Bright side of economic downturn: People are eating healthier

American Diet Changing Out Of Economic Necessity

Eating healthier is definitely good.

And probably it's time to start thinking about "peak food", just like "peak oil".

We only have one Earth to cultivate yet world's population keeps growing so rapidly. Shouldn't it hit the peak eventually?

If everyone on earth live the same standard of living of Americans, we need almost 5 earths.
Below is the links for ecological footprint calculator.

http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.html
http://myfootprint.org/
http://www.ecologyfund.com/registry/ecology/res_bestfoot.html
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

Haramaki! - tummy warmer -

My sister sent this from Japan and I was very skeptical at first.
It's called Haramaki. It's basically underwear that you wrap around your waist. (sorry it's not explicit with this pic)

This was an old way to get yourself warm - when building heating system wasn't good. Back then, people used to put on anything they could to keep them warm.
Now that we are in the modern society, we thought we didn't need it any more because it's not sexy and we've got whole bunch of cool ways to warm ourselves.

But then, it's back! And it's back with whole new look. (see the website I linked below)

My sister said it was super warm.

And it is! I think it is back because people decided, after all, that this is much more efficient and comfortable than its modern version competitors!
....this is hard to explain. Can you imagine how much such a small piece of fabric can do to your body? It's pretty thin and fits your body, and when your tummy is kept warm, your whole body feels so much warmer!

If you are trying to minimize your expense, this small cloths can save your some dollars because you can lower the temperature of your home heater 2-3 degrees! And obivously it'll reduce your carbon footprint. I am serious.

Well, honestly, you can't wear your hip-hung jeans with this, but if you are done with that phase, it's for you. I found some interesting story on Haramaki: Check this out.

Solar Prius?

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/01/02/toyota-reported-to-be-developing-solar-powered-car/

Best performance Tofu: Trader Joe's

Good quality Tofu is determined by its texture and the flavor of soy bean which should be just right.

Among those that are easiliy available at grocery stores, Trader Joe's is best considering its price (I think it's $1.29~1.49) and the fact that it's organic. Thank you TJ.

Japanese major brand "House" is probably the most widely available Tofu in the US, but I am not a big fan of it. It is either too soft (silken) or too firm (firm), and it's waterly and flavorless.

Another option is Korean grocery stores. Korean brand Tofus are not bad at all, and best of all, you might find locally produced (possibly hand-made), fresh Tofu.

Yamaha fuel cell scooter: FC-Dii

Yamaha unvailed its fuel cell scooter "FC-Dii" at Eco-products 2008, Tokyo, Japan.

Fuel cell use methanol as fuel and it can also be charged by external li-ion battery.

Well I don't know well about the true eco-friedliness and feasiblity of this technology, but the product looks sort of cool. Probably postman can use this to deliver mails?

California AB 32 Scoping Plan adopted, Toyota iQ is coming to US

Today, California Air Resources Board adopted its historical AB 32 Scoping Plan. This is a huge milestone for California to shift toward low-carbon society.

Yesterday, Toyota decided to launch their new concept car "iQ" to US market. I think iQ is a next generation Prius, not in terms of functionality but in terms of concept -- to (possibly) change people's perception as to how a cool car should be. This is a big and nice surprise because small cars were traditionally thought to be the last choice by the American consumer and automakers haven't tried to sell them here. If people just choose to drive smaller cars, it's such a simple and easy way to reduce GHG emission at a considerable scale.

AB 32 Scoping Plan is highly praised for its "comprehensiveness", but it's missing one critical concept: Small.

Being smaller is less footprint, both ecological and carbon.

Yes, small is not a bad thing at all. Small is a beautiful thing.

Find more about iQ...
http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/iq-blog.jsp
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2214/

Recycling or collection? Both.

When we say "recycle", we typically talk about "collection effort" -- putting things in recycling bins. This is confusing because "collecting recyclables" and "remanufacturing recyclables" are very different two processes.

The effort to increase collection rate is one thing, effort to increase good quality recyclables is another thing, then improving remanufacturing process and marketing secondary products are yet another thing.

Interesting story about Japanese plastic bottle recycling. (leftt: EoL plastic bottle collection rate)




1) Collection rate has been increasing and coming close to 70%. (I guess simple strategy to install recycling box exclusively for plastic bottles everywhere really helps.)
2) The quality of feedstock is improving. (Consumer awareness matters: they are educated and increasingly source-separate recyclables, therefore plastic bottles are not comingled with other plastics, making feedstock more heterogeneous)
3) Technology for remanufacturing is improving, helped by heterogeneous feedstock. (even different kind of plastic is considered contaminants that deteriorates the quality of secondary material)
4) Secondary products are increasingly with good quality, finding them suitable for different kinds of uses. (combination of 1, 2 and 3)


source: http://www.petbottle-rec.gr.jp/nenji/2006/index.html