Not altogether positive, but a good article, nonetheless.

The Supreme Allied Commander of Corn

The strange journey of Wesley Clark

Lydia DePillis

My city may not always get things right. We seem to love debate for the sake of debate. We just threw out an experienced (if overbearing) mayor in favor of two wildly contrasting candidates, neither of whom ever filled elective office before. We panic and run around screaming at the sight of a snowflake.

One thing, however, we do get right is the p-patch program.

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EDUCATION CATEGORY
========================================================

2008- UNITED NATIONS -- EDUCATION INDEX

TOP 20 COUNTRIES

AUSTRALIA, DENMARK, FINLAND & NEW ZEALAND = TIED FOR #1
CANADA
NORWAY
SOUTH KOREA
IRELAND
NETHERLANDS
GREECE
ICELAND
FRANCE
CUBA
LUXEMBOURG
BELGIUM
SWEDEN
SPAIN
SLOVENIA
LITHUANIA
UNITED STATES
KAZAKHSTAN

Part II of Where We Stand rankings amongst all countries. This one focuses on everything HEALTH.

They look kind of Finnish to me? ;)

And for the sake of raising our Global Peace Index rating .... I am repeating the Part I disclaimer:

----------------

On aika siirtyä Suomi?
Which means:
Time to move to Finland?

Over four million people a year go to Finland for their vacation. The country is made up of breathtaking countryside dotted with pine forests (2/3 of the country is forest), rolling hills, endless lakes, hundreds of islands, and 35 National Parks.

First, the wind video... (Compliments of Mary, who saw and posted this in the comments, earlier!)

and now, the ethanol video...

This is a good thing, I believe....

From the NY Times Energy & Environment section:

May 14, 2009, 10:17 am
Veterans Push Into ‘Green Jobs’
By Kate Galbraith

Veterans Veterans Green Jobs, an organization in Colorado, helps place former military personnel in jobs in the energy-efficiency sector.

I recently took the step I swore a few years ago would never come: I am giving up my beloved paper books for a Kindle. And yes, I love it. It could certainly become an addiction because it is far too easy to access the Amazon bookstore and download books.

I took the step as a small part of my practical environmentalism. I cut out what I can when it makes sense. The Kindle is a step towards reducing the paper used for books and also the amount of space I need to house those books in my home (I keep and re-read everything...)

Here's a nice story about Juhl Wind, its founder Dan Juhl and Wes from the Minneapolis Star Tribute

Making Juhl and the little wind farm that could
By NEAL ST. ANTHONY, Star Tribune
Last update: February 20, 2009 - 8:30 PM

Eyebrows in the energy industry rose last month when retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former commander of NATO forces in Europe and a one-time Democratic presidential candidate, joined the board of little Juhl Wind of Woodstock, Minn.