- 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 October 4, 2009 - October 10, 2009
Total this week: 197
USD$300,000 Spent Surveying Plutonium-Tainted Jack Rabbit Turds In Washington State
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.10.09
Jackelope flushed into open by raidological survey helicopter. Image credit:Jackelope Conspiracy
Some will see this just reported story of a government helicopter search for radioactive jackrabbit poop as an outlandish waste of taxpayer money. It is also validation of the Law of Unintended Consequences,.
According to OfficialWire, "Nevada-based National Security Technologies received $300,000 in federal stimulus money sent to Hanford to do the helicopter survey."
No word yet on how much the total cleanup will cost, but the hot rabbit poop scraped up by bulldozers is reportedly headed to Hanford WA, in a radioactive fill. How did this happen?...
Cut Your Global "Stuff Miles" - Buy Durable & Household Goods Made In Your Country
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.10.09
Lamson & Goodnow factory operations.
Locally-produced food has been widely written on for years: from the Times to TreeHugger. Non-food items made near home have been overlooked, however. Let's change that. There was a time when durable really meant durable, meaning stuff made to last years - even generations. From a global vantage point, pro-labor nationalism is good for the a country's economy and jobs. Going beyond that conventional wisdom, my argument is that mass-produced items, made at home, made to last, using relatively harmless ingredients, well designed and constructed in compliance with health safety and environment regulations are the real "green" item. ...
The Week in Pictures: Terrific TreeHouses, BPA Makes Girls Mean, Blogger 9 Years No Money, and More (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.10.09
From the news that a 48 year-old blogger has gone 9 years without spending money to the latest study that reveals if peak oil is now or in 2030, we're still woefully unprepared, a lot happened this week in green. A Canadian study shows air pollution may trigger Appendicitis, Nissan announced it will begin taking reservations for the Leaf EV in Spring 2010, France plans to spend $2.2 Billion on electric car charging stations, and readers sent in their fall harvest photos for our weekly slideshow. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo roundup of most popular, most important, and most oddball stories. And if you missed it, view last week's The Week in Pictures: Green Male Models, Brad Pitt's Building Revolution, Vermicomposting, and More .
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New York Times Explores Ecuador's Battle Against Chevron
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10.10.09
Photo via Flickr
After 16 years, several judges, accusations of espionage, and more twists and turns than a spy novel, the case of Amazon peasants versus the mighty Chevron may soon be coming to an end. If you're unfamiliar with the case, Chevron stands accused of dumping more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Amazon rainforest, which left local people stricken by cancer, miscarriages and birth defects. The New York Times yesterday looked into some of the recent plot twists that involve a revolving door for judges and secret video tapes....
One-Trick Saudi Pony Demands Compensation For Support Of Climate Action
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.10.09
Arabian show pony. Image credit:Jambala Park
Saudi climate treaty participants are said to be demanding kickbacks from the rest of the world as a quid pro-quo for climate treaty support. It's the same old tactic they have trotted out over the years: claiming that they will 'suffer as oil revenues decline.' Then wanting to be paid-off for helping save civilization. Nice. The Saudi's certainly know that their oil revenues are projected to increase for decades more into the future, regardless of any climate action now. (A recent IEA report documents this quite clearly.) Isn't this like inviting a vodka distributor to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? Salon has the goods...
Best of Infrastructurist: Floating Trains, The World's Sexiest Bus Stop and 15 Hot New Careers In Infrastructure
by Jebediah Reed, The Infrastructurist on 10.10.09
From The Infrastructurist, a round-up of some of the best recent posts:
Look Who's Building Floating Trains...
Trains that levitate on magnetic tracks have been the future of transportation for decades--but with one operating successfully in China now (at speeds of nearly 300 mph) and lots of ambitious proposals on the table around the world, has maglev's moment finally arrived? We survey the 6 most promising projects.
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Organic Farming Could Stop Global Climate Change
by Timothy J. LaSalle, Rodale Institue, Kutztown, PA on 10.10.09
Organic soils such as those seen here could sequester 40% of global carbon emissions. Image source: Rodale Institute stock.
Global Climate Change Chaos
We've overshot sustainability. Three hundred fifty parts per million (350 ppm) is the recommended safe threshold for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Today, at 386 ppm, we're over the limit. There is evidence that we will see ice-free summer Arctic a hundred years before IPCC estimates and we have already seen flooding in Iowa's city that would never flood and massive fires in the American west. An ice-free Arctic full of dark water will absorb more heat and change global climate patterns. Burning forests emit massive amounts of carbon dioxide, producing a deeper greenhouse effect. To avoid further expensive climate chaos we must deploy the most creative and innovative technology in the world to rapidly pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. And regenerative farming is it.
African Artisans' Recycled Products Go Global
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10.10.09
Images via Old Tin Can Ltd..
Make-up artist Melissa Hartzel moved to South Africa with her husband to have a "family adventure." She came back to Watford, England, with an epiphany--and a business plan....
Camden's Garden Club Doubles Its Community Gardens to Feed the Jobless
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 10.10.09
photo: Camden Children's Garden
While the nation's unemployment rate climbed to an alarming 9.5 percent this month, it still pales in comparison to Camden, N.J.'s most recent jobless rate of 18 percent. More and more people are struggling to put food on the table and as a result, area soup kitchens are struggling to feed hungry mouths. While finding a silver lining to the ominous cloud that still blankets this hard hit community would seem quite the arduous task, the Camden City Community Garden Club has succeeded in providing this struggling city with a reason to smile.
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Terra Plana's Galahad Clark on Recycling Shoes, Partnership with Greenpeace, and Innovative Design in Fall 2009 (Video)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.10.09
Terra Plana's Galahad Clark in New York City. Credit: Emma Grady
Ethical footwear brand Terra Plana is paving the path for sustainable shoes -- reusing shoe lasts, creating 99% recycled Worn Again sneakers, making bags from reclaimed materials -- and they won our Best in Green award. I sat down with Galahad Clark, owner Terra Plana, at the launch of their new store in New York City this past week. Click through to watch our video and hear Galahad speak to Terra Plana's partnership with Greenpeace, vegan shoes in Spring 2010, what to do with worn Vivo Barefoots, post-consumer shoe research with Nike, and more. ...
Road to Copenhagen, Saudi Aid, & World Business Forum 2009
by Nick Aster of TriplePundit on 10. 9.09
A weekly wrap up of green and socially minded business news from the gang at TriplePundit.com.
Saudi Arabia Wants Aid if We Stop Using Oil - Straight out of the "You've got to be kidding me" department, Saudi Arabia has been quietly asking for financial aid should climate change legislation reduce the world's appetite for crude. Nice one guys.
Taxing Soft Drinks Could Help State Budget Woes - But are "sin taxes" like this the right thing to do? Jump into the heated debate this post set off.
Lovemarks: Real Human Connection or Latest Play in the Arms Race of Trickery? - 3p was at the World Business Forum in New York this week. Saatchi & Saatchi's Kevin Roberts had a lot to say about creating brands people truly love. Is this the key to a new era of human connectedness with companies? Or is it just creepy?
Jeffrey Sachs: US Policy-Making Is a Bipartisan Failure, Failing to Even Acknowledge Environmental Challenges - Also from WBF09 - Economist Jeffrey Sachs offered a hard hitting reality check to the world's business leaders. Did it fall on deaf ears?
Triple Pundit's Road to Copenhagen - 3p Writer Tom Schueneman is leading our coverage of the upcoming COP15 climate talks in Copenhagen. Follow along on with variety of posts and conversation for the next three months!
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Surfboard Swap Next Weekend in San Diego
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 9.09
Image via: Rahul_Dutta on Flickr.com
Now that the summer surfing season has come to a close, (is there ever really an end to surfing season?), it's time to give your board a little TLC, upgrade any thrashed gear and prepare for the big waves of the winter season. Just in time, ReRip is hosting their third annual "Future of Surfing" Surfboard Swap this weekend in Solana Beach where you can toss your broken boards and check out new green gear. Heck, maybe if you're lucky some fellow surfer will just trade boards with you....
Confirmed: Current Atmospheric CO2 Levels Highest in 15 Million (!) Years
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 9.09
Though most plants and animals would be recognizable to us today, where they lived was quite different -- such as this North American rhino, Teleoceras. Image: Wikipedia.
Now here's something to give you pause: Humans have pumped so much CO2 into the atmosphere since the start of the industrial revolution that the last time levels were this high (about 387ppm currently) was 15 million years ago -- the miocene epoch, for those with a geologic bent. That's the word from UCLA scientist Aradhna Tripati, whose work has just published in the online edition of Science:...
Is Climate Change a Moral, Philosophical Belief? And Can You Be Fired Over It?
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 9.09
Image via: locallistings3 on Flickr.com
Tim Nicholson, former Head of Sustainability at Grainger, a UK property company, claims that he was let go in 2008 for his "strong" views on climate change and the environment, reports CNN. Turns out, Nicholson feels his dismissal was a form of discrimination against his beliefs and he's taking the case to court. ...
Quote of the Day: The More Things Change... 1916 Book on Electric Cars
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 9.09
Photo of Thomas Edison with an electric car, 1913. Public domain.
Sounds Familiar?
The fundamental reasons why the electric car has not attained the popularity it deserves are (1) The failure of the manufacturers to properly educate the general public regarding the wonderful utility of the electric; (2) The failure of [power companies] to make it easy to own and operate the electric by an adequate distribution of charging and boosting stations. The early electrics of limited speed, range and utility produced popular impressions which still exist. --Electrical world, Volume 67, Part 2. Published: 1916.
Via the Official Google Blog....
From the Forums: Vending Machines Go Local?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10. 9.09
Image Credit: mroach-online
greenvert writes:
For farmers looking to deliver fresh produce directly to their consumers at reasonable prices, there's a new option: vending machines. They're called Regiomats, and they can vend milk, sausage, eggs, butter, and cheese, among other things. I wonder, though- is this a big step step towards going green, local, and organic, or a move in the wrong direction? Vending machines bring with them all the problems of energy use, especially since these have to be refrigerated as well. So, are we going to start seeing these in the US, or are they one more greenwashed product that's not going anywhere?What do you think? Join the discussion....
Alicia Silverstone on Her New Book, The Kind Diet, Organic Gardening, and Cow Farts (Interview)
by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Los Angeles, California on 10. 9.09
It's been a long time since Alicia Silverstone was "Clueless." Since then she's earned accolades on screen and stage, most recently in Donald Marguilies's Time Stands Still, directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan, which she'll take to Broadway in January. At the same time, the longtime environmental activist's unique brand of non-judgmental yet no-holds-barred diet advice was earning a different kind of approval, as she recently told in this interview [excerpted from EcoStiletto]. The experience lead her to write The Kind Diet: How to Feel Great, Lose Weight, and Save the Planet (Rodale), which debuts this month.
Image credit: Marc Baptiste for 944 magazine; styling by Monica Schweiger....
Luxury, Recycled Glass Ornaments and Gifts Handmade by Annieglass
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 9.09
With the holiday season just around the corner, it's never too early to start thinking and planning for the holiday season. Now, what do you do for all of the incidental gifts (teachers, dog walkers, etc) that inevitably pop up? Or, do you need an annual ornament for your tree, but don't want to just buy some cheap, meaningless junk? Why not buy a luxury glass ornament by Annieglass handmade from recycled glass and inlaid with 24K gold? Doesn't get more eco-sentimental than that. ...
The Most Bizarre Green Cars of the Future (VIDEO)
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 9.09
Image via EGM Cartech
What will green transportation look like in the far-off future? According to the designs showcased in this video, we're going to have carbon neutral flying saucers, cars that double as submarines, and a 'four-in-one' electric car loaded with nanotechnology. There's also two wheeled zero carbon mobiles, weird, pod-like vehicles, and--well, just see for yourself. Video after the jump....
Danny Seo Expands His Empire, Evander Holyfield Harnesses His Power, and More
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 10. 9.09
Photo via Inhabitat
Green lifestyle guru Danny Seo--who you might know for his home decor ideas, suggestions for eco-friendly gifts, green beauty products, or natural latex mattresses--announced plans to expand his sustainability empire:...
Coal Is Too Dirty - Even for College
by Greg Haegele of Sierra Club on 10. 9.09
Graham Hill is a Game Changer...Vote for Him!
by David DeFranza on 10. 9.09
Image credit: Huffington Post
Through the month of October, the Huffington Post is honoring 100 "game changers": People who are changing the shape of their field, and the world, through the use of new media.
TreeHugger's own Graham Hill has been selected as one of the ten game changers in green and you have the opportunity to vote him to the top....
Obama Spares 100,000 Acres from Bush-Approved Oil Drilling
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 9.09
Photo via CW56
In the last few weeks of his term, the Bush administration controversially approved 77 sites for oil drilling in Utah. The move was immediately challenged by environmental groups, and a federal judge agreed--he said the review process for opening up the lands was hasty and faulty. Now, it appears that the Obama administration has sided with the enviro groups and the judge--they say that all but 17 of those sites were improperly approved....
Walk On, Students! Video of Walk to School Day in New York City
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 9.09
Photo: Nick Whitaker, CC
Walking Shouldn't be the Exception
October is the International Walk to School Month, and Wednesday (October 7th) was Walk to School Day in New York City. Livable Streets Education and the National Center for Safe Routes to School hosted a walk to school celebration in Washington Square Park in conjunction with the Walk 21 Conference. Our friends at StreetFilms were on the scene (as usual!). Check out the video below, it has a cameo by beatbox master Rahzel....
President Obama, You've Just Won the Nobel Peace Prize, What're You Gonna Do Next?
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 9.09
photo: Joshua Debner via flickr.
Like, I imagine, everyone in the world not privy to the inner workings of the Nobel Prize selection process this year, when I learned that President Obama had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize I was, well, confused. While it is certainly true that Obama has reengaged the United States with the international community in a way not seen in many years, and has shown strong rhetorical leadership on many issues directly and indirectly tied to world peace, I couldn't help but wonder if this was all a bit too soon? ...
Coat Hangers and Bike Parts Make Elegant Hanging Light Fixtures
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10. 9.09
Images: Organelle DesignThey call them Hangeliers. In East Vancouver, designers Alex Witko and Courtney Hunt spend their days between the hardware store, the studio, and the city's alleys and dumpsters. Their little firm, Organelle Design, has generated everything from furniture to a customizably insulated window prototype, but their most eye-catching creations are hanging lamps made from coat hangers-. Don't worry, they've got both kinds: wooden and plastic. Built around the rims of bicycle wheels and cast-off chainrings, their lighting designs are held together mostly with zipties, some with chicken wire. "Our work starts with a simple premise," the young Canadians write," waste is the most abundant local resource our cities have to offer."...
Senator Merkley: Climate Bill Presents "a Choice Between Clean Air and Dirty Air"
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 9.09
Though overshadowed--for the moment--by the vociferous health care reform proceedings, you can bet that the going will get tough for the Senate energy reform and climate bill in no time. Attacks are bound to pour in: from multimillion dollar TV ad campaigns by big oil, to more outlandish claims about the bill's costs, to who knows what else. But Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), one of the bill's staunch defenders, has some ideas on how best to ward off such assaults--by sticking to the truth....
Barnes & Noble Says Yes, Microsoft Says No to New e-Readers
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 9.09
Photo via CarbonNYC
e-Readers have been the buzz word lately, and a slew of announcements has come out this week covering everything from Barnes & Noble launching their own Kindle competitor, to Microsoft saying they want nothing to do with e-readers, to Kindle going international. Check out the latest happenings in the next generation of books. ...
EU Sides with Corrupt African Governments to Block Stronger REDD Forest Protection Scheme
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 9.09
photo: World Resources Institute via flickr.
With the latest (and second-to-last) round of negotiations before COP15 just finished in Bangkok, the gap between rich and poor nations on each other's responsibilities, by many accounts, has not narrowed. And, according to the Ecosystem Climate Alliance, when it comes to aspects of the REDD forest protection scheme the European Union is actively blocking protecting intact forests from being converted to plantations:...
London Design Festival: Top 5 Eco Highlights Across The Blogosphere
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10. 9.09
The London Design Festival was as diverse and wide ranging as ever this year with lots of independent satellite shows alongside the big guns: 100% Design and Tent London. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get to see all of them as this TreeHugger was stationed in the DeTnk TV studio interviewing the best in show. Watch this space for our LDF 09 interviews, but in the meantime check out these top 5 eco-design highlights picked up by a bevy of eagle eyed design bloggers....
Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation Unveils Floating House
by Naturally Savvy on 10. 9.09
The Float House, designed by Morphosis Architects, is the latest design to be built by Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, which is helping families rebuild eco-friendly homes in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. Photo courtesy of Morphosis Architects.
It's like you're Noah and your house is an arc where people can take refuge from flood waters. Sound crazy? Think again.
Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation unveiled the first Float House on Wednesday. The home, designed by Morphosis Architects, basically turns into a giant raft in the event of flooding, rising up on guide posts that keep it from floating away. To say that this design floats my boat is an understatement; but there is one thing about it that my eco-heart can't love: The chassis that allows it to float has a polystyrene core....
Solar Decathlon 2009 in Photos and Video (Slideshow)
by David DeFranza on 10. 9.09
The 2009 Solar Decathlon has turned the National Mall into a solar village. Get a tour of the houses and hear from the builders and designers in our slideshow.
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William 'Who Harnessed the Wind' Kamkwamba on the Daily Show - What Animal is this Google? (Video)
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 9.09
Righteous Fur: Can Fur Fashions Save Wetlands? (Slideshow)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 9.09
Photo via Cree McCree
Fashion designer and Planet Green contributor Cree McCree has found a source for pelts to use in her fashions that is arguably one of the most sustainable - nutria, a large invasive rodent. The animals are killed by hunters and trappers to keep the populations down. Cree McCree feels her fashions are eco-friendly because they utilize the pelts of animals that destroy riparian habitat, and it utilizes pelts that otherwise are left to rot. It's one designer's push for guilt-free fur and habitat conservation. Check out her creations.
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From the Forums: Can Locavores Drink Wine?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10. 9.09
Image Credit: Sandy Austin-online
SustainEarth writes:
What are everyone's thoughts on drinking wine and considering yourself a localvore [sic]? The idea that eating locally helps the environment and your local community is something I live by, however, I am a huge fan of wine. Should I feel guilty every time I drink a nice Chablis from France with my local oysters? Just wanted to know everyone's opinion.What do you think? Join the discussion....
Do Green Products Make Us Better People? No.
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 9.09
Does a form of halo effect make green consumers more dishonest?
Mike recently thought it Weird that People Who Visit National Parks are LESS Likely to Support Conservation NGOs. But there might be good reason for this: the "Licence Phenomenon," described in a new study of people who buy green products.
The study claims that people act more altruistically after walking by green products, but they are more likely to lie, cheat and steal after purchasing them. Nina Mazar of the Rotman School of Management in Toronto says "green products do not necessarily make us better people."...
Did Rich Countries Leave Bangkok Climate Talks in Stalemate?
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 9.09
Now, the Final Stretch to Copenhagen
Time to loosen those collars. After a tough mock trial and tougher words, the world's richest and poorest nations have left 11 days of climate talks in Bangkok with little to show for it, a month and a half before the big negotiations begin in Copenhagen.
While Norway was praised for a pledge to cut emissions by 20-30% by 2020, the G77 group of developing countries bitterly lamented the failure of rich countries to outline the steps they would take to lead -- including making the first set of binding cuts and offering more money to fund clean development in poor countries.
Even Obama got dissed....
Free Drinking Water (Gasp) in London
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 9.09
Image from Evening Standard
Remember the days when you could get a drink from a water fountain--in the park, or on a street corner or at the library? Now they all seem to have disappeared: is it vandalism? health and safety? cut-backs? Well one water fountain has come back: just opened in Hyde Park, it's the first in the park for 30 years. Funded by a private developer, it's already a hit with children who think it is a huge novelty.
And in another strike against bottled water, a private water company is going to install water machines in some public places. Thirsty people will be able to fill their own container with water for 20 pence (¢30) or buy a reusable bottle on the spot. ...
Women, Most Renewable Resource: Oxfam's "Sisters on the Planet"
by Roberta Cruger, Los Angeles on 10. 8.09
Ikidia women of Mali, shea nut entrepreneurs, at Saving for Change meeting. Photo by Rebecca Blackwell for Oxfam America
The world's poorest are affected the worst by global warming and women get the brunt of it. Struck with drought and dwindling resources in developing countries, women scrape for food, water, livestock, and fuel for children and the elderly, as men leave in search of jobs. Oxfam's "Sisters on the Planet" program may sound like a 1970's feminist gathering, but it's dealing with pressing environmental issues, focusing on empowering women who shoulder the burden to find solutions. Considering a Swedish study determined women's carbon footprint is 25 percent smaller than men's, is it time for a revived women's movement?
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Nippon Airlines Asks You to Please "Lighten Your Load" Pre-Board
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 8.09
Image via: HeadovMetal on Flickr.com
We're not sure how to say this, politely, erm, before you board, can you please remove your shoes, empty your water bottles, and well, your bladders too. Whew, that wasn't so bad. Now, if you fly Japan's Nippon Airlines in the month of October, you just might hear those words too as the airline tries out its own experiment to lighten its passengers and thus it's load, reports the Environmental Leader....
Biggest Dam Removal Project In History Will Restore Health of Klamath River
by Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers on 10. 8.09
Iron Gate Dam on Klamath River. Image credit: American Rivers.
Last week, after years of negotiations, 28 involved parties agreed on a plan to tear down the four PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River, which is on the California and Oregon border, by 2020. American Rivers has played a leading role in these negotiations for the past nine years.
When the Klamath dams come down it will be the biggest dam removal project the world has ever seen. It is exciting to see the momentum behind this historic river restoration effort - one that promises to not only restore the health of the river, but also boost local economies and revitalize communities. The project will help restore the river and revive its ailing salmon and steelhead runs. This will aid fishing and tribal communities who have suffered as these once abundant fish populations have dwindled over the past few decades. Farmers will also benefit from the certainty a restored river will provide them.
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Crap. Global Warming Could Reduce "Catch Potential" in Tropical Fisheries by 40%
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 8.09
Increases in Productivity in Some Places, Decreases in Others
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have looked into how climate change could affect fisheries around the world. There's no way to be certain what will happen, but using the best data currently available, they tried to model how changes in temperatures could affect these productive marine ecosystems. Some fisheries might become more productive, but most of those are near rich countries. It is mostly poor countries in the tropics that will probably see their local food sources reduced....
From the Forums: When Is Fire Our Friend?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10. 8.09
Image Credit: Coconino National Forest-online
TreeHuggerForever writes:
I just read an article about an accident caused by a prescribed fire in a forest due to ignored bad weather conditions (strong winds caused fire to spread). The article made prescribed fires sound destructive but I also saw an article online condoning these fires saying that they were good for the environment and necessary to reduce fuel loads. I'm still new to all of this and am having trouble developing an opinion on this subject without all of the facts. Can somebody tell me how any kind of fire is good and what it means to "reduce fuel loads" ?What do you think? Post here....
Australian Solar Rebate Program Abruptly Cancelled
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 8.09
Image via: suavehouse113 on Flickr.com
Yikes! What happens when a solar rebate program is announced, and suddenly EVERYONE wants in? Well, the government honors the approved applications and then pulls out of the program, reports The Australian. But who is left to foot the bill? ...
A Book That'll Make Eco-Minded Gadget Lovers Really, Really Happy
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 8.09
Image via The Fun Times Guide
At least, I'm really, really happy about it. Check out Green Gadgets for Dummies, a guide for being eco-savvy when it comes to electronic devices. Considering that American households spend $1,200 a year on new gadgets, and our obsession with them is outpacing our efforts at energy efficiency, a book like this is a much needed resource. And you'll never guess who is listed as a resource in the front cover - go on, guess......
Electric Version of Smart Fortwo to be Made in Hambach, France
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 8.09
Photo: Daimler
The Diminutive Urban Car Goes Electric
France is on a roll, it seems. Not long after announcing a $2.2 billion (1.5 billion Euros) investment in electric car charging stations, Daimler is announcing that it has selected a factory in Hambach, France, to mass produce its Smart Fortwo Electric Drive starting in 2012. Président Sarkozy (nice smile) was present for the announcement, and said that the French government would support the project with various measures adding up to about 15% of the costs....
Mitsubishi Makes Tiny OLED Squares That Create Humongous TVs (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 8.09
OLED TVs. They're coming, we're promised, though we have to wait at least another three years or so (or maaaaaybe sooner) before we see anything bigger than 32" TVs can be manufactured cost efficiently. However, a massive 155" TV my Mitsubishi is being shown off right now at gadget fest CEATEC. In fact, the technology behind it can be utilized to make TVs of unlimited sizes. Check out a video showing off the massive TV and how it is made after the jump....
A Solar Village Pops Up on the National Mall
by David DeFranza on 10. 8.09
Image credit: David DeFranza
If you head down to the National Mall in Washington, DC, anytime from today until October 21, you will be surprised to find that a new neighborhood of solar-powered homes has sprung up.
Don't worry: It's not the result a new development plan snuck past Congress by City Hall. These houses are entries into the 2009 Solar Decathlon....
Less Is More: The Half Christmas Tree
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 8.09
Matt notes that artificial trees aren't very good for removing CO2 from the atmosphere, but they do have their place in our lives, usually around Christmas. And while it is too early to roll out our Real or Artifical Tree comparisons, There is always time to look at new ideas for living with less and getting by in smaller spaces.
That's why this new half-a-Christmas Tree is such a good idea. Harry Wallop of the Telegraph writes that "the artificial tree appears bushy and full from the front, but it is an illusion. It has been sliced down the middle, so it has no back, allowing owners to push the Christmas tee against their sitting room walls, saving valuable space."
Elaine Walter of B&Q, a big British hardware retailer, explains:...
If Peak Oil is Now or in 2030, We're Still Woefully Unprepared
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
photo: Daniel Lobo via flickr.
The latest study on peak oil by the UK Energy Research Centre brings up a good point on why the exact timing of peak oil -- whether it's already happened or won't until 2030 -- doesn't matter all that much. In either case, or any point in between, there really isn't enough time for governments to develop strategies to entirely avoid serious economic impact:...
Weird: People Who Visit National Parks are LESS Likely to Support Conservation NGOs
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 8.09
Photo: Flickr, CC
Study Shows Public Lands Visitation and Fishing Lead to Less Support for NGOs
A new study published in PLoS ONE looked at who supports conservation NGOs. The starting point hypothesis was that those who have more experience with nature would be more willing to financially contribute to mainline conservation NGOs (the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club or Environmental Defense). The researchers found that, surprisingly to some, not all types of exposure to nature are beneficiary. In fact, some outdoors activities are negatively correlated with support to conservation NGOs....
Terrific Treehouses You Might Be Scared To Sleep In (Slideshow)
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 8.09
It makes sense that we would show treehouses on TreeHugger, but surprisingly, there are none by the German firm Baumraum, who have built them around the world. Their existing oeuvre, is worth a look.
But their unbuilt works, their visions of what could be, are spectacular and sometimes scary.
...
Grateful Dog is Sacramento's First Green Dog Day Care
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 8.09
Image via: RoBeE on Flickr.com
The name may give you visions of dogs mellowed out, but the Grateful Dog wants to make sure your dog is both happy and healthy throughout their entire stay. You can leave your dog for the day or the week, knowing that they will be treated right and taken care of, reports the Sacramento News & Review. For many people, their pets are their kids, so what more could you ask for but to have your baby wagging his or her tail and frolicking blissfully while you're away....
92% of Americans Want Solar Power... Now!
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
photo: Schott Solar
This may seem a bit obvious if you live in what sometimes seems like the green bubble, but a new survey by Kelton Research, done at the behest of Schott Solar and the Solar Energy Industry Association, shows that 92% of US citizens think it's important that the nation develop and use solar power. What's interesting is that strong support spanned political affiliation, as well as beat out other sources of energy seen as worthy of government support: ...
US Bottled Water Sales Down Slightly. Why Are So Few Willing To Change?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 8.09
Water bottle. Image credit:Flickr, How Can I Recycle This?
The grocery store shelf space dedicated to bottled water seems to have lessened a bit. Are there reliable data to show how much, and why? Following a decade of booming sales growth, Washington Post reports, bottled water sales have flattened and are receding a bit. WaPo calls bottled water sales "tapped out," citing Nestle's recent profit slip of 2.7% as evidence. This is against a background in which... "Sales of bottled water swelled 59 percent to $5.1 billion between 2003 to 2008, making it one of the fastest growing beverages." Although any "tapped out" indications are welcomed, environmentally speaking, the overall the rate of consumer behavior change is trivial, at least in the USA, where it is estimated that "Per-capita consumption [of bottled water] dropped from 29 gallons to 28.5."...
Sacramento High School Students Create Their Own CSA
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 8.09
Image via: Lindsay_NYC on Flickr.com
Several (make that almost 1,000 this year) industrious high school students, with the help of a very involved teacher, have created their own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which raises money for the high school, for farmers and for the students themselves. The Sacramento News & Review reports that this program, called the Fresh Producers Program, not only brings in money for each group but is encouraging the community to eat better, fresher local produce....
What Happens When a Kayak has Sex with a Velomobile?
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 8.09
Photo: David Buchwaldek
Human Powered Electric Amphibious Vehicle (HEPAV)
A velomobile is a "a human-powered vehicle, enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and protection from weather and collisions, [...] derived from recumbent bicycles and tricycles." The list of features doesn't usually include the ability to move on both land and water, but Czech inventor David Buchwaldek's HEPAV is of a new breed. In fact, it is kind of like the offspring of an electric-assist trike and a kayak....
From the Forums: How Can I Get My School to Go Green?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10. 8.09
Image Credit: editorb-online
jpa18708 asks:
My school seems like they don't care about the environment at all. We have "recycling bins" but trash gets mixed in, and the janitors always throw out anything that is in the bins. We also use styrofoam trays for lunch. How can I get my school to recycle and use greener practices?Got ideas? Post them here....
CO2 Scrubbing Artificial Trees Won't Save Us - Need Massive Investment, Colossal Infrastructure
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
photo: Paul Falardeau via flickr.
For some reason (frankly, entirely lost on me) the idea of artificial trees to remove CO2 from the atmosphere seems to grab people's imagination in a way other geoengineering schemes don't. Well, over at Yale e360 there's a good piece that goes into the pros (artificial CO2 scrubbers could work with low chance of unintended consequences) and cons (it's gonna be really expensive) of deploying them on a wide scale:...
Northeast States Rush to Build Nation's First Offshore Wind Farm
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 8.09
Photo via There Were 42
US states in the Northeast are uniting to take advantage of their greatest potential renewable energy source: the blustery winds off the Atlantic coast. It's extremely tricky business, but states from New Jersey to Maine are ready to get plans for the nation's first offshore wind farm off the ground. ...
Explore Design Comes Back To Toronto and TreeHugger is There
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 8.09
Every year the Merchandise Mart people put on Explore Design, an amazing show in Toronto to promote careers in design to high school students, with booths from design schools from across North America, great speakers and thousands of kids taking it all in. TreeHugger has been there from the start, organizing Design for the Greater Good, . "A series of seminars focusing on design with consciousness and on sustainable design." I have rounded up some usual TreeHugger subjects as speakers:
...
IT Will Play Key Role in Obama's Order for Federal Energy Efficiency
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 8.09
Photo via Beth Rankin
It was just a few months ago that we wrote about the Department of Energy frittering away $23 million a year for dumb IT energy management mistakes. Now, there won't be any excuse - for any federal agency - thanks to Executive Order 13514 requiring tighter energy efficiency targets. Taking a close look at IT departments will go a long way in meeting new targets. ...
Trashing Tragedy of the Commons? Communities Found to Manage Forests Better Than Government
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
Deforestation in Haiti, photo: Nick Hobgood via flickr.
It's economic and environmental conventional wisdom that natural resources held in common tend to get over-exploited. But a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and being highlighted by New Scientist, contends that at least in the case of tropical forests, those owned by local communities have been protected far better than those managed by government: ...
Norway Pledges to Be Carbon Neutral by 2030
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 8.09
Photo via Orange Smile
Norway has just announced that it's taking the lead on the world stage when it comes to cutting carbon. If a global treaty can be brokered in Copenhagen this December, the nation pledges to reduce carbon emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. That's the most ambitious target set by any developed nation--and oh yeah, Norway also pledged to become fully carbon neutral just 10 years after that....
Shipping Container Radar Tower Proposed For Rotterdam
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 8.09
Images NL Architects
The Port of Rotterdam ran a competition for the design of a 70 meter (230 feet) high tower for a radar and observation platform. Designboom shows NL Architects' proposal to build it out of shipping containers, an appropriate choice for one of the world's busiest container ports.
...
Top Stories From Tonic: Crude Awakening, Howard Zinn Speaks, Powerhouse Shingle and more!
by Tonic, the "good news" site on 10. 8.09
Photo via trssty
Check out Tonic's eco-highlights of the week! From innovation to entertainment, here's what's hot in the latest "good news."
Cat Lincoln sat down with Joe Berlinger, maker of the award-winning documentary Crude, and learns why the story of big oil's exploits (and pollution) in Ecuador, but the award-winning documentary almost never made it to the big screen.
Continuing with exclusive Tonic interviews, Ben Corbett offers back-to-back conversations of inspiration with No Impact Man Colin Beavan and the people's historian himself, Howard Zinn, whose star-studded documentary hits the History Channel in December.
Want a new roof over your head and get off the grid at the same time? Katie Gustafson has a line on how to lighten your life with Dow Chemical's new Powerhouse Solar Shingle.
Climbers in the Swiss Alps can thank architect Andrea Deplazers for a stunning eco-hut rest stop for visitors that doubles as a research facility for Swiss Federal Institute for Technololgy (ETH) students. ...
World's Largest (Solar Powered) Tensegrity Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge Opens
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.09
This week the world's largest tensegrity pedestrian and cycle bridge was officially opened in Brisbane, Queensland. In fact, according to Wikipedia, it is "also the largest Tensegrity structure in existance." Tensegrity, meaning the tensional integrity based on a synergy between balanced tension and compression components. That might sound like engineering mumbo jumbo, but now that the bridge is open an estimated 36,500 monthly passage of pedestrians and cyclists can go test the theory for themselves, as they cross the 470 metre long span as, the Kurilpa Bridge arcs over the city's river....
Elizabeth Grossman Chases Toxic Molecules Through Our Bodies and Around the Globe
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10. 8.09
If, in the United States, you happen to decided you'd like to earn your PhD in chemistry, you may notice that at no point are you required to take a course in toxicology. This is partly the reason we're now being assaulted by a growing mob of dangerous substances as they float through our oceans and bloodstreams. So says science journalist Elizabeth Grossman whose new book, Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, is a sleuth job into the world of synthetic estrogens, carcinogens, nanoparticles, and other man-made poisons that may be making us fat, angry, stupid, and dead. Listen to the podcast of our interview with Elizabeth Grossman via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download. Music credit: Stereolab...
Use the Toilet, Produce Biofuels! High-Yield Cellulosic Ethanol From Sewage System Debuted
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
photo: Stuart Pilbrow via flickr.
It's been a while since a good poo-power story has come down the pipe, but here's an interesting one: Massachusetts-based biofuels company Qteros and wastewater recyclers Applied Clean Tech have announced that they have developed a high-yield solution to turning cellulose in municipal wastewater solids in ethanol. Yes, your own poo into ethanol:...
Thousands of Homeowners Sick from Toxic Chinese Drywall
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 8.09
Photo via Chinese Drywall Atty
During the housing boom, thousands of homes were built with cheap drywall imported from China. The drywall turned out to be contaminated with sulfur, and was powerful enough to corrode metal and make anyone living in the houses ill. TreeHugger was on the story when the first case surfaced in Florida at the beginning of the year--but it went largely under the radar for months. Now, thousands of people across the country are getting sick in their own homes....
6 Reasons Food is Central to the Health Care Debate
by David DeFranza on 10. 8.09
Image credit: David DeFranza
The debate over health care has, thus far, revolved around access and cost. While these are important issues, and will no doubt be the focus of any reform plan that emerges from Congress, they overshadow other more fundamental health concerns.
Food, what we eat and how we eat it, is central to the health care debate in America for six reasons....
Which Electronics Companies Are Doing The Most to Ditch Toxic Materials?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 8.09
Photo via Clean Production Action
One of the primary ways electronics manufacturers can green up gadgets - aside from making them more energy efficient - is eliminating the toxic materials used in their manufacturing. It's an issue groups like Greenpeace push hard on companies about, since the use of certain materials has negative impacts on the environment, particularly during the disposal or recycling phase of a product's life. A new report by Clean Production Action and ChemSec shows which seven manufacturers are doing the most to eliminate these materials from the electronics they produce and send off into the world. ...
10 Ingenious DIY Designs ... By Prison Inmates
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
Angelo, Temporary Services
Who knew that inspiration for remaking our things -- and perhaps by extension, even our country -- could come from prisoners?
Then again, prison life comes with minimal resources, to say the least. To make the most of them, impromptu incarcerated inventors have long improvised with what little they have. (I'd like to see what Chinese prisoners could do.) Fashioning your own tattoo gun with a battery or sculptures from candy wrappers (see above) sure beats making license plates (or recycling computer parts for Dell). With a big nod to Weburbanist and Dornob, which first covered this a couple weeks back, here's a look at some inventions that give new meaning to the term self made man....
The DROP, Urban Art Infill: Trees from Hiroshima and Solar Powered DJs in New York
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 10. 8.09
Human Glacier musical performance by Paul D. Miller. Photo by Sergio Carratalá
A solar powered DJ booth (see photo below), tree seedlings from Hiroshima, a Human Glacier performance and Yoko Ono - all of this is happening under the High Line in New York this month. The Drop and exhibition 2012+ is about art, the city and the environment. Its title is inspired by the Mayan calendar, indicating an upcoming shift from one phase of life to something new about to take shape. Here is how the curators, Alexandra Chang and Mie Iwatsuki, explain their concept:...
Amazing Race Contestants Break Into e-Waste, Make Light of Tragedy of Toxins
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 8.09
Image via Greener Computing
(re)blog ripped into this week's episode of The Amazing Race, and rightly so. In one of the challenges, contestants were to hunker down in a e-waste dump and - in the rough, panicked manner that the contestants usually have during challenges - disassemble discarded electronics, exposing themselves and everyone working in the dump on a daily basis to dangerous toxins. Rather than treating it as a frightening lesson in how terrible these e-waste dumps are for people and the environment, the challenge was labeled by the show as a primer in electronics recycling. They got more than just that wrong.
...
Biodiesel Motorcycle Attempts Circumnavigation of Australia
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.09
With more than a touch of irony, a motorcyclist who spent about 20 years as an off-shore oil driller is demonstrating that there are alternatives to fossil fuels. Paul Carter, now a best seller author, last month leapt aboard a motorbike (designed and made by staff and students at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, to see how it copes with over 20,000 kilometres (Bangkok Showdown: China, Rich Countries Spar Over Climate Obligations
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 8.09
Cutting Remarks
Yesterday, at a mock trial that found the U.S. and other wealthy nations responsible for climate change, China was all but absent.
But back in the real world of climate talks in Bangkok, China lambasted developed countries for their insistence that developing nations pull their weight in the effort to keep global temperatures down. The IANS reports that China's chief climate negotiator Yu Qingtai trotted out the old developing country defense:"In all fairness, we cannot sit here today and talk about everybody making an effort." he said. There has to be differentiation between those who created the problem and others."May sound good, but that's not much of a climate change policy. ...
Dead People Are Cool: Crematorium Heat Powers Air Conditioning
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.09
Our second crematorium posts in weeks, but this one is a bit more uplifting than Mike's story about unfortunate Canadians breathing dead people soot. In this instance the Taipei Second Funeral Parlor in Taiwan plan to harness waste heat from their crematorium furnaces and run it through a heat exchanger to generate electricity to run the air-conditioning system in of all places, their waiting room.
But the $236,00 USD energy conversion unit, due to be completed this month, has however not been welcomed by everyone. The ABC Online report that Taipei City Councillor Chuang Ruei-hsiung was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying, "It's creepy that the mourners are cooled by air-conditioning powered by the bodies of their relatives being burnt downstairs," ...
Oryzatech: Strawbale Lego Blocks for Grown-ups
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.09
Strawbale Building is one of those endeavours that mostly flies below the radar. Although a proven construction method for more than 100 years, the mainstream building industry don't really allow it to appear on their screen.That might be because it's been hard to pigeonhole. After all, the raw material is scooped, as agricultural waste, right off a farmers field, instead of shipped out a factory door, complete with specification and safety data sheets. But that distinction might be about the change.
Oryzatech make their Stak Block from compressed rice straw, considered the world's largest bio-waste crop. The interlocking blocks do look uncannily like Lego for giants. Each fire resistant block weighs about 13.5 kg (30 lbs) and contains 96% recycled content, as well as being rated to R50 for insulation*, which is claimed to be thrice that of a standard insulated stud wall....
News From Mother Jones: October 8
by Mother Jones on 10. 8.09
Hello TreeHugger readers, and welcome to the first weekly roundup of environmental news from Mother Jones.
Members of the US Chamber of Commerce are not happy about the organization's hard-line climate policy, to say the least: Nike, and Apple, and three major electric utilities have all defected in the past two weeks. According to the Chamber's rules, its policies and positions are supposed to be approved or rejected by its board of directors. But insiders say the board never formally endorsed its climate stance. What gives? Josh Harkinson has the scoop here.
Next on the docket, a scummy story: You've likely heard the buzz around algae--it's been touted as one of the most promising biofuel sources out there. But the pond-muck industry has a slimy secret: Some companies have promised impossible amounts of energy based on speculation, raising millions from unwitting investors.
Over at the Blue Marble, our environment, health, and science blog: It's onward and upward for the "Solar Roadmap" bill. In nonrenewable energy news, the Supreme Court lets deep-water drilling companies get away without paying hundreds of billions of dollars in royalties to the Department of the Interior. Meanwhile, the Sierra Club slams coal AND makes fun of grimy college kids, all in one kinda clever swoop: Its new video series, aimed at the nation's 60 remaining coal-powered colleges, calls coal "too dirty, even for college."
Also: Antarctic tourists trample March of the Penguin stars' home, Hopi tribe members tell the Sierra Club to take a hike, and we round up five cool ways to use a newspaper (no reading required)....
Huge Dust Storm Feeds Fish and Eats Carbon Dioxide
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.09
Our resident boffin John Laumer speculated late last month that plankton feeding fish off Australia's east coast wouldn't know what hit them following the massive geoengineering event (a huge dust storm) that blew across the continent recently. He was right. Researchers from the Ocean Technology Group at the University of Sydney estimate 8 million tonnes of CO2 was captured by the phytoplankton that grew as a result of the dust storm.
The scientists stick their neck out even further and say, according to ABC Online, the findings validates plans to increase fish stocks to feed some of the world's poorest people using ocean fertilisation....
Organic Bikes Say, Re-Think Your Ride, Consider a Bamboo Bicycle
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 8.09
Bamboo in bikes isn't a radically new concept (see below for our previous posts), but what is striking in this instance that a company would establish itself around a line of green bicycles crafted from bamboo and recycled aluminium alloy. With a swath of matching eco bike accessories to match.
Organic Bikes has been set up by Wheel & Sprocket. As the largest bike retailer in the US state of Wisconsin, with over 35 years in the trade and recipient of the National Bicycle Retailer of the Year award, it would seem safe to assume this venture has been well thought through. It's great that such experience is being brought to bear on making our most efficient means of transport even more environmentally benign.
And the bikes, what of them? Ah, sorry, read on. ...
9 Ways Climate Change Has Animals Running (Flying and Swimming) for Their Lives
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10. 8.09
Mountain goats in Glacier National Park. Photo by jessicafm via Flickr.
From the Arctic to the Rockies to the Mediterranean, species large and small are changing their migratory patterns and seeking more hospitable homes. Why? Climate change affects weather conditions, hunting grounds, and the availability of water and favored food supplies. Those that can up and move are the lucky ones--for now--but each relocation affects food chains and habitats, often in ways we can't yet predict. These nine critters are just a few of those being rousted from their regular watering holes by global warming....
Maldives Government Holds Parliament Under Water in Protest
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 8.09
Image from the Guardian
The Maldives, that little stretch of paradise off the coast of India, is living in fear of the impact of climate change. With rising sea levels predicted, the chain of 1,200 islands and coral atolls could disappear under the ocean. The president, Mohamed Nasheed, has been relentless in his campaign to save his homeland.
Next week his cabinet will hold its first meeting underwater. The ministers will don wetsuits and air tanks and meet in "parliament" 20 feet under the sea. It's all part of his efforts to draw the attention of the world's leaders to the gravity of global warming, in the lead up to the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. ...
Yes Men Launch Survivaball Climate Suits
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10. 8.09
Photo via Yes Men @ SurvivaNet.
The Yes Men (Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno) have been dreaming up pranks to foible corporate types for many years - their latest was a completely fake climate warning edition of the New York Post. Now The Yes Men's best tricks are brought together in a hilarious documentary that debuted in New York this week and will go around the country this fall. In addition to the movie, the Yes Men are reviving one of their other hilarious fakes, the Halliburton >Survivaball.
"The Survivaball is designed to protect the corporate manager no matter what Mother Nature throws his or her way," said Fred Wolf, aka Nick Bonanno. "This technology is the only rational response to abrupt climate change."...
Certified Organic Sparkling Wine for Vegan-Friendly Holiday Parties
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 7.09
We've reported on the organic bubbly from Domaine Carneros - the only certified organic sparkling wine in the United States - before. Now, they are happy to report that their sparkling wine is also vegan-friendly, and apparently always has been. Champagne and sparkling wine have animal products in them? Who knew?...
Brazil's Beef & Leather Giants Unite Against Amazon Deforestation
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
photo: Leo Freitas via flickr
Another good news update in the battle against deforestation in the Amazon: Greenpeace is hailing the announcement by four of the world's largest players in the cattle industry that they have committed to ban purchases of beef produced in newly deforested areas:...
From the Forums: Pimp My Bus?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10. 7.09
Image Credit: willsfca-online
SgtMaj writes:
You know, I got to thinking the other day about why mass transit hasn't dominated the transportation market. At first I thought that maybe it had to do with not enough buses running or the bus schedules, but then I realized that even in the neighborhoods well serviced by buses, ridership is only a fraction of the population that could ride. So eventually I came to the conclusion that it's because mass transit has always concentrated only on moving people from point A to point B as cheaply as possible and with no frills...what if buses were spiffied up a bit? What if they were more like the travel coaches...if they had all the amenities? I think ridership would go way up, even if you doubled or even tripled or quadrupled the rates. What do you think?Got ideas? Post them here....
Could Nuclear Power and Offshore Drilling Get Republicans to Vote for Cap and Trade?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 7.09
Photo via Palmetto Scoop
You Get Nuclear Power and Offshore Drilling, We Get Cap and Trade
In the ongoing attempt to sell the climate bill to moderate Republicans, more Democrats are opening up to the idea of including provisions for nuclear funding and offshore drilling (which this bill was designed to include). How much nuclear funding, you ask? If Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) gets his way, it would be treated as an equal to wind and solar, and receive the same incentives. Here's how the deal-making is breaking down....
Airports Can Cut Noise & Pollution by Having Planes Taxi with One Engine Turned Off
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 7.09
Photo: Michael Graham Richard
Cutting Fuel Use and Noise for Planes on the Ground
A coalition of companies with interests in the aviation sector (including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Heathrow Airport, etc) have published a document called "New airport departures code to cut noise & emissions plus improve local air quality". As the name states, the goal is to reduce noise and emissions at and around airports. The beauty is that it doesn't require expensive changes like buying new planes or building new structures. It's rather all about using what we already have in a smarter way....
CIA Climate Change Office Under Attack Before It Even Opens
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 7.09
You may not know that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is planning on opening up a climate change office. Hey, there's probably a lot that we don't know about the CIA. Senator John Barrasso from Wyoming doesn't like this idea one bit and is hoping to starve the office of funding before it even gets started, reports The New York Times. Why does a department of spies need a climate change office? Keep reading to find out....
Guilty! Rich Nations Slammed At Climate Change Court
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
Thai and Bangladeshi farmers, a Nepalese mountain climber, a Filipino fisherman and an Indonesian women's advocate testified against developed countries in a trial yesterday that found the wealthiest nations responsible for the damages caused by global warming.
A panel of judges at the Asian People's Climate Court in Bangkok, the site of current climate talks, determined that
major greenhouse gas emitters must help poor countries cope with climate change, while recognizing the human rights and gender aspects of climate change. China, India and other nations have insisted the U.S. and other Western countries should shoulder much of the responsibility for carbon emissions and even pay developing nations to help clean up, ahead of climate talks in December....
An Ice Artist's Poignant Plea to Halt Global Warming
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10. 7.09
Melting ice people in Berlin. Photo via Wend Blog.
Despite all the scientific and anecdotal evidence, some people still manage to be skeptical, unaware, or just plain unconcerned about global warming and its effect on both people and planet. For those on whom facts and figures haven't worked, the World Wildlife Fund must have thought, a beautiful and haunting piece of art just might....
Recycled Freitag Bags Become Compost Art During Vienna Design Week
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10. 7.09
Image: Walking Chair Gallery
Freitag bags are a modern eco classic. Swiss brothers Markus and Daniel Freitag make their slick bags, wallets, iPhone cases, and other accessories from discarded tarps, the type used by long-distance freight trucks in Europe. Even their Zurich store is made from shipping containers. Recently, the two suave gents were recruited by a Vienna art gallery as part of Vienna Design Week to partake in "Urban Gardening," an art installation involving an active compost pile. Freitag supplied 100 limited edition compost bags to patrons on opening night on the promise that, for three months, they bring their food scraps back to the gallery to become part of the arty compost heap. The Freitag brothers kicked things off by making a big soup, feeding gallery-goers while inaugurating the pile with their peelings....
Jon Stewart Takes on 'Crap and Trade' (VIDEO)
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 7.09
Photo via the Baltimore Sun
Yes, cap and trade was the subject of one of Stewart's segments last night on the Daily Show. But no, he didn't come up with that 'crap and trade' goldmine himself. He left that bit of witty wordplay wizardry to a blustery Republican congressman. Jon takes on the many shortcomings of the Democrats with the bill, including the generous giveaways to polluting industries and the Dems' awful messaging. Of course, he leaves some time to make fun of the GOP too, and well, just see for yourself. It's hilarious. Video's after the jump. ...
Want to Reduce Your Air Pollution Exposure? Cross the Street
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 7.09
Image via: nep on Flickr.com
A new study from researchers at the University of Leeds says that pedestrians can easily reduce their exposure to air pollution simply by crossing the street. Now, knowing just which side of the street is the correct one takes a little more know-how, reports Science Daily. Maybe there should be an app created for this sort of thing, or even just a crosswalk alerting pedestrians to the better side of the street....
Nissan LEAF Electric Car to Come to British Columbia First (in 2011)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 7.09
Image: Nissan
Lucky B.C.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance, along with the Province of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver, and BC Hydro, have announced that British Columbians will have a chance to get their hands on Nissan's LEAF electric car sooner than the rest of the world. Global distribution is planned for 2012, but Canada's Westernmost province will see it come in 2011....
Nuclear Power: Climate Fix or Folly?
by Rocky Mountain Institute on 10. 7.09
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Can nuclear-generated electricity lead us off fossil fuels?
After years of sitting in the energy dustbin, nuclear power is enjoying a renaissance. Countries such as France, Japan and China are furiously building nuclear plants to deliver cheap electricity and help combat climate change.
Yet in the U.S. nuclear power carries a great deal of baggage: safely storing spent fuel, preventing catastrophic accidents like the one that occurred at Chernobyl in 1986, and combating proliferation. ...
The White House Speaks Up for a Carbon Cap
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 7.09
Photo via SMH
There's been some talk in the Senate about splitting a climate bill up into two bills; one that would set renewable energy targets, and one that would establish a cap and trade. There's also been some unfortunate nods towards eliminating a carbon cap from a bill altogether--an idea pushed by an influential Democrat, no less. But stripping the cap on carbon removes the core of the bill--and the White House knows it. The Obama administration delivered some strong words on the necessity of a carbon cap today--here's what they said....
Stop Crying Wolf! Cap-and-Trade Will Increase Farmer's Production Costs Less Than 1%
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
photo: David Jones via flickr.
Putting another nail in the 'it's too expensive to enact climate change legislation' coffin: The Environmental Working Group has just released a report that shows the added costs to agriculture of the American Clean Energy & Security Act will be entirely minimal:...
Readers' Fall Harvest Photos (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
A fall harvest from a garden in Ester, Alaska. Credit Amy Kay
From wild-harvested grapes and tomatoes canned into grape juice, bloody mary mix, and marinara sauce to potatoes, beets, onions, and carrots from a garden in the sub-arctic town of Ester, Alaska, readers sent in their fall harvest photos. Click through for picture-perfect pumpkins; peppers, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes from the farmers market, and more in our Readers' Fall Harvest Photos. And if you missed last week's Readers' Photos it's not to late to enjoy our juicy Composting & Vermicomposting Systems slideshow, and stay tuned - later today we'll be asking for photos of your favorite strategies for low energy use at home.
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6 Ways Bar Codes Make Us Green, And One Barcode Scanner That Can't
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 7.09
Photo via Conor Lawless
Today is the 57th anniversary of the invention of the barcode. It's an important invention (even Google changed its logo in celebration) that has changed how we shop, how we ship things, how we organize things, and the list keeps going. But it's also an invention that is still undergoing evolution - primarily by morphing into RFID tagging instead - and being utilized in clever new ways. We've seen some excellent eco-friendly uses of barcodes come up, and here are our favorites (plus a rather lame device that can go by the wayside). ...
iWant: One Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption, to a Simpler, Honest Life
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 7.09
Recently I reviewed the book iWant by Jane Velez-Mitchell, HLN's Host of Issues with Jane-Velez Mitchell and it's nothing short of a very honest look at one person's very public struggle to come to peace with herself. Yet, while the process takes many years and is never really "complete," Velez-Mitchell doesn't beat the reader over the head and welcomes you to take the journey with her and possibly take the journey for yourself. ...
TED Talk: How Food Shaped Our Cities, And How City Planning Can Reshape Our Food
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 7.09
Image via TED
In this fascinating TED talk, Carolyn Steel shows us how our food supplies shaped cities. From ancient times when certain markets were located based on how easy it was to get food to those areas to how cities expanded with the advent of trains, Steel shows us how our urban planning revolves really around how we eat. But more importantly, how we eat could be made more healthy and sustainable by a revisioning of cityscapes. Check out her talk after the jump, and see what an ideal city might look like if we were to adopt more sustainable eating practices. ...
The Most Compact Urban Folding Bike Ever
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 7.09
Yes, that's a full-sized bicycle in there.
Innovations in folding bikes have helped urban cyclists cram their vehicles into tiny apartments for years now--and the designs keep getting better and better, and smaller and smaller. And this new folding bike concept by Victor Aleman may take the cake--as you may or may not be able to tell, even the wheels fold up on this bad boy. More pics after the jump....
80,000 Baltimore Students Join Meatless Monday Movement
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
photo: Alpha via flickr.
By now you've probably heard that adopting a vegetarian diet, or at least cutting way down on you meat consumption, is a great way to reduce your ecological footprint and get some great health benefits at the same time. Now students in the Baltimore City Public School System will have a little help in doing that. The BCPS has begun participating in the Meatless Monday program, becoming the first school system in the country to do so, Forbes reports:...
The Best of Fast Company: Cloud Computing, Crowdsourced City Design, and the Greenest Brands Chosen By You
by Ariel Schwartz of Fast Company on 10. 7.09
This week at Fast Company, we looked at the sustainable qualities of cloud computing, ideas for San Francisco city design crowdsourced from the locals, a list of green brands chosen by consumers, and a major US military purchase of biofuels.
Cloud computing is growing more popular every day, and data centers are already responsible for 1.5% of all power use in the US. What are companies doing to curb this energy hemorrhage?
San Francisco city officials recently sent out a call for local designers and architects to solve nagging problems, such as the walkability of the Embarcadero and the quality of the public school system. We had the chance to see four local design firms try their hand at solving these issues on the cheap.
Authoritative lists of the greenest brands abound from organizations like Greenpeace, Newsweek, ForestEthics, and more. Now marketing and communications company WPP has revealed which brands are seen as the most sustainable from the customer perspective.
The US military is betting big on the potential of third generation biofuels, with a 600,000 gallon purchase of sustainable jet fuel made of algae, weeds and animal corpses.
Fast Company sets the agenda, charting the evolution of business through a unique focus on the most creative individuals sparking change in the marketplace....
Want a Strong Climate Deal? Become a Citizen of Hopehangen
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
We're coming into the home stretch before the COP15 climate talks in Copenhagen and we need to put as much pressure as possible on our national representatives that at this moment there is no more important single issue than establishing a fair, ambitious, and binding international climate change agreement. One great way you can make your voice heard is by taking part in Hopehagen, and signing the UN Climate Petition:...
Canadian Study Shows Air Pollution May Trigger Appendicitis
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 7.09
What? How?
We all know that air pollution is a bad thing. Not good for your lungs, not good for your heart. Asthmatics, children and older folks are particularly at risk. But a new Canadian study claims that air pollution is also increasing the risk of appendicitis in adults. Even short-term exposure to air pollution could have an effect....
Architects: Go Back To The ABCs and Design Buildings Like Letters Again
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 7.09
Julia Gersovitz of Montreal's FGMAA Architects made the point: Buildings used to look like alphabets, to minimize the distance to an exterior wall and maximize natural light and ventilation. We have all seen many Cs, Os and a few Es (I forgot to draw probably the most common, the Ls)
...
Best of BlogHer: Beef Crisis, Photo Activism, Lawn Reform
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 7.09
Photo credit: Andrea Bakacs
Another day, another ground-beef crisis. Should Obama prioritize food safety?
Good photography can change the way we eat--at least, that's the idea behind photo activist Andrea Bakacs' work--and it's gently shifting the way I think about food.
Does your house have a lawn? Follow the six basic practices of the Lawn Reform Coalition.
Got a great cause, but don't know how to get people interested? BlogHer's series on using social media for your project kicks off with 10 questions to get you started on your path to do-gooding.
First it was lead paint on toys, then toxins in baby bottles--now, the toxic playground may be a legitimate danger to kids' health.
Could you limit yourself to food produced within 150 miles of your house for a whole month? Take stock with the fifth Eat Local Challenge.
BlogHer is the leading participatory news, entertainment and information
network for women online. Follow us on Twitter (@Blogher), on Facebook, and at BlogHer.com....
The Clearest 5 Minute Lesson on Arctic Ice Melt You'll Ever Get
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 7.09
Information about the melting of Arctic ice can be overwhelming, especially when trying to grasp everything from how it is measured to the impacts of ice-free summers in the Arctic to predictions about future ice melts. We work hard to make these things lucid, but sometimes it's easier to hear it, rather than read it. In this short video, NASA climate scientist Tom Wagner gives a crystal clear lesson on what's going on at the north pole, and what the changes mean to everyone globally. ...
From Cersaie: Magnets and Software in Tile Make 5 Minute Bathroom Renovation Possible
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 10. 7.09
Photo via Bisazzablog.com
What if renovating your bathroom took a click of your mouse? Or what if tile was applied with magnetic paint, removing the need to smash it out to replace one broken square (annoyingly labor-intensive, expensive, and wasteful)? Last week in Bologna, Italy at tile show Cersaie, Marcello Becchi, director of business development for Trend USA, the U.S. arm of Italian tile manufacturer Trend, told me that this Jetson-flavored future is closer than we think: Tile as we know it could drastically change with technology currently under development. ...
The Best of GOOD: Foodiots, CEO Compensation, and Branding for Social Ventures
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 7.09
This week, we learned about a teenager in rural Africa who taught himself engineering and figured out who to generate electricity from a homemade windmill.
Ever wondered if your cheesy pizza boxes can really be recycled? What about the top to your shampoo bottles? We enlisted an expert to answer your nagging recycling questions, and dispelled some common blue bin myths in the process....
TreeHugger Deals (NOT!): FEMA Trailers For Sale
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 7.09
A few years ago John described how one might try to optimize formaldehyde exposure in climate refugees:
- Build out of formaldehyde laced particle boards, resins and glues;
- Purchase great numbers and fill quickly before much formaldehyde can outgas;
- Fill with families with no other options;
- Bake in southern sun until done.
Albatross-Mounted Cameras Show Smart Feeding Strategy with Killer Whales
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 7.09
Image via PLoS One
Albatrosses spend most of their lives on the wing, and not a whole lot is known about what they do up there day in and day out, including when it comes to feeding. But why wonder when you can strap a tiny camera onto the birds and find out for sure. Turns out, they do some surprising things while out at sea, including track whales. ...
Dow Steps Out Into The Sun With POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 7.09
Dow Chemical Company's POWERHOUSE™ solar shingles being installed. Image credit:Jetson Green blog
Several companies offer building integrated solar-photovoltaic (BIPV) products; but, to be honest, most of them look contrived to me. These new Dow Powerhouse™ solar shingles seem much closer to the design heritage of traditional asphalt based roofing. Adequately matching the preceding aesthetic is key because it ensures the product will not off-put tradition-bound customers or conflict with homeowner association appearance standards.
Also, some of the early BIPV products strayed far from established construction contractor protocols, calling for new installation skills. Adding contractors means added time, greater cost, and increased risk of error. ...
People Actually Like Clunky Environment-Sensing Wrist Bands From La Montre Verte
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 7.09
Photo via Gizmag
In May, Sensaris crossed our radar. It's a wristband that turns people into walking environment sensors. Sensaris trackers would essentially crowdsource information about air pollution so everyone would be able to know the air quality in certain areas in real time. Nice idea, we said, but no one will wear these things, right? Wrong. Turns out, these wrist watch-like sensors are kinda popular. ...
Best of Inhabitots: Top 7 Eco-Friendly Playhouses for Kids
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10. 7.09
Photo credit: Manuel Villa
Part child's playhouse, part home-within-a-home getaway for harried parents, Manuel Villa's Habitable Polyhedron is like an escape pod from outer space.
A sustainably constructed prefab modernist shed just for the kiddos? Yes, please!
Fans of architect Ryan Grey Smith's Modern Shed will go gaga for this pint-size version for their Mini-Mes.
This cardboard playhouse by Kidsonroof can be anything your child's imagination can muster. Plus, it comes with a band of adorable critter friends!
Made with FSC-certified wood, this playhouse is like a psychedelic Hobbit-hole for the young 'uns.
The award-winning Trad Play Fort has another sneakier purpose: To corral the preponderance of gear that comes with having children.
Straight from a fairy tale, the Dreaming Spires Willow Playhouse both modern princesses and jousting knights (or modern knights and jousting princesses.)
Inhabitots is a website dedicated to green design for kids and babies. Written by a team of intrepid, design-conscious parents, we review eco-friendly, healthy, and sustainable toys, furniture, clothing, and gear. Follow us on Twitter @inhabitots and on Facebook....
Bugs in Pictures: Incredible Insect Macro Photography (Slideshow)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 7.09
Photo by Thomas Shahan
Thomas Shahan has a knack for getting up close and personal with bugs, and making even the most underestimated arthropods look cute, interesting, and downright gorgeous. Check out these amazing photos that will make you look at the tiniest critters in a whole new way.
...
Our Car-Centric Built Environment Is Killing Our Kids
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 7.09
Typical pedestrian overpass. Image credit adobo28
In an earlier post about a novel method of separating cars from bikes and pedestrians, a commenter explained why the car gets to go straight through while the pedestrians have to schlep up and down stairs:
...
USEPA Issues Voluntary Meth Lab Cleanup Guidelines
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10. 7.09
Image: EPA Meth Lab Remediation Guidelines
The Volunteers Who Clean Up Meth Labs
The DEA estimates that over 100,000 illegal methamphetamine (meth) labs operate in the United States. The guys working in clandestine labs obviously have accepted the risks of handling chemicals that destroy skin and blind eyes while reacting with moisture, or that ignite spontaneously in air and burn violently with explosions splattering hot material, or have effects like tremors, convulsions, liver, kidney or central nervous system damage. (In fact, enforcement authorities discover almost one in five labs after a fire or explosion, often killing or injuring emergency responders as well as meth cooks).
But what about the property owner or law enforcement officer who finds the abandoned lab, and the guys called in to clean up the mess? These are the "volunteers" that will use the new Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine Laboratory Cleanup. What will they learn on how to safely clean up the mess meth labs leave behind and how to determine when the property is clean enough for the next residents to move in?...
7 Weird Endangered Species Only a Mother Could Love
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 10. 7.09
Photo via WebEcoist
When we pointed out some endangered species that are just so gosh-darn cute they'd give Knut a run for his magazine covers, we just couldn't shake the feeling that we were doing a disservice to all the rest of the world's endangered species--you know, the ones that aren't so cute. Or, in these cases, the ones that are almost downright ugly. Well, we think every creature has its own type of beauty--and we know that each holds its own important place in the eco-system--so we tracked down some of the weirder, creepier types who deserve to be saved just as much as the cuddly ones....
Carmina Campus is the Ultimate Eco-Fashion Handbag
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 7.09
Image from bagcraze
Carmina Campus--the ultimate in decadent eco-fashion? Well it has to be up there--it's a new-ish brand owned and designed by a member of the Fendi family--one of fashion's biggest fashion labels. Translated as "chants of the field", Carmina Campus bags are definitely a luxury item, almost in the wretched excess department.
But they are made of completely recycled materials in a way that is clever, cool and elegant, all in one. And much of the profit is being put back into charities. If Fendi can carry it off, why can't Chanel, Prada, etc. etc. give it a go... More on eco-luxury after the fold.
...
SRD Change09: Students Seek to Inspire, Provoke and Change Design
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 6.09
SRD Change is the annual exhibition of new graduate design and ideas that address our those issues which will impact our future. Like issues of sustainability, environmental change and responsibility, social equity and community. The Society for Responsible Design (SRD), probably the planet's oldest eco-design not-for-profit organisation, believe that such ideas challenge conventional expectations and raise the design bar to new levels.
Change 09 showcases the directions that graduates from top universities see the world taking, should they secure jobs in various design professions. On view will be a high rise building that grows it own food; an award winning water transport and filter system; a thermoacoustic water chiller that promotes reusable water bottles; a flexible, roll-up solar charger that tracks the sun; an integrated housing and permaculture garden project. And so much more, as the teaser photos here (and below) suggest. Included is also Link Scooter share design, we profiled month ago. ...
US Chamber Lashes Out At Apple Over Climate Fight
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10. 6.09
Yesterday, Apple made news when it announced it would be leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of the Chamber's positions on climate change. Now the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hit back at Apple Inc. and Chief Executive Steve Jobs. On Monday, Catherine A. Novelli, the vice-president of worldwide government affairs at Apple, wrote in a letter to Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive of the Chamber: "We strongly object to the chamber's recent comments opposing the E.P.A.'s effort to limit greenhouse gases. Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the chamber at odds with us in this effort."...
How the World Can Cut 13 Billion Tons of CO2 Per Year and Save $14 Billion in the Process
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 6.09
Photo via Trends Updates
By significantly slowing deforestation, improving worldwide energy efficiency, and working towards a global renewable energy standard of 20%, we could cut 13 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions a year--and save $14 billion while we do it. And when I say "we", I'm talking about 'we the human race' here. Because that's the focus of this fascinating new study by the United Nations Foundation and the Center for American Progress--it's a broad plan for the world's nations to fight climate change, save money and resources, and stimulate their economies. And it's a study that people should be paying attention to, especially with Copenhagen coming up--this plan could literally help save the world. ...
Bollywood Star Gives South Asian-Canadians (& Government) a Climate Change Warning
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 6.09
Image via: Buzz 18
Termed the "Sean Penn of Asian Cinema" by Maxim magazine, Rahul Bose is taking his star power to his South Asian-Canadian community to get out the vote on climate change. Maybe they should call him the Al Gore of Asian Cinema instead. ...
Bisphenol A Makes Girls Mean
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 6.09
IMDB
So now we know what happened; Mom ate too much canned tomato sauce and drank out of an old polycarbonate bottle. According to a new study, prenatal exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) makes little girls as mean and aggressive as little boys.
Bisphenol A was originally proposed for hormone replacement therapy in the 1930s because it was so close to estrogen; most of the harmful effects attributed to it affect boys more than girls, although there have been suggestions that it makes girls fat and causes early puberty.
...
Dr. McDreamy & Mercedes Donate Clean Diesel Vehicle to Dempsey Cancer Center
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 6.09
While Patrick Dempsey may play a steamy, dreamy doctor on tv's Greys Anatomy, his involvement in the medical community doesn't stop there. In his hometown of Lewiston, Maine, sits The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing where Dempsey has done more than just serve as a pretty face for the hospital. Mercedes Benz is now donating one of their R320 BlueTec clean diesel vehicles to help transport cancer patients comfortably. Could he get any dreamier?...
UPS Offers CO2 Offsets to Its Customers, $0.05 to $0.20 Per Package
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 6.09
Image: UPS
This is Pretty Big News
Carbon offsets are certainly controversial and not perfect, but despite their shortcomings they're still a good way to funnel money from the people who buy the products and services responsible for pollution to green projects like wind power, reforestation, methane capture, etc. The end result might not always be 100% "carbon neutral" as claimed, and if it is, it might not stay that way indefinitely, but a small step in the right direction is better than nothing. This is why I'm happy to learn that UPS has become the first small package carrier to offer CO2 offsets to its customers. And they're pretty inexpensive......
Nature's Baby Organics Offers 15% Off Products For You & Baby
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10. 6.09
There's just something about a family-owned and operated business, especially when they all test products before selling them to the public. Such is the case with Nature's Baby Organics, which manufactures and distributes organic hair and skincare products developed for children. But the cool thing about Nature's Baby Organics is that they can also be enjoyed by the entire family. That's because the ingredients found in Nature's Baby Organics products are clean and healthy but also perform well so adults can use them too. You can rest easy in knowing that all of their products have been formulated and tested for infants, children and adults with eczema and sensitive skin. After all, these very conditions are what inspired this family to produce their natural and organic products....
New Clean Coal Hazards Revealed: Could Poison Plants, People
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 6.09
Photo via Twilight Earth
Clean coal seems like such a nice idea, doesn't it? We wouldn't have to close any polluting plants, nobody would have to lose their jobs in the coal mines, and we could go on getting half of our energy supply from the black stuff--we'd just use some Carbon Capture and Sequestration technology that grabs the CO2 from each power plant, and voila! Planet saved, way of life preserved, everyone's happy. Unfortunately, in reality it's never been a good idea. And this new study from the University of Toronto reveals the tremendous hazards and hurdles clean coal presents--including the fact that it could be poisonous to plants, animals, and people....
Black Soot Coating Himalayan Glaciers is Accelerating Melting
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 6.09
photo: McKay Savage via flickr.
The soot from diesel fumes and indoor cooking fires is a well known human health problem, but here's the broader angle on that: New research shows that black carbon emitted from older diesel engines and from wood and dung used in traditional cook stoves is accelerating glacial melting in the Himalayas, the Guardian reports:...
End The Thermostat Wars: Zone In, Drop Out, Save Money
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 6.09
High Fuel Prices And A $1,500 Tax Credit Ignite Interest In Alternative Heating Sources. Image credit:Buffalo News, Money To Burn
Central heating is pretty much the US norm for standalone family residences. There are exceptions in far southern homes or in three season cottages and cabins, where space heaters suffice. Otherwise, the presence of a space heater - I include wood and pellet stoves in this category - is often viewed as a symptom of poor construction, leaky windows, poverty, or infirmity. Yet remarkably, store shelves are full of plug-in space heaters; and wood stoves are selling at a record clip. Why? Builders commonly cut costs by installing a single thermostat, making an entire home a central heating "zone." Consequently, Americans often heat empty rooms for an average household size of three persons (2.59, per the US Census of 2000) while sharing an average of 2,330 square feet. What can the "one zoner" can do to lower the heating bill and avoid family members fighting over the thermostat settings?...
Create Smokey Eyes with Dr. Hauschka's New Decoratives Makeup Line
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 6.09
The new Decoratives line by Dr. Hauschka is a mineral-based line of eyeshadows and blushes that are free of parabens and phthalates. Plus they come in several natural colors that will accentuate your smoky, stunning eyes and your sky-high cheek bones. ...
Fancy Vertical Bike Racks for Long-Term Parking
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 6.09
Image: Yinnon Lehrer
Not Sure It's the Best Way to do Things, But Cool Concept
This concept by Yinnon Lehrer is a bit similar to the Bike Tree that we've covered, but it goes farther by including a whole building (see below) with showers where bikers can wash up and get ready for work or the rest of their commute (via train or bus or whatever). Nice touch: The water for the showers is heated using a solar water heater....
The Science of 350, the Most Important Number on the Planet
by Bill McKibben, 350.org on 10. 6.09
Photo courtesy 350.org
350 is the most important number on the planet.
Which is odd, because until about 22 months ago no one even knew it mattered.
But that's when, in December of 2007, NASA's Jim Hansen gave a slide show at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco. He'd been thinking about what it meant that we'd just come through a summer of very rapid ice melt in the high Arctic, and that researchers were reporting "ahead of schedule" changes in dozen other of the earth's big physical features--melting glaciers, acidifying oceans and so on....
EcoATM Arrives in Stores - Accepts Used Cell Phones, Spits Out Store Credit
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 6.09
Images courtesy of ecoATM and AMagill
Could gadget recycling get easier than this? In a similar vein as ATM-like change machines, where you bring your bucket-o-coins, dump them in and out pops a far more convenient currency, EcoATM wants to buy back your old cell phones with this cool kiosk. Insert cell phone, withdraw currency. ...
UN Forest Protection Scheme Open for Organized Crime Abuse
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 6.09
photo: Doug Beckers via flickr.
No one doubts the critical importance of forests in preventing climate change, but with less than ten official negotiating days before the the COP15 climate talks, a number of sources are crying foul at the way talks about implementing REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) programs are going -- it all involves organized crime, fake carbon credits, enforcement problems, and a lack of respect for nature and indigenous peoples. This is the deal:...
Innovative Infrastructure: Separating Cyclists And Cars With A High-Speed Ramp
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 6.09
Tiago Barros and Jorge Pereira via Designboom
Usually when pedestrians and cyclists are separated from cars at highways, it is the pedestrians who have to climb stairs and walk over the highway; cars get priority. So they often run across and get killed. Designboom quotes designers Tiago Barros and Jorge Pereira, who wondered "why change the route of pedestrians and cyclists?" So they designed a ramp system to get the cars over the pedestrian/cyclist path, and to create a new tourist attraction....
Great Looking Trash Can + Furniture with Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic from Chile
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10. 6.09
Photos: Courtesy of Rodrigo Alonso.
Chilean designer Rodrigo Alonso has come up with a new line of furniture and accessories made of post-consumer recycled plastic, moulded into cool polyhedral shapes. One of the best: a trash can that looks so nice that it seems like a crime to throw waste into it.
Check the designs and more photos in the extended....
Powermat Wireless Gadget Chargers Hit Stores - But Should You Avoid It?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 6.09
Image via Engadget
Back in January, we spotted the Powermat at the Consumer Electronics Show. The mats are for charging up your devices like cell phones, MP3 players and more wirelessly, so that you can ditch cords wherever possible - a wonderful prospect to make a desk look and feel more organized. We just caught word that the devices are going to hit stores next week. But...we have some big reservations on just how helpful this mat might be. ...
16 Countries That Send the United States as Much Oil as Nigeria
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 6.09
photo: Nick Taylor via flickr.
It's solidly conventional wisdom that the United States is dependent on foreign oil. And this is one time where the facts do bear that out, with EIA data showing that in 2008 the United States imported 66% of its crude oil. But what that figure doesn't really show is how much of that oil actually comes from nations which are friendly to the United States, or at least neutral:...
7 Ways Fixing Building Construction Will Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 6.09
Sheppard Robson Architects
It really isn't that hard; every architect and builder knows exactly what they have to do to cut greenhouse gases significantly. People just don't want to pay the price, either in cash or in lifestyle changes. Here are just a few of the things we might do:
1. Be Like Britain: Net Zero Energy for Housing By 2016
Getting to net zero (putting as much energy back into the grid as one takes from it) is a balancing act of design to minimize waste, offset by enough photovoltaics and other types of generation to offset the little bit of power or gas that is needed. You want to build a bigger house? Put on more panels and stuff in more insulation. Some examples: The Net-Zero Energy Now House is Really Boring. Green Net-Zero Energy Housing by Mithun Shows How It's Done Bright Built Barn is Net-Zero Energy Chicago Net-Zero House is "Clean-Lined and Elegant"...Google's PowerMeter Partners With The Energy Detective For First Gadget
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 6.09
Image via Google
Google's energy monitoring dashboard, PowerMeter, moved onto the scene back in February. In May, they announced their first set of utility partners who were to take on the dashboard as something to offer to the utilities' customers. However, anyone who wanted to use PowerMeter had to be a customer of a utility that offered it because the utility is what aggregated the energy use data. That's why in April, Google mentioned they wanted to bring on a smart meter-like device that would allow anyone the ability to monitor their energy use with PowerMeter. Yesterday, the company unveiled their first device partnership partnership with an old TreeHugger favorite, TED. So the exciting part? You (if you're in North America) could start using PowerMeter today!...
3 Ways to Get Your Voice Heard at the Copenhagen Climate Summit Via 350.org
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 6.09
Image via: 350.org
The COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference--December 7-18 in Copenhagen--is fast approaching, and many of us are eager to see leaders sit down and come up with some kind of plan to get us back on the sustainable climate track. But what about those of us not able attend, are there still ways to participate and get our voices heard? Of course there is, didn't someone once say something about never underestimate what a small group can do, ah well. 350.org wants to get groups all around the world acting all on one day, October 24, the International Day of Climate Action. This is our chance to take a stand for the climate and show leaders how important this is and bring home how many of us care about what happens in Copenhagen. So how can you help?...
Finding Eco. NEMO's Nano Oz Recycled Tents Go Cheap
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 6.09
You may recall we posted earlier this year on NEMO's cool 90%* recycled tent, the Nano Oz. And how, like many new arrivals it was experiencing a few teething troubles. Well, Kate from NEMO was recently in touch to update us on the Nano Oz developmental progress.
Seems the news is both good, and bad. Although the recycled single skin tent fabric is technically a winner "... incredibly durable, breathable and waterproof. Honestly, they have some of the industry's best ratings," according to Kate, it still a few issues to be resolved before a full commercial release. ...
Montague's New Boston is a Single Speed, Full Size Folding Bike
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 6.09
We've long admired Montague for their tough, but elegant, full size folding bikes -- built around a concept that makes them just as suitable for military paratroopers, as it does recreational riders. Now, in a move to target urban riders, they've announced the Boston. A new single speed folding bike with 700c (roughly 26") wheels.
Instead of an often problematic, multi-spocketed derailleur, they've opted for an easy-to-maintain hub, which Montague say allows riders to switch between fixed or freewheel depending on their preference. More pix and specs after the fold....
Want it Nau? Wear Test With Nau's Changing Room
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 6.09
Beauty, Performance and Sustainability are the three principles that drive the folk at Nau, the outdoor lifestyle clothing and bag company. You'll notice Price isn't included. Shoehorning that trio of attributes into a product is harder work, than simply squeezing a product to get the cheapest price. So, although Nau might be value for money, the ticket price might cause some potential customers to shy away from experiencing the brand's quality apparel.
In typical creative fashion, Nau have dreamed up a solution: The Changing Room. Buy from eight selected winter garments, (mostly those over $250) and Nau will bill your credit card for just 50% of the cost. Nau reckon you'll be so thrilled after wearing them for 30 days you'll want to keep it (you'll then be billed the remainder). If not so enthralled, simply return the garment for a full refund, and Nau will even pick up the return shipping costs. ...
London Fashion Week: Christopher Raeburn's Digital Rainbow
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 10. 6.09
As the rain pours down on this grey London day we can't think of anything better than the joyful rays of colour that Christopher Raeburn brought to London Fashion Week this season. After his recent success with Worn Again, Raeburn presented his SS10 collection, aptly named Digital Rainbow. This selection of men's and women's macs, ponchos and parkas, as well as hoodies and dresses, will brighten up anyone's rainy day. Here's the full spectrum......
Posing Naked to Save French Organic Wines
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 6.09
This past weekend 713 hardy French men and women stripped down to send a message about climate change. They posed nude in French vineyards to warn the world about the impact of global warming on the French wine industry.
In Burgundy, the heart of the French vineyards, on a sunny day (luckily), Spencer Tunick posed the happy participants in four different poses; one with women alone, one with men alone and two more in different vineyards. Organised with Greenpeace, it's all part of the campaign to urge political leaders to take action in the lead up to the U.N.'s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. ...
Gourmet Magazine Shuts Down; We Will Miss It
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 5.09
Many people have complained that Gourmet Magazine under Ruth Reichl was more about foodies than about cooking. This may be true; I don't cook but I enjoyed reading it. Moreover, it had the pulse of what was happening, not just with recipes but with sustainable sourcing, local food, vegetarianism, it covered them all. TreeHugger posts based on Gourmet go back to 2005, with Sea Change: Gourmet Magazine on Fish and Sustainability. TreeHugger favourite Elizabeth Royte covered Tom Philpott's Maverick Farms in 2007. They came out and called farmed shrimp "one of the most destructive means by which humans produce food" in 2007. They attacked the chicken industry. Then they introduced a monthly vegetarian section.
But for all of the food politics, there were the recipes.
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Apple Leaves Climate Change Denying Chamber of Commerce
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10. 5.09
Apple, long in the cultural vanguard, announced today they are leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the business interest group, over the Chamber's position on climate change. Apple joins PG&E, Exelon, and PNM Resources as groups that have left the Chamber in recent weeks. ...
Video: Battery Technology for the Nissan LEAF Electric Car
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10. 5.09
When it comes to a Climate Bill, it's Time to 'Turn Momentum into Action'
by David DeFranza on 10. 5.09
Image credit: greenforall.org/Flickr
The debate over job creation and a national climate bill has, for most people, been settled. We know that ACES could create 1.7 million jobs and help America regain a competitive edge in the world economy. Now, the first draft of the Senate climate and clean energy bill is complete and, so far, it still includes two provisions integral to green jobs creation: the Green Construction Careers Demonstration Project and funding for the Green Jobs Act.
Today, Green for All, an organization "dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through a clean energy economy," held a national briefing call to highlight the inclusion of these two important provisions....
Obama Mandates Federal Energy Efficiency Improvements & Agency Emission Reduction Targets
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 5.09
photo: Michael Baird via flickr.
It seems President Obama is starting to step up on the environment: Last week was the EPA and greenhouse gas emissions from large emitters, now the President has signed an executive order that requires Federal agencies to set 2020 emission reduction targets within 90 days, as well as a whole slew of other efficiency improvements, including:...
Korbel Makes Its First Champagne with Organically Grown Grapes
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 5.09
Just in time for the advent of the holiday season and New Years, (well, or really any reason for a celebration) comes the first champagne by Korbel made with organically grown grapes. Just because the grapes have changed, doesn't mean that the taste has changed - You might be used to a typical Korbel Brut Champagne, but this Champange overs the added bonus of organic....
Free Electricity for EVs Might One Day Become Common (Here's Why)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 5.09
A Loss Leader to Get You Through the Door
Charging stations for electric cars and popping left and right (in France and California, for example). They're still a rare sight in most places, but that should change slowly over the next few years as more electric cars and plug-in hybrids come to market and become more affordable. Most people will charge these vehicles at home, and some companies are trying to build a business around fast charging stations (like Better Place with its battery-swapping stations), but there's a good chance that many businesses will offer free electricity as a way to lure customers in....
Climate Project Heads South of the Border to Train 300 Latin American Presenters
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 5.09
Al Gore's non-profit The Climate Project, which works to train global warming warriors, who then go out and spread the good word, or An Inconvenient Truth, depending on how you see it, are now taking their show on the road. Last week they met with over 300 representatives from over 21 Latin American countries to not only present the now famous slideshow but to keep the climate momentum going....
Man Who Keyed Electric RAV4 Goes to Prison, Ending Bizarre Legal Saga
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 5.09
Photo on left: Santa Clara County Department of Corrections
EV Vandal
Here's our strange story of the day: About 4 years ago, a man named Howard Herships (pictured above) keyed the electric RAV4 of Steve Kirsch, a silicon valley entrepreneur who, among other things, holds a patent for the optical computer mouse. The deed was done because Mr. Kirsch won a lawsuit against a friend of Herships for sending junk faxes (Kirsch is an anti-fax-spam crusader). Herships then proceeded to play amateur lawyer and file "a mountain of motions a foot tall" and the case eventually involved "seven judges, four prosecutors and more than 60 court appearances". All that for a keyed electric car....
Once Upon a Time, Coal Needed a Big Push ($$$) to Become "Base Load" Power
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 5.09
Renewables Are Not Such a Special Case
Our friends at CleanTechnica have a very interesting piece about coal and wind power storage. It reminds us that coal alone is not enough to generate base-load (always on) power; you also need billions and billions of dollars worth of railroads to keep the coal flowing to coal plants, with a coal train needed every 12 hours on average. Coal might be relatively cheap and energy-dense, but without the massive investments into distribution and storage over decades, it would never have become dominant. Renewable sources of energy are now at that stage......
Urban Moonshine Suggests Adding Traditional Bitters to Your Healthy, Holiday Cocktails
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 5.09
Image via: Getty Images
So you've tried organic beers, wines and spirits, but still need something to liven up your weekly routine, or something to give your traditional drink an extra kick when served to guests this holiday season? Urban Moonshine wants you to give their Bitters a try - they'll not only add a special hint of something to your drink (alcoholic or non) but they'll also cure upset stomachs and aid in digestion all at the same time. ...
Prefab, Portable Green Roof Installed In Toronto
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 5.09
Green roofs keep buildings cool, control water runoff and can be really nice to look at, in those rare situations where there is office space overlooking terraces, like there were at ESRI Canada's Toronto offices. But what do you do in an existing building, when you are a tenant and not an owner?...
Coral Bleaching Creates a Vicious Cycle of Further Bleaching and Disease
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10. 5.09
Photo: Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Corals just Can't Win...
A new study published in the October issue of the journal Ecology sheds a bit more light on a phenomenon that is becoming more and more common for corals around the world: Bleaching (described as "the whitening of corals, due to stress-induced expulsion or death of symbiotic unicellular algae or due to the loss of pigmentation within the algae"). The paper shows that bleaching can make coral more susceptible to coral diseases, which in turn can lead to more bleaching. It is the interaction of these two things that cause the worst damage, not the bleaching alone (like previously thought)....
Can You Help? My Third Attempt At Vegetarianism Goes Down In Flames
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10. 5.09
Photo via Flickr
Can you help me? I've just violated my third pledge to myself and to the planet to forsake meat and become a vegetarian. I don't want to eat meat any more--mostly as a political act, but also for health reasons--yet my head and my stomach have been forced into a civil war over what I consider to be my responsibility to the world and the creatures that call it home. Each time I've entered in this pact with myself, I've come out of it not for gastronomic reasons, but because I've felt sluggish and weak. Do any Treehugger readers have any advice? Oh, one more detail, I have Crohn's Disease, an inflammatory disease of the intestines that interferes with the digestion of essential nutrients. ...
Big Business Gets Behind the Climate Bill
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 5.09
Photo via Los Angeles
Looks like big business has finally got the memo that climate and energy reform is rife with opportunity. Two separate groups of some of the nation's largest companies are heading to Capitol Hill with a pro-climate bill message--and seven figure advertising budgets to help spread that message. The coalitions include companies like GE, Johnson & Johnson, HP, eBay, the Gap, and many others--and they're pushing for speedy action on climate legislation? Could environmentalists have found a powerful ally in a group of Fortune 500 companies?...
Spotting Illegal Toxic Waste From Space
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 5.09
Image via New Scientist
Digging into sites that are suspected to be toxic waste dumps is expensive and potentially dangerous to nearby water supplies, so investigators want a way to spot toxic waste before diving in. Now, they have satellites on their side to do just that, utilizing ground-penetrating radar and other remote sensing techniques. ...
Eco-Products Recycled Coffee Cup, Now With the Most Recycled Content
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10. 5.09
Image via: Eco-Products
While we still think that bringing your own reusable mug or water bottle is best, for those organic, fair trade, hip coffee shops out there in need of something a little more green, we introduce the Eco-Products recycled coffee cup, now with more recycled content. Now, if all 16 billion paper hot coffee cups used more recycled content, that would save 1.75 million trees, save the energy needed to power 10,319 American homes for one year, and even save the equivalent of a year's worth of emissions from 25,260 cars....
LEIF 2009 is a Meeting of Sustainable Business Minds
by David DeFranza on 10. 5.09
Image credit: LEIF/Enclave Rising
Enclave Rising is a real estate development company dedicated to building "zero carbon, zero impact, ultra luxury, 5-star sustainable hotels and homes." Joining luxury and environmentally friendly designs is not always easy, but by placing principles of environmental and social consciousness first, the company is building a new paradigm for high-end development.
The mission does not end with real estate. Enclave Rising will host the Leaders of the Ethosphere Institute Forum (LEIF), of which TreeHugger is a sponsor, to bring together members of the sustainable business community to analyze challenges and propose solutions to common problems across industries....
Ocean Iron Fertilization for Geoengineering Should Be Abandoned
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 5.09
photo: Anderson Mancini
Geoengineering as a whole arouses strong feelings in the green community, and ocean iron fertilization is no exception. Now, as Climate Progress points out (and excerpts from generously), a new opinion piece in Nature Magazine says that the whole prospect of ocean iron fertilization should be abandoned. Here's why:...
Readers, Send Us Your Fall Harvest Photos!
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10. 5.09
A bountiful fall harvest; pumpkins. Credit: samatt
As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, I'm ready for butternut squash soup and pumpkin pie! What's in your fall harvest? Do you have beans, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, chard, cauliflower, chicory, endive, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, or pumpkins -- all in season -- in your garden? Prove it! This summer we asked for your farmers market finds, and now we want to see fall harvest photos from your farmers' market, backyard garden, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), container garden, or wherever you get local fresh fruits, herbs, or vegetables. Lacking inspiration? View all our readers' photos , and today's juicy composting and vermicomposting slideshow. Click through for details. ...
48 Year-Old Blogger Has Gone 9 Years Without Spending Money
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 5.09
Daniel Suelo wasn't poor, a victim of bad luck, mentally ill, or even uneducated. He just decided that he wanted to have nothing to do with money. So he gave up consumer culture altogether, and for the last 9 years, he's survived by living in a cave in Utah, and dumpster diving, foraging, fishing, and occasionally hunting for food. He spends his time in the great outdoors--and in the public library, where he blogs about it all. ...
China Says US & Rich Nations Sabotaging Climate Treaty
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 5.09
photo: UNFCCC
At UN climate talks in Bangkok -- the second to last talks before the COP15 summit in Copenhagen -- the Guardian reports that China's special representative on climate change has accused the United States other industrialized nations of trying to sabotage the climate treaty. Yu Qingtai said,...
Soda Tax Could Raise $10 Billion Per Year for Cash-Strapped States
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10. 5.09
Photo via the NY Times
A soda tax could close cash-strapped states' budget gaps, a new study finds. The report, authored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says that a mere 7 cent tax on sugary drinks could raise a combined $10 billion per yer. Soda may not be as downright deadly as tobacco products--a favorite taxable cash cow--but they're a large contributor to obesity and diabetes. Is it time for a soda tax? ...
West Coast Green 2009: Can Energy Dashboards Change Behavior, Permanently?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 5.09
Photo via Jaymi Heimbuch
Energy dashboards were a big subject at West Coast Green this year. But the buzz wasn't as much around new devices on the market as it was pondering how energy dashboards - and the simple fact of making energy consumption data available to consumers - can change our habits for the better, for good. Not just a novelty anymore but something making their way into our daily life, energy monitoring dashboards have a big role to fill, but still have room for improvement. From panels with key players like Google PowerMeter, PG&E and IBM to un-panels made up of smart meter enthusiasts, there were some big ideas about how energy dashboards will revise the way we interact with our homes and energy sources. ...
Is China, Once Climate Scapegoat, Now Our "Sputnik"?
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10. 5.09
Not two years ago China was often decried as the world's environmental waste land.
Suddenly however it's "the Sputnik of our day," as Tom Friedman wrote last week in one of two buzz-wordy columns praising green efforts in China that could put the rest of the world to shame. "We ignore it at our peril." That's a message we've heard here a couple months ago, and have been hearing a lot lately.
True, China is very serious about green tech. But having just returned to Beijing, I read Friedman's column and can't help but think of that old Chinese phrase: "paper tiger."...
Countdown to Copenhagen: Posters from the Past that Can Guide Us in the Future
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 5.09
As we count down to COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009, many of us are thinking about the changes we have to make in the way we live, in order to reduce our carbon footprint. None of these changes are particularly new; our parents and grandparents had to do much the same thing to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels, food and consumables during World War II. To encourage or shame them, governments and agencies produced posters that are just as valid today, advocating activities such as car sharing in graphic form....
Your Swine Flu Vaccine Neither Vegan Nor Green
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10. 5.09
Got A Shed Design In Mind? Enter The Shed Design Competition
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10. 5.09
Shed design is fascinating because so many architects and designers have tried it. It is the entry drug for modern prefab, a way for designers to put something out there and people who need a little more space to get it without building permits or major renovations. I have shown a few of the ones on the market here and here, and have been a judge on the shed of the year competition.
Now a UK website, Secrets of Shed Building, is running a shed design ideas competition. I have thrown in an entry....
Bicycle Cargo. Chapter 2: Bike Trailers
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10. 5.09
A couple of weeks ago we started out on what we naively thought to be simple task. To catalogue some of the more popular forms of bicycle cargo hauling. In Chapter One, we catalogued more than a dozen different • Bicycle Bag and Racks, Here, in Chapter Two, we showcase over 20 different Bicycle Trailer builders. Using their engineering ingenuity you can jump aboard your bike and transport anything from kayaks to kids, fridges to freight, shopping to sofas.
In Chapter Three we'll check out Extended Frames as a means of ferrying stuff about on your bike, so, no we haven't forgotten Xtracyle, et al. Patience.
Photo: Surly Bikes...
Nature Makes Us Nicer People, New Study Says
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 5.09
Photo via tinken
Don't disregard those wall calendars showing far-off nature scenes quite yet. It just might make you a more caring, community-oriented, and generous person. A new study by the University of Rochester found that after looking at nature scenes, people feel closer to their community, are willing to give more money to a charitable cause, and care more about social outcomes than they are after looking at man-made scenes. The reason, the researchers state, it communing with nature helps people also commune with their basic values. ...
A Lamp With An Alternative Energy Source - Your Blood (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10. 5.09
Photo via Mike Thompson
What if power came at a cost to the individual? This is what Mike Thompson asks. It is the driving question behind his design, the Blood Lamp - a single use lamp that requires a drop of the users blood in order to activate. ...
Agriculture to Play a Major Role in Mitigating Climate Change
by Pablo Paster, San Francisco on 10. 5.09
Image Source: KevinLallier
Dear Pablo: What role does agriculture play in combating climate change and how will climate change affect it?
Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Land-Use Changes
The very first effect that humans had on the climate was through agriculture. As humans traded in their hunter/gatherer way of life for one based on farming and livestock, forests and grassland were cleared to make room for crops and domesticated animals. These land-use changes grew from near-zero over 8,000 years ago to today's 4+ billion acres of cultivated land. While the initial impact was relatively minor compared to today's industrial greenhouse gas emissions, it was still significant enough to prevent an ice age....EPA Making 10,000 Industrial Facilities Estimate & Publicly Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 5.09
Top Ten Greenhouse Gas Equivalent (GHG-e) Emission Sectors In The USA, Estimates From Proposed EPA Option, 2006 Data. Image credit:derived from EPA's Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), Table 5-1.
On January 1, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will, for the first time, require large US greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to measure and report greenhouse gas equivalent (GHG-e) emissions data. "This new program will cover approximately 85 percent of the nation's GHG emissions and apply to roughly 10,000 facilities." You read that correctly: 85% of US' emissions, amounting to approximately 3.9 billion MtCO2e, originate from a few thousand facilities. Total estimated national costs of EPA's measurement and reporting rule will be $132 million in the first year, and $89 million in subsequent years ($2006). (via Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), downloadable as pdf file here).
What are the benefits to weigh against those estimated national costs to industry and taxpayers?...
Artists are Taking the Lead at the 2012 Olympics
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10. 5.09
Image from Nowhere Island
The summer Olympics are being held in the London area in 2012 and all kinds of community events are being planned. Artists Taking the Lead is a project whereby 12 winning artists will be awarded up to £500,000 to create 12 new works of art across the country.
The short list reveals a fascinating cross-section of ideas and concepts which reflect artists' views of their community. AlexHartley's idea is to drag an island that he discovered in the High Arctic in 2004 to the South-West coast of England. He was the first human to ever stand on it and thus he named the island Nymark, Norwegian for 'new land'. ...
EV Rebirth: Alt-Car Expo Rolls Out the Latest Wheels
by Roberta Cruger, Los Angeles on 10. 4.09
Too-too Tango at Alt-Car Expo in Santa Monica. Photos by Julia Borsch
The famed General Motors EV1 was on display and so were high-mileage prototypes from the Society of Automotive Engineers, the new Ford Fusion and BMW's E-mini at the Alternative Car Expo this weekend, October 2-3. Outside, in the "New Car Lot," a Sustainable Bamboo Skateboard, Zapino Scooter, and lots of the latest electric vehicles for sale awaited test drivers at the Ride & Drive. Inside the hall, more shiny wheels wowed the crowds....
Kibbutz Lotan - An Oasis in a Desert Where it Never Rains
by Trevor Reichman on 10. 4.09
Kibbutz Lotan Mud Buildings
OK, it rains sometimes. For example, last year it rained just under two millimeters.
Kibbutz Lotan was founded in 1983 in the Arava Desert in Israel, with the discovery of a significant source of groundwater. Lotan sits at a low point in a valley, hundreds of feet above an aquifer. Over the years, Lotan has become known for its example in sustainability, proving that an inspired group of people can create community and habitat in even the harshest of environments, by being resourceful.
Read further for a photo tour, including adobe domes, lush gardens, and a giant swimming pool. ...
John Masters Organics' Eco-Conscious Salon in SoHo, New York
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10. 4.09
John Masters Organics salon on Sullivan St. in Soho, New York City. Credit Emma Grady
I met John Masters during New York Fashion Week -- his green team mastered the hairstyle looks on the GreenShows Spring 2010 runway -- and he invited me down to his 100% wind-powered salon on Sullivan St. in SoHo for complimentary luxury organic treatment. This past week I took him up on the offer and visited his "clean air" salon -- which uses only herbal-based and ammonia-free colors, and does not offer any other chemical services, i.e., no perms, bleaches, or their awful odors -- and hopped into the barber's chair for the sake of research. Click through photos of my new 'do and the salon's interior -- packed with reclaimed furniture. ...
See Where Stuff Comes From with SourceMap
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10. 4.09
Image: SourceMap
You have certainly heard that buying local is "greener". You have probably also heard counter-arguments: a product made more efficiently but shipped some distance may beat out a local product. But all that talk is merely theoretical if you don't know where your stuff comes from anyhow. And in the new global economy, the "made in" tag on a product does not tell half the story. What is the discerning consumer to do?
Imagine a future in which pointing a PDA at a product bar code returns an instant readout of product source and environmental footprint to inform the buyer's decision. This future could be reality with SourceMap. Designed as a "collective tool for transparency and sustainability," SourceMap aims to be the Wiki of visualizing supply chains. ...
Whole Foods CEO Defends Health Insurance Views, His Right to Speak, in New WSJ Interview
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10. 4.09
Mens Spring 2010 Fashion Preview: Collection Pierre André Senizergues (C PAS) - Skater Style
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10. 4.09
C PAS Designer Pierluigi Pucci at their SoHo showroom. Credit: Emma Grady
I headed down to the Collection Pierre André Senizergues (C PAS) showroom in SoHo this past week to view the skater-meets-red-carpet style Spring 2010 collection. Designer Pierluigi Pucci showed innovative designs -- made with army parachutes, mosquito nets, and organic cotton -- and hand made by Artisans in New York, to fill orders only. Click through for our Spring 2010 preview, and if you're more focused on fall fashion view our C PAS fall 2009 review here . ...
California Solar-Thermal Power Project Bumped For New National Monument
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10. 4.09
Proposed Ivanpah CA Solar Power Complex. Image credit:Brightsource.
In 2008 we learned that - BrightSource [was] to Build 500 Megawatts of Solar-Thermal Power in Mojave Desert. By fall the proposed project had become a very visible symbol of a bright future for concentrated solar power (CSP) in California. See Matt's story: BrightSource & Bechtel Partner for 440 MW of Solar Thermal Power Plants. Seems there has been a change of plans: but for good reason....
Organic Nation TV Finishes East Coast Tour
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 10. 4.09
5 States Where Women Barely Dare to Bike Commute
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10. 4.09
Photo anyjazz65 via flickr.
The American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau has been out for about two weeks, and if you can figure out how to look at the tables, it tells an interesting story about bike commuting. The Census doesn't collect bike use data per se, but it does periodically survey which type of vehicle or method people use to get to their jobs, and as biking is one of those methods, we can get a snapshot of how many dedicated bike commuters there are in the U.S. The good news? Dedicated bike commuting is grew about 38% in the last eight years. But if women are truly the indicator species for a successful bike infrastructure, lots of states aren't getting it right....
Kenyan Artists Turn Dangerous, Polluting Materials into Inspiring Depictions of Wildlife
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10. 4.09
The "Father Flip Flop" whale-shark sculpture. Photo via Project AWARE.
Art made out of recycled materials is always a Treehugger favorite, but it takes on special significance when the work depicts wildlife species--using objects that threaten those very animals, and the environment on which they depend....
The Week in Pictures: Green Male Models, Brad Pitt's Building Revolution, Vermicomposting, and More
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10. 4.09
From the news that soot from cremated human bodies has been falling on homes in Ottawa, Canada to scientists solving wind power's bat-killing problem, a lot happened this week in green. I headed over to Go Green Expo's Eco-Luxe event -- a showcase of upscale eco-friendly products -- and covered what's hot in green fashion at NOW Showcase in New York; Brian caught up with Tom Darden (the CEO of Make it Right), and S. Richard Fedrizzi, the President of the US Green Building Council, at the Clinton Global Initiative, and readers sent in their photos of their composting and vermicomposting systems in our juicy readers slideshow. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo roundup of most popular, most important, and most oddball stories. And if you missed it, view last week's The Week in Pictures: UN Summit on Climate Change, PARK(ing) Day, Frankfurt Auto Show, Green Fashion, and More .
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TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!
Here are a few recommended websites.
