Ridiculous

But who's surprised?

"The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA."

Read the rest of the article in today's Washington Post.

the intricacies of eco-accounting

oh, my poor neglected blog...life's been keeping me way too busy...

but i came across this article today and had to post. it's good to be aware of how much pollution we are causing and try to reign it in, right? but when the calculations are parsed ad infinitum (i had to look that up) it becomes discouraging and counterproductive. witness today's new york times:

"If you walk 1.5 miles, Mr. Goodall calculates, and replace those calories by drinking about a cup of milk, the greenhouse emissions connected with that milk (like methane from the dairy farm and carbon dioxide from the delivery truck) are just about equal to the emissions from a typical car making the same trip. And if there were two of you making the trip, then the car would definitely be the more planet-friendly way to go.

These results would vary, of course, depending on exactly what kind of car you’re using and what kind of food you eat (or, if you’re going by pedicab, what kind of food your cabbie eats)."

analyzing every potentially pollution-causing decision i have to make in a day like this would cause my head to explode. i'm sticking with the imperfect but livable strategy of prioritizing where i can have the most impact, conserving when possible, using common sense, and not sweating the small stuff.

Time on Yoga

Time has a short online article today on the risks of Yoga.

"Over the past three years, 13,000 Americans were treated in an emergency room or a doctor's office for yoga-related injuries, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission."

This begs the question, how does this statistic compare to other popular workouts? Yes there are risks, as with any type of exercise, and yoga practitioners are (or at least should be!) taught not to push their bodies beyond their limits.

Yes, yoga may not burn as many calories as calisthenics, and it is not a weight-loss method - it is certainly not for everybody. But the increased flexibility, balance and strength (yes, strength - try a plank or down-dog pose series if you don't believe me) that can be gained from regular yoga practice are a big factor in its popularity. I find it too bad that this article fails to present a balanced view of both risks and benefits alike - I would expect better from a mainstream publication such as Time.

Bright idea

I, for one (and I seem to be the only one) cannot stand the lookalike granite countertops that have sprung up in every kitchen built or remodeled in the past ten years. Now here is a solution that is beautiful, functional, and makes a good use of wasted resources - countertops out of recycled glass. Check out the Vetrazzo site for more info. (via Luxist)

rome is burning, play on

The decline of our society may one day be pinpointed to this moment:


Artist Damien Hurst decorated a human skull with platinum and diamonds (8,601 of them to be exact) and sold it to an investment group (of which he is part) for $100 million dollars. (cue Dr. Evil: "one hundred MILLION dollars! mwa-ha-ha")

Excuse me while I pick up my non-jewel-encrusted jaw off the floor.

Visualize your electric bill

A couple of interesting ways to better understand electricity costs and usage...

A New Zealand energy co. has developed an online game for kids which involves building a virtual city and managing its energy resources. (via Treehugger)...

A stateside company produces a visual energy price/usage monitor which plugs into the wall...

And a crafty power station manager has hacked a glowing paperweight to create a visual display of energy prices can sit right on your desk. (via Inhabitat)...

Can you shop your way to carbon neutrality?

Yes indeed, there is a credit card which will offset carbon for every dollar you spend. I'm still ambivalent about carbon credits, and this looks to me more about feeling good than doing good...but I'd take this over the alumni credit card offer I received recently (support your alma mater! whose tuition you are still paying off!) anyday.

New Resource Bank

1) Vacation in Greece was pretty cool. No, I didn't buy carbon credits to offset the jet fumes.

2) I was just reading about New Resource Bank, which started up last year in San Francisco. This is pretty cool, a community bank with an entrepreneurial & solar energy bent. Check them out here.

That's all I got for now.