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I’ve decided to track back where my energy comes from and where it goes and make sure there is a renewable and sustainable path, for however the evolution goes, all the way though. On the input for electricity, we are planning on installing an adequately-sized PV array that can be grown when electric cars are added to the mix. But, for now, we can only add less than 100% of the electricity that we have used on the average over the past two years, if we want community subsidies. Did I say communities? In this context, community subsidies are referring to local, state and federal economic programs, see DSIRE for more information on these programs. I’m working on a pragmatic approach to living a healthy life, everything that I come into contact with I think about it, what it is, what it means in the context of my life, how it got there, how it was made, all that jazz. Little steps all the time and I love my life more for it. I saw an ad in the New Yorker the other day discussing how a scientific study demonstrated, across many areas of activity, that working for the greater good is good and does good. So, while we are on this track and while nothing is perfect and there is always more, I’ve decided to track where my energy goes and make requests that my energy goes in a good and healthy manner. The first step is going to be addressing my communication signals, so I’ll make sure to brush my teeth and floss and take care of those temporary fillings and then look at how I charge my cell phone, where the power for my laptop is coming from and how I move my body around, which I consider the physical aspect to auditory communication. The second layer will be to look at how these communications are received at the end of the initial transmission stage. Is the message clear? Is the cell tower down the street and the internet hub in the house powered by photovoltaics? These are the questions to ask, I’ll let you know how it goes. After that, a mesh-networking approach will be applied, based acceptable limits upon my personal dynamic spacio-temporal energy profile. Or, I’ll just go for it and see where it takes us. I have a feeling it will bring us all together in a healthy and harmonic way. R.
The Solar Saucer impacted Black Rock City this past burn during its 2007 maiden voyage, with Captain Scotty Whitaker at the helm. This mobile generator uses energy from our closest star to power its internal devices such as LED lights and a sound system, while providing enough juice for any extracurricular 110 volt device.
A majority of the electronic waste of the US is shipped to China and India in violation of international law. Please consider the following actions to stop the blackening of rivers and the poisoning of our distant cousins in Asia:
Forty-one pounds…that’s the staggering weight of the 560 or so pieces of junk mail each adult American receives per year. Almost half of it remains completely unopened and unread before heading straight to the landfill. Sadly, recycling junk mail is especially difficult due to the high concentrations of heavy metals used in the inks. Year after year, boreal forests get wantonly turned into garbage as more than 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water are wasted in the production of junk mail. This whole frustrating process is perpetuated by everyone, from the USPS to credit reporting companies like Equifax and Experian, selling your name for three to twenty cents a pop to anyone in the market to buy it. Fortunately for us all, there are ways to triumph over the junk mail debacle. Eco Cycle and StopJunkMail.org have compiled the key steps to ending the junk mail trail yourself. They give you all the details on who to call, what online forms to fill out, and who to give the “Return to Sender” treatment. Or, if you are willing to pay a fee, you can get someone else to do most of the legwork for you. Yay. 41pounds.org
Frustrated with their own junk mail woes, three brothers from Michigan figured out how to trump the junk mail system and began to share the service with friends. Only one year later, 41pounds.org is 5,000 members strong and growing rapidly.
“In the absence of an unlikely change in the nature of humanity, buying bamboo shirts or sustainable furniture is like spitting at a forest fire.” Timely words by Alex Steffen, Executive Editor of the evolutionary eco think tank, WORLDCHANGING. I agree, Mr. Steffen, buying green stuff isn’t the only answer to healing the planet, so now what? The US mainstream is aware of major climate issues and the continuing decimation of our air, water and soil quality by corporate and governmental entities. Al Gore’s number one offering to reverse global warming has been to change a light bulb. Thank you Al. Live Earth, in the face of the mass decimation of our planet, has taken civic action one step further by asking citizens to change four light bulbs, as well as shopping for energy efficient electronics and shutting off lights when they’re not in use. Umm…okaaaay. A lot of folks have changed their light bulbs from incandescents to CFL’s. World still not saved? Darn it! Well, what next?
By Lorna Li at LornaLi.com Burning Man, the annual arts festival that takes place in the remote Black Rock Desert, attracts approximately 40,000 participants, and is Nevada’s tenth largest city, for one week. As a 4th year Burner, I returned to Burning Man after a hiatus of 3 years, with high hopes that Burning Man was finally evolving out of its flamboyant and hedonistic paradigm into a model of eco-conscious social engagement, embodied by its 2007 theme “Green Man.”I must say that, while I had a blast, I was disappointed by the Green-ness of Green Man. But, having arrived at Black Rock Desert in a gas guzzling RV with 4 other friends, I will be the first to admit it ain’t easy making Burning Man Green. Comparing notes with other eco-conscious Burners, it seemed that the Green element seemed to be somewhat weak.
The 30,000 square foot Green Pavilion showcased emerging Green technologies in a manner much like a high school science project, rather than a “World Fair” of clean technologies. Artistic models and interactive displays were explained by billboards that most were too hung-over or ADD in the highly distracting Burning Man environment to read.
An alternative solution to greenhouse gases - use bags of bubbling CO2 absorbing liquid algae. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, as most of you know, BCP ran a biodiesel shuttle bus to Burning Man this year, transporting riders the 2+ hours from Reno Int’l Airport to the playa and back. This was the first run of this pilot program and it was an amazing success!!! Peter (www.teacherwiththebus.com) was an incredible driver: reliable, kind, relaxed, and safe. The riders were a spectacular array of eco-conscious superstars. The BIOBUS was both a good time and a great step towards more sustainable transport to Black Rock City. If you rode with us this year, THANK YOU SO MUCH. If you didn’t get the opportunity, please check out the schedule next year, which we will release June 1, 2008. Please share your BIOBUS 07 experience in the comment section below. Also, send your photos from your journey to connect@burncleanproject.org. StopGlobalWarming.MSN.com: Burning Man 2007 collectively replaced 8,000 gallons of petroleum with biodiesel, not the 40,000 gallons that was projected several months before the burn. WORLDCHANGING.com: The BIOBUS information they had was outdated. The fare was $55-65 each way and the driver of the bus was Teacher With The Bus, not Biofuels 4 Schools, though that was the original plan. Greening ManAnnual festival of radical self-expression goes green By Kate Sheppard
Each year, some 40,000 artists, techies, free spirits and innovators descend upon a former lake bed in the Nevada desert for one week, building from nothing a city that will be their home for the week. They’ll eat, sleep, play, build and create here, and after the week is over, vanish back into their everyday lives, leaving not a trace of their city behind. Oh, and they will burn the effigy of a giant man.
This year’s theme is “Green,” representing an exploration of mankind’s relationship to nature. From encouraging “burners” to offset their travel, to running the generators on biodiesel, to composting coffee grounds and feeding compost to a 120-foot-long mechanical slug that converts it into fuel, the green theme this year is all-encompassing. |
But this year at Burning Man, they’re going green — right down to the Man himself.