Trivia: What transpired during the first automobile accident in the United States?
Answer: In 1896, the first U.S. automobile accident occurred in NYC where a car hit a bicyclist.
After hearing about what happened on the Metro in DC where at least 6 people died in a train collision, it may evoke some hesitation to riding subways and trains. Per year, 800 people die in train accidents. Although that may seem like a shocking figure, rail workers--not passengers--make of for the majority of the 800.
It's a little shocking, but less than 800 cyclist die per year. I expected a higher number. As opposed to a train passenger, a cyclist may have some control over his/her fate by wearing a helmet, being more alert and following traffic rules. By contrast, 35,000 people die in car accidents every year.
To put these number into perspective and the actual likelihood of death, the number of miles traveled should be taken into account. Clearly, airplanes are the safest with 200 deaths per year and a chock-full of miles. Between bicycles and cars, if we compare the 800 and 35,000 deaths to the number of miles traveled, that being 6 billion and 3 trillion respectively, cyclists are 11 times as likely to die as motorists. Adding to the odds against commuter cyclists, two-thirds of bicycle fatalities happen in urban areas.
I'm going to end this downward spiraling circular logic and arrive at some conclusions. I'm not going to stop riding my bike--not now, in fact, most bike deaths happen between June and August. Riding a bicycle can help riders stave off heart disease, America's greatest killer. The asshole in a Hummer is probably safest if it doesn't flip over. No one said verdancy is the safest way to travel, but I do have a heightened appreciation for the Subway. And when I'm behind the wheel of a car, I hope I never face the odds of killing a cyclist.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
2009 MLB on FOX Broadcast schedule
I'm not going to lie, but there's nothing verdantic about this post. Taking a nap while watching baseball out of one eye on a flatscreen is not the best use of energy. Could be worse, I suppose, but it is--personally--my favorite American past time.
FOX paid billions for all of the Saturday baseball games. It blacks out all televized broadcasts, except for one game per zone. Unfortunately, the larger market teams get aired most often, for obvious reasons of viewership and revenue. If I had to guess, it's most likely the Yankees playing some other overpaid team. This post is a helpful reference for Saturday matchups.
2009 MLB on FOX REGULAR SEASON BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
Atlanta Braves at Arizona Diamondbacks
Minnesota Twins at Tampa Bay Rays
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers
Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners
Saturday, June 13, 2009
New York Mets at New York Yankees
St. Louis Cardinals at Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox at Milwaukee Brewers
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Tampa Bay Rays at New York Mets
Los Angeles Dodgers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Milwaukee Brewers at Detroit Tigers
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Boston Red Sox at Atlanta Braves
Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Arizona Diamondbacks
Saturday, July 4, 2009
New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins
Oakland Athletics at Cleveland Indians
Saturday, July 11, 2009
New York Yankees at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 – 8:00 PM ET
2009 MLB All-Star Game
Busch Stadium – St. Louis, MO
Saturday, July 18, 2009
New York Mets at Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles at Chicago White Sox
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Oakland Athletics
Saturday, July 25, 2009
St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies
Minnesota Twins at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
Saturday, August 1, 2009
New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox
Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
Houston Astros at St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Texas Rangers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks
Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
Saturday, August 22, 2009
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers
Saturday, August 29, 2009
New York Mets at Chicago Cubs
Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros at Arizona Diamondbacks
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Boston Red Sox at Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians
San Francisco Giants at Milwaukee Brewers
Saturday, September 12, 2009
New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins
San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Imagine NYC without 24-hour subways or newspapers
Riding around on my bicycle here in my NYC bubble, I don't know if gas prices have increased. I'm not even sure where to find the nearest gas station. When prices of goods and services around me increase, I get the feeling that prices have hit $4/gallon.
What is going on? New York Times went up 50 cents to reach $2. Next week, the price of postage will go up 2 cents to reach 44 cents. New York Times moving online is an unfortunate foretoken, but it has environmental benefits. As for postage, that's great if the 2-cent increase encourages people to write more emails instead and discourages junk mailers to blast credit card offers.
And then there's the subway. Paterson and state leaders' solution to an MTA bailout package is to allow a 25 cent fare increase to subway rides to $2.25; and a monthly pass will go up to $89 from $81. I'm going to blame Paterson for this mess--but I think Roger Toussaint may also be culpable. Here's what Paterson could've done to avoid this: when Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan was proposed in 2007. Paterson stutter-stepped and undermined congestion pricing. Aside from the $500 million in federal funding that NYC was eligible to receive, ridership could have increased. Now with service cuts, there is less of an incentive to ride. Still, it's better than Londoners, who pay by zones with fares up to £4, or $5.80/ride. Personally, my solution is to ride a bicycle, because you can't read the newspaper while you ride.
What is going on? New York Times went up 50 cents to reach $2. Next week, the price of postage will go up 2 cents to reach 44 cents. New York Times moving online is an unfortunate foretoken, but it has environmental benefits. As for postage, that's great if the 2-cent increase encourages people to write more emails instead and discourages junk mailers to blast credit card offers.
And then there's the subway. Paterson and state leaders' solution to an MTA bailout package is to allow a 25 cent fare increase to subway rides to $2.25; and a monthly pass will go up to $89 from $81. I'm going to blame Paterson for this mess--but I think Roger Toussaint may also be culpable. Here's what Paterson could've done to avoid this: when Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan was proposed in 2007. Paterson stutter-stepped and undermined congestion pricing. Aside from the $500 million in federal funding that NYC was eligible to receive, ridership could have increased. Now with service cuts, there is less of an incentive to ride. Still, it's better than Londoners, who pay by zones with fares up to £4, or $5.80/ride. Personally, my solution is to ride a bicycle, because you can't read the newspaper while you ride.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Greener sports
Many will not admit that baseball is a sport. I'm willing to call it a game. If baseball is a game, then I don't know what to call Nascar. By the way, Nascar should be NASCAR, because it is an acronym for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, but all caps are too obnoxious. There are many polluters in Nascar and it just wouldn't be as loud and exciting if they raced with hydrogen cars. As other auto racing circuits have taken steps towards greenery, Nascar has employed a green pace car: the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Next month, the Toyota pace car will make its debut at the Coca-Cola 600. It wasn't easy. The pace car had to pass a performance test of reaching 100mph within a quarter mile.As for baseball, there is also a growing consciousness for the environment. The perfectly manicured fields of baseball should never be replaced--no matter how much water it needs; but perhaps something can done about depleting and endangering ash wood used for baseball bats. On Earth Day last week, I was proud to attend a day game at the new Yankee stadium to see the Oakland A's. I wrongly assumed that a day game would not be played under bright lights. Since it was cloudy and it drizzled the entire game, they turned on the lights. So much for that. I was surprised to see recycling and compost bins around the park. Judging from the contents thrown inside the receptacles, instructions posted above the bins were desperately needed. Can't expect NY inhabitants to know how to compost, much less rowdy Yankee fans. Plus, New Yorkers are accustomed to seeing garbage men throwing bags of recyclables into garbage trucks every morning. Even Whole Foods provides instructions on composting for its eco-friendly conduits. Without posting instructions, I don't believe the billion-dollar stadium is actually serious about composting.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Bicycles helping RFID's poor image
A bicycle can make you a better person:- it is good for your mental and physical health;
- it can give you a slimmer and more attractive physique; and
- it can make you feel good about yourself and your surrounding environment.
Bicycles can even make unsavory characters like RFID tags cool. Although RFID tags have developed a poor reputation for privacy and environmental concerns, they are being used as helpful devices to combat bicycle theft around the world. The UK, the Netherlands and in Portland, OR, RFID tags are attached to registered bikes to deter bike theft or to track their locations when stolen.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
RFID: more at stake than privacy
RFID, Radio Frequency Identification are those tracking devices that you see on the boxes of products. Sure RFIDs are a great way to run a business more efficiently. Using radio waves, they allow instant tracking for shipping, supply chain management and inventory tracking.
There are many types of RFIDs, but once these things are activated, they send signals and information about the consumer without consent. That's the crux of the privacy issue that it raises. Verdantic certainly appreciates privacy and annoymity.
But, RFIDs are bad for the environment. Researchers aren't sure whether RFIDs can cause cancer or harmful effects to your health. It might be like one of those situations where exposure to small amounts of toxins or BPA are totally safe according to the FDA. RFIDs can be difficult to spot. They usually look like a white padded sticker, but underneath is an integrated circuit with copper wires, an antenna and a battery.
So maybe these things can benefit the environment by enabling businesses to operate more efficiently. How necessary is it? As much stuff as we Americans buy, attaching an RFID to every product creates more waste. Waste of a precious metal and millions of tiny batteries--that should be properly disposed of--end up in our landfills. Unfortunately, you can't see them and they can't be recycled. In fact, they get in the way of recycling boxes. The tags left on cardboard contain metal and inks that complicate recycled feedstock. On steel, the copper can contaminate other metals. When left of glass, the metals can damage glass kilns while being harmful to recyclers and glass blowers. The same can be said for the PET or HDPE recycling process.
There are many types of RFIDs, but once these things are activated, they send signals and information about the consumer without consent. That's the crux of the privacy issue that it raises. Verdantic certainly appreciates privacy and annoymity.
But, RFIDs are bad for the environment. Researchers aren't sure whether RFIDs can cause cancer or harmful effects to your health. It might be like one of those situations where exposure to small amounts of toxins or BPA are totally safe according to the FDA. RFIDs can be difficult to spot. They usually look like a white padded sticker, but underneath is an integrated circuit with copper wires, an antenna and a battery.
So maybe these things can benefit the environment by enabling businesses to operate more efficiently. How necessary is it? As much stuff as we Americans buy, attaching an RFID to every product creates more waste. Waste of a precious metal and millions of tiny batteries--that should be properly disposed of--end up in our landfills. Unfortunately, you can't see them and they can't be recycled. In fact, they get in the way of recycling boxes. The tags left on cardboard contain metal and inks that complicate recycled feedstock. On steel, the copper can contaminate other metals. When left of glass, the metals can damage glass kilns while being harmful to recyclers and glass blowers. The same can be said for the PET or HDPE recycling process.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Interview: Heather Sperling, Food Writer
V: Heather, welcome to Verdantic. Thanks for contributing to my blog—I really appreciate this.
HS: Happy to help—it's actually quite appropriate as Earth Day so happens to be my birthday AND I've been posting for PlanetGreen.com AND I love the color green.
V: Perfect. Before we begin, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
HS: Sure, I was an editor of the food website StarChefs.com for over 2 years before moving to Chicago, where I currently write for a number of magazines and websites, including the Discovery Channel's green do-it-yourself website, PlanetGreen.com. I've always been enamored with food and drink, and I think that the green movement is THE movement of our age, so naturally I get quite excited when the two overlap—which, thankfully, happens quite a lot.
V: How has green movement and sustainability affected trends the food industry?
HS: Sustainability has become, without a doubt, one of the biggest trends in the industry. As far as food is concerned, the green movement is very much a grassroots movement, and chefs, restaurateurs, business owners, and food media have played essential parts in spreading the word and setting the example. Writers like Michael Pollan, chefs like Dan Barber and Alice Waters—they set trends through their restaurants and their writing, and help draw the public's attention to the big issues in sustainable eating. Of course, these are only three names in an astoundingly large network of people and organizations who are making the promotion of sustainable food their mission in life. As public awareness has grown, public expectations have grown—and in the food industry this means that diners and consumers are savvier than ever, and expect more from producers, markets, and restaurants. A few years ago, we started hearing about the merits of grass-fed beef and organic milk; today a sustainably minded diner could think: "Sure, your arugula was grown on the roof of your restaurant and you cured this lamb bacon yourself, with no nitrates involved. That's great. But are you composting? Recycling? Serving fair-trade coffee and using eco-friendly cleaning supplies in the kitchen?" In the food world, the ante keeps getting upped.
V: What are some the most innovative concepts and trends that involve sustainable eating and sustainable food?
HS: The Blue Ocean Institute, an organization devoted to sustainable seafood, has a pretty amazing program called FishPhone. You text the name of a fish to a certain number, and you get a text message back with info about whether the fish is a sustainable choice, and if not, what good alternatives are out there. I've never done it, but I love that it exists. And it's a great example of the sustainability movement harnessing fairly innovative technology to make essential information easily accessible. A handful of high-end restaurants across the country (The French Laundry and Per Se) are putting in new water filtration systems that make still and sparkling water in-house. They're eliminate the carbon footprint of their water, while still being able to offer the bottled water that diners want and expect. And I love that restaurants are starting to compost. I was in Seattle a few months ago and over half of the 40-odd restaurants I visited told me that they're composting. Granted, Seattle has always been an uber-green city. But composting—especially in a restaurant—is a bit of a pain, and that's a huge percentage that are making the effort.
V: What is the future of the dining experience, in terms of trends?
HS: That's a big question, man. You mean in terms of sustainability and green stuff, right?
V: You’re totally right. Let’s keep it green.
HS: Sustainability is going to continue to be huge in the restaurant world. Restaurants will keep touting the local and/or sustainable products on their plates, and more chains will follow Chipotle's lead and start serving sustainably raised ingredients. Ordering whole animals and cooking head-to-tail (i.e. using every part of the animal) is a growing trend in restaurant kitchens, and in line with that sustainably minded, artisan approach we're seeing things like homemade charcuterie (made from the trimmings) popping up across the country. In a way, this part of the future of the dining experience is actually quite historical. Ordering a whole pig, breaking it down in-house, curing the jowl to make guanciale, using the fat back for seasoning, turning the head into headcheese—these acts borrow from culinary traditions that are hundreds of years old. Today they're gaining momentum, and are certainly part of the future of many American restaurants.
V: In what ways might energy and transportation affect our food?
HS: In the past year, we watched the prices of eggs, flour, and milk rise as the price of gas rose. The average cost of a slice of New York pizza rose by some crazy amount, and my favorite morning glory muffin at the greenmarket went up 50 cents. This is one basic way that transportation affects our food: when transportation costs fluctuate, food costs fluctuate too. And of course there's the issue of the carbon footprint. Industrial food production has a wildly huge carbon footprint, from factories that process food to the energy that goes into massive cow feedlots (which produce insane amounts of methane gas, by the way. Cow farts are astoundingly bad for the atmosphere).
V: How feasible is the locavore diet and urban farming movement?
HS: It's certainly possible to exist off a diet of predominantly local foods, though some places— like San Francisco and New York—certainly make it easier than others. But it can absolutely be done, especially if you make reasonable exceptions and allow yourself California olive oil or non-local citrus. There are many that would say this is anathema to the true locavore spirit, but I say it's just realistic. There's a good amount of info, support, and interest out there. For her book "Animal Vegetable Miracle" Barbara Kingsolver, and her family, spent a year eating only local foods. The Eat Local Challenge is a network of people and blogs who participated in a challenge to go locavore for a period of time in 2008. As for urban farming, I think it's excellent and essential on a social level—especially when it takes the form of school gardens or community-focused gardens. The Obamas' decision to grow food at the White House is certainly an exciting development. Hell, even people growing a few herbs in a container on a stoop is a step in the right direction, because it means that we're increasingly aware of the quality of our food, and where it comes from. I recently read that 43 million Americans plan to grow vegetables at home this year—7 million more than in 2008. That's huge!
V: What can the FDA or USDA do to help shape sustainable and organic foods?
HS: The USDA has set standards for organic certification (through an organization called the National Organic Standards Board), but they're widely considered to be faulty--or at least less stringent than they could or should be. "Organic" began as a counter-culture movement (counter to industrial agriculture) and grew rapidly in popularity in the last decade. When the government stepped in and regulated "organic," many of the existing practitioners and followers felt that the official standards were too lax, with too many loopholes. But ultimately the government regulation is an undeniably positive first step, and has done wonders for spurring consumer consciousness of organics. There is currently no FDA/UDSA certification for sustainability, but there are a number of NGOs that are totally focused on the subject. There are some great independent organizations dealing with sustainable seafood (which is nearly impossible to classify as organic, because most seafood is wild-caught, and even if its farm-raised, often the feed is made of wild-caught fish), like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, the Seafood Choices Alliance, and the Blue Ocean Institute. The Cool Foods Campaign is devoted to spreading the word about the relationship between food and global warming and promoting eco-friendly, low-carbon-footprint foods. The Green Restaurant Association helps restaurants operate in a more sustainable way. Their certification process has been criticized as being too easy as well, but it's a start! The FDA and USDA have some hefty issues on their plates, what with the recent food safety debacles and the increasing problems with industrial agriculture. For now I think it's going to continue to be NGOs, chefs, writers and activists who really spread the word about sustainability. I should also mention that there are third party sustainable certification: Protected Harvest and Food Alliance are two major organizations that are providing sustainability certification to producers, stores, and restaurants.
V: Thanks again for your help. This content and your expertise are a great addition to my blog.
HS: The blog looks good, and I love that you reference that the A's happened to win the World Series in 1989 before launching into a remembrance of the Exxon Valdez spill. Nice personal touch.
V: Thanks for reading. Happy birthday on Earth Day!
HS: Happy to help—it's actually quite appropriate as Earth Day so happens to be my birthday AND I've been posting for PlanetGreen.com AND I love the color green.
V: Perfect. Before we begin, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
HS: Sure, I was an editor of the food website StarChefs.com for over 2 years before moving to Chicago, where I currently write for a number of magazines and websites, including the Discovery Channel's green do-it-yourself website, PlanetGreen.com. I've always been enamored with food and drink, and I think that the green movement is THE movement of our age, so naturally I get quite excited when the two overlap—which, thankfully, happens quite a lot.
V: How has green movement and sustainability affected trends the food industry?
HS: Sustainability has become, without a doubt, one of the biggest trends in the industry. As far as food is concerned, the green movement is very much a grassroots movement, and chefs, restaurateurs, business owners, and food media have played essential parts in spreading the word and setting the example. Writers like Michael Pollan, chefs like Dan Barber and Alice Waters—they set trends through their restaurants and their writing, and help draw the public's attention to the big issues in sustainable eating. Of course, these are only three names in an astoundingly large network of people and organizations who are making the promotion of sustainable food their mission in life. As public awareness has grown, public expectations have grown—and in the food industry this means that diners and consumers are savvier than ever, and expect more from producers, markets, and restaurants. A few years ago, we started hearing about the merits of grass-fed beef and organic milk; today a sustainably minded diner could think: "Sure, your arugula was grown on the roof of your restaurant and you cured this lamb bacon yourself, with no nitrates involved. That's great. But are you composting? Recycling? Serving fair-trade coffee and using eco-friendly cleaning supplies in the kitchen?" In the food world, the ante keeps getting upped.
V: What are some the most innovative concepts and trends that involve sustainable eating and sustainable food?
HS: The Blue Ocean Institute, an organization devoted to sustainable seafood, has a pretty amazing program called FishPhone. You text the name of a fish to a certain number, and you get a text message back with info about whether the fish is a sustainable choice, and if not, what good alternatives are out there. I've never done it, but I love that it exists. And it's a great example of the sustainability movement harnessing fairly innovative technology to make essential information easily accessible. A handful of high-end restaurants across the country (The French Laundry and Per Se) are putting in new water filtration systems that make still and sparkling water in-house. They're eliminate the carbon footprint of their water, while still being able to offer the bottled water that diners want and expect. And I love that restaurants are starting to compost. I was in Seattle a few months ago and over half of the 40-odd restaurants I visited told me that they're composting. Granted, Seattle has always been an uber-green city. But composting—especially in a restaurant—is a bit of a pain, and that's a huge percentage that are making the effort.
V: What is the future of the dining experience, in terms of trends?
HS: That's a big question, man. You mean in terms of sustainability and green stuff, right?
V: You’re totally right. Let’s keep it green.
HS: Sustainability is going to continue to be huge in the restaurant world. Restaurants will keep touting the local and/or sustainable products on their plates, and more chains will follow Chipotle's lead and start serving sustainably raised ingredients. Ordering whole animals and cooking head-to-tail (i.e. using every part of the animal) is a growing trend in restaurant kitchens, and in line with that sustainably minded, artisan approach we're seeing things like homemade charcuterie (made from the trimmings) popping up across the country. In a way, this part of the future of the dining experience is actually quite historical. Ordering a whole pig, breaking it down in-house, curing the jowl to make guanciale, using the fat back for seasoning, turning the head into headcheese—these acts borrow from culinary traditions that are hundreds of years old. Today they're gaining momentum, and are certainly part of the future of many American restaurants.
V: In what ways might energy and transportation affect our food?
HS: In the past year, we watched the prices of eggs, flour, and milk rise as the price of gas rose. The average cost of a slice of New York pizza rose by some crazy amount, and my favorite morning glory muffin at the greenmarket went up 50 cents. This is one basic way that transportation affects our food: when transportation costs fluctuate, food costs fluctuate too. And of course there's the issue of the carbon footprint. Industrial food production has a wildly huge carbon footprint, from factories that process food to the energy that goes into massive cow feedlots (which produce insane amounts of methane gas, by the way. Cow farts are astoundingly bad for the atmosphere).
V: How feasible is the locavore diet and urban farming movement?
HS: It's certainly possible to exist off a diet of predominantly local foods, though some places— like San Francisco and New York—certainly make it easier than others. But it can absolutely be done, especially if you make reasonable exceptions and allow yourself California olive oil or non-local citrus. There are many that would say this is anathema to the true locavore spirit, but I say it's just realistic. There's a good amount of info, support, and interest out there. For her book "Animal Vegetable Miracle" Barbara Kingsolver, and her family, spent a year eating only local foods. The Eat Local Challenge is a network of people and blogs who participated in a challenge to go locavore for a period of time in 2008. As for urban farming, I think it's excellent and essential on a social level—especially when it takes the form of school gardens or community-focused gardens. The Obamas' decision to grow food at the White House is certainly an exciting development. Hell, even people growing a few herbs in a container on a stoop is a step in the right direction, because it means that we're increasingly aware of the quality of our food, and where it comes from. I recently read that 43 million Americans plan to grow vegetables at home this year—7 million more than in 2008. That's huge!
V: What can the FDA or USDA do to help shape sustainable and organic foods?
HS: The USDA has set standards for organic certification (through an organization called the National Organic Standards Board), but they're widely considered to be faulty--or at least less stringent than they could or should be. "Organic" began as a counter-culture movement (counter to industrial agriculture) and grew rapidly in popularity in the last decade. When the government stepped in and regulated "organic," many of the existing practitioners and followers felt that the official standards were too lax, with too many loopholes. But ultimately the government regulation is an undeniably positive first step, and has done wonders for spurring consumer consciousness of organics. There is currently no FDA/UDSA certification for sustainability, but there are a number of NGOs that are totally focused on the subject. There are some great independent organizations dealing with sustainable seafood (which is nearly impossible to classify as organic, because most seafood is wild-caught, and even if its farm-raised, often the feed is made of wild-caught fish), like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, the Seafood Choices Alliance, and the Blue Ocean Institute. The Cool Foods Campaign is devoted to spreading the word about the relationship between food and global warming and promoting eco-friendly, low-carbon-footprint foods. The Green Restaurant Association helps restaurants operate in a more sustainable way. Their certification process has been criticized as being too easy as well, but it's a start! The FDA and USDA have some hefty issues on their plates, what with the recent food safety debacles and the increasing problems with industrial agriculture. For now I think it's going to continue to be NGOs, chefs, writers and activists who really spread the word about sustainability. I should also mention that there are third party sustainable certification: Protected Harvest and Food Alliance are two major organizations that are providing sustainability certification to producers, stores, and restaurants.
V: Thanks again for your help. This content and your expertise are a great addition to my blog.
HS: The blog looks good, and I love that you reference that the A's happened to win the World Series in 1989 before launching into a remembrance of the Exxon Valdez spill. Nice personal touch.
V: Thanks for reading. Happy birthday on Earth Day!
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