Comments paz has made

  • Well said

    Please email/snail mail/fax/hand deliver this to the President.On How to build resilient communities in a chaotic world posted 9 months, 1 week ago 3 Responses

  • Thank you, Ted,

    for reminding me of a wonderful story, true or not.  Legend has it that Ralph Waldo Emerson found his friend Henry David Thoreau in jail and they had the above exchange.On Why I'm joining 2,000 people for a global warming mass arrest on Monday posted 9 months, 1 week ago 3 Responses

  • There's Nothing Like

    doing what you've always done and now it's suddenly Good for the Planet! Do you suppose the auto makers are figuring out how gas guzzlers are Good for Wilderness?On Eat fried food, save the planet posted 9 months, 1 week ago 3 Responses

  • The Way I've Always Done It

    Heat the water, unsalted, in a COVERED pot.  Amazing how few people cover the pot. When water reaches a boil, add salt and pasta (in that order -- I don't know why, but it definitely affects the outcome!).  Cover the pot.  When it reaches a boil again, turn off the flame.  Keep the pot COVERED.  Stir only occasionally and test for readiness whenever you feel you must.  In roughly the same amount of time it takes with the flame on under an uncovered pot of boiling pasta, you'll have delicious pasta.On A new low-carbon (if not low-carb) way to cook the Italian staple posted 9 months, 1 week ago 7 Responses

  • On Rapeseed Oil and Plastic

    Well, I didn't know that rapeseed oil was icky to begin with.  I was going to mention that a significant portion of canola oil in the US is now GMO.

    My resealable bags of Natural Value organic popcorn bought at the natural foods store are delicious.  I do use a microwave popper, although it doesn't have the "disc" others mention.  It consists of a tub with a bottom that resembles an inverted coffered ceiling and a removable lid with steam vents. No oil required.  It is plastic, but it's so easy.

    Lou, you are depressing and silly.  I very much enjoy your writing!On Why conventional popcorn sucks, and what you can do about it posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago 20 Responses

  • Proof? Proof?

    When GMOs can be contained, when they are ingested by people who are informed and agreeable, and when they truly live up to their promise to feed the world rather than simply line Monsanto's pockets, then perhaps I won't demand proof of their benign nature.

    Remember children playing behind trucks spraying DDT?  There was no proof of its effects on birds. Oops.

    Remember thalidomide prescribed to pregnant women?  There was no proof of its link to birth defects.  Oops.

    Allowing these products to enter people's bodies without their knowledge or consent, and permitting them to pollute the environment (and suing neighboring organic farmers as a result?  how weird is that?), is not "free market".  It is not "progress".  It is a DISGRACE.

    Label me an extremist.  Once the horse has escaped the barn, there is little sense in shutting the door.  (Of course, I think Monsanto's banking on this.)On Grist cooks lunch for America's leading food writer posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago 11 Responses

  • Thank You, Adam

    for an inspiring piece.

    May I add to your #2 recommendations the book "Full Moon Feast" by Jessica Prentice.  A woman who tried a myriad of "wholesome" diets that just did not work for her, she finally hit upon an omnivorous diet that seems truly inspiring.  (Eat local; eat seasonally; eat high-quality, truly free-range animal products).  I am a rabid fan of all of the Michael Pollan books, but this may be the one that finally gets me off my duff and into the kitchen.On Some ideas for green resolutions that are achievable, meaningful, and maybe even novel posted 10 months, 4 weeks ago 9 Responses

  • Randino, I second your nomination

    mostly because of your acid assessment of the Star-Spangled Banner.  Why aren't more Americans embarrassed that the tune derives from an old English drinking song?  (Now that melody make sense!)

    I don't even read articles that mention "cap and trade" -- not as ubiquitous as "carbon footprint", but far emptier of meaning.

    My #1 candidate -- oh, hell, I didn't even finish the sentence before I had two -- my TWO main candidates are "friendly fire" and "Department of Defense".On Eco-buzzwords make annual banned words list posted 10 months, 4 weeks ago 7 Responses

  • I CANNOT BELIEVE

    that George W. did not make this list.  On Vote for the top eco-villain of 2008 posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 14 Responses

  • Degree?

    Sorry, I'm flustered.  Of course I meant a 90-second delay.

    I'm flustered because I tried unsuccessfully to convince a woman today to turn off her (unattended) RV, which had been idling for a good five minutes when we met, and according to people nearby had been idling for much longer.  I unfortunately had to get the police involved (since she was also in a red zone).
      On And You Should See 'Em Pop a Wheelie posted 1 year ago 6 Responses

  • That's Old Technology

    Twenty years ago, I heard that if your car idled for longer than three minutes it was more fuel-efficient to turn it off.  Ten or fifteen years later, the interval dropped to one minute.  I've recently heard 30 seconds, but I usually turn my car off if I anticipate a 90-second degree or longer.  NEWS FLASH:  Drivers in Minneapolis are now ticketed if they idle for longer than three minutes if not in traffic.On And You Should See 'Em Pop a Wheelie posted 1 year ago 6 Responses

  • Please let us poison babies, we're poor

    I'm speechless.On Toy manufacturers push back against lead-safety rule posted 1 year ago 2 Responses

  • HFCS

    is banned in many other countries.  A colleague of mine recently went to Australia, where one cannot find any high fructose corn syrup in anything.  It's illegal!  He claims it's because socialized medicine figured out how expensive it is to fix people whose bodies are so damaged by HFCS.  Preventive medicine!On Confirming Pollan, PNAS study shows that fast-food chains mainly peddle corn posted 1 year ago 12 Responses

  • There Oughta Be a Law

    against excessive idling.  Anyone have any ideas how to politely bring this up with strangers?  Little makes me crazier than watching some SUV idle for five minutes or more while its owner chats with someone or even leaves the vehicle to run an errand!

    I live in a little town, but there is one long stoplight intersection where I usually turn off my car.  I assume hypermilers do this, too ...On And You Should See 'Em Pop a Wheelie posted 1 year ago 6 Responses

  • Oh, silly me!

    This was obviously McCain's runner-up choice had Palin passed on the veep offer.On Stunning interview with incoherent GOP denier running for Congress posted 1 year, 2 months ago 32 Responses

  • This woman is obviously the twin ...

    ... of that charming Miss Teen America contestant whose comments about, em, uh, nobody can determine, were jaw-droppingly incoherent.  Is this woman running for Congress or the Student Council?On Stunning interview with incoherent GOP denier running for Congress posted 1 year, 2 months ago 32 Responses

  • Read "Traffic" by John Vanderbilt

    He explores the reasons why we aren't more outraged by the number of automobile deaths each year. He also covers many, many other fascinating aspects of driving.  I am going to make this required reading for my daughter before she gets behind the wheel.   On Some good news about high gas prices posted 1 year, 3 months ago 7 Responses

  • 2800 square feet? Holy crap!

    I could barely get beyond the fact that so many people have objected to a 1200 sq. ft. home.  For most of my childhood and all of my adult life my family has never lived in a house larger than 1200 sq. ft.  Sometimes it's cramped; that can be a good thing.  Forces us to consume less.  Want that spacious, peaceful, cavernous feeling?  Own less crap.On The hybrid solar home, part 2 posted 1 year, 3 months ago 28 Responses

  • It's All About the Mula

    My first thought when I heard that 50% of all Californians were not opposed to offshore drilling was that 50% of all Californians are unaware of the facts.  That pretty much holds true for nuclear power in my book.  Cost-effectiveness be damned.  I am so sick of our society always looking at the bottom line.  REAL cost-effectiveness means looking at all of the consequences of one's actions, not just the monetary ones.  Wind, solar, and wave energy are promising and minimally destructive.

    My position on nuclear power mirrors my position on GMOs -- they're potentially dangerous, let's just not screw around with it.  Maybe women are more cautious about proliferation of technology with potentially disastrous consequences.On Why do more men than women support nuclear power? posted 1 year, 3 months ago 31 Responses

  • Reduce Packaging!

    I first started using a crystal because it is usually minimally packaged.  Considering how many years I can get out of a big crystal, that's a lot of plastic I'm keeping out of the waste stream.  I don't shave my pits, either, and no product -- "natural", "organic", or "conventional" -- works nearly as well against odor as my crystal.On Making a stink about green(ish) deodorants posted 1 year, 3 months ago 36 Responses

  • My daughter won't tolerate a decaying raccoon ...

    ... so scent is VERY important to me.  Which is why we usually just make do with long sleeves, hats, and sticking close to the campfire, if there is one. Scent and efficacy are tantamount in our book.On A buzzworthy review of DEET-free bug repellents posted 1 year, 4 months ago 12 Responses

  • paz

    This summer, we had planned to drive from Northern CA to Michigan to visit family and see America on the way. (We've left the state twice in the last ten years.)  But instead we turned our vacation into three:  1) accomplishing long-postponed projects around the house, including installing new double-paned windows in our 70-year-old home; 2) traveling to the next county to visit Real Goods (check them out at realgoods.com); and 3) a drive to Portland to see the Oregon Zoo for the first time.  Oh, and I got a bike for my birthday (my husband stole mine several years ago).
    On Staycation, all I ever wanted posted 1 year, 4 months ago 6 Responses

  • What a Biking Mom NEEDS

    My birthday present was a new bike.  When asked what accessories I HAD to have, I said, "A basket, pannieres, and a bike bell!"  On A car-free mom gets her muscles -- and mind -- in shape for summer posted 1 year, 5 months ago 5 Responses

  • Dairy Is Not Always Evil

    I feel I must balance Wolverine's comments.  He does not state his ethnic background, but the people of Northern Europe (my ancestors) have consumed so much dairy for so long that they've actually adapted well to dairy consumption, far more than have other ethnic groups.

    Dairy is hardly garbage.

    In the lovely Pacific Northwest, cows are run year-round on lush, green grass only a few miles from my home.  If only everyone were so lucky!On So says U.K. study posted 1 year, 6 months ago 13 Responses

  • Four compelling reasons to stop the wall

    1. I've worked with 'undocumented' workers for many years.  The INS knows that the US economy relies upon them and that's why they're so lenient on employers.  You wouldn't believe how lenient.

    2. What an ugly message:  a wall.  Reminds me of that other great symbol of oppression, the Berlin Wall.

    3. A wall would not be impervious unless it were monitored.  If the area were monitored, why have a wall?

    4. The damage to American wildlife would be swift and, given enough time, perhaps irreversible.

    All supposedly in the name of protecting the borders of a country that the rest of the world is coming to despise.
     On Why environmental groups have been slow to fight the border wall posted 2 years, 1 month ago 38 Responses