Archive for June, 2008
Bike to work #1 : success!
After many many months of hemming, hawing, and making up excuses for why I couldn’t, I brought my bike to work today and rode it home. (Since I left my car there, I’m really hoping it doesn’t rain tomorrow morning.)
Initial thoughts on bike commuting:
- It’s shorter (by distance) and only slightly longer (by time). Since I’m taking a more direct, as-the-crow-flies route (as opposed to the highway), i’m shaving off a couple miles from the commute. Plus, since I can use the bike/curb lane and generally don’t need to wait for traffic, I can maneuver much quicker.
- Office buildings need showers. I got pretty sweaty riding home. That’s fine if I have a shower to jump into, but at work I’ll need to use the gym’s shower facilities. My frustration is that the people who run our gym refuse to entertain the concept of bike commuters using only the showers for a reduced rate. (I’m not planning to pump iron while at the office.)
- Very pleasant way to start/end the day. Unlike car commuting, when I have to constantly be thinking about traffic and watching for bad drivers, bicycling is very relaxing. I’m still watching for bad drivers, but I found my mind much clearer. I think it has something to do with the exercise component.
- Total gasoline used : 0 gallons!
- You should try it! I used to think it was too far, too many busy roads, too this, too that. Unless you try it, you’ll never know if you like it.
Filed under Milwaukee, energy, environment, frugal, work : Comments (1) : Jun 24th, 2008
The Daily Show nails it
It’s no secret–I love the Daily Show. Sometimes, when they really fire on all cylinders, they achieve a sort of comedic zen :
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (2) : Jun 23rd, 2008
MREA Energy Fair 2008
I went to the MREA Energy Fair yesterday with my friend Chris. It was really great to see so many people excited about renewable energy, conservation, and green living. Here are some photos :
Filed under culture, energy, environment : Comments (2) : Jun 22nd, 2008
Gas prices up, miles driven down : let the market work!
As you may or may not know, gas prices have more than doubled in the last year. Ouch. Politicians and pundits love telling us how this is “problem” is going to get solved. As I’ve recently explained, supply-side economics are not going to change the price of oil. What’s left? Demand.
And, believe it or not, it’s already happening! The U.S. DoT issues a monthly report of highway miles driven. For two consecutive months, Americans are driving fewer miles than we did a year ago. That’s right, the invisible hand of the market is working! Huzzah!
This raises a very important point : We need to let the market work. This means we must not mess with the gas tax! (Unless we raise it, to accelerate the process of moving beyond oil).
Keep this in mind, as one of the two presidential candidates (hint : the old, white one) wants to slash the federal gas tax. Let me repeat it once more : The market is working! Hands off, Washington!
Filed under economics, energy, politics : Comments (2) : Jun 22nd, 2008
Dear Congress : Wind is good!
While I was checking my Google feed reader under the Energy section, I stumbled across a graph that looked a little too familiar. The colors and overall design instantly grabbed my attention. Was this a GE pitch?
Indeed, it was. GE Energy Financial Services is trying to politely explain to the U.S. Congress that it’s a good idea to offer incentives to build wind energy projects. (This is the same U.S. Congress who routinely gives out hundreds of billions of dollars in oil production incentives.) It seems that just as the U.S. was on the way to catching up with the rest of Europe in renewable energy production, the fightin’ 110th decided to yank away the credits.
GE’s position is simple : by creating thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenue, building wind projects makes financial sense–even if Congress must first pay out some incentives. The net gain from 2007 was $250 million. Not bad, considering that doesn’t count the environmental benefits of wind vs. coal, gas, etc.
I’m a libertarian and don’t like subsidies in principle, but this one seems to make sense. Unlike coal, oil, and other fossil fuels, wind has a very high ratio of jobs per megawatt. It’s probably one of the few subsidies that literally pays for itself. We would be completely foolish in taking a huge step backwards by repealling the production tax credits.
Oh, wait. Foolishness is what Congress does best.
Filed under economics, energy, environment, politics : Comments (0) : Jun 20th, 2008
Offshore drilling is not a real solution [Updated!]
Hot on the heels of my last post, President Bush is calling for offshore drilling as a solution to our oil woes. Just in case you were fooled, here are the facts:
BBC NEWS | Americas | Bush calls for offshore drilling via kwout
At best, we could get about 2 years worth of oil from new offshore projects. Oh, and by the way, these projects take at least 3-5 years 5 years to come online and start producing oil.
That, Mr. Bush, is not a solution.
[Update!]
Hey, look at that. The Times also picked up on the absolute foolishness of suggesting offshore drilling as a solution to current high oil prices. Just as I mentioned above, the very earliest you could drill a new offshore oil well is 2013. So, Mr. Bush, we should just sit tight until then, right? Right?
Dearth of Deep-Sea Drilling Ships Hinders Offshore Oil Search - NYTimes.com via kwout
The only solution that we can do today is conservation. I know Republicans love supply side economics, but this is one example where our only option is on the demand side. There’s no excess supply in the pipeline so we need to cut our demand.
Filed under energy, environment, politics : Comments (1) : Jun 18th, 2008
We need a new plan
To paraphrase Albert Einstein, we can’t expect to solve a problem using the same thinking that created it. I fear that this is the approach Washington is taking regarding oil prices. The suggestions come from our elected leaders is mind numbingly foolish. “Let’s drill in ANWR!” “Let’s make oil out of coal!” “Let’s tell the Saudis to open up the spigot!” These ideas are coming from the industries and their political supporters who have profited generously during our descent into total oil dependence. I think it’s safe to say they won’t be helping us dig back out.We need to change the way we think about energy if we’re going to flourish in this century. At a personal level, it’s about changing your relationship with your car and your community. Driving to the big-box store to save a few dollars doesn’t make sense if it costs you $10 to get there. Communities will contract out of necessity and we will all find ourselves walking or bicycling for our daily errands. Urban living will see a rebirth as the economic balance of life in the suburbs starts to make a turn. This transition will not come easily, or without cost, but it will come nonetheless. It’s difficult to keep the suburban dream alive at $4/gallon. It’s all but impossible at $8.
On a state and regional level, we will need to start diverting precious tax dollars from highways to railways. Passenger train service is woefully inadequate in most regions. The trains that do run are slow, outdated, and expensive. Anyone who’s traveled in Europe knows that we’re stuck with decades-old technology. From an energy perspective, trains are the most efficient transportation alternative (far better than cars & airplanes). From a time perspective, the city-to-city service of a high speed train will beat today’s air travel for all but the longest routes. Even though an airplane travels faster while in the air, it also requires slow speed travel to the airport, then hours of sitting still as you wait to board the plane. I would gladly trade a few minutes travel time for the convenience of a train.
At the federal level, what we desperately need is leadership. Jimmy Carter proved in the 1970s that we’re able to drastically reduce our energy usage through coordinated efforts. [insert interesting statistic here]. Sadly, since then we’ve been driving on cruise control without a strategic energy plan. (Unless you count the energy strategy written in secret by Dick Cheney & friends during the early 2000s.) During WWII, Americans gathered together to show genuine national pride. Food and fuel was rationed, so people compensated with novel programs such as the “Victory Garden” grown in back yards. There’s nothing stopping us from doing this again, save a near total vaccuum of leadership in Washington.
As we enter the 2008 presidential election season, you can be sure that oil and energy will play a leading role. Don’t be fooled by the short-sighted advice of the petroleum pushers who put us in this mess.
Filed under energy, politics, suburbs : Comments (2) : Jun 17th, 2008
Twitter is down. again.
Twitter got you down? More excited about the twitter crash than the iPhone at WWDC? Here’s your shirt :
This is an experiment in demand-based sales. If (and only if) 100 people order the shirt, I will print it and ship it (for free!). If the market speaks and says “no thanks” then we all just walk away.
Benefit for you : at $15 shipped, this is a bargain
Benefit for me : no fear of sitting on a crate of unsold shirts
Benefit for us : we’re all promoters of the product. Use the widget below to order, then add it to your favorite social blog-o-webs to track progress and find more buyers. The quicker we hit 100, the quicker we all get shirts!
Filed under sites i like, technology : Comments (2) : Jun 9th, 2008
Why you should buy a bicycle today
The simple bicycle is quite possibly one of the greatest achievements in mechanical engineering. Taking relatively simple, low-cost parts and assembling in a simple, easy to maintain system, the bicycle delivers phenomenal efficiency for human transportation. If you do not own a bicycle (or if you own one of the bicycle-imposters sold by Kmart, Target, Walmart, and the like) you should buy one today.
Think of the bicycle as the perfect intermediary between automobile travel and foot travel. If you’re going more than 1/2 mile but less than 10 miles, the bike is ideal. Consider:
- A bicycle is inexpensive. $150 buys you a nice used bike. $300 buys you a brand new bike. $600 buys you a really nice new bike.
- Maintenance is easy and cheap. If you keep air in your tires, lubricate your chain, and clean off the frame once in awhile your bike will stay in great shape. You’ll also replace brake pads yearly and maybe get a tune-up at the local bike shop, but on balance a bike is incredibly easy to maintain.
- The fuel is free (or better). With gasoline at $4/gallon, the “free” fuel of your legs is mighty appealing. Add to this the health benefits of aerobic exercise and you could argue it’s even better than free.
- Zero pollution. Even the electric car produces pollution at the power plant. Bikes are the closest thing to zero pollution we’re likely to see in our lifetimes.
- Bicycles last a long time. A well cared for steel frame bike will easily last 20+ years with proper maintenance (see above). Unlike an automobile, there’s very little performance degradation over that lifespan. (The main incentive for bike upgrades is a newer, lighter, faster, models.)
So there you have it. Get a bicycle.
Filed under culture, energy, environment : Comments (5) : Jun 5th, 2008
Why I Hate Windows
Today at work, I had a perfect example of why I loathe the Windows OS and wish that my employer would give us more OS choices :
There was once a debate about what was better: the Windows ecosystem where 10,000,000 developers wrote 100,000,000 software titles that would run on 100,000,000,000 different hardware configurations; or the Mac ecosystem where you have 1 source for hardware, 1 source for a rock solid OS, and only 1,000,000 software titles (that actually work, by the way).
I think I’m sold on my Mac.
(But Windows 7 is going to be great! And stable! And it will wash your dishes, walk your dog, and mow your lawn! Huzzah!)
Filed under technology, work : Comments (0) : Jun 4th, 2008
