Loremo

Loremo stands for "low resistance mobile," which combines an efficient diesel engine with low weight and minimal drag to get upwards of 150 mpg (1.5 (!) liter / 100km). From New York to LA with only 3 times stopping at the pump. Not quite a zero emission vehicle, but a lot better than most vehicles currently on the roads.

German design. Available in Europe in 2009; in N-America in 2010. 15.000 Euro (22.000 US$). Not bad - especially since gas prices have tripled since I came across the ocean in 2000. I'd give at a test drive. Read more here.

Honey

Ronald Fisher, Beekeeper, Davis CA
© Richard Avedon

I L O V E honey. I went on a little shopping spree in Austria and got all kinds of different types of honey. It's a good food to take across the ocean - it does not have an expiry date. It might crystallise, but I was told it doesn't go bad. I wouldn't know, because it never lasts that long in my household.

I hope the little bee guys keep hanging in there - they have a pretty tough life though: mono cultures don't provide food year-round, they bloom only once a year. So some bees also have to commute - hopping on the truck and going wherever the next blossoming is happening. Stressful, because we also take some of their food (honey) and give them sugar water instead. Plus the drugs.

Anyhow, more biodiversity would be beneficial - for both, us and the bees.

Just do it.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Mineralwasser

I am wondering: are there no mineral water springs in North America?

My favourite drink these days is fresh lemon or lime juice with mineral water. But I can only find European mineral water like Gerolsteiner or Perrier on the shelves in the grocery store. Mineral water is also called "healing water" in German, I assume the healing properties depend on the mineral content in the water. I also like it because alkaline-forming nutrition is hipp, at least among "tree huggers and bunny kissers" as my Texan boss would say.

I'd buy North American water, if there was an equivalent - i.e. water that contains natural minerals.

North American bottled water brands like Dasani (aka Coca Cola) and Aquafina (aka Pepsi) are tap water (PWS stands for Public Water Source, in the case of Aquafina it's Detroit's public water) that underwent another round of filtering *Eau Dear* and maybe got some additives added, but they are far from spring water.

I'd love to try some sparkly mineral water from North America, if there is one.

Lunar Eclipse

February 20 2008 - Lunar Eclipse in Virgo/Pisces - as seen from my door.

Plants

I think, 2008 will be the year, that Anna finally figured out how to keep plants.

Plants provide more benefits than just being-good-looking and decorating my place. Plants clean the air from CO2, and toxins: in this study philodendron, spider plant and golden pothos were most effective in removing formaldehyde (which is listed as a carcinogen). A different study points out that surprisingly it is the plants' root-soil zone that appears most effective for removing chemicals from the air (I would have guessed that it would be the green parts of the plant). To put it into perspective: good ventilation and avoiding toxins at the source (e.g. choosing low-VOC paints or adhesives) are more important measures than considering your house plants as your pollution control army.

Anyhow, here are a few lessons I learned from my unsuccessful years of being a plant keeper:

• Find a reliable plant keeper for your holidays. Most plants DO need water on a regular basis (yes, it took me over 30 years to realise that).
• Don't be afraid of death. Face it and get rid of the dead leaves (or entire plant if necessary) - it looks prettier.
• Google your plant species and ask your flora-savvy friends and family for tips on watering, light, and special care.
  
• Add plant-food to the water.
• Enjoy your plants!
  

monday

Today was lay-off day. Apparently for the first time in over 7 years, about 20 people from the office were let go. The nice English gentleman, who gave me a ride, when we were neighbours, the funny woman from Jamaica, the guy in Purchasing, who made me laugh: all gone.

Funny, how my perspective changed over the course of the day: on my way to work, I was thinking that the weekend was way too short and how I'd rather be staying in bed than going to work, while on the way home in the evening, I was grateful that I still have a job.

We eventually got confirmation that our department is unaffected, but in the afternoon, when things were still unclear, I was contemplating my options, in case I would have been on the black list; it's always good to have a plan b in the back of your mind. Here were my top 3 Plan Bs:

1. Focus on Yoga - possibly with some intensive training in warm areas around the globe
   
2. Opening a Day Care Facility for Mini-Wexis in St. Poelten (I KNOW that would be a good business)
3. Take a Foot Massage Course..
   

Artisan Bistro

I discovered a new restaurant, that offers good, fresh food for brunch. It's fairly priced and in my 'hood - even better!

The Artisan Bistro Cafe is run by a family from Chile with their roots in Spain. They have an espresso machine (a must have), and offer a variety of coffee drinks with some unusual combinations such as espress-cchino. I stuck with the Americano. I like my coffee simple.

The food iss tasty. The fruit was freshly cut, which is important to me: I can't deal with melons and grapes, that have sat in their own liquid in the fridge for hours. To my taste buds, that makes them taste more acidic and takes the pleasure out of eating. And that's just not right. At the artisan the food is fresh. The portions are European sizes, but nobody says you can't live the North American life style and order eggs AND French Toast!

french toast with maple butter and fresh berries

So, when you are looking for me on a Saturday morning, find me at the Bistro!

The Vento

It's official: The Vento is North America's first multi-residential project to earn LEED Platinum. LEED is a rating system, a checklist including different categories, where you can earn points, most are voluntary, some are prerequesites (like the recycling room). The first step (LEED certified) can be done with little changes to current building practices. To earn LEED Platinum (which comes after Silver, and Gold), you have to be ahead of the game and show some leadership in sustainable practices, like they did in the Vento by using grey-water for flushing the toilet, low VOC paint, and using materials with high recycled content.

Sustainable buildings are high performance buildings. When they increase thermal insulation, to decrease heating costs, they also increase acoustical insulation, which adds to (my) quality of life and the quality of my neighbours, when I listen to music.

Also, in minus 40 degrees weather, a heated floor is pretty much as close to paradise, as you can be in a blizzard.

The Terrazzo sink countertop contains recycled glass, and is easy to clean, durable, inert, and, I think it's beautiful.

But LEED is about continuous improvement. LEED Platinum is not enough. In a few years, it might be standard construction. We got to be innovative and creative. Some ideas will flop, some will work out. The journey to live completely sustainable is still a long, windy road. Only when we live in healthy buildings that use only non-polluting, sustainable sources to heat and operate, only when we use our resources wisely and put them back into a closed-loop for reuse instead of let them rot in the landfill, only when our home supports a sustainable way of living, can we claim that we live sustainably.

Esquinas Rainforest

Finally, I found an organisation that I feel good about giving money to. In Austria, Budi spoke about this project enthusiastically, so I too bought 100m2 of rain forest in Costa Rica for only 14 Euros. The money is given to the owners, and then the forest is donated to the national park.

The project is called "Regenwald der Oesterreicher" - Rainforest of the Austrians. It does rain a lot in Austria, but that doesn't make a rainforest yet, therefore, I assume, they had to go to Costa Rica. The project includes a research station, which is a partnership with the department of botany of the University of Vienna.

Socratea Exorrhiza

When we compare Austria's and Costa Rica's biodiversity, Costa Rica is laughing. There are 40 different kinds of palm trees in this NP, one of them can even walk! Socratea exorrhiza uses its roots to find the good sunny spots and can move up to 1 m a year. Not quite a long distance runner, but for a tree pretty amazing.

One area, where improvement is needed, is that they are still using the antique way of payment, i.e. they send you an invoice by mail. I sent them a note, to join Paypal or something similar, so that next time, it's truly me, who buys the forest, not my family in Austria (Danke, by the way).