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."
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
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!
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!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, February 4, 2011
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
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
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