Waylon Lewis

How Long Does It Take to "Work Off" One Chipotle Burrito?

2010-12-03T14:03:52-05:00

Recently, Daily Beast figured how various meals and desserts equate to various forms of exercise -- including sex.

It turns out that it takes three hours and 40 minutes of sexytime to work off one Chipotle Steak Burrito.

However, a vegetarian Chipotle burrito (with organic rice, whoot!) comes out to "only" 2 hours and 15 minutes of sex. Which is ironic, since healthy vegetarians can "go" for soooo much longer, compared to meat lovers.

Click above image for more.

Happy Buy Nothing Day!

2010-11-26T15:49:11-05:00

13 Posters: Buy Nothing Day. 13 Things to Do instead of "Black Friday."

Here are three things I suggest you do on Buy Nothing Day/Black Friday.

It's the biggest shopping day of the year. Nothing's wrong with shopping -- if what you're buying has meaning and purpose. So if you have to buy something, make it life-changing.

1. Rescue a pet from your local Humane Society.

2. If you are going to buy gifts, shop local.

3. And if you aren't going to buy anything, practice fundamental happiness and contentment with a loved one.

~ Waylon Lewis

Boulder, Colorado: Top 10 Least Dog-Friendly Town in US?

2010-10-01T17:50:25-04:00

Boulder, a dog-loving town, has dog-fearing laws.

Boulder, Colorado: home sweet home.

Born and raised. I love it here.

Via Fidos:

I count my blessings every day I live in Boulder.

Just two minutes above our fair valley--where the great jutting Rocky Mountains meet the Great, golden, now-suburb filled Plains--you can hike, in the wild, not a house in sight--and fill your lungs with good air and empty your mind of workaday busy-ness.

In the last few years we've been lauded on the NY Times for being a national epicenter of tech. We're one of the greenest municipalities in the US--even if we've got plenty of commonsense, money-saving room for improvement. We've been named Happiest Town in the US, best town to retire in, smartest city, fittest city, most bike-friendly, and just last week, foodiest town in the US. And the awards keep coming.

Being out West, and being the kind of town welcoming to families, students, retirees, hippies, hipsters and yuppies alike, about 1/3 Boulder's homes have a dog. Or two. That bears repeating:

one-third of all homes have a dog in 'em.

We don't term ourselves dog owners: we term ourselves dog guardians. It's a dog-crazy city.

And yet--and yet--this morning, looking at years of Top 10 Dog-Friendly City and Town lists, I confirmed two things I'd long suspected.

1. Boulder, rather surprisingly, has never been listed as a top dog-friendly town.

2. It'd be easy, and painless, to change that.

The Status Quo: where we're at.

I, and every neighbor with a well-behaved dog whom I have the pleasure to know, has been harassed for years by Animal Control. I don't use that word lightly.

Now, the good folks at Animal Control are uniformly (no pun intended: their uniforms strike fear in the hearts of not-so-law-abiding dog citizens everywhere)...good folks. They're well-intentioned animal lovers. I've had great interactions with them. They're not the problem.

The counterproductive, expensive, and commonly disrespected laws they're tasked to uphold are the problem. And, with the Humane Society giving up Animal Control to an outside, for-profit mercenary team, the relationship between the citizens of Boulder and the Animal Control we pay for will likely get worse.

So what is the problem? Dogs aren't allowed anywhere in the city unless their leash is on their owner's hands. On Open Space, they're allowed to run off leash if they have a green Open Space tag--a tag that's freely sold to obedient dogs and wild, aggressive dogs alike.

My dog is a good boy. He's great with children. Alone among 10 dogs running off leash, he's almost always the first to stop playing and come back if called. If he's had enough exercise, he's the perfect dog. If he hasn't--or if he runs into a favorite human being, he's highly excitable--in a harmless but loud, happy, yelpy, houndy, butt-wiggling way. Overall, obedience-wise, I'd give him a B+. And yet--under our current leash laws--he has to be left at home every day, unless I put him in the back seat of a car (I don't own one, anymore, thanks to our Boulder being so bike-able) and then deposit him in an office.

Boulder's a bicycle-happy town (though we don't have quite enough bike lanes, causing us to jump sidewalks all the time, or ride dangerously in the middle or lanes, fun!). Thanks to the good folks who work for the City of Boulder, I was able to give up my car two years ago, and now ride a bike 365 days a year. And I owe Boulder's green streets and the hard workers and visionaries at the City for that. But if you ride a bike and own a dog, you can't go anywhere together. My dog, Redford, loves to run. We run downtown, pausing to play, cool off and rest in the creek. He can't be off leash. We run on to, say, to a cafe, and I can't leave him outside, though he's better behaved than your average human three year old.

I can't leave him outside because Boulder chooses not to distinguish between well-behaved dogs and dogs who've failed a test that we don't bother to offer.

And, I can't bring him inside, either. Though cafés are not restaurants, and all the food production (if there is any--in most cafes, there's no kitchen and everything's prepackaged) is contained behind a counter, a dog's presence is considered unsanitary. And, of course, you can't go to any restaurant (unlike many, many cities on the Top 10 Dog-friendly lists).

You can, legally, take your dog all over Boulder--if you drive and leave 'em in your car--which isn't great for the dog.

So my only choice is to leave him outside with a stranger who agrees to watch him--to hold his leash and be responsible for his behavior. And then, when I get my drink, I have to go back outside and sit with him on the curb. If it's winter, obviously, this doesn't work at all. Result? Dog left at home. If it's Summer, it's usually blindingly bright, so you can't work on a laptop outside on the curb? So? Dog left at home.

The point is this: you can't leave the dog outside, you can't take it inside.

The only lifestyle that legally works with a dog in Boulder--and the one I've been explicitly encouraged, again and again, by Animal control, is this: walk your dog before work, "leave your dog at home" all day, walk your dog at 5 when you're off work, leave your dog home again if you go out. It's not much of a life for a dog. I prefer to be the sort of dog guardian that's with my dog all day. An active dog is less uptight, less full of energy, less bored and less stressed. An active dog is--ironically--safer, more relaxed, more obedient and less inclined to get in a tussle with another dog.

And Animal Control enforces regulations randomly. This lack of consistent enforcement is as illegal as it is understandable. I've had friends who've left their dogs, technically illegally, unsupervised, for years outside of various establishments--with no incidents. I did this myself for three years until an elderly lady, trying to use a payphone that Redford was leashed beneath, stepped on Redford and received a freaked-out bite on the ankle (I went to remedial dog training, and was of course more than happy to pay for her bite wound, which was not bad fortunately).

Current situation: Boulder is one of the least hospitable dog towns in the US. Groups have been formed to advocate for dog owner rights. Every time I or a neighbor is harassed/warned/ticketed by Animal Control, we think and talk about moving to a small town that welcomes dogs.

But that's not necessary.

Click here for suggestions on improvements to the leash law.

Update: Whole Foods dumps Silk Soy (VIDEO)

2010-09-25T17:42:07-04:00

Key Update: via the good folks at at Silk Soy:

[Dear Waylon]

Just wanted to chime in quickly regarding your [article]. We appreciate your level of objectivity, and the fact that you allowed us to answer your questions in the video. However some of the other articles you link to are a bit misleading, and the headline is inaccurate.

Silk actually hasn't been kicked out of Whole Foods. They have limited our distribution in a few regions, but there are still a large number of stores carrying our Organic and Natural products.

[editor's note: this represents a hugely important point--one that contradicts all the other articles I'd read, some of which are linked/referenced below.]

And while we are now offering the Natural soymilk options, we're still the leading organic provider out there. Just to add a little context, we sell three times as much organic soymilk than all of our competitors combined. Which means we support more organic soybean acres than anyone else in the U.S. as well.

[editor's note: For now: getting even partially booted out of Whole Foods will change that balance significantly--an article I read estimated that a Silk Soy rival, Earth Balance, will nearly double in revenues overnight.]

[editor's note: love it. So no Silk beans from South America, China?]

After a few of the stories you link to hit, we offered up some additional facts via our blog, which you can see here and here...

...We appreciate your willingness to hear and feature our side of the story, journalists like you keep companies like us honest. Hopefully we can continue to work together and keep the dialogue going.

Every bean we source, organic and natural, is done so domestically. We do not source any beans (or other ingredients) from China. Soon, you'll be able to see where those beans come from down to the county, as we're poised to launch a new online tracking tool to add more transparency to our sourcing operations.

JB
WhiteWave Foods

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Whole Foods cuts Dean Foods' "natural" Silk Soy milk--instead goes with organic brands.

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Last year, Silk Soy--while continuing to offer a somewhat higher-priced organic option--pushed the majority of its soy milk to "natural" (the beans still weren't genetically modified [GMO], which is great).

It was a blow to the green movement--and one that changed Silk, overnight, from the world's largest organic brand into, well, not.

Recently, I interviewed my friends at the Dean Foods-owned White Wave/Silk Soy about their decision to go "natural." To their credit, they were open about the up- and downsides.

See the second half of the below video of elephant editor Waylon Lewis' adventure at the recent Natural Products Expo West in LA, here:

Whole Foods dumps Silk Soy.

Silk, started by one of Boulder, Colorado's natural products titans, Steve Demos, and now owned and controlled by mega-corp Dean Foods, was just dealt what must come as a pretty big blow--they've been cleaved from their strongest customer base--the conscious consumers who built Silk, back when it was owned by Mr. Demos, into a major player and first real alternative to milk.

For more, click here or here or here or here. Or here.

Excerpt via Planet Green:

The Cornucopia Institute claimed victory against the largest soymilk producer in the country this week, after a landmark deal with Whole Foods:

"Saying that its relationship with Dean Foods had 'chilled,' Whole Foods indicated it was bringing in a new branded organic soymilk partner, Earth Balance...'Dean Foods has been roundly criticized for taking the organic out of Silk, and now the marketplace and consumers are passing their judgment,' said Mark Kastel, Cornucopia's senior farm policy analyst. 'They took what once was a pioneering 100% organic brand, before they acquired the company in 2003, and cheapened the product at the expense of American farmers and consumers. Now they are paying a price for their naked profiteering,' Kastel added."

In addition, Whole Foods wants Earth Balance's soymilk products to be made strictly from soybeans grown in the U.S. That stipulation likely comes as a direct response to Silk's initial shift--even before it gave up on organic--away from domestic soybeans when it started sourcing (organic, at first) from China. ...for the rest, click here.

Excerpt via elephriend Alica Wallace of Boulder Daily Camera:

Move comes in wake of WhiteWave shifting Silk away from certified organic soybeans

Fourteen years ago, a burgeoning Boulder company -- WhiteWave Inc. -- was responsible for launching Silk soymilk, a brand that is now the category leader.

So when Whole Foods Market wanted to boost its organic soymilk options a year after Dean Foods' WhiteWave Foods shifted most of its Silk products away from certified organic soybeans, the Austin, Texas, grocer turned to a burgeoning Boulder County firm -- one stocked with former White Wave employees.

Whole Foods this week announced an agreement with Longmont-based Earth Balance under which the natural foods division of New Jersey-based spreads company Smart Balance Inc. would launch its line of organic soymilks at Whole Foods stores nationwide...for the rest, click here.

I'll leave you with a remarkable, though tangential factoid:

"The NY Times reports that Silk spent $29.1 million on advertising in major media last year."

Whew!

To stay in touch, click Waylon or elephant and like it up.

Working Snake River: Saving Salmon -- and Jobs

2010-07-01T14:52:16-04:00

The Environment is Our Environment.

Yet another example (think tourism-rich Florida, which banned offshore drilling decades ago, vs. drill rig-happy Louisiana re: the BP Oil Spill) of how tourism can be just as fruitful--economically-speaking--as harming our earth for quick and dirty profit.

The below comes via Working Snake River:

In the conservation movement, it's crucial to remember that everything is always interconnected. Be it economics, social or environmental implications, one decision affects another--and often, in a big way. That's what's currently taking place in Washington State, where business and community leaders are taking a stand on an issue that relates to salmon, energy, agriculture, and transportation issues and has political implications for the state and the broader Pacific Northwest region.

The effort is called Working Snake River, and it's a concentrated effort to bring citizens, businesses, and elected leaders together to restore salmon and steelhead and ensure economic prosperity for the state and regional economy.

So how do fish and economy go hand in hand?

"Salmon aren't just a part of our state's natural heritage, they are also important to our economy," said Jeremy Brown, commercial salmon troller and Washington Trollers Association board member. "Especially in our coastal and river communities, salmon has traditionally been a huge source of good jobs and income. The population declines of Columbia Basin salmon in the past several decades have taken a heavy toll on the health of our communities. It's time to sit down together to figure out how we can constructively address these issues for people on both sides of the mountains."

That's why the initiative is bringing multiple interests together - farmers, fishermen, energy users, business owners and local communities - to craft a durable science-based and economically viable salmon restoration plan.

But beyond the economy, the issue also has severe environmental implications. A threatened future for salmon means a threatened future for another iconic Pacific Northwest species: orcas.

Regional orca experts and federal scientists recognize how critical Columbia basin chinook are to the diet of Puget Sound resident killer whales. The Columbia and Snake rivers were once the West Coast's greatest source of chinook salmon."One of the biggest threats facing our resident orcas today is the availability of food," said People For Puget Sound executive director Kathy Fletcher. "Our killer whales depend largely on chinook salmon--whose numbers have dropped significantly in the Northwest. This relationship between orcas and salmon is one more connection--like those of food and energy--uniting the people of Eastern and Western Washington. And its one more reason why we need leadership from our senators to bring our communities together to find effective lasting solutions. No salmon--no orcas. It's that simple."

These are issues that not only effect the region, but have national and international implications as well, especially when it comes to protecting endangered species. Thirteen salmon and steelhead stocks remain listed under the Endangered Species Act despite 20 years of litigation and expenditure of more than $9 billion on failed restoration efforts. Think of what that means for other species whose habitats and livelihoods are currently at risk. In this, the International Year of Biodiversity, it's something that we all should give serious thought to. No matter where we live.

How can we help?

Urge Washington State Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell--two leaders who are regularly proactive and progressive when it comes to environmental and economic issues--to take direct action on an issue that affects their own backyards.

The economy and the environment can go hand in hand, and if the BP Gulf oil spill is showing us anything, it's that we should promote policies that focus on both instead of leading to our own destruction.

VP Joe Biden drills Rep. Barton for apology to BP.

2010-06-18T16:37:19-04:00

Kudos and thanks, VP Biden.

Here's Barton's apology to BP, in case you missed it.

Video:

Republican Attack Ad blames Obama for BP Oil Spill.

2010-06-10T13:18:42-04:00

It's his fault.

"This ad treats a serious tragedy like a football game or chess match, with points to be won merely by staying on the offense."

BP and friends (including Dick Cheney's colleagues at Halliburton) may have caused the leak. Pressure from the Republicans may have enabled coast-to-coast offshore drilling. But...it's President Obama's fault--because, after all, the president in a democracy has absolute power, right?

Only Republicans would spend money putting together an attack ad that uses repeated footage of their favorite sport, and their own last President W's greatest lack-of-response failure (Hurricane Katrina) against their enemy. It takes a special kind of gall, and it's quite effective--as effective as ex-Governor Sarah Palin's blaming environmentalists for the BP Oil Spill.

Fact is, President Obama and the US could plug all such holes--by banning offshore drilling again. But that's something Republicans wouldn't even consider. In fact, even now, they're pushing for more drilling.

Hypocrisy, anyone? This ad treats this serious tragedy like a football game or chess match, with points to be won merely by staying on the offense.

Fact is, it wouldn't be plugged for some time even if President Obama and the US did take control. Why? Because no one knows what they're doing. It's all a vast, dangerous, irresponsible experiment, as Philippe Cousteau said to Keith Olbermann and Bill Maher.

"Leave BP Aloooooooooooooone!" Funny video, with a Serious Message.

2010-06-08T15:35:06-04:00

For all those who like to say: "It's not BP's fault, it's our fault"...you got the second half right.

I want my Oil!

Love this guy. Especially the first 54 seconds. He reminds me of...well, me, when I was a baby, and dinner was late. Or maybe a human version of one of the Where the Wild Things Are characters. A big hairy baby. Awesome.

But, seriously, all I gotta say to the many liberals who love saying: It's not BP's fault, it's ours! And then taking a big hit off our own brilliance...97%. It's criminal.

Enjoy:

50 Days of the BP Oil Spill Reenacted in One Minute: By LOL Catz

2010-06-08T02:28:03-04:00

BP: "They'll need us again!"

The only thing this bloody brilliant video gets wrong is that BP's not losing billions -- they're losing only a tiny fraction of what they make in a single day.

Plenty of marmalade, still, to go around.

Funny Yelp Review Harshes on Boulder Café

2010-06-05T13:00:46-04:00

The Feng Shui is Whack

I'm not sure what my favorite thing is about this review: that the critique of this Boulder, Colorado café is highlighted by the charge that Atlas Purveyors is crowded (surely, a sign of success and doing things right for any business?) or that it's Feng Shui is Whack.

If you're going to take down something for being high-as-a-kite n' hippie-dippy, best leave your understanding of the art of ancient Chinese spacial relationships out of it?

Made my day--particularly considering that Atlas posted it, with good humor, right in the middle of their huge chalkboard community events and art wall.

This Place is Everything that is Annoying about Boulder.

All I gotta say is Yelp needs a fourth category, for Awesome:

For more photos, click over to elephant journal.

Have you seen the Oil Spill bird photos yet?

2010-06-05T11:53:42-04:00

Click above photo for the NY Times' slideshow.

A Video and Petition: Take Action

Can We Really Move Beyond Petroleum?

A Sierra Club video and petition to move President Obama to act.

Pelicans weighted with so much oil they can't fly, and are stuck in the "water." Dolphins literally drowning in oil.

It's an outrage--one we've caused. But this oil spill may be a blessing in tragic disguise--an extended moment for national reflection.

So let's use this moment for good--let's stop hurting our beautiful country, Let's stop costing our economy far more than we pay at the gas pump. Let's stop giving money to our enemies.

Let's use this moment to wake up, and invest in a clean, domestic, renewable energy future.

For a Sierra Club video and petition to move Obama to act, click below:

The Onion: funny video spoof of Greenwashing.

2010-06-04T14:07:27-04:00

A Satirical video re: Greenwashing via The Onion.

So inspiring--none of these new recipes via Taco Bell use ingredients taken from poor Mother Nature.

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Pepsi Refresh Project video: Mallika Chopra, founder of Intent.com, at Self-Realization Fellowship.

2010-06-02T23:27:46-04:00

Via the Pepsi Refresh Project:

Looks like Mallika Chopra--

the founder of Intent.com, a fast-growing site I'm a big fan of--

is talking and walking about the serene grounds of the Self-Realization Fellowship, which my friend Kasey and I toured about last year when I was out LA-way for a little meeting with Discovery re my "Walk the Talk Show" and a weekend doing yoga in Ojai.

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To see a few photos from my tour of Self-Realization Fellowship, click here and scroll to the bottom.

Will Obama save Salmon Industry, or Dam it?

2010-05-19T16:57:01-04:00

It's Up to Us--Take Action Here, Today.

"Federal Defendants have spent the better part of the last decade treading water, and avoiding their obligations under the Endangered Species Act... We simply cannot afford to waste another decade." ~ U.S. District Court Judge James Redden to Counsel of Record in National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service May 15, 2009.

The Obama Administration will announce a big decision tomorrow--Thursday, May 20th--a decision that will impact nature, salmon, tourism dollars, a decision that will support science or merely follow the Bush Administration's policies. The Endangered Species Act could be threatened as a whole.

What can we do? Spread the word. Create buzz. Best of all, take action.

Yellowstone. White House photo: Pete Souza. Don't worry too much: it was catch and release.

Via Save our Wild Salmon:

Will Obama Dam Salmon to Extinction?

On the heels of the catastrophic oil spill that is crushing wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration is poised to make a decision this week that could change the fate of endangered species in this country.

On May 20, the Administration will release a federal salmon plan that will do one of two things for endangered wildlife: protect the Endangered Species Act, or weaken it.

A decision to weaken the ESA for the West's iconic Columbia and Snake River salmon could send an ecological ripple across the country -- affecting every endangered species in the nation.

And the situation doesn't look good. Instead of charting its own path, the administration is working off an illegal Bush administration plan for endangered salmon.

Because they return to the biggest, highest and best-protected habitat in America, endangered Snake River salmon are slated as the West's best chance to save salmon for future generations in an environment threatened by climate change. These cold, crisp waters of spanning three Western states -- Washington, Oregon and Idaho, will remain cold under warming climates, protecting these one-of-a-kind salmon with a one-of-a-kind habitat. Making the wrong decision on these rivers would effectively dam (pun fully intended) these salmon to extinction.

The Columbia-Snake Rivers may not be in your own backyard, but the effects of this decision certainly will be. Take action today to save salmon and protect America's endangered species.

These fish are fighting right now to survive -- tackling a gauntlet of dams, escaping predators and climbing higher than any salmon on Earth. They're doing their part. Now let's do ours.

Take Action.

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"Conservation is a core priority for the outdoor industry, and wild salmon play an important role in the recreation economy. We simply can't afford to lose them."

-- Lisa Pike-Sheehy, Patagonia's Director of Environmental Initiatives. Patagonia has long supported restoring a free-flowing Snake River to recover salmon and steelhead, which the company has featured in their Freedom to Roam Campaign.

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"The last cut at this plan largely ignored the impacts climate change will most certainly have on these salmon. And it ignored the unique habitat in the Snake Basin that these fish call home. The science tells us that getting these fish back home is the surest and perhaps only way to ensure salmon in the Columbia-Snake Basin under a warming world. Let's hope that in addition to protecting the ESA, the administration prepares for the current and future harms caused to these fish from global warming. Let's get these fish back to their habitat so we can ensure salmon in the Columbia-Snake Basin for generations to come."

-- John Kostyack, Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation and Global Warming for National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC. NWF is the lead plaintiff in the fight to protect Columbia-Snake salmon.

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"What is at stake here goes far beyond the issue of salmon recovery. To me, it raises the question of whether we have the courage and the will to reconcile the growing contradiction between the world we say we want to leave our children and the one we are actually creating through the decisions we make today. And it calls into question our capacity to take explicit and intentional action to shape our own future rather than to simply react to circumstances, allowing by default our future to become a matter of chance. It's time to fight for salmon. It's time to fight for us. It's time to fight for our future."

-- John Kitzhaber, former governor of Oregon and currently running for a second term, said in a 2007 Sea Grant-hosted keynote address.

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