Following last week’s discussions of playing surfaces – I wanted to find out what was the carbon footprint of watering a field. The results are astounding. The equations are what most high school physics students would be familiar using. We make the following assumptions:

1. The water use per year is 5 million gallons
2. The water is coming from Crystal Springs (about 10 Kilometers away from the field)

The simple math bears out the energy needed to move 5 million gallons of water would produce over 9 Metric Tons of CO_2e per year.

Yes, there is a lot of optimization which can be done on the model and a number of variables which have not been accounted for. My hope on this earth day is to start a conversation rather than get to an exact number. Saving water is not only appropriate – but it can help save the atmosphere.

Click to download the Excel Spreadsheet. This was done in M$ Excel for Mac. The constants and formulas are in the sheet. You may change the numbers in yellow to see the footprint.

I understand folks will occassionally get so absorbed in the issues at hand they may not observe what we may see from the dais.  On Monday night, a young woman in a “delicate condition” was clearly uncomfortable standing while waiting  for the agenda item to be discussed.  This was an unusual meeting in the level of attendence and I thank the  gentleman  for  his offer of chivalry  to the lady.  LINK

SAN CARLOS’ SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN: There was plenty of yawning, uncomfortable seat-shifting and stretching during a grueling six-hour San Carlos City Council meeting on Monday.
Midway through the discussion about whether to install artificial turf at Highlands Park, one woman in the packed crowd of roughly 100 residents appeared particularly uncomfortable.
She was standing, as many attendees were. So Council Member Omar Ahmad suddenly stopped the 50-resident public comment marathon and spoke up.
“Maybe this is showing my Southern roots,” said Ahmad, gesturing toward the woman. “But could someone please give up their seat for her?”
Immediately, a man sitting next to her got up, the woman smiled and took his seat, and the meeting continued.

First – a thank you to all in the audience for the courtesy extended to all the speakers tonight.  There are differing views for this issue and everyone was heard and treated with respect and dignity.  It is a terrific testimony to the folks of San Carlos that we can have these discussion in a civil manner.

The meeting ran very long and I will post a wrap up of the motions made, where we stand and what are the next processes.  I’m looking forward to helping with discussions and working toward solutions all will find workable.

A few days ago, while grabbing a pint of coffee cream, a dad came and started taking about soccer. His kids were in soccer and stressed the importance of fields they could play on. Poor weather meant field closings, etc. Turf was the best way to go and Highlands was the right place to do it. For those who held other views he said, “Those people knew it was a sports complex when they bought their homes.”

I do not envy the job of a parent in today’s world. Balancing the madness of your job and try to keep your kids safe, educated and with opportunity is a hard task. But the conversation made me uneasy – and it took me a little while to figure out why. It was the notion of entitlement in the demands of how fields should be used, and what neighbors should allow.

The point is: when we go to a park, field, or “sports complex”, we need to remember we are GUESTS in someone’s neighborhood. As a GUEST we would certainly not encourage screaming profanity so their children could hear. As a GUEST, we would certainly not park in a way to block entrance or exits from the home. As a GUEST we would certainly not toss our trash around their living room. But these behaviors are, sadly, on frequent display.

So while feeling of how city land should be utilized may be grounded in sound reasoning, the responsibility of everyone to treat our neighbors with the respect to those who host us becomes critical. Organized sports teach many important lessons to those who participate. Sportsmanship, teamwork, the value of practice, etc. Citizenship and Manners are lessons we can all bring to the front as we cheer our kids in their games.

I’ve known Roy Herron for a few years now. I can’t think of a better person to lead the Volunteer State.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Sen. Roy Herron says he will run for Tennessee governor in 2010. The Dresden Democrat said Wednesday that he and his family have “carefully and prayerfully considered” his decision.