Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent

When harvests are over and there's less local food to use in colder climes, the pantry can provide some of the most warming foods of the season. From grains like barley and spelt to boxes of dried pasta, plenty of great, hearty food can be stored without refrigeration, and cooked on the stove to provide supplementary heat to your home when it's cold out. Cooking these dry goods heats the home, and fills the house with comforting aromas. Because they're not weighted down with water when they're shipped, they represent an efficient way of bringing calories from one place to another.

Beans represent among the most nutritious, versatile, and delicious foods in my pantry. Simmered with some aromatic vegetables, they make their own sauce. Served with rice, they're a complete protein, and a great vegetarian main course. Most of them can be pureed to make great soup.

Despite many tales to the contrary, beans do not have to be soaked overnight. It helps them cook more quickly, but nearly any bean can be cooked from a dry state. Just double the cooking time. Garbanzos (chickpeas) are one that I always soak, since they take so long to cook. Lentils are a bean I never soak, because they cook so quickly from a dry state. I soak the red beans in the soup here because it makes the dish more convenient for the home cook (done in about 90 minutes), but you could add more water and use un-soaked beans. Either way, your home will be filled with pleasant cooking fragrances, and hour heating bill will be lower.

Red Bean and Pasta Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
2 bay leaves
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 16-oz package red beans soaked overnight in 1 qt. cold water, drained
10 sprigs Italian parsley, including stems
6 cups water
2 cups cooked pasta (any small shape, such as elbows)
Sour cream (optional)

In a pot large enough to hold all ingredients, cook onions and garlic with olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add oregano, bay leaves, tomato sauce, salt and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer and add beans, parsley and water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, and cook 90 minutes, until beans are tender enough to mash between two fingers. In a blender, puree 1/3 of the beans very well; add them back to the soup. Add cooked pasta, and bring back to the boil for 1 minute more, before serving garnished with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Serves 8

Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent

As autumn chill takes hold, nothing warms the house and comforts the body like hearty soup. When I studied cooking at The Culinary Institute of America, nearly every soup was made with meat-based stock. I thought that that was the only way to go, until I took a job in a small restaurant where all of the soups were vegetarian. These were such excellent soups; I realized that there was often no need for a meat element in soup. It was liberating.

Since then, I've made hundreds of soups using water or vegetable stock with fantastic results. The key is to "sweat" the essential juices out of the main ingredients before adding the liquid. That enriches the broth, unlocking flavors that are sealed inside the cells of the aromatic vegetables. Sweating is not the same as sauteing, even though they both involve cooking the vegetables in oil. In sweating, the technique is to cook slowly, gradually coaxing out flavors. The idea is not to brown the vegetables at high heat, which would be a saute. Some browning may be desirable in sweating, but that comes after the vegetable shave softened, released their juices, and begun to caramelize onto the bottom of the pot, creating complex flavors that can be stirred into the broth with a wooden spoon. The flame for sweating is medium, and the process usually takes from 15 to 20 minutes. That's a small price to pay for some rich broth.

Some particularly warming soups for cold weather are mushroom-based ones. Their earthy, "meaty" character brings real comfort. The mushroom, barley, and collard greens soup below is rich not only in flavor, but in nutrients. It contains complete proteins, cancer-fighting antioxidants, folate-rich greens, and calcium for strong bones. It makes an excellent main course soup with some crusty bread.

Mushroom, Barley and Collard Green Soup

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 pounds mushrooms (any variety)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbs. fresh or 2 teaspoons dried marjoram or oregano leaves
• 1½ tsp. fresh or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
• 2 cups pearl barley, rinsed
• 3 quarts vegetable stock or water
• 1 bunch fresh collard greens, cooked until tender in boiling water and chopped, or 2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen chopped collards

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add mushrooms, onions, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, marjoram, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables have softened significantly and are stewing in their natural broth, about 15 minutes. Stir in barley and stock. Bring the soup up to a full boil, then reduce to a medium simmer and cook until barley is tender, about 40 minutes.

Add the collards; cook about 10 minutes more. Season to taste.

Serves 12

Alex Nunez, Forecast Earth Correspondent

Ford Motor Company

Good afternoon, all. The L.A. Auto Show media preview kicks off today, so we should have official details on whatever interesting news comes out of there for Thursday's post - stay tuned. In the meantime, let's round up some other news on the green-car front.

• While talk of a federal bailout to save GM dominates headlines (related hearings in Congress kick off today - hang on to your wallets, everyone), development of the Chevy Volt continues. GM-Volt.com reports that the interior design has already received a few tweaks since its introduction, and they talk to the Volt design chief for an explanation.

• The 2010 Saturn Vue 2 Mode hybrid, originally scheduled for a December 1, 2008 release, has now been pushed back to sometime in Q1 2009 by GM, reports Edmunds Green Car Advisor. It's probably safe to say that this release timetable will be a moving target that's highly dependent on GM's financial status, as The General is delaying a number of product intros right now in a bid to save cash. As far as we know, the Vue 2 Mode Hybrid is still a 2009 Green Car of the Year Contender, however, which underscores the award's ridiculousness, as I detailed here a couple weeks back.

• In China this week, Ford has unveiled a sedan version of its Fiesta compact car. Why do we care? Because we're eventually getting the Fiesta here in the States, and Americans buy sedans. Hence, this Fiesta four-door is pretty much a lock to hit U.S. showrooms.

See you Thursday, when we'll run down the happenings at the L.A. Auto Show.

Alex Nunez is associate editor of Autoblog.com.

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent

OK, 'fess up: how many defunct cell phones do you have in your junk drawer? The average American replaces his or her phone almost once a year, and that means every year more than 100 million cell phones go to the drawer or the dump, and that's not good at all. You've certainly seen cell phone drop-off points at various electronics and office supply retailers, but now there's a way to dump your old phones and get paid-at least a little-for them.

Check out Flipswap, an online service that gives you an instant estimate of the value of your old phones. All you have to do is print out the pre-paid shipping label, send in the phones, and wait for your check to arrive. (You can also choose to have the money sent to one of several charities listed on the site.) Just go here to start the process.

When I looked at the site, I saw trade-in values ranging from $4 for some old clunkers to more than $100 for fairly new smartphones and PDAs. You wouldn't want to leave $100 sitting in your junk drawer, would you? So far, Flipswap claims to have processed about 734,000 phones. That's a lot in raw numbers but hardly any percentage-wise. Only 99 million to go.

James Hrynyshyn, Forecast Earth Correspondent

I know times are tough. Every line item is facing close scrutiny. But is it really wise to shut down relatively inexpensive climate change research right now? That was the question facing U.S. Department of Energy bean counters when they examined something called Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Transfer and Storage (FACTS-I) open-air lab run by Duke University in central North Carolina. They concluded that it was time to get the researchers, who have been studying the effects of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on plant growth since 1994, engaged in something more productive.

The FACTS-1 program, which involves a bunch of miniature greenhouses with atmospheres tailored to simulate future climate conditions, has already produced enormous amounts of useful data. More 200 papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals, with another couple in the pipeline. But the pace of publication has declined, from a high of 39 papers in 2001 to just 15 this year. We now know a lot about what happens to trees when CO₂ levels rise. The upshot is some plants grow more and so absorb more of the gas, but only in leaves, needles, and fine roots, which return the CO₂ to the air when are shed within a year or two. It all depends on the soil. And the species. And the temperature. And so on.

I remember writing about some of the lab's findings back in 2000 and 2001, when Canada was trying to get credit at the global climate negotiations for not cutting down its forests. The Duke study provided important background that undermined Canada's position, and Canada has since abandoned that particular strategy to avoid actually reducing emissions.

Of course, there's still lots more to know, but the DoE says it wants the researchers to chop down the trees and do one last accounting of just how much carbon is being absorbed under different conditions. The scientists say now is not the time — they're very close to some very important findings, so couldn't we wait just a bit longer, please?
Some $55 million has already been spent, according to the Associated Press, and all they want is another $10 million to bring their science to a logical conclusion.

It's a tough call. More knowledge is always a good thing. It's only $10 million, and I hate to see good science shelved. On the other hand, maybe the DoE has it right. Given what we already know about fossil-fuel emissions (they ain't good), maybe it's time to pour those research dollars into finding better and cheaper ways to avoid the emissions in the first place.

Natalie Allen , Forecast Earth: This Week, Anchor

We are all doing it. Some of us with baby steps, others in leaps and bounds. Regardless where you fall on the Going Green scale, if you are like so many people and want to know what more you can do to green your routine, please keep it on The Weather Channel.

All this week, as part of NBC's Green is Universal event, The Forecast Earth Team is providing various tips to help you lighten your footprint. And, we are also going to share how you can save green by going green around your house. (Thanks to my friends Cynthia and Per and Deborah and Michael who let our camera crew into their homes). And thanks to our editors here for not editing my dog, Biscuit, out of one of them. (He'll be so proud)

Among our Saving Green tips-how to save money on utility costs by tweaking how you do the laundry, wash dishes and also important, how you set your thermostat. The money that can go back in your pocket is significant!

Whether it's recycling, creating a more energy efficient home or learning about plastic hazards, we have been working for several weeks to create a variety of green living tips for you to incorporate in your lives.

I'll be popping up live on The Weather Channel all this week (10:30 and 11:30am Eastern) with environmental news and talking about what is on Forecast Earth during its special time this week, 2pm Eastern. It's on as I write; me in a yellow shirt which we had to duct tape on the arm-but that's a needless trivia story about my ironing skills (lack of ironing skills...)

It was a kick to go on live with Day Planner team this morning. As a news reporter and anchor who has certainly been challenged to "stretch" during all kinds of breaking news, I never cease to marvel how meteorologists can stand in front of weather maps and go for eons with mind-boggling minutiae about weather systems criss-crossing the country. (With certain bias, I proclaim TWC meteorologists the best in the biz). And if you think you have too many remotes in your home to keep up with, here's this: Next to the chair where I sat in our new HD studios, there is a little table with no less than 8 remotes for the weather team to use. And yes, one is duct taped.

Which begs the question, is duct tape recyclable?

Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent

Chili is delicious. As a "flexitarian" who eats both meat and non-meat meals, I've found recipes for chili rich with beef, and equally comforting, satisfying chili that has no meat in it at all. I figure that by mixing it up -- sometimes having meatless chili and sometimes having meat chili -- I'm lowering demand for an industry that's a leading cause of pollution, but provides a product I enjoy. I guess it's kind of like bicycling to work on good-weather days, and driving when it's cold or rainy.

This is one of those main course dishes I mentioned the other day when I was talking about how much of the catch of wild fish was shunted into cattle feed instead of going to our dinner tables. My point there was that choosing some meatless meals regularly can have positive effects in areas that you wouldn't even imagine you could effect. How many people think that by choosing meatless chili they're helping protect marine life? The beauty of working plant-based dishes into your menu mix is that you don't have to figure out what you can do to make the world a better place. The myriad effects of the meals take place just because of the dinner you chose. Even better, you'll enjoy an exceptional plate of chili that'll have your friends and neighbors begging you for the recipe. Go ahead, share it with them. This makes an excellent dinner served over rice.

Chili

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup each chopped carrots, green, red and yellow bell peppers
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. chopped garlic
• 2 chopped seeded jalapeno peppers
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or, preferably, 1 tablespoon ground ancho chile)
• 1 chipotle in adobo, chopped (these canned smoked chilies are in the Spanish foods sections of most supermarkets. If not available, add extra red pepper flakes)
• 1 Tbs. cumin seeds, toasted briefly in a dry pan and ground, or 4 tsp. ground cumin
• One can (28-ounce) plum tomatoes, roughly chopped, juice included
• Three cans (16-ounce) beans: one each red kidney, cannellini and black beans, rinsed and drained, or an equal amount of home-cooked beans
• 1 cup tomato juice
• Sour cream (optional)
• Finely chopped red onions
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, bell peppers and salt; cook 15 minutes over medium heat, until the onions are soft.

Add the garlic, jalapenos, anchos, chipotle and cumin; cook five minutes more. Stir in tomatoes, beans and tomato juice. Simmer about 45 minutes. Serve garnished with sour cream (if using), red onions and cilantro.

Serves 12

Alex Nunez, Forecast Earth Correspondent

This week marks the arrival of the Los Angeles Auto Show, which is a big deal thanks in part to the debuts of big-interest rides such as the 2010 Mustang and the new Nissan Z car. Automakers also like to trot out their green wares in Cali, which is why we'll see Ford also pull the wraps off the all-new Fusion, including a highly-anticipated hybrid version. As previously reported here, L.A. is also ground zero for the absurdly-timed "2009 Green Car of the Year" award.

While Chrysler has no new products in the pipeline and faces a future as uncertain as the rest of Detroit (a subplot underscored by GM's essentially backing out of the show in all meaningful ways), it's trotting out its three recently-unveiled EV concepts in la-la land. None of them are anywhere close to producion right now, but Chrysler says they're planning to put some sort of test fleet out next year. We'll have to wait to see if that really comes to pass, but in the interim, the Pentastar is going to milk the concepts for all they're worth.

Pulitzer Prize-winning L.A. Times auto scribe Dan Neil was on hand for a parking lot dog-and-pony show starring the all-electric Dodge EV sports car. In case you missed it, the Dodge EV is a Lotus Europa which has had its traditional 4-cylinder drivetrain replaced with a lithium ion battery back and an electric motor. It's essentially identical in concept to the Tesla Roadster (itself also derived from a Lotus sports car, the Elise).

Dodge decided to line up the EV against a knuckle-dragging, fire-breathing, 400+-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT8 that also just happened to be on scene. Neil's group had set up video and captured both races between the disparate performance cars. The EV proto takes both, but there's some question as to whether the Challenger was holding back (especially in race #2, as you'll see in the video below). Watch for yourself and see what you think, then feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts.

Speaking personally, I think the EV's cool and all, but if you want to know which one I'd rather have today, it's the Challenger. After all, it's the one that you can actually go to a dealer and buy -- you know, today.

Alex Nunez is associate editor of Autoblog.com

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent

Today NBC kicks off its second annual "Green Week," using its airwaves to send enviro-messages and filling up a diverting Web site with tips, tricks, and clips. Today Show viewers certainly noticed this morning that Matt, Meredith, Ann, and Al have been dispatched to "the ends of the earth" to report on how climate change is endangering the oceans and our water supplies. They've assured us that they've bought carbon offsets to cover those tens of thousands of air miles. This morning Meredith seemed painfully jet-lagged, but Al was positively giddy as he reported from Iceland's spectacular Gullfoss waterfall and explained how the glacial runoff that feeds it is threatened.

Watch for other NBC shows to sneak in green tips throughout the week. Online, it's car nut Jay Leno who gets the prime real estate, with seven videos from his famous garage highlighting some of his alternative fuel ideas. Among the tips provided at the site are the usual "drink draft beer," have a clothes swapping party, and "bring your own bag," but you may learn something new—and you're invited to provide your own tips—at the discussion board.

Alex Nunez, Forecast Earth Correspondent

Ford Motor Company

So, picking up where I left off yesterday, what vehicles are still eligible for the federal hybrid tax incentives? Edmunds Green Car Advisor's Scott Doggett helpfully lists them here. As you can see, it isn't as if the absence of Toyota, and soon, Honda, has dwindled the list to zero. For example, the 2-wheel-drive Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner/Mazda Tribute hybrid triplets (they're all the same vehicle) are good for $3,000 in incentive bucks. (The 4WD versions are eligible for less, but still upwards of 2 grand.)

On the car side, the Nissan Altima Hybrid's on there, but there's that pesky caveat that it's only available in eight states." The Saturn Aura and Chevy Malibu Hybrids are eligible for tax credits, but they're "light" hybrids (they can't run in electric-only mode), so smart shoppers should look at the four-cylinder gasoline versions first -- they're almost as good in terms of fuel economy and they cost less to begin with. Ditto the Saturn Vue Hybrid (that's Saturn's SUV), though next year they're scheduled to add a much more sophisticated 2 Mode version to the lineup.

And what of the Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon jumbo-sized truck hybrids? They're eligible for a $2,200 tax credit, but they're expensive -- starting at over $50,000. The 2 Mode system is impressive, but ultimately, the hybrid Tahoe and Yukon are niche vehicles, and at present, no one's buying them in great numbers.

So, while there are no tax credits left to be had on the most efficient hybrids, there are still credits to be had on a few others. Some may fit your needs. Some may not. More new hybrids are coming, too, and eventually the tax dollars will go away for good as more people buy these types of cars, pushing manufacturers past that 60,000 vehicle threshold. That's not a bad thing. It just means that hybrids, once viewed as novelties, are mainstream, and once something's mainstream, the argument for dangling tax dollars as an incentive to buy doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Alex Nunez is associate editor of Autoblog.com.

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent

Tomorrow, November 15, is America Recycles Day, a holiday of sorts created by the National Recycling Coalitition to remind us all how important recycling is not just one day a year but every day. Join in the fun by taking the five-point pledge to recycle and check to see if any big recycling events are coming to your state or town.

If you want to educate yourself or someone less enlightened than you, read for Recycling 101 to get the lowdown on how to recycle right and what the big payoffs are. The coalition contends that despite all the naysayers who believe that recycling is nothing more than a useless and ultimately inefficient exercise designed to make liberals feel good about their overconsumption, it really does help. In the past 20 years, curbside recycling programs have grown from a total of one to 10,000. Today we recycle 33 percent of our waste, a doubling over 15 years. If we were to recycle 10 percent more, the Coalition contends, we'd save enough energy to heat 1.5 million American homes for a year, provide electricity to 1.8 million Americans for a year, and save almost $1 billion worth of crude oil. Such stats are, of course, hard to prove, but they do make the case for scrupulous recycling. So pitch in tomorrow.

Alex Nunez, Forecast Earth Correspondent

Honda

Here's how the system works. When an automobile manufacturer sells its 60,000th hybrid, the federal tax credits previously associated with that company's hybrids begin to go away. They're first cut in half, then phased out entirely. This is why no Toyota hybrid has a tax incentive attached to it now, and is why no Honda hybrids will have one come January 1 of next year. This system has been in place for some time -- it's old news.

Over at Edmunds Green Car Advisor, writer Scott Doggett is fired up about it, because the looming expiration of the Honda hybrid incentives means that buyers of the forthcoming Honda Insight won't be getting any taxpayer-funded love. Dogget also points out that save for the Nissan Altima Hybrid, none of the remaining incentive-eligible hybrids mileage numbers come close to the Toyotas and Hondas that are either off or coming off the list.

I say, so what? Doggett thinks that people will be less inclined to buy a more fuel-efficient hybrid now because the tax incentive to do so is gone, and it's what helped ease the sting of the so-called "hybrid penalty" -- hybrids generally cost more than similar conventionally-powered vehicles. Recouping that cost through fuel savings obviously takes longer when there's no tax credit artificially lowering the overall purchase price. The whole "hybrid penalty" argument has never resonated with me. The cars cost what they cost -- if you're shopping with fuel economy in mind, you like the car, and it's within your budget, you pull the trigger. If the numbers don't work out, you look at something else. It's not as if you need to buy a hybrid to get something fuel-efficient. And people who desperately want a hybrid will probably get one no matter what.

When you think about it, the expiration of the tax credits is a good thing. It means that the goal on paper of getting more fuel-efficient vehicles on the streets has in fact, been achieved. After that, word of mouth from the customers driving and enjoying the cars helps promote them in a far more personal (and possibly more effective) manner.

The automakers aren't stupid either -- Honda is positioning the Insight to be the least-expensive hybrid on the market the moment it arrives. People remember what it was like over the summer when gas prices were peaking. They didn't need a price cut paid for by the American taxpayer to see that owning a fuel-efficient car has its benefits -- market forces (read: high gas prices) were the most effective incentive of all. I'm (very) out of room here today, but I'll pick up where I left off with some more thoughts on this general topic tomorrow. See ya then.

Alex Nunez is associate editor of Autoblog.com

James Hrynyshyn, Forecast Earth Correspondent

The International Energy Agency has just released the World Energy Outlook 2008. Although the agency's primary mandate is to keep an eye on trends in energy use, much of the report is devoted to the consequences of that use, and specifically climate change. It's hard to find any good news, beyond some tiny reductions in projected demand and associated fossil-fuel emissions. The thing to keep in mind when reading this sort of thing is that the IEA is traditionally a conservative bunch. Tree-hugging alarmists they ain't. (Not that that's a bad thing.)

A couple of excerpts should be enough to scare the bejeebers out of you if you aren't already on board the global warming bandwagon. First, following a description of two target emissions-reductions scenarios, one ambitious and one extremely ambitious, we are treated to the conclusion that:

"To reach either of these outcomes, hundreds of millions of households and businesses around the world would need to be encouraged to change the way they use energy. This will require innovative policies, an appropriate regulatory framework, the rapid development of a global carbon market and increased investment in energy research, development and demonstration."

It gets worse:

"... it is uncertain whether the scale of the transformation envisaged is even technically achievable, as the scenario assumes broad deployment of technologies that have not yet been proven. The technology shift, if achievable, would certainly be unprecedented in scale and speed of deployment. Increased public and private spending on research and development in the near term would be essential to develop the advanced technologies needed...

I actually don't share that pessimism. I think most of technologies are already well-advanced and ready to deploy. They're not perfect, but once unleashed with the proper government carrots and sticks, should be up to the task of transforming the energy-production universe. The real problem is political, at the top and bottom, of society.

The whole report is fairly big, but you can read the executive summary here.

Don Willmott , Forecast Earth Correspondent

Time magazine has released its annual list of the year's best inventions. Flip through the slide show and you're sure to be excited and inspired by the promise that many of these concepts and products hold. Among my favorites is the Biomechanical Energy Harvester, a knee brace that converts your every footstep into energy. Here's the write-up: "Wasting energy is so 20th century. Power is all around us, if we just know how to use it. That's what motivated Max Donelan, a kinesiologist at Simon Fraser University, to invent a device that harnesses the energy of walking. The 3.5-lb. device wraps around the wearer's knee and generates power using the same principle that allows hybrid cars to recycle energy created by braking. A walker wearing harvesters on both knees could generate about five watts of power — enough to charge 10 cell phones — without hampering his or her stride. Donelan's device is perhaps the most promising in a class of products that harvest energy — all the more important at a time when portable tech, from Blackberries to iPods, is becoming ubiquitous. There's not a watt to waste." While it may be years away from the commercial market, prototypes for military use are due next spring.

Imagine one minute of walking providing 30 minutes of cell phone talk time. Amazing. Take a look around Bionic Power, the Canadian company that developed this intriguing gizmo, to learn more about bionics in the real world and what the future holds.

Jay Weinstein, Forecast Earth Food Correspondent

When scientists report that the oceans are being depleted of fish, many people assume that those fish are all ending up on dinner plates somewhere. In a way they are, but not the way most people think. Twenty-five percent of the catch dies on the decks of fishing vessels before being summarily thrown back to sea as unwanted bycatch. Thirty-seven percent of the fish pulled from the seas are small feeder fish, the kind of fish that the large predators we prefer to eat rely on for food. These feeder fish are ground up and made into pellets for livestock and aquaculture operations.

As developing countries adopt American-style diets heavy in meat, demand for fishmeal feed is growing. This is yet another reason for us to start setting a different kind of example, valuing plant based diets as the sophisticated lifestyle choice of the future. With all of the fossil fuel inputs, pesticide-e and fertilizer-related ecological problems, encroachment of farmland into wildlife habitats, and now ocean depletion done in the name of abundant farmed meat, we are in a world where our meat-based diet is killing us. The alternatives are many, and they are excellent. The fact that most of humanity has thrived on mostly plant-based diets up until now is proof that those cuisines are a good basis for a diet. And the diversity of ingredients available to us today makes the culinary possibilities endless. Look for more sustainable recipes and cooking ideas here in the coming days and weeks.

Warm Oyster Mushroom Salad

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 Tbs. good quality balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. finely chopped shallots
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium red onions, peeled, cut into 12" rings
½ pound oyster mushrooms ("pleurots"), root ends trimmed, in small bunches
6 ounces frisee, chicory or other resilient salad green

Whisk together 2 Tbs. olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and shallots; season with salt and pepper.
Heat a grill, stovetop grill pan, or broiler. Toss the oyster mushrooms and onions, separately, with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper, and grill or broil separately. The mushrooms will cook quickly—in about 2 minutes. The onions will take longer—about 5 minutes. Spoon some of the dressing onto the hot mushrooms and onions, and use the rest to dress the greens. Arrange the hot vegetables atop the greens and serve.

Serves 4

Note: I'm happy to report that the National Organics Program's (NOP) standards have been updated to require greater access to pasture for ruminant animals. This new rule will mean that animals cannot be confined for every hour of every day in an indoor pen on hard concrete. It's a step toward the type of conditions that all compassionate people would expect of their food suppliers. How long will it be before these basic standards of decency are applied to all livestock, not just organic livestock, which represent only a tiny fraction of the animals we raise for food?

James Hrynyshyn, Forecast Earth Correspondent

Warning: This post discusses "alarmist" climate science by James Hansen.

NASA's chief climate scientist has finally gotten what he probably hopes will be considered a seminal paper in the annals of climatology published in a peer-reviewed journal. "Target Atmospheric CO₂: Where Should Humanity Aim?" appears in The Open Atmospheric Science Journal, a relatively new addition to the library and one with a considerably lower reputation than the journals you might expect someone with Hansen's stature to publish, such as Science or Nature. Hansen reports that Science rejected the paper because "it had already been published on blogs and discussed in the media."

The published paper is pretty much the same as the previously discussed version, with a few small changes. For example, Hansen and his nine co-authors originally wrote that it was falling atmospheric CO₂ levels hit 425 parts per million, give or take 75 ppm, that triggered the creation of polar ice sheets 50 million years ago, and so they suggested we should try to bring today's CO₂ level of 385 ppm down to 350. The final paper revises those numbers to 450 ppm +/- 100 ppm. The bottom line is the same, though. Among the most salient obversations is this one:

"Sea level changes of several meters per century occur in the paleoclimate record in response to forcings slower and weaker than the present human-made forcing."

Climate Progress blogger Joe Romm has already pointed out one possible weakness in the paper when it comes to its value as a driver of policy. Hansen et al write that "This target must be pursued on a timescale of decades, as paleoclimate and ongoing changes, and the ocean response time, suggest that it would be foolhardy to allow CO₂ to stay in the dangerous zone for centuries," advice that is frustratingly vague. It's OK to let CO₂ levels hit 450 or so, but we aren't told just how long they can sit there before we must bring them down to 350. This is because we just don't know enough about planetary ecology.

But that shouldn't stop Congress and the new president from recognizing the inherent danger in delaying the inevitable transformation of our society. As Hansen et al warn: "Preservation of a climate resembling that to which humanity is accustomed ... requires that most remaining fossil fuel carbon is never emitted to the atmosphere."

And for those who ignored the warning at the top of this post, and are tempted to object to an uncritical review of a paper with a lead author who dares to venture outside his laboratory environment to offer policy advice, please note that he's not alone. Whatever you think of Hansen, you can't dismiss that fact that his nine co-authors are respectable scientists from respectably institutions, including: The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA), Columbia University, University of Sheffield (UK), Yale University, Universite de Versailles, (France), Boston University, Wesleyan University, and University of California, Santa Cruz.

Their paper is freely available online here.