The Promise of the Solar Power

This is going to be a short post. I know that solar power is something that is used to generate electricity - its clean and green.

But then why do we have to abuse everything? Just look at the photo in the linked article. What is wrong with this picture? When we are out in the woods, we should be enjoying the woods and nature, and not playing video games - yeah that is the promise of the solar power.  You can access this article here - Highlights - A new twist on solar cells. (Note: link is invalid, article removed)

We shouldn't promote such things to our children.

How to Take Picture of the Moon - Digital Camera Tips and Guides

Sometimes information can be buried between the blog posts, therefore here are summarized links to the three posts on how to take pictures of the moon, especially if you looking to take close up pictures. They focus on the environment around you, digital equipment requirements and settings.

How to Take Photos of the Moon? – Part 1: Moon Calendar & Weather Conditions
Tips and guides on lunar cycle and checking weather conditions.

How to Take Photos of the Moon? – Part 2: Digital Equipment Required
Suggestions on what equipment you may need.

How to Take Photos of the Moon? – Part 3: Digital Camera Settings
General settings to help you get nice close up pictures of the moon.

Above moon photo courtesy of My Only Photo blog.

“I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it” ~ by Albert Einstein

Reusable Grocery Shopping Bags - The Next Green Trend But May Be Not The Cleanest One

I been using reusable grocery shopping bags for almost a year now, and did some observations. Probably out there someone thought about it too, but I will spill out my opinion here about reusable shopping bags. I personally absolutely love them. Sometimes I forget to bring them to the store, but that's just a bad habit I got to stop. This used to be a good habit when I lived in Europe. There were no such things as shopping plastic bags; as a matter of fact plastic bag was a novelty and been reused many times by many people. However, this may be old news now since it happened over twenty years ago.

Plastic bags have been used here in North America very commonly, but with the recent green trend everywhere, the message is clear - they must go, and stores are going to charge customers for them. Not so good for consumers of course. However, over many years we already knew that the plastic shopping bags were not good for the environment, therefore lot of manufacturers been working on the solution to produce biodegradable plastic shopping bags, bioplastics. We may not notice but some of the supermarkets carry them. However, this is not a point of this post.

The point is that because we reuse these bags, groceries we carry may contaminate them. What is the solution? Easy, wash them. But then this becomes again the green issue, more energy more natural resources consumed. If not cleaned then the potential health issues, and more health care costs associated with it. But there is always a way to do things right.

Firstly let me outline what foods can potentially contaminate the reusable bag, and let me give you simple suggestions to keep those bags clean.

The following are foods that can easily contaminate the reusable bag:

[1] Dairy Products - no matter how much care there is taken, there always will be milk, yogurt or sour cream leak.
[2] Eggs - sometimes they do break, or we do not notice the broken ones until we arrive home.
[3] Vegetables - there are many of us out there just grabbing broccoli or cabbage without bagging them.
[4] Fruit - yes many times I do grab a watermelon without slipping a produce bag on it, but face it some of them just don't fit.
[5] Meat - those packages are not leak proof, a worst contamination you could get, especially from the poultry.
[6] Chemicals - all kinds of cleaning products may cross contaminate with food, as we never really know which bag we use for what.

Here are my suggestions to keep your reusable bag clean.

[1] Get a reusable bag that is more synthetic plastic surface. That way it can be wiped easily with a soap water or vinegar.
[2] Now many stores sell reusable bags, then buy different ones and dedicate them for different food categories. For example, this bag for dairy products, this for cleaning products.
[3] Always bag your fruits and vegetables in thin plastic bags usually located in the produce area. For anything big as watermelon, may be get a carton box to carry it, or just get a grocery bin.
[4] And as stated in three, you can always get the grocery bin which is much easier to clean. Note canvas bags may be worst for contamination.

Lastly I think that charging for plastic bags by stores is a real cash grabs. It would be nice if that money was dedicated to further green developments or given to charitable organizations. After all they used to be free. What do you think?