Clean Coal?

I've taken a few days to get off the environmental horse I've been riding pretty hard...time to jump back on!

Tanzania

Tanzania


Tanzanians usually live with their extended families in huts that are clustered together. A spirit of cooperation prevails as family members share work and resources.The majority of Tanzania’s population lives in rural areas. Many Tanzanians are small-scale farmers growing only enough food to feed their families.Unemployment is high—approximately 16 percent overall—and more than half of all households live in poverty. The poor spend three-quarters of their income on food, but their diets are of low nutritional value. One-fourth of all households are headed by women, but lack of education is a problem for the female population. Most girls of primary school age do not attend school, contributing to high illiteracy rates among Tanzanian women.Some Tanzanians want to have as many children as possible because they are highly valued. A large family means more hands to help on the farm and ensures that parents will be taken care of in their old age.In some communities, traditional male attire looks like women’s clothing. Thus, it can be difficult to distinguish between a boy and a girl when looking at a child’s photograph.What is it like to live there?Tanzania, the largest country in East Africa, is comprised of the mainland and the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar. Tanzania has dramatic natural features and interesting wildlife, but its people face many challenges, including poverty and malnutrition.

Country Statistics
Population
38.3 million
Land Mass
342,100 sq. miles
Life Expectancy
46 years
Infant Mortality Rate
76 / 1,000
Literacy Rate
69%
School Enrollment
73%
Access to Safe Water
62%
Average Annual Income (GNI per capita)
US$340

Lakes and rivers provide Tanzania with an abundance of inland water. At the north central boundary lies Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. Lake Tanganyika, Africa’s deepest and longest freshwater lake, extends along the northwest border. Tanzania also is home to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 5,895 meters.Variations in altitude lead to great diversity in climate. The coastline is hot and humid. The central plateaus are warm and dry. The base of the mountains are lined with thick forests.Farming activities, in combination with animal breeding, forestry, fishing, and hunting, make up the primary sector of the economy. Unfortunately, much of the land is not fit for cultivation due to perennial drought. Giraffes, zebras, monkeys, lions, and elephants are among the more than 400 species of animals living in Tanzania. The Serengeti Wildlife Reserve, located in the northwest part of the country, is one of the best-known reserves in the world.

Top Three #20

Since the Academy has made their decisions, I guess it's now ok for me to share with the world my thoughts on the Top movies of 2008...

By Box Office Gross Receipts (and unlike the Oscar nominees, I DID see all of these)

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-- I wasn't a big fan of this one

2. Iron Man-- This is the movie I saw last year that I'm most looking forward to seeing play out as a franchise.

1. Dark Knight--This was more than just a great performance by Heath Ledger, AMAZING effects, and the number two top grossing film of all time.

Honorable Mention-- Hancock, I was a little surprised this was the fourth highest grossing movie of the year and #63 of all time... I hope this doesn't lead to a sequel.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas Edison

REPOST---How much is a Trillion?

I read several other blogs with some regularity and this week ran across the following post by Rob Ketterling.

I shared this illustration from TIME magazine in church this weekend and it still is blowing my mind. A trillion dollars is a lot of money and hard to fully understand and yet the new stimulus plan with interest and continued payments will actually be over 2 trillion dollars! So what is a trillion dollars? Here's a good way to grasp how big it really is.
Using the time measurement of a second, how many days is one million seconds? Think about it, one million seconds, 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour 24 hours to a day. Give up? A million seconds is 11 and a half days. Now here's where it gets interesting, how much time is it in years for a billion seconds? This one is easy if you're a math nerd but for the rest of us, I'll give you the answer. It's 32 years worth of seconds! 32 years to live a billion seconds. Now for the biggie, how many years does it take to live a trillion seconds? I'm going to make you think for a second or two, or three...
It would take you being supernatural to live this one out because a trillion seconds would take you 32,000 years to live all of it! 32,000 years! And every year we fall trillions and trillions deeper in debt as a country.... I think we're in huge trouble when you think about it and I'm not sure who's going to pay for all this debt. I know we keep saying that our children and grandchildren will have to pay but the deficit is so huge, it may be our great, great, great grandchildren paying for this deficit. A trillion dollars seems a lot bigger than it did just a few hundred seconds ago!

rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda's population of close to 9 million is made up almost entirely of two people groups, the majority Hutus and the minority (but politically dominant) Tutsis. Despite many similarities, the two groups have a long history of bitter conflict.Over a three-month period in 1994, nearly 1 million Rwandans, most of them Tutsis, were killed in the largest genocide Africa has seen in modern times. Communities were torn apart as neighbor killed neighbor, leaving many orphaned children and separated families. This devastating event shocked the world and left an indelible mark on Rwandan society. Today, political and ethnic tensions continue to challenge peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in communities throughout the nation.Rwanda, which is roughly the size of the state of Maryland, is the second smallest country in Africa and also the most densely populated. About 90 percent of its people are engaged in agriculture. Most are subsistence farmers who grow coffee, tea, bananas, and a variety of other crops. Unfortunately, the ongoing effects of the conflict have had a crippling effect on Rwanda's economy. Nearly two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line.Education is essential to Rwanda's recovery and the future of its children. With only about two-thirds of the population able to read and write, the need for improved educational opportunities is great.

What is it like to live there?

Country Statistics
Population
9.0 million
Land Mass
9,633 sq. miles
Life Expectancy
49 years
Infant Mortality Rate
118 / 1,000
Literacy Rate
65%
School Enrollment
73%
Access to Safe Water
74%
Average Annual Income (GNI per capita)
US$230

Located in central Africa, Rwanda is a small, mountainous country. The climate is generally warm, though cooler in the mountain regions. Noted for its wildlife preserves, including the Kagera and Volcano National Parks, Rwanda has set aside proportionately more land for animal habitat than any other African nation. The ethnic war decimated Rwanda’s government, social, and economic infrastructures. More than 1 million people died, and many children were orphaned. Most of the population, particularly women, was left in severe poverty. As refugees continue to return, many fear that new conflicts will undermine any progress that has been made in stabilizing and rehabilitating Rwanda’s economy and its people. Reconciliation is key to rebuilding Rwanda and restoring peace and productivity. Where World Vision is working, living conditions are desperate. Families simply cannot meet their children’s basic needs, including nutritious food, safe shelter, education, health care, and trauma counseling. Working alongside families in the communities that both ethnicities now live, World Vision is helping Rwandans move beyond the recent atrocities to experience new life.

I like their coffee!

Why wouldn't you tell people what you believe?

Wednesday ramblings

I'm in California for a few days.

Hertz gave me a Toyota Prius, which is cool since I'm thinking of buying one, so far I've gotten nearly 55 MPG's...nice.

Got a good deal on a one of my favorite movies on Blu Ray...The Prestige, guess there are some good things coming out of the Circuit City liquidation, at least for me.

I bought my wife tickets to an upcoming Coldplay concert for Valentines Day, I may be more excited that Elbow is opening for them...

Trying to decide where I will go for my one Missions trip this year, Tanzania, Paraguay, and Haiti are on the short list...due to my time limitations (leaving wife with two small boys) I'll probably end up keeping it in this hemisphere.

I'm making some nice progress on a cool new idea...but if I told you more I'd hafta kill ya...stay tuned.

It's funny how routine and simple spreading and analyzing complex financial statements can become if you do it enough.

I read A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy on the plane out west, man that guy is amazing!

WOW

Things get busy sometimes don't they...This month has been wildly wild in our house. Between the rapidly approaching arrival of another Moore and the related preparations, I've been running around doing lots while not accomplishing nearly enough.

This week I'm in California for work and looking forward to taking a few moments to refocus and get ready to re-enter the mayhem Saturday morning upon my return on the red eye from LAX.

Next week is the beginning of the last gasp of squeezing in some work, including a trip to Atlanta to see some great ministries and attend Catalyst One Day.

When I get REALLY busy, I tend to do a better job of carving out quality time with the family and making sure I exercise and spend some time in devotions...maybe I should stay overwhelmed all the time?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.”--Elbert Hubbard

GOOD idea?

My favorite magazine is GOOD, here is the start of an article I read there you can catch the rest on their site...

What would it take to get you out of that old jalopy and behind the wheel of a shiny new hybrid? Vancouver will give you a couple thousand bucks. Texas might give you up to $3,500.
It’s a concept called “Cash for Clunkers,” though the individual programs each carry their own names (“Drive a Clean Machine” in Texas, “Scrap-It” in Vancouver), and the idea has recently hit the national stage. It doesn’t seem, however, like all Americans are going to be able to cash in on their gas guzzlers. At least not yet.
Here’s how it works: The government offers a credit to anyone who trades in an older vehicle that doesn’t achieve certain fuel efficiency standards, and that cash can only be spent on a new, higher miles-per-gallon car or truck. Some programs, like Vancouver’s, will also trade you a bicycle or let you use your credit on public transportation fares.
On paper, “Cash for Clunkers” hits something of an immediate domestic policy trifecta: it reduces our dependence on foreign oil; it saves Americans dollars at the pump, allowing for increased consumer spending (and the economic stimulus that generates); and it should help bolster the sputtering market for Detroit’s latest offerings.
And that’s not to mention the environmental benefits, which could be huge. (Does that make it a quadrafecta? A superfecta?) Gather this—American cars more than 12 years old account for only 25 percent of the miles driven in the United States, yet they produce roughly 75 percent of all automobile-born pollution, including greenhouse gasses and low-level pollutants like ozone and fine particulates that wreak havoc on the lungs of urban dwellers.
As Congress frets about what does and doesn’t get funded in this stimulus plan, “Cash for Clunkers” should stand out as a simple and streamlined way to get money into the pockets of the most economically distressed, while boosting much-needed sales for the Big Three, helping move America beyond oil, and lessening our nation’s carbon emissions. On Friday, however, such an old car scrappage proposal was dropped from the Senate’s version of the stimulus bill.
Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, has proposed a “Cash for Clunkers” amendment that would “offer $10,000 to any moderate- or low-income consumer who trades in a car or truck that is at least 10 years old and buys a new one that is more fuel-efficient and ‘assembled in the United States.’” Ultimately it was the latter caveat that killed the plan (critics said it reeked of protectionism), though the $16 billion price tag didn’t help.

Haiti

As I've mentioned in a couple other posts, I'm working this year to do what I can to help change some specific things in some specific places. Most of my initial research has been pulled from World Vision and Wikipedia. One of the places to change...

Haiti

Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. It was the second country in the New World, after the United States, to free itself from colonial powers. Most Haitians are descendants of Africans who were brought to the country as slaves by the French. Though the country’s official language is French, the majority of its people speak Creole. The Creole culture is a distinctive fusion of African, French, and West Indian elements. Haitians are particularly proud of their art, which has drawn international interest for its vitality and vivid colors.Haiti is the most densely populated nation in the western hemisphere. About half the population is peasant farmers. Some of these farmers own land, but most do not have enough to grow food for their families, let alone earn a sufficient income. Overcrowding and the demand for wood charcoal have led to severe deforestation and soil erosion throughout the country.A mountainous region, Haiti means “high land” in the native Arawak tongue. After Columbus discovered the country, the Arawaks were decimated by Spanish armies in search of gold. The Spanish were succeeded by the French, who were expelled in 1804 following a heroic struggle for independence. It was the first independent nation in the Caribbean, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion.

Country Statistics
Population
8.5 million
Land Mass
10,641 sq. miles
Life Expectancy
57 years
Infant Mortality Rate
84 / 1,000
Literacy Rate
53%
School Enrollment
55%
Access to Safe Water
54%
Average Annual Income (GNI per capita)
US$450

Haiti has the lowest per capita income of any country in the western hemisphere. Plagued by disease, malnutrition, illiteracy, political upheaval, and deforestation, more than three quarters of the population live in extreme poverty. Because of the dreadful conditions, people often try to immigrate to the United States or the Dominican Republic in search of better opportunities.The country’s climate is generally hot, with cooler weather from December to February. Rainy weather in the spring and fall can make roads virtually impassable, isolating rural communities. Hurricanes deal further blows to living conditions on the island.Life for Haitian children is quite difficult. Though they are supposed to begin school at age six, many parents can’t afford the mandatory school fees, and some villages don’t even have school facilities. It’s not uncommon for a child to enter the first grade at age 15.It is also common for children to marry at an early age. Girls may marry as young as age 15.



Where to help
Big needs exists for schools, clean water+food, financing and training for small business.

Top Three #19

Since I just got a new TV(another story) I did a little research into the Pros and Cons of LCD and Plasma, here are the...

TOP THREE Reasons to Buy a Plasma Screen over an LCD


3. You're looking for the largest screen at the lowest cost--While LCD are available in a variety of sizes as small as 7", once you hit 42" Plasma become cheaper per inch.

2. You watch mostly movies and sports, you can now get LCD's with 120 hz refresh rates, but Plasma's typically have 480hz rate, four times the pricier LCD's

1. You watch most of your TV in low light--Our primary TV is watched mostly at night and mostly in no or little light, this makes the brighter Plasma really pop and the better contrast and blacks really show

Also, burn in isn't the issue it was in earlier sets and screen life is now estimated at around 100,000 hours, also the newer sets don't consumer more power than LCD's which was once the case.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I'm never doing this again..."

Me, friday night after eating at CiCi's Pizza

Corporate Responsibility #1

I purchase more STUFF than I should...from more places than I should, so one of the areas I'm looking at improving is trying to make more of my purchases from socially and environmentally responsible companies, over the next few weeks I'll be taking a look at some of the high's and low's that I uncover.

I'm starting with the largest restaurant chain in the world, based on total number of outlets...if you thought McDonald's you wouldn't be alone in your assumption...but you also wouldn't be right, It's Subway! I start here because like most Americans I eat out more than I eat in. (another thing I'm working on)

Subway has over 30,000 stores across the globe, I picked up the following from their website and must say that while it's not enough, it's a great step in the right direction.


-The first SUBWAY® Eco-Store opened November 9, 2007 in Kissimmee, FL. (Two more have since opened in Oregon and more are in various design stages).
-Since August 2006, SUBWAY ® restaurants with low-flow sink aerators have saved 41 million gallons of water annually.
-Only 100% hormone free milk is served at SUBWAY ® restaurants? .
-New SUBWAY® Cards are being manufactured using 30% recycled plastic, as we continue to explore additional ways to diminish negative environmental impacts.
-SUBWAY® take-out menus contain 10% post consumer content and come from sustainable forests? This will preserve 160 trees and save 68,000 gallons of water annually starting in 2008.
-The chain is often recognized for its clean stores and friendly service! Well, all liquid cleaners used in SUBWAY® restaurants are non-corrosive, readily biodegradable, and are manufactured without the use of phosphates and ammonia.
-Many of our products come in re-engineered corrugated boxes which equates to a savings of 2 million pounds of corrugated materials or 16,607 trees annually.
-SUBWAY® Napkin saves approximately 60,500,000 gallons of water and an additional 147,000 trees annually because they are made from 100% recycled fiber processed chlorine free.
-The footprint of the SUBWAY® four-cup carrier was reduced by 20% in 2006. This reduction saves 35 tons of paper annually, which is equivalent to 595 trees.
-The packaging for the wipes used to clean tables and counters at SUBWAY® restaurants was recently changed to an interleaved dispenser box, which will reduce the box size by 25%, saving 340 trees and resulting in 25 less truckloads on the road, annually.
-Our Salad Packaging and Catering Tray supplier for the US, Canada and Europe moved their facility from West Virginia to Texas in 2006, 1,000 miles closer to our re-distribution center. This move saves 1,120,000 miles, 160,000 gallons of gasoline, and 3,867 barrels of oil, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 1,663 metric tons of CO2 annually.
-The SUBWAY® Plastic Drink Cups in US and Canada were changed from PS (Polystyrene) to PP (Polypropylene) material? This change took place in 2005, and reduces the raw materials used by 8%, saving the equivalent of 10,421 barrels of oil annually.
-The dish detergent, floor cleaner, glass cleaner, degreaser, and restroom cleaners used at all SUBWAY® restaurants are non-corrosive, readily biodegradable, and are manufactured without the use of phosphates and ammonia? All of these features combine to provide an environmentally sustainable cleaning chemical program for SUBWAY® restaurants.

Since McDonald's is a close second in total outlets, and since they were famously villainized by the classic film, Super Size Me. Here is a link to their corporate responsibility site which has a ton of useful info on steps their taking to improve the sustainability of their company from better sourcing of whitefish and offering healthier menu options to their AWESOME charity, Ronald Mcdonald House.

25 things...

I may be the last person to do this(at least I hope it's almost over)...

I was trying to avoid it, but since I see about ten a day, I guess it's time to get into the game, so here is my list of 25 randoms...

25. If it was up to me, I'd be leading a church in New Orleans... right now

24. I work with churches six days a week, sometimes seven

23. My kids may not beat yours up, but they most certainly have longer combined first names... ALEXANDERBENJAMIN

22. I was a youth pastor... in the Church of God

21. I didn't learn to drive a manual shift until I was 20.

20. I was born in Augsburg, Germany, while my parents were missionaries

19. I have two little brothers...a Pastor and a Pizza Delivery Guy

18. I LOVE College Football and would like to visit as many different stadiums on game day as possible, I added both Death Valleys to my completed list last season (LSU and Clemson)

17. I've owned a Jaguar and a Porsche...my next car will probably be a Ford or Toyota

16. I'm a Big Low Flow Shower Head Fan...ask me about it...

15. I started my first company in College....Millennial Systems...don't ask me about it

14. I was present/involved in over half of these events

13. In High School I wore my hair like the picture at the top...REALLY

12. I got my first real job on my 16th Birthday...at McDonald's

11. I can't do buffets, I always feel like I need to get my money's worth and end up extremely uncomfortable...I once won a contest to eat the most Chinese food... by doing a puke and rally

10. In college I worked at Abercrombie and Gap...and thought I was cooler than I really was (sometimes still do)

9. I joined the Army when I was 18, Boot Camp was one of the toughest and most rewarding things I've ever endured.

8. I ran the Jacksonville Marathon in 2002, I haven't had a single run over 10 miles since... looking to change that this year.

7. I spent the summer between my junior and senior years of College as a counselor at the Fresh Air Fund Camp Hidden Valley...one of the most life changing summers of my life...and I got to go to Woodstock 1999!

6. I was a History major in College and often wonder where I'd be if I was a High school history teacher and coach of random(probably baseball) sport wearing those awesome tight coach shorts.

5. I was on top of the dugout immediately after Magglio Ordonez hit the walk off home run to clinch the Detroit Tigers first trip to the World Series in 20 years in 2006, and I immediately regretted being there when hugged by a BIG drunk crying guy.

4. My first trip to Canada was under the guise of a camping trip in a friends borrowed van, he's still upset about it...eleven years later.

3. I still believe (in spite of the above revelations) I will run for congress or senate in the future

2. I've written papers on everything from Machiavelli to In n Out Burgers

1. My Dad was born in Michigan and my mom was born in West Virginia

BONUS...I am a licensed contractor, insurance agent, and investment advisor...and I don't work full time in any of those fields...GOOD times!

Customer Service

I'm a sales guy...it's what I do, I've been selling since I was a kid, always listening for the need and then presenting my argumen...err...opportunity and solution! Part of that is the follow up after the sale, I learned the hard way that it didn't matter how good I was at selling if I didn't follow up afterwards to make sure others were delivering on my promises...

So...I'm pretty conscientious of sales and service and I must give credit where its due. I fly with some regularity, but I'm not ultra platinum million mile guy, and I did not send a complaint about the middle seat I ended up with on a very crowded recent flight... so here is an email I recently received from my airline of choice, DELTA


Dear Mr. Moore,

Monday's are tough, and we're sorry yours may have been less comfortable when you ended up stuck in the middle seat. While we strive to give our most loyal customers our best seats, unfortunately that's not always possible. To thank you for your flexibility and understanding, we've credited 500 miles to your SkyMiles® account. It's just one of the ways we're expressing our appreciation for your loyalty to the SkyMiles program. And we'll continue to take care of you—from booking to baggage claim and everywhere in between. So thanks again. Next time, we hope to see you in First.


They just earned a few bonus miles in my book!

Diaper Choice?

Test Drives and Tantrums

Over the weekend, the family and I jumped in the car and headed out for our normal morning biscuit, followed by taking our first look at several of the vehicles on our short list for replacing one of our aging chariots.

Our first stop was at the Saturn dealership, where we were greeted in the stereotypical car dealership fashion by the very friendly, anxious, young, salesman before I could even get my son out of the car. That was fine and we were prepared, a decade in sales has made me less than their favorite target these days...
We exchanged pleasantries and I let him know why were interested in the VUE Hybrid in spite of the price difference (everywhere we went we were steered/pushed from the hybrid to the regular version), after a little sales of my own we hopped into one of their 6 hybrid VUE's and went down the road...
My impressions of the Saturn--It was more like a car than the Escape we'd see later, nice finish, quiet at highway speeds, but the smallish cargo area and lack of a spare tire were definitely downers. Like the looks and feel enough to keep it in the running and I also think that since they had so many and were pushing so hard to the regular VUE, this could be had at a bargain if we are able to wait to model year end as planned.

Next stop was more about me, we went to Village Volkswagen and there, front and center was what I had come to see, the new VW CC, I think I like it a little more every time I see it. This dealership was just expanded and relocated recently and is very nice, along with their Audi store next door. The salesman was the best "sales"man I met that day and it didn't hurt that I like VW's and this one in particular...
About the CC--It has a striking low slung sports car look even with the four doors, it reminds me a bit of the Mercedes CLS500, but with a little less slope in the rear and at less than half the price. The back seat is definitely not meant for a guy my size, and even my wife would be uncomfortable for a trip any longer than downtown Chattanooga and back. This is a drivers car, tight handling, rapid acceleration, typical VW combination of form and function, this is an all around VERY good car, just not right if you need regular adult usage of the rear seats. I enjoyed the 6 speed manual and only option I'd add is the sunroof (which is HUGE). It will be tough for this one to get knocked from the top of my wish list...but I also can't justify the 21 mpg city mileage so it will remain on the wish list, not in my garage.

Our last two stops were back in Cleveland at Larry Hill Ford and then Gray Epperson Mazda, we were looking primarily for the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, with an additional hope for more info on exact availability date for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. What we got was the worst reinforcement of the South I've seen in some time...
We were informed that they hadn't sold an Escape Hybrid since 2006, and the sales guy repeatedly questioned our interest and pushed the regular Escape... they seemed clueless about the new Fusion Hybrid, but were happy to push a "fuel efficient" 2009 Fusion.
In spite of this, we took an Escape out for a test drive and it performed capably, but I was surprised that it wasn't as quiet, tight, or generally refined as the VUE, it was more Truck like, though it did have a little more cargo room...and a spare tire. We'll keep our eyes open and hold judgement until the new Fusion comes out...

Most likely result of all this is that my wife will likely get a used Escape Hybrid, I'll probably get a used Prius and we'll probably get both...HERE.

Top 3 #18

I received my undergraduate degree from a Christian University. Not one like Harvard or Emory that started on a Christian foundation that they've long since abandoned..no, it was one with a dress code, chapel requirements, and a mandatory minor in Theology.

That got me thinking this week...what are the largest Christian Universities in the U.S. by enrollment...so here is the answer to the question--

Top Three largest Christian Universities (based on undergraduate enrollment)

3. Belmont, TN

2. Azusa Pacific, CA

1. Liberty University, VA

Honorable mention--The fourth largest christian university is my Alma mater Lee University, TN, followed closely by the school many of my co-workers attended Biola University, CA.

The two schools that have the largest graduate enrollments do not make the list, due to low undergraduate numbers, they are Indiana Wesleyan and Regent University.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“And so long as they were at war, their power was preserved, but when they had attained empire they fell, for of the arts of peace they knew nothing, and had never engaged in any employment higher than war.” Aristotle