http://pulltheskydown.com rants, ideas, and photos Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:50:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It's rare that people actually ask you why you're interested in sustainability. Probably, it's because the answer seems blindingly obvious - to help avert future doom and gloom. While that's almost certainly the real, fundamental answer, when it comes to the day to day motivation behind my work, there's more ... http://pulltheskydown.com/rants/414 Laos is the most isolated country in Southeast Asia, a slash of thick forests, jagged mountains, and snaking rivers that cuts through the heart of the region. Until relatively recently, road access to other countries was virtually impossible, and the flow of people, goods, and information was along the Mekong ... http://pulltheskydown.com/ideas/401 I couldn't have made this story up if I wanted to. While hydrogen was once the poster-child for the sustainable economy, now that the true magnitude of the costs and challenges associated with bringing it to fruition became apparent, it has largely been left in the dust by batteries. However, there ... http://pulltheskydown.com/ideas/399 Before last summer, I disliked cycling. Then I actually started commuting to work - from my first place, it was an easy 9 km round trip, mostly on bike lanes. My next move bumped my commute up to 12 km, and I actually enjoyed spending a bit more time on ... http://pulltheskydown.com/rants/396 As champions of all that is good and right in the world these days, it seems the EU can do no wrong. From social welfare, to progressive environmental policy, to animal rights, time and again those Europeans make us North Americans look like the dirty, ignorant provincials that we are. ... http://pulltheskydown.com/rants/376 So last night, for the first time in years, I went to a straight-up punk show at a Vancouver metal bar. Besides the predictable but entertaining power chords, the show was also the book launch for the latest from Gofuckyerself Press. Before the second act, the author went on stage ... http://pulltheskydown.com/rants/373 This is not a music blag, but it occasionally pretends to be about social justice, so I'm posting this song from Propagandhi's newest album on that pretext. [audio:http://propagandhi.com/wp-content/mp3/supporting_caste.mp3] When the credits finally roll for this, the worst story ever told, don’t bother sifting through the names for yours or anyone you know. Unless they were by ... http://pulltheskydown.com/ideas/366 Saw this over at Inhabitat: If you live in a city where plastic takeout containers are not recyclable, you may be feeling the same frustrations that we are. Those of us who can’t bear the thought of simply tossing the receptacles that hold our beloved chinese food, sushi, and wraps try ... http://pulltheskydown.com/rants/365 How do you monitor water pollution levels in harbours around the world in an affordable, non-invasive, thorough, and sustainable manner?  How about by using a robotic carp? Professor Huosheng Hu and his students at the University of Essex have developed a 150cm metal carp designed to patrol marine environments detecting pollution, ... http://pulltheskydown.com/ideas/364 From thestar.com "Authorities in Ohio say a man has been charged with drunken driving after crashing his motorized bar stool.  Police in Newark say when they responded to a report of a crash on March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a lawn mower.  ... http://pulltheskydown.com/news/363