- Vijay Vaitheeswaran (part one)
- Vijay Vaitheeswaran (part two)
- Vinay Gupta
- Alyce Santoro
- Mathis Wackernagel
- Tom Price
- Martha Marks
- Paul Hawken
- David Suzuki
- Wal-Mart's Green Gurus
- Alisa Smith and James Mackinnon, authors of Plenty
- Bob Perkowitz of ecoAmerica
- Ed Begley Jr.
- The Weather Channel's Dr. Heidi Cullen
Entries for August 3, 2008 - August 9, 2008
Total this week: 156
Climate Change Will Make North Atlantic Invasion by Pacific Shellfish Possible
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 08. 9.08
Image from NASA
A mass migration that began almost 3.5 million years ago is set to resume over the coming years as the Arctic Ocean continues to warm. In a new study published in the latest issue of the journal Science, Geerat Vermeij of UC Davis and Peter Roopnarine of the California Academy of Sciences write that climate change is creating conditions in the Arctic similar to those found during the warm mid-Pliocene epoch, about 3.5 million years ago, when a number of favorable factors helped many North Pacific mollusk species invade the warming Arctic Ocean and, eventually, the North Atlantic....
How Does Organic Winemaking Work? PART I
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 08. 9.08
Image courtesy of author.
This is the first of a two-part article looking at how the largest maker of organic wine in the US was able to make so much wine using biodynamic and organic methods.
I recently traveled to Bonterra, maker of the most “wine made from organic grapes” in the world, to find out that very question. Grapes, as you may know, are very sensitive to temperatures, locales, and especially to bugs, so just how does Bonterra manage to bring so many organic grapes to market? This is a question posed not just by commercial farmers, but by the backyard farmer as well - just how do you farm without chemicals. For Bonterra, it’s a mix of trial & error, and biodnamics. Bonterra, bottled by Fetzer, is currently the worlds larges seller of wine made from organic grapes and this year produced their second season of their first certified biodynamic wine – the McNabb.
According to Dave Coball, one of the wine-makers at Bonterra, “it makes it a lot of fun to be a farmer. You get to play with different plant materials, different locations, try out different theories and methods.” There are several “ranches” that make up Bonterra and each are slightly different in terms of elevation and thus temperature ranges, each needing slightly different tweaking. Its this larger swing in daily temperatures in each location that gives the grapes their darker color....
Local Eating, Getting Recession Ready and More
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 9.08
Eating Local or Not: It Depends The burning question: local vs. imported. When we want to make the best food decision what should we choose? Graham Hill
Product Service Systems: One You Already Know and One You Need to Know About I'm a huge fan of the "Product Service System," better known to some as PSS. Though the name is easy to trip over, the concept is brilliant: rather than buying everything you need outright, you can essentially "lease" or "rent" a product, deriving benefit from its service but not retaining ownership. Collin Dunn...
Cattails and Tules Perform Double Duty as Soil Rebuilders and Carbon Scrubbers
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 08. 8.08
Image from Jeff Kubina
Remember this term: carbon-capture farming. While it may not yet have received much attention, this practice, which would consist of paying delta farmers to plant carbon-sequestering crops, could soon become a big business.
That's the conclusion reached by a team of researchers from the USGS and UC Davis, who just completed a 15-year study examining the potential of tules and cattails to help sequester greenhouse gases and rebuild sinking islands in the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta....
Despite Government Efforts, Smog Hovers Over Beijing On First Olympic Day
by Alex Pasternack, Beijing, China on 08. 8.08
On Beijing's biggest day in recent history -- and arguably its most documented -- the city was plagued by another blanket of smog just hours before the opening ceremonies. Years of preparation, a ban on half the city's cars and an order to close down nearby factories -- not to mention experiments with cloud seeding, to control rain -- could not prevent the fine particles from settling in to the air yesterday and today. By evening, the skies seemed to have cleared in time for the big event, which featured impressive city-wide fireworks and fortunately, no athletes wearing masks.
The government and the IOC have been working hard to fix the smog problem--largely by pretending Try Prairie Organic Vodka In Your Next Screwdriver
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 08. 8.08
Image: Notcot.com
Straight from Minnesota comes Prairie Organic Vodka, made from a coop of over 900 farmers “who share ownership of the brand.” Prairie describes their vodka as “beautifully smooth. With hints of melon and pear on the nose, creaminess on the palette, and a bright smooth finish…” ...
Save 26% on Energy Costs with Smart Metering
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 08. 8.08
Onzo made news a few months ago after they secured 2 milion pounds sterling in financing by cooperating with the UK's Scottish and Southern Energy. SSE plans to find a marketing advantage by giving their customers an Onzo, helping customers to benefit from real-time feedback on energy use, which studies show results in savings of up to 26%. This will also help the energy utility better manage its grid and rely on conservation rather than investment to optimize power infrastructures.
Now, Onzo introduces a redesigned website, fit to be the face of the stylish, modern and sustainably designed Onzo intelligent energy management products. So Onzo invites everyone to stop by and take a look:...
DIY Hair Conditioner, 6 Sustainable Summer Wines and Eco-Travel Planning
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
:: Smooth down your hair the sustainable way with these DIY conditioner options.
:: Consult our Green Summer Gourmet series to learn which 6 eco-friendly wines pair best with warm weather fare.
:: Keep a running list of all the green things you'd like to incorporate into your next vacation.
...
Planet Surfwear Combines Organic Surf Under One Roof
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 08. 8.08
Image:Planet Surfwear
Most if not all surf companies now offer organic clothing lines – makes sense since this community is directly affected by the cleanliness of our oceans and often very active in terms of environmental protection. But actually finding those organic surf clothing lines can be another challenge. Planet Surfwear just made the process worlds (no pun intended) simpler by putting several of these organic lines under one roof. ...
Eco-Friendly Ice Cream, A Green Hospital Visionary and Rejiggered Junk Mail
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 08. 8.08
An earth-friendly, non-dairy ice cream company called Coconut Bliss opens for business.
Green Air Radio interviews Dr. Ted Schettler, the eco-hospital visionary.
10 creative ways to reuse junk mail are compiled.
A recent study reports that wind power isn't the best urban energy solution.
Oregon Tech gears up on full geothermal power.
Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg's top green news stories. Why not submit your own green news?...
Get Ready For More Flooding: Tropical Warming Statistically Linked to Increased Rainfall
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
photo by Carol Mitchell
It’s nearly conventional wisdom at this point that as global warming increases atmospheric temperatures there will be a corresponding rise in rainfall in some areas. Well that assumption just got some statistical data to support it.
The New York Times is reporting that a new study " Atmospheric Warming and the Amplification of Precipitation Extremes", finds a “strong statistical link between warmth and extreme tropical downpours”.
...
A123Systems Files S-1 Registration Papers for IPO
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08. 8.08
Coming Wave of Green IPOs?
Battery maker A123Systems wants to go public. After raising $123 million in venture funding, it now wants to raise $175 million more. Is it the start of a wave of green IPOs, or is the market too bad for that? A lot of green stuff is way more capital-intensive than the technology sector was in the late 1990s, so any parallel between the two should be taken with a grain of salt.
A123Systems Goals and Partners
"A123Systems is targeting three primary markets with its Li-ion technology: transportation, electric grid services (EGS), and portable power." They are already working with General Motors for the Chevy Volt and Think Global for the TH!NK city EV. The S1 papers also name a few other potential partners: MAGNA STEYR Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG, Delphi Corporation, and Better Place. Via A123Systems Files S-1 for IPO, TechCrunch...
The TH Interview: Ariella Maron—The Greening of New York City
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 08. 8.08
Love it or hate it, New York’s 8.25 million people are some of the greenest citizens walking among us. Whether they know it or not, New Yorkers have significantly lighter footprints than the vast majority of Americans, and Mayor Bloomberg is trying to seal the deal by greening NYC’s buildings, yellow taxis, black limos, public transit, and introducing a climate protection act and congestion charging (although it failed, despite notable support). This is all in preparation for an influx of new New Yorkers in the next twenty years. Ariella Maron is Bloomberg’s Deputy Director of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, which means it’s her job to see that the city gets greened and that the journey is properly mapped. She spoke to us about the nitty gritty of PlaNYC 2030, and about New York’s potential on the world stage. ::TreeHugger Radio Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download. Special thanks goes to CraigMichaels, the organizer of the Sustainable Operations Summit, for arranging this interview. (Full text after the jump)...
Solar Power Loan Program Brings Clean Light to India
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
photo by Barefoot Photographers of Tilonia
The idea of providing loans specifically to install solar energy systems is one I find very enticing—especially in parts of the world where the cost of the panels (or lights as the case may be) is even more prohibitive than it is in the United States. When you’ve got a yearly income of $2000, spending $300 on solar lighting, really isn’t feasible without some sort of assistance. Enter the UNEP Solar Loan Programme.
Renewable Energy World has a good story about how the program is working to provide affordable loans to low income people so that they can access cleaner energy to replace kerosene. Here are some choice quotes:
...
Mitsubishi to Test i MiEV Electric Car in California
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08. 8.08
Fleet Testing of the i MiEV Electric Car in the US
After announcing that its i MiEV electric car would be sold globally and would come to market in Japan 1 year ahead of schedule, Mitsubishi is now announcing that it will partner with two utilities in California to do fleet testing.
Southern California Edison
With Southern California Edison (SCE), Mitsubishi wants to "gauge how electric vehicles will most effectively connect to the smart grid of the future and the next generation Edison SmartConnect advanced meters." SCE might have been chosen because of its EV Technical Center, a department within the company that helps test prototypes of electric cars, but also plug-in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles....
San Francisco Puts Green Under One 'Ecothusiasm' Roof
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 08. 8.08
Image: Green San Francisco
It seems like every day there is a new article on something innovative and GREEN that San Francisco is doing. Well the SF Convention and Visitors Bureau (SFCVB) is grouping all of those ideas together under one roof to encourage residents to know what is out there as well as publicize all of the green options to tourists. This new initiative they call “ecothusiasm.”...
Geothermal Energy Tapped to Power Oregon Institute of Technology
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
photo: OIT
Here’s a “world’s first” that’s worth mentioning: the Oregon Institute of Technology will be the world’s first university to be entirely powered from geothermal energy. The Klamath Falls school announced this week that it will be constructing a $7.6 million dollar geothermal power plant on campus which will not only provide energy to the school, but will also allow students to study and research geothermal energy technologies.
...
Car Ads Generate About 1/3 of Revenue for Local TV Stations
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08. 8.08
Transportation Coverage
According to the Wall Street Journal (via Streetsblog), advertising money from car companies represents about 27.6% of revenue for local TV stations and 18.1% for local newspapers, which is significantly more than for national newspapers or broadcast TV, with the Internet and cable TV coming last.
We can understand how people usually are looking for local dealerships to buy and ads in local media can be more effective at closing the deal than more general 'branding' ads, but we also wonder if the fact that such a large portion of revenue comes from a single industry affects coverage of things like public transit, biking, walkable neighborhoods, etc.
Car ads should total about $14 billion this year in the US, down from a peak of $24 billion in 2004, so there's a clear trend there. Will it mean diversification of revenue sources for local media, or simply more cuts in coverage?...
Treading Heavily on the Environment: China’s Growing Eco-Footprint Highlighted in New Report
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
photo by Sheila via flickr
We’ve written about the concept of Eco-Footprint a number of times—what it is, how to calculate it, and how to reduce yours—and with the Olympics upon us it comes as no surprise that China’s environmental footprint might come into the spotlight.
A new report by the Global Footprint Network, WWF, and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development does just that. While China is the obvious focus, really this report highlights how humanity as a whole is increasingly overshooting the biological capacity of the planet. It also includes recommended steps that China can take to address the issue of its increasingly heavy environmental impact....
Planet Green on Bathroom Design
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 8.08
Eichler Bathroom from the sixties- big and bright
Lets face it, our bathrooms are a disaster. They are small, dark, superficially sterile, poorly ventilated with a toxic atmosphere, that suck up water and energy in huge quantities and just throw it away, heat, water and useful resources, down a pipe for someone else to make it go away somewhere else. The modern American bathroom is a monument to poor design, rotten functionality and extravagant waste of resources squeezed into a miserable tiny little package.
But let me tell you what I really think over in our new How to Go Green: Bathroom Renovation at Planet Green....
Compartes Chocolatier Donates To Darfur With Every Purchase
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 08. 8.08
Compartes Chocolatier is partnering with Relief Beads for Darfur to support the end to war and genocide in that country, as well as redevelopment of the country and people.
To highlight this partnership, Compartes developed two new, special gift packs with a new mix of flavors that ‘foodies’ will particularly enjoy. Dubbed the African Collection, these chocolate blends include, “cardamom + coconut, Grains of Paradise + African Mango, Caramelized Plantain, African Cacao Bean, and Organic Red Rooibos Tea.” These chocolates are each stamped with the continent of Africa on them, and come in either a 5 piece set ($20 USD) or 10 piece set ($30 USD). Each purchase provides enough money to send one child to school for two months or to feed one malnourished child for one week....
JUNK Raft Crosses Pacific to Raise Awareness of Plastics, Despite Challenges
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 08. 8.08
While it’s hard to imagine floating across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii on a raft made of complete junk to raise awareness of all that plastic floating in the middle of the North Pacific Gyre, the truth is that the guys risking life and limb to make it happen are finding themselves running out of food with a crack in their mast and still over 800 miles left to go....
10 Ways to Reuse Junk Mail from ProQuo
by Chris Tackett, Fayetteville, Arkansas on 08. 8.08
If you haven't taken our advice to get rid of junk mail, or you have, but still have some coming in and find yourself in a crafty mood, ProQuo has sent us a list of 10 ways to reuse junk mail.
They write, "Junk mail is renowned for cluttering mailboxes, increasing the risk of identity theft, and, of course, killing millions of trees every year. Not surprisingly, it elicits annoyance from most people. But, believe it or not, it also elicits creativity from others."
While a part of me loves suggestion #7 best - sending back junk or even bricks using the junk mail company's pre-paid postage slip, an act that would help milk their coffers of precious funds and ideally lead them to rethink their junk mailings - another part of me thinks I can't recommend that due to the negative environmental impact adding weight to the postal system would have. I'll have to debate with myself which would be a net positive, but in the meantime I'd have to say of their ten, that suggestion #6 - making new paper - is my favorite.
To read their tips on making paper and to see the rest of their list, head over to their Top 10 Creative Responses to Junk Mail. ...
Paris Hilton for President? Plus: Ben Harper Takes a Ride, Maggie Gyllenhall Protects the Climate, Amanda Beard Bares All, and More
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
Pimping your ride is so last year. Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper and Laura Dern are taking it to greener heights and “blading their ride” with super-ninja-weapon-sounding, the Blade. The car accessory attaches to the tailpipe to cut carbon emissions and pollution and increase fuel economy. To help spread buzz about the Blade and show support for clean, green driving solutions for L.A.—and the world--Crow, Harper, Dern and other eco-stars will take the spotlight at an event called Drive the Change L.A. in Venice Beach, CA on August 14.
See Paris Hilton run for pres and the U.S.' hottie Olympic swimmer bare all, after the jump!...
TH Interview: Colin Finlay, World Renowned Photographer and Environmental Activist
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 08. 8.08
Copyright(c) Colin Finlay 2008
Colin Finlay, a former photocopy machine salesman turned world class photographer may represent the tip of the spear when it comes to the public consciousness of climate change. And he's done far more than his fair share to bring the impact of climate change to the masses. Finlay has the rare ability to capture images that sear an indelible mark on the soul of those who view them; his gift is a human face to the crisis at hand....
Phillipe Starck Uses His Super Powers For Good Instead of Evil
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 8.08
Image from Inhabitat
One could almost hear the collective rolling of eyes when Phillipe Starck said "I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact. Everything I designed was unnecessary." Harry Wakefield of Mocoloco suggested " "Why don't you devote that substantial talent and media savvy of yours to making stuff that's smarter, more sustainable, and dare we say it, cool, in that gotta have it, materialistic way you know so well."
Well, it appears that he took Harry's advice; Alice Rawsthorn writes in the New York Times that Phillipe is developing relatively cheap, attractive, energy-saving products to “introduce everybody to ecology.” ...
China’s First Chicken Waste-Biogas Plant Turns Manure Into Electricity and Heat
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 8.08
Let’s remember that on a chicken farm containing 3 million birds, they probably never are let outside. Photo by Tim via flickr.
We recently heard about a report which estimates that 3% of US electrical demand could be met though utilizing cow manure to generate electricity. While for me it’s a bit of cold comfort to know that a byproduct of industrial agriculture could generate renewable electricity, at least a waste product is being put to better use. Along those lines, an industrial-scale chicken farm (3 million chickens!) in China has recently installed the nation’s first chicken manure-biogas plant.
Chicken Manure to Provide Electricity and Heat
The Beijing Deqingyuan Chicken Farm Waste Utilization plant, located about 50 kilometers north of Beijing will utilize the 220 tons of manure the farm’s chickens produce every day to generate energy. The waste will be fed into an anaerobic digester to produce biogas, which will fuel two GE Jenbacher gas engines.
...
Quote of the Day: Michele Bachmann on the Secret Green Agenda
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 8.08
Survey: Are Women Greener than Men?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 8.08
There were interesting comments to April's post about men using 20% more energy than women. April also noted that Swedish men were less aware of global warming and less worried about it than women. A commenter wondered "...if there was a comprehensive lifecycle analysis of men vs women. This would give a truer estimation of gender sustainability. I'm sure mens' heavy-footed driving consumes less energy than the growing of cotton for womens' mountains of clothes."...
Green Designers Strut Their Stuff on "Re-Use Runway" in Jerusalem
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 08. 8.08
(Lool82 turns milk crates into handy and hip little seats, perfect for the college dorm).
It’s old hat to New Yorkers by now –– but come this next Tuesday Israeli designers are going to have green fans ogling as they strut their stuff on the Re-Use Runway in Jerusalem. Opening the event will be a display of re-used fashion, accessories, painting, industrial designs, and sculptures, all available for purchase; and at 8:30pm, visitors will see eco-fashions designed by Bezalel School students on the “Re-Use Runway.”
Later in the evening, there will be a special auction of the different displays: “More importantly, this auction will be a statement and demonstration of how we do not need to go out and buy new clothes, but rather re-use creatively what is already at our disposal,” say designers.
...
UN Launches Zero Emission Community Power Center in Kenya
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 08. 8.08
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has sponsored a Community Power Center in the Kenyan village of Kibae on the slopes of Mount Kenya some 150 kilometers from Nairobi.
Only ten percent of Kenya’s rural population has access to electricity, and many communities like Kibae have begun to look at local hydro and solar resources as a means to develop a clean and low-cost form of power.
Through a partnership with the Kenyan Government and the community, UNIDO has built an energy kiosk, which uses micro hydropower and solar photovoltaics to produce approximately three kilowatts of electricity. The solar unit produces 500W and the Pico-hydro unit consists of two 1KW hydro turbines. Currently, the energy kiosk serves 300 households and is expected to serve 500 households within a few months....
Stop The Environmaniacs!
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 08. 8.08
A WSJ op ed piece by Daniel Henniger has nailed us. We are messianic environmaniacs bent on seducing daughters and sons into bicycle worship. Beware oncoming legions of organic salad eaters, intent on decarbonizing the US economy to the level of Ye Olde Europe.
Two choice excerpts: Republicans shouldn't settle for making the world safe for SUVs. What's going on here is about more than $4 gasoline.
Instead of enviro-messianism, they should propose a drill-to-transition for whatever energy source can prove it works at a nonsacrificial price -- shale, coal gasification, nuclear, solar or some combination. (Windmill farms are a pox on the land.)Via::WSJ, Enviromania Notice how solar somehow crept into that mix?...
Icebreaker Launches Baacode Product Traceability for Merino Wool
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 08. 8.08
Baacode is the very clever moniker that outdoor sports apparel company, Icebreaker, have given their superfine merino garment traceability program. Much touted over the past few months, Baacode was officially launched this week. For as of this month new garments will sport a barcode number on their labelling. Customers can type this code into a website search engine and it will take them on a tour of the New Zealand high country sheep station (ranch) where the merino wool came from.
As Icebreaker put it in their media release: “Customers will see the living conditions of the sheep, meet the high country farmers who run the sheep stations, and follow the production process that turns premium merino fibre into Icebreaker's exceptional, performance-driven garments.” Icebreaker founder and CEO says, "For us, sustainability is about transparency and being able to show the whole design for the business, which starts with the growers and continues through every step of the supply chain."...
Siemens' Solar, Leaf, and Stone Phones: Cool Green Vaporware
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 08. 8.08
It's a little discouraging how long it has taken electronics' makers to truly go deep green with their products. Green vaporware is much more common than green alternatives. And so it is with these very cool Siemens concept phones - they'll never appear as you see them here.
OLED cordless phone looks a bit like a leaf
Munich-based Formwelt Industial design was asked by Siemens to come up with more environmentally-friendly concepts, and in that they suceeded admirably. Cordless Leaf, shown above at left, has the kind of organic shape that you really want to hold, somewhat reminiscent of Bang + Olufsen designs. Leaf features "liquid wood" a wood-derived polymer mixed with other plant-based fibers, as well as a highly efficient OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen.
Solar's embedded solar cells make it naturally rechargeable
The mobile Solar is even cooler. The dark-blue Solar is super thin and has an OLED as well as solar cells embedded underneath the touchscreen display so that the phone could recharge when you lay it face up on a surface with sun exposure. Solar is designed to be separated into plastic, glass and metal for easier recycling. Stone, Formwelt's third design, has no surface "decorations" at all, said designer Henrietta Lipinski. It's designed for a group of consumers called the "ecologic economics" that want very basic features and no frills. "It's stripped down, very Muji," Lipinski said. What may be coolest of all is Formwelt's idea that Siemens phones carry an "eco index" - a small label like a nutrition label that shows some of the environmentally friendly features (hit the jump for a photo). But designer Henrietta Lipinski said while Siemens will use ideas generated by Formwelt's designs, they won't look like they do above, and won't be appearing for about a year. Sigh. Siemens said there's a good reason....
Delta to Bring Wi-Fi to the Skies, Jet Blue to Charge for Blankets
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 08. 8.08
High fuel costs have sent the airlines scrambling to do anything to shave costs, raise rates wherever possible (e.g., charging for checked baggage) and still attract more passengers. This trend is continuing as Delta Airlines has announced that it will "offer broadband wireless Internet access on its entire domestic mainline fleet by the middle of next year." At the same time, Jet Blue has plans to "begin charging for pillow and blanket sets on flights of two hours or longer."
Generating Revenue for Struggling Airlines
Both plans will generate more revenue for struggling airlines. Delta will charge a flat fee of $9.95 on short flights (less than three hours) and $12.95 for longer flights; the fee will enable passengers "traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices — like laptops, smartphones and hand-held devices — to access the Internet while in flight." Jet Blue will be selling the pillow and blanket sets for $7. ...
Urban Homesteading: Bringing Country Know-How to City Streets
by Bonnie Alter, London on 08. 8.08
Agitate, Educate, Pollinate! That's the battle cry for the new Institute of Urban Homesteading in Oakland California. It doesn't matter what you call it--urban homesteading, urban farming, or just plain growing your own vegetables--everyone wants to learn how to do it. The Institute's goal is to "preserve a slower, more intentional, more sustainable and more pleasurable way of life, rescue the lost arts of the garden, the kitchen and things done by hand and imbue everyday tasks with wonder and beauty." The Institute was set up by K.Ruby, a very California sounding woman who can do just about everything, along with a group of like-minded teachers. She calls it a "gathering place to research, ferment and learn together." It is a response to mass production and a way to get back to a small-scale personal relationship with our food and its means of production.
Old skills that used to be associated with farming and the rural countryside are being re-learned and re-adapted for urban environments. They are offering courses on subjects such as raising chickens in your backyard, beekeeping, canning, making yoghurt, producing fruit and honey wines and cheese making. Classes are small and are held in private kitchens and backyards in Oakland. As they say: "We intend to conserve both personal and global resources by staying home and tending the garden." :: Institute of Urban Homesteading
More on Growing Your Own Food
:: Eating Local Food
:: How to Green Your Meals
:: Preserving the Harvest
...
Olympics: Is The Air In Beijing Safe?
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 08. 8.08
With the Olympics starting today in China, everyone is anxiously watching the weather. Air pollution in Beijing is severe because of the many factories, coal plants and cars, but weather patterns make the situation even worse. Also, humidity can reduce visibility in a way that may seem unnatural, although it is not. Air pollution is a serious issue, causing long-term respiratory damage and severe allergies, but with good winds and perhaps some rain, the change could be rapid from terrible to lovely. It is one of those rare moments when some "rain on the parade" would actually be a good thing.
Making things worse, as Beijing treehugger Alex has shown in a number of carefully argued posts here and here, China's government has been accused of covering up how bad the air really is. Also, they offer no data about ozone, and have recently lowered its standard for pollutants like sulphur dioxide.
(Images from BBC)...
Google PageRank Could Help Keep Ecosystems Running
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 08. 7.08
Image from dannysullivan
As it turns out, Google's search engine is good for more than just looking up your nearest library or favorite local grocery store -- try helping ecosystems run. According to Stefano Allesina of UCSB's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, Google's PageRank algorithm can be used by ecologists to figure out which species are most crucial for an ecosystem to function, reports Nature's Emma Marris.
Allesina, who makes his living studying food webs, the networks that describe the feeding relationships within an ecosystem, says that determining what the consequences of removing one prey or another would be is one of the toughest aspects of his job. ...
Quote of the Day: Not Everything Is About Global Warming
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 7.08
Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post points out that not everything can be blamed on global warming, that lousy farming practices, overpopulation and bad policies contribute. Morever, "Weather alarmism" gives ammunition to global-warming deniers. He notes:
"Last week, we saw reports of more wildfires in California. Sure as night follows day, people will lay some of the blame on climate change. But there's also the minor matter of people building homes in wildfire-susceptible forests, overgrown with vegetation due to decades of fire suppression. That's like pitching a tent on the railroad tracks.
The message that needs to be communicated to these people is: "Your problem is not global warming. Your problem is that you're nuts." ::Washington Post...
Renewable Fuel Standards Waiver Request by Texas Governor Denied by Feds
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 7.08
photo by Joe Lencioni
A few months ago, citing rising corn prices hurting his state’s livestock industry and which he linked to Federal ethanol-blending requirements, Texas governor Rick Perry filed a waiver request with the EPA to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standards requirement by half.
Next Years’ Biofuel Requirement Stays at 11.1 Billion Gallons
Today the EPA has announced that is has denied this request. The total volume of biofuels (both ethanol and biodiesel) which are mandated to be blended into the fuel supply will remain at 9 billion gallons in 2008 and 11.1 billion gallons in 2009.
...
Designing Radically Efficient and Profitable Data Centers
by Rocky Mountain Institute on 08. 7.08
Do you ever wonder what keeps our e-mail servers, search engines, and Web applications like Facebook and Flickr running?
Data centers around the world are responsible for storing and processing the "petabytes" of information that power modern computing.
But what's supporting data centers?
Vast amounts of power.
...Dubious Waste-to-Energy Incinerator Project to Put Delhi Waste Pickers Out of Business
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 7.08
photo by Al via flickr
Here’s one that shows that municipal waste-to-energy programs can sometimes be dirty business. Mother Jones is running an article about how, in Delhi, Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism is being twisted around to build a waste incinerator which not only likely cause more pollution, but will also put tens of thousands of people out of work.
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Low Cost Housing in Elsinore By Tegnestuen Vandkunsten
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 7.08
There is more to Elsinore than Hamlet; it also has this interesting project by Architect Tegnestuen Vandkunsten that demonstrates a lot of the principles that we should adopt over here. Even though it is fairly low density and could be townhouses, each with a front and back yard that are private, it goes for communal spaces outside. On gets density but also lots of room for kids to play, for parents to garden. It was first prize in a competition in 2004. The architect writes:...
Dandelion Rubber Could Be Inexpensive, High Quality Alternative to Tree Rubber
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 7.08
photo by mgpenguin86 via flickr
Discovery News is highlighting an interesting development in the field of rubber. According to new research being done in Ohio, dandelion root sap could be made into a rubber of equal quality to traditional rubber from trees, at a lower cost.
The exact details concerning growing and harvesting the plants, such as how many inches apart and when they should be planted, are still being worked out, but the researchers expect that within a few years the processing plant in Ohio could produce about 20 million tons of rubber annually. By 2015 they hope to triple that amount, to more than 60 million tons, most of which will be used for research purposes....
TreeHugger Tip: Max Gladwell on Using Ustream
by Chris Tackett, Fayetteville, Arkansas on 08. 7.08
If you're trying to live an eco-friendly life, you probably know it can be helpful to hear from others that are doing the same. (That's probably why you're reading this on TreeHugger right now.) Sharing the tricks and tips to cutting your waste and making green choices is a must. It saves you the trouble of trial and error and helps you get green even faster. That's one of the reasons we started our TreeHugger Tips series - to allow readers to share their tips for going green.
As technology advances, it will only become more easier to share ones tips and connect with experts to learn even more. In a previous TreeHugger Video Tip , Max Gladwell showed us how to use the "green stream" on the social network site Twitter to share what it is you're doing that's green. If you're new to Twitter or don't know about the #greenstream, be sure to check that video out. In this new video, Rob from Max Gladwell demonstrates how one can use a webcam and internet connection to produce their own green talk show.
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Being Green Isn't Cool Anymore. Was it Ever?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 7.08
Back in the day five years ago when Graham was dreaming up TreeHugger, the idea was to take the concept of "green" away from the hippie imagery and make it cool and mainstream. However, after crisis piled on after crisis, it quickly became apparent that it isn't about being cool, it is about survival. It also became obvious that there is no point going on about "oh my god we're all gonna die" if we want anyone to bother reading us, but that we have to be upbeat and positive about the things that we have to do and that individuals CAN do to move forward. So we talk a lot less about bamboo skivvies and a lot more about vegetable gardens.
Five years later, Alice Thomson of the London Times looks around and suggests that the green movement is dead, because Conservative leader David Cameron is no longer nailing a wind turbine to his roof, but "grows his own vegetables and holidays barefoot in Britain because it is less extravagant, not because he is trying to reduce his global footprint."...
An Eco-Fashion Party Alert, Inhabitots Launches, the Seattle Art Museum Gets Urban, and More
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 08. 7.08
3P Business Club: Eco Fashion Party at Club4Climate in London by Heather Wilkinson. "Check out and purchase some fabulous products from the hottest new brands in eco-fashion and bid for your favourite piece in the auction. Plus get some top tips from our personal stylists! 12th August 2008 at 6pm at the newly launched eco-bar Surya Bar - Club4Climate" ...
Prepare For 4 Degree Celsius Rise in Temperature, Top UK Government Scientist Warns
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 7.08
photo by dachalan via flickr
In a very much armchair-psychology survey, I'd like to present two quotes from a recent article in The Guardian on climate change and then ask for readers to respond. The quotes are about preparing for a 4 degree temperature rise due to global warming.
A Reminder: A 4 Degree Temperature Rise Will Be Globally Catastrophic
What will we have to prepare for? Coastal flooding will more greatly affect 7-300 million people annually. Water availability in Southern Africa and the Mediterranean would be 30-50% less than it currently is. African agricultural yields will decline 15-35%. Somewhere between 20-50% of animal and plant species could have extinction. The biggest impact in the UK would be from rising sea levels and increased inland flooding, with rainfall increasing in the winter and summers being drier.
Here are the quotes:
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"I think I've got something in my eye"
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08. 7.08
Nature is Beautiful
There are so many wonderful things all around us that we've never actually seen. Those who have seen the documentary series The Blue Planet and Planet Earth know what we're talking about. We could probably all make an effort to better appreciate these wonders, and a welcome side effect would probably be more eco-awareness....
European E-waste, Labeled 'Second-Hand,' Is Unloaded in Ghana
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 08. 7.08
Photo credit: Greenpeace/Kate Davison
We've covered the extensive electronic waste, or e-waste, problems in China, India and Mexico in the past. Now Africa is emerging as a new favorite dumping ground for our aged electronic products, and the implications for human health are disturbing.
Greenpeace is reporting that items like computer monitors, hard drives, television sets and printers from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and South Korea are ending up in Africa dumps like the one in Ghana's capital, Accra. Though in nearly all European countries it is illegal to dump e-waste because it often contains toxins like lead and chlorinated dioxins, increasingly aid groups are encouraging Europeans to send their old equipment to developing countries to be reused.
But Greenpeace learned that devious electronics traders are buying usable and obsolete machines in bulk and sending them to Africa falsely and incorrectly labeled as "second hand." Traders told Greenpeace that to get a shipping container with a few working computers they must accept broken junk like old screens in the same container from European exporters.
In Accra, the obsolete items end up in dumps and are picked apart and then burned, releasing noxious fumes and chemicals....
Kids on Dizzywood Plant 15,000 Virtual Trees to Green Planet Earth
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 08. 7.08
Not so long ago kids on Club Penguin put together some pretty impressive cash to help protect the planet with a mega-Christmas gift to the WWF, and now those who choose to play in Dizzywood, another virtual world where kids ages 8-12 can find their alter ego in an avatar have teamed up to plant 15,000 trees in the real world while seeing the first hand effects of a similar effort in Dizzywood.
The challenge itself asked kids to replant the virtual trees of Wildwood Glen, which had been destroyed by Emperor Withering, Dizzywood’s arch-villain; a neat tactic to give the kids a reason to want to help rebuild their online space in an eco-friendly way.
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Small-Scale Wind Turbine Potential Great, Limited By Installation & Electricity Costs: New Report Finds
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 7.08
Size comparison of small-scale versus industrial scale wind turbine image: Carbon Trust
Most of the time when we talk about wind energy, the turbines referred to are of the couple-hundred feet tall behemoth variety. But it’s not just the big boys which can have a place in reducing our demand for fossil fuels. A new report from the Carbon Trust details the potential of small-scale wind turbines in the UK, how much power could be produced and how much carbon emissions could be avoided.
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Swedish Bachelors 20 Percent Higher Energy Users Compared To Bachelorettes
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 08. 7.08
This news item caught my eye as a recent post regarding efforts to green up my household brought some muses from one commenter opining that women must have a much bigger carbon footprint than men. My reply was that in a very general way, while women may like to buy more stuff, men like to drive, and drive fast.
Men use 20 percent more energy than women
Now research from the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) confirms that Swedish single men (with no children) consume about 20 percent more overall energy than Swedish single women, mostly because of their vehicle driving habits. For men surveyed in the study, 40 percent of their overall energy use was for transport, while for women the figure was about 25 percent. Women on the other hand, tended to be involved in more "energy intensive" activities while at home (read: washing more dishes, washing more clothes, and washing themselves more and longer!).
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Patrón Ethanol? Cuervo Biofuels? Mexico Investigates Agave as Potential Biofuel Feedstock
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 08. 7.08
photo by Ani Carrington
In the past few weeks stories about new potential ethanol feedstocks have come rolling in with a predictable regularity. As the realization that converting crop lands from food to fuel production probably isn’t such a good idea begins to sink in, more and more non-food crops are investigated. It’s interesting then that Mexico has begun small-scale testing of the viability of using Agave to produce ethanol.
Renewable Energy World reports that, according to preliminary estimates, Agave tequilana weber could yield up to 2,000 gallons of ethanol per acre per year. That figure could rise to 12,000-18,000 gallons per year if the plant’s cellulose were used.
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Monsanto Dumping Bovine Growth Hormone
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 7.08
Anti-Monsanto crop circle in the Philippines
Poor old Monsanto corporation just can't make any money on Posilac, or bovine growth hormone any more- nobody wants it in the milk. Starbucks, Kroger, Dean foods and Wal-Mart are now demanding milk from rBGH-free cows.
Monsanto has been fighting back, trying to make labelling of milk as "rGBH free" illegal. “This is really a great product,” a Monsanto spokeswoman, Danielle Jany, said. “The business has been strong. Sales have been strong.”
Right. That is why they have put the business up for sale, so they can "focus on the company’s key profit drivers of agricultural seeds and development of specific genetic traits for crops." ::New York Times
Get another shot of Posilac and Bovine Growth Hormones
Wal-Mart To Monsanto 'No Thanks For The Bovine Growth Hormone ...
Battles over Bovine Growth Hormones
Astroturf Alert: Afact Fights Absence Labeling
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Nature Deficit Disorder Tackled at Camp Filled with Power Tools, Danger for Kids
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 08. 7.08
While there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the lack of free time among children that’s leading to nature deficit disorder, there’s a summer camp called “Tinkering School” that aims to change all that by letting kids decide the direction the camp will take with power tools, motor cycles, zip lines, fire, spears, and boats of their own creation.
And it’s all for kids, even as young as 7 years old.
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5 Technologies that Make Internal Combustion Engines Better
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 08. 7.08
5 Fuel-Saving Technologies
In the long run, the internal combustion engine (ICE) is on the way out and electric motors are on the way in, but ICEs have been around for so loooong that we should be careful about announcing their demise. They're going to stick around a while longer, and so it's very important to make them as efficient and clean as possible.
Car and Driver looks at 5 fuel-saving technologies that are keeping the ICE relevant (if far from ideal). As they say, they still work on basically the same principle as they ever did, but old 4-cylinder engines produced about 20 horsepower while modern ones can generate up to 250 hp while being cleaner and burning less gas. Read on for more details on the 5 fuel-saving technologies: Clean diesel, direct injection, cylinder deactivation, turbochargers, and variable valve timing and lift....
Japanese Website Releases uses Interactive Globe To Illustrate “Global Warming Divide”
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 08. 7.08
Friends of the Earth (FoE) Japan, a member of FoE international, has released a 3D interactive globe on their web site to increase awareness of the “Global Warming Divide”, as part of FoE’s campaign for climate and energy justice.
FoE Japan is using the term “Global Warming Divide” (it works especially well in Japanese, similar to “digital divide”) to represent the campaign, which works to encourage leading nations to take responsibility for the climate crisis and particularly the effect it is having on developing nations less able to cope with the consequences....
Perfect Gift For Climate Change Deniers by Nathan Martell
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 7.08
The next time you have to get a gift for friend or family who thinks climate change is a TreeHugger /world government /Al Gore plot, give them this vase designed by Nathan Martell. Source of its profile: ...
Survey: What Do You Think Will Happen In the Arctic?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 7.08
A new map shows all the possible areas of conflict in the Arctic; The US against Canada, Canada against the Danes, everyone against Russia, as what was previously covered with impenetrable ice becomes open sea over possibly 90 billion barrels of oil....
More Money for Yucca Mountain Makes It Hard to Get Behind Nuclear Option
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 08. 7.08
The cost of complex engineering projects, in general, is rapidly going up with the higher cost of materials. Still, this upward revised estimate of the cost of long term rad waste management is particularly stunning, considering the talk about doubling nuclear generation capacity (presumably not accounted for in these numbers)! The U.S. Department of Energy says it has revised upward its cost estimate of the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository from its 1983 start to closure in 2133. Officials said the new system life cycle cost estimate includes money needed to research, construct and operate Yucca Mountain for 150 years. The new cost estimate of $79.3 billion, when updated to 2007 dollars totals $96.2 billion -- a 38-percent increase from the last published estimate in 2001 of $57.5 billion.Via::Political Gateway....
Coming a Commuter-Rail Station Near Your: More Cars From Far-Flung Suburbs
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 08. 7.08
Did you think the competition for parking over at the train station was a local problem? The high cost of motor f