Chris Baskind

Chris Baskind

40p

74 comments posted · 0 followers · following 9

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - Five Ways to Dispose o... · 0 replies · +1 points

That's unnecessarily alarmist. We're talking 2 to 4 milligrams of mercury, most of which will remain attached to the broken bulb. Follow the cleanup directions recommended by the EPA. There's an enormous difference between momentary and chronic exposure to mercury.

14 years ago @ Chris Baskind dot com - 10 Ways to Change the ... · 0 replies · +1 points

It was actually on over a hundred sites Tuesday -- an experiment in collective community action. :)

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - Twelve Reasons to Star... · 0 replies · +1 points

Agreed! Bikes are serious transportation. But there's nothing that will make you feel more like a kid.

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - Twelve Reasons to Star... · 0 replies · +1 points

And that you for your long history of bicycle advocacy.

I have no problem whatsoever casting bike advocacy in green terms. Economic and environmental concerns are causing millions of people to reconsider bicycles as daily transportation. Sustainability will be a primary cause of both public policy and rider choice in the coming decades.

You're entirely right that bicycles are legal vehicles in most states, and require no special infrastructure for safe and efficient operation. I'm also well aware of the controversy surrounding "segregationist" lanes in bike advocacy circles. But as a competent, experienced, lifelong cyclist, I personally prefer a well-maintained bike lane to a poorly maintained alternative, and the availability of bicycle lanes is a factor in new rider adoption.

The good news is that our current car-centric transportation scheme is utterly unsustainable, and the days of automotive monoculture are drawing to a close. Multimode is the future. That means more cyclists on the road, less pollution, and a safer riding environment for all of us.

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - It's Smart to Ride a B... · 0 replies · +1 points

You said it first. ;-)

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - It's Smart to Ride a B... · 0 replies · +1 points

Good reference: thanks.

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - It's Smart to Ride a B... · 0 replies · +1 points

I've always found this to be true. Doesn't seem to take much, either: 30 minutes or an hour on a bike fixes almost anything. ;-)

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - It's Smart to Ride a B... · 0 replies · +1 points

Holland is the bikingest country on the planet. Everyone could learn something from the Dutch.

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - The Microwave Oven Is ... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm glad you referenced that article, since it's representative of the pseudo-scientific hokum floating around the backwaters of the internet about the supposed "risks" of microwave cooking.

It begins by pointing out the obvious: After decades of microwave cooking, there is no peer-reviewed research showing it to be fundamentally different from heating foods with electricity or fossil fuels. The article then resorts to a motherly "sixth sense" that something must be wrong with microwave cooking, anyway.

There are two frequently cited sources in anti-microwave literature, both of which are mentioned in this article: a largely apocryphal story about Norma Levitt, an Oklahoma woman who allegedly died as the result of receiving a microwaved blood transfusion; and a "Swiss clinical study" conducted by Hans Ulrich Hertel and Bernard H Blanc.

In the Levitt case, it was found that the patient died from a blood clot, not as the result of blood somehow spoiled by microwave heating. You'll find a copy of the malpractice suit declaration here: http://wyomcases.courts.state.wy.us/applications/... .

The eccentric Swiss "study" has been universally discredited for its lack of scientific merit (in particular, there was no control group). It wound its way through European courts for years. Hans Ulrich Hertel, who administered the affair, is apparently an agronomist by trade. Bernard H Blanc has since repudiated Hertel's findings. You'll find some discussion of this topic on Snopes.

So much of what is mentioned in that article is simply comical. Microwaves break down the human "life-energy field?" They cause magnetic deposits in the lymphatic system? Preposterous.

Microwave cooking scares have long been fodder for internet email hoaxes and fringe websites. The fact that there's lots of stuff "out there" doesn't mean it has any value. While we must remain open to future research on the topic, there is so far no good reason to believe microwave cooking presents any different risk than conventional food preparation.

But we're with you on WordPress. It's amazing what you can do with it these days. :)

14 years ago @ Lighter Footstep - The Microwave Oven Is ... · 0 replies · +1 points

The objections to microwave cooking are mostly hysterical nonsense. Heat breaks down nutrients, whether it's through convection cooking, or a microwave oven. As for Park Seeds, our position on the superiority of organic and traditional farming methods is clear. I'm sure you shop at places which sell things failing the green litmus test. We expect our readers to be intelligent enough to make informed decisions, and make no apologies for our environmental credentials.