Skateboarding Articles

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
   Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
   
   Always recycle the water you drain from pools. When using a generator, attach a showerhead to the hose so your buddies can make use of this precious asset - sludge. Be sure to bottle some of it to stave off thirst while you drain.
   
   When recycling paper products, never recycle sk8 mags. They are your bible and should be treated as such.
2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
   Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home.
   
   Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
   
   When building a back yard half pipe, always build one side of it flush with a wall of your home. The ramp will act as additional insulation both Summer and Winter.
3. Change a Light Bulb
   Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.
   
   If every U.S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.
   
   If your local park uses lighting indoors or has a lit area for night skating, tell them to shut off the lights - you don't need them. Didn't you see Star Wars? Use the force, be a real skater, you Jedi loser.
4. Drive Less and Drive Smart
   Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community's mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
   
   When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
   
   You're a skater. What are you doing with a car? Sell that energy wasting metal hunk and help save the planet. When your pizza is delivered 3 hours late, be sure to thank that energy conscious delivery guy who walked all the way over to your house.
5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products
   When it's time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage. Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.
   
   Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
   
   Always remember that most sk8 products come with very little wasteful packaging material. Decks, wheels and trucks come with virtually no packaging. Pack that in your SUV and drive it... or however that saying goes.
6. Use Less Hot Water
   Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.
   
   If you are not sexually active there is no reason to wash either yourself or your clothing.
7. Use the "Off" Switch
   Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need. And remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.
   
   It's also a good idea to turn off the water when you're not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing. You'll reduce your water bill and help to conserve a vital resource.
   
   This should be easy for you. Most things you do are a turn-off.
8. Plant a Tree
   If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.
   
   Marijuana is not a tree and those hydroponic lights definitely won't help global warming.
9. Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company
   Many utility companies provide home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.
   
   Maybe your utility company can do something about your other report card... the one that says you failed "Gym".
10. Encourage Others to Conserve
    Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
    
    And while you're at it, tell everyone that your town needs a skate park, skate plaza, skate shop and a bikini car wash (topless on Thursdays).

These 10 steps will take you a long way toward reducing your energy use and your monthly budget. And less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

Come on... we're entitled to have a little fun.

My son recently took me to a museum. OK, he's only 20 months old and it was a children's museum, so technically, I took him. Anyway...
They had a display demonstrating energy consumption by standard incandescent light bulbs and those funky fluorescent alternatives. The display had a hand crank which you turned to generate power. A switch that let you select between the incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. When set to power the incandescent bulb, it took 4 or 5 cranks before the bulb began to glow with a low dull yellow light. Switching over to the fluorescent bulb, one crank gave it full power - not for very long, but it really made me see how crappy standard bulbs are. Go buy some of those funky Al Gore fluorescent ones!

Check out all the facts in Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. He may bore you to death, but his information makes this one of the most important films you ever see. Al Gore won an Academy Award (stupid gold Oscar statue) for Best Documentary on Feb. 25, 2007. Maybe now people will pay attention to what he has to say about the planet. Being a former Vice-President and Presidential candidate didn't seem to register with too many people. I'll bet people would really heed his warnings if he'd won "Best Dressed”.

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
   Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of shitty disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of fucking carbon dioxide annually.
   
   Always recycle the water you drain from pools. When using a generator, attach a showerhead to the hose so your buddies can make use of this precious asset - sludge. Be sure to bottle some of it to stave off thirst while you drain.
   
   When recycling paper products, never recycle sk8 mags. They are your fucking bible and should be treated as such.
2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
   Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home.
   
   Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of fucking carbon dioxide each year.
   
   When building a back yard half pipe, always build one side of it flush with a wall of your home. The ramp will act as additional insulation both Summer and Winter.
3. Change a Light Bulb
   Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.
   
   If every U.S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of fucking greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.
   
   If your local park uses lighting indoors or has a lit area for night skating, tell them to shut off the fucking lights - you don't need them. Didn't you see Star Wars? Use the force, be a real skater, you fucking Jedi loser.
4. Drive Less and Drive Smart
   Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community's mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
   
   When you do drive, make sure your car is running fucking efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of fucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
   
   You're a skater. What are you doing with a fucking car? Sell that energy wasting shitbox and help save the planet. When your pizza is delivered 3 hours late, be sure to thank that energy conscious delivery guy who walked all the way over to your fucking house.
5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products
   When it's time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage. Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.
   
   Avoid products that come with excess fucking packaging, especially molded plastic and other bullshit that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon fucking dioxide annually.
   
   Always remember that most sk8 products come with very little wasteful packaging material. Decks, wheels and trucks come with virtually no packaging. Pack that in your SUV and drive it... or however that fucking saying goes.
6. Use Less Hot Water
   Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.
   
   If you are not sexually active there is no reason to wash either yourself or your fucking clothing.
7. Use the "Off" Switch
   Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need. And remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.
   
   It's also a good idea to turn off the water when you're not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing. You'll reduce your water bill and help to conserve a vital resource.
   
   This should be easy for you. Most things you do are fucking turn-offs.
8. Plant a Tree
   If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of fucking carbon dioxide during its lifetime.
   
   Marijuana is not a tree and those hydroponic lights definitely fuck up global warming.
9. Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company
   Many utility companies provide home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.
   
   Maybe your utility company can do something about your other report card... the one that says you fucking failed "Gym".
10. Encourage Others to Conserve
    Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
    
    And while you're at it, tell everyone that your town needs a skate park, skate plaza, skate shop and a bikini car wash (topless on Thursdays).

These 10 steps will take you a long way toward reducing your energy use and your monthly budget. And less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create fucking greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

Come on... we're entitled to have some fucking fun.

My son recently took me to a museum. OK, he's only 20 months old and it was a children's museum, so technically, I took him. Anyway...
They had a display demonstrating energy consumption by standard incandescent light bulbs and those funky fluorescent alternatives. The display had a hand crank which you turned to generate power. A switch that let you select between the incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. When set to power the incandescent bulb, it took 4 or 5 cranks before the bulb began to glow with a shitty low dull yellow light. Switching over to the fluorescent bulb, one crank gave it full fucking power - not for very long, but it really made me see how shitty standard bulbs are. Go buy some of those funky Al Gore fluorescent ones!

Check out all the facts in Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. He may bore you to fucking death, but his information makes this one of the most important films you ever see. Al Gore won an Academy Award (stupid gold Oscar statue) for Best Documentary on Feb. 25, 2007. Maybe now people will pay attention to what he has to say about the fucking planet. Being a former Vice-President and Presidential candidate didn't seem to register with too many people. I'll bet people would really heed his warnings if he'd won "Best Dressed”.