globalbriefs
News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefi ts all.
Freebie Fruit Online Mapping Points the Way
Falling Fruit (
FallingFruit.org), created by Caleb Philips, co-founder of Boulder Food Rescue, and Ethan Welty, a photographer and geographer based in Boulder, Colorado, uses a map to cite locations of fruits and vegetables that are free to forage around the world. It looks like a Google map, with reported locations marked with dots. Zoom in and click on one to fi nd a description of what tree or bush is there. The description often includes information about the best season to pluck plant fruits, the quality and yield, a link to the species’ profi le on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website and additional advice on accessing the spot.
Welty compiled most of the half-million or so locations from various municipal databases, local foraging organizations and urban gardening groups. Additionally, the map is open for Wikipedia-style public editing. He says, “Falling Fruit pinpoints all sorts of tasty trees in public parks, lining city streets and even hanging over fences from the UK to New Zealand.” It also lists beehives, public water wells and even dumpsters with excess food waste.
Scrub Up Cleaning the Environment a Step at a Time
Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer product companies, which makes Vaseline and Dove soaps, is doing away
with a longtime manufacturing process because scientists and environmental groups are concerned that it contributes to polluting oceans. The company has decided to phase out the use of plastic micro-beads as a scrubbing agent in all personal care products by 2015.
Small pieces of plastic material
under fi ve millimeters in diameter, referred to as micro-plastics, originate from a variety of different sources, including the breakdown of larger plastic materials in the water, the shedding of synthetic fi bers from textiles during domestic clothes washing, and the micro-beads used for their abrasive properties in a range of consumer and industrial products.
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Central Florida natural awakenings
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