Transportation: what they want you to believe -- no, what you should believe
by Mojdeh Stoakley | Tue, 07/22/2008 - 01:43 | 1 Comment
In the early 20th century we had this incredible industrial revolution. It allowed us to stop being jacks-of-all-trades and truly focus on our niche skills. It also meant that everything was standardized and shipped off to places all over the world. This had been going on for many centuries, but not to this degree. As a society we became dependent on certain technologies to survive. Now, we’re so dependent that we often don’t wish to discuss the effects of those technologies on our lives and environment.
In today’s United States, which is filled with suburban sprawl, urban congestion, and severe separation in the rural areas. We face many problems which have forced us to become reliant on very specific ways of getting things done. We’ve become hooked on the tailpipe; you can’t get groceries in the countryside without driving into town. You must drive your kids to soccer practice in the suburbs because it’s much too long of a walk. And, the severe congestion of the city forces a constant influx of resources that need to be driven into the city and delivered.
At the very least, in recent years people have begun make serious changes in their daily actions. Between the inflation of gas prices and Al Gore’s infamous film, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ a new trend in environmentalism began. Many people have hybrid cars, some drive on ethanol, there’s talk about hydrogen cars, hell, ‘word on the street’ is that the sales of bikes have nearly doubled in the last few years.
Now, in an effort to continue the progression towards a lifestyle that is sustainable, making these choices is certainly a way to get closer to the final goal. But if you pay close enough attention and play everyone’s favorite Kindergarden game ‘one of these things does not belong’ you may start to realize only one of these options is actually carbon neutral.
Of course, as I talked about in my last blog, driving on bio-diesel/grease fuel this is the closest and most accessible way to drive with little to no negative emissions. But unless we all start sending love notes to Phoenix Motorcars – to open up the availability of the fully electric trucks and SUVs they manufacture – or get GM to bring back the EV1 (a fully electric car made by Saturn, that was discontinued) the only options we have left are only half as good.
Sure buying a Prius would be great. But Toyota’s pulled a fast one on you. You think you’re driving something innovative when truly you’re still buying into the oil market. Check out that mileage. If you’re going to drive on petroleum, will 30 to 50 miles per gallon really make a difference when you can get better mileage than that on bio-diesel or with a non-hybrid SmartCar? Even better, some VW diesel sedans have gotten better EPA ratings than the hybrid vehicles that are currently available. Instead we need to be writing letters to our car companies imploring them to bring back the electric vehicles we know that they know how to make (see the movie ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?”).
As far as Ethanol goes: If you don’t have the ability to change the car that you drive, but you have access to ethanol, by all means use it. But if you have the ability to make a change or make a choice, go diesel. Become aware of a local bio-diesel CoOp or truck stop that may be able to help you figure out your fuel. E85 is certainly a cleaner fuel than straight gas, however it diminishes mileage.
The big difficulty with Ethanol is that it’s made primarily from corn. Corn which is grown specifically to be turned into fuel. This is causing a food crisis on a level, which cannot be seen by all right now, but is on the fence of becoming painfully apparent. Which once again, is why I am such a fan of bio-diesel/veggie fuel – because it can be made out of waste grease, which means we grow it to be used for food purposes and then put that waste to good use.
Lastly, if you’re at your front door with your running shoes on waiting to run to the dealership to be the first driver of a hydrogen car. You might as well put a second mortgage on your house, sell your kids into some kind of slavery, and then sell your kidneys on the black market. Then -- and only then you may have a chance at affording the upkeep of this kind of driving fuel, enough said.
If you want to learn more about these things feel free to email me at biomoo@gmail.com, and feel free to come check out our events and talk to me www.lethalpoetry.com.
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My car smells like french fries, what does yours smell like?
by Mojdeh Stoakley | Sat, 07/19/2008 - 23:26 | Comments
Of course, I'm independently hardcore -- which means that I'll bike through rain. No, I'll bike through ridiculous downpours of death. I will arrive to my destination soaking wet, shake off like a dog that just finished paddling through a lake, and change my clothes, so that I can function again. However, I must say, not everyone appreciates receiving me this way. Furthermore, I'm a musician -- how do I go on tour via bike!?
As much as we all wish life could be as simple as getting rid of your car and biking or taking CTA everywhere, we live in a city that has pockets without sufficient public transportation, people who have to drive to do their work (not just drive to work), and those who need to go very long distances in a day on their own schedule, not the CTAs.
What do we do then? Well, we drive.
Every time I load up a vehicle to go to a show, I wonder how many people have gotten into their car that day. How many people got into their car to make deliveries for their business? How many got in their car to travel accross country? How many went back to their homes in the suburbs where the Metra doesn't stop? How many?
Almost two years ago, someone mentioned that a friend of theirs was driving a car on veggie oil. A first, I didn't believe her and I promptly challenged this notion as I normally do. I whipped out my laptop that night and started a most dedicated google search. My goal? To prove that this could not be done!
But sure enough, eight web pages later and two articles about Willie Nelson, and I was instead now salivating at the idea of a car that made me hungry every time I drove, because I used grease that previously had fried onion rings. Through further research I found out that not only is this possible, the original diesel engine's were built to run on peanut oil -- and they haven't changed much since. The big difference is that the hoses are very tiny, and since petroleum fuel combusts (sets to fire) at a much lower temperature, the system is adjusted for this. So you just have to chemically or physically heat up veggie oil before it goes into the engine, and you're good to go.
The only thing you have to do to turn any diesel car into a green car is choose the cleaner fuel option. If you don't understand or don't want to make any changes to your car, then just roll up to a bio-diesel pump or become a part of the northern Illinois biodiesel Co-Op and get your fuel that way. If you're willing to take the big plunge, then go to greasecar.com look up your model car and buy a conversion kit. Then all you have to do is become good friends with your nearby restaurants and take thier fuel, lightly filter it and dump it in your car -- free fuel.
Take it from me, I've gone the distance. I purchased a 1985 Mercedes 300D to test all of this out. I saved more money in one year of owning the car and running it on cleaner fuel then I would have if someone had given me a gas car that was efficient in miles per gallon.
I named my car 'biomoo' -- the plan was to add black spots to the white Mercedes. And now that I've sold her, I miss her much.
But soon there will be another day because we will have a newer, bigger, more tour appropriate diesel vehicle -- and we'll go on veggie-powered tours. I can't wait.
If you're interested in learning more. I am certainly happy to help. Email me at biomoo@gmail.com, just make sure your subject reads "teach me biodiesel." If you're interested in keeping up with other things Mojdeh, check out www.lethalpoetry.com.
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Co-Op America’s lists to being a smarter consumer
by Mojdeh Stoakley | Sat, 07/19/2008 - 22:48 | Comments
5 Things you should always buy green:
1. Paint: Look for low or NO-voc paint
2. Paper: Paper products with high post-consumer recycled content
3. Light bulbs: compact fluorescents
4. Appliances: Look for the Energy Star label
5. Fruits and Vegetables: Look for organic, local and in-season produce
10 of the Worst Corporate Criminals to Avoid:
1. Wal-Mart
2. Exxon Mobil
3. Coca Cola
4. Nestle
5. Monsanto
6. Sears Roebuck
7. Dominion
8. Citigroup
9. Sara Lee
10. McDonalds
Find out why these corporations are bad, visit http://www.coopamerica.org. Click on 'Responsible Shopper.'
10 Fair Trade Products to Look for in the Grocery Store:
1. Tea
2. Chocolate
3. Bananas
4. Sugar
5. Rice
6. Vanilla
7. Spices
8. Wine
9. Olive Oil
10. Coffee
10 Things You Should Never Buy Again:
1. Styrofoam cups
2. Paper Towels (I know it’s hard, so just start by minimizing usage!)
3. Bleached coffee filters
4. Teak & Mahogany Woods
5. Chemical pesticides & herbicides
6. Conventional household cleaners
7. Toys made with PVC plastic
8. Plastic forks and spoons
9. Farm-raised salmon
10. Raayon
To find out why visit http://coopamerica.org, click on 'unshopping'
8 Body Care Toxins to Avoid:
1. Mercury - also avoid the mercury preservative “thimerosal”
2. Lead - listed as “lead acetate”
3. Nanoparticles
4. Placenta
5. Hydroquinone skin lightener
6. Phthalates
7. Petroleum by-products ex. 1,4-dioxane
8. Fragrance
If you want to know more about any of these lists, visit http://www.coopamerica.org.
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Beware the electric car, only because the source of that electricity could be a coal-powered power plant. The difference in the so-called carbon footprint might be less (I'm not sure of the math on it) compared to gasoline, but having your car smell like French fries due to used grease is probably better than having it run on coal.