The more things change the more they stay the same. This Blog for instance will change at the beginning of the year. I am going to seek full time employment after working on Community Energy Systems for 6 years. I do not really know what that means. It could mean as little as 1 post a week. In an emergency like Katrina or the Gulf Oil Spew it could mean daily for awhile. Today I leave you with something I have seen up close and personal, the ancient Bristle Cone Pine tree.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/oldest-living-tree-tells-all/

Read My Rings: The Oldest Living Tree Tells All

By Hunter Oatman-Stanford

n 1964, a geologist in the Nevada wilderness discovered the oldest living thing on earth, after he killed it. The young man was Donald Rusk Currey, a graduate student studying ice-age glaciology in Eastern Nevada; the tree he cut down was of the Pinus longaevaspecies, also known as the Great Basin bristlecone pine. Working on a grant from the National Science Foundation, Currey was compiling the ages of ancient bristlecone trees to develop a glacial timeline for the region.

“Bristlecones are slow-growing and conservative, not the grow-fast, die-young types.”

Currey’s ring count for this particular tree reached backward from the present, past the founding of the United States, the Great Crusades, and even the Greek and Roman Empires, to the time of the ancient Egyptians. Sheltered in an unremarkable grove near Wheeler Peak, the bristlecone he cut down was found to be nearly 5,000 years old, taking root only a few hundred years after human history was first recorded. How could a half-dead pine barely 20 feet tall outdo the skyscraper-height sequoias, commonly thought to be the oldest trees alive?

The longevity of Great Basin bristlecones was first recognized in the 1950s by Dr. Edward Schulman, who shocked a scientific community that believed in a correlation between long lifespan and great size. Schulman systematically sampled Great Basin bristlecones in California and Nevada, and published his findings in a 1958 National Geographic article, which revealed several of the trees to be more than 4,000 years old. Schulman’s analysis supported the idea that “adversity begets longevity,” or that the severe conditions in which the bristlecone pine evolved actually helped extend its lifespan.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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I promised that I would talk about the Child’s Playhouse today and I will but I have not talked about my experiences both of the other three disabilities and the week long pledge I took. The playhouse was a put together huge 2 rooms, built on a scale as if human adults were children. each of the two rooms illustrated many of the challenges children face like tables, counter tops, drawers, and cabinets (the organizers quickly pointed out that they were not saying children WERE handicapped much like pregnancy can be described as a disease but it is really not), and the second room had furniture, peoples legs and a partial staircase. It was so cool because to get stuff, especially if you couldn’t talk you had to climb on things and the stairs were a huge challenge and kinda scary as was walking around peoples legs.  It was big fun. Here is another thing that helps the disabled and I got to tell you from trying to open the door to the playhouse – it was real hard.

http://www.power-access.com/Model-2300-door-opener.html

Model 2300 Residential Door Opener

To assist disabled individuals toward independence, or for anyone who finds a closed door a problem… Power Access 2300 residential door opener makes access by opening the door and egress by closing the door easier.

Installation Ease

• No modification of the door or jambs
• Plugs right into a regular 115vac wall outlet
• Complete instructions are packed with every door opener
• Virtually maintenance free
• Fits in most interior and some exterior door applications
• Left and right hand door openers are available (hand can be changed in the field in a matter of minutes)
• Low profile model, for limited room above the door
• Door opener opens and closes the door

An Array of Companion Controls (wired or wireless)

• Push Plate Wall Switches
• Push Button Wall Switches
• Coded Radio Transmitter/Receiver
• Keyless Entry Systems
• Electric Door Lock (Strike)

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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First let me cite one of the best lists of environmental groups I have found and the source of this meditation.

http://www.world.org/weo/environment

The first group on that list is unusual. While the cover page says there is more to come, this site gives you various breakdowns of data about the pollution going on in your neck of the woods. Kind of scary actually. Go to the site and check in. All you got to do is type in your zip code to get started. (do not type it below – it will not work)

http://scorecard.goodguide.com/

Get an in-depth pollution report for your county, covering air, water, chemicals, and more.

Your Zip Code:

More Facts on Pollution

Get answers to the most commonly asked questions on nationwide pollution.

Scorecard is now back in the hands of the team that first created this service in 1998 while they were working for the Environmental Defense Fund. We are currently working on updating the site’s chemical profiles and health hazards information and are about to begin a comprehensive update of the site’s environmental data.

Scorecard is sponsored by GoodGuide, the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of consumer products. If you want to find products that are healthy, green and socially responsible, support us by downloading our transparency toolbar or our mobile applications.

Bill Pease, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist
GoodGuide
bill@goodguide.com

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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I was going to put up a piece by a woman in Austin today about recycling electronics and then start in on global warming and the drought here in Illinois but then this popped up. I mean it is the biggest nuclear disaster of this decade and the effects of the radiation are going to be with us for thousands of years. So just like the Ukrainian wolves that we have been watching the Japanese butterflies bear watching too.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57492524/report-mutated-butterflies-found-near-fukushima/

Report: Mutated butterflies found near Fukushima

Disaster in Japan

(CBS News) A group of scientists in Japan made a surprising discovery by finding large numbers of specimens of pale grass blue butterflies that had mutated.

In a report in the Scientific Reports journal, the scientists said their research concluded that “that artificial radionuclides from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant caused physiological and genetic damage to this species.” The scientists said their findings were not expected.

“It has been believed that insects are very resistant to radiation,” lead researcher Joji Otaki from the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, told the BBC. “In that sense, our results were unexpected.”

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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People are always playing out this dystopian vision of what the world will look like if there is a sharp break in the availability of fossil fuels. Most people imagine guys with guns will control their chunk of the world and abuse everyone in it for the own good. Or that we will break into semi-dead towns and farm life like 200 years ago. But, I usually say, what if it is slower than that and what if people cooperate instead of foolishly competite. Then life might look like this, which sounds kinda fun.

http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/07/ithaca-ecovillage-forges-a-path-to-sustainable-living/

Ithaca Ecovillage Forges a Path to Sustainable Living

By Coralie Tripier

ITHACA, New York, Jul 16 2012 (IPS) – Ecovillage at Ithaca (EVI), located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, is an intentional community of 160 people striving for greater sustainability, a better quality of life, and perhaps even a new model for urban planners the world over.

Enjoying breathtaking surroundings, residents wander around the village on pedestrian-only streets, swim in the pond, share meals in the common house, and spend a small amount of their time working together for their community.

EVI’s residents have to volunteer for two hours every week in one of the six work teams – the cooking team, the dishwashing team, the common house cleanup team, the outdoor maintenance team, the regular maintenance team, or the finance team.

“If you had a house, you would have to do that anyway, so why not do it for the broader community and make friends at the same time,” Ashley Click, a young mother and new resident at EVI, told IPS.

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Go there and read about a grand life. More tomorrow.

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Man, I have been all over the map this month. Jumping from topic to topic like a gyrating Spider Man. Still this is a pretty cool site with pretty cool people so:

http://www.thisamericanland.org/blog/?cat=31

More on Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Author: Jeanna Thomas  |  Category: Behind the Scenes, Caroline Raville, Environment, Landscapes, Season Two, TAL on PBS

This is the third in a series of blogs written by This American Land host Caroline Raville on her recent experience shooting  a story for season two at Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Read the first two blogs in this series, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Season Two and Host Caroline Raville on Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

And now we are crossing over the mighty Paria River,” Dr. Titus observes.

I look down below. I see dirt and a puddle. Dr. Titus and Scott Richardson are grinning at my incredulous look as we bump along the pockmarked road. Apparently, this crack in the mud does become a river occasionally. Escalante experiences extreme weather ranging from boiling, fly-infested summers to frozen winters. Still, the evidence before me seems to suggest that this place is in a constant state of dry heat.

We drive deeper into the monument, and the paleontologists decide to take a quick detour promising spectacular views. After a steep climb with some seriously wicked turns, we find ourselves looking down on a valley littered in rock formations. There are the tar colored hills which look like a blackened sand dune. Further up, rust tinted rocks roll in the shape of a dragon’s back. And above are the whitewashed peaks dotted with green scrub brush. These layers are a physical timeline that helps scientists to establish the changes in habitat that occurred here. From ocean floor to swampland to the now arid desert, Escalante has experienced some major changes during its existence due to plate tectonics and the resulting mountain building.

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Go there and read. There are even pretty talking pictures. More tomorrow.

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OH and some housekeeping issue. The below websites asked for “links”. So by posting them here I believe we are linked. I have never used either so these are not endorsements, but they seem legitimate. As with all of the internet, buyer beware.

www.interectsolar.com

http://www.specialawnings.com/

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Already a group of scientists and volunteers moved a butterfly north because of the warming climate. Our zoos are being referred to as “lifeboats” for extinct “in the wild” animals. This is no longer funny. People should be going to jail for this but it turns out that jails are only for poor people and white collar criminals not the uber wealthy who control the literal power structure that is causing this.

http://www.livescience.com/17719-species-extinctions-climate-change.html

“We have really sophisticated meteorological models for predicting climate change,” Urban said in a statement. “But in real life, animals move around, they compete, they parasitize each other and they eat each other. The majority of our predictions don’t include these important interactions.”

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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But posting every year gets it out there. I know that I have never posted anything from their blog. This is about Earth Day in India and I though it was cool because it shows how far the idea has spread.

http://www.earthday.org/blog/2012/05/01/guest-blog-corbett-foundation-mobilizes-india-earth-day-2012

Guest Blog: Corbett Foundation Mobilizes in India for Earth Day 2012

5/1/12 | Earth Day Network

Guest blog by: Zaara Kidwai

Between April 14 and 23, the Corbett Foundation (TCF) carried out a series of events and activities for Earth Day 2012 in Corbett, Kutch, Bandhavgarh and Kanha, India. We engaged schoolchildren here in a variety of interactive seminars and competitions designed to teach them and their communities about the importance of sustainable living and preserving the environment.

Throughout the week, the Corbett office of TCF organized activities such as environmental film screenings, presentations, health awareness sessions and quiz competitions for 6th-10th graders in 11 schools in and around the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

TCF–Kutch celebrated a one-day mega event on April 22 with children from two schools in Bhuj: Army Public School and Matruchaya Girls School. The event was organized in collaboration with the Gujarat Forest Department, Kutch West Division. A total of 125 students participated in the event, which included a screening of a film about conserving the Great Indian Bustard followed by a drawing and poster-making competition.

TCF-Bandhavgarh organized a nature walk for school children followed by a visit to an interpretation center. They also distributed solar lanterns to the Kulohawah village, located inside the Bandhvagrah Tiger Reserve, and organized an exhibition of traditional crafts.

TCF-Kanha organized an environmental awareness rally and a roadside clean-up in which 70 students and villagers from four villages participated. The rally started in Manjitola village; then, participants marched to the Mukki gate of the Kanha Park. Along the way, students chanted slogans like “Save Earth, Save Life, One Earth, One Chance.”

We hope our efforts will motivate people around us to adopt an environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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That is right. I know this is an energy conservation blog. It is an environmental blog and an energy industry blog as well. But for awhile this is going to be a frugality blog. Think about it. At one level frugality and sustainable living start by “doing for yourself”. What is more easier and immediate than cutting your own hair. This site is much more than that but it is the first article.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2012/02/26/reader-story-home-haircuts/

Reader Story: Home Haircuts Can Save Time and Money

Sunday, 26th February 2012 (by J.D. Roth)

This guest post from Shannon D is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes.

My wonderful husband likes to keep his hair short and precise. He works outdoors but dislikes hats, so keeping his hair looking proper is important to him. We live in a rural area without a major chain hair cut shop. While we do have a small barber shop, their hours are very limited. This usually meant that for a monthly haircut we would drive 25 miles to the nearest mall to get his hair cut in the evenings or on weekends at a chain store.

While we usually tried to combine his trip for a haircut with other errands in town, we typically just made it into a dinner evening. So on top of the other costs, we often had an extra dinner out that we not have otherwise enjoyed.

We estimate our costs to have been the following:

• $25 per trip in mileage
• $18 haircut – including the tip
• A solid two hours spent getting a haircut

With this happening once monthly, we were spending $516 per year — not including dinners — and 24 hours of time getting his hair cut.

We decided to try something different, not because of the money so much as the time and convenience lost making the commute just for a haircut. After my husband asking me several times, I finally got the confidence to try cutting his hair. I am no cosmetologist. My haircutting experience includes buzzing my brother’s hair — at his request — in high school and shaving my long-haired dog during the summer. And I should mention that my husband’s haircut is not a simple buzz. It made me nervous.

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Go there and read as much as you can take. More tomorrow.

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I know this and the following posts may seem off topic. What does simplicity or frugality have to do with home energy conservation. Well to use an extreme example, what if you simplified your life by using no generated electricity. So much in your life would change. No computer, no telephone, and no lights at night. While that would be thought of as extreme by some and it would only save my household a couple of thousand dollars a year, it is still an interesting concept. This blog here makes a good place to start.

http://www.word-works.com/simple/

Choose Simplicity
Thoughts on Voluntary Simplicity

Welcome to Clay and Judy
Woods’ homepage.

Many simplicity gurus urge us to become “tightwads” as the true path to a simple life. But voluntary simplicity and frugality are not really the same thing. To be sure, frugality is a vehicle for achieving simplicity, but the driving force is a vision, a philosophy, a world view.

If life were a poem, simplicity would be the poet, frugality the line and meter.

If life were a painting, simplicity would be the artist, frugality the paint and brushes.

If life were a building, simplicity would be the architect, frugality the hammer and boards.

Voluntary simplicity is about freedom. It’s about owning your own life. Frugality is living with less of what money can buy. Voluntary simplicity is wanting less.

Soon after beginning our partnership more than 35 years ago, we made a revolutionary discovery. It changed our lives then and it continues to make us “different” now. You’ve heard it before: “time is money.” What we discovered is that’s not true – time is better than money!

This revelation has allowed us to be content in our work or to change that work when it no longer satisfies. It has permitted us to spend less time acquiring things and more time acquiring experiences, insights, and relationships. It has encouraged us to lend a helping hand in our community, whenever the need arises, because we can make the time to do it. It has given us freedom and control of our lives.

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Go there and read in much larger print. More tomorrow.

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