Global warming legacy???

I’ve been trying not to blog about politics but every now and then I succumb to the odd irresistible headline. Today’s NYT science blog, Dot Earth, headlines with this jewel that nearly made me choke on my tea: “President Appears to Seek a Warming Legacy.” (registration might be required for the NYT.)

Wait, wait….as in GLOBAL warming? Doesn’t he already have a global warming legacy? As the president who approached global warming discussions with hostility and distrust, as the world leader who backed out of the Kyoto Protocol, as the president who forced his government agencies to suppress science supporting climate change, as the president who said in a 2002 speech in Trenton, New Jersey: “We need an energy bill that encourages consumption” ?

THAT global warming legacy? Har har har HAR!!! I guess he’s gotten worried that his “Iraq legacy” isn’t looking so good so he’s going to try to be remembered for a positive “global warming legacy,” if that’s possible with less than a year left in his tenure. God help us all!!

New tropical butterfly garden at the Smithsonian

Yet another reason to plan a road trip to Washington, DC. I haven’t been in at least 15 years, and I’ve been meaning to go visit the museums. Now there’s one more to add to the list: the Smithsonian is opening a $3million butterfly exhibit! The exhibit “Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution” features a 1,200 square foot tropical butterfly garden with approximately 400 butterflies. In the exhibit’s main hall, visitors learn about the co-evolution of butterflies and plants.

Good riddance Julie MacDonald

Although my yoga teacher is laboring to impress upon me the concept of ahimsa, which means non-violence in thoughts as well as deeds, I am unable to control my gloating and self-satisfaction over Julie MacDonald’s recent resignation as public enemy of wildlife #1 deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Fish & Wildlife Service. Bwaa haaa haa haa ha. Ha.

Kudos for Whole Foods

A tip of the hat to the organic supermarket chain Whole Foods Market, which recently took a big step towards supporting the local food movement.

It started when food journalist extraordinaire Michael Pollan, who I greatly admire (or is that whom?), recently took Whole Foods to task for supporting what he calls the “industrial organic” movement. Pollan suggested that Whole Foods was hurting local farmers and should do more to support the local food movement. Needless to say, Whole Foods was pissed and their founder & CEO John Mackey exchanged some indignant emails with Pollan. You can read about that here at the Gristmill Blog.

Update: South Central Community Garden

I'm back to the blog after several days absence…I had a visitor from California and no time to blog. Checking the news as I return to my PC, it looks like the long arm of the LA police has finally caught up with the local farmers at South Central Farm in Los Angeles.

Michael Pollan on organic food at Wal-Mart

If any of you have ever read anything by Michael Pollan, you’ll appreciate his recent article in the New York Times on the organic food that’s now available at Wal-Mart. Michael is nothing if not fair–in his inimitable style, he discusses the good, the bad, & the ugly.