I've recently decided to cut back on my seafood intake after reading a report on the declining state of world fisheries--29% have already collapsed and all will be gone by 2048. (I know this report is over a year old, but the situation is not improving, and I feel it's about time to take more personal action.) I've already been avoiding Chilean sea bass, non-domestic or farmed shrimp, and farmed or Atlantic salmon, but now I'm ready to make the larger sacrifice: to stop eating sushi. No tuna, no sake, no hamachi. I am especially sad about hamachi because I had been holding out some hope that it was a sustainable fish since I didn't really know anything about it. But after reading Sprig's guide to Safe, Sustainable Sushi, I can't plead ignorance any longer. Tomorrow evening will be my first test: I'm eating dinner with a friend at Sushi O Sushi. Wish me luck.
(Note: I'll still eat seafood like clams and mussels and fish that are recommended by the Monterey Bay Aquarium on their Seafood Watch list.)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Less-and-Less Impact Girl
I am unaccountably nervous to write my first post. But here it goes:
This blog was inspired by No Impact Man. Some of you who know me might recall that I'm pretty obsessed with No Impact Man's project of living one year with net-zero environmental impact. For various reasons, I can't quite bring myself to go to the extremes he did as suddenly as he did, but I am trying in my slow way to lead a more sustainable life.
In this blog, I plan to document my projects, tips, tribulations, successes, rants, hopes, and fears on this journey. Like No Impact Man, I'm not actively trying to convert anyone; I just want to share, since that's what blogging is all about. Feel free to share back and to offer your own tips and advice, and I hope people will refrain from making negative comments.
Today I biked to the Caltrain station and took the Caltrain to the Mountain View Farmer's Market. What a brilliant idea to put a farmer's market at a train station. I bought onions, navel oranges, bok choy, spring salad mix, and carrots, looking for certified organic farms where I could and buying pesticide-free where I couldn't. I admit it's more expensive than 99 Ranch produce, but I felt satisfied seeing the actual people I bought from and knowing my food wasn't contributing to more chemicals in our land and water.
Speaking of biking, it can be quite heavenly on the weekend, when I'm not scrambling to get to work on time. On the way to the library this afternoon, I tried to imagine a world where most people biked instead of drove. Would it be extremely quiet, or would it just be a different kind of noise? Instead of gunning motors and thumping basses, would it be squealing brakes and the chatter of people greeting neighbors and friends? I'm sure my imaginings are too idyllic, but, as an old pickup truck coughed a cloud of exhaust into my face, I couldn't help believe that a bicycle-world would be so much better.
This blog was inspired by No Impact Man. Some of you who know me might recall that I'm pretty obsessed with No Impact Man's project of living one year with net-zero environmental impact. For various reasons, I can't quite bring myself to go to the extremes he did as suddenly as he did, but I am trying in my slow way to lead a more sustainable life.
In this blog, I plan to document my projects, tips, tribulations, successes, rants, hopes, and fears on this journey. Like No Impact Man, I'm not actively trying to convert anyone; I just want to share, since that's what blogging is all about. Feel free to share back and to offer your own tips and advice, and I hope people will refrain from making negative comments.
Today I biked to the Caltrain station and took the Caltrain to the Mountain View Farmer's Market. What a brilliant idea to put a farmer's market at a train station. I bought onions, navel oranges, bok choy, spring salad mix, and carrots, looking for certified organic farms where I could and buying pesticide-free where I couldn't. I admit it's more expensive than 99 Ranch produce, but I felt satisfied seeing the actual people I bought from and knowing my food wasn't contributing to more chemicals in our land and water.
Speaking of biking, it can be quite heavenly on the weekend, when I'm not scrambling to get to work on time. On the way to the library this afternoon, I tried to imagine a world where most people biked instead of drove. Would it be extremely quiet, or would it just be a different kind of noise? Instead of gunning motors and thumping basses, would it be squealing brakes and the chatter of people greeting neighbors and friends? I'm sure my imaginings are too idyllic, but, as an old pickup truck coughed a cloud of exhaust into my face, I couldn't help believe that a bicycle-world would be so much better.
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