Whatever happened to the excitement over ethanol that was encouraging thousands of Americans not long ago?  Well, for starters, a lagging economy has made for decreased investments in both the research of the fuel as well as the growth of more corn and the production of new processing plants.  And then, ironically, the same financial upset that led to these effectual “shut downs” is what has been gradually bringing ethanol back to the playing field in the past few months.  Many of the fuel’s supporters believe that its advancement could lead to an exponential increase in job opportunities throughout the country.  However, research also shows that, “While the industry projects plants producing 100 million gallons of ethanol a year can create more than 1,000 plant and spin-off jobs, the study found that similar plants would net a maximum of 250 jobs, based on an analysis of ethanol facilities proposed in three Illinois communities and one in Nebraska.”  So, which is the way to go?  Hold back for the sake of financial security or invest for the benefit of individuals (if it is even true that such benefits will occur)?  The question still stands.

-Serena

I don’t write nearly enough about Canada.  And I do not believe that I’ve ever written specifically about Calgary.  So, here goes: to rid itself of having the “largest per capita ecological footprint” in the entire country, residents of this city are pursuing community gardening to the extreme.  With a forty-member Food Policy Council to render the man-power, Calgary hopes to achieve its goal of having 2,011 garden plots by that same year.  However, the council could use your help, too.  If you’re aware of any available open space for the making of an additional community garden in the area, e-mail { growingspaces at 2011calgary dot ca} with what you know.  The council will take it from there.

-Serena

The news is out: two major advocates of the sustainable food movement were listed on “The 100 People Who Are Changing America” by Rolling Stone!  Who are these limelit individuals?  None other than Michael Pollan and Wes Jackson, of course.  (I would have expected Alice Waters to be in there, too, but I suppose it wouldn’t have looked that great if the magazine had named two Berkeley area foodies for the same award.  In any case, yay for Michael and Wes.)  What, exactly, were they awarded for changing?  For Michael it’s, “Our understanding of what we eat. Nobody connects the dots between big agriculture, the obesity epidemic and climate change better than the author of In Defense of Food. If you care about what agribusiness is doing to our bodies and our world, you need to pay attention to his work.” While Wes, “…co-founder and president of the Land Institute in Kansas, believes the way we feed the world is unsustainable. He and his colleagues are working to transform staples like wheat, sunflowers and sorghum into perennial crops, eliminating the need for plowing and replanting, and minimizing the use of fertilizers. If he's successful, farms might be transformed from industrial factories into natural ecosystems.”  They’re completely deserving of their titles— both of them.
And, let’s not forget Van Jones, who was noted for creating green jobs, Joseph Romm, Jessy Tolkan, Ken Caldeira, and Carol Browner for their climate change-based activism, Phillipe Starck for green technology in interior design, Elon Musk and Shai Agassi for their research on electric cars, Mitchell Joachim for his “visionary” and sustainable urban planning, Bruce Nilles for his work with the Sierra Club, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Steven Chu, and Al Gore for being environmentally progressive politicians, Amory Lovins for greening Walmart (as best he can, I suppose), Jay Keasling and Nate Lewis for their innovations in energy, Marc Jacobs, the American fashionista, and of course, in first place, Barack Obama, for all of the above (well, kind of) and then some.

-Serena

We’ve gone over the importance of growing what food you can at home.  Besides the therapeutic effect of gardening, the cultural wealth that can be gained from connecting with the land, the environmental benefits of eating locally, and the immense satisfaction that comes from cooking your own food, there have always been cost savings involved as well.  2009’s projected 40% increase in seed sales proves all of the positive aspects of at-home growing above.
But what happens when genetically modified seed giants take control of supply?  Already, we’re seeing, “…how crop scientists throughout the country have been unable to perform adequate testing and research on biotech crops, because of the strong hand of biotechnology companies.”  

And just recently, in Montana, a bill that would have made it more difficult for massive entities like Monsanto to sue small (natural seed-using) farmers for patent infringement was so conveniently sent to the sidelines.  These corporate takeovers are likely to weed out the non-GM seeds and, in monopoly, drive up their price.  All I can say is, be on the lookout for related legislation and, whenever possible, take action accordingly.  The right to farm your own land—with natural seeds and at a decent price—seems like an all-American one at its foundation.  Let’s keep it that way.
-Serena