- 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 14, 2007 - October 20, 2007
Total this week: 213
Carbon Health Warnings on New British Cars
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.20.07
According to the Times, "all advertising for new cars will have to carry cigarette-style “health warnings” about their environmental impact, under a European plan to force manufacturers to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Advertisements in newspapers and magazines, will have to devote at least 20 per cent of the space to details about fuel economy and CO2 emissions. At the moment manufacturers have to include only basic mpg and CO2 figures in the small print. Car advertisements will have to carry colour-coded emissions labels such as those already displayed on new fridges and washing machines, with bands ranging from dark green to red."
This is the thin edge of the wedge! As with cigarettes, one keeps upping the ante. Now the cars are getting this in advertising and sales literature; next will be bumper stickers on the cars stating their rated emissions, and finally the cars themselves will be colour coded with paint ranging from dark green to red, so that we can instantly pick out the scarlet letter and hurl abuse at them. ::Times Online
stickers from New Economics Foundation...
Quote of the Day: Jeanne Rizzo on Cancer and the Environment
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.20.07
Why is it when I wake up in the morning, I find myself asking if this is the year the environmental health movement goes mainstream. When will the cancer establishment open its eyes to the mounting evidence of harm from exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation? When will they seriously join the discussion and dedicate their substantial resources to primary cancer prevention research and education and support public health policy?
Legalized corporate priorities—the pursuit of profit and brand dominance over taking responsibility for the long-term impact of their products— are major contributors to the epidemic of environmental diseases. Large corporations and small businesses need to become accountable and embrace their responsibility to consider the impact that their products as well as manufacturing and disposal processes make on our health and the environment....
Who's the Industrial Villain Now?
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10.20.07
Who doesn't suspect the hand of "big business" behind the evils of pollution? The image of a huge factory belching gases, oozing contaminants and burying its "mistakes" is an archetype of modern civilization, just as the "friendly neighborhood business" gives us the same warm, cuddly feeling as eating mom's lasagne. Prepare to open your mind to alternative realities.
This week the Commission for Environmental Cooperation released a report, Taking Stock, which compares the Pollutant Release and Transfer Reports for 2004 of the USA, Canada and Mexico. The most surprising finding in the report: while large industry cut emissions by 33%, the smallest polluters increased their pollution by as much as five-fold, although the number of facilities reporting did not increase. ...
PolarPalooza Opening Celebration
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.20.07
The climate change stars were out last night in San Diego. PolarPalooza San Diego is the first of its kind. There are 6 more planned for cities across the US in 2007 and 20 more planned for 2008. The weekend includes events at several museums around San Diego and events are geared for students, teachers, families, kids and the climate change curious.
The scientists were each given 5 minutes to talk about their respective research areas, which included multi-media presentations and pictures from out in the field, out on the poles, or out in space. One of the scientists noted that there is now less ice in the arctic than at any point over the last 2 million years and there has always been a frozen polar ice cap but that may not be true for much longer. ...
PolarPalooza: Media Mashup Part II
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.20.07
This article is continued from here:
In an effort to encourage education and discussion on climate change, the organizers of PolarPalooza San Diego held a media/scientist roundtable prior to the weekend events. This safespace encouraged open discussion and allowed journalists to ask the 'obvious' questions that are often wondered but rarely understood about climate change. It also allowed plenty of time for scientists to explain the long and short of what they are seeing on the poles. Below is the second half of the discussion. ...
We Can't Make This Stuff Up Dept: Promoting Bottled Water to Fight Drought
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.20.07
This author has just walked past a restaurant with a sign in the window stating that, due to water restrictions, they will no longer be serving water to tables unless it is asked for. Intrigued, we asked a friend who is a committed water conservation activist, and she informed us that this is actually a year-round requirement which nobody enforces. We suspect the amount of water that such a move saves, compared to measures like restricting lawn irrigation, is relatively small, but it does send out a welcome message that potable water is not something to be taken for granted.
Other conservation schemes seem less brainy to us. While looking into the idea of water conservation in restaurants a little further, we found an astounding article from 2002 about restaurants in Charlottesville, Virginia banding together to help conservation efforts. Their solutions? Promote bottled water and use paper plates. While we applaud anyone taking up the old "Act Local" mantra, we would counsel them to not forget its preceding phrase - "Think Global". Even bottled water comes from somewhere, and the water and other resources that go into making plastic bottles and paper plates are likely to far outweigh the amount wasted from table service of tap water. Let's just hope that things have progressed in the years since this article was written.
For more thoughts on water conservation, check out our guide on How to Green Your Water, and take a look at our posts on The Navy Shower and The Selective Flush while you are at it. ::Cavalier Daily::via Google search::
...
A Different Commute: By Kayak
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.20.07
'Sustainability Has Taken the Moral High Ground From Preservation'
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.20.07
This TreeHugger has previously expressed concern about demolition, suggesting that 'Every brick in building required the burning of fossil fuel in its manufacture, and every piece of lumber was cut and transported using energy. As long as the building stands, that energy is there, serving a useful purpose. Trash a building and you trash its embodied energy too."
Architect Henry Moss of Bruner/Cott, responsible for turning an old generating station at Harvard into a LEED platinum office building, told the Boston Preservation Alliance that “sustainability has taken the moral high ground from preservation,” and that some preservation advocates spend too much time griping about their waning influence and not enough figuring out how to make historic structures practical in an era of higher energy costs and lower carbon footprints....
Bill McDonough's Bison Court in Banff
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.20.07
The real deal in green design will not be found in single family houses in the country with acres of solar panels on the roof, but in the building of communities where people can live and work. The best examples might be projects like Bison Court in Banff, Alberta. It is built around an historic cabin by developer Peter Poole of Arctos & Bird , who hired the best- William McDonough, with Zeidler and Partners' Calgary office as "architect of record". Landscape is by Siteworks, with local colour by Skatliff + Miller + Murray .
Chris Turner of the Globe and Mail writes that it is "an effort to bring truly sustainable development to a mountain town that had grown so rich on its natural beauty that it was on the verge of forgetting that a pretty view was not the same as a healthy ecosystem."
...
Redressing the Overlooked Threat of Pollutants to Marine Invertebrates
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.20.07
Nothing sells an environmental campaign more effectively than an association with a charismatic animal. Whether it be a dolphin, penguin or kitten makes little difference - we're all suckers for a pretty face. Tim Verslycke, a biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, thinks this may be why we've largely overlooked the plight of close to 95% of species in the ocean - the invertebrates.
Indeed, while we are often moved to action when we hear of a pesticide adversely affecting seals or dolphins, we tend to gloss over news of chemical spills if they don't directly harm these species - even if they do affect many of the crustaceans we otherwise love (to eat). And, says Verslycke, this is all too often the case: because many invertebrates use the same hormones to perform biological functions, a chemical designed to, say, inhibit a hormone regulating development in mosquitoes could just as easily do the same in a crab, if not worse....
Wayback Machine 1936: Broadcasting Power To Your Car
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.20.07
The tinfoil hat brigade with have a field day with this- a proposal to build towers along the highways that broadcast electricity as radio waves, to be picked up by an antenna on the roof of your car and converted to electricity. It is not dissimilar to some schemes that have been proposed to bring solar power from space via microwaves.
"AUTOS operated on radio fuel may become a reality if the present consumption of oil continues and no new oil sources are discovered. One engineer boldly suggests a network of “radio highways” consisting of huge broadcast transmitters capable of sending out signals which would be converted into motive power. Provided with special radio energy converters automobiles would be silently operated by powerful electric motors. By simply throwing a switch on the dash the motors would be put into motion, eliminating starters, noise and dangerous carbon monoxide gas."...
One Year Ago in TH: 100-Mile Thanksgiving, Katrina Cottage + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.20.07
One year ago in TreeHugger, we were gearing up for Thanksgiving with a contest for the best 100-mile recipes for the big day, and people were giving thanks for the Katrina Cottage by awarding it Cooper-Hewitt's People's Design Award.
Back on the home front, we looked at five of our favorites for going green at home and we wondered if clotheslines really lower property values. We also noted that there are two kinds of Wall Street Journal readers; those who don't give a damn about the cost of energy, and those who got rich by giving a damn about every single cent they ever spent; this piece is for them. Plus, what do green silk and the pink flamingo have in common? Check it out, along with the rest of October 20, 2006, when you click here....
Converting Gas Guzzlers into Clean Vehicles: Getting More from Alternative Energy
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.20.07
Could the latest record-high oil prices have a hidden upside? Yes, says Robert Safian, the editor of Fast Company, who argues (quite persuasively, we think) that higher oil prices are beneficial in the sense that they will help make renewable and efficient energy technologies more economically viable. Noting that market forces had previously inhibited their widespread adoption - oil being much cheaper - Safian explains that new elements in the market are making a serious push for alternative energy solutions. The first step will bridging the gap between older, conventional technologies and some of the new, cleaner ones by creating new applications and synergies. ...
Joseph Romm and Greg Blencoe Bet On Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.20.07
We've written extensively about Joe Romm and Greg Blencoe regarding their divergent opinions about the future of hydrogen vehicles. Mr Romm's recent book, Hell and High Water, still has our attention.
Perhaps Al Gore's recent Nobel award raised the ante a bit, because the dialog between these two gentlemen seemed to reach a higher level of late. This writer suggested a duel at noon under a Live Oak on the green, with TreeHugger writers as proxies. Instead, they opted for a friendly bet. Goes to show how the world has changed to the better. Whew.
Dr. Joseph Romm, author of The Hype About Hydrogen and Hell and High Water, and Greg Blencoe, CEO of Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc., recently engaged in a lively debate about the viability of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The debate ended with a bet between the two about when hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would reach 1% of new sales of the typically-defined car and light truck market in the U.S.
The bet is as follows:...
Iowa Presidential Primary Making GM Food Labeling A Campaign Issue
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.20.07
If this ball stays in play it could easily become the seminal indicator of candidate green-ness. Either you are for GM food labeling, or you are not. Simple enough. Sure, there are practical details to attend to with packaging space available, and with matching existing voluntary and mandatory labeling requirements; but, these things can be sorted out as they have been in Europe. At the end of the day, it could be a fairly free-market friendly initiative. What do you think?
Iowa is playing center stage in a global debate over whether people should be warned when the genetic makeup of their food has been altered. A national advocacy group believes consumers would demand that genetically modified foods be labeled if they knew just how much is being changed in labs. The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods is pushing presidential candidates to support making labeling the law - with some success. Leading Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Edwards agree to the organization's proposal, as do candidates Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich. Top Republican candidates have not taken positions.See also our profiles of US Presidential Candidate positions on Climate Change here. Via:Des Moines Register, "Genetically altered food: Labels hotly debated in Iowa" Image credit::University of Manitoba...
The British Invasion: The Carbon Neutral Company in New York
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.20.07
We are bringing this news to you a little late, but we have just found out that the UK-based Carbon Neutral Company (owner of the no-doubt highly coveted carbonneutral.com web address) has cemented its presence in the States with the opening of a fully-staffed New York office and the appointment of a president, Mark Armitage, for its US arm. The corporation, which was formerly known as Future Forests, has hit the headlines of TreeHugger before when its offices were stormed by protesters objecting to the offset industry. Founded in 1997, the company has worked with a huge number of major corporate clients, offering both forestry- and technology-based offsets to the likes of Barclays Bank, Sky News, Avis, DHL and Honda. Armitage was adamant that his organization’s European roots would stand it in good stead to increase its presence in the US market:
...
Building Better, Greener Roads... with an Ethanol By-Product?
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.19.07
"The old joke is you can make anything from lignin but money." - Andy Aden, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Halil Ceylan, a professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at Iowa State University, seems to have taken this idea well to heart in devising his latest project. Explaining that the soil underlying much of Iowa's roads is notoriously unstable, Ceyland said that the state's conventional approach has been to mix it with expensive chemicals to strengthen it and make it safe for vehicles to drive over. However, because this approach only works with certain types of soils and under certain conditions, civil engineers have been looking for more efficient, better solutions.
Enter lignin. A by-product generated during ethanol production from plant fibers, Ceylan and his colleague, Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan, believe it could well provide the solution the engineers have been searching for. Pointing out that previous research had demonstrated the value of lignin obtained from the paper-making industry as a cementing agent that could be used for soil stabilization, he said he didn't see a reason why lignin derived from ethanol production shouldn't work. ...
TH Forums Highlights: Plastics Recycling, Finding Local Produce + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.19.07
Get the weekend started right with a spin through TreeHugger Forums; here are some of the highlights.
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 monkeys_mom wants to do some analysis to figure out if it's worth it to go the extra mile to recycle: "My husband and I have been collecting the plastics (3-7) that our local recycling center does not take. We found a location 75 miles from us that does take these plastics. However, it's 75 miles away and I'm wondering if it's worth it to drive that far (probably once every two months) to drop the plastics off if I'm just going to be emitting junk from my car for that long." The jury is still out...
2) User organicfoodlover has started a poll, wondering, Do you have good availability of local produce and food items? "In my area, while we have a reasonable amount of local food - it's not enough to keep the green grocers or even the farmer's markets stocked to meet the demand." There are two considerations everyone has to consider: location and season and it varies wildly depending on where you are. A better question might be: is there more than there was five years ago?
3) Lastly, Forums user Jackalope wants to know "What do you think is the most important environmental issue?" Again, this one varies by location; "For me global warming isn't it. I moved to Orange County after living in San Diego for my whole life. I went surfing in the OC and was shocked the ocean smells like sewage. In California Urban run-off is a huge problem and I see the direct effect of it in the nasty beach water." So that begs the question: If you can see the results, does that make it more important? Discuss.
Solar Decathlon 2007: And The Winner Is...
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.19.07
20 university teams battled it out for solar home supremacy, and in the end, one stands alone: congratulations to Germany's Technische Universität Darmstadt. How'd they do it? "This team from Germany came to the Solar Decathlon hoping to have an impact on people, and it's safe to say that this happened. Darmstadt won the Architecture, Lighting, and Engineering contests.
"The Architecture Jury said the house pushed the envelope on all levels and is the type of house they came to the Decathlon hoping to see. The Lighting Jury loved the way this house glows at night. The Engineering Jury gave this team an innovation score that was as high as you could go, and said nobody did the integration of the PV system any better. Darmstadt was one of seven teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest. All week, long lines of people waited to get into this house."
Congrats are also in order for the University of Maryland and Santa Clara University, who took second and third place, respectively, and help prove that in solar homebuilding, there are no losers. See TreeHugger's coverage of the event here, including getting up close and personal with the entries from Maryland and the University of Colorado. All the details are at the ::Solar Decathlon...
Tried and Tasted: Slow Food NYC's Snail of Approval
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.19.07
The New York City arm of the Slow Food movement has unleashed its own seal of approval, or rather, snail of approval, as those gastronomic gastropods would have it. Awarded to restaurants, bars, food and beverage artisans, and retailers—who have rated exceptionally in three categories (Quality, Authenticity, and Sustainability)—the emblem is the non-profit's way of recognizing an eatery's contribution to the city's food supply.
A restaurant that bears the mark of the snail may serve organic meals, or it may not, Slow Food NYC notes. "Organic agriculture certainly tends to be more sustainable than agriculture dependent on the overuse of chemicals," it states on its Web site. "On the other hand, organic vegetables from China burn a lot of fuel getting all the way to New York, which might be much worse for the planet than using a little fertilizer on a Jersey tomato." (We've yapped about this quandary before.)
Visit the organization's Web site to locate a snail-approved eatery near you. You can also nominate your favorite outlet if you're a Slow Food member. ::Slow Food NYC Snail of Approval...
Wal-Mart's Environmental Chief "Reassigned" -- Hmm
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.19.07
Via the NY Times, we learn of the "reassignment" of Andrew Ruben, head honcho of their big-time environmental program. Ruben, said to have been "considered a rising star at the company," was responsible for many of Wal-Mart's high-profile sustainability initiatives, including their work with National Resources Defense Council and bringing Al Gore to corporate HQ to talk global warming.
He hasn't been fired -- his new job will be as the head of private label strategy, including in-house brands like Sam's Choice and Great Value -- but the timing seems a bit odd, so hot on the heels of their Live Better Sustainability Summit (just last week). By all accounts a successful, greenwash-free venture -- see TreeHugger's coverage of it here and here, along with interviews at the summit here and here -- the summit seemed to be further justification that it is indeed getting harder to hate Wal-Mart. So why the reassignment?...
Green Film Festival Hits Toronto: Planet in Focus
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 10.19.07
Canada’s most acclaimed environmental film festival, Planet in Focus, is hitting Torontonians this coming Wednesday. Running from October 24 to 28th, the 8th annual festival program includes a Polar Visions spotlight, with works from and about the Circumpolar regions of the Arctic and the Antarctic, films highlighting issues around water scarcity and privatization, along with community action and international works which expose government and corporate mishaps at the height of the Cold War (Gambit, Broken Arrow). ...
Kate Humble Supports Endangered Mediterranean Sea Turtles
by Iris Coates, UK on 10.19.07
Earlier this year, British TV broadcaster Kate Humble teamed up with the Travel Foundation and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) to urge UK tour operator representatives to encourage turtle-friendly tourist behaviour at Mediterranean holiday destinations.
The two charities launch a short animated film called Turtles in Trouble, narrated by the BBC Springwatch presenter, which explains how UK tour operator practice can make a positive difference to the conservation of endangered loggerhead and green turtles during the summer holiday season at destinations in Greece, Crete and Turkey. The light-hearted animation appears to have a very serious message – tour operators have a key role to play in the protection of endangered Mediterranean marine turtle populations. ...
Prius Limo: Green Luxury or Frankencar?
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 10.19.07
This thing better have a regenerative-braking powered mini-fridge. In what has to be one of the weirdest looking things to come out of Canada since our very own Lloyd (j/k Lloyd!), an enterprising Canuck has taken two Priuses, welded them together, and made either what has to be the greenest limo in the world or the most gas-guzzling Prius - depending on how you look at it. However, the Canadian inventor/mad scientist says the car still gets 50mpg even with the added weight. We don't know if that is before or after the limo reaches its 10 seat capacity, but it sure beats the heck out of those hideous Hummer limo monstrosities. ::Via Ecorazzi and Autoblog ...
Solar Decathlon 2007: University of Colorado at Boulder
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 10.19.07
Yesterday, Maryland’s LEAFHouse took the lead. Today, the overall winner of the 2007 Solar Decathlon will be announced. Before we indulge you with who the judges think is this year’s most energy efficient, beauty on the block, let’s look at the home of 2002 and 2005 champions, University of Colorado at Boulder. Their design features an unconventional HVAC heating and cooling system that capitalizes on Colorado’s big swings in temp using a water pump and 2 tanks of water (1 for hot water and 1 for cold water). The state’s warm, sunny days heat the hot tank to meet the building’s heating needs at night and its shivery nights cool the cold tank to meet the building’s cooling needs during the day. Speaking of fluctuating highs and lows, we had the chance to snag a quick chat with the team’s construction manager, who remained cool and composed under the heat of the competition....
Who Killed the Electric Car?
by Iris Coates, UK on 10.19.07
Chris Paine’s movie “Who Killed the Electric Car” is one of the latest DVD releases in a wave of documentaries on environmental issues, following “the 11th hour” and Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. The film, which has been described in the New York Times as a murder mystery and a call to arms, makes use of the voices of Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson, who were both electric car drivers themselves.
Paine’s film (read some quotes by Paine on Treehugger) investigates the events leading to the quiet destruction of thousands of new, radically efficient electric vehicles. Through interviews and narrative, the film paints a picture of an industrial culture whose aversion to change and reliance on oil may be deeper then its ability to embrace ready solutions.
Chris Paine's documentary feature film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and has won many nominations and awards, including being nominated by the Writer's Guild for Best Documentary of 2006, nominations from The Broadcast Critics Awards and The Environmental Media Awards for Best Documentary of 2006.
Its critical acclaim, subject and good reviews have certainly tantalised our 'green curiosity' and we would be very interested to find out what you thought of it if you've seen the film... or find out here how to get hold of a copy of your own....
Live from Pop!Tech: John Shearer -- Powercast Sends Power Through Air
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.19.07
More Pop!Tech geniosity...catch it live here.
Holy Jetsons! Powercast is developing technologies that send power through the air. That's right; they call it Powercast Wireless Power Platform, and it can recharge batteries using the existing radio frequencies already in the air.
As John noted, in the US alone, more than 350 million rechargeable batteries are purchased annually to power wireless sensors, cell phones, computer peripherals and other devices. Continuous recharging of batteries via the Powercast Wireless Power Platform has the potential to reduce the huge waste stream of batteries to a mere trickle. And early tests suggest it really works. More below the fold......
Pop!Tech Carbon Initiative: Carbon Negative Conference and Offsets for You
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.19.07
In addition to hosting an awesome meeting of the minds and propagating world-changing ideas, this year Pop!Tech is taking their mission even further. They've partnered up with eBay Giving Works to create the Pop!Tech Carbon Initiative, a carbon credit program that allows individuals to offset their carbon emissions by investing in one of three social development and conservation projects.
Environmental Defense has also joined the effort, and has provided a carbon calculator to help determine how many tons of CO2 your lifestyle creates each year -- the average American household checks in at about 10 tons, according the Environmental Defense -- and from there, it's up to you as to which project you want to fund: a solar-irrigation project in Benin; forest restoration in Nicaragua; or helping the Brazilian ceramics industry switch to renewable biomass fuel. ...
Increasing Ocean Acidification Eroding Coral Reefs
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10.19.07
Acid levels are increasing in the world’s oceans due to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now dissolving into the waters, causing alarm in some scientists who say that it could be potentially disastrous for reef-building marine organisms and for their capacity to produce Earth’s breathable oxygen as acidification affects their ability to form skeletons. “Recent research into corals using boron isotopes indicates the ocean has become about one third of a pH unit more acid over the past fifty years. This is still early days for the research, and the trend is not uniform, but it certainly looks as if marine acidity is building up,” says Professor Malcolm McCulloch of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) and the Australian National University. McCulloch continues: “It appears this acidification is now taking place over decades, rather than centuries as originally predicted. It is happening even faster in the cooler waters of the Southern Ocean than in the tropics. It is starting to look like a very serious issue.”...
Eat Gelato, Fight Climate Change
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.19.07
Photo credit: piperita
You heard us right: Inmates from a prison just outside of Milan will help Italy lick climate change by churning up gelato made from local milk and fruit, slashing food miles and cutting carbon emissions.
Starting in February, a group of inmates from a high-security wing of the prison in Opera will launch their in-house production. "We will make an experimental, artisan product, using fresh local raw materials which are not genetically modified," Marco Molinelli and Roberto Saini of Jobinside, the company that is running the project, were quoted by Coldiretti, an Italian farmers' group, as saying.
In a nation that spends more than 5 billion euros (US$7.13 billion) a year on over 600 flavors of ice cream, Italian eco-worriers can put their money where their mouths are in the most delectable fashion. ::Reuters...
National Mall Gets Greener Grass
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.19.07
Photo credit: Vacation Lovers
The National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with the nonprofit SafeLawns.org, are resodding a four-area tract of Washington, D.C.'s National Mall to prepare it for its makeover into a sustainable, organic lawn.
“This is exactly the kind of high visibility project we had in mind when we conceived our organization in February of 2006,” Paul Tukey of SafeLawns.org tells E Magazine. “If we can grow resilient grass on the National Mall, where 27 million people trample the lawn each year, then we will have demonstrated that we can grow grass anywhere. Most importantly, we’ll have proved that you can grow grass without relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides that can harm wildlife and contaminate drinking water, as well as cause harm to people and their pets.”
Although we'd prefer to ditch the lawn altogether—lawns, which serve no other purpose beyond the aesthetic, are the United States' single most water-guzzling crop in terms of surface area—we'll take what we can get. ::E Magazine...
Ask TreeHugger: Do Cell Phones Give You a Headache?
by Helen Suh MacIntosh, Cambridge, MA, USA on 10.19.07
Question: It seems that nearly every time I talk for a long time on my cell phone, I get a head ache. Am I being paranoid or is my cell phone doing this to me?
Response: It is possible that talking on your cell phone is giving you a headache, but most likely not because of the cell phone technology. Wireless telephones are essentially two-way radios that work by transmitting low levels of radiofrequency energy or radio waves from their antennas to and from nearby base towers that are connected to telephone networks. Cell phones emit a specific type of radio wave called microwaves, which are the longest waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. As a result, they are non-ionizing, which is considered to be harmless at the low levels emitted by the cell phones.
Despite this, cell phones and their base towers (that also emit these radio waves) have been a source of worry, especially for people who are frequent cell phone users or who live near cell phone base towers. Included in these worries are concerns similar to yours – that cell phone usage causes headaches, nausea, and a warmer than normal head. ...
Reminder: "Lights Out San Francisco" Takes Place Tomorrow
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.19.07
At the beginning of this month, we announced that “Lights Out San Francisco” was happening October 20th. We just wanted to remind all of those that might be in that wonderful city that this is tomorrow! From 8pm to 9pm residents and businesses will be turning off all non-essential lights and, in addition, the organization is asking those in San Fran to install one CFL light bulb. A candlelight celebration to watch the city go dark will take place, with live music, in Dolores Park from 5:30pm to 9pm. Many restaurants will also be participating by offering a candlelight dinner in support of “Lights Out.”
We’ve seen other cities join in around the world with their own “Lights Out” events and now, on March 29, 2008, all of America is asked to participate. More to come as the event approaches but, in the meantime, visit the “Lights Out” website to learn more and how you can help make it success. ::Lights Out America ::Lights Out San Francisco...
The TH Interview: David Steiner, CEO of Waste Management, Part 2
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.19.07
This is the second half of TreeHugger's interview with David Steiner, CEO of Waste Management. Read part one here.
TH: Are you also educating consuming on reducing their waste?
DS: When you look at what we do, we have about 22 million customers throughout the United States and Canada. And we have an upstream business unit; the entire business model of that entity is to go to industries and help them understand how they can put less into the process and get more out of the back-end.
On the consumer side, we really do work with the local communities, because local communities are only going to recycle if the local governments either mandate it or subsidize it. We absolutely work with communities to provide things like recycling plants. ...
Dispatches from Designboost: "Boost" Meetings and Sustainable Design
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.19.07
[Ed. note: This is the third in a series of guest posts by David Carlson, co-founder of Designboost, an inaugural event that's focusing on sustainable design. Read the first two posts here and stay tuned for more!]
The Boost meetings on day one of Designboost where a big success. The 75 boosters met up at floor 53 and 54 of the Santiago Calatrava building Turning Torso and discussed "sustainable design" in it widest definition. All the 29 Boost meetings had unique themes and came up with some very interesting, unique ideas about sustainable design. Here are some example of the topics:
-How can we extend the definition of sustainable design beyond products and materials; how do we innovate in the social realm to sustain each other, relationships, social networks, our world?
-How can companies in general use sustainable design in a much better way as a competitive advantage?
-How can money be reshuffled from unsustainable advertising to sustainable design?
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Tweeting Pretty: Recycled Bird Coat Rack
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.19.07
This recycled-metal coat rack, crafted into a charming silhouette of a perching flock of birds, has us all atwitter.
Embellished with hand-cut metal leaves and measuring 30 inches in length, this prettily rustic piece of decor also comes with a $35 price tag that won't send you squawking into a flap. ::At West End...
Survey: Do You Telecommute?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.19.07
Collin recently noted that a "lot of modern jobs consist of sitting in front of a computer all day, sometimes emailing or instant messaging the person in the next cubicle and phoning someone down the hall. All of this could be done from home, thanks to the internet, with many benefits to individuals, society and the environment. It's just a more elegant way of doing things." But sometimes the pointy-haired boss won't let you, or some people go to the office to get away from home.
UPDATE: I added a choice to the poll after I had put it up, not knowing that doing so would start it over, so the first 58 people who voted have been deleted. My apologies!
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Quote of the Day: Chief Oren Lyons on Creation
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.19.07
Photo credit: NASA/Gary Rothstein
I do not see a delegation
For the four-footed
I see no seat for the eagles
We forget and we consider
Ourselves superior
But we are after all
A mere part of Creation
And we must consider
To understand where we are
And we stand somewhere between
The mountain and the ant
Somewhere and only there
As part and parcel
Of the Creation
—Chief Oren Lyons, by way of The Philosophy of Sustainable Design (2004, Ecotone Publishing) by Jason F. McLennan
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Cementing the dual goals of development and sustainability
by Danielle Carpenter Sprungli, WCSBD on 10.19.07
No, there were “no climate change protesters waiting to jeer as the chief executives and other senior figures of one of the world's biggest industries gathered on Wednesday,” in Brussels, as David Adam wrote in “The unheralded polluter: cement industry comes clean on its impact” (The Guardian, October 12th).
There was nothing to jeer about.
The nine cement industry CEOs and other senior managers were in Brussels on October 10th to discuss the progress of an industry initiative of which they are part: the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI). Formed in 1999, the CSI is finding new ways for the industry to reduce its ecological footprint, understand how it contributes to the societies where it operates and increase stakeholder engagement. Today, 18 cement producers contribute to this global effort.
Most people, green groups or others, do not see the cement industry as an environmental villain. It is the key ingredient in concrete and a literal “building block” for most countries as economies grow and cement demand soars. ...
PolarPalooza: Media Mashup Part I
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.19.07
Well its what we’ve all been waiting for, or at least those of us in the enviro-media community: journalists & scientists, sitting down, face to face and helping each other understand their respective side. The image of scientists and journalists sitting down usually conjures up images of awkward kids at a school dance with everyone in their respective corners and no one willing to even look at anyone else, much less talk to them. Okay, so its not quite that bad, but there is something to be said for getting journalists to understand just what those scientists are saying and getting scientists to speak in a language that the rest of us can understand.
Well, this morning, in what felt-like a groundbreaking event, the organizers of the PolarPalooza broke down those barriers, crossed the line in the proverbial gym dance hall, if you will, and gave both sides a safe space to bond and share. Think the Breakfast Club, where different cliques are able to come together and realize their similarities.
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Recipe of the Week: Vegetarian Moussaka
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 10.19.07
Last week while I was reading through my local newspaper I saw a recipe from a cookbook by Aristedes Pasparakis. My husband and I spent many hours eating food prepared by Aristedes (we never knew his last name). He opened his first Toronto restaurant, The Temporary Calimari Joint, down the street from our office. The restaurant was small, below street level and unprepossessing. Well, it needed to be because Aristedes' larger than life personality and booming voice filled the place. The food was fabulous and we ate lunch there more days than not, and sometimes stopped in for dinner as well before heading home.
My husband had a birthday coming up, and having worked our way through the entire menu we asked him to devise a dinner for us and just surprise us and our six guests. When we arrived for dinner at 7:00 a bleary eyed Aristedes said dinner would be awhile because he had been up all night catering a party. Oh yes, and a rave review had appeared that very morning in the newspaper and would-be diners were literally lined up the stairs and out on the street. It didn't help that there wasn't enough crockery in the kitchen, so waiters had to nervously grab plates from diners the second they were finished and rush them back to the kitchen for a quick wash.
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Cooper-Hewitt's People's Design Awards: And The Winner Is...
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.19.07
The nominees have been scrutinized, voted on by the public, the ballots counted, and the winner of the 2007 Cooper Hewitt People's Design Award is...TOMS Shoes! Congratulations to a very deserving company. For anyone who isn't familiar with the company, let's have a quick refresher.
They're one of those great "win-win" companies. The shoes bring sustainable economy and industry to Argentina, where they're produced under strict sweatshop-free criteria, made from local materials like canvas and leather. Then, every time you buy a pair, another pair is donated to a child in Argentina on your behalf.
The business was born when Blake Mycoskie went to visit Argentina and discovered two things: the typical soft shoe called "Alpargata," and that a lot of children don't have shoes and the idea for TOMS was born. And it's working: during the first year of business alone, TOMS sold 10,000 pairs of shoes and Mycoskie returned to Argentina to lead the company's first shoe drop. In November, Mycoskie will travel to Africa, where he will be delivering more than 50,000 pairs of TOMS. ...
Chicago To Tax Bottled Water
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.19.07
Trucks laden with Fiji water may not be so welcome in Chicago; according to USA Today, "Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has endorsed a proposal to add a 10-cent tax to each bottle, which would bring the city about $21 million a year.
"It's not a tax on water, it's a tax on plastic," says Alderman George Cardenas, who introduced the measure to help offset revenue declines from the city water system, reduce litter and decrease the amount of oil used to produce and transport bottled water."
Other cities striving to be green and under financial stress should take a look at this: why not tax pollutants and waste for the cost of their recovery? Why not put deposits on everything?
Note also "Every time you look, there's plastic all over."...
The Podcars Are Coming
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.19.07
Photo simulation of pod car track in Stockholm by Vectus
The quaint college town of Uppsala, Sweden seems like the last type of place to test these funny-looking personal rapid transit (PRT) electric pod cars from Korea-based Vectus.
But the Swedish Rail Administration (SJ), which gave Vectus permission to both build a test track and let engineers drive the pods around, is not as staid as its name implies - SJ was the first in Europe to put in service a biogas train last year on the route between the towns of Västervik and Linköping (try to say that name three times fast).
Though we haven't had much faith in PRT as a good people-moving car replacement, Sweden's Institute for Sustainable Transport thinks the concept has merit, and there are also PRT-like projects in different stages of planning all over Europe....
Atomikarchitecture Wins Seaside Pier Competition
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.19.07
We recently covered the shortlist for the BURA seaside network competition to design a seaside pier for the 21st century; we now present the winner, Atomikarchitecture. We noted previously why we love piers- Pleasure piers were built with amusement parks and restaurants, but the main purpose was to let people walk over water in the cool sea air. As we think about staying closer to home, (and cooling off) perhaps seaside piers will see a revival. Certainly if this one gets built it will attract a crowd. ...
Favela Fantasy: Gaudi Mashup in Sao Paulo
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.19.07
Estevao Silva da Conceicao, in a favela in Sao Paulo, has recycled as decorations every kind of imaginable object from plates, cups, and statues, to typewriters and mobile phones. It has become a tourist attraction; many compare it to the the Parc Guell by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. The BBC notes:
What seems most striking is that a man who had never heard of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi has built something so similar to his style. Estevao, 50, simply set out to build a house where he could live, and which later became a home for his wife and two children. The facade at the front has often been compared to features in the world-famous Parc Guell in Barcelona. It was only seven years ago when a passing architecture student spotted the house that he became aware of the connection between his work and that of Gaudi....
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who Are The Greenest (States) Of All
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.19.07
Sorry for being impatient and talk-showy, but we just have to cut to the obvious. What Forbes Magazine has classified as highly "green" states are what US political polsters once commonly referred to as "Blue States," while the 'un-green' are your basic "Reds." Are we talking media bias, or is there something going on around here?
Here are a few excerpts from the Forbes article. You be the deciders....
Eco-treadsetters: TreeHugger and Yokohama Tires Join Forces on New Eco-Community
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.19.07
Most TreeHuggers are probably aware that keeping your tires properly inflated can significantly reduce vehicle fuel consumption. However, developments in tire technology that can contribute to a greener future are perhaps a little harder to name. Nevertheless, Yokohama Tire Corporation has been working hard to green both its operations and its products, including achieving complete zero waste from all manufacturing facilities in Japan, and achiving ISO 14001 certification for its US arm. It has also developed a tire which will be available in Japan later this year that reduces petroleum needed in manufacture by 80%, and also improves fuel efficiency by cutting down on rolling resistance.
TreeHugger has been collaborating with Yokohama to celebrate and develop the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and innovation with the launch of a new online community called Eco-treadsetters, which will serve as a forum for like-minded greenseekers to learn more about environmental issues, debate hot topics, and stand the chance of winning hot, environmentally related prizes. Tadanobu Nagumo, president of Yokohama Rubber Corporation, set out the agenda for the new site in his welcome message:...
U.S. Green Building Council Launches Website to Help Schools Build Green
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.19.07
According to the U.S. Green Building Council if every school being built or renovated in America from this day forward were built to green guidelines the energy savings alone would add up to $20 Billion over the next 10 years. And they’ve developed a new website to help get you started, just in case you’ve got the chance to help make a difference in a school building project near you…
That website, buildgreenschools.org, is designed to offer facts, ideas, suggestions, and insight into the process for school board members, parents, teachers, administrators, and builders across the nation.
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Apple Days
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.19.07
It's autumn and the celebration of apple harvests is taking place across the land. Time to enjoy the multitude of local varieties available, and take part in Apple Day on October 21. This year's theme is conserving orchards and creating community orchards. With lands dedicated to growing apples disappearing due to pressures of urban development and the poor economics of running farms, the preservation of old vulnerable orchards and the creation of new ones is more important than ever. Since 1970 Britain has lost two-thirds of its apple orchards; Kent, once known as the Garden of England, has seen 85 per cent of its orchards disappear in the last 50 years. Herefordshire, once a forest of fruit trees, has a mere ten per cent left. The other part of the problem is the homogenization of apple growing, with supermarkets selling only a limited variety of the thousands of existing kinds.
To experience the glory of the orchards, this treehugger took a train to Somerset, the centre of cider apples and cider making. Hiking through the fields of old gnarled trees laden with apples was a reminder of the rich village life in the countryside. In the true old fashioned cider orchards (pictured) the apples are left to ripen and fall off the trees and are gathered from the ground. By the time that they are collected they are ready for cider making. The sheep graze afterwards and eat up the left-overs thus creating a true eco-system. Some of the orchards were quite pristine, with the trees in neat rows and the ground clean--these are the mechanized ones where the work is done by machine. As part of the apple experience, we visited, and sampled, an organic cider farm. ...
Make the Mundane...Morrocan?
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 10.19.07
Have you inherited an ugly armoire from your grandmother and can’t let it go? Want funky furniture, or something that doesn’t look out-of-the-big-box without the huge designer prices? We’ve found Nava Abel’s site in Israel and think that this artist offers some neat (Marrakesh-style) do-it-yourself paint jobs for any old kind of furniture.
Most readers outside of Israel probably won’t be able to commission Nava to repaint their 60s style hutch that came with the rental apartment, but some of her ideas look easy enough to do yourself...
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BuyGreen: Men's Casual Shoes
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.18.07
TreeHugger is the first to admit that we can't happily shop our way to global sustainability, but when your favorite pair of kicks finally wear through, you can't go shuffling around the streets with newspaper tied around your ankles. We all gotta have shoes, not just for working (that's another post) but for hanging out, weekends and casual affairs; this guide is designed to help you find a new favorite pair for around the house, happy hours and just kicking back and relaxing.
Here, you'll find shoes inspired by basketball and volleyball classics, some made for skateboarding (it's okay if you don't skate while your wear them, though) and a pair crafted from a whopping 99% recycled materials; in short, something for everyone, and not a stitch of hippie-wear in sight. Whatever you need "casual" for, you'll find something for every style and budget; hit the jump to get started....
"Radical" Water Saving Measures May Become The Norm In Atlanta
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.18.07
TreeHugger has been on the Southeastern US drought story for months. See the most recent post here. While the Governor of Georgia seems content with blaming Federal regulations and threatening the US Army Corps of Engineers over a looming water crisis, ordinary citizens are taking personal responsibility for reducing their water consumption. Apparently, the City of Atlanta is happy with that. If this drought turns out to be the worst case scenario that some fear, only serious and immediate personal responsibility for water consumption, a virtue that, until recently, only Tree Huggers would love, can turn things around fast enough to avert a public health emergency....
Solar Decathlon 2007: Maryland's LEAFHouse
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 10.18.07
The Solar Decathlon is in full swing with Maryland’s LEAFHouse taking the overall lead. Keeping the bay’s dewy region in mind, the Chesapeake beauty includes the first residential scale liquid desiccant waterfall that serves as both eye candy in the kitchen space and a sustainable heating/cooling system for the home. In warmer temps, the waterfall, using calcium chloride and heat from the solar hot water collectors, whisks away indoor humidity, drawing it outside, and in cooler temps, draws in outdoor moisture, serving as a de-humidifier of sorts. The waterfall whet TreeHugger’s appetite for things both pretty and practical so we had to hear more.
Hit the jump to read our interview with the team’s solar controller: ...
TreeHugger Picks: Telecommuting
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.18.07
 | 1) A lot of modern jobs consist of sitting in front of a computer all day, sometimes emailing or instant messaging the person in the next cubicle and phoning someone down the hall. All of this could be done from home, thanks to the internet, with many benefits to individuals, society and the environment. It's just a more elegant way of doing things. Telecommuting, we think, along with better urban planning, clean energy sources and efficient transportation (public and private), is a partial solution that must not be underestimated. |
 | 2) Anthony Page has a different take on it; he classifies himself as an extreme telecommuter. Page travels the world and works remotely via laptop. Amazingly, he finds an Internet connection almost everywhere, even in the poorest nations. He got the idea when his job as a web developer in London was outsourced to India; he took the hint and decided to work with clients long-distance over the Internet as well, while simultaneously taking a non-stop soujourn. |
 | 3) Some countries, like Japan, have offered tax incentives to employers who institute telecommuting programs for a while now, but the Parents’ Tax Relief Act of 2007, introduced into the US Congress earlier this year, may give Americans the same opportunity. There are a few interesting parts, including a telecommuting tax credit for employers of up to $2400 per telecommuter. Two more after the jump. |
Green Halloween: Sugar Rush
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.18.07
High-fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives, and other dubious man-made additives make our skin crawl. Here are of our picks for organic and all-natural treats that won't make your stomach or your pocketbook howl in terror.
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1) Equal Exchange's fair-trade certified, organic dark chocolate minis are also vegan, gluten-, and more important, child-labor-free ($12 for 68 minis, Equal Exchange). To launch your own campaign against inequity and poverty, consider picking up Global Exchange's Fair Trade Trick Or Treat Action Kit, which includes 42 morsels of the above-mentioned chox, a stack of Why Fair Trade is Boo-tiful postcards for handing out to trick-or-treaters, Mexican party streamers, and a recycled Kraft paper tote. ($15, Global Exchange) |
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2) Created by two dads who are just as spooked by the ingredients that go into conventional candy as we are, YummyEarth colors its organic lollipops—made with real fruit, imagine that—with dyes derived from such veggies as purple carrots and red cabbage, instead of dunking them in those ubiquitous chemical nasties. ($7.99 for a 1lb bag of 70 pops, YummyEarth) |
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3) No preservatives, no pesticides, and no unpronounceable chemical compounds are the promises behind College Farm's organic hard candies and Nature Pops. Wrapped individually in cornstarch-derived plastic you can compost, these candies make for a waste-free fright night. Grab a bag of 50 lollies in chocolate and citrus-blast flavors. ($5.99, SimonCandyShop.com) |
Fashionable Exotic Skins Threaten Species
by Iris Coates, UK on 10.18.07
This article in the Telegraph reports that the fashion for snake skins is leading to a decline in several species of large reptiles.
Snakeskins used in shoes and accessories were a big feature of London Fashion week, with Jimmy Choo and other top designers incorporating it into their work. Animal skins have been recently used in shoes and accessories by fashion labels including Jimmy Choo, Donna Karan, Mulberry, Gucci, Prada, Roberto Cavalli and Yves Saint Laurent.
Celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, who was recently spotted with a python skin Zagliani handbag, Eva Longoria and Sienna Miller, often seen in her favourite Devi Kroell snakeskin boots, have also been fuelling this trend, which is not only cruel and unregulated but is according to campaigners also speeding up the extinction of certain species....
Live from Pop!Tech: Photographer Chris Jordan Says "Stats Ain't Cutting It"
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.18.07
Chris Jordan with an image depicting 8 million toothpicks, equal to the number of trees harvested in the US every month to make the paper for mail order catalogs.
Coming atcha from Pop!Tech. Catch it live -- hundreds of brainiacs eagerly consuming world-changing ideas over three days in Camden, Maine.
Seattle-based photographer and photographic artist Chris Jordan gave a great presentation today. He's vibrant, well-spoken and, despite saying all sorts of do-gooder stuff, still somehow comes across as cool. We think he rules and we've covered his stuff here and here, but let's give you a few highlights from his talk.
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Swedish Fair Fashion, Hold the Macaroni
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.18.07
In addition to its social conscience, Sweden is also extremely fashion conscious, and recent media debate plus campaigns by local group Rena Kläder (Clean Clothing) have brought ideas about ethical fashion to the forefront. Right on cue, in Sweden's second largest city Gothenburg, an art installation called "Fair Fashion?" exposed fashion's ugly underbelly. Thankfully, though, anyone attending the installation's opening could the very next weekend head to an organic and fair-trade fashion show in Gothenburg's city center.
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Swanky Eco-Fashion Event by Eco Nouveau
by Summer Bowen, Santa Monica, California on 10.18.07
Los Angeles based Eco-Nouveau is a new eco-lifestyle events group brought together to, "present eco-lifestyle experiences that are intelligent, accessible, and transformative to cultural influencers around the world." Translation: they throw cool parties with green art, music, and fashion. We were certainly impressed with their first eco-fashion show at the historic Vibiana, featuring green designers Amanda Shi, Bahar Shahpar, and Gary Harvey....
Obvious Feedback Loop: Global Warming Could Threaten U.S. Oil Output
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
The oil storage tanks of a Port Arthur refinery in Texas are surrounded by flood waters caused by Hurricane Rita September 27, 2005.
Well, duh. A new report from scientists in the Energy Department suggests that global warming may produce stronger hurricanes that could disrupt U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and damage ports and pipelines along the coast that move fuel supplies.
"Increases in storm intensity could threaten further (energy supply) disruptions of the sorts experienced in 2005," the report said. In addition to seasonal damage from stronger storms, rising sea levels due to global warming permanently threatens many oil refineries, liquefied natural gas terminals and coal import and export facilities located along the U.S. coasts.
So the faster we burn the oil, the faster the global warming, and the more quickly we run out of oil as we drown out our processing facilities. Why not burn less and solve both problems? ::Reuters...
Mel Gibson Supports Rubber Recycling
by Iris Coates, UK on 10.18.07
Mel Gibson is not our favorite celebrity [hard to think of a celeb we liked less. -Ed.], but his latest venture gets our thumbs up. He has been roped in to back Green Rubber Global, a rubber recycling company which aims to use environmentally friendly technology to change old tyres into recycled rubber which can be re-used. If they're not being recycled, old rubber tyres are often incinerated, emitting large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, or end up in land-fill – neither of which are particularly sustainable solutions.
Mel Gibson is claimed to be a minor investor in Green Rubber, but he is also expected to unveil plans to list the company on the London stock-market alongside the group chief executive and Malaysia’s 16th richest man, Vinod Sekhar.
We have seen how recycled rubber can be used for all sorts of things ranging from anything like bags and yoga mats to pavers and flooring, which further reduces the need for PVC, cement, hardwood flooring and other raw materials.
It looks like Mad Max’s days of burning rubber may be numbered…...
TH Blog Love - Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10.18.07
Ethical Junction: Carnival of the Green #99 by Ketan
"We are proud to be this month's 99th Carnival Host ! Break out the Red Balloons ;-) , if you're not quite sure what Carnival Of The Green is all about then head over to Carnival Central at TreeHugger and get in the know. In simple terms, its a travelling collection of interesting ethical related blog stories, submitted by you the readers. Each week the carnival moves to a new ethical blog host, and wheel goes round and round!"
Green Car Congress: Researchers Assess Current Potential Global Production of Biodiesel at 51 Billion Liters by Mike Millikin. "They also concluded that significant production gains—a 12-fold increase over existing potential—are possible through the increase of agricultural yields, primarily by improving the management of tropical oilseed varietals."...
A Solar Chandelier to Detox Your Home
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.18.07
We don't know many people who would pay a cool six grand for what essentially is a chandelier with plants growing from its base, but the Green Light—which we've previewed here before—also collects energy from a solar awning to juice up a six-watt LED lamp, beaming out at wavelengths known to catalyze and promote chlorophyll absorption. The protruding foliage from the light's base then hoovers the air for indoor pollutants, pulling them into the roots and siccing microbes on them to break those molecules down.
Developed through the xDesign Environmental at New York University, the Green Light was pioneered by Bill Wolverton, an environmental scientist and retired NASA researcher who wanted to flush out contaminants from the stale atmosphere of long-term life-support space stations. “We found that the most effective plants are the ones with high transpiration rates like palms,” he tells Popular Mechanics....
100%: Sophisticated Simplicity, Almost Sustainable
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.18.07
Hironao Tsuboi, half of 100%, the Japanese design duo responsible for the thought-provoking near miss Lamp/Lamp, has some pretty interesting things to say about design in an interview with PingMag. Among the tastier nuggets are his thoughts about what makes good design: the "timeless products [that] won’t get thrown away or get rusty, since they are here to stay. That would be good design."
Though 100%'s work isn't super-sustainable, we do like their penchant for creating thought-provoking designs and the spot-on mix of function and simplicity. They clearly have the necessary faculties for producing some really quality, sustainable designs, with a few close calls (like the bamboo-shaped fluorescent tube light -- cool!) so far. C'mon, guys, you can do it! ::100% via ::PingMag...
To Get Rich (Smartly) Is Glorious: 'Conservation' at China's 17th Communist Party Congress
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10.18.07
(We will) promote a conservation culture by basically forming an energy- and resource-efficient and environmentally-friendly structure of industries, pattern of growth and mode of consumption... Awareness of conservation will be firmly established in the whole of society.It's hard to imagine such sweeping, courageous words from the president of any other country but China. On Monday, President Hu Jintao emphasized conservation during the start of the 17th CPC National Congress, the gargantuan agenda-setting political event China holds every five years. But this treehugger talk wasn't a matter of courage so much as one of necessity. The recognition that the country's breakneck growth has devastated the environment (amongst other problems) is not new for the party central. But at a time of unprecedented growth (GDP grew at 11.5 percent in the last half), a steady stream of environmental accidents (842 this year by official count), and increasing access to the internet and mobile phones for the billions affected by those accidents, the seemingly all-powerful Communist Party is nervous. ...
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
Earth2Tech lists the ten top jobs the cleantech revolution is going to create. "If you think about all the various sectors — solar, biofuels, water, to name a few — one would think the number of jobs created would be in the millions. And if you’re an American, it’s important that many of the jobs promise to be geographically-based, i.e., a company couldn’t outsource its labor even if it wanted to."
Their selections include green brand Manager, biodiesel oil pickup man, land use planner, eco-brewer, LEED accredited builder and more at ::Earth2tech
I think they have missed a few, including appliance repairperson, bicycle mechanic, CNC machine operator, family farmer and the return of the traditional shoemaker.
What would you add?
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Congress to Consider Global Warming Wildlife Survival Bill
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.18.07
A public-service announcement from the Defenders of Wildlife
Global warming is the single greatest threat to the world's natural environment, said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) as he announced new legislation on Wednesday outlining a national strategy to examine and address the impacts of climate change on America's most imperiled plants and animals.
The first-of-its-kind bill—which includes Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, as one of the original co-sponsors—would convene regional scientific discussions, create a new National Global Warming and Wildlife Science Center within the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as convene a National Academy of Sciences panel to examine the issue and recommend a plan of attack....
Quote of the Day: Van Jones on the Green-Collar Solution
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.18.07
Try this experiment. Go knock on someone’s door in West Oakland, Watts or Newark and say: ‘We gotta really big problem!’ They say: ‘We do? We do?’ ‘Yeah, we gotta really big problem!’ ‘We do? We do?’ ‘Yeah, we gotta save the polar bears! You may not make it out of this neighborhood alive, but we gotta save the polar bears!’
We need a different on-ramp for people from disadvantaged communities The leaders of the climate establishment came in through one door and now they want to squeeze everyone through that same door. It’s not going to work. If we want to have a broad-based environmental movement, we need more entry points. ...
You can’t take a building you want to weatherize, put it on a ship to China and then have them do it and send it back. So we are going to have to put people to work in this country—weatherizing millions of buildings, putting up solar panels, constructing wind farms. Those green-collar jobs can provide a pathway out of poverty for someone who has not gone to college....
Freakonomics on Bike Safety
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
Industrial Recycling in North America on the Rise, Says CEC
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 10.18.07
According to a new report from the Commission on Environmental Cooperation, over one-third of U.S. and Canadian toxic releases and transfers reported in 2004—more than 1 million tonnes—were recycled. Recycling has increased in recent years due to increases in production and in scrap metal prices. Most of the materials were metals, including copper, zinc, lead and their compounds.
“The evidence is clear that industry and government action to limit chemical releases is showing steady progress,” said Adrián Vázquez-Gálvez, CEC’s executive director. “It is equally clear that a large number of small and medium-size industrial facilities need to do a better job in reducing their waste and emissions if we are going to see even greater progress in North America. We trust the progress shown by industry leaders and the fact that pollution prevention is a proven strategy will encourage everyone to tackle pollution issues at the source.”
The trilateral analysis in the report, entitled Taking Stock, is based on data from some 9 industrial sectors, 56 chemicals, and 10,000 facilities, comparing releases and transfers for similar facilities in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The report identifies a different pattern of releases and transfers in each of the three countries. Mexico launched its first pollutant release and transfer registry, the Registro de Emisiones y Transferencia de Contaminantes (RETC), earlier this year. Mandatory reporting began in 2004, so there is limited data available on industrial recycling for Mexico.:: Via CEC...
The TH Interview: David Steiner, CEO of Waste Management, Part 1
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.18.07
On the morning that David Steiner, CEO of Waste Management, announced the company's ambitious 13-year, four-prong environmental initiative at the World Business Forum, we caught up with the man himself backstage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, home of those high-kicking Rockettes.
In the first part of our interview, we talk about what the triple bottom line means to him, how going green can also rake it in, and how landfill-gas-to-energy stands up to wind and solar. Check back for part two tomorrow to get the rest of the scoop.
TreeHugger: What precipitated these environmental initiatives?
David Steiner: What we're doing here is what we've been doing all along. What we're doing is good for the environment and is good for our shareholders, and so we decided to do more of it. For many years we've been taking waste and turning it into energy, but over the next 10 years we're going to double that amount. For many years, we've been the largest recycler in North America—we recycle more tons than anyone else in North America—so over the next 10, 15 years, we're going to triple that amount. ...
How Do We Want To Live?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
That's the theme of a show at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, UK (?) until October 24, presenting "a specially commissioned film package by film and new media curators Cinefeel. The programme will include cutting edge animations, digital shorts, motion graphics pieces, architectural visualizations and music videos from internationally renowned designers and filmmakers which relate to the festival theme, “How do we want to live?”.
A competition was held to pick the best work; Selected as the winner were Squint/Opera with "Gardens by the Bay". It shows the development of the design ideas behind the winning entry of a landscape architecture competition in Singapore and is absolutely amazing; watch it here at Design Event 07
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Live from Pop!Tech: For Ocean Health, "Climate Change More Important than Fishing Practices"
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.18.07
above right image (c) 2005 Bob Wilson
Reporting from Pop!Tech...catch it live here! More smarties than you can shake a stick at in beautiful Camden, Maine for 3 days.
From what TreeHugger understands, lots of the sustainability focus around the oceans has been focused on better fishing practices. Marcia McNutt, head of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), shared with us that, in her opinion, climate change should be a bigger concern than fishing practices. As a result, her organization now spends 50% of their budget in that direction.
She explains that climate change will affect many aspects of the oceans. For example (from least impact to worst):...
HABODE: Home Can Be Anywhere
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
Designer Rod Gibson says “Design shapes our lives. Whether man-made, or from nature, design influences many of our decisions. From the products we buy; to the services we use; to the impressions we have. Design affects us all; our emotions, our ethos, our actions; our vision.”
He is also in New Zealand, blessed with an almost perfect climate and an appreciation for architectural innovation and good design, judging from what we have seen come out of it.
HABODE is an eco-friendly concept that appears to fold out of two shipping container sized frames that can be transported anywhere using standard container handling equipment, without being limited by the solid steel walls of a standard shipping container....
Utah Plans 18% Reduction In Electricity Use By 2015
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.18.07
File this one under "Clout/Luck, Coal Sector."
The US State of Utah has issued a report indicating there is an opportunity to cut energy consumption, mostly [from wording in Platts coverage] through Demand Side Management (DSM) projects that would reduce reliance on gas-fired peaking plants. Sounds good right? How about the fact that 93% of Utahs' electricity is from coal? -- Ninety Three Percent --
Natural gas only provides about 4% of Utah's electicity. And, there's no significant efficiencies to be gained from coal fired generators. Unbelievable....
Recycling the Whole House
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
We have expressed reservations about demolition, but if you are going to do it, do it like Alice Keller, who dismantled her existing 1300 square foot home and rebuilt her new one with the same 2x4s. According to the New York Times, "The crew left the garage and a portion of the subfloor intact and broke the concrete driveway into chunks for a back patio. A gas water heater, fiberglass insulation and windows landed at the RE Store, a local nonprofit shop that sells used or excess construction materials. The drywall, shingles and extra concrete went to a recycling center. Ms. Keller was able to reuse around 90 percent of the original house. “I just like reusing things,” she said. “You can end up with something with more character.”
It's called "deconstruction" and it helps reduce the 20 million tons of material that is dumped from the demolition of 245,000 houses in the US each year. ...
Oceans No Longer as Effective at Storing Carbon Dioxide
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.18.07
Long considered to be the planet's ultimate safety valve for excess carbon dioxide - drawing down close to 25% of all anthropogenic emissions - the oceans may not prove as effective at storing the greenhouse gas as they did during the last ice age, almost 20,000 years ago. As a result, scientists are worried that global warming's onset may prove much faster than originally expected - particularly if temperatures continue to rise at current rates.
Eric Galbraith and a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia looked at cores of sediment taken from the ocean floor in the North Pacific dating back to the last ice age. By carbon dating foraminifera shells contained within the cores, Galbraith and his colleagues determined that the slow movement of the deep ocean was even more so 20,000 years ago - leading them to conclude that it took longer for the absorbed carbon dioxide then to turn over and return to the surface (3,000 years vs. 2,000 years now)....
e2: the economies of being environmentally conscious Debuts Tomorrow
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.18.07
Tomorrow, October 19th, new episodes of e2: the economies of being environmentally conscious will make their debut on PBS and air on multiple networks around the world. The new season of e2 will be presented in two parts--the first six episodes focus on energy (narrated by Morgan Freeman) and the following six focus on sustainable design (narrated by Brad Pitt). The show’s creators, Tad Fettig and Karena Albers of kontentreal, along with cinematographer Robert Humphreys, traveled the world to allow their audiences to get an inside look at projects such as: solar energy in rural Bangladesh; Brazil’s successful ethanol rollout and; how an industrial landscape turned into a sustainable development in Amsterdam.
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Tiny PCs - A Break From The Past
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 10.18.07
Several PC 'facturers are creating ecological history by inventing "Good Enough" computers that are extremely efficient when used in the proper niche. Barring the standard marketing model (ahem, above), these models aren't the newest, fastest, or even latest tech. But, they are the best use of electrons for certain applications. And that's green, refreshing, and novel.
Exhibit A is the Eee PC line of sub-notebook computers from Asus. ...
Now Would Be A Good Time To Get A National Exemption From The Endangered Species Act: And Avoid Water Conservation
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.18.07
So goes the State Legislature's thinking for the majority of both political parties in the drought-plagued US State of Georgia. When we previously thought up Water Crisis Scenarios For The US Southeast, which got at how continuing, severe drought might play out in the Atlanta Georgia region over the next year, we weren't clever enough to see this coming. (More down-page on a third scenario.)
Georgia's congressional delegation proposed legislation Tuesday aimed at replenishing the state's shrinking water supply by suspending Endangered Species Act regulations during periods of extreme drought...The bill would apply nationally, but Georgia lawmakers particularly hoped to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' practice of releasing water from Georgia lakes to protect threatened mussels and sturgeon downstream in Florida. The bill will probably face strong resistance if it advances. But, in a rare show of bipartisan unity, Georgia's lawmakers rallied around it as a "common sense" solution to the state's persistent drought....
Ask 10 Questions about Climate Change
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.18.07
Designboost: Getting Ready and "Sustainable" Context
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.18.07
[Ed. note: This is the second in a series of guest posts by David Carlson, co-founder of Designboost, an inaugural event that's focusing on sustainable design this year. Read the first post here and stay tuned for more!]
Designboost (which takes place 17-19 October in Malmö, Sweden -- that's right now!) is about sharing design knowledge. To put people together with different cultural background and skills and let them interact on an annual topic, which is “sustainable design” this year. All the participants actually participates, not only act as passive listeners in an audience.
One of the first things we did was asking everybody to write a one-liner on sustainable design. The single paragraph is an interesting format when you really have to balance the meaning and strength of every single word in it. I have picked a bunch that will work as represents for all of them. As you can see sustainable design is according to the “boosters” much more than only “green” and environmental issues. What do you think?...
The Uranium Paradox: Reason To Favor Coal-Fired Electricity? Or Not?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.18.07
As a bit of black humor (pun intended), here's evidence that coal burning can emit more radiation than well run nuclear plants*. One way to reduce this radiation exposure, apparently, is to extract the uranium found naturally in coal-generated fly ash - and process it into some nuclear fuel rods, where a proper job of risk management can then occur (unlike with coal plants).
A glance at the graphic tells you why this is happening.
The benefaction technology presents a weird synergy with coal burning. Sulfuric acid, which could be made with the sulfur or sulfur oxides extracted from the coal emissions, is used to leach out the uranium from fly-ash.
Sparton Resources Inc. reported today that its ongoing uranium extraction testing program has successfully produced a small amount of yellowcake (U3O8) from [coal based] fly ash samples taken from the China Guodian Xiaolongtang Thermal Power Plant in central Yunnan Province PRC). The test work is being done by the Company's processing engineering consulting firm Lyntek Inc. of Denver, Colorado, USA. Yellowcake (U3O8) is the uranium compound produced and sold by most uranium producers and is the uranium bearing raw material whose price is quoted in international markets....
Forecast Earth Summit for High School Students: Get Your Voice Heard!
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.18.07
If you’re a high school student with ideas for protecting the environment you’d like to see put into action, The Weather Channel just announced its Forecast Earth Summit, and it might be a great chance to get your voice heard by some of the top minds in the country. Essentially, they’re offering 20 students from across America the opportunity to network and engage with their expert climatologist Dr. Heidi Cullen, as well as a number of other environmental leaders, enthusiasts and scientists during their upcoming three day summit.
And while it’s not clear who all else will be there, it certainly does seem like an interesting opportunity to take an in-depth look at the environment with the folks at The Weather Channel.
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More Hits from the London Design Festival
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.18.07
The London Design Festival is done and dusted, but everyone has their own views on the best of the fest'. Here are a few more entries that are sustainable and impressive. The Best Eco Product Award went to Peter Masters' Final Stand dining room table. The legs are made of recycled wood from ‘TRM’, (timber recycling Manchester) or ‘FSC’ managed timber, and whenever possible then finished with vinegar stain and ‘Tung’ oil which is a natural oil with no toxins. The top is made from 15 per cent recycled glass (a higher proportion isn't flawless). "I want to show that you can make work that is desirable but does not cost the earth, or harm it either" Masters says. It is manufactured in the UK to minimise the need for transport.
Taking the minimal travel concept to its extreme, "Reduce Carbon Footprint Souvenirs" (pictured) show how one could email a virtual souvenir to a friend, using 3D print technology. They could then "print" it out as a solid object. They are doing it in other areas such as furniture production now; so why not. No packaging, no carbon footprint, no jet lag. ...
Strida 5: The World's Simplest Folding Bike
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.18.07
We first spied the slick Strida 3 folding commuter bike a few years back and thought it was pretty cool; they're now ready to unleash the Strida 5 on the world ("the world's simplest folding bike," they call it), and have made some notable improvements. It's lighter at 19.4 pounds (compared to 22), uses disc brakes (instead of drum) and has alloys for the rims and hubs (instead of nylon and plastic). All this, and it still folds down in six seconds to a handy, diminutive size that lends itself oh so well to the short commute.
The 5 is scheduled to ship in silver and red on October 25, with all other colors (black, blue, orange, pink, white and yellow) on December 7; get more info and pics over at the Strida site. ::Strida via ::swissmiss...
Loggerhead Turtle By-catch Highlights Importance of Local Solutions
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 10.18.07
Arriving in Baja California, Mexico for the first time, S. Hoyt Peckham encountered something out of the twilight zone - endangered loggerhead turtle carcases strewn carelessly across the beaches. Peckham soon discovered the grisly scene was the result of by-catch from the fishing industry. As a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz he was so moved by the scene that he dedicated the next six years of his life to studying the problems associated with by-catch.
Peckham and his colleagues published a surprising paper yesterday that shows how small-scale local fisheries, employing over 99% of the world's 51 million fishers, are likely the greatest threat to by-catch of species like the loggerhead turtles. It also shows how local solutions involving a better understanding of the marine environment and the behavior of organisms can lead to tremendous gains in developing a sustainable fishery....
Costa Rica Trades Conservation for Debt
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 10.18.07
The U.S. government and environmental groups have agreed to let Costa Rica off the hook on US$26 million in debt, but the country will have to invest the same quantity for tropical forest conservation over the next 16 years, according to an agreement reached Wednesday.
The nifty deal fits into the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act whereby the U.S. government can buy back debt in exchange for conservation projects at a discounted rate. In this case, the U.S. government will spend US$12.6 million, while Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy will each contribute US$1.26 million. Six other countries currently have TFCA agreements: Bangladesh, Belize, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, and the Philippines.
"Costa Rica is teeming with natural beauty, biodiversity and threatened species," said Stephanie Meeks, The Nature Conservancy's chief executive. "And as an increasingly popular tourist and retirement destination, it faces increasing development pressure." :: Via International Herald Tribune
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Ecotricity: 20 More Urban Wind Projects Planned
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.18.07
Ecotricity, the UK renewable energy pioneer whose founder, Dale Vince, we interviewed here, seems to be continuing with its push to place wind turbines in urban, industrialized ‘brownfield’ sites. In a report over at The Guardian, Vince recently announced that they have up to 20 urban turbine projects in the pipeline. The driver for this was clear – much swifter planning processes and a lack of NIMBY opposition:
In rural areas we repeatedly come up against a minority of local residents and councils adopting the 'not in my back yard' approach. It's the complete opposite in urban/industrial areas where such proposals have been largely welcomed. In some cases they have been approved straight away.We tend to be in favor of well-sited wind turbines, even if they do change the view somewhat. However, we all need wilderness too, and we are delighted to see Ecotricity exploiting the opportunities of already industrialized landscapes rather than turning its attentions immediately to our national parks. ::Guardian::via Ecotricity:: via site visit:: ...
Trees + Community = Tree-nation
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 10.18.07
If you can’t get enough of your online social networks like Facebook or Linkedin and you’d also like to see more trees on this planet, then it’s time for you to join Tree-nation. The goal of this ecological project is to plant 8 million trees in the Sahara to fight climate change, desertification and poverty. With their project, they support UNEP’s Billion Tree Campaign.
8 Million trees in the desert, a unique mapping technique and a growing online community is what makes this project stand out. You can buy your own tree online: choose one of 5 tree species (prices range from 10-75€), personalise it and plant it. A GPS allows you to spot your tree online anytime. ...
Fall Into Solar Energy
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 10.17.07
Image - zone41
Holy khakis batman! Gap announced this week a partnership with MMA Renewable Ventures to host a 1MW solar panel array at their Fresno, California distribution center. Like other MMA partnerships we have talked about (such as the Denver International Airport and Fetzer Vineyards), MMA will own and operate the solar system on five acres of adjacent land, with Gap purchase the power for its facility. All in all the system will put out 1.9 million kilowatt hours per year, which the press release tells us equals the power requirements of 350 homes. Maybe we should now be expecting Gap to move towards organic threads? Oh, wait...
::Via press release
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It Slices, It Dices: Round, A Multi-Functional, Modular Coffee Table by Luciano Bertonici
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.17.07
Multi-functional and modular: two of TreeHugger's "M" words, and both present here in Luciano Bertonici's "Round" coffee table. On wheels for easy moving and multiple homes in small spaces, the table sports three hollow surfaces that rotate all the way around, allowing for lots of hidden storage space and maximizing the given space.
It's available in wenge, ebony and black and white ebony finishes, and the interiors are finished in black; we'd love to see it in bamboo or an FSC-certified alternative. Hit the jump for another pic. ::Luciano Bertoncini's Round via ::Apartment Therapy...
TH Forums Highlights: Battery Disposal, Non-Chemical Weed Killers + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.17.07
1) Forums user monkeyguru is looking for some help when it comes to recycling (or not) alkaline batteries. "[S]ome sources I have looked at so far imply that alkaline batteries are OK to put in your standard waste disposal for landfill, is this right?" We're glad you asked, monkey; it turns out that is not right, but what to do instead?
2) User gogreenbiz is looking for some non-chemical weed-killing solutions for both before and after germination; it seems that bending over and plucking them individually from the ground has become too much, and we can't blame you for that! Some respondents in the thread say "yes" to vinegar and boiling water and some say "no." Thoughts?
3) Lastly, Forums user BRBonowicz is producing a new film called "Who Stole the Electric Car?", a "road trip comedy that General Motors doesn't want you to see" about a guy who steals an electric car to win his TreeHugging girlfriend back. Would you go see this movie; does it have a place in environmentalism and our culture lexicon as a whole? Discuss.
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.
...Super-Thin Solar Cells Developed for Nanoelectronics
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.17.07
Just when you thought scientists had developed the smallest solar cells yet, they have to go and "up" the notch again with an even smaller model. Case in point is the latest solar cell from a team of chemists at Harvard University - coming in at a minuscule two hundredth the size of a normal human hair. The team, led by Charles Lieber, believes it could help power the nanogadgets of tomorrow - everything from consumer tech to medical diagnostics.
The tiny silicon nanowires convert light into electrical energy, producing the equivalent of about 200 picowatts. Incoming light produces electrons in the outer shell of the wire's multilayered structure; they are eventually moved down micropores into its core, producing electrical charges. Though not much (that's only two hundred billionths of a watt), Lieber explains that, on a nanoscale level, it should be enough to run ultra-low power electronics that could be worn both on and inside the body. ...
Being Green Isn’t Black & White: Nau’s Grey Matters
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.17.07
“I'm not sure what to call it, perhaps coincidence, perhaps serendipity, perhaps parallel universes, but yesterday we launched a new section on our site called Grey Matters.” That was Ian Yolles of Nau commenting on our post about Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles last week.
‘Coz just as Patagonia has chosen to expose their product line’s delicate underbelly, so too have Nau. Although Grey Matters lacks the extra showmanship of Patagonia’s maps and videos Nau’s intent is the same. To be frank, open and transparent with their customers about the origins of the product they’re offering for sale.
Take for example their discussion on homeworkers, (sewing machinists and knitters that work from home, not in a structured factory setting). Nau’s business manifesto directs them to use production that is factory based, as they believe it’s more readily assessed by independent inspectors. They recently discovered that some knitted garments in the range had, without their consent, been crafted by home workers.
Production of knitted apparel for upcoming seasons, that might’ve been caught up in the same bind, has been suspended. But they wanted to advise customers that some existing inventory falls outside the parameters of Nau's manufacturing code of conduct, so they can make more informed purchasing decisions. ...
Living Simplicity in Design: Teo Stool
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.17.07
Back to the Premio Vico Magistretti design contest for a closer look at what happens when you "combine simplicity with playfulness, elegance, freshness, and contemporary spirit in home and office furniture design." Sponsored by designboom (we stopped in yesterday for a peek), this "living simplicity in furniture design" contest shows how green and simple can go together hand in hand.
The "Teo Stool," by Argentinian designers Luciana Gonzalez Granco and Cristian Mohaded, took second prize in the contest; using some pretty smart geometry, it starts as a flat piece and folds up into a modern, utilitarian shape that can be constructed out of just about anything. Hit the jump for more pics and an explanation in the designers' own words. ::Teo Stool...
Radiohead Breaks Through Last Digital Music Barriers
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 10.17.07
The digital music revolution may just be complete. With one of the world's most commercially and critically successful bands releasing their new album exclusively in digital form from their website, even the most strident High Fidelity-style music snob has to go digital. Radiohead's newest masterpiece, "In Rainbows," is exclusive to www.inrainbows.com until December, when a box set containing the album and accompanying artwork can be purchased for £40/$81. Still, digital form will still be the sole way to get the album without the rest of the box set extras included, and the only way to get the album without spending a fortune. In fact, you can pay whatever amount you feel you should on the site - a name your own price incentive to go digital. ...
Most Huggable: Dumping Lead Toys, a Bear Rescue, Stepping It Forward, and More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.17.07
With lead-contaminated toys recalled, what happens to them now? Finding a new species often means discovering the danger it's in. Green Expander sheds light on 20 such cases… A bear trapped on a bridge is bravely rescued and lowered to safety. Check out the pics… Step it Up! isn’t over. In fact, it’s just getting going, with daily action and mounting momentum… Not every eco-author-entrepreneur can reach the reading masses, but this one did. Eco-Libris followed the tale… Most Huggable is a daily roundup of some of Hugg’s top stories. Why not submit your own green news? ...
Climate Change Is A Threat To Global Security, Says Pachauri Of IPCC
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10.17.07
With a Nobel Peace Prize behind it, it’s back to business for the UN’s climate change watchdog IPCC and its head, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri – starting with today’s dire prediction that even with present efforts to curb global warming, sea levels could still continue to rise for a long, long time. "The inertia in the system is such that ... the impacts of climate change will continue for a long time," said Pachauri. "In the case of sea level rise it will continue for decades, for centuries or millennia," he told reporters in Geneva during the inauguration of the Global Humanitarian Forum, a new organization for coordinating global humanitarian aid efforts. In addition, Pachauri emphasized the need to recognize that changes to global climates will most likely increase incidents of human conflicts as resources – such as water and arable land – become scarce, whether it is due to desertification or flooding, or other extreme weather events. It is something we are now witnessing, for example, in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and especially in the Darfur conflict of Sudan, where water scarcity certainly played a part in escalating desperate bids for survival into all-out genocidal violence....
Solar Decathlon 2007
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 10.17.07
Forget battle of the bands, we can’t get enough battle of the solar homes (AKA Solar Decathlon) here at TreeHugger. This year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy succeeds again in bringing together 20 university teams to compete in creating the most inviting and efficient solar-powered home based on a strict set of criteria.
Hard hats in hand, TreeHugger went on location with Planet Green (stay tuned for their Solar Showdown special airing on Discovery Home in December!) to get a special glimpse into the lives of these young, solar-achievers and their solar abodes before winners are announced on Friday. Stay tuned: Tomorrow, University of Maryland’s masterpiece and an interview with their solar tech teammate. ...
Get Out of the Car, Lose Weight
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
No Impact Man posts this interesting graph showing what happens when more of the population walks, cycles, or takes public transit: they are generally skinnier and healthier. Given that the alternatives to driving are all better for the environment, aid in the struggle for energy independence, and delay the impact of peak oil, Why do our planners and elected representatives even permit low density suburban development? Why do they not insist that everyone have access to good public transit? Why are there not bike lanes everywhere?
We suspect there might be other factors going on here as well, such as diet, (those deep fried mars bars spike the UK obesity rate) but it is interesting nonetheless. ::No Impact Man
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MOMO Mixes Clean Lines, Green Roofs
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.17.07
Scandinavians cherish summer more than most - they don't mind tight urban quarters but when the sun shines they want to decamp to a cute little stuga (cottage) close to the water. Swedish architect Thomas Lind designed MOMO - which stands for Modernistiskt Modulhuskoncept, or modern module house concept - to get away from the cutesy part but still keep everything else required of a summer abode. Lind says MOMO's modular prefab units come in flat packs but must be assembled by an experienced builder. Lind doesn't claim that the 10-square-meter (107 sq. ft.) modules are deep green, though their small size certainly helps. He says they are "high quality and healthy materials" mainly solid wood using traditional stains outside and whitewash on inner walls. ...
Climate Neutral Driving...for Dummies?
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.17.07
Sometimes it is tricky to know where good intentions end and greenwash begins, and Volvo's line of Flexifuel cars, available in Europe, seems to toe the line. The V70 Flexifuel - recently released for sale in Sweden - runs on regular gas or ethanol E85. In addition to the already available V50 and the S40, Volvo also just announced the sporty C30 will also be made available as a Flexifuel racing car.
Putting aside all the contentious issues around ethanol, Volvo is calling Flexifuel vehicles 'eco-cars' and has big ad spreads in Swedish papers with headlines such as, "New Volvo V70 Flexifuel - a blend of ethanol and wind power." But wait...what's wind got to do with it?...
Ecolect: Creating A Sustainable Materials Database and Community
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.17.07
Ecolect is a new online sustainable materials database and community created "to be the largest, freely accessible sustainable materials library in the world."
The site was created to save designers time and money by answering these questions: where do I find sustainable materials, what makes them sustainable, and who else is using them and how. Though just under way, the database is filling up with sustainable materials regular TreeHugger readers will recognize, like AMF Safecoat paint, biobased insulation and Globus cork flooring. Since it's been created as a virtual two-way street, if you have a favorite sustainable material, they want to hear about it; drop them a line and you might see it up on the site a short time later.
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The Paperclip Lamp: LEDs Might Make it Easier to Get Work Done
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.17.07
Using the ubiquitous shape that just begs to be bent and re-bent, designers Ben Collette and David Wykes have taken something you use at work and turned it in to something that can help you see your work. The aptly named Paperclip Lamp employs a string of efficient LEDs to create a pretty slick, changeable form; as with the paper accoutrement, you get different functions with different shapes. It's just a prototype for now, as the designers are seeking manufacturing partners; we wouldn't be surprised to see this baby on shelves soon. See a few if the many forms after the jump. ::Paperclip Lamp via ::MoCo Loco...
Extreme Conservation Japanese Style
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
From NPR, Climate Connections:
Motoyuki Shibata isn't a typical Japanese.
He and his wife, Hitomi, don't own a car. They have a solar panel on the roof. They collect rainwater in an old whiskey barrel to water the plants, and they don't use dish soap.
Shibata's biggest luxury is a wooden Japanese soaking tub, which he built himself. He sits in the tub after he has thoroughly scrubbed himself. After the soak, the bathwater is recycled — and reused for washing clothes. The process is facilitated by a simple hookup.
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Why We Love The Idea of Printing Buildings
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
How Do You Photograph a Green Building?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
Paul Hester on photographing Lake/Flato's World Birding Center Headquarters in Mission, Texas, “I just waited for people to do something”
An interesting article in Architect Magazine about the problems of photographing green buildings. I would not have assumed that it was any different than shooting regular buildings but photographers differ.
"“The problem of sustainable design is a great one,” says Washington, D.C.–based photographer Prakash Patel. “What is it we're trying to represent? Is it just what you can see?” Fresh air and thermal comfort are experienced by the entire body, not just the eye. Though balanced daylight is critical, photographers routinely rely on heavy artificial lighting, and the results often appear flat and unnatural....
The 5 Simple Rules Of Green Marketing: By J. Ottman
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.17.07
Jacquelyn Ottman, who we've featured here before, let us republish the first section of her recent "5 Simple Rules" article as a help for those of you working on the marketing side of green. Here we go:
"When it comes to shining a spotlight on specific sustainability issues, NGOs and consumer groups will target the most respected and trusted brands in the world. It's the reason why Home Depot was targeted for sustainable harvested wood, Nike for child labor practices, McDonalds for Styrofoam clamshells and now obesity, and why Coke is similarly a target for sugar and packaging. What does this all mean for your business? Simply stated, if you don't manage your business with respect to environmental and social sustainability, your business will not be sustained!
But the converse is true, too: A strong commitment to environmental sustainability in product design and manufacture can yield significant opportunities to grow your business, to innovate, and to build brand equity. All you have to do is get the word out...right?
As with any other major business endeavor, easier said than done. Many a responsible company has run into trouble with these very same sustainability minded NGOs and consumer groups thanks to a poorly planned and crafted marketing message. Protect your company from these common pitfalls and start taking advantage of new opportunities by heeding my Rules of Green Marketing:...
Canadian Enviros Wearing Bags Over Their Heads Today
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
Governor General Michaëlle Jean probably choked on the words the guy on the left made her say in the Canadian Speach from the Throne yesterday, outlining his plans for the next sitting of parliament.
As Desmogblog puts it: A decade ago, this country - which vies with the U.S. and Australia for the title of the worst per capita polluter among major world economies - promised to reduce GHGs by seven per cent below the 1990 level. Today, as Prime Minister Harper's speech confirms, we are dumping our airborne garbage at a rate that is 33 per cent above that 1990 benchmark.
So, Mr. Harper proposes a new target that won't even bring us back to the benchmark and a new deadline that is eight years later than the one Canada committed to in Kyoto.
No wonder the clapping was contained to the members of Prime Minister Harper's own minority Conservative government. Everyone else is hanging their head in shame. ::Desmogblog...
Wear Test: Loomstate for Barneys Green's Reflection Jeans
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.17.07
We recently pulled on a pair of jeans that Loomstate developed together with Barneys New York, a partnership that aspires to champion all that is sexy, stylish, and eco-friendly on and off the catwalk. Loomstate for Barneys Green's Reflection, dubbed the "ultimate green jean," is a straight-cut number that hugs your natural waist and elongates your legs with its clean, unbroken lines.
Made from ring-spun 100 percent organic-cotton yarns that are woven into denim fabric on vintage narrow shuttle looms right here in the U.S. of A., Reflection is buttery soft against your skin....
Environmental Campaigner Jailed
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 10.17.07
A campaigner who highlighted heavy pollution in Lake Tai, China, has been arrested and detained by the Chinese government. The New York Times has a fascinating feature on how politics comes into play in environmental issues in China, occasionally ending in a sad situation like this.
The article claims that, while the central government of China is talking of green action, local governments are under heavy pressure to sustain fast economic growth, and have a wide range of powers to do so. ...
Reviewed: 2D Design to 3D Product Process at Ponoko
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.17.07
TreeHugger first spied Ponoko a few months back, and was intrigued by the idea that you could submit a design online and have the pieces for said design show up at your house a few days later. It combines several of our favorite models for a greener world: flat pack, downloadable designs and efficient production, creating on demand rather than en masse. Sounds good, but does it really work?...
How To Give A Robot A Bath
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.17.07
Roomba the floor vacuuming robot was happy for most of the three years he'd worked in my kitchen. Toward the end of his first term on planet kitchen, however, he'd got himself pretty dodgey looking and liked to dance a little robot back-step on no provocation at all. At the end, he'd taken to jiggling from side to side on a short cleaning path and then would just blink out with some weird beep strings. Robot death.
No amount of on-line trouble shooting helped; so, I ordered up a new rechargeable battery, cleaned all the sensors, and lubricated the visible moving parts with a spray on silicone lube. To no avail.
He sounded happy for a few moments, thrilled with the new battery; but, he still couldn't clean around the individual chair legs like he'd done for years. Dog hair taunted him, hanging tight to the chair legs.
This was clearly a case of advanced robot arthritis. Internal servo-mechanical devices were unevenly filthied up, and rotor bushings plugged with greasy kitchen floor dust. Or was it some unique residue of Labrador Retriever? At any rate, Roomba was done for - off the team. No way was I going to send him back for an overhaul at his advanced age. A new one was around US$200; so, it was looking like I'd be back to my pre-Jetson brooming and chair shuffling....
Really Skinny Houses from Japan
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
Really skinny lots are common in Japan, and land assembly is difficult. Architects have adapted and produced some really elegant and effective solutions. Eric Morehouse has gathered a number of them together for his site Eye Candy; from left is Lucky Drops by Atelier Tekuto, C house by Jun Aoki, and MOH by Mitsuhiko Sato Architect. Living with less (land, anyways) never looked so good.
A gold mine for future posts at ::Eyecandy...
Tanzanian NGO Boos GMOs on World Food Day
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 10.17.07
Tuesday was World Food Day, and the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), a Tanzanian NGO, marked the day with an event in the city of Mwanza on the importance of organics and the risks of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
"There needs to be a space for development that is not created by donating chemical fertilizers, but rather supporting the generation and improvement of indigenous local knowledge," said Mwatima Juma, the chairwoman of TOAM's board of directors.
According to Mwatima, the most adverse effect of GMO foods is that developed countries are dumping their agricultural surpluses on developing countries, hence creating unfair competition. Once sold on the world market at lower prices than the production costs, they depress local prices.
Organic farming produces the same yields of corn and soybeans as conventional farming. It uses 30 per cent less energy, less water and no pesticides, according to Mwatima. Over 850 million people around the world, particularly in the least developed countries, suffer from hunger and malnutrition. :: Via Guardian ...
Britain Claims Bigger Slice of Antarctic Pie
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
For those who thought that Russia claiming the North Pole was nuts, ('cause everyone knows it's Canadian) here is a claim that's even weirder: The United Kingdom is planning to claim rights to over a million square kilometres (386,000 square miles) of Antarctic seabed. According to the Guardian, much of the seabed there is at such a depth that extraction of gas, oil or minerals is not yet technically feasible, but it reflects the UK's efforts to secure resources for the future as oil and natural gas reserves dwindle over the coming decades.
No doubt the Argentineans will be pleased to see Britain try to extend its claim from 1908 of a big slice of the Antarctic pie, based on the fact that Quote of the Day: Majora Carter on Greening the Ghetto
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.17.07
Survey: What Tribe Are You?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
We are preaching to the converted by running this survey on TreeHugger, but who knows. The Climate Group, "an independent, nonprofit organisation dedicated to advancing business and government leadership on climate change" surveyed people in the UK (are they still called British Subjects?) to "track year-on-year consumer perceptions of how brands are performing on climate change. Looking in detail at individuals’ attitudes and behaviours, the research segmented the consumer market into six ‘tribes’. This shows how UK consumers are motivated by very distinct drivers, which require different approaches from brands." Their findings in the UK are below the fold, but before you go there,
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Green Building Festival Coming to Toronto
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.17.07
Notwithstanding my rant about their sponsor, I still hope they will let me into the Green Building Festival on October 24 in Toronto. It is "a two day event focused on bringing green building to the mainstream. This year's program, Building Performance, Building Value looks at the real world impacts of green building." So many of the speakers have been on TreeHugger before:
- Barry Sampson is talking about the Thomas Wells Public School;
Gordon Stratford of HOK in Greening the Workplace;
David Sisam of Montgomery Sisam on The Impact of Urban Form on Public Health;
Luigi Ferrara on the World House Project;
and the keynote speaker is Avi Friedman on Sustainable Urban Planning.
Toss in an overview of the Equilibrium Houses and the solar suburban town of Okotoks and there is a full slate of TreeHugger goodies. ::Green Building Festival
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Pivot: Chicago's First Eco Boutique
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10.17.07
While shopping online is fun and convenient sometimes you just want to feel that soft bamboo t-shirt or try on that hemp silk dress before you buy. Jessa Brinkmeyer, seeing the demand for more hands-on eco-fashion in the relatively green city of Chicago, opened the Pivot boutique last month. Positioning the store amongst the hip galleries and restaurants of the meatpacking district, Fulton Market, lends a cutting edge appeal; as do the designers she has in stock including several TreeHugger favs such as Linda Loudermilk, Ciel, Sans and Loyale.
Through her work as a fashion editor Jessa became interested in eco-smart fashion and consequently realised that her "positive actions had diminished since her childhood". Through starting up her own eco-boutique Jessa says she has "rekindled her desire to live a more sustainable everyday life." Pivot's interior has been designed by local artist Joshua Height of Brickermade. He uses recycled materials to create unique custom furniture, some select pieces of which will be on sale. Thanks to Kyeann Sayer for the tip. :: Pivot ...
The Volitan: The Solar/Wind Powered Concept Sail-Vessel
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.17.07
Might the Volitan presage a new generation of lightweight, fully sustainable boats? It certainly sounds good on paper: the futuristic vessel would use solid sails - equipped with double layer solar cell panels - to harness both wind and solar energy and would have an incredibly light, stiff body structure, courtesy of its carbon fiber and epoxy resin composite-made shell and carbon-foam core lamination. Its body would also have an epoxy primer coat and ultraviolet resistant coating.
Connected to the twin 220 HP/DC electric motors would be two suspended wings to help maneuver the ship. In addition, a hydraulic/servo system located in the wings would activate the sleek Volitan's unique performance sail system. Its final dimensions would lie around 105’3“ in (length), 24’8” in (height), 92’7” in (width at the solar wings) and 24’9” in (width at low body)....
Save The Planet? Forget About It...
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.17.07
“Please, I beg you, if you care about climate change forget about "saving the planet".” So argues George Marshall, founder of the Climate Outreach Network in a blog post over at the Guardian. We’re inclined to agree. Before the angry comments pile up, we should clarify that he is in no way suggesting we give up on the struggle, merely that we change the way we frame the argument. TreeHugger has long been clear about the fact that we need to change the way we talk about and present sustainability. From our celebrations of modern green design through to guest posts on marketing really, really well, our motto of “hip not hippy” has been a rallying cry for presenting a vibrant, forward looking vision of the future. According to George, there is no better example of the need to change our language than that tired old phrase “saving the planet”:
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New Marine Species Found in the Deeps of Celebes Sea
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.17.07
Yes, we know - we're suckers for new species discoveries. The latest deep sea beastie roundup comes courtesy of an international research team that has just returned from the secluded Celebes Sea in Southeast Asia. The expedition - led by American Larry Madin, the director of research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) - sought to explore one of the world's deepest and least studied ocean basins, a highly diverse habitat believed to host some of the oceans' oldest residents.
Among the numerous specimens they brought back from the frigid depths, several never before seen species stood out - including a spiny orange worm with tentacles growing out of its head, a black jellyfish and a black-eyed squid....
Go Green Database: A Terrific Resource for Teachers
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.17.07
If you’re an educator who’s working hard to help your students better understand the environment and our connection to it, The George Lucas Educational Foundation's recently launched "Go Green Database" looks sharp to me. And while not a part of the shining example for environmental outreach to schools that is the Go Green Initiative, it is a part of Edutopia, a terrific and well-known educational resource for teachers in general.
The database itself features Green projects, lesson plans, and other resources that can be searched by topic, grade level, cost and location. And it also allows users to add, rate and comment on or upload their own resources, becoming a permanent feature on Edutopia in the process.
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Role Models for London
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.17.07
With all the excitement over high profile activists such as Nobel Prize winning Al Gore, we sometimes forget that social and political change also comes from committed people and groups working together at the local level. In recognition of the importance of strong community leadership, a new initiative has been launched by the Mayor of London and the London Sustainable Development Commission (LSDC). They have named 15 London Leaders who will demonstrate, in a practical way, how individual action can make a difference. These men (and a few women) will have a year to serve as role models within their respective communities and motivate them to do more.
At London City Hall (a sustainable building), in front of an audience of 200 people including eco-hero Herbert Girardet, each leader explained their commitment. A Vicar is going to encourage other churches to get involved in sustainability issues, a local businessman hopes to make Brixton a hub of green small businesses, another wants to create green roofs on financial institutions, and another wants to build the first sustainable entertainment venue. One woman wants to promote sustainability in the film and advertising worlds and another wants to work in the cultural area to expand awareness....
PolarPalooza Is Coming To Town
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.17.07
Look out Al Gore, the PolarPalooza is bringing the good word on climate change to communities all across the US, and it hits San Diego this weekend. The event is dubbed the PolarPalooza because, “like the rock tour, we hope to be a little out of the box, and always on the edge.”
The event aims to educate the public about the known science on climate change, as well as regional expectations for San Diego due to climate change. We’re betting water resources will be on the list. The topic is why we should care about the poles, but it also bring the issue local explaining why the poles are important to San Diego, a place not known for its cold temps and where the only polar bears or penguins are found at the zoo....
Why Hay Is Fabulous (And Halting Erosion In Iceland)
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10.16.07
It may seem too simple to be true, but to combat the spread of so-called “erosion escarpments” or rofabards (see above) Icelandic farmers have turned to spreading cut-up hay to halt the slow creep of desertification on the island. And so far, it seems to be working. This sustainable practice has developed from what seems to be a happy accident during the seventies, when originally farmers wanted to get rid of unusable hay bales, which were then wrapped in plastic. Birds, attracted to a chemical component in the plastic, pecked holes in the plastic, allowing the hay to dampen and become unusable. The farmers took the useless hay up to the highland pastures, chopped it up and left it at the foot of the escarpments. The wind blew and soil anchored around the hay amidst the escarpments and encouraging vegetation to take root – and hay also gradually transforms into soil and becomes another rebuilding constituent. (Parallels to no-tillage champion Masanobu Fukuoka’s documented usage of randomly-spread hay, done after harvesting to further enrich the soil, is something that certainly comes to mind.) ...
Number of the Day: 5
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.16.07
5 -- the number of pounds of cosmetics (well, 4 pounds 6 ounces) women who use make-up every day can absorb through their skin, over the period of one year, according to Richard Bence, a British biochemist, as reported in the Telegraph newspaper.
"We really need to start questioning the products we are putting on our skin and not just assume that the chemicals in them are safe. We have no idea what these chemicals do when they are mixed together, the effect could be much greater than the sum of the individual parts," according to Bence. "If lipstick gets into your mouth it is broken down by the enzymes in saliva and in the stomach. But chemicals get straight into your bloodstream, there is no protection."
20 -- the number of different cosmetics some women use every day. Are you going to take the chance that some of those contain lead? Learn more about avoiding toxics in our guide to How to Green Your Women's Personal Care....
Pop!Tech 2007: Coming This Week to Maine, and a Webcast Near You
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.16.07
Pop!Tech, the annual technology and culture conference, is coming back to Camden, Maine starting on Thursday. Running through Saturday, it brings together a community of remarkable people to continue an ongoing conversation about science, technology and the future of ideas, and TreeHugger will be there, live blogging and conducting interviews with some of the most interesting people in the world.
We've taken note of Pop!Tech a couple of times, mentioning when they released an EP to support sustainable development, and enjoying a video by New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman about the green movement; the conference can always be counted on to show off innovative projects, propagate next-generation ideas, and, perhaps most importantly, illustrate a better way forward. For those who can't make it to Maine this year, Pop!Tech and Yahoo! will be teaming to provide a live webcast of the conference and take your questions from home.
Check out the schedule of events, and stay tuned for more as the conference gets under way. ::Pop!Tech...
Happy Trails: Florida Lodgings Get Green
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.16.07
The latest recipient of Florida's Green Lodging Program accreditation: Big Pine Key's Deer Run Bed & Breakfast, which provides organic vegetarian meals and buys fair-trade products and locally grown produce. The voluntary state initiative encourages and assists the lodging industry to adopt cost-saving green practices, while establishing environmental guidelines for hotels and motels to conserve natural resources and slash pollution.
Now one of the 43 hotels endorsed by Green Lodges, Deer Run has reduced energy consumption with energy-efficient appliances, compact fluorescent light bulbs, solar garden lighting, and on-demand water heating. ...
Nissan's New Mobile Office Just Perfect for TreeHuggers
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
Fixed offices are so 20th century when TreeHuggers have to be everywhere at once. That is why we so happy about the new Nissan NV200, which combines storage and usable interior space by pulling the interior out like a drawer when stopped, so that it is efficient and small while travelling, but gets good access to tools and great interior space when stopped. Instead of having to go back to the office to do our post, we can do it right on site, saving lots of time and fuel. Here it is set up for one of our famous underwater shoots, with all the camera and scuba gear at the ready. ...
Future of the Alps Conference Underway in Austria
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.16.07
Photo credit: marbrax
Some 400 people from 20 countries have hit the slopes of the winter sports mecca of Innsbruck, Austria for three days of discussions about the future of the Alps and the impact of climate change on the winter-sports industry and tourism.
Already, last season's unseasonably warm weather and disappointingly snowfall have produced increasingly harried hotel owners, ski-resort managers, and even politicians....
Mortgage Deduction Limit Gaining Traction
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
When we first covered John Dingell's proposal for a carbon tax limit on mortgage interest deductibility, nobody took it very seriouslly, because of his reputation as a defender if the auto industry and years of fighting against its regulation. Most in the movement questioned his motives.
But environmentalists are paying attention now; according to SF Gate, a number of scientific and environmental organizations think Dingell's proposals represent a gutsy first effort not only to cut consumption of carbon-based energy products, but to focus on energy usage and efficiency in the residential arena.
Lexi Shultz, Washington representative for climate policy of the Union of Concerned Scientists, says "the residential part of the (climate change) problem is very significant," ranging from excessive carbon-based energy consumption in homes to sprawl development of primary and secondary homes requiring long commutes and more highways....
Find Money to Winterize Your Home
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.16.07
Now that fall is in full swing, it's time to start thinking about battening down the hatches for Old Man Winter. But while energy improvements on your existing home may eventually pay for themselves through lower heating bills, scrimping all that money together at once isn't something everyone can afford to do.
Mother Earth News has tips on how to tap into lending institutions that offer mortgages tailored toward financing energy upgrades. If you need to take out a loan to buy a house or refinance an existing loan, the Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) could increase your loan to either help you purchase an energy-efficient home or to pay for energy upgrades to an existing one. Endorsed by Energy Star, EEMs are available through many government-insured loan programs, as well as from conventional lenders. ::Mother Earth News
Difficulty level: Moderate...
Premio Vico Magistretti: A Contest for Living Simplicity in Design
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.16.07
The good people at designboom recently teamed up with Italy's DePadova to organize and present the "Premio Vico Magistretti" design contest (to commemorate Vico Magistretti, the Italian architect and designer). 5402 designers from 98 different counties submitted entries on theme of "Living Simplicity and Furniture Design," and, after the dust settled, some really interesting designs rose to the top.
The winner, as selected by an international jury of architects, designers and engineers, was "Borrod," the table pictured above, submitted by Danish firm Line Depping. The contest was designed to combine simplicity with playfulness, elegance,
freshness, and contemporary spirit in home and office furniture design; though not explicitly green, many of the entries are excellent examples of quality sustainable design, as "simplicity" was interpreted in various shades of green. Hit the jump for another pic and to read about the thought process behind the winning design in the designers own words. ::Premio Vico Magistretti at designboom...
Green Halloween: Posts of Halloweens Past
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.16.07
Photo credit: januaryman
You can't keep a good post buried. Here are some Halloween posts we've summoned back from the Great Beyond, a.k.a. our archives. Click at your own peril!
1. Fair Trade Trick-or-Treat Chocolate
Global Exchange/Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates' fair-trade chox not only look delicious, but they are also a clever way to spread the word about fairly traded chocolate.
2. UnTreeHugger Food For Halloween
After a bit of research in the deepest web covered caves of the U.S. Federal Drug Agency, we've located a list of Halloween food ingredients sure to make us crave some organic food....
Virgin Atlantic testing Bio-fuel on Jumbo Jet
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 10.16.07
Virgin boss, Richard Branson, has announced that not only will his company begin producing bio-fuels, but that he is going to test them out on one of his own 747s. Would you want to be on this maiden flight?
Speaking to the Mortgage Bankers Association, of all things, he said that by the start of next decade his company will be producing their own bio-fuels for use in buses, trains and cars.
"Early next year we will fly one of our 747s without passengers with one of the fuels that we have developed," said Branson. Branson has previously mentioned cellulosic ethanol as one potential source, but said that there are problems with it freezing above 15,000 feet, and that butanol may be more suitable. Virgin will be working with Boeing and GE Aviation to create the fuel....
This Month In Dwell: Sustainability is Here To Stay
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
Dwel has just been getting better and better as of late, and the current issue is the best yet in its current renewal. There is a lot more online, great coverage of Jennifer Siegal at home, good coverage of our favourite sustainable vehicle, the bicycle, and a project by Della Valle Bernheimer in New York that is not single family housing for rich people, a rare thing in shelter porn.
There is an RV setup in Texas that is a great example of low impact living and affordable housing in Houston. Old White Male of the Month is Ralph Rapson; Cy Merkezas writes a terrific essay about how "If all homebuilders had to cart their materials by hand to their sites, houses might be a lot smaller.", which reminded me of Andre Lessard and Barbara Dewhirst's La Tour de Bébelles, where they carried everything in. Great reading at ::Dwell....
Quote of the Day: Paul Krugman on Doing the Right Thing
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.16.07
It’s in the interest of most people (and especially their descendants) that somebody do something to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, but each individual would like that somebody to be somebody else. Leave it up to the free market, and in a few generations Florida will be underwater.
The solution to such conflicts between self-interest and the common good is to provide individuals with an incentive to do the right thing. In this case, people have to be given a reason to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, either by requiring that they pay a tax on emissions or by requiring that they buy emission permits, which has pretty much the same effects as an emissions tax. We know that such policies work: the U.S. 'cap and trade' system of emission permits on sulfur dioxide has been highly successful at reducing acid rain....
Cement, the Unheralded Polluter
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
It is time again for the Green Building Festival in Toronto, and like last year, it is sponsored by St. Lawrence Cement. We did a rant last year at this time about why concrete isn't green and won't repeat it; instead we will note a column by David Adam in the Guardian.
"There were no climate change protesters waiting to jeer as the chief executives and other senior figures of one of the world's biggest industries gathered on Wednesday. Yet they represented a business that produces more than 5% of mankind's carbon dioxide emissions. And they were in Brussels to discuss climate change.
These chief executives deal in a more down-to-earth commodity: cement. It is the key ingredient in concrete, and one that is rapidly emerging as a major obstacle on the world's path to a low-carbon economy.
No company will make carbon-neutral cement any time soon. The manufacturing process depends on burning vast amounts of cheap coal to heat kilns to more than 1,500C. It also relies on the decomposition of limestone, a chemical change which frees carbon dioxide as a byproduct. So as demand for cement grows, for sewers, schools and hospitals as well as for luxury hotels and car parks, so will greenhouse gas emissions. Cement plants and factories across the world are projected to churn out almost 5bn tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by 2050 - 20 times as much as the government has pledged the entire UK will produce by that time."...
Green Halloween: Bag the Habit
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.16.07
Before you send your little monsters scampering off into the night trolling for candy, be sure to deep-six disposable paper and plastic loot sacks in favor of hardier totes and buckets they can reanimate year after year. Here are some devilish ideas we've scared up.
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1) We unearthed a frightful dearth of truly sustainable treat bags, but crafty types can buck the trend by whipping up their own brand of mischief. MagKnits has a free knitting pattern for a felted pumpkin basket (as pictured). For just under 8 bucks, crocheters can purchase a set of spooktacular patterns in such classic motifs as flying bats, Frankenstein's Monster, a jack-o-lantern, and a haunted house. |
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2) Not of the DIY persuasion? You can still support your local crafters and artisans by spending your coin at indie haunts such as Etsy.com. Simply type "halloween bag" into the search box. Another indie purveyor, Gifts Define, has tricked out its jack-o-lantern totes with mini (and adorably cross-looking) "Halloweetches". The entire kit and kaboodle will cost you $20. |
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3) They may not be made from the most eco-friendly of materials (to say the least), but the Halloween bag craft kits from Oriental Trading are howling-good, clean hands-on fun for little ghouls and boys. Starting at $7.99 for enough materials to make 12 carriers, they're one expense that won't drain the blood from your face. |
Oslo Train Spotting
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.16.07
Photo courtesy Oslo Sporveier
Riders used to the signature red subway cars clattering along in Norway's capital city for decades are now encountering shiny white, highly-efficient new models being swapped into service by the Oslo transit authority. The new trains, made by Siemens Transport Division in Vienna, emit around 2.6 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer traveled (for the metrically challenged think of it as 2/10ths of an ounce per mile). Over a 30-year lifetime that means 825 tons of CO2. So how good are those stats? Pretty good, it seems - the UK's Aviation Environment Federation calculates efficient cars emit about 100-130 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, and long-haul planes about twice that amount. ...
Designboost: An Introduction to the Sustainable Design Event
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.16.07
[Ed. note: This is the first in a series of guest posts by David Carlson, co-founder of Designboost, an inaugural event that's focusing on sustainable design this year. Take it away, David!]
Designboost is a completely novel concept and will take place for the first time 17–19 October 2007 in Malmö, Sweden. It consists of boost meetings, boost chats and a boost happening (formerly known as workshops, lectures and exhibition.) The overall theme for Designboost this first year is sustainable design, an issue that is as pressing as it is difficult to pinpoint. When it comes to sustainable design it’s likely that things need to be questioned. It’s important to look upon things from a new perspective. Since the world is constantly changing and the maps rewritten, it’s impossible to sit around and wait.
Seeing that design is a part of life and life is a constant process Designboost will be an annual event. The rational goal is to carry out a number of days with different items on the programme where the common denominator is design of the future and this year’s overall theme sustainable design, were sustainable is not just environmental aspect although that is a large part of the issue. The visionary goal is to inject the participants with thoughts and make them ponder, question, reflect, be worried and pleased about what design really is all about and how it should be handled and used to give people a better life in a more durable society....
We Won't Stay at Claridges Any More.
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
Well, this TreeHugger has knocked Claridges off the list of hotels in London where we will stay. And not because rooms start at a thousand bucks a night; it's the water. In an era when everyone should be concerned about their carbon footprint, Claridges has unveiled a "water list" with thirty brands, the most expensive being "420 Volcanic", shipped from New Zealand and selling for £50 a litre, or as Andrew Gilligan of the Evening Standard notes, "a mere five million per cent markup over Chateau Thames Tap."
Claridges' Renaud Gregoire tells the Evening Standard that "water is becoming like wine. Every guest has an opinion, and asks for a particular brand."
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Water Crisis Scenarios For The US Southeast
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.16.07
The water shortages in the US Southeast are serious now, as Lloyd's post of this morning well points out. Before you go read Lloyd and the New York Times, we suggest you do a little scenario thinking with us.
Here are two equally plausible scenarios for the next year. I named them to make for easy conversation. More scenarios are possible; but lets start with two. Which one do you think most resembles the future direction the Southeast is headed?
Springtime In Dixie
Real rain comes back in the winter and spring of 2008 - at least enough to pull back from the edge of a regional crisis - and life returns to "normal." More big houses get built. The landscape service trucks again block intersections every morning as usual. Power plant expansion plans go back in play. The cries of environmentalists for more water conservation measures fade into the din of traffic shuttling to and from the distant suburbs. Climate change is maybe not so real a threat after all....
Using the LongPen to Save Carbon (and Stay Out of Jail)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
We don't agree with the popular American outlook about climate change and peak oil-" don't worry, technology will save us", but sometimes technologies can make a real difference. Margaret Atwood didn't invent the LongPen to save carbon; she was tired of endless book tours. However since then that has become an important attribute, as authors like GeorgeMonbiot use it to do book signings while staying home.
And just imagine how much CO2 was saved by Conrad Black yesterday when he used the LongPen to sign copies of his doorstop "The Invincible Quest: the Life of Richard Milhous Nixon" written while he was awaiting trial in Chicago, instead of flying his jet to Toronto for the signing.
Remainder House by Openspace Architecture
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
Don Gurney of Openspace Architecture found a warehouse that was being demolished, and bought a pile of Douglas fir to build this house in the woods. Being a modest home of 610 SF on the main floor and 300 more in the loft, it didn't take a lot to build almost the entire house out of reclaimed materials.
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More GM Tinkering: Sticking Rabbit Genes into Poplars
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.16.07
A word of caution to those of you in the audience who deplore any- and everything GM-related: the content of this post may prove highly offensive/disturbing. Now that's not to say that TreeHugger approves of this type of genetic tinkering (in fact, we're not too fond of it ourselves) - we just think it has a place in the debate. For those of you still reading this - as you may have gathered from the title - a team of scientists from the University of Washington has shown that GM poplars (with a rabbit gene) can effectively break down industrial chemicals and explosives.
A team led by Sharon Doty inserted a gene that produces cytochrome P450 into several six-inch tall GM poplar cuttings and observed rates of removal of a chemical called trichloroethylene of up to 91%. Often used as an industrial degreaser, the potent ground water contaminant was reduced to a number of harmless byproducts - salt, water and carbon dioxide - at a rate 100 times as fast as in unaffected poplars. ...
Water Running Out in Atlanta
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.16.07
It has been called “the Rodney Dangerfield of natural disasters,” because it gets no respect, compared to floods or hurricanes, but every record in Georgia's history has been broken buy the current one. “People pay attention to hurricanes,” [state climatologist] David Stooksbury said. “They pay attention to tornadoes and earthquakes. But a drought will sneak up on you.” Lake Lanier, the main source of water for Atlanta, could be dry in 90 days.
According to the New York Times, Many had hoped that hurricane season, as it has in the past, would bring several soaking storms to the Southeast to replenish reservoirs that are at or near all-time lows. But the longed-for rains never materialized, and now in October, traditionally the driest month, significant rainfall remains out of the picture.
“We’re in a stressful situation now,” Mr. Crisp said, “but come next spring, if we don’t have substantial rainfall this winter, these reservoirs are not going to refill.”
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Modified Plastic Membrane Helps Strip Carbon Dioxide from Natural Gas
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.16.07
When it comes to greenhouse gases, few are as potent as methane - by some estimates, 25 times as much as the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. A group of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin has now found a way to separate carbon dioxide from natural gas - which consists primarily of methane - using a modified polymer.
The so-called thermally rearranged (TR) plastic essentially blocks natural gas from moving through hourglass-shaped pores located within it - allowing carbon dioxide to diffuse several hundred times faster through them than in conventional membranes. As Benny Freeman, a professor of chemical engineering and a co-author on the related Science article, explained: "The plastic chains move, and as they do, they open up gaps that allow certain gas molecules to wiggle through the plastic." In addition, the TR plastic is four times as effective in sifting carbon dioxide out through the pores. ...
Look What I Found
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.16.07
"Look what I found" is not only the title of a new exhibit at a craft gallery but it is also an expression of excitement at the work displayed. This is the first time that this well-respected gallery has had a whole show of recycled and environmental works and it is a delight. These artists take such obvious joy in transforming "worthless" materials into precious items of beauty. There are some familiar names from the Origin Craft Fair such as Magie Hollingworth who has tiny pots with 5£ (blue) or 10£ (orange) notes in the papier mache. Also on display are the fabulous necklaces of Minji Cho (pictured left) made of the tips of recycled rubber gloves, along with semi-precious stones.
Tracie Murchison's vessels out of layers of paper were very striking, and Janna Craze's creation of bedsprings and wire (pictured right) was meant to be a necklace but was a spectacular Calder-esque wall hanging. There were baskets of telephone wire by Rachel Max and Tarja Lehtinen sandblasts cameos on the bottoms of green glass bottles.
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A Search for the Greenest Grade School in America Leaves My Stomach Churning
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.16.07
Recently I pointed out that the marketing folks at Unilever were hard at work leveraging the green movement in Canada via the creation of the first national awards for young eco-heroes in that country, and it seems those same elves are cooking up this contest right here in America as well.
Turns out the “Go Green and Small with ‘all’” contest means your school could win a cool $50,000 towards an eco-improvement on campus, along with an iPod shuffle and accompanying solar charger for every kid in the school.
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Teen Green: Local Teens Making a Difference
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.16.07
They’re a recently established group of about a hundred teens, but students in Claremont, California are busy making a difference by creating a model environmental structure out of earth and biodegradable materials using Super Adobe, a form of earth construction pioneered by Iranian architect Nader Khalil.
Their group, called Teen Green is actually being supported by the non-profit Uncommon Good for the moment, and they’ve taken advantage of the Do Something network to help get the word out and involve others as well. That’s a non-profit group helping provide the funding, connections, and ability to help teens reach out and find others just like themselves who are making a positive difference, changing the world for the better in the process.
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The TH Interview: David Holmgren, Co-Creator of Permaculture
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10.16.07
“Many of the mainstream approaches to how we might make things more energetically efficient and ecologically friendly, although well intentioned, are a waste of time”, says David Holmgren. From a permaculture point of view, that is.
This is because this set of principles called permaculture have a more radical point of view to green. But don’t be scared just yet: we’re not asking that you leave all behind to live in an eco-village in the middle of the country.
In this talk TreeHugger held in Buenos Aires with Holmgren (one of the two people who created the concept of permaculture in the 1970s), you might discover that a lot of what he has to say makes perfect sense, and is a great way to stop and think. About what we really need, about the way we live, about the green movement, and about productive systems.
Some of it might be too much, we agree, but we promise this is a man worth listening; and the things he says, worth reflecting about. Specially in times where everybody is trying to sell us anything for green....
Wal-Mart's New Recycled, Reusable Bags
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.16.07
We have written an awful lot about Wal-Mart since their sustainability summit last week. We’ve asked for readers’ thoughts on the company’s sustainability efforts, we’ve reported back on how the summit went, we’ve interviewed exhibitors and Wal-Mart suppliers alike, and we’ve asked senior Wal-Mart executives about their plans for selling solar and how they interact with the political sphere. Among the many comments we’ve received to these posts, both positive and negative, the subject of plastic bags cropped up frequently. It seems that Wal-Mart’s massive use of disposable plastic carrier bags riles our readers no end. Now, it seems, the company is making at least some effort to reduce its contribution to this problem, with the introduction of a new, reusable carrier bag made from 85% recycled materials, including old water bottles.
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Colorado "Credit" System Shot at McMansion Plague
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 10.16.07
Like a boom of mushrooms on the lawn, McMansions spring up over night. These single-family homes of epic proportions, by nature shoddily-constructed, seem bent on marring the landscape. Will this trend continue? According to a recent article in Architectural Record, some communities across the U.S. are stepping in to implement regulations to this supersize-my-house movement In Boulder, Colorado for example--where the county’s median house size inflated from 3,881 square feet, in 1990, to a gargantuan 6,290 square feet in 2006--an innovative (or maybe just ingeniously complicated) proposed plan would require homeowners and developers to purchase credits. ...
All We Need, an Exhibition on Human Needs, Resources and Fairness
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 10.16.07
Photo © Armand Turpel
In the obsolete Halle des Soufflantes (Blower Building), a 5000 m2 industrial site dating back to the early 20th century in Esch, a city in southern Luxembourg, we went on an unusual and astonishing journey through the exhibition All We Need. Almost as large as its younger sister ‘Tate Modern’ in London, the Halle des Soufflantes has been left in its original state, displaying machines and turbines from the iron-and-steel works. Apart from the unique setting, the exhibition carries strong messages about what our fundamental needs are. They say basic needs are the same everywhere but people are satisfying them in different ways in different places. The exhibition analyses how northern countries tent to achieve happiness through consumption of products and their affects on the rights of other people on the planet. It also illustrates that when saturation is reached, the quality of life goes down.
ALL WE NEED explores the world as a global market through the human efforts to dream, imagine and live a happy life. The exhibition shows, in particular through the fair trade example, alternatives in consumption and life styles. It provides reflections and proposals for action on the essential questions touching the future of mankind: which are our fundamental needs, and how can we satisfy them without endangering neither the survival of our planet, nor human rights?...
Go Green School of the Week: Harvest Park Middle School in Pleasanton, CA!
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.15.07
That’s right folks, the Go Green Initiative announced their new “School of the Week” honors recently, and this week’s winner is Harvest Park Middle School in Pleasanton, CA. They were the first middle school to adopt the Go Green Initiative way back in 2003, and since then they’ve got students and teachers on board recycling paper, plastic, aluminum, ink cartridges and cell phones. Wow!
But the reason they’ve won top honors this week is that they’ve put a highly successful program in place to collect food scraps along with their accompanying paper wrappers and the like in 90 gallon tote containers, ultimately sending them off for composting. To pull it off they’ve teamed up with their local waste hauler, the Pleasanton Garbage Service, which supplied eight of the totes and picks them up three times a week. Today they’re diverting an incredible 2,160 gallons of compostable material from landfills a week while teaching students about the value of composting in the process.
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Algae Could Add Color to Textiles, Paint
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
You may never look at pond scum the same way again: British scientists have developed a safer and cheaper (there's the magic word) alternative to a dye industry that often wavers between environmentally dubious to ecologically damning—algae.
The algae, called diatoms, are single-celled organisms that pack hard silica shells that act like iridescent crystals. Depending on the configuration of the holes in the shells, their color shifts, without necessitating any changes in chemical composition.
"As the paint dries, they will all align themselves horizontally at the surface, all reflecting light the same way," said Andrew Parker, the Oxford researcher who helped develop the new technique, tells Wired. "So, even though you have completely transparent paint and completely transparent silica shells, they will produce a very strong color." ::Wired...
A Picture is Worth...Vomiting Planet
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.15.07
So, WTF is going on here? Yes, that really is our planet Earth, puking its guts out. It's not the most scientific exploration of environmental problems we've ever seen, but the video is still worth watching. While we don't want to give away many details, we'll just say that, according to the video, humans are responsible for this violent sickness and it's up to us to do something before it's too late. What are you going to do about it? Watch the video at ::Three Legged Legs via ::NotCot.org...
TH Forums Highlights: Avoiding Plastic Bags, Blog Action Day + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.15.07
Got yourself in a rhubarb of a pickle of a jam, green-wise? Hit up TreeHugger Forums and talk it out. Here are some of the recent highlights...
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) Let's talk plastic bag ridiculousness with Forums user TheSilentChamber. At issue: various retail outlets' insistence on giving you plastic bags, no matter how small the purchase. Their reason: it looks like you're shoplifting (and isn't good marketing) if you leave the store with merchandise without a bag. At fault: users have all experienced this at Wal-Mart, Sears, Publix and Michael's, and we suspect there are lots of other places we could add to this list. Anybody know a fool-proof way to avoid the bags? Or would biodegradable bags be a better option, all the way around? Discuss... |
 | 2) An oldie but goodie makes a resurgence as guest Alida Cornelius wonders about how much difference changing your light bulbs to CFLs could really make. A new round of back-of-the-napkin calculations have come through, pretty nearly verifying claims that 20 million tons of CO2 emissions are but a light bulb switch away. Sure, assumptions run rampant in these equations, but one constant remains: meaningful change is possible with widespread adoption of green behavior. |
 | 3) Lastly, Forums user gogreener wants to know who else hopped on board for Blog Action Day (which was today, you know). It was a chance to not only create some more green solidarity in the blogosphere, but to the give the movement some new voices and to look at the world of green through some eyes that don't consider the always put the environment at the top of their lists. Was it a success? Did you see it anywhere else around the web? Let's talk about it. |
Miscea: Hands-Free Faucet Delivers Water, Soap, LED Fun
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.15.07
Miscea has introduced their new Sensor Activated Faucet, a pretty fancy little gadget that features lasers (engraved glass), hands-free soap and lotion dispenser and temperature control, and motion-sensitive LEDs and water control. That's all pretty cool, but here's what we like: a potential for a 70% reduction in water use, thanks to the motion-controlled faucet. The touch-free interface, which is designed to do your bidding by sensing your needs (when you put your hands near it), automatically shuts off when you don't need the water -- when you're soaping your hands or brushing your teeth -- so you won't waste a drop. Combine it with a solar-powered water faucet and we'll really have something. Thanks to Nandini for the tip! ::Miscea via ::Bornrich ...
The First Vectrix Electric Scooter Delivery
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
The Windbelt: Third-World Wind Power
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
While he was working in Haiti, inventor Shawn Frayne, one of the recipients of Popular Mechanics' 2007 Breakthrough Awards last week, recognized the need for small-scale wind power to power LED lamps and radios in impoverished homes. But conventional wind turbines don't scale down well, because of too much friction in the gearbox and other components.
Inspired by aeroelastic flutter, the same phenomenon that brought the Tacoma Narrows Bridge crashing down in 1940, Frayne came up with an elegantly simple solution: The Windbelt, a taut membrane fitted with two magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph gusts of wind, making Frayne's device about 10 to 30 times more efficient than the best microturbines. And because the Windbelt will only cost a few dollars to make and is easily repairable by locals, it's also a technology that is appropriate to the environmental, cultural, and economic circumstances under which it'll be used—a key consideration many designers and engineers are now clueing into.
Watch a video of Frayne here. ::Popular Mechanics...
Microwaves vs. Ovens: What’s the Greenest Way to Heat Your Food?
by Union of Concerned Scientists on 10.15.07
You might have several appliances available in your kitchen that can cook, but which one you choose—and how you use it—can have a significant impact on your energy consumption. Here are some general tips for getting the most out of your appliances and a relatively easy way to figure out which appliance would use the least amount of energy to cook your food.
Stovetops: With an electric stovetop, make sure your pan completely covers the heating element. With gas burners, make sure the flame is fully below the pan; otherwise, you’re paying to heat the air around the pan, not just the pan itself. Also, use the appropriate size pan for your meal. Smaller pans are easier to heat up.
Keep appliances clean. Clean surfaces maximize the amount of energy reflected toward your food. This applies to microwaves, toasters, ovens and other appliances....
Tesla founder says previous electric cars "Pieces of Crap"
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 10.15.07
Martin Eberhard, the Tesla co-founder who recently stepped down as the CEO, has apparently made some very frank statements about the reasons why some previous electric car companies have failed. In a video interview he is apparently quoted as having said that going against mature car companies to create affordable cars won’t work, and that not getting the economies of scale that they do has caused previous affordable electric cars to be “a piece of crap”.
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Recycling is Hot
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
Recycling costs a lot of money, and traditionally the sale of the materials picked up didn't come close to covering the cost of picking up the goods. Then the boom times came to Asia and the price of scrap metal, paper and cardboard skyrocketed as it was shipped to the mills in China and India. Suddenly it became a business.
And a target; in New York, paper collection tonnage is down 25% and scrap metal, $250 per ton, doesn't hang around long either. (It's not just New York; we recently put an old gas barbecue out for pickup and it was gone in minutes.)
Economist Ted Siegler told the New York Times that theft of recyclables had been increasing across the country, with thieves even plucking steel manhole covers from streets. But Manhattan is a special case. “It has so much sitting on the curb in a congested area, and nobody has to go far to find a broker,” he said. ::New York Times...
Most Huggable: Toyota 2057, Spherical Solar Cells, Cod Collapse, and More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 10.15.07
Toyota is all ready for 2057 with a biomimetic hoopty that gobbles pollution for fuel… Goblin shark, viper fish, pistol shrimp: it’s a rough neighborhood down there under the sea. Here are ten creatures you probably never even knew existed… As part of Blog Action Day, LifeHacker rounds up top tips for green living… UK scientists warn that to save European fisheries, the cod catch needs to be cut in half… Korean researchers are thinking in circles, making solar collectors in spheres… Most Huggable is a daily roundup of some of Hugg’s top stories. Why not submit your own green news? ...
Ted Cullinan's Self-built House
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
When Ted Cullinan showed slides of his house to the School of Architecture in Toronto (many years ago) I was entranced- it was modern, yet it fit right into the neighbourhood. It was so logical- the living space was upstairs, closer to the light and where doing longer spans is easier, while all the walls chopping up the bedroom area below support the floor above more easily. He built it with his own hands....
Alexandria, Va Gets New Green Public School
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
T.C. Williams High Schools in Alexandria, Va. falls into the ranks of such environmentally forward schools as Glendale Middle School in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as The Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass., with a new eco-friendly facility.
With features such as a roof that helps offset heat in the summer—while collecting and storing underground water for running air conditioners and flushing toilets—the new building cost roughly $90 million to build, or around $10 million more than a regular school would. School officials, however, say that the money saved because of the building's efficiency will allow the added investment to pay for itself within a decade. ::NBC4.com...
Reminder: Vote for Cooper-Hewitt's People's Design Awards
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.15.07
Cooper-Hewitt, the intrepid design museum in New York that brought us Design for the Other 90%, among many other excellent projects, is almost ready to crown another People's Design Award winner. We first mentioned this earlier, and by virtue of the "people's" part of the process, lots of cool TreeHugging projects and designs have been submitted by sustainable design fans for consideration in the award process won by Katrina Cottage and Patagonia the past two years.
The top eight nominees are packed with TreeHugger faves, with TOMS shoes leading the pack; they're followed closely by Good magazine, Lifestraw, iPhone, Brush & Rinse and Wattson. With this veritable pantheon of good, green design, picking "the best" is a tall order, and Cooper-Hewitt is leaving it up to you, and you have until tomorrow, Tuesday, October 16, at 6pm EDT, to engage in the democratic process. They'll announce the winners on Thursday, October 18. Go make your voice heard and stay tuned for a closer look at the winning design. ::Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Award 2007 via ::Core77...
Temporary Living Wall for Construction Site
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
If your building in Shibuya is designed by Tadeo Ando, you probably not going to want to have your construction hoarding off the rack. You might go to Tokyo architects Klein Dytham for something really special, like this Green Green Screen, where "fabric panels with graphic patterns and advertisements alternate with soil-filled burlap pockets that hold trailing plants"- a temporary green living wall. ::Klein Dytham via Linton at ::Hugg
see other green walls like the Livingwall, ELT's do-it-yourself living wall, and the Parabienta Living Wall....
Lagusta's Luscious Handmade, Vegan Chocolate Truffles
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
Lagusta's Luscious' truffles remain true to their name to the last flick of your tongue. Pop one of these delectables into your mouth and the delicate crunch of chocolate between your teeth soon gives way to the silky, creamy lusciousness of melt-in-your mouth ganache, its flavor often co-mingling with unexpected—but surprisingly harmonious—pairings such as sea salt and taste-bud-tingling wasabi.
Created by two vegan chefs from upstate New York, the velvety-smooth vegan truffles are handmade in small batches and sent out only every six weeks, giving them a heady aura of exclusivity (and attention to detail) and making them one of the best-kept confectionery secrets in the country.
Lagusta's Luscious' dedication to sustainability is apparent—the saga of how it selected one particular organic and fair-trade chocolate over all others, after a protracted trial-and-error research phase, is well documented on its Web site. A box of 8 truffles costs $13; a selection 28 truffles are priced at $42. You can still make the Oct. 26 shipping date if you have an itchy mouse-trigger finger.
::Lagusta's Luscious...
Obama Steps It Up On Climate Change
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.15.07
Predictably, an ordinary campaign mention of climate policy will no longer suffice, not since Al Gore received the Nobel prize. First out of the US presidential campaign gate with a reaction, Senator Barack Obama seems to have gotten some religion.
Can't wait to see who among them matches this move.
Climate change is not just a scientific or an environmental issue, says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. It is an issue of morals and of faith. Men and women of faith have always waded into issues that impact society in profound ways: prison reform, temperance, abolition, women's rights, Obama reminded the group crowded into the public library on a rainy Sunday in Iowa's capital. Climate change should also become one of those moral imperatives... "When God created the Earth he entrusted us to take responsibility to take care of that Earth," Obama says, and we are not living up to our responsibility to ensure our children's future......
Citizen Bean: Organic, Fair-Trade Coffee-of-the-Month Club
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
Keep yourself or the coffee snob/caffeine enthusiast in your life rolling in gourmet java beans with Citizen Bean, an online subscription coffee-roaster-of the-month club that offers the "best sustainable and complex roasts" from small-batch specialty roasters across the United States.
For $79.99 for four months, $119.99 for six months, or $199.99 for a whole year (includes various coffee-making accoutrements, as well), the Citizen Bean subscriber will receive an exclusive organic, fair-trade, and shade-grown coffee selection, delivered days after the beans have been roasted. ...
Brush & Rinse: Toothbrush Does Double Duty
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.15.07
Designer Scott Amron, whose electricity-themed designs have been featured here and here on TreeHugger, is no one-trick pony. He also works in the water medium, and has designed a rather ingenious toothbrush to make it easier to rinse when you're done brushing. "Brush & Rinse" employs a couple well-placed holes to redirect water from the faucet, switching your brush from "clean" to "rinse" by creating a water fountain that makes rinsing a quick and easy affair.
Says Amron, "No one should be using disposable cups for rinsing after brushing. No one should have to wash a glass or cup every time they rinse. No one should have to lap water from their hand. No one should be forced to slurp excess water from toothbrush bristles. Current methods of getting water into our mouths are sloppy, create waste, and place unnecessary stress on our bodies. And, people love water fountains."...
Bacteria Salad: A Game About Agribusiness
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
A free online game by Persuasive Games, this byte-size morsel of edutainment is a cautionary tale in the guise of mindless, time-sucking fun. Your mission, if you choose to harvest it, is to squeeze as much profit out of mass amounts of cheap tomatoes and spinach.
While building large industrial farming complexes may send the cash registers cranking into overdrive, you also run the increased risk of floods, animal-waste pollution, and life-threatening E. coli. But will you be content with the pennies you'll scrape by with your small family farm? Decisions, decisions. ::Bacteria Salad
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UnTreeHugger: The Crust Cutter
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
What price convenience? $4.95 and a slow, pollutant-hacking boat from China appears to be the consensus. Sure, not everyone likes their sandwich-chomping experience besmirched by chewy brown edges, but this stainless-steel Crust Cutter boggles our minds at how lazy we've become.
Have another buck to spare? You can get a plastic version that also slices your bread into two perfect triangles, just like Mom used to make. ::Patina and ::Inventive Parent...
Quote of the Day: Julia Whitty on Extinction
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.15.07
Photo credit: Sharon Urquhart
When we hear of extinction, most of us think of the plight of the rhino, tiger, panda, or blue whale. But these sad sagas are only small pieces of the extinction puzzle. The overall numbers are terrifying. Of the 40,168 species that the 10,000 scientists in the World Conservation Union have assessed, 1 in 4 mammals, 1 in 8 birds, 1 in 3 amphibians, 1 in 3 conifers and other gymnosperms are at risk of extinction. The peril faced by other classes of organisms is less thoroughly analyzed, but fully 40 percent of the examined species of planet Earth are in danger, including up to 51 percent of reptiles, 52 percent of insects, and 73 percent of flowering plants.
By the most conservative measure—based on the last century's recorded extinctions—the current rate of extinction is 100 times the background rate. But eminent Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson and other scientists estimate that the true rate is more like 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate. The actual annual sum is only an educated guess, because no scientist believes the tally of life ends at the 1.5 million species already discovered; estimates range as high as 100 million species on Earth, with 10 million as the median guess. Bracketed between best- and worst-case scenarios, then, somewhere between 2.7 and 270 species are erased from existence every day. Including today....
Ethical Junction Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.15.07
This week is Carnival of the Green # 99 and it's being hosted by Ethical Junction! 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....
Industry Coming a-Round….We All Need to Take Action on Climate Change
by Marian Hopkins, Business Roundtable on 10.15.07
Climate change is not just on the minds of the Nobel Prize committee in Oslo.
Congratulations, Mr. Vice President on your award. We at the Business Roundtable, too, believe this is a global issue that has to be tackled through smart, concrete action. And we understand the heavy-lifting involved. Just try, as we did - successfully - getting 160 CEOs of varying industries to agree on a climate change statement.
In recent years, the business community has made great strides in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Business Roundtable’s membership consists of a broad cross-section of business leaders-- both producers and consumers of energy--and is in a unique position to invest, research and develop technologies to help combat the release of GHG emissions at every level of production. America leads the world in science and technology and we are going to need to continue and even strengthen that commitment if we are to meet mounting challenges such as global warming.
Business Roundtable believes we can work together to develop a meaningful and coordinated global approach that will have a real, positive impact on reducing the negative effects of climate change....
When China's Green Goals Clash Against Red Ones
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10.15.07
Activist Wu Lihong, lauded by the government as "Environmental Warrior," jailed for three years
Wu Lihong is a concerned citizen who was named an "Environmental Warrior" by the government in 2005 for his work protecting Lake Tai (Taihu) and other bodies of water. (See his rainbow-colored collection of water samples here.) In May, after years of absorbing runoff from surrounding factories, lake Tai suffered a massive algae outbreak that Premier Wen Jiabao said sounded "the alarm for us."
But as Joe Kahn of the New York Times reported yesterday (and as we reported previously),
Mr. Wu ... bore silent witness. Shortly before the algae crisis erupted in May, the authorities here in his hometown arrested him. In mid-August, with a fetid smell still wafting off the lake, a local court sentenced him to three years on an alchemy of charges that smacked of official retribution.Mr. Wu sits in prison now, the product of a system at times as toxic as the lake....
Printing Living Cells in 3D
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
Yeast cells printed into a pattern spelling "UMD"--for "University of Massachusetts Dartmouth"--after 3 days growing.
Here is the ultimate in downloadable designs: body parts. Paul Calvert of the University of Massachusetts says in Science that "3D techniques could help unravel the mysteries of cell-to-cell communication and, perhaps in the distant future, manufacture human organs from scratch."
Calvert told MSNBC that he walks into electronics stores, buys an inkjet printer cartridge and fits it onto a software-controlled robot back at his lab. "What you see is a familiar cartridge sitting in the middle of this machine," But instead of controlling differently colored inks, Calvert said the machine controls different cultures of cells fed into the cartridge nozzle. He then deposits cells in thin layers, covers it with a membrane that acts like a "porous scaffolding" and then prints more cells on top. ::MSNBC For more on downloadable designs, visit ::In An Absolut World Everything is Downloadable...
Wal-Mart Senior Executives on Selling Solar and Playing Politics
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.15.07
Picture borrowed from Groovy Green, via EcoTalk
As part of the Wal-Mart Live Better Sustainability Summit, which we have been reporting on for the last few days (see our initial reports here and here, our interview with exhibitors FSC here, and with Wal-Mart suppliers here and here), we managed to get a chance to sit down with a panel of senior executives and ask a few questions. Present were Andy Ruben, Vice President of Strategy and Sustainability; Linda Dillman, Executive Vice President of Risk Management, Benefits and Sustainability; Leslie Dach, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations; and Doug McMillan, CEO of Sam’s Club. Time was limited, so we didn’t get to put to them all of the queries that flooded into the comments box after our initial post, but we did discuss Wal-Mart’s role in the political debate surrounding sustainability, both at home and abroad, and we also asked about the potential for Wal-Mart to create access to solar technology, and renewable energy products in general (for another interesting perspective on the day's events, check out Joel Makower's report here).
TreeHugger: Green consumerism, and greener product design can only take us so far. Yet Wal-Mart also has a lot of political leverage. What are you doing to bring about legislative change, both in the US, and in other countries that you operate in such as China?
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Presidential Candidates: Where Do They Stand On Climate Policy Proposals?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.15.07
The Christian Science Monitor recently reviewed climate change policy suggestions made by US presidential candidates, to date. Below, is a high level summary that we assembled based on the CSM article as a starting point. After exploring the various candidate websites to corroborate points highlighted in the article, we realized that CSM had missed much. So, we added what we could find in a variety of places. If we missed or mis-stated any policy or program proposals please let us know.
Note: order of presentation does not denote preference; candidates not listed have not posited serious positions on Climate issues; and, we purposefully have not listed party affiliations.
Point of reference: to-date, no US presidential candidate makes environment a top issue, nor would we expect them to. But, it will be fun to see if Al Gore's Nobel gives at least Climate Change some podium lift on the campaign trail....
Study: Moose Moms Shield Young From Grizzlies With Unlikely Tool: Traffic
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 10.15.07
In a fascinating twist I certainly didn't expect, mother moose have been using the traffic around National Parks to shield their young from hungry grizzlies... In fact, the ten year study at Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park indicates that non-pregnant females tend to shy away from roadways, and that in areas without bears, even the pregnant ones stay away. Only pregnant or new mothers hang out near traffic until their young are old enough to run.
Apparently, the recent reintroduction of grizzlies to the area has led to the change in birthing behaviors. With some pregnant females giving birth as close as 50 yards from a major highway. But as time goes on, the expectation of the study's authors is that the bears will become increasingly bold, hunting for young calves right alongside the whizzing vehicles....
Clif Bar's 2-Mile Challenge Hits Davis Farmers Market
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.15.07
TreeHugger caught up with the Clif Bar 2-Mile Challenge team in beautiful Davis, CA, this past Saturday to see how the tour has been going (and check out their sweet rides). We found them happily ensconced in the Farmers Market, chatting away with students, shoppers and the legions of bicyclists who make Davis the most bike-friendly city in the country. It didn't hurt that they were giving away free samples of their eponymous energy bars - including several new flavors ("Maple Nut" and "Spicy Pumpkin Pie" being crowd favorites).
We immediately set off to explore what had drawn us here in the first place: the team's 100% biodiesel-powered tour bus. Arranged in a series of compartments, the bus offered up a series of interesting features and resources, all aimed at showing visitors the many benefits of riding a bike. ...
Wretched Excess Dept: Car Condos
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
Artist rendering of proposed car condo, Luxury On Main
Only in LA; People are paying the cost of a small single family home for condos for cars. According to the LA Times, Nicholas Patin, owner of the $30-million-plus project, envisions a high-end haven. "We're designing a facility where collectors can congregate and store their special vehicles in a special place," said Patin, whose own collection includes a 1987 Ferrari Testarossa Gemballa and a 1956 Porsche Speedster.
For $325,000 you get 650 square feet, ($ 500 per foot!) a bathroom, a wet bar and 24/7 security....
Gore Derangement Syndrome
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
Some pretty neat people have won the Nobel Peace Prize: Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyui, Andrei Sacharov, Martin Luther King, Albert Schweitzer, and way back in 1906, Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. It is a great honour; In any country in the world, citizens would be cheering in the streets to have one of theirs win such a prize.
Except, of course the United States of America, so polarized and divided that its right wing media immediately go on the attack, demeaning the award, the other winners, themselves and their own country. So far the only person on the right to demonstrate any grace is George W. Bush, who was very presidential in his congratulations. What makes them so vicious? Paul Krugman in the New York Times calls it Gore Derangement Syndrome.
"The worst thing about Mr. Gore, from the conservative point of view, is that he keeps being right. In 1992, George H. W. Bush mocked him as the “ozone man,” but three years later the scientists who discovered the threat to the ozone layer won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 2002 he warned that if we invaded Iraq, “the resulting chaos could easily pose a far greater danger to the United States than we presently face from Saddam.” And so it has proved."...
Sustain MiniHome on the Move
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
We haven't written much about our favourite miniHome recently; it spent the summer as a showroom/pavilion for Toronto's waterfont redevelopment, and has recently moved to a new home downtown. Designer Andy Thomson informs us that he has new partners (Altius Architects) and more secure backing, and is planning a production run for spring 2008 delivery. He also now has sales representatives in Vancouver and San Francisco. More at ::Sustain
Architecture critic John Bentley Mays visited the minihome and liked it: "The finished prototype, which I saw last week, is a handsome composition, in its efficient, no-nonsense way. The layout of the interior is plainly elegant, with a good kitchen equal in amenities to what I have in my condominium apartment, and a queen-sized sleeping loft that frees up circulation on the main floor." ...
More on The Velib
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
Ed Alcock for The New York Times
Bonnie recently extolled the virtues of the Velib, the new Parisian bike rental system; now Eric Rayman of the New York Times tries it out."The French have embraced communal bike ownership, according to my informal survey of my fellow Vélibiens, as have other Europeans. A culture of Vélibistes is emerging. The camaraderie — a French word that seems to have been invented in anticipation of this new cult — among the riders is entrancing. Riders advise one another on where to find the nearest Vélib docking station, where to park if one is full, and how to find the best routes around the city. When they speak of Vélibs, Parisians smile, even those like a waiter who admitted not having ridden one"....
Survey: Slow is the New Fast, Episode 4: Recreation
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.15.07
We've talked of slow cities and slow food; perhaps there should also be a category of slow sports, where we get away from burning fossil fuels to have fun, and rely on our own bodies instead. Slow sports and fast ones don't always coexist happily, (see earlier survey here) but some love the speed and freedom that motorized recreation provides; others love the peace and quiet, and question whether we should burn fuel if we don't have to.
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Ethical Fashion Show: Parisian Style
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.15.07
It's Paris so they really know how to do fashion and it's ethical so it's our kind of fashion. The Ethical Fashion show is the world's largest event devoted solely to eco and fair trade clothing. Over 4 days designers from forty different countries across the world displayed their wares, with catwalk shows and forums. It is very international: the list of designers is enough to keep a green fashionista glued to the net for hours, checking out all the links. From Ghana to Japan to Mali, the range of creativity is astonishing; proving once more that a social conscience is not a hindrance to high fashion.
Some of the names are familiar to treehugger readers: Moly Kulte from Canada, and Pacachuti panama hats Ecuador and Izzy Lane from the U.K. But the new discoveries come from far and near: Aoi from Japan (pictured) with beautifully cut coats and dresses made from ancient kimonos and Ba Faro, a menswear designer from Mali. Carmanita, from Indonesia, designs flowing dresses made of modern batik and from the Cameroons, horn jewellery. An award for retailing was given to Marks & Spencer for "most progressive" company, Wildlifeworks UK and Lush also took top prizes, as did Beyond Skin shoes. :: Ethical Fashion Show Via :: Guardian...
Blog Action Day Takes the Blogosphere by Storm
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.15.07
Today is Blog Action Day, and TreeHugger is on board to help bloggers around the web unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind: the environment. Sure, TreeHugger works on that every day, but we're excited to participate in this "blogger's Earth Day," to help get other blogs, like our pals at Lifehacker, and forward-looking companies, like Reddit and Google, on board for the green.
Here's how it works: blogs from all over the world sign up to publish green posts to their sites, raising awareness about the environment, but that's where the "rules" end; the organizers have been working hard not to push any particular agenda. Participating blogs are encouraged to cover the green world from their own perspective, putting some unique spin on a subject getting more pervasive every day; they can also donate the day's revenue to an environmental charity of their choice. The end result, hopefully, is that more blogs and readers pay more regular attention to green topics; we're all playing for the same team here, and the more, the merrier.
Over 15,000 blogs have signed up, and they'll reach over 12.5 million readers today via RSS alone, so early signs point to a success here in the inaugural year. Check out who is participating and surf on out into the extended green blogosphere to see what people have to say about the planet. With any luck, this'll be the first day of many that green topics get their due in blogs around the world. ::Blog Action Day...
Bikaleh: Inspirations from Yoga
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 10.15.07
Redesigning the Commercial Heater for Better Performance
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10.15.07
In our last presentation of the green developments we found at Innovar --Argentina’s annual contest for inventors and designers, we want to highlight the work of scientist Luis Eduardo Juanico.
This man measured the efficiency of some of the most popular commercial gas heaters and found their thermal yield was very low: only 39% to 63%. That is, they were only taking advantage of half the amount of heat they could produce with a given amount of gas.
"Manufacturers will tell you the amount of gas a heater spends, but not its efficiency, which is how much heat will you get for the gas it consumes", he explains.
Having realized that, he moved on to study what was wrong with these heaters and found simple causes that were delivering this poor result: the surface of the combustion chamber was too small, the case in which the heat was created was too enclosed, and there was no ventilator that could force hot air out, so a lot of it got lost inside the device.
"A lot of the new modern heaters are very nice, but they are like boxes, without any windows for the air to come out", he jokes.
With these problems in mind, the scientist designed a prototype of a better heater: he added pleats of metal to the combustion chamber to gain heated surface, introduced side ventilation windows, and used computer cooling ventilators positioned in the base of the heater as a way to force hot air out.
These simple modifications (focused in the functioning, not aesthetics) would increase the price of the heater in an astonishing low amount of 25 pesos (less than 10 US dollars) and would increase the efficiency of the heater to 85%, reducing thus the amount of gas required to heat a given room.
Keep reading for more details and additional pictures....
Nanostructured Fibers Could Make Military Uniforms Portable Batteries
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.14.07
As the risks and rigors of ground-based combat continue to rise - testament to ever-evolving battlefield strategies and new, more advanced technologies - military officials have placed a greater onus on developing smaller, portable and more integrated devices for their soldiers. There has been a strong push for wearable power devices in particular as the army seeks to find better alternatives to the heavy, cumbersome batteries soldiers are currently equipped with.
Hills, a Florida-based company, has just made a significant breakthrough with the creation of a machine that makes nanostructured fibers. The fibers, which can be arranged in regular patterns and be made of 3 different materials, could provide the basis for a program aimed at developing multifunctional uniforms - functions that would include the production and storage of electrical energy. Metals could be processed to make conducting fibers and paired with a variety of inorganic materials used in the creation of fuel cells and photovoltaics to create rechargeable batteries....
Key Green Algal Genome Provides Insights into Carbon Capture, Better Biofuels Production
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 10.14.07
Figure courtesy of Science magazine
It may not rank up there with the mapping of the human genome, but the analysis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii's approximately 120-megabase genome last week by an international team of scientists (whose results were published in the October 12 issue of Science) could shed some new light on carbon capture processes and improved biofuel production. They identified a series of genes likely associated with the creation and function of chloroplasts - which are instrumental for photosynthesis to occur - and flagella....
Gaye Abandon's Recycled Sweater Arm Warmers
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.14.07
It's not exactly glove and mitten weather yet (or T-shirt temperatures, for our Southern Hemisphere readers), but you can still keep your arms, wrists, and palms toasty with these arm warmers handmade from recycled wool sweaters. Felted to create a tight, wind- and chill- proof weave, these snug $25 gauntlets are both one of a kind and one size fits most.
More styles below. ::Etsy...
Five Asian Nations To Study How To Cope With Floods
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 10.14.07
The United Nations University of Thailand will conduct a three-month course for experts from five Asian countries that will explore risks and model strategies to deal with Asia’s worsening floods and rising sea levels, both of which have been associated with global warming. The two- to four-person teams of experts, hailing from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Nepal and Sri Lanka will participate in November’s program, which could be expanded to address other regions if deemed a success. The course will study flood risks, their potential economic impact and improved flood protection measures such as dykes, better meteorological forecasting and early warning systems....
Quote of the Day: Annie Bond on Starting Somewhere
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.14.07
What a heartbreaking rift our industrial society has caused. It's disconnected us from the earth and from the source of our food. We've allowed corporations to turn a blind eye toward their employees' health and welfare. What a terrible price we pay when our world is split between those who intentionally promote harm to babies, fetuses, and the environment through harmful products, and those who are working frantically to stem the terrible tide.
The rifts between the earth, corporations, and each other have to be healed. It is time. All we can do is start somewhere. So, where? A friend of mine offered some insight. He was visiting some friends whose land abutted 60 acres that had been clear-cut. The destruction was awesome and the grief of the land and neighbors palpable at the harm that had been done....
Time to Vote: 2007 Co-op America People's Choice Award
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.14.07
The 2007 Co-Op America People's Choice Awards are in full swing (we mentioned them last year, and they need your vote for the greenest business in the land by tomorrow, Monday, October 15. They've narrowed the list to a top 10, and you can vote online with little more than a few keystrokes and a click of a mouse. Winners will be announced at this year's Green Festival in San Francisco on November 10.
Among the list of nominees are TH faves like Flexcar, ReusableBags.com and Pizza Fusion; the wide variety of the nominees serves as a testament to the breadth of the green business movement, for sure, but who is the best? Vote early and often and stay tuned to learn who is the greenest business in the land. ::2007 Co-op America People's Choice Award via ::Eco-Libris...
20 Tips for Living in Small Spaces
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.14.07
TreeHugger likes to promote living large in small spaces and doing more with less in a minimum space for maximum living; having less space means hoarding less stuff, using fewer resources and maximizing the functionality of what we can fit. Shari, the proprietor of the blog My So-Called Japanese Life, knows (and lives by) these ideas all too well; as a Westerner living in Japan, she's had to adjust her lifestyle to match up with the way things work on the small island nation, not least of which is living in a small apartment.
The experience has been enlightening, it seems, and, among other things, has yielded some pretty good advice about living in small spaces; between this list of 20 tips and this list of 10 tips, there's something that everyone can learn about maximizing space efficiency and making smart choices about what you surround yourself with in your home.
To the regular TreeHugger reader, the lists serve to reinforce ideas about the utility of transformer furniture, and that less is more; for those uninitiated with these ideals, there's lots to be learned. ::20 Tips for Living in Small Spaces via ::Apartment Therapy: Los Angeles...
The TH Interview: Wal-Mart Suppliers on the Live Better Sustainability Summit
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.14.07
As we mentioned in our interview with Mark and Corey Adjmi of Adjmi Apparel Group, one of the most interesting things about attending the Wal-Mart Live Better Sustainability Summit, which we reported on here and here, was seeing suppliers to Wal-Mart that had not traditionally been seen as green, starting to look into the process of cleaning up their operations. We took the opportunity to talk to a few of the supplier’s representatives that were wandering the isles, and to ask them briefly about their perspectives on sustainability, why it is important to them, and what needs to happen to take it further into the mainstream.
Rick Cartwright Vice President and General Manager, Hobart Corporation
TreeHugger: What brings you to this summit?
Rick Cartwright: A couple of things – we have been interested for quite some time in moving towards more sustainable products. For us, that really gets into energy efficiency, reduced water usage etc, things that can really have a great impact on the environment. We’ve already done some things over the last few years, but we are looking to do more. So we’re here to learn more, to find out what Wal-Mart is doing, and to figure out how we can move in the right direction, both in partnership with Wal-Mart and on our own. Not only do these efforts make a positive impact on the environment, they also make us more profitable.
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Can You Design a Better Logo?
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10.14.07
The United Nations' documentary film festival is presented by Media Communications Association International. In the past, the logos of these two organizations have been the face of the festival. Now the festival is looking for its own identity.
You could be the designer who brands the Stories from the Field. This festival features films that go behind the scenes of the Millennium Development Goals, which include environmental sustainability along with other key pillars of social equity and the success of our species. The overall winner will be awarded $5000 and the most popular entry in online voting will receive $500. Your entry is due by Monday 26 November 2007 at 11.59pm UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). ...
Eco-tourism in Zanzibar
by Eliza Barclay, Washington, D.C. on 10.14.07
Zanziibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania known for its history as a key spice trading port, is still far off the beaten path of American tourists, but is increasingly on the radar of British, Italian and Spanish globetrotters. The tourism dollars are welcome on the poor island but the impact on the environment of the newcomers has not gone unnoticed.
Eco+Culture Tours Zanzibar is a young eco-tourism company developing strategies to mitigate negative ecological, cultural, social and economic impacts of tourism. "Our aim is to encourage local micro entrepreneurs to enter into environmentally and culturally friendly income-generating activities that cater for the growing tourism industry on the isle," the company says.
As a tourism operator, Eco+Culture Tours Zanzibar offers a variety of specifically designed day tours with an environmental and cultural focus. The tours include visits to spice farms, a sea turtle protection project, swimming with dolphins in Kizimkazi and the nature walks among endemic red collobus monkeysin the Jozani Forest. A portion of the tour fees supports community projects in health care, childrens' nurseries and education on the island.
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MIchigan Competes with Minnesota & Illinois For Alberta Crude
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.14.07
The City Council of the US City of Detroit Michigan has approved tax breaks for a proposed $1.5 billion Marathon refinery expansion in southwest Detroit. As you might expect from an "expansion" project, the new operating permit, if granted, would call for carbon dioxide and fine particulate emissions to go up significantly. Of course, Marathon would be required to upgrade their air and water pollution control technology to meet government standards (as currently interpreted by the Bush Administration).
The project is expected to bring 135 new jobs, up to 1,200 construction jobs and close to $9 million a year in taxes and increased gasoline supplies to the area. But some southwest Detroit residents and environmentalists have opposed the plan, saying the expansion would increase pollution in the area, which is already dominated by industry... But even with the approval, Detroit won't necessarily see the expansion. Sites in St. Paul Park, Minn., and Robinson, Ill., also are under consideration.So, three cities are competing for a single operation that will refine oil from Alberta Tar Sands, delivered via existing pipeline network. Ostensibly, the motive is mainly to get more jobs and tax revenues. Michigan is having a terrible time balancing the State budget, now that revenues from vehicle related sales are down (another casualty of SUV/Truck overshoot). The other states and cities may be in similar positions....
The TH Interview: Mark and Corie Adjmi of Adjmi Apparel
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.14.07
One of the most interesting things about attending the Wal-Mart Live Better Sustainability Summit, which we reported on here and here, was seeing suppliers to Wal-Mart that had not traditionally been seen as green, starting to look into the process of cleaning up their operations. We took the opportunity to talk to Mark Adjmi, President of Adjmi Apparel, a major supplier of men’s women’s and children’s apparel to Wal-Mart, and Corie Adjmi, the company’s Sustainability Director, about what was driving them to start addressing these issues (a summary of their efforts so far can be found on their website here).
TreeHugger: What brings you to the Live Better Sustainability Summit?
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Three Years Ago in TreeHugger
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.14.07
We haven't been doing three years ago in TreeHugger posts because, frankly, the pickings were pretty thin, lots of hemp shirts, bamboo pants and other cliches. However by October 2004 we have some interesting stuff online, new writers, and enough to start looking at again. We wonder what happened to this great idea for an electric truck- it runs on hydrogen made by electrolysis using electricity from the monster solar panel. On the less-is-more front, we saw a Yotel that looks more like a laundromat. Oh, and there were lots of organic jeans and soy candles. ::More...
Two years ago in TreeHugger: Hot Stuff
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.14.07
It seems like only yesterday we were discussing how far Cradle to Cradle has come; two years ago this week they announced their first six approved products: two chairs, three fabrics and a concrete additive. Justin was hot for corn and wood pellet stoves, radiant floors and cool roofs, and our post of the week on Cameron Sinclair: He won the TED prize. We learned about "eco-driving":
• Maintain engine speeds between 1200 – 3000 rotations per minute (RPM);
• Change to higher gears between 2000 – 2500 RPM, and drive in top gears at lower speeds – the so-called “50 in 4th gear” driving style;
• Try to anticipate more to avoid strong accelerations, decelerations, overtaking or aggressive driving;
• Driving at speed limits and avoiding high speeds;
• Add 10% to standard tyre pressure;
• Avoid using the air condition, or set at temperatures above 21°C;
• Use your bike for short trips – starting your car when it is ‘cold’ uses 300% more fuel.” ::More...
ecoIT Roundup
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 10.14.07
Here's a herd of facts and figures to keep the ecology-minded number-fumbler up to speed.
Energy used in hosting one eBay auction : 30 Watthours
Equivalent driving distance in a Prius: 420 meters
CO2 emissions of a single blog post at Sun Microsystems: 850 grams
Equivalent number of marathons run by an athlete to produce the same CO2 : 0.5
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