When Christians Attack?

I am not quite sure what to think of this article posted in a blog oriented towards liberal North Carolina politics (gotta keep up with the competition). Gist is that the author attended a High Point City Council meeting where there was a debate over the meeting's opening prayer. The most provocative part of this story to me is not the facts of the story, but the author's engagement with Christians - her obvious natural bias against Christians, and her grudging respect and even identification with the Christians attending the meeting. I haven't thought about it enough yet, but there is something significant embedded here.

Volunteerism and Commuting Inversely Proportional

Is this related to Putnam's Bowling Alone phenomenon? It seems to make sense, though the causation/correlation thing doesn't seem to be controlled or addressed in the discussion.

Underwater Logging: Submarine Rediscovers Lost Wood

Underwater Logging: Submarine Rediscovers Lost Wood

This makes so much sense I guess, though I would have thought the trees had rotted after 20-50 years of submersion. Apparently that's not the case. Another article I read about this in Urban Land described that BC alone has almost 5 billion board feet of salvageable wood. And much of the wood is profitable or hard-to-find species like Douglas fir, hemlock, etc.

What Our Grandparents Can Teach Us About Saving The World

I'm getting more comfortable all the time wearing the "greeny tree-hugger" moniker, though I'm a little sad it's not due to a newly discovered self-confidence, but instead to the fact that being a tree-hugger is increasingly popular. Emily and I have talked a lot about consumerism being the root problem of environmental degradation, and the irony of most "green" solutions that rely on buying a new or different product, rather than not buying one at all and making-do with what you already have or even better getting comfortable doing without. This article was provocative in that direction - even though the "Greatest Generations'" motives weren't "green," the values and willingness to sacrifice behind the motives had a green affect. Will our willingness to be green and sustainable last beyond our ability to avoid sacrificing, or survive the siege of consumerism?

*Green* Lawn

http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070712-bounds.html?refresh=on

Luxury Delivery

We did our hospital tour tonight at Presbyterian Hospital's Women's Center. Holy mackeral! We've been there recently to visit friends who have had children, but it never struck us how daggum beautiful that place is! The artwork is spectacular (mostly local, lots of interesting sculpture), and the common areas and rooms are all set up like a spa. There's even a whirlpool in the delivery room, though Emily said it wouldn't be wise for my longterm well being to chill out in the hot tub while she's in labor. We've never enjoyed a trip to the hospital quite like this. I must say that I totally failed at remembering anything useful about how to get Emily to the right place at the right time. We walked out to the parking deck and I couldn't remember a thing we were just told. Thankfully I did remember that we should bring our own DVDs in case labor lasts very long.