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Best Buy to Carry A2B

The original Metro (not being sold at Best Buy) is actually more of a moped than a bicycle. It has a twist throttle,  smallish wheels like a scooter (which enhances acceleration from a stop), along with front and rear suspension–pedaling optional: Maximum road speed under power – 20 mph Up to 20 miles* unassisted range […]

The Bobs–Corn Ethanol's Dynamic Duo

Photo courtesy of Chuckumentary via Flickr “Could it be the unholy alliance between oil interests and environmentalists?”–Bob Dinneen, CEO of the RFA *Bob Dinneen (the Bob on the right) is the CEO of the RFA, a corn ethanol propaganda mill lobbying organization that never prints the word “corn” next to the word “ethanol.” Note also […]

Energy Crops–BTUs Per Acre

When it comes to energy produced per area of food cropland usurped, corn ethanol and soy biodiesel are the worst options available. If you want to obtain energy from the sun, your best option is to grow a crop of solar panels. The solar farm above covers 150 acres. It nets sixty times more BTUs […]

Farming in Detroit: Schools of chard knocks

Avram Rodgers, 6, says he and I are secret agents. He takes my hand and pulls me to the rabbit pens in the back of a fenced-in, grassy area at the Catherine Ferguson Academy farm in Detroit. A handful of ducks waddle in a little pool in the center of the enclosure. Goats chew grass […]

The Return of the Bicycle

The bicycle has many attractions as a form of personal transportation. It alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, increases physical fitness, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon dioxide, and is priced within the reach of the billions of people who cannot afford a car. Bicycles increase mobility while reducing congestion and the area of land […]

Philly’s Greensgrow farm: An unconventional hybrid that works

Mary Seton Corboy sweating in her bee suit on the living roof of the Greensgrow farm’s storage trailer.(Photos ©Michael Hanson) It’s sunny and 94 degrees, and the pavement’s steaming after a thunderstorm rolled sideways through north Philly. Mary Seton Corboy wears a full-body, white bee suit. She stands atop a small trailer’s grassy roof on […]

Friday music blogging: Sarah Harmer

In 1999, I jumped ship from a PhD program in philosophy and moved to Seattle to live with a girl I’d been seeing on and off for years. Having no practical skills of any kind and no employment history to speak of, I was working in customer service at Amazon.com and wondering what I’d do […]

Delegation from oil-afflicted Amazon visits Louisiana tribes hit by BP disaster

A delegation of indigenous and community leaders from Ecuador is visiting Louisiana this week at the invitation of the United Houma Nation, a tribe in coastal Lafourche and Terrebone parishes that has been hit hard by the BP oil catastrophe. The Ecuadoreans have come to share lessons they’ve learned dealing with another oil disaster: U.S. […]

Friday music blogging: Phosphorescent again [UNFORTUNATE UPDATE]

UPDATE: I’m bumping this old FMB back to the top because this excellent band just ran into some truly cruddy circumstances. After the very first show on a planned six-week tour, their van and equipment were stolen from in front of an apartment in N.Y.C. They’re estimating their losses at around $40,000 but many of […]

Ask Umbra’s Book Club: Dive into the big blue

Greetings readers, As you all know, I am a bookworm of the highest order. In fact, I’m such a bookworm that my compost worms have their own library. I think it’s important to surround them with good literature, but they just keep eating the pages. And so must we all surround ourselves with good matter […]