JASON J. CZARNEZKI

I have done a significant amount of work on food eco-labeling and programs to change consumer diets to be more environmentally friendly. This included a trip to be a guest researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden which led to a paper (http://ssrn.com/abstract=1645860) and a forthcoming book chapter. While in Uppsala I interviewed employees as the Swedish National Food Administration (NFA) and a major organic certification organization. Sweden’s NFA produced an amazing new set on environmentally friendly dietary guidelines, but the Swedish government became concerned about the EU response. It seems Sweden’s progressive effort is now dead. Here is the blurb in Swedish and the Google Translated Version from
http://www.dn.se/blogg/matbloggen/2011/09/09/rad-om-mat-stoppas/.

Råd om mat stoppas
Skrivet av Jens Linder 08:09, 9 september 2011 i kategori Allmänt Regeringen stoppar livsmedelsverkets råd, som bland annat skulle ha rekommenderat folk att köpa och äta mindre kött och mer närodlad mat, därför att andra EU haft klagomål på att råden skulle bli
handelshinder. Ett deprimerande beslut som dels visar hur lite makt vi har över vår mat här i Sverige, dels att business-tanken i EU är extremt kortsiktig. Om alla länder i EU konsumerade en kärna av närodlad mat, då skulle transporter, bränsleutgång och miljöbelastning minska, vi få bättre mat och en mindre känslig infrastruktur vid kriser. Men inget av detta finns tydligen med i kalkylen. Man skulle kunna tycka att regeringen åtminstone skulle ha sjösatt projektet och väntat på legala aktioner från andra länder, så att det hela skulle fått en EU-rättslig prövning. Ska vi vara så rädda för att hävda våra ståndpunkter?

Advice about food stops
Written by Jens Linder 08:09, 9 September 2011 in category General The government stops the NFA council, which among other things, would have recommended people to buy and eat less meat and more locally grown food, because other EU had complaints that the advice would be to trade. A depressing decisions and shows how little power we have over our food here in Sweden, and the business idea in Europe is extremely short-sighted. If all countries in the EU consumed a core of locally produced food, then transportation, fuel output and reduce environmental impact, we have better food and a less critical infrastructures during crises. But none of this is apparently included in the calculation. One would think that at least the government would have launched the project and waiting for legal action from other countries, so that the whole thing would have an EU justice. Should we be so afraid to argue our positions?

OK…Yes, I successfully won the lottery for Phish tickets. The band is doing a concert to raise money for flood victims in Vermont. I’m excited to help a good cause and see a Vermont icon in Vermont. But you see, I’m a relative newcomer to VT and I’ve never been to a Phish concert. What should I know?

Only in my home state of Wisconsin does Packers pregame edge out the President, do schools close at early for a 8:30pm game, and the bars open at 9am. The Green Bay Packers play tonight for the opening game of the NFL Season. Between the first-place Brewers, the promising Badgers football team, and World Champion Packers, little work is getting done in Milwaukee, Green Bay and the rest of the state. The level of interest in sports in the Midwest is just so much greater than in New England and certainly Vermont. And since my blog is picked up by a number of avenues, you’ll just have to bear with this non-law, non-environmental, non-political post. Go Packers.

http://chinaenvironmentalgovernance.com/2011/09/08/china-goes-eco-communist-on-car-manufacturers/

This is a very interesting Op-Ed about why Al Gore doesn’t have the credibility to criticize Obama since Gore was equally timid on environmental issues when he was running for President. The piece also lays out why sprawl is a driver for many environmental and energy concerns in the U.S.

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/08/26/why-al-gore-is-off-base-criticizing-president-obama-as-timid

Gore rebukes Obama – Ben Smith – POLITICO.com
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0911/Gore_rebukes_Obama.html?showall

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-china-legal-cooperation-fund-announces-new-grants-2011-08-29

http://vtdigger.org/2011/09/05/officials-visit-battered-pocket-of-south-royalton/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/business/global/china-changes-direction-on-car-sales.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=china&st=cse

Now that water has receded and some roads are passable, Vermonters are beginning to see the full scope of the destruction and flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Irene was brutal and her damage uneven. We were largely unaffected in Montpelier, with some downtown business being hit hard. South Royalton, home of Vermont Law School, suffered $10 million in damage and many colleagues and students literally lost everything. While the last Vermont town that was completely cut-off was reached by ATVs on Friday, some Vermonters still cannot get out of their homes. And yesterday, we drove through Waterbury, located just north of Montpelier. The downtown district and nearby homes were near completely destroyed. The insides of entire homes lay piled upon the streets…appliances, toys, clothes, insulation, dry wall. It will take Vermont years to recovers, and, with winter quickly approaching (it could snow next month), many basic road and bridge fixes cann;t get done this seasons. Many grade schools are still closed and may not open for weeks, schools lost all their art supplies and pianos, and the state office buildings in Waterbury are closed indefinitely having suffered over $4 million in damage. I would like to make the following announcement:

FEMA Support from Vermont Law School the Land Use Clinic
The Land Use Clinic is assisting community members with FEMA forms, insurance claims, and other property damage-related Irene help. For more information, call 802-831-1028 or go to the law school library between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday or between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.