Faux Christmas Tree, Faux Christmas Tree ...

It's that time of year again when environmentalist around the country debate which is more Eco- friendly; Real or Fake Christmas Trees. Meanwhile, most of the rest of society dig in their storage for the fake fir of years gone by, or make the annual trek to the local nursery and pick from this years crop. There are statistical and emotional arguments on both sides of the debate which makes it very difficult for me to choose a side. Artificial trees have been gaining ground in American living rooms — 50 million fake trees vs. 30 million fresh ones, according to the two competing industry groups, the long-standing National Christmas Tree Association (which supports real trees) and the more recently formed American Christmas Tree Association (defends artificial trees).

Each side has important pros and cons that need to be considered. Creating local jobs in the nursery industry and having many qualities that offset climate change give supporters of real trees a strong argument, but health and safety concerns, plus pesticide contamination offsets real trees sustainable assets.

Fake trees encourage people to re-use products and recent technology has improved the looks and reliability of artificial trees, however, the materials associated with and the manufacturing of artificial trees are known environmental contaminants which sometime promote human and environmental exploitation. Personally and professionally I can identify with both sides of issue so I have decided to take a stand and tell everyone: DON'T BUY REAL OR FAKE! DON'T BUY A TREE AT ALL!!

Lets keep it real; Christmas trees are so 20th century. If most people knew how UN-Christ-like the history Christmas trees are and how Paegen it really is, Rush Limbaugh would say anyone displaying a tree was UN-American. A decorative tree can be recreated using the abundance of objects we already have at our disposal. People can't water and nurture the plants they already have in their homes, so it seems silly to cut down or manufacture a tree to use for 2-3 weeks a year. Create a Faux Christmas tree that reflects your own location and perspective. Instead of going out and buying a tree with the kids, help them gather items for a environmental lesson in self expression. Show off your inner sustainable Martha Stewart and create a tree or any holiday setting using items that reflect your commitment to combating climate change. Here are some pics of some cool tree alternatives

Tonight I'm Gonna Protest Like It's 1969

By the time I was born in December of 1970, my parent's were seasoned protester's on the front line of social change. They were young, black, urban, baby boomers who were raised during the American Civil Rights Movement. Black was Beautiful!, and members of The Nation of Islam and The Black Panthers were respected members of our community and close family friends. Hitting the streets and marching for justice was not only a civic duty, it was a badge of honor as far as my parents were concerned. When I was a teenager in the 80's, my mother often reminded me of my pampered existence, and how my generation was not contributing to the " Struggle" like they did. " I remember trying to run to the car from the tear gas" she used to say, " Your father had a Volkswagen Bug with a whole in the floor, so even when we made to the car, the gas would come up through the floor". When my dad would get arrested during protests, my mom would be his 'one' phone call, " Because his last name began with Y, he was always the last person to use the phone" she amusingly remembers, " sometimes he would have to wait for hours just to call for bail". My parent's activism and social conscience positively reinforced the notion of saying and taking a stand for what you believe in. 21st century economic inequality, a country in a war we don't understand, and political disdain is sparking social unrest in big cities around the country reminiscent of the late 1960's.

The phrase 'Don't trust anyone over 30' drew the line between sides in during the cultural wars of the late 1960's and early 1970's. On one side, the 'Counter Culture' were deemed young spoiled 'Hippies', that were either going to change the world through social equality and the power of love, or start the dawn of the Apocalypse. On the other side stood the ' Establishment', straight laced dinosaurs who were either committed to law and order or social repression. Age seemed to be the determining factor that determined which side you were on, and anyone who sympathized with ideas of the other side was deemed treason-is to their generation. Forty years and two generations later, We have seen the constrictive and restrictive establishment rules loosen up and include people it never acknowledged before. We have also seen hippies tune in, grow up, and sell out. The recent Occupy/99% Movement has stirred emotions and opened old wounds among the cultural masses. People are protesting and struggling over the same issues that confronted us in 1969. The environment, social progression, and cultural freedoms are still issues that people fight for, however, the main reason for social unrest today is the way wealth is distributed in America, and the rapidly shrinking middle class. Record Wall Street and corporate profits have harshly contrasted the worst main street recession since the Great depression of the 1930's, spawning many Americans of all ages, races, and genders to take to the streets and stand up for what they believe in. Baby Boomers fighting for Social Security and MedaCare are standing side by side with their middle aged, unemployed children, and grandchildren about to graduate from college with mountain of debt. The 99% Movement has bridged gaps between three generations in a way we haven't seen in modern history. The lines in the sand being drawn in today's culture war are rooted in federal and local political policies designed to reflect conservative agendas or liberal progressiveness. The looming 2012 presidential election and evaporating government budgets are starting to make politicians and big city officials look like the ghosts of establishment past.

Republican presidential nominees seem to be taking turns channeling the spirits of Ronald Reagan, George Wallace, and Richard Nixon. With the exceptions of Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman, the current republican contenders for president have collectively dismissed the 99% Movement as unproductive whiners who need a lesson in responsibility, and embraced the Tea Party with religious zeal. Newt Gingrich, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, and Herman Cain have turned the 2011 Republican Presidential debates into a political say-once, trying to contact iconic republican establishment figures from the great beyond. Former Speaker Gingrich has come the closest, telling protesters to "Take a bath and get a job". Local officials in big cities are also taking a tough stance with occupiers and 99%ers. Even mayors of historically liberal cities like Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and NYC are starting to look like establishment heavy's and tools of the 1% in the eyes of some on the left. Police officers have met protesters with the usual tear gas, pepper spray, and paddy wagon round up that earn many a lefty their social stripes, and local government agencies around the country have systematically evicted occupiers of public and private spaces in the name of public health and safety. The harsh treatment of peaceful protesters is starting to garner support for them among many Americans frustrated with the system. Putting dirty hippies in their place is one thing, but tear gassing a bunch of old ladies fighting to keep their hard earned pension has sparked fear in the hearts of the working and middle class. The American dream of prosperity is way out of reach for many people, even when you get an education, work hard, and stay out of trouble. Our right to assemble freely is being challenged by our governments need for law. The Occupy/99% movement is starting to unnerve the powers that be on all sides of the debate. Corporations and conservative politicians want to silence or forceably remove protesters from the national stage. Many liberal leaders, most notably president Obama, are taking calculated steps to show support. Left leaning politicians are walking a fine line between pissing of their constituents, and pissing of their corporate sponsors. I get the feeling the 1% would like the 99% Movement to go away and be quiet, but the movement is to big and diverse to ignore. The only way to get rid of the 99% is to put them back to work, something our leaders are failing to do. The up side to all of this is my generation and the one after it is getting the long awaited protest cred our parents and grandparents got over forty years ago.

Overstuffed

Its the weekend after thanksgiving and the activities of the past couple of days may have you feeling a bit lethargic and stuffed. I'm not just talking about turkey and dressing in your belly , I'm talking about all the merchandise you purchased on Black Friday destined to stuff your storage area. The family holiday of bountiful feasts to celebrate the fall harvest is being kicked out by the corporate sponsored frenzy designed to celebrate retailers year end profits. During a time of 9% unemployment, record mortgage foreclosures, and a economy trying to keep its credit rating, advertisers have sacrificed Thanksgiving to give Americans more time to spend money we don't have. Being able to afford environmentally harmful, mass produced products in a globally unfair market is a problem in itself, but many Americans are starting to struggle with storing all of the useless treasures thy have accumulated over the years. The conspicuous consumptive shopping habits of Americans are starting to show in our bulging closets, garages, and rented storage units, and are putting the squeeze on our already tight pockets.

The term Black Friday was coined during the 1960's in Philadelphia by police officers and other public workers who dreaded shoppers crowding the streets the day after Thanksgiving, looking for bargains to kick off the holiday season. The term spread during the 70's and 80's but started to get real momentum during the 90's, and has since been deemed the " busiest shopping day of the year". Many retailers say they depend on the day to keep them profitable, or in the "Black", and can help them predict holiday shopping trends. It also is a day for consumers to get high priced items at bargain prices. For many years, retailers opened there doors at 6am Friday morning, then some started to open at 5am, then 4am, and in the late 2000's, retailers started to open at 12am, giving people the opportunity to shop all night long. In 2011, Walmart and Toys'R'Us pushed the envelope by opening their doors at 10pm Thanksgiving night. Targets employees and their families signed petitions and employed the media to urge the retailer to rethink it's decision to open so early, and allow workers to spend time with their families. Target replied by saying it was only responding to public demand, and that many employees requested to work the midnight shift. The demand that Target refers to seems to be massive in spite of protests inside and outside of the stores. The failing economy, and the Wall Street Occupation/99% movement hasn't put a damper on spending this holiday season with brisk sales and crowded stores filled with shoppers bringing out the worst in each other. Bloody grandma's fighting for Tickle Me Elmo's and innocent mothers being trampled to death by stampeding shoppers vying for the latest gaming system is the price we pay to keep our children spoiled. The popularity of Black Friday coincides with the booming self storage industry in America. Americans are spending billions of dollars a year to rent spaces to house the things we don't use but can't seem to part with.

The Self Storage industry is primarily an American phenomenon. In 2009, there were 58,000 storage facilities world wide and 46,000 were located in the U.S. There is more than 2.35 billion square feet of storage space in America, equivalent to three Manhattan Islands, and one in ten Americans rent a storage space of some kind. Sizes range from 10x5 foot(large walk in closet) to 20x20 foot(two car garage). The units traditionally have been located at the edges of cities or in industrial areas in warehouses or individual drive up structures. Recently however, storage facilities have been popping up in vacant office and retail spaces in the heart of cities due to demand and the loosening of zoning restrictions. The recent housing crisis has driven the demand for storage units, and people who once had houses to store years of clutter in have been forced to downsize and either get rid of things or put them into storage. Most of us at some point have had to sort through our own, or someone else's belongings and wonder what to do with the things we can't seem to part with. Some people end up forfeiting substantial square footage in there homes to make room for their stuff. Most people couldn't park their car in their garage if they had to because it is filled with items collecting dust. Closet's, attics, and even living spaces are crammed with boxes of gifts from birthdays and Christmas' long forgotten. We have bigger houses and more land than most countries on earth, yet we still need more room for our stuff. Unlike most rental units, storage units come with a catch. If you don't pay the rent, the owner of the unit doesn't chuck your stuff on the curb for you to collect, the owner gets to keep your stuff to auction off for the rent. Even though most of the items in storage units are considered junk, some house antiques or other items that can be sold for much more than the monthly rent of the unit. This has spawned an industry within a industry, and popular TV series like Auction Hunters and Storage Wars. With people running out of food and others running out of space, we still spent another Friday after Thanksgiving stuffing our lives full of merchandise we don't need, can't afford, and simply don't have room for. Americans need to go on a shopping diet and examine our gluttonous spending habits. We are becoming a nation of hoarders who collect massive amounts of useless stuff for no other reason than the false psychological sense of national security. Spending your way out of a recession or depression is not going to solve our problems, it only leaves us over stuffed.

The Power Of Cannabinoids Compels You!!!

The demonization of cannabis in America started around the turn of the twentieth century because of the high THC strain called Marijuana. Hemp was cultivated by many and used in a variety of products during the first 150 years of this country, but by the early twentieth century, the psycho-active ingredient and deviant appeal of marijuana scared the hell out of the establishment, and cast Cannabis into the shadows of the country for decades. Currently, people from all walks of life are starting to cast the demons out of Marijuana. From politicians to soccer moms, many are starting to seriously talk about legalization. The real exorcists in this drama are researchers in the medical field. They are finding the power of cannabinoids found in marijuana too compelling to fear, but are still haunted by THC's demonic past. Marijuana got its name from a popular song sung by Mexican immigrant farm workers who cultivated hemp for its high THC qualities, and harvested the plant to smoke for personal use and during social occasions. These activities creeped out the white American establishment, and tales of Mexican men smoking weed and turning into red eyed sex monsters circulated in white communities, most notably in the publications of William Randolph Hearst. The popularity of the drug with black jazz musicians made marijuana even scarier, and by 1934, the U.S. Government criminalized Cannabis, and the Federal demonization of marijuana began. The repressive forties and fifties turned out iconic propaganda films warning people of the dangers associated with smoking pot. The most infamous was Reefer Madness. The film shows clean cut white youths who smoke joints and become possessed by THC demons that make them giggle uncontrollably. Marijuana's bad reputation and psychoactive effects mad it irresistible to Hippies of the sixties. Marijuana became the Baby Boomer drug of choice, and its leaf an iconic symbol of the peace and love generation. By the seventies, Pot tapped into the cultural mainstream, making parties serving "special" brownies the hippest trip among many circles. Many young adults found the criminalization of marijuana for personal use outdated, and the Nixon administration formed an advising board led by Gov. Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania to advise the Feds on Marijuana decriminalization. On March 22, 1972 the commission presented its finding which concluded; "Neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety," ..."Therefore, the Commission recommends ... [the] possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration no longer be an offense." Transcripts of a May 26, 1971 conversation between president Nixon and Shafer , however, highlighted the administrations plan to keep pot illegal, Nixon explained to Shafer "You're enough of a pro to know that for you to come out with something that would run counter to what Congress feels ... and what we're planning to do would make your commission just look bad as hell'. The administration ignored the findings, and right wing republicans were on a crusade to abolish pot smoking in the country. During the 1980's, Ronald Reagan's "War on Drugs" spent billions trying to keep drugs of the streets of America. He employed the social propaganda and law enforcement tactics he used as governor of California and First Lady Nancy Reagan's infamous " just say no " campaign targeted young school children using the mass media to encourage them to just say no to the evils of drugs. The results were mixed, and ultimately did not stop the use of marajuana. Generation Xers took weed to the next level during the 90s by resurrecting it's long anecdotal medicinal qualities. In 1996, the state of California decriminalized the use of marijuana by patients for medical use and gave way ot our current medical marijuana debate. Evidence of marijuana used in medicine dates back to 3000 B.C. China, and researchers around the globe are currently investigating THCs ability to not only relieve symptoms, but modify disease itself.

The human body is hardwired to process the cannabinoids found in THC and in the Cannabis plant. Cannabinoid receptor CB1 is found in the body's central nervous system, and Cannabinoid receptor CB2 is located in the cells of the immune system. THC binds to the receptors and partially activates them. Research into the body's Endocannabinoid regulatory system may change the way we treat disease and offers hope for a cure to some. Apoptosis is the process of programmed death that occours in some multicellular organisms and THCs natural apoptosis ability and warm reception in the human body may have a big influence on the way we fight disease in the future. Because of the criminalization of Marijuana in the U.S. and the trade agreements it has with other countries, research of THC stays at pretrial stages, focuses on individual cannabinoid studies, and is conducted outside of the United States. Decriminalization of Marijuana will allow researchers to study the entire cannabis plant and conduct clinical trials. Pharmacutical companies have been eager to manufacture and market THC based products for the past fifty years. In 1964, THC was isolated into a pure isomer and named Dronabinol. Dronabinol is sold under the name Marinol and is a prescription drug used to treat a variety of symptoms related to cancer, Aids, and even Anorexia. Other analogs of dronabinol are Nabilone, sold commercially in Canada as Cesamet, and Sativex, a mouth spray used by Multiple Schlorosis patients, which is marketed in Europe and Canada. Scientists are also investigating cannabinoids ability to modify autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, and in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease). In 2009, the American Medical Association (AMA) resolved for the first time in the organization's history "that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines." . A 2010 review by researchers in Germany reports that since 2005 there have been 37 controlled studies assessing the safety and efficacy of marijuana and its naturally occurring compounds in a total of 2,563 subjects. By contrast, most FDA-approved drugs go through far fewer trials involving far fewer subjects. The global research community is throwing scientific holy water on the U.S. criminalization of pot in hopes to repeal the dark shadow it has cast on medical marijuana research.

Legalizing Marijuana for medical and personal use is a still a scary idea for many Americans. The fear of youths having access to a mysterious mind altering drug is a valid concern for many adults on both sides of the debate. Still, the fact remains that people who want to smoke weed to get high are going to do it. Federally prohibiting marijuana has not curbed its use, but spawned a multibillion dollar illegal industry and some say has inhibited the U.S. scientific community. So say your prayers and strap on your crucifixes, the results of the exorcism of cannabis could be frightening to some, and a blessing to others.

Green Acres Is The Place To Be.....

The iconic 1960s sitcom Green Acres is about a waspy Manhattan lawyer named Oliver Douglas, who quits his successful firm and moves to the country to become a farmer, dragging his reluctant wife Lisa with him. The urban dreamers threat to chuck it all for a the simple life becomes more attractive during volatile social and economic times. Just like back in the 60s,today's social upheavals, economic uncertainty, and a country at war , have people looking for ways to tune into the environment and drop out of city. The sitcom got a lot of laughs playing up the differences between city and country folk, and how the grass isn't always greener on the farm. In the 21st century, your biggest obstacle in farm living could be finding a farm. However, if the farming community in California has its way and Hemp is decriminalized, America could potentially become the global farming powerhouse we once were. I thought it would be interesting to update the sitcoms premise using today's technology and social issues , and compare the parallels and differences from fifty years ago. The visual contrast between city slickers and country folk was a staple on Green Acres. City slickers drove Lincolns, wore designer frocks, and lounged on leopard print furniture while watching color tv. Country folk drove tractors, wore overalls, and sat in rockers on the front porch while watching the sunset. Most episodes had the glamorous Eva Gabor rummaging around a chicken coup, dripping in jewels and wearing a couture gown looking for eggs to cook for breakfast, purring out a conversation with the neighbors pig. Other mainstay's of the sitcom showed Lisa climbing up a pole in a Chanel suit to make telephone calls, and constantly blowing fuses trying to plug in her array of modern pink appliances. The show clearly took the view ubanites had superior stuff, and people in the country were technologically impaired. This clearly is not the case today. Wireless, Satellite technology has shrunk the world into a hand held device that connects people with everything. This allows us to run a corporation and shop at Macy's from an igloo in Iceland if we want to. In fact, people who live in rural communities have less restrictions and the land needed to incorporate modern sustainable energy systems.

Wind turbines, Organic building materials, and Compost Toilets are old school technologies that are making a comeback. These systems have worked with mother nature on farms sustainably for millennial. Thermal heating coils and Solar panels also work in tandem with mother nature, and become a more feasible option in rural settings. Eco Yuppies drool over the sustainable options rural folks have, and are green with envy over the equipment farmers of today use( ever been on a John Deer with GPS?). Outlet malls and international food chains make country folk just as fashionable and fat as us in the city . Climate change has made simple ECO friendly practices used by farmers in the past popular among the city dwellers. Composting is down right chic these days. Green Acres made a lot of the social aspects of rural life and little of the actual farming, showing Oliver trotting around on a tractor in his Brooks Brother vest, amongst a field of something; corn, carrots, hay? what he was growing didn't get many laughs. If he decided to grow hemp back in the groovy 60's, it would have been fodder for hippie jokes and the establishment would frown upon the notion. Farmers in California are not laughing at the idea of growing hemp, and are leading the way for Federal decriminalization of the crop. Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has sponsored a bill to make marijuana legal to be sold to people over the age of 21, and each ounce taxed up to $50. Marijuana is the biggest cash crop in California, with an estimated 14 billion dollars a year in sales, dwarfing milk and cream, which are the states other big cash crops that bring in 7 billion a year combined. Some say making cannabis legal would end a huge hipocracy, and bring in much needed tax revenue to the tune of 1.3 billion dollars a year. Legalizing cannabis will also allow farmers to grow industrial hemp. Hemp is currently imported from Canada, China, and Europe for use in the U.S., and the growing use of hemp in consumer products has spiked the demand for the crop. Many businesses are starting to scoff at having to import hemp from nations that compete with America industrially. There are also many environmental reasons why hemp is an appealing crop. Industrial hemp is a excellent rotation crop because its dense growth smothers weeds without herbicides, and breaks the disease cycle. Hemp requires less water and fertilizers, and has a tap root that leaves the land good for the next crop. These factors save farmers time, money, and cuts the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides that leach the land and pollute our waters. An Acre of hemp will produce two to three times as much fiber as cotton or flax. Hemp seed oil has the highest concentration of essential fatty acids of any oil( 80%), and Hemp pulp produces clean-burning alcohol, ethanol, and methane. These bio-fuels do not contain sulfur and are a viable alternative to petroleum. Hemp also produces exactly as much oxygen as CO2 it absorbs( female plants absorb 5 times as much CO2 than any other plant) and the crop can be grown on a variety of soils under many conditions.

So does farm livin sound like the life for you? Ready to say goodbye to city life for the country side? The big city dream of packin up the wife for land spreadin out far and wide is more appealing than ever to weary urbanites these days, and many are investigating the reality of living on a working farm. Cannabis legalization may be a key to reviving the American farm industry, and creating a industry that energizes the U.S. economy. GREEN ACRES WE ARE THERE!!!

Spliting Cannabis Hairs

The debate over marijuana legalization is louder than ever for many different reasons. The depression-like economy has forced Americans to look for new economies, and seriously talk about social issues we have tried to suppress. Marijuana criminalization seems to be at the top of the list because of its social, economical, and environmental impacts, and as a horticulturalist, It's interesting to compare the different arguments and their parallels to specific marijuana plant species. Certain species seem to have direct impact on rural and urban environments, and have many people questioning the reasons behind our current classification and criminalization of the cannabis plant. Wikipedia's explanation of cannabis goes like this:"Cannabis (Cán-na-bis; English pronunciation: /ˈkænəbɪs/) is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa,[1] Cannabis indica,[1] and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. [2] Cannabis has long been used for fibre (hemp), for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from Cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. To satisfy the UN Narcotics Convention, some hemp strains have been developed which contain minimal levels of THC (Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol), one of the psychoactive molecules that produces the "high" associated with marijuana. The psychoactive product consists of dried flowers of plants selectively bred to produce high levels of THC and other psychoactive chemicals. Various extracts including hashish and hash oil are also produced from the plant." Hemp, is the fibrous species that has been grown for thousands of years and harvested for human and animal consumption. Hemp based products range from food, clothing, shelter, and fuel. The plants fiber is used to make building materials, clothing and paper. The oils from hemp are used as lubricants, fuels, and their high omega-3 fatty acid content are used in food and dietary supplements. The U.S government wasn't always down on hemp, as a matter of fact, they depended on the growth of hemp and mandated early American farmers to grow the plant for the good of the nation. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution where drafted on hemp,and many president's grew hemp including Washington and Jefferson. During the 19th century, a rugged hemp fabric called "Duck", was used to cover wagons and Levi Strauss used it to make jeans. Hemp's problems in America started during the early twentieth century because of it's relation to its cousin Marijuana, and it's threat to the oil and timber industry.

Marijuana is the cannabis species cultivated for it's high THC levels and get's it name from it's popularity with Mexican immigrant farm workers who used it as a recreational drug during the turn of the twentieth century. The laborers would cultivate the plant, smoke it, and according to intimidated whites, would turn into uncontrollable savages, lusting for their woman. It's popularity with black jazz musicians also aided in demonizing the plant in the minds of white Americans, and led to its ultimate illegalization. However, racism may not be the main reason why marijuana became illegal. William Randolph Hearst used his newspaper empire to publish the so called" horrors" of marijuana use by immigrants and minorities, in an effort to ban the drug. Some feel that his campaign to ban cannabis was more about hemp than marijuana. Hearst owned millions of acres of forests he planned to use for paper and other industrial production and hemp threatened to compete with all of that. Hemp also threatened the oil industry who wanted the automobile to use products that were based on petroleum, not hemp. The U.S. government also had a stack in the beef with hemp. Alcohol prohibition was lifted and marijuana prohibition seemed easy to enforce due to it's popularity with minorities.

The people who currently want to legalize cannabis, want it to be legal for the same reasons it was in the past. Legalization will have a great impact on people both in the urban and rural environments. Rural farmers and environmentalists have become advocates for hemp legalization, and urbanite's and scientists seem to be taking up the cause for marijuana legalization. Both groups are passionate about the reasons for thier convictions, and sometimes are at odds with each other, but just like in the past, are classified together under the same controversial genus

My Own Private Public Transportation

The future of transportation is going to be heaven or hell depending on whether you like to drive or not.For driving enthusiast's, we are at the dawn of the Apocalypse. People who think driving is a chore on the other hand, are rushing in "smart" cars that almost drive themselves. Climate change, the automotive industry, and public driving habits are shaping the future of what we currently call the automobile.

By mid century, there will approximately be 9 billion people on earth, and 70% of them will be living in cities. Making urban transportation more efficient is a high priority for environmentalist and automobile manufacturers.Climate change, and urban lifestyles are forcing the reinvention of the automobile. According to the research group Partnership for Roadway Electrification and Automation(PREA), the future will look like this: 2-5 inch inductive charging pads will be imbedded in the ground of major streets and roads, delivering up to 30 watts of power wirelessly, giving the vehicle the ability of up to 70mph. This will allow vehicles to become smaller, run abut each other, and eliminate toxic emissions associated with fossil fuels. A secondary effect is increased automotive safety due to a decrease in crashes and driver error related incidents like drunk driving, and texting while driving.At a recent event sponsored by tire giant Michelin, Execs from GM, Ford, and Chrysler, expressed their excitement over the prospects of building vehicles with no engine or safety equipment to worry about. American cars are known for their luxury features, speed, and the status attained by owning one. Historically, fuel and safety technology have come only by a forced hand in the form of governmental mandates that the industry has angrily protested. Getting into bed with environmentalists, potentially getting the Feds of their backs, and making themselves competitive in the world market again has them almost giddy with excitement for the future. Driving enthusiast's are bemoaning the end of a era and cultural freedom as we know it.

Motor Trend magazine, the twentieth century automotive bible, trumpets the end of the car monthly with multiple articles on how public driving habits are becoming more about maximizing what you do in and with your car and less about the thrill of driving. Busy urban lives and, long suburban commutes have forced people to "live", to some degree, in their cars. Multitasking while driving has become a necessary modern evil. Gas prices and fuel mileage has also made a big impact on the American driving psyche. The Sunday drive around town in grandpa's sedan is not only environmentally passe, but people can't afford the time or gas for that anymore. People who drive for the sake of driving are becoming an endangered species, and automakers are ushering in their extinction. If you look at the current line of U.S. cars, you will find them to be smaller, boxier, and loaded with electronic equipment designed to entertain the passengers and drivers alike. The engines have become smaller and more fuel efficient while trying not to reduce power and sportiness. The try, however, is lackluster according to auto industry magazines, and the era of robo-pod vehicles is upon us.
My love/hate relationship with public transportation gives me mixed emotions about the future of automotive design. The environmentalist in me loves it and knows its importance, the car nut in me loves the freedom and privacy driving your own vehicle gives you. Giving up the psychological control and cultural norms driving a toxic, 4000lbs machine has allotted us has been harder and longer than Americans predicted forty years ago during our first energy crisis. As populations become denser, the need for public privacy and energy efficient transportation is outweighing the need for sport and speed.So drive them if you got them now, because public and private transportation is morphing into a hybrid vehicle we all will be using in the near future.