Comments mrLee has made

nonsensical

John;  If Walmart starts encouraging the use of canvas bags, this will apply across the board to all cashiers.  Thinking this will hurt one employee over another makes no sense.  Also, my wife and I use them all the time and it doesn't slow down our purchase at all.  On the contrary it speeds things up because each bag holds more items.  Please don't pass judgement on something unless you've tried it yourself.On Wal-Mart will slice use of plastic bags posted 1 year, 2 months ago 5 Responses

Puppet?

Sadly, I think he's just a friggin' moron.  He makes grandiose statements, then Cheney pulls the strings and he dances.On Renewable energy subterfuge posted 1 year, 8 months ago 8 Responses

Stigma

I am a vegetarian but speak very little of it on my job.  Sadly, there is a negative stigma attached to it that seems to generate very strong opinions in people, most of them negative.On Or, what I learned watching The King of Queens last night posted 1 year, 11 months ago 13 Responses

I disagree

According to my understanding, overnight charging during off-peak hours contributes a negligible amount to emissions.  In other words, power plants aren't shut down at night, they simply "spin down" to a lower output than peak.  Your theory that when you plug in your car someone at the coal plant says "Hey Vinnie, start stokin' her up, we got a big one!" is incorrect.  You wouldn't even be a blip on the electric grid radar, more on par with your neighbor turning on their electric dryer or firing up the hotplate for some late night griddle cakes.On Giving up car-lessness for Rob Lowe's plug-in hybrid posted 2 years ago 27 Responses

argument makes no sense

You quote a source that states oil consumption is expected to increase.  OK, then you talk about not taxing futures-trading.  What you neglect to mention is that each time the Saudis (owners of the largest oil field known) attempted to increase production in recent years as promised, they have failed to do so.  They have been back filling their wells for years with seawater which is diluting the recovered oil, hampering production.    This inability, coupled with increased demand on an uncertain supply has led to the high prices in the market.  There are no more "gushers" as in the early days of oil exploration, each new discovery is becoming more and more expensive to recover.  The return on dollar for dollar investment is diminishing.  Therefore oil is at a premium, and becomes a more valuable commodity, such as precious metals because of their relative scarcity and difficulty in obtaining.  This time in history will not be remembered as the day the oil spigot ran dry, it will be remembered as the day oil ceased being "cheap and easy", making alternatives more feasible.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/p87339.asp
http://www.energybulletin.net/10878.html
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0406/feature5/ind ...
Don't say we didn't warn ya'.On We have $100-a-barrel oil due to speculation and fear posted 2 years ago 54 Responses

Beer bottle glasses-not safe

I have seen what a person's head looks like after being hit with a beer bottle or glass, and I would never, never wear glasses made of glass that is not safety glass and will break into large shards causing extensive injury and possible blindness if broken.  Stick to the funny nose and mustache plastic glasses instead.On From Playboy to Pilsner posted 2 years, 1 month ago 2 Responses

missed one thing

Great article, but since we are grammatically correct, it would be "wringer" as we are speaking of an old mechanism for drying the wash......and yes he was put through it.http://www.yourdictionary.com/wringerOn Al Gore's commitment to public service in the face of cynicism posted 2 years, 1 month ago 15 Responses

He's covered

To all those who say Gore stands guilty because of his personal lifestyle, I say it's the same as those who buy green credits to offset their own resource usage......if thousands change their behavior in a positive way due to his influence I say his green credits are in the bank.On Right-wingers will do whatever Gore says not to posted 2 years, 1 month ago 4 Responses

vegetarian?

I am a vegetarian at present along with my wife, we have 3 kids (15, 9 &7).  The arguments such as "we must be omnivores by nature because we all really, really love meat"  I find without merit.  All children are taught over time to find meat palatable, I can attest to this from personal experience.  The eldest was given various meats to taste as he grew (we weren't veg at that time), he now likes beef in all forms......the 2 younger ones were raised during a time when we cut back on "red meat", as a result they have a palate only interested in chicken nugget type foods (as far as meat goes!)  They like tufu nuggets just as much as the processed chik ones.  Interestingly, they detest the smell/odor/ and appearance of any form of beef, cooked or not.  After over 2 years "back to veg",  (I was one years ago), I find cooked meat odor akin to the smell of a smelly locker room.....I'm not talking the spices and/or condiments either.  Also, if we are so omnivorous by nature as some claim, why has no one questioned the fact that we are unlike all the other carnivores/omnivores of the world in that we must cook/bake/broil/marinate/bbq/season our meat just to make it palatable?  If you enjoy it so much, pull up a chair and take a big bite out of a nice big slab of beef, still raw and bloody!  Oh but I can't do that, you say, it's not safe!  All sort of nasties in there, must be cooked!  But I thought it was GOOD for you.  I can walk up to a plant bearing fruit/nuts/vegetables and have a bite with no problem.  By the same token why can't you just walk over to a pig or other creature and
have at it, so to speak.  Oh, finding it hard to do it in with your bare hands?  OK, we'll kill it for you and you can have it nice and fresh, raw, and still warm!  Problem?  Why that's the way every other meat eating creature on this planet would eat it, and I thought it was in your nature to eat meat!!!  Interesting....... On On PETA's latest campaign posted 2 years, 2 months ago 256 Responses

Toyota plug-in hybrid

I say bring on the plug ins!  The attempts to develop a plug in car in the past failed due to the lack of automakers' resolve to support such a venture.  The only way this can change is for some healthy competition in bringing the first viable model to market.  If such a car were to be successful, other automakers would be spurred into action.  The numerous attempts by small companies to  build such a model are admirable but are not enough to make an impact in todays market. Hopefully Toyota, GM and even Tesla will finally begin to reshape America's future.On Announces development plans posted 2 years, 4 months ago 6 Responses

Long Island

As a current Long Island resident (north shore) I concede it may be a suburban wasteland, but there is far less industrial activity now than in past years.  Our current blight is one of suburban sprawl and a backlash of NIMBYism.  

The current location as proposed makes sense as to the proximity to the onshore power plant, but it also brings the power supplied by the windfarm into the heart of the most densely populated area of the island (hence the greatest draw on the power grid). Placing the plant further east where it is less densely populated would not be as effective.  

I also find the objection to the appearance somewhat amusing, since I find the huge number of power lines crisscrossing every populated area of the Island far uglier.  As more and more development occurs, new transmission lines are just thrown up here and there without a thought to asthetics.  Think about it, we don't have any objection to this because we have been accustomed to the sight of them for as long as we can remember.  If wind farms were as common, I'm sure there wouldn't be these objections.

So please, Grist, don't knock the Island so hard, I produce more power than I use with my solar array, and I heat my house with wood in the winter (all trees downed in the neighborhood, none cut down just for fuel),  so we're trying here, too.On STFU posted 3 years, 4 months ago 28 Responses