jonc.eco

On June 4th the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors adopted a comprehensive blueprint to strive towards regional sustainability. The document called the Green Government Program establishes detailed eco-friendly goals and ways to measure solutions for those goals. The program covers many of the various Maricopa County agencies from Planning and Development to the Public Health Department. Each agency has identified actions they will do and then be required to report those actions. Just a few of the adopted actions include a feasability analysis of a new Green Building Program, and the increase of telecommuting. Please see this link for the press release and a copy of the program: http://www.maricopa.gov/planning/Resources/Other/GreenGovernment.aspx

Chris Jordan is an amazing artist who has captured a slice of the shocking human consumption habits in his series “Running the Numbers”.  Each piece in the series gives an American Culture statistic and then displays that statistic through an artistic lens.  The images are produced by extremly detailed smaller images woven to create a seamless larger image.  

Please see this link for a look at Chris Jordan’s art:http://www.chrisjordan.com/

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

According to inhabitat.com, Apple just recently applied for a patent to integrate a thin layer of photovoltaic cells into the surface of their electronics.  What this could mean in the future is that your Apple electronic device could be powered to some degree by the sun.  There are already a handful of solar devices that allow other portable electronic devices from PDAs to laptops to plug in and gain a charge but this is the first that I have seen that is attempting to integrate the two into one happy marriage.  The only concern that I would have living in Phoenix is I doubt I would feel comfortable letting my two-thousand dollar laptop bake to gain a charge while I wait for the bus.  

An awesome new website allows people to organize and compete against each other in reducing their carbon footprint.  Being that humans are naturally competitive this program has proven to be successful among students and workforces alike.  Here is how it works: Carbonrally puts out challenges like use a clothesline, it then calculates the carbon saved if you use the clothesline.  It keeps a cumulative score of carbon saved and allows a users to compete against each other.   Check the website.

http://www.carbonrally.com/

This crazy contraption recently caught my eye. The electric uno bike was invented by Ben Gulak an 18 year old inventor. The bike operates like a segway only it appears much more dangerous. The bike has a fully electric motor capable of reaching 25 mph and can run for 2.5 hrs per charge. The uno is not in full production yet because Ben has not been able to find investors for the project. Maybe if he added a second wheel in the back?

http://www.motorcyclemojo.com/articles/the-uno/

I got the opportunity to tour the almost completed Tempe Transit Center last week and it made me salivate a bit. The team for this project really pulled out all the stops and thought of everything to minimize the environmental impacts. The laundry list of eco-friendly strategies is as long as the light rail line itself (which by the way is the longest initial light rail segment in the country) but a few include a green roof packed with succulents to minimize water runoff and insulate, a concrete engineered heat sink section on the west side of the building to minimize heat gain from the western sun, and LED light gabions filled with recycled glass. If you commute to Tempe you will get to experience this beauty when its completed.

http://www.tempe.gov/greenprograms/transitcenter.htm

Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has put together a new slide-show that updates the clear facts about the climate crises. This slide-show demonstrates that the situation has gotten much more out of control than originally portrayed in his hit documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The new slide-show is inspiring and excites me to do something to solve this problem instead of scarring me into hopelessness. I want people to understand that that although God is in control, we have a responsibility to be stewards of this planet and that it will take more action than screwing in a cfl and recycling a water bottle.

Please click the link to see the full 20 min video

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/243

SATURDAY APRIL 13, 2008 9 PM ET

Move all previously scheduled plans and tune into your National Geographic Channel to catch an amazing show. Everything you eat. Everything you drink. Everything you use. Your entire life’s consumption. In one place at one time.  Check out this preview!

This morning I drove my family’s only car, a 2006 Kia Spectra, to the “cheap gas station” to fill it up because I was sure that the gas light had been on for far too long. After the fuel dispenser clicked off I glanced at the pump to evaluate the damage… $41.43!?! Over forty bucks to fill up a Kia? I thought that $40 would be enough to fill up an Excursion but certainly it could not be possible that amount of fuel should be able to fit inside the petite belly of our Kia. Then I remembered that a barrel of oil has been consistently over $100 dollars for the past few days. And that I had sticker shock because it had been a while since I filled up the car and I simply didn’t notice the slow increase in cost like other daily drivers would have.

I usually take the bus or ride my bike to work. By bike the commute is 18 miles and I can actually get to work in less time than taking the bus. Not because I train with Lance Armstrong but because the bus is just plain slow. The point is, is that you have a bike of any kind in safe working condition, Huffy or Haro, ride the thing! Its healthier, cheaper, and sometimes faster than the alternative.

The Camelback Corridor in Phoenix will soon have a new eco-friendly condo project to add to its growing chicness. The AURA at Camelback development is slated to achieve LEED Silver which translates into a healthier building for its occupants and the environment. Because the project is located in the exciting Camelback Corridor residents will be encouraged to walk more and rely less on their vehicles therefore reducing vehicle miles traveled. The Aura project has also partnered with the solar providing company Agenera to install enough solar to absorb up to 75% of energy costs. This kind of partnership is both new and exciting and will hopefully be an example for other valley projects.

http://www.auraatcamelback.com/auraHome.html

http://www.agenera.com/

It’s unfortunate but not surprising that many of the displaced Katrina refuges are becoming sick from their FEMA provided “temporary” shelters. The formaldehyde laced trailers have been causing a slew of problems for the residents. Nose bleeds and headaches, are a couple of examples. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) tested the air quality in more than 500 trailers in both Louisiana and Mississippi and found that formaldehyde levels were anywhere from 5 times to 40 times the amount found in a normal home. The CDC has recognized formaldehyde as a cancer causing chemical. Unintentionally the government has traded flooding for tumors.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/fema_formaldehy.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080801758.htm

Arizona’s largest energy provider, APS, has just announced a partnership with the Spanish based company Abongoa Solar Inc. to build a 280-megawatt dish solar array near Gila Bend. This project will be one of the largest solar arrays in the world covering approximately 3 sq. miles of land. The solar bank will not be made of the typical photovoltaic panels but rather parabolic dishes designed to concentrate the heat from the sun and transfer the heat to spin turbines. Once build out of this facility is complete, APS should be capable of powering a total of 100,000 homes with renewable energy. Please check out this video but ignore the corny audio.

Cadenza is a Phoenix based custom re-construction clothing company using old garments and giving them new life. Each garment is a hand made one-of-a-kind work of art. The designers behind these clothes is none other than my wife Katie Walker and our friend Monique Martinez. For some reason I never realized how eco-friendly their work was until just recently. They take clothes and fabrics that might otherwise be thrown away and make clothes that give people an alternative to mainstream fashion. Get the goods at these two Phoenix locations: The Trunk Trading Co. and Bunky Boutique, or on line at cadenzaclothing.etsy.com

Please check out www.myspace.com/cadenzaclothing for more info.

Its no secret that for the environment to shift in a direction that will enable the future generations to enjoy the planet, big business will have to be involved. I came across an amazing website that puts some of the power into the hands of the consumers. On climatecounts.com consumers, which is everyone, can read about the environmental efforts their favorite company is doing or not doing. This empowers us to vote to support eco-friendly companies with our dollars. Plus the website has an incredible video. Please check it out www.climatecounts.com

As the Prius popularity wave continues to build the audacious comments from the uninformed swell along side. One such comment I have heard regularly is that the energy to produce the battery for the Prius is greater than what a Hummer would use in its lifetime. Thankfully I found a very comprehensive article that sets this myth straight once and for all. No junk science, no research from someone on the Toyota payroll, just someone who cares about humanity’s future.

Please see this link to read the article:http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200711/mrgreen_mailbag.asp#headaches

Last Sunday as I was heading to church I had a hankering for a warm Vanilla Latte. I usually don’t go to Starbucks but today I couldn’t fight the temptation to spend a paper Lincoln on the throught smoothing drink. I always find myself reading the container of whatever it is I have purchased just for fun. For those of you who are Starbucks veterans you know that they put a little quote from someone on each cup called “The way I see it”. Check out what my cup said: So-called “global warming” is just a secret plot by wacko tree huggers to make America energy independent, clean our air and water, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, kick-start 21st-century industries, and make our cities safer and more livable. Don’t let them get away with it! Was this a sign? I think so!

Check out www.grist.com for more info on the author of this quote.

There is obviously a huge disconnect with American society and the knowledge of where our food actually comes from. Many people think that food simply just comes from the supermarket. I feel like there is a real need to bring gardens into our urban environment to connect us with our food.

A thought occurred to my one day while eating lunch. What if the dedicated open space parks in subdivisions could do more than provide tot lots and barbecue ramadas? What if within the subdivision parks there could be urban gardens capable of producing safe and healthy food for the community? Two ideas “sprouted” up in my mind while thinking about this concept. The urban garden be would be maintained by either members of the HOA or a gardener. The goods that the garden produces are then sold at a local farmers market to the surrounding community. Members of the HOA would be able to receive a discount on the goods that were grown in the urban garden. The funds generated by the sales of the goods would go to a HOA general fund to help the HOA pay for other projects in the subdivision.

The second idea that I had for an urban garden would be that space within the park could be leased to a member of the HOA and that person would be responsible for the garden. The person leasing the garden space could keep all the money generated by the grown goods. The HOA could put the money paid to lease the garden space in a general fund and used for other projects in the subdivision.

What do you think?

Please check out this link to view a 20-min fast paced look and human consumption. The video explains where stuff actually comes from and where it ends up.  Press play below for a look at the teaser.

Visit http://www.storyofstuff.com/ to see the entire video…this makes it so easy for anyone to understand!

For the past few months it seems like every time I pick up a eco-inspired magazine I can’t escape this ridiculous LG Hi-Macs Eden Collection ad. I have included some green washing tips that LG has perfected for this product.

1) Include some hippie looking people

2) Don’t make it clear what exactly it is that your trying to sell

3) Make sure to include either the words LEED, or Green

4) Make sure you state that the material has a percentage of recycled material but make sure you don’t say what the recycled material actually is

5) Make sure to use the USGBC logo somewhere

Way to go LG. Thanks for misleading consumers.

http://www.lgsecrets.com/eden.jsp

The UK based Ecotricity has put together this time lapsed video showing the installation of three wind turbines at the Avonmouth Docks near Bristol.