Knowing Happiness

Consolidation. American food production and distribution puts all of our eggs in one basket, putting consumers at risk.
It is not just America, but I think we have it worse here where the likes of Cargill, ADM, and Monsanto help make food policy. Thankfully we live in a free-market democracy and the consumers who could be victims of this latest (or the next) huge batch of unsafe food can also help make their food supply better and safer.
Knowledge is all it takes.
Continue reading Micro agriculture, agribusiness, and food safety

Happy chickens, happy eggs.
The incredible, edible, egg.

Thank a chicken for that egg. It took her all day to lay it you know.

One of the things that make me happy is acronyms. While playing with farmer McDonald’s famous acronym I came up with the title of this blog post. E.I.E.I.O. Environmental Impacts of Energy Input / Output.

Consider transportation. What would Old McDonald say about the energy I use for transportation?

The inputs and outputs of a bike look pretty good. (I don’t know who the bike rider is. The photo came from bostonbiker.org. Thanks friends.)

For carbon-based transportation insert your own pictures of oil spills and air pollution. Yuck.

I both drive and bike.

Right now I can’t make all of my car trips with the bike but when I think about what goes into and comes out of the car, even the Prius, I am even more motivated to ride not drive.

For me the best part of riding a bike is neurological. The exercise does all kinds of wonderful things to my brain chemistry. The fresh air and meditative pace are also good for my state of mind. On the minus side, with a nose as big as mine a fella can suck up a lot of pollen on his way downtown. (But that is only when there is pollen in the air, which in these parts, is well, always.) The Energy Input for the bike comes from the egg sandwich I had for breakfast and that energy reservoir I carry under my belt, also a plus.

Of course the consequences are not always terrific. On a bike one is more vulnerable to random acts of driving and aggressive maple trees.

Happy trails everyone.

Happy trails everyone.

I have always been a big fan of Frank Lloyd Wright. I just learned that the Gordon House, a 1957 designed Usonian house is down the road at the Oregon Garden. Worth the trip just to see the house.

Enjoy