Posted by Dave on January 19, 2010
U Car Share, a division of U-haul, has arrived in Salt Lake City. I know, I know. I hate U-haul. Talk about a company with horrible working conditions and nightmarish service. But try to put all that aside. Rather than pump more black smoke from poorly maintained moving vans, U-haul is trying its hand at appealing to the student, the office jockey and the granola urbanite.
U Car Share provides another alternative, alongside riding a bike or taking a bus, to individual car ownership. This sort of thing has been going on for years in romantic locals such as McMinnville, Berkeley, Portland and Madison. But, alas, I have never lived in any of those places. I do, however, live in Salt Lake City. Thus I should be thrilled to have access to car sharing. Yeah! Woohoo. Yep. Hizzaa. Woopty doo. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on January 9, 2010
In my last blog I chided hippies and granolas for not having the business sense to provide the world (or at least me) with a swell pair of hemp pants 34X34. Finally I found my savior, well within the bosom of hippie-womping hicks and sensible country folk, Orvis Clothing.
Orvis is the only clothing store with a website that sells hemp pants in size 34×34 for men. I know. A powerful statement made by a man wearing cannabis crafted clothing, but true. Nowhere else could I find my coveted pants. Orvis had two colors to chose from in 3 different inseams and several waist sizes. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on November 22, 2009
Good new desert dwellers. Although Utah is the second driest state in the U.S. (Nevada being the first) we don’t let that get us down. We still have the second highest use of water per capita. Nothing beats back the summer heat like a tall glass of cold water while you wash your car in the driveway at the same time your automated, leaky irrigation system waters your Kentucky Bluegrass lawn during the middle of the day. Ahhh, refreshing. And as long as there is an increasing amount of snow in the mountains every winter ad infinitum, we won’t ever get our comeupens. No comeupens, you here me!
St. George is located in the driest county in Utah and it has the highest per capita water consumption rate for an desert city in the U.S. at 335 gallons per person per day. Yeahaw! Now, I realize that it is of dire importance to all of us to keep those golf greens in St. George green, but explain that to a land that just can’t support such water usage. But what to do?
Over 100 years ago water in Utah became a for-profit commodity. Along with that came government subsidies historically around 50%. All of this means that Utah has some of the cheapest water prices in the country, and this in the second driest state in the Union. Common sense? or a disaster waiting to happen? or a disaster in progress?
Utah has been growing in population consistently for many years, and yet somewhere in the neighborhood of 87% of our water goes to agriculture. Farmers are important to our state, no doubt. But the crops that we grow, and the manner that we grow them in this state have to change.
The Utah Rivers Council promotes raising our conservation goal by 5% up to a 30% increase total. While realistic, this goal doesn’t strike me as sufficient. The Council has also been promoting practical steps like the “rip your strip” initiative. Water Wise Utah is promoting the use of an on-line water calculator. Utah needs much more severe legislation, using a creative combination of carrots and sticks, and a smarter, better educated public. But ultimately, Utahans simply haven’t cared enough about their precious water resources while living in a desert.
Good new desert dwellers. Although Utah is the second driest state in the U.S. (Nevada
Wyoming's Red Desert by Sam Cox
being the first) we don’t let that get us down. We still have the second highest use of water per capita. Nothing beats back the summer heat like a tall glass of cold water while you wash your car in the driveway at the same time your automated, leaky irrigation system waters your Kentucky Bluegrass lawn during the middle of the day. Ahhh, refreshing. And as long as there is an increasing amount of snow in the mountains every winter ad infinitum, we won’t ever get our comeuppance. No comeuppance, you here me! WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on June 13, 2009
Their can be glory in death. It is true. But Lord, not in a prolonged, asthma induced suffocation due to a humanly inhabitable planet. But never fear! 350 is here! Bill McKibben is still alive and kicking, and while he ain’t no Leonidas, he along with alot of others have started up 350.org. The movement and the number are based on the report put forward by the NASA climatologist guy (James Hansen) in 2007 that said that if we don’t reduce the amount of CO2 we are pumping into the atmosphere to below 350 parts per million and pronto we will be screwed (meaning human life could meet some rather sucky hurdles of death). WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on May 9, 2009
Well… not exactly, but I will be quite a ways from any sort of civilized mode of communication beyond smoke signals and a sharp poke in the eye. Not to fear, I feel it time to finally bring up the little matter of the wonder plant, hemp, when I return.
For now I leave you to ponder the ultimate sustainability in clothing… the loincloth. But wait. It gets even better. A loincloth made from hemp. You heard it here first.
Posted by Dave on May 7, 2009
I keep wondering when the “lease revolution” is going to take hold for the individual consumer? But alas, the stigma of “leasing is for the least” seems to be clinging to our culture like stank on the unshaved armpits of a female U of M (Montana) graduate.
Part of this could be due to the fact that the only two real players in the consumer leasing business are Rent-a-Center and Aaron’s. And RAC seems to be doing more payday loans and high price rentals that anything. I’m still a little foggy about what Aaron’s actually does. Both stores are mysterious via website.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on May 5, 2009
We suckle from breasts that insure our own demise. Bummer.
To continue my theme on blemishes within the American Dream that hinder sustainability I thought I would turn to a nurturing image in celebration of Mother’s Day. I know, so sentimental. Anyway, the problem here in the USA is not that our breasts are shriveled and dry (if only they were), rather the problem is that we suck at the wrong tits (if sustainability is what we seek. And it isn’t, but it should be.). WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on April 8, 2009
If there is one thing that Rednecks, Granolas and Mormons have in common it is their love for sticking it to the man and their affinity for a little Armageddon. Well I guess that is two things, and who doesn’t like sticking it to the man, except for all the regular joe shmoe, middle aged, white, males out there that are the man? I have to face it. In another 10 years or so I will be a little “Man” in training if I can ever make any money or gain any power.
Anyway, Granolas come at the end times a little less “religiously,” but just as dogmatically. For any good granola the end is near due to man’s incessant and beastly abuse of the earth. For Mormons and Rednecks the end is near because of damn gentiles and damn liberals, respectively. But, the results can be the same for all three groups. They know how to make the most out of a little and are ready to do so after civilization falls. Whether you are in the wilderess of Texas, Montana, Oregon or Utah you are likely to find the “off-griders,” or as I will refer to them in a coming blog, “The bunker nuts and belly-achers.” Full disclosure at this point requires that I share with you, the reader, just how tempted I am to become one. But as of this point I still own a traditional home connected to the grid here in SLC. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on April 6, 2009
There is a reason island nations are much more adept at small living than those of us in the United States, and especially Texas (where I hail from). As the Texas Board of Tourism slogan goes, “It’s like a whole other country” (pronounced with an “n” in front of “other”). And in Texas country everything is supposed to be bigger. By bigger people mean “better than you.” Well, I have come to not only disagree with this mentality but to actively combat it. I feel that small living is a challenge to character because the forced process of prioritizing our material goods and the space we choose to live in leads us to question the core of our selves. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on March 28, 2009
Uppity folk may call it offensive, but rednecks just call it home.
There are a lot of different names for it these days. Some now call it reuse. Polite, cute little title. Some still call it salvage. Some call it practical stewardship. Some call it scavenging or hoarding. I just call it pickens. Whatever title you give it, rednecks have always known about the sustainable reuse of material goods. The ranch I grew up on had an advanced system for it. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
