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Entries from December 19th, 2009

Experiences Make Us Happier Than Things, Research Says

December 19th, 2009 · 6 Comments · lifestyle, money, simplicity

Time for last-minute but blessedly low-stress Christmas shopping. This is a guest post from fellow Portlander Katy Wolk-Stanley of The Non-Consumer Advocate, a blog I highly recommend. More support for a joyful, low-cost Christmas here. Katy writing: One part of this article on shopping that struck me as quite insightful was the subject of how [...]

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Clashes In Copenhagen Make Sense

December 16th, 2009 · 3 Comments · global warming and climate change

I’m penning just a short post today before I take the bus into downtown Portland for meetings on transportation options. (Happily, it appears that the statewide/interstate rideshare project we’ve been working on for a long time will officially be granted its funding today.) As the world’s climate talks in Copenhagen approach their conclusion on Friday, [...]

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Spiritual But Not Religious? Tell Me More.

December 13th, 2009 · 5 Comments · energy, global warming and climate change

Here in the Pacific Northwest where stunning, relatively well-preserved rivers, mountains and sweeping open spaces command our attention and a bit of reverence, it’s popular to be “spiritual but not religious”. These aren’t just words. For example, Oregon has the second lowest church attendance in the nation. In my experience, people’s announcement of being spiritual-but-not-religious [...]

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Geothermal Causes Earthquakes: More Urgency For Energy Conservation

December 11th, 2009 · 3 Comments · energy, global warming and climate change, sustainability

I’m surprised this morning to learn about a  blow to the future of geothermal, a major form of renewable (clean) energy. The New York Times reports that a $60 million geothermal project in Basel, Switzerland, has been permanently canceled because of the earthquakes the project’s drilling caused (emphasis mine). The drilling-induced earthquakes caused a total [...]

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A Conservative Reader Speaks Up

December 9th, 2009 · 2 Comments · sustainability

A DCL reader who goes by the monicker of MM recently offered a valuable, questioning voice to last week’s post on using cattails to make ethanol. Then MM wrote in again today with this: Great blog. I really appreciate the tone you take in your writing. I’m a conservative who can’t stand the fact that [...]

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