New climate change regulations have successfully passed through their initial step in the U.S. House of Representatives recently (though its passage through the U.S. Senate is still not guaranteed when it comes up for a vote there in October), after years of growing public interest, understanding, and knowledge about the issue of climate change/global warming. [...]
In a previous entry, I discussed some of the tangible advantages of cleaning up litter over other types of environmentally-minded actions. Though it can certainly improve the physical health of ecosystems (and consequently, ourselves), I see spiritual aspects to it as well. Indeed, in my last post, I discussed how I went through a cleansing [...]
Here is an interesting article by an economist which examines the cost-benefits of the climate change debate. Build hospitals? Reduce incidents of malaria? Or pour money into a cause with theoretical benefits? I’m sure the developing world is delighted with the decisions being made these days by the more enlightened nations.
Just a short post to show I’m still [...]
Although many regard former U.S. President Jimmy Carter negatively, depicting him as a leader who reduced the status of America in the world during his time, he did at least seriously consider alternative energy sources far more seriously than any administration since. In the 1970’s - as now - the United States was overly dependant on fossil fuels, and prices for oil were suddenly [...]
I wrote previously about the idea of the electric car, citing such documentaries as ‘Who Killed the Electric Car’ (here), and discussing the work of manufacturer Tesla Motors (here). Here is some additional info on this interesting field that I learned recently. After all, it would be nice to get away – at a reasonable price - from the [...]
I finished a novel last year by well-known thriller author, Michael Crichton (famous for ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Andromeda Strain’), called State of Fear. While the 1200+ reader reviews at the Amazon.com site I linked to are quite varied, the main intent of the book was certainly to make you think, amidst the whirlwind story which surrounds the ideas presented within. [...]
About a month ago, on my way to work, I was astounded to observe a large diesel-powered locomotive venting a very unappetizing cloud of dark smoke, as it plodded along the train tracks adjacent to the city streets. This train appeared similar to the CPR (Canadian-Pacific Railway) lead engine seen here (and just below), and pulled a decent amount of freight behind it. [...]
There has been quite a lot of hype recently with passenger jet manufacturer Boeing’s unveilling of the new 787 Dreamliner (article with photos and video here), as representing the next developmental advance in the airline industry, its main selling feature being a significant increase in fuel efficiency. As discussed in this interesting blog article, air travel will continue expanding [...]
Here’s a link to some fascinating and unorthodox photographic artwork which I was sent a short while back. Well worth a visit, it helps one to picture the very substance of the statistics associated with the product consumption levels of our current day:
Chris Jordan – Running the Numbers
As Canada’s population is one-tenth of America’s, I’m guessing that the quantities shown at [...]
In the realm of guitar playing, I can get by with a few chords. It’s not my musical instrument of choice, although it is likely one of the most popular ones out there, and there are several fairly obvious reasons why: it is much more portable than a piano, has a versatile range of sound, and keeps one’s mouth [...]