Scoby Slime a Sustainable, Edible Packaging Possibility

As single-use plastic waste continues to pile up, packaging solutions comprised of alternative materials are in high demand. While recycled material offers the opportunity for adaptive reuse, options that are naturally available could provide even more sustainable solutions. Scoby, an edible and natural byproduct of the process of fermenting kombucha, could be a zero-waste option for packaging dry and semi-dry goods. Polish designer Roza Janusz …

Artist Luchita Hurtado’s Sudden Success at 99

Venezeula-born, California-based artist Luchita Hurtado’s success at 99 years old came rather late (she’s been painting since the 1940s) and somewhat unintentionally, but she’s embraced it. For many years, she was known as an artist’s wife (she was married to Austrian surrealist Wolfgang Paalen, then American painter Lee Mullican, with whom she has a son, artist Matt Mullican) and spent “decades cheering them on while quietly …

Eating Sea Urchins Could Restore the Ocean’s Ecosystem

Contrary to reports that conservation is the only way to save our oceans, one company’s hypothesis suggests that eating more sea urchins (urchin roe or uni in Japanese) could actually help restore balance in the aquatic ecosystem. Urchinomics (the aptly named organization testing this theory) found urchins thriving in waters now abandoned by predators due to pollution, heating or overfishing. Increased urchin populations means trouble …