So what kind of options do I get on a $25B car?

This just galls to me to no end...

$25 billion??!! Of your taxpayer dollars (as well as mine)??!! All because Detroit has only made crap cars and crappier SUVs for the past 2 decades, and now they want us to fund R&D they should have been doing all this time?

Then I read this and it became clear that this bailout was just the beginning. They're going to ask for more. So now what do GM, Ford, and Chrysler make? Do they make cars or loan agreements? I can't tell which so I'd love for someone to clear that up for me. I found this comment on the article and I had to post it here:

"Detroit's BIG 3 learned NOTHING from the gas crisis of the 70's and chose to ignore the warnings about a finite global oil supply. Then they had the nerve to build behemoth gas guzzlers for the last fifteen years and put on a media blitz to convince Americans that "bigger is better". Now the bottom has fallen out of their market and the same suckers who buy their low-quality output will be on the hook as they lobby to block fuel efficiency standards with taxpayers' money."

I couldn't agree with this more. If you want to do something about this, do yourself and everyone else a favor - drive them out of business.

It's a government-backed loan, so here's how we might be able to get our money back and clean up the environment in the process: buy a non-Big 3 car that is fuel efficient or even a hybrid if you're so inclined. Keep buying non-Big 3 cars afterwards. Short their stocks and drive the share prices to 0. We then have to liquidate their assets (and keep the dollars we recover from the asset sales - something tells me we can get $25B for the plants, equipment, and the loose cash), kick their gene pool algae managers to the curb, and then the only manufacturers of cars we can choose from are makers of fuel efficient cars that just might also make cars with zero or near-zero emissions.

And while we're at it, we might as well vote against every elected official who voted for this crap bill. Here's the Senators who voted for it and here are House Members.

There. Problem solved.

HTH!! HTH!! My Kingdom for some HTH!!

In case you weren't aware, folks throughout the Southeast have been experiencing gas shortages for the past week or so. We started hearing yesterday that shipments would start coming in to the area, over the next 48 hours or so through various sources. Then I read this.

Didn't sources already say that it would take 2 days to get supplies up? But that hasn't stopped the algae in the gene pool from making the situation FUBAR for everyone else. Here's an example:

"I want to get a full tank, so I went to one gas station, filled up -- got to the most I could get --and now I'm going to (another) one so I can top it off."

That's brilliant. I'm going to top off because I'm too stupid to realize that a trip to Raleigh from Charlotte will probably only use 8-10 gallons of gas. Wonderful. Here's an idea - try estimating how much you actually need before waiting in a line to get gas. Or better yet, stay at home!

I will probably end up working from home for the first few days of this coming week. I still have more than a quarter of a tank, and I usually wait until the fuel line comes on before I worry about it. We have 5 gas stations less than 5 miles away from our home, so it's not like it's exactly hard for us to get. Plus, I use public transit to go back and forth to work.

Public transit around here is under even more stress now because more people have been using it to deal with the gas shortages - on top of the recent gas price increases that have been lingering from the summer driving season. If only we had a way to increase the number of buses that we use to commute back and forth to Charlotte. If only someone would/could authorize the expenditure. Oh wait, someone can, but they won't. I'll leave it up to you to decide if we have gene pool algae sitting on our county council...

My wife, to her credit, tells me that I need to be more civil - to be more more diplomatic in addresing some of these issues. But it's hard for me to do. When you read quotes like the one above, watch county government officials think and act the way ours have, it takes a lot for me not to introduce some folks to what I affectionately call a "Home Depot moment." What does that mean? It means my first reaction after seeing/hearing such idiocy is to run to the closest Home Depot, grab a pipe, and rush back to beat them senseless about the head and neck.

But the one thing this gas situation has taught me is that my approach is too narrow. Pipe is good, but to take care of this kind of problem, I need HTH. This is a pool algae problem (swimming, gene, what's the difference?) so we need a sanitizing solution and HTH foots the bill.

Or maybe I just need a bazooka. . .

Fuel Shortage

I live in the Charlotte Metro region of North Carolina. Those who read my blog already knew that. Those that pop in here will be aware of it after browsing the archives. It seems that in this area that I call home, we are having a fuel shortage.

Not just any ole shortage, but obviously there are some major problems. People who need fuel can't get it because of the people that are stopping to top their tank off every time they leave their homes in a SUV that gets 12mpg. It's a panic situation that has involved police officers shutting down gas station and people pulling guns on other customers for gas.

Instead of the news stations and local paper using this time to educate the people living in this region , they about conservation, they are having breaking news stories every time a service station someone runs out of gas. The radio is doing it as well.

This is not the first time this has happened and I suspect it's not the last time. I am begging, learn conservation. Park your cars. City and county government, pull your heads out of your asses, wipe the crap off of your face, open your eyes, and realize that we have a problem. The public transportation system is a joke and the mayor is only dealing with this problem to a higher degree because he is running for governor.

I had to go out today. I also had to get gas today. I waited in line for 25 minutes (my engine turned off), which considering, it wasn't so bad. There were six cars in front of me getting gas. Six very large SUV's. They all pulled up and pumped gas. None of them spent more than five minutes at the pump. They were topping off their tank.

Hello! Isn't that what they have asked us NOT to do? Yet here they are, people afraid that they won't have enough gas to go to the mall this weekend topping off their tank. The woman in front of me was driving a Ford Excursion. It's a big hulking beast of a gas sucking school bus and was on her cell phone. I could hear her conversation in my car (windows were down to enjoy the breeze). She told her friend "I have to get some gas otherwise I might run out on the road on my way to Louis Vuitton". I seriously was waiting for her to flip her hair over her shoulder.

Well, she pulled up to the pump (idling the entire time). She inserted her credit card, put the nozzle in and set it for the automatic shut off. It cut off at exactly 6 gallons. She never held the handle, she was still yapping into her cell phone. Did I mention that a Ford Excursion has a 44 gallon fuel tank? The Louis Vuitton store is at SouthPark mall and was 15 minutes from where we were located.

I was floored. Actually, what I wanted to do was to hop in my car, follow her and tell her what an ass she was. However, I am not one of those gals. I would have hoped that my scathing look would have caught her notice as she went screaming through the 35mph zone. But alas, she was still talking on her mobile phone.

I guess that my rant, which I didn't want this to be, is to learn to conserve. Instead of using gas to zip up and down the road to the mall, etc., go only where you need to. Spend family time together. Take a walk. Play a board game. Kick a soccer ball around in the yard. Quality time doesn't mean that you have to be in a car for hours upon end.

Gasoline is a finite source. One of these days, you won't have a choice but to conserve. As you can see, for the Charlotte region and Western, NC, that time is now.

Tweens, cell phones and noise pollution

Tweens. Such an interesting name for kids who are not quite pre-teens, yet aren't little kids either. I am the parent of a tween. He is such a good kid. He is my baby (however he would die if he knew I said that). I have been doing what I can to make sure that his home environment is conducive for his health (and ours) by my lifestyle choices.

I was on the way to my writers club and on the radio they were talking about how tweens are one of the big marketing groups to cell phone companies. My interest peaked and I turned the radio up loud enough that Beethoven would have heard it had he been in the car. Tweens now account for 20 million mobile phones. What? Did I hear that correctly? They carried it further by saying that this is 46% of the tween population. How is that possible?

However, there is such a disturbing trend among the tween set that I had to comment. When I was my son's age, I was more concerned about playing outside and seeing what kind of cool things I could add to the fort my sister and I had in the woods behind our house. By the time I was 12; I was going to the movies once a week with friends and reading voraciously. I always took change when I went to the movie theater so that I could call my aunt to pick me up when it was over. Either that or she told me what time she would be there to pick me up; usually within 5 minutes or so of the movie ending.

Needless to say, this was on my mind all night and I had to come home and see if it were true. Sure enough, staring back at me are the reports from Nielsen Mobile. On average kids are receiving their first phones between ages 10 and 11. Now, I can understand extenuating circumstances, but has it really come to this? Have we become so paranoid that we have to be able to tag our children every second of every day? Or has our society become so brainwashed that they feel that their kids have to have everything they need to be cool? What is the media consumption teaching our children? That they have to be wired every hour of every day? That life is not living unless they are connected some way, somehow? With all of the unknowns about cell phone use, aren’t we just a little concerned that we are exposing developing bodies to the unknown?

I spend hours of my time trying to disconnect from the media. However, people are so consumed by always being available that I was questioned because I didn’t take my cell phone on the beach while we were surfing this summer. If it is that important, leave me a message and I will call you back. If my friends knew how close I came everyday to turning it all off, never to turn it on again, they would be amazed. I am talking about everything. When I am at home by myself writing, I don’t turn the tv on.

I think that noise pollution can be just as bad as chemical pollution. The Latin word for “noise” is “nausea”. Too much noise affects everything that you do. It can affect everything that you do. Excess noise can cause problems such as hearing loss, stress, and blood pressure issues. I myself have experienced stress as well as sleep loss, distraction, and a loss in my productivity. However, my husband needs noise to function. While we try to respect each other’s wishes, sometimes it can be just a little tense.

Other than health consequences, what about the environmental consequences? Kids are not the best at when it comes to keeping up with their possessions. How many cell phones are sitting in a landfill? How many are in a body of water? What about the lead and mercury that has leached from these phones into our food chain? How many years is it going to take before we see the harmful effects? I just wonder how many of them are being recycled. Better yet, I wonder why the mobile phone companies are not offering recycling incentives.

I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s not to blame on the kids. The parents are just as responsible, maybe even paranoid, that if they don’t have a constant dog tag on their children. Do I blame the parents? I am not assessing blame. The media hyper-sensationalizes every single thing they can. It makes for big ratings, but in this age of paranoia and fear, sometimes less is better.

It’s not that I don’t want to hear about pertinent issues. I do. But when my local television news station is telling me that Paris Hilton has a new boyfriend and the Britney Spears wasn’t wearing underwear, then it’s time that I find my news elsewhere. They are just looking for ratings.

Take the current political state of our country. I was talking to a friend who was criticized for watching both sides of the party’s speeches. He was criticized for watching Sarah Palin’s speech for its “Republican” dribble. He is as far left as they come. However, he looked at the person saying this to him and said “the elections are all about choice and how can I make a choice if I don’t listen to what both sides have to say?”

The thing I want to say is, “turn off the television”. Better yet, “turn off the cell phones”. Take your kids outside to play. Teach them that it’s ok, by your actions, not to have to be in constant contact at all times. Let them learn to think for themselves. If they are constantly connected, they will never learn to think for themselves. They will only think if they can text someone for the answer, never creating their own ideology or making their own decisions. Most importantly, teach them to enjoy the sounds of nature, not the latest ringtone on their phone. If you don’t have the silence, how can you say it’s not golden?

Recycle your cell phone: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8818.html

Mount Trashmore

Today I have been thinking about my youth. That fleeting time when you wish things would hurry up and move along time wise. Now, I wish I hadn't spent so much time wanting to grow older.

Some of the best times of my life were spent in Virginia Beach. I love VB and it will always feel like home. My soul is at peace when I am there. I can relax and even though I hate what they do to the environment, the sound of the military jets actually always lulled me to sleep at night.

How did I get so whimsical? I was thinking about my recycling and that I have to take it to the recycling center/dump. How much of what people put in trash can be recycled? More than I care to even ponder tonight. There is so much that goes in and so little that is reused..where does it all leave us? In one big stinking mess.

Mt. Trashmore is an exception. It's 165 acres of solid waste and clean soil that is 60 feet high and 800 feet long. I love going there. Whether it's to watch the skaters hit the 13.5ft tall vert ramp, picnic, walk, play basketball, or on the Fourth of July to celebrate our Nation's Independence.

It has been good use of a landfill to create a beautiful recreation center. Do I worry about what's underneath Mt. Trashmore? The environmentalist in me says "well, of course". The kid in me says "are you kidding, I get stoked about just being there."

What is under Mt. Trashmore? I have no idea. It opened in 1973 and was built with solid waste and my point isn't to bring up what is under the earth right now, but it's to say, is that our future? Cities built on top of landfills? If we do build on top of the landfills are they going to cave in due to the amount of weight sitting on top of them by different buildings? These are the things I think of as I am driving down the road or sorting my recycling. The what ifs.

Buddha said "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." That is what I have to do. I have to hope that what I am doing in the present is enough to help in the future. I have to encourage others to adopt a conservationist/environmentalist mind-set. That if they encourage it now in the present, how much better it will make life here.

Clutter and environmentalism

There are days that I just look around and wonder "how did I get all of this crap in my house?" I am looking at a corner of my living room that has clothes sitting in bags that has to go to Goodwill. The thing is, I haven't had time to go to Goodwill. I am hoping that I will get to go this week, but I try to arrange things so that I am not making a trip unless it is worthwhile.

My kitchen has my portable recycle bins in it. They are recycle bags technically and they are from Design Within Reach, so they are ultra-chic. But they are still in my way. Why don't I have a recycle bin? Because my little town doesn't recycle. It's also not on the agenda, so I shall pester for the foreseeable future. Yet, they are still there, taking up floor space and some days that it drives me nuts.

My bedroom? I am a lover of books and am actually something of a bibliophile. I collect books. Nothing thrills me more than to find a book from the 1800's or earlier. You know the ones. They smell dank and dusty and they have been lovingly cared for by their previous owners. If you are lucky, they will have the owners name, written in beautiful script. Needless to say...there are stacks of books against the walls.

Sometimes, I find it difficult to hold onto things in order to dispose of them properly. There are days I would love nothing more than to chuck it all into the trash and be done with it. However, it's those times that I have to reevaluate my ideals. I have to look at what I am doing and how I am doing it. That I have to keep going. I want the generations that I will never meet to have a beautiful place to live and not something out of a Mad Max/Blade Runner/Johnny Mnemonic lifestyle.

That being said, I am trying to re-purpose the things I bring into my home. I agree with Alton Brown that you kitchen tools should be multi-purpose and not single use. The same goes with clothing. I have never been a clothes horse so to speak. But with the end of this summer comes me desperately needing to re-do my wardrobe. It's a task that I don't want to think about, but I have set to it with some creative planning.

First, the thrift stores, vintage stores, and consignment stores have been good friends. Second, I am trying to re-build what is the desecrated remains of it with a blending of color palettes. Nothing is a "single-wear" item. They have to be mix and match. They have to be washable at home. No dry cleaning for me. Finally, the purchases I have made at the department store level have been few. But the few pieces that I have purchased have been thoughtfully chosen and will not only last for a very long time, but will also never go out of style.

What's a girl to do with the rest of her clutter? Well, I am going to be freecycling, Craig's listing, donating and ebaying. I want to see it reused and not in a landfill somewhere. I don't want to feel guilty every time I throw something away. I blame that little voice in the back of my head that says "You did it. You know you did it. I can't believe you. How can you look at yourself in the mirror."

Yes, my little voice pesters me. It's not just one thing...it's a multitude of things it hits me with. But, it keeps me honest. That voice keeps me on track and annoys the heck out of me on some days. However, it keeps me on track. For that I am thankful.

I have so many thoughts...

but they seem to be all jumbled together. Trying to start a new career. Consulting on varied projects. Where does my life all fit in?

To be quite honest, I haven't been practicing what I feel is best for my family. How swamped have I been? It's more like, how disorganized have I been? Enough that my laundry was so far behind that I have been using my clothes dryer like a cat uses a scratching post. My dishwasher was broken...instead of being very conservative regarding my water usage while doing dishes, I let it run. It's mindless thought.

I am working on a lifestyle reorg....I have to. I am driving myself crazy not holding up to my ideals. I am not perfect, nor am I 100% granola..far from it. But, I have to do my part to protect as much as I can so that my future generations can enjoy the beauty of Earth as much as I have.

Over breakfast this morning my son told me “Mommy, did you know that archaeologists are slowing down the process of turning fossils into oil because they are removing them from the ground and that is another reason we have to find alternate fuel sources?” Did I mention that he is 8? I love my son. He makes me think.
What if the alternate fuel sources don’t pan out? That’s the pessimist in me. The optimist in me says that things will work out for the best, just give it time. The anal retentive Type A+ personality in me says “Why wasn’t this done 30 years ago?” However, from that process also come dark thoughts. Those thoughts are going to cause most people to raise one eyebrow and say that I am crazy.

If fossil fuels are what we need to continue our lusty greed for oil, how long is it until they start tapping old cemeteries for pockets of oil? Is it possible? Has someone already thought of it? I know that that is a sacrilege thought and the Christian part of me hates thinking it. The realist/scientist/environmentalist in me thinks otherwise. Who is not to say that someone is already trying to create the conditions that would create enough pressure to make oil out of human remains? It’s been done one time, albeit during the ice age and prehistoric man and prehistoric creatures were the ones removed. There is no way it could be done in a modern cemetery because the bodies are too well protected, first with embalming fluid, secondly with those big lockers that are placed to “protect” your loved one…

I don’t know…it’s just a thought that crossed in my neural pathways.

Klecka Naturals

I don't think that I have ever blogged about a product that I love. Today is that day. I bought a bottle of Peace Spritz by Klecka Naturals in July and can't say enough wonderful things about this product. Created by Edie and Richard Klecka, this relaxing spray of organic essential oils (chamomile, geranium and lavender) is finished out with filtered water and LOVE!.

The Klecka's are massage therapists and this was created by their own research into what they were introducing to their clients largest organ...the skin. I agree with them, if you can't pronounce what you are applying on your body, then maybe you shouldn't.

Personally, I spray this when I am getting ready to meditate or go to sleep and it instantly soothes me. The relaxing scent, combined with my purposeful intention, helps me slow down and really shift my energy to a more purposeful one.

I know that my blog is Walking Green and this is green. It's certified organic and best of all...it's made in my home state of North Carolina, less than3 hours away. I am thrilled! I know I could make my own, but with my schedule and the fuss-time it would take to get the scent the way I like it, I would rather not. I will enjoy this product, support my state's economy and help another home-grown business stay viable.

My friends and family will tell you that I encourage everyone to make the switch to natural ingredients and organic goods. What better way to do it than with items that go on your skin or that you might breath in? After all, we don't know what we are doing to ourselves by breathing or rubbing on chemicals that are not only unpronounceable, but potentially toxic to us, our families or pets.

I would like to add that I have never met the Klecka's or had any contact with them whatsoever, this is my own personal review of an item I purchased for myself.