Articles by Biodiversivist

Organic Sugar Frosted Mini-Wheats and flat screen TVs

I watched Animal Planet on our new TV last night with my daughter. The infrared sensor on our old TV had pooped out. I'd lost the ability to channel surf, and with it a part of my manhood.

Fed up with my inability to flip, I jumped on my hybrid-electric bike, sped down the bike trail to Fred Meyers, bought the cheapest 20" flat screen they had, loaded it into my bike trailer, and was watching commercials within an hour of having set out. The bike, the electric components on the bike, the TV, and the wind-up flashing diode lights on the bike were all made in China.

Two commercials in particular caught my attention: one for organic Sugar Frosted Mini-Wheats (about time I say) and the other for Dawn dishwashing liquid. Apparently its new and improved grease-fighting formula works great to clean crude oil off of penguins. I don't know if commercials like this are good for the image of environmentalism. The ad execs obviously don't think we're all that bright.

We can all just get along

I was poking around on the net the other day and stumbled across a hybrid-vs.-diesel debate. It was beautiful. Guys were trying to convince other guys that their choice of car was better. They were doing what most guys do, compete with each other. What I loved about it was that they were competing over gas mileage and emissions instead of horsepower and load capacity. Here's an example:

Critique is a good thing

I read the Worldwatch/CAP Report on Renewable Energy (PDF) last night and agree with Dave that it is a good document. The biofuels section raised my eyebrows more than it should have. I critique it below.

Here is the bottom line on crop-based biofuels, and I am not alone in this assessment (for once) -- Monbiot and Brown share my concerns. You have to replace on the world market every grain or bean you stop exporting and instead feed to an American car. Regardless of what others were using that grain for, the only way for other farmers on the planet to fill that hole is to grow more crops and the only way to grow more crops is to clear more land and the only land left to clear are rainforest carbon sinks and other assorted ecosystems.

Growing our own just forces others to grow their own. You cannot put the same bean into both your stomach and gas tank. When a biofuel profit taker tells you that biofuels do not compete for food, they are lying through their teeth. 70% of a corn kernel is lost to the human food chain when you use it to make ethanol.

Enormous, sprawling ‘green homes’ are not worth our admiration

In my eyes, the house pictured in this article is the embodiment of what's wrong with the green-building movement. It should be made into a "what is wrong with this picture?" poster.

The bottom line: that is a huge house with plenty of windows and cathedral ceilings built in the middle of nowhere, and it consumed a whole hell of a lot of resources. Just look at the framing that went into it. There are enough concrete blocks in that thermal mass wall to build a couple of small houses with. You can bet the two-car garage will be empty much of the time. I see no way to walk or ride a bike to anything.