ontheroadtogreenness

Meatless Monday: The Mighty Avocado

2013-05-20T17:38:00.001-04:00

The avocado appears on many Superfood Lists, for good reason. A heart-healthy fruit, it is rich in both polyunsaturated fats and mono-saturated fats, which help to lower cholesterol. Avocados are an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, E, and K, as well as folate, lutein, magnesium, and potassium. They are high in fiber and have been shown to boost the absorbency of fat-soluble nutrients in foods with which they are eaten.

Check out these healthy facts about avocados (and a salad recipe) at WebMD.

Thanks to a Member Appreciation Day at the Elm City Market a while back, when the giveaway was an avocado, a lime, and a head of garlic, I discovered that making your own guacamole is a snap. With a ripe avocado or two on hand, and a lime in the refrigerator, you can whip up a batch in no time.

When you make your own, the color is a lovely bright green, the taste is incredibly fresh, and you can make it is garlicky or as salty as you wish.

Make Your Own Guacamole

INGREDIENTS

2 large avocados, slightly soft when squeezed

1 large lime

3 large cloves of garlic crushed (more or less to taste)

a pinch of salt

In a large bowl, mash the avocados with a fork (or a potato masher if you have one).

Add the juice from the lime.

(An old-fashioned two-part glass juicer works really well.)

Add the crushed garlic.

Add a tiny bit of salt to taste.

This recipe couldn’t be much easier. I think you will agree that DIY fresh guacamole is the best you’ve ever tasted. Give it a try!

Guacamole is great on chips, but is also delicious in a bean/rice bowl, on a salad, or as a sandwich or burger topping. You can even enjoy it on its own, right out of the bowl.

Enjoy!

Have a great week.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Saturday Short Subjects: Viewing the Earth Over Time

2013-05-18T21:18:00.001-04:00

Earlier in the month it seemed we had reached an ominous milestone. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that on May 9 the daily average of atmospheric CO2 recorded at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii reached 400 parts per million for the first time. That number has since been revised downwards to 399.89. [Not quite 400, but nothing to celebrate.]

Environmental activists have long been calling for immediate action to reduce atmospheric CO2 to 350 ppm, what many experts believe to be the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. You can learn more about the science behind this number here.

Just about the time the Mauna Loa story broke, the Google | Official blog unveiled “A picture of Earth through time.” Google worked with the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, and TIME to compile more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space and turn them into an interactive time-lapse experience. It’s pretty difficult to deny global warming after witnessing the remarkable images of the Columbia Glacier Retreat in Alaska between 1984 and 2011.

There are many other featured sites including the Growth of Las Vegas, the Drying of the Aral Sea, Dubai Coast Expansion, and Amazon Deforestation.

Prepare to be amazed and saddened. The next time you meet a climate denier, you will know just where to send him or her.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Meatless Monday: Claire’s Moroccan Sweet Potatoes

2013-05-13T19:18:00.001-04:00

Claire’s Moroccan Sweet Potatoes has been a favorite in our house for longer than there have been “Meatless Mondays.” We first enjoyed it at my cousin’s house during her New Haven years. She lives in Denmark now, but I think of her every time I make it.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes is Claire Criscuolo’s unique vegetarian take on a traditional Moroccan meat dish. In Claire’s version, chickpeas and walnuts supply the protein, making it a complete meal and a perfect Meatless Monday dish. It is also excellent when served on a grain — a good way to stretch the dish when serving a crowd.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes

Preheat your oven to 400°F

INGREDIENTS

6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes

3 medium carrots, peeled, and cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices

1 large yellow onion, peeled, and sliced into 1/4-inch rings

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup golden raisins

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/3 cup of water

One 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained.

1/4 chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, raisins, and salt and pepper. Toss well.
Pour the water into a 9’ x 13” glass baking dish.
Turn the sweet potato mixture into the dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake for one hour.
Remove the foil and stir in the chickpeas and walnuts.
Continue cooking, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.

This delicious dish takes a bit longer to prepare than last week’s tofu stir fry, but it is worth the time and effort. This one-dish meal is excellent when heated as a leftover, if you should be so lucky.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes is one of many delicious recipes in Claire’s Corner Copia Cookbook.Published in 1994, it is New Haven restaurateur Claire Criscuolo’s first (and still my favorite) collection of recipes. If you can get your hands on a copy, check out Claire’s photo on the back cover. Such a kid! But I guess we all were back then. We love you, Claire — always have, always will!

Have a great week.

Saturday Short Subjects: Rock to Rock Overachieves!

2013-05-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

The final tally is in. Earlier this week, Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride 2013 organizers announced the final statistics for this year’s event, the 5th annual ride.

The fundraising goal was $150,000.

The 1,100 riders in Rock to Rock 2013 recruited 2,388 donors, who contributed more than $152,000 — surpassing the fundraising goal by over $2,000!

FYI, on April 20, Rock to Rock participants collectively biked more than 16,000 miles (over halfway around the globe) for the benefit of 23 different environmental organizations in New Haven!

Chris Randall, who took the photos of these two happy riders, was out and about documenting the day’s events.

For more images from Rock to Rock 2013, check out this page at the website IloveNewHaven.org.

And, save the date of April 26, 2014 for next year’s ride!

Meatless Monday: Tofu to the Rescue

2013-05-06T08:53:00.000-04:00

Tofu is a regular item on my grocery list. High in protein, a good source of calcium, and relatively low in calories, it is an excellent meat alternative in stir-fries, and can be turned into a delicious faux egg salad.

As great as tofu is, however, I will admit it is not without a few challenges:

The tastiest stir-fries are the ones in which the tofu has been marinated in advance. Some people may be fond of the taste of bare naked tofu. I prefer my chunks of tofu when they have soaked up all the delicious flavors of a homemade sauce.
Fresh tofu has a relatively short life span. Despite my best intentions, I have more than once discovered that the package of tofu in my fridge is past its expiration date.
I care about GMOs, and it has become hard to find organic tofu, and even harder to find organic tofu made in the USA.

I recently discovered the answer in the Elm City Market. The perfect product comes in a Tetra Brik® box and can be found on the shelf in the ethnic food aisle —Morinaga Silken Tofu. Silken tofu is available in a variety of textures, is non-GMO, is made in the USA, requires no refrigeration until it is opened, and has a shelf life of several months.

AND, the solution to the last-minute problem was printed on the box! A delicious dinner in under an hour:

Morinaga Tofu Stir Fry

Preheat your oven to 400°F

Stir the following ingredients together:

6 tbsp. light soy sauce
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger [2 tsp. dry ginger if you don’t have fresh on-hand]
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Lightly oil a baking dish.

Cube the tofu and place it in the dish in one layer.

Pour half the sauce over the tofu and bake for 30 minutes.

While the tofu is baking, slice a bunch of green onions.

Prepare additional vegetables of your choice for the stir-fry

(about 6 cups).

[If you are in a pinch, you can use veggies from your freezer.]

When the tofu is done, sauté the onions in oil for 1 minute.

Add the remaining vegetables with the remaining sauce, cooking until crisp tender.

Gently stir in the tofu.

Serve with some rice, pasta, quinoa, or other grain.

Voilá! One delicious dish in almost no time!

Have a great week.

Saturday Shorts: Hope

2013-05-04T15:15:00.000-04:00

We lost a beloved spruce last fall in the snowstorm that followed Hurricane Sandy. We had planted it the year we got married, cared for it, watched it grow, and used it as a backdrop for photographs of many happy events – a new baby coming home, family visits, graduations… Not to mention that the spruce had provided shelter for countless winged residents and passers-through. You get the idea. It was an important tree.

Conditions in the back yard have changed. It is shadier than it was years ago. We have changed, too. We decided to take all we’d recently learned about the importance of native plants to heart and embarked on a search for a native tree that would thrive in our little shady urban plot, a tree that would be “easy on the eyes,” resistant to disease, and an attraction for native wildlife.

After much research we chose the American Hornbeam or “Musclewood” (Carpinus caroliniana), a member of the Birch family, and native to much of eastern North America. The smooth gray bark and fluted trunk of a mature specimen suggests a strongly-muscled limb (to me, an animal leg), hence its nickname. In fact the trunk is one of the tree’s most attractive features, particularly during winter when its limbs are bare.

You may not see it now, but in a few years this tree will be buff!

The tree is slow-growing, to a height of 30 feet with a spread about the same. The American Hornbeam is not considered a particularly showy tree. In spring it has flowering catkins. In fall its leaves turn yellow to orange-red, and it bears small nutlets. Songbirds in particular are attracted to this tree for its fruit and the shelter it offers.

Yesterday this American Hornbeam was planted in our yard, not far from where the spruce once stood. It has been watered well. Its leaves are starting to unfurl.

My husband had just wondered out loud how long it would take the birds to notice the new addition when the mockingbird, who has been claiming our yard as part of his territory for the last few weeks, landed in the tree and then used it as a diving board for a plunge into the adjacent bird bath.

Much like deciding to have a child, planting a tree takes a leap of faith. You hope it will thrive. You hope it will be a benefit to the world around it. You hope you will see it to maturity. [In this case, we hope it will be a backdrop in many happy photographs.] We hope…

I hear the mockingbird singing.

A Mystery No More…

2013-04-30T01:08:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, what they contained was a mystery.

Now we know.

On Monday morning, a team of experts, guided by high-tech imaging devices, successfully opened the Lincoln Oak’s twin time capsules. Some of the treasures they contained were on display at an afternoon press conference in City Hall. Connecticut State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni gave a detailed listing of the capsules’ contents. Quinnipiac University Professor Jerry Conlogue and his student assistants Katelyn Dallova and Nini Shingleton were on hand to explain the technology they used to ensure that none of the items were damaged as the capsules were opened. The procedure was no easy feat and took four hours of painstaking work to complete. The cement contained bluestone, and was particularly durable.

It took a bit of work to pry the capsules open.

Bellantoni was clearly overjoyed with the results. He explained that he had been sent on many “wild goose chases” in his 26 years as an archaeologist, none of which had yielded a time capsule — until this one.

CT State Archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni

The copper capsules were 10” long and 4” in diameter.

Capsule One contained articles relating to February 12 and 13, 1909, the actual 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. These items included a program from a centennial observance at Center Church; a copy of a speech delivered on that occasion; six different newspapers published in New Haven on those dates; some papers tied in a string that were a gift of ex-mayor Hendrick; two Lincoln commemorative coins, 1” and 2” in size; and a small cannon ball and a deformed musket ball, both of which came from the battlefield at Gettysburg.

The deformed musket ball and the small cannon ball

Capsule Two contained items relating to New Haven in 1909 including: an elaborate medal with an eagle, flag and star from the Grand Army of the Republic; military rosters pertaining to Admiral Foote; a 1907 Lady Liberty quarter, a dime, and an Indian head penny; and business cards of the makers of the plaque and the capsules. [Note: There was no Lincoln penny; that coin was first minted in August, 1909.]

Too early for a Lincoln penny

It would have been too cold to plant the tree on the actual anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. Bellantoni stated that the date of April 9, 1909 was chosen because it commemorated the 44th anniversary of the surrender at Appomattox.

Drew Days, one of the Proprietors of the New Haven Green, thanked a number of people for their roles in this fine adventure. Foremost among them was Robert Greenberg, the one who first suspected that time capsules might be embedded in the concrete at the base of the tree’s plaque. It was largely due to his persistence that the footing was first examined by the New Haven bomb squad.

Eventually these items will all be on display at the New Haven Museum on Whitney Avenue.

It is interesting to reflect that had the Lincoln Oak not been upended by Hurricane Sandy, we would be unaware of the existence of these treasures from the past.

New Haven Celebrates 375 Years…

2013-04-27T21:25:00.000-04:00

And plants a tree.

The historic New Haven Green was abuzz with activity on this impossibly gorgeous spring afternoon, all to commemorate the City’s 375th birthday.

What brought us out was the opportunity to participate in a bit of history — the planting of a Pin Oak tree in the exact spot on the Upper Green where the Lincoln Oak had stood.

The Lincoln Oak was planted by the City of New Haven in 1909 to commemorate the birth of Abraham Lincoln 100 years before. It was uprooted last October during Hurricane Sandy.

Many people helped to plant the new Pin Oak Quercus palustris

The tree was standing upright in the ground, well in advance of the 1:30 ceremony. URI and its newest GreenSkills workers did much of the heavy work.

Note the donut hole, required for proper planting.

Associate Director Chris Ozyck shared his wisdom

with the workers and curious bystanders.

After the lesson, everyone jumped into action.

The public was invited to take part in this historic event.

The dignitaries arrived.

They threw their dirt into the donut hole, having missed the lesson.

All’s well that ends well.

Planted to just the right depth, and properly mulched and watered, the
New Haven Green’s newest resident looks stately in its new home.

For those of you interested in history, here is some more about the 1909 Lincoln Oak.

This tree and the City made the news when human skeletal remains were discovered entangled in the trees upended roots.

Those who know the Green and its history were only mildly surprised by the discovery. The New Haven Green was once the City’s burying ground. Historian and artist Rob Greenberg reminded us of that fact today with his display of rubbings from gravestones that stood on the Upper Green until they were moved to the Grove Street Cemetery, established in 1797, after the burial ground on the Green became too crowded.

The skeletons are still being studied. Drew Days, one of the Proprietors of the New Haven Green, announced today that there will be a re-internment of the remains on the Green once the investigation is over. He speculates that there is still much to be learned from the bones.

Rob Greenberg has been doing research on the tree every since last October. He recently discovered a newspaper article indicating that this same tree had suffered a close call in 1961 during Hurricane Esther. The newspaper headline read: “Bones of Man, Child Unicoverd On Green By Surprised Workers.” On that occasion, the tree was only partially uprooted, and workers were able to get it back into the ground where it survived for 5 more decades.

The Lincoln Oak was marked with a plaque, anchored into the ground by a cement footing.

Partly due to Greenberg’s persistence, the footing was examined and x-rayed by the New Haven bomb squad, studied by the State Archaeologist and several Quinnipiac University (QU) professors, and then taken to the digital imaging lab at QU. The scans revealed two time capsules. On the Green today the Parks Department was soliciting guesses about what mystery items they contain.

No time capsule was buried during the tree planting ceremony today. That, too, may come later.

For now, that’s all I’ve got.

Happy Birthday, New Haven!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.22.13

2013-04-22T14:31:00.003-04:00

Earth Day is here!

Welcome to Day 13 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: CELEBRATE THE EARTH TODAY

You might start with Google’s interactive Earth Day doodle. This year Google published a “sightseeing checklist” so you don’t miss any of the doodle’s features. Once you are done controlling the weather and the seasons, be sure to click on the magnifying glass. Doing this will take you to the latest news for Earth Day 2013.

There are some fun things,

like this celebration of “Nature’s Engineers,” also from Google.

And some beautiful things.

Unfortunately, all the news is not good.

The focus piece in today’s Christian Science Monitor reminds us that “planetary carbon dioxide concentrations are the highest they’ve been in the past 800,000 years.” On the plus side, this piece also points out how much progress has been made since the first Earth Day in 1970, the year Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught fire.

Today is the last day to comment

on the KXL Tar Sands Pipeline Project.

Natural Resources Defense Council president Frances Beinecke has a special Earth Day message on the subject. If you are inspired to take action, you can send a comment to President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry here.

Don’t spend all of Earth Day on the computer.

Get outside if you can.

Perhaps it’s is a good day for a picnic…

Or at least for a walk or bike ride…

And for noticing the beauty all around you — the tiny spring flowers, the sweet bird songs, and the lush green colors bursting forth all over…

Tiny, vibrant “windflowers” come up each year in my backyard.

The Nature Conservancy has prepared a great Nature Treasure Hunt activity sheet for kids of all ages.

When you are back inside, take a moment to reflect on how fragile our planet is, and on how much work there is to do to if we are to preserve it for future generations.

Make a promise to love your mother (Earth) today and every day.

The Earth Day Network site has many suggestions for ways to make a difference. You might want to add your image to their Face of Climate Change Photo Mosaic.

Every day is Earth Day. Pass it on.

Thanks for joining me on my countdown to Earth Day. I hope you will visit often as I continue on my “road to greenness.”

Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.21.13

2013-04-21T18:52:00.003-04:00

Welcome to Day 12 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: BECOME A CITIZEN SCIENTIST

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s OK.

There is currently no official definition of “citizen scientist.” Most would agree that “citizen science” involves a collaboration between scientists and volunteers, often involving data collection. I like this working definition of citizen science I found on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website: “Projects in which volunteers partner with scientists to answer real-world questions.”

Perhaps the most well-known citizen science project to date is SETI@home in which volunteers help scientists search for extraterrestrial life by downloading a special program that analyzes radio telescope data which runs on a home computer when it is not otherwise in use.

The National Wildlife Federation has compiled a lengthy list of projects suitable for a broad range of ages and interests, with alliterative names such as: Fun with Frogs, Fabulous Firefly Festivities, and Monarch Mayhem.

Cornell University offers several different projects involving birds, one of which is tailored for urban dwellers. This is a great resource for teachers. There are even opportunities to apply for mini-grants for community events.

While many of the opportunities involve outdoor activities, there are a number of projects for those who like being indoors or have impaired mobility. One of these is Old Weather, a project in which volunteers transcribe weather data found in logbooks from ships sailing with the East India Company from the 1780s to the 1830s in order to “improve understanding of all forms of weather variability in the past and so improve our ability to predict weather and climate in the future.”

Here is one for all you gardeners out there — Become a First Detector through training offered through the National Plant Diagnostic Network. The question posed on this website is: “Are you interested in protecting U.S. agricultural and natural areas for exotic, invasive species?” If your answer is “yes,” you are invited to enroll in an online training course, with a number of short instructional modules on monitoring for high risk pests and diagnosing and reporting plant problems. If you pass all the units successfully, you will receive a certificate and an invitation to sign up for periodic updates in order to stay current on all the latest news on alien invaders. “First Detectors” are often just that, the first ones to detect that an alien species has arrived in a new area. It was a master gardener in the wasp watcher program who first detected the presence of the Emerald Ash Borer in CT last summer.

I have only just scratched the surface. There are all sorts of projects that could use your help. Check some more out here and here.

On Earth Day last year the National Science Foundation sang the praises of citizen scientists: “Earth Day invariably triggers discussions about the enormously complex state of the planet and begs the equally daunting question, ‘How can one person make a difference?’… But just one person can indeed chip in as a citizen scientist, who helps the scientific community unravel the mysteries of where Mother Nature is today and where she is headed. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds groups of these concerned volunteers who collect data and share their observations and insights on a scale that full-time scientists simply cannot accomplish.”

See, one person really can help to change the world.

Come back tomorrow for a new tip in celebration of Earth Day!

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.20.13

2013-04-20T19:48:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 11 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge. I hope you didn’t give up on me. I’ve been very busy. We rode in New Haven’s 5th Annual Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride. The weather cooperated, and nearly 1000 riders raised over $135,000 in donations for environmental groups in New Haven. And then one of my brothers and his wife showed up in town on a whirlwind art gallery tour and asked us to join them for pizza. Quite a day! Now — finally — tip number #11!

Today’s Tip: CHECK OUT THE OLD BEFORE BUYING SOMETHING NEW

I can't recall why exactly these items were ever stashed away. Now they are out of the box in the attic, and off the top closet shelf, and out is where they will stay.

Two fine purses, one denim jacket,
one flannel nightshirt, and a pair of very warm sox

Sometimes old is better than new.

As I examined these re-discovered blasts from the past, I admired their quality — the tiny stitches, the minute buttons and bits of lace on the nightgown, the hidden pockets and the details on the leather purse. Originally purchased as moderately-priced items, they are extraordinarily well made.

30 years ago the rules of fashion were less forgiving than they are today. There were strict dress codes for business and pleasure, even for going to the corner store. Styles changed drastically from season to season and it was a faux pas not to stay current, particularly for females. Vintage? Unheard of unless it was Halloween.

Vintage is cool now. With tights and leggings a person of a certain age can even transform a found mini into a tunic suitable for some settings.

Will everything work? Can all found objects be worn everywhere? Of course not!

Just recruit a trusted advisor so you never cross the fashion no-no line.

Happy hunting!

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.19.13

2013-04-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 10 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: CONSIDER THE FISH

The menhaden is not a fish most people would eat,
but it is an important part of the food chain.

The distance fish travels to get to your plate is not as important as other factors including:

How was it caught?
Is it a fish whose population is endangered?
If it is a farmed fish, what are the conditions under which it was raised?

The Monterey Bay Aquarium believes that “through better practices, we can create healthy, abundant oceans for everyone.” Through its Seafood WATCH® program the Aquarium has been working since 1999 to make this vision a reality. Consumers play an important role in the conservation of ocean resources when they choose to purchase ocean-friendly seafood.

The Seafood WATCH® program provides consumers with tools to make the right choices — national and regional guides in which seafood is rated as “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives,” and “Avoid.” The 2013 Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood WATCH® guides are available for download here and are also available for mobile devices.

The guides are updated periodically. As farming techniques improve, ratings can go up. This happened recently when tilapia from Ecuador moved from "Good Alternative" to “Best Choice.” You can learn about the process Seafood WATCH® uses to make recommendations here.

Is it a GMO fish?

Yes, soon you may have to ask this question as well. “Frankenfish” could appear on the market in the very near future. The US Food and Drug Administration may soon approve the sale of AquaBounty Technologies’ Salmon, genetically engineered to reach market size more rapidly than other farmed salmon.

If approved, AquaBounty salmon would become the first genetically engineered animal to enter the food supply. More than 33,000 people have submitted comments to the FDA. The commenting period ends April 26. PCC Natural Markets, Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s and Whole Foods that they will not carry the salmon if it is approved for sale.

Gone are the days when local seafood was in plentiful supply in every coastal town and the only questions the consumer might ask were: How fresh is it? or How much does it cost per pound?

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.18.13

2013-04-18T16:13:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 9 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: LEAVE YOUR CAR HOME ONE DAY A WEEK (or more)

WHY?

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “Transportation is the largest single source of air pollution in the United States. It caused over half of the carbon monoxide, over a third of the nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons in our atmosphere in 2006.”

This does not mean you have to stay home.

If I don’t drive, how do I get there?

Did you know that Google Maps allows you to get directions for walking, biking, and public transportation as well as driving?
Many cities, Chicago, for example, have tools for planning a trip using their public transportation system.
Let this page, composed for the City of New Haven as part of the New Haven/Léon Sister City Project’s WalkBikeTransit Campaign, serve as inspiration, wherever you happen to live.
The City of New Haven's Smart Cycling Handbook spells out the bicyclist's rules of the road, tips for bike safety, and some of the many reasons why cycling is good for you and the planet. The information is pretty universal.
Finally, if you are lucky enough to be a relatively short distance from where you need to go, discover the many benefits of walking, from bone strengthening to mood lifting.

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.17.13

2013-04-17T09:34:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 8 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: GET YOUR OLD READING MATTER BACK IN CIRCULATION

Your unwanted books or magazines could become someone else’s treasure.

Take your old magazines (a few at a time)…

to the gym and put them out on the reading table. Be sensible about this. If you go to a university gym, the alumni magazine won’t be too popular. Ditto for anything too nerdy. People, on the other hand, will be most appreciated.
or to a nursery school. Primary school teachers appreciate magazines and catalogues with colorful photos (think travel and gardening magazines) that they can use in art projects.

Donate your gently use books to a community book bank.

The Book Bank at New Haven Reads gladly accepts all donations EXCEPT encyclopedias and magazines. The Book Bank is in particular need of children’s picture books.

Find a home for your National Geographic magazine collection.

This is a tough one. I consulted a dealer who told me that no matter how good the condition, unless they are VERY old, these magazines are very hard to sell. We couldn’t bear the thought of our beloved collection being cut into little pieces. We looked far and wide for someone to appreciate them as we had over the years. We settled on donating a full car trunk load to the Traveler Restaurant in Union, CT near the Massachusetts border. The restaurant’s claim to fame is that each diner gets to select 3 free books to take home. Approximately 100,000 books are given away each year! The restaurant was happy to accept our magazines — as a donation. I expect they were bundled by year and sold in the retail shop, where the best books are available for sale. It was a nice drive. on a gorgeous spring day We enjoyed a tasty lunch. We restrained ourselves and picked out just one free book each. We ended up a few bucks in the hole, and we made a bit of a carbon footprint, but we had found our National Geographics a good home.

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.16.13

2013-04-16T13:21:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Day 7 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: SWAP OUT YOUR INCANDESCENT BULBS

Thomas Edison’s light bulb is on its way out. The Energy Independence and Security Act (ERISA) of 2007 set its demise in motion—for good reason. The 134-year-old incandescent light bulb converts only 5 -10% of the electricity it uses into light; the rest is given off as heat. An excellent article in Popular Mechanics explains the details of ERISA, sometimes called the “Lightbulb Law.” The act did not ban any specific type of lightbulb. Rather, it mandated that by the end of 2012 most household bulbs (with some exceptions) NEWLY STOCKED IN STORES must use 30% less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs. Big government is not going to check out your light fixtures to see if you have made the switch.

Once you realize how much energy (and money) you can save by swapping out your old- school bulbs, my guess is that you will want to make the switch NOW.

There are a number of alternatives to the incandescent lightbulb, each of which offers significant energy savings. Each choice has pros and cons. How is a consumer to decide? It can all seem a little daunting.

Consumer choices fall into three categories:

Halogens (Energy-Saving Incandescents) estimated to have a 25% savings
CFLs (Compact Fluorescents) estimated to have 75% energy savings
LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) estimated to have 75-80% savings

Not all bulbs in each category are created equal. And different categories of bulbs are pricier than others. Consumer Reports has an online guide to help you decide which bulb is best for each application in and around your home.

One easy tip is to purchase bulbs that have earned the ENERGY STAR rating, particularly in the case of LEDs, with their higher price tag.

LEDs offer the highest energy savings, but also have the highest price tag. However, their price has begun to fall dramatically, and thus, so has their payback time. One recently introduced product, Cree’s new home LED bulb, sold at Home Depot, has broken the $10 per bulb price barrier AND received rave reviews from both The Verge and David Pogue of the New York Times.

Don’t wait to change your way of light. It’s good for the planet AND your wallet.

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Meatless Monday: Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.15.13

2013-04-15T12:26:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 6 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge.

Today’s Tip: CUT DOWN ON YOUR FOOD WASTE

In his book American Wasteland, author Jonathan Bloom states that America wastes nearly half of its food. The problem begins in the fields where some crops are left to rot because their appearance does not meet the standards for sale. More food is lost in transport, when it does not sell at the market, or when uneaten food is discarded at a restaurant. Food scraps make up about 19 percent of the waste dumped in landfills, where it ends up rotting and producing methane, a greenhouse gas.

Here is where we come into the picture. Bloom also estimates that Americans waste an astounding 25% of the food they bring home.

What can the consumer do?

Here are some easy steps you can take to help both the planet and your wallet:

PLAN AHEAD. Love Food, Hate Waste, a British site with the tagline “making the most of the food we buy,” offers: many ideas for reducing food waste, suggested weekly menus, and tools to help you discover recipes you can make from ingredients you have on hand. See a post of mine from last fall for more on this site and mobile app.

MAKE A GROCERY LIST and try to stick to it. This will work best if you remember my time-tested rule: Never go to the store hungry.

PUT YOUR FREEZER TO GOOD USE. Yes, I’ve also blogged about this before. Promptly freeze leftovers from your dinner out if you know you won’t get to them in the next day or two. Freeze some of the delicious soup you made over the weekend, or a dozen cookies from that large batch you baked. You don’t need a fancy container; zip-lock freezer bags work well. Just be sure to label the package with the contents and the date before stashing it away. Did you know that you can freeze a partially used carton of milk or juice? Remember that when you are heading out of town.

KNOW WHAT YOU OWN. Check out the contents of your refrigerator and freezer BEFORE going to the store. You never know what treasures you might find there. Maybe you can take a night off from cooking…

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Have a great week.

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.14.13

2013-04-14T14:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 5 of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge in which I continue the theme of growing things, with a suggestion for anyone with a backyard, or with planting privileges in a garden or community green space.

Today’s Tip: When you plant, GO NATIVE!

It was in Master Gardening Class that I first encountered Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, by Douglas W. Tallamy. I am not exaggerating when I say it’s one of the most important books I have ever read.

[Sidebar: What is a Native Plant? A native (or indigenous) plant occurs naturally in a particular region, state, ecosystem, and habitat without direct or indirect human actions.]

Tallamy, a scientist and gardener, introduces the premise that “all plants are not created equal, particularly in their ability to support wildlife. Most of our native plant-eaters are not able to eat alien plants, and we are replacing native plants with alien species at an alarming rate…” The central message of Tallamy’s book is that we must restore native plants in order to maintain the ecosystems on which we ourselves depend. Read this book.

Even better, use it as an inspiration for your next landscaping project. Appendix One is a regional guide of native trees, herbaceous perennials, grasses, ferns and vines and their attributes. Appendix B addresses the decline in the Lepidoptera population, listing the host plants for scores of butterflies and moths.

A more recent guide for plants that will repopulate your yard with pollinators is The Non-Stop Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide to Smart Plant Choices and Four-Season Designs, by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner. I had an opportunity to hear Jennifer speak at the recent CT Master Gardeners’ Symposium. Her book is on my wish list, but I confess I have not read it yet.

There is an added bonus for the gardener who decides to Go Native. As Tallamy states in his book, “Native plants are well adapted to their particular ecological niche and are often far less difficult to grow than species from other altitudes, latitudes, and habitats.”

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.13.13

2013-04-13T21:11:00.001-04:00

This is the fourth day of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge. Yes, I realize that it's late in the day, but it’s still April 13!

As I continue with the theme of growing things, my fourth tip is a little more specific.

Today’s Tip: PLANT A TREE

Trees are valuable for many reasons.

The Arbor Foundation, founded in 1972, the centennial of the first observance of Arbor Day, is a nonprofit dedicated to the planting of trees. The Foundation has compiled statistics from all kinds of sources about why trees are good for the planet, wildlife, and real estate values!

Here are just a few:

“The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.” —U.S. Department of Agriculture

“Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property’s value.” —USDA Forest Service

“The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams.” —USDA Forest Service

“In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension.” —Dr. Roger S. Ulrich Texas A&M University

“There are about 60– to 200-million spaces along our city streets where trees could be planted. This translates to the potential to absorb 33 million more tons of CO² every year, and saving $4 billion in energy costs.” —National Wildlife Federation

New Haven, Connecticut, where I live, appreciates the importance of trees. The City has undertaken an ambitious program — TreeHaven | 10 K — with the goal of planting 10,000 trees in 5 years. The trees are being planted by Urban Resources Institute (URI), the group I am supporting in next Saturday’s Rock to Rock Ride.

If you live in New Haven, you can request a tree, to be planted by URI, at no cost to you. But first you must sign a pledge that you will care for your new tree. Newly planted trees require 25 gallons of water per week during the growing seasons (from bud-break to leaf-drop) for the first three years.

If you decide to plant a tree, please think carefully before you buy one. Think of your site. How much sun do you have? What is your zone? What is your soil like? How much space do you have? Talk to an arborist or a reputable nursery before making your final decision.

To start you off, here is a slideshow of trees you should NEVER plant.

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.12.13

2013-04-12T08:12:00.000-04:00

This is the third day of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 Series.

Today’s Tip: GROW SOMETHING

Any gardener will tell you that there are few things in life more rewarding than harvesting something you grew yourself.

My friend Pam's garlic scapes in a photo taken by her husband John.

You don’t have to start with seeds.

You can transplant a plant,

or two.

Don’t worry if things don’t turn out exactly as they appear in the seed packet photo.

If you have plenty of sun [All vegetables need quite a bit of sunlight — ideally 8-10 hours of direct sunlight a day. Some leafy vegetables will tolerate partial shade, but even they will not thrive in less than six hours of direct sunlight.]…

adequate space [even a large container or two]…

and the time, patience, and commitment to water and nurture your plants…

you have all you need.

If you are planting directly into the ground, test your soil before you start, especially if you live in the city, or if your lot was once an orchard. You could have high levels of lead.

For inspiration, visit my friend Rachel’s blog.

Rachel was my master gardening mentor. For weeks she has been busy. Inside she has been planting seeds, growing the plants under lights, and experimenting with grafting, explaining all she’s been doing along the way. She began sowing outside in late March. The air temperature was in the 40°s, but the temperature in the soil was 50° the day she started. How did she know it was time to plant her seeds? You will have to read her blog to find out.

Rachel used a soil thermometer.

My advice? Start small. You can always do more later in the season. Have fun getting dirty!

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.11.13

2013-04-11T12:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday’s tip was: Repurpose something old instead of buying something new.

Do you know what the objects are?

The answer ?: A Pair of Repurposed Shower Heads

We replaced these shower heads, durable objects of chrome and brass, not because they failed to work, but because they WASTED WATER. They likely date from 1929, when bathrooms were first installed in our post-Civil War row house. We soon discovered that they used so much water that two simultaneous showers would totally drain the 30 gallon oil-fired hot water heater!

My husband recognized their potential as candlesticks. We shined them up with a little Bon Ami, turned them on end, tightened them up where they swivel, and added an elegant pair of deep red beeswax candles for the upcoming winter holidays.

More importantly, we replaced them with low-flow shower heads.

Today’s Tip: USE LESS WATER

According to water.org., 780 million people lack access to clean water — more than-2 1/2 times the population of the United States. Water.org also reports that 3.4 million people die each year from a water related disease.

What can you do in your own home to preserve this precious resource?

First, the EPA suggests that you shower rather than bathe, and that you limit your shower to 5 minutes. The EPA states that a full bathtub requires 70 gallons of water, but a five-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons (depending on the shower head).
Second, install a water efficient shower head. Search for low flow shower head, and you will get an astounding nearly 12,000 results, including a simple device in the $4 price range. You can find a number of options in any home improvement store. Energy.gov has an excellent resource page for guiding you in your selection.

For more tips on Using Water Efficiently, check out this page from the EPA and this one from Energy.gov. Most of these ideas are very easy to implement.

If you are interested in finding out more about the work of water.org, click here. This organization has a high ranking on Charity Navigator. Another group working to bring clean, safe drinking water to developing countries is charitywater.org, which also has an excellent Charity Navigator Rating.

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013

2013-04-10T16:14:00.000-04:00

On April 22 it will be 43 years since the very first Earth Day was observed.

Planet Earth has changed a great deal since 1970.

The world seems smaller thanks to the internet, cell phones, and jet planes.

But the population of the world has grown from 3,706,618,163 in 1970 to 6,848,932,929 in 2010!
So has the number of cars, from 250 million in 1970 to one billion in 2010.
We buy bottled water, currently 167 plastic bottles per person in the US annually!
The amount of CO₂ in the earth’s atmosphere is currently at 392 parts per million. We need to be at 350 for the health of the planet.

On the plus side:

We no longer use DDT. It was banned in the US on December 31, 1972.
The water is cleaner (in the US anyway).
And so is the air.

But there is still much work to do, at home, and all over the world.

My good friend Henry Dynia, the Director of Design and Construction at Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven, recently posted a blog entry titled: Earth Day? Why Bother? Henry wrote, “Although the impact of our choices may be tiny in relation to the problems, it is important to take advantage of the choices that are available to us to reduce our personal impacts. One by one, those impacts and better choices will add up to make a difference…”

As we count down to Earth Day 2013, I invite each of you to take one step a day to make the world a better place

TODAY'S TIP:

Repurpose something old instead of buying something new.

Can you guess what these elegant candlesticks once were?

Come back tomorrow to learn their story.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

Meatless Monday: Maple Syrup, Sweetly Sublime

2013-04-08T17:09:00.002-04:00

In the most recent issue of the Food Chain, Slow Food USA®’s newsletter, guest blogger John Forti shared a recipe for Parsnip Johnny Cakes sweetened with maple syrup.

Forti, who is Curator of Historic Landscapes at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an ethnobotanist and a garden historian, also made the claim that maple syrup “provides perhaps the first documentation for our eat local and food justice movements. Over 150 years ago Ralph Waldo Emerson and many of the abolitionists put forth the idea that instead of buying sugar that made slave plantation owners prosperous, consumers should buy maple sugar and syrup and keep local farmers thriving.”

Early spring is maple sugaring time in the Northeast. Maple syrup has been much in the news of late. What a perfect topic for today’s post!

Maple Syrup Season by Charles Rondeau

Maple syrup is far healthier than any processed sweetener. It is an excellent source of manganese, riboflavin, and zinc. It also contains significant amounts of magnesium, calcium, and potassium, and is lower in calories than honey or brown sugar, averaging 50 calories per tablespoon. Purely a plant product, maple syrup is vegan-friendly.

The Native Peoples were turning maple sap into sugar long before the colonists arrived. It is unclear when the Native Americans began boiling the sap to make sugar. An early account describes the extraction of sugar by freezing. The maple and its sap are the subject of many tribal myths.

Maple syrup is produced only in North America and is an important agricultural product in several northern states and southern Canadian provinces. Maple syrup is Vermont’s signature agricultural product. As the industry leader in the US, Vermont produces nearly 40% of the nation’s maple syrup—over one million gallons in the near record year of 2011!

The Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association has an excellent website with sections devoted to the history of maple syrup, its manufacture, recipes, and special events.

Here is a brief summary of how maple syrup is made. When temperatures reach 45° F during the day, and the nights remain below freezing, it’s time to tap the sugar maple trees. The sugarmaker drills a hole in the trunk, inserts a tap, and starts collecting the sap. The sap is brought to the sugarhouse where it is boiled down. Sap looks like clear water and averages 2-3% sugar content. It takes 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup, with a sugar content of just under 67%. Once the trees begin to leaf out, the season is over.

Climate scientists are concerned about the future of maple sugaring.

The 2012 season was deemed “too warm.” A series of heat waves in March forced the early budding of maple trees in all the New England states except Maine, bringing the maple syrup season to an abrupt close. Vermont produced 750,000 gallons of syrup last year, down 32% from 2011.

Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, is seeking graduate students who want to study the impact of a changing climate upon this industry through an interdisciplinary program called Maple Syrup and Maple Leaves.

Maple syrup is an extremely valuable commodity. The 2011 price per gallon of syrup was $37.90. The US value for production was $106 million.

The Great Maple Syrup Heist.

Last year Canadian authorities arrested 18 individuals in connection with the theft of 9,600 barrels of maple syrup from a warehouse in Quebec, siphoned off between August 2011 and July 2012. The value of the syrup was $18 million dollars!

The US is not exempt from Maple Syrup crimes. The US Forest Service rangers in Maine have reported an increase in unauthorized tapping of maple trees on private property. To compound the problem, thieves are using drill bits that are too large, placing four taps where they should be placing just one, and using PVC piping that damages the trees. These actions make the trees more susceptible to decay and disease.

Writing this post has stirred up some memories. Years ago, friends in Swanton, Vermont invited us to help out as they tapped their trees and boiled down the sap in a sugarhouse they shared with their neighbors. Decades later I can still feel and taste the heavy, sweet, maple steam that filled that tiny house as the sap boiled away…

Have a great week.

Lest We Forget…

2013-04-05T12:54:00.000-04:00

It has been over two years since the nuclear power plant in Namie-machi, Fukushima, Japan was crippled by the tsunami triggered by the “Great East Japan Earthquake.” In the aftermath of the nuclear accident on March 2011, all 21,000 residents of the town of Namie-machi were forced to flee their homes.

They are still forbidden to enter the city.

On March 27, the mayor of Namie-machi, Mr. Tamotsu Baba, wrote a guest post on the Official Google blog in which he announced the results of a collaboration with Google to find a way that the citizens of that city, and the world, could get a better sense of the devastating effects the disaster had on the area.

With his cooperation, Google Street View cars drove through Namie-machi, capturing images of the city as it is today, with its shuttered shops and deserted streets. These images of Fukushima Exclusion Zone Town Namie-machi are now available on Google Maps.

One image shared on the Official Google Blog on 3.27.13

The mayor posted several images and commented on their significance. He also wrote, “Ever since the March disaster, the rest of the world has been moving forward, and many places in Japan have started recovering. But in Namie-machi time stands still. With the lingering nuclear hazard, we have only been able to do cursory work for two whole years. We would greatly appreciate it if you viewed this Street View imagery to understand the current state of Namie-machi and the tremendous gravity of the situation…We want this Street View imagery to become a permanent record of what happened to Namie-machi in the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster…Finally, I want to make a renewed commitment to recovering from the nuclear hazard. It may take many years and many people’s help, but we will never give up taking back our hometown.”

Fukushima was not the only region in Japan to sustain severe damage from the earthquake and tsunami. At the Memories for the Future Project site it is possible to view “before” and “after” photos of a number of places throughout Japan. When the people fled these areas they left behind their homes and most possessions, including cherished photos and videos. The Memories for the Future Project was established in order to help people “rediscover lost memories of their homes and towns.”

These images are powerful reminders of the horrific consequences when the forces of man and nature collide.

Meatless Monday: 1 Box + 2 Cans = One Great Meal

2013-04-01T12:22:00.000-04:00

The recipe came from a box, and it’s a keeper — No foolin’.

The vegan counterpart to what I knew as “Train Wreck,” a one-dish meal of elbow macaroni, canned tomatoes, and ground beef, this hearty entrée was just what we needed after a full day of gardening and heavy lifting.

The recipe was printed on the back of a box of Vita-Spelt® spelt elbows. The other main ingredients are a can of canned tomatoes and a can of garbanzo beans. All you need to complete the recipe is a couple of cloves of garlic and some common kitchen spices.

This dish was delicious! The spelt is less heavy than than whole wheat pasta. [Note: It is also very high in protein, 9 grams per serving.]

Elbows, Chick Peas, & Tomatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 package Vita-Spelt® Elbows
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (16 oz) Italian tomatoes, chopped with their juice [I like Muir-Glen Fire-Roasted, organic and packed in a BPA-free can!]
2 T fresh parsley, minced (or 1 T dried)
1/2 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (16 oz) chick peas, rinsed well and drained

Method

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium flame for 30 seconds.
Add garlic and sauté, stirring for about 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes (with juice) along with the spices, stirring until mixture comes to a boil.
Lower heat so mixture bubbles gently.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Stir in the chick peas and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes more.
Cook elbows according to package directions.
Drain macaroni and transfer to a warm bowl.
Pour in the chick peas and tomato mixture and toss gently.

See how easy? If you keep these few staples on hand, you will never be more than 30 minutes away from a healthy, satisfying meal. Thanks Vita-Spelt® for this great recipe — for, as we all know, not every day can be a slow food day.

Happy April Fool’s Day! Have a great week.

Fish Tales for Good Friday 3.29.13

2013-03-29T21:44:00.000-04:00

Fish tales have been in headlines over the past few months. This day when so many faithful are eating “meat without feet” seems an appropriate time to summarize a few.

Follow that Fish

On March 6, Representative Ed Markey (D-Mass) introduced a new, bipartisan version of the legislation he had proposed in Congress last July to combat the mislabeling of seafood in restaurants and markets. The legislation is in response to studies showing that a high percentage of fish sold in the US is incorrectly labeled. The SAFE Seafood Act requires information that is already collected by U.S. fishermen — such as species name, catch location, and harvest method to ‘follow the fish,’ and be made available to consumers. It also requires foreign exporters of seafood to the United States to provide equivalent documentation. Rep. Markey was joined in the legislation by original co-sponsors Walter Jones (R-N.C.), John Tierney (D-Mass.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.). Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) will introduce companion legislation in the Senate. If you think mislabeled fish is not a problem, Oceana’s infographic: “Seafood Fraud Made Simple” should remove any doubt, especially if you think you have been eating red snapper.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood WATCH® Updates

The Monterey Bay Aquarium believes that “through better practices, we can create healthy, abundant oceans for everyone.” Through its Seafood WATCH® program the Aquarium has been working since 1999 to make this vision a reality. Consumers play an important role in the conservation of ocean resources when they choose to purchase ocean-friendly seafood. The Seafood WATCH® program provides consumers with tools to make the right choices — national and regional guides in which seafood is rated as “Best Choices,” “Good Alternatives,” and “Avoid.” The 2013 guides are available for download here and are also available for mobile devices. The guides are updated periodically. Ryan Bigelow, Seafood® Watch Outreach Manager reports, “This is our biggest set of report updates in a fews years…Most exciting is that several species under U.S. fisheries management – monkfish, and Atlantic flatfish such as plaice and some flounders – have moved from the “Avoid” to the “Good Alternative” category. Improved data quality and farming practices moved tilapia from China and Taiwan from "Avoid" to "Good Alternative", and tilapia from Ecuador from "Good Alternative" to “Best Choice.” You can learn about the process Seafood WATCH® uses to make recommendations here.

AquaBounty Technologies’ Salmon

The US Food and Drug Administration may soon approve the sale of salmon, genetically engineered to reach market size more rapidly than other farmed salmon. If approved, AquaBounty salmon would become the first genetically engineered animal to enter the food supply. More than 33,000 people have submitted comments to the FDA. PCC Natural Markets, Trader Joe’s, Aldi’s and Whole Foods have already stated that they will not carry the salmon if it is approved for sale.

Giant Squid Caught on Film

Late in January, the Discovery Channel released a video of a giant squid filmed in its deep ocean habitat. The giant squid can grow up to 55 feet long. The one in the film is 30 feet long. That’s still a lot of squid.

That’s all the tales for this time.

Have a great weekend.