Viva la Smartphone!

I believe that this stunning blog article suitably commemorates my nearly simultaneous launch into the world of mobile computing (a Droid Incredible 2 is on going to replace my dumbphone next week) and my foray into higher education come August. While researching the usefulness of smartphones in grad school (thanks to helpful input from my friends at GradCafe), I was impressed by how many useful, brilliant, and plain neat apps there are for these mini-computers. Scan a page and it becomes a PDF, deposited in your Dropbox account (which you can access anywhere). Access your Google docs, calendar, and mail on the go. See a bird on your way to class and ID it...

The Gideon Burton of the blog Academic Evolution has strong words for those who resist the smartphone experience. In
Scholarly Communications must be Mobile, he writes: "Mobile computing is the future for computing, period. ... The PC revolution of the 20th century will be imitated by the smartphone revolution of the 21st."

In fact, "Scholars unwilling to use mobile computing are going to be disconnected from their peers. When everyone else is getting instantaneous updates about critical issues in the field through RSS feeds or microblogging updates, but you are waiting a month or more for your copy of The New England Journal of Medicine to come out -- well, you aren't going to seem very professional. You know that one professor who was a holdout from email for so long and still needs the secretary to show him how to mail attachments? In the near future, a professor without a smartphone just won't be all that smart.

"Mobile computing will drive demand in scholarship, prompting ideas and enabling on-the-fly collaboration and coordination, and forcing it to become more timely, more rhetorically nimble, more accessible on multiple levels. It is going to improve learned communication to have it piped into the hands of the masses."

Coal-thirsty

I was born and raised (for the most part) in rural western Pennsylvania. We lived in the coal mining boss's house in a worn out coal village. Though the coal mines have been closed for decades and workers have fled to cities for work, I grew up reminded of coal. After floods, our creek would be a swirling flood of orange - from iron oxide leaks in the mines. Unintended consequences.

Coal mining takes a different face today, as coal bosses have moved to new hills and developed new methods to extract Appalachian gold. This article reports on one facet of unintended human consequences from mountaintop removal coal mining - one of the most violent and destructive methods of extracting coal. The Science Daily report explains findings published in the journal Environmental Research which "contribute to the growing evidence that mountaintop mining is done at substantial expense to the environment, to local economies and to human health."

Go (urban) compost!

From Science Daily, based on a report published in HortScience:

Dairy Manure Goes Urban: Organic Compost Improves Soil, Enhances Ornamental Plants in Residential Landscapes

When natural ecosystems are replaced by roads, homes, and commercial structures, soil is negatively impacted. Studies have shown that, among other issues, distressed urban soils are often significantly compacted, may have alkaline pH, and may contain low amounts of essential organic matter and nutrients. This altered soil is typically not conducive to healthy plant root growth and establishment, leading to challenges for urban landscapes and home gardens.

"The management of urban soils often requires a different approach than is applied to natural or agricultural soils, but some management practices that are commonly used in agricultural systems have the potential to improve the quality of urban soils," explained Amy L. Shober, corresponding author of a new report from the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science. Shober, along with graduate student Shawna Loper and their colleagues, designed a study to determine if the addition of compost -- with or without the application of shallow tillage or aeration -- improves soil properties and plant growth in simulated new residential landscapes.

"We found that composted dairy manure solids can improve soil physical and chemical properties in residential landscapes when sandy fill soils are used. Application of composted dairy manure solids can also enhance the establishment and improve the growth of selected ornamental landscape plants," Shober said. "However, topdressing with composted dairy manure solids enhanced plant growth and quality as much as incorporation of compost to a depth of 20 cm by tillage."

The study showed the benefits of compost additions only during the first year after planting; the authors noted that the increased growth and the subsequent health of plants resulting from applications of compost may also prevent future plant failure.

Unexplored and in peril

A "fish" friend of mine suggested I read this article explaining the dreary report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), a global panel of marine experts. According to the IPSO authors, we are "at high risk for entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history." The cumulative and rapidly occurring impact of overfishing, pollution, and climate change is endangering Earth's most undiscovered frontier.

The report explains: "The oceans have already absorbed more than 80% of the additional heat added to the climate system and about 33% of the carbon dioxide we've emitted into the atmosphere. That's slowed down climate change on land, but it's changing the pH levels of the water in ways that could have a bigger impact on sea life than a thousand factory-fishing boats"

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2078840,00.html#ixzz1Q10sc3vg

Food tribes

Love. this.

Making fun of ourselves is a positive character trait. Which are you?

Sustainable sea food

June 2009. That's the first time I ever had freshly caught, local fish. A French neighbor popped over to the A Rocha France volunteer house one summer evening and left us standing with six little fish (nope, don't remember what kind) and instructions to wrap them in foil with a slice of lemon and a ring of onion. My eyes bugged out as I ate the tiny portion of white, succulent, flavorful meat. My summary - fresh seafood is amazing. I need to make friends with fisherpeople. Or learn what kinds of seafood I can order at restaurants without a liberal dose of guilt as a sidedish. Many popular species of fish and shrimp have been severely and unsustainabily overharvested. Beyond the obvious danger of declining numbers, we cannot fully grasp the impact such dramatic change in population has on ocean ecology.

Check out these sites and apps for guidance to make your next earth-shattering seafood meal both wise and delicious.
- Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch App for Android and iPhone
- National Geographic's Seafood Substitutions
- Food & Water Watch's 2011 Smart Seafood Guide

Agroecology and international development

I recently 'liked' World Watch Institute's Nourishing the Planet project on Facebook. A fantastic decision. Why? This program communicates agricultural innovations and ideas, focusing particularly on rural poverty and producing major reports on their observations of trends. Most days, my facebook homepage has a scattering of Nourishing the Planet blog articles informing me of new reports, studies, meetings, conferences, or ideas in sustainable and ecological agriculture. This is a project to watch!

I particularly resonated with Nourishing the Planet's recent post on the article, "Agroecology and the Right to Food," by U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter. De Schutter presented his ideas on agroecology and food security at a Global Hunger and Food Security briefing held by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and the Interfaith Working Group on Global Hunger and Food Security. While his ideas aren't particularly new, they are well-put and aptly applied to today's developing world. Nourishing the Planet summarizes that "agroecology can help alleviate the poverty crisis by encouraging small farmers to grow a variety of complimentary crops to be sold locally, instead of growing grains exclusively for sale in the global market."

Of final interet...the World Watch project blog states that this briefing was attended by representatives from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Wouldn't it be awesome if USAID developed agroecological programs? One can dream...

Agricultural mysteries

Exploding watermelons are a big deal.

Local food flunks economic test

Thanks to the North East Sustainable Agriculture Working Group for compiling their weekly news which included this piece - "The Locavore's Dilemma: Why Pineapples Shouldn't Be Grown in North Dakota."

NESAWG News reports "A major flaw in the case for buying local is that it is at odds with the principle of comparative advantage. This principle, which economists have understood for almost 200 years, is one of the main reasons that the vast majority of economists believe in free trade. Free trade, whether across city, state, or national boundaries, causes people to produce the goods or services for which they have a comparative advantage and, thus, makes virtually everyone wealthier. Princeton University economist Paul Krugman, who won the Nobel Prize in economics for his contributions to the economics of international trade, called comparative advantage "Ricardo's Difficult Idea" because so many non-economists deny it and are unwilling to understand it. But if people understood comparative advantage, much of the impetus for buying local foods would disappear.

Read more from Jayson L. Lusk and F. Bailey Norwood, at the Library of Economics and Liberty.

Economists, meet idealists. Shall we question the ideal of local food or the 'rule' of economics?

Future of Food Conference - Georgetown

How. did. I. miss. this.

http://washingtonpostlive.com/conferences/food/archive

Yes, there was British Royalty. More importantly, Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson were there! Check out CNN's great summary of Prince Charles' talk and links to related media.

Food deserts in mega-farmland

Check out the USDA's food desert locator, shared on CNN's foodie site Eatocracy. A food desert is a nuance of the concept of food insecurity, "a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store."

Exploring sustainable faux-woods

My fascination with non-wood 'woods' has continued since my post on bamboo last year. BBC has an interesting feature on wood alternatives that counter the demand for teak and other unsustainable hardwoods.

Rice hulls which are powdered, blended with salt and mineral oil, and pressed to form a waterproof form a luminous wood alternative called Resysta. Sorghum stalks are a top choice for construction product manufacturers, as are hemp panels, coconut mosaic tile, and a range of bamboo products.

Speaking of bamboo - I finally bought myself a bamboo cutting board. And I'm eyeing up this bamboo 'infused' Asus laptop. Developing sustainable tastes isn't very hard when so many other grasses and grains become beautiful. But as with any new and cutting edge development, I wonder what we're missing. What is the big-picture environmental impact of producing these wood alternatives? How can you accurately estimate the conflicting values of possibly energy-intense processes for Resysta compared to old-growth forests of the Amazon? Who wins?

And is sustainability the challenge? or should we be questioning our consumption habits instead?

In praise of pasta

And now, for a foodie diversion. I joke that I would be happy to eat solely protein and fat (cheese, anyone?), my appreciation for complex carbohydrates has been growing as I've been training for a sprint triathlon. When we think carbs, we think pasta - particularly whole grain - and its flavor-absorbing friends gnocchi, rice, and quinoa. Add some variation to your balanced diet... check out Charming Italy's "Different Kinds of Pasta" poster. Having a healthy diet includes local veggies and a myriad of shaped grain products, right?

Fodder changes

Over the past decade, climate change scientists have explored the impact of animal byproduct - particularly methane - on greenhouse gasses. Cows' complex digestive systems make them prone to gas-filled burps, and even the UN Food and Agriculture Organization is concerned about their impact on global climate change. As solutions, scientists and policy experts have suggested everything from taxation on emissions to indoor cattle-farming (ugh) to reduce the footprint of the agriculture sector. BBC reports on a new study in the UK on changing cattle feed to relatively purer forms may reduce methane livestock emissions by 30%. Starting at the source of emissions - smart move that other at-fault sectors should ponder as they attempt to address climate change...

Gardening for personal food sovereignty

The Bovine, a Canadian blog focusing on the legal battle against raw milk, ran an interesting article on food sovereignty by Ellen LaConte. While the article comes off a bit too strong for my liking, LaConte offers five reasons that individuals should garden for personal food sovereignty - from oil to monoculture. I'm excited to read her upcoming article on the different terrains of gardening - urban, community, suburban, and more. Take a look, and let me know what you think!

"Under the influence and auspices of the prevailing economy, most Americans have forgotten how to provide for themselves. We've become accustomed to earning money with which we buy provisions. That process is about the have the legs kicked out from under it. Instead of earning money (or its funny-money kin like credit cards) to buy the things we need, we'll need to start providing more of those things for ourselves and each other locally and (bio)regionally. Gardening -- and small-scale farming -- while they will need to be undertaken in a businesslike fashion will be less about doing business than about everyone's having something to eat and more people being busy providing it. And while not everyone will be able to garden or farm, we are all able to get up close and personal with those who do."

Read more at Countercurrents.org.

Home canning... New York style

Ah, the food movement... bringing cooks and farmers closer together and helping people eat fresh, simple, homemade meals, and learning to put up fresh produce and enjoy it throughout the winter. It's the 1970s homesteading movement reborn.

The dear people of New York Times take a classier, if impractical, view of what 'do-it-yourself' cooking is about...

"If you live in an apartment, or tend to let surplus vegetables die in the crisper drawer, you may think that the do-it-yourself food movement does not apply to you. Not so. Making some of your own staples — and a few luxuries, like chocolate-hazelnut paste or better-than-balsamic maple vinegar — is possible, and enormously gratifying."

So, I love the concept. Everyone should get-a-cooking. But since when is Chinese Chili-Scallion Oil or lemons-in-a-jar make-at-home necessities?

Pea planting at the Joshua Farm

Hurray for a Saturday work party (a 'chantier' in French - congers the image of singing while you work!) at the Joshua Farm! The Joshua Farm is a growing urban farm and CSA that engages and employs neighborhood youth each summer. Kirsten, the farm manager, invited folks for a pea planting party on St. Patrick's day, which, thanks to rain and melt, was postponed until this gloriously sunny Saturday.

Kirsten writes: "We planted two varieties of sugar snap peas; in a few weeks we’ll plant some shell peas and some snow peas. Peas are unique for at least two reasons: they are the first seeds to be planted in the ground (at least here at Joshua Farm), and they are one of the few seeds we actually plant by hand (instead of using a seeder). We plant 1 lb. per 75 feet, which is denser than some recommend, but it’s worked for us. We also inoculate the seeds with a beneficial bacteria (rhizobium legumasaurum or something like that) that helps the plants utilize nutrients better (particularly improving the uptake of nitrogen) and thus improving yields.

"I have this terribly unoriginal idea that I’ll take a picture from this spot each week as a measure of growth. I suppose each day would be better, then I could stream them all together on animoto or something, but that sounds like a lot of work. If a watched pot never boils, then maybe a watched seed never sprouts?"

Petty, plastic politics

"Freedom fries prove that a congressional cafeteria can be a powerful political platform. And this week, Republicans re-introduced the plastic foam coffee cup."

Listen: House GOP Reverses Democrats Green Initiative.

Really?

Home sweet (natural gas) home

Hydrofracking. Marcellus Shale. It's a big deal in Pennsylvania. Leasing land to drillers is allowing my parents to build their dream house - a reconstructed 18th century log cabin. The payments from drilling are keeping farmers from bankruptcy in an era of economically insolvent agriculture markets. My current employer is lining up its' contractors, preparing for a windfall of environmental restoration and clean-up required by drilling companies. But the environmental health concerns and the impact on nature from ground water pollution are significant and need to be taken into account.

The NY Times wrote a very extensive piece that I quote:

"Pennsylvania, which sits atop an enormous reserve called the Marcellus Shale, has been called the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.

This rock formation, roughly the size of Greece, lies more than a mile beneath the Appalachian landscape, from Virginia to the southern half of New York. It is believed to hold enough gas to supply the country’s energy needs for heat and electricity, at current consumption rates, for more than 15 years.

The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways.

(In Pennsylvania), of more than 179 wells producing wastewater with high levels of radiation, at least 116 reported levels of radium or other radioactive materials 100 times as high as the levels set by federal drinking-water standards. At least 15 wells produced wastewater carrying more than 1,000 times the amount of radioactive elements considered acceptable."

Finally, our governor's approach to natural gas drilling is really quite concerning. Not only is he opening state land to drilling, he argues "against a proposed gas-extraction tax on the industry."

"I will direct the Department of Environmental Protection to serve as a partner with Pennsylvania businesses, communities and local governments," Gov. Corbett states, "it should return to its core mission protecting the environment based on sound science."

Blog treasures

Some discoveries are too good to keep to oneself...

I stumbled upon a college friend's blog - "Plot 124" ... which is now dedicated to her home-grown culinary (and word, art, and fabric) creativity. In particular, check out her superb blogroll - she sums up some of my favorite sites which address issues from local food to land use.

Additionally, check out this fabulous list of organizations and resources committed to local food and sustainability - all thanks to Barbara Kingsolver.

Go bloggers!

Two sides to the same coin

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Michael Pollen revolutionized how we look at plants and food. His books and articles gave voice to a rising tide of dietitians, educators, and scientists concerned about America's fast flight to fat. Policy is indeed changing to favor fresh and limit sugars and fats. Though I love Pollen's message, as a student of agroecology, food, politics, and social change, it's gotten a bit redundant over time. You can't improve on a good message, right?

Well, you can look at multiple dimensions of the message for a richer understanding. Enter
Mark Bittman. He writes on food for the Opinionator section of the New York Times. Bittman is a hero of Pollan's caliber - author of Food Matters: A Guide to Conscience Eating and a columnist for decades on food, policy, and their impacts on health and environment.

Michael Pollen of "Omnivore's Dilemma" (and many more books) wrote an extensive piece for the Times which pretty much summarizes his multi-book treatise on food and health.

Though Bittman is the food and dining columnist and Pollen the academician, I appreciate that the former assumes that sustainability, human rights, and nutrition are symbiotic and necessary for good food choices. While Pollen elaborates on nutrition science with a jounralistic fury, Bittman stays focused on food, good and fresh. I find good, organic, juicy zucchini its own compelling advocate.

Perhaps it's the accessible nature of newspaper columns, but I loved Bittman's article on the current food policy climate. His Food Manifesto is worth a look as well.

Eating Egypt

My apologies for a long break in writing - graduate school applications have (necessarily) been a time-sucker. In the midst of the contagion effect of middle eastern countries calling their autocratic leaders to authority, my friends at Epicurious's Epi-Log wrote this excellent analysis of how the uprising is impacting Egypt's food.

Eating Egypt
by Michael Y. Park
on 02/03/11 at 09:02 AM

The history of Egypt is the history of food, and this current crisis is no exception. In Roman times, Egypt served as the granary of the empire, and could throw around its political clout by holding the Eternal City for ransom by withholding food shipments. In modern times, the shoe's on the other foot: Egypt, with its exploding population concentrated in a narrow strip of land, may be the world's biggest importer of wheat, importing 40 percent of its food and 60 percent of its wheat.

Today, in Cairo, it will be interesting to see what happens with the distribution of food to the Egyptian people. The Mubarak government has absorbed much of the cost of the global increase in food prices. It is, after all, a country where one in five people lives on less than $1 a day. Some 14.2 million poor receive subsidized bread.

In the midst of the protests, food stores are among the only retail outlets that remain open. Warehouses are full of food staples, but there are reports that it's difficult to impossible to get them to the people. The bread factories that feed the millions simply can't get the flour, oil, and other products they need to keep running.

Not surprisingly, prices have soared for the food that is available, at least while the streets are still filled with protesters and counter-protesters. One woman described a 20-percent increase in the price of bread, with the cheaper options simply off the table for now.

And with the looting, major food retailers have shuttered their doors. Carrefour, for example, has closed all of its seven locations in the Cairo area.
All around, it's a volatile situation that won't necesssarily resolve itself with Mubarak's fall from power.


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2011/02/eating-egypt.html#ixzz1CzphJWl0