Hello again and welcome to the weekend. Autumn has finally arrived here, well…it had for about ten days and then straight back into summer (101 Fahrenheit today). Air Conditioning on (boo energy use) warm water from the cold tap for showers (yaay no hot water needed) so I guess we have an Indian Summer. I’ve never been terribly keen on that phrase as I assumed some negative connotation, but there doesn’t seem to be an official origin. Here are the best guesses of the origin:

• When European settlers first came across the phenomenon in America it became known as the Indian’s Summer.
• The haziness of the Indian Summer weather was caused by prairie fires deliberately set by Native American tribes.
• It was the period when First Nations/Native American peoples harvested their crops.
• The phenomenon was more common in what were then North American Indian territories.
• It relates to the marine shipping trade in the Indian Ocean (this is highly dubious as it is entirely remote from the early US citations).
• It originated from raids on European settlements by Indian war parties, which usually ended in autumn.
• In a parallel with other ‘Indian’ terms it implied a belief in Indian falsity and untrustworthiness and that an Indian summer was an ersatz copy of the real thing.

I think I’ll play it safe and call it a late Summer. I know this much, I wish it were Autumn. So on to the Green Gazette….

Sometimes the most obvious of green inventions are the most endearing. This one could have been handy as can be when the Rocking Chair was at the peak of it’s popularity a century ago. Benjamin Franklin (one of the most fascinating persons ever) is credited by many as the inventor of the rocking chair (what didn’t he do?) but he never saw it as a source of electricity did he? That day has arrived and this chair generates power from your rocking. I find one small issue with the idea, have you ever tried reading whilst sitting on a rocking chair? It’s an instant source of nausea, perhaps it’s just me? Still a great invention as the kinetic energy is stored in a battery so you can use it at your convenience, perhaps in an adjoining chair?

This is a great story and one that makes me add something for my next trip to the library. I really enjoy history books but I’d never read (not in my rocking chair) about the concept of a republic named Cascadia. I’ll encourage you to read this article in full to learn more but the short version is the idea was a utopian 19th century idea for an independent republic along the coast  of the Pacific Northwest from BC down to Northern California. So why am I writing about this? As you may be aware Portland and Vancouver are two of the most progressive green cities on the planet. The mayors of the respective cities are consulting with each other in creating an unofficial green alliance. It’s basically friendly competition as both cities are making huge strides in continuing an inherited tradition of being very close to nature.  I find it a fascinating story and if Cascadia ever becomes it’s own nation please sign me up!

I wanted to close with my favourite story of the last few days, it’s innovation impressed me and the concept reinforces the green concerns we share in a very powerful way. I always remember visiting a church in Birmingham, England as a teenager, It’s in the heart of the city and left an impression on me (and most who know it’s history). When the centuries old stonework was cleaned and maintained the actual spire was left the colour it was, black as soot. This was a testament to the dreadful air quality during the industrial revolution and beyond. In the mid 1800’s Birmingham had more factories than any city on the planet and was deemed ‘the workshop of the world’.

KIA motor cars have seemingly been inspired by this idea. Their current advertising  campaign in the UK involves spray cleaning their latest messages onto filthy pavements (sidewalks) throughout 750 locations in Britain. They were simply cleaned using only highly pressure cleaned rainwater in a stencil method. What a brilliant idea - they are of course promoting their most eco-friendly vehicles. The clean pavement image last for about a month. I like this! That’s all for now….Tim

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Tags: air quality, Benjamin Franklin inventions, Birmingham england, cascadia, eco ideas, green inventions, green rocking chair, indian summer, industrial revolution, KIA, kinetic energy, origin of indian summer, pacific northwest, planet forward, portland oregon, rocking chair electric, rocking chair inventor, urban eco planning, vancouver

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