That is a fine question. In some places, depending on what news you read, you might be led
to believe that the world eats nothing but fast food, now that the big chains are pretty much everywhere. Yet others
might think that the third world gets by on donated grain. Of course, neither of these are true. But if you want to get
the truth, the fascinating truth, about what the world eats, you should turn to this new book called
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio. The photographer/writer duo
hoofed it to 24 countries to interview some 30 families, and the result is this interesting study
of global nutrition. And to read more,
here is an interview with
the authors from USA Today.
Panda Travel
Oh, those furry critters. People just love furry critters, and
some people, perhaps you, are willing to travel around the globe to see them in their natural habitat…or even in
zoos.
Travelers in China are heading to the
Wolong Nature Reserve in Southwest
China, located about 85 miles northwest of Chengdu, in the capital of Sichuan province to spy panda bears. This
Washington Post
article takes you there, and the piece delivers a nice dose of story-telling and a photo gallery to satisfy your
love of charismatic megafauna, to get technical.
Tonle Sap on NPR
When I was in Cambodia a few years ago, one of the highlights of
the experience was coming out of Siem Reap and taking a boat through the floating villages and then up the Tonle
Sap, the massive river that runs through the country and past Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. I’ve long thought
there would be a good story here and, well, looks like there is.
Give a listen to this NPR piece on the
Tonle Sap by Michael Sullivan, who journeys up the Tonle Sap and reports on the Mekong Delta’s legendary — and
endangered — Mekong giant catfish. With great sound and solid reporting, you will learn a great deal about the catfish,
life on the river and, the troubles facing the country. This is one of those pieces that put you there. I highly
recommend it.
Greenpeace Ocean Expedition
I recently read about a year-long educational expedition that the
folks at Greenpeace are coordinating. Defending Our Oceans
will travel to South Africa, Europe, Antarctica and both North and South America, as part of their efforts to help
create a global network of ocean parks called marine reserves. The UN, with the support of governments around the
world, has said they will decide where these reserves should be by the end of 2006. The year-long voyage aboard
Greenpeace’s newest vessel, the Esperanza, will visit suggested reserve sites and will educate folks about the crisis
facing all four of our oceans. Check out the Ocean Defenders
blog to keep current with their travels.
Friday Funny: Will Ferrell
Chances are you’ve already seen this since it’s been more viral than Asian Bird Flu…but even if you have seen it,
it’s worth seeing again on this cold (at least here in NYC) Friday.
Will Ferrell as George Bush delivers a gut busting message
about the dangers…or lack thereof…of global warming. There is a whole collection here of videos from the
Earth to America comedy show. Very funny, and will easily fill up
a lunch or two.