Practical hands-on tips and projects to save energy

I'm writing to recommend this website, builditsolar.com, to anyone who is considering taking real life steps to stretch their residence energy dollar.  I like a lot of things about this site: the combination of practical instructions on what one can and should do to save energy, combined with great photos to illustrate the…

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Less really IS more (Or how to not live in fear)

In my day-to-day life, the people I encounter (friends, neighbors, co-workers, students) all generally seem to be good; they want the best for themselves and the world they live in, they do not wish to do harm, and they are concerned about global warming, the wars, and biological threats. They want to be happy, and they want the people around them to be happy. Many of them are actively engaged with projects and endeavors that benefit others; they are motivated by a sincere desire to change the world in which they live.

I started thinking about this the day after attending a performance by a troupe called “Bench Press Burlesque.”  Four of the members of the group take yoga classes with me and I wanted to support them. I had seen them perform previously and was delighted with the wit, intelligence, and cutting-edge weirdness with which they deal with current issues and culture. Their most recent production, “Bad Jokes and Tight Ropes” did not fail to deliver, in my opinion. Perhaps I am a bit prejudiced (I know them and I love them!) but I was again tickled and pleased to see them as they took on President Bush, Technology, Corporate Environmental Rape, Bad Parenting, Gender Mis-identification, and the Catholic Church in their unique, campy, low-budget, sexy and freaky style. There was a decent performance of a West African dance that had the audience clapping and stomping, a puppet show on Sex Education and musical interludes by the house band …

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What’s more threatening, terrorism or environmental issues?

Is terrorism really the biggest threat facing the United States? TomPaine.com recently commented on a report of the libertarian Cato Institute arguing that terrorism is really just not that big of a threat to the average person. For instance, about as many Americans have been killed by terrorists as have been…

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“Here, have a bloated SUV, they say. Sorry about all your dead kids in Iraq”

If you're wondering why we "can't" buy electric cars (especially since 80% of Americans drive 50 miles or less per day), check out this review of an electric sports car.  The title deserves a special award of some sort:  "Lick My Silent Sports Car; How much has Big Auto lied?…

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Special extra-low bar the media provides for converted knuckleheads merits headline for Pat Robertson

Gosh.  If you've publicly shown yourself to be especially prone to dysfunctional cognition and flights of fantasy for many years, you can get yourself a big headline by merely stating the obvious.  Here's the story from Reuters: Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson said on Thursday the wave of scorching temperatures across…

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