Comments TheSSG has made

  • The temporary nature of these remedies

    What saddens me the most is that this is all a facade.

    The second the Olympics are over, the cars come back, the factories restart, etc.

    Everyone is talking about what will they do DURING the Olympics, but they're ignoring what they will do AFTER.On Beijing skies clear a little, but Olympic athletes still wary posted 1 year, 4 months ago 2 Responses

  • THE TUBES!

    YES! Don't forget, this is the guy who was upset about the interweb tubes getting all clogged up :D

    Hahahha

    And why are we now talking about Obama?

    Let's celebrate another corrupt D-bag getting caught.On Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens indicted over dodgy dealings with oil-services firm posted 1 year, 4 months ago 4 Responses

  • Oh boy

    That kid with the globe on its head (is that a boy or a girl?)...
    Yeah, for some reason I want to punch that kid in the face...really hard...

    I find it strange that I have such a reaction to that picture...

    Is it just me?On From Oprah to Okra posted 1 year, 6 months ago 2 Responses

  • Green Cemetery

    Why not just get buried at a Green Cemetery where you are wrapped in canvas and buried with a piece of wood over you (to keep animals out)?

    There was one where a sapling was planted over your corpse, and the decomposition would help fuel its growth.

    Many of these cemeteries are also reforesting projects, or conservation projects.
    No heat, no "coffee like" ooze...seems easier...and better for the planet...On Dissolving your corpse is the green way to go posted 1 year, 6 months ago 12 Responses

  • Vegessen Sie die Deutschen nicht!

    Georg Schneider's (G. Schneider und Sohn) also makes an organic Edel-weiße.

    It's absolutely amazing.  The G. Schneider und Sohn Brauerei ALWAYS impresses me.

    It has a dark, apple cider color, with the good turbidity from the yeast.  The aroma is fruity, but the "musty" yeast smell is minimal (compared to most Hefe-weizens).  The flavor is EXTREMELY fruity, nuanced, robust (but not overpowering), with just a hint of bitterness, mostly creeping in at the finish...just ever so slightly.  Overall, a fruity, minutely bitter finish.

    It's one of the best Weiß Biers I've had in awhile...So good...

    And it's right out of the Vaterland in Kelmheim, Bayern (Bavaria) w/ 6.2% alcohol.  
    No one makes bier like the Germans, and the Bavarians make the best Weiß bier...On A tasting of seven organic beers posted 1 year, 7 months ago 22 Responses

  • Fluoride panic

    What's with the Anti-Fluoride crowd?

    I have weak enamel on my teeth, and I HAVE to use fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash.
    Adding the high Fl content mouthwash drastically reduced my dental caries.

    If you're against Fluorination of water, that's fine.  But I don't get the opposition to using fluorine in something that you spit out...
    While it may not be necessary to healthy teeth, exposure to Fl sure seems to help remineralize teeth.

    And hell, water can kill you if you ingest enough of it, so that's a bit of a silly argument to say that in larger doses it's a poison (which is true, but most benign things can be poisonous/deadly in a large enough dose).

    But hey, it's your teeth.  If you don't need Fluoride, that's great, I wish I had your teeth.

    But don't be so quick to don the Foil hats, wave your arms around, and scream about the evils of it.  Because there are some of us that actually REALLY do benefit from Fluoride.On A family-friendly review of six eco-toothpastes posted 1 year, 8 months ago 20 Responses

  • Better MPG does NOT mean more sprawl

    Why would you think that?

    Sprawl is a matter of bad zoning.
    Workplaces are zoned together, living spaces are zoned seperately, and commercial areas are zoned away from both.

    So, you work in one place, and drive to another.  It was the Model of the future a generation or two ago...but it's ghastly archaic today.

    Plus, in areas where the zoning overlaps (cities), the education infrastructure is so dilapidated, no one wants to raise a family there...so they move away to the suburbs.

    More MPG will just mean they save more $, and cause less pollution along the way.  Of all the long(er) distance commuters I know, none break down the gas cost to the MPG...it's just "gas."  And that gets factored into the whole equation.

    Increased gas costs help keep the people I know working further away, because the higher wages are even more important...On Bush signs diluted energy bill into law posted 1 year, 11 months ago 5 Responses

  • Daylight Bulbs are my favorite

    The Daylight bulbs have a blue-like tinge to them, and they replicate the light spectrum of the sun.

    They take some getting used to, but they are BY FAR my favorite.  The Bright white ones look fluorescent, and the soft white ones mimic Incandescents...Incandescent light is an artificial "norm" of lighting...

    Once you adjust to the daylight ones, you'll never go back.  Colors are brighter, truer, and more vivid.  They are better for reading, writing, drawing, painting, you name it.  Of all CFL, they cause the least strain on my eyes.

    But again, they just take getting used to.  It's strange to walk into a room and have it look like it's outside...we're used to yellow or white light inside.  

    Just give them a chance!On A review of compact fluorescent bulbs posted 1 year, 11 months ago 28 Responses

  • Why stop with a Deportation!?

    Why don't we just gas them all!?!?!
    Buchenwald Style!!!

    Give me a break...

    Way to be blatantly Racist...On Be Still Our Beating Hearts posted 2 years, 4 months ago 6 Responses

  • Habitat Replacement IS key

    I had always heard that bird feeding is actually good, because it helps to compensate the birds for their lost habitat from when Humans move in and level their homes.

    So I agree that this is being overlooked.

    And I also agree, planting Native Plants is a great idea...

    I don't know, with the DRASTIC rate of decline of songbirds (I heard on Wisconsin Public Radio that most species have dropped from 20-90% or so...), why WOULDN'T we want to help more of them survive?

    It would be as easy as popping in a few sunflower seeds of your own...Not to mention, Sunflowers are REALLY fricking cool...On Umbra on feeding birds posted 2 years, 4 months ago 19 Responses

  • 100% = 0%

    I love this attitude!

    "If I can find AT LEAST ONE point that the scientists cannot disprove, regardless of how insignificant, it means they are all wrong!!!"

    Read the IPCC reports.  They NEVER said 100% undeniable.  They say there is a 90% statistical liklihood that humans are causing the warming.

    Where did you goons come from?  Was remedial science class let out early today?

    My God...

    "Pseudoscientific claptrap abounds. Quackery is now found everywhere."
    -Dr.Coles

    The IRONY!On An interview with renowned climate scientist James Hansen posted 2 years, 6 months ago 19 Responses

  • But really, how's the competition?

    Well, we can't expect Obama to be perfect.

    But compared to the other candidates, he's really not bad at all.

    I think instead of looking for a Messiah, we should be looking for a good all-around leader.

    Don't forget, Congress makes the laws and sets the budgets.
    The President can "suggest" an energy policy all he wants, but it's up to Congress to actually make the law.

    I keep noticing that more and more people forget how our Government is SUPPOSED to work (as defined in the Constitution).
    Just because the Presidents like to act like they call all the shots, and because most of us let them do that, doesn't mean that they do.

    In closing, let PRESIDENTIAL candidates suggest all the ideas they want; it's just rhetorical babbling.
    Now, I DO have an issue with this idea, since he's my Senator...but that's another story...On That's what his support for CTL shows posted 2 years, 6 months ago 74 Responses

  • YOUNG REPUBLICAN FINDS THE SILVER LINING!

    Maybe you're looking at this the wrong way; all of these sites are SO TOXIC, they are at levels of "the worst of the worst."

    I live in a town of ~20,000, and we have THREE of these sites...They ARE as bad as you can imagine.

    Yes, I'm sure this is just pork...oh yeah.

    Or, more likely, this is corporate irresponsibility at its worse.  Here, the Gov't, realizing that the companies won't/can't (in some cases) clean it up, decides that THEY will clean it up.

    Taking $20million dollars to revamp a roadway is probably pork.  $20million to clea up a public safety hazard is probably not such a bad use of the money...

    By the way, how much money has G-Dubs pissed away on his "war?"
    Talk about Pork (spending large sums of taxpayer money on private pet projects that only benefit a few select people).

    Lay off the whisky  :P
    http://www.amazon.com/Alcoholics-Big-Book-AA-Services/dp/ ...On New report says federal cleanup program wasting away posted 2 years, 7 months ago 6 Responses

  • What is Chic?

    "Green is Chic," but is this a good thing?
    What is chic?  Isn't chic that fleeting superficiality of pop culture?

    Great, so being "green" is the new hip trend.  So, the point here is to APPEAR green, not actualy be it.  Chic = superficial.  
    It's the perfect trend for America.  Everyone wants to feel good about themselves, but NO ONE wants to earn that feeling.

    I caught some "green" special on 20/20, dateline, or one of those shows, and I LOVE how absolutely adverse to conflict it was.  God forbid you actually come right out and tell people that they're actions have more negative consequences than good (and the only good seems to be a stroke of the ego).
    No, absurd levels of meat consumption don't cause problems, it's really just (in passing, mind you) "ranching."  What kind of ranching?  Beef? NO! It must be all that Iguana ranching doing the harm, not the beef! Don't take away my beef!  I want to still feel good about it!

    This entire culture is adverse to cognitive dissonance; We take willful ignorance to a whole new level.  Not only do we NOT want to know, we don't want to know SPECIFICALLY so we don't have to feel bad....

    :(  Let's all go turn off the faucet now...boy oh boy, we could "save" a whole 450ml of water!  Then I can feel good about pissing away water on the growing, processing, etc of meat!  
    "I did my part!  I saved that gallon of water in the shower [turns a blind eye to the HUNDEREDS of wasted gallons caused by me steak]!"On It's descended completely into 'small steps' posted 2 years, 7 months ago 37 Responses

  • This seems strange...

    Ok, as much as I see how this is bad, ECONOMICALLY, I would agree that moving things to EXTERNAL certifiers is a good thing.

    I'm not all about the free market, and letting companies regulate themselves.  While any way you go, there will be corruption, I think that Government/External sources are easier to monitor and less prone to corruption.

    This is like if we let GM do all the EPA policing...
    Not a good idea...

    I know it sucks for the farmers, but I stil think it's a move in the right direction.On Implications of the last organic latte posted 2 years, 7 months ago 11 Responses

  • True, but...

    Much of that Sugarcane is coming at the expense of the Amazon River Basin.

    So, while a biofuel IS better, simply shifting the current demand to biofuels will still have HORRIBLE environmental reprucussions for the planet.

    Simply because a fuel is from a recently deceased plants DOES NOT make it earth friendly, so be careful to not fall into that logical trap.

    Biofuels are better than petrol fuels, but in NO WAY are they a good thing.

    Raising the MPG would GREATLY decrease the demand for ALL fuels; bio and petrol.  This is a win-win situation when COMBINED with biofuels.On Will Johnson Stand Firm on Emissions? posted 2 years, 7 months ago 2 Responses

  • Eat Less Meat

    I think the above post hits it on the head.

    You can get a low-flow showerhead, flush the toilet once a day, etc, etc, etc.
    But, in ALL these efforts, eating a quarter-pounder will waste WAY more water.

    So I think worrying about the little things is a bit silly unless you already have the big things out of the way (i.e. you don't eat meat).On Umbra on water conservation posted 2 years, 7 months ago 15 Responses

  • Glass Bottles

    I give Glass another Thumbs up.
    That's what I use.

    But what I think is even more pressing than containers (Cause glass bottles are easy to come by) is the matter of Filters for water.

    Do they make ones that aren't platic?On Umbra on aluminum bottles posted 2 years, 8 months ago 7 Responses

  • Hypocrite, so what?

    I love the Hypocrite Bandwagon.
    Because Rainking, YOU'VE NEVER, EVER, in your WHOLE LIFE been a hypocrite!?

    We're all Hypocrites.
    I don't understand why his being a hypocrite renders his argument null.
    Oh wait, it's because you don't want to have to do anything to help, and you can't find a justifiable reason, and you're grasping at straws...On Gore gets a warm welcome on Capitol Hill, and a few heated exchanges posted 2 years, 8 months ago 20 Responses

  • I find them BRIGHTER

    I have Compact Flourescents that are a daylight spectrum, and I love them.

    And, in the U.S. they label the CFB as "60w equivalent," "80w Equivalent," etc.

    So, maybe in Germany they don't do that, and therefor Merkel selected the wrong wattage; she got the lowest wattage in place of getting the proper lighting need.

    I have a 100w equivalent (I think a 27w CF), and it's the brightest bulb I've EVER used...of ANY kind...On A Little Light Music posted 2 years, 8 months ago 3 Responses

  • Cleaning Products

    Bleach, Hydrogen Peroxide, baking soda,vinegar, rubbing alcohol...
    I use those to clean most anything...

    The Bleach is good for household things.
    H2O2 is good for brightening, removing grime.
    Baking Soda is a GREAT scrubbing compoud, odor neutralizer.
    Vinegar EATS up mineral deposits.
    Rubbing Alcohol gets rid of oily, sticky things (Not good for most plastics, though).

    The best part?  They never cost over $1 for most of these things....

    Screw all the fancy name-brand chemicals.
    This is what people used before all that junk.On On greening your roommates posted 2 years, 9 months ago 3 Responses

  • Microwaves are Most Efficient

    I remember reading that a Microwave will ALWAYS be the most efficient way to heat water.
    That's because heating water is how a microwave cooks, or so I read.

    Allegedly, the frequency a microwave operates at is the EXACT frequency to add energy to Water.  Thus, the water gets hotter.  Then, the hot water in the food radiates this heat out to the rest of it.  This is why microwaves sometimes don't cook things as well as we'd like.

    Also, an electric kettle, by its nature, would be less efficient.  It uses electricity to heat a piece of metal, and then this metal radiates its heat to the water.  
    Plus, electric kettles are plastic, crappy plastic at that.
    For the life of a microwave (also a multi-tasker), I would have to get several electric kettles.  Plastics always reach a point where they're just too gross to keep using...Espescially those electric kettles...I'll never have one again....On Umbra on boiling water for tea posted 2 years, 9 months ago 23 Responses

  • Negative Nelly

    Wouldn't it be nice if the Oscars used little to no energy?

    That could happen, once awareness is raised.

    Or, we could sit on out computers, and just attack anything that is wasteful....
    Jumping around, waving your arms and yelling about how bad something is won't change it.

    You can't stop the Oscars from happening.  So, why not try and make them as "green" as possible?

    Practicality...who needs it?...Not the Environmental Front, we've got raving loons!!!

    Let's be happy that a mainstream American event included a "green" message.  Cultures don't change overnight...On Martin Who? posted 2 years, 9 months ago 7 Responses

  • "Warming up"

    Correction:
    The Primary concern is to:
    Get the engine as Warm as possible, AS SOON as possible...On Umbra on air quality and temperature posted 2 years, 9 months ago 11 Responses

  • Idling a Car to "Warm it up"

    I'd also like to point out that it is IN FACT BAD to "warm up your car" before driving.  When the engine is cold, the RPMs are raised in order to get the car to operating temperatures as quickly as possible.  When the coolant is warm, this heats your car via the small radiator known as the "heater core."

    Un fortunately, "warming up" your car causes two Main Problems:

    1. It simply warms the engine and coolant.  This makes people more inclined to drive aggressively before the other parts of their car "warm up," mainly the tires and assorted bushings which warm up  via friction, which comes with USE.

    2. When the Engine is cold, the oil is a less effective lubricant.  This increases friction, which increases Engine wear, which decreases engine life.  The PRIMARY concern for an owner is TO GET HE ENGINE AS WARM AS POSSIBLE.  The ABSOLUTE quickest way to achieve this is to put a load on the engine; to drive it (Do NOT simply raise the RPMs up while idling.  Yes, this will warm it quicker, but a cold engie should NEVER EVER be Rev'ed higher than 3,000RPM).  5 minutes of driving will warm a car, versus 15 minutes of idling.

    So, THE BEST thing for your car is to get in, start it, and drive slowly and carefully until the engine reaches operating temperature.  By this time, the short amount it is, the engine will be ready to rev, and any or all other components of the car will be "limbered" up, making them less fragile, and less likely to give out.

    And I live in N. IL, so I know it sounds inconvenient, but it's very possible.  You'd be suprised how quick it will warm up.  I think that saved gas alone is worth the 5 minutes I have to keep my gloves on inside the car...On Umbra on air quality and temperature posted 2 years, 9 months ago 11 Responses

  • Air Travel Efficiency

    With all the talk of the Evil of air travel, I SWEAR that, mile for mile, Air Travel was still less of an Environmental impact, as determined by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

    I mean, being able to fly over things HAS to really up efficiency.
    I know a 747 uses like a gallon of fuel a second, but at the same point, it does move a few hundred people all at once....

    Are we just assuming Travel is completely frivulous?  If that's the case, I'd have to STRONGLY disagree with that assumption.On When is it necessary, and what are the alternatives? posted 2 years, 9 months ago 39 Responses

  • Article V and Ralph

    First of all, Ralph never cost the Democrats anything.  If the Democrats can't convince enough people to vote their way, that's THEIR fault.

    THIS IS NOT A TWO PARTY GOVERNMENT BY LAW.  In practice, it is, but it doesn't have to be.

    That Article V post is quite interesting, I think it could gain some REAL traction were someone as prominent as Ralph Nader to begin publically supporting it.  I bet he could stitch together an unholy Team of public figures (Al Gore, Dan Rather, or anyone else who's a bit vocal about the current state of the US).On Friggin' Nader posted 2 years, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • Fish Farms

    I figured I'd add that I once read that in Fish farms...they CATCH fish to feed the fish, or USE fish...which were caught...
    So, in practice, many fish farms, which help "prevent overfishing" are really just re-distributing the over-fishing; you may be saving salmon, but Screwing sardines....On Umbra on eco-choices posted 2 years, 11 months ago 23 Responses

  • Ecological Meat Eaters?!

    If you're eating meat, do you really care anyway?

    How many of you are honestly hunting your own food/allowed to?

    I'd have a hard time imagining eating "local" meat, due to the inherent inefficiency, would be environmentally better than that grain that came from a few hundred miles further...

    Seriously, I think if you're still buying meat from anywhere, you probably need to re-evaluate this whole "impact" thing.  
    Nothing like a few pounds of beef to multiply your ecological footprint...On Umbra on eating locally in winter posted 3 years ago 15 Responses

  • Tablecloth Alternatives

    I know at Linens N Things/Bed, Bad, & Beyond one can purchase micro-fiber tablecloths.
    The weave is VERY tight, so the surface tension of the liquid isn't broken.
    That means the spill stays atop the fabric, as if it were made of plastic.

    Neat Stuff, and it's about as expensive as an average cloth tablecloth.On Umbra on PVC substitutes posted 3 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses

  • Older Civics are Better

    I prefer the Older Civics (The Fourth Generation EF cahssis, and the Fifth Generation EG Chasis).
    Most people are leary of buying a 88-91 EF or a 92-95 Civic, but those are my favorites; cheaper, lighter, the EFs have the 4-wheel Double wishbone suspension too.
    A EG Civic HB VX will get you around 50mpg, and those can usually be had for around $2000 here in the midwest.  An EF Hatchback can net you 40+mpg, while costing around $1000.
    Only problems on these older ones is rust...but that's a stage one weight reduction!!! :)On Umbra on used cars posted 4 years, 1 month ago 16 Responses

  • Extra Electricity Costs

    For Most people, I'd say it's safe to say the Bathroom has more lights, and of higher wattage than anywhere else in their house.
    With a Straight razor, good lighting would become a necessity.  Patience, and taking your time would also become paramount.  

    1 15watt Electric Razor VS. 1 straight razor + a good 100-200watts of Bulbs...and an extra few mins of those bulbs running...
    I dunno...seems like a tuffy...On Umbra on shaving posted 4 years, 5 months ago 28 Responses