Norm Benson

Can a $40 Washing Machine Really Bring Families Out of Poverty?

Yes, yes it can. GiraDora is a blue bucket that conceals a spinning mechanism that washes clothes and then partially dries them. It’s operated by a foot pedal, while the user sits on the lid to stabilize the rapidly churning contents. Sitting alleviates lower-back pain associated with hand-washing clothes, and frees up the washer toContinue reading “Can a $40 Washing Machine Really Bring Families Out of Poverty?”

Genetically engineering microbes to work for us

Interesting video from the Open University. Genetically engineered (GE) E. coli bacteria produce much of today’s insulin supply. By using GE, we are turning microbes into “tiny factories” that happily churn out what they get re-programmed to do.

Weekend Postcard: Gads Zeus…Hops

In the middle of the month of May I posted a weekend postcard of my Zeus hop bines in a half barrel container. The juvenile growth looked more like blackberry (Rubus spp.) vines than hops, which are a cousin of nettles and hemp (now you have an idea of why hops smell as they do).Continue reading “Weekend Postcard: Gads Zeus…Hops”

“Hey, I care about the planet—can I go to Rio?”

My latest Green Chain column for the Lake County Record-Bee. Last month the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) marked its 20th anniversary of the “Earth Summit,” meeting once again in Rio de Janeiro. In 1992, Earth Summiteers envisioned the future they wanted, which included uplifting the “social and economic development” status ofContinue reading ““Hey, I care about the planet—can I go to Rio?””

Sites Complex Buildup to Quiescence July 9

These pictures show the increase and decrease in energy on at least one of the fires at the Sites Complex Incident from 2:15pm to 5:50pm. The photos were taken at ~10 minute intervals. Below those is the California Fire Situation Report which features footage from the Sites Complex.

Morning view: smoke looks like marine layer

Here’s the view from my deck this morning. What looks like low-hanging clouds is actually smoke from the Sites Complex Incident in Colusa county on the Mendocino National Forest.

Weekend Postcard: Wildfire in California

These are pictures of the smoke columns from the Sites Complex, five fires that are being coordinated as one incident under the Incident Command System. I have to say I much prefer seeing the column from my deck rather than fire camp. My thoughts are with the (younger) firefighters.

Weekend postcard: Manzanita skeleton

This is a common scene in the Mediterranean climate of California: dry grass, some shrubs and pines, and an oak. We pulled off onto the shoulder of a road and lying on its side was this skeleton of a manzanita amid the dry grass. Its cause of death remains unknown. Perhaps it died from itsContinue reading “Weekend postcard: Manzanita skeleton”

Organic can be the right choice for fruit, sometimes

This “Green Chain”column will be published in the Lake County Record-Bee on Tuesday. “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” – John Maynard Keynes. Forgive me please for starting this month’s column with the same John Maynard Keynes’ quote as last month’s. But new facts have been brought toContinue reading “Organic can be the right choice for fruit, sometimes”

Weekend Postcard: A Green Car Grows in Berkeley

I saw this car-shaped hedge growing in a Berkeley neighbor hood and knew that it had to be a weekend postcard. Berkeley must have more Toyota Prius‘s per capita than anywhere else on earth. And, just down the street sits an all-electric car made by a company I have never heard of. But this carContinue reading “Weekend Postcard: A Green Car Grows in Berkeley”