Wife of Jim Norris with canned goods, Pie Town, New Mexico (LOC)
"Food preservation techniques can be divided into two categories: the modern scientific methods that remove the life from food, and the natural 'poetic' methods that maintain or enhance the life in food. The poetic techniques produce . . . foods that have been celebrated for centuries and are considered gourmet delights today." Eliot Coleman
Ending hunger requires changing our perspective. A government policy of tidbits, such as needed but obscenely low food stamps and school lunch programs, evinces a belief that hunger is a matter of individual failure.
Our government's tunnel vision yields counterproductive solutions, such as legislation to reduce childhood obesity and improve school nutrition that is partially funded by cutting future food stamp benefits. Or, we try to reduce our offensively high poverty rates by creating a supplemental poverty figure that removes on paper 8 million people from poverty by including food stamps in the income calculation.
It would be more productive toward actually ending hunger if we recognized that hunger is a violation of human rights, and interrelated with education, poverty, discrimination, economy, health care, and environment.
We could learn from a city in Brazil that is ending hunger.
Proposition 23 is the referendum measure in California which would eliminate suspend the state law, the Global Warming Solutions Act (a/k/a AB 32), that calls for lowering California's greenhouse gas emissions until California's unemployment rate hits 5.5% (well that is effectively the elimination of the law). That law was passed with Republican Arnold Schwartzenegger's active support in 2006.
Not too long ago the polls indicated that Californians rejected Proposition 23 by roughly a 60 to 40 margin. That was back at the end of July. Now however, since the infusion of big corporate cash and ad buys from Big Oil, such as the Koch Brothers (which I wrote about HERE), a new poll has been released are showing that the likely voters who are willing to vote for Prop 23 is now roughly equal to those opposed to its passage.
I admit it. For a lot of issues the first thing that comes to my mind is how it affects the kids I teach. If I meet a famous journalist or a Member of Congress, someplace in in that conversation I will ask if they will come out and talk to my students. More often than not they are willing.
Nutrition in schools is an important issue. Why? Because a hungry, malnourished child will learn less than if s/he has had breakfast, gets lunch during the day. Because in school we have an opportunity to help establish and/or reinforce patterns of healthy eating. Because we have a responsibility to the young people in our care to care for them, and not just their minds.
What we've seen since the 1973 oil crisis has been disgusting. Only lip service has been paid to solving the threat to our security that dependence on foreign sources of energy has become. Republicans in Congress, like Joe "BP, I apologize" Barton, John "Drill baby, Drill!" McCain, and Trent Franks(R-AZ), have made our country more dependent on foreign sources of oil than ever before.
The infamous Phoenix brown cloud, c/o Trent Franks (Source)
The simple fact is, we can't drill our way out of this problem. We need leaders who will fight for the future- help to establish an economy where American companies and American-made products provide jobs for us.
One in six Americans do not have enough food. One in four of those are children. Food pantries all over the country are closing because they cannot meet the crushing demand -- their shelves are empty, and they are turning people away.
Diary #2 is up Feeding America #2: nutrition in schools, by teacherken.
From Wikipedia:
I'SOT, which stands for In Search of Truth, is a Pentecostal/Bible-based offshoot Christian religious group...
Criticisms
Allegations of physical and sexual abuse brought against members by clients of I'SOT's Group Home/Foster Home during the late 1980s prompted an investigation by State of California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division. The final report was filed July 26, 1991. That Investigation found a preponderance of the evidence that members of I'SOT had physically and sexually abused residents of the group home between 1978 and 1990. I'SOT's application for renewal of their license to operate the Group Home was denied, after which they appealed the decision and lost.
Your tax dollars are going to these people?
Yes - and with good reason.
You will often here with some justification the need to develop economically outweighs the environmental risk; in the short term. You may have enough revenue to educate the population but you by then may have degraded the environment to such an extent it cannot support them. Indeed you may spark a war with your neighbor if you have diverted resources such as main rivers to suit your own purposes but have starved them of their primary food source.
Such is the case with the proposed dams of the Mekong in Laos
He felt there was no alternative. "We have done studies on micro-energy and renewables, but they are expensive. I don't think the world can subsidise that. If we do it ourselves, only cheap energy from hydropower will do."
I would argue that the world cannot afford not to help developing nations attain their goals through renewables, the only reason the cost is high is that we are not expanding their use ourselves. If we increase the production capacity the price will come down.
Please rec the new Mothership #124 here. This one has expired.
After Monday morning the current Mothership format will be discontinued. Instead, there will be a Gulf Watchers Morning Edition diary posted at the same time, 5:00 a.m. CDT. Recs and discussions will be welcome just like they would be for a normal Daily Kos diary. A Gulf Watchers Evening Edition will be posted if needed. After a few days Gulf Watchers will review the situation and decide whether to retain that type of organization or try something different. Ursoklevar has an excellent diary summarizing Gulf Watchers's discussion about future plans. Please add to the discussion here or the current ROV if you have ideas or preferences going forward.
The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #394 - Transitions - BP's Gulf Castastrophe - Lorinda Pike
The digest of diaries is here
Physicists have known about the thermoelectric effect for decades: there are some materials that, when heated, produce electricity. Alas, these materials tend to be both expensive and inefficient. In other words, not much bang for the buck.
But with two interesting new discoveries this week, all that may be about to change. Not soon, perhaps – these are still just a theoretical results in quantum physics, after all – but much, much for the better.
Imagine capturing electricity from the heat of your exhaust pipes, or your brakes, and using it to recharge the battery in your hybrid vehicle. Imagine a solar energy system that converts solar heat directly into electricity cheaper and more efficiently than any photovoltaic cell ever could. Imagine capturing waste heat from a factory, a furnace, or a powerplant, and putting it to good use.
Impossible? Perhaps not for much longer.