Individual and Community

If wood stoves, solar electricity, and 1 room cabin living are your fancy, then check out this fine creation. This is a farm grain bin that is constructed into 2 separate apartments, each with their own windows, doors, and electricity. The interior walls are made of strawbales and mud plaster.

The grain bin is featured in a television show called “30 Days” directed by Morgan Spurlock in an the episode called “Off the Grid”. The premise is to take 2 normal Americans (from New Jersey) and send them to a rural Missouri eco-village named Dancing Rabbit and learn about sustainable living. They stay there for 30 days. I wrote briefly about the upcoming situation here last year when I first learned that they were featuring the Grain Bin.

Details of the construction and more pictures of the grain bin are at the Dancing Rabbit website here.
It looks like Morgan & FX could not be bothered to create a program guide for Season 1 at the FX website. You can check it out at EBay, though. schneez here

If you have interest in a rustic weekend getaway, then you can contact Dancing Rabbit and inquire into renting a room.

• Dancing Rabbit’s response to the 30 Days episode.
• Dancing Rabbit Fan Site More pictures of the place there.

Why do I care?
because I built the place. -Gare :)

Gare’s DR Bio

30 days Grain Bin; 30 day’s grain bin

2005 Total Population Estimates for Mount Vernon, Iowa

(source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005 Population Estimates)

from http://www.accessdataservices.com/zip/Mount%20Vernon-Iowa.html

6.3% growth in 5 years. 220 people … Hope they bring in more taxes so the town can afford to fix the roads in my neighborhood!

White House denies report on Iraqi WMD

Thursday, April 13, 2006 11:08 IST

WASHINGTON: The White House vehemently denounced a US newspaper report suggesting President George W Bush insisted on the existence of biological weapons laboratories in Iraq while knowing the claim was false.

The Washington Post said on Wednesday that Bush and other top administration officials cited two trailers found in Iraq as evidence of a banned Iraqi weapons programme even though Pentagon experts had found they were probably designed to produce hydrogen for weather balloons.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan condemned the newspaper report as “reckless”, saying Bush had based his assertions on intelligence assessments.

“And for you all to go on the air this morning and make such a charge is irresponsible,” McClellan told reporters on Wednesday.

On May 29, 2003, Bush proclaimed that the trailers, located just weeks after the start of the US-led invasion of Iraq, were long-sought mobile “biological laboratories”.

“We have found the weapons of mass destruction,” the president said confidently at the time.

Two days before the president’s statement, however, a secret Pentagon-sponsored mission had returned findings that the trailers were not suited for the production of biological weapons, according to the Post, citing unnamed government officials.

The claim was repeated by top administration officials for months, even though US intelligence officials had received the findings of the Pentagon experts determining that the allegations were not true, the Post reported.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1023907

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/12/bush.wmd/

AccessDataServices.com has finally gotten its own blog. So over the next couple of weeks I will be moving Technology posts to AccessDataservices where they belong. You can find ADS’ blog here.
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for the continued thematic development of IndividualandCommunity.org, please let me know.

Otherwise, here you will find a slowly developing but hopefully useful place to post ideas on sustainability and simplicity.

SRI

Socially responsible investing is when you take your beliefs and values and apply them to how you invest your money. This is also known as having a “double bottom line,” because not only are you looking for a profitable investment, but also one that meets certain moral criteria and that lets you sleep well at night. Your second bottom line could be moral, religious, or based on whatever Chicken Soup for the Soul principles help guide you through life.
source: http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/socinvest/socinvest.html

My 2 favorites:

Domini Social Investments

As a shareholder in the Domini Funds, you make a difference in the world. Engaging companies on global warming, sweatshop labor, and product safety. Revitalizing distressed communities. Bringing new voices to the table. Redefining corporate America’s bottom line.
source: http://www.domini.com/index.htm

New Alternatives Fund

New Alternatives Fund is a Socially Responsible Mutual Fund Emphasizing Alternative Energy and the Environment. We seek investments in listed companies that have a positive impact on the environment. We are different from funds that make their environmental contribution by only avoiding companies that harm the environment.
source: http://www.newalternativesfund.com/

Just bought a CD from http://www.mattlindahl.com/ - a purchase overdue from 2004.

This guy is the TRUE Nashville Star - more talent in his fingernail than most Nashville performers could ever hope for. He competed on television’s Nashville Star in 2004 and was told that his music was not commercial enough and would never make it onto the radio; thus he did not win the title of Nashville Star.

Matt plays a unique style of country music that is spirited and uplifting.

Sorry it took so long for us to get around to buying your album, Matt. :(

matt lindahl

As a newcomer to the great state of Iowa (and to the world of blogging), I was really glad to find this list of blogs from people in Iowa that has recently been created.

…. IowaBlogs.Net, a “hub” of Iowa blogs. This site is NOT a blog network.

Blogs are “conversation stations” and the goal of this site is to share a spotlight on the unique voices and personalities in Iowa.

Geographic grouping of a medium that is inherently geographically boundless… Well, I for one, find this list interesting reading.

So in Iowa we have 10% - ‘E10′ - ethanol fuel available at the pumps. It is a mid-grade fuel that costs less than low-grade gasoline.
What is ethanol?

Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel that is produced from renewable sources. At its most basic, ethanol is grain alcohol, produced from crops such as corn. Because it is domestically produced, ethanol helps reduce America’s dependence upon foreign sources of energy. source: Ethanol.org

Does ethanol currently require more energy to create than it produces?

The National Corn Growers Association has a site dealing with ethanol energy use. They cite oil industry corruption as one of the reasons for the slow adoption of ethanol use. They also cite 10 studies that show that ethanol has a positive energy balance.

Iowa Corn growers have an informational site that addresses the issues and questions surrounding ethanol. They have a FAQ regarding ethanol use - Common Questions Regarding Ethanol Use

A conscientious exploration of the issue blog-style describes some of the issues involved in the debate.

In a time when people are crying out for energy policy change, ethanol seems a great topic to explore.

McCarthyism Texas-Style

The Nov/Dec 2005 issue of Academe reports in the article Congressman Investigates Climate Scientists that 3 scientists attribute the rise of greenhouse gases to burning fossil fuels. Michael Mann of UVA, Raymond Bradley of Univ. of Mass- Amherst, and Malcom Hughes of the Univ. of Arizona were the scientists involved. Chair of the House of Rep. Committee on Energy and Commerce launched an investigation into their research. Rep. Joe Barton, chair of the committee, sent letters ordering all research and data analysis programs be turned over to his committee.

Joe Barton - texas corporate stooge whose top 2003/2004 contributor is an oil company - Anadarko Petroleum.

The Energy & Commerce Committee has arguably the broadest non tax-oriented jurisdiction of any congressional committee, with principal House responsibility over matters relating to commerce, public health and marketplace interests. - From Joe’s Own Bio

• Letters Requesting Information Regarding Global Warming Studies at The Committee on Energy and Commerce
• Energy committees letter to Mann demanding research in the name of “open scientific inquiry” (pdf)
• Michael E. Mann, Ph.D’s response to Barton’s demand (pdf )

Tell a Texan that fossil fuels are polluting the environment? Wish Texas would take all of its folk and secede already.

Seriously, Questions

Did the original research appear in a peer reviewed, academic journal?

Is the demanding of research a typical practice of governmental committees, or is this onerous harassment?

Also covered in the Washington Post:

A Bid to Chill Thinking
Behind Joe Barton’s Assault on Climate Scientists

By David Ignatius

Friday, July 22, 2005; Page A23

In today’s partisan political climate, science has inevitably become a political football. But I can’t remember anything quite as nasty — or as politically skewed — as Rep. Joe Barton’s recent attack on scientists whose views on global warming he doesn’t like.

Barton, an 11-term Republican from Texas, is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and one of the oil lobby’s best friends on Capitol Hill. Late last month he fired off letters to professor Michael Mann of the University of Virginia and two other scientists demanding information about what he claimed were “methodological flaws and data errors” in their studies of global warming.

The 5-Year Mission Continues at New Voyages

This group is dedicated to recreating seasons 4 and 5 of the original Star Trek! May they live long and prosper!

Several episodes available legal and free from Torrent Tracker