When we walk into a supermarket, we assume that we have the widest possible choice of healthy foods. But in fact, over the course of the 20th century, our food system was co-opted by corporate forces whose interests do not lie in providing the public with fresh, healthy, sustainably-produced food.
Fortunately for America, an alternative emerged from the counter-culture of California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, where a group of political anti-corporate protesters–led by Alice Waters–voiced their dissent by creating a food chain outside of the conventional system. The unintended result was the birth of a vital local-sustainable-organic food movement which has brought back taste and variety to our tables.
FOOD FIGHT is a fascinating look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement has created a counter-revolution against big agribusiness.
Droughts can create ideal conditions for wildfires. Dry trees and vegetation provide fuel. Low soil and air moisture make it easier for fires to spread quickly. In these conditions, a spark from lightning, electrical failures, human error or planned fires can quickly get out of control. As Earth’s climate warms and precipitation patterns change, increasingly severe droughts will leave some areas of the world vulnerable to increasingly severe fires. Understanding how fires behave in dry conditions can help firefighters, first responders and others prepare for a hotter, drier future.
Since 1950 when mass production of plastic began, it’s estimated that more than 18.2 trillion pounds of plastic have been produced to date. That’s the equivalent of producing 1,714 Statues of Liberty-worth of plastic every single day for 65 years.
