Recent Posts:

I’ve had a revelation as of recent, as it relates to energy consumption. I believe that part of the reason that people have a tendency to be less energy conscious than they may be otherwise is that we are sometimes insulated from the levels of our consumption. Yes, we get a bill from our utility companies each month, but dollars alone seem to not be enough to help people understand how much energy they’re using. 

PGE’s bill tells you how many kilowatts you’ve used, and even provides a graph to see how your use has fluctuated not only from month-to-month, but also year-to-year monthly comparisons. This is valuable, as is the billed dollar amount, but at the end of the day you can’t put a kilowatt into a bucket, bag or Hello Kitty lunch-box. 

The same can be said for Northwest Natural Gas. While I don’t use natural gas to heat my home, cook my food or heat my water, I know that NWNG bills based on how many therms you use. But really, what the hell is a therm? Again, show me how to put it into said bucket, bag or Hello Kitty lunch-box. 

I believe that the sheer intangibility of household energy has led us to be less critical of our use of said energy. In automobiles we have a nice gauge that outlines the total volume of gasoline/diesel available in the vehicle’s fuel tank. And I think many of us know exactly what a gallon of gas looks like –you know, kind of like a gallon of milk, just far more stinky and far less desirable as part of a latte. Because of this, we’re painfully aware of how much energy we’re using and we can take immediate steps to reduce the amount. I believe we as a society would use less energy if we simply had a better grasp of what this energy looked like! (more…)

I’ve been told that a chain (literally and metaphorically) is only as strong as its weakest link. I remember hiring an engineer to assess the cross beams in a commercial space I was renting to determine how much weight I could hang from the ceiling. The engineer pointed out that the cross supports were 12 inches tall, but the ends of each beam had been notched out two inches, essentially making the entire span no stronger than if the supports were 10 inches tall. Appearances can be deceiving.

This lesson popped into my head as I read this piece in the Oregonian last week, highlighting the new issues encountered by recycling centers since the city unveiled the new recycling roll carts this past summer. Seems as if recycling rates have skyrocketed thanks to the new carts. The problem is that the carts have unintentionally encouraged the masses to recycle in a far less disciplined manner. In fact, some people now believe that almost anything can go into a recycling bin regardless of the clear directives printed on the lid.

Apparently Portlanders believe that if something is made of plastic, it qualifies for deposit into the cart. No questions asked. While it’s humorous that we can go from a somewhat disciplined community of recyclers to a pack of rabid recycling cretins in such a short time, what’s not humorous is the result: more waste and broken machinery. (more…)

I can’t help but wonder… just how religious is Portland? According to this site, some 17 percent of Oregonians classify themselves as ‘non-religious’. I can’t help but think that Portland’s numbers spike above this, but every day continues to offer surprise. Subsequently, the question lingers.

Do liberals and greenies equal a smaller god-fearing populace? Just how many Portlanders get up every Sunday and march down to their local church, washing away the effects of their weekly misgivings? How many pray to the imaginary unicorns in the sky before slipping into bed at night? Tell me people, just what percentage of this great, progressive populace of ours roots their every moral decision in ancient supernaturalism?

I just kicked-off a new diet of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris and I haven’t felt better in my life. Logic and reason have a tremendous affect on a person’s outlook -especially when delivered with such brilliance, as is the case with these two astute chaps. For Dawkins and Harris newbies, I’m simply too much of a novice to do either any justice, so I’ll let them speak for themselves. First, Dawkins:

A recent Gallup poll concluded that nearly 50 percent of the American public believes the universe is less than 10,000 years old. Nearly half the population, in other words, believes that the entire universe, the sun and solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy, and all the billions of other galaxies, all began after the domestication of the dog. They believe this because they rate a particular bronze age origin myth more highly than all the scientific evidence in the world. It is only one of literally thousands of such myths from around the world, but it happened, by a series of historical accidents, to become enshrined in a book – Genesis – which, by another series of historical accidents, has been translated and disseminated to almost every home in the land plus – infuriatingly – every hotel room. Even before science told us the true story of the origin of the world and the evolution of life, there was no reason to believe the Jewish origin myth any more than the origin myths of the Yoruba or the Kikuyu, the Yanomamo or the Maori, the Dogon or the Cherokee. Now, in the 21st century as we approach Darwin’s bicentenary, the fact that half of Americans take Genesis literally is nothing less than an educational scandal.

And for those who need further food for thought, let Sam Harris guide us into the light. (more…)

Welcome to the information age! Oh yes, and as you pass the gates, yank your knickers down around your ankles and hobble over to the barrel. If you’re not quick enough you might get out-digg’d, out-tweeted, out-friendfed, out-(insert favorite, over-hyped social media technology here). That’s right, you sad, meaningful-relationship-starved, Web-fed mullets… wrap your lips around my hulking, filthy, dripping, elegantly Wordpress-presented opinion.

Whether you’ve been online since Al Gore fired up the first Briggs & Stratton-powered Information SuperWideWeb, or you just recently became enamored by that cute little glowing apple on the back of that fancy Trapper Keeper, you probably understand that the Web is here to stay, baby, and it’s a major part of many people’s lives. In 2003 (last US Census data available) the state of Oregon was led by just nine states in terms of home computer ownership, and only seven states had greater home Internet use.

As you might guess, the West coast has the highest rate of computer ownership and use. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, more than 80 percent of Americans have Internet access with some 55 percent of all adult Americans now have a high-speed internet connection at home. People are online, baby, and they’re not going to take it anymore. Take what you ask? Well… um… anything! Just read any blog and you’ll see what I mean.

As with most blogs –Portland-centric and otherwise– today’s Web sites often provide a ripe-and-ready opportunity for readers to share their voices, letting the conversation ooze off the street, out of the office, out of the bedroom, out of the bathhouse, and into the ether. To foster a robust conversation (and if you’re setup for it, to fuel increased ad revenue) a new writer might consider enabling comments on their blog. This is a fantastic notion; commentary features enable and encourage people to share their thoughts right after they read a post/article, and then others can share their opinions on the original post/article as well as the other responses. It’s so warm and fuzzy and interactive and collaborative… and… and… puss-filled! (more…)

For those of you who heat your home, water and food with natural gas, Northwest (NW) Natural’s recent announcement that it will likely increase rates by up to 40 percent, likely came as a pretty massive shock. Just when natural gas customers thought they could avoid yet another impact from the volatile global energy market, this announcement hits at a most inopportune time. As I heat my home with Oregon-sourced and refined B99 biodiesel, this increase won’t hit me directly, but really, I’m already bent over the barrel (so to speak) –have you seen the price of Oregon-sourced B99? Yeah, no parade at my home, kids. The fact is, energy prices are squeezing us all. This being said, the recent announcement from NW Natural shines a glaring light on an industry that has long kept itself clean of the dirt kicked up during the recent oil and energy crisis. Natural gas deserves a closer look, especially as the coast is under deep investigation by the federal government for potential LNG (liquefied natural gas) ports. Or as I like to say, more needles to feed the habit.

First, before anybody completely skewers NW Natural for inflating rates, it’s important to note that gas utilities’ profits don’t depend on the volume of gas they sell. The price of gas for end-customers is based on what NW Natural refer to as the weighted average cost of gas. This figure is a complex sum of the price of gas withdrawn from NW Natural’s own storage wells, their long-term contracts, and the price the company pays on the wholesale market when it needs to bulk up supplies during the winter. According to the Oregonian:

“…in late August, NW Natural estimates its gas cost for the following year and submits the forecast to regulators at the Oregon Public Utility Commission, who analyze the request and set rates accordingly. If actual gas costs come in lower than the estimate, a refund is built into rates the next year. Utilities don’t lock in their entire supply for the year in advance. And regulators make sure utilities are motivated to buy gas judiciously by allowing them to share in any savings –or losses– they achieve from their original estimate.”

Natural is as Natural Does

NW Natural is an interesting business that has remained severely quiet during bio-fuel’s rise and recent decline… and for good reason. While they have a name that almost guarantees a perfect fit for Oregonians (’Northwest’ and ‘Natural’ in the same title!), there’s not a boatload to be proud of. Yes, the gas is from natural sources, and yes, it is delivered to Northwest customers, but that’s where the honeymoon ends. The fact is, natural gas comes from the same place that we get oil (for the most part). Though it is a gas and not a liquid, natural gas is, in fact, a non-renewable fossil fuel, just like oil. It’s found primarily in both oil fields and natural gas fields, as well as in coal beds (as coalbed methane). (more…)