why is the world still so dependent on fossil fuels?

There is no doubt about it – fossil fuels still reign supreme. Industry and consumers are still slaves to this non-renewable resource despite the fact that it pollutes our environment and results in an inequitable distribution of wealth that is concentrated in the hands of a select group of people not necessarily concerned with the…

how can transportation systems be redesigned to improve efficiency?

Too much of anything is a good thing.  Each concept and item has its own place and purpose.  The same can be said about transportation systems.  Currently, too much of the world’s transportation system is based upon cars and although they offer a great deal of mobility and independence – two qualities that many aspire…

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kill-it-and-eat-it locavores give cities indigestion

This article describes how urban farmers who chose to slaughter their own meat are facing new regulations and even bans on home butchering. This is coming after many residents filed complaints that home slaughtering is inhumane and that there are no animal welfare standards in effect. Officials have acknowledged that a growth in urban farming…

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the social basis of agro-environmental concern: physical versus social proximity

This article attempts to answer the questions, “Is environmental concern widely diffused throughout society or is it more strongly expressed by particular sub-populations? How has concern changed over time?” This was accomplished by studying the attitudes about agriculture and the environment in relation to an individual’s geographic and social distance from agriculture. They began by…

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the influence of social involvment, neighborhood aesthetics, and community garden participation on fruit and vegetable conspumption

“I feel like I’m a co-creator in the world with my garden, helping bring forth life, nurturance. It nurtures me as much as I nurture it. And it gives me hope.” The objective of this article was to examine the relationship between the fruit and vegetable consumption by urban adults and several selected social and…

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review and analysis of of the benefits, purposes and motivations associated with community gardens in the united states

“The varied purposes and benefits of community gardening make it an ideal interventional strategy for community-based practitioners because myriad goals may be addressed through this approach.” Community gardening emerged in the United States in the 1890s as, “a means to address urban congestion caused by immigration, economic instability and environmental degradation”. Immigrants, children and the…

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bringing good food to others: investigating the subjects of alternative food practices

“Watsonville is a largely Latino community, where many farm workers live – and several students […] have gone there with the intention of teaching Latino youth how to grow food, apparently with nary a trace of irony shown.” Julie Guthman, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the Department of Community…

a description of moose and cost-benefit analysis of moose conservation

Moose/Eurasian elk [Alces alces] are the largest of all the deer species. They can be found in the temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, North America and Asia in boreal and mixed deciduous forests. The males of the species are well-known for their massive antlers that can spread 1.8 meters from end to end. The…

a description of gray wolves and a cost-benefit analysis of their conservation

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a keystone predator with a wide range of habitats that include temperate forests, mountains, tundra, taiga and grasslands (5). As keystone predators, they play a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions by helping to control the distribution and population of large numbers of prey species…