Should We Care About Organic Food?

“I now feel completely vindicated for NOT buying organic foods.”

Well, great.

The internet was abuzz with the recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that found little evidence that organic foods are more nutritious than conventional grown food, and I found myself getting severely agitated by comments like the above posted in social media circles. Granted, I spend a lot of time thinking about food, but simple statements like the aforementioned prove to me that we are entirely removed from the food process and what we are eating. We are oversimplifying a complex issue.

The Beauty of Eating Outdoors

Mediocre wine is excellent if you have a view, coffee is exponentially more delicious when brewed after a night in a tent, and trail mix can compete with the fanciest hors d’oeuvre when you’re in the middle of a hike. It’s simple: food always tastes better outdoors.

I was thinking of this in the process of drinking a mug of wine, overlooking a horizon of red rock formations last week. Dirtbags, sunsets and merlot do go hand in hand after all.

Lessons from SXSW Eco: Communication

I’d never been to Texas, and it turns out, all those people that kept saying, “You’ve never been to Austin?? You’d love it!” were, in fact, quite right.

There was two stepping and fried food and cowboy boots. Lots of cowboy boots. But the main takeaway from one week in Austin was something different, and it’s all thanks to the new South By Southwest Eco conference. Three days of listening to the best and brightest on green issues and the main takeaway is that it’s all about communication; how we interact with people and engage.

If we don’t want missed opportunities, we must start with communication. Facts and figures don’t work; relationships are everything.

Well, that and cowboy boots are game changers on the dance floor. Seriously.

In Honor of Celebrating Earth Every Day

A good PSA by Greenpeace… which should remind us that we need to think about our impact every day.

Save Wild Salmon, Nature and Our Future

Courtesy of Save Our Wild Salmon

Excited for my article that was posted this week on Planet Green. Here’s an excerpt:

When was the last time you thought about salmon? Sure, it’s a common food, but this one fish is a key link in the chain between environment, recreation, jobs and the economy. In the Pacific Northwest salmon fishing brings tens of millions of dollars into the regional economy each year, representing thousands of jobs.

But salmon runs are in decline, and that hurts the economy and the environment. In fact, this decline is severely affecting the local environment; including another endangered species — Puget Sound Southern Resident orca whales. Scientists say that these fish are the largest single change to the whale’s food supplies and are directly linked to their decline in recent decades. Endangered salmon runs mean that everything that these fish are linked to or have an impact on, from other species to our own economy, is threatened as well. Still think of salmon as just a dinner dish?

In a recent L.A. Times Opinion piece, scientist and author Carl Safina outlined the importance of salmon to the environment and to human beings in general. Safina, the author of Songs for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, as well as a well-respected scientist, conservationist and the president of the Blue Ocean Institute, holds that the Obama administration isn’t doing enough to protect these fish, saying that the administration “should embrace salmon abundance as the beating heart of the Pacific Northwest — the flow of energy that connects and sustains people, fishing towns, bears, wolves, orcas, forests and the rivers and seas we all love and use.”

You can read the whole article here, as well as check out 5 simple ways you can take action to save wild salmon.

Coca Cola at Copenhagen

I was a little appalled when I found out the mega-multinational Coca Cola was a key sponsor of the Hopenhagen campaign. But it raises the question: can a multinational work in the environment’s best interest? An excerpt from my post over on EcoSalon:

All eyes are on Copenhagen this month as the drama events of the UN Climate Change Conference play out. But those eyes aren’t just the ones of climate change activists and greenies. Multinationals are just as involved – even global beverage giant, Coca Cola, is descending on the Danish capital.

Working with other media, marketing, tech and creative partners, including DuPont and Gap Inc., Coca Cola was instrumental in launching the Hopenhagen campaign. The result? An interactive online campaign as well as lots of exposure on the ground in Copenhagen. Known for its creative advertising and branding, Coca Cola released a special Hopenhagen set of posters, seen all over town for the duration of the conference.

On Coca Cola’s Hopenhagen website, the company encourages visitors to take action against climate change and learn more about recycling and water as well as Coca Cola’s plant bottle, a soda bottle made form 30% plant-based materials (that means it’s still 70% plastic!). But supporting a good cause shouldn’t come without questions.

Read the whole article here.

Why I Choose to Ride a Bike

This has been making its way around the internet for quite some time now, but after an overwhelming amount of news this week about the real threats of climate change, I’m even happier about my choice of bicycle over car.

Friday Photo: Nature Untitled

Back in January I submitted this photo collage to the END No Restrictions contest. It won an honorable mention and I scored a pair of END Stumptown 10 oz. (love them!), which isn’t bad for just putting a few of my favorite photos together. If you haven’t checked out END, it’s a responsible shoe company based in Portland, definitely pushing the envelope when it comes to business philosophy as well as sustainable design.

I named the piece “Nature Untitled,” as I felt the pictures spoke for themselves and gave a general appreciation of the simple beauty that can be found all around us, be we in a city or in the middle of a National Park.

Monday Humor

I know I know… the election is over, but I couldn’t help myself with this comic from Plenty Magazine. The mag published similar comics every once in awhile and their simplicity makes them hilarious. Check more out here.

1% For The Planet – choose the environment

Business can be a good thing. At least if those businesses are part of 1% For The Planet. The idea is simple: 1% of sales are donated to an extensive network of environmental organizations worldwide. If you believe in the environment, pass along or post this video to spread the word. Because even in a bad economy, we have to take care of the environment. Therefore, making educated consumer choices means supporting companies that believe in the world we live in and are devoted to protecting it. That’s a healthy choice.

[Via The Cleanest Line]