- 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 31, 2008 - September 6, 2008
Total this week: 173
Sarah Palin’s Record On the Environment: A Closer Look
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
Palin on the Environment, Beyond the Sound Bites
We’ve all heard the big ones by now: Sarah Palin doesn’t believe in global warming (as a result of human practices, at least), she’s suing the federal government to get polar bears removed from the endangered species list, and she vigorously supports opening the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve up for drilling.
But Palin’s stance on environmental issues is far more detailed than those simple, sound bite-friendly talking points. A recent Associated Press article delves into her repeated run-ins with environmentalists and federal marine scientists and breaks down her votes on a slew of environmental issues. Take a look at some of the Alaskan governor’s votes and stances:...
Used Mattress Design Competition: Making Mattresses Sustainable
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
The Used Mattress Dilemma
What’s the eco-conscionable thing to do with a used mattress? Pawn it off on a (really) broke friend? Try to give it to Goodwill or list it for giveaway on the Free page on Craigslist? These options are tough, because the idea of sleeping on a used mattress just strikes most as creepy—it’s like wearing secondhand underwear. So you likely do what most of us do—haul it out to the curb and leave it by the trash for the garbage men. As a result, around 40 million mattresses get flipped into the landfills every year. And let’s face it—the options for eco friendly solutions seem pretty slim.
Enter Architecture for Humanity and Rubicon National Social Innovations: they’ve teamed up to launch the Discarded Dreams design competition bent on reusing that seemingly unrecyclable bedding.
...
Wind Power Workshop, Presented by American Wind Energy Association and Sierra Club
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
Wind power has arrived. In case you’ve been living in a cave powered by unsustainable energy for the last couple years, the wind power industry has been steadily growing and is perhaps most effective and viable forms of alternative energy on the market.
But you know all that. What you likely don’t know is exactly what the future of the ever-expanding, dynamic wind power industry holds. And if you want to find out, you just have to head on over to Delaware this week . . .
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China Plans Massive $3.5 Billion GM Crops Push
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09. 6.08
Image from Klobetime
Driven by the increasingly pressing need to provide a stable food supply for its surging population (1.3 billion and growing), China has decided to engineer its own "Green Revolution" by embarking on a massive $3.5 billion GM crops R&D initiative, reports Science's Richard Stone. With this new biotechnology infrastructure in place, the Chinese hope to discover and patent their own genes "of great value" -- engaging in direct competition with the likes of Monsanto and ADM -- and to help their farms evolve "from high-input and extensive cultivation" to "high-tech and intensive cultivation."...
Sitting Ducks In The Gulf: Hurricane Intensity And The Risk Of Long-Term Impacts On Oil & Gas Prices
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09. 6.08
A recent guest post from Rocky Mountain Institute points out how vulnerable the USA remains to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, citing hurricane Gustave as an example. This current post's graphic dramatically displays the risk. The more intense a future hurricane is, the greater the chance of in inland incursion (per the image) doing long term physical damage to refinery equipment and pipelines.
Via::USEIA, EIA Report on Hurricane Impacts on U.S. Energy ...
Graphic Of The Day: Eastern States Make Coal Syn-ers Of Us All
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09. 6.08
Looking at the whole of the "Clean Coal" and "Energy Security" equation on a single political map - suppliers and customers shown in one context - helps explain why both US presidential candidates have openly supported "clean coal" or "synfuel," and why members of both major political parties barely mention climate change in convention speeches. The political risk is enormous. Via::USEIA, Figure 7. Coal Shipments from Coal Producing Regions to Coal Synfuel Plants, 2007...
Grading Green Schools: The College Sustainability Report Card 2009
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
The College Sustainability Report Card 2009 is almost upon academia. It’s that dreaded time--when all those green-talking universities who haven’t put in the due legwork have to forge their parent’s signatures; when environmentally unfriendly colleges try to pencil in a line down the far right side of the ‘F.’ Yes, it’s time for the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s intense annual eco-evaluation of the universities and colleges of the U.S. and Canada. Does your college have what it takes to profess with the greenest of the green?...
Hello Kitty, Goodbye Disposable Solar Powered Cell Phone Charger
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
Solar powered Hello Kitty chargers sound adorable, right? And the little one just has to have every piece of Hello Kitty merchandise there is—it’s part of the collector’s set! She needs them all! Even the overwhelmingly pointless, waste-producing products like this Hello Kitty Disposable Solar Powered Cell Phone Charger.
...
Sustainable Fish Now Served on Not-So Sustainable Flights
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 6.08
Image courtesy of BBC Green
Sustainable Fish Served on Dutch KLM Airline
The Dutch airline KLM has invested in algal biofuel development, looks forward to participating in a European carbon bank program, and claims to fly 25 percent more efficiently than its competitors. And now, the unusually green-seeming airline is offering the option for those flying in Business Class to order hake farmed from a Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable fishery in South Africa, as a pilot program lasting from September to November 2008.
Obviously, this isn’t the hardest hitting green initiative in KLM’s oeuvre—in fact, the prospect of making the eco-conscionable choice to dine on sustainable fish while the roar of jet fuel-burning engines provides the ambiance seems more than a little absurd. But before you cry Greenwashing!, consider the following...
...
Utah Officials: Keeping Rainwater Is Illegal
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 09. 6.08
Biking Across America with WE ADD UP - Day 36: Talcum Powder
by Carson Poe and Eric Plosky, Boston, MA on 09. 6.08
Sunday Streets: Thousands of San Franciscans Gather on the City's Busy Waterfront
by Alex Smith, San Francisco, California on 09. 6.08
Last Sunday morning thousands of San Franciscans converged on a four and a half mile strip of waterfront roadway. No, they weren't protesting. Instead they were celebrating the first ever Sunday Streets, an initiative dreamed up by Mayor Gavin Newsom. The event closed a roadway running from Chinatown to Bayview, both areas of the city with minimal open space. Along the strip people stopped to hop in on a yoga class, learn salsa dancing, and even jump rope. ...
This Week in the Huffington Post
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 6.08
Fossil Fuels Are the Bottled Water of Energy: We already know the numerous reasons why bottled water is bad, including the energy and water it takes to manufacture, ship and discard the product, as well as the fact that tap water must meet more stringent water quality standards. But here's the interesting thing: fossil fuels are essentially bottled energy. And just as the green alternative to bottled water is tap water, the logical alternative to fossil fuels is renewable energy. ::Andy Posner
The Next Wonder Drug? Just Ask Mother Nature I talk with scientific researchers every day, and can't help but notice a growing trend: what was once relegated to the realm of naturopaths, witchdoctors and alternative practitioners, is now becoming mainstream science. Drug hunters --- scientists looking for the next breakthrough drug -- are turning to Mother Nature for inspiration and solutions. ::Karin Kloosterman...
Greenland Wants To Bottle Iceberg Water
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 09. 6.08
photo dsearls @ flickr
It's no secret that TreeHugger isn't fond of single-use bottles of water - there seems no trapping of modern life easier to let go of, when municipalities spend oodles to make most tap water clean, and reusable bottles come in every size and color - there are even some cool ones aimed at getting kids off the one-use bottle!
Icebergs become 'high-end' bottled water
But we all seem a bit slow to get the picture - growth for the global soft drink and bottled water market is still growing around 4% annually. In fact, in Fiji (source of the famous, er, infamous Fiji bottled waterj) marketers are asking the government for financial assistance in an increasingly competitive market. And on the other side of the globe in Greenland, a consultant named Dorthe Lund Kaack told the Danish Berlinske Tidende newspaper that next spring Greenland Home Rule government would begin bottling water from an island spring, and thereafter drilling it out of icebergs floating near the coast, for export to fancy water markets (Los Angeles, Tokyo said the article). The government stressed that production of this 3 to 10,000-year old water was "sustainable." Hit the jump for more ironic water facts about Fiji....
The TH Interview: Back to School Special
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 09. 6.08
If you can believe it, there was a time when colleges and universities didn’t have people looking after eco issues. Energy and water meters went unwatched, pesticides floated freely across quads, organics were laughed out of the cafeteria, and recycle bins were used strictly as gravity bongs. But no more, my mortarboarded friends. Today, schools are grade grubbing on green report cards and The Princeton Review is rating colleges on their green stats. Here is a roundup of the sustainability spearheads from five major universities (Stanford, University of Maryland, Arizona State, Sacramento State, and Ohio State) each giving their elevator speech in what has become a very competitive race. Also check out How to Go Green: Back to School Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download....
Earth First! Fanatics Wail Wildly for Trees in Wacky Video
by Meaghan O'Neill, Newport, R.I. on 09. 6.08
The TH Interview: Gidon Bromberg, Friends of the Earth - Middle East (Part One)
by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel on 09. 6.08
In the early 1990’s, says Gidon Bromberg, everyone was convinced that peace was just around the corner in the Middle East.
Bromberg, then a young lawyer working for an environmental NGO in Tel Aviv, was frustrated that environmental issues were not being discussed as part of the peace process. Worse still, massive development plans were being drawn up by investors and developers, with little or no thought given to their impacts on the region’s ecology.
However, as Bromberg would later find out, the surge of investor interest in the region in those days also had a flip side – funds suddenly became available to environmental groups as well. In 1994, Bromberg founded “EcoPeace,” the Middle East’s first regional organization dedicated to peace and sustainability.
Today, Gidon Bromberg is the Director of the Israeli office of Friends of the Earth – Middle East (FoEME), which absorbed EcoPeace in 1999. FoEME remains to this day the only regional organization promoting environmental cooperation among Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians.
This week, TreeHugger paid a visit to the “Green Building” – an office building in the heart of Tel Aviv which is home to several of Israel’s most prominent environmental groups – for a conversation with Bromberg about the links between peace and sustainability in the Middle East.
In the first part of this two part interview, Bromberg talks about FoEME's work, the challenges of cross-border cooperation and the Middle East water crisis....
Nature and Stop Kingsnorth Interview James Hansen about His Clash with Big Coal
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 09. 5.08
Our Oceans Are Dying and We're At Fault
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 09. 5.08
Image source: Getty Images
A very interesting Los Angeles Times article on the state of the oceans sounds like something out of a horror movie - fishermen come in contact with a spongy weed, only to break out into a painful rash that won't go away and literally peels your skin off. Get a drop in your mouth and your tongue swells so much you can't eat for a week. Scientists in labs can't be in the same room with it, the smell is so pungent. Only the problem is that this is for real and happening more and more often in coastal areas around the world. We are putting too much food into the oceans, scientists say, and now the oceans are reverting back to primeval seas of millions and even billions of years ago.
Previous assumptions that the ocean would eventually break down anything we threw at it (oil spills, dumping garbage, not to mention stormwater runoff) are no longer holding true. Its the primitive life-forms - the algae, bacteria and jellyfish that are better able to handle our garbage and in fact thrive in this toxic soup. The article is a fascinating, no-holds-punch look at the current state of the oceans and also what it means for us....
Seen in New York: MTA Touts Green Credentials
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09. 5.08
Who knew the New York City subway was so green? (Well, greener than I thought it was, anyway.) According to a poster I chanced upon last night at a subway station:
- 63 percent of NYC Transit's refuse was recycled in 2007.
- 8,931 tons—about 50 percent of the refuse collected from the MTA's 468 subway stations—gets recycled
- 49,419 tons of metal, glass, plastic, and paper from train yards, bus depots, and facilities is recycled through other resource-recovery programs.
- 1,497 retired subway cars serve as marine life habitats in five states as part of the National Artificial Reef Plan.
Sustainable Schoolyard Exhibit at US Botanic Garden
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 09. 5.08
Last week we had the pleasure of checking out the One Planet--Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century installation at the United States Botanic Garden just a stones throw from the Capitol in Washington, DC. Despite the odd name (isn't sustainability for the 21st century hard enough?) the federally-funded exhibit offered a dazzling array of inspiring eco demonstration projects, including the kinds of energy technologies the current administration and government has done so little to support.
One of the many cool exhibits was Sustainable Schoolyards, sponsored by Friends of Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities, which showcased outdoor classroom concepts and ecological teaching tools suitable for almost any schoolyard.
The Sustainable Schoolyard exhibit demonstrated how solar power, water conservation, edible gardens, wildlife habitat, green building, and waste recycling can be used to teach science, math, art, and many other subjects. Designed by Bay Tree Design, Inc. of Berkeley, CA, the ecological classroom is based on the success of schools around the country including Berkeley's own Edible Schoolyard....
Eco Friendly Toilet Seat and Bidet from Brondell to Preserve Trees, European Custom
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09. 5.08
We Need a “New Operating System” for the Modern World! Yale Univ’s Dean of Environmental Studies Says
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
photo: Gilbert Rodriguez
In a practical sense, to make the type of changes in theory and practice which many TreeHugger readers would probably like to see happen to make the world a more ecologically sustainable place, we may have to compartmentalize a bit. Overturning the whole system may prove difficult, but at least according to Yale University’s Gus Speth that is the type of change needed.
Orion Magazine currently has an interview with Speth which I think is important to read, but here are some excerpts to give you to set the tone:
...
Cancer Fighting Tips, Carrot Ginger Soup and a Petition for the Next President
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
:: Avoid these common household products to steer clear of cancer.
:: Sooth your tummy--and your taste buds--with Kelly's Carrot Soup with Ginger and Lemon.
:: Sign a petition asking the next elected U.S. President to grow a food garden at the White House....
Texas Coal Wars Opens Next Week
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 09. 5.08
Image source: Fighting Goliath Film
Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars, documents how a group of citizens stood up to the proposed development of 19-coal-fired power plants in central and east Texas. Mayors, ranchers, CEOs, community groups, legislators, lawyers and citizens, who might otherwise have had nothing in common, all joined together for different reasons but one purpose: to stop the states' fast-track approval of coal-plant construction. The group eventually came to include over 36 cities and local government offices across the state.
Robert Redford narrates the movie and says that he got involved because he was so inspired by the movie. Both the idea that these different interests could still come together for the environment and also that we can move towards renewable energy supplies. Redford hopes the movie inspires other communities to band together, both for battling coal or working for environmental justice in their area. The film has already opened in Texas and will be shown in Utah and Nevada next week, where several coal plants are also planned for construction....
Boston's Blackout, The Hypnos and Big Ice Breaks Free
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 09. 5.08
Boston turns off their lights in an effort to save cash and energy.
Citroën plans to unveil their Hypnos, a new diesel-electric hybrid crossover concept car.
An ice chunk the size of Manhattan breaks free in Canada's northern Arctic.
The Green Routine offers eight easy tips for an eco-friendly garden.
A new study reports that one in three public schools are are built within 400 meters of a major highway--causing a spike in respiratory illnesses.
Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg's top green news stories. Why not submit your own green news?...
Ce n'est pas Réchauffement Global (This Is Not Global Warming)--With Apologies To Magritte
by Earthwatch Institute on 09. 5.08
Treehuggers no doubt remember Knut. He’s the polar bear cub who would likely have died after being rejected by his mother, save that he became a media sensation when his Berlin zookeepers decided not to let Nature take its course. While some animal activists objected, the public at large seems to have responded in unison: “How could anyone let anything this cute die?”
You’ve no doubt also seen equally captivating pictures of many of Knut’s’ wild cousins—images that distill all of the scientific complexities of global warming and melting sea ice into a single powerful concept: this magnificent animal is going to drown in front of your eyes—this is global warming, and it’s your fault.
...
Green School Fundraising with Carbon Offsets
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 09. 5.08
While there may be no doubt that school fundraising of all angles is a standard of the educational system in America and beyond, there’s one product that you just may never heard of being used to help raise funds for schools; carbon offsets.
With a new program called Brighter Schools put out by the folks at Brighter Planet, schools receive 20% of the cash raised from any purchase of carbon offsets through the program by students, teachers, friends and allies of their school. There’s even a way for schools to track their overall impact as a team reducing their carbon footprint through the website.
...
Creative Recycling: Tin Cans into Flatware
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 5.08
Unusable misprinted tin cans are rolled into handles for flatware and serving pieces. Gina at Epicurious says they are "sure to dish up conversation, as well as the salad."
She also notes that "the metal is left untreated, so while they can go in the dishwasher, it is advised that you hand wash and dry them immediately to prevent rusting. And while the pieces are not sharp, they are rough and are not recommended for families with small children." Hmmm, maybe not such a good idea. Available at Vivaterra after you sign a waiver.
More Table Settings on TreeHugger:
Carry Your Own Cutlery
Three Utensils in One: "Spork" from Light My Fire
...
Sea Levels Still Will Rise Because of Global Warming: Just Not as Much as We Thought
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
In the past couple of weeks I’ve felt a bit like the bringer of climate change doom here at TreeHugger. Well, here’s something to balance all that out, at least slightly. From Yahoo News/Reuters:
Worst Case: 6.6 Feet Sea Level Rise by 2100
It appears that previous predictions about sea levels rising by 20 feet or more by the end of the this century overstated the case a bit. Tad Pfeffer of the University of Colorado, along with scientists from the University of Montana the University of California at San Diego now say that a “realistic worst-case scenario” for sea level rise is about 6.6 feet (about 2 meters). The same scientists say that about 2.6 feet (80 centimeters) is more likely.
...
“Lawnmower” Tidal Turbines Could Produce Electricity at Half the Price
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
By some estimates, the UK could generate 5-15 gigawatts of electricity using tidal turbines. Photo: Franny Dynamite.
About six weeks ago we reported on the world’s first commercial-scale tidal turbine, SeaGen, beginning the first stage of its operations. SeaGen, like most other tidal turbines works a bit like a wind turbine tuned on its side, spinning as water moves past the blades and generating electricity.
However, a new tidal turbine design unveiled yesterday by engineers from Oxford University, which The Guardian describes as being a “lawnmower” design (probably not the best image, even if accurate in form), looks to change the shape of wave power:
...
Biking Across America with WE ADD UP - Day 31: Bon Appetit!
by Carson Poe and Eric Plosky, Boston, MA on 09. 5.08
Zoica Matei Creates Trans-Seasonal Fashion
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 09. 5.08
Image source: Zoica Matei
We've talked about this idea before, but Zoica Matei is making slow-fashion and trans-seasonal fashion her banner. The clothing is designed with healthy, organic materials, but there is also an emphasis on keeping clothing longer and not changing out wardrobes with the changing of the seasons. She creates timeless pieces that are more than just t-shirts with sayings, but rather clothing and outfits that can be worn every day. Items are designed to be worn to work or running errands or going out to dinner, thus giving them more functionality and a longer lifespan.
Originally from Romania, Matei began designing at a young age but ended up getting an environmental degree. After moving to the US, she earned a degree in fashion and then merged her two passions. All clothing is made in the US and sweatshop free. Whites are dyed using hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach and other colors use natural colors for dyes....
Ivory Gull Wins Most Polluted Bird on the Planet Award
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 09. 5.08
Image source: Bird Holidays
If the ivory gull could, it would tell that polar bear, 'I wouldn't eat that if I were you' - eating carcasses of other animals is what got the ivory gull in this predicament in the first place. The ivory gull, which lives in the Arctic, was recently found to have the highest concentrations of PCBs and DDT when its eggs were tested. The more interesting point is that both of these chemicals are banned in many countries, though DDT is still used to control disease vectors in some countries. How did this bird get top prize? Well, the prevailing winds sweep these chemicals from around the globe and concentrate them in a swirling mass in the Arctic. From here, the chemicals accumulate in the fatty tissues of birds, fish and other animals. Ivory gulls are top predators, meaning they eat fish and scavenge dead seals and polar bears. Any chemicals that are in these animals are then passed onto the gulls, so basically the gulls are eating DDT and PCBs for dinner every night.
...
“Drill Baby Drill” Screams Punctuate McCain’s Energy Policy in Acceptance Speech
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
Horse and Buggy + Wind Turbine = Indiana Amish Begin Embracing Renewable Energy
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
photo: Cindy Seigle
The intersection of spirituality and environmental awareness seems to be getting more crowded. Over the summer there were a couple stories of Hindu temples, both in India and the United States, installing various forms of renewable energy. Pope Benedict XVI professed a slightly greener version of the faith at a speech in Australia (BBC News). Apparently, the Dalai Lama is down with solar (Greentech Media). Now the Amish are getting in on the act. The News-Sentinel gives us the details:
It’s Not the Electricity but Connection to the Grid
Though most people probably associate the Amish with living outside of modern life, this isn’t entirely correct. While initially (like in the 1920s...) there was hesitation to adopt electricity, it wasn’t so much the electricity itself that was the issue but the connection to the grid and therefore the outside world. Low-voltage electricity is perfectly permissible and will rising diesel prices, the cost of fueling generators is causing some people to look to renewables. ...
A Reader Responds to Project Better Place Getting Wired
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 09. 5.08
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again –– Israel’s electric car scheme Project Better Place –– needs some serious rethinking. Shai Agassi, who founded the company (pictured above), proposes new infrastructure for the swappable batteries, leased and paid for much in the same way as the cellular phone industry: you pay for use and not the device. Israel and Denmark are buying.
In August Wired magazine featured Agassi on the cover (you can it read here). The story extols the virtues of the new paradigm in electric cars that Agassi is offering. I’ve blogged my reservations about Project Better Place here on TreeHugger before and also on The Huffington Post; most recently on my own blog Green Prophet. It’s happened a few times, where I’ve received some sort of email from a PR company representing Project Better Place, or an investor in the company, who says that I don’t have all the facts. I’ve offered they do a guest post on TreeHugger to set the record straight. No takers.
...
San Francisco Set To Vote on Greener Public Power
by Alex Smith, San Francisco, California on 09. 5.08
Public Power Makes It's Way Onto the City's Ballot
The boxing gloves are out in San Francisco in a fight pitting Mayor Gavin Newsom and Pacific Gas and Electric against a broad base of citizens, supervisors and politicians. At the center of the fight is Proposition H, a proposal that would put the city's power grid back in the hands of San Franciscans. The proposition will enable a feasibility study of publicly owned power and will also set green mandates for the new grid system. With the switch, public power proponents plan to derive the city's electricity from 50 percent renewables by 2017 and one hundred percent by 2040. PG&E, the for-profit power company that currently manages the grid, is not going down easily.
Public power has long been a San Francisco battle, finding its way on the city's November 4th ballot eleven times since the 1920s. Though it has also been voted down all eleven times, leaders of the movement think this time may be different.
Read more about public power in San Francisco below the fold....
Microbes in Dirt Provide Electricity for African Villagers
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 09. 5.08
A makeshift microbial fuel cell: a bucket, waste water and a graphite sheet. Photo: Lebônê
Providing electricity to people in countries where either the grid is not reliable, or nonexistent and unlikely ever to be built, can make a huge difference in people’s quality of life in very practical ways. We’ve written before about companies such as D.Light Design which have solar-powered replacements for kerosene lanterns , and efforts to bring small-scale solar panels to off-grid villages in Laos. Hand cranked cell phone chargers, radios and flashlights are other proven options that have received attention.
Microbial Fuel Cells Provide Enough Power for Small Devices
One option which is being investigated in a pilot project by Cambridge, Massachusetts company Lebônê Solutions is using microbial fuel cells to provide electricity to villagers in Tanzania. While the power produced by microbial fuel cells isn’t great, it does provide enough electricity for the small DC powered devices that the villagers want to run, Lebônê co-founder Hugo Van Vuuren told Technology Review. Compared to other renewable energy options such as solar panels or small-scale wind turbines they are also less expensive to produce and easier to set up....
Greenbird's Bid for Fastest Wind-Powered Vehicle Rained Off
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 09. 5.08
Wind-powered Record Attempt Cancelled
The frustrating thing about trying to work with, rather than against, Mother Nature is that, well, sometimes Mother Nature just doesn’t want to play along. No sooner had April posted on Greenbird, the record attempt sponsored by TreeHugger favorites Ecotricity to become the fastest land-yacht in the world, that we hear the disappointing news that the attempt has been cancelled. Apparently it just wouldn’t stop raining:...
Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival Announces 2008 Dates
by Jenna Watson, Barcelona on 09. 5.08
Image from Blue Gold Courtesy of Planet in Focus Film Festival
We attended last year so we are excited to see that the announcement of the ninth edition of the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival. It will run October 22 through October 26 in Toronto with over 80 (of over 450 entries) of the world's premiere films and videos on a wide range of environmental themes and subjects by Canadian and international filmmakers.
This year’s Spotlight Program - Food: The Big Picture - features thought-provoking films from around the world examining a wide range of issues on this topic. It will highlight the local and global concerns about food production, food security, food policy, its cultivation, manufacture, handling, distribution and, ultimately, the direct connection between the state of the environment with what, and how, we eat. The festival will also host panels and discussions in an exploration of the global food crisis as well as recent developments within Canada....
Jargon Watch: Scorpacciata
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 5.08
scorpacciata [score-POTCH-chee-yatta]
n. eating a particular ingredient in copious amounts in peak local season.
Can it be turned into an adjective, like "If this tomato season doesn't end soon I'm gonna be scorpacciatic." ::Apartment Therapy...
Mexican Food Company Switching to Biodegradable Packaging
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 09. 5.08
Grupo Bimbo, Mexico's largest producer of baked goods, announced this week it will be replacing its plastic packaging with a new biodegradable plastic in all main supermarkets and retail outlets in Mexico City.
The new plastic packaging is oxo-biodegradable and contains an additive made by the British company Symphony Technologies. Oxo-biodegradation is a two-stage process where the breakdown and release of carbon dioxide, water and biomass is accelerated. Instead of taking years to biodegrade, the plastic breaks down within a few months
on land or in water leaving no fragments or harmful residues, according to Symphony.
Grupo Bimbo, which produces more than 5,000 bakery products, from loaves and pastries to cookies, chocolates and sweet and salted snacks, hopes that the biodegradable plastic will help to offset its contribution to the 10 million cubic meters of waste generated every month in Mexico. ...
Ponoko ID: If You Can Think Of It, They Can Design and Make It
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 5.08
We show a lot of what we call "downloadable designs" on TreeHugger; as we said on our Absolut World website, "With digital designs we decide what we want from the best in the world, not what Mr. Store Manager picks out." That is why we completely fell in love with Ponoko, an "online space for a community of creators and consumers to use a global network of digital manufacturing hardware to co-create, make and trade individualized product ideas on demand."
They have put together a catalogue of designs that are available now, but have added a new feature that may change the way designers work and shoppers shop: Ponoko ID. ...
FrogLight LED Bulb Goes in Standard Socket
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 5.08
Of course, one of the benefits of LEDs is that they last so long that they can be built right into the fixtures or even the fabric of the building. But people own lamps already, and Frog Design "realized the easiest way to create acceptance was to deliver the technology in an already widely accepted form. The form of a standard light bulb was then the obvious choice. It would not ask consumers to change their form of power, their light socket or replace the lampshade attached to the bulb."
So they built the LEDs into the traditional incandescent lightbulb form. "To create the biggest impact on society, this design had to keep the barriers to acceptance as low as practical—which in part meant no super-sexy, fluid designs that would only be found in high-end design stores. Any unnecessary styling would cause a rift in its mainstream acceptance." They say that it is dimmable, with great colour balance and will last 30 years. Frog Design is "currently in talks about how to bring it to market and make it available to consumers." ::Frog Design via ::Yanko
More LED in TreeHugger:
Big LED Breakthrough at Purdue University Could Change the World
LED Street Lights are Coming
Luxim Plasma Light Bulb Kicks Some Serious LED Butt...
Sydney Becomes Australia's First Carbon-Neutral Government Body
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 09. 5.08
Photograph by Warren McLaren
Last month the City of Sydney declared that it had become Australia’s first carbon neutral government. It is important to note that whilst the total area of this southern metropolis is said to be equal to the size of London and nearly twice that of New York, at 4,000 square kilometres, the claim to carbon neutrality really only applies to the local government area called "Sydney." That spans the central business district and surrounding suburbs, and is about 26 square kilometres. But still, it's not a bad claim to fame.
The city council looked at their emissions as a result of fuel for their fleet of cars and trucks and running City of Sydney events (9% of total), energy emissions from the likes of street lighting and City owned properties (72%) and then all other emissions such as those caused by the City's operations, including contractors and business travel - taxis, flights, etc (19%) For the financial year of 06-7 this gave them a total of over 48,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. ...
Survey: Do You Eco-drive/ Hypermile?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 5.08
We call it hypermiling; others call it eco-driving, which sounds like a contradiction in terms to me, but whatever, it does save fuel- lots of it. Ford recently did a test where they trained 48 drivers in eco-driving techniques (smoother braking and accelerating, monitoring RPMs and moderate speed) and they boosted fuel economy by 24%. (credit: Tyler Hamilton)
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Smack in the Middle of My Backyard: Golf Courses on Google Earth
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 09. 5.08
One reason I moved to my current town was the proximity to green hills and mountains, and the promise of hiking adventures (and fresh air). Only about one hour from central Tokyo, I live in a town with some 80,000 people, and I like it a lot. However, when I downloaded Google Earth, I was in for a surprise.
It is one thing to see the road signs and an occasional golfer walk by (most take the special membership-only golf-course buses from the train station). Suddenly, on Google Earth, there was my house (yellow X marks the spot) surrounded by golf courses (red circles)!
The NIMBY phenomenon could not have been brought home more clearly. Not In My Backyard? This is one of the many towns where Tokyo's businessmen come to play their 18 holes. Have you had a similar experience using Google Earth? Share your pain in the comment section....
Bike-Sharing Goes Global: 5 Programs You Should Know About
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 09. 5.08
What is Bike-Sharing?
If you at all familiar with the Zip Car model of car-sharing, then you should already undersand how bike-sharing works. Essentially, in a bike-share program bicycles are made available at special kiosks or racks that are strategically placed around a city. Users can access the bikes 24 hours a day, either by inserting a credit card or by paying an annual fee for a membership card. The bikes can then be returned at any of the stations in the city. While the details of the program vary by city, the basic concept has caught on and spread like wildfire. In fact, there was even a bike-sharing program in place at this year's Democratic National Convention!
Bike-Sharing Goes GLobal
Especially as gas prices rise and the concept of livable cities becomes more popular, cities around the world have begun to embrace bike-sharing as a way to improve quality of life, meet greenhouse gas reduction targets, increase tourism, and so on. Paris, Barcelona, Washington, D.C., Montrealand Mexico City have all implemented such programs, while New York City, Portland and others are in the planning stages....
Eco-Club Wars: Dancers (Literally) Light Up Rotterdam's WATT, London's Club4Climate
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 09. 5.08
Guerrilla Gardening Sunflowers Rise Up
by Bonnie Alter, London on 09. 5.08
On May 1, International Sunflower Guerrilla Day, eco-warriors around Europe planted sunflowers in celebration of the first day of summer and nature's fertility. Guerrilla gardening is a slightly subversive way of making ugly, neglected bits of public space beautiful by planting seeds and plants in the dark of night and waiting for them to grow. Here is the result of the midnight efforts of one brave group of gardeners.
London's guerrilla gardeners planted sunflowers across the Thames River from the Houses of Parliament. They found an abandoned rose garden, cleared away the weeds and rubble and threw hundreds of sunflower seeds there. Four months later, despite the gloomiest August in the UK since records began--105.5 hours of sunshine, against an average for the month of 165 hours--a field of splendid tall sunflowers have appeared. They bloom in defiant optimism, thanks to the tolerance or neglect of the municipal garden keepers. A great reason to participate in your neighbourhood; or start a group yourself. :: Guerrilla Gardening
More on Guerrilla Gardening
:: International sunflower Guerrilla Day
:: A Handbook for Guerrilla Gardening...
Phoenix Becomes Nation's Solar City
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 09. 4.08
Image source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The Greening Greater Phoenix Initiative, launched today, is encouraging more green businesses such as solar and clean technology, green building, renewable energy and other green industry organizations. The program is a joint initiative by Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) and SolarCity to encourage green businesses to locate in Phoenix and make Maricopa County the greenest in the US. The City of Phoenix, City of Scottsdale and the City of Surprise (who's on first? no really, their name is Surprise) are all joining in the initiative by adopting renewable energy and green building standards city-wide.
As part of the program, SolarCity will be hosting 6 seminars in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Surprise on September 20 and 27, which will be open to the public. Representatives will be on hand to talk about solar installations, particularly on residential buildings, as well as government rebates and cost savings. In addition, as part of the kickoff there is a 2008 GreenSummit Conference, September 5-6 in the Phoenix Convention Center....
An Eco-Memo, Strawberries Romanoff and How to Reduce a Lap Dog's Carbon Paw-print
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 09. 4.08
:: Go guerilla on colleagues who don't recycle.
:: Savor the end of summer's berry bounty in Emeril's Strawberries Romanoff.
:: Even a tiny toy poodle can have a big carbon paw-print. Learn how to reduce it!...
McMansion Treehouse: Gigantic Two-story Kids Playhouse Spells the Death of the Small Footprint
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 09. 4.08
Sexy Tramps Greet Duck Stamp Callers
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 09. 4.08
Duck Stamp in Sex Scandal
Paul Walsh of the Minneapolis Star Tribune appears to have broken a story that will lead to a lot of chuckles and some exasperation. Hunters who have purchased the self-adhesive $15 Federal Duck Stamp and use the number printed on the card to order more stamps are greeted by a sexy voice advising them that they can "talk only to the girls who turn you on" for $1.99 per minute. The root of the error: the Federal Duck Stamp program phone number 1-800-STAMP24 was turned into the toll-free number for a sex-line, 1-800-TRAMP24, when the prefix 782 was mis-printed as 872....
Noooo Edinburgh, Don't Lift Ban on Changing Windows in Historic Structures
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09. 4.08
Hill House, Scotland, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Can you imagine this in vinyl?
John recently wrote that "Rising fuel costs and environmental concerns have forced councillors to consider lifting a ban on double glazed windows in Edinburgh's most historic buildings. Hundreds of residents in and around the New Town are currently prevented from replacing their draughty old windows, because of fears that double glazing would change the appearance of their properties."
Don't do it, Edinburgh! Donovan Rypkema lists a couple of reasons:
- The vast majority of heat loss in homes is through the attic or uninsulated walls, not windows.
- Adding just 3 1/2 inches of fiberglass insulation in the attic has three times the R factor impact as replacing a single pane window with no storm window with the most energy efficient window.
- Properly repaired historic windows have an R factor nearly indistinguishable from new, so-called, "weatherized" windows.
- Regardless of the manufacturers’ "lifetime warranties", thirty percent of the windows being replaced each year are less than 10 years old.
- One Indiana study showed that the payback period through energy savings by replacing historic wood windows is 400 years.
- These houses were built hundreds of years ago, meaning those windows were built from hardwood timber from old growth forests. Environmentalists go nuts about cutting trees in old growth forests, but what’s the difference? Destroying those windows represents the destruction of the same scarce resource.