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I’ve been going on a bit of an environmentally friendly kick lately. By that, I mean I’ve started looking at things around me, things that we all do every day, and kind of analyzing how those actions affect the environment. There are some things that I’ve stopped doing because they are harmful to the environment, and there are other things that I’ve started doing that will hopefully help the environment.

One thing I plan on doing is riding my bike more. Many years ago I bought a real expensive bike. Had a ton of fun riding some trails. Came out with some nice scares that are as prominent today as they were in the weeks following their incidents. Then I bought a car, and stopped riding my bike.

It’s been a few years now since I’ve really rode the bike, and it took some damage last time I was out riding. I’m going to have to spend some money getting it all fixed up before I can take it out. I’d really like to ride it to work the odd time. I figure it will be an hour and a half ride, but that’s something I’ll have to test out once I’m ready.

So this weekend, I’m going to pick up a new rapid fire shifting assembly to replace my broken grip shift, some new brakes, fenders, and maybe a new seat. I hope that’s all I’ll need, something tells me I need new gears or a rear derailer though…

One thing I’ve been cutting back on is beef. After a good conversation with a vegetarian friend of mine a while ago, I was reminded that cows emit quite a bit of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is much more harmful to the environment then CO2, and when you take into account the whole chain from the birth of a cow to the burger on your plate and the milk in your glass, cows are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases. I’m no scientist, but if cutting back on beef and cow products will help out, I’m all for it. I don’t need that Cheese Nip when I can have a Chicken Nip.

It seems my web host is also looking into becoming greener. They’ve recently purchased a large amount of carbon credits to make up for their carbon output. On a yearly basis, it seems Dreamhost is outputting 2725 tons of CO2. Quite a bit, a little more then 500 (American) homes would typically use in that same period. According to a recent study by the Canadian Conservative government, we (Canada) would be looking at spending approximately $195 per ton of CO2 on carbon credits for the country to meet international emission standards. While I doubt Dreamhost paid that much (their blog post puts my estimate at around $20USD per carbon credit), it’s still a step in the right direction.

While more drastic measures are surely needed if we’re going to curb these climate change fears, I’ll proudly wear my green hosting badge.

Look here:

Google Maps Link

Sorry I can’t figure out how to get the image to show up here.

What are you looking at? A ferris wheel. Where is this ferris wheel? Just a few KMs from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. April 26, 2007 will be the 21st anniversary of the disaster at Chernobyl. A little while after that it would have been the 21st anniversary of this amusement park. Completed shortly before the disaster, it was never enjoyed by the people of Pripyat. The ferris wheel remains very much un-ridden to this day, and as with many things in Pripyat, it looks very much the same as it must have 21 years ago.

I was not 4 months old when the disaster happened, but since hearing about it for the first time so many years ago, it’s fascinated me, and I can’t really say why. I hope to one day visit Pripyat and Chernobyl, preferably before everyone else has so that there’s still something left to see.

In the mean time, I’m stuck playing STALKER and looking at picture.