Category Archives for "Transportation"

0 Minimalism and Sustainability

Kind of Obvious

I have been a committed minimalist for many years, not the bare wall type minimalist but one that battels to eliminate clutter. I’m currently doing a huge purge of my home and I keep thinking about all the connections between sustainability and minimalism.

The relationship between the two is kind of obvious but envisioning it, thinking about it, and discussing it, can encourage us to adopt a simpler more elegant lifestyle.

Interconnected

Minimalism and sustainability are two concepts that, at first glance, may not seem directly related. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that these two lifestyles are deeply interconnected and that embracing one can greatly enhance the benefits of the other.

Sustainable living, also known as green living, is the practice of living in a way that is friendly to the environment and reduces one’s ecological footprint. This can take many forms, such as reducing power and water consumption, reducing waste, and choosing environmentally friendly products. Minimalism, on the other hand, is the practice of simplifying one’s life by getting rid of unnecessary possessions and focusing on what truly matters.

0 Vertical Farming Systems: The Future of Agriculture

Vertical Farming Systems

Grow Up

In the next 30 to 40 years, 10 billion humans will have to feed themselves on less water, less land and expensive distribution systems. The challenges of feeding our world requires more efficient ways of growing healthy food. Fortunately, although farming is an old industry its a an innovative one. Get ready for the next generation of farming, vertical farming.

Historical Precursors to the Modern Indoor Vertical Farm

Although vertical farming is something that sounds new, technically its not. Babylon is one of the early pioneers of agricultural technologies. The hanging garden was built almost 3,000 years ago…

0 Environmental Hypocrisy: Are We Doomed?

Hypocrisy 101

In a local paper, the Willamette Week, I first came across the idea of environmental hypocrisy back in 2019 in one of their columns by Mr. Know.

The article is short but puts forth some observations that require thoughtful consideration and meaningful action
In the article, a reader asks Mr. Know:
“The Port of Portland is expanding PDX’s flight capacity with nary a whisper about the pollution those extra flights will generate. Shouldn’t we worry less about bike lanes and more about willy-nilly jetting around the globe?”

Mr. Know responds by saying that the reader has indeed identified why we are “all doomed.”

Environmental hypocrisy: “People will follow their environmental conscience unless it requires giving up something they really want.” ~Mr. Know

Suppose I offer you a round trip two-week vacation to a faraway exotic location, and you know that the plane trip will dump excessive emissions into the environment thus affecting climate change. Would you turn down my offer? It’s highly probable you…

0 How to Use a Charging Station – 5 Helpful Tips

Feeling the Buzz?

Does an electric vehicle (EV) seem like a good fit for you? Living the lifestyle is fun and exciting, good for our environment.

But there may be somethings you may not completely understand, like how a charging station works.

This post will demystify how they work, which by the way is super easy, with helpful tips like where you can recharge your vehicle while out on your adventures. Home charging stations aren’t always convenient so you need to have peace of mind while out on the road.

Even though this post is about the physical charging of your vehicle I know that you will most likely will want to know how much it costs to run an EV, it’s an extremely popular question. (hint: not very much!)

How much you pay for electricity to run your EV..

0 Intersection Paintings: Why We Need Them

Did You Know Someone Painted a Tree on Your Street?

The mural painted on the ‘T’- intersection in front of my home often evokes comments and questions from the occasional passersby. Most words are overwhelmingly positive, along with questions of how and why.
The mural has now been there since 2014 gets repainted every two or three years. It was looking particularly worn out this year because, in 2019, the city tore up the street and left us with a patchwork off ugly repairs, and in 2020 no permits were issued due to Covid.
Now the scars are hidden under bright, vibrant colors, and the Neighborhood is a little better because of it. The history behind intersection paintings is that they are a tool in building community and softening the grid on which most neighborhoods are built.
The focus of this post is to explain street paintings briefly, take you through the process and hopefully inspire you to start something in your Neighborhood.