Green Options

Here’s one for the strange book: according to Automotive News (subs. req’d), the egg-shaped, tilt-wheel, 2-seat, Nissan electric car concept set to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show this week known as the Land Glider is apparently under serious consideration for actually being built. Not only that, reportedly the company also thinks it would work well as a luxury Infiniti.

I don’t really know what to say, except… maybe Nissan knows something about rich people that I don’t?

General Motors has revealed that it is still on-track to bring a hydrogen fuel-cell car to market, within the next three years.

Industry insiders had speculated that the imminent retirement of existing boss Larry Burns would lead to the fuel-cell program being mothballed, but according to new R&D chief Alan Taub, GM will continue with its development of the technology.

“Technology leadership is one of the pillars of the company,” said Taub. “That is going to remain, and it will probably be emphasised as part of the brand of GM.”

My long held fantasy of a car-free Market Street became just a little closer to reality today. A transit improvement report was just approved by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority that encourages travel by bus, foot and bicycle along this busy thoroughfare. District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, who requested the report, expressed his support for the positive changes being implemented that will limit

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Where can you buy healthy fresh food in your neighborhood? Where are the grocery stores and farmer’s markets, how is the quality of food that is there, and which food options do you actually have access to? Are there nearby food banks or community gardens? Can you grow your own food? What local food choices are available to you in your community?

I took this photo in the meat section of my neighborhood grocery store earlier this week.

Recent reports that the international demand for crocodile skin is leading to the Nile crocodile being in danger of extinction in Nigeria need some evaluation and would in any case be easily solved through the farming of crocodiles.

There have been a number of news stories (Agence France Presse, Red Orbit) about Ismail Dauda, the crocodile and python skin tanner of Kano in northern Nigeria. He is reportedly processing up to 20,000 skins (crocodile & python) a month. His comment that crocodiles are now harder to source than ten years ago and discussions with conservationists lead to the conclusion that crocodiles “might soon face extinction in Nigeria” if the authorities do start to control this mainly illegal trade.

I feel like I’ve finally settled a little here in London now that I am the proud recipient of an organic fruit and vegetable box scheme from a local company called Growing Communities. These box schemes are the equivalent of what we call Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes in the States. As other writers have mentioned on Eat.Drink.Better, it’s a great way to support local farmers and have good produce around to eat!

I feel blessed to live in the same area as Growing Communities, because it means I get access to their boxes of local and organic fruits and veg (the nickname everyone gives to vegetables here). You have to live or work in the neighborhood of Hackney in order to be a part of the scheme, which I’ll explain below. Their box scheme is particularly cool for a couple of reasons:

For all those Wall Street types sitting around and waiting for a compliance market to bust open, this ruling means that the government has a green light to go farther and faster in regulating carbon emissions then ever before.

Although you may or may not be a part of the cultural elite who consider themselves caviar connoisseurs, if you have interest in the environment and economy you may be able to appreciate the developments occurring in in the world Caviar market thanks to a number of U.S. based fisheries.

The World Resources Institute’s new(ish) report: The Next Four Billion, draws on household income and consumption surveys of the Base of the Pyramid (see a series of posts on this topic) from over a hundred countries.

Rather than provide case study success story descriptions and results, this report provides an assessment (including easy to read graphs and charts) of various Base of the Pyramid markets. Analysis includes:

• A fairly detailed portrait of the BoP including characteristics besides poverty:
  • Significant unmet needs; and
  • Dependence on informal/subsistence livelihoods
• Country and regional overviews of the size and income of the BoP market;
• Total market size, including ability to pay; and
• A review of the “penalty” faced by BOP consumers in the form of higher prices, poorer quality goods and services, or lack of access to services.

Providence, Rhode Island— The Ocean State might be the size of some counties in other parts of the country, but it’s big on going green. A local food co-op in Providence has been bringing fresh, local produce to its capital city dwellers for nigh on ten years now.

Urban greens is a food cooperative on Providence’s West Side with a mission to provide simple, direct access to affordable, local, natural products and to offer a community-based alternative to corporate supermarkets. The cooperative is guided by its values of equal access, local agriculture, local economy, co-operative principles, community partnerships and social entrepreneurship.