on Saturn and other stuff

Yesterday, friends, was my first anniversary. How did I celebrate it? After team meetings at school, Ian and I grabbed dinner with some friends at Pop's for some delicious cheesesteak action. Yes, so romantic, right? Well, fine, but after that we went to a fire circle in the country where the stars were crazy-bright, bluegrass was playing, and someone had a telescope set up.

Through that telescope, you could see Saturn, rings and all. It appeared ablaze with light. Looking online, I see Saturn is, at its closest, 1.2 billion km away from Earth. That I could so clearly see the thing from a distance my brain can't even comprehend makes one feel deceptively less small than one probably ought feel in the universe.

Still, my anniversary rocked.

In other news, I had the second half of a Saturday short-course today. In it we discussed the business case for sustainability, especially issues facing large companies. There are some things that have bothered me a lot about the sustainability discussion of late:

1. Certifications. One big one recently touted has been the ISO 14000 family. ISO 14001, in particular, simply certifies that you have an environmental management system that you track. The goals and performance metrics are set by the company. In one way this is great, since it allows flexibility across industries and disciplines, but on the other, it doesn't necessarily guarantee much at all.

2. Trade-offs. This is the subject of some of the major "sins of greenwashing"--shielding trade-offs or implying false trade-offs. This has been a major gripe of mine with use of compostable products and "biodegradable" packaging. Turns out, if you do an actual life-cycle analysis, it's terrible to put in landfills. If you're going to have compostable service ware, COMPOST.

3. Businesspeople think sustainability is at its zenith. It's not. It's in its infancy, and there's no dialog on how to realistically advance past mere efficiency in the long term. What happens when everyone is equally efficient and your efforts no longer offer you competitive advantage? What happens when consumption increases and disposal options decrease and/or become more costly? Let's brainstorm on this, folks.

That's all for now. Exhausted.

Trendspotting

An interesting hypothesis that sooner or later, Kindles will be free. Stupendously clever on their part, if it's true. As an Amazon Prime member, I'm obviously a major fan.

Three on sustainability

They're maybe not as related as I generally like my aggregated links to be, but I need to clear out my backlog of links I've been meaning to share.

First (and oldest), a post on how the prices of PV are falling, but why it still doesn't make much sense despite the falling prices (hint: it largely has to do with the other associated costs).

Second, a piece on Walmart's decision to source with a more local/regional focus. The gist: assuming they stick to their word, we may have a battle on our hands of Homeric proportions.

Third, UNC's Morrison Residence Hall receives top billing in the EPA's first-ever National Building Competition. This link is particularly important to me, since Morrison's energy-efficiency initiatives were made possible by the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee, a student-run group established to manage the $4/student/semester fee passed by the Green Energy referendum. Full disclosure: I was one of the key people involved with the referendum, and an initial appointee to the committee once it was formed. The time I spent working with a handful of other dedicated students is still one of the most gratifying periods of my life, especially in the success borne of our efforts. This award, then, is the proverbial icing on the cake.

Now, I'll try to stop glowing and get back to you with more links forthwith.

News from the front lines

Ok, so it's been a while.

Look, I'm sorry.

I know sorry's not all that special, but really, it's not you, I promise.

I mean, if it makes it any better, here's what I've been up to:

: studying for midterms (I have two today, and they're high-stress)
: getting reamed in logistics and project management (the two midterms)
: working on my supply chain practicum
: taking second place in a national case competition (in Louisville, KY)
: performing my duties for my graduate assistantship (exam proctoring, research, basically taking an extra course in order to give feedback from the student perspective)
: trying to arrange site visits and guest speakers for Net Impact Jenkins
: getting glowing feedback on the case competition I authored over the summer (thank goodness it wasn't a failure or bad quality)
: trying to find a new housemate to replace the last other founding member of Maplewood
: taking care of my dog, Chandramukhi (Mukhi, for short)
: preparing for travel to Las Vegas and Ann Arbor for conferences, to DC for pleasure, and NYC for business (sort-of)
: preparing to officiate two weddings (one this month, one next year)

...and I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out.

Still, I have lots of goodies for you that I need to catch up on.

Here's one at random, a collection of photos of what $1 worth of food actually looks like.

brighten your day

This popped up in my reader, and I opened it during a break from working. It made my day brighter, so I thought I'd share.

Avast, there be pirates in these here waters!

This is by far one of the coolest (if not necessarily all that useful) things I have ever, ever seen. I wonder how one might pirate a vinyl inclusive of both sides (without having to make two separate vinyls), and whether it would be possible to repair scratches on the pirated copy.

I love the smell of old books

but this is pretty stinkin' awesome.

Durham cares

No, not the (quite neat) charity, which matches individuals interested in volunteering with charities and non-profits based on skill/interest matching.

Rather, I'm referring to a pride-swelling summation from former DCVB-head Reyn Bowmann on the state of giving-through-volunteerism in Durham. As far as personal volunteerism is concerned, Durham is close to the top of the state in percent of citizens actively volunteering (33.3% to Asheville's 36.5%), but the tops in average number of volunteer hours per person (an impressive 49.4 hours averaged per person, versus the national average of 34.4 and North Carolina average of 30.6).

See the original (national) report here.

clearing out my reader

and sharing some neat links in the process. Something for everybody!

1. What is the world's most recycled product? You may be surprised.

2. An article about the wheels of change a-turnin' in China, and the Communist government's endgame set in motion.

3. Beautifully designed, naturally-inspired zipties. In concept, anyway.

4. EXPLOSIONS IN PANORAMA! A 360-rotatable panoramic video of the demolition of the old Texas Stadium.

5. Nature at its finest. It reminds one that the word 'awe' is meant to invoke both amazement and fear.

6. I WANT TO GO TO THERE. Smashing recyclable bottles for sport.

sustainability and innovation

This post from the former head of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau got me to thinking.

The problem with the sustainability movement in general for so long has been that people dissociate sustainability from innovation as two separate things. The thing is, they're not separate. The first windmills? Innovative. Solar panels? Ditto. Bloom boxes? Holy WOW, innovative. PLA and PHA vegetable-based "plastics"? See what I'm getting at here? The separation of sustainability from innovation is a diminutive act, and steals from the credibility of the movement. Conservation is about using less, yes, but about using less through innovative thought and creative action.

.......

So. nerdy.

Han Solo in carbonite. Envisioned as soap.

WANT.

spring type break!

Hiatus!!'d!

Yes we can.

really satisfying message of the day, from my Mom's old friend, who's a school crossing guard. apparently, she went to work and this had been anonymously posted.


look closer...

thanks for the reminder.