travis- are you in the twin cities or tokyo???? i thought there were more archinectors from up here, but everybody has been hiding in the woodwork... oh, welcome to archinect.
re: your path to architecture- yes, you have what it takes to be a 'scaper or 'tect. don't give up just because you applied during one of the most competitive grad school cycles ever. another option include becoming a sustainable design consultant. there are few regulations in naming yourself that. pass the leed exam, read metropolis and all the other greenzines, join the local usgbc chapter, and try to get a job with a consulting firm that does leed certification or the local government.
yeah, what's wierd is that was EXACTLY what I was picturing when I had the idea earlier in the thread. It just makes so much sense. I would love it if Toyota picked up on that and started offering it as an option at the time of purchase, like leather seats or a sunroof.
I'm busy writing about water, infrastructure, and Los Angeles for an upcoming book. My editor has charged me with writing about:
...Owens Lake and its relationship to the individual Angelino. For most of the book, the sense seems to be that the Angelino is living a life much like a goose having its liver fattened up by being force-fed a nice, creamy diet of gruel through a funnel stuck into its throat. According to the farmers who want to preserve pâté production in the Golden State, the goose only minds this for a few days and then begins to eagerly anticipate the funnel. Angelinos are little different except that they don't need any help to have the funnel stuck down their throat, they go gladly. The Owens Lake is, in a sense, the widest part of the funnel? How does all this go down?
One more thing you might want to deal with is the phenomenon of increasing draught. Is the Owens Lake a harbinger of the future? Are the re-watering schemes doomed? Give your reader an understanding of the big picture.
So with this in mind, I came across the California Climate Change Portal that has lots of good resources and reports. Also worth looking at is inhabitat and their write up of the latest James Hansen interview, now we have 2 1/2 years left to repent before its too late!!!!!
ok, I'm a sustainability geek - but I'm starting to think about heading for the hills and living in a kazinsky cabin off the grid. just need some water, whisky and a flock of geese for faux gras.
Anyway, thanks for the support. I have tried to do some architecure related things. I work for a major architecture part maker and one of the world's leading producers of PV. I used to have a bilingual newsletter at my old job that I wrote about architecture in, and also the SANAA internship I mentioned.
Apparently all of that wasn't good enough to get in. :(
My grades were absolute crap because of some personal stuff i was going through at the end of college, so that worked very much against me. I asked every admissions board, and they said that they place more emphasis on the portfolio than grades, but apparently that wasn't true.
Anyway, back on topic. I'll keep coming in here. I've been looking for this kind of community, and was sad when I didn't really find it at career discovery last summer.
OK, so, I just got done watching "Who Killed The Electric Car?" and I feel like I just got punched in the gut. It's infuriating, it's disheartening, it's sickening, and I feel a little helpless realizing this just happened 4 short years ago. I feel like between the total destruction of the electric car fleet (because that's what they did, they destroyed them all) and the Iraq war and all the other misinformation we endured that year, 2003 will be written in the books as a real low point in this country's history.
Travis- with poor grads but strong passion, you may have to go via the undergrad route to a b.arch. The other application advice is to get the better recommendations, if possible with people who are linked to the programs you're interested in (you have six months to work on this). Also you may want to avoid the uber competitive schools, and find a strong but unsung program in the middle of the country. U of MN is on an ascendant trajectory, and has a strong sustainable design program.
I'd love to have you as a student/colleague (if I ever get a job again or land a teaching gig). Good luck till next application season!
In local mpls news, the headlines last night were about a kid bit on the leg by a 'muskie' in lake calhoun. killer fish are on the rampage in the twin cities!
Wk- there is supposed to be footage of EV1s being crushed thanks to Huell Howser
That's disgusting! It makes me so sad! Look at them, they were such good little cars. Also, I will NEVER BUY A GM VEHICLE EVER. Which means I'm probably never buying American again period, since I've already sworn off Fords.
I am now contemplating unloading my car as soon as humanly possible as my reprehension for the entire car culture has reached new heights. Trouble is I still need my bike and I have to wait for that a little longer....
It's upsetting too, because I love car design, especially the classic models....but they need to get their act together.
WK- I deal with that by having a sweet classic car that I almost never drive, since my daily commute is a block and a half on a 71 Schwinn Typhoon. That way I get to appreciate the car's design without destroying the world, and I'm paying about $100/year for insurance AND registration! Plus I keep it out of a junkyard or landfill.
But it all goes to hell once I get on a plane to fly back east and see family at Christmas......
Speaking of flying, FRO, I am experiencing some serious green guilt right now.....because of work, I am boarding no less than 7 planes in the next two weeks. I wish that that gods of sustainability would take a critical look at the airline industry and work out a way to make this more efficient for everyone involved, because it's just not.
DubK,
i too just got finished watching "Who Killed the Electric Car"! i was going to come on here and post about it as well.
what the hell is up with GM, FORD, TOYOTA, etc. it is infuriating. i effin hate car companies. and i hate these so-called "boards" who decide things "for the better" of the public. it reminded me of a series i saw on HBO about the 2004 election and all the discarded ballots, etc. i can't remember what it was called, but i am sure it can be googled--- everyone should watch that too.
i had one day hoped to restore a '69 chevy corvette. i LOVE the curves- that car is so damn sexy... it just sucks that the car industry is like this... i'll probably never do that because i don't think i can bring myself to buy another gas vehicle.
change of topic- I need Green Thread Central's editorial assistance!
I'm submitting a manuscript draft TOMORROW that examines Los Angeles's infrastructural love affair with Owens Valley. (Do you remember the movie Chinatown? Owens Valley is the place we get 70% of our water from...)
So I'm attempting to write the conclusion in an upbeat and green voice and hope you have some suggestions of what moral I need to provide the readers of the next Blue Monday.
Here is what I've written. (It follows some speculation of the future availability of water for the region that includes dreaming about vertical farms to purify the sewage.)
------------
The present conditions in Owens Valley are directly tied to emergence of the infrastructure serving Los Angeles and the suppression of local growth to allow Los Angeles to flourish. The presence of the Los Angeles Aqueduct has preserved the agrarian openness of the valley - something we have acutely lost in Southern California. With the pressures of increased migration and birth rates, little can be done to limit the pending growth of California as long as there is available water. If we loose the water, where will we go?
Returning to living within the available natural resources is a major cultural shift that the developed world must face. If we care about the well being of our future generations and the beauty of the world we live in, we must change. Change can be scary, painful, and difficult, but the cost of doing nothing is much more severe. Between limited water resources, energy resources, and running out of land to grow food on, we are facing some incredible opportunities for reinventing our society for the better.
---------
So whatcha think? am I ending on too much of a downer? am I chicken little? Do I need to expand on what those golden opportunities are?
email me if you would like to read the entire draft and offer suggestions - the final deadline is the end of June.
Also, if I may, the last sentence might read better this way:
"Between limited water and energy resources, and running out of land on which to grow food, we are facing some incredible opportunities for reinventing our society for the better".
I don't think it's too much of a downer. How many words are you going for? What's the audience? What's the context? I'm just curious, I'm used to pretty strict editing that involves a more detached approach to writing, but I like the tone of this so far, and think it's fine if the audience is appropriate.
i mentioned this book called Ecology of Fear by Mike Davis on page four of GTC...it touches upon many development related issues in greater Los Angeles.
I'm sure you'd find it enjoyable...especially given your current work on the Owen's Valley issue.
i figured as much, but i've been surprised before. you never know what might slip through the cracks of someone's reading agenda. and it's been a great primer for folks i know who hadn't been exposed to much of that train of thought.
i read it years ago too, but it's as poignant as it was then. i loved the segment on the destruction of LA in pop culture.
Marc Reiser (of Cadillac Desert fame) wrote a book that got published post-humously in 2003. not sure if he was inspired by davis or if it was the other way around.
I'm amused by Mike's hyperbole and exaggeration on how bad los angeles was. he seems to only live in the city portrayed by the tv news, not the city that actually is there.
so, i was going to drive my 95 civic forever - my bf had fixed it up to run perfectly - and then he decided to go rear end someone. so, i'm in the market for a new car.
i bring this up because i've really only been considering another civic -good gas mileage, easy to repair, compact, etc.
but i have to say, i just fell in love last night.
we went and test drove an insight. and i loved it!! so quiet, the gas mileage is amazing. when you stop and put the car in neutral, it turns off - put it back in gear and starts right up. and even though it's a 2 seater, it still feels pretty roomy. and considering it's only the two of us, how much space do we really need?
so, does anyone have any experiences with the insight/prius? the only thing that concerns me is repairs - life of the battery, etc.
I wanted to get an insite for my wife, but they aren't being made/sold by honda any more. we bought a fit instead, and had to wait 5 months for it's delivery. now she's very happy (we've had it for less then one month). the battery thing is a risk, but most batteries are recyclable and the lower rate of depreciation should even things out over the time you own it.
is the insite the one that's basically a hybrid version of the del sol? If so, I say go for it. I really wanted a little del sol when I was on the car hunt, but they stopped making them so long ago that all the ones I could find had like, 120,000 miles on them.
On the driving note, evidently Honda will no longer be offering a Hybrid Accord, opting instead for 4 cyl diesel. Interesting blurb on the evident market for Hybrids being limited to those solely interested in fuel economy.
j
i wouldn't really say that the insight is like a del sol... maybe in size, but it's a 3 cylinder vs. the del sol - which has the same engine as a civic.
it is unfortunate they stopped making it (both the del sol and insight), but i have found some good deals on the insight!
i will keep you guys updated with what i purchase.
i really like honda products, but i'm sad to see that the insight (and now the hybrid accord) no longer produced. i know there was just a discussion about the movie "who killed the electric car?" (great movie) - what is the problem with electric? i'm confused as to why honda is slowly getting rid of their hybrids.
my dad works at a honda plant up in ohio - i was asking him if there was the option for hybrids for company cars. he told me no - and in fact, some suppliers make their employees get v6 models. what's really funny is that these suppliers give their employees gas cards. so - not only are they spending more money on the v6, they're also spending more money on gas.
So does the 'localism rating' and the transport footprint mean that they've got to make a different label for each area? I'm all for the concept, but recognize that THAT has to be a pain in the ass.
as someone who drives (and loves) his hybrid civic, i have to say that i don't think the hybrid accord's demise is a big loss. it was hardly fuel efficient given that they felt it necessary to make it a v-6 to 'make up' for its hybridness. it was greenwash, at best.
My brother is a complete and utter car freak and I am car free. We've been discussing hybrid cars. We agreed that if you really wanna be green, then get rid of the car, however this is not possible for everyone. Then he came with a very interesting fact; making a car costs more energy than a car uses for driving in its lifetime! In other words, the biggest environmental problem with cars (on the world scale) is making them. This means that it is much greener to save a car from the scrapheap, than to buy a brand new hybrid. You will use a little extra gasoline and make a little more stinky fumes, but in the end you will use way less energy and pollute way less.
I totally agree with him. Do you?
if your sole interest is to be green then yes. especially if upon rescuing that car you put it back in good enough shape to make it as non-polluting as possible.
but if you both want to be green AND save yourself some green AND find that you have no recourse that doesn't include daily driving, a hybrid is a good ultra-low-emissions alternative.
and any green discussion has to get beyond energy use. energy - whethere embodied energy in the form of an old car or newly spent energy in the form of gasoline extraction/production - is one thing; our city's weekly/biweekly 'ozone emergency days' are another thing -something that affects us and our kids right now as much as energy use.
rutger, where do you live? My bf's cousins in Fresno make their living out of getting salvage title cars, fixing them up, and reselling them. If you're in CA, I can put you in touch to see what they've got right now. Unfortunately they deal mostly in trucks and SUV's, simply because that's what sells the best in Fresno, but they get some cars too. I abused my family privilage to pull my Jetta out of a salvage auction with their license. Oh, another idea: for $7,500, I'll sell you a salvaged '01 Jetta that was actually never wrecked, just vandalized badly. I'm going car-free in September, so it's going to be on the market in about a month or so here.
I've heard the same thing about PV panels- that they can never produce enough energy to offset the energy required to produce them. Seems a little odd, since they can last a VERY long time with little to no maintenance, but then again it is quite a process to make one.
Wow, FRO, really? I guess I've never considered the energy or process required to make PV panels. Couldn't one conceivably use PV panels to produce more PV panels? Which would mean that the energy that went into making those INITIAL panels was a lot but over time, the energy required to make additional generations would dwindle down to nothing assymptotically.
FRO,
Where did you hear that? My solar rep says a pv panel will produce 20x the energy required to make it during its lifetime. I will check if he can give me some proof and post it when he does.
j
Okay, he sent me two links this one link
which was the source of the 20x statement (by the editor no source cited). This one link
however is more scientific with citations and a better reading of how payback varies (in 1999) from location to location. This is an industry report though so you may want to take it with a grain of salt and do some more backgrounding on it.
So imho, I still think price is the only real barrier to solar kicking all other energy sources behind. Oh yeah, and that political thingy.
j
Green Thread Central
did my sarcasm come through okay on that one??
it is sarcastic wednesday after all.
and great, i moved from number 2 (burlington, VT) to something between 28 (San Francisco) and 45 (oakland.)
something to be said for moving where there needs changin' i guess.
no point in preaching to the choir like i do here.
Gosh I forgot about sarcastic wednesday! It did come through alright, mighty.
I am totally serious though, I hold my breath every time I drive through Gary.
like the chickens that roost outside my window...
it's FOWL!
Minneapolis is #9! Woooh!
travis- are you in the twin cities or tokyo???? i thought there were more archinectors from up here, but everybody has been hiding in the woodwork... oh, welcome to archinect.
re: your path to architecture- yes, you have what it takes to be a 'scaper or 'tect. don't give up just because you applied during one of the most competitive grad school cycles ever. another option include becoming a sustainable design consultant. there are few regulations in naming yourself that. pass the leed exam, read metropolis and all the other greenzines, join the local usgbc chapter, and try to get a job with a consulting firm that does leed certification or the local government.
Could it be possible? Could Bush really be talking about trying to cut greenhouse gases?
Also, rationalist revived that smart car thread....with a very interesting development in solar powered Priuses. (or is it Prii? :o)
yeah, what's wierd is that was EXACTLY what I was picturing when I had the idea earlier in the thread. It just makes so much sense. I would love it if Toyota picked up on that and started offering it as an option at the time of purchase, like leather seats or a sunroof.
I'm busy writing about water, infrastructure, and Los Angeles for an upcoming book. My editor has charged me with writing about:
...Owens Lake and its relationship to the individual Angelino. For most of the book, the sense seems to be that the Angelino is living a life much like a goose having its liver fattened up by being force-fed a nice, creamy diet of gruel through a funnel stuck into its throat. According to the farmers who want to preserve pâté production in the Golden State, the goose only minds this for a few days and then begins to eagerly anticipate the funnel. Angelinos are little different except that they don't need any help to have the funnel stuck down their throat, they go gladly. The Owens Lake is, in a sense, the widest part of the funnel? How does all this go down?
One more thing you might want to deal with is the phenomenon of increasing draught. Is the Owens Lake a harbinger of the future? Are the re-watering schemes doomed? Give your reader an understanding of the big picture.
So with this in mind, I came across the California Climate Change Portal that has lots of good resources and reports. Also worth looking at is inhabitat and their write up of the latest James Hansen interview, now we have 2 1/2 years left to repent before its too late!!!!!
ok, I'm a sustainability geek - but I'm starting to think about heading for the hills and living in a kazinsky cabin off the grid. just need some water, whisky and a flock of geese for faux gras.
treekiller,
I'm in Tokyo, but I spent the first 20 years of my life in Mpls. I look at this website when I get minneapolis-sick
http://www.cgstock.com/minneapolis.html
Anyway, thanks for the support. I have tried to do some architecure related things. I work for a major architecture part maker and one of the world's leading producers of PV. I used to have a bilingual newsletter at my old job that I wrote about architecture in, and also the SANAA internship I mentioned.
Apparently all of that wasn't good enough to get in. :(
My grades were absolute crap because of some personal stuff i was going through at the end of college, so that worked very much against me. I asked every admissions board, and they said that they place more emphasis on the portfolio than grades, but apparently that wasn't true.
Anyway, back on topic. I'll keep coming in here. I've been looking for this kind of community, and was sad when I didn't really find it at career discovery last summer.
Oh, and subscribe to the NPR environment podcast everyone. It's kind of interesting.
OK, so, I just got done watching "Who Killed The Electric Car?" and I feel like I just got punched in the gut. It's infuriating, it's disheartening, it's sickening, and I feel a little helpless realizing this just happened 4 short years ago. I feel like between the total destruction of the electric car fleet (because that's what they did, they destroyed them all) and the Iraq war and all the other misinformation we endured that year, 2003 will be written in the books as a real low point in this country's history.
Seriously, watch it. It's disgusting.
Travis- with poor grads but strong passion, you may have to go via the undergrad route to a b.arch. The other application advice is to get the better recommendations, if possible with people who are linked to the programs you're interested in (you have six months to work on this). Also you may want to avoid the uber competitive schools, and find a strong but unsung program in the middle of the country. U of MN is on an ascendant trajectory, and has a strong sustainable design program.
I'd love to have you as a student/colleague (if I ever get a job again or land a teaching gig). Good luck till next application season!
In local mpls news, the headlines last night were about a kid bit on the leg by a 'muskie' in lake calhoun. killer fish are on the rampage in the twin cities!
Wk- there is supposed to be footage of EV1s being crushed thanks to Huell Howser
R.I.P. EV1!
That's disgusting! It makes me so sad! Look at them, they were such good little cars. Also, I will NEVER BUY A GM VEHICLE EVER. Which means I'm probably never buying American again period, since I've already sworn off Fords.
I am now contemplating unloading my car as soon as humanly possible as my reprehension for the entire car culture has reached new heights. Trouble is I still need my bike and I have to wait for that a little longer....
It's upsetting too, because I love car design, especially the classic models....but they need to get their act together.
WK- I deal with that by having a sweet classic car that I almost never drive, since my daily commute is a block and a half on a 71 Schwinn Typhoon. That way I get to appreciate the car's design without destroying the world, and I'm paying about $100/year for insurance AND registration! Plus I keep it out of a junkyard or landfill.
But it all goes to hell once I get on a plane to fly back east and see family at Christmas......
Speaking of flying, FRO, I am experiencing some serious green guilt right now.....because of work, I am boarding no less than 7 planes in the next two weeks. I wish that that gods of sustainability would take a critical look at the airline industry and work out a way to make this more efficient for everyone involved, because it's just not.
this is in no way an endorsement for terrapass but you might do a little research into carbon offsetting.
i know it's a bit controversial in many ways, but then again, the wheel was controversial.
take a look dubK, maybe you can get the boss to cover the offset fee if you're travelling for work.
wK- look into buying carbon offsets for the traveling and then submit them as expenses to the client for reimbursement...
Science Friday on Talk of the Nation on NPR had some cool topics, listen to them if you have time.
sucking CO2 out of the air
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=10621219
using aluminum alloys to generate hydrogen
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=10621223
DubK,
i too just got finished watching "Who Killed the Electric Car"! i was going to come on here and post about it as well.
what the hell is up with GM, FORD, TOYOTA, etc. it is infuriating. i effin hate car companies. and i hate these so-called "boards" who decide things "for the better" of the public. it reminded me of a series i saw on HBO about the 2004 election and all the discarded ballots, etc. i can't remember what it was called, but i am sure it can be googled--- everyone should watch that too.
i had one day hoped to restore a '69 chevy corvette. i LOVE the curves- that car is so damn sexy... it just sucks that the car industry is like this... i'll probably never do that because i don't think i can bring myself to buy another gas vehicle.
change of topic- I need Green Thread Central's editorial assistance!
I'm submitting a manuscript draft TOMORROW that examines Los Angeles's infrastructural love affair with Owens Valley. (Do you remember the movie Chinatown? Owens Valley is the place we get 70% of our water from...)
So I'm attempting to write the conclusion in an upbeat and green voice and hope you have some suggestions of what moral I need to provide the readers of the next Blue Monday.
Here is what I've written. (It follows some speculation of the future availability of water for the region that includes dreaming about vertical farms to purify the sewage.)
------------
The present conditions in Owens Valley are directly tied to emergence of the infrastructure serving Los Angeles and the suppression of local growth to allow Los Angeles to flourish. The presence of the Los Angeles Aqueduct has preserved the agrarian openness of the valley - something we have acutely lost in Southern California. With the pressures of increased migration and birth rates, little can be done to limit the pending growth of California as long as there is available water. If we loose the water, where will we go?
Returning to living within the available natural resources is a major cultural shift that the developed world must face. If we care about the well being of our future generations and the beauty of the world we live in, we must change. Change can be scary, painful, and difficult, but the cost of doing nothing is much more severe. Between limited water resources, energy resources, and running out of land to grow food on, we are facing some incredible opportunities for reinventing our society for the better.
---------
So whatcha think? am I ending on too much of a downer? am I chicken little? Do I need to expand on what those golden opportunities are?
email me if you would like to read the entire draft and offer suggestions - the final deadline is the end of June.
"Loose" should have only one "o".
Also, if I may, the last sentence might read better this way:
"Between limited water and energy resources, and running out of land on which to grow food, we are facing some incredible opportunities for reinventing our society for the better".
I don't think it's too much of a downer. How many words are you going for? What's the audience? What's the context? I'm just curious, I'm used to pretty strict editing that involves a more detached approach to writing, but I like the tone of this so far, and think it's fine if the audience is appropriate.
Maybe you can send me a draft?
DubK - I've been meaning to watch that movie. Did you see it in the theater or is it rentable?
It's rentable now. Prepare to be agitated!
YEAH! the manuscript is off...
wk- thanks for the suggestion! I'll send you a draft when I get your email address...
congrats tk. i'm curious to read more.
i mentioned this book called Ecology of Fear by Mike Davis on page four of GTC...it touches upon many development related issues in greater Los Angeles.
I'm sure you'd find it enjoyable...especially given your current work on the Owen's Valley issue.
oh, and Hi GTC.
ml- read that, oh back in hmmm 1998 or so, but thanks for the reference. send me an email if you really want to read the draft...
i figured as much, but i've been surprised before. you never know what might slip through the cracks of someone's reading agenda. and it's been a great primer for folks i know who hadn't been exposed to much of that train of thought.
i read it years ago too, but it's as poignant as it was then. i loved the segment on the destruction of LA in pop culture.
Marc Reiser (of Cadillac Desert fame) wrote a book that got published post-humously in 2003. not sure if he was inspired by davis or if it was the other way around.
I'm amused by Mike's hyperbole and exaggeration on how bad los angeles was. he seems to only live in the city portrayed by the tv news, not the city that actually is there.
I'm not sure if someone else has posted this, but in case:
http://www.thegreenoffice.com/
Other things for the office:
http://www.mbdc.com/certified_producttype.htm
so, i was going to drive my 95 civic forever - my bf had fixed it up to run perfectly - and then he decided to go rear end someone. so, i'm in the market for a new car.
i bring this up because i've really only been considering another civic -good gas mileage, easy to repair, compact, etc.
but i have to say, i just fell in love last night.
we went and test drove an insight. and i loved it!! so quiet, the gas mileage is amazing. when you stop and put the car in neutral, it turns off - put it back in gear and starts right up. and even though it's a 2 seater, it still feels pretty roomy. and considering it's only the two of us, how much space do we really need?
so, does anyone have any experiences with the insight/prius? the only thing that concerns me is repairs - life of the battery, etc.
I wanted to get an insite for my wife, but they aren't being made/sold by honda any more. we bought a fit instead, and had to wait 5 months for it's delivery. now she's very happy (we've had it for less then one month). the battery thing is a risk, but most batteries are recyclable and the lower rate of depreciation should even things out over the time you own it.
good luck with the car hunt!
is the insite the one that's basically a hybrid version of the del sol? If so, I say go for it. I really wanted a little del sol when I was on the car hunt, but they stopped making them so long ago that all the ones I could find had like, 120,000 miles on them.
On the driving note, evidently Honda will no longer be offering a Hybrid Accord, opting instead for 4 cyl diesel. Interesting blurb on the evident market for Hybrids being limited to those solely interested in fuel economy.
j
link
i wouldn't really say that the insight is like a del sol... maybe in size, but it's a 3 cylinder vs. the del sol - which has the same engine as a civic.
it is unfortunate they stopped making it (both the del sol and insight), but i have found some good deals on the insight!
i will keep you guys updated with what i purchase.
i really like honda products, but i'm sad to see that the insight (and now the hybrid accord) no longer produced. i know there was just a discussion about the movie "who killed the electric car?" (great movie) - what is the problem with electric? i'm confused as to why honda is slowly getting rid of their hybrids.
my dad works at a honda plant up in ohio - i was asking him if there was the option for hybrids for company cars. he told me no - and in fact, some suppliers make their employees get v6 models. what's really funny is that these suppliers give their employees gas cards. so - not only are they spending more money on the v6, they're also spending more money on gas.
talk about a waste of money.
this shows how hard it is to figure the LCA and carbon footprint of everything we consume and make....
So does the 'localism rating' and the transport footprint mean that they've got to make a different label for each area? I'm all for the concept, but recognize that THAT has to be a pain in the ass.
my attempt at reducing my carbon foot print:
US rejects German G8 climate goal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6725801.stm
With the Russian missile thing threatening to overshadow the whole meeting I hope Merkel and the Europeans can put some pressure on Bush.
It seems like anytime they are about to talk of climate change seriously, something else blows up in the world.
as someone who drives (and loves) his hybrid civic, i have to say that i don't think the hybrid accord's demise is a big loss. it was hardly fuel efficient given that they felt it necessary to make it a v-6 to 'make up' for its hybridness. it was greenwash, at best.
did i say that i LOVE my hybrid civic?
Food for thought:
My brother is a complete and utter car freak and I am car free. We've been discussing hybrid cars. We agreed that if you really wanna be green, then get rid of the car, however this is not possible for everyone. Then he came with a very interesting fact; making a car costs more energy than a car uses for driving in its lifetime! In other words, the biggest environmental problem with cars (on the world scale) is making them. This means that it is much greener to save a car from the scrapheap, than to buy a brand new hybrid. You will use a little extra gasoline and make a little more stinky fumes, but in the end you will use way less energy and pollute way less.
I totally agree with him. Do you?
if your sole interest is to be green then yes. especially if upon rescuing that car you put it back in good enough shape to make it as non-polluting as possible.
but if you both want to be green AND save yourself some green AND find that you have no recourse that doesn't include daily driving, a hybrid is a good ultra-low-emissions alternative.
and any green discussion has to get beyond energy use. energy - whethere embodied energy in the form of an old car or newly spent energy in the form of gasoline extraction/production - is one thing; our city's weekly/biweekly 'ozone emergency days' are another thing -something that affects us and our kids right now as much as energy use.
rutger, where do you live? My bf's cousins in Fresno make their living out of getting salvage title cars, fixing them up, and reselling them. If you're in CA, I can put you in touch to see what they've got right now. Unfortunately they deal mostly in trucks and SUV's, simply because that's what sells the best in Fresno, but they get some cars too. I abused my family privilage to pull my Jetta out of a salvage auction with their license. Oh, another idea: for $7,500, I'll sell you a salvaged '01 Jetta that was actually never wrecked, just vandalized badly. I'm going car-free in September, so it's going to be on the market in about a month or so here.
ooh, I just looked at your profile and you're nowhere NEAR california... nevermind.
I've heard the same thing about PV panels- that they can never produce enough energy to offset the energy required to produce them. Seems a little odd, since they can last a VERY long time with little to no maintenance, but then again it is quite a process to make one.
Anyhow, I still want some.
Wow, FRO, really? I guess I've never considered the energy or process required to make PV panels. Couldn't one conceivably use PV panels to produce more PV panels? Which would mean that the energy that went into making those INITIAL panels was a lot but over time, the energy required to make additional generations would dwindle down to nothing assymptotically.
I think I just blew my own mind, LOL.
FRO,
Where did you hear that? My solar rep says a pv panel will produce 20x the energy required to make it during its lifetime. I will check if he can give me some proof and post it when he does.
j
Okay, he sent me two links this one link
which was the source of the 20x statement (by the editor no source cited). This one link
however is more scientific with citations and a better reading of how payback varies (in 1999) from location to location. This is an industry report though so you may want to take it with a grain of salt and do some more backgrounding on it.
So imho, I still think price is the only real barrier to solar kicking all other energy sources behind. Oh yeah, and that political thingy.
j
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