I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
In a competition perhaps most eagerly awaited by linguists, editors and other word wonks, the New Oxford American Dictionary’s word of the year is one for the transitory masses: “hypermiling.”
Do you keep the tires on your car properly inflated to maximize your gas mileage? Have you removed the roof rack from your vehicle to streamline the car and reduce drag? Do you turn your engine off rather than idle at long stoplights? If you said yes to any of these questions you just might be a “hypermiler.”
Hypermiling is a passing interest for some, a passion for others. Hybrid drivers have been known to top 175 miles per gallon. One fanatic got more than 80 mpg in a small pickup. There are clubs and competitions. Even President-elect Obama gave a nod to hypermiling when he suggested Americans could save more gasoline by keeping their tires pumped up than by drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
And while gas prices have dropped, there’s little doubt that hypermiling will be one of those terms that disappears as quickly as it arrived. Like “Bushlips,” the 1990 term that means insincere political rhetoric.
Other finalists for the 2008 WOTY: “frugalista,” being the type of person who leads a frugal lifestyle (and probably a hypermiler); “toxic debt” in reference to the stupid lending practices that have wrought so much financial damage; and “moofer,” or mobile out-of-office worker. You know, the kind who uses the Flying Star as an office.
Several of the hottest words of the year apply, not surprisingly, to our wired lifestyle, such “topless meeting,” to which participants cannot bring a laptop, Blackberry or cell phone, and “carrot mob,” in which people are invited via the Net to support a local, ethical small business by patronizing it at the same time.
In this age that some geologists are beginning to refer to as the “Anthropocene” because humanity is actually changing the physical environment, one of this year’s words is apropos: “ecohacking” would be using mega-scale science projects to improve the environment, such as enormous mirrors to reflect sunlight away from Earth.
And it should be no surprise that at least one of the year’s top terms comes out of the presidential campaign: “hockey mom.” No explanation needed.
