OIl spill in gulf...

[Aimee A. Domash]

This oil seeping out and into our beautiful ocean by the minute makes me sick to my stomach. I think I'm going to make a piece ...maybe a flower or bird and drip some type of black rubber stuff on it....hum. Anyone else feeling the need to make a statement with their work?????

[Pal Gooz]

Hi Aimee,

I would have loved to make those pieces, but they are the products of the apparently inexhaustible fantasy of Thomasin Durgin. I am sorry if that was not sufficiently apparent.

Your pieces are very strong, I like them very much!

1986 has not passed yet.

[Aimee A. Domash]

Sounds great Brigitte...working on a piece now. Thx!!! Maybe we all can pull together to make a difference!!

[Aimee A. Domash]

2 Roses...Yep...I just found that out too!!! Rats!!!

[Brigitte Martin]

Guys:

Thought you all might enjoy reading this article from .the NY Times.

Also a quick update: Aimee and I have had some emails going on just between the two of us on how the crafthaus community (and everyone else for that matter) could start raise funds for an organization like Greenpeace, in order to show support of environmental issues at large.

Currently, I am working on 3 ways to raise funds via crafthaus:

a) a crafthaus fan gear shop: 90% of proceeds go to manufacturer (they print merchandise, and ship) 10 % of the proceeds get split between artist submitting image, and Greenpeace

b) a crafthaus shop on etsy: crafthaus artists sell same ! artwork that appears in the fan gear store, artist to receive 60% of proceeds, rest gets split between Greenpeace and crafthaus (to fund all etsy listing costs, rest flows into the 2 crafthaus scholarship projects).

c) direct fundraising (any amount) for Greenpeace via paypal for those wishing to contribute without buying.

I hope that this creates a fun (gift giving) incentive, e.g. buy a T-shirt with a certain image on it AND buy the actual artwork as well. And of course, it is a way to advertise crafthaus artists outside of our venue. The two buying options and the direct donation to Greenpeace are open to everyone on the internet, ch member or not. Win win win win win. Did I forget a win ?

I already started a headline tag, you guys can take a look. Am still in the assembling stage, but will go live soon. Anyone here from the discussion interested to have one of their artworks on crafthaus fan gear and on the etsy page, please email me: [e-mail] :-)

Note: Images have to be 300 dpi to be optimal for printing!

[2Roses]

Aimee, we hate to tell ya....BP owns Amoco.

[Aimee A. Domash]

2Roses,
Just yesterday my gas tank was on "E". Ironically the nearest gas station was ...you guessed it a BP station. I hoped on the highway and drove to the next town to fill up (which was on my way home) and the gas station there was a BP too!!! I was really frustrated...because I was below "E". I noticed that RIGHT across the street about 20 feet further was an Amaco gas station. Thank God...I went there. However, as I filled up my tank...I watched the people trickle in and out of the BP station, seemingly unaware or uninterested that it was a "BP" station. It angered me!! I though, "Are these people totally stupid." Sorry to be so blunt...but really...how can you fill up your car at BP with a clear conscious???!!!!

[Aimee A. Domash]

Pal,
I did enjoy looking at your art jewelry…especially the oil barrel ring…very nice.

I am not us on the our lithium battery technology research. The older I grow the more cynical I become as well.
The global warming issue is a terrifying one. They say that the earth warming and cooling is a cyclical occurrence. None the less, we as a nation do need to take a much more proactive stance on our ecological outlook.
Big oil companies have big money, and well…money talks and controls…probably even our government policies. Why was BP able to drill without proper safety precautions in place…as in other countries??? A sound step toward “sustaining” a green future for our grandchildren would be to do without oil…or at least as majority of it. I can’t believe there are not ways to power a car without oil. Give me a break. How about a magnetic engine!!!?? I think the model “T” was first devised with a magnetic engine…or so my research on Mr. Google confirms. Have to wonder if the oil companies were powerful back then as well.
The disaster in the gulf is devastatingly sad…and the dead animals are even sadder!!! Cannot believe they have not stopped the oil flow yet. Praying for the people near the gulf.

[Pal Gooz]

I am growing old and loosing my sense of humor. It is probably because the ground under my feet is getting hotter every day - (well, maybe this does not go through in English). Good that there are young people ( even if their number of years are higher, than mine) around here to keep me fresh:)
Cheers and stay cool!

[2Roses]

Our comment was also a cynical reference to our military involvement in Afghanistan. We appear to be engaged in a global struggle for resources with China.

[Pal Gooz]

Thanks for the info! I was not aware of this, just as I have had no idea about the amount of funding for alternative energy. I was under the impression that the USA is lagging in the development of these resources and technology because some other countries are clearly ahead of us in the utilization of solar, geothermal, tidal and wind energies - although I also know that even the ones at the front are only scratching the surface. I wish - wholeheartedly - that this investment produces a good return and the US will be able to emerge as a technological and manufacturing leader on this front, just like it did on so many occasions ( Informatics...) .

I am sure that I am not at home between the intricate details of this matter, but to me the issue of Li mining does not seem so clear. Here are a few links that I haphazardly found and I think that represent both sides. I am completely incompetent to judge the value of each, but considering my past experiences where scientific optimism clashed with caution, I tend to think that the following two has a few strong arguments:
http://news.discovery.com/earth/why-lithium-cant-save-afghanistan.html . http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100616-energy-afgha... .

It seems that the currently known largest deposits are in China, Bolivia, Chile and likely Afghanistan. The economical mining of most of these reserves are far from solved, however. A German? guy just recently proposed a a new - solar energy (without silicon) based - Lithium recovery in the deserts of the south American highlands (Atacama, if I recall correctly) . The reference is shady, because I read it in probably Science, but I can not find it now.

Without any further analysis, here are a few of the recent enthusiastic publications, which may be funded, especially if we hope that the $1 trillion worth of minerals including Li is a gross underestimate. I really do not want to/cannot go into a cost / profit analysis here.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/afghanistan-minerals-lithium.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20007592-501465.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html