Food Waste Leaves a Bad Taste

Wasted Food Hurts the Environment

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Waste Not, Want Not

Always Clean Your Plate

 

These well-known phrases are even more relevant today when much of the world's population suffers from hunger...and globally 1/3 of the food produced each year is wasted.

According to the United Nations, 1.3 billion metric tons of food are thrown away worldwide.

SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel learned that the average American household throws away $640 of food each year.

$162 billion of food is wasted in the U.S. – every year.

Along with the harm this does to our nation's society and the economy, wasted food also pollutes the environment and uses up our natural resources. 

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determined that wasted food:

Generates 2% of America's greenhouse gas emissions 

Consumes 35% of the country's freshwater resources

Uses 31% of U.S. cropland 

Accounts for 30% of U.S. fertilizer usage

More than 20% of the disposed material in the nation's landfills is wasted food - food that could have been eaten, but was thrown away. Making the situation even worse, when the food decomposes it gives off methane gas that causes global warming.

So, what can we do to reduce this waste?

Buy and prepare smaller amounts of food.

Store food properly so that it doesn't spoil.

 

Use leftovers for other meals and in sandwiches, salads, soups.

Share extra food with family, friends and neighbors.

With the world's growing population and increasing demand for food, we all need to cut back on the waste. Otherwise, just like Old Mother Hubbard, when we go to the cupboard we will find that it's bare.   

 

SurfWriter Girls

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Little Things Green A Lot

Everybody's Going Green

Get on Board at HB Green Expo!

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Just as little things mean a lot in a relationship, they "green a lot" in our relationship with the environment. SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel saw a sign recently that said: "Go Green. There is no Planet B."

How true that is. The choices we make, though seemingly small at times, can make a big difference in the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the world around us.

 

Rio de Janeiro, the host site of the next summer Olympics, is getting attention for something other than the athletics – its polluted Guanabara Bay and famed Copa Cabana Beach. Untreated sewage is seeping into both waterways.

 

If an Olympics site in the global spotlight needs to clean up its act, you can imagine how other sites measure up.

 

Fortunately, there's something – many things actually – that we can do to Go Green. It’s possible by using biodegradable products, conserving water and reducing our energy consumption. It's all about making choices. Even the food we eat makes a difference.

SurfWriter Girls found that many companies are Going Green and trying to make it easier for you, too.

 

Levis, the 162-year-old blue jean company, has come a long way since it started making denim jeans for the miners in California's Gold Rush days. Now its jeans are made with 20% recycled materials. Part of that stretchiness you feel that gives that little extra bit of comfort comes from recycled plastic bottles. Who would have guessed?

The Hobie Surf Shop in Laguna Beach is incorporating Green into its entire store and the way it operates. The city's first Green-Certified business, it is conserving energy in everything from the light fixtures and HVAC system to its trash-handling and cleaning methods.

Champion surfer Kelly Slater is on board for Green, too. Working with the Pottery Barn's PBteen division, Slater has developed his own line of eco-friendly, beach-themed bedding, furniture and accessories designed for teens (and older). Everything is made with biodegradable and sustainable fabrics and materials.

Whole Foods is making its contribution to the Green movement, as well, by sourcing its foods and other products from providers that practice environmentally-friendly methods. It's also encouraging families and kids to eat nutritious foods.

This is something that SoCal restaurant sensation Slapfish strongly believes in. In addition to using eco-friendly food preparation and serving methods, the fish on its menu are all "sustainably-fished" so as not to deplete the ocean's sea life.

Patagonia, the outdoor wear company that's outfitted expeditions to the farthest reaches of the planet, is such a strong proponent of Going Green it has even gone so far as to tell customers not to buy its clothes. Why? Because it doesn't believe in conspicuous consumption. Sometimes enough is enough.

So, what can you do? Start by checking out the Huntington Beach Green Expo on Saturday, September 26, from 10:30 am – 3 pm., on the North parking lot of HB City Hall. It’s located at 2000 Main Street.  

 

Over 50 vendors, organizations and non-profit groups will be at HB City Hall to showcase products and services that are good for the environment. They will feature everything from Green landscaping and water systems to cleaning products, furniture, clothing and food. 

Along with exhibits, demonstrations and samples, you can find out about the latest ideas and technology to manage your water and energy use, learn about healthy foods, and get tips on the "Three Rs" – reduce, reuse, recycle.      

 

There will be food trucks, a family fun-zone and other activities.

When you're there look for the Surfrider Foundation booth. Surfrider's Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter will be on hand to tell how it's protecting the world's oceans, waves and beaches...and what you can do to help.

 

Tony Soriano and the Surfrider team will be happy to tell you about Surfrider's beach cleanups, Blue Water Task Force water testing, and the Ocean Friendly Gardens and Ocean Friendly Restaurant programs.

 Little things do green a lot.

 

If we all do just a little, the next time we think about Copa Cabana Beach the image in our minds will be of The Girl from Ipanema...and not the pollution in the water.  

 SurfWriter Girls

  

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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

Red Bull – Where the Action Is!

Red Bull Energizes Life

A Surfrider Sponsor Story

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Red Bull, the company known for its energy drinks, is much more than a beverage company.

A promoter of sports from surfing to Formula One auto racing, Red Bull believes in protecting the planet and practicing sustainable manufacturing and distribution practices that make the world a better place.

 

As a Surfrider Foundation sponsor, Red Bull is committed to the Three R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Red Bull's drink cans are 100% recyclable...and weigh 60% less than they used to, reducing the energy needed to transport and store them. What's more, over 80% of the energy Red Bull utilizes in its operations comes from renewable sources.

Red Bull's goal is to reduce its carbon footprint - the indicator of its energy use - as much as possible.   

 

Red Bull Energy Drinks - instantly recognizable by the blue and white cans with the charging red bulls on them - were developed in Austria in 1987, but inspired by drinks in Asia. The ultimate fusion drink, blending East and West, Red Bull is a worldwide phenomenon available in over 165 countries with lifetime total sales to date of 50 billion cans.

 

Sharing the same desire to promote an active lifestyle in a clean environment as Surfrider does, Red Bull has sponsored Surfrider beach cleanups and participated in surf and rescue programs and other activities to give back to the global community.  

  

 A welcome sight on hot days at the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach recently, Red Bull Energy Drinks quenched thirsts and provided that extra boost of energy that everyone needed.

Red Bull is also a regular sponsor of the annual International Surfing Day, June 20, helping to celebrate the sport of surfing.

 

Surfers Mick Fanning, Julian Wilson and Carissa Moore are some of the athletes sponsored by Red Bull.

 

When SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel were at an OC auto expo we stopped by the Red Bull booth and saw that Patti’s husband Greg was already there checking out the sleek Formula One car.

 

  

Seeing how fast it looked – just standing still – it was easy to see why Greg gets up early in the morning to watch the races televised from Belgium,  Italy, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and other exotic locales around the world. 

It's clear that Red Bull is living the energetic life it portrays and charging full speed ahead like the bulls on its cans. 

SurfWriter Girls

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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.