Last week a Paris primary school launched a new heating system that draws energy from nearby sewer pipes. The joint project between the city’s water department and two companies, CPCU and Lyonnaise des Eaux, will provide 70% of the school’s heating needs.
Yes, the parks are beautiful, food is great, museums are stunning, and for the first timer doing the 10 country in 9 day European tour, the Eiffel Tour is a ridiculous hoot. But the joy of Paris at any time of year is drifting through Paris’s remaining passages.
Now a public housing project in the center of Paris will benefit from all those commuters darting across Paris–body heat from subway commuters will heat 17 flats starting next year.
When I was a child, it seemed that the only cheeses that existed were cheddar, Swiss, and maybe Monterey Jack. In other words, orange cheese, white cheese, and Velveeta, if that counts. Then a generation ago, artisan cheeses slowly made their way into specialty shops and even grocery stores. In the United States, Canada, and [...]
With all the fretting Los Angeles civic leaders and residents have about our city’s water supply, we could take a look at Mulholland Drive, and then nine time zones away to see what’s going on in Paris. Los Angeles has a dry climate–but on average the city receives about 15 inches of water a [...]
Imagine that you’re an entrepreneur . . . spent much time and capital developing a product that does some good—in this case, saving customers energy and MONEY—and then getting a nasty-gram from the government saying, well, you owe the utility all the money that you had saved your consumers. Believe it or not, this happened [...]
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 [...]
Last week Ara and I saw Julie & Julia at the Vista Theater in Silver Lake. I had been looking forward to this since I saw the first preview: who could resist Meryl Streep taking on the warblely-voiced Julia Child? I’d watch the movie again, even buy the DVD, just to watch Streep; but honestly, [...]
It figures France should get a mention on its two hundred twentieth Bastille Day. We Americans are always happy to pick on France, but in its own way, France has undergone an impressive energy revolution . . . without losing too many heads. (more…)
Many in the environmental movement have taken views that are often unpopular and even ridiculed. Now I’m about to express a view that I’m afraid will make me about as popular as a triple bacon cheeseburger on a vegan menu. (more…)