- Emily Pilloton Discusses the Hippo Roller and other Designs for Humanity (Part One)
- Janine Benyus on Biomimicry in Design (Part Two)
- Janine Benyus on Biomimicry in Design (Part One)
- Andy Revkin - Climate in the Obama Age
- Fred Pearce - Confessions of An Eco-Sinner (Part Two)
- Fred Pearce - Confessions of An Eco-Sinner (Part One)
- Chris Goodall - Ten Techs to Save Our Butts (Part Two)
- Chris Goodall - Ten Techs to Save Our Butts (Part One)
Entries for April 30, 2006 - May 6, 2006
Total this week: 83
Resistance is Not Futile
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 05. 6.06
Here’s one for the "I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore" category. Fed up with the current round of energy price increases, a growing number of German consumers have decided not to pay and, so far, the courts are supporting them. Simply put, paragraph 315 of the German Federal Legal Code prohibits one-sided, inappropriate rate-hikes and the burden of proof is on the supplier. The irony is, even if the current rate hikes are appropriate (which they don’t appear to be), if they were built upon previously inappropriate rates (and the fact that energy in Germany was considerably more expensive than neighboring countries points to this), then the consumer wins. This is particularly relevant when one considers the cozy past relationships between German politicians and the energy concerns (the most blatant being ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s sweet deal, announced only a few weeks after losing the most recent election, to head up the multi-billion partially federally subsidized Baltic Sea pipeline Consortium.)...
The Battle of the Bulbs
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 6.06
We've devoted many a post to the virtues of both compact fluorescent light bulbs and LED bulbs over traditional incandescents, and even pointed to attempts to "Ban the (Incandescent) Bulb." The folks at Productdose.com, though, have taken the battle of the bulbs a step further, and created a handy spreadsheet (in MS Exel) that lays out the facts of each bulb choice side-by-side so you can easily see the benefits and drawbacks of purchasing a particular bulb type. Among the details they note:...
DaySwitch™ Reduces Lighting Energy By Up to 30%
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05. 6.06
Designers have come up with a simple, inexpensive switch that senses when sufficient daylight is available to take the place of electric light, and then responds by turning off the fixture. When daylight decreases, the device turns the light back on. Increase “day-lighting” architectural features, install the switches, and you have a achieved the “virtuous circle”. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center engineers designed the switch for commercial and institutional buildings, estimating it could reduce lighting energy consumption by 30% in such settings. Because of its simple circuitry, this switch is inexpensive, and can work with all kinds of light fixtures. Projections are that capital cost can be recovered in one year. For a brochure on the design, download this pdf file .
...
OXXO(R) Care Dry Cleaners Expanding Nationwide
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05. 6.06
From the Hispanic Business Newswire we have learned of a new service business franchise that has all the markings of being TreeHugger….or would that be "uno quién abraza árboles?" The apt headline is: “Florida’s eco friendly Laundry Franchise, OXXO(R) Care Cleaners Going Nationwide.” Key OXXO(R) features are:- use of environmentally safe GreenEarth solvents (liquid silicones) instead of Percholorethylene, - 24/7 ATM-style drop off and pick up service, - European manufactured garment care equipment, and - use of hand ironing instead of steam presses. By eliminating perc, and thereby obviating the need for the traditional system of the industrial boiler and vapor reclamation piping, the franchise has been able to gain acceptance in shopping malls, which traditionally would resist drycleaners due to the heat and solvent odor issues....
HauteGREEN Sneak Peek: Cardboard Lamps by G|O|E Designs
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 5.06
Today's entry into our series featuring the best sustainable home designs that have been submitted for showcase at HauteGREEN takes inspiration from leftover cardboard and clumsiness. The team at G|O|E Design (Jeremy Grove, Campbell Orme and Shaun East -- we've featured them before) marry this odd pair into a hand-made table lamp that's sturdy enough to not mind being knocked off a table top while simultaneously using up all of their waste packaging. Waste cardboard is compressed together to form big cardboard laminate blocks. Each one is then hand-turned to form simple, soft shapes; the hand-turning process insures every one is unique. With each lamp produced, there is more beauty, more light and less trash in the world; if only all designs were so thoughtful. ::HauteGREEN and ::G|O|E Design
Check out the rest of the Sneak Peek Series for a glimpse at the best in sustainable home design....
Honda Fit Hybrid: Mid-2007, Hybrid CR-V: Late 2006
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05. 5.06
Bradley Berman, the editor of HybridCars.com (you can see a video interview with him at the New York Auto Show), has received confirmation from an anonymous industry insider that Honda will produce a hybrid version of the Fit (also known as the Honda Jazz - we wrote about the possibility of a hybrid version a couple of months ago). It is scheduled for release in mid-2007. Update: See our latest post about the Honda Fit hybrid and Honda CRV hybrid....
Atmospheric Pollution Ads from Singapore
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05. 5.06
In the same vein as the power-washed air pollution guerrilla ads on sidewalks in Chicago (which might be just a photoshopped proof of concept, but still a very cool idea), these ads from the Singapore Environmental Council show various fictional characters fallen from the sky, with a text at the top that reads: "Atmospheric Pollution Affects Everyone."...
Two Inspiring Business Women Show How Fair Trade Can Create Sustainable Livelihoods In India.
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 05. 5.06
With World Fair Trade Day coming up next week, 13th May, this week’s Pecha Kucha ezine from The Natural Store is all about Fair Trade products. They feature two particularly interesting stories about women who gave up their regular jobs to start Fair trade businesses importing hand crafted products from India. Siobhan Wilson started Kolkata in 2004 after a friend sent her a beautiful greeting card made in Calcutta by a mute person. Martha Slipp had a similar desire to make a difference through her Fair Trade business Martha Evatt which sells bags made in India. After receiving her card Siobhan decided to go to India to see how groups like Silence were working with handicapped people to help them become economically independent. She now sources products for Kolkata from various organisations working with impoverished and dispossessed people to create sustainable livelihoods. ...
Recipe of the Week: Yuca Croquettes
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 05. 5.06
This TreeHugger is a big believer in buying local, seasonal produce to feed the family. But this week I tried something that is certainly not native to Ontario – yuca. While grocery shopping with my daughter we spied a display of the root. Having spent a month in Equador last year, she ate quite a bit of yuca there. She was excited to see something she ate in the Amazon on offer in a Toronto market and was keen to have her family try it. So root in hand, I started checking out my various cookbooks to see how I should cook the thing and found lots of useful information. Yuca is also known as cassava or manioc and is the source of tapioca. The yuca must be cooked. It is toxic if eaten raw. To peel it you chop it into three or so inch lengths. Then cut lengthwise through the peel and through the pink layer below it to the white flesh. Then simply wedge your knife between the pink layer and the flesh and pull back the peel. The recipe my daughter chose for me to make with her tuberous treat was quite fun to make. If you ever enjoyed finger painting or working in clay, or if you have a small cook with willing hands, this is the recipe for you. The drawback of this recipe is the length of time it takes. The active working time isn’t much and it certainly isn’t hard, but there is a lot of cooling time between steps.
Yuca Croquettes...
Reused Paper Waste Bin from 366cm
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 5.06
Even the most waste-conscious among us still have throw some things away. Fortunately, Swiss design company 366cm figured out a way to neutralize some of that trash with its colorful Eco waste paper bin. Each Eco bin is unique, and crafted from reused paper. Since most of us wouldn't want to use such a lovely item as a trash receptacle, it just may inspire us to look harder for ways to reuse and recycle our own paper wastes.
In addition to Eco, the company also makes its Millésime candle holder out of half of wine bottle (Inhabitat beat us to the punch on this one). And environmentally-conscious smokers (yes, yes, some would say that's a contradiction) can ease their guilt a bit with the Cendrier ashtray, which is made from recycled phone cards. :: 366cm via Ecofriend....
Eco-chic: Greenwashing from the Liquor Store
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 5.06
In Ontario Canada, we go to the beer store, owned by the brewers and operated cooperatively, or the liquor store, owned by the Government. One would think that a government would push recycling and the private company would pay lip service to it, but in fact the Brewers run one of the best recycling systems in the world, re-using 98% of the bottles up to 25 times, and have been at it since 1927. The Government, or Liquor Control Board (LCBO) refuses to do recycling. They won't even take back beer bottles. Instead, they start an egregious greenwashing campaign with Eco-Chic- a brochure (on recycled paper) promoting Tetra Pak wine, PET liquor bottles and, yes, aluminum cans. They actually have an "enviro-tip"- "pre-mixed drinks require less over-all packaging" which is just not true: The Mott's Clamato shown has 1.5 ounces of vodka, so it would take 22 cans of motts to get as much vodka as a single 35 ounce bottle. We would boycott them if they were not a monopoly and we were not so angry that we needed a drink. ::LCBO...
ZooZoo2 — Eco Tees for Watery Sports
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 5.06
Funny how things all seem to coalesce once you start down a particular path. We had the post on Surfer Mag going recycled, where we mentioned the UK cousin The Surfer’s Path had already gone this route. Then we stumble across this little British T-shirt company. who have been nominated for a ‘Green Wave Award’ by Surfer’s Path, alongside big guns like Quiksilver, O’Neill and Patagonia. Their name is ZooZoo2 and they make a collection of organic cotton T’s, targeting sports that are fond of water. The likes of surfing, scuba diving, skiing and snowboarding. Not only do they have some hip designs, but they devote a multitude of pixels to some cool eco education too. Such as the page on marine pollution that has a scary litany of stats, like how 3 times as much rubbish is dumped in the world’s oceans as the weight of fish caught. Plus a note on the ghost nets we mentioned yesterday. As they put it, “ZooZoo2 may be small but so is the world. ..... As individuals it is time we made a stand. It's cool to care.” That sounds like something Treehugger might’ve said. And then there’s this, “Change what you buy and how you buy it and you can change the world.” Damn, they’re on to us. ::ZooZoo2....
A Guide to Veggie and Organic London
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05. 5.06
If you are a vegetarian and planning a trip to London, or if you are interested in exploring the organic scene, the guide “Veggie & Organic London” by Russell Rose, is a comprehensive survey of what is available. Running the gamut of restaurants, the author includes listings from the most expensive places in town right down to veggie burger take-aways in every part of London. Vegetarians are no longer ignored at the best restaurants—the author identifies some very posh places which provide gourmet vegetarian choices for diners. There are also sections dedicated to vegetarian and organic shops, cookery courses and a small sampling of hotels. At the start of each section is an overview with lots of interesting facts about the topic. In the “Shops” section they include not only local, neighbourhood organic food stores but also, unusually, discuss what is available in the big supermarkets and chain restaurants. There is a good listing of the joy of London—the outdoor organic farmers’ markets—to be found somewhere every day of the week. And contact groups, ranging from vegetarian social groups to allotment garden societies and organic farming courses. :: Veggie&Organic London ...
Banana Fibre Cushions and Cipo Furniture by Oficina Nomade
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 05. 5.06
Our featured Christian Ullmann, Oficina Nomade’s director, has hit us back with the latest productions of this unit dedicated to the development of products involving crafts communities from small Brazilian towns, promoting the recycling of industrial waste and the use of renewable and biodegradable resources. The first is the “Japanese line”, a series of puffs inspired in the sushi culture. It’s composed by a table and four cushions made from pranced banana fibre. All these were developed in a region called Vale do Ribeira, in the state of Sao Paulo, a region with an important Japanese colony which has influenced the local culture. Designer Tania de Paula developed this line fusing the two. The puffs were produced by a cooperative of women from Banarte (Miracatu, Sao Paulo). ...
Solar Powered Electric Bicycle. Now We're Talking.
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 5.06
For all those nay sayers, who love to point out that electric powered vehicles probably get their juice from coal or nuclear power plants. Not with this curious beastie they don’t. Photovoltaic panels are built in to the wheels, sort of like those aero discs used in racing bikes to reduce wind drag. Anyhow, the press release for the Canadian developed E-V Sunny Bicycle suggests it is the “first all Solar electric bicycle driven completely from power derived from the Sun’s Rays.” For about $1300 CAD you can apparently coerce dear old Sol to drive the bike along at speeds up to 30kph (19 mph) via the 500 watt motor. A kit is available for $800 CAD, which we assume allows for retrofitting of existing bicycles. Sounds almost too good to be true. Can't see the motor in this pic, nor is there any explanation of how the power is extracted from the spinning wheels. We do hope it turns out to be bona fide though, could be an intriguing development in urban transport. ::E-V Sunny Bicycle, via EV World....
XIII BioCultura Eco Fair in Barcelona
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 05. 4.06
Today BioCultura, the annual alternative fair for the responsible consumer, opens its doors until monday May 8th at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. It’s organised by the association Vida Sana and said to be the most important eco fair in Spain if not Europe. The 600 exhibitors offer over 78.000 visitors products and services towards a more responsible consumption respecting the environment and our health. From organic agriculture to food products via clothes and shoes to tourism and craftsmanship to cosmetics and alternative therapies to furniture and architecture; it’s all here. Apart from the fair more than 200 activities take place over the 5 days such as conferences on bird flue, false eco labelling, community building, radioactivity in the food chain, FSC wood labelling, building a straw house, etc.
This year’s specials are the parallel events Mamaterra and the Organic Gastronomy Festival. ...
Yet Another Reason for “Leave No Trace”
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 05. 4.06
Many of us know the drill for “leave no trace,” “pack in pack out,” however you want to preface it. But would you believe there are still people that don’t practice these important measures? Found on Yahoo’s homepage is a video of a bear in Slovakia who’s head was stuck in a plastic container for 10 days, which means no drinking and no eating for this little guy. Finally, a local mountain volunteer decided to help and was able to pull the container off, stating that there was a small hole in the end of it from which the young bear was able to breathe. View the video here. Via ::Yahoo! News ::Reuters...
Maker Faire Goodies: Blissen
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 05. 4.06
In the middle of the forest of craft tents at the Maker Faire, we found TreeHugger favorite Blissen sporting their usual funky handmade recycled paper and fabric goods, such as this "necklace noteset." As we have come to expect from Blissen, the noteset is made from recycled paper with vegetable-based ink. And, when your pen pal receives your note, it doubles as a craft project/fashion accessory, "the recepient can cut out along the dotted lines, add a favorite ribbon, and wear their note as a necklace." Be sure to swing by and check out their new and improved website to find a plethora of cool recycled and sustainable goods. ::Blissen...
Restaurant of the Week: White Dog Café, Philadelphia, PA
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 05. 4.06
Located in the “university” section of Philadelphia in three adjacent Victorian brownstones, the White Dog Café “pleases palates while raising consciousness.” Everything from the grill menu to the brunch menu sounds delicious and they have a children’s menu too. Not only is their food organic and sustainable but their mission is a four-fold: serving customers, serving the community, serving the earth and serving each other. The cuisine is contemporary American, although it also incorporates influences such as Native American and Southeast Asian. Judy Wicks, Owner and Founder of the Café, also started a non-profit organization called the White Dog Café Foundation. Their mission is to create, strengthen and connect locally owned Philadelphia businesses and farms that are committed to working together with natural resources, committed to providing meaningful and fair wage jobs and supporting a healthy community. The Foundation currently has two programs that they operate: Fair Food and the Sustainable Business Network. The Café itself is powered 100% by the wind and they carefully prepare food so as to reduce waste. Scraps are given to local pig farmers and excess food is given to Philabundance, a local group that distributes food to those in need. All employees are encouraged to join the White Dog Café Green Team, an employee organized group working to serve the earth. Their website is a great place to explore and we love the tagline “Bone Appetit!” ::The White Dog Café ...
Instant Survey: Show Me The Money
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 05. 4.06
"Unexpected Green" Contest: Ends Tomorrow
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 05. 4.06
Time is running out to submit your entry for our "Unexpected Green" Contest - tomorrow is the last day we will accept entries. So, if you have found "green" objects in surprising (and traditionally un-green) places, send them to us at: contest [at] treehugger [dot] com. We will put the top entries on the site, and the winning entry will be chosen by our esteemed readers. The winner will come away with a $350 gift certificate from our friends at Earth, makers of the Negative Heel shoe. So, if you want your chance at some cool Earth gear, send your entry to us by tomorrow. ...
BOB Gets Around: Andrew Maynard's Mobile Home
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 4.06
Andrew Maynard knows prefab, and that the next step is adding mobility to the mix. Buro North and Andrew Maynard have whipped up this:
"BOB is a hybrid home of the future, a mobile living tool for tomorrows generation of nomadic wanderers. Somewhere between a tent, a house and a Winnebago, BOB explores the relationship between the basic human requirements of travel and shelter."...
Ski Green in Australia
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 4.06
While most of us in North America have put away our skis for the season, the time for alpine fun is right around the corner Down Under. The treehugging skier (the green kind, not the klutzy kind) will definitely want to check out the Falls Creek Ski Resort, as its sustainability credentials look as impeccable as some US ski lodges we've noted. Today, the resort announced that it had received the Alpine Planning Award from Rob Hulls, Australia's Minister of Planning, for "its contribution to conservation and environmental management." Yesterday, Falls Creek announced that it would be partnering with TRUenergy to power its main lifts with renewable energy. Both of these developments represent the resort's mission to maintain its "greatest asset": the natural environment:...
How Many BioGas Plants Could You Build For A US-$1.5 Billion Loan That You Could, Sort Of, Pay Back Eventually?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05. 4.06
We’re quoting here from a recent Associated Press piece: “BISMARCK, N.D. - Buoyed by high natural gas prices, the Great Plains Synfuels Plant has paid $79 million to the U.S. Department of Energy as part of an agreement that rescued the Beulah factory from a possible shutdown”. Apparently the lignite fed plant, after two decades, has only repaid a small portion ($241 million) of the total Federally guaranteed $1.5 billion construction loan from the early 1980’s. “Low natural gas prices made the synfuels plant unprofitable, and the pipeline companies defaulted on their loans in August 1985. The Energy Department, after operating the plant for three years, sold it to Dakota Gasification in October 1988”. ...
Solar Plant:: Carry your Light With You
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 4.06
There are lots of things out there that store solar energy in the day and release it at night, but how many come with such a story? We love the Solar Plant:
A natural plant absorbs sunlight and carbon dioxide, and discharges oxygen and water.
The solar plant absorbs sunlight and emits light after dark.
Although it does not grow like a natural plant, it always stands still next to you.
Please, fully expose it to sunlight in the daytime.
You could feel the solar plant which shines after dark like the sun.
Designed by Takanori Hayakawa, ::cute flash demo here via ::Product Dose...
Experimental Bamboo/Inner-Tube Cucumber Trellis
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05. 4.06
Continuing with our Victory Garden series, we offer this trellis design to increase your vine crop production in a small area. Admittedly, what you see pictured here will never be on Home Depot's inventory; and you'll never see it in one of those luxurious suburban dream garden magazine spreads. That's because the trellis is pure function, held together at the base by the earth itself. But the virtues are many. First is simplicity. Only two materials are used: 6 bamboo upright poles and two pieces of bicycle inner tube form the structure; four more diagonal poles are added to help the plants climb. The bamboo poles were purchased for about 20 cents each in bulk, and will last 5 years or more if you put them away at season's end. The bicycle inner tubes were got from the repair shop waste basket and cut into segments with a knife. The second virtue is design for rapid assembly and rapid disassembly. Experienced gardeners know that at year's end they'll be busy putting the harvest by, the weather can be nasty, and we're about "gardened out." So anything that makes clearing debris and putting away equipment easy is going to be much appreciated. Because there's no tying of twine, you don't even have to cut it away when you're done....
Pareto's Principle and your Choice of Vehicle (or anything)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 4.06
Also known as the 80:20 Rule, Vilfredo Pareto's principle states that 80% of your income will come from 20% of your clients or 80% of a problem is caused by 20% of the causes. TreeHugger reader Brenton applied it to his mom's car purchase, and we quote: "The basis of my logic is Pareto’s Principle. You should buy a vehicle that works best for 80% of the driving you do most, and leave the other 20% out of your decision. Not only will this help save the environment, but it will save you a lot of money in the end. To explain, I’ll go over the conversation/math used to sway my mom."...
Design For A Sea Change — Reusing Ghost Nets
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 4.06
Previously we mentioned a way you could volunteer on-the-ground to help the Dhimmuru indigenous Sea Rangers to rid their beaches in Australia’s Gulf of Carpenteria, from the scourge of Ghost Nets. These are the discarded nets, that often illegal fishing vessels abandon overboard, which continue to kill and maim marine life. One such net was found weighing as much as 5 tonnes, measuring about 4 km (2.5 mile) in length, with a drop of 12m (13 yd). Of course it was a stretch to think that many of our readers would actually end up on the remote tropical north coast of Australia. But knowing you still cared, we can now offer you a way to help from a distance. Come up with a product design to reuse these killer nets, for local indigenous communities around the Gulf to manufacture locally and on-sell. First Prize for the winning design is a trip to Groote Eyland, with the Dhimmuru rangers, learning about aboriginal culture and bush tucker. But to be in it to win it, you’ll need to get your thinking cap on. Entries close 14 July 2006. Get all the info, including contact details for net samples from the PDF entry on the website of ::The Carpentaria Ghost Nets Programme. Tip from Trash Bags, who we’ll tell you about soon....
Nobelity — Nine Nobel Laureates Signpost the Future
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 4.06
Know that question - “If you could have dinner with a famous person, who would it be?” The one where the guys say Elle MacPherson, and the girls opt for Nelson Mandela? In lieu of such fantasies we present Nobelity, a movie where you’ll get to sit down with nine Nobel Laureates for 84 minutes of inspiring discussion. It features Nobel Laureates: Steven Weinberg, Jody Williams (ok, maybe not quite Elle, but she is the founder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which is way more impressive anyhow. Plus she is one of only 33 women nobel winners, when there have been 725 blokes), Ahmed Zewail, Rick Smalley, Wangari Maathai, Sir Joseph Rotblat, Dr. Harold Varmus, Desmond Tutu (hey, he’s almost like Nelson Mandela's brother, so you haven’t done too badly), and Amartya Sen. Filmed in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Nobelity combines the insights of some of the world’s most intelligent and accomplished individuals with their first-person view of 50 years from now. (Several have passed away since they contributed to the film.) Communities can host screenings of the film and here is a list of the current locations doing so in the US. We can’t voucher for the movie itself, but maybe one of our readers has seen and can review it. Or you check out the trailer. More at ::Nobelity...
TH Blog Love – Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 05. 4.06
DH Love Life: Daryl Hannah in Rwanda with Silverback Gorillas
In a shameless last ditch attempt to pip Cute Overload at the post in The Webby’s this week we are bringing you a seriously cute vlog. Daryl Hannah (obviously very cute) playing in the Rwandan jungle with magnificent Silverback gorillas and their very cute babies! What’s more there are two episodes – talk about cute overload!
Inspired Protagonist: Meet the Inspired Protagonist by Jeffrey Hollender
The Inspired Protagonist is Seventh Generation's voice, reaching out, to inspire the few who will inspire the many, bringing wealth and well-being to all who live and are about to live (seven generations) on the planet. A forum for dialogue between kindred spirits hell-bent on doing things differently....
Piney Smell Fights Global Warming
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 05. 3.06
Love that piney smell! Even if you aren’t a confessed tree hugger, you know you like it. Makes you feel so…frisky! But all frisk aside, new research has indicated that the fantastic scent of pine and spruce trees, caused by particles called monoterpenes, has some powerful properties that fight global warming. As much as we love trees, there’s a great deal we don’t know about them, including the fact that they may produce significant amounts of methane. This week, the Guardian reported on a study from the Air Pollution Laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden that shows the piney-smelling particles released by trees actually bouncing solar energy back into space, helping to cool the planet. ...
Air Pollution Guerrilla Marketing in Chicago
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05. 3.06
"The shape and text was created by power-washing filthy sidewalks using a large stencil form. [..] Sidewalks are usually very filthy and just the thought you could make your point by creating a clean spot instead of a dirty one is one to cherish. This is a form of non-destructive guerrilla marketing in it’s purest form." What a good idea! Any readers from Chicago saw them? Via ::Coolz0r, ::Ads of the World. See also ::Atmospheric Pollution Ads from Singapore...
10th Annual Webby Awards - 2 More Days to Vote
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05. 3.06
As you might know, TreeHugger has been nominated for a prestigious Webby Award in the "Blog - Cultural/Personal" category. You can read all the details about it and learn how to vote here. Today, we'd just like to remind you that voting ends on May 5th, in 2 days. If you haven't voted yet, we'd appreciate it greatly if you did. We'd also like to encourage you to vote for our friends at Grist Magazine in the "Magazine" category. Thank you!...
TreeHuggerTV: Who Wants to be an Internet Video Star?
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05. 3.06
The TreeHuggerTV team has a couple of messages for you. More after the jump......
Seventh Generation's Eco Party
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 05. 3.06
Leave it to a treehugger to make housework hip and glamorous. One in particular - Jeffrey Hollender, President of Seventh Generation - even manages to put a Hollywood spin on the formerly un-sexy world of eco-friendly cleaning products. Mr. Hollender was honored at a recent event held at James and Nancy Chuda's Oprah featured eco-home. Held as a kick-off for the Children's Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC) Blue Butterfly campaign, the event brought together celebrities, philanthropists and leaders from the social-environmental community. Celebrities Amy Smart, Anna Getty and singer Meredith Brooks turned out to show their support for the green cleaning guru and author of "Naturally Clean: Seventh Generation's Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning." Join the Seventh Generation party at Hollender's newly launched eco-blog: The Inspired Protagonist....
Green Museum to Open in San Francisco
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 05. 3.06
In 2008, one of San Francisco’s 10 pilot green building projects, the $429 million California Academy of Sciences will reopen in Golden Gate Park. The 410,000-square-foot natural history museum will sport a sustainable redesign by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano. The facility will attract visitors with both its aquarium—to hold an estimated 10,000 live animals—and its two-acre “living” roof (to see how this works, check out Wal-Mart’s green roof in Chicago). Blooming with approximately 1.7 million native plants, the roof is projected to reduce storm water runoff by up to two million gallons of water per year. ...
Newspaper Extendable Bench by Charles Kaisin
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 3.06
TreeHugger is always wary of "recycled" product designs; many of them seem to be more recycled than designed. Happily, there are more and more examples of the synthesis of recycling and design every day, even when it comes to the odd-sounding pairing of "recycled paper" and "furniture" (see Mareike Gast's Flower Chair, made from recycled magazines, Jason Iftakhar's recycled cardboard bench and the work of the Cardboard Chair Company for more examples). The Newspaper Extendable Bench, designed by Charles Kaisin, is the latest product we've found. Using recycled newspaper, the bench folds like an accordian, making it both "extendable" and collapsable for easy reconfiguration, storage or moving. The designer says it's surprisingly sturdy, claiming it has the strength of wood. We haven't tried it out, but are glad to see the life of newspaper extended beyond today's headlines. ::Yanko Design via ::design*sponge...
Wal-Mart Makes Hefty California Forest Purchase
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 05. 3.06
Last month, we told you about the retail giant's purchase of green power in Canada, and we told you about the green roof sprouting in Chicago. But, yep, Wal-Mart, the company some treehuggers love to hate, has more green news. With a $1 million grant to the Pacific Forest Trust and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and a $7.3 million acquisition, the retail giant has purchased over 9,000 acres of commercial forests in California. Serving more than 250 species of wildlife and located in the Klamath-Cascade region, the McCloud forestlands will link two million acres of protected lands near the towns of McCloud and Ponderosa, according to press material. Now what does this mean exactly? Chances are the move comes in part, due to a lack of conservation funds. ...
HauteGREEN Sneak Peek: Slippery Shelves by Cambium Studio
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 3.06
It's no secret that TreeHugger is a big fan of bamboo. Regular readers see it pop up on these pages fairly regularly, and while they may tire of our seemingly ceaseless promotion of the wonder-grass, we haven't run out of reasons to like it yet. We've already highlighted it once in our ongoing series featuring a sneak peek into the entries at this month's HauteGREEN, and we're doing it again. Today's feature, "Slippery Shelves" by Cambium Studio, are available in bamboo, though can also be built with other sustainable woods like coconut palm, FSC-certified walnut, and salvaged urban trees, and they're designed for people on the move. The piece is easy to hang on the wall, uses few materials and travels easily if you need to relocate. Each shelf can move easily through a dovetail in the backboard, offering new configurations in mere moments. Versatile, beautiful, sustainable: a trifecta that should please any TreeHugger. ::HauteGREEN and ::Cambium Studio
Check out the rest of the Sneak Peek Series for a glimpse at the best in sustainable home design....
TreeHugger Picks: Driving Tips
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 3.06
Driving cars and burning gasoline can be a pretty contentious subject. Doing it is not good for the environment, but that doesn't stop the majority of us, and though there are some nice alternatives (like hybrids and biodiesel), there is no silver bullet; nothing is going to stop most of the world's drivers from putting the petal to the metal. With gas prices hitting record highs and no relief in sight, we could all stand to use less, so for anyone who doesn't own a hybrid, or burn biodiesel, here are some ways to clean up your driving.
1) Drive the speed limit. Seriously. Unfeel the need for speed.. It's the single most effective thing a TreeHugger can do behind the wheel.
2) Inflate your tires to the proper pressure; it reduces rolling resistance and helps your car operate more efficiently. Even better, inflate your tires with nitrogen, and they'll go further without needing to be topped off.
3) Idle engines are the devil's plaything. Unnecessary idling is just a bad thing all the way around.
4) Use a handy car-share service, if you can live without your wheels. If not, share your car and find/start a carpool with eRideShare or NuRide.
5) Finally, ditch your car and ride your bike! More bikes than cars were sold in the US last year. Let's keep it that way....
Buying Green as 'Second Nature'
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 3.06
Are consumers catching on to the benefits of buying green quickly enough? Not for the Sustainable Business Roundtable, an advisory board to the British Government. Their new report, I Will If You Will (in PDF), claims that the UK has had plenty of green success stories, and that these victories grew largely from "...a positive lead from businesses and the Government." So... don't wait on consumers to catch on; rather, make buying green "second nature" for consumers through "radical action" by government and business! Among the Roundtable's recommendations for revving up a sustainable economy:...
Patent issued for Global Warming Solution
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 3.06
Why stop cow farts when you can catch them? According to inventor Markus Herrema, Cow "exhaust" accounts for "about twenty percent of total global methane emissions, and atmospheric methane accounts for about twenty percent of planetary warming." Markus has solved this dire problem with a backpack that collects the methane from both ends of the animal and "utilizes the methane contained within ruminant animal exhalation as a source of carbon and/or energy for the production of methane-utilizing microorganisms in a microorganism growth-and-harvest apparatus."- feeds it to microbes to make biomass, which "can be processed and sold as a nutritional foodstuff". Yum! Congratulations to Markus on this innovative solution! see the ::Patent via ::Sploid...
Innovative Home: Shelter Mag with a Purpose
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 3.06
We just picked up a copy of InnovativeHOME, a new shelter mag from the Institute for Home Innovation, "the premier international organization dedicated to advancing and effecting change within the shelter industry, and promoting the creation of today's "life-homes." An interesting list of contributors and a "Council of Innovators" including both Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat and Sarah Rich of both Inhabitat and Worldchanging, as well as "Celebrity Designer" Nicole Sassaman. (how do you design celebrities?). They have grand plans- a summit of home innovators, the magazine and a "great American Home of Innovation". ...
The Yaris: Change your Ways, not your Technology
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 3.06
In a previous post on changing driving habits, commenters complained: "I cannot alter my driving practices. I consume almost the same amount of gas every month. Don't wait for people like me to change our ways - there are no bike paths, I live 22 miles from work, and in a residential-only area. It's all I can afford." Others complain that we think bikes are the only answer. In fact, we often get excited about small, fuel efficient cars Like the Yaris. TreeHugger might say " Forget all the talk about ethanol, hybrid gas-electric vehicles and fuel-cell powered "hydrogen" cars. What stands between the U.S. economy and a significant reduction in gasoline consumption isn't some Manhattan Project leap of technology. It's a more-challenging effort to recalibrate culture." Except we didn't- it was Wall Street Journal Detroit correspondent Joseph White, reviewing the Toyota Yaris. He makes other surprising comments: ...
Kleenex Kleercut — Trees for Tissues?
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 3.06
This seems pertinent given that it was Arbor Day recently, and even though our name maybe tongue-in-cheek, we are kind of fond of the things anyhow. Anyhow late last month Kimberly-Clark held their annual general meeting (AGM), where the Chairman and CEO told the assembled masses that the company was achieving growth through a sharpened focus on innovation. Which is sort of at odds with their Forest Fact Sheet, which appears oddly prominent on their website’s home page, alongside their 2005 Sustainability Report. The Forest Fact sheet states “K-C's Use of Virgin and Recycled Fiber is in Line With Industry Practices.” Not a statement that really screams innovation. The reason for Kimberly-Clark to be so boldly displaying their environmental credentials online may have something to do with a current Greenpeace campaign, known as Kleercut, whereby the rainbow warriors assert “Kimberly-Clark clearcuts ancient forests to manufacture Kleenex tissue product.” At the same AGM noted above, a group of K-C shareholders with a combined $21 million USD worth of stock, urged the company to shed a ‘tarnished environmental record’ and commit to using fibre from sustainable forestry operations, certified to the standards to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). That might’ve been an interesting enough story on its own, but in re-reading my source link and those of K-C and Greenpeace, something else came into view....
prAna is One of the EPA’s Top 10 Green Partners
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 3.06
And unless you are a rockclimbing or yoga aficionado you are probably scratching your forehead, thinking “Who the hell is prAna?” Well the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month published a list of the top ten retailers who purchased the most green power. Heavy hitters like Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, Safeway, Staples and FedEx Kinko’s took out the first five positions. And there sitting quietly at number eight was prAna, who strictly speaking is not even a retailer. But as we reported last year, this supplier of organic cotton climbing and yoga apparel launched its Natural Power Initiative, buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) in wind power to offset the energy used by 250 of its retailers. As well as 100 percent of its headquarters and all of the homes of its full-time employees. For 2006, this is estimated to offset approximately 16,500 MWh. "Sustainability in our industry should not be limited to fabrics and materials," said Beaver Theodosakis, founder and president of prAna. "Manufacturing and distribution is energy intensive, and while we are always increasing our use of organics, we see an even greater opportunity to affect change by cleaning up the power we use to make and retail our products." We are pleased to see this commitment acknowledged nationally by the EPA. ::prAna via Outdoor Industry Assoc....
Toshiba Wants to Recycle, Avoid the WEEE Man
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 2.06
Toshiba must have read that the WEEE Man was on the prowl, and we can't blame them for wanting to avoid him. Last week, they became the first consumer electronics provider to announce full compliance with Europe's Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment, better known as WEEE around here. The WEEE Directive, which, in conjunction with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, becomes law later this year, sets targets related to waste production, management, and collection in the EU; Toshiba's compliance with both WEEE and RoHS means that as of July 1, lead, mercury, cadmium and 6-chrome will no longer be found in new Toshiba products. They'll also take more responsibility for what happens to the products they sell at the end of their lives and help see that they're recycled properly so they won't end up in a picture like this one. ::BIOS Magazine via ::Engadget...
"Unexpected Green" Contest: Last Week to Enter
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 05. 2.06
The last day to enter our "Unexpected Green" Contest quickly approaching - this Friday, May 5th. Just as a quick refresher, we are looking for green items you have found in normally not so green places, big box retailers, mall stores, the Exxon-Mobil gift shop (OK, that might be a bit of a stretch), well you get the point. Send your "unexpected green" items to: contest [at] treehugger [dot] com and tell us what the product is, where you found it, and why you think it was an unexpected find. So, if you want to get your hands on the contest prize, a $350 gift certificate from Earth, be sure to get your entries in pronto. ...
Instant Survey: Buying In Bulk
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 05. 2.06
Flexcar Sets Single-Day Usage Record
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 2.06
With gas prices spiraling ever-upward and little relief in sight with the busy summer travel season looming ahead, Flexcar is doing some booming business. They set a single-day record for nationwide usage of its car-sharing network this past Saturday (April 29), just two weeks after setting the previous usage mark. New members have been flocking to the service, spurring new records for weekly and monthly usage as well; local usage records have also been set in recent days in Seattle, Washington, DC, Portland, and San Francisco. Said Lance Ayrault, Flexcar President and CEO, "It’s no surprise that more people are turning to Flexcar, with gas zooming over $3 a gallon. Flexcar members don’t pay for gas -- we do. As gas prices soar, we expect membership and usage of Flexcar to continue to rise." Flexcar, who we've mentioned before, (as well as other car-sharing networks like Zipcar and Streetcar) is pretty awesome. They provide members with on-demand access to a fleet of vehicles, which is currently about 40% hybrids. They have more than 35,000 members in seven metropolitan areas -- Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. -- covering 37 total cities. ::Flexcar via ::Green Car Congress...
The Puck Stops Here: Wolfgang Pulls the Self-heating Latte
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 2.06
A year ago we got all overcaffeinated about the Wolfgang Puck instant self-heating Latte, thinking it just about the worst idea ever. Turns out Wolfgang may be beginning to think so too- he has asked that they be pulled from the shelves. Evidently there have been reports of exploding, melting or overheating and it has just become too hot to handle. There is also a commercial dispute about actually paying the manufacturer for them. We are pleased that Wolfgang has seen the light and relieved that we can now go back to Spago. ::New York Times...
Texas Instruments Builds Chip-Fab Plant With 20% Less Operating Energy Consumption
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05. 2.06
The “Electronic Business News” of 04/14/06 reports that Texas Instruments' (TI) newest semiconductor fabrication plant, now being built in Richardson, Texas, will require 20 percent less energy per unit of production. The energy savings are expected to reach $4 million annually when the facility reaches full production. With help from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), many energy saving techniques were deployed. View in photo is from the TI website, "overlooking the George Bush Turnpike." Look beneath the fold for details....
America's Book Shelf -- New Life for Old Books
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 2.06
We mentioned the UK's version of a product service system for books in January; now, the concept has made it across the Atlantic. Lauched on Earth Day, America's Book Shelf borrows a page from Netflix and Blockbuster by delivering the books you want right to your door. What's even cooler (and greener) is that most of the books come from members themselves: you list books you're willing to share on the website, and when someone requests one of them, ABS sends you a postage-paid envelope to mail it off. As a member, you can then request books from other members, keep it as long as you like, and check it in online when you're done with it. When someone else wants it, another postage-paid envelope comes your way. According to owner Bill Denkler, "For every 65 books shared through AmericasBookShelf.com, we can help save one tree from the pulp and paper mills." The company also lightens its footprint by buying wind energy from NativeEnergy and using only recycled office supplies. As a lauch special, ABS is offering a free one-year membership to the first 10,000 people that join -- you only pay for your book credits. Very cool! :: America's Book Shelf See also ::Treehugger Homework: Start a Library at Work...
Summer Train Travel: In Your Future?
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 05. 2.06
Have you seen the train travel episode in one of the final seasons of Sex and the City? Carrie and Samantha take a decidedly unglamourous trip that essentially equates train journeys with bad skin and boring men. Might you have a similar association? I did until friends convinced me to ride the train to Moscow last weekend rather than fly. Read on, and maybe you'll suddenly find yourself all about Amtrak as you make your summer plans. Anyone have a favorite North American route tip?...
Baby Walruses Drowning because of Melting Ice
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 2.06
In a recent post (In America, Global Warming doesn't even register) we quoted "Getting global warming is too much of an intellectual process. Perhaps pictures of drowning polar bears (which we are trying to find) will move people but even there, people will need to believe that those drownings are due to our failure to build cleaner power plants and cars." Well, there may not be pictures of drowning polar bears but there are of drowning walruses. A recent study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reports " an unprecedented number of unaccompanied and possibly abandoned walrus calves in the Arctic Ocean, where melting sea ice may be forcing mothers to abandon their pups as the mothers follow the rapidly retreating ice edge north." One researcher said “We were on a station for 24 hours, and the calves would be swimming around us crying. We couldn’t rescue them” All pointing out that changing ice patterns are killing animals that live on the ice- as it retreats it is over deeper water and the walruses cannot dive deep enough to find food. They may not get as many cuteoverload points as a polar bear, but they are drowning and there appears to be a direct corelation to global warming. ::Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution thanks, tipster marc...
Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 2.06
A joy of writing for TreeHugger is that one learns so much, about things we never thought much about before. This may make us a lousy book reviewer, because we are certainly not experts in the subjects of the books we are reading and tend to gush. We learned about peak oil from James Howard Kunstler; about global warming from Tim Flannery, and now about food from Michael Pollan, and true to form we gush again.
The Omnivore's dilemma is this: When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety. The Koala doesn't worry about food- he just chews eucalyptus leaves. Rats and humans have bigger issues. Pollan says that the way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. He is no vegan, but is a cook and appalled by modern industrial food production, and how it separates us from the sources of our food. Pollan looks at the three principal food chains : Industrial, Organic and Hunter/Gatherer and has a meal from each....
Driving Greener Every Day
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05. 2.06
Eco-driving is the new driving—it’s all about making small changes to your driving style to save fuel and cut emissions. The Dutch have been doing it for years because of the government’s goal of reducing emissions by 2010. They have a national centre where drivers are taught tips which could cut fuel use by almost a third. Britain will be introducing aspects of green driving into the driving test by 2008 in an attempt to cut emissions, save on fuel costs and make driving safer. As discussed in the Observer, here are some ways to get more out of your car: "Drive more smoothly: harsh accelerating and braking use up much more fuel - Avoid excessive speed, especially on motorways • Watch ahead to anticipate when to slow down or stop well in advance. • Change gear as soon as possible, ideally around 1,500-2,500 revs. • Once the engine is warm, turn it off if you are going to stop for longer than a minute. • Keep tire pressure at right level. • Take any excess baggage out of the car, and racks and boxes off the roof. • Switch off or turn down air conditioning and heating. • Avoid unnecessary trips” and of course: buy a more efficient car. The paper has a green driving quiz which is daunting ( how much fuel does an un-used roof rack use?). Critics say that the small average saving will not encourage people to change their ways—only a higher fuel price will do the trick. ::Observer...
TreeHuggerTV – A Conversation With Lester Brown
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 05. 2.06
With this week's THTV episode we draw a close to our Lester Brown week here on TreeHugger. So please put down your bottle of Evian, or whatever brand of designer bottled water you maybe drinking right now, and take a look at what Lester Brown had to say when m ss ng p eces and Simran Sethi met with him after a recent presentation at Demos in New York. Lester Brown talks about his latest book 'Plan B 2.0', what gold and bottled water have in common, and what we can do to help the new economy rise. Brown is a renowned environmental thinker and president of the Earth Policy Institute.
The best way to get your regular THTV fix is to subscribe to our weekly podcast from iTunes, so that you receive a new episode every week without any effort at all! You can also use the TreeHugger XML feed to subscribe. Or you can visit You Tube and Google Video. Last, but definitely not least, iTunes and Quicktime users, here are your links: iTunes MOV – Don’t forget to check it out! ...
You’ve got SOUL – not just a Solar Oven
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 05. 2.06
You might think it’s still quite a hassle to cook with the sun but for some motivated people here in Barcelona it was a real joy to get together and build 100 SOUL solar ovens last weekend to promote solar cooking and fight climate change. The workshop was organised by the Foundation Terra with the direct collaboration of the Centre for Solar Cooking of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Their objectives are teaching how to profit from renewable energy, spreading the use of this simple but effective piece of technology and of course explaining how to use the SOUL solar oven to get something on your plates.
Dr Michael Götz (the man behind much more than just the only solar crêperie on wheels) redesigned the classic wooden box solar oven in order to make it more efficient, more practical and lighter (from 9.5kg to 5kg). SOUL= Sun | Oven | Ultra | Light. The oven now consists of light and insulating materials, is portable, durable and designed to cook and heat up food and drinks. It can reach a temperature of 100° to 130°, available in blue and red and costs around €180. Michael has set up a production line in Switzerland for solar oven kits that not only makes the different parts from local natural or recycled materials, but also creates work opportunities for disadvantaged and unemployed people. All this makes SOUL a true piece of eco design for those of you who like to celebrate the Slow Food Movement, go camping or love DIY and cooking. ...
FluoroSolar — Bringing the Sunshine Inside
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 2.06
While we encourage, nay, plea for smarter designed buildings that bring their occupants fresh air and natural light, it’s a sad fact that many work and live without these core amenities. Where artificial light is provided, say into offices, it is suggested that this contributes up to 20% of that buildings electrical demand. A product due to be commercially available in a couple of years may reduce that energy load. FluoroSolar is a light pipe with a difference. It separates white sunlight into the three spectrums of Red, and Green, using fluorescent dyed plastics (and solar powered LEDs to get Blue as there no appropriate fluorescent blue dyes). These three bands of coloured light are then transported anywhere within a building to be reassembled into the original white light. Achieving an intensity of up to two 75 watt light bulbs. All powered free of fossil fuels. The system can run under floors, through wall cavities, or over ceilings. Unlike current skylight configurations, the FluoroSolar systems is able to provide light without any transference of the Infrared spectrum, meaning no summer heat gain, (nor winter heat loss), hopefully also reducing air conditioning demand. Yet the anticipated cost about the same as a skylight, with less installation work involved. One of the programs scientists at University of Technology, Sydney, suggests the system is “as revolutionary as the filament light bulb was 125 years ago.” See a short video to judge for yourselves. ::FluoroSolar....
Surfer Magazine Uses Post-Consumer Recycled Paper
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 2.06
Vanity Fair and Elle couldn’t quite get it together to use a goodly content of recycled fibre for their special Green issues, but it seems that Surfer Magazine has managed to come up with the goods for their latest volume. "By using recycled paper in each issue, every year we´ll save over 4,400 trees from being cut down and more than 13 garbage trucks of solid waste from heading to the landfills," Publisher Rick Irons said. "Our readers are passionate and dependant on the environment, and doing our part to amplify this sentiment is as important to us as it is to them." Apparently the energy saved by the move is enough to power 29 homes for a year. Of course it helps that Patagonia chipped in to sponsor the higher cost of recycled paper. And while it will be only 25% post-consumer recycled content, it’s sure better than nought. (While over at the site you might want to read the latest newsletter of the Surfrider Foundation.) ::Surfer Magazine via Waste News....
Ten Attorneys General Sue the EPA for Refusing to Act on Global Warming
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 05. 1.06
The Attorneys General of nine states and the District of Columbia sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency last Thursday for failing to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants and violating the clean air act. By law the EPA is required to review and revise emissions standards every eight years, however the round of revisions that happened this February made no regulations for carbon dioxide. The EPA “refused to regulate carbon dioxide, despite overwhelming research and scientific consensus that carbon dioxide contributes to global warming and thus harms "public health and welfare,"” said the press release. New York, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and DC filed the suit jointly. New York’s Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer called the decision an “abdication of leadership and foresight in favor of the unacceptable status quo." :: NY Attorney General’s Office via Green Car Congress (Image credit: The Sierra Club)...
WSJ on Gasoline Prices
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 1.06
The Wall Street Journal is usually subscription only, so online readers and bloggers don't use it much. The WSJ seems to think that its readers are rich enough to pay for it and doesn't seem to care that nobody under 30 knows it exists. A shame, because they often run interesting articles worth linking to. For the next two weeks, we can- they have opened the kimono. Today we read how the jump in gas prices has had almost no effect or change on people's habits. Yet.
"With gasoline prices in the U.S. approaching an average $3 a gallon, Americans are moaning about the rising cost, but so far they are resisting big changes in their gas-guzzling ways." ::Wall Street Journal...
Jesse James of "Monster Garage" Opens Eco-Burger Joint
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 05. 1.06
Perhaps TreeHugger should consider launching a new category: "Only in California," where the story about motorhead Jesse James and his actress wife, Sandra Bullock opening an organic, solar powered hamburger joint named for a pet pit bull would fit quite nicely. The newly opened Cisco Burger is located just east of James' West Coast Choppers complex, where he films "Monster Garage" for cable TV's Discovery Channel. The restaurant - which features; preservative and hormone-free Kobe beef burgers, low-fat burritos, and organic toppings and dairy - is powered by solar panels on the roof and serves the grub in biodegradable wrappers. Via presstelegram.com Photo credit: Julie Dennis Brothers/DCI |...
The Princess of Bicycles
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05. 1.06
The Princess is the royalty of Pashley Cycles. Hand built since 1926 by a small English company, these bicycles are true classics. With just 28 employees and no assembly lines or conveyor belts, there is a pride of product reflected in the strength of design of the bikes. The Princess has high handlebars and lower seat positions which encourage a straight-backed ride. There is a sturdy mud and chain guard so that long skirts do not get caught--and a wicker carrier basket for flowers and bread. The majority of the company’s bicycles are work-bikes. The Royal Mail has its own specially commissioned model that accommodates mail in the rear and front. The Freightmate is good for heavy duty load carrying. For deliveries around congested downtown city streets, sandwich chain Pret a Manger uses courier bikes for its lunchtime orders and as do Domino’s Pizza. For children there is the Pickle, a small sturdy tricycle. As the Director, Adrian Williams says: “There seems to be a kick against the mass-produced. People are increasingly looking for originality, something that you can’t get anywhere else”. :: Independent ...
Soil Association "Oscars" for New Beauty Product
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05. 1.06
The Soil Association, Britain’s esteemed charity promoting organic farming,has announced its 2006 organic industry awards—akin to the Oscars-- and the winner is: Spiezia. This small Cornish company has won the certified organic beauty product award for its organic lemon and marigold soap. The business was started by an Italian doctor, turned naturopath, who moved from Italy to Cornwall and began farming organically. The products are 100% organic, made by hand. The lemon and marigold soap uses only the purest of oils and herbs grown on the farm. The soaps are “made with passion, and respect for people and nature”. Prize for best large store: Oliver’s Wholefoods & Natural Remedies. This charming shop, with a village-like atmosphere, is impeccably stocked with every organic food, cosmetic, and vitamin imaginable. The owners are dedicated to community involvement and have food tastings in-house, speakers on relevant topics and a clinic. Best organic restaurant, should you be in the Yorkshire Dales: the Austwick Traddock. And best name (best small store): Pillars of Hercules (in Fife).:: Soil Association...
HauteGREEN Sneak Peek: Jerry Kott Glassware
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 1.06
The fruit of the vine is enjoyed twice in the latest installment in our ongoing series about what just might appear later this month at HauteGREEN. We spotlight the work of Jerry Kott, who we've featured before on these pages. Both the Khrysalis Lamps and RE Series are made with recycled wine bottles, which Kott cuts apart, frosts and then reassembles with decorative results. He uses keywords like rebuild, redefine, relive, reinvent and recycle for his work, which yields simple, colorful, decorative glassware. Jerry has some interesting things to say about the inspiration for his work: "I have often described the RE series as a marriage of Beyond Thunder Dome and the Bauhaus. It is primal, obvious, utilitarian -- an idea waiting to be explored and adds a new dimension and perspective on how we view what we have from another angle"; about the Krysalis, "When lit, they appear to me as a Chrysalis-exuding it's own energy with it's glow…like a hanging sculpture about to come alive. The simplicity of its form and its function echoes 'less is more.'" ::HauteGREEN and ::Jerry Kott
Check out the rest of the Sneak Peek Series for a glimpse at the best in sustainable home design....
Hybrid Virtual Test Drives and Buying Tips
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 1.06
For anyone thinking about diving in to the hybrid car-buying market, Edmunds.com has set up a series of test-drive videos and side-by-side comparisons of some of the hybrids available for sale. Included in their series are what they call "first drives" of the 2006 Lexus RX400h, 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, a full test of the Lexus GS 450h, comparison tests between hybrid SUVs and the 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid vs. the 2005 Toyota Prius Hybrid (guess which car won). They also have a long-term test of the old faithful Honda Insight. Edmunds will also help you decide which models should be on your short list; they'll take your desired features (prize, size and type) and rank the cars by your choices. It's a good first step for anyone thinking of joining the growing ranks of hybrid drivers, and a handy way to see them all in action without driving them all yourself. ::Edmunds via ::AutoblogGreen...
TreeHugger Picks: Spilling the Beans on Coffee
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05. 1.06
Monday morning's aren't many people's favorites, and sometimes it takes a little something extra to get things rolling after a weekend off. For many of us TreeHuggers, coffee gives us that extra kick that gets the week started on the right foot. Here are our picks to get the week going, from organic, fair-trade beans all the way to the to cup.
1) Solar-powered roasters are tough to beat when it comes to TreeHugger-friendly coffee roasters.
2) Hand-crank grinders yield a super-uniform grind and saves strain on the grid.
3) We like stainless steel French press carafes for brewing up the sweet bean.
4) Iced coffee is a cool alternative for saving energy this summer.
5) A reusable traveler mug is the best bet for those who have to drink and run....
Happy Camping With The Eco-Camp Kit
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 05. 1.06
With the emerging sun rays so follows the outdoor vibes of music festivals and with that the surprising urge to leave all mod cons and go rock out in a muddy field somewhere. Although this is the fallow year for Glastonbury, good on Michael Eavis for giving his land a break to recover, there are plenty more weekend festivals to keep us entertained around the world. But how do you go camping? Not literally how do you put up a tent? But more specifically how do you go eco-camping? One might think that you just hop in your Hybrid and head for the hills with a non-pvc tent and few tins of organic bake beans. However the Biome Lifestyle Store believes there are a few other camping essentials we could do with whilst swimming about in the mud this year. The Eco-Camp Kit includes: A solar shower, one solar heated reusable shower. 20L capacity, sufficient for 2-3 showers; A water-powered digital alarm clock, no batteries required; A Freeplay radio, this radio can be charged by wind-up, solar or AC rechargeable power; ...
Wretched Excess: The SUV's of Appliances
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05. 1.06
Anyone who thinks that the mainstream is going green just because Vanity Fair, Elle and Wired cover it should think again. This is what the mainstream still aspires to: monster appliances for monster homes. "The trend is this big, huge, bold, massive look," says Don Strobel, a remodeler in St. Petersburg, Fla. Stoves with 30,000 BTU burners (four times the standard) that heat not only your food but the entire climate. 40 cubic foot refrigerators that can fit 24 soda cans lined up side by side. Of course there is a price to pay- possibly new gas lines to the street, and of course much higher use of electricity. And guess what General Electric just ecoimagined: a six foot wide, 41 cubic foot double door fridgecosting $13,900 . "People are just bowled over when they walk in and see these big commercial fridges and cooktops," says Anne Grasser, a builder in Flagstaff, Ariz., who was admiring GE's 72-inch refrigerator at last week's show. "I'm getting the feeling there's no such thing as too big." ::Wall Street Journal ...
Maker Faire Goodies: Wooden Bikes
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 05. 1.06
The TreeHugger crew was out in full force at last week's Maker Faire scoping out the creative bunch of DIYers that call themselves Makers. This week we will be featuring some of the coolest eco-DIY projects we found as well as the Makers who created them. The first Maker in our series, Tom Kabat, builds what was one of the biggest hits with the kids at the Faire (as well as big kids like TreeHugger's own Jacob), hand-crafted wooden bikes. And, as if Tom's affinity for human-powered transportation wasn't enough, his bikes are made from almost completely recycled and reclaimed materials - a combination sure to score major points with us. As a self-described "enviro-frugalist", Tom searches beaches, dumpsters and roadsides for discarded materials he can use to build unique bikes without taking from the environment or his wallet.
...
The Geography of Biodiesel
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05. 1.06
Rust Belt, Corn Belt, Biodiesel Belt: one blends into the next if you're touring in a biodiesel powered vehicle across the north-eastern quadrant of the US. There are enough stations in the "belt," as approximated in the grapic, that you won't find yourself without biodiesel unless you enter one of the "non-renewable" zones like Upstate New York. See this biodiesel retail sales locator map for a broader picture of what we're talking about, courtesy of the National Biodiesel Board. Practically speaking, the risk of totally running out of fuel is low because you can always fill up with straight petro-diesel or a blend, as shown on this locator map. For everyday driving, large clusters of biodiesel outlets in Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana represent a good and growing infrastructure. In states such as Vermont, Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia, the choices are fewer, but stations are still common enough that, with a little planning, a road trip could likely remain renewably fueled. With the online maps in these two links you can plan your journey around actual hours of pump operation or avoid wasting fuel just to get a fill up, which would be rather "Un-TreeHugger" as we say....
TreeHugger Welcomes Writer Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 1.06
Zerofootprint and Treehugger Have Teamed up!
by Ron Dembo, Zerofootprint on 05. 1.06
Bikes on Transit: The Bay Area Story
by Nick Aster of TriplePundit on 05. 1.06
Despite all the fabulous development in hybrids and alternative fuels lately, we all know that the best ecological choice you can make is to ditch the guzzler altogether and ride a bike! It's cheap, healthy, and sometimes even faster (if you live in a hectic city like I do). Unfortunately, biking isn't always practical for a great many people who either live too far, have poor bike infrastructure, or just don't have the information to make it seem feasible. That said, certain transit agencies are starting to tackle the first of those problems by making room for bikes on trains and busses. It's an ideal solution for long distance commuters who might live a mile or two from a train station and also work a mile or two from a station on the other end. In the Bay Area, the various transit agencies have done a decent job in this regard. How about your neck of the woods? It seems to me a great way to give people more options - making both transit and biking easier. Because I live here, I'll give a little breakdown of what's available around the Golden Gate. After the jump, tell us what's going on in your area......
Waitrose Supermarket Commits to Fish Sustainability
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 1.06
Waitrose had already secured a few brownie points on the ‘buy local’ front, having sourced 89% of their food from home grown British providers. They are set to put another feather in their bonnet. They’ve announced they want to become “the first supermarket to convert all its fresh and smoked cod and haddock to being line caught.” This means the fish have to be hooked, rather than scooped up indiscriminately in nets. The supermarket had already stopped selling some species that were being overfished, like orange roughy and Chilean sea bass. And recently they teamed up with the Soil Association, and the Marine Stewardship Council (who we mentioned back here) to ensure that the feedmeal provided to their farmed salmon was considered ‘organic’. According to the Soil Association, organic salmon spends at least a year in the freshwater hatchery before growing slowly (on low fat feeds) for another two years at sea. The program has been called "perhaps the most unique sustainable seafood partnership yet". (It would seem that Waitrose do go to some trouble with their food supply. They even run their own farm, with free range chooks, and solar/wind powered chicken sheds!) ::Waitrose, via Fish Update and Shetland Marine News....
EGG, the Ethylene Gas Guardian
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05. 1.06
No idea if this really works, but sounds intriguing nevertheless. Fruit and veg emit ethylene gas as they ripen, we’re told. And when too much ethylene gets trapped inside a well sealed fridge it can speed up the aging and rotting of garden produce. In short, veggies lose their crispness prematurely. The E.G.G. (Ethylene Gas Guardian) is an egg shaped container holding a sachet of potassium permanganate bonded to zeolite. Apparently the potassium permanganate absorbs the ethylene gas, and the zeolite has such a huge surface area it can hold enough of the oxidiser to be effective for 3 months, extending the storage time of fruit and veg. You then place another sachet inside the vented egg (it allows sufficient air to circulate), while the spent zeolite, being derived from natural volcanic ash, can simply be tipped onto your garden. Available in the UK from ::TheOLife, and in the US through ::WayChem....
Marina Gryciuk’s Recycled Plastic Bags Cushions
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 05. 1.06
If you’re a regular you’ve probably seen our featured DIY Recycled Tote Bag. Well, strolling through the design store at the Rosario Museum of Contemporary Art we found these cushions with the same concept of knit-recycled-plastic-grocery-bags. They’re made by Argentinean designer and artist Marina Gryciuk, who uses techniques such as crochet and embroidery to reuse bags, cassette plastic tapes and old cloths. They're probably not worth the shipping, but here’s another alternative if you were wondering what to do with those nasty old plastic bags. If you step by Argentina, they’re also a perfect excuse to visit the city of Rosario (about two and a half hours drive from Buenos Aires) and its beautiful museum. ::Rosario Museum of Contemporary Art....
Will The Dongtan Development in China Be The World’s First Eco-City?
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 04.30.06
China, as we have reported recently, is making serious commitments to stemming the environmental damage being caused by their explosive industial revolution. One of the biggest ecological projects taking place in China is that of Dongtan. Last year the British engineering company Arup unveiled it’s proposal to develop Dongtan as the world’s first eco-city on Chongmin Island off Shanghai. Arup is developing their masterplan in partnership with the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC), which is committing billions to the project. The first phase is scheduled to be finished by 2010 in time for Shanghai’s World Expo. This week the excellent BBC 4 radio environmental series, Costing The Earth, reports from London and China on the progress of the Dongtan project. The programme discusses various aspects of this hugely ambitious build including the need to preserve one of China’s last untouched natural habitats. The island is home to some amazing wildlife and is especially well known for its bird breeding site at the southern tip. The Dongtan project also provides fantastic opportunities to test and develop new environmental technologies, like fuel cell cars. The idea is that the city should be an eco-showcase for others to witness and learn from. ...
100 Mile Diet: Finding Food
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 04.30.06
Commenters to our recent post about the 100 mile diet have been suggesting that someone should set up a Craiglist type site that will help people find appropriate food. The Sustainable Table people (they were part of the fabulous Meatrix movies) have created the Eat Well Guide where "Consumers simply enter their zip code to find local products [meat, poultry and eggs] that were raised sustainably, including no antibiotics, no added hormones, pasture raised, grass fed and organic. Scores of new farms and stores are being added on a continual basis." You can set the radius of the search to limit it to 100 miles or less. In many parts of the United states and Canada meat and eggs are the easiest things to find within a hundred miles- we look forward to a veggie option. ::Eat Well Guide...
The Boulders Resort To Go Organic
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 04.30.06
The pics we can peruse of The Boulders Resort would suggest at least some environmental sensitivity, given that it blends in rather well with the surrounding Sonoran Desert of Arizona. It looks as if they want to do more than that though. Becoming “100 percent organic” no less. The new general manager, Michael Hoffmann, suggests that already, “The fish are line-caught, the veal is corn- or grass-fed, the vegetables are organically or naturally grown, with no chemicals used in production.” (Well, in one of the restaurants anyhow). Plus they carry a goodly supply of organic wine. But now, as well getting food from local organic farmers, the resort is setting up its own garden and anticipates harvesting fruit, vegetables and herbs come autumn 2006. Organic soap, candles and even linens are also on the plan, right down to the mini-bar goodies and the choccies on the pillow. Wonder if we can convince them to apply the same principles to their golf course — after all, the Kabi Organic Golf Course did! ::The Boulders Resort, via The East Valley Tribune....
Largest Solar Park in the World Opens in Germany
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 04.30.06
The ribbon was cut on the World's largest continguous solar plant on 27th April 2006 in Germany. Construction on the 40 million euro (US$48 million) photovoltaic installation started August 2005. This plant demonstrates new standards in cost-efficiency for solar power. Using the master-slave inverter concept developed by Shell, the plant delivers the optimized energy output. Also, flexible installation technology--such as the use of either aluminum, wood or steel racks depending on material prices and the foundation on either concrete or piles--optimizes the costs. And if solar is viable in Germany, just imagine the efficiencies possible where the sun really shines!
...
TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!
Here are a few recommended websites.
