A Few New Projects....

A cute little bracket for a granite back splash that's going up to the family cabin; I couldn't resist adding a few gears & old steel wheels....



the beginnings of the Boise Curb Cup; check out the details for this cool event in August at www.boisecurbcup.com



The beginnings of signs for a cute little boutique in downtown Boise; RE Boutique; check them out in BoDo....






And the beginnings of the AGC donor wall for the new Idaho Headquarters building; I'm creating a huge wall installation of mixed metals & construction-related objects for the entrance to the building. This one is going to be fun; lots of different metals & found objects, & the whole thing will hang in front of a huge concrete background...can't wait!

It's getting busy again; better get to work!

Amber

Video of the MSc Industrial Ecology

Students and teachers on the unique international and interdisciplinary aspects of the Leiden-Delft MSc programme on Industrial Ecology and on what it is all about.

The story of stuff

Less based on facts and scientific analysis than the Carbon Footprint of Nations in the last post is the very nice 20 minutes animated movie "The story of stuff" by Annie Leonard. This can serve as an eye-opener for people unfamiliar with the concepts of Industrial Ecology, Industrial Metabolism, Life Cycle Assessment, Sustainable Consumption and Production etc.

Carbon Footprint of Nations

The Industrial Ecology group at NTNU published a website on the carbon footprint of nations, which not only looks very nice but it is also based on a state of the art Industrial Ecology analysis (which cannot be said for most carbon footprint calculators on the web). This makes the website useful for both the general public as well as Industrial Ecology professionals.

Mediterranean diet reduces environmental impact of food consumption by 8%

A study commissioned by the IPTS Sevilla and performed by TNO and CML concludes that a switch to a Mediterranean diet is not only good for your health but also reduces the environmental impact of food consumption by about 8% (for an average EU citizen).

E-reader has less impact than printed paper

A studentreport of two students of the Dutch MSc Industrial Ecology shows that average office workers can reduce their environmental impact by switching from printed paper to an e-reader.

Industrial Symbiosis Blog

Abhishek Agarwal informed about his Industrial Symbiosis Blog, have a look !

French carbon tax

It is my personal believe that a carbon tax is one of the few real policy measures that might curve the ever increasing carbon dioxide emissions. It is promising to see that more and more countries are looking at ways to implement a carbon tax. Of course this should be accompanied by an equal reduction in other taxes (e.g. VAT, why do we tax added value anyway ?). Just now Reuters published some news on the French plans for a carbon tax in which they also mention the Swedish initiative for an EU carbon tax.

Industrial Ecology is changing the world

The Times magazine published an article around Christmas entitled "What's Next 2009: 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now". Idea number 10 is named "Ecological Intelligence", a characteristic that will emerge, according to the authors, from the field of Industrial Ecology:

"Using a young science called industrial ecology, businesses and green activists alike are beginning to compile the environmental and biological impact of our every decision — and delivering that information to consumers in a user-friendly way. That's thinking ecologically — understanding the global environmental consequences of our local choices."

Unfortunately the article describes Industrial Ecology as the "science of LCA", ignoring most of what makes Industrial Ecology different and revolutionary (techno/bio-sphere analogy, systems thinking, social aspects, etc.). Although articles like this one help in drawing attention to this "young science called Industrial Ecology", they also hurt the field by popularizing an outdated and oversimplified version of Industrial Ecology.

The article is based on the new book of D.Goleman: "Ecological Intelligence"
Watch a short clip of D.Goleman giving his opinion on the use of Industrial Ecology

Random Garden Pics

A few snaps from around the garden this morning....

The wild side; got pumpkins rambling about, a bunch of weedy looking flowers, & tons of other fun stuff.

The mint I got from a fellow gardener; planted in a lovely concrete square that I couldn't resist dragging home from the scrap yard

Herbs are doing well, & the beans have decided to start growning like weeds; pretty soon the steel sculpture will be completely covered :)

Another sculpture being overtaken....

And, the sunflower forest (I got a little carried away this spring) Some of them are at least 8 feet tall! It's been fun watching them grow; they're like giant weeds :)

We have been enjoying fresh tomatoes almost every night, along with basil, a few kohlrabi--don't know how to spell that one-- Soon now I'm going to have tons of beets to pickle, along with the carrots that are planted everywhere :) I've given a giant zucchini to all the neighbors that are close; going to have to start branching out... And eggplant; what the heck do I do with it?! I have 2 lovely bushes full of quickly ripening eggplants, yikes!

Idaho Business Review Top Projects Trophies

Cute trophies that I just delivered for the Idaho Business Review: Top Projects Awards. These were lots of fun; misc. little parts & pieces, nuts & bolts, & lovely acrylic plaques made by Joe at Laser Art :) The IBR presents these awards every year to the top 3 projects of the year in 3 different categories; this is the 2nd year I've made trophies for the event... hope I get to make them again next year!

Dematerialization

Dematerialization is the concept of making more with less. Taken from the economic point of view, it refers to the absolute or relative reduction of material required to serve economic functions in society.

There have been various discussions around the subject. Some people think that dematerialization will come naturally as technology evolves (ephemeralization) while others are of the opinion that it should be a well defined pursuit for the society. One way or another, it is very possible that without it, economic growth will come sooner or later to an end.

In the picture above you can see the expression of an interesting, non-scientific argument for dematerialization. It is worth to mention that the picture is from the oldest squat (and specifically from the toilet) in the Netherlands, the "Vrijplaats Koppenhinksteeg" in Leiden.

Bergdorf Hot Springs

On Monday night, the husband & I drove up to Bergdorf Hot Springs; it's about 30 miles north of McCall. We stayed in a cute little rustic cabin (with no electricity-there is actually none on the whole property) and we soaked in the pool & enjoyed the view. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get away...cabins can be rented by the day or week or month. The pool was just the right temp; all naturally fed by the spring. Check out the pics:

The pool; perfect....surrounded by logs & it has a gravel bottom...

One of the cute little out-buildings; notice the chickens in the background...

The greenhouse-with the run-off from the pool flowing underneath to keep it warm in the winter; how cool is that!

Me; in front of our little home for the night (bad pic)

Sunset in the woods...

Garden pics of the week

Random pics from the garden....