Carbon footprint of booze

Awesome. Thanks, Mother Jones. Now we can feel eco-guilt for drinking, too. I didn't know that vodka is the most energy-intensive booze to manufacture, or that tons of pesticides are used on agave plants.

Some tips:

• For beer...Kegs > cans > bottles
• Organic when possible
• Reduce shipping distance
• See the line on the map shown at the bottom of the article for when to buy CA wine, when to buy Euro-wine (Notably, Chile and Australia aren't even mentioned)

VV

Velo Vogue is a bike-centric, picture-heavy, San Francisco-loving blog that I enjoy having in my Google Reader.

That said, this post has no pictures. But does a good job of summing up the fun and feelings of biking in The City (And I think it holds true for men too - don't know why the author chose to call out just her gender in the title.)

How a Woman Feels on a Bike

An apple a day...

Long article from the NYT linked below, but interesting - use of a ketogenic diet (high-fat, some protein, v low carbohydrate) to treat childhood epilepsy.
Epilipsy's Big, Fat Miracle

Definitely continues my interest in food as medicine... post to come on my month on the Paleo Diet.

To Facebook friend or to not Facebook friend

Wise words from a friend who has been married for over (right?) 10 years, well before Facebook - and still gives rockstar advice (S)

K: So, I'm debating sending the new guy a FB friend request. I want to... but then there's that one that I dated earlier this year - kind of wish I hadn't friended him. I can't unfriend him, because we said we'd "be friends," and really, it's not a big deal. 

S: Wait until it's serious enough that you would be comfortable changing your status to "In a Relationship" (I don't actually even have that line listed on my profile anymore, so this is theoretical, in my mind.). Also, once it's a big enough relationship such that it would be silly to not be friends.... if it ends, it would be silly to remain FB friends, because you'll need time apart. 

S: Or, if he sends you a request, just accept it.

K: And not review all of this with him, because then he'll definitely know I'm crazy.

S: Well, you don't need to lift the veil quite so high.

So, there you have it. When to FB friend a guy you're dating.

Solar Roadways

Solar Roadways: A Shining Vision Posted: 18 Nov 2010 01:28 PM PST By: Jonathan Marshall So far this week we’ve seen how America’s crumbling roads, and its environmental needs, might be fixed by replacing asphalt with cleaner, renewable bioasphalt or bioengineered sandstone. But Idaho-based inventors Scott and Julie Brusaw believe we need to think much bigger. They propose nothing less than paving roads with solar panels. The idea may sound fanciful, but their unique Solar Roadways concept won the first GE Ecoimagination Challenge award last month, with its $50,000 prize. Last year they received a contract from the Federal Highway Administration to build their first prototype. Their idea is to combine embedded solar cells, which (hopefully) pay for themselves over time by generating power, with heating elements to de-ice the surface in northern climates and LEDs to mark road lines for safer night-time driving. The surface would be made of tough, weatherproof, textured, non-slick glass to let sunlight into the solar cells and make the LEDs visible at night. Microprocessors installed every 12 feet would control lighting, communications and monitoring. Another layer would carry electric power and data signals for high-speed Internet, video and other communications. When installed everywhere, they envision, “The Solar Roadway becomes an intelligent, self-healing, decentralized (secure) power grid.” Based on reasonable estimates of efficiency, and four hours of sunlight a day, they figure that their solar roads would produce about 3.3 megawatt-hours of energy per lane mile each day, about as much energy as 107 average American homes used in 2007. Besides selling electricity (and charging electric vehicles), the roads could make money by selling high-speed data and video services and advertising (through lit LEDs on the road). (Not that the world needs any more advertising, but it might be a worthwhile tradeoff if we could get rid of billboards.) Their bottom line may be a tad optimistic, but it’s worth shooting for: Unlike current road systems, it will pay for itself over time. No more Global Warming. No more power outages (roaming or otherwise). Safer driving conditions. Far less pollution. A new secure highway infrastructure that pays for itself. A decentralized, self-healing, secure power grid. No more dependency on foreign oil. Who would have thought that reinventing roads could be so much fun?

Run Carrot, run!

Helmet hair

Is a bike helmet really that bad? Or do I just really not care about my hair enough?

Photo 1: Helmet is "on," but inactive

Photo 2: Helmet is active

That said, I'm sure that this sort of technology might be really useful for other body parts or sports.

Airbag Helmet from Treehugger

you're going to want to click on that picture to embiggen it.

Stolen from SFist.com/

who stole it from

sfcurbed.com/

who stole it from 

generic1.tumblr.com/

And for something a little lighter to follow that up, things are still really awesome with the guy I told you about last week. :)

PANCAN.org

Pancreatic cancer remains the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. The five-year survival rate stands at a miniscule 6%. Even more distressing is that this survival rate has not changed significantly in nearly 40 years. 


I know there are a million causes that need money. Heck, I'm sure we all know at least five friends or family members who are unemployed or underemployed. But, I do try to donate to charities anyway. Pancreatic cancer is an issue that is close to my heart. This year will mark 20 years after my dad died from pancreatic cancer. 


For more information, check out this link on the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network's site.