ABOUT ECO-USA Eco-USA.net launched with the new millennium in January 2000. However, its origins as the local website EcoIndiana date back to May 1996. It began as a repository for information about Indiana's superfund sites and the contaminants found within them. In EcoIndiana's earliest days, most of that information was not yet available elsewhere on the web. Since then, the site gradually expanded to cover neighboring states, environmental organizations, and images of various plants and animals. I don't know what the future holds for this site, but I aim to have fun with it, and hope that you enjoy your visit. Regards, Mike Habeck ALMANAC Puttyroot is an orchid that occurs in much of the midwestern United States. It is unusual, though not unique, in producing a single leaf that overwinters. This "counter-seasonal" behavior adds a welcome dash of green to the rich woods where it occurs. The leaf withers about the time the plant flowers (or would flower, if it was going to - most do not flower every year), and the leaf doesn't re-appear until early fall, perhaps in September. The plant's name refers to the putty-like consistency of its root stock. NOTABLE USDA has revised their Plant Hardiness Zone Map to reflect warmer temperatures. Germany leads the way on solar, and we all benefit. Who would have thought? Even Green technologies are made of stuff, and getting that stuff is sometimes messy. I've started a long-term project to offer information on a few dozen toxic chemicals in French, German, Italian, Portugese, and Spanish. It's going to take a while. If you read none of the other links on this page, at least read this from the pages of Orion Magazine: Why personal change does not equal political change Help me Get Rid of Stuff QUOTE Outsourcing of manufacture also outsources pollution, though it doesn't outsource profits. ~Vandana Shiva ~ MYSTERY PIX Do you know what this is? I don't. Can you help me put a name on it? Click on the image for more details...