Ecolonomic Life

Well, it is way to early in the morning, and I have already been awake for over two hours.  I just woke up from a sound sleep and could not go back to sleep.  Why you might ask?  Well, I had been dreaming about space travel, and as I suddenly woke up, I was immediately thinking about the incredible seminar I had attended last night in Fort Collins.  Joel Salatin, notorieous for his recent appearances in the movies Fresh and Food Inc.  was hosted by the Front Range Permaculture Institute at the Lincoln Center.  What a great experience.  This man has got it right!!!  He is the true ecolonomics expert of today. 

Here are just a few quotes from him that I think are cool:

• I am a Christian, Liberitarian, Environmentalist, Capitalist, lunatic.
• The industrial food system is cracking.
• May your pork be rose colored and your rain barrels be full.
• The measure of an open and free society is how it treats its non-conformists.
• Innovation has to be birthed at a prototype size.

This guy is as Randy Jackson would say – The Bomb.

You should google him – Joel Salatin – and check out many of the things he has done and that he promotes.  You will not be disappointed.

Dealerships are making deals on new cars when you bring your clunker in. Photo from mlive.com and by Katy Batdorff of The Grand Rapids Press

If you haven’t heard of the new government program CARS, then you must really be out of the loop. No worries though, because I am here to give you a little more insight. The Car Allowance Rebate System or CARS is a government funded and dealership operated program where people can take their cars into certain dealerships and get a $3,500 to $4,500 rebate if they trade in their gas guzzlers for a more fuel efficient vehicle. (more…)

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) passed the House by a very slim margin. It was passed with 219 votes to 212. In my last blog I discussed everything that was found in the draft formulated by co-sponsors Henry Waxman and Edward Markey, both Democratic Representatives. Once the discussion draft made into the House, amendments and changes came. The bill was expanded to about one thousand three hundred pages. There is no doubt that much controversy and debate came over this bill. (more…)

My focus for today’s blog is to clearly lay out the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. I think, before we talk about the pros and cons of this act, any reader should understand what this bill is exactly.

There are four titles (or sections) to the bill. I will address each one individually. I will only be able to give you a brief summary because the bill is a thousand page document that I could go into great depth about. That will probably bore most readers, so I’m going to give you what you need to know and leave out all the rest. (more…)

America has entered a new era in history. For the past one hundred plus years you could say we were partaking in the Industrial Revolution. This was a time of great economic growth and urban development. For the past couple decades and coinciding with the Industrial Revolution was (and quite arguably still is) the Technology era. We have experienced the greatest advancements in technology all the way from transportation down to MP3 players and phones. Well, it seems we are now entering what could be considered the Green Revolution.

I guess it could be argued we have been in this revolution since the late 60’s early 70’s when hippies were all for saving the environment, but I believe the greatest turning point would be the amount of influence the government is now having on the environment. The House just passed a bill on June 26th called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) that is the first of its kind. It is the first lawful step that has ever been taken to stop greenhouse emissions. (more…)

Colorado is very strict about its water. Because of the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountains, water for the country can very well be traced back to Colorado. This was the cause for water rights and has now caused any precipitation that comes into Colorado ownership of the state. Water collection is out of the question because of these tight water laws. The only people who could collect water were those who had old water rights or occasionally when there is a surplus of water in the rivers.

My last post discusses this issue and I promised to address the law today. Well, to my surprise, the law has now changed. I read in my local newspaper that effective July 1st, rainwater and snowmelt collection will be permissible. I found the news a little ironic due to the post I had written the day before, but it couldn’t have come at a better time because of the blog I had promised the readers. Sadly, the law is too good to be true. (more…)