Know-Nothings Gone Wild

I used to chafe at the know-nothing sermonettes offered up at restaurants, hotels, Starbucks, Ben & Jerry's, Whole Foods and many others about how do the right thing with respect to "the environment". But it is no longer a charming eccentricity that goes with eating at Chez Panisse; it sprouts almost everywhere. Just about everyone seems to "know" which trade-offs are best. If, indeed, they even fathom that there is scarcity and myriad trade-offs to consider.

So it's refreshing to see that Pierre Desrochers and Hiroko Shimizu have just published Yes, We Have No Bananas: A Critique of the 'Food Miles' Perspective. There is much to critique and they do it very well.

How do we know that green fervor is part of a religious revival? It's easy. For one thing, I see more and more young people tear up when their themes are challenged.