Students from West Philadelphia High School have built a diesel-hybrid race car that goes from 0-60 in four seconds. While the car currently gets 60+ mpg, they hope to soon break 100 mpg.

Why? They are competing for $10 million in the Automotive X-Prize .

Called the Hybrid Attack, the car was built by kids from West Philly’s Academy of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering. And if that alone doesn’t make them cool, they are the only high school team competing out of 90 different teams from the U.S. and overseas.

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In a sampling of two thousand recycled mobile phones, 99 percent were found to have sensitive data like banking information and confidential emails.

The sampling was done by Regenersis. They processed over 2 million handsets in 2008; that’s one handset every 15 seconds. During a random sampling in December they discovered how many mobiles had not been wiped clean: a lot!

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“Choosing eco-friendly seafood is not only good for the oceans, it’s good for your family too,” says Katharine Burnham, spokesperson for the Environmental Defense Fund.

So what exactly is eco-friendly seafood? Anchovies are the Eco-Best Seafood, according to the Environmental Defense Fund’s research.  In its health facts, the fund says anchovies are high in heart-healthy omega-3s and have low contaminant levels.

Anchovies can be safely eaten by adults and children for more than four meals per month, research indicates.  They have “short life spans and reproduce quickly (and) are resilient to fishing pressure and remain plentiful.”

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But I got thrown totally off track.  What I expected to be a calm, relaxing, reflective stroll beneath California oaks, turned into a passionate, ecstatic, breathless plunge into excesses the likes of which I hadn’t experienced in years.  It took my breath away, melted all self-control, and spun my world halfway round.

Oh, shame on you for thinking naughty thoughts.  It wasn’t the Adonis of the Litoral I encountered on the path (sorry gals… !)  It was an unassuming blackberry sprig.  Peeking out from the dried grasses along the edge of the path.  Winking at me in the sun.  I winked back, then looked around.  Is it legal to pick a blackberry here? I walked past it, choosing planetary well-being over my own base desires.  That’s probably the only blackberry sprig on this trail, and how awful would it be if I picked it rather than leave it for the birds or animals trying to earn an honest local living.

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Wild Vegetarian Cookbook

Late summer brings many treats, but my favorite is ripe wild blackberries. Blackberries are an abundant and delicious “wild” food in many parts of the world. There are many varieties within this large family, from the Japanese wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) to the Arctic raspberry (Rubus arcticus). Take advantage of the season while you can and sample some of nature’s offerings by picking these tasty berries wherever you find them. The next time you walk through a woody area or park, take a look around and see if you can spot the woody, thorned vines and generally white, rose-like flowers characteristic of blackberry plants.

The recipe, which serves 6 to 8, calls for a number of other ingredients that you can find growing locally, either wild or cultivated: apples for apple juice, oranges for orange rind, salt from the sea, and berries from the common spicebush. Depending on how many ingredients you can find around you and where they come from, your blackberry cobbler can be both inexpensive and organic.

Before we start, rest easy knowing that for this recipe there is an excellent backup plan. If you’ve gathered a basketful of berries only to realize that baking is not really your forte, sit back, relax, and enjoy a bowl of fresh, raw, local blackberries!

Now, on with the show. You’ll want:

• 5 cups wild blackberries
• 2 tablespoons tapioca pearls, ground into powder
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon apple juice
• 1 teaspoon dried orange rind or 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 teaspoon dried mint, finely crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom seeds
• 1 1/2 cups sweet brown rice flour or 7 ounces any whole grain flour
• 2 tablespoons apricot kernel oil, walnut oil, almond oil, or corn oil
• 1/4 cup corn oil
• 1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
• 1/4 teaspoon common spicebush berries, finely chopped, or ground allspice [if available, freshly ground from berries]
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons soy milk, almond milk, or unsweetened fruit juice, or as needed.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix the blackberries, ground tapioca, 1/2 cup of the apple juice, the orange juice, the orange rind, mint, and cardamom together in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture to a 14 x 9 x 2-inch oiled baking dish.

3. Sprinkle the fruit mixture with 3 tablespoons of the flour and dot with the apricot kernel oil.

4. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the remaining flour, the cream of tartat, baking soda, cinnamon, spice-bush berries, nutmeg, and salt. Mix in the corn oil, and then stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon apple juice and enough soy milk to make a dough that’s neither sticky nor crumbly.

5. Using a rolling pin [or, in a pinch, a wine bottle] covered with a floured sleeve and working on a floured pastry sheet, roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick in the shape of your baking dish. Transfer the rolled out pastry onto the berry layer, cut slits for steam to escape, and sprinkle on more cinnamon for color, if desired. Bake the cobbler until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

In all instances I know of, blackberries and raspberries are such hardy plants that you can eat your fill from a plant, and still there will be more to pick for tomorrow’s cobbler or pie. In North America, blackberries have done so well by cultivation and cross-pollination with non-native strains that in many places certain varieties are now considered a “weed” that out compete other, native plants. Preparing this scrumptious cobbler is therefore also a good way to make some a small but rewarding impact in protecting native plant populations.

For a wild vegan blackberry cobbler that also combats climate change, try cooking your cobbler during the day in a solar oven, then serving it in the evening for a truly green gourmet treat! This may require a longer cook time, but it turns your cooking into a fun, green adventure.

Bon apétit!

References and Resources:

Learn more about wild foods with “Wildman” Steve Brill.

Buy Wild Vegetarian Cookbook.

This recipe was reproduced with permission from The Harvard Common Press.

Identifying blackberry bushes:

Photo Sources:

Wild Blackberry Cobbler: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38229873@N00/940551013/

Blackberries: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44987917@N00/1223686687/

Himilayan Blackberries: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maximillian_millipede/370352385/

Blossoming Blackberry Bushes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035720546@N01/743028652/