Comments Vikingsson has made

  • and the kool aid is sweet

    Conservation has always been the best and easiest solution but is the one that our overlords don't want us to do for the most part.  "That will hurt the economy".  For fsck sakes even days after 9/11 we were told to go shopping to keep the evil doers from winning.  It is too late on many fronts.

    I could be labeled a bad consumer or even a bad citizen because I choose to buy much less than the average person and like to keep my purchases for much longer before buying new.  Solar is still out of my price range except on a small scale.  But I'm not about to buy from China just to save a few bucks.

    I can't make China do the right thing but I can do right by not buying their poison or drinking the Bush brand kool aid.On Solar-panel manufacturers dumping toxic waste in China posted 1 year, 8 months ago 8 Responses

  • supposed to be ironic? just business as usual.

    yeah, a bit misleading.  I see the irony but to the manufacturers there and anywhere there is no irony or anything special, it is a product and this is how it is made.  I am not the least bit surprised or any more outraged by this than any other product coming from china.  In fact this falls under the 'd'uh' category of news about the obvious and expected.  I assume that this kind of practise is happening so it is only news if and when I hear otherwise.

    Stop buying this crap from China.  I'm not waiting around for governments to do the right thing.  I'll vote with my wallet which means I buy much less overall and when I do I pay a bit more for much better quality and/or better stewardship.On Solar-panel manufacturers dumping toxic waste in China posted 1 year, 8 months ago 8 Responses

  • yawn, but every little bit helps.

    Well good for San Fran.  Cities all over this fair land should be doing all of these things and a great deal more.  Fleets of all kinds can implement the right way to do things much easier and cheaper than us poor slobs with our little blue boxes and curly light bulbs.

    Politicians talk endlessly about doing the right thing but rarely ever do the right thing and show the rest of us how it can be done.  Every city should have for decades now been running on alternative fuels and practicing green tech.  By now we would have had mature technologies that we can all use and afford.

    Even though it should be our governments that are practicing and promoting true green tech they are also the wrong people to ask.  yes I'm beyond cynical.  but green away.On San Francisco gets even greener posted 1 year, 8 months ago 15 Responses

  • How could any unatural change be good?

    Honestly, if mankind now has the power to alter nature in such a fashion I'm worried no matter who it benefits and who it doesn't.  It just ain't right and can't be a good thing on balance.
    And why do I read any predictions, let's just do the right thing and stop worrying about who will profit and who will die.On Global warming will reduce U.S. hurricane landfall, says controversial new research posted 1 year, 10 months ago 9 Responses

  • you're not alone

    yep, I'm with you on the skeptic side of the yard.  But let 'em talk, I'm still not changing my mind about things over there until I see real change.  I can help them out a bit by not buying their poisoned products.  There, a little cleaner already.On China unveils plan to fix polluted lakes posted 1 year, 10 months ago 2 Responses

  • Still no co-generation solutions?

    "Do coal-fired plants also require vast quantities of water as a coolant"

    They dump most of the heat into the sky.  Nuke plants need to cool down a much higher volume of much hotter fluids.

    I'm amazed that they still talk very little about co-generation.  Why waste all that heat in the first place?  It isn't hot enough to turn the turbines at that point but it is more than enough heat for other uses.  Cool it down by transferring the heat for other uses like district heating and hot water.  the southeast doesn't need a lot of heating but it needs as much hot water as anywhere else.  That water is going to be used anyway so why heat it at the house when it can be heated at source and shipped to the house already hot?  Some places have been doing that for a very long time....On Nuclear power plants in U.S. Southeast may face shutdowns due to drought posted 1 year, 10 months ago 5 Responses

  • oi vey

    "but I'm asking you... why is the potato I described not "green"?"

    I don't know your potato so can't say.  In general I don't like GM if it  is patented or can't be created by farmer Joe out in the greenhouse without fear of lawsuits.  If farmer Joe can still produce his choice of potato without being contaminated by Franken Food (TM) then I don't care.

    "There is no single solution."
    Very true but the only solutions being promoted by our governments are those that benefit the locked down mega corps with rosy promises.  The earlier promises are unfulfilled and I doubt the new ones will be either.

    "Can you please direct me to more information about this person?"
    It is happening all over the place but one that made the news is Percy Schmeiser: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/genetics_modification/p ...

    "Definitely. Promote ALL methods that can provide safe high-quality food and protect our natural environment."

    Absolutely but again, farmer Joe and his methods that are thousands of years old are not being promoted in a big way and in fact he's being pushed out in favour of big ag and their unnatural methods.

    "There are plenty of people promoting organic food. I've decided to promote beneficial GMOs. What's wrong with that?"

    Nothing as long as one method doesn't interfere with another.  As long as I have reasonable choices and things like cross contamination aren't a problem I don't mind what anyone does.  However it is already a problem and choices in non organic certified food are getting fewer.  I used to love corn but it is already too late in North America.  Simply label GM as such and I'd be happier.

    I believe that the whole food chain is breaking down in ways that frankly are very frightening.  This isn't a new problem and it is already a mess that needs changing however it is moving in even more scary directions.

    If the hundreds of varieties of rice (technically GM but done in concert with nature over hundreds of years) become only a handful and all of them patented then we are taking a huge risk that I'm not prepared to take.

    You are free to create, grow, and eat GM but if it takes away my choices or if the industry while on one hand promotes healthy benefits but on the other refuses to label that food so I can choose to not consume it then I have serious reservations about the whole industry.

    Update> a lot has been said before I posted so I can't comment much on the new comments except to say I still don't believe it.  Bottom line, it isn't a religion for me, I simply refuse the notion that we can fool mother nature and fix any of our problems.  We can debate and nit pick all day but I won't be any more convinced toward GM than you will be against it.  I just say no.On GM crops reduce emissions and could be used as carbon offsets, says biotech company posted 1 year, 10 months ago 15 Responses

  • Why is it not green?

    There is so much wrong with GM that whole websites can devoted to the reasons.  Arcadia has done nothing new except to come up with new spin.  Having one possibly good aspect doesn't negate the endless bad aspects.  By this logic it should be mandated that all crops everywhere on the planet should be GM.  That alone should make such a huge difference in nitrogen use that we can reverse climate change!  If you can GM your favourite crop in the back yard then great but done in the laboratory with genes that nature can't ever do is a different thing.  There are many ways to lower pollution and I'm not buying the hype of GM.  I remember decades ago how GM would solve the world's hunger problems.  Now it will cure climate change and make cash for farmers in carbon credits.

    What I do know is that I can no longer buy my preferred organic produce because his crops were contaminated by GM.  Before the problem was discovered his seed bank was ruined and he was sued by Monsanto for selling crops without a license.  He's gone and if I want food grown naturally and without pesticides it has to be shipped from much farther away which is painful irony.

    So why not promote organics and other natural methods for the same reason?On GM crops reduce emissions and could be used as carbon offsets, says biotech company posted 1 year, 10 months ago 15 Responses

  • wake me up when it happens.

    Compared to 30 years ago cars do pollute less and they do consume less gasoline, unlike what DaveGreenandRed implies.

    What good is that if there are many many more cars now than 30 years ago?  It is better that they are cleaner but overall the problem is worse than 30 years ago by shear numbers and miles driven.  When gas prices drop people drive more and drive bigger.  Better economy does the same thing.

    Better economy is a good thing but it will drive up the sprawl problem making the problem worse yet again.

    Driving less is the only solution.  Free transit is a big part of it too.

    But go ahead Ford, innovate.  I wouldn't want to legislate greed and good marketing.  I simply choose not to believe the hype.On Ford Motor Co. unveils greener engine posted 1 year, 10 months ago 12 Responses

  • GM is now green?

    I nearly barfed reading that.  Now GM is a green thing?  It is the anti green by definition.
    Just say no to GM I've always said and always will.On GM crops reduce emissions and could be used as carbon offsets, says biotech company posted 1 year, 10 months ago 15 Responses

  • blah blah blah

    Ugg, more "experts" (lawyers), studies, meetings, proposals, reports, et al.  For decades we've been trying to define precisely what is going to happen and what we should do about it.  We don't know what will happen nor precisely how much we should change to maintain some fuzzy level of nasty.  We try to predict how many will die and who's fault it will be.  What we're really doing at the high level is to decide who will profit from the inevitable changes we must make.  I don't know enough about a so called carbon tax but I don't get a good feeling about it and so far just see it as another form of legal tender that won't solve anything in a real sense but will make a lot of money for those that decided this was a good thing.

    For me it is much simpler, pollution (that's what we used to call it) is a bad thing, period.  I don't need to see endless reports on how bad it might be or what it will do to us.  I know it is bad and for that reason alone we must do everything we can to curb it.  I can't wait for the idiots in control to make it right.

    In Canada these types of nanny state ideas have been called "sin" taxes.  They have never solved anything and I have zero confidence that a carbon tax will lower the pollution levels much less the new speak issues of carbon emissions.
    On Canada should consider adopting carbon tax, says panel posted 1 year, 10 months ago 1 Response

  • Still a good idea

    I'm loving the idea. Of course they are doing it for economic reasons, it would be bad business otherwise.  Being greener is good for the rest of us and useful for their marketing.  But economics is the driving force, so to speak.

    Wind or no wind, they will use it when it saves fuel and they wouldn't do it at all if it didn't save them fuel above the cost of the sail.  So any fuel saved is a good thing.  The bigger problem is as you said, the shipping itself which is getting out of hand. My little bit is to avoid goods that come from the wrong places and to favor those goods that are more local even if I pay a little bit more.On Cargo ship to use massive kite-like sail on trans-Atlantic voyage posted 1 year, 11 months ago 16 Responses

  • Suburbia the green?

    Our technology and lifestyle are the answers to environmental problems.

    Technology is not a sure bet to save us from ourselves.  I say it is what got us into this mess on top of lifestyle choices and the choices we made because of technology and propaganda.

    While there are some good points made defending suburbia it really greenwashes the problem.  If the burbites didn't drive so many vehicles and so many large vehicles driven such long distances, and if they grew trees instead of removing them, if there were fewer giant heat islands of parking lots, then there is a chance to green things up a great deal.  District heating and cooling, jobs much closer, much better transportation, micro electric generation, better zoning rules, and less NIMBY and greed.  Maybe much less consumption in general would be the easiest thing to do.

      For sure the burbs is where the focus should be since that is the fastest growing source and highest per captia source of the problem here and as mentioned the greatest payoff.  I hear a few good ideas about the burbs but so far have seen almost none of these in practice.  Good for the tiny handful of places that are doing it though.  What I see is the same old practices done more efficiently cost wise but very little that changes the eco footprint.  I asked a developer about the lack of real innovation such as small district heating systems and geothermal and he said it was pure economics.  Anything that increased the cost short term no matter how much it saved long term was a deal killer.  "high efficiency" labels of ~90% are cheap now but other methods  such as geothermal can be ~400% efficient.  The geo costs more up front but saves big time long term.  Not to mention the eco costs which are much better by spending more up front.

    If Joe six pack will drive an SUV 20kms to save $2 on a $20 low grade product that he'll buy again several times over the life instead of buying a $40 product that he only buys once or not buys at all guess which heating system he'll buy and guess which system the ruling governments (taxes) prefer that he buys?  I'm no defender of cities but I'm really distressed at what the burbs are continuing to do in many ways.  We all need to green up and stop waiting for the other guy to do it first.  It doesn't hurt that much.

    While we must push the leaders to do the right thing we're on the other hand asking the wrong people.On Sweden best at addressing climate change, U.S. and Saudi Arabia worst, says report posted 1 year, 11 months ago 5 Responses

  • Blame the local official and slave driver

    Sorry, I'm not buying that argument.  And of course people are not happy living poorly, that is a bit offensive to suggest I said anything of the sort.  And it damn sure isn't my fault that the average Chinese person is poor.  That is something to take up with the hopelessly corrupt system over there.  I have my own gang of greedy idiots running things over here to convince that there is a better way to run a country and a healthy planet.

    I wonder who gets the sale if one company in China looses because they choose to play by a more agreeable standard.  The company around the corner that won't play nice.  Again that is something to put to those local officials that are letting it happen.  We learned some lessons long ago and now have some sense of health and safety standards.  And now we've lost most of the manufacturing to China.  Well I say we've merely place shifted the problem.  We should not only obey our own standards but to enforce them on imports.  I don't agree with U.S. doctrine of extending our politics beyond its borders but I would prefer that we enforce our minimal standard on what comes into the country.

    I hear about this economic miracle going on so if my people have done anything it is to raise that level of poverty out of the gutter by buying  products by the boatload.  I'm sure that life still sucks for many and perhaps most.  But until I can be confident that a product isn't going to slowly kill me or the poor villager that made it then I'm not buying.  Sorry, I can't support that kind of system.  I want better for my children and believe it or not I want the same for all children of this world.

    BTW, I'm a poor person that is lucky enough to live where being poor doesn't always mean starvation.  So I'm 100% better off than half the planet but I have my limits and as such I remain poor.  I'll be happy if they change the name of the Dollar Store to the Two Dollar Store if that means my grandkids will have the chance to live with nature before it is destroyed.On Asian countries sign on to vague climate pact posted 2 years ago 9 Responses

  • Show me the good will

    You want me to show you the money?  What I am ashamed of is that us slobs in the west are demanding the lowest price for the most products.  And the so called developing world is more than happy to cut every corner including human decency and health to do it.  And so decades later those countries are still developing.

    Well I must be in the minority because I don't want the crap that is coming from there.  I'll support quality products on the rare occasion I buy anything but it must give me lasting value and hopefully didn't destroy a village and its people to make it.  I have no doubt that those type of products exist and that there are decent people willing to balance profit with good stewardship of this planet.  But I'm afraid those good intentions are outnumbered by corrupt short thinking motives.

    You can develop a strong economy while trying to do the right thing for all concerned.  You have to think long term.  There are countries trying to invest in sustainable technologies but I'm afraid they are being shut out by the quick buck alternatives.

    So don't mind my finger wagging, perhaps you should wag your finger at your own rulers and demand a healthier planet for the next generation otherwise all that development will be wasted.  Right now I have little faith in the ruling parties on your side of the world and on mine.
    On Asian countries sign on to vague climate pact posted 2 years ago 9 Responses

  • We need both

    Yes we need 'exponential' change but if we don't also change as individuals we are never going to figure this out in time.  But as individual sheep that are waiting for 'them' to figure it out we're expecting that we'll simply find transparent alternative fuels or whatnot that allow us to over consume and waste to our hearts content.  Business as usual but with less guilt.  It is like forcing air quality standards on a product (cars) and then having orders of magnitude more of that product.  The problem is still worse while being better looking on a spreadsheet.

    It is so much easier to lower your consumption than to set some flowery percentage goal upstream at some distant future date.  Individually we can do it right now, waiting for 'them' to do at source will take forever all the while individual rates go up.  Cheaper to save a watt than to generate one.

    We need both.  Do what you can now and push the big boys at the same time.  So while we'll hear about some clever goals and sometimes actual application we're not making any real strides at all.  For every announcement of a geothermal plant in China (great news) there will be dozens of 19th century coal plants built.On Asian countries sign on to vague climate pact posted 2 years ago 9 Responses

  • And the oil used to fry?

    Is the oil trans fat free?  Are the potatoes real or GM?  Ultimately the product is eaten so that should be part of the equation too.  Healthy earth and healthy humans.

    Nice for their P.R. machine but if they are doing something positive then good for them.  I'm still depressed about yesterday's story about food labeling so am cynical when it comes to the bogus food chain.On Frito-Lay hopes to manufacture eco-friendly potato chips posted 2 years ago 4 Responses

  • Then we're doomed

    I am amazed by this one.  Not only did we loose the battle decades ago about labeling GM food we can't even label foods as not being GM or otherwise enhanced by the soylent green producers.

    As far as milk goes, don't drink it if you think it deadly but I think that as long as there are cows being slaughtered for meat and leather then we should also use the milk.  Waste nothing.  Of course meat and dairy production is not the same cow.  yada yada, meat is bad too but as long as we're doing it...

    I still want my cheese but not if the milk is GM.  Monsanto is the devil and so are the weenies that took the bribe.
    On Pennsylvania bans hormone- and antibiotic-free labels on dairy products posted 2 years ago 21 Responses

  • Yummy food imports

    Yum, the "enhanced" water should make for some mighty fine ginger and other semi edible food stuffs from walmart-china.

    One area is so polluted that the local rice crop is black.  Another area famous for pears was so heavy with DDT that the bees all died or left the area and the people now actually hand pollinate the trees. Imagine how expensive that would be over here....
    On Record amount of sewage dumped into China's Yangtze River posted 2 years ago 1 Response

  • GMO is the big ag topic for me

    genetically-modified organisms (GMOs)

    Exactly.  Nobody will talk about this. But is is much too late as nearly all food in N.A. is already GM.  We missed our chance years ago to simply have labeling of GM products like much of Europe has.  Your food is patented and it is unknown what catastrophe awaits us down the road.  Not to mention the taste and lack of nutrition as nature intended.

    If you think that fast food is safe because they offer salads now, think again.On Barack Obama unveils agriculture plan posted 2 years, 1 month ago 5 Responses

  • only a few billion more to go

    This is now out of control.  How many years/decades has this been going on where nobody inspected this imported crap?  And what other toxic ingredients are in our products?  And why do we set standards but don't enforce them?  The standards are not a secret and the Chinese know full well and the brands know full well.

    This morning a co-worker showed me his well worn computer mouse.  The paint under the palm area was worn down to the plastic.  Did he ingest lead through his palm?

    This summer we had a single oil refinery shutdown due to fire.  The whole country was suddenly short on gasoline and the price went sky high.  The feds loosened the rules on additives so that the volume could be increased.  I wonder how many toxic dumps were cleaned up by dumping it into the fuel.

    Let's rename all the dollar stores to the 2 dollar store and get a measure of safety back into our useless crap.
    On More toys recalled due to lead, including Boy Scout badges posted 2 years, 1 month ago 1 Response

  • about time, sorta

    Let's call it organic water while we're at it.
    I can't help but notice the lip service to the  quality issues of tap and the lead in water/toys scare.  If it makes the propaganda machine then tell me how much you care.  Then do little or nothing to give me a better product.

    Simple labeling is want I want though.  Now if I could read a label that told me if this product was genetically modified I'd be even happier.
    :)On California may require labels on bottled water, EPA strengthens lead-in-water regulations posted 2 years, 2 months ago 3 Responses

  • Or do it yourself

    jeez, we'll buy anything won't we?  I've been making my own fizzy drinks for decades.  I've always thought that nearly every drink sold was much too sweet or just stupid expensive so I squeeze a bit of whatever fruit or root I feel like having into some icy water or club soda.  Costs a fraction of the store bought and tastes so much better.  Fresh ginger with some fruity goodness is a favourite of mine.  And to think I could have packaged it with a fancy label and charged 10 times what it cost me. (I do the same for microwave popcorn, $0.10 vs $2.00)

    Organic water, who 'ave thunk it.On Talking Rain adds organic water flavors posted 2 years, 2 months ago 5 Responses

  • more regs that help little

    More assumed stats that mean little in the real world.  Nobody drives like the tests that determine these numbers.  Highway economy?  On a long trip perhaps but most commuters drive on highways that barely move.
    If we had to drop quarters in a slot at each stop and paid what the actual cost was it would have more impact.  Not at all practical but people would be shocked at what it is really costing them.  Cost to the planet is still taboo since we all do it.

    Here's a game to play; ask an SUV driver how he likes filling that thing up these days.  I'll wager that 9/10 will say "It isn't so bad".  Ask about the price per liter/gallon and it is a different story.  We convince ourselves that we always make the right choice in purchases but "they" are trying to screw us.On Vehicles sold in the U.S. will be outfitted with fuel-economy stickers posted 2 years, 2 months ago 3 Responses

  • Sometimes the old ways are better.

    Radiant heat combined with old fashioned radiators (like in the washroom) and good circulation is the cat's meow.  It is especially efficient when used with geothermal, solar, and other heating methods that play well with the slow heating style of radiant.  Plus it is easier to combine several heating methods such as solar into the mix. (solar fluid heating vs solar electrical)

    But in our instant gratification society it can be a hard sell since getting a frozen house up to temp takes longer.  But boy does it feel better.  No more dry stuffy pressure zones, noise, and dust.  As a retrofit you can leave the central air system in place and use it for supplementary heating/cooling.

    But cost always wins out even if long term it is much cheaper.  Same for geothermal, fuel is free but install cost is high.  What I see as possible is district heating systems so that hot water is piped to the house which is then used in your radiant system and general hot water needs.  Why I still never see innovation like this during large suburban builds is beyond me.  Endless ticky tacky houses and not a solar panel or geothermal bore hole in sight.

    my blog
    On Umbra on radiant heating posted 2 years, 4 months ago 11 Responses