Saturday Short Subjects: Viewing the Earth Over Time

Earlier in the month it seemed we had reached an ominous milestone. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that on May 9 the daily average of atmospheric CO2 recorded at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii reached 400 parts per million for the first time. That number has since been revised downwards to 399.89. [Not quite 400, but nothing to celebrate.]  

Environmental activists have long been calling for immediate action to reduce  atmospheric CO2 to 350 ppm, what many experts believe to be the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. You can learn more about the science behind this number here. 

Just about the time the Mauna Loa story broke, the Google | Official blog unveiled “A picture of Earth through time.” Google worked with the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, and TIME to compile more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space and turn them into an interactive time-lapse experience. It’s pretty difficult to deny global warming after witnessing the remarkable images of the Columbia Glacier Retreat in Alaska between 1984 and 2011. 

There are many other featured sites including the Growth of Las Vegas, the Drying of the Aral Sea, Dubai Coast Expansion, and Amazon Deforestation. 

Prepare to be amazed and saddened. The next time you meet a climate denier, you will know just where to send him or her. 

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Meatless Monday: Claire’s Moroccan Sweet Potatoes

Claire’s Moroccan Sweet Potatoes has been a favorite in our house for longer than there have been “Meatless Mondays.” We first enjoyed it at my cousin’s house during her New Haven years. She lives in Denmark now, but I think of her every time I make it.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes is Claire Criscuolo’s  unique vegetarian take on a traditional Moroccan meat dish. In Claire’s version, chickpeas and walnuts supply the protein, making it a complete meal and a perfect Meatless Monday dish. It is also excellent when served on a grain — a good way to stretch the dish when serving a crowd.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes 

Preheat your oven to 400°F

INGREDIENTS

6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes

3 medium carrots, peeled, and cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch slices

1 large yellow onion, peeled, and sliced into 1/4-inch rings

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup golden raisins

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/3 cup of water

One 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained.

1/4 chopped walnuts

• In a large bowl, combine the vegetables, oil, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, raisins, and salt and pepper. Toss well.
• Pour the water into a 9’ x 13” glass baking dish.
• Turn the sweet potato mixture into the dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake for one hour.
• Remove the foil and stir in the chickpeas and walnuts. 
• Continue cooking, uncovered, for 10 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.

This delicious dish takes a bit longer to prepare than last week’s tofu stir fry, but it is worth the time and effort. This one-dish meal is excellent when heated as a leftover, if you should be so lucky.

Moroccan Sweet Potatoes is one of many delicious recipes in Claire’s Corner Copia Cookbook.Published in 1994, it is New Haven restaurateur Claire Criscuolo’s  first (and still my favorite) collection of recipes. If you can get your hands on a copy, check out Claire’s photo on the back cover. Such a kid! But I guess we all were back then. We  love you, Claire — always have, always will! 

Have a great week.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Saturday Short Subjects: Rock to Rock Overachieves!

The final tally is in. Earlier this week, Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride 2013 organizers announced the final statistics for this year’s event, the 5th annual ride.

The fundraising goal was $150,000.

The 1,100 riders in Rock to Rock 2013 recruited 2,388 donors, who contributed more than $152,000  — surpassing the fundraising goal by over $2,000! 

FYI, on April 20, Rock to Rock participants collectively biked more than 16,000 miles (over halfway around the globe) for the benefit of 23 different environmental organizations in New Haven!

Chris Randall, who took the photos of these two happy riders, was out and about documenting the day’s events. 

For more images from Rock to Rock 2013, check out this page at the website IloveNewHaven.org.

And, save the date of April 26, 2014 for next year’s ride!

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).