- 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 June 29, 2008 - July 5, 2008
Total this week: 160
Movie Review: "Garbage Warrior" and Experimental Architect, Michael Reynolds
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 07. 5.08
Design is evolving, but according to “Garbage Warrior” (2008), a timely documentary on unconventional architect Michael Reynolds and his so-called “earthships”, it’s not evolving fast enough. Partly, it’s because the “powers that be” are afraid of making mistakes, of learning how to live sustainably through trial and error. But can Reynolds’ thirty-year long approach to self-sustaining building – which involves using discarded tires, plastic bottles, old beer cans, rammed earth, rain-harvesting, solar power and on-site food production – be a feasible solution to the slow development of green building in North America?
As director Oliver Hodge shows, the proof is in the pudding: by following Reynolds around (the film itself was three years in the making), we can see that Reynolds’ vision of self-sufficient, off-grid living has been potently realized in the distinctive and eloquent “earthships” nestled in the harsh landscape just outside of Taos, New Mexico. ...
A Picture is Worth... Northern California's Wildfires
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 5.08
Image from ESA
There is still no light at the end of the tunnel for fire-besieged Northern California. According to some reports, there are still over 1,000 wildfires burning in the region with little hope for improvement in the near future. Over 1,400 square kilometers of land have already been burnt, and there are more than 19,000 firefighters on hand, many from around the country, helping to put out the blazes.
The image was captured by the European Space Agency's Envisat satellite on June 25. ...
Another One Bites the Dust: University Closes Observatory, Evicts Famous Astronomer
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 5.08
Tom Bolton discovered the first black hole using the 75 inch reflector at the David Dunlap Observatory just north of Toronto; how sad to see him sitting on the steps, crying, as the University of Toronto kicks him out and shuts it down, as they sell this green oasis to developers. The university says you can't do good work there anymore because of light pollution; they will take the hundred million or so dollars and invest it in the astronomy program. Bolton disagrees, telling the National Post: “If [the university] had talked to me, I would have told them how we could be doing world-class research,” he said. With a modest investment, the university could have returned the observatory to the “showcase” status it had 20 years ago, before “they started running it into the ground by systematically starving us for replacement faculty.”
One would think that universities would be custodians of their assets for the long term. Who knows, it may get too expensive and difficult to send their astronomers to Chile. Or maybe people will learn that it is silly to pay to light up the skies when well designed, focused lighting need not pollute. Over the long term, the low density suburbs of Richmond Hill might even revert to farmland. A University with long-term vision might think of those things. Instead they would rather take the money and run. ::National Post
See also: Ban Demolition, Especially by Greedy Universities...
New and Improved 2015 EU Biofuel Target in the Works?
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 5.08
Image from petrr
Given all the recent backlash, it seemed inevitable that the EU would be forced to revise its misguided biofuel targets. The final push may very well have been provided by a World Bank report concluding that biofuels may have caused global food prices to rise by up to 75 percent.
Four percent from renewable sources by 2015
In light of this, Claude Turmes, a EU lawmaker, has proposed changing the EU's target so that only 4 percent of vehicle fuels be derived from renewable sources by 2015, reports Reuters' Pete Harrison. Claiming broad parliamentary backing, Turmes said there would be a review in 2015 to decide whether to keep the 10 percent target for 2020....
Zeppelins Rise Again, The Upside of $200 Oil
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 5.08
Why Fly When You Can Float? It has been more than 70 years since the giant Hindenburg zeppelin exploded in a spectacular fireball over Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 crew members and passengers, abruptly ending an earlier age of airships. But because of new materials and sophisticated means of propulsion, a diverse cast of entrepreneurs is taking another look at the behemoths of the air. ::New York Times
See also Zeppelins are Back, Too
Earthquake and Fire Proof Floating Houses Coming to Los Angeles ...
The upside of $200 oil: Rising oil prices don't have to mean an economic apocalypse; it might reinvigorate our cities, and reward entrepreneurship. And it could make us a little skinnier, too. ::National Post
See also: What Happens When Gasoline Exceeds US$7.00 Per Gallon?
Stop Whining About Gas Prices
High Gas Prices Changing Society
...
Wal-Mart Now US' Largest Buyer Of Locally Grown Produce
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 5.08
We know it sounds like putting a square watermelon in a round hole: but Wal-Mart claims it is the nation's largest buyer of locally grown produce. The scaling of centrally managed industrial agriculture in the USA will be transformed. More changes are coming. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to buy and sell $400 million worth of produce grown by local farmers within its state stores this year, an effort the company says will only grow.One obvious upshot is diversification of the supply chain. Smaller contracts with more farmers & distributors. ...
Tricycle Super Hero in Fight for Cycle Safety Episode
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 07. 5.08
Well, dear readers, that mortal moment has come. My alter-ego, Super City Cycle Girl, has been struck low by the evils of traffic. But do not fear. Your heroine bravely battles on with one-handed typing and a new secret weapon: tricycles. Yes, after toppling the two-wheeler, Super City Cycle Girl has returned to the lab to get a closer look at an eco-vehicle which can skid across wet pavement without tipping. Of course, it has to be a cool tricycle -- stylish, sporty and sleek. ...
To Cut or Not to Cut? That's the G8 Question..
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 07. 5.08
It's that time of year again, and with the official G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit finally getting under way here in Japan next week, the question on everybody's lips is, "will the G8 see a formal commitment to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cuts?"
The G8 Summit is the source of no end of speculation on this policy or that policy, but with news items like such as MSNBC's piece on the possibility of an ice-free arctic by the end of this summer, climate change is looming large on everyone's lips, and their keyboards.
We go on the hunt to see what the latest news and views are from around the world....
Penguins A Threatened Ecotourism Treasure
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 07. 4.08
Penguin life has gotten more precarious since this 1913 NOAA photo.
Penguin populations have been declining and shifting globally as a result of oil pollution, overfishing, guano mining (!) and increased coastal development, according to research by Dee Boersma from the University of Washington, published in the July-August edition of the journal BioScience.
Climate changes cause dramatic shifts
Boersma sees penguins as marine sentinels of the Southern Hemisphere. They depend on predictable climate for their breeding cycles and need high ocean productivity for the krill and fish they survive on. A warming Antarctic is causing varying changes - for some ice-requiring penguins like the Adelie it is detrimental, while for ice-intolerant species such as the gentoo and chinstrap it could be beneficial.
Penguins an ecotourism favorite
But Boersma contends that demonstrated declines in penguin populations overall show that humans aren't managing their ocean resources and habitats well enough. Penguins are a huge ecotourism draw - for example, as many as half a million people visit just one of the many penguin species, the blue penguin, on Phillip Island in Australia. But there is only sporadic, uncoordinated monitoring of the 43 different penguin colonies that make up most of the global penguin population....
The TH Interview: Ray Anderson—The Man with a Spear in his Chest (Part One)
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 07. 4.08
Ray Anderson started his company, Interface, back in the 1970s to make carpet. Like any business man, he wanted to shake up the market and make a healthy profit, which he’s done, and Interface now has 17 manufacturing locations on four continents. But this is not business as usual. Not anymore. Since having a sustainability epiphany, as he calls it, Ray has starting steering Interface toward one hell of a goal: zero negative effects on the planetary ecosystem by the year 2020, a goal he admits no corporation has yet reached. TreeHugger has long found inspiration in Interface’s elegant design solutions—products like modular carpet and FLOR—and in Anderson’s own sagely words. ::TreeHugger Radio Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download. For Part Two of this interview, click here. Special thanks go to CraigMichaels, the organizer of the Sustainable Operations Summit, for arranging this interview. (Full text after the jump)...
Growkids Means Smart Green Fundraising for Schools
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 07. 4.08
School may be out for the summer, but the truth is that many PTA’s and school organizations start planning for next year’s fundraisers a good deal in advance. And there’s an eco-minded fundraising company called Growkids that’s offering 50% of the proceeds to your school or organization, a vast improvement over some of the organizations offering much, much less that we told you about in a post called “Green Fundraising with One Big Caveat” not so very long ago....
Portland's Bike Share Program Put on Hold
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 07. 4.08
Bike-Share Put on Hold
After eight months of reviewing potential contracts "aimed at finding a company to provide the service and maintain a fleet of rental bicycles," Portland, Oregon has put its bike-share plans on hold due to nagging logistical and funding issues. In essence, the city wants to spend more time studying other bike-share models in Europe and the U.S. before it starts its own program. Two companies--ClearChannel Outdoor and Portland Bike Co.--had already entered bids, but as the city moved forward with the proposals "it became apparent that the project could require more leg work than anticipated."
Good Idea--More Research Needed
The idea was to have a 500 bicycle fleet that would enable riders to rent bicycles from special kiosks throughout the city, with "a combination of rental fees, public subsidies and advertising on the bicycles or the kiosks" providing the funding for the initial purchase and maintenance of the system. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Portland thought through carefully all the costs and logistical issues surrounding the creation of a network of bike kiosks. However, Portland officials say that if more research reveals that a sustainable bike-share program can be established, then the city will consider giving the bidding process another try. They might look to Washington, D.C. and Tucson, Arizona and Montreal, Canada, for examples of American and Canadian cities that are starting up bike share programs.
Via: ::Portland Tribune
More on Bike Share Programs
University of Washington to Create Electric Bike Share Program
Waterloo Grad Students Win $25,000 for Bike-Share Program Proposal
San Francisco Moves Towards Bike-Sharing
Barcelona Has Gone Bicing Crazy: 30,000 Users in 2 Months!...
Cameron Diaz's Green Film Club
by Terri MacLeod on 07. 4.08
Brooke Shields and Kyra Segwick are also taking green steps.
…Cameron’s eco-documentary, “Power Shift,” which explores different energy sources, is making the rounds in a new green video club. The Earth Cinema Circle offers hers, plus a number of other films dedicated to increasing social & environmental awareness. Members get four eco-films every other month for $18.
Join: earthcinemacircle
...
…Cameron’s eco-documentary, “Power Shift,” which explores different energy sources, is making the rounds in a new green video club. The Earth Cinema Circle offers hers, plus a number of other films dedicated to increasing social & environmental awareness. Members get four eco-films every other month for $18.
Join: earthcinemacircle
...
Off the Grid & Eating Locally - What’s It All About?
by Deane Brebner and Don Bissonnette, Sutton, Quebec on 07. 4.08
Both Deane and Don expected that it would have been harder to do, both the off-grid experience and the local eating. We learned that food is available if you look around you and the internet is a big help in the research. In Sherbrooke there is the Marche de Solidarite promoted by Les Amies de la Terre de l’Estrie
(Les Amies de la Terre) You order on-line and then pick up local produce and products at a spot on King Street. A similar set-up, Les Amies de la Terre du Voisinage de Waterloo, is being developed in Waterloo, Quebec
(atvwaterloo.com). With a little creativity (sometimes a lot!), foods that are currently available can be made interesting in different forms. For example, once strawberries were ripe we ate them raw with yoghurt, with granola, in oatmeal with rhubarb, with pancakes, cooked in an up-side down cake on the top of the wood stove and finally mashed with mint for a refreshing tea!
...
Move to Canada if You Want to Avoid the Worst of Climate Change
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 4.08
Image from jpctalbot
At the risk of gross oversimplification, let me start by revealing the Climate Change Risk report's two main takeaways: Avoid living in most parts of Africa if you're especially risk averse (75 percent of the world's 20 most vulnerable countries are found there) and move to Canada to best hedge your bets.
The Comoros Islands: most at risk
The riskiest location by far, as The Independent's Michael McCarthy describes in his summary of the Maplecroft report's findings, is a small island cluster in the Indian Ocean, the Comoros Islands, which is most at risk of succumbing to agricultural failure, rising sea levels and other climate change impacts. ...
Pop Quiz: To Recycle, Or Not To Recycle
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA on 07. 4.08
...
Massachusetts Unveils Ambitious Renewables and Energy Efficiency Bill
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 4.08
Stealing some of California's thunder, which itself outlined a new plan to significantly reduce its carbon emissions, Massachusetts' governor, Deval Patrick, unveiled the Green Communities Act a few days ago to great fanfare. The bill's primary aims are to encourage businesses and homes to become more energy efficient and to stimulate clean energy development in the state.
The Green Community Act's major provisions
Some of the provisions detailed in the legislation, as reported by the Boston Globe's Beth Daley, include providing rebates to pay for energy efficiency measures, allowing homeowners and businesses to rent solar panels from utilities and easing consumers' ability to sell surplus energy from renewable sources to the grid. ...
Door Prize Lady Charged "To The Full Extent of the Law"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 4.08
Ghost Bike for Un-named victim, Toronto
We were appalled when, after yet another door prize death, a policeman discussed charging the woman who did it and said “If she didn’t look, would that be negligence? It’s very hard to label that as negligent." In our survey, 75% of the respondents agreed that " The driver broke the law and killed someone and should be charged to the full extent of the law."
Well it turns out, she has been charged, with "Open Vehicle Door Improperly", which carries a maximum punishment, if convicted, of demerit points and an approximate $110 fine.
Is this enough? "The consequences should reflect the severity of the crime," said Yvonne Bambrick, the assistant co-ordinator of the Toronto Cyclists Union. "We do not believe that this charge is adequate in this matter" ::The Star Press release from Police below the fold....
New Infrastructure Woes: Gas Tax Bringing In Less Money
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 4.08
Because of the price of gas, Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer miles in April then they did in the same period a year earlier. Nearly 20 billion fewer miles have been driven this year than last. That is a problem for Mary Peters, the Secretary of Transportation, who is getting less gas tax money and complains "We're burning less fuel as energy costs change driving patterns, steer people toward more fuel efficient vehicles, and encourage more to use transit. Which is exactly why we need a more effective funding source than the gas tax."
What, change the fixed gas tax of 24.4 cents a gallon? How about making it proportional so that it goes up with the price of gas? How about cranking it up so that enough revenue comes in to actually fix the collapsing infrastructure? Isn't steering people to more fuel efficient vehicles and transit exactly what we should be doing? Not in America. She is probably planning to tax bicycles. Or maybe transit. ::Environmental protection...
Secret World Bank Report Says Biofuels Are Prime Cause of Food Crisis
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 4.08
The Bush administration says it ain't so, blaming high food prices on higher demand from India and China. Brazil's Lula blames record oil prices and rich countries' farm subsidies. John Laumer blames genetically modified crops, among other things. Now a leaked report from the World Bank claims that biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75%. The Guardian writes: "Senior development sources" say the report was spiked to avoid embarrassing President Bush. "It would put the World Bank in a political hot-spot with the White House," said one yesterday.
The report contradicts Bush and says "Rapid income growth in developing countries has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for the large price increases Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate."...
Lycomato's Ingestible Sunscreen Based on Tomatoes So You Don't Turn Into One
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 07. 4.08
Summer is in full force and so is our desire to head to the beach and pool. We've heard about the dangers of chemicals in sunscreens, and for many reasons want to avoid them or limit their use. TreeHugger has also reported that sunscreens are causing bleaching in corals -- another reason to limit their use. And that sunscreens can transexualize fish. Ew.
A company which focuses on plant extracts LycoRed thinks there are alternate solutions for protecting you from the sun's harmful rays. The company has used the help of Mother Nature to develop an extract from the tomato that has been found to protect the skin against harmful UV radiation.
The cosmeceutical called Lyc-O-Mato doesn't turn your skin red, but can prevent you from turning into a tomato. Available in Europe through Inneov, a joint venture of L'Oreal and Nestle, and by the French company Oenobiol, it is expected to be available in the US shortly, said the company when we interviewed them on ISRAEL21c. The company also develops a natural red food coloring additive.
...
Arrested in Tibet, Naked Photos: World Record Tandem Pair Tell All
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 07. 4.08
Bicycling in Lhasa, Tibet
After the news broke that all foreigners must leave Tibet, Mandy and Benny considered whether they would need to put their Hase Pino Tandem bicycle on a train. But things calmed, so they pushed on. Until their fears were realized: while mounting up after a night's rest hidden from view along the roadside, the police descended upon them. "Where had they slept? What were they doing?" Would the police understand that Mandy and Benny posed no threat on their peaceful tandem journey, circumnavigating the world and hoping to break the world record for the longest tandem bicycle tour?...
Cartoonists Find Climate Change Not So Funny
by Bonnie Alter, London on 07. 4.08
Here's the winner of Earthworks 2008, a global cartoon competition, with 600 entrants from 50 countries. Earthworks organisers " hoped that the competition would stimulate cartoonists to use their pens and wit to help combat environmental devastation and give new impetus to our desperate fight to stop global warming." The winning cartoon, "Coat Star", is by Mikhail Zlatkovsky from Russia. Judges felt that this cartoon of a man indecently exposing himself to a pure and pristine universe says " 'This is the disdain we've shown our world'...we felt the sleaziness was appropriate to the topic."
Often cartoonists are putting themselves on the line by depicting issues that go against the government's official policy. Despite the climatic disaster in Burma, two were sent from there, and China also sent some, despite its poor official reputation for cutting emissions.The works reflect the country of origin and its climatic issues, with some tragic and not so funny results. Shortages of food and clean water were depicted by cartoonists from Yemen and Syria, whilst water scarcity and desertification were common themes in cartoons from hot spots such as Africa, Australia and South America. Brazilian cartoonists depicted the loss of the Amazonian forest. As the organisers said " humour is often a valuable key in the struggle to win hearts and minds."
...
G8 Summit: Send Your Virtual Tanzaku Message
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 07. 4.08
One million wishes - that is the goal of the Tanzaku Action! Making a wish is a part of the tradition of making a wish to the stars on Tanabata Day on July 7, a holiday.
Now you can send a message to the G8 leaders by writing your hopes on a Virtual Tanzaku.
Tanzaku is a slip of paper on which people write their hopes or wishes and hang it on a bamboo tree. For the G8 Summit, the NGO Forum will display all the Tanzaku messages to get global leaders to take the necessary actions to change the world for better.
...
Norway Proposes No New Suburban, Drive-To Shopping Malls
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 07. 3.08
Malls like this one in Oslo, accessible by tram and on foot, are still okay.
In Norway wages have kept pace with fuel and food price hikes, so car trips haven't yet dropped drastically. To discourage driving, Environment Minister Eric Solheim has now proposed a bill that would forbid shopping centers of 3,000 square meters or more from being built along highways in Norway's suburban centers. Norwegian research has shown that 95 percent of shoppers to suburban malls arrive by car. Shopping centers would still be allowed in areas where public transport is existing or possible. The regulation, if passed, would be retroactive to this July. That 3,000 meter size, according to newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, is just 1/12th the square footage of the latest IKEA already approved to be built in a suburb of Bergen. The government has also considered forcing shopping centers to charge shoppers to park.
"We want to prevent cities and town centers from dying out because all shopping moves out of the downtown area," Solheim said to newspaper Dagens Nærinigsliv. "And we want to limit the use of cars. We need to change community structures."Via ::Aftenposten.no (English)...
Volkswagen to Make Limited Edition of 1-Liter Car (282 MPG!) in 2010
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 3.08
VW's 282 MPG Super Fuel Efficient Car
The 1-Liter car has been around in prototype form since 2002 and greens everywhere have been drooling at its 282 miles per gallon fuel economy (or 1 liter of gasoline per 100 kilometers, hence the name). VW has finally decided to make more and sell them, and a limited edition (estimated in the thousands) should start selling in 2010.
1-Liter Car Technical Specs
The One-Liter car (or 1-Litre, over in Europe) weights only 660 pounds. The body is made from carbon composites and it is shaped to be extremely slippery, giving it a coefficient of drag of only 0.16 ("the average car comes in around 0.30 and the Honda Insight had a Cd of 0.25"). The prototype was powered by a 1-cylinder diesel engine, but the production model should have a 2-cylinder diesel (which means it could be powered by algae-biodiesel!), and maybe even a stop-start anti-idling feature (to cut the engine when the car is stopped)....
Happy Oil Independence Day
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 3.08
If ever a picture told a story...
No matter what curve fitting equation you use to project a trend; no matter what mental model you frame this chart with; no matter what your employer demands, you can see where this slippery slope is heading. Up....
Got Mail? Here's How to Dump the Junk
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 07. 3.08
Photo by sgoralnick on flickr
The following guest post was submitted by Annabelle Gurwitch, host of WA$TED on Planet Green.
If you're like me, meaning you're a sentient being with a mail box, then I probably don't have to tell you what a horrible scourge junk mail is.
My personal favorite piece of unnecessary mail we received at our house this year is the letter my ten year old son received from Hugh Hefner inviting him to join the Playboy Club-printed on double heavy paper no less!...
Computers Use a lot of Energy, But Can Save Even More
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 3.08
Good Computer, Bad Computer
The Global eSustainability Initiative has released a report showing that while information and communications technologies (ICT) use a lot of energy and have an impact on global warming, that impact might not be negative. It is true that electronic equipment worldwide is about on par with aviation for CO2 emissions with 830 million tonnes (or 2% of total), but the other side of the coin is that these technology could help avoid 7.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2020, or 500% more than what they caused.
How Computers Make us Greener
The most obvious way that electronic equipment can make us greener is by reducing transportation emissions: Videoconferencing, email, audio calls, etc. That should all add up to between 140m and 220m tonnes of CO2 a year in 2020. But the real big improvements are elsewhere: Improving logistics (f.ex. planning better routes for delivery vehicles, managing supply chains better, etc) could save 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2, using data networking to create a "smart" grid could save 2 billion tonnes of CO2, and computer-controlled buildings that can manage lighting and ventilation depending on how many people are inside could save a further 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2....
Our Country’s Newest “Blue Trail” – The Congaree River In South Carolina
by Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers on 07. 3.08
As President of American Rivers, the nation’s leading river conservation organization, I get to enjoy our nation’s rivers more than most people. After all, it’s my job! But, I don’t come to work everyday just because I love rivers and want to protect them so our communities can continue to thrive. I come to work everyday because I want everyone to love and appreciate rivers. I want all Americans to have a stake in the future of our rivers and the best way to do that is to connect people with their local rivers and streams. To engage individuals with rivers and allow people to truly see what they have to offer. To many people, a river is just something to look at as they cross a bridge – if they even notice it at all. In order to change this, we need to give people the opportunity to personally experience a river - to witness its beauty, behold its grace and respect its power....
"Creation Care" - A Growing Movement
by Greg Haegele, Deputy Executive Director, Sierra Cl on 07. 3.08
It is a common misconception that communities of faith and environmentalists have little in common. In the United States today, 67% of Americans say they care about the environment because it is "God's creation" - and close to half of our members say they attend worship services at least once a month. Most of the world's major religions have long-standing traditions and teachings that inform how humans should interact with the natural world.
So make no mistake - "creation care" is certainly a growing movement. In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges like global warming, people from all walks of life are coming together to make a difference.
We recently released our "Faith in Action" report, which highlights one exceptional faith-based environmental initiative from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The report illustrates the growing momentum of the "creation care" movement....
TreeHugger Tip: How to Bike to Work (without all the sweat!)
by Chris Tackett, San Francisco on 07. 3.08
Quote of the Day: David Brussat on Green Building
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
David Brussat of the Providence Journal reviews Jim Kunstler's World Made By Hand more coherently than I did, and concludes with a lovely description of how buildings should be designed for a world without oil.
" We must start to think about an architecture that makes environmental sense, or someday we will indeed be forced to make our houses by hand. Architects must embrace new buildings with windows that open and close, rooms arrayed around courtyards, designed to take advantage of natural air and natural light. They should use natural materials that take less energy to make and transport to building sites. Houses with porches are “entertainment systems” that build community.
The green building movement needs to rethink its focus on fitting ever more energy-saving devices into increasingly goofy buildings. Architecture that instead taps into public tastes for tradition, familiarity and comfort will give us places that create their own natural preservation societies, because they are loved. Reusing old buildings is the true green architecture. Buildings designed for decades must give way to buildings designed for centuries." ::Providence Journal...
Giant Rubber Snake 'Anaconda' Could Bring Cost of Wave Power Down
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 3.08
Wave Power Technology
Most wave power devices so far, like those from Ocean Power Delivery, are made of metal and contain many hydraulic rams, hinges and articulated joints. This makes them expensive, and the more things there are to break, the higher maintenance costs will be.
Introducing the Anaconda
Francis Farley, an experimental physicist, and Rod Rainey of Atkins Oil and Gas, have invented a new device that could help bring the cost of wave power down. They call it the 'Anaconda' after the species of aquatic boas (and a cheesy movie). It's basically "a large distensible rubber tube that is closed at both ends and filled completely with water [...] designed to be anchored just below the sea’s surface, with one end facing the oncoming waves." It is meant to be cheap to produce and maintain....
Back To The Land, New York Times Style
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
The article starts off really badly, with a picture of farmer Dan Gibson's modest little farmhouse with a porte cochère big enough to park a combine harvester, and a description of how the former VP of Starwood Hotels raises Angus cattle but spends his spare time in house that "has a theater that wouldn’t be out of place in a Steven Spielberg residence, a wine cellar and a log cabin annex with a magnificent dry stack stone fireplace, a billiards table and a stuffed bear and bobcat glowering down between beams made of North Carolina pine — each beam an entire mature tree."
It gets slightly better though, as Ralph Gardner describes how "In recent years, as the local food movement has grown and farmers’ markets have proliferated, a new breed of back-to-the-landers has emerged."...
If Nothing Else Works, Pray for Lower Gas Prices
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
Image source
Jim Morrison said "When I was back there in seminary school, There was a person there Who put forth the proposition That you can petition the Lord with prayer. Petition the Lord with prayer. Petition the Lord with prayer.
You cannot petition the Lord with prayer!"
Tell that to Rocky Twyman, who has been holding prayer vigils around the country; he says that since politicians have been unable to do anything about gas prices, its time for divine intervention. This week he is praying at the Saudi Embassy, to pray that they turn the taps on a little more.
"Bush can't solve it. McCain and Obama can't solve it. We're going to have to turn to God." People in Toledo think it can't hurt. "I'm praying right along with them. Because I miss my dollar gas," said one.
And I want a pony. ::NBC24 and ::CNSNews
...
Heat Wave Temperatures to Reach Record Highs by End of Century
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 3.08
Image from Jesse Bikman
Can you imagine a future in which current record high temperatures will be considered "lovely and cool"? If not, you might want to get used to the idea, says Andreas Sterl, a climate modeler with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and the author of an upcoming study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
As the AP's Seth Borenstein reports, Sterl's model predicts heat wave temperatures will rise twice as fast as regular average global temperatures by 2100....
Veggie Burgers, Green BBQ Drinks and GPS Devices
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 07. 3.08
:: Seek out your town's best veggie burger joint.
:: Sip on sustainable drinks at your 4th of July fete.
:: Save gas, cash and the planet by getting techy with mobile internet mapping.
:: Add flavor to an ordinary salad or pasta by tossing in some garlic scapes.
:: Learn why off-roading wreaks havoc for the desert. ...
Library Late Fees in Alberta Are 16 Times Bigger than Environmental Fines at the Alberta Tar Sands
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
George Peridas, NRDC
The Alberta Tar Sands are called by some the most destructive project on earth, and their toxic tailing ponds kill birds and are poisoning downstream native communities. It has the worst air quality in the country, and companies regularly run afoul of exceedance limits, but in 2006 all of the oil companies were fined only $ 249,000. Library patrons in Calgary and Edmonton, on the other hand, were fined $4 million for overdue books.
"The Tar Sands is the largest fossil fuel project on the planet, home to toxic tailing ponds and Canada's worst air quality, and yet Albertans are fined more for returning their library books late" says Gillian McEachern of Forest Ethics. "The Federal and Alberta governments either lack the capacity or are willfully ignoring the need to enforce environmental laws in the Tar Sands. The Tar Sands look more and more like a safe haven for the world's largest and most profitable oil companies to do as they please." ::press release from ::Forest Ethics...
U.S. DOE Announces $30.5 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Renewable & Nuclear Energy Projects
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 3.08
photo: Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Energy has put a lot of money on the table lately. Last week saw $90 million for geothermal research. The agency's latest announcement brings much more, albeit in the form of loan guarantees and not outright grants.
Three separate solicitations announced
The U.S. DOE has announced three solicitations for a total of $30.5 billion in loan guarantees for “advanced energy technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions.” There are three solicitation areas: energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced transmission and distribution technologies; nuclear power facilities, and “advanced nuclear facilities for the “front-end” of the nuclear fuel cycle.”
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From the Forums: Grocery Store Stupid Human Tricks
by Alan Graham, Portland, Oregon on 07. 3.08
jcoffman:
Ok... So I am at the grocery store the other day in the veggie isle. I am waiting for a lady in front of me to finish so I decide to watch her. She is looking at fresh corn on the cob. They are on sale. 10 ears for $2.00! I thought it was a decent price, and wanted to get some too. She is picking up this corn, turning it, peering cautiously into the top like something is going to jump out at her etc... She looks over and sees the prepackaged corn on the cob, looks back at the fresh one in her hand, and tosses it down, grabs the styrofoam/cellophane wrapped corn and walks off. I was shocked! First of all, I was saddened by the fact that she CLEARLY had no idea what she was looking at with the fresh corn, but secondly that she choose the plastic wrapped corn over the no waste corn... Last but not least, she passed up 10 ears at $2.00 for the packaged corn that cost $5.40 for only 4 ears!!!!Perhaps she just wasn't familiar with the bio-degradable packaging that fresh corn is sealed in from the farm? Have any similar stories to share?...
30,000 Farmed Salmon Make A Break For It
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
We have noted before that farmed Atlantic salmon growing in pens in western waters in not necessarily the best idea, but it is a huge business in Norway, Chile and British Columbia. It is slightly smaller in BC today, after strong ocean currents moved a net near Campbell River, BC. The company says "One of the anchor lines ... apparently slipped to a low spot on the ocean floor and in so doing pulled down the corner of the cage so much the fish were able to swim out, which is really unusual." But it could be disastrous for the already threatened wild Pacific salmon stocks.
"You get juvenile Atlantics, they're not indigenous to the coast and they start competing with the wild salmon and they start putting the wild salmon at risk. Everything has to be done to stop having those Atlantic salmon in the ocean," says Jennifer Lash of the Living Ocean Society in the Globe and Mail. "Any time you bring in an invasive species or a non-indigenous species ... it poses a threat to the existing biological diversity."
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Flat Screen TVs Worse For Climate Than a Big Coal Plant
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
And not just because of all the people sitting there using electricity and eating corn chips. 4,000 tons of nitrogen triflouride is used each year in the production of flat screen TVs and monitors. Michael Prathner of the Environment Institute of the University of California in Irvine claims that the stuff is 17,000 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide, and writes in Geophysical Research Letters that it has "a potential greenhouse impact larger than that of the industrialised nations' emissions of perflourocarbons (PFCs) or sulfur hexaflouride (SF6), or even that of the world's largest coal-fired power plants". It survives in the atmosphere for 550 years, and if this year's supply got out, it would be equivalent to 67 million tonnes of CO2.
''Nitrogen trifluoride can be called the missing greenhouse gas. It is a synthetic chemical produced in industrial quantities, it is not included in the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases, or in national reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,'' Professor Prather said in the Sentinel....
Biodiesel Byproduct Could Yield High-Value Chemicals, New Research Shows
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 3.08
Jatropha seed photo courtesy of Mali Biocarburant, a Malian collective biodiesel producer.
One of the byproducts of the biodiesel refining process is glycerin: For every 10 pounds of biodiesel, about 1 pound of glycerin is also produced. In certain countries, Mali in particular, the glycerin is being used in soap making, so as to increase the revenue from a given quantity of feedstock.
In most other places, the rapid increase in biodiesel production volumes has resulted in producers having to pay to get rid of their leftover glycerin, Rice University researcher Ramon Gonzalez told Science Daily. This led Gonzalez and his team to research ways to convert glycerin into higher value chemicals.
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Save $2,100 Per Year In Gasoline Expense - Live Dense
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 3.08
The Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology, who we've featured previously [See: Center For Neighborhood Technologies Releases Cost Of Living Index] has extended their research on how lifestyle choice affects one's budget and environmental "footprint." Their latest work focuses on fuel expenses as a function of where you live. The findings are stunning. ..people who live close to transit, jobs, schools and retail – typically in cities and inner ring suburbs – spend up to $2,100 less annually on gasoline than residents of outer ring suburbs, where homes and amenities are generally more spread out and require more driving.That's considerably more than the tax rebate checks that large US families just got from the IRS. And, unlike a one-time give back from the Feds, the benefit of living denser is like the gift that keeps giving: it comes year after year....
Japan Hopes to Have Solar Power Transmission in Space by 2030
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 3.08
digital illustration: Getty Images
The future of air travel may not be gigantic turtle-shaped airships, but Japan hopes to test another idea straight out of science fiction, solar power stations in space, within the next two decades.
Scientific American is running a piece in their June issue which discusses the ambitious, orbital solar energy plans currently being discussed by Japan’s space agency. Without giving it all away, here are the main points:
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TH Blog Love - Our Favourite Greens Of The Week
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 07. 3.08
DH Love Life: Worm Poop by Daryl Hannah
Daryl visits the amazing recycling superstars Terracycle to see their worm poop, their reused packaging and all the other inventive things they do with our waste.
Next Billion: Expo Zaragoza '08 and Other Reasons to Join the Water Conversation by Francisco Noguera. "If there was ever a good summer to be in Spain, 2008 was it. Not only because of the great celebrations that surely followed Torres' match-winning goal last Sunday, but also because of the remarkable Expo Zaragoza 08. Titled "Water and Sustainable Development", the Expo will be a three-month long venue... to celebrate water and raise awareness about its role in our planet."...
Survey: Do We Need To End Hidden Oil Subsidies?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
A recent study found that the United States subsidizes Big Oil with between $78 and $158 Billion dollars per year; Mike concludes "Many of us greens tend to lose perspective. Many will spend a lot of time and energy in getting small subsidies for their favorite green project, but the big target should really be ending these massive hidden oil subsidies to truly level the playing field....If it did, oil prices would definitely be higher, but people would also have more money in their pockets.[through tax savings]"
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Air Should Be Free
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 3.08
Dear Ultramar:
Yesterday TreeHugger ran a post reporting that if every driver slowed down, drove 5% less and kept their tires properly inflated, it would save twice as much gas as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil could provide. Other sites report that proper tire pressure alone could save 4% of our gas consumption. I planned to write today that air should be free, a service provided to customers like water and paper towels for checking oil, to encourage people to keep their tires properly inflated.
I was going to illustrate it with a picture of your high tech, easy to use and free air pump south of Gravenhurst, Ontario. I had even switched to your brand because of it, filling up and checking my tires every time I went past. But when I got there, what did I find? You ripped it out.
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Renewable Energy Powered Eco-Resort Planned by Richard Branson
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 3.08
photo by Chris Ford
Whatever secret superpowered personal energy source Richard Branson has in that body of his, I want some of it. Not content with his myriad other business ventures, the Virgin Group chairman is set to stake his claim in another market segment: Eco-Resorts. Note to those of you who may want to start down this career path, it helps to have two private Caribbean Islands to set you on your way.
Eco-Villas Planned for Branson's Two Little Spots of Heaven
Although it is not a done deal yet as the resort plans have yet to be approved, but the British tycoon has big green plans for his foray into resort development. Branson intends to create 20 exclusive villas and a beachfront restaurant all powered by wind turbines and solar panels. The planned buildings will be designed to make the most of the local wind patterns so as to avoid the need for air conditioning. All the food will be come from local, organic sources and all motorized transport will be powered by biofuels.
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Children Labeled ‘at risk’ from Mercury in Dental Fillings
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 07. 3.08
In a complete turnabout the Food and Drug Administration has issued a health warning over amalgam dental fillings after insisting for years that they were safe. A change in stance which is a major victory for activists who claim fillings can cause a range of problems, including heart conditions and Alzheimer's disease.
According to their website, the FDA now states that fillings contain mercury that "may have neuro-toxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses".
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High Density Vertical Growth (HDVG) Garden: by Valcent
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 3.08
In Victorian times, houses were very narrow, multi-storied, and had a small "footprint" on the land. This left more land for private gardening, and commons, among other things. Then came the 1960s, and "ranch style" homes, with half-acre grass covered lots. By the 1970's anyone with a vegetable garden in a suburban or city back yard were "hippies," "weird," or "old fashioned."
The 1990's saw the boom of Mega-Mansions on postage stamp sized lots, weekly lawn-care crew visits, and still little vegetable gardening on a respectable scale, regardless of whether one lives in the city or the suburbs. Now we have an oil crisis overlain with a salmonella crisis: both of which the US Federal government seems incapable of dealing with. Vertical gardening might help change that. ...the system is designed to grow vegetables and other foods much more efficiently and with greater food value than in agricultural field conditions. The HDVG system demonstrates the following characteristics:...
Lost & Found: Barcelona Reinvents Second Hand Markets
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 07. 3.08
Darning Clothes As an Art Form
by Bonnie Alter, London on 07. 3.08
The Royal College of Art Summer Show has a whole section featuring textile artists. Celia Pym loves darning clothes; she sees it as a way of reclaiming old clothes and recognising their intrinsic beauty. She has done it in Paris and the Orkney Islands and wants to mend her way around the UK. Now she is in London. For one project she invited people to bring in clothing with holes. Responding to signs stuck on posts, they brought in things that they treasured which may not have been particularly elegant, but were special to them. Then she repaired the pieces, making little embellishments by using unmatched colours and not-so-straight lines and squiggles. As part of her show, she will be inviting the public to come and learn how to darn, using old hospital sheets which will then be returned, all fixed up.
For her Graduate project she created a performance piece. She is knitting a pile of cream-coloured squares throughout the duration of the show. She intends to knit her height in them. She calls it "knitting until you're done" (that is until she graduates). In the old days knitted squares were used for blankets. For her knitting is productive, useful and meditative. Her other piece is based on her thoughts about legs; being an avid ocean swimmer. She has knitted a pair of long blue knitted legs with white lines of darning on them. :: Royal College of Art Show RCA...
Solar Photovoltaic Rebate Program Introduced into Senate
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 3.08
photo by KQED QUEST-some rights reserved.
The world of solar energy has been tumultuous of late in the United States: the BLM essentially bans solar power projects on public lands, then reverses its decision because of public outcry. Not to mention the inaction in the Senate on one set of renewable energy legislation, and the action in the House on another. Here’s another twist in the road of clean energy promotion.
Ten Million Solar Roofs In Ten Years
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced a new bill into the Senate to help ease the cost for homeowners wanting to install solar panels. The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2008 will offer rebates for up to half the installation costs of solar photovoltaic systems, and would be in place for the next ten years. In addition to private homes and businesses, non-profit organizations, and state and local governments would be eligible for the rebates.
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Architectural Innovation and Energy Savings Could Result from Super-insulator Breakthrough
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 07. 3.08
Image credit: Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS
Aerogel was invented in 1931. But at $3000 per kilogram, it's use has been limited to visionary projects and unique structural applications like reinforcement of tennis raquets. But that could change soon. Halimaton Hamdan, a Cambridge-trained professor of chemistry at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Technical University of Malaysia), has announced the discovery of a cheap process for turning waste rice husks into aerogel. Actually into "Maerogel", as Hamdan has dubbed the "Malaysian aerogel"....
Stylish Green Product At Your Front Door To Utilize Rain Water
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 07. 3.08
Starting from June to mid July is the rainy season in Japan and we can never leave without an umbrella. Many Japanese department stores and supermarkets have little plastic bags at the entrance of the store for customers to slip their wet umbrella and keep the place dry and safe.
However, according to Japan for Sustainability, Japanese consumers already use roughly 30.5 billion plastic bags annually, the equivalent of 420,000 kiloliters of oil. Adding more plastic bags to the mix is the last thing we want to do. So here is how the Kyoei Design team tackled this issue with their innovative and stylish, “umbrella pot”. ...
500 Square Miles of Montana Wilderness Bought Up, Protected From Development
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
photo by brklynnovember via flickr
I don’t think it’s enough of a pattern to be called a trend, but after Florida buying up a large chunk of the Everglades for restoration to its natural state, and now something similar happening in Montana, things are looking a little better for US wild spaces.
The New York Times is reporting that the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land have reached an agreement for the purchase of a patchwork of privately owned forest some 500 square miles in size—an area about a third the size of Rhode Island.
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TreeHugger How-To From Tomm Stanley on Gardening
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
Itty Bitty Green Bikinis, A Smarter iPhone and New Orleans' Bike Heros
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 07. 2.08
GreenUpgrader rounds up a slew of sexy, sustainable bikinis.
Apple unleashes a greener iPhone.
An organization called RUBARB, makes old bikes new again for a post-Katrina New Orleans.
Eric Sorenson takes a closer look at seven ordinary household objects and how they can help stop global warming in his book, Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet.
Sigg teams up with Stop Global Warming to create a reusable water bottle that says, "I am not plastic."
Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg's top green news stories. Why not submit your own green news?...
New Solar Energy Applications Will Continue to Be Accepted by BLM
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
photo: Getty Images
BLM Reverses Policy
In a reversal of previously stated policy regarding its moratorium on solar energy project applications, the Bureau of Land Management has announced that it will continue to accept applications for new solar projects on public lands, and process these along with the 125 already submitted, pending the completion of the programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
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Gwyneth Paltrow's Eco-Smart Life:
by Terri MacLeod on 07. 2.08
Pamela Anderson and Jason Bateman are also rocking the right eco-attitude' ..Some say Sting is not!
When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, Gwyneth credits her two kids with motivating her. In July’s Good Housekeeping, the actress reveals she now tries to eat only organic and locally grown foods. “When I’d read about what pesticides do to small animals, I thought, Why would I expose my child to that? …I just want my kids to be as healthy as they possibly can. And I fell like eating well is the best start for living well.”
Via: goodhousekeeping
...
When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, Gwyneth credits her two kids with motivating her. In July’s Good Housekeeping, the actress reveals she now tries to eat only organic and locally grown foods. “When I’d read about what pesticides do to small animals, I thought, Why would I expose my child to that? …I just want my kids to be as healthy as they possibly can. And I fell like eating well is the best start for living well.”
Via: goodhousekeeping
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World Oil Demand Growth to Outpace Non-Opec Supply Growth: IEA
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
photo: Getty Images
Subsidies may be distorting the true price of oil in the United States, and the price of crude continues to rise unchecked but that won’t slow global demand for oil over the next few years—even if demand in the developing world is contracting—according to the International Energy Agency.
The Paris-based organization predicts that demand is expected to grow by 1.6% per year between 2008 and 2013, while non-Opec supply will increase at only 0.5% per year. This increased reliance on Opec means that oil prices are likely to remain at record levels.
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Hidden Oil Subsidies: We Need to END Them
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 2.08
Econ 101: Subsidies
One of the many problems with subsidies is that they are almost impossible to repeal. That's because they usually give big benefits to a small group of people at a relatively small cost to a huge number of people. For example, corn-ethanol subsidies are going to be very hard to phase out because they might mean hundreds of thousands of dollars to farmers, while their cost is spread over the rest of the population and almost invisible. Farmers are a lot more motivated to lobby politicians than the average taxpayer, even if they only represent 1% of the population. The green impact of this is that corn-ethanol, a biofuel that would not necessarily be used much otherwise, is now made competitive with taxpayer dollars (and by putting tariffs on the greener Brazilian sugarcane ethanol), and that makes it harder for other alternative fuels to supersede it (and it also drive food prices up, something that affects most the poor).
Hidden Oil Subsidies
The real price of gasoline is what people actually pay for it, not just what they pay for it at the pump. That might seem subtle, but there's a big difference....
Solar Powered “Turtle Airship”: The New Way to Fly, Redux
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
Airship design circa 1817
Why do I feel like what I’m about the present isn’t real—that’s it’ll come out that it’s really just a big sociology experiment on the gullibility of bloggers?
We covered Darren Campbell’s Turtle Airships about eight months ago, but Mr Campbell has just issued another pronouncement about the great turtle airship future that is so (cough) enthusiastic that I am compelled to share it. I’ll let the original text work its magic.
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Small Cars are HOT, Prius Hybrid Waiting Lists are Getting Longer
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 2.08
Automakers Can't Keep Up with Small Car Demand
Sales of the Toyota Prius hybrid car are down 26% in June, but that's not because there is less demand for it, rather the opposite. Toyota just can't make them fast enough and waiting lists are getting longer, with about a six month average. And that might just be the start: "In a J.D. Power survey, 72 percent of U.S. consumers said they were interested in buying a hybrid."
Honda Becomes #3 in US Thanks to Small Cars
Honda swam upstream and, unlike other automakers, actually sold more cars, outselling Chrysler for the second consecutive month in June to become #3 in the U.S. market thanks to record demand for its Fit subcompact car and Civic sedan (which is also available as a hybrid). Small cars are back, but how about we have more Ciclovia-style street closures too? Via Reuters...
Fog & Dew Collectors: Design For A Thirsty World
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 07. 2.08
Here’s a potentially live-saving and thirst-quenching design prototype that we like: British designer Alon Alex Gross has created fog and dew collectors that build on existing, traditional techniques of rain harvesting with lightweight, modern materials. (Apparently, the device can also be connected to the internet for better accessibility and remote monitoring.) Yet, the gadgets are low-tech enough for people living in water-scarce developing areas to collect clean drinking water....
Velankani Group to Build $3.2 Billion Silicon Manufacturing Complex in India
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
Aerial view of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, site of Velankani Renewable Group’s new manufacturing complex. Photo via Wikipedia.
A well-timed announcement can be a thing of beauty. Just days after Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said that solar energy would be a key point in his new climate plan, Bangalore-based Velankani Group announces that it will be constructing a new manufacturing complex for silicon compounds and solar cells.
Plant to be Built in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Visakhapatnam, located on India’s eastern coast in the state of Andhra Pradesh, will be the site of Velankani’s new 150 acre facility. The cost of this new plant is expected to be almost INR 140bn (US$ 3.2bn) and will create 10,000 new jobs. Velankani’s subsidiary firm, Velankani Renewable Group will be in charge of the facility.
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China’s Plastic Bag Ban is Working, So Far
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
photo by Ethnocentrics via flickr
It may be have only been in place for a month so far, but initial reports by the Worldwatch Institute show that China’s ban on free plastic bags is having a definite impact.
In Guangzou City the use of plastic bags in supermarkets has been cut in half, while in some supermarkets in Beijing use of plastic bags has dropped by 90 percent.
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From the Forums: I'm An Energy Hog
by Alan Graham, Portland, Oregon on 07. 2.08
bobmarker:
I must confess, I'm an energy hog. I have a diesel truck, a 10-cylinder car, a big air conditioned house in the desert, and.. and... and.... However, I want to change everything. I'm selling my vehicles and going to get a couple hybrids. So that problem, though not SOLVED entirely, is something we are making progress with. I have been on these boards for a long time getting great ideas and have been making a lot of changes in the last year. But I'm ready for the huge leap. We are planning on moving out of the big city and moving to mountains of Montana. My plan is to be as green as I can and self-sustaining as I can. We (family of 4) want to live "off the grid," but the area we are moving to presents some problems for me. This is where I could use your help....
California’s PG&E Adds More Wind Power to Its Portfolio
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
Getty Images
Pacific Gas & Electric comes onto the Treehugger radar screen quite a bit: offering carbon offsets which go towards planting sequoias, purchasing wave energy, using hybrid solar thermal-biomass plants. Here’s their latest green step.
In an effort to further increase its renewable energy obligations under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, PG&E has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Horizon Wind Energy for the delivery of 240 gigawatt hours of wind energy.
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PlascoEnergy to Build North America's First Waste Gasification Plant
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 2.08
The idea behind waste gasification is an attractive one: Take trash and subject it to extreme heat under anoxic conditions to produce syngas, a blend of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel source. Despite its promise, its high operating costs and relative inefficiency had heretofore limited its applicability in most countries.
Yet, as reported by Technology Review's Peter Fairley, that is all set to change with the approval of North America's first gasification plant in Ottawa, Ontario. The inaugural plant, which will use electric-plasma torches to zap waste into syngas, will be built by Ottawa-based PlascoEnergy. ...
SustainStyle: Never Ending Sales, Shoes with a Message, Make-up and Much More
by 1plus1 on 07. 2.08
Welcome to SustainStyle, a weekly digest from the writers at 1plus1, a blog dedicated to eco-friendly fashion. SustainStyle runs every Wednesday.
Whats better than a sale? A website dedicated to them! All eco-fashion of course.
Future Natural, a new make-up store that is more than just eye candy (or shadow).
T-shirts with a message are cool, but shoes with a message really make a statement.
The organic maxi dress we plan on not taking off this summer. Day or night!
Pop quiz! Are you a water waster or saver?
Lalesso pumps us up with unique African printed shoes made from recycled fabrics.
xo....
Whats better than a sale? A website dedicated to them! All eco-fashion of course.
Future Natural, a new make-up store that is more than just eye candy (or shadow).
T-shirts with a message are cool, but shoes with a message really make a statement.
The organic maxi dress we plan on not taking off this summer. Day or night!
Pop quiz! Are you a water waster or saver?
Lalesso pumps us up with unique African printed shoes made from recycled fabrics.
xo....
Fireworks: The Annual Whine About Their Environmental Impact
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.08
It's the time of year where, as regular as the Fourth of July, we point out that "fireworks are often propelled by gunpowder, and the accelerants and heavy metals used for coloration can leave traces in the air and water for days or even weeks after the party is over." and "fireworks heavily contribute to perchlorate contamination of surrounding water bodies. Perchlorate is well-known to pose risks for both human health and wildlife." The EPA studied a lake in Oklahoma last year and found that within 14 housrs of the fireworks display, perchlorate levels were 1000 times higher than background. (Perchlorate inhibits the workings of the thyroid gland).
While LiveScience reports that there is progress in replacing perchlorate with nitrogen compounds and nitrocellulose, there is still the residue from the colouring agents, made from lovely heavy metals like strontium, barium and copper. We asked last year: It is all very pretty, but is it a celebration of the birth of a country or is it an excuse to blow things up?
This deserves a poll, below the fold....
New Method of Ethanol Production From Sugarcane Yields Water as Byproduct
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 2.08
photo by Ben Garland
Here’s something that, unless you are intimately familiar with how sugarcane is processed, you may not be aware of: The most efficient Brazilian sugarcane mills consume about 1,800 liters of water per tonne of cane processed. Considering that by most assessments water is going to be an increasingly important and scarce commodity, the development of a system for processing sugarcane which not only uses no additional water, but actually produces water as a byproduct, is certainly an interesting development.
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Conserving Beats Drilling, and Is Faster, Too
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.08
From the Exhibition Sorry, Out of Gas
Want to find twice as much gas as can be pumped out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge every day? Just get every driver to slow down, drive just 5% less, and keep their tires properly inflated. That is what the Alliance to Save Energy says, as reported in CNN Money.
Steve Hargreaves writes a surprisingly sensible article, noting that it will take years to build the pumping platforms and pipelines to bring offshore and arctic oil to America, but that conservation can kick in immediately.
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Commercial Herbicide Ruining UK Vegetable Gardens
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 2.08
Here is an apt demonstration of why strictly controlled organic food production methods pose lower risks to human health. It is a frightful sounding tale of deformed vegetables in domestic gardens where "allotment" owners used commercially produced (non-organic) manure to supplement their soil. Gardeners have been warned not to eat home-grown vegetables contaminated by a powerful new herbicide that is destroying gardens and allotments across the UK.The chain of events in the UK was roughly as follows...
The Future of Farming: Vertical or Horizontal?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.08
Futurama Farming
We do love writing about vertical farms, the high-tech architectural/ technological vision for feeding our cities. (See our roundup of them here)
Graham Harvey writes in the Guardian that "Vertical farms may be the hot story, but a network of good old-fashioned kitchen-gardens would produce better food."
He notes that while vertical farms have a certain futuristic appeal, "There's no reason why conurbations like London and New York shouldn't be filled with city farms in the same way as Havana. There are thousands of small areas from rooftops to urban parks that could be converted to food production. In fact it's already started to happen. Last year Harrods announced that it would be growing a range of crops – including lettuces, broad beans and tomatoes – right there on its roof.
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UNC to Conduct Massive Environmental Health Study in United Arab Emirates
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 07. 2.08
In a taste of what would come if the U.S. were to take the lead in developing global alternative energy solutions, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has signed a multi-million dollar agreement to bring their expertise to an assessment of health risks in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) due to environmental factors.
And since the U.A.E. has gone from a small nomadic and seafaring economy to one that is highly industrialized in just the last 40 years as one of the fastest developing nations in the world the truth is that there is plenty of cause for concern. A fact leadership in that country fully recognizes, and is attempting to tackle before a serious burden of disease emerges among the general population.
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Survey: Would You Get An Electric Scooter?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.08
Mike noted in his roundup that 30% of Americans would consider riding a scooter. And that was from a two year old study! I suspect that with current gas prices and the increasing availability of cool electric scooters (and our TreeHugger audience) the numbers might be even higher today.
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Food On The G8 Menu at Lake Toya
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 07. 2.08
G8 meetings are a way for our dear leaders to get together and share their pain. I bet they have a lot to moan about in those private sessions. Mum's the word: privacy, secrecy (until it is time to write that best-selling ghost-written auto-biography).
Some 40,000 special police are now everywhere, at all big subway stations, in major parts of cities. Japan has turned itself into a kind, soft, friendly little surveillance state. OK, noone wants a repeat of what happened in London last summer (50 dead). So cheer up, we will all probably be safe.
What do you think they should be debating at Lake Toya, Hokkaido?
Alex Evans at Global Dashboard examines the G8 Agenda. Yes, climate change and energy issues are all very important. What really strikes me as the top item this year is food:
Sir John Holmes’s UN task force will be presenting its final report at the Summit. Leaders will probably pledge to do everything they can to increase food production and increase investment in agriculture - which is a good idea, though it does still leave the small fact that enough food is produced for everyone to eat today, but there are still 850-950 million undernourished people. Increasing yields isn’t the whole story....
Greenwash Watch: Has Green Advertising Nuked the Fridge?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.08
Jonasrisen at the always interesting Greenline does a wonderful job of collecting the most obvious and awful greenwashing ads in the architectural press, starting with the most egregious of them all, the hippie ad for LG Eden countertops. He writes:
"Advertising has an especially important role in presenting the idea of sustainability. Used properly, it can educate and activate the public to make the better decision for themselves and the world around them. Used ineffectively, advertising can make an idea cliché. It can reduce the impact of any movement by blanketing the world with a diluted and unfocused message."
It is not even an sensible message; anyone who has ever been near a stable or a volcano knows that nature doesn't necessarily have low emissions....
Monster Media, RVCA, and Sea Shepherd Sea No Evil
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 07. 2.08
This year’s Sea No Evil event , also known as the Sea Shepherd Art Show aims to bring art, music and the environment together under one roof in Riverside, CA. The location – The Riverside Art Musem. The date – Saturday, July 12, 2008. The acts – recording artist Matt Costa, DJ Shephard Fairey and art by over 53 artists will be on display. The event is co-hosted by RVCA, the Artist Network Program and Monster Media.
For those of you in the LA or Riverside area, mark your calendars now to come out to Riverside for a good cause. Musical acts include Matt Costa, will perform on the roof of the art museum and guest DJ Shephard Fairey. Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, will be the main speaker of the evening. ...
More Carnage on the Highway- When Will We Learn?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.08
There are not a lot of choices when one decides to bicycle across Canada; there is really just the two-lane Trans-Canada Highway that is shared by every transport truck, sober or drunk driver or cyclist trying to cross the country, like Daniel Hurtubise and his two kids were, along with Robert Carrier, who left his six kids at home. Hurtubise had juvenile Diabetes, but was riding "to show that the disease does not stop people from living an active lifestyle." But cars do, very effectively; They were all struck from behind by a Honda Civic, and Hurtubise and Carrier were killed, while the kids were sent to hospital. The Ride of A Lifetime ended early.
It is the main route across the country, but is maintained by the provinces it passes through. In Manitoba the road was built in the sixties so it is unchanged from when I rode across it- narrow and very scary- dead straight and flat so everyone speeds, and when the trucks pass by you are either almost blown off the road or sucked into its draft.
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Bicycle Carriers for the Supermarket Run
by Bonnie Alter, London on 07. 2.08
Graduate design students at the Royal College of Art take the environment seriously. The annual summer show is a great place to find out what the up and coming designers are thinking. Paul Thomas wants to create "natural solutions to man-made problems". His bicycle carrier system has already won a prize and a prototype is being designed. The Pop On Delivery System is a simple solution for carrying heavy recycled carrier bags on a bicycle. It clips onto a standard bike rack and locks on so that the plastic bags don't swing around. A mesh flap stops them from hitting the rear wheel and there is a water proof flap to protect the bags from the rain.
Breathe Easy is a hanging plant holder that helps people sleep by removing airborne toxins. In a bedroom these can come from the paint, carpeting and fabrics. By using toxin-absorbing plants such as orchids and ferns growing in an aeroponic system, the mist sucks in the toxins and they are trapped in the plant's root system and turned into food. And it looks stunning hanging on the wall. :: Royal College of Art: Show: RCA...
The Collection of Hope Shows at Bread & Butter Barcelona
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 07. 2.08
Bread & Butter, the trade show for selected brands, opened its summer doors again in Barcelona today for 3 days of clothing culture under the concept ‘New Order’. Apart from some of our favourite eco fashion labels we already met at Bread & Butter King Size in January, we really liked the ‘Collection of Hope’, resulting from a workshop by students of the ESMOD fashion schools. Africa and Social Responsibility inspired this project and lead to a discussion of textiles and clothing in modern Africa from diverse points of view. ...
Johanna Keimeyer Puts Trash Bottles in a New Light
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 07. 2.08
Recycle Light is Eco-Art, not Eco-Easy
Recycle Lights, the moniker of Berlin artist Johanna Keimeyer's newest collection, may make recycling simple for the elite clients and businesses that acquire pieces of Keimeyer's art. And perhaps many of us could easily see a certain beauty in bottle designs, if we stopped to think about it for a moment before trashing the empty containers. But bringing the beauty of out of discarded plastic containers, transforming garbage into resplendent glory, requires artistic talents and an elaborate process.
Keimeier's Recycle Lights have earned a place in the exhibition "Adventure with Objects" alongside pieces such as "the first curved wooden furniture from Thonet, the seats and furnishings of Jean Prouvé, Charles and Ray Eames and Alvar Aalto, the domestic architecture of Le Corbusier, the first examples of tubular steel chairs by Mies van der Rohe in the 1920s, and important pieces by contemporary designers such as Ron Arad or Fernando and Humberto Campana"”. "Adventure with Objects" is open until July 6, 2008 at the Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin, Italy. Many more photos of Keimeyer's work are also displayed below....
Virtual Energy Forum Offers Presentations Archive Online
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 07. 2.08
Did you know that the rate of CO2 emissions for average PC use is equal to the CO2 exhaled by 1.5 humans? If not, you probably missed the Virtual Energy Forum 10-11 June 2008. But all is not lost. The presentations are available to registered users at the Virtual Energy Forum website. The live conference took place in a virtual conference environment, saving over 12 million pounds of CO2 emissions, which would have been incurred by air travel, hotel stays and commuting to/from airports to attend a real conference.
We have been watching the movement towards virtual conferences since we reported on Trend Day in Second Life. Virtual conferences offer advantages and benefits which live attendance cannot equal. And the breadth and impact of the speakers and topics at the Virtual Energy Forum leave no doubt: this is a serious medium for sharing and learning....
High School Student Launches CFL Giveaways with Project Greenlight
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 07. 1.08
When news came that a student named Ryan Morgan at North Pocono High School near Scranton, PA had started distributing CFL bulbs in a bid to raise awareness of global warming and what folks can do about it, I must admit that I was impressed, and felt not a small pull of nostalgia as well. For it was not too long ago that I found myself doing almost the exact same thing with Mr. Luna's Bright Idea, and asking Oprah to lend a hand.
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Residential Carbon Offset Program Introduced by Duke Energy
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 1.08
Duke Energy power plant (not in North Carolina, sorry) photo by Mike Baird.
Duke Energy has been doing a lot lately to try to green its image: expanding its wind development, installing solar panels across North Carolina, talking up transitioning to a low carbon economy. However the fact remains that the vast majority of the power it generates, and its customers consume, comes from non-renewable sources. In fact Duke Energy is, at over 100 million tons annually, the third-largest emitter of CO2 in the United States. Which is what makes this next announcement a little bittersweet for me.
Residential Carbon Offset Program
Duke Energy is partnering with NC GreenPower to offer carbon offsetting for its residential customers in North Carolina (South Carolina customers will be included soon). Under the scheme, Duke customers can purchase carbon offsets for the energy they use at the rate of $4 per 500 lbs of CO2 emitted. For Duke’s typical customer this means offsetting $8 per month. The plan can be enrolled in via the Duke website, the offsets reflected on their bill, and the money passed on directly to NC Greenpower.
NC GreenPower is a non-profit carbon offsetting program, administered by Advanced Energy, that has been operating on a state-wide basis since 2003....
Ready, Set, Green: My Eight Week Journey To A Greener, Guilt-Free Me
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 07. 1.08
How do you go deep green with a heavy airline habit? That was my question as I dove into week 4 of my quest to reexamine my lifestyle habits and possibly shed a bit of green guilt. Helping me along in my quest is the TreeHugger book by Graham Hill and Meaghan O'Neill Ready, Set, Green. But the answer to my question was you can't...go deep green, that is, if you are going to continue to fly.
Cold turkey car cutting
Obviously, as the book states, most of us want to find efficient transport "without all the global warming baggage." And for day-to-day living, it seems to work best for big-city urban dwellers. In major cities such as mine, inner city public transport is plentiful and walking is generally pleasurable. Since giving up our car two years ago, our family of four has never looked back - school, work and most errands are all accomplished by streetcar, bus, and bikes. In fact going cold turkey with no car was much more effective than our former attempts to wean ourselves - a certain percentage of car dependence is really just psychological. Once you don't have a car, you get increasingly creative about doing what you need to without one. A lightweight bike trailer and a subscription to a car-sharing service are excellent helping tools. (Car sharing is growing, especially in places such as Britain, where "petrol" prices are about $9 a gallon!) Plus the pleasure of knowing your community by slowing down to walk and bike in it (instead of just drive past it) is immeasurable. However, the global warming buck seems to stop right at the place where we try to step past our normal routines for any kind of business or pleasure travel....
Georgia Judge Blocks New Coal Power Plant Because of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 1.08
photo by Colin Nederkoorn
Yesterday marked a first in US judicial history: The first time that a state court has applied the principles of the April 2007 decision of the US Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency to a proposed power plant project.
Without emissions reduction plan in place, Plant will not be approved
The court in question is the Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia and the application in question is for the planned Longleaf 1200 MW coal-fired power plant outside of Columbus. This plant was the first coal-fired plant to be proposed in Georgia for over 20 years. The project had been granted approval by an administrative court, but this was overturned by Judge Thelma Wyatt on the grounds that the plant had no plan in place to limit its CO2 emissions....
The Onion's "Obligatory Green Issue"
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 1.08
Get it while it's still hot off the press: The Onion's Obligatory Green Issue! Here's a sample headline: 450,000 Unsold Earth Day Issues Of Time Trucked To Landfill....
Why Top Gear got it ALL WRONG in 'Prius vs. BMW M3'
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 1.08
Top Gear: Prius vs. BMW M3
We're pretty certain that the Top Gear people know more about cars than we do, so they really have no excuse for this segment on the Prius vs. BMW M3. It almost seems like they try very hard to be misleading and avoid explaining why their "test" has pretty much zero real-world value. But lets start at the beginning... First watch the video below, then read on....
Sustainable Suds, Green BBQ Cutlery and Reel Mowers
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 07. 1.08
:: Lather up with eco-friendly soaps.
:: Forget regular plastic cutlery at barbeques and opt for reusable or biodegradable options.
:: Push around a reel mower to get your yard beautifully green.
:: Re-think your household cleansers.
:: Delight in this season's fruit and veggies come January—by preserving them!...
Book Review: How Green Are My Wellies by Anna Shepard
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 07. 1.08
Being fans of the charming and witty Eco-Worrier Blog at The Times Online we naturally wanted to take a peak at the new book by the Eco-Worrier herself Anna Shepard. Recently published by Eden Project Books 'How Green Are My Wellies' sees Shepard translating her eco-agony aunt style blog, in which she doles out sensible and practical advice to the pondering public, into a domestic handbook for all seasons.
In twelve chapters divided into the months of the year Shepard provides "nuggets of wisdom" about various environmental themes such as January's 'Slimming Your Waste', March's 'The Tyranny of Clean' and August's 'How to Save Water'. The style is chatty and accessible in a homely way and as Shepard says in her introduction, "In my grandmother's day, it would have been called 'good housekeeping', the aim being to keep costs down and make the most of what you have. Today it is served up as eco advice, to reduce our impact on the environment." ...
Alaskan Volcanoes to be Surveyed, Tapped for Geothermal Power
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 1.08
photo courtesy US Geological Survey
Recently we wrote about the US Department of Energy investing in advanced geothermal research. Well, Alaska isn’t waiting around for the Feds to dole out the cash to begin tapping the mountains around them for geothermal.
Daily Tech is reporting that Alaskan state officials have announced that they will begin funding surveying of Alaska’s largest volcanoes to determine just how much geothermal energy it may be able to generate from them: Some estimates indicate that up to 25% of Alaska’s energy needs could be met from this source....
Four Alternative Energy Ideas from the Movies
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 1.08
Six Stupid Tricks With Light Emitting Diodes
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 1.08
Back in the day when TreeHugger was young we used to show every new innovative and sometimes silly use of LEDs. They have become so common and omnipresent that we rarely do any more, but could not pass up this plastic bench that lets you "relax in your favorite atmosphere by letting the Light bench smoothly transition from one hue to the other"... "Almost an art object, the Light Bench creates the right presence in creative and communicative environments. Again thanks to its LED lighting technology it only requires about 95 watts of electric power which keeps operating costs down and protects the environment."
Protects the environment? By sucking 95 watts to light a plastic bench? I don't think so. ::Frellstedt via ::Trendir
Just the latest in a long line of Stupid LED tricks:
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France to Assess Annual Tax on Most-Polluting Vehicle Owners
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 1.08
photo by Adam Comerford
While pure free-marketeers will continue to argue that eco-taxes interfere with the pure functioning of markets, it is increasingly being acknowledged that some means of incorporating the environmental costs of a product must be included into the price which the consumer pays. If this is done—if environmental externalities and internalized into prices, in ecological economics speak—then the true lifecycle costs of a product are taken into account, and a more informed decision can be made on the part of the consumer.
In a practical example of this, France has expanded its so-called “bonus-malus” system of taxes and rewards on cars, from a one-time penalty or bonus at the time or purchase to an annual assessment. Ideally, this should probably be included in the price paid at the dealer and not be something assessed by the government, but it's a good start....
This Month In Wired: Geoengineering and Ken Caldeira
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 1.08
Ken Caldeira has graced our pages a number of times, and now graces Wired Magazine. We quoted him earlier saying "Many people argue that we need to prevent climate change. Others argue that we need to keep emitting greenhouse gases. Geoengineering schemes have been proposed as a cheap fix that could let us have our cake and eat it, too. But geoengineering schemes are not well understood. Our study shows that planet-sized geoengineering means planet-sized risks.”
According to Chris Mooney in Wired, he is analyzing those risks, and appears now to be confident that filling the stratosphere with sulfur dioxide might actually work in reflecting sunlight back into space, just like it did after Mount Pinatubo blew 20 million tons of it 22 miles into the atmosphere. Caldeira recognizes that there are risks, but according to Wired, ...
California's Marine Life Protection Act in Action: A Sheltered Sea
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 07. 1.08
Image from uhuru1701
In 1999, California passed the landmark Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) which directed the state to create and manage the state's first network of marine protected areas (MPA) along the coastline. The move was seen as a necessary countermeasure to widespread coastal loss and degradation, which had already resulted in over 90 percent of the state's wetlands being lost and in large fisheries population declines, among other harmful consequences. ...
Man Saves 375 lbs Black Bear from Drowning (with Photos and Video)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 07. 1.08
Rescuing a 375 lbs Male Black Bear
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Adam Warwick just couldn't let the bear drown, so he took off his shirt and dive after it. The 375 lbs black bear had been spotted in a residential area, obviously looking for food, and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. Unfortunately, before it went under, it jumped in the water of the Gulf of Mexico. More photos and a video below.
Update: See also Bear vs. Bike: Cyclist Hits 300-Pound Black Bear....
New Solar Thermal Factory Opened in Las Vegas, Triples Worldwide Manufacturing Capacity
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 1.08
Factory welding video grab courtesy of Ausra
While Ausra CEO Robert Fishman was far from excited yesterday about the BLM solar moratorium policy, he was perfectly happy to tout his company’s new 130,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Las Vegas.
“This is a crossover point for this industry. Ausra’s factory is accelerating Nevada’s and America’s solar future by tripling worldwide manufacturing capacity, relieving the supply constraint that has slowed the industry, and continuing to drive down costs,” Fishman said in Ausra’s press release.
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CO2 labeling on my beer can?
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 07. 1.08
Summertime, and the living is easy... If only.
By summer next year, I will not be able to just sit back and enjoy a can of my favourite beer on a beach, I will also be reminded of the CO2 emmissions printed on the can. Cheers!
Sapporo Breweries have announced that they will print on the labels of canned beer how much CO2 is emitted per can from the cultivation of barley, including the production of aluminum cans. through to delivery. Similar ideas have been announced by supermarkets in the UK and Sweden, but this could be the first time a corporation decides to go ahead and provide CO2 emmission data directly to consumers.
They will rely on the ISO 14040 Life Cycle Analysis Standard, and deal with tricky issues like Life Cycle Analysis.
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From the Forums: Utah's 4 Day Work Week!
by Alan Graham, Portland, Oregon on 07. 1.08
greenteadrinker:
Around 17,000 or 20 percent of all Utah state workers will shift to a new four-day, ten-hour work schedule beginning in August as part of the state’s one-year "Working 4 Utah" pilot program to save energy and money. By shutting down 1,000 buildings statewide on Fridays, an estimated 3,000 metric tons in carbon emissions will also be cut. Admittedly, though the energy and fuel savings is not as great as telecommuting, the idea of a four-day work week is probably more appealing to reluctant employers who are willing to test more moderate, but still viable, alternatives. The initiative could also set a precedent for other states to follow. "It has never been done on the statewide level, so we would be the first state actually rolling this out," said Utah governor Jon Huntsman. "So, [in] July we're going to be working very closely with departments and agencies making sure we anticipate ... all of the issues and challenges that'll be associated with doing this right."Would you be supportive of a 4 day work week?...
Prince Charles Runs His Aston Martin on White Wine
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 1.08
I never heard that English white wine was good for much, but it is good enough for Prince Charles to show off his environmental credentials again- he powers his 38-year-old Aston Martin with it. The fuel comes from Greenfuels in Gloucestershire, and is made from cheese and surplus white wine from a vineyard in Wiltshire. The car was a 21st birthday gift from mum. ::First Post
UPDATE: The Guardian explains how. "When Aston Martin heard that Prince Charles wanted to run his DB5 run-around on bioethanol, they contacted Gloucester-based Green Fuels for help. The company bought in 8,000 litres of surplus white wine from a nearby vineyard - for a mere 1p a litre - and ran it through their distillery. Understandably, the vineyard's owner is keeping his head down, for fear of mobs in search of free plonk.
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One Year Cell Phone Vampire Power = Six Minutes Driving = One Bath
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 07. 1.08
With millions of small steps available for people to green their daily lives, it's pretty easy to go burn-out. Should I stop flying? Unplug my cell phone charger? Or buy a Prius? Or a clothesline? Comparing the trade-offs between decisions takes considerable time and effort; you could end up a crispy little mass mumbling on your bamboo rug. But a professor at the University of Cambridge was written a little something to assist us in our decision-making process, destroying a few 'Mythconceptions' in the process.
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TreeHugger Tips: How-to Manage Humanure Composting
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 07. 1.08
A Picture is Worth....Dock Spiders Eat Fish?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 1.08
I have been around docks and big ugly dock spiders all my life and have never seen this, but there it is, on my dock right now. Do any of our readers have any experience with anything like this?...
U.S. Solar Moratorium on Public Lands, Part Two: The Industry Strikes Back
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 07. 1.08
photo by Petor Smit
Even though it was announced over a month ago now, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s decision to put a moratorium on all new applications for solar energy development on the lands it controls in six western states only managed to make it onto the collective media radar last week. If the comments Treehugger has received about this development are representative of the green community as a whole, no one’s too pleased by this Federal decision. That includes the solar industry itself:
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Midwest Flooding Brings to Light the Vulnerability of Corn Ethanol
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 07. 1.08
Image Credit: Steve Pope/European Pressphoto Agency
Hurricane Katrina highlighted the extent to which oil supplies are subject to disruptions from the weather, and we've long known that a terrorist attack or a decision by OPEC can affect oil supplies and prices. Supporters of biofuels often point to these facts as reasons for increasing our production of corn-based ethanol and other biofuels. After all, we can grow corn right here in the U.S., supporting American farmers and freeing ourselves from the grip of OPEC and petro-dictators such as Hugo Chavez.
Flooding Disrupts Ethanol Supply
Well, the recent flooding in the Midwest has demonstrated that, in addition to its questionable environmental and social benefits, corn based ethanol brings with it some unique supply issues. For instance, the flooding has forced up the price of ethanol 19% in the last month alone. In other words, "as America grows more reliant on corn for its fuel supply, it is becoming vulnerable to the many hazards that can damage crops, ranging from droughts to plagues to storms." ...
Snowcamp Aquaponics: DIY Fish Farming with Zero Experience
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 07. 1.08
Couple Document Aquaponics for Complete Beginners
From my video roundup of DIY aquaponics systems to posts on the Growing Power urban farm and Backyard Aquaponics Magazine, the idea that we can produce both high-quality protein and fruits and vegetables in an integrated, mutually beneficial system has certainly caught my interest, and I’ve been itching to check out a system in real life. So much so in fact that that I was recently enthusing about the potential of aquaponics to a friend, to which he replied “you should talk to my friend Liz”. It turns out that Liz and her husband Brian are writing a blog to “to document the trials and tribulations of starting a home aquaponics operation without any prior knowledge or experience of aquaculture or hydroponics.” I’ve yet to make it out to check out their set up (though I’m hoping this post will wangle an invite!), but in the meantime the blog is a great resource on everything from the costs of setting up a pond to the couple’s extensive, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempts to get tilapia for the system this year:
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Greenhouse Gases Could Be Used To Grow Organic Food
by Timothy J. LaSalle, Rodale Institue, Kutztown, PA on 07. 1.08
In 2008, global food demand is testing the capacity of petroleum-dependent, export-focused commodity agriculture. This system has not served developed nations as food prices soar—inflamed by biofuel demand and fuel prices—and has especially hurt developing nations already struggling with food security issues. The modern-farming paradigm has also resulted in nutrient overload in our waterways from the use of synthetic nitrogen, degradation of our soils and animal health and welfare concerns. Most disturbing is modern agriculture's contribution to global warming.
New data from U.S. government research shows that with agriculture using chemical fertilizers and herbicides, the U.S. food system contributes nearly 20 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions. On a global scale, figures from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say that agricultural land use contributes 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions....
Appraise This: How Much For A Hobbit House?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 07. 1.08
How would real estate appraisers tackle this one? They're going to need to learn. It's already starting on the commercial side. For example, the Appraisal Institute just offered a seminar for appraisers titled An Introduction to Valuing Green Buildings. Attendees learned "how buildings held for investment relate to the larger green building universe. The analysis and valuation of green building for investment purposes are also examined."
In a collapsing housing market, are green-smart appraisers going to help buoy the values of well designed properties? With energy prices going way up, you bet they are.
Caveat: if the definition of "green" is heavily weighted toward energy efficiency. ...
Australian Bee Industry Welcomes Threat Report
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 07. 1.08
We’ve run a hive full of stories here (links below) about Honey Bees and how their decline can adversely impact agriculture. However Australia, due to its island-like border security has, to date, fortunately been spared the devastating industry losses experienced elsewhere. But the local industry is accutely aware this could change suddenly unless it remains vigilant.
The apiarists who managed the 673,000 registered hives in Australia, producing over 30,000 tonnes of honey annually, worth about $50 million AUD, have had keen eyes on a parliamentary committee who recently handed down their report on the bee industry.
The committee’s chair Dick Adams said, “It's a little bit too simple to say without bees there's no food but there's a lot less food if you don't have a good bee population.” ...
Architectural and Recycled Screens for the Garden
by Bonnie Alter, London on 07. 1.08
As part of the London Festival of Architecture, the Victoria & Albert Museum have filled their glorious courtyard with chinese screens by Yung Ho Chang. Different artists are regularly invited to create a work for the museum’s John Madejski Garden. It is an open space with green grass, a cafe and a pond in the middle of the Victorian museum.
The screens are made from green recyclable plastic paving blocks, commonly used in construction all over China. They create a green and sumptuous looking series of free standing walls, similar to the screenings used in traditional chinese garden design. They turn a utilitarian material into something attractive and different. This Beijing-born architect studied in the US and established China's first private architectural firm, Atelier FCJZ. His firm is concerned with "ecology, reuse, and historical continuity as ignited by contemporary conditions." Watch for his name in the architectural world of stars. :: London Festival of Architecture...
Chile Fights Critical Air Pollution in Santiago
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 07. 1.08
(Photo: Air pollution in Santiago de Chile. Credit: Aaron Mccoy/Getty Images) Several media in Latin America warned yesterday that Santiago, Chile's capital city, is having its worst time in terms of air pollution since 1989.
In the current year, the government has declared six pre environmental-emergencies, a state in which it forbids the circulation of 360 thousand vehicles, stops the operation of over 800 industries, and forbids the use of chimneys in households. But that seems not to be enough, and pollution is causing society and political sectors to remain dissatisfied.
Besides the city's geographic location, one of the reasons for the raise in air pollution is the energy crisis in Argentina: as this country has diminished its gas exports to Chile --which imports the totality of natural gas it consumes; all industries had to migrate to diesel and oil as power source. But some political sectors blame environmental Minister Ana Lya Uriarte for the failure in this fight.
::Via La Nacion newspaper....
Copenhagen To Join Congestion Tax Cities
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 06.30.08
It's hard to live in Sweden, having to envy the Danish their magnificent city of Copenhagen. Not only does it have a great big-city pulse, it just feels so much more green aware than any place on our side of the Kattegat sound. Stockholm may have been first (after London) to implement a congestion tax to try to encourage motorists to find alternative travel, but when it comes to cycling, Copenhagen shines.
Congestion Tax
And now the sixteen municipalities of Greater Copenhagen have gotten together to get a congestion charge passed in the city -- approximately $4.50 each time a car would enter or leave the city. Similar to London and Stockholm systems, the new tolls would be operated by cameras installed at city gates recording license numbers of vehicles driving in and out. The proposal must still gain approval of the Danish Parliament. Is there anything Stockholm could do to catch up? Via ::Copenhagen Post
Congestion tax
Clashing Nordic Capitals Up CO2 Ante
Sweden's Green Car Explosion
Cycling in Copenhagen
In Copenhagen, Bicycles Overtake Cars
Christiania Bikes - An Icon For A Bike-Friendly City
Five Cool Cargo Bikes And The Return Of The Long John
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Reconsider EU Biofuel Goal Says Incoming President
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 06.30.08
How not to do it: Oil palm plantation in Indonesia. Photo by Achmad Rabin Taim.
Can anyone think of the exact moment when the biofuel backlash first reached its tipping point? In any case, it seems like, finally, people are realizing that liquid biofuels aren’t quite the green panacea they were once made out to be. Not to demonize them, it’s just that (like most things) there are plusses and minuses to each feedstock and production method and these need to be carefully considered when formulating policy. It seems like the incoming EU president, France, has gotten the message.
Reuters is reporting that France has said that the EU may have to reconsider its policy of getting 10% of transport fuels from biofuels by 2020.
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Tesla's Next Electric Car to be Called "Model S", New Factory to Open in North California
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 06.30.08
Tesla Electric Car Factory in the Bay Area
This story is still breaking, but here's what we know so far: The Tesla Motors electric car factory that was supposed to be built in New Mexico will instead be built in California, in the Bay Area, thanks to help from governor Schwarzenegger (a $9 million incentive package is mentioned by TechCrunch).
Whitestar Electric Sedan now "Model S"
From the start, we knew that Tesla's plan was to start at the top of the market with the Electric Roadster, and then progressively move down. The second step is an all-electric sedan (we've heard comparisons to the BMW 5), and so far it was always code-named the "Whitestar". Today we learn (via Engadget) that the official name will be "Model S". It "will be selling for $60,000, and will manage 225 miles on a full charge." We'll let you know when we learn more.
Interested in electric cars? Check out: 17 Electric Cars You Must Know About
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USDA Study: Climate Change Could Benefit Super Weeds More Than Crops
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 06.30.08
Image: Kudzu weeds engulf a light pole by a47nn on FlickrWeeds: are they troublesome invaders, ecological opportunists or key to tackling a potential global food crisis? According to research done by weed ecologists, our ambiguous relationship to these resilient plants could soon change in a world where carbon dioxide levels are rising – and where weeds could grow to oversized proportions (think 12-foot tall lambs-quarters, a common weed). Of course, “weed” can be a rather subjective label, depending on your context – farmers worldwide spend $10 billion annually to keep weeds in check; yet, for others, the same plants could be a beautiful part of a natural garden. But be it friend or foe, a study by scientists at the Agriculture Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that warming temperatures and elevated levels of CO2 resulted not only in increased weed growth rates, size and pollen production, but also a change in the plants’ chemical composition. ...
Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Key to India’s New Climate Plan
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 06.30.08
photo by Colin Ashe
Last week saw California and the United Kingdom reveal plans to promote renewable energy and combat climate change. Today, India has announced its intentions in this arena.
Solar Power Will Change the Face of India
In announcing the National Action Plan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that a gradual shift towards renewable energy, in particular solar power, would enable India to “make [its] economic development energy efficient.” Also enabling this shift are conserving water, sustainable agriculture, and sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, and the harnessing of solar energy....
Book Review: Bottlemania
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.30.08
In Medieval times, you couldn't trust the water and most people, including kids, drank beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner. After reading Elizabeth Royte's new book Bottlemania: How Water Went On Sale and Why We Bought It, one is tempted to take up the practice. One learns all the water that we drink, from bottle to tap and, yes, toilet, is fraught with compromise. Yes, the bottled water boom is all about hype and marketing (as is the bottle backlash) that there is much, much more floating around in the stuff.
Drink tap water? it can have contaminants, hormones, fertilizers, pesticides, arsenic, sodium and radon, let alone e coli.
Carry it in your own bottle? It might be made of polycarbonates that release bisphenol A, a gender-bender estrogen mimicking chemical.
Put it through a Brita filter? they are not recycled in North America and sixty million cartridges have gone to the dump since 1992. And, while the filters are effective at removing chlorine, lead, copper, cadmium and mercury, they don't do much for bacteria or cysts....
Honda Insight Hybrid Wins Hypermiling Competition with 124 Miles per Gallon
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 06.30.08
This year's Tour to the Shore fuel economy competition had the goal of beating the previous record: 75 MPG in a Honda Insight hybrid. That might seem hard to do, unless you are Jack Martin, a member of the Triad Electric Vehicle Association in Burlington and teacher of Sustainable Transportation at Appalachian State University. He squeezed out 124 miles out of one gallon of gasoline in his unmodified Insight hybrid (and he has one passenger).
He did it by using hypermiling tricks. More details below....
Urban Bike Stations: We Shouldn't Need Them But Do
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.30.08
This is a business idea we shouldn't need; every office building should have decent bike storage and a place to change and shower, it should be in the building codes like washrooms. Unfortunately they don't; that is where urban bike stations come in. The coolest one is Bike Central in Auckland, New Zealand; they offer safe storage, showers, coffee and a bite to eat, wifi and will do your dry cleaning and laundry while you are at work. It is more like a health club than a bike shop, but then if you are biking to work that's what you want.
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Two Hands Worldshop Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 06.30.08
This week is Carnival of the Green # 134 and it's being hosted by the blog at Two Hands Worldshop, which promotes fair trade and sustainable living. So head on over to the site to check out a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites.
To learn more about Carnival of the Green, where it will be and how to host, please click here to link to our previous post.
PLEASE NOTE: Because the Carnival of the Green books so far in advance (thanks to all of you!), we are currently not accepting hosting requests. Please stay tuned - we'll open 2010 soon! ...
The Molten Salt Solution to Storing Solar Energy
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 06.30.08
image source: United Technologies
The perennial complaint by renewable energy skeptics about wind and solar power is, that despite the fact that they produce clean power, they are intermittent in nature and require some sort of storage technology to fully exploit the power generated. A recent article at Renewable Energy World spotlights one solution to this very real issue: Molten Salt.
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Wind Power Number of the Day: 59.3%
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 06.30.08
59.3% -- Albert Betz calculated in the early 20th century that the maximum theoretical efficiency of a wind turbine is 59.3%.
50% -- Currently, modern wind turbines are efficient at about 50%, a very impressive number.
15% -- According to GE, when it entered the wind turbine market in 2002, the average wind turbine was out of commission about 15% of the time.
3% -- Nowadays, wind turbines are down only about 3% of the time. That helps drive the cost of wind power down and get the most out of each turbine. Uptimes can probably be improved even further.
8 -- Electricity produced by a modern wind turbine costs about 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. ...
Most Huggable: The Lorax, Better Biodiesel, A Flooded London + More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 06.30.08
TalkGreen rounds up great, green children's books.
New standards for biodiesel blends could popularize its use.
A photography exhibit in London depicts a future rendering of the city—affected by global warming's rising sea tide.
TriplePundit encourages the creation of a solid carbon market.
Volkswagon announces the development of the Golf Twin Drive Concept, a plug-in hybrid diesel.
Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg's top green news stories. Why not submit your own green news?...
TreeHugger Tips: Max Gladwell on using Twitter's GreenStream
by Chris Tackett, San Francisco on 06.30.08
New Carbon Storage Project to Begin in Germany
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 06.30.08
photo by Bastian via flickr
While it may be true that carbon sequestration won’t save us , that certainly doesn’t mean that people aren't interested in trying to make the technology work from a scientific and economic perspective. In this context, it’s worth reporting that The German Research Centre for Geosciences has begun a two year project to store up to 60,000 tons of CO2 underground at a depth of 600 meters.
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A Lot Less Power Boat Launching Going On
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 06.30.08
We've written many posts on how to save gas on land. Power boaters, too, are shortening their trailering and over-water journeys. According to a Wall Street Journal staff writer, some boaters are considering a year-round dry dock solution. Power boating for fun is changing: driven by higher fuel costs, reservoirs getting too low to launch, budget pressures, and more. A cruise past the waterfront in our area tells the tale: Marinas usually filled to capacity sit half empty, and many of the smaller recreational boats, such as ours, are adorned with "for sale" signs....
Time for a Radical Infrastructure Overhaul
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 06.30.08
Image from jessicafm
Infrastructure may not grab the type of headline that, say, the latest solar or algal biodiesel technology does though, when placed in context, it really should. Fortunately, the latest issue of The Economist puts infrastructure front and center in its United States section and, as it usually does with such stories (see their excellent report on the future of energy), hits it right out of the ballpark....
The 7 Best Electric Scooters: From Prototypes to Production Models
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 06.30.08
Electric Scooters
We've been writing about all kinds of scooters for years, but because of high oil prices, they're now seeing a renaissance of sorts. With 30% of Americans saying they would consider riding a scooter--even some people we wouldn't expect to--and sales of scooters up by 200% (and that was as of two years ago), now seems like a perfect time to revisit some of our past scooter coverage and bring it all together. Following are our favorite electric scooters, including production models and concepts:...
Moving Forward: Introducing the Sustainable Growth Initiative
by Marian Hopkins, Business Roundtable on 06.30.08
There is no question that the world of today is a much different place from just a few years ago. And one of the most exciting policy developments we’ve seen over the past few years is the progress we’ve made on global climate change.
And Business Roundtable strongly believes we should keep moving forward.
I am proud to say that Business Roundtable – an association of chief executive officers of 160 of the largest companies in the world, representing every sector of the economy – has been out in front on this issue. Our CEOs worked hard to come to agreement on the need to address climate change early on. They understood the importance of addressing energy and environmental issues from an economically sustainable perspective....
High Carbon Fuel Production “Slows the United States’ Transition to Clean, Renewable Energy Sources”, U.S. Mayors
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 06.30.08
photo by Edward Burtynsky via :: The Globe and Mail
It’s no secret that Treehugger’s not a big fan of extracting energy from the Alberta Tar Sands. Oil Shale in Colorado doesn’t really rate highly on our list of good things either. Well, it appears that the U.S. Conference of Mayors agrees with us.
Resolution Against Using High Carbon Fuels
Though it’s just a symbolic show of support, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution calling for the avoidance of fuels derived from unconventional sources such “tar sand, liquid coal, and oil shale” because “the continued production and purchase of these higher-carbon unconventional or synthetic fuels slows the United States’ transition to clean, renewable energy sources.”
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Gas Prices Curtail Teen Cruising
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 06.30.08
Image Credit: Peter Wynn Thompson for The New York Times
A Rite of Passage--Going, or Gone?
It's as American as apple pie--teenagers "driving around in a big loop, listening to music, waving at one another and wasting gasoline." It's called cruising, but unfortunately the high cost of gas, combined with a tough economy, has made this rite of passage too expensive for most teens and their parents. As a result, America's youth are being forced to seek out other forms of entertainment, such as "hanging out in parking lots, malls or movie theaters," and parking their cars and walking around.
Americans of All Ages Are Feeling the Effects
Teens have already been waiting longer to drive due to higher insurance costs, the decline in school systems offering driver's education programs and stricter laws--such as graduated driver-licensing--for teenage drivers. Now, however, teens that already drive are finding it harder to raise the cash to do so. Given how automobile-dependent America has become, it isn't surprising that $4 a gallon gas is having so many impacts on our society. In the last few months Americans have dramatically cut back on the amount of miles they drive, and sales of smaller, more efficient cars are up....
How Green is Your Vacay?
by Greg Haegele, Deputy Executive Director, Sierra Cl on 06.30.08
Last Friday marked the official start of summer, and with the long Fourth of July weekend around the corner I thought I'd keep things light this week. Since vacations are on everyone's mind, how about we take a closer look at your getaway plans. Are you sticking close to home or traveling to a faraway, exotic destination? Staying in an eco-hotel or... not? Using your time off to help out on a service trip?
We've got a series of "How Green is My..." quizzes on the Sierra Club website,
and the latest is called "How Green is My Destination."
Check it out. Take the quiz. See how well you score. We hope you learn a thing or two -- I know I did.
Happy summer -- Image credit::Excerpted from Webshots.dbeards, Beach Haven on Long Beach Island, Ocean County, NJ...
TreeHugger Tips: Hacking a Composting Toilet
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.30.08
Solar Water Heater Mandate for New Hawaiian Homes
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 06.30.08
Given the current price of oil, and the fact that over 90% of its energy is imported from outside the island chain, it’s not surprising that Hawaii would want to take action to diversify its energy supply and reduce demand. To that end, with the signature of Governor Linda Lingle on Friday, Hawaii has become the first state in the US to mandate the installation of solar water heaters in new residential construction.
The legislation, Act 204, mandates that new single-family homes built after January 1, 2010 will have to install solar waters to receive a building permit. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis in forested areas, where a life cycle analysis indicates that the system would be cost-prohibitive, or if the dwelling has another form of renewable energy included in the building plan.
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Local is Better, and Its Not Just About the Carbon
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.30.08
From the Ethicurian, by Bart Nagel
I sighed when I saw the headline in Salon "Is local food really miles better?" Here comes another analysis looking at the carbon emissions of one big transport truck vs ten farmers' pickups. No matter that environmentalism isn't just about carbon, that quality and taste matter, and that the local food distribution system is nascent and obviously needs work. It was like that study last year that "proved" that shipping lamb from New Zealand to the UK had a lower carbon footprint than buying local British lamb- debunking this story was going to be a lot of work.
Fortunately, Mark R. at the Ethicurian has done an excellent job of it, noting the the local food system is "far from ideal: too many small trucks, too much time spent on the road and minding the stand during the markets instead of farming. But with wholesalers and large grocery chains prizing low prices and efficiency above all else, there aren’t many alternatives right now. The big companies want to deal with as few suppliers as possible to reduce transaction costs, the transportation companies can’t go 40 miles out of their way to pick up a few boxes of peaches or salad greens." ::Ethicurian...
RIBA Awards Short List Announced
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.30.08
The Royal Institute of British Architects announced the short list for the Stirling Prize, and we were pleased to see that it included a few green projects that we have covered in TreeHugger. These include the wonderful Carabanchel housing by Foreign Office Architects, shown above, with its extraordinary bamboo screen....
Gisele Bündchen's Green Blog
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 06.30.08
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen has showed concern over environmental matters in the past, more recently getting involved in a campaign to raise awareness about water use (see post Gisele Bündchen Launches Flip Flop Line Drawing Attention to Conscious Use of Water).
Now she has gone a step further and last April she launched a green blog, in which she and a group of correspondents in Brazil inform about environmental maters and share pictures and videos. The blog is somewhat basic and more personal than informative, but the fact that a celebrity that brings so much attention to things is behind it we're sure will help bring environmental issues closer to masses in Brazil.
::Via El Blog Verde (in Spanish)
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Bnarrator Gives Voice to Websites, Creates Green Jobs, and Remixes Nalgene Bottle Dangers
by Karin Kloosterman, Tel Aviv on 06.30.08
What if the environment could speak for itself? Would it say “ouch” every time a new plane took off from the tarmac spewing CO2e’s into the air. Would it say gracias, merci, todah or thank you for every new tree planted, or for the leftovers you composted last night?
Giving a new kind of voice to the environment is Bnarrator, a widget solution that truly lets the voice of the environment shine through. The company gives a free service to content owners who run websites and blogs, and allows any of your content to be narrated with a real human voice. Plus you can make some “real” green cash at the same time.
Consider how the phenomenally popular Nalgene post by TreeHugger’s Lloyd would sound if it were narrated (click the icon to listen):
Bnarrator has also made a mock-up to show you how Lloyd's Nalgene post would look if it were narrated: click here to see and hear the same Nalgene post, with narration. ...
Gallon Milk Jug Gets Redesigned For a Low Carbon World
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 06.30.08
While your average gallon-sized milk jug hasn’t changed much in decades, it’s about to undergo a significant change destined to cut fuel, labor, and carbon costs all at the same time.
Turns out these new, alien-type jugs are cheaper to ship, better for the environment, cost less, and even provide fresher milk to the store; with some milk going from the cow’s udder to supermarket shelf within hours.
But that doesn’t mean everyone loves them.
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Survey: How Far Should One Go When Protesting?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.30.08
For 18 months, protesters have been living in giant oak trees on University grounds in Berkeley. It is against the law to chop down oaks, but the University says that the law does not apply to them because they are a State institution and exempt from City law. As the police started fencing the area to prevent supporters from providing them with food and water, the protesters started throwing human excrement at them.
TreeHugger Kenny thought " this is nothing less than madness indeed. There is a fundamental need for basic civic action of many types in the environmental movement, but this is not one of them. It’s simply drawing undue negative attention that distracts from the real issues while gaining little at all in return." Many of our commenters profoundly disagreed. What do you think?
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Sherpas on Everest Highlight Climate Change Impacts
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 06.30.08
Everest on left in cloud. Photo: Warren McLaren
Dawa Steven Sherpa stood on the top of Everest late last month, (as did Apa Sherpa for the 18th time!) as part of the Eco Everest Expedition 2008. Their expedition was about the highs and lows of humankind’s achievement. For not only can we stumble through the rarefied, oxygen depleted, air of the world tallest peak , we can pump the higher atmosphere full of climate changing greenhouse gases.
It was this latter achievement that Dawa Steven Sherpa is determined to do something about. For a year ago, whilst descending from another successful Everest summit attempt, he, along with some fellow sherpas, nearly came to a very sticky end, when the famed Khumbu icefall turned to slush and collapsed. Global warming had come to the Himalaya in a very personal way. ...
Poor Energy Habits Slug Households $300 Million a Year
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 06.30.08
Am way behind with my posts, but let’s try to get back up to speed with this one. Earlier this month EnergyAustralia released the results of a survey they’d undertaken in the Australian state of New South Wales. Seems that collectively households in NSW are squandering about $300 million AUD annually, by not using energy wisely. And this was particularly true of those who could least afford the expense, like those on low incomes.
And it in’t just dollars that are being wasted, but about 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases are being emitted annually as well, said to be equal to putting another 500,000 cars on the road each year.
According to the survey nearly 90% of all households rinsed their dishes before bunging them in the dishwasher. Some even rinsed in hot water. Well over a quarter of households ran dishwasher that weren’t full. A similar figure had a second fridge running that they rarely used. More stats and energy saving suggestions after the fold....
Scythe Revival Grows in the UK Too
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 06.30.08
Green Grows the Grass?
Now that the summer growth season is in full swing, many folks will be struggling to keep up with their lawn maintenance. And while converting our yards to edibles is probably the greenest option out there, reel mowers come in a close second. However, if your grass cutting is of the more heavy-duty variety, it's worth knowing that scythes are making a comeback too. We’ve already written about a Canadian scything enthusiast, but is seems that the UK is undergoing a scything revival too, at least if Simon Fairlie of the Scythe Shop has anything to do with it. His website eloquently describes how scything “changed his life”:
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Embassies Strut Their Stuff
by Bonnie Alter, London on 06.30.08
As part of the London Festival of Architecture, 28 international embassies will be opening their doors to the public and holding displays about architectural projects in their country. This is a fascinating opportunity to get inside some of these places; many are located in very historic and unique buildings.
We visited the The Royal Danish Embassy and the Swedish to compare the sustainability efforts of these two Scandinavian rivals. The results: Danes win on bling, Swedes on quality. The Royal Danish Embassy is in a stunning and special building designed by Arne Jacobsen but unfortunately the exhibition was located in the car park. Nonetheless, it was designed by Wayne Hemmingway and the exhibits were displayed on corrugated cardboard stands (pictured). Called Sust-DANE-able, it consisted of models of sustainable projects by 18 leading Danish architectural practices. There are only two architecture schools in Denmark so the work is very homogeneous. Since it was a dark, dimly lit room, it was hard to get a sense of what the buildings really look like. Over to the Swedes...
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Isahaya Bay: Sometimes Local Activists (And Fishermen) Win
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 06.30.08
Over 50 years ago, Japan's government was busy planning dams and creating the society we are used to today. Sometimes, people have refused to go along with the plans. One such project is Isahaya Bay in Saga Prefecture, near Nagasaki in the south western part of this country.
Fish, seaweed, clams, migrating birds, nature in harmony with an age-old rural lifestyle - - or government-sponsored farms behind concrete dams? People love nature here, but sometimes government officials in their offices have other priorities, and all the resources to steamroll the projects, in spite of protests from local residents. However!
On June 27, 2008, activists and fishermen won an important victory in Saga Prefecture court, as it ruled in favour of the plaintiffs. The court said the government must keep the dike gates open for at least five years to allow the bay to regain its original environment and provide sufficient time for a thorough investigation. Remarkable!
The local court even castigated the ministry for its stance, noting that Tokyo is guilty of "obstruction of evidence." The court's position is that if the ministry wishes to assert that damage to the fishing industry has nothing to do with the reclamation project, then the burden of proof lies with the ministry. More details below the fold....
6 Extreme Weather Projections for the U.S.
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 06.29.08
Extreme Weather More Common
500-year floods and microbursts have only recently entered my vocabulary. Extreme weather events have entered our national consciousness, altered our landscape, and are currently changing our thinking about global warming. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research recently released a scientific analysis of the extreme weather changes we can expect in the future. The study focuses on the U.S. specifically, and the related NOAA release provided six projections for the near future....
Car? What Car?. . . Hauling Furniture By Bicycle
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 06.29.08
Until Now, A Limit to What I Could Do With My Bike
Here at Treehugger we talk a lot about cycling for transportation as well as recreation purposes. On a personal level, the bike has been my car for the past five years, during which time I have riding across the U.S., commuted to work and class, and ridden for every conceivable purpose and in rain, snow, hail and heat. However, one limitation has always bothered me: whenever I've needed to carry something larger than what can fit on my rack or in my panniers, I've had to rely on someone with a car in order to carry that object. In other words, I wasn't living the "true" car-free lifestyle.
Well, that all changed last week when I received my new trailer from Bikes at Work. There are lots of different trailers out there, but I decided on this one because it is designed to carry up to 300 pounds and has an innovative hitch design. Not only that, but on their web site you can see amazing pictures of people hauling everything from fridges to sofas to lawnmowers--that's the kind of trailer I want! I finally got to test out the trailer earlier today when I went to Office Depot to buy a new office chair. See how the trailer performed (as well as more photos) after the fold. ...
Sony Ericsson Gets Best Marks In Greenpeace Green Electronics Guide
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 06.29.08
Having reported in an earlier journalistic lifetime on many of Hewlett-Packard and other electronics companies' efforts to green their products, it was a bit disappointing to go through the latest Greenpeace Guide To Green Electronics and see no one company can claim to be outstanding in designing, packaging, and safely recycling or disposing of the gadgets we all so rely on. Winner Sony Ericsson, for example, only recycles between 1 and 3% of its offerings.
Wii not green
In fact, tougher e-waste, chemicals and climate change criteria caused many companies to lose ranking on the Greenpeace scale. Sony Ericsson did best, Greenpeace, said, because of leadership on chemical criteria - having banned antimony, beryllium, and phthalates from all models released since January 2008 and making all products PVC free. But Sony Ericsson received poor marks on voluntary take back, use of recycled plastic, and commitment to reduce greenhouse gases. Samsung was best on both recycling TVs and use of recycled plastic (>16%). Apple missed a big opportunity to green up its latest new iPhone, Greenpeace said, and games console makers seem to be altogether lackadaisical on green. Nintendo, the lowest scorer of the group, doesn't even make Wii meet Energy Star requirements. Overall, a read through of the report shows pretty poor performance for the industry that contributes two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Via ::TU.no (Norwegian)
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Scientists to (Finally) Start Focusing on Short-Term Climate Predictions
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 06.29.08
Exploring Southeast Asia's Geothermal Potential
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 06.29.08
Image from Ben Tubby
Indonesia and the Philippines need help. And not because they lack the geothermal energy capacity: No, quite simply, it's because they're having trouble accessing it. The two Asian countries, both of which are located in the geothermally-active Pacific Ring of Fire, are increasingly turning to this vast, untapped source of power as rising oil prices and a dilapidated power infrastructure begin to exact their toll on their economies.
According to Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute (and a frequent contributor to TH), Indonesia could "run its economy entirely on geothermal energy and has not come close to tapping the full potential." ...
Foods That Got Really Expensive This Year: Lemons; Lentils; Celery, & More
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 06.29.08
Underlying causes of the recent food price volatility are sometimes hard to discern. Below are a few examples of foods which increased greatly in price during the last year, per category. As you'll see, omnivores and vegetarians share the price pain. A steep increase in the price of eggs, because chicken feed contains corn and because shedding them is energy intensive, makes intuitive sense. Environmental and energy policy was part and parcel. Some other steep increases are, at first, surprising.
Eggs, Grade A Doz 28.32% Lentils Cwt 147.73% Lemons Box 155.16% Celery Cwt 106.01%...
Sustainability from Indiana to California Documented by Changing Gears
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 06.29.08
Melissa is inspired by her experiences in the Netherlands and the first time she ate an heirloom tomato at the farmer's market in San Diego. Andy is looking for a thrill bigger than hitting a leadoff homerun in the final game of the Brownstown little league invitational tournament in 1989, when he was 12. Together, they are Changing Gears.
Melissa and Andy are pitting their relationship and their initially untrained bodies against a tour from Bloomington, Indiana, to the coast of California. Along the way, they are photographing and blogging about how sustainability is being expressed by the people and communities they meet. The higher goal is a documentary film about the journey across America and bringing the best ideas about sustainability back to their hometown at the end of the trip. ...
New York Times: Is Your Tank Half Empty or Half Full?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.29.08
Harry Campbell in New York Times
An interesting article in the New York Times where they as ten writers about the effects of expensive gas. A yay and a nay:
Robert Riech: Fuel for Inequality "AS if the widening wage gap weren’t bad enough, the bottom half of the American work force — everyone who will earn less than about $42,000 this year — is getting hit by the equivalent of a whopping regressive tax in the form of soaring gas prices. And fuel isn’t a discretionary item like cable TV that can be cut from the family budget.:... ::More
Allison Arieff: Ghosts of the cul de sac: "JUST when did it become sane to have a three-hour commute, anyway? High gas prices may help restore some degree of collective common sense while also forcing much-needed innovation in the way we design and plan our communities." ::More
Jamie Lincoln Kitman: The Light Stuff "AMERICA needs to put its cars and trucks on a diet....The easiest way to save energy is to make everything simpler and smaller. Weight begets more weight. Bigger bodies mean bigger engines, brakes, suspensions and tires. Engineers always knew this, but nobody much cared when gasoline was cheap. ::More
Collect them all in the New York Times...
TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!
Here are a few recommended websites.
