Editor's Blog

Art of the Seed

TheEditor — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:05:50 +0000

Visit the seed project web page and discover how to turn everyday planting into social sculpture and good green global energy. Plus, read the story here.

Turn your light down low

TheEditor — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:42:02 +0000

Issue 24 is now on stands throughout New Mexico. Of particular interest to me is the story on dark skies. Something from the story that really struck me is that the Milky Way was clearly visible from every major US city just one hundred years ago. Starry skies are beautiful where I live in northern New Mexico, but they could be even more spectacular. Neighbors on two sides of me have offensive lighting. I can see the glare from town. Please give thought to the way you light your house at night. Does it serve any purpose to have light directed upward? What good is it going to do trying to light the night sky? Keep the light down where you need it, if you even need it at all. Starry Night Lights has some great lighting products to help bring back our dark, star-filled nights. Check them out.

Earth Hour

TheEditor — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:57:48 +0000

I ran this a couple of weeks ago, but time is running out for you to plan your Earth Hour party. Here are the details.

This March 29th, at 8:00 PM (your time, wherever you are) people all over the world will be turning off their lights for one hour. A number of cities have done this before, but this is the first time a concerted effort has been made to take it global. It doesn't matter where you live, you can do your part. Tell your friends, spread the word. Go to the Earth Hour website for more details and/or sign up to let them know you're with them in the effort to cut emissions. An added bonus will be dark skies, something we don't get very often, no matter where we live.

And Tasty, Too

TheEditor — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:56:20 +0000

Y'all know this already, I'm sure, but it's now official: organic foods are more nutritious than their non-organic counterparts. A recent report by the Organic Center used 97 studies to determine that organically grown plant-based foods are 25 percent more nutrient dense than the conventional variety. Read more about it here.

Oops!

TheEditor — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:28:23 +0000

It had to happen sooner or later. Two well-meaning Canadians brought out the big guns to do away with some problematic gophers. Using a Rodenator, they managed to bump off a handful of the varmints, but on one attempt they missed the target and ended up setting a brush fire that destroyed 160 acres and a few outbuildings. Thankfully, no homes were destroyed. I have a pretty bad gopher problem at my place and have wanted one these babies for a while, but now I need to think twice. Here's an example of how it should be done.

Rodenator - Funny videos are here

Pump It Up

TheEditor — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:44:06 +0000

I received a forwarded email this morning that has some interesting insights on getting the most bang for your buck when you pump gas. I don't know who wrote the original message, but I dont'think he would mind me posting it. Pardon the jumbled format.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the
more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying
in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a
gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the
temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other
petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the
service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

Finger Lickin' Good

TheEditor — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:53:26 +0000

I admit it, I'm a carnivore. Do I swallow guilt when I nibble on a babyback rib or slice up a rump roast? Yeah, I do. But I tried the vegetarian thing for a year and it didn't work. But it sure works for our buddy Moby, who was featured in issue 21. Colonel Sanders gets what's comin' to him in this video for "Disco Lies" from Moby's latest CD, Last Night, due out April 1. If anything can get me to give up chicken, it's this. Warning, this gets grizzly -- not for the little ones.
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Get on the Bus

TheEditor — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:53:25 +0000

San Francisco is at it again. Working with Cisco, the city's Municipal Transportation Agency is launching a program designed to improve the often mundane experience of riding a bus, lure new riders and reduce emissions. The electric hybrid buses are 95 percent emissions-free and eliminate 270 tons of carbon annually. But wait, the coolest part is the buses are connected. The Connected Bus, as it's called, is wired. Riders get free wifi and there are touch-screen monitors that give travel and wait-time info. Check it out.

Juice From Jello

TheEditor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:25:34 +0000

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the US military will be deploying biomass refineries that turn mess hall leftovers and other trash into electricity. The four-ton machines made by military contractors and scientists at Purdue University can run for twenty hours on one ton of trash and produce enough juice to light a small village. The refineries are part of the military's effort to reduce its use of diesel, which is hauled in tanker convoys that are frequent targets for insurgents. Each refinery will save 115 gallons of diesel each day. It's a pretty cool idea, but when you consider that the military brings 1.29 million gallons of fuel into Iraq every day, you quickly go from impressed to outraged. Read the full story here.

Let There Be Light

TheEditor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:35:25 +0000

Here's an astounding statistic: 1.6 billion people do not have access to electricity. Forget about charging cell phones and iPods, over 20 percent of the world's population has no electric lights, and I doubt they sell a lot of AAA's in the middle of Burkina Faso. According to Nobel Peace Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, over a billion of them could be provided with solar-powered lights for roughly the same amount of money that is spent on the war in Iraq in just one month. From Reuters.