Food activists and local farm groups are stepping up protests against sky-rocketing food prices, as more and more people are facing shortages, not only in "developing" or what used to be called "Third World" countries. Here in Tokyo, NGOs including Consumers Union of Japan will organise a forum, Another World Food Day, to discuss a wide range of current food problems and solutions. In the United States, World Hunger Year (WHY) holds an event at Great Hall of Cooper Union in New York City, in partnership with Food First, National Family Farm Coalition, Grassroots International, Agricultural Missions, Pesticide Action Network of North America, Small Planet Institute, Food and Water Watch, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500, Rainforest Action Network and others.

Step up to the Plate: Ending the Food Crisis

Eric suggests that Now is the Time to Buy a New Vehicle, as the dealers are hungry and they they are tossing out incentives. If ever there was survey bait, this is it.

Recent Comment by Willy Bio : ""Go shopping"??? Are you a friggin infant? The current global financial meltdo..." [read]

photo/Gen Art

L.A. Fashion Week opened with a sustainable bang on Thursday, October 9th as Gen Art presented Fashionably Natural, an exclusive runway show featuring the city’s largest collection of eco-friendly designers showing their Spring 2009 collections. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal hosted the show, which took place at a transformed Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, CA.

What do these designers have in common—besides a commitment to sustainable fabrics and fabrication? A shared fascination with miniskirts so short they flirt with indecency. Read on for more of Spring’s eco-friendly fashion sneak peeks—plus an exclusive video.

Photo Mark Stosberg @ flickr.

The Dutch are the original designers of the "bakfiets" cargo bikes - though the Danish have a long legacy of their own with the "Long John" variety of cargo bikes. When you cruise the streets of either Copenhagen or Amsterdam you'll see lots of imaginative examples of everything from babies to plants to bags of flour carried around.

Cargo bike is made in the U.S.A.
Now a Portland, Oregon (of course!) bike shop called Metrofiets has started building their custom-made version of the "bakfiets" cargo bikes for between $2,700 and $3,200. Yes that price is high (and the bike takes six weeks to build) - enough to make your heart quiver at the thought of spending that much in a recessionary economy on a BIKE! But Metrofiets is comparable with an imported Dutch bakfiets. And what makes Metrofiets unique?

The Independent on Sunday has come out with its list of the top 100 environmentalists in the UK. It is a quirky list--many of the names are little known to people in Britain, let alone the rest of the world. They have been chosen for the impact they have made, many on local issues, rather than for their great fame. The top environmentalists is John Stewart, a man who has been working quietly for years on transportation issues and now spearheads the campaign against airport runway expansion at Heathrow Airport, outside London. More on him tomorrow.

Second is Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientist at Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) who has been involved on the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as chairman and scientist. Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales is third--she has plans for Wales to have all renewable electricity by 2020. And fourth is Monty Don (pictured), heart throb, gardening guru and now the new chair of the Soil Association.

photo: Ben & Jerry's

Admit it, you’ve been there: curled up on the couch in your pajamas, watching a good movie, and thinking to yourself, "The only thing that would make this better right now is a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk and a spoon—but then I would have to get dressed and go outside…” Istanbul residents living near the popular shopping street Bağdat Caddesi on the Asian side of the city now have a solution to such dilemmas that is as ecofriendly as it is effortless: Bicycle delivery from Ben & Jerry’s.

That’s right – Yom Kippur. A somber day of introspection in most of Israel, in mellow Tel Aviv the Day of Atonement is the closest thing to a day without cars in the Middle East. With all cars banished from the pavements for 25 hours, helmet-clad children take to the streets in their masses.

In contemporary Israel, where land is running out, asphalt is eating up the landscape, the air is thick with smog and gas isn’t getting any cheaper, a day like this is an absolute necessity, reminding us all that the car’s dominance of our living space is not a divinely-ordained decree, but a conscious decision that we have made - and that we can decide otherwise if we wish.

Recent Comment by Raiyn : "Nice blanket statement there Eric. Not all transportation is bad, which is something t..." [read]

Image courtesy of D&A;

Designers and Agents is launching their first Green Market, a sustainable trade event that will unite fashion, designers, and community in the name of green. Bono’s Edun imprint, Stewart & Brown, CAMPER, Loomstate and Namaste Green House are among the featured designers that will participate in the show, which will take place in Los Angeles on October 17-19. The focus of the event will be sustainable design—which is why the foremost brands have been selected on their being exemplary pioneers in the field.