Without a doubt, Earth Hour 2011 continues as a great success,

with groundbreaking new meaning as more world cities take part.

Energy suppliers in Sydney Australia reported a 12 per cent reduction

in power usage during Earth Hour 2011.

Here are some great links which show the extent to which places

have been inspired to take part in this global iniative, started in

Sydney Australia 2007:

Los Angeles California

New Delhi India

China

Canada

and many more. 

(Copyright Monika Roleff 2011.)

Earth Hour happens Saturday 26th March 8.30 pm,

for this year, 2011.  A wonderful initiative to create

awareness of energy use and the invitation this year

is to go beyond the hour.  All contributions to this

event are making a difference.  Here’s to another successful

Earth Hour event for 2011.  More updates to follow…

EARTH HOUR AUSTRALIA LINK UP

EARTH HOUR GLOBAL LINK UP

(copyright Monika Roleff 2011.)

(image copyright – Cornflowers and Gold in the Sun – as above.)

Seeing the post on Kale was so popular, here is a simple

Irish recipe using Kale from Ivy Manning, Food Writer,

showing how her decendants made it into

 a dish for the whole family.  Ivy adds Stout to the onions

 while they are cooking, which adds a rich,

sweet flavour to the ingredients.  It is probably worth

 the time it takes to make, as just watching it makes

 you hungry.  If anyone makes it, let me know!!  Enjoy.

Another wonderful film from

Executive Producer, Rebecca Gerendasy, from

CookingUpAStory fame.

P.S. Lori Gloyd felt so inspired by the post and comments

that she created her own variation to the above recipe

on her blog, take a look!

 Kale Leaves Growing

(copyright Monika Roleff 2010.  Copyright rests with respective authors, used with permission.)

Great short film on incredible Kale, an amazingly

tasty leaf vegetable related to the brassica family.  Kale

is full of vitamins, and tastes fantastic in winter dishes, and

as seen in the video, tastes great raw, especially the

stalk, so don’t throw it in the compost!

Ivy Manning, “Farm to Table Cookbook” author, goes into the field

for Cooking Up a Story and talks to

Shari Sirkin of Dancing Roots Farm who gives

lots of valuable clues on the benefits and uses of

this versatile leafy vegetable.  Another

great story from Rebecca Gerendasy, Executive Producer

 of the brilliant  Cooking Up A Story, Portland, Oregon.

Leafy Kale

(copyright Monika Roleff 2010.)

(copyright video  Cooking Up a Story, 2010.  Used with permission.)

Great short video on some really amazing people in Portland, Oregon

who love chickens so much they organize tours of the neighbourhood

chicken coops!  Jeffry Crinklaw is so into his own coop project that he

inspires other people to try their own.  He also says it’s important to

get a partner involved, as it’s a fun thing to do together.  There

are some great tips and visuals here to ponder on, and proves

chickens are back in the neighbourhood.  Many thanks for this

inspiring story to Cooking Up A Story, where Executive Producer,

Rebecca Gerendasy, brings all the best food news to the world. 

(copyright Monika Roleff 2010.)

(copyright Cooking Up a Story, 201o.  Used with permission.)

The matter of the right ways of preserving heritage in a

sustainable way often poses problems that seem impossible

to surmount.  Rebecca Gerendasy from the brilliant

Cooking up a Story filmed this piece about the Imperial Stock

Ranch in Oregon, where Dan and Jeanne Carver tell of

their own story in preserving the ranch, and how they did it.

(copyright Monika Roleff 2010.)

(copyright CookingUpAStory, 2010.)

Earth Hour 2010 is up and running, and many places have put on stunning displays during the lights out hour. Here is a selection of links,
showing who is doing what globally during Earth Hour 2010:

Earth Hour 2010 – Update Stats and Results from WWF

Earth Hour 2010 – ABC Online

Earth Hour 2010 – Associated Press

Earth Hour 2010 – Wikipedia

Earth Hour 2010 – Sydney Morning Herald

This event takes place each year, and

involves 120 different countries.

(copyright Monika Roleff, 2010)

(Image – Night Lilacs, as above.)

(Link copyrights rest with their creators.)

Great new links from Earth Hour 2010!

Lights out 8.30 pm, Saturday 27th March, 2010.

Official Video

Official TV Commercial

Global Channel Viewing

Enjoy!

(copyright Monika Roleff 2010.)

 (image – full moon, as above.)

Earth Hour comes around again, for 2010, with

a host of new participants around the globe.

Join the world as it turns off the lights on

Saturday 27th March (Southern Hemisphere)

at 8.30 pm for one hour.

(copyright Monika Roleff 2010.)

(image “Summer Geraniums”, as above.)

Expanding on the theme of leftovers, it is interesting to see the

practice of gleaning becoming popular in urban areas.   Many local

councils spend time and money removing wasted fruits from street

trees and public areas, and it really seems wasteful this vitamin

packed food just ends up in the bin. 

Now, with new solutions,  old apple trees are used and also intentionally

planted in urban places like railway stations, where they can be

eaten on the way to work.  Waste only seems to cost money in the long

run and when the value of a long awaited fruit harvest is known, people

are more prepared to savour it and use it, rather than let it go waste

in urban places.  Ceres has some great ideas on urban fruit supply in

inner Melbourne, where a haven has been created minutes from the city.

This interesting and common sense video, “Urban Fruit Gleaning” is

produced by Rebecca Gerendasy from the brilliant CookingUpAStory.

(Please wait a moment for the correct video to auto upload.)

(copyright Monika Roleff 2009.)

(copyright CookingUpAStory, 2009.)

(Image – Gleaned lemons via a very kind friend.)