SAN JOSE — Stan Kawamata lifted up a colorful plastic bin containing worms wriggling around in the soil in order to demonstrate the process of creating a worm farm. Kawamata’s worm composting exhibit was among the demonstrations at an Earth Day celebration sponsored by the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin EcoSangha, which was held on […]
Environment/Green
Limbaugh Amused that Earthquake Hit Birthplace of Prius
March 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Apparently, Rush’s understanding of the concept of environmentalism is that you make Mother Earth offerings of Priuses and recycled plastic in hopes she won’t smite you. Media Matters has a transcript and a quick list of some of his other absurd, unfeeling statements.
Watercolors: Estria Miyashiro paints environmental message
March 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Oakland, the city where I live, pulses with civic and cultural energy, but this vibrancy can feel muted by the specter of blight. A mood of desolation and general shabbiness weighs heavy along too many of our pothole-pocked streets, lined with crumbling buildings and weed-strewn vacant lots. This place is fraying, and not just around the edges, but at its very core. One way that folks around here have rallied against the […]
Style points for being green?
March 3, 2011 by 2 Comments
Posting for an environmental blog can be an exercise in confronting your own hypocrisy. Case in point: My last blog post covered the evils of disposable chopsticks, but I use waribashi all the time. I do own a reusable set of bamboo utensils that come in a handy carrying case and include a pair of chopsticks, but I always seem to be leaving […]
On a fin and a prayer: Sacred sharks in the soup
February 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Years ago, my uncle took my cousins and I out on a glass-bottom boat tour off the northeast side of Oahu. We were the only ones on that small vessel, and my uncle fell into conversation with the young man at the helm. The guy mentioned he spent a lot of time in the water amongst the sealife, […]
State Senator Yee, San Francisco Chinese Restaurants Call for Greater Conservation Efforts, Not Ban on Cultural Cuisine
February 14, 2011 by 1 Comment
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, state senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) joined dozens of San Francisco Chinese restaurants to oppose a bill to ban the sale of shark fin soup and make it unlawful for any person to possess, sell, trade, or distribute a shark fin. Yee released the following statement: “I am very concerned with […]
Something fishy with our fish
January 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Let me make one thing clear off the bat. I love maguro. LOVE IT. It’s like savory ocean pastry. Or red velvet cake with fins. Okay, maybe I won’t make it as a food writer. But maguro sushi is obviously way high on my list of favorite eats. So a little part of my soul dies when […]
Bags on the Brain
January 14, 2011 by 2 Comments
Needing change for the bus the other day, I dropped into Ichiban Kan on Post Street in SF’s Japantown, looking to break a larger bill. For a little more than two bucks, I saw this: An eco bag? My Japanese isn’t so sharp, but the kanji for shopping is printed on the label, along with images […]
Reporting from the Chicago Botanic Garden
December 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Greetings from Chicago, Illinois, where your blogger for Nichi Bei Natural is braving a chilly week with the help of warm friends and family. Headed out to the Chicago Botanic Garden today for a snowy walk around the grounds, and strolled through the popular Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden. Also known as the Sansho-En (it stretches across three […]
Gulf shrimpers still worry about spill, Vietnamese way of life
November 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment
NEW ORLEANS, La. — Vietnamese American shrimpers are slowly returning to their boats after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, but many are anxious about their futures working in the Gulf of Mexico. Although authorities have nearly reopened all federal waters following the April 20 BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that sent millions […]
Connect & Share