Using sales at farmers markets as an indicator for economic conditions

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) here in the United States utilizes prescription drug sales information to predict and follow possible epidemics of flu or other diseases.

Perhaps the USDA and Federal Reserve should pair up and follow the sales of seeds at farmers markets as an indicator of an economic epidemic?

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (thank goodness there are still some folks left that have reporting jobs there) that farmers markets are seeing 50% sales increases since last year for supplies for construction ones own vegetable gardens.

Update: Also found an Associated Press article that is pretty much a re-hash.

Cool!

I suppose one "silver lining" for this economic recession would be that people are realizing how much green they can make in their own backyards. Here are some fascinating facts described in the article:

How much can you save?
Tomatoes One plant can yield 40 to 50 medium to large fruit per season. With fertilizer and other costs factored in, that $3 or $4 packet of 25 seeds could easily produce $125 to $250 worth of tomatoes or more, according to W. Atlee Burpee & Co.

Red bell pepper A plant can produce an average of 15 peppers that would cost about $1.50 each in a supermarket, or $22.50 — or $225.00 from a 10-seed packet costing $3, Burpee said.

Hint: Some stores, like Russell Feed, sell bulk seeds by the scoop, which works out cheaper than packets, but varieties are limited.

Oh, and Treehugger agrees!

Fort Worthians, honor your favorite tree, protect your zoo!

The Forestry section of the Parks and Recreation Department of Fort Worth is calling out to all citizens for their input. They are seeking nomination of 100 trees that are eligible to receive the title Heritage Tree.

Interestingly enough, while searching for a Google image of the big tree with a hole in the base of its trunk in the Botanic Gardens, I also found a "Big Tree" designation that you can bestow upon your favorite bark: Big Tree Registry. Sounds like a fun Spring Break project.

The Star-Telegram reports that future funding of the Fort Worth zoo is under debate.

And the zoo is a big draw, attracting more than a million visitors a year.

That's a no-brainer in my book. If your city has an amenity that draws crowds of 1M a year, you should spend less time debating on funding and more time debating how to increase that number to 1.2M.




Here is your interesting quote of the day, of which I wholeheartedly agree:
(Source)

The other lesson conservationists have learned is that the federal government cannot be trusted. Paul Spitler of the Wilderness Society says that the steady encroachment of logging and drilling on federal land leaves them with no choice but to seek the toughest measures: “If we’ve learned anything from eight years of the Bush administration, it’s that lesser protection leaves land vulnerable.”

In the market for a new logo...

Hi all - I lack the creative design skills to think up a new logo for the blog, and wanted your input. I am finding myself less and less affiliated with the Party that the current logo symbolizes.

In other news:

988.65 miles left to bike for the year. The 9.86-mile commute to school and back might chip away at that goal a lot faster than I had originally planned.

Geeky Green tip-of-the-day

I'll tip my hat to the Star-Telegram for this find.

Green PDF
This website (as well as an optional application download) will embed a reminder in to your selected PDFs that will remind the reader to refrain from unnecessary printing of a document.

Sounds easy enough, I'm going to download and try it out, and will let you know the results. Have any other geeky green tips to share, do let me know!

First ride of the year, 1014 to go

Trip Distance: 26.04 miles

My next venture out here might have to include a TRE detour to downtown Fort Worth to pick up the Trinity Trails there...

Interesting signal-changers for cyclists. First of their kind I've ever seen.

Perhaps it was a signal to turn back...

...when the buzzards start to circle you. Buzzards in Arlington? Seriously?

New townhomes being constructed on Green Oaks Blvd, approximately 1-mile west of Fielder Rd.

New townhomes with traffic shown. I'm pretty impressed with my hand-held photography, almost mirrors the previous photo.

West Fork, Trinity River

Birds Fort State Landmark Plaque

Typical condition of paved trails. Note: There is a mountain bike trail too.

One of many "pit stop" areas with a scenic view of the river. Well planned out trails.

Last ride of the year, and resolution for 2009

New Years Eve ride with John and David. If you're out there reading this John, I really want to thank the two of you for taking me out to Lake Benbrook. It was a truly memorable day and a great way to wrap up the year!

Distance: 19.91 miles
Time: 1-hour 38-minutes.
Max speed: 21mph
Average speed: 12.1mph


New Years Resolution for 2009: Ride at least 1,040 miles (20-miles a week)

Two months, time flies...

It has been entirely too long since I've updated this last.

Been busy with:

Midterms
Finals
Projects in Galveston

Rode my bike a total of 37-miles in the past two days, feels great. Here's the route I took this afternoon:

New Homeowner? Tree-huggers and tight-wads can have lots in common

Lots of folks I know are looking to buy a home soon (Darrel and Stephanie), or are well on their way (Congrats Heather!)

Here are "18 Things a New Homeowner Should Do Immediately to Save Money"

Treehugger.com reports that, "out of the 18 tips, 16 are directly green, and the last 2 could be considered green indirectly"

So, save some green to save some green, will ya?

Fall, and elections, are in the air...

Find yourself on the fence about issues, or waffling back and forth on the issues like this guy (and his candidate, hardy har har)?

Bush Victory Rally @ SMU. Dallas, Texas (11-01-2004)

Robert Putman, a professor of sociology at Harvard, sums up the need for moderate America's advocacy in the political process:

"Ironically, more and more Americans describe their political views as middle of the road or moderate, but the more polarized extremees of the ideological spectrum account for a bigger and bigger share of those who attend meetings, write letters, serve on committees, and so on. The more extreme views have gradually become more dominant in grassroots American civic life as more moderate voices have fallen silent. In this sense civic disengagement is exacerbating the classic problem of "faction" that worried the Founders."

It's time for me to rant and rave about why you should go to meetings and forums, meet your current or soon-to-be elected officials, and decide on who the heck you are going to vote for! Sorry, the fluffy stuff on a candidate's own web site won't cut it.

Forums are there for a purpose. Show up, ask the questions about things you are concerned about. Ask tough questions. Don't let a television spot or newspaper endorsement make the decision for you.

Note: I confess, I write this entry with a hint of hypocrisy. I inadvertently missed out on being able to retrieve my absentee ballot in the mail in time. You gotta get that thing 60-days in advance! I assumed it was 30-days...first election I will have ever missed out on participating in. Perhaps ACORN registered me again somewhere else in the country and my voice will be heard there.

Mid-terms, caffeine-fixes, and eco-tourism!

Dear Readers:

I write to you to inform you that I do not have much to write.

That's a lie. Correction. I do not have much spare time to write.

Big things are in the works, and even still bigger things still to happen. Consider that a teaser. More to come.

I've recently been to my first First Friday held at downtown Bryan. It was green. There were marching penguins. People recycled (and rejoiced). They gave away CFL bulbs, reusable grocery bags (seriously, who isn't giving these away these days?), pencils made from recycled cash and denim. Now if only those whacky scientists could invent bluejeans made from recycled pencils and cash - we'd be set. Oh, and photo-ops with over-sized sacks of produce.


But seriously, I have class in a few hours. That's all for now.