Positively Thrilling October 1, 2010March 18, 2017 ENERGY INDEPENDENCE Twenty-three thrilling minutes from Amory Lovins. Ultra-lighting saves half the weight and half the fuel – like finding a Saudi Arabia under Detroit. And the stuff absorbs 12 times as much crash energy per pound as steel, so our lighter vehicles would also be safer. The efficiencies in car-making would make the overall ultra-lighting free. And that’s just the first 10 minutes. Watch! KIWI If you don’t know kiwifruit, today is your day. Granted, I try to “eat local” – it’s mostly about apples this time of year. New Zealand is not exactly next door. But at 50 cents each, and nearly twice the size I’m used to seeing (I just put one on my postage scale: 5 ounces, so 10 cents an ounce, so $1.60 a pound), and soooooo good – well, let’s hear it for the farmers of New Zealand. And here’s all you do: (1) Buy ’em. (2) Refrigerate ’em. (3) Once they’re cold, cut ’em into quarters “the long way,” from nub to nub. (4) Slurp ’em. Which is to say, hold each quarter in your hand as if it were a tiny watermelon wedge and go to town, leaving only the “rind,” which in this case is the thin brown skin. Fine points: Don’t refrigerate unless/until they’re ripe, which is to say there’s some give when you press your thumb into them. In my experience, they can never really get too ripe. They last a long time once you do refrigerate them. It’s probably fine, if a little fuzzy, to eat the skin, too, but then you’d have to consider washing them. This is much simpler: cut, slurp, toss, repeat. They’re green inside! Isn’t that cool? This is one big berry! They’re filled with vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin E. (The skin I just tossed is apparently rich with antioxidants.) If you’re allergic to latex, pineapples, or papaya, beware – you may also be allergic to kiwifruit. Oh, okay – eat the skin, too. According to this, it’s really good for you. Now watch Amory.