THE YUCK FACTOR

What Can We Do to Support Climate Recovery?

Find Everyday Ways to Cut Down on Food Waste

The US and Europe waste an astonishing amount of food each year — three times enough to feed the whole world. And 90% of us consumers in developed countries throw away food before it has gone bad.

Food waste is the largest source of landfill garbage and when organic waste breaks down anaerobically — without oxygen —in a landfill (as opposed to decomposing naturally), it releases high levels of methane, a greenhouse gas 72 times more potent than C02.

In developed countries, the individual consumer is responsible for the majority of food waste. Fortunately, this means that our actions can make a significant impact.

How can we reduce food waste?

• Use your freezer! Almost anything can be frozen; check this freezer guide.
• Learn how to store fresh veggies. Do you know which ones like to be stored dry and which like to be soaked in water?
• For those with a garden, start composting.
• Sell-by dates can’t always be trusted; learn how tell when food has gone bad.
• Bring your own take away containers to restaurants to bring home leftovers.
• Shop for and cook only what you need. Avoid overbuying.
• Encourage your lawmakers to support anti-waste policies.

​Article by Natalie Snow Purinton
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Wasted vegetables and fruits in a supermarket. Some of the most impressive stuff in there was found underneath the surface — such as an entire carton of bananas. Photo by Foerster, Wikimedia Commons.
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​STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

The Yuck Factor
I’m back in the US for a couple of weeks. On the plane I read Kathleen McAuliffe’s story in this month’s Atlantic magazine that looks into how our political outlook is formed. Research has suggested that political orientation may correlate to our physiological response to threats—specifically, our propensity to feel physical revulsion. The more grossed out you get, the more conservative you are.
So I have to wonder—can you be conditioned to a more liberal political view, the same as you can learn to like kimchi or caracoles? Could it even be cause and effect? Maybe the conservatism of my upbringing, bolstered by bland food and Caucasian homogeneity, was somehow undone by my later exposure to sewage treatment and compost pits?
It’s a fascinating idea, and I hope to discuss it with my family over grilled cheese sandwiches*.
--Kathy Sherretts

*That's individually wrapped American cheese slices on toasted Wonder Bread, of course.

Article:
Mother Jones: Mitch McConnell Admits That Republicans Lose When More People Vote by Ari Berman
Mitch McConnell announced his opposition to making Election Day a federal holiday in order to make it easier for people to get to the polls. He called it a “power grab” that would help Democrats win elections.

Podcast:
WNYC Studios/New Yorker Radio Hour: The Mueller Investigation: What We Know So Far (10 Min)
With all the headlines of the past two years—this one brought in for questioning, that one indicted, this one cooperating—it can be hard to keep track of what this is really all about. Reporter Adam Davidson gives us a refresher on the basic facts.

Article:
The Guardian: ‘Make do and mend’ is a good, green motto for our wasteful times by Gaby Hinsliff
How on earth did we fall into the trap of lights where the bulb is sealed in, so that when it goes you have to replace the whole unit? The manufacturers’ argument is that technology has moved on, that there’s no place any more for amateur tinkering. 

Photo Gallery:
Washington Post: 20 notable African American firsts in entertainment
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Pelosi’s viral applause came in response to Trump calling for the rejection of “the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution" and his call for lawmakers to “embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good.”
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​Ready to do more?

​Read the Indivisible Guide 2.0, a new strategy for a new congress.

Check out the weekly action plan from Progressive Action, Global Exchange (PAGE) which mobilizes progressive Americans living overseas.
 
Sign up for the Americans of Conscience Checklist, a weekly action list that also provides encouragement and good news.
 
Learn more at ClimateRecovery.org, a new group organized by members of American Resistance Sevilla and other community activists. Have questions or want to volunteer? Contact [email protected].
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