how far has your food traveled?

Here's an interesting article from The New York Times on the subject of food, transportation, processing, pollution, and economics. Stay tuned for more info on the Locavore movement, which directly challenges this idea of a global food market...

Go Green Links from Chris Lewis

Here's a selection of related websites that Chris Lewis forwarded to me...if you see any activity or project that strikes your fancy, please pursue it!

http://www.terracycle.net/
http://www.recyclemaniacs.org/Index.htm
http://climatechallenge.org/
http://www.aashe.org/index.php
http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

reading ideas

I spent some time this past weekend thinking about readings for my own classes next fall, and other readings that you may find interesting.

My English 102 class will read Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver's novel chronicling issues of culture, love, agriculture, and hunting; Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer's non-fiction account of one young man's attempt to return to nature; and The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan's fascinating narrative of human-plant interdependence.

My American Literature Survey class will spend more time discussing the Transcendentalists, namely Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and the Alcotts. I'll also highlight the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Gary Snyder as well as native American literature.

I'm still working on my English 101 readings...

Other Suggestions that are rather literary in Nature:
Poetry by Mary Oliver, Robert Hass, Wallace Stegner
The Practice of the Wild, Gary Snyder
Animal, Vegetable, Miaracle: A Year in Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods, Gary Nabhan
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
Anything by Wendell Berry
Barry Lopez
Gretel Ehrlich

Sustainability on Wisconsin Public Radio!

I heard a snippet of what sounded like a good discussion on sustainability--with a focus on sustainability at the community level--on the Joy Cardin show on WPR (88.1) this morning. You can access the archived show here:

http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca

It is the Monday, 4/14/2008 8:00 a.m show. I would guess it will be up tomorrow--maybe even this afternoon.

Next week, (4/21-4/25) she will also have a "Green" themed show every morning during the 6:00-7:00 a.m. hour. I am personally quite grateful for audio archives, so I can listen to the show once my brain is actually awake!

welcome

Over the next few days, we (the authors) will be posting some definitions of sustainability, reading suggestions, and other tidbits of interest. Please check back regularly for updates on our Common Theme, and please feel free to comment on our posts!