Not necessarily by chimps, for chimps, but a fascinating experiment in self image.  Eat your heart out James Cameron.

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Image: Noah Sheldon

Nope, not a sequel to the Pauly Shore epic, but a great photo essay on BLDGBLOG by Geoff Manaugh with photos submitted by Noah Sheldon.  In this article, Mr. Manaugh gives a pretty good background on the project, its scientific goals, and even a bit on its place in the national psyche.  Always a topic for middle school science classes, the Biosphere 2 project was seemingly everywhere in the news in the early 90’s, but as the decade wore on and the sheer complexity of the building systems and maybe a bit of over ambition lead to the original scientific research aspirations to be abandoned.  That said, in recent years it has become a living, active research facility run by the University of Arizona at Tuscon and is even open to the public for tours.

Be sure to check out the original article, and even give a run through the comments for some other first hand accounts of this earthbound spaceship.

Photo courtesy of Christie's

Looking for a simple resource to help you make food and eating choices based as much on your green ideology as on your appetite?  Have the recent public comments by executives of high end grocery stores left a sour taste in your mouth?  Did you enter “The Meatrix”?!

Well then, do yourself a favor and check out Sustainable Table.  This fantastic web resource contains a vast knowledge base of information on everything from organic agriculture to factory farms (and how to avoid their products.)  There is even a search engine to locate sustainable, locally grown, fresh and organic eats right around you.  Simply type in your address!

Here’s a clip from “The Unchained Goddess”, a film produced by Frank Capra (”It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, and many other defining films of mid-twentieth century Americana) in 1958 focused on mankind’s contribution to climate change. 

The long and the short of this?  Climate change science is nothing new, and all semantics and politics aside, there is a tipping point on the horizon, and we really don’t want to be on the other side of it.

Jay talks electric car history (fyi, new technology this is not) and poses some real world questions to Volt Chief Engineer Andrew Farah in this brief, but pretty in depth walk around and drive about with GM’s big “new” idea.

Enjoy!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons and licensed under Creative Commons

 Behold, the mighty Yerba Matte, blooming and waiting to be crushed and brewed into a wonderfully compact, delicious, and healthy tea.  As more and more eco-healthy products come to the store shelves and into the hearts & minds of the everyday consumer, much more attention is being paid to the business models behind the products.  Calls of ‘greenwashing’ and questionable benefit abound around any modern product, from the progressives as much as the climate change deniers, but in this sea of choices a few companies are shinning through with integrated development and restoration planning.  In this vein, Treehugger(yes, it is one of my favorite blogs) has a very nice piece on one such company, Guayaki, detailing some of the “triple bottom line” ideas that drive the company and the ways in which it fits easily into the current discussions of ideas such as cap-and-trade, carbon crediting and offsetting, and using locally based economic development to achieve globally imperative ecological goals.  Read the article here, and think about some of the simple ways that integrating ecological metrics into business modeling can help address the potential new environmental standards and regulations without a significant change to overhead structures.

                                               Photo by Tom Carroll

This year residents of the South Waterfront Community took part in a Community Garden. Spaces were made available to members of the South Waterfront Community and reserved by those interested. Take a look! There are a variety of crops ranging from tomatoes, peppers, spices, flowers-the list could go on and on. Just like Portland takes pride in commuting by bike or Mass Transit, residents of Oregon certainly can appreciate the joy of cultivating their own gardens. What a great way to connect members of a community.

Get out in the sunshine and enjoy your last summer days at the Willamette River for Riverfest 2009.

Photo by Tom Carroll

Saturday, August 22, will be a big day at the South Waterfront. So put on your walking shoes and take a stroll down the waterfront, hop on your bike, or take the Streetcar. The South Waterfont Festival will begin at 11AM with fun, festivites, and music. Join The Pampered Pooch for their Open House hosted from 10AM to 4PM ,where your pooch can bob for a tennis ball in the kiddy pool outside. Plus, any dog that participates receives a goodie bag with home made dog cookies, a certificate for 10% off a grooming appointment, and your pup can even keep it’s tennis ball.

Please feel free to visit our riverside apartment living here at The Ardea. Where your pets are always welcomed!

Pioneering a New Sense of Place: The Future Building of Portland

Citizen Salons 2009

Saturday, August 29, 2009, 6:00 PM

Location will be provided by City Club

   Members: $75, Non-Members $85

Did you know there is a nonprofit and nonpartisan civic organization here in Portland dedicated to public affairs, community service, and leadership development through education and research?

City Club of Portland, Good Citizens are Riches of the City, club mission: To inform its members and the community in public matters, and to arouse in them the realization of the obligations of citizenship.

City Club of Portland holds many valuable events and programs dedicating to bringing obligations of citizenship to life through teaching and learning. The City Club of Portland strives to increase the awareness of civic affairs.  Learn more about the City Club of Portland and how you can get involved.