The May issue is out there. It’s our ‘green’ issue, though I don’t like to fall into this sort of theme-ish thinking when it comes to the earth we live on, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.
Coming from a generation that I have often felt was one big chemistry experiment–a group of people that were exposed to more toxins than one could ever hope to encounter outside of a laboratory–the idea of a clean, natural planet Earth is near and dear to me.
Read our stories on the Eco-friendly cleaners and green products from the co-op. (I don’t know if my uncle who owned a dry-cleaners had three kidneys before he ran the business, but he did at the end of his life.)
Don’t miss Anna Miller’s pieces on community supported agriculture and wind power, two very real and immediate ways to nurture nature.
And now that dandelions are cropping up all over town, check out our City’s green voice in the BRM interview with UB Green’s Walter Simpson, half of which is online here. The man most definitely walks the walk. Also, if anyone knows that weed-killer recipe that involves mouthwash and beer, post it in comments. What a way to go, huh?
Read the landbanking story by all means. It is something the city is facing, and the concept is genius. LISC is doing their best to try to get a landbanking authority going here, some entity that would ultimately oversee the funds and land parcels as well as the ultimate marketing. It’s a hard theory to wrap one’s mind around initially, but once it sinks in, it makes so much sense to right-size or consolidate communities in order to make larger parcels available for future development…or not.
In our YUM section, I dare you to read Christa’s bit on salsa and not go to the farmers’ market for fresh goodies to make your own. Every single thing Christa writes about shows up in the office for photographing and tasting. I’m still recovering from her butter piece, love it when she writes about chocolate (truffles with red pepper), and am bracing myself against the time she decides to explore bacon.
As I drove down Elmwood today after delivering my baby to her SAT’s, I looked down every perpendicular street running east of Elmwood. The sun was at a sharp angle and it showed a halo of green buds around each and every tree. Green. It’s my favorite color.
David Steele
Architect ( a real one, not just the armchair type), author of "Buffalo, Architecture in the American Forgotten Land" ( www.blurb.com ), lover of great spaces, hater of sprawl and waste, advocate for a better way of doing things.