Weekly Archive for January 13, 2008 : TreeHugger

Image courtesy of mr.bmonroe via flickr After years of unsuccessfully prodding, environmental groups scored a victory last Friday when they reached an agreement with Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, that would see the government agency reduce storm water pollution by 20% below 1994 levels. The agreement would prevent millions of gallons of runoff from state highways in Los Angeles and Ventura counties - covering more than 1,000 miles - from flowing into local estuaries and beaches. Caltrans will need to have completed the new pollution controls by 2011, which leads many environmentalists to believe that the reductions will likely be achieved by 2015....

NOTE: As many have already noted, Michigan is mislabeled Wisconsin While the coal industry continues to wield an unseemly amount of clout in shaping the political process, there are encouraging signs that its death grip may finally be loosening. Once touted as a key component of the president's energy agenda, big coal's output over the past year has notably slowed, with 53 proposed plants in 20 states shuttered or otherwise delayed. As some energy planners resort to trotting out the well-worn line that the U.S. will need to ramp up its electricity production from coal to avert a potential energy crisis, others are encouraging executives to push ahead with plans to diversify away from coal into wind, solar and other renewable energy sources....

Berlin air is clean before new auto law took effect

Berliners have barely started showing the new emissions badge required for driving into the city center, and the air is getting thick. Thick with accusations. The popular gearhead weekly, AutoBild, has thrown down the gauntlet: "The Soot is Gone" screams the headline over the question: "Can the environment zones be abolished?" Could AutoBild have a point?...

This week we visited the 18th edition of Bread & Butter, the leading international trade show for selected fashion brands, alongside more than 99,500 visitors in Barcelona. It definitely deserved the label King Size as it was the biggest one held so far and resulted in a truly stunning, 3-day experience for both exhibitors and visitors. Although no special attention was given to the eco labels (and maybe that’s the way it should be, with eco fashion becoming mainstream!) we were very happy to see some of our favourite fashion brands exhibiting their future collections, and even came across a few eco brands that were new to us. If you are curious about what the fashion world has to offer you in the future, keep reading!...

After four years in the eco-friendly apparel business, Pangaya will be shutting its virtual doors as soon as its current inventory sells out. The business hasn't failed, owner Sean Bartlett tells TreeHugger via e-mail. "It's more of an effort vs. reward scenario." He does note, however, that eco-chic retailing remains an area he is passionate about, as well as one that he would like to get back to when "the opportunity is right." One of the pioneers in the online eco-fashion business, Pangaya will be sorely missed—and we wish Sean the very best in his coming endeavors. As operations wind down, the price of every item of clothing in the store will be significantly reduced—up to 80 percent. ::Pangaya and ::Laurenceleste...

New York state officials are looking into possible re-deployment of 'a huge block of low-cost, [green] hydroelectric power generated north of Niagara Falls [pictured].' They're being creative to promote a new king of economic development in Western New York: the kind that brings as many jobs per green Megawatt as possible.

Many economic development officials believe the power is one of the region's best tools for reinvigorating the regional economy. Because it's so cheap [and green] to generate, the power can be sold to companies for a fraction of the cost of other suppliers. That makes it potent bait to lure companies and help firms already in the area expand their operations. Much of the power is propping up dying industries and lavish corporations with excessive subsidies, a Buffalo News investigation found last year. A 2001 study commissioned by the state Power Authority reached a similar conclusion, determining that 85 percent of the hydropower could be put to more effective use.

For the future, Western New York State also has the option of encouraging offshore wind farms on Lake Ontario, as Canada is about to do;...but, one green job-producing step at a time, as they say. ...

The need to find creative ways to protect coral reefs has never been greater. Human activity is causing coral die-offs faster than previously thought. In the Caribbean, studies are showing that coral may be heading toward extinction. Increased ocean acidification has been further eroding fragile reefs, and warmer sea-surface temperatures are causing even more damage. Fortunately, as with so many environmental issues, there are also signs of hope. Artificial corals are being grown in the Red Sea, and "Bio-Rock" treatment is being used to restore once lush reefs in Indonesia and elsewhere. However, any real plan to protect coral reef must include the cruise industry, which is a significant source of negative impacts due to traffic, waste-disposal and other pollution. Fortunately, according to dot Earth, "the cruise ship industry, Mexican government, and Conservation International have announced a plan to try to protect coral reefs and other ecosystems in Cozumel, the world’s most-visited cruise destination." The plan has four main goals: environmental awareness and education; improved management of the infrastructure for tourism; ensuring that environmental laws are enforced; and protecting the reef itself. Still, it's not entirely clear how those goals are going to be met, as the plan is light on details, but getting all the stakeholders to the table is a good start....

When Stats.org first popped up in my reader with its "The Worst Science Stories of 2007: STATS Dubious Data Awards" I immediately wrote it off as the rantings of a wingnut who hangs out with Steven Milloy or Terrence Corcoran in the junk science brigade; in just one article, author Trevor Butterworth dumps on San Francisco's Mayor Gavin for banning water bottles, calls fire retardants harmless, declares gender-bender chemicals like phthalates a statistical anomaly and other inanities. I didn't bother finishing it. Then I learned that it was published on the Huffington Post, a usually respectable blog that leans left and that Butterworth is a regular columnist. Butterworth is also the editor of STATS.org, "a non-profit, non-partisan organization"..."[whose] goals are to correct scientific misinformation in the media resulting from bad science, politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge." We had a look. ...

Now we’re all about tasty organic baked goods like Liz Lovely’s cookies, but sometimes nothing beats creating your own. But say you are creating your own ginger cookies, for example, where should you get your flour from? Assuming there’s not a good source of locally milled flour nearby, our American readers could do a lot worse than ordering their flours and grains from Anson Mills, purveyors of the finest heirloom varieties of grits, cornmeal, rice, flour, oatmeal, buckwheat and farro. The concept and values behind the company are certainly right up TreeHugger’s alley. Started back in 1998 by Glenn Roberts, Anson Mills was always intended to be a catalyst for recreating the ingredients and recipes of the past that were in danger of disappearing for ever: ...

Two of the big paper companies in Japan have now admitted that they lied about the amount of recycled paper in their paper. Nippon Paper confessed first to false claims, admitting that it had been falsifying information since 1996. It had used only one percent recycled paper in New Year's cards supplied to Japan's postal service--which officially requires 40 percent recycled content. The company's president has done the honourable thing and stepped down, saying that he would take responsibility for the scandal. Then Oji Paper admitted that it too had lied for the last ten years, saying that the amount of recycled paper in its copy and printing paper was 50% when in fact it was between 5 and 10%. Envelopes had been sold as 70% recycled, when they were only 30%. Some products contained no recycled material at all. Their president won't resign but he did note that he had "betrayed public trust." Fuji Xerox have said that they will no longer buy recycled paper from Nippon, others such as Canon and Konica Minolta are threatening to do the same.Stock share prices in both companies have plummeted. Three other firms are also being accused. :: Guardian...

:: Help stem the tide of plastic disposables and fight hunger in the developing world; this bag can do it all. :: Step 1: Find an abandoned/unwanted shopping cart. Step 2: Release its inner chair. :: Eat a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, save the world. :: Could the cat litter you're using be clogging up your kitty's insides? (Bonus: cute kitten picture.) :: It's time to take Bring Your Own into the workplace. We list what you shouldn't leave home without. :: Forget chemical peels, surgical face-lifts, or Botox, you can get fresh, glowing skin with a few simple tips. :: Collin shows us why buying refurbished tools is good for the planet and you wallet. :: Your baby spends a significant amount of time in his or her crib. Learn what you should be looking for in a mattress. :: Have you stopped by the Internet's Landfill Alternative yet?...

Somebody asked me the other day what the life cycle impacts of a wind turbine are and how long it would take to pay back the energy used to manufacture one of those tall majestic beasts. Considerable amounts of raw materials and energy are required to make these big windy wonders. I was stumped of course as that information is not something one can just come up with. I found this report on Renewable Energy Access from 2005, which looks like an answer to that question for two models by Danish manufacturer, Vesta. The life cycle assessment of a 3.0 MW wind turbine indicates that it would have to generate electricity for only 6.8 months , of their assumed 20 year useful life, before it produces as much energy as is used during the manufacturing phase. “This, they say, means the turbine model earns its own worth more than 35 times during its energy production lifetime.” Read the article here. Image credit: Sandia National Laboratories. ...

General Motors announced a partnership with Coskata, Inc., a renewable energy company with the means to produce low-cost ethanol from virtually any carbon-containing feedstock including biomass, municipal solid waste -- even used car tires. The largest children's book publisher is announcing new green measures and are claiming to be the industry leaders in sustainability. But are they really? Speaking of books, here are 5 ways for bookworms to help save trees. What does "natural" mean when seen on a package in the grocery store? Not much, and the Food & Drug Administration aims to keep it that way. Recycled glass is a great alternative to some harsher ceramic tiles in your kitchen or bathroom; here are 6 options if you're on the prowl for new tile. Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of the top stories from Hugg.com, TreeHugger’s user-generated green news site. Why not submit your own green news?...

What's the rumpus over at TreeHugger Forums? Here are some of the highlights...

1) Forums user Alex Szczech polls the TreeHugger Forums community about an increase in the national gasoline tax. Though the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission's current recommendation is for $0.40 per gallon over five years, Alex says, "Personally, I'd support an immediate additional $2 a gallon tax on gasoline, with the revenues going towards building a viable passenger train system for this country." Click on over to vote in the poll and make your voice heard.

2) User pdxuser is trying to avoid plastics, even though "It's hard to avoid plastic. But if I can avoid plastic, what materials should I prefer? Realistically, the alternatives are going to be things like glass, metals, wood, paper, plastic-coated paper (eg, for liquids), possibly bamboo. Most of the plastic I buy is from the grocery store, so it's not as though I can buy juice in a locally-harvested bamboo bottle, or a bioplastic bottle, either. So what are the best alternatives, what are the least-good alternatives, what alternatives are worse than plastic in the first place? Any?"

3) Lastly, Forums user engineeringirl says, "I am finally so frusterated with my neighbors who do not recycle. We recently got a new recycling company, and instead of having to pick up our own bins at city hall, the new company dropped off new bins on our doorsteps. In addition, the new company accepts almost everything. I originally thought people were not recycling becuase they did not want to go pick up their own bin, but when the new ones came, I thought people would start to recycle. No such luck!" Let's talk solutions, people.

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....

Image courtesy of jimg944 via flickr While the U.S. continues to drag its feet in committing to firm emissions cuts, European countries have seemingly been enmeshed in a protracted race to determine which will assert the greenest bona fides. Norway - ever the ambitious one - has now said that it aims to go carbon neutral by 2030, or 20 years ahead of its earlier target. It plans on doing so by cutting emissions at home and by investing in environmental projects - primarily focused on fighting deforestation in developing countries - to obtain carbon credits. How all this will come about, however, remains unclear; indeed, several environmental groups have already hit out against the government for being too vague, prompting the Oil and Energy Minister to acknowledge: "We don't know how we will achieve the goals yet, and this is challenging."...

First of all, Windex is a pretty useless product, you can make your own pretty easily (recipe here on Planet Green). However now, you can buy it with green confidence because it has a Greenlist label on it. SC Johnson's Director of Global Environmental and Safety Actions says “The Greenlist logo will help consumers identify products that are environmentally responsible and deliver the performance excellence they trust and expect from SC Johnson.” So we looked at the Material Safety Data Sheet and found that Windex Blue is composed of 95% water, 4% isopropanol (alcohol) and up to 1% ethylene glycol, that supremely toxic substance beloved of children and pets because of its sweetness. and wondered "Who could call that green?" ...

Photo credit: wasaby TreeHugger has seen lots of ways to recycled your old cell phones, including ways to get some cash for your old phone and an option from TerraPass. With the average lifespan of a cell phone in this country at about 18 months (which adds up to 130 million entering the waste stream every year), there is certainly no shortage of supply for the old talkies; the guys at VoIP-News have done some digging and found 50 ways to recycle them all. From earning cash back to helping others; perfect working condition to scrap parts only; drop it off or mail it in; manufacturer take-back to NGOs, there is a match in the list of 50 for whatever cell phone situation you find yourself in. While a lot of the options may be familiar to the conscientious electronics recycler, it's handy to have them all in one place. Find the right match for your drawerful at ::VoIP-News...

[Ed. note: This is the second of two guest posts (here's Part I) by Katie Carpenter, a Discovery Hot House producer. Part of the original group trained to give Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' slide show, she recently met up with the other climate crusaders to update their training; this the conclusion to her story of the weekend.] When we left off yesterday, updating the slideshow was just underway; after new data and graphs, they also give us short videos we can incorporate into our slide presentations, for those hard-to reach skeptics in the back of the room who need a little entertainment to open up their minds. The top box office hits here this weekend are the Blue Man Group’s “Earth to Humanity” video, and an independent film produced by someone named Ken Burns III called “Futureflix”, a gorgeous little tongue-in-cheek movie about the future, with a running time of four minutes and a logo in the style of Netflix that is universally accepted now as cool. We have an incredible talk on the current state of Antarctica by a NASA climate modeler named Ken Mankoff, with pictures he took last week while drilling for ice cores, hot off the presses so to speak. Then we listen, rapt, to a report on new findings called “How To Avoid Dangerous Climate Change: A Target for US Emissions Reductions” which is intended to help us navigate the minefield of disparate goals – can we live with a global temperature increase of 5 degrees Fahrenheit, or should we all be more aggressive? Do we have the political will to even accomplish that? Can we set our deadline at 2020, or do we have to look farther out? Can we bring our emissions levels down to the 2000 level by 2080, or to 50% of where we are now by 2100? There are competing bills in Congress, diverse goals kicking around the UN, and very little consensus on this issue. We toss that around in small groups for an hour, agree that it is way too complicated for the likes of us -- “above our pay grade”, as Al likes to say -- then go for coffee. Hey, it is rocket science, and it’s hard. For all of us, even the PhD.’s in the room....

TreeHugger knows that all leather is not created equal, but there are ways to do it greener than the conventional chromium-tanning process. One of those greener ways to use the remarkably durable material is to recycle it, by using industrial scraps and byproducts of other manufacturing; if it's going to be used anyway, we might as well clean up the mess and put it to good use. Such is the strategy of EcoDomo, who make durable, versatile floor tiles and wallcoverings out of a recycled leather composite. The company collects scraps discarded from producing upholstery for leather goods like BMWs and luxury handbags; the scraps are ground into shreds and mixed with water, natural rubber, and acacia bark. The manufacturing is done a closed loop system to conserve water, and the finished product is eligible for LEED credits as a recycled, low-VOC material -- check out the green features section of their site for more details and hit the jump for more pics of the tiles in action. ::EcoDomo via ::Metropolis...

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Authorities in the Canadian Province of Ontario are reported to be preparing to lift a longstanding moratorium on development of offshore wind projects in the Ontario portion of the Great Lakes. Wind industry sources confirmed to the Toronto Star that the moratorium's end is imminent. (Toronto visible on NW shore of Lake Ontario, pictured.)

Offshore wind energy, while typically associated with ocean projects, offers significant opportunities in the Great Lakes. According to one study by Helimax Energy Inc., the strong and consistent winds typically over the lakes could generate up to 47,000 megawatts of clean electricity – nearly double Ontario's existing power capacity.

Earlier, the wisdom of the November-2006 announced moratorium had been called into question when it was discovered that some U.S. states, such as Ohio, were actively moving forward with offshore projects in Lake Erie despite the Ontario policy. Why a moratorium? The usual impetus: property values....

We’ve had a “Seen In…” series going for a few years now, in which TreeHuggers post on a particular "eco-friendly" (ahem) product or topic that they randomly passed by on the street. This “Seen in Seattle” photo wasn’t personally snapped by us, but by our good friend Brad Hole, president of Sustainable Group. We just couldn’t resist posting so you’d get a chuckle on this fab Friday. ...

TreeHugger loves plug-in hybrids, and here is the best one yet- the Cruzin Cooler goes 13 mph for up to 15 miles on a charge, and carries a case of ethanol-enhanced biofuel in the form of ice cold beer. Not for San Francisco though- "These units are designed for the operation with only one passenger not weighting more than 200 pounds and at least 18 years of age. These coolers are designed to be used on flat level paved surfaces only, grades may make the cooler run at excessive speeds downhill." Silly video of cooler racing below the fold....

In case you're wondering, no, that isn't a typo: A team of botanists from London's Kew Gardens has discovered a new species of "self-destructing" palm in Madagascar; the tree is so large that it is clearly visible in satellite images. The long-lived, 60 foot high palm - named Tahina spectabilis (Malagasy for "blessed" or "to be protected") - had never before been seen flowering until this past year, when the botanists caught a glimpse of its spectacular flowering pattern. "At first there's only a very long shoot like asparagus from the top of the tree and then, a few weeks later, this unique shoot starts to spread. At the end of this process you can have something like a Christmas tree," said Mijoro Rakotoarinivo. She and her colleagues found that the tree expended so much energy flowering that it eventually died - or "self-destructed". ...

Photographed by Lauren Greenfield for Elle.com. Full story can be found in February issue of Elle. We’ll file this one under ‘unexpected’. According to Elle, it seems Heidi Fleiss, legendary nineties madame is in the process of launching an eco-friendly brothel for women in Nevada. The site for her stud farm is a 60 acre plot of land near Pahrump where she just opened a laundromat called Dirty Laundry. Apparently she even considers herself a TreeHugger, but she won’t be letting her environmental values compromise the decadence for her clients. Ecorazzi gives us the following summary: ...

At first glance you might not see the connection between the ethical fashion label Alabama Chanin and the civil rights photographer Charles Moore. Working in two different eras, in totally different mediums, the two seem poles apart. But, by choosing to align her collection for Fall/Winter 08 with these iconic images taken in the 1960s, the designer Natalie Chanin is placing the work of her fashion label within an important historical context of working towards a fair and ethical society. Moreover the connection between Alabama Chanin and Charles Moore is personal as well as historical as Natalie tells us......

It's cold out there, so think of those little birds and how they must feel. We couldn't resist this DIY bird feeder, made out of a sardine can and an empty Pringles container. How simple is that. And be sure to keep it filled with food such as sunflower seeds and peanuts. However the real story is water--it is vital for birds' survival in cold weather. Birds need to drink water, even on the coldest days because if small birds lose just 10 per cent of their body weight they can become dehydrated and die. They need to have a bath as well. Apparently this keeps their feathers in good shape. Birds depend on their feathers for warmth and insulation, as well as for flying, so it is important to have some fresh water for them. It's easy enough to do--hang the lid of a garbage can from a tree. They can bathe and drink in the rainwater, or melted snow. If you get a bird bath make sure that you break up the icy top so that they can reach the water underneath. :: Observer...

It's our first winter living in Jerusalem and we thought that the frosty days we've been having is because we are high in the mountains. Not so. Israel is passing through an unbelievably cold, cold-spell. Pipes are bursting in people's homes all over Jerusalem, and millions of shekels of crops have been lost in greenhouses in the desert. It was good timing coming across Yael Mer's slipper rocking chair. While there is no mention on her site whether she uses sustainable wood resources, or anything enviro-friendly for that matter in its construction, we love how the chair offers a 2-in-1 solution that can keep your toes cozy and your energy flowing, as you rock back and forth. ...

In spite of San Francisco's enlightening example, and Australia and China and other nations' plans for all-out bans on plastic bags, the world still uses a million of the suckers each minute. In Sweden 70% of surveyed consumers support a ban on plastic carrier bags, but the country's Environmental Protection Agency says no way. What's going on? Part of the issue lies in Sweden's highly developed system of incinerating plants - keeping plastic in the waste stream ups the energy content of the stream. So while youth-oriented PUB department store recently introduced biodegradable shopping bags and major grocery stores ICA and Konsum will also do trials, a very vocal group of researchers at Chalmers has come out strongly against bio-bags and in favor of green polypropylene instead. Find out why below the fold....

Eat Good Bacteria. Might be the take away message of a recent study published in the journal of Molecular Systems Biology. The scientific team, including Jeremy Nicholson a biochemist at Imperial College London, found that even a small amount of 'good' bacteria introduced to the digestive track of a mouse can create profound changes in the mouse's metabolism. In what has been a controversial issue, the solid study points to the increasing evidence that living healthy, reducing disease, and fighting obesity, at least in part, might be helped if we all ate a few more 'good' bacteria....

:: Try cooking with a vegetable you've never eaten before. How do Jerusalem artichokes sound? :: You can lose weight without changing your diet. We show you how. :: No more wire hangers, ever! :: Here's another use for orphan socks: Arm insulators for the outdoors. :: Collin shows us five ways to reuse empty wine bottles. :: Discover how an apple a day can keep asthmatic wheezing away. :: Laptop versus desktop: Which is the eco-friendlier option? :: Learn three easy ways to reduce paper waste in the kitchen. And save some money in the process. ...

Under the auspices of a new $4 million, 3-year program organized by New York's Energy Research and Development Authority and several energy companies, geologists from the State Museum will spend the upcoming summer studying old natural gas wells and other features in the Southern Tier and in western N.Y. as potential sites for carbon sequestration. The energy companies - which include AES Eastern Energy and Nornew - will contribute $2.3 million towards the effort. The geologists will study sandstone, limestone and shale formations, which provide the best storage potential for carbon dioxide, using seismic equipment; their target will be "from 2,500 feet to 10,000 feet underground," according to John Martin, a senior project manager. They hope to identify areas of fractured limestone or sandstone - ideal sites for holding carbon dioxide - in the process of constructing a 3-D underground map of the regions. According to the DOE's latest estimates, the country's underground saline formations may be able to store up to 500 billion tons of CO2; it hopes to lower the cost of storage to less than $10 per ton by 2015. Via ::The Times Union: State seeks deep sites to hold greenhouse gas (newspaper) See also: ::Carbon Sequestration Financials Look Weak, ::Southern Illinois To Sequester Wisconsin's C02 ...

New York TreeHuggers, mark your calendars: the Green Gadgets Conference is coming! Friday, February 1, our pals at Inhabitat along with Marc + Alt Partners will present the one day conference all about the greening of the consumer electronics industry (we mentioned it before). As displayed at CES this year, gadgets and electronics are going to continue to get bigger, faster, and more energy intensive (with a notable exception or two); the conference will bring together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, journalists, and designers to talk about it, and figure out ways to make it all greener. We think it'll be a really interesting day -- presentations from inventor Natalie Jeremijenko, Mary Lou Jepsen of One Laptop Per Child and digital environmental artist Chris Jordan are just the tip of the iceberg -- and we can help you get there. The conference organizers have graciously offered a 20% discount for TreeHugger's readers for one week, until next Thursday, January 24. Hit the jump to get the code and more details about the conference....

[Ed. note: This is the first of two guest posts by Katie Carpenter, a Discovery Hot House producer. Part of the original group trained to give Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth' slide show, she recently met up with the other climate crusaders to update their training; this is her story of the weekend.] Nearly a hundred climate crusaders from Al Gore’s advocacy group, The Climate Project, gathered over the weekend in a suburb of Washington, DC, for two days of meetings designed to reconnect and retrain them for the climate battles ahead. They represent the first wave of the “climate cavalry”, trained in Nashville a year ago by Mr. Gore and scientists from The Climate Institute. They are now working across the North East and Mid-Atlantic region, presenting various versions of Al Gore’s slide show to schools, churches, conferences and community centers from Maryland to Maine. I am lucky enough to be one of them. “We are very proud of you,” said Roy Neel, Al Gore’s Chief of Staff who flew in to deliver the welcoming remarks to the group gathered in the Chevy Chase Village Hall on this unseasonably warm January morning. “You have given more presentations that Al and I ever thought possible – to date, more than a million people have seen that slide show, personally delivered around the world!"...

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The world’s scientific community has determined that global warming is a human-caused crisis of the highest order, threatening our economic prosperity, international security, environmental stability, and the survival of millions. The need to act is urgent: the chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says, “If there’s no action before 2012, that’s too late. What we do in the next two or three years will determine our future.” It’s obvious to nearly everyone that energy and global warming are two of the most important issues the next president will deal with. Most of the candidates understand that these are central issues for the country, and all of them know voters care. Every Democratic candidate has a plan and addresses the issue on her or his website. Of the Republicans, website coverage ranges from none (Romney, Huckabee, Paul), to a slight nod (Giuliani), to flat-out acceptance and concern: McCain says in a video clip on his website, “I believe climate change is real. I think it’s devastating. I think we have to act.”...

Photo credit: Jungle Jim's International Market Perhaps it was bound to happen: though Time magazine trumpeted "Forget Organic. Eat Local" last year, columnist Joel Stein throws pie in the face of Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma of figuring out what to eat and how to get it locally. Stein, with tongue at least partially in cheek (we hope), posits that "the idea that this [eating locally] is the best way to eat, that most of our food should really come from within 100 miles, that farm-to-table produces a superior diet, is antiglobalization idiocy." How does he figure? "Eating in the 21st century is part travel, part cultural mash-up...I want the world to come to me, to see it shrink so small it fits on my plate. I want Maine lobster in broth flavored with Spanish saffron. I want Alaskan salmon, truffles from Europe, a bottle of Beaujolais, a damn pineapple." To "prove" that this is better than Pollan's eat-local ethic, Stein decides to cook a meal with ingredients that all came from further than 3,000 miles away from his Los Angeles home. While it's possible to do so, it proved an interesting exercise when it came time to go shopping....

Image courtesy of Mike Weston via flickr Will PHEVs provide the hoped-for benefits that many have ascribed to them? Well, yes, a new study published in ES&T has found - though the ultimate energy savings and emissions reductions will depend on the fuel economy of the cars they replace. According to the authors, the U.S.'s spare nighttime electricity capacity could power a large fleet of PHEVs; since they require about 10 hours of nightly charging, Joe Sullivan of the Argonne National Laboratory, one of the authors, nighttime electricity could allow PHEVs to replace up to 34% of today's light-duty fleet - and only consume 13% of the fuel used nationally for electricity generation in the process....

For years we have been saying that solar powered air conditioning just makes sense- if you are boiling in Phoenix the sun is probably shining really hard. We have seen big units, evaporative units that won't work in humid climates, a few vaporware units and even home-made absorption chillers Now it looks like a Spanish company, Rotartica, has put it all together, by combining evacuated tube thermal collectors with a water-heated absorption chiller, and sized it at 4.5Kw (1.28 tons) for residential use, all packaged in a neat little box....

Last week we highlighted here the New York Times' comparison of CFLs and consumers' feelings, and some treehuggers opined that adapting to change just takes time, and the right bulb! But the damning statistic in this WSJ commentary - that just 5 % of the light bulb market is buying CFLs - is a bit worrisome. This week a comparison by Sweden's SP Technical Research Institute of CFLs gives credence to the idea that CFL quality is even more fickle than consumers' preferences. SP tested eight different CFL bulbs from manufacturers such as Philips, Osram, and IKEA, and found that none of them - not one! - lived up to manufacturers claims for strength of the light (lumens). Temperatures of -10C and below caused some bulbs to flicker, others to not even light. Bulbs took from two to seven minutes to come to full strength. But the most damning part of the test was the report's demonstration that quality is completely unconnected to local price - which ran between US $5.50 and $21.86 (gotta hand it to IKEA as the low-price/quality leader). These quality lapses pose a problem for all of us in the many countries (Australia first in 2009, and then Canada, parts of Europe and the US) that are banning incandescent bulbs. But stay tuned for Part II of this post, where we look at Swedish mercury-free CFL technology, good-looking and (relatively) low-cost LEDs from China, as well as visit the sunny Parans lighting guys in gloomy Gothenburg. Via ::Teskfakta (Swedish only) ...

TreeHugger has been a fan of Arbor since they launched a few years ago, designing snowboards and skateboards out of bamboo and other sustainable materials. But when we got a sneak peek at their new Slater skateboard, we couldn’t help but take it for a test ride down Main Street. The Slater Series, Arbor’s first signature skate, is designed to honor acclaimed surfer and eight-time world champion Kelly Slater. ...

Ecorazzi: Does Jamie Oliver Have Egg On His Face Over Sainsbury’s Comments? by Parrish. "...a few masters of the British cuisine (if you can call English food, cuisine…I joke) have been doing their part to shed light on the horrible realities of factory farming. And now it looks like Mr. Jamie Oliver has caused quite the stir." Inhabitat: VIDEO: Chad Oppenheim on Sustainable Architecture by Emily Pilloton "Check out our latest video interview of Miami architect Chad Oppenheim, designer of the stunning green COR Tower for Miami. In this video he discusses Miami as a booming real estate and construction economy, and his take on sustainability as a factor in that growth."...

When we first saw Francois Perrin's addition in Brentwood, California (a nice part of LA), the simplicity and use of basic materials was attractive. Perrin says it "is a Guest House for an anthropologist to store the collection he gathered during 20 years in Asia and host visiting Buddhist scholars." It does all the right things- "It uses cross ventilation from the specific position of the opening s to cool down the building in extreme summer heat, catching the ocean’s breeze in the afternoon through the operable skylight on the roof. Regarding the energy, there are solar panels on the roof and the client plans to add some wind turbines to be fully off the grid." But what the heck is going on with the plastic walls?...

There is nary an LED or CFL among them that we can tell, but they are all re-used, repurposed or reimagining what a fixture might be made of, from corplast sheets to dried flower petals to papier-mache to, as illustrated, old silverware. Well, some of them must be LED or they would be sure to catch fire. Slide show at ::New York Times ...

We believe that less is more, but a 100 square foot art gallery? According to the New York Times, that is where Julia Trotta hangs her art. Fake Estate, as Ms. Trotta calls it, began life as a utility closet for a photographer’s studio in the Chelsea Arts Building. The photographer adopted three children from Ethiopa and eventually left the city, Ms. Trotta said, but kept his studio. The closet was advertised as a storage area, she said, for $650 (now $725). “When I took it, the janitors were poking fun at me and that’s how I found out” ::New York Times...

Italy may lead the way in producing goods that boast the EU Eco-label, but unfortunately not everything is quite as green and pleasant as that statistic would suggest. It seems Italy has an unnervingly high appetite for bottled water, making it the largest consumer in Europe. According to the BBC, Italians drink 270 brands of bottled water, producing over 200,000 tonnes (220,462 tons) of plastic waste (could this be a contributing factor in the recent tragedy of the trash?). We’ve noted this before, but bottled water standards are often no better, and sometimes worse, than regular tap water standards. As the man from the BBC points out, this trend may have more to do with fashion, branding and status than it does health or taste. ::BBC::via YouTube::...

Second in a series of posts about that third of our day spent beavering away at our chosen craft. [Verdant: green, lush, rich Vocation: calling, life's work, mission, purpose, function; profession, occupation, career, job, employment, trade, business, line, line of work, métier.] A Green Electrician might:...

Just quickly—yet another green surfboard. Details are a bit thin about this line of boards from a French designer, but its looks like they go in for expanded polystyrene (EPS) as having greater longevity and recyclability than standard poly blanks. And it seems like they might also use flax fabric instead of the usual fibreglass skin. This all appears to be bound in place with a 50% bio-based resin. They don’t say what is in their particular resin, but hint at the likes of soy, corn and sugar, and suggest they’re currently testing a 100% bio-based resin for future production. No doubt folk like Ocean Green and Biofoam will have a weather eye on such developments. ::Ecomoana, via a web search. ...

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On several occasions, we have posted about the coming Texification of the U.S. Upper Midwest, a process set into motion by piping Alberta Tar Sands crude oil southward, through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. Plans now include piping the Alberta sour all the way down to the Texas coast, where it can be refined and products exported.

By connecting the southern Illinois oil transport hub of Patoka with an Enbridge pipeline near Pontiac, the Canadian firm, in partnership with Exxon Mobil, could beat out other companies that have also announced plans for pipelines connecting Canada to the Gulf Coast. Several farmers are standing in Enbridge's way, however, refusing to let the company build the pipeline through their land.

We empathize with the Illinois landowners who have said "no" to the proposal; and, we are amazed that a Canadian company has the gall to threaten eminent domain to take US farmers land away to lay pipeline. (Wouldn't this ignite a prairie fire if it were a Middle Eastern based corporation?)...

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It took two years and hundreds of hours of negotiating, but we did it. Yesterday American Rivers and 25 other parties announced a landmark agreement to end decades of disputes over water in the Klamath Basin, and chart a better future for the river and its fishing and farming communities. Now, the next step is to get PacifiCorp, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, to remove its four outdated dams on the Klamath. While we have a lot to celebrate with yesterday’s agreement, we are still working to finalize the dam removal agreement with PacifiCorp, which is an essential part of the package. The Klamath River, flowing in Oregon and California, once supported the third-largest salmon run on the west coast. But the construction of four dams and years of irrigation diversions have taken their toll. Today, Klamath salmon and steelhead runs are a fraction of their historic abundance, with some near extinction. This has hurt the Karuk, Yurok, Klamath and Hoopa tribes whose livelihoods and cultures depend on the river and its salmon. It has been a disaster for fishermen, who have lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of fisheries shut-downs. And it has created uncertainties and difficulties for the basin’s farmers, who need a reliable supply of water for their crops....

According to a recent survey released by UK organic children’s clothes company, Arabella Miller, 62% of parents said that they made greener choices after having children and 80% now defined themselves as a “green parent.” But I’ve got to admit that I question some of the choices....

All right, it's not really the queen eating her son's sandwiches, it's Helen Mirren... But the point is that Prince Charles, in his Duchy Originals line, has now come out with a range of sandwiches. Can't you just see him in the kitchen at Highgrove, whipping up a little snack for Camilla for tea, and thinking how nice it would be if we could all eat the same thing... Or maybe he went to Pret a Manger one day and thought that the take-away sandwiches there were so crap that he could do better. One can pick from smoked mackerel with mayo, english gooseberry dressing and watercress on poppyseed and rye bread, or organic brie cheese with tomatoes and cranberry sauce on multi-grain bread or roast beef or classic cheddar cheese with organic tomato relish. A famous chef did a taste comparison and found them to be better than Pret or Marks & Spencer: now that's royalty. Duchy Originals have gone from weakness (losing money in the beginning) to strength: annual profits rose to more than £1.5 million last year. And all the money goes into a foundation which supports a range of charities that have so far received more than £6 million. So pip pip and eat up. :: Daily Telegraph ...

It looks like greening tours is all the new rage in the music world. Jack Johnson might have been the first one to do a green tour back in 2005. Recently Radiohead set an inspiring example by reducing their environmental impact when on tour by working with Best Foot Forward. Now, Mute Records has announced that José González is greening his North America Tour in spring this year. González is a Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter of Argentine descent whose first single ‘Heartbeats’ you probably know from the amazing Sony Bravia advert with the bouncy balls. ...

:: Before you call in for Thai, try your hand at making your own pad thai. :: How do you tell if a carbon-offset company is completely bogus? :: Learn how to use simplicity as the solution to dealing with everything in your life. :: Install a Firefox plug-in that tells you how much carbon dioxide your next flight will produce. :: This creative fusion of small-space storage and design is not only free, but it's downloadable, to boot. :: Sew an "octopus chair" from old pants; shock and awe your dinner guests. :: Your garden may be sleeping, but your job as gardener is far from over. Learn what essential gardening tasks you should be tending to. :: Can you picture yourself running your own non-profit organization? This online game lets you do exactly that. :: Get rid of old towels and help homeless dogs and cats at the same time. find out how. ...

Recent marine surveys by scientists in the Great Barrier Reef have found that an explosion in the population of the crown-of-thorns starfish has decimated parts of the region’s reefs and are now threatening part of the so-called Coral Triangle – one of the world’s richest regions of coral reef biodiversity. Located between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Solomon Islands, the Coral Triangle is home to some of the most genetically unique marine species. Researchers found that the predatory starfish have almost destroyed some of the beautiful reefs found near Halmahera, Indonesia, with 20% of the reefs already reduced to only 5% coral cover. ...

Between 2000 and 2007, car use doubled in the Valley of Mexico, the region that includes Mexico City and the surrounding metropolitan area. In 2007, 33 percent of residents said they used cars as a means of transport, compared with 17 percent in 2000, according to a recent study by the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics, known as INEGI. Some 19 percent of cars driven nationwide in Mexico are used vehicles imported from the United States. These vehicles sometimes lack pollution controls that have become standard even in Mexico, contributing to excess air pollution. Meanwhile the city is trying to improve public transportation options, and is building a second Bus Rapid Transit line, known as the Metrobús, as we've noted in the past. Currently only 74,000 people use the Metrobús daily. :: Via Excelsior ...

In Scandinavia it's almost a given that the shiny, gorgeous, and expensive red and yellow peppers (for some reason there are few green ones) at the grocery store are imported from Holland, the land of the never-ending greenhouse. So peppers aren't the best local, sustainable mid-winter choice, and in fact they aren't even available at the all-organic eco-store this season. But sometimes a potato, a parsnip or a beet just can't cut it. Hothouses' biggest cost is usually the energy it takes to keep them hot, so growers naturally look for ways to cut that growing bill. Grower-entrepreneur Jaan Vion in the quaintly-named Dutch town of Beetgum is switching his boiler from natural gas to a 25% more efficient wood-fired CHP, and he's the first in Holland to spring to use a system that captures the CO2 generated from the exhaust and after "scrubbing" pipes it back into the greenhouse as a stimulant to help the peppers grow. Vion's is no rinky-dink project - the boiler is 5 MW in capacity and uses 2.6 tons(!) of wood per hour - to support 8 hectares of pepper production. A tomato grower in Sweden and a Canadian greenhouse will soon get the same system. Via PrivataAffarer (Swedish)...

Image courtesy of Wrote via flickr Amidst renewed fears over the impact of biofuels on the environment, which a recent Royal Society report warned could "do more harm than good," the European Union has issued a draft law that would propose a ban on the imports of biofuels derived from crops grown on certain types of land — such as forests, wetlands and grasslands. It would also require them to deliver a — as yet undetermined — "minimum level of greenhouse gas savings." The ban would particularly target environmentally harmful crops like palm oil, which Europe imports from Southeast Asia; it could also affect a few crops grown in Latin America, including soy, wheat and sugar beets. The decision to enforce a ban comes in the wake of a rash of studies that have downplayed or thoroughly discredited some of the more bullish claims made by biofuel producers. ...

Michael Stuparyk, the Star Last summer there was a spate of articles about municipalities from Washington DC to California considering the banning of new drive-through restaurants. Some because they are ugly- "One of the things we always hear from residents is that they want a more walkable downtown" says one politician, but mainly because of pollution and greenhouse gases. Others protest, saying they like the convenience and speed. But is it faster? Two Toronto Star journalists tried it out. ...

Starbucks has announced that it is moving forward with its long-promised plans to serve only milk produced by cows free of the artificial hormone known as rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). According to the company, all of its core dairy products (fluid milk, half and half, whipping cream and eggnog) are now rBGH-free. Unfortunately, Starbucks also plans to stop selling organic milk in its stores next month. The company has stocked organic milk at U.S. shops since 2001. Starbucks spokesman Brandon Borrman said the original reason for offering it was to cater to customers who wanted milk from cows that weren't given rBGH....

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Entries for January 13, 2008 - January 19, 2008

Total this week: 143

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.19.08

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.19.08

by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 01.19.08

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by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 01.19.08

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by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 01.18.08

by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 01.18.08

by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 01.18.08

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.18.08

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.18.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.18.08

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.18.08

by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 01.18.08

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.18.08

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by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 01.18.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.18.08

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.18.08

by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 01.18.08

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by Bonnie Alter, London on 01.18.08

by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 01.18.08

by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 01.18.08

by Tim McGee, Helena, MT, USA on 01.17.08

by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 01.17.08

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.17.08

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.17.08

by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 01.17.08

by Greg Haegele, Sierra Club on 01.17.08

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 01.17.08

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.17.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.17.08

by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 01.17.08

by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 01.17.08

by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 01.17.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.17.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.17.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.17.08

by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 01.17.08

by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 01.17.08

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by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 01.17.08

by American Rivers on 01.17.08

by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 01.17.08

by Bonnie Alter, London on 01.17.08

by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona on 01.17.08

by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 01.16.08

by Kimberley D. Mok, Nomad on 01.16.08

by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 01.16.08

by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 01.16.08

by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 01.16.08

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01.16.08

by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 01.16.08