Hangin High with Oil

Hanging Climate Change out to DRY!
This topic has been swirling around my mind like my socks on Sunday wash day. I first picked up this topic a couple of months back with a report in the NYTimes about a guy who was fighting against neighborhood planning commissions over the right to hang up laundry in ones back yard. Finally, with the help of TreeHugger, I have the article in which to formulate my thoughts!

One of my most vivid childhood memories is that of helping my mom hang up the laundry on the clothes line in the back yard. Five lines were strung between two T poles at either end of the yard and nearly our entire weeks worth of wash could fit on the line at the same time. I can still smell the clothes line smell of the fresh air that dried the clothes. I will admit that I HATED having my jeans dried on the line, but that is but a small inconvenience. The only items that were dried were the personal items (socks and underwear) or when the temperature was to crappy in which to utilize the line.

Electric clothes dryers using between 5-10% of residential electricity each year and the benefits of hanging clothes outside clearly outweigh the negatives. First and foremost, the weather for nearly all of the US is ideal for hanging clothes whether in the summer or in winter. There are locations in which the temperature is below freezing for much of the winter and its nearly impossible to hang clothes outside during this time. But if you hang clothes indoor during the winter, it can act as a humidifier for the dry air in the home. Plus, clothes last longer, sunlight is a natural disinfectant, and the smell is something that no chemical can beat! Best of all...its FREE, minus the small purchase of a piece of rope, or a drying rack for the indoors!

I am flabbergasted to find that many community organizations ban the presence of a clotheslines from a persons private property. It is hard to believe that anyone would be opposed to something that is so environmentally friendly and easy to do. It screams comfy down home American neighborhood, yet, many developments ban such lines and fine homeowners if they are found to have a clothes line. I think, with the current downturn in the economy, that these communities would be more willing to allow clotheslines, they are defiantly more appealing than row after row of For Sale signs that dot the landscape now.

High Oil
I really should just stop writing about high oil prices, since everyone else seems to be writing about it now as well. So, unless oil tops $110 (US) or is something interesting that I feel I should pass along, oil is officially dead in this blog. I am tired of the media feeding the speculation, which has driven prices higher. In a way, I am for higher prices for fuel, as I am ashamed at how wasteful our society has become on the cheap fuel that we have become addicted to. But when the fundamentals of supply and demand no longer dictate the price of a particular item, I just don't buy it. This weeks EIA report shows that US stocks of oil rose for the eighth straight week and gasoline inventories are at least 8% higher than the running 5 year average. This doesn't have as big of an impact on gas prices as one would hope as oil is running $40 (US) higher than a year ago and the drastic increase in the price of oil is just now really starting to be pushed onto the consumer. Diesel fuel is at an all time high and gas prices will soon follow suit. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of months. We, can for the sake of our pocketbooks, hope that the Fed doesn't decide to lower interest rates any more and investors pull profits and oil prices recede some. But don't hold your breath on that, it is oil by the way, and no matter how high it goes, we're all still sucking it down like a fine bottle of whine!
Cheers

If the Price is right...

Blingin Plates
There was a song, I believe by Nelly awhile back that had the line in the chorus "What does it take to be #1?..." In the United Arab Emirates it takes approximately $14.3 Million (US). This is what an individual paid for the license plate with the single digit "1" in a recent action in the UAE. The explosion of the car culture in the the booming cities along the Persian Gulf has made obtaining a "vanity plate" of some significance an important task among some of the richest sheiks in the land. The normal UAE plate has 5 random characters on the plate, and as the number of characters drop, the "value" of the plate increases. Special plates with repeating digits such as 11 or 22 are also highly prized.

According to GT Spirtit, (mentioned to me by mewalt), the individual that purchased the 1 plate also purchased 100, 5, and 7, making it one, if not the, most expensive license plate collection in the world. But remember, all of this money goes to charity. In this case, it goes to a charity set up for individuals hit by motor vehicles...

Jamaica River Dying
It is humbling day by day when you look at all of the news that comes out about the impacts humans have had on the natural environment. We lose not only the biodiversity and inherent beauty of nature, but more and more we lose a cultural bound that revolved around those certain species. Many use the example of indigenous tribes in the arctic that depend on seals and whales for sources of calories and the social and cultural implications. But its not the only place in which these impacts can be felt.

The locals in the Rio Grande Valley in Jamaica have been harvesting and preparing local river shrimp (janga) for hundreds of years. The old "primitive" means of gathering the shrimp are forgone for a simpler and "easier" method of using poisons or dynamite. It demonstrates the power of money when individuals will dump known toxins into the ecosystem to make a quick buck. Luckily though, many locals are starting to protest such practices and the government has made it a crime to perform these acts.

The total impact of the toxins is unknown, but many say that there has been adverse affects on the local ecosystem, in particular the janga. The quote that drives home what I want people to think about is “To think that children some generations down the road will have no idea what a janga or a crayfish looks like. ...” How very true; how many other species around the world are sharing this fate?

Caribs
Some good news to pass along on Dominica and their newest partner Venezuela. The Carib tribe, the indigenous people of the Caribbean occupy a portion of land on Dominica northeast side. The Caribs live below the standard of living of most people on the island due to segregation. They have been fighting for equal treatment and have made some gains recently.

Venezuela has pleged to provide $4.5 Million (US) to Dominica to help build homes and school for the Carib people. I have been critical of the Chavez administration and still much opposed to it, but I applaud (if it comes to fruition) the administration for pledging to support the tribe and I hope that, unlike many times in the past, many new homes and a wonderful school is built!

$100 Oil
Oil briefly popped back over a $100 today for the first time since early January. I'll post more on this tomorrow! Here we go again
Cheers!

Saturday Car Wash

Washed the car today for the first time I think since my car has been down in the 'Rouge.' It took up a better part of my day but she cleaned up pretty nice. I was out doing some photos and decided to do a little profile shot of her down in the south. Up next to a Louisiana Levee seemed fitting I thought.

I also cleaned the apartment because I was bored and needed some dishes for dinner.

I was searching around on blogspot today and found a good environmental blog with one of those titles that would make a great book. Come to find out its part of a title of a family living book. Nonetheless check it out, its got interesting articles (mostly mainstream) but are all interesting. Interesting posts and nice links to other good blogs.


I feel the need to find something to commemorate such a momentous week that we just finished up. OIL topped $100 a barrel for the first time ever on the Merc. So I was looking around earlier in the week and stumbled upon this site that was selling a commemorative barrel necklace to document the occasion, perhaps some "black bling" is in your future? Better hurry up, only 100 were made. Its an interesting design, but more disturbing than this "black bling" is that 1 person performed a trade of above $100, creating ripples across the market. It only cost him $600 to become the first to trade over $100, scary...