Articles by Sarah K. Burkhalter

A program to learn from

I'm a little late on this -- like, three weeks late -- but this article about a San Francisco high school curriculum that immerses urban kids into the surrounding environment is heartening. Well, my first reaction is frustration and "why do we need a special program to introduce kids to nature?" but recognizing the state of the union at this point in time, this is way better than the status quo nothing.

The program, sponsored by the Goldman Environmental Prize, "seeks to educate kids about both environmental science and the history of environmental activism." Which is cool. Nothing like evoking past activism to get kids -- or people of any age, really -- fired up about their potential.

A school in San Francisco is taking the program a step farther, involving other entities to create an even wider and more comprehensive teaching tool. Check it out:

The students listened to [a habitat restoration expert] before going out into the Presidio [neighborhood] to collect air-pollution monitoring devices they had set out the week before. Later in the day, they would analyze the data from the devices -- basically cardboard boxes that capture particulates on a sticky matrix -- to arrive at estimates of general air-pollution loads.

Imagine: sit down and chat with the experts, go out and do in-the-field work, and make it relevant to your own life and neighborhood.

Why isn't this happening in every school across the country?

Car news: fast and furious

So much car news, so little time! Yes, this post is long, but it's highly informational and a kick in the pants (if I do say so myself). And at the end you get to read the Worst Ethanol Metaphor Ever! Trust me, it's worth it.

Let us begin. From Uganda comes this highly punctuated bit of car news:

A local school has rewarded its best performing students with vehicles. St. Lawrence London College lavished their top three students in last year's A-Level exams with a car each, and cash awards. Incredible!

The principal said the annual award would encourage other students to work hard. Preposterous!

Meanwhile, Lexus is unveiling the priciest hybrid on the market: the $54,900 GS 450h. Ridiculous!

And in more hybrid news: Volvo plans to launch a hybrid truck engine. The new engine would cut fuel consumption by 35 percent, say the Volvans. Says prototypically-Swedishly-named Volvo bigwig Leif Johansson:

We are talking about half of the overall heavy truck market and perhaps as much as 75 percent of the bus market and 100 percent of construction equipment.

In a separate article, he added that the prospect of this hybrid engine "makes us weep with pleasure." Hilarious!

Heart and solar

My advice to all you Dig This-diggers out there: Hop on the solar bandwagon. Big things lie ahead.

Indicators include the news that Solar Night Industries intends to start churning out "portable power supplies, home and energy power grid solutions, consumer outdoor/indoor products, portable 110V plugs, solar sporting solutions and many more." Currently Solar Night Industries specializes in the very lovely but not particularly, um, useful fiber optic daylily (pictured above).

Indicator two: Solar power makes homeowners happy. Am I the only one who thinks that's just about the cutest headline ever? The article begins, "Today's solar home buyer is not a stereotypical green enthusiast." That's good news, people. It goes on to report on a small survey of residents of new solar home developments in California (of course):

Smaller cars make a comeback … kind of.

Great news! According to at least one analyst, sales of subcompact cars in the U.S. are supposed to double in the next five years!

If this gives you visions of nation-wide FUH2 dancing in your head, you may also be one of those folks who believed your friends when they said the word "gullible" wasn't in the dictionary. (Hint: it is.) A doubling of the U.S. subcompact car market would bring small cars' share of the new-vehicle market to a whopping 3 percent. Actually less than 3 percent. Sigh. Why, why would this be? Says another analyst:

I don't think [the subcompact is] a car for the U.S. market ... Those cars look great in Europe, but put them on road here next to a big SUV and they don't look so good anymore.

I'm assuming by "good" he means "pridefully wasteful to compensate for small-manhood syndrome." That being the case, I suppose he has a point.