Why hello, saddle.

Well, it's time to get back in the saddle after a very nice break. I was a bit of a bum and didn't see all of the people that I should have seen, and didn't do all of the things I should have done (Olympic Sculpture Park? Oh yeah). But you know what? I think I really needed the break, and I managed to finish one book and read two others, which was quite a nice change of pace indeed. I also had a chance to think in depth about the sorts of projects I hope to accomplish in the near future, which was also good.

I would like to sarcastically thank Alaska Airlines for making me late back to PHX and causing me to miss the very last bus to my house by approximately 10 minutes. Instead, I had to pay an overpriced shuttle fare. Nasty Bastards. But I made it home, and my cat pretended that she had missed me for about five minutes before resuming her usual catty behavior--a good indicator that she was quite well cared-for in my absence (shout-out to D for that one!). Even better than all that, when I got home I discovered a package from my aunt and uncle that contained all sorts of delectable goodies: crumpets, english muffins, a scone, a cinnamon roll, and some delightful tea and jam. It's almost like my family knows what I like! (: Combined with the pile of edibles I brought back with me, I have a large stash of nibbling items.

It's a bit of a relief to be getting back into a routine. Now that routine just needs to include a lot of writing--and proposal-writing at that, none of this silly blogging business. About that.

A different take on biodiesel

I just read a quick commentary in the journal Nature about a controversial proposal to counteract the effects of global warming. The proposal writer coined the phrase "global gardening" and suggested that we can do a better job of more actively creating and maintaining long-term carbon sinks by growing vast swaths of plants in the name of climate change. When I phrase it this way, it seems like new spin on an old idea, and it pretty much is. The idea is that we do this in hope of managing/reducing amount of carbon in the atmosphere and turn around processes of global climate change within a few decades. It's an alternative message to the "stop spewing stuff into the atmosphere and trading silly carbon credits in a debt-run system." Simply phrased, it's a "Get out of debt" plan.

This got me thinking about the push to discover and develop more alternative energy sources, like the promotion of corn-based ethanol. Hey man, it's still fuel and energy consumption. It addresses one sliver of the pie, but ignores a lot of it.

That got me thinking about Wendell Berry again, who has pointed out some really energy-efficient vehicles that are right under our noses. They're called farm animals. Sure, we hear about cow farts and the like and their contributions of methane to the atmosphere, but I'm not talking about CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) here. I'm talking about horses. They eat grass, and convert it from vegetative matter into muscles and energy, which humans have been using to perform work for thousands of years. Also, as Berry has pointed out, they're nice to be around, which is more than one can say of most vehicles that belch out exhaust. And they do it without having to be shipped to a central processing factory or the addition of any other extra industrial processes.

We could add in human-powered vehicles as well, which are a pleasure to operate so long as they aren't stuck behind any carbon-belchers.

So, whaddaya say, US Government? How about if we invest more of our resources in changing the scale of things, instead of trying to develop newer technology to solve the problems created by new technology? (oh wait, I've left Big Business Interests out of the picture--sorry, guys) How about if we use multi-factor solutions that have been working for a long time instead of stealing from our future selves?

Berry, I think you're in my brain and convincing me of things.

Hilarity ensued

I just have to say, our usual weekly Scrabble game this evening was utterly hilarious, thanks to awesome friends and an incredible "Bubble & Pearl Drink Party Kit .DIY." I usually write an e-mail to my compatriots about the whole thing, but yeah. I missed you guys. There's no easy way to summarize what happens when people consume gelatinous masses of tapioca and sugar and fake strawberry, honeydew, taro, and black milk tea.

Whew.