ReanneLacosta

HonorsBiology
LesleyAnderson
March.02.16

EatingGreen
Howcaneatinginecofriendlyrestaurantshelpreduceourcarbonfootprint?

Atypicalenvironmentalistisknowntobeatreehuggers,vegetarians,protestersandin
somecasesunhygienicyetMerriamWebsterdefinesanenvironmentalistas
apersonwho
workstoprotectthenaturalworldfrompollutionandotherthreats.Withthisdefinitioninmind,
wemustallbeenvironmentalistsduetotheearthscurrentstate.Thisdoesntmeanweallmust
attendprotestswherewefighttosavethewilderness,ornotwashourhairtosavewater,but
insteadwemusttakeintoconsiderationthemarkweareleavingonthisearth.
Wecanbeenvironmentalistsbybeingwiseabouttheenergyandpowerusedathome,
carpooling,takingpublictransportation,gettinginformedandgettinginvolvedaresomewaysto
staygreen.Anotherwaytoachievethisisbybeingawareofwhatyoueatandwhereyoueat
from.Makingsmartdecisionsaboutwhereyoueatappliestobothathomeandoutsideofhome.
Nowadays,therearevariousdifferentsustainablerestaurantsthataredoingtheirpartin
preventingclimatechange.Byeatinginecofriendlyrestaurantsthatsupportlocalandorganic
farming,allenergyefficiency,onlyservewateruponrequest,haverecyclingprogramsandare
overallawareoftheirimpactsontheworld,weareallhelpingourearthandbeingourown
definitionofenvironmentalists.

WhyisEcotourismImportant?
Overthepastcoupleofyears,globalwarminghasbecomemorepresentinmainstream
news,butitsaproblemthathasbeenoccurringforcenturies.Environmentalistshavebeen
livinglifewithagoalofreducingtheircarbonfootprints,butnowitsimportantthatallpeople
dothesame.TheNatureConservancyexplainshowacarbonfootprintismeasuredby
going
aboutourdailylivescommuting,shelteringourfamilies,eating.
Weareallcontributingtoclimatechangewhetherintentional,ornot.TheNature
ConservancyevenhasaCarbonFootprintCalculatorontheirwebsite,sovisitorscanseeexactly
howmanytonsofTotalGreenhouseEmissionsyoucontributetoinayear.Thecalculator
worksbyaskingaseriesofquestionsbasedonwhereyoulive,whattypesoflightingyouuse,
howmuchwateryouwaste,howyoutraveltoworkorschool,andyourdiet(TheNature
Conservancy).
Nevertheless,wecandecideonwaystoreducethatnumberbymakingdecisionsinour
homes,inthewayswetravel,thefoodsweeatandevenwhatwedecidetopurchase(TheNature
Conservancy).Thismeansyourcontributiontoreducingclimatechangecanbeaseasyas
changingthelightbulbsinyourhome,takingshortershowersridingyourbiketoschoolorwork
andeveneatinglocalandorganicproduce.

GreenhouseGases
Firstitsimportanttounderstandgreenhousegases.Greenhousegases,aregasesthattrap
heatintheatmosphere,causingglobalwarming.The
UnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtection
Agency(EPA),
explainsthattherearethreemaintypesofgases:carbondioxide(CO
2
),methane

(CH
4
),andnitrousoxide(N
2
O).Allofthesegasesaredirectlyemittedbyhumans,throughthe
burningoffossilfuels[...]excesswateruse[...]agriculturalactivitiesandnaturalbiological
processes(EPA).
Throughthepast2,000years,EPArecordedtheincreaseingreenhousegas(GHG)
concentrationsintheatmosphere.Infigure1,allthreegasesshowedaspikeinthegraph
showingadramaticchangeontheearth.TheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencystatesthatthe
dramaticescalationinbeginsaroundtheyear1750duetohumanactivitiesintheindustrial
era.Therapidgrowthwascausedbyhumanactivities,meaningshouldtakeresponsibilityfor
theiractionsandattempttoreverseitaswell.

Figure1:GraphcreatedbyTheUnitedStatesEnvironmentalProtectionAgencytoshowtheincreaseingreenhousegas(GHG)
concentrationsintheatmosphereoverthepast2,000years.EPA:Concentrationunitsarepartspermillion(ppm)orpartsper
billion(ppb),indicatingthenumberofmoleculesofthegreenhousegaspermillionorbillionmoleculesofair.

Byeatingatanecofriendlyrestaurant,versusacommercialrestaurant,customersare
contributingtoacompanywhoisattemptingtoreducetheircarbonfootprint.Thesecompanies
recycle,whichisreducingtheamountoffossilfuelsbeingburnedsupportlocalfarms,whichis

reducingenergybeingspentontransportationusingrenewableenergy,tocutdownon
electricitythatisbeingused,andalltheycandotoreducetheeffectsofclimatechange.

EcoFriendlyRestaurantsofSanDiego
Tochoosethebestrestaurantstofittheconstraintsofecotourism,studentsdidthorough
researchoneachcompanytofindthebestSanDiegohadtooffer.ItwasdecidedtovisitMistral
RestaurantandLeroysKitchenandLoungeontheCoronadoIsland,andKPastaandSea180
CoastalTaverninImperialBeach.Asstudentsvisitedthecompanies,theygottomeetdifferent
representativestointerview,fromgeneralmanagerstoheadchefs.
FarthestSouth,webeginwithSea180CoastalTaverninImperialBeach.Studentschose
thisrestaurantbecauseitwasagreatexampleofhowlocalcompaniespartneruptobenefitone
another.InaninterviewwithMishkaRomanski,theGeneralManager,studentslearnedthatthe
restaurantworkswithuptofourdifferentestablishments:
SuziesFarm,GoGreen,SadieRose,
SantaMonicaseafood(Gomez).Bypartneringwithlocalbusinesses,Sea180isreducingthe
energythatwouldnormallybeusedtoimportspecificingredients.
StudentsalsochosetovisitKPasta,anotherrestaurantinImperialBeach.Thisbusiness
isalsolocatedquiteneartotheTijuanaRiverEstuary,alongwithitsnationalpark.Theestuary
workslikeaspongetokeeptrashoutofthePacificOcean,andisveryvitaltothecommunity.
Forthatreason,KPastamakesdifferentimprovementsontheirbusinesstocutdownontheir
waste(Smith).Therestaurantusesrecycledtogocontainers,paperbagsandevencontinuethe
artofcookingentirelyfromscratch,allinthehopesofhelpingtheircommunity.

MoreNorth,wefindourselvesinatLeroysKitchen,ontheCoronadoIsland.Here,
studentgotthechancetointerviewChefTimothyKolanko.Kalankoisafirmbelieverinlocal
andathomefarmingandevensharedhisexperienceswiththestudents.Heexplains,thatthe
moreyoustartcookingandthecloseryougettounderstandingtheingredients,thebetteryou
understandsomethingyou'reworkingwith,thebetteryouareatutilizingit,andthebestwayto
understanditistogofurtherbacktothesource.(qtd.Montano).
Finally,studentsalsoventuredtoMinstalRestaurant,intheLoewsCoronadoBayResort.
Atthislocation,interviewees,DeanGriffinandAlexPalacio,spokeabouthowtheircompany
conserveswater.InCalifornia,itsimportantthatcitizensdotheirpartaswetrytoreducethe
effectsofthedrought.Whenguestsvisittherestaurants,theyllnoticethatwaterisonlyserved
uponrequestinhopestopreservewhatwedohave.
Studentsdidtheirpartinsearchingforrestaurantsthatareviewedasecotourism,andthe
hopeisthatothercompaniesfollowtheirexample.Itsimportantthatallcompaniesstartto
realizethattheyhavethechancetoreducetheircarbonfootprint,butthiswontbeaspresent
untilconsumersstartdemanding.DeanGriffin,HotelManagerofLoewsstates,that...youcan
makeanimpactforgenerationstocome.(qtd.Sandoval).

WaystoStayInvolved
Thecontributorsof
FindingEco
alsowantforourreaderstobeabletofindnew,
sustainableandecotouristicrestaurantstoenjoyaswell.JessicaHarlan,withRecycleBank,has
createdalistofwaystotellifarestaurantisbeinganexampleofecotourism(SeeFig.2).

8WaystoTellifaRestaurantis
EcoFriendly
1.

Serveswateronlyonrequest

2.

Listslocalfarmsonthemenu

3.

Usesrecycledorrecyclabletogo
containers

4.

IsinaLEEDcertifiedbuilding

5.

Usesclothnapkinsandtablecloths

6.

Hasagreenrestroom

7.

Servessustainableseafood

8.

Servesorganicfood

Figure2:JessicaHarlan,fromRecycleBanks,listof
8WaystoTellifaRestaurantisEcoFriendly.
Thelistwascreatedtohelp
bothHarlanandherreadersdifferentiateecofriendlyrestaurantsfromcommercialrestaurants.

ThelistbeginswithonerequirementthatisespeciallyimportantforCaliforniaresidents:
servingwateronlyuponrequest.Duetodroughtcircumstances,itsimportanttosaveasmuch
wateraspossible(Harlan).Thenextnecessityisarisingthemeinrestaurantsandurbancultures:
Listinglocalfarmsonthemenuandservingorganicfood.Harlanexplainshowlocalfarmsoften
use
fewerchemicalfertilizers,pesticidesandmedicationsthanindustrialagricultureoperations,
andrequirelessenergytotransportthefood.
Thethirdrequirementinvolvesrecycling,which
hasbeenprominentthroughtheyears,butecofriendlyrestaurantstakeittothenextlevel:using
recycledor
recyclabletogocontainers.Recycledmaterialsoftenbiodegrade,andarealsoagreat
waytoreusepostconsumerwaste.Inthepast,styrofoamwasoftenusedastogocontainers,but
theWashingtonUniversityinSt.Louisexplainshowusingpolystyrenealsoknownas
styrofoamisnotonlyharmfultotheenvironment,butisalsoharmfultoworkersexposedto
chemicalsduringthemanufacturingofstyrofoam.

Onemajorandapparentrequirementtoknowifarestaurantisecofriendlyistocheckif
theyareLEEDCertified.ToearnaLEEDCertification,Harlanexplainshowabuildingmust
bedesigned,builtandfurnishedinawaythatissustainable,fromusinglesswaterandenergyto
minimizingwaste,andmore.Finally,theauthorsuggeststocheckiftherestaurantisserving
sustainableseafoodtocheckifthecompanyisdisplayingecotourism.Thismeansthatthe
companywillseekoutandserveonlyfishthatiscaughtorraisedviasustainable,earthfriendly
means,andwillnotserveseafoodthatisindangerofbeingoverfished.(Harlan).

TakingOurOwnAdvice
UsingJessicaHarlansrequirements,wecaninvestigatewhetherthestudentsofFinding
Ecotrulychoseecofriendlyrestuarantstostudy.Interviewsorganizedbystudents,visitstothe
companies,andrestaurantwebsiteswereallusedtoconductthisstudy.
BothSea180andMistalRestaurantmetalleightrequirementsonthelist,withKPasta
andLeroysKitchenfollowingcloselybehind,meetingsixoutoftheeightrequirements(seefig.
3).BothofthelatterrestaurantsmissedServeswateruponrequestand
IsinaLEEDcertified
building.
Overall,allfourrestaurantshadacommongoal:tocreateaplacethatservesdelicious,
ecofriendlydishestohelpourplanet.


Figure3:Datachartshowingthenumberofrequirementseachrestaurantmeets,accordingtoJessicaHarlans
8Ways
toTellifaRestaurantisEcoFriendly.
Restaurantswerechosentostudyby
thestudentsof
FindingEco
.

Conclusion
Itsimportantforcommunitiestoworktogethertoreducetheircarbonfootprints.This
caneasilybedonebythoughtfullychoosingsomethingaseasyaswheretoeat.JessicaHarlans
requirementscaneasilybefollowedtofindnew,sustainableandecofriendlyrestaurants.By
supportinglocalrestaurants,communitiesarecontributingtothegreatergood.Together,wecan
allbeenvironmentalistsaswecutdowncarbonemissions,andcreateabetterfutureforour
generationandgenerationstocome.

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