Greetings from Alison Wiley here in Portland, Oregon. I'm a writer/doer/thinker who lives happily by putting people, nature and God ahead of accumulating more stuff. Read more →
My carpool has naturally been discussing whether the government should bail out the Detroit automakers. The bailout question reminds me of the short story “The Lady Or The Tiger” in which a woman decides which door to send her lover to, i.e. death or a new life with a new lady. Carpool opinions may be [...]
Tags: automakers·carpooling·cars·climate change·Detroit·economics·energy conservation·General Motors·global warming·GM·hybrids
Living here in Portland, Oregon, I’ve become aware that we have the highest percentage of hybrid cars of any city in the nation. I’ve also observed that Portland General Electric (PGE) has the largest renewable power program in the country. (Disclosure: I’m married to Thor Hinckley, the manager of that renewables program.) The new piece [...]
Tags: carbon footprint·cars·electric cars·electricity·energy conservation·environment·green living·hybrids·Oregon·PGE·plug-in stations·Portland
My blogosphere colleague Brandt Smith of Wealth and Wisdom commented on yesterday’s post on hybrids and electric cars in a way that intrigued me. He was responding to my belief that electric cars and hybrids are the only cars that have a future in our carbon-constrained world. “Ahh, a topic for the engineer in me. [...]
Tags: carbon footprint·cars·climate change·culture·electric cars·energy conservation·engineering·green living·happiness·hybrids·hydrogen fuel cells·petroleum·technology·travel
My friend from Santa Cruz, concerned about global warming as I am, asked for advice yesterday about the car purchase she needs to make. It happens my husband Thor did lots of research recently about whether to buy a Prius or a Honda Civic hybrid. We chose the Honda, for reasons given here, but we [...]
Tags: auto safety·carbon footprint·carpooling·cars·electric cars·energy conservation·environment·global warming·green living·happiness·Honda Civic hybrid·hybrids·life·Prius·renewable energy·soundproofing·SUVs·time management
With Summer Solstice and the first day of summer coming up on Saturday June 21, my theme this week will be earth-friendly recreation, or Fun In The Time Of Global Warming. Professional work tends to keep us up in our heads, thinking so hard we practically get divorced from our bodies. I really hate that [...]
Tags: 10k·beer·carbon footprint·carpooling·culture·energy conservation·environment·exercise·global warming·green living·half-marathon·happiness·Hefeweisen·Helvetia·Hollywood·Hood to Coast·hybrids·life·movies·outdoors·running·thrift
We researched ad nauseam what fuel-efficient, low-emissions car we should buy. We finally chose the Honda Civic hybrid for its great ratings all around, plus its state AND federal tax credits. We waited and waited for it to arrive at the dealership. Last night we finally brought it home.
Tags: carbon footprint·carpool·carpooling·cars·consumption·energy conservation·green living·Honda hybrid·hybrid·hybrids·Prius·pzev·tax credit
The diamond-cut life is about more joy, more integrity and less consumption as we deal with global warming. The food-as-fuel track that the U.S. is on (ethanol) assumes unlimited consumption (driving alone, for instance) with no particular joy or integrity. What are practical, concrete things we can do? Here is what my household is doing [...]
Tags: agrifuel·agrofuel·bicycle·biofuel·carbon footprint·carpooling·consumption·diet·Drive Less Save More·environment·fuel·global warming·green living·Honda hybrid·hybrids·Prius·trip diary·vanpool·walk
While President Bush and the biofuel industry are happy with the growth of biofuel, Columbia economics professor Jeffrey Sachs is not. Neither, it seems, are millions in the world currently starving who weren’t starving prior to the push for biofuel. The food riots in at least eight countries over skyrocketing food prices may have been [...]
Tags: biofuel·consumption·economics·energy conservation·environment·ethanol·food prices·fuel·global warming·hybrid·hybrids·Jeffrey Sachs·life·subsidies
The New York Times has a front-page article today about Americans making a stampede to small cars due to rising gas prices. I read it avidly since our transportation choices form such a high percentage of our national carbon footprint (and carbon emissions are the primary cause of global warming). It turned out that one [...]
Tags: carbon footprint·carpooling·cars·consumption·economics·energy conservation·fuel efficiency·global warming·hybrid·hybrids·pzev·SUVs
My job in transportation options has taken me, in a new Prius, to the high desert town of Bend, Oregon (recently named by American Cowboy magazine in its Top Ten list of wild-west towns). The Prius, mud-splattered from the Santiam Pass, is now dusted with snow as well, so it reminds me of an Appaloosa [...]
Tags: Appaloosa·Bend·carbon emissions·climate change·conservation·consumption·energy conservation·global warming·green living·hybrid·hybrids·Juliet Schor·Old West·Oregon·peak oil·Prius·vanpool·Wild West
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