Post Script

The biggest greenwasher of them all?

An interesting article at greenbiz.com asks the question: Who is the biggest greenwasher of them all? Who makes sweeping statements about environmentally conscious action, with little to back it up? Is it some gigantic corporate entity? Big Oil? Big Ag? Big Chem? Big Pharm? Big Political Lobby Group? Nope. it's the average American consumer. Oh.

The author asks us to consider how often we have claimed to have changed our habits to better protect the earth, and then to consider how much meaningful change we have actually instituted in our daily lives. Do we take public transportation or ride a bike to work? Do we compost? Do we buy the organic, greener label? Every time? Half the time? Or some of the time?

According to the article: "Shoppers overwhelmingly buy what they want, most likely the same things they've always bought, perhaps with an exception or two. Except during brief periods of high fuel prices, they drive what they've always driven with little regard for alternatives. Despite 20 years of green consumers surveys suggesting otherwise, people haven't changed their shopping habits much."

Obviously, some of us do better than others so some of us can shake our heads at this and happily say this does not apply! But it's good to have a reminder once in a while and reflect on how we actually live, versus how we intend to live.

The full story here.

Philanthropy, unprecedented?

Bill and Melinda Gates. Warren Buffet. David Rockefeller. Oprah Winfrey.

That's quite a guest list.

Word has it that these luminaries and other monied individuals gathered last year for a secret meeting in New York City. What on earth for? Good question. It appears the intent of the fancy shin-dig was philanthropy -- on a massive scale.

Buffet and Mr and Mrs Gates are throwing down a Kennedy-style gauntlet. Only their focus is not the moon, it is earth and the sharing of wealth. According to Mother Nature Network: "In what could be potentially the biggest fundraising drive in history, Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates are hoping to inspire other billionaires to pledge at least 50 percent of their net worth to charity during their lifetimes or at death."

In 2009, Forbes magazine said the 400 wealthiest Americans had a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion. So we could be talking $600 billion destined for charity coffers.

The story here.

Blight is back: watch your tomatoes

The Rodale Institute wants tomato-growers to keep an eye out for signs of blight again this year. The devastating fungus was found on home-grown varieties in 2009, and now it's back. 

Rodale.com spoke with Meg McGrath, PhD, associate professor of plant pathology at Cornell University: "Unfortunately, I think it's a matter of time before it's widespread. (...) Hopefully, people will be more knowledgeable of the disease this year, realizing it's a community disease. If you end up with it, you have to take care of the problem, you can't let it fester in your garden."

What to look for? Brown patches on leaves are a sign that your plants are affected. Growers should remove the plant, bag it and send it to the landfill. And try not to cry.

Details and photo here.

Love the outdoors? Kids? Bugs?

If you answered yes to all of that, and you like to teach, the Urban Ecology Center might have a dream job for you. They're currently looking for an environment educator. See here for details.

What happens when organic goes BIG?

OrganicNation wanted to know the pros and cons of organic brands being snapped up by big corporations. They interviewed Ken cook, president of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and asked him for his thoughts. The video is posted here and is worth a few minutes of our time.

Has industrial farming slowed global warming?

The New Scientist addresses a complex issue, with arguments for and against.

Where is your milk from?

So... your milk says organic on the label, that's good! But what if it came from a massive dairy operation out of state where the animals aren't given much space or time to graze? Or maybe it came from a local dairy where the cows are few and pampered. Sometimes it's hard to know. Good thing we have the internet to save us! Go to this cool website: Where Is My Milk From?, enter your milk carton's code and get the dairy details. We tested it on a carton of Organic Valley half-and-half, which came from Smith Dairy in Richmond, Indiana.

Thanks to Nancy Quinn at Third Sector Creative.

From Racine ... to the cover of Food & Wine Magazine

This is a tale of a local boy done good if ever we saw one. Racine native and former chef for Louise's Trattoria, Alex Seidel now finds himself on the cover of Food & Wine magazine, hailed as one of the country's 10 best new chefs.

Currently at the helm of Fruition Restaurant in Denver, Seidel has come a long way since he left UW-Milwaukee to go to culinary school. Seidel tells the Journal Sentinel that he and his wife, Melissa, a Cedarburg native, love to come home to Milwaukee, and when they do, they head to Kopps for burgers and Wells Brothers in Racine for pizza.

The full story here, spotted first on Wisconsin Foodie's Twitter stream.

Shop local, eat local ... and play local, too

One of the things we love about Milwaukee is its diverse and rich arts scene. From Ko-Thi to the Florentine Opera, from the symphony and the Rep to Danceworks, we have big-budget and small-budget productions to choose from. Many of those organizations receive up to 20% of the their funding through UPAF, however, and UPAF is having a hard time.

That's according to Milwaukee Magazine. At the Outpost, we believe in supporting local businesses. Sometimes, it helps to receive a reminder that local arts groups and non-profits need that support, too. If you want to donate to the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), go here.

(Can the recession go away now?)

Foodie blog for the weekend

Organic, food, recipes. All good. Happy weekend!