Simple way to help clean Texas' air

www.smokingvehicle.org , or 1-800-453-SMOG

TCEQ website where you can report vehicles that are not functioning properly and are smoking either from the engine or tailpipe.

All they really do is send a letter to the vehicle owner asking them to fix it, but often that's all that's needed. A little peer pressure.

Senate Passes Farm Bill

Some good news for Organics. This is not real support for the industry, but considering some of the roadblocks we've been facing, it's a huge win and a small step towards equality for organics in the USDA:
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Legislative Update
Senate today passes its version of the Farm Bill
In a major milestone, the U.S. Senate today approved its version of the Farm Bill in a 79 to 14 vote. Included are funding and direction for key organic priorities, including a sense that organic research be funded at a level commensurate with organic agriculture's share of teh market. Some of the other provisions allot funds for organic data collection and certification cost share; would bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture from charging a premium surcharge on organic crop insurance; and would add organic production as an eligible activity in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The Senate version and the version approved this summer by the U.S. House of Representatives must go to conference to settle any differences before a final bill is voted on by Congress.

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I hear not much headway has been made on eliminating govt. farm subsidies for corn and other commodities, but at least they're making concessions for Organics.

Cool Links

Here's a site that uses actual driving data from its members to arrive at average MPG estimates for hybrid cars:
http://www.greenhybrid.com/
Very interesting stuff. I also saw some calculations a guy did on the break-even point for buying the prius over a corolla. He thinks a corolla can achieve 35mpg without hybrid technology and compared the base sticker price with that of the hybrid ($15.5k for corolla and $21k for prius). He assumes 45mpg for the prius and $3/gallon gas. Here's his formula: (x/35-x/45) = (21000-15500)/3. This resulted in around a 280,000 mile pay-off for buying the hybrid not taking into consideration differences in maintenance.
Doesn't seem to be compelling, but buying a hybrid is just so cool.

More Proof

I can't wait for organic pudding so I can start saying "The proof is in the pudding". What does that mean anyways?
Here's some more proof for ya that organics is more nutritious:
http://green.msn.com/articles/article.aspx?aid=295&GT1=10725
It might be the same study as the EU one....honestly, I wanted to post it, but don't have time right now to read the whole thing.