The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Hsiao-Ching Chou talks to Greg Conner, the founder of Eat Local, an area company dedicated to providing frozen microwavable meals made with organic, sustainably-raised seasonal produce and meats that all come from within a few hundred mile radius of the city, cooked in small batches every day for maximum freshness. "The cost runs from about $7 for a single portion to $55 for an eight-person entree. "We're not the cheapest," Conner acknowledges. "But we know the provenance of the food. You pay for the safety in your food and you're having less impact on the environment." [via The Food Section]... More

Large supermarkets and pharmacies will have to use cornstarch-based plastic bags or recyclable paper ones: Under the legislation, which passed 10-1 in the first of two votes, large markets and pharmacies will have the option of using compostable bags made of corn starch or bags made of recyclable paper. San Francisco will join a number of countries, such as Ireland, that already have outlawed plastic bags or have levied a tax on them. Final passage of the legislation is expected at the [Board of Supervisors] next scheduled meeting, and the mayor is expected to sign it. The pink plastic bags seen around Chinatown are safe for now.... More

A couple in Manhattan is living "No Impact" for a year, which means eating only organic food grown within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan, composting in their apartment, and no carbon-fueled transportation. Oh, and did I mention no paper, and that includes the toilet variety? They've been making vinegar at home from fruit scraps, and shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket. On one hand, Manhattan seems like a great place to do attempt this experiment. You can walk to so many places, or use a scooter or skateboard or roller blades. On the other hand, eschewing elevators means walking 115 flights of stairs in one day, which is what one participate estimates he did! The idealist in me loves to... More

According to a survey from the Waste and Resources Action Programme, Britons throw out a third of all food purchased, about 6.7m tons of food a year: "Wrap figures suggest that around 20% of British climate change emissions are related to the production, processing, transportation and storage of food. The main reasons for having excess food were that more was bought than needed, that fridges were too warm and that many products with a short shelf life were not eaten prior to their best before date. Children refusing to eat food or pestering their parents to buy unwanted items while shopping further contributed to waste, Wrap said, along with informal or unplanned eating patterns." Appalling, but I can't imagine things... More

Meg Wilcox of the Boston Globe, on what makes a green restaurant green: "To qualify for green certification, a restaurant must recycle waste, be styrofoam-free, complete four environmental steps, and commit to four additional steps each year, says Michael Oshman, founder and director of the nonprofit Green Restaurant Association. "The key is completing additional steps each year," he says, "which could include energy or water conservation measures, elimination of toxic cleaners, sustainable food choices, using clean power, and others." More than 300 restaurants nationally have been certified -- bakeries, pizzerias, and luxurious dining rooms." Eight Boston restaurants are certified, most are upscale and no, they don't have to be vegan or even vegetarian to qualify, just committed to the cause;... More