Nutrition education:
Economics, ecology meet in lunchroom -- Today's children, largely due to poor diet, are the first generation in U.S. history predicted to have shorter life spans than their parents. And while Americans spend less than 10 percent of their household budget on food, we spend more than 17 percent of our national budget on healthcare. Lisa Bennett of the Center for Ecoliteracy cites annual hospital costs related to childhood obesity at $127 million, up from $35 million per year in the 1980s. Effecting change requires a two-pronged approach: 1) Change the food that is served, and 2) Educate children about where their food comes from. CC Times 5/21/08
Health:
Study finds that California teen birth rate is up -- The study from the Oakland-based Public Health Institute says the number of births to teens increased in 2006 for the first time in 15 years, due to a growing population of teens in the state. The study says the births cost taxpayers $1.7 billion, or $2,493 per baby. California's teen birth rate is still well below the peak of 70.9 births per 1,000 in 1991, and the current national average of 41.9 births per 1,000 teens. CC Times 5/21/08
Food:
Are commodity traders bidding up food, fuel prices? -- The record-shattering run-up in energy and food prices has put investors who buy and sell such things on the hot seat -- so hot that some in Congress on Tuesday threatened action. A recent Senate hearing was held on whether commodities are being pushed higher by investors' high-stakes bets that prices will keep going up. However, the link between soaring prices and the vast sums of money flowing through commodity markets is controversial and hard to quantify. Economists, traders and regulators routinely dismiss the notion that excessive trading is the culprit instead of traditional market forces such as supply and demand. LA Times 5/21/08
Water:
*California offers money for ideas to help Delta -- In the new "Delta Knowledge Funding Program" announced this week, the California Department of Water Resources is offering $2 million in grants to nonprofits, universities, private consultants and local government agencies. Individual grants of as much as $250,000 will be awarded to churn new research on water quality, levee stability, habitat restoration and other issues in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Sacramento Bee 5/21/08
Heal the Bay's list of most-polluted California beaches -- Here's a list of the most polluted beaches in California, as compiled by the environmental group Heal the Bay on its annual "Beach Report Card." Most are in Southern California. CC Times 5/21/08
Bio-fuels:
Thieves now swiping cooking oil used in biodiesel fuels -- Restaurants from the Bay Area to Sedgwick, Kan., are reporting thefts of old cooking oil worth thousands of dollars by rustlers who are refining it into barrels of biofuel in backyard stills. In the last three years, the price of soybean oil - the main feedstock for biodiesel made in the United States - has tripled. High prices have encouraged biofuel enthusiasts to make arrangements to purchase waste from restaurants and have even spurred the city of San Francisco to get into the grease-trap-cleaning business. SF Chronicle 5/21/08
Agriculture:
*USDA bans slaughter of downer cattle -- Mostly banned from slaughter, downer cattle pose an increased risk for mad cow disease and other infections because they typically wallow in feces. Critics say a loophole allowed them in the food supply if the downer was able to pass two veterinary inspections. Daily Bulletin 5/20/08
Food group aims to connect county farms, tables – Several "food justice" advocates are working together to change the way food is distributed in San Mateo County. nown as the San Mateo County Food System Alliance, the group has been meeting for more than a year in a barn in Pescadero to discuss the reasons some cities, like East Palo Alto, have no access to fresh vegetables within driving distance while local farmers and fishermen often market their products elsewhere. CC Times 5/21/08
Parks and forests:
State parks saved from closure in newest state budget -- An unpopular proposal to close 48 state parks is now off the table after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger restored $13.3 million in funding to California State Parks in his revised budget proposal released Wednesday. CC Times 5/21/08
No comments:
Post a Comment