The Multitudes of the Stupid

I read an article in the NYT today about “free electricity” and the hordes of renters who choose to leave their air conditioners on 24/7 throughout the hot summer. The jist: many property management companies offer free utilities, which result in super high electricity bills for their landlords due to rampant abuse (and detrimental environmental effects from the resulting burned coal). The article went on to talk about sub metering and how large rental companies are planning on curbing the abuse of electricity without a price tag.

This got me thinking about people who actually abuse their A/C and electricity use in general…and it’s not like it’s an uncommon phenomenon. Why do these people exist? What drives their mentality and lack of care for the world around them? Why do people believe they have a right to pollute and tame the wilderness?

My colleague talked about the notion of Manifest Destiny, that age old American concept that we have a God-given right to spread our ideas and technology throughout the New World. I think the abuse of the environment is tied inextricably to this American concept of “more is better.” Over consumption and a destructive attitude towards things we perceive as impediments to our destiny are traditional American values.

How do we change this mindset and attach a value to environmental preservation? Is federal or local regulation necessary, or is education and widespread behavior modification necessary? Sounds very 1984 of me…

Energy tax credits go to the home owners...

I try to be conscientious when looking out for a house to rent and ask the right questions. Simple questions, like, how much does it cost to heat & cool this place? Does it have good windows and insulation? Is my thermostat somehow controlled by another tenant?

Unfortunately I, like many renters out there, tend to be largely guided by the monthly rental price of the house/apartment in question. Particularly when you think of the college students and younger peeps looking for a place to call their temporary home, they're not exactly the most discerning. So we end up with rat holes that somehow manage to squeeze by city inspectors and cost a bare minimum to build. Heating and cooling these swiss cheese-like unites can be damn expensive...not only to our wallets, but to nature as well.

A whopping 39% of CO2 emissions in the US can be attributed to the residential and commercial building sector (more than transportation). It's mainly due to the energy needs to heat, cool, and light our buildings. Although we have begun to take steps (or half steps) in creating energy efficiency targets and incentives, who & what are we missing out on? RENTERS!

Landlords have zero incentives to make energy efficient changes in their rental units. Just to list a few, here are the federal tax credits available to primary homeowners, but not renters & their landlords:
* Windows and Doors
* Insulation
* Roofs
* HVACs
* Non-solar Water Heaters
* Biomass Stoves
* Fuel cells
Seriously? The worst windows I've seen aren't in people's primary houses...and the worst electricity bills are payable by the people who can least afford them. The DOE does offer a weatherization program that includes renters, though they have to seek permission from their landlords before applying. It would be interesting to find out how many renters have received assistance...

Even on a local level, my fair City of Lawrence offers a weatherization program that only target primary homeowners! Weatherization programs should target low-income households, where they are most in need.

Any thoughts as to why most federal, state, and local incentives seem to skip renters? Perhaps it's tied to voting?

Bicycling made easy

I have to say, I'm impressed with the City of Lawrence today. I had a lovely ride into downtown last night along the hiker-biker trail called Burroughs Creek (named for the Naked Lunch writer). The paved trail connects East Lawrence with the downtown area and spans north-south from 11th & Oregon to 23rd and Haskell. It's connected with the first converted rail trail in the State of Kansas, the Haskell Rail Trail. I created a small google map here.

First impressions: the city did something right. Perfect 10' width, plenty of treeline and vegetation alongside, and...most importantly, signage!! I know it's odd to get excited about a yield sign or a "steep curve ahead" arrow, but I've never seen anything like it in DC. You'd be lucky to find your way on trails like Rock Creek Park or Sligo Creek in suburban Maryland. Signage is usually regarded as unnecessary for cycling/hiking paths. I mean, these paths are just for recreation after all. Of course, a number of municipal planners would be surprised if they ever bothered to count the commuting cyclists who take advantage of designated pathways.

Other than the signage surprise, I also thought the major street crossings (like 19th and 13th) were very well done. Cyclists and hikers have a clear stop sign and a pedestrian crossing signal to use. Drivers are alerted ahead of time and advised to yield to crossing cyclists. Seems like a well developed plan overall. The only thing that needs improvement are these short barriers to keep out motorized vehicles...little if any reflective tape, so they're almost perfectly designed to topple over an unsuspecting cyclist or jogger at night. I sent a note to the city asking for illuminated signage or some kind of advanced notice.

Honestly, I can't imagine a better commute than a peaceful cycling trip down a quiet path (where cars can't mow you over out of spite). Lawrence should be proud of its new pathway and start advertising to get the message out. Let's push people to take advantage of their new alternative transportation options!

The Art of Self-Blame

I have to pause and take a deep breath when things go wrong between my wife and I. It’s almost always my fault, and yet my natural inclination is to point my finger at her, come up with a rational-sounding excuse as to why it’s completely, 100% her fault, and hope to get away with it. But even if I do get away with it (very rare), I end up feeling a smidgeon of guilt. Almost enough to make me regret it.

I feel the same way about the oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, it’s natural to blame BP, the federal government, and the fat oil men out there who have dominated energy politics for eons. And yet that’s not really getting to the source. I think you and I are ultimately complicit as the end users of this deep sea-gotten oil.

Sure, I try to be green and do what I can to help the environment, but like most, I do a mini- cost benefit analysis before choosing renewable sources, energy efficient products, etc. I ride my bike to work and do a little composting here and there, but you know what…I end up burning a lot of oil and gas that I pretend to thumb my nose at.

I won’t likely stop until there’s enough pressure on legislators and business to really create change in our energy marketplace. As long as subsidies and the status quo remain on the side of dirty fuel providers, I’m not likely to quit lighting my house or providing heat for my family. And as appealing as living “off the grid” might seem, it costs an arm and a leg.

So, the next time I see a picture of a egret trying to flap its oil-soaked wings and looking downright pitiful, I’ll likely feel a pang of guilt. And it’s well deserved until we ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Rotten Eggs: History Has No Place Here

Over the years I’ve had a difficult time melding together political views and trying to decide what I believe personally. I’m sure many of us have done this to some extent. We are taught by our parents that X is right and Y is the answer, then you learn later in life that this might all be hogwash.

I was a hardcore conservative until I went off to school and got all liberalized by my teachers. That’s how I (jokingly) like to think of my family’s perception of the events. In truth they have been very good natured about it. I’m allowed to hold my own beliefs and they playfully challenge these beliefs…mostly to have a debate that involves wit, self-composure, and ultimately love.

I guess you can say I never went full liberal…and my family doesn’t heartily endorse every proscribed declaration of the GOP . We like to think of ourselves as independents, like many Americans. Mainly I think it’s half-pretending…we’ll openly deliberate about the pros and cons of a local candidate for Congress, all the while knowing full well that we’ll vote along party lines. Then again, there are certain issues where you have to part with said party and stake out your own side.

The Washington Post and other major newspapers have recently focused on VA Governor McDonnell’s proclamation that April is designated “Confederate Month.” As one might guess, liberals and conservatives foam at the mouth, preparing to eviscerate the other over a war that happened over 140 years ago. Liberals believe that the Civil War was fought solely over slaves and that anyone who does not agree is an outright racist. Also, the Confederates were all slave-owners and the Yankees were abolitionist heroes.

Conservatives, on the other hand, cling to a battle flag that became a symbol of animosity and hatred during the Civil Rights era. They tend to gloss over the issue of slavery, which was indeed tied to other Civil War issues that they feel are not mentioned in history books(industrial vs. agrarian, states’ rights, tariffs).

Both sides have taken a piece of our history and distorted it beyond recognition. No, it’s not boiled down to a slavery-only, “the South lost and that’s that” oversimplification. No, it should not be a rallying call for racist rednecks and Neo Nazi propaganda. Our nation remained united as a consequence of the war…our ancestors who fought believed that they were honoring their families and homeland…slaves were freed as a result of the war.

There is cause for remembrance and history should not be a political tool for either party.

On refraining from meat

I became a vegetarian when I was in college and admittedly, it can feel like a hassle. Not to say that maintaining the diet is difficult, but just explaining the reasoning behind it can get taxing. Then again it’s interesting to hear why people eat in a certain way, even if it’s not really a huge part of who they are (or their perception of their being).

My childhood was somewhat focused on meat eating and, most importantly, grossing my sisters out by eating huge lumps of steak fat. I actively ate any cow, pig, chicken, and/or other meat that graced my parent’s kitchen. And I enjoyed the hell out of it. I don’t recall the exact point in my younger years when I started feeling awkward about eating something I couldn’t kill with my own hands…there are two incidents that come to mind though. Once my Dad found a big rat in the corn house and, knowing full well that this rat was stealing his horse feed, he stomped it to death. I felt an overwhelming sense of despair that my (then) heroic/godly father would boot this poor creature to death. Maybe I just sympathized with the rat’s need to find food? I’m sure it also had to do with watching the Secret of Nimh around that age, but regardless…

The other scenario that comes to mind is a hunting trip. I had been deer hunting with my Dad before, but this time he wanted to give me a chance to actually shoot, rather than just observe the process. He went off in a thicket to try and scare deer, while I waited in the field with the shotgun at the ready. Sure enough, a young doe took off running across my field of vision. I started to squeeze the trigger…and couldn’t. I wanted to…really anything to impress my Dad and prove that I wasn’t a well-kept city boy. I realized though that no matter what, I felt an ethical conflict with shooting a living creature. It was personal and it felt like a true self-realization.

Several years later and I chose a meat-free existence (or nearly so). I didn’t want to go outside and butcher an animal, so I didn’t want to fry up ground beef from a plastic wrapped package in a grocery store. It was helpful later on to learn that it was an environmentally friendly and healthy choice….but I can’t pretend like that had anything to do with my decision. Maybe it reinforces that choice now, but that’s about it.

I like it that my wife chooses to eat in a different way…I guess it just keeps it interesting. Plus she normally chooses local, free range meat. So she’s actually going a step beyond me and creating a “yes” vote for an alternative to the factory fed, agribusiness method of meat consumption in the US. We talk sometimes about raising chickens and, though I would feel awkward about it, I wouldn’t feel opposed to raising them for meat if they’re treated well. But if I have to get the chopper block out…I’m pretty sure I would change my mind. Plus I’m sure I would end up naming each chicken and that would be the end of the road.

Land Ahoy

My wife and I are thinking about buying a piece of land near Lawrence. It’s kind of amusing to think of land ownership in general…sort of like planting your flag and pretending that somehow this particular land belongs to you and no one else. Aside from this human urge to claim what is not ours, I want to protect a small part of the earth and act as a good steward.

Kiva and I are both interested in sustainable land stewardship and doing what we can for long-term preservation. Conservation easements, or the practice of legally protecting land from subdividing, is an amazing concept. It’s been increasingly popular in the United States, particularly where land is more threatened by urban development. You won’t end up having ethically flexible developers coming and creating an expanded city in a pristine area.

There are a few protected land sites around this city that are owned by the local universities, including KU , Baker, and HINU. It would be cool to have land that’s adjacent to one of those sites...having that peace of mind that your surroundings won’t end up like postage stamp mini subdivisions is rewarding enough, but we could also create another conservation easement and increase land that is protected in perpetuity.

We’ve been looking at deeply wooded sites, which are few and far between around here. There are obvious benefits in a site like that…privacy and wildlife in particular. The main drawback is trying to decide where a veggie garden might go…and you might as well dismiss a photovoltaic setup, since you’d have to chop down half your site to get the prerequisite sunlight. I think overall though we’d prefer the woods over any pasture land. Like Kiva said, we can always lease out a neighbor’s field if I ever got the gumption to be an organic farmer. Who knows…

Life in the Bus Lane

I’m a proponent of rapid bus service. Actually any form of transportation that doesn’t guzzle gas and pollute our atmosphere. If it doesn’t make me feel guilty, I’m all for it.

Lawrence is a relatively small city that doesn’t sprawl out into suburbs and exurbs. It’s refreshing to be able to go anywhere in about 15 minutes. Traffic doesn’t clog the main arteries until rush hour…and even then, compare that to DC traffic and you’ll find it laughable. For that very reason we have a different way of thinking about public and alternative transportation. Yes, it can still be faster than taking a car. I can probably bike through downtown faster than a car in traffic…but in general, it’s more convenient to use your car rather than walk, bike, or use the city bus system. Convenience is the ultimate driver for these alternative transportation modes, but many are also compelled by environmental concerns, a want of exercise, and maybe even exploring the world outside of the vehicle.

So far I’ve tried cycling to work and taking the bus back and forth. The bus system, called the T bus, offers smaller buses that come every 30-40 minutes. I was actually kind of shocked on my first ride when I boarded and the driver asked where I was going. “Do you need a transfer?” After nodding, she radioed on the walkie talkie and noted that a passenger would transfer at X station around X time. Hilarious! The other bus actually waited for me and I ended up being its sole passenger! Very different from my DC bus rides, where I was truly one in a million as far as the drivers were concerned (and rightly so).

This T bus system got me thinking though…why not run the buses more often and generate wider ridership? Even though it’s a small city with than 100,000 residents, if it was convenient to get to downtown from home and the bus ran every 10-15 minutes, more people would leave their cars and take the bus. Of course it would be difficult to explain this to city officials when you barely have riders or even public support at the moment. And why even bother when there’s a “recesh” going on?

Of course, one could bring up the efficient rapid bus systems that have sprung up elsewhere. US cities like San Francisco and Pasadena are exploring versions, but South American countries like Brazil are the true pioneers of the “BRT.” Buses in the city of Curitiba, for example, would come by your selected stop every 1-5 minutes. The stations are well located and kept in great condition…and people like taking the bus . “Around 70 percent of Curitiba’s commuters use the BRT to travel to work.” Imagine what you could do if you planned a city around efficient bus transport like that…particularly without spending millions on an underground rail system that constantly needs expensive maintenance.

With increased gas prices and traffic, many US urbanites have shunned the automobile for public transit. Unfortunately it’s not a very rapid shift and it comes in different stages. We have to put more pressure on our city officials to choose less expensive, more efficient alternatives to automobiles.

Down with the cars! Stupid, insolent cars.

Mandatory recycling...or do as we please?

Recycling is one of the first things I pay attention to when I visit a city for the first time. My wife and I went out to San Francisco twice last year to visit friends and I was envious of their municipal waste system…odd, yes, but I’m being honest. The city actually mandates recycling AND residential composting! Not surprising then that they claim a 72%+ recycling rate…reportedly the highest on Earth.

My new city of Lawrence, meanwhile, only boasts a slight jump on the national average: a whopping 35% in 2007. Apparently that’s better than the every other city in the State of Kansas. Of course it was 34% in 2003, so we’re not really seeing a strong increase in public participation. I’m not sure if you can expect a substantial increase if you have a private, voluntary curbside recycling program. City officials like the Division Manager for Solid Waste, Bob Yoos, are complacent with the status quo. He has been a constant voice in the ears of the city government…why choose a public option and have that added expense when we’re already above the national average?

I do, however, like having Sunflower Recycling as my curbside recycling company. The downside: I pay $12/month for bi-weekly recycling and I have to sort everything before pickup. Advantage: the service provider actually cares about recycling and ensures the items end up where they are supposed to go. I didn’t have the same level of trust with my public recycling option in the suburbs near DC. I suppose the upside to private service is the motivation that fee-paying customers can induce. I really do have a vote, whereas with the public option the county would likely ignore my requests for improved service.

I don’t think there has to be a compromise. Mandatory curbside recycling is necessary if you want to truly change the status quo and divert a majority of waste from the landfill. Cities like San Francisco have proven that they can provide a public option that works. I hope Lawrence eventually gets with the program.

Starting to Breathe

A month has passed since we moved to Lawrence and I'm just starting to realize where I am. It's odd how humans need a sense of routine to grow comfortable with our surroundings. I felt the same way when I moved to Bangladesh in 2003...I woke up every morning feeling bewildered until my activities, perceptions, and mini-universe fell into a regular schedule. I'm happy that this happened here and relatively quickly at that.

The move itself was fraught with logistics and constant things to do. Renting a PODS container turned out to be a mistake. Since we didn't know if we were renting or buying, and didn't know if we required short-term storage, it seemed like a wise choice at the time....but having a full-service move by one company would have been a LOT less stressful. I guess the one good thing that came out of the PODS move was a smaller environmental impact....i.e. PODS containers are loaded with other containers and shipped out in "car pool" style, so it's less gas guzzling in total.

That's it for now. I'll be sure to write more about my first observations in Lawrence and hopefully switch into the present tense soon. The present always sounds better in my opinion.