My wife's laptop computer died yesterday, after only a couple of years of service. It wasn't a complete surprise, as it had been exhibiting some strange behavior lately, and the speakers never worked, but J was pretty upset about it. The annoying thing is that, this being America, the obvious solution is to buy a new one instead of having the old one fixed.

She brought the dead laptop in to Best Buy, and had their Geek Squad look at it. They were not super helpful, and didn't make much of an effort to fix it before referring her to the manufacturer, Dell. Dell made her wait on hold for an hour, she was transferred around to several different people, and ended up talking with another unhelpful person. It was no longer under warranty, of course. She was told she'd have to order a part or parts, which cost over $100, then take it all back to the Geek Squad and have them install the parts, for more $$$. Then, at best she'd have  the same old, slow computer as before, where for $650 she could have a far superior new laptop, with working speakers and a better screen. We really need to do something in our society to fix and reuse old things rather than have all market and other forces point to the usual "buy a new one" solution. At least we can properly recycle the old one.    

Coincidentally, a few weeks ago I suggested to my wife she buy a USB flash drive, and back up all of her documents and photos on it. She bought a 2GB flash drive, but didn't have a chance to save her documents on it before her computer died. D'oh! Nothing of vital importance was lost, and fortunately most of her photos are on Flickr, but it does highlight the importance of having a backup copy of everything on your hard drive. The hard drive is intact, and her data could probably be retrieved from it, but it likely won't be worth the time or hassle to do so. 

One of the first things I noticed about the new Best Buy store in Columbia Heights was the electronics recycling kiosk just inside the entrance. There are separate bins for the recycling of printer cartridges, batteries, and small electronics like cellphones, palm pilots and blackberries . There are little bags provided to keep batteries from leaking. Best Buy has a recycling plan in place, and will hopefully expand it to cover larger items like laptops. Kudos to Best Buy for encouraging proper recycling of electronics.

I've already used the recycling bin there. My wife had an old, first-generation digital camera that was ready for the trash, but I figured it would be OK to put it in the small electronics bin at Best Buy. Having watched far too many Simpsons episodes in my lifetime, I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos of my own butt and leaving them on the camera, just in case anybody looks (apologies, Best Buy employees). It's true, my wife will confirm it - she was on the phone at the time and I was trying to get her to laugh. I did one vertical composition, and one horizontal, and did NOT put the results on Flickr or anywhere else. Recycling is fun!!

 Fredericksburg, Virginia is an interesting, historic town, located halfway between Washington and Richmond, but it sure does have a bird control problem! We took a daytrip there on Saturday, and would have enjoyed walking around the pedestrian-friendly downtown area, rich in 19th century architecture, were it not for the guano-encrusted sidewalks (and historic objects!). At first, I thought the brown slime under each and every tree was the result of smooshed berries or some other natural product of tree reproduction or propagation. But eventually, I put two and two together, when I became aware of the vast flocks of small birds roosting in the trees. We were skating along the sidewalks in bird shit!

I'm a diehard environmentalist, but when you're talking about a town that is compact, pedestrian-friendly, located on a rail link to DC, and has been inhabited for hundreds of years - that's a place where humans should live comfortably. We're not talking about houses encroaching on farmland or forest here, so in my opinion, the birds need to go. I'm willing to leave 95% of the land mass as wilderness, while cramming all humans into dense cities and towns, but within those spaces we should be able to control the populations of rats, pigeons, mosquitoes, etc. The Fredericksburg bird in question is probably an invasive species, or one where we've killed off their natural predators, but something is definitely out of balance in Fredericksburg with these birds. The local government needs to bring in falcons or hawks, or borrow a colony of spayed/neutered feral cats from DC where we have plenty to spare. How about fire off a Civil War cannon every hour to scare them off, and to provide a little battlefield reenactment fun? Plastic owls? Cut down all the street trees and replace them with a less bird-friendly species? I'm sure there's something humane that can be done, which would make the city a lot more livable for its residents.

After a nice lunch and lots of shopping at small, independent businesses, we returned to the car, and of course there was bird crap all over the windshield. Our shoes were encrusted, too, and the emergency roll of paper towels we keep in the car sure came in handy. Then, back to DC, whew, where the streets are clean; well, more or less...

 Now that football season is well underway, it's not uncommon to see vehicles, usually SUVs, sporting dual door-mounted flags with the emblem of their favorite team. Around here, you see mostly Redskins flags on vehicles, with a smattering of other teams, the Cowboys, the Ravens, etc.

I just wanted to point out, as an enviro-weenie, that at highway speeds, these flags do create a significant drag penalty. I would guess that top speed would be reduced by a couple of miles per hour, and fuel economy would likewise decline, especially in a headwind. So, if you want to save a few dollars on gas, as well as reduce your carbon footprint, it's best to lay off the football team flags, and slap on a bumper sticker instead.  

Hawaii Superferry is committed to serving Hawaii as an environmentally friendly seagoing operator and is mindful of its responsibility to all ocean life and each island’s unique ecosystem. The vessel’s design incorporates the latest in environmentally responsible maritime technology. The ferry’s waterjet propulsion system has no exposed propellers, thus vastly increasing protection for marine mammals such as whales and Hawaiian seals. The ferry will not discharge wastewater or any trash or other solid waste – these will all be carefully disposed of while the ship is docked in Honolulu. The hull features a unique non-toxic, specially slick paint that will keep unwanted aquatic hitchhikers from traveling across Hawai‘i's waters. Unlike conventional ships, the catamaran design does not require ballast tanks in which invasive species can catch a ride between our Islands.

So what's not to like, from the environmental perspective? I wonder if these protesters are being bankrolled by the airline industry...

I received the following comment on my blog entry regarding Ellwood Thompson's, and thought I'd repost it as a standalone entry:
 
Subject: Ellwood Thompsons Natural  Market  

Dear Mr. T.  

Ellwood Thompson's has been overwhelmed with support from Columbia  Heights residents as well as others in DC's other outstanding  communities. Thank you all very much!   An update in our search is that we are currently very interested in the  DC USA development nearing completion on 14th Ave. We encourage any  support that the neighborhood's interested residents can provide??  
We would like to explain our store concept a little clearer since there  have been a lot of comparisons to other Natural Markets in the area.  Ellwood Thompson's is a full-service Natural/Organic Market that does not  sell any products that contain artificial flavors, colors or  preservatives. Our products contain no hydrogenated oils, parabens, high  fructose corn syrup or transfats.   
The store is approximately 15,000 SF and we're stewards of local farming  and merchants (often working directly with the farm). Quality is top  priority and sampling is encouraged. We have a full-service meat case  (free-range varieties) as well as a deli case/hot bar and a health and  beauty section.   I hope this information is helpful in providing a snapshot of what  Ellwood's has to offer Columbia Heights. For additional information,  please visit our soon-to-be redesigned website at  http://www.ellwoodthompsons.com  

Many thanks,  
Ryan Youngman CEO,
Ellwood Thompson's 

Good to hear from you, Ryan, and will continue to spread the word about your store. DCUSA still has plenty of space I believe, since the Whole Foods deal fell through. If you open up there, you'll do well, and since it is directly on top of a Metro station, and in the middle of a dense residential neighborhood, it will have a minimal carbon footprint. We hope you do open in Columbia Heights!

There has been some debate over whether or not to construct new nuclear powerplants in the United States as a way to increase power production without releasing additional greenhouse gases. My first choice, along with most environmentalists, is to build more solar and wind-powered facilities, but that route may not be able to keep up with demand by itself. The main objections to nuclear power are accidents, and the creation and disposal of nuclear waste. I'm opposed to building more nuclear power plants in populated areas as well.

However, the other day, while looking at a map, I had an idea. The Feds are already committed to consolidating all nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada. If you recall, this was determined to be the safest location in the continental US, the most geologically stable, furthest from population centers, bodies of water, etc. The area has already been used for nuclear weapons testing years ago, and is probably already contaminated. In addition, with the nuclear waste all in one place, it would be easier to guard it from terrorists than in the current 108 locations around the country. The main problem with this plan is that the transportation of nuclear waste to the site from powerplanst around the country would be risky. There could be accidents, terrorism, and who wants trucks carrying nuclear waste driving through their towns and cities? Not me. Oh, and residents of Nevada aren't too happy about the plan, but us coastal megalopolis types can simply look the other way. He he he. If Nevada sends us power, we'll send them water!  

Why not build a series of nuclear power plants near Yucca Mountain? The area has been the whipping boy for nuclear bomb blasts for decades (900 at the Nevada Test Site), and the transportation of nuclear waste from the powerplants to the storage facility wouldn't be an issue. As the new nuclear power plants come on line, we can close down or convert others that are dangerously close to major population centers on the east coast. Eventually half the state of Nevada will give off a healthy green glow. If anything ever goes catastrophically wrong, the contaminated zone could become a Las Vegas playground, done up to resemble the Chernobyl wasteland.

I had to call the EPA today for work, and when I dialed their toll-free "national service center for environmental publications" at 1-800-490-9198, I heard something both curious and alarming. The automated voice answering system picks up with "Welcome to the EPA service center, operated under contract by Lockheed-Martin."

Does that sound like a conflict of interest, or what?! I would have hoped the EPA was staffed from top to bottom by earnest enviro-nerds, even in the publications department, not by a giant defense contractor and aerospace conglomerate. Apparently, part of the agency mandated with protecting mother Earth has been given over to a corporation specializing in the manufacture of smog-spewing jet aircraft and other eco-unfriendly, if necessary, technologies.

I have nothing personally against Lockheed-Martin, in fact I admire the history of the Maryland-based Martin division, with their tradition of technological innovation and service in WWII, but come on, they're a major manufacturing concern. It just seems fishy to me that part of the EPA's operations would be contracted out to them.

In his blog entry today, Marc Fisher asks "why doesn't DC have a bottle bill?" the same question has often crossed my mind. I would enthusiastically support a DC bottle bill! We have a HUGE problem with litter in Columbia Heights, and a modest 5 or 10 cent refundable deposit on all plastic and glass bottles would do wonders for the cleanliness of the streets. We have empty beer bottles in the tree boxes, water bottles along recreational trails, flattened soda cans in the street, and broken glass in the bike lanes. Think of all the bottles that are puled from the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers during those annual cleanups. Not only would people be less likely to discard their own empties, they would be inclined to pick up other litter. Back in New York, I recall that homeless people would go around and collect bottles for the deposit everywhere.

When a bottle bill was first proposed for DC twenty years ago, beverage distributors, bottling concerns and liquor and grocery stores lobbied strongly against it, turning what should have been a no-brainer into a racial/class conflict, and they succeeded in blocking any bottle deposit law. The city and attitudes have changed enormously since 1987, and I'm sure such a referendum would pass this time. People of all stripes, black, white and Latino, are much more environmentally aware, and the broken-windows theory has had an impact on street cleanliness and anti-graffiti campaigns. I don't think anybody wants their kids playing on broken glass or exposed to a visual daily bombardment of liquor and beer bottles as part of the landscape. Ward 1 Councilman Graham should float the idea to the other council members and see who else might support him. I'm tired of picking up bottles and cans every day. I must have picked up hundreds in the 11 years I've lived in DC.    

My frustration with the snow continues. Although it had been plowed sufficiently before, the alley was plowed again last night, resulting in a mound of filthy snow and ice shoved into the parking space I had previously shoveled clean. Now, I have to do it all over again. If there's one thing I hate, it's doing the same work repeatedly. I like to do a task thoroughly and efficiently once, and prefer that to be the end of it. No such luck. Hopefully over the weekend we'll have enough melting so that no more plows and salt trucks will plague my area. I'm sure there are plenty of uncleared streets in other parts of the city that could use the attention instead. I'm all for letting nature have its way, and just waiting for the ice to melt.

In other news, my father killed a snake for no apparent reason. I emailed him the other day because we haven't communicated in a month or two and I thought I'd drop him a line about the recent frigid weather. He responded with a description of the weather in Florida, and also mentioned that he found a 3' long snake curled up against his garage. He casually mentioned killing the snake with a shovel. WTF?! The poor snake was harmless, and a natural antidote to rats and mice. Why didn't he stick it in a bag and carry it off into the woods? I feel obligated to respond in a way that lets him know I disapprove of what he did, and maybe gently suggest a different course of action the next time he encounters a snake (or lizard or bird).

My dad was never a big fan of nature or the environment. He was raised back in the day when the wilderness was the enemy. He used to cut down trees like crazy when I was a kid, for fear they'd fall on the house in a storm. He had an ax, hardhat, a winch-thing to pull the trees over in the appropriate direction, etc. He saturated the ground around our house with DDT, before or just after it was banned, as a defense against termites. And we had well water! When he moved to Florida, he proudly told me how they drained and filled marshland to build his housing development, and planted the town with non-native species, plants and trees from the northeast so New Yorkers like him would feel at home. It's not that he doesn't understand and appreciate science in general, he did work in the aerospace industry in the 1970s, but he believes that nature exists to be conquered by mankind in an eternal struggle.  

I'm not exactly a crunchy barefoot worshiper of the earth goddess, but I believe that humanity should basically leave nature alone, and preserve wild places and living creatures as best we can. If there was a snake in my yard, I'd welcome it as a natural predator of rodents and pigeons in the neighborhood. Dad and I are definitely not on the same page here. Hmm, my response to his email should be interesting. How's this: "Hey dad, thanks for murdering an innocent snake, does your wife have a fur coat, too?"... uhm, I'd better tone that down a bit!