Interesting gas use

I ran across this and had to re-blog it.




Found Here

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Bamboo Mountain bike...

So how cool is this:



Craig Calfee designed the bamboo bike as a publicity stunt in 1995, Craig's bamboo errand bike evolves into a well-tested new model for the general public. 12 Bamboo bikes had been built for employees, relatives and friends. The feedback on the smooth ride quality was too good to ignore, so they decided to go into production.

You can check out Craig's site Here.

Talk about making the most out of nature. It is too bad that the price tag is $2700.

Photo: James Merithew/Wired.com

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Welcome 2009. A recap of 2008

It is amazing how time eases by us minute after minute, day after day, and year after year. Sometimes if you are not paying close attention to things they can pass right on by. 2008 was a busy year with loads of interesting events happened in our world. Here are a few very cool things that I was able to accomplish in 2008 that were CMC related:

1. I was able to recycle all of my household paper in 2008, including all my mail, all my packaging boxes - from food items to household product packaging - everything cardboard. I also recycled all plastic items, glass items, and aluminum.

2. I was able to set up recycling for both of the offices that I work at. Not only do they now recycle all the paper in the office but all of the cardboard shipping boxes that come in to our warehouse as well. Literally several tons a month of cardboard and paper. I was able to arrange containers and removal and save several hundred dollars a year in waste management costs for the company. Very cool.

3. I was able to cut my electricity usage by almost 20% from the previous year buy unplugging everything when it was not in use. Tv, computer, fax, phone... you would be amazed at home much juice these things can eat up even when they are turned off. I picked one of THESE up and tested everything out in my house. Very cool. If anyone would like to use this just let me know. I would be more than happy to let anyone borrow mine. Only takes a few minutes and you can check out everything in your house.

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1 MILLION New TREES!!! How cool.

I know I am a little behind on this news, it was originally released back in October. But this morning I drove by people planting truck loads of new trees along the high way and drainage canals by my house so I did a little digging and found out what it is all about.

This is an article from Chron.com:

A million new trees will thicken our canopy
By ALLAN TURNER Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Oct. 6, 2008, 11:23PM

Conceding it never will have mountains nor the Mediterranean, Mayor Bill White on Monday boasted Houston is "a green city that is beautiful to look at from the air and from the ground."

White's comments came as he announced city participation in Million Trees + Houston, a multimillion-dollar public-private partnership to plant more than a million trees in the city in the next five years.

"Our big public goal," said White, "is to plant more trees than we ever have."

Starting with a $750,000 budget, the city plans to plant at least 150,000 trees, starting in September, White said.

Joining in the effort are the Texas Department of Transportation, which has agreed to plant 513,000 trees on highway rights of way; Harris County, planting 275,000-plus trees; Trees for Houston and Texas Forest Service, each planting 10,000-plus trees; and corporate sponsors, management districts and other civic groups, planting more than 150,000 trees.

Other cities do the same.

Launch of the project, modeled after similar efforts in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, coincides with the loss of tens of thousands of trees during Hurricane Ike.

At city parks and golf courses alone, Parks and Recreation Director Joe Turner said, more than 3,500 trees were lost.

Mack Fowler of the Quality of Life Coalition in Houston said the effort would help "put Houston on the map as an extraordinary tree city." The city's goal, he said, is to plant the trees in five years — half the time earmarked for similar projects in the larger cities.

"You're going to see trees in a very near term," Fowler said.

White endorsed trees as boons to the environment because they absorb carbon dioxide, aid in flood prevention, provide shade and serve as buffers against violent winds.

White said he has solicited the participation of large businesses in the program, asking that they give their employees "the gift of trees" in the coming holidays.
"I'm not saying turkeys don't have their place," he said, "but trees are a gift that lasts 70 to 80 years."

This year and next, the city will match one-third of corporate donations of up to $1.5 million. Among the areas the city plans to target for tree plantings are Wayside Drive, Dairy Ashford and Cullen Boulevard. On Cullen, the city intends to plant 4,500 trees on 38 esplanades.

White said a variety of trees in a variety of sizes, from seedlings to trees in 15-gallon containers, will be planted.

"We're going to plant like crazy from mid-September through February," he said.

White lauded the efforts of the Texas Department of Transportation, which has planted more than 600,000 trees along Houston roadways since 1999.

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Pagoda Trees

A few years back (2006) I purchased a packet of 10 Pagoda tree seeds on ebay. I planted them and decided that It would be pretty cool to take photos of their growth. Five of the seeds made it and below is a collection of photographs documenting the growth and life from seed of those Pagoda trees. I started taking photos every day, and then every week, and currently I am taking photos every month. It is pretty amazing how a little tiny seed can transform into a tree in just a matter of time.

The Pagoda Tree (Chinese Scholar, Japanese pagodatree; syn. Sophora japonica), is native to eastern Asia (mainly China; despite the name, it is introduced in Japan), is a popular ornamental tree in Europe and North America, grown for its white flowers, borne in late summer after most other flowering trees have long finished flowering. It makes a broad, spreading tree to 10-20 m tall and as much broad.

The Pagoda Tree is widely used in bonsai gardening. The Guilty Chinese Scholartree was a historic Pagoda Tree in Beijing, on which the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, hanged himself.

Click below to see all of the Pagoda photos:

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