La Greenga

Will El Paso ever get pawpaws?

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:07:00 +0000

There are several things that make me long to live on the East Coast again. I could see the musical The Book of Mormon, for instance. And I could eat pawpaws, Americas' mango.

NPR had a story on them this morning. They are not grown commercially (why?), so people have been foraging for them. They taste like mango custard, supposedly.

Also check out the Ohio Pawpaw Festival that I would have considered going to if I lived on the East Coast. Unless I had tickets for the Book of Mormons.

(Photo is from the blog Temperate Climate Permaculture.)

If meat was grown in a lab, would vegetarians eat it?

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:34:00 +0000

Lab-grown meat, grown independently of an animal, might be a reality soon, with one scientist estimating that he is six months away from creating a sausage, a year from a hamburger. But would vegetarians eat it? That was the question asked by Slate magazine here.

What do you say vegetarians and vegans? Would you eat cruelty-free meat?

Behold the pisco

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:49:00 +0000

I drank pisco the other night at Thyme Matters. It's from Peru and it's supposed to be all the rage...

New York Times: Freezing in summer

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:55:00 +0000

What a great editorial in yesterday's New York Times about our recent (historically-speaking) addiction with air conditioning that way, way too cold. The article mentions that 78 degrees is a reasonable level to set thermostats at in the summer (68 in winter).

I love this quote:

“In the United States there is a strong marketing emphasis on cold,” said Professor Hedge. “When you get a soda it’s chock full of ice. We serve beer chilled. We make a virtue of freezing things.”

Vegan in El Paso

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:50:00 +0000

I'm adding "One Inspired Chef" on my list of favorite blogs. It's a gorgeous blog with many vegan recipes (no animal products at all!) by Alanna, a vegan chef in El Paso. Don't you really admire people who live by their beliefs despite difficult odds?

Dumbest. Product. Ever.

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:16:00 +0000

It's a toilet paper cover and Cotonnelle is giving them out for free. If I've ever seen waste in my life...

One year on e.coli lake

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:01:00 +0000

That little bubble on the picture is a one-room island in the middle of a lake and an eco-project by the Indianapolis Art Museum. It's also home to Catherine Ball, the daughter of a friend of mine who received a fellowship to spend a year there making filters from hemp, wood chips, and mushroom mycelium, which will be placed in the lake in an attempt to lower E.coli levels in the water over time. Her blog is here.

Mark your calendars: Environmental Justice Talk at UTEP

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Dr. Devon Pena, of the University of Washington, will have the talk "Environmental Justice and Restoration Ecology: Building a Bridge and Net that Work," Tuesday, August 18, at 4:30 pm at UTEP's Centennial Museum. It's free.

Jim Tolbert: kicking butts and taking names

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Unlike LaGreenga, who can be very lazy, Jim Tolbert of the blog El Paso Naturally, is a tireless advocate for nature in general and the Franklin Mountains in particular. He and his friends proved it again Tuesday when they presented the City Council with a petition signed by 1,571 El Pasoans who oppose the City's decision to develop the Transmountain corridor. The El Paso Times says the petition may force another council vote on the issue. Read the Times article here. (Photo by the El Paso Times)

Name that lizzard!

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:19:00 +0000

I came across this gorgeous little fellow while hiking at McKelligon Canyon Sunday. Does anybody know its name?

Picking your own vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:17:00 +0000

LaGreenga and la petite Greenga went to La Union Maze Saturday to pick vegetables. The chiles are labeled "Mild" to "Very Hot," which is helpful, and all the other stuff is not labeled, which makes it fun to try to figure out what's hiding under the leaves. We got one ear of corn, five tomatoes, one zucchini, two eggplants and two chile peppers for a total of $3 and some muddy shoes. La petite Greenga said, "It's just like Albertson's!"

Flower Tower and more: Green architecture in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:34:00 +0000

While taking a plane in France to go from Paris to here:

(I know, I know, you hate me), I read an article in the Air France in-flight magazine about this French green architects and his creations. His name is Edouard Francois and below are some of his creations.

The Flower Tower, a 10-story building in Paris with 380 giant flower pots.

This one is more high-concept. This is the facade of a hotel that's a concrete replica of another building. I know, I know, it's a bit tortured but the result is arresting.

These are cabins for the Club Med in Senegal.

Among sources of inspiration are the Facteur Cheval, a French postman who spent 30 years making himself a weird palace.

Green Drinks yesterday at Pot au Feu

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:08:00 +0000

Green Drinks: This is the monthly gathering of green-minded professionals in El Paso, which is done over drinks because we are civilized people! If you want to receive evites for the next one, go here.

Left to right: Naima, who works for the El Paso Zoo and has the new blog, A Zoo Adventure; LaGreenga; and architect Fred Dalbin.

Middle: Luigi Seta, Green Drinks organizer.

Fish spa: What kind of nonsense is that?

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:16:00 +0000

Fish spa is this ridiculous thing where people who apparently don't have access to a loofah pay to put have little carps eat up the dead skin on their feet (supposedly it doesn't hurt the fish if they are well taken care of).

Is that what it's come down to between us and nature? Having fish give us pedicures?

Pork rinds don't count

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 04:30:00 +0000

-You're a vegetarian who eats pork rinds?
-Pork rinds are junk food. It don't count.

From Detective Holder (Joel Kinnaman) in AMC's The Killing.

Quinoa... hmmmmmm

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Fri, 27 May 2011 05:02:00 +0000

I had to post this. Just had chipotle salmon and quinoa. So. Good.

La Petite Greenga saves the animals

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:42:00 +0000

My 6-year-old daughter, whom we shall call Petite Greenga, came up with the following solution to save endangered species:

"We need an animal president!"

La Greenga conquers quinoa

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:37:00 +0000

If food was fashion, quinoa would be the new black. You can't read a magazine or watch a little TV without hearing about the supposed benefits of this pre-Colombian miracle grain (high protein content, amino acids, fiber and gluten-free!). And since this craze has been going on for a while, I thought it a safe bet that Albertson's in El Paso would now carry it. And sure enough, there it was, a little package wedged between sacks of white rice ($5.69).

It's always exciting to try a new food, especially when they turn out DELICIOUS! Kinda like couscous but less heavy and with grains that pop a little under your teeth. Here are photos:

Growing meat in a lab

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Sun, 22 May 2011 21:59:00 +0000

I heard this fascinating story on NPR last week about scientists growing meat in a lab, hoping that one day, it would replace, in our plates, the meat that comes from animals. This would solve many problems of course, from cruelty to animals to global warming. There are some obstacles, of course.

"The biggest slab of meat grown so far is about the size of a contact lens... The next step... is trying to take these cells and turn them into muscle tissue... Muscles require stimulation and exercise or they will atrophy and die. Scientists currently use electrical impulses to stimulate the muscle cells grown in the laboratory, but haven't yet figured out how to do it on a mass-factory scale."

In other words, you need to exercise your burger before it's edible!

Also, there are no photos on the site. Does anyone know what lab-grown meat look like?

Yeah, I know, it's all a little... unappetizing but in the words of the scientist quoted by NPR:

"There is something inherently creepy about [growing meat in labs]," Specter tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "But there is something more inherently creepy about the way we deal with the animals that we eat. ... They live a horrible life, and they often die quite cruelly. So the idea of being able to eliminate some of that is extremely exciting for a lot of people."

Death of a mountain lion

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:17:00 +0000

(Photo: El Paso Times)

I'll let Jim Tolbert of the blog elpasonaturally handle this one (his Blogger is not working right now, so he sent an email to his followers). My own feelings about what happened to the lion is that probably every one involved, including the cop, feels terrible about it. I know I do.

From Jim:

Read today’s El Paso Times editorial. Bottom line for the Times: “At H&H Car Wash, there was time to react, to think. The mountain lion had roamed the enclosure for a time, even lying down. Waldrup, a veterinarian with the Texas Department of Health Services, should have been making the call in this instance. There was no need to shoot that mountain lion to death.”

If you haven’t heard: this past Tuesday a mountain lion (mixed reports on sex), 4 to 5 years old, was shot and killed at the H&H Car Wash by an El Paso police officer and a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Agent. The after-killing justification was that shooting the animal beyond the boundaries of the car wash could have meant ricocheting bullets that could have endangered people. There’s a problem with the justification. (More after the break.)

If people were in danger, why didn't El Paso police control the crowd? Reportedly there were dozens of people on the scene. See the KTSM video. A longer video published by KVIA reveals little effort to disburse the crowd. The lion appears hungry, tired . . . and scared but not aggressive.

As officials waited for the first tranquilizer to take effect, crowds gathered hanging off the car wash chain gates trying to get pictures and video of the mountain lion stressing it out further and creating the very public safety hazard that the killing of the lion would later be blamed on. Remember - the videos show little or no effort to disburse the crowd or cordon off the area. It was a carnival atmosphere and the police (and the TABC) did nothing. Another video shows the kind of giddy reaction of people inside and outside of the Car Wash coffee shop.

Ken Waldrup, the Health Services veterinarian is not just respected in Texas. He is renowned throughout the country. He knew what he was doing. Sometimes a first tranquilizer “stick” (dart) doesn’t work because the animal is pumping more than normal adrenaline. You don’t want to overdose; so after the first stick, you wait and then administer another.

It was just a few seconds after a second "stick" of tranquilizer hit the cat when a police officer and the TABC agent opened fire. The words of the State Veterinarian ring true: "Ugh you idiot! No need for this!"

All videos show an animal trying to avoid people and not an animal being aggressive. The lion was scared. If it had wanted to attack, it had plenty of opportunities and plenty of people to attack to do so. It wanted to get away from people – not attack.

We can only hope that the City of El Paso, its police department, and others will turn to wildlife experts now and develop better ways to deal with similar situations in the future.

Both the police department and the TABC need to be investigated. What was the TABC agent doing there anyway? How are officers trained? Is there a protocol for encountering mountain lions or other wild animals or do we just shoot to kill when wildlife experts are in the process of tranquilizing the animals? What jurisdiction did the TABC have? Why didn't police cordon off the area and move people away? So many questions.

At the end of the KVIA video, an officer is being admonished: "Don't talk to a reporter. Get back here." The cover-up had already begun.

Fake food in China

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Sun, 08 May 2011 21:01:00 +0000

A Chinese supermarket throws old bread in a vat with water to make "new" buns. Soaks pork in borax and sells it as beef. Even eggs are not real, but man-made mixes of chemicals (watch how they make fake eggs in the video below at the 3 minute mark). China really needs to be introduced to the "Real Food" concept.

The return of the fat

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Mon, 02 May 2011 00:07:00 +0000

File this under: "There's no short cut for healthy living." According to a scientific study, people (er, women) who had liposuction had the fat return within a year... but not at the same place. Most lipo is on the thighs but the fat returned to the upper abdomen (whatever that is), shoulders and upper arms. How freaky is that? Like the New York Times says, "The body protects its fat!"

Full article here.

I want to slap that materialistic Toyota kid

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:17:00 +0000

I can't stand this new Toyota Highlander commercial. I'm sure you've seen it: This blond kid (it's not his fault, he's just trying to make it in Hollywood, I'm sure) is too cool for his parents' car; thinks his parents are lame for having an old car; is happy when his parents get a new Highlander (price tag: $26,000 to $35,000) with an entertainment center (ie those ridiculous mini TVs on the back of head rests because, God forbid, you have to look at the world outside your windows).

I want to slap that kid. Again, not the actor who's just acting. But if that kid really existed, I'd slap him.

My new thing: Walking to work

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:24:00 +0000

Maybe 'new thing' is overstating it. It's only been one day. I mean in all the years I've known myself, there have been many first days and few second days when it comes to my exercise regimen. But I liked walking to work. I parked about 1.5 miles from my office and walked. It took about 15-20 minutes and it was cool enough that I wasn't sweaty.

Now let's just hope I don't have an emergency because I am now 1.5 miles from a car.

(By the way, this was prompted by a New York Times article that said that the worst thing we do for our health every day is sit. The physical-activity guidelines originally suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are the equivalent of briskly walking for 60 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for children under 16 years; 30 minutes per day for all others. Also, this cool graph about the percentage of people who meet those requirements by age. It reminded me how much exercise we used to get as children for just being children!)

Happy Earth Day!

noreply@blogger.com (La Greenga) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:32:00 +0000