"Suddenly, America digs farming"

L.A. Times: "Suddenly, America digs farming"

This is quite an enjoyable piece from the LA Times musing about the growing infatuation and romanticizing of farming in America. As the piece points out, this new perspective on farming is completely removed from the large, corporately dictated farms that account for much of the farming the U.S. Not to say that there are not independent farmers who are not wrapped up in questionable practices (and ethics) of corporate farming, but that's far from the primary form of farm. The reasons? Who knows? Certainly the popular emphasis on local produce, responsible farming, and the associated benefits - health, economic, and social - have a great deal of influence. Maybe it has something to do with western and work wear being fashionable?

Regardless, I suppose my hope for this new found affection is this. I hope that instead of fostering an unrealistic notion and ideal of farming that this attention will throw some light on where our food comes from, how it is produced, and the costs and benefits of producing food by those methods. I also hope this trend will illuminate some of the things we as consumers can do to encourage and nurture those folks who are trying to farm in a way that is responsible vis-a-vis their land, resources, and environment; their neighboring landowners and community; and their consumers.

Let a Little Sunshine In . . .

Disclaimer: This post will be primarily of interest to you Denver readers out there.

If you are not already aware, Denver is undertaking a massive rewrite of its zoning code. The rewrite aims to overhaul how the city handles planning, zoning, and land use matters. The new code is also taking particular care to incorporate sustainable practices and the variety of mobility options available in Denver. Despite being basically a from-scratch rewrite of the zoning code, the new version is based significantly on the neighborhood characteristics and building types that already exist in the city.

I suppose one downfall of such an ambitious project is the possibility for little issues to become lost in the shuffle. The link below to a Denver Post commentary illustrates one such issue that seems minor in the abstract but would be quite noticeable in practice.

"Retain Solar Access in Code"

For those readers in Denver, I would encourage you to check out the site www.newcodedenver.org. There you can find all sorts of information, summaries, blogs, and profiles of the folks who are actively working on this project. I would also encourage you to take a look at the proposed zoning maps and see how your property or neighborhood might be impacted by the code revision. On the site, you can also find information about public comment, meetings, and hearings if you do have concerns about how the new code will affect you. I am working my way through the second draft of the proposed code, so if you have questions, feel free to get in touch with me and I will see if I can be of any help.

(If you are really really interested (read: nerdy interested) in Denver zoning, you can compare the old zoning code with the new proposed code. The old code can be found here. Scroll down the table of contents on the left to Chapter 59 - Zoning.)

The Elephant in the Room

"Let's Try Cap-and-Trade on Babies"

"The single most concrete, substantive thing a young American could do [to help curb climate change] is not turning off the lights or driving a Prius. It's having fewer kids."

That statement by Andrew Revkin, author of the New York Times Dot Earth blog, highlights the problematic relationship that exists between the environmental concerns facing the global community and the increasing population crammed within its confines. Talk of family planning and population control rarely elicits a benign response. But remove emotion and philosophical ethics from the conversation and a relatively simple concept remains. In ecological terminology, the concept is called carrying capacity, and it refers to the population of a particular species that its habitat can sustain. When graphed, carrying capacity appears as a curve in which the Y value (population size) increases exponentially until it abruptly plateaus at a particular value. Once the population reaches carrying capacity, it may fluctuate just above or just below that line, but the size will not ever indefinitely increase above the carrying capacity.

I highlight this article and present these thoughts not as an advocate for population control, family planning, or whatever other moniker you would like to give the concept of limiting the global human population. What I do find interesting about this scenario is the way social influences dictate the way we address problems and solutions. The number of people on this globe is a fundamental contributor to many of the global crises of the past few decades - food shortages, water shortages, climate change, pollution. Even if population size is not a cause of the problem, so to speak, population size magnifies and exacerbates those issues. On top of an increasing global population, many more people are living an increasingly consumptive lifestyles as developing countries continue to grow economically.

But the solutions for dealing with the size of the global population seem to be taboo when it comes to discussing action to deal with the aforementioned issues. Instead of dealing with foundational problems, solutions attack symptoms that are, in relative terms, uncontroversial. When I was younger, a bit more brash, and much more naive, I would get myself moderately intoxicated and pontificate about the merits of population control measures, reproductive limits, and licenses to breed. Like I said, the point of this piece is not to advocate for those measures. For me to do so would, at the least, a little hypocritical, if not a return to the brashness and naivety of my youth. Rather I want to point out, as I often strive to do, the difficult underlying issues that few people want to talk about. Certainly I believe that we can all do small things in our lives to help alleviate the symptoms of the global issues that touch us in big and small ways each day. But I wonder if, at a certain point, that will be enough . . . .

Then again, maybe I worry too much about things that won't change -

"The universe is expanding . . . . Well, the universe is everything, and if it's expanding, some day it will break apart and that will be the end of everything." - a young Alvy Singer, Annie Hall

Encouraging Walking and Biking Among Kids

I recently read about an organization called Freiker, a contraction of the term "frequent biker." The organization has created incentive programs that encourage kids to walk and bike to school, when (and where) possible. The organization issues ID tags to students at elementary schools and places scanners outside the schools so that participating students can check-in electronically. The electronic scanners allow Freiker staff as well as the students to keep up with accrued points and track progress toward Freiker-sponsored prizes.

Walking and biking to school has declined in recent decades, with a variety of causes. Sunset Magazine indicates that in 1969, 88% of students living within a mile of their grade schools walked or biked to school. Currently, less than 16% do so. Numerous safety concerns are obviously one reason for the drop. But the increased prevalence of cars and driving-dependent lifestyles play a role as well. It should come as no surprise that taking away this source of everyday physical activity has contributed to the increase of weight-related health concerns among young children.

Obviously, this is a situation in which a balance must be struck among all concerns. Fears of crime or traffic accidents should not be taken lightly, particularly among young children who have not had the opportunity to gain knowledge that comes with life experience. However, I also believe that parents should not pass upon the opportunity to teach some basic lessons and instill some foundational values at an early age. A simple activity like walking or biking to school, when and where appropriate, can provide parents a chance to converse with their children about a myriad of issues - exercise and health, traffic safety, safety around strangers, etiquette, the environment, and community. I applaud organizations like Freiker who are helping to make those chances a reality.