Colbert on Earth Day

Colbert's concern for the environment is again evident.

A Solar and Wind Monopoly?

Just in time for the barrage of Earth Day campaigns (some more dubious than others), Mr. Moneybags is going green. Hasbro announced Monday that it's iconic boardgame, Monopoly, is replacing its old-style utilities, 'Water Works' and 'Electric Company,' with the more environmentally-conscious 'Solar Energy' and 'Wind Energy.'

Phil Jackson, of Hasbro Games said in a release, “In a nod to the efforts of countries worldwide to increase the effectiveness and availability of renewable energy sources, we decided to feature Solar Energy and Wind Energy on the game board." The new edition, called Monopoly Here and Now, will be coming out this fall.

It's great that Monopoly will be jumping on the renewable energy bandwagon, as this can only help grow public consciousness about cleaner energy sources. On a more nit-picky note, the game will be departing from its monopolistic foundations by eliminating the two utilities. Along with the railroads, the electric and water companies are the only monopolistic enterprises in the game. But it would be difficult to argue that either solar energy or wind energy are monopolies.

I know that kind of takes the fun out of the move, but I just can't help it sometimes.

Yahoo Finance
Photo: Saffana

Snow Day

In a departure from my usual content, I decided to post some pictures from my day of skiing Monday at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado. I've been skiing at 'A-Basin' for about 13 years and it has got to be one of the coolest places on earth to ski. Known for its expert terrain, hordes of ebullient dogs, high winds, frigid temps, charcoal grills and microbrews, sweet and pungent aromas, and lots of smiling locals, the Basin has no condos, no fur coats and no clubs. And now, it's also known for a new lift on the ski area's backside - known as Montezuma Bowl - which increases the ski-able terrain by 80%. Certainly there are ecological implications to this expansion - but that critique will have to wait. I will mention, however, that the management at Arapahoe Basin has made environmental stewardship a priority, and they have taken many progressive steps towards lightening the area's ecological footprint.