Howdy all!

I've reduced my car driving to about a fifth of what it used to be.  I'm commuting by bicycle about 12 miles per day, all told.  I've noticed some things as I've done this, and surprise surprise!  This has changed some of my policy views.

We need more bike lanes.  We need more bike lanes.  We need more bike lanes.

And we may need to change how we educate budding new drivers.  Seriously!  This ain't easy.

Read on?

This article, in the Roanoke Times, should be a heads up to everyone in the country.

Roanoke, Virginia is in a very temperate region, with winter temperatures falling from slightly below 20 degrees and rising to a high of over 100 degrees, with an annual average of between 60 degrees and 80 degrees.

With the startling statement:

No matter how you heat, be prepared for costs to rise significantly this winter.

our local newspaper is delivering a dire warning and begging for people to begin to prepare for the coming Fall/Winter season.

Who doesn't love a nice hot shower in the morning?

But have you considered how much energy your hot shower uses?

As the cost of energy keeps going up and up, I got curious as to how much heat is required for that wonderful morning (or evening) ritual.

The answer surprised me--and it will probably surprise you, too.

Since diving into the deep end when it comes to energy issues, almost every day sees new fascinating concepts, approaches, and technologies.  Fascinating ... exciting ... even hope inspiring at times.  And, as well, as the passion builds, so many of these are truly Energy COOL.

This is a somewhat different path of discover and discussion when it comes to Energy COOL thinking. This isn't some emergent technology about to blow your mind away nor news of some momentous change in policy, but a window on a movement to communicate better paths forward through our public gardens.

So, join me in my stroll through a garden and, I hope, plan to take your own stroll.

We are changing.  

For the better.  

Maybe we can save our butts yet...?

I go back and forth over whether it is too late to get us all out of the Hummer before we head off the cliff.  Every new "faster than predicted" or "worse than expected" data point that shows more melting, more dead species, or more climate instability drags me down.  Jim Hansen recently had me losing sleep over the data.  

But then some days look brighter.  This week was one of those times.  People really are acting--in several important and tangible ways--to change the status quo.

Energy has become an ever-more central part of my life: personal, intellectual, and professional. This ranges from working with the Energize America team, to serving on the Board of The Energy Consensus (a non-profit working to change the discussion of energy in DC), being trained by The Climate Project, blogging, giving lectures, writing letters to the editor and OPEDs on energy/environmental issues, advising organizations as to energy options, to efforts to foster local initiatives re renewables and energy efficiency patterned on San Francisco's Vote Solar to advising friends/neighbors re home energy efficiency, to spending a few minutes at the end of the day (especially before weekends) turning off lights and computers in many offices at the end of the work day, to working to change the energy patterns in my own home ...

RE the home: a question from a Congressional staffer helped me realize something about the implications of these efforts.

In response to this diary.

In the interest of getting to 350, I am making enormous sacrifices.

Disclaimer: This diary isn't for experienced gearheads, racers or veteran bicycle commuters (but your advice and experiences are appreciated!)  Inspired by this excellent post on Firedoglake.

This is for those who are just now considering making the bicycle a primary mode of transportation. Times are changing. Our way of life is changing, as it must. A buddy of mine takes Cal-train to work every day and he tells me that the commuter train was practically empty a few months ago. Now it's full, with many, many bicyclists taking their bikes on the train with them. I expect this trend will continue. It looks like we're moving toward a more European way of  getting around. I'm all for it.

I was a bike messenger in San Francisco for 4 years (and lived!) I continue to use a bicycle as my primary mode of transportation. Below are a few basic survival tips.

It is ever so tempting to scream "GAS PRICES" and call for lowered gas prices if you are a candidate challenging for Congress or elsewhere. Ever so tempting to pander to (quite real) concerns about skyrocketing prices with counterproductive calls for cutting gasoline prices. These, however, fly in the face of the realities of Peak Oil and ever increasing demands for oil. Promising lower gasoline prices (or hinting at them) might (MIGHT) be good short-term political moves but is counter-productive in the long term and represents an abandoment of the type of leadership required in the face of Peak Oil and Global Warming.  A real opportunity exists, however, to combine Energy Smart and Politically Smart action.

   Right now most people are focusing on gasoline prices - and why not? Every time you have to fill up your car's tank, you get immediate feedback on the price of oil. Shopping for food is another hit, too. But wait! - there's more!  
   It's summer after all. When heating season starts up again in the fall, then the big trifecta is going to hit. Think filling up your car is a problem? Wait till you get that first fill up of home heating oil. You'll have to choose between driving, eating, or not freezing. Better start budgeting now if you haven't already, because it's not going to be pretty. People are already having to get locking gas caps for their cars. You may want to get one for your heating oil filler pipe too. Oh, and if you have a fireplace? These are probably going to be in short supply, and you may want to hook up with a firewood supply now.
      Several generations of Americans have gotten used to the idea of cheap oil, and our buildings reflect that. It wasn't always that way though. There are lessons from the past, and one place to get them is from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. (more)

We are entering a period of instability and scarcity affecting our food and energy supplies. Our oil comes from a half dozen countries, and any disruption of the oil supply could lead severe food shortages. Cuba suffered near famine when the Soviets cut their oil supply in 1990, but averted disaster by converting every available space to gardens. Of course, having a fully tropical climate probably helped.

You may be considering a garden next year. You don't have much time, because lots of people will get the gardening bug next year. Even if oil doesn't go over $150, supplies will get more scarce.  Less construction means less topsoil for sale. More expensive animal feed means less manure. I already heard a NPR story last month about steep increases in the price of manure.

My advice is get digging. Dig up that future garden, test the soil, add lime as needed, and work in a bunch of manure and compost. Get it now - it's less than $2 a bag. Don't be shy about ordering more than you think you will ever need. You'll use it.  

Cross posted at Sustainable   Walworth

On this Earth Day, it's time to take another look at how our landscape choices are impacting the planet. Last year I posted a diary here  taking our default landscape choice, the lawn, to task over its extreme dependency on petroleum, and accompanying waste of this dwindling resource.  It is not only oil, however, that our landscapes waste. They waste productive human labor, money (over 45 billion dollars per year in the United States), fertilizers that could be better directed to crop production, but most of all, they waste and abuse water. Water is the basic resource upon which life depends, but our current landscape choices behave as if it were limitless.  The current turf-dominated landscape both attempts to get rid of water, and to introduce it at the same time, thus contributing even further to squandering of water resources.   Below the fold, we talk about how landscaping affects our water resources and explore sustainable, water conserving alternatives to the wasteful dominant landscape paradigm.

As we all well know, or at least hopefully do, Earth Day is tomorrow, April 22nd. This day was established in 1970 by US Senator Gaylord Nelson after he personally witnessed the oil spill off of Santa Barbara in 1969. Already an advocate against environmental degradation, Senator Nelson worked to promote this day as a grassroots effort by all Americans to call for protection of the environment as an item on the national agenda.

In recognition of the importance that we care for and protect the environment not just for the opportunities it presents for ourselves, but for those of future generations, I will be taking this week to highlight important aspects of the environment that need our attention, as well as things you can do that not only help to improve the environment, but also will give you additional benefits beyond as well.

Honestly, I don't get that many calls from telemarketers.  Nonetheless, I understand why people love the Do Not Call List.  It is only right that we should be able to avoid unwanted intrusions into our private lives.

For me, junk mail is worse than telemarketers.  Not only does it eat up my time by forcing me to skeptically open the letters labeled 'Important Legal Documents!', but it also creates mountains of waste every single day.

I think that's wrong, and if you agree with me, then sign the do not mail list petition that demands a way to prevent snail-mail spammers from getting to you.

Took a new solar oven into Harvard Square today.  Made it out of a plastic cake box from the supermarket (clear plastic top and black plastic bottom)  and some snackfood bags, the insides of which are aluminized mylar.  The  empty bags, shiny side out and backed with tape to give them some stiffness, become solar reflectors.  Put a black saucepan with lid under the cake box dome and arrange the bags as reflectors around it (thank you duct tape) and at noon today [3/6/08], it got up to 200º F inside the saucepan (I'd drilled a hole into the pan for a thermometer) and 190º F inside the clear plastic dome (a second thermometer).  The outside temperature in the sun was about 72º (a third thermometer).  Recycled solar works.

200º from garbage.

There were only a couple of people who stopped and looked at the display, a couple more who read everything, and just one conversation about what I was doing and that was with a Spare Change vendor.  As I was packing up, somebody thanked me and dropped 78¢ in the donation canister.

This coming week in Washington is a hot one when it comes to renewable energy, as the United States hosts the Washington Internation Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC).  WIREC is a combination of official ministerial (and other government) meetings and presentations; a business conference about renewable energy developments; a trade show; some real interesting looking "official side events"; and a chance for related presentations and demonstrations.   This really is a "be there or be square" event for those concerned about renewable energy (and its potential to help address Peak Oil, Global Warming, social justice, and other critical issues before us/US).

The Irony of Valentine's Day is that so much of what we give as gifts are awash in pain and suffering. It does not have to be that way.

THE TOPICS:
In this diary I'll talk about possible gifts for your Valentines as well as alternatives, providing many options and further reading at your discretion. Among the topics included are:

♥ Flowers
♥ Non-Sweets
♥ Chocolate
♥ Coffee
♥ Doing Without
♥ Dinner & a Show
♥ Jewelry
♥ Wine
♥ How to find "Love" and support kossoks too

Part of how I ended up at dKos was finding out how Republican the grocery store Safeway was. I already despised Wal-Mart (and more with each new thing I discovered about them) but was still to discover just how neck-deep in Neo-Con they are.

Essentially, I didn't want another damn dollar of mine going to support Bushco keeping them in power. As Dr. Phil would say: