- 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 May 17, 2009 - May 23, 2009
Total this week: 238
Hybrid-Powered Remote Control Lawnmower
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 05.23.09
The Elvis & Kresse Organisation Turns Old Fire Hoses into Red Hot Accessories
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.23.09
Photo credit: Elvis & Kresse Organisation
Bags and belts from recycled tires? Pbbbt...old hat. The Brits over at the Elvis & Kresse Organisation have cranked the dial up to sizzling temperatures with its line of home and fashion accessories made from out-of-commission fire hoses....
Pollan Censored at Washington State?
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 05.23.09
Photo via Flickr
Huck Finn, The Grapes of Wrath and the Omnivore's Dilemma? Yes, Michael Pollan's popular rebuke of agri-business seems to have joined those other great works on the list of censored books. Officials at Washington State University have removed Pollan's work for what some are saying are political reasons....
Arizona's Sun-Powered Train Proposal - "The Solar Bullet"
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.23.09
"The solar train could travel from Tucson to Phoenix in 30 minutes and might someday run from Nogales to the Grand Canyon." Image credit: excerpted from image provided by Daily Star.
The solar powered mag-lev train proposal we wrote about in Magnetic Train Proposed: Detroit To Lansing Michigan ...seemed too technologically elaborate and expensive to be realistic. How about just bring back the level of train service that was once the norm - and upgrade existing rails to get the trains back on time - was the general reaction?
A solar train in Arizona seems somehow more sensible. Especially because it does not involve superconducting magnets and hydrogen batteries. Read on and see what you think....
Crowds Turn Out For EPA Global Warming Hearings
by Greg Haegele of Sierra Club on 05.23.09
Rally at EPA climate hearing in Seattle, WA. Image credit:Dan Ritzman.
This week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held two hearings to take public comment on its finding that global-warming pollutants endanger public health and can be regulated by the Clean Air Act. We had plenty of people at both hearings - Monday's was in Arlington, VA, and Thursday's was in Seattle, WA.
When the EPA announced that it would hold these o hearings on its endangerment finding, the Sierra Club decided to use this opportunity to demonstrate strong public support for fast, scientifically-based, and substantial actions on climate change. We turned to our volunteers, coalition partners and staff throughout the country to lead that effort....
More Furoshiki Eco-Goodness from Persimmon & Pine
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.23.09
Photo credit: Persimmon & Pine
Mandy Behrens from Persimmon & Pine dropped me a note after she read my post on Chewing the Cud's organic cotton gift wraps and I was completely bowled over when I clicked on over to check out her Web site. She and fellow mompreneur Julie Lyderson-Jackson debuted their Savvywraps this year to coincide with the United Nation's International Year of Natural Fibers, a global campaign that seeks to "support farmers and associated industries in raising awareness of the benefits of natural fibers over synthetic and petroleum-based textiles, which are not viewed as sustainable."...
Green Your Wedding! Low Cost, Zero-Waste, Eco-Conscious Options
by Earthwatch Institute on 05.23.09
Image credit:J. Pfeiffer.
The average wedding in the USA costs $20,000. Yikes! In this economy, that's not just insane; it's silly.
Why not go green and save green? Creative couples can hold a fantastic event for $500 or less, and share their love with the planet. Here are a few ideas from a June Bride (the author), who plans to rock her wedding by walkin'‚ the Treehugger talk.
...
Can Painting the Pavement Make Streets Safer?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.23.09
Wow Green Uses Enzymes To Clean Just About Anything
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 05.23.09
photo: Wow Green Inc
More and more green cleaning products are jumping onto the market, so there's really no excuse for using toxic cleaners. Wow Green's new line of powerful green products are just one example, but these products are different because they are made from enzymes that literally eat stains. ...
Fighting to Keep Ancient Turkish City from Becoming a Sunken Treasure
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 05.23.09
A last look at Hasankeyf? Construction of the Ilısu Dam in Turkey would drown the city's ancient ruins. Photo via Doğa Derneği
One of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities, the town of Hasankeyf, located along the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey, boasts more than 10,000 years of history and hundreds of archaeological sites. Its dramatic canyon setting is also home to endemic and threatened species such as the Euphrates soft-shell turtle and the striped hyena. But both its cultural and natural richness could be lost by 2013, drowned in the reservoir for the Ilısu Dam, a controversial project that has lately drawn renewed political, journalistic, and artistic attention....
REMINDER: Transition Towns Documentary Premiers Today
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.23.09
Saaf Organic Enriching Hair Oil Offers Salvation for Dry, Damaged Tresses
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.22.09
Photo credit: Saaf
Dear Internet, my follicular situation is, in a word, hairy. We're talking about a greasy scalp prone to flaking and dry, split ends that cry out for succor (or at least beg to be butchered out of their misery). Which is why I was intrigued when Saaf's Organic Enriching Hair Oil promised to condition, strengthen, and shine (the Holy Trinity of haircare), while diminishing the appearance of split ends and quashing dandruff in one fell swoop. ...
Best Video You'll See Today: Solar Plane Crossing the Alps
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.22.09
He Opens the Cockpit and Everything
We've written a few times about the Sunseeker II solar airplane, and how it was the first solar plane to cross the Alps. We had some breathtaking photos, but now we have video! Check it out below, once they take off at about 45 seconds in, it's really amazing (well, I should manage expectations... Check it out, it's okay.)...
FEMA Trailer Transformed Into "Garden On Wheels" & Donated To Mobile Art Center
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 05.22.09
Image of The Armadillo's retractable shell which conceals a hybrid composter, and vertical planting walls (via Side Street Projects)We’ve brought the innovative, mobile art education non-profit Side Street Projects to your attention before and now, the Pasadena-based community organization is embarking on its next exciting adventure – can you say “road trip”? Side Street Projects is going cross-country to Boston to pick up The Armadillo, a FEMA trailer that was transformed into a mobile, vertical community garden by MIT students and faculty. Mmmm. Art, architecture, nomadic sustainability and permaculture: could it get any tastier than that? In a word, yes!...
Sneak Peek at Chewing The Cud's Organic Cotton Gift Wrap
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.22.09
Photo credit: Chewing the Cud
Chewing the Cud previewed its utterly gorgeous reusable fabric gift wrap (known in Japan as furoshiki) at the National Stationery Show earlier this week.
Handprinted on 100 percent organic cotton using soy-based inks, the 28-by-28-inch fabric squares can double up as scarves or table linens. They come in three designs: Give Luck, Give Love, and Give Wisdom. Pricing to be determined....
Shirin Kids Apparel: Cute, Cool, But Pricey
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.22.09
Photo credit: Shirin Kids
Maybe it's my inner skinflint talking, but I cannot fathom why anyone would drop $46 on a lap tee that your rug rat is going to outgrow within the next seven minutes. Then again, with the exception of gifts and a Blue Canoe baby frock that was 50 percent off, my daughter's wardrobe is strictly hand-me-downs. (Thanks, George! Thanks, landlord!) Sure, the kidlet rocks out in pink, but I doubt she’d be indelibly scarred because we clad her in blue, with appliqués of trucks and dinosaurs parading across her chest.
But if you're feeling flush—or have the urge to splurge—Shirin NYC has a new organic cotton kid's line that is too cool for school, if a tad overpriced. And the ruffles? Totally precious. ...
Watch TV, Go Online at Futuristic Solar Powered Bus Stop
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.22.09
Image via MIT
What would it take to get Americans to ride the bus? The promise of televised entertainment while they wait? An up-to-the-minute news and weather service to inform those who wait exactly how the day is shaping up to be? The prospect of participating in a solar-powered, futuristic experience? The sexy feeling that they're in a hip iPod commercial? Well, a new bus stop design from MIT aims to lure people to their local bus stops with all that--and more. ...
The Latest Buzz On Disappearing Honey Bees: Some Improvement
by Naturally Savvy on 05.22.09
Image via Flickr.com/Allan Hack.
The good news: Honey bee colony losses were down this past winter compared to losses during the two previous ones. The bad news: A whopping 29 percent of honey bee colonies vanished between September 2008 and April 2009.
These newly released stats are the results of a survey conducted jointly by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the Agricultural Research Service's Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. (a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture).
Researchers admit that while improvement is always good, they are still very worried about—and perplexed by—the fate of the honey bee....
Obama Invests Millions to Save the Everglades
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.22.09
Photo via Destination 360
Amidst all the frustration and hoopla surrounding the climate bill in recent days, a bit of really good news sneaked by many environmentalists--that Obama pledged $279 million to save and restore the Everglades. According to Blue Living Ideas, between the stimulus bill and the new, approved budget, restoration efforts in the Everglades are going to get a much needed shot in the arm. Here's what a couple hundred million dollars can do for an imperiled ecosystem:...
Think Coastlines are Protected? Think Again.
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.22.09
CSI Nature: Tracking Water Pollution with Artificial Sweeteners
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.22.09
Photo: himitsu.monban, CC
Playing Detective with the Sweet Stuff
You discovered some polluted water. Now what? Well, you have find the source of that pollution if you want to be able to do something about it. It turns out that among the many markers that can give us clues about the source of pollution are artificial sweeteners. "After tickling the tongue, artificial sweeteners pass through our bodies and end up in wastewater virtually unchanged." Tracking them can give important information about the source of the pollution. Read on for more details....
US Government Wastes $440.4 Million a Year on Printing
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.22.09
Image via Lexmark
I worked on an air force base for awhile and saw the ridiculous amount of paper that government employees will go through in a day, not only through mindless printing practices, but also reporting protocol that encourages putting out hard copies of thick reports that just get filed away and never looked at. That's why reading this blip from Greener Computing about government wasting over $440 million a year on printing was no surprise. ...
The Biggest Threat to the Democrats' Climate Bill: Democrats
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.22.09
Photo via Track-a-Crat
After the first major victory in the chaotic saga of the Waxman-Markey climate bill, the next—and potentially biggest—threat has quickly revealed itself. The Democrats' climate bill had hardly passed through committee before another House Representative was threatening to bring the bill down, claiming the ability to quickly rally 40 votes against it. And no, it's not Republican nay-saying that now poses the biggest threat to the climate bill—it's other Democrats....
Sarcastic, Green Cards You Won't Be Embarrassed to Send
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.22.09
Image via: Hard Cards
In the never-ending quest to find green products that are as environmentally responsible as possible, but that also don't look like a four-year old made them, sometimes the going can get rough. That's why it took two sassy ladies from LA to come up with the perfect greeting card called Hard Cards. Here's a sample: (Warning: These cards are not for the thin-skinned and can be a bit randy!) Cover: "On Your Birthday, for the person who has everything, I got you nothing." Inside: "Let's be honest, you don't really have everything. I'm just broke."
More on Hard Cards after the Jump....
Can Walking Dogs Help the Planet?
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.22.09
Image via: Monster Minders
When you work at Monster Minders it can. Besides cleaning up garbage (poop), getting physical exercise, and making a little Vitamin D from all the sun exposure, leaving your pooch with Monster Minders allows you one more opportunity to help the planet without doing any work....
Why Doesn't British Columbia Protect Endangered Species?
by Jeff Nield, Vancouver, British Columbia on 05.22.09
Western Canada Wilderness Committee
In my recent post about green issue in British Columbia I briefly mentioned the campaign organized by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) to push the provincial government to develop endangered species legislation. Read on to find out more about WCWC's campaign for BC's endangered species. ...
Toyota to Sell a Diesel-Electric Hybrid... Forklift
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.22.09
Photo: Toyota
Cue Questions About Diesel-Hybrid Cars and Trucks...
I know some of you were disappointed when you reached the last work of this headline. Diesel-hybrids have been on lots of people's wishlist for a long time. Last year, there was a lot of excitement when VW announced the production of a diesel-electric Golf hybrid, but unfortunately it was cancelled because deemed too expensive for production. But apparently forklifts are different. Read on for more details....
Greenwash Watch: "Reusable Bags are a Health Threat"
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.22.09
Melbourne zoo via
When the City of Toronto considered a ban on plastic bags, a cranky Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) commissioned a study by Sporometrics, " the foremost experts in many aspects of fungal and environmental bacterial testing in Canada. "
And guess what they found? Some of them were dirty inside. What a surprise!...
What You Need to Know About Eco-Fashion: A 60-Second Primer
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.22.09
Slash-and-Burn Agriculture Isn't Great For Southeast Asia's Forest, But Monoculture Plantations are Even Worse
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.22.09
Rubber plantation in Thailand, photo: Gaetan Lee (CC) via flickr
Slash-and-burn agriculture has often been cited as not exactly being the most eco-friendly thing for forests. But, as a new report in Science magazine and summed up over at Mongabay shows, promotion of plantation agriculture is actually much worse. The example is conversion to rubber plantations in Southeast Asia. This is what the report finds:...
Big Reveal of Mission One Electric Motorcycle at TED (Video)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.22.09
Which of Global Warming's Americas Do You Live In? The Alarmed, the Concerned, the Dismissive?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.22.09
Most TreeHugger readers are probably well aware that there are very divergent opinions among the people they know in regards to climate change. Well, a new report from Yale University attempts to categorize different opinions in the US on the matter and has found that there are really six Americas: The Alarmed, the Concerned, the Cautious, the Disengaged, the Doubtful, and the Dismissive. Here's how those break down:
...
Solar Power and Bluetooth Bring Coolness to Gigantic Headphones
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.22.09
Images via Ecofriend
Sticking a solar cell on any old gadget has been the trend for too long. Now we want to see ways in which incorporating solar power makes gear look good too. Shepeleff Stephen is on the task, coming up with these headphones that will make you not feel like complete dork while wearing them, unlike other wearable solar power ideas we've seen....
Stilvoll's Standup Desk: The (Video) Remake
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.22.09
My favourite thing at ICFF 2008 was the gorgeous Stilvoll adjustable standup desk; beautifully made of sustainably harvested woods, built to last forever and adjust from desk to standup height. It was also the very first thing I ever filmed, and I did a terrible job, eliciting comments like:
Was the cameraman smitten with the demonstrator? Saw much of his lovely face, but little of the stunning desk he was presenting...I thought I owed them a remake....
Reassemble the Mosspink Sofa From Brühl (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.22.09
The whole Brühl family gets involved in the display of the award-winning MossPink sofa in the German design section; it was designed by Kati Meyer-Brühl and is occupied by Anna Meyer-Brühl, who demonstrates its functions in the video. ...
What is More Valuable - Material or People's Time?
by Tom Szaky of TerraCycle, Trenton NJ on 05.22.09
So many coffee lovers have switched to single portion delivery devices produced by a variety of brands, including Tassimo, Flavia and Green Mountain. The coffee tastes is always fresh, perfectly brewed and one doesn’t waste extra coffee left from brewing a full pot. However, the packaging isn't made to be recyclable, so if it is to be diverted from landfills, it needs to go through a time consuming process of disassembly. This begs a serious environmental question. ...
Transformer Furniture: Test Collective's Coffee Table/ Sk8tr Ramp
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.22.09
We do love multifunctional furniture, but usually the functions are prosaic and practical. Not at the Test Collective. which has produced a coffee table that you can take outside (or I suppose leave inside) and use as a sk8tr ramp. It is made from bamboo, with steel edges to grind your board on. No doubt it will shortly have some colourful gouges and scratching to enliven it. ...
Energy Secretary Chu Says Emission Reduction Targets Politically Hindered... So, Let's Allow More Coal Plants!
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.22.09
photo: Thomas via flickr.
In a bit of either brilliant coincidence or astute timing, considering that the Waxman-Markey climate change bill just passed in the Energy & Commerce Committee, BBC News has a new piece wherein Energy Secretary Stephen Chu talks about how US carbon emission reduction goals are being hindered by political opposition, and that compromises must be made. Unfortunately those compromises he's talking about are about giving in to polluters:...
Debunking The French - US Nuclear Power Comparison
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.22.09
Reactor fuel rods. Image credit:USDOE, EIA; via: Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center.
We often get comments on our posts to the effect that 'if only we were like the French with their successful nuclear power program.' The most ridiculous one I recall asserted 'If it weren't for you anti-nuc liberals, we could have clean nuclear power like France does.' So common is the US myth of French nuclear power as an exemplary model for the US, I can't resist the occasional provocation, like I did in yesterday's post with: 'France is about the size of Texas and has lower total nuclear power output than the US currently does.'
After reading a recent article in the Global Journal of Energy Machinery, by Stephen Thomas, of the University of Greenwich, I found some more ''hot rods' to insert in the myth reactor. Read on, for some fissionable quotes from Dr Thomas....
Middle School Students Take on Dead Weight in Auto Industry, Win Nationwide Contest
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 05.22.09
Image Credit: Siemens Foundation
Well it’s no surprise to readers of TreeHugger that there’s plenty of “dead weight” in the auto industry, but a team of Iowa middle school students took on the challenge of eliminating some of it themselves. And it turns out they’ve been announced as the grand prize winners in the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, the nationwide hunt for youth with sustainable ideas created in partnership with Discovery Education and the NSTA....
Accountants Already Getting Savvy on Water Footprint Reporting
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.22.09
Image via ACCA
Carbon emissions accounting and reporting is a practice already underway, or at least under discussion, in most entities. But how about water footprint accounting? It seems the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) wants to get a jump on things and is calling for accountants to brush up on methodologies for water consumption. ...
Dumpster Divers Turn Cardboard into Lighting (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.22.09
photo credit: Inhabitat, who did a much better job
It doesn't get much more TreeHugger than dumpster diving for used cardboard and turning it into very lovely pendant lamps, does it? Well, maybe they might not have incandescent bulbs in them, but Seth Grizzle isn't happy with the quality of the light from the alternatives. Seattle's Graypants laser cuts cardboard and glues the circles into cardboard for their Scrap Lights. We interviewed Seth at ICFF....
GE Demonstrated Smart Appliances (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.22.09
Image via GE; Pilot participants Mark and Dana Brian
General Electric has been trialling their smart grid enabled appliances in Louisville, Kentucky, and is six months in to the project. The results have shown exactly what anyone would have suspected - users are choosing to go for the options and habits that save money. Kinda a no-brainer. So we're skipping to the more interesting part, which is what the appliances are like. Check out a video of their gear after the jump. ...
Celebrities Fight Heathrow Expansion with Organic Veggies (Video)
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.22.09
Image credit: Airplot
Celebrities Dig Deep to Stop Runway Expansion
Britain is well known for its slightly eccentric protest methods. It's where the World Naked Bike Ride first got started, and it's where protesters have tried to stop airport expansion with miniature golf and anti-aviation picnics. Now the celebrities that bought land slated for runway expansion have a new cunning plan up their sleeves, and it involves vegetables. ...
TreeHugger Welcomes David Strauch!
by David Strauch, Scarsdale, New York. David works fo on 05.22.09
Water Crisis Leading to Wife Abuse in Some Areas
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.22.09
Photo via magnusfranklin
If there were ever a good reason to help get water to villages, this may be it. In the Kamuli District in southeastern Uganda, women have to travel particularly long distances to gather water now that water scarcity has hit the region. The problem is that requirement clashes with some cultural issues, namely that husbands attribute the women being gone so long with love affairs and other indiscretions, and that leads straight into domestic violence....
Energy Companies Pay Schools to Go With Energy Efficient NComputing (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.22.09
Image via NComputing
NComputing is a California-based company that has created a $70 networked computer that uses about 1 to 5 watts of power for each networked device. Through virtualization software, as many as 30 users can share a single PC, and still be able to do what they would on a regular dedicated PC, from running videos to accessing the Internet. Such a set-up is ideal for many schools and businesses since it accomplishes their needs while sipping power. And that's just why energy companies are actually paying people to use these devices instead. ...
Affordable Electric Cars - Why is Europe Getting All the Goodies?
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 05.22.09
The new EV IE from Electric Car Corporation - the real deal.
The EVs (electric vehicles) are coming! But not exactly to U.S. drivers. On any day in the streets of London, you might spot an electric Daimler Smartcar, a G-Whiz, or one of the Electric Car Company's cool new EV IEs. Not all these EVs are highway ready, and their drivers are dealing with that curious new concept called 'range anxiety' - e.g. you turn on the air conditioning, battery power plummets, and miles away from your destination, you really start to sweat! But as more and more of the next crop of EVs come out, prices may also surprise you. And the fact that European drivers are getting the bulk of the affordable EV goodies may infuriate you.
...
Turkish Dams Leaving Iraqi Fields Thirsting for Water
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 05.22.09
The Euphrates River flows through Turkey (pictured) and Syria before reaching Iraq.
In ancient times, Iraq was called Mesopotamia, which means "between the rivers" in Greek. But today, the life-giving Tigris and Euphrates rivers--both of which flow through Turkey as well--are not providing enough water to meet the country's agricultural needs, and Iraqi officials are pointing the finger squarely at the neighboring government in Ankara. ...
Historic Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill Passes Energy & Commerce Committee: Praise and Criticism Starts Flowing
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.22.09
Last night the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the landmark Waxman-Markey climate legislation (officially known as the American Clean Energy & Security Act...), by a vote of 33-25 with votes largely falling along party lines.* Within minutes of word getting out of its passing, email statements came flooding in from all quarters both in praise and criticism. Here's a taste of that, the praise first: ...
Comedians Joke About Energy Saving
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.22.09
Give a Green Bag Makes Gift Shopping Easy
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.21.09
Photo credit: Give a Green Bag
Need a gift in a jiffy? Or to curry favor in a hurry? Put together your own green swag bag with help from Give a Green Bag.
Choose from categories like "Green Home," "Green Baby," "Wellness," and "Green Office & School" for starters, then plunk down your cash for a pre-assembled selection of eco-friendly goodies or customize your bag with additional items from a menu of options. ...
Should We Be Happy or Sad? Survey Finds Most Americans Support Hybrid Cars But Won't Buy Them
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.21.09
Photo: Andrea Micheloni, CC
Or Indifferent?
A new survey released by Johnson Controls contains some encouraging statistics about Americans, but also some discouraging and even puzzling ones (about 30% of people who answered think that hybrids should be less expensive than comparable gasoline-powered cars). The good news is that 90% of US adults are open to choosing a hybrid if they were in the market for a new vehicle, which shows that at least people aren't scared of them anymore. Read on for more details....
Bags for the People Brings Reusable Bags to NYC Communities For Free
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.21.09
Photo credit: Bags for the People
The premise for Bags for the People is a simple one: Give away free reusable bags made from used clothing, break people's addiction to the plastic scourge.
The New York City-based non-profit also conducts bag-making workshops for both kids and seniors, providing hands-on experience with sewing machines while addressing the environmental impact of plastic bags in a creative way.
Why free? ...
Spring/Summer Fashion 2009: Bahar Shahpar
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.21.09
Photo credit: Bahar Shahpar
From New York City's own Bahar Shahpar comes another cohesive, well-edited collection for Spring 2009. And if anyone can make gold, brown, and teal work together, it's Shahpar, who harmonizes earthy neutrals with generous glugs of off-the-wall color, luxurious silk with organic cotton, to create a line that is elegance, whimsy, and femininity rolled into one....
Merry Planter: How To Get Kids To Enjoy Gardening
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 05.21.09
Photo: Merry Planter
Kids have never heard of "green thumbs" but are natural gardeners - for about two minutes. Without a little prompting, they will easily forget to take care of the plants. How to get kids to enjoy gardening, and keep watering until the tomato or beans are ready for harvest?
The good people in Mie prefecture, western Japan had this bright idea: attaching a photo of each young gardener to its Merry Garden Planter pots seems to do the trick. Kids love the idea of caring for these plants, once they know which one belongs to which sprouting farmer. All smiles, as far as we can tell!...
Congress Drinks Water in Compostable Bottles. Who Knew?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.21.09
Photo via Daylife
Yes, there's plenty of action going on in Congress, with controversial climate bill being hotly debated and the did-she-or-didn't-she Pelosi torture memo chronicles, etc--but if we took a step back from the frenzied proceedings, we'd notice an odd little fact. Congressmen drink water packaged in compostable bottles. Who knew? ...
New York City's Dragonfly A Locavore Wet Dream
by Jerry James Stone, San Francisco, CA on 05.21.09
Photo courtesy of: Vincent Callebaut Architectures
Architect Vincent Callebaut will have locavores drooling if his 128-floor vertical farm concept is actually realized.
The Dubai-esque Dragonfly addresses issues like food production and agriculture in cities that are horizontally-challenged for space like New York City. The concept supports housing, offices, laboratories and twenty-eight different agricultural fields. ...
Waxman-Markey Bill To Move Forward -- After Arrests and a Speed Reading
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 05.21.09
CCAN protests outside Rep. Boucher's office over his coal industry support. (Philaroneanu)
After four days of attempts by Republicans to further water it down and debate among environmentalists about its current merits, the landmark greenhouse gas emissions bill is on its way out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee tonight -- but not without a few arrests and a much-awaited speed reading.
Capitol police arrested 15 demonstrators from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) who were blocking the office door of Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) in protest of his support for the coal industry. Rep. Boucher has been successful at inserting into the Waxman-Markey bill billions in incentives for coal, which plays a large role in the region of Virginia that he represents....
16 Dazzling Eco Paper Products at the 2009 National Stationery Show (Plus, Pretty Eye Candy!) (Slideshow)
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.21.09
Photo credit: National Stationery Show
The National Stationery Show, which took place this week at New York City's cavernous Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, was a sea of green, with a barrage of eco-friendly paper goodies that were virtually indistinguishable in style and quality from their virgin-paper compatriots. Terms like "FSC-certified" and "post-consumer" were tossed around with aplomb, letterpress flats were lovingly fondled, and the swathe of planet-friendly options was almost pornographic in scope.
Here, a selection of 16 of our favorites—we had a really tough time whittling our choices down!—for occasions when digital forms of expression are poor surrogates for the tactile and handwritten word.
...
BiodieselSMARTER Magazine Now Has a Blog
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.21.09
Image: Biodieselsmarter.com
Something to Add to Your RSS Reader
BiodieselSMARTER magazine is a great source of information (heck, of entertainment if you love biodiesel as much as those guys) for DIYers, homebrewers, community scale biodiesel producers, and other biodiesel enthusiasts. But it now has a blog, and I must say I'm impressed with the first few posts. Jason Burroughs isn't kidding. He's seeing big, aiming high, and has a real passion for bio-d....
85% of World's Oyster Reefs Already Gone, Many Functionally Extinct
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.21.09
photo: The Nature Conservancy
The first-ever comprehensive review of the state of the world's shellfish has just been released by The Nature Conservancy and the prognosis (as you may expect) really isn't good. In fact, when oysters are concerned it's downright awful.Globally, about 85% of the world's oyster reefs have vanished and in many areas oyster reefs are functionally extinct:...
Eve Blossom Of Lulan Announces Design Competion (video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
Lulan is another favorite of TreeHugger; Eve Blossom employs over six hundred weavers in a business model that "has evolved to embrace "sustainability" in a dynamic and profound sense of the word."
And now everyone can get involved; Lulan is running a design competition to look for "bold, sophisticated and fresh deisgns that shine when expressed through traditional weaving techniques."
It will all be open source, sponsored by Creative Commons, and anyone can submit and download the designs. Eve explains in our video:...
Pangea Organics Offers Discount for New Radiance Gift Set
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 05.21.09
We’ve known the folks at Pangea Organics a long time, and it’s been amazing to see the company grow to what it is today. With new products launching on a regular basis, we are looking forward to what they’ve got going on next. For example, recently launched is their new Radiance Gift Set. It includes a slew of Pangea products like a facial cleanser, facial scrub, facial mask, lip balm, and eye cream. As with every Pangea product, each is packed with plant-based ingredients, powerful antioxidants, and key minerals, vitamins and essential oils that work to balance, nurture and nourish your skin from the inside out. Pangea is offering a few specials to promote the new Radiance Gift Set, so read on to find out more....
Mabeo Now Building With Local, Certified Woods
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
TreeHugger has been a fan of Peter Mabeo and the North South Project for a while; we love his furniture that balances local traditions with a contemporary sensibility, building a local industry and a design identity for Botswana. Patty Johnson created "a new model of viable design and craft collaborations in the developing world, working half a world away from Peter, designing for his factory.
I was worried on Saturday, when there was an empty booth; The stuff got caught in customs. But by Monday the booth was installed and we caught up with a very tired Peter Mabeo.
...
Google Streetview Goes Green with Awesome Trike
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.21.09
Photo: Google
It Took a Technology Company to Go This Low-Tech...
Google Streetview is usually built from images captured by a car driving around with a special multi-directional camera (as you can see in this post about a Google Streetview Prius getting a ticket). But there are some roads where cars can't go, many of which are actually much better looking and more interesting than your average road (is there a correlation you think?), so Google devised a special Streetview Trike that only "specially trained super fit Google employees and contractors" can ride. Read on for more details....
Arthur Erickson 1924-2009
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
Photograph by: John McKay, Times Colonist
Long before green architecture meant anything other than putting in plants, Arthur Erickson was integrating water and nature into his architecture. He was lucky that he was located in Vancouver, which has so much of both....
Learn the Art of Soap-making From Ruby Red Cosmetics
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.21.09
Image via: Flickr.com
Martine, soap-maker and founder of Ruby Red Cosmetics is offering a series of soap-making classes in her studio/kitchen in London going on now. Students can learn not only how to make soap, but also discover what makes some soap smoother and silkier than others....
Gotwind and Orange Launch Human Powered Mobile Phone Charger
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
Image via Orange
The Glastonbury Music Festival will have something new from Gotwind and Orange this year. In the past they've set up cool solar and wind charging stations for mobile phones. But this time, charging up will be thanks to human power. ...
University of New Hampshire is First School in US to Run Off Landfill Gas
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.21.09
Where the landfill gas is purified and pressurized, before being sent to the school. Photo: UNH
A few months back we heard about Middlebury College's efforts to green their electricity and heating. Well, over at the University of New Hampshire they're getting in on the green power act too, and one-upping Middlebury in the process:...
Green Swedish Design: Living Walls, Wind Turbines and More
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
From Sweden, an entire booth of green design, from living walls to wind power (and a lovely sofa).....
Offices often need partitions for privacy and noise control; usually they are dumb fabric things. Lisa Wacklin wants to replace them with mobile, modular living walls that not only do the usual noise absorption, but also provide oxygen and absorb toxins. ...
George Will is Just Plain Wrong...Here Are Five Cities Where More Than .01% Ride Bikes to Work
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 05.21.09
More bikes than cars...at least in this photo via Bike Portland.
Here is George F. Will sounding off in his latest column in Newsweek. He's dissing New Urbanism, Portland, Oregon and even Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who must have gotten too enthusiastic at a recent meeting with Will:
"Where to start? Does LaHood really think Americans were not avid drivers before a government highway program "promoted" driving? Does he think 0.01 percent of Americans will ever regularly bike to work?"The answer is a definitive yes, Will, and we don't need to denigrate the Transportation Secretary or even cars in order to think so. In fact, isn't it time Will bought a new bicycle and tried it out himself? ...
First Bison Calves in 150 Years Born on Native Iowa Prairie
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.21.09
photo: Nature Conservancy
One more example of the benefits of conservation: For the first time in 150 years bison calves has been born on native prairie in Iowa, within a herd bred for conservation and that has never been interbred with cattle. It all happened at the largest remaining area of prairie in Iowa, the Broken Kettle Grassland. Nature.org talked with the director of stewardship at Broken Kettle on why this is so significant. Here's an excerpt:...
China in 2020: Powered by 35% Clean Energy
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.21.09
Photo via China Daily
China's notorious coal-powered plants will be given some relief, come 2020--an announcement's been made that the #1 greenhouse gas emitting country in the world plans to have 35% of its power come from clean energy sources by then. And good thing, too, seeing as how China's coal plants burn 20 million tons of coal a year. China believes it's on target to generate roughly 570 gigawatts of clean energy a year--which is some good news in for the otherwise hazy, carbon-filled future of the economic giant. ...
Solar Trees Camouflage About As Well as Cell Phone Towers
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.21.09
Image via: Flickr.com
Like it or not, some people still won't go solar based on aesthetics alone. Crazy, huh? Well, Solar Botanic is hoping to corner that market with solar trees that are pleasing to the eye and capitalize on movement from solar, wind and heat generated, reports Fast Company. But can they actually get them to work?...
Rack from Hero Design Lab Looks Good, Folds Flat
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
Jenny Lemieux and Leo Corrales of Hero Design Lab
We love solar powered dryers, AKA clotheslines, but many people don't have room to string one up. Drying racks are an alternative, but many are flimsy things and few are attractive. The Hero Design Lab has developed its 365 Series powder coated aluminum rack that works as a privacy screen when flat, or opens up for flat drying and with opening rods....
540 MW Wind Farm Proposed for Shetland Islands
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.21.09
photo: Patrick Finnegan via flickr.
If all goes well the Shetland Islands will have quite a wind power feather in their cap: Viking Energy (a joint venture between the Shetland community and Scottish and Southern Energy) has submitted an application for a 540 MW wind farm, to be built on the central mainland of Shetland:...
Indiana Taxpayers Pay To Clean Up Abandoned Manure Lagoon
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.21.09
Aerial view of working hog manure holding lagoon. Image credit:New York Times/Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
An abandoned, enormous lagoon, if over-filled with pig poo and water, in addition to smelling awful, poses a risk of overflow. A torrent of liquid brown disgust making it into a stream or lake - or possibly some backyards or well-heads - is a risk that ranks in seriousness with a hazardous waste truck crash. This is what can happen when a hog farm goes out of business, as in a recent example from Northern Indiana, in which taxpayers may have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for an emergency cleanup. How amazing it is that for decades legislatures have often sought to protect manure lagoons from commonsense environmental regulation, as if the big bad boogie man of EPA is the real danger....
Bob Lutz Defends the Chevy Volt on Letterman, Talks About EV1 (Video)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.21.09
The Duel that Wasn't
It all started when Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk went on David Letterman to show the Tesla Model S electric car. During the conversation, the Chevy Volt was mentioned negatively, so of course Bob Lutz had to come on the show to defend GM's new halo car. That was last night, and we have the video of the interview below....
Author Edward Humes on the Rise of the Eco Barons (Part One)
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 05.21.09
In the latest book from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes we meet an eccentric cast of “eco barons,” the moniker Humes has given to the new breed of maverick pro-planet crusaders. The troupe includes unsung and under-the-radar eco barons such as the founder of Esprit, a California pool cleaner turned climate czar, the father of the plug-in hybrid car, and even Ted Turner. Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download. ...
Rat Infestation at the Non Fiction Design Collective
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
I loved the sense of humour in the Non Fiction Design Collective. They use old bricks and china castoffs:
We want to intentionally blur the line between the hand and the tool, between the idea and the object. We are interested in merging the worlds of ceramics & printmaking and the remaking and reuse of industrial cast-offs. Operating in a hybrid world between handwork and mechanization our labor-intensive processes mix with strange detritus. Abandoned wallpaper and reclaimed bricks combine with hand carved block prints and fussy porcelain....
Giant Robot to Clear Cut Trees, Fight Forest Fires?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.21.09
All images via Tuvie
Okay, wow. Here's an idea for you--a giant, saw blade-wielding robot that can be unleashed to fight forest fires. See, it can be deployed to rapidly clear cut a section of forest to contain a blaze with those massive buzz saws, sparing pristine acres and saving lives. Just goes to show what a generation of designers reared on a steady diet of Transformers, Voltron, and I guess, Captain Planet can do when they put their mind to it....
Snorkeling Scientists Could Keep A Close Eye on Corals
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
Image via IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says that snorkel toting scientists might be the next coral reef protection brigade, noting that smaller teams of observers flitting around the reefs making notes on underwater paper could be the perfect way to assess coral formations and health during climate change. ...
Watch the Falcons Living in Sagrada Familia Cathedral via Web Cam
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 05.21.09
One of the tours of architect Gaudi’s famous cathedral La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has now become the home of a family of falcons. Peregrine Falcons had disappeared from the city in the 70ies, but reappeared in 2005 by moving into the unfinished church, under construction since 1882. Since the (recorded) birth of four falcons last month, the citizens and tourists can observe the family with binoculars or via the web cam. ...
Powerkiss: Furniture that Charges Without Wires
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
Photo Credit Emma Alter
No more wires and wall-warts! Powerkiss introduces a world without chargers. They build an induction charging module into furniture, and supply a small charging stick that attaches to your phone. It will be easier to use this in Europe, which is moving toward a charging standard; the charging stick could even be integrated into the phone. It doesn't produce enough power right now to do laptops, but as their energy requirements come down they may soon.
...
Endangered Right Whales Found In North Atlantic Waters Where They Were Thought Extinct
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.21.09
photo: NOAA
Every once in a while there's some good news on the endangered species front: A team of scientists from Oregon State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has discovered an undetermined number of North Atlantic right whales, in an area where it was thought they had been hunted nearly extinction over a hundred years ago:...
Google PowerMeter Announces First Energy Partners for PowerMeter
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
Images via Google
Google has announced the first energy companies they're working with for the PowerMeter smart grid project. They range all over the US and all over the world. Check out the first eight to go Google on their grid. ...
Fun with Finns: Shipping Containers Full of Playful Finnish Design (video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
All photos and videos by Emma Alter
The streets of the meatpacking district in New York were full of shipping containers last weekend, presenting "new innovations from Finland with a focus on play and creativity as elementary forces in human life."
The exhibit lived up to its billing, full of interesting stuff, well presented by tall blonde people....
Are Vertical Farms the Answer After All?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.21.09
High-Tech Greenhouses See 20-Fold Increase in Yields
Adam Stein of Terrapass was famously skeptical about vertical farms, describing them as "pie in the sky". So I was surprised to read one of his latest blog posts, in which he links to an LA Times article about high-tech California greenhouses that are employing vertical farming techniques, and boosting crop yields per acre by a factor of 20. Could it be that Adam was wrong about vertical farming? ...
Taiwanese Wind Farm Kills Goats By Sleep Deprivation
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.21.09
photo: Jimmy Yao via flickr.
We've all heard reports of varying veracity of wind farms killing birds and bats, but goats? That's what a Taiwanese farmer is claiming, and the Ministry of Agriculture seems to agree with him. The BBC has the full story but this is the gist of it:...
Needed: Copernican Shift Toward A Global Eco-Economy
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 05.21.09
Copernicus. Image credit:NASA
In 1543, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus published "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres," in which he challenged the view that the sun revolved around the earth, arguing instead that the earth revolved around the sun. With his new model of the solar system, he began a wide-ranging debate among scientists, theologians, and others. His alternative to the earlier Ptolemaic model, which had the earth at the center of the universe, led to a revolution in thinking, to a new worldview....
Yahoo! Challenges DIYers for The Next Big Consumable
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
Image via Yahoo! Make It Green
Yahoo! Green has a new campaign called Make It Green, which promotes getting super creative about green projects. It's a competition worth $2,500 and a share in future product sales for the winner. But, there's a bit of a catch. ...
The One Ouch Kids Will Love!
by Alan Graham, Portland, Oregon on 05.21.09
There are a lot of kids books out there. There are a lot of environmental kids books out there. But there aren't many quite like Steampotville, by Steve Ouch (pronounced as expected). Without being preachy or over the top, Steampotville takes readers on a fantastical journey where animals repurpose our junk into a world of fun yet absurd perspectives, that definitely challenge the way you might look at the world...or...um, their world.
Then again what would you expect from a UN Arabic translator, truck driver, pumpkin picker, marketing director, English teacher, cabbie, Victoria Secret bra salesman, farmer, designer and artist?...
Scientists Say River Systems Take Second Fiddle in Nature Reserves
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
Photo via Nicholas_T
A new study shows that the conservation efforts that include the Iberian river basins are fragmented, and that fact is doing a lot of harm for the health of the rivers as a whole. They recommend that in order to help the river systems, there needs to be a stronger networking of rivers into the nature reserves through which they flow, since often water ways are not included in the layout of land-based conservation efforts. And with 92% of the species in one of those basis, the Guadiana River basin, are under threat, it needs to happen fast....
Can We Afford Incremental Improvements?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
When Eric wrote his post Save a Tree... Use an Unbreakable Golf Tee a commenter responded with Save a forest... stop playing golf. Then Kristen wrote in Stronger, Greener Fishing Lures: Why Didn't We Think of That that 25 million pounds of fishing lures are lost each year, stuck in fishes mouths or possibly picked up by turtles. And I wonder in these times, do these sports belong to another era? Or are these "improvements" a step in the right direction?
...
Indian State Achieves Western Standards on Fraction of Income: A Slideshow
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 05.21.09
The state of Kerala in southwest India is a socio-economic abberation: despite a per capita GDP of US$247, far below the world average, its 32 million people enjoy good health care, US-level birth rates, literacy rates and life expectancies. “Demographically, in other words,” Bill McKibben wrote in 1998, “Kerala mirrors the United States on about one-seventieth the cash.” Today its economy is hurting as its foreign remittances dwindle – Kerala is known for providing much of the now shrinking Middle Eastern migrant workforce. But the template for the state's strange demographics began long before, with Hindu rulers, missionaries and then leftist governments emphasizing widespread education and health care.
...
New Website Helps People Implement Their Green Action Plans
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
Image via GoingGreenToday
A new website hopes to help budding greenies put their good intentions into action by providing a daily action plan and reminder system. It customizes a plan based on a user's daily routine, so they don't have to go out of their way to take simple green actions....
No Rush To Replace Yucca Mountain: Adding US Nuclear Generation Capacity More Critical
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.21.09
Portrait of René Descartes.
Image credit:Wikipedia
A panel of nuclear-power experts, meeting at MIT recently, made the point that now that the Obama administration wants to take completing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository 'off the table,' finding an alternative is relatively low priority.
Per the report in Technology Review: "A much more urgent issue, the experts said, is pushing forward the permitting and construction of new nuclear-power plants." I hadn't noticed a preceding rush to finish Yucca Mountain. So, what has changed?
As you would expect from panel members from academia, it is important to get more Federal money for researching ways to improve nuclear reactors.
And of course, there is a 'rush' to add nuclear power capacity because of it's low carbon footprint. (When ever I hear this argument I want to know if they are counting the energy and water inputs needed for fuel extraction and processing. Probably not.)...
Dave Burdick Picks This Week's Winners and Losers in Green (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.21.09
There is No Such Thing As Caulk (Or at Least That is What I was Taught)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.21.09
via NOTCOT
I had the honour of being invited to a very exclusive Dwell Magazine/ Tom Dixon party at the Gwathmey-Siegel designed Soho Mews condo in New York on Sunday night. It was in a nice $11.3 million little pile on top, beautiful spaces, quality detailing inside. I felt nervous about taking pictures but NOTCOT didn't, so the interior shots are theirs. But I did take some exterior detail shots....
Chelsea Flower Show Goes From the Ridiculous to the Sublime
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.21.09
The Chelsea Flower Show is so big and so glorious that it can accommodate some silliness within its midst without losing its dignity. This year's absurdity, and controversy, was easily supplied by one of the infamous stars of Top Gear, James May. Top Gear glorifies fast cars and the car culture and is proudly anti-environmental.
Usually fake flowers are banned at the Show, but its star wanted to create a plasticine garden featuring plasticine cars but that was a step too far for the organisers and he was told to do flowers. And so he has. It smells like a birthday party, insects are attracted to it and May admits he is "rubbish at design". And that sums it up. ...
Republicans Misrepresent Cost of Climate Bill
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
As the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) moves through Congress, its opponents are spamming the country's airwaves and inboxes in the hope of putting enough misinformation out into the world that the public will turn against the bill. The latest example is an email from the Republican Study Committee saying that centerpiece of the bill, an industry-wide cap on carbon emissions, will annually cost each America family $3,100. The only problem is that the claim isn't true....
Bullfrogs Under Threat in California
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.20.09
Image via: Getty Images
According to this week's edition of Sacramento News & Review, if federal legislators have their way, they'll do more than threaten this invasive species that is "bull"-ying the endangered California red-legged frog. Calaveras County, and Angels Camp, home of the Jumping Frog Jubilee, is sticking up for their fat friends. ...
iRecycle iPhone App Makes Local Recycling a Breeze
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
Image via Earth911
Earth911 has put out a neat iPhone app that makes recycling locally super simple, telling you exactly what you can recycle and where to take it when you're ready to send it off. ...
U.S. Rail Network Could Create As Many Jobs As Auto Industry
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 05.20.09
We've wondered what role rail and high speed rail -- "Obama's signature issue," for which at least $8 billion is laid out over the next few years -- will play in the new economically stimulated United States, and asked if it's the answer many think it is. It certainly seems like a good solution to outdated infrastructure, oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions.
But here's something to put in your tailpipe: a new domestic rail industry could create as many jobs as struggling Detroit does now, argues Yonah Freemark at Infrastructurist. An American rail network on par with France's could transport 500 million passengers a year on fast rail and provide jobs for one million people operating trains, maintaining track, and serving customers. There are about as many people working in motor vehicle and part manufacturing in the U.S. today....
Greener By Design 2009: Plastic Water Bottles at Green Conferences. Sigh.
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
A driving concept here at Greener by Design is a notion put forward by William McDonough: Doing less bad is not the same as doing good. Period. So, do these "special" plastic water bottles by Nestle, piled up in the refreshment section of the conference, contradict that point? ...
Stronger, Greener Fishing Lures: Why Didn't We Think of That
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.20.09
Image via: Getty Images.
Fishing itself seems so benign (other than killing fish), with just you and mother nature standing idly by for hours on end. What could be wrong with that? Well, all of those lures add up to 25 million pounds of lures left at the bottom of waterways every year. Tinkerer and fisherman Ben Hobbins has a better idea, reports Popular Science....
Spain Moves Toward First Bullfighting Ban
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.20.09
Photo via the LA Times
What do you think of when you picture Madrid? If you say Guernica, you're probably lying. It's bullfighting, of course--the storied sport is seemingly as inseparable from Spanish culture as it is from reading Hemingway. Both an age-old cultural tradition, and a longtime cause of animal rights protest, the sport of bullfighting could become a thing of the past--it's now facing a ban from the Spanish government. ...
Greener By Design 2009: Terracycle's Take on Trash and Sneak Peek at Next Year's Product (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
Terracycle's Tom Szaky was here to talk trash to designers and inspire them to rethink the idea of waste. He brought up two very interesting points that are sure to make anyone, especially designers, pause to think about how we use our resources...and indeed what our resources actually are....
Give a Green Campus Guide For Your Next Handout
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.20.09
Image via: Flickr.com
Tired of giving away cheap plastic gifts at your booth or as a way to get people involved in the launch of a new school program? Why not consider adapting your own How to Go Green guide, but let someone else do most of the work. ...
DIY: Making Your Own Eco-Envelopes With Found Materials
by Kimberley D. Mok, Montreal, Canada on 05.20.09
Brown bags - sewing machine - voila! Pretty envelopes (by Cassandra of SunlitOrchard)Blank envelopes are just that - blank and bland. Thankfully, they don't have to be, as these cool, crafty and smart ideas for transforming found materials into one-of-a-kind envelopes prove (thanks to Jackie of Crafting a Green World for finding these). Old grocery bags, magazine catalogues, nature books, maps - really, the proverbial sky is the limit. Giving envelopes a unique, personal touch is something you can easily do at home too for thank you cards, invitations and packaging for your small business, as these imaginative projects after the fold show. ...
Pierce Brosnan Bonds With Lawmakers Over Whales
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 05.20.09
Brosnan, in James Bond outfit, talks ocean life with whale-tied Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) (IFAW)
Pierce Brosnan continued his environmental assault on Washington yesterday with a visit to the White House and a mixer for members of Congress to boost a new bill on whale preservation.
"In spite of the existence of a moratorium on commercial whaling, the setting of whaling quotas is now completely in the hands of the whalers," the former "James Bond" actor told an audience at an event organized by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, at the Capitol Visitor's Center. "The rest of the world has no say whatsoever in it."...
First Look at the Next Global Climate Treaty
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.20.09
Photo via Inhabitat
And we're off. While US congressmen are battling over the Democrats' climate bill stateside, the United Nations took the first step in creating an international accord by drafting a brand new climate treaty. The targets for greenhouse gas reduction are shaping up to be encouragingly strong--not just for rich nations, but for developing ones like China as well. Here's a sneak peek at what the next global climate treaty might look like....
Greener By Design 2009: It's Not Just Consumers Driving Businesses to Change
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
From left to right: Chris Nelson, Steve Gutmann, and Dr. Rich Liroff
What exactly are the drivers pushing businesses to go green these days. While we often like to think it's consumers and their growing eco-awareness, there's realistically a lot more to it. Three experts sat on a panel at Greener by Design today, explaining the new drivers pushing businesses to green the way they do things. ...
WTF is a Ramp and Why Shouldn't I Eat Them?
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 05.20.09
Photo credit: Emma Alter
According to the Globe and Mail all my exhortations to readers to buy wild leeks, otherwise known as ramps as a healthy, local, sustainable wild harvest may be tragically mistaken....
Pratt's Design for a Dollar is Hit of the Show (video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
The busiest, cleverest and greenest of all the booths was Pratt Institute's Design for a Dollar, where students produced useful and beautiful objects and provided backup to prove that they could be made for less than a dollar. It is a tough challenge, but they came up with many ingenious solutions. ...
Fun At the DesignBoom Mart: Printing and Folding (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
Industrial design site Designboom is always a great source for us at TreeHugger; it is also a great resource and source of support for the design community. It curates the Designboom Mart, where young designers get to strut their stuff to the trades at shows like ICFF. It is always fun, if not very green.
One trend we are noticing is the return, or at least the increased visibility, of craft. Rebecca of Moontree Letterpress brings it back with a modern twist on her Heidelberg Windmill....
NASA Documents the Evaporation of the Aral Sea (2000-2009)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.20.09
Photo: NASA
"Once the world's fourth-largest saline body of water with an area of 68,000 km^2"
The slow destruction of the Aral Sea is a great tragedy. It's really hard to grasp the scale of what is going on, but satellite photos are probably the closest we can come to seeing the big picture. NASA has been documenting changes in the size of the body of water between 2000 and 2009. Check out the bigger pictures below....
2008 US Carbon Emissions Were Lowest in 8 Years
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.20.09
Photo via Thoughts and Ideas on Architecture
According to a new report from the US Department of Energy, carbon emissions in 2008 fell to the lowest levels in eight years, since 2001. The reason for the decline in carbon? None other than the recession and high fuel prices, of course. ...
Western China is Drying Up, But Is Moving Farmers to Cities the Right Answer?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.20.09
The Xinjiang region currently produces an agricultural surplus, but unsustainable irrigation, ongoing drought and future effects of climate change put all that into question. Photo: Clemson via flickr.
The Guardian has been running an interesting series of articles called China at the Crossroads; one of most stark pieces is on water usage in the western region of Xinjiang, where intensive irrigation for agriculture over the past five decades has utterly destroyed ecosystems. It's so bad that some officials are recommending that farmers should be paid to stop farming:...
Stamen Lamps Made From Hundreds of Toothpicks (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
Mike Chino at Inhabitat
Daisuke Hiraiwa created the Stamen lamp by gluing toothpicks to a flexible backing. The results are quite beautiful; my pictures didn't do it justice so I have borrowed from one of many at Inhabitat. Diasuke explains the process in a video:...
Quantum Dots Make LED Lightbulbs Emit More Pleasant Light
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.20.09
Photo: Mark Lennihan
Improving the Light Quality of LED Lightbulbs
LED lights have been working on overcoming two challenges: Generating pleasing light, and being low-cost. QD Vision and Nexxus Lighting have been working together on the first of these. Nexxus made LED lamps with white LEDs, and QD Vision is providing a cover with a coating of specially tuned quantum dots that help make the light-color more pleasing to the eye (mostly by adding some red into the mix, making the final result closer to what people are used to)....
More from The Metropolis Conference at ICFF
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
Susan S. Szenasy of Metropolis with Richard Wool
The Metropolis conference at ICFF was entitled Design Entrepreneurs: INNOVATE, and in the afternoon sessions Susan Szenasy introduced us to product innovators like Professor Richard Wool of the University of Delaware, who builds tractors out of soybeans and hurricane-proof roofs out of chicken feathers. The author of Biobased Polymers and Composites was full of good quotes about why the future is bioplastics:
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Mon Dieu! France to Quadruple Solar Power Capacity by 2011
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.20.09
photo: Alexandre Duret-Lutz/Creative Commons via flickr.
A few days ago Australia's prime minister announced that the nation would be making a serious leap in solar power installation. Cleantech reports that now France aims to make a big jump as well, more than quadrupling solar power capacity in the next two years:...
Don't You Wonder What Happened to Huangbaiyu?
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 05.20.09
The eco-village that never was. Photo via Shannon May.
There was a time when I scoured the Internet for info about the Chinese villages of Huangbaiyu. That's because I was writing articles about eco-cities of the future, and amazingly enough, Huangbaiyu, design child of William McDonough, and its housing project was an eco-city contender. I wrote my stories, aided immeasurably by a (then) graduate student named Shannon May. Other stories critical of the project surfaced. The hype was over and the Huangbaiyu houses ended up as empty uninhabited shells. What exactly happened? A partial picture emerges from May's new web site story about the village....
World Population Growth Good News: Asia-Pacific Fertility Rates Starting to Decline
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.20.09
China is one of the places where fertility rates are starting to drop below the rate of replacement: Jeremy Vandel via flickr.
Undeniably human population growth is at the root of pretty much every single environmental problem we currently face. At the most basic level we're talking about a question of scale. And Mongabay is reporting some relatively good news on this front. Population growth rates in parts of Asia are beginning to slow:...
Plants to Monitor Pollution in Two Turkish Cities
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 05.20.09
Redbud trees are among the plants that will help monitor air pollution in the Turkish cities of Tarsus and Erdemli. Photo by B~ via Flickr.
The bounty of tulips that the Istanbul municipality plants in the city's public squares, parks, and gardens each April to celebrate the coming of spring shows how radically--and attractively--a bit of nature can transform urban space. But decorative plants are more, so to speak, than just a pretty face. By using them to monitor air pollution, cities can clean up as well as green up....
HangerPak: Transformer Packaging Turns Into Shirt Hanger
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.20.09
The Optimus Prime of Packaging
Packaging is a tough one. You can often reduce the amount used, but you still need something to protect what you're shipping. One solution is to make it out of recycled materials, and to make sure that it is easy to recycle, but that's still not completely satisfactory, which is why Steve Haslip's HangerPak is so cool. Read on for more details...
Profits Trump the Environment, Again: StatoilHydro Shareholders Vote Against Getting Out of the Tar Sands
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.20.09
photo: WWF - Unconventional Oil: Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel?
Squeezing oil out of the tar sands is one of the most water intensive, carbon emitting, and environmentally destructive fossil fuel sources out there. But that hasn't stopped shareholders of Norway's StatoilHydro from giving up on them. Reuters reports that shareholders overwhelming chose oil profits over the environment:...
Carry-Na: Good Design Comes to the Seniors Set
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
all images by Dave Pinter of PSFK
I did not photograph the Carry-na because at the time, I couldn't really think of a green angle; reading Dave Pinter in PSFK has made me reconsider. It is a reinvention of the clunky walkers that help seniors get around, but it looks sleek and folds flat....
Is Daimler Buy-in a Death Knell or Salvation for Tesla?
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 05.20.09
Image: Daimler
Solid Buys Sexy
Yesterday, Daimler AG acquired about ten percent of Tesla Motors, Inc. The purchase had been in the works for 18 months, and follows the establishment of a Daimler-Tesla partnership for cooperating on battery technology. Further acquisition is not being ruled out.
German engineering meets American pioneering spirit. "Solid Buys Sexy," the German newspaper Die Zeit headlined the news. But is this a match made in heaven, or the beginning of a slow death for independent e-car startups?...
7 Eco Adventures that Could Kill You
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 05.20.09
Photo via Flickr
Eco travel is all the new rage, but some trips require some real cohonas to take the plunge. From protecting sharks and crocodiles in Belize to biking Bolivia's Road of Death to volcano surfing in Nicaragua, these seven eco adventures are not for the pacemaker set. Sign up at your own risk, kiss your loved ones goodbye, and take out a life insurance policy before you embark. With a little care, you can knock each one off your list and live to talk about it....
Europe's Largest Onshore Wind Farm Given Permission to Expand to 452 MW
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.20.09
photo: Robert Pogorzelski via flickr.
Some double good wind power news from Scotland: Not only has Europe's currently largest onshore wind farm, the £300 million, 322 MW Whitelee Wind Farm been officially switched on—even though it first began producing power back in January—but the BBC reports that it will be allowed to expand:...
Watching the IF Mode Bike Fold and Unfold (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
We liked the if-mode bike so much that we posted on it twice on Treehugger. Now we do it again, after seeing it for real in the Areaware booth at ICFF. I asked Noel Wiggins of Areaware to demonstrate the folding action, which is pretty spectacular.
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Jay Leno Test-Drives the Aptera Electric Car (Up To 70 MPH)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.20.09
Photo: Aptera Motors
Green Until the Lear Jet Part
As you probably know, Aptera completed the first production units of the Aptera 2e (the all electric version) a few months ago. Now the car (well, legally a motorcycle because of the 3 wheels...) has been making the rounds, starting with the TED conference, and now Jay Leno's Garage. Check out the video of Jay test-driving the Aptera 2e at 70 MPH below....
5.2°C Temperature Rise by 2100: New Business-As-Usual Climate Change Scenario Presented by MIT
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.20.09
Two Russian roulette graphs showing potential global warming as presented by MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Warming
Sit down for this one: New analysis from MIT on how much global average temperatures could rise if we continue burning fossil fuels and emitting carbon like there's no tomorrow indicates that things could be twice as bad as we thought:...
John Reeves' Cast Aluminum Furniture (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
Industrial designer John Reeves uses local materials and labour to make his furniture- in Viet Nam. Aluminum is recycled from old Honda engine blocks and sand-cast; wood is sustainably harvested oak. It is not as durable as teak, but John doesn't trust the teak....
Paraglider Fabrics Recycled into Cool Bags and Accessories
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 05.20.09
Photos: Courtesy of Baumm.
Even when our repurposed materials accessories archive is vast, there's always a new material to recycle into design.
This time it's fabric from paragliding devices, which the fellows from previously featured design firm Baumm are turning into backpacks, gym bags, laptop covers and wallets, among others.
Why do these need to be recycled? Click through for the answer and pictures of the whole line!...
Young British Designers Take Over ICFF (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.20.09
A flying squad of young British designers showed off some innovative uses of unusual materials, from cardboard to plastic spoons to cutlery, demonstrating that designers can work with just about anything.
Chun-wei Liao presented a coffee table and stool made from cardboard that is shipped flatpack, then assembled to suit the tastes of the owner. He explains in the video below....
Rail Versus Trucking: Who's The Greenest Freight Carrier?
by Rocky Mountain Institute on 05.20.09
Our last two posts on improving trucking efficiency (see here and here) received quite a bit of push-back from the TreeHugger audience. While some comments were tempered, others were more blunt, "There is nothing green about trucks," you said. And, "Get freight back on the rails where it belongs."
At RMI we agree that any serious freight strategy needs to have a big picture, integrative perspective that includes smart land-use and development as well as efficient rail, truck, and shipping transport....
Greener by Design 2009: What the Heck is GreenOps Recyclables Tracking?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
Floating around Greener by Design are boxes like the one above. They sport the GreenOps logo, which puts in place a very interesting tracking system for recyclables that might just be the next wave in recycling transparency. ...
Greener by Design 2009: Innovators Show Off New Twists on Old Products
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.20.09
Innovators have a chance to show off their wares at Greener by Design, and there are some very interesting new products to check out, from reusable shipping packaging to a sustainable alternative to concrete or wood for construction, to a tiny little car that is a TreeHugger favorite. ...
10 Sexy & Sustainable Swimsuits for Summer (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 05.20.09
Sexy sustainable swimsuit styles for Summer/ Credit: Emobi
Swimsuit-ready for Summer? Not to worry we have selected ten sexy sustainable swimsuit styles that will motivate a last minute shape-up, try eating green or sunless tanning, and ensure you’ll have a slammin’ suit to match your bod. From suits manufactured in the USA under fair trade practices to earth-friendly fabrics like soy fiber, organic cotton, hemp, recycled denim, and water-based dyes, you’ll never guess what some of these upcycled suits once were.
If you want to see some skin, skim our 10 Sexy & Sustainable Swimsuits for Summer Slideshow.
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Thin-Film Solar Goes Head-to-Head With Crystalline
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.20.09
Image credit: Conergy USA
Thin-Film vs Crystalline Solar: Parallel Installation
There is always much excitement around thin-film solar projects. =From reports that thin-film could compete with fossil fuels in ten years, to news of the world's largest thin-film solar installation. But does the technology really live up to the hype? And how does thin-film compare in performance to traditional crystalline solar? A large installation in California's Central Valley may hold some of the answers, with giant crystalline and thin-film solar tracking arrays placed next to each other. So how are the two different technologies performing?
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Chelsea Flower Show Features Vegetables and Recycled Objects
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.20.09
The Chelsea Flower Show has a slight recession theme this year; with fewer gardens and more wild and natural plantings incorporated into the designs. Of course there will always be the over-the-top displays--garden porn--as it is known because everyone has their voyeuristic side.
But there is also a lot of creativity and ingenuity being shown. The Ace of Spades is a biker's garden. Despite its not-very-TreeHugger-theme, it incorporates all kinds of recycled bike parts, oil drums, old tires and other motorcycle gear in a charming way. ...
Rock Your Socks Off With Manimal's Eco-Friendly Mocs
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.19.09
Photo credit: Manimal
Everything old eventually becomes new again. Take moccasins, for example, once the objects of my sartorially misguided prepubescent affection—in blinding white, no less, fringe, beads, and all. The tepee-worthy foot warmers just got a major style upgrade under Kristen Lombardi's nimble fingers.
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Who Uses the Most Energy in the US? The Military
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.19.09
Image via: Getty Images.
In 2007, US Department of Defense (DOD) spent $13 billion USD on fuel and this number jumped to $20 billion USD in 2008. With the military planning on moving forces from Iraq to Afghanistan this year, that dollar figure is only expected to rise further. In response, this week a panel of retired military brass called on colleagues to not turn a blind eye to going green....
Teko Socks Get Kid-Friendly
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.19.09
Photo credit: Teko
My favorite performance socks, hands—or would that be feet?—down is now available for tinier tootsies. Woven from chlorine-free, certified-organic merino wool and recycled polyester, then colored with nontoxic dyes, Teko's new kid's socks are just sized-down versions of their adult forebears, which means you get the same seamless toe, footbed cushioning, arch support, shrink resistance, and oh-so-comfy bundled-up toastiness....
Organic Food Leads to Starvation. Not.
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
Save a Tree... Use an Unbreakable Golf Tee
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 05.19.09
Photo via: Launcher Tee
What do you get when you cross an aerospace engineer with the game of golf?...
Obama's New Emission Standard Will Save 1.8 Billion Barrels of Oil by 2016
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.19.09
Photo via Bloomberg
And now it's official: there's a brand new national auto emission standard in effect, which will force all cars to get an average of 35.5 MPG when sold in 2016. We broke the news earlier today that Obama made the important announcement, but here's how it all played out. After running down the massive benefits of the move (like huge oil and emissions savings), Obama emphasized the importance of passing the Democrats' climate bill to reduce further emissions. In short, it's a huge day for green--these are the highlights, and what the new law means for the US....
Greener By Design 2009: HP and a Computer Box Meant to Last Forever
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
HP is no slouch in the greener packaging sector. Mark Solomon, Lead Designer in the Innovation Program Office at the company showed off some interesting packaging ideas for one of their notebooks. However, does it boarder on greenhushing?...
Greener by Design 2009: It Doesn't Matter If It's Sustainable If It Isn't Cool, and Other Insights
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
A panel this morning at Greener by Design featured Angela Nahikian from Steelcase, Inc, Adam Lowry from Method, and Joseph Fiksel from the Center for Resilience at Ohio State University. The three offered some great pieces of information about product design and sustainability, from how to remember the resources we use to getting consumers to actually buy what it is designers create. ...
Greener By Design 2009: William McDonough and Designing with Intent
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
Wouldn't it be great if we designed products in the same way that living things are designed? This is a question often posed by William McDonough, and was again asked today at Greener by Design. In other words, what if the products we design do what living things do, and that is grow, use free energy from the sun, and have an open metabolism in which what is consumed is also returned. McDonough pointed out to the audience that to do this, designers must keep intent in mind when dreaming up new ideas. And the first question designers need to ask themselves when getting started is quite a doozy....
Greener by Design 2009: Joel Makower and The New Normal (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
Joel Makower welcomed the many green minded designers with a positive thought: We're witnessing the first time when, during a recession and times of lay offs, the leaders in sustainability of companies are not the first to get thrown overboard. Instead, sustainability and eco-innovation is still a major priority among companies. That means we're witnessing the New Normal. ...
Robo Taxi Requires No Driver And No Tip
by Jerry James Stone, San Francisco, CA on 05.19.09
Photo courtesy of: EcoFriend
The Robo Taxi -- which hopefully behaves nothing like RoboCop -- is a robotic taxi designed for large metropolitan cities.
Conceived by designer Kubik Petr, the vehicle holds only two passengers with a minimal amount of luggage. It's driven by two electric motors connected to the vehicle's back wheels. The car would be built from the lightest of materials and can operate for up to 20 hours.
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Ultrathin, Ultra-Tiny Solar Cells Fit for Your T-Shirt?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.19.09
Photos via the NY Times
The North Carolina company Semprius is looking to produce what may be some of the tiniest solar cells ever made. Borne out of research by Illinois University professor John A. Rogers, the cells will be smaller than one-tenth the thickness of conventional panels and flexible enough to attach to fabric and plastics. According to the New York Times, Semprius plans on pioneering the use of solar cells in a slew of places never thought practical before: sunroofs of cars, awnings--even your t-shirt....
Ash Spill Fallout Continues: Now "260 Times the Allowable Amount" of Arsenic in Drinking Water Supply
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.19.09
Photo via Kentucky Environmental Matters
Things just never get any better when it comes to news about the ash spill at TVA's Kingston plant in Tennessee. Even though the spill hit way back in December, the repercussions keep on piling up--now, the Appalachian Voices has completed a study showing that the nearby Emory River, a source of drinking water, has been contaminated with "260 times the allowable amount of arsenic." Preliminary reports in January put the arsenic levels around 300 times the safe amount, but it's still atrocious. Arsenic can cause cancer or downright poisoning--and organ failure and death. But that's not all that was lurking in the once safe water supply....
Do Cap-and-Trade and Carbon Tax Advocates Both Miss the Point of How to Best Beat Global Warming?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.19.09
photo: Kyle Eertmoed
Though cap-and-trade is currently winning the day in the how to set a price on carbon battle, proponents of a carbon tax as being the better way to go certainly have valid arguments on their side. Too bad that both take the wrong approach if the end goal is reducing greenhouse gas emissions and doing so by substituting polluting and finite energy sources with clean and renewable ones. That's the word from Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger in a new piece in Yale Environment 360:...
Obama And Clean Cars: One For The History Books
by Greg Haegele of Sierra Club on 05.19.09
Mileage sticker from older model Dodge Dakota. Image credit:EastPlaza
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TreeHugger "business & politics" blogger Brian Merchant sparked a great discussion yesterday when he wrote about the Obama administration's proposed new fuel-economy standards to be announced today.
This is one for the history books, folks. The Sierra Club and others have tackled this issue in so many ways, over so many years, it's hard to recount all the letter-writing campaigns, rallies, court hearings, phone-banks, flyers, and other tactics to get what we're getting today: the first national tailpipe standard for global-warming emissions. Today's good news also involves new vehicle fuel economy standards - check out this blurb from the fact sheet given to today's attendees of the White House announcement ceremony (we have several folks there):...
Reducing Biodiversity Increases Risk that Diseases will Jump from Animals to People
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.19.09
The Silliest Thing in ICFF: The Bunny Bag (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.19.09
We are pretty blasé about reusable shopping bags these days, but how could we pass Japan design company H Concept's bag in a bunny. Jason Gilbert of their American distributor demonstrates below the fold.
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Pierce Brosnan at EPA: "Markey. Waxman-Markey"
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 05.19.09
Photo: EPA
First of Two EPA Hearings on Greenhouse Gas Regulation
As Washington fluttered with climate change action yesterday, actor and environmental campaigner Pierce Brosnan added some star power to a public hearing at the Environmental Protection Agency about greenhouse gas emissions. But Brosnan said nothing about the hearing's topic, the endangerment finding that could mean regulations over emissions sources under the Clean Air Act. Instead, he praised Washington's alternate approach to climate change, the Waxman-Markey bill, which is getting a (slow) mark-up on Capitol Hill this week. Video below......
Sketchy Logging Practice Threatens the Only Orangutans Successfully Reintroduced into the Wild
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.19.09
photo: James Gagen via flickr.
Orangutans in Indonesia just can't catch a break. The latest instance is that the only area in which orangutans have been successfully reintroduced into the wild is under threat from logging operations planned by Asian Pulp & Paper and the Sinar Mas Group:...
O'BON Offers 20% Off Eco-Friendly Pencils, Stationery, and More
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 05.19.09
It’s that time of the year…the weather is getting warmer which means more events and more lists, which also means more notebooks and binders to organize. If you need to stock up, look no further than O'BON, an eco-friendly pencil and stationery company that has been gaining visibility due to the eye-catching design of their products.
O'Bon's colorful pencils are made by tightly wrapping recycled newspaper around graphite, and they're much more durable than traditional pencils made from wood. O'BON's notebooks and folders are made from recycled materials and bagasse (aka: sugarcane) paper, which has less impact on the environment than traditional paper. ...
Obama Announces New Fuel Economy Standards (35.5 MPG in 2016)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.19.09
This guy won't be too happy. Photo: Lydia Marcus
Feel Average of 35.5 MPG in 2016
We already knew it was coming, but now it's official. the US fuel economy standards are being beefed up starting in 2012, ramping up by 5% a year to a fleet average (cars & trucks) of 35.5 MPG in 2016. This makes the CAFE law passed by Congress in 2007 (requiring an average fuel economy of 35 mpg in 2020) pretty much obsolete. More details below....
Who Said Taking the Train was Boring? Swinging on San Francisco's BART
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.19.09
Photo: Audrey Penven, CC
Is This the Beginning of a New Meme? Swings in Trains?
Somebody decided to make the world just a little bit more interesting, and three red swings appeared on the BART Public Transit System in San Francisco for the public to enjoy. You really need to check out the photos below, they're great....
China & US Held Secret Climate Change Talks As Early as 2007
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.19.09
The international debate over what sort of post-Kyoto climate change agreement emerges often gets characterized as having China and the United States continually butting heads over who's going to go first and actually commit to reducing emissions significant amounts. There's also the impression (borne out by action, no doubt about that...) that the Bush administration couldn't care less about climate change. Well, The Guardian is reporting that since 2007 China and the US have been engaging in secret talks to hammer out these differences:...
Clever Sink Design Saves Water and Time when Doing the Dishes
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 05.19.09
Photos: Courtesy of Juan Solari Howard.
So after a lot of thought, we've come to the conclusion that using the dishwasher can be greener than hand wash, but we've also found that the manual work can be done a lot more efficiently.
How can we achieve that? Juan Solari Howard is a young Argentine designer that has come up with a clever (and sleek) sink design especially developed to save water, time, and energy (yours) when doing the dishes manually.
Check the extended for a full display of photos showing how!...
Daimler Buys a 10% Stake in Electric Car Maker Tesla Motors
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.19.09
Photo: Daimler
Much Needed Cash and Expertise for Tesla
Tesla had already announced a deal with Daimler at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, but this is bigger. The first deal involved supplying battery packs for the Smart Electric Drive, but this new deal, which involves a 10% equity buy by Daimler, makes for a much closer partnership. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said: "Where I see the significant value, the mutually beneficial partnership, is that Tesla brings expertise on the battery electric front, Daimler brings expertise associated with everything else on the automobile."...
Breakthrough Design Uses Electrical Towers to Harvest Wind Power
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.19.09
The winners of this year's Next Generation design competition have unearthed an idea that's brilliant in its simplicity: adding wind turbines to already existing electrical towers. The project, aptly called Wind-It, would have wind turbines built on pylons and towers along high voltage lines across the US, sparing the need to build entirely new structures on private or government land--and they'd generate as much as a megawatt of power per tower. Has this concept solved one of the biggest problems with wind power?...
Global Shipping Industry Could Use Existing Efficiency Measures to Cut Emissions & Increase Profits
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.19.09
That's fog, not pollution... photo: Ingrid Taylar via flickr
Compared to sending goods long distances by truck or airplane is far less efficient than sending them by ship, and on the level of an individual product the emissions not that great, in the aggregate shipping is a major source of emissions—about 3% of global emissions in fact. A new report though shows that the shipping industry not only need not worry about emission reduction programs increasing their costs; in fact, deploying methods to cut emissions could actually save the industry money:...
Design Entrepreneurs Innovate at ICFF
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.19.09
Susan Szenasy and James Ludwig
The program said "the key to success-now more than ever- is INNOVATION. How are designers, architects businesses and schools reinventing themselves to fit 21st century models?" Susan Szenasy of Metropolis hosted, shown above with James Ludwig, Vice President of Design for the office furniture company Steelcase, not a company with a reputation for being cutting edge. That is going to change.
Ludwig made some interesting predictions about the future of the office:...
Australia: The Politics of Environment - A Brief Round-Up
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 05.19.09
photo: Tim via flickr.
They say “a week is a long time in politics.” And this was my first thought when Matthew asked me, a month ago, to consider a round-up of business and politics events from Australia.
It may be a large sunburnt land blessed with many natural assets, but the so called Lucky Country might be using up some of its nine lives, if recent events are anything to go by. Some of the worst weather since records began suggest the climate is a changing. And not just atmospherically, politically as well. Not only are international icons like the Great Barrier Reef at risk via climate change, so are one of the oldest indigenous peoples on the planet. So what should a country, which can claim the dubious distinction of being the world’s highest emitters of carbon dioxide per capita, do to improve it’s environmental footprint? We peek at a smattering of the issues below....
How To Make Biochar & Bio-Oil, Re:Char Demonstrates (Video)
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.19.09
Greener by Design 2009: Putting Designers in the Center of Cradle-to-Cradle Thinking
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
The Greener By Design conference kicks off today in San Francisco, but couldn't wait to get designers thinking about the cradle-to-cradle way of working. Yesterday a workshop was held that offered some incredible inspiration for the 36 designers in attendance, including designers from major companies like Disney, Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, and more. They learned how to make their designs not only do no harm, but do 100% good. ...
Craft Meets Computers At Iannone Design (Video)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.19.09
One of the trends we see at ICFF is the continuing dance between craft and tech, as the computer driven technologies become more affordable. For example, TreeHugger favourite Michael Iannone is standing next to a console that he built out of wheatboard and bamboo, but then photoshopped an image into dots that are translated by a computer controlled drill into 3,500 holes of various depths, creating the image on the face of the unit.
I asked Michael to show us what's new....
Should Mileage Standards Be Raised?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.19.09
The American government is going to raise the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standard to an average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2012. (yesterday's report was a bit off). But many question whether this is the right way to get better mileage; the last time it was set, the auto industry literally drove a truck through the regulations. And, when gas was cheap, people wanted big cars. Who in the comments from our post do you agree with?
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Hay on Earth Develops Sustainable Solutions for Wales at Hay Literary Festival
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 05.19.09
Images via Hay Festival
The Hay Festival, taking place this weekend, is one of the most respected literary and ideas festival in the world. Each year it plays host to great minds, writers, poets, and musicians who are creating inspiring work. Think of it as a low key version of TED in the green Welsh countryside rather than on the golden Californian coast. This year for the second year running, alongside it's usual programme, the Hay Festival is hosting Hay on Earth, a programme of workshops dedicated to developing practical sustainable solutions for Wales. Click through to find out what's on......
Can Space Tourism Really Be Green?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.19.09
Image credit: The Guardian
Virgin Galactic President on Space Tourism's "Very Low Impact"
Last week Lloyd reported on Leo Hickman's attack on the Branson space-tourism venture Virgin Galactic. Hickman argued that it was "one of the most extravagant and self-centred uses of a fossil fuel imaginable." Lloyd has also had a good chuckle at the concept of a LEED-certified space port. The folks at Virgin, however, are asking people to not rush to judgment - and are fighting back against the skeptics. In fact, they claim, "getting into space has very low impact." Can this really be true?...
Q&A With PJM President & CEO Terry Boston
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.19.09
Image credit:Wikimedia.
PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 US states and the District of Columbia. The amount of renewable energy proposed changes throughout the year as new projects are added and some are withdrawn from the process, and PJM aims to track it all. With so much at stake in energy legislation currently being put together by the US Congress, I thought it would be helpful to get an industry prespective on Cap & Trade proposals and renewable energy. Please welcome PJM's President and CEO, Terry Boston....
Intel's International Science Fair Places Eco-Inspired Project in Top Three
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
Photo via Intel
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair had a lot of cool entries, as we mentioned last week. They've announced the three top projects. Not only were all three finalists young women - go science savvy girls! - but one of them was an eco-inspired project to help with water pollution issues. Li Boynton, a high school student from Houston, TX, developed a biosensor from bioluminescent bacteria (a living organism that gives off light) to detect the presence of contaminants in public water. Li’s biosensor is cheaper and easier to use than current biosensors and she hopes it can be used in developing countries to reduce water toxicity. Check out a video of the winners and Boynton's project after the jump. ...
Dirty Beaches Inspire Graffiti and Found Art (Slideshow)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.19.09
Photos via Chloe Hanks and Lou Mccurdy
Lou McCurdy and Chloe Hanks take dirty beaches seriously, and have come up with some clever and beautiful artwork to spread the message that keeping our seasides clean is important. Their focus is on Brighton Beach, though the message can be taken anywhere. Click through to see a slide show of their artwork, on exhibit now.
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Five Record-Breaking Trash Cans
by Mark Ontkush, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 05.19.09
Image from NowPublic
Ahhh trash, we live amongst it although perhaps without as much esprit de corps as our furry green friend. Trash comes in all substance and sizes - brown banana peels, sticky popsicle wrappers, the occasional ship which needs to be scuttled - but one bit is clear: we are obsessive about collecting these cast-offs. This large variety of temporary and permanent resting places are known as 'Trash Cans' and have a record book all of their own - Grouchy Oscar himself wins the Trash Can Award for most widely recognized. Click-thru for four other odd, exotic, record-breaking garbage receptacles, including one triple record holder!...
Chelsea Flower Show Garden Created By the Homeless
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.19.09
The Chelsea Garden Show, now in its 86th year, is a high point in the horticultural social scene, with the Queen and all sorts of celebrities attending on Opening Day. But amidst the glitter and glamour of the fabulous show gardens, there is a fascinating and stunning social experiment.
The Key is a major garden developed through a collaboration between a government agency working with the homeless, prisoners and the Eden Project. It more than holds its own amongst the glitzy show gardens surrounding it. ...
"Beat Poverty" Event On World Fair Trade Day In Japan
by greenz.jp, Tokyo, Japan on 05.19.09
Photos from Safia's blog
The good people over at People Tree are a real insipration here in Japan. This year's World Fair Trade Day was no exception: 800 people showed up to watch their fashion show, there was Taiko drumming by Gocoo, a celebrated band with a lot of energy (watch the video below the fold) and other fashion-related events. Says Safia Minney:
Whether you attended a World Fair Trade Day event or not the biggest support you can give is buying Fair Trade and telling your friends about it....
Lead Still Killing California Condors
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Photo via Pinnacles National Monument
Pinnacles National Monument has worked for years to bring back the condor to healthy population levels. Since 2003, they've released 23 into the wild, but their progress is often slowed by lead, which can poison wildlife....
NRDC Offers Live Online Chat Discussing Beach Safety Tips
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.18.09
Image via: Getty Images
Heading out into the water this memorial day weekend? Well you have more to worry about lurking under that water than sharks, stingrays and jellyfish, and what we're talking about might stay with you long after you've left the sandy shore. Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) Nancy Stoner will be online Thursday, May 21 to take your questions and offer advice on staying safe this Memorial Day. ...
Jonas Brothers Get Kids Aboard Disney's Project Green
by Roberta Cruger, Los Angeles on 05.18.09
The Jonas Bros and Demi Lovato stand up for "Project Green." Photo by Jaimie Trueblood
Since Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers hold such sway with the under-14 crowd, Disney got its stars to send on-air messages to gather fans and their friends for the Mouse’s latest eco-adventure. A new “multiplatform environmental initiative” asks kids to pledge to preserve the planet. If tweens’ disgust over their parents smoking cigarettes effectively helped them kick the habit, imagine what their whining can do to stop the mini-van’s gas guzzling. Jump on your bike, take your skateboard, and get Mom and Dad to carpool, are a few of the suggestions, and there’s more – like the chance to tell Disney where to donate its money....
Sublet Clothing Up to 85 Percent Off at Shopflick
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.18.09
Photo credit: Sublet Clothing/Shopflick
If you've been dying to get your mitts on Sublet's clothing racks but are, for lack of a better term, stone-cold broke, May 20 is a date you want to circle on your calendar with a big, red Sharpie, underline several times, and then attack with your highlighter.
For one week starting Wednesday, Shopflick's Summer Staple Sale will be offering select pieces from four designers at up to 85 percent off, including, bien sûr, Sublet. ...
California Baby Moisturizing Handwash Kills Germs Naturally
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.18.09
Photo credit: California Baby
Swine flu or no swine flu, personal hygiene should be numero uno on your daily must-do list. But you don't need a furor of hand sanitizers, antibacterial wipes, and Triclosan-infused soaps—a veritable pandemic-fueled cottage industry these days—to hold back the germy tide; good old-fashioned soap and water will do just fine.
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Tens of Thousands of Leatherback Turtles Nest on Gabonese Coast
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.18.09
Photo: Matthew Oldfield, CC
"the world’s largest known nesting ground for the giant and extremely endangered reptile"
The last time we wrote about leatherback turtles, it was bad news (Plastic Found in 1/3 of Leatherback Turtles, According to Study), but this time, we're pleased to learn that biologists from the Wildlife Conservation Society in collaboration with local conservation groups found what is thought to be the largest nesting ground for leatherback turtles in the world! Read on for more details....
Obama to Issue National Auto Emissions Standard: All Cars Must Get 42 MPG by 2016
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.18.09
Obama waves goodbye to auto-inefficiency. Photo via Chicago Sun Times
After much speculation, news just broke that Obama is going to announce a national emissions standard tomorrow--and it's going to be tough. As tough as California's, in fact, which is the strictest in the nation. Indeed, Obama is combining the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard with California's new emissions law--and the result is great news: cars will be 30 percent more efficient by 2016, as all cars sold then must get 42 miles per gallon. ...
Orangutan Population in Borneo National Park Declines 90% in Last Five Years
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.18.09
Without concerted action, habitat loss due to deforestation may very well relegate orangutans to lives in zoos, like this one in Singapore. Photo: chem 7 via flickr.
In what is a tragically graphic example of deforestation and political corruption combining to devastate an ecosystem, a new report from the Centre for Orangutan Protection, highlighted by Mongabay, shows that orangutan populations in Kutai National Park on Indonesian part of the island of Borneo have declined 90% in the past five years:...
Lithium-Air Battery Could Have Up to 10x Storage Capacity of Current Lithium-Ion Tech
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.18.09
Photo: EPSRC
Will this Turn Out to Be the Battery Breakthrough We've Been Waiting For?
It's still too early to tell if this lithium-air battery technology will perform well enough to make its way to real-world products, but the lab results that have been publicized so far are very promising. With current battery chemistry, "energy storage is limited by the lithium cobalt oxide electrode (0.5 Li/Co, 130 mAhg-1). The University of St Andrews design replaces the lithium cobalt oxide electrode with a porous carbon electrode and allows Li+ and e- in the cell to react with oxygen from the air." This could allow up an increase in storage capacity by up to 10x. Read on for more details....
Could Clean Energy Cause the Next Cold War?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.18.09
Photo via NATO
Most Americans think energy independence is an important goal--our dependence on foreign oil funds oppressive governments and subjects the US energy economy to the whims of institutions like OPEC, some common arguments go. Not to mention that buying oil imports is costly, both fiscally and environmentally. So generating enough renewable energy to support our entire nation would be a good thing for both the climate and national security—right? National Defense Magazine doesn't think so—on the contrary, it argues that achieving energy independence would inadvertently kick start a global cold war....
New Biodynamic Tea by Zhena's Gypsy Tea
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.18.09
Image via: Getty Images
Demeter certified Biodynamic balanced tea, in five refreshing, summer fruit flavors, is the latest offering by Zhena's Gypsy Tea, maker of organic, fair trade and now biodynamic teas. Now, you've heard of green, natural, even herbal teas, but biodynamic? What does that mean and how does it affect your tea experience? Keep reading to find out more....
Aurora Robson Makes Art From Recycled Plastic Bottles, Junk Mail
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.18.09
Photo credit: Jasmin Malik Chua
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Aurora Robson's remarkable recycled plastic sculptures in situ at Designers & Agents earlier this month. Fashioned from discarded plastic bottles and powered by solar-powered LEDs, the flotsam-like tangles of hot pink, blue, and green give off a faint glow in the dark, like bioluminescent creatures of the deep.
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Cisco Is the Next Big Player in Smart Grid Scene
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Photo of meter via delgaudm
Cisco Systems has announced plans to be a heavy hitter in the smart grid scene, outlining its end-to-end, highly secure network infrastructure solution that aims to assist utilities and consumers with power management. ...
Boo! EPA Approves All But Six Pending Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Permits
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.18.09
photo: Vivian Stock/Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
In a move which really deflates hopes that the EPA would reign in mountaintop removal coal mining, 42 of 48 pending project permits have been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers. That's the word coming from The Charleston Gazette (via Yale Environment 360):...
Bush's Enviro Team Returns to DC to Once Again Fight Climate Progress
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.18.09
Photo via Red, Green and Blue
They're back. If there were even the tiniest lingering doubts about the priorities of the Bush administration's environmental team, let them be silenced now. A bunch of Bush's top enviro officials have returned to DC to engage issues surrounding the Democrats' climate bill like clean energy and cap and trade—as advocates and consultants for companies hoping to shut the whole thing down. That's right—after years of ignoring climate change, they've returned to try to destroy the first US measure that has a chance of combating it. ...
Tibet's Prayer Wheels Could Generate Both Positive and Kinetic Energy
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Image via Inhabitat
Tibet's prayer wheels are used to generate positive energy, good vibes, and other happy things that help make the soul feel better. But maybe they can generate and harness another form of energy that makes the earth feel a bit better. Kinetic energy. Oh yeah. ...
Green PC Toolbar With Eco-Features For Computer, Printing, and Beyond
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Image via GreenDaily">GreenDaily
GreenDaily has launched a handy dandy toolbar for your PC that'll help you green up not only your computer settings, but also your printing and life in general. ...
Surprise, Surprise: Shutting Down Wind Turbines at Night Reduces Bat Deaths
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.18.09
As more wind farms go up and more research done, it's emerging that bats are more at risk from wind turbines than birds. However, as the New York Times points out, a new study done by the Bat and Wind Energy Cooperative lays out the benefits for bats and costs to the company of shutting down a wind farm at night.
Looking at Iberdrola's Casselman Wind Power Project in Pennsylvania from July to October of last year (during bat migration season in the area), researchers found that 32 bats were killed. Of those, 21 were killed when the turbines were left on during the night and 11 on nights where the turbines were turned off:
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Ethical Superstore Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 05.18.09
This week is Carnival of the Green #180 and it's being hosted by Ethical Superstore, a website that's committed to helping us, as the ethical consumers, “Buy What We Believe”. Choose from the widest range of the finest quality fair trade, organic, and eco friendly products, such as organic groceries, energy efficient gadgets, and unique ethical gifts that give back to the people that made them.
So head on over to this week's Carnival, which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. Also, as we recently announced, this week's Carnival makes the debut of our new #bestgreentweets feature from Twitter. Find out which ones made the cut - enjoy!
We are now accepting host requests for 2010! Read on to find out how to host....
Trees are Air Pollution Sentinels
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.18.09
Photo: Augapfel, CC
Taking Precise Measurements of the Microscopic Particles of Pollution in the Air
What if we could have air pollution monitors on every street of every city without having to install any costly new high-tech equipment? This is exactly what Barbara Maher her team at the University of Lancaster in the UK have discovered by studying the leaves of urban trees (only 30 lime trees were used for the pilot study, but there's not reason why this couldn't work with more). Read on for more details....
Northern Florida Burning More Wood To Meet Renewable Energy Targets
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 05.18.09
Major Florida Watersheds. Image credit:University of Florida, IFAS Extension
Florida's push for increased reliance on renewable sources of energy has encouraged the addition of 250+ Megawatts of wood-fired electrical power generation, to be fueled mainly by logging residues left in the State's northern forests. There will be more demand for wood-fueled power in Florida and elsewhere, as Cap & Trade regimes open the door for the selling of emission credits to coal-only power plant operators....
China Blocks Wind Power, Turbine Makers Get Feelings Hurt
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.18.09
Image via: Getty Images
With China looking to wean itself off of coal, and significantly ramp up its wind power production, wind turbine makers were licking their chops at the chance to get into the market. CRIEnglish.com reports that China is the second largest energy user in the world, and the fourth largest producer of wind power, with expectations that it will be the biggest growth market in wind over the next year. In the last year alone, China doubled its wind power production and shows no sign of stopping, so why are international wind turbine manufacturers upset? ...
Australia's PM Teases Us With 'World's Largest Solar Power Station' Promise
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.18.09
photo: Johnny Jet via flickr.
Though very nearly entirely bereft of details, Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd acted the solar power tease yesterday, announcing that the country would be building the world's largest solar power plant, Reuters reports:...
Success! Video of New York City's Bike to Work Day
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 05.18.09
Photo: StreetBlogs
NYC Saw a 35% Increase in Bike Commuting Between 2007 and 2008
New York City is in the middle of what our friends at StreetFilms call a bike "renaissance". These days there are about 185,000 daily riders on the streets of NYC, and "bike lanes, racks & other amenities are popping up everywhere" (including 200 miles of new bike routes over the past 3 years). As you know, last Friday was Bike to Work Day, an excellent occasion to recruit new riders. Below is a video that was shot on Friday in New York, check it out!...
Can Native Black Honeybee Save UK Bee Industry?
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.18.09
Image credit: The Independent
"Lazy, Aggressive" Native Bee May Save Honey Industry
Hardly a week goes by without new reports about the challenges facing the beekeeping industry. From Colony Collapse Disorder to massive theft of bee hives, it seems pretty clear that these are precarious times for pollinators, and the folks who look after them. That's why it's so good to hear news from the UK that the revival of a hardy, native bee may be just the ticket for this beleaguered industry. The only trouble is, beekeepers have been trying to get rid of this very same bee for years.
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Senate Reauthorizes Tropical Conservation for Debt Relief Bill Through 2012
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.18.09
photo: Adam Baker via flickr
In amongst all the other, higher-profile legislation currently on the table in Congress, you may have missed this good bit of news last week (I did until Mongabay pointed it out): The Senate reauthorized the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act, which in the last incarnation provides $115 million in debt relief to tropical countries over the next three years, in return for conservation commitments:...
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Slideshow)
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05.18.09
The swirling mass of plastic soup in the Pacific Ocean, known by a handful of names -- the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, North Pacific Gyre, Trash Vortex, and Plastic Graveyard among them -- has been gaining notoriety lately, for all the wrong reasons.
Thanks to the good work by groups like the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, we're learning more about what's really out there, and how to stop it from clogging the ocean. Take a tour and get up close and personal in this slideshow.
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Award-winning Author David Quammen on Swine Flu, Evolution and Ecology
by Neil Chambers, New York City on 05.18.09
Photo by Steve Hunts
David Quammen is the kind of author that changes your mind about what you think you know. His resume reads more like an instruction guide to being the smartest person in the room than merely work experience. He’s a Rhode Scholar, Guggenheim Fellow, a three time National Magazine Award winner and Lannan Foundation Fellow as well as a winner of the New York Public Library's Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism and the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Plus he holds an honorary doctorate from Montana State University. ...
Scientists a Step Closer to Super Magnets for Energy-Efficient Refrigerators
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
No, not those kinds of magnets... Photo via oskay
Using magnetism for energy efficient cooling is one option for more eco-friendly refrigeration and air conditioning, but the ideal material to accomplish this hasn't been uncovered yet. However, scientists have gotten one step closer to figuring out how we'll be able to get refrigeration using 20-30% less energy....
New York State Aims for 100 MW of Rooftop Solar Power by 2015
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 05.18.09
photo: Seth Anderson via flickr
New York State Governor David Patterson wants your rooftop! Well, the rooftops of public and private facilities which are willing to enter into a public-private partnership with the New York State Power Authority so that the state can install 100 MW of solar power:...
New York City: A Cyclists' Paradise?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.18.09
Coming as I do from a city where the bike lanes are narrow, full of holes and added at a glacial pace to to endless politics, being back in New York with my bike is a revelation, this city changes so quickly. When they put in bike lanes, they do it fast and they do it well.
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Twittering for Trees and World Environment Day
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Image via UNEPandYou
Twitter is getting to be a great resource for charities and eco-activism, proven by the success of charity:water's twestival, earthtweet, and tweeting congress. Here's another great chance to use Twitter as a force of good. Plant trees with it!...
New ASUS T91 Netbook Battery is Non-Removable, Shows Bad Form for Gadgets
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Photo via Boing Boing
JKKMobile has gotten ahold of one of the new ASUS Eee T91 netbooks. Netbooks are all the rage right now (despite a first quarter drop in sales that also hit laptops), showing that people are hunting for small, cheap, and easy to use computers for on the go. But that doesn't mean netbooks should get into some of the bad habits some larger laptops have...like having a non-removable battery. ...
Downloadable Wonders From Virginia Tech
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.18.09
I could have spent all day with Robert Dunay, Director of Industrial Design at the School of Architecture and Design at Virginia Tech. He was in a booth full of furniture that TreeHugger calls downloadable designs- created on a computer and sent to CNC (the initials for the almost archaic term Computer Numerical Controlled) tools. He is looking at us through the base of a very elegant cantilevered chair that I think was the hit of the display, but there is a lot more.
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DIY Bottlecap Headphone Project Teaches A Bigger Lesson
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 05.18.09
Photo Via MAKE
This fun project of making ear phones out of junked parts (and you'll be surprised to read just what was used) holds a much cooler lesson than simply how to turn random disposable items into a functional device. ...
Five Stylin' Ways to Haul Stuff on Your Bike Handlebars
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 05.18.09
As soon as you've committed to urban biking - whether simply for an occasional commute or with a bike being your primary mobility machine, you'll realize you want a great way to schlep your stuff. Actually, usually more than one way. You might be toting office clothes, your lunch and your computer and then your dinner and groceries on the way home. The more you can more easily take on your bike without a lot of fuss, the more pleasurable urban biking becomes. But let us know - are there cooler ways to haul your stuff on handlebars than the five we show?
A classic bike basket in Appalachian ash and oak via REI....
Andrew Moe Gets Recession-Ready
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.18.09
Some good things come out of recessions; Designer and woodworker Andrew Moe retrenched and rethought what he was doing, and introduced a new line of more economical furniture. Andrew's work is made from reclaimed lumber, so "the need to harvest living trees is erased." The new line uses less of it, too; it is stripped down, minimalist, almost Shaker-like....
Eat Local, Drink Local Beer
by Pablo Paster, San Francisco on 05.18.09
Image via Lightning Labels Blog Dear Pablo: My favorite beer comes from Germany and I am concerned about the environmental impact. Am I an eco-villain or does "eat local" not apply to beer?...
Chelsea Flower Show is Leaner and Greener This Year
by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.18.09
The Chelsea Flower Show is the queen of all flower shows: the biggest, brightest and best gardens, designers and plants. But this year's show is reflecting the economy: there are fewer big show gardens, some sponsors have pulled out and ticket sales are down.
The poster girl for the new economy is Sarah Eberle. Her series of 3 "credit crunch" gardens is made from materials found in scrap yards and garbage dumps using pretty common plants which she had to "beg,borrow or steal." Total cost is £15,000--which is peanuts for a garden at Chelsea....
Need a Little Help Reaching Your Environmental Goals?
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 05.17.09
Photo via: James Jordan
We all need to have goals. Goals help guide us and give us wings to reach new heights. Becoming green is not a natural process for everybody, and in fact, many of us could use a little help here and there. Maybe we are trying to reduce consumer spending, red meat consumption, or energy consumption. Whatever your environmental goal, they are actually no different than any other success program, and should be treated as such....
Organica Deluxe Ginger Cookies Good to Every Last Crumb
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 05.17.09
Photo credit: Organica Deluxe
Ethics, schmetics, if you send me something tasty in the mail, preferably something of the sweet or chocolatey variety, you get moved right to the top of my posting queue. So it is with unabashed delight—and, trust me, most unfettered enthusiasm—that I tell you that Organica Deluxe's Ginger Cookies are worth breaking out the sledgehammers and smashing those piggy banks into porcelain-porcine oblivion for.
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The “Sliding House" Features an Exterior Skin for All Seasons
by Eric Leech, New York, NY on 05.17.09
Young Eco-Innovators to Vie for International Prize
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 05.17.09
Students present a project on biodiesel at a previous Olympiad. Photo via INEPO.
Can oil pollution be collected from the surface of the ocean? How do different land uses affect the water quality of rural areas? What impact does global warming have on allergies? Can hydrogen be produced without creating dangerous emissions? Are cell phones "boiling our brains"?
These questions, posed by students from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, Germany, and South Africa, respectively, are among those being explored by youth participants in the 17th International Environmental Project Olympiad, or INEPO, to be held May 24 to 27 in Istanbul....
What Obama Will Say at Notre Dame About the Environment
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 05.17.09
Via Flickr
Today President Obama will give the commencement speech to the graduates of Notre Dame. In the advanced copy of Obama's planned remarks, he has a few hopeful words to say about climate and energy, and he called the students to action to help save the planet....
Marriott Takes the LEED Certifications
by Roberta Cruger, Los Angeles on 05.17.09
Victoria BC Marriott's Green Roof. Photo via Flickr by pnwra
Seems every hotel calls itself “green” if it stops cleaning the sheets and towels everyday. A good idea, but they do save bucks on laundry while saving water and energy. Some places remind guests to turn out the lights on leaving their room, as part of the “green your stay” program. And the latest notion is to skip the gratis newspaper, unless you ask for it. A wise move if guests don’t bother reading USA Today or the WSJ. But Marriott appears determined to expand its green hotels. As a chain, it's not "locally operated" - unless you stay near headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, which is possible. ...
Cult Members Imbue Lakes With Positive Energy, Fiberglass
by Josh Peterson, Los Angeles, California on 05.17.09
Photo of Orgonite by Nimbus186 via Flickr
Four members of Orgonise Africa, a New Age group, were arrested by Mozambican police for attempting to sabotage the Cahora Bassa dam by dumping a corrosive substance into water supply. The four men, a German architect, a Portuguese hotelier, a Botsanan pilot and a South-African "prophet", explained that they weren't trying to damage the dam. Instead, they were attempting to "bring positive energy to the region" by putting a material known as orgonite into the lake.
In reality, the quartet didn't want to hurt anyone. They were only trying to keep the Illuminati from controlling the world through microwaves. The group had clearly advertised their intentions on their website. The charges were downgraded from terrorism to dumping toxic chemicals into the water, but nothing has been ruled out.
Although this sounds bizarre, this is hardly an isolated incident. People are "gifting" our lakes and rivers with orgonite all over the world.
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A Radical Proposal: Restore Atrophied US Rail System to 1920's Levels
by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel on 05.17.09
Image via Slate.
Who said North America's trains are slow? Take the Montreal Limited: Departing from New York's Grand Central Station in the late evening, it arrives in Montreal's Windsor Station early in the morning. With plenty of time to get a good night's sleep, the 9-hour trip is made pleasurable by "modern air-conditioning [which] scientifically controls temperature, humidity and purity of air at all seasons."
Or, at least, that's how it was back in the 1940's. Today, points out Tom Vanderbilt in a recent article in Slate, the same trip would take 12 hours. ...
Giant Turbine Offers 20% Efficiency Boost
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.17.09
Image credit: Mecal
Taller Turbines Offer Greater Returns
Sometimes bigger really is better - at least where wind energy is concerned. It might not be quite the size of the 9MW Aerogenerator wind turbine, or even B&Q's 2MW turbine in the UK - but a new turbine just built near Cologne, German, is claiming efficiency boosts as high as 20% simply because of a taller tower.
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Freeplay Foundation: How Clean Renewable Light Empowers Young Lives
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 05.17.09
A Park Runs Through It: Touring the Standard in New York
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.17.09
One of the toughest gigs in architecture is working in heritage districts. An architect can do a slavish replication of historical elements, or capture the nature of the area, which in this case is the tough, hard-edged and industrial meatpacking district in New York City
Toss in an old elevated railway in the process of being converted into a park and it becomes more of a challenge. But owner/developer Andre Balazs and Polshek Architects have risen to the challenge. On stilts, yet....
Eco-Kosher Jews Fulfill Religious Obligations At the Dinner Table
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 05.17.09
Diet has always played a major role in the Jewish faith. But according to a recent article in the LA times, for some Jews eco and kosher now go hand in hand....
How to Save Money and Get a Cool Interactive Multitouch Display
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 05.17.09
Image: GreenerBusiness
Reusing a portable projector, refitting a webcam with post-consumer waste, and using some of our favorite eco-materials like bamboo, GreenerBusiness shows you how to make a multitouch interactive display that will interface with google maps, music and game software on your computer. Multitouch interactive screens, like the display in an iPod, are increasingly popular, but still quite expensive. Following the instructions in this video, you will learn about how the technology works and end up with your own large format multitouch display. Even if you are not motivated to make a do-it-yourself multitouch display table, you will enjoy the mellow and humorous narrative of the film-noir style video, linked below....
