James Howard Kunstler (yeah! I got his name right!) has a feature on his website called “Eyesores.” He’s a little too harsh on the vintage kitsch, but this particular entry took me aback. Here’s the official description of the Paragon Prairie Tower:
“Located in the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, the Paragon Prairie […]

It’s that time of year again.

Recycling is a fact of life in Onondaga County. Not only does it take energy (mental and physical) to recycle, but it probably takes constant PR pushes to make it work or, at least, deliver the illusion of success. OCRRA, a state authority, has kept up the steady drumbeat for almost 20 […]

In the comments of the previous post, Simon notes the big trucker rally in Albany today protesting Thruway tolls and gas prices (are they also protesting the Finger Lakes trash truck agreement?) Hate to say it, but I wonder if that honking sound you hear is the sound of dying dinosaurs. I was […]

A further thought on this discussion, before leaving town for a few days… on the question of what a greener, less war-framed and more honest future could be like:
When I was a kid, some of us would sometimes amuse ourselves on the playground by shutting our eyes and trying to walk straight. As for […]

Poor William James Howard Kunstler. The way things are going, he’ll soon be out of business as America’s sole fiery Jeremiah of the peak oil apocalypse. This piece (hat tip to Sean) is a good read: Wake Up, America. We’re Driving Toward Disaster.
Kunstler stresses a need for honesty. Here are […]

CNY ecoBlog takes a quick look at today’s bombshell that Syracuse is somehow the city with the worst “carbon footprint” in New York. Is Syracuse’s sprawl and highway addiction really worse than Buffalo’s or Rochester’s? C’mon. Despite sprawl without growth being a significant problem in Central New York, I can’t get my […]

Cookin’ in the ‘Cuse is celebrating a birthday. Happy bloggiversary to Syracuse’s leading food blog! Jennifer also posts about her busy schedule and quotes E.B. White:
If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the […]

WSYR reports on gas prices finally spiking to above $4 in some places around Syracuse. This was supposed to be the magical, mythical number that would cause Americans to abandon their cars along the side of the road en masse. Well, I saw a guy proudly driving his Hummer down on Erie Boulevard […]

The other week I read an online post from someone out in California who was traveling, Joad-like, across the country to resettle themselves in rural Otsego County. I wondered if dry, overbuilt Western exurbia would soon be producing more “lifestyle refugees” who would see the lush, green Northeast (or Appalachia) as the new promised […]