Job Voes ?

Could not resist posting this one.
Go ahead, Laugh Out Loud... that is the least we could do :)



Courtesy: Dilbert 07/05/09

Treehugging

A Different Type of Strip-Mining Protest - WSAZ-TV
A Different Type of Strip-Mining ProtestWSAZ-TVQuestion is hey you tree hugging hippies, where were you in helping the cleanup. Comment is, quit the inhaling of the reefer and remember we had 6 weeks of ...and more��

Flexitarians, Eco-Atkins, et al - Diet and Carbon footprint

I have been contemplating on total vegetarianism for quite some time now. Although I have been a big poultry and seafood eater for many years, some introspection has been hinting me to lean towards a all-veggie diet. People who know me, know that I don't cook meat at home, not even BBQ. But whenever I go out, the first chance I get, I dig my fingers and teeth deep into a chicken dish or fish for that matter. My excuse, which by the way is a strong one, is "I need my Protein". That is the only reason why I am still a weekend carnivore.

Aptly, thus, I consider myself a flexitarian - trying to be a 100% vegetarian, but not quite there yet.



For those of us, who realized that unwatchful food habits are the worst thing that we could do to ourselves, in this fast paced 'live perfectly' generation, here are a couple of very interesting links that will tell you how "living green" and "what you eat" could be - quite common-sensically, and obviously - linked together.

Eco-Atkins : Diet, Lower Chol and Carbon footprint
Moving towards Vegetarianism

Do check out this interesting blog too: Vicarious Foodie

Green Living

Claremont company building business out of 'Green' Living - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Claremont company building business out of 'Green' LivingInland Valley Daily BulletinCLAREMONT - After their home burned down in the 2003 Grand Prix wildfire, the Jahnke family had it rebuilt with eco-friendly materials and solar panels on ...and more��

Tree hugging

About This Blog - Washington Post
About This BlogWashington PostRead more Community Orchestra Turns to Tree-hugging, by Mark J. Estren. Can creative programming plus creative financing save community orchestras? ...and more��

Save Planet

Roogoo Twisted Towers (Wii) - WorthPlaying.com
Roogoo Twisted Towers (Wii)WorthPlaying.comRoogoo Twisted Towers for Wii and Roogoo Attack! for NDS provide fun for the entire family as only quick reflexes and thinking can Save Planet Roo from the ...SouthPeak Delivers Roogoo(TM) for Wii(TM) and Nintendo DS(TM) onto ...Trading Markets (press release)all 9 news articles��

Quantum Extremephiles - another Natural wonder

One can never fathom the magnitude of wonder mother nature can bestow. We could always gauge the positive and the detrimental effects of nuclear energy, and the evolutionary or devastating forms that it can take, depending on how it is used. But, this article that I stumbled upon takes it to a different dimension.

The recent study conducted by a couple of major universities, show that extremeophile bacteria thats basically buried in rock about 2 miles beneath the earth's surface have a unique mechanism of living. They have a metabolism by which they utilize Uranium to break down water molecules and use it with pyrite to live.

Here is the complete article by Luke McKinney that would tickle our imagination.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/05/atomic-extremeo.html#more

Few "Earthy" Posters ...

Larry Ellisson on Cloud Computing

Auto - Green Incentives - Really ??

When is a bail out not a bail out? When it is a green incentive scheme, apparently.

To the surprise of no one, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirmed this week that sales of new cars during March were through the floor again as cash strapped motorists resolutely refuse to head to the showrooms.

Right on cue, the sorry state of the industry prompted fresh calls for a "scrappage scheme" similar to those already in place in Germany and France which offer motorists a cash handout if they trade in old vehicles for new models.

In an attempt to strengthen its case, the motor industry has argued (apparently with a straight face) that such a scheme would be "green" as it would incentivise motorists to scrap older, more polluting models and purchase cleaner, more fuel efficient cars.

You would be forgiven for thinking then, that the car industry is proposing that you would only qualify for the hand out of around £2,000 if you traded in your old car for a relatively low emission model. Sadly, you would be wrong.

Under the SMMT's proposals, which are apparently being given serious consideration by the government, trading in any car registered prior to 2000 when buying any new or nearly new car would qualify you for the incentive. This is a "green" incentive scheme where you could trade in a two door runabout for a gas guzzling 4x4 and receive £2,000 off the purchase price.

The environmental campaigner George Monbiot has already delivered a comprehensive evisceration of the flawed logic behind the scheme, but it is really worth highlighting again quite how ridiculous it is from an environmental perspective. These proposals are the worst type of "greenwash": misleading, opportunistic and capable of blocking genuinely green proposals.

A spokesman for the SMMT insisted that the reality is that the incentives would "be more attractive to potential buyers of smaller cars" and that they would help deliver a net cut in emissions as "a modern new car is more than likely to be a lower emitter (and safer) than the one it would replace because of advances in engine technology".



This is probably the case, but an effective incentive scheme should look to maximise emission reductions, not deliver improvements that would happen over time anyway as old cars are naturally replaced with newer models.

Monbiot is right in his assertion that incentives for green cars are never going to be particularly cost effective, but if we must deliver some kind of boost for the auto industry then the government should call car companies' bluff and provide a real green incentive scheme that only rewards the manufacturers that recognised the long term sales trends and delivered more fuel efficient vehicles.

Why not follow Japan's lead and offer subsidies on hybrids and electric cars? Or alternatively introduce a scrappage fee, but only if the car being purchased has emissions that are significantly below the average of 160g/km.

The car industry would argue that a "restrictive" incentive scheme such as this would not prove as effective at bolstering sales. But what is restrictive about making the greenest third of the market, say, more attractive to consumers?

After all, it was the car industry that asked for a "green incentive" scheme, what could it possibly have to complain about if it got one?

Of course, manufacturers of less fuel efficient models would bleat about the market being tilted against them. But it is already tilted against them as a result of their failure to realise that people increasingly want green and fuel efficient cars - incentives for more fuel efficient cars would simply move it a few more degrees in favour of those companies producing the low emission vehicles that all but the most myopic climate change deniers now accept are required.

If, what the car industry wants is a bailout, then it should ask for one (though it is hardly the most deserving cause out there), not attempt to conceal its true intentions behind a green veneer that only serves to reduce the chances of us getting a real green car incentive scheme.

Related Links:
http://www.whatcar.com/news-special-report.aspx?NA=239182
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/10/car-scrappage-payments
http://www.smmt.co.uk/home.cfm
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2240025/struggling-car-firms-green

Source: Businessgreen