the eco advocate

Poor crop yields, water shortages, extreme temperatures… Effects of climate change in Nepal “deeply worrying,” Oxfam http://bit.ly/y5AgN

“No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more people.” But, they’re dying by the millions. Why? :: http://bit.ly/rALWp

Really cool tool for online activism from twitter: http://act.ly/

Istanbul announces one of the “greenest” residential and business projects in Turkey. Too bad it’s only for the wealthy. http://bit.ly/4W4p3

Fast Company :: The Top Ten Worst Green Brand Names :: http://bit.ly/152OFU

Good TIME article on the impacts (health, environmental, economical, etc.) of fast food: http://bit.ly/1AHE9p

Municipal mayors want Montreal metro system expanded. Here’s hoping! :: http://bit.ly/wI9Qw

What will our cities look like in the future? An architect from Brussels has one beautiful (utopic) idea:: http://vegetalcity.net

I love this article. It’s sweet.

Source: http://spacingmontreal.ca

. Love + Bixi
Posted by Émile Thomas

Love + Bixi : La curiosité by Spacing Montréal, on Flickr

« L’amour n’a point d’âge : il est toujours naissant »
- Blaise Pascal

Bixi has become the new church hall, the new town square, the new water cooler, the new Facebook.

Bixi has become the new social networking tool.

Each time I take a Bixi, ride a Bixi, return a Bixi, talk about Bixi, or even look at a Bixi, I find myself deep in conversation with strangers.

Read more >>

Recently I’ve started going to a newly-established, local farmers’ market on Sunday afternoons. It’s really a fantastic experience, even though the first time I went it was during a torrential downpour… But really, there are about a dozen or so little tents, each with a local farmer’s produce beneath, waiting for you to drool all over them (or their food, at least).

That’s pretty much what I did. I went from stall to stall, eying the goods, inhaling the sweet-yet-earthy smells of fresh, local produce. Eventually I decided on a bunch of things and wandered home with dreams of good food to come.

Fresh food from the local market

I’ve always supported fresh, local food, but didn’t always think about what it meant to me. It’s been within the past few years that I really started to recognize my super strong food values. Often I’m afraid that I’m preachy and over-bearing about it, but I just really care about the food that I, and the people around me, eat!

Why do I care? Well, I believe in supporting local economies. I don’t believe in pesticides. I think that transporting food across the world from developing countries to over-developed countries is a crime. I am hearing more rumours about the degrading quality of such food and the increasing number of food-related allergies and ailments. I believe the drastic increase in obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other diseases is largely due to poor food quality and poisonous additives. And, for all of these reasons I won’t touch more than half the things on the grocery shelf!!

It pains me to see people walking out of Burger King with their greasy McWhatever (I know, wrong store, but you get the point). I can just imagine their bodies screaming out: ‘NOOOOOOO, don’t do it!!’ I don’t even want to think about the trouble people have taking a shit because of all the high-starch, high-protein diets they are eating. Honestly, that just can’t be comfortable!

But more importantly than just being grossed out, I actually think access to good food is a right, and access to the knowledge around such food is a must. Starting with schools, prisons, workplaces, and other institutionalized locales, we need to replace the food systems. Grocery stores need to carry more local produce, increase the variety of local food and use less packaging.

That said, forget the grocery stores. We need markets, and lots of them. Each community should have access to fresh food, without the need for a car to get there. They need to be supported municipally and promoted vigorously.

I just came across a blog post on GOOD called “Project: Redesign Your Farmers’ Market.” It’s a sweet idea, and it makes me really happy that other people are thinking about this need. I do, however, wonder what it’s going to amount to.

I must admit, we tend to be idealistic about our causes, and pessimistic about those who don’t support them. Since I haven’t yet come up with a fool-proof solution for this crappy-food-phenomenon, I’m just going to be momentarily content ranting about the situation while I digest my grilled local veggie salad.

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Some related links:

• ‘Local food‘ on Wikipedia
• A Cafeteria Food Fight Over Health (New York Times)
• Jamie Oliver’s School Dinners Manifesto
• 100 mile diet website