- 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 December 3, 2006 - December 9, 2006
Total this week: 123
Why Wait for an EV
by EcoGeek.org on 12. 9.06
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the high-end electric vehicle market, and the possibility that long-range electric vehicles will soon be available. But why would you want to buy a new, expensive EV in three years, if you can buy a used one for cheap right now?
EV Finder, a classically designed (looks like it's from 1994) website is providing listings of hundreds of electric vehicles of all kinds. While none of these will give you the long-range and high-speed of the Tesla Roadster, they are likely to cost you a heck of a lot less and still be well-tuned for in-city driving. ...
LG's Eco-Laptop Concept
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 12. 9.06
LG Electronics, the second-largest electronics company in Korea, has created a concept eco-laptop called the e-Book. It uses a biofuel cell, and features organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). OLEDs do not need a frame around them, and they consume less electricity than LCDs. The fuel cells of the e-Book use natural gas, methanol, and other eco-friendly liquid fuels. The fuel is stored in a transparent cylindrical hinge. I'm not sure why you would want to switch to fuel-based power on laptops, since they are already fairly energy efficient. This concept notebook received a Red Dot Award nomination for “Best Concept Design” for 2006. The keypad will also be made of a singe OLED panel, like the one used in LG’s Chocolate Phone, according to the report. :: Via The Korea Times...
Tesla Ticketed
by EcoGeek.org on 12. 9.06
We can't say we're surprised, any car that can go 0-60 in 4 seconds is bound to get it's owner in some trouble. But the Tesla Roadster has managed to get a speeding ticket before ever even going on sale. Looks like someone from Tesla was taking the prototype out for a ride and got themselves stuck in a speed trap.
It's fast, it's silent, it's black and it's sleek...but the good people at Tesla haven't got the invisibility booster working yet. So, owners of the fastest emissions free vehicle on the road are still going to have to take it easy when the cops are around.::Jalopnik...
Special Poll: Pick the Commercial with the Worst Health Message
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 9.06
The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine is upset about advertising that tries to show that men who eat tofu are wimps. The ads imply that if you have any balls at all you eat meat and lots of it. The Hummer version says that it is OK to eat tofu but you had better drive a Hummer to compensate; The Burger King ad has men singing a version of Helen Reddy's I am Woman where he is just too hungry to eat chick food. At TGIF, eating vegetables gets strange glances from the buddies. The Physician's Committee says "The three commercials below all convey the message that eating unhealthy foods, especially meat, makes one more masculine. The ads prey on men's insecurities and shame men for consuming low-fat, healthful items." I voted Burger King once I could stop laughing. Go to ::PCRM and vote early and often. via ::New York Times
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Organic B&B in Rome
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 12. 9.06
"Bed and Breakfast Bio," Rome's first eco B&B opened this spring after the building was renovated using "only natural paints," including a pretty yellow paint tinted with turmeric. Breakfasts are vegetarian, completely organic and provide dairy and wheat alternatives - a veritable treasure in this city of pasta and formaggio. Visitors shouldn't be put off by the B&B's distance from the center, as the location near Monte Mario park will serve as a welcome respite from the chaos of Rome and public transport is easily available to get to the sites....
84 MPG Plug-In Hybrid Created in Europe
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 12. 9.06
Lithium Technology Corporation recently announced that it has converted a Daimler Chrysler "Smart ForFour" into a demonstration plug-in vehicle in London. The battery system is the result of collaboration with Zytek, one of the world’s leading suppliers of expertise in automotive control systems and powertrain management. The vehicle has a fuel economy of over 84 mpg and an all-electric range of 20 miles....
Williams-Sonoma's Catalogs To Be Printed On Sustainable Paper
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 12. 9.06
Williams-Sonoma recently announced it will begin sourcing, effective immediately, more than 95% of the paper used in the company's seven catalogs: Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Bed and Bath, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, west elm and Williams-Sonoma Home from sources certified by FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). FSC certification ensures, through independent third-party audits, that the paper comes from well-managed forests that adhere to environmental and socioeconomic standards. Williams-Sonoma will begin to display the "FSC Mixed Sources" label on its catalogs in early 2007. :: Via DMNews...
Canadian Chemical Crackdown Coming
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 9.06
The political question of the day is "who is the greenest of them all?" as the ruling Conservative party introduces sweeping new controls on harmful chemicals, outgreening new Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and leaving the NDP, traditional home of treehuggers, wondering what green bandwagon ran over them, with a resurgent Green Party also in the mix. The new strategy "will make Canada a world leader in the testing and regulation of chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products,"[Prime Minister] Mr. Harper said at a news conference yesterday. TreeHugger has written about some of these chemicals before:...
Unconsumption
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 9.06
Rob Walker writes a (very good) weekly column called "Consumed" for the New York Times Magazine about design, wrote the book "Letters from New Orleans", and also blogs at Murketing. In a recent post he invented the term "Unconsumption", the art and science of getting rid of things." I mean we all have to get rid of things sometimes, and as you’re probably aware, this can lead to problems. Basically there are two kinds of things we need to get rid of: things that don’t work and/or are used up, and things that do work but we don’t want them anymore." He goes on to list many useful sites and services like Freecycle, Swapz, that TreeHugger regulars know about, and others we didn't, including a link to an eBay initiative called Rethink. He also gets the prize for most links to TreeHugger in a single post; I counted four. Thanks, Rob! ::Murketing via ::PSFK picture from ::Gothamist...
Student Conservation Association: Rescuing National Parks
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 9.06
Back in September the New York Times covered the 50-year old Student Conservation Association (SCA), with the writer asking “Ever wonder who builds the stairs on hiking trails deep in the woods”? When this writer was very young his father pointed out trails and buildings that were built by the now long gone, but never to be forgotten, Civilian Conservation Corps (also known as Roosevelt's Tree Army). That was from a time when job creation was as important as tree planting or building recreational facilities. Jumping forward several generations, the Student Conservation Association’s “crew of 3,000, mostly high school and college students” assist a variety of Federal Agencies, helping to continue programs that lack budget support....
Boulder Ice Cream - Triple Scoops Of Organic
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 9.06
Boulder Ice Cream, an all-natural ice cream maker located in a city recently made famous for its energy management programs , has recently tripled in size and is registering to go all organic by July of 2007, in time for National Ice Cream Month. “At 5,200 square feet, the new facility nearly triples its previous 1,800-square-foot digs, allowing the company to increase its capacity to 1 million gallons from 50,000 gallons”. Distribution includes about 350 locations nationwide, and all are listed on the Boulder Ice Cream website . Via: Redding Record....
Tin Can Storage
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 9.06
There is recycling, there is repurposing, and there is good design; few items, even on design-obsessed TreeHugger, combine them all. That's why we love Cristina Covello's Tin Can Storage. According to the Canadian Design Resource, "Emerging with a band of talented designers from Sheridan [College], Cristina has been consistently producing clever and humble work and this shelving unit continues the pattern." ::The Canadian Design Resource...
Electrum Spyder Launch at AltCar Expo
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 12. 9.06
The Electrum Spyder will be unveiled this weekend at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, California. Look for the car, which will be produced in limited series, to go on sale at the Universal Electric Vehicle Corporation web site after the vehicle launch. The sleek two-seater hardtop convertible with electric motor is priced at $69,995 and is claimed to go 0-60 in under 5 seconds. ...
Beluga Launches Sky Sail: Final Tests Before Market Entry Successful
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 12. 9.06
Beulga group and Sky Sails are back in the news. TreeHuggers have followed the story of Sky Sails since they won an Eco-Tech award at the World Expo in Aichi, Japan and Beluga signed a contract for the novel fuel-saving concept. And thanks to the sharp eyes of Linton at Hugg, we can bring you a great picture of the sail being launched in rough seas. Ultimately, the kite will float 100 to 300 meters above the ship, towing it gracefully and efficiently. ...
Japan Recycles Two Million Tennis Balls
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 8.06
Andre Agassi may have called it quits, but some unsung tennis stars just don’t know when to give in. Earlier this year (in fact, the very day after Andre retired) the 2 millionth tennis ball was donated to a school in Japan. The Global Sports Alliance (GSA) has been collecting them for their reuse initiative. Over 1,500 school have been beneficiaries of the program. They attach the balls to the bottom of tables and chairs in classrooms. Apparently this reduces wear and tear on floors, whilst it also “drastically reduces extraneous noise, creating a better learning atmosphere.” Especially so for children with hearing aids who are sensitive to sudden loud noise or background interference. Seems the concept also lends a practical reinforcement to environmental messages in school curriculum. A sister program sends used sports equipment to countries such as Kenya, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Via ::Global Forum for Sports and Environment.
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TreeHugger on Oprah and... Rush Limbaugh?!
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 12. 8.06
This Week on TreeHugger Radio…
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12. 8.06
This week we look at the possibile reversal of world deforestation and talk with Richard Donovan, Chief of Forestry for the Rainforest Alliance. We look at pandas as well as their favorite food, and talk to the co-founder of Panda Snack, a leader in bamboo fashions, and Emily Bazelon, editor of the Slate Green Challenge talks about using your closet to cut your carbon footprint. Tune in to Air America’s EcoTalk every week for TreeHugger Thursdays, and every weekday for Betsy Rosenberg’s green gospel. :: Ecotalk.net...
12/13 - Design Blogfest Holiday Party - NYC
by Celine Ruben-Salama, New York, NY on 12. 8.06
Our friends over at Apartment Therapy organize an annual holiday bash to meet their readers and have a little fun together. This year they decided - the more the merrier - and revamped their party a little! Hosted by Design Within Reach (DWR) to benefit the SoHo Partnership, Apartment Therapy, Moco Loco, Curbed, Design Sponge and yours truly, Treehugger, bring you the Design Blogfest Holiday Party! ...
Bamboo Bamboo Everywhere, Even on The Ceiling
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 8.06
Bamboo is everywhere now, even in our undies, but at some point it just gets silly. Manufacturer Armstrong says that this bamboo ceiling tile "creates a natural exotic look sure to warm up any space" They continue:."Bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource - it is a grass that grows back when cut, making it environmentally friendly, sustainable and a natural way to help contribute to LEED® credits." We wonder how a heavy ceiling tile made from material shipped from China is environmentally better than a lightweight locally manufactured one, (or no ceiling tile at all) but that's LEED for you. Perhaps we are at a point with architectural bamboo where we have too much of a good thing. ::Armstrong Woodworks
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Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12. 8.06
A massive rubber ducky attacks a Target in Albany looking for super-villain PVC… Just as Texas was starting to lead the way in biodiesel, a ban puts a damper on things… We Are What We Do releases the very TreeHuggerish Change the World 9 to 5… Cross a bicycle with a salad spinner and what do you get? A human-powered clothes dryer, of course… For the many people who have 2nd lives in virtual, online gaming worlds, their energy consumption is not so intangible…...
TreeHugger Picks: Green Insulation
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 8.06
TreeHugger has been covering a bevy of ways to reduce energy use lately, from the Power2Save and PowerCost home energy monitors to five ways to cut back on phantom loads and vampire power, but sometimes prevention is better than treatment. Here are some quick picks for keeping more energy from leaking from your home with green insulation.
1) Recycled paper insulation is made from 100% waste recycled newsprint and has been successfully installed in more than 1 million homes in the UK alone!
2) HempFlax insulation uses mostly hemp fiber, with a little added polyester fibre for reinforcing. Soda acts as the fire retardant, and, as the hemp is naturally resistant to moths and beetles, extra chemical application is avoided.
3) Concrete Blond's customized insulation panels create a false wall, behind which an insulating material can be placed; it's a great product for older homes with solid walls which would be difficult to insulate otherwise.
4) Recycled denim insulation is 100% recyclable, VOC-free, and formaldehyde-free.
5) Lloyd just added three new entrants in one entry to the archives, with recycled materials, LEED credits and positive air-quality features abounding....
::The Slate Green Challenge: Week 7 - Water
by Brittany Jacobs, Seattle on 12. 8.06
Struggling with high energy bills? Your home water heater could be the culprit, as it accounts for approximately 14 percent of your energy usage. If your gas water heater is more than 10 years old, you might consider replacing it. A water heater that old might be operating at less than 50 percent efficiency! Consider replacing it with an energy-efficient tank or a heater without a tank, which warms up water only when you need it.
For more ways to reduce your carbon emissions and your bills, head over to The Slate Green Challenge with Treehugger. Almost 30,000 readers have pledged to reduce their collective emissions by 20 percent. After you take the initial carbon footprint quiz, we will provide you with information that ranges from transportation to holiday shopping and ways to reduce your impact through each of these activities. The first 500 lucky challengers will walk away with a new t-shirt from our friends and sponsors at I’m Organic. ::Slate Green Challenge Welcome ::Slate Green Challenge Week 7: Water...
Chest of Drawers' Furniture Rating System
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 8.06
Furniture store Chest of Drawers in the UK is launching a rating scheme to help customers understand the environmental impact of their furniture purchases. Their system rates furniture according to the wood source, workshop practices and furniture miles, and they only sell furniture from sustainable and responsibly-managed sources in the long term that rates well in the system. Says Kim Corbett, a director at Chest of Drawers, "There are some good initiatives in the pipeline from specialist NGOs such as the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and WWF (World Wildlife Fund), but we feel it is incumbent on retailers like ourselves to take up the gauntlet and move towards sustainability today." Chest of Drawers appears serious about keeping this up; they've matched some walk with their talk by dropping three suppliers who didn't seem all that fussed with improving their methods of production. The company also buys clean energy from Ecotricity (we covered them here), recycles office waste via Paper Round (as audited by the London Environment Centre) and offers staff a bicycle through the government’s Cycle to Work scheme. The furniture itself, while not cheap, is built to last a lifetime, and is versatile enough to match many styles and decors, so we doubt it will need to be replaced or upgraded any time soon. Check out their full collection. ::Chest of Drawers via ::Hippyshopper...
Mariri – Rainforest Blog Looking For Writers and Editors
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 12. 8.06
We mentioned Mariri a few weeks ago in TH Blog Love as a new online magazine about rainforest conservation. ‘Mariri seeks to educate and inspire readers on the importance of rainforest conservation by presenting the real-life stories of conservation scientists, activists, rainforest adventurers and indigenous people.’ Lorna Li, the magazine’s founder and editor, has asked TreeHugger to send a message to all there budding eco-writers out there. Mariri Magazine is currently seeking volunteer talent to help it become the National Geographic of the rainforest. They have immediate openings for: Environmental Writers, Travel Writers and Editors. Lorna is also looking for the help of videographers, podcasters, photographers and graphic designers who are passionate about the rainforest, as well as technology experts who can help advise on Mariri’s strategic growth. To get involved, email: info [at] mariri [dot] net. Click overleaf to read more about the Mariri story as told by Lorna Li....
Intel Makes A Green Debut In Haifa, Israel
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 12. 8.06
After much internal debate and analysis, says Intel’s website, the company moved a step closer towards obtaining its first “LEED certified” green building. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Located in Haifa, Israel this building will be home to Intel’s latest Development Design Center. According to the JPost the new development center, which is due to be completed in 2008, will be Intel's first building in Israel or anywhere else in the world to be registered as a green building. ::JPost...
Free Charge-Up for Electric Cars
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12. 8.06
Drivers in downtown London can now charge up their electric cars for free, at two new convenient, curbside charging points. One can already do this in 13 car parks across town. “Putting free charging points on the street where people need them most is a simple concept which we hope will help galvanise broader appeal for electric car use," the local councillor said. Electric car owners in London do not have to pay the congestion charge and they park for free. About 750 G-Wiz cars have been sold in London, 250 in the last six months alone. Despite the introduction of the congestion charge, the city has the highest level of air pollution in Britain, due to volume and type of traffic coming in and out of central London. The congestion charge area is being expanded in the new year; with higher rates for 4X4’s being introduced. Coming soon: more electric cars: the Daimler Chrysler Smart EV, the NICE Mega City, and the Vectrix Maxi-scooter. They are going to need more charging points pretty soon. :: The Evening Standard...
Peak Organic Brewing Company
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 8.06
Created to toast life's peak experiences, the beers crafted by Peak Organic Brewing Company is a small brewing company dedicated to making delicious beer using the world’s best ingredients. They believe that using barley and hops that are grown without toxic and persistent pesticides and chemical fertilizers makes our beer tastier and more enjoyable, both for you and for the planet. Peak Organics hopes their nut brown ale, pale ale and amber ale will play a part in a peak moment in life; in celebration of the peak moments of your life, fans of their bubbly barley pops are invited to send in a quick description and pic of their peak experience. They select a few submissions and feature them on their website, and occasionally use the most-highly rated experiences/photos on the packaging. There aren't many experiences that aren't enhanced by organic beer, so we hope to see more of their beers soon. ::Peak Organic Brewing Company...
Butta Bamboo Undies
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 8.06
We do prattle on about the virtues of bamboo (renewable, fast growing, minimal synthetic agri-chemicals, soft hand, biodegradable and so on), as well as the development of fair trade (decent wages and conditions for workers). Well, here appears to be a brand working with both. Butta is the line of urban next-to-skin clothing for men and women, produced by Made In Africa. Offering an alternative to manufacturing in China and the Pacific Rim, the company wants to expand “a viable economic bridge between Africa and the United States.” They suggest that countries such as Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, Benin, Mali, Niger and Madagascar produce high quality finished garments in worker friendly environments. And, echoing the thoughts of Bono and his Edun line of threads, Made in Africa says, "although the African continent faces numerous challenges, trade, commerce and entrepreneurship will prove to be more effective than grants, aid and the like. Thus, our motto is "Africa Needs Trade Not Aid". ::Butta....
New Study Proposes Past Parallel for Current Climate Change
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12. 8.06
A new study coming out in today's issue of Science argues that a period of warming 55 million years ago may provide a parallel for the current climate crisis. Lead researcher Mark Pagani, associate professor of geology and geophysics at Yale, and team claim in their paper that massive releases of greenhouse gases triggered many of the same changes in land and ocean ecology that we're beginning to see in our own environment. According to Mongabay.com,...
Japan to Raise Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Standards
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 12. 8.06
Government officials in Japan announced that the country is considering new rules that would require automakers to improve average vehicle fuel efficiency by 20% from 2004 levels by 2015. The new legislation, which is expected to be formalized early next year, would cover all new passenger and small commercial vehicles. According to initial reports, the rules would follow the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry’s ‘top runner’ program. The program bases standards on the best performance in the industry, and steps are subsequently taken to share leading technologies across companies. The new program will consider 15 to 20 different vehicle weight classes and will impose fines on automakers that fail to meet the new standards. ...
Power2Save: Another Home Energy Use Monitor
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 8.06
Yesterday Collin showed us the PowerCost Monitor, available from Canada. There is a big market for such things here; we have uncounted resources in hydro and wind, but past and present mismanagement have left us with a tottering system and ever-increasing bills, and anything that cuts our electricity use is important. We can also buy the Cent-a-meter, covered before when it became available in the UK but now available in North America through Power2Save. It acts as an "electricity spedometer", allowing you to monitor your electricity use by displaying the cost in dollars and cents, on a modern wireless LCD display." Studies have shown that it generally reduces consumption by 20% as you can see the immediate impact of a single lightbulb in pennies spent. The sensor clips onto the wires at the electrical panel rather than on the meter, so it is suitable for apartments and offices where meters are not accessible, as well as houses. C$ 185 from ::Power2Save...
Sweat and Smell absorbing Fabrics from Coconut Shells
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 8.06
We love our wicking polyester shirts in the gym or on the bike, but they do get rancid really fast. Cocona fibres and fabrics are made with activated carbon from coconut shells from food industry waste. Activated carbon has a huge absorbing area- one gram of it has a surface area the size of two tennis courts. They fuse this into recycled polyester fibres and it dramatically improves wicking and absorbs smells: "Activated carbon adsorbs odors on the surface of the activated carbon in pores. The odors are trapped and can not be detected. In order to detect an odor the molecule needs to be air-born and come into contact with your nose." Top it off with SPF 50 UV protection and this makes a great shirt. According to Cocona's site, it is now used by Cannondale in the L.E. jersey shown above, and in clothing by Marmot, Go Lite and others. ::Cocona found in ::Fast Company...
The TH Week :: Fabulous Fibers
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA on 12. 8.06
You might say that environmentalism is the fiber that binds us Treehuggers together. Unfortunately, walking around in nothing but environmentalism can get you arrested in most states. So, this week, we highlighted some great eco-fibers to get your clothes (and other things) made from.
:: Kyeann found this lingerie spun from cellulose from extra pine tree clippings.
:: Lloyd tracked down a roundup of eco-friendly home insulation.
:: Lloyd also cautioned us to be attentive to just what kind of bamboo was going into our various objects.
:: Lloyd was smokin' with this last entry on coconut shell fiber clothing which stops stink.
:: Warren found Butta's undies made from bamboo, and in Africa....
A New Materials Economy
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 12. 7.06
In nature, one-way linear flows do not long survive. Nor, by extension, can they long survive in the expanding economy that is a part of the earth’s ecosystem. The challenge is to redesign the materials economy so that it is compatible with nature, as I write in Chapter 12 of Plan B 2.0 (available freely online). The throwaway economy that has been evolving over the last half-century is an aberration, now itself headed for the junk heap of history....
Top-Twenty Birds: Birder's World Feature
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 7.06
Last summer, Birder's World magazine asked readers to vote for the birds they most want to see. "In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Birder's World — the premier magazine for birdwatchers — suggests where and when to go to see each of the top 20 birds in its December 2006 issue". The list includes North America's largest owls (Snowy and Great Gray) and the smallest (Elf); the continent's tallest bird (Whooping Crane); the bird with the largest wingspan (California Condor); and the two largest hummingbirds (Blue-throated and Magnificent). Our favorite, coming in at Number 11, was the Elegant Trogon....
TH Blog Love – Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 12. 7.06
Green Energy TV: New platform for your videos on renewable energies
Green Energy TV is a recently launched vlog aiming to promote the success stories that are occurring with Green Energy Projects. They want people from all around the world to send in videos of their projects.
Groovy Green: Slow Clothing by Sharon Astyk
‘I think there are a number of really good reasons to find and learn ways to make clothing, to prioritize homemade, or locally made clothing (including learning to find it beautiful), and perhaps to create a "Slow Clothing" movement rather like the "Slow Food" movement currently picking up speed.’...
Composting Green Map of Manhattan Debuts 12/9
by Celine Ruben-Salama, New York, NY on 12. 7.06
New York city produces a lot of waste; 4 pounds per person per day by some measures. With about 8 million inhabitants that makes roughly 16,000 tons of garbage per day! According to The Big Green Apple, 4 per cent of that waste is compostable. But where oh where are all the compost heaps? Find out this Saturday, December 9, 2006, as the brand new Composting Green Map of Manhattan makes its debut with a celebration at the Union Square Greenmarket from noon until 2pm.
Created by Green Map System and Lower East Side Ecology Center, this pocket-size map shows you where to take your kitchen scraps and organic waste so it can be composted and naturally recycled into rich soil, along with resources so you can start your own composting project at home. A complete list of compostable items is included, too! Get your free copy there or download it here!...
The Time of My Life Cycle
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 12. 7.06
You’ve probably heard the term at some point or undoubtedly read about it in other posts: "life cycle assessment" (sometimes "life cycle analysis" or "LCA"), that fascinating methodology that considers the impacts of a product or process from “cradle to grave” or “cradle to cradle” depending on where it ends up. It’s time to get to it and to understand what all this LCA hype is about. Let’s start by understanding what a life cycle is....
PowerCost Home Energy Use Monitor
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 7.06
Similar to the Kill-a-Watt and Wattson that we mentioned yesterday, except on a whole-house scale, the PowerCost Monitor is a very handy little device that monitors your home's energy use in real time, and tells you how much it's costing you. It makes it easy to see which appliances are sucking up the most electricity, and how you can save money by conserving. With just two pieces (the display and the sensor) and easy installation (no electrician required), the PowerCost is an easy, low-maintenance fix that can help reduce your home's electricity use by 5 to 20 percent; get one, and watch with glee as your energy use plummets after installing compact fluorescent lightbulbs and turning the thermostat down a degree or two. TreeHuggers who live in northern Ontario whose utility is Hydro One are eligible for a free PowerCost, and more utilities are reportedly not far behind; for instant gratification, they can be ordered directly from the website for $150 CAD. ::PowerCost Monitor via ::Hugg (jetsongreen)
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SpokePOV: Turn your Bike into a Billboard
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 7.06
I so want this for my bike. SpokePOV uses the "persistence of vision" feature of the human brain (the reasons movies look smooth instead of 24 jerky pictures per second) to create images from 30 LEDs mounted on the spokes of your wheel. Using provided software, you program a bitmap image, download it to the unit and then fasten it to your bike. You have to ride at 15mph to get an image with one strip of LEDs, or you can mount two units and cruise at 10mph. Very detailed instructions are provided on the site, and a complete kit is only $ 37.50. LED's are not only going to change the world, they are going to pimp my ride. ::Spoke POV
UPDATE: Hey, this was on HUGG two weeks ago! ...
Electrolux Design Lab: 2006 Winners & Finalists
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 7.06
The Electrolux Design Lab competitions have never failed to produce compelling, forward-thinking design solutions for a greener planet. 2004 produced a waterless dishwasher, and the 2005 winner was the Airwash waterless washing machine, and this year was no exception. Eschewing the "waterless" theme, design students were asked to design household appliances that could contribute to a healthier lifestyle, and the results speak for themselves. The first-place winner was "Nevale" (above on the left), a food carrier designed in layers to allow consumers to store and carry up to four hot/cold meals, avoiding a stop at fast food for lunch or an afternoon snack. Food is maintained through a vacuum system, so soup can be on the menu, and it can be programmed to launch an automated reheating system at a specific time. Second place went to "Organic Cook" (center), an appliance that offers oil-free frying, grilling and boiling using infrared technology and vacuum cooking. "Vessto" (right), the third-place winner, uses renewable energy as a power source through a version of a Stirling Engine. The concept uses heat from the stove to expand and contract small quantities of gas inside the appliance, which powers the product. Three more after the jump. ...
One Bag at a Time....
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 12. 7.06
Hanover High School students in Hanover, NH have decided to help protect their environment by taking on the challenge of convincing consumers in their town to switch from disposable shopping bags to reusable ones...
The whole project sprang out of a family trip one of the kids took to Australia, where they learned about a similar grass-roots project that spread in that country, and helped to cut the use of disposable shopping bags from 6 billion/year down to 2.5 billion/year just three years into the program. These kids in New Hampshire are hoping to start a similar grass-roots movement here in the US, and they've already convinced local co-ops to purchase and sell 5,000 of the bags beginning in January. The bags, which are a bright green color with the slogan "Caring for the environment, one bag at a time." printed on them retail for only a buck a piece... A far cry from the $8 to $13 retailers in their area now charge for reusable cloth bags. ...
Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12. 7.06
The PowerCost Monitor gives a face to home energy use… Jack Johnson strums up support for recycling legislation in Hawaii… The clean, mean Tesla electric sports car is honored with its first speeding ticket… England lifts the Stamp Duty in hopes of raising the bar on carbon-free building… Everything about Chicago is getting greener, even the shopping malls… ...
Prince Charles Costs the Earth
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12. 7.06
The Prince of Wales has launched a new green project: Costing the Earth - Accounting for Sustainability. He is hoping to convince big businesses to assess the environmental impact of their products through new accounting measures. The Prince told the audience, which included everyone from Tony Blair to Al Gore ( on video), that the nation was running up the "biggest global credit card debt in history". He added: "We are consuming the resources of our planet at such a rate that we are, in effect, living off credit and living on borrowed time”. The Project will develop a range of accounting principles to help organizations measure sustainability, include it as part of their decision-making processes and so report their performance more consistently. The prince will lead the way by labeling his range of organic food products, Duchy Originals, with details of greenhouse gases emitted in their production and distribution. On a personal level, he is determined to reduce his carbon footprint further. He has said that he will commute to London from his country house by scheduled trains and will no longer use private jets and helicopters. He will be using Jaguar cars adapted to run on biodeisel fuel and has asked staff in London to travel by bicycle wherever possible :: Prince of Wales via :: Evening Standard...
‘Help is On the Way’
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 12. 7.06
For most environmentalists, last month’s election results brought hope of better things to come. The priorities of the green movement were generally believed to be more in line with the incoming government than with many of the outgoing senators and representatives. This suspicion was recently confirmed by Sen. Barbara Boxer, the incoming chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. On Tuesday, the California senator announced that the committee would pursue legislation on climate change. Boxer stated that beginning in January, the committee would hold hearings on global warming to develop bipartisan consensus with input from industry, environmental groups, faith-based organizations, and technology developers. Although Boxer said she would hold California’s recent legislation on climate change as a “gold standard”, she acknowledged that a less aggressive measure might have to be introduced to achieve a majority in the Senate. Boxer also promised vigilant oversight of the EPA with respect to the new source review and particulate matter standards. In addition, she promised to reauthorize the Water Resources Development Act and to work to protect against exposure to toxic chemicals. As Sen. Boxer said, it appears as if “help is on the way”....
Alliance To Save Energy
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 7.06
This posting documents passing thoughts about the framing of press release news-worthiness: a post about blog posting if you will. Worth reading, we think, because it gets at an approaching tipping point on energy conservation awareness. Our ruminations started when the Alliance to Save Energy contacted us to point out that “Average U.S. households will pay nearly $5,000 to power their homes and vehicles this year— 32 percent greater than just two years ago". This was by way of telling us that:- “To demonstrate the important connections between our individual energy decisions and the world's environment, economy and security, the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Gas Association (AGA), The Dow Chemical Company Inc., and 27 additional Power is in Your Hands partners have launched the 6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge”....
"Don't Give Us Green Design Icing, Give Us the Cake"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 7.06
So said the Toronto School Board to Baird Sampson Neuert architects. Says Associate Seth Atkins- “They said, we don’t want things that read as green design but don’t have a big effect. We want less green roof and more in terms of high-efficiency boilers, heat recovery, and high-performance glazing.” The school is built to last 75 years, and the architects considered durability and longevity of systems to be critical to sustainability, so there is no acoustic tile or vinyl floors. ...
More Green Eats in Toronto
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 7.06
Leslieville used to be a pretty crummy part of town, with the Canada Lead plant belching out wonderful contaminants for the gardens and some pretty gritty industrial uses. The lead plant is now a film studio, most of the industrial buildings are now converted into lofts, and the high streets have become attractions with foci on retro furniture and design, and now good green food. Pulp Kitchen is a vegan restaurant with edge and style; good food and laid back service. Some complain that the prices are high but we found them comparable to most of the city. I had a fabulous soup of the day, but Hugh swears by the PK sandwich of breaded tofu, roasted tomato, avocado and chilantro dijon mayo. ::Pulp Kitchen...
Got Mercury? Here is a Calculator to Figure it Out
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 7.06
When I was a boy scientist I loved mercury. I had a few pounds of it in my bedroom and used to push little balls of it around, until it got lost between the floorboards. For a high school science fair I built an ion drive spaceship engine where I vaporized it, ionized it, and accelerated it through magnetic fields. This could only happen in a vacuum, so I had a mercury diffusion pump. Now I learn that "it’s a neuro-toxin linked to all sorts of things we could do without, like impaired memory, motor skills and learning disabilities." This explains a lot. Today, most sources of liquid mercury, from silent switches to thermometers, are banned, and the worst sources are coal fired power plants (don't look for any relief there in the near future) and fish. Got Mercury? is an online calculator where you enter your choice of fish, the number of times you eat it per week, and determines your exposure as a percentage or the EPA limit. If only we had known. ::Got Mercury? via ::Urbaneco...
Ionic Liquids Make Good on Promise
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 12. 7.06
We have long touted the potential of ionic liquids to create more sustainable manufacturing processes. Maaike Kroon of Delft University of Technology has spent her short PhD career creating a process for making drugs that is faster, cheaper, requires 75 percent less energy, produces no chemical waste, and does not use harmful solvents- not bad for 2 years of work from a 25 year old. Expect to see more green chemical wizardry from this young scientist in the future.
"I like to see new scientific discoveries actually being applied. This is currently an exciting challenge in nanotechnology."Her idea combines the positives of both ionic liquids and supercritical carbon dioxide. The reaction components are dissolved in the ionic liquid, which is then mixed with supercritical carbon dioxide. This process promotes all of the dissolved components to mix rapidly, and form the desired product without any reactions going astray and creating side products (an important aspect for efficiencies and purity of compounds like drugs). This is only the beginning for the useful combination of ionic salts and supercritical carbon dioxide. There are many more materials that could benefit from this sustainable manufacturing technique.:: Innovations Report...
New World Record for Solar Cell Technology
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12. 7.06
The US Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that a project it funded had set a new world's record for solar cell efficiency. According to DOE's press release,
...with DOE funding, a concentrator solar cell produced by Boeing-Spectrolab has recently achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent, establishing a new milestone in sunlight-to-electricity performance. This breakthrough may lead to systems with an installation cost of only $3 per watt, producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation’s energy mix.Let's give this some context:...
More Patagonia Footwear Stepping Out
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 7.06
We previewed just some of Patagonia’s new footwear line the other day. The bulk of the range is not due for retail release until Spring 07. However, if you wander over to Track ‘n Trail you can see much more of both the Men’s and Women’s models. Prices look like they will range from $80 to $140 USD. Many have their uppers sewn to outsoles to reduce the use of solvents and adhesives. Other than the materials we previously mentioned the shoes, thongs and boots seem set to contain the likes of cork; jute; coconut; recycled nylon; recycled EVA foam and Poli-Cork, a blend of recycled polyurethane foam and cork. Amazon also have much the same models on offer. A tad confusing, when the Venturians themselves are saying, "as much as we want to lace a pair up and burn some recycled rubber today, Patagonia Footwear won't be available until March 2007." But have sneaker peek anyhow....
Bicycle Master Plan for Seattle
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 7.06
Seattle has given its Department of Transportation $32 million USD to splash about on bike projects. So they’ve been busy preparing a 10 year Bicycle Master Plan. So far the proposals include 21 mile (34 km) of bike trail and five new bicycle overpasses. There are also ideas for lane marking to allow autos and bikes to better share existing road space. The Seattle Times quotes David Hiller, advocacy director for the 6,500 member strong, Cascade Bicycle Club, as saying he hopes the city can increase cycling from his estimate of two percent of all trips now, to 12% of all trips within 20 years. ::Seattle Bike Master Plan. (NB: There is a public meeting tonight - 7 Dec 06 - in South Seattle.)...
Victoria's Secret Catalogue goes Green
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 6.06
Limited Brands, owners of Victoria's Secret, have long been under attack by environmentalists for printing millions of catalogues on paper made by clearcutting Canada's boreal forests. (earlier post here) Now they are dumping Canadian source West Fraser Timber and will print on paper made from FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified fibre. 360 million catalogues will now be made from paper that does come from caribou habitat and "does not contribute to the demise of endangered species." ForestEthics hammered out the agreement, terms below the fold. ::CBC.ca and ::Yahoo...
Myths to Avoid When Buying A Bicycle
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 6.06
After the satirical cycling spoof recently posted, and the confusion that caused some, we thought we’d better balance the ledger with some simple, down-to-earth bicycle advice. And City Bikes of Ontario, Canada offer just that. “Owning a bicycle is like owning a pair of shoes. That $200 pair you love and have worn for years, they were a much better deal and more economical than the $20 pair you got on sale and wore once or twice because something wasn't quite right. Why? Your favourite pair probably "cost" you less than a dollar each time you put them on. The On Sale pair cost you $10 or even $20 per wearing if you only wore them once.” City Bikes have a plain language list of five things to look out for when making a bike purchase. They figure that, “the most important thing - you need to have on a bicycle is...FUN! It just feels good riding, doesn't it? There is nothing like the feeling of moving along, under your own power, the breeze on your face, breathing a bit deeper, moving those muscles, pumping the blood, doing something good for yourself.” Check out those five myths. ::City Bikes....
Australian Football Kicks a Goal for Carbon Offsets
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 6.06
Our post yesterday about the call for football to influence it’s dedicated cadre of supporters by going green reminded me I’d been remiss. Back in September the Australian Football League (AFL) announced a partnership with Origin Energy to ‘neutralise’ its carbon emissions of about 120,000 tonnes. This is a three year program to offset the operations of not only AFL’s headquarters but also the pre-season, premiership and finals matches. "This includes the energy it takes to do the lighting for the games and the gas that is used to heat the pies," according to the energy company. It’s been calculated that all up this will be equal to getting 25,000 cars off the road or planting 500,000 trees. Origin Energy say they’ll achieve this through investment in wind and solar, energy efficiency and tree planting. The AFL’s CEO Andrew Demetriou reckons they will “... be the first sporting league in Australia to reduce its carbon footprint to zero,” suggesting that by 2009 they'll be carbon neutral. ::AFL Green, via various sources including SMH....
Recharging Duracells
by EcoGeek.org on 12. 6.06
Let me begin this firmly: Do Not Try This At Home...unless, that is, you think you can trust an amateur electrician who goes by Afroman, and is a fan of Little Mermaid fruit snacks.
That being said, Afroman has definitely put together a system that will recharge a regular 'disposable' alkaline 9 volt battery. Basically, Afroman used a very small charging current (65 mA) and found that he could recharge the 9 volt Duracell overnight. And while we at TreeHugger have known this is possible for some time, Afroman did it for about 50 cents in parts from Radio Shack....
Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12. 6.06
Ecorazzi dishes out the green celebrity gift list for 2006… The BBC highlights the actions of Asian youth in defending the planet… The three-wheeled Alé sips fuel fumes to go 0-60 in less than five, and get 92 mpg… In LA, Arnold throws the switch to light up the tree, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell… Travelerspoint’s 2007 calendar raises funds to bring green wifi to the world… ...
The One Ton CO2 Project
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 6.06
Founded to raise awareness about global warming and support regional carbon offset efforts, the One Ton CO2 project has designed a line of t-shirts whose sale helps them offset carbon emissions. They purchase carbon offsets from the Chicago Climate Exchange, who sell credits of third-party-verified carbon dioxide reductions that have been quantified in metric tons. The One Ton CO2 project buys them, and retires one metric ton of CO2 for each t-shirt (using American Apparel's organic t's) that is sold. T-shirt owners can then register themselves online, becoming part of a community dedicated to reducing CO2 emissions. Recognizing that selling t-shirts will not save the world alone, and that conservation and reduction is as important (if not more) than offsetting, they note that by combining simple things like eating meat-free meals every other day, parking the car for 60 days this year and walking, cycling, or taking public transit instead and switching from hot to warm or cold water for every load of laundry will also collectively save a ton (literally) of CO2. So will switching two standard incandescent light bulbs to more efficient fluorescent bulbs, replacing a showerhead with a low-flow model, turning the thermostat down two degrees for one year and cutting vehicle fuel use by 10 gallons in one year, and that's just the beginning. Like cultural icons like Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG bracelet and the red ribbon for AIDS awareness, physical artifacts such as these have the opportunity to not only contextualize a sometimes paralyzing issue and further a global conversation about a global problem, but to help do something about it at the same time. If that helps bring more people to the fight against global warming, then it's a very good thing. ::One Ton CO2 via ::Hugg (rrichards)...
Niagara Applies For A Coal Hand-Out
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 6.06
We recently wrote about excess hydropower from Niagara falls, and speculated on the prospects of having green businesses be attracted to the Buffalo area to take advantage of the the Falls' renewable energy output. Ironically, there now seems to be a local movement in favor generating electricity thereabouts with coal. In Monday's Buffalo News we read that that the prospect of 'free money' from the Federal Government is making "clean coal" power generation look attractive to some local officials. In spite of the report of un-used hydropower in the local area, a Niagara County comissioner has placed a resolution on the County Board agenda which "...calls on Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, a Buffalo-based regional organization that promotes new businesses, "to assist Niagara County and Choose Niagara Now in using all their expertise to bring this clean coal plant and all of its jobs to Niagara County."" Buffalo News also reports that "AES Corp. is bidding in a statewide competition to win the $1 billion plant for its property in Somerset. Choose Niagara Now, a special lobbying group [is] boosting AES' bid..." Of all the places that might request a billion dollar subsidy for a coal fired plant, this would be about the last place we'd expect to raise their hand, so to speak. Perhaps this is an illustration (in a national sense) of what Amory Lovins termed a "perverse governmental incentive" for energy management. Reminds us, a bit, of making a big Homeland Security grant to some small town fire department in an agricultural region....
TreeHugger Picks: Cut Back on Phantom Power
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 6.06
Call it what you will: phantom load, idle current, vampire power, wall wart; they're all euphemisms for the way devices use and waste electricity when they aren't even on, and they're everywhere. Here are some ways to save some bucks and carbon emissions and gain some peace of mind by eliminating unnecessary power use in your home.
1) Devices like the Kill-a-Watt and Wattson can point you to devices that attract the largest load, leading you to get...
2) A "smart" power strip like the Wattstopper Plug Load Control and Smart Strip Power Strip, that cut the power when your devices are off.
3) The Mini Power Minder has the smarts to shut off your computer’s peripherals and doodads when the computer itself is shut down.
4) Simply unplugging things like your cell phone charger, which is only in use a few minutes per day, will make a bigger difference than you'd think.
5) See How to Green Your Electricity to learn more about keeping phantoms, vampires and warts out of your electrical life....
Ingenuity + Wind + Text Book = Home Made Electricity
by Celine Ruben-Salama, New York, NY on 12. 6.06
While we’ve been focusing on fancy urban wind turbines such as the Quite Revolution and the Architectural Wind, others elsewhere are taking a more pragmatic approach to wind power. Lacking tuition money, William Kamkwamba of Malawi, Africa had to drop out of school in 2002. Instead of sitting idle however, he passed the time reading science books. Two books in particular peaked his interest: “Using Energy” and “How it Works,” both about the generation of electricity using a windmill. ...
::The Slate Green Challenge
by Brittany Jacobs, Seattle on 12. 6.06
You might be surprised to find out that using your dishwasher is typically more efficient than handwashing those dirty dishes. Washing your dishes by hand uses an average of 10 to 15 gallons of water, while automatic dishwashers use around 8 gallons. When you use your dishwasher, make sure the energy-saver option is on and wait to run the dishwasher until it is full. If you rely on old-fashioned elbow grease to wash your dishes, try to turn off the water while you’re scrubbing. This will not only save gallons of unused water but also cut back on your utility bills.
To learn how your water usage and other daily activities relate to your carbon emissions, head over to The Slate Challenge with Treehugger. Join the 29,292 people who have pledged to reduce our collective CO2 emissions by 20 percent. It all starts with a carbon footprint quiz and continues with information on how to reduce your impact on the Earth. If you are one of the first 500 lucky challengers to complete the challenge, you could walk away with a brand-spanking new t-shirt from our sponsors at I’m Organic. ::Slate Green Challenge Welcome ::Slate Green Challenge Week 7: Water...
Footballers Should Go Greener
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12. 6.06
David James, one of England’s more outspoken and articulate footballers (soccer to North Americans), has issued an eco-challenge to the football industry. Football clubs are big business and many can afford to start thinking about the environment. He thinks that they should be a driving force for change. Many top football stars drive over-priced sports cars. James says that “a cool footballer driving an eco-friendly car would popularise the eco-friendly lifestyle”. Football teams fly all over the world for games and fans drive to the matches, leaving tons of litter behind. He quotes several examples of football clubs that have embraced greener ways: Manchester City has installed wind turbines to power the stadium. They also source local produce for their kitchens and have tried to improve the recycling of drinks bottles at training grounds. In Germany, tickets for the match double up as train, tram or bus tickets to encourage use of public transit. Garbage cans are divided into sections (cans, plastic, paper)—not a difficult thing to introduce. James says: “ Once kids see top players like Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen trying to make a difference, the initiatives will take off.” Fighting words from a footballer. :: The Observer...
Easy Armchair by Kenneth Cobonpue
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 6.06
Despite its potential to appear near the top of TreeHugger's favorite materials list, rattan remains dogged by stodgy, outdated design. Sure, it's usually plantation grown, leaving exotic hardwoods out of the equation, and is quickly renewable; it seems like a remains a few modern, contemporary designs away from joining bamboo as furniture-material extraordinaire, and we've found one. Designer Kenneth Cobonpue's Easy Armchair uses both rattan poles and strips that are fastened with a technique similar to boatbuilding, giving it a soft shape and leaving dumpy designs in the dust. Even better, this is just the tip of the iceberg for Cobonpue; rattan is one of his favorite materials to use in his award-winning furniture, but he doesn't stop there. Extensive use of bamboo and abaca (also known as Manila hemp) are also made through the sensuous, striking designs that are spreading fast from his home in the Philippines through the rest of the design world. ::Kenneth Cobonpue...
Chevy Tahoe Do-it-Yourself ads: Did they Work?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 6.06
A Green Job... Working with Wal-Mart
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12. 6.06
According to the Wall Street Journal, Environmental Defense is "one of the hottest environmental groups around"; now the right person has the opportunity to join them. The organization has posted a job notice for a Corporate Partnerships Project Manager located in the new office in Bentonville, Arkansas. That's right -- ED wants someone, maybe you, to devote themselves professionally to working with Wal-Mart. While the retail behemoth has confounded many greens over the past year with announcement after announcement of plans to run a more sustainable corporation, Environmental Defense has been working with the company for over a year, and clearly sees potential in the relationship. The Project Manager will run the Bentonville office and "play a key role in challenging and advising Wal-Mart on their journey toward sustainability." FOT (Friend of Treehugger) Joel Makower claims that this job announcement represents a major shift in the relationship between environmental organizations and large corporations:...
Bamboo: Choose it Carefully
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 6.06
We previously wrote about the need to chose bamboo carefully, that it was not all greenly wonderful. We see others are picking up the story: in the San Francisco Chronicle they interview Teragen, one of the better suppliers. "It's important to note not only when the bamboo was harvested but what kind of adhesive is used during the manufacturing process. In the United States, companies like Smith & Fong in South San Francisco and Teragren have set high standards, using glues with negligible levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen."Our products are well below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards," Teragren's Knight said. But inferior products from less stringent sellers are common in the marketplace. "The adhesive used in China is very high in formaldehyde, and it's a lot cheaper," Knight said. "There are no (mandatory) controls in China." ::SFGate
...
Eenee's Zero Waste Eco Nappies
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 12. 6.06
Here at TreeHugger we’ve talked a lot about the war between washable, biodegradable or disposable nappies/diapers, but one Eco-Mum would like to tell us about her favourite eco-nappy, that helps to put poop in its place….down the toilet! Please welcome guest writer Jo Lambert and get to know Eenee’s Zero Waste Eco Nappies.
I use Eenees Pouch pants for my baby girl, and have found them to be the best option so far, and much more versatile and less bulky than other washables. Eenees have three simple parts to them:
1. cotton pant with elastic waist which fixes with Velcro (washable)
2. a waterproof pouch which poppers inside the cotton pant. (washable)
3. either…
a. Eenees compostable pads which flush down the toilet or go in the compost
or…
b. Eenees Microfiber Superabsorbent Cloth Nappies (washable)
or…
c. basic folded nappies or terries (washable)
...
Local Organic Food in The DC Area
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 12. 5.06
In pursuit of optimal green techniques, I've completed a two-month long investigation into sources of local, organic food in the DC area. The food I sampled was excellent, and I ate edaciously. During this investigation, I visited numerous local farms and grocers, in order to find the closest access to fresh, high-quality, inexpensive, organic ingredients.
I discovered that raw, organic milk, eggs, beef, chicken, turkey and honey are available from various farms only 15-20 miles away from my home in Northern Virginia. I discovered that the largest selection of local, organic food is available at one store (The Common Market in Frederick, Maryland). It is only a 20 miles detour on my usual travel route. That detour, in fact, greatly reduces the overall distance those foods travel, and thus substantially increases my access to fresh food.
...
TreeHuggerTV - Edible Estates
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 12. 5.06
Handmade Adaptable Baby Furniture
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 12. 5.06
If you ever hit the Tag Sale circuit, you are sure to come across piles and piles of discarded baby furniture. So we were pleased to come across Nurseryworks, which creates handcrafted nursery furniture “that can evolve from the nursery to other areas of the domestic landscape.” For example, the Loom Crib (with built-in changing table) and the Studio crib, designed by TRUCK Product Architecture. Both, offered in various shades of low VOC lacquer, turn into toddler beds – and later, daybeds. ...
TreeHugger on The Oprah Winfrey Show!
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 12. 5.06
Update: Here is the video!
The Martha Stewart Show got us warmed up, and today we turn up the heat with Oprah Winfrey! Bad metaphor aside, today TreeHugger’s Simran Sethi is bringing the leading environmental website into daytime’s leading spotlight, The Oprah Winfrey Show!
The show focuses on global warming. While the venerable Al Gore will be teaching Oprah and the world how to reduce their carbon emissions, Simran will be demonstrating how TreeHuggers do Christmas. From the tree to the trimmings, Simran will show that the holiday notorious for increasing waste by 25% is preventable, with simple and stylish solutions of course!
And TreeHugger further embodied the holiday spirit by donating the organic Christmas tree featured on the show (and purchased locally at Chestnut Charlie’s to The Women's Transitional Services of Lawrence, KS ...
Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12. 5.06
A study finds that Americans are actually driving less for the first time in 25 years… Dean Kamen and Bill Joy chat up climate change with Charlie Rose… GM’s algae-filled Hummer concept design takes the cake at the LA Auto Show… Buy a T-shirt and take a ton of CO2 off the market… In NYC, Daimler Chrysler’s hybrid busses outperform diesel and CNG…...
Go Before You Go?
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 12. 5.06
We know that flying is quite a dirty business, but what about doing your own business at 30,000 feet? China Southern airline recently raised the question when it gently requested that passengers use the restroom prior to boarding, as Xinhua news agency reported last week.
Before some of you get your panties all in a twist over the thought of avoiding the airplane lavatory, listen to Captain Liu Zhiyuan: "The energy used in one flush is enough for an economical car to run at least 10 kilometers." The motivation behind the airline's restroom request is economic--not unlike the airline industry everywhere else, China's airlines flushed 3 billion yuan away in the first half of the year due to rising fuel costs. But the environmental cost of mile-high poop is also more than just a drop in the toilet. Consider that a transatlantic flight for a family of four already creates more CO2 than that family would generate at home in an entire year, and that burning airplane fuel has a global warming effect 2.7 times your typical ground-based release of CO2. While the vacuum toilets used on airplanes are already pretty water-efficient, based on China Southern's figures (1 liter of fuel/flush) and the altitude effect, the CO2 released by these toilets per flush is about 14.27 pounds. We knew in-flight bathrooms were kinda dirty, but not this dirty.
: : People's Daily Online...
Tax Credits for Energy-Efficient Home Improvements
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 5.06
We've noted before that buying things like hybrid cars and solar energy systems can save you cash on your taxes, but there are lots of other ways to knock a few bucks off your taxes with smaller, less-costly home upgrades that offer tax credits, thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For example, you can claim 10% of your cost, up to $500, for adding insulation (like the trio we just featured that's expected to last at least five years or has a two year warranty. Skylights, exterior windows and storm windows will also net you a 10% (up to $200) rebate, and the list goes on to include qualifying metals roofs, central air conditioning, furnaces and hot water heaters and more. Check out Energy Star's matrix of tax savings, and take note that many expire at the end of next year. If home improvement is in your future (or in the recent past, and you have your receipts), be sure to take advantage of the program that'll save you money, energy and a little bit of the planet as well. ::Energy Star via ::Motley Fool and ::Hugg (linton)...
New York State Leverages Green Power To Drive Economic Development
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 5.06
Via the "The Buffalo News" (sign-in needed) we just learned that "A state commission is recommending that low-cost hydropower currently limited to businesses within a 30-mile radius of the Niagara Power Project be made available to businesses in six Western New York counties": - Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming. "Extension to a wider geographic area comes after critics from other parts of the state noted that the region had been unable to find enough eligible firms to use all of the low-cost electricity available." "Profits from the sale of unallocated hydropower [about 400 megawatts] currently reserved for businesses near the Niagara Power Project or the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in northern New York would go into a pool of funds reserved for economic development purposes. Half of the money would go to the region where the power is produced, with the other half going into a statewide pool". ...
Earthtalk :: Hydrogen Hype
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA on 12. 5.06
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: I'm concerned about all the talk of using hydrogen for fuel. Isn't hydrogen what caused the Hindenburg blimp to explode back in the 1930s? -- Doug, via e-mail
The explosion of the Hindenburg blimp in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937 killed 36 people and was one of the worst air disasters of the period, but hydrogen was probably not the culprit. Addison Bain, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researcher, investigated the Hindenburg crash in 1997. He concluded that, while the Hindenburg did use hydrogen for buoyancy, the cause of the accident was an electrostatic charge that ignited the blimp’s highly flammable waterproof skin, made from a mixture of lacquer and metal-based paints that Bain likened to rocket fuel....
TreeHugger Radio 10
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 12. 5.06
This week we look at the possibility of reversing deforestation and we talk with Richard Donovan, Chief of Forestry for the Rainforest Alliance, about the shift. We also look at pandas as well as their favorite food, and talk to the co-founder of Panda Snack, a leader in bamboo fashions. Emily Bazelon, editor of the Slate Green Challenge talks about using your closet to cut your carbon footprint. (listen)...
The TH Interview: Penny Eastwood of Treesponsibility
by Treehugger Interns on 12. 5.06
A little while back we alerted readers to a tree planting event in the West Yorkshire village of Hebden Bridge in the UK. Under the banner of Treesponsibility, a group of local residents have been responding to severe flooding by reforesting the watershed above their town. In so doing, they hope to bring about "climate change of a different kind", as they encourage people to take responsibility for their own carbon emissions. They have also played an important role in defeating plans for an open-cast mine, and they are currently opposing the expansion of aviation capacity in the area. TreeHugger recently attended one of their plantings, and took some time out to chat with Penny Eastwood (pictured), one of the key people behind the organization. In this interview, she sheds a little more light on the ambition of the group and their strategic vision for the valley.
The site for the weekend’s planting is a sloped field, kindly donated by a local farmer. The plan is to get 1000 trees in the ground here. While this sounds like a lot, the group always plants a minimum of 10,000 trees in every growing season, and they are envisioning a 25 year program of planting that will transform the valley. A group of about 40 people have gathered, some local, some from further afield, and they are busy clearing turf, planting saplings and carefully mulching them while being battered by the strong West Yorkshire winds. Looking over the landscape, it is clear why tree planting is so important, as Penny explains:
“The most important thing is to think where we are in terms of the island that we live on. We are very close to the main Penine watershed. Because we live in these narrow, funnelling valleys, when we get intense storms this becomes a very dramatic area. Soil washes down, rubble washes down, and water washes off the hills.”...
How to Give Up Cycling — by Red Smoke
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 5.06
“Following the shocking revelation that heat generated by vigorous exercise is a major contributor to global warming we are all having to reassess our own activities. It comes as a major surprise to many of us that storing energy in human fat is actually a valuable way of reducing our impact on the environment. Government may be introducing plans to extract this fat by large scale liposuction programmes and storing it underground but we all have a responsibility to reduce our participation in ecologically hazardous physical activity. Looking at my own lifestyle, it was easy to identify my cycling habit as a major problem. I’m only too aware of the amount of heat that cycling can generate but cutting down was not going to be easy so six months ago I turned for help to my friend Jeremy.” The saga continues amirth at ::Red Smoke, via Greenleap....
Panasonic Eco-house on Display in Tokyo
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 5.06
This is the best picture that we can find of the Panasonic Eco&UD house, designed to minimize environmental impact with a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas, & "Universal Design for everyone to use" being built for the Eco-Products Exhibition 2006 in Tokyo on December 14th. Le Corbusier said that "good architects borrow, but great architects steal" and he would therefore love this Villa Savoie knockoff. According to the press release: "the House employs fuel-cell co-generation and solar power generation systems. To increase energy efficiency and reduce the warming effect of the urban heat islands, it is topped with a green roof." Entire release below the fold, but it also designed with:
-anti-earthquake construction and universal design (accessible to people with all kinds of disabilities) -good ventilation and moisture control; Rainwater collection and "pollution resistant catalytic tiles. ::Eco&UD house via ::Japan for Sustainability
UPDATE: An anonymous tipster sends us to a site with pictures to download....
Patrice Newells’ Virgo Soap
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12. 5.06
Since a cyclone (hurricane) devastated the vast bulk of Australia’s banana crop earlier this year, prices have been through the roof. There’s been a running joke that if you really loved someone you’d buy ‘em a hand of ‘nanas — only a cheapskate would resort to cut flowers. Now that the bendy things are slowly returning to a value that doesn’t require a mortgage, attention might turn to other impressive indulgences. How’s about a $15 AUD bar of soap? Not just any soap, of course. No artificial fragrances, colours or preservatives. In fact, it only has two ingredients; 98% biodynamic olive oil and two % Elmswood honey. Both ingredients grown on the same farm in the Hunter Valley of NSW. The extra virgin olive oil is apparently from the olive varieties leccino, frantoio and correggiola, and is hand harvested, as well as being certified ‘biodynamic’ by Demeter. Read more about the property and it’s farmers here. Biodynamic is a form of holistic organic farming, developed in the early 1900’s by Rudolf Steiner (also of Steiner education fame). One of it’s tenets is soil fertility, which is largely premised on taking cow manure, stuffing it in a cow’s horn and planting this under soil for the winter. The resulting decomposed humus, known as ‘500’, is mixed with water and applied to fields, with results, scientifically verified, often better than conventional synthetic chemical farming. ::Patrice Newell’s Virgo, available via Biome....
U.K.'s First Recycled Kitchen
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12. 5.06
This fully recycled kitchen, the first in the U.K., uses only materials of minimum 50% and up to 100% recycled content. Although it was difficult for Milestone Design, all of the materials have been sourced from within Britain. The designers wanted to prove that eco design does not have to be expensive and can be done well within most people’s budgets. Clever and economical use of materials was key to the construction. The cupboard doors were made from yoghurt pots and foil lids (which add a sparkle to them). It takes about 700 pots to make one door. The worktops are made from vending machine coffee cups--2,400 are used to make one metre of counter. The cabinets are made from 50% recycled wood products, including fruit crates, sawmill trimmings and pallets. The sink is made from recycled content steel, which is in turn recyclable. It took two years to develop the kitchen which was designed for the middle market. As the designer said: “We collect all these materials in our kitchens, so it’s absolutely appropriate that they should return as kitchen furniture”. :: Milestone Design via :: Guardian...
Core77's 77 Design Gifts Under $77
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 5.06
Core77 has put together a clever list for the holidays: 77 Design Gifts Under $77. Among the design-y must-haves and cool curiosities are some things that any TreeHugger would be proud to find (or place) under the tree. Two must-haves for TreeHuggers and design enthusiasts alike are An Inconvenient Truth on DVD, along with Worldchanging's book, which we reviewed here. Other TreeHugger-friendly reading material on the list includes a subscription to Make Magazine (who've enlightened us with their DIY biodiesel and 2005 Gift Guide), and the DIY spirit can be applied to easily make your own version of the Martin Robitsch's Schaschlik Knife Block. There's lots more eye-candy inside the guide, and it's great to see the design and eco-friendly worlds fusing closer together than ever. Also, be sure to stay tuned to see the balance of TreeHugger's own 2006 Gift Guide. ::Core77's 77 Design Gifts Under $77...
Green Insulations: More Choices
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 5.06
I wanted to do a post on some new green building insulations, but the TreeHugger Manual says one must search the archives before you write a post to avoid boring our readers with duplicates. Doing so I was surprised to see how many different choices there were! After visiting Construct Canada, we have a few new additions to the list.
Icynene is a system of water-blown policynene that creates an foam blanket of millions of tiny air bubbles. It does not shrink and adheres to the surrounding structure, so there is no settiling and no air gaps. It has no VOC's no formaldehyde, Recognized for LEED credits and is becoming very popular as a clean, green, long lasting insulation. When holding a piece, it seems the most benign and friendly insulation ever, it is like filling your walls with sponge cake. ::Icynene...
Niagara Flapperless Beats the Crap out of Normal Toilets
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 5.06
Thomas Crapper didn't invent the eponymous bathroom device; He improved it and popularized it. The key invention of the siphonic action, where there is a complete water seal to stop smells and no valve on the outlet to fail (gaskets were leather 200 years ago and nobody wanted to fix them at the bottom of a toilet) came earlier. Crapper came up with the big float valve and cistern that sat above the toilet and metered out the water. People didn't mind when that flapper valve leaked, because water still stayed in the bowl. Unfortunately they still leak, and flapper leakage is the single biggest source of water waste in a home- a small, invisible leak can waste 100,000 litres per year. The Niagara Flapperless gets rid of the flapper altogether; it holds the water in a hinged trough that tilts over and dumps the water all at once into the tank, with no resistance from the flapper mechanism to slow it down. Result: in the miso poop performance test, it passed 750 grams, almost a pound and a half. It will never wear out and leak because there is no rubber seal to deteriorate, which as we know from Richard Feynman, eventually they all do. ::Niagara Flapperless...
Rate of CO2 Emissions Increasing: New Research Shows
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 12. 5.06
Yes, we know CO2 is increasing, blah, blah, blah. Yet like my previous post on what appears to be a series of 'news you already know' stories, the devil is in the details. Dr. Mike Raupach, co-Chair of the Global Carbon Project points out that our emissions strategies to date have been ineffective. Not only have we been unable to slow emissions, but his research shows we are actually still accelerating in terms of the CO2 that is left in the atmosphere. The possibility exists that our systems are already saturated with CO2. Like ground that has been saturated by a heavy rain, even a little more rain will cause a flood.
“When natural variability is smoothed out, 45 per cent of emissions have remained in the atmosphere each year over the past 50 years...A danger is that the land and oceans might take up less carbon dioxide in the future than they have in the past, which would increase the rate of climate change caused by emissions.”The implications are that we may need a more creative and aggressive approach to CO2 emissions and sequestration...a little sooner then expected. There is a great little MP3 interview with Dr. Raupach on the CSIRO website. ::CSIRO...
12-Na’s Clothes Re-Interpretation
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 12. 5.06
“We design, interfere, transform, reinvent classics, communicate garments, combine spirits, make tributes, mix periods of time; by their design, by their process, by their finale”. That’s how 12-Na (which when read forms the word docena, that means dozen in Spanish) romantically introduces their work with clothes recycling. “We take the concept of collection as an analogy to the collections in the art world: we believe each piece has to be unique”, they claim. They work with tailors and seamstresses, without industrial workshops or production chains; and they sell at a showroom in Buenos Aires and also in several shops around the world: Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Italy and Spain. If you’re in or around any of these places, get the address of the nearest sales point and check 12-Na’s clothes. You can also check some pieces of their latest collection online, though it’s not clear which store they’re from (most probably Buenos Aires). ::12-Na...
Convenient Truths: Reduce Your Transportation Impact
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12. 5.06
While power plants make the biggest contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, many of us automatically think of our cars when considering our own carbon footprints. So, we fully expect that a sizable number of the videos entered in Treehugger and Seventh Generation's Convenient Truths contest will involve less polluting ways of getting from here to there. From hybrid power to pedal power, we've got plenty of options available for getting where we need to go while still lightening our climate impact....
Leopoldo & Vaho Works team up: Leoboldo
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 12. 5.06
When two of our favourite Barcelona eco design companies do a joined project, it’s only to make your life happier.
Leopoldo and Vaho Works merged their two products: the City Vegetable Garden and the ‘trashion’ fabric from Boldo the handbag, into one: the Leoboldo. This limited edition is a colourful version of the XS vegetable garden, with a touch of Vaho by using reused and reclaimed raffia for the grower. The Leoboldo comes in three patterns, includes all assembly tools and instructions as well as ‘eco-coco’ dehydrating soil, organic guano fertilizer, ecological seeds and a growing calendar to insure green thumbs for everyone. Its smaller size makes it ideal for growing aromatic herbs and it fits easily on every window sill or kitchen. Price: €68. It’s available at the Vaho Gallery in Barcelona and via both their web sites. ::Leopoldo ::Vaho Works
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NPR's Living on Earth Features TreeHugger's Kara DiCamillo and the TH Gift Guide
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 12. 4.06
Last weekend, you may have heard our own Kara DiCamillo on NPR's Living on Earth, talking up our Holiday Gift Guide: the list that keeps on growing! If you didn't get to listen, visit the Living on Earth site and hear it all. Don't forget to check out our How To Green Your Gifts wisdom as well! ::Living on Earth...
Give Environmental Media Award Nominees as Holiday Gifts
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 12. 4.06
We know DVDs are wasteful in the end, but some of the lucky ducks on your list might love 'em. Or, perhaps silent time in front of the TV will be the glue tenuously adhering your family after days of holiday togetherness? In either case, consider the films on the Environmental Media Association's Environmental Media Award nominee list. Each year the organization honors films and TV shows with an environmental message, as well as musicians who make an impact. Last month, the EMA celebrated its winners, including Ice Age: The Meltdown and An Inconvenient Truth (no-brainer)....
g=9.8: Sexy Lingerie from Tree Pruning Scraps
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 12. 4.06
Judging by the popularity of our Enamore post, readers are jonzing for sexy, ethical undies (or is there suddenly a shortage of busty lady pics on-line?). French designer Sophie Young's g=9.8 delivers the goods using wood. That's Lenpur®, a fabric made from white pine tree clippings. We hope not to insult your intelligence by explaining that g=9.81m/s2 is the figure for gravitational acceleration....
Global Warming Gone Wild
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 12. 4.06
If you didn’t catch it already, check out Al Gore’s appearance on the Jay Leno Show. He promoted the recent DVD release of him film An Inconvenient Truth and during the typical late-night banter, told Jay that they are considering releasing an uncensored version called “Global Warming Gone Wild, featuring Hot Glacier on Glacier Action.”
We applaud Al for being strategic. Whether intentional or not, he helped spread the word to a larger audience using a little comic relief and let’s admit, a little sex. We all know people’s ears perk up with mention of that. Sell it, Al! Al will also be on Oprah tomorrow for some more hot, glacial action.
Talking about the cause is great, but doing something about it is even better. Don’t forget to visit www.truths.treehugger.com to upload your solution to global warming.
href="http://www.hugg.com/story/Gore-Promotes-Global-Warming-Gone-Wild-on-Leno/">Hugg the story here....
Bluegrass Wind Farm
by Union of Concerned Scientists on 12. 4.06
The turbines of Missouri’s first wind farm are beginning to dot the landscape outside of tiny King City, and a UCS-er recently took a tour while home for Thanksgiving. Bluegrass Ridge Wind Farm, named for the area’s history of raising high quality bluegrass seed, is situated in the northwestern corner of the state, not far from the borders of Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. Kansas City is a little over an hour’s drive away.
Six of the 27 turbines are fully constructed, and 16 are slated to begin creating power by January. The turbines are massive, reaching 252 feet in the air, and each of the three blades are 140 feet long. Each turbine has the capacity to generate 2.1 megawatts of power. ...
Xerox's Reusable Paper
by EcoGeek.org on 12. 4.06
Almost half of the paper used in American offices is for daily use. It is for display, not storage and, at the end of the day, it's in the trash can. All of the energy that was put into harvesting, processing, and shipping that paper was, in the end, for less than a day's use.
A number of companies are working on alternatives to this procedure. If paper is only used once, then why not create reusable paper? Most recently, Xerox unleashed a prototype printing system with printed sheets that erase themselves in preparation for their next day's work. Beyond the obvious uses in the top-secret, mission impossible sector, Xerox is hoping that the system will decrease the consumption of paper, and thus the cost of running an office....
Urban Eco Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 12. 4.06
As TreeHugger is the new manager of the Carnival of the Green we'd like to mention this week’s host, Urban Eco. Head on over to the Carnival to check out a round up of last week’s green news and events, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. To learn more about Carnival of the Green, where it will be and how to host, please click here to link to our previous post....
2007 Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid: Fuel Economy
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 12. 4.06
Saturn Aura Hybrid Car
Last April we wrote about the 2007 Saturn Aura hybrid. Most of the technical details about the hybrid drivetrain were available, but we ended the post with: "GM has not yet announced performance or fuel economy numbers for the Saturn Aura Greenline Hybrid sedan". Well, now we know. ...
::The Slate Green Challenge: Week 7 - Water
by Brittany Jacobs, Seattle on 12. 4.06
If you are using a conventional showerhead with an optional flow restrictor, you can save more water and substantially improve the quality of your shower with the purchase of a high-performance showerhead. Efficient showerheads, which you can find for less than $20, you can cut your water usage by 25–75 percent without sacrificing the quality of your shower. However, the cheapest and easiest solution for improving your water efficiency is to cut down on your shower time. The shorter your shower, the more CO2 you’ll save from heating the water, as showers account for two-thirds of all water heating costs.
Surf over to Slate to check out this week's installment of The Green Challenge, all about one of our most precious commodities - water. Haven't hopped on the bandwagon yet? You can start anytime with our carbon footprint quiz and join the pledge to drop a collective 20 percent of our CO2 emissions. The first 500 lucky challengers to complete the challenge win a T-shirt from our friends and sponsors over at I'm Organic. ::Slate Green Challenge Welcome ::Slate Green Challenge Week 7: Water...
Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12. 4.06
Before stepping aside, House Republicans open the vote to Gulf Coast drilling… Ford’s new Escape Hybrid flaunts new price, same mileage, and cradle-to-cradle interior… A filter system for street runoff cleans rainwater before it can get away… A new laptop design from LG integrates organic LEDs and onboard fuel cells… Bitch magazine looks green this month… ...
Implications For Risk Management Of Carbon Nanotube Handling: Initial Hazard Test Results Reported
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 4.06
Much has been written speculatively on the potential health hazards of carbon nano-tubes, usually as an afterthought to exciting reports of application prospects, in a variety of end uses. Given that carbon nano-tubes are expensive to make and have mostly been produced in very small amounts, the exposure potential has been low. But, not at zero hazard apparently. Some of the first tox tests with human implications, relative to carbon nano-tubes and spheres, were just reported on in Science News On-line, where we learned that:- “John T. James of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and his colleagues squirted nano-particles into the respiratory tracts of mice and then examined the rodents after 1 week and after 3 months. Although soot-like carbon nano-spheres caused no harm, an equal mass of commercially available carbon nano-tubes wreaked significant lung damage, even killing a few animals. In one especially graphic effect, immune system cells called macrophages trapped nano-tubes but then died. The ensuing inflammation scarred lung tissue by creating patches, called granulomas, that entombed the nano-tubes”....
100 Mile Diet: Insta-Garden, Insta-Meal
by Siel, Los Angeles on 12. 4.06
[Previous 100-mile adventure post] Do you ever get eco-overwhelmed? Let me explain what I mean. I'll think: I should do the 100-mile diet. Then, I'll think: I should start a porch garden for my 100-mile-diet. Then, I'll think: I should start a compost for the porch garden for my 100-mile diet. Then, I'll think: I should take a composting class so I can start a compost for the porch garden for my 100-mile diet. Ad infinitum.
Luckily, I managed to stop my brain-whirl long enough to actually take some 100-mile-diet action. I set up a recurring alarm on my celly for Wednesday morning, so I'd get to the farmers' market before it closed. This one little step not only got me some yummy, local food, but it also gave me my own little herb garden....
TreeHugger Picks: Carbon-Neutral Everything
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 4.06
As 2006's New Oxford American Dictionary’s Word of the Year, "carbon neutral" has been on the tip of many tongues this year, leading to many different and exciting things that won't contribute to our warming globe. Here are some of our picks of things that have gone carbon-free.
1) Books, from everything that comes from Ecotone Publishing to Worldchanging's new book, are zeroing their carbon emissions.
2) Sporting events, from last year's Olympics to both kinds of football (that's original and American) are setting new, carbon-related records.
3) Airplane flights, one of the biggest contributors to climate change, can now be made carbon-free.
4) Movies, from An Inconvenient Truth to Syriana and the independent film Sweet Land are entertaining us without emitting any net carbon.
5) Flower delivery from Organic Bouquet says "I love you" and "I love the planet."...
Wallpaper* Profiles Boisbuchet Design Workshops
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 4.06
Just west of the Vienne river in the south-west of France lies Boisbuchet, home to an idyllic 370-acre estate that plays host to a series of week-long design workshops each summer. Each course is led by a different designer, and the one profiled in the latest issue of Wallpaper* magazine challenged participants to give new uses to old objects. Led by Fernando and Humberto Campana, the dynamic brothers from Brazil, participants were encouraged to "be free and ridiculous" and the results netted, among others, a series of loungers from empty wine containers and a set of cutlery the brothers think should be taken to design supercenter Milan for immediate production. The workshops are run in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum and the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and draw in participants from across the globe for a week of local dining (a resident chef prepares the group's three meals each day from almost exclusively regional ingredients), local Bordeaux and a whole new perspective on design and the opportunity to try something totally different. For us, it doesn't get much better than combining recycling, high-design and a week in the French countryside; the only downside is we have to wait until summer for more. ::Boisbuchet via ::Wallpaper* December 2006...
Coco and The Giz Go Green
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 12. 4.06
The kids at Parliament Place Elementary School in North Babylon have undertaken a project to help other kids around the world understand the environment by working with two hero dogs, “Coco” and “The Giz” on their new book Coco and The Giz Go Green.To accomplish this they’ve teamed up with children’s authors Donna Paltrow and Jerri Fink, who bring their dogs into schools to help inspire kids to create better literature by writing about the dogs and their adventures. They’ve chosen to create a “choose your own adventure” book where kids can make decisions based on real facts to help “Coco” and “The Giz” as they travel around their town in a quest to make it a “greener place”.
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Po-Zu - Natural Slippers
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 12. 4.06
If you’re looking for something to keep your feet warm and stylish around the house this winter, these Slippers from Po-Zu might be just the eco-tanned, biodegradable pair you are looking for. Po-Zu believes that our ‘environment has become the ultimate fashion-victim’ so they are looking beyond trends to create a design that will benefit the environment as well as the consumer. Inspired by the Japanese tradition of taking your shoes off as you enter the house and replacing them with indoor shoes Po-Zu has designed two pairs of slippers, one for men ‘Marui’ and one for women ‘Itten’. The slippers are hand crafted in the UK without chemicals and using organic materials. The leather upper is vegetable tanned and the slipper is stitched together, rather than glued, making it easier to recycle. The sole or ‘mattress’ of the slipper is made from coconut fibre (coir) and natural latex. They say that ‘this 100% natural combination has excellent breatheability to keep your feet dry, as well as good insulation for both hot and cold climates.’ Po-Zu’s dedication to creating a sustainable product doesn’t just stop at their shoes. ...
Q&A: Places to Go in Seattle
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12. 4.06
TreeHugger's own Sean Fisher says, "I am headed to Seattle in a couple of weeks and was looking for some suggestions on cool places to hit when I get there. Any green stores, bars, cafes, etc. I should check out while I am there?" Thanks for asking, Sean! When it comes to green stores, we'd recommend swinging by Greener Lifestyles (we've featured their Round D sofa before) in the Ballard neighborhood, as well as One Earth One Design, whose retail store just opened last month. When it comes to eat & drink, the Emerald City has a lot to offer a TreeHugger's palette. A breakfast of Mighty-O Donuts' 100% organic and vegan pastry goes great with a cup of their organic coffee; lunch from Cyber Dogs' vegetarian hot dogs offers a stylish & unique repast; dinner from Sterling Café, the first certified organic restaurant in the US would make a fitting finish to a day spent in Seattle. Any trip to Seattle wouldn't be complete without some fresh seafood; for an upscale treat, Flying Fish uses 100% organic ingredients, many supplied from a local farm. For more casual dining, Agua Verde uses sustainably harvested fish and seafood to make its famous fish tacos.
Carmelita offers fabulous, savory vegetarian fare, and Café Flora's vegetarian goodies are equally good for lunch, brunch, dinner or dessert. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though; there's lots more, courtesy of the Seattle Green Map and Sustainable Style Foundation's Seattle source book. We also want to know your favorites; Seattle readers, please leave your favorite TreeHugger-friendly haunts & jaunts in the comments section below....
Eurosceptic Codswallop
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12. 4.06
“Eurosceptic codswallop" is how one letter to the editor described the Guardian's recent list of 100 top eco-heroes. With 60% of the list being British, and another 20% being from North America, his complaint, echoed by others, is the omission of Africans from the list. The absence of the diverse cultures that are becoming extinct, such as the Kalahari San of southern Africa, and those whose way of life has been destroyed by our materialistic society such as the Sioux, the Arapaho and the Cheyenne, were noted. Also missing: Murray Bookchin, author whose work predated the Silent Spring, Eva Balfour, founder of the Soil Association, Ivan Illych, Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement, and Ken Saro-Wiwa. British letters to the editor are an art form: witty, ironic and erudite. One letter: "Wouldn't it be better to wait until the planet has actually been saved?” And another: "How about a list of 100 people who have done the most to destroy the planet?" :: Guardian...
'The Darkening Sea'
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 12. 4.06
When considering the effects of climate change on the Earth’s oceans, most attention is given to rising sea levels and temperatures. However, a recent article in The New Yorker, ‘The Darkening Sea’, provides a fascinating and thoughtful explanation of another dire consequence of global warming. The article describes the efforts of scientists to understand and model the process of ocean acidification. More specifically, the article suggests that since the start of the 19th century, the sea has absorbed roughly have of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Subsequently, it is believed that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have led to and will continue to lead to a change in the oceans’ chemistry. This process, which is characterized by a decline in pH levels, is currently threatening the survival of an estimated one million aquatic species. Yet, another reason to demand immediate action on climate change. See also ::Mr. Pico Dissolves
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An Anthem for the Movement: Proper Education
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 4.06
Musician Eric Prydz's last video of an aerobics class was so sexy that Tony Blair fell off his rowing machine. His latest won't get as many hits on Youtube, but Proper Education may become the anthem for the environmental movement. It is a remix (with permission) of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, and shows school kids breaking into a London housing complex- to change lightbulbs to CFCs, put bricks in toilets and turn appliances off stand-by. Prydz says "'Pink Floyd would always use their videos to get a message across and I really wanted to carry on this spirit.I'd been reading so much in the press about climate change and global warming recently and felt it would be great to try and empower people to do something about it." Not only that, but the CD will be carbon neutral: it was calculated that 58.4 tons of carbon needed to be offset to cover the 40,000 CDs, and the emissions "created through the entire process of making the CD will be offset through the Te Apiti wind farm project on the north side of the Manawatu Gorge on North Island, New Zealand." Watch it at ::Metro and read at ::Metro and ::Independent...
Massachusetts Teacher Conserves, Gets Audited
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12. 4.06
Many of the electricity conservation tips available in a Christian Science Monitor article from last Thursday will be old news to most Treehugger readers, as we've covered low-energy lighting, "phantom loads," and efficient home appliances regularly (obsessively some might say). What may be surprising is the story of Ray Janke, a Chicopee, Massachusetts, science teacher who challenged himself to save as much electricity as possible in his new house: Two things happened: He saw a two-thirds reduction in his electric bill, and he found himself under audit by Mass Electric. The company thought he'd tampered with his meter. "They couldn't believe I was using so little," he says....
OneBillionBulbs.com: More Big Plans for CFLs
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12. 4.06
CFLs seem to have captured many people's imaginations in a big way: from Wal-Mart to ENERGY STAR to Mr. Luna, both institutions and individuals have taken on the challenge of getting lots of CFLs into American homes. Another player joined this push in November: One Billion Bulbs. This effort by Newton, Massachusetts-based software and database applications developer Symmetric Technologies is pretty simple and self-evident: The goal of OneBillionBulbs.com is to be a catalyst for positive, meaningful environmental change by:...
- educating people about the environmental and economic benefits of replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs
- encouraging a large number of people to replace standard incandescent light bulbs with CFL light bulbs
Greensolv Graffiti remover
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 4.06
It has its defenders, but graffiti is a blight and removing it usually involves toxic strippers like dichloromethane. Greensolv Environmental Products makes a range of products that do jobs that we always thought needed serious chemicals: paint strippers, graffiti removers and wood stain removers. They are based on a mixture of polar and non-polar solvents, are fully biodegradable and have no CFCs, phenols, cromates or peroxides. It may be better than traditional strippers, but perhaps the artists tagging all over the city might think about the environmental as well as the aesthetic impact of their work. ::Greensolv...
Ed Burtynsky on Environmental Activism
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 4.06
"For the first time, we're facing this moral imperative: On what side do you fall, and what are you going to do about it?'" Ed Burtynksy gets interviewed in the Star: "Over the span of his career — 20 years now, give or take — Burtynsky has made pictures with vexing consistency. Grand in scale, eerily seductive in colour and detail, from the glowing orange rivers of molten nickel near Sudbury, to the spectral husks of dismantled oil tankers scattered on the Bangladeshi coast, his work has hinged on a central tension: Their striking beauty attracts, their subject matter repulses." Read the interview in ::the Star and our earlier posts on ::Manufactured Landscapes and his :;Photographic works...
The Eco-Beat Continues in Buenos Aires
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 12. 4.06
We’re thrilled to see more on sustainable businesses and eco-design going on in Buenos Aires. Besides all the work of Argentinean designers and companies we usually bring you, a few days ago we reported on the first Eco-design exhibition in Buenos Aires and now the country’s biggest newspaper -Clarin- has released a special feature about ecologic-tendencies in its 'Women' section. Though it’s not such a deep approach to the subject, the segment takes on eco-design, fair trade and environmentally aware cosmetics firms. They feature our covered bonded leather gadgets from Vacavaliente, Natura cosmetics' practices, some cool jewelry from recovered materials by Tota Reciclados and Maria Medici, Miki Friedenbach and Laura Levy’s Scraplab project (interview with the two coming soon), and Arte y Esperanza’s indigenous crafts fair trade. See the whole segment (in Spanish, of course) here. ::Clarin ...
Global Warming Blurb From 1932
by EcoGeek.org on 12. 3.06
I just had my mind blown over at Modern Mechanix, a site that shows old clippings from science magazines from decades passed. "Tomorrow's Future Today" is the tagline of the site, and it is certainly a fun read. From flying tanks to cows wearing pants, tomorrow's future sure is good for a laugh.
But what's not good for a laugh is this blurb from an 1932 Modern Mechanics magazine (above).
Are you kidding me! I did some research and this E. O. Hulburt guy was an extremely well-respected physicist with the Naval Research Laboratory. He was, in fact, the very first director of the Naval Research Laboratory and is the namesake of the Hulburt Center for Space Research....
How to Green Your Water
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 12. 3.06
What’s the Big Deal?
There is no resource more precious than water. There is also no resource that is misused, abused, misallocated, and misunderstood the way water is. Safe drinking water, healthy and intact natural ecosystems, and a stable food supply are a few of the things at stake as our water supply is put under greater and greater stress. The picture might look grim, but opportunities to be more efficient abound. Many people have had water-saving etiquette pumped into them at one point or another, so hopefully we can make a good case for conserving the stuff with practical, everyday water-saving strategies as well as some more high-tech approaches.Moods of Future Joys – A Book About Going Round The World By Bike
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 12. 3.06
Even the most dedicated all-weather cyclists amongst you would probably be hard pushed to volunteer to cycle around the world. But for those of you who think they might be tempted you should read Alastair Humphreys' book before you start out. The young British adventurer Alastair Humphreys took the decision when he left university not to get a job, but instead to spend the next four years of his life travelling around the world by bike, this of course was the infinitely harder option. He travelled through 60 countries, over 5 continents, and a total of 46,000 miles. Alastair communicated his journey through a blog and podcasts whilst on the road; now back at home he has just finished his book which tells the story of the first half of his journey. The book is entitled ‘Moods of Future Joys’ after a Ben Okri poem which says “All that you are experiencing now will become moods of future joys, so bless it all.” Alastair says this is in reference to the most difficult and loneliest parts of the journey which he found hard to endure. Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who is described by the Guinness Book of Records as "the world's greatest living explorer”, has described Alastair's expedition as “probably the first great adventure of the new Millennium. Alastair’s journey was an old-fashioned expedition: long, lonely, low-budget and spontaneous. It was a life on the road rather than a whirlwind break from home." ...
Attack Of The Mutant Artificial Trees
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12. 3.06
The National Christmas Tree Growers Association is offering a free download of "Attack of The Mutant Articificial Trees," a game that seems to have left the plastic tree sellers feeling 'lost in the toilet brush woods' (according the the NCTGA, the company that invented the mutant ones originally made toilet brushes). So, when that little voice in your head asks 'do you want a real tree or do you want a fake one'...this is reminding us of a visit to the grocery store and hearing the 'paper or plastic' voice... the Association's website has a rundown of reasons to go with the real thing. Among the best cited: real trees are mostly grown in North America, while the fake ones largely are shipped from China; and, the vinyl often used in fake trees commonly includes a great deal of inorganic lead as a "stabilizer" and/or fire proofing agent, requiring a Prop 65 warning label in California. We suggest you check the 'fire proof' test shots on the website. Finally, while Christmas Tree farms may be often poor on the biodiversity scale, we should not forget that their product can be recycled....
Lord Rogers vs IKEA in the Battle of the British Prefabs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12. 3.06
Lord (Richard) Rogers is building 145 orange, mauve and pink "flexi-houses" that can be adapted to changing tastes and space requirements, with developer Wimpey in Milton Keynes. Buyers will be able to choose different wall finishes, change the interior layout as their family grows and clip on more rooms using a prefabricated system. Says the program director: “You can begin as a couple with an open-plan ground floor and kitchen and a huge open-plan bedroom covering the first floor. When children come along you can subdivide rooms to create bedrooms and then, when they leave home, you can open it all up again.” Others are concerned. “People don’t like odd shapes and strange colours,” said Robert Adam, a classical architect favoured by the Prince of Wales. “If you build something in silly colours you can bet people won’t buy it. The [IKEA] BoKlok houses look really very horrid." ::Times Online...
Tesla Electric Roadster Test Ride: Review at Slate
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 12. 3.06
We just can't get enough of the Tesla Roadster, the electric sportscar that promises top end performance with one tenth the pollution. You have seen the reviews of the technology here at TH, including Eckhart Beatty's two part piece on the mechanical specifications of the car as discussed in the whitepaper co-authored by founder and CEO Martin Eberhard and the Tesla as a design coup of disruptive technology. You are hanging on the hope that even if you cannot afford close to six figures for the top-line roadster, you can anticipate the success of Tesla's market strategy to push beyond the high unit costs of a new technology into the affordable sector with the project code named white star. Today, with great envy, we point TreeHuggers to the test ride review by Paul Boutin of Slate. Thanks to a frienship with Tesla founder Eberhard, Paul Boutin got the opportunity to take the Tesla Roadster out--then waited three days to post on it so he could return to a sufficiently rational state to write an objective review. ...
Jerusalem's Biggest Environmental Threat Still Looms
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 12. 3.06
While we love to show images of Israel as a land where camel transport is a viable option, the truth is, that the country is over-run by single driver commuter traffic. Last week while “busing it”, we were struck in the urban choke hold at 3 in the afternoon going from one city to the next; every environmentally-conscious person around these parts knows it is far faster for one to a bike from one end of Tel Aviv to the other than to drive or take a taxi. Jerusalem is a bit harder to navigate because of the hilly terrain, but some time in the last year or so, a green group had a cross-town race in Jerusalem to show the city that biking in the perennially car-packed streets of Jerusalem is much faster in getting from point A to point B. Lately a bone of contention among the green groups in Israel has been the Safdie Plan—what some say would be a “death blow” to Jerusalem if it went ahead. The plan entails a new housing construction project and a highway that would create a ring around the city of Jerusalem. Pollution from added traffic, say environmentalists would choke the city’s residents, which are already suffering from high levels of air pollution getting trapped in the Jerusalem hills. But Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski recently said he has plans to cancel the Safdie Plan, named after internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie. The plan called for the construction of 20,000 housing units on more than 26 square kilometers of natural woodlands west of Jerusalem, in one of the largest construction projects ever proposed in Israel. ...
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.
