my new job: Lawn Technician

On account of my ever decreasing discretionary funds, I have fired my lawn guy and hired myself. For the cost of approximately one month of lawn care, I have purchased a 16” reel lawn mower to use throughout the season. The Greenworks brand is well-reviewed and the 16” size seems perfect for me, at about 26 pounds.

The only maintenance I foresee is sharpening the blades, which many online have called an “enjoyable activity.” While this will be a new time commitment on my part, I will be burning more calories and reducing my carbon footprint. (Previous lawn maintenance technician used a gas-powered riding lawn mower and gas-guzzling trimmer.) I particularly enjoy that Greenworks has categorized their reel mowers as "human" powered on their website. 

Thanks to Amazon, I will have my new human-powered mower this week. And should the weather be enjoyable Saturday, I will have a go at cutting my lawn myself! (Among other needed landscape chores.) I cannot wait for spring, happy gardening ya’ll!

{carbon nation}

In the process of surveying future career shifts and educational goals, I've spent the last several months searching out books and films about environmental issues and their solutions. Carbon Nation is a documentary film by Peter Byck about the growing worldwide carbon footprint. Instead of getting bogged down in the discussion about what is causing the problem, this film discusses solutions to meet our worldwide energy needs through lower carbon, carbon neutral, and renewable means.

Carbon Nation feels like an unbiased, all-encompassing look at sustainable energy practices. For instance, included in the discussion is the Evangelical Climate Initiative as well as interviews with renewable energy advocates who do not believe in climate change. The point the movie makes is that in the end, how we got here does not matter. We all need to work together to protect our environment and way of life.

One thing about wind power I didn’t realize before watching the film is that the land used for wind turbines can still be utilized for farming and ranching, which seems like a good business strategy for struggling farmers in the nation’s bread basket. Also, the Department of Energy has estimated that the wind potential in Texas, the Dakotas, Montana, and Kansas exceeds current energy needs in the US.

Another surprise for me was that deforestation accounts for 20% of the world’s carbon emissions, which is larger than the portion attributed to all transportation sectors. In addition to loss of biomass, soil erosion leads to other environmental impacts. If farmers and landowners of developing countries could be persuaded to harvest their forests in a sustainable way, and set aside land for grazing and Eco tourism, new sources of income could be tapped while protecting the environment.

Carbon Nation is full of ideas to meet the world’s energy needs in a renewable and environmentally friendly way. The film is upbeat and approachable, no matter your political or ideological views, which serves as a stark contrast to other environmental films such as An Inconvenient Truth. I highly recommend Carbon Nation if you have an interest in the environment, energy, or if you like Bill Kurtis’ voice (he’s the narrator).