Blackouts Illuminate the Bright Side of Rooftop Solar

This is one of those situations where you can build/rebuild to be more 'resilient' in multiple meanings of the word.

Blackouts Illuminate the Bright Side of Rooftop Solar | Climate Central:

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After Hurricane Sandy, Dunes Prove They Blunt Storms

Dunes aren't seawalls but they do tend to protect development, and once they're there if they have enough room they will self-replicate or maintain. If you build right up against the dunes they will move inward and affect buildings, so setbacks and stilts still have to be part of the discussion or it won't be sustainable for the long haul.

After Hurricane Sandy, Dunes Prove They Blunt Storms - NYTimes.com:

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When to Relocate and When to Rebuild After Disasters

When to Relocate and When to Rebuild After Disasters - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

I see a lot of valid points in all five opinions. Don't rebuild without thoroughly rethinking placement, priority, mitigation options and whether retreat is an option.

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Solar-Powered Floating Schools

Solar-Powered Floating Schools Allow Bangladeshi Kids to Learn During Monsoon Season



Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

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Vegan Thanksgiving recipe rundown

Last night was a Thanksgiving success, which is amazing considering my oven BROKE with an hour left on the turkey and five dishes uncooked. The nice thing about Thanksgiving with friends who live nearby is you can scatter to two different kitchens with working ovens and reassemble into a Thanksgiving Voltron of Deliciousness. This year I am thankful for friends, planning ahead and alcohol.

We also played a hilarious game: everyone gets a sheet of paper and a pen. You start by writing down a phrase on the top of the paper (I chose "bitches ain't shit but hos and tricks"), then pass it to the person next to you. That person draws a picture illustrating the phrase. Then they fold the paper so the phrase is hidden, and all that is showing is the drawing. Then they pass that to the person next to them, who writes a phrase that describes what they think is going on in the picture. Then they fold to cover the picture and pass their phrase on, etc. Continue until the page is filled up and then pile them all in the center of the room. When all the pages are done, everyone grabs one at random, unfolds it, and passes them around to read.

It's basically like visual telephone, and depending on people's creativity and drawing skills (or lack thereof) you can get some pretty hilarious results. We were laughing so hard that a couple of people felt sick. I think the winners were Ganja Santas and Steaming Choirs of Shit, plus the squirrel-raping tree stump.

Now, the recipes!

For breakfast the day of, while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Purina Dog Show:  Pumpkin Waffles (G Free and Vegan) from Girl Makes Food (this is a great blog by the way).

Cranberry Sherbert and Praline-Topped Sweet Potatoes from my earlier post.

Apple Fauxsage Pecan Stuffing

• 2 lb Field Roast Apple Sage sausages, sliced into 1/4" - 1/2" rounds
• 2 carrots, peeled & finely cubed (1/8") *
• 1 Tablespoon sage
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 10 cups cubed stale bread/unseasoned stuffing mix
• 2 onions, sliced*
• 2 apples, cored & cut into small cubes 
• 1 1/4 cups veggie stock
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional)*
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• salt and pepper

1. Cook sausage in 1 TBSP oil, about 5 min, stirring often.
2. Add onions and carrots, cook another 3 minutes.
3. Stir in apples, sage, thyme, and marjoram, cook another 5 minutes.
4. Add 1 cup of stock, and bring to a boil.
5. Remove from heat, stir in bread, pecans, parsley, salt and pepper.
6. Spoon into a lightly greased casserole dish.
7. (This recipe can be made ahead to this point, it will keep in the fridge for 2 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks. If frozen, thaw in fridge before baking).
8. Bake, covered, in 325°F oven for about 40 minutes. Halfway through cooking time, drizzle with the remaining stock.
9. Remove the lid and bake 10 more minutes, until the stuffing has a crusty top and is heated through.

*I hate celery so I swapped carrots in for it, but if you like that kind of thing feel free to swap it back out, or have both. I liked the color the carrots added.  I used 1 1/2 large onions and used the leftover half for the gravy. I also didn't have any fresh parsley so I didn't add it. It was fine without, but would be tasty with. 

Adapted from: roxanne's recipe at Food.com

Vegan Gravy*

• half a large onion, minced
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• Pacific Foods mushroom broth (or 2 cups veggie broth)
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp sage 
• salt & pepper

1. Sautee onion in Earth Balance on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. 
2. Mix in flour to make a roux and stir constantly for 5 minutes, or longer as desired, until it's well combined into a smooth paste/thick sauce
3. Slowly add 2 cups broth while stirring (whisk recommended) 
4. Add spices and salt & pepper to taste
5. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Reduce heat if it's really boiling, a low simmer is ideal. 
6. Reduce heat to lowest heat and let sit until ready to serve, stirring occasionally. Add water if it's thickened too much. Serve hot! 

*this is an approximation of what I made up on the fly without measuring. You can cook the onions longer to caramelize them more. Also, you can do a white roux in five minutes, or you can keep cooking/stirring to get a golden or darker roux. Just add the broth when it starts to stick or seems like it will burn. As for cooking time, with the Voltron Thanksgiving it ended up sitting on low heat for an hour, and was fine, though I did have to thin it.

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Storm Surge Barriers May Save Wall Street, But Would Worsen Flooding in Outer Boroughs

This is what I am TALKING ABOUT. Yes. The Dutch were only able to install the storm barriers *after* protecting the rest of the coast, and that included huge setbacks, dune replenishment, and a few site-specific hardening methods. Otherwise you're protecting one area at the expense of everything else, and actually making things worse for them.

Storm Surge Barriers May Save Wall Street, But Would Worsen Flooding in Outer Boroughs : TreeHugger:

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New New Amsterdam

The gates by themselves won't solve everything, but for infrastructure or settlements that are too expensive/delicate/sacred to move, the gates could be one of the solutions. Sandbars or barrier islands are a good idea but the currents would have to be carefully studied/estimated to see if they would turn into walking islands, or how they would affect the current ocean movements. In the wrong place, or wrong angle, they could just disappear a few years after they were created. Properly placed they could be a benefit in more ways than one.

For the rest of the coast, however, setbacks have to be enforced and, for starters, politicians have to agree to accept scientific predictions based on current data, regardless of an individual's stance on anthropogenic climate change.

This would not be a small, easy or cheap fix, but it is likely necessary unless New York and New Jersey wants a repeat performance (whether from a hurricane, tropical storm, or a Nor'easter).


New New Amsterdam: Should New York Do Like the Dutch and Build Some Skyscraper-Sized Sea Gates? | Observer:

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The Evolution of Urban Planning in 10 Diagrams

The Evolution of Urban Planning in 10 Diagrams - Design - The Atlantic Cities:

Nice addition of the hockey stick graph at the end. I'll have to investigate the Frank Lloyd Wright one more.

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Oakland shaping 'monster' of long-term vision plan

Oakland has a lot of potential, and a lot of problems. I'm glad they're focusing on transportation and the slumlords, student housing doesn't need to be that bad. If they can improve some of the connections between it and other neighborhood centers, rather than blurring the the edges of Oakland (e.g. student rentals bleeding into surrounding areas), it might help mix up the housing stock in the way they are hoping.

Oakland shaping 'monster' of long-term vision plan - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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The allure of the technological fix after Hurricane Sandy

I agree on all points. Select the points where retreat is not an option and protect them; let everything else go and rebuild somewhere that makes sense.

Good luck with that though, what with Americans' fanatical attachment to a specific piece of land, rather than what that land lets them do - live. Amazing how many will give up some rights in exchange for safety, but not when it comes to land ownership (and not giving up rights, just relocating those rights to a place that makes sense).

Grist: Blinded by science: The allure of the technological fix after Hurricane Sandy 

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What Conviction of Earthquake Advisors Means for Global Warming Science

What Conviction of Earthquake Advisors Means for Global Warming Science 

Probability is not prophecy. Maybe what it takes is better scientific education of the public, and especially of the media. Every journalist needs to take a crash course in statistics, probability and the scientific method. And perhaps, scientists should take courses in communication and marketing. It can't hurt.


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Advice Concerning Low Spirits

A letter from Sydney Smith to Lady Georgiana Morpeth, Feb. 16, 1820:

Dear Lady Georgiana,– Nobody has suffered more from low spirits than I have done — so I feel for you. 1st. Live as well as you dare. 2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75° or 80°. 3rd. Amusing books. 4th. Short views of human life — not further than dinner or tea. 5th. Be as busy as you can. 6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you. 7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you. 8th. Make no secret of low spirits to your friends, but talk of them freely — they are always worse for dignified concealment. 9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you. 10th. Compare your lot with that of other people. 11th. Don’t expect too much from human life — a sorry business at the best. 12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence. 13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree. 14th. Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue. 15th. Make the room where you commonly sit, gay and pleasant. 16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness. 17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice. 18th. Keep good blazing fires. 19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion. 20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana,
Very truly yours,
Sydney Smith

via Futility Closet

Best Foods to Stockpile for an Emergency

Best Foods to Stockpile for an Emergency | Real Simple:

Great list. Check it every 3 mo, eat or donate any that are <6 and="and" benefit="benefit" expiring="expiring" food="food" from="from" mo="mo" nbsp="nbsp" p="p" pantries="pantries" restock.="restock.">
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Deadly connection: New report on extreme weather and climate change

You can't bitch about crazy weather events and then say nothing's happening. You can pretend it's not raining but you're still getting wet.

Deadly connection: New report on extreme weather and climate change 

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New Study Shows 23 Nuclear Power Plants With 74 Reactors at High Risk from Tsunamis

New Study Shows 23 Nuclear Power Plants With 74 Reactors at High Risk from Tsunamis

It's amazing how people turn complete blind eyes to major risks like this, even with all the science and previous experience. People can convince themselves that anything is a good idea.

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US Nuclear Facilities Risk From Flooding Due to Dam Failure

US Nuclear Facilities at Greater Than Expected Risk From Flooding Due to Dam Failure: Whistleblower : TreeHugger:

It seems not counting dam failure as a hazard of concern is fairly common. Most non-commercial earthen dams (generally for livestock manure ponds, etc) are not even mapped, and are the most likely to fail. While it's unlikely they would be large enough to cause damage to a nuclear plant, other dams would be, and the track record on keeping dams going as long as possible (see: Elwha) is pretty... damning. (Sorry.)

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Home Wifi Could Be Used By Emergency Response Teams

Responding to an emergency is a challenge without the added hurdle of doing it without mobile technology, but that is often the reality for response teams in emergency situations. Thanks to a recent study released in Germany, scientists found that home wireless routers could be used to link up emergency responders in the event of catastrophe or other urgent situation.
Read more: Study Says That Home Wifi Could Be Used By Emergency Response Teams When Mobile Phones are Down | Inhabitat
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Disaster and demography in Japan: Generational warfare

"MANY in Japan were taken aback recently by the news that, for the first time since 1985, Japanese women have lost their crown as the world’s longest-living people—their average life expectancy fell to 85.9 years in 2011, just under a year less than the women of Hong Kong. People were even more crestfallen at the news that this was largely caused by the death toll from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan. It was a reminder of how disproportionately the disaster had hit the elderly in this ageing corner of the planet. Of almost 18,800 dead and missing, 56% were over 65.

Ageing is taking its toll on the reconstruction process, too. In towns along the coast, officials say they have encountered a “generation gap” that is hampering their efforts to rebuild. Simply put, older people, aware of their relatively short remaining lifespan, want to restore what they lost as soon as possible. Meanwhile, young families want revitalised communities with more people, jobs and social freedoms. In miniature, it is a problem faced across the country. An elderly population, richer, more risk-averse and more powerful than the young, is also more resistant to change.

Disaster and demography in Japan: Generational warfare | The Economist: "

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Zombie / Disaster survival skill

If you're ever in a situation where you have canned food but no way to open it you can grind the can lid against a concrete form such as a parking stop to wear down the top of the can so that the lid is opened without spilling the food.

Lifehacker: Open Food Cans with Concrete Parking Stops

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Got Milk? You Don't Need It - NYTimes.com

Got Milk? You Don't Need It - NYTimes.com:

Article makes a lot of good cases, but mostly that people need to stop saying that a dairy-free diet is somehow lacking or unhealthy. Tradition and lobbying are not the same thing as fact.

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Veganism and the environment infographic

Veganism and the Environment Infographic Shows the Environmental Impact of Raising Animals for Food Veganism and the Environment – Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

The Social Side of Urban Earthquake Risk - Neighborhoods - The Atlantic Cities

The Social Side of Urban Earthquake Risk - Neighborhoods - The Atlantic Cities:

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Solar-Powered Lasers Could Protect Us From An Asteroid Collision

If this prevents another Aerosmith power ballad, I'm all for it.

Solar-Powered Lasers Could Protect Us From An Asteroid Collision : TreeHugger:

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A Single Tea Light Candle Powers This Portable Electricity Generator

A Single Tea Light Candle Powers This Portable Electricity Generator : TreeHugger:

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Charge Your Phone with a DIY Candle-Powered Charger

Most efficient phone charger? No. Dual purpose lights-the-room-and/or-cooks-while-charging? Yes.


Charge Your Phone with a DIY Candle-Powered Charger:

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Seattle neighborhoods fight needed land use reform, density

Reading list (also I've seen this in my neighborhood)

Seattle neighborhoods fight needed land use reform, density | Crosscut.com:

There's So Much Fracking in Pennsylvania That ...

On the plus side, John Waters and jobs. On the negative side, pretty much everything else.

There's So Much Fracking in Pennsylvania That Indie Bands and World-Famous Hitchhiking Directors Can't Find Hotels : TreeHugger

The last of the sea nomads

Amazing article, amazing photo


The last of the sea nomads | Environment | The Guardian

Make an Emergency "Get Home Bag" to Keep at Work

Also a good idea:

Make an Emergency "Get Home Bag" to Keep at Work:

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Meat industry advertising

Great information, great graphic.

Meat industry advertising | CountingAnimals.com:

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How To Store Produce Without Plastic

I've tried some of these, and they work:

How To Store Produce Without Plastic :: My Plastic-free Life | Less Plastic | Life without Plastic

Powerpot Generates Electricity From Your Campfire

Love it for emergencies, for post-disaster areas, for general coolness in the woods.

Powerpot Generates Electricity From Your Campfire : TreeHugger

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And yet there's hope

While we're preparing to survive the future, we can make the present more enjoyable, affordable and pleasant. Right up until we're driven underground or to an alternate planet. Hahaha I'm mostly kidding.

Nine low-tech steps for community resilience in a warming climate | Kaid Benfield's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC:

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The climate change news lately is that we're totally screwed

http://grist.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/climatechangereporting.jpg
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Welcome to the Anthropocene

Yep. I'm really glad that I read The Structure of Scientific Revolutions a couple of years ago. It's really helped me make sense of the science, the policy and the weird human behaviors regarding climate change.

Welcome to the Anthropocene | Grist

Animal Abuse in Factory Farms is the Norm, Not the Exception

When people ask me why, this is why. (Well, a large part at any rate.)

You don't have to feel guilty if you do something about it, and that something doesn't have to be going veggie. Get the word out and think before you buy.

Animal Abuse in Factory Farms is the Norm, Not the Exception : TreeHugger

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NYC to Build Green Playgrounds for Stormwater Capture

Great solution - not a waste of land, useful most of the time, no damage when flooding does occur.

NYC to Build Green Playgrounds for Stormwater Capture : TreeHugger:

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YES.

Gimme bomb shelter: FEMA pushes for disaster-proof green buildings

MacGyver, Survivalist, or Stockpiler

Awesome: MacGyver, Survivalist, or Stockpiler: The Urban Survival Skills Everyone Should Know:

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If you must eat meat

This article sums up a lot of my feelings and thoughts about meat. Eat better quality, less often and use it all. If everyone could, it would solve so many problems. (Those who eat it at all, anyway.)

Every last bite: Why wasting animal protein is unethical

It's hard not to fall in love with Pittsburgh

One day I'll go back. In the meantime, I'll just keep telling everyone how awesome it is.

Tightening the Rust Belt: How a Clevelander fell in love with Pittsburgh

Levitating Houses in Japan

Awesome:


Japanese Levitating House System Could Protect Homes From Earthquakes | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World:

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'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade'

Yep, this is just the beginning. People can no longer rely on their past experiences with weather, and what was safe before is now vulnerable (on the fringes, I mean).

'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade':

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Scientists Will Begin 3D Printing Dinosaur Robots

AWESOME

Scientists Will Begin 3D Printing Dinosaur Robots

3-D images show quakes before and after

3-D images show quakes before and after - Technology & science - Science - OurAmazingPlanet - msnbc.com:

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Amazing article on the need for government protection from disaster

Why climate change will make you love big government

There are a lot of great points and examples here that pretty much sum up my view of why small government for its own sake is a criminally stupid thing. Not that all programs are well-run or efficient, but some of them you just really shouldn't cut if you want America, its economy and its citizens to thrive.

Insurance and climate change

Hey, maybe if the insurance industry is taking climate change into account, maybe governments and planners should too. Hmm?

U.S. Insurance Companies Must Now Get Serious About Assessing Climate Change Risks

Projects and goals for the next year

I start working tomorrow as a contractor at Google. Due to the non-disclosure agreement I signed the other day that's as much as I can say about that.

It is nice to know that I can do things like make plans in advance, go to the doctor, pay bills on time, etc.

I've been thinking about what to do with my spare time now that it's not taken up with guilt over work that I should be doing, or looking for a job.

Here's what I've come up with so far:
-Renewing my German, which I have let languish lo these 10 years.
-Cooking more! Lunch is free so I can put in more effort when I get home.
-Gardening! I'm excited to sit down and make a garden plan. It's time already to start some from seed.
-Art! Burlesque figure drawing is becoming a monthly thing with Nicole, which I'm greatly enjoying, though I need to do more in between.
-Either taking some classes or doing videos/games to get more in shape. Luckily there's a good walking trail for use at work.
-Working on some mental issues - more confidence, less anxiety.
-New glasses, finally. It's been about six years I think. Various other medical condition checkups.
-Pay off debts. It's looking likely that bankruptcy will be the best way to go.
-Online courses. FEMA has several, MIT has 1500 (!) and the EPA had some as well.
-Volunteering. Now that my own bills are paid I can get out there and do stuff.
-Craft projects. I have some that have been stopped midway for years.
-Learning new skills. I've been wanting to get into either embroidery or cross stitch, plus I'd like to try carving with my new Dremel.
-Fixing bad habits. Or at least starting good ones-it's difficult when you don't have a schedule. Now I do!
-Catching up with people. Whenever my life isn't going well I tend to stop talking to new friends, distant friends or anyone I haven't caught up with in a while because I don't want to dump my problems on them or whine the whole time.

I'm sure I'll add to this list. I'm also sure I'll probably spends most of my free time paying video games, messing around on the webs, or watching Netflix instant, but at least I have ideas for when I start feeling antsy.

Snow Day

You would think I'd learn by now to copy anything I write. I spent half an hour obsessively describing how to replicate the Shepherd's Pie I made this afternoon, and when I went to save it my router had crashed and I lost the post. Then again, my computer shut down without warning shortly after, so even if I had copied I probably would have lost it anyway.

The recipe was convoluted so I don't know that it's really worth saving.

Snow day here in Seattle is lovely. Unfortunately it's dry, powdery snow - a few inches piled onto a thin sheet of crackly ice, which is over a few inches of more powdery snow - so it's no good for sculpting. That's usually what I do on snow days, take pictures and make snow sculptures, which never turn out nearly as grandiose as I planned.

Here's something badass: so I have this goldfish that's been living in the rain barrel that my landlady installed to prevent our basement from flooding. It catches the runoff from the roof and drains into the backyard through a hose. When the water's flowing it all works nicely, but in the summer when it only rains every few weeks it becomes a mosquito breeding ground. A pond goldfish is a great, low-maintenance, chemical-free solution. Goldfish pee is also rich in nitrogen, which is great for your plants.

I've been worried about Jenny, our fish, in all this cold. Yet every time I check, she's still swimming around happily. I just went out and stomped around taking pictures with my nose (had gloves on, touchscreen is heat sensitive) and checked the rain barrel. The spigot and/or hose is too frozen to drain. This will become an issue fairly soon and I have no idea how to solve it. It's three-quarters full, instead of only a few inches, and most of that is chunks of ice and slurry. I stirred through with a bamboo stick to make sure it wasn't a complete sheet of ice, so that oxygen can get to Jenny, and there she was at the bottom, swimming around happily. Amazing. What a badass fish.

I'm off to build a fire and then try to earn some cash from this work-at-home job. It's Leapforce, Search Engine Evaluating. If anyone's looking to see if it's a scam, it's not. It's legit. If you only put in a couple of hours, it'll take a few weeks to get paid, but the more hours you put in, the faster your deposit is made. Also make sure you track your hours carefully. I'd use a software or an Excel spreadsheet.

Let's see how far I get before my PC shuts down. Once I start the contract at Google, I need to pay back all of my friends for lending me money during my 4 month unemployment, pay 2 months rent, then save up enough to get my Macbook fixed. But nevermind all that. I start work at the end of the month and it's snowing out. Lovely!

Why Modern Life Makes Us Vulnerable

When you remove redundancies, it can be streamlining or more efficient, but it can also vastly increase your risk and dependency on systems over which you have no control. Keep your options open! You don't have to use your fireplace instead of a furnace to heat your home, but it's nice to have for both emergencies and special occasions. It doesn't take a disaster or an apocalypse to lose access to a service; a water main break can happen at any time and suddenly not being able to flush your toilet really, really sucks.

I do like zombie apocalypses as a planning tool, though. So much more fun to think about. Maybe I'll make a checklist.

Why Modern Life Makes Us Vulnerable : TreeHugger

Adding more water may be the only way to save Venice from sinking

More proof that understanding natural processes, and either not interfering with them or reversing the damage already done, can prevent millions or billions in damages and preserve existing infrastructure:

Adding more water may be the only way to save Venice from sinking:

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