To anyone familiar with Achewood, the very first panel of the Jan. 31 strip will likely induce anticipatory giggles, or even guffaws: Ray, the cat in the thong, is in almost every way the polar opposite of Pat, a fact that becomes evident in the ensuing argument about exactly how composting should be done - an argument that somehow leads to Ray convincing John Mackey to have helicopters fly over potato fields reading People magazine aloud.

Ray and Pat's spat could have been avoided if both had sat down at a proper composting conference and got their facts straight. And if a composting conference sounds like something that would only happen in the exaggerated-piety world of Achewood, think again: A week from today, on Feb. 10, the PA Horticultural Society will host Compost Matters, a conference devoted to just that topic that will be held at the American Philosophical Society in Old City. Here's some of the details:

With a focus on new developments in food-waste composting practices, the forum will bring together innovators, policy makers, and visionaries in the field, examining current barriers to food waste recovery, public policy issues, and successful models from the region and around the state. The conference is geared toward sustainability professionals from local governments, institutions, and businesses; municipal and state officials; and the interested public. Participants will learn about current opportunities for composting food waste and how to include food recovery efforts in their operations. Tours of local composting sites will be offered on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning, February 13.

Keynote speaker Will Allen received a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2008 for his efforts to promote sustainable farming in low-income neighborhoods. Allen is CEO of Growing Power, a national nonprofit organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that supports the development of community food systems.

Find more information and register for the conference here.

Miss Pennsvylvania, Shannon Doyle, suggests Brita pitchers as an eco-idea.

You’ve got to give it to Miss America Pageant for always trying to find a way to stay relevant at a time when beauty pageants have been upstaged by reality TV shows.

This year, the pageant is "going green." There’s even a contest in which contestants are asked for their suggestions on how to make the country a more ecologically friendly place.

Miss Pennsylania Shannon Doyle suggests that people “purchase a Brita pitcher rather than buying case after case of water bottles that are most likely not biodegradable.” If you like what she has to say, you can vote for her on www.greenTwithTamara.TV - or if not, for one of the other 2010 Miss America contestants.

Miss New Jersey Ashley Shaffer suggests that pageant girls save up their empty MAC cosmetic containers and turn them in to get free products, and Miss Delaware Heather Lehman likes using shoe boxes for gift boxes at Christmas. Whichever contestant garners the most points wins a host of eco-friendly prizes.

“The 2010 Miss America contestants have embraced their passion for green issues whether it be clean air, clean fuel, or clean water by personally taking their own steps to help conserve resources, recycle and reuse materials in their own lives,” explained Tamara Henry, an eco TV host who interviews each contestant. “I think people will find the interviews fun, creative, educational and inspiring!”

Maybe these ideas won't do much to change the world, but at least this focus spares us from hearing answers about how important "world peace" and "understanding" are.

You have until tomorrow, when the Miss America Pageant is broadcast on TLC, to cast your vote for your favorite green contestant.

Here's today's Daily News Editorial, about the importance of fresh, wholesome food in urban areas: 

IN SOME WAYS, it's no surprise that local grocer Jeff Brown was Michelle Obama's guest of honor at last night's State of the Union address. The first lady, who is championing fresh food with a White House vegetable garden, would naturally be a fan of Brown's Shop Rite stores. Brown has brought a number of his supermarkets into poorer neighborhoods that traditionally must rely on high-priced bodegas and convenience stores.

This may seem a small thing, but it's revolutionary for a number of reasons: It ensures that poor urban neighborhoods have access to fresh produce and fresh foods. Those healthier choices can help fight both hunger and obesity among populations that often are forced into less nutritional options - gleaming new supermarkets with well-stocked produce departments have often steered clear of them.

The bigger surprise is that the call came from the Obama administration's Office of Urban Affairs. We hope this means there will be new energy put to an agenda that recognizes that while cities have challenges, they also have great strengths.

Rep. Dwight Evans, an early champion of the fresh-food initiative, also deserves a shout-out for this local accomplishment. *

From BetterPlace.com

Electric cars have been around since the end of the 19th century, but their numbers have never been great.

Well, today General Motors announced its intention to be the first major automaker to design and manufacture electric car motors here in the U.S. Earlier the company had announced a plan to make lithium-ion batteries in Michigan.

This might well be considered the tipping point where the phenomenon of the electric car moves from the realm it's always existed in - a feasible "boutique" technology unsuited for everyday mass usage - to the realm of the practical, the doable, the everyday. It could be a few short years before electrics on the road are as common as hybrids - a wild-eyed rarity back at the beginning of this century.

Manufacturing is, of course, only part of the equation: For people to rely on electric cars, there have to be reliable ways to recharge, especially if one runs out of charge when not at home. That conundrum also reached a potential tipping point recently, as Better Place, the world's leading EV service provider, hasjust announced the raising of $350 Million to be devoted to the promulgation of electric-car charging stations. That's a pretty big vote of confidence for the mainstreaming of electric vehicles.

As this Treehugger post notes, future breakthroughs in battery technology could "reduce Better Place's advantage," but for now this is a big jump for both that company and the technology at large. However it plays out as electrics proliferate in the culture over time, it's worth noting their willingness to get out in front and, shall we say, lead the charge.

Indie band Clare and the Reasons, coming to World Cafe Live Friday, Jan. 22, need your help finding a good meal in Philly.

The band, touring with Nouvelle Vague, is working with Alter Eco Fair Trade, a San Francisco-based Fair Trade food brand, on what's been dubbed the "Healthy Road Trip Challenge": to find local fresh, organic local produce and meats for band members and roadies to cook with on tour - an activity not know to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Suggest your faves at clareandthereasons.com. Find out more about the Reasons' Philly gig at www.worldcafelive.com.

Here's today's DN Editorial. Come out at 6 if you can.

TONIGHT, THE newly formed Commission on Parks and Recreation meets in public for the first time. This is a command performance for anyone who is a) a lover of the parks; b) a lover of the city; c) a voter who helped contribute to this amazing development by voting to create this new body.

It's also close to the hearts of this editorial board, which provided scrutiny of Fairmount Park and its governance in 2001. After detailing the history that had transformed parts of this 9,700-acre urban gem into a cash-starved graveyard for trash, abandoned cars and public neglect, we championed dissolving the existing commission, merging the Parks and Recreation departments, and making the mayor more accountable for its health. City Council members Darrell Clarke and Blondell Reynolds-Brown created the legislation.

It took eight years, but now, with Michael DiBerardinis overseeing Parks and Recreation, a 15-member commission drawn from park and public-space advocates, and heightened public commitment to our city's shared assets, the future looks much brighter.

But the parks still need you - more than ever. Tonight's meeting will be at the Horticulture Center in West Park at 6 p.m.

Local boy makes good on the evening news!!!  Katie Couric will be interviewing Steve McDonnell, the founder of Applegate Farms in Buckingham, about how he raises their animals without antibiotics.  The segment, about the overuse of antibiotics in industrial farming, will air on the CBS Evening News January 20 and 21.

As a "New Hope Farmers' Market News" email that was forwarded to me noted, the vast majority of antibiotics used on farms are given to healthy animals. It goes on:

Antibiotics are often fed to livestock to help them grow faster.  However, the antibiotics have created increasing resistances in some animals to antibiotics, and have allowed diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and staph to morph into strains that are more resistant to medicine.  These resistances are then passed on to humans as they eat the drug-resistant pork, chicken, and beef around their dinner tables.

Antibiotic resistances are no trivial matter.  Many diseases are much more difficult to cure if a person has developed resistances to some standard antibiotics. This year, the World Health Organization stated that antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest threats to human health.

Tune in to learn about this issue and more.

Following up on his promise to cast a skeptical eye on the city's bike-lane report, DN columnist Stu Bykofsky yesterday cast, well, a skeptical eye on the city's bike-lane report.

Maybe "jaundiced" is more descriptive of how it turned out, because Stu essentially tarred the "pro-bike lane" report as fraudulent, for several stated reasons.

For one, he took issue with the city accepting numbers from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, which Stu believes is "like letting a defense attorney buy the jury lunch." For another, he was aghast that the city did not count cars at key intersections during rush hour.

Either of these might very well be valid concerns (see below on the Bicycle Coalition one), but in his signature style, Stu pushed it all further. He implied sinister motives in the timing and placement of the report's release. He pronounced bikes to be "dangerous" -- apparently unlike, say, cars. He focused on supposedly damning details, such as that "most bikers are male" (wait, I thought you were on our side, Stu!) and that "83 percent of Philadelphians who commute by bike live within a four-mile radius of City Hall. In other words, walking distance."

Four miles is a walkable commute? From Front Street to West Philly? From Broad and Oregon to Temple University? That's not one I'd want to undertake twice daily unless I had all the time in the world and was in need of a simple fitness regimen.

At any rate, Alex Doty of the Bicycle Coalition responded with a letter that will run in next week's paper, but he (and the Letters Editor) agreed, when I called him for comment, that I could cite it here. It follows after the jump.

»  More Road warrior vs. lane-brains

Louisa Shafia, author of cookbook "Lucid Food"

You'll have a whole new perspective when you open your refrigerator after reading this story about Philly-born Louisa Shafia, a seasoned cook (at New York's Aquavit, among others) who says there's much more to eco-conscious eating than organics and local ingredients. Read on for some great tips ­- and click through for more, plus recipes and a related fitness column from Kimberly Garrison.

ARE YOU COOKING with a clear conscience?

When it comes to guilt-free eating, the concept should extend beyond overindulging in fried foods and rich desserts. It's possible to "green your cuisine," according to Louisa Shafia, Philly-born author of "Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life" (Ten Speed Press, $22.50), by making Earth-friendly food choices, sourcing animal products ethically, buying local to reduce your carbon footprint, gardening and more.

Shafia, who'll sign books at Terrain at Styers in Glen Mills on Saturday and do a cooking class at Reading Terminal's Cucina at the Market on Jan. 21, founded a New York-based catering operation called Lucid Food in 2004. A 2001 graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, her foodie sensibility was honed at high-profile eateries in Manhattan and San Francisco.

"I did an internship at Millennium, which is an amazing fine-dining vegan restaurant in San Francisco," said the Germantown Friends and University of Pennsylvania graduate. "I saw that not only did they work with local farms and use organic foods and wine, they composted all their kitchen food waste. I'd never seen the connection to nature so integrated into a restaurant's philosophy before."

Back in New York, she worked at Aquavit, where she saw a similar philosophy at work. Observing chefs who avoided wastefulness and respected the environment influenced how she wanted to run her own catering business.

»  More Eco-consciousness freshens the kitchen