Banff Transition

Science Blog: “A group of researchers from the Fat Institute (CSIC) and the University of Seville have confirmed that some wild plants have a high nutritional value. The scientists have found that several species of lupins from the mountains of Andalusia have a protein content similar to that of other cultivated legumes.”

 

London Today: “A London council is converting its disused spaces into areas for local people to grow produce in an attempt to make its food supply sustainable by 2050. Hundreds of unused and abandoned spaces in Enfield are to be converted into fruit and vegetable plots in the hope of the area becoming “London’s breadbasket”. Informal growing spaces around the borough, such as car parks, disused garages and empty spaces around blocks of flats, are to be converted into vegetable plots, while two of its rundown parks will become community orchards. The scheme is part of a borough-wide strategy announced today with the aim of reinvigorating food networks and improving sustainability. As part of the £50,000 council-funded scheme, up to 120 trees – including apple, pear, plum and hazelnut – will be planted across two sites. Community groups will decide what they want to plant and whether they want to sell the produce or eat it themselves.”

 

The Tyee: “It’s called urban agriculture, and it’s relatively new, at least on the scale now being tried. But it may be just what humanity needs if it’s going to survive.”

 

NY Times: “Mr. Chávez’s purge of dissidents from the national oil company focused suspicion on the golf courses, which were seen as bastions of the old elite.”

 

The Oil Drum: “Do we really need to count the energy used to harvest the grains used to feed the longshoreman that loaded the component ores on a dock in Asia as an energy input to the turbine parts that were produced from that ore?”

 

Worldchanging: “When does a Prius have the same environmental impact as a Hummer? The 95 percent of the time it’s parked. Most people don’t spend time thinking about parking spaces unless they’re looking for one. But these 9′ by 18′ rectangles of urban real estate have a vast impact on North American communities. They affect the economy, land use patterns, the design of cities and even individual lifestyles.”