aspens

just a quick comment on this article that caught my attention. there is a buzz going around in various circles lately...what is happening to the aspen? why are they dying? is it global warming? drought? a disease? something else? no one seems to know. and that scares me a little...or saddens me? especially after having visited the mountians this weekend, and enjoyed the beautiful, huge, spans of golden aspen. Emblem of the West Is Dying, and No One Can Figure Out Why - New York Times

Colorado home-builder reflects on going green

having just been in aspen for a conference on open space, i found this interesting. (quick side note on aspen and open space, wow..those in Pitkin county sure can raise money to fund conservation easement acquisitions and open space. they are really doing well...but maybe they shoudl now work on smaller houses and more energy efficiency...a limit of 15,000 sq ft really doesn't seem like much of a compromise!)

anyway, this read: just a quick look into building a green home and the costs and compromises associated with it. and it's written with some sense of humor and the realization that, well, quite honestly, things just aren't perfect yet. maybe materials will be cheaper and more energy efficient and more sustainable and less toxic when i build my home. when. though i have designed it about 7 times. now i have to start thinking materials, location and efficiency. maybe that can wait...for another 8 years or so!
A Colorado home-builder reflects on his attempt to go green By Daniel A. Shaw

a weekend with my dearest

ooooo, i just had another great weekend with my dearest. he was here. and we went up to the mountains and went to a wedding party and danced and had the world's bubbliest bubble bath and hiked in the changing aspens and got snowed on and basked in eachother's company. this was the first time, in a while, that our visit was pretty much perfect. now i miss him more than ever. but: i get to see him again in less than 2 weeks. and i get to see some of my best friends in the whole world. it's weird that the people i feel closest to, are in fact, some of the furthest away. though i guess that really proves that we are great friends. i can't wait.

terrestrial planets

sometimes certain things just seem like such a mystery to me. yes, i've been to school and learned about the formation of the universe, the reason why we circle the sun, and the elements that make up the planets. however today i was struck by this picture. it shows the terrestrial, or inner planets: mercury, venus, earth and mars. and all of a sudden the earth looked so beautiful. and unique. and serene. how is this rock, with water all over the surface, going to support our exploitive life styles? sometimes i think we really need to step back, step way back in order to appreciate what we really have. all of a sudden that new pair of shoes or that extra-large serving at a fast food joint seem irrelevant. i'm guessing the earth will continue spinning far beyond the existence of humans. and i hope it's future inhabitants appreciate our planet and the rare beauty it contains.

get serious about reforming school lunches

this is my second post recently that concerns school lunches. they are atrocious. i read somewhere recently that prisoners eat better than kids who eat school lunches. well, that's just ducky. and now that school lunches have been corrupted (how many of us would eat smiley fries, pizza and jello everyother day o fthe week?), the corporations and our fed govt woudl like to start in on breakfast. with calims that kids don't eat breakfast anymore, they are trying to push school breakfasts of things like juice, pop tarts and god knows what else. don't get me wrong, i think kids should eat breakfast, but i'm not sure if sugar, grease and artificial color shoudl count. besides, once again it's just more money in the same ol' companies' pockets. damn it.
It's time to get serious about reforming school lunches By Tom Philpott Grist Victual Reality 06 Sep 2006

glimpses of my trip to india last summer