- 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 September 23, 2007 - September 29, 2007
Total this week: 214
An Ultrathin, Anime-Inspired, Protein-Based Computer Memory Chip
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.29.07
It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new computer memory technology, but "Detective Conan" (otherwise known as "Case Closed") - a popular anime and manga series about a young detective who uses high-tech gadgets to help him solve cases - could have provided the creative spark that led to the development of a protein-based ultrathin memory. Using ferritin, a protein commonly found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes that facilitates iron storage, scientists from Japan's Nara Institute of Science and Technology came up with a way to build memory on thinner substrates, thus avoiding the need for energy-intensive, high-temperature processing (often in excess of 1,000°C).
In the past, thin materials such as glass and plastics had proved unsuitable for the production of computer memory since they had a low heat resistance. However, with the help of ferritin - which stores iron inside its hollow spherical structure - the researchers believe it will now be possible to use these thinner materials. The exact process involves the irradiation of ferritin-covered substrate with UV light, which destroys the protein and leaves behind metal deposits (which are contained in it). The end result was a memory chip measuring less than 1 micron in thickness. ...
Clinton Global Initiative Highlights: Energy & Climate Change
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.29.07
Seeding is Believing in Vermont
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.29.07
Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid In The Lead (Apparently)
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.29.07
Media coverage we've seen is confusing as to whether the Toyota FCHV-6 is a pure play fuel cell or a hybrid fuel cell vehicle. We'll assume hybrid, as it would be logical to leverage their current front runner position in hybrid tech. Check out HydrogenCars blog for more details. "Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen."
"The latest version of the FCHV features a high-pressure tank of 70Mpa that can store double the amount of hydrogen as its previous fuel tank, increasing its cruising range. Two cars were tested and both completed the trip, the automaker said."
Via:: Reuters Image credit:: Hydrogen Cars...
Wearing a Piece of the Titanic
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.29.07
Not that you've probably ever given it any serious consideration, but how would you feel about owning a piece of the Titanic - to tell the time? Yes, taking the principles of reuse and recycling to new heights, a Switzerland-based watch company - Romain Jerome - is planning on using steel taken from the actual vessel to craft a set of 2,012 limited edition Titanic DNA Watches. Furthermore, the watches' dial faces will be coated with black lacquer paint - whose main ingredient consists of coal from the ship.
They will be made available on (conveniently enough) 2012 to coincide with the centenary anniversary of the Titanic's sinking on April 14, 1912. No pricing is as yet listed, but you can bet these watches won't come cheap. Talk about gimmicky... not to mention inefficient (just imagine the amount of energy it takes to extract the necessary components).
Via ::Groovy Green: Titanic Being Recycled, Turned Into Watches (blog)
See also: ::Dematerialized Designs: Make Your Own Watch, ::Fossil Kinetic Watches: Never Change a Battery Again
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One Year Ago in TH: LEDs on the Go, Camouflage is the New Green + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.29.07
Because we don't know where we're going until we realize where we've been: one year ago in TreeHugger, we spied some LEDs on the go (above left), pondered whether or not camouflage was the new green with Britain's Department of Defence going green beyond just the color of their tanks, and eyed Recy, the Recyclable Roadster.
We also took note of KiteShip, which employs Very Large Free Flying Sails to help pull ships along, found some new sustainable goodies at 2KH and felt George Monbiot turn up the heat, took note of Safeway's efforts to reduce emissions with wind power and peeked inside North Carolina's first zero energy home. This date last year also marked the first time we saw Suissa Computers, who've been on our radar this year as well. Some things do come full circle; check out everything we were thinking about here....
Real Treehuggers Support Adding LNG Terminals
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.29.07
North American nations are considering a combined total of 64 liquefied natural gas import terminal proposals. These projects are somewhere between underway and identified. To view industry-supplied facts and perspectives on LNG, check out this site. If you are strongly opposed to LNG port additions, please don't just shoot us an angry comment before checking out the following reasoning.
We mentioned before that a major trade-off decision facing North America is coal vs conservation. Actually, that was something of an oversimplification.
Adding enough LNG import capacity in the next few years, combined with a sufficiently-low Federally imposed carbon cap in the US and Canada, could head hundreds of new coal and nuclear generators off at the climate pass*. And, the added LNG could play an important role in the sustainability of hybrid vehicle designs.
As long as gas supplies are adequate, gas fired generators are easier to permit, far cheaper to build, and vastly cleaner to operate than coal-fired generators* *. Some would argue that natural gas has a lower carbon footprint than nuclear power if an objective comparison is made over the full product life cycle. For the moment, however, let's hold off on the merits of adding nuclear plants. Taxpayers are going to be shocked once they find out what it would cost in public subsidies to build hundreds of new nuclear stations. That makes for a pretty uncertain debate. ...
TreeHugger Discussion Forums
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 09.29.07
Just a reminder: The TreeHugger Discussion Forums are fully launched and linked from our header menu, as you can see from the screenshot above.
Feel free to drop by and join the discussion. It's easy and fast to register, and no rocket science is involved with using the forums: You click on discussion threads you want to read, if you want to reply, you hit "Post Reply". That's it!
Come check it out!...
Critical Mass Turns 15
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 09.29.07
Oh, adolescence. It was fifteen years ago this week that 40+ bicyclists got together for a group ride, showing that roads aren't just meant for cars. From this unceremonious "birth," Critical Mass has grown to become a part of the bicycle culture in many cities around the world. As is the case with many teenagers, the group has gone through quite a growth spurt:
What began with four dozen bicyclists riding together up Market Street on Sept. 25, 1992, has turned into a monthly happening that regularly draws thousands of participants pedaling along the streets of San Francisco, at times drawing both praise and scorn.We would send Critical Mass a birthday card, if only there was somewhere to send it. The "group" is not really a group at all. Rather, it is an event without central leadership - spreading through word of mouth. Maybe the best gift would be to just show up and ride, anyway. :: Via Planetizen and San Francisco Chronicle ...
TreeHugger Radio: Mexico High on Greenhouse Gasses, Bush’s Climate Plan, and the Art of the Superfund Site
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 09.29.07
This week, president Bush tries to convince the world he’s serious about the fate of the human race, while a new poll finds public satisfaction with climate leadership down in the dumps. With the construction of the world’s highest climate monitoring station, Mexico proudly enters the global warming tracking community, and TreeHugger’s Eliza Barclay is on the scene to speak with key players. Melding toxic waste with interactive art is a delicate science, but Superfund365 has done just that, and artist Brooke Singer discusses her creation. Listen to TreeHugger Radio on iTunes or listen/right click to download. ::TreeHugger Radio ...
Trinity Glass - A Merger for Beautiful Countertops
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 09.29.07
At the West Coast Green conference last weekend, I had the opportunity to sit down with EcoTop/EcoClad creator Joel Klippert, and Squak Mountain Stone creator Amee Quiriconi to talk about the creation of green surfaces. The two recently joined creative forces to develop Trinity Glass – a unique countertop surface that is both refined and rustic. These two designers shared a little bit of their passion for the industry and the charge they get from designing with materials once though to be worthless....
Agrilandia: Italian Organic Farming in China
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 09.29.07
Beijing parents who belong to the urban migration in China have found an opportunity to bring their children back to the land. On 17 hectares east of Beijing Capital International Airport, the Agrilandia Italian Farm opens its doors to visitors who want to sprawl in the grass, eat an authentic Italian meal or self-pick around twenty varieties each of apricots, cherries, plums, peaches, apples, grapes and pears. Claudio Bonfatti, and his wife Lu Hongwei, started the farm as a family retreat and to grow vegetables and herbs for authentic Italian dishes at their Beijing restaurant, Peter Pan. Their empire has since grown to include a second restaurant in town and a restaurant at the farm. The farm sells cuttings from the imported fruit trees and proselytizes the virtues of organic farming.
However, expansion of the Beijing airport to accommodate the 2008 Olympic games will force Agrilandia off of the land which the Bonfattis currently lease at a pre-boom price of $633 per hectare per year. Negotiations are underway for a new location, but the move will force the small organic farm to grow or die. ...
Not Blanche: An "All-night Public-space Thing"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.29.07
Last year's Nuit Blanche all-night contemporary art festival was such a hit (400,000 people showed up!) that it is being repeated in Toronto tonight, but is now ScotiaBank Nuit Blanche, and some people think that it has gone all mainstream and corporate. The Toronto Public Space Committee has organized not blanche, an alternative, non corporatized version that is less about art and more about public space and urban issues.
They have organized a poster harvesting/button making crew- "Harvest expired posters from around the neighbourhood, then come back and make your own unique wearable piece of public space!" an illegal sign safari "Go hunting for billboards behaving badly with our friends from illegalsigns.ca" a moonlight bulb plant- "Commit senseless acts of beautification by the light of the moon in our city's interstitial spaces."...
Clinton Global Initiative Highlights: Strategies to Improve Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.29.07
Ontario Election 2007: Who is the Greenest, Part 2
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.29.07
We looked at this earlier, but now 13 environmental groups have released a comparison of the Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP platforms.
Unlike in the United States, there is a remarkable consensus in Ontario; Peter Gorrie of the Star notes that all of the parties claim to be green, and are in fact tripping over each other to convince voters they're on the right side of what has become a motherhood issue.
The analysis rated each party as "Yes," "No," or "partial" on six major issues. As expected, the Greens got the most "Yes" marks and no "No's." They're far out on their own because, true to their origins, they view every policy – finance, health, education and the rest – as part of a sustainable whole. Results below the fold. ::Toronto Star
picture by Raffi Anderian/Toronto Star...
The Third Industrial Revolution
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.29.07
In Germany, that is what they call the development of low-carbon or no-carbon technologies needed to wean economies off fossil fuels. In theory, the wealth and the jobs - entire industries perhaps - created by the technologies would help to offset the potentially horrendous costs of reducing carbon output.
Eric Reguly quotes a report that suggested the third industrial revolution is well under way in Germany. It said the new energy and ecology-related fields are becoming the country's top job creation engine. "By 2020, this sector will be employing more people than mechanical engineering or the automotive industry," said the writer of the report. Already, Germany has created about 250,000 jobs in areas ranging from fuel cells and electric cars to wind power and energy-efficient houses (the German Passivhaus dispenses with conventional furnaces for heating).
So why do North American politicians keep saying that the cost of Kyoto is too high? As the head of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) said: "You can make money out of climate change, Capitalism can change with a changing market. Lehman Brothers has more environmental experts than the UNEP." ::Globe and Mail...
How to Detox Your House
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.29.07
So many chemicals in our houses, in our carpets, bedding, insulation, paints, glues and countless other household goods. Adriana Barton at the Globe and Mail finds that the potential health hazards of many everyday chemicals have only recently come under scrutiny. She writes:
Bisphenol A, found in plastic items such as drinking bottles, causes reproductive-system defects in animals; so do flame retardants and phthalates used in fragrances, lotions, vinyl and other products. The risks to human health aren't well documented, however - and even less is known about the compound effects of chemical cocktails in the body.
People have reason to be concerned about potential toxicants and allergens in their homes, according to Tim Takaro, a physician scientist and professor in health sciences at Simon Fraser University.
"When the science is in flux," he says, "oftentimes we need to adopt a precautionary approach."...
Quote of the Day: Gro Brundtland on Climate-Change Mitigation in Norway
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.29.07
I'm a technology optimist and it's going to be an important part of the solutions, but yet on Monday, Alcoa represented industries speaking in the United Nations in the mitigation plenary, what did he say? He said, we need clear, enforced, global policies and we need fair, effective and binding international commitments. That was the message from industry on Monday because if they get that, the drive towards doing what is right will be there and they will be able to grow, they will be able to invest and they will be able to do the right thing towards clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, everything that we are speaking about.
Now, when I had led the commission on environment and development back in the '80's, of course, I was focused on what can we do at home in Norway, an oil-producing country, so one important issue, which was politically difficult was we have to have a CO2 tax on the Norwegian continental shelf, on the oil industry itself. ...
Chemically, Deodorants Stink
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.29.07
Heidi Sopinka of the Globe and Mail looks at the chemical composition of deodorants, even from the health food store, and asks "Is it possible to obliterate body odour and be good to the planet?" and concludes that it is pretty tough. 50% of "natural" deodorants contain petroleum-based propylene glycol; others contain gender bender triclosan, parabens, and talc, which is illegally mined in India.
She concludes: Avoid antiperspirants entirely, and if after reading the label you find no mention of parabens, talc or propylene glycol, you're on the right track. You might have to arrange for emergency reapplications throughout the day, but it beats the environmental price of coming clean. ::Globe and Mail...
Ethical Weddings on Honeymoons by Rail
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.29.07
The trains that operate between the UK and mainland Europe have fast become a regular subject on TreeHugger. We’ve covered the fact that they already produce 90% less emissions than flights on similar routes, and that the operator Eurostar is making efforts to reduce these emissions by a further 25% and offset the rest. Most recently the same company made our pages for its efforts to compete with airlines on both speed and price. But putting aside questions of emissions or travel times for a moment, what of the actual travel experience? If the experiences of Katie and Jamie, of Ethical Weddings, are anything to go by, opting for train travel instead of flying can be a beautiful, rewarding experience – even over distances much longer than the usual cross-channel hop. In their latest blog offering, Katie describes the couple’s 2 day train journey from Sussex to Spain:
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Just For the Love of It: Walking from UK to India With Zero Money
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.29.07
VIDEO S&WFF: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (Last Day to Submit FIlms)
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.29.07
Ride like the Sun: Electrobike - Solar Electric Bicycle
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.28.07
Yeh, we know, you’ve heard it all before. Like when we bought you news of the mythical E-V Sunny with solar panel wheels. But The Electrobike Pi looks different.
For starters we get to see a real live journalist from the LA Times ride about on it. And solar panels are not integrated into the bike itself, but come as an $1,800 optional extra (see pics after the fold). Although touted as cutting the Pi's carbon load by half the panels look awkward to deploy and require eight hours in the sun for a full recharge. You might be thinking "Geez, if that is the price for add-ons, what does the bike cost?" A cool $7,500 USD! But for that you get a street legal bicycle that can get up to 20 mph (32 kph) and travel about 25 miles (40 km) per 2.5 hour plug-in charge. The batteries, with a 400 charge lifespan are housed in the curving arc of the frame and can be topped up by regenerative braking (A Prius convertible/cabriolet, if you will!). ...
Happy, Shiny Treehugging People
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.28.07
While this beyond-pooped writer is in serious recovery from this long and eventful week—and catching up with what's going on with the Bushies (always a barrel of fun, even if it drives us to drink)—here's a painting by Matthew Heller, called "Happy Tree Huggers" to tide you over until we wrap up the Clinton Global Initiative and pick up a few dangling threads from the United Nations high-level event on climate change.
Says it all, doesn't it?
Thanks to Kristina Ramsay for sending this along....
The 100 Mile Café: More for the Locavore
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.28.07
It’s a little over two years since we first reported on Alisa Smith and James Mackinnon’s 100 Mile Diet. Yet in that time their experiment has cooked up a website and a book, as well as inspiring many locally focused eateries like the Local Burger in Kansas, and a British restaurant that sources 85% of its food from within the realm of London’s underground ‘Tube’ network (in turn seeding it’s own TV program, the Urban Chef.) Also in the UK is Carpé Diem a restaurant, where more than 50% of their menu comes from within 50 miles.
So it was about time the movement found its way down under. And it has, with the 100 Mile Café, which proclaims its intentions rather obviously. Opened a few months ago in the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, it’s more restaurant than cafe (desserts are $14 USD), but strives to source the “best possible meat, seafood and produce” from within a hundred mile radius.
A review in The Age gave it a Recommended rating and found the combination Japanese inspired French provincial menu to be uniquely robust. The reviewer was also taken with how their bill came in a brown paper bag, printed with the ‘go local’ rationale and also sporting a complimentary packet of lettuce seeds. Menu and opening hours on their website at ::100 Mile Café.
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Ask TreeHugger: Microwave Popcorn and The Kernel of Truth
by Helen Suh MacIntosh, Cambridge, MA, USA on 09.28.07
Question: For the past several years, I have been eating a bag of microwave popcorn almost every day. I just read that this can damage my lungs. Is this true? Should I be worried?
Answer: Microwave popcorn has been around for more than 50 years, since the invention of microwave ovens. Microwave popcorn is relatively easy to make at home using popcorn, a brown bag, some staples (yes, staples!) and other ingredients, such as salt and butter. More commonly, people make popcorn in their microwave using ready-made microwave popcorn packages, many of which contain additional chemical ingredients. The chemicals that are used to give microwave popcorn its buttery flavor are the reason why microwave popcorn has been in the news recently. ...
Economic Crisis Kept Cubans Healthier and Biking
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 09.28.07
Ask any Cuban who lived through the "special period" in the 1990s, and they will tell you that it was a terribly difficult time where everyone scrambled just to find enough to eat. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country went into a severe economic crisis as Soviet subsidies dried up, generating severe food and fuel shortages. But there was a silver lining to the lack of supplies: people were forced to slash their calorie intake and to travel on foot or bicycle.
According to a study published last week in the American Journal of Epidemiology, between 1997 and 2002, deaths in Cuba caused by diabetes declined by 51%, coronary heart disease mortality dropped 35% and stroke mortality by 20%. Obesity in the southern coastal city of Cienfuegos fell from 14.3% in 1991 to 7.2% in 1995.
Another interesting tidbit: now that the economy has relatively recovered, obesity is rebounding. Around 30% of adult Cubans are now overweight and a quarter have a tendency toward obesity, according to a government study. :: Via The Guardian
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Biorock: Stimulating Coral Growth With Electricity
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 09.28.07
Can electricity give declining coral reefs a new lease on life? It may seem counter-intuitive, but it apparently has been effective for the last decade, thanks to marine biologist Thomas Goreau and engineer/architect Wolf Hilbertz, who have been experimenting with regenerating coral reefs using electricity in a technology called Biorock....
Good For Green Business: Legit Survey Says Green is Not a Fad
by Olivia Zaleski, New York City, USA on 09.28.07
The 2007 ImagePower Green Brands 2.5 Survey debuted this morning at Sustainable Life Media's Sustainable Brands '07 Conference in New Orleans. According to the report, “consumers say they expect to double their spending on green products and services in the next year, totaling a staggering $500 billion annually, or $43 billion per month.”...
Reminder: 2007 Abbott Kinney Festival This Weekend
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.28.07
TreeHuggers in Los Angeles, listen up: the 2007 Abbott Kinney Festival is happening on Sunday, September 30 in Venice (we mentioned it before). This year, the arts, design and living conference is going green with solar-powered music stages, biodegradable plastic bags and cutlery and a "Green Design Block Party" hosted by epOxybOx. If that weren't enough, there'll be some fun festival activities, including a raffle for a Raleigh Beach Cruiser bike, a membership to Flexcar with some free hours and more, and a great lineup of speakers (full schedule after the jump) including "Greening Schools," "Water Conservation Issues" and a presentation of An Inconvenient Truth.
If you're in or around Los Angeles, we hope you'll hop on a bike, get on the bus or at least carpool to this cool event. Sunday 10 am - 6 pm, Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice. ::2007 Abbott Kinney Festival...
Two Pictures Say a Thousand Words ... Myanmar Under Siege
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.28.07
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is documenting before-and-after satellite images documenting the human-rights abuses occurring in Myanmar. The above "before" image shows a settlement adjacent to rice paddies in 2000.
The below "after" image was taken in December 2006, showing the same area of land with all the structures removed. A similarly sized settlement also appeared 0.6 miles north. ::MSNBC...
TH Forums Highlights: Are We Screwed?, Greening Teens + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.28.07
The weekend is always nigh at TreeHugger Forums...
Round-ups of the best conversations in TreeHugger Forums appear several times a week here at TreeHugger; register for free and login to become part of the conversation for a greener future today....
 | 1) Forums user Tripholiada has sort of a grim outlook on the future of our planet: "my generation I believe is screwed." This according to new info from National Geographic that implies that we have to "stopping all deforestation, or doubling fuel efficancy, or making our wind power 50x what it currently is." Hmm...is it really to late? Let's hear from you! |
 | 2) User jduffy wants to find a way to better reach out to teens, to get them to go green. "Something I'd like to put up on a website. And since it's for teens, the less goofy, the better! Or, the more hip hop the better." This has been tried a few times before; anybody have some solid advice for greening the teen movement? |
 | 3) Forums user megsmind has a problem: "I have a horrible Coca-Cola habit that I'm trying to kick, because I can't stand the taste of water (okay, I'm a freak, but it tastes funny and makes me have bad breath) so I've been using Crystal Light to make myself drink the water... am I doing more harm then good?" Some fellow users have some good tips when it comes to avoiding plastic for better drinking water. |
Angelina Jolie's Plea for Refugees
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.28.07
Do It All Knives: Multi-Tasking Your Way to an Uncluttered Kitchen
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.28.07
How's this for a brilliant multi-tasker: a set of knives that doubles up to perform duties as a vegetable peeler, citrus zester, garlic mincer and more. It's tough to get by in a kitchen without knives, but, at least with these guys, you can now do without several cluttering peripherals. Check out another pic after the jump. ::Caroline Noordijk (under construction) via ::Yanko Design...
Bruce Sterling on Downloadable Designs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
Bruce Sterling has not only written the book on downloadable designs (called Shaping Things), He made the movie too!
According to Putting People First", The future will see a new kind of object — we have the primitive forms of them now in our pockets and briefcases: user-alterable, baroquely multi-featured, and programmable — that will be sustainable, enhanceable, and uniquely identifiable. Sterling coins the term “spime” for them, these future manufactured objects with informational support so extensive and rich that they are regarded as material instantiations of an immaterial system. Spimes are designed on screens, fabricated by digital means, and precisely tracked through space and time. They are made of substances that can be folded back into the production stream of future spimes, challenging all of us to become involved in their production.
Last night Sterling showed an amazing video in Italy; you can see it ::Here See also our site ::In An Absolut World Everything is Downloadable...
This is How Giant Sixixis's Giant Chair is!
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 09.28.07
Just in case any of you were wondering, this is just how huge the Sixixis Giant Chair is. Yes admittedly I am on the petite side, but I am not that tiny - this is still one mighty big seat! Even if you weren't wondering whether the title Giant Chair was meant literally or not, I was! When we posted our Sneak Peek on Sixixis before the London Design Festival started I was really looking forward to seeing their stand. Last year they wowed the crowds with their beautiful Rolling House, this year the showpiece was simpler in form, but more interactive. I saw plenty of people clambering up onto the chair to have their photo taken or just to hang out on there - it's super comfy. Once again the Sixixis crew managed to be center of attention amongst stiff competition. We love their sustainably sourced steam bent wooden creations. :: Sixixis...
The Best Kind of Chastity Belt: Education
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.28.07
The only way we'll be able to put the brakes on our runaway population growth is to give every girl on the planet an education, said former president Bill Clinton at the opening plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative meeting today.
"If we go in just 43 years from 6 billion to 9 billion, there is nothing that will stop [overpopulation] except putting all the girls in schools and giving girls jobs. Get them into the job market—they will delay marriage and have fewer children," he added.
Sure, blame the women. Boys will be boys....
The Exxon FIles: The Denial Continues
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.28.07
A Weekend of Local Dining Events in Atlanta, Georgia
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 09.28.07
If you’re in the Atlanta area this weekend and love food (and who doesn't?) you should check out Food & Wine Magazine’s culinary events happening throughout the city. The magazine has teamed with restaurateurs in Atlanta, Athens & Palmetto to raise money for their Grow for Good campaign, which is a national initiative dedicated to raising awareness of sustainable agriculture and educating about the importance of supporting local farms. The weekend kicks off this evening as numerous restaurants around the city open their chef’s table to offer a select tasting menu featuring Georgia-grown ingredients. But if you can’t make it tonight, not to worry, more events continue throughout the weekend. For example, Saturday’s festivities include a “Country Fair in the City,” featuring Georgia’s finest farmers, live music, farm fresh goods and beer. On Sunday, guests are invited to a “Summer Supper at Summerland Farm” to enjoy delicious food while savoring the beauty of a working farm. To purchase tickets and for a list of participating restaurants and chefs, visit Grow for Good’s event page. ::Grow for Good...
Some Cities Try To Be Bike-Friendly
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
Some cities are trying hard to be bike-friendly; New York City just got its first physically-separated bike path inside the urban core. According to the New York Times, The city is planning to remake seven blocks of Ninth Avenue in Chelsea into what officials are billing enthusiastically, perhaps a bit hyperbolically, as the street of the future. “I think it’s a sneak peek at the future streets of New York,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s transportation commissioner. “It represents the kinds of innovative ideas that we can explore to make the streets more livable.” ::New York Times and ::Planetizen
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Recipe of the Week - Carrot and Lentil Soup
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 09.28.07
The temperature in Toronto reached over 30 C again this week, so once more I have delayed the roasting of pumpkin and squash that I have been hankering after. From the sounds of it we will soon have weather more in keeping with the autumn and I will be able to start cooking heartier fare. The recipe that I tried this week is a bit of a compromise between the substantial orange foods of fall and a lighter texture to have on a hot day. As regular readers of this column will know, I am the queen of substitutions and I made a few here.
The recipe calls for butter but in the interests of my arteries I no longer use it in this kind of cooking. I used olive oil instead. I also didn't have any sun dried tomatoes on hand so I threw in a fresh tomato and that worked out alright. I expect the sun dried tomato would give the soup a bit more depth of flavour and also make it a bit saltier. It also asked for the carrots to be grated, but I was just too lazy so I chopped them. It meant that there were chunks of carrot rather than a smooth puree, but I like a little texture in my soup. Make sure you use red or yellow lentils because you want them to break down completely and green lentils are too sturdy for this recipe. I thought there was too much stock and used more like a litre than the 1.5 litres required This recipe says you need to boil the soup for 40 minutes, but I didn't cook it for anywhere near that amount.
Now that you know how I messed around with this recipe, feel free to mess around with it yourself. Add some crusty bread and a green salad and you've got a nice light dinner....
Rupert Murdoch at the Clinton Global Initiative
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.28.07
It was like watching a kung-fu scene unfold, albeit a very, very lame kung-fu scene. At a plenary on building a global multiethnic community—held on the third (and final) day of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting and moderated by the former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson—News Corp chief, billionaire media magnate, and far-right curmudgeon Rupert Murdoch clumsily dodged Robinson's questions about whether political partisanship in media (especially, hint hint, giant media empires with extensive global reaches) played a role in promoting public divisiveness, especially through the use of politically charged language.
Completely avoiding anything remotely resembling a direct answer, Murdoch insisted that News Corp "didn't dominate anything anywhere," especially in today's digital age. "Everybody has the ultimate choice of what they watch and what they listen to," he said. "And to make up their own mind."
He added that the job of the media—in particular his media, natch—was to add to public debate. "That's all part of the education of an advanced society," he said. "There should be debate about big issues. Our job is to educate people." ...
Bike Charity Awarded a $100,000 Grant
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 09.28.07
Outdoor equipment retailer, Recreational Equipment, has pledged a $100,000 grant to the Bikes Belong Foundation. The money will go towards supporting a series of grant awards to projects that aim to make US cities more friendly for cyclists.
...
Texans In Conservation Standoff
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.28.07
In Texas, the San Antonio Business Journal is reporting that:- "Environmentalists are arguing Texas could meet its growing electric power needs without building new power plants by relying more heavily on energy efficiency and renewable energy."
"Two reports commissioned by Environmental Defense also claim this could be done while creating an estimated 38,300 new jobs in the state over the next 15 years. Texas consumers could also save $37 billion on their electric bills over that same period. The reports were produced by the Washington-based American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy on behalf of Environmental Defense."
"The group argues that most of these savings can be achieved at the local level by municipalities either by adopting stricter building codes or encouraging homeowners to invest in energy-efficient structures."
If Texas is as conservative as they say, this should work. The full press release from ACEEE is here. Full report in pdf format is here.
Via:: San Antonio Business Journal, "Texas could cut electric bills by billions through energy efficiency, study shows." Image credit::Texas Politics...
Energyspace Sustainable Garden Buildings
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
So many small prefabs and sheds on TreeHugger and other sites, but how many are zero energy and carbon neutral? Energyspace builds "a state of the art workspace that makes a minimal or zero contribution to global climate change in every aspect of its design, construction, energy-use, and life cycle."
They are super-insulated (hemp-cotton batts are an option), sited for passive solar gain but assisted by wood fired stoves and photovoltaics. ...
And Ye Shall Live In Booths
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 09.28.07
For the Jewish nation, there is probably no better time to reflect on one’s place in nature and the health of the environment than during Sukkoth, the Festival of Booths or the Jewish harvest festival. Looking outside our window in Jerusalem, we see small make-shift huts (sukkahs) erected everywhere – each one has at least three walls made from wooden clapboard or cloth with a simple roof made from plant cuttings (skakh)....
Wayback Machine:"Sunshine Sandwiches" From MIT, 1940
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
Popular Science, Feb 1940: "HEATING homes in January with the warmth of last summer’s sunshine —that is the exciting goal of research now under way at Cambridge, Mass. Not far from the Charles River, scientists of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently completed a white frame building, its sloping roof edged with a glistening battery of solar-heat traps.
These cells are formed of “sandwiches” of glass sheets, air spaces, and metal plates. The rays of the sun penetrate through the sheets of glass and strike a black metal plate at the bottom of each cell. ...
Fresno California Testing Feasibility of Using Municipal Effluent To Cool Nuclear Generators
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.28.07
The Fresno California City Council has, by a 4-2 vote, approved the testing of Fresno wastewater effluent for the purpose of cooling nuclear power plant process water.
"Supporters said the vote wasn't an endorsement for building a nuclear power plant in Fresno. The testing will simply determine whether a plant can be cooled with effluent from the city's waste-water treatment plant in southwest Fresno, they said. The council voted 4-2 to allow the testing, which will give the nuclear plant's backers access to the waste-water treatment plant to conduct tests. The tests are expected to take four years and will cost up to $4 million, said John Hutson, who heads Fresno Nuclear Energy Group LLC, the project's backers." "Palo Verde, a nuclear generation plant near Phoenix, uses waste water from nearby cities as a cooling agent. As a result, it's the only nuclear power plant in the country that doesn't sit on a large body of water, according to its operator."...
The Cutting Edge: Bicycle Lawnmowing
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.28.07
There we were, ruminating on just what gizmos creative minds will dream up to win fame and glory (plus cash and bike) in the Specialized Innovate or Die competition, and in a totally unrelated web search, happened upon the 'B.O.B. Mower,' which looks like a customised Sunlawn mower, attached to B.O.B. bike trailer linkage.
All the fossil-fuel-free goodness of a push (reel) lawnmower with the superior strength of legs over arms in a bicycle. Genius! Whether it works or not we don’t know. But just the idea makes us feel better. And, of course, all good design is just evolutionary so it stands to reason the idea has been developed before.
And boy, has it ever. Take a peek, after the fold, at the plethora of bicycle-lawn mower combos we've dug up. Image above from ::Planet Natural, though it seems the originals are from Lawnmower Bob....
New Mexico's Green Filmmaking Program
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 09.28.07
New Mexico, the state already known for its green chile is now getting kudos for its green filmmaking. The new Green Filmmaking Program was developed this year to encourage film crews to help reduce the environmental footprint of the resource-intensive filmmaking enterprise. The voluntary program provides education, resources and incentives to encourage crews to seek eco-certification.
Paul Haggis, the writer/producer/director known for movies such as Letters from Iwo Jima, Million Dollar Baby, and Crash, participated in the program during filming of his latest project, In the Valley of Elah. During production Haggis said the producers “refused to rent, or reimburse anybody for, rental cars that didn't get at least 22 miles per gallon," used eco-friendly materials to build sets, and arranged for recycling and recyclables disposal at every filming location.
To assist filmmakers in greening their set, the New Mexico Film office provides everything from vendor contact information to bringing in a fleet of hybrid vehicles for production rentals. Via:: Hollywood Reporter
photo from ABQStyle Musings...
Reflections on consumption and minimalism. . . in Business Week?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
I had to crib that headline from Core77, it is such an odd article to see in Business Week. Akiko Busch instructs:Make less, buy less, use less, throw away less.Russell Davies, a branding expert, writes:
"Once upon a time, packaging wasn't disposable, it was useful. We didn't think about recycling biscuit tins, because we kept them, they were useful. And now they're even more valuable than they were. So I'm wondering if there's a way of thinking about packaging sustainability that makes it more valuable, not more recyclable. Does that make sense?"Busch notes that minimalist design costs a lot:
In a wasteful age, faux simplicity masks our overindulgence.Wow. ::Business Week ...
One Million Green Fingers
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09.28.07
That’s right folks, Saturday Kitchen’s celebrity chef James Martin is swapping his spatula for a spade, recently launching a new initiative with Yorkshire Water in Britain which aims to set the standard for outdoor learning in Primary Schools.
The One Million Green Fingers initiative aims to utilize the company’s thousands of volunteers to create over 350 sustainable school gardens and one million green fingers by 2010, and in the process encourage chefs to help children learn about cooking.
...
Please Welcome Business Roundtable To TreeHugger
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.28.07
TreeHugger presents Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 10 million employees, committed to developing innovative technologies and promoting practices that protect the environment. This is Business Roundtable's introductory guest post. Their coming posts will focus on climate change, green buildings, energy efficiency and their S.E.E. Change and Climate RESOLVE initiatives, which are explained below.
The Roundtable is dedicated to advocating public policies that ensure vigorous economic growth, a dynamic global economy, a well-trained and productive U.S. workforce and a sustainable environment.
Citing the potentially serious and far-reaching consequences of global warming for society and ecosystems, Business Roundtable CEOs called for action in a recent climate change statement to help address this global issue....
Fast Company: The Design Issue
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
The October issue of Fast Company is all about design, with a seriously green tint. Yves Béhar, designer of the Leaf Lamp and the $100 laptop, explains his philosophy: "Design is in the bright lights today," he says, "but that also comes with a responsibility. Where we can make a difference, as a profession, we should simply go." (more below the fold) ::All About Yves
Anya Kamenetz raises questions about "serious cracks in the world's biggest green-building brand name--Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED--as well as a very human tendency to reach for easy solutions to difficult problems."- read ::The Green Standard?
David Roberts of Grist writes "As big businesses get eco-religion, don't try to change the players, change the rules." in ::Ruthless Rules for Enviros
...
Survey: Do You Power Down?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.28.07
So many peripherals. This writer has two power bars with nine scanners, chargers, printers and sound systems plugged in. Most draw phantom loads but the strips are hidden under the desk, out of reach. We showed the USB ecostrip that turns everything off when the computer is turned off, but that may not be the answer for everyone.
...
Producing Hydrogen Fuel One Eggshell at a Time
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.28.07
Never underestimate the power of eggs: a team of engineers from Ohio State University has developed an innovative process for sopping up carbon dioxide in a reaction that generates hydrogen fuel - using discarded eggshells. As an added bonus, the reaction results in the removal of collagen from the inside of the shells - a valuable protein with commercial applications (in food, drugs and medical treatments).
"The key to making pure hydrogen is separating out the carbon dioxide. In order to do it very economically, we needed a new way of thinking, a new process scheme," said L.S. Fan, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the university who helped devise the new technique. Eggshells, which mainly consist of calcium carbonate, can be turned into calcium oxide through a heat processing reaction. Calcium oxide is extremely effective at absorbing acidic gases like carbon dioxide....
Quote of the Day: Yang Jiechi on Sustainable Economic Growth
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.28.07
A review of history shows that climate change occurs in the course of development. It is both an environment issue and a development issue. But ultimately, it is a development issue.
As pointed out in the United Nations framework convention on climate change, most of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases originated in developed countries, while per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low.
The share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow as they work to meet their social and development needs. To prevent climate change from endangering human survival and development, while maintaining economic development and meeting the legitimate demand of the people, this is an issue that concerns the well-being and the future of all mankind....
Nanowires Twist and Turn to Generate Electricity
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.28.07
Piezoelectric technologies are all the rage these days: just over the past year, we've reported on people-powered staircases, acoustic heat-engine devices and electricity-generating ticket gates. Now combine that with nanotechnology, another hot field du jour, and you've got yourself the brainchild of Min-Feng Yu: a nanowire capable of generating a voltage upon mechanical deformation.
Yu, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois, and his graduate students used a single crystal of barium titanate, an oxide of barium and titanium commonly found in transducers and microphones, measuring 280 nanometers in diameter and 15 microns in length. The researchers fastened the wire to two platforms - one of which was movable - and induced mechanical vibrations that resulted in the production of a very slight voltage (less than one quintillionth of a joule). Though they didn't experiment with them, Yu and his students believe that other vibrations, such as sound waves, could produce the same result....
The New World, Design From 5 Continents
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09.28.07
The best part of the London Design Festival is the surprise of discovering something new and wonderful. This show, The New World, Design from Five Continents, is sponsored by the British Council, an agency promoting international design links. And international it is--Heath Nash from South Africa, Paula Dib from Brazil and Padmaja Krishnan from India, plus Slovenian and Mexican designers. Both Nash and Dib have been written about in treehugger and it is thrilling to see their work in the flesh. Nash is a South African who works in recycled plastic, creating chandeliers, "carpets", coat hangers, chairs and baskets out of metal and plastic (pictured). The bowl is made out of layers of galvanized steel wire and the light is made of plastic containers fused together. Other pieces are wall hangings (one says " it's beautiful here") and carpets made of bottle caps held together with metal.
Ana Vaz, from Brazil, makes handmade jewellery and bags. Her necklaces are made of rows of coloured beads,strung on string and steel, fishing line and straw. Some of them are multi-coloured, others are white with white string and are quite striking. The clutch bags are sewn out of bits of old ribbon. ...
VIDEO S&WFF: The Fallz
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.28.07
Biomimicry: Learning From Beetles Inspires New Technology
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 09.28.07
Don't put a bombardier beetle in your mouth, or like Charles Darwin, you may find out the hard way how they got the name 'bombardier'. The bombardier beetle can rapidly spray a noxious 100°C (212°F) liquid when it is peeved. Not only can it conjure a boiling liquid on demand but the spray mechanism is no small engineering feat, using a chamber less than one millimeter long the beetle can control the direction, consistency, and rapidity of their defensive spray.
Andy McIntosh, Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory at the University of Leeds was certainly impressed:
"Nobody had studied the beetle from a physics and engineering perspective as we did – and we didn't appreciate how much we would learn from it."Learn they did. Their new technology has incredible application possibilities ranging from more efficient fuel injection to better drug delivery systems....
Untouched World: Kool Kiwi Klothes
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.27.07
It's always encouraging to discover yet another Antipodean company that has been embracing green design in the apparel sector. Untouched World hail from Christchurch, New Zealand.
Organic is their big theme. Be it 100% organic cotton denim, 100% organic cotton, or their own Organic ‘Mountainsilk’ which is described as a machine washable supersoft organic merino. New Zealand Merino has been getting a big rap recently, but organic versions much less so. We believe, in the case of Untouched World, their organic merino is sourced ironically from Australia, yet still comes from non-mulesed merino sheep.
The company also offer ‘Merinomink, a blend of possum fibre and merino wool. They note that possums [native to Australia but a feral animal in NZ] can munch their way through 20,000 tonnes of vegetation per night, threatening New Zealand’s native ecosystems. Other eco initiatives include the use of tagua nuts for buttons, ethical and fair trade manufacturing, and community support through their charitable trust. ::Untouched World, via a web surfing safari....
Let’s Crank: Specialized and Google Pedal Contest
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.27.07
Yup, a bike and a byte company have joined forces to promote the benefits of human powered ingenuity. As they put it:
The challenge is to invent and build machines that transform pedalling energy into new and useful purposes. ... inspire innovation and environmental change ...So get together with yourself, or with four buddies, and conjure up a device that harnesses the magnificently energy efficient grunt of a bike’s crankshaft and you might all end up winning a Specialize Globe bicycle, plus $5,000 USD to split. Aside from the gadget you’ll also need to video said thingamee from a 360° viewpoint and send in a YouTube presentation of less than 2 mins duration. It shouldn’t be hard to do better than Specialized own flawed promo device and clip. Which has serious flaws in both ergonomics and script. Get your bike shoes on, ‘coz entries will close mid December. Details at ::Innovate or Die (NB: Safari unfriendly site), via Earth2Tech....
Multi-Functioning Funiture: Table/Chairs Combo by Joel Hesselgren
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.27.07
Sometimes you need extra chairs, and sometimes you need an extra table. Designer Joel Hesselgren, who knows a thing or two about transforming, adaptive design, has dreamed up an ingenious way to quickly and easily combine two chairs and a table. Great for small spaces, and a great way to maximize materials and function. Are you seeing this, IKEA? Get up close and personal with more pics after the jump, via ::Yanko Design...
Standard Chartered Pledges $4-to-5 Billion to Renewable Energy
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.27.07
As far as this year's Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting goes, this is the mother lode of commitments. Standard Chartered Bank has pledged $4-to-5 billion (yes, billion, folks) over five years to renewable-energy projects—wind, hydro, geothermal, solar, biomass, and so on—in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
At a press conference an hour ago, Peter Sands, the bank's group chief executive, made no bones about the fact that this wasn't a purely altruistic gesture (go, capitalism!) "We expect to make a lot of money from this," he said, adding that while this initiative was the smart thing to do for the company, it was also the "right thing" to do. (We'll have details as soon as they're made available.)
In 2006, the bank committed to establishing a $500 million microfinance facility, to educate 1 million people about HIV/AIDS, and to support the Vital Voices Global Partnership for women....
Power Shift 2007: Youth Climate Summit
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 09.27.07
There's no two ways about it: sequels usually suck. Go ahead, try and convince us that Jaws 2 was a good idea - not gonna happen. So, we are glad that the sequel to this April's Step It Up event is already shaping up to be a success. Part of the excitement about November's Step It Up is the collaboration of different organizations participating. One of the largest is sure to be Power Shift, an event that bills itself as the first youth-led summit on climate change. With the national Step It Up activities happening on November 3 (exactly one year from the 2008 election), the Power Shift conference will go from November 2-5 at the University of Maryland. ...
World Bike Relief To Send 7,000 Bikes to Africa
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.27.07
World Bike Relief has pledged to send 7,000 bicycles to seven countries in Africa by November 2008. Its commitment, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative, will focus on Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, and is expected to cost $980,000 once assembly, training, and program evaluation costs are factored in.
The Chicago, Ill.-based non-profit aims to "directly empower the poorest people through affordable access to sustainable, quality mobility resources." Or, in plain speak, it gives the world's poor bicycles so they can get around in a non-polluting way. Mobility, after all, is a form of liberation in itself, opening up a world of possibilities that may not have been available before.
WBR purchases what it calls "culturally appropriate" bike locally, in order to help create jobs and promote economic growth. What this means is that the organization will welcome your donations—your spare bike parts, not so much. ::World Bicycle Relief...
A Picture is Worth... Plastic Spoon
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 09.27.07
::Plug-In Stinkers (And Others) Taken Off Shelves
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.27.07
We always thought those things you plug into a wall receptacle to "freshen" the room were a waste of electricity. Why do people spend money on that stuff? The explanation has to be that many of us live lives of stinky desperation. Maybe they wouldn't feel so crappy if they took a breath of actual fresh air once in awhile. Or, cleaned out the cat box more often.
"Managers at 111 Walgreens stores in Minnesota and thousands more nationwide pulled three types of air fresheners off their shelves over the weekend, after advocacy groups reported that some sprays, gels and plug-in fresheners contain potentially hazardous chemicals."
"The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) tested 14 air fresheners from a retail store and reported that most of them contained "a veritable cocktail" of compounds, including some that have been linked to development problems in babies and breathing difficulties in adults."...
Yahoo!'s Green Icon Challenge Winners Announced
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.27.07
Last month, Yahoo! went searching for the next great green icon (see our coverage here) to signify green and to help flag greener things you can do all over their network of sites -- "everything from making green purchases to finding the most fuel-efficient cars," they said. Almost 500 entries later, the voting has ended and the new icon is..."Earth Point!" (above left), submitted by Leah Dickey.
For her efforts, Ms. Dickey gets to choose the non-profit where $20,000 in prize money goes; both second place, "Yahoo! Leaf" (above, center) and third place, "green yahoo! tree mod" (above right) get to send $5,000 to a non-profit of their choosing. More on the winners can be found here, along with the rest of the entrants (who, let's face it, all won just by entering); over the next few months, Yahoo! will be finalizing the icon through various usability measures and preparing it to appear across the network in properties such as Yahoo! Autos, Yahoo! Groups and Yahoo! Shopping. Check out more at ::Bix...
Ecostrip Power Bar Coming to North America
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.27.07
Here is a great idea for lazy and forgetful slugs like me: a power bar with a USB connection to your computer, so it detects when the computer is turned off, and then shuts down all of the peripherals.
"We set out to design a product that reduces energy waste," said Bjarne Waedeled, President of Centritech Limited in a press release, "And, because it functions like any other power strip, there is no education of the consumer required."
One still has to have the presence of mind to turn off the computer, but it is still a terrific idea. Via ::Ubergizmo...
Wilson House by Breathe Architects
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.27.07
I fell in love with this model of Martin Liefhebber's Wilson House at the Cambridge Galleries booth at IIDEX/Neocon. Owner John Wilson writes about sustainable living and conducts tours of the house; more information ::here ...
Flatpack Chair from Dietiker Switzerland
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.27.07
Here is a clever idea from Swiss chair and table company Dietiker Switzerland, which had a big display at IIDEX-NEOCON: a flatpack in clever packaging for raving nationalists. ::Dietiker Switzerland at ::IIDEX Neocon...
President Clinton Announces Record Number of Commitments in First 24 Hours, Launches CGI Asia
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.27.07
More big news from the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI): Former president Bill Clinton announced that more than 100 CGI commitments have been made in the first 24 hours of this year's meeting—a record for the organization, which held its first annual meeting in 2005.
In 2008, CGI will be spinning off into Asia; the first meeting of CGI Asia, to be held in Hong Kong, will gather Asian heads of states and newsmakers to face challenges specific to the region head on.
"Asia is the largest and most populous continent," Clinton said. "And while its wealth has grown faster than most other parts of the world, major socioeconomic disparities remain and must be tackled."
More commitments that will be announced throughout the day below the fold, courtesy of the CGI press office....
RMI's RetroFUTUREspective: 25 Years of Being Years Ahead
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.27.07
The ecoHOME
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.27.07
Hate the name (it is so tired) but love the concept- the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada has launched the ecoHOME:
"to inspire residential design and lifestyle choices that promote healthy and sustainable living by:
* Raising the profile of sustainable and intelligent residential design;
* Engaging people in an interactive educational experience;
* Linking the built environment and the natural environment;
* Showcasing responsible and renewable building materials; and
* Demonstrating the integrated design process in action."...
What Do Sewers and Our Rivers Have in Common? Too much.
by Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers on 09.27.07
Talking to Congress about sewage - you know, sometimes the joke is just too, too easy. But that's exactly why 85 river activists from all across the country are in town this week as a part of our fourth annual River Action Day.
The facts on sewage in this country are pretty astounding - very, very few Americans have any idea just how much raw and partially-treated sewage is spilled or legally dumped into our streams and rivers every year.
860 Billion Gallons. Enough to cover the entire state of Pennsylvania ankle-deep. Every single year.
Sounds like a problem you might face in a developing nation, but it's right here at home, including our nation's capital. In fact, we aren't the only ones watching anxiously for the latest dump of raw sewage here in Washington, DC - this weekend, hundreds of athletes will take part in the Nation's Triathlon, with a first-ever mass open-water swim in the Potomac.
Well, maybe. ...
Taking Back the City Dept: Psychogeographic Walks
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.27.07
Cities support so many activities and ideas, and have so many places to explore. An example of a group using the city to its fullest is The Toronto Psychogeography Society, "a loose collection of relentless flâneurs, explorers and walkers. The word psychogeography was coined by the Situationist Guy Debord. It describes the specific effects of the geographical environment on the emotions and behaviour of individuals."
This Sunday, September 30, they and Spacing Magazine offer The Great Queen Street Psychogeographic Walk, 15 kilometers from one end of Toronto's trendy Queen Street to the other.
"Instead of a marathon, think of this as a mobile cocktail party where your conversations will bounce from person to person as we move along Queen Street (supply your own discreet portable cocktail if you desire — or even pop into the occasional bar along the way for a nip if you’re quick about it). It’s likely you’ll meet new people along the way, and perhaps others will share their bits of knowledge about places along Queen."
What a wonderful way to share a city. ::Spacing
...
First Pictures of Suissa's Latest Computer: Enlighten
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.27.07
We love Suissa computers; they are built like very fine furniture, endlessly upgradable to last as long as you do. Their newest is called Enlighten, and "offers a visually dynamic form which explores the modularity of technology, reflects the movement through time that our memories occupy and provides a tangible home for them." It was launched today at IIDEX along with Revolution, the tower on the right. ...
Clinton Global Initiative Day 2 Begins: Global Framework, Carbon Market Needed
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.27.07
We're now into Day 2 of the three-day Clinton Global Initiative's three-day annual meeting; today's opening plenary, moderated by NBC News' Tom Brokaw, featured Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the U.K.; Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway and U.N. Special Envoy on Climate Change; Hank M. Paulson, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury; and Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The overwhelming consensus from the speakers: This planet needs a binding global framework—tailored to each country's unique economic, population, and energy profile—that focuses on both adaptation and mitigation, while doling out market incentives for the private sector. "Business will take this far faster and further than government if they get the right mechanism to do so, in my opinion," said Blair, ever the diplomat.
"What the private sector has done is key, and market signals are important," said Brundtland. "It is impossible to solve this without technological development, impossible to solve this without engaging globally."...
Uncommonly Discussed Eco-Myths: Vehicle Design In The Climate Century
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.27.07
Who cares about fuel cell vehicles (FCVs)? How many more hybrid/fuel configurations will there be before we get models we want? Good questions; but, the survival of US car companies seems now to hang more on controlling health care costs than product design. It gets worse. With the notable exception of the Toyota Prius, ICE-based hybrids are commercial oddities. In other words, the ICE/Battery Hybrid is a 'one-hit wonder.' With several prototypes of Plug-In Hybrids ("plug ins") tempting customers to dream of that next-best thing, a new race to the show room may be on (though research and development dollars are limited).
These design and fuel choices will shape the future of the earth. What really is the best "next level" design? Under what conditions might a straight FCV surpass the plug-in hybrid? What other odd propulsion design configs might creep up from behind (as pictured?); and, how will fuel choices affect climate, food prices, land use?
To get at these questions objectively, -- US politicians can be counted on to do the exact opposite -- we'll need to simultaneously analyze propulsion and energy choices, 'well to wheels' as they say.
Let it be known that, while hydrogen opponents can quite properly make us hopeful about plug-in hybrids, (see Joe Romm's comment below), fuel cell dreamers certainly haven't given up. It is after all, the both the Climate Century and the Peak Oil Century. Change can be driven by unexpected resource shortages as much as by invention or industrial engineering....
Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge: Get On Your Bikes and Ride
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.27.07
Even the most casual TreeHugger reader knows that we're huge fans of transportation by bicycle; the world's most energy efficient vehicle is good for all sorts of things, including things you might not ordinarily consider, like moving and even getting married. So we're happy to see the launch of Clif Bar's 2 Mile Challenge, a new traveling event and program designed to get people on their bikes more frequently (full disclosure: Clif Bar is a TreeHugger advertiser but have not paid for this post or any other TH exposure). The premise: 40% of urban travel in the US is less than 2 miles per trip; why not hop on your bike for some (or all) of those short jaunts about town, and save the atmosphere the hassle of dealing with your carbon emissions -- there's already too much to go around.
The Challenge officially launched yesterday in Las Vegas at Interbike, and will be roving the West Coast over the next six weeks or so (in a tricked-out 100% biodiesel-powered 1959 GMC bus) spreading the word about the many benefits of bicycle riding. You can take the challenge on the bus, get free fuel from Clif Bar, listen to live music and more, and TreeHugger plans to check it out at several of the stops. Hit the jump for more details and the full schedule....
Suck on this, CO2
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.27.07
Much of the attention of late has been focused on finding new ways to scrub carbon dioxide from power plant stacks or to capture it and sequester it below ground. This, say some scientists, misses a crucial point: how to effectively - and, more importantly, cheaply - remove the carbon dioxide that is issued from millions of tailpipes and homes from the air.
Frank Zeman, an engineer at Columbia University, and his colleagues claim they may have just discovered such a solution. They report in a new study that employing the technology used by pulp and paper mills - industrial-scale "scrubbers" - could help draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The captured gas could then be stored by being pumped underground or into the ocean....
Warning: 99.999% Uptime is a Myth, and a Planet Killer
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 09.27.07
Uptime is a measure of the time a particular computer system has been "up" and running. Not surprisingly, it's the opposite of downtime, when a system is not operational. In geek cant, uptime is sometimes measured in nines; "Three nines" gives you 99.9% reliability, about 8 hours and 46 minutes of downtime a year. The gold standard is "Five nines" - 99.999% reliability, which translates to a total downtime of no longer than five minutes per year.
At first glance, it would seem that you want to keep your site up as much as possible, lots of nines. Problem is that it turns out to be exponentially expensive to do so, both cost-wise and e-wise, because massive redundancy is required to support more reliant systems. Instead of one server, you need several... instead of one 9 to 5 support employee, you need around-the-clockers... instead of one power line, you need several, and going to different substations. All this leads to a Malthusian eWaste accumulation, increased labor expenditure, and according to the Uptime Institute, unsustainable power consumption. And one more thing; it's impossible.
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It's a Series of (Ocean) Tubes
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.27.07
Rest assured we're not talking about Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens' latest musings on the "interwebs" here (though this does share some of that nuttiness). No, this latest proposal from James Lovelock, the originator of the Gaia hypothesis, and Chris Rapley, the director of London's Science Museum, deals with something entirely different: erecting a network of giant pipes in the oceans that would pump up deep, nutrient-rich water to stimulate algae blooms in the surface waters, thus helping draw down more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
According to their initial calculations, the scheme would require the installation of between 10,000 and 100,000 pipes, each around 33 ft (10 m) in width and 330 ft (100 m) in length. Prompted by wave energy, one-way valves in the pipes would force the circulation of cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep to the surface. In addition to absorbing more atmospheric carbon dioxide, the large algal blooms could also produce dimethyl sulfide, a chemical shown to help form sunlight-reflecting clouds....
TH Blog Love - Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 09.27.07
Blue Egg: Fun with Greenhouse Gases by John Hockenberry
A fun, funny and moreover educational video blog by resident Egg-Head and veteran journalist John Hockenberry at Blue Egg. Watch as he tries to stump the smarties at MIT by asking them if they can name all the greenhouse gases.
DH Love Life: Love Life Farm by Daryl Hannah
Yeah! Daryl's back from her summer break, although we've seen her in between, we're glad she's putting up new episodes of her video blog again; they always bring a ray of sunshine into our lives. This week you can visit Daryl at home on the Love Life Farm and see who lives there and what grows in the garden....
Concepts We Want Made: InSight, InMind Personal Water Meter
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.27.07
As other gadgets we've featured have helped to show, it's a lot easier to conserve when you know how much you're already using; this is the idea behind the InSight, InMind personal water meter. Like a Home Joule or PowerCost home energy monitor for water, this killer concept by Adam Kereliuk tracks your daily water usage throughout your house; at the end of the month, it's easy to see how much you've conserved/wasted.
The real-time monitoring capability of such a device is what gives something like this an advantage over just carefully reading your water bill every month (and would be especially handy for apartment dwellers who don't see their water bills); presumably, you could get out of the shower, read the meter and go, "Holy cow, I just used 25 gallons of water! Damn!" Let's see this concept get made! ::Ubergizmo via ::Apartment Therapy: Green...
Now That's Poopy: Ebay Bans Reusable Diapers
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.27.07
[Correction: See comments section for Trish's update - it looks like used diapers are currently on sale via ebay after all. We are not sure if this is a change in policy, or whether the original information was incorrect. We'll look into it and keep you informed.]
Cloth diapers are a pretty core part of many people’s efforts at green parenting. However, as with any product, even these have a certain amount of embodied energy and resources that have been used in making them. It makes sense, therefore, to reuse resuables as many times as possible – or so you’d think. Now we learn from the October issue of the UK’s Green Parent magazine (which we previously mentioned here), that eBay has banned cloth diapers (or nappies as they are known in the UK) as a ‘prohibited item’. Joanna McKay, an irate reader, writes about her frustration:...
Quote of the Day: Al Gore on Climate Change Leadership, Montreal Protocol
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.27.07
All of the market initiatives are incredibly important. The market allocates more money in one hour than all of the governments allocate over a year's time. But governments set the rules of the road and determine how markets allocate capital and make decisions. And there should be no mistake that this crisis, the climate crisis, is not going to be solved only by personal action and business action. We need changes in laws; we need changes in policies; we need new leadership and we need a new treaty. We need a mandate at Bali during the first 14 days of December this year to complete a treaty not by 2012 but by 2009, and put it completely into force by 2010. We can do it and we must do it. ...
We face a genuine planetary emergency, we cannot just talk about it, we have to act on it, we have to solve it, urgently. ... Last week the world celebrated the 20th anniversary of a great success story. A hole in the ozone layer was discovered in 1985. And then, in the following year and a half, action took place. Some people said voluntary action will solve it; businesses will take the initiative. The Secretary of the Interior at that time said voluntary measures like wearing more sunglasses and floppy hats was the answer. ...
Norwegian Wood
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09.27.07
There is something so northern, and well, Canadian, about these Norwegian lights. They are made of thin birch strip veneer mounted on white paper, and held together with natural leather lacing. The motif is a forest, with pine trees and eagles and wolves laser cut into the wood. When the light shines through, it almost looks like snow. The lights are produced and hand assembled by a group of local artisans in Oslo so they maintain a personal quirky character.
They look wonderful in groups of two and three or could stand alone. The other model has a base that is made of steel, and wound with natural leather.and could sit on a table. Are they craft or are they design? They are at the London Design Festival and apparently the biggest fans are Canadians who are drawn to the lights like homesick moths. :: Cathrine Kullberg Lighting Via :: London Design Festival...
College Students Help Tailgaters’ Remember to Recycle
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09.27.07
When their team hit the field a couple of days ago, Sustain Mizzou’s Green Team hit the parking lots to help tailgaters’ green the party. In fact, the environmentally aware student group at the University of Missouri-Columbia was already busy handing out recycling bags to tailgaters four hours before the MU game even took place.
Impressively, they’ve been doing the same at every home football game for three years now. And just last game alone they collected 2.74 tons of trash and kept it from heading to the local landfill. Last year they collected 19 tons of recyclables during the seven home games played at their school, with the year prior seeing 11 tons kept out of the landfill as well.
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SIT UP, Sustainable Seats and Their Making Offs By [re]design
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 09.27.07
The exhibition SIT UP at this year’s 100%design in London clearly stood out from the rest of the stuff. [re]design, who impressed us last year with Good & Gorgeous?, chose to expose 16 eco sustainable seats and their manufacturing process. Each chair was chosen for combining the ‘the fundamentals of seating design – user comfort, quality and style – with a passion for sustainability’. What was really interesting to see, apart from the finished designs, were the stories of each seat. From the idea to the development, the production until its use, each chair told their story with videos, tools and photographs. A wide range of sustainable approaches became visible. The mix of famous and less famous designer resulted in a large variety of eco-friendly seats, something for every bum.
The show exhibited for example the RD4 chair we featured in detail before. Cohda makes it from domestic HDPE waste and their brilliant video of how they hand-make it was truly fascinating to watch. (Pleeease put the video online soon).
It was also great to see Christopher Cettle’s Grownup stool and how it really grows. And we really liked the beautiful Your Stool 2 designed by Ryuichi Tabu.
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VIDEO S&WFF: Seeds, Hope, and Concrete
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.27.07
U.S. Policy Plays Favorites With Public Transportation
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 09.26.07
It's a case that pits electricity versus petrol, density versus sprawl and tracks versus road. Portland, Oregon recently found out that their much-acclaimed streetcar system wasn't good enough for the feds. Even though their system of modern-day streetcars has spurred economic development, drawn the creative class and changed perceptions about public transportation, the city's planned expansion of the service could be facing roadblocks from the Federal Transit Administration. The FTA would rather see the money from a program called Small Starts go to buses instead, specifically bus rapid transit, or BRT.
Through the Small Starts program, Congress directed the federal bureaucracy to give streetcar proposals credit not just for moving people efficiently but for spurring growth nearby in the form of restaurants, shops, apartment and condominium buildings. Bus routes, which can easily change, do not show such corollary development....
Angelina Jolie Announces Commitments to Educate One Million Children Affected by Conflict
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
Actress Angelina Jolie, the other half of the unfairly good-looking Jolie-Pitt juggernaut, announced at today's Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) that members of the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which Jolie co-founded as part of a 2006 CGI commitment, has pledged to educate more than one million children whose lives have been irrevocably shaken by conflict around the world—including young people affected by Darfur genocide, girls and youth in rural Afghanistan, and other groups across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
"Education can transform the lives of children in conflict, giving them the tools to create a better future for their families and their nations," explained Jolie, who co-chairs the Education Partnership with Gene Sperling, Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations. "This Partnership is putting words into action," Jolie explained, "and demonstrating that even in the most difficult circumstances, every child can and should have a chance to learn."...
National Initiative to Create 250,000 Green-Collar Jobs for Urban America
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
Green for All, a new national campaign dedicated to bringing green-collar jobs to urban neighborhoods, launched today at the Clinton Global Initiative. Created by Van Jones, the co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the group wants to harness the power of the growing green economic wave to bolster predominantly black, low-income communities in areas such as Detroit, Baltimore, and New Orleans.
“It’s time the African American community had a part in the discussion on climate change,” said Jones. “We’re not going to solve global warming just with expensive consumer choices like buying hybrid cars and shopping for organic food. People need to realize that you don’t have to be white or wealthy to benefit from going green.”
The goal: To secure job training for 250,000 workers from urban communities for the emerging green job market, a two-prong attack on social injustice and environmental degradation. Which goes to show, really, that environmentalists and civil-rights activists should just sew their pants together. ...
Cuba Does Its Part in Billion Tree Campaign
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 09.26.07
With a push from the United Nations "Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign", designed to encourage tree planting around the world, Cuba has committed to plant some 135 million trees this year.
"Forests are natural and economically important ‘sinks’, sequestrating carbon from the atmosphere and locking it away in trunks and branches. Globally, forest cover is at least one-third less than what it once was. It is time to reverse the trends, it is time to act," says Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.
Experts say (Spanish link) that the primary threat to Cuba's forests are fires, which in the last five years have caused 100 million pesos worth of damage over an area of 57,000 hectares....
Ted Turner at the Clinton Global Initiative
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
Media mogul Ted Turner, in a working session on energy and climate change, said that global warming is the biggest thing to happen to us, short of getting bombed by the Russians. God bless 'im.
One of solar power's more visible cheerleaders of late, Turner invested several million dollars last year in the New Jersey-based DT Solar. He also created a holding company, Turner Renewable Energy, and has said that he plans to start lobbying lawmakers in Washington to promote solar power and address climate change.
Better keep an eye on those durn Ruskies, though, Ted.
Update: When asked for his final thoughts, Turner waved and said, "Hi Mom."...
Learning From the Past
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 09.26.07
Our twenty-first century global civilization is not the first to face the prospect of environmentally induced economic decline. The question is how we will respond. As I note in of Plan B 2.0 (free online), we have one unique asset at our command—an archeological record that shows us what happened to earlier civilizations that got into environmental trouble and failed to respond.
As Jared Diamond points out in his book Collapse, some of the early societies that were in environmental trouble were able to change their ways in time to avoid decline and collapse. Six centuries ago, for example, Icelanders realized that overgrazing on their grass-covered highlands was leading to extensive soil loss from the inherently thin soils of the region. Rather than lose the grasslands and face economic decline, farmers joined together to determine how many sheep the highlands could sustain and then allocated quotas among themselves, thus preserving their grasslands and avoiding what Garrett Hardin later termed the “tragedy of the commons.”...
Clinton Global Initiative Opening Session Commitments
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
Photo credit: AP Photo/Jason DeCrow
Former president Bill Clinton announced five new commitments during the opening plenary session:
The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health: The governments of Norway and the Netherlands are committing $1 billion and $175 million respectively to launch “Deliver Now for Women and Children,” a campaign aimed at a two-thirds reduction in the rate of child mortality and three-quarters reduction in maternal mortality by 2015.
Florida Power & Light: FP&L is investing $2.4 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. As part of the project, FP&L will build new solar power plants that are expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 2 million tons over five years. It will also provide smart meters to their customers, plus an education program designed to help customers reduce their carbon footprint.
Lifecycle Building Challenge Winners Announced
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
The Lifecycle Building Challenge was a competition run by the EPA "to change how people think about, design, and construct and deconstruct buildings." The winners were just announced and include the Greenmobile, by Michael Berk, which won for best professional unbuilt project and
"envisions affordable, factory-built energy efficient mobile home units that meet International Residential Code for housing with structurally-sound foundations, demountable for easy relocation, and can function in a place with a limited infrastructure or no utility grid in-place.... This project will incorporate systematic strategies for growth and change as family structures also grow and change. "Pre-fabricated plug-in" rooms, plug-in porches, and surface mounted wiring are also featured in this design."
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Will A Global Network Of Marine Reserves Reverse Troubling Trends In The Sea?
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 09.26.07
As a sombre reminder that the oceans too are suffering the grave effects of over-exploitation and widespread pollution, a new report released by the Worldwatch Institute indicates that 76 percent of world fish stocks are either fully or over-exploited. The report suggests that in order to protect marine biodiversity and human livelihoods, marine reserves or “national parks of the sea” should be set up and precautionary procedures taken to curb the pollution disrupting oceanic temperature and chemistry.
“The oceans cannot save themselves,” says Worldwatch Institute president Christopher Flavin. “Collective commitments to thriving ecosystems are needed to save overfished species from being systematically depleted from compromised habitats.” ...
Quote of the Day: Tavau Teii on Adaptation Funding
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
We seek for a commitment by the international community to provide predictable and sufficient international funding arrangements such that the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change have the resources and know-how to adequately prepare for and to cope with the impacts of climate change.
In our view this is critical. As according to recent reports, adaptation funding needs due to climate change will be in the region up to $US80 billion per year compared to a few hundred million dollars per year already available. A huge gap therefore exists between the adaptation funding needs of the poor and most vulnerable to climate change and the total funding available under voluntary contributions for adaptation including from the yet to be actioned Adaptation Fund."
—Tavau Teii, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Tuvalu at the high-level event on climate change held at the United Nations on 24 Sept. 2007...
Join the CGI Block Party with MyCommitment.org
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
Make your own Clinton Global Initiative commitment by logging on to MyCommitment.org, an online initiative that will "give people the chance to be part of our common endeavor," said former president Bill Clinton in the opening plenary for today's meeting, which includes attendance by 52 current or former heads of state.
Clinton appealed to the attendees' "common humanity," so that we can pass along a better world for our children. "In its third year, CGI is evidence of something that I have always believed—that people are inherently generous, that giving makes you feel good, and that the only thing most of us are looking for is an opportunity to make a difference," he said.
Recent commitments on the Web site run the gamut of tutoring local kids to picking up trash while walking the dog. Hey, you don't need a million dollars to help shape the future. ::My Commitment...
Wayback Machine: Cotton Houses- Answer to the Cost of Housing, 1933
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
But is it organic cotton? Sort of looks what might happen if Le Corbusier went camping. Modern Mechanix quotes: "Houses of cotton are proposed by Lawrence Kocher, noted architect, to solve the low-cost housing problem. Models of two types; a $1,500 five-room home and a week-end house, have been designed. A weatherproof exterior is provided by a roof and walls of fireproofed cotton ducking stretched over a wooden structural frame. Inner walls are also of cotton. Insulating material may be added to exclude heat and cold. Since the canvas is flexible, it is adaptable to any shaped surface." ::Modern Mechanix...
2007 Abbott Kinney Festival: Going Green in Venice This Weekend
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.26.07
Following in the footsteps of events like this years' Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, the 2007 Abbott Kinney Festival in Venice, CA is making strides in green festival-going. The event, coming right up on Sunday, September 30, is going beyond just purchasing carbon offsets for the emissions created; they're taking steps to reduce the footprint of the event, and have put together a solid lineup of speakers and vendors to help educate event-goers about ways to green their lives.
Solar generators for the music stages, biodegradable plastic bags and cutlery and a "Green Design Block Party" hosted by epOxybOx are just a few of the greener attributes of the festival, which also includes a lineup of speakers that includes TH pals LiveNeutral (formerly DriveNeutral, interviewed on TreeHugger here) and SurfRider Foundation, and a presentation of An Inconvenient Truth by The Climate Project. Click through to the festival site to learn more about the speakers, seminars on environmental issues and vendors selling eco-friendly goods. ::2007 Abbott Kinney Festival...
Solar Powered Vending Machines
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
Just what you wanted to find on a secluded beach far away from any source of power- a nice cool one from a vending machine. The challenge, according to Springwise, was "developing a refrigeration system strong enough to keep the machine’s food and drinks cool, while powered solely by the sun. Solar panels on top keep the machine’s refrigerator running, and a rechargeable battery provides power at night or during prolonged cloudy periods. A wind turbine can substitute for solar cells in less sunny climes, where hot beverages could make the vending dispensers a popular stop-off along ski runs."
Now you can shop just about anywhere. ::Solarvending via ::Springwise
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Interactive Window Helps Green Roots and Fight Climate Change
by Ron Dembo, Zerofootprint on 09.26.07
TreeHugger Takes The Stage At PRWeek's Target Green Conference
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 09.26.07
Calling all TreeHuggin’ go-getters! Learn a thing or two from TreeHugger’s President, Ken Rother, and Discovery’s SVP of Communications, Annie Howell, who will speak at PRWeek’s October 3rd event, Target Green. The day-long event will be held in Washington, DC and will feature remarks from GM’s “chief environmental officer,” representatives from Proctor & Gamble, Gap, Inc., Canon, the US Green Building Council, Clear Channel and the EPA. ...
Citizens Reach Across the Border to Fight Climate Change
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 09.26.07
In yet another example of why a wall between the United States and Mexico doesn't always make sense, more than 5,000 people from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and El Paso are engaged in activities this week to increase awareness about climate change as part of a regional Clean Up the World effort.
“We hope that this will be the start of a bi-national relationship which joins the two cities instead of dividing them, given that both cities share the same air, water and earth even though they are situated in two different countries,” Ernesto Moreno Mona, director of industrial relations at the Jurarez Limpio Asociacion Civil.
A number of environmental activities will be carried out during the week in both Ciudad Jaurez and El Paso including clean ups of schools, parks and waterways as well as tree plantings and competitions and exhibitions.
The Clean Up the World campaign is in its fifteenth year and is supported by the United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP). The 2007 theme is ‘Our Climate, Our Actions, Our Future’ and channels community action to address the causes of climate change....
Recycled Paper Ceramic Speakers: Can You Hear Me Now?
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.26.07
Mark this one in the "great materials use; not so great implementation" column: thin paper ceramic loudspeakers made from discarded musical scores and clay. The ceramic columns amplify sound from your strategically placed earbuds to broadcast music like regular speakers would; it's like your earbuds yelling through an orange street cone.
Though we doubt the sound quality would be top notch, ceramic does reverberate sound very well, and we like the idea that the recycled musical scores are no longer reliant on someone else to play the music; they can do it themselves, and are given a 2nd chance to fulfill their destiny - the propagation of music. Cute. Another pic after the jump. ::Jieyu Design via ::Crib Candy...
Absolut Downloads: Bradley Marks' Laptop Table
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
Students at The Ryerson University School of Interior Design in Toronto, Canada were asked to design a piece of furniture out of a single 4 x4 sheet of baltic birch plywood. These wowed the crowd at the Interior Design Show this spring; We thought it a wonderful opportunity to present the work of these talented young designers as downloadable designs. Shown here is Bradley Marks' design for a laptop table, a "constructivist inspired cantilevered piece. Line and forms transform depending on the perspective from which the table is seen." Download and build your own 1/6 scale model (in full color-make sure you have lots of black ink!) at ::In An Absolut World Everything is Downloadable...
Brad Pitt, Steve Bing Plan New 150-Home Community in New Orleans
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
Actor Brad Pitt has just communicated plans to build a new community of homes in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. Announcing the new effort at today's meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, Pitt will be partnering with real-estate developer and philanthropist Steve Bing to create 150 low-price, sustainable homes as part of Pitt's "Make it Right" project.
In terms of moola, Pitt pledged to match $5 million in contributions to the project, while Bing has pledged to match $5 million in contributions—that's $10 million total in matching funds. (We did the math for you.)...
Survey: Does Size Matter?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
In an earlier post we questioned whether a 15,000 square foot house could be green, suggesting that these houses may be efficient but their environmental footprint is still huge. We quoted Leo Hickman about ethical living: "a major tenet of ethical living is to attempt, wherever possible, to reduce one's own demand for resources... Simply, it is a call to consume a fairer and more proportionate slice of the pie."We were surprised by the comments and quote them for this survey.
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We Can't Make This Stuff Up Dept.: Famous Club to Be Torn Down For YMCA Parking Lot
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
Toronto likes to talk the green talk but when it comes to walking the walk, it drives a Hummer. Latest jaw-dropper: It wants to knock down the Matador, where for 43 years people have danced the night away after the bars close (watch Leonard Cohen sing Closing Time, filmed at the Matador, below the fold), to build a parking lot, to service, wait for this, the YMCA, so people can drive to their workout.
Chris Hume in the Star says: "This is a city that invites you to hop into the family vehicle and drive on downtown for a workout. God forbid anyone should have to take the streetcar, which goes to the front door of the YMCA, or the bus, or that they should be forced to cycle, or, worst of all, walk.
No sir, for us it's the car or nothing.
Some cities, far, far away from Toronto, impose a fee on those who drive in the city. In other cities, parking is viewed as a means to control car use. These cities set parking rates high enough to make people think twice about driving downtown.
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Reporting Live From the Clinton Global Initiative
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.26.07
TreeHugger is reporting live from the Clinton Global Initiative 2007 Annual Meeting at the Sheraton New York in Manhattan. The three-day event rustles up about 1,000 global leaders to examine the world's most-pressing and challenging issues, and "transform that awareness into tangible commitments to action." (If members do not keep to their commitments, they're not invited back the following year. This year, five unnamed parties were persona non grata. Major burn.)
The opening session, scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, will be chaired by former president Bill Clinton and focus on the need for global action. Joining him will be our man Al; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank; President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines; President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan; and H. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart head honcho.
This will be followed by working sessions on education for girls; business/energy and climate change; maternal and newborn health, and poverty alleviation/wealth creation.
Oh, they also have mini-croissants. And some Hollywood actress named Angelina something-or-other....
The Business of Sustainability
by Mark Powell, Ocean Conservancy on 09.26.07
Can environmentalists and big business work together in solving environmental problems? Yes, if we can get over our mistrust of each other.
Many smart business leaders now realize that sustainability is good business. The opportunity is there for smart environmentalists to help shape the role played by corporations in advancing sustainability. But guess what? It doesn’t work to hold your breath until you turn blue. You have to make a good case to get business leaders to tune in and join your conservation efforts. ...
Is Bamboo Clothing Truly Green?
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.26.07
Very, very little bamboo clothing would qualify as sustainable or organic clothes.This is the view of Lotus Organics, who in their usual full and frank style have investigated the industry and presented their finding on their informative Organic Clothing Blog. It is always a great read for anyone with an interest in the greening of the rag trade. None more so than their current peek at bamboo. Michael Lackman of Lotus concludes, “The growing of bamboo is environmentally friendly but the manufacturing of bamboo into fabric raises environmental and health concerns because of the strong chemical solvents used to cook the bamboo plant into a viscose solution that is then reconstructed into cellulose fiber for weaving into yarn for fabric.” ...
EU On Collison Course With US Over Airline Carbon Cap Proposal
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.26.07
This is one of those "Big Ideas" for climate management that looks to be headed nowhere. So, back to lifestyle choices for a bit.
"The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations body that oversees global air travel, has scheduled a vote in Montreal this week, perhaps as early as today, on the European plan. U.S.-led opposition is mounting...Under the European Commission's proposal, European airlines would be forced to cap emissions starting in 2011, and foreign airlines flying into Europe would join the plan in 2012...The U.S., supported by Brazil, Japan, China and others, rejects the European plan as an unacceptable unilateral burden on companies."
Air transport globally is estimated to account for up to 9% of cultural sources of greehouse gas emission, and this is anticipated to double (approach 20%) within a few decades.
See also this earlier TreeHugger post on the European plan. Via: Wall Street Journal OnLine, Europe, U.S. Split on Emissions Image credit:: Aerospace News...
The Center for American Progress' Top 100 Effects of Global Warming
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.26.07
Given the context, we're not sure "top" is the right word to use here - nevertheless, the Center for American Progress has done a bang-up job compiling an exhaustive list of the effects global warming is expected to have, or is already having, on different aspects of our lives and on the planet as a whole. Go figure: according to the list, wine lovers are expected to be amongst the hardest hit (relatively speaking, of course).
Here are some other examples of things you'll soon be kissing goodbye - or saying hello to:
- Say Goodbye to Discoveries of Sharks That Can Walk
- Say Goodbye to Guacamole
- Say Hello to Bulgarian Hooker Shortages...
Business 2.0 Goes Out in Style
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
Not with a whimper but a bang, Business 2.0's last issue has a long article on Pacific Gas and Electric, San Francisco's power company that has been the subject of many TreeHugger posts. Not everyone loves them and they still are building liquified gas and gas fired power plants, but they are investing in smart meters, plug-in hybrids, wave and tidal power and solar. CEO Peter Darbee is preparing for a storm of climate-change regulation: "There is going to be mandatory carbon regulation within the next two to three years...We are going to be ready for it. There is a saying I learned during my days on Wall Street: You don't fight the tape."
Also a surprising article about Gaviotas, Columbia- "This village could save the planet".
Readers interested in green business have lost a useful resource. ::Business 2.0
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Philadelphia Eagles the Greenest Team in Pro Sports?
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09.26.07
It may be only a coincidence that the Philadelphia Eagles wear green jerseys, but they’ve quietly become the most environmentally friendly team in the National Football League, and maybe even in all of pro sports. And that’ s due in no small part to the vision of owners Jeffrey and Christina Weiss Lurie, both former Hollywood producers who bought the team in 1994.
In fact, according to team officials they’ve spent well into seven figures ensuring that it happens, and part of it means that when the lights come on for an Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field, 30 percent of the power comes from wind power and methane reclaimed from landfills.
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Green tech doesn't reduce computational demands?
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 09.26.07
Ted Sampson over at Infoworld writes a nice column on sustainable IT which is a good read. His latest deadpans a briefing about AMD's energy efficient quad-core processor, where a journalist asked if AMD would be hurting its own sales with the release of its newest energy-efficient chip, code name Barcelona. The reasoning is as follows: If AMD is selling a processor capable of doing twice as much work as its previous CPU, wouldn't that mean that organizations will end buying fewer products from the company? Plink.
Oh, absolutely not. As explained, the underlying, mistaken, assumption is that companies have essentially maxed out their processing and storage demands and have no need to grow any further. Apparently, after you the empty half your datacenter using green techniques like virtualization, and equipping servers with energy-sipping chips, the premise is that you will fill it right back up again with more servers. To, you know, accomodate for the growth of your company's IT needs.
I sympathize with what AMD is trying to do, really, and we have some glowing remarks on their progress. And obviously no org is going to suggest at a press conference that they are going to put their chipmakers, datacenter architects, and hardware vendors buddies out of business by selling more energy-efficient wares. But this fart-in-a-spacesuit logic catches me between laughing and taking the matter seriously; are we really to believe that the rationale for implementing a green tech solution is to just buy more equipment to satisfy our insatiable build-out of IT? If you believe that one, TH has a nice bridge in lower Manhattan we'd like to sell you. :: Inforworld
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Whitehouse Lobbied Against Schwarzenegger Environmental Inititative
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.26.07
This one is an easy exercise in pattern recognition. Doubt if the Governator will be bowed. "The Bush administration has conducted a concerted, behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to try to generate opposition to California's request to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, according to documents obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform."
"A flurry of e-mails among Transportation Department (DOT) officials and between its staffers and the White House, released yesterday, highlights efforts that administration officials have made to stir up public opposition to the waiver. Rather than attacking California's request outright, Bush officials quietly reached out to two dozen congressional offices and a handful of governors to try to undermine it."
"One May 22 e-mail written by Jeff Shane, undersecretary of transportation for policy, outlined how Transportation Secretary Mary Peters orchestrated the campaign."
Via:: Washington Post, Image credit:: USA Today Blogs...
The Go Green Initiative Making A Difference In A School Near You
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09.26.07
Not too long ago I pointed out that the Go Green Initiative, was doing great things to get schools involved protecting the environment. Now there’s word that more than a million students and teachers in the U.S. and around the world are a part of registered Go Green Initiative schools as the movement gathers momentum in the more than 750 schools in 41 states, Europe, Africa, Canada, Indonesia, and Mexico who are participating in one form or another.
Just one of the ways in which Go Green is helping schools make a difference is by providing guidance on waste diversion, and the numbers speak for themselves. With just 20 percent of the participating schools reporting numbers for the period between January 2006 and June 2007, they’ve kept over 5 million pounds of paper, cardboard, aluminum, plastic, cell phones, printer cartridges, and food waste out of the world's landfills.
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Super Design Market: Instant Collectibles
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09.26.07
Instant collectibles: get them now, because they may never be available again. The Super Design Market is a sale where young designers are flogging some interesting, some wacky and always unique design products at affordable prices. We loved the pencil that was created out of a clothes pin. There was an anti-theft device that makes new cars or bikes look unattractive by applying stickers that appear to be scratches, rust and peeling paint so thieves will assume that it is not worth stealing. The sock-dog is a puppet made out of loose or ripped socks; simply by stuffing it with a cut-out cardboard form you can make a puppet with ears, nose and eyes--a perfect Christmas stocking.
A light shade was made out of a cardboard box, usually used for takeaway french fries; very simple and certainly recyclable when you finish your snack. The reflect--please bags were made out of shiny reflective coats worn by crossing guards and highway workers. Made into a big, soft shoulderbag, they were eye-catching and light catching too. And for those winter nights, a one of a kind scarf that gives the name and kind of animal that the wool came from. Collectors' items all of them. :: Super Design Market Via :: London Design Festival...
Sun Microsystems Launches OpenEco.org: Open Business Community for Carbon Savings
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.26.07
Sun Microsystems have long been at the forefront of green computing, and as a result they’ve never been far from the front page on TreeHugger. We’ve interviewed Dave Douglas, the company’s vice-president of eco-responsibilities, we’ve covered their top ten tips for cooling your company, and we’ve written about their new desktop that reportedly uses less energy than a nightlight. Now we hear via Kurtz over at Hugg that Sun have launched a new site
called OpenEco.org, aimed at helping every company move towards a greener future. This from the original article over at Computer World UK:
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Who Cares If It Is Green, Is It Ethical?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.26.07
Preston at Jetson Green asks:
At a time when luxury living is scrutinized for excess energy consumption, why not build a 5 bedroom, 6.5 bath high-end home with a "small environmental footprint"? Seriously, with smart, energy-efficient design (read: 4 extra solar panels), you can generate enough electricity to run all 6 interior refrigerators. And by using recycled and reclaimed wood (where possible of course), non-toxic blow-in insulation, and low-VOC finishings, this home is going to surpass Built Green standards. Designers worked their hearts out to build the greenest home possible without sacrificing precious square footage, and this home could house at least four regular sized families by our calculations. You'll be glad to know this hulking home, located at 995 Longbow Place in Larkspur, Colorado, is on sale for the very reasonable, and very green, price of $4.5 million..... Are we confusing the words "green," "sustainable," "energy efficient," and "small footprint"? You tell me, is this green?...
VIDEO S&WFF: Ride of the Mergansers = TH Cute Overload
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.26.07
Rivers Awareness Partnership
by Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers on 09.25.07
American Rivers announces the new Rivers Awareness PartnershipTM between Tom’s of Maine, American Rivers and River Network. Tom’s of Maine is generously providing $1 million in support over five years to our organizations to enhance awareness, understanding and, ultimately, protection of rivers nationwide.
Visit the Rivers Awareness PartnershipTM homepage to learn more, get inspired by volunteer stories and see beautiful river photos.
And, American Rivers hopes to see you at upcoming events in San Francisco and Portland (times and locations below). Here’s your chance to meet Tom and Kate Chappell, the co-founders of Tom’s of Maine, and staff from American Rivers and River Network. ...
Small Island Nations "Can Only Do So Much" To Impede Climate Change
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.25.07
As the leaders of the attendant developing and small island nations took their turns at the podium on Monday's United Nations high-level event on climate change, their anger—and desperation—was palpable. And it wasn't because they were only given five minutes to make their statements. (Although, like award winners at the Oscars, there were those who skirted the time limit.)
"It is an irony that the least-developed countries and small island states, which are the least responsible for the climate change, are the worst affected," said Sahana Pradhan, Nepal's minister of foreign affairs. "Industrialized nations have a special obligation to mitigation," she added.
Developed countries owe a "moral and environmental debt" that must be "duly paid" to resolve the inequities by climate change's devastating effects, said President Néstor Carlos Kirchner of the Republic of Argentina. "This has for too long been an unkept promise," he said. "So far efforts have been timid and moved toward failure."...
Watch "Tableland" in NYC, Oct. 1st
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.25.07
All across North America grows a wonderful bounty of local, seasonal, delicious food. Tableland is about the people with their hands in the dirt, the farmers, and the chefs and eaters who enjoy the benefits of their hard work.
In Tableland, award-winning Canadian filmmaker, Craig Noble, documents successful and delicious examples of small scale food production and enjoyment....
Brokaw Wins Emmy For "Global Warming: What You Need To Know"
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.25.07
The Hidden Costs of Free Parking
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
Bryan Pijanowski counts parking spaces at Purdue University. In his own county, he found 355,000 off-street, nonresidential parking spaces, three for every person in the county. Now he wants to take his count nationwide. Dr. Donald Shoup, professor of urban planning at the University of California at Los Angeles, says there is no such thing as free parking.
"We all pay for it, not in our role as drivers, but as residents, taxpayers, and customers." According to the Christian Science Monitor: Big parking lots hike building costs and get passed through to the consumer, sometimes through higher rents in their apartment buildings or bigger costs at their grocery stores. "Every place we drive and park free, we really pay for that parking as something other than as a driver," Dr. Shoup says.
Others worry about the amount of paving. An anonymous source in the EPA told the CSM: "It's the amount of water, the speed and temperature of it pouring off these oceans of asphalt we have in this country, that concern us. And that's not even talking about the contamination washing off all that asphalt." Read it all at ::Christian Science Monitor...
Concepts We Want Made: Yuko Taguchi's Wind-Up Lamp
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.25.07
For people who like to do a little reading in bed (and might fall asleep with the light on from time to time) comes this cool concept from designer Yuko Taguchi. The "Wind-Up Lamp" is just that: crank the key around to generate power for the lamp and start the timer; when the power is used up and the timer goes off, so does the lamp, leaving you to a peaceful (energy-efficient!) slumber.
Hit the jump for the designers' statement and another pic of the lamp in action. This concept really should get made. ::Yuko Taguchi via ::Red Ferret...
Tesla Announce Latest Production Schedule
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 09.25.07
If you're waiting for a Tesla Roadster, then read on.
Last month Martin Eberhard, the one-time Tesla CEO, stepped down from the head of the company, worrying some that delays could be on the way. At the time he said, "We are still planning to start production of the Roadster by the end of next month and deliver the first cars to customers this fall. We have a good chance of meeting this goal, but to be fully transparent, I want you to know that while it is within our reach, it is not yet fully within our grasp." ...
Beklina Ethical Fashion Store: Fall '07
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 09.25.07
The online ethical fashion store Beklina has got in contact to tell us that not only are they stocking Stewart and Brown's Fall collection, but they also have two more exciting labels for us to enjoy. Beau Soleil is an fashion label by New York designer Anne Salvatore Epstein. She uses bamboo fabric, vegetable-dyed organic cottons, tencel, which is made from eucalyptus trees, and recycled leather trims. We love her sexily cut and metal accessorized dresses (above right).
Beklina are also very excited about their new organic cotton print line which has been developed in collaboration with the illustrator Jill Bliss. So far they have these beautiful journals (pictured above) ready to sell, but watch this space to see more locally handmade products appear. The journals use recycled gridded paper and the "Helsinki Tents" fabric is 100% organic chambray, silk screened by hand in small batches in San Francisco. :: Beklina :: Blissen :: Beau Soleil...
Build a Humane Mouse Trap
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.25.07
Call us a bunch of bleeding-heart, granola-chewing hippies, but watching a mouse starve to death while it struggles on a glue trap or coaxing pests with poison isn't our idea of a good time.
Sure you could pony up some cash and buy one of those fancy humane mouse traps available out there, but you can also save yourself the dough and make your own with a used soda bottle, a piece of wood—maybe a salvaged cigar box from your friendly neighborhood smoke shack?—and some dry-wall screws. ::Humane Mouse Trap
See also: ::Lavender Sachets as Moth Repellent and ::Eco-Tip: Keep Your Pantry Bug-Free, Naturally
Difficulty level: Moderate...
Instant Contest: Win Two Tickets to Fashion Takes Action
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
We have mentioned the oh-so-green Fashion Takes Action show in Toronto on September 26th; it is "a fashion show with some of Canada's top designers using sustainable fabrics from SYKA made from soy, bamboo, hemp, organic cotton and wild silk, all in support of Environmental Defence."
We have two tickets (worth C$110 each) to give away at noon on the 26th; send in a comment describing what you will wear to the show. Greenest wardrobe wins the pair. Be sure to put your real email address in the comment form, it does not show up on the site. More on the event at ::Fashion Takes Action...
Grand Opening: A New York City Drive-In
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
One of the reasons people can live in smaller spaces when they live in cities is there is so much to do. Why have a media room and a big screen when there are theatres and places to go? Not only that, in the city, your experiences keep changing. The artists who run Grand Opening, Manhattan's only drive in cinema, used to run a ping-pong table in the space; now they have parked a 1965 Ford Falcon convertible and are showing films from 1960 to the present, in chronological order. Fabulous curating of films; today they are in 1968, showing The Odd Couple, 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Producers. Book online (seats six, cozy in a Fairlane) at ::Grand Opening via ::The Cool Hunter via ::PSFK...
This is a Paper Bag
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.25.07
Here's an idea for eco-retailers, especially those who can't rely on their customers to always BYOB (which is to say, all of them). Measuring 12x16 inches, these paper carriers are made from several layers of used newspaper, along with sturdy cardboard bases, so no new paper is used in the process.
Each bag costs 50 cents, with a minimum order of 50 bags. You can even customize the bags with your store's logo for an extra 10 cents per bag, although you'll need to order a minimum of 500 bags to begin with. ::Handmade Expressions...
Superfund365: Where Toxic Waste Meets Art
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.25.07
So, what happens when you combine toxic waste and art? It's something that doesn't get done often, but when executed properly -- Ed Burtynsky's work (here, here and TH interview here) is a great example -- it can be very visually stimulating and moving: a deft, simultaneous celebration of our world and condemnation of the damage we've done to it.
A new addition to this group is Superfund365, a website that is profiling (you guessed it) 365 Superfund sites over the course of a year. The Superfund program, managed by the US Environmental Protection Agency to clean up a huge variety of really nasty environmental problems that range from Manhattan to Hawaii, is brought to life in slick, Flash animation-based fun. Art is always best when it can inform, and learning about the real, nasty threats posed by Superfund sites is much more palatable in this artful form.
The project was conceived by New York City-based digital media artist Brooke Singer; check out the site for more details. ::Superfund365 via ::Cool Hunting...
Rhode Island Winds Report Finds 10 Possible Areas for Wind Farms
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 09.25.07
Because we offset our electricity each month through our local electric company, we receive quarterly newsletters that incorporate the latest in alternative energy around Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts. In the most recent one, results were printed from the Rhode Island Winds report, commissioned by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. The report noted that after taking a close look and the wind speeds at various heights, water depth, shipping lands, eelgrass beds and other constraints, there are 10 possible areas in Rhode Island for state-sponsored offshore wind farms. And a wind farm at any of these sites could produce enough wind to meet Governor Donald Carcieri’s goal of producing enough electricity to meet 15% of the state’s demand. Many environmental and business leaders around the state support the concept, according to the newsletter, and the Commissioner of Energy Resources for Rhode Island announced that he would be releasing the report in addition to setting up a stakeholder process to help choose the most suitable site. Via ::New England GreenStart...
Freedom of Creation: Downloading Clothes
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
Freedom of Creation (FOC) of Helsinki uses laser sintering to "create digitally generated consumer products. These products are more than stunning beauties. They are also models for localized manufacturing and distribution logistics where no stock, no assembly, minimal transportation and just-in-time production are future goals" -what we have been discussing at Absolut Downloads. They have designed a range of products from lighting to textiles; watch a video of the process here. Jiri Evenhuis came up with the idea of Rapid Manufactured textiles- "instead of producing textiles by the meter, then cutting and sewing them into final products, this concept has the ability to make needle and thread obsolete." ::FOC via ::PSFK and more at ::In An Absolut World Everything is Downloadable...
Kids Create Rain Barrels With A Cause
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09.25.07
That’s right folks, a local martial arts instructor in Annapolis, Maryland recently decided to engage his students in a fun, artistic endeavor to help prevent runoff and raise some bucks for local environmental causes at the same time. Impressively, 65 of his students showed up recently on a sunny Saturday morning to paint away alongside 4 local artists turning a bunch of your average rain barrels into artistic masterpieces worthy of sale at their charity auction. And they’re learning from the activity too, because as Joe Van Deuren, their instructor and the owner of Balanced Life Skills put it, “We recognize that what we do and consume has an affect on others. Awareness is self-defense; the rain barrel project grew out of our program to learn what we can do to defend the environment.”...
Bridge in Japan Uses Stored Summer Heat to Melt Snow
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
Bridges are dangerous in cold climates; because they cool more quickly than regular roads, ice can form when the rest of the road seems safe. More de-icing chemicals are used, which can cause the bridge to deteriorate.
In Fukui, Japan, the Snow Management and Construction Technology Research Center has developed a system where they store summer heat for snow-melting in winter by driving a large number of dedicated heat-exchanger piles into the riverbank....
EcoEDGE2 : Building Sustainable Cities
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.25.07
Walled city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi: to become world's first zero-carbon and zero-waste city
EcoEDGE2 is a conference coming to Melbourne, Australia during 14-16 February 2008. We are mentioning it now because early bird registrations close at the end of next month. And you might want to get along to an intriguing forum that addresses “The Urgent Challenge in Building Sustainable Cities.” The plethora of speakers includes experts in a tackling the economic, aesthetic and ethical dimensions in making sustainable cities through green urban design; green urban energy systems; green housing; and green government.
One such speaker is the British based architecture firm, Foster + Partners, who might talk about their plan to help the walled city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi become the world's first zero-carbon and zero-waste city. Norman Foster said “They have provided us with a challenging design brief that promises to question conventional urban wisdom at a fundamental level. Masdar promises to set new benchmarks for the sustainable city of the future.”
There will also be presenters discussing green urban projects from as far and wide as Kenya, Denmark, the Netherlands, China, USA, Australia, Germany and Lebanon. EcoEDGE2 is part of Melbourne’s CityEDGE series, which provide a forum for architects, landscape architects, urban designers and planners to review the rapid and radical development of contemporary metropolises. ::EcoEDGE2, via Dexigner.
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The Sun Lizard - Solar Air Conditioning
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.25.07
Asks an Australian if they’ve been busy or not, and they might reply, “Mate, I’ve been flat out. Like a lizard drink’n.” Colin Gillam, CEO of Alternative Fuels and Energy may well give just such an answer regarding his Sun Lizard solar heating/cooling project. Especially as he has been working on it for the past 16 years. His persistence finally paid off when last month he was scored both the judge’s vote, and the people’s choice vote on the ABC New Inventors TV show.
In basic terms the Sun Lizard harnesses the sun to heat and cool a house. How it does this is a tad more complex. Though not radically so. In summer a photovoltaic panel collects solar juice to power a series of fans that encourage fresh cool air to enter the house from vents at ground level. Come winter you switch modes and now a box on your roof or wall comes into play. A covering sheet of low-iron glass allows for maximum clarity so oodles of sun can enter the box and heat a bunch of steel baffles. These are angled in such a way as to give the collector a capture area more a third greater than its external size. This heated air is then fed back into the house via ducting, again at ground level, to warm rooms. It is continually circulating and reheating (up to 50°C) the air. All without grid power....
Off-Grid Assisted Living: Backing It Up Green
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.25.07
The generation that created the first Earth Day may not be ready for assisted living and senior centers. As that day comes for seniors in northern US states, however, winter comfort will, as in this example, sometimes be maintained by petro-diesel backup generators. Stellar Energy Services, delivered a 300kW diesel engine generator system to Warroad Senior Campus, located in Warroad, Minnesota. The system is large enough to supply emergency power to the complete assisted living community. Warroad Senior Campus is located in northern Minnesota and is subject to extreme cold weather conditions.This takes us to a super-topic: - How many of the 'first green' generation of US seniors will have the opportunity to live in LEED-certified assisted living or retirement centers, with high efficiency HVAC systems and low carbon foorprints? We couldn't find anything on the Green Seniors blog relative to this question. Looking at Lloyd's seminal post on the death of the burbs, it's obvious that backup power for air conditioning is going to be a far more critical factor than heating during the depth of winter. Time for the Ice Bear. No doubt about it. Eric posted about bringing locally grown produce to a senior center. More on Green Seniors here. Meet Green Granny here. Via:: Market Wire Image credit:: City of Scottsdale AZ, LEED Certified, Granite Reef Senior Center ....
Solar Row: Sustainable Housing In Boulder
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
Every time we show a "green and sustainable" house being built in the middle of nowhere or with 6,000 square feet in it, we wonder where people with normal incomes and bikes instead of cars will raise their families. Perhaps the Solar Row in Boulder, Colorado is a good example; Nine homes ranging from 1200 to 1700 square feet, Net Zero energy consumption, and lots of green features in a "mixed-use neighborhood that includes artist's lofts, neighborhood-scale retail businesses and offices, pedestrian walkways and a two-acre park."
It is built by Wonderland Hill Developments, which builds "sustainable communities based on the cohousing concepts that combine personal values, community, organic design and sustainable building practices and principles." Although we cannot tell from the website if this particular project is designed as cohousing....
The RCA Presents: Slow Water, Design Solutions to Water Wastage and Management
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 09.25.07
Platform 10 at the RCA’s Department of Design Products, led by Daniel Charny and Roberto Feo, gave their students the following brief: 'slow water down between the sky and the sea'. The creative outcomes show how design can intervene in the domestic use of water. Concepts include domestic rainwater management, water awareness, water bill sharing and the future of showers.
What if your kitchen sink was eroding? Alan Meron’s Soap Sink takes on the misuse of our ‘invisible water which shoots out of the tap only to be collected 15 inches lower into another pipe that will carry it away’. ...
Fridgewatcher: We Are What We Eat
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
Fridgewatcher.com "is a project where people open their fridges to others. 'Cause every fridge tells a story." It's true; look at all these Dutch and Scandinavian fridges. The one shown is in Amsterdam: "Full of fresh fruits and vegetables our fridge smiles and flirts with asian sauces, sweet jam, a lot of fish. Normally it has more cheese from the market, but we ate them all."
It is foodie voyeurism. Only three entries from North America so far; We have to get some of those double-wides with a full supermarket inside to wow them. Submit your fridge pix to ::Fridgewatcher. via ::NotCot...
Planet-friendly Love in China: A Bike Wedding
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.25.07
Green weddings seem to be all the rage these days, and the trend seems to be growing around the world. The picture above is of a bike wedding held in Anyang City in China on Saturday, which also happened to be Car-Free Day. For more thoughts on green weddings, check out our comprehensive guide on How to Green Your Wedding, or you can even read about this author’s own celebrations on a goat farm in North Carolina.
Congratulations to the happy couple, and thanks John for the tip!::China View::via site visit::
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The Sustainable Modular Classroom by ARC
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
The President of the AIA, R.K. Stewart, wrote recently: "It is imperative that we design the next generation of schools to teach about a more sustainable way of living, use minimal energy, eliminate the creation of toxins and waste and be interdependent with natural systems."
Unfortunately, the construction of schools takes longer than the subdivisions they are supposed to serve. Ideally, school construction would be modular and flexible, to follow the demographic need; what we usually get is the dreaded mouldy portable classroom. The architectural firm ARC has revisited the portable, with the goal " to design a safe, healthy, durable and environmentally friendly advanced learning structure within a realistic budget. Ultimately, the unit is designed for sustainability, flexibility, comfort and appeal."...
VIDEO S&WFF: Bilby Brothers: The Men Who Killed the Easter Bunny
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.25.07
Al Gore isn't the only one encouraging Australia to become environmentally engaged as Lloyd recently reported. Two larger than life characters, zoologist Peter McRae and park ranger and former 'roo shooter Frank Manthe, joined forces more than a decade ago in an attempt to save the Bilby a small, endangered Australian marsupial from extinction. The film Bilby Brothers: The Men Who Killed the Easter Bunny (Australia, 2002, Documentary, 48min by Larry Zetlin & Jim Stevens) tells the story of the massive marketing campaign, fundraising and army of volunteers employed to accomplish the impossible. Warren told in detail about this little critter and how marketing them as the "Easter Bilby" brings awareness and donations. Also, he brought us the good news that they're back from the verge of extinction with a link to an in-depth news video. As I said on TreeHugger radio, films such as The 11th Hour slyly harness the awareness of climate change as a way of moving the environmental dialog beyond that particular global calamity to address others. One leading issue with which most TreeHuggers are familiar is the devastating loss of biodiversity which we face. The inspirational video clip from the film after after the jump is proof that folks are warming to the notion of treating our animal friends like one of our own. ...
Never Mind Future Temperature Increases: CO2 Emissions Deserve EPA's Attention NOW
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.25.07
As far as oceanographers and biogeochemists are concerned, the level of attention that has been bestowed on the interactions between increased carbon dioxide emissions, global warming and the oceans amongst media and policy circles has essentially boiled down to one of two memes: higher sea surface temperatures or higher sea levels. Even then, the media's focus on these global warming-induced effects has paled in comparison to the attention paid to terrestrial ecosystems and future changes.
Though no big secret amongst marine biologists - some of us have been studying the phenomenon of ocean acidification for years now - the long-term effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide on the ocean's chemistry has largely remained an unknown quantity to the general public. In a nutshell, a larger influx of carbon dioxide into the oceans will shift the delicate equilibrium governing the water's chemistry, prompting an increase in the hydrogen ion concentration and, thus, a lowering of its pH. ...
Italian Scuba Divers Shack up Underwater
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 09.25.07
Global warming aside—one of science’s age-old questions is: Can humans live underwater? In Italy, six Italian scuba divers recently broke the record for human underwater living in an experiment inspired by the Jules Verne classic "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." For 14 days, Stefania Mensa, 31, Debora Vissani, 26, Isabella Moreschi, 33, Claudio Croce, 34, Luca Giordani, 28, and Alessandro Brandetti, 40, lived on a wall-less platform—called ‘the apartment’--anchored to the seabed off the Italian island of Ponza at a depth of about 15 metres (49 ft.). The goal: Determine the medical effects of living underwater for prolonged periods. A team of twenty doctors gathered scientific data, and monitored the divers 24 hours a day. The new fronteer? ::via Yahoo News and ::CBS Evening News Also see ::Man to Live Underwater for 2 Weeks ::What Will San Francisco Look Like Underwater? Images courtesy of REUTERS/Progetto Abissi/Handout (Italy)....
String + Bottle + Lighter = Drinkable Water
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.25.07
Quote of the Day: John Barrie on Design
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
It takes about the same amount of material to make a BMW as it takes to make a Chevy. The only real difference is the design.John Barrie, an architect who has taught at the University of Michigan and Washtenaw Community College, admits that perhaps there are other minor differences: (Ok, some of the interior finishes in a BMW may never be seen in a Chevy, but bear with me) but notes "The shape, color, texture and even the sound of a new car are designed and built from the same lump of clay. The same holds true in Architecture. The same pallete of materials handled by different Architects will turn out differently." He continues with some wonderful suggestions for building sustainable homes. Read more at ::Sustainable Design Update ...
Wired on "The Plant That Will Save America"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.25.07
Who couldn't love the gee whiz, boyish enthusiasm of Wired Magazine. When they see a trend, they just pounce and cover it like a blanket; last year it was the hydrogen economy, which has barely been heard from since, and this year it is cellulosic ethanol, the plant that will save America. They do note that "There's just one catch- No one has yet figured out how to generate energy from plant matter at a competitive price. The result is that no car today uses a drop of cellulosic ethanol."
They go on for pages, describing the chemistry, looking at veterans who have been trying to do this since Jimmy Carter first funded research in it, enzyme hunters and gatherers, and biochemists breeding genetically modified bacteria that will munch cellulose and sweat Hi-test. They are, as always, optimistic; one scientist says " I truly think that in five years all the hard issues about converting cellulosic biomass to ethanol may be solved."
Blondie famously sang "Dreaming is free"; she was wrong, it costs $ 4.95 on the newstand. ::Wired...
Garbage, Design, Recycling: An Exhibition and Some Reflections
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 09.25.07
More events trying to raise consciousness about ecology and consumerism in Argentina, this time in the interior of the country and with an arty approach. From September 4th until October 26th, the cool print publication Acido Surtido is holding a collective art exhibition by the name Garbage, Design, Recycling; featuring artists also grouped in its latest issue with the same name. The event, which is taking place at the Centro Cultural España Cordoba, in Cordoba province (about 700 kilometers from Buenos Aires), reunites the works of 22 artists-groups that analyze themes such as consumerism, recycling and garbage disposal. “This is an invitation to reprogram the reality in the unstoppable cycle of production and waste. To post produce and re produce would be, in this instance, a way to take part before the useful and useless, richness and poorness, a way to re think norms and anticipate the imminent, to open question marks over processes, materials, consignees, the notion of authorship and the reception of art languages in the context of the objects that lay around us,” the directors of the Center say in the presentation of the show. The event has debates, projection of audiovisual work, workshops and plastic-arts exhibition. The work shown in the main picture includes a picture of a cartonero by well known rock-photographer Nora Lozano and a lamp from recovered PET by conscious designer Alejandro Sarmiento. Other parts include an installation with faulty light bulbs by Sergio Avello, a photographic and sound installation by Leonor Silvestri, a series of graphic designs by Garcia Balza studio, and a video about work with textiles by Martin Churba. More information at the Centro Cultural España Cordoba Site (more pics in the extended). ::CCEC ::Acido Surtido...
Reminder! Greenest Photo Ever Contest: DeSmogBlog
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 09.25.07
Have you taken the greenest photo ever? We wanted to remind you that DeSmogBlog wants to give you a Sony Cybershot DSC-S600 6MP camera if you can. DeSmogBlog is a website dedicated to clearing the PR pollution that clouds climate change. What do they mean by green?
It can be literally a really green photo (but not of a green dress, that's cruel). Or it can be a metaphorically green photo, whether that's ecological or 'green with envy' or any other angle you can think of. In short, be creative!To enter simply submit your greenest photo to their Flickr photo group by October 1, 2007. Five finalists will be chosen and a jury of eco-bloggers will choose the winner. May the Green be with you. ::DeSmogBlog...
Trash Luxe
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09.25.07
Trash Luxe is an exhibition of serious up and coming designers who have taken humble objects and made them into luxury items. Put together by Liberty, an old and stylish store, there were familiar names and surprises in this sophisticated show created specially for London Design Festival. Stuart Haygarth was there, of course, (his third exhibition as part of the festival) and this work was a wonderful chandelier made out of eye glass lens from spectacles, shimmering in the light. Heath Nash was also represented with a light created from discarded materials such as wire, bottle tops and discarded plastic containers, all transformed into a functional object. Catharine Hammerton did a long wall panel made of recycled paper, cut and layered in scallops to form wallpaper--literally. These chairs (pictured) by Ineke Hands are made of MDF and cut with a laser, an ironic take on old-fashioned hand-crafted Dutch chairs. Some bright orange bowls, with black and white stripes, made of telephone wire were striking, by the Zen Zulu group from Durban, South Africa.
Familiar to treehugger readers was the jewelery made from crystals by Greetge van Helmond. This is a huge opportunity for her, having just shown her work in the autumn as a Royal College of Art grad. student and now being exhibited at Liberty. Other jewelery is by Nadia El Sebai, who takes bits and pieces of found objects such as safety pins, buttons, charms and paper clips and makes them into necklaces. ...
New High-Altitude Climate Observatory in Mexico Announced
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 09.24.07
Today the Climate Institute announced a new observatory called the High Altitude Climate Observatory in Pico De Orizaba National Park, which is the first high-altitude climate observatory in Mexico and the highest of its kind in the world. The project was announced in conjuction with a speech on vulnerability and climate change by Sir Crispin Tickell, the president emeritus of the Climate Institute and the author of Climatic Change and World Affairs, one of the first books to highlight the dangers of human-induced global climate change, first published in 1977.
"This new center will watch over the greater number of parameters that make up the vital signs of the planet, including the stratospheric ozone layer, suspended particulates, greenhouse gases and ultraviolet solar radiation," said Tickell.
The data gathered at the observatory, which will commence in 2008, will contribute to the Global Atmospheric Watch and the Global Earth Observing Systems. The observatory is located 4,581 meters above sea level on the mountaintop of the inactive Sierra Negra volcano and is on the same latitude as the climate observatory at Mauna Koa in Hawaii.
There are currently 21 climate monitoring centers around the world, with three in the Americas located in Argentina, Brazil and Alaska.
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Nations Agree to Accelerated "Freeze and Phase Out" of Climate-Damaging Chemicals
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.24.07
Photo credit: pagedooley
Following mounting evidence that hydrochloroflurocarbons (HCFCs) contribute to global warming, the world's governments signed up to an accelerated freeze and phase-out of HCFCs under the 20-year-old Montreal Protocol. The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) treaty was established in 1987 to protect the planet's ozone layer from chemical degradation.
The 191 parties (190 countries, plus the European Commission) to the Montreal Protocol, meeting in the eponymous Canadian city on Saturday, agreed to freeze production of HCFCs in 2013, as well as to bring forward the final phase-out date of the chemicals by 10 years, a move that may help in restoring the health of the ozone layer. ...
DIY Idea: Wine Glass Chandelier
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 09.24.07
3 lengths of small-gauge cable +
2 plexiglass circles (or substitute real glass, if you can cut it) +
1 compact fluorescent or other high-efficiency lightbulb +
lots of wine glasses =
a new combo chandelier/wine glass rack
The original, pictured above, is designed by a Swiss architecture student; as swissmiss notes, "Very practical for tiny NYC apartments. Finally a place to put all of our wine glasses and free up some valuable kitchen cabinet space." Check out more pics at ::Koope via ::swissmiss
Difficulty Level: Moderate...
Jalopnik on No PARK(ing) Day
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
So we thought PARK(ing) day was a lot of fun; shown above is No Impact Man's setup in New York. But what did the drivers think? Normally articulate and reserved Auto site Jalopnik calls us Enviro-dweebs and says "OK, seriously enviro-nuts, you've gone and crossed a line. It's hard enough trying to find metered parking spots in places like LA and New York City without you eco-nerds taking them over and putting up your potted plants and trees and lawn chairs. If you want to play ping-pong, find a rec room at a YMCA or something. There's a lot of those out in San Francisco and Miami and Waukegan, Illinois (seriously -- which of these does not belong?) and all the other cities you'll be "protesting" in."They were tongue in cheek as always, but their commenters were not: "These pansies want "more green space" blah blah blah and cars are the problem...blah blah blah...CO2 emissions blah blah blah. They're just so punchable. Sigh.. Jalopnik...
Canadian Youth Tackle Urban Climate Change
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.24.07
The Environmental Youth Alliance has just announced the launch of Winds of Change, a project to raise the awareness of how urban parks and green spaces can mitigate the effects of climate change, especially in cities.
The trigger event was a devastating windstorm that leveled more than 10,000 trees in Vancouver, Canada's Stanley Park in December 2005. In two hours, the 243-hectare park was stripped of over 45 hectares of trees, costing the city $9 million in restoration costs.
"Winds of Change came from what we saw as a growing climate threat to our urban parks and green space," said Karun Koernig at the United Nation's high-level event on climate change today. "We are here to raise awareness of the role that urban green space plays in adapting to the effects climate change is having on cities. Canada is one of the most urbanized countries in the world, so protecting and expanding our urban green space could be a key adaptation method for Canadian cities." ::Winds of Change...
Solar Cinema: The Groovy Movie Picture House
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
Even in this age of DVDs and movies on iPods, there is nothing like the collective experience of sharing a movie. In the UK, it's a moveable treat: The Groovy Movie Picture House is a 45 foot diameter portable cinema, "with full blackout lining, a coconut matting floor, providing a cosy venue for daytime or night time screenings for audiences of over 150." Now they have gone solar: "All of our power requirements are provided by eight large, highly visible solar panels, which charge a large battery bank, providing electricity for screenings during bad weather." It is "an exciting demonstration of green technology in action!"
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Forest-Smart Buying Can Lower Your Carbon Footprint
by Union of Concerned Scientists on 09.24.07
Tropical deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of total annual global warming emissions, making it second only to fossil fuels in terms of climate impact. Forests play a major role in regulating global temperatures by absorbing heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in their cell walls. Earth loses more than 18 million acres of forestland every year—an area larger than Ireland—according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The best way to reduce emissions from tropical deforestation is to help ensure these trees are not cut down in the first place. Your purchasing decisions can play a role in this effort:
Wood: When buying wood products, look for labels that indicate the wood comes from sustainably managed forests. There are several forest certification programs in place worldwide. For home improvement projects, you can avoid new wood products altogether by using reclaimed wood for floors and wood-free materials (such as composite resin boards) for other projects....
Governator's Climate Pep Talk
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.24.07
California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged official delegates and guests at the United Nation's high-level event on climate change this morning "not to lose hope."
But first, he checked off the Golden State's manifold accomplishments—including California's leadership in nanotechnology, information technology, and biotechnology—not "simply to boast," but because "when California does something, it has consequences."
Schwarzenegger went on (and on) to tell us why California is TEH AWESOME, but then added that we should not lose hope over climate change. "Do not believe that doom and gloom and disaster are the only outcomes," he said. "Humanity is smart, and nature is amazingly regeneration. I believe we can renew the climate of this planet."...
Volkswagen To Hybridize Their Whole Line
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 09.24.07
Even without a single hybrid vehicle (and due to a number of diesel fueled options), Volkswagen has consistently been near the top of many fuel efficiency lists. So, just imagine what would happen if the company decided to take one of their models, such as the Jetta or Beetle, and put some battery-charged hybrid goodness in. Well, a few months after announcing that they plan to put a hybrid engine in some of their compact models, V-Dub is taking all this hybrid talk a step further. Now, every upcoming VW model is scheduled to have a hybrid option, with some models hybrid-ready as early as next year. ...
"Business As Usual Not Acceptable": Groups Aim To Increase Women's Participation in Climate Change Debate
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 09.24.07
In anticipation of an international climate change meeting to be held in the United Nations headquarters Interview: Oulu's Designer, Evangeline Dennie
by Joey Roth, Brooklyn, USA on 09.24.07
Named for the cultural epicenter of northern Finland, Oulu adds a shock of green to Williamsburg's bricks and asphalt. Unlike the other bars in the torrent that's hit the neighborhood, Oulu features a living facade and a thoroughly green design. I caught up with Evangeline Dennie, the woman behind Oulu's unique look, and we spoke about design, materials, and the therapeutic possibilities of architecture.
TreeHugger: What other projects have you worked on recently? How is Oulu different?
Evangeline Dennie: One of my most recent and significant projects was to design the interim memorial at Ground Zero, called the Tribute Center. I was hired by the architecture firm of record (BKSK) to be an in-house architecture design consultant. I was given the amazing opportunity to conceive the design concept and layout, which was eventually built in 2006. ...
Hydrogen Hybrid Canal Boat Makes for Smooth Sailing
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.24.07
It may not be the swankiest ride in town but - for inland waterways at the very least - it's certainly the most fuel-efficient choice for eco-conscious boaters. The Ross Barlow, the first zero-emissions hydrogen hybrid canal boat developed by University of Birmingham engineers, was unveiled this past Friday by Terry Tricker, a board member of British Waterways - the company that provided the university with the original maintenance boat.
Demonstrating the potential for magnets and fuel cell technologies to work together to power water craft, the hybrid boat was created by switching out the conventional maintenance boat's diesel engine with a zero-emissions propulsion system. A metal hydride system stores the hydrogen kept on board and provides a means of storing significant amounts of the gas at room temperature and pressure. Decreasing the system's pressure allows the gas to enter the fuel cell. The magnets - which are made out of rare earth - come into play in the boat's motor and rudder systems. ...
New Solar Panels Produced at Less Than $1 Per Watt
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 09.24.07
Solar panels that cost less than $1 per watt to produce are on their way, as Colorado State University's new method for low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels looks set to begin mass production. The panels will be made by AVA Solar, and production should start towards the end of next year at a huge factory employing 500 people....
Teen Creates Electric 1971 VW Beetle
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 09.24.07
Bart Grabman, a senior at an Alaskan high school, has converted his 1971 VW Beetle to electric power, in order to save gas money and investigate ways to cut down on emissions. “We have a class called Passages, and in that course everyone’s supposed to pick a project or idea that they want to expand and do something big with, and so I thought, ‘What’s something awesome that I can do?’”, he said.
Grabman remembered hearing a speech by a man who had converted his own truck from gas to electric power, so he decided that this was a project he could undertake himself, and started to research the idea online, “There was a lot of research on cars, figuring out what I need to get, what I need to do, a lot of going on forums and talking to people.”...
Most Huggable: Lead for Lunch, Sun’s OpenEco, Getting Off Green, and More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 09.24.07
“What a tasty lunchbox!” California bought 56,000 lunchboxes for its students. Unfortunately the kids got an unexpected serving of lead… Massugu Adult brings a sustainable mission to the challenge of getting people off… The Guatemalan beaded lizard’s venom is a treatment for diabetes, but the species teeters on extinction… Warming temperatures are putting the squeeze on freshwater fish, and the sport-fishermen are not pleased… Sun Microsystems launches OpenEco.org, an open portal for carbon cutting… Hugg 2.0 is popping. Most Huggable is a daily roundup of some of the top stories. Read it, post it, why not submit your own green news? ...
Green Building Studio Software Calculates Energy Impacts of Design
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 09.24.07
Santa Rosa, California-based company Green Building Studio, Inc. launched the beta version of its green-building software, Green Building Studio V3.0. Compatible with other design tools from Autodesk and Graphisoft, the beta version now offers designers, owners and builders more advanced web service features for evaluating a building project’s carbon neutrality potential, total PV & wind energy, greenhouse gas emissions, total building energy, water consumption for both commercial and residential typologies. ...
Turning the Environment Into A Literary Affair
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 09.24.07
The weather’s getting cooler, the autumn leaves are falling – oh and hey - polar icecaps are melting at a ferocious pace. In light of all the world’s weirdness, how do poets and literary types inspired by nature’s wonder, cope with the ugliness of global warming and environmental degradation?
An upcoming conference at Tel Aviv University on literature and the environment will explore this question. The sign-of-the-times event has confirmed the participation of environmental poet Robert Hass as well as Una Chaudhuri from NYU, a foremost authority on environment and the humanities. More about the field of Ecocriticism and a description of the event after the fold......
U.N. Climate Klatch Today, Bush Plays Hookey
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.24.07
While heads of state and other top officials from more than 150 countries are meeting today at the United Nations to build momentum for end-of-year climate negotiations in Bali, one notable no-show rankles: President Bush will be skipping all of the day's events but the dinner.
The informal high-level event, which takes place in New York City the day before the opening of the U.N. General Assembly's annual General Debate, aims to "facilitate an exchange of views and to galvanize political will" for the Climate Change Conference to be held in Bali in December 2007. A follow-up to Kyoto summit in 1997, the Bali meeting is expected to advance a comprehensive global agenda on climate-change policy for the years following 2012....
Cross-Cultural Felt Making in Kyrgyzstan
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 09.24.07
What makes an American designer want to travel to Kyrgyzstan? Where? I hear you ask? Is that where Borat comes from? No, but it's right next door. This mountainous Central Asian country is surrounded by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. We're going to expose our ignorance and admit that we don't know very much about Kyrgyzstan, other than it was once part of the Soviet Union, but gained independence in 1991. However, we are about to learn more and this is why we love the Bridging Cultures Through Design project run by the intrepid designer Mimi Robinson.
Through creating cross-cultural design projects, such as last year's trip to Guatemala with a group of RISD students, Robinson is able to open our eyes to the richness of cultural creativity around the world. “Within all artisan communities there exists a universal language of creativity,” she says. “Characteristics of the nomadic culture embrace the fundamental elements of creativity and the principles that guide me as a designer. Qualities that include a respect for the natural world, a true and deep understanding of the environment, community and an ability to adapt and be receptive to new ideas.” ...
Santa Monica Street Improvements: Chop Down All the Trees
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
Nice Trees. Urban street trees do a lot of good; they provide shade to pedestrians, reduce the heat island effect, hold moisture, act as carbon sinks and just generally make any street look better. These ficus trees in Santa Monica, California are particularly handsome.
However they are all being chopped down and replaced with dinky little gingkos, to "To make those streets more attractive to the shopping public." The city's notice doesn't say much: "The criteria for removal included but were not limited to internal decay, extensive root pruning, poor canopy structure, damaged canopies from oversized vehicles, design factors and too large for relocation."
It boggles the mind that anyone in this day and age would consider removing trees like this a "Pedestrian and Streetscape Improvements Project." We hope anyone nearby will support the group fighting this- there is a reason we are called Treehuggers. ::Santa Monica Treesavers
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New Zealand Finds Itself Potential Dumping Ground for Toxic Chinese Exports: CORRECTED
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09.24.07
While there has certainly been an intense international focus on the toxic toy products coming out of China, an investigation by TV3’s Target program in New Zealand recently revealed that woolen and cotton clothing for children made in China contained formaldehyde in levels 500 times higher than considered safe.
The chemical is used to give a permanent press effect to clothing, but according to international research supported by the World Health Organisation exposure to formaldehyde in concentrations of 20 parts per million (ppm) can cause eye, skin and nasal irritations, respiratory problems, asthma and cancer. And while European standards call for a maximum of 30 ppm, in New Zealand there is no formal regulation or inspection of clothing to ensure that it meets any standard whatsoever. Not surprisingly, the results were astounding; ranging from 230ppm to 18,000ppm!
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Quote of the Day: Ban Ki-Moon on International Action on Climate Change
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.24.07
National action must be at the center of our response to climate change—with industrialized countries taking the lead. Fifteen years have passed since the Framework Convention on Climate Change was finalized in Rio. It has been ten years since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted.
Yet most industrialized country emissions are still rising. And their per capita emissions remain unacceptably high. At the same time, support for adaptation by poor countries has fallen well short of what is required. ...
Even Bush Government Agency Advised Staff to Buy Asian Hybrid Vehicles
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.24.07
Talk about embarrassing. When high-level officials in an administration that's provided more support and political cover than any in recent history advise their staff to purchase vehicles from your foreign rivals, you know you're in trouble. That was the situation facing Detroit's big three automakers - GM, Ford and Chrysler - when it was revealed last week that the brass at the Department of Health and Human Services had told their staff members they'd be better off buying a car from Toyota, Honda or Hyundai if they wished to cut back on their fuel costs.
As part of a newsletter promoting "energy efficiency behind the wheel," officials at the department trumpeted the merits of hybrid vehicles and even included a list of the top 12 "green" cars as compiled by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) - all of which were either Japanese or South Korean cars (your usual suspects: the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic hybrid and Honda Fit, amongst others). Following angry complaints from the American carmakers - who argued that it displayed "a simplistic approach that showed a prejudice against American vehicles" - the department retracted the newsletter, apologizing for having "offended anyone". ...
Domenica Ecologica: Eco-Sunday in Rome
by Erin Courtenay - Madison, WI on 09.24.07
It’s obvious to anyone (which in this case means everyone) who has had a near miss with a car or motorino, that Rome’s historic center isn’t meant for cars. That fact was made blissfully evident yesterday during “Domenica Ecologica” (eco-Sunday) when the centro was closed to all non-pedestrian, non-bicycle traffic. The event was hosted by Comune di Roma as the capstone event for the city’s participation in European Mobility Week.
Saturday was the official World Car Free Day but here in Rome it was Sunday when one could fully appreciate the peace and freedom of an urban center without cars. Walking through the winding medieval alleys of Trastevere with my husband and father-in-law, enjoying pistachio gelato without the noise and fear endemic to Rome’s streets made for one of the most pleasant Sunday outings we’ve had in Italy.
Separating Romans from their beloved scooters and autos was made less painful by the fact that any self-respecting Romano was watching the Roma-Juventus soccer match, with several bars taking advantage of the traffic-free zona to set up chairs and screens out in the streets.
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Wal-Mart to Hawk House-Brand CFLs
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.24.07
Photo credit: biketrouble
Coming to a light socket near you: Wal-Mart's own brand energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, which the big-box retailer plans to unleash at more than 3,000 of its U.S. stores by the end of September.
While Wal-Mart will continue to sell other brand-name bulbs alongside its own Great Value line, it says it hopes the new, more-affordable bulbs will help it achieve its goal of selling 100 million CFLs before 2007 runs out.
"We want to make eco-friendly living more affordable for our customers and with the Great Value CFLs, we can make energy-efficiency easy at an unbeatable price," said Wal-Mart Senior Vice President Andy Barron in a press release. ::GreenBiz News...
Take Shorter Showers - or Face the Consequences...
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.24.07
Karavans Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 09.24.07
This week is Carnival of the Green # 96 and it's being hosted by Karavans! So, head on over to this week's Carnival to check out a round up of last week's green news and events, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. To learn more about Carnival of the Green, where it will be and how to host (we are now booking into 2009!), please click here to link to our previous post....
Less Meat = Less Heat
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.24.07
Wanna do something about global warming, but can’t pony up for a Prius or solar panels? There is another option. Reduce your consumption of red meat. Worldwide agriculture, especially livestock production, accounts for about a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions (see chart after the fold). A report published in the renown medical journal The Lancet proposes that developed countries cut their meat munching to 90g per day, with only 50g of that coming from ruminants such as cattle or sheep. Currently folk in ‘the West’ eat, on average, their own body weight in meat a year. Per day that's 224g, or the equal of two quarter pounder burgers. In developing countries the daily average is 47g. (100g = 3.5 oz). ...
Light my Firewinder - A Wind Powered Lantern
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09.24.07
As a kid Tom Lawton wanted to see the wind. As a grown-up he wants to design cool stuff (like a 360° digital camera) These visions combine in his Firewinder Mini. It’s a 100% wind-powered outdoor light. Although it doesn’t generate practical task lighting it certainly seems to create an unusual atmospheric ambience. When wind speed approaches 3 mph the long helix shape begins to spin and via a patent pending process the breeze powers 20 LEDs that light up in a rotating spiral fashion. Apparently 5-7 mph is the optimum speed, but it can also cope with speeds up to 40 mph. And it doesn’t matter which direction the wind is blowing either. ...
Grandmateria
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09.24.07
This is the opening show of Gallery Libby Sellers and it is one to watch because Sellers used to be the curator at the Design Museum, so she knows her stuff. The exhibition featured some names which are familiar to treehugger readers; looks like we have the inside line on design too! There was a new piece of work by the ubiquitous Stuart Haygarth. He uses everyday objects in his work and forces us to look at them in new ways. This time he has made a geometrical looking chandelier consisting of hundreds of red and orange plastic truck tail lights. He used truck lights because car lights are rounded and he wanted rectangular shapes.
Peter Marigold had shelving units made from tree branches and components from stringed instruments. The uprights were irregularly shaped branches and the shelf part was made from the wood in cellos and guitars, including the marquetry around the sound box (hole). Chairs by Moritz Waldemeyer shed a different light on seating--a series of Macintosh-like chairs which respond to the colour of the sitter's clothing, and project it on the wall behind, using LED lighting. It's not often that one can sit in their own halo.
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Absolut Downloads: Foldschool
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
Foldschool is a full size, downloadable design, distributed freely by Swiss architect Nicola Enrico Stäubli. He says "The mindset of foldschool is to restore design to one of its original missions: to provide a product at an affordable price through a smart manufacturing process."
Over at Absolut Downloads, you can get a 1/6 scale model to match the rest of the collection. Get the real thing at ::Foldschool or the model at ::In An Absolut World Everything is Downloadablea...
Touring an Oil Spill Twice the Size of Exxon Valdez — in Brooklyn
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.24.07
Twins
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.24.07
Our pal Kenny recently posted on the birth of his little treehugger. Witnessing the generation of much waste stemming from the care-taking of his infant son in the hospital, the new dad lamented how far we have to go in greening the globe. At not-so-long last, I join Kenny in the dad's club, but two times over with the recent birth of Sophia and Hudson. While in the hospital, I snapped the above picture. Think back, before the advent of plastic water bottles. Feel your way back to a simpler time. Imagine those grown-up hands lifting you up, your little feet dangling off the ground as your finger pushes the button and the water comes to your lips....
A Brain Surgeon on Bicycle Helmets
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
While at the Bikes Belong in Ontario event, we met Dr. Charles Tator, a brain surgeon and founder of Thinkfirst, an organization with the mission to "prevent brain and spinal cord injury through education aimed at healthy behaviours in children and youth." He was there to promote helmet use by bicyclists; knowing this is a controversial subject among TreeHugger readers, we asked him a few questions.
First, to set the scene, please describe the gory details of what you see in patients who have not worn helmets.
When I go into public schools to speak to children on behalf of ThinkFirst, I bring a Jell-O mold in the shape of the brain to impress them about the fragility of the brain. The brain is like Jell-O. You only get one. We have not learned how to regenerate the injured brain. Protect the one you’ve got!
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Forest Superintendent Cabin in Sweden
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
Sigh. In North America, if they needed a cabin for a forester, they would order a double-wide. In Sweden, they hire young architects like Petra Gipp och Katarina Lundeberg of Arkitektur to design stunners like this cabin in the Grimeton Nature preserve. ...
Lifehacker Tip: Shop Healthier at the Store Perimeter
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
Design affects us whatever we are doing; the design and layout of a grocery store affects how we shop and what we buy. Lifehacker has a suggestion for healthier shopping: stick to the perimeter.
That's where all the fresh foods are. The less you find yourself in the central aisles of the grocery store, the healthier your shopping trip will be. Make it a habit--work the perimeter of the store for the bulk of your groceries, then dip into the aisles for staples that you know you need.::Food Shopping via ::Lifehacker...
Padre Himalaya, a Portuguese Pioneer on Solar Energy
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 09.24.07
The television channel RTP2 of Portugal is broadcasting a documentary about the life of Manuel António Gomes, best known as Padre Himalaya. This Portuguese priest, who was also a scientist and inventor, was one of the pioneers in the investigation of solar energy.
His biggest achievement was the Pirelióforo, a device in which thousands of mirrors over a surface of 80 square meters concentrated solar energy up to a temperature of 3500 degrees Celsius: enough to melt most metals and stones. The huge installment was a star in the 1904 Universal Expo of St. Louis, where it won two gold medals.
Himalaya lived in Paris and in Argentina (1927-1932), where he continued his studies and wrote books on Cosmology; and died in 1933 in Portugal. His work is analyzed in both a book by the name A Conspiração Solar do Padre Himalaya - Esboço biográfico dum português pioneiro da Ecologia (The Solar Conspiration of Father Himalaya - Biographic Outline of a Portuguese Pioneer in Ecology), and a documentary by Jorge António by the name A Utopia do Padre Himalaya (Father Himalaya’s Utopia); which will be broadcasted tomorrow at 11.30 PM by RTP2 channel of Portugal.
For those outside the country, there’s a documentary on the life of this pioneer published in YouTube (in French); and a complete biography of Padre Himalaya at Naturlink (in Portuguese). ::Via Boassas ::RTP2
Thanks José Rui Fernandes for the tip!...
Fashion Takes Action: How To Run A Green Event
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
It is a fashion show with some of Canada's top designers using sustainable fabrics from Skya made from soy, bamboo, hemp, organic cotton and wild silk, all in support of Environmental Defence. But it is also a demonstration of how to run a green event. The venue is the Evergreen Brick Works, perhaps Toronto's greenest spot. The fabrics are all maked form renewable resources. The invitations were electronic. The lighting is LED and high efficiency halide. The power is Bullfrog. Hybrid shuttle buses will run from the subway. The food is local, vegetarian and organic; so is the beer and wine. All the supplies are biodegradable. They say "We hope to inspire all event planners and show producers to make greener choices and thus less of an impact on the environment." Get tickets at ::Fashion Takes Action...
VIDEO S&WFF: America’s Lost Landscape: Tallgrass Prairie
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.24.07
Survey: What Do You Feed Your Dog?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.24.07
The tainted pet food crisis earlier this year made a lot of people rethink what they feed their pets. TreeHugger John Laumer wants to know- what do you feed yours? Our own How to Green your pet says "If the idea of becoming a fulltime pet chef is just crazy talk, making the occasional meal or treat is completely doable. Those broccoli stalks left over from your last stirfry also make some tasty morsels for your pup." Right. Feeding a dog broccoli.
UPDATE: on the basis of commenters who thought we were too "cute and snarky" we have added an option.
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Let Bygones Be Bygones Already, for the Environment’s Sake!
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 09.23.07
Image credit Face2Face poster project.
Due to security issues, the date has not been released yet, but we are happy to announce that Middle East environmentalists are putting political pet peeves aside to focus on one goal: preserving the environment. Israeli scientists will join those from 13 other Middle East countries in Turkey in December for a third series of precedent-setting conferences, Israel21c reports.
Called Malta III, the five-day UNESCO-sponsored event will take place in Istanbul and it is expected to bring out over 75 chemical scientists and seven Nobel laureates. Nations that are planning to take part will include Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, (take a breath) Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, the Palestinian Authority, (another breath) Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates....
How Air Pollution May Cause Heart Disease
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09.23.07
We've already told you on several occasions (most recently here and here) of the link scientists have discovered between higher emissions and deteriorating cardiovascular health. A new study from researchers at Northwestern University has now shown how air pollution may cause heart attacks and strokes - by triggering the formation of blood clots.
"We now know how the inflammation in the lungs caused by air pollutants leads to death from cardiovascular disease," said Gokhan Mutlu, the study's lead author. He and his colleagues found that tiny air pollution particles - often less than one tenth the width of a human hair in size - helped trigger clotting in the blood of mice. This is due to the pollution-induced secretion of interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, that has been implicated in the formation of blood clots. ...
Quote of the Day: Craig Damrauer on the the New Math Of Global Warming
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.23.07
—Craig Damrauer, author of New Math: Equations for Living (2006, Andrews McMeel Publishing), in a slide show first published in the July/August 2007 issue of Mother Jones...
Not In My Back Yard, Please: New Nuclear for NC?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.23.07
Nuclear power is a pretty emotive subject. Perhaps surprisingly, when we asked our readers if nuclear has a place in our energy future, the results seemed to indicate a majority in support of at least some future nuclear capabilities. Yet a recent in-house discussion among TH writers put the majority of us marginally against further reactors, though the results were by no means conclusive. Meanwhile TreeHugger favourite Bill McDonough is all about nuclear reactors, he just thinks that the big yellow fusion-reactor sitting in our sky is superior to anything we could come up with. This author must admit he remains undecided – if nuclear really can help curb global warming, which is clearly our biggest current environmental crisis, he may be open to limited, and very strictly controlled, development of nuclear. However, it seems hard to stomach claims that it’s the only way when the HUGE potential of increased efficiency and clean renewables remain so woefully under-utillized and under-funded.
Ultimately, even if new nuclear is necessary and safe (and that’s a big if), most of us lived through the Chernobyl era and will therefore find it hard to think about the subject in purely rational terms. ‘Not in my backyard’ will remain a very common, and pretty understandable, response for many. It is with interest then, and some trepidation, that this TreeHugger notes that his backyard may well become a testing ground for the next stages in this ongoing controversy:
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Two Years Ago in TreeHugger: New Prefabs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.23.07
Everything takes longer than one thinks it will; Two years ago, the Dwell Homes by Empyrian were announced, and we looked forward to seeing Charlie Lazor's flatpak house popping up all over the place. Blueskymod also unveiled its new Todd Saunders designed cabin. Now, two years later we are seeing the Amy Goodwin's flatpak, and the BlueSkyMod people "are working on something big", but have not produced any more models. Such is the way of the modern prefab world, which has not yet lived up to its promise.
But some things do come true; Warren promised us the Sparrow electric car and it appears that you can buy it now....
Food Flight! The Argument Over Flying Organic Food
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.23.07
The Soil Association, the UK’s leading organic certification body, has proposed withdrawing the 'organic' label from produce flown into the UK from abroad. So the question emerges, should the practice of air-freighting organic food be stopped? The Guardian provides two opposing answers to the question. The NO comes from Claire Melamed, head of trade and corporate policy at charity Action Aid:The trade of fruit and vegetables from Africa to the UK accounts for only 0.1% of all the UK's emissions. Therefore, banning organic green beans from Kenya or mange tout from Zambia, say, is not going to make much difference to the UK's overall carbon footprint...No one denies that we should all be thinking about the effects on the planet of the emissions caused by aviation, but we shouldn't be looking to the poorest people in the world to save us from climate change.More on this perspective at SciDev.net. The YES comes by way of Jon Stewart, campaigner for Airport Watch:
The contribution of aviation to global warming is the most alarming. The figure that is often quoted is that it accounts for 2% of emissions worldwide. That figure seems quite low, but because it is a worldwide average and people in poor countries hardly fly, it essentially means the developed world's aviation emissions are proportionately very high....
Dale Vince to Release Domestic Wind Turbine and an Electric Car?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09.23.07
Back in May we interviewed Dale Vince, founder of UK-based energy pioneers Ecotricity. It seems like Dale is in hot demand from the media these days, with an interview also appearing recently in the Telegraph newspaper, in which his discusses his background as a ‘new-age traveller’, and reveals some very interesting upcoming projects:
“He's promising an electric car that "will smash the stereotype of the 30mph Noddy car" and a mini-turbine for cities called an Urbine for launch next year. It will be made in the UK or "Green Britain" as Vince calls it. When turning, the Urbine could produce 25pc of the average house's electricity. "We may even take over the factory Dyson abandoned when it moved to the Far East," he adds cheekily before heading back to Gloucester for some five-a-side football with his employees, still recovering from the floods.”...
Car Free Day: Toronto Report
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.23.07
It was anything but; a major highway was closed for repaving and all of the traffic was rerouted, so every street was just clogged with cars. Some streets were closed for car free parties, so there were a lot of angry drivers, but if you were not in a car it was a lot of fun.
I pedalled down to Trinity Bellwoods Park, where it was purported that there would be a lot of heavy car free action. ...
VIDEO from Wild & Scenic Film Festival: Source to Sea
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 09.23.07
You've still got until September 29th to enter your film in the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and check for the tour in your area. One film on the tour, Source to Sea (US, 2006, Documentary, 90min by Andy Norris, Ralph Davis) follows heroic swimmer Christopher Swain's historic first: swimming all 1243 miles of the Columbia River over a six month period all the way from from the glacial headwaters in British Columbia down to the Pacific. While the headwaters are almost pure and the video after the jump features school children toasting Swain with goblets of river water, the majority of the river suffers from contamination and disrupted ecosystems which have contributed to the dislocation of people. Swain's intention is to raise awareness and to ensure that the river becomes "fishable, swimable and drinkable for future generations." The video is well-done, informative and inspiring as Swain chats with Neil Conan on NPR's Talk of the Nation....
Farm with Alice Greenfingers
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09.23.07
Get a taste of the farming life, without actually getting your hands mucky, with Alice Greenfingers, a PC game you can download from Yahoo Games.
In this entertaining (and deceptively simple) simulation, you get to sow, water, and harvest a wide variety of crops—plus, raise your own mini-barnyard—and then bring your produce to the town market, where you have to adjust prices according to the vagaries of a fickle customer base.
The full version costs $19.99, but you can play an extensive trial version for free. ::Alice Greenfingers
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Is This Possible Today?
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 09.23.07
Unthinkable. 56,200 square meters of consumer indulgence. And not a single bike rack.
According to German law, there must be 1 bicycle parking place for every 150 square meters of shopping area, which would imply 188 bike bars for 376 bikes. The Berlin bicycle club did a count at the widely advertised grand opening of the new shopping center and found more than 500 bikes in various states of insecurity.
It is reported that the 1600 auto parking places, which were opened in sync with the grand opening, were largely empty. Small consolation....
TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!
Here are a few recommended websites.
