- 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 February 18, 2007 - February 24, 2007
Total this week: 141
DIY: old sweaters + scissors = new outfit
by Kathreen Ricketson, Canberra, Australia on 02.24.07
Image: Flickr image of a chopped up sweater, ready to be re-used.
Finding new uses for old clothes is a great way to green up and clean up your wardrobe. Re-purposing old clothing is hot, hip designers are reclaiming used clothing to create sustainable fashion. TreeHugger has explored this concept a few times before, organisations turning sweaters into blankets and artists making one of a kind hats. Read on for ideas and some visual stimulation....
GE announces High Efficiency Incandescent Light Bulbs. Why?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.24.07
GE just announced "advancements to the light bulb that potentially will elevate the energy efficiency of this 125-year-old technology to levels comparable to compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), delivering significant environmental benefits. Over the next several years, these advancements will lead to the introduction of high-efficiency incandescent lamps that provide the same high light quality, brightness and color as current incandescent lamps while saving energy and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions." The bulbs will come out at 30 lumens per watt (twice a conventional incandescent) and top out at 60 lumens per watt. GE says "In addition to offering significant energy savings comparable to CFLs, the 21st century version of Edison’s bulb provides all the desirable benefits including light quality and instant-on convenience as incandescent lamps currently provide at a price that will be less than CFLs."
Now I would not suggest that the release of this statement on the same day as the launch of 18seconds.org. is anything more than coincidental. I would suggest that when every green group in the world is saying that CFL's do not have start-up or colour balance problems any more, that it is unfortunate that GE decides to promote this canard. I would also suggest that announcing a bulb that will be half as good as a CFL when it is launched in three years has just given a whole lot of people an excuse to do nothing. Changing lightbulbs now is one of the quickest, cheapest and easiest first steps around, a start on a long road. GE just put a nice big three year detour into it with this vaporbulb, and knocked the wind out of any movement to ban incandescents by throwing out the lifeline of incremental improvement down the road. Thanks, GE. ::GE Press Release...
Eco-Madera: Sustainable Wood From Ecuador - Part 2
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.24.07
In the first part of this post yesterday I began telling you about Eco-Madera, an Ecuadorian company that makes wooden floors and doors from sustainably harvested mixed species wood. Kallari is looking forward to having one their mixed species floors in the café in Quito. There are going to be as many as seven different species of wood in the new floor. This will show the biodiversity of the forest and hopefully look pretty funky too. It will certainly be more beautiful than the dark stained eucalyptus floor that the café currently sports. Eco-Madera will use this new floor as their showpiece in Quito to show their work to potential clients. This means Kallari can be assured of a top quality job and some extra customers! ...
The Stûv that Dreams Are Made of
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.24.07
We have warmed to many wood stoves, including the lovely modern Rais, but our jaw dropped when we saw the stunning Belgian Stûv at the Interior Design Show. However its inner beauty was revealed when we looked at its features and specifications. It actually works in three modes: when the large curved glass is closed, it reaches thermal and emission efficiencies beyond the tightest European standards. Raise the glass and it is an attractive (if less efficient) open fireplace. At night, close the solid door and its increased airtightness will allow slow burning all through the night. Toss in a swivel to make it face any direction and get this, a radiant barbeque that clips on the front, and you have one hot stove. Cheap at $ 9,000. Available in North America from ::Stûv found at ::IDS...
Trend Day 2007 in Hamburg
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 02.24.07
If you can be in Hamburg, Germany, on 8 May 2007, you have the opportunity to hear 2006 Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus speak at Trendbüro's 12th Trend Day. The theme this year is "Karma Capitalism--Values vs Prices". Under the motto "Every social problem is a business opportunity," invited speakers will examine the question of whether the global word-of-mouth phenomenon emerging in our networked society is the driver for success in ethical business models. Managers, marketers and decision makers have the opportunity to learn from Yunus, who developed a model of microcredit which uses capitalist tools to relieve poverty. Peter Head, the Arup Project Director best known for the eco-city Dongtan, will close the program with the topic "A New Paradigm of Urban Development to Reduce Carbon Emissions."
If you can't be in Hamburg on 8 May, register early to be one of 40 guests invited to participate interactively at the CoreCon Convention Center on Second Life. You may be selected by sending an email to secondlife@trendbuero.com explaining why you should be one of 40 lucky guests selected to test the interaction of the real and virtual space during the 12th annual Trend Day program....
IDS07: Small Fridges Make Good Cities
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.24.07
Concept spaces by various designers were linked together as an exhibit at IDS, with Toronto's Donald Chong getting the kitchen. And what a gem of a kitchen it is. When one looks at architectural magazines and even TreeHugger, kitchens have become high tech wonders; ads show monster appliances, triple ovens and fridges big enough to park a cow in. When you enter Donald Chong's kitchen you see wood, food and warmth. The fridge is a small, undercounter unit- this is a seasonal kitchen, responding to the marketplace, the baker, vegetable store and neighbourhood vendor. You don't need a big fridge when you are committed to fresh and seasonal. You do need storage; Donald is standing in front of a wall of beautiful objects and ingredients.
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domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Fashion
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.24.07
We've been focusing on interiors thus far in our peek at the Green List in March's domino magazine, having looked at tiles, renovating, rugs, wallcoverings, fabric and furniture, so we'll deviate from that a bit today for a look at some green fashion. For the ladies, the fashion list is comprised of five outfits, with a few extra must-haves for your weekend bag. Many of the designers will be familiar to regular readers, with eco-fashion all-stars like Edun, Loomstate and Levi's Eco comprising parts of a couple of outfits. Linda Loudermilk's denim, Anna Cohen's designer streetwear and some sustainable skivvies by Ciel help round out the list, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg. Open up the print mag to pages 52-53 for more, and surf over to dominomag.com for a slideshow. ::domino's Green List: Fashion...
IDS Report: Furniture from a Four Foot Square
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.24.07
The Ryerson School of Interior Design "is making its move towards sustainability- designing intelligently for today without compromising the environment of tomorrow, whether by degradation of resources or through poor design requiring constant updates.
Students were challenged to design and manufacture a table prototype aimed for mass production using only a 4' by 4' sheet of Baltic birch plywood. Work shown here is representative and chosen only because my photography is so lousy that these are the only shots that turned out. Shirley Chueng's table above reminds my of a telephone table of another era. (and is also my sharpest picture.) ...
Bush Showcases Plug-In Electric Cars
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.24.07
Yesterday, President George Bush peered under the hood of two electric cars parked on the White House lawn (see video here). The two cars were a modified Toyota Prius, and an electric pickup built by Phoenix Motorcars. Bush made a short speech to reiterate his State of the Union Address saying: "I firmly believe that the goal I laid out, that Americans will use 20 percent less gasoline over the next 10 years is going to be achieved, and here's living proof of how we're going to get there." The Prius on display had a high-power lithium-ion battery made by A123 Systems. It can power the car for about 40 miles and recharge in five hours. The white truck, made by Phoenix Motorcars, uses a different kind of high-powered battery made by Altair Nanotechnologies. The battery has a range of 130 miles and can be recharged in about 10 minutes with a rapid-charging unit or trickle-charged overnight with its onboard charger. :: New York Times...
Locally Grown Landscape and Garden Plants
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.24.07
File this under "Green Cliches." One of last night's cable TV features included a charming woman touring a farm stand while outlining the positives of buying local produce. Clearly, local food has "arrived" as a subject for the mainstream media. (How odd it must seem to someone visiting from a developing nation, to see adult Americans spend their tube time learning how to buy groceries.) What's the next trend in supply chain shortening, then? Locally grown garden and landscape plants, perhaps. Ideally, decorative plants would be locally evolved, locally grown, and locally distributed (the latter being especially important for heavy potted varieties). We found a Pennsylvania USA vendor of East Coast varieties: Yellow Springs Farm. Check out the on-line catalog first, where some nice plant specimen photos are shown. The general advantages of locally evolved, grown, & distributed (LEG'D) plants are outlined below the fold....
Orlando Bloom's New Home: 'As Green As I Can Make It'
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.24.07
We already reported on the Global Green pre-oscar party here, where a broad list of eco-celebrities gathered to promote greener vehicles and other alternatives to our rapidly dating fossil fuel culture. Now we have another tidbit of gossip for you from the party, courtesy of the appropriately named Orlando Sentinel. Apparently the paper’s namesake, Mr Orlando Bloom, used the party to talk about the new home he is building in London which, he claimed, would be as green as he could make it:
"It's got solar panels on the roof, energy efficient light bulbs -- newer technology basically that is environmentally friendly,"...
Toronto's Interior Design Show
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.23.07
We spent this morning at the Interior Design Show in Toronto, and this afternoon at the Gladstone Hotel's "Come up to my room" alternative design event, and are just full of great green design things to show. Toronto readers interested in design should hit both of them before the weekend is out. There is some great student work (especially by Ryerson students) a prototype area with work by young designers, and other items worth seeing that we will be posting over the next few days. See also coverage over at ::MocoLoco, from whom we blatantly ripped off this intro photo. ::Interior Design Show and ::Gladstone Hotel. ...
Levi’s Launches Organic Brand Globally
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.23.07
Levi Strauss & Co., creator of the world’s first pair of blue jeans back in 1873, has now launched a new brand called Levi’s Eco. We originally brought you the news back in the summer, but thought we’d do a follow-up piece now that we’ve seen them firsthand. These organic cotton jeans are high-end and costly, but are pretty comparable to other jeans that we’ve seen. As part of the global launch, the Eco jeans are available in all of the Levi’s U.S and Europe stores. Right now they are offering an organic jean jacket as well and apparently new products will be introduced this coming spring. Unfortunately, we still don’t have any information on where/how these jeans are made but it is worth noting that the company's Capital E collection (which includes some Eco jeans) is made in North Carolina. ::Levi Strauss & Co....
Eco-Madera: Sustainable Wood From Ecuador - Part 1
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.23.07
One of the projects I am working on here in Ecuador for the Kallari Association is the redesign of their café in Quito. Having been very successful in their first year and a half the café’s business has slumped in recent months and the wear and tear on the interior is noticeable. With the increasing popularity of Kallari's Chocolate, in Ecuador and Internationally, it seems about time to raise the café’s profile to reflect the standard of their world class chocolate. With Kallari producing organic chocolate and fair trade crafts and working for sustainable livelihoods the revamp is of course going to be as eco-friendly as possible. Over the next few weeks I will be writing about how the design work is progressing, the materials we choose, the furniture we design and the challenges, failures and successes we encounter along the way. Today we start with the floor and the prospect of working with Eco-Madera....
Will NASCAR Go Ethanol?
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 02.23.07
"I think the global-warming thing, and all the things that are written about that, a lot more people are aware of the fact that we do need to do something." Quick quiz. Did this quote come from A) a member of the TreeHugger staff B) musician Jack Johnson or C) NASCAR driver Kyle Petty? If you chose C, you probably read this post's title. Or, you might have read this Time article outlining NASCAR's potential to change many American's perception of alternative fuels. The article quotes both Petty and fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton as saying that the potential of the sport's marketing power could change the perception of ethanol as a fringe fuel for "that guy with the Volkswagen van that runs off of whatever," to a mainstreamed homegrown alternative. Although NASCAR is a running late to the ethanol party, it is possible (as others have said before) that their move into alternative fuel could prove to be the tipping point.
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Zapping Trash With Plasma Produces Clean Energy and Fuel
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.23.07
Popular Science reports that companies like Startech are blasting trash with plasma and producing clean fuels like hydrogen as a byproduct. Basically, you put tons of trash in one end of a plasma converter, and a superheated plasma arc obliterates the trash into its molecular components. The process is called "plasma gasification". There are two byproducts: one is a "syngas" composed mostly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which can be converted into fuel. The other is molten glass that can be sold for use in household tiles or road asphalt. Amazingly, plasma converters produce enough energy to power themselves, and actually produce an excess of energy that can be sold to the grid. Still, some environmental scientists have warned that the residual substances may contain toxic heavy metals.
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TreeHugger Radio: Twelve Steps to Low Carbon Living, The Politics of the Climate Crisis, and Wal-Mart’s Big (Greener) Footprint
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 02.23.07
This Week on TreeHugger Radio: Coop America has designed a 12-step program for greener living and lightening the shadow of climate change. Joseph Romm, physicist and author of Hell and High Water, talks about how global warming begins as a political issue. Also, as Wal-Mart continues to profile itself as a green leader, the big-box giant’s vice president for corporate strategy and sustainability, Andy Ruben, hints at where it’s all headed. Listen for TreeHugger Radio week in the blogosphere on TreeHugger and in the iTunes podcast directory. Also toggle over to EcoTalk with Betsy Roserberg to hear TreeHugger Radio each Friday (listen here or right click to download):: TreeHugger Radio...
TreeHugger Picks: Videos to Use for Inspiration
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.23.07
TreeHugger's Convenient Truths video contest is in its last weekend; we're counting down the final days until we can watch 'em all and see who has the best example of how they are putting the brakes on global warming and gets the $30,000 in sustainable swag. For anyone who needs a little inspiration (or who just wants to take a break and watch some fun & inspiring videos -- it's Friday, after all. Kick back for a sec!), here are some of our picks for TreeHugging videos (and remember, you can always check out TreeHuggerTV for our latest moving pictures).
1) Check out the house of the future, just one of six videos from England about fighting climate change.
2) In preparation for the Sundance Channel's THE GREEN, see what host Majora Carter had to say about "Greening the Ghetto" at the TED conference.
3) For some true inspiration, watch (or read) sustainability guru Bill McDonough in one of TreeHugger's favorite videos ever.
4) Shayne McQuade, inventor of the Voltaic solar backpacks & bags, chats about realizing his green dream with his business.
5) For a little more lighthearted, but still effective, video, we like this solar commercial, which might be the best treatment of the subject we've seen....
Most Huggable: Whole Foods Eats Wild Oats, Maryland’s Emission Cap, Dwell’s Green Suite
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.23.07
Dwell’s new site dedicates a room to the best in green modern design and architecture… Maryland, the state with the most coastline and the most to lose from rising tides, has legislation on the table to cap emissions at 1990 levels by 2020… Chevy’s General Manager Ed Peper assures us that the plug-in Volt is so much more than just hype… A new hockey-stick graph comes from web analysis of searches for global warming topics… Whole Foods, the world’s only Fortune 500 health food store, opens wide and acquires competitor Wild Oats… ...
FlexibleLove: Expanding Furniture to Seat 16
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.23.07
Following in the footsteps of other accordion-inspired designs like the Newspaper Extendable Bench and Paper Softseating, FlexibleLove takes the concept a little bit further by being able to function as both a single chair and an extended bench that can seat up to 16 (see the video of it in action here). Made from widely-available, low-cost recycled materials (paper and wood), FlexibleLove is also produced using pre-existing manufacturing processes, cutting back on the footprint of the product even further. The designer claims that the 16-seater can support up to 4224 lbs of weight (!); there is also a 12-, 8- and 2-person size in production. While there aren't too many cases where we'd need to seat 16 people in a row at home, FlexibleLove has the potential to be the hit of your next dinner party; they're (usually) available here, and though it's currently out of stock, preorders for shipping next month are being taken. Check out more pics at their website and see more examples of transforming furniture here. ::FlexibleLove via ::Apartment Therapy LA...
Convenient Truths: Your Last Weekend to Enter!
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 02.23.07
Fruit and Concrete: What a Mix!
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 02.23.07
Actually, I think it’s quite a bright idea considering the fact that this years Fruit Tree Tour will feature the world's largest veggie-oil powered caravan, covered in forest-scape murals and carrying 1000 fruit trees and 27 volunteers along its annual 20-city, 70-day tour to inner city schools from San Diego to Sacramento. It’s certainly a one-of-a-kind idea featuring a day-long interactive outdoor program that includes West African agricultural drumming and eco-conscious hip-hop to help reach kids with the concept of sustainability. Ultimately, Common Vision's Fruit Tree Tour aims to educate inner city students about how easy it can be to turn barren school yards into abundant orchards; and in the process create living, outdoor classrooms with the potential to produce enough fresh fruit for their school's cafeteria and possibly even members of the community....
domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Tiles
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.23.07
We're nearly half-way through our peek at the Green List, TreeHugger's collaboration on green design with domino magazine. Today, it's all about the tile; as with many of the other sections, there's something for any preference: colors, materials, style, budget and more. Oceanside Glasstile (top right -- we covered them here) uses recycled bottles (over 2 million pounds a year -- wow!) for their multitude of patterns and colors. For a less pearl-like look and feel, check out the granite dust and recycled glass in fireclay, terra-cotta tiles, (top row, next to the green list) which come in equally gorgeous matte and glossy shades. The indoor/outdoor versatility of the tiles from Coverings, Etc. (bottom left) comes from the combination of recycled glass, granite and marble chips mixed with cement for a very textured, multi-toned terrazzo. Eco-friendly Floorings' recycled-brass squares with a brushed finish (bottom left-center) are just one of the wide variety of surfaces that can green your backsplash or bathroom; add a little color and pattern with Granada Tiles (bottom right), who use a 19th-century French technique using tinted cement rather than clay (requires no firing and less energy) to produce vibrant, Provençal patterns. Lastly, Erin Adams' shiny recycled-aluminum bars (right-center, on the bottom row) are a great way to add a little dimension to a shower without adding more metal to the waste stream. Check out more of the tiles on file over at dominomag.com and on page 48 of the print version. ::domino's Green List: Tiles...
Canadian Company Testing Enzymatic CO2 Capture
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 02.23.07
Is carbon sequestration a promising development for minimizing CO2 emissions, or a "counter-productive red herring?" The jury's still out, but a very early-stage technology being tested by Quebec City's CO2 Solutions could make sequestration a reality, or even transform carbon emitted from smokestacks into raw materials such as "baking soda, chalk, or limestone." According to Technology Review, the company's prototype bioreactor uses an enzyme harvested from genetically modified E. coli bacteria to turn CO2 wastes into bicarbonate:...
LightLouver: A New Daylighting System
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.23.07
Seems like it’s been a few years since we mentioned light shelves. Groovy, simple things they bounce external natural light deep into building reducing the need for powered, artificial illumination. But they do have their limitations, as the ever excellent Environmental Building News, in a product review for LightLouver Daylighting System, observes. “In order to effectively protect an indoor workspace from direct sunlight, [light shelves] need to be quite wide, and they rarely reflect light deep enough into a space to daylight more than the perimeter zone.” Not so with LightLouvers. Roughly speaking the units are like thinnish louvre blinds with a bunch of fixed panels, shaped a bit like the Nike ‘swoosh’ logo. Apparently the angled blades reflect about 76% of direct sunlight into a room, up onto a ceiling, reaching much further back into the space than the usual light shelf. On overcast days they are said to throw around 54% of the available light inside. A retractable version and one built into a glazing unit are also under development. The current model costs upwards from $30 per ft 2 ($300/m 2) and as one of the clients who have them installed says, “You see a nice amount of light on the ceiling, and it reflects down into the workplace—they are doing what they are supposed to do.” ::LightLouver, via Environmental Building News, who have some other good pics. ...
Change a Bulb. Change Everything: 18seconds.org
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.23.07
Things are looking bad for the incandescent bulb. Not only have California and Australia decided to ban this out dated technology, but it seems there is a huge surge in interest in its successors – the Compact Flourescent Lightbulb (CFL) and, ultimately, LED technology. Yesterday saw the launch of 18Seconds.org, an innovative new US campaign with the slogan: ‘Change a bulb. Change everything.’ The campaign website asks “how enlightened is your area”, and then sets out to provide answers. The idea is to offer an interactive map ranking states, and major cities, according to how many CFLs have been bought since the beginning of the year. So far, Arkansas is in the lead with 284,055 bulbs sold, while District of Columbia is in last place, with only 1725 bulbs sold this year. Of course, this is not exactly a fair competition, given that it is based on total number of bulbs sold, rather than bulbs per capita. However, the idea is neat - by tapping into people’s civic pride and natural sense of competition we can increase adoption of efficient technologies.
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Minnesota Sets Pace for Renewable Energy
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 02.23.07
On Thursday, Minnesota quietly assumed a leadership role in the battle against climate change with the creation of what is arguably the nation’s most aggressive renewable energy standard. The legislation, signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, requires that 25 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2025. Although Maine and New York maintain more stringent renewable portfolio standards, the two states started with significantly more renewable energy capacity than Minnesota. The Land of 10,000 Lakes currently generates 5 percent of its power from renewable sources, while roughly half the electricity produced in the state comes from coal. Subsequently, Minnesota’s new law will require the most significant increase in renewable energy generating capacity. Currently, more than 20 states have established similar renewable energy requirements and momentum is building in states such as Colorado and New Hampshire to develop similar initiatives. See also :: Renewable Portfolio Standards... So Far and :: Tell Congress to Support Clean Energy...
Sublime Stuart Haygarth
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.23.07
There is something hypnotic about Stuart Haygarth's aesthetic sense. He loves to collect and categorize everyday objects. His work is concerned with giving order to the banal and overlooked trivia of life. This started out as a post about his new chandelier, as seen in Inhabitat. It is made out of out of 416 disposable plastic wine glasses and lit with a pink fluorescent light source. Then we realized that we had already covered his beautiful chandelier made of debris collected from the beach at Dungeness, a magical stretch of land under a nuclear reactor in southern England. Then we found the mural (a section is pictured); a commission from British Airports Authority. Because of increased airport security, now many items are no longer permitted in carry-on baggage on airplanes. This is a collection of confiscated items, all taken from passengers boarding airplanes at Gatwick Airport over a two week period. The objects are categorized into seven categories--scissors, vanity,tools, drinking and smoking, culinary, toy weapons and miscellaneous. Why do so many people travel with screw drivers and wrenches? We must also mention his lampshade chandelier made from a collection of re-cycled, unwanted and discarded lampshades and put together as a series of linear lights that form "a family". Awe-inspiring. :: Stuart Haygarth via :: Inhabitat
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Johnson Controls, Inc. Moves Toward Renewable Energy
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.23.07
Via RenewableEnergyAccess.com:- "In response to increasing global demand for renewable energy, Johnson Controls, Inc. [based in Milwaukee WI, USA] is expanding its business direction in the areas of designing, installing and servicing geothermal, solar, biomass, wind and other renewable sources as energy supply options for customers. Johnson Controls has already implemented several renewable projects for its customers, including the Utah Department of Corrections (geothermal); Erie Community Unit School District (wind turbines); Denver Federal Center (solar); Indiana Department of Corrections (biomass boilers); and the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant (digester gas cogeneration plant)". As you can see by the photo, visitors are interested in Johnson Control's Lithium Battery offerings as well. Image credit:- Johnson Controls....
Environmentalism is NOT a Religion
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.23.07
Al Gore hit Toronto the other day, and scalpers were selling tickets at$ 200 a pop. To its discredit, The Globe and Mail decided to treat it like a Green Moonie convention with an article titled Eco-pilgrims gather to 'heed the Goracle'- Hundreds pack hall in show of devotion to climate cause. "They came in their hundreds to hear him speak, and even those left standing outside the crowded hall would not be deterred from lingering in the proximity of the Baptist prophet from Tennessee." Reporter Anthony Reinhart interviewed the usual flakes and flotsam that follow in the wake and built his article around them. "From my perspective, it is a form of religion," said Bruce Crofts, 69, as he held a banner aloft for the East Toronto Climate Action Group amid a lively prelecture crowd outside the old hall. "The religion for this group is doing something for the environment." And another: "It was not our intention to have a religious approach," ecoSanity group founder Glenn MacIntosh said, "but it was our understanding that it was that kind of movement that people were craving; that kind of spiritual connection in their gut."
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EnergyStar vs. EnergyBlackHole
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 02.23.07
What happens when an impossibly bright light enters an impossibly dark place? We are about to find out when the EPA releases version 4 of their EnergyStar standard in a few short months. It's the first time the standard has been updated in 15 years; needless to add, virtually every device out there currently meets the antiquated standard. Strange cough, strange cough. The new standard should up the bar. For example, an 80 percent efficiency rating for PC power supplies is required, effectively killing off items such as this 2000 watt monster. It will also address standby power, which is currently set at a whopping 30 watts for PCs. Servers will be included in the specs, using a fairly complicated measurement protocol that attempts to address real-world performance. This will come in handy, as it is predicted that half of the data centers in the world will run out of power by 2008. And with legislators in the US and EU chomping at the bit to regulate these data centers, EnergyStar might be just in time. To save the (computing) world, that is. ...
Think: Buy the Car, Lease the Battery
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.23.07
Here is an interesting idea to give a boost to the battery powered car: Sell the car but lease the batteries. "By leasing the battery the consumer doesn't take the risk over the unknowns of battery life," said Think president Jan-Olaf Willums. "We're moving from a car concept to a mobility concept. People look more and more at the full cost of ownership." The Norwegian two-seater can go 115 miles on a charge. Separating ownership of the battery from the car opens up all kinds of oppotunities: swapping in better batteries as they are developed, or even the development of battery stations where one can change to a full battery while on the road. ::Green Wombat
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Green Your Beaker: Tel Aviv University Hosts International Conference on Green Chemistry
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 02.23.07
Once upon a time, scientists conducted experiments and with little forethought poured noxious chemicals from their beakers and test tubes down the drain. In recent years, with concerns for the environment and human health high on the agenda, institutions around the world have been addressing ways to “green their chemistry”. On June 6-7th Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental Studies will host: "Green Chemistry – applications, research, and trends” which will include sessions on commercial applications of green chemistry, raw materials recycling, renewable fuels; environmental and health aspects of home and commercial chemicals and global policies in this area. ...
Tax season is coming up—invest in a few compact fluorescent light bulbs
by Ron Dembo, Zerofootprint on 02.22.07
Australia made news around the world this week by announcing an imminent ban on a cherished piece of Victorian technology: the incandescent light bulb. Now other governments, including California’s and Ontario’s, are considering a similar initiative. And in Ontario, at least, the opposition isn’t trying to halt the plan—John Tory is castigating the Liberals for taking their time.
And what’s not to like about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)? In Australia, they expect the ban to result in a cut in greenhouse gas emissions of 4 million tonnes. In Ontario, it looks as though a move away from incandescent bulbs would cut electricity demand by the equivalent of the generating capacity of one coal-fired plant.
However, there will always be objectors (this is axiomatic—if there are still, somehow, people out there with doubts that human CO2 emissions are causing global warming, we shouldn’t be surprised that compact fluorescent light bulbs have their detractors). What is heartening here is that the objections are so easily dealt with....
Is the Swiffer Eco-Friendly?
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.22.07
Don't gag on your granola, but 'tis so indeed—that is, if you would believe Gianfranco Zaccai, the president and CEO of Continuum, the award-winning design and innovation consultancy behind P&G's Swiffer products. And he's not just talking about the CarpetFlick.
Zaccai makes this whopper of an assertion in a BusinessWeek op-ed, while rallying designers not to "just make more stuff the world doesn't need," but to keep sustainability—which can be profitable, to boot—in mind....
TH Blog Love – Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.22.07
Greener Magazine: Peruvian glacier may vanish in five years
“The fact that the Qori Kalis glacier, high in the Andes Mountains, is only one of many ice tongues retreating on the Quelccaya Ice Cap, the largest body of ice in the tropics, provides strong evidence of the warming that appears to be underway worldwide.”
It’s Getting Hot in Here: Step It Up Tops 700 Actions! by May Boeve
“Mardi Gras may be a day behind us, but here at the Step It Up campaign headquarters, we’re still celebrating. Just today, with 52 days remaining before the April 14 national day of climate action, we’ve hit 700 actions! Check out our map to see where an action is taking place in your community, and if there isn’t one, please sign up”...
Global Green Pre-Oscar Party : Electric Cars for the Stars
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 02.22.07
Hollywood heavyweights will travel to the Academy Awards in serious green style this year- thanks to Global Green. Penelope Cruz and Leonardo DiCaprio co-chaired the pre-Oscar party, with a special performance by Maroon5. Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom, Marcia Gay Harden, Diane Kruger, Joshua Jackson, Walton Goggins, Milla Jovovich, Lisa Ray, Michael Mann, Chevy Chase, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Bahar Soomekh, and LA City Councilman Eric Garcetti all hit the symbolic “green carpet” to help the cause. I had the opportunity to check out some of the cars, rub shoulders with CEO Steven Schneider of ZAP cars and talk with Matt Peterson CEO of Global Green USA....
Video: Sustainability is Only Half the Solution, Regeneration is the Other Half
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 02.22.07
Carol Sanford at MIT: "It’s a hell of a way to run a business -- consuming more resources than you bring in, selling off your assets, and cooking the books to make things look good. Yet that is precisely how humans are operating the vast enterprise of living on earth. The U.S. runs a particularly unsuccessful 'Business of Inhabitation', taking up four times more resources than any other nation [...] meeting regulatory requirements and adopting a sustainable approach 'fall short of what we need to do for the planet'. Our problem-solving minds break things down and seek ways merely 'to arrest disorder' or protect what appears valuable [...] We need an evolutionary leap into the 'wholeness mindset,' which involves asking how we regenerate and bring in more of what we need without degrading what is already there." She begins speaking at 5 minutes 22 seconds into the video. ::Video: Carol Sanford at MIT. See also: ::William A. McDonough Conference from 2000, ::Video: Amory Lovins on Winning the Oil Endgame, ::Video: Max Carcas of Ocean Power Delivery, ::Google TechTalks: Climate Change, Carbon Trading and Biofuels...
Convenient Truths: Ed Begley, Jr. to Guest Judge!
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 02.22.07
Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr. has agreed to guest judge our Convenient Truths contest! Many folks know him as Dr. Victor Ehrlich from the television series St. Elsewhere or his recurring roles on Arrested Development and Six Feet Under, but we know him as the vegetarian, IZIP-riding, solar-powered-home dwelling eco-celeb. With only six days left to enter, we hope Ed’s green ways serve as a little last minute inspiration for you to enter your solution to climate change. Not only will your video ...
Bush Goes Green in the Fashion Industry
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.22.07
Lauren Bush that is. The niece of President Bush is working on a new organic lifestyle brand, which will include clothing and accessories. It seems she’s not looking to build her portfolio though, rather, be the spokeswoman and face of the brand. The first piece made its debut at the Michael Kors show during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City. Bush was photographed (seen here with Michael Kors) carrying a burlap shoulder bag that read “Feed the Children of the World” on the side. We’ve seen Ms. Bush’s dedication to others before (for example, when she and her friends collected prom dresses for girls who couldn’t afford them) and she says that by selling the bags they “will feed a child in school for a year through the United Nations World Food Program.” The “Feed Bag” will go on sale in April on Amazon.com. Via ::Fashion Week Daily...
California Winery Brings in the Sheep, Cuts Fuel Use in Half
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 02.22.07
Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-Hours a Year
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 02.22.07
From the lights out department - did you know that a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor uses about 74 watts to display an all white web page, but only uses 59 watts to display an all black page? Yes, there all still plenty of these still in use, particularly in China and Latin America. Worldwide, about 25 percent of the monitors currently in use are cathode ray tubes, which means that they waste energy displaying white backgrounds. This can add up for sites with a global audience.
Take at look at Google, for instance, who gets about 200 million queries a day. Let's assume each query is displayed for about 10 seconds; that means Google is running for about 550,000 hours every day on some desktop. Assuming that users run Google in full screen mode, the shift to a black background will save a total of 15 (74-59) watts. Now take into account that about 25 percent of the monitors in the world are CRTs, and at 10 cents a kilowatt-hour, that's about $75,000/year, a goodly amount of energy and dollars for changing a few color codes.
Of course, you don't need to stick entirely with black; you can try EMERGY-C, a low wattage palette that gives you a bit more flexibility, and only costs about 4 watts more than an all black page. Low wattage web design? It's the future. [We'll keep that low-power palette in mind for the next time we redesign the site! -Ed.]...
House & Garden March 2007: Color & Design
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.22.07
House & Garden's March issue is all about color, and even has a few tips about TreeHugger's favorite hue. They stop in to visit Rizal Coleman (page 54), who owns Architectural Coatings+Design Center in Los Angeles, to talk green paint and wall finishes (and not just the color, in this case). Coleman opened the Center last November, after spending six years developing paints for an upscale brand and inhaling chemicals that were hard on his sinuses; now, after making the switch to nontoxic, VOC-free paints, "I derive such joy from testing new colors," he says, and we think anyone who buys his paints will probably feel the same once they go up on the walls. As a special bonus in the issue, readers will find H&G's "little black book of design," a handy, pocket-sized reference guide to the best in home design, from furniture and fabrics to lighting and laundry, that's the result of polling 20,000 designers and decorators from across the country. They give a nod to some great green design in New York, with Q Collection, Cambium Studio and Vivavi, and TreeHugger is flattered to be included in their favorite websites alongside design powerhouses Apartment Therapy and design*sponge. Pick up the issue for more,
take a closer look at Rizal Coleman's shop and offerings over at houseandgarden.com, check out the full list of the Designers' Best at their site and get more green design at TreeHugger's H&G blog. ::House & Garden March 2007...
Innovative Pharox LED Lamp Uses 3.4W: Replaces 40W Incandescent
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.22.07
An innovative LED lamp named Pharox has been launched in the Netherlands. Apparently, this 3.4 watt bulb is a serious replacement for a 40 watt incandescent bulb. It is rated at 60 lumens per watt. It is also more eco-effective when compared to other LED lamps, because the production does not include phosphor. The bulb will initially be available to customers of the green energy supplier Oxxio (the price listed is € 22.68 for 4 bulbs). The bulb was created by Lemnis Lighting, a technology company focused on the lighting market and managed by two members of the Philips family. Princess is going to distribute the light bulbs worldwide. :: Press Release. See also: 3D LED Bulbs
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Ask TreeHugger: Portable Air Cleaner Considerations
by Helen Suh MacIntosh, Cambridge, MA, USA on 02.22.07
Question: What portable indoor air cleaner should I buy to remove air pollution from inside my home? I want to use the air cleaners to reduce my wife’s suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity.
Response: If your wife spends most of her time at home in one or two rooms, then placing a suitable portable air cleaner near her in each room should help reduce particle levels - and thus improve your indoor air quality. If she spends time at home in many rooms or your home has an open floor plan, portable air cleaners may not be the best solution. You may want to look at other possible solutions, such as a whole house air cleaning system. [Note that whole house air cleaning systems are not a solution for everyone, as they require a central cooling or heating system.] You should be aware that air cleaners generally don't remove everything -- most don't remove bad smells or remove all potentially harmful gases from the air – be suspicious of such claims.
Portable air cleaners are the most common type of air cleaner. They are small and plug into the wall much like a counter-top kitchen appliance or a portable heater. There are many brands and models of portable air cleaners to chose from. In choosing the best portable air cleaner for you, you should consider the following three factors: ...
Volvo Trucks Calculates Cradle to Grave Impacts
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 02.22.07
It’s online. Volvo Trucks has it. You can go to their website and calculate the life cycle impacts of a Volvo truck. In fact you can even compare two vehicles to see which performs better in terms of materials and production, fuel and exhaust, maintenance and end of life. The results are categorized into resources, air, water and waste. Here’s what they have to say: In order for our customers, and others, to see how two of our best-selling trucks (the Volvo FH and Volvo FM) affect the environment, we produced an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The EPD is an on-line application containing information about materials, energy consumption, emissions and so on, which enables you to calculate the environmental impact of a single transport operation or the complete life cycle of a truck.
The site is aimed at companies that use Volvo trucks for transportation purposes, but the idea here is great. One drawback is obviously the limitation to Volvo truck types, however the idea and intent is great. Of course they can’t really provide data on other truck types, so that drawback is excusable. If only other vehicle manufacturers would take this idea one step further and provide an online tool for regular greenie citizens to calculate the life cycle impacts of their vehicles. You could check and compare the impacts of the vehicles you want to buy! Read about Volvo’s hybrid system for trucks and busses here and their plans for CO2 free plants in Sweden here::Volvo Trucks ...
domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Renovating
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.22.07
When it comes to greening your home, we much prefer renovating to starting from scratch with new construction, so TreeHugger was happy to help domino magazine find some great resources for new floors, kitchens and lighting for the Green List in their March green issue. For many of the items, we were sure to offer regional options, so folks across the country could find sources closer to home, to cut down on shipping. When it came to flooring, we went with reclaimed wood, like Trestlewood and Pioneer Millworks, FSC-certified sources, like the wood at EcoTimber, and mod, green carpet from Interface. When it comes to the kitchen, green cabinets from Henrybuilt and countertops from Richlite were high on the list, and don't forget to recycle with the EcoPod. Check out more green renovating tips and sources at dominomag.com, and stay tuned for more from the Green List. ::domino's Green List: Renovating...
Whole Foods Joins Wild Oats
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.22.07
Via New York Times:- Whole Foods chairman and chief executive, John P. Mackey, has announced a proposed merger with Wild Oats Markets. "Whole Foods would pay $565 million, or $18.50 a share, for Wild Oats,...Mark Husson, an analyst with HSBC, said he was surprised by the merger announcement because Whole Foods has always looked down its nose at Wild Oats. But he said the deal made sense, and he compared it to two knights who decide to stop fighting each other so they can protect the castle against bigger competitors". Like Wal-Mart and Target. Given what happens when large retailers allocate a small corner here and there to organics or local produce, this is probably a good development: makes it less likely that the originators of the movement will lose business to the invaders. Image credit: Idylls of the King, eBook...
CSAO: Senegalese Recycled Craft Shop
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.22.07
Walking into this store in the Marais area of Paris is like entering another country altogether. Suddenly the air is alive with light and colour as the exotic objects, fabrics and furniture transport your spirits. This shop was started in 1995 by a French woman who lived in Senegal and loved the ingenuity and creativity of the Senegalese. Senegal is a former French colony with strong links to France. She started a collective outside of Dakar with 400 artisans to promote their skills and talent, with profits going to a children's charity. Many of the products are recycled from plastic or tin cans. They re-invent traditional art and make it modern such as beaded chairs which are part of an old tradition. The kettle, pictured, is made from recycled plastic and comes in all sorts of striped combinations. It is lightweight and would make a great watering can for the plants. The multi-coloured woven mats, made of recycled plastics, would make any room come alive. The briefcases are made of tin cans or scrap metal sheeting. They were originally created for local use, but the Pop art irony of recycling (transforming a Nescafé sign into a lawyer's briefcase, for example) has made them a big hit. There is an Eiffel Tower made of recycled cans and little animal sculptures. Woven baskets and platters as well as wooden ones are for sale as well as wonderful woven fabrics that are hand-dyed and painted and baked in the sun. :: CSAO...
Update: Possible Environmental Disaster in Antarctica
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 02.22.07
Last week, we took the uncharacteristic step of reporting on a potentially grave situation in Antarctica. Much to our relief, the crippled Japanese whaling vessel is undergoing repairs that will hopefully prevent any chemical or oil releases into the otherwise pristine Ross Sea. Although the boat is still disabled and Greenpeace’s offers to tow the vessel to safety continue to be rejected, repair crews have succeeded in restarting its main engine. A decision on whether to attempt to move the ship under its own power will be made after safety tests are completed. Meanwhile, there is still lingering concern that the boat could leak some of the estimated 343,000 gallons of oil that are onboard. The possibility of a spill has sparked significant concern, because the Ross Sea is near to the breeding ground for a estimated 250,000 pairs of penguins. To add insult to injury, a spokesman for the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research has not ruled out the possibility that the vessel could continue its hunt for 945 whales under Japan's so-called ''scientific whaling'' program. See also ::Japanese Whaling Under Fire...
Hot Rocks Energy Gets a $5 Million Nod from Govt
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.22.07
Much to the scepticism of our readers we’ve covered hot rocks at least once or twice before. In a nutshell, it’s a form geothermal energy derived from pumping water kilometres underground where it gets heated enough (by hot rocks!) to then rise back to the surface and drive turbines. Taking time off from phasing out incandescent light bulbs, the Australian government’s Environment Minister, Malcolm Turnbull reckoned that ‘large-scale geothermal power plants had the potential to substantially reduce Australia's carbon dioxide emissions and could provide up to 10 per cent of the country's electricity needs by 2050.’ His counterpart in the Industry Ministry, Ian Macfarlane, was meanwhile giving $5 million AUD to exploration company Petratherm to investigate the concept further at their test site in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. 200 jobs are due to be created as a result. Another company with a potential hot rocks site in the same state is GreenRock Energy, but it looks as if their eyes are currently focussed on a project in western Hungary. It’s all still a bit experimental at the mo’, but makes for a welcome and cleansing relief from the barrage of so called solutions of ‘clean coal’, CO2 geosequestration, and nuclear. ::Petratherm, via SMH....
The Momentum of Climate Change
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.22.07
We long ago gave up covering the skeptical antics of the Wall Street Journal or Canada's National Post; it just got boring and repetitive. Now Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of Freakonomics does the numbers and asks: " Does big business care about climate change as much as everyone else?
Judging from the pages of the Wall Street Journal, the answer is yes. Here are some of the headlines appearing in yesterday’s edition:
-While Housing Withers, ‘Green’ Materials Bloom
-Arctic Melting May Clear Path to Vast Deposits of Oil and Gas
-Biodiesel Powers Up on Financing
-Emissions Caps Could Be Ruinous
-Biodiesel Powers Up on Financing
-Group Seeks Greenhouse-Gas Cuts
-EU Sets 20% Reduction in Emissions by 2020
and that is just the Marketplace section- a lot of coverage for an issue that they say does not exist. Dubner says "It is stunning to me how the threat of climate change has moved so swiftly from a big, simmering news story to a gigantic, omnipresent news story." ...
Design Related: Social Networking Site for Designers
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.22.07
Everybody and their dog has a social networking site these days; we have yet to see any real virtue from being a linkedin member but perhaps its scope is just to big and unfocused. We learn from Josh Spear about a design-focused site worth looking at, particularly for those with an interest such as green or sustainable design. There are a few things that I find intriguing and useful: besides the usual profile and portfolio stuff that you see on design related sites like Coroflot, at design:related there is a section called "my inspirations" where one might start entering links to books, websites and people who have inspired us. This, and their "my influences" feature, would make it very easy to network with people who share (or wish to learn about) the influences and interests of others. Imagine if everyone who was influenced by Bill McDonough and Cradle to Cradle listed it- we could have a virtual Greendrinks. This looks promising. ::design:related...
Ashanti Coffee: How Far Away Troubles Affect Us
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.22.07
The lead story in the Economist this week is about Zimbabwe, about how its economy has descended into chaos, how gangs are rampaging through the country and how production of crops and goods is at levels not seen since before WW2. These stories can be shocking, but for us in North America they are distant from our daily lives and do not affect us directly.
However it is surprising how complex and big, global issues can hit you at the local level. A few weeks ago, while buying a coffee in a warming hut at the top of Blue Mountain, a minor ski hill overlooking the small town of Collingwood Ontario, I noticed signs describing it as Ashanti Coffee. TreeHugger loves supporting local green initiatives, and looking it up I found that:
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PedalPower+, Gadget Charger for FreeWheelers
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.22.07
Remember when we gave some credit to Motorola for releasing a bicycle powered phone charger? Well, it now appears that they had been pipped at the post. Australian company, Copyat Solar, advise us they unveiled their PedalPower+ a whole month before. And they reckon it does more than the model offered by the big guys. The PedalPower+ has an inbuilt battery, which accepts changing from either bottle or hub style dynamo. Apparently it likes the company of any brand hub, so long as is rated at 6v 3w. The battery, in turn, is said to charge, not just mobile phones, but also iPods, other mp3 players, as well as digital cameras and PDAs. A USB socket is provided. Seems that gadgets can be in use while being charged by an active cyclist. The 90 gram (3 oz) charger is smaller than an iPod, and can be removed from its handle bar cradle for use as a LED light. And there’s more. But instead of a set of steak knives, you get a solar panel on top for garnering extra juice. Alas, their website, (which reminds me of the early days of desktop publishing!) is short on pricing and distribution details. Worthy of consideration nevertheless. ::Copycat Solar...
UPS Delivers: European Business Leaders Care About The Environment More Than Their US Counterparts
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.22.07
Via Social Funds :- the UPS Corporation has just completed its 16th annual European Business Monitor Survey . According to their findings, Business leaders across Europe think that protecting the environment should be the number one priority for global political leaders, placing this policy area ahead of sustaining economic growth or securing future energy supplies. Not surprisingly, fifty seven percent (57%) of respondents also consider the environment to be the issue that most divides the EU and the US (beating security or anything related). The graphic we chose to illustrate the concern shared by European business leaders indicates where the pressure is building: along the inter-continental fault line. ...
Green Dreams for Toronto's City Hall
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.22.07
image from Daily Dose of Imagery
Every third postcard of Toronto is of our iconic City Hall, product of an open international competition won by Viljo Revell, and including a magnificent public square. In the 40 years since it opened there have been changes and some deterioration, so a new competition was held, with the final four just revealed. The square is beloved by architects and a work of genius, so it is not surprising that it is treated reverently, and most of the schemes seem more interested in restoring it than changing it significantly. Since it is part of our lives, it is perhaps understandable that the most radical scheme was prepared by a New York architect who did not have the emotional baggage of the others. However they are all very green and full of ideas. We defer to Christopher Hume of the Star for the explanations and criticism....
Domino Magazine's Green Issue On Shelves Now
by Celine Ruben-Salama, New York, NY on 02.21.07
Quickly flipping through the March issue of domino magazine – without reading a word – one would never suspect that it is in fact a green issue. For those not familiar, domino’s mission is to be highly discerning yet practical style guide for all aspects of life at home. A demonstration of the range of great eco-products now available, the issue clearly illustraates that it is possible to decorate responsibly without sacrificing taste or style. In their own words, it is “a celebration of those working to close up the cycle of production so that little is wasted and little harmed – people animals, soil, air, water.”
As Collin recently pointed out, domino magazine had originally teamed up with TreeHugger to create "The Green List," a celebration of green design. The result however was that the whole issue went green. Feature stories include out of the past, about John Patrick's new clothing line ORGANIC, secondhand (love) story, showing the Maine house of interior-design team Wary Meyers fully funished with vintage and recycled pieces, backyard bouquets, demonstrating that beautiful flower arrangements can come from a much more local source than the flower shop. ...
Most Huggable: Tesla’s New Plant, Jimmy’s Hometown Biodiesel, Going Green at the Gym
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.21.07
Former President Jimmy Carter breaks ground on a new $25 million soy biodiesel plant in his hometown of Plains, Georgia… The Tesla, Wrightspeed, Volt, and others are part of Fox’s four-part segment on green cars of the future… Michael Jantzen’s wind-powered designs create shelter and power for those inside… Victoria E answers the question of what’s green to wear at the gym… Tesla Motors will set up shop with an assembly plant in Albuquerque, NM… ...
Convenient Truths: Exactly One Week Left to Enter
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 02.21.07
In seven days, the Treehugger and Seventh Generation Convenient Truths contest will stop accepting entries of user-created videos, and voting will begin here at Treehugger. In other words, it's crunch time! Don't let the week get by you without shooting a video of your efforts to combat climate change, and getting a shot at the nearly $30,000 in prizes. Keep in mind that videos can only be 1-2 minutes in length, and shot with any kind of digital video recording equipment. If you've got a regular digital camera, you've probably got all the equipment you need to create a prize-winning video. With only seven days until the end of the contest's entry period, you likely won't want to start any big projects to reduce your personal or household greenhouse gas emissions. That's all right, though -- there are many actions you can take that require only minutes or even seconds, and little to no money. Even the worst of procrastinators can get a number of these quick steps towards fighting climate change on video:...
Videos: Auto Evolution: Fuel Cells, Plug-Ins, Electric Vehicles, Hybrids
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 02.21.07
Thanks to tipsters Lascelles Linton and Remy C. for pointing out these videos. In Lascelles' words: "Part 1 is fuel cells including Honda FCX. Part 2 is plug-ins including Chevy Volt. Part 3 is full electrics with Phoenix, Wrightspeed, etc. Part 4 is current hybrids. It's not stock footage either. It's driver tests, interviews with the company!" Here are the videos: Part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4. Be warned, there's a 15 seconds ad before each.
See also: ::Tesla Motors: Affordable Electric Cars are Coming, ::Wrigthspeed X1, ::Honda Shows Off FCX Fuel Cell Concept Car, ::Chevy Volt: An All-Electric Gasoline Hybrid?, ::GM Delivers Hydrogen Powered "Sequel" to Camp Pendleton...
Set Your TiVo: domino & TreeHugger on the Today Show Tomorrow!
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.21.07
We're excited to announce that the fine folks at domino magazine will be on NBC's Today Show tomorrow morning (Thursday, February 22), trumpeting the benefits and ease of going green to Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker and company. They'll be talking about domino's green issue that TreeHugger consulted on, and featuring some great green products that we helped them pick out. While there won't be a TreeHugger rep on the show, we're happy to be garnering a mention as the magazine's partner in their big green issue, and we hope everyone who has the opportunity will watch. It's looking like it'll be happening in the second half of the show, probably between 9 - 10 am; we'll have more details after a dress rehearsal this afternoon and will update the post then. So set your TiVo or tune in tomorrow morning (visit the Today Show website to help figure out what channel to watch) to see more tips, designs and other fruit from the TH/domino green tree. ::Today Show and ::domino's Green List...
For the Olympics, Will Beijing Paint the Town Green?
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 02.21.07
According to locals in Fumin county, in China’s southwest Yunnan province, workers began arriving last August with heavy equipment to green a small mountainside. But instead of trees and soil they came armed with large paint guns and orders from above to turn the patch of rock a distinctly artificial green. This particular incident may have been an official attempt to improve the feng shui for the nearby forestry bureau office, or, more likely, simply a way of expediting the greening process. Whatever the reasons are, the symbolism is stark. These days it's as easy to be enchanted by news of the Middle Kingdom’s green dreams as it is to be disappointed by news of setbacks and rampant greenwashing. And the great promise and inconvenient truth of China’s environmental future is nowhere more evident than in its ambitious 2008 “Green” Olympic plans. ...
Tough Solar Charger: The Freeloader
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.21.07
The Freeloader is a new solar charger from the U.K. that sports a tough aluminum body. It's not exactly pocket-sized but it will fit nicely in a backpack or purse. It features fold-out panels for solar charging, or it can be charged conventionally through your computer's USB port. It comes with a variety of plugs and sockets, and will hold a charge for 3 months on its internal battery pack. It takes 5 hours to fully charge using the sun (and 3 hours with USB). Once charged, Freeloaders internal battery can power an iPod for 18hours, a mobile phone for 44 hours, PSP for 2.5 hours a PDA for 22 hours. The solar cells are rated 120mA, while the li-ion battery packs 1000mAh. It's priced at £29.99 (about $60). :: Freeloader
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TreeHugger Picks: Compact Fluorescents in the News
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.21.07
Yesterday's announcement that Australia will completely phase out the inefficient incandescent lightbulbs in favor of TreeHugging compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) made some pretty big waves, with coverage from ABC to the BBC and the Sydney Morning Herald to the Herald Sun. With all that attention, we wanted to take a peek at what else has been making news in the world of the energy-efficient bulbs. Here are some of our picks for CFLs making news.
1) A report by the International Energy Agency concluded that a global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world's electricity bill by nearly one-tenth (wow!), so once you make the change and flip the switch, be sure to use them efficiently.
2) Wal-Mart set a goal of selling 100 million bulbs in a year, and it's looking pretty realistic.
3) CFL skeptics point to the mercury vapor as an argument against using them, but the truth is that incandescents are still responsible for more of the toxic metal.
4) There's more than a punchline behind the questions about how many bloggers and how many Jews it takes to change a lightbulb.
5) Take the survey to see how your bulb alliances compare to the rest of TreeHugger's readers....
Contest Sows Seeds, Growing Green Business Trees
by Rachel Wasser, Beijing, China on 02.21.07
It always warms the heart to hear about entrepreneurs turning a profit as they protect the environment. And nothing says there’s plenty of green to go around as well as eco-businesses that put some into the pockets of the poor. The Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (Seed) Initiative is all about promoting this sort of “business as unusual.” A collaboration of inter-governmental organizations, governments, and the private sector, Seed supports innovative entrepreneurial partnerships that deliver real solutions in the field of sustainable development. The Initiative means business – business that improves local community livelihoods and contributes to environmental protection.
Through its Seed Awards contest, the Initiative nurtures start-up seeds that will hopefully grow into super-huggable sustainable enterprise trees. Cows to Kilowatts, one of the previous winners, aims to provide cheap, clean energy to Nigerian households through biogas. Though the importance of biogas as alternative energy in developing nations is not to be underestimated, you might not actually want to get close enough to hug this one. The power source is literally cows, in the form of abattoir waste....
Eco-Tip: Mini Directory of Green Fabrics
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.21.07
We are often asked by readers where to find suppliers of particular eco-materials, so they might join the fray and green their own product. The answer is most likely lurking in our archive of 10,000+ articles, and we would encourage use of the search function to explore these. But on this occasion we will take pity on reader Owen T. and compile a little list of green textiles in one location. Recycled polyester fleece and bodywear fabrics can be sourced from Malden Mills, famous for their Polartec range (though last month the company did file for bankruptcy - they have done this before and survived - we wish them another phoenix-like rise). Some of the recycled post and pre-consumer fibre they use is Repreve and comes from Unifi of Japan. Unifi also supply Consoltex, who make a organic cotton/nylon blended fabric, called Earth While (cute, huh?). The polyester recycling process Patagonia are using for their Common Threads program is via another Japanese company, Teijin, in a program they know as EcoCircle. Hoyutex in Taiwan have a rugged fabric, Cyclepet, fashioned from recycled PET drink bottles. Much more after the fold >...
In Philly, Green Youth Get A Seat At The Table
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 02.21.07
When it comes to creating plans for many towns and cities across the world, the views of those who will live the longest with its’ consequences very often aren’t considered at all. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in Philadelphia, where government leaders have asked students from across the city to come together this Thursday and engage in a youth forum where they can share their views on how they believe that open space should be both preserved and nourished for generations to come. Ultimately their efforts are being compiled along with those of many others into what they’re calling GreenPlan Philadelphia; a plan that outlines the future of green open spaces within the city.
The city’s leaders stress how critical a GreenPlan for open space is to the future of kids in any city by pointing to the results of a study which indicates that there are 56% fewer violent crimes and 48% fewer crimes against property when inner-city apartment buildings have high levels of greenery as opposed to those with low levels of green open spaces. As you might imagine, the findings probably wouldn’t surprise many middle or high school science students who’ve learned in class that the basic need of living things for a certain amount of living space is universal, but city officials go on to point out that having a rock solid green plan in place will enable them to more aggressively go after outside funding to improve the city's existing green spaces and make the entire city a more inviting place to live, work, and play. ...
domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Shalom Harlow
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.21.07
Thus far on our peek at the Green List, a project TreeHugger collaborated with domino magazine on, we've been concentrating on interiors, having covered rugs, wallcoverings, fabric and furniture, so today we're taking a break to train the spotlight on one of the outstanding green people on the list: Shalom Harlow. The cover girl and actress is serious about making green choices, whether it's the Linda Loudermilk denim in her closet, the grocery tote made from recycled rice bags she takes shopping, or the green websites she reads (and TreeHugger is on the list -- swoon!). We also like this: in response to the question, "How do you avoid being preachy?", she says, "Nobody responds to being made to feel judged -- I know I'd get defensive. It's about bringing awareness to topics someone hasn't considered." Read more about Shalom's green haunts & jaunts around New York at dominomag.com or flip the paper version to page 44. Stay tuned for more of domino-style green people, places & things. ::domino's Green List: Shalom Harlow...
UV Hawk Ultraviolet Sunlight Meter
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.21.07
As the days get warmer and the beach season gets longer and the ozone hole gets bigger, it is good to know that the techies are developing the technology to protect us. The UV Hawk measures the intensity of ultraviolet light and, on the basis for your settings of skin type and SPF of your sunscreen, rings an alarm when your time in the sun is up.
"The decreasing quality of the ozone layer can increase exposure to damaging ultraviolet rays. These rays have been linked to sunburns, skin cancer, cataracts and immune system dysfunction. The UV HAWK™ quickly and easily tests the UV index and indicates the level of protection you need before enjoying time outside, on the beach, in the garden, on a bike ride; virtually anywhere one is exposed to prolonged sunlight." ::UV Hawk...
Dialogue on Architecture and Clmate Change
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.21.07
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is holding a series of dialogues on Architecture and Climate Change. They have invited international speakers, visionary thinkers and policy makers from a range of disciplines to ponder this matter. First off was Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. This week was Mike Davis, Marxist academic, activist and author of “Planet of Slums”, amongst other books. He talked about the incredible importance of the last report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (which he called the "Supreme Court" of climate change) and the huge changes in climate models that the upcoming one,in March, will predict. These more radical and extreme changes are moving outside of accepted parameters and will be catastrophic. He said that the real debate right now is between scientists who think that IPCC has tried too hard to accommodate itself to moderate views that would be acceptable to the powers that be. ...
Dare we Repeat it: "Small is the New Black"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.21.07
Plastic Fantastic? Recycled Jewelry
by Kathreen Ricketson, Canberra, Australia on 02.21.07
Australian artist, Mark Vaarwerk, reuses plastic bags and other throw away domestic plastic containers such as shampoo bottles, to create beautiful jewel-like brooches and rings. Of course this is not going to single handedly solve the worlds plastic bag problem, nor are we saying it is totally sustainable jewelery, (gold is also used), but this jewellery does give rise to alternative and thoughtful uses for discarded plastics....
Coffee and Global Warming
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.21.07
I adored James Burke's late 70's show Connections, (not the cheap 90's knockoffs for TLC) where he "took an interdisciplinary approach to the history of science and invention and demonstrates how various discoveries, scientific achievements, and historical world events built off one another in an interconnected way to bring about particular aspects of modern technology." He would be proud of Craig Mackintosh of Celsias for making the following connections between caffeine and global warming.
Craig starts with National Geographic on Coffee: It’s hardly a coincidence that coffee and tea caught on in Europe just as the first factories were ushering in the industrial revolution. The widespread use of caffeinated drinks—replacing the ubiquitous beer—facilitated the great transformation of human economic endeavor from the farm to the factory. Boiling water to make coffee or tea helped decrease the incidence of disease among workers in crowded cities. And the caffeine in their systems kept them from falling asleep over the machinery. In a sense, caffeine is the drug that made the modern world possible. And the more modern our world gets, the more we seem to need it. Without that useful jolt of coffee—or Diet Coke or Red Bull—to get us out of bed and back to work, the 24-hour society of the developed world couldn’t exist.
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Free Download of the Corporation
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.21.07
NC State Climate Change Symposium
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.21.07
As a Treehugger reader, the chances are you are well aware of the threats posed by global climate change. However, anyone in the Triangle area of North Carolina who wants to learn more about the science behind the headlines should make room in their schedules for an important event next week. “Global Climate Change: Interdisciplinary Responses” is a three day symposium being organized by North Carolina State University. Elizabeth Kolbert (pictured), staff writer for The New Yorker and author of the book, Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change, will kick off the symposium with a keynote address on Monday. This will be followed on Tuesday by a panel discussion that will address the social, political and economic issues related to the impact of climate change in various world regions. The panel will include Elizabeth Bast, international policy analyst for Friends of the Earth in Washington, D.C.; Dr. Andrew Jorgenson, assistant professor of sociology at Washington State University; and Dr. Chris Russill, assistant professor of rhetoric at the University of Minnesota. Wednesday sees a panel lead by Dr. David Archer, professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, along with faculty members from NC State’s Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences on understanding the science behind global warming.
It’s not all serious academia though, Tuesday will also feature an NC State Arts Now Series concert which will include compositions inspired by environmental concerns. Composers include J. Mark Scearce and Rodney Waschka of NC State, and Thomas Clark of the North Carolina School of the Arts. In true academic style, the occasional reception is also featured on the program – we just hope the refreshments are local. :: North Carolina State University
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ShariBe - Casual Eco Chic
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.21.07
A wee while ago, when we ran a tongue-in-cheek post on Avita, a line of slinky green apparel for women, a reader commented, “So do I have to be anorexic to wear any of that?” Now, we are sure that Avita comes in larger sizes than were shown on the models adorning their website, but the reader did have a point. So when we noticed the fuller figured women modelling ShariBe, we had one of those ah-ha moments. The line is described as embodying a “simple elegance that can best be defined as casual chic. Contemporary, versatile, and with long lasting appeal.” The garments are crafted from certified organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and soy. Then coloured via low impact fibre reactive dyes, with water-based inks for the screen printed designs. Buttons complete the eco story, being selected from natural shell, coconut, wood and horn. Currently the ShariBe line is made in the USA, with the company supporting the Fair Trade and Sweatshop-Free philosophy. And did we mention the range is available is sizes XS through XL? Thought so. An emerging menswear range is coming through as well. ::ShariBe....
Shrinking Cities: Why Boomtowns go Bust
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.21.07
It is an exhibition so large that it needed two museums- Detroit's new Museum of Contemporary Art and the Cranbrook Art Museum. Four teams of urban geographers, cultural experts, architects, journalists, and artists have been looking at urban shrinkage in Detroit (consequences of suburbanization) Manchester, (deindustrialization) Ivanavo, Russia (post-socialism) and Halle/Leipsig which is evidently a bit of everything.
There are over sixty works in the show, looking at how cities change and adapt.According to Mocad, "One goal of the project is to develop a better understanding of how and why population and business in these cities have declined. Another goal is to recognize ways such change can help us understand and approach contemporary urban issues. The exhibit examines both the positive and negative side effects of urban decline, and also offers the opportunity for new ideas (including an international ideas competition) to be presented."
Hugely successful in Europe, The Washington Post notes that it did not resonate in New York, but "Shrinking Cities" is deeply engaged art, passionate about moral and practical issues that don't always animate the contemporary art scene in New York. It has all the edge, the irony, the gamester play with the conventions and boundaries that one expects of a major exhibition of contemporary art in a thriving metropolitan center. But it also has gravitas.
In Detroit until April 1 at ::Mocad...
Molecular World: Key to Sustainability
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 02.20.07
In a recent talk, University of Iowa researcher Vicki H. Grassian highlighted the connection between understanding how nature operates on a molecular level, and understanding our global environment. One example she used was the successful research done on the chemistry of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) (and how they can destroy ozone). This research led to policies that have stabilized the ozone layer. She illustrates that through understanding the molecular mechanisms at work we can understand and adjust our impact. This fits nicely with other ideas in sustainable design; biomimicry, constructal theory, and even cradle to cradle all incorporate elements of molecular design and how important design is to building a sustainable tomorrow. Vicki Grassian added:
"For example, there should be a design function of molecular assembly and disassembly and other strategies employed to safely degrade and recycle the materials contained in outdated computers so that they don't end up in landfills,"::University of Iowa News...
Convenient Truths: Only 8 Days Left To Enter!
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 02.20.07
TreeHugger Radio: An Interview with Cameron Sinclair
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 02.20.07
Cameron Sinclair keeps himself very busy. After starting Architecture for Humanity on a shoestring in 1999, Cameron’s projects have led him to win the prestigious TED Prize, and is now on the cusp of launching the Open Architecture Network. In addition to hosting design competitions and working on sustainable Gulf Coast reconstruction, last year AFH published Design Like You Give a Damn. In this in-depth interview, TreeHugger Radio producer and co-writer Jacob Gordon asks Cameron about his recipe for open-source humanitarian architecture, and his ambitions to help five billion people with a website. (listen here or right click to download) To subscribe to the podcast, use this feed, or find us in the iTunes podcast directory. ::TreeHugger Radio ...
Toyota Drops Hints On Next Prius, Hybrid X
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.20.07
Toyota will unveil a concept car at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show next month that many believe is a precursor to the 2008 model Prius. Toyota released the picture above, as a sneak preview of the design of the new car. According to the automaker's press release, the Hybrid X is a concept car that proposes a new design language for hybrid models while also acting as a technology showcase for future hybrid cars. Toyota will also be presenting the FT- HS (Future Toyota Hybrid Sports), which is a "sports car of the 21st century" - a front-engine, rear-drive car with a projected 0-100 km/h acceleration in the four-second range.
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H&M's New Organic Cotton Collection
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.20.07
Wow. British High Street fashion really seems to be getting it's eco on. This news just in from Style Will Save Us, H&M will soon be stocking a new organic cotton fashion range. Due in stores in March, the collection includes jeans, t-shirts, dresses and maternity wear. For those of you who are constantly exasperated by the price tags for organic clothing you'll be pleased to hear that Hennes aren't about to go all expensive on us. While T-shirts priced at £9.99 and tunic dresses are £29.99 are maybe a few more pounds than the basic H&M collection, these prices are certainly not going to alienate the teen, student and young adult markets they are aiming for. H&M have been using the EU Flower Eco-Label on some of their baby clothes since 2005, which makes one question why they are arriving at the eco-fashion party ever so slightly fashionably late. Other British high street competitors have been conspicuously publisising their sustainable efforts, with Marks and Spencers leading the way. ...
Most Huggable: Merle’s Green Gospel, Minnesota’s New Energy Policy, London’s Expanded Congestion Charge
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.20.07
Move over California, Minnesota steps forward and passes one of the nation’s most ambitious renewable energy policies… These Japanese beverages are blended from fruits and vegetables not quite fit to eat, but perfect to drink… Country legend Merle Haggard brings the green gospel to his home town of Oildale, CA… London’s now-famous congestion charge has just made a Western expansion in the city… Skate lightly: Planet Earth offers hemp jeans and other green wares…...
Sir Nicholas Stern Wows Bay Street
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
That's Canada's Wall Street, where the Suits turned out en masse to hear Sir Nicholas Stern talk to the Economic Club of Canada. According to Tyler Hamilton in ::the Star: "Only a few years ago you would have seen climate change attract a much smaller audience than we have here today," said Clive Mather, chief executive of Shell Canada, as he introduced Sir Nicholas to hundreds of Canada's business and political elite, including Mayor David Miller, Ontario PC leader John Tory and former Ontario premier Bob Rae.
Thomas Homer-Dixon, director of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto and host of [an earlier] Hart House meeting, said Stern's report has altered the dialogue on global warming in the same way as Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth documentary and the recent United Nations-backed report on climate change.
"The Stern report has been particularly influential because it speaks in the language of our most powerful decision-makers: the heads of corporations, finance ministers, the leaders of central banks and international financial institutions," said Homer-Dixon.
According to the Globe: "It's very clear to me now that we can be green and grow," he told reporters outside the Toronto Stock Exchange, where he held a joint news conference with Dr. Suzuki.
"I don't think it's a horse race between growth and being responsible on climate change. Good policy can give us both," Sir Nicholas said. "Eventually, if we ignore the problem of climate change, it's growth and living standards that will suffer."...
Thin-Film Solar Technology Could Be Seriously Clobbering Fossil Fuels in Ten Years
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.20.07
Everyone loves solar power. The notion of making electricity from the Earth’s solar income is pretty much irresistible. But the harsh reality of our current state of PV (photovoltaic) technology, a reality that not many choose to acknowledge, is that without government subsides, solar power just doesn’t pay for itself in any timely way—certainly not the kind of way that would make the profit-minded jump. But that may only be because our days of silicon-based solar cells are numbered. In an article from the Telegraph this week, Ambrose Evans-Prichard talks to Anil Sethi of Flisom, a Swiss firm making thin-film solar cells. Sethi confidently expects his company’s products be giving fossil-fuel generated power a run for their money within five years, and that within ten years, solar will undercut coal, natural gas, and nuclear by 50%. That’s what is technically referred to as clobbering. The crucial tipping point, says Evans-Prichard, is the $1 per watt point: the current price of most non-renewable energy sources. Current solar technology puts the price of solar power at about $3 to $4 per watt. Anil Sethi of Flisom foresees his thin-film solar panels (commercially available in late 2009) reaching $.80/watt in five years, and $.50/watt within ten....
Solar Trailer Provides Power To Storm Victims
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.20.07
This Solar Trailer is owned by the Florida Solar Energy Center, and it is used to provide clean, quiet power to storm disaster victims. The trailer has a large, flat solar panel that charges several batteries during the day and is capable of delivering more than 2,500 watts of power over a 24-hour period. Over the past several years, the trailer has provided power for storm victims hit hard by severe weather and tornadoes from South Florida to Louisiana.
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Antarctic Warming to Reduce Animals at Base of Ecosystem, Shift Penguin Populations
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.20.07
Try flight of the penguins: As if our flightless-fowl friends haven't had enough to deal with of late, the warming of the Antarctic Peninsula during the past few decades is also forcing penguin populations to migrate south. You can also cluck your tongues at climate change for diminishing the once-abundant krill that are at the base of the massive food chain at the bottom of the world.
“We’re already seeing the marine ecosystems respond dramatically to increases in temperatures along the Antarctic Peninsula,” explained Berry Lyons, professor in the School of Earth Sciences and Director of the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University. Lyons was among the many polar researchers who reported last week on the global climate threat during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco....
Ask TreeHugger: What Do Radon Tests Mean?
by Helen Suh MacIntosh, Cambridge, MA, USA on 02.20.07
Question: I am selling my house and in this process, my house was tested for radon using a mail-in kit. The buyers got the radon results back and they show that my house is just below the EPA recommended limit. The buyers want me to install equipment to reduce radon in my home. I don't think that this is is necessary, because my radon levels were just below the limit. If radon levels are below the EPA limit, doesn't that mean that my radon levels are fine?
Response: Radon is a naturally occurring gas that has been shown in research studies to cause lung cancer. People are exposed to radon primarily in their homes, as that is where people spend the majority of their time and that is where radon levels (in every day life) tend to be highest.
EPA recommends that people take steps to reduce radon levels in their home when levels are at or above 4 pCi/L. Since exposures to radon at even lower levels carry some risk of lung cancer, EPA recommends that people think about lowering their home's radon levels to even lower levels, or to 2 pCi/L. Lowering radon levels will be particularly important for areas where people spend time....
Rough Guide Suggests Carbon Neutral Vacation
by Celine Ruben-Salama, New York, NY on 02.20.07
When planning a vacation it is likely that flying might come into the equation. To avoid this carbon producing predicament TreeHuggers might suggest vacationing locally or in a place that can be reached by train, short drive or even by biking or walking. Rough Guides travel guide book offers slightly different, but also relevant advice - “fly less – stay longer!” Pointing out that air travel is a major contributor to climate change, the guide goes on to advise travelers about carbon offset schemes. In particular, the guide recommends an offset program run by climatecare.org that is supported by many members of the travel industry including Rough Guides competitor Lonely Planet. Learn more about climate change and travel on the Rough Guides website.
Have you had a chance to take a carbon neutral vacation? Consider sharing your experience by participating in our Convenient Truths video contest. :: Rough Guides – Thanks Anton for the tip!...
IKEA US to 'Bag the Plastic Bag'
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.20.07
Starting March 15, all IKEA stores in the US will charge a nickel per plastic bag in an effort to get people to haul their Swedish Fish and affordable housewares out of the store in reusable bags and cut down on plastic bag waste. Proceeds of up to $1.75 million (that's a whole lot of bags) from the bag campaign will go to American Forests, the nation's oldest non-profit citizens conservation organization, to plant trees to restore forests and offset CO2 emissions (we mentioned that program here). To help alter customer behavior and endorse environmentally responsible habits, IKEA will be selling its reusable 'Big Blue Bag' (pictured above) for 59 cents, reduced from 99 cents. "We realize that our 'Bag the Plastic Bag Program' is a small step. But we know our customers want to help and support the sustainability of our planet - for today - and for the future of our children. This program lets our customers know we have our stake in the ground and are committed to continuing to be an environmentally responsible company," says Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president of IKEA North America. IKEA projects that the number of plastic bags used by their U.S. customers will be reduced by at least 50% from 70 million to 35 million in the first year. This program was launched in IKEA stores in the UK in late Spring 2006, and reduction has been an impressive 95 percent. Read more about IKEA's environmental and social reports here, and don't forget your own bag the next time you go. ::IKEA US via ::CSRwire...
domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Rugs
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.20.07
The fourth entry profiling the domino magazine/TreeHugger Green List takes us to the wonderful world of rugs, where innovative materials mingle with old school classics and there isn't a harmful dye or sweatshop to be found. The veggie-dyed rug from Classic Rug Collection (bottom right) is made from hemp and comes in a variety of bright colors; along the same lines is Merida Meridian's tweed-suit-like sisal rug (top row, right-center). Odegard rugs are headed up by Stephanie Odegard, who is also a founder and director of Rugmark, which works hard to keep sweatshop labor out of rugs everywhere. A portion of the sale of her hemp/wool rug (top left) -- as with all of her sales -- goes to Rugmark. When it comes to rugs, though, wool is still tough to beat, and the remaining three choices are all made from the fluffy white stuff. Zaki's hand-spun wool & vegetable dye beauty (top right) typifies the company's Oriental offerings, while Tufenkian's colorful wool designs (bottom left) are crafted with the help of a purification plant that reuses water for dyeing rugs. Last, but not least, is Barbara Barran's Classic Rug Collection (top row, left-center), bursting with colors and made from alpaca and wool. Flip your magazine to page 42 for more, and stay tuned for an ongoing look at the great green design in domino's Green List. ::domino's Green List: Rugs...
Biodiesel Law Approved in Argentina
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 02.20.07
A biodiesel law that aims to foment biofuels production for the internal Argentinean market was finally approved last week, after being in hold for two years. With this paper, the government expects that biofuels offer reaches 5% of the internal market in three years. According the Federal Planning Minister, Julio de Vido, by 2010 there will be a 600 thousand cubic meters production of biodiesel and 250 thousand cubic meters production of biometanol. To promote the production, the law establishes taxes devolution, the possibility to amortize investments in this field, and also the option not to pay the taxes applied to regular liquid and gaseous fuels. Even though the government recognized the law was just a start and aimed specialists to contribute to improve it, president Kirchner assured that this was the country’s entrance into the “renewable fuels era”. According to Héctor Huergo, a well-known local journalist specialized in the country business, soy and corn, which are two of the main sources for biofuels, are among the greatest Argentinean harvests. The country produces more than 45 million tons of soy a year, which can give up to 8 million tons of oil, the equivalent to 9 million cubic meters of biodiesel. Seems like good times are coming for green fuels in the country, with the news of big investments coming to this area, and also the First Biofuels Congress of the Americas taking place in Buenos Aires next March. Learn more about Biodiesel and green fuels in our How to Green Your Car guide (Picture: book cover from ‘Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy’). ::Via La Nacion newspaper and Clarin...
The TH Interview: Seth Goldman, Honest Tea Co-Founder & TeaEO
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.20.07
Seth Goldman co-founded Honest Tea in 1998 with a thermos in his kitchen. Today, they make the US's top-selling organic bottled tea (we mentioned it here before), and have received $12 million in equity financing to further expand distribution and develop new beverages. We recently caught up with the TeaEO of the company with a mission to make great-tasting, truly healthy organic beverages sweetened with less sugar and calories than most bottled drinks for a conversation about the growth of organics, connecting with the mainstream and manning the helm at a sustainable business.
TreeHugger: In one of your blog posts, you reference “the high cost of cheap goods” about how “the lowest possible cost” often includes hidden expenses that we all ultimately pay in the long run. How do you think you can get more people to consider the real costs of everyday goods like tea and bigger things like cars?
Seth Goldman: Obviously, information is certainly an important part of that equation, to make people more aware of those costs. In a way, we pay for those costs in a different way, through subsidies. For example, look at all the corn subsidies, which helps make one of those things that’s too cheap -- not that we should necessarily make it more expensive -- is high fructose corn syrup. It’s interesting, as ethanol starts to gain more interest as gas prices continue to rise, the price of high fructose corn syrup is going up as well, so that makes soda something that’s “too cheap” as well. ...
Herman Miller Classic Gets Green Revamp
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 02.20.07
Lately, a lot of design classics are getting green makeovers. Take for example the Swag Leg chair, designed by the legendary George Nelson and released in 1958. As a part of its company-wide environmental commitment, furniture manufacturer Herman Miller is now offering this sleek throne in environmentally-sustainable recyclable polypropylene, instead of molded fiberglass. That opening between the seat and the back? Keeps air circulating, and prevents Swag Leg from sticking to you. The chair gets its name from the method used to produce its adjustable steel legs, a.k.a. swaging, or using pressure to taper and curve a metal tube. Available in white, and soon black and gray for about $380. Fabric on the seat and back can be switched up for a contrasting effect. Also green from Herman Miller: The Leaf LED light, the Eames Lounge, the Mirra chair, and the Aalto chair, among others. ::Herman Miller Image courtesy of Herman Miller...
Equilibrium Competition: Montreal Zero
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
Sevag Pogharian's entry in the EQuilibrium competition is a single family house to be built in Hudson, Quebec. It is designed to "explore and incorporate, in an integrated and comprehensive manner, the following within the context of single-family, detached residential construction:
-aggressive energy efficient, airtight construction;
-geothermal and , passive and active solar heating;
-solar water heating;
-Passive cooling techniques, particularly the use of shade, water, building mass and natural night ventilation, as an alternative to compressor cooling to achieve good summer comfort;
-The notion of a kinetic building envelope, i.e. a building envelope that transforms from a tighter winter mode to a looser, expanded form that shades and captures cooling breezes;
-water management.
Diagram of systems below the fold.
::Montreal Zero...
Anya Hindmarch's Carrier Bag
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.20.07
When it comes to high fashionista handbags, Anya Hindmarch is big, really big. She made her name with another charity bag--- the Be A Bag. For that one, she screened photos donated by celebrities onto a satin bag and sold them. Now you can do the same with pictures of your own little darlings screened onto a nappy bag or purse. For this new charity project she has come up with a roomy and re-usable canvas shopping bag; available for sale in limited editions initially (sorry girls, all sold out already) and then available at Sainsbury's supermarket in a month. Last season Sainsbury's came out with a series of artists' carrier bags; so it is hard to know which one to take shopping.... The bag is a collaboration with "We Are What We Do", as part of their Decline Plastic campaign. The idea, says Ms. Hindmarch, is to use haute couture's lofty platform to help change the polluting habits of the man, or woman, on the street. Quoth she: "You can make it cool to do the right thing." That's the fashionable way. :: Evening Standard
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Big Picture TV Re-Launches
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
Big Picture TV has been streaming video clips of "world-renowned thinkers and experts in fields relating to environmental and social sustainability" since 2003. When Justin wrote about them in 2005 they had 50 speakers; Now they have 320, and they have relaunched their website where one can view the videos for free, or download them if you join. There are amazing speakers, all categorized, tagged, and google mapped. Most popular: Julia Butterfly Hill, followed by Ray Anderson of Interface. Lester Brown and Nelson Mandela are also up there in the top ten. Tons to watch at ::Big Picture TV
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Shop Locally, Share Locally
by Stephen Filler, Tarrytown, New York on 02.20.07
For the past four years, the Interra Project has developed an ingenious model for people to use financial networks to support their local communities and sustainability. Recently, Interra rolled out its first project -- Boston Community Change - in partnership with Boston Main Streets.
Boston residents can get a free (at least for now) Boston Community Change card that they present to participating local merchants. Every time the card is swiped on the merchant’s credit card terminal, portions of the transaction are returned to the user as a cash rebate, donated to a local community based non-profit or school of the user’s choice, and donated to the local Main Streets organization. Merchants sign up for free, and decide how much of a rebate to grant to users.
The Boston Community Change card is not a payment card, and users can pay for their purchase with any payment form accepted by the business. Users receive monthly electronic statements detailing total rebates and donations.
As Paul Ray, author of the “The Cultural Creatives,” has said: "The Interra model is a brilliant social and financial invention that can help bring a green economy into greater practicality. This is hot stuff, and needs all our support. It functions rather like an alternative currency or an airline miles program, to help encourage mutual loyalty among green/socially responsible consumers. In particular, it does a better job of incentivizing a mutual loyalty of businesses and customers who share the same values."
Interra has identified more than 100 cities for possible roll-out over the next 3-5 years. ...
Worlds Biggest Outhouse Test Slated for Australia: "Let's Make It a Three-Holer!"
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.20.07
New Scientist reports that: - "The largest carbon burial experiment in the world began in earnest on Thursday when the drilling of a 2100-metre well began in the Otway Basin, on the coast of southern Australia. The project promised the most comprehensive monitoring for leaks to date"…"The reservoir is shaped liked an upside-down saucer that is partially-filled with methane gas, and covered by a series of impermeable rock layers". An estimated 100,000 tones of supercritical CO2 will be injected as part of the test, apparently to get more natural gas (methane) out of the ground, and thereafter see how well the earth can hold in the C02. Interestingly, the injected CO2 is not to be sourced from, say, a coal-fired generator. Instead, “They will start by extracting CO2 from a nearby natural geological reservoir and compressing it into a "supercritical fluid" – a gas-liquid hybrid”....
Survey: Why do You Go Green?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
The TreeHugger guides for How to Go Green are a fabulous resource to explain how, but today's question from John Laumer is why.
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New York Times on Carbon Offsets
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
From the New York Times: "Two years ago, Sami Grover, an environmentally minded Englishman, [and TreeHugger contributor] vowed to take his last trip by airplane. Then a summer romance in North Carolina turned into a long-distance love affair — and then into months of busy trans-Atlantic travel.
To compensate for the tons of greenhouse gases the couple’s plane trips helped spew into the atmosphere, Mr. Grover quietly began paying Climate Care, a British company, to help make the world a little greener for him and his girlfriend.
“I didn’t want her to think I was some kind of eco-fascist,” said Mr. Grover, 28. “I did it for her flights, too, but I did it in secret.”
Climate Care, Sami's chosen offsetting company, used its offsetting income to purchase and distribute tens of thousands of low-energy fluorescent lights in South African townships.
The article goes on to describe how carbon offsets can get silly- if you buy a Land Rover you get free offsets for your first 45,000 miles of driving. "in that way, the program may actually help sell “larger cars with higher emissions” and thus contribute more to global warming, according to Mary Taylor, a campaigner with the energy and climate team at Friends of the Earth.
Read more about TreeHugger contributor Sami Grover's offsetting escapades in ::New York Times...
SustainLane: A US Government Green Clearinghouse
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.20.07
So you work in the US government at a state or local level and want a peek at what tools your contemporaries across the country are working with. Where would you go looking? No further than SustainLane. What is it? An “open-source knowledge base speeds discovery, research and networking with more than 75 best practice documents and a secure directory of participating government officials from over 180 cities, counties and states.” Its the site you visit to find out that Florida have a Pay-As-You-Throw protocol, that San Francisco publishes a document entitled ‘Alternatives to Arsenic Treated Wood’, where you learn that Denver has a policy on installing LED Traffic Lights and that Minneapolis requires low environmental impact cleaning practices for all office space leased by the City. Locating the papers is made easier by separating them into 13 categories like: Parks/Open Space/Habitat, Food/Agriculture and Climate Change Policy. And just to show governments can move with the times, they’ve got their own blog. Though the link to it on the home page initially gave our browser the willies, we eventually got there and found a story about Chicago-based design firm, UrbanLabs, winning a competition by designing a John Todd style Living Machine for the whole of Chicago! And they also have a post on the Top Ten Green Cities in the USA. Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks. ::SustainLane....
Richard Rogers Designs Maantis Light Fixture with LEDs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
Architect Richard Rogers was inspired by " the iridescent glow of deep-sea creatures. The natural evolution of these creatures has led to them being able to emit a light energy which derives from their structure and metabolism." It has flourescent light as the main source, diffused so that light spillage is minimized. However even when it is turned off it glows from ambient light and from the low-level LED lights. Toss in an optional spot for highlighting with movement sensors so that it only goes on when someone enters the room, and its not just a light fixture but a flexible, changeable lighting creature. ::Richard Rogers via ::Azure...
World First? Australia Switches Off Incandescent Bulbs
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.20.07
As best as we can make out from the myriad stories doing the rounds, the environmental group Planet Ark were about to announce a new campaign next week, in partnership with Philips. It was to be called Ban the Bulb. But the new federal Environment minister, Malcolm Turnbull, stole their thunder (and, it seems, their idea) by announcing today that incandescent light bulbs were to get the flick (as the newspapers are headlining the move). The government are claiming it as a world first, (for a nation maybe, but as we reported, California recently suggested a similar move for that state — which has almost double the population of Australia, as it happens). The minister reckons it should save 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions during the three year phase-out period, with an annual emission reduction of 4 million tonnes by 2015. Incandescents will be banned by legislation in about 2009-10, though some special needs, such as medical use, may receive dispensation. Of course, the replacement lighting offering these savings will be compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Though we imagine the LED guys will seize the opportunity too. An interesting stat that came out with all this, was that globally lighting is equal in emission contribution to about 70% of the world's passenger vehicles. Which should remind us that turning off lights when a room is vacant also helps too, even better than using CFLs. ::Department of Environment Press Release (PDF), via ABC, SMH and the Australian. ...
The World in a Grain of Rice
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.07
Imagine piles of rice. Each grain represents a person. Imagine performers carefully weighing out rice to represent statistics:
- the populations of towns and cities
- the number of doctors, the number of soldiers
- the number of people born each day, the number who die
- all the people who have walked on the moon
- deaths in the holocaust.
"The statistics are arranged in labelled piles creating an ever changing landscape of rice. The statistics and their juxtapositions can be moving, shocking, celebratory, witty and thought provoking. "
It is so hard to grasp the statistics and the quantities of the things that we talk about. What is a ton of carbon dioxide? How do we relate to such huge numbers? But we all know how big a grain of rice is, and seeing piles of these tiny grains can be truly shocking. At MassMoCA through Feb 25. ...
Wicanders, Lush Cork Flooring from Portugal
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 02.20.07
Last week, TH Blog Love introduced Wicanders as ‘the specialist in cork flooring, who have a fantastic range of beautiful cork finishes that have nothing to do with the hippy-dotted floorboards from the 80ies’, as seen on the R3project. This gorgeous cork flooring deserves some more of our attention as we believe it stands for a great example of how an eco-material can be re-invented as a stylish product.
Cork is one of the ultimate sustainable materials, harvested without having to cut down the trees (only the bark is used), 100% natural, renewable and biodegradable.
Definite benefits that cork can give your floor, is that it reduces sound, works as a thermal insulator (less need for heating and cooling) and is shock absorbent. The elasticity of the material lets it regain its shape time after time so that it’s not just comfortable but also durable to walk on, whether high-heeled or not. The Wicanders cork floors, grown and produced in Portugal, have combined this natural material with a bit of technology and created the Xtreme WRT varnish to make the floor scratch- and spot-proof as well as easy to look after without loosing its natural feel. The varnish consists of several coatings such as ceramic layers, a sand sealer, genuine cork veneer and a flexible and insulating cork layer, repeated as underlay. The middle bit of the floor boards consist of High Density Fibreboard (made from cardboard) fitted with a click system for easy and fast installation. The click system locks one floorboard to the other and eliminates the need for glues or plastic floor lining. Different types of floors are available for domestic and commercial use. Most characteristically about the Wicanders floors are the collections of different patterns, textures and colours (from white to dark brown or reddish) that suggest an elegant and timeless new aesthetic to cork floors. Via ::R3project ::Wicanders
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Is George Bush a Closet Green?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.07
Only your dispassionate Canadian correspondent could write this without colour or favour, but is it possible that George Bush is a secret Green? Evidently his Crawford Winter White House has 25,000 gallons of rainwater storage, gray water collection from sinks and showers for irrigation, passive solar, geothermal heating and cooling. “By marketplace standards, the house is startlingly small,” says David Heymann, the architect of the 4,000-square-foot home. “Clients of similar ilk are building 16-to-20,000-square-foot houses.” Furthermore for thermal mass the walls are clad in "discards of a local stone called Leuders limestone, which is quarried in the area. The 12-to-18-inch-thick stone has a mix of colors on the top and bottom, with a cream- colored center that most people want. “They cut the top and bottom of it off because nobody really wants it,” Heymann says. “So we bought all this throwaway stone. It’s fabulous. It’s got great color and it is relatively inexpensive.” Hmm, back to that vote about the Greenest President? ::off Grid via ::EcoRazzi...
Most Huggable: Branson's New Eco-Island, Tom's New XB, Monsanto's New Injuction
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.19.07
The latest from the IPCC: it may be too late to stop the melting arctic icecaps… Monsanto gets its first taste of disciplinary action as a federal court makes it reassess transgenic alfalfa… Anyone can buy an island. But if you were Richard Branson, you’d turn it into an eco-resort for the conscious and affluent… Tom Hanks snags the first eBox, an electric Scion XB retrofit from AC Propulsion… The New York Times interviews NASA climate expert Drew Shindell about Bush Administration interference in global warming research… ...
London Congestion Charge Boosting Hybrid Sales
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 02.19.07
The London congestion charge is being expanded westward starting today. "Transport for London claims the congestion charge has already cut emissions and poured funding into London's transport system. So far the congestion charge has brought about a reduction in congestion of up to 26%." But that's not the only benefit of this measure: It is also helping the sale of hybrid cars which are exempted from the £8 per day charge. Honda has announced that it will triple the supply of its Civic hybrid to 3,000 units during 2007. Toyota is also reporting gains for the Prius hybrid: "January’s Prius sales [are] up by 135% compared to the same month last year [and] full year figures [are] up by more than a third in 2006 to a new record of 5,017 units in the UK, up from 3,745 units sold in 2005." Good, but if you can, it's still better to walk, cycle or take public transportation. ::Green Car Congress...
Convenient Truths: Only 9 Days Left To Enter!
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 02.19.07
TreeHugger Picks: Presidential TreeHugging
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.19.07
Though designated as "Washington's Birthday" in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, today is known by most in the US as President's Day, a day which many celebrate by not going to work (hmm). In honor of the day, and since we're in the process of figuring out who the "greenest" President was, we'll take a look at some presidential offerings from TreeHugger's past.
1) Despite a pretty long list of un-TreeHugger moves, President Bush has supported biofuels and alternative energy on a few occasions.
2) Former President Bill Clinton has been working hard on the Clinton Global Initiative in that past few years.
3) China's President Hu Jintao is wary of climate change and calling for energy conservation across the board.
4) Al Gore didn't quite make it to the big desk in the White House, but he's done okay for himself since, with his movie, DVD, Quill Award, Nobel Peace Prize Nomination and upcoming rock concert.
5) Think you can do better than our elected leaders at solving global warming? Take the helm as "President" of Europe in the BBC's climate-change simulator....
Eggflat: Josh Jakus's Felt Forms
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.19.07
We're glad to see that Californian designer Josh Jakus is still playing around with off cuts of industrial waste felt. Having created the fun and funky Um Bag in various shapes and sizes, once known as Conform Bags, Josh has continued with his felt forming experiments and now presents us with the Eggflat. This sculptural table top piece, we are told, 'evolved out of an experiment in bending surfaces along seams. It folds flat for storage and then unfurls to hold coins, keys, fruit, and other small treasures. Individual units can be joined laterally to form a landscape.' What beautiful felt forms will he create next? Available to buy from Branch. via: Design Sponge. ::Josh Jakus...
Is Your Fridge Running (Efficiently)?
by Union of Concerned Scientists on 02.19.07
Appliances account for about 20 percent of a household’s annual electricity use and one of the biggest users of electricity is the refrigerator. If you’re in the market for a new refrigerator, see one of Union of Concerned Scientists’ previous posts on buying an energy efficient fridge.
You can make any refrigerator more efficient by making make sure it has a few inches of space behind it to keep air circulating around the condenser coils. Vacuuming your coils also can improve circulation.
Keeping your refrigerator too cold also can waste energy. The recommended temperature for refrigerators is 37 to 40 degrees (3 to 5 celcius) Fahrenheit and the recommended temperature for freezers is 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 celcius).
Keeping your refrigerator full also will help it retain the cold and cool more efficiently. If your fridge is sparsely occupied, you can add a few water-filled containers. On that same note, smaller refrigerators generally use less energy than larger ones. If your refrigerator is rarely full, you might want to consider replacing it with a smaller one.
See also: ::How to Green Your Electricity, ::How to Green Your Heating, ::How to Green Your Water, ::How to Green Your Dishwasher...
Etheco: Taking the Effort Out of Ethical Living
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.19.07
A new service that aims to rank how ethical products are is now available to individuals who want to be ethical consumers in the UK. Etheco aims to "take the effort out of ethical living" by using their own ranking system to determine the products that have the best combined environmental, human rights and social justice scores. On a scale of 100, each product is given a score that combines the product or service's environmental impact (including things like energy & resource efficiency) along with the ethical performance rating of the company that supplies the product or service; the resulting score gives the relative "ethical-ness" of the product. For example, when it comes to washing machines, Hoover's HNL6166 White model scores an 88% -- the highest of any model on the site. It gets an energy rating of "A+", washing efficiency of "A", centrifugal efficiency of "A" and bonus points for being a front-loader; the other "ethical" terms the company is rated on aren't disclosed, though Etheco mentions that they get some help from Ethiscore.org. Etheco is just starting out, it looks like, and have only rated a handful of washing machines and fridge/freezer combinations; they also have an electricity and gas "green calculator", to help you find out if you can save money, in addition to reducing your carbon footprint and being a more ethical consumer, by switching to a greener home energy supplier. The site is run by four people in their spare time, so we hope that they can find some time to add some more products, and we'd appreciate a few more details on how the "ethical" half of the scores are derived, but it looks like a good start. They have a survey, which will help them improve and expand their service, so we'll fill it out and hope to see more from them in the future. ::Etheco via ::Hippyshopper...
Travel to Bolivia and Help Indigenous Communities
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 02.19.07
Looking for a holiday destination with some meaning? Well, Bolivian Government has presented a National Tourism Plan oriented to create jobs and generate revenues to eradicate the poverty in the country’s indigenous communities -currently 70% of Bolivia’s population-. Under the slogan ‘Authenticity Still Exists”, the program aims to invest 200 million dollars in five years to promote indigenous community tourism. The economic and social benefits from the activity will be distributed among the various rural and indigenous communities throughout the country, "that will also receive expert assistance so that they can become one of Bolivia’s main tourist attractions", said the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Ricardo Cox. The Plan will promote sustainable tourism preserving the natural, historical and cultural resources of the country’s different regions: 17 eco-areas in which 36 peoples of distinct ethnic origin coexist. The campaign created by the Government identifies 12 destinations that combine both natural appeal and culture, located throughout the Andean, Amazonian and Pampa regions and the valleys. The attractions include Jesuit missions, salt marshes, colored lagoons, Lake Titicaca, Oruro, Potosi-Sucre and the Che Route. With this plan, Bolivia aims to double the number of visitors over a period of five years. Learn more on Bolivia at the plan’s website. ::Turismo Bolivia
Via thecrossing from Hugg...
Japanese Whaling Under Fire
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 02.19.07
Just as pro-whaling groups were assembling in Tokyo on Thursday to work out ways to expand Japan’s controversial whaling industry, the country’s flagship whaling vessel, the Nisshin Maru, was crippled by a fire, leaving the boat drifting about 100 miles from the world’s biggest penguin breeding ground on the Antarctic coast. While fears about a massive oil spill into the pristine waters swirled, the ship’s captain refused help from the nearest ship, an old tug named Esperanza. No wonder: the ship is run by Greenpeace, which has engaged the Maru in dramatic clashes over the years to stop the whale slaughtering. Even though many polls suggest that few Japanese people have ever tried whale meat and most of the younger generation is vehemently opposed, Japan continues hunting whales through a loophole in the International Whaling Commission’s rules that allows hunting whales for “scientific” purposes. Officials admitted that this year’s hunt—due to kill 945 whales by mid-March—will probably have to be abandoned. The arguments for and against killing whales may get complicated but the effects on the local ecosystems are as obvious as the pain often inflicted upon these intelligent creatures. It’s unclear what impact the fire on the Nisshin Maru (which featured eerily in Matthew Barney's 2006 Drawing Restraint 9) will have on Japan’s whaling yen, but at least we can thank the incident for returning whales to our consciousness. The figurative fire continues. See also: ::Breaking: Possible Environmental Disaster in Antarctica...
Jen's Green Journal Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.19.07
This week is Carnival of the Green #65 and it's being hosted by Jen's Green Journal. Head on over to the Carnival to check out a round up of last weeks 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....
Soldiers To Train Next To Israel’s Biggest Waste-Dump?
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 02.19.07
The Industrial zone - Ramat Hovav - has been a bone of contention for years. The area is home to 23,000 Beduins– once nomadic folk who now live near the site known for its toxic health effects. In 2004, a study showed that cancer and mortality rates are 65 percent higher within a 20 kilometer radius of the Ramat Hovav industrial zone. In recent news, the Israeli Army announced plans to build a training village for soldiers only 5 kilometers from Ramat Hovav. Some 15,000 young soldiers are expected to live next to Israel's largest poisonous industrial waste site at the new training camp called Bahadim City. But researchers at the Sami Shamoon College of Engineering believe that such plans need to be redressed. Tomorrow the College is hosting a public forum featuring influential speakers from all sides of the story. ...
domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Wallcoverings
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.19.07
domino magazine teamed up with TreeHugger to create "The Green List," a celebration of green design, and we're taking a closer look at each section of the list. Today, we'll ponder the three ways we picked to spruce up your walls: paint, wallpaper and plaster (check out page 40 of the print mag for the final list). Paints have the most options, with low and no-VOC options for any color palette and taste; among those chosen were YOLO Colorhouse, for their groovy earth tones, Harmony, from Sherwin Williams, Aura, by Benjamin Moore (who swear it only takes one coat to do the job!) and Olympic (available at Lowe's) for their vibrant colors. When it comes to wallpapers and coverings, Phillip Jeffries made the list with their breathable arrowroot-grass cloth, while Woodson & Rummerfield's pop patterns print on recycled paper with vegetable-dye inks made a big splash as well. For a more traditional look, we also liked Lim & Handtryck's patterns, produced with wooden & brass roller techniques. For a texture and look all its own, American Clay Plaster offers a blend of pure clay and non-toxic pigment that transforms any surface, with any color and three different finishes. Whether its color, texture or both that you seek for your walls, the Green List is a great place to start sourcing some great TreeHugger-friendly options. There's more to see at dominomag.com and in the print version on page 40. ::domino's Green List: Wallcoverings -- see it all at ::The Green List...
Environment : Approaches for Tomorrow
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.19.07
The Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, Quebec,has an extensive collection of architectural prints, drawings, photographs and archives as well as a changing exhibition schedule. The current show, Environment: Approaches for Tomorrow features the work of French landscape architect Gilles Clement and Swiss architect Philippe Rahm. Clement is concerned with the natural landscape and Rahm with artificial environments. ...
Help! There's an Industrial Solvent in my Shampoo
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 02.19.07
While "gentle" and "no more tears" are terms we've learned to associate with products like baby shampoo, a recent study by the Environmental Working Group claims that another one might be appropriate for the list: carcinogenic. The study, released on February 8th, found that the compound 1,4-dioxane is present in 22% of personal care products, including baby washes and shampoos. What is 1,4-dioxane? According to a US Environmental Protection Agency "Chemical Fact Sheet," 1,4-Dioxane (also called dioxane) is a flammable liquid. It may form explosive chemicals, especially when anhydrous (very dry). It is produced in large amounts (between 10 million and 18 million pounds in 1990) by three companies in the United States. ... Companies use dioxane as a solvent for paper, cotton, and textile processiong and for various organic products. It is also used in automotive coolant liquid, and in shampoos and other cosmetics....
Toronto Downtown Towers Going Green
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.07
Office buildings have been conspicuously absent from the Toronto construction boom; it has until now been condo driven, as companies flee to lower taxes in the suburbs. Chris Hume in the Star writes that this is changing, as three new towers are built, all to LEED silver specifications.
"It's a very powerful story," says Toronto architect Dermot Sweeny of Sweeny, Sterling, Finlayson, who's working on both the RBC and Telus projects. "This is the future. The fundamentals haven't changed since the mid-1960s. Nothing got much better architecturally than the Toronto-Dominion Centre; the only way to advance the model is to concentrate on the environment inside, which is key to attracting and retaining knowledge workers."
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UA Green: Responsible Furniture
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.07
Vancouver's Upholstery Arts introduces UA green, a new line of furniture built from lumber certified FSC and the Rainforest Alliance (read this week's Lucy Siegle article in the Guardian on this subject), fabrics that are recycled or recyclable, and "eco-suede" made from post consumer and post industrial polyester fibres- "any colour you want, as long as it's green!" It is sold through the DeBoer's chain of high end stores so it won't be cheap and will last a long time. However they throw in a kicker: when your purchase reaches the end of its long, useful life, they will take it back and you will "receive financial rewards", asking "Shouldn't the makers of products own the obligation to retrieve the waste that they make?". Nice Looking stuff at ::Upholstery Arts...
Uni offers Degree in Green Business Management
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.19.07
As Australian universities slowly gear up to open their lecture halls and wifi hubs to students, after the long summer break, we happened upon a new course that sounds intriguing. The University of Queensland’s Gatton campus is offering for the first time this year a Bachelor of Business (in Sustainable Enterprise Management). In the media release, course coordinator Paul Dargusch, says students should expect to gain skills suited to challenges such as climate change, rising fuel prices and diminishing water resources, as well as an understanding of new markets for environmentally sustainable products, carbon trading and better business and social relations. He observes that, “the big advantage of the degree is that you can still get the jobs you can get with a traditional business degree but this opens up new career opportunities in international development, environmental management and emerging business venture.” Similar agenda to the US based MBA in Sustainable Business we mentioned the other day. The uni is expecting the course’s graduates could “expect to work in marketing and mining, strategic consultancy, international development and aid, new product development, natural resource management and conservation, banking, finance and insurance and in government.” ...
Presidents Day Survey: Who is the Greenest President?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.07
In honor of Presidents day (and with John Laumer's help) we ask:
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Seat 61: Get There Without Flying
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.07
Sitting in Seat 61 on the Eurostar is Mark Smith, who runs Seat 61, a website designed "To help people who already know they want to travel by train or ship, ..... Many people prefer the experience of train travel, are afraid of flying, or want to avoid unnecessary flights for environmental reasons, but information can often be difficult to find. Second, to inspire people to do something more useful with their lives and their travel opportunities than going to an airport, getting on a plane, and missing all the world has to offer. There's more to travel than the destination - It used to be called a journey." Although UK based and Eurocentric, it does cover the rest of the world including the US, although limited to Amtrak and in Canada to Via Rail. We can't complain; he is doing this as a hobby. There are, of course, a lot of other ways to get around without flying besides trains; perhaps someone will be inspired by this to do a true green travel guide that includes bike tours, river boats, and biofuel bus tours. .::Seat 61 via ::Lifehacker...
Book Review: A Good Life
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.07
Every week we turn to the Guardian for the latest missive on ethical living, a subject introduced by Leo Hickman and carried on by Lucy Siegle. Many of these have been collected and published in A Good Life. The book attempts to "explain in detail some of the problems and injustices our habits and lifestyles are causing and them presenting practical solutions to reducing their impact, from eating less meat and lowering car emissions to domestic cleaning advice."- it is not just about global warming, it is about the state of the globe and what we can do to make it, and our lives, better.
Graphically, it is more of a magazine format, with lots of sidebars asking questions like "should I eat the New Zealand organic apple, the Kent non-organic apple or the Fairtrade apple from South Africa?" or dotted with windows with tidbits like "driving a 13 MPG SUV instead of the average 22 MPG care for one year wastes more energy than if you left a fridge door open for six years or left a TV on for 28 years" ...
MIT's Stackable, Foldable "City Car"
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.18.07
Researchers at MIT are building a prototype of a lightweight electric vehicle that can be cheaply mass-produced, rented by commuters under a shared-use business model, and folded and stacked like grocery carts at subway stations or other central sites. It's called the City Car, and the key to the concept lies in the design of its wheels. The MIT team has transformed the lowly wheel into a robotic drive system that will power the City Car. Embedded in each of its four wheels will be an electric motor, steering and braking mechanisms, suspension, and digital controls, all integrated into sealed units that can be snapped on and off. :: Via Boston.Com
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Britney Spears: Baldness is an Environmentally Responsible Choice
by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 02.18.07
Ah, the good old days, when Britney's Zeitgeist-ing life choices centered around affecting a British accent and eco-mom-ing it. In case you're in some sort of subterranean bliss, Britney Spears went all Sinead on us this weekend. I'm choosing not to focus on the media's carnivorous appetite for the pretty women they've helped make "train wrecks" so far this year: pseudo-lesbian Miss Teen USA, Anna Nicole, Lindsey Lohan, Britney. Instead, I'll call Britney's new head a sound eco-choice. It must take far less water to scrub a scalp than to do what most of us do: stand under gallons of running water washing our hair. You go, Britney! More tips on greening your haircare here, here, and here. Learn about dyeing here. ::Defamer...
Economist: Climate Change=Higher food prices
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.07
According to Merrill Lynch commodity strategist Francisco Blanch: High oil prices, a desire for energy security, and regulations designed to reduce carbon emissions, have prompted governments to favour ethanol as an alternative to petrol as a motor fuel.
-in Brazil, they use sugar; the price of it has skyrocketed.
-in America, corn; the price has doubled, and soybeans are being replaced by corn as the crop of choice for many farmers.
-in Australia, wheat prices are up because of drought.
-all of the above are fed to cows and pigs, so meat prices are going to rise.
-as food prices rise, so does inflation, leading to possible higher interest rates and a slowdown in global economic growth.
The Economist continues in this cheery vein: " As most experts agree, it is simply not plausible for America to gain energy security by switching from oil to corn-based ethanol. There is not enough agricultural land available. Nor is it clear that ethanol is really that much greener, given the energy needed to produce it. Ethanol is popular because it appears to be an easy option. It does not require higher taxes or rationing, it keeps the farmers happy and it makes the government look like it is doing something. Alas, dealing with global warming is likely to be more painful. ::Economist...
Now Serving: (energy-efficient) Chips
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.18.07
According to a recent study by Jonathan Koomey of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, the energy consumed by US servers accounts for .6% of overall US electricity consumption. If you add in the energy used to cool these systems that number doubles to 1.2%, the same amount of energy consumed by all US televisions. If current trends continue, "server electricity usage" could increase 40% by 2010 as computing needs expand exponentially. The whole thing sounds like operator error to us....
Sen. To Wife: "Don't Wake Kids" While House Is On Fire!!!!
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 02.18.07
At least that’s part of a conversation I can only imagine between Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma and his wife as their house is burning down around them with the kids upstairs sleeping! The Senator, who is considered by many to be a front-runner in the race to become this country’s “Ostrich-in-Chief” on the subject of global warming has loudly decried the news that none other than Laurie David should have the audacity to write a book describing the global catastrophe in terms that even children can understand. According to Inhofe, it’s simply an attempt by some to “fill the minds of children with 'sky-is-falling' global warming hysteria”. ...
It's Called Natura because it's Natural
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.18.07
If you’re in the market for a new body lotion, but want something that makes you “smell” like the fruit on the label, then you’ve come to the wrong place. If, instead, you’re in the market for a body lotion that gives you a clean feeling with a very light scent, then the Natura Organic Revitalising Body Lotion just might be your thing.
None of the ingredients were tested on animals at any stage in the making process, even the raw materials. For the vegans in the audience, Natura body lotion is a-okay as its made without beeswax or lanolin alcohol. The “revitalizing body lotion” with mandarin and orange, in particular, has a really light scent to it. When you first use it, you might think “wait, but I want to smell like oranges” but just give it a try or two, and you’ll realize how much better it feels not to be coated in a cloud of scent. The lotion gives you a faint, refreshing smell without making you feel like you’re standing in an orange grove. We don’t mean to harp on this, but we're just trying to prepare you because you might find it strange at first, this is one of the really great things about this product, so don’t judge this book by its cover....
The New Climate 2007 Almanac
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.07
in The Globe and Mail: The implications of climate change can be overwhelming. They touch every field, from science to economics to culture. Our New Climate Almanac 2007 breaks down the complexity with a concise miscellany of the latest ideas, facts and predictions. It is a keeper: everything from the Al Gore Effect - "the phenomenon that leads to unseasonably cold temperatures, driving rain, hail, or snow whenever Al Gore visits an area to discuss global warming." It was spotted in New York City in 2004 and again in Australia last November, when his arrival there on his "Inconvenient Truth" tour was marked by an unexpected late-winter snowstorm". through explanations of greenwashing "A recent Hummer commercial depicts an assembly line running to the soundtrack of trilling birds and crickets, a mechanical arm inserting bolts in time with the chirping of a tree frog. The environment has become the auto and oil industries' version of the "scantily clad beer babe," says Chris MacDonald, a business-ethics professor at Saint Mary's University." to Zero Hour for the Amazon- an excellent, wide-ranging primer, available online at ::The Globe and Mail...
On the Stands: Innovative Home
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.07
Innovative Home is supposed to be more than a magazine, it is a flagship of The Institute for Home Innovation, "the premier international organization dedicated to creating today's 'life-homes' by bringing together the leading architects, designers and building professionals to advance and effect change within the residential shelter industry." The Spring issue is out and it is heavy on the eye candy with some absolutely stunning monster modern homes, including an entire development designed by 33 famous modern architects, with starter homes going for $ 2.5 mil. Prefab of the month is Marmol Radziner, and there are two short basic articles on green housing. Like the houses in it, the magazine is gorgeous and expensive, but green or innovative? The mix of advertisers and architectural choices make this issue look more like a modernist Architectural Digest than an agent of change. ::Innovative Home ...
Windmill Sailboat: Sailing Against the Wind
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 02.18.07
Someone was thinking outside of the box on this one. The 36 foot catamaran, Revelation II, is powered by 3 20-foot long carbon fiber propellers on a 30 foot rotating mast. The windmill transmits power to a 6 blade propeller underwater, with the net result that the boat can make way even directly into the wind. Right now, you are either astonished, thinking "Why didn't we think of that before?", or your head is spinning with reasons why these boats are not currently plying the seas in great numbers. For instance, how well could such a thing possibly go into the wind if wind and water drag are offset by the forward propulsion generated? Or "who photo-shopped that windmill onto that catamaran?", for the real cynics. But it seems like there is evidence that the wind turbine concept really functions, and even some rather grainy video proof. If you want to evaluate some examples of the math for the proposition yourself (or just learn how a great forum can break down when we don't treat each other with respect), see the comments at Sailing against the wind. If you are leaning towards the photo-fixing theory, check out the Revelation II from another viewpoint at the Multihull Centre....
domino & TreeHugger's Green List: Fabric
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.18.07
In the third installment of the Green List, a collaboration between TH and domino magazine published in their March issue, we're training the spotlight on fabrics. We picked our favorite lines of textiles, useful for furniture upholstery, wallcoverings and more, that retain all of the sophistication and chic-ness without any synthetics. We've seen a few of them before, like Maharam's swank, non-toxic fabrics (above, lower left corner), Mod Green Pod's ornate silk-screened, organic cotton upholstery (top row, next to the Green List) and Designtex, whose new sustainable home line includes the bamboo-cotton combo in the top left corner above. Don't miss Ambatalia's handpicked sustainable textiles, like their gently weathered hemp & cotton ticking (bottom row, left-center) or Twill Textiles' 100% biodegradable fabric (bottom right), though, and check out Aurora Silk's extra-heavy silk woven of thread produced by wild moths (bottom, right-center). There's more to see at dominomag.com and even more on page 38 in the print version; stay tuned to TreeHugger for features on rugs, renovating and more. ::domino's Green List: Fabric...
Adobe Photoshops its Headquarters Green
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.07
When Adobe started building its headquarters in 1996 green buildings were not yet all the rage. After California's 2001 energy crisis they started thinking about retrofitting, and are now the first renovation of a major office building to achieve LEED platinum. They changed landscaping and reduced water usage by 75%; converted urinals to waterless models; recylcle 95% of their waste and added sophisticated controls on lighting and HVAC. Not only is it green but it saves a million bucks a year in operating costs. Good photospread at ::Cnet...
Osisu Design's Beautiful Reclaimed Teak Furniture
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.18.07
The Thai architect and product designer Singh Intrachooto has created a beautiful series of furniture using scraps of teak wood. The wood is sourced from reclaimed trees uprooted to build roads and from off cuts of wood left over from Intrachooto's architectural projects. His company Osisu Design launched three collections last year called Lini, Lami and Tilee. The two pieces shown above illustrate how different off cuts are used in different ways to influence the form and pattern of the furniture. The Chairwalker, from the Lini collection, uses off cut strips, while the seat of the TT bench, from the Tilee collection, is made from the smallest off cuts, showing how even the tiniest pieces can be reused. In an interview with Three Layer Cake last year Singh Intrachooto talked about his commitment to environmentally concious design, but also expressed the challenges he faces in his work: ...
Residents Protest Extended Congestion Charge
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.18.07
Having just called the BBC out for their poor environmental performance, we’ll now have to thank them for the following story. It turns out that an extension to the London Congestion Charge which comes into force on Monday is meeting with some fierce opposition from the residents of Kensington and Chelsea. The fact that the original congestion charge has cut traffic by up to 20% in central London is not enough to convince many of those living in the extended charging area. They say that extending the charge is unnecessary, that it will divide communities in two, and that it will simply shift the traffic elsewhere.
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