Green Corporations... Can You Trust Them?

Posted to the LOHAS blog Wednesday, April 18, 2012

 

Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Sprint, KFC, Shell, Chase, Ford, Staples, CVS and the long list goes on.  These larger than life brands immediately conjure up images and thoughts of our past experiences that have either helped or hurt these companies perception regarding sustainability.

Image courtesy of Yum Brands

Of the ten companies above, 100% are doing something around sustainability issues related to their respective industries.  Some are improving energy, some reducing waste, some have take-back programs, some are are even developing products for the eco-conscious consumer. Whatever the companies are doing, a larger issue is hiding just under the surface… trust!

We have all felt and witnessed corporate green-washing, but is this simply the beginning of the change process, we all have to start somewhere, right?  Corporate sustainability and CSR are poised to be the next evolution of business trends, similar to how IT changed the game. How can we know that these companies are sincere, committed and really able to transform their impact?  Should we care or shop elsewhere?

A tougher issue many of us already know, is that the base product lines of these companies don't exactly help people or the planet. There are health studies, insider videos, user testimonials, advocacy groups and other opposing groups asking us quite directly 'not' to support some of these companies.  Are these  really the opposite of the shop local movement, considering others in our community are employed there?
So, what's a good socially responsible citizen to do?  More over, what is a newly socially responsible corporation to do, when they have the realities of their industry and various product lines to transform?

Here is a fast recap of just some of the eco-positive moves BIG companies are undertaking:
1. CVS is rewarding consumers for bringing reusable bags with their Green Bag Tags 
2. Sprint has a new line of eco-friendly mobile phones with less environmental impact.
3. Ford is releasing an electric vehicle on the way called the Focus Electric.
4. Staples is directly crediting shoppers for taking back used ink cartridges.
5. KFC has released the first ever reusable side container in the fast food industry (just don't tell the SF Soup Company) 

Hopefully this corporate sustainability trend will continue and grow until the "S" word is removed and sustainability is just part of doing good business, that serves the triple bottom line. I guess we will have to call this LOHA then? 

If you want to read more about what the world's largest companies are doing please pop over to triplepundit.com and do a search for any company.  Some news is positive, some negative and some down right controversial, but all of it interesting and forces us to question our beliefs.

Jared Brick is completing his MBA in Sustainable Management at the Presidio Graduate School in SF.  He is working on creating the first ever reusables tracking platform, rewarding consumers everywhere in their retail experiences.  Follow the journey at traxactions.com or on twitter: traxactions
 

Are your investments aligned with your values?

The 2012 investment world is rife with challenges, issues, corruption, greed and mainly a void for real social concerns.  The rise of the "Occupy" movement may have helped the world to realign personal values with personal spending.  Hundreds, thousands and millions of personal investment dollars are being spent on companies that do not support positive impacts.  Yet, the first impact in this new type of investing is upon you… the willing contributor.   

Most of us currently manage 401k's, mutual funds, diversified stock accounts and other related investment accounts, so we have the leverage to support this new sector. The recent growth of social and environment impact investments have spawned wholly new firms, new emerging markets and values-driven funds to match the personal interests of the contributors.   The larger investment world is starting to take notice of these small socially linked funds… that still return a profit!  While the overall financial return may be sometimes less than market averages, the returns to society are now finally beginning to be counted. 

The key remains diversification of your portfolio, as any sound financial advisor will tell you.  Mitigate your risk with long term, short term and medium growth opportunity investments.  Yet now you can begin to add social, environmental and impact investment funds to a portfolio.  Your direct support of this growth sector will contribute to the evolution of our financial markets.   

Asking the old question… "Am I making a good return on my investment," is no longer the only question to ask. Instead try on, "What impact is my investment making in the world?"

Here are some websites to further assist you in your research;

Hip Investor: Human Impact + Profits- http://hipinvestor.com
GIIN: Global Impact Investment Network- http://www.thegiin.org
The Investing Pledge http://investingpledge.com

**Caution- This author is not a professional financial advisor or consultant. The information provided is for research and referenced basis only.  Please contact your financial advisor, begin your research and ask advisors to help you to find impact investments.**

Image from http://www.thegiin.org/cgi-bin/iowa/council/terragua/index.html

About the author: Jared Brick is a current Sustainable Management MBA student at the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco.  You can follow him here:
https://twitter.com/jaredbrick

EBAY's: A QR Coded Holiday

Ebay has launched a new holiday based advertising and marketing campaign to incorporate innovative quick response QR codes.  This bold move and clever usage, as a gift ribbon design, takes the codes in a new creative direction, instead of the standard corner ad placement.
So, I know what you may be thinking... as Ecowarrior2012 (EW12)  follower why... should I really care?
Great question and though some may disagree with my answers. QR codes help consumers quickly and efficiently research and purchase items directly from their smart phones or tablets, once scanned.  I am all for supporting local shopping, especially at the holidays. Ebay now has millions of people selling reused items and reducing new product consumption, quite green actually.  The carbon footprints of shipping these "used" items is only a tiny fraction of what it costs us all, when buying new products. Now EW12 realizes that there are many new products sold on Ebay, still shipping from online purchases is more sustainable than one driving to and from multiple stores, as the packages ride mass transit in a way.
So I say go ahead and try to scan the new QRs with your smart phone and just make sure you are investing in good products that are truly needed. There is nothing cooler over the crazy holiday period than conscious consumerism!
Thanks for reading and sharing,
For more information please visit: www.ebay.com

The Occupy Movement is the 2012 Transformation!

Lately with the increased interest in the @occupyoakland via the @OccupyWallSt movement  the globe is certainly starting to unify to rise up against corporate greed, mistrust and PEOPLE really do have the POWER!

Image courtesy of http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15568057

The 99% People's movement has taken hold across the globe and we are unifying together for a more fair, just and morally equal world... one were greed and mistrust are not accepted. 

The public has been sold a fat lie, a grand illusion... one were we must trust the main powers that ruin the world.  We can no longer, trust them inherently... they know exactly how to work the system for their advantages, while we the people pay the consequences for it all.

President Obama got us all fired up with his Hope movement and then he has since caved into the massive pressures in DC, since he alone could never change all these issues.  He asked us to get involved and we did our part.  Then the gov't stepped in to save the greediest bastards of them all and we lost trust while the economy faultered based on more lies and mistrust of our systems in place.  We have an integrity issue in this country and hence dealing with a breakdown!

The Mayan 2012 prophecy is for global transformational change, a shift in consciousness across all of humanity for what is just, fair and represents equality for us all.  We will have to step through this fire over to the other side and make this happen, and we are!

The recent small riots in @occupyoakland movement show the anger and simply some anarchists actions mostly... but it wakes up the sleepy, the complacent and makes us all take notice.  We have been shoved aside, pushed down and now taken advantage of... and we ain't gonna take it no longer!

Viva La Revolucion!

2012 = Global Disaster or Sustainable Opportunity?

In the wake of the sobering ten-year anniversary of 9/11, I am reminded of what can shift because of a  global tragedy.  Ironically, unintended positives arose from the burning ashes of southern Manhattan.  Our national nightmare united many among the world and helped unify a divided nation in an unprecedented outpouring of compassion and support.
The upcoming date of December 21, 2012, looms around the corner, just over a year away. This date is filled with mythical tales, fanaticism, Hollywood formulaic screenplays and even some credible scientific theories.  If it reminds you of the year Millenium Y2K hype … it should!

The major difference with 2000, was that we took the date very seriously.  This is exactly the point … we prepared for it, we made a big fuss and it possibly helped us avoid a potential crash. The 1/1/2000 date required a global marketing campaign that spanned all computer related industries, false borders and even competitors. The same MadMen behind the Y2K campaigns may be the very same people we may need now.


The next global event – December 21, 2012, is a specific date passed down from previous solar experts, the ancient Mayans.  Hype aside, there is strong scientific evidence that a massive natural solar flare and C.M.E. occurrence may occur very close to that date.  A large C.M.E., or coronal mass ejection, (imagine the sun throwing-up radiation in our direction) is due to occur sometime at the end of 2012. A natural solar event of this magnitude could easily fry many parts of our antiquated electrical grid, thus paralyzing modern functionality as we know it. This event, while repairable over time, with trillions more dollars, could send a shockwave through humanity.  It also has the transformational possibility to awaken us to our deeper underlying survival skills or our worst character shadows.  We just can’t know!

So, how can we inform i.e., market this potential threat to the masses and move it away from fringe audience 2012 seems to attract?  We simply need a common message to align the globe about this date, to prepare before it looks like this Y2K Nike ad. One idea is that we could collectively hire (via a kickstarter campaign)  Nike’s own premier ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy,  to make some new preventative 2012 ads.  Ideas and thoughts?
In many ways December 20, 2012, reminds me of the entire sustainability movement.  What will it take to get our collective act now message across? 2012 may serve as yet another warning most people refuse to hear or better yet, our greatest ally to align our collective causes. Does it also have the global potential to rally us together, focus our goals and get us closer to what is really important? Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind if my own school loans were somehow ‘lost’, but not at the expense of large-scale riots, wild pillaging or worse.

As a passionate sustainable business student I am asked to constantly access possible market risk related to the environment.  So what could be bigger than a global event to transform all facets of financial markets?  More importantly, what is the marketing message that will move the planet or at least U.S. Congress into action? Just a minor percentage of what the U.S. already spent bailing out failed banks could quickly protect our invaluable electric grid resources.

This post was inspired by Lawrence E. Joseph, a non-fanatical level-headed journalist from L.A. who has written Aftermath: Apocalypse 2012 Prepare For and Survive. His Joseph’s book presents a compelling message … let’s be proactive to protect our electrical grid! He presents real world solutions to prepare for these events and we should heed the warning.  We can start this serious conversation where it matters most, in your homes, your local communities and to your local representatives.   Hindsight is 20/20… too bad we may only have till 2012!

Contact me further at: Ecowarrior2012@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter: #Ecowarrior2012

Do you feel we should take action about 2012?  If so, what ideas do you have?
If not, why?

EVs vs Public transport

I am an avid public transport rider, as I have not owned a vehicle since 2003 (except for a few necessary months on Maui, HI).  As I wait for the SF Bart train to come whizzing by I am forced aware of how full capacity these trains already run at.  Eco-advocates often chastise people for driving their own vehicles and not taking the public option, thank god they do drive!
The SF Bart train and other trains in major US cities are already 110% packed to the gills during most commuter hours. I can not remember even sitting down on the way into SF from Berkeley as it is standing room only.  The future for a growing populations is not more people riding public transport but more electric vehicles on the roads.  Encouraging more on public transport can't be the solution of the day.
There are already programs created for people to carpool with other locals in a given area to maximize a car's capacity.  So if we can transition from gas/oil cars to 100% electric ones in the next 20 years... we just may be saved! 
The Nissan Leaf and the soon to be 100% electric Toyota Prius will lead the charge...
   
To learn more click below:

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index#/leaf-electric-car/index

2012 Resources to check out

http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/will-the-world-end-on-dec-21-2012/

Lately online I have been hearing more about 2012 and as always people are still wondering if it will be a disastrous event or a transformational human/world experience.
I am of the belief these days that a true world event would wake us all up to the real world issues we have started and will need to address. People do not seem to be impacted by the facts... we make decisions based on emotions not facts/info.
Here is a recent post on the Matador travel network and some related books on the topic.
Decide for yourself and align with your highest intention for humanity's survival!
Try doing a search on Amazon.com for 2012 and see all the media that arises and you can assume our collective perspective on the date, 12/21/12


http://www.amazon.com/2012-Return-Quetzalcoatl-Daniel-Pinchbeck

Why bottled water could kill you! by Lewis Black video

**Warning contains very adult language and many f-bombs**

So, why are we carrying around bottles of water with us daily now? Are we thirsty or think we need "hydration"? Either way give up the bottle and find your own way...

Thanks to Lewis Black for the hilarious laughs!



Check out the new Bamboo Bottles!

Why newspapers need to become extinct!

Newspapers...are still somehow everywhere, millions of dead trees filled with crappy printed ads, lousy articles and old info that was only as timely as the length of time the paper will be kept! 
As I sat on the Bart train from SF yesterday, my feet were swimming in the cheap wood pulp prints... so I read it and took it home to clean my glass windows with it.  I mean really... have you ever tried to read one of these things on a busy public train before?  Well it was a nightmare, trying to fold the papers easily without taking up more personal space than given just to me.  Plus, my hands went black and I did not want to touch my baby afterwards, may he never know my pains with these ancient media wastes. 
I would much more prefer to click any story I like on my smartphone or read it from a iPad type digital device.  With this relatively new option I can share any pertinent, interesting or relevant article to old friends or maybe fellow dads, anyone really depending on the content in one touch of my CLEAN finger... now that works!  My 67 year old father still reads a newspaper daily and often cuts parts out, highlights it, puts it into another paper envelope, buys postage, and ships it to me 3000 miles away for me to read and recycle across the country... WTF!!!
I can't even conceive the number of trees lost and acreage gone to print these now useless daily information paper blobs and then fold them into a plastic bag (that never truly disappears) and mail it (via fossil fuels) to your doorstep to be read for about 10 minutes on average... what a crap old system we have!
Luckily, evolution is working it's magic and readership is declining with niche magazines filled with in-depth topics, like mini-books are taking their place.  Digital media will close them out of their home territory and hopefully as social security ends so will the generation of the newspaper readers. 
I say BAN them now, along with the plastic bag they come in... so lets all get smart with our media before we run out of trees, paper, air, clean water and all the other things the large media newspapers, don't want you to know about anyhow!

Check out more online resources and data (see how easy this is):

An average yearly newspaper subscription (for example, the San Francisco Chronicle) received every day produces 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of waste paper per subscription per year. The average New York Times Sunday edition produces eight million pounds (3.6 million kilograms) of waste paper.
~ http://www.answers.com/topic/how-much-waste-paper-does-a-newspaper-generate

One 35 to 40 foot (10.6 to 12 meter) tree produces a stack of newspapers four feet (1.2 meters) thick; this much newspaper must be recycled to save ONE tree.
~ http://www.answers.com/topic/how-much-newspaper-must-be-recycled-to-save-one-tree-science

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/how-much-newspaper-must-be-recycled-to-save-one-tree-science#ixzz1DPHDldKI

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/how-much-waste-paper-does-a-newspaper-generate#ixzz1DPGwDXXQ

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/newspapers-suck-less-than-you-think/


Newspaper waste photo by TalkingTree

Not Global Warming... Global Weirding!

So, as areas of our planet reach new record cold temperatures this concept of Global Warming needs to shift to Global Weirding! 

Many areas of the world will get colder, like San Francisco, as other areas of the world grow much warmer in summer months.  There is no real way to predict or know how this planet will shift in temperatures as it warms, cools, melts and locks in more sun's energy into our atmosphere.

The planetary shifts are upon us now... not in the future, reminding us to get aligned, reduce all our GHG emissions and realize the way we have been treating the planet for too long.  It is a bold reminder that our way of using the planet as an endless resource has come to an end period.  It is time to shift and evolve as the planet attempts to deal with the human impact on its system.

WAKE UP WORLD... TIMES ARE A CHANGING!

This holiday season Bag the Bag folks... NOT paper nor plastic!

The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil is considered a wildlife sanctuary, but today, even in this isolated archipelago dolphins are victims of the bad habits of consumption. (Photo and caption by João Vianna)

Bag the Bag Video with Edward Norton

Check out my favorite shopping bags that are small enough to take with you everywhere!

Chico Bags

http://www.chicobag.com/

Ecowarrior2012's yipi! Moments from SF Green Festival

Yo EcoWarriors,


Well the folks at yipi! (Rock your life and the Planet) caught me on camera at the recent SF Greenfestival this last weekend.  So what is a yipi moment you ask?

A breakthrough moment in your life, when everything changes... when you knew you would never be the same again for the rest of your life?

Mine was spending 3 whole days on a National Park island of Cairns, Great Barrier Reef... solo!  I lived in and hitchhiked in Australia at only 21,  and I had no idea I would have my own island until the NP boat service dropped me off.  I was already equipped with my own food, water and shelter for three days on the tiny Russell island... it was all mine!

WOW!!!  I experienced so many different emotions ranging from joy to fear, from loneliness to serenity, from excitement to deep contemplation... but most of all ultimate FREEDOM!  Have you ever stood on a hill and sang out loud for an hour... with no one else around to hear you, judge you, mock you or experience you?  For the first time in my life, I was truly alone and there was no one there to reflect my experience off of... and that was amazing for me.   It proved to me that humans are free beings and that we also need social relationships to make sharing it all worth it.  Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp, went all the way to Alaska to experience the same feelings, as told in the great book, "Into the Wild."

So, what is your breakthrough moment in life?  How has it changed you forever?

Russell Island, Cairns, Australia

Chris McCandless, Alexander Supertramp in AK!

Build me a new Green city... done, okay meet Masdar City!!!

Ever dreamed what it would be like to build an entire new city with the most  highly technological, modernly efficient and environmentally sustainable principles... and IRENA and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.
Amazing right?  What a cool time we live in to try, do and achieve these kind of breakthroughs and leap into the future we need to create together using our genius, passion, skill and forward thinking around natural systems!

http://www.masdarcity.ae/en/index.aspx
http://www.irena.org/
http://www.masdar.ac.ae/home/index.aspx

Cool... Freshman get Free bikes to share at UNE!

UNE's alternative transportation bike program!

Enlarge this photo

Harmony Bell '12, Briana Chu '12, Gavin Kuns '13 & Jessica Nadeau '12

Enlarge this photo

Zachary Schmesser, Coordinator of Outdoor Recreation and Peter Sullivan, Intern, Sports Management Major, Aug '10

Biddeford, Maine — The University of New England's alternative transportation bike program continues to garner national news coverage, most recently in USA Today on Sept. 22, 2010.

The University of New England this past summer expanded its successful on-campus bicycle program to prospective students and their families by offering Admission tours of campus by bicycle, and new programs for existing students, as well.

In fall 2008, UNE launched its alternative transportation program by offering free bicycles or Zipcar usage to first-year resident students who promised not to bring cars to campus.
Considered one of the most comprehensive programs of its kind in the country, the program, featured in the New York Times, was a resounding success and will be offered again this fall to the first one hundred and twenty five first year resident students who opt into the program.
Since the program was initiated, the University has been able to close and convert a parking lot into recreation space without the need for additional parking. Program expansions in 2010 include free bicycle rentals, a "Blue Bike" program, and student bicycle tours throughout the surrounding area.

Visitors can participate in Admissions-led bicycle tours that travel through UNE's campus – classrooms, residence halls, and other spots of interest, including the scenic Hills Beach Road area just off-campus. The two-hour tour, conducted via brand-new L.L. Bean bikes, ends with lunch and an informative presentation at UNE's Windward Café. In the fall, the bicycles will be returned to UNE's Students Affairs department for use in its active on-campus bike programs.
UNE's alternative bicycle transportation program is a collaboration between the Admissions Office, Conference Services, Residential Housing and Education, Safety and Security, Orientation, Outdoor Recreation, and Sustainability departments.
Zachary Schmesser, UNE's coordinator of outdoor recreation, was hired last summer to create recreational activities for students. At that time, some first-year students who were not using their bikes donated them back to UNE. Some of the bikes were in disrepair, so Schmesser decided to create a new program modeled after the "Yellow Bike" program, a successful bike-sharing initiative in Portland, Oregon and other communities around the world.
In UNE's Blue Bike program, bikes will be repaired, painted blue, and spread out around campus so that students, faculty or staff who have registered for the program can borrow them on the go and leave them at another on-campus location. Some work-study students will be trained to work in the Blue Bike program, from repairing bikes and leading tours, to helping to manage the program.

Bicycle programs have existed at UNE for years as part of the first-year Orientation program. The Trailblazer Bike program allows students to come to campus a day early, get to know other students, and take a short ride exploring the surrounding area, including the East Point Bird Sanctuary in Biddeford Pool.  With the expansion of the bicycle program, students can now continue riding well after Orientation. It has re-energized UNE's existing bicycle club.
(News release posted July 12, 2010)

http://www.une.edu/news/2010/unebicycleprogram.cfm

You're not a "Real" Leader!

A very challenging question we all face and come up against in these times.. what will it take for us to step us, rise up and lead us into a better world?  This below quote has been serving me well lately and reminding me to let go of the illusions of leadership... it is exactly us!

Enjoy and please share with others you care about.


Leadership and Liberation- by Sean Ruth page 38-39
"We are presented with models of leadership who are apparently, supremely self-confident and competent, passionately dedicated, convinced of their own correctness, single-minded and fearless.  For many in leadership roles who want to make a difference, however, this is not how it feels to lead.  They struggle with doubts about their intelligence or their competence, they feel scared, hopeless, or powerless at times, they get confused about what makes most sense or they are trying to juggle a number of competing demands on their time and energy while they pursue what they want to achieve.  In the midst of all this, it is easy to lose sight of their significance as leaders.  The messages that comes across is that real leaders do not struggle, that real leaders lead effortlessly.  The presence of doubts, fears confusion, exhaustion or discouragement can be taken to mean someone is not a real leader.

The reality is different.  Leadership is not about having no struggles.  It is not about finding it easy.  Umberto Eco said that the real hero dreams of being an honest coward like everyone else, that they are always a hero by mistake. Leadership is about not letting the struggles stop us.  It is not about never making mistakes or having to know it all. It is about giving ourselves permission to get it wrong and learning from what happens.  It is not about looking as if we have no difficulties.  It is about being able to show our struggle and not pretending to be what we are not.  Because we may find it difficult does not mean we are not real leaders.  Overcoming the difficulties, the feelings, or the blocks in the way is what leadership is about.  Everyone has this potential and one of the first steps towards realizing we do not ahve to be perfect before we start (to lead)!"

Get Mad... Then Get Busy with 350.org

We're Hot as Hell and We're Not Going to Take It Any More

Bill McKibben in Times Square

Three Steps to Establish a Politics of Global Warming

"Dear friends,
350.org co-founder Bill McKibben just published a provocative piece on how to change the dynamics of the climate debate in our country.  It's spreading like wildfire around the internet, and I wanted to make sure 350.org supporters had a chance to read it.
Please pass it on to anyone who is losing faith--and everyone who is wondering how to get to work on the greatest challenge humanity now faces.  And if you haven't yet gotten involved with 350.org's big day of action on 10/10/10, now's the time: find an event near you or start your own.
As Bill says, "the time has come to get mad, and then to get busy."


Read the full powerful and inspiring writing on global climate change:
http://www.350.org/get-mad-get-busy

The Rentalic.com Challenge Gets People Sharing!

Rentalic.com is a way to share items from person to person! Now also serving businesses to people for
all types of everyday items.

NEW PROMOTION:

Rentalic.com Scavenger Hunt!

The Scavenger Challenger is the 1st ever scavenger hunt that allows people to help themselves and the environment at the same time! The mission is for you or your organization to post as many items for rent, and add as many people to your group, as possible. You can build a team with your coworkers, friends and family. If you don't know anyone, just join someone else's team. Start gaining points and win!

Check out the SF Bay Area Rentalics for the local group postings:
http://rentalic.com/groups/sf_bay_area_rentalics

GO.. 30 Seconds to Green!

There is so much information out there telling us how to go green. And most of it is right on track. Some of the advice is a long-term goal. Like spending less, driving less and installing eco-friendly appliances once yours need to be replaced. However, there are many many things we can do each day. And this great list by Jennifer Chait from GrowingAGreenFamily.com is a perfect example of small changes with big impact that we can start implementing today.

Read the full 10 steps on Greenwala today!

Get Active, network with the Green Industry plus have a beer!

 http://sfgreendrinks.org/

http://sfgreendrinks.org/

San Francisco Green Drinks (SFGD) is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that actively promotes green networking, education and volunteer events in the San Francisco Bay Area. SFGD’s mission is to be the eco-conscious hub, both on and offline, for local individuals, organizations, and businesses that aim to strengthen and support the local environmental and green community.

What We Do: On the first Tuesday of every month San Francisco Green Drinks holds a large social networking event for several hundred green professionals at 111 Minna, a popular art gallery and bar just south of Market Street.  A broad range of community partners, businesses and non-profits contribute to the event, enriching our community with their knowledge, opportunities and ongoing services.  SFGD also utilizes and promotes online resources, such as a community event calendar and volunteer network, that strive to bring together sustainable thinkers with those looking to participate and take action.

Hoping to see you there!

DIY Urban farming in San Francisco

"Today in the Bay Area and beyond, urban homesteaders like Ms. Stone and her roommates are raising their own food in their backyards, in community gardens and on derelict and undeveloped spaces in the city. They’re preserving and pickling vegetables and fruits, sewing their own clothes, baking bread, making alcoholic beverages, and much more.
As the movement has flourished and become more mainstream — embraced by activists and food lovers alike — so too have the resources for would-be urban homesteaders."

Read the full article at the New York Times here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/dining/23sfdine.html