Many Americans complain about the US Postal Service, which usually shares their venom towards other agencies like the DMV and the IRS.  I used to share that attitude, until I had a Canadian roommate in graduate school who raved about the USPS and how he found it far superior to the Canadian Post.  All in [...]

“It’s a one-off hookie-mookie.” –Patsy Stone, a character on the British sit-com Absolutely Fabulous, explaining why she could not sit down in her unique virgin silkworm saliva outfit. We are always hearing about slick alternative energy solutions in the media.  This past week, we have learned that reject watermelons could be a potential feedstock for [...]

8/21/09:  My better half comes home, with two huge black bags.  Body bags?  No, dry cleaning bags.  Oh right.  We saw canvas bags at some street festival earlier this year.  Great idea, would it work?  Some entrepreneur at morning meeting was giving these out—by the way, the fellow couldn’t answer what these bags were made [...]

Recently we started renovating the spare bathroom.  Overall, I must say we’ve been fairly “green.”  We bought a low flush toilet, minimized the amount of reconstruction, and bought fixtures solidly built (meaning, no Ikea) so that they will last a long time.  I decided that I wanted to use “green” paint, and well, it was a lesson [...]

Mayors around the world, including San Francisco’s Gavin Newsom, have traveled to a certain city to learn about sustainable development and urban planning.  This city has rooftop gardens, is creating more greenbelts and bike paths, and has a “today don’t drive plan” in an effort to reduce traffic and air pollution.  I can understand if [...]