Do we have any idea what we are doing?

How big this is? How much waste we produce? How much it impacts the world? How big the world is?

I don't know about you, but when I feel I'm in for some mind-boggling I sit down and start thinking about how many people there are in NYC...and then in other cities like Beijing or Munich or Paris...and then I start thinking about how impossibly many people there are on Earth. Yes, I know the figures. I could just think about the number...but it's not really the same humbling feeling.

Chris Jordan is a photographic artist who has created a number of masterful pieces of artwork that help us visualize numbers that are really beyond the comprehension level of "whoa that's a lot." He is brilliant and if you haven't spent some time exploring his website, you should do it today.
www.chrisjordan.com

p.s. More foodie pictures coming soon...my computer had to be wiped and reinstalled, so I'm just now getting that stuff back together.

Cooking Counters

Yesterday, the NYT reported in What's Lurking in Your Countertop that some of the zillions of granite countertops trendily being installed in kitchens and bathrooms around the US may actually emit radiation at a level that could be a health risk...! It seems, the more esoteric your granite counter top, the more likely that it is emitting bad vibes at a level higher than what we experience as "background" radiation from the earth's crust and outer space.

My first reaction was to laugh. I mean, I get to gloat since I can't afford to install granite counter tops, right? Isn't it the folks without cash who usually get screwed by these things? Isn't it funny that it's the Yuppies this time?

Bad Micha.

It's not nice to laugh at other people. Remember, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.

Pennsylvania decides Consumer Education is OK afterall :)

As a follow-up to my previous freak-out that PA had passed legislation banning the use of the rBGH label on dairy products: for once, logic, consumer safety and education win out over Monsanto's ever growing profits. As Tom Philpott (of Grist) pointed out, these guys are a monopoly if the US has ever seen one...now, if only we could get our courts to uphold those darned anti-trust laws...

From an article out of yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer:

Pennsylvania agriculture officials backed down today from a controversial ban on milk labels that identify the milk as coming from cows not treated with synthetic growth hormone.

The ban was to take effect Feb. 1, to the dismay of consumer activists and many smaller dairies who choose not to inject their cows with hormones. But the move was superseded by new standards issued today, after a review by the office of Gov. Rendell.

Rendell ordered the agency to review the policy after consumer outcry, his spokesman said

"The governor's position was relatively simple: he wanted the labels to be accurate and informative," said Rendell's press secretary Chuck Ardo.

Though labels are once again permitted to mention that hormones were not used, the standards require a disclaimer stating there is no difference in milk from cows injected with hormones and milk from cows that are not injected. Such disclaimers already are printed on many milk cartons.

"It's basically a complete back-down," said Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at the nonprofit group Consumers Union, which had opposed the ban.

The agriculture department had issued the ban in October, arguing that a misleading impression might be conveyed by identifying milk as coming from cows not treated with synthetic hormones. Pennsylvania would have been the first state to implement such a ban.

The synthetic hormones are said to boost milk production by about 10 percent, and were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1994, though they are not allowed to be injected in Canada or Europe.

The product, which is marketed as Posilac, is used on about one-third of U.S. dairy herds, according to the manufacturer, St. Louis-based Monsanto.

The link to this story, by Tom Avril and Amy Worden, is here.

ya learn something new every day

In reading Roz Cummings retrospective food column today had an elated epiphany about thyme. And I quote from Roz:

Most transcendent moment in an organic garden
When I visited Sooke Harbour House, on Vancouver Island last spring, I took a tour of the organic garden with Nichka Phillips. While showing me the herbs, she mentioned that the French use thyme in a tincture to treat respiratory ailments. I suddenly remembered the expression that I heard my father use all my life whenever the topic of healing came up -- "Nothing heals as well as a tincture of time." Might he really have been saying "a tincture of thyme"? It made me feel connected to him, even though he died a few years ago. The sense of feeling connected to someone I loved while standing in an aromatic garden in a beautiful place was completely lovely.

HA! A tincture of thyme! I'm familiar with the expression, having heard it before, probably from my grandparents. I had no idea - and apparently neither did she!

(if you are interested, her full article is here.)

No effing way!

Man, I love the EPA. I especially love the way they make decisions, especially if the decision doesn't actually take into account the recommendations of their own legal and technical teams.

At least we know California won't take this lying down.

Read about it here.

getting out of the way

Though the comment by the Paupa New Guinea rep at the Bali conference was quoted as lead or get out of the way (on providing technological help to poorer countries), I think what we are doing is a little more along the lines of following.

On Saturday, World Leaders finally agreed on a broad plan for developing a new global climate treaty by 2009. Of course, we, the US, have only committed to deep cuts in our emissions...not anything specific.

And, as we would expect, the White House has already expressed "serious concerns" about the final deal. HA!

more fishes.

Ok, you know that Alaskan Salmon commercial where Ben Stein encourages you to "grab a fork and eat all you want, there's lots more out there"? I hate that commercial. It's always made my skin crawl - it's just slimy marketing by the Alaskan Commercial Fisheries. Of course there's not an infinite number of fish in the sea.

Well, recent research shows that we may have to stop proclaiming about how there is so much more out there before too long...shock.

Ya-hoo!!

California has the right to regulate emissions!
Now we just need to get the EPA on board...ugh...

Read the full story here.

Bio-hazard

A good article with lots of info on why you might want to start phasing out the constant use of your Nalgene bottle, amoungst other things.

One of my favorite things...er companies...

"Monsanto, aka agriculture’s Voldemort, has joined the Chicago Climate Exchange and plans to reduce its direct carbon emissions by 6% below its 2000 levels by 2010 or buy offsets. Gee, a whole 6%? Exactly how many sulfurous-smelling greenhouse gases does the company generate from its nefarious life-patenting activities?"

Oh, Ethicurian, how I love your sad-news-delivering ways!

Read more about Voldemort's moves here.

Fishes in the sea

Just an interesting commentary. Of course, there are lots of other examples of tragedy of the commons, but I like the comparison Tierney uses at the end :)

http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/a-win-win-for-fish-and-fishermen/index.html

another belated...

I know it's just an excuse, but I'm going to fall back on that push button functionality thing again. Here are posts from the last month on Facebook...

• Only in California...the land of milk and honey (People's Grocery makes using food stamps easier)
• More reasons to think twice about eating that beef...and using ethanol as an energy source (Cows fed ethanol byproduct have higher rates of E. coli)
• Time magazine covering up bad, no, horrific journalism (Mr. Klein)
• Poor Americans, blindly trusting the FDA (Under-funded and looking to really screw things up)
• Fake Steve Jobs (A Book!)
• Say it with me: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! (Take Back My TV!)
• Water in the desert (Those Phoenixians sure are crazy...)
• Just Say NO (To an overstressed holiday season)
• Once upon a time...the Democrats actually did something (Congress Delays War Money)
• Monkeys, monkeys everywhere! (Monkeys all over the darn place in New Delhi)
• Concentrated Solar Power (read all about it)
• Ethanol Plants (the farmers don't love them)
• Craziness (PA Bans use of Hormone Free label on milk)
• Green Building in Chicago (Expo)
• Pollan's update on the Farm Bill (he votes for no subsidies, I vote for encouraging diversification of farms)
• Lime wedges (and recycling of beer bottles)
• No (Steven can't run in South Carolina)
• Dr. Bronner (A true wacko - the movie)

I suppose that does it...I'll try to be better about posting this stuff here in the first place, though I'm honestly not sure anyone actually reads this blog anymore :)

Personal Best , Take 2

Taken at the end of my drive into work today. I got in at 8:03 am. Notice that it is already 79 degrees outside...the high today is supposed to be 97 :)

A first step

Steve Jobs announced Apple's plans to go greener yesterday (A Greener Apple).
This is a good start, but I'm wary of what he says until we see it in action (especially since he stated that they are going to rely on the LED market to lead the way for them). Additionally, this doesn't address all of the concerns that Greenpeace (Green My Apple) and other environmental groups have cited.

Keep on writing to Apple, they need to know that this is a good first step, but that's all it is.

Car free, care free?

Well...not exactly...

One surburbanite woman (living in Normal, IL) has taken on the challenge of getting around with her two daughters for the month of July sans car.

See her blog here

What she seems to be discovering is a newfound disgust for the fact that it is so impossible to get around via public transport if you don't live in a major city (I'm thinking NYC, Chicago, Seattle, etc.).

I can totally relate. Tucson is similar to C. Springs in the fact that it seems to have been dropped from the sky and splattered all over the earth. It sprawls, okay?

When we were looking for a house we tried to find something near the University/Downtown. Bad news, unless we wanted to live in a complete fixer we were priced out of the market. And that's Tucson real estate prices. So, our next best choice was our current neighborhood, one designed around the idea of "New Urbanism."

Bad news again...
There is nothing within walking distance of our house. Nothing.

So, I can sympathize with our friend in Normal, IL. I've thought of biking to work...but I need to build endurance to make the 50 mile round trip ride. The bus doesn't even come to our part of town. We both *need* cars.

It's just gross.

I say, more power to the public transportation riders!

New Initatives from Whole Foods

I've long been a fan of Whole Foods Market. While it is more expensive that other stores, the staples don't break the bank (really, it's the esoteric foods that cost you more). A couple of years ago I remember seeing local heirloom tomatoes in the Seattle store that we shopped at. Of course, they were expensive, but that is related to how well ripe heirlooms travel...even a few miles from the farm.

Here in Tucson we don't have a WFM...only a Wild Oats, which I think is a despicable knock off of WFM. Everything that WO sells is over priced...they seem to just be riding the organic wave (more on this later...this is a hot button for me).

Today I read an article in Grist regarding a letter that John Mackey (CEO of WF) wrote to Michael Pollen (author, who has criticized WF in the past). The story quoted only a part of the letter, but the general idea was that WF has set goals as a company to work harder at supporting local food producers, especially those producing animal foods. This is a good step.

I have many frustrations with the current organic foods movement. While I think it is great that more and more people are becoming aware of the value of growing food organically, I think that many are missing the part about also growing the food sustainably. It's great that more and more farms are growing crops without pesticides, but they are still large-scale growth operations who focus on the bottom line (and the bottom line only). They are just meeting the standards set by the FDA, rather than considering the impacts of their actions (which I think is more the idea behind the organic foods movement). Consider Horizon Organics. Once upon a time, before Dean bought them, they were a decent, small dairy operation. Now they have cows that never see the light of day and chickens who live in cages. The guidelines for organic milk that are set out by the FDA do not require that the cows be able to wander in a pasture...only that they cows are not fed hormones and that they are fed organic feed.

Anyway, I could go on and on...

Read the full article here: http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/6/29/143121/559?source=daily
or check out John Mackey's blog and see the full exchange here:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jm/

Say Trees and Smile

When I was a kid my mom had a bumper sticker on our old VW Bus that said: " Say Trees and Smile." Yesterday we did a lot of smiling as we planted a new tree in our courtyard. It's amazing the difference one tree makes...

Wowie-zowie!

Finally, the time has come. We've been waiting for a car with really GREAT fuel efficency.

Way to go Germany. The Loremo rocks!

Down the River

We headed up to the San Pedro this past weekend and hung out with the TNC folks who manage the San Pedro River Preserve as well as our dear friend Katie Snell and some folks she works with at UCSC. The group hiked up Aravipa Canyon and ended our trip with some nice cold union beers at Ed Abbey's doublewide.

Abbey worked as the first land manager for the area that is jointly managed by TNC and the BLM. It was quite the pilgramige :)

Personal Best

Tonight we went for a drive to go visit the kitties. I drove and made a point of focusing on keeping the MPG as high as possible. We drove from Canyon Ranch (that is tucked away in a corner...over a couple of MPG un-friendly hills). Other than this night we have typically averaged between 47 and 53 MPG on trips that lead us in and out of the Ranch. Today was a good day.