tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124110812012-01-20T07:27:35.949-05:00Lengthy for posts which are more essay than linklist. Organic for both ecology and structure. Vivid for future possibilities (not descriptions). Expressionism because. In which topics of sustainability, science, politics, and why we are the way we are are explored.Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.comBlogger731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-50089795324288642282012-01-20T07:27:00.003-05:002012-01-20T07:27:35.956-05:00

We’re supposed to blog about Brazil (or rather, about our thoughts and experiences connected to it), for later programatic analysis by industrial engineers. I’m going to do that here, I’m not going to start a new blog, and this can serve as a good marker for the first Brazilian post. (Thought I’m not yet in Brazil. Reports of my departure have been greatly exaggerated). It’s getting to that

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-29525861353427559402012-01-17T01:07:00.002-05:002012-01-17T01:07:50.980-05:00

There are a lot of frameworks for improving things out there - organizations, frameworks, networks. I’ve looked at a lot of them over the years (many are mentioned in this post), but I am increasingly convinced that the one I stand behind the most is Transition. We have an instance of it in Pgh, nominally a hub to help initiate, nurture, and connect more neighborhood-scale instances of Transition

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-22449827304938543062011-11-07T20:48:00.000-05:002011-11-07T20:48:09.483-05:00

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a proposal to build an international pipeline to bring petroleum from Alberta’s bituminous oil deposits to Oklahoma, where it can go on to refineries in Texas. And the media, of late, has been harping on what everyone seems to see as a giant dilemma for Obama, who is required (at least superficially, and by his own action actively) to approve the proposal

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-79221222320572829522011-09-18T13:42:00.000-04:002011-09-18T13:42:36.995-04:00

It would be fair to say that I didn’t expect the last few days. After all, I spent them at a conference for an organization I learned about on Monday, and am now helping with digital community development. That organization is GLUE - the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (and one of the best acronyms I’ve run into in a while). This is a group of (generally younger) people interested in sharing ideas to

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-10532542055872905362011-05-09T12:19:00.000-04:002011-05-09T12:19:14.175-04:00

While May the 4th is Star Wars day and May 5th is Cinco de Mayo, today felt like a Doom day, at least when the well written articles I found were all very Doom oriented. So, on the announcement of ‘Doom articles till 2’, these three: Ukraine is looking at tapping their shale gas reserves. The Transition could be pretty awful, and we have no real backup plan. Crop yields decline with global

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-28441800319004022512011-03-08T19:53:00.000-05:002011-03-08T19:53:58.077-05:00

Gov. Corbett released his 2012 budget today. As expected, it shows cuts, with particularly large ones in education. His speech is available here, and it contains some excellent quotes, particularly in the light of sustainable economics. We need to do the hard cutting so the tree can once again bear fruit. And that fruit is jobs.Ah! So by that logic, government creates jobs, and we need to... cut

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-39843360689038446362011-02-19T13:45:00.001-05:002011-02-19T13:45:52.058-05:00

(I realize that a lot of what I post on here is Open Letters - most of my other writing time goes into environmental sites like PittEnvironmental) If you aren't outraged at the current spending bill that passed the House, you aren't paying attention. For PA folks, Toomey's address in DC is: B-40B Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Toomey: I am a Pennsylvania

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-25713709899866228272010-11-29T21:10:00.000-05:002010-11-29T21:10:19.807-05:00

Dad: I am writing this before I call to tell you the same information - so by the time you read this it will no longer be a surprise. But the point of this card is not so much to inform as to capture the moment, so it can be put on the mantle and eventually into a box for my kids to uncover years down the road. Your point about the impermanence of emails (and phone conversations) is well made.

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-88803385718264179232010-11-12T01:36:00.002-05:002010-11-12T02:00:35.091-05:00

The Internet (as distinct from the internet) does some pretty amazing things. It is impressive how real so much of it is, with all that media focuses on anonymity and avatars - that people engage and connect with so many more people in so many more revealing ways than we do with strangers we pass by on the street. There's self-selection there, like knowing that people with the same color shirts

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-85003634941714338862010-09-01T15:35:00.001-04:002010-09-01T15:36:19.449-04:00

Dear the UHC: Yea, it sucks that I'm not getting funding. But really, it's the reason why that bugs me. If it was 'our resources are strapped because of the recession, sorry', fine. Heck, if it was 'sorry, other people have already used up our allotted money in this area', sure, I didn't get there till the first week of the semester. But this, really? However, I am in the process of shifting a

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-50118984923156555352010-08-14T23:54:00.000-04:002010-08-14T23:54:36.986-04:00

Starting Point: Bennington, VT Ending Point: Augusta, ME General Mood: Fascination tailing to boredom as we drove onwards through Maine GPS Usage: Woodchuck factory, general path to MaineGPS Fails: 2 (One getting out of rural VT, one finding hotels) Lunch: Handmade french bread, homemade goat and cow cheese (hard goat and creamy cow), organic local cherry tomatoes Stumbled upon: Revolutionary

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-50727240265906403412010-08-14T23:46:00.001-04:002010-08-14T23:54:56.598-04:00

Starting Point: Montreal, Q Ending Point: Bennington, VT General Mood: Impressed by Montreal Cities which sound similar but are in fact on opposite ends of a rather long state: Bennington and Burlington. GPS Usage: Getting to the night's lodging Facetious trip plans: Leaving Kyle behind in favor of a polar bear. Corny video award: Notre Dame de Montreal's light show (very interesting

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-55754174679615075922010-08-13T00:53:00.001-04:002010-08-14T23:55:14.361-04:00

Starting Point: Pulaski, NY Ending Point: Montreal, Q (is this the right abbreviation?) General Mood: Annoyed and/or excited by the overwhelming amount of French around us Collective hours of in-car naptime:Mikaela: 7Amy: 5Kyle: 4Alex: 0 Inaptly named towns: Newton's Falls, in which neither Newton nor any Falls are visible and/or accessible. GPS Usage: Ensuring that we were, in fact, not going

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-67370248328570633852010-08-11T21:45:00.002-04:002010-08-12T08:14:37.872-04:00

Starting Point: Mission Meadows Camp, NY Ending Point: Pulaski, NY General Mood: Tired Collective hours of in-car naptime:Mikaela: 5Amy: 4Kyle: 2Alex: 0 Amusements: French and British couples, folks by the (road-side) hotel pool Irritations: Small hotel bathrooms. GPS Usage: Duff's Facetious trip plans: Taking free couch back to Pittsburgh by towing it behind the car. Possibly with Kyle riding

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-72732559535843710992010-08-10T22:53:00.001-04:002010-08-10T22:54:04.922-04:00

Starting Point: Pittsburgh, PA Ending Point: Mission Meadows Camp, NY General Mood: Excited with anticipation Irritations: Continual unnecessary blocked off lanes for invisible construction, terrible road conditions immediately upon entering NY GPS Usage: None Facetious trip plans: Invading Austria, followed by Hungary Notable moments: Fantastic sunset over Chautauqua Lake, giant ice cream

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-2580152518471237502010-06-02T22:26:00.004-04:002010-06-02T23:25:30.249-04:00

So I like G. Wave. A lot. Enough that I feel like I'm starting to sound like a marketing person at points. I've been with it since the beginning, when you wrote poems in an application to be in the Alpha. And I think it's Interesting. Enough to write a blog post about it, clearly. It should be noted that while I don't follow the social media and Web 2.0 world all that closely, I am a junkie for

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-85170041696534060542010-05-12T17:16:00.002-04:002010-05-12T17:19:08.824-04:00

A thought:Maybe we need far fewer events focused on sustainability and environmentalism, and far more events with sustainability and environmental pieces. Maybe we need to get better at sharing. (Information, ideas, events, websites, etc.)

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-72392028488491135682010-05-12T14:51:00.002-04:002010-05-12T15:05:15.627-04:00

(Continuing catching up on things I should blog about)TEDxUniPittsburgh (Moving more and more away from University and towards 'one', which is nice) had its second event this past Saturday at the Entertainment Technology Center (full event overview here). It was a pretty great time - starting with balance and movement with Attack Theatre, filled with lots of robots, and finishing with a one-act

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-83984549537795630482010-05-12T14:06:00.002-04:002010-05-12T14:48:58.642-04:00

So I was fortunate enough to end up at the United Nations' 18th Commission on Sustainable Development - a week and a half long event which brings together delegates, various for and non profit organizations, and a variety of other people to talk about, make speeches about, and theoretically make progress on, a variety of sustainable development issues (in this case, mining, waste management, and

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-82487339099682655112010-02-01T17:56:00.003-05:002010-02-01T18:01:26.379-05:00

Dear Senator Specter:I am a first year IGERT Fellow (PhD) at the University of Pittsburgh. I am writing to you today to ask you to support the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Acts. Our economy is in trouble, and there are those who will say that passing environmental legislation will do nothing but harm it. They are wrong - our environment, which has supported us for thousands of years, is

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-83691458253683210292009-11-18T23:22:00.002-05:002009-11-18T23:38:44.513-05:00

So Wikipedia is having a fundraising drive. And I donated my $15, and here's why:I have been thinking a lot about values systems in the last few months (I'm giving a talk at TEDxUniPittsburgh on their application in sustainability). And that leads to looking directly at how I would like the world to work. And I think that the internet in particular fits best with essentially a donation economy -

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-49528064249835505602009-11-16T18:35:00.004-05:002009-11-16T19:12:36.669-05:00

So this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the first 60% of TEDxLeadershipPittsburgh, a fantastically organized event with 45 live speakers, 134 total attendees, and a whole pile of interesting stuff. I was invited due to organizing my own TEDx event on December 5th on Pitt's campus, which you can look at here. One of their methods of getting people to connect was to have everyone

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-34625883275676105782009-09-27T11:25:00.005-04:002009-09-27T11:35:02.583-04:00

@PGHJohn: I think we disagree on some basic assumptions. This is fine (good, even - hooray for discussion!), I just want to point out where they are. 1. 'If you have so much as one person acting inappropriately, it falls on the police to take care of the situation'. I'll assume inappropriately here means chanting, throwing things, breaking things, or other violence. In that case I agree - the

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-64483944179310631132009-09-26T12:25:00.002-04:002009-09-26T14:22:59.650-04:00

So yesterday, I wrote about students and protesters and misguided ideas. But what happened last night in Oakland (Friday Night) bears mentioning. (This paragraph is inference - corrections are welcome.) Friday night, a set of students gathered on Schenley Plaza. They were brought there around 10pm by word of mouth and posters around campus (more on those later). The exact events should be written

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-51681713982726688012009-09-25T01:43:00.003-04:002009-09-25T02:18:52.087-04:00

So today, some people walked from Oakland to Pittsburgh to raise awareness about freeing Tibet.So today, some people tried to walk from Lawrenceville to Pittsburgh to fight the essence of global capitalism which they see the G20 summit representing. Some windows were broken, the group was broken up about 20 blocks from their goal by tear gas and noise weapons. So today, some people stood by a set

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-87230196811921031572009-08-11T08:49:00.002-04:002009-08-11T09:15:13.888-04:00

First and foremost, I think we should discuss and debate it. Not with individual anecdotes or meaningless statistics, but on ideas. I realize this is impossible. I'd settle for factual accuracy and less yelling. It's unfortunate that Senators can't use internet-speak and ask people to RTFA. Where I stand is (I suppose) a fairly radical position. But from where I'm looking, the system looks broken

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-7619043864740816762009-05-29T23:18:00.002-04:002009-05-29T23:38:58.225-04:00

Coming into New Orleans, the only real sign of difference is the amount of water you cross - the 15 miles you spend on bridges or causeway. Other than that, it looks standard - skyscrapers, sports arena, multilaned roads going one way in the wrong direction that take years to learn. It's later, when you're checked in and walking into the core that the differences begin to show up. It's the black

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-15953966932522637852009-05-29T12:34:00.002-04:002009-05-29T12:43:42.143-04:00

So. I'm back from a month of road trip. And it's one of those things that should be written about, at least a little bit in public. The primary pieces here are the Portraits of various cities, and something with various national parks. The reasons I started doing this have more to do with impulsiveness and it being a classically romanticized thing to do at this time in life. The reasons I came up

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1983964614690911282009-04-07T13:38:00.002-04:002009-04-07T15:28:55.870-04:00

Or, in other terms, design for long lifetime with some other factors built in. Heirloom design is based around designing products that can become heirlooms. That is, they last for a long time, perhaps at least 30 years, are possible to hand down to your children, and gain real personal value. It fits nicely with ideas about owning better stuff for longer, and owning less stuff that is more useful

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-31589226879149578872009-04-05T20:55:00.003-04:002009-04-07T15:30:19.293-04:00

So on the Pitt Environmental Forums, someone posted a question about living with people who are not so into the sustainability/environmental schtick:So my roommates, and best friends, hate the environment. I tend to like the environment a lot. One of our issues is that we try to recyle, although most of the recyclables tend to be their stuff. Is it my responsibility to recycle even though it's

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-83878005511635432052009-03-31T15:37:00.003-04:002009-03-31T16:12:01.681-04:00

While MIT's idea for big batteries makes me scratch my head, another published result (still far from commercial) on much smaller Li batters is very interesting. The analysis in SEED is well written, but a bit technical. The basis of it is that they have developed Li-ion batteries that have an amazing charge discharge rate, while maintaining the excellent power density due to the lightweight Li

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-55667096610317855102009-03-31T13:57:00.003-04:002009-03-31T14:09:08.549-04:00

Scientists at MIT have released preliminary (read: at least 5 years from useful) concepts for a large capacity energy storage system that relies on liquid metals. Yes, that's right, liquid metal - and not low melting point things. Try 500ºC fluids. Their current problems include finding a cheap way to get and keep the battery at that temperature. Oh, really?Don't get me wrong - there is a need

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-82667557417584790652009-03-31T13:00:00.002-04:002009-03-31T13:25:57.998-04:00

Greenpeace today released the 11th version of their "Guide to Greener Electronics," which ranks electronics manufacturers, from consoles to computers to TVs to cell phones, on three main criteria. These are Toxic chemicals, E-Waste, and Corporate Energy Responsibility. Greenpeace has a good idea - and they're nutty enough to not skimp on harshness in their standards. Two critiques of it, though:-

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-17444076953144514512009-03-30T12:45:00.004-04:002009-04-07T15:29:44.064-04:00

There's been a lot of hullabaloo lately in both the blogosphere and (less so) in the mainstream about Freeman Dyson's 'skepticism' about climate change. He has an excellent article here. Let's get some things straight:Dyson is not denying climate change. Rather, he agrees quite easily that the climate is changing, and that what people disagree on is why and how much (both valid questions).Dyson

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-21979870083703408652009-03-28T09:41:00.002-04:002009-04-07T15:29:35.315-04:00

In an article (post? I'll mention this in a minute) on the NYT's 'green' blog, it highlights in about 4 paragraphs why I love sustainability and am only passe on climate change research.First, climate change is polarized, beyond almost any other scientific topic out there (even evolution is only really criticized in the form of curricula, and only then by loony fundamentalists). Sustainability

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-24505855706762619292009-03-25T23:34:00.004-04:002009-03-26T00:33:37.072-04:00

So The Questionable Authority has an excellent article on fisheries and congressional testimony and TV. Fisheries are, in my opinion, one of the best (worst) examples of unsustainable thinking, and places where we actually could wipe out species shortly (in addition to those we already have). To quote (emphasis mine):Those issues aren't sexy. They don't have the raw human appeal that you get

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-90800172111564573892009-03-25T22:42:00.004-04:002009-03-25T23:38:16.704-04:00

(Imagine a powerpoint behind me, maybe)So the first thing that is important is that the planet is in crisis. Wait, cancel that. The planet will be fine. Life on the planet is in crisis. Particularly the future of human life. And we know that in some sense we will all cease to be here, but currently that date is being moved up every day. It's almost at the point where we could contemplate it.

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-24391555662830772102009-03-02T14:21:00.002-05:002009-04-07T15:29:05.384-04:00

Two terms that have become quite popular recently (at least on TreeHugger) are downcycling and upcycling.Downcycling is the act of recycling or reusing something in a way that gives it lower energy, lower value, and lower reuseability or recyclability. Cases in point: plastics recycling, because of the difficulty of separating and refining the polymers, will often combine plastics with others and

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-77932069774656295182009-02-25T19:22:00.002-05:002009-02-25T19:25:49.424-05:00

Past titles:Einstein to Everything (a bit pretentious - I was 13, forgive me)The Ranting Swede (a joke at Kyle, but a bit angrier than this really is (or wants to be)Current title:Lengthy Organic Vivid Expressionism - one of those phrases I wrote a long time ago that I come across and rather like. Also fits a theoretical criterion (using words like this reminds me that I read too much science) of

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-48531776245914159832009-02-25T18:53:00.003-05:002009-02-25T19:17:41.292-05:00

Last night, I had the pleasure of going to an event jointly sponsered by the Honors College and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the future of Journalism, with a bit about democracy. The panel included online editors, bloggers, professors, theorists, and businesspeople (total people on panel: 4). It was pretty fascinating. One of the panelists, Meg Martin, spoke about the need for change in

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-75482531708746453732009-02-24T17:10:00.002-05:002009-02-24T17:38:51.818-05:00

So, returning to this set, I think I've built enough of a framework to be satisfied. As a bonus, hopefully this will make my writing less parenthetical, as I feel that I talk that way to add extra explanations to things.So, we are in a crisis, with three main avenues: Adapt, Mitigate, or Reverse. The engineering take on attacking climate change is largely wrapped up in the IPAT equation, written

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-49806365957420080442009-02-12T14:07:00.002-05:002009-02-24T17:38:51.818-05:00

So, you correctly point out that to maintain our current culture, it is (probably) necessary to maintain the climate somewhere near where it is now. That is probably true. There are a few problems here, though.One of these is that, barring significant, effective, and non-side-effect-inducing (aka almost impossible) GeoEngineering and sequestration, we are looking at a temperature increase of 1.5-

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-70030114625834692142009-02-12T13:42:00.002-05:002009-02-12T14:05:11.528-05:00

So, in case you didn't know (because it's not in the Pitt news, and I doubt it's particularly on TV), it's Darwin's 200th birthday today! The Internet (or, in other terms, 'Science's habitat in an unwelcoming world') is quite aware of this - there are a variety of interesting articles up. This one, from the New York Times, has this intriguing quote:In a way, our peculiarly American failure to

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-42720838056960792222009-02-09T16:15:00.002-05:002009-02-24T17:47:54.418-05:00

So, after that list of facts, perhaps some comments on them. First is that I'm reading a set of books which I purchased a year or two ago, called Endgame, by Derrick Jensen. They are written by an anarcho-environmentalist (meaning someone who works without the assumption that we should keep any of our current civilization) who happens to have taught a bunch of college classes, have an engineering

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-89241953352155929672009-02-06T16:28:00.004-05:002009-02-24T17:47:54.418-05:00

So, in discussion with Amy about climate change and the lot, one of the basic results (or at least one of the results that is moderately independent) is that ecologists and engineers (assuming the two of us are decent examples of these two classes) would like to approach things rather differently. So, a series of posts looking at these two approaches seems like an interesting thing to do. Please

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-8693060564563429732009-01-27T12:57:00.002-05:002009-01-27T13:04:07.037-05:00

So, back to politics for a post or two: Who does this Obama character think he is? I mean, coming in and actually DOING something as president? Right away?What's worse, he's doing *useful* things. Like closing Gitmo, allowing California to increase their (and 16 other states, covering over half the vehicles) emissions standards, and mandating increases in federal fuel economy. The hell? This is,

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-21650111056422667832009-01-20T00:32:00.003-05:002009-02-24T17:47:54.418-05:00

So in sustainability (and some other fields, though it is particularly applicable here), we use the equation I = P*A*T as a framework for environmental Impact. Loosely, this is calculated by multiplying Population of an area, Activity or Affluence/person, and Technology, often treated as Impact/Activity. Simple example: The U.S. has ~300M people, we drive X miles per person/year, and the average

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-74414000785430142562008-12-04T00:40:00.003-05:002009-02-25T19:18:54.071-05:00

See, by means of explanation, this.

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-71356866089641523562008-10-27T14:09:00.003-04:002009-02-25T19:18:13.194-05:00

So, the guy I'm voting for for president is in Pittsburgh, at a halfway decent time, and I'm not going to see him. What gives?Well, first, I do have some other obligations. The sustainability project group I'm in charge of meets in the middle of when I'd need to be at the event, and I've canceled the last two meetings (one because of a fall break, one because of another environmental lecture).

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-58337013692046935772008-10-23T11:43:00.003-04:002008-10-23T11:48:57.414-04:00

Quick link-based post (because I can be a normal blogger too!)California has a proposition on the ballot this election, Proposition 8, which would amend the state's constitution to prohibit gay marriage. And currently, there is a worrisome amount of support for it - see this article. So, if you know anyone who would be voting in California (or just feel like spreading the word), go let them know

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-13820566429253376752008-10-15T14:07:00.002-04:002009-02-24T17:47:54.418-05:00

I play [probably too many] computer games - most of them partially or primarily puzzles. I like scavenger (or, to be terminologically correct, treasure) hunts, and creating them. And both of these have some sense that some of them are 'harder' than others. That term is really interesting when you look at it, mainly because there are a lot of ways for something to be hard - and some are more

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-10038266154203452342008-09-30T17:19:00.003-04:002008-09-30T17:31:35.794-04:00

So, the 6th of October is the final day in PA to register to vote. If you have not yet registered, take the 90 seconds now (I'll wait), go to your local street corner (or the Obama website, regardless of what party you are), and fill out a voter registration form for SOMEONE ELSE TO PAY TO SEND IN.Ok. Now that that's done with, mark your calendars for November 4th. And/or move out from under your

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-56415415444176883872008-09-30T16:54:00.002-04:002009-02-25T19:18:54.072-05:00

"Support our Troops: Bring them Home""I Support the Separation of Church and Hate""God Loves Everyone. No Exceptions" (surrounded by various religious symbols)"Just Vote" (Nike Swoosh)

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-53947197646647654462008-09-30T16:19:00.003-04:002008-09-30T16:54:20.289-04:00

Dear America:Going into the VP debate on Thursday between Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden, there has been much discussion on whether the Democratic candidate can avoid coming off as chauvinistic, condescending, or patronizing. Before I say more, let me note that I am both male, and that I would refer to myself as a feminist. That is, I believe that women should have the same

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-41603818485558911212008-07-01T04:19:00.002-04:002008-07-01T04:24:01.792-04:00

Statements to consider:1. We are about to step over the peak of oil production, which will drastically change everything2. New and improved technology will find new reserves of oil, so there's no need to worry3. Global warming means that we can't burn the oil reserves we have now anyway, so the previous two points are irrelevent.I think the most accurate of these statements as written is number

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-56553608123015805862008-06-11T17:13:00.000-04:002008-06-11T17:13:14.175-04:00

New Zealand faces power crisis amid drought | Environment | guardian.co.ukNew Zealand produces ~55% of its energy from hydro and wind power, with the majority of that being hydro, and another 11% from geothermal and biomass - they're very good in terms of a renewable power grid. However, currently they're in a drought, so the hydro power is looking shaky unless they get some serious rain soon.

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-87210423063342823482008-05-09T03:56:00.002-04:002008-05-09T04:13:05.242-04:00

In response to my own letter, here are things I frequently complain about and what I'm doing to fix them.Item 1: Spaceship Earth.As anyone who talks to me will tell you, I am always blathering on about sustainability, green this, not-green that, random variants on this, etc.What I'm doing:I only use CFLs in lights that I own, and I keep looking for easily usable LED based lights.I'm limiting beef

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-58563066456014219502008-05-06T14:54:00.003-04:002008-05-06T15:00:44.582-04:00

Dear Generation:We are products of a lot of things, most notably the internet. We are in a time of critical importance (and that may be more than the standard genocentricity). We may be one of the most prolific generations in a long time - again, the internet. We're really damn good at yelling about things forever. Please stop yelling about things if you're not going to actually do anything.

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-2335159234899446422008-04-25T22:48:00.003-04:002009-02-25T19:18:54.072-05:00

This falls under the category of interesting internet memes and cultural literacy (which most dont). Books that I've read are bolded, books not finished in italics. Books I've been meaning to read (i.e. added to the list for the next two months) have a building number behind them. Taken from Stranger Fruit (who got it from a long chain - the connection in the blogosphere is visible here)Jonathan

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-49781549130641818992008-04-22T22:27:00.000-04:002008-04-22T22:27:08.189-04:00

Sciencedebate 2008Support this. Its Important.What it is: A group of leading scientific groups, together with universities and many many people, coming together to support a debate among presidential candidates on purely scientific issues - which are intertwined with many of the problems/upcoming problems facing the nation, among them sustainability and where we're going to get energy. Also

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-14249486893015145462008-04-16T15:13:00.001-04:002008-04-16T15:14:12.573-04:00

So I saw an article on how young professional women are wavering between Obama and Clinton - and in my opinion, none of them gives a particularly compelling reason for why they came back to Clinton, but this one in particular caught my eye:Clinton's Female Base Wavers ahead of Pa. Primary : NPR: "'I read the quote in the newspaper. My first reaction was, 'Wow.' I can't believe that he actually

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-25608918439382939032008-04-16T00:55:00.000-04:002008-04-16T00:55:13.623-04:00

Global warming rage lets global hunger grow - Telegraph As the U.S. diverts more and more corn to the (highly inefficient) production of ethanol, less and less is available for exports. Unfortunately politicians and the general public seem to have caught ethanol as the solution to petroleum fuels - which it is not, at least not from corn (Brazil uses sugarcane, which is better). That efficiency

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-87931976433557778332008-01-04T02:18:00.000-05:002008-01-04T02:34:41.003-05:00

My position on global warming: I believe its happening, and I believe the human race is the cause of it. My favorite evidence:There are a lot of charts showing various levels of gases like CO2, and other charts showing temperatures. Many of these go back for a long time (like millions of years). Recently, they show a very large, very out-of-normal cycles peak. I won't argue that we are not in the

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-35889094140049008862007-10-19T14:02:00.000-04:002009-02-25T19:18:54.073-05:00

So, some statements on SCIENCE.On energy and the world:It is agreed upon by most scientifically literate people that global warming is both real and largely caused by human influence (it is agreed upon by most people that global warming exists - its the cause that gets tricky). In accordance with this, we should be focusing on lowering our carbon output - the majority of which is produced by

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-82200495792154816162007-07-31T03:28:00.001-04:002007-07-31T03:28:45.763-04:00

1. Do girls expect to be flirted with all the time?2. Are guys allowed to change their mind about a girl, or is there always the mindset that he's made a compromise?3. Which gender limits the existance of non-sexual snuggling/sleeping together?4. Is there such a concept as being insecure about femininity, and where does it manifest?5. Is being ugly the ultimate curse?6. Is the way guys and girls

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-3350649747953617552007-05-17T01:47:00.000-04:002007-05-17T02:03:28.920-04:00

I will freely admit that I am a geek. However, by and large, i am fairly wary of gadgets. I like having a good computer (otherwise it'll blow up on me, i push the things hard), and i need some sort of cell phone (but i dont need much beyond calls, texts, and a camera feels nice even though i never send pictures). I got an iPod after much debate with myself over whether this was a good idea (and i

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-85138422107650750272006-11-23T03:01:00.000-05:002006-11-23T03:19:55.918-05:00

How much of todays capitalism is named after music from the 60's that we know nothing about? How much of the world has a completely different look to someone who didn't grow up in the last 10 years?It has changed the way we think. The names of places and cliches - Ruby Tuesday's, Don't Worry Be Happy, Manic Monday - all stem from music i haven't heard or heard referenced. The names now stand

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1161831941510504732006-10-25T21:15:00.000-04:002006-11-15T14:07:48.644-05:00

Theres this list of 'hot-button' issues or whatever the technical term is. Amusingly, or perhaps just interestingly, most of them have nothing to do with economic policy or foreign policy, arguably the biggest purposes of government in a country, and instead have everything to do with whose morals are in charge on topics like abortion, stem-cells and evolution (morally guided 'science'? i'll not

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1161284069184295882006-10-19T14:44:00.000-04:002006-11-15T14:07:48.553-05:00

Elected Royalty would seem to be an oxymoron. But thats what's happening outside my window. There are dozens of people in costumes - superheros and animals and candy - and its still more than a week to halloween. Hundreds of dollars have gone into the free bribes that they all hand out. And for what? So that we will elect their person over the other 8 near-identical candidates. Do you want the

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1160599023663201642006-10-11T16:16:00.000-04:002006-11-15T14:07:48.451-05:00

Pick a location. Pick a desk, a bus, a stadium. Take a breath. Take a look around. Look at all the people just out of it, passing through Now in favor of something else. The students waiting for the parties, the adults waiting for TV, the sports fans waiting for the next game. I cant decide whether we've lost something, or just havent found it yet at all. I believe the politicians dont know

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1152721339567337452006-07-12T12:18:00.000-04:002006-11-15T14:07:48.365-05:00

The creator of Space Ship One gives NASA a piece of his mind.An appearance at the NSS convention -2005So bloody accurate, scary, and hopefully motivating. Support for those of us who want to see things happen in this so called 'space age.'

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1148501149391790592006-05-24T15:51:00.000-04:002006-11-15T14:07:48.258-05:00

On this issue of net neutrality... i think i've figured out where i stand (or rather, the action that i think should be taken). I like the idea of having everyone be equal, that all sites should load based on the fiber in the ground and not on how much they pay the owners of those wires. Specifically, i dont want to see Google and Yahoo get into a bidding war and lose massive amounts of funds

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12411081.post-1147400494256685702006-05-11T22:08:00.000-04:002006-11-15T14:07:48.177-05:00

well now. it appears i do have one of these things, contrary to what i told my aunt. though i think i created it to comment somewhere. i think i technically have a xanga too. *shrug*. i could write more and make everyone chase all over the place. it could be interesting.this was a comment to someone. and its still to them. but its evolved. as such organic things are apt to do.this is much later

Alex Dalehttps://profiles.google.com/115436746415930437551noreply@blogger.com2