Food for -- transportation

The blogs seem to be forming a pattern, perhaps because I tend to write them just before lunch. But food is definitely a theme here. This time, an unusual twist concerning food. Specifically chocolate.

Chocolate makes me think of self indulgence. Chocolate covered peanuts or hot chocolate on a cold snowy day (the Midwest certainly could use that!). And of course Valentine's Day helps the whole chocolate industry. But a couple of Brits used the equivalent of 80,000 Hershey chocolate bars as fuel in their car as they drove to Timbuktu. Truly. No joke.

The Sun reports, "Andy Pag, 34, and John Grimshaw, 39, have just returned from the 2,600-mile trip in salvaged Ford Iveco Cargo lorry and Land Cruisers, using biodiesel made from waste choc – saving 15 tons of carbon emissions."

Now Mr. Pag and Mr. Grimshaw plan a plane trip using trash for fuel. They suggest the morning comics where planes were run on banana peels may not have been so far off the mark. Anything you find in a landfill can be made into fuel. And that's exactly what they plan to do.

ABC news reports: "Mr Pag hopes to drive to China using biofuel, taking flight in every country along the way in a paramotor, or powered paraglider, using an experimental carbon-neutral fuel made from landfill waste."

If you think these environmentalists are alone -- think again. Biofuels are all the go and in keeping with the food theme -- I've included a link to a 'how to' article on making your own biodiesel fuel out of vegetable oil. Complete with recipe.

To my surprise, evidently many major European car manufacturers encourage the use of such fuels in their cars. Journey to Forever writes, "Most major European vehicle manufacturers now provide vehicle warranties covering the use of pure biodiesel -- though that might not be just any biodiesel. Some manufacturers insist on "RME", rapeseed methyl esters, and won't cover the use of soy biodiesel, because soy biodiesel fails the EU biodiesel standard, EN 14214."

There are several organizations involved in alternate fuels, too. And to those who still maintain stills in their back yards, or perhaps a revitalized use of the abandoned microbreweries after they fell out of favor -- alcohol burns clean and makes a great fuel.

Yet, when taken into consideration all of the energy and effort expended to convert chocolate, trash, vegetable oil, or even alcohol into fuel -- it might not be quite so clean afterall. The New York Times reported last February that "Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded."

But it is interesting to think that you could simply make your own fuel and maybe nibble at it or drink it if you get hungry or thirsty.... I know, that's a bit silly, and alternate energy is serious business. Our lives may depend on it.

Impoverished Princesses

My husband and I took visitors to Disney Downtown for a little excursion. We're cheap, frugal, and unable to justify the ever rising admission costs to the theme parks.

Admission is free to Disney Downtown because it is basically a shopping mall Disney style. But it is quaint, colorful, clean and has free music and entertainment. The Legoland displays are worth the effort alone. Fend off the chocolate perfume eminating from the Ghirardelli chocolate shop and bypass the princess makeover area and the tourist kitch shops. We can't in all honesty recommend the riverboat restaurant -- quite disappointing and has limitations for people with handicaps. But the landscape is luxurious, pastoral, serene and if you get there early enough you can avoid the heat and crowds and truly enjoy the setting.

We made the mistake of venturing into the princess area and watched as delightful little giggling girls were transformed into teased and rouged clones dressed in the cheapest gaudiest, sparkliest Halloween costume-ish dresses. They waved their little magic wands and poof hundreds of their parents' dollars disappeared into Disney's coffers.

They wore plastic shoes that were to represent glass slippers and paste and plastic tiaras and any resemblance to true beauty, innocence and feminine potential were lost beneath those layers of frou-frou fashion. They looked like mini-me prostitutes. And their mothers and grandmothers were so proud.

Barbara Ehrenreich has written a blog about the Disney princesses. It reinforces thoughts I had the other day. For some reason I too was thinking about what we teach our daughters about being female, about what it is to be a woman. And right now it seems that mothers and daughters are caught up in the need to be sex objects. Not all mothers and daughters, but even those seeking science careers seem to be interested in making themselves over into something that fits a stereotype of what the perfect woman is.

We're all born perfect. We have our own individual spirits. Why would we want to be someone else? Someone not nearly as interesting and unique?