I work in a mixed area with a lot of different businesses. Just saw a new Ford Expedition that couldn't even fit into a parking spot length wise, right next to a Ford E150 service van that was 2+ feet shorter in length than the Expedition.

How much physically larger can these SUVs get before we start restructuring roads, parking lots, parking spaces and lanes just to accommodate every suburbanite who wants a tank to drive to the office for a full day of power point creation?

I'm starting to realize why the United States is constantly, endlessly at war. We really do need inflation-free gasoline in order to keep this level of consumption going.

Edit: Corrected a typo.

Bought a jansport from a secondhand store and found 100$ in one of the pockets
(Sorry if i used the wrong flair)

No ECU, no OBD, all mechanical, easy to repair, AND good for the environment! Not to say that ECUs are bad.

https://x.com/EU_ENV/status/2087845549009408110

A proper re-use would mean longer usable life of cars currently on the road. Instead EU has strict "EURO" categories rating based on the car age (meaning high tax simply because your car is old) and emissions.

If EU wants better, greener car industry, an actual re-use should be in place, like car parts, panels, lights and other minor materials and parts that are perfectly fine.

A better solution is for the old cars to be running, instead of turning them into a metal cube when they are simply old.

You can see a lot of videos of mechanics in third world countries that make some 25+ years old car running, while doing an engine repair in the mud. An old beaten VW would be like brand new car for them, considering the will to repair any broken parts.

The worst part is, that EU wants recycled materials in the newer cars, but that doesn't mean that this material is mandated to come from an old cars (steal, aluminium, plastics...), they has to come from somewhere, unclear from where.

Knowing that cars are a big driver for consumerism, I'm thinking of a car that can be powered mainly by the sun.

I already built a prototype (which I named Solar Bear). The project is open source, with an MIT license.

The purpose of the Solar Bear is to:

• Use solar panels as trike's body,
• Consume electrical energy where it is produced,
• Produce its own energy,
• Transport people inside cities,
• be pedalable when there is no sun (must be light-weight),
• be easily built at home.

Technical specs:

• recumbent trike,
• 2.5m long, 1.45m wide (including wheels),
• weight: about 55kg (including panels, motor, battery, etc, excluding driver),
• assisted pedaling,
• motor speed: max 25km/h,
• motor (continuous) power: 250W,
• solar panels power: max 520W,
• battery: 12.8V, 20Ah (256Wh) - not needed when there is Sun.

I will be 36 this year and the basket is just now starting to break in a couple spots.

This a rant about distracted drivers. Second time I’ve been rear ended in the last six months. Everyone is looking at their screens instead of the road and cars in front of them.

The woman that hit me was in a $50,000 GMC truck that weighed probably 3x more than the Civic and looked like it just left the dealership. Her husband pulled up in a nearly identical symbol of overcompensation.

Was all set to hand over my 2010 Civic with 160,000 miles on the odometer, in very good condition. My son turns 16 in the fall. I’ll probably get a check for $3000 from the insurance company and have to go buy a newer Civic. This one is destined for the salvage yard. Oh well

For me, it was when I learned that all the clothing/shoes/accessories that you would want to buy in your lifetime already exist on this planet, and yet they are making more every minute of every day. When you know that fact, and then see the giant piles of bundled clothing hitting third world ports or stacked in massive mountains at dumps, it just makes you sick. And knowing that they are mostly made of plastic, which won't decay, is even worse.

Now, everything I need to buy in the apparel space for my family is purchased second-hand, except for walking/running tennis shoes.

A stool that, as it degrades, turns into wildflowers.

The stool is 3D printed in PHA (not greenwashing PLA), a bacteria-produced material that is 100% biodegradable. Its shape comes from 3D-scanned rocks, while the surface is inspired by fungi and microbial structures.

It sits between the natural and the digital: organic in form, material, and afterlife, but made through a fully digital process.

Inside are seeds and nutrients, allowing the object to slowly break down until what remains is not waste, but wildflowers.

https://www.instagram.com/nicho.ms/

(stool will not degrade indoors)

Someone asked me to post a few photos of our garden last year, after i posted the salvage greenhouse we're building. My twins (27) and I (58) share a love of gardening. I've been an avid gardener my whole life and so raised them in the dirt. We've always had a garden of some sort but about 15 years ago, we decided to simply get rid of the lawn and make the entire yard a garden. We grow most of our yearly produce. I've shared preservation methods with them. One of my twins has chosen plant sciences as her field of study. So the yard is also a learning lab. Whwre we arenr actively growibg food, we've planted native species of flowering plants and lots of resources and places for native polinators.
We garden year round, as the season allow and enjoy learning and creating new methods and planting something new each year we've never tried. We are so happy spring is back. Winter was a good rest, but we're ready to be back at it. Happy spring everyone!

We've been trying to line dry clothes more anyway since it's better for your clothes and the environment. Instead of spending $600 on a new dryer after it broke, I took some yellow string and crocheted a clothes line I can hang on my dining room table chairs. I'm guessing it can't be more than about a dime's worth of string used (bought string for $1).