Protecting oil in "Far-off-istan" - Amory Lovins speaks to a roundtable audience at Southface.

Download sound clip of Amory Lovins

 As part preface to his keynote address at the Southface Visionary Dinner, the co-founder, Chairman/Chief Scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, fielded questions on renewable energy and the like from a select audience of who's who in sustainability in Atlanta. Mr. Lovins is promoting his new book "Reinventing Fire" and there is a reference to that in the 4:40 minute sound clip. The question was posed by Saba Long of the Saporta Report (http://saportareport.com/blog/2012/09/reducing-u-s-dependency-on-foreign-oil-is-a-national-security-issue/), and her question was: Rather than making this about renewable energy, how are you pitching this to conservatives as this is about national security rather than saving the planet. His response centers on his work with the US Defense department and is keen on how the fully-burdened cost of oil will drive efficiency.

School lunch paradigm shift

I'm glad to see that Decatur City Schools are making a little headway in shifting what is served for school lunch. I need to survey my junior to see what is his fave lunch - he may miss those tots.

Top Ten Menu Elimination and/or Change items 

1. Chocolate milk – eliminate in K-3 and propose a phase out for grades 4 and up
2. Muffins - eliminate highly processed products, could replace with healthier versions
3.  Pancakes, waffles and french toast - eliminate highly processed products, could replace with healthier versions
4. Chips – eliminate highly processed and/or fried chips, replace with healthier (baked) chips
5. Chicken Nuggets – eliminate highly processed products, replace with healthier versions
6. Shrimp Poppers/Fried Fish – eliminate pre-fried products, could replace with non-fried version, if available
7. Dried Potatoes, Tater Tots/Potato Triangles – eliminate highly processed and pre-fried products
8. High Sugar Desserts – eliminate 
9. Peanut Butter: with hydrogenated oil and sugar – replace with product without added oils
10. Highly Processed Cheese (i.e. cheese sauces, American cheese, etc) –replace with real cheese

 Foods/Items USDA No Longer Allows as of Fall 2012
                 (except previously allocated commodities)
          (1)   Canned fruit wheavy syrup
          (2)   Margarine
          (3)   Trans Fats
Items/Food Stuffs Removed from Menu by Allison Goodman as of  Fall 2012
          (1)    Salt-free Seasoning
          (2)    Sugary Cereals
          (3)    White Bread (Toast, Buns, Sandwich)
          (4)    Pizza with White Bread Crust
          (5)    Sugar Glaze
          (6)    Milk with High-fructose Corn Syrup

Lil' Library siting on Freedom Parkway path

My librarian friend Alicia told me about this phenomena call the  "Little Library" where folks put up a little repository of books that are free to the public to give and take. What a brilliant idea! I thought about putting my Kindle in there, but alas that's not the idea. 

Solar Noon

Not everyday do you get to walk around on the roof of the Civic Center. We were taking down the old Southface webcam that had ended its useful life documenting the build-out of the Eco Office - one frame per minute (Someday I'll have to make a movie of that.)


Meanwhile, whilst trapessing on the roof, we snapped a few pix of the Southface facility at "solar noon" (around 1:40pm) to see the effect of the passive solar shading - looks like it works.

The Bridge

The SEGD conference in Brooklyn/Manhattan was great. The following notes may put me in the same category as a Dead Head with a tape recorder, but it's worth sharing. There were two days of formal conference activities documented with these proceedings. I didn't capture the tours book-ended on the front of the conference, nor the closing and followup reception and auction... I was busy.
Here are Friday and Saturday of the SEGD conference.

Brooklyn Day, FRIDAY, JUNE 8

Welcome from Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/Fa_SEGDconf_MartyMarkowitz.MP3


Session 1: Transformative by Nature: Brooklyn Landmarks Past and Future
Brooklyn's storied landmarks have helped shape its past and present, but how can new landmarks-such as Brooklyn Bridge Park, Atlantic Yards, and the +Pool-drive its future?
Moderator: Tom Mellins
Panelists: Matthew Urbanski, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Craig Covil, Arup; Archie Lee Coates IV, The Office of Playlab; Gregg Pasquarelli, SHoP Architects; Scott Stowell, Open
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/F1_SEGDconfBrooklyn_landmarks.MP3

Session 2: Bridging Academia and Practice: The State of Design Education
What is the state of design education today? How are schools like Parsons, RISD, Carnegie Mellon, and others teaching sustainability, technology, and innovation?
Moderator: Ellen Taylor, SEGD
Panelists: Debera Johnson, Pratt Institute; Lisa Grocott, Parsons The New School for Design; Oscar Fernandez, University of Cincinnati; Don Ryun Chang, Hongik University
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/F2_SEGDconfBridging_Academia.MP3

Session 3: Bridging the Generations: A Dialogue
Design talk show host Debbie Millman will help us explore how the experiences of designers can enrich the work and lives of their younger colleagues-and how it also works in the opposite direction.
Moderator: Debbie Millman, Sterling Brands
Panelists: Lance Wyman, Lance Wyman Ltd.; Richard Poulin and Douglas Morris, Poulin + Morris; Carin Goldberg, Carin Goldberg Design; Michael Bierut. Pentagram
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/F3_SEGDconfBridging_generations.MP3

Session 4: Pop-up Culture: Delivering Culture Here & Now
Pop-up stores, restaurants, museums, even hair salons they may be ephemeral, but they are certainly delivering memorable experiences. Where did this trend come from, and where is it headed?
Moderator: Grant McCracken
Panelists: Matt Checkowski, The Department of the 4th Dimension; Eldon Scott (sub), Dekalb Market; Vanessa Holden, West Elm
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/F4_SEGDconfPopup_phenomenon.MP3

Session 5: Making Connections (KEYNOTE)
Cultural anthropologist and author Grant McCracken explores and writes about the space where culture, media, visual communications. and the Internet collide.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/F5_SEGDconf_culturematic.MP3

Manhattan Day, SATURDAY, JUNE 9

Welcome from Deputy Mayor for Operations, Cas Halloway, of New York City
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/SA_SEGDconf_Cas_Hollowy_deputymayor_welcome1.mp3

Session 1: Transformative by Nature: Manhattan Landmarks Past and Future
Ah, Manhattan. The center of the universe as we know it, and the city that invented.reinvention. We'll explore how like the High Line, the LowLine, and Governor's  Island are morphing and shape-shifting Manhattan as we speak, rethinking its past landmarks for the future.
Moderator: Donald Albrecht, Curator
Panelists: Robert Hammornd, the High Line; James Ramsey, RAAD Studio/The LowLine; Leslie Koch, The Trust for Governors Island; Wendy Feurer, New York City Department of Transportation, Urban Design & Art
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/S1_SEGDconfManhattan_landmarks_past%26future.MP3

Session 2: New York: City by Design
New York's unique urban alchemy. Art and poetry on street signs, a fashion designer inspired by her Caribbean roots, typography that reflects the edgy urban context, and an urban farm that supplies the table at one of the city's finest restaurants.
Moderator: Geoff Halber, Everything Type Company
Panelists: Anya Ayoung Chee, Project Runway winner; Tobias Frere-Jones, Hoefler & Frere-Jones; Jeffrey Zurofsky and Sisha Ortuzar, 'wichcraft and Riverpark; (John Morse) Star Dog Studio
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/S2_SEGDconfNewYork_citybydesign.MP3


Session 3: Jumpstart: Concept to Reality
Learn how companies like Kickstarter, Open Sky, and Etsy are driving the success of
start-ups like Brooklyn bakery SCRATCHbread, artists like Virginia Kraljevic, and even established companies such as Dwell magazine.
Moderator: Jessica Lawrence, NY Tech Meetup
Panelists: Charles Adler, Kickstarter; Mary Ann Naples, Open Sky; Randy J. Hunt. Etsy; Amanda Dameron, Dwell magazine; Virginia Kraljevic, artist and illustrator; Matthew Tilden, SCRATCHbread
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/S3_SEGDconfJumpstart_concept2reality1.mp3

Session 4: Bridge to the Future
What does the future of Design look like? We've called on some forward thinkers to report from the front.
Moderator: Susan S. Szenasy, METROPOLIS magazine
Panelists: James Biber, Biber Architects; Geoff Cook, Base Design; James Patten, James Patten Studio
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/53931075/S4_SEGDconf_bridge2future.MP3

The Daily Commute

Long time/no see. My Daily Commute blog has been inactive... forever. So with recent events and renewed energy to resurrect I'm going forth. It's relatively straight forward, just a documenting of those things seen along the way.