- Featured Artist
- NEWS FROM SLOW FOOD LA
- ORGANIC BYTES #140 (8/5/2008)
Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge! - SUSTAINABILITY ALERT: THE DARK SIDE OF ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL SUBSIDIES
Artist Lan-Chiann Wu was born in Taiwan where she received her BFA with the highest honors from the Chinese Culture University. She holds an MA from NYU's Fine Art Department and now resides in Granada Hills, CA, where she has her studio.
Created with century-old materials and techniques, Lan-Chiann Wu's paintings capture the simple and beautiful moments of life. Each painting is meticulously prepared. While Lan-Chiann gets her creative ideas from critically observing daily life, she also draws inspiration from poetry and ancient histories. Several sketches precede the actual creation of a paining, a process that may take up to several months to complete.
On view at Cafe Carolina until January 3, 2009, are seven limited-edition archival Giclée prints of Lan-Chiann's work. These twelve-color prints are produced on heavy weight, acid-free, 100% cotton fiber paper. Like no other medium, Giclée prints preserve the delicate quality and subtle tonalities of Lan-Chiann's paintings. Lan-Chiann's original work is created in the long tradition of Chinese ink paining. "I prepare my own materials so that I have full control over my ink and colors; this is essential for achieving the intricate brush work and personal emotion that I express in my art," says Lan-Chiann. "My paintings invite the viewer to explore its subject and slowly unravel the layers."
For further information please visit thetranquilstudio.com.
Lan-Chiann also produces works on commission.
__________________________________________________________NEWS FROM SLOW FOOD LA:
You could call this the politics of food.....
From Lisa Lucas at SlowFoodLA: Thanks to our friends at The Ethicurean (http://www.ethicurean.com/) for the pointer to a clip from Alice Waters' conversation with Anna Deavere Smith at this year's Aspen Ideas Festival about food policy, the potential influence of a "kitchen cabinet," and the importance of considering the role of food in children's education. View the short (3:45) video excerpt on the Slow Food Los Angeles website at:
http://www.slowfoodla.com/archives/000900.html
Sharing this video is also a good opportunity to remind our members and friends of the tidy summaries of the presidential candidates' food-related positions posted on The Kitchn
for Barack Obama:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/food-politics/2008-candidates-on-food-barack-obama-043198
and for John McCain:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/food-politics/2008-candidates-on-food-john-mccain-043199
For more information and links on food and sustainability: http://slowfoodla.com
Check out their link for local food events as well. They plan lots of fun activities!
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Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge!
10/9/2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Quote of the Week: The Financial Crash
- Alert Update: Foodies and Teamsters Put the Squeeze on Whole Foods
- Plunder of the Week: Bait and Switch on Disaster Relief Brings Pentagon Another Half Trillion
- Solution: Election Season is Here, and It's Time For Positive Change
- Organic Transition Tips of the Week
- Communities Solutions News of the Week: People Uniting to Create Green Neighborhoods
- Sustainability News of the Week: Old McDonald Outshines Ronald McDonald
- Web Video of the Week: An interview with author Naomi Wolf:
- Web Forum Posting of the Week
- Headlines of the Week
Quote of the Week:
The Financial Crash
"Confident men took leave of common sense and bet on the idea of perpetual profit in the real estate market and crashed. But it wasn't their money. It was your money they were messing with. And that's why we need government regulators. Gimlet-eyed men with steel-rim glasses and crepe-soled shoes who check the numbers and have the power to say, 'This is a scam and a hustle and either you cease and desist or you spend a few years in a minimum-security federal facility playing backgammon.' "
Garrison Keillor, Alternet, October 6, 2008
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SUSTAINABILITY ALERT:
THE DARK SIDE OF ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL SUBSIDIES
QUICK AGRO-FUEL FACTS
Increasing fuel efficiency by just 3% would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil more than all of the agrofuels combined.
The amount of grain it takes to fill an average gas tank with ethanol would be enough to feed a person for a year (source: Foreign Affairs)
If the United States stopped growing food and converted its entire grain harvest into ethanol, it would satisfy less than 16 percent of its automotive needs. (source: Earth Policy Institute)
The majority of U.S. biofuels are produced from pesticide intensive genetically engineered crops (soy, corn).
Monocultures of soy and sugar cane in Latin America and palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia have led to massive deforestation and the loss of invaluable biodiversity.
Current methods of industrial-scale biofuel production worsen global warming by increasing deforestation and degradation of peatlands and soils, while also creating more nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use.
from: ORGANIC BYTES #127
Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge!
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2/5/08
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