Guerilla Gardening: Holes of Happiness

Today's moment of zen:  this guerilla gardener creates tiny aesthetic interventions in London potholes.  Happy weekend, everyone!

www.thepotholegardener.com

What's in your Wheelhaus?

Here's an elegant adaptation of the Recreational Park Trailer... and it's built to LEED gold standards!
http://www.naturalhomeandgarden.com/green-homes/sustainable-homes/wheelhaus-zmhz12sozmel.aspx

Where plastic ends up

This week, NPR played a report from The Story about plastic trash in the ocean.  You can listen to it here:
http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_082112_full_show.mp3/view

Why US gas prices are climbing again

Refinery issues disrupt supply:
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/08/13/fuel-prices-spike-following-chevron-fire/

US drought affects ethanol production:
http://www.theworld.org/2012/08/in-face-of-drought-un-asks-us-to-suspend-biofuel-mandate/

U.S. drought continues to spread

Official news via US Department of Agriculture:
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=DISASTER_ASSISTANCE&parentnav=DISASTER_SAFETY 

and NOAA http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/drought/

El Loco de la Catedral

Can you build a cathedral with nothing but recycled materials and faith?  Yes, but it's taken this crazy Spaniard 50 years and counting, God bless him!

Watch the film here:
http://www.cathedraljusto.com/thefilm.html

Lifehacker article roundup

More random and interesting stuff from the folks at Lifehacker...

Can you freeze avocado?  wine?  cake?  and what the heck is mirepoix?  Find the answers here:
http://lifehacker.com/5929588/can-i-freeze-it-how-to-extend-the-life-of-fruits-vegetables-and-other-perishables 

Build a bookcase-in-the-round with a repurposed cable spool:
http://lifehacker.com/5929946/repurpose-a-cable-spool-into-a-bookcase

And for those of us who love mason jars, here's how to turn one into a soap dispenser.
http://lifehacker.com/5929906/diy-mason-jar-soap-dispenser

Energy metabolism: The Very Hungry City

Today's interview with author Austin Troy about his book The Very Hungry City... on WYPR today:

"How will Baltimore fare in the future as the global demand for energy grows and prices rise? Austin Troy, an expert in urban environmental management at the University of Vermont, looks at cities with "high energy metabolisms" and what they need to do about the problems of energy consumption. Troy is the author of The Very Hungry City: Will Your City Thrive or Wither in and Energy-Strapped Future?"
http://www.wypr.org/podcast/thursday-march-29-1-2-pm-very-hungry-city

This author mentioned a strong statistical correlation between trees and crime:  the numbers show that neighborhoods with more trees experience lower crime rates.  So... go plant trees!

Also:  people who live in places with extensive bicycle infrastructure are happier about where they live.  Copenhagen and the Nordic countries were mentioned in this context.

Green events in March

Spring is coming:  shake off the bleak midwinter blues and check out these local events...

DC Environmental Film Festival, March 13-25 http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/

National Facilities Management and Technology conference, March 13-15 http://www.nfmt.com/baltimore/ 

Eco-ball, March 16, sponsored by Baltimore Green Works http://baltimoregreenworks.com/ecoball/

Earth Hour, March 31 www.EarthHour.org 

View more coming events like these here:  http://greeneventsbaltimore.com/ 

I want this car

Last summer it was the Honda CR-Z sport hybrid.
Now it's the baby Prius c!

Quick statistics:
Available in spring 2012
Designed to be the most affordable prius
Designed to achieve a higher mpg rating than the 3rd generation prius
Stylish design


Read about it here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57325949-48/baby-toyota-prius-c-toddles-towards-production/?part=rss&subj=cartech&tag=title&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cnet%2FmHpI+%28Car+Tech%3A+An+automotive+blog+from+CNET%29

View the rest of the growing Prius family:
http://touch.toyota.com/prius-family/