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Wonder why the local library is closed on Saturdays? Wonder why the fence at the local park hasn't been fixed yet? Wonder why public transportation costs more than ever? Wonder why health insurance premiums are through the roof?Click here to view a slide show (courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) depicting the annual state-by-state obesity rates in the United States over the past 25 years and realize that we squander hundreds of billions of dollars each year on obesity-related illnesses. I would think this money would be better spent on education or job creation.
(You may have to scroll down a bit to view the interactive map.)
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Sort of on topic -- I was in Washington DC over Labor Day. I was so glad to see farmers markets all over the Federal Triangle, on several days. One in particular was on a parking lot at the Dept. Of Agriculture and was clearly labeled as sponsored by USDA. Also, great to see was the landscaping around the Dept. of Ag. Many of the traditional Washington native plants have been supplanted with natives like switch grass, baptisia, etc.
Yeah!!!
Anonymous,
That's great to hear about the farmers' markets.
Could you clarify "Many of the traditional Washington native plants have been supplanted with natives like switch grass, baptisia, etc."
Did you mean to say "non-native" once?
Yes, sorry, meant to say many non-native exotic landscaping plants have been replaced with native switch grass, etc. most notably at the Dept of Ag building, but at a few other places as well. I don't think the EPA building has much area for landscaping, at least the part I walked through, but one of the farmer markets was not far from there. It appeared tourists as well as workers were buying produce. Grass-fed beef and other meat was prominently featured
Props also to Washington University in St. Louis, where I have recently noticed new landscaping around some student housing complexes that consisted largely of prairie dropseed grass and several varieties of asclepias (milkweed for the Monarch butterflies). These will use less water for maintenance.
More props to Barnes-Jewish-Childrens hospitals (Wash U. Med School) in St. Louis for their weekly farmers market on a plaza where staff and visitors can buy fresh local produce to consume at lunch or take home for dinner.
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