I’m very disappointed with Van Jones’ decision to resign as White House environmental adviser over the weekend. I just started reading The Green Collar Economy and while I do not agree with all of his ideas, his book is an excellent read that explains how creating jobs and saving the environment are not mutually exclusive. [...]
Having grown up in Silicon Valley, I am proud of how this area has reinvented itself time and time again. Santa Clara County (sorry, San Francisco and San Mateo County, you’re not the valley) survived the defense industry meltdown of the 1990s, the dot-com bust earlier this decade, and now will be the nerve center [...]
Ah, Beverly Hills. 90210 has a mythical quality to it–unless you live in LA. Indeed, BH is a guilty pleasure with its delightful people watching, decadent boutiques, and posh hotels. I usually cringe when I drive there, however. Many classic homes have been demolished in favor of garish McMansions, and stop signs appear to be [...]
If you do not subscribe to Foreign Policy, at least buy the September/October issue. Much of it is dedicated to oil and where it will be in the coming decades. The issue is full of lively debate over the future of this volatile commodity, most of which is disturbing. We love to disparage oil, but [...]
Farmers’ markets have been one of my favorite indulgences for years. I think the first one I found was in Towson, Maryland, when I attended Towson State University for my junior year in college. I remember walking to the Super-Fresh supermarket on York Road a few days after settling into Scarborough Hall. Super-Fresh was anything [...]
One image that sticks in my mind from reading Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is the wanton spraying of chemicals the US Department of Agriculture imposed all over the nation in the years following World War II. Carson described this mentality as part of our country’s cold war mindset, a society with a blind belief that [...]
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 [...]