Yearly Archives: 2006

Equinox in the Balance

9/21/2006 – 1:48 pm

Happy equinox. Right on schedule, the temperature dipped in Vermont last night. One of the sugar maples in my back yard is turning bright orange, either as a sign of the season or a reaction to stress from global warming. Is the tree half green or half orange?
Autumn in Vermont is a [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Sorry About the Numbers

9/14/2006 – 7:42 am

I’d like to apologize up front for all the numbers that follow, for two reasons. One, because I try to keep these commentaries are more entertaining than a math problem and two, because the message they carry is so depressing.
The numbers are from an article in the 21 Aug edition of Oil and Gas [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Global Warming or Cold Turkey

9/7/2006 – 12:24 pm

In January’s State of the Union address, George Bush admitted America is addicted to oil. Little did we know how prophetically his words would play out in the months that followed. According to the Department of Energy, the average price of gas in the U.S. the week of Mr. Bush’s speech was $2.33 [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

It Ain’t Just Labor

8/31/2006 – 1:14 pm

Welcome to Labor Day, the holiday America forgot. We still take the three-day weekend; it’s considered the official end of summer and the traditional (ha!) beginning of election season, but we don’t take a moment and think about the working people of this country, the way we think of soldiers on Memorial Day or [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

It’s All North America

8/24/2006 – 2:36 pm

Today’s New York Times has a story about the ongoing, sporadically violent standoff in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico between citizens and the state government. Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HA-ca), capital of the state of the same name, is in southern Mexico. I spent 10 days there last winter, visiting Adrienne, who was there for [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

August is a Tortured Month

8/17/2006 – 2:46 pm

Mid-August in Vermont is as close to heaven as we’re permitted while alive. The July heat wave has passed. Cicadas drone through the sunny days, crickets sing in the cool evenings. Goldenrod blooms by the roadside, warning that this ripeness will not last.
On Wednesday afternoon, I could hear a chorus of children [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)

Biggest Polluter

8/10/2006 – 9:57 am

Sunday’s local newspaper reported that gasoline sales in Vermont were 13 percent below prediction in February of this year and almost 15 percent low for May. I have no theories on the May swoon, aside from the toll continued high prices are having on us all, but I’m reasonably sure the February dip was [...]

By floegel | Posted in Commentary | Comments (0)