By Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerful.
Broadcast version by Eric Tegethoff for Washington News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

Debra Prinzing won't get red roses for Valentine's Day. She and her husband have been married long enough for him to know that Prinzing doesn't appreciate long-stem roses in winter. "I don't want to shame anybody," she says from her home near Seattle, "but I feel bad for the men who are targeted with TV ads before Valentine's Day and then think they need to get red roses to somehow show their love."

What's wrong with red roses? Quite a lot, as it turns out. "At this time of the year, you can hardly get any US-grown roses," Prinzing says. "They are flown in from Ecuador, Kenya or the Netherlands, packed in cellophane, which is not recyclable, not to mention the pesticides that have been used to grow them. When they are imported, custom officials are only interested in ensuring they don't bring in any pests, but nobody controls with which chemicals the flowers have been treated. To ensure that the flowers clear US customs, they definitely have been fumigated."

Exotic flowers might look appealing, but their ecological footprint is devastating, and Prinzing has set out to raise awareness of the truth behind the pretty blooms. As the founder of the Slow Flowers Movement, Prinzing and her colleagues want the floral industry and its clients to embrace local, seasonal and sustainable flowers, grown without pesticides and under fair conditions for the workers. "We take our name from the slow food movement," she says. "Everybody knows that this means regionally grown, nutritious and delicious food. But because people don't eat flowers, they pay less attention to where their flowers come from."

Buyers who do want to know the source of their bouquets can search the Slow Flowers directory, which lists hundreds of local flower farmers and florists that are part of the "farm to vase" effort. "We're growing by about 10 percent every year," Prinzing says of the Slow Flowers Society membership, which is 850 and counting. Or fresh flower fans can take a Slow Flowers workshop and learn to grow their own. This February, Prinzing is tending to hellebores, tulips and daffodils in her yard. "You can make a nice arrangement with some flowering winter ornamental shrubs," she suggests.

Cutting Out 'Fast Flowers'

Americans buy about 10 million cut flowers per day, spending between $6 billion and $7 billion every year, with the vast majority imported from monocultures in Africa, South America or Holland. Unlike with food, there are no restrictions on the quantities and toxicity of the pesticides used for the flowers that are often harvested by underpaid workers under inhumane conditions, packed in plastic and then transported over thousands of miles.

Prinzing refers to the imports as "fast flowers." Similar to fast food, the advertising might look appealing but the products are often full of toxins and won't contribute to anybody's health, least of all the planet's.

Since Amy Stewart published Flower Confidential in 2007, a scrupulously reported behind-the-scenes look into genetic engineering, exploitation of workers and pollution, awareness of the outsize impact of the international flower industry has been growing. Because the use of pesticides and CO2 emissions are not measured in most of the mass-producing countries, the true ecological cost is hard to prove. But on average, the production of 12,000 roses in greenhouses in the Netherlands, with artificial light and heat, produces roughly 35,000 kg CO2, about 10 times as much as a conventionally grown local bouquet. And according to Greenpeace, roses in Colombia are sprayed with 200 kilos of pesticides per hectare, about five times more than is conventionally used in the US.

Slow Flowers member Becky Feasby of Prairie Girl Flowers in Calgary, Alberta, is working on a master's in sustainability at Harvard University. Her research analyzes the environmental and social impacts of greenhouse rose farming in Canada (BC), the US (California) and South America (Colombia). She points to studies that show how excessive water and pesticide use in floriculture is threatening local water supplies and wildlife in Kenya. And if the slogan "Grown not flown" is taken seriously, every flight not flown from South America to North America corresponds to the reduction of approximately 1,000 kg CO2 emissions.

The movement is self-policing, and of course, there are instances of greenwashing. Slow Flowers have become popular enough that some farmers promote their crops as US grown despite importing them from Mexico. "I tell everybody: Go to your local grower and ask questions. What do you spray against mildew? What do you do with aphids?" Prinzing advises. "Most growers are incredibly proud of their work and will happily show off their flower fields or greenhouses."

In the end, Prinzing is convinced that clients and their wallets will decide the future of the flower market. Locally grown flowers tend to be more expensive than imported ones, so educating people on their value is crucial.

"We can't compete with the importers," Prinzing admits. Mass flower production tends to migrate to wherever labor is cheapest and regulations are laxest. Prinzing asks consumers to keep in mind, "The cheaper the import, the more damaging for the planet." When they buy from local farmers, clients know that the blooms haven't been flown thousands of miles and will last longer because they didn't get stuck in transit for days. "There is also less waste because about 20 percent of flowers can get crushed or die in transit," Prinzing warns.

She has noticed that the pandemic gave the slow flowers ethos a boost, and more local food farmers are offering bouquets from their fields in farmers markets. "More people decided to grow flowers or vegetables themselves or buy locally. Even if people don't care about the toxins in flowers because they don't eat them, many care about supporting their local economy, the mom-and-pop shops."

The growth of the Slow Flowers Movement is in part due to the popularity of social media. Erin Benzakein, owner of Floret Flowers near Seattle, has more than a million followers on social media and her online workshops, which cost $2,000, are sold out as fast as Taylor Swift concerts. Her professionally produced images of dahlias and sunflowers invoke a dreamy wonderland of pink, orange and red shades almost any time of the year.

But Slow Flowers proponents like Prinzing and Benzakein also admit honestly that organic farming without pesticides and artificial fertilizers can be hard work and the flowers don't always look perfect. "It breaks your heart when a late frost or a summer storm destroys everything," Prinzing admits. Nevertheless, she says has never ever used a single toxin in 30 years of gardening.

How does she get rid of slugs and aphids?

"I use beer for the slugs and non-toxic soap to wash off aphids," she shares. Or she might plant a "sacrificial batch of zinnias that attract the aphids, so that the aphids don't go find something else," she explains. "Maybe some bugs nibbled a bit at the leaves," Prinzing says. "You might have to adjust your definition of beauty and accept that not every leaf is perfect every day."

Just like with true love.


Michaela Haas wrote this article for Reasons to be Cheerful.


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As West Virginia opens its door to the plastics recycling or "advanced recycling" industry, a recent report found only a fraction of plastics are recycled and plastics labeled as biodegradable in reality can take years to degrade.

One study found biodegradable plastic bags were still fully intact after three years of being buried in the soil. There are currently no federal standards regulating bioplastics, or products claiming to be biodegradable or compostable.

Judith Enck, president of the group Beyond Plastics, said the plastic recycling plants being built in Appalachia increase exposure to microplastics and pose health risks for neighboring communities.

"Chemical recycling just takes plastics heated at a really high temperature to make small amounts of fossil fuels, or uses vast amount of toxic chemicals to try to break down old plastic and make it new plastic," Enck explained. "(It is) the last thing we need."

Plastic production is forecast to increase by 70% over the next 20 years, with roughly half designed for single-use products, according to the report.

Enck argued without significant reduction in plastic packaging, consumers will continue to ingest chemicals like PFAS, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride and other chemicals found in food and beverage packing.

"We're particularly concerned by a chemical called polylactic acid, PLA," Enck noted. "That is typically made from corn or sugar crops, and they also contain toxic chemicals."

Microplastics and nanoplastics are produced when plastic products break down into tiny fragments, which end up in soil and waterways.

Enck pointed out plastic particles have been found in honey, beer, salt, tea bags, fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. Microplastics have been found in human blood, organs, brains, breast milk and in newborn babies. Research has linked microplastics exposure to heart attacks, stroke, and diseases related to hormone disruption.

Two new studies find that without sustained intervention, California may permanently lose big sections of old-growth giant sequoia groves.

The majestic trees only grow on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Since 2015, 20% of them have died, mostly in three megafires in 2020 and 2021.

David Soderberg, Ph.D, a biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a study co-author, said the blazes incinerated many of the older, seed-bearing trees.

"You're getting much larger patches of fires burning at what's called high severity. So, you have this kind of bad combination for the sequoias where many more of the mature trees are dying, and there are many fewer of the seedlings regenerating," he explained.

The studies show there are substantially fewer seedlings than in the past, and those that germinate are imperiled by drought and heat stress linked to climate change. The Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition partners have planted more than 500,000 native seedlings in severely burned areas where reproduction has been insufficient.

Paul Ringgold, chief program officer with the Save the Redwoods League, said the idea is to give forest regeneration a head start.

"When you're planting seedlings, you're planting trees that have been grown in the nursery for two years or more. They're more robust than a seedling that is sprouting from a seed, giving it a little bit of an edge against the impact of drier, hotter summers," he said.

Old-growth sequoia are the world's largest trees and depend on fire to reproduce. But Ringgold noted that past fire-suppression efforts have led to a buildup of excessive fuel loads in the forests. So, extensive projects are underway to clear out dead vegetation and make the groves more resilient to fire.

Nearly 10,000 Montanans have petitioned the U.S. Forest Service to prevent mining activity in the iconic Smith River watershed.

The Smith is known for its majestic views and numerous wildlife species but it is also a huge draw for outdoor enthusiasts seeking to "disconnect." The Smith River Public Lands Coalition has called on the Forest Service to withdraw mineral leases granted to a company planning a $4 billion copper mine on private land near Sheep Creek, which feeds the Smith more than half of its water.

Josh Seckinger, a Bozeman-based Smith River guide, estimated he has floated the 5-day, 59-mile-long Smith 100 times. He thinks the copper sulfide mine drainage would be devastating.

"It just decimates anything with gills downstream," Seckinger pointed out. "That's fish, that's amphibians, that's aquatic bug life. It's a terrible way to sterilize a river."

Mine developer Black Butte Copper said it is committed to preserving Montana's water while creating economic development opportunities in the state, and claims it can build the mine in an environmentally friendly way.

Seckinger noted beyond the environmental and wildlife damage the mine drainage could cause, it also threatens the local landscape and the recreational economy built around the Smith River. He argued it is not just a hit to the businesses but to Montanans who want to experience the trip. It requires winning a permit in a state lottery.

"It is my hope that every resident of this state puts in for a lottery permit and wins, so they get the chance to experience this place," Seckinger emphasized. "Because once you experience this place, you understand immediately why it needs to be protected."

Black Butte Copper has bought nearly 700 claims on the public lands surrounding the one near Sheep Creek, potentially allowing the company to further expand its mining operations.


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