Your New Greenwashed Government

According to two different articles from today's Treehugger, both the U.S. Capitol and the CIA Headquarters are trying to be more environmentally friendly.

Now speaking as someone who had to work at the Capitol (a few years ago) the move towards sustainability was way overdue. I mean, where do I start?

• Every staffer gets takeout from the cafeteria in plastic containers (no. 7 or No. 4..if I remember correctly)- All non-recyclable.
• The lighting fixtures date from the 1930s to the 1970s when the last significant building and renovations were done.
• Oh, yeah and the mini-power plant that generates power for the Hill (including the Library of Congress and the the Supreme Court) is a coal fire system thanks to the lasting political power of Sen. Byrd (D-WV).

Well now the Pelosi led congress is trying to do something about it, which is great and they seem to be off to a good start. But the CAO (which is in charge of the project) needs to remember that there are a lot of deep changes to the system to be made up there, both in terms of infrastructure and human behavior (including breaking a habit of waste).

Now in terms of the CIA, I really don't know much about their system or their culture. But it seems like a pretty unambitious plan.

[Treehugger.com]

Cats' Eating Junk Food

The nice people over at Discovery Channel's Planet Green

have an article on additives in cat food. According to Discovery, most commercial supermarket pet foods are largely made from fillers and waste products from the commercial meat industry.

"In fact, the animals used to make many pet foods are classified as “4-D,” which is really a polite way of saying “Dead, Dying, Diseased, or Down (Disabled)” when they line up at the slaughterhouse. Unless that can of Chicken ‘N Liver Delite explicitly states that it contains FDA-certified, food-grade meat, you should know that its contents are considered unfit for human consumption—but apparently good enough for your cat or pooch."

Not surprising that given last year's pet food additives scare many more people are switching to organically certified pet foods.

BTW: Toby our editor in chief eats Innova feline diet*

*when not enjoying the occasional stolen goldfish cracker