Portland, Oregon, USA leads the way in veg sustainability. The city of Portland has long been upheld as a role model in environmental policies in areas from energy-efficient buildings to food and agriculture.
Steve Cohen – Manager, Food Policy and Programs, Portland, Oregon’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, USA, Vegetarian (M): We were the first city to actually have a climate change plan way back in 1993 and we just updated that plan last year in 2009.
VOICE: Portland’s citizens also say that sustainability is a known part of their culture.
Leslie Pol-kosbau – Representative, Portland Parks & Recreation Community Garden Program (F): I represent Portland Parks & Recreation’s Community Garden Program, providing community garden spaces in the city for 35 years. The citizens of Portland wanted us to start a program that would allow them to use land so that they could do that year-round.
VOICE: Mr. Steve Cohen, manager of the Food Policy and Programs of Portland, Oregon’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, is the first US city government official with the title. The creation of his position reflects how the city is also at the forefront of addressing food policy in relation to environmental protection and climate change.
The City Hall recently held a public “Climate and Food Choices Discussion” with Mr. Cohen and author Anna Lappé of the bestselling book, “Diet for a Hot Planet” to seek ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food. This was followed by a community vegetable garden re-dedication activity, led by Mr. Cohen, who is also a long-time vegetarian.
Steve Cohen (M): I read Francis Moore Lappé’s book in 1972, “Diet for a Small Planet,” and it just made total sense to me. That we’ve got these animals out there that are actually food factories in reverse, putting all this grain in them and you get one pound back for 20 that you put in. Didn’t make sense, and I became a vegetarian and that was it.
VOICE: With the veg diet known to be a key solution to climate change, Portland City also has a head start, with 35 community vegetable gardens and ranking as America’s #1 Best Vegetarian-Friendly Large City by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Moreover, in April 2010, The Oregonian, the largest newspaper in both Portland and the Pacific Northwest region of the USA, launched a twice-monthly column on Oregonlive.com called “Going Vegan,” which features recipes and other tips on enjoying a vegan lifestyle in Portland.
Bravo Portland and thank you Mr. Cohen, the city government and co-citizens for your leadership in the area of food and the environment.
May yours and other cities worldwide help continue the veg trend for truly sustainable lifestyles. In a November 2009 videoconference in Mexico, Supreme Master Ching Hai encouraged all world governments toward leading roles in the needed shift to veganism to save the planet.
Supreme Master Ching Hai: The governments have the power to make this urgent transition to the organic vegan diet. First, they should ban all animal products, informing people about the facts of animal products, explaining that because it’s poisoning their co-citizens and piling up far more costs than
any gains, economically and environmentally, and because it’s eating up our planet.
Next, the governments can help the agriculture sector transition to being an organic vegan sector First, it will help the world be veg easily, thus eliminating more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions which are heating up our planet and endangering our lives; and second, the high-quality organic soil will absorb much of the rest of the greenhouse gas emissions and it will also help to save our planet.
According to respected Dutch scientists, tens of trillions of US dollars can be saved by world governments if all the world becomes vegan. In addition, the governments of the world have the power to make the veg trend an exciting movement for everyone toward a healthier lifestyle.
http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=49989& http://vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=143&catId=6 http://www.goveg.com/f-vegcities-portland.asphttp://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2010/04/posole_and_column_about_fresh.html http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2010/03/a_vegans_journey.htmlFifth Global Oceans Conference convenes. Held at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris, France from May 3–7, 823 representatives from 80 countries arrived at the summit, many from developing nations.
Themed “Ensuring Survival, Preserving Life and Improving Governance,” discussions focused on topics that many participating countries already acknowledge as realities, including rising sea levels, ocean acidification, dying coral and diminished marine life, as well as drought, freshwater scarcity, and climate refugees.
Also present were the 42 nation members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group that accounts for only 0.3% of the world’s emissions but endures the most environmental impact especially from rising sea levels.
Peter, native of Tarawa: We can see the rising of the sea level. When I see that it makes me feel scared because I know that one day
our land will be lost.
However, freshwater supplies are also becoming a problem, with regions such as the Caribbean facing limited available supplies for cooking and agriculture and water having to be trucked to serve visitors in hotels.
Anticipating an ultimate exodus from his island nation, Kiribati President Anote Tong said, “The best we can hope to have is to maintain the integrity of our culture.
What personally I’d like to see happen is for us to maintain a nation of Kiribati somehow. We have to do that so that the new generation or generations of i-Kiribati people in different parts of the world will have somewhere to go to, to say that this is… what once was our nation.”
Our appreciation, Your Excellency and all participants, for your committed efforts and those of the island brethren who shoulder the daily concern of their homeland’s survival.
Let us strive as a collective humanity to save the rich heritage of every community on our planet.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51349 http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/d/15140.htmlExtra NewsInspired by the original work of Nikola Tesla, US-based Solar Aero company develops a bladeless wind turbine, whose enclosed design virtually eliminates wildlife injuries as well as noise and visual pollution, while maintaining high efficiency.
http://www.physorg.com/news192426996.htmlhttp://www.networkworld.com/community/node/60930Students at Coventry University in the UK design the “Coventry Chariot,” with a fuel container the size of a soda can, to compete alongside 200 other entrants from 24 countries in Germany’s Shell Eco-Marathon for the world's most fuel-efficient car.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1272150/Revealing-British-eco-car-drive-London-Brighton-coke-worth-fuel.html#ixzz0nKY9JNlj http://www.elertgadget.com/palert/revealing_the_british_eco-car_that_can_drive_from_london_to_brighton_on_a_cola_can_of_fuel_509676.htmMr. Frank Pajaujis of US-based Aabaco Industries says his oil-removing compound could assist in cleaning up the recent spill in the Gulf of Mexico, being made of plant fibers and microbes that leave only a byproduct which is safe for fish and water.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/05/07/dnt.oil.slick.solutions.wpbf?iref=24hours http://www.wpbf.com/news/23489203/detail.htmlhttp://www.wflx.com/Global/story.asp?S=12449417Bolivian President Evo Morales presents to the United Nations recent climate change conference findings that include calls for emission reductions to 300 parts per million and a greater role for developing nations in global warming negotiations.
http://www.innercitypress.com/evo1obama050810.htmlhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jqJmnNVzfiUOeSlVG4f8nQMbwQYQD9FI8P600 http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/unifeed/d/15145.html
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