How often have you heard someone say “Well, I need room to haul stuff…” when contemplating a new car purchase? This mythical “stuff” becomes the rationalization for buying an SUV or station wagon with enough room to haul around large objects. People poo-poo the Prius or similar sized cars as not having enough room for [...]

When I think of coal used for energy, I think of China, filthy air, dire situations, under-developed nations, the iron-grip of Communism. Coal is the fuel of Tolstoy and World War I and the Eastern Block, a phantom from the early 20th century, a black spot on our environmental history. Coal is up there with [...]

Gas, as we know, is becoming ridiculously expensive. Add that to what we now know about global warming and we see many people clamoring to ditch their old cars to buy new hybids. I know I sure did it, trading my Mazda 3 hatchback in for a Prius last year when my Mazda lease ran [...]

These are trying times. The economy is in a downturn, the war in Iraq lingers on, gas costs over $4 a gallon, and large businesses in America are losing money. At times like this, I think back to WWII and the efforts of the government and businesses to bolster the economy, how they encouraged thrift, [...]

In the last week I’ve driven my car 53 miles, ridden my bike 31 miles, and walked roughly 10 miles. I drove to work once, to Lake Oswego for a meeting, to Powell Butte for a hike, and to Hillsboro for softball games. That’s a lot more driving than I usually do, so I’ll have [...]

I know it might be hard to believe, but for about a year or so back in 1999 I stopped believing in global warming. I caught myself saying things like, “How do we know the Ice Age is really done? Maybe the warming is totally natural.”
Woah. How could I go from living with Earth First!ers [...]

I used to be a bus commuter. It was better than trying to drive to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic then have to pay for parking, and at least I could read while I sat (or stood) in a cramped bus. Depending on where I worked at the time, my commute took from 30 – 60 [...]

Portland is a small small town in some ways. Working in the interactive industry only seems to exaggerate the smallness, since everyone has worked with everyone somewhere along the line. If I had a nickel for every time I met a prospective client who turned out to be best friends with a friend, friends with [...]

I was just reading and article on the BTA Blog about updating your old, tired out helmet, which reminded me that I should change out my own helmet even though it’s barely more than a year old.
I bought a new helmet last winter because my previous one reached the three year mark, the age at [...]