Articles by Sarah K. Burkhalter

Consider me one of the deluded

Repent, all ye pesticide-haters:

Organic Egg Brainwashing

Today, November 8, 2004, a shopper at the local Whole Foods market was observed buying a half dozen (6) brown, organic, cage free chicken eggs for $2.49. She could have purchase five dozen (60) regular eggs at the nearby Costco Wholesale store for $2.89. She paid 8.6 times or 760 percent more for eggs that are no different than the regular eggs. The organic food craze has reached the level of mass delusion.

I mention this only because it comes from the delightfully non-sequiturious http://www.biblelife.org/eggs.htm. Bible Life? Eggs? Did someone forget to tell me that Robert Atkins was Jesus reincarnated?

A program to learn from

I'm a little late on this -- like, three weeks late -- but this article about a San Francisco high school curriculum that immerses urban kids into the surrounding environment is heartening. Well, my first reaction is frustration and "why do we need a special program to introduce kids to nature?" but recognizing the state of the union at this point in time, this is way better than the status quo nothing.

The program, sponsored by the Goldman Environmental Prize, "seeks to educate kids about both environmental science and the history of environmental activism." Which is cool. Nothing like evoking past activism to get kids -- or people of any age, really -- fired up about their potential.

A school in San Francisco is taking the program a step farther, involving other entities to create an even wider and more comprehensive teaching tool. Check it out:

The students listened to [a habitat restoration expert] before going out into the Presidio [neighborhood] to collect air-pollution monitoring devices they had set out the week before. Later in the day, they would analyze the data from the devices -- basically cardboard boxes that capture particulates on a sticky matrix -- to arrive at estimates of general air-pollution loads.

Imagine: sit down and chat with the experts, go out and do in-the-field work, and make it relevant to your own life and neighborhood.

Why isn't this happening in every school across the country?

Car news: fast and furious

So much car news, so little time! Yes, this post is long, but it's highly informational and a kick in the pants (if I do say so myself). And at the end you get to read the Worst Ethanol Metaphor Ever! Trust me, it's worth it.

Let us begin. From Uganda comes this highly punctuated bit of car news:

A local school has rewarded its best performing students with vehicles. St. Lawrence London College lavished their top three students in last year's A-Level exams with a car each, and cash awards. Incredible!

The principal said the annual award would encourage other students to work hard. Preposterous!

Meanwhile, Lexus is unveiling the priciest hybrid on the market: the $54,900 GS 450h. Ridiculous!

And in more hybrid news: Volvo plans to launch a hybrid truck engine. The new engine would cut fuel consumption by 35 percent, say the Volvans. Says prototypically-Swedishly-named Volvo bigwig Leif Johansson:

We are talking about half of the overall heavy truck market and perhaps as much as 75 percent of the bus market and 100 percent of construction equipment.

In a separate article, he added that the prospect of this hybrid engine "makes us weep with pleasure." Hilarious!

Heart and solar

My advice to all you Dig This-diggers out there: Hop on the solar bandwagon. Big things lie ahead.

Indicators include the news that Solar Night Industries intends to start churning out "portable power supplies, home and energy power grid solutions, consumer outdoor/indoor products, portable 110V plugs, solar sporting solutions and many more." Currently Solar Night Industries specializes in the very lovely but not particularly, um, useful fiber optic daylily (pictured above).

Indicator two: Solar power makes homeowners happy. Am I the only one who thinks that's just about the cutest headline ever? The article begins, "Today's solar home buyer is not a stereotypical green enthusiast." That's good news, people. It goes on to report on a small survey of residents of new solar home developments in California (of course):