Growing up in India, I remember this song we used to sing. It went something like this: if you get to heaven before me, keep the door open for me. If I get to heaven before you, "I'll close that door, and to hell with you!"
And that's what any discussion of what needs to be done on global warming invariably reminds me of. The West, having for decades plundered the earth, now, having achieved their prosperity, wants the East to "learn from our mistakes" and make choices that may be the best long-term approach, but cost a lot of money, far more than these economies can afford, given the other, more pressing issues they have to deal with.
The data on how much garbage the West generates, especially the US and Canada, compared to less developed economies is astounding. It's an order of magnitude difference. Yet ask any American (or Canadian) to take the train to work instead of driving in, alone, every day, 10 times a week, and see the uproar you'll get. Driving is an American right, so we say. Raise the price of gas and you might even get us to put down the remote control long enough to email our senators!
Yes, we've now recycle a lot of what we consume, but the (main) problem is the amount we consume. Consumption in countries like India is far lower and reusing things (as opposed to recycling) is a way of life for most.
This was in response to this article http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/10/india-stands-lose-most-copenhagen
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
You don't have to buy a Prius!
Green/sustainable living are hot topics these days and there's no shortage of resources advising you on the best products to save energy. Almost all of them involve buying something which to me is both typical of our American society - give me a pill to make the pain go away - and ironic because it encourages more consumption.
What seems like a much better way, to me at any rate, is apparently too simplistic or not sexy enough to warrant attention: take public transport to save money, reduce gas consumption, reduce air pollution, increase fitness, reduce health care costs and look better? No way! What I need to do to is to buy something - I have to go out and conquer; I cannot sit at home and reuse what I already have.
Hence the Prius popularity - let me show everyone how concerned I am about the environment by spending a boatload of money, instead of taking some much better, more effective, but less sexy steps. Even Chelsea, the city I live in, has jumped on the Prius brandwagon, for Parking Enforcement in spite of a low tax base and very small size: According to Wikipedia, Chelsea is 2.5 square miles - it would be a lot easier for all concerned if parking was enforced on foot, but no, that's not good enough. We have to buy a Prius and then keep it idling while we go checking cars for resident parking stickers.
Thankfully, I've seen at least Cambridge seems to have some parking enforcement done on foot. The entire Boston area is so small and dense that this could be done in many other areas. And maybe some day we'll see some meaningful steps taken in this direction, apart from playing to the gallery.
What seems like a much better way, to me at any rate, is apparently too simplistic or not sexy enough to warrant attention: take public transport to save money, reduce gas consumption, reduce air pollution, increase fitness, reduce health care costs and look better? No way! What I need to do to is to buy something - I have to go out and conquer; I cannot sit at home and reuse what I already have.
Hence the Prius popularity - let me show everyone how concerned I am about the environment by spending a boatload of money, instead of taking some much better, more effective, but less sexy steps. Even Chelsea, the city I live in, has jumped on the Prius brandwagon, for Parking Enforcement in spite of a low tax base and very small size: According to Wikipedia, Chelsea is 2.5 square miles - it would be a lot easier for all concerned if parking was enforced on foot, but no, that's not good enough. We have to buy a Prius and then keep it idling while we go checking cars for resident parking stickers.
Thankfully, I've seen at least Cambridge seems to have some parking enforcement done on foot. The entire Boston area is so small and dense that this could be done in many other areas. And maybe some day we'll see some meaningful steps taken in this direction, apart from playing to the gallery.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Went to my first meditation class today and I'm sold!
I started going to yoga about 2 years ago and really liked it and have continued to go, though not as often as I'd like, partly because I started mountain biking this year, which ironically makes yoga more beneficial for me!
Anyway, I hope to continue to go regularly. I prefer what I call a more contemplative style and Jesse at Karma Yoga Studio offers a style that he designed called Physio Yoga which draws heavily from the science of physical therapy and is very focused on prevention of injury, which is something I try to do with any sport or activity.
I've always wanted to practice meditation and have done a little bit - very little - and also tried to do it at home which is very challenging for me. Cambridge Insight Meditation Center has a beginner's class every Tuesday and that's where I went this evening.
It was crowded - about maybe 100 people! And I was surprised to see that there were a lot of men there, maybe as much as 50%, and a lot of them were fairly young ie about my age j/k. I plan to go there every Tuesday and maybe I'll see you there one of these days.
Anyway, I hope to continue to go regularly. I prefer what I call a more contemplative style and Jesse at Karma Yoga Studio offers a style that he designed called Physio Yoga which draws heavily from the science of physical therapy and is very focused on prevention of injury, which is something I try to do with any sport or activity.
I've always wanted to practice meditation and have done a little bit - very little - and also tried to do it at home which is very challenging for me. Cambridge Insight Meditation Center has a beginner's class every Tuesday and that's where I went this evening.
It was crowded - about maybe 100 people! And I was surprised to see that there were a lot of men there, maybe as much as 50%, and a lot of them were fairly young ie about my age j/k. I plan to go there every Tuesday and maybe I'll see you there one of these days.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Polk iSonic Review (1st Gen)
I'm starting a review section, only I can't figure out how to make a section (as opposed to them showing up as regular posts) so if you have any suggestions please let me know!
I bought this about 2 years ago when Tweeter was closing down several stores in the Boston area and was selling stuff at a substantial discount. What I like about it - the pros - and the reasons I bought it are:
I bought this about 2 years ago when Tweeter was closing down several stores in the Boston area and was selling stuff at a substantial discount. What I like about it - the pros - and the reasons I bought it are:
- HD Radio - I love this feature. I like to listen to a lot of music on the radio (yes I also listen to NPR and PRI) but I really don't like listening to ads. In the car that isn't a problem because I can easily change the station; at home it is a pain. HD Radio is great because there are no ads, better quality sound and you get additional channels. 89.7 for example has 3: 89.7-1 is the regular channel that you get when you listen sans HD Radio, 89.7-2 generally has classical music and -3 has shows playing at different times than the regular channel. The best part is that it's free, unlike satellite radio where you pay 10-12.00 every month.
- Sound quality, in general is supposed to be good, but the sound quality that you get from HD is noticeably different and I had to put that in a separate bullet
- It's not a Bose! Bose had captured the market for high-end, 'satellite' radios, but they were expensive and hadn't changed much in years. Polk out did them by adding dvd capability at a price similar to the Bose which did (does?) not have dvd or HD Radio.
- It got excellent reviews from high-end audio magazines for sound and video quality
- I like being able to play my iPhone/iPod through it
- You can set 3 'banks' of preset radio stations, with 10 to a bank, or 30 total
- The UI (user interface) is poorly designed. I can't give you any examples because i don't have it in front of me and I rarely use it. Apple, imo, has the gold standard for UI especially with the iPhone, and this is nowhere close to it, which is why I don't use it.
- I do have to use the remote, unfortunately. Unfortunate, because the remote is poorly designed. They felt compelled to copy the Bose remote, which I think (can't remember) is well designed. One example is that the preset button is next to the power button, so frequently I'll turn the device off when I meant to change stations. The volume buttons are also not logically located and the remote as a whole is not the least bit intuititive.
- One, very frustrating, example is setting presets. When I first got it I set several presets up the way I wanted to. Subsequently I wanted to add a new preset, and I couldn't figure out how to do it! It's very annoying that a basic function like that should be so hard to figure out.
- While the display is quite large, the size of the text is very small, so that you have to come within 4 or 5 feet to read it, which is annoying, because you have to go very close to it if you want to read which song is playing.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saw Inglorious Basterds last night - don't bother
weak plot, weaker acting, and too long. The only minor saving grace was Shoshanna
Making better choices when eating out
I stopped reading Men's Health a long time ago, but I came across this article which is a great source of information and a reference on the nutritional (!!) content of the menus of about 60 restaurants http://ncane.com/a93. Worth a read imo.
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