As much as he enjoys talking about design, what Jay Scaafer really wanted to talk about in this interview was the politics of tiny houses. Why building and zoning codes are stacked against tiny houses, how the costs of purchase and upkeep compare to the big houses he calls “debtors’ prisons”, and why, when the Big One shakes the land around San Francisco Bay, he’d rather be in his tiny house than anywhere else.
Dee Williams decided to downsize from a 1,500 square foot home to a 84 square foot home after a trip to Guatemala. She built her current home, “The Little House,” herself for about $10,000. With a propane tank for heat and electricity coming from solar panels, Williams cost of living runs extremely low.
Dan Louche built this tiny retirement house for his mother who was in need of a home.
SunnyBot is about the size of a large desk lamp and is equipped with an on-board mirror that continuously adjusts to reflect the sun’s rays on a chosen area. It is integrated with a dual-axis microcomputer that’s powered by a row of solar cells and comes with an optional feedback system. The device redirects 7,000 lumens (equal to a single 500 watt halogen lamp) with a range at just over 656 feet.
Stacey Irvine looks surprisingly well for a 17-year-old who’s eaten only chicken nuggets since she was 2. She claims never to have tasted fruits or vegetables, but admits to sometimes eating fries and toast. “McDonald’s chicken nuggets are my favorite,” said Stacey. “I share 20 with my boyfriend.” She also enjoys nuggets from KFC and the supermarket.
Stacey recently went to the hospital after passing out from struggling to breathe, doctors told her that she absolutely had to eat more healthily. She’s been told in no uncertain terms that she will die if she carries on like this, but Stacey says she can’t eat anything else.
They haven’t walked their dog on my lawn since I paraded around in my Haz Mat Chic outfit.
A 2005 report by the Office of Inspector General for the USDA was critical of government oversight of field tests of GMO crops. The report said there was a risk “that regulated genetically engineered organisms… will inadvertently persist in the environment before they are deemed safe to grow without regulation.”
While the reports noted problems with government oversight, USDA itself lists 21 “major incidents of noncompliance” from 1995 through 2011. Five of those involved Monsanto and included a failure by the company to properly monitor test fields, a failure to follow certain test planting protocols and a failure to properly notify regulators about test activities.
A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2008 highlighted several gaps in regulations designed to prevent genetically altered crops from escaping test plots.
The report’s conclusions were based on USDA data that there were 712 violations of its regulations from 2003 to 2007, including 98 that could lead to a possible release of unauthorized crops.
The GAO study said the USDA lacked the resources to conduct routine testing on areas adjacent to the GMO crops. Instead, the report found, the government relied on biotechnology companies to voluntarily provide test results.
Many international buyers will not accept genetically modified grain, and several U.S. food companies also reject GMOs. When Monsanto in 2004 shelved its Roundup Ready wheat research, the move came amid a backlash from foreign buyers who said they would reject U.S. wheat if DNA-altered wheat was commercialized.
The latest expansion of Google’s Knowledge Graph will make nutrition information more accessible. The new nutrition service is rolling out to those in the U.S. over the next 10 days, Google said. It will be available on desktop and mobile search, but only in English at this point. Google promised to add additional foods, and make this feature available in other languages in the future.
The Web giant announced plans to add nutritional information for more than 1,000 fruits, vegetables, meats, and meals directly into search. This means that when you Google something like “how much protein is in a banana?” or “how many calories are in an avocado?” you’ll get the answers right away, without having to click through to any of the actual search results.
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