Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Funny Article
Ok, to show that I can take it as well as dish it out - - there's a great article on the last page of Time Magazine this week that talks about how buying food that was produced locally is really dumb. It's definitely tongue and cheek but the main point is that it pokes fun at people like me...and actually the writer too. The guy is so funny, he basically goes out to Whole Foods and tries to make a meal out of ingredients that come from as far away as possible. Cheese from France, wine from Italy, nuts from Spain, etc. While a little loose with the facts (the claim that packaged goods from other countries weren't as bad for the environment as the gas used to drive to the local farmer's market was a little far fetched) it was definitely entertaining. My favorite quote from the guy was something like, "buying food from foreign countries is the only way I really learn about any other countries...except when we bomb them". Obviously this guy could poke fun at himself as well as others. Ok, maybe I should stop reading so much and start making some beads! I've got two sets on Ebay that are ending Thursday morning if you are interested in taking a look.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A Good Sign
How great is this - - the Toyota Prius sales just passed the Ford Explorer...which has been the top selling SUV for more than 10 years. It's awesome to see people starting to downscale away from the monster trucks that were so popular. The article listed some of the possible reasons as rising gas prices and increased regulation. While I really don't care what the specific reason is, I can't help but hope that some of it is just people caring more about the environment. One of the most ironic placement of a bumper sticker ever is the "Support Our Troops" stickers plastered across the Enormous Monster Trucks. I always think, "hello, we wouldn't be in that war if Americans would drive more fuel efficient cars". I actually think that it's better to support our troops by trying to do everything possible to consume as little oil as possible, including driving a car with good gas mileage, taking public transportation whenever possible, and buying locally grown food that isn't shipped across the country or continent.
So while Prius sales aren't going to single handily change the world, it's a step in the right direction. Kind of like the first time I heard that McDonalds was now selling salads. ....baby steps! The other thing I really believe is that companies that don't figure out how to keep up with the the world's new focus on caring for the planet, don't deserve to stay in business. That's one of the main reasons that Toyota is dangerously close to completely bankrupting Ford and GM. I've been following these companies for some time now and it's just hard to imagine Ford and GM really competing with Honda and Toyota since both of those companies have been making smaller, more fuel efficient cars for so long now.
Here's the article if you are interested in taking a read: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/ToyotaPriusSalesPassFordExplorer.aspx
So while Prius sales aren't going to single handily change the world, it's a step in the right direction. Kind of like the first time I heard that McDonalds was now selling salads. ....baby steps! The other thing I really believe is that companies that don't figure out how to keep up with the the world's new focus on caring for the planet, don't deserve to stay in business. That's one of the main reasons that Toyota is dangerously close to completely bankrupting Ford and GM. I've been following these companies for some time now and it's just hard to imagine Ford and GM really competing with Honda and Toyota since both of those companies have been making smaller, more fuel efficient cars for so long now.
Here's the article if you are interested in taking a read: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/ToyotaPriusSalesPassFordExplorer.aspx