Today I decided to design a practical light fixture using LEDs, which are about ten times more energy efficient then compact flourescents and also emit more light. Hopefully I will complete it by the end of February. There are already some light fixtures like this and they are currently being commercialized. Also, my second letter finally got mailed today.

Lately I have been working on two pages: the paleoclimatology page (linked to through the global warming page) and the yet to be released page on rainforests.

-Mina

All I want for new years is to get my mom to finally mail the response letter to Premier Gordon Campbell and if I can finish writing it up, we’ll mail the letter to Nintendo, too. OK, thats an exaggeration, I’d really like a lot of more things for new years; sustainability worldwide, a domain for Cobwebs and Seaslugs, a wider conservation effort, a stop to rainforest logging, etc.  Hopefully I’ll get all of them after a few new yearses. Anyway, today I added some things to the Global Warming page—a few extra facts here and there, but the main thing I added was a paragraph on ‘Biotic Responses to Climate Change’.

-Mina

I must admit I’ve been slacking on my work for Cobwebs and Seaslugs over the Winter holidays. This isn’t entirely my fault, though. My little brother and I got a Mac Mini to replace our old, slow computer. The Mac would not hook up to our old monitor, then we got a new monitor but the cable did not attach will so it kept turning blue and purple. Eventually we returned the Mac Mini and the screen and got an IMac instead, which has the monitor and the computer all in one. So ALL THAT TIME I had no computer access and it isn’t entirely my fault I’ve been slacking. We did (near the end of the computer saga) go to the big library downtown and get some big fat books on Global Warming and Climate Change. But my Wii was very distracting…

…I have, of course, stopped slacking by the way!

-Mina

I got lots of cool things for Christmas and among them were a Wii and a XO (pronounced ‘zoe’ ) which is a laptop designed for a program called ‘One Laptop Per Child’. By making a donation you receive a laptop and someone in a third world country receives one too. Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) there were so many orders for XO’s that mine wasn’t there for Christmas.

-Mina

Today I am going to start forming a response to Premier Gordon Campbell’s letter with some questions and suggestions about BC’s energy plan. I think one of the suggestions will be to make a version that is easily comprehensible for kids and not loaded with what I refer to as ‘the hypnotism factor’ which is a way of writing that makes people inclined to believe you. Things that contribute to the hypnotism factor include suspense like short sentences, long titles, repetition, and big, fancy, complicated words.

-Mina

Today I received a response to the letter regarding biomass energy that I sent to BC’s Premier, Gordon Campbell. He appreciated the signatures I collected and my website (this website). Along with the letter there was a book called The BC Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership. A few days ago, I got something else in the mail; my great-aunt sent me a gift card to adopt an endangered animal through WWF (World Wildlife Fund) for Christmas. I am going to adopt a Mexican Grey wolf. Please note that this was not without complete consideration and an elimination process for all seventy-nine of the other animals. I did not just go straight ahead and pick my favorite animal.

-Mina

Today about five people in my class realized how cool the things I was making were, and either bought or reserved things or both. The girls who had wanted to buy the bracelets decided not to when I announced that they could not keep them on hold any longer. I sold the blue bracelet, the spring toy, one ‘pocket walker’, a walking empty thread spool which consisted of an elastic band through a spool and pizza table legs to walk it. Reserved for tomorrow were the red bracelet, the film canister catapult (possibly), another pocket walker, the pneumatic airplane (launched by blowing through a straw) the spirally necklace, a wobbly pipecleaner something, and I think there may have been a few other things. I made at least five dollars. Also, today there was a craft fair in the gym at my school, and had I known that the proceeds were not all for the school, I could have set up a table there. Unfortunately, over half of my wares were sold or reserved by then, so there didn’t seem to be much point.

-Mina

I have been considering writing another letter, to either B.C.’s premier or someone who deals with landfills or ocean trash. It would be about how different types of garbage are not actually garbage, and what they could be used for. For example, biodegradable food scraps can go in the compost, tin cans can be re-used, plastic packaging can be recycled or compressed into plastic boards that are very durable and can be used for things such as picnic benches, or even building frames. Just about any metal item can be melted down and made into something else, instead of mining for more of it and therefore releasing more greenhouse gasses. Straw can be used for pet bedding, straw bale houses, and biodiesel. Eggshells can be used in gardening. Styrofoam can be recycled. In the comments, feel free to put any items of garbage that you can not think of a way to re-use. So, basically, my overall message is that humans are extremely wasteful and they better stop being that way soon for their own good. This idea could be compared to the quote by R. Buckminister Fuller, “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting.” At least, my dad, Dethe, said so.

-Mina

Yesterday I got the flu, but today I’m feeling OK for some reason. I’ve been randomly taking things out of my good junk collection and randomly making things out of the random things I randomly choose, which turned out to not only be quite successful, but it also didn’t make my headache worse. I made some animal out of a broken ID card clip, a long piece of plastic, and some garden clips for example, and a face with glow in the dark eyes from a milk bottle cap and a glow in the dark Lego brick. So far, that way of making things for J for S has proved to be the most fun (or maybe I’m just bored because I’m sick).

-Mina