What's New

Here is some of the great new stuff that has come about since last week.

A newly found website, The World's Healthiest Foods, that provides information on foods that you should include in your diet as well as tips on healthy eating and cooking healthy.












Another new to me website. Go Green Tube is a green version of Youtube. You can upload or view all videos all about being green.









Another line of wooden furniture that I find a little more appealing and remember, it is furniture that is sustainable.






Green Computing. Lenovo T40 ThinkPad is a computer that runs on methanol gas. Talk about great green technology. Thanks Ecofriend.






A Japanese company has come up with an artificial DNA that could be used as the basis for running such things as computers freeing them from having to be dependent on electricity. Really cool and really sci-fi.
















Here is a really cool clock that is powered by the changes in temperatures. Awesome technology.











Groovy Green has posted comments on their experience on one of the many CFL home recycling programs. Check it out here.





















Just was introduced to this new company that produces all natural garden products. Pharm Solutions produces products such as all natural weed killer for those people that want a neat and tidy garden/yard without the chemicals.





























Yet another composting alternative that provides for a hidden a beautiful to that backyard pile.







Amazing art, of my favorite subject area, made out of recycled cassette tapes.








Mowercycle. An interesting combination of a motor free lawnmower and a bicycle. Seems worth while to me.









Lego doing it's part to get kids on board with solar energy.

What's New

It hasn't been a super exciting week in the "new inventions" world, but there is a certain invention that I thought was a long time coming and that I am really excited about, you let me know if you think you know which one that might be.



Eco-Friendly Custom Cardboard Coffins. For those with the mind set that they shouldn't be preserved for decades after they die, this new alternative offers a green alternative that your conscious can also agree with. Thanks Groovy Green



Gas conservation signs at rail-way crossings; think of how much money this could help save.








Sustainable and eco-friendly wood furniture by Stranger. Not many wood furniture companies can claim both sustainable and eco-friendly, but this one has pulled it off. Check it out.



Sleek and modern air purifies using the newest technology. Think I might have to invest.







And last, but not least, is one of my favorite websites on the planet. The Darwin Awards are "Honoring those who improve the species...by accidentally removing themselves from it!" or like I like to put it, "Honoring those whom have voluntarily, and thankfully, removed themselves from the gene-pool." It is a really good laugh, check it out.

What's New

So this is how I have decided to share all things that I have found over the past week. I am going to include the new inventions, books, movies, websites, music, and whatever else I want to add. I will do this once a week and it will always be called my "what's New" segment. I should also note, these aren't things that are necessarily new, but new to me. So Here we go:

Inventions:


New solar back-pack sports a solar panel to power are your portable devices while on the go.







This new water conservation urinal saves space and water. I don't know how this is going to go over though, you decide.







This new "green" cell phone sports all the technology that we expect from a new cell phone, but also is solar charged. Leave it in the seat while you drive and it is charged.







This i-pod integration system for your bike allows for you to view your speed and keep an eye on those behind you. Good idea!






Green Websites:



This new-to-me website provides green alternatives for your home. From the hemp shower curtains to biodegradable picnic cutlery, this place has it all.




This earth friendly products site provides everything from compost bins to heirloom flower seeds. Everything you could hope for from an organic home, lawn, and garden store.




This site provides help and insight into becoming a gardener in our modern lives. It provides some helpful tips and ideas about having that indoor garden.



Books:



I just started this story of a "dunce" in New Orleans. Said to be a tragic-comedy, it reads very well so far and paints a very vivid picture of one of my favorite cities. Worth checking out; it did win a Pulitzer.





Music:



A new-to-me artist, Newton Faulkner, has out a new CD that deserves some praise. Hand Built by Robots is a great CD with some music with a great sound that will get you up and moving, check it out. "Dream Catch Me" and "Gone in the morning" are my favorites so far. The Dream Catch Me video can be found on his website.



Movie:



Definitely not new, but new-to-me. I finally got around to watching Atonement, and it was amazing. It is slow in some parts, but the movie was very well done. I watched it twice in the four days we had it.

Spreading my Bloggy Wings

The whole blogging experience is something that I was very apprenhensive about in the beginning but am finding myself completely and totally addicted to. When my whole experience started I was just looking for somewhere to put down my thoughts and opinions in hopes of relieving some of my anxiety and tension. Little did I know that I would have such a good response. Granted, I only have a few people who comment on my blog at this point, but that doesn't even begin to illustrate the number of e-mails and personal comments from my friends and family. This has been an amazing experience and I thank you all for receiving me so warmly.

I say all of this to explain that I will be changing up the blog in only a minor way. I have gotten a lot of feed back about cooking. While I have been cooking for a while, it has only taken on the part of being a big hobby of mine since the farmer's market got into full swing. At that point I decided to include it on my blog to show that cooking healthy and using fresh ingredients is something that can be easy and should be embraced by our generation. While I have been sharing recipes with many of you via e-mail, I am going to start featuring one of my recipes on here once a week. I haven't decided when exactly that post will be (as in if it will be on the same day every week) but am very excited about doing so. I think that one of the most important things is to learn to understand cooking and become comfortable with it. So I will post my pictures from the meal, my recipe, and a little explanation on how to make it your own and what substitutions or additions can also be made. Feel free to also e-mail me if you are looking for a recipe that I have not yet posted or need some ideas on something to make with those fresh ingredients you have purchased.

On another note. Last week I posted on some of my favorite finds from the world of green in terms of new inventions or new science to help us live greener lives. I am going to incorporate this into my blog as well as a regular post. Even though I am getting a lot of my information from just a hand full of sources at the moment, I would love to expand this into a more diverse set of reference points. So....if you have any Green blogs or the like please pass them on to allow me to further express my nerdiness.

I think that wraps it up. I will be posting on a number of things over the next couple of days. I have my Music and culture filled weekend to tell you all about as well as the amazing times me and my wife had this weekend. There is also the new gym that we just joined and the recipe and green post to do. So keep and eye out, I am going to try and crank these out quickly, but I also have a full reader to catch up on as well. Hope everyone has a good one, and I can't wait to get some feed back. Cheers!

Airline Solution

Ecofriend just posted on the World's First Commercial fuel cell powered aircraft. Could this be a new solution to the failing airline business? Check it out

Some Nerdiness

Of of the many nerdy things that I partake in on a regular basis is to find new and ingenious inventions that show how society and technology come together that make things that we either need or are novel in their own right. In sharing this with you I am going to periodically share a list of those inventions that I find fascinating, starting now.

Courtesy of Ecofriend

A new refrigerator, by Oceania, is the new green way to cool is comprised of both magnets and ceramic in a very earth friendly model of keeping things fresh.

A new composter that resides in your kitchen for those individuals without a back yard.





A "how to" on turning your common gas lawn mower into a solar powered one. It only seems logical, who mowes their lawn if it isn't sunny?





A kid found a bacteria that actually causes plastic to biodegrade.





The new face in solar panels.

Good Morning

Still plugging away at studying this morning. I am having to do some yoga not only to try and relieve my stress but also in hopes of helping my immune system improve. I am thinking I will have 2 pink eyes within the next day or so.

For all of you who are interested in the environment and local food or farm bills, here is a really great blog, More Deliberate Everyday, and this recent post everyone should take a look at to see the interplay that exists between gas, ethanol, food, costs, and starvation. Take a look, it is a great post.

Also, for all you "greenies" out there, here is a great blog that provides a lot of the new technology and research being done in the name of "green." Ecofriend provides a ton of information from around the web and does provide sources for further investigation.

Last, but not least, please let me know if there is something that you want to hear from me or want to know about me and I will add it in to the next couple of posts.

HAVE A GREAT ONE!

Websites to Note

Really quickly, just two websites everyone should take a look at an consider becoming a part of.

First......The Great Sunflower Project. A project that not only beautifies the country by promoting the planting of sunflowers yet also is a major project in tracking bee activity nation wide. You simply sign up for the program, they send you sunflower seeds, you plant them, watch them for a 30 min. period and report it on the website. You don't have to know anything about bees, they will provide you with all the information you need and you will be participating in an amazing project. It is estimated that every 3rd bite of food you take is contributed to bee pollination. We should help.


Second, Modern Girl led me to a environmental awareness and action program that we can all be a part of. We Can Solve It is an action group dedicated to showing people how they can effect climate change and provide an online community for connecting individuals nation wide. Another worthy cause.

Reflections on our Culture (first of many)

So the conference is over and while I can't say that I have fully recovered since this seems to be a challenging week, however, I did have a good time and am grateful that I was able to attend. I find myself much more aware of culture, society, economics, and the like in all aspects of things that I am coming in contact with....but now with more of a focus. I am interested to see how the knowledge and skill that I will acquire during the process of getting my Masters will combine with my science focus to establish something new for me.

Now the Reflections:

I just have two small comments to make on the situations of our current economy in the way they combine with our environmental focused trends and government manipulation. Both topics were small stories on NPR (of course) that have much larger implications.

First, the price of corn is expected to continue to rise since a number of U.S. farmers have retreated from growing corn and have instead decided to grow soy beans. This has two major implications that I think people are overlooking. First of all, a majority of the corn industry were land subsidizing programs that allowed farmers to use the land for free and provided for a small base income to ensure that an over abundance of corn was produced and thus....the government received a profit. Now that ethanol has become such a topic of interest and there are a large number of research centers growing different varieties of corn for research to supplement research projects the government is no longer making the same profit.

Not only is this the case, but if ethanol is sponsored by the government and cheap that would expedite the technology for ethanol as the major fuel source and would alleviate the dependency on oil. That also would not be in the governments best interest (more so the high level bureaucrats that make money from oil) so the government is going to make sure that there is a sustained amount of demand for oil to increase profit and decrease availability and cost of corn to increase the cost of the closest oil alternative.
The second point that needs to be included here is the governments involvement on the soy bean industry. The same subsidizing is occurring in the area of soy beans but at a much larger scale. Out of all the soy beans grown in the U.S. 65% of the profits go directly to the government. This goes to show not only why the transition from corn to soy bean dependence, but also why soy or soy based product is found in almost all processed food in the U.S. Think about it!!!

This topic of fuel brings me to my next point. The FORD corporation is selling the SUV with the highest gas mileage available. The FORD Escape has an estimated 36 mpg in the city which is amazing compared to the 18 for the New and Improved Tahoe. Here is the catch. The FORD company is producing less of this vehicle than it does its "Limited Editions" while the Escape Hybrid is the car with the most demand and most pre-orders that the company has. So, one might think, why not just order the car and wait for it to come in.

Well....the FORD company is charging an additional $5,000 for pre-ordered vehicles (only implemented once the Escape was released) which is more than an individual would save on fuel in the typical 4 years a person owns a car. The company is having to cut jobs in other factories and has even rumored to shutting down a couple of their factories while people are on a waiting list and the Hybrid factory is only on two shifts a day while all of the companies factories run on a 3 shift rotation. It only seems logical that this factory rumored to be in financial trouble is taking advantage of people wanting to be environmentally friendly and I wouldn't be surprised if further investigation led to and incentive program sponsored by, lets say Exon or the Bush's......just to name a few.

Our Project Weekend

So here is all the stuff that I actually got done this weekend.





Our new indoor herb garden featuring green peppers (small ones), lavender, mint, rosemary, and thyme.





Our new compost heap to cut out on our trash. FACT: If you can cut your trash to only 2/5 of what you are throwing away now it is equal to removing 4 CARS from the road. Talk about reducing emissions.







Ta-Da!!!! Our new dinning room furniture that we bought from the estate of our down stairs neighbor. Very nice antiques from the early 20th century and lookin good. We are so excited and feel much more like grown-ups at this point.

"Green" Living

Tonight, after all of the wonderful Easter activities, I sat down with my in-laws and wonderful wife for what I thought was going to be an informative and insightful presentation on how to live a "green" life and how to buy products that are in themselves "green."

First of all I should say that I did enjoy my Easter. This is one of the first years that I didn't feel pressured into going to church and was able to celebrate Easter as I wished: not. I did accompany my wife to a get together at a local brunch with members of her family. There were 18 of us total, I believe, and much to my surprise I had a good time. Even further, I am not particularly a fan of buffets (people touching my food and having it sit out usually takes away all possibility of an appetite for me) yet it was very good food and I did enjoy myself.

Ok, back to my disappointment. I have become very conscience and very concerned of the way I contribute to the degradation of the environment and the exploitation of labor that may ensue as a result. Just to update, I did start my compost pile and indoor herb garden this weekend as a step in the right direction (pictures to follow). This combined with the current research that I am doing on sustainable agriculture and the impacts that buying local goods has on economy and health leaves me very passionate about this issue. To know that the people that are producing my food are often living on less than $10,000/year really upsets me and to know that they get penalized for trying to be more sustainable (can elaborate and probably will in the future) makes the issue of even more importance fore me. SO.....this issue of "being green" is one of great importance and since it is something that I am actively involved in at this point leaves me being very critical about different programs and initiatives.

Now, what you have been waiting for: My opinion. While the idea of promoting green living and green products/initiatives is a very worth while concept for this company to do, the way they went about it was completely backwards, "green-speaking." Come to find out, this green home was a new build in Hilton Head, and was the first house of not only a NEW subdivision but of a new town complete with movie theater, shops, and small amusement park within walking distance. What is wrong with this logic? Well......let us do something good for the environment by eliminating a natural habitat and destroying the environment through our new community of million dollar homes.....oh, but they will be "green" (or that is at least what we will tell everyone). Another aside would also be the fact that land acquisition in Hilton Head is also destructive in it's own right. The people of Hilton Head like to take land from the local farmers, products of the African diaspora and slave-displaced, who have worked the land for hundreds of years. Well since they have never officially acquired the land and don't have legal documentation, the land can be taken away, a gated community put in place, and these people lose access to not only there housing but also their income. To summarize, this wonderful "green project" has possibly displaced entire families and sent them into poverty, run thousands of species out of their home, and ruined natural environments that have sustained for thousands of years to put up million dollar homes.

To take it further, the explanation of what made the house "green" was laughable. Granted, there were solar panels for electricity and a rain water collection system for gardening and waste water. However, when it came to products there was little to be said. Explanations like, "Buying brand new products that you intend to re-use, like frames, makes them green" is just one of many examples. Others did have some credibility like buying local goods and re-using old furniture. But then came another explanation like "Well, a product that is durable makes it green no matter if it is new or not" coupled with the trucks loads of goods dropped off at the house that used how many gallons of gas?! The show was laughable and there was nothing missed by not seeing. For me, seeing this reiterated the fact that being "green" is a trend at the moment and all for the affluent portion of our society, anything that they can do and call it green at their dinner party, they will. I am content with the transitions that I am making in my life and the compost I have going in my backyard. Oh yeah, where was the compost pile at the "Green House?" Oh yeah, that would assume that they actually deal with their own garbage....might be a stretch. I am sad.