." That is find five actions that align with your personal capacity to protect the environment.

The 10 actions are:
1. Use less water.
2. Commute without polluting.
3. Save electricity.
4. Reduce, reuse and recycle.
5. Test your home for radon.
6. Check your local air quality.
7. Use chemicals safely.
8. Reuse and recycle electronics.
9. Enjoy the outdoors safely.
10. Spread the word to family and friends.

Visit the EPA website to pledge the five you picked.

The Government is planning to offer UK motorists £5,000 to incentivize them to buy an electric or hybrid car. A new plan has been formulated to create ‘electric car cities'. The Government has set aside £20 million to build a network of electric charging points and will start offering people money from 2011 to upgrade their vehicles for a more eco friendly version.

The aim of the new plan is to cut the significant levels of CO2 our cars emit whilst the monetary incentive makes electric vehicles a viable option. At the moment the average electric car costs £12,000 - quite a lot of money to invest into a technology many of us are still getting our head around.

Of course the new plan will only have a good effect if the electricity at the charging points comes from a renewable source not coal fired power stations. Also the money being offered would only be enough to help some of us buy an eco car but, given the way trends go, the more of us who see the benefits and ease of having something, the more others are likely to buy into that idea or product too.

Most of us organic-ites are proud to say we eat organic food where possible, only use organic or natural skin care products and support eco friendly organic initiatives when we can. With the range of produce and products on offer these days it's easy to have a well-rounded organic lifestyle - that is one that's chemical and pesticide free.

But what of those people who live beside a farm that is regularly sprayed with pesticides? Georgina Downs has lived for 24 years near land that has been exposed to these pest killers and suffered long-standing health related problems because of it. The environmental campaigner has been fighting for stricter government policies on the use of pesticides for the benefit of public health for some time and has finally had some success - in the High Court of Justice no less.

To date there has never been an assessment of the health risks associated with long term exposure to the substances sprayed on crops. In light of Georgina's evidence, including three detailed Witness Statements, The High Court ruled that Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) must reassess its policies on crop spraying in rural areas and assess the risks to people that are exposed. The Judge in the case said that there was a strong case for no-spray zones around homes, schools and other public areas.

Georgina Downs has moved us one step closer to winning the war on chemical pesticides.

Picture a man in a plastic boat setting sail for the sake of our rubbish spoilt oceans and I bet you don't see a billionaire banking heir steering at the wheel. David de Rothschild will set sail from the coast of California for the Pacific in a few weeks times in a boat, aptly named Plastiki, in an effort to raise awareness of the world's largest environmental water polluting rubbish dump - the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Covering hundreds of miles the patch has thousands of pieces of plastic rubbish which has been caught up in the areas circulating ocean currents.

Plastiki is made from plastic bottles and other recycled waste. It's taken three years and millions of dollars to design and create. David and a crew of six will travel from San Francisco to Hawaii, to Midway Island, Bikini Atoll, Vanuatu and end in Sydney - not a bad path for a plastic boat.

Discovered by oceanographer Charles Moore a decade ago the patch is apparently a sight for sore eyes. "I was confronted, as far as the eye could see, with the sight of plastic," he recalled to the Observer. From volleyballs, to plastic coat hangers, toothbrushes, bottle caps and syringes - you name it, it's likely to be there. Scientists say that this plastic patch is having devastating effects on ecology with fish, birds and other sea animals chocking to death on the plastic having mistook it for food. These plastics (particularly the PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls) and pesticides in the oceans are making their way up the food chain so it's not just ocean life that is at risk - we may just be slowly poisoning ourselves.

You can support David by visiting his blog where he will be keeping us up to date with his plastic adventure with photos and video clips. He'll also collect water samples to indicate exactly how bad the plastic pollution is getting.

So Organic were named as one of the Top Organic Retailers in the 2009 UK Natural and Organic Industry Awards.

The main award went to Riverford Organic vegetable box scheme, (who we love so much we would have voted for them if we hadn't been in the competition), so well done Riverford and well done So Organic too!

So Organic was thrilled to be shortlisted by an expert panel of judges from the Soil Association along with other fantastic organic companies including Abel & Cole, Better Food Company, Daylesford Organic, Infinity Foods and Riverford Organic.

We would like to thank all our lovely customers who supported us and voted for us.

With over 2000 products, and the 50 best organic brands stocked in full, we intend to stay at the top, and provide you with the products and the award winning service which you deserve!