3 Questions: Dawn Biehler on Urban Pests and Public Health

As part of our 3 Questions series, we're excited to talk with Dr. Dawn Biehler of the UMBC Department of Geography and Environmental Systems. Her research covers intersections between public health, environmental justice, historical geography, housing, interspecies interaction, and political ecology in urban environments. Dawn worked... [read more]

The candy bar at the bottom of the pyramid

Last week, Nestle, the world’s largest food company, launched a barge called Nestlé Até Você a Bordo – or Nestlé Takes You Onboard – on an 18-day voyage up the Amazon River in Brazil. This so-called floating supermarket will bring more than 300 well-known Nestlé brands, including  Ninho (packaged milk), Maggi (soups and seasonings)... [read more]

Chief: Go Green

According to today’s Portsmouth Herald, in an article by Rich Beuchesne headlined “Chief: Go Green”, Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui, of the Surui tribe indigenous to the Amazon Rain Forest, is on a high tech quest to help stop climate change and global warming by protecting the rain forest.  “A green economy, we believe, can bring... [read more]

Chef to the rich, advocate for the poor

<!--break--> Herbs at the Dupont Circle farmers market in Washington Can you think of a simple idea that would fight obesity, support local farmers and help the poor, all at once? Michel Nischan and Gus Schumacher did. Nischan is an award-winning chef, cookbook author and owner of a tony, Westport, Connecticut restaurant co-founded... [read more]

Old and Lonely: The Growing Specter of Social Isolation

<!--break--> Percent of Population Ages 65 and Older: 2000 The world is getting old. The global population of older adults (65+) in 2025 is expected to be double what it was in 2000, while the number of children will only grow by 3 percent.  In the United States, the elderly population is expected to increase by... [read more]

A food revolution?

<!--break--> Have you noticed? A food revolution has begun—with the goal of making our food and agriculture systems better for us, better for the environment, maybe even better for workers and democracy. So, at least, says Marion Nestle, the author, activist, NYU professor and corporate critic, who gave a rousing closing speech at... [read more]

The high cost of cheap food

<!--break--> “We have very, very expensive food in this country.” “It’s just that the prices are cheap.” So said Paul Hawken, the environmentalist, entrepreneur and author, in a speech that began Cooking for Solutions, a conference on food and the environment, accompanied by lots of marvelous eating and drinking, this week at the... [read more]

Baltimore’s Virtual Supermarket fills the gap in food-deprived neighborhoods

<!--break--> Thanks to Daniel and his thoughtful blog Discovering Urbanism for highlighting an innovative program designed to help residents of urban “food deserts” - neighborhoods without nearby access to supermarkets - obtain fresh, healthy food more conveniently.  The program also helps draw patrons to two branch libraries by... [read more]

Philadelphia’s Cutting-edge Green Infrastructure Plan

<!--break--> More than a hundred years ago, Philadelphia set the standard for water and sanitation, creating one of the world’s first modern water management systems. To this day, tourists are still coming to view the more than 3,000 miles of underground water works. Now, Philadelphia may be leading the next generation... [read more]

Two responses to the terrorism question

<!--break--> Both the New York response and the Washington response to security threats just happen to be on display in the same week ... The New York response to terrorism has been "see something, say something." These were the words that the T-shirt vendor who alerted a mounted police officer of the smoking SUV told reporters as he... [read more]

For business, is health the new “green”?

<!--break--> A decade ago, few people would have thought that major banks, retailers or Internet companies would need environmental strategies. Yet today, they do–Bank of America has promised to invest $20 billion on sustainability initiatives over 10 years,  Wal-Mart’s aggressive environmental efforts are well known and eBay,... [read more]

Ecologies of Injustice: LA Water Wars & Owens Lake

<!--break--> A bandaged Jack Nicholson often comes to mind when I think of Los Angeles. The water wars that inspired Chinatown also gave rise to the current state of Owens Lake, the focus in mammoth's collective discussion of The Infrastructural City for the past week (links to each participating site are included below). I've been... [read more]