Last night, I attended a meeting hosted by SF Environment, a department of the city and county of San Francisco.  I was in awe and inspired by how much one city can accomplish when it comes to educating the public about energy efficiency and environmental consciousness.  Not only is San Francisco leading the domestic urban composting charge with a city-wide composting program, whereby the city mandates composting in addition to recycling, but the city is making the process of being an ecoconsumer easier and easier.

When I relocated here two months ago, I was astounded at how commonplace composting was – the city simply places compost bins throughout the city and provides them to each city resident.  In addition, SF Environment provides free compost containers for your kitchen so you… [view entry]

Boston needs a permanent public market and now there is a coordinated campaign to make it happen. An impressive list of entrepreneurs, businesspeople, government officials, farmers, and community leaders have all come together to form a coalition that is building a grassroots campaign to send the message to our elected leaders.

As mentioned on Boston GreenScene before, building a sustainable food system is crucial to the future of Massachusetts. A vibrant Boston Public Market would be a vital, visible step towards reaching that goal and this coaltion appears to have what it takes to make a permanant public market in Boston a reality. So, take a second to visit the BPM website to learn more and send an email to Governor Patrick to express your support!

Cross-posted at

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Several Boston/Cambridge groups have collectively organized an open-ended Environmental Film series, the kick-off of which was this past Tuesday, at Cambridge’s Main Library. The second film in the series, Kilowatt Ours, will be shown on July 29th in the same location: Bottom floor (L2), Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138-4191 at 6:30pm. Another (yet to be selected) film will be shown on August 19th, so save this date!

The first documentary “King Corn” was shown at 6:30 and light refreshments were served afterward.

This film follows two young men who, after finding corn molecules in strands of their hair,  trace their genealogical footsteps back to their Iowan homeland and learn that the land their ancestors once farmed is covered in corn. Not just corn, but a variety… [view entry]

By now most farmers markets should be up and running. Once my CSA starts, I usually don’t buy much at farmers markets, but there’s one nearby any day of the week for impulse purchases. Here’s a quick list of the ones near me:

[Ed. For an easy way to keep track of what markets are open, as well as other local events, try our calendar.]

Mondays

Central Square, Cambridge – Corner of Norfolk Street and Bishop Allen Drive, 11:30–6:00, 5/24–11/22

Tuesdays

Copley Square, Boston – 206 Clarendon Street, 11:00–6:00, 5/18–11/23
Harvard Square, Cambridge – Corner of Oxford and Kirkland streets, 12:30–6:00, 6/15–10/26

Thursdays

Prudential Center, Boston – 800 Boylston Street, 11:00–6:00, 5/20–10/28
Kendall Square, Cambridge – 510 Kendall Street, 11:00–2:30, 6/4–11/5

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Last week we went on an edible plant walk through our neighborhood. It was hosted by David Craft, whose book, Urban Foraging, details the produce he collects around Boston. He started out the evening by feeding us all black locust blossoms. It was bizarre pulling them off the branch and popping them right in my mouth, but they tasted sweet, like pea shoots.

Foraging obviously isn’t an efficient way of getting food, but it would be nice to be able to recognize plants as you walk past and just gather a handful for dinner. Also, it seems like most should be collected when they’re young, in the early spring. At that point most farmer’s markets haven’t started yet, so it’s a nice way to get super local… [view entry]

Tomorrow is World Fair Trade Day, and it will be observed at numerous progressive businesses around Boston. Specific event and promotion details will be posted tomorrow, but the overarching theme is a “fair trade crawl.” Visit a designated number of venues for a chance to win prizes; fairly traded of course!

While you’re out peddling around to burn off all that ice cream, be sure to hit-up Fresh Pond Day and the SomerGreen Festival.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), is a non-profit organization who’s mission is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. A wealth of knowledge is provided on Health and Toxics, Farming, Natural Resources and Energy choices.

If you’ve not yet seen the critically acclaimed documentary that some liken to a modern “The Jungle,” PBS will be airing “Food, Inc.” on POV over the course of the next week, starting Wednesday at 9.

Food, Inc. will be accompanied by Notes on Milk, a short variation of the 2007 feature documentary Milk in the Land: Ballad of an American Drink. Ariana Gerstein and Monteith McCollum, whose Hybrid aired on POV in 2002, take a quirky and poetic look at some lesser-known aspects of America’s favorite drink: the industry’s spiritual underpinnings, politics and the struggle of independent farmers. More info»

And for an introduction to our agricultural system there’s Dirt!

Polar bears, bluefin tuna and shark species are among those who will receive no help as a result of the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which has been taking place over the past week in Doha, Qatar. From March 13th to 25th the CoP addressed proposed regulations to restrict trade on the hides, parts, and meat of endangered species, and has unfortunately failed to protect many creatures in dire need.

Bans against fishing the Atlantic bluefin were turned down on Thursday. A staple of Japanese and Mediterranean food traditions, the bluefin tuna (of which there are three species) has been critically overfished. Conservationists cite the lack of a ban as a prime example of giving priority to commerce over… [view entry]