Staff Blog

Keyed Up for the Greenest Convention Ever

By Wendy Gordon

Greening giant events involving tens or hundreds of thousands of people is no small matter. The sheer volume of food waste from a rock concert or ball game could probably fill the entire space from the basement to the rafters after only a few events, if it wasn't all constantly being carted away. It's heartening to me--someone who tends to sit and fret about these things--to see more and more major event centers, including the Olympics arena in Beijing and sports stadiums and convention centers here in the U.S., taking stock of their eco-footprint in both their design and their operations.

This week's Democratic Convention is boasting that it will be the greenest political convention ever. Hybrid, alternative fuel and biodiesel buses are transporting the delegates; the stage will be painted with low-VOC paints and solar power, wind energy and biodiesel generators will all be incorporated in running the event. Even the 50,000 convention-goers' hotel key cards will be eco-friendly. Sustainable Cards has donated more than 70,000 biodegradable wood hotel key cards to area hotels in an effort to reduce the waste and negative environmental impact created by traditional plastic key cards.

What possible difference will changing key cards have? More than one might think: By switching to biodegradable wood cards, hotels and resorts can reduce plastic waste by 1,300 tons annually--an amount of plastic waste equal to the volume of seven Boeing 777 airplanes. Now if only those simple little keys would turn on and off the power to the hotel room as they do in Europe, then we'd really see some savings.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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Protecting Our Crops

By Laura Dattaro

For organic-savvy consumers (and anyone who's even remotely concerned about what they put in their bodies), instinct says the fewer products applied to food, the better. Spraying sunscreens on produce, then--especially with concerns about what some of them may be doing to our bodies and our environment--seems counterintuitive and, frankly, foolish. And it probably would be, if we were talking about dropping clouds of vaporized Banana Boat on fields of unsuspecting organic tomatoes. But according to David Cope, CEO and president of Purfresh, it might be part of the solution toward many of the world's most imminent problems. Despite all my attempts to uncover the obligatory downside, I think I agree.

On July 29, Purfresh announced the release of Purshade, its new line of sunscreens to protect crops from solar stress. Essentially, the application of Purshade leaves a thin layer of UV- and infrared-reflecting mirrors that still allows the rays necessary for photosynthesis to reach the plant. There's already a similar, existing product called Eclipse, which is approved for use on specialty crops like apples. Purshade is made largely of calcium carbonate, which exists naturally in about 15 percent of the world's surface area and can also be found in the powdery substance in chewing gum wrappers, among other places. A food-grade version of Purshade approved for use on organic crops will be released later this year.

Purshade has already been used successfully in Australia, South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and various areas in North America. In addition to cutting down on the 20- to 40-percent loss experienced by growers due to sun damage, it supplements the soil with the calcium plants need to survive, easing my initial worries about negative impact from runoff. And it helps improve water efficiency, as plants, just like people, need more water in hot weather to replace what they sweat out.

"It really is the perfect storm now," Cope says. "You've got people worried about climate changing. We have a real focus on water and water scarcity. And now we have other things using our food, like ethanol." What's more, Cope says the company has seen measurable increases in quality--meaning more money for suffering farmers who won't lose profits when sun damage ruins produce--and higher yields. If you remember your high school econ teacher's lecture on supply and demand, that also leads to lower food costs for consumers.

The journalist in me hates to say this, but Purshade seems to be on to something. Maybe they should take on the gas crisis next.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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A better burger

By Laura Dattaro

In the face of soaring food costs, finding a quick and healthy dinner is no longer as simple as locating the nearest Golden Arches. To help offer more options, fast-food restaurants like O!Burger in Los Angeles, have started sprouting up in cities across the country. O!Burger, which opened on May 31st, is different from a typical burger joint in terms of what you eat--including grass-fed beef, locally sourced turkey and vegetables and chocolate-banana-Aseel date shakes for dessert--and where and how you eat it.O!Burger's utensils are made from corn and will decompose after use. The cleaning products are less toxic and the walls are painted with formaldehyde-free paints. As co-founder Martha Chang says, it was about making a place that's organic "all the way down to the black pepper."

While the prices at O!Burger are an improvement over high-end organic options--a Classic O!Burger will run you $7.99, not bad in the heart of L.A.--they're still pricey in the bigger world of fast food. With the advent of the dollar menu at regular fast-food restaurants, $8 can sometimes buy two full meals, including dessert. Still, Chang and her co-founder Andy Soboil, a personal chef, are working to correct the division. "Everyone should be able to eat organic food," Chang says.

O!Burger has been a success so far, Chang says, which, perhaps, is indicative of the expanding truth that Americans are ready to change the way they eat. It can be seen in the advent of places like Better Burger NYC and O'Naturals, and in the efforts being made by some major chain restaurants. Chipotle boasts a Food with Integrity mission, which includes serving antibiotic- and hormone-free meat and hormone-free sour cream. Even McDonald's is joining the ranks, with a "global commitment to environmental leadership"--including a pilot LEED-certified branch in Savannah, Georgia--but not all of their corporate visions have filtered down to American restaurants (like some practical international applications, such as recycling bins in select Japanese restaurants).

Local joints like O!Burger may seem small, but when viewed with a wider lens, they're clearly part of a growing trend. "Hopefully this movement is something that will affect the way we look at agriculture as a whole," Chang says, "and people will start going back to getting in touch with where their food comes from."

© The Green Guide, 2008

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