A Farm for the Future

One of my favorite topics on this blog is food. One of the easiest and yet most effective ways to living a more sustainability life occurs when we chose what to eat every day. Your food choices have a wide-ranging impact on the environment, and we should all be more aware of where our food comes from and how it ends up on the table.

But of course, awareness is only part of the problem. As our planet's population increases, we face the growing problem of how to feed all those people. How can we move towards more sustainable agriculture when there are people starving in the world even now?

The BBC has recently produced a documentary on this very subject (which I discovered on the Civil Eats blog). Called A Farm for the Future, the program shows how Rebecca Hosking explored how she might turn her family's farm in Devon, England into a farm that doesn't use any fossil fuels. As you might expect, nature holds the key.

You can watch the entire video below. As you can imagine, it's extremely well done and very interesting:

Litterbug, litterbug

We've all seen it: you're walking along in the city, or maybe down a suburban street in your hometown. You're minding your own business, perhaps whistling a tune or daydreaming.  And then, out of the corner of your eye, you see someone blatantly littering.  They're dropping a wrapper, tossing a soda bottle, crumpling up a piece of paper and letting it fall to the ground.

So what are you, a concerned citizen, supposed to do?  Do you silently continue on your walk, stewing about the disrespect some people have for the planet?  Do you lurk around the corner and then pick up the trash yourself when the litterer is out of sight?  Do you confront the person, there and then, in middle of the street?

I encountered a litterbug yesterday while out for a run.  I was minding my own business, listening to my iPod and generally struggling through the heat.  I suddenly noticed a man walking towards me, about 30 yards away, who was unwrapping one of those cheap convenience store ice cream cones.  He was peeling off the wrapper, and as I got closer, he just let the paper fall on the ground.  This was a grown man, in his 40s or 50s, not some child who didn't know better.  

So I slowed my run, got right up close to him, pointed at the wrapper, and forcefully but politely suggested that perhaps he was unaware that he had dropped said wrapper.  He looked at me blankly.  Perhaps it was the endorphins from the run, but at this point I decided to tell him loudly that he reminded me of a particular part of the human anatomy.  You might be able to guess which one.

I'm not sure if this is the most effective way to deal with people who litter on the street.  But then again, what can you really do?

The Green Arches?

Are the Golden Arches going green? That's what the Daily Greenz blog asks today. Can McDonald's, that famous icon of American cuisine and subject of quasi-documentary film exposes, be a green company?

Ok, so they're upgrading the light bulbs in their stores to improve their energy efficiency. And yes, Greenpeace is on board with MickeyD's efforts to step up their effort to save the rainforests.

Still, the Daily Greenz asks the all-important question: how green can a company that relies on the principles of factory farming really be?

I'd stop short of accusing them of greenwashing. Their efforts are in fact good for the environment, and we can't fault them for changing out their bulbs. Let's recognize the good, but not go overboard in calling them the Green Arches just yet.

Measuring sustainability at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart announced on Monday that it will soon be placing a sustainabilty index on all their products. Yup, when you buy something at Wal-Mart, you'll be able to study not only the nutritional information, but the sustainability information as well. Wal-Mart is turning itself into the Golly Green Giant.

Of course, nothing is simple or straightforward -- not when it comes to corporate sustainability and certainly not when it comes to Wal-Mart. Marc Gunther's blog raises a few of the most important questions about this Wal-Mart story. What factors should you consider when measuring the environmental impact of a product? It's hard to really put numbers on sustainability at the moment. Heck, it's hard enough to define the term, especially we are talking about sustainability for bottom-line driven corporations.

But all skepticism aside, it's still a positive step. Wal-Mart is reacting to consumers' demands (as they always do -- it's way they're so succesful). If consumers want more information about sustainability, Wal-Mart will put the screws to their providers and find a way to provide it. That can only be good in the long term.

AirTran looking to reduce footprint

Nothing wrecks a well-maintained carbon footprint faster than taking a cross-country flight. That's why it's nice to see airlines taking a long, hard look at their environmental impact.

AirTran, one of the U.S.'s low-cost carriers, has agreed to join an environmental sustainability program in Atlanta. This program will provide a model for the company to use in AirTran's operations in 60 cities across the country.

No a bad start. Now if they can just figure out how to give me a little bit more leg room, I might be willing to use AirTran to finally take that trip out to Vegas.

Adding to the layout

As you can of course see to the left of this post, I've added a couple of new features to the blog. I'm hoping this adds a little bit of variety to the blog.

A the top of the list is the Green Product of the Day. This will take you to the Pristine Planet website where you can browse all green products from many different eco-friendly retailers. There are merchant lists, reviews, and, of course, shopping. The site has a lot of information, and is definitely worth a visit.

Next, we have the iGo Green Tip of the Day. Yup, this is exactly what you think -- a new green tip every day. If you're really feeling saucy, you could post this to your own website/Facebook page/MySpace page, et cetera and so on.

Enjoy.

Amateur photography time

Here are a couple of pics I snapped over at the Boston Local Market today. It runs during the day on Tuesday and Thursday, and it's been busy every time I've walked through.

Recycled marathon shoe

I worry about the environmental impact of my running habit. A committed runner is buying a new pair of sneakers every three months (if not sooner!). That's a lot of sneaker, and it starts to pile up after a while. It's hard not to look at a pile of all running shoes and think of the waste.

Is there a solution? Brooks is now producing a recycled shoe for marathon runners called the Green Silence. Made from 75% postconsumer recycled materials and non-toxic dyes and colorants, Brooks certainly has every right to shout about their new product.

So how does it work as a shoe? That's the big question, and one that we won't be able to answer until next February, when the shoe hits the streets (so to speak). Runners are notoriously picky about their footwear, so it will be interesting to see if Brooks can make a dent in the running shoe market.

Will I buy one? Perhaps. I've been wearin the same shoe for over two years, and I fear change, but I'm intrigued by this one, even if I don't exactly understand the name "Green Silence."

Looking back, looking forward

When I started the Going Green Project one year ago today, I was hoping to chronicle an adventure. My first idea was that this blog would be a journal of sorts—one that followed me around as I learned about how to become truly, authentically green. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but I was hoping a blueprint for “going green” might eventually emerge.

Over the course of the year, I started to drift away from this original idea. I allowed myself plenty of leeway to write about whatever I wanted. (It’s nice to make up your own rules, isn’t it?) I wrote a lot of posts about the Presidential election in the fall. Although it wasn’t technically about my own adventure, it felt important enough and relevant enough that I wanted to share my thoughts. In fact, I think it added a lot to the project. Blogs can be a strange thing—they are somewhat narcissistic by definition. While it’s interesting to for me to write about my trip to Home Depot or offer a breakdown of what I had for dinner, it may not always make for the most interesting read. So by opening it up for more general discussion, I hope that it added a bit of variation to the proceedings.

In addition, I discovered that being green can mean a lot more than worrying about what’s happening in your own home. Issues of green jobs, the economy, sustainable business practices, and many, many more are all interrelated. It doesn’t make sense to be looking only inward. At the same time, I don’t want to forget about the original intent. Which means, lucky you, that there will still be occasional posts about what I’m eating for dinner.

With all that in mind, I’m going to keep the wide-open format of the blog going for now. In fact, I’d love to expand the format and try to do as many new things as possible. As to what those “things” are, you’ll have to check back to see what happens. I’m not suggesting you hold your breath, necessarily, but I have a few ideas I’d like to experiment with.

Finally, and I’m going to stop short of making a pledge here, I would love to keep to a stricter posting schedule. There were too many times over the last year that I didn’t write about something cool, interesting, funny, or important, simply because I didn’t have the time. Let’s see if I can crack the whip on myself and make sure the blog is always fresh.