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Hybrid electric bike …with afterburners

In honor of national Bike to Work Week, I shot some helmet cam footage of my hybrid bike in action. Hills and cars are the bane of bikers everywhere. One problem at a time I always say.

Reports highlight need to support clean water projects in poor countries

The failure of governments in both rich and poor countries to prioritize basic sanitation is killing thousands of children every day, according to two reports released today by WaterAid and PATH. And a third report released yesterday suggests that the global economic crisis may increase the death rate, at least in Africa. All three reports […]

Friday music blogging: The Cinematic Orchestra

Of late, I have become obsessed with the soundtrack to a French Disney nature film that, as far as I can tell, hasn’t come out yet. I don’t know if it will ever come out in the states. It’s called Les Ailes pourpres: le mystère des flamants, which a little bit of online translation tells […]

Cash for clunkers inventory clearance sale!

(photo credit Wen-YanKing via the Flickr Creative Commons license). The Cash for Clunkers Agreement is a short-term attempt to stimulate consumer spending on new cars, nothing more, nothing less. It’s a no-brainier from a political perspective because voters will support any program that will give them thousands of dollars to trade in a junker for […]

After 15 days of lockdown, exhaustion sets in at Grist HQ

Wondering what food to serve, and how to confront the guy who always leaves the water running? Umbra advises.

Green-Collar Jobs, Defined and Counted

“It’s hard to define what a green job actually is.” That’s Michael Myers, an analyst for the Oregon employment department, speaking recently in Florence, on the Oregon Coast, to an audience of anxious members of the local chamber of commerce. He was answering questions about where new employment opportunities will arise and explaining the challenge […]

Think Before You Eat, Agriculture and the Environment

Farmers claim to be stewards of the environment, some would say it’s best friend; others, its worst enemy. The truth is we can be both. Humans have never left a small footprint, we have always tried to shape the environment to suit our needs. Initially farming had one purpose, food; farming provided a more stable […]

Friday music blogging: Avishai Cohen

FMB is back! Usually I blog on music that’s come out in the same year, but today I make an exception. I’ve been out of the country for two weeks and it’s nice to be back in Seattle, so what better to celebrate than a song called “Seattle”? This is from the Avishai Cohen Trio, […]

Insight in sight

I took this picture with my cell phone. It was in the parking lot of a private school. This is really good news. For years, kids were being dropped off here in $65,000 Toyota LandCruisers and every other kind of expensive car you can think of. Nowadays the relatively inexpensive Prius is the most common […]

Do we need to build more coal plants?

I just put together a simple spreadsheet that will calculate how many pounds of coal any given electrical appliance in your house will burn depending on how long it runs and wattage. Feel free to save a copy (guaranteed virus free). Here’s a link that has run the numbers for some common appliances. According to […]