We found this Post at Treehugger.com and thought it was worth a mention. So what can be done about Canada’s blight of mountain pine beetles who are savaging forests turning them from carbon sinks to emitters? Well, at least from an economic point of view the Government of Canada think hemp might be one of the solutions. They are investing $235,665 CD to help the District of 100 Mile House launch a hemp production pilot project. This project will “assess the viability of an industrial hemp processing facility, and includes the production of 200 acres of industrial hemp crop demonstrations, product development and test marketing. An alternative source of fibre, industrial hemp can be used in the development of construction products such as particleboard, insulation materials, and countertops.” We have read elsewhere that hemp consumes about 1.7 times its dry weight in CO2 during its growth cycle, but haven’t yet been able to track down a scientific study confirming this. Though we keep looking. One of the sources quoting such a figure, also suggests that “each hectare of hemp could immediately sequester some 22 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Bast crops are able to sequester more carbon than trees in a short 150 day season cycle and yet leave arable land available for food and other crop production in the remainder of the year.” In the meantime the Government of Canada are pursuing this project as “one step closer to a more sustainable, diversified local economy." ::Federal Mountain Pine Beetle Funding for Hemp Pilot Project.
We wanted to update you on the fight to Save Trestles. Please take time to read the following. Posted at savetrestles.com
Surfrider Foundation Action Network Deny the Toll Road Appeal
The Transportation Corridor Agency is trying to revive its plan to build the 241 Foothill-South Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach. They have asked the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to override the California Coastal Commission's denial of the road. Remember, on February 6, 2008 the California Coastal Commission voted to deny the 241 Foothill South Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach. Following thousands of pages of written comments and a 14 hour hearing attended by thousands, the Commission listened to reason and to the law by rejecting the toll road application. Unfortunately the agency planning this Toll Road has appealed the Coastal Commission’s decision to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary is accepting comments from the public on this appeal until May 28th. The people in D.C. need to hear from Californians and people from all over the world who care about San Onofre and Trestles!
Your voice is needed! Don't let the TCA's lobbyists be the only influence on this important decision!
Fatal Shark Attack Closes N. SAN DIEGO Beaches This Weekend
With the weekend forecast promising dry winds and summery temperatures — classic Southern California beach weather — the thousands that typically would be expected to throng the Pacific shoreline will have to decide whether ignoring authorities and taking a dip is worth risking the danger officials believe still exists.
I guess that it was bound to happen some time, but no one new just when. Friday Morning at 7 a.m. a shark arose from the deep and snagged a swimmer about 100 yards of the California coast, at Fletchers cove in Solana Beach, just 15 miles North of San Diego. It is the first time that such an attack has occurred in Southern California in nearly fifty years.
The victim - David Martin - was swimming with a group of tri-athletes off Solana Beach at the time. Martin, 66, died on the beach Friday morning after a shark, presumed to be a great white, lifted him out of the water with his legs in its jaws, leaving deep lacerations and shredding Martin's black wetsuit.
Martin, a retired veterinarian, was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994. Prior to that, the last known fatal attack in the area was in 1959.
Even die-hards said word of the attack gave them pause. Sharks are rare in Southern California, though female great white sharks sometimes come south from their usual territory in the cooler waters of the central and northern coast to pup. Few make the mistake of attacking humans instead of seals or sea lions, their usual prey.
Earlier this year, stories of shark sightings swept the coast from San Diego County north through Orange and Los Angeles counties, the Los Angeles Times reported in late March.
The last fatal shark attack in California, according to data from the state Department of Fish and Game, took place on Aug. 15, 2004, off the coast of Mendocino County. The victim was a man diving for shellfish with a friend. On Aug. 19, 2003, a woman swimmer was killed by a great white at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County on the central California coast.
Overall, shark attacks are extremely rare. There were 71 reported worldwide last year, up from 63 in 2006. Only one attack, in the South Pacific, was fatal, according to the University of Florida.
The university's International Shark Attack File has counted an average of 4.1 people killed by sharks annually worldwide in the past seven years.
The Scottish Government has created the opportunity to award one of the biggest international innovation prizes in history through its plans for the Saltire Prize - a £10 million ($20 million) challenge prize for advances in clean energy.
The Saltire Prize draws inspiration from great innovation prizes of the 20th century including aviation prizes that led to the first crossings of the English Channel and the Atlantic, the Ansari X Prize that led to the first private spacecraft launch and, more recently the Virgin Earth Challenge which saw Richard Branson challenge scientists around the world to come up with a way to remove CO2 gases from the atmosphere.
The details of the prize are still being worked out, so if you have got any great ideas you better get to work.
Anyone interested in a car that costs $3 to fill up, goes 125 miles between fill-ups and does not emit any pollution? Oh yeah, and it only costs about $7000. Any takers?
We found this post on treehugger and thought that it was worth mentioning. The BBC reported this weekend that French company MDI has signed an agreement with innovative Indian automaker Tata Motors to begin production of just such a vehicle. The car, designed by a former Formula One engineer, is a completely rethought-out vision of the automobile, and uses compressed air to propel itself. Other interesting features include brake power recovery and an exhaust pipe that emits clean air. The first few models should be available in India and in Europe by the end of 2008. In the future, the body of the car may be created out of hemp fibre and coated with natural varnishes.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors, is planning to unveil the world's cheapest car during the coming week in New Delhi. The "Peoples' Car," priced at around $2500, will initially be marketed to Indian's rapidly expanding middle class, but may soon conquer other developing markets.
Of course, a car is still a car. Even an air car needs an electric engine to compress the air it runs on, and is made out of materials will require plenty of energy to produce. However, if successful, the air car could prove more sustainable than the electric car. If these concepts catch on, expect it to affect car prices and efficiency worldwide. Who knows, you may even see a few of the little buggies next time you're stuck in traffic.
Mairi Beautyman over at Tree Hugger had a great point, something to think about in 2008. She noted that you better think twice before tossing 'organic' into a sentence. The word is one of 19 words or phrases on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. "['Organic' is] overused and misused to describe not only food, but computer products or human behavior, and often used when describing something as 'natural,' says a quote on the university's Web site (attributed to Crystal Giordano of Brooklyn, New York). After seeing it refer to bottled water and pancake batter in a spray can, we're going to have to agree.
Other words and phrases on the list: Perfect storm; waterboarding; wordsmith; back in the day; and sweet. via ::Yahoo News Also see ::USDA Waters Down Organic Standards
This Christmas Did you get what you wanted? Did you give more than you had too? Did family and friends come to your side showering you with gifts like you were a child lying in a little manger strategizing your mission to save the world? Are you in more debt now that when you started?
Well if you are not, than you probably weaseled your way out of partaking in this great Consumer Holiday called Christmas. Visa and Wal-mart would like you know just How unchristian you are. Or are you? Think about it. You don't have to believe in the Christ to know the only recorded time the Rabbi lost His temper was not when they falsely accused Him to death, but when the temple was turned into a CONSUMER market place. What do you think He would do if he saw His church on Christmas?
A new Movie came out that hits on this topic. What Would Jesus Buy? is the title of a documentary film produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Rob VanAlkemade. The title is a play on the phrase "What would Jesus do?" The film debuted on the festival circuit on March 11, 2007, at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. It is scheduled for wide release on November 16, 2007.
Although the film is a little lengthy and slow at times the topic can not be ignored. The film focuses on the issues of the commercialization of Christmas, materialism, the over-consumption in American culture, globalization, and the business practices of large corporations, as well as their economic and cultural effects on American society, as seen through the prism of activist/performance artist Bill Talen, who goes by the alias of "Reverend Billy," and his troupe of activists, whose street theater performances take the form of a church choir called "The Church of Stop Shopping," that sings anti-shopping and anti-corporate songs. The film follows Billy and his choir as they take a cross-country trip in the month prior to Christmas 2005, and spread their message against what they perceive as the evils of patronizing the retail outlets of several different large corporate chains.
If this is what it will take to open peoples eyes than GO SEE IT.
Next time you plan a party and want to have a great one-of-a-kind t-shirt to give away, or how about your a band looking to for new type of merchandise to sale with your band logo, why not try s(eco)nd print. s(eco)nd print is a new service brought to you by Dust Factory. Get your T-shirts or any other vintage items purchased through them printed with your shop, band, business or event logo through their new print service.
Contact a Dust Factory Sales Rep For More Info at 214.760.7200 or email info@dustfactoryvintage.com.
Tis the season to be jolly, and if you happen to be in New York, green! This year New York’s finest Christmas landmark is going green in the spirit of the Christmas season. For the first time in its history, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, will be getting a new set of energy efficient LED Christmas lights which will be fully powered by solar panels.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, which attracts over 500,000 visitors during the holiday period, will receive over 30,000 LED lights instead of the standard holiday lights that it normally had. This switch from tungsten Christmas lights to LED Christmas lights will have the result of reducing the energy consumption by almost sixty percent. Not only that, but Tishman Speyer, the organizers of the event, have come up with an environmental management plan to reduce the impact of this operation and restore the land from where this tree came from.
The power for the tree’s Christmas lights is coming from a new solar power station that is being installed on top of the roof of 45 Rockefeller Plaza. The 363 General Electric Solar panels will be fed back into the building to help reduce the peak energy demand from the grid.
Oh, and as for the tree? Once the holiday period is over, it will be transformed into lumber to be used by Habitat for Humanity.
Thanks to inhabitat for all the Bueno Verde information.
Ready to take advantage of the federal government? You have until December 31. That's when Washington puts cracks the hammer on consumer tax credits of up to $500 for energy-saving products such as high-efficiency furnaces, water heaters, windows and insulation. If you are thinking about solar roof panels the good news is that credits of up to $2,000 will remain available for solar upgrades --including solar water heaters and photovoltaic roof panels --through December 31, 2008. Even if you miss out, there are plenty of other tax breaks, rebates and discounts available to efficiency-minded homeowners through local governments, banks and utility companies. CNN writer Keith Pandolfi touched base on this topic last week in a this old house section installment online. It is worth looking into if you have time to get some last minute up-grades in.
Surfing is a great way to get exercise and literally immerse yourself in what nature has to offer. On an average in any coastal town, hoards of surfers ride the waves at beach breaks, point breaks, and sand bars, along with a large assortment of other types of spots. Although the sport is generally low-impact and popular amongst young, environmentally conscious people, you can’t help but wonder how much surf wax pollutes the ocean on a daily basis. Several companies offer alternative products to the best-selling Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax, which contains paraffin and added unnatural scent. This is not only bad for the ocean but for skin on your chest that is constantly rubbing across the wax on the top of your board during any given warm water session. There are a few Companies on the market now dedicated to creating environmentally friendly wax from a beeswax base include Muffin Wax, Northern Light Surfboard Wax (which guarantees to be the “stickiest wax on the planet!”) and Phil’s Organic Surf Wax. I haven't got to try any of these companies out yet, but i look forward to the opportunity. If you are by the water i recommend that you Give them a try and let me know what you think!
There was some interesting things said by President Bush the other day during a press briefing at the White House that might be worth bringing up. The President was asked about Vladimir Putin's visit with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran and the threat posed by this emerging Russian-Iranian nuclear alliance....the President warned that World War III could break out if Iran gets nuclear weapons....an exert from the official transcript: "I believe that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be a dangerous threat to world peace. We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.".... Another way of avoiding World War III might of bean to avoid shifting power in this part of the world over to Ahmadinejad's control by bringing instability to the region. Should we be concerned? You bet we should. This is probably old news to most of you, but the following are somethings you might want to know about these two leaders: * Ahmadinejad is a devout Shia Muslim. He began telling colleagues when he was first elected in the summer of 2005 that the end of the world was just two or three years away. He said the way to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah known as the "Mahdi" or the "Twelfth Imam" or the "Hidden Imam" is to annihilate two countries -- Israel, which he says is the "little Satan," and the United States, which he says is the "Great Satan." * In September 2005, Ahmadinejad concluded his address to the U.N. by praying that Allah would hasten the coming of the Mahdi. * Ahmadinejad returned to Iran after that speech and told Shia clerics that as he had spoken at the U.N. he had been surrounded by a halo of light, and that for 27 or 28 minutes not a single person in the General Assembly hall had even blinked, so mesmerized were they -- he said -- but what Allah was saying through him. * In October 2005, Ahmadinejad gave his famous speech vowing to wipe Israel off the map. In the same speech, he urged the Muslim world to envision a world without the United States, and said this is possible -- a world without America and Zionism -- "when our holy hatred strikes like a wave." * In December 2005, Russia signed a $1 billion arms deal with Iran, selling high-speed missiles to the Ahmadinejad regime, on top of billions of dollars worth of other arms, submarines, and nuclear technology in recent years. * In September 2006, Ahmadinejad returned to the U.N. and again concluded his address by praying for Allah to hasten the coming of the Mahdi. Throughout 2006 and 2007, he has continued to give regular speeches denouncing Israel and assuring Muslims that the Jewish State will soon "vanish." * In August 2007, Ahmadinejad began shifting gears. He was no longer saying that the end of the world was two or three years away. Now he was saying the return of the Mahdi was "imminent." * In September 2007, Ahmadinejad again spoke at the U.N., as well as at Columbia University in New York City. This time, rather than ending his speeches with a prayer, he began both speeches by asking Allah to hasten the coming of the Mahdi. * For the past two years, Ahmadinejad has been feverishly trying to build, buy or steal nuclear weapons. He has specifically been building alliances with three nuclear powers, Russia, China and North Korea, in pursuit of his genocidal objectives. * Despite the rhetoric coming out of Tehran, the military, political and economic relationship between Russia and Iran has intensified dramatically over the past two years. Putin doesn't seem bothered by the talk of genocide. Putin and Ahmadinejad have met regularly. Putin's visit this week to Iran was the first by a Russian leader since 1943. * Putin didn't meet only with Ahmadinejad in Iran. He also held a summit with the leaders of several Central Asian/Caspian Sea nations and issued a threat to the U.S. not to intervene militarily to stop Iran's nuclear program. * No one is entirely certain why Putin is building an alliance with such radical Islamic regimes. Russia is certainly making billions of dollars from their arms and nuclear deals. Putin clearly wants to rebuild the glory of Mother Russia. He is becoming a Czar, centralizing power to himself and now saying he will step down as president in 2008 but stay in power as prime minister. * As an emerging Czar, Putin wants to expand Russia's borders and influence. But he can't go West, because NATO is moving East. Putin can't go East because he borders a nuclear China. He recently claimed sovereignty over the North Pole. But his real opportunity to build a global, anti-Western empire lies to the South. So Putin is feverishly working to build alliances with Islamic and Arab powers, including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, and several Central Asian states, as well as Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world. * Still, given Russia's experience in Chechnya, it doesn't really make sense that Russia would arm radical Islamic nations, or help them go nuclear.
Probably nothing... right? I hope so, but i feel that it is worth noting. A war with Iran, probably means a war with Russia. A war with Russia would suck.
Inhabitat had a great write up on Ec0- Air travel that is worth bringing attention to. Air travel is getting greener- at first the EcoJet and Dreamliner lower-emissions aircrafts came onto scene, and now with a ground-breaking development from Green Flight International, biodiesel has succesfully been tested for jet usage. Developed by Biodiesel Solutions and tested on an L-29 military aircraft just last week, biofuel may just be the next sustainable frontier in the challenge to travel more eco-responsibly. On October 5, The Biojet I, an Aero L-29 Delfin aircraft, took off from the Reno-Stead Airport and flew to an altitude of 17,000 feet. While the first tests were done with a mixture of Biodiesel and regular jet fuel, the last flight was done entirely on 100% renewable biodiesel fuel. According to the pilot, there was no reduction in performance compared to conventional jetfuel. Granted, the L-29 is a rather unique aircraft. Originally built during the 1960’s and better known as Czechoslovakia’s first locally designed and built jet aircraft, the plane is rated to fly on several types of fuel which makes it an excellent choice for testing biofuels. It will be interesting to see if this test can be translated to other plane models. Are biodiesel fuels the future for airplane flights? “This test program between Green Flight International and Biodiesel Solutions was a unique and exciting opportunity to show what can be done in renewable fuels.” said Rudi Wiedemann, president of Biodiesel Solutions. “The very idea of using 100% biodiesel to fly a jet aircraft makes a compelling statement about the possibilities for the future of renewable energy and a healthier planet.”
With over 1.1 million people in the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water, water-borne pathogens are a huge problem for the environment and for human health. Fortunately a clever little design has come to the rescue in the form of the Lifestraw The cigar-sized plastic tool is both a feat of engineering and an inexpensive way to deliver potable water to those who need it. Lifestraw delivers the most basic needs and purifies water from potential pathogens like typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhea, becoming one of the icons of humanitarian product design- by the time the water hits your lips, it’s completely safe and potable. The Lifestraw is one of the highlights of the Cooper Hewitt’s Design for the Other 90% exhibition, which highlights products, architecture, and technology that benefits under-privileged demographics across the globe.
Ever so often in the states we try to have a 'no purchase gas day', 'plant a tree day' or 'no smoking day', but imagine if we attempted something this extreme. September 22nd marks the first annual “No Car Day” in China, a national campaign hoping to reduce exhaust emissions and ease traffic congestion by limiting the number of private vehicles on the roads. Over 100 cities in China will participate, leaving residents to travel by foot, bike or public transportation. In Shanghai, a third of the city’s vehicles will be ordered off the roads and private cars will be banned from driving through areas of downtown. In 1994, authorities in Shanghai began auctioning license plates to limit the number of vehicles in the city, but the number of cars in the city continues to rise despite rising costs (one license plate recently sold for RMB 47,000, US$6,200). While it will be hard to limit the cars on the road outside of the specified downtown areas, officials remain optimistic about No Car Day. “We hope everyone in Shanghai will contribute a little for more environmentally friendly living conditions,” said city government spokeswoman Jiao Yang.
Call it a coincidence, or call it what you will, but did anyone pay attention to President Bush's speech the other night? Thursday night, the President addressed the nation, explaining the steady progress U.S. and coalition forces are making in Iraq, but also warning of the disasters that could occur if we are driven out of Iraq before our work is done. Tellingly, he mentioned Iran five times, noting that "Iran would benefit from the chaos and would be encouraged in its efforts to gain nuclear weapons and dominate the region" if the U.S. cuts and runs from Iraq. This is unfortunately true, and is the exact reason why the U.N. and other U.S. allies wanted another approach to Iraq before we come a ridin into town waving our guns in the air. Turns out those little buggers will side with a terrorist organization offering 100 virgins and seniority in the next life over dirty magazines and hand gel in this life. Go Figure. It is worth noting that General David Petraeus mentioned Iran 10 times in his testimony to Congress last week. Iran is obviously arming, training, funding and encouraging our enemies to kill American forces and strangle Iraqi democracy in its infancy. Just like we did with Iraq towards them not to long ago. Will Iran pay a price for these acts of war? Take into effect what was released before labor day clearly, the administration is increasingly drawing attention to Iran blaming them for complicity in the deaths of our forces. Maybe it is nothing, but I think that it is worth noting. A war with Iran is a big deal. The U.S. and it's coalition forces already have their handful. Not to mention that this could likely mean another cold war or direct war with Russia. Can anyone who reads this under the age of 26 say D_R_A_F_T. It's good to be wrong sometimes, but it is even better to Pay attention.
A friend of mine brought to my attention posted under Interesting Times on The New Yorker a couple of days ago, and i thought that it was worth mentioning. I think that I should make note that I hope that the writer is completely off track, but I kind of have a churning in my gut that tells me that he may not be that far off. Let's hope his timing is premature, although the subject matter may be inevitable. Instead of trying to come up with some paraphrase for what was written I will post the actual content taken fromThe New Yorker August 31, 2007
Test Marketing If there were a threat level on the possibility of war with Iran, it might have just gone up to orange. Barnett Rubin, the highly respected Afghanistan expert at New York University, has written an account of a conversation with a friend who has connections to someone at a neoconservative institution in Washington. Rubin can’t confirm his friend’s story; neither can I. But it’s worth a heads-up:
They [the source’s institution] have “instructions” (yes, that was the word used) from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don’t think they’ll ever get majority support for this—they want something like 35-40 percent support, which in their book is “plenty.” True? I don’t know. Plausible? Absolutely. It follows the pattern of the P.R. campaign that started around this time in 2002 and led to the Iraq war. The President’s rhetoric on Iran has been nothing short of bellicose lately, warning of “the shadow of a nuclear holocaust.” And the Iranian government’s behavior—detaining British servicemen and arresting American passport holders, pushing ahead with uranium enrichment, and, by many reliable accounts, increasing its funding and training for anti-American militias in Iraq—seems intentionally provocative. Perhaps President Ahmedinejad and the mullahs feel that they win either way: they humiliate the superpower if it doesn’t take the bait, and they shore up their deeply unpopular regime at home if it does. Preëmptive war requires calculations (and, often, miscalculations) on two sides, not just one, as Saddam learned in 2003. When tensions are this high between two countries and powerful factions in both act as if hostilities are in their interest, war is likely to follow.
It’s one thing for the American Enterprise Institute, the Weekly Standard, et al to champion a war they support. It’s another to jump like circus animals at the crack of the White House whip. If the propaganda campaign predicted by Rubin’s friend is launched, less subservient news organizations should ask certain questions, and keep asking them: Does the Administration expect the Iranian regime to fall in the event of an attack? If yes, what will replace it? If no (and it will not), why would the Administration deliberately set about to strengthen the regime’s hold on power? What will the Administration do to protect highly vulnerable American lives and interests in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world against the Iranian reprisals that will follow? What if Iran strikes against Israel? What will be the strategy when the Iranian nuclear program, damaged but not destroyed, resumes? How will the Administration handle the international alarm and opprobrium that would be an attack’s inevitable fallout?
If this really is a return to the early fall of 2002 all over again, then I’m fairly sure that no one at the top of the Administration is worrying about the answers. "
There have been recent reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that currently over 17% of kids in the USA are overweight, and the number has tripled over the past 20 years. Childhood obesity is a serious issue with numerous consequences that continue over a lifespan.
“There are many factors that contribute to causing child and adolescent obesity - some are modifiable and others are not.
Modifiable causes include:
·Physical Activity - Lack of regular exercise.
·Sedentary behavior - High frequency of television viewing, computer usage, and similar behavior that takes up time that can be used for physical activity.
·Socioeconomic Status - Low family incomes and non-working parents.
·Eating Habits - Over-consumption of high-calorie foods. Some eating patterns that have been associated with this behavior are eating when not hungry, eating while watching TV or doing homework.
·Environment - Some factors are over-exposure to advertising of foods that promote high-calorie foods and lack of recreational facilities.
Non-changeable causes include:
·Genetics - Greater risk of obesity has been found in children of obese and overweight parents.”
However, our policies influence obesity as well. The federal farm bill, which subsidizes crops like corn but does little to promote eating healthy foods, also influences the increase in obesity. Toxic chemicals like bisphenol A are also linked to obesity. To find out more, read the report.
I found this story interesting and worth reporting. This story was posted by By: Mari-Ela David on KHNL KAUAI (KHNL)
- After leaving Honolulu Harbor on its first official journey out to sea, the Superferry gets a nasty welcome from protestors on Kauai. Once the vessel arrived in Kauai around 6:00 p.m. Sunday, angry words rippled through the waters at Nawiliwili Harbor, as protestors temporarily blocked the Alakai from docking.
Some protestors swam and surfed towards the vessel, determined to block the giant ship's path. For safety reasons, the Coast Guard stepped in and stopped the Superferry from docking, leaving 500 passengers stuck on the ship for at least an hour.
Participating in the protest were some of Kauai's leaders. "I'm really disappointed and utterly shocked that the owners are not willing to follow the law to stop their operations," says Kauai County Councilmember Joann Yukimura. Critics say the Superferry is breaking the law.
The Supreme Court ruled the Superferry must provide an environmental assessment. The debate between supporters and opponents is whether or not that ruling means the Superferry can still operate while the assessment is being conducted.
Among Superferry supporters is the State Administration. "Governor Lingle, and the Department of Transportation - I'm very disappointed that they're not respecting the decision that just came down by the Hawaii Supreme Court and I would hope that they would honor that so we can move forward and resolve this very difficult and complicated situation," says Senator Gary Hooser.
But Superferry officials say they are well within the legal lines. In a statement, Hawaii Superferry says "We are extremely disappointed for the passengers who were booked on the voyage to Kauai...we are sorry to see that minority dissident groups have chosen to oppose a service that the people of Hawaii have overwhelmingly embraced."
The Superferry finally docked around 7 pm Sunday.
Witnesses say protestors laid down in front of cars as the crew tried to unload the vehicles off Nawiliwili Harbor. At that point, they say the Superferry boarded passengers back on the ship. The vessel is scheduled to arrive at Honolulu Harbor around 11:00 p.m. Sunday.
The Transportation Corridor Agency is seeking to build an extension to the existing 241 Toll Road. The proposed Foothill Transportation Corridor South (FTC-South) is a sixteen-mile long toll road highway that would connect the current terminus of the 241 Toll Road to Interstate 5. The TCA is proposing six alignments for this project; four of which run directly through and along San Mateo Creek. If constructed, not only would this project directly threaten the world class surf break at and around Trestles (including Uppers, Lowers, Middles, Church and Cottons), the project would also result in the obliteration of Southern California?s last remaining pristine coastal watershed and substantially degrade habitat that is critical for the survival of at least seven endangered species, including the Southern Steelhead trout.
Wave Degradation
* This project would require substantial grading of the terrain and millions of yards of hard reinforcement (steel, concrete and other materials), that will alter the natural sediment flow through San Mateo Creek,, which supplies sand to the Trestles surf breaks.
* According to the Transportation Corridor Agency?s own engineering consultants, losses in sedimentation flow would cause ?substantial degradation to surfing resources,? which will likely result in significant degradation to the wave quality at Lower Trestles and nearby breaks (including Uppers, Middles, Cottons and Church).
Water Quality
* A recent scientific report demonstrates that when over 10 percent of a watershed is paved there are significant water quality and ecosystem impacts.
* Similar projects have resulted in generating significant increases of oils, heavy metals and other toxins. Given the proximity of the project to the watershed, this project would result in a decrease of water quality for Trestles and the surrounding breaks.
* The TCA?s assertion that they can mitigate for this run-off is dubious. The initial mitigation systems that were installed on the nearby RT73 Toll Road failed, and had to be replaced at tax-payer expense. All mitigation efforts are ineffective during large rain events.
Environmental Damage from the Toll Road
* The walk in at Trestles is half the experience. The area is home to numerous native plant and animal species, including several endangered species. This area would be profoundly impacted by such a massive project essentially cutting the San Mateo Creek watershed in half.
* The FTC-South will run directly through San Onofre Beach State Park. This 2028 acre park the 5th most visited park in the California State Parks system.
* The San Mateo Creek Watershed is one of the last large coastal open spaces in Southern California The FTC-South will forever change this last vestige of coastal wilderness, including profound compromises to the Donna O?Neill Land Conservancy.
* TCA claims that the FTC-South will provide relief of traffic congestion along Interstate 5 in fact contradict their own FTC-South traffic projections that rely on cannibalizing San Diego County bound traffic from the I-15 and feeding that Inland Empire traffic to the I-5 via the toll roads.
* FTC-South would be built through undeveloped land, which would promote development, and ultimately bring forth new traffic from urbanization.
* FTC-South will increase, not decrease traffic on the 1-5 stretch in south San Clemente where the proposed toll road will merge with 1-5, which is already at over-capacity along this stretch. Northern San Diego County will also be affected by potentially severe increases in traffic congestion.
Expense
* The FTC-South is expected to cost close to $1 billion (nearly $53 million a mile). Currently the plan is to fund the project by non-recourse bonds, as well as development impact fees that are already being added to real estate sales in Southern Orange County.
*Contrary to TCA claims, these projects are NOT SELF FUNDED! According to an October 10, 2005 article in the Orange County Register, the nearby RT73 Toll Road is ?financially struggling? and ?faces not being able to make its debt payments in about nine years.?
SUPPORT THE SURFRIDER FOUNDATION IN ITS FIGHT TO SAVE TRESTLES!
* The dramatic decreases in water quality, degradation to the wave quality at Trestles, destruction of the San Onofre State Beach Park and some of the last open space in Southern California, and harm to endangered and threatened species are costs not worth the questionable benefits of this extremely expensive toll road.
* Surfers, swimmers and other ocean enthusiasts enjoy the waters and waves of Trestles year round. There is no other place like it in California or the world. Please join in our efforts to Save Trestles for our children and future generations.
If you’re obsessed with saving energy and feel a compulsion to control every kilowatt of power consumed in your household than this may be the product for you. The TED is a complete, electricity monitoring system that shows you your power usage numbers in real-time. Designed for a typical North American residence with a single 200-amp (max) service panel. The system comes complete with all you will need to get accurate, up-to-the-second energy data.
I would suggest you get an electrician to install this on your power grid or fuse box though the company says the unit can be installed by a “qualified” homeowner.
A friend of mine sent this to me in an email. This is probably old news to most of you. But just in case you still own a microwave, you should probably take note of this.
No plastic containers in micro !
No water bottles in freezer.
No plastic wrap in microwave...
A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers... This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body... Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food...
You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons...
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.
Cover food with a paper towel instead. This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life!
I found an interesting web-site the other day when I became curious about world populations, as a result to conversation I was in. There are a few different sites that have different estimates that put the world population between 6.6 billion and 6.8 billion people. The site I became interested is www.worldometers.info. This site claims to give real-time stats to the world population. They have ongoing meters with the current births this year, current deaths, current population, deaths today and absolute population growth for today. Not only that, they have meters covering how many people died of aids today, how many cartons of cigarettes were made today too how many books that have published this year. World Meters is a pretty interesting site to say the least.
Here is where I took it a step further. I was curious when the world would hit the exact number of man, using 6. Many different scholars have their own interpretation of the number of man is. I was interested when the world’s population would hit 6,666,666,666. Not because I believe that doom’s day will happen or Armageddon, it was just out of plain curiosity. So I put together a couple of proportions and formulas to come up with a date and time. Then I checked my work and was amazed by what I found. Now please do not think that I feel World Meter is 100% accurate, as far as I know they could be way off by weeks ahead or months behind. However, for sake of argument I would like to share with you what I found.
I started my formulas by estimating a day sometime next year. My wifes birthday. No, I was way off. So then I plugged in a date a little closer, let’s say September 11, 2007 the Muslims seam to like this date. No, I was still off. I kept adjusting my dates until I found something that worked. I then checked my math against world meter and was a little bit shocked at what i discovered.
According to World Meter we will hit 6,666,666,666 world populations Tomorrow Morning, (Tuesday) August 7th at 10:04 am and 35 seconds,
Central Standard Time.
08:04 35 Am San Francisco 11:04 35 Am New York 06:04 35 Pm Jerusalem 05:04 35 Am Honolulu 11:34 35 Pm New Deli 01:04 35 Am Perth (08/08/07)
For the entire month of August Counter Culture Store at Mockingbird Station is having a donation drive called "PROJECT JUXTAPOSITION". Individuals throw away 67.9 pounds of used clothing and rags each year. Collectively, Americans discard two quadrillion pounds (that's a two with fifteen zeroes) of used clothing and textiles into the landfills each year. Fortunately, we can make sure they reach the people who need them rather than find their way into already-bulging landfills.
We are making it as easy as 1,2,3 to make a difference.
1. Drop off your old clothes in our donation bin
2. We give you a 10% discount on new, vintage or refurbished clothes
3. We make sure your old clothes make it to those in need through local charities.
Take the train, ride a bike, skate or drive a friend. We guarantee that once you revolutionize your shopping experience, you will want to teach others how they can.
Counter Culture Store 5331 E. Mockingbird Ln. Suite 110 Dallas, TX 75226
The lines are being drawn and the players are getting set
Not many Westerners pay attention to World headlines. They are too consumed with wondering who is going to be the next American idol, or if Paris Hilton is wearing her hair extensions or not. This is a dangerous attitude to have considering that major things are happening in the Epicenter of the world that could have major impact on their lives, and they know nothing about it.
So you have the leader of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, quoted saying "the end of the world is in 2-3 years.""He will wipe Israel of the face of the earth." Then you have Vladimir Putin of Russia, with its poor economy, striking deals to arm this guy. In the mean time the US is striking deals with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Emirate States and of course Israel to arm them to the tilt. I wonder if Paris Hilton really said that Brittney Spears is lame?.
Google Sets The Pace With Largest Corporate Solar Installation in the US
I got this information from Green Options. Search for "Largest corporate solar installation in the U.S." and you'll see Google pop up in the results. As of yesterday, the search engine giant became a lot less dependent on the grid by flipping the switch on nearly 9,212 solar panels. The output of more than 1.6 megawatts will serve up enough energy to power almost 1/3 of the campus. For some perspective, that's enough energy to power more than 1,000 homes!
Michael dEstries at Green Options points out that Google not content, however, to simply let a few thousand solar panels represent their green values, Google also unveiled a new parking garage specifically designed for plug-in-electric vehicles and hybrid cars. Employees can now charge while at work and hit the road freshly juiced afterwards. "Wait a minute," you say. "There aren't any commercial plug-in cars available yet!" And you're right. So, to address this issue, Google is also taking hybrid vehicles and converting them to plug-ins so that they can cruise along on only electricity for longer periods of time and at greater speeds. According to the article, they've so far converted four Toyota Prius and two Ford Escapes. Almost 100 such conversions are planned for employees to use as a car-share program while at work. Who are these guys?
Monday also marked the launch of Google's new philanthropic division, RechargeIT. The group has earmarked $10 million for investments in companies and projects that support alternative transportation that reduces the use of fossil fuels and emissions. You can also visit the site to see how the plug-in cars that Google has converted are performing.
To say this is encouraging would be a bit of an understatement. Would the rest of the corporate U.S. please pay attention? The future of business sustainability lies in example at Google HQ. We applaud their efforts and hope such green initiative become contagious nationwide.
"100% Powered By Vegetable Oil" Bumper Sticker Gets a 1k Dollar Fine
If the Government could completely have it their way, they would lock you up for using anything other than their heavily taxed gasoline or diesel. If you don't believe take a look at this story from the Charlotte Observer.
Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
"So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.
His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes
He's been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.
And to legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond.
Teixeira is one of a growing number of fuel-it-yourselfers -- backyard brewers who recycle restaurant grease or make moonshine for their car tanks. They do it to save money, reduce pollution or thumb their noses at oil sheiks."
This story is too ridiculous to believe. the truth is we should be exempting people like this from oil taxes, not punishing them! Unfortunately, most state laws have strict penalties for those that do not partake from the traditional pump, and follow their strict LAWS. It’s almost like the Spanish Inquisition has come to the fuel industry. States understandably receive an immense amount of money from taxing fuel to help pay for road repair costs. Still, a $2,500 bond, $1,000 fine, and another $1K from the federal government? It’s enough to make any American think twice about making the switch. Then again, that’s probably the entire point.
The head of the OPEC oil cartel just said that investing in biofuels could push oil prices “through the roof,” the UK’s Financial Times reported yesterday. OPEC secretary general Abdalla El-Badri had the nerve to say that moves to use biofuels would make his members consider cutting investment in oil production.
Even US Oil Tycoon Texas Cowboy/President Bush says the US will aim to cut its petrol use by 20 per cent in the next ten years, partly through increased use of biofuels. Opec members control about 40 per cent of the world’s oil production. El-Badri said that while OPEC members had so far maintained their investment plans, he added: “If we are unable to see a security of demand we may revisit investment in the long term.”
This warning comes as leaders of the G8 industrialized nations gather for their summit in Germany. Environmental issues are high on the agenda and the use of biofuels is central to the attempts of many G8 countries to cut their carbon emissions. Biofuels can be anything made with vegetable matter that burns.
The US is not the only nation that depends on Opecs oil, Gabrielle Reilly at Gift of Gab brings up that China alone is reshaping the global oil relationships in and of itself. This year China has become the second largest user of oil outside of the US surpassing Japan. As China’s economy grows and technology improves, the Chinese are setting aside their bikes for cars. Although it may still be two decades before many of the peasants laboring in the manufacturing sectors become consumers, with a population of well over 1 billion people, it would only take a small percentage of the population to consume as much as the U.S. does. Will this bring China into closer relations with the Middle East in preference to the U.S.? Only time will give us the sure answer to that question.
So OPEC is feeling the pressure? Let's see how they act when their is actual competition on the field. In my opinion, if the Americans paid what Europeans pay at the pumps for gasoline, they would drive less and be looking for way more alternative fuels and modes of transportation. Pushing the envelope further towards bio fuels, maybe even passing positive laws to help enforce them.
