June 14th, 2013 
Eric Wilson 
The tar sands in Canada are nothing new. Humankind has been aware of and used them for hundreds of years. The ability to convert this resource into oil at a reasonable economic (not environmental mind you) price is new. This week’s Five Friday Facts are a bit of a history lesson regarding the tar sands. [...]
June 5th, 2013 Eric Wilson I walked into my house today to find that the ceiling had been painted. Unbeknownst to my wife or me the contractor painted the newly repaired ceiling (the old one had popcorn – not the movie theater variety – and been poorly patched by previous residents). We were preparing to paint it ourselves, which is [...]
June 4th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
A few weeks ago I wrote about the 53 year old home my wife and I bought. Due to its location we are able to stay with a single car, but the house is technically in the suburbs (although we were renting in Minneapolis and it was less conducive to mass transit for my job). [...]
June 3rd, 2013 Eric Wilson 
As spring turns into summer and schools let out, it’s that time of year again: professional development season for educators. With graduations already completed in much of the country, a number of teachers will find themselves in continuing education, with many of those focusing on sustainability. In fact, it was June of 2009 when I [...]
Posted in Conferences, Education, Eric Wilson, Sustainability 
Tags: Biomimicry, Calendar 
No Comments » June 1st, 2013 Eric Wilson I walked passed a building the other day that looked like it had a parking garage on the third and fourth floors. It struck me as odd. There was retail space below and above the two floors. I’ve seen both of these before (parking above ground floor retail and office space on top of an [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Green Building, Op-Ed, Sustainability, Sustainable Development Tags: Bicycles, Cars, Urban Planning, Walking No Comments » May 28th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
It’s not often that I read fiction. Even less frequently is it something that I can conceivably write about here. However, after finishing Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World by Alan Weisman, I picked up Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang. I mention Weisman because Abbey’s “protagonist” George Hayduke envisions a world without man, [...]
Posted in Behavior, Conservation, Eric Wilson, Reviews, Stewards of the Earth, Sustainable Development Tags: Book Review, Books, Environment No Comments » May 26th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
When my wife and I decided to move closer to her family and leave Colorado, it was an immensely difficult decision. In fact, it was so hard we couldn’t let go of our condo to sell it. It was our first home as a married couple and where we brought both of our sons home [...]
Posted in Behavior, Conservation, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Op-Ed, Sustainability Tags: Colorado, Denver, Los Angeles, Water, Water Conservation No Comments » May 25th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
Three years ago my wife and I decided to replace our 1998 Honda Accord with something that was more family friendly. We vacillated between a hybrid and a small SUV, foregoing the Ford Escape Hybrid and feeling overwhelmed by even the Toyota Highlander Hybrid’s girth. Because we only drove about 8,000 miles annually, it made [...]
May 18th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
For those who don’t follow national weather patterns, it was an exceptionally snowy April, especially in Minnesota, or shall I say even for Minnesota. There was at least some snow on the ground from roughly December 8th through May 2nd in the Twin Cities. This limited data set causes people to make comments like the [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Transportation Tags: Climate Change, Dispatches from the Bus, Earth Day, Mass Transit, Minneapolis, Minnesota No Comments » May 14th, 2013 Eric Wilson Ask any ecologist or biologist and they’ll probably tell you that greater diversity in a system, usually referred to as biodiversity, increases its health and long term viability. Extending this to human populations, a diversity of ideas and perspectives makes for a healthier society. While conflict and strife are inevitable, co-existing is in our best [...]
