Junk-Finding Road Trip

Husband & I are headed out of town tonight; going on a junk finding, surplus hunting, antique seeking, road trip mission.... We will be driving to Pocatello tonight; making stops anywhere we see fit; maybe in Twin Falls, maybe in some of the little towns along the freeway; we'll see. There is a truck parts place that Kevin wants to check out tomorrow in Blackfoot--they have the parts for the old International truck we just bought (see earlier posts). So, I'm sure we will spend a good deal of time wandering about & talking truck parts: well, Kevin will do this: I usually get bored after a while & retreat to my own junk-finding adventures or one of the many good books I'll be bringing along :)Then we'll get back on the road & go South: our main objective is to visit Smith & Edwards near Ogden, UT: a 171,000 sq. foot store (with acres more outside) full of surplus, hardware, antiques, clothing, camping stuff, etc etc. We have driven past on the way to Salt Lake, but never had the time to stop: Husband has been dreaming of visiting for some time now, so I thought I would be a good wife & indulge. ---although my motives are completely selfish, as I love a good junk/surplus store too: don't tell, K---

We are going to stay in Ogden that night, so will have all day & the next morning to find some more interesting places to visit; perhaps the local Pacific Recycling, some antique stores, and anything else that looks like it might have hidden treasures :) Ooh; and local cafes & bookstores. It's not very often we get to take a trip just to go look at stuff: usually we are on a mission of some sort with a tight timeline, so I'm looking forward to just wandering & exploring. Will post pics when I get back, since the laptop is still dead...

See ya later!!

Amber

Free MFA articles in Journal of Industrial Ecology

   It will surprise no one that scientists and policy makers around the globe are concerned that humanity is using resources at rates that are accelerating and often unsustainable.  The challenges range from resource availability to the impacts of the extraction and use of those resources.
            For more than a decade, the Journal of Industrial Ecology has published scientific articles on theories, methods and tools to assess these flows of materials and their impacts, in order to contribute to the understanding of environmental and resource problems and to the development of useful solutions. These approaches include material flow analysis (MFA), substance flow analysis (SFA), life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental input-output (I-O) analysis and various combinations, at various scales from micro to global.   The Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE) is a peer-reviewed international scientific journal owned by Yale University and published by Wiley-Blackwell.
            The October 2009 issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology and much of the December 2009 issue are devoted to a very practical and timely topic: What is the power of tools such as MFA to support policy and management decision making and what are the real world examples of their use?   With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. National Science Foundation, the JIE has been able to solicit and compile a wide range of studies on this topic.  (The research published here does not, of course, necessarily represent the views of the funders.)
            How has MFA been applied and how useful is it? The answer, as illustrated by the peer-reviewed articles in these special issues, is encouraging. The 13 articles in these two issues ­- too many excellent articles were submitted to print in one issue ­- describe a variety of ways in which MFA and related approaches have improved system understanding in real world situations around the globe, particularly relating to problems of resource scarcity, pollution abatement and waste management.
        To make recent successes better known, the entire set of articles from the two issues has been made freely available on the JIE’s web site (http://www.wiley.com/go/ appsmfa/).   A limited number of free print copies are available for students, researchers from developing countries and journalists (contact: indecol@yale.edu)

First Friday in Eagle-March 5th

Join us for First Friday at Galerie Belle Ame in Eagle; March 5th. Stop in for wine & nibbles, & see my latest work: thats right, I'm the featured artist for the month of March :) I'll be introducing a new line of romantic jewelry, with recycled industrial accents; inspired by my recent travels to the beautiful city of Milano, Italy. I even brought back a supply of antique chandelier crystals that have made their way into the designs! I'll be sharing photos of the adventure & also taking custom orders: so if you have an old key, or any other little bauble that you would like made into a wearable piece of art, bring it along & we'll talk :) The patio at the gallery is filled with my sculpture too; & I'll have a couple new pieces to take a look at.

Galerie Belle Ame is located on Eagle Road; across the street from Albertsons. 179 S. Eagle Rd. The festivities will begin at 4:30--stop in anytime before 9 pm & say hi. Hope to see you there!

Amber

Hobble Creek Park Project (part 1)

My current project with the City of Boise is to create something for Hobble Creek Park. This is just the beginning stage; I will design something cool, make a proposal, & it will then have to be approved by a bunch of different committees involved with public art, Parks & Rec, etc.

I have until the 17th of March to get a proposal in for the next round of meetings.... My plan must include a finished design, placement in the park & why, the idea/story behind the design, safety & maintenance considerations, and at least a pre-lim engineering plan for foundation work & structural integrity. The approvals process will take a month, at least: & the hope is that everything is ok & we can start in on fabrication right after to install asap. So far, I really have no plan.... A vague idea, but that's about it... I do have the placement figured out: in the photo below; the middle of the planter. The park is set up around baseball fields & a big soccer field: this planter is right in the middle; next to the building: which is the gathering area---there is a concession stand & plans for a shelter, so this is the center of activity for the park...I have these big square poles that are around 12 feet tall; they came from the scrap yard & I've been holding onto them for a project like this. I want to use one pole; right in the middle of the planter, & create a kinetic sculpture that will go on top; something wind driven. Since the park is all about play & sports, I think the artwork should be a reflection of this; it should be colorful, have movement, be fun, & serve as a guidepost or landmark for the park.

As you can see from the plans; this location is really the only one that makes sense: unless I put something along the outside perimeter of the park--but that seems like it would remove the artwork from the people who are going to be using the park.

So, I have a couple weeks to put together a plan....this is always the scary part; waiting for the right ideas/inspiration. There is no forcing this part of the process, it happens on its own... Kevin is starting to get a bit freaked out, but I know that it will come & I can put together a plan fairly quickly. I would rather delay the process, than propose something that I'm not completely happy with, so for now, I will study & look for inspiration; maybe go to the scrap yards--might find just the right piece of something that will make the whole process take off :) Any ideas?

Amber

Paul Anastas is EPA's new research chief

Paul Anastas, a Yale University chemist who is considered to be the father of the green chemistry movement, is now in charge of EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) Office of Research and Development. Anastas remains firmly committed to green chemistry, which is defined as the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances:

"Sustainable design like green chemistry, green engineering and industrial ecology are absolutely the future of environmental protection", he states.

I think that this might prove to be a very important development towards shifting Industrial Ecology (or at least one aspect of it) to the mainstream of environmental management and practice.

Read full article here

A New Addition to the Fleet....

Another truck; we now own 4 plus 1 car..... This one will replace 2, though, so I dont feel quite so crazy.Anyway, this truck is all set up to accept a crane; the plan is to move the knuckle-boom crane we already have (it's on one of the other trucks) onto this one---it's newer & the brakes actually work :) The old truck will then probably go to the scrap yard--it's older than me & not really worth fixing. And the other truck will be sold, since we dont need it anymore. Husband is all excited about fixing it up: I can't wait to put it to work; I've got a few big projects coming up this year & will need the crane :) Still hunting for a larger crane--this truck could actually handle a much bigger crane than the one we have, but cranes are soooooo expensive: for now, we will keep searching for the right deal....

More to come....

Amber

VIDEO: A.Bartlett on Arithmetic, Population, and Energy

In this video Professor A.Bartlett talks about steady growth and its consequences on a local, national and global level. Steady growth causes exponential increase (of whatever is growing), the consequences of which are (to say the least) poorly understood by most people. His lecture covers themes like population, climate, economics, production-consumption, energy, policy-making, sustainability, and associates everything to the continuous growth (in population, demand, production). Although Industrial Ecology is not mentioned explicitly, and although he seems to overemphasize overpopulation as the source of all bad things, this is a highly relevant lecture that demonstrates a realistic approach and understanding to sustainability.

For more information visit A.Bartlett's personal website

Forest grow faster than ever due to climate change

Recent studies have shown increases in biomass across many forest types. This increase has been attributed to climate change. Using data collected over the past 22 years from 55 temperate forest plots, scientists found that recent biomass accumulation greatly exceeded the expected growth caused by natural recovery. Furthermore, the biomass increases are in line with globally observed climate-change patterns. Combined, these observations show that changes in temperature and CO2 that have been observed worldwide can fundamentally alter the rate of critical natural processes, which is predicted by biogeochemical models.

McMahon S.M. et al., 2010, "Evidence for a recent increase in forest growth", Proceeding of the National academy of Sciences, published online before print

Read the article online

Bioengineered E.Coli produces biodiesel

Scientists have found that it is possible to alter the genetic makeup of the bacterium E.Coli  and induce it to produce biodiesel. Most bacteria, including E.Coli, make and process fatty acids, one of the ingredients of biodiesel; however, what they do with it often leaves something to be desired when it comes to fuel production. By modifying E. coli, scientists are able to make it produce fatty esters, which are the primary components of biodiesel.

Eric J.S. et al., 2010, "Microbial production of fatty-acid-derived fuels and chemicals from plant biomass", Nature 463, 559-56

Read the article at Nature.com