According to the World Wildlife Fund
’s Living Planet Report, humanity’s Ecological Footprint - the demand humans place upon the natural world - has increased to the point where the Earth is unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate. The statement says that on current projections, humanity will be using two planets’ worth of natural resources by 2050. WWF Inernational Director General James Leape says, “The consequences of this are predictable and dire.” Download the full report here.

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Innovative solutions, ideas and inventions emerging today are explored in this compendium for building a sustainable, livable, prosperous future.

An excerpt on buying local:

In the middle of Denver, in the middle of December, you can walk into most any supermarket and buy a ripe mango. This has been true long enough that almost nobody stops to think of the remarkable distance that mango traveled or of the tree it fell from, which is probably enjoying a balmy tropical day on the other side of the planet. Proponents of eating local food balk at the ubiquitous midwinter mango. Why? Because they think about the baggage that mango flew in with.

The 600+ page tome covers ground on community, shelter, cities, politics and more. Check out their site for dates of the book tour and a glimpse inside.

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In preparing for our latest podcast on peak oil and climate change, Root came across AmericanForests.org’s climate change calculator. Try it, and examine the impact each of us has on our usage of precious resources…and whenever possible, plant trees.

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In the news recently, Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic revealed plans to invest $3 billion in renewable energy initiatives over the next ten years.  Once again, Branson proves his commitment to finding a better way by offering a pragmatic, achievable approach towards sustainable aviation. 
The program involves changing the process by which airplanes are utilized during takeoff and landing.  Instead of taxiing down the runway, airplanes would be towed to a "starting grid" where they would then start their engines.  The "starting grid" system would reduce fuel consumption and on-the-ground carbon emissions by over 50% ahead of take-off at London’s Heathrow airport and by nearly 90% for Virgin Atlantic flights at JFK in New York!

Other initiatives include flying aircraft at lighter loads, and a method of descent called "Continuous Descent Approach".  Branson has called for these methods to be employed by other airlines including British Airways, American Airlines and Easyet; engine and aircraft manufacturers such as Rolls Royce and Boeing and airport operators including BAA in the UK.

In a recent post here on the Dervaes Family’s urban homestead Root talked about doing the most with what you have, right here, right now.  The two polarities of a multinational, billionaire with resources and vision, and a small family walking their talk inspire us to think and act in kind.

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Here in Sonoma County it is easy to believe that eating clean, local food is possible, but even if one shops for and prepares food consciously, what passes as such can often astound. Over on PSFK there is a post on who is watching what we eat. Two different articles illustrate this important issue.

According to a New York Times article on nanotech food additives - a most unappetizing thought - the FDA’s equally unappetizing attitude towards the technology was stated:

“F.D.A. officials said last week that treating every new nanotechnology
product that consumers swallow as a food additive might compromise the
agency’s mandate to foster innovation and might not be within its
authority.”

Hmmm, an interesting stance from the regulatory body that approves food and drugs for consumption in the US, with far reaching implications worldwide.

In another article, this time from the San Francisco Chronicle, blogger Bonnie Azab Powell writes that while out to dinner with her husband, he ordered what was touted on the menu as “humane, sustainable pork”. After the fact, and upon investigation, Powell learned that White Marble Farms pork was indeed a “premium” brand of SysCo, the largest food services distributor in the United States. The pork is produced in the same manner as conventional pigs - raised indoors in confinement barns by the second largest meat processor in America - Cargill Meat Solutions.

These related stories beg the question - What are we eating? - and how do we navigate nourishing ourselves in these times of insidious GMOs, sustainably “wrapped” foods, and marketing to the green consumer?

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Living by example is an ideal that is easy to fall short of. The Dervaes family has worked steadily since the mid-80s to transform an ordinary city lot in Pasadena, California into a shining example of permaculture principals in action. Their urban homestead supplies the family of five with food all year long, in addition to providing fresh salad greens to local restaurants. Check out this video by TreehuggerTV.com. In the Dervaes’ pursuit of more independent and efficient systems, they have developed energy efficient appliances, a biodiesel processor and purchased solar panels to diminish dependence on the earth’s non-renewable resources.

“This project evolved from our commitment and conviction to live a simple, self-sufficient and holistic lifestyle,” says Jules Dervaes, founder, “It
is an entire life’s journey and we have many more miles to go–the
journey is by no means over! We are proving that we can attain our goal
if we advance in stages whatever the circumstances. Our hope is that by
documenting our personal experiences we can offer encouragement to
those who are on the same journey towards a simple, self-sufficient
lifestyle whether they are in the city or country.”

Many of their ideas are simple, common sense approaches to daily living, and the transparency of their process is inspiring. The location of their 1/10 acre garden in the middle of an urban environment, points to the productive possibilities of using the space and energy as it is. Growing over 6000 pounds (three tons) annually, they should know.

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Over on Emerge, they are talking about fine artist and commercial designer, Jon Santos teaming up with The Canary Project,
a photographic project devoted to documenting climate change via
powerful landscapes from environmental hotspots around the globe. Santos has created Dimensions Of Change a series of collaborative images utilizing motifs based on the utopian ideals of folks like Buckminster Fuller, a site specific sculpture and a video piece devoted to the theme of global warming and the issues it causes with water. The exhibition runs through the end of this week at Crane Arts Building
in Philadelphia, where it has been up since September 4. A billboard of
the collaboration between Santos and the Canary Project will run in
Philadelphia later this Fall to carry the message on once the
exhibition is closed. Creative and compelling, “Dimensions
of Change” makes truly moving art out of one of the greatest dilemmas
facing humanity in the 21st Century

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Once again, MoveOn.org has initiated a grassroots email campaign, this time to get people to host and view the groundbreaking film, Iraq for Sale. This is the story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war.
Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed and Uncovered)
takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and
children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in
the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq, and the decision makers who allow them to do so. Check out an interview with the director by consciousmedianetwork.com, and the film’s trailer.

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Check out the latest exhibition at Julie Baker Fine Art, paintings, works on paper and photographic cut out collages by Waddy Armstrong and Meghan Gerety.

Waddy Armstrong paints colorful, delicate, painted silhouettes of trees and shrubs. Says Armstrong, “My work explores the connection between science, modern art and the natural world. Inspired by the strange lines and quirky shapes that occur in nature, I take characteristics of various plants and combine them into hybridized semi-abstract compositions.”

Juxtaposed with Armstrong’s colorful silhouettes are the graphite paintings of New York based artist Meghan Gerety.

The contemplative nature of Meghan Gerety’s work reflects both her practice of Eastern philosophy and her immersion in the history of modern and contemporary painting. The subject of her work is the landscape. Based on photographs, collected from her travels, her landscapes fuse the exploration of inner-self with the gestural energy of action painting. Inspired by vast open spaces and the nature of trees, the work depicts an emotional and spiritual response to the landscape. Enjoy.

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Half of the world’s cocoa is produced on West African
plantations, where, according to the United Nations International Labor
Organization, 284,000 child laborers, “are either involved in hazardous
work, unprotected, or have been trafficked.” Organic Consumers Organization offers a number of
options for consumers and advocates to become more knowledgeable about
this - the first being - buy only Fair Trade and organic chocolate.
Their are lots of choices, but Root loves Dagoba and Green & Black’s . Help educate people about this important issue by sending a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Host a slavery-free Halloween house party to distribute trick-or-treat sized Fair Trade chocolate minis to your friends and neighbors. Help OCA publicize the slavery-free Halloween campaign by letting them know about your house party. Contact: alexis@organicconsumers.org

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