Fresh Fuzz

Mushroom Kits?

by michael August 21st, 2011 - No Comments »

Mushrooms are an extremely versatile food source. They can be grown inside with very little effort and pack a tasty and nutritional punch.  With more and more people starting to grow their own food, either in their backyards or on the windowsill, companies like BacktotheRoots are picking up momentum.

Started by two UC Berkeley students who discovered they could grow gourmet mushrooms from coffee grounds. Their discovery led to the BacktotheRoots grow- your-own-mushroom kits.  For $20 bucks you can grow upwards of a pound and a half of oyster mushrooms.

This kit is now being sold at Whole foods and I suspect similar ideas will continue popping up. If kits like these were made readily available so people could grow all there own food in a fun and easy way, the craze would skyrocket.

 

 

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Yosemite Park In California Goes Solar

by michael August 14th, 2011 - No Comments »

Several post ago; we talked about how Yosemite an initiative to trim some if its trees to improve its famous views. After that ordeal they have now modernized a bit and installed the largest solar panel array of all national parks.

This new system will supply over 10 percent of the parks power and has been mounted at several points in the park (not disturbing the beautiful views).

This huge install cost around four and half million dollars; however, the park will be saving fifty thousand dollars a year in energy and expects to see seven hundred thousand in rebates over the next five years.

It’s nice to see more and more parks and social areas incorporating solar energy into their businesses. It not only saves money and the environment, but it also sets a standard. As the general public sees more and more solar panels go up, they will soon follow. I predict in the future that houses will be coated in paint that will be able to absorb solar energy, making easy for anybody to have solar power.


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Essentia Hits The Bay Area!

by michael August 8th, 2011 - No Comments »

If you keep track of our Blog, you probably know about Essentia. We are the world’s only natural memory foam, providing comfort without compromise.

We just opened up our newest mattress store in Berkeley, California. This store gives everyone in Northern California a chance to finally try our amazing beds.

Adam and Ryan, Essentia’s newest members in Berkeley, are waiting to answer all your questions and show you the beds that have made people like Dr. Oz and Oprah recognize our brand.

Whether you’re in Berkeley or Los Angeles be sure to stop by and take a nap. We’ll be running a promotion through Wednesday so don’t forget to ask about it!

 

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Yosemite Trims Down

by michael August 1st, 2011 - No Comments »

Anybody that’s been to Yosemite park in California knows it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Photographers like Ansel Adams flocked to the park in the 40′s to witness some of the breathtaking scenery.

Today; however, some of Yosemite’s majestic charm has, well, gotten in the way. There have been some trees that have ruined key vistas in the park so; the park’s commission has stepped in to remove these “ distractions”. These trees have over grown and now stick out, ruining the view for millions of Yosemite visitors.

This project will restore the views that have made Yosemite the destination for those who want to bask in the magnificance of nature.

 

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Nascar Racetrack Uses Solar energy and Sheep to Stay Green

by michael July 1st, 2011 - No Comments »

When you think of motorsports you don’t normally think of something environmentally friendly. Your mind goes to a place of roaring engines and smoking tires. Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California is proving that racing doesn’t have to be so unsustainable.

Infineon has recently incorporated an array of solar panels that supply more then 40% of their tracks electricity demand. The coolest innovation was replacing the conventional lawnmowers with sheep.  Yes, you heard me; Infineon has even hired a Sheppard to herd the sheep that roam the circuit.

Along with all these innovations, they also have hosted electric motorbike racing events and will most likely host future electric car racing; can anyone say “Tesla Club Day”? Infineon is famous for hosting Nascar and Indy car races and are on their way to being the first zero waste track.

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Hybrids Will See Gridlock Soon

by michael June 29th, 2011 - No Comments »

California is now taking away the privilege of driving in the carpool lane from hybrid drivers. For the last 6 years Hybrids getting more then 45mpg, like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid, received a yellow sticker allowing them to hop in the carpool lane and bypass traffic. This used to be an added incentive for people who were considering a hybrid electric vehicle but now the standards are changing.

New regulations will only allow a select few to zip by the carpool lane. The lucky few will be plug-in electric vehicles like the much anticipated 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In. These new electric all stars will now get a new Green decal to stick on their bumper to ride in the HOV lanes. Now that this incentive is gone, 85,000 hybrid drivers will join California’s gridlock traffic.

These drivers, who once laughed as they silently coasted by in peak traffic, will have to honk and wait with the best of the gas guzzlers. I suspect these new regulations will skyrocket any new plug-ins hitting the market in the next several years, especially in Los Angeles.

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Driverless Cars Will Soon Share The Road

by michael June 24th, 2011 - No Comments »

Ever since the first cars left the assembly line, they have always needed a driver. Today, man is no longer needed to pilot his car. Google has been working on unmanned cars and have already logged more then 140, 000 miles on California roads. This new technology is considered artificial intelligence and uses GPS and other sensors to drive and safely navigate the car to its destination.

Sebastian Thrun, who is the project leader for Googles Endeavor is very enthusiastic about this project.  He quotes “Do you realize that we could change the capacity of the highways by a factor of two or three if we didn’t rely on human precision on staying in the lane but on robotic precision, and thereby drive a little bit closer together on a little bit narrower lanes and do away with all traffic jams on highways.”

His point is very valid, with most accidents being caused by human error, eliminating that factor opens up so much untapped potential. I cannot wait to have a robotic chauffeur and zip through my daily commute with no traffic. Nevada has already authorized this technology in a recent bill, hopefully others will soon follow.

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Santa Monica Beaches Get Trash Can Facelift

by michael June 1st, 2011 - No Comments »

Santa Monica has been rated one of the best beach cities in the U.S. but like other popular destinations, littering is a problem. Santa Monica State Beach, City Hall and Heal the Bay have teamed up to solve this problem. 500 new trash cans are being designed combining traditional marketing ques and modern smartphone technology.

The new cans are covered with art and a new slogan that reads” Toes in the sand, trash in the can”. They also include Qr linking, which connects smartphone users to the Santa Monica Beachcast, in which they have access to tips to keep the beach clean, a chance to sign up for beach cleanups with Heal the Bay, the latest weather and water quality conditions, community Twitter updates and emergency contacts.

The coolest feature will be the ability to upload their photos of the beach, which will be used to encourage the community to keep the beach beautiful and clean. These three organizations just want to encourage a stronger sense of pride to the ocean.

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Nissan Leaf: A Cleaner Tomorrow

by michael May 28th, 2011 - No Comments »

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This new Nissan Leaf ad is definitely one of the best commercials for raising the question: why aren’t more cars all electric? The commercial shows all of the flaws with the internal combustion engines by applying them to real world modern appliances. Everything today is powered by electricity because electricity is clean, quiet and convenient; imagine if they weren’t. Thats what this commercial shines light on, it also pokes fun at hybrids, the Chevy Volt in particular.

Commercials like these are very important in showing our comfort and reliance on fossil fuels. Making us realize that going “green” really is the future.

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Phone Book Optional in San Francisco

by michael May 23rd, 2011 - No Comments »

You wake up every once in awhile to see a yellow book on your front porch, you put it inside and you then forget about it. The problem is, phone books require a lot of paper and this paper comes from trees. Considering that most people these days don’t use phonebooks  they just go to waste. Allowing the public to have the option to decline receiving a phonebook would save lots of trees. To put it in perspective it takes 1.6 billion pounds of paper to make 500 million phone directories.

San Francisco a leader in the green revolution, is making a step law. The Board of Supervisors approved first-in-the-nation legislation to prohibit, for three years starting in May 2012, the distribution of phone books to households that had not requested them or approved of the delivery.

This new law will help San Francisco hits its goal of zero waste by 2020.

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