Your Questions About Green Living

Susan asks…

Geothermal energy is often the great hope of renewable energy as it can be continuously and reliably produced?

Geothermal energy is often the great hope of renewable energy as it can be continuously and reliably produced 24/7. While it it has the best potential, it is very limited geographically. The best geothermal resources are in Alaska and California, and the best potential resources are west of the Rockies. How do we overcome the geographic limitations of geothermal energy?

The Expert answers:

The simple answer to your question is: ‘dig deeper in the ground.’ There are several companies out there at present that are willing to install geothermal energy suppies into the home. I live in England and I have had pumps installed in my gym. I save hundreds of pounds each year in electricity bills. Unfortunately I can only source my knowledge onto the e-book that I purchased but if you have any more questions about this please email me and I will answer the question to the best of my ability. Hope this helps.

Charles asks…

How to purchase and use Renewable Energy Certificates?

Can someone please explain if and how I can buy renewable energy certificates for my apartment electricity use. My local energy company does not currently provide renewable energy and I am under the impression I can buy certificates from renewable energy companies and use those certificates to pay for my current electric bill.

Can you please explain this process.

The Expert answers:

It’s a pointless exercise because all of the electricity comes from the same generators connected to the same grid.

Donald asks…

How renewable energy solar power works?

My father is asking me to post a question about this.He is planning to buy an alternative renewable energy resources.Is it true that you will save electricity from alternative home energy solutions? Any suggestions and help on this post is highly appreciated thanks.

The Expert answers:

You can use renewable energy sources since it can be replenished in a short period of time. A the same time you can help the environment. And the best is it will never run out of sources of renewable energy as long as humans will exist. I found this website it says http://fastfreehomeenergy.com/alternative-energy-home.html “Many people (including myself) have reportedly slashed their monthly electricity bill by up to 80% through the methods mentioned above. If we can do it, so can you.”. Just check this out for more details.
I hope i was bale to contribute a bit on your question.

Maria asks…

What are the effects of renewable energy used in 3rd world business?

For a graduate project in Asia, I am looking at renewable energy and its effects on growing businesses. I want to look at developed and developing businesses that use renewable energy. Can anyone point me in the right direction with regards to finding areas in Asia to research? I wanted to stick with 3rd world.

The Expert answers:

The best renewable energy is oil & gas. Our plants recycle Co2 into oil & gas.So we will never run out of oil.

Richard asks…

How is renewable energy good for the economy?

Can renewable energy truly be good for the economy, and how so?

The Expert answers:

Renewable energy can be good once we have a storage system to store the sun’s, wind’s, etc’s energy and use it when we need it.

It is good for the economy because it is getting more and more expensive to dig up conventionals.

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Your Questions About Green Living

Robert asks…

How can i start a planned community like a sustainable living community?

Minus the modern spiritual hippy mumbo jumbo.

The Expert answers:

All projects take time money and energy. Enough money can be used to decrease the time and energy requirements by hiring experts. Developers build planned communities all the time, the trick is doing it and making a buck at it. The roadblocks are enormous, the payoffs immense.
Not sure quite what you are describing. I have an outline for a way to build a self-constructed, sustainable floating city. But its not what I’m pursing right now.

William asks…

What incentives does your local/state/federal govt offer to encourage environmentally sustainable living?

eg rebates for installing solar hot water or rainwater tanks, free light globes etc. I want to make a case to my city council (who do very little in this way) so I’d like to know the government body as well as the incentive they offer. Thanks

The Expert answers:

They do nothing but tell me use stuff that doesn’t exist. My solar hot water….it’s dark 6 months a year here. My Hydrogen powered car…not enough electricity to make hydrogen, they are all talk and no action.

Maria asks…

What can one do in day to day life for a sustainable living?

What lifestyle changes one can bring to lead a Sustainable, environment friendly life

The Expert answers:

I made a change in my energy use. I installed the Temp$aver System from CGA of Southwest Florida which controls and watches over my A/C unit. If any Doors or Windows are left open, which happens all the time with a house full of kids, the Temp$aver system shuts off the A/C unit preventing wasted energy. We saved over 45% on our utility bill after we had this installed. They also have this new system called the “Thermonator” which watched over your hot water heater and shut it off when nobody’s around. This company has a few energy efficient devices to help you live more sustainable and save you money at the same time!

Www.cgaofsouthwestflorida.com

David asks…

What is sustainable urban living? i need it for my geography lesson.?

for my geography lesson i need to know what sustainable urban living is. help

The Expert answers:

Leaving a smaller footprint, for one. Recycling, using renewable energy sources such as solar water heating and solar PV, using public transportation rather than a car, living in a smaller space, conserving energy in the winter/summer (heat/AC), using farmers marketing for produce and meats.

Mandy asks…

Does anyone have a personal experience in sustainable living/farming?

what was your experience and is it still up and running? what problems did occur? what rewards did you find?

The Expert answers:

Yes I have been making my living doing just that for the past 17 years.

My farm is very much up and running

Problems? Weather is a big problem most years and specially this year. Long hours in the field, strange work schedule. Not making enough money so have to live cheaply and carry no debt

Love working for myself, love the food I produce, love working with plants and animals, love marketing, love to live cheaply and carry no debt

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Your Questions About Green Living

Mary asks…

What is a “green” or “eco-friendly” fabric to use for upholstering kitchen furniture (removable slipcovers)?

Where can I buy it? It must be washable!

The Expert answers:

Fabric made of hemp with eco friendly inks.

Robert asks…

Eco-friendly materials for furniture?

i need a ecofriendly material for making a children’s bed. any sort of wood would be fine but i am on a tight budget. i am searching everywhere but even if i do find a nice wood it wont have any sort or price. the bed i am making would be easier with large pieces of this wood and i will be painting it. it should be about 3cm thick (1 inch).

if anyone could help me find a product like this it would be so great. i have looked for a while but still have found nothing.

The Expert answers:

Don’t know if you know about recycled plastic lumber, looks like wood.

Check out the source link or search Google to find out where to find it.

Sandra asks…

What kind of fixtures are there, for like, say, attaching together pieces of a chair, that are eco-friendly?

I have a product design exam coming up, and its somthing to do with ecofriendly‘ness and furniture. So i was wondering what different ways are there of “attaching parts” not using screws and bolts.. and can u get any enviromently glues?? that are water proof and reli strong?

The Expert answers:

With no offense meant at all you could find hundreds of sites, related, in a general WWW search, using keywords.

I’m as GREEN as anyone I know, but your Q largely depends on types of furniture and their use.

Certainly some thorough knowledge of various JOINTS would help you. I suspect before there was GLUE there was furniture.

It might also depend on how YOu define ECO friendly. Obviously a molded vinyl chair could be stable, and a one piece unit, but would remain in a land fill for eternity.

Joints is where I’d start if I was you, and the general engineering of a piece knowing it’s stress points, sway, etc.

GLUE might be ECO OK, but not so effective in building. IE: Elmers makes a carpenter grade GLUE, and it functions well, is probably not so toxic, but at some point, through use, can fail.

Steven Wolf
just my 2 “sense”

Beyond that, given that our society rarely wants LOG furniture or primitive trappings in a home, the engineering alone is the challenge. In primitive methods creating contemporary pieces.

Donna asks…

Environment friendly sofa and love seat?

I plan to buy new living room furniture. I wanted to buy some thing elegant and environment (or eco) friendly. I could use some suggestions, which furniture store is best to look for eco friendly furniture in Tx?

The Expert answers:

What is Eco-friendly? You realize you are ruling out most foams, paddings, fabrics, and frames?

Jenny asks…

How to be eco-friendly with everything?

I would love to be ecofriendly with my clothes,furniture,make-up,etc.Does anyone know any brands that make ecofriendly products?I am a down to earth kind of girl and would love to start being more green.Any suggestions appreciated!

The Expert answers:

There are many different ways the best is to be informed about your purchases, always look at lifecycle costs of everything you buy. Look at where the product comes from favor local items, how many uses you can get from an item (single use items are almost always poor choices economically and environmentally)

The first site has suggestions for everyday life the second has green items for sale.

If you need info on using rain barrels for flushing the toilet or info on greywater systems, vermicomposting, square foot gardening, or diy home energy audits email me.

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Your Questions About Green Living

Donald asks…

What are the environmental issues that the earth are facing right now?

If you’re watching television news, can you tell me what are the environmental issues that the earth are facing right now?

The Expert answers:

The Earth isn’t facing any issues at all. It’s just doing what it’s always been doing.

It the humans that are having issues. They think the Earth should stay the same, but it doesn’t.

Probably the number one gripe of the humans is “global warming”.

James asks…

What are good environmental issues to write a persuasive essay on?

I need to write a persuasive essay on environmental issues such as farm animals or zoo breeding. Any ideas? (and NOT global warming!) Any links?

The Expert answers:

Question: How does meat consumption contribute to rainforest depletion?

Answer: The United States imports roughly 200 million pounds of beef from Central America every year. Aside from the fuel used in transport, grazing land is needed for all of these animals. Where does all that land come from in a densely forested region? The answer: from clear-cutting forests and rainforest A Smithsonian study estimates that the necessity for more grazing land means that every minute of every day, a land area equivalent to seven football fields is destroyed in the Amazon basin(1).
For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rainforest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed. And its not just the rainforest. In the United States, more than 260 million acres of forest have been clear-cut for animal agriculture (2). With increased per capita meat consumption, and an ever growing population, we can only expect to see more deforestation in the future.

——————————————————————————

see links below for more topics…………

Donna asks…

What are some environmental issues concerning airplanes?

What are some environmental issues concerning airplanes? How do airplanes affect the environment?

The Expert answers:

They aren’t the best thing for the environment (but neither are animals themselves; they breath out CO2)

Fact of the matter is there are a million others things that cause more pollution than planes.

Sandy asks…

How can I relate environmental issues to my peers?

I’m doing a speech for speech class about environmental issues (between overfishing, deforestation or invasive species) and I need to find a way to relate this to my fellow classmates.
My professor has asked me to find a way to relate it to my classmates (one of those topics) to make them interested however I’ve been having trouble with it.

Anybody have suggestions of how I can do this?

The Expert answers:

Size can hit home – the magnitude of losing something wonderous (only one species of bananna is all anyone in the US will ever eat, because of farming practices – this is true, look it up) or the growth of something hideous (eating songbirds is so popular in Europe that soon the skies will be silent – also true)
So, big numbers can be very impressive if used wisely. One pointer I ‘d suggest when working with abstract statistical numbers is to make it concrete for your audience by using metaphors and such. For example – if the subject is about species loss you can draw a comparison: “it’s like taking ten-thousand fish out of the ocean on the hour, every hour, for two years.” That’s always helpful.

Susan asks…

Why have environmental issues appeared on the international agenda?

Is it because of the need to improve the globe so as to conquer issues including global warming, climate change etc? This question is largely focused on Asia. Do you think it would be right to go into detail about these environmental issues and explain how they are affecting the rest of the world?

Thanks very much!

The Expert answers:

Environmental issues are negative aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment. Environmentalism, a social and environmental movement that started in the 1960s, addresses environmental issues through advocacy, education and activism.

A recent major report was the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, with input from 1200 scientists and released in 2005, which showed the high level of impact that humans are having on ecosystem services.

Main findings

1. Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than in any comparable period of time in human history, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel. This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth.

2. The changes that have been made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial net gains in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at growing costs in the form of:

the degradation of many ecosystem services
increased risks of nonlinear changes,
the exacerbation of poverty for some groups of people.

These problems, unless addressed, will substantially diminish the benefits that future generations obtain from ecosystems.

3. The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to reducing global poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

4. The challenge of reversing the degradation of ecosystem while meeting increasing demands for ecological services can be partially met under some scenarios considered by the MA, but will involve significant changes in policies, institutions and practices that are not currently under way.

Many options exist to conserve or enhance specific ecosystem services in ways that reduce negative trade-offs or that provide positive synergies with other ecosystem services. The bottom line of the MA findings is that human actions are depleting Earth’s natural capital, putting such strain on the environment that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted. At the same time, the assessment shows that with appropriate actions it is possible to reverse the degradation of many ecosystem services over the next 50 years, but the changes in policy and practice required are substantial and not currently underway.

The largest international agency, set up in 1972, is the United Nations Environment Programme. The International Union for Conservation of Nature brings together 83 states, 108 government agencies, 766 Non-governmental organizations and 81 international organizations and about 10,000 experts and scientists from countries around the world.. International non-governmental organizations include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and World Wide Fund for Nature. Governments enact environmental policy and enforce environmental law and this is done to differing degrees around the world.

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Your Questions About Green Living

Richard asks…

Why do righties always go ape over George Soros?

What has he done? Certainly not all of this.

The Koch brothers’ influence empire
A list of right-wing action groups and think tanks
This list of organizations is long but they have one common thread: promoting an antitax, antiregulatory ideology that will ultimately gut government’s ability to
ensure markets functioning properly for everyone and protect consumers against abuses in the system. In addition to promoting this right-wing ideology, some of the
groups on this list, such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, seek to undermine the science behind climate change. Indeed, many of the policies these organizations
promote not only further a right-wing ideology but they also increase profits for Koch Industries.
Cato Institute—$13,887,640 Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research—$300,000
Citizens for a Sound Economy2—$12,356,712 Environmental Literacy Council—$287,516
George Mason’s Mercatus Center—$9,674,500 Property and Environment Research Center—$258,144
Americans for Prosperity Foundation—$5,610,781 Center for Equal Opportunity—$240,000
Heritage Foundation—$4,115,571 Institute for Energy Research—$237,000
Institute for Humane Studies—$3,630,091 Atlas Economic Research Foundation—$221,100
Bill of Rights Institute—$3,070,909 Ethics and Public Policy Center—$190,000
Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas—$2,617,842 Citizens for Congressional Reform Foundation—$175,000
Institute for Justice—$2,615,000 Frontiers of Freedom Institute—$175,000
Reason Foundation—$2,516,521 Texas Public Policy Foundation—$174,500
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship—$2,481,786 The Phillips Foundation—$165,000
Federalist Society—$2,058,999 John Locke Foundation—$134,472
Institute for the Study of Human Origins—$2,035,912 Fund for American Studies—$133,650
American Enterprise Institute & Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory
Studies—$1,979,400
James Madison Institute—$121,924
Manhattan Institute—$1,575,000 John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy—$120,086
Washington Legal Foundation—$1,457,500 Young America’s Foundation—$107,500
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education—$1,400,000 Leadership Institute—$101,500
Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment—$1,385,500 American Council on Science & Health—$101,000
Competitive Enterprise Institute—$700,499 Laffer Center for Global Economic Growth—$100,000
National Center for Policy Analysis—$672,000 Association of Private Enterprise Education—$98,500
American Legislative Exchange Council—$668,858 Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives—$93,903
Capital Research Center—$665,000 Center for Independent Thought—$92,500
Tax Foundation—$637,369 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Legal Foundation—$88,000
Independent Women’s Forum—$485,000 Carbon Dioxide & Global Change Center—$85,000
International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics—$440,000 Mackinac Center for Public Policy—$84,151
Acton Institute—$416,250 Market Based Management Institute—$82,500
Fraser Institute—$373,721 Media Institute—$80,000
Pacific Research Institute—$370,000 Heartland Institute—$77,578
American Council for Capital Formation—$325,000 Goldwater Institute—$75,000
George C. Marshall Institute—$310,000 Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation—$65,000
10 Center for American Progress Action Fund | The Koch Brothers
The Koch brothers’ political-influence empire
A list of right-wing action groups and think tanks
Libertarian Review Foundation—$60,000
Americans for Tax Reform—$60,000 Students in Free Enterprise—$30,000
Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions—$55,946 Center for Excellence in Education—$27,500
Center for Freedom & Prosperity Foundation—$54,266 Ayn Rand Institute—$25,000
National Tax Limitation Foundation—$50,000 International Policy Network—$25,000
North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law—$50,000 Becket Fund for Religious Liberty—$20,538
Free Enterprise Education Institute—$45,000 Atlantic Legal Foundation—$20,000
South Carolina Policy Council—$45,000 Institute for Political Economy—$20,000
Center for Individual Rights—$40,000 Media Research Center—$15,005
Texas Justice Foundation—$40,000 Future of Freedom Foundation—$10,000
Foundation for Economic Education—$38,267 Pacific Legal Foundation—$10,000
National Taxpayers Union Foundation—$37,500 Foundation for Human Development—$5,000
Institute for Policy Innovation—$35,000 American Spectator—$4,500
Critical Review Foundation—$33,000 Galen Institute—$3,590
Hudson Institute—$32,650

So I guess I’m saying you really have no right to bring Soros up.
Oh please, who are you referring to and yes the Koch’s have their influence peddlers permeating everything.

The Expert answers:

I love it, and you forgot about rupert murdoch who owns the #1 propaganda outlet, News Corp., which owns fox news and tons of other major newspapers in all major cities. Soros is nothing compared to those guys. But the point is that politics, media, our whole lives basically, are now run by corporations for the profit of the super rich because the super rich are the only ones who have the power to make changes

Maria asks…

FDR’s WPA: What should Obama do?

Millions were unemployed in the 1930s. FDR instituted the WPA – a U.S. government employment agency that helped build infrastructure across the country. Los Angeles’ Colisseum was built by the WPA.

Obama should institute something similar, both to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure (e.g., the fallen bridge in MN) as well as in alternative energy.

The Expert answers:

Obama should concede to John McCain and do our country a real favor instead of just making us even more socialist!

William asks…

The Oil Crash: Who’s prepared?

The latest measurements confirm that the world’s oil and natural gas supplies are running out too fast. At some time between 2010 and 2020 the world’s supply of oil and gas will fall below the level required to meet international demand.

The US government is aware that we are about to endure a disastrous international energy shortage. According to Dr James McKenzie, a senior member of the climate change programme at the World Resources Institute in Washington, USA: “That’s why we went to war in Iraq.”

We always knew the world’s oil reserves would run out eventually. The oil was formed by natural geological processes which occurred over millions of years. Oil consumption presently exceeds 25 billion barrels a year and demand continues to spiral upward, out of control. The outcome is inevitable.

In the 21st Century we rely on oil (petrol) and gas for transport – cars, lorries, ships, aircraft – as well as electrical power. We cannot survive without oil and gas, and when the supply runs out the great engine of Western civilization will finally grind to a halt. We are heading for an event that will be remembered as one of the great disasters of human history, and life is going to get harder for everybody as the day of reckoning draws nearer.

In the years ahead, wars will be fought over oil and fuel as the oil-dependent superpowers struggle in vein to preserve our unsustainable way of life. We are entering a period of great change and there are be difficult times ahead. The process has already begun. Students of prophecy will be familiar with certain relevant verses from Christian scripture concerning the signs of the end times (Matt. 24.8; Mk 13.8, Rom. 8.22; Rev. 12.03, 21.1-4). As it was translated in 1961 in the New English Bible: “With these things, the birth pangs of the new age begin” (Mt.24:8; Mk.13:8). Whether you are religious or secular, you should be aware that the tide of history is turning.

In North America, where we use far more oil than anywhere else on Earth, the vast majority (71%) of electrical power generation is entirely dependent on fossil fuels – coal (52%), gas (16%), and oil (3%). The world’s natural gas is running out along with the oil, and the coal supply is not unlimited either. Nuclear energy contributes only one-fifth to the US power network, and 7% of power is hydroelectric. Only 2% of US electricity production is from renewable sources. As we continue to burning up the world’s dwindling fossil energy sources at a terrifying rate, we simultaneously unleash catastrophic damage to the natural environment.

The Insider recently reported a wave of four major electrical power outages which struck the US; then the UK; followed by Denmark and Sweden; and then Italy, Switzerland, Austria and France. The effects only lasted a few hours, but each case was the biggest power failure in the history of the affected country. These massive power cuts were separated by a matter of days. The governments were only practicing this time. This is just the beginning.

It would be prudent to pursue alternative energy sources before it is too late, but the oil corporations will never allow this to happen. So important is oil as a resource that it brings great wealth and power to those who control it. Consequently, our corrupt politicians, whose power is lavishly funded with oil money, prefer to serve the short-term interests of greedy oil executives than the long-term interests of ordinary people like you. But as long as we have food in our bellies and entertainment to keep us busy, why should we care? Thus, it is the immorality and indifference of our species that ultimately leads to our own demise.

Nothing lasts forever. Like all the great civilizations in the past, ours has a limited life-span. A few years from now the Westernized world will reach the point where there is no longer enough fuel to sustain civilization in its present form. This will literally be the end of civilization as we know it.

The Expert answers:

Biofuel will take over

Donald asks…

Is climate change really even an environmental issue?

I didn’t source these quotes because they are freely available all over the Internet. I also didn’t check every one to see if it’s authentic. However, just based on how often they show up, I’m going to assume that at least the large majority are and that’s enough for you to answer the question.

************************************************************************************************

“Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsiblity to bring that about?” – Maurice Strong, founder of the UN Environment Programme

“No matter if the science of global warming is all phony… climate change provides the greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world.” – Christine Stewart, former Canadian Minister of the Environment

Quote from Club of Rome: “In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill….All these dangers are caused by human intervention….and thus the “real enemy, then, is humanity itself….believe humanity requires a common motivation, namely a common adversary in order to realize world government. It does not matter if this common enemy is “a real one or….one invented for the purpose.”

Quote by Al Gore, former vice president: “Adopting a central organizing principle means embarking on an all-out effort to use every policy and program, every law and institution, to halt the destruction of the environment.”

Quote by Maurice Strong, a primary power behind UN throne: “Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?”

Quote by Jeffery Sachs, Columbia University, Director of The Earth Institute: “Obama is already setting a new historic course by reorienting the economy from private consumption to public investments…free-market pundits bemoan the evident intention of Obama and team to ‘tell us what kind of car to drive’. Yet that is exactly what they intend to do…and rightly so. Free-market ideology is an anachronism in an era of climate change.”

Quote by Emma Brindal, a climate justice campaigner coordinator for Friends of the Earth: “A climate change response must have at its heart a redistribution of wealth and resources.”

Quote by David Foreman, co-founder of Earth First!: “We must make this an insecure and inhospitable place for capitalists and their projects. We must reclaim the roads and plowed land, halt dam construction, tear down existing dams, free shackled rivers and return to wilderness millions of acres of presently settled land.”

Quote by Louis Proyect, Columbia University: “The answer to global warming is in the abolition of private property and production for human need. A socialist world would place an enormous priority on alternative energy sources. This is what ecologically-minded socialists have been exploring for quite some time now.” 

Quote by Michael Oppenheimer, major environmentalist: “The only hope for the world is to make sure there is not another United States. We can’t let other countries have the same number of cars, the amount of industrialization, we have in the US. We have to stop these Third World countries right where they are.”

Quote by Barack Obama, “All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it’s here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster”.

Quote by David Graber, scientist U.S. Nat’l Park Services: “We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth. It is cosmically unlikely that the developed world will choose to end its orgy of fossil energy consumption, and the Third World its suicidal consumption of landscape. Until such time as Homo Sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along.”

Quote by Sir John Houghton, first chairman of IPCC: “Unless we announce disasters, no one will listen.”

Quote by Al Gore, former vice president: “I believe it is appropriate to have an over-representation of factual presentations on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience to listen to what the solutions are, and how hopeful it is that we are going to solve this crisis.”

Quote by Stephen Schneider, Stanford Univ., environmentalist: “That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have.”

Quote by Amory Lovins, scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute: “Complex technology of any sort is an assault on human dignity. It would be little short of disastrous for us to discover a

The Expert answers:

Great quotes, although the last one is cut off.

Funny how the real socialists dismiss this as unimportant. To dismiss this is to misunderstand the real intent of this global warming agenda.

The environment and planet are not important at all to these types. Control is all they want. Control over every aspect of human life. The environmental movement was taken over by displaced soviet communists back in the 60’s. They use this as a tool to downgrade society.

It’s a slow bleed, but they are very patient. They know that eventually they will get everyone to give into the socialism and fascism they believe in.

Linda asks…

Is this why Democrats want to push through cap and trade before the end of the month.?

Cap and Trade is being shoved through because of “man made” global warming. Al Gore has refused to debate this theory (yes, I know what a theory is) and told Congress last month that “this is the single most important piece of legislation ever.” Of course, Al Gore’s business has invested over 1 billion dollars in “clean” technology and carbon credits so he just may be “wishful”, if not just greedy. (My opinion)

However, the Earth actually appears to be cooling and the man made global warming “theory” is being questioned by more scientists everyday. Of course, the liberal media machine of NBC (who is owned by GE, who will benefit from this bill as well…….) keeps the fear rolling, refusing to debate the issue, let alone question it.
———————————————————————————

· Some 3,000 scientific robots that are plying the ocean have sent home a puzzling message. These diving instruments suggest that the oceans have not warmed up at all over the past four or five years. That could mean global warming has taken a breather. Or it could mean scientists aren’t quite understanding what their robots are telling them.

This is puzzling in part because here on the surface of the Earth, the years since 2003 have been some of the hottest on record. But Josh Willis at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the oceans are what really matter when it comes to global warming.

In fact, 80 percent to 90 percent of global warming involves heating up ocean waters. They hold much more heat than the atmosphere can. So Willis has been studying the ocean with a fleet of robotic instruments called the Argo system. The buoys can dive 3,000 feet down and measure ocean temperature. Since the system was fully deployed in 2003, it has recorded no warming of the global oceans.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88520025

I know this goes on to say that the Earth can cool for a few years, even in a cycle of global warming. (Imagine that….weather cycles!) I am all for alternative energy, as well as clean air and water. What I am opposed to is this cap and trade that is being shoved through under the guise of “man made” global warming, which will cause increased prices on everything from gas to food, and of course energy costs.(no to mention job losses)

This is even better……
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/09/arctic_aerosols_goddard_institute/

Is this the right time for this? What do you think?
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25348657-401,00.html
** RIP** LOL……It’s always noon somewhere!

The Expert answers:

It’s all about a money scam…. Thanks for the links… I am going to read them when I am less drunk.

Star for you!!!

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Your Questions About Green Living

William asks…

What would be a better long term career, An electrician or renewable energy technician?

I’m 22 and I need to do something with my life. The salaries of the two careers are around the same, but I want a job that will last. Renewable energy is suppose to be big in the future, but I’m sure how many jobs will be available. Any suggestions?

The Expert answers:

Go with electrician first. The chances are great that those skills will carry over into other things like electronics. You can still take classes for renewable energy technician at night after work. There is no need to end your education simply because you have gained a career.

Electrician is a proven and lasting career field. Go with it.
Renewable Energy still has a long way to go before it can offer you a promising future you can depend on.

Jack
.

Daniel asks…

Obama promised 5 million jobs in renewable energy while campaigning now it is 2.5 million jobs?

What caused this set back, and if he wasn’t so confident why would he promise Americans it could be done?
lol Romey M I gave you a thumbs up because I do look 40 pounds heavier. in my avatar
Boo hoo Jason L, just like clock work whiney ignorant people bring Iraq war into the equation. Missles of Mass destruction lol WMD is more like it and the Iraqi liberation act signed by the liberals in 1998 recognized development 4 years before President Bush. And Clinton and Kerry voted for the war also. Cry me a river.

The Expert answers:

Thats his CHANGE.

Sandra asks…

Which masters course is there a better chance of getting a job from, renewable energy or engineering design?

The only factor I’m interested in is employability afterwards.
What I mean is I have to decide whether to do a masters in renewable energy or engineering design and Id like to know which one would give me a better chance of employment

The Expert answers:

Your question is written very poorly

Not really sure what you are trying to say.

I guess you mean which degree is better for a student interested in renewable energy.

The answer is electrical or mechanical engineering…..but these are harder engineering degrees to obtain

Donna asks…

What do Republicans care least about, job creation, renewable energy, or education?

How can such a stance help or hurt our economy….

The Expert answers:

Republicans believe that giving business more freedom and less regulation stimulates growth. As for renewable energy, they are optimistic of the market eventually coming up with its own renewable energy but they’re opposed to the government sponsoring money to invest in it. On education, they believe that the US Dept of Education is useless and should be abolished. Their argument is that the states should have the right to create their own standards without the federal government intervening.

There I’ve summed it up in a non-biased way.

@ NDMA: I agree with your response. Invisible thumbs up!
@ wgac: Do you have any links to show that subsidies were given to companies that ship labor overseas?

Ken asks…

What kind of….ughh….great renewable energy jbos did Congress create and or ugghh save?

Did Barrack just hit the crackpipe? Imagine a ROBBER as President….sort of like the inner city thugs who rob half your licence plate was president.

What kind of uggh renewable jobs do you think hes ugggh creating?

The Expert answers:

The bill is still in congress, but looks like it should be passed soon.

But are you having a hard time speaking? I suggest going back to school. You can take night classes if you are working during the day. You can do it! Many people have gone from illiterate to literate, with hard work and a good teacher!

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Your Questions About Green Living

Michael asks…

What type of engineers work in the field of sustainable energy?

Im considering doing a Building Services and Sustainable Engineering degree, what kind of jobs do you think it will open up for me?
Will i be able to work with sustainable/renewable energies, such as solar panels, wind turbines etc? or would i need a different type of engineering course to do that?

Any more information on engineering would be more than helpfull, im not 100% sure whether i want to do an engineering degree or not.

thanks

The Expert answers:

Hi,

From my own knowledge, jobs open for Sustainable Engineering degree are Electrical Engineer, Project Engineer, Project Admin., Project Manager etc.

Some consultancies provide solar installation courses, but I am not sure if it is what you want to do.

And sustainable engineering is a vast concept, you may need to choose your major orientation later, like wind energy, bioenergy, or solar…

Lisa asks…

How sustainable is the issue of the Mexicans migrating to the USA illegally?

How sustainable is the issue of the Mexicans migrating to the USA illegally and what is being done about it by both the US and Mexican governments?

The Expert answers:

“How sustainable is the issue of the Mexicans migrating to the USA illegally?”

What is this sentence supposed to mean? It’s gibberish.

Ken asks…

How to make a fish tank more sustainable?

What do I need to add to my tank to make it more sustainable through natural processes?

The Expert answers:

Live plants, cleaner shrimps, and a substrate that will feed the live plants 😛

this hopefully helped you 🙂

regards.

Steven asks…

How does sustainable develoment affect planning?

How does sustainable development affect planning at local regional and global levels? Preferably I would like reasons for why each level is affected for an overview would be fine as well. Thankyou 🙂
sustainable development sorry 😛

The Expert answers:

You can do much of the research for details yourself, as i asusme you are doing a theme paper.

First off, in the US, “planning” is not always practiced. Often when it is, politics has great influence over the final product. In most areas where there is some degree of planning, it is only a loosely assembled set of guidelines. There are oftentimes unexpected circumstances which require some variance to those guidelines, often if a hardship is encountered or if the development is truly desired.

Sustainable development is not mandatory. It is usually the initive of the developer.

On a global scale, there are efforts underway to make the building codes that are used in the US and Canada, to blend them with EU standards, to achieve a global standard for buildings, plumbing, electrical and heat. It is not applied globally yet, and not likely to be anything more than some suggestions to countries who have other more pressing concerns.

There are some programs like RoHS which are not mandatory, but are being embraced by many industries. That is just an illustration of one of several third party entities that exist in almost all areas relating to construction and manufacturing that are being adopted voluntarily that influence the final product, be it wire, be it insulation, be it components of the municipal infrastructure.

The short of it is- the ideas of sustainable development are not driving municipal planning directives most of the time- the sustainable development is the voluntary initiative on the part of the developer. This is not to say there is not some influence in the planning process, it just means there is no requirement upon a development to BE sustainable. And there should not be.

There are some issues with cluster housing, that while promote single family homes in a “sustainable” manner, there are some problems with ground water contamination, namely nitrates and other trace pharmaceuticals that will contaminate the water wells in some of those developments in the future due to the surrounding of the well intakes with septic systems. That subsurface flow is not vertical, it follows gravity to some extent, but it also follows and pools bounded by subsurface impervious layers that slope, or they even follow the hydrostatic suction of water wells.

Another problem with sustainable development when taken to an extreme of “smart growth” is it artificially raises the price of property that is available. And often in large urban areas, those areas that are avaiable are far from desirable neighborhoods in many cases. That means higher prices in order to cover costs and expenses.

Robert asks…

why are some cities harder to plan sustainable transport than others?

In some cities it is easier to plan sustainable transport, what are the reasons for this?

The Expert answers:

If a city has already been established, constructed, etc, the urban planners would have had to design it to take on a growing population in my opinion. A growing population will need sustainable public transport. If you haven’t allowed for growth, how could you possible allow for any type of reasonable transportation? You have no land to build on what you already have. What if a great idea will improve waste and pollution involved with public transport but requires quite a bit of land? Take Oklahoma City for example, it was poorly designed, i had to live there this past year for undergrad. Just by looking at the layout of Oklahoma’s street’s, (virtually no individual turning lanes so traffic on one street is backed up to the previous intersection just because one car want to make a u-turn), you can tell that OKC did not plan for growth. There is no way OKC could had sustainable transport to its city if the transport required more land, its already a cramped little place. So, in short, i think sustainable transport will come easier to cities that were planned to take on growth from its population.

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Your Questions About Green Living

Ruth asks…

How are eco-friendly resources eco-friendly if they take things from the enviroment?

How are ecofriendly resources ecofriendly if they take things from the enviroment?
I think the word is being over used. I see things like bamboo made hair brush so they cut down some bamboo forests that pandas need to eat. So how is this being ecofriendly? Is it causing more damage than good? More than factories making a brush without bamboo?

The Expert answers:

I agree it’s not really the best term. But, we should look at what it means, not the literal interpretation. Humans need to utilize resources at some level just to survive. Even hunters and gatherers had to remove some plants and animals from the environment for food and tools. The term isn’t meant to give the impression that it’s non-impact, just better that the alternative. Like with most things, eco-friendliness isn’t really best measured on a yes/no scale, but as a matter of degree. If the product is something completely useless that we don’t need anyway, it’s best to not use it all, second best to use a greener alternative, and worst to use something completely destructive and non-renewable.

Bamboo used for manufacturing doesn’t come from forests, it’s farmed in a plantation method. Yes, this means that land is being allocated to mono-cropping instead of natural growth, so that has it’s inherent non-friendly aspects, but it’s not exactly the same as ripping the food right from the panda’s mouth. Mono-cropping has it’s eco downsides, but it is more land-efficient than natural growth so in some ways it’s better.

Mark asks…

What are some good eco friendly ideas for a project?

In my tech class we need to design any eco friendly item that serves for dual purposes. My idea so far is an eco friendly cane that folds up and can be easily packaged. Do you think this is a good idea? What are your ideas for some cool eco friendly projects?

The Expert answers:

The cane idea is good but I think there is one already. How about a walking stick that holds water (eliminates water bottles) it could also have a water filter built in.

Robert asks…

What is an eco friendly glue for art use that will need to hold strong. Also, an eco sealant to protect it?

I am working on masonite board and will need to glue down sand and some light stone but I need it to be eco friendly. Also, I need an eco friendly product to apply after to make sure it is sealed and protected.

The Expert answers:

‘Elmer’s casein glue is made of milk protein and ‘eco-friendly’.
Most sealants are not bio-degradable by nature.
The most ‘eco-friendly’ woud be shellac, (all organic,
both the lacuer and the alcohol solvent), but it’s far from the
best sealant you can get.
It should be adequate for indoor use though.
It’s available in both ‘gloss’ and ‘matte’ finish.

Linda asks…

What are some eco-friendly ways to prevent hookworms from eating my tomatoes?

I have Roma, Big Beef, and Cherry tomatoes, but I haven’t seen evidence of hookworm feeding yet. I’d like to find an ecofriendly preventative method, if there is such a thing.

Any ideas?

The Expert answers:

Yes, it is call Thuracide Baccillius. A naturally occurring fungus that attacks certain caterpillars such as Tomato Horn Worm, Tobacco Horn Worm and others.
It has no effects on people, animals and other worms.
Thuracide is grown in the lab, and then sold so you can spray it in your garden to get rid of vegetable eating caterpillars. Buy it at most garden shops.

Daniel asks…

What are some eco friendly advertising ideas for a go green club?

My friend and I have just started a go green club at our school. We plan on advertising at our open house. Does anyone know of any cheap eco friendly products we could give out (such as pencils)? We are also interested in creating cheap t-shirts. Please post any known web links. And keep cost in mind. Thanks!

The Expert answers:

Depending on how much time you have before hand, you could make your own products! If you have old scraps of material (such as tshirts etc.) you could make and sew bean bags (like the kind you toss) and fill with beans or rice. Then you could write things like GO GREEN! Or something on them with fabric marker. T-shirts don’t have to be expensive, you can buy cheap bulk shirts and decorate them yourself, but it could get expensive if you did various sizes. If you wanted to buy and decorate something, I would suggest buying and decorating reusable shopping bags. That way, they could use them instead of taking plastic bags from the store! You could also do fun things for younger kids, like reuse water bottles and fill them with pebbles or rice to make noise makers, and decorating them with ribbons and messages and your school colors. Hope this helps! The possibilities are endless!

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Your Questions About Green Living

Ken asks…

question for thought?

My professor asked the class this question today, and it make me wonder. I was curious of what others would come up with.

Say you were creating a walled city, where no people or items could move in or out. The city is self-sustaining; it has greenhouses and building to grow/raise farm animals. It also creates its own renewable resources. Assume poulation stays stable over the years; no growth or decrease.

What population size would you pick as ideal for the city? Remember it has to be large enough to have labor(job) specialization and allow for a wide variety of jobs. It also needs to be large enough to support the need for public services such as hospitals, schools, fire, and police. It also has to be large enough to support a diverse genetic population (meaning it has to be large enough to allow people to date/marry and have kids; if the population is too small there won’t be enough choices). However, if the population is too large they’re will be issues of transportation, food/energy production, and waste disposal.

The Expert answers:

I can’t answer this question without the dimension… The area size. You figure this out by setting your technological stage… Say are you back in the 16th century living or the 21st with computers, etc… Then based on this, you determine what specifice jobs are necessary: farm workers, doctors, dentist, grocers, etc… Then based on this you do a ratio of x number of persons to each job.

Daniel asks…

i need 2 examples & definition for these words….?

Animate power,
Asylum seeker,
Centrality,
Cultural linkage,
Cultural revival,
Density gradient,
Disamenity sector,
Economic reach,
Environmental stress,
Ethnic islands, Functional specialization,
Functional structure,
Renewable energy,
Renewable resources,
Sanitary landfill,
Sector model,
Smart growth,
Soil erosion,
Solid waste,
Sprawl,
Squatter settlement,
Stratosphere,
Suburb,
Suburbanization,
Sunbelt,
Sustainable development,
Toxic waste,
Troposphere,
Underclass,
United nations conference on environment and development (UNCED),
United nations conference on the Human environment,
Urban function,
Urban geography,
Urban hierarchy,
Urban model,
Urban realm,
Urban renewal,
Urbanization,
Urbanized area,
Vienna convention for the protection of the Ozone layer,
World city,
Zoning ordinance,

I <3 all who help 😉

The Expert answers:

OH MY GOD!!!!!!! You question is longer than the Nile river.

Betty asks…

i need 2 examples & definition for these words….?

Animate power,
Asylum seeker,
Centrality,
Cultural linkage,
Cultural revival,
Density gradient,
Disamenity sector,
Economic reach,
Environmental stress,
Ethnic islands, Functional specialization,
Functional structure,
Renewable energy,
Renewable resources,
Sanitary landfill,
Sector model,
Smart growth,
Soil erosion,
Solid waste,
Sprawl,
Squatter settlement,
Stratosphere,
Suburb,
Suburbanization,
Sunbelt,
Sustainable development,
Toxic waste,
Troposphere,
Underclass,
United nations conference on environment and development (UNCED),
United nations conference on the Human environment,
Urban function,
Urban geography,
Urban hierarchy,
Urban model,
Urban realm,
Urban renewal,
Urbanization,
Urbanized area,
Vienna convention for the protection of the Ozone layer,
World city,
Zoning ordinance,

I <3 all who help 😉

The Expert answers:

Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation.

Toxic waste is a waste which is toxic (poisonous or hazardous) for a variety of reasons. It originates with industry in most cases, particularly chemical and plastics manufacturing.

The Troposphere is the lowermost portion of Earth’s atmosphere. It is the densest layer of the atmosphere and contains approximately 75% of the mass of the atmosphere and almost all the water vapour and aerosol.

The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest. The Sun Belt has seen substantial demographic and economic growth in recent decades compared to the Rust Belt states of the Northeast and Midwest.

For the rest, go to the link below:

James asks…

i need 2 examples & definition for these words….?

Animate power,
Asylum seeker,
Centrality,
Cultural linkage,
Cultural revival,
Density gradient,
Disamenity sector,
Economic reach,
Environmental stress,
Ethnic islands, Functional specialization,
Functional structure,
Renewable energy,
Renewable resources,
Sanitary landfill,
Sector model,
Smart growth,
Soil erosion,
Solid waste,
Sprawl,
Squatter settlement,
Stratosphere,
Suburb,
Suburbanization,
Sunbelt,
Sustainable development,
Toxic waste,
Troposphere,
Underclass,
United nations conference on environment and development (UNCED),
United nations conference on the Human environment,
Urban function,
Urban geography,
Urban hierarchy,
Urban model,
Urban realm,
Urban renewal,
Urbanization,
Urbanized area,
Vienna convention for the protection of the Ozone layer,
World city,
Zoning ordinance,

I <3 all who help 😉

The Expert answers:

Do your own homework………..im not here to do it for you

George asks…

i need 2 examples & definition for these words….?

Animate power,
Asylum seeker,
Centrality,
Cultural linkage,
Cultural revival,
Density gradient,
Disamenity sector,
Economic reach,
Environmental stress,
Ethnic islands, Functional specialization,
Functional structure,
Renewable energy,
Renewable resources,
Sanitary landfill,
Sector model,
Smart growth,
Soil erosion,
Solid waste,
Sprawl,
Squatter settlement,
Stratosphere,
Suburb,
Suburbanization,
Sunbelt,
Sustainable development,
Toxic waste,
Troposphere,
Underclass,
United nations conference on environment and development (UNCED),
United nations conference on the Human environment,
Urban function,
Urban geography,
Urban hierarchy,
Urban model,
Urban realm,
Urban renewal,
Urbanization,
Urbanized area,
Vienna convention for the protection of the Ozone layer,
World city,
Zoning ordinance,

I <3 all who help 😉

The Expert answers:

Start with wikipedia

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Your Questions About Green Living

Maria asks…

How can you make food more sustainable?

The Expert answers:

“Eat less, save money, loose weight!” — Saturday Night Live

I have chickens. We found a place for free grain (beer brewery in my town).. Smells like beer (bleg) but the animals love it. My chickens also get all the table scraps, plate scrappings, all bones and meat scraps… Weeds from my garden, grass clippings when I mow. They get them in their pen and about every 3 days I rake out what they don’t eat and put that in the compost bin… That earthworms grow in.. That the chickens eat too. My 30 chickens eat a bag of regular chicken feed once every 2 months. $17 for feed for two months and I have extra eggs to sell and make more than that back on. The chickens don’t even eat all the grain between days we get it.. We could easily grow a couple pigs off of it too. Before we found it the brewery saw most of their used grain go to the dump.

There should be restaurants around a person could buy all the leftover food from and do the same thing. We throw away so much food in our country.. It’s just sad.

Going a bit overboard, IMO, there is a Japanese Scientist who is separating protein from sewage sludge and making it into a ‘synthetic beef’. I saw the article on Fox News.. Http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/17/japanese-scientists-create-meat-from-poop/

Now, maybe the proteins could be separated and put into an animal feed.. I think that would be more reasonable.

Lisa asks…

Is Drinking Coffee a Sustainable Food Source?

The Expert answers:

Only on the Sims.

James asks…

Can vertical farming provide sustainable food alternatives to communities today? http://blog.valcent.net?

Vertical farming maximizes land usage and uses only 5% of water consumption that traditional farming uses. Vertical farming crops for secure, cost effective & safe local foods may be an independent sustainable solution for developing countries. Caroline Keddy http://blog.valcent.net, www.valcent.net

The Expert answers:

Yes. It is a promising future for food development. As the world population continues to explode it will be absolutely necessary to Develop these types of crops.

Laura asks…

A sustainable future in relation to food.?

Discuss values and associated behaviours in relation to a sustainable future, in relation to sustainable food.

That is the question I am being asked to write an essay on? I am really unsure about what I can include and anything would help!

So this is what is required of me: Has written or spoken on each value, explaining how that value supports a sustainable future, and provides in depth examples from the readings and interviews of the behaviours that arise as a consequence of one value and thenon how a value supports a sustainable future, with detailed examples from the readings and interview of the behaviours that arise as a consequence. The discussion includes justifying decisions, making judgements, stating opinions, considering implications, projecting future impacts, evaluating options, comparing and contrasting, analysing or suggesting alternatives, where appropriate.

Any links or your own thoughts would be very useful!

The Expert answers:

Food should be processed and distributed in ways that does not contribute to wanton waste, and excessive use of resources.

See the “McDonaldization of America”

Ken asks…

Will the food resources on planet Earth be sustainable for the population?

What’s the prediction for the future in the year 2222?
Also can you give evidence as to why you think that? Any other information about it would be much appretiated.
Lisa.Rr x

The Expert answers:

I think yes, there could be enough food for the population in 2222, and the emphasis is on the word “could.” However, nobody knows if there actually will be enough – it all depends on how farsighted humans will be with regard to many other challenges that are poised to wipe us out before 2222. We’ll have to put aside self-interest and start doing what’s good for the world. Such things as stopping or reversing population growth, ending wars, respecting the sovereignty of other nations and taking care of the planet are obvious goals, but achieving them may depend heavily on whether we can shed our hang-ups and start being kind to one another. Pres. Obama is off to a good start.

The reason we have to be kind to one another is that it is the only way to get people to cooperate. It’s contrary to our nature, which is left over from when we depended on bluster and deception for survival. But we could free up lots of resources if we could make progress in this area. And we might even get people more personally involved in population control.

There are organizations that are trying to do something about the population explosion. PCI Media Impact is one of them – they produce TV soap opera programming in third world countries that deals with birth control and sexual attitudes.

I think humanity will succeed in reaching 2222. We evolved this far, and we should have no trouble tackling new problems. Science is developing more productive food crop varieties. We’re going about climate change better than I ever dreamed we would.

When 2222 rolls around, I imagine I’ll be relaxing on the front porch munching on a Soylent Green wafer and thinking of new ways to be kind to the new neighbors.

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