- Emily Pilloton Discusses the Hippo Roller and other Designs for Humanity (Part One)
- Janine Benyus on Biomimicry in Design (Part Two)
- Janine Benyus on Biomimicry in Design (Part One)
- Andy Revkin - Climate in the Obama Age
- Fred Pearce - Confessions of An Eco-Sinner (Part Two)
- Fred Pearce - Confessions of An Eco-Sinner (Part One)
- Chris Goodall - Ten Techs to Save Our Butts (Part Two)
- Chris Goodall - Ten Techs to Save Our Butts (Part One)
Entries for February 15, 2009 - February 21, 2009
Total this week: 182
New York Fashion Week: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
by Marissa Moss, Manhattan (Lower East Side) on 02.21.09
Photo Credit: Flickr
You can take the Adirondacks – come February, there’s no tent I’d rather be in than Bryant Park. This year, Fall Fashion Week was a mix of many things: bright neon from those designers wanting us to hope, dark fabrics from those wanting us to mope, and the usual mix of editors, stylists and celebrities (everywhere I turned around, was Kanye West. Yes, we’re very good friends now). This year, things leaned a little green – but not in the ways you’d expect. Now: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of New York Fashion Week(after the jump)…
...
How to Flag the Bag Before Irreversible Damage is Done
by Trevor Reichman on 02.21.09
It is easy for cashiers to go on autopilot sometimes at the grocery store, placing one or two items in a plastic bag before you can even say “Hello”. When you explain that you already have your own bag or that you don’t need a bag for your one already well packaged item, they remove the item from the plastic bag and then THROW THE PLASTIC BAG IN THE TRASH. Many franchises have rules which don’t allow a cashier to reuse a bag that has already been ‘contaminated’ with another customer’s item. And so, it has been an ongoing experiment to find the best and most polite way to avoid the cashier putting those one or two items in a plastic bag before you can stop them. Read on for ways to flag the bag before it is too late. Feel free to add to this list:...
California's Real Sustainability Problem: Not Budgets, Water Resources Management
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.21.09
Shasta Dam & Reservoir, aerial view. Image credit:Univ of California at Davis, Elizabeth Dawson
Last minute negotiations may have solved California's budget crisis; but, a more protracted problem shadows the future of civilization-as-they-know-it: water reservoirs are drying up; and climate change is likely to worsen the problem. Food prices throughout North American, and even parts of Asia, which import produce from California, will be affected in the short-term. Long-term water shortage prospects point to an either-or scenario: social disorganization on a large scale or, alternatively, to massive, government-funded water project expansions, plus water conservation measures, and dietary changes.
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Officer Who Attacked Cyclist Is Fired. Or Quit. Whatever, He's Gone.
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.21.09
PBS Examines Stimulus Package's Impact on Local Transit
by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel on 02.21.09
Victoria's Secret Launches an Organic Line of Beauty Products
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 02.21.09
photo: Victoria's Secret
We've written about mega-retailer Victoria's Secret before on TreeHugger. Sites like Victoria's Dirty Little Secret ousted the company for producing its catalog with paper made by clearcutting Canada's boreal forests. The company attempted to reverse its bad press by dumping Canadian catalog source West Fraser Timber and printing on paper made from FSC certified fiber. Today Victoria's Secret is stepping up to the green plate once again with the launch of its newest organic line of beauty products.
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Espresso Machine Prints Public Domain Titled Books On Demand
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.21.09
The Espresso Book Machine Model 1.5 Image credit:On Demand Books
Bloomberg.com reports that this summer the New York Public Library will test an Internet-connected printing and binding machine that puts out a 200-page paperback in minutes. The "Espresso Book Machine,'' from New York-based On Demand Books LLC, prints public domain books available online. See: `Espresso' Spits Out Perfect Book, With Mangled Cover for details.
Does this invention represent environmental and financial progress?
...
Obama EPA May Regulate CO2 for the First Time Ever
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.20.09
Photo via Greenpeace
The new incarnation of the EPA isn't wasting any time making headlines—in the last week alone, it announced that it's reconsidering a key Bush era ruling, and it's filed a massive lawsuit on a Louisiana coal plant to get it to install proper pollution controls. And now, it could be getting ready to make another, truly historic move—to regulate carbon dioxide for the first time as a pollutant that endangers public health....
Get Ready For Drill, Baby, Drill: Round 2
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.20.09
Photo via Flickr
You remember it—how could you not? Those defeaning choruses of "Drill, Baby, Drill!" that defined so many campaign rallies a few months back. Its echo is still firmly resounding now—but some Republican leaders think it's time for a new slogan, and a new plan of attack in convincing the American public that there's still an urgent need for offshore drilling. In other words, they're gearing up for Drill, Baby, Drill, Round Two....
New York Fashion Week: Benefit for IFAW’s Tails for Whales Project Tonight
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.20.09
TreeHugger's Emma Grady strikes a pose with a whale tale. Photo credit: Hal Horowitz
To bid a fond farewell to New York Fashion Week, POPBeauty and Fashion Indie are throwing a benefit event tonight for The International Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) Tails for Whales Project. For more than 20 years, IFAW has devoted considerable scientific and other resources to promote whale conservation. Tonight’s event at Citrine will not only be about raising money for the Project, but will also include fabulous POP artistry touch-ups, POP-tails and a smashing performance by POP's very own founder Sara Strand and her flying band....
TerraCycle Announces Initiative to Collect Non-Recyclable Waste at Big Box Stores Nationwide
by Tom Szaky of TerraCycle, Trenton NJ on 02.20.09
We are extremely excited to announce here on Treehugger, for the first time ever the next phase of the TerraCycle national, non-recyclable waste collection system in the front of major retail stores across the country! For more details, click below the fold.
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George Clooney's Heart Belongs To Darfur, Jennifer Garner's Beauty Secret, and More
by Terri MacLeod on 02.20.09
Photo Credit: Ann Curry/NBC News
By George, in Darfur Clooney is simply a regular Joe with a big heart. The actor and human rights actvist is traveling with the New York Times and NBC's Ann Curry reports on the region six years after the genocide began. While the actor typically sparks mass chaos everywhere he travels, Curry says, "Darfurian children in Chad's refugee camps don't know George Clooney is a movie star. But they like him for treating them like stars." The actor was named a U.N. messenger of peace last year. "There's a lot more responsibility with this one than with an Oscar, which all you really have to do is, you know, drink after the party. Learn more about George in Darfur:Today Show...
Urban Decay's Vegan Cosmetics Say Anything But Granola Girl
by Naturally Savvy on 02.20.09
Photos courtesy of Urban Decay
Whether you want to live a healthier lifestyle or you love and respect all of the planet's furry, scaly and slimy inhabitants, being vegan is a choice more people are making every day. It's not for the faint of heart—you have to give up all animal products, and it's not always easy to find stylish animal-free furniture, shoes or cosmetics.
Thankfully there's Urban Decay, which lets your rebellious, edgy, wild, irreverent self shine with their ever-expanding line of vegan cosmetics....
Un-TreeHugger: The BraDryer
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.20.09
Photos via BraDryer
My goodness. A dryer specifically for bras. Say whaaaa?...
UK 'Allotments' Boom in Recession - Expanding Access to Affordable Land
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.20.09
Image credit: Allotments.org.uk
Allotment Culture Thrives in Recession
One of my favourite things about my native UK is the fact that - whatever town or city you go to - you are likely to see large, rambling plots of land teaming with peas, beans, squash, cabbage, fruit trees and flowers - often with a hodgepodge of ramshackle home-made sheds thrown into the mix too. These are allotments - throw backs to the early days of the industrial revolution - when local authorities granted subsidised land to the newly urbanised masses to ensure food security. While the eighties saw many allotment sites being sold off for urban development, demand has once again risen in recent years. But while the law still states that allotment sites must be provided wherever there is sufficient demand, the number of available plots has been declining. Now, according to the Guardian, the global economic downturn is accelerating the allotment revival: ...
Researchers Say Hippy Reasons for Living Sustainably Beat Out "Hope for Future"
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.20.09
Photo via David Masters
For many of us, we try to live in sustainable ways because we hope to avert a global climate disaster, because we hope to give our kids a future on a clean earth, and because we hope that what we do will make a positive impact on others' habits.
Turns out that hope is counter-productive. Instead, two researchers say more people will want to live sustainably if given reasons more immediate than "hope." ...
More On The Ecological Stimulus Package: Lessons From The Ancients
by Earthwatch Institute on 02.20.09
Ahu Tahai, Easter Island. Image credit:Charles Whitfield
Here's a not-so-Trivial Pursuit Question: what ancient society survived dire ecological circumstances for 500 years by reorganizing their production systems, restructuring their economy, reducing consumption levels, and maximizing limited resources?...
Be Careful Where You Park That Yurt
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.09
image: Jo Tibbles
What Ray Spice and partner Sarah have is a lovely yurt with solar and hydro power, a wood stove and felt insulation, on rented land in North Devon. What they don't have is planning permission, and the local planning office calls it a "residential development" that is too far from the shops and has insufficient parking. ...
African Tropical Forests Store As Much Carbon as Their Amazonian Counterparts: That Rate's Increasing Too
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.20.09
Tropical forests may be absorbing more carbon, but that probably won't make up for losses due to deforestation. Photo: Jonathan Talbot/World Resources Institute via flickr
While the problem of tropical deforestation knows no national or continental boundaries, most of the time when people talk about carbon sequestration in tropical forests then immediately mention the Amazon, or perhaps if they're familiar with biofuels, forests in Indonesia or Malaysia. Well, a new study finds that tropical forests in Africa absorb just as much carbon as tropical forests elsewhere. Perhaps intuitive, but now there's scientific study to back that up:...
Sewage Leak Sends 500,000 Gallons of Grossness into San Francisco Bay
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.20.09
Photo via Blumpy
If you wonder whether or not we need more funding to go towards maintaining and updating infrastructure, go take a dip in the San Francisco Bay today. Or maybe not. Since Tuesday, a ruptured steel pipeline has leaked about 500,000 gallons of waste from a treatment plant near Sausalito into the bay. And it's not the first time. ...
High Speed Trains As Sexy as Fast Cars
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.09
California Dreaming
You know the Times they are a'changing when the pages of an American newspaper have pictures of fancy fast trains instead of fancy fast cars. But that is what is in the New York Times as they review some of the trains and routes that may benefit from the $8 Billion in stimulus money designated for high speed rail. The California rocket shown above is still a tradeshow dream, but the others were sleek European and Asian beauties.
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New York Fashion Week: Pair New Styles with Sustainable Shoes
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 02.20.09
Photo via Terra Plana
The fashion industry as a whole may not have taken sustainability as far as we’d like, but at least shoe company Terra Plana makes it easier to keep your footwear green. CEO Galahad Clark—a seventh-generation shoemaker who took over the company from his father and re-launched it while starting two new lines—keeps eco-friendly practices at the top of his to-do list. Click through to see how....
Going Paperless Isn't Always Green, Supermarkets Swapping Price Tags for LCDs
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.20.09
Price tag photo via Consumerist; Digital tags from Altierre Corp via EETimes
Here is a pretty cool idea that holds a lot of potential for being green and effective, and yet is using already-out-dated technology that strips it of that status.
Altierre Corp. is working on getting supermarkets to replace the price tags on aisle shelves with LCD screens that can update prices at a whim in seconds. They say this is "green" but we have some serious issues with their concept. ...
US Circuit Court Overturns Mountaintop Removal Mining Ban
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.20.09
photo: Jake McClendon via flickr
If you're a regular TreeHugger reader the odds are probably good that you're not much a fan of mountaintop removal coal mining, and neither is about two-thirds of the American public. Which makes it all the more tragic that the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Virginia has just overturned a ruling which banned the practice:...
Crambe: One More Plant to be Turned Into Biofuels
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.20.09
photo: Wikipedia
I hadn't heard of it either, don't worry. But researchers at the University of North Dakota's Energy & Environmental Research Center are hoping to turn this plant into a liquid biofuel that will do in ethanol and biodiesel. To help in that effort, EERC has announced that they will be collaborating with San Antonio, Texas-based firm Tesoro on a $1 million project to turn crambe, as well as other oilseed crops, into fuel:
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Frito-Lay Adds Over 1,200 Fuel Efficient Vehicles to Fleet
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.20.09
Photo via Michale
That bag of Fritos you're enjoying is getting just a little more guilt-free. Emissions-wise anyway. Frito-Lay is adding over 1,200 fuel efficient vehicles to their fleet so store deliveries will have a lower carbon footprint....
Is Your Grocery Bill Determined by the Neighbourhood In Which You Live?
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 02.20.09
When I wrote my post a few weeks ago on Poverty and Vegetarianism I wanted to include something about the cost of groceries and the relation to where you live, but I only had anecdotal evidence. In my experience in Toronto, the tonier neighbourhoods may have expensive luxury items for sale, but their staple groceries are often cheaper than in poorer neighbourhoods. Now the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation has come out with a study that shows just how much Canadians are paying to provide their families with healthy food. The results were pretty shocking....
Great New Google Earth Layer Maps US Carbon Emissions
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.20.09
I think I've confessed it before here on TreeHugger, but I love Google Earth. But not just for the digital travel aspect of it, with all the layers people have made for it, it really can be put to good use for serious purposes. The latest super-cool layer comes out of Purdue University and maps the US's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. The data is from 2002, so its very slightly behind the latest data you can pull from other sources, but the presentation of it is just so great. Did I mention I really like it? Check out what it can do:...
World's Most Efficient Supercomputer Used for World's Largest Simulation to Rebuild Prairies
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.20.09
Photo via Brad Folkens
Prairies are a major ecosystem in North America and yet they're nearly gone. In an effort to find out how to preserve what little is left and rebuild prairies, University of Houston and SiCortex - creator of the most energy efficient supercomputer in the world - are doing important simulations that will help pinpoint what practices need to end, change, and be implemented. And guess what - you could be part of the whole venture. Read on for how. ...
Book Recommendation: "Blacks Living Green"
by Greg Haegele of Sierra Club on 02.20.09
I've picked up a copy of Dr. Sharon T. Freeman's new book entitled "Blacks Living Green," and I must say that it's a great series of inspiring and moving stories about African Americans making a difference for the environment.
The Sierra Club's executive director Carl Pope wrote the foreword for the book and sums up its essence quite nicely:
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Tokyo to Begin Carbon Capture & Storage Project in 2010
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.20.09
image: RITE
The technology of carbon capture and storage is a long way from being commercially viable on any widespread scale. Enough doubts remain about its effectiveness that, despite political rhetoric to the contrary, we really probably shouldn’t hold out hope that carbon capture will save allow us to keep burning coal and still have a planet that is hospitable to life in the way it was been for all of human history. That said, research continues, with a Tokyo being the latest location to have a go at a large-scale trial of CCS:
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Whither Turkey's Wetlands?
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 02.20.09
An African flamingo chick, a rare sight on Turkey's Gediz Delta. Photo via Doğa Derneği
World Wetlands Day passed with nary a mention around here, but Turkish environmentalists took the opportunity earlier this month to assess the state of the country's wetlands, and they were not optimistic. But despite the threats faced, there are some bright spots too.
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Hemp in Japan: OK As Rope, Not As Dope
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 02.20.09
Hemp lamps photo: greenz.jp earthday 2008
In Japan, hemp was always a very important plant for making strong fabric fibers, as well as weaving cloth for use in holy places like shrines and temples. The oldest hemp seeds and fabrics have been found in Fukui Prefecture dating back some 10,000 years.
Hemp was promptly banned by Americans in 1948 during the post-war occupation, but is going through a revival. It can be grown legally and local governments can grant licenses to farmers to grow hemp for fabrics and seeds for consumption. Some 90 percent of Japan's commercial hemp is produced by licensed farmers in Tochigi Prefecture. What on earth prompted the US authorities to ban hemp in a country like Japan?...
Natalie Jeremijenko’s Urban Space Station (Part One)
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.20.09
Photo: Mark MahaneyIf I were in Manhattan, my visit to the Environmental Health Clinic might involve a session afloat Dr. Jeremijenko’s raft/office on the East River. Under the circumstances, she treated me over Skype, checking my toxics and discussing treatment options, including a pet tadpole and a No Park (an urban parking space-turned-garden). The creator of the Green Light and other therapeutic instruments, Jeremijenko is a relentless synthesizer of technology, art, ecology, and delight. Our creativity, she says, is one of our most powerful tools, because “if we think of our agency just as green consumers, then our agency is only as big as our wallets.” Which is just plain boring.
Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download. Full text after the jump. Our music comes from Feist....
Product Review: Stumptown Trail Shoes by END Footwear
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.20.09
For all the products discussed on TreeHugger there are only a few we get to test, to see if any of those suppliers claims hold water. Late in 2008 I was sent a pair of trail running shoes by END Footwear to thrash about. The names stands for Environmentally Neutral Design. This is those shoes story....
Amuse Yourself and Your Cat With Biodegradable Kit-A-Loons
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 02.20.09
Vader House by Andrew Maynard- A Hidden Gem
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.09
all images via Archinect
When we did our overview of Australian and New Zealand houses, Andrew Maynard got a whole page, primarily for unbuilt work. His built works are every bit as provocative....
Survey: What Do You Call A Person Who Fishes?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.20.09
John's post on mercury in Minnesota's fish danced around the issue; John said "fishermen/women"; someone else in the post said fisherfolk. Up here the PC term is fishers, which just doesn't work at all. I know it's the lamest survey ever, but:
...
Old Mattresses Make Recycled Chairs
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.20.09
image from Coolhunting
"Hot or not?" is how one blog started and we have to agree... Apartment Therapy took a vote and 21 thought it was hot whilst 391 did not. Where to start.
Frank Willems, the designer, is Dutch and is committed to recycling and reusing the materials in our environment. He became famous with this chair, called the "Madame Rubens". Why that name? She is a "plump but sophisticated lady after an extreme makeover"......
Climate-Labeled Tomatoes? Nej, Tack Says Swedish Certifying Agency
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 02.20.09
Tomato plant in the hothouse via sylvar @ flickr.
For a year or so, the idea of labeling foods to indicate their climate footprint was all the rage, and the Swedish KRAV organic labeling organization, spurred on by the Swedish state, jumped in with both feet, promising that by this year a number of vegetables with climate labeling would begin to make their way onto the produce shelves. Well, guess what. The Swedes have as much as admitted that climate labeling, is well, just too hard!...
Our Low-Tech, Jury-Rigged Future
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 02.19.09
Ah! Nothing smells like shift more than tips from the New York Times on how to fix your high-tech junk using low-tech solutions. Far from a downer, there's satisfaction to be had here: who hasn't had that gentle internal smile when their hand-slam stopped that crazy 'puterized whirring sound? In today's world, re-pair and fix-it is the name of the game - it's time to reestablish who boss-man is.
The list is a mixture of principle and witchcraft; while both methods work, some make sense and others nay. Examp - using a jar of rice to dry out your chatter after going into the crapper works because rice is a dessicant, but why wrapping your errant debit card in a plastic bag and reswiping works is beyond ken. From using mouthwash to clean dirty DVDs to freezing broken hard drives, every suggestion is a winner. Bravo, dead tree media, you did it again. NYT
Low Tech
Seven Overrated Technologies
High Minds with Low-Tech Solutions
Low-tech, Low Energy
...
California's New Budget Delays Regulation of Deadly Diesel Pollution
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.19.09
Photo via Chemically Green
California finally passed its budget after months of ugly stalemate in the state legislature—but it might've come at the cost of preserving the Golden State's air quality. It turns out that a much overlooked measure in the proposed budget will save construction companies millions of dollars—and drastically weaken air pollution rules. ...
Should Small Farmers Consider Shunning Tractors and Embrace Horses Again?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.19.09
photo: Geert Orye
A recent post over at Chelsea Green by Gene Logsdon caught my eye this morning. After talking about Amish farming methods—which are far from beyond reproach in some areas, but that isn’t really the point of this post or Logsdon’s—he makes some interesting statements about the differences between farming with horses and with tractors. Now Logsdon grew up farming with horses, so this isn’t necessarily some piece of starry-eyed romanticism. He’s speaking from experience. Gene, forgive the longish excerpt:...
EPA Sues Louisiana Coal-Fired Power Plant to Install Required Pollution Controls, Seeks Civil Damages
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.19.09
photo: NRG Energy
Yesterday Brian asked whether the new EPA will be tougher on coal and, seemingly on clockwork, the EPA answered: Announcing that it would be filing a lawsuit against Louisiana Generating, a subsidiary of NRG Energy for violations of the Clean Air Act. While not the greater move to regulate carbon emissions that many are hoping will come out of the EPA on Lisa Jackson’s watch, but nevertheless it’s a step in the right direction. Here are the details of the suit:...
Ottawa Obamarama Update: Techno-fixes for Carbon?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
EST 1545: Transcript of key portions of the response to the Radio Canada question regarding energy policy. Are they both hanging their hats on techno-fixes and carbon capture? We apologise for the SCREAMING.
Prime Minister Harper:
TODAY WE’RE ESTABLISHING A VERY IMPORTANT DIALOGUE ON STRATEGIES TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY. THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ADMINISTRATION ARE MAKING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN THIS REGARD AND WE ARE DOING THE SAME.
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Read Online or In Print: What’s the Greener Way to Get Your News?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.19.09
I have to confess that, despite my occupation as blogger, tethered to my laptop and the internet most days of the week, I really prefer to read anything that goes over one or two pages in length in print. However, at the same time I certainly recognize that from a green perspective, for something as essentially disposable as the daily newspaper, that might not be the best way to use natural resources.
So, I went looking to see how much worse printing a newspaper is than reading that news online and came across a study done by the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications in Stockholm on that very subject. Its long title is, Screening environmental life cycle assessment of print, web based and tablet e-paper newspaper, and the results are somewhat surprising:...
New York Fashion Week: Coca-Cola Recycling Initiative Helps Green Get Stylish
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 02.19.09
Photo of Fashion Week tents at Bryant Park via About.com
Fashion Week may have scaled back this year, but with more than 100,000 designers, models, editors, celebrities, and fashionistas descending on the tents, it’ll still leave a massive carbon footprint. What to do?...
Urban-Edge Communities Can Retain Agricultural Benefits
by Jeff Nield, Vancouver, British Columbia on 02.19.09
Credit: Michael Marrapese via FarmFolk/CityFolk
We've been reporting on the potential of urban agriculture regularly over the past few years. And just yesterday Mathew reported about how the UN is promoting organic agriculture as a way to ensure adequate and sustainable food for all the world. As developers push for more land for industrial and residential developments it's usually farmland that gets paved over. Two new report suggest practical ways to ensure that rapidly urbanizing communities retain farmland to produce food for the local population. ...
Climate Change is a Top Threat to National Security, Says New Head of US Intelligence
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.19.09
Photo via PBS
As Obama gets ready to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, the new head of US intelligence warns that another severe threat to national security is on the rise. And it's a threat that could potentially be more dangerous even than terrorism—one that could cause mass migrations, incite civil wars, and endanger the lives of hundreds of millions around the world. And the new enemy in the US military's cross hairs?
Climate change....
Minnesota's Fish, Like Its Women & Children: 'All Above Average' - Mercury Rising
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.19.09
Beijing's New Year's Fireworks Tripled Pollution Levels Overnight
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 02.19.09
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
On the final day of New Year's celebrations, errant fireworks set Rem Koolhaas' TVCC building aflame, killing one firefighter and turning the building into an ominous sign for a difficult year ahead and a symbol for the end of an early century starchitecture boom. But the fireworks that night also left the city under the thickest veil of pollution it has seen since May....
GreenWheel Wants to Make Going Electric Easy for Bikes
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.19.09
Photo via Discovery News, credit MIT Media Lab
How great would it be if you could just swap out the wheels on your pedal-powered bike and - Voila! - it's an electric bike? Well, you might not have to wait too long for that to be a reality....
Bamboo Dormitory by Architecture BRIO Treads Lightly
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
TreeHugger has shown many lightweight structures and promoted the idea that buildings should rest lightly on the ground. Perhaps the best demonstration we have seen is Architecture Brio's staff dormitory for NGO Magic Bus being constructed near Karjat, India. ...
Green Phones Made to Wait While Wallets Catch Up
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.19.09
Photo via jurvetson
We've been seeing a rash of greener phones coming onto the market, but according to industry analysts, it's going to be another 2 to 5 years before people really start to consider them as an option. The reason - wallets aren't padded enough for people to care more about the environment than low cost. But a particular cell phone maker is poised to be on the crest of the wave when consumers finally start to catch on. ...
How to Go Green: Like Celebrities
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.19.09
Image credit: Getty Images/Nicholas Monu
Green celebrities offer something of a mixed bag. While there's no denying their influence on popular culture and our collective conscious -- an influence that can (and has) definitely been used for good -- their jetset lifestyles, big houses, and extravagant habits can rack up a pretty hefty carbon footprint.
While it's easy to cast the first stone, there's no denying the positive change green celebs can affect on the world. They have the resources and connections to start progressive, world-changing organizations to bring publicity to causes that might otherwise go unnoticed, and a permanent soapbox to make sure that millions of people know about them. Plus, we just love to gawk at them. That's why we put together the How to Go Green: Like Celebrities guide over on Planet Green. Click on over to see which ones are making a big green difference, and how you can emulate their good deeds in your own life.
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New York Fashion Week: Vegetable Dyes and Blessed Silk at Bodkin
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 02.19.09
Photo via Coutorture
The laid-back styles at Bodkin’s fall 2009 preview—shirt dresses, flirty skirts, jumpsuits, and tunics—were just the kind of relaxed, easy-to-wear pieces we’d like to see more of—especially from eco-conscious designers like the company's Eviana Hartman. Using everything from vegetable-based dyes to silk blessed by the Dalai Lama helped Bodkin secure the first Ecco Domani Sustainable Design award: a $25,000 grant that went toward the company’s Fashion Week show. Behind the scenes, Aveda finished the looks with all-natural hair styling and makeup products. Click through for some of our fall must-haves....
Utility-Scale Floating Offshore Wind Farm Coming to Portugal
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.19.09
image: Principle Power
Back in October we wrote about how floating wind turbines will power Oregon’s first offshore windfarm. Now, Principle Power, the company behind those floating wind turbines has announced that it has signed a Memoradum of Agreement with Energias de Portugal to develop another floating offshore wind farm:...
Adhocism in Action: The Staypuff Crib
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
Stage your own remake of The Battleship Potemkin with the Staypuff Crib from São Paulo's 20.87 Design Studio. Its base is "a combination of pneumatic wheels and metal and the top is of reforested Pinus wood." Great for flexible living spaces and adhocism in action. Via Mocoloco; avoid the worst designer website of the month, particularly if epileptic. ...
Oasys Water Gets Major Funding for New Desalination Technology
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.19.09
Photo via Darwin Bell
The next big crisis isn't going to be how to get renewable energy across the power lines, or how to turn our full landfills into fuel sources. It's going to be how to get a sip of water. An impending water crisis is believed to be inevitable - the World Health Organization already notes that 2.4 billion people now live in highly water-stressed areas, and California and Australia's major droughts are front-page news. Oasys Water expects to be in the trenches with their desalination technology as water comes in shorter supply. The start-up just received $10 million in funding, proving that the technology is definitely of interest. ...
Bikes get Breakfast on Bridges
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
Image credit VJ PDX
Some cities ignore cyclists; others pay lip service to them; once again, Portland, Oregon demonstrates how a city can go out of its way to promote cycling as a viable alternative to the car. Tom Vanderbilt tells us that they feed you coffee and doughnuts. He proposes cocktails and peanuts for the ride home. ...
Why Bill McKibben is Willing to Get Arrested to Stop the Burning of Coal
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.19.09
ZTE Wants In on Solar-Powered Phone Trend
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.19.09
Photo via MobileWhack
Samsung isn't the only company launching a solar-powered cell phone this month. ZTE wants in on that side of the mobile phone market too. They've released the Coral-200-Solar, a fairly basic phone designed to be used in locations where electricity and charging outlets are not readily available (like, say, Uganda). Read on for more about this new phone....
6 Crazy Low Carbon Cooking Techniques (Video)
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.19.09
Federal Spending Accountability: Online Now At Recovery.gov
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.19.09
Got the memo yet? Office of Management & Budget is directing Federal agencies to provide spending and performance data to the “Recovery.gov” website. Signed orders are to:"...deliver a website that allows citizens to hold the government accountable for every dollar spent, the law and guidance require Federal agencies to implement mechanisms to accurately track, monitor, and report on taxpayer funds." On "Recovery.gov" you can already......
Trestle Table by Nicola Enrico Stäubli
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
Except it isn't really a trestle table, but serves the same function: to provide an easy way to turn a slab into a table. Nicola Enrico Stäubli (known to TreeHugger readers for his terrific Foldschool) comes up with an idea that competes with Phillippe Nigro's recently shown Universal Base in the challenge to design a cheap, flexible and strong trestle replacement.
...
Economic Recovery Act Is Good News For Clean Water And Rivers
by Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers on 02.19.09
Bear Run dam removal in Pennsylvania. Image credit:Terra Dawn Photography.
The US economic recovery package is great news for clean water and healthy rivers, and communities across the country will reap the benefits. The plan contains over $6 billion -- an unprecedented amount of money for clean water, drinking water, water efficiency, green infrastructure and river restoration. The funds will transform the way our country manages water – our country’s most vital resource – while creating good jobs, improving public health and safety, and creating more attractive, livable communities.
The final version of the recovery plan includes:
- $4 billion for clean water under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund programs
- $2 billion for drinking water under the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, with $1.2 billion set aside from both the clean water and drinking water programs for green infrastructure and water and energy efficiency projects
- $830 million for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, a portion of which will be used for river restoration projects
Green by Design Launches, Inhabitots Grab Squishy Bowls, Worldchanging Treats Anxiety, and More
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.19.09
Green by Design: Are Obama and Google Stimulating the Smart Energy Sector? by Sam Leppanen
"Great news for smart energy technology! Yesterday President Obama allocated $11 billion of the economic stimulus package to build a high-tech “smart grid” system for monitoring and managing the nation’s energy consumption. Among the items proposed in the energy plan are 40 million installed smart meters."...
7 Examples of Amazing Art Created from Trash (Slideshow)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.19.09
Photo via Tom Dininger
Trash has a whole lot more uses than filling up holes on the outskirts of cities. It can be reclaimed and transformed into some pretty spectacular pieces of artwork.
Click through to see a slideshow celebrating artists who don't let a scrap of junk pass by without consideration, and the incredible sculptures and collages created from what they salvage.
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Are Green Roofs the New Mirrored Glass?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
Monterey Bay Shores
When covering Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter's glass clad treehouse I noted that "It is an old architectural trick used since the invention of mirrored glass: covering buildings with the reflective material and declaring that they blend in with the surroundings. Most architects use it to convince wary citizens that it is OK if their building is tall because it will reflect the sky and nature. The rendering always makes the building disappear, and the reality is always a big clunky mirrored box."
Looking at Brian's recent post on the "greenest eco-resort", the Monterey Bay Shores, I wonder: are green roofs being misused as the new mirrored glass, designed to deceive?...
Quantifying Energy Efficiency's Potential In Developed And Developing Countries
by Rocky Mountain Institute on 02.19.09
Image credit:iStock.
Policy makers and business owners alike have promoted efficiency investments as a way to generate high returns while saving energy.
Anecdotal evidence presents a convincing case. Between 1991 and 2006 DuPont saved $3 billion by reducing its emissions 80 percent. The company cites efficiency gains in manufacturing, building, lighting, and air compression, as the source of their revenue. ...
Survey: Should The US Stop Buying Canadian Oil?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.19.09
It has been called the most destructive project on earth; clergymen have called it "immoral." But then the Canadian economy needs the bucks, and the USA needs a secure source of supply from a friendly neighbour. It's on the table for discussion today between President Obama and Prime Minister Harper. What to do?
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Rajboori, beautiful eco silk textiles from India
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 02.19.09
If you like it colourful and silky, eco-friendly and hand-crafted, Rajboori has just the things for you. These luxurious eco silk textiles brighten up any home with a bit of Indian colours and modern designs.
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Ascension Tee-Shirts are Cool and Charitable
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.19.09
image from ascension
Their website asks the question: " So we're an eco-friendly clothing brand, surely that's a given these days?" And the answer is that sadly it is not always the case, so let's celebrate the winners. These tee-shirts have their roots in Manchester and their heart in India.
The tee-shirts are ecological and made of Soil Association approved organic cotton. They are produced in wind and solar powered factories in India, which are certified. And since Ascension feels that it is important to give something back, 10% of their gross profit is contributed to the Life Association charity which feeds, clothes and houses orphaned children in India.
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25% Reduction in Global Food Production by 2050: Organic Agriculture Part of the Solution, UN Says
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.18.09
photo: International Rice Research Institute via flickr
Amid concerns about weird weather, sea level rise and changing precipitation patterns, perhaps just as serious a concern (if not more so in some ways) is changes in global food production. With the world population continuing to grow at unsustainable rates, access to food and water is likely to be a serious problem in some places and one made worse by climate change. The UN Environment Programme has issued a new report detailing how much worse it could get:...
Wheego Whip: What's Wrong With This Picture?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
The car blogs and Engadget are gaga over the Wheego Whip, from Ruff & Tuff, supplier of "green power" electric vehicles that look like golf carts. But as Matt noted a few months ago, it looks a bit derivative.
Others might say that it is beyond derivative:...
Design 21 Announces Winner for FSC Campaign
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 02.18.09
Image: competition winner, by Damian O’Hara & Christophe Roger, via Design 21Online “social design network” Design 21 has announced the winners of their latest competition, “Wood, Paper, Checkmark”: a consumer action & education campaign for the use of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC-US) wood, in collaboration with the FSC and the Nature Conservancy. Faced with the facts of increasing deforestation, participants were asked to create an image that would be used for online and print ads and a clever URL that would be used in the future campaign. After reviewing 127 original entries from 34 countries, the judges chose their $5,000 winner (picture above) as well as their top picks, after the fold:...
Update: Toxic Drywall Could Be All Over The Place
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
Herald Tribune/ Thomas Bender
When we wrote about Toxic Drywall Rotting Houses, Sickening Occupants in Florida a few weeks ago I thought it would become a big story: Houses being built with drywall that makes metal corrode and people sick, like a scene out of the Andromeda Strain. But the builders all denied there was a problem and did not plan on doing anything about it.
Now it appears that the biggest builder, Lennar, is quietly removing the drywall from 23 houses. According to Aaron Kessler in Sarasota's Herald Tribune, they admit that it emits gases that have blackened metal components such as coils and wiring. Other companies are not being so forthcoming....
Will the New EPA be Tougher on Coal?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.18.09
Photo via Eco Scraps
Following the EPA's stance on coal-fired power plants during the final months of the Bush Administration was enough to make you dizzy: first, it stated in November that emissions from plants should indeed be regulated. Their emissions would have to be taken into account in the approval process for new coal plants, and some considered it coal's darkest hour. But it was not to be. A month later, they ruled that coal plant emissions were no business of the EPA's after all—a ruling that could have sped up approval for even more plants.
Now, Obama's EPA has announced that it's going to reconsider that ruling—which could mean his Administration is ready to take a tougher stance on coal.
...
Dr. James Hansen Calls On Americans To Join Him At The Largest Protest On Global Warming In U.S. History
by Daniel Kessler, Greenpeace on 02.18.09
New York Fashion Week: Summer Rayne Oakes' Eco-Fashion Forecast (Video)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 02.18.09
Kyoto Anniversary: Protest Marks Four Years of Implementation
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 02.18.09
Winds of Change Blowing Through Alaska
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.18.09
Image: wind turbines in village in Antarctica.
What a differerence a few months can make. The New York Times reports today that in the same way that deserts are considered great areas for renewable energy - wide open, mostly abandoned areas - the frozen, barren landscapes of Alaska are getting a second look as possible homes for wind farms. This is a marked contrast for a state that is known to be oil-loving. But how can renewable energy be competitive in a state that actually gives its residents checks from all of the oil revenues?...
Green Container Housing Demo in Thailand
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
Designers Site-Specific and Buatalah Studio were asked to design an exhibition around the theme of ‘Green Home Effects’ for a Bangkok home show. According to Site-Specific's website, "to build an earth-friendly house is not as simple as placing some solar panels on your roof."
...
Sexy Miners Never Die
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 02.18.09
How Obama's Plan to Double Alternative Energy Will Work
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.18.09
Photo via About My Planet
President Obama signed that infamous stimulus bill yesterday in Denver—and he marked the occasion by drawing attention to the measures that will promote clean and alternative energy. Obama has pledged to double alternative energy production before, but when he repeated his intentions in a speech at the signing, the words evolved from hopeful rhetoric to enacted law. If all goes according to plan, twice the amount of alternative energy will be produced in the United States by 2012. So what's the plan? Here's how Obama plans to retrofit America with alternative energy.
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Top 5 Environmental Artists Shaking Up the Art World
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 02.18.09
Clemson clay nest by Nils-Udo (2005) via designboomAs the primal creator, Nature could be considered the world's most powerful and influential artist. And standing at the junction of art and nature are environmental artists, who are often balanced on an intermediary edge, searching and synthesizing creative, unimagined new ways to redefine our relationship with nature. Working with a wide range of materials--ranging from the raw, the found, to the discarded, environmental art can be evocative, provocative or sublime, and oftentimes communicates an urgent message. From the scores of talented environmental artists out there, we’ve rounded up some greats and a couple of emerging ones too--read on, and feel free to add to the list!...
Canon Makes Calculators From Recycled Copiers
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.18.09
Photos via Pocket Lint
Now this is the kind of business model we love and want to see a whole lot more of - companies taking back their junked products and using the materials to make their new products. Canon is doing just that, turning their old recycled copiers into new calculators. ...
Hip New Solar Powered Watch Goes 12 Months on a Charge
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.18.09
Photo via Freestyle
If you have a hankering for surfer-style gear, Freestyle has a new accessory for you. The Boiler is their first solar-powered watch, putting fashion and green function in your hand...er, on your wrist. ...
Recycling Oil Rigs into Resorts
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
What do you do with an old oil rig sitting in a lovely spot like the Gulf of Mexico? How about turning it into a hotel? Morris Architects show us how, in their winning entry in the Radical Innovation in Hospitality Awards....
Climate Change to Take Bite Out of Big Apple: Sea Level Rise, Temperature Increases, Hundred Year Storms Every 15 Years
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.18.09
photo: Miles Sabin
Hey fellow New York City residents! Think climate change is something that will cause bad things to happen somewhere else and not hit our fair city? You’re wrong. That’s the conclusion made by a climate change panel established by Mayor Bloomberg. Though the panel acknowledges that it is difficult to make exact predictions for a specific place, this is what the Big Apple is in for in the coming decades:...
Slicer Sled: Who Needs Snow?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
Here is an idea whose time may be coming sooner than we would like: the Slicer Sled. Instead of having to find a snow-covered hill, you just attach blocks of ice, conveniently frozen at home, and clip them into your sled. ...
Take Part in Global Green's Pre-Oscar Bash
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.18.09
Oscar photo via burningkarma
Global Green is kicking off the Oscar celebrations with a star-studded pre-Oscar bash. Featuring music from Sheryl Crow and Gavin Rossdale, and celebrity appearances from Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Rosario Dawson and many more, it's sure to be a green celebration to remember. ...
Actions: What You Can Do With the City
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
Parkour is a style of movement through the city invented by the Frenchmen David Belle and Sébastien Foucan in the late 1980s and now practiced worldwide. Image: Rachel Granofsky
TreeHugger has a series called "Taking back the City" where we look at interventions citizens take to make the city's open spaces a vibrant home, school and playground instead of just a place to park or move cars. Now the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal has put together an entire show on the theme. ...
Obama Admits Canadian Tar Sands’ Carbon Footprint a Problem (Phew...)
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.18.09
photo: Steve Loo via flickr
It’s no secret, and safe to say, that TreeHugger isn’t supportive of extraction oil from tar sands in Canada (or from oil shale in the Rockies for the matter). The carbon emissions compared to other fossil fuels sources are through the roof, the water required to produce them is beyond excessive, and the waste afterwards is a nightmare. We've called the Alberta tar sands the most environmentally destructive project on Earth, and a UN official said that the mines looked like something out of Tolkein’s Mordor. Which is why President Obama’s statements about them, prior to his upcoming trip to Canada, are encouraging (at least somewhat):...
New York Fashion Week: 5 Green Changes We’d Like To See
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 02.18.09
Photo via mandiberg @flickr
With New York’s Spring Fashion Week hitting its stride this week, we couldn’t help but think of a few things we wish we’d see—but probably won’t—on the runways. While we know the designers have been putting in plenty of hours on their collections and we respect the talent and creativity that makes these shows happen, we have to wonder: Couldn’t Fashion Week be greener? From eco-friendly fabrics to your next must-have item, read on for our Fashion Week wishes. ...
A Guide to Sustainable Shellfish & Seafood (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 02.18.09
A Visual Guide to Sustainable Seafood Options
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First Pix from Edouard François' Eden Bio
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
As we noted in our earlier review of green walls, there are two kinds: Green façade, where a trellis structure is attached to the ground and plants grow up from there, and living walls, the more complicated systems where the wall becomes the growing medium. Edouard François is the master of the green façade, and we have been waiting to see his Eden Bio project move from rendering to reality. Perhaps we should have waited a little bit longer. ...
Dramatic Projections Bring Climate Change Impacts Home
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.18.09
Stunning Art Project Projects Impacts of Climate Change
TreeHugger was founded on the idea that art and design can help solve the ecological crisis we are facing - most recently evidenced by our round up of environmental artists shaking up the art world. But there are plenty of other great green art projects out there - from the Cape Farewell project in the Arctic to the Cool Globes public art initiative. The latest project to catch our fancy has been taking place in Bristol, England (my home town), and involves giant projections that aim to bring home the consequences of our current fossil fuel addiction. Click below the fold for more great pictures....
World’s First Wind & Solar Powered Antarctic Research Station Officially Opened
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.18.09
In Antarctica on Sunday the world’s first “zero emission research station” was officially opened: The Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. Commissioned in 2004 by the Belgian government, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (sounds like a hotel, doesn’t it?) will allow 20 scientists to carry out research on climate change, and, apart from getting down there, not contribute to it while doing that research:...
Building Storeys: Making Historic Buildings Hip
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
Timothy Neesam, The Shadow Collective
Zaha and Rem don't do building restoration; it is green and creates a lot of jobs, but it's not cool and doesn't get you on the cover of the right magazines. Even at a conference like Greenbuild the subject doesn't draw flies. We can rail on that the greenest brick is the one that's already in the wall but let's face it, Howard Roark didn't do renos.
That is why the Building Storeys exhibition is such a breakthrough. ...
Perth Australia Weighing A "Flush Tax?" - Obama Taxing Cow Farts? No. & No.
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.18.09
On Strike Over Battered Fisheries in Bahrain
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 02.18.09
Many boats are sitting idle in Bahrain's harbors due to a fishermen's strike. Photo by Jayson De Leon via Flickr.
Grouper, mackerel, and other local fish are off the menu indefinitely in many Bahrani households, as almost 1,700 of the Gulf state's fishermen went on strike this week in protest of coastal construction. The tiny island country has big plans to diversify its oil-dependent economy to attract more industry and tourism, but the fishermen say such development has already taken away 80 percent of their income.
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Solar in the UK - Your Support Needed
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.18.09
UK Campaign Calls for Robust Support for PV Industry
Good green things have been happening in the UK recently, from the government announcing free eco-makeovers for 7 million UK homes through to the arrival of smart fridges. One of the most exciting pieces of news of recent months was the announcement that the UK government is set to introduce a feed-in tariff in 2010, obligating energy companies to buy green power from small scale producers at above market rates. Depending on how that rate is set, this could provide a real, lasting incentive to homeowners to invest in solar, wind and other microgeneration technologies. A new UK campaign is calling on your help to ensure it's set at a high enough level to kick-start this fledgling industry....
Offshore Drilling: Worth the Oil, or False Hope?
by Jill Connors on 02.18.09
Credit: Pete Turner/Getty Images
With fuel prices and consumption dominating the news—not to mention our country’s future energy policy—we offer a quick primer on the complex subject of offshore drilling. How much oil do we currently produce from offshore drilling, and how much might we potentially recover? What’s the status of the moratorium banning offshore drilling in various areas? What are the environmental risks? And perhaps most importantly, what is the psychological impact of thinking that offshore oil holds promise as a source of abundant, less-expensive oil when nothing could be farther from the truth?...
Helmet Head Takes on New Meaning, or Another Way to Warm Up Winter Bike Commutes
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 02.18.09
Can Harnessing Renewable Energy Sources Adversely Affect Ecosystems?
by Pablo Paster, San Francisco on 02.18.09
Image Source: Matter Network
Dear Pablo: As we get more and more energy from the wind and tides, won’t we start interfering with those fundamental forces? Or are our efforts so puny that they won’t matter? Am I nuts to think that our efforts might affect the earth’s rotation or the Gulf Stream, or have other significant, unanticipated consequences?...
A Red Spot in Buenos Aires' Grey Roofs: Container Room by FPS
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 02.18.09
Photos: FPS Architecture.
In order to enlarge a small house owned by a textile designer with a minimum use of energy and materials waste, architects Francisco Fenili, Jorge Perez Gonzlaez and Julio David Sepiurka decided to place a metal container in the roof. Apart from the speed of the resolution and minimum impact of the work, they gave life to the awful landscape of grey concrete in the city.
More pics and info in the extended....
LendAround Wants You To Share And Share Alike
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.18.09
Photo: LendAround
“It’s like Netflix meets Facebook,” says Tim Jackson, founder of LendAround.com. “You list some DVDs you own, invite some friends you like, and start browsing their collections. The web site helps arrange loans, and keeps track of where everyone’s DVDs are. And nobody pays anyone anything.”...
Crave Chemical-Free Clothing? Consider Cottonique
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.18.09
Photo: Cottonique
When doing some fact checking for the post regarding Rohner’s lycra-free yet stretchy upholstery fabric we happened upon Cottonique. Here’s another company that also eschews the use of either synthetic elastomeric, (or even natural latex) fibres or trims.
To keep their line of cotton apparel chemical free Cottonique even avoid walk away from the use of bleaching, dyeing, optical whitening, fabric softners, shrinkage control resins and such forth....
Survey: What's Gonna Get You?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.18.09
Oy, it is getting depressing out there, reading yesterday's TreeHugger makes you want to put your head in the oven, if you still had an oven or they hadn't cut off the gas. What do you think is gonna get you? image credit: Improveverywhere
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New Porous Material Developed For More Efficient Hydrogen Purification
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.18.09
Transmission electronic microscopic images of the new material... image: Nature Materials
You don’t hear as many people touting a hydrogen economy as climate change silver bullet as you once did. Nevertheless work continues of new ways to utilize hydrogen in one way or the other to help power the future. Moving us one step more down that road, chemists at Northwestern University say they have developed a new material which will improve the efficiency of hydrogen production:...
Retro Design Looks Good on Sustainable Plywood
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.18.09
Here's a nice combo: a re-issue of the work of a not-well-known-enough designer with sustainable plywood as the medium. Alexander Girard designed for Herman Miller and was a friend of Charles Eames. A glance at his designs makes one realise that he has been prominent forever, but not recognisable by name.
Columbia Forest Products has teamed up with his estate to bring out a collection of six classic prints on the company's formaldehyde-free hardwood plywood panels. The special technology used in the creation of the panels eliminates toxins often released by composite wood made with resins. ...
Human vs. Animal Mating Rituals: We're Not So Different After All
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 02.17.09
Photo via: Dave Hamster
Our fellow animal lovers at the BBC Natural History Unit recently sent us some great information on the similarities of animal mating rituals with that of us humans. What is truly important to remember as you read through these amazing descriptions, is that as much as we'd like to think that we are higher life forms, we are still very much connected to our underdeveloped brethren by our base needs to survive, procreate, eat, drink, and sleep. Enjoy these amazing creatures in their very human-like attempts to... get it on!...
Haramaki: I Need A Belly-Warmer
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 02.17.09
Photo: Craftzine.com
I just love these belly-warmers called haramaki. They were popular a long time ago and are back in fashion with trendy designs and fun shopping websites. Grandmother was right: keep your belly warm. If you have low-cut jeans you are probably exposing your stomach and lower back; not a great idea in winter. ...
Green Tooth Offers 10% Off All Products
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.17.09
Today's TreeHugger Deal comes to you from Green Tooth, a company that carries a full line of eco-friendly and biodegradable products that are intended to help businesses and consumers integrate everyday life and business with sustainable practices. Specific products that Green Tooth offers include eco-friendly and biodegradable food containers, utensils, dinnerware, and accessories. The company’s website states “we want to make these products easily accessible while making them affordable,” which we appreciate. Each is high quality and made from renewable resources. We also like that Green Tooth services a number of industries, including restaurants, caterers, food processors, churches, schools, businesses, and even individuals too. ...
Update: Your Lands, Your Wildlife, Your Story Winners
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.17.09
Image via: Your Lands, Your Wildlife
A few good pick-me-up stories about the environment and all its majesty are now up for your enjoyment on the Defenders of Wildlife "Your Lands, Your Wildlife, Your Story" site. Last summer, the Defenders asked for submissions of what wildlife means to you. The winner, Ian Havelick, a 20 year-old sophomore from the University of Utah blew the judges away with his tale of bonding with family while in the wilds of Idaho.
More reminders on the wildlife and wildlands we love after the jump....
Will China and the US Go Big on Climate Cooperation?
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 02.17.09
Credit: How Hwee Young / EPA
At the center of efforts to bring down greenhouse gases -- efforts that must involve the world's two highest-emitting countries -- aren't just issues of politics and security, but the curious conflicting desires of both of those countries. The US has said it cannot lower emissions unless China does so too (while also providing Americans with affordable products). For its part, China wants lower emissions (and more) from the US first (while it increasingly adopts American lifestyles). As Secretary of State Clinton heads to China with the beginning of a climate agenda in tow, many are wondering how the world's biggest environmental stalemate can become its biggest opportunity....
Why Driving Slower Saves Lives as Well As Fuel
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
When Population Growth And Resource Availability Collide
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 02.17.09
World Population Growth to 2050 Image credit:SustainableScale.org
As land and water become scarce, competition for these vital resources intensifies within societies, particularly between the wealthy and those who are poor and dispossessed. The shrinkage of life-supporting resources per person that comes with population growth is threatening to drop the living standards of millions of people below the survival level, leading to potentially unmanageable social tensions....
Bye, Bye, Dubious Dubai
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
$3.6 Billion in Economic Stimulus To Go To Greening the US Military
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.17.09
photo: US DoD
Another part of the $787 billion stimulus package is going towards green energy projects: About $20 billion in fact, including $3.6 billion for energy efficiency improvements and facility upgrades at the Department of Defense. Nathan Hodge over at Wired points out some of the US military’s genuine efforts to green, such as a planned 500MW solar thermal power plant at Fort Irwin, then poses the question of whether “defense contractors who build tanks and bombs will start rebranding themselves as green saviors?” and admits that it might be a cynical question to ask. It is, and here’s why:
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John Bielenberg Gives Designers 48 Hours to Change the World (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.17.09
John Bielenberg has a mission: Change The World. And there is one method that keeps that lofty goal from being mission impossible. Bielenberg formed Project M - a design program that challenges participants to quickly and with little or no resources effectively tackle one small goal and implement change through design. It's a test of pure energy and creativity, and it's incredibly successful. Check out videos of the actions Project M has inspired. ...
Car Czar's Crown Swiped By Presidential Task Force
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.17.09
Image via Capital Research
Looks like the Car Czar that Obama was planning to appoint to oversee the ailing auto industry is out—and a new Presidential Task Force led by the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is in. What? There's going to be no Russian emperor-styled authority figure that will singlehandedly fix all of Detroit's many, many woes?
What is Obama thinking? Perhaps that appointing an automobile monarch would serve as more symbol than substance—and that he may have genuine hopes for salvaging the future of the beleaguered auto industry.
...
7 Neglected Diseases You've Never Heard Of
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.17.09
Image of hookworm via: Scienceblogs.com
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Well, maybe you have, but now that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is championing their cause, to the tune of a $34 million grant to fight these diseases, you just might be hearing a lot more about them. According to a recent article in Nature, many of the diseases can be prevented with better sanitation and a combination of shots. So, what are these neglected, but treatable, diseases affecting 1.4 billion people around the world?...
The Brumby Pump Needs No Moving Parts to Gather Well Water (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.17.09
The Health Ranger - AKA Mike Adams from Natural News - demos the Brumby Pump, a pump system that has no moving parts. It utilizes compressed air to suck water from wells, making it an ideal piece of equipment for farmers and villagers in rural areas. Click through to watch a video of the Brumby Pump being installed in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, and check out the local dog's reaction to the water hose....
Rich Countries Should Slash Emissions, Poor Focus on Clean Water: UNEP
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.17.09
Access to clean water and effective sanitation should be focus of poor nation’s efforts, according to this new report. Kibera slums in Nairobi, Kenya photo: Karl Mueller via flickr
In a statement issued yesterday, the United Nations Environment Programme called for a Global Green New Deal. And in making this plan happen, the rich countries must take the lead:...
Gwyneth and Chris Outed For Their Heat-Leaking Home
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 02.17.09
At TreeHugger we will always applaud the efforts of celebrities to be greener, while realizing that they go on lots more plane trips, buy lots more shoes, and live in lots warmer houses than the rest of us.
So it isn't us outing Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin for having an energy-leaking home. It's the UK's Sunday Times, which somehow (in the dead of night, with super-sneaky hidden thermal cameras?) took thermal photos of 10 "celebrity" homes. They didn't just pick on A listers - London Mayor Boris Johnson and climate change spokesman Simon Hughes also got zapped. And the results were pretty leaky....
Obama Plans Massive New High Speed Railroad
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.17.09
Image via Raise the Hammer
More good news from that economic stimulus bill that's poised to pump some serious money into green projects across the country: a big chunk of the funding will be used to create a huge new railroad system. Now I know what you're thinking—either I'm reporting on the wrong major recession, or now Obama is just copying the New Deal line by line. Not so. This is the biggest investment in rail in US history—and it could seriously change the way Americans travel. Here's how....
Global Warming Hits London in 1844, Panic Ensues
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
Who knows, someday this is what we will all be doing, seeing fake icebergs in theatres.
Back in 1844 you could go to a Glaciarium in London and rent a sled. It was drama too; you could see "the most extraordinary thaw ever witnessed in this Country or any other." ...
How Would You Spend $10 Billion of the Economic Stimulus on Environmental Restoration Projects?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.17.09
photo: Jack Liddon via flickr
Now that $60 billion for green projects has been included in the economic stimulus bill, and $10 billion or so allocated for environmental restoration, where would that money be best spent? The Nature Conservancy has some suggestions:...
China Will Offer Rebates for Green Vehicles
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.17.09
Kulla, a 2-seater pure electric vehicle, at last year's Beijing auto show
China state radio announced that a rebate program will be started up, offering an incentive for people looking to buy green vehicles. And the rebates are for generous amounts. ...
Indonesia to Allow More Palm Oil From Peat Lands: Watch Greenhouse Gas Emissions Go Through the Roof
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.17.09
Oil palm plantations store less than 20% the carbon of intact forest. Photo: Achmad Rabin Taim
The Feb 13 issue of the Jakarta Post is reporting that Indonesia’s Agriculture Ministry will issue a decree allowing businesses to expand palm oil plantations on peatland. Why should you care? Because when you chop down the trees in these rainforests growing on peaty soils massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions stored in the peat get released. And despite Agricultural Ministry statements to the contrary, the trees in palm oil plantations won’t absorb even a fraction of the emissions the old forest did:...
Pulp: This Is Hardcore Furniture (Slideshow)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
From Shigeru Ban and Frank Gehry in the sixties and seventies 'til now, architects and designers have played with paper and cardboard as a cheap, easy to work with material. It's not the most durable thing going, but right now nobody wants it for recycling so why not make furniture for the common people?
For your inspiration we provide a slideshow of some of the best paper and cardboard designs from TreeHugger.
...
Fujitsu Siemens Sets Sights on Zero-Watt Desktop PC
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.17.09
Photo via Fujitsu's Esprimo Green PC line
Fujitsu Siemens has been on the zero-watt hunt since it came out with its monitor that consumes no energy while in standby mode. They claim to have achieved the same feat for a desktop PC and plans to unveil one at the upcoming CeBit tradeshow in a few weeks. ...
World of Warcraft an Unlikely Tool for Environmentalism (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.17.09
Stanford professor Byron Reeves thinks that World of Warcraft and similar team-oriented virtual games are the perfect platform for harnessing the competitive spirit of gamers for the greener good. Putting aside the notion of preventing climate change or saving species from a hot planet, the rise in energy efficiency would come from the human drive to win - and that, he says, is what will get people on board. Read on for a video demo of how energy efficiency can be incorporated into virtual gaming....
Cow Belch Chocolate? Cadbury's Works to Reduce Bovine Emissions
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.17.09
Chocolate Maker to Cut Cow's Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Whether it's using garlic to fight cow's methane emissions, or an increase in chopped hay/straw feed reducing greenhouse gases, cow belches are an urgent problem that needs addressing. In fact, the problem is so severe that the chocolate maker Cadbury's estimates methane emissions from cows are responsible for a whopping 60% of their Dairy Milk chocolate bars' greenhouse gas footprint. Now, according to the Guardian, they are working with farmers to tackle their dairy-related carbon/methane footprint:...
Peak Oil: So, Now It Is Official (Or Not?)
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 02.17.09
Photo: Emory Kristof, National Geographic
IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka is the man to watch. Now he has told Reuters that the sharp decline in the oil market, with prices collapsing by more than 70 percent is also slowing the search for new sources of oil as existing fields were depleted. If you read blogs like The Oil Drum, this is no surprise. However, it appears to be official:
Tanaka said oil demand may already have peaked in the developed countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) but failure to invest now in renewables could store up problems in the future. "I don't see much chance it (demand) could come back now, but if we do not invest in renewables now, it could bounce back when the economy starts to grow again," he said.What's next for Peak Oil?...
Reclaimed Home Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.17.09
This week is Carnival of the Green #167 it's being hosted by Reclaimed Home, a very cool website about low impact housing renovation and restoration in the New York area. Reclaimed Home offers tips and guidance for thrifty New Yorkers who are looking to renovate green.
So head on over to this week's Carnival to find a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites....
Wood House Has Simple Detailing, Cheap Materials
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
It is tough doing modern design inexpensively; simple detailing requires careful craftsmanship when you don't have baseboards and drywall goop to cover up your defects. Markus Wespi Jérôme de Meuron architects appear to have pulled it off in this small house in Caviano, Switzerland....
1,466 New Cars Added to Beijing Streets Every Day
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.17.09
photo: Megan Soh via flickr
Considering that China has the highest rate of road accident deaths in the world (5.1 for every 10,000 cars, for those keeping score), this next stat isn’t probably surprising: Every day in Beijing an additional 1,466 cars are added the city’s roads. One thousand four hundred sixty six. Which makes the head of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau’s statement to Xinhua, quoted by Reuters all the more a case of stating the obvious:...
There's Crap in Our Food. Literally.
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
Eat a bug-whether you want to or not. Photo credit Allim
Whether you grow it yourself or buy it processed, there is unwanted stuff in our food. But how much? What kind? The recent poison peanut scandal found salmonella, roaches and mold in the plant, but it is really just a matter of degree. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration produces a manual that sets out those limits- “The Food Defect Action Levels: Levels of Natural or Unavoidable Defects in Foods That Present No Health Hazards for Humans.” (dowload a PDF of it here)
It is not pretty reading, and makes one suddenly interested in Breatharianism.
...
Spiderman Alain Robert Climbs Hong Kong Skyscraper for Climate
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 02.17.09
Swapping Hits Brentwood and The Upper East Side
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
Artist Jane Heyman: Stephanie Diani for The New York Times
You gotta love the New York Times. When TreeHugger talks about telecommuting, we find some webworker; the Times finds a hedgie with a 100K of broadband and Bloombergs. When we talk about swapping, we find services that help you trade books; the Times finds artist Jane Heyman and a plastic surgeon:
“I had a show, and the doctor liked my painting of Warhol, which I gave him and got a free nose,” Ms. Heyman said. “He liked my work, and I liked his work.”...
Book Review: The Power of Less
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
I hate Leo Babauta.
I mean, really. He starts out by writing that "Only a few years ago, I was over my head in debt, overweight and unhealthy, eating fried and fatty foods. I wasn't exercising, and I was a smoker."
So he took up running, lost 40 pounds, ran two marathons and did two triathlons, became a vegetarian, got out of debt, doubled his income, started two blogs and wrote a book. Oh, and he decluttered his home with six kids underfoot. And he makes it sound so easy: Just simplify. "it's a matter of placing limits, and focusing on the essential."
This is not a new approach to TreeHugger readers; we have been peddling the idea of green frugal living, decluttering, "less is more" for years. But Leo did it. ...
15 Awesome Wooden Computers (Slideshow)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 02.17.09
Photo via Suissa
Wood takes the edge off the cold exterior of computers and brings a bit of Mother Nature to our computer-centered lives. Here are 15 wooden computers that show how sleek, simple, or incredibly ornate a computer shell can be.
Click through to see 15 wooden computers that make you appreciate even more the beauty trees lend to our lives.
...
Outdoor Retailer Winter Show Previews New Green Gear
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.17.09
It was the Outdoor Retailer industry trade show last month, and even amidst troubling economic times we’re pleased to observe that quite a few companies were still pursuing some form of sustainability agenda. We highlight below a few we’ve been able to glean details about, such as Timberland, Patagonia, Sierra Designs and the like. ...
The Dumbest Green Buildings in TreeHugger
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
We love LEED, it is a terrific standard, a great checklist that can make buildings better. But it is just that, a checklist, and doesn't look at the purpose of the building, which can lead to contradictions, some hilarity and some outright stupidity and greenwashing. Alex Felsinger at Green Building Elements has put together a list of buildings that are laughable green buildings, many of which we have covered on TreeHugger, like the Santa Monica Civic Center parking garage shown above, a use that I suggested couldn't be green "even if it was made from site-grown bamboo and ventilated by flapping butterfly wings." although later I ate my words. ...
Massive Landslide Leaves Thousand Evacuated in Argentina, Linked to Deforestation?
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 02.17.09
Photo: President Fernandez de Kirchner in Tartagal. Credit: Argentine Presidency.
A massive landslide of water and mud that took place last week in the town of Tartagal, northern Argentina, left at least 12 people missing and over 1000 evacuated.
Environmentalists and indigenous communities quickly pointed the finger towards the clearing of native woods as one of the reasons behind the phenomenon. Even though the government and other organizations rushed into denying any relation, Argentine president Cristina Fernandez went into her office and signed the final ruling of a native woods protection law that had been laying on her desk for over a year.
Was this really linked to deforestation? Read more and see more pictures in the extended.
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Can Stretch Fabric Be Compostable? Rohner Textil Think So
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.17.09
Photo: Popular Mechanics
Last year we were approached by a designer wanting to develop a line of sustainable swimwear. We observed that one very tricky element would be doing away with the stretch element: elastane or spandex, what most of us more commonly know as Lycra, DuPont’s heavily promoted trademark.
Lycra has many worthy attributes, and has thus become ubiquitous, particularly throughout our clothing wardrobes of women and active folk. However it also has some considerable drawbacks. ...
Unshocked And Definitely Not Awed, Obama Administration Flips Mercury Man On His Back
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.17.09
Mercury: one of the invincible metal men. Image credit:Comic Book Periodic Table Of Elements, Metal Men, ChemComics
A quote from PR Newswire does Mercury Man justice:- "To a surprised audience at the UN Environment Program Governing Council meeting in Nairobi today, the U.S. delegation strongly endorsed negotiations for a new global treaty to control mercury pollution, to begin this year."
Question:- Mercury Man, how did you get in our sea food?
Answer:- You put me there compliant flesh being!
For background, see Mercury In Fish: A Global Health Hazard (pdf file downloadable here).
See the Mercury Policy Project for what helped bow Metal Man to the good guys. Before you do that, we suggest you scan the US' Proposal to the UN. And after that, see related posts for ideas about how this could affect "Clean Coal."...
Survey: Is Your Recreation Hydrocarbon-Powered?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.17.09
Kiteboarding just looks so exciting, being blown at high speed across the water. Seadoos and Donzis go fast too and look like lots of fun, but burn lots of fuel. Summer or winter, it seems to be the same question: Gas powered or not?
...
Sneak Peek: Cooper Hewitt to Showcase Design Innovations with Local Materials
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.17.09
Images via: www.id-mag.com - Yves Behar's chocolate shaving tool using Costa Rican chocolate, native hardwood and stainless steel.
The design magazine I.D. recently had a sneak peek into an upcoming exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt museum in New York. "Design for the Living World" will showcase innovative designs commissioned by the Nature Conservancy. Ten designers, including well known names such as Yves Behar and Hella Jongerius, were each given a local sustainable material to create new products with. Seven of them got the chance to travel to the material's place of origin. The show doesn't open till May, but I.D. have given us some visual clues of what to expect......
Recycled "Garden" Inspired by Alice in Wonderland
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.17.09
Called "Seasons Through the Looking Glass", this installation is located in a tunnel that forms the basement entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Created by Malaysian architect C J Lim, it is inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
As Alice said "A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden; the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Suddenly their eyes chanced to fall upon Alice, as she stood watching them. “Would you tell me, please,” said Alice, a little timidly, “why you are painting those roses?”- Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
...
Mountain Rose Herbs - Improve Your Health With Green Herbs
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.16.09
Image via: Mountain Rose Herbs
Mountain Rose Herbs not only want to improve your health through the use of herbs and tea, but they want to use sustainable practices and products in the process. Hey, why go to all of that effort of healing your body if you're still putting chemicals, and toxic fertilizers into the soil and your groundwater (and ultimately back into you)? Instead, try their organic herbs, special tinctures and even their gardening supplies to heal your body and improve your spirit....
College Commuter Challenge 2009
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.16.09
Image via: Cycling.com
College co-eds - Start Your Engines! Actually make that your "esca-legs," because its time for the First Annual College Commuter Challenge where students log their alternative commuter miles and track how much CO2 they are saving their school by not driving as a solo person in an automobile. The challenge will take place throughout April and colleges that sign up now will be sent a marketing packet to help promote the program among students....
Learning to Cook From the Heart
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.16.09
Image via: HipCooks
Owner and Chef Monica Reti wants to teach you to do just that with HipCooks - a fun, experiential cooking class (in Portland and Los Angeles), that teaches you to slow down, enjoy your food and cook from the heart. Measuring cups? Rules? Who needs 'em.
More images after the jump....
Los Angeles California To Retrofit 140,000 Street Lights With LED Bulbs
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.16.09
Swishing and Swapping Your Way to a Designer Wardrobe
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 02.16.09
Image via: Big Wardrobe
Big Wardrobe, possibly the largest Swapping site online features designer clothes, including eco-fashion items like dresses by Stella McCartney. This week, Big Wardrobe is hosting the UK's National Clothes Swapping Week 2009 (as part of London Fashion Week) to promote reusing clothes, especially fabulous clothes. Honestly, the more the merrier (the bigger the better), right? If everyone joins in, thats more fashion love to go around....
Laptop Pillows, Shields and Solutions for Scorched Thighs
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 02.16.09
Log laptop pillow by Intelligent Forms (Photo: iF)The uncomfortable sensation of my laptop searing my thighs (and possibly emitting enough electromagnetic radiation to render me infertile) has led this occupational nomad to look for a suitable laptop pillow to help deflect the heat. There are a lot of laptop “pillows” on the market, and it took some digging around to find one that seemed right....
The Top 10 Greenest US Presidents
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.16.09
Image via Macalester.edu
Who were the 10 greenest US presidents? Any attempt to answer that question is sure to be met with controversy—as is any list that groups together Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, Theodore Roosevelt, and George W. Bush for any reason at all.
But MSN's slide show of the greenest US presidents in history goes for the glory anyways, and they admit that their list is "somewhat arbitrary and more than a little whimsical." And so it should be. Here they are—the presidents responsible for deeds like establishing the National Park system, sowing conservation minded ideals, passing the Clean Air Act, and simply living a green lifestyle.
You will be surprised.
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$60 Billion for Green in the Stimulus Bill: Where the Money Will Go
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 02.16.09
Image via Be Sustainable
After weeks of intense negotiations, spirited debate, and some name calling, President Obama will sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 tomorrow. The much publicized, lengthily titled stimulus bill has been on center stage seemingly since the day after Inauguration. And even though it's proved extremely divisive—it's been called "generational theft," an insult to taxpayers, and useless pork by its detractors—one group in particular seems to sing its unanimous praise: environmentalists.
Everyone from the Sierra Club to the National Resource Defense Council to environmental bloggers and journalists have been downright jubilant about all the green initiatives included in the bill. But just how green will the bill actually be?
...
Hamburgers and Hybrids: Swedish McDonald's Will Let You Plug In and Charge Up
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 02.16.09
Photo jcorrius via flickr.
There's already a strange phenomenon at roadside Swedish McDonald's - to avoid building a lot of extra asphalt to accommodate on-off drivers traveling in both directions getting a fast-food fix, Sweden puts a complete drive-through restaurant on either side of the road!
So perhaps it's not such a surprise that the country should take advantage of McDonald's handy easy-on, easy-off infrastructure and strike a deal with the yellow-arched fast-food joints to implement a network of hybrid-electric car charging posts. Jump to see a picture of the yellow-and-red prototype post....
French and British Nuclear Submarines Collided Earlier this Month
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 02.16.09
The Cooperative Launches Plan Bee to Help Save UK's Honeybee
by Jeff Nield, Vancouver, British Columbia on 02.16.09
The Cooperative
The causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) are still in question. While it's surely a combination of factors including climate change and voracious pests like the varoa mite, one of the key suspects is pesticides. Late last year UK farmers demonstrated to demand government action on CCD. While the government may be slow in responding The Cooperative, the UK's largest consumer co-op, has announced Plan Bee, "a campaign to raise awareness about the decline in the British honeybee population," including a temporary ban on the use of eight pesticides from their suppliers. ...
Nuclear Fusion Redux: How Realistic Are Scientists' Plans to Build Mini-Stars on Earth?
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 02.16.09
Image via BBC
I know what you're thinking: This, again? Or: Why are scientists still wasting precious time and money futilely pursuing such pie-in-the-sky schemes? Having read my fair share of nuclear fusion hyperbole, I can certainly sympathize with the sentiment.
But, from the sounds of British physicist Brian Cox's assessment, it looks like this latest attempt at building a working commercial prototype within the next few years may actually happen. ...
Ecological Stimulus Package: Investing In Natural Capital
by Earthwatch Institute on 02.16.09
Creating natural capital: restored forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Image credit: J. Pfeiffer
By: Jeanine Pfeiffer, Earthwatch Institute
What if we gave our environment the same wallop of attention we're giving our economy? What if we valued natural capital as highly as financial capital?
The US Congress has passed a $790 billion economic stimulus package. Last November, the Chinese government approved a four trillion yuan (US $586 billion) financial stimulus plan.
...
The Hippo Roller, Lifestraw, and Learning Landscapes (Slideshow)
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 02.16.09
We had the pleasure of interviewing the founder of Project H Design, the young and talented Emily Pilloton. Her budding organization has been hard at work harnessing elegant design to make lives better. Here is a slideshow of some of the latest ventures from Project H Design, including the Hippo Roller, Lifestraw, and a playground that's also a math classroom. Listen to our interview on TH Radio (Part One and Part Two) Slideshow: The Hippo Roller, Lifestraw, and Learning Landscapes ...
5 Good Ways to Get Green Power Into Your Home
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 02.16.09
photo: Oregon DOT via flickr
Here at TreeHugger and over on Planet Green we’ve covered just about every way to get green energy into your home that you can imagine: Solar panel installation, green energy programs, solar power system leases, small scale wind turbines, micro-hydro power. While all of that info may be spread out over both sites, and I encourage you to delve into the renewable energy archives, for those with less time on their hands, here it is in one spot:...
Efficient Superhome from a Victorian Townhouse: The Nottingham Ecohome
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.16.09
Victorian Home Retrofit Cuts Emissions 38 Fold
Green building is a vital tool in our quest for a sustainable future - but while sleek, modern ecohomes make headlines, the question still remains as to what to do with our existing, inefficient housing stock. The Nottingham Ecohome in the UK offers a tantalizing glimpse of what is possible - showing how a typical Victorian town house can be converted into a virtually fossil fuel free superhome. Click below the fold to find out more about the features that make the ecohome special, and to take a video tour with owner Penney Poyzer.
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Just How Fast Can Wind-Powered Watercraft Go?
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.16.09
Photo: iKiteboarding
The other day we wondered if a wooden sailboat might be our most sustainable and efficient mode of transport. Certainly watercraft propelled by just the wind do skoot along, (although we doubt handmade wooden ones would compete for any speed records today.)
The record, at time of writing, is 50.57 knots (~94 km/hr or 58 mph), set by Frenchman, Alexandre Caizergues, late last year, on his kiteboard over a distance of 500 metres (~547 yards). The last yacht to hold the 500m speed record was the Australian designed yacht (Yellow Pages Endeavour) with 46.52 knots (86.2 km/h or 53.5 mph) achieved in 1993 and held until 2004, when it was broken by a windsurfer clocking in at 46.82 knots. ...
Human-Generated Aerosols May Be Masking the Warming Effect of Climate Change
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 02.16.09
Photo: Steelflow
We’ve discussed how Australia has been experiencing new extremes of weather. A dry, hot, bushfire ravaged south and a rainfall flooded north. And how these extremes may be the product of climate change.
Now scientists at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have thrown another spanner in the works. They reckon a pollution haze from human-generated aerosols in Asia is reshaping rainfall patterns in Australia. Whilst apparently long known to exert a cooling effect on climate, human-generated aerosols have partly masked the warming effect of increasing greenhouse gases. As aerosol pollution is predicted to decrease over the next few decades, unmasking of the greenhouse effect may lead to accelerated global warming....
Listen to the Sounds of Silence
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.16.09
image from richardbunce.com
"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone."
Blaise Pascal, the French philosopher, wrote it in the 17th century and it still has resonance today. In our busy urban lives, noise and sensory over-dose take their toll. A recent TreeHugger post discussed a Boston study that found "a few minutes spent on a crowded city street apparently reduces the brain's ability to hold things in memory as well as our self-control. Urbanization, the frenetic energy of dense environments, and the loss of natural areas in our cities all put a strain on the brain."
Influenced by Pascal's views, an artist is going to orchestrate a performance piece in which eight volunteers will sit quietly in an art museum for one hour each, one after another. They will be seated in an historic room, with wood paneling and a fireplace, and a comfortable environment for contemplation.
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Seawater Irrigation has a New Best Friend... it's Called Stimulus Funding
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 02.16.09
Photo via Mugley
With a pile of stimulus money steaming fresh off President elect Obama's shovel, there are a number of researchers coming out of the woodwork with ideas on everything from filling the atmosphere with Sulfur to help minimize global warming to growing an entire world's worth of crops in the middle of the dessert with ocean saltwater.
Is this idea possible? Yes, but just because we can, doesn't necessarily mean that we should......
How Science Really Works: The Interactive Flow Chart
by Tim McGee, Western Massachusetts on 02.15.09
flowchart of scientific inquiry, the real one is interactive
We make a big deal on TreeHugger about citizen science, the idea that everyone can be involved in significant scientific work. We talk about evolution and its place in environmentalism. We span the worlds of art, science and culture in our attempt to define the undefinable sustainable world. Yet, how many people young and old are unfamiliar or intimidated by science itself?
Do we all know what science really is, and how it really works? A fascinating interactive flow chart brings the creative, sometimes clumsy, and always dynamic process of science to life. In the process the flow chart creates a web resource that could very well change the way you think about science, and raise the level of scientific education throughout the world....
A Good (Self-Sufficient) Man is No Longer Hard to Find
by Josh Peterson, Los Angeles, California on 02.15.09
photo by mahalie via Flickr
Good news for those self-sufficient off-grid livers and rural-based organic farmers who may have spent Valentine's Day alone in the wilderness. Lonely farm girls—of dirty joke lore?—are looking for the callous-handed love of a farming man, and they are finding these rugged, earthy fellows through a site called FarmersOnly. The site is aimed at uniting lovelorn ruralites for the purposes of holy matrimony and, possibly, a roll in the hay.
...
How Far Are You Willing to Go to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 02.15.09
Toilet Reads: "To Help Conserve the Energy of the Space, Please Close the Lid"- San Diego yoga studio
Photo via Gruntzooki
When it comes to saving the planet, there are a number of degrees from which one can place themselves. For instance, would you be willing to scoop out your own poo to fertilize your garden, or how about collect urine for use with watering your lawn? Just how many rolls of duck tape on an old pair of underwear is considered too much? We ask you, our fellow Treehuggers, just how far are you willing to go to save the planet?...
American Diet Changing Out Of Economic Necessity
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.15.09
Colonel Trash Truck Teaches Kids to "Live Green"
by Jeff Nield, Vancouver, British Columbia on 02.15.09
Colonel Trash Truck by Kathleen Crawley, illustrated by Manuel Conde
Teaching kids about their impact on the natural world can be tricky business. As much as I'm keen to teach my three-and-a-half year old about cradle to cradle design, shifting baselines, or sustainable food systems, he just doesn't seem to get it. While there are some classic green books for kids there is a surprising dearth of contemporary stories for the 3-6 year-old set. Author Kathleen Crawley noticed this gap and created a character who "teaches kids the importance of recycling, throwing away garbage and protecting the environment." Check out this video for an introduction to Colonel Trash Truck. ...
Eco Films to Screen in Greece: Submit By March 1
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 02.15.09
Image of 2008 poster: Rodos Ecofilms International Films + Visual Arts Festival
Once famed as the home of a 100-foot-tall statue of the Greek god Helios, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the island of Rhodes is these days making a name for itself in the environmental film community. Now in its ninth year, the annual Rodos Ecofilms International Films + Visual Arts Festival screens around 100 documentaries, shorts, and features with broad ecological themes, and the next batch of submissions is due soon.
...
Locali Conscience Convenience Stores Launched
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 02.15.09
photo: Locali Conscience Convenience
With agave slushies and grass fed hot dogs, Locali Conscious Convenience Stores is taking grab n' go to a whole new level. The new convenience store is encouraging its customers to Think Globally While Acting Locally and with so many delicious offerings the prospect doesn't seems too difficult.
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ICNND: Time To Get Rid Of Nuclear Weapons
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 02.15.09
Photos from IAEA.org
Three survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki called for the elimination of nuclear weapons at a meeting of an international nuclear nonproliferation commission in Washington on Saturday. Breitbart/Kyodo notes that this was the first time victims of nuclear bombings spoke before the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament: The survivors sought a new trend toward nuclear arms abolition on the occasion of the launch last month of the administration of new U.S. President Barack Obama. They also handed Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich a letter from them addressed to Obama, asking him to visit the sites of the atomic bombings and to meet with survivors.
Can there be any more serious issue on our planet today than nuclear proliferation?...
How Green Was Your Valentine's Day?
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 02.15.09
"Because Nothing Says, Happy Valentines Day, Like a Pit Bull"
Photo via GNR
Valentine's Day gets a pretty bad wrap as far as not being particularly among the green variety, as holidays go. Not that any holiday is particularly green when you take part in the commercial fashion parade......
TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!
Here are a few recommended websites.
