A message sent from West Marine to all of their customers...

Dear West Marine Boater,
We generally don't stray very far from our mission of trying to provide you with excellent products and services for your boat and boating lifestyle. We also usually keep our political and social opinions to ourselves, believing it's not our place to solicit others, even when the cause is, in our opinion, worthy. Perhaps it's that West Marine has reached the ripe old age of 40, or perhaps it's the state of some of the world's natural resources, but we feel compelled to make an exception to our normal policy and attempt to help raise the awareness of some significant risks that this and future generations of boaters are facing. In this message today, we're not seeking any business or other gain for West Marine. We're simply trying to be good stewards of the oceans and marine environments, for the benefit of all.

We hope you'll accept our opinions, advice, and call to action as sincere, positive and responsible; as that's how they are intended. What would you do if you knew that many species of fish and other marine life in the ocean will be gone within 30 years if levels of C02 continue increasing at their present rate? We believe you would take action to stop this from happening, because informed people make informed choices.

This letter is about what we can and must do together now to help solve a very serious, but little-known problem, Ocean Acidification. Sally-Christine and I are lifelong boaters. What we have learned from sailing across the Pacific over the past 6 years, and especially from scientists focused on marine conservation, is startling. Whether you spend time on the water or not, Ocean Acidification affects all of us and is something we believe you will want to know about. Ocean Acidification is primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

When carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ends up in the ocean it changes the pH, making the sea acidic and less hospitable to life. Over time, C02 reduces calcium carbonate, which prevents creatures from forming shells and building reefs. In fact, existing shells will start to dissolve. Oysters and mussels will not be able to build shells. Crabs and lobsters? Your great-grandchildren may wonder what they tasted like. Carbon dioxide concentrated in the oceans is making seawater acidic. Many of the zooplankton, small animals at the base of the food web, have skeletons that won't form in these conditions, and sea-life further up the food chain - fish, mammals and seabirds that rely on zooplankton for food will also perish. No food - no life. One billion people rely on seafood for their primary source of protein. Many scientific reports document that worldwide, humans are already consuming more food than is being produced.

The implications are obvious. The issue of Ocean Acidification is causing irreversible loss to species and habitats, and acidification trends are happening up to ten times faster than projected. We want you to know what this means, how it affects all of us, and what we can do about it. Today, the atmospheric concentration of C02 is about 387 parts per million (ppm) and increasing at 2 ppm per year. If left unaddressed, by 2040 it is projected to be over 450 ppm, and marine scientists believe the collapse of many ocean ecosystems will be irreversible. Acidification has other physiological effects on marine life as well, including changes in reproduction, growth rates, and even respiration in fish.

Tropical and coldwater corals are among the oldest and largest living structures on earth; the richest in terms of biodiversity, they provide spawning areas, nursery habitat and feeding grounds for a quarter of all species in the sea. Coral reefs are at risk! As C02 concentrations increase, corals, shellfish and other species that make shells will not be able to build their skeletons and will likely become extinct.

The good news is we can fix this problem. But, as you guessed, it will be difficult. Ocean Acidification is caused by increased C02 in the atmosphere. Solving one will solve the other.

The House of Representatives has acted, passing HR 2454, the Waxman-Markey "American Clean Energy and Security Act", but it was severely weakened. Now the Senate has announced that it will move similar legislation this fall. We need the Senate to join the House in its leadership, but to demand far greater emissions reductions than were able to pass the House.

"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that in order to stabilize C02 in the atmosphere at 350 ppm by 2050, global carbon emissions need to be cut 85% below 2000 levels."

That's a very tall order! And the way our political system works (or doesn't) makes its tougher.

It will take all of us to step up and take responsibility to make this happen.

Here is what you can do: Contact your Senator now using one of these techniques, listed in order of effectiveness.

1. Visit your Senator at their local office. It is easy to make an appointment. Tell them your concerns about C02 and the oceans, and to move strong climate legislation immediately that will reduce our greenhouse gas concentrations to levels that will not threaten our oceans. The experience is rewarding. (Alternatively, drop a letter off at their local office.)

2. Call your Senator and leave a message urging action be taken to reduce C02 , address Ocean Acidification, and move strong climate legislation immediately that will reduce our greenhouse gas concentrations to levels that will not threaten our oceans.

3. Click on this link to send an email, which will go directly to your Senator based on your address.

http://www.oceana.org/acid <http://e.westmarine.com/a/hBKbsxBAQaiZ8B7uhOjAcYnIdho/wm6-0>

You may use the letter provided, but it is more effective to edit it, and in your own words urge them to move strong climate legislation immediately that will reduce our greenhouse gas concentrations to levels that will not threaten our oceans. Ocean Acidification is an issue we can do something about. We need a groundswell of informed citizens to get Congress to have the backbone to stand up to the entrenched interests of coal, oil, and gas and not compromise on the reduction of C02. We also need real leadership to aggressively create jobs using sustainable technologies. The choice is ours. We can solve this or not. What we do know is that the future facing our children, grandchildren and indeed all of humankind depends on our decision. Please join us in sharing this letter with others. We appreciate your taking the time to contact your Senators; it is easy to do and effective. Thank you for your support.

The issue of Ocean Acidification is causing irreversible loss to species and habitats, and acidification trends are happening up to ten times faster than projected. We want you to know what this means, how it affects all of us, and what we can do about it. The future facing our children, grandchildren and indeed all of humankind depends on the actions we take today to solve this growing problem.

Randy Repass
Chairman
West Marine
Randy@westmarine.com

Sally-Christine Rodgers
Board Member

Mississippi catfish farmers say Vietnam is sinking their business

The millions of pounds of Vietnamese fish imported to the U.S. each year are not classified as 'catfish' and may not be subject to the same inspection regulations that will soon apply to the American fish.

Los Angeles Times
By Richard Fausset and Richard Simon June 16, 2009

Reporting from Belzoni, Miss., and Washington — In Vietnam there's a kind of fish that's white-fleshed and whiskered and otherwise pretty darn catfish-like. But in the eyes of the U.S. government, the creatures aren't catfish.

Now fish farmers in the American South fear this government classification will allow the Vietnamese fish to slither around inspection regulations that will soon apply to American catfish.

It's one of many reasons fish farmer Scott Kiker is singing the catfish blues.
Kiker has been forced to shrink his dominion of teeming fish ponds in Mississippi from 270 acres a few years ago to about 80 acres today. His operation, like the U.S. catfish industry overall, has been stung by the soaring cost of grain, as well as last year's spike in diesel prices. And the restaurant industry, like the broader economy, is slow enough to make a preacher cuss.

But there is one issue Kiker believes Washington can address: the millions of pounds of Vietnamese fish imported to the U.S. market each year, amounting to what he contends is unfair competition.

Southern catfish farmers believe that problem could be solved if the Obama administration expanded the government's definition of catfish to include the fish from Vietnam.

"They ought to have to do what we have to do. It's not fair," Kiker said.

Kiker, a friendly, ruddy-faced man with a pair of sunglasses perched on his head, recently gave a tour of his aluminum-walled hatchery, lined with troughs full of gelatinous yellow eggs being aerated by small rotating paddles. It is a clean, simple operation -- one that his 12- and 16-year old daughters help run in the summer. It's also closely regulated, using only federally approved water additives and antibiotics.

"Our standards are so high, and they don't have any," Kiker said of the Vietnamese. "That's the bottom line."

That argument is ringing out from the farms of the American Southeast, where catfish -- once a river-dwelling delicacy whose availability was subject to the fisherman's luck -- has evolved since the 1960s into a crucial cash crop.

Some observers in Washington warn that changing the definition of "catfish" may heighten tensions between the U.S. and Vietnam, and possibly ignite a trade war.
"This goes far beyond just the definition of a fish," said Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, a trade group.

The Vietnamese government notes that in 2002 Congress prohibited the Vietnamese species -- generally sold as basa and tra -- from being marketed here as catfish.
The 2002 legislation declared that no fish can be marketed as catfish "unless it is fish classified within the family ictaluridae," which is found in the South. The Vietnamese species come from the pangasiidae family.

The problem, from the Southern perspective: Butchers buy basa and tra and tell customers it's catfish. So do some restaurants. The fish industry has fought back with the help of sympathetic state legislatures: In August, Alabama will join a number of states that require restaurants to inform customers where their catfish comes from.

At issue at the federal level is a little-noticed provision of last year's farm bill that will soon subject catfish, whatever its origin, to a new, more rigorous inspection regimen. The provision was included after Chinese seafood was found in 2007 to include drugs banned in U.S. fish farming.

Critics of the push to reclassify say it amounts to protectionism. Supporters say it will increase food safety.

To the Vietnamese, it's confusing.

"The Vietnamese feel pretty whipsawed here," said Brenda A. Jacobs, a Washington trade lawyer who has advised the Vietnamese government. "They can't call their seafood 'catfish,' but they could be subject to a new inspection requirement that is applicable only to catfish?"
Does this reflect confusion, she asked, or an attempt to undermine fair competition?
Thoan V. Ngo, commercial counselor at the Vietnam Embassy in Washington, said he hoped the Americans "would see this as being less about just the definition of a fish and more about the definition of how the U.S. treats developing countries."

When asked about Vietnam's concerns, Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), said, however, "I'm more concerned about my constituents than I am their constituents."

The specifics of this rather esoteric trade issue are well-known in Humphreys County, where Kiker has his ponds. This desktop-flat stretch of rich Mississippi Delta farmland once proudly produced more catfish than any other U.S. county. Not anymore.

The acres devoted to producing catfish in the county dropped from 29,650 acres in 2001 to 18,400 acres last year.

Though the industry is waning here, the ictaluridae family still holds a place of honor in thecounty seat of Belzoni, a town of 2,600 with a small catfish museum and brightly painted catfish sculptures that dot the downtown sidewalks.

Jim Steeby, a Belzoni-based aquaculture specialist for Mississippi State University, said that a bad batch of Vietnamese fish could give a bad name to Mississippi catfish -- and do even more harm to Humphreys County's signature industry.

"We have a reputation in this industry of having an immaculate product, and we don't want it tarnished," he said.

Steeby drove around the two-lane roads of the county, pointing out numerous swaths of land that once held shallow, nine-acre pools of fish -- and were now overrun with weeds or, in the best cases, sown with row crops.

Steeby stopped at the home of catfish farmer Michael Pruden, 55, who was getting ready to transfer some fish from 160 acres that he was taking out of production. Later, Pruden and his young daughter switched on an automated feeder to sprinkle his ponds with soy-corn pellets. The placid ponds erupted in splashes as hundreds of the primordial, wide-mouthed creatures rocketed to the surface for lunch.

Steeby said there would always be someone doing this work in a region where a plate of lightly breaded catfish ranks with pan-fried chicken as the mark of a worthy chef.
Pruden, a salty son of farmers in a John Deere ball cap, wasn't so sure.

"Unless it gets better," he said, "there's no future growing fish."

richard.fausset@latimes.com

richard.simon@latimes.com

Do you speak FISH? - FISH FRAUD A NATIONAL PROBLEM FOR THE USA

Investigation turns up fish fraud at restaurants

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia

Saturday, June 27, 2009 - P3

By Isaac Wolf

Scripps Howard News Service

Restaurants in four cities across the country have been caught charging patrons for top-notch seafood while actually peddling inferior fillets. A Scripps Televisiton Station Group investigation in Kansas City, Mo., Phoenix, Baltimore and Tampa, Fla., found that in 23 out of 38 meals tested the fish species was incorrectly marketed and billed as fanicer fare.

For instance, fish listed on menus as "red snapper" often was found to be far cheaper tilapia, while "grouper" was really catfish, the investigation found. Such substitutions can save a restaurant a bundle - while red snapper fillets cost about $5.20 a pound wholesale, tilapia goes for just $2.20 a pound, according to food commodity analysts.

The Scripps reports, based on DNA analyses of the fish, provide more evidence of the pervasiveness of fish fraud in U.S. restaurants. Although similar testing has been done in New Yorkd City and Mobile, Ala,, The Scripps project is the first to look at severarl cities in different parts of the country.

It also is the most extensive look at the incidence of fish mislabeling since a National Marine Fisheries Serivice report found the 37 percent of fish and 13 percent of other seafood, such as shellfish, were mislabeled over a nine-year period ending in 1997.

Spencer Garrett, who leads the fisheries-service laboratory that conducted that study, thinks fish fraud has increased since then. But he doesn't know for sure, because no follow-up study has been done.

The Scripps investigation found:

- The president of an international restaurant chain, Bice Bistro, admitted to swapping catfish for grouper after KSHB tested fish in Bice's Kansas City, Mo., location.

- JK Sushi in Phoenix changed its menus the day after KNXV discovered that the advertised red snapper was actually tilapia.

- The owner of Baltimore restaurant Luna Del Sol apologized after WMAR found that the "grilled grouper" - priced at more than $25 - was in fact Asian catfish.

- When Acropolis Greek Tavern in Tampa, Fla., was caught serving catfish instead of grouper, the eatery's owner told WFTS that the fish suppliers - and not him - were to blame.

Industry experts say fish fraud comes in a variety of forms: substitution and mislabeling at the restaurant level, mis-representation by restaurant suppliers, and fraud by domestic fish importers and foreign exporters.

Los Angeles federal prosecutor Joseph Johns, who broke up a fish-fraud ring last year, said the scope of the problem is huge.

"There's just an unbelievable amount of fraud being perpetrated on the American public," Johns said. "It's high time somebody really [looks] into this."

But government oversight has been scant, Scripps found.

Industry experts say that because the federal government isn't tracking mislabeled fish in restaurants or supermarkets, they have no idea how often it is happening - or how much money it is costing the public. Americans consume about 5 billion pounds of seafood a year.

While federal authorities want to understand the extent of the fraud, they don't have the resources to address it head-on, said Gavin Gibbons, spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, a Washington-based trade group that wants closer oversight of fish imports.

In a February report, the Government Accountability Office criticized the Food and Drug Administration, which concentrates on food-safety matters, for giving short shrift to detecting and preventing fish fraud. The GAO investigators urged the FDA to expand its focus to include false labeling and to collaborate with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to root it out.

But the FDA, citing budget constraints, said it is not planning to scrutinize fish for misrepresentation, said agency spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek. "Species substitution isn't our top concern. But we do take it seriously."

Also pleading a shortage of resources, the parent agency of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says it doesn't have the staffing to conduct spot checks on fish imports for labeling accuracy more than every month or two, said Alan Wolf, NOAA assistant special agent in charge for the Northwest regions of the country. The service spends most of its time protecting endangered fish species.

U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, wants the FDA to ratchet up its checks and is working with other members of the Senate Commerce Committee on legislation to improve seafood labeling, quality assurance and safety.

Garrett, who directs the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory, thinkgs fish inspections for veracity should be mandatory. Currently, federal inspectors examine for quality only a third of fish imports under a voluntary program in which large purchasers, such as supermarkets and restaurant chains, pay a fee for the tests, he said.

"We have to tighten our [inspection] program and then demand the same from our exporters," Garrett said. "We need to take a fresh look with new eyes at an old problem."

To take such a look, Scripps reporters in March ordered fish meals listed on the menus at the restaurants and sent the fish to two testing facilities: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Guy Harvey Research Institute at the Oceanographic Center of Nova Southeastern University, and St. Augustine, Fla.-based Fish DNA ID.

After KSHB in Kansas City found that Bice Bistro was selling catfish instead of the advertised grouper at the Kansas City eatery, the restaurant chain's president, Raffaele Ruggeri, admitted that his company regularly changes species without updating its menu.

"We would consider changing the name on our menu to accurately reflect all species of fish being served nationally, but in no way will we change the product as we stand by its quality," Ruggeri said in a statement. His company, Bice Restaurant Holding, owns 40 restaurants around the world.

Lawyers at the Federal Trade Commission are reviewing KSHB's report to see whether Bice's practice amounts to false advertising and will decide whether to launch an investigation, said agency spokeswoman Betsy Lordan. The FTC never has investigated cases of fish fraud but has the authority to do so, she said.

According to the Scripps TV investigation, sushi houses are among the places you are most likely to receive the wrong fish. Scripps tested fish billed as red snapper at nine Japanese restaurants - eight in Kansas City and one in Phoenix. All of them substituted cheaper species, the reporters found. Sushi houses commonly serve Izumidai, a cheap tilapia specialy processed to have a red hue so it resembles snapper.

Ravine in Oxford, MS granted "resort" status!

This is the latest news from my favorite restaurant in Oxford:

I hope everyone is having a pleasant summer and avoiding the heat. There are some significant changes going on here at ravine, and I thought I should let everyone in on the information.

The state of Mississippi has granted resort status to ravine, and needless to say, we are excited! This news is good for ravine, as we look to expanding our original commitment of providing great food to the area of fine wines. I know not all of you are going to share in this good news, as you like to bring your own wines. But please take heart in the fact that we will have a diverse, interesting, smart and affordable list that will be second to none in Oxford.

Our commitment will involve extensive staff training, so we can understand your needs better when it comes to the wine you drink, as well as our wine and food pairings will only grow with the new possibilites.

We will most likely introduce the wine list sometime in the middle of August, with a few events already in mind. One will be the resumption of our wine and food pairings, with a theme mindful of the South: tomato dinner. This will be a five course meal involving tomatoes at each course, from the amuse bouche all the way through dessert. Dr Juergens is already pairing the wines, and he has graciously agreed to be our sommelier as we move forward.

Also, we plan on having a night or two when we open the whole wine list for some tastes to be poured when you come to dinner. That will mean that some high end wines that are not usually poured by the glass will be available for one to sample.

Our list and staff will not be pretentious, stuffy, or snooty, period. We have a firm belief that wine is meant to be drank, not traded as a commodity, or talked about by price tag. Sure, we will have a range of wines, from affordable to special occasion/expensive, but ravine will remain a comfortable, laid back, cozy atmosphere.

Finally, I come asking for the support of each of you in our final appeal to the state of Mississippi. Although resort status generally means the ability to sell all the time, the state tax commission has restricted our ability to sell wine on Sundays. I am in the process of appealing this, so we can continue our Sunday hours without having to drastically alter our operations. I am asking each of you to please send an appeal letter to the Mississippi Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control, demonstrating your support for ravine to sell wine on Sundays. Otherwise, Sunday Supper will be alcohol free, and I am not certain it will be the same!

The address is below, or if you would rather send/bring it to ravine, then I will forward it on. Please help us by writing a letter of support for Sunday Sales.

Mississippi ABC
Attn: Samuel T. Polk
P.O. Box 540
Madison, MS 39130-0540

OR mail it to ravine:

ravine
53 C.R. 321
Oxford, MS 38655

Thanks for supporting us in the past, for writing a letter, and for your future support.

Joel + CoriJoel Miller ravine 53 cr 321 oxford, ms 38655 oxfordravine.com 662.234.4555

BTC Elements

Check out this site, BTC Elements - while eco-fashion is not for everyone, this certainly is an intriguing site! This online shop was started by one woman in California. She hand-selects all of these styles and designs, pulling them together, curating everything you see here. If you check out the summer dresses, you will see that she also models the clothes in a few of the photos.

BTC Elements was founded in 2005 by Summer Bowen, a lifelong environmentalist who worked in the fashion industry while studying environmental education and social justice at UC Berkeley.

The new film, Food, Inc., will not be shown in Mississippi...

According to the Magnolia Pictures site, the new film, Food, Inc, will not be shown in the state of Mississippi. If this is true, whatever issue that has come between Magnolia Pictures distribution and the theaters of Mississippi is insulting to the consumers of Mississippi and to the farmers that work so hard to produce much of the nations corn and soy. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong about this!

Here's the trailer for the film:

Mississippi Innocence Project spot on Mississippi Public Broadcasting

Support the Mississippi Innocence Project

The Mississippi Innocence Project identifies,investigates and litigates meritorious claims of innocenceon behalf of Mississippi prisoners serving lengthy periodsof incarceration.

The Cotton King has lost his crown - why Mississippi Delta farmers are planting corn and beans instead of the iconic staple

Danny Hargett planted corn and, for the first time, no cotton on his land in Mississippi.
Photo credit: James Patterson for The New York Times

A version of this article appeared in print on May 6, 2009, on page B1 of the New York edition.

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: May 5, 2009

GREENWOOD, Miss. — Cotton is no longer king of the Mississippi Delta.

Farmers working land that has bloomed a dazzling snowy white every September since before the Civil War are switching to corn and soybeans. As gleaming silver corn silos go up on farm after farm, cotton gins are laying off workers or shutting down.

“We’re closer than we’ve ever been to looking like Iowa,” said Danny Hargett, a veteran farmer who has decided for the first time not to grow any cotton this year on his 3,000 acres of fertile, well-irrigated land. “It was extremely hard for me to make this decision, but the economics have made it almost impossible to make cotton a profitable crop.”

The most immediate cause of King Cotton’s decline is that people around the world are buying less clothing and home furnishings. Global cotton production and consumption are dropping, and the Agriculture Department expects the nation’s exports to fall by $1.2 billion this year.

Cotton growers have seen hard times before, of course. As with other commodities, prices and acreage have gone up and down on economic cycles. But cotton farmers and farm economists say they have never seen a downturn quite like this, one that started during the global boom and has quickened in the recession.

The Agriculture Department estimates that 8.8 million acres of cotton will be planted in the United States this year, down 7 percent from 2008 and 42 percent from 2006.
It will be the lowest cotton acreage since 1983, an anomalous year when farmers cut acreage after a string of bountiful harvests that created a surplus.

Nowhere has the slump been greater than in Mississippi, where farmers decreased their cotton planting to 365,000 acres in 2008, from 1.2 million acres in 2006. A survey suggested that could fall to 268,000 acres this year.

Meanwhile, the number of gins in the state has dropped to 71, from 89 in 2006, said Darrin Dodds, an extension service agronomist at Mississippi State University, who predicts this year, “we may lose a few more.”

Cotton acreage has been declining in Mississippi for decades, but it remained the crop of choice for many farmers in the Delta, the fertile region in the northwestern part of the state, where the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers share a flood plain.

Not everyone is likely to feel nostalgia for a crop long associated with abject work conditions and low wages. Though a source of wealth, cotton was also a source of back-breaking work for slaves and sharecroppers, and later for poor farm laborers.
Early in the 20th century, the travail of picking cotton in the blazing Delta sun was a touchstone theme for the blues musicians of the region. Later, mechanization in the cotton fields contributed to several waves of black migration from the South to industrial cities of the North, and to high rates of unemployment for those left behind. These days, cotton is rarely picked by hand — machines do the work.

Cotton’s cultural roots are still on display around Greenwood, where visitors are welcomed by a sign proclaiming it “Cotton capital of the world.” Some people plead with farmers to keep planting cotton beside the roads, considering it prettier than other crops, and fearing that corn stalks will obstruct drivers’ vision on curved roads.
“It’s a funny sense, a different sense, not seeing the cotton crop,” said Mike Sturdivant Jr., a farmer who has cut his cotton crop to 2,400 acres this year, from 4,900 in 2007. “I don’t like it.”

The rapid slump of cotton in the United States has been influenced by numerous factors, including weather and the plummeting fortunes of the American textile industry. But lately, the most important factor has been the declining profitability of cotton farming, in contrast to the rising profitability of corn and soybean farming.
Poor canola harvests in Europe and dietary changes in several countries produced a world shortage of vegetable oil, pushing up the price of soybeans, which are crushed for their oil. Meanwhile, as middle classes grew in China, India and other developing countries, demand for feed grains grew, and world corn prices rose.

“Globalization has dethroned King Cotton without question, not only in Mississippi, but throughout the South and the United States,” said O. A. Cleveland, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Mississippi State.

Expanding federal mandates for ethanol prompted farmers to plant more corn to keep up with its growing role as an energy feedstock. Also, new corn strains have made the crop more practical in Mississippi’s hot climate.

Since 2003, cotton prices have declined nearly 23 percent, while prices for soybeans are up more than 38 percent and corn nearly 65 percent. Cotton surpluses have been stacking up around the globe in part because of rising yields from genetically modified cotton seeds and other technological improvements.

Those trends are leaving farmers and cotton gin owners feeling pessimistic.
With the textile mills that make clothes “leaving the country to where the labor is cheaper, it’s not very smart to think we can grow the commodity here so they can make a shirt in China,” said Walter Reese Pillow IV. He followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather in growing cotton — until 2006, when he and his family converted their cotton fields to corn and soybeans.

“The prospects for cotton coming back here are about as good as the mills coming back to South Carolina,” Mr. Pillow said.

Jason Colquett, owner of the Crossroads Gin, said his plant ginned 33,000 bales of cotton in 2006, 24,000 in 2007 and 15,000 in 2008. He does not expect to reach 10,000 this year. That has meant a loss of jobs, as it has at other gins across the state. Mr. Colquett’s repair crew has dropped to four full-time workers, from nine, and his ginning season has been reduced to 30 days, from 90.

“I can imagine Mississippi without cotton gins,” Mr. Colquett said. “It’s not a pretty picture.”

Let's Go Walkin, Oxford!

University of Mississippi students and Oxford residents were encouraged to celebrate May by taking a morning walk with Chancellor Robert Khayat beginning at 8 a.m. Monday (May 4) on the front steps of the Lyceum. I wasn't able to participate in this event, and I wonder how it turned out, considering we have been having SO MUCH RAIN!!!

The School of Applied Sciences and HealthWorks sponsored "Walk with the Chancellor" to raise awareness of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. May was proclaimed for this emphasis by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 to encourage physical activity.

Kathleen Smith, senior exercise science major and HealthWorks intern, hopes individuals recognize the important health benefits of exercise."We want people to realize that just 30 minutes of walking can make a huge impact on physical health." Smith said. "Small steps in exercise fitness can increase cardiovascular health and decrease diseases associated with physical inactivity and obesity."

Despite what folks around the nation might think, Mississippi is very aware of the problems with obesity in our state. I'm so glad that the University of Mississippi is making an effort to promote cardiovascular health, considering that it is cardiovascular disease that is the No. 1 killer in America. Not smoking in restaurants, not texting while driving - heart disease. And so much of our media does not address the issues of heart disease.

And here's the scary part:

Population based studies in youth show that the precursors of heart disease start in adolescence. The process of atherosclerosis evolves over decades, and begins as early as childhood. The Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth Study demonstrated that intimal lesions appear in all the aortas and more than half of the right coronary arteries of youths aged 7-9 years. However, most adolescents are more concerned about other risks such as HIV, accidents, and cancer than cardiovascular disease. This is extremely important considering that 1 in 3 people will die from complications attributable to atherosclerosis. In order to stem the tide of cardiovascular disease, primary prevention is needed. Primary prevention starts with education and awareness that cardiovascular disease poses the greatest threat and measures to prevent or reverse this disease must be taken.

Most countries face high and increasing rates of cardiovascular disease. Each year, heart disease kills more Americans than cancer.[2].
It is the number one cause of death and disability in the United States and most European countries (data available through 2005). A large histological study (PDAY) showed vascular injury accumulates from adolescence, making primary prevention efforts necessary from childhood.[3][4]
By the time that heart problems are detected, the underlying cause (atherosclerosis) is usually quite advanced, having progressed for decades. There is therefore increased emphasis on preventing atherosclerosis by modifying risk factors, such as healthy eating, exercise and avoidance of smoking.

(Italicized portions of this piece from the University of Mississippi News and Wikipedia.com)
Check out Let's Go Walkin' Mississippi to find great places to walk in your county, and to see what local schools are up to: http://www.letsgowalkinmississippi.com/

Double Decker Arts Festival 2009 in Oxford, Mississippi features Earth-friendly vendor: Art By The Case

The Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Mississippi is first and foremost a street party. No doubt, over 100 vendors were involved, selling everything from wall art to cupcakes, from cheese serving pieces to neon glowy necklaces, from kudzu baskets to fried pickles.

The amount of garbage strewn in the streets after this festival is horrendous. By evening, the square resembles a Mardis Gras side street, in much need of a hose-off. The city of Oxford, however, does an incredible job of cleaning up after this festival. It is quite amazing, to leave the festival late at night, cups and napkins blowing around like tumbleweeds in the streets, and then to drive through a completely clean Oxford square the next day. My applause goes to the city of Oxford on this - it is SO important to get all of that trash properly disposed of, before it winds up in our ravines and little waste water streams in the hilly terrain of our town.


The festival also offers rides on the authentic double decker buses of Oxford, for which the festival was named.The highlight of this year's festival, for me, was Art By The Case.

There were certainly other vendors selling recycled or repurposed items, but this booth immediately drew me in, and I bought a piece.

To get your Art By The Case, contact:

Alisha Case

2674 Streetman Circle

Birmingham, Alabama 35235

205.999.4423

Email: alisha@artbythecase.com

www.artbythecase.com

Busy times in little Oxfordtown - a special thanks to all who made Green Week possible

Green Week 2009 in Oxford, Mississippi provided an incredible lineup of programs and events for everyone, most taking place on the campus of Ole Miss. I so wish that I could have attended every single event!

Earth Day was celebrated as World Fest on campus in front of the Student Union and with bands playing in the grove. The morning and afternoon events were more of a Kidfest than a Worldfest, but a blast was had by all! Check out this play area with dozens of Earth-inspired balls!

It was also a Momfest, with a mass exodus from Avent Park, nearly all the moms in Oxford brought their kids to the grove for some carnival style fun. Many folks brought their pets!

The students and vendors had multiple stations set up in front of the Union. Trashcans for recycling were obvious and plentiful. There was even this little one specifically for plastic bags.

It was the first truly hot day of Spring. I think the temperature nearly reached 90 degrees that afternoon. It was a good thing that the University provided transportation from the Ford Center parking lot up to the Union.

All kinds of vendors were on campus pushing their wares. I loved these little, "Anamalz" they were cute, and they've got a great website!

Lots of handouts and candy to fill your goody bag.

This was by far the best installation. These large feet represent, of course, an example of each country's carbon footprint. I believe that the "t pp" means tons per person.

Roots and Shoots is one of my favorite organizations. This young student was on hand to tell us about her trip to Africa with the Roots and Shoots group at Ole Miss.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the huge effort on campus and beyond that was Green Week 2009! The week was a huge success, I've heard nothing but great things from everyone who participated.

So much! First things first - Liberty Recycling

I had the incredible experience to visit Liberty Recycling a month ago. Here are a few photos from my adventure.

Every little kid's dream: Operating a huge claw machine.
No, but seriously, this is a very careful job, and according to my tour guide, the guy driving this machine is the best. He can very carefully lift scraps out of the back of a truck without damaging the truck. This takes years of practice, with little or no margin of error.

At the weigh station, you pick up a hardhat if you intend to get out of your car.

Liberty employees.

Pile o' metal. (Before the U.S.A. economy hit bottom, this pile was 5 to 10 times as big.)

Metal stuck inside concrete is torched out.

This trailer is completely full of crushed aluminum cans.

Pricing for metals to be recycled. (PS: Recyling pennies is illegal! So don't go bring Liberty your piggy bank!)

It was absolutely amazing to tour the Liberty Recycling Center. Liberty is a family owned, family run business. It is so important to support businesses like Liberty, and to recycle your scrap! If you have scrap metal things of any kind, take it to Tuscaloosa and see how much you can get for it!

Liberty Recycling

2664 24th Street
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
(205)345-0094
(205)345-0095 (fax)

http://libertyrecyclingcenter.com/

Save the chicks!

A chicken coup: Group seeks to protect rare breeds
By TRACIE CONE

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — At about the time Foghorn Leghorn appeared on the Looney Toons drawing board in 1946, he began disappearing from America's dinner tables.
Now the bird on which the rooster cartoon character was modeled is among 66 types of old-fashioned chickens the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is trying to save from extinction as factory-raised cross varieties command 90 percent of the market.

"When we can identify something in danger, we need to protect it," says Barbara Bowman of Sonoma County, an original board member of Slow Food USA who has a dozen of the last 510 Delaware breeding stock chickens in existence. "The old breeds provide really sturdy genetics that we have to guard."

Since the arrival of industrialized agriculture, more than 95 percent of vegetables that had been grown in the world have disappeared, according to the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture.

America's purebred chickens began a similar decline after World War II, when poultry producers, seeking to hold onto the market gained during wartime beef shortages, participated in the national "Chicken of Tomorrow" contest. The goal: a broad-breasted variety that could be mass produced quickly on minimal feed. A Cornish-Plymouth Rock cross dominates today.
Now the North Carolina-based Conservancy hopes to do with chickens what seed banks have done for heirloom vegetables.

"All of the other breeds lost their jobs because they couldn't grow as fast," said Marjorie Bender, the Conservancy's technical program director. "The marketplace only cared about how fast it grew and how big it got."

Unlike chicken bought by the bucketful, certified heritage chickens like the Leghorn must breed naturally, be able to live and forage outdoors, meet certain breed standards and not be genetically modified to grow with abnormally large breasts. If a human baby grew as quickly as a five-week factory fryer, he would weigh 349 pounds by age 2, a University of Arkansas study found.

The group hopes that its "heritage" seal of approval will alert consumers that the chicken or eggs come from birds with unique flavors and characteristics, the way organic labels indicate an absence of pesticides.
"To save them, we have to eat them," says Bender. "We are losing genetic diversity in our country's livestock."

At least 19 heritage breeds, such as the white Delaware with the mottled neck, the white-egg laying Holland and black mottled Houdan, have been designated as critically threatened, which means there are fewer than 500 left. Dozens of others are in danger of disappearing without a market to sustain them.

Maintaining genetic diversity in the food supply is the goal. Members already have a record of protecting asses, turkeys and some threatened breeds of cattle and horses, such as South Carolina's sturdy Marsh Tacky.

"The factory chickens we have now are all closely related," Bender said. "If we had millions of chicken houses decimated (by disease), we'd have to figure out how to resist that disease. Part of the answer is genetically based."

The move to preserve old-fashioned breeds of chickens might not have the backyard appeal of the Brandywine tomato or the Kentucky Wonder bean. But to gourmets, the idea is growing.
On his 42-acre Azalea Springs Farm in Napa County, Douglas Hayes doesn't have a single grape vine but he does have 40 endangered Buckeyes that have free range to pick grubs amid his heirloom fruit trees and vegetables — and another 80 fertilized eggs on the way.
"Good quality, high-flavor food has always been a part of my life," Hayes said.

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy: http://www.albc-usa.org/

Earth Day 2009 in Oxford, Mississippi

Happy Earth Day from Oxford!

Green Week at Ole Miss!!!

Day-by-Day Events

Green Week Plaza
Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Student Union Plaza & Oxford City Hall
Each day, the Student Union Plaza and the City Hall will feature special exhibits and displays. Visit the Student Union Plaza and learn about the university's efforts to green its practices. Local and national organizations will also showcase environmental products and services throughout the week. Visit City Hall and learn about the city's green efforts.

Monday, April 20th, 2009
Water Conservation Day

Special Events:

Capturing Storm Water: Bioswale/Rain Garden Exhibit – Presented by Jeff McManus, Director, University Landscaping Services; Bob Mercier, Landscape Architect; and Hilarie Shughart, Chapter President, Native Plant Society
10:30 a.m. Crosby Hall
Isom Green Series presents "Border Crossing: How Travel, Migration, and Agriculture Shape Landscapes"
Monday, April 20, 2009, Noon, Tupelo Room, Barnard Observatory
Presented by Brooke White, Art, in recognition of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. -- Sponsored by the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies
Green Week Plaza Special Exhibits:

Water Trivia/Water Bottle Giveaway
UM Field Station and U.S. Sedimentation Lab Exhibit
5-Minute Power Shower Awareness Campaign - Sponsored by South Bank
Free shower timers also available at South Bank while supplies last.
Clean Water University Exhibit
Oxford Public Works Department

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009
Energy Conservation Day

Special Events

Keynote Speaker – Kevin Butt, General Manager/Chief Environmental Officer, Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc., 2:00 p.m. Johnson Commons Ballroom
Energy Conservation 101 – Angela Carroll, TVA Marketing Manager, 10:30 a.m. Student Union Ballroom – Sponsored by Physical Plant
Green Week Plaza Special Exhibits:

Bike to Lunch - Meet at the Union Plaza at noon and bike to the Square.
Show your helmet for 25% off lunch at Proud Larry’s, Two Stick or Old Venice
‘Power Down for the Planet’ Initiative Results
Energy Trivia/ Home Energy Conservation Kit Sign up Drive
Smart Synch Presents: Smart Kids Program (Oxford-Lafayette Schools)
How to Green Your Desktop Computer, presented by the Office of Information Technology
Live Music - Union Unplugged music series
Solar Power Demonstration - City Hall, sponsored by TVA
Green Roof Display

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Global Perspective Day
Earth Day and WorldFest Joint Celebration
Student Union Plaza & Lobby and Grove Stage
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Global Perspectives on Sustainability – Compare your carbon footprint to that of citizens of India, China and several other countries. Students representing more than 70 countries will be on hand throughout the day.
Carbon Footprint Station – Learn how to reduce your monthly bills and your carbon footprint.
WorldGames - International sports and games all day, from cricket to soccer (11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.)
KidZone - Games, activities, bouncy castle, popcorn, cotton candy and other carnival festivities for children beginning at 11:00 a.m.
International Food Festival including foods from China, India, South Africa, Latin America and the Middle East (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
Learn how to crochet grocery bags into a beautiful purse. A guided demonstration will be offered 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Live music and entertainment on the Grove Stage presented by U.S. and international students, featuring the University of Mississippi Steel Drum Band, Memphis Bantaba Drum and Dance Group, Silas Reed 'N Da Books, The Aaron Hall Band and Hi-Grade (Reggae) (4:00-10:00 p.m.)
United States Green Building Council – What is LEED?
“Water Pollution & Plant Life” 4th Grade Regional Science Fair Winner (4:00-6:00 p.m.)
WorldFest Opening Ceremonies including Parade of Flags carried by international students through Walk of Champions to the Grove Stage. (6:00 p.m.)
Educational Program for Kids

Multiple educational centers for K-12 students presented by the School of Education.
For questions or reservations, contact Debby Chessin: 915-5878.

Cloud identification & weather prediction
Land cover identification using the modified UNESCO chart
Nature scavenger hunts
Leaf classification & identification
Leaf rubbings & designs in nature
Clinometer constructions for environmental measurements
Smart Synch Presents: Smart Kids Program on Energy Conservation
For questions or reservations, contact Anne McCauley: 662-915-6621.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting will hold Recycling Relay games and have educational materials available for kids and parents.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Sustainable Transportation Day

Commuter Challenge: Cyclists, transit riders, and drivers compete to see who has the shortest commute time and the smallest carbon footprint.

UM Green Parking Lot/Carpool Challenge: Faculty, staff and students are challenged to participate in the first Green Parking Lot/Carpool Challenge by commuting with at least 2 passengers to campus. Sponsored by the Associated Student Body.

Special Event: Consequences of Climate Change: Policy, Law and Community
3:30 p.m. Law School, Moot Court 1, Sponsored by the Environmental Law Society
Tim Mulvaney, Research Counsel, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program: Climate Change and Land Use Law
Wei-Yin Chen, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi: Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol: Obstacles and Challenges
Rita Harris, Regional Environmental Justice Community Organizer, Sierra Club: The Burden of Climate Change on Vulnerable Populations
Moderator: David Case, Associate Professor, School of Law


Green Week Plaza Special Exhibits:

Oxford Pathways Initiative & Oxford-University Transit (O.U.T) System
Take a ride on the O.U.T. bus and enter the raffle to win a new bike! Bike raffle will be conducted at 2:00 p.m.
Bike Enhancement Initiative/Sustainable Transportation Showcase (bikes, scooters, etc.)
Hybrid vehicles and solar-powered shuttle carts
Bike gear and advice provided by Oxford Bike Company (UM) and Active Oxford (City Hall)
Solar Power Project
Biofuel & the University
Live Music - Union Unplugged music series

Friday, April 24th, 2009
Low Carbon Diet Day

Special Events:

The Low Carb Diet – The Truth Behind Cherries, Chocolate & Paper – Wayne Dennis, Corporate Director-Sustainability, MAC Papers (Time, Location TBD)
Groundbreaking for the Oxford Community Garden, 9:00 a.m., Parking available at the Old Armory
Arbor Day Ceremony, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Lyceum Circle
How to Compost and Kitchen/Green Gardening workshops, Old Armory 10:00 a.m. - Noon
Movie and Panel Discussion, Green Bag lunch served while supplies last, Noon – 2:00 p.m. Barnard Observatory
"Feeding the Soul at Jones Valley Urban Farm" and discussion with producer Matthew Graves
Food and Sustainability Practices from the Farm to the Table panel discussion
Panelists: Linda Boyd, Grower and vendor of Mid-town Farmers' Market
Michelle McAnnaly, Grower and Director of Taylor Farmers Market
Liz Stagg, Owner, Farmers Market Store
Shannon Adams, Owner, Honey Bee Bakery
Moderator: Melissa Hall, Communications Director, Southern Foodways Alliance
Green Week Plaza Special Exhibits:

Low Carbon Diet $5 Green Bag Lunch – City Hall only
Hardwood seedlings – free while supplies last - Sponsored by International Paper
Master Gardeners Compost Display