Environment
22 posts · all topics
Michael Crichton’s last book: Micro
[I sent this from the iBooks app from my iPad] From the first chapter, in a discussion about how children now are raised without an appreciation for how…
Fix your windshield for cheap
Several months ago I found myself behind a gravel truck on the freeway, and before I could maneuver out of the way a tiny pebble flipped onto my…
Prius Gas Mileage
I’m having fun computing the long-term gas mileage for my 2007 Prius Touring Edition . It’s now just under two years old, and here’s the chart for my…
Prius Flat Tire
Work has kept me so busy lately that I haven’t had time to do much of anything, so imagine my frustration when I heard that tell-tale “pop” noise…
Test Driving the Miles Electric Car
Mike Cero, always looking for cost-effective ways to help the environment , invited me to help test drive an electric car now available for sale from MC Electric…
Mass transit vs. green alternatives
Mass transit is always good, right? It's way more efficient than all those cars clogging up the roads. I loved my years in Japan, where trains come and…
One good reason to keep your bottled water
Today's Seattle Times describes bottled water and mentions that many of the the nation's mayors are suggesting we use tap water instead. But missing from the discussion is…
From Kurtwood cow to me
Nothing beats the taste and nutritional value of raw milk : fresh, not cooked unpasteurized, from cows grazing on real pasture -- the kind I drank as a…
Grandma and Me
I spent last week with my 92-year-old grandmother. A lifelong dairy farmer, she grew up in a cabin with a dirt floor, deep in the woods of rural…
Real fixes to global warming
This month's Wired magazine (June 2008, not yet available on-line ) is an absolute must-read for anyone seriously concerned about global warming and what can really be done…
Of all nights to forget to put the car in the garage
I woke up to see the neighborhood blanketed with snow. It's April 20th, for crying out loud. Puh-lease, will somebody turn up the heat? This is making me…
Leap for Green
it was hard to find a parking place between all those SUVs, minivans, and BMWs parked at the Mercer Island Community Center this morning for the Leap for…
Mike Cero's Carbon Challenge
Mercer Island City Councilman Mike Cero has always been a strong supporter of the environment, especially where it really counts at the local level. On every issue, from…
I'm so much better than you
After my eco-tour of Costa Rica , and in honor of our globally warmed weather this weekend, I loaded up my Prius with garbage and dumped it at…
How CAFE standards hurt the environment
I never understood the argument for CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) , the law that forces auto manufacturers to increase the miles per gallon fuel efficiency of their…
Challenging Global Warming Skeptics
" Facts are stubborn things ", Ronald Reagan reminded knee-jerk ideologues with advice that applies to many of the people gathered at the Mercer Island Library for last…
Healthy ways to school
There's a wonderful debate going on about school transportation at ourmi.wikispaces.com , a community web site organized by new city council member Bruce Bassett . Bruce and school…
Organic vs. Conventional food on Mercer Island
Another reason to support a farmer's market : a new study of 19 kids from Mercer Island Elementary schools shows significant levels of pesticide residues in kids who…
[book] The World Without Us
View on Amazon Although I'm fascinated by the subject of the book -- how the world would fare if humans suddenly disappeared --I was too lazy at first…
Jump Start Your Prius
I was out of town all week, so apparently just sitting in the garage was enough to run down the puny 12-volt battery inside my car . A…
The Inevitable Thaw in Global Warming
As I've said before , it is an indisputable scientific fact that the world is getting warmer, that the trend is likely to continue, and that humans are…
Forecasting Global Warming
Image no longer available Scott Armstrong is a professor of marketing at Wharton who I remember as the geeky Decision Sciences instructor. He's an expert on forecasting, an…