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[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 30, 2008 by admin in Clean & Green, Technology
Monday, June 30th, 2008Mercedes Benz to offer a petrol-free product line by 2015?
If the buzz is true, Mercedes Benz intends to offer a petroleum-free product line by 2015. Apparently, they’re already making considerable investments to head in this direction. A daring commitment like this should be an inspiration to other manufacturers, and would be quite fitting, since it was Karl Benz who is generally credited with producing the world’s first gasoline-powered auto. The idea of a silent Mercedes reminds of a bit of humor: As a waiter some years ago, I was serving a British couple who were having dinner with a German gentleman. Throughout the dinner the German fellow – who was in town on business with the recently merged Daimler/Chrysler – kept saying things about “Daimler this” and “Daimler that”. Finally the British woman said: “I’m sorry, isn’t the new company called ‘Daimler Chrysler’?” to which the German fellow replied: “I’m afraid the ‘Chrysler’ is silent”. In any case, if an electric Mercedes of the future looks anything like the hybrid F700 pictured here, count me in. This could just be some viral PR; as of this writing there are no official releases from Mercedes Benz, just a lot of industry buzz.
Dumpster Diving: It’s What’s For Breakfast
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on June 16, 2008 by admin in Clean & Green, Lifestyle & Culture
Monday, June 16th, 2008Living on the edible waste materials of our throw-away consumer society.
The next time it’s 4:30 pm and you’re eyeing the clock at your 9-5 job, wondering how you’re going to fill the tank, buy the groceries, pay the VISA bill, and still have some fun money left over, ponder this: Maybe you don’t have to work at all. No, I’m not about to pitch some multi-level marketing scheme. On the contrary, if you have some anti-capitalist sentiments, it would make becoming a Freegan that much more palatable. Imagine if all your food, your transportation, maybe even your housing, were free. Imagine if, when your friends and family asked why you were unemployed, you could say: “I’m not unemployed, I’m voluntarily jobless. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Kind of like when the military calls human beings “soft targets”.
For the procurement of food, all you need to do is get over that little issue you have with digging through garbage bins for dinner. Once you’ve gotten over your waste-disposal snobbery, there is, contrary to popular wisdom, indeed a free lunch. As well as dinner, breakfast, and maybe even high tea, too. All the while, you’re making a powerful statement by not supporting a society in which “…retailers plan high-volume product disposal as part of their economic model”, as so eloquently stated at Freegan.info, your one-stop (no) shopping destination and guide to Freegan living.
Transportation? No problem. Freegans utilize trainhopping, hitchhiking, walking, skating, and biking as their basic modes of transport. That means you’ll be late for that meeting across town because you skateboarded, but it won’t matter. Remember? You don’t have a job!
Housing’s a cinch too. Just squat! Occupying abandoned property isn’t very different from what you did all day in your cubicle job, except instead of an annoying boss poking their head into your space at Read the rest of this entry »