Posted by Dave on August 3, 2010
McMansion under construction by merfam
Remember when people where trending on such topics as “downsizing” and “simple living?” It seems like just yesterday. With untold McMansions listing in their weed-infested suburbs across the U.S. it would seem that the time was indeed ripe for reason to reenter our housing market and smaller footprints and more practical usage of square footage to be valued and rewarded. The only problem is that downsizing is easy to talk about and hard to do.
American’s love things big. As my wife and I have listed our 4 bed 3 bath, 1990 sq. ft. home in SLC for sale we have discovered that it is too small to demand top dollar (in our current crappy homes market). I thought such a home would be ideal for all the people who have been talking about downsizing from their 3,000 sq. ft. 3 bed and 3 bath houses. But, apparently there aren’t any such people. What there are, are people who are looking for their first home and finding that 2,000 sq. ft. just isn’t big enough. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on May 17, 2010
Yeti by Philippe Semeria
The only question in regards to the death of the current green enthusiasm is, “Will the new green fad die via popular adoption, or via wholesale abandonment?” Well, I guess this is the first question, not the only. The second one would be, “What will green living look like when it is either abandoned or adopted?”
An intelligent reader (I know you are out there!) would of course respond, “Well, economical solutions will be adopted while unrealistic and utopian greening will be abandoned.” And while making sense, this sort of reasoning with the American people is redonculous at best and dangerous madness at worst. Just look at corn ethanol, still going strong all these years despite its fairly wide-known economic unfeasibility. And we all know that the milk of the female Yeti could be a financial boon for holistic medicine if someone would just put in the hard work to create a Yeti milking program, or at least learn to synthesize the stuff. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Dave on April 16, 2010
The Harris Tweed Shop
The textile and clothing industry, like every industry, has been facing the green facts. Cotton, the big fiber on the block, is taking its hits. Being half granola and half redneck myself I can feel both sides of the issue. My father and grandfather supported themselves with cotton, yet I like to strut around in nothing but hemp. Good enough.
But as it turns out, cotton makes wonderfully soft and affordable clothing while using relatively high levels of chemicals, resources from the soil and lots of water (during growth and processing). But, if we know all this about cotton, why do we still wear so much of it, and more importantly, why do we keep so much more of it hanging in our closets and tucked into our dressers? Most of us keep buying clothes as if we intend to throw away a brand new green suit once it gets its first bit of pheasant blood on it. Sheesh.
Once again, we can learn something here from our Redneck brothers (I’m not so sure about sisters). Rednecks are particular about their clothing. It has to be functional and affordable. And now, I’m not making light. These are two very serious considerations in clothing that I am not so sure civil folk understand. For a redneck shopper these two dueling forces create a dilemma kin with taming the jackalope. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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 »
