AP/SF Gate: Fresh tomatoes used in 21 states and Canada have been linked to salmonella poisoning. The CDC has little information about where the tomatoes were used; the FDA is investigating the source. No word on whether they are conventional or organic, or visited by wild hogs.
BBC: A small rally of 20,000+ people conducted a peaceful march in London to raise awareness about climate change. The rally drew conflicting responses from scientists who believe in climate change, but who disagree about the language used to publicize the issue.
AP/Sacramento Bee: The U.S. won an exception to a 2004 international treaty on the use of methyl bromides. The exception will allow farmers to continue using methyl bromide, an ozone-destroying pesticide, and allows the U.S. to continue producing methyl bromide rather than dip into existing stocks. Although other countries are using alternative methods, American pesticide proponents claim that additional research is required.
Slate: It isn’t too late to take part in Slate Online’s eight-week carbon diet. The goal is reduce individual carbon footprints by 20 percent over the span of the contest, by having people — oh, who are we kidding — having Americans, who use a disproportionate amount of global resources, change their habits. Target areas include transportation, energy use, food habits, holiday shopping and clothing purchases. Let’s hope that the T-shirts awarded to the first 500 successful contestants are factored into the carbon savings somehow.
BBC: The World Wildlife Fund points to the disappearance of over 30 percent of known terrestrial species during the past 35 years as a sign of impending ecological collapse. They use the term “ecological debt” to describe the insufficiency of resources to support life. The leading cause is the expansion of the human population, which has increased by 1 billion people every 12 to 13 years for the past several decades.
TheStreet.com: As owners of Whole Foods stock already know, the price dove 23% Friday, after Whole Foods said it expected a slowdown in sales. In not-so-good timing, CEO John Mackey announced that the company was raising its salary cap for executives to 19 times average worker salary, up from 14 times, the better to scare off headhunters. Mackey, however, says he has “reached a place in my life where I no longer want to work for money,” and will take only $1 for his 2007 salary. [DQ: Um, we know it wouldn’t have been good for the stock price, but why not raise the average salary instead?]
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