On July 17th Al Gore issued a public challenge to the country to take the effort and make the necessary sacrifice to guarantee the future of the American way of life. While the short term sacrifice may seem harsh or difficult I am reminded that this country has faced the need for such sacrifice before; through World Wars, economic turmoil and political upheavals. These changes, these necessary tasks that must be undertaken to strengthen our countries independence requires a resolve and willingness to accept the change required and the fortitude to make those changes ourselves, before it becomes too late.
At worst our country will be poised to maneuver on the world stage from a position of strength based upon energy independence and technological prowess. At best we will take the lead and reshape our economy while ensuring a high standard of life for the rest of the planet.
I think one of my favorite quotes from the challenge was "we are borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroys the planet. Every bit of that has to change". Help make that change.
Burning River Garden discovered - urban gardening right on the river
While wandering around downtown Cleveland on the 4th I stumbled across the Burning River Garden, a little urban pocket garden where the Veteran's Memorial Bridge meets W. 10th on the East Side of the Cuyahoga River.
The corner is a rather nice spot that gets some good afternoon sun and marks the East entry of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge Tour. According to the BRG website the plots were designed with future expansion of more gardens and perhaps a community park in mind. While the community garden offers a great opportunity for the inhabitants of the nearby apartment/condo buildings to get their fingers and toes in the dirt, it also creates a fine respite spot for workers of nearby buildings and in creating the garden, marked a space that offers rather nice vistas of the Cuyahoga (our most valuable yet ignored resource).
Built in partnership with the Summer Sprout Program these folks have created a series of hubs for community place building and interaction and in doing so have made the city that much more livable. If you would like help the summer sprout program call Connie Booth for details (513) 221-0981.
Special thanks to Beth from BRG for taking some time from digging and weeding to explain the garden to me.
Kamm's Corners Farmers Market Grand Opening Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 The Kamm’s Corners Farmers Market is in the municipal parking lot located at W. 168th Street and Lorain Avenue, near Rocky River Drive. Parking nearby is free and plentiful. It is not at Kamm’s Plaza Shopping Center. map 10am - 2pm
...with all the talk of eating, shopping, thinking, living local nothing spring/summer is the best time to begin re-evaluating your diet as local options and choices are at their greatest. Take advantage of the weather and the Kamm's Corner's Farmers Market Grand Opening
Renowned Irish dancer Patrick Campbell, owner of Brady Campbell’s Irish Dance School and former lead in Lord of the Dance, will be performing at 11:30 a.m. along with students from his school.
Matt Spinner with the award winning Great Lakes Brewing Company will be doing a chef demonstration at 12:30 p.m.
Marilyn Valentino, owner of Westpark Massotherapy, will be administering chair massages during market hours for a small fee.
Musical guest and neighborhood favorite, Brand New Hat, will be entertaining throughout market hours.
Local Clergy will help us start the season off right with an ecumenical market “blessing” at 12:00 a.m.
Kick the Carbon Habit - World Environment Day 2008
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
About World Environment Day 2008
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.
The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. The World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.
The main international celebrations of World Environment Day 2008 will be held in New Zealand. UNEP is honoured that the city of Wellington will be hosting this United Nations day (read the press release).
The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
What are you going to do?
Get some ideas here or more North American ideas here.
Rust belt cities suffer from the heavy mantle of industrial exodus. The loss of jobs is reflected in the loss of tax revenue which decreases the city's ability to maintain its infrastructure, pay for basic services such as education and protection and maintain amenities such as entertainment or arts.
While lands are left vacant waiting for the local economy to turn there exists the potential to use the extended lag periods to passively increase the viability of polluted city sites in order to take advantage of passing opportunity. Many phytoremediation or phytoextraction strategies could be utilized to remove or decrease toxins from the polluted soils of vacated manufacturing plants. Phytostabilization or phytotransformation are strategies for stabilizing/containing a pollutant and for breaking down organic pollutants such as pesticides.
Passing over the Cuyahoga this morning I wondered how difficult or expensive it would be to begin a phytoremediation program to clean up selected sites in The Flats that are not currently slated for any development or where development is many years off.
Would it make sense to begin natural clean up solutions to decrease the toxicity? Would it increase the inherent land value for resale? Could brownfield clean up grants be available for such a project and if so could educational institutions become involved as part of biology or environmental study groups to monitor progress and attempt various techniques?
Could Cleveland become the case study for phytoremediation techniques, utilizing the massive amounts of undeveloped, post-industrial, poisoned land and turning these sites into amenities such as public parks, nature reserves, community gardens while they sit unused waiting to be developed?
Would a program such as this take too long to have an affect? Are we waiting for something worthwhile or amazing to happen instead?
I remember years ago reading about folks in the UK who would drive around in the dark of night, find some despot of a site, overgrown, forgotten, filled with trash, and then lovingly clean, replant and care for the little oasis. I always found the occurrence scary in a wondrous way. There are so many residual spaces, little areas that are surrounded by public way, confused as to whom has ownership, so they lapse into becoming forgotten hardened dirt, adding nothing to the identity of the area and offering no respite from the hardened facade of the urban jungle.
I was debating with some of the LAUNCHies about the act of Guerrilla Gardening. Surprisingly the few that I talked to about it got all excited and bothered. Some quick research went into the beginning nuances. How best to distribute seeds or plants, what areas would be most beneficial to plant, were we going for a statement, for aesthetics or for balancing the natural order?
We quickly found some rather helpful links, tips and ideas (hint: Google "Guerrilla Gardening").
Then, as some get ready to begin our due diligence I stumble across an article about an LA area Guerrilla Gardener whom has been planting medians with Agave for 10 years, a succulent that has low moisture needs and thrives in the local climate. The best part of the article was that the Superintendent of Grounds Maintenance for the city of Long Beach is rather impressed by the gardeners use of drought tolerant plants and notes that "there is no law against planting on city landscaping, except for ficus tress, who's roots wreck roads and sidewalks".
Not that I want to take the subversive fun out of the act but perhaps this may be a good time for local activists who would like to beautify their cities to start cooperating with local officials to create gardens and local parks (Cleveland already has many programs already with this aim, I will make note of them as I get more information from the various groups - WCPN Sound of Ideas recently discussed how urban gardening may be used to battle the foreclosure crisis). As a renter I do miss digging in the yard. I suppose now I can treat my whole city as, well, mine.
I hate to completely summarize a news article but I feel that this is a rather important stepping stone to society assuming accountability for our actions.
Four years late and under the shadow of a court order demanding it the White House produced their climate report this past Thursday.
While offering no "new science" it does collaborate previous studies and reports that concentrated on human action, climate change and the resultant environmental impacts upon natural systems.
In 1990 the US Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed stating that the United States government must issue a comprehensive science assessment of global warming but had not released one since 2000.
I have not had the chance to read the 271 page report. I will try to get through it this weekend however there have already been some tidbits bantered around the internet that I found interesting.
...from the New York Times; The Bush administration, bowing to a court order, has released a fresh summary of federal and independent research pointing to large, and mainly harmful, impact of human-caused global warming in the United States.
...from Yahoo AP ; • Increased heat deaths and deaths from climate-worsened smog. In Los Angeles alone yearly heat fatalities could increase by more than 1,000 by 2080, and the Midwest and Northeast are most vulnerable to increased heat deaths.
• Worsening water shortages for agriculture and urban users. From California to New York, lack of water will be an issue.
• A need for billions of dollars in more power plants (one major cause of global warming gases) to cool a hotter country. The report says summer cooling will mean Seattle's energy consumption would increase by 146 percent with the warming that could come by the end of the century.
• More death and damage from wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters and extreme weather. In the last three decades, wildfire season in the West has increased by 78 days.
• Increased insect infestations and food- and waterborne microbes and diseases. Insect and pathogen outbreaks to the forests are causing $1.5 billion in annual losses.
Alright, so what are we going to do about it? More importantly what are you? The tools are right there to become informed, now act upon the information. Inaction is no longer a viable option.
Don't forget to catch the premiere of Return of the Cuyahoga tonight at 9.00pm on WVIZ. Interesting how closely knit Cleveland is to the birth of the modern environmental movement. Learn more by tuning in!
TOIstudio scours the news everyday to find interesting tidbits regarding architecture and environmentalism that may have slipped by the mainstream media, however I am not one for completely disdaining our larger broadcasting brethren and was actually caught by surprise when I saw this major news network story about World Water Day.
All joking aside without conservation or some minor technological breakthroughs potable water is poised to become the next major conflict instigator, most likely surpassing the volatility of oil in coming decades.
Perhaps it is the growing pains of our civilization that let us forgo the importance of drinking water in such a way that we continued to poison and waste it in such a manner that may become threatening for us as a species if we do not start taking some sort of responsibility. I am not advocating that we all only sponge bath once a month, instead I advocate that we realize that every decision we make has an impact upon another entity. You don't have to over-water your lawn to keep it green, you could plant lawns of non invasive species that have a deeper root structure so they will not suffer the 'burn of summer' as readily.
You could take your own bags to the grocery store instead of relying on being provided bags that take precious resources to make only to be thrown away at the end of their extremely short lifespan.
You could use low flow fixtures in your house and fix drips and leaks.
There are hundreds of water conservation techniques that could be easily employed without making any impact on our lifestyles and in the end would be better for all of us.
The flavor of invention - oscillating tension belts may answer questions poised by microturbines
Inspired by the vibrations wind forces produced upon the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Shawn Frayne suspended a taut membrane with coils between two small magnets which, when exposed to a low wind can create enough electricity to power small devices such as lighting or clock radios. The current project was developed for rural areas without electrical infrastructure however it is hoped that the current design can be scaled up somewhat to produce more power without the inevitable noise problems.
There is a pretty snazzy video interview and some diagrams on this Popular Mechanics webpage.
While not every idea solves every problem perfectly, it is little ideas like this that I really appreciate as they show how solutions to our perceived problems could already be staring us right in the face.
We have all been in places where the crush of human bodies has resulted in uncomfortable temperatures. In some places this unavoidable occurrence can only be countered with a large mechanical cooling system.
Until someone discovers a way to utilize this energy.
The Stockholm Central Station is configuring a mechanical system that instead of simply removing the excess heat from station they intend to capture this energy to heat an adjacent office building.
The proposed system will utilize a closed loop heat transfer system that will distribute water warmed up by people in the Central Station to a new office building that will house a small hotel and a few shops.
The additional cost of the pipes and pumps is not, by itself, cheap. However projections of system use offer a 20% reduction in energy use from a standard heating system that when added to overall cost of the building makes the added cost seem "not that much" according to Karl Sundholm of Jerhuset, a property administration company run by Swedish government.
If proved viable restructuring building systems to take advantage of the occupant usage instead of merely treating building program as a 'problem to be solved' may become an effective way to structure design solutions for occupied projects. Besides generating power (don't forget to check out this link on crowd farming) I wonder what other potential solutions are in the proposal phase...
Global Warming as Risk Management - "How It All Ends"
One doesn't have to win a Nobel prize to have a valid view on issues of international import. By the same token any nut job with a webcam can make a video (and every kook with an internet connection can start a blog), however when issues are presented in an intelligent manner that is based upon logic more than simple emotion and when the issue is arguably one of the most important issues of our lifetime (possibly for the species), I would find it hard to argue that you couldn't spare 10 minutes of your time.
The first video is simply a basis for the argument of whether or not humans should take action to fight global warming. The next of the series deals with what one can do, the risk management aspects of choices, etc.
While only a simplified exercise in demonstrable logic it does concisely emphasize the point that it would be better to do something and be wrong than do nothing and be screwed. What can I say? I am a sucker for whiteboard and a logic matrix.
The sweet smell of fuel independence...smells like fries
There is something to be said for those that instead of arguing about the practicality of certain ideas, decide to tinker with the mechanics until they get it to work and then use a functioning example of their argument. I would find it hard pressed to argue with Stephen Merrett of Oberlin, Ohio who, at the ripe old age of 24 has not only converted over 100 diesel vehicles to run on waste vegetable oil but who also owns and operates the Full Circle Fuel Station on Main Street in Oberlin. Full Circle is one of the few waste vegetable oil stations in the country although the number of stations that are selling biodiesel appear to be rising.
Fresh out of college Merrett attained various grants that allowed him to work with Ray Holan, another proponent of waste oil recycling and biodiesel conversions who has worked with local Cleveland businesses (such as the Great Lakes Brewing Company)to develop biodiesel vehicles for the company's use.
Typically one can get waste vegetable oil (WVO) from restaurants but would have to store and strain the oil before using it in a vehicle. Biodiesel fuel stations are able to supply the waste as a fuel at a reduced rate (compared to traditional petroleum fuels) because the restaurants give away the waste oil instead of having to pay to have someone remove it.
Typical automobile conversions can cost upwards of $1,500.
Once in a while I come across a story or idea that surprises me with its simplicity and potential that I not only grin, but become a little ashamed when I realize what an impact a simple idea could have.
A gentleman in Seattle (I hope I don't embarrass him by calling him a gentleman) is instituting The First International Solar Sculpture Challenge 2008. There are rules stipulated in the challenge: 1 There shall be no batteries in the structure. All the solar should be direct use. 2. I think the sculpture should be bigger than a breadbox 3. The art installation should remain in one place. (I can envision it moving around but I think it should not be a vehicle or that moves more than 10 feet from a basic spot) 4. The sculpture must include either photovoltaic cells, solar flat panels, solar thermal evacuated tubes, or wind mechanics or all of the the above mentioned to qualify for entry. 5. The structure sculpture must be placed in the city of Seattle by the Summer Solstice 2008 (June 20th 23:59pm 2008)= June 21 2008
I suppose the reasons why this is a great idea are actually rather evident. First it creates the opportunity for educational and research institutions to create programs that would showcase their student and faculties talents. It would allow for more public installations that would raise awareness as well as create areas that could be activated or reactive as destinations. It could also put the city hosting it on the map as a concentrated nexus of art and technology. I suppose my favorite part of the whole challenge is that it is incredibly attainable and should be relatively easy to gather all the support needed (from local government, schools, businesses, artists and professional organizations) to pull this off.
So, who in Cleveland is going to put one together for here?
As you travel the roads this holiday season, perhaps you may be so lucky as to wander upon the remains of one of childhood's most distasteful threats, the beet. During the extraction process of removing sugar from sugar beets it was noticed that the left over material had a very low freezing point.
Someone thought that this would make a handy de-icing material for roadways and so viola, beet juice road de-icing mixture which has already been tested in Akron may find its way onto more Ohio roads.
Supporters say that the beet mixture is less harmful on cars than straight Calcium Chloride (road salt) which is corrosive to metals (ie. bridges and cars)and deadly to vegetation (ie. roadside lawns and farm fields). All sugar has been removed from the solution before it can be used for roads, otherwise it may attract animals (or small children).
Questions remain. Will the roads appear purplish? Will liver and onions find an acceptable use as housing insulation? Will Dwight Schrute's beet farm reap the rewards it has deserved lo these many years?
Green Architecture is apparent, sometimes obvious, this time wonderful thanks to Mass Studies
Despite all the 'green washing' that one gets to experience this holiday season and the resultant 'funk' I find myself in regarding environmental architecture I was extremely happy to stumble across the Ann Demeulemeester Shop by Mass Studies on the Designboom website. While one could easily argue that the application of "green" building technology is pure applique, I would like to counter with a "Yes, it could only be an applique, but it is a rather sensational one."
Unlike the addition of a wind turbine or solar array the wrapping of the entire skin of the structure seems so integrated, so intentional and so rigorous that I find myself grinning at how the soft skin substance (in this case plantings) so perfectly compliments the soft forms of the building. While I don't know Ann Demeulmeester's work that well, I will probably give her styles a second look if there is a depth of thought akin to her shop in her clothing.
Regardless, I would like to complement the design of the store. Not only is the skin extremely interesting I am so highly intrigued into how the interior spaces are laid out, how movement through is shaped and accomplished by the street to stair to bridge level and then the simple street entrance which I assume wraps you up to the bridge or down from the bridge or someway to get through this building via a series of level changes and thresholds and wonderful interior to exterior or interior(?)/exterior(?) spaces.
If you found that as confusing as I did writing it you should probably just check out the pictures and save yourself some trouble. It will all become crystal clear when you do.
Two separate tracks for two (semi)local companies hoping to capitalize on emerging energy based technology markets. One almost hopes that the region finds a way to cultivate a local culture for these types of businesses.
*had an image that could have been used to help out the argument but apparently can't show it. That's fine and I understand ownership of imagery and everything. It is just a shame that others cannot view the work quickly without going to through the other websites. Notice how the argument loses a lot of its import. Quite the shame. (Before you all yell at me too, I did give credit and link to the archivist's site where the image orginated from (which was being used on the architect's website instead of just copying and pasting the image haphazardly).
The current owner of the 1963 Graham House designed by Arthur Erickson in West Vancouver is currently awaiting a demolition permit to raze the structure.
Rumors on the street-erweb are stating that the current owners purchased the house in 1988 and have not maintained in as strategy to remove opposition to the demolition.
The Graham house is an amazing structure in that it was built on an 'unbuildable' site (the sort of site every design student equally dreads and dreams about) of a rock cliff with the main body of the house 40 feet below the arrival level. The building then descends in a series of staggered rooms and platforms to create a multidimensional environment offering amazing views to the Sea. Due to the steepness of the adjacent cliff exterior space had to be created and controlled and therefore was integrated into the design of the building.
Client: Mr. and Mrs. Graham - 1965
The site for the house was a rock cliff dropping forty feet from the arrival level down a sheer cliff to a rock bench over the sea. The solution to this difficult site was the creation of a multi-storey house descending the slope in levels.
The formal idea of the piling up of hovering beams was the basis of the composition. These enclose the major living areas, which step down the embankment for four storeys from the carport to the bluff over the sea below. Each area opens onto a roof terrace over the living quarters below, so that there is maximum access to sunlight and view. Because of the ruggedness of the site, the outside living areas are confined almost entirely to the roof areas of the house itself.
A texture difference is achieved between the walls and box beams by using flat siding on the beams and a deep board and batten on the walls. The house is treated with a simple oil finish and the only other materials used in conjunction with the wood are used brick and a Welsh quarry tile.
There is supposition that the demolition is being planned in order to create the property for a more speculative (see generic) development. On the heels of the Ameritrust Tower debacle I found the following articles rather interesting. Most importantly how preservation and environmentalism work in conjunction with saving our infamous architectural heritage.
I am curious with how this will play out. Will the local design community come to the aid of the structure? Will a new buyer step up? With Canada's preservation laws save this building? Will the threatening of this particular structure have a more disastrous ending than the Brueur Tower?
With the arguments circling around personal property rights versus preservationists right this one could set the standard for future of Canada's architectural heritage.
Resources (Imagine you and your laptop in front of a warm fire this cold evening reading over all these fun sources):
I know I had already mentioned the CCA Sorry, Out of Gas exhibit but recently the CCA (Canadian Centre for Architecture) launched the companion website at sorryoutofgas.org.
Set up like a viewfinder slide show, the exhibit showcases the three major natural energy production techniques, solar, geothermal and wind power. As a 'bonus' feature examples of integrated system projects that set the stage for reorganizing social models and creating the basis for new lifestyle techniques with a foundation in energy-related awareness are also presented.
Well, not that I am agreeing to give you an excuse to not see the exhibit, but you could at the very least check out the exhibits website.
Check the Fence, or yo-self, foo! (Example of irony part II - same guilty party)
This picture was forwarded to me by a concerned citizen who had noticed that the fliers posted on the construction barrier around the Ameritrust Tower on East 9th, South of Euclid has suffered from what could possibly be described as "adhesive surrender". The glue used to mount the fliers to the barrier has/is failing and the fliers are falling to the ground, and possibly, their doom. This is an example of irony for the following reason...
a) The fliers are promoting what Cuyahoga County is doing to promote, endorse or create sustainable initiatives. Their example is now littering the ground. Littering is not sustainable.
b) The fliers appear to be vinyl based, much like a picnic table cloth. Vinyl is by no means an acceptable sustainable material. Asbestos is probably safer for you. I have no factual material to back that up but I doubt anyone comes here for straight facts. That is what the BBC is for.
I will however offer the option that this is part of the County's plan to save money by utilizing an adhesive which fails exactly when the new fliers are to be posted (the next one goes up in December!) saving the energy and cost of labor needed to remove and dispose of the fliers. That seems somewhat sort of logical.
I for one, am ATWITTER at the possible December designs. If anyone knows what they are I would prefer for them to not spoil the surprise. I am sure it will be endlessly glorious.
Green building and modernism; are they antithetical? Guest lecturer, Carl Stein, FAIA, Principal of elemental architecture, llc, of New York City and his late father, Richard Stein, FAIA, have completed numerous historic rehabilitation projects based on their innovative and pioneering research in the analysis of energy use and conservation in buildings and design. Stein served his architectural internship with Marcel Breuer from 1968-1971.
Architecture for Humanity AMD Competition Resources
I would like to tip the hat to the Open Architecture Network(OAN) for attempting to prove out that designers care quite a bit about designing with a purpose as opposed to hi-jacking altruistic trends for personal gain. Spend some time at OAN site and check out the hundreds of project submissions and proposals that are being shared. There is something comforting about the knowledge that people are willing to take their own time and resources to create solutions for the sort of problems that most think too large or ingrained to resolve.
The interesting thing about these competitions and the Open Architecture Network is the teams willingness to share information with other teams as each group works towards the same end goal with perhaps different perspectives. Usually this results in groups working inadvertently against each other to solve a common goal and competing for resources, however the structure of the OAN allows for camaraderie to supersede the search for pure authorship. Whether this is a result of the information age or perhaps more people are searching for purely altruistic goals (and willing to share credit) is beyond me and actually, to me, unimportant.
On a closing note I would like to pass along a blog that was sent to me a while back (took me forever to find again) that documents the Washington University's multidisciplinary student team working on the Kallari portion of the Open Architecture Challenge.
"Those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it"
That seems like a fair enough assessment given our current woes. I find it increasingly amazing that given our rapid and prolific state of inventiveness (mobile phones on which we can watch full length feature films, voice activated interactive computer systems, global information and telecommunication networks) we still fail to understand how our decisions impact our ever shrinking world.
34 years after our last oil crisis America (and much of the industrialized world) finds ourselves again on the precipice of what some are calling a complete economic breakdown. Once again we see how closely we are tied to international energy production but are unwilling to make the self sacrifice needed to alleviate the burden. I find it so strange that a country who constantly involves itself in international affairs fails to realize how our own personal actions affects said international world. Americans systematically use and discard proportionally the vast majority of our planet's resources. Cities develop massive automotive infrastructure routes to cut commute times by mere minutes which justify further deconcentration of communities resulting in more energy/fuel being needed to navigate sprawling community. We live in a society where it is easier and cheaper to throw out a broken appliance than to have it repaired, the cost subsidized by impoverished foreign workers and the goods shipped to this country with the expense of a massive consumption of energy.
It is intriguing to me how interconnected everything really is if you take the time to examine it.
For those of you with piqued interest I direct you to the 1973; Sorry, Out of Gas exhibit on view at the CCA (Canadian Centre for Architecture) until April which highlights some of the architectural responses to the oil crisis of "green pioneers like Micheal Reynolds and Steve Baer".
Metorpolis magazine also acknowledges that the show is "also a warning to contemporary architects enamored with solely technological-driven solutions, and a call for societal changes to combat looming ecological disaster."
Greener gifts for the holiday season thanks to Treehugger.com
Happy Black Friday United States! (I think the rest of the world celebrates tomorrow as the biggest shopping day of the year).
Granted I am against copious consumer consumption as much as I can be however with the holidays gearing up and gift giving being a way to express one's feelings and respect for another I figure I may as well pass along the 2007 Treehugger's Gift Giving Guide - Now in various shades of green! Using the site one can navigate by preferences for who will be receiving the gifts as well as gift types. I find one of the most useful parts a list of holiday tips for reducing consumption and alternative for dealing with non efficient materials (virgin gift wrapping paper). There is also a nice list of foundations one can contribute to in someones name.
All in all a fine idea for those looking to reduce their impact or make a statement with their gift giving this holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope all are enjoying good times with family and friends, celebrating the important things in life, our love for each other.
Amazing how quickly fine ideas become sullied. Christmas has been an overly commercialized holiday since as long as I can remember. Halloween, well, that is all about candy, right? Easter was somehow maligned to also be a mall holiday and since Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for what we have I suppose the only way to properly hi-jack it is to assume that after giving thanks people realize that what they have isn't enough.
Somehow 4am sales on 72" plasma screen TVs is supposed to fix all that emptiness inside?
Well, I am not sold on the idea that buying things will make me happy (actually I hate seeing credit card bills, getting rid of those would make me happier) and so once again I will not be partaking in 'Black Friday' in the usual manner.
Oh, I will enjoy my train ride into work (minus the crush of the work rush), my relatively calm day at the office (lots of people on vacation) and a quiet stroll around Cleveland at lunch. I will also celebrate Buy Nothing Day, the annual "moratorium on consumer spending". There are many reasons. After suffering a flood and losing quite a bit of my material identity I have discovered that those things are not as important as I thought. I also have come to the realization that no one is really impressed by the junk I own and all it really does is tie me to a sedentary lifestyle, locked in a single locale due to the massive amount of things I have accumulated. In fact, I find the more things I 'own' the more trapped feeling I become.
Even if it not all about the accumulation of 'stuff' there is something downright uncomfortable about 1/5 of the world's population consuming 80% of it's resources. Is our consumption based society to blame on our current economic, health and enviromental crisis? Damn straight it is. Do something interesting this Black Friday; read a book, talk to friends, enjoy the outside, draw, paint, enter architecture competitions, work on school assignments, think. Think about what a difference you could make if you really wanted to, then make that difference.
Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Step it Up 2007 National Day of Climate Action
Nothing like spending a crisp Fall Saturday enjoying, well crisp Fall Saturdays. Find a local movement planning to rally your communities to press their governmental bodies to respond to the Climate Change Crisis. Already 71 Members of Congress and 7 Presidential Candidates will be joining local movements, pledging their support in making America more proactive to the looming environmental emergency and making our politicians aware of plans and priorities to slow global warming.
Only Harvard, Dartmouth, University of Washington, Middlebury, Carleton, and University of Vermont performed well enough in all categories to merit the highest overall grade of “A-,” earning them the distinction of College Sustainability Leaders.
The Juilliard School, Howard University, Regent University, and Samford University yielded overall “F” grades, followed by 21 schools carrying a grade of “D-.”
Recently Forbes magazine released its rankings of America's Greenest Cities. The usual suspects topped the list; Oregon, Washington, Vermont.
In a ranking which was determined by weighting six categories equally (carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives and energy consumption) Ohio came in 39th.
39th out of 50.
Below Texas.
I am aghast. I would really love to see not only the culmulative rankings of what areas we did especially poor in but also what data was collected for this study. Not in an attempt to belabor the rankings either, just to see how the local society percieves itself, foibles and accomplishments.
An online vocabulary game whereas for every word participants get correct an approximate 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program. The program automatically adjusts for your skill level whilst keeping track of your score through tracking your 'donation'. Advertisers along the bottom of the screen are the ones who are donating in your name. The adverts run in a rather limited capacity and are not overbearing or even noticeable enough to become annoying. Granted the game is multiple choice and limited as you have to pick the best word to define the word given, meaning that some synonyms are a stretch, but utilizing context clues and lucky guessing it shouldn't prove too difficult. Also, if you get one wrong you are shown the correct answer. At least as far as I have been told. I haven't gotten any wrong yet.
I find the most interesting part of this experiment the idea that that it is improving the English vocabulary for everyone, meaning it could prove to be an effective technique to educate people in new languages. I wonder if there will be non-English versions. I daresay, it could make learning fun and actually more rewarding.
With a plethora of materials touting how 'sustainable' or 'green' they are and claiming how just by spcifying them in your projects you 'could get up to (X) LEED points!' it seems, well, annoying to have to wade through the constant bombardment of salespeak to get to the actual 'meat' of the product. What does it really do?
Enter Ecolect, a new online materials database that is hoping "to be the largest, freely accessible sustainable materials library in the world".
What is seeming to set this database apart from others that have been so far created is that users can upload images of their own projects, descriptions and impressions in order to better inform other potential users.
If you happen to live in San Francisco you can even attend the launch party tonight.
Ecolect Launch Party @ Swissnex Thursday, October 18, 6:00-9:00pm 730 Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94111
Living by where you work - may be good for the environment after all
On the heels of my 4 page diatribe response to Breugmann's lecture at Case a couple of weeks ago (regarding sprawl, I am sure you can find it, it is rather long) comes an article from Smart Growth America regarding how creating a society less dependent on the auto could actually be good for the climate.
Yeah, that is nice. Me, I prefer not having to spend over an hour each day getting to work or coming home from. I sort of consider that wasted time. Not totally wasted because I get to read a book on the train and the walk through downtown isn't that bad. I know I would rather spend that hour each day doing something else. Like talking to friends (yes, strangers on the train are just friends you haven't met, etc, etc) or building or doing something. I suppose I am just a little bitter that I can't ride my bike to work still.
Regardless, emissions control is a nice way to argue against long commute times, but I wonder is it always economically viable to live near where you work (or healthy if you work in a manufacturing plant of sorts)? And are long commutes times and sprawl necessarily intertwined?
Lots of generalizations to work out there. Until then read up on some (albeit slanted) October reading about global warming (was it really upper 80's today?!) and ponder how our culture has evolved and if we are really better off.
Remaining on the forefront of the environmental/urban reclamation movement, Cleveland decided not to partake in PARK-ing day.
Last year Clevelanders actually got involved and put up 3 sites. It took a while to find them but judging by the response I assumed that they were rather successful. There was even a moment of pure success when a lone driver in an SUV got frustrated that a viable parking spot was being used by PEOPLE having FUN and being OUTSIDE!
Anyway, everyone fell short this year. I guess the national (and to be fair a little bit of international) attention for doing something fun that delivered a pretty reasonable message wasn't enough of a incentive to do it again.
I guess maybe next year then. Mark your calendars now. That way you have time to plan it out. Also, if someone in Cleveland IS doing this and I just didn't get the message, I apologize and am in your debt. Please send me some photos or a message or something. I do see the import in an event like this.
Apparently the County is moving faster then even THEY anticipated. I admit some surprise as I assumed that an event of this import would have been announced/covered/mention by our local news networks. I guess no one is paying attention anymore.
The east sidewalk of East 9th is closed to make room for 2 construction trailers (one of which I am assuming is a sub-shop in case Mr. Jimmy stops by to view his folly). The good news is that Kurtz Brothers is handling the construction demo/recycling (as an expressed part of creating a new 'green complex'). I am assuming that they do the material separation off site which makes sense due to the constricted nature of the job site. We don't need Euclid and East 9th completely closed down.
Combined with the Euclid Corridor project I feel the financial district will look completely foreign in a couple of years. (Of course the timing of both makes me suspect that the relocation of the County offices was used to inflate the projected 'job numbers' that were used to justify the Euclid Corridor project.
It doesn't really matter too much now. I feel a little ashamed. Like I have been 'had', as if a schuckster sold me some snake oil and I had just recently discovered my foolishness. At least I will admit it, I tried to speak out, attended meetings, shook my fist at the establishment, and apparently have resolved myself to documenting the change because for better or for worse it is out of my hands.
I suppose the question is now, what can we do to stop this mess from happening again? Should we even protect our past or just recreate it to reflect whatever we envision our future to be? (I love that the etymology for 'erie' is given in that article but not a understanding or investigation into 'terminal' or even the derivative 'terminus', instead if was glibly given whatever definition fit the author's preconceived notion)
Required bike parking could pave way for easier commutes
Granted, Cleveland is part of the conglomerate of Northeastern Ohio Cities with the least traffic congestion which may be attributed to smaller population and relatively large existing vehicular infrastructure however as the city looks to reimagine itself and learn to grow I find the discussion of simply concentrating on pedestrian level commuting rather lacking.
Some areas such as Washington D.C. are looking into legislating minimum requirements for bicycle parking within the city. I know that Cleveland has added quite a few of those black 'U' racks for bikes in the city but there is still something that doesn't seem quite so safe about them yet. It could be a severe lack of cycling lanes (or deficiency in people's driving abilities) coupled with how sporadic the bike parking is (seems unconcentrated and not secure) that greatly cuts into it's use.
I do know quite a few people who bike from the inner ring suburbs into Cleveland. Most of them are blessed with being on the lower levels of a building (most larger buildings make cyclists use freight elevators which must be accessed from a loading dock) and being able to store their bikes securely in their offices.
I am not currently petitioning for a bike rack in my cubicle (although I would be fine if there were one) but if there were bike parking locations, centralized, safe and secure enough that I wouldn't worry about if my bike would still be there when I worked late then I promise you I would ride to work more and would surmise that others would be willing to do the same?
One would think that it would prove economically viable to cater to a demographic that is inherently younger, healthier and more mobile by allowing them to move around in a manner in which they have to pay intimate attention to the city around them. I am actually surprised that RTA hasn't started combining cycling with bus/rapid stations as a way to create intermodal transportation hubs around the city that interacts how public transportation should, by getting large, expensive, solitary modes of transport off the street and instead making it into a public corridor.
Garbage. Americans produce more and more of it every year, when we need to be producing less.
Even the most waste-conscious among us can feel overwhelmed by the amount of household waste that goes beyond what municipal recyclers and compost bins can handle.
That’s why our editors have spent the summer investigating the state of waste management in our country, and putting together information for you, our Co-op America members, explaining how we can get serious about the three R’s
