Does your truck smell like french fries?

NPR : Deep-Fried Fuel: A Biodiesel Kitchen Vision.
This article was very good. A gas station owner changed all of his fuels to biodiesel. The owner is actually long time friends of willie nelson so it is now called biowillie fuel. This is great because it helps support local farmers and of course it is GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT!

Cutting Cow Pollution

Ok, so... Remember how in that video we watched in class they were talking about how cow's manure contains methane and nitrogen? and then remember how they were saying that it is polluting our streams and rivers? This article I read (http://www.scenta.co.uk/scenta/news.cfm?cit_id=1666211&FAArea1=widgets.content_view_1) has a very simple, cost effective sollution. This plant, all natural of course, sainfoin, allows the cows to absorb more of their nutrients... thus less stuff comes out of the back of the cow, thus... less methane and nitrogen.

Interested in Organic Coffee?

A look at how Organic Coffee could be wiped out if the USDA strictens the certification requirements and how it would effect the small-scale farmers that grow the coffee as well as lessen the supply to U.S. consumers. A short, but interesting article on www.treehugger.com

organic food

i read a artical about organic food and gmo's how organic foods don't carry more nutritional value than a gmo. and how it cost three times more to get organic food then a gmo. there is more information on
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=27&ContentID=26643

Organic food growth defies the sceptics

How do we know if the food which is labeled organic is really what it claims to be? What are the standards? We don't for sure. One way is to look for a certified organic lable and not just an organic lable. Currently in the U.S. we have several ways of certifing but we are trying to move to a standarized labeling system. To learn more read this article. http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=27&ContentID=26643

slow food

Ok, I've calmned down a little bit since my last blog. I found a cool little web site called www.slowfoodforum.com. I am really passionate about the health of the children in this country. I have an 11 year old daughter and when she was 2 yrs old her grandmother on my ex wifes side of the family started spoiling her and giving her any type of food she wanted. I was extremely pissed off when I realized this was why she was'nt eating the foods I was introducing to her at the time. I was driving down Brooklyn Blvd. and when I passed by a McDonalds I was shocked when my 2 yr. old daughted identified the placed and started crying when I wouldn't stop. It's up to us as parents to stop the madness. KEN COY

chef's calaborative

I think Americans have become way yoo lazy and have become way too conformed to the factory version of the professional kitchen. Fuck conformity, fuck uniformity, fuck the standardized half hour lunch break and fuck everything processed and cheap. We need to slow down in this country and get back to the basics. I'm tired of being in a hurry all the time and watching the children in this country get fatter and fatter while their parents stand around with a fucking double big mac falling out of their sloppy mouths. www.chefscalaborative.com

EPA Plans Limits on Lawnmower Emissions

I found this short article on how the EPA wants to make lawnmower emissions safer. Apparently lawnmowers contribute to 10% of summer time smog-forming emissions. The EPA also wants to clean up outboard motors. Check it out. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18173670/

Shooting Sealions to protect Salmon?

In Portland Oregon fisherman are shooting sealions because they are taking their fish on the Columbia River. Sealions are protected under the law, but these fisherman are mad. You see the Sealions are taking the fish that the fisherman have already caught. Sealions love the spawned salmon during the spring. Fisherman want to be able to shoot these troublesome sealions. I don't think they should because they are probably hungry too, and if the salmon is deminishing there is a bigger problem than the sealions. Animals are getting hungry too because our food cycle is changing.

Study: Ethanol may cause more smog, deaths

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ethanol_health_risks;_ylt=Aoe4FN7FkNdQk0NbDP7K0.Cs0NUE

Study: Ethanol may cause more smog, deaths

"Nearly 200 more people would die yearly from respiratory problems if all vehicles in the United States ran on a mostly ethanol fuel blend by 2020, the research concludes." This is from the article.

"It's not green in terms of air pollution," said study author Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor. "If you want to use ethanol, fine, but don't do it based on health grounds. It's no better than gasoline, apparently slightly worse."

Making Fuel from fat

ConocoPhillips and Tyson Food are now making their excess animal fat into fuel. They will be using fat from beef, pork and poulty to make a renewable diesel fuel. Thi gas is expected to be in gas stations in the fourth quartr of this year. Some people say that these companies will be able to recieve a tax credit that they should not be allowed to get. This tax credit is specifically made for creating new refining space for clean burning fuels. The argument is that these two companies will not be building new refinery but instead continue to use their original machines. The Treasury department has recently added that the companies can still use the tax credit if they continue to use the machines they already own.

Is genetically engineered food safe?

This article talks about how there is not a standardized safe test on genetically engineered foods. With the human population constantly growing, the world may be forced to GE more foods in order to support itself. So what are we in for? Read more about it...it might raise an eyebrow. http://www.globalissues.org/EnvIssues/GEFood/IsGEFoodSafe.asp

Diversity of Food in America........what a concept?

Chef's collaborative is an organization that is made of a group of local chefs, producers, educators, and food lovers who are interested in saving the flavor, maintaining, and expanding the diversity of American cuisine. Don't we all want that! If you don't, you should. It's an awesome concept. To learn more, visit www.chefcollaborative.org

Large Confined Animal Feeding Operations

When many Americans think of farm animals, they picture cattle munching grass on rolling pastures, chickens pecking on the ground outside of picturesque red barns, and pigs gobbling down food at the trough.

However, this is definately not the case as I learned today when I read this article about Confined Animal Feeding Operations. I find what is going on, disgusting and wrong, but if you want to form your own opinions follow the link bellow.


http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/sustainable_food/they-eat-what.html

Could Substainable food help?

there are as many overweight people as there are people that are starving, could a sustainable food source be the key to overcoming this devastation. Check it out at





http://www.sustainablefood.com

Free-Range and Organic Poultry Production

This article discusses the advantages of having Free-range and organic poultry. It also goes on to talk about why producers of these types of chickens should get involved with testing for Avian influenza. The idea is that these chicks are generally heathier and should become a larger producer of chicken to help prevent any break outs.


If you want to check it out go to http://attra.ncat.org/avian.html

Oil Is Oil, Be It Burned Or Eaten

This article is basically about how the food industry can also contribute to pollution. Edible oils can spill and create nasty oil slicks on top of water just like crude oil can. It can kill wildlife and create fire hazards. It gives lots of examples about how the food industry may have to start regulating safety measures on their oils, like butter and Canola oil.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/04/AR2005070401189.html

Free Range Poultry

This article talks about the benefits of farming and eating free range chickens, as apposed to cooped chickens. I couldn't agree more that free range is healthier and more human to the animal. I think that farming chickens and keeping them in coops for their whole life is disgusting and vile! How could anyone do that to any living thing?
If you want to read more ---> http://attra.ncat.org/avian.html

plastic vs. paper

I was in rainbow foods this weekend, and the woman asked if I wanted paper or plastic bags. It is a question that we have all been asked many times. I don't think any of us ever thought very deeply about the impact either bag. Which bag is greener? Which bag is better in the long run? Who knows which one, but I think it is a valid question to ask.

CONSUMERS URGE STARBUCKS TO HOLD THE HORMONES IN ALL 50 STATES

"Starbucks makes a move toward artificial-hormone free dairy after last month’s 'Hold the Hormones' campaign, but consumers want more."

rBGH(recombinant bovine growth hormone) is an artificial hormorne used in cows to increase dairy production. The hormorne has been known to cause health issues in cows and may also be a link to cancer in humans. Starbucks has been urged to go 100% dairy hormone free. No timeline has been given by Starbucks on when this might happen.

http://sustainabletable.com/media/pressreleases/011707_StarbucksHormoneFree.html

The neo-hippies have gone corporate

The not-so-sweet success of organic farming
Pesticide-free, non-genetically modified food is a big, global business now. But, ironically, small farmers are getting the shaft.

See organic farming through and inspectors eyes.

http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2002/07/29/organic/index1.html?pn=1

Impact that bread has on environment

An interesting article on what kind of bread is the best for the environment. The best production procedure and how we go about attaining our bread. I never thought that bread was so complicated! See www.treehugger.com

Yales serves organic food

Yale now serves organic food to students at berkley. They are going through and getting organic food from local farmers. I think this is very interesting.How many schools do you know of that serve an option of organic food? Many people may switch to organic food just because of this. Serving organic food is not only good for humanity but also for the earth. Yale Sustainable Food Project website

Sustainable food?

Sustainable food, this article describes in detail how we can raise environmentally more sustainable food. Using less oil, better for the food chain, and helps to better track our subsidies. Awsome article! the link to this article is http://www.sustainablefood.com/

Every day is Earth Day

What are some people doing to be more envoronmentally friendly? Is it working? What can we do? It's simple in some ways. In this article you can read about a few small changes you can make to help in the fight against the destruction of the earth. http://www.dailynews.com/entertainment/ci_5715344

Username Password Sign-up News 1130 HOME VANCOUVER LOCAL NEWS CONCERTS & SHOWS PHOTO GALLERY Top ex-military leaders call global warming major security risk 2007-4-15 April 15, 2007 - 3:02 pm --> Top ex-military leaders call global warming major security risk April 15, 2007 - 3:02 pm WASHINGTON (AP) - Global warming poses a "serious threat to America's national security" with terrorism worsening and the U.S. will likely be dragged into fights over water and other shortages, top retired military leaders warn in a new report. Joining calls already made by scientists and environmental activists, the retired U.S. military leaders, including the former Army chief of staff and President Bush's former chief Middle East peace negotiator, called on the U.S. government to make major cuts in emissions of gases that cause global warming. The report warned that in the next 30 to 40 years there will be wars over water, increased hunger instability from worsening disease and rising sea levels and global warming-induced refugees. "The chaos that results can be an incubator of civil strife, genocide and the growth of terrorism," the 35-page report predicted. "Climate change exacerbates already unstable situations," former U.S. Army chief of staff Gordon Sullivan told Associated Press Radio. "Everybody needs to start paying attention to what's going on. I don't think this is a particularly hard sell in the Pentagon. ... We're paying attention to what those security implications are." Gen. Anthony "Tony" Zinni, Bush's former Middle East envoy, said in the report: "It's not hard to make the connection between climate change and instability, or climate change and terrorism." The report was issued by the Alexandria, Va.-based, national security think-tank The CNA Corporation and was written by six retired admirals and five retired generals. They warned of a future of rampant disease, water shortages and flooding that will make already dicey areas - such as the Middle East, Asia and Africa - even worse. "Weakened and failing governments, with an already thin margin for survival, foster the conditions for internal conflicts, extremism and movement toward increased authoritarianism and radical ideologies," the report said. "The U.S. will be drawn more frequently into these situations." In a veiled reference to Bush's refusal to join an international treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the report said the U.S. government "must become a more constructive partner" with other nations to fight global warming and cope with its consequences. The Bush administration has declined mandatory emission cuts in favour of voluntary methods. Other nations have committed to required reductions that kick in within a few years. "We will pay for this one way or another," wrote Zinni, former commander of U.S. Central Command. "We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we'll have to take an economic hit of some kind. Or we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives. There will be a human toll." Top climate scientists said the report makes sense and increased national security risk is a legitimate global warming side-effect. The report is "pretty impressive," but may be too alarmist because it may take longer than 30 years for some of these things to happen, said Stanford scientist Terry Root, a co-author of this month's international scientific report on the effects of global warming on life on Earth. But the instability will happen sometime, Root agreed. "We're going to have a war over water," Root said. "There's just not going to be enough water around for us to have for us to need to live with and to provide for the natural environment." University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver said the military officers were smart to highlight the issue of refugees who flee unstable areas because of global warming. "There will be tens of millions of people migrating, where are we going to put them?" Weaver said. Weaver said that over the past years, scientists, who by nature are cautious, have been attacked by conservative activists when warning about climate change. This shows that it's not a liberal-conservative issue, Weaver said.

ethanol vs. tortillia

This article is all about the rise of international corn prices spurred by demand for the grain-based fuel ethanol and how that is affecting some of the peoples lives in Mexico. Aurora Rosales has a little tortilla shop east of Mexico city, because of the prices of corn rising due to the this is causing her shop to suffer and her customers to complain for the prices rising. Lower income Mexicans get more then 40% of their protein from tortilla's and its making it harder for them to get the protein they need. So whats more important cheaper gas or feeding the hungry?




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601896_pf.html

i read a article about the ecological foot print and it was good to see go to http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=footprint_overview

There always seems to be a downside, doesn't there?

How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070501faessay86305-p0/c-ford-runge-benjamin-senauer/how-biofuels-could-starve-the-poor.html

This is a very long report, about 5 pages. It shows that bio-fuel isn't as good for the poor even if it does offer lower prices at the gas pump. Especially if the poor don't have cars or if they live in developing countries. Those are the people who are being adversly effected the most by the higher corn and grain prices. Bio-fuels may be good as a subsistute for fossil fuels but is it really the best option for everyone including the environment? People in SE Asia are clearing more and more land to plant oil palms that are used for biodiesel. Is this a good thing?

How about here in the US? "With the price of raw materials at such highs, the biofuel craze would place significant stress on other parts of the agricultural sector. In fact, it already does. In the United States, the growth of the biofuel industry has triggered increases not only in the prices of corn, oilseeds, and other grains but also in the prices of seemingly unrelated crops and products. The use of land to grow corn to feed the ethanol maw is reducing the acreage devoted to other crops. Food processors who use crops such as peas and sweet corn have been forced to pay higher prices to keep their supplies secure -- costs that will eventually be passed on to consumers. "