March 2008

We’ve All Lost A Great Friend

March 31, 2008

UPDATE 4/1: A Memorial Service will be held for Jason on Saturday April 5 from 2-4PM at Redwood Covenant Church, 3175 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa, CA 95407. The church phone is 707-528-8463. Jason Presley, an inspirational and tireless advocate for a more sustainable world, passed away last week of complications from a liver disease. He [...]

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Stupidest Bike Lane in America?

March 28, 2008

I’m not sure if I can argue with this West Los Angeles Bike Lane. P.S. – For those of you subscribing to this site by e-mail, I’ve been embedding several videos in articles lately. These do not show up in e-mails, so you need to click on the headlines to view them.

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Do the Test

March 27, 2008

DOTTHETEST. Brilliant!

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My TV Interview With Perils for Pedestrians

March 19, 2008

The video embedded above is Episode 139 of the television program Perils for Pedestrians, produced by John Wetmore. John interviewed me in this episode on the topic of walkable neighborhoods. My interview appears approximately 7:35 into the episode. The program appeared last night on DISH Network Channel 9411 — The Universityhouse Channel. Perhaps it will [...]

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My Animal Rescue Story (And Another Reason to Hate Leaf Blowers!)

March 5, 2008

As I was walking to work Monday morning, I noticed a few people gathered around what appeared to be a leaf on the sidewalk. I figured that it must be somewhat interesting, so I walked up for a closer look once the people moved on. As it turns out, it was a tiny green hummingbird that was sitting on the ground, breathing very heavy. I could see that it was not able to fly. I felt really terrible for it and compelled to do something to help it out, but I wasn’t sure what I could do. So, I kept on walking. But, after just a few steps, I decided to go back and at least save the poor animal from being squished on the sidewalk.

I had never picked up a bird before, let alone a hummingbird, so I was very concerned. The hummingbird easily fit into my palm with room to spare. To be honest, I think it was somewhat happy that I picked it up, because I think it knew that it really needed help. I happened to be right by a little garden next to the Department of Education building, and thought that it would be safe to leave it there while I tried to find someone that could help it. I did consider taking it across the street to Capitol Park, but figured that there were too many predators there. Little did I know that it possibly would have been a better move.

When I got to the office, I did some Google searches hoping to find an agency to contact—but no luck. Most I found to be focused on cats and dogs. I e-mailed a few local friends and asked them if they knew of anyone. No luck.

I took a morning break and went to check on the bird. It was in the exact same place I left it—under a small tree mixed in with some leaves and grass up against a fence. A seemingly safe spot.

I had an errand to run at lunch, but checked on the bird on my way. Still fine.

When I was about to eat my lunch, I received a call from a friend that I had e-mailed earlier in the day. He said that he sent my e-mail plea around to his co-workers and received about 20 responses. From those responses, he picked out the best-sounding agency and graciously offered to call them for me. I said fantastic. I was feeling so optimistic at this point. >>Continue Reading This Article>>

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Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil

March 2, 2008

Today, I watched the film Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil. The film has been showing on the History Channel, but I just found the entire film available for watching on the Australian Broadcasting Company’s website.

The film is broken into three sections: the origin of crude oil, the discovery of uses for crude oil and our subsequent addiction, and the future of oil. I found the film to be interesting, but nothing in the film was too shocking to me, as I try to keep up with oil-related issues. The most informative part for me was the part on how crude oil forms and why there is such a large reserve in the Middle East. There are some other key takeaways from this film that make it an important film to watch:

- One obvious point mentioned is that crude oil took millions of years to form, but within 150 years time since the demand for crude oil skyrocketed (originating from oil drilling in Pennsylvania), we will have depleted most sources of crude oil. At least we will have depleted enough of it to where extraction cannot come close to the amount demanded.

-The film also drove home the point that there is virtually nothing that isn’t made from oil. Our oil addiction goes far beyond driving vehicles and delivering goods. If the price of oil skyrockets, there is not one commodity that won’t be affected by the rise of oil prices. >>Continue Reading This Article>>

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