HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

I liked this picture because it had a rainbow. It's taken from Sacramento365.

Ah. Earth Day.

Hong Kong Time Lapse

In a marathon 36-hour stretch of working, so I'm not really posting, but this is an awesome video from last night in Hong Kong as it celebrated Earth Hour.

Thought I'd share at least something today.

Earth Hour

I'll be at the hospital during Earth Hour (8:30pm-9:30pm). I turned off my lights and my computer at home, though, and I'll be using Blackle if I need to search here at work.

Make it a good hour!

ELECTION 2008: ENDORSEMENT: *YES* on Issue 2

This is really not me putting myself out there, as it seems to be in the support of the majority of people.

Issue 2 allows the state of Ohio to borrow $400 million for the preservation and revitalization of green spaces in Ohio's dying and industrializing blighted cities. Although there is an argument to be made that that's a lot of money to spend on "greening" our towns -- especially coming from Cincinnati which has a really extensive park system and a lot of wonderful natural aspects to it -- it would help give a certain je ne sais quoi to our downtowns and our urban spaces. And, god knows, there's a lot of redevelopment needed and we need to support that in a healthy manner... and, really, how many times have you found yourself complaining about the quality of Ohio's drinking water?

It's good for Ohio, it's better for all of us.

So, this is a YES to Issue 2. (Check out CleanOhio.org, the ballot measure website)

It has the backing of The News Leader (from big city source Macedonia, OH), The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Lantern (of OSU) and Ohio.com (a site from the Akron Beacon Journal).

Arguments for.
Arguments against.
(Both from the Secretary of State)

ENVIRONMENT: Global Warming Video

Most disturbing global warming video ever. Most beautifully disturbing video ever.

Thanks to neatorama.

ELECTION 2008: Paris Hilton... sensible???

Don't you hate it when Paris Hilton sounds sensible.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

And it appears that the newsmedia is listening.

ENVIRONMENT: Honda FCX Clarity

My afternoon was slow, so imagine my surprise when, watching BRAVO, I saw a commercial touting a new car that... emits only water vapour.

No, really.

Meet the Honda FCX Clarity.

(imgs via the Auto Lah blog)

Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. Per the website, Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology works by using the power of combining hydrogen with oxygen. It's weak -- at best, only 100mph -- and only gets about 270miles per tank of gas. In addition, there's only enough infrastructure in Southern California to offer these vehicles at all, and the lease is expensive -- $600/month. And there's a limited amount.

That said, guess what? It's a huge step forward. And I give props to Honda for putting one on the road. Well done, well done, well done. It can only go up from here.

(On a side note, are there concerns about increased water vapor in the atmosphere changing precipitation???)



The video is from the 2007 LA Auto Show, where the car was introduced.

OHIO/CINNKY: Bus Rider -- Week 4

I've been a bus rider for... four weeks now. Wow.

I don't know what happened to the time, but the car is a distant and fading memory, well, except that it's sitting in my driveway. I still remain in the ranks of people who have a broken down car on their property. A few notes:

1) Rain + Bus = SUCK
2) It's actually cheaper to take the 2X (the TANK) to the airport than it is to take a car -- even cheaper than being driven. (Oh, and YEA!)
3) Keep your music, and your head, down -- I was yelled out for my music.
4) I'm a really really fast reader -- around 2000 pages since this all began. I just finished Shogun... and will pick up The First Man in Rome tonight.
5) I have no food in the house. I need someone to take me to the grocery store, or a day off so that I can figure that out.
6) I'm losing weight just by walking.
7) Turn off your cell phone volume -- I've been yelled at for that.
8) Give yourself lots and lots of time. LOL

Anyways, but there are some fun things over at CityKin ... like how nice it would have been to have a comprehensive public transit system here in Cincy had the voters approved it in 2002.

Oh, and apparently I'm not the only one picking up the bus, as CityKin reports. From the same NYTimes article, the funniest quote: "Nobody believed that people would actually give up their cars to ride public transportation,” said Joseph J. Giulietti, executive director of the authority.

And for those who are driving around:



Wah-wah.

ENVIRONMENT: Carbon Emissions

(This is via the Every Man is Guilty... Blog via the Firedoglake blog)

Make your own conclusions. This is all thanks to the Vulcan Project.

Carbon Emissions in the US
















Per Capita Carbon Emissions in the US

ENVIRONMENT: Oil reserves and the Northwest Passage

A) The map speaks for itself.

B) Funny thing, this is one of the only maps like this (altered size based on some trait.. population, land use, etc) where the US is not one of the big players. Why does that strike me as funny?

C) Apparently this does not account for some forms of oil -- "tar sands" "oil sands" arctic reserves, etc. That would be why Russia, Venezuela, and Canada are not big... this is just currently known, self-reported (by the companies, apparently, and it is in their best interest to tell truthful statements about their total amount), pump and clean oil.

D) Looks like a map the neocons might like to have on hand.

Thought y'all might enjoy.

Oh and this:

The green in sea ice, the dark grey is water, the light grey is land.

That's right folks, thanks to global warming, there are now TWO northwest passages... and to think, we just needed to tell the European explorers from three hundred years ago to wait a little while (Artice ice levels are down 1 million square kilometers from their minima in 2006).

All thanks to the Sietch blog.