Articles by Biodiversivist
My real name is Russ Finley. I also have my own blog called Biodiversivist, which contains articles in addition to those submitted to Grist. I live in Seattle, married with children. Suffice it to say that although I am trained and educated as an engineer, my passion is nature. I very much want my grandchildren to live on a planet where lions, tigers, and bears have not joined the long and growing list of creatures that used to be.
All Articles
-
Cycling news from around the world
Recently, I came across a Time magazine article with the pithy title “Electric Bikes Sell as Gas Climbs.” (Apparently, for the first time in my life, I’m helping to set a trend instead of being oblivious to it.) Here’s a close-up of the bike being ridden in the article. It certainly looks cool. I have […]
-
The hybrid solar home, part 2
My thoughts have turned lately to the challenge of heating and powering residential homes in the Pacific Northwest with renewable energy. My goal was not to just find a way to reduce fossil fuel use, but to eliminate it. When I started this exercise I wasn’t at all sure it could be done (in an […]
-
Toyota at work on commercial plug-in hybrids, Mitsubishi to offer electric car
Call me an optimist, but a feasible plug-in appears to be just over the horizon.
First, Toyota has several plug-in Priuses being driven in Japan to collect data -- technical and human behavioral. They are sticking with NiMH batteries for now.
Next, Honda is finally getting ready to launch the much-needed Prius alternative. There are a lot of people out there who refuse to buy a Prius for various reasons that would be alleviated with a serious competitor that is not only cheaper, but just as distinctive looking.*
Finally, Mitsubishi will sell an electric car next year called the i-MiEV (sport version seen here) that uses an advanced battery being developed by Mitsubishi Motors, GS Yuasa Ltd., and Mitsubishi Trading Co. The significance of this announcement is that they must now have a battery that can be charged and discharged to within 80 percent of its capacity, which will also last the life of the car. It still has limited range, and I suspect will primarily be used for around town errands -- fulfilling the role of second car for urban families. Although it won't be cheap, the hatchback version will hold four people, and both versions look sharp.
*I recently listened to a book called Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout. Although the book is all about marketing, not evolutionary selective pressures, this marketing maxim wouldn't work if humans didn't have an urge to differentiate. I'm sure it's got something to do with attracting mates, sex, and genes using that combination to propel themselves into the future; Marketing fulfills that drive.
-
Cabins are not ‘earth-friendly’
Green: A marketing scheme used to sell environmentally destructive crap to unthinking dupes.
Here's an eco-fantasy article crafted to sell second homes. Scaling from the French doors in one picture I calculate that this "cabin" is twice the size of my own two-story, two-bath, four-bedroom home in Seattle. Half of this visible wall is window, having half the insulation value of a typical wall:
