the peanut gallery strikes again.

Apparently Cuba, when faced with a food crisis and a lack of farm-able land, decided to take the problem to a higher level... and moved their gardens to the roofs of houses. A similar movement is taking place in San Francisco, and while they're getting a smaller start (presumably due to a lack of funding), the people over at Victory Gardens have the right idea-- despite having misspelled "victory" in their page title.

In Oakland, City Slicker Farms is working to provide fresh food to residents and is even willing to setup and maintain backyard gardens for low-income residents, while the Spiral Gardens have turned what was once a railroad yard into an urban garden that provides food for the elderly and those of low-income. The latter provides an interesting statistic on their site: during WWII, backyard gardens produced 41% of the nation's vegetables.

If, during a time of war, the nation can do what's necessary to get by, why can't we do it in a time of-- oh, wait. This is a time of war, too! Come on, people! Let's get with it.

Further worthwhile urban sustainability reading can be found here:
A day in the Chicken Park - San Francisco takes back a piece of the pavement and gives it to... chickens.
A Katrina survivor begins urban gardening due to new toxicity concerns in the area, and a local organization helps him (and so many others) get started.
Recent studies show that eating locally (while still a great idea in terms of sustainability and with gas prices being what they are) is not as important to the planet's survival as people cutting back on eating meat and dairy, although local eating can help educate while strengthen communities and local farms, which, in turn, can change the way America views its food.