60 minutes of darkness

It is that time of the year again. As last year I am asking you all to turn it off! Maybe you want to have a romantic candle light dinner. Or try that new windup flashlight you got from auntie at christmas. Or maybe you just want to make a statement about how much less energy we could all be using. Let us all put out money were our mouths are!

bangladesh or niederlande

Niederlande is what we call Holland in German. It means Low-Lands. When the East Antarctic Ice Sheet melts I don't know what would be worse: to be in Holland or in Bangladesh. Check out the Sea Level Rise Explorer I just picked up from Salon. The darker the color, the bigger a snorkel you will need. Have a look around and see what happens to your favorite shoreline.

You may think that this is slightly sarcastic on my part, to be posting this map, when I live in high and dry Phoenix. However, if you would scroll down my contact list, you would see at least one person in each of the worst spots on the planet, except for Bangladesh. It makes it personal.

I guess the Dutch will just build higher dams. Maybe if they are sweet, they could form a modern East India Company that helps the Bangladeshis, who happen to be east of India, dealing with their low-land issue as well.

On a side note: Do you think that even Google should refrain from making money from some of its content? I find it macabre to be subjected to Global Warming related text adds while looking at the end of the world as we know it. Which happens to be created by too much consumption of too much stuff by too many people.

before i forget

The WB wants your feedback. If you are any good at any of this do give them a holla. We don't want to just be bitching, do we now?

60 minutes

shoe size?

guilt trip

Because we don't get to see enough of this kind of Data in the USA. Not that we are all necessarily moral human beings, but if you do lay claim to such morality, you better start taking the bus. For more and to learn German go here.

deep economy

Just finished reading Deep Economy by Bill McKibben. Nice read, too much community for my taste, but that’s just me. I am however in the process of talking myself into joining a CSA here in Phoenix, although I will depend on my cooking-fiend roomy to cook up a storm with all the fresh produce I shall get every week (don’t tell him). The basic of premise of the book is to go local, in all manners possible. He says its good for the planet, the taste buds, the wallet and even the soul. That last one I am dubious about. I am just not a big fan of people and meeting more of my neighbors strikes me as really annoying – why do you think I blog if I could just talk to you instead?

Of course food is the prime example, we all know how far that strawberry you are enjoying in midwinter traveled to get to your plate. Do you remember the years, when certain fruit and vegetable simply were not available? I do, although I hated veggies back then, so it didn’t bother me so much. How trippy is it, that now when I go shopping I don’t even know which fruit and veggies are out of season and ergo shouldn’t be bought.

Surprisingly enough, McKibben also mentions power generation as a possible locally produced product. Here in Phoenix solar power is pretty obvious, I am not sure why there isn’t more of it. I don’t think it is possible to get more sun than Phoenix does, and SRP the local power company allows you to net-meter. It doesn’t get any more locally produced then having power coming from your roof. Imagine how happy you will be when prices of power start reflecting the real costs of energy production. Lets say the Democrats win the presidential election, and the President doesn’t get shot, at least not right away. And lets say, for a change, our hopes are audaciously fulfilled and that person actually does what they say they will do. A cap and trade system on carbon dioxide is put in place. Who do you think will pay the additional costs of production? If you are thinking consumer, you are probably right. How cool would it be to have that Solar on your house, instead of paying SRP through your nose so they can pollute your planet even more. If the new prez is really smart he will enable private consumers to buy and sell their CO² emissions as well. You could sell your CO² Permits to SRP because they are still burning that stupid coal and need to offset their emissions with yours. It would make it so much more personal and local, too.

• So you would use less of their dirty power.
• Produce your own emission free power.
  
• Get paid by SRP for feeding power back into the grid.
  
• And get paid for selling them your emissions permits.
  
• Screw the grand kids if I can make money of this.
  

Of course the more efficient thing to do would be to reduce consumption instead of increasing production. Replacing those single pane windows will go a long way, its cheaper than solar as well, but just not as cool! Imagine all the girls you can pick up with “Hey, wanna see my solar panels?” Windows just aren’t sexy like that. “Yup, the panels power my Jacuzzi!”

ideas for your climate

Does this sound like a good idea to distribute the costs of controlling climate change? I do think it sounds quite positive, as it rewards good consumer behavior. I think this is good, because when we institute a cap and trade system the costs will in the end be handed down to the consumer anyway. The car will just be more expensive and we are already paying more for gas than ever before.

Only problem I see is that the next two years are earmarked for negotiating in Bali. And what will result is global NIMBY. I guess if thats where I would be negotiating, I would try to stretch it out as much as I can myself. Its nice there, and before the Climate Change hell breaks loose completely and drowns Bali's treasures I would want to enjoy it as much as I can.

Bugger that the UN tells us we need to arrest the increase of CO2 in seven years otherwise Blue Mars will be an understatement and Armada Storms the norm.

a green life

Most of you who know me are probably tired of listening to me ranting about 7 years this and Armageddon that. I don't do it to make you feel bad or scare you of the future that we will all live in. It comes across like that though, right? You must understand that I come from a family of green party book holders, if there were such a thing. My parents have driven their car less then 1000 KM in each of the last 10 years. Every year they report to me how low their mileage was. You ask how they get around? They ride their bicycles.

So you see, it's not my fault, but neither my achievement, that I urge my friends in my clumsy unconvincing way to green their lives. I simply am a product of my environment. Which puts me on a continuous guilt trip because I feel like I am not green enough. Currently, I am examining how I can put my money where my mouth is in regards to the house that I own. And I discover that there are many sites out there that promote and disseminate these ideas. In fact there is even a green housing standard LEED. I like this site very much, because it puts it into simple terms how I can do a few simple and painless measures that reduce my cost of living and increase my green of living.

At the moment I am deciding if it would be better to put solar on my roof or to get better insulated windows. What do you think? Windows make more sense because before I create more energy I should use less. I also just remembered, the first thing I am going to do is buy a couple of clothes hangers. Maybe I will even throw out my dryer because it is the most energy hungry appliance, because I remember that it never used to bother me hanging my family's clothes up by hand (well not more then other chores), and because drying clothes in the dryer is hard on the material and makes you buy new shirts every three years.

unbeatable logic

So, I admit that I did not try very hard to beat this logic. Check it out and let me know if you can see something wrong with what he is saying.