Maps Shows Areas of America Hardest Hit by Gas Prices

Being poor sucks, especially when your shitty job is 20 miles down the road and gas is $4+ a gallon.

The New York Times has created this graphic to show the areas of the country struggling the most with high gas prices.  Unsurprisingly, they’re mostly poor, rural areas where there is no public transportation and destinations like grocery stores, schools and places of employment lie far down the road from home.  The hardest hit areas are dark orange on the map, with the places faring best shown in dark purple.

Clearly, we need solutions and we need them fast – and I think those of us in the cities can expect it to get a lot more crowded in the coming years.

Link [The New York Times]

It’s So Simple It’s Genius: Green Affordable Homes From Landfill Scrap

Dan Phillips of Huntsville, TX has built an amazing home. It’s Dr. Seussian and is built using reused and recycled materials. It’s warm, organic, and entirely delightful. 85% of the home is built with items that were heading to the landfill or burn pile. He runs The Phoenix Commotion with his wife Marsha and their goal is to spark a movement helping the working poor build homes for $20k-50k.

People enrolled the program would be required to spend $500 on tools, have a regular job, and no or good credit. They’re paired up with a local building professional and build their home using left over local and scrap material that would otherwise be heading to the landfill.

Dan’s motto is “It’s so simple, it’s genius”. I think that just about nails it. Dan’s a genius with a smart idea and I hope to see it catch on everywhere. We’ll be following this one.

Link [The Phoenix Commotion]

Photo: Hollywood Frame Gallery