Post Script

TGIF: A fab, foodie blog to start your weekend right

La Tartine Gourmande has a gorgeous name, beautiful photos and delectable recipes. When it comes to blogs, that's how we like 'em. Enjoy!

Milwaukee not alone in dreams of light rail

It's no secret that the idea of high speed light rail between Milwaukee and its neighboring cities is a long-held dream of many residents, officials and urban planners. We're not alone, people. Now it looks like the United Kingdom is inching closer to fulfilling that dream.

Via Inhabitat.

Peeps: What would Damien Hirst do?

Staff at the Racine Art Museum, we're guessing, are no strangers to the dilemma of leftover Peeps® ... those pesky (are they edible?) sugary creations that linger long after Easter has come and gone. Otherwise, we're at a loss to explain this but of fun: Make a piece of artwork out of some Peeps® and submit to the museum. The winning entry will go on display during Easter week.

The artwork must be delivered to the museum with a brief description or title, the names of everyone who worked on the project and their ages, and a contact e-mail address. Judges will look for creative use of Peeps®. Open to all ages. Any variety of Peep® will do. The deadline is 5 p.m., Friday March 26. 

We're imagining a yellow bunny suspended in a blue vitrine.

EPA posts photo archives on Flickr

The Environmental Protection Agency has a new Flickr collection you don't want to miss.

The sets contain archives from the 1971-1977 "Documerica Project," which involved freelance photographers capturing images relating to environmental problems, EPA actions and daily life at the time.

According to the Flickr page, more than 15,000 photographs were made digital by the U.S. National Archives and made available for the EPA's online catalog.

Finally, it's warm enough for the kids to play outside. Just tell them not to breathe, okay?

From Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization in Madison: 

It's not something to be proud of: Wisconsin has the most unsafe air in the country today. For the fourth day in a row, the Department of Natural Resources issued an air advisory for Wisconsin. The EPA''s Air Quality Index (AQI) forecast shows about one-third of the state covered in orange, the highest level of concern in today's forecast for the entire nation.

"It is alarming that the frequency of these alerts is on the rise in Wisconsin," says Katie Nekola, energy program director for Clean Wisconsin. "Health officials are encouraging children, the elderly and those with lung disease and asthma to stay inside. Instead of restricting Wisconsin's most vulnerable citizens, we should be cleaning up our air by taking the biggest polluters - old, dirty coal plants - offline."

The advisory was issued because of persistent and elevated levels of fine particles in the air. These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, including coal-fired power plants. These particles can get deep into lung tissue, making them difficult to exhale, especially for health-sensitive individuals. In Wisconsin, 41 coal units emit thousands of tons os soot, or fine particles, in to the air every day.

To view the nationwide AQI forecast, click here.

Rambling Spoon rambles so well

Yesterday was International Women's Day, but most women were so busy working they hardly had time to notice how this was being honored (assuming that applies to others, not just this blog author). 

So forgive the 12-hour lapse, but please enjoy this fine, reflective meditation on food and the women and girls who prepare it, courtesy of Rambling Spoon. 

"So this is what I'm thinking about on International Women's Day 2010: all the women, all the world over, who cook our food for work, not pleasure. The women who tend the fires and clean the stoves and turn out nourishing things to eat, day after day, because cooking is what they do - and they have never really envisioned another life. Thank you for your work. You have fed me fully, and fed me well."

Read the full entry here, and take a moment to savor the photography, too.

Thirsty?

With Michelle Obama leading the way, there's much talk these days about food deserts -- areas where fast food outlets outnumber grocery stores. 

GOOD magazine has an interesting, slightly off-topic graphic: a map of the U.S. revealing areas (in red) where bars outnumbers grocery stores.

Yikes.

Aw ... our kind of people!

Organic Nation is a place where sumptuous photography and interesting blog posts dwell in perfect harmony, and we like it there. Come, see ...

AUG takes GoodGuide to the next level - the local level

Know your farmer, know your food. Those were President Obama's words, and many of us took it to mean that we should shop at natural foods co-ops or farmer's markets, and join CSA's so that we can get information on the farmer who grew our potatoes. And that's a wonderful, organic, local, warm-fuzzy thing.

But it gets even better. Smart mobile technology is making it even easier to know your farmer - and the impact of your purchase, economically and environmentally.

Imagine being able to use your smart phone to scan a bar code on a crate of broccoli and immediately know where it was grown (with a map showing miles traveled from farm to store), whether it's currently in season, what its price history has been, and get data about the local economic and environmental impact of the product.

The people behind the AUG - Augmented Living Goods - Program imagined all of that and designed it. The system they came up with was crowned winner at the Greener Gadgets 2010 contest held in New York City this week.

Hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association, the competition rounded up 18 entrants with designs ranging from a solar tent to a computer mouse made of cork, and the AUG bar code system.

Judges liked the system because it uses existing technology and takes the popular GoodGuide one step further by encouraging people to shop local. 

We can't wait for this to become available! While we wait, we can learn more about the design at the Greener Gadgets web site.

First Lady talks about "food deserts"

Over at the White House blog, you watch a video of Michelle Obama talking about inner city neighborhoods with little or no access to fresh, wholesome food. 

These areas exist in major U.S. cities, including Milwaukee, and are labeled "food deserts" because residents are forced to buy their food at convenience stores and fast food outlets because there are no grocery stores within reach. Obesity and diabetes thrive in food deserts.

As part of her "Let's Move" campaign to end childhood obesity, Mrs Obama is taking on this vital issue. Watch the video here.