I like it like Laika!

We got a new dog last week. She's half border collie (yeah, right.) and half australian cattle dog. She's incredibly wonderfully patient with the kids and has chased squirrels into trees and over 6 foot tall fences. We named her Laika after the famous dogmonaut in 1957 who flew in Sputnik 2. (In researching her name we also came across this interesting site for Radio Laika. Mouse over the picture of the dog?/horse? The kids got a kick out of this and the dog reacted to the barking. Oh, did I mention that Laika means "barker" in Russian?)

Lawn Culture

[This is another transfer from my soon to be expiring website. This was originally posted in the summer of 2002, the first summer we were in FC and realized that we were expected to put water on the non-crop in our front yard.]

We love our lawns.

As the Englishman, Frank Scott, wrote in 1870, we see our lawn as our "home's velvet robe." (1) In fact, in his book, The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds, he stated that "a smooth, closely shaven surface of grass is by far the most essential element of beauty on the grounds of a suburban house." (2)

But these same lawns are:

* depleting reservoirs of water -- water that could be used for drinking or to grow food. [In some areas, lawns use more water than a family of four.]

* contributing approximately 410,000 tons of ozone causing pollutants and 1.6 trillion tons of carbon monoxide emissions per year in the United States as gas powered mowers and handheld equipment is used to keep these lawns manicured. [Lawnmowers and other gas-powered lawn equipment produces
5% of the nation's air pollution and uses 800 million gallons of gasoline a year.]

* reducing the amount of available habitat for natural wildlife. [Suburban sprawl is a major threat to native animals, plants and insects.]

* causing about 70,000 injuries a year as people lose fingers, toes, or more while using their mower or other lawn equipment improperly. [Hospitals and emergency rooms treated 70,640 injuries related to power lawnmowers, hand mowers and riding power mowers in 1999.]

* using up our free time as we becomes slaves to watering, mowing, fertilizing, and weeding our lawns.

* undermining our national security as we contribute to our national "need" for petroleum based products such as fertilizers and weed killers (not to mention the gasoline that is used to power lawn equipment). [It is possible that political situations could affect our ability to fertilize our crops as well which could lead to a food shortage.] 

* contributing to the pollution of drinking water and land in general. [Fertilizer contains toxic pollutants.]

But what alternative do we have?

There are several steps you can take to combat our current situation, from changing mowers to gardening with only native plants. Even taking one small step could mean a world of difference if
the whole nation were to follow suit. And by taking a little extra time and money up front, you can actually reduce your costs and labor dramatically and still have a beautiful yard.

Alternatives

* Get a reel mower. Use a broom instead of that noisy leaf blower. And try out a pair of clippers instead of using a gas powered string trimmer. Several regions have programs called "Mowing Down Pollution" which enable you to turn in your gas-guzzling power mowers and other hand-held equipment in return for great rebates on people powered lawn equipment. (Just type "mowing down pollution" into your favorite search engine and see if there's a program near you.) -- Of course, if you
want to get really radical, you could try having a free range guinea pig. We had one for 8 months that kept our lawn looking like a golf course. Our lawn was trimmed and fertilized without any money or energy on our part. (It worked great until a neighborhood cat discovered our "lawn mower.")

* Try a little xeriscaping. Xeriscaping means planting water conserving landscapes that are appropriate for their given uses. (For example, a rock garden isn't appropriate for an area where your kids will be playing soccer, but it might be the best option for a part of the yard that's hard to drag the watering hose over to.)

* Go native! The plants that are native to your part of the country are ones that are perfectly adapted both to the climate and the pests. You'll end up watering and fertilizing less and enjoying your yard more. (Did you know that Kentucky Blue Grass is not native to Kentucky?! It was actually brought in from Europe.) You can find out what plants are native to your area by plugging your zip code into the
Backyard Wildlife Habitat site. (Go to the Native Plants page and click on the kinds of plants you'd like to find. There will be a popup page that asks for your zip code.)

* Water your current lawn more wisely. Avoid watering your driveway, sidewalk or street (or any other
non-growing thing that doesn't really need water). Water in the morning when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation. Only water your lawn when it needs it. (If you walk across it and leave footprints, then its time to water.) Collect rain water and use it to water your garden. (There are even more water saving ideas at the "Water. Use it Wisely" web site.)

* Compost. By composting your grass, leaves and kitchen scraps, you not only save landfill space, but you're creating a terrific soil amendment (=healthy soil that's full of good stuff for plants).

Resources (in addition to the ones listed above) Top ten Reasons to consider a reel mower (from the American Lawn Mower Company). Another helpful composting site. More great essays on Lawn Culture: The American Lawn, Dawn of a New Lawn, The Lawn Mower: Analysis of Suburban Artifacts (Interpretation), The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession, Have you checked your hay crop for irony lately?,

Footnotes (1) quote taken from Jeremy Rifkin's book, Biosphere Politics, (Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, c1991), page 166 (where he is in turn quoting Frank J. Scott from his treatise, "The Art of Beautifying Suburban Home Grounds." (2) quote taken from the article "Dawn of a New Lawn" by Andy Wasowski in Audubon Magazine

Chef Tako

If you enjoy animation and need some new recipes for dinner, then check out Tako in the kitchen (and yes, the chef is an octopus).

Family Tree Program

Here's a program that helps you show your family tree in a graphical format, and it generates web pages to match. And its free! The catch.... It only works on those crappy WinTel computers. Come on folks, make the switch!

eCard Upgrade

Tired of those same old eCards? Check these out. (In fact, you can not only make birthday cards here, but you could try pulling together a whole birthday flick!) OK, OK, so its a little weird. But you've got to admit its totally cool.

Shredded Wheat

How is shredded wheat made? I mean, you can't just shred a wheat kernel and come out with something that looks like shredded wheat, right?

A Modest Proposal

What if each individual, from babies to seniors, received "pollution points" in the same way that some industries do. Everyone would have a comfortable amount that they are allowed to pollute. (I'm speaking specifically of vehicle usage here, although I do realize there are many other ways that we pollute as well.)

If a person chooses to drive a small, efficient vehicle, or if they walk or ride a bike or carpool, then they can get monetary refunds to pay them back for unspent pollution points. In the same way, people who drive gas guzzlers or major smokers would have to buy extra pollution points in order to cover their usage. (They could buy points off of the people who use less.)

In fact, the ability to buy gasoline could be tied to this. (Otherwise, the same people who fail to get drivers licenses and to register their car would opt out of this as well. And they’re most likely the worst offenders.) When registering your car, you would be given a plastic card, like a credit card, that has your total pollution points on it for the year. In order to buy gas, you’d have to put this card into the gas machine or it won’t dispense gas. (Even if you pay with cash, you’d still have to swipe that card to get the gas machine to pump gas.)

Kid Finder

I think this is pretty cool...

If you're worried about someone making off with your kids (as has happened in several high profile cases lately and has happened to my husband when he was a kid), here's a way that you can find them again. The main unit costs $400 and there's several service plans running from $25-$35/month. They're not just cool for parents. Kids can use them as beepers as well (therefore, cool for kids).

You've Got CD's

So Rob and I got to wondering today, is there anyone in the United States of America who has NOT received an AOL cd? (We're guessing that we've received at least 45 or 50 in the past ten years.)

Buffalo Hair - new miracle fabric source?

the NYT had an article today about a "new" fabric that is 100% natural. you can throw it in your washer and dryer without any worries that it will shrink or wrinkle. this amazing new material? -- buffalo hair --

if you liked the interview with ira glass yesterday, you may also enjoy his web site.

Catching up with my Zine Stack

i'm finally working my way through my stack of magazines. (ok, so i've only skimmed off the top 5%.) -- hightlights: an interview with ira glass by regenerator, an article explaining how a Brazil football team was responsible for a mass prison escape by Pravda, and some great ads by the Center for Children's Health and the Environment.

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

My old website will be expiring soon. So I'm cutting and pasting some of the old posts from there and tossing them in here.

			Rob was recently interviewed by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. (see their version here) Why did you join the SFBC? I felt like there were plenty of voices advocating the agenda of car drivers, but not much representation for bicyclists. The SFBC represents a clearminded, level-headed voice with actual suggestions for change. I think the SFBC has been careful not to overly indict car drivers, but instead to focus on helping bicyclists. Also, bicycling is an important part of my life--the bicycle is not only an excellent means of transportation, but also a pragmatic application of my faith in Christ. Tell me more about the connection between your faith and bicycling. In 1978, I experienced some profound changes in my life. I was becoming more aware of the degree to which we humans had damaged the lakes, rivers, oceans, land and air of this planet. I realized as I looked around me that everyone -- myself included -- was somewhat selfish and irresponsible int he stewardship of the resources that we have here on Earth. That same year, I commenced a two-year long process of reading the Scriptures. The teachings, lifestyle, and claims of Jesus Christ impacted me profoundly. I came to believe that the lifestyle that Jesus called people to live was much more environmentally conscious than that which I saw around me in mainstream America. Is that when you started using a bicycle for transportation? No, the shift was more gradual. At that point, I owned a small economy car. I was living in cities such as Houston, San Antonio, and Colorado Springs, and the idea of using a bicycle for transportation had never dawned on me; I didn't know anyone who used a bike for transportation, only recreation. In 1989, I moved to the Bay Area. I was shocked at the volume of cars and traffic. Within a year of moving out to California, I gave up my car and bought a motorcycle. That was a big step towards realizing that transportation did not have to equal car ownership. So how did you make the transition from a motorcycle to a bicycle? Eventually I moved into the Mission District. I started noticing all the bicyclists riding to the shops, locking their bikes outside the cafes and bookstores. It hit me one day... these people were really using their bikes as their transportation vehicles! I purchased a bike and gradually began to use it for trips to cafes. As time went on, I realized that I could use my bicycle for virtually all of my transportation needs around the city, and even -- by BART or Caltrain -- to other parts of the Bay Area. How has bicycling in San Francisco influenced your faith? I have come to solidly believe that bicycling enables me to practically live out several Scriptural teachings: * Stewardship. Using the bicycle has been far more environmentally and economically sound than the car or motorcycle; * Loving my neighbor as myself. Bicycling reduces the pollution I put into the air that others must breathe, and dramatically reduced the risk I pose to others -- especially pedestrians and other bicyclists -- as compared to driving a car. * Consideration for the poor. A bicycle is a much more affordable form of transportation than a car. By using our bikes for transportation -- and communicating such usage -- I think bicyclists can send a collective message to the government that the car doesn't have go be accepted as the default form of individual-controlled transportation. We need a transportation system that accommodates everyone, even those who can't legally afford to own and operate a car; * Consideration of others. Using my bike is a way to stem the current of "consideration degradation" that cars seem to foster. It's amazing to me the degree to which cars and their drivers degrade others' quality of life -- car alarms going off in the middle of the night, car horns at six in the morning, cars parked so thick on the sidewalk that you have to push the baby stroller on the street, cars blocking wheelchair ramps and bike lanes. Anything else you'd like to add? My real challenge is to encourage other Christians I know to consider bicycling as making a lot of sense in light of Christ's teachings. This has been slow going, but there have been some successes. One of the pastors at my church recently joined the SFBC. He put some good street tires and a NightRider light on his old mountain bike, and he now uses it for much of his transportation around town. Maybe a sermon that mentions bicycling isn't too far behind....