- Vijay Vaitheeswaran (part one)
- Vijay Vaitheeswaran (part two)
- Vinay Gupta
- Alyce Santoro
- Mathis Wackernagel
- Tom Price
- Martha Marks
- Paul Hawken
- David Suzuki
- Wal-Mart's Green Gurus
- Alisa Smith and James Mackinnon, authors of Plenty
- Bob Perkowitz of ecoAmerica
- Ed Begley Jr.
- The Weather Channel's Dr. Heidi Cullen
Entries for December 17, 2006 - December 23, 2006
Total this week: 120
BedZED Under the Spotlight: BioRegional Defends its Pioneering Project
by Treehugger Interns on 12.23.06
Life is tough on the cutting edge, and the press can be unforgiving. We Treehuggers love the BioRegional Development Group, and we particularly love their flagship eco-housing estate BedZED, which we have reported on here and here. However, not everything has gone smoothly with this project. In particular they have had major problems with their prototype Combined Heat and Power plant, something we also picked up on here. These problems have now been highlighted by the mainstream press, who have shown an increased interest in green building following the UK government’s recent announcement about carbon neutral homes. Apparently the Daily Mail ran a story under the rather unkind and, in our opinion, inaccurate headline of “Great Green Gimmick.” However, BioRegional are now out to set the record straight....
Gas, Electric and Hybrid Go Head to Head in LCA
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 12.23.06
The Grade 7 class at the American School of Barcelona is studying alternative energies as part of their most recent social studies unit. When I was asked to talk to them about Los Angeles on the Verge of Nation's Best Mass Transit?
by EcoGeek.org on 12.23.06
It doesn't matter where you live, you know about LA. Those two letters bring words like "smog," "sprawl," and "traffic," straight into any brain that hears them. LA is a marvelous place, as long as you don't have to drive anywhere. But, you may also have heard, you have to drive everywhere. LA started out as a mass-transit mecca. Its train routes were the best and largest in the country, and the city grew with this system its backbone. But when the car took over, Los Angeles paved over its rail lines.
The next fifty years were spent talking about how nice it would be if there was some mass transit. In the last ten years, they've actually been doing something about it! Folks may think of LA as the capital of sprawl, but it's actually the densest metropolitan area in America, it just happens to be gigantic.They call it "dense sprawl," and it happens to be perfect for mass transit, if it's managed well. Unfortunately, it has not been. Misspending and inefficiency at LA's transit authority kept the system broken for decades. But now, LA is returning to its roots and developing one of the largest and most robust mass-transit systems in the world....
Tree Planting Far From 'Pointless', Researchers Argue
by Treehugger Interns on 12.23.06
Last week we reported here on new research that suggests planting trees may not always have the climate-cooling effects that many would expect. The authors of this study have since expressed concern that they may be being misreported in some sections of the media, and insist that they have not been denigrating tree planting overall.
In a letter to the Guardian, which we unfortunately cannot find on their website, Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institute put forward the following clarification:...
Which Is Better: Fake Racoon Dog or Real Raccon Dog Fur Trim?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12.23.06
AP has a story about Macy's removing from it's stores jackets that had real fur instead of the designer- and seller-supposed "faux fur" trim. The trim in question was found to be from the fur of a critter called "racoon dog," which is not at all related to the Racoon, and which is in the same family, but not the same genus, as a wolf. Setting aside the Humane Society claim that the racoon-dog is 'dog like' (as opposed to being an actual domestic dog), which choice would be environmentally superior: 1.) a new jacket without trim; 2.) a new jacket with a petroleum-based faux fur trim; 3.) an honestly labeled new jacket with real fur trim; or, 4.) a used jacket with fur trim? Please look below the fold before you pass judgement....
Belkin Pitstop: Get a Charge from a Lamp
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.23.06
Pitstop is an inductive charging system integrated into an attractive floor lamp. When it popped up on Yanko, we were surprised; It is credited to the Belkin Innovation Design Group, and the link takes you to the site of Belkin, a well-known manufacturer of electronic accessories. No sign of it appears on their site. A little digging and we find that it is yet another entry in a DesignBoom competition called The Skin of Corian by a clever group (Kenneth Mori + Mitchell Suckle + Oliver Duncan Seil, Thorben Neu, David Kleeman, Yoko Iida, Folk Sirichai, Ernesto Quinteros + Belkin Innovation Design Group) who understand that in the future, electronics will be invisible and part of the architectural fabric....
Turn Off that Office Equipment Before the Holidays
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.23.06
It may be a day late for this post, but Canon UK estimates that "With many offices closing (or with skeleton staff) for up to 10 days this year, Canon research shows that the amount of energy used by office equipment – PCs, printers, photocopiers and fax machines – left on standby is enough to roast an astonishing 4.4m turkeys, which is also enough power to microwave 268m mince pies or more than 350,000 standard Christmas tree lights for 10 days." -and that is just in the UK." In addition, the research shows that almost 19,000 tonnes of C02 emissions would also be produced by these machines." So last one out, turn everything off, not just the lights! ::Canon UK...
Alternate Ways to Read: Zinio
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.23.06
We read a lot for Treehugger, and often the online content lags the paper version, so we buy hard copies that are piling up. There is something about the flow of magazines, where experienced art directors put them together to look good and give you the information in a logical order. Then there are the ads, which in print can be as interesting, informative and beautiful as the editorial content. As an experiment we subscribed to Architectural Record using a magazine service called Zinio and now get all of the content, layout and ads, without cutting trees. It is a digital reproduction of the magazine with some extra bells and whistles.
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Plug-In Hybrids Could Help Stabilize The Grid
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 12.23.06
A recent article in Technology Review argues that plug-in hybrid vehicles could help stabilize the electrical grid. The idea is called "vehicle-to-grid" (often abbreviated as V2G). The article says: "In such a system, plug-in hybrids, rather than being merely an extra burden to the grid, become a much needed way for grid managers to balance the amount of energy generated at any given time to match the amount of energy being consumed. Millions of cars, each with several kilowatt hours of storage capacity, would act as an enormous buffer, taking on charge when the system temporarily generates too much power, and giving it back when there are short peaks in demand."
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ModeLabs Designs Three Self-Charging Phones
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 12.23.06
French designers ModeLabs has developed three self-powered cellphone concepts. The designs rely on the inherent movement of their users to regenerate power and signal the possibility of using smaller batteries or even eliminating them entirely. The company revealed the U-Turn, a business phone which can draw energy from opening and closing its keyboard, and the Runaway, a wrist-mounted phone for athletes that takes advantage of the faster movement of exercise as its main power source....
Climate Wrecks Flights
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12.23.06
Heathrow Airport has been enshrouded in fog for the past four days and thousands of passengers have been forced to camp out, waiting for flights. Whilst we sympathise with these misery-ridden travellers, desperate to get home for the holidays, this is (finally) a case of climate wrecking flights, instead of, as usually happens, flights wrecking the climate. The satirical weekly column, "Greener than thou" says that this has to be one of the best environmental stories of the year. " Each morning, since the fog set in, Rowan and I have run into the garden to check out the sky, then sat down to calculate the torrents of CO2 that will not be released. Last night, with hundreds more planes grounded indefinitely, it seemed the right moment to crack open a bottle, and plan a party. Until then, with 2006 such a grim year for the climate, there was no way we could have justified even this minor environmental insult. Personally, just the extra lighting would have made me feel guilty. But our party - assuming we used sustainable cutlery and took the bottles to recycling in the wheelbarrow - would be written off by just one of those thousands of passengers not taking a plane. If BA kept up the total ban on domestic flights we might even run to crackers". Further: "They brought it on themselves, don't these people read George Monbiot?" Their last tip, in rhyme: Home-made canapes this year, will keep your consciences clear. :: Guardian ...
SunOpta To Build Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Based On Wood Chip Feedstock
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12.23.06
Via:- Renewable Energy Access, “SunOpta Inc. signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with GreenField Ethanol Inc. to develop and implement commercial scale processes to produce cellulosic ethanol from wood chips…One or more commercial-scale plants using the new process are planned”. That’s an impressive announcement on it's own; but, in looking for background we came across a far more interesting bit of information on the SunOpta website. Turn off the music, and take a quiet moment to read this carefully. ...
Cashmere: Sustainable Fiber or Environmental Disaster?
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 12.23.06
In theory, cashmere is the TreeHugger's ideal natural fiber. Knit or woven, it produces long-lasting garments. Quality cashmere will not pill and will keep its form for years, even generations, getting softer the more it is used. Knit garments can be hand-washed, no dry-cleaning impacts. The goats which are the source of cashmere fiber may be sheared or combed, but research suggests that combing results in better yield and less "loss" due to goats injuring each other as they huddle for warmth in the last blustery spring days. Goats which are properly kept and combed should not tweak the conscience of all but the most extreme animal protectionist (who will suggest a petroleum-based alternative for equal warmth and breathability, which has its own drawbacks). And now cashmere is so cheap, everyone can benefit from this fiber that is 8 times warmer than wool, stores without wrinkles and modulates its insulating capacity based on humidity (so you are never too warm but always warm enough). Is there a catch?...
TreeHuggerTV Featured on iTunes
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 12.22.06
We were very pleased to find out that the mega-popular iTunes is featuring TreeHuggerTV in its Podcast section. If you haven't already, subscribe!
You can check out the most recent THTV episode here, and TreeHugger Radio is a must too....
The Bower - Traders of the Lost Artefact
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12.22.06
During the daylight hours for the past five years I’ve been managing, as a job-share, a community-based reuse centre. My co-pilot and I have, as of 2007, passed the reins to a new manager. Like businesses, such as Urban Ore, in California, we take in unwanted, yet still functional goods, mostly from private households and light commercial enterprises, and find new owners for them. What makes the Bower (named after a native bird that collects blue items to attract mates) different to most second-hand stores is that it is a not-for-profit, community-based co-operative. It is effectively owned by local people and managed for them. It is not a for-profit business, nor a fundraising venture for a charity or church organisation. This frees it to pursue a raft of sustainability initiatives. Like harvesting rainwater for washing and gardening, running a truck on biodiesel, environmental education for schools, working out of Sydney’s first strawbale building, where everything from the roof trusses to the computers are salvaged items. Though limited in resources and physical space, the Bower provides a service to about one third of all Sydney residents. Working with 15 local councils, it offers a referral facility, to connect customers with over 1,000 other reuse or repair businesses in the city. Very satisfying work in a country with one of the world’s highest per capita waste streams. It’s been fabulous five years, recently culminating in an award for Sustainability Leadership.::The Bower....
Europe Flags a Carbon Bank for Aircraft CO2 Emissions
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12.22.06
The European Union this week announced it’s intention to establish CO2 emission quotas for commerical airlines by 2011. Companies will be given a carbon credit based on their emissions over the previous couple of years. Those airlines, like the Dutch carrier KLM, who reckon they fly with the minimum of emissions will be able to trade their unused credits with less ‘clean’ airlines. The EU reckon that although greenhouse gas contributions from aviation only amount to three percent of the total emissions, they have increased 87% in the past 16 years, and the industry is still growing. The European Commission believes that ticket prices for local flights would increase by €9 and €40 for long haul trips. As a KLM rep put it, “We try to fly as efficiently as possible, but you can always do better, so we keep on investing in that." But American, and Asian carriers, are said to have “reacted angrily to the new plans.” No, really, what a surprise. Via ::Radio Netherlands and ::Deutsche Welle....
Ormat: No Retrofit, No Fuss Biodiesel
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 12.22.06
Considered one of the top 5 geothermal energy companies in the world, Israeli company Ormat recently released news of a new biodiesel formulation that may green wheels everywhere. TreeHugger spoke with the company's CEO Dita Bronicki who said the company’s R&D in Yavne, Israel has formulated a biodiesel that requires no retrofit on your diesel engine and that can be used in its pure form of 100 percent, without mixing. Bronicki expects the fuel to be good to go in about 2 years, but it is too early for her to say which continent will get it first. ...
Thomas Friedman: And the Color of the Year is....
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.22.06
Thomas Friedman, New York Times Columnist and author of The World is Flat, on the growth of living and thinking green: "For so many years the term “green” could never scale. It was trapped in a corner by its opponents, who defined it as “liberal,” “tree-hugging,” “girly-man,” “unpatriotic,” “vaguely French.” No more. We reached a tipping point this year — where living, acting, designing, investing and manufacturing green came to be understood by a critical mass of citizens, entrepreneurs and officials as the most patriotic, capitalistic, geopolitical, healthy and competitive thing they could do. Hence my own motto: “Green is the new red, white and blue.” He goes on: "Because while our embrace of green has finally reached a tipping point, the tipping point on climate change and species loss is also fast approaching, if it’s not already here. There’s no time to lose. “People see an endangered species every day now when they look in the mirror,” said the environmentalist Rob Watson. “It is not about the whales anymore.” Does Malcolm Gladwell get a royalty everytime someone says tipping point? Friedman is behind the ::New York Times subscription fence but it was picked up by ::Timesunion.com...
Smart Kids More Likely to be Vegetarians
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12.22.06
A study published in the British Medical Journal has found a connection between kids with high IQs and their decision to go vegetarian later in life. A study from the University of Southhampton and Southhampton General Hospital compared data from a 20 year period for children whose IQs were tested at age ten. Of the 8,179 women and men in the study, 366 were vegetarian by the age of 30, nine were vegan, and 123 reported being vegetarian but eating chicken or fish. The connection between high IQ and vegetarianism continued to be statistically significant after controlling for social class and better education. The researchers also suggest that this higher chance of vegetarianism may help explain why people with higher IQs tend to have better cardiac health. (Abstract here, PDF here) :: The Jerusalem Post (Image from Flickr, note misspelling)...
Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12.22.06
From Instructables comes a minty recipe for a shakeable LED… A connection is found between a city’s expanding suburbs and children’s expanding waistlines… Sol-X builds solar panels that concentrate light to get more power out of less roof space… Nova Science offers a bite-sized video tour through the inner workings of a fuel cell… With the launch of TreeHugger’s new site, one of many shnazzy new features brings the Hugg news feed to TH’s left-hand bar…...
TreeHugger Picks: It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.22.06
The holiday season is nearing its zenith, with a couple of big days right around the corner. Here are some ways TreeHuggers know that Christmas is almost here.
1) You've weighed all the factors and picked up a living Christmas tree.
2) Your LED Christmas lights are efficiently filling your house with cheer.
3) You mined TreeHugger's Gift Guide for green gold to go under the tree.
4) You've followed the ten tips for a greener Christmas.
5) You're already thinking about ways to recycle all those Christmas cards....
The Slate Green Challenge Wrap Up: How Low Did You Go?
by Meaghan O'Neill, Newport, R.I. on 12.22.06
Over the past several weeks, 30,281 (and counting) Green Challenge participants have pledged to shed 60,299,408 pounds of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 6,164 cars off the road for a year. Now comes the moment of truth: How many of your pledges have you fulfilled? Did you really cut beef from your diet, inflate your car tires, turn down your thermostat, and take the train instead of flying? The Green Challenge wrap-up quiz asks you to revisit your pledges. Will we meet our goal of a 20 percent reduction in collective carbon emissions? Only you can help us find out! If you've already taken the wrap-up quiz: Thanks! If you haven't clicked through yet, what are you waiting for? (It won't take long, we swear.) And if you're one of the first 500 quiz-takers to meet your personal 20 percent reduction goal, we'll send you a free T-shirt from I'm Organic. Learn about The Slate Green Challenge here, or go straight to the ::Slate Green Challenge Wrap Up Quiz.
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The Compact: Buy Nothing New for a Year (or Two)
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.22.06
The small San Francisco cooperative that calls themselves "The Compact" (we first covered them ten months ago), who pledged not to buy anything new (almost) for an entire year has followed their mantra for 356 days. The only new products allowed by The Compact are food and bare necessities for health and safety -- things like toilet paper, brake fluid & underwear -- in their effort to go without buying anything new; everything else comes from TreeHugger faves like FreeCycle, Craigslist, thrift stores and even dumpsters, and their idea is making big waves. Publications from Yoga Times to Martha Stewart's Body + Soul to the London Times picked up on the story, and even Oprah's producers called. Interestingly, all the media has caused a bit of a backlash against the movement. "I think it upsets people because it seems like we're making a value judgment about them," says Shawn Rosenmoss, an environmental engineer and original Compactor, who has two children. "When we're simply trying to bring less...into our house." Still, the group has attracted 1,800 people to their Yahoo! group and has spawned SubCompact cells operating across the country. The group has found it enlightening enough to extend the pledge another year. "We didn't do this to save the world. We did this to improve the quality of our own lives," says John Perry, another original Compactor; said like that, it's easy to see why they don't want to stop. ::The Compact Yahoo! Group, ::Compact blog via ::Washington Post
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The Greening of Seoul
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12.22.06
Seoul, South Korea is the seventh largest city in the world. Photos show it to be a huge, booming, modern, soulless city of high rises and endless traffic. But with the completion of Cheonggyecheon Park, the city has gained a green "lung" in the heart of this town of ten million people. The story starts with a river in the middle of Seoul that had become little more than a sewer by the l970’s. Finally it was turned into a road, with a 6 lane highway above. In 2002 the mayor made a brave and visionary decision: he pledged to tear down the highway, restore the river and create a 5 mile long park along its banks. What made this idea even more audacious was that it meant relocating 160,000 cars a day off of a main arterial road. Opposition came from planners, traders and drivers. The surprise was that "the tearing down of the motorway has had both intended and unexpected effects. As soon as we destroyed the road, the cars just disappeared. A lot of people just gave up their cars. Others found a different way of driving." ...
Energy Choices: Fun with Conservation
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12.22.06
On Monday, New York's Clarkson University announced the latest effort to come out of its National Science Foundation-funded K-12 Project-Based Learning Partnership Program: the board game Energy Choices. Designed for middle-school students, the game challenges players to learn about both national energy policy, and the impact of personal choices on energy conservation. According to the university's press release, Energy Choices enourages students to have fun while thinking about the big picture of energy use:...
Old Country Roofing: The Mainstreaming Of Roof-Top Solar Power
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12.22.06
Beyond basics like remembering inspection dates, oil change, and tire-fill intervals, most of us don’t know, nor do we care, about how to fully maintain our own cars. Similarly, when the furnace needs a tune up, we rely on a contractor. Turnkey installation and service “bundling” is needed for residential solar power to become common and reliable, to become something we take for granted in other words. Here’s a current example of how such services are evolving. “BP and Old Country Roofing (OCR) have signed an agreement to offer turnkey solar roofing solutions to more than 100 homebuilding companies and homeowners”. OCR installed more than 12,000 roofs in 2005, and will work with BP Solar's EnergyTile product, a roof-tile design that blends seamlessly into the design of the roof (pictured). The new solar roofing package, which includes design, installation, warranty and customer service, will be available beginning in January 2007"....
Kitchen Design: Cycle of Water
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.22.06
DesignBoom runs wonderful competitions, but you have to look at all of the entries. I missed this kitchen called Cylce of Water earlier. Designed by French team daeron isabelle + Flavie Papin + Marine Rouit + Isabelle Daëron, it integrates a water cycle into your kitchen, with the water starting as steam and ending up in the garden. "Water, necessary to all aspects of life, will soon become a rare element. "Cuisine à l'eau", is a kitchen designed around the use of water in all its different states."
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BMW's Club of Pioneers
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.22.06
We don't think much of BMW's Hydrogen 7, and do think that their Street Carver is probably a better solution for getting around, but they are certainly trying to develop some green cred. Now they have launched the Club of Pioneers website, which is "about a mobile lifestyle. It gathers individuals and institutions who care about one of the most important and challenging issues of our time. The cause is in part by our mobility, that is, the emissions that change the climate around the world." ...
Hardy Shuttle: Exciting New Ways to Make More Garbage
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.22.06
Hardy's, Australia's largest wine producer, proudly offers the Shuttle- "an innovative, all-in-one, bottle-glass package that has the potential to redefine the way people around the world drink their wine." Now you get to throw away an acrylic glass and bottle. "Its unique design also enables customers to be served more quickly and efficiently, which has the potential to optimise staffing and boost overall sales"- Less work, more garbage. The Yob market appears to be huge- "We believe the new technology has the potential to redefine how people drink their wines the world over – particularly at sporting and other outdoor events, concerts and performances, where glassware is not permitted for safety reasons." Surely they are used to swilling it from the bottle? ::Hardy Wines via ::Core77 via ::MocoLoco...
La Capsule by House Couturier
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.22.06
If all of our stuff was designed so that it served multiple purposes or folded up into less space, we could live in smaller spaces and use fewer resources. And, as our Greening Your Work pointed out, telecommuting saves a lot of carbon. Thats why we love things like La Capsule. If you work at home and do not have a separate room you are often forced to look at your work stuff when your work day is over. With La Capsule, when closed one sees only an atractive painted cylinder in the corner of your room; when open it is a useful office with storage, a computer table and shelving. Designed by ::House Couturier in London, although we could not find this on their site, and judging by their other stuff, green materials are not a priority. via ::Cube Me...
Welcome to TreeHugger 2.0
by Nick Aster, San Francisco on 12.21.06
Drum roll..... this is it folks, the new spanking clean and super fancy TreeHugger 2.0. We've been working our tails off to get the site better looking, better organized, and more user friendly and what you see here is what we've come up with. We've got better, more clear categorization, some cleaner design, nifty post "hoppers" on the side to help you navigate, and a few more things to come!
Have fun poking around and let us know if anything's broken (as if that could possibly happen). I really hope you like it and want to send some special shouts of thanks out to Michael Graham Richard, our chief editor, Eva Jacobus who helped in the migration, Federico Silvka - the master designer from Barcelona, as well as Jessica Root, our priceless manager and Graham Hill for busting this whole thing together.
Note from Michael: And of course, we all want to thank our excellent media architect, master of all things technical and of actually implementing all these fancy ideas that we come up with (and coming up with a lot of them himself), Nick Aster. We've all been working really hard lately, but I'm sure that he had an extra dose of that. Thanks Nick!...
Quick Quiz: The 6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.21.06
John recently posted about the Alliance to Save Energy, a group set up by radical environmental groups like Dow Chemical and the American Gas Association. The 6° of Energy Efficiency Challenge asks a number of questions, which we will Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12.21.06
The nation’s first nuisance case against a wind farm is settled, and it’s not a nuisance… This slick solar outdoor sconce charges its batteries by day and illuminates at night… A joint research effort of Chinese and Indian scientists sets out to monitor warming trends in the “The Land of Snows”… In Northern China a factory is underway that will start by making 20,000 EVs a year… After the National Science Teacher’s Assoc. rejected 50,000 copies of An Inconvenient Truth, they’re up for grabs…...
TreeHugger Radio 12
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 12.21.06
This week on TreeHugger Radio, General Motors speaks on its renewable energy programs, Dell speaks on its newly expanded recycling initiative, Prince Charles tries to quit private planes, and millions more pile onboard for holiday travel. Music this week comes from Mexican Institute of Sound, courtesy of Calabash Music. (listen)...
Tio Lounge Chair: Sustainable, Fashionable Furniture
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.21.06
A new concept from Conscious Design, the Tio Lounge Chair has interchangeable covers designed by some of New Zealand's preeminent fashion designers. Balanced between product and fashion design, it won the Design Institute of New Zealand's BeST Award in the "sustainable product" category; the sustainable product category was added to the Institute's awards this year in order to create a higher profile for sustainable design within the New Zealand design industry.. According to the designer, "Good design embraces the realities and limitations of the environment", which is at least part of the reason that Tio is made from local materials using pine wood sourced from sustainable plantations in New Zealand. The user is encouraged to "think of it like your wardrobe for your living room" -- with so many "outfits" to choose from, there aren't many interiors that this chair couldn't mesh with, and when you get a new couch, Tio could change right along with it. No reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater, after all. Tio is available for sale in New Zealand via the stockists on their site. ::Tio and ::Conscious Design via ::Core77...
TH Blog Love – Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 12.21.06
Club Of Pioneers: Local versus Exotic by Piers Fawkes
‘When Tasmania Rain sent us two bottles of their new mineral water to our office we were left puzzled what to do. In one way, we wanted to write about a new company with a twist on something we see everyday. In another way, we wanted to write about what might be happening with our modern wellbeing when consumers felt that they had to ship the purest water in the world more than 10,000 miles to our dirty, hectic city. See also this week’s TH Quick Quiz.
Cocolico: Carnival Of The Green # 58
‘We checked our calendar, it’s already the last week before Christmas, and yet we’ve got a pre-present from Santa Clauss. Cocolico is welcoming the Carnival of the Green, the weekly marathon of green weblogs. If you just stumble on this event, imagine a giant relay from blog to blog, giving them a weekly tribune to show their activity and attract some insights on various topics related to sustainable development.’...
Tilting at lampposts
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.21.06
photo Richard Perry New York Times
Light pollution is a problem for astronomers, a waste of energy and indirectly a source of CO2 to make the energy. We don't usually think of it as an urban problem, given that we demand streetlighting for safety and accept outdoor advertising. In fact, according to Susan Harder of New York City, “One day,” she said on a recent evening, “we’ll look back at light pollution in the same way we do the recycling or ecology movements, and wonder how we ever could have thought otherwise." She particularly dislikes the ones [pictured]on Broadway: “It’s Obi-Wan Kenobi’s swords!” Ms. Harder said with a giggle. “Seriously, lighting designers love this stuff. Their creed is ‘Glare is Good.’ And there’s no light hitting the ground, see? It all hits these beautiful old buildings and washes them out. You can’t see a thing.” ::New York Times...
Cool Yule Tree Baubles
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12.21.06
It's a dilemma--the irresistible urge to buy christmas tree ornaments and knowing that it's the year for a green, environmental christmas celebration... Here's the answer: do both! Start with the stringing of the cranberries, interspersed with popcorn--always so pretty. Edible, home-made ginger bread men are a yummy touch. Pinecones look lovely. Then take a look at the range of recycled ornaments available. The bells and stars pictured are made from recycled circuit boards, cut into festive shapes, such as trees and snowmen. Recycled tin hanging shepherds look distinctive. Or recycled CD's hanging from the tree, in tree or bell shapes, reflect the light. Hand-made baubles from Oxfam look good and help communities to survive. For the lights--LED bulbs are brighter, smaller, longer lasting and use 88% less energy than traditional lights. Plus they don't get hot to the touch. Or, a string of solar-powered crystal balls, in red, white or blue. Enough? Then sit back and enjoy it, with some Fairtrade cocoa. ...
Awake at the Wheel: A Blog about Biodiesel
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.21.06
The guys behind Propel Biofuels (we mentioned them here and here) have started up a new blog all about biodiesel. They've been blogging there for over a year, but have started to pick up the pace recently, talking about proper blends for winter driving (they recommend a 50/50 mix), biodiesel's positive fuel-product energy per unit of fossil fuel energy (about 3.2 to 1) and the relative price of the biofuel (they're selling B99, 99% biodiesel, for $3.03 per gallon, while petrodiesel is going for $3.11 in Seattle). The site is designed to be a source of practical information for biodiesel drivers as well as a forum to publish feedback from their customers, friends and from their own experience; as both retailers and all-around alt-fuel advocates, we imagine they have a pretty interesting take on what it takes to make the fuel more popular and where biodiesel is headed, so we'll be keeping an eye on them and hope they keep up the good work. ::Awake at the Wheel via ::AutoblogGreen...
US Navy Commissions Green Housing for Sailors
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12.21.06
If you've ever spent any time in housing compounds on a US military base, you know that the homes occupied by soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are... well, let's say "functional." The Navy, however, is breaking that mold with the release of its plans for Market Style Apartments, a housing community for its Naval Station Norfolk in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The plans for the complex emphasize creating an "...outstanding quality of life standards for its seamen," and for contractor VOA Associates Inc., this means incorporating green features into the development:...
Constructal Theory: Sustainability
by Tim McGee, Helena, MT, USA on 12.21.06
Sustainability has become a key concept to solving global resource and environmental issues. Several concepts have emerged in the past few decades that appear to provide a path towards a sustainable future. Biomimicry inspires and provides a way for us to adopt examples of evolved sustainable design and systems. Cradle-to-Cradle design provides a goal for enriching our industrial systems. Constructal theory provides the instructions for creating the optimized systems needed, and further, gives us the key for understanding the nature of sustainable technology. These ideas have come at a unique time in our history when, as a society, we are looking at all scales of systems to determine how we might be able to better manage our impact on Earth. Read on to see how constructal theory fits into the new paradigm....
James Sears' Orb: Spinning LEDs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.21.06
We must learn more about the Interactive Telecommuncations Program. Yesterday it produced the photovoltaic bikini, and today, James N. Sears' Orb. This ball of LEDs relies on persistence of vision (POV) much like the SpokePOV bicycle wheel light, but is far more complex. It spins at 1600 RPM and is James designed the electronics, programmed it and built it. He blogged the whole manufacturing process and it is fascinating reading. ::James N. Sears via ::Notcot
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Davidgraas: Furniture from Cardboard
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.21.06
Talk about zero-waste design- here is a stool made of cardboard. Netherlands designer David Graas says "You not only assemble this stool yourself, but, because product and packaging are both made from cardboard, also finish it yourself. Two parts of the stool are simply cut loose from the box where the remaining six parts are packaged in. "
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Survey: What is your Favourite Day of the Season?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.21.06
I love the winter solstice; from now on, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, every day will be a little bit brighter and a little bit longer. Soon we might even have snow. In the UK, pagans and druids are gathering at Stonehenge (Friday Morning) while in Kensington Market in Toronto it is the wonderful Festival of Lights.
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The Hidden Cost of Your Hardwood Floor
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.21.06
image by Pete Souza, Chicago Tribune
Coming soon to a condo near you: Hardwood made in China. "Night and day, the timber ships reach this Yangtze River port[Zhangjiagang], one of the world's busiest clearinghouses for logs from every corner of the globe: Southeast Asia, the Amazon, Russia, the Congo....And no one is consuming more of it than Americans. U.S. shoppers have become the world's best customers of low-cost Chinese flooring, furniture and plywood, buying 10 times as much as a decade ago. But that profitable embrace comes at a steep, hidden cost: The demand for cheap Chinese goods is driving destructive logging around the world, threatening livelihoods and dividing fragile nations."
We have covered this subject before, but Evan Osnos of the Chicago Tribune has prepared a special report that is a must-read.
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Let Hot Men Sell Environmentalism
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 12.20.06
Last week, in an interview about eco-fashion, I was asked how it related to womens' positive body image. Given that some of our most popular fashion posts have featured busty, near-nude models, I had been mulling it over and answered that the best we can hope for in the foreseeable future is equal opportunity objectification. "Sustainable" textiles becoming mainstream means selling them in the way the public expects: preying on all of the hopes, fears and longings of consumers through image-making. Do men with Photoshop-enhanced six packs and Marky Mark-like endowment sell conventional underwear? Well, then, let them sell organic cotton and bamboo....
Boston Mandates Green Building Standards for Public and Private Projects
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12.20.06
From the Boston Globe business section:- “Boston is expected to become the first major city in the nation to require private developers to adhere to a strict set of so-called green-building standards, officials said yesterday…The standards will be required before permits are issued for all projects of 50,000 square feet or more”. Inspired by a colonial-era warning, we bring our notice in doggerel verse.
‘In Boston, if you buy land, step two you’ll build Green; And TreeHugger, on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm.’...
Cutting Carbon Emissions
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 12.20.06
Some time ago, I had a call from my son Brian, who had come across a huge new wind farm as he was driving on one of the interstate highways in west Texas. He described the rows of wind turbines receding toward the horizon. Interspersed among them were oil wells. The wind turbines were turning and the oil wells were pumping. My son was fascinated by the juxtaposition of the old and the new, the past and the future. I said, “If you return 30 years from now, the wind turbines will still be turning, but it is unlikely that the oil wells will be pumping.” What he was looking at in a nutshell was the energy transition, the shift from the age of fossil fuels to renewables. See Chapter 10 “Stabilizing Climate” in Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (available for free downloading)....
Most Huggable
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 12.20.06
Electrolux’s concept vacuum shoes clean the floor with foot power… Co-foudners of Method green home cleaning line get PETA’s person of the year award… Triple Pundit’s Ask Pablo takes on the question of shower time… A new study shows Britain’s sea life traveling northward as oceans warm… A green moving company puts some grease in its tanks… ...
TreeHugger Picks: TreeHuggerTV's Eco-Party Tips
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.20.06
A couple of big holidays are right around the corner, and with the holidays come the holiday parties. TreeHuggerTV has some good ideas for how to source, plan and enjoy eco-parties during the holidays and all year 'round.
1) Get the skinny on organic and biodynamic wines from the folks at Appellation Wine Store, Benziger Family Winery and Organic Wine Journal.
2) Wine isn't for everyone, and we think learning how to buy organic milk is important enough that there's a second episode dedicated to the beverage that does the body good.
3) No party is complete without food, so bone up on how to buy green fish before buying.
4) The three-part eco-party series (part one, part two & part three) covers the party from start to finish, considering everything from eco-friendly furniture, corn plastics, green gin & vodka and bamboo placemats....
Plant a Tree with Tree Greetings
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 12.20.06
Are you behind on your holiday cards? Consider sending a Tree Greeting! Even better, consider giving it as a holiday gift as well. Here’s how it works: purchase an e-card, a tree will be planted in the recipients name, a certificate will be sent to them electronically and then they’ll be able to take an e-tour to see their tree and where it’s planted. You can select the type of tree and planting area that you want and so many are available. Save paper and plant a tree at the same time – what a great gift! ::Tree Greetings ...
Pedal Power Lights LED Billboard
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.20.06
120 hearty volunteers took turns powering this billboard display last week in Vancouver, BC. The advertisement was sponsored by DDB/Vancouver and BC Hydro to showcase the super-efficiency of LEDs; to wit: the 1500 LED lights on the reindeer were powered solely by the bicycle's pedal power. BC Hydro claims that only 120 incandescent bulbs would have been lit with the same amount of power. If there's a better way to generated power and attention for the need to get away from conventional lighting and spread a little holiday cheer to boot, we have yet to see it. Now all we need is a way to do the same with our own LED Christmas lights. via ::Core77...
Shaklee Get Clean's Concentrated Cleaners
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 12.20.06
Standing on the pillars of Safe, Powerful, Green & Smart, Shaklee's Get Clean household cleaning products offer concentrated, nontoxic, biodegradable cleaning that use less packaging and less product than other conventional cleaners. Eschewing nasties like chlorine, ammonia, phosphates and formaldehyde, Get Clean is instead powered by natural enzymes and sustainably-derived ingredients, and are never tested on animals. While we can't back up some of their claims, like buying the Starter Kit can save you $3,400 on equivalent cleaners, will eliminate 108 pounds of packaging waste from landfills and will keep 248 pounds of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, we do like to see that you won't need much to get the job done: the product instructions recommends using just 1-2 drops of their Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate per 16 oz. of water to clean windows and mirrors, or just a 1/4 teaspoon per 16 oz. for general cleaning duties, so a little goes a long way. Their product selection includes everyday household cleaner, laundry & dishwashing detergents, scouring paste and more, and they also offer spray bottles, pumps and dispensers for easy diluting and cleaning. Their products are available through the website. ::Shaklee Get Clean via ::Apartment Therapy: Los Angeles...
It's a Wrap
by Bonnie Alter, London on 12.20.06
Christmas wrapping paper is really wasteful--but there is something about using newspaper and string that just doesn't have that festive spirit. But there is hope. There are quite a few festive recycled wrapping papers available. Recycled aluminium foil looks shiny and bright and you can re-use it to wrap up the left-over turkey. World Wildlife Fund has gift wrap that is 100% recycled, decorated with sweet little birds on snowy branches (pictured). Or you could cover the presents in paper printed with hot chili peppers, bamboo or tea leaves, all Fairtrade. A Nepalese co-operative, set up with assistance from The Body Shop, makes hand-made carrier bags out of rags, waste paper, and agriculture waste like banana fibres and water hyacinth. Another bright and cheery paper range has been made using the raffia fibres from the bark of the mulberry tree as the base raw material. A variety of petals, leaves, banana, sugarcane fibres and bark particles are used. They have tags and paper cord as well. Don't forget about raffia, used as cord, it's colourful, comes in every colour imaginable and makes every present look like a dream. ...
No Comment
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12.20.06
From Democracy in Action: "On December 5, 2006, the USDA announced its new appointments to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB essentially advises the USDA on how to interpret and implement federal organic laws that regulate industry. The NOSB also reviews and approves substances for placement on the National List of Approved and Prohibited Substances. In other words, the NOSB has the ability to significantly weaken or strengthen the effectiveness of the national organic standards". "According to federal law, the NOSB is to be made up of a diverse group of experts in the organic field, including a consumer and public interest group representative, an environmentalist, a scientist, and a handler. Despite this clear mandate of diversity, the USDA's new appointments are all industry representatives"....
Holographic Solar One Step Closer to Reality
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 12.20.06
Last April, we took at look at the holographic solar module, a technology that could cut the amount of silicon needed for, and thus the price of, solar power generation. Start-up Prism Solar Technologies, which developed the module, has sent a letter of intent to Smart Growth Advocates on behalf of the city of Pueblo, Colorado, to locate its headquarters, research and development operations, and manufacturing there. If finalized (the company and city are still discussing incentives), the company's operations would create up to 300 new manufacturing jobs with an average wage of $22 an hour. Pueblo's attractions for the company include the city's desire to become "the renewable energy capital of Colorado," and its close proximity to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. According to The Pueblo Chieftain:...
How Can You Keep’em Down On The Farm, Once They’ve Been To Green Chicago?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 12.20.06
If you’re a follower of economic development trends you’ll have seen articles like this recent one from the Chicago Tribune:- “MADISON, Wis. -- Here's the deal: Students would get four years of reduced or free college tuition in exchange for staying in Wisconsin 10 years after they graduate…That's the plan, known as the "Big Bang," from a special state commission that looked at daunting economic projections and decided last week it was time for a "Hail Mary" approach to stave off an era of serious decline in the Dairy State”. Per the article, several states have offered or are talking about offering serious tuition incentives to students who promise to live in state for several years after college graduation. The general idea is to keep the “creative class” around long enough that they’ll help invent, build, and run new businesses that will replace the jobs that have gone off to Asia. Without much exploration of what graduates are drawn to, government "experts” and journalists characterize the intent of these offers as reversing “brain drain:” people moving from the state of their education, to the city(s)/state(s) they want to live in after graduation. Getting at motive, we have our own green hypothesis to explain the cause of the "brain drain" and some possible solutions for the drained-state politicians to consider....
Wall Street Journal on A Hunt For Energy Hogs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.20.06
Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal bought a Kill-a-Watt and went around his house, measuring where the power went and what his electricity bill was really made of. All the computer wall-warts and chargers cost, but didn't amount to much- "If I really want to save money, the gadgets to look at aren't computers and chargers, but things my grandparents had"- the killers were lighting and the electric dryer. "I estimate our lights cost us around $30 a month, nearly a third of that from a chandelier with eight bulbs...switching from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescents could reduce our light bill from $30 to less than $10, and the CFLs should last a lot longer." He also concludes with: "After running my experiment, I feel confident pronouncing that gadgets don't deserve the real blame for our nation's mounting electric use. Rather, how about the fact that our houses are getting bigger and bigger: According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average size of a new home now tops 2,400 square feet, up from 1,645 square feet in 1975. The impulse to blame our gadgets for higher energy bills is a testament to our ambivalence of how they've transformed our lives -- an outlet, if you will, for the unease we sometimes feel at how thoroughly things have changed." ::Wall Street Journal...
It's a Wonderful Life. Or is it?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.20.06
We have seen It's a Wonderful Life more times than we can count. It is a deeply subversive movie, where George Bailey wanted to throw of the dust of this two bit town and see the world and be an architect and build bridges and do great things but in the end has to settle down, raise a pile of kids and run his dad's Savings and Loan. When George says "I wish I had never been born" angel Clarence grants his wish and he gets to tour Bedford Falls as it might have been had he not been around. I agree with Gary Kamiya' s great Salon piece of a few years ago- Pottersville is a lot cooler than Bedford Falls, and perhaps the town might have been better off without him. Now Jim Kunstler has put his nail into George's coffin as well. ...
QOTD - Dominating Nature
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 12.20.06
Thought this quote was incredibly timely. Australia’s south eastern states have been battling intense bushfires for the past few weeks. To the point that extra firefighters have been imported from interstate and New Zealand. The country is also in the grip of, what the commission charged with looking after our prime waterways calls, “a one-in-a-1000-years drought.” Humans don’t control nature or the weather, but we do impact them. The results of which seem increasing less hospitable. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the past dozen, for example. Here at TreeHugger our byline is ‘The Future is Green.’ Looking out from a dry, brown land turning progressively black, we trust that will be the case. Quote via ::Bushfire Summer....
Comments on Comments
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.20.06
Comments are strange and wonderful things; they are expressions of our freedom of speech and an integral part of the charm of blogs. Commenters catch our mistakes and expand the content of the posts. Since few of us have time to read all of them, we are going to start a weekly review of the most interesting comments, threads and discussions. ...
Shame is Good? Christina Ricci "Tisked" Out of Fur Worship
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 12.20.06
Fur, fur. Our readers recently feverishly debated its re-use, and particularly the "fur is ugly" rhetoric -- you know, the strategy of making any use of fur completely unfashionable and repulsive to stem demand. Now our friends at Ecorazzi tell us that Christina Ricci has denounced past fur flaunting after a PETA wag of the finger and a fan site shut-down. Given Ricci's indie fan base, her public fur-love always seemed a bit surprising. Perhaps this niche makes her more susceptible to PETA's admonitions?
Since we TreeHuggers are in the business of making "Green" fun and friendly, the fur conversation brings up the role of shame in this "environmental lifestyle" world we inhabit. Many of us have escaped environmental communities defined to a large degree by guilt and condemnation. Conversations like that around the recent NY Green Drinks party feel alarmingly familiar. As eco-issues ease further into the mainstream, what's the right balance when we want to make a long-term impact and convince people that conventional cotton is dirty, SUVs are lame and McMansions are dumb, for instance? How much shame is too much? ::Ecorazzi...
The Solar Bikini: Charge up on this
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 12.20.06
OMFG its just so amazing, you can be at the beach all day grooving to tunes on your ipod and never run out of electricity while wearing this photovoltaic bikini! And who goes in the water anyways?
Actually a student project at winter show at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at Tisch School of the Arts of New York University. Designer Andrew Schneider says "The iDrink swimware line is perfect for those who want to go the beach, listen to music, and enjoy a cold and deserved beverage, but who don't want to get wet! The iDrink's photovoltaic film panels allow a fashionable fit while supplying the 6.5 volts @ 1.5 Amps needed to power a peltier junction and an iPod and keep you double cool! See you on the Jersey Shore!" ::ITP via ::Notcot
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