- 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 October 7, 2007 - October 13, 2007
Total this week: 190
Ifo President: EU Energy Policy is Useless
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10.13.07
It is not Angela Merkel who will determine the pace of global warming but Hugo Chávez, Mahmud Ahmadineschad, Putin’s oligarchs, the Arabian oil sheiks and a few other potentates.With this statement, Ifo* president Hans-Werner Sinn places a challenge before Kyoto-protocol advocates and EU ministers who have shown leadership by proposing measures which go beyond Kyoto. Unfortunately, he may just be right....
Shipman Lecture: Stephen Hazell and David Miller
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.13.07
Watching American conservative media demeaning Al Gore and the Nobel Prize is nauseating, but it also reminds me that older people tend to be more conservative and probably more inclined to listen to global warming deniers and loudmouths than younger people. That is why organizations like Toronto's Life Institute are so important.
The Life Institute says learning is forever, and runs classes and lectures for seniors out of Ryerson University in Toronto. Global warming and climate disruption affect seniors dramatically, as the European heatwaves of a couple of years demonstrated; most of the deaths were seniors, often living alone without air conditioning or assistance.
That is why it is so great that Stephen Hazell, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, is discussing the global perspective on global warming, and Mayor David Miller is discussing the local vision, at the second annual Shirley Shipman Memorial Lecture in Toronto on Sunday, October 14, details below the fold. Congratulations to the Shipman family for doing this. ::Shipman Lecture...
Wayback Machine: Coal Powered Bus, 1940
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.13.07
Expect to see this on our streets soon, as we look for ways to run our motorized world on coal. Looks safe, too!
Mounted on the roof tops of English busses, balloonlike fabric bags are serving as reservoirs for coal gas, a fuel now in general use as a substitute for gasoline. In the photograph reproduced above, coal gas is being piped into the roof-top balloon reservoir of a bus before the vehicle starts off on a scheduled run.Popular Science April 1940 via ::Modern Mechanix...
Upscale Boating Goes (a Bit More) Green
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.13.07
We're not sure how many people will get to benefit from this technology—at least initially—but it's bound to please those who've been clamoring for a more eco-friendly alternative to a boat's conventional (and emissions-spewing) diesel generator. Voller Energy will begin test-driving its latest fuel-cell system, the Emerald, in a 55-foot concept yacht within the coming weeks.
According to its stats, the system emits about the same amount of carbon dioxide in a day as a person breathing out. To put that in some context, it would take a vessel equipped with the technology about 2,000 years to emit the same amount of emissions as a diesel generator does in a single day. For those who can afford it (and—assuming you have a yacht—you probably can), the space freed up below the deck by the fuel cell's smallish design will allow for "more opportunities to introduce electric-powered home comforts," according to Ken Freivokh, a yacht designer....
No-Nukes Musicians Launch Campaign to Stop the Nuclear Bailout
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.13.07
The TH Interview: Ned Daly of the Forest Stewardship Council in the US
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.13.07
Regular readers will need no introduction to the work of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). From Staples’ stock of FSC-certified paper to Ethletic’s FSC rubber sneakers and even a green FSC-certified bible, the Council’s standards for sustainable forest management are fast becoming recognized not just in construction and furniture, but a broad range of forest-based industries. While we were at the Wal-Mart Live Better Sustainability Summit last week, we took the opportunity to talk briefly with Ned Daly, Chief Operating Officer for the FSC in the US, about what brought his organization to the event, and what is driving the current high-level of interest in sustainability.
TreeHugger: What brings FSC to the summit?
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Samsung Says: Water-Powered Hydrogen Micro Fuel Cell on the Way, We Promise
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.13.07
The phrase "hydrogen fuel cell" seems to make about half of all TreeHuggers salivate with anticipation and the other half roll their eyes in pipe-dreamed disgust. This story has a little something for both sides: Samsung has announced that they have a micro fuel cell capable of powering cell phones for 10 hours with nothing more than a shot of water.
The fuel cell will fuel hydrogen cartridges that will need changing every four days or so, if you use the phone for four hours a day. Once they get the hang of that, Samsung plans to upgrade the design so all you'll need to do is put some water in your cellphone and talk, talk, talk. For the optimist, there's so pretty neat stuff to look forward to: finally, a small water-powered fuel cell that doesn't require methanol and isn't a clock or a calculator. For those of you rolling your eyes, we haven't forgotten you: there's a possibility that this technology won't make it to production, partially signifying all the broken promises of the hydrogen economy. Samsung says we'll have to wait until 2010 to figure out which group is right. ::Chosun via ::Gizmodo...
India Proud For Its Own Nobel Peace Prize Winner
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10.13.07
As yesterday morning broke with news of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize joint winners, Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there has been a flurry of attention and introspection stateside, especially on the former US presidential candidate (once ridiculed by George Bush as the “ozone man”), who has now transcended the pettiness of US politics to do so much to raise global awareness about climate change.
In India, there was much interest on the proceedings as well, but arguably also a sense of pride for the other half: the head of the IPCC is 67-year-old Indian scientist Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who is also head of the Energy and Resources Institute, formerly known as Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) of India, a well-known sustainable development and research non-profit in India.
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Retail Real Estate Reality
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.13.07
GOOD Magazine and Futurefarmers have been featuring an illuminating set of images this week, dubbed "Transparency," looking at everything from the (ginormous) amount of real estate occupied by some of the largest chains to the amazing potential of solar power (even Americans' sickeningly large sugar consumption).
It's a bit hard to tell on the picture above (check out the full-blown version here), but can you guess which large retailer occupies an area larger than that of Manhattan (by a fair margin)? Talk about your large carbon footprints.
Via ::GOOD Magazine: Futurefarmers (magazine)
See also: ::Futurefarmers Victory Gardens, ::New Jersey's Carbon Footprint...
Quote of the Day: Callum Roberts on the Future of the Sea
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.13.07
The oceans of today are filled with ghost habitats, stripped of their larger inhabitants. A few people might share the views of the early twentieth-century game fisherman Mitchell Hedges that ridding the seas of fierce carnivores is no bad thing. But our dismantling of marine ecosystems is having destructive and unpredictable consequences.
With species loss and food web collapse comes dangerous instability. The seas are undergoing ecological meltdown. Fishing is undermining itself by purging the oceans of species on which it depends. But its influences is far more menacing than simply the regrettable self-destruction of an industry. The wholesale removal of marine life and obliteration of their habitats is stripping resilience from ocean ecosystems. Moreover, it is undermining the ability of the oceans to support human needs. ...
Helping the Manatees Help Themselves
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.13.07
Listed as an endangered species in 1966, manatees have long had an uneasy coexistence with the increasing number of commercial and recreational boats that have invaded their habitats. In Florida's waters alone, scientists from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimate that the 3,000 manatees occupy much of the same space as the 1 million registered boats and thousands of out-of-state vacationing boats.
The consequences have been grim: in 2006, a near-record 86 manatees were killed while many more had their bones broken or skins sliced by errant propellers. Douglas Nowacek, an oceanographer from Florida State University, and a team of scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have been trying to gain a better understanding of how these gentle giants behave when boats whiz in an effort to devise better protection strategies. ...
The Last Winter: A Climate Change Horror Flick
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.13.07
The subject of Climate Change is becoming fertile ground for new movies. It all started with the less-than-brilliant The Day After Tomorrow which nevertheless once made our list for Christmas DVDs, much to our readers’ disgust, but has since lead to more notable offerings, most obviously Al Gore’s Oscar-winning Inconvenient Truth. Surprisingly though, given the scary nature of recent climate change news, we’ve yet to see a horror flick based on our current predicament, apart from the web-based Climate Mash. All this may be set to change though, reading the New York Times review of The Last Winter certainly suggests to us that this may be a powerful global warming morality tale:...
Demolition by Stupidity
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.13.07
Designated an historic structure, the Simcoe Hotel "was built in 1887 by Charles Ayre, who operated the facility as a small hotel which served the working-class neighbourhood “Riverside” (now part of Leslieville). The building is architecturally notable. It is a good example of a neighbourhood hotel that is distinguished by its pattern of brickwork, bay windows, and a corner entrance." Not noted in its designation is the fact that it was also famous as one of Toronto's first gay leather bars.
Yesterday a kid stole a truck; when the owner started chasing him he pulled his shirt over his head so that he couldn't be recognized. This compromised his vision somewhat so he crashed through the side of the historic hotel. Trying to escape from the truck to run away, he fell into the basement and had to be rescued by the fire department.
It is amazing that we have any historic structures at all, given the stupid things we do to them. ::the Star and great video at ::City See also ::Demolition for parking and ::Demolition by neglect
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Cradle To Cradle Going Mainstream
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.13.07
Diapers?
Jenny Lynn Zappala writes for MSNBC: "Imagine consumer products made from healthy and safe materials that, at the end of their life, are taken apart and either turned into raw materials for new products or returned to the earth as compost. These products are manufactured using renewable energy and marketed with socially responsible strategies.
In this world, you can flush the dirty diapers down the toilet, spray household cleaners without fear of poisoning your houseplants (or family) and wax your surfboard without feeling guilty about the fish.
In essence: Shopping can be good again.
“Ideally, cradle to cradle will become the mantra for product design. No company will enter a product development process without using these criteria,” said William McDonough, eco-evangelist, designer and co-author of the manifesto “Cradle To Cradle.”
More, including brief interview of a TreeHugger, at ::MSNBC
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One Year Ago in TH: Open Houses, Friday the 13th and More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.13.07
One year ago at TreeHugger, it was time for an open house: we had a sneak peek at TreeHugger 2.0; took a closer look at Marmol Radziner's Desert House; opened up the term "green" for some discussion and opened up Sony's Reader, causing us to wonder, "Is the dead tree edition dead?"
We had music on our radar, too; Bono and Oprah launched the Product (RED) iPod nano, we checked out a classic Cuban/British pop mashup to fight climate change, and we had our Ear to the Earth, a festival of sound, music and ecology.
One year ago was also Friday the 13th; we aren't usually a doomsday-predicting, naysaying crowd, but we've been frightened into posting about the end of the world (maybe) more than once; we also found this quasi-morbid, kinda funky, kinda cool chart that predicted the end of human civilization. Thankfully, we made it through the year, to see another Nobel Prize winner. Check out the rest of October 13, 2006 here....
Kisho Kurokawa 1934-2007
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.13.07
Prefab pioneer Kisho Kurokawa built the iconic Capsule Tower in 1972. As a leader if the Metabolists, he advocated "a shift from "machine principle" to "life principle" in his work and architectural designs based on themes including ecology, recycling and intermediate space." (::AP)
Hugely influential among architects in the 70's, metabolists thought cities would become large, flexible, extensible plug-in megastructures. ::(WP) Other well-known built works include Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, described as a bridge between Western rationalism and Eastern asymmetry, and Melbourne Central, a hub of shopping, entertainment and dining behind the train station in Australia's second city. His plans for a New City in Kazakhstan include "human-made forest and rainwater recycling to create a "sustainable city of the 21st century."
Kisho Kurokawa, dead at 73.
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Growing Significance Of Green As A Branding Characteristic
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.13.07
We're going to need our readers' help to understand these world-wide survey results. What's up with China and Spain for example?
More than half of global consumers (53 percent/representing 1.1 billion people) prefer to purchase products and services from a company with a strong environmental reputation, according to a new global survey. The global survey, sponsored by TANDBERG and conducted by Ipsos MORI, interviewed 16,823 consumers in 15 countries in order to examine consumer and worker environmental attitudes and behavior. The TANDBERG study surveyed respondents in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States. In addition, the survey revealed that not only is a company's environmental reputation a clear preference for its customers, but also for its employees. In fact, eight in ten workers surveyed globally said they would prefer to work for an environmentally ethical organization....
Domino Bazaar: Two Days Left!
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.12.07
Domino's second annual shopping bazaar is greener than you might think—as soon as you're ushered through the entrance, you're handed a large organic-cotton shopping tote with "Made in the USA" proudly emblazoned across its side-seam label. (No paper versus plastic conundrums at the checkout line, thanks.)
While not quite shopping for days, the sizable assemblage of popular designers and merchants will reel thrifty shoppers in with discounts of up to 40 percent off list prices, along with one-on-one design consultations, seminars, and complimentary cocktails—not half-bad for an entry fee of $20, which includes a one-year Domino subscription and an unspecified donation to the Aids Community Research Initiative of America.
Flor is well-represented, as are Method, InModern, ducduc (although it lost points for encasing its conventional-cotton sheets in vinyl), Ink & Wit, and even Chris Jordan, who has one of his pieces hanging in the Art Gallery.
We also discovered a few new-to-us names on the sustainable front, ranging from light green to dead-on crunchy. ...
TH Forums Highlights: Green Living, Biodegradable Packaging + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.12.07
We've got a fever, and the only prescription is more 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) When it comes to reconciling the demands of life with the demands of the green life, Forums user dfdphdcandidate acknowledges that it ain't always as easy as maybe it should be. "So here is my dilemma; I, like most of you, have several major constraints on my ability to be green. I have economic restraints (I am a POOR grad student), lifestyle constraints (my partner is a grad student at another university 1500 miles away, so we fly), and I imagine many of you have work-related constraints, like having to commute. At the same time, like most of you, I have major ecological, social, and health concerns and try to be as green as I can." There's a fine balance in there, somewhere... |
 | 2) Biodegradable generally means good, right? So asks user aberwulf, who wonders if "the simple fact that something is biodegradable mean it's safe for the planet?" We know it's not quite that simple, but it turns out that the answer is a pretty quick one: composting; this leads to more discussion on the finer points of breaking down organic waste. Master composters, this thread is for you! |
 | 3) Lastly, Forums user tangmonkey wants to know if it's better to fly or drive long distances when it comes to carbon emissions and general eco-footprint. There's lots of math, lots of variables and lots of considerations here; it all adds up to a lot of room for interpretation and discussion. Doing neither is probably "most green," but we have to be realistic. Or do we? |
Not Another Greenpeace Ship
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 10.12.07
The Nature of the New world
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 10.12.07
We recently entered a new century, but we are also entering a new world, one where the collisions between our demands and the earth’s capacity to satisfy them are becoming daily events. It may be another crop-withering heat wave, another village abandoned because of invading sand dunes, or another aquifer pumped dry.
As I write in Chapter 1 of Plan B 2.0, if we do not act quickly to reverse the trends, these seemingly isolated events will occur more and more frequently, accumulating and combining to determine our future.
Resources that accumulated over eons of geological time are being consumed in a single human lifespan. We are crossing natural thresholds that we cannot see and violating deadlines that we do not recognize. These deadlines, determined by nature, are not politically negotiable. ...
A Picture is Worth...Take This Shoe And...
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.12.07
Nike may not be the perfect green company, but at least they're promoting leaving the car at home.
::I Believe in Advertising via ::NotCot.org...
PET Bottles: Upcycled Watter Bottles at designboom
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.12.07
We all know that bottled water is a blight on the planet, but despite our best efforts to curtain its use, it remains the fastest growing beverage industry in the world; 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water every year, and sales of bottled water have increased by 500 percent over the last decade. That's a lot of damn plastic.
designboom has dug up a handful of innovative ways to not just recycle these bottles, but to upcycle them into something more useful than just a single-use water bottle. "Watering Can", pictured above, is a slick adapter to turn just about any PET (no, not that pet) plastic bottle into a plant watering can; hit the jump to see a couple more slick implementations. ::designboom via ::Apartment Therapy: Green...
All Al All the Time: For Whom the Nobel Tolls
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Gore Jr walking with his senator father, Al Gore, from the Capitol Building with his mother Pauline and sister Nancy, from the Guardian
Another great writer, David Roberts at Grist, on why Gore should not run for president:
If he entered the race, Gore would run headlong into the same dim-bulb, theatrics-obsessed political press that did him so much harm in the 2000 race. He'd also run into Hillary Clinton's political machine. He would own the climate change issue, so other candidates would have to start attacking him on it and distancing themselves from it. He'd be forced to spend his time discussing one piece of frenzied ephemera after another, instead of focusing on his animating passion. He'd end up in a bruising, demeaning battle, and winning some peace prize wouldn't shield him. The process of electing a president, like so many things in the U.S. today, has become small and petty. It shrinks, cheapens, simplifies, and plasticizes those who take part in it, as Gore has already learned.
Read more at ::Grist
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All Al All the Time: Scientific American On Why They Gave It To Him
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
TreeHugger Radio: Ecological Debt Day Arrives, Wal-Mart’s Summit, and Green Power in Sim Land
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.12.07
This week, Al Gore and the IPCC pick up the prize, the UK gives a green light to the world’s largest offshore windfarm, Google goes transit, and SimCity builds in green power. Our own Sami Grover reports back from Wal-Mart headquarters, while Sam’s Club offers up an electric Smart Car. Plus, The Global Footprint Network calculates Ecological Debt Day, and director Mathis Wackernagel explains what it all means. Listen to TreeHugger Radio on iTunes or listen/right click to download. ::TreeHugger Radio ...
All Al All the Time: Alex Steffen Sums It Up
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Young Al Gore, from a great photo essay of his life at the Guardian
I know, it is a lot of posts, but it is an important event. Someday I hope to be able to write as well as Alex Steffen at Worldchanging, who explains why it is so important:
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill, speaking of the turning point battle of El Alamein,1942
Al Gore and the IPCC winning the Nobel Peace Prize symbolizes more than just a head-nod towards some eco-fad -- it shows that sustainability has finally moved from the outskirts of activism to the most central halls of authority. Concern for the planetary future is now as credible as it is possible to get. The beginning of the struggle to save ourselves from ecological catastrophe has come to an end and we can begin to see the outlines of the next stage of the struggle. ...
HYmini Wind-Powered Gadget Charger
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.12.07
We've seen lots of solar chargers before, and though sunshine on our shoulders makes us happy, it can't always be counted on to shine when we need it. Enter HYmini, an honest-to-goodness wind-powered charger for the list of small consumer electronics that have become familiar to alternative-energy-charging enthusiasts: iPods and mp3 players, cell phones, PDAs and digital cameras. It's due in stores at the end of the month.
Strap it to your bike handlebars, hold it when you go for a jog, or stick it out the window in the car(pool) when you're driving down the road, and you may never have to plug your gadgets into the wall again. If that weren't enough, you can further extend its ability to harvest renewable energy with some optional solar panels. More details below the fold. ::HYmini via ::Core77...
Green Fest DC: Interview With Producer, Greg Roberts
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 10.12.07
As Lloyd mentioned last Friday, TreeHugger shared the limelight with Planet Green at Green Festival DC. We manned the booth, encouraging visitors to sign up for the chance to win a citizen profile right here on TreeHugger. We asked: What are your guilty or guiltless green pleasures? One candid fellow admitted a not-so-green addiction to Diet Mountain Dew while one proud lawnophile declared love for his Neuton electric mower. (Stay tuned over the coming weeks to find out which 5 Green Fest-ers make the cut!)
When not checking out some of our favorite, drool worthy vendors (the local, vegan, sweet potato pie was killer!), we chatted up Green Fest’s producer, Greg Roberts:...
Video: Al Gore Nobel Speech
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.12.07
LED Lighting Fixtures: LEDs Coming of Age
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.12.07
TreeHugger has been waiting and waiting for LEDs to replace common lightbulbs in normal fixtures, and we've found a few, but widespread adoption and use has been a bit spotty. However, things like salmon sperm continue to help improve the technology, and the super-efficient bulbs are becoming more widely available, even in previously hard-to-find configuration like recessed can lighting.
Today's case in point: a restaurant in Massachusetts, who replaced their incandescent lighting (picture above) that consumed 5,135 Watts (65 W per bulb) with LEDs (pic below the fold) that consume 948 Watts (12W per bulb), courtesy of LED Lighting Fixture, Inc.’s LR6 6-inch recessed can fixture that screws right in to the socket. As noted over at Green Talk, they aren't a solve-all silver bullet; the bulbs don't work with all dimmers and fixtures just yet (here's a list of compatible fixtures) and are pretty spendy up front at $85. The bucks nearly stop there, though....
US Steel Joins BP In Polluting Lake Michigan
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
US Steel, Gary Indiana
The questionably named Indiana Department of Environmental Management, which should be still smarting from its BP Whiting Refinery scandal (TreeHugger here and here) is handing out permits to pollute again, this time to US Steel's mill in Gary, Indiana. According to the Chicago Tribune, Indiana is moving to scrap, relax or omit limits on toxic chemicals and heavy metals dumped into a Lake Michigan tributary.
Specifically, U.S. Steel reports discharging oil and grease, lead, arsenic, benzene, fluoride and nitrates from waste-water pipes at the mill, yet the draft permit fails to limit emissions of these pollutants at all discharge points....
Al Gore Nobel Update
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Treehugger broke the the story at 5AM this morning and it is off the front page, so here is an update on the winning of the Nobel Prize by Al Gore and the IPCC:
-Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, says ""I hope this will enhance further a sense of urgency." ::Reuters
-The right wing smear machine at Fox swung into action, writing off the prize with "“Here’s something extraordinary, “What do Al Gore, Yasser Arafat, and that crazy Jimmy Carter have in common? “They all won the Nobel Peace Prize?” Insulting more people and nations in one sentence than we thought possible. Expect much more of this. ::Think Progress
-Pressure increases for a presidential run. "We believe that under these circumstances he has no choice but to take the one step left to have the greatest impact in changing policy on global warming - run for president," "He is needed now, not in the future" ::National Post
-George Bush's spokesman was more gracious than their Fox poodles. "The president learned about it this morning," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto, who is traveling with Bush in Florida. "Of course he's happy for Vice President Gore and happy for the international panel on climate change scientists who also shared the peace prize." "Obviously, it's an important recognition and we're sure the vice president is thrilled." ::Reuters
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Ask TreeHugger: Does An Organic Diet Matter?
by Helen Suh MacIntosh, Cambridge, MA, USA on 10.12.07
Question: I only buy organic foods for my family, even though it is more expensive. I’ve always assumed that this reduces my family’s exposure to pesticides, but recently read in the news that this isn’t true. Does it?
Response: Yes, with qualifications.
Organic foods are essentially free of pesticides, while nearly every type of conventional fruit and vegetable has at least one type of pesticide applied to it sometime from when the seeds are put into the ground to when they are sold. Logically then, eating organic foods rather than conventional foods will reduce your family’s exposure to pesticides. ...
Cameron Sinclair on Wired
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Jean Claude has nuthin' on our own action hero and author of "Design Like You Give a Damn". Cameron Sinclair is usually flying all over the world to give lectures and run competitions; somehow Wired's Adam Rogers got him to sit down for an interview to discuss the Open Architecture Network, "a system to allow architects and designers and innovators to share solutions amongst each other, and also to allow communities to find solutions to implement, based on systemic issues and post-disaster reconstruction," says Sinclair. "The sole purpose is based on social good, and not financial good"
Sinclair also discusses how the increasing access to technology is opening the doors to design. "Anyone has the tools to basically become an architect."
Wired: "That must be great for the certified architects." ::Wired and ::Planetizen...
Survey: Slow is the New Fast, Episode 3: Cities
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Quoting our post on slow cites: "While the United States is a more fast-paced society, there are a number of examples that you can point to that indicate an openness for the idea of slowness. The number of farmers markets have increased dramatically and the options to buy organic food are bountiful. Urban design has become more concerned about placemaking and human interactions. Green building designs, sustainable urban development, growth management, and other measures to contribute to a greener environment are becoming more commonplace. Local entrepreneurship has become a key driver of urban economies and adds diversity to our main streets."
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CYCLE 2007 - More than Cycling in Montreal
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 10.12.07
We’ve told you about the new LCA Chair at Montreal’s École Polytechnique Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG) that was announced in May. Now this October 22-23 they are hosting CYCLE 2007 in downtown Montreal.
This is the 3rd Canadian Forum on the Life Cycle Management of Products and Services with speakers from Natural Resources Canada, the US EPA, Ghent University, DTU (Danish Technical University), European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, President of the Athena Institute, Wayne Trusty, President of Sylvatica, Greg Norris and Guido Sonneman from the UNEP Sustainable Consumption and Production branch.
This is just the beginning of a long list of life cycle experts that will be sharing their international views on methodological aspects of LCA, its role within SMEs (small and medium-size enterprises) and large companies, and case studies from Canada and the world. They will also be focusing on the inclusion of social impacts into LCA thanks to the UNEP/SETAC working group on the same topic. Social impacts are always difficult to objectively measure and include into life cycle assessment and are a pretty hot topic. The goal of the conference is to bring together all sustainable development stakeholders from industry, governments, academia, and NGOs. ...
Recipe of the Week: Cheese and Pepper Bread
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Regular readers of this recipe column will remember a few weeks back when I wrote about creating a cookbook for my daughter Emma, who had just got her own apartment out of town. That required spending a lot of time going through my cookbook collection. There are a lot of memories attached to many of these recipes and looking through them is akin to going through the family photo album. This bread recipe is one that I have made many times for family, for parties, and for the wedding dinner of my husband's best man. Emma was pretty excited when she called to say she was going to make this bread by herself for the first time today. So in a gesture of solidarity I thought I would share this wonderful recipe with TreeHugger readers. I might even bake one myself.
I find this recipe changes with the cheese that you use. The older, sharper cheddar will give you more flavour. The texture and moisture of the bread changes as well so you might want to experiment a bit. It also makes great toast....
Elektroon: Scooter/Bike That's the Best of Both Worlds
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.12.07
TreeHugger loves us some electric bikes, and we have a thing for scooters as well; two-wheeled transportation is just so much more efficient than the four-wheeled variety, and adding an electric boost makes it easier and quicker than getting around by bicycle alone.
Taking the best of both electric bikes and scooters, French company Citydoo has created a slick extra-electric bike, or pedal-assisted scooter called the Elektroon. It relies on your pedal power to get it rolling, but once it does, it'll do 40 mph and has a range of about 80 miles. When the battery is tapped out, plug it in to a standard wall outlet, and six hours later, it's fully charged and ready to roll.
Looks like it's only available in France for now, with a price tag of €790; hit the jump for another pic. ::Citydoo via ::Cool Hunting...
Popular Lipstick Brands Have Been Found to Contain Lead
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.12.07
Photo credit: Blingdom of God
Here’s yet another reason to look for organic and all natural beauty products, particularly when applying them to our smackers. A test by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that 61% of the 33 lipsticks that they tested contained lead.
Additionally, one third of the lipsticks tested contained an amount of lead that exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s standard establishment. Of the brands that were tested, the more popular ones that contained lead included Cover Girl, L'Oreal and Christian Dior. ...
ATVs: Destroying the Climate and Environment for Fun
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
another "poker run"
It was a strange meeting of different worlds. Two weeks ago 127 ATVs from a club in the next county tore up our roads on a “poker run” fundraiser for a local volunteer fire department. This isn't legal in our municipality and was incredibly loud and disruptive, so we called the police. Since the local police chief didn't want to arrest the local fire chief, they sent an articulate representative to apologize, sort of.
Because he didn't have much to apologize for, just the use of a short stretch of Muskoka municipal road that he thought was still in his county. The law in Ontario says that Crown land is open for any use; the government, which is owned by snowmobile inventor Bombardier and sublet to the various parties in power, promotes snowmobiling and ATVing as recreation and tourism lifelines for otherwise dying communities, and lots of people up here like their motorized recreation. Politicians don't mess with them if they want to get elected; it is only us summer city types who hug trees, they chop them up here. ...
Opening Today in Theaters: King Corn
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.12.07
World's First 100% Biodiesel Jet Flight
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.12.07
Any long time readers of TreeHugger will no doubt be aware that there are significant concerns about the rising emissions from the aviation industry. We’ve even seen calls from some for cigarette-style warnings on advertising for flights and foreign holidays (as well as other carbon intensive products and services). However, we have also seen some early signs of the potential for greener flying, including Auckland Airport landing Jumbos in idle to save fuel, and claims by EasyJet that they can build a plane with 50% lower emissions (claims that were met with scepticism by our very own John Laumer). There has also been a considerable amount of work going into biofuels for planes, whether it’s Virgin’s mysterious non-ethanol fuel, or CFM International’s tests of 30% vegetable oil methyl ester, and 70% Jet-A1 fuel. Until now, however, there had been no reports of anyone flying a jet plane using 100% biofuel. We repeat, until now…
According to Green Flight International, an organization set up specifically to explore fuel options for greener flying, and Biodiesel Solutions, the producers of a farm- and community-scale biodiesel conversion module. the two organizations have just completed a test flight using 100% biodiesel:
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Wyland Heads Cross Country, Says Kids Can Save Oceans
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.12.07
Well known for his building-sized whale murals around the globe, Wyland’s Clean Water Challenge is hitting the road from now through October 31st as he’s helping kids create mini-murals of their own in cities across the U.S. As part of the tour he’ll be making stops at schools, zoos, and aquariums to show kids how they can help conserve water and protect the oceans through actions they take in their everyday lives.
He believes that art can change the way people, and especially kids, view the ocean. As he points out, “Art can play a role in the 21st century for conservation of clean water and healthy oceans… There are things we can do everyday to protect water and conserve it.”
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Downloading Designs: Paper Critters
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Toys are such a great introduction to the idea of downloadable designs; we knew one could find a lot of them online, but Josh Spear points out Paper Critters, an entire colony inhabited by 4946 contributions from people all over the world. Not only that, they provide software tools to draw your own paper critter, make it part of the colony and print it out.
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New Zealand Declares 10-Year Moratorium On Coal Fired Electrity Add-Ons
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.12.07
You want "Big Ideas" for mitigating climate change? New Zealand has one. A 10-year moratorium on building new coal plants to make electricity.
A coal moratorium similar to the one New Zealand has proposed is exactly what the US needs. It's such a simple idea, no Think Tank spin papers are needed - thank you very much. Those "green" industries who'd lobby against a proposed coal plant moratorium would have an acid test for their green ethical standards. Money that doesn't go into coal can go into more eco-efficient means of electricity generation. The list of benefits goes on.
You know those 200 temporary and 30 permanent jobs the proposed coal-plant announcement press releases always talk about? You can get those from geothermal plants like the one pictured (in California), or from natural gas fired plants, or from solar or nuclear thermal plants, for that matter.
Just take coal off the table for a decade and watch how fast the US can catch up to Europe's and Japan's relatively more clean economies, as marked by lower energy intensity [BTU's needed to create a unit of gross domestic product (GDP)]....
Just How Bad Was this Summer's Arctic Melting?
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.12.07
That bad. More about the report's executive summary after the jump....
Is Biodiesel an Appropriate Technology for Farmers?
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.12.07
iCAST (International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology) is a not-for-profit organization based in Colorado. They work with local partners to develop sustainable solutions to the infrastructure and economic development needs of underserved rural communities. Projects are designed to encourage self-sufficiency based on the development, application and commercialisation of appropriate technologies. iCAST also provides opportunities for university students to learn how academic studies and concepts such as sustainable development can be practically applied to the real-life problems facing disadvantaged communities.
One of these projects has been one focussing on biodiesel as an alternative fuel for farm tractors, to help increase farmers’ profitability, reduces pollution, further energy independence and enhance community development. iCAST looked at the feasibility of biodiesel production from oilseeds such as sunflower, mustard, canola, camelina, and soybeans. They found that economic viability was highly dependant on the external price for vegetable oil, of petro-diesel, and access to markets for meal (the by-product). More results after fold.
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Rwanda's Coffee Bike Project
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 10.12.07
Rwanda's small coffee farmers have a dilemma. In order to get the coffee cherry from the farm to the processing plant or washing station, growers must rent trucks to transport the cherries while they're still fresh. Animal transport is out of the question because of a shortage of feed. Hundreds of farmers are thus forced to carry cherries from their fields two to four kilometers to the collection points by hand; meanwhile the flavor and value of the cherries goes down the longer they go unwashed.
The Coffee Bike Project, and initiative of Project Rwanda, aims to provide 2,000 special hauling long bikes for coffee farmers to haul their crop to the washing stations and collection points. Not only is the bike a cheaper and more environmentally sound choice, but the growers can earn more money when the cherries arrive earlier. This project is a joint effort between with Texas A & M University and their Rwanda management team and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funded the actual cost of the bikes.
This program is under development and will involve a “hand up” not a “handout” through a micro financing mechanism which subsidizes the cost of the bike but requires repayment of a percentage of the bike cost over a period of time at low interest rates....
Green Cheese from Fifth town
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Long a quiet backwater populated by descendants of Loyalists running from the American revolution, Ontario's Prince Edward County has become the trendy green hot spot. Next up is the Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company, where founder Petra Cooper is building "an environmentally and socially responsible enterprise positioned as a niche producer of fine hand made cheeses using fresh, locally produced goat and sheep milk." Architect Francis Lapointe has designed a carbon neutral production and retail facility that is aiming for LEED platinum....
More Concept Cars than You Can Shake a Stick at
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.12.07
You concept car aficionados out there have probably already spent the better part of this week feasting your eyes on some of the Japanese models that will be appearing at this year's Tokyo Motor Show - which goes from October 26 to November 11. Fortunately for those of us too lazy to seek out pictures of all those nifty cars, the good people at Pink Tentacle have compiled a truly impressive list of some of the more fantastic designs - including the Toyota RiN (seen above), Mazda Taiki and Nissan Pivo 2.
The RiN's exterior design supposedly draws on a Japanese old-growth tree, known as the "yakusugi," and will come fitted with a special "mood training" steering control system able to monitor the driver's psychological state. No word yet on its fuel efficiency - though it's heavily being touted for its eco-friendly quotient. ...
Book Review: Stupid to the Last Drop
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
Peter Gorrie of the Star reviews William Marsden's new book and notes:
Like jet skis, the oil sands mines are a classic example of a harmful technology that should never have been created but was, simply because it could be, and because it would make a few people fabulously rich.
As Marsden describes it, the industry is so damaging and irrational that you'd think someone would slam the brakes.
Instead, projects are rubber-stamped and supported with generous tax breaks and lax oversight. Through the stories of families sickened or financially devastated by polluted water or air, Marsden describes how the government and regulators ignore victims and trample opponents.
In fact, he says, the oil sands, combined with Alberta's growing mania for extracting natural gas from coal seams by injecting toxic chemicals into the ground – thereby poisoning some of the dwindling supply of drinking water – threaten to create a parched, deforested, polluted wasteland. "At the end of the day you will have a pot of gold with no place to live." ::The Star
Read TreeHugger earlier: Oil-at what price? , A North American overview, Andrew Nikiforuk on Canada's Highway to Hell and Joe Romm on the tar sands — Canada’s version of liquid coal...
Ethical Shopping Carts Track Calories, Food Miles
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
My dad once had a talking Chrysler that would say "a door is ajar" or "fuel is low". When asked why he would buy a car that nags him, he replied "it makes me feel at home." Some may feel that way about the new shopping cart being floated by Electronic Data Systems Corp; it has a bar code scanner and screen that will give information about calories, nutrition, ethical sourcing and food miles, and keep a running total for you.
"Shoppers want bar-code readers on their trolleys [shopping carts] to calculate the nutritional content and tell them when they have blown their calorific budget," said EDS' Sion Roberts, director of consumer industries and retail. ::Scificom and ::computerworld...
Truth About Toyota: Another Party Heard From
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.12.07
We have posted about it, surveyed you about it, our guest posters at the Union of Concerned Scientists want you to write Toyota about it, and now nine leading environmental and science groups have banded together to launch www.truthabouttoyota.com to get the message out- you can't call yourself green if you lobby against fuel economy.
"Being seen as a green automaker has been great for Toyota's sales. The company changed the game by putting hybrid technology on the road. If Toyota expects to keep that image, they should stop lobbying against the strongest fuel economy improvement in over 30 years," said Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Poor Toyota USA President Hayakawa is going to need a couple of Tundras to carry all the email he is getting in protest; Truth about Toyota wants you to send one ::here.
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AMD Open Architecture Asia Challenge: Nyaya Health, Nepal
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10.12.07
Three projects, three sites, three continents and one very big design challenge. We have already introduced you to the first two selected Community Partners, Kallari in Ecuador and SIDAREC in Kenya. To meet the third partner we must travel to rural Nepal where the Nyaya Health organisation has been set up to provide community-based healthcare in one the poorest areas of Asia.
Nyaya Health works in the districts of Achham and Doti and focuses on providing maternal and child health services to poor patients, which equates to free health services for an area of 440,000 people. The project they have submitted to the AMD Challenge is a proposal to construct a tele-medicine center which will enable families in this remote rural area of Nepal, where there is only one doctor for a population of 250 000, to access healthcare from top physicians and medical professionals all over the world. ...
Al Gore And IPCC Panel Win The Nobel Prize
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.12.07
This just noted from the Financial Times:-
Al Gore, former US vice president, and the UN climate panel won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for raising awareness of the risks of climate change. The Norwegian Nobel Committee chose Gore and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to share the $1.5m prize from a field of 181 candidates. The choice of Mr Gore will give rise to concerns - for US conservatives at least - about the perceived politicisation of the prize, previously awarded to Jimmy Carter and Mohamed El Baradei. It raises questions about the broadening of the prize’s criteria beyond the traditional understanding of peacemaking....
Quote of the Day: Amory Lovins on a Green Pentagon
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.12.07
Photo credit: Judy Hill/Rocky Mountain Institute
In Washington, D.C., a surprisingly strong voice in 2007 for getting off oil will be the world’s biggest buyer both of oil and of renewable energy—the Pentagon. This is not just because oiligarchs tend not to be freedom-loving democrats and sometimes foment instability and conflict.
Rather, the risk and cost of vulnerable fuel convoys, easy prey to roadside bombs, will persuade military leaders that only super-efficient platforms dragging dramatically slimmer fuel logistics tails, or none, can fight persistent, dispersed, affordable wars. ...
Meet People and Make Stuff
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.12.07
Here's a winning combo: meet some new like-minded people and make something cool out of recycled or vintage materials. The Make Lounge offers craft workshops catering to a contemporary crowd. Given the frantic pace that we all live, its a nice breathing space and lets you reconnect with those crafty skills that you used to have, or would like to have. The courses are not the usual grind of endless weeks, instead, in one evening or a weekend, you can learn to crotchet a flower for your coat or dress, knit a scarf or fingerless gloves (a peculiarly English thing) or make a hot water bottle cover (another English favourite) from old sweaters and finish it off with embroidery.
For the men: a chance to meet a lot of interesting women and, oh yes, make a decoupage platter, of bamboo, using vintage magazine cuttings, comics, sheet music, maps to cover it. There are also jewellery-making courses and soap and body care products from natural substances. You could walk away from the evening with a new hobby, new friends and a new/recycled gift for you or a pal. Not bad for a night's work, and a lot more productive than some days at the office. :: The Make Lounge...
Indoor Air Quality: Causes Of, Testing, and Monitoring Indoor Air Pollution
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.11.07
Pollution from power plants, cars, and other transportation is a well-known contributor to outdoor air pollution, but our indoor air quality is often worse; it can be up to 10 times worse for you than the air outside. Microbial pollutants like mold, pet dander and plant pollen can combine with chemicals like radon and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to create a pretty toxic environment in your home; since we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors and 65% of our time inside our homes, according to the National Safety Council, that can add up to allergies, asthma and worse.
Everything that comes in to our homes has the potential to be harmful to our health; this includes things from the building materials and elements that hold our homes together to the furniture we sit on and the paint that goes on the walls. Indoor air pollution can be bad, but it doesn't have to be....
TreeHugger Picks: Ban the Bag
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.11.07
Plastic bags make a big, persistent mess when they get left where they don't belong or get trashed in a landfill. Thankfully, we're learning to stay away from them (and designing greener alternatives); here are some of TreeHugger's picks for those leading the way by banning plastic bags.
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 | 1) Though it took a few years, San Francisco successfully banned the bag in large markets and pharmacies in March of this year, making it the first municipality in the United States to do so. The move should keep 180 million bags, give or take, from entering the waste stream each year. |
| 2) All IKEA stores in the US also made a move to ban the bag by charging customers a nickel per bag to haul their Swedish fish and affordable housewares out of the store. IKEA projected that the number of plastic bags used by their US customers will be reduced by at least 50% from 70 million to 35 million in the first year. The move may have influenced a similar plan to ban bags in all retail outlets in Annapolis, Maryland. |
 | 3) Modbury, in Devon (in the UK) became the first town in Europe to stop using plastic carrier bags. Interestingly, the move wasn't prompted by government action, but was the result of a hard fought and won campaign started by local activist Rebecca Hosking, who started by single-handedly approaching and convincing store owners to stop using plastic. Action in Australia and India, beneath the fold... |
Amory Lovins, Prophet of Radical Energy Efficiency
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.11.07
If You Could Design Anything to Improve the Way We Live, What Would it Be?
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.11.07
Tasked with answering the question "If you could design anything to improve the way we live – what would it be?", 12 illustrators came up with design concepts that'll make our world a better place. Some are artful, whimsical and fun; some are hopeful; some humanitarian, but they're all pretty neat.
Here's the idea: "Our world is in a state of constant flux. Whether it's transformations in climate, technology or attitudes our lives are transforming more rapidly than ever before." Designer James Goggin, founder the UK graphic design firm Practise, came up with the above pic; hit the jump to see a few more examples and check 'em all out at Flickr. ::If You Could via ::swissmiss...
Reincarnate Used, Dead Pens
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.11.07
ReadyMade asked its readers to submit ideas on how to reanimate the dried-up corpses of juiced-out, presumably unrefillable pens. Although the winners of the magazine's MacGyver Challenge did not prove that the pen is mightier than the sword, they did demonstrate that it could at least hold its own against a butter knife, by fitting pen barrels to old silverware.
Runners-up include bud vases, a plastic jump rope, a pretty nifty recycled garden sprinkler, a tool shelf with pen-barrel pegs, plant stakes, and a trompe l’oeil pencil cup. ::ReadyMade
Difficulty level: Moderate...
Quote of the Day: Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston on Mining Green for Gold
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.11.07
The "gold" that smart companies mine from being green includes higher revenues, lower operational costs, and even lower lending rates from banks that see reduced risk in companies with carefully constructed environmental management systems. They also reap soft benefits, from a more innovative culture to enhanced "intangible" value, credibility, and brand trust.
Scholars and pundits have noted that businesses now face a world where traditional elements of competitive advantage, such as access to cheaper raw materials and lower cost of capital, have been commoditized and whittled away. On this altered playing field, going green offers a vital new path to innovation and to creating enduring value and competitive advantage. Nike executive Phil Berry puts it simply: "We have two maxims. Number 1: It is our nature to innovate. Number 2: Do the right thing. But everything we do around sustainability is really about number one—it's all about innovation."
—Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston in Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage (2006, Yale University Press)...
Between A Ship And A Hard Place: Hazardous Shipbreaking In Alang, India
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10.11.07
My first encounter with India’s shipbreaking industry was through Torontonian Edward Burtynsky’s remarkable photography exhibit, Manufactured Landscapes (now also in documentary format), last year in Brooklyn, in an unforgettable, imposing image of a towering, gargantuan hull – one that was to be broken down by hand – a poignant juxtapositioning of man versus the machine.
Alang, India, is the place where for the past year environmentalists have been protesting for the health of shipbreakers there, with the breaking of the 46,000 ton, 16-storey tall Norwegian cruise liner Blue Lady. Greenpeace states that the shipyard does not have the technology to safely dismantle the ship, which they estimated could contain 900 tons of toxic waste like asbestos.
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Downloading Designs: How NASA Uses This Technology
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.11.07
On August 8, 2007, 58 seconds after the space shuttle lifted off, falling foam struck the heat tiles near the right main landing gear door. Not interested in having a repeat of the Columbia disaster, NASA had sent up a laser camera system from Neptec, which was mounted on the end of the Canadarm, and was able to take detailed 3D imagery of the damaged area.
Back on earth, engineers could look on a screen at the images, but to really get a feel for the scale of the damage, they sent the data to a Cimetrix 3D printer and printed out a full size, three dimensional reproduction of the damage, shown above. They determined that the damage was not catastrophic and the shuttle landed safely.
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Two Powerful Electric Bikes By OHM
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 10.11.07
Straight out of British Columbia comes a couple of new electric bikes by OHM Cycles. The highlights of these bikes include 38V lithium-ion batteries, regenerative braking and powerful BionX motors. The company offers two styles of electric bike: one built for the urban rider, and one suited to rugged terrain. The OHM Urban has an comfortable, upright riding position. It also features fenders, dual suspension, disc brakes, a chain guard, a rack, and 12V halogen headlights and tailights. ...
Wallpaper's Farm Project: Let's Go Local
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.11.07
We got a sneak peek at Wallpaper* magazine's Farm Project feature a few months back; they were planning to dedicate an entire issue to the notion of urban farming, and some examples have made their way to the website. In typical Wallpaper* fashion, it's a highly-stylized, sleek, modern take, but they've managed to incorporate Ute the dark chocolate-loving pig with notions of self sufficiency, local production and maximizing usable space.
It's not the most ultra-green display we've ever seen, but anytime you see "from farm to pan in less than an hour" spouted from the glossy pages of a design mag, you know we're on to something here. Follow the links to watch videos and slideshows of the entire project. ::The Farm Project, ::The Farm Project Interiors, ::The Farm Project Fashion...
It's a Chair; It's a Table; It's Another Table: It's Tona
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.11.07
The good people at Yanko Design say "multipurpose furniture really is the trend of 2007," and we have to agree. Whether its a chair into a suitcase, chairs into a table, or a chair into a different chair, we can't seem to get enough of the multiple function/one piece combination. Today's example is the Tona Chair from Argentinian designer Diego Gonzalez King. Through some clever design, he's created a singular piece that can be a chair or one of two tables with a quick, 90 degree rotation. Similar in concept to the Series X furniture, designer King uses a keen understanding of shape to create a piece that's modern, versatile and supremely functional; check out another pic of the piece "in action" below the fold. ::Diego Gonzalez King via ::Yanko Design...
Giant Lite: A Great Electric Bike
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 10.11.07
The Giant Light is a durable electric bike that has garnered a good track record since it was introduced in 2002. Most electric bikes are on the heavy side, but this bike weighs only 48 pounds total, including the battery pack. Tucked behind the seat is a quick-release NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) battery pack, which powers a motor built by Panasonic. Interestingly, the motor automatically responds to the amount of pressure you put on the pedals....
Beau Soleil Eco-Dresses by Anne Salvatore Epstein
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.11.07
It seems that many couples become inspired to start living more eco-consciously once they are expecting. And it seems once they start doing research on their everyday goods, they want to take it a step further and inspire others to do the same.
Such is the story of Anne Salvatore Epstein, a clothing designer from New York City who we've briefly mentioned before. When Epstein discovered she was pregnant, she and her husband morphed their "overly excessive" New York City lifestyle into one that is "simple, modern and organic." ...
Wal-Mart's Sustainability Summit: Greenwash it was Not
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.11.07
Apologies for the lack of images of the event itself, cameras were not permitted in the conference hall.
When we solicited our reader's views on the Wal-Mart Live Better Sustainability Summit yesterday, and on the company’s eco-efforts in general, the majority of responses could best be described as cautiously positive. A few detractors did question whether a chain the size of Wal-Mart can ever be truly green, but others pointed out that it is Wal-Mart’s sheer size that makes it such a potential driver for sustainability across the business world. There was no clearer indication of this possibility than wandering the isles of the summit yesterday.
Representatives of suppliers to Wal-Mart mingled with company associates perusing information on efficient manufacturing, renewable energy, organics, certified forestry, and change management for sustainability. They asked questions on how they could green their packaging, how they in turn can influence their own suppliers, and what can they do to cut their carbon footprint. It really was palpable that these companies are taking sustainability very, very seriously now that Wal-Mart is doing the same. We spotted CEOs, VPs and other senior executives of major corporations including BBC International. Sony, 3M, SC Johnson and others. This was a major event, with serious green content way beyond PR fluff.
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Tell Toyota to Walk the Walk on Fuel Economy
by Union of Concerned Scientists on 10.11.07
The Union of Concerned Scientists and a number of other groups have been blasting Toyota for failing to endorse a strong boost to U.S. fuel economy standards. Instead, the company, which invests heavily in marketing itself as green, backs a loophole-ridden bill that would deliver significantly less cuts to global warming pollution.
Treehugger has already coveredTom Friedman’s column on this subject in the New York Times.
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Survey: Slow is the New Fast, Episode 2: Cars
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.11.07
We have previously asked whether speed limits should be lowered; Now we want to know, do you respect and follow the ones we have? Fuel consumption increases dramatically with the increased air resistance at higher speeds, but driving slowly has other benefits. You get to travel more interesting routes and learn more about your country; as we noted in an earlier post, perhaps we need a slow car movement.
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Design Improves Life With Diabetes (INDEX: Award)
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 10.11.07
“Diabetes currently affects 230 million people worldwide. For these people, blood glucose monitoring and insulin therapy are a significant part of life.” (Via Omnipod)
Some designers have analysed this important daily task of diabetic people and drastically improved their lives by designing several tools to help live a better life. The next four examples have all been nominees of the INDEX: Award contest this year in the category BODY. (more examples and photos after the jump)
Diabet-Cool, designed by Nicolas Nicolaou, is a solar-powered device that keeps insulin cool without the use of electricity. It has been especially designed for diabetics who live or travel through places without electricity but who depend on insulin products. This well-designed object fits up to 5 insulin pens, is effortless to handle and does not require strong sunlight. Instead a handle allows it to be attached to a wall or the back of a rucksack and to be easily adjusted to face the sun. Read more about Diabet-Cool here....
Slow Cities Spreading Fast
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.11.07
Pleasure instead of haste: Pedestrians take it easy in the "Slow City" of Castiglione del Lago on Lake Trasimeno. Around 1.1 million tourists visit the city annually.
You have heard of slow food; get ready for slow cities. It is an outgrowth of the slow food movement and like it, started in Italy. According to Der Spiegel, "Slow City" advocates argue that small cities should preserve their traditional structures by observing strict rules: cars should be banned from city centers; people should eat only local products and use sustainable energy. In these cities, there's not much point in looking for a supermarket chain or McDonald's.
There are now 42 slow cities in Italy, and more and more cities -- in Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Poland and Norway -- conform to the movement's list of strict requirements. ::Spiegel...
Ignorance, Thy Name is James Inhofe
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.11.07
Global Warming for Gamers: BP and EA Team Up to Bring Climate Education to SimCity
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.11.07
Hoping to reach that ever growing gamer segment of the population, Electronic Arts and BP Alternative Energy have combined forces to inject environmental issues - most notably global warming - into the next iteration of the video game company's popular SimCity franchise, SimCity Societies. Yes, the game - which will hit North American and European store shelves in mid-November - will "highlight the impact of electricity generation on carbon dioxide emissions and climate change by providing low-carbon electricity options and carbon emissions monitoring" within the interface.
Opting to adopt a more eco-friendly approach towards managing your cities will be up to you, however. The game's creators didn't want to shove sustainability or a "green" ethos down the players' throats; instead, they hope that allowing them to see the positives and negatives of their decisions for themselves will help shape their management style....
Summerhouse by Ullmayer Sylvester Architects
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.11.07
Sometimes if you need a bit more room you don't need to move or do a big addition; perhaps a garden shed will fill the bill. Ullmayer Sylvester Architects designed this summerhouse as a "seasonal hideaway for a hackney-based family of four. they all needed more and safe play space as the children are growing older. the new space should serve as a painter's studio, garden shed, table tennis venue and sleep-over place. developing the somewhat neglected rear of their garden became and alternative to moving away into a larger property."...
Recycled Nylon, and Patagonia's Examined Life
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.11.07
We had intended to post a little story about recycled nylon finally becoming available as a clothing line, but then something else caught our eye. (Patagonia have begun offering pants made with 36% post-industrial recycled nylon 6 - it’s off spec yarn that use to be a waste product, but now by recycling Toray’s Recyclon, saves 15% of the energy normally expended in creating virgin nylon. Nylon has not been readily recycled before, partly because collection streams are rare, especially compared to polyester.)
But what really grabbed out attention was Patagonia’s new Footprint Chronicles. It’s a mini-site that details some of the environmental pros and cons of selected product lines, currently showcasing a cotton polo shirt, leather shoe, fleece vest, waterproof jacket and wool top. They track a product from its fibre source through to arrival at their distribution centre in the US. And the results are eye-opening. For instance, the energy used to get a simple wool crew neck from off a sheep's back in New Zealand to Reno, Nevada, via a 16,20 mile (26,200 km) trip though Malaysia, Japan and Los Angeles uses enough energy to power a typical American house for 16 days. All the while generating about 20% more waste, and 500 times more CO2 emissions, than the end weight of the shirt....
Canada's First National Environmental Youth Awards Recognize Kids Who Are Helping the Environment
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.11.07
Now I’m not so sure if I should be depressed or excited, because it seems a little late in the game for Canada to be having their first national environmental youth awards and it’s the maker of a detergent who’s really running the competition. But I guess it’s better late than never, and respected environmental groups like the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the World Wildlife Fund Canada have agreed to act as judges.
Essentially, kids between the ages of 6 and 12 are asked to submit a letter outlining their contributions to helping protect the planet. The winners in three different age groups (6-7 years, 8-9 years and 10-12 years) will receive the title of ultimate Eco-Action Kid and, according to the press release, “join a community of young people investing their time and energy to protect the earth,” which sounds a lot like “and a handshake” to me…
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City Bikes: Revolution or Redux? Who Cares!
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.11.07
Wired magazine reported that last month’s Interbike 2007 in Las Vegas was dripping in new offerings for the burgeoning ‘City Bike’ category. “Fancy road and mountain bikes are clearly no longer king of the roost -- or road. It's the scads of fixed-gear, town, single-speed and other urban bicycles that are drawing the crowds.” Observing that clothing manufacturers have more messenger bags on show and their jerseys and shorts are more urban with less multi-colored lycra. [Hooray!] Wired notes that Specialized have 34 urban bikes in their catalog for 2008 (like the Centrum above), while quoting Monica Howe, of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition as saying "What's really happened in the past year is a cultural shift."
However there is a bit of a subnote to this piece, which also makes mention of Swobo and Bicycle Kitchen, to found in the comments section. Something we find here at TH. Readers are scratching the head saying, and we paraphrase, “$700 USD for a bike I can ride round around town? Without gears? Whoa Bro.” Others are asking, “Huh, isn’t this what bikes used to be like, before everyone had to have a mountain bike?” Or “Can’t I pick up a second hand bike from $30 to $200 that will do all this?” So yeh, it might be a cultural shift for one generation, and a return to roots for another. But let’s not worry about it. Rather rejoice. The bottom line is interest in biking is growing, not just for recreation, but also for commuting and general transport. [That calls for another Hooray!]. See after the fold for a few more city bike stories. ::Wired.
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Echoing Green: Source of Seed Money to Bright Ideas Everywhere
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.11.07
Every year, Echoing Green awards two-year fellowships to emerging social innovators who are busy creating new organizations, providing them with the seed money and technical support that enables them to green light innovative ideas turning dreams into reality. And with the deadline of December 3rd for 2008’s round of funding not too far away, it seems to me they just might be worth considering as a resource if you’ve got a positive, unique idea you’re trying to turn into action that can make a difference in the world.
If the truth be told it’s a multi-tiered selection process. And they’re looking for unproven but innovative, intelligent and talented people of all nationalities, heading into a variety of fields across the globe.
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Waste Management Plans To Green Its Operations
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.11.07
Everyone consumes. And, sure as we make waste, somebody's got to pick up what solids get left at the curbside. How to "green up" the rest of the life cycle? Waste Management, Inc. is announcing plans to increase the amount of trash that it captures for recycling, to up the fuel efficiency of its fleet, to produce more energy from waste, and to convert more land into conservation or 'green space' status. TreeHugger's Jasmin will be talking with Waste Management's CEO, David Steiner, about these plans. Highlights of the announcement follow.
"Waste Management, North America’s largest provider of waste and environmental services, today announced an environmental initiative to increase the value of the company’s services to its customers while benefiting the environment." The plans include:
Make more energy from waste. Today, Waste Management creates enough energy for the equivalent of 1 million homes each year. By 2020 it expects to double that output, producing enough energy for the equivalent of more than 2 million homes....
The Toyota i-Real: Concept Vehicle For Whom?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.11.07
Per the Wall Street journal, Toyota has one of the "...eco-friendly concept cars to go on display at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, running from Oct. 26 to Nov. 11...The concept cars, though years away from the market, show how Japan's top auto makers are stretching their research and development to create models for the so-called green-car market that aren't just good for the environment but also make drivers feel good."
"Toyota Motor Corp...will unveil a one-seat electric vehicle called the i-REAL. Shaped like a sleek stroller with two wheels in front and one at the back, it can run on both sidewalks and streets and can move at higher speeds when the seat reclines."
ZER Customs reports that the design:- "Ensures safe handling—both to the driver and those around the vehicle—by employing perimeter monitoring sensors to detect when a collision with a person or object is imminent and alerts the driver by emitting a noise and vibrating; at the same time, alerts people around it of its movements through the pleasant use of light and sound."...
TH Blog Love - Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10.11.07
Grist: It Can Be Done by Tom Philpott
"Imagine a place where residents pull together to create a thriving store and restaurant serving fresh, local food. Imagine a place where the money appears, the dreams become real, the produce and pastured meat taste like home."
Inhabitat: Stuart Haygarth’s Recycled Lighting Design by Ariana
"Stuart Haygarth’s talent lies in re-imagining waste into striking lighting design. As a London based designer, his work falls into an increasingly present design movement that is part salvage, part make-do-and-mend, and 100% stunning."...
Lazy Disks: Another "Good Enough" IT Solution
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 10.11.07
Practicality abounds in IT shops these days; first, we had the realization that 99.9 uptime was good enough for most business applications, preventing us from overspending on hardware. Now several vendors have taken this thinking into the data storage arena, and it's reducing costs and energy consumption dramatically. That's good, because power consumption for data storage will exceed that of all other equipment by next year.
The technology is called MAID (massive array of inactive disks), a rather oxymoronic name. But the technology is sound; it's based on the simple idea that the majority of data doesn't need to be accessed immediately. For example, data that experiences high activity (e.g. real time stock quotes) would require high performance storage, but data that does not experience high activity (e.g. the 1997 corporate report) can reside on lower performance and more power efficient storage. MAID takes advantage of this and turns disks off that are not in use, then powers them back on when an application needs access to dormant data. Think of it as a giant spare closet filled with stuff that you only use occasionally like winter clothes, suitcases, unicycle, etc.
Savings are big - coupled with removing duplicate data (the typical organization may have between 10 and 30 copies of the same data) , a MAID can reduce data storage energy consumption by as much as 50 percent. That's good news for data centers, most of which are already at capacity, and increasingly legislated.:: Greener Computing :: Green Data Project...
Parisians Love their Vélos
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.11.07
We've read about the bicycles around Paris that you can pick up, ride and drop off elsewhere, and now we have seen them. And we are here to report that the concept works and the Parisians are using it like crazy. Called Vélib', you register to get a "credit" card with a pin number which you load up with money. The pin number is punched into the kiosks located at the bike stand and then you are free to ride away. Literally--the first half hour is free, then it's is one euro per half hour. This encourages quick rides from point to point. On the kiosk is a map showing where the neighbouring stands are located.
Since it is Paris, absolutely no one wore a helmet--they just aren't chic. But the mix of young and old using the bikes was a pleasure to see. Since it is Paris, there are wide boulevards which leave lots of room for joint bike and taxi lanes, making riding feel safer and easier. But the growth in bicycles means that the taxi lanes are now being taken over by bicycles which could become a problem.
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Biomimicry: Nacre Inspires Transparent Strong As Steel Plastic
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 10.11.07
Nacre, or Mother of pearl is the iridescent lining you see on the inside of an oyster, mussel, or abalone shell. It is also the same material that creates pearls. The play of light we find so appealing is a result of the little beasties engineering the shell down to the molecular level.
To create a shell that is tough and lightweight (sometimes 3000 times tougher than its component parts), the abalone layers an organic material and a non-organic material into a nano-structure design resembling brick and mortar.
We have seen before how the abalone inspired super tough materials. Now engineering professor Nicholas Kotov and his team from the University of Michigan have created a process similar to our bivalve friends that allows the creation of materials one nano-layer at a time, with impressive results....
Push-Button House: Now a Cafe, Coming to New York City
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.10.07
Longtime readers might remember Adam Kalkin's Push-Button House, the shipping container prefab that magically transforms from enclosed container to living space at the push of a button. We weren't sure we'd ever see it again (it was but a concept at the time) but it's popped up again; Italy-based illycaffè has decided to install one as a temporary cafe in New York City's Columbus Circle between November 28 and December 29 of this year.
Recall that, with the push of a button, the house opens in about 90 seconds like a flower and transforms from a compact container into a fully furnished and functional space with a kitchen, dining room, bathroom, bedroom, living room and library. A temporary cafe seems to be the perfect implementation for such an idea -- when it's closing time, just hit the button -- but we haven't figured out how customers will use the bathroom. Hit the jump for more pics. ::The Cool Hunter via ::Gizmodo...
The Powabyke Electric Commuter Bike
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 10.10.07
The Powabyke Commuter is an electric bike designed with commuters in mind. It sells for around $1700 in the U.S., which about what you can expect to pay for a quality electric bike. I had the opportunity of trying this bike, while visiting the Green Festival in Washington DC. The Powabyke's acceleration was quite smooth, and the motor certainly seemed powerful enough to get you up those hills. The bike has two modes: "power assist" mode where you assist with the pedals, and "power only" mode, where the bike runs solely on the electric motor. The range of the bike in "power assist" mode is 34 miles, and 20 miles in "power only" mode.
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TH Forums Highlights: Energy Conservation, GE Rice in Beer + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.10.07
At TreeHugger Forums, the green handwriting is on the wall. Hit it...
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 stevejust wants to talk energy conservation after looking "at my bill from the last two months (los angles dept. of water power does a two month billing cycle) and I was floored to see that my average usage was 7 kwH per day. This might not sound like a lot to some -- especially when it covers two hot months of some air conditioning usage-- but I was almost literally never at home during those two months." Changing light bulbs to compact fluorescents is already on this list; who else has hot tips? |
 | 2) User praqueen takes note of this dandy bit of news: "Greenpeace exposed yesterday that Budweiser is using genetic engineered rice in their beer. Yes, Genetic engineered rice! Not just rice, but GE RICE!" What the Bud? According to one commenter on the thread, rice doesn't have much place in beer -- something that's pretty easy to agree with -- but it's more widespread than we'd all like to think. Can GE crops be stopped? |
 | 3) Lastly, user keoni wants to talk home heating by burning wood: "Does anyone know of a list that ranks types of wood with the amount of heat they produce in a wood burning stove/fireplace insert?" While this question hasn't been answered, the bigger question is "How much sense does it make to heat your home with wood in the first place?" Discuss. |
Most Huggable: New Green Prefab, Navy Showers, Vertical Algae, and More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.10.07
Are you Artesian-ing me? The Daily Green translates some bottled water jargon and separates fact from fiction… Inhabitat and ScribeMedia go inside Michelle Kaufman’s mkLotus prefab green home, situated in front of San Francisco city hall… Wonder why the water drop is smiling? It’s cause you’re saving more of his brethren by being more efficient in the bathroom… If the EPA’s decision to allow methyl iodide dusted on your strawberries, here’s your chance to let them know. Personally, we prefer powdered sugar… Vertigro is cultivating algae for sustainable biodiesel: straightup… Most Huggable is a daily roundup of some of Hugg’s top stories. Why not submit your own green news? ...
Evan's Almighty Green Packaging
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.10.07
The movie may suck, but the packaging in Canada is of biblical importance: Unversal is doing a test of new eco-friendly packaging of Evan Almighty in model-thin cardboard sleeves. Bruce Kirkland notes "That is instead of the usual big, fat, plastic box which dwarfs the small disc inside, creates unnecessary waste and turns into an archaeological dig just to get it open. Except for the shrink-wrap around it and the plastic security tag inside, everything about the new package is eco-friendly, according to Richard Bicknell, vice-president of marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment Canada. That includes the use of soy ink, waterless printing and sourcing of the paper products from green-managed forests.
"This is something we're committed to: environmentally friendly packaging," Bicknell told Sun Media about the made-in-Canada solution.
"This is a Canadian exclusive. This is not happening anywhere else in the world. But, obviously, the Americans are aware and very interested to see how this performs. They're really excited for us and they're rooting for us and they want to get to a place where they can do this, too." ...
Josh Spear Interviews Our Own Federico Slivka
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.10.07
Designing a decent website is tough, particularly if, like TreeHugger, you need to include advertising. How do you make a clean, effective site among the clutter of the dancing lumps of coal and kids licking the walls? How do you keep the readers, the advertisers and the Books to Go: Modular Shelving for Multi-Use Space
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.10.07
A solution for those who move a lot, for people who are really on the go, or for anyone who changes the function of their living space with regularity (with a Murphy bed, let's say), Books to Go is a handy, modular bookshelf by UK designer Rose Cobb. Adding a combination vice/handle and wheels (isn't everything better on wheels?) to a more traditional bookcase adds easy moving functionality to the normally static, dust-collection shelf.
We could see this working well for small apartment dwellers and fans of multi-use living rooms everywhere. Contact the designer for more info on the wheeled wonder. ::Rose Cobb (site under construction) via ::Yanko Design
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Solar Textiles: Coming Soon (We Hope) to Clothing Near You
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.10.07
We think the piezoelectric backpack is a pretty cool concept for generating your own electricity just by walking around, not to mention various other solar bags, but a new development stands to revolutionize the way that we interact with solar power in our everyday lives: solar textiles. We've seen solar integrated into clothing before, like with this jean jacket, but that was a group of photovoltaic cells surrounded by denim; the difference with this new textile (the "Power Textile," according to the image above) is that the whole fabric sucks up the sun's rays and converts it to energy.
Though real-world usage is probably two years away, the development represents a pretty significant step forward; pretty soon, there really won't be anything that can't be covered in solar fabric to help harvest energy. While panels won't be going out of style anytime soon for residential and larger arrays, the flexibility of the textile allows for a huge variety of applications beyond just solar bikinis. They've even gotten the capacitors small enough to work with the textile, allowing the energy to be stored if you don't have anything that needs power while the sun shines on you....
TreeHugger at Explore Design
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.10.07
TreeHugger always says that design is the key to sustainability, so we were honoured when asked to sponsor "Design for the Greater Good" at Explore Design, North America’s First Design Education Fair for Youth. Booths from schools offering design disciplines including video/game design, furniture design, architecture, industrial design, textile design, fashion design, interior design, and graphic design were mobbed with high school kids playing with computers, watching fabbers in the Umbra booth, and taking in presentations. Up first on the TreeHugger slate was Architect/ professor/ artist Philip Beesley....
TreeHugger Welcomes Jesse Fox
by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel on 10.10.07
Deodorant And Umbrella Sales Up, Rain Coats Down
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.10.07
This report on the link between climate and changes in the earth's surface "specific humidity" should be self-explanatory.
The amount of moisture in the air near the surface - the stuff that makes hot weather unbearable - increased 2.2 percent in just under three decades. And computer models show that the only explanation is man-made global warming, according to a study published in Thursday's journal Nature. "This humidity change is an important contribution to heat stress in humans as a result of global warming," said Nathan Gillett of the University of East Anglia in Britain, a co-author of the study....
Green & Save's ROI Table: Green Home Upgrades That'll Save You Cash
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.10.07
For even the most Quote of the Day: Paul Hawken on the Environmental Movement
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.10.07
My hopefulness about the resilience of human nature is matched by the gravity of our environmental and social condition. If we squander all our attention on what is wrong, we will miss the prize: In the chaos engulfing the world, a hopeful future resides because the past is disintegrating before us. If that is difficult to believe, take a winter off and calculate what it requires to create a single springtime. It's not too late for the world's largest institutions and corporations to join in saving he planet, but cooperation must be on the planet's terms.
The "Help Wanted" signs are everywhere. All people and institutions, including commerce, governments, schools, churches, and cities, need to learn from life and reimagine the world from the bottom up, based on first principles of justice and ecology. Ecological restoration is extraordinarily simple: You remove whatever prevents the systems from healing itself. Social restoration is no different. We have the heart, knowledge, money, and sense to optimize our social and ecological fabric. ...
They've Got Wood: Woodfinder Online Lumber Search
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.10.07
Got wood? With a handy resource like Woodfinder, you do. The online database helps you find "sources of lumber, veneer, plywood or laminates -- or local sawmills and sawmill services," and in addition to searching for retail, wholesale or distribution yards near you, you can also narrow it down to sustainable sources like reclaimed, salvaged, submerged and even FSC-certified.
One of the knocks on sourcing sustainable wood is that it can be dang hard to find; with something like Woodfinder, there's no reason you can't find some solid sustainable woods for your next DIY weekend, and you can even find a local mill to help you cut it up, if need be. Maybe now you can make you're very own Urban Hardwoods or Urban Tree Salvage knockoff that's been appearing in your dreams, or find the perfectly-patina-ed collection for your new kitchen floor. ::Woodfinder via ::materialicious...
Utilities Can Protect America’s Wildlife
by Environmental Law Institute on 10.10.07
Power companies, sewage treatment plants, and water providers can protect large amounts of wildlife habitat in cooperation with state governments, says a recent study by the nonpartisan Environmental Law Institute (ELI).
Every U.S. state and territory recently completed a “state wildlife action plan (SWAP)” identifying conservation needs for its species of concern, including threatened and endangered wildlife and other more common wildlife species. Many of the actions in the plans can be implemented by public and private electricity, water, and sewer utilities.
ELI announces the release of “State Wildlife Action Plans and Utilities: New Conservation Opportunities for America’s Wildlife,” a report by ELI staffers Austin Kane and Jim McElfish that identifies specific opportunities for SWAPs to inform utilities’ operations and management activities. “The plans include a wealth of information on habitats and species and outline conservation actions that will help utilities better protect wildlife,” says Kane. Specifically, utilities will be able to take advantage of the best available wildlife information in every state and territory to design better management practices, develop effective conservation programs, minimize adverse impacts, and enhance wildlife habitat. Hear broadcast of the announcement here, via:: The Environment Report. Details are presented below....
Kids Living Near Dump in Nairobi Have Serious Lead Issues
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.10.07
A recent study released by the UN shows that at least half of the 328 children tested while living near Dandora, one of Africa’s largest dumps, currently have levels of lead in their bodies exceeding international limits. And that’s not to mention the fact that it’s also polluting the nearby city of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital in the process. Of course, you might not get the chance to read that as front page news too often, as the very real problem of lead in toys has taken on a life of it’s own in American media, almost to the exclusion of dealing with the problem it poses to children and adults across the globe.
Though that reality probably wouldn’t have surprised legendary economist and thinker Adam Smith one bit, as he once observed of the general sentiments of humanity, “If he was to lose his little finger tomorrow, he would not sleep tonight; but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the ruin of a hundred millions…”
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Green Halloween: Ghoulish CFLs
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.10.07
Energy inefficiency may spook your party guests, but you can still cast a frightful glow with orange and black mini compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). A pack of two 13W bulbs, with one of each color, costs around $9. ::Builders' Square
Or, as one of our readers eruditely points out, you can just throw an orange shade over your existing bulb.
Check out more of our Green 'Ween tips here.
[Via ::ThisNext]...
Recycle and Reuse: The Young Centre for the Performing Arts
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.10.07
They used to make whiskey here; in the 20's they sent a lot of it south across Lake Ontario to slake American thirsts. Rows of tank houses were filled with casks of aging Gooderham and Worts. Then it was idle for many years, used as film sets for period movies (like Cinderella Man) and then bought, restored, filled with cappuccinos and condos (you can't see the CN tower in the background any more).
Now a couple of the tankhouses and the spaces in between have been converted into the Young Centre for the Performing Arts for Soulpepper Theatre Company and George Brown College; Architect Tom Payne of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg was handed a budget of $ 200 bucks a foot, a number KPMB hasn't worked with since Barton Myers' name was on the shingle. ...
More Rice with Less Water
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.10.07
How often have we heard that we must have genetically modified food if we are to feed the world’s starving poor? About as many times as agibusiness companies have sent out media releases. Though now WWF advises us GMOs do not need to be part of the solution. Research has confirmed that rice can be grown using a method that uses less water and less seed,yet has increased yields.
Known as SRI (System of Rice Intensification) the method has “helped increase yields by over 30% — four to five tonnes per hectare instead of three tonnes per hectare, while using 40% less water than conventional methods.” ...
Survey: Is Slow the New Fast?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.10.07
There are so many things that seem to work better if you go slow. One of them is food,and at this time of year all kinds of people are talking about the slow food movement, where they believe that "everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible.
Our movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy – a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet." ::Slow Food
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Climate Change Causing Near Daily Alteration of Entire Landscapes
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.10.07
While most of us have yet to sense the extent of global warming's immediate and more long-term effects on the planet's physical geography, others - mostly in the northern regions of the world - have not been so fortunate. The record amount of sea ice lost in the Arctic Ocean over the past half-century has caused entire landscapes in Alaska and Canada to change dramatically - sometimes on a daily basis.
"There are trees and lawns in Nome now. I never thought I'd see trees growing on the tundra. Beavers are overrunning the area now that there is food for them. They are even in Barrow, north of the Arctic Circle," said Patricia Cochran, the chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council....
Ocean Motion: California Paddle Points At Pollution
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.10.07
Talk about synchronicity. Just finished the post on human-powered journeys and another pops up. This time we find Tom Jones paddling the length of California. That’s standing on a 14ft paddleboard and and stroking down 1250 miles of coastline over three months. Tom isn’t just doing this because it hasn’t been done before (we wonder why?), but because he has something to say. He wants folk to learn that the United Nations calculate that our oceans are filled with 5.76 million tons of plastic.
Enough, Tom reckons, to cover 2/3rd of California. And if we keep using plastic at the same rate we are today, we'll enough to cover the entire state by 2014. So he is campaigning under the banner of The Campaign for a Plastic-Free Ocean, hoping to change corporate, government and individual behaviour to reduce the pollution and restore the ocean. About half way along his human powered journey, Tom is also only half along on his fund-raising target too. ::California Paddle 2007, via tip from Toby H. ...
Blue Bretzels
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.10.07
That's bretzels, and it is French for pretzels. It is also a new line of ethical tee-shirts from France. What is amazing, and different about them is their use of colour. They have taken colours that are part of legend and mythology and used them for these monochromatic shirts.
Through an extraordinary camera process and dyeing techniques which took 4 years to perfect, they have managed to reproduce the luminous colours of the Mona Lisa's eyes (brown) and the original colour of a rivet from the Eiffel Tower as it was in 1889 and the colour of sand at a beach.
The blue of their name was taken from the first photo by Apollo 17, in 1972, from an altitude of 28.000 miles, over Madagascar, thus the expression "blue planet.” It's very deep while very luminous. Then there is the iconic green of a 2CV Citroen car from the 70's, and the grey of Beluga caviar that is 100 years old. ...
Wal-Mart's Eco-efforts - Mainstream Green or Pipe Dream?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.10.07
Some time ago, Lloyd wrote a post about why it’s getting harder to hate Wal-Mart. His reasons for this were many, including the corporation’s efforts in green roofing, its purchases of green power, its sustainable fish targets, and its purchases of forest lands for conservation.
He did point out, however, that the retail giant is not all sweetness and light – especially regarding the pressure they place on suppliers to cut costs (for more criticisms, check out this Grist post on the Impossibility of a Green Wal-Mart).
Since Lloyd’s post there has also been some speculation about the company backing off their ambitious targets for organic produce, though it should be noted that this speculation was later denied.
While it would be erroneous to call any big-box, pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap retailer sustainable, Wal-Mart have been doing more than many to move towards greener business practices. ...
All Purpose Flips for Entermodal
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Our friends at Entermodal, a company we've featured before, tipped us off about a line of limited-edition flip cases they've just produced for All Purpose, a store in Los Angeles.
Handmade in Portland, Ore. from vegetable-tanned leather, the $140 cases are a sleek, Zen-minimalist take on the business-card case—or even your wallet, if you're not into the habit of carting around loose change. You get your choice of black or white leather, complete with contrast stitching.
Check out the rest of Entermodal's Fall 2007 line at its Web site. ::All Purpose...
The Green Bible. No Really, The Green Bible.
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 10. 9.07
Image - Flickr Logan Cody
Hallelujah! Coming soon to an eco-hotel nightstand near you: a greener Bible. Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson Inc. announced today that it has just come out with the first FSC-certified Bible. With many church leaders taking a stand on environmental issues, we're guessing Thomas Nelson is betting they will put their money where their mouth is. Maybe we will even start to see whole congregations demand sustainably-made Bibles. Tyson Miller of the non-profit Green Press Initiative (which Thomas Nelson INc. is a part of ) chimed in:
Given the Bible’s message of stewardship and the growth of the creation care movement, we hope to see other Bible and religion publishers following Thomas Nelson’s lead through steps to use paper with less impacts on forests, people and the climate.With this Bible at home and a solar-powered talking Bible for the road, you should have the green Bible beat covered. See also: How to Green Your Book (for Authors), How to Green Your Book (for Publishers) ::Via Green Options...
Green Map Icons Open Studio
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Designers, mapmakers, and wayfinders of the world, listen up: Green Map is revamping its award-winning iconography and it wants you to review and comment on the new icons―which already appear in over 325 print and interactive maps, covering 420 cities, villages, and neighborhoods in over 50 countries―as well as submit your own design ideas.
If you happen to be in New York City on October 15, mosey down over to the non-profit's Open Studio to partake of some homemade cookies and cider, while checking out Green Map icons in the making. (Details below the fold.)
Not even on the same coast? You can click over to the Green Map Web site and participate virtually till the end of October. Ain't technology grand? ::Green Map Icons...
Pure Prevention: Breast Cancer and the Environment
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
As part of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, branding and marketing firm BBMG, the Breast Cancer Fund (BCF), and Luna Bar have teamed up to bring you Pure Prevention, a campaign to educate folks about the environmental causes of breast cancer.
In a 2007 online survey of 500 women, ages 18 to 60, BCF and Luna discovered that 75 percent of women were unaware that a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer is 1 in 8, or that only 1 in 10 women who have breast cancer can cite a genetic history of the disease. More uncovered stats: 87 percent of women did not feel they knew how to prevent breast cancer. Plus, 71 percent of women did not realize that a third of personal-care products contain at least one chemical linked to cancer, while only 8 percent knew that PVC is a common substance linked to breast cancer.
To fill the breach, Pure Prevention seeks to expand the "cure-centered" breast-cancer conversation by helping women identify the environmental causes of the disease, so they can make smart choices about the products they use everyday. Click below the fold the campaign's five tips on how to prevent breast cancer. ::Pure Prevention...
Google Transit: Now with Handy Google Maps
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 9.07
The geniuses at Google have upgraded their handy Google Transit bus, train and other public transportation mapping feature -- mentioned here and here on TreeHugger -- and integrated it into its more popular Google Maps. When searching for directions, just click "Take Public Transit" and your route, directions and even cost (with a comparison versus driving) will pop right up. Slick.
Hit the jump to see all the places included in Google Transit's new mashup with Google Maps, including all the way over to Japan. ::Google Transit via ::AutoblogGreen...
Recycle Your CDs, Build a New Seat with Panda Chair
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 9.07
If you're overrun with unwanted blank CDs (AOL, we're looking at you!), perhaps you can take some inspiration from Spanish designer Belen Hermosa and the Panda (??) Chair. Hundreds of blank disks come together to create this shiny, not entirely comfortable-looking chair; you might be better off just recycling them, though it does give new meaning to the words "computer chair." ::BeSpace via ::Gizmodo and ::designboom...
Present&Correct Spells Out ABCs of U.K. Endangered Plants, Animals
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Here's a piece of wall eye candy for our neighbors across the Pond—an alphabet chart of some of the British Isles' most endangered species, from A is for Adder to Z is for Zonate Tooth Fungi, so your toddling kiddies can keep ahead of the zeitgeist, while they learn their letters.
Printed on recycled paper, each poster costs £17.50 (approximately US$36), plus £1.50 shipping and handling. ::Present&Correct
[Via ::Design Sponge]...
Happy Trails: Americans Want Eco-Friendly Travel, But Not If It Costs Too Much
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Photo credit: clappstar
Another day, another spelunking adventure into the recesses of the American mind: While most U.S. adults would be more likely to choose an environmentally responsible airline, rental-car service, or hotel, only 13 percent would be willing to dole out the extra cash, according to a survey by the Travel Industry Association. A sizable 56 percent of respondents said they'd at least consider it, however, with 78 percent considering themselves "environmentally conscious."
If they were pressed, 76 percent of U.S. travelers would pay less than 10 percent more, but the majority of respondents would consider less than 5 percent extra their sweet spot.
“The results of the survey suggest that awareness of a travel service supplier’s efforts to operate in an environmentally responsible manner may be sufficient to attract additional patronage, but not at a significantly higher fare or rate,” according to Suzanne Cook, TIA’s Senior Vice President of Research. “The ‘value assessment’ consumers ascribe to any travel service transaction appears to remain the primary determinant of their actual purchase behavior.” ::Environmental Leader
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E-waste In India: A Growing Industry & Environmental Threat
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10. 9.07
Like China, India is now confronted with the huge problem of e-waste - both locally generated and internationally imported - and also both a lucrative industry and yet also a serious threat to human health and the environment.
While there have been some initiatives to set regulations for e-waste management, overall, these hazardous wastes are still typically dismantled and recycled by hand in India in unorganized scrapyard settings that lack safeguards and government guidelines.
Though the Indian Supreme Court banned the import of hazardous waste in 1997, 600 tons of e-waste still entered the country in the last six months under the guise of charitable or re-usable materials, all duty-free. It is estimated that the US alone exports 80 percent of its e-waste to China, India and Pakistan....
Angela Adams Has Sustainable Textiles in the Bag
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
From left: The Kathy Mini Wallet ($39), the Laptop Bag ($236), the Bodine Clutch Wallet ($92), and the Hannah Handbag ($230)
Hello, gorgeous!: Angela Adam's sustainable textiles are now available in the guise of wallets, laptop bags, and purses.
Made from 100 percent post-industrial recycled polyester, the chic and modern accessories are built to last, if not completely green: We harbor slight misgivings about the likely conventionally tanned leather interiors, as well as the purported stain-resistant finish. With these price tags, we'd like to see at least recycled or vegetable-tanned leather embellishments. ::Velocity Art and Design...
Foodprint: The Surprising Ecological Footprint of a Little Meat
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 10. 9.07
If the thought of eating like a vegetarian to lower your ecological footprint makes your stomach churn, here is some good news. It turns out the diet with the smallest possible Obama Calls for Cap-and-Trade
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Senator Barack Obama proposed on Monday a plan to decrease the United States' dependence on foreign oil―while fighting climate change―by creating an auction system that will require power companies and other polluting industries to pay for their emissions. In a speech in New Hampshire, Obama said that this plan would slash emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
The Democratic presidential candidate from Illinois called for a mandatory national cap on carbon emissions, as well as an investment of $150 billion over 10 years to develop new energy resources, in order to reduce the country's appetite for foreign oil by 35 percent by 2030.
“No business will be allowed to emit any greenhouse gases for free,” Obama said in Portsmouth, N.H, according to The New York Times. “Businesses don’t own the sky, the public does, and if we want them to stop polluting it, we have to put a price on all pollution.” ::The New York Times
[Via ::Environmental Leader]
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Book Review: The Future of Nature
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 9.07
I have been reading two books at once, which is something one shouldn't do, as thoughts about each blend together. One is a dreadful screed by Andrew Keen called “The Cult of the Amateur,” decrying the fact that bloggers are "amateurs without formal training or expertise, offering opinion as fact and innuendo as information", without separating the 13 year old geek “flashing his badge of amateurism” from the likes of Alternet, Worldchanging or I would hope, this site.
Then I have been reading “The Future of Nature,” a collection of essays from Orion Magazine, selected by Barry Lopez and released last week by Milkweed Editions. I thought that perhaps Andrew Keen has a point- there is something truly special about reading articles written well by people who really know their stuff, and that picking the best written over a couple of years is going to yield a better crop than trying to do it every day. That perhaps someone like, for example, Sandra Steingraber, with a PHD in biology and a master's degree in creative writing is going to do a better job of explaining the problems with vinyl than a greenish architect tried here and here, in her stunning and scary essay The Pirate of Illiopolis. ...
Right Brain Terrain: Not Your Corporate Drone's Motivational Poster
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Motivational posters are supposed to, well, motivate, not nauseate. Right Brain Terrain busts your gigantic-font, upper-case aspirations out of the black-bordered box with its line of mod and far-subtler Alternative Motivational Posters.
No cookie-cutter layouts for this Orlando, Fl.-based company: It prints its "positive decorations for our occasionally monotonous lives" on uncoated, Forestry Service Council-certified 100 percent post-consumer paper, using vegetable-based inks. Because there is no "eyesore" in "team." (See what we just did there? There is no "eye" ... never mind.) ::Right Brain Terrain
[Via ::Design Milk]...
Protesters Take Over Power Plant
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 10. 9.07
Protesters have claimed to have taken over a power plant in Kent, UK. The radical move is claimed to be a protest against the approval of new coal plants in the UK. None have been built for 30 years, but coal mining has recently resumed in some areas and plans for new plants are being submitted for approval.
Just after 5am yesterday 50 Greenpeace volunteers entered the Kingsnorth coal power station and chained themselves to machinery, effectively shutting down the plant because new coal cannot be brought in. The plant will continue generating power until the remaining stocks are used....
The Going Green Challenge: An Eco-Contest for Kids
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10. 9.07
Recently, By Kids For Kids (BKFK) announced the “Going Green Challenge” in conjunction with The Weather Channel for Kids.
And while I won’t pretend that I have loads of students who are sucked into watching the weather, the contest is definitely a bright idea that could help change the world in the process. That’s because they’re encouraging kids to engage in “the creation of new products or services that could help the global environmental crisis.”
And we all know there’s plenty of great stuff to work on......
Piezoelectric Backpack Concept: Take a Walk, Charge Your Gadgets
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 9.07
All that rubbing of your backpack straps on your shoulders may now be put to good use, thanks to straps made of piezoelectric fabric that can convert the friction on your shoulders to electric energy. If solar-powered bags aren't your thing, engineers from Michigan Technological University, Arizona State University and NanoSonic Inc. have you covered, having developed a concept backpack that "harvests" the energy created by the friction of a bouncing backpack.
The straps, made from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) -- a strong, flexible material that feels similar to nylon -- generate an electrical charge from applied stress, sort of like when you rub your feet on the carpet and shock your little brother; in this case, though, the energy can be used to keep rechargeable gadgets like iPods and cell phones charged up. ...
Quote of the Day: Michael Schade on PVC and Environmental Justice
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 9.07
Sam Suds and the Case of PVC
The entire life cycle of PVC is an issue of environmental justice and racism. Many PVC plants are located near poor and communities of color. These facilities have poisoned workers and fence-line neighbors, polluted the air, contaminated drinking water supplies, and even wiped entire neighborhoods off the map.
I went on an environmental health delegation to Mossville, La., a few years ago and was absolutely blown away by the amount of industry in such a concentrated area. Air monitoring conducted by the EPA has shown that PVC plants have emitted concentrations of vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen, more than 120 times higher than the ambient air standard—making the air unhealthy to breathe. ...
Sexy Cycling NYC?
by Tamara Giltsoff, United Kingdom on 10. 9.07
On Saturday night I attended The New Yorker Festival: David Byrne Presents How New Yorkers Ride Bikes courtesy of Fuseproject who had invited me along. I love cycling and bicycles: I revel in the freedom of spinning around the city on my bike and I also feel very sexy doing so.
Yes, it’s true, I think cycling is sexy because there’s nothing better looking than a beautiful bike gliding along the road with a beautiful person on it*. And it could be more so. I think a city that puts people first, pedestrians and cyclists, is a healthy, cool, sexy place to live (how many times can I put sexy next to cycling!).
The other night cycling felt very sexy. David Byrne attracted an audience of 1,500 or so – a smart, good looking, young New Yorker crowd who love cycling and can see that this city is actually a brilliant place to do it. (I was expecting a hard core of road racers and cycling geeks).
So I thought it only fair to share some of the take-out from the event. I won’t do it much justice though because it was the combination of content, music, a great audience, and wonderful auditorium that made the night and made me think that this city needs to make its people king, not cars....
Brockton, Massachusetts Adopts Solar Initiatives
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10. 9.07
About a half hour south of Boston is the city of Brockton, Mass. with just under 100,000 residents. Once known as an industrial hub and dependent on manufacturing, the city has recently gone through some tough times with the economy. But here in New England, it is now a leader and a huge education tool.
Last month, the largest solar array of all six states went online in Brockton and by the end of the year it will produce more solar energy than any other city or town in Massachusetts. Built on the site of a former coal gasification plant, the new facility is expected to produce enough electricity to power 71 homes. ...
Stroh House
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 9.07
There is a lot to like about Swiss architect Felix Jerusalem's Stroh House. It is built from prefabricated strawboard panels; the panels are protected from the weather by translucent corrugated plastic, a very thin and inexpensive siding that shows the straw below; the plan is very simple and clean; the detailing is really precise; it floats on piles instead of digging up the entire site; I love that clean interior with the suspended fireplace. The site has more information and videos, all in German. ...
Adventure Ecology Brings The Amazon To London
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10. 9.07
Dustin Lynn + David de Rothschild in Ecuador
We were a long way from the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest last night, but respite from London's urban jungle was found in the opening of Adventure Ecology's Articulate series, where the Amazon was brought to us. The show entitled 'Ecuador Block 16' is an exhibition of creative work that has emerged from the Adventure Ecology mission to Ecuador earlier this year.
The intrepid AE team were brought back together in London for the event: David de Rothschild, founder of Adventure Ecology; Gabriel Orozco, Artist; Dustin Lynn, film maker; Oliver Chanarin + Adam Broomberg, photographers; Maria Fadiman, Ethnobotanist and their jungle guide Zoe Tryon, were all on hand to talk about their work and their adventure together; raising awareness of oil pollution in the Amazon rainforest. You can see several of Adam + Olly's incredible photographs over the fold....
Crime-Ridden Mexico City Neighborhood Goes Green
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 10. 9.07
Despite its location in one of the most crime-ridden zones of Mexico City, the Ampliación Michoacana community is on track to become a prototype for green development in one of the world's largest cities.
The community of 5,900 residents is receiving a cash injection of $2 million (20 million pesos) from Venustiano Carranza borough president Julio César Moreno to build gardens in schools and apartment buildings, install solar panels, and recycle wastes.
"We chose Ampliación Michoacana as a community to foment a culture of respect for the environment because its residents responded more than other communities to the invitation to separate out their trash and because it has seven schools," said Moreno.
Moreno added that he expects that the community as a whole will save about $300,000 (3 million pesos) annually in electricity bills with the help of the solar panels.
::Via Planeta Azul...
Sleeping Beauty: Sofa-Murphy Bed Combination
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 9.07
One of the knocks on folding Murphy beds is that, despite their ability to open up some extra floor space, you have to keep their footprint clear so you have room to fold it down again when it's bed time; this leaves you with a folding bed, but a blank spot on the floor that can only be useful if you move stuff in and out of it every day (and let's be honest -- who wants to move furniture every day?).
Enter this slick sofa/bed combination: when you're asleep, you have a full bed; when you're awake, a sofa takes its place, making the space at the foot of your bed useful for more than collecting dust and hiding empty luggage. Pick one up at ::Design & Comfort via ::Freshome...
Collecting the Door Prize
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 9.07
Photo Peter Redman, National Post
David Hayes is an experienced urban cyclist and glances ahead at side-view mirrors to see if anyone is getting ready to pull out or open the door. It isn't rush hour, it is Saturday in July. He is behind a slow cyclist who blocks his view. "I see this part of the day like a video clip, a series of rapid-fire events in freeze-frames. First, a door opens, knocking the slow-moving cyclist sideways. I jam on my brakes but he's falling right in my path. My front wheel collides with the falling bike and, I'm certain, the edge of the door with a terrible crunch." Two cyclists down and the driver says ""I couldn't see you coming. You came up behind me, came out of nowhere ?" David has injured both his arms, not what one would call major injuries, but he is a freelance writer.
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Abitibi Gets Schools, Churches Fundraising By Recycling Paper
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10. 9.07
Well, they don’t service every community yet, but the Abitibi Paper Retriever is a free, community-based program, with approximately 25,000 collection points in North America and the UK which actually pays schools, churches, non-profits and the like for their paper recycling efforts.
It’s a far cry from the traditional style of fundraising by selling products via catalog or even online and actually encourages organizations to make better use of their paper supply by diverting it from landfills and into the recycling pail. Ultimately winding up at Abitibi-Consolidated’s de-inking facilities and mills where it is used to manufacture 100% recycled content newsprint.
How it works is that Abitibi-Consolidated drops off their yellow and green “Paper Retriever” in highly visible, convenient areas so that people can easily drop off their newspapers, magazines, shopping catalogs and mail. The paper is then weighed by a scale on the collection truck, and a monthly statement detailing the weight of paper collected for that month is accompanied by a check for the amount collected.
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Al Gore Warns of Crises Facing World's Oceans
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 9.07
Image courtesy of Melissa Rosenberg
Speaking at Oceana's 2007 Partners Award gala in Los Angeles last Friday, former Vice President Al Gore warned of the global implications of increased ocean acidification and of the impending melting of the Arctic ice caps. Gore - citing the study recently released by the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado (NSDIC) - said that if the scientists' worst-case projections hold, we could be looking at a complete melting of the Arctic's sea ice within the next decade. Drawing a parallel between revelations several decades ago about the ozone layer's depletion that initially went unheeded and the current situation, Gore lamented the general lack of attention this study had received among mainstream news outlets - jokingly laying the blame on the media's fixation with fluff stories like Britney and Paris' latest travails - since its release in September. ...
ReRip and The Future of Surfing
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 9.07
Got one too many boards in your quiver? Or looking buy a snowboard, surfboard or skateboard and would rather get a green one? ReRip is you place to hang. Preloved boards, along with wetties, boarding jackets, kneepad and associated accoutrements are listed on ReRip. It is an online store for the selling or the buying of snow, water and skate sports gear. Established just this year by Meghan Dambacher (R) and Lisa Randall (L) of California, it provides a second (or longer) life for preloved sports stuff.
While ReRip's aim is Reuse, this month they have teamed with a company more focussed on the Reduce, Homeblown USA make surfboard blanks of biofoam which are 50% organic soybean based. They’ve got together to throw on an event tagged The Future of Surfing. Be one of the first to donate a rideable board and if you’ll get a free Homeblown Biofoam. 20 October 2007. Some of the older donated boards will be painted by artists to increase their value but all will be sold with proceeds going to the non-profit San Diego Center for Children, where Meghan is a counsellor. The Future of Surfing event also promises live music, Surfrider Foundation Kids programs, as well as photography, surf memorabilia, and more will be on hand. ::ReRip...
Lobbying and sustainable development –A question of transparency
by Danielle Carpenter Sprungli, WCSBD on 10. 9.07
Companies that claim to champion sustainable development want the public to believe their claims. Thus they want to be trusted, and to be trusted they need to be transparent about all of their activities.
But how transparent can a company be about its influence peddling in general and its government lobbying in particular?
Many a company has been bitten by the charge that they are lobbying merely for their own interests, and against the interests of the public and the environment and even against the ideals expressed in corporate missions statements and the speeches of CEOs.
Of course, lobbying itself is not evil. Some company lobbyists today proudly describe how they take their annual sustainability reports or corporate responsibility reports into parliaments and senates to encourage lawmakers to put in place policies that support good corporate actions. ...
Innovar 2007 Prototypes: Bidaj, The Ride-Back Bike
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10. 9.07
Following the presentation of a series of inventions that were finalists at the national Innovar contest in Argentina (all which can be seen clicking on the 'Innovar2007' tag at the bottom), this time we present Bidaj, the ride-back bike. This is a bike whose functioning has been modified so that you pedal in the opposite way you always do, but move forward. Its creator calls it ‘the ergonomic bike’ and ensures there are many positive effects in the body with this. “This bicycle puts to work a larger mass of muscle, the posture required to pedal keeps the column straight and alined, makes the gluteus work better, favors the elongation of the muscles from the calf, and avoids knee problems”, says Abel Junqueras, biochemist and the inventor of the bike. If you add an accessory in the back wheel you can use it at home as a steady bike to exercise. Even though a prototype, the bike is easy to make and as you can see, it's not that different from a regular bike. In order to find out more, contact the creator via their website. Also, check the extended for a video that shows how it works, or head to the website, where they have more pics and videos, although in Spanish. Other innovations presented in the contest include a clean foldable bike called RAD we presented yesterday. ::Bidaj bike...
Trail Tales — Bikes Without Cars
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 9.07
Whoops, nearly forgot to point you towards this list of ‘Six Great Long-Distance Bike Trails Without Cars.’ Compiled by Kevin Kelly for his Cool Tools site, it looks at bike trails in North America. He warms up with a 113 mile jaunt along the John Wayne Pioneer Trail in Washington state, before girding his loins to tell us about the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route with its 2,500 miles of undulation that crosses the Continental Divide 27 times between Canada to Mexico. In between Kevin finds bike trails in Nebraska, Missouri, British Columbia and the Appalachians from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, PA.
KK gushes about the joys of such bike travel. And who can blame him? “On these bike roads you can cruise along for weeks without ever encountering a car, or worrying about being bumped off the white line by an oblivious motorist. These are not paved roads, but packed gravel or dirt. Many sport spectacular tunnels and bridges courtesy of the former railways. At the same time these trails pass through small towns affording local eateries and rural lodging, as well as the usual camping spots along the way. Many of these trails did not exist as bike paths even a few years ago. More are being opened every day.”
As we’ve noted before, the Rail to Trails Conservancy is spearheading this revival of bike trails, spreading their enthusiasm to other countries. More power to them. ::Cool Tools. ...
Survey: Are Efficient Cars The Answer?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 9.07
Collin loved the new diesel powered Loremo, which gets 120 miles per gallon using "good old fashioned efficiency." The post sparked a lively discussion in the comments about whether fuel efficiency will lead to a "brighter future" with low carbon commutes, or whether we should live closer to where we work.
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Your Government at Work, Protecting Your Lungs
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 9.07
We noted earlier how the US Department of Agriculture waited 18 days before it got around to recalling 21 million pounds of meat tainted with e Coli bacteria. They can pass the prize for procrastination over to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which knew that Stand 'n Seal grout sealant was absolutely deadly and yet the stuff remained on the shelves at Home Depot for almost a year.
It appears that a supplier to Roanoke, the manufacturer of the sealant, changed a benign ingredient to Flexipel S-22WS, a chemical whose safety data sheet says "should not be used in aerosol form because it could cause respiratory injury." As soon as it went on the market people started getting sick; two have died, and others have seriously injured lungs. ...
Providing Clients A Fifty Percent Return On Conservation Investment: Orion Energy Systems
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 9.07
Here's the tale of Orion, high efficiency lighting provider, and then some.
Orion Energy Systems was founded in 1996, a startup focused on delivering high-efficiency lighting.
According to founder Neal Verfuerth "his first challenge was to counter the all-too-prevalent conventional wisdom about the energy efficiency of fluorescent systems. Typical prospects, having already progressed from incandescents to high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, do not readily accept Verfuerth's claim of energy savings of 50% or more. About five years ago that credibility gap was dramatized as he arrived at a sales call. "As I drove in the parking lot, I met a forklift bearing all my sample fixtures with the driver announcing, ‘There's no meeting today.'" Fortunately, Verfuerth was able to proceed with the demonstration. The result: "Several months later we won the contracts for all the plants, and today their annual energy savings total $2 million." Those savings reflect both reduced power use by the lighting system as well as reduced air conditioning heat loads....
Norwegian LNG Could Satisfy 10% Of US East Coast Natural Gas Demand
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 9.07
Norway, long a nation friendly to the US, is about to become a major source of natural gas for North America. The concerns of Peak Oil and of unfriendly suppliers will be tempered for the US Northeast - just in time for Christmas.
Within weeks, gas will start crossing the ocean in specially designed ships, feeding into the pipeline network for the American East Coast. Before Christmas, furnaces in Brooklyn and stoves in Washington will be burning the gas. It will be the first commercial energy production from waters north of the Arctic Circle.A warm Christmas hearth will, as in previous years, provide comfort to energy-hungry Americans; yet, there is something quite frightening about the unseen nature of growing energy demand, an out-of-sight condition symbolized by the addition of LNG ports to receive ships like this one (pictured).
Despite worldwide concern over global warming and the role of fossil fuels in causing it, United States government specialists project that global oil and gas demand will increase by some 50 percent in the next 25 years.How many people will think about the Norwegian Gas Santa when they buy their "ventless gas fireplace" for the holiday? (Hint to the LNG shippers: paint some little white tufts atop those red LNG spheres.) Via::New York Times, "A Quest for Energy in the Globe’s Remote Places" Image credit:: NYT...
Liberals and College Grads Eat Organic, Says U.S. Poll
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 10. 9.07
According to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive, there's a good chance you are a liberal or a college graduate (or both), if you eat organic food. The survey says college graduates (11%), Liberals (11%), Westerners (10%), Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30; 10%), and Gen Xers (those aged 31-42; 9%) buy organic food regularly. In general, people have positive feelings about organic food, the poll continues. Although only seven percent of all adults polled report buying organic food all the time, 31 percent buy it regularly, and the majority of people surveyed believe it is safer, tastier, better for the environment (79%), and healthier (76%). ...
Wood (Jewellery) is Good
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 9.07
Long, chunky necklaces are all the rage this season, take it from us--we've been to London Fashion Week--and we know. So how handy to discover these necklaces made from a single sheet of birch wood plywood--at the London Design Festival; how's that for crossover trends, great minds thinking alike, etc. etc. The range is made from a repeated series of links which decrease in scale, each one is cut from the space inside the largest one. The goal is to have minimal wastage of materials. The colouring is natural, with burn marks left exposed from the laser cutting. Not only are there these great looking necklaces, but bracelets, key rings, rings and earrings are also made from the same process.
The artist has has also created a series of tea cups that develop more and more of a pattern as they are used. The inside of the cup is treated so as to stain in certain places as a result of the tannin from tea. The more the cup is used, the more the pattern is revealed. The intensity of the pattern depends on the owner's personal tea drinking habits. :: Woodlondon Via :: London Design Festival...
UK Companies Step Up to Support Transparency on Carbon Emissions
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10. 9.07
With climate change hitting the headlines almost daily, pressure is mounting on businesses to take responsibility for their carbon emissions. But before mounting a PR-friendly solar array on your roof (or dispatching some sexy models to a coal mine), one of the first steps that any climate-conscious company should do is quantify, and publish, their emissions. We are delighted to hear then, via the BBC, that more and more UK companies are doing just that in collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP):
“About 70% of the biggest 350 firms agreed to report their direct emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, compared with 49% a year ago. Companies are under increasing pressure from investors to release details about their environmental record. The response rate was better than most countries, including the US, CDP said.”...
Book Review: Designers, Visionaries + Other Stories
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 10. 9.07
“Everybody has a view on sustainable design” said Jonathan Chapman when they launched their book ‘Designers, Visionaries + Other Stories’ at this year’s 100%design show in London. Both Chapman and his partner Nick Gant (founders of the IF:Lab) started the debate of what is 100% sustainable at the show in 2006, and have now published the outcome as “a collection of sustainable design essays”. For them, the term sustainability is all about diversity and manifold answers. “What’s needed is a multitude of views” which is exactly what you’ll find in the book. “The idea is to make its read an experience for the reader so he can build up its personal view to make a positive change” explains Chapman. There’s definitely something in it for everyone, and as Chapman continues: “everybody nods at different parts”. By reading this book, you’ll end up with a more accurate view on sustainability. And that’s not surprising, as leading sustainable design thinkers have each written a chapter for the book.
It starts of with no other than Alastair Fuad-Luke, Re-defining the Purpose of (Sustainable) Design. ...
BrittaWear Take Me Away!
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 8.07
Ever wish that you could keep that “on vacation” feeling once you make it back to home, work and life? Well the new organic robes from BrittaWear let you do just that. Blending a mixture of organic sensibility with southern-California-island-feel, these robes keep you mellow and relaxed whenever you put them on.
Designer Britta Wilson originally fell in love with the feel and comfort of the Japanese summer robe and wanted to bring the same style to the US. The Japanese summer Yukata is a less formal version of a kimono and it’s made from cotton rather than silk. Cotton was the obvious choice because it is a blend of “comfort, ease and fashion. Terry cloth is so bulky and heavy and silk isn’t nice because they kill the silk worms.” Living in San Diego has impacted the designs by WIlson as there is a beach feel to all fashion and this is apparent in the styling of each robe....
Most Huggable: How to Get Google’s Eye, The Genius of Pigeons, Gordon Brown, and More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10. 8.07
Google Grants doles out free advertising to non-profits who can make the cut. Here are some tips for a successful application… Pigeons: flying rats or flying rat geniuses? The true story behind their remarkable contributions to society… Energy-efficient audio components open up a whole new category as Energy Star hits the home stereo market… The BBC’s Stephen Hale reports on how to turn Britain’s Gordon Brown a shade greener… Just in case you’re in college and don’t ride your bike, here’s a few more reasons to saddle up… Hugg is now image activated! Check out all the new functions on Hugg 2.0. Happy happy joy joy! Why not submit your own green news? ...
Montreal Wants Paris Style Bike-Sharing
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 10. 8.07
In a race to become the first major North American city to roll out a "self-serve" bike-sharing program, Montreal might have the upper hand. The city is planning a bike-sharing project that could make stations available by fall of 2008, and could cover the city in 300 stations by fall of 2009. While San Francisco is also considering such a proposal, details have not been finalized. Both Montreal and San Francisco are looking to mimic European systems that have proven very popular in cities such as Paris.
The idea is to encourage Montrealers and tourists to use the public bicycles instead of cars for short, inner-city trips. Users will be able to pick up a bike at one station, use it, then drop it off at any station of their choice.Montreal's plan calls for 2400 bikes in all. While it may not be the 20,000+ bikes expected in Paris' program by the end of this year, it's certainly a start. :: Via Planetizen and Montreal Gazette ...
TH Forums Highlights: Packing Peanuts, Peak Oil + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 8.07
Trying to get through Monday without falling asleep at your desk? Dig in to some of the more interesting threads over 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 charityjunebug has a bone to pick with method: "So I get my package and guess what??? Everything had those horrible styrofoam "peanuts" in the box! I just don't understand why it's necessary to begin with... I ordered mopping supplies and a few bottles of other things. They were already protected in their own packaging." The thread leads to good suggestions for reusing (and avoiding) the dreaded 'nuts and even about whether or not sodium laurel sulfate is okay or not. |
 | 2) User Aitrus would like to remind us all that global warming isn't the only serious problem plaguing the planet; peak oil is still looming as a huge environmental concern, but all is not lost: "Having done significant research on the subject of energy, it appears to me that the most significant untapped resource for energy is 'negawatts' or demand reduction." Nega-wha? Get down with this and other energy policy ideas for minimizing the effects of the dreaded peak. |
 | 3) Lastly, Forums user Sambo is looking to have some cake and eat it, too. Thanks to some copious bookkeeping, he knows that his water use is around 66 gallons a day; that's too much, and a lot of that from the shower. "I like my shower to be very powerful. This unfortunately results in a 40 gallon shower. How can I have both a powerful shower and use less water?" If you know a good, non-trickling low-flow showerhead, then let's hear from you! |
Future Of Water In The US West: A Bleak Projection Of Climate Consequence
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 8.07
As lawmakers in Sacramento consider how to provide an adequate water supply for California in the coming decades, at a little-publicized state water summit this week scientists painted a bleak picture of a Western landscape devoid of forests, snow pack and surface water unless the world quickly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The state is likely to become drier even if emissions are capped because levels of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere will continue to warm the Earth for decades to come, said Norm Miller, University of California, Berkeley, Water Center associate director....
England to Get Slightly Smaller
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 10. 8.07
Part of the UK is going to be flooded in order to make a wildlife reserve, making my little island that little bit smaller. The area was drained 500 years ago by Dutch settlers though, so is simply returning to its natural state.
...
Great Moments in "Green" Advertising: GE's "Sexy Coal Miners" Commercial
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 8.07
MPG Marathon Makes SUV Sip Fuel
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 10. 8.07
One of the results of last week's MPG Marathon was taking a Chevy Captiva SUV filled with seven people, and getting just over 42mpg out of it - 14% better than the official 37mpg. The Marathon was a UK-based two day trip using fuel-saving driving techniques to squeeze every last bit of fuel efficiency goodness out of vehicles. Autoblog Green quotes GM as stating the Marathon results prove, this drive proves "that an SUV can be an environmentally responsible way to travel." Our question to GM: Then what's stopping you from making that happen? Let's take a look at Chevy SUVs available here in the States....
Planet on a Plate Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10. 8.07
This week is Carnival of the Green # 98 and it's being hosted by Planet on a Plate! 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....
Tree Today, Chair Tomorrow
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 8.07
As much a commentary on materials use as a functional design, the "Wood Today" concept chair uses pieces from the same tree to create a simple chair. Rhetorically asking "Can we go back?" (uh, nope), the chair seems to be both an indictment of the way we use natural resources and a warm embrace of embodied energy and the world of possibilities available to designers using a sustainable (when managed correctly) material. Hmm...to be pondered while sitting in a wooden chair. Designer: ::Richard Alex via ::Yanko Design...
Make Time for a Green Cause: Clock Design Competition
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 8.07
Here's another entrant to Green Design Contest Season: Make Time for a Green Cause is a New York City-based green clock design competition and fundraiser for Trees for the Future, a non-profit reforestation organization. The challenge is to conceive and create a clock, incorporating green design elements; entries are being accepted now through November 5 at Spring, in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood. Then, at the design show from November 16 through 18 (with an opening party November 16, from 6 - 9 pm), the clocks will be auctioned off, and half the proceeds will benefit Trees for the Future (the other half goes to the designer). For every dollar raised, ten trees will be planted (and we can always use more trees, right?); the goal of the show is to plant at least 100,000 trees.
For more information, check out the Make Time site, which has details on the competition, related events and other pertinent info (like how the heck you design a green clock). Good luck -- the clock is ticking! ::Make Time for a Green Cause, ::Trees for the Future, ::Spring and ::Thwart Design...
Be A Better Environmental Jew
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 10. 8.07
Is there ancient wisdom in the bible that can help direct us to being better moral people in the face of environmental threats? Some believe there is. Take for example Shaul Judelman who has started a Torah learning center in the heart of Jerusalem that connects people of the book to modern-day environmental thought. We are going to post about Shaul and some of his new projects in the coming months (granted that he agrees) and talk about ways that people can look to ancient wisdom to tackle present-day dilemmas.
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New Threat to Pregnant Women in California, Florida: Methyl Iodide
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10. 8.07
Well actually it’s a threat to pregnant women, their fetus, children, the elderly, farmworkers and everybody else that lives near application sites according to a letter sent to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson by 54 concerned scientists, mostly chemists, including no less than 5 Nobel laureates, urging the EPA to reconsider their recent decision to allow the use of methyl iodide. The truth is that methyl iodide is a neurotoxin and carcinogen that’s caused thyroid tumors, neurological damage and miscarriages in lab animals, while mutating DNA along the way… But groups like the California Strawberry Commission are desperate to replace methyl bromide, another soil fumigant which used to help keep their precious plants free of insects and diseases until it was determined that chemical was damaging the ozone, and subsequently banned.
Of course EPA officials fire back that they’ve carefully evaluated the risks and that’s why they’re approving its use for just one year, with restrictions like buffer zones in place to help protect people in the vicinity. But I’m willing to bet those same administrators are all holed up in places like Washington D.C., far from the fields where the fumigant is actually used. And just as far from the everyday realities of the fact that fumigants themselves are among the most potentially dangerous pesticides in use today, mostly because the toxic gas can evaporate from the soil, exposing farmworkers and wafting into neighborhoods nearby.
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See John Bowe Tomorrow Night in NYC
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 8.07
The World's Newest (and Cheapest) Subway: Beijing's Line 5
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 8.07
These days, given costs and land development, it takes a stretch of the imagination to imagine adding a new subway line to most cities in the world (consider New York's perennial attempt), certainly not while also slicing a third off the cost of a fare. But eying massive gridlock and the effects that has on the city's air, Beijing has done just that. Yesterday the Chinese capital opened Line 5, a 27.6 km north-south subway that runs to the east of the Olympic Village, and connects up with two preexisting underground lines and the city's lone light rail. The city also slashed fares from 3 RMB to 2 (27 cents), about the price of bottled water, in order to boost ridership. The old network, a measly uncomfortable affair mostly constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, can hardly keep pace with a city the size of Beijing -- 17 million inhabitants circumscribed by 6 ring roads. That has meant almost constant gridlock on those roads and heavy pressure on an extensive but overburdened bus system.
But with Line 5, which brings the city's subway rails to a length of 142 km, and reduced fares, citizens and officials alike are hoping for a wholesale transformation of the way Beijing moves. By 2020, the city government envisions having the world's largest subway network.
It would be hard to overstate the excitement over line 5 on opening day. It was clear in the faces of families taking pictures of each other, lit by the gleam of the color-coded stations' shiny walls, and the unusually spiffy looking officials who looked happy to be giving directions. The hordes of straphangers, even on a Sunday night, were a reminder of just how badly the city needs this subway: not just to ease traffic ahead of next year's "green" Olympics, but to become a city of international, and sustainable, proportions.
Video, pictures and more after the jump....
Argentine Innovar 2007 Prototypes: The Urban Bike
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10. 8.07
The exhibition of the finalists and winners of the 2007 Innovar national contest took place in Buenos Aires last week. This competition is open for everyone from designers to entrepreneurs; and intends to discover new products of national origin and partner the creators with companies in order to produce them.
We were very glad to find a few green designs among the finalists, since last year we spotted just two: the nexo car and the BCK solar kitchen. ...
The Power of Human Journeys
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.07
Was about to write up the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, but noticed that Christine had got there beforehand. So will instead make mention of other similar expeditions. One was completed a few years back, stretching over an eight year span, was a human powered (no sail or motor) circuit of the Australian continent known as City2City. This was more 25,000 km that Huw Kingston undertook to link Australian capital cities by the wildest, most remote route. He used only human powered transport - mountain biking, ski touring, walking, sea and river kayaking.
Of the total 543 days, Huw spent 238 days perched on the saddle of his mountain bike, 145 days sitting in a kayak cockpit, 119 days laced into his walking boots and 28 days sliding on his backcountry skis. His longest stretch without a hot shower was 37 days, though that may not be something that most folk would consider much of an achievement. ...
"Serious Potential for Accidents"? No Problem, Says EPA
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 8.07
We know no government agency is impervious to mistakes (or external "pressures"), but this is getting ridiculous: the EPA once again decided to override the concerns of a large body of scientists, including 5 chemistry Nobel laureates, by approving the use of methyl iodide, a highly toxic pesticide, this past Friday. Designed mainly to be used in strawberry fields, methyl iodide is a neurotoxin and potent carcinogen that has been found to cause several debilitating conditions in lab animals, including neurological damage and miscarriages.
Over 50 scientists sent a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson last month, warning that "pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farmworkers and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk." Despite their protests, EPA officials deemed the pesticide safe for use and only imposed some minor restrictions to protect farmworkers and their neighbors. "It is potentially really toxic, and it's certainly very reactive. From what we know about its chemistry, we know this stuff reacts with DNA. It mutates it. So it's prudent to be as careful as you can with it," said UC Berkeley's Robert Bergman, who spearheaded the efforts to prevent its approval....
Adventures of Walking Video by Do The Green Thing
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.07
We’ve had some great videos on TreeHugger over the years that have tackled environmental issues with delicious humour. Some that spring to mind are Robert Newman’s bicycle-powered gig, vampire power and who could forget ‘Can’t tell you too much’ ? Recently wandering through the eco-web-maze we bumped into another creative example of how the moving image and a warped sense of humour can be employed to get a message across. Turns out Leonora had mentioned it in our Blog Love series. A gentle reminder, in case you missed it.
Walking is such a basic part of human life you might wonder how anyone could make it cool. Steve’s vid as screened by Do the The Green Thing does just that. Walking — made way more fun than it sounds. Oh, and apparently no polar bears were harmed in the making of this motion picture, as the director walked to most of his ‘locations.’ You’ll not see road signs in the same light ever again. ::Do the The Green Thing....
UK Sustainable Development Commission Supports Mega-Barrage
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10. 8.07
Back in July last year, we posted on the deep divisions among UK environmentalists over a tidal barrage across the Severn Estuary. On the one hand, many climate change campaigners were pointing out that this could provide between 5 and 10% of the UK’s energy needs through a clean, renewable and predictable source (minus the embodied energy of building such a project of course). On the other hand, conservationists and those concerned with biodiversity were incensed at the potential loss of unique wetlands and wildlife habitat (the Severn Estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world). Now the UK’s Sustainable Development Commission, a government advisory body, come out in support of the scheme, but only with some very strict conditions, including creating new habitat and ensuring public financing. The full report can be read here. Meanwhile, the commission’s chairman Jonathon Porritt, explains in a blog post over at the Guardian why his organization has chosen to wade in [sorry] on the side of constructing the barrage, albeit cautiously:...
Loremo Lives: Super-Efficient Car Prototype Turns Up at Frankfurt Auto Show
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 8.07
TreeHugger sees a lot of slick-looking, future-forward car concepts; they've all got fancy computer-generated images, amazing stats about how fuel-efficient they are, and we drool and fawn all over them, and cross our fingers that we'll see something from them again. A lot of the time, we don't -- the development of the Aptera, now available for order, and the Tesla, are both notable exceptions. We're happy to add the Loremo to this list; first spotted last year, the diminutive, diesel-engined car sips fuel to the tune of 2 liters per 100 km, roughly equivalent to about 120 miles per gallon, turned up live and in living color at the recent Frankfurt Auto Show -- check out the Flickr photostream for more pics of the show, and hit the jump for more info and more pics.
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San Jose Mayor Releases "Green Vision" Roadmap
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 8.07
With the federal government at a virtual standstill over its efforts to enact meaningful climate change legislation, it's been left up to the states and cities to take the initiative in embracing proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions and push for more sustainable, environmentally friendly practices. The latest entrant into the race to claim the "greenest" crown is San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who launched his 10-point "Green Vision" roadmap to much fanfare this past Friday. The roadmap's central plank is the halving of the city's energy use over the next 15 years - no mean feat if successfully accomplished, especially in the face of a continually growing population.
Some of the specific points include:
1. Create 25,000 Clean Tech jobs as the World Center of Clean Tech Innovation.
2. Divert 100 percent of the waste from the landfill and convert waste to energy.
3. Ensure that 100 percent of public fleet vehicles run on alternative fuels....
Quote of the Day: Ben Terrett on Sustainability
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 8.07
If you ask Porsche about their sustainability policy they will proudly tell you that 60% of all Porsches ever made are still on the road today.
Think about that for a bit.
Now you might think that a gas guzzling 4.8 litre car can never be environmentally friendly, but just think about that stat for a bit. What they’re saying is that 60% of the stuff we’ve made is so desirable, so well put together, so well designed, that people are still using them.
Imagine if 60% of other stuff was still in use. I don’t know about you, but I’d be happy if 60% of the iPods I’d owned were still working.
Imagine if 60% of carrier bags were still being used. Imagine if 60% of computers were still in use today. 60% of food packaging was still in use.
Lewis Mumford, the historian said “Why should we so gratuitously assume, as we constantly do, that the mere existence of a mechanism for manifolding or of mass production carries with it an obligation to use it to the fullest capacity?”
Or why do constantly we make as much stuff as we can, rather than as much stuff as we need?"
Ben Terrett is a graphic designer in London; this is from a presentation given October 3. Via PSFK....
Makepiece: Fashion from the Sheep Farm
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 8.07
Makepiece is inspired by its location in the Pennines, the mountainous part of England, an area that has been a wool and textile area for centuries. The designers continue this tradition by keeping their own sheep, (one of the 3 partners doubles as the shepherdess), buying yarn from British farms and spinning it within 20 miles of their studio. The knitwear is knitted locally or in nearby Nottingham, using traditional skills and supporting local communities. The company is working very hard to be sustainable and their ethical policy includes commitments such as: using natural yarns from sustainable farming, using undyed and natural dyed wool, low impact manufacturing, fair employment and working to be carbon neutral.
And what about the clothes? The sweaters are lacey and feminine, in lovely colours such as slate and blue/purple. They have now introduced a line of silk and hemp blouses. They use hemp, rather than cotton, because hemp needs less water to grow and is more prolific. On the skirts, made of hemp and tencel, they use binding that is made of vintage fabrics and the buttons are old, found in markets. Their clothes are named after towns in the area such as Bridestones and Callis (pictured). :: Makepiece Via :: London Fashion Week...
Are You Kidding Us, Safeway?
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 8.07
Organic. Bottled. Water. Because nothing says regular tap water like "antibiotics, growth hormones, synthetic pesticides and genetic modification." Right?
Via ::The Ethicurean: O my god (blog)
See also: ::A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water, ::Pablo Calculates the True Cost of Bottled Water...
First Muscle Powered Circumnavigation Completed
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10. 7.07
Do you ever feel like walking out the front door and not stopping? Seeing the world for yourself, helping people along the way see that the world can be lived at a human-powered speed? On 6 October, Jason Lewis, the first man ever to circumnavigate the globe entirely by muscle power ended his journey of 13 years. He hopes to use Expedition 360 to raise money for humanitarian causes and to draw attention to environmental issues. After centuries of increasing technology, from wind power through nuclear ships and jet planes, will this achievement start a new era of environmentally and socially sound living?...
Earthpack - Greening Your Shopping Experience
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 7.07
The holiday season is almost upon us and that means its time for men and women to test their strength carrying 5, 10, dare we say 20 shopping bags at a time as they rush from store to store to car and back again. Ever wonder, where do all of those bags come from, and more importantly, is there anything environmental about them? Well, I had a chance to sit down with Dave Bock, owner of Earth Pack, the maker of many of the shopping bags you see today. Treehugger mentioned them previously in this packaging QandA. What follows is a fascinating look at the pros and cons of retail packaging and the finding that there are no easy solutions when it comes to retail bags.
Like many small business ideas, this was a fictitious school project that was also an unfulfilled market. Bock grew up as a surfer and was always interested in design, and in the 80’s he noticed that there was a shortage of retail bags at surf shops due to the petroleum shortage. The idea for Earth Pack was then formed and Bock began to design and develop a bag and then rode around via bike power to different surf shops in San Diego offering his bags. ...
We Have Life, Says Venter
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10. 7.07
After causing a minor furore amongst scientific circles over his attempts to claim a patent on "life," Craig Venter, the maverick researcher who helped map the human genome, and his colleagues reached another major milestone earlier this week by becoming the first team to build a "synthetic chromosome" - thus setting the stage for the creation of the first ever artificial organism.
To do so, Venter and a team of 20 scientists headed by Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith used lab-made chemicals to constitute a chromosome 381 genes long - containing over 580,000 base pairs - based on Mycoplasma genitalium's DNA sequence. The resulting life form, dubbed Mycoplasma laboratorium, was then transplanted into a living bacterium and allowed to gain control of its machinery - a step necessary for it to metabolize and begin replication. ...
UK Utility to Install 250 Electric Vehicle Charging Points
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10. 7.07
Only yesterday we brought news of a new report claiming that green car sales will reach £1.2 billion in London alone next year. Fortunately the infrastructure is also being rapidly put in place to facilitate such a boom. EDF Energy, one of the UK’s leading energy companies, announced recently that it will be helping local councils across the UK install 250 electric vehicle charging points free of charge by March 2008, in partnership with charging point manufacturer Elektromotive. So far coucils that have already committed to installing the charging posts include Sheffield Borough Council, Islington Borough Council, Camden Council and Lambeth Council. Peter Thorn, Head of Innovations and Partnerships at EDF described the motivation for the scheme:
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How To Build a Compost Spinner
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 7.07
Food vs Fuel: The Debate Rumbles On
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10. 7.07
We have covered the complex and controversial food for fuel debate many times before, most notably here, here and here. It is a topic that certainly doesn’t look likely to be resolved any time soon, but the more in-depth media focus there is on the real consequences of biofuels [as opposed to gushing coverage of the latest flex-fuel muscle car], the more likely we are to come up with potential solutions. We were pleased then to hear that BBC Radio 4 broadcast a documentary on their Costing the Earth series last week, entitled ‘Food versus Fuel’. Looking at the press materials, it doesn’t look like the program came to any hard-and-fast conclusions, but it does seem to have covered the basics fairly thoroughly.
After discussing recent riots in Mexico over the rising price of corn, and giving voice to aid agencies’ and environmentalists’ concerns about a ‘prefect storm’ of rising oil prices, failing crops, and increased demand for biofuels putting world food supplies at risk, the program goes on to suggest that there may be more to this picture than meets the eye, at least if the UK’s National Farmers’ Union is to be believed, though they of course have their own interests in seeing biofuels succeed:
...
Tin Whiskers Out With The Claws, Bricking Satellites and Pacemakers
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 10. 7.07
There's something sprouting in every electronic device that you own, and it's not in the oh-happy-garden-let's-pick-the-fruit kind of way. In fact, this little something could very well end up bricking your device. They are called tin whiskers, and they pop up without warning from tin solder and finishes deep inside electronics.
While scientists debate their cause, they agree on one thing: small amounts of lead mixed with the tin prevent the whiskers from forming. Lead, however, is a serious health concern, and last year Europeans barred the toxic metal from most electronics. Similar measures are being considered or are already in place in other countries, including Japan, China, South Korea, Argentina, Australia and the United States. Some have likened the situation to a Y2K sort of scenario; since they take years to develop, you might just finishing paying off that HDTV before it goes belly-up.
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Go Green Initiative Sets Sights on Trees for Uganda
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10. 7.07
Well folks, when the Go Green Iniative (GGI) announces they’re after something they really mean it. Not too long ago they pointed out via their newsletter that they’d taken on the challenge of raising $100,000 to help the Child2Youth Foundation in Uganda educate children there about their health and its connection to the environment. Now they’ve lined up a sponsor willing to match every $50 raised by schools from now until October 25th to help get schools in Uganda involved planting trees in that country as part of a program to educate their students about the unsustainable use of trees going on while working to correct the problem at the same time....
No Trash Week: October 7 - October 13
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 7.07
No Trash Week starts today! Celebrate this week-long event by not creating any waste. Sound like a tall order? Eh, kinda, but with tips for dealing with the packaging, plastic and paper you encounter every day, projects to help you prepare -- like composting, buying in bulk and stopping junk mail -- and a forum to help hash out your questions, issues and difficulties with cutting the trash out of your life, you can get a lot closer than you might think.
The Seattle-based organizers of the event do recognize the inherent difficulties with going zero waste -- "The way our society is currently structured makes it very difficult for any individual to produce zero garbage." -- so they recommend setting a tough but reasonable goal and going for it. Leave your ideas and experiences in the forum, and good luck! ::No Trash Week via ::Hugg...
Something Fishy About A Coalition Without Consensus
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10. 7.07
When I had the opportunity to serve as the Dean of Discipline for the 8th grade in my school a couple of years back I once faced the task of investigating a curious letter sent by the local Yu-Gi-Oh! playing card society to my Principal threatening a hunger strike if their confiscated cards were not returned immediately, and they were allowed to play again during lunch.
As absurd as it was to be faced with students pondering a hunger strike over such a seemingly small matter I suspected this would be an entertaining investigation, and I was certainly not disappointed. For as I began to call down the quite studious and card-carrying members of this Yu-Gi-Oh! playing lunch table, it became apparent quite quickly that these were not the sort you’d expect to find in my office. In fact I don’t believe I’d ever heard of any of them before except for the one who'd delivered the letter. And as they entered my office both flustered and confused, each with large piles of books cradled in their arms I sought to find the truth.
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US Presidential Candidate From New Mexico Thirsty For Wisconsin Water
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 7.07
Maybe winning the Wisconsin presidential primary isn't so important for Bill Richardson? Nor might be Minnesota's, Michigan's, or Indiana's? At least that's the impression one might get from an on-record statement from US Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson.
"If elected, Richardson said, he would bring states together to talk about a way for water-rich northern-tier states to help with shortages in the Southwest. He also said he would elevate the Bureau of Reclamation to a Cabinet-level post. The bureau within the U.S. Interior Department manages water resources in the West."...
Quote of the Day: Michael Jessen on Zero Waste
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10. 7.07
Humans are the only species on the planet that don't live by zero waste principles. Zero waste is a 'call to action' that aims to bring an end to the current 'take, make and waste' mentality of human society.
Zero waste is the pinnacle of the hierarchy of waste management. When there is no waste, we will have moved well beyond the 'end-of-the-pipe' (compliance) and even 'front-of-the-pipe' (eco-efficiency) in our approaches to environmental management. Instead, we will have what William McDonough calls a 'no-pipe approach.' Zero waste means swimming upstream to the sources of waste generation, rather than merely reducing the downstream impacts of waste.
Zero waste is a way to create significant employment and economic development opportunities. Reducing, redesigning, revitalizing, reusing, refilling, regenerating, recycling, repairing, reclaiming, refurbishing, restoring, recharging, remanufacturing, reselling, deconstruction, and composting are the constituents of zero waste -- and all generate productive employment....
Two Years Ago In TreeHugger: Things To Come
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 7.07
It was so easy writing for TreeHugger two years ago. Sweaters, clothing, a serious number of handbags, all this stuff was shiny and new and we could fill it with fashion and accessories. LEDs were new as well, and I was able to infuriate our readers with LED cuff links and slippers.
However there were indicators of issues that now dominate the site, squeezing out most of the hemp shirts and bamboo handbags: Questions like Are McMansions going out of Style? And news like Bicycle sales are exploding and Popularity of Public Transportation increasing in the US, and of course, Mike's advice that we Drive the Speed Limit.
But my favourite remains Bob Lutz of GM quoted in the Wall Street Journal about fuel prices: “Rich people don't care.”...
