Green Things on My Mind: The Next Roberta’s Restaurant, vs the Coachella Diet
- by Alden Wicker
- Apr 4, 2014
“Blah blah blah, regulating air pollution is bad for business and would cost us jobs …” But air pollution killed 7 million people in 2012. 7 million people. Dead.
I actually briefly considered tracking down this artist and asking him how much for one of his pieces, because his photographs of consumer waste, like swirling masses of cell phones, or stacks of crushed cars, are pretty in a depressing way.
Come on, you can do it. Here are five stellar tips to start your own itty bitty urban garden.
NYC News
Citibike: Not doing so awesomely, even though New Yorkers love it so much that they didn’t let sleet nor rain stop them from riding.
A 10-cent surcharge has been proposed in NYC for plastic bags. Cue the whining about, “But I NEED my plastic bags to LINE MY TRASHCAN and PICK UP DOG POOP.” Well, if you think your trash bags are so valuable, then you can pay for them. Honestly, people, it’s called capitalism and not killing dolphins.
Will New York State turn on Tesla, too?
Because of the long, cold winter, it looks like all the spring flowers are going to bloom at the same time in a glorious rainbow of joy.
Here’s what a green, park-like hurricane fortification around FiDi could look like.
There’s an app that tells you when you can flush your toilet so you don’t poison Newtown Creek.
Food News
The bad news about grilling meat: it creates carcinogens in your meat. The good news: you can reduce said carcinogens by marinating your meat in beer! May I suggest local New York beers Ommegang or Sixpoint?
This news has got me dreaming of the beach … Farm-to-table pizza restaurant Roberta’s might follow Tiki Disco out there and open a permanent outpost in the Rockaways.
A project on Kickstarter is aiming to let you test your pot for chemicals. They’re hoping to also come out with one that could test your produce for pesticides.
I’m dragging my French roommate to the Farmer’s Market because they’re selling escargot–er, whelks!
Beauty News
Those J. Crew models get so pretty and glow-y by using non-toxic and organic makeup brand RMS.
Fashion News
As the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh draws near, an excellent British Vogue article examines what has changed since then, and this consultant makes a great case for buying fewer–but better–clothes.
How sustainable is fashion made in Italy? EcoSalon investigates.
The Australian Government just scrapped Ethical Clothing Australia, a program that guided and certified ethical fashion producers, plus led to increased wages for garment workers. RIP.
A fascinating piece on how Koreans in Los Angeles are the driving force behind fast fashion.
This consultant, who has worked with Barney’s and now works with Amazon–is super positive about the future of conscious consumerism.
Someday when I get married, Bario Neal is in the running for provider of the engagement ring. She explains in this interview how she makes her jewelry line sustainable, which is interestingly conducted by another jewelry designer.
Zara and H&M have both committed to ending the deforestation that happens on behalf of their clothing. Yeah, I didn’t know trees were in our clothes, either.
Online business incubator Factory 45 is taking applications from designers, makers, and entrepreneurs, but only ones who manufacture ethically.
Music News
Commenters across the web were not so pleased with the idea of a diet especially for Coachella. I say, yes, it’s supposed to be about the music. But we all know it’s also a little bit about tiny jorts. (Still, I thought the photos in the article were a joke, until I realized that no, these ladies are seriously playing the bongos in their promotional photos.)
End of the World News
Climate change will definitely affect North Americans, too, in a really terrifying way, says that dire climate change report that everyone’s talking about.
