Severn Suzuki speaking at the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro in 1992. A very powerful speech. Looks like the grownups didn’t listen.
Crooks and Liars has a great piece on the U.S. Supreme’s court decision so far this term:
In one full term, this Court has severely curbed local efforts to promote racial diversity in schools, upheld a right-wing ban on a necessary medical procedure for women, curbed students’ free speech rights, crippled Congress’ ability to keep corporate money out of political advertising, prevented taxpayers from challenging the constitutionality of Bush’s faith-based initiatives, made it almost impossible for women to prevail on claims of longterm sex discrimination . . . and they’re just getting started.
I had read with interesta couple of days ago, and forwarded on to my colleagues, an article on the Court’s decision to curb free speech rights of students in public schools. Working in a First Amendment school, cases like these are of particular interest in that they may have an impact on that initiative.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Activism, free speech, government corruption, politics
Posted Tue, Jun 26, 2007, 10:01 am PDT
So you’ve been known to occasionally spend extra on organic milk, mosey over to the free-range meat section, and make an effort to support your local farms by buying berries from a roadside fruit stand. Still, I’m betting the farm that if you’re confused about when to go local, when you should go organic, and when it’s all just baloney, you’re not alone.
I reached out to two experts in the field for some solid answers. Joy Bauer, nutritionist extraordinaire, breaks down the musts and myths of organic and local, while Ryan Hardy, the fresh-market-obsessed chef at The Montagna in Aspen, provides five easy ways to include the best of both into our diets. I hope this helps you figure out the best ways to bring farm-fresh food closer to your home.
WHAT IS LOCALLY GROWN?
Locally grown means seasonal food from small farms. Some say it applies only to foods grown within a 100-mile radius; others stretch it to 250 miles.
MUSTS: Seasonal fruits, seasonal vegetables, milk and dairy.
WHY? Local crops harvested at their peak of freshness and flavor offer superior nutrient density, and buying produce from local growers reduces the environmental impact and costs of transporting product.
MYTHS: Local food is not necessarily organically grown. However, there is truth to many local farmers’ claims that they do not use pesticides.
WHY? They just can’t advertise themselves as certified organic unless they’ve gone through the certification process, which is lengthy and expensive.
WHAT’S ORGANIC?
For plants, organic means grown on certified organic land without synthetic fertilizers or chemicals (like pesticides). Genetic modification and irradiation are also off-limits. For animals, organic means access to the outdoors, only organic feed for at least a year, and no antibiotics or growth hormones.
MUSTS: Apples, cherries, grapes (especially if they’re imported), nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, bell peppers, celery, potatoes, spinach, beef, poultry and dairy.
WHY? Because these fruits and veggies have been found to contain the most pesticide residue, even after being washed, and organic meats and dairy (though much more expensive) reduce your exposure to toxins, including the one that causes mad cow disease.
MYTHS You don’t need to worry about buying these organic: bananas, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, asparagus, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, onion, sweet peas, and seafood.
WHY? Because these fruits and veggies tend not to carry pesticide residue, and seafood has no USDA organic certification standards (so “organic seafood” doesn’t mean much).
Now that you’ve got the dirt on organic and local, check out Chef Ryan Hardy’s 5 easy ways to bring the benefits of both to your table:
1. Go to farmer’s markets. The farmer’s market may not always easily fit into your busy schedule, but taking 30 minutes to buy good foods for your family is worth the time.
2. Demand it at your local store. Ask your local grocer to get in products you want — be specific and follow up.
3. Talk with local chefs who use local, organic ingredients. Chefs are notoriously picky about finding the right product. Ask about the ingredients they use…. You’ll probably find out that most are easily obtainable.
4. Buy what’s in season. Food is at its cheapest when it’s at its best — so take advantage and eat fresh fruits and vegetables when they’re at their peak.
5. Eat more greens. Farm-fresh salad greens are exciting additions to all kinds of dishes, not just salads. Try adding them to pasta, serving them under a steak, or simply sandwiching them with goat cheese between bread.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Activism, environment, locally grown, organic, sustainability
The Yes Men have been attacked. There’s no hard proof that the attackers is EXXON – but make up your own mind:
EXXON HACKS THE YES MEN
Yes Men badly need sysadmin, server co-location
Contact: mailto:people@theyesmen.org
One day after the Yes Men made a joke announcement that ExxonMobil plans to turn billions of climate-change victims into a brand-new fuel called Vivoleum, the Yes Men’s upstream internet service provider shut down Vivoleum.com, the Yes Men’s spoof website, and cut off the Yes Men’s email service, in reaction to a complaint whose source they will not identify. The provider, Broadview Networks, also made the Yes Men remove all mention of Exxon from TheYesMen.org before they’d restore the Yes Men’s email service.
The Yes Men assume the complainant was Exxon. “Since parody is protected under US law, Exxon must think that people seeing the site will think Vivoleum’s a real Exxon product, not just a parody,” said Yes Man Mike Bonanno. “Exxon’s policies do already contribute to 150,000 climate-change related deaths each year,” added Yes Man Andy Bichlbaum. “So maybe it really
is credible. What a resource!”
After receiving the complaint June 15, Broadview added a “filter”
that disabled the Vivoleum.com IP address (64.115.210.59), and furthermore
prevented email from being sent from the Yes Men’s primary IP address
(64.115.210.58). Even after all Exxon logos were removed from both sites and
a disclaimer was placed on Vivoleum.com on Tuesday, Broadview would still
not remove the filter. (The disclaimer read: “Although Vivoleum is not a
real ExxonMobil program, it might as well be.”)
Broadview did restore both IPs on Wednesday, after the Vivoleum.com website
was completely disabled and all mention of Exxon was removed from
TheYesMen.org.
While this problem is temporarily resolved, the story is far from over.
Meanwhile, though, two bigger problems loom, for which we’re asking your
help:
1. THE YES MEN’S SERVER NEEDS A NEW HOME.
Broadview Networks provides internet connectivity to New York’s Thing.net
and the websites and servers it hosts, including the Yes Men’s server.
Thing.net has been a host for many years to numerous activist and artist
websites and servers.
At the end of July, Thing.net will terminate its contract with Broadview and
move its operations to Germany, where internet expression currently benefits
from a friendlier legal climate than in the US, and where baseless threats
by large corporations presumably have less weight with providers. At that
time, the Yes Men and two other organizations with servers “co-located” at
Thing.net will need a new home for those servers. Please write to us if you
can offer such help or know of someone who can.
2. THE YES MEN NEED A SYSADMIN.
The Yes Men are desperately in need of a sysadmin. The position is unpaid at
the moment, but it shouldn’t take much time for someone who knows Debian
Linux very well. It involves monitoring the server, keeping it up-to-date,
making sure email is working correctly, etc.
The person could also maintain the Yes Men’s website (which will be updated
next week), if she or he wants.
Thing.net also needs a sysadmin: someone living in New York who knows Linux
well. The Thing.net position involves some money and the rewards of working
for an organization that has consistently and at great personal risk
supported groups like the Yes Men over the years.
THE YES MEN AND THING.NET THANK YOU!
A report on poverty in Utah recently released publishes this information:
The legislature recently announced a budget surplus. While the governor and others would like to see that money go to teachers – and no doubt some of that money should – it is clear that there are other areas that are in dire need of attention. Human services need top priority.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged budget, human needs, human services, legislature, politics, Utah
In today’s news:
Utahns are living beyond ecological means
The group Utah Vital Signs, a project of the Utah Population and Environment Coalition, has released the results of a study they conducted – “Utah Vital Signs 2007: The Ecological Footprint of Utah”.
The bottom line:
Utahns use 11 percent more than the state’s land can provided on a renewable basis.
“Utah is using more of nature’s resources than nature provides,” said [Helen] Peters. “We are drawing down resources that future generations make take advantage of.”
“The state has gone into ecological default,” said Sandra McIntyre, project director. “We are in an overshoot situation as of 2003.”
Figures from 1990 show the state was living within its ecological means, the group said. But by 2003, the population of Utah grew from 1.7 million to 2.4 million. Members pointed to the 40-percent population increase as involved in the change of the state’s ecological footprint.
What could be the reason for this increase in UTAH? Hmmmm…..
Part of the increase was because Utahns had the highest reproduction rate in the country, the group said.
How can this be addressed? According to the group that conducted the study:
….it’s better to have denser housing, like a close-living community with common green grounds, than a subdivision with large lots.
I was glad to read that the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will not even entertain acknowledgment of the plan by Private Fuel Storage to build a high level nuclear waste plant in Utah.
PFS has been trying for years to get the go ahead to build a nuclear waste site in Utah. Each obstacle, like this one, makes it increasingly difficult for this to happen, much to the advantage of not only Utahns, but people across the country since waste would be transported from various sites.
An activist colleague of mine offers this information:
The tricky part here, that may not have been known Monday, is that there is a provision in the Defense Authorization Act to eliminate the requirement that the Air Force conduct a study to see how storing nuclear waste on the reservation could affect operations at the Utah Test and Training Range. Sen Hansen had put this in in 1999, and it was cited in the BLM refusal to grant the right-of-way that the study was required and had not been completed. If the requirement is removed, it removes an impediment to the right-of-way, and PFS’s plan. No one seems to know who inserted this provision, and Hatch says they are working with the Senate Armed Forces Committee to “rectify the situation.” I wouldn’t put it past Hatch to have inserted it himself. Here’s a link to an article on this provision. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6211056
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged nuclear waste, politics, private fuel storage, toxic waste, Utah
The Green Party of the United States is putting together a special email to producers promoting the GPUS speakers on health care to coincide with the national opening of “Sicko” this Friday. I was asked to provide a couple of sentences for this. Listen to it here.
Michael Moore’s new documentary, “Sicko”, will open this Friday all over the U.S. Listen to Democarcy Now’s Amy Goodman interview Michael Moore on Sicko here.
The L.A. debut of “Sicko” was held on the streets of Skid Row Monday night. Michael Moore welcomed hundreds of homeless and low income to come out for free and see his film and he provided free popcorn and soda pop.
The film promises to be an eye opener into health care around the world and how the U.S.’s health care system fares compared to other countries.
This past weekend Tom and I went backpacking to Desolation Lake – in the Big Cottonwood Canyon of the Salt Lake Wasatch Mountains. How gorgeous it was!
View photos at Tom and Dee’s Excellent Adventures!
Posted in Uncategorized
Today is the day when people all over the world will gather to honor peace and our planet in the annual World Peace & Prayer Day.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 