opinion

An op-ed on air pollution at the former PES Refinery from the United South/Southwest Coalition for Healthy Communities It would seem our state is having a bit of an environmental justice “moment.” In October, Governor Wolf and lawmakers announced the...

First a disclaimer: I won't stray too far from the 'green' theme on today's blog post. Just let me take a minute to get there. Yesterday, my Facebook news feed was filled with Miley Cyrus updates. At lunch, I dropped off a huge bag of donations at Goodwill and then went inside to peruse. (Did I mention I scored a $3 unused french press?!?) As I was enjoying the thrift shop like Macklemore, I overheard one shopper’s tirade about how Cyrus’ ‘career is RUINED” and she is an absolute terrible human being. This morning on the Today Show, Matt Lauer & others once again discussed if “just being Miley” crossed the line yet again. OK, I understand that Miley was performing the “song of the summer”, which is essentially about getting laid. (In the ‘equal rights’ category, does anyone blame Thicke for his lyrics? Did everyone block their memories of Britney Spears wearing a snake or the Janet Jackson/JT superbowl moments?) I won’t get into my full opinion on this issue, although I can’t quite understand why anyone over the age of 15 watches the MTV music/VMA/movie awards. But there is something more disturbing here. The Onion summed it up pretty well: as the day journalism was overtaken by Miley Cyrus. CNN’s top headline was twerking. I now would like to bring in the important question: Why? (Find out how I related Miley's latest scandal to the environment, after the jump.)

“Ugh, I hate grocery shopping,” complained my dental hygienist. “I want to buy the healthy food but it’s so much more expensive than the crap.” I realize that this is the perception of so many Americans. Although I frequent Whole Foods, I typically stick to a list or create a budget before heading over. After all, “Whole Paycheck” is the infamous knock that ain’t so far from the truth. Do I shop at Whole Foods or farmer's markets 100% of the time? No. But I’ve been thinking a lot lately about  the "cost" of food versus the cost of “food.” Find out more about the cost of food, after the jump!