Headlines 7.11.12

by | Jul 11, 2012 | Business, Ecology, Food, Gardening, Sustainability, Urban Farming

Here are this week’s headlines, enjoy!

Happy World Population Day! – Every hour, the world population increases by about 9,100 people. At that rate, it would take less than six hours to fill up Yankee Stadium.

Has Organic Been Oversized? – Here’s a telling excerpt from this article – the term “organic” means nothing anymore; it no longer speaks to small-scale, earth friendly farms, or wholesome veggies.  Today, the term “organic” has been co-opted by huge corporations to help sell unhealthy processed crap at higher prices to brainwashed customers.  “Many consumers may not realize the extent to which giant corporations have come to dominate organic food. Then again, giant corporations don’t exactly trumpet their role in the industry. Their financial motivation, however, is obvious. On Amazon.com, for instance, 12 six-ounce boxes of Kraft Organic Macaroni and Cheese sell for $25.32, while a dozen 7.25-ounce boxes of the company’s regular Macaroni and Cheese go for $19.64.”

What’s a great way to combat invasive species?  EAT THEM.  If you’re in Chicago, please go eat some free Asian Carp at Taste of Chicago for me!

Extinct Honeybees Found Alive – The black honeybee is native to the UK and Eastern Central Europe, although it was thought to have died out in all but the most remote reaches of northern Britain. Happily, it was recently found in North Wales, East Anglia, and as far south as West Sussex.

As Farms Bite the Dust, Worry of Megadrought in the Southwest – Periodic, decades-long droughts have been relatively common in the last few thousand years, according to analysis of dried lake beds. Most of the area’s famously collapsed civilizations–Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, the Galisteo pueblos–are thought to have died out for lack of water in these extended dry periods, which deBuys calls “megadroughts.”
Jungle School – A “jungle” school that has covered its walls with plants could become a model for sustainable buildings.  The school has 35,000 plants in boxes on the building’s facade, covering a total of 3,000 square metres.  A study of Liwa International School in Al Ain found the plants on the outside of the building reduced interior temperatures by up to 13°C.
Backyard Farmers Sell Produce in Beverly Hills – Yes!  Small scale urban farms can work!!!
~Compiled by Ariel Chesnutt