Signs of Change 7.31.15

All around New Haven there are signs of change, real signs… 

The Yale campus is dotted with signs proclaiming “Urban Meadow” – patches of landscape, planted with wildflower seeds and sparsely tended. The unkempt appearance of some of these plots may be a little tough to get used to, but this “Meadow” (about a mile from downtown New Haven) is a wonder to behold — a sea of Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) in full bloom. 

Rudbeckia hirta, a plant native to all the lower 48 states, is a member of the aster family. It can tolerate a wide range of soils and temperatures, and has no major insect or disease pests. You can read more about Rudbeckia hirta on this USDA factsheet. 

Its flowers attract nectar seeking bees, butterflies, and insects. Its seeds attract birds, as the poop-covered sign above attests. The companion website to the movie Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us? recommends planting a large volume of the same type of bee-friendly flowers  in your garden or yard to provide bees with forage. One of the suggestions is Rudbeckia hirta.

These plants bloom from June to October. Note that they do tend to crowd out other flowers growing near them. But if you love Black-Eyed Susans, have lots of sun and plenty of space, and don’t have time to weed, Rudbeckia hirta is the plant for you. 

This particular Urban Meadow is located on upper Prospect Street near the northern border of Yale’s main campus, in front of the planetarium, nestled between Farnam Gardens and Betts House.

Saturday Short Subjects: Healthy City/Healthy Climate

Collectively we caused the percentage of carbon dioxide in our air to rise. Collectively we can work to bring it down.

That is the premise behind New Haven’s Healthy City/Healthy Climate Challenge, launched last Wednesday in a public event at ArtSpace.  

Healthy New Haven/Healthy Climate Challenge is a collective effort of local organizations including the New Haven Bioregional Group, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven,Common Ground, CT Fund for the Environment, Yale Office of Sustainability, and New Haven/Leon Sister City Project. 

To respond to the challenge of climate change and to improve the health of the New Haven community, the groups propose a challenge of their own — pledge to take action that will have immediate positive impacts on local quality of life, and will help mobilize local institutions to create more sustainable, efficient infrastructure.

The pledge requires a commitment to take five steps:

1. Two days of walking, biking, or public transit a month
2. Choosing the 100% renewable option on his/her electricity
3. Two meat-free days a week
4. Recycling all glass, cans, paper, and plastic and composting
5. Joining an environmental action alert list

The site suggests websites and other resources to help achieve these goals. 

The organizers urge everyone to “take a lead in creating a healthier lifestyle and community…be realistic, make a plan, and celebrate moving ahead.” They predict we'll all save some money and become healthier as we work to make the world a better place.

I signed on today, and I hope you'll join me on this journey, wherever you live.

Let’s do this thing, together.

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).

Counting Down to Earth Day 2013: 4.13.13

This is the fourth day of my Counting Down to Earth Day 2013 challenge. Yes, I realize that it's late in the day, but it’s still April 13!

As I continue with the theme of growing things, my fourth tip is a little more specific.

Today’s Tip: PLANT A TREE

Trees are valuable for many reasons.

The Arbor Foundation, founded in 1972, the centennial of the first observance of Arbor Day, is a nonprofit dedicated to the planting of trees. The Foundation has compiled statistics from all kinds of sources about why trees are good for the planet, wildlife, and real estate values!

Here are just a few:

• “The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.” —U.S. Department of Agriculture

• “Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property’s value.” —USDA Forest Service

• “The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams.” —USDA Forest Service

• “In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension.” —Dr. Roger S. Ulrich Texas A&M University

• “There are about 60– to 200-million spaces along our city streets where trees could be planted. This translates to the potential to absorb 33 million more tons of CO² every year, and saving $4 billion in energy costs.” —National Wildlife Federation

New Haven, Connecticut, where I live, appreciates the importance of trees. The City has undertaken an ambitious program — TreeHaven | 10 K — with the goal of planting 10,000 trees in 5 years. The trees are being planted by Urban Resources Institute (URI), the group I am supporting in next Saturday’s Rock to Rock Ride. 

If you  live in New Haven, you can request a tree, to be planted by URI, at no cost to you. But first you must sign a pledge that you will care for your new tree. Newly planted trees require 25 gallons of water per week during the growing seasons (from bud-break to leaf-drop) for the first three years.

If you decide to plant a tree, please think carefully before you buy one. Think of your site. How much sun do you have? What is your zone? What is your soil like? How much space do you have? Talk to an arborist or a reputable nursery before making your final decision.

To start you off, here is a slideshow of trees you should NEVER plant. 

Come back tomorrow for a new tip as we count down to Earth Day on April 22.

Love Your Mother (Earth). Pass it on. Together we can make a difference. Yes, we can!

2012: The International Year of Cooperatives

The United Nations declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives. 

UN international years are declared to draw attention to and encourage action on major issues. The International Year of Cooperatives was intended to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation, and social integration as well as to highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.

The year was launched at the UN in a program in October, 2011, shortly before New Haven’s Elm City Market, a co-op, opened its doors with 750 members. The market’s membership has grown in the last year to over 1710 today.

In November the UN held closing ceremonies for the Year of Cooperatives, which included a short film festival. The seven winning films raise awareness about cooperatives – what they are, and what they do – and encourage support and development of cooperative enterprises by individuals and their communities. Each of the films also highlights at least one of the 10 key messages of the International Year of Cooperatives:

• Cooperative enterprises build a better world.
• Cooperative enterprises are member owned, member serving and member driven
• Cooperatives empower people
• Cooperatives improve livelihoods and strengthen the economy
• Cooperatives enable sustainable development
• Cooperatives promote rural development
• Cooperatives balance both social and economic demands
• Cooperatives promote democratic principles
• Cooperatives and gender: a pathway out of poverty
• Cooperatives: a sustainable business model for youth

You can view the films here. I suggest starting with the 2 minute short, “What’s to Love About Food Co-Ops,” produced in the US by the National Cooperative Grocers Association, which playfully describes the many reasons why you should be a Co-Op member.

The film’s message, in short, is that co-ops sell a wide range of healthy food and are good for the local and regional economy. As a member of a new co-op myself, I can attest that being a member of a co-op has tangible and personal economic benefits. 

If you live in the New Haven area, it is easy to be a part of the co-op movement. Stop by the Elm City Market. Check out the photo wall of happy member faces. See if you can spot me there. Why not join me? You can be a happy member, too.  

On My Radar 3.4.12

Recent News. Happenings. Discoveries…Here are some of the items on my radar.

NEWS from ALL OVER:

Judge Rules “For” Monsanto, “Against” CT NOFA (and 80+ other plaintiffs). On the very day that I blogged about why I’d joined CT NOFA, Judge Naomi Buchwald dismissed the case of Organic Seed Growers et al. vs Monsanto. Dan Ravicher, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, “While I have great respect for Judge Buchwald, her decision to deny farmers the right to seek legal protection from one of the world's foremost patent bullies is gravely disappointing." The plaintiffs plan to appeal. Check out CT NOFA’s blog for an excellent summary of the proceedings and more comments from Ravicher and some of the plaintiffs. If you are interested, you can read the judge’s ruling here.

Winter Tornadoes. A wide band of early season tornadoes wreaked havoc in the Midwest on February 29, killing 6 in Harrisburg, Illinois, and causing extensive damage in tourist mecca Branson, Missouri. A story in the Aledo Times Record  reported the Harrisburg tornado as an EF-4 (a measurement used to measure its windspeed by the level of its destruction), with winds up to 170 miles per hour. The article stated, “Before Harrisburg, the only other EF-4 tornado to strike Illinois in February was on February 25, 1956 when one passed south of St. Louis and into St. Clair County Illinois, causing 6 deaths in those two states … Southern Illinois is home to the worst tornado disaster in U.S. history. On March 18, 1925, the infamous Tri-State Tornado caused 695 deaths as it moved through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana.” A second devastating outbreak on March 2 brought destruction to a dozen states from Alabama to Indiana. The Weather Channel reported the preliminary count for tornado sightings as 74.  The Weather Channel posted an interactive map of all the reports.  On Sunday CNN listed the death toll as 37. You can see a photo gallery here. 

Sunflowers in Fukushima. It’s coming up to one year since a tsunami struck Japan and triggered a nuclear disaster at Fukushima. In April, 2011, Buddhist monks and scientists planted sunflowers as phytoremediators for the radioactive element cesium, restoring beauty to the area and bringing hope to citizens. Unfortunately, however, it seems the sunflowers did little to reduce the cesium levels. 

Late last month, a VERY large lobster (40” and 27 lbs), was caught near Cushing, Maine and brought to the Maine State Aquarium. He was photographed, given a name (Rocky) and released. Large as Rocky is, he is 17 pounds shy of the Nova Scotia lobster listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Bottled Water Banned at the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service has approved a a plan which will eliminate the sale of bottled water by park concessionaires. It will take effect in just a few days. Ten filling stations, where visitors can refill their own water bottles, have been set up inside the park. Officials had estimated that water bottles accounted for 20% of the park’s waste and 30% of its recyclables. Similar bans are in place at two other national parks — Zion and Hawaii Volcanoes. Last March, New Haven’s Board of Aldermen prohibited the use of any public funds to purchase bottled water for the City of New Haven. 

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Claire Criscuolo has a new cookbook, Welcome to Claire’s, illustrated with color photos. She has been on a mini book signing tour in the area. Stop by Claire’s to purchase a copy if you are nearby. Otherwise, check it out online. [Check back soon for a review.]

There’s a relatively new 66,000 pound resident on lower Orange Street — a fuel cell, the City’s 3rd. The cell, being rented from United Technologies,  occupies the little-used Millenium Plaza behind City Hall, between the Federal Building and the Hall of Records. The cell is not much to look at, but it is expected to free the City from a contract for power from the adjacent Connecticut Financial Center which expires in 2013. It is estimated that by switching to the cell, in one decade the City will reap a net savings between $500,000 and $1 million in heating and cooling costs. The cell will become operational as soon as possible, with some of the energy coming from the Financial Center until the contract runs out.

The storm sewer separation work continues on Trumbull Street. It is noisy. It is inconveniencing drivers and annoying residents. But it is truly a wonder to behold the pipe jacking being used to minimize the impact on the well established trees which line the street. Here is the latest update. 

The number of owner/members in the Elm City Market continues to grow. When the store opened its doors on November 2, membership was at 750. There were 1431 members when the store’s site was last updated.

DISCOVERIES:

Deer have been ravaging backyards in New Haven’s East Shore, as well as those on the west side of town where they’ve been residing for years. At Master Gardening I learned that stringing pieces of Irish Spring around the periphery of your property is an effective deterrent. Downside? Mice are said to be attracted by the scent. You will have to choose your pest.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 7th

6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Pint Night

Co-sponsored by Trailblazer and Box 63 

in the Broadway District of New Haven

In support of CitySeed. 

More details. 

March 10th

4:00 - 6:00 pm

CT Slow Food Shoreline's Slow Food Swap

Woodland Coffee

The second of what is planned to be a monthly event.

For more info, check here. I hope to trade this time around.

CALLING ALL RIDERS

March 23rd

5:00 pm - 8:00 pm 

Mitchell’s Ride

It’s been almost a year since the passing of popular Devil’s Gear mechanic and musician Mitchell Dubey. Devil’s Gear owner Matt Feiner and Mitch’s many other friends are holding a ride in his honor,  leaving from the shop and ending with a party back at the shop, which will “celebrate Mitch’s love of good things to eat and music.” And they really want you all to be there.

April 21st

Rock to Rock 

Kicks off from Common Ground High School after a hearty breakfast

Hundreds of riders raise money for local environmental groups while exploring New Haven by bicycle (an 8-Mile ride). Hard-core riders have the option of signing on for a 20 or 60 mile route. Last year over 500 riders raised more than $50,000. I had a blast on the short route last year and am looking forward to this year’s ride. I’m thinking of going for the 20 mile route. If you want to ride with me or pledge for my team, let me know.

BLOG NEWS:

I finally put a closing date on my petition asking Stop & Shop to stop sourcing their organic green beans from China. I did gather 290 signatures and raised some awareness of the problem among my readers. And, the next time I want to start a petition, I’ll  know exactly how to do it.

My page views continue to rise. Thanks for all the tweets, +1s and forwards. Together we can make a difference.

Please “visit” again soon. And, for those who live in New Haven, I hope to see you out and about as the days get longer. There’s a lot to do in The Have.

Meatless Monday: They Came, They Bid, They Swapped

Slow Food Shoreline’s Food Swap on February 4th was such a success that it will likely become a a monthly event. When food lovers arrived at at New Haven’s Woodland Coffee & Tea, wares in hand, the group’s full board was there to greet them. 

These eggs did NOT come from a store!

The empty table was soon filled with items for trade. There were eggs of many colors — lots of them — from backyard chickens, baked goods, jams, and even some limoncello. Nothing to trade? You were out of luck. No cash allowed. 

People perused and mingled, had some coffee, and talked until the bidding opened. They placed their bids, then talked and drank some more. When the time was up, the swaps were made. There were smiles all around. One kind soul shared her extra fruit butter with everyone, even with those who had arrived empty-handed. The traders left happy and inspired for next month. Here are details on how the Swap works. You can see more photos from the first Swap and other recent events at the group’s facebook page.

There’s no stopping Slow Food Shoreline’s enthusiastic board. They staffed a table at the opening day of “Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating,” a hands-on exhibition at Yale’s Peabody Museum through December 2012. Prior commitments kept me from checking out Big Food on its first weekend, but look for a blogpost soon.

Slow Food Happy Hour returns tonight, February 13 from 5- 7 at New Haven’s Soul de Cuba and the “Life is Sweet” Vegan Cupcake Class is coming up at Katalina’s  Cupcakes on February 25th. 

If good, healthy food is important to you, look for a chapter of Slow Food near you. In New Haven we are fortunate to have such an energized board running our brand new chapter. They know how to work hard and have a good time. 

Have a great week. I hope to see some of you locals at one of the next Slow Food events in and around New Haven. I’ll “see” the rest of you back here next Monday.

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.”

Meatless Monday: Farewell Summer. Hello Winter.

Indian Summer ended abruptly in the Northeast just over a week ago when Alfred dumped record amounts of snow in places less just a short drive from here. We were lucky along the Connecticut shoreline. As the weathermen explained it, the temperature of the water on the Sound was still too warm (in the upper 50s) to allow snow to accumulate along the shore. Right at the water’s edge, all it did was rain. In downtown New Haven we had to shovel a few inches of slush. The significant amounts of heavy wet snow falling on branches still covered with leaves caused numerous downed trees, limbs, and power lines over much of the inland portions of the state. At one point, nearly one million Connecticut residents were without power; as of Sunday night, some 114,000 CL&P customers are still in the dark.

The saddest thing for me was losing my backyard miracle. My two container-grown grape tomato plants, bought at a nursery school fundraiser, had been turning out a bumper crop of tiny, tasty fruits ever since mid-July. I had finally found the perfect thing to grow in my very small, mostly shady yard.

I had been hoping for a few more warm, sunny days so all the fruit on the vine-like branches would ripen. But when the slushy snow began to fall, I rushed out to pick everything over the size of a marble. The branches were sprawling and tangled. There were tomatoes everywhere. I should have worn gloves. Here is my yield. See how many? Monetarily speaking, these two plants paid for themselves many times over, not to mention the pleasure they brought me for so many weeks.

I am not a big fan of fried green tomatoes, so I’m giving my dad’s trick of putting green tomatoes in a shoebox with an apple a try. I know it works for larger, nearly mature fruit. The apple gives off ethylene gas as it ripens; the gas also ripens the tomatoes. One of the things that ethylene does is to stop production of chlorophyll, allowing the colors associated with ripe fruit to become unmasked. Ethylene gas is sometimes used to ripen fruit as it travels to market. You can read more here. 

I hope I can salvage some of my last tastes of Summer. It’s the first day of early darkness, and right now it feels like a long time until my favorite season rolls around again.

Back to Alfred for a second: If any of you were among the unfortunate ones whose trees sustained damage in the recent storm, this link is a fantastic resource for helping you determine if your trees can be saved. 

One more thing relating to my previous post: We got our shopping cart. We used it. And, in case you are wondering, the salvia is still in bloom because we brought it in during the storm and those really cold days. Not ready to say “good-bye.”

Have a great week. And remember that Tuesday is Election Day.

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.”

The Wait is Over. The Doors Have Opened.

November 2, 2011 was a day to celebrate in downtown New Haven, CT. Many of the owner/members of the long-awaited Elm City Market  took the opportunity to be the first ones in the checkout lines during the course of a full day of pre-opening shopping. At 4:30 pm, the entire community poured into the store for the ribbon cutting and opening night festivities — tastings from local vendors to the tunes of local performers. 

The Elm City Market is a hybrid co-op situated on the ground floor of New Haven (and the region’s) greenest apartment building — 360 State Street, a LEED Platinum certified building powered by electricity generated by a fuel cell, developed by Fairfield CT firm Becker + Becker. As of opening day, the market had 750 owner/members. Elm City Market is a food oasis in a densely populated section of the city which had lacked a grocery store for decades. The market’s opening has created over 100 new jobs for local residents!

Getting a market in this location was no easy task. Being selected as developer for the site was a highly competitive process. One requirement for development of the site was inclusion of a high-end, full-service grocery store; failure to provide such a store within the first three years of the building’s opening would result in a hefty $250,000 fine.  When the likely candidates said the footprint was too small, developer Becker + Becker turned to the successful City Market in Burlington, VT for a model. And now, less than 3 years since the December 19, 2008 groundbreaking, here I stand inside a beautiful new grocery store. 

There were many people to thank at the ribbon-cutting, from Webster Bank which had committed $4 million in funding, to retiring 7th Ward alderwoman Bitsie Clark who has been involved with 360 State Street since the selection of the site developer. Even the USDA’s Rural Business Services had a hand in the project, since the market is stimulating business for local farmers.  

Now, back to the market. As a hybrid, the market features local, natural, organic, along with conventional produce, meat, and groceries. Conventional groceries make up about 15% of the market’s SKUs, but are promised by store manager Mark Regni to be “the cleanest…the best of conventional.” The market carries a number of local items, clearly marked LO, many of which were suggested by co-op members, and the managers promise to stock even more. It is particularly strong on local bread and baked goods. There is a 30 foot hot bar, a salad bar, and a seating area for dining in. The prices seem pretty much in line for high-end products, and the sale prices, particularly in the produce area, very fair. On my tour through the aisles I learned that the frozen green beans come from the USA! 

The market also carries an excellent selection of vitamins and supplements, a wide range of natural toiletries and beauty products, and a good assortment of greeting cards and green living items, perfect for last-minute gifts. Many area residents had been making frequent trips to Orange and Milford to shop for such wares in the two stores which had turned down the developer’s offer to open in New Haven. 

Those days are over for me. I’m about to invest in a new set of wheels. I have my shopping cart picked out. I just have to make a trip in the car to pick it up…

Oh happy day! 

Check it out. You, too, could become an owner/member. No work requirement, just a one-time membership fee. Installment plan available. Details here. 

Meatless Monday: It’s Food Day Today!

Happy Food Day! Yes, today, October 24th, is a very special Meatless Monday. The goal of this first annual Food Day, sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is “to bring together Americans from all walks of life to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.” Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are the Honorary Co-Chairs for Food Day 2011. There are events large and small scheduled to take place around the country. Click here to find an event near you.  

In my city of New Haven, CT there will be lots of things happening over the course of the day. Here are some highlights:

• In a morning event, second graders from New Haven’s Columbus School will walk to the Chabaso Bakery Farm for a teach-in with New Haven Public Schools Food Director “Food Dude” Tim Cipriano and his colleague, dietitian Sarah Bourque. The students will be the first to taste Chabaso Bakery’s new “Ollie Bread,” made with all natural ingredients and whole grains such as wheat, honey, raisins, millet, flax, and rye. The bread will be served in New Haven public schools.

• At 5 pm on the Yale campus, Chef René Redzepi, owner of Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, named the “world’s best restaurant” in both 2010 and 2011, will present a talk co-sponsored by the Yale Sustainable Food Project and the Yale Agrarian Studies Department. Redzepi goes beyond the usual farm to table route to source everything locally: he is a forager. The story goes that on one particular day during a very harsh winter, the only hyper-local ingredients he and his team could procure were some dark blue carrots which had wintered over in an icy field. Redzepi is reported to have turned the leathery carrots into a delicious dish after braising them for hours in goat’s butter and serving them with fresh chamomile tips and sorrel.  For more, check out Dishes from Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine. 

• At 6 pm the public is invited to the City’s Barnard Environmental School for some healthy snacks and a screening of What’s On Your Plate?,  “a witty and provocative documentary produced and directed by award-winning Catherine Gund about kids and food politics.” Admission is free. There will be door prizes! City Seed’s New Haven Cooks will be available for purchase.

Even if there are no scheduled events in your area, you can still observe Food Day. Here is a link to send a message to Congress asking for support of Food Day's goals. Here is another to special Food Day recipes. 

Wherever you are, whatever you do today, be well and eat well. Happy Food Day. 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.”

PS Please don’t forget about the frozen beans from China. The petition count is still rising, but at a slower rate than it has been, still going for 500. If you are interested in signing on, you will find my widget one post back. Thanks.

On My Radar 10.14.11

Passings. News. Happenings. Fall Clean-up Tips…Here are some of the items on my radar.

FAREWELLS:

Steve Jobs died on Wednesday, October 5, at the age of 56. The news spread instantly on devices of Steve’s design, and the world paid him homage in ways that would have been impossible without his vision. We mourn his passing and wonder what more would have been in store if Steve’s life had not been so short. On the day after his death it was reported that former Yale SOM Dean Joel Polodny had been recruited by Apple and Steve Jobs to plan a training program in which company executives will be taught to think like Jobs, “in a forum to impart that DNA to future generations.”

Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai died on September 25. In an era where women in Kenya were not educated and had little power, she was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, and in 1977 founded the Green Belt Movement which has planted an estimated 45 million trees around Kenya. Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, reminds us to honor Wangari’s life by remembering what one person can achieve.

NEWS from ALL OVER:

On October 8, Denmark’s new “fat tax” went into effect. The nation imposed a tax on fatty foods, including butter, believed to be the first such action in the world, as an additional step to raising life expectancy of Danes. Denmark, as well as some other European countries, already has higher fees on sugar, chocolates, and soft drinks. 

Faster than the speed of light? A new discovery, if proven true, may upend our understanding of the universe and our concept of time. Researchers working underground in Italy in one of the world’s largest physics laboratories recorded neutrinos traveling at a fraction of a second faster than the speed of light, an event that is impossible in Einstein’s theory of special relativity.

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

While New Haven is still no shopping mecca, it is no longer a shopping desert.

New Haven’s Apple Store opened on September 24 to jubilant High-5s from all the new employees. The first 1000 visitors received a commemorative black t-shirt.

New employees of the Elm City Market have begun stocking the store's shelves........ A soft opening is promised for members (currently at 688) later this month as soon as all the permits are in order. The Market still has job openings and is in particular need of a meat cutter. Members, there is a $50 gift certificate in it for you if you recommend the person who is hired. 

Common Ground High School raised $2,551 at the Community Day at Whole Foods in Milford last month. All of those funds will be invested in their core programs. That figure represents 5% of the net sales at that one store on September 21. That’s a whole lot of shopping!

New Haven’s Wild, Wild West. A query about wildlife sitings in Westville and Beaver Hills  (for those who don’t know, just a couple of miles from downtown) yielded a remarkable number of results including: plenty of woodchucks, the occasional deer, 4 wild turkeys trotting down the sidewalk, turtles, an opossum who ate all the baby robins from a nest right outside a window, and a red-tail hawk who swooped down and caught a squirrel at a busy corner. The woodchuck I reported earlier in the summer on the east side of town has not been seen since shortly before Hurricane Irene (at least by me).

On September 24, people around the world by participated in Moving Planet. In New Haven there were a number of events, including the planting of 44 fruit trees in Edgewood Park,  awarded to Friends of Edgewood Park as a prize for winning a national Communities Take Root contest sponsored by Edy’s Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. A large part of the day’s theme was the celebration of alternative forms of transportation, and hundreds rode their bikes (and people-powered vehicles) through downtown streets, beginning and ending on the historic New Haven Green.

Even with the recent expansion of the City’s ambitious tree planting campaign and the new fruit trees in Edgewood Park, we are in the red this year. New Haven lost 1,250 trees during Hurricane Irene, and several were felled recently on Trumbull Street in preparation for the new storm sewer, one a very old London planetree. We watched with sadness as each limb was crudely sawed off… 

The new Connecticut chapter of Slow Food USA, Slow Food Shoreline, held its first event, a happy hour at Zinc, on Tuesday, October 11. You can follow them on Facebook  or Twitter. Now is a good time to join Slow Food USA. Through October 15, membership is give-what-you can, and the gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the generosity of a Slow Food USA board member. 

RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES:

E-Cycling for New Haven Residents

City residents can bring old electronics (any item can be plugged in, with the exceptions of light bulbs, batteries, and equipment containing refrigerants) to the Transfer Station (260 Middletown Avenue) Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am - 12:00 noon. All electronics collected during the month of October count toward New Haven's total tonnage in a statewide competition that rewards the community recycling the most electronics per capita during the month of October. The first prize is a $3000 scholarship for New Haven schoolchildren.

Community Shredding

If you live in CT, you can go online to locate shredding events in your area. 

Helping Hands Community Thrift Store & Furniture Bank is in particular need of beds and offers free pick-up in New Haven. Click here for a list of what they do and do not accept as donations. 

October 29

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

Last year nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation participated in drug take-back  events, collecting more than 309 tons of pills. You can enter your zip code here to find a collection site near you. 

October 29

Last Fall collection day at HazWaste Central (Collections will resume mid-May, 2012) Free to residents of Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, East Haven, Fairfield, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge, CT. For details click this link.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

October 15

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Common Ground - 358 Springside Avenue in New Haven

Tour-Ganic: The Voodoo Fix Rocks for CitySeed & Common Ground! 

Common Ground - 358 Springside Avenue in New Haven

The Voodoo Fix, an LA-based genre-bending rock band with roots in blues, soul, and funk, is bringing their national Tour-Ganic to Common Ground. All proceeds from the concert will help CitySeed and Common Ground get good, local, affordable food to our neighbors who need it most. $10 suggested donation.

October 16

11 am - 2 pm

Cabot Creamery Cooperative Open Farm Sunday

If you live in NE or NY, check this link to locate a farm near you

October 19

5:30 pm -7:30 pm

New Haven Green Drinks

The Red Lentil, 25 Temple Street, New Haven

Theresa Labriola, Senior Associate, Northeast Fisheries Program will speak at 6:30 on the topic of the program’s campaign to implement new, more conservative, catch limits on menhaden, which have dropped to less than 10% of their original population.

October 24

First Annual Food Day 

“Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. We will work with people around the country to create thousands of events in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, and state capitals.” Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are the Honorary Co-Chairs for Food Day 2011 which is sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Click here to find an event near you.

October 28

Critical Mass Halloween Ride

Gather at the flagpole on the New Haven Green at 5:30

There will be costumes. Wear a helmet. Have a working light.

October 29

CT NOFA’s 2011 Annual Meeting

Noon - 4 pm, Common Ground High School

Farm Tour and Potluck

Special Guest Rep. Richard Roy will speak about his efforts to label GMO food in CT

BLOG NEWS:

I have had several visits from readers from Mississippi. I now have all 50 states, and every continent except Antarctica. Thanks.

Over 135 people have signed my petition requesting that Stop & Shop use American grown green beans in their Nature’s Promise line. I am trying to get to 500. Please click if you have not done so already.

TGIF. Have a great weekend. Come back soon.