I'm Back

It has been a while, like 6 weeks, since I have posted. Everything is OK, but for a combination of reasons, I haven't had the time, or inclination to blog. I guess I feel like my life of late has been not just ordinary, but downright boring. But apathy born of boredom takes on a life of its own, and life becomes even more boring and less blogworthy. Blogging also keeps me accountable to myself, at the very least. So it is time to get my blogger mojo back on track.

I have been struggling with consistency on both sides of the equation-- food and fitness. I am trying to recommit and as part of that, I am trying to define some new goals. I have 2 major goals in mind, but they are probably mutually exclusive. Each one will force me to focus my fitness in different directions, so I have to pick one. Both are events that are scheduled for summer 2008, but it is not too soon to start working toward these goals. Both represent significant challenge and will require serious effort and a work/fitness ethic. More on these challenges in days to come, as I work thru this choice.

So here I am blogging during a plenary session of a conference on energy and sustainability. Did you know that 5% of the world's population lives in the US, but the US uses 25% of the world's energy? Only 7% of that comes from renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and biomass). Another 8% is nuclear, but the remaining 83% comes from fossil fuels-- oil, natural gas and coal. The US uses 20 million barrels of oil per day! In the last 2 days I have learned about growing willow as a biomass energy crop, turning fry oil into biodiesel, how to run a "no waste" event on a college campus, and the growth of solar power in the US. As much as I am learning and enjoying this meeting, I've hit my limit of sitting and listening for the day. So I am sitting but not listening. I may have more to say about this issue and this conference, but right now it is time to duck out of the meeting and hit the fitness center.