Wow, great article, but Santiago didn't die
annonymous
I just stumbled across your series on El Salvador and I have to say it is the best summary of the situation there I have ever read. It helped me to understand many of the things I observed during my two trips there back in 1988 and 1991. But I did want to note that "Santiago" did not die in the bombing of Radio Venceremos that Marvin describes. He is alive and well and now running a museum. I'd love to see a follow up article now that the FMLN has won the presidency. Thanks!

A simple solution
Bill Hartman
Miracle Toilet Faucet™ Helps Keep Trees in Forests and Out of Toilet Paper Rolls

LAS VEGAS, NV, Sept. 10, 2007 – According to environmental research organization Worldwatch International, North Americans annually consume 23 kilograms, or about 50 pounds, of toilet paper per person. That adds up to a whole lot of trees. But now Miracle Toilet Faucet, Inc. offers a more environmentally friendly alternative: the Miracle Toilet Faucet™ (http://www.dontflushourforests.com).

The Miracle Toilet Faucet allows the average homeowner to drastically lower toilet paper and water usage while enjoying the improved hygiene and comfort a traditional bidet provides. The Miracle Toilet Faucet gently cleanses with a stream of clean water, reducing the need for toilet paper and reducing the number of showers needed to maintain good hygiene. But unlike a bidet, the Miracle Toilet Faucet, used equally by both men and women requires no major plumbing work or electricity.

The Miracle Toilet Faucet is the creation of Albert Louis Wokas, the eco-minded inventor responsible for the vacuum-assisted vapor control gasoline nozzle that is now the standard in every jurisdiction where emissions restrictions are in effect. When coming up with the concept for the Miracle Toilet Faucet, Wokas was motivated partly by necessity--he was living without a bidet for the first time in over 25 years, with no room to install a traditional bidet--and by his concern for the environment.

“The Miracle Toilet Faucet is an affordable, simple way for anyone to better the environment and pay themselves with cost savings,” Wokas explained. “This device reduces toilet paper consumption, thereby reducing energy waste, pollution and chemical usage in the production of toilet paper. It is a very low-tech solution, accessible by nearly anyone with a toilet.”

Those wondering just where the Miracle Toilet Faucet gets its water need not worry. The Miracle Toilet Faucet uses the existing water supply to the toilet, tapping into the fresh water line from the wall. It is easily installed with a few common tools in about fifteen minutes. The unit’s nozzle rests under the toilet seat and angles downward, giving it a low profile. One simple lever activates the Miracle Toilet Faucet and controls water pressure. The unit is easily cleaned with environmentally friendly toilet cleansers.

“Toilet paper doesn’t usually make it into conversations about reducing our environmental impact. However, it is a way to make Sheryl Crow’s proposal that everyone use only one square of toilet paper a reality,” said Wokas. “It’s one way for folks to reduce their ecological footprint. Even small actions can add up to big changes for future generations.”

The Miracle Toilet Faucet retails for $97.50 with free shipping in the U.S. and includes complete installation and operating instructions. Miracle Toilet Faucet, Inc. warrants the product to be free of manufacturing defects under normal use for one year from the date of purchase. To learn more, or to purchase the Miracle Toilet Faucet, visit http://www.dontflushourforests.com.

YES ration gas
Lisa Hammer
I've had yellow "support our troops" ribbons on my car for two years, repainted with "ration gas" and "go geothermal."

Surprisingly, it's generated very few conversations other than the ones I've initiated myself.

We need a strong national program of conservation. That is non-controversial. Rationing is controversial, however, as yes it does eat away at our freedom to be wasteful as long as we--individually--can afford it.

Using lots and lots of energy? That's not freedom as I define it.

Disposing of Fluorescent Lamps
Alice La Pierre, City of Berkely Energy Analyst
Thank you for your excellent article on the importance of proper disposal for fluorescent lighting. I just thought I would let you know that in the East Bay, the organization, Community Conservation Center, located at the Berkeley Transfer Station at Second St. @ Gilman, will accept all fluorescent lighting and ballasts, along with mercury-switch thermostats, for free recycling.

The fluorescent lamps are then placed into a vacuum chamber, where the glass is burst and the mercury (about 4-8 micrograms per compact fluorescent lamp)is then reclaimed to be used in manufacturing more fluorescent lighting.

When purchasing compact fluorescent lamps, be sure to look for the EnergyStar logo, or the PG&E Discount sticker on the packaging, to ensure that you are purchasing a quality product that has met specific standards for light color, durability and efficiency.

This organization will also take household batteries of any type -- rechargeables, lead-acid, alkaline, NiCAD, and Lithium, as well as silver "button" batteries found in hearing aids and watches. All of these are required by California's Universal Waste Law to be disposed of properly, and not placed into the regular trash.

For other locations to recycle these materials in the San Francisco Bay area, visit www.StopWaste.org.

Rock the Casbah with Global Warming
annonymous
MANY VOLUNTEERS enlisted in the battle to save the Earth from the perdition that awaits if greenhouse gas emissions are not dramatically reduced will most certainly be singed by the flames of hell on earth if they do not wage an equally passionate effort to end the War in Iraq – a cataclysmic high-tech, computer programmed blood spurting, limb-hacked charred-child gang-raped hail-to-the chief freaky fucking fight over fossil fuel.

Trillions of dollars are being spent killing hundreds of thousands, defiling millions of acres, desiccating dozens of already dry wetlands, poisoning seas and minds while tanks and smart bombs, bazookas, IEDs and B2 bombers blow to bits teenage fanatics GIs and friends of the family huddled in concrete caves, ears covered while another rocket strikes another bomb detonates another mother screams another pipeline bursts another body burns another head drops to the parched land, red wet drops drooling on the dry dessert floor where the Tigris and Euphrates once watered Paradise…

Is there time to sell cannabis tote bags to fund efforts to slow global warming while downtown a veteran smokes a pipe of poppies and fanatics from the East and Westside ravage and defile a part of the planet you fast-forward when you see it on your plasmatic blood-free T.V.?

There is news AFAIC and you won’t find it on MySpace or YouTube, baby, yahoo! No BFD it is the end of the world as we know and they will text-mail your I-pod orders 1-A, girls you can bleed, too, pick up the gun and blow some motherfucker back to kingdom come and if you enjoy organic food you’re really gonna dig Iraq. A Bush and Cheney video game grab your joy stick and play Armageddon the decider flies in on a Persian carpet it’s so cold it’s hot you’ll wish you’d lived to experience global warming cause it’s gonna be one helluva nuclear winter.

Post date on the articles
annonymous
I just left Truthdig.com. They posted the date of each article. I think it is a good idea.

Font Size
annonymous
Can you make the fonts one size bigger so that it will be easier to read?