Greenpeace calls on Trader Joe's to stop selling 'red-list' fish

By Colin Bennett

Greenpeace, a sometimes controversial and often successful environmental organization, is calling upon the nation-wide food retailer Trader Joe's to stop selling fish species it claims are being harvested or farmed unsustainably.

The organization maintains a list of fish it says to avoid due to unsustainable harvesting or farming practices. Its list, dubbed the 'red-list' consists of 22 entries including Atlantic cod, halibut, and salmon, yellowfin tuna, pollack, red snapper, and all species of sharks. (The full list can be found here).

According to Casson Trenor, Greenpeace's Sustainable Seafood Markets Expert, Trader Joe's is the "worst performing national seafood retailer". The assertion is based on rating system containing four categories: Sustainable Seafood Policy (Trader Joe's doesn't have one); Seafood Sustainability Initiatives (Trader Joe's doesn't have any); Labeling & Transparency (Trader Joe's doesn't label its seafood); Red List Seafood Sales (Trader Joe's sells 15 of the 22 of the co-called red-list seafoods). The full scorecard, published in a report called "Carting Away the Oceans" contains ratings of the nation's 20 largest seafood retailers. Of all the retailers evaluated, Wegman's was rated the highest with a score of 5.9 out of 10.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, "Despite its social and economic importance, attempts to manage fisheries sustainably have been unsuccessful in many parts of the world due to several factors...the underlying crisis is real and an urgent response is required at global level." A study published in the journal Science claims that the world will run out of seafood by the middle of the century if fishing practices aren't changed drastically. "We really see the end of the line now," said the study's lead author Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University, in an interview with the Washington Post. "It's within our lifetime. Our children will see a world without seafood if we don't change things." Specifically, the study states that "business as usual would foreshadow serious threats to global food security, coastal water quality, and ecosystem stability, affecting current and future generations."

If you choose to eat fish or other seafood, there are several organizations that have guides to help you make informed decisions, including NOAA, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you choose to give up seafood completely, there are dozens of resources that will help you select healthy alternatives to animal protein. Vegan Outreach has a great guide, as does the USDA, and the Mayo Clinic.

If you are interested in contacting Trader Joe's to tell them how you feel about their lack of a sustainable seafood policy you can use Greenpeace's online contact form here. It allows you to write your own comment or submit a suggested comment.

Enjoy this short clip from the mock-website for Traitor Joe's:



See these other articles related to seafood:

World's Fish Supply Running Out, Researchers Warn- Washington Post

Shrimp On Your Plate? Think Twice (Your Liver, Endangered Mangroves, And Poorly Paid Workers Will Thank You)- Planet Green

Last Act for the Bluefin- New York Times

New study calls for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining

By Colin Bennett

“Mining permits are being issued despite the preponderance of scientific evidence that impacts are pervasive and irreversible and that mitigation cannot compensate for the losses.”

That quote comes from a study published yesterday (January 7, 2010) in the journal Science. The study, conducted by a dozen scientists from universities across the country, clearly shows that mountaintop removal (MTR) is irreversibly destroying large swaths of Appalachia. Furthermore, the authors call for an end to the horrific practice stating, "Regulators should no longer ignore rigorous science. The United States should take leadership on these issues, particularly since surface mining in many developing countries is expected to grow extensively."

Last October, as well as in November of 2008, two separate groups of Mason students visited a mountaintop removal site near Rock Creek, West Virgina. The trip was made as part of the annual Mountain Justice Fall Summit, a gathering of students and young people dedicated to doing their part to end mountaintop removal. The event was hosted by a coalition of environmental groups, including Coal River Wind, who wanted to give the participants the chance to see mountaintop removal up close.

"Seeing first-hand the destruction that occurs in order to get coal was an eyeopening experience. Looking at the barren land that was once a thriving mountain was shocking. It changed my perspective and made me more aware of where exactly the energy I use comes from and encouraged me to conserve more," said NCC student Allison Rutledge.

Gopi Raghu, a Junior studying Business at Mason said that he has never seen anything like it before. "Listening to Larry* speak I had the chance to see and hear first-hand the voice of a strong advocate for saving the mountains, often putting his life at risk to do so. It was a wake-up call for me because I didn't know people felt that strongly. After seeing what used to be a mountain I felt like crying. This was the most important part of the trip for me because I wish more people could see what I saw so they'd be willing to take action against mountaintop removal."

Physics major Jason Von Kundra never truly understood the devastation of mountaintop removal until he saw it first-hand. "Visiting Coal River Valley opened my eyes to communities living with the direct impact of MTR and limited ways of coping. Residents told their stories of polluted water, lowered land value, no economic diversity, and other social and economic issues caused by the coal companies. In addition to damaging communities, MTR ravages the land. Standing on the current top of Kayford Mountain, I looked at the unnaturally leveled plateau before me and had trouble imagining the ancient mountain that once stood there. Without vegetation, MTR sites do not support plant and animal life. Even 'reclaimed' sites have limited biodiversity with only one species of grass being planted by the coal companies. This is a tragedy in Appalachia, the most biodiverse region in the United States. I now know my responsibility to stop MTR on ethical and environmental grounds. By putting pressure on the EPA and congress, we can put an end to this havoc."

Clearly, seeing the devastation that is mountaintop removal first-hand makes people think twice about using electricity unnecessarily. Fortunately, for those of us that can't make the trip to see for ourselves, many organizations have put together videos that show what's really happening in Appalachia. Below is one such video from the organization I Love Mountains.

A growing number of organizations are calling for an immediate end to mountaintop removal. President Obama said in a recent interview, "It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient — especially when it’s inconvenient." Hopefully this study, along with the overwhelming evidence that already exists, President Obama and the EPA will give the political will to end, once-and-for-all, this appalling practice.




If you are interested, here is another video made by our friends at Yale: http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2198



*Larry Gibson owns the part of the mountain that hasn't been destroyed. The property has been in his family for generations. He refuses to sell to the coal companies because they will destroy the rest of the mountain.

Pictures from the first year of the Mason vegetable garden

Although all of our pictures from the garden an be found on Facebook, we are trying to make them a little more accesible. As such, we are in the process of uploading them to Picassa, the Google photo site. Although they are not in order and some have yet to be edited, the photos can be found by clicking on the link following the sample photos below. We'd love to know what you think, both about the pictures and the garden in general; please comment on the pictures or on this blog post. Or, if you are more comfortable submitting your comments privately, please send them to me at cbennet6@gmu.edu.

As more pictures become available we will be posting them as well. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions on how we can improve our outreach, please let us know.

-Colin


 
 
 
 

See the entire album: http://picasaweb.google.com/colinthegreat/MasonGarden2009#

Mason Featured in the National Wildlife Federation's Campus Sustainability Yearbook

If you're reading this you probably know that we've had a busy year. Whenever we finish one project we start a new one; in fact, we almost always start new initiatives before we complete what we're currently working on. That may seem a little nuts, but we've got a lot of responsibility to make Mason as environmentally friendly as we can. Luckily, in addition to our dedicated staff, people from across campus are doing their part to green Mason. Today, the National Wildlife Federation released its annual yearbook featuring campus sustainability case studies from across the country and six of our projects were highlighted.

We encourage you to take a look at some of the awesome things that are happening at Mason; hopefully they'll make you proud to be a Patriot.

http://www.nwf.org/campusEcology/resources/yearbook/dspYearbookbySchool.cfm?schoolCode=485#485


By the way, this is just the beginning; we have lots of other things lined up that will help Mason become the most environmentally friendly school of its size in the country.

Eating Locally- Last Day and Lessons Learned

Well, it was certainly an interesting week.