Think Bigg

Here’s a fun Friday quiz from the folks at National Geographic!

We all know that Jay Leno gets a lot of mileage out of the stupidity of the average American. Why not prove him wrong and try your hand at National Geographic’s geography quiz?

Even if you don’t know which city has the world’s densest population, you’ll learn an awful lot of useful trivia to impress your friends at cocktail parties!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Share This

I stopped by Earthbound Farms last week for a salad and bumped into a friend of mine: Mark Merino.

Mark’s been popping up all over the place lately — Sunset Magazine quoted him in a lovely piece on Carmel Valley, and Earthbound Farms released a cookbook last year with some photos of him, arms full of fresh organic produce.

But I think the coolest thing he’s doing — besides growing some amazing fruits and veggies — must be his “Ask Farmer Mark” column on the Earthbound Farms website.

In a Q&A format, Mark answers all kinds of questions about organic gardening — whether you have cabbage worms making a meal of your cauliflower or you’re just curious about whether sound has an impact on growing your organic vegetables.

Submit your question online or if you’re in the area, stop by the farmstand! Mark might just give you the 20% employee discount on your salad. (Thanks for that, by the way, Mark!)

Share This

If you’ve had your head buried under a rock, perhaps you hadn’t heard that tomorrow is the day of Al Gore’s Live Earth Concerts.

According to their website,

Live Earth is a monumental music event that will bring together more than 2 billion people on 7/7/07 to raise awareness about global warming. With 24 hours of music across 7 continents, and performances by more than 150 of the world’s top musicians, Live Earth will engage, connect, and inspire individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis.

While Gore has come under fire from people accusing him of using the concerts for his own political aspirations, it still promises to be the concert of the decade.

Find out when Live Earth hits the airwaves near you! Just a few hours to go!

Share This

The Environmental Working Group is collecting signatures to encourage Congress to support the growth of organic farming in this year’s Farm Bill.

Here’s the text of the online petition:

I support EWG Action Fund’s efforts to increase funding for organic farming.

I believe Congress should level the playing field for organic farmers to expand access to safe, healthy organic food that is free of potentially harmful pesticides and genetic modification. I urge our national leaders to include strong organics provisions in this year’s Farm Bill that will:

> Give organic farmers their fair share of my tax dollars for research on how to grow organic food.
> Help more farmers make the transition to organic farming.
> Level the playing field for the organic industry by devoting a fair share of resources to organic pest control and crop nourishment.

I stand with the EWG Action Fund in urging Congress to Grow Organics now.

If you support the growth of organic farming in the United States, click here to make your voice heard in DC!

Share This

I spent last weekend in New York City, and the day after I arrived I rushed over to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum on the Upper East Side to check out their new exhibit called Design for the Other 90%.

According to the museum website:

Of the world’s total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter. Design for the Other 90% explores a growing movement among designers to design low-cost solutions for this “other 90%.” Through partnerships both local and global, individuals and organizations are finding unique ways to address the basic challenges of survival and progress faced by the world’s poor and marginalized.

The exhibit is located in the garden court of what is the old Carnegie mansion on Museum Mile and covers technology innovations in shelter, health, water, education, energy and transport.

This wheel, for example, is meant to improve upon water distribution methods in areas of the world where many women still carry water back to their villages on their heads.

My only complaint was that the relative cost of production for each of the inventions wasn’t mentioned — a fairly important question when one is evaluating technology for developing world economies. Otherwise, I thought it was an encouraging attempt to raise awareness about the problems — and the potential solutions — facing most of the rest of the world.

For a copy of the coffee table book showcasing all of the exhibits, check out the Cooper-Hewitt online shop.

Share This