Spring Cleaning for the Soul

More thoughtlessly abandoned couches and old entertainment units. More fragrant flowers amid baby blades of grass. More birds chirping in that distinctly fresh and vital way. Springtime. Whether it’s the cleared-out overaccumulations of stuff, both literal and figurative, or all the sensory reminders of the universe renewing itself, spring feels… Continue reading

Airbus Fantasy Plane Meets Star Trek

On the subject of air travel and reducing its carbon footprint, or flyprint as I have decided I like to call it, I wrote yesterday about Boeing’s lower emission 787 Dreamliner. For all its improvements environmentally and in passenger comfort, it still looks more or less like airplanes look these… Continue reading

Freezing in the Summer – At the Supermarket

I have a question. It’s one I guess I should really ask those in charge of supermarkets, specifically those who make the ambient temperature decisions. Why is it so darn much colder inside some grocery stores in the middle of summer? I don’t accept the argument that it has to… Continue reading

Reebok Likes Rebox – Reused Cardboard Boxes

Reebok and many other companies including Wal-Mart, Foot Locker, and TJ Maxx are all clients of Rebox, a corrugated box company. The thing that sets Rebox apart is that this St. Laurent, Quebec company is focusing on reusing rather than always making new cardboard boxes. Takes the typical curbside cardboard… Continue reading

Have you Watered Your Clock Lately?

Feeling like something a little lighter today? Something fun? How about another essentially ‘free to power’ gadget? Not solar this time, but water. No dam or massive flow of water needed for this one however. Just less than a glass of the stuff and these clever little clocks can run… Continue reading

BP Cartoon Break

Not that I want to put my head in the sand, hide from view of the damage caused by human arrogance and denial, (BP anyone?), but perhaps a dip or two into the sand is allowed. Part of what makes the ongoing insanity in the Gulf of Mexico even more… Continue reading

Gambling on Ships and Oil Rigs

Something struck me today, not a bolt of lightening, more like an iceberg, or maybe a drilling rig. I don’t know why I hadn’t already connected the two before. April 14th 1912 (technically April 15th 1912 at 2:20AM) the ship that couldn’t sink sank. April 20th 2010 the deepwater drilling… Continue reading

Bye Bye Watch Batteries

Citizen Men's Solar WatchWith all the massive ills that accompany our ever-increasing quest for energy, I’d like to concentrate for a moment on something on a much smaller scale. My little dead watch battery. It occurs to me that there are actually ways to get a free energy supply. Solar power is nothing new, but mainstream, widespread use remains elusive. Continue reading

Kill-A-Watt to Save Electricity

Until we get those new fangled touchscreens, and hopefully other devices someday, that can be powered from our own human generated electrical energy, purchased electricity remains a necessity. Our best bet at reducing costs, economical and environmental, is reducing consumption. As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and that’s quite… Continue reading

Hairy Help for the Gulf of Mexico

Sometimes problems are so big, so overwhelming in scope and devastation, that I simply don’t know where to begin to even start processing the information. The anger, the sadness, the shock just too much. Then again, why should we really be so shocked. Certainly not the first oil spill, and… Continue reading