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Zeljko Joksimovic – A Voice of Serbia

Leon Kaye — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:15:02 +0000

I have decided that every so often we need to take a musical tour of various countries around the world to appreciate the natural beauty or understand the challenges people around the world confront day to day.

Zeljko Joksimovic was born in Belgrade in 1972. He became infatuated with music at an early age, and bounced back and forth between folk and pop. As he perched frequently on top of the Serbian music charts, and then had a huge hit in 2004. Serbia and Montenegro (before the latter broke off and became its own country) selected Joksimovic as its entrant in the annual Eurovision Song Contest. His song, “Lane Moje,” came in second to the Ukrainian entrant—but this song sold well throughout much of Europe, and set the tone for his following hits. You can watch the official video or the song as it was performed on Eurovision’s 2004 finale.

In 2005, Joksimovic paired with the Bosnian singer Dino Merlin for a duet, Supermen. Joksimovic composed the song, his words as expressed in the video present a tour of the spectacular countryside.

Serbia has had a tough run since the early 1990s. But the country has been recovering: economic growth has averaged between 6 and 7 percent the past few years, the service sector is growing, and its agricultural sector supplies one-fifth of the world’s raspberries. Meanwhile, tourism is booming. It is easy to see why when you watch Joksimovic’s and Merlin’s video:

Composting Gets Corporatized – A Good Thing

Leon Kaye — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:10:40 +0000

Could more of us across North America find a fourth can in our trash can lineup? Many municipalities provide the recycling bin, green waste bin, and of course, that black bin for everything else. Not many include a bin for food waste, so most Americans still do not compost—well, you may be throwing your apple cores in that green waste bin, but composting it is the way to go. Although estimates suggest composting has been growing at the rate of 15% to 25% annually, but still only about 2% to 3% of food waste is diverted from landfills each year.

Some companies have seized upon our low composting rate as an economic opportunity. Cleveland-based Garick has built a portfolio of services including anaerobic digestion, mulching, farm byproducts management, and of course, composting. Its composting consulting arm offers advice to schools, companies, and municipalities. Meanwhile, Garick processes and distributes garden soils and other products across North America. Its success attracted the attention of Waste Management (WM), which purchased a majority stake in Garick this week.

For Garick, the deal will give it the opportunity to expand geographically, giving it access to WM’s customers in even more markets. And while having a greater reach on WM’s coattails is a shot in the arm for Garick, the real winner could be the firm that now has majority ownership.

Waste Management immediately gains an additional one million tons of processing capacity, which could allow the company to develop composting and bagging facilities at its plants throughout the US and Canada. Recently WM invested in firms that helped the company gain a foothold in the organic composting market, including Harvest Power and Terrabon. WM has set several ambitious goals for the future, including tripling its recycling capacity by 2020, doubling its renewable energy production, and investing in new waste management technologies—all possible through the acquisition or investment in smaller, innovative firms.

It is easy for some to get on their high horse and proclaim that everyone needs to just start composting. But the reality is that most people do not, and will not. Some are valid reasons (we and our neighbors have ours) . . . some are excuses (we and our neighbors have ours). If composting can become more mainstream, and operations divert more waste from landfills, and therefore prevent more methane and other gases from seeping into the air, that can only be a positive trend. The corporatization of compost? I’m all for it.

Paper, Plastic, Neither, or Recycling: Environmental Benefits Vs. Waste

Leon Kaye — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:26:17 +0000

The best conference panels are the ones that bring in professionals from different industries and sectors generally do not see eye to eye on various issues. In the age of Flip Cameras and YouTube, that may provide for uncomfortable moments that live forever in video, but let’s just get to the point. If I want a love fest, I can have my friends and relatives over for an evening. I don’t want to take a few days off of work, or even fly across the country, to sit in a conference room full of folks who nod their heads and say, “yes, we agree, and life is wonderful.” It is the easy and comfortable route, but it also leads to collective yawns, and inspires many conference attendees to hang out at the corporate-sponsored coffee bar—or just skip the venue and play hooky.

So the Women in Green Forum got it right, especially during today's panel on consumer products and packaging. The emphasis, I say, was on packaging. The panel offered a balance of industry associations, manufacturers, and advocates. Valid points were brought up on all sides, and due to time constraints, the discussion was not as vibrant as we would have liked, but thought provoking nonetheless.

One panelist was especially brave. Ashley Carlson, the Director of Packaging of the American Chemistry Council’s Plastic Division bravely faced the crowd. She admitted she was nervous, unnecessary because she shined. While the WIGF was full of many professionals from all backgrounds, the reality for the ACC was that sending an employee to this event was about as kind as throwing a shih-tzu into a piranha pond--but Carlson stood her ground. Carlson did bring up some valid points: using plastics for packaging reducing shipping weight, which saves energy used in transportation. Plastic has a role in keeping food fresher longer, reducing spoilage and therefore waste. Most energy consumed by consumer packaged goods manufacturing is in the total product life cycle—only about 10% of the total energy is devoted to the actual packaging. And just because your bag is bioplastic does not mean it is biodegradable: that bioplastic cup or bag will not decompose if it ends up in a landfill. Well, at least not in our lifetime and a few lifetimes after that. So Carlson’s, and the ACC’s mantra, was that more recycling of plastic is the way to go—a fair argument.

Elisabeth Comere from Tetra Pak spoke next. She represents a company that contains food products in about 170 nations, and in 2009 manufactured 145 billion packs. Visit a supermarket in Europe, and you will see a showroom of Tetra Pak’s products—and they have a growing foothold in the North American market as well. So how are Tetra Pak’s cartons eco-friendly? Through a partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council, the Swedish-founded and Swiss-based firm are using products sourced from natural resources that are easily replenished, thanks to forestry programs that ensure careful maintenance of the lands on which the trees are raised.

Finally Heidi Sanborn, the California Product Stewardship Council, concluded the session. She brought up a point many of us have not thought about because well, most of us have not been around that long. In 1900, most of New York City’s landfill was from ash that was produced from cooking. By 1960, 70% of landfill waste was from food. And 40 years later, 75% of all waste was from manufactured products. Plastic and paper have roles in that massive shift.

Clearly we are not going back to the days when food vendors trolled the streets selling fresh food products, which women spent most of their days preparing and cooking. But Sanborn made the point that companies need to take a more active role in managing their products’ waste—government will not do it, and clearly consumers are not.

Personally, when a company or trade show association sponsors a study, it comes across to me as giving numbers that such organizations want their stakeholders to see. So if anyone out there can show some good independent, third party data stating the case for or against plastic and paper consumption, bring it—the panel concluded this morning, but the discussion will not stop anytime soon.

Sustainability Can Be Women’s Work

Leon Kaye — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:11:36 +0000

From director-level sustainability officer positions to CEO, more women have introduced a new paradigm to the business world—the ability to boost profits while reducing the environmental and social impacts of their organizations. Now many of these women, and those following in their footsteps, are in Southern California for two days of sharing ideas and networking.

At the Pasadena Convention Center, the Women in Green Forum is bringing together professional women (and yes, a few men) from various industries and functions to discuss topics from finance to fashion. Yesterday afternoon, women with sustainability leadership roles at AEG, Interface, and Walmart shared ideas on what like-minded professionals can di to get one's organization to move responsibly towards achieving that triple bottom line.

Melissa Vernon of Interface, a US$1 billion modular carpet manufacturer, gave the perspective of someone who studied, lived, and breathed environmental issues since college and has made it her life's work. Rather than work in the industry first and then then learn about sustainability on the job, Vernon walked into Interface with her background in sustainability—and had to learn about the carpet industry. Interface has had a long interest in environmental issues since the early 1990s, and now the company focuses on social sustainability issues. Back in 2005 at a national sales meeting, Vernon had a role in eschewing the traditional golf or other recreational activities for which sales meetings are known—instead the national sales staff spent a day on community service. Many grumbled at first, but then the staff felt the rewards; community service has been the norm ever since.

Vonda Lockwood shared a compelling story. She started at Walmart 24 years ago as a cashier to make some extra cash over the summer. That part time job led her to a long career at the giant retailer, from store management to operations to training and development--just to name a few of the many hats she has worn. Coming from the standpoint of a one-time Walmart associate, Lockwood was able to talk with many store employees and learn what could—and could not—be done to reduce each store's waste. Long story short: as of this year's second quarter, Walmart has donated 128 million pounds of food to food banks that otherwise would have entered a landfill. Along the way, Lockwood reminded the audience that education, dealing with internal opposition, and criticism are only bumps on the road to a series of accomplishments that can be life-changing.

Finally, Jennifer Regan of AEG shared some thoughts from the point of view of a relatively young entertainment and facilities management company. AEG started in 1996, and is privately owned—for now the company only monitors environmental metrics, and will soon release its first sustainability report. Regan started her journey interested in activism and moved abroad, only to find that she could affect the most change by going home. Like her colleagues who shared the floor with her, Regan acknowledged that she did not have all the answers—but asking the right questions can help bring professionals together to reach the best possible solutions for solving our most pressing problems.

Sustainability Professionals: Who to Follow

Leon Kaye — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:00:03 +0000

It is easy to toss around terms like sustainability, clean tech, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and my least favorite word, “green.” But toss aside semantics. In this long journey that dates back to my early 1990s Baltimore days-to the past 18 months where I have done freelance consulting on these issues while writing--I would like to mention a few professionals that are thought leaders, and very well worth following on social networking sites like LinkedIn and Twitter.

Bill Baue: Bill is Co-Founder of Sea Change Media and is also a research fellow for the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at the Harvard-Kennedy School, where he examines the intersection of Web 2.0 and corporate social responsibility.

Elaine Cohen: Elaine has over 25 years of business experience, with global, local, and small private businesses, and extensive experience in the non-profit sector. She’s a thought leader in the CSR world, and blogs regularly on newly-issued CSR reports and other issues in that space. She’s thoughtful and passionate, and by the way, loves ice cream.

Crystal Crawford: Vibrant and talented, Crystal is the Communications and Online Media Coordinator of the Global Reporting Institute, providers of the leading global sustainability framework. She is also the moderator of GRI’s LinkedIn page. Do not be surprised if she becomes a CSR director or president of a non-profit in the coming years.

Shawn Lesser: Shawn is the President and Founder of Sustainable World Capital, a company focused on connecting profitable sustainable companies and funds of the future with institutional investors worldwide. He’s well versed on clean tech trends in the US and abroad—do not miss his articles, generally posted once a month.

Frederic Page: Currently based in Barcelona, Frederic Page is a business consultant who focuses on sustainability, CSR, and environmental issues. I follow him on Twitter and get great ideas on various issues from him.

Remember you can follow GGP on Facebook, too!

Santo Domingo – A Photo Tour

Leon Kaye — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:18:41 +0000

Most visitors to the Dominican Republic go to Punta Cana or other walled-in resorts. But the DR's capital, Santo Domingo, is well worth visiting. The oldest European city in the New World, this city of two million offers a fascinating glimpse into Latin America, and mixes the rich with poor, modern with colonial. I hope you enjoy the tour--this pictures are from a long weekend trip I took in 2003. I recently scanned these negatives. I love the retro feel to them--unlike my digital prints, they are hardly perfect.

Korea Emerges as a Solar Giant

Leon Kaye — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:36:12 +0000

When you think about the supply chain side of the solar industry, China of course comes to mind. Visit a huge conference like Intersolar, and you will see Chinese firms that manufacture everything from thin film to ingot for modules to wafers in the exhibit hall. Wuxi, population 4.8 million, has become the solar capital of China, hosting industry giants including Jetion Holdings and SunTech.

But its small neighbor and economic tiger to the northeast, South Korea, has made big moves on the solar front as well. Long dependent on imported fuel, Korea and its conglomerates, or chae-bol, have built their economy over the years from exporting textiles, machinery, its workers to build huge chae-bol construction projects in the Middle East, and now, snappy electronic goods. Iconic companies including Samsung and LG have invested in solar energy, and Hyundai will double its solar module and solar cell capacity next year. Now Posco, the steel giant, is in talks to purchase a major supplier of silicon for solar panels.

The acquisition of the Norwegian firm Elkem could set Posco back about US$1 billion. Founded over 100 years ago as an aluminum supplier, Elkem expanded its business into the rapidly growing silicon market over the past decade. Its owner, the conglomerate Orkla, is supposedly sharpening its business focus, which currently has a diverse portfolio of companies that includes food products and real estate.

Some analysts question the wisdom of a steel company investing in renewable energy technology. Korea, however, has emerged as a hub of renewable energy innovation. Solar technology deals have increased throughout Korea, and the country has arguably become an open renewable energy lab: the controversial Songdo City master plan, for example, includes solar technology in its buildings’ plans. Korean firms have entered into partnerships outside the country’s borders, too, with solar project investments in the San Joaquin Valley and Arizona.

In the end, the recent transactions Korean companies reflect a country’s goal to maintain a secure energy supply. Hence Korea National Oil Corp’s hostile bid of the British firm Dana Petroleum, and deals on the renewable side like that of Posco’s. But Posco’s bid also reveals the maturity of the solar industry. While some standard-bearers in the business world like the Wall Street Journal deride solar power as “speculative and immature,” the industry is still growing and evolving, and is now marked with deals in the 10-figure range. Add Korea’s export-driven economy into the mix, and chances are that when solar panels rise in your city in the near future, they will have the Hyundai, Samsung, or LG logos on them.

Five Movie Classics That Will Wean You Off of Meat

Leon Kaye — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:01:45 +0000

I am not a vegetarian, but have always tried my best to reduce my meat consumption. Part of the reason for easing off of meat is health, but concerns over food safety—and animal cruelty, have driven me towards a more-vegetable based diet. Sites like meat.org and some of the recent news stories that have shown what animals go through are enough to stop buying meat from chain supermarkets. I figure if you buy meat that is raised sustainably and from reputable stores, that is a huge step.

Over the years, some movie scenes were successful in dissuading me from eating meat. I share a few movies below:

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?: Someday we’ll see haggard and hunched Jennifer Anniston and Julia Roberts duke it out in a garish thriller—but this film noir classic, innovative for its time, has no imitation. Deranged Bette Davis served Joan Crawford her poor parakeet, then amped up the mind games when she served lamb instead of another backyard animal. But a starving Blanche, who was denied breakfast for not eating her lamb, got this served for lunch. Watching Joan Crawford circle in her wheelchair, sobbing and heaving, is disturbing. So was the way Davis dealt with basement rats.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: It was the highlight of Elizabeth Taylor’s career, and yet could have been the beginning of her decline as well. Taylor won her second Oscar for her searing performance castigating the character her on-again, off-again husband, Richard Burton, played. By the way, contrary to what Burton’s emasculated character said, she did bray. But I can never look at a drumstick the same away again after watching Taylor eat a cold chicken leg right out of the fridge—she was still stunningly beautiful in 1966, but the way she gnashed her teeth on that chicken flesh was grotesque.

Mommie Dearest. Once upon a time a famous movie star made her children do chores, which most children hate. Most kids grow up and learn to appreciate the value of house and garden work in later years, or turn toward hire help. Christina Crawford wrote a nasty book about her mother, Joan Crawford instead—and eventually admitted some of those nasty episodes were exaggerated. But the 1981 film became a cult classic, and eviscerated the career of every actor who was in the film. Forget the wire hanger scene—the highlight is the ridiculous PepsiCo boardroom scene. But watching a young Christina play with rare meat, and to grow up having no option but to order steak—rare—does not do much for the appetite. In case you want a rehash of the movie’s highlights, you can always watch remixes with Abba’s Mamma Mia.

The Great Outdoors. John Candy and Dan Aykroyd were at the top of their comedic game in this 1988 slapstick comedy. The genre of suburbanites out of their element in nature made for many a silly flick during the late 80s and early 90s. But watching John Candy eat that huge hunk of meat in order to get a free meal for the whole gang was, well, the best advertisement message that Boca Burgers could ever snag.

When Harry Met Sally: It’s hard to believe 20 years has passed since this movie, one of the most watchable films of all time, was the talk of college dorms and happy hours. Now it just reminds us of how bad 80s hair was, and the indigestion that results from eating one of those multi-stories sandwiches at a New York or LA Jewish deli.

A Sweet Gallery of Cool Summer Bites

Leon Kaye — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:22:22 +0000

Summer means ice cream, and Sweet Bite Creamery of Washington, DC has been defining frozen desserts at DC regional farmers' markets lately. The creative geniuses behind Sweet Bite, Ashley Allen and Tricia Widgen, have been brightening up markets in Reston, Oakton, and Alexandria. Here's a gallery of their summer collection. It makes Fashion Week in Manhattan appear rather dull, eh? The colors on the runway just do not compare; the flavors are incomparable as well!

Shortcake with plum ice cream

Lemon macarons with crème fraiche ice cream

Browned sugar beaches (the family-friendly name) with vanilla bean crème fraiche

Memphis Moo- Spicy pecan shortbreads with caramel corn ice cream

Raspberry macarons with chocolate sherbet

Top seller-- Lemon macarons with raspberry ice cream

Vanilla macarons with chocolate (orchids sold separately)

Follow Sweet Bite Creamery on Twitter and join the Facebook page!

Honolulu to Building Contractors: Recycle 60% of Used Materials

Leon Kaye — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:50:14 +0000

Hawai'i's capital has 80% of the state's population and is the gateway for most of the 7 to 8 million tourists that visit annually. Honolulu also grapples with a huge trash problem. Its 900,000 residents and 80,000 daily visitors combined contribute over 1.5 million tons of trash each year. About one-third of that garbage is incinerated to provide electricity. But whatever is not recycled ends up at a landfill southwest of the city, and space is disappearing fast.

City leaders thought they had a solution for all that garbage: shred it, bale it, and send it to a landfill in Washington state. Native Americans who administer the land where the dump is located, however, said no thank you, and filed a court order to prevent the import of trash. Another landfill exists on the Big Island of Hawai'i, but a local ordinance there nixes the delivery of trash from outside the island. Meanwhile, space is running out, and no one wants a landfill near the backyard. Why would they? Oahu is crammed with natural beauty. But that trash has go to go somewhere. Increased recycling may offer part of a solution.

Honolulu City Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz introduced a bill that would require building permit applicants to submit plans that would prove reuse or recycling of 60% of any demolished and dismantled materials. Such a plan appears to be a solid place to start: According to Re-use Hawai'i, a non-profit that sources and resells used construction materials, about 35% of landfill waste in Hawai'i comes from construction projects. The bill exceeds general LEED requirements, which suggest that 50% of building materials be diverted from landfills.

As it stands, the bill needs some fine-tuning. Local contractors support the spirit of the bill, but want incentives including tax breaks and a fast-track permit process included in any new law. The bill also does not spell out what the penalty would be for any violation of the law.

The problem will likely get worse before any solution is agreed upon. Hawai'i has had its share of economic problems the past decade, but it is still growing: various indices rank the Honolulu area as having one of the highest qualities of life on the globe—and meanwhile, tourists are coming back.

One place where contractors could start is in Re-Use Hawai'i's warehouse. The organization receives used building materials, and then resells them at costs that are tiny when compared to those at a building supply store. Proceeds from the warehouse's sales go towards Re-use Hawai'i's expansion and education projects, while reducing trips to Oahu's landfill.

A Kiosk View of Life in Iran

Leon Kaye — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:01:37 +0000

This band is hardly new—they have created buzz among the Persian disaspora and music afficianodos since they were founded in a Tehran basement in 2003. The buzz is pretty strong in Iran, too, apparently. Just don't let the wrong person hear you play Kiosk's tunes.

But Kiosk, the members of which have moved to the US and Canada since their music got them in trouble with the Iranian government, creates not only great music that incorporates many genres, but has produced some great videos, too.

While experimenting with many musical styles, Kiosk is especially critical of the mullahs' often hypocritical policies. This video, Eshgh e Sorat (Speed Lover), which has subtitles for us Farsi-impared, gives a nice tour of life in Tehran. It brilliantly displays the disconnect between many Iranians and their government, and shows that Iranians struggle with fundamentally the same issues that we do—from just getting by day-to-day, to dealing with trash and pollution. I have been smitten, and I think this video, and the lyrics, will do the same for you, too.

Detroit: The Motor City Turns into FarmVille

Leon Kaye — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:59:17 +0000

For years Detroit has been the butt of endless jokes. No city displays the tragic decline of manufacturing more than Detroit. In the 1940s, it was described as the “Capital of the 20^th Century,” a shining display of America’s economic might. Detroit was the USA, especially for the immigrants, including many Armenians, who crossed the Atlantic and worked for companies like Ford Motor. Detroit even bid for the Summer Olympics several times, but lost to cities like Rome, Melbourne, and Mexico City. The Motor City’s population spiked in 1950 at 1.8 million—the fourth largest city in the US—to half that number today. San Jose recently passed it to become the US’s tenth largest city—meanwhile, the Detroit’s metropolitan area has increased 85% in population the past 60 years. People like my cousins moved to the suburbs, and avoided Detroit at all costs.

Automobiles built Detroit, and in the long term, helped to sabotage it. The city’s once extensive rail system was ripped out by 1956, and the assembly lines moved to suburban sites, while taking the workers with them. The city’s demise began in the 1940s—families like those of my grandfather’s were able to move west, financed with the money received from selling their homes to make way for new highways. Of course Detroit’s leadership bears blame for its freefall—mayors like Coleman Young and Kwame Fitzpatrick were incompetent, and never could cope with rising crime, pyromaniac arsonists, depleted neighborhoods, and ill-thought projects, like the monorail that puttered nowhere while offering views of the blight and boarded-up buildings. But not everyone is giving up on Detroit.

Detroit offers opportunity. Unlike many large American cities, Detroit is not marked by apartments, but is covered with single family homes—homes that remind us when manufacturing jobs were a path to the American dream. Neighborhoods including Green Acres, Indian Village, and Palmer Woods boast stunning homes that look as if they should belong in Hancock Park or Long Island. And then there is the rest of the town.

When housing values collapse to less than $10,000, and are stuck in neighborhoods so desolate that they are not even on the grid, they turn into artist colonies, or community initiatives like the Heidelberg Project. Folks like Mitch Cope have moved in, refurbished these homes quite eclectically, and have even retrofitted them with solar power.

The city’s houses, many of which were stripped of fixtures—unluckier homes just burned down—reveal plenty of open space. And many of those plots are now community gardens—at least 1200 are registered with the city. Organizations like The Greening of Detroit offer everything from composting workshops to tools to advice on the purchase of trees. A Michigan State University study suggests that the 5000 acres of vacant land could provide city residents about 70% of the vegetables and 40% of the fruit that they need. Put a dollar value on Detroit’s agriculture potential, and $63 million economic opportunity exists. There is a desperate need, too—many of the supermarkets in the city closed down, and as many as half its population has limited access to healthy food. The city certainly has the manufacturing capacity to build the equipment needed to transform Motor City into FarmVille.

Several challenges lie ahead, however. Farming in the city is technically illegal; much of its population feels helpless and ignored; many leaders would like to see the city restored to its past industrial glory; and the city’s finances are an accounting cesspit. But current Mayor Dave Bing, a former NBA all-star with a successful business background, realizes that the city has to shrink before its economy can grow.

Can a city find renewal by downsizing, and start by taking the most counter-intuitive approach: turn abandoned city neighborhoods into rows of cash crops?

We want to hear from current and former Detroiters. What do you think?

You can read this on TriplePundit, along with Leon Kaye’s other articles.

Parkman Triangle to Appear on NBC 4

Leon Kaye — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:58:08 +0000

It was a last minute request, but local NBC affiliate Channel 4 sent an editor to Parkman Triangle this morning.

The editors taped a brief segment with Ara Babaian, which will be broadcast regularly on their TV and digital channels, and will be on Channel 4’s web site as well.

The brief on Parkman Triangle will be part of series that explores various Los Angeles neighborhoods, with the goal to show locals and visitors spots in LA that merit a visit—going beyond the standards like Universal Studios, Hollywood and the Grove.

Let’s just face it, we are in one great neighborhood, with lots of options for eating, drinking, shopping, and “hanging out” on the stretch from Sunset Junction to the reservoir.

For Channel 4 to choose Parkman Triangle is pretty sweet. As Eliane, a media intern said, “At first I saw the pictures and had no idea what the big deal was—then I came here and I was blown away!”

Special thanks to Mekahlo “Mac” Medina, NBC 4’s Digital Journalist Manager, for the coverage.

Tune in this October!

Mega Farms Hold a Key to Sustainable Agriculture

Leon Kaye — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:49:00 +0000

The recall of a half billion eggs is another nauseating chapter in the threat to our food supply. E-coli in salad greens, cereal recalls, tainted peanut butter all come to mind—and for us pet lovers, the 2007-08 pet food scare reminded us that even our favorite pooch or kitty were at risk.

But despite those harrowing stories, the fact is that more healthful food choices are available now than ever before. Yes, fast, processed, and packaged meals are everywhere, but anyone who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s remembers how limited our food options were. Farmers’ markets were infrequent; organic and natural food stores were difficult to find; and forget about alterative restaurant sites on the web like HappyCow.com.

There simply are more—and improved--eating choices than available a generation ago. Take tomatoes. Remember the days, not that long ago, when you had few choices? Maybe there were cherry tomatoes, and some plum tomatoes, but the standard Solanum lycopersicum were what you found at the supermarket—usually green, often hard as an apple, and if you lucky, it would ripen in a week and you could hack it and add it to your salad. Now you can buy countless varieties, including those Rothko-like heirlooms in all sorts of patterns and colors, many of which are organic.

From its humble origins in Peru, the tomato has taken the world by storm the past 500 years, becoming the staple of cuisines from Armenian to Italian to Oaxacan. Annual global consumption is over 100 million tons and growing. Most tomatoes that are grown and produced for mass consumption are three of the 4000 so varieties in existence: AB2, the Sun 6366, and the Asgrow 410. One farm that grows those mass-produced tomatoes while working hard to ensure their sustainability is in Yolo County, California, not far from UC-Davis.

Frank Muller and his family raise what they call “process tomatoes,” the fruit that end up in salsas, ketchup, and marinara sauce. The family manages 219 tracts, raising everything from garlic to almonds to wheat, as well as cover crops that reduce erosion while boosting the soil’s biodiversity. But the tomato dominates: the Mullers raise about 60,000 tons of tomatoes annually. Their output ends up in Stockton and then Kentucky, where it becomes Unilever’s Ragu spaghetti sauce.

Spreadsheets and GPS technology drive the Mullers’ quest to mitigate the environmental effects of their farm. Every day, Frank Muller gauges the levels of organic matter, phosphates, nitrogen, and other minerals in the soil. He can name the various pests and number of them on each acre. Drip irrigation systems wind through the farm, which emits fertilizer as well. If the soil already has the desired amount of nitrogen, he holds back, as he did in 2008 when fertilizer prices soared during the commodities boom. Should farmers across the US matched the Mullers’ decrease in fertilizer use, 2.5 million less tons of nitrogen fertilizer would have been used in 2008. And if all 300,000 acres in California that grow tomatoes switched to drip irrigation, the amount of water saved would be enough to equal the entire amount used by the Yolo Irrigation District in one year—or a dam’s worth of water.

The Muller family’s farm participates in the Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops, an initiative to develop a system for measuring environmental performance throughout the specialty crop supply chain. The project will offer metrics to enable operators at any point along the supply chain to benchmark, compare, and communicate their own performance. As more customers demand that companies to explain the “sustainability” of their supply chain, the Stewardship Index will provide its participants data with which anyone from farmers to retailers can compare their performance as compared to that of their peers’.

Organic foods are becoming more popular—some estimates their sales have tripled or quadrupled over the past decade—but only about 1% of the farms in the US--and 0.5% of pastureland—is certified organic. Will the remaining 99% of farmland really switch to organic? If more farmers would adopt the practices of the Muller family, we may just watch the next food revolution fueled by companies like Nestle, Unilever, Wal-Mart, and Tesco. Some will blanche at the thought, but the Mullers may just be defining the future of food production.

To follow the fascinating trail of the Mullers’ tomatoes, read Frederick Kaufman’s article on the Natural Resources Defense Council’s blog. The article will also appear in the NRDC's OnEarth Magazine this fall.

For $578 Million, We’ll Build You A School

Leon Kaye — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:21:21 +0000

The LA Unified School District may have laid off 3000 teachers, struggles to pay the ones they have on payroll properly, is unable to cope with a huge dropout rate, and faces a $640 million shortfall, but the Robert Kennedy Learning Center is on target to open next month. After years of litigation and cost overruns, the $578 million project is finished.

The campus, on the grounds of what was once the famous Ambassador Hotel, will house 4200 students from kindergarten through high school. The campus boasts a park, a memorial to the New York Senator, who was assassinated on the grounds in 1968, a food court, and a state-of-the-art swimming pool.

Some have lauded the innovative campus, saying that the days of 1960s and 1970s cinder block construction are long over. Having been a product of those cinder block schools in Northern California, I have to wonder whether the expenditure was worth it—after all my peers and I turned out all right. Auditoriums, cool architecture, and wireless internet are nice, but in the end, was that expense necessary? Kids need involved parents, competent teachers, and a safe learning environment. The cost is excessive, even garish.

Some argue that the school is needed to ease overcrowding. Others justify the price tag by explaining that the campus was built during the peak of the commodity boom. And technically, the school was built thanks to a $20 billion bond fund, unrelated to any education programs. But is this really the best use of this land?

After RFK was murdered at the Ambassador, the hotel’s business declined. Then the neighborhood fell apart as well. But during the past several years, the Wilshire area has experienced a renaissance, and quite frankly, is one of the most entertaining areas of Los Angeles—and is architecturally fascinating as well, with huge houses of worship and apartment buildings. The hotel was also a beautiful oasis. The early Academy Awards ceremonies were hosted at the Ambassador, and it was a lush green space in the middle of a grimy urban neighborhood. But Los Angeles has a history of dismissing any attempts at historic preservation. It seems that many of the hotel’s structures could have been preserved, which would have saved costs and waste. In the end, politics and grandstanding won. A few token elements remain, but most of this historic property is gone.

I hope the school becomes a model of innovative education in the United States. But given the LAUSD’s history, the teachers’ unions stubbornness to accept any responsibility or reform, and the wisdom of having 4200 kids confined in this same space, I am dubious. Politicians have to learn that throwing money at a problem is not the way to go; nor crooning “education” means folks are going to get . . . educated.