- 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 25, 2009 - October 31, 2009
Total this week: 207
The Week in Pictures: International Day of Climate Action, Green Halloween, and More (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.31.09
A lot happened this week in green: from readers in the Hollywood Hills to our writers in Times Square, the International Day of Climate Action brought global awareness for climate change; we found out Chinese fruit bats demonstrate unusual sexual behavior--never before seen in adult animals--discovered a lamp that works only with a drop of blood, and rounded up five tips for a greener Halloween. 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: Elephants Extinct by 2025, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Green Home Improvement, and More (Slideshow).
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The World's Second Largest Tropical Rainforest
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 10.31.09
Me, pictured center, with just one of six million indigenous Mayans living in the Maya Forest.
Why I didn't know much about Mesoamerica's Maya Forest (or 'Selva Maya' in Spanish), I'm not sure (and yes, am admittedly embarrassed). My guess is that since the Amazon takes the gold for being the largest rainforest, it receives the most attention. (A quick search on TreeHugger results in pages upon pages of Amazon news and you guessed it, close to zilch on the Maya Forest).
Luckily, a pre-arranged meeting with Ann Snook, The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Mayan Forest Program Manager (a Planet Green non-profit partner) and Victoria Santos Jimenez, the Technical Director of the Organization of Forestry Producer Ejidos (OEPF), during my green get-away in Mexico's Mayan Riviera, would open my eyes to its importance. It also presented me with the perfect opportunity to blog about it--giving it its deserved slice of the TreeHugger limelight....
Readers, Send Us Your Green Halloween Photos!
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.31.09
How green was your Halloween? Credit: biddaddyhame via flickr.
Did you pass out organic candies or fair trade treats? Design a fresh-from-the-farm jack-o-lantern? Throw an eco-fabulous Halloween party? Enjoy the bloodcurdling benefits of a DIY costume? Prove it! We want to see photos from your green Halloween for our next readers slideshow--if you're the last minute type, check out Planet Green's How to Go Green: Halloween . Click through for details and see the potential for your photo in this week's Readers' International Day of Climate Action Photos. ...
From the Forums: What's So Great About Cities?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.31.09
Image Credit: daveograve-online
Doug (the original) writes:
I posted this as a comment in response to the "Supercities" article posted on treehugger yesterday. Thought I would post it here for discussion...Many love to say how much more energy-efficient it is to live densly in a city. You'll never convince me that all that pumping, trucking, wiring, blowing and the embodied energy in all that concrete is more efficient than living on 2 acres in the country in a wood-framed/hay-bale/packed-earth house (all have a lot less embodied energy than concrete and steel). If I'm missing something that makes cities more efficient, let me know.What do you think? Join the discussion....
Your Treat: Save Money by Slaying Energy Vampires
by Greg Haegele of Sierra Club on 10.31.09
Energy vampire. Image credit:PeopleJam
I'm not one to dress up for Halloween, but I like to find creative ways to get on board with the spooky spirit of the holiday. If you're an energy activist like me, I think you'll enjoy these ideas:
Energy Vampires
When you sleep, when you eat, while you're hard at work, vampires lurk in the depths of your home. From morning to night they are sucking you dry. It is called vampire power and to you it is wasted money. Energy vampires are the devices that use electricity even when they are turned off - like your home entertainment system, which can cost you up to $75 per year in vampire energy. Together energy vampires can account for up to 20 percent of your electric bill.
Give your neighbors a treat this Halloween and let them know they can improve their home's energy savings by identifying and unplugging energy vampires. Just download this PDF, print copies, and include them with the treats you hand out, or place them strategically (in the bathroom, maybe?) at any Halloween parties you choose to haunt....
Chasing the Junk Food Dragon: How Junk Food Affects Brain Like Heroin
by David Friedlander, New York City on 10.31.09
A snap of a dazed and skeletal addict after copping. Credit: Religion Compass
Before you or your child dig into that plastic jack-o-lantern (or its post-consumer equivalent) full of sugary snacks, you might do well to check out former FDA Commissioner David Kessler's new book The End of Overeating. The book highlights the addictive nature of junk food, showing how these processed, nutrient deprived products are consumed to overcome a craving rather than sate hunger.
A piece in Science News that highlights a study done by the independent, not-for-profit Scripps Research Institute, seems to bore out Kessler's claims. The study shows how brains respond to sweet, salty and fatty processed food the same way it does heroin. ...
A Scary Halloween Treat - Cards Packed with Candy and e-Waste
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.31.09
My aunt takes good care of me - sending me little treats in the mail all the time. Yesterday I got a Halloween package in a cute little envelope. When I opened it, it proceeded to howl and cackle at me - a little recorded sound track that played every time you flexed the envelope open. On the one hand, I had to laugh, thinking about how she put thought into picking out this admittedly adorable envelope. On the other hand, I had to suppress anger that this stuff is made in the first place. Exactly what are we expecting will happen to these envelopes? ...
First-of-its-Kind Refrigerated Rail Expedition Cuts Carbon
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.31.09
Image credit: Stobart Group
Hybrid trucks may cut carbon, and even slowing down road freight may save gas, but truckers still have a long way to go before they can beat the efficiencies offered by rail. But road freight does have its place—perhaps most notably in allowing perishable goods to be transported from farm to warehouse to store with minimal risk of delay. Traditionally, fruit and vegetables grown in Southern Europe and sold in the UK have been shipped by road for this very reason. Until now. But an iconic UK freight company is launching a first-of-its-kind refrigerated rail service that will dramatically cut the carbon footprint of imported veggies. ...
From the Forums: Are We Doing Better Than We Think?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.31.09
Image Credit: quinn.anya-online
Greenvert writes:
I recently came across this article, about a study showing that Americans used less water in 2005 than in 1975, despite the population increase. And that got me thinking: we assume that we're approaching an environmental doomsday, and that all human impact on the earth is for the worse. But here we have evidence that we're doing some good, or at least that we're doing better. So we have to make sure we have our facts straight before going knee-jerk and assuming that we're piloting the planet into catastrophe- maybe we're greener than we think.So what do you think? Join the conversation....
Feral Childe Fall 2009: Print and Play Trick-Or-Treat
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.31.09
Play with eco-fashion label Feral Childe paper dolls. Credit: Feral Childe via Ecouterre
We've been seeing Feral Childe around New York lately--at the NOW Showcase, at Kaight two nights ago, and as paper dolls on Ecouterre. The Brooklyn-based fashion label is known for their silk screened textile prints, use of sustainable materials--organic cotton, soy, tencel, handmade buttons, hemp--and their eclectic style and funky prints. Click through to download, print, and play dress up in their Fall 2009 collection or for Halloween--as a Frilly Lizard or Great Horned Owl--Feral Childe-style. ...
October Eco-Tidbits from Turkey
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10.31.09
Lake Bafa (left) is getting cleaned up, but power-plant construction threatens other parts of Turkey. Photos by Duru... (left) and Bill Ward's Brickpile (right) via Flickr.
Istanbul residents came out loud and strong this month as part of the International Day of Climate Action, but local environmentalists have been seeing advances (and disappointments) on other fronts as well. Once again, we wrap up the latest eco-related news from Turkey, developments that prompted reactions of both "süper" (yep, just like in English, but with an umlaut) and "maalesef" (unfortunately):...
Pronghorn Antelopes Are the True Marathoners of the American West
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 10.31.09
photo: W.B. Karesh
Modern technology came in handy for several scientists tracking the marathon migration of pronghorn antelopes. Using GPS collars, the scientists were able to follow the species in what is being called the longest migration of any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere.
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Great Lakes, Great Problems, and Pretty Good Restoration Plan, Finally
by Jeff Kart, Bay City, MIchigan on 10.31.09
Credit: GLERL.
Once upon a time, a president named George W. Bush called the Great Lakes "a national treasure," formed a group to come up with a restoration plan, and did nothing.
That was in May 2004. The regional group he formed later came up with a $20 billion plan to clean up the lakes.
This year, 2009, Part 1 of that regional strategy is about to kick off, to address threats like invasive species, scoop out contaminated sediments and restore wetland and other habitat in the five Great Lakes. ...
Out of Ideas, Senate Climate Deniers Go To Procedural Tricks
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10.31.09
Sen. James Inhofe (Image via Flickr)
The Senate's Environment and Public Works committee is set to begin mark up of the Senate climate bill next week, but Republicans on the committee, led by prominent climate change denier Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, are threatening to boycott the hearing, making progress difficult for chair Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. Inhofe claims a proper economic analysis of the bill hasn't yet been done, but Boxer is pushing back, setting up a showdown. ...
THTV: Alexandra Cousteau on Inextricably Linked Energy & Water - Interview Part 1 of 2 (Video)
by George Spyros, New York City, USA on 10.30.09
Yes Men, Saatchi S, and the Amazing Spark Plug Guy
by Nick Aster of TriplePundit on 10.30.09
A weekly wrap up of green and socially minded business news from the gang at TriplePundit.com.
Hunter Lovins On Climate Change Action and Revamping the Economy - Hearing Hunter Lovins speak is always a treat and an inspiration. This week she brought her wisdom to Bard College's new Center for Environmental Policy. Specifically, she addresses making American industry sustainable and the US Chamber of Commerce.
US Chamber Will See Yes Men In Court - Speaking of the US Chamber, everyone's favorite pranksters have gotten themselves in a little hot water. Did they push it too far this time?
What Really Matters in Clean Technology, or "The Spark Plug Guy" - Enerpulse's new spark plug could improve fuel efficiency by 6% in cars. Does sound like much, but do the math across an entire country and you've got a smashing business idea that buys time for a deeper transformation of how we get around.
HOw Does SaatchiS Track PSP Engagement? - This one sounds like a mouthful, but Adam Werbach's Saatchi S has been helping big companies evolve for years now using a system called "Personal Sustainability Projects". Hokey? Check out the impact and decide for yourself.
How to Tweet Like Tim Ferriss - For some Friday Fun, check out Tim Ferris' tips on Twitter; lessons any aspiring entrpreneur ought to take to heart.
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Ford Not Sold on Battery-Swapping for Electric Cars
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.30.09
A Good Idea that Faces Many Big Challenges
I couldn't resist using that old photo from an experiment that Mercedes did in the 1970s with battery swapping. The modern version of that technology is a lot more automated than this (see our post about Better Place's robotized swapping station), but the general idea is the same and not all the auto makers that are working on electric cars are enthused about it. Among those that aren't sold on the idea is Ford....
Chicago's Bloomingdale Rail Could Become Giant, Hydrogen-Producing Greenhouse
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10.30.09
Image: BustlerWhen I was in college, a graffiti-writing friend took me to one of his favorite secret spots, a neglected section of elevated train track in Manhattan's meat packing district. We had to politely interrupt some transvestite prostitutes in an alley to climb the one scalable wall up to this derelict wonderland. Last month I found myself in that same spot, but it's now the High Line, an elevated New York City park, a mile-and-a-half long, that winds through Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen. Chicago is now looking at a similar project, but one more ambitious by several degrees of magnitude....
Rent-a-Goat in Action! Clearing Brush the Way Nature Intended It
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.30.09
Photo: Rent-a-Ruminent LLC
Could goats be the past and the future?
We've written many times about goats being used to replace lawnmowers and to clear brush (for example, in Arizona, in North-Carolina, and even at Google's Mountainview HQ). Well, we can now add to that list the Seattle-based Rent-a-Ruminant company. More before & after pics below....
The Raw Milk Revolution: The Civil Rights Movement of Food?
by Guest on 10.30.09
Makenna Goodman is Community Outreach Coordinator for Chelsea Green Publishing, the publisher of The Raw Milk Revolution, by David Gumpert, whom she interviewed for this guest post. She is also a guest blogger at Planet Green.
Food regulation is one of the most important issues consumers face today. And for people who are concerned with where their food comes from (and how it got there), milk is now at the center of this debate. And because of its health benefits, many more people are turning to raw milk. Even lactose intolerant folks have found they can digest the un-pasteurized liquid; and it's been said to reduce allergies and asthma in children—ailments that are on the rise in the U.S.
But there's one hitch: raw milk is illegal....
A Vision of a Green Future From Arup
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.30.09
UK's Cycle to Work Guarantee: Good Idea, But Doesn't Go Far Enough...
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.30.09
Photo: Flickr, CC
Storing, Changing, Buying, Repairing, Inspiring
The UK transport secretary, Andrew Adonis, has launched a new program to encourage more people to commute to work on bicycles. Currently, only about 3% of UK citizens do that, compared to about 40% in Copenhagen. The initiative is named the Cycle to Work Guarantee and it is a voluntary program that workplaces can join. Members are basically sending the message to their current and potential employees that they'll take measures to make safe storage and changing facilities available to bike commuters. The government is also investing about £140m in improved facilities for cyclists over the next three years....
Voices from Hopenhagen: Laurie David
by Guest on 10.30.09
Image credit: Hopenhagen.com
This guest post by Laurie David is the first in a series of articles we'll publish from the Hopenhagen movement.
We are in much worse shape now than anyone could have anticipated, but we've also never been closer to rallying the world leaders to solving the problem of global warming once and for all. But facts are grim. Experts thought the impact was going to be felt by the next generation, but the fact is, we're feeling it now. It's happening in the US in Texas, in the Midwest, on the East Coast. Alaska is suffering the most extreme consequences right now, with entire villages having to relocate because of melting permafrost and soil erosion. Internationally, the glaciers of Greenland are melting at a more rapid pace than originally predicted. The very existence of the Maldives is threatened by rising sea levels. Kenya and Ethopia are experiencing severe drought. And the list goes on. Not a single continent is untouched by climate change, not a single global citizen will be able to avoid its catastrophic effects....
From the Forums: How to Shave Green
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.30.09
Image Credit: volliem-online
crevis79 writes:
Reading many postings here and getting some good ideas on a variety of topics, I have not seen much on greening the process of shaving...When I think of the many daily or semi-daily things I do, shaving comes to mind as a very wasteful process. I use a razor that has disposable cartridge heads. I use shaving cream that comes in a pressurized can that I can't recycle in my area. What can I do to improve my shaving...Anyone have any good ideas???Have thoughts? Suggestions? Post them here....
Michael Jackson's Eco-Message, Ellen's Meat-Free Meal, and More
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 10.30.09
Photo via MichaelJackson.com
Though the footage of Michael Jackson in rehearsals for his final tour was never meant for public release, director Kenny Ortega's This Is It--now in theaters for two weeks only--has been earning solid reviews from fans and critics. But while the behind-the-scenes angle gives fans a unique perspective on Jackson's professional life, does it address his environmental passion?...
Congress Gets a Zero Emissions Electric Bus
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.30.09
Photos via Autoblog Green
While Congressmen struggle with climate legislation and clean energy reform, at least they'll be able to get an emissions-free ride to the proceedings. The Proterra electric bus made its debut on Capitol Hill yesterday, and looks set to deliver zero emission, fast-charging public transportation. More pics after the jump....
US Plastic More Expensive To Make, Will Have Higher Carbon Footprint Under Cap & Trade
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.30.09
Cleaning up waste plastic before it goes into the ocean. Image credits::Algalita Marine Research Foundation
In Europe they commonly make commodity plastics from oil-based feedstock: petroleum naptha from the refinery. In the USA, however, plastic is mostly is made from natural gas as raw material. The chemical industry is not pleased with the current cap and trade provision being voted on in Congress. They anticipate C&T will drive utilities to burn more natural gas and less coal to generate power (a good thing by most people's reasoning), which means (per the chemical industry argument) higher operating costs, and ultimately customers getting plastic from European instead of US factories.
They also seem to be arguing that European plastic makers have a higher carbon footprint per Kg of plastic made (because of the oil feedstock and trans-atlantic shipping).
Utilities could also switch to renewable energy instead of all gas. And, Americans could recycle more plastic, thus avoiding all the waste plastic that ends up in the ocean (as pictured). That would lower prices. Bet these two sentences are not in their 'talking points.'...
Is a Green Republican Movement Growing to Support the Climate Bill?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.30.09
Photo via Energy Revolution
After Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) came out in support of working on bipartisan clean energy reform with John Kerry (D-MA), he faced some pretty harsh attacks from his party. But his many supporters have rallied, and are pushing back in what could be the beginning of a Republican movement to support climate legislation....
TED TALK: A Non-Reusable Syringe Could Save 1.3 Million Lives
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.30.09
Image via TED
Around the globe, the reuse of dirty syringes kills 1.3 million people - more than malaria. Lack of time, money, access to new syringes, and simple ignorance are all issues behind reusing syringes in medical situations in places such as India. With 50 billion injections given each year, and half of those with dirty syringes, the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis through reused syringes is significant. Marc Koska, however, feels there's another solution - a syringe that cannot be reused. He gives a great presentation on how the syringe can benefit millions of people worldwide. However, there seems to be ...
Horrifying Plants That Eat the Living (Slideshow)
by David DeFranza on 10.30.09
Image credit: worak/Flickr
Anyone who has seen Little Shop of Horrors has felt it: that sinking feeling that something is not right. And I'm not talking about Rick Moranis singing. I'm talking about sinister carnivorous plants.
We all know plants can poison us, sure, but it seems unnatural for a plant to eat another living thing. It's hard to believe that a member of the largely peaceful and beneficent Plantae kingdom would lurk in the forest, waiting for prey.
Well believe it. You're about to see a whole hoard of horrifying plants that eat the living.
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Top Stories from Tonic: Green Halloween, Solar Speed, 350 Photos and More!
by Tonic, the "good news" site on 10.30.09
Get ready to Celebrate a Green Halloween in NYC! All Hallows Eve does not have to be exclusively dedicated to hedonism and morbidity. (Though a hefty dose of each wouldn't hurt ... )
Photo Gallery: International Day of Climate Action - showcasing the best 350 pics from Earth-fans around the globe
A solar car chase that'll blow your mind: The Amazing Green Race, as Courtney Rubin calls it.
Chevy asks drivers to name their special shades of Volt. Electric car in Electric Blue, anyone? Chaniga Vorasarun challenges you to Name That Volt.
Are gadgets getting too smart for our own good? Lisa Jo Rudy has the deets in Over-the-Top Technology.
Keep bleeding lurve. Leona Lewis Shows Her Animal Instincts, earning her "sexiest vegetarian" status. Thank you, David Jenison.
In Cleaning Up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Sarah Parsons gives us an update on that Bermuda Triangle of trash and the Project (Kaisei) that's determined to make it disappear.
A fresh, home-cooked organic breakfast waiting for you each morning at the push of a button - it's all possible! The Amazing All-In-One Breakfast Machine....
South Park Takes Aim at Whale Wars, Japan and Everyone Else
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.30.09
Image via South Park Studios
South Park has done what it does best - make fun of everyone ruthlessly, hilariously, and without bias. Their latest episode takes on the Japanese (who hate all dolphins), Whale Wars' Captain Paul Watson (who isn't bad-ass enough), vegans, and anyone who eats meat yet is upset about dolphins killed for food. No one - not even the Miami Dolphins - are safe in this episode. ...
Did Clean Coal Exec Lie to Congress? Twice?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.30.09
Image via TPM
Woops. Looks like the clean coal lobby may have got caught red-handed. Some people are suggesting that American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity president and CEO Steve Miller may have lied under oath in a Senate hearing held to investigate the org's involvement in forging letters sent to Congress that opposed the climate bill. In the video after the jump, a coal executive attempts to explain his organization's operations. ...
Ungreen in the USA: 5 Things I Hate About America
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.30.09
Image credit: Chelsea Bay - with thanks!
I'll admit to being a little nervous about writing this post. As a foreigner, it's rarely wise to start bashing your host country, especially when you genuinely love it as I do. But having written my expatriate treatise on 5 Green Things I Love About America, I thought I should keep it balanced. Because, believe it or not, America still has some way to go before it can call itself sustainable. (And you thought Obama had fixed it all already...)...
Toxic Shipwreck in Madagascar Kills Whales, Makes Locals Sick
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.30.09
The Gulser Ana going down. Photo via Australia
A ship carrying toxic waste sunk off the coast of Madagascar, and thousands of tons of refuse were emptied into the rich marine ecosystem. The wreck has had devastating effects on the sea life and the health of people who live inland--causing whales to mysteriously beach in greater numbers, and afflicting the locals with grave respiratory and skin diseases.
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Energy Sun-Bag Makes Your Solar Power As Obvious As Possible
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.30.09
Photo via Press Release
There's often something left to be desired when it comes to the styles of solar bags. Many are simply ugly, though quite a few also make it into the realm of hip. This bag falls somewhere in between, bordering on ugly if it didn't do such a great job of stating the obvious via a massive solar cell on the front flap - "This Bag Is Solar Powered!!" It's the Energy Sun-Bag from Neuber and Konarka Technologies....
From the Forums: A Writer's Woes
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.30.09
Image Credit: OMFGmatt-online
TreeHuggerFoverever writes:
To say writing is one of my hobbies is an understatement. I have been keeping a journal since I could write and also write poetry on the side. Now that I have recently become "eco aware" I feel bad for all of the paper I have been wasting all these years! It seems like all of the recycled paper journals are only sold at specialty stores or online. Are there any big retailers that sell more eco friendly options? And please don't tell me to dump all of my journals into one of those paper recycling bins. I just can't.Have thoughts? Woes of your own? Post here....
Ecouterre.com Official Launch Party at Kaight NYC
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.30.09
Eco-fashion boutique Kaight hosted Ecouterre.com launch party. Credit: Emma Grady
We celebrated the launch of eco-fashion website Ecouterre at Kaight in New York City last night. After perusing racks filled with emerging and independent designers--who use organic, recycled, and sustainable materials-- and catching up with SDN's Marcus Hicks--who sadly was not wearing his shoe pants--we chatted with Jill Fehrenbacher, Inhabitat editor-in-chief and Ecouterre publisher, about her favorite innovative fabrics--like solar photovoltaic technology embedded in weaves--and her top picks for green fashion designers and eco-fashion news. Click through for our interview with Jill. ...
Biomimicry in Medicine: Sharkskin-Inspired Material Stops Bacterial Breakouts
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.30.09
Image via PopSci
Sharklet Technologies, a Florida-based biotech company, has figured out a way to capitalize on shark skin - specifically on the way parasites and bacteria can't stick to sharks. The trick is in the pattern of the skin's surface. Scientists have figured out how to print the pattern onto adhesive film, which wards off bacteria and is ideal for use in places like schools and hospitals where germs are easily spread. ...
How Do You Celebrate Halloween?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.30.09
We reprise some of the questions we have asked in past surveys:
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Going Veg Where Doctors Still Promote Meat-Eating
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10.30.09
Posters for this year's and last year's Planeta Vegetariana festival in Serbia.
The Balkan countries aren't generally known for their light, healthy fare. When expat Istanbul-dwellers cross the border into Bulgaria, it's to indulge in bacon-wrapped cheese skewers, cheese-stuffed pork loin... you get the idea. But some forward-thinking folks in Novi Sad, Serbia, are a promoting another way of eating with their third annual "Planeta Vegetariana" vegetarian food and organic agriculture fair....
Renegade Genetically Modified Flax Seed is Crippling Canadian Market
by Naturally Savvy on 10.30.09
Flaxseed from Canada's prairie has been contaminated with a genetically modified seed. Photo by bdearth via Flickr.
It sounds like science fiction: A genetically modified flax seed--named after an experimental plant in a sci-fi flick--is popping up in flaxseed harvested in Canada's prairie. This might not be so strange in today's world of genetically modified foods if it weren't for one thing: The seed never made it to market and all seed was supposed to have been destroyed in 2001.
The flax mystery was brought to light in a recent article in The Globe and Mail, which revealed the contamination has prompted Europe to put a halt to imports of Canadian flax--a move that could bring the $320-million industry to its knees....
Keep the Rain Off with an Eco-lovely Umbrella
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.30.09
Image from London Undercover
It's autumn and the rain just keeps on coming. With one grey day after another, these delightfully British umbrellas will keep your spirits up.
Take cover under (too) vividly coloured pictures of fish and chips (wrapped in newspaper, of course), or a yummy full English breakfast. For the uninitiated that means baked beans, fried eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes, toast and sausages. All over your head. Made from recycled materials, these jolly brollies are environmentally sound, so they protect more than your hair-do....
Big Coal Wins Fight to Name U of Kentucky Dorm After Coal
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10.30.09
Can Consumption Do Something Good for the Planet?
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.29.09
Image via: Be True to Blue
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It's easy to harp on the big guys for creating massive big-box stores that sell massive piles of cheap products that ultimately end up in landfills. But let's be honest, from time to time we're still going to need to buy stuff and like it or not, sometimes those items come from chain or department stores. Action sports items in particular wear out just by virtue of the activity they are used for. When I spoke with Vipe Desai, founder of project BLUE this time last year, project BLUE was just getting started and there were big hopes that encouraging people to choose better products could ultimately raise money for conservation. Turns out, it worked!...
Ken Robinson at Creative Places + Spaces Conference
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.29.09
Ken Robinson is one of the funniest speakers I have ever heard, while also delivering, between his one-liners, an important message about how our education system is designed to educate people out of their creativity. One would think it hard to get at standing ovation for a speech on that topic, but he did. Robinson begins with a startling statistic: test results for creative genius show that 97% of kindergarten kids are creative, down to around 10% by high school. ...
VW Showcases Bio-CNG with Scirocco Racing Cup, Claims 80% CO2 Reduction
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.29.09
Bio-CNG is an Improvement on Gasoline and Diesel
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is cleaner than gasoline, both in smog-forming emissions and in CO2, but CNG from bio-sources (as opposed to fossil fuels) is even cleaner and closer to carbon neutral, depending how it is made and compressed. That's why Volkswagen has been looking into bio-CNG for a while. Their latest showcase of this technology will take the form of a single-make racing cup where Scirocco running on bio-CNG will compete. ...
Jon Stewart Endorses Geoengineering, Scares Audience (VIDEO)
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.29.09
Photo via Inside Catholic
There's been quite a controversy kicked up over Steven Levitt and Steven Dubner's new book, SuperFreakonomics. The authors have battled allegations (which seem to have been proven true) that they misquoted and misrepresented the scientist featured in the book, in order to claim that geoengineering is the best solution to climate change--and that worldwide efforts to reduce carbon would be both infeasible and inadequate. Surprising just about everyone, Jon Stewart agrees. Video of the controversy after the jump....
Richard Florida at Creative Places + Spaces Conference
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.29.09
The Creative Places + Spaces conference was billed as "one of the world's leading forums on creativity," and it has certainly lived up to that. The theme was the Collaborative City, and the outcome is hoped to be "guiding principles on what cities and communities need to do to foster creativity through collaboration."
Richard Florida, author of, most recently, Who's your City, had a tough act to follow, speaking after the truly mindblowing Sir Ken Robinson. But he rose to the occasion, asking where creativity comes from.
Florida thinks great things are going to come out of the current "Great Reset." ...
Power Tripping Across America with Environmental Journalist Amanda Little
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10.29.09
Amanda Little built a journalistic career decrying the pains and convulsions of our petrol-obsessed society, but it wasn't until she embarked on a very personal quest did the story of oil become illuminated in human terms. Amanda tells TreeHugger Radio how, to write her first book, Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells--Our Ride to the Renewable Future, she went inside the Pentagon and the Talladega Superspeedway, visited corn farmers and rode along with T. Boone Pickens, witnessed a boob job and landed on a Gulf Coast oil rig. Through it all, she learned a new-found respect for the hydrocarbon, and a renewed vision for a green future. Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just click here to listen, right-click to download. Also check out our text interview in which Amanda talks about her recent move to Nashville....
From the Forums: Help Starting a Green Business
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.29.09
Image Credit: chrismeller-online
BamaDiver is looking for advice:
I am new to this forum and need some help. I am gathering information about starting a complete self sustainable eco-friendly business and need help finding financing to get me started. Any ideas about companies or people who would help get me started either by offering services or financing in the SE US. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Have advice? Want to see what other people are saying? Join the conversation....
LG First Electronics Manufacturer to Get Thumbs Up From UL Environment
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.29.09
Images via LG
After the embarrassment of being stripped of its Energy Star labels for refrigerator models last year, LG gets vetted by UL Environment for a SteamWasher and an LCD television set. LG is one of the first companies to have its products tested and vouched for by Underwriters Laboratories' new environmental arm. It's a strong move for both, since UL Environment is fairly new and needs to put it's stamp on products in the market place, and since LG needs the backing of a solid third party evaluator....
6 Solutions for California's Water Crisis and How We Can Help
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.29.09
Could this hidden object be the answer to California's prayers? Image via: M.Underwood
As California completes its (ongoing) third year of drought, lawmakers are wondering what do we do? As the Sacramento - San Joaquin River Delta is under increasing pressure to supply not just the farmers to the east of San Francisco but also 23 million people in that area and in the very dry south, lawmakers are unsure what to do next. Popular Mechanics reports on six of the solutions the government's task force on the issue came up with to deal with California's water crisis of 2009 (and beyond).
Turns out, while there are about 5 solutions being batted around the state legislature, late last week a bill by Sacramento Senate Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg made its way to the top and is up for a possible vote this week. Yet, many of the recommendations are things homeowners and residents can and should be doing on their own. After each solution, we'll offer a few tips for how you can get involved and make it happen without waiting for a resolution....
Video: 350 Events in San Francisco and Around the World
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.29.09
Sopogy SolarFlare Brings Solar Thermal Power to Commercial Rooftops
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.29.09
image: Sopogy
When you think of solar power on roofs your quite naturally think of photovoltaic panels or solar hot water heaters. Well, expand that idea a bit: Anaheim, California-based Sopogy has just deputed the first commercially available solar thermal system for industrial rooftops:...
Old School Gasoline-Electric Hybrid: 1916 Woods Dual Power Coupe
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.29.09
Photo: ABG
Nothing New Under the Sun
Sebastian Blanco wrote a post about a pretty cool hybrid car. It's more old school than even Clint Eastwood and shows us that some ideas are just taking their sweet time to mature. This 1916 Woods Dual Power Model 44 Coupe was produced between 1915 and 1918, and it was powered by an electric motor from 0 to 15 mph (24 km/h) and by a 4-cylinder gasoline engine up to its top speed of around 35 mph (56 km/h)....
YoYo Charger Gives Gadgets Zing With Pull of a String, While Pedal Laptop Charger Idea Has Legs
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.29.09
Images via Easy Energy
Feel like getting a little workout with your off-grid charging? The YoGen will strengthen up your forearms, charge your gadgets, and perhaps test your patience - all at once! The latest in hand-powered chargers, the YoGen generates electricity with the pull of a string. Or rather, a lot of pulls of a string. That might seem like a whole lot of fun all on its own, but the company has something even more exciting in the pipe. They're bringing on a pedal-powered laptop charger. You'll feel like a one-man-orchestra in no time!...
Multiyear Arctic Sea Ice Practically Gone - Not in the Future, Today
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.29.09
You can't navigate through multiyear ice... photo: arcticroute.com via flickr.
You've probably seen all sort of predictions about when the Arctic will see it's first ice-free summer in, umm, all of human history. Well, the University of Manitoba's David Barber, just returned from an expedition to examine multi-year ice in the Beaufort Sea, has told Reuters that, for all practical purposes we're already there:...
Very Promising! Zinc-Air Battery Could Hold 300% More Energy Than Lithium-Ion
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.29.09
Image: ReVolt Technology
Might This Be the One We've Been Waiting For?
ShareNot quite as impressive on paper as the lithium-air battery we wrote about (which claimed 10x more energy storage than regular lithium-ion), but it might turn out to be easier to take out of the lab and bring to market. ReVolt Technology, a company based in Staefa, Switzerland, claims that its Zinc-air battery can "store three times the energy of lithium ion batteries, by volume, while costing only half as much," and unlike other existing air batteries, this one would be rechargeable. It is planning to start by selling small ones for hearing aids and then progressively scale up to portable electronics and electric cars. ...
Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Shows the Commons Doesn't Always End in Tragedy
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.29.09
Cattle used to graze in Boston Commons until 1830... photo: David Berkowitz via flickr.
If you've been around the environmental movement for more than a week you've surely heard someone toss out the notion of the tragedy of the commons. It's fully established as conventional economic and environmental wisdom at this point. But should it be? Cool Green Science is highlighting an article in Science by none other than newly-Nobel Prize winning economist Elinor Ostrom, which shows that a commonly-held resource doesn't always mean ecological tragedy:...
St. Paul, Minn. Vows to Cut Waste From Local Events in Half Within Two Years
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.29.09
If you've ever attended a Minnesota Wild game, gone to the RiverCentre Convention Center for a meeting or festival, seen a concert at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, or been to a reception at 317 on Rice Park, then you've probably contributed to the more than 2.8 million pounds of waste that is generated each year in the city of St. Paul, Minn. In fact, a sustainability firm hired to consult on waste from these venues estimated that from 2007-2008 each visitor left behind roughly one pound of waste (including containers, cups, peanut shells, paper liners, napkins, straws, and on and on and on) on each visit; multiply that by thousands of guests, and that garbage starts to add up. But the city's event organizers plan to do something about it. They've taken a look at advances in recycling and composting, and have decided that they're going to make garbage a thing of the past, reports TwinCities.com....
One of the Most Beautiful Radios We've Ever Seen...And It's Made for TreeHuggers!
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.29.09
Images via Yanko Design
Now this could top any greenie gadgeteer's holiday wish list. It is a gorgeous little wooden radio that - to top off its loveliness - is solar powered. ...
From the Forums: Are Pandas Worth the Trouble?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.29.09
Image Credit: Chi King-online
iamjen writes:
Pandas are the cutest creatures in the animal world but this is no reason for people to continually pour millions of dollars on their conservation, some naturalists say. Why do scientists go the full nine yards to keep them alive?So what do you think? Are there other species that deserve our efforts? Join the discussion. ...
No Bike Thieves in Copenhagen, it Seems. They're Testing Painted-On Bike Parkings!
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.29.09
Photo: Mikael at Copenhagenize
But Would it Work Anywhere Else?
We love Copenhagen (and Copenhagen seems to like TreeHugger too...). They're doing a lot of things right, especially when it comes to encouraging cycling. They even go as far as to build "bicycle superhighways"! Via our friend Mikael at Copenhagenize, we learn that the city's Bicycle Office is now testing "rack-less bike parkings". It seems like it might work in Copenhagen, but would it work anywhere else?...
Beautiful Bamboo Keyboards Warm Up Your Typing Experience
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.29.09
Image via TongGu Kinbamboo Industry
A few more bamboo bits and pieces for your computer have hit our radar. Add them to the list of lovely wooden PC components we like. ...
The Climate Battle Is Ours To Lose, As Corporate Execs Fragment Over Cap & Trade Legislation
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.29.09
Contribution of technology segments to reduce CO2 emissions by
50 percent by 2050. Image credit:Strategic Analysis of the Global Status of Carbon Capture and Storage.Synthesis Report
Coal industry figure head, and Massey Energy CEO, Don Blankenship recently published an opinion piece in The Hill, in which he criticizes corporate supporters of Cap &Trade. In it, he analogizes with the "You Lie" outburst from Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC), inferring it may be pertinent to to those execs who support Cap & Trade legislation before Congress. He further notes that "corporate proponents of cap-and-trade are often motivated by personal gain or a desire to appear sophisticated." ...
Toyota Engineers New Flower Species to Absorb Emissions at Prius Factories
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.29.09
Toyota has long faced the criticism that the process of manufacturing Priuses has a larger environmental impact than most cars. So the giant automaker came up with what's probably the most bizarre solution imaginable--Toyota genetically engineered two brand new species of flowers to absorb greenhouse gases at Prius manufacturing plants. While, you know, still making the place look pretty.
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Next Stop COP15! Kyoto-Copenhagen Train to Tout Climate Change Awareness & Sustainable Transport
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.29.09
Not the actual train... photo: Craig Nagy via flickr.
While not a substitute for practical action, I'm a big fan of the symbolic, so this next one is pretty cool: The UNEP has just announced that a one-time train link between Kyoto and Copenhagen will be opened. The single carriage to run along the route will be driven by train operators from around the world and will carry "environmental experts and climate change campaigners":...
Flush Less Water Down the Drain with Greener Bathroom Materials
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.29.09
Image credit: Dieter Spannknebel / Getty Images
Despite being one of the smaller rooms in most homes, the modern bathroom serves many purposes. It's a sanctuary, a room for pampering, and where we clean ourselves, but it's also where myriad household toxins lurk, and where much of the average home's water goes right down the drain. But don't fret. There are so many ways to green your bathroom design, you'll never have to waste water or pollute the environment again. Read the Green Materials Guide for Bathroom Designs over on Planet Green to learn more about the ideas and materials that'll make your bathroom more about zen relaxation than wasting water; here are a few tips to get you started....
Chicago Fashion Week Spring 2010: Vert Couture Green Show
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.29.09
Vaute Couture Spring 2010, Chicago Fashion Week. Credit Ray Pfeiffer, Komifoto
Vert Couture forecasts green fashion for spring 2010 in the windy city. An official event of Chicago Fashion Focus, the runway show was home to looks from Vaute Couture--not to be confused with the show title 'Vert'--Bryant McLemore Smith, and up-and-coming designers from the Chicago Fashion Institute Student Collective as well as Frei Designs and Mountains of the Moon, covered earlier this week. Click through for our interview with Vert Couture Co-Executive Producer Bianca Alexander, and our favorite looks from the runway. ...
This Week at GOOD: Dispatches from the Alliance of Youth Movement Summit, Biofuels Fact and Fiction, and Your Daily Water Use
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10.29.09
The latest from our GOOD friends:
On Monday, we learned about an Atlanta museum dedicated to an exploration of the sometimes divisive and abstract concept of patriotism.
We got thoroughly punked by the Yes Men, who held a mock news conference (as they are want to do) at the Chamber of Commerce....
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Ban Supported by Fishing Commission Scientists' Data
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.29.09
For at least the past eighteen months there have been consistent cries that a fishing ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna was required to prevent the iconic species being relegated to extinction. Now, scientists at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas say (finally) that position is supported by data indicating the species has declined so much it should be listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species:
ICCAT scientists just met in Madrid to assess current stock levels and found that the current spawning biomass is less that 15% of historical levels.
Only a Fishing Ban Can Save Bluefin
Greenpeace and WWF hailed the announcement. Dr Sergi Tudela from WWF Mediterranean said, "What's needed to save the stocks is a suspension of fishing activity and a suspension of international commercial trade -- this is the only possible package that can give this fish a chance to recover."...
Give Your Stuff Away Day: A Celebration of Generosity
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.29.09
Image credit: Give Your Stuff Away Day
No sooner had I published my post on Tuesday about rethinking our relationship with stuff, that I get a press release for Give Your Stuff Away Day. Billed as a fun, community event, the idea is to create a celebration in which we share our unwanted possessions—diverting valuable materials from landfill, and maybe even meeting our neighbors in the process. ...
Happiness Hat Forces You to Smile - Is This How We'll Get Through Climate Change? (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.29.09
Photo via Lauren McCarthy
It's a hat. That hooks up to your head. And plants an uncontrollable smile on it. There's no getting around it...you're forced to smile. Or suffer the consequences. They say that forcing yourself to smile is the quickest way to actually feeling happier - something with the muscles cuing the brain that you're happy and automatically releasing happy chemicals so your mouth and mind match up. However, would the same trick play out if you smile only because a metal spike is poking you in the head until you finally do? ...
What's Beck's Beef? Vegetarians, This Time
by Daniel Kessler, San Francisco, California on 10.29.09
Linda Loudermilk's Luscious 'Water is a Human Right' Jewelry
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.29.09
Linda Loudermilk necklace and bamboo scarf. Image courtesy of Linda Loudermilk
Linda Loudermilk, one of our favorite Sustainable Designers-- we recently previewed her Spring 2010 collection, here--is doing what she does best: highlighting environmental issues through fashion. This time she's taking on the water crisis with her "Water is a Human Right" campaign--can't you picture fellow water advocate Jessica Biel in the bamboo scarf?...
There is a Garden Climbing the Stairs in Bilbao's Public Space!
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 10.29.09
Photo: Iwan Baan/courtesy Balmori Associates
The New York based landscape and urban design office of Balmori Associates is busy; after the High Line in New York (view slideshow) (where the studio was awarded second place), amongst many projects, Balmori Associates recently designed the "Garden That Climbs The Steps" in Bilbao, Spain. An elegant mass of different colours and textures is literally climbing up the stairs leading to Santiago Calatrava's footbridge. And the mass is alive, made up of a colourful mix of local and exotic plants, making it change with the seasons. (more photos below)...
Could Wind Powered Factories Make a Comeback?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.29.09
Low tech magazine
One of my favourite websites is Low-tech Magazine, where Kris De Decker looks at simpler technologies that have been around forever, worked really well, and asks why they shouldn't be used again. Kris always goes into extraordinary detail, producing essays rather than posts. A good example is the recent article on the traditional windmill, where energy from the wind is converted directly into mechanical energy, without the messy intermediate conversion into electricity that we do with wind turbines today. He suggests that for certain uses, it might even be more efficient....
200 Secure, LEED Certified Pay-to-Park Bike Stations Coming Soon
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.29.09
Covina, California, has the third busiest commuter train station in Southern California, according to its mayor, thus the town is investing in a nifty, digitally-accessed bike parking structure called the Mobis Secure Bike Module. While on the other side of the globe Copenhagen is trying out quite minimalistic parking by painting white lines on the sidewalk and hoping people put their bikes there, Mobis, the angel-backed start-up that designed Covina's LEED 3.0 bike facility, is hoping cash-strapped cities will see the utility in safe, user paid parking -- and predicted in its press materials that there would be 200 of these pay-to-park stations in the U.S. within the next five years! Is paid bike parking an idea whose time has come?
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News From Mother Jones: October 29 - Why Did It Take Us So Long to Start Fixing the Climate?
by Mother Jones on 10.29.09
Look, TreeHuggers, a fun widget! Put your kid on our cover. Or your cat. Or your dog. Or your weird witch doll. Go crazy here.
And that's just one part of our brand new climate package. In fact, the November/December issue of Mother Jones is full of important stories to read in the lead-up to Copenhagen.
Editors-in-Chief Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery wonder what we'll tell our kids when they wonder why it took us so long to start fixing the climate. Kevin Drum writes about how Big Ag got everything it asked for in the climate bill--and then it came back for more. And residents in one small California town ask, You want to pump how much carbon under our yards? Much more inside the issue.
Over at the Blue Marble blog, Julia Whitty lists the five preventable health problems that shrink our lifespans the most. And speaking of unhealthy and preventable, Fiji Water might have been burning its trash, releasing carcinogens into the air of its beleaguered island home. Meanwhile, India gears up to go nuclear. Cool or scary?
Lastly, some good gadget news: Soon you'll be able to charge your cell phone using any kind of light. Windowless cube workers rejoice. ...
Britain's Oldest Trees are Becoming Endangered Species
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.29.09
Image from the Guardian
Who knows if the British were the first treehuggers but they certainly have a lot of them: there are over 100,000 ancient trees in the country. Seventy percent of all of the oldest trees in Europe are in the UK, and many of them are in trouble.
The Ancient Tree Hunt is a five-year project led by the Woodland Trust, which is recording every ancient tree in Britain. So far they have logged 38,000 ancient trees through the work of ecologists and ordinary members of the public....
Drought Decimates Kenyan Herders' Net Worth
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10.28.09
Camels are "like the bank for the Turkana." Photo by xikita via Flickr.
The global economic crisis has shattered many families' financial security as the value of investments plummet and jobs become vulnerable, or nonexistent. But in the rural Turkana district of northwest Kenya, the culprit robbing peoples' bank accounts is climate change....
World's Longest Cave is Still Growing Even Longer (PICS)
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.28.09
Photo via NM
Researchers were recently surprised to find that the world's longest cave formation--the Fort Stanton Cave in New Mexico--is growing even longer. They discovered that calcite is still accumulating in the trough of the cave, which cuts through miles and miles of rock. More photos of the stunning, tunnel-like cave after the jump....
Green Stocks Central Hosts Carnival of the Green
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.28.09
This week is Carnival of the Green #200 and it's being hosted by Green Stocks Central, a Self Investors LLC site set up with the goal of tracking the exciting companies who are changing the face of energy in the decades to come.
So head on over to this week's Carnival, which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week and your best green tweets, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. Enjoy!
We are now accepting host requests for 2010! Read on to find out how to host....
Global Warming Could Create a Legion of 'Climate Terrorists'
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.28.09
Photo via Pat Dollard
Scientists predict that climate change will exacerbate many of the world's continuing troubles--food shortages, poverty, lack of water, spread of infectious diseases, and so on. And many have already suggested that strained resources and migration caused by global warming could eventually lead to wars; maybe even a world war. But few have considered this national security concern: climate change could usher in a brand new generation of terrorists....
The Brazilian Connection - Are You In?
by Lester Brown, Washington, D.C on 10.28.09
Map of Brazil. Image credit:Lonely Planet
Last week I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil, launching the Portuguese edition of Plan B 4.0, published by Virtu Editora e Productora Ltda.
But Plan B is not just a book in Brazil. It is a plan of action. In August, Plan B was the focus of the 2020 Climate Campaign, an initiative of the State of the World Forum, which was held in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais. Two of us from Earth Policy Institute were present: Janet Larsen our Director of Research and me....
From the Forums: Does Green Mean No Pets?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.28.09
Image Credit: Yukari*-online
Pillon writes:
I've come across this disturbing article in the Toronto Star about the environmental impact of owning a pet. According to the article "feeding a medium-sized dog for a year has twice the environmental impact of driving a luxury SUV for 10,000 kilometers." Furthermore, "even a good-sized cat requires 0.15 gha, slightly less than the year-long use of a compact Volkswagen". Still, they raise a good point: what environmental impact are our pets having?So what do you think? Can a green lifestyle include pets? Join the conversation....
Turn Back Your Clock and Fan This Halloween for Better Energy Savings
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.28.09
Image via: Aussiboris on Flickr.com
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Did you hear that right? What does reversing the direction of your ceiling fan have anything to do with time or temperatures? Plus, you can turn your heater down too, but who wants to turn the heater down when temperatures are already falling? According to Hunter Fans, it can provide you with energy savings and a warmer home. And no, this isn't a Halloween trick....
Only One-Sixth of European Retailers Showing Sustainable Palm Oil Progress
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.28.09
photo: fitri agung via flickr.
Back in the spring WWF said that they found that while plenty of companies had committed to using sustainable palm oil, only a tiny percentage of the available oil was actually being purchased and they would start outing companies not living up to their commitments. Well, the Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard for European companies has arrived:...
Attacking the 100 Mile Diet is the News Meme of the Moment
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.28.09
Pierre Desrochers, U of T
No doubt you have heard of ear worms, those songs that just get caught in your head and never leave. There are also news worms, the same story and the same guy popping up on radio, TV and in print everywhere. The news worm of the week in Ontario, Canada is U of T Mississauga geography professor Pierre Desrochers, who is attacking the idea of local food and the hundred mile diet. It isn't news; he first released his study Yes We Have No Bananas: A Critique of the 'Food Miles' Perspective from the George Mason University Mercatus Institute over a year ago, quickly picked up in an edited version by the National Post as Food mile myths: Buy Global.
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Google's PowerMeter Hits the UK. All Part of the Plan for Smart Grid Global Domination.
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.28.09
Images via Google and AlertMe
Google's home energy dashboard PowerMeter has just hit the UK, becoming available for residents to watch every last watt and cut back where possible. Just as in the US, consumers need to be hooked up with a utility that has partnered with Google, or you need to have a power monitor device that has partnered with Google. In the UK, that means being connected to First:Utility, or buying an AlertMe. ...
'Green Cities California' Helps Small Towns Adopt Environmental Regs Just Like the Big Boys
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.28.09
Image via: Mike G. K. on Flickr.com
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California has long been on the forefront or cutting edge of green policies and initiatives. Not to say other cities and states aren't making a difference, but on sheer population alone California has a major impact on the rest of the nation and the globe based on what it decides to do. Smaller cities and towns trying to do what major Californian cities do often have a hard time because they don't have the staff or resources. Green Cities California aims to change all of that by providing everything a small (or large) town needs to get environmental regulations passed....
French Billionaire Invests $120 Million in Electric Car Battery Plant Near Montréal
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.28.09
Photo: Creative Commons
For Pininfarina-Bolloré Bluecar and Bolloré Microbus
In what is probably a good sign for the North-American availability of the Bluecar electric vehicle, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré has picked a location East of Montréal to make lithium-metal-polymer batteries. The plan is to increase production to 5,000 units/year in 2010 and 15,000 units/year by 2012, which means hiring 200 employees on top of the 70 that currently work at the facility. ...
The White House (Finally) Begins Major Push for Clean Energy Reform
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.28.09
Photo via Stand Up for America
With climate bill hearings in full swing over in the Senate, the White House has finally begun a push for clean energy reform. Yesterday, key White House officials spoke in favor of climate legislation. Both Obama and Biden toured high-profile clean energy projects--a solar power plant and an electric car company, respectively. And today, the White House hosted an energy forum where top level cabinet members revealed strategies for pushing clean energy reform. Here's the plan. ...
California Will Pay For Your Old Appliances, Just As Soon As DOE Gives Approval
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.28.09
Image via: harthillsouth on Flickr.com
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We reported earlier this year that the US is planning on giving out stimulus funds for a "Cash for...Refrigerators" program and now California is ready to launch their own. The Sacramento Bee reports that California is hoping to get the three most notorious, clunky appliances off the streets and put cash back in consumers hands to purchase Energy Star efficient appliances. ...
Nature Can Be Creepy! The Strange, The Odd, and The Gross (Slideshow)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.28.09
Photo via Wikipedia
Yeesh. Nature can create some frightening things. Like this naked mole rat. Far worse than many of the Halloween decorations you find littering the isles of big box stores, this critter is the stuff of nightmares (or movies...Remind anyone of a naked ROUS?). And this unfortunate mole rat is just the beginning. Check out some of the weirdest, grossest, and most shiver-inducing things our planet has to offer.
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All World's Tigers Extinct in 15-20 Years Without Better Conservation Efforts
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.28.09
photo: Photos8.com via flickr.
Recently we heard that Africa's elephants face a bleak future, but it seems the world's tigers aren't long for this world either. The Economic Times reports that at the Kathmandu Global Tiger Workshop, the latest numbers show that the world population of 3,500 tigers could all be extinct in 15-20 years without better conservation efforts:...
Chinese Fruit Bats Demonstrate Unusual Sexual Behavior Never Before Seen in Adult Animals
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.28.09
Greater short-nosed fruit bat feeding on kapok, photo: Wikipedia.
New research published in the online journal PLoS ONE demonstrates for the first time that a non-human adult animal species regularly engages in oral sex behavior. While the behavior has been seen in juvenile animals before, this is the first time it has been observed in adult animals. Warning: While the following information is scientifically accurate, some of the descriptions are slightly graphic. ...
Global Climate Treaty "Impossible" this December
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.28.09
Photo via Impact Lab
Now, I know this might seem like I'm lending my voice to the media's climate treaty roller coaster ride here--but this is pretty bad (if unsurprising) news indeed. Yvo de Boer, the top UN climate negotiator (ie, the guy running the COP15 global climate talks), has publicly said that there's no way that an agreement on a full-fledged global climate treaty can be reached this December....
Tesla Roadster Breaks EV World Record: 313 Miles on Single Charge (501 KM)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.28.09
The 10th Annual Global Green Challenge
The Global Green Challenge (a kind of spin off from the World Solar Challenge) in Australia is the place to be for alt-fuel vehicles of all kinds. It's a good snapshot of what is currently possible, and of where things are going in green(er) transportation. The latest record comes from a red 2008 Tesla Roadster: Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas drove 313 miles (501 km) on a single charge, something that no production EV has done before. And without the extra weight from a passenger, the record would probably have been few miles more......
In What World Can You Call Tetra Pak Green?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.28.09
Tetra Pak is a wonderful invention. The aseptic packaging can keep milk fresh for months without refrigeration. There are hundreds of products that are given extended shelf life with it. Perhaps it is better for certain foods than canning, like the tomatoes in Bonnie's post, because it isn't lined with epoxies made with BPA.
And goodness knows, they put on a show of being green. In Europe, they are now using FSC certified wood in them. They use renewable energy to recycle them in Scandinavia (where they ship them all, after doing life cycle analysis showing that the carbon footprint of that shipping is low). They have websites in every country in the world touting how green it is. TreeHugger goes so far to ask Would You Drink Bottled Water If It Came in a Recyclable Paper Container? from a bottled water company that says "save the planet, one bottle at at time" as if drinking water packaged in it is actually a good thing. Triple pundit calls it "Packaged Sustainability."
But what do we mean by green anymore?
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Savior Bud Sucks Moisture From Trees for Drinking Water
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.28.09
Image via Yanko
For dry areas, every drop of drinking water is important. Moisture collectors are a big help, and this concept design, modestly called the Savior Bud, is one idea to help gather up moisture from a tree's respiratory process and create drinking water. ...
Europe to Recommend €50 Billion in Annual Aid for Climate Change Adaptation in Poor Countries
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.28.09
photo: Matthias Ott via flickr.
The amount of aid that developing nations are to receive to help with adapting to climate change has been a long-running point of contention between poor nations (who say they deserve more) and the rich (who haven't presented it). Well, The Guardian reports that later this week European heads of state are to recommend €50 billion ($74 billion) in assistance:...
Green Kitchen Designs, Countertops, Cabinets, and Flooring
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 10.28.09
Photo credit: palindrome6996 via Flickr
Your kitchen is the heart of your home, so it's easy to see why so much time, energy, and money gets spent on just that one room. From floor to ceiling (and the cabinets and countertops in between), there's a lot that goes in to making a green kitchen, and a lot of choices out there; while that can make greener materials a little easier to come by, it also means there are more decisions to make, and more factors to consider. Read the Green Materials Guide for Kitchen Design over at our sibling site Planet Green to help you narrow down the materials available to you....
Sleep Like a Log in Vaude's Tencel Sleeping Bags
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.28.09
Bed frames are made from trees, but sleeping bags? Why not, reckon Vaude, the German mountain sports company.
The insulation for a new range of Vaude sleeping bags due in 2010, will comprise 50% Tencel, a more benign form of nasty old viscose (aka Rayon), made from plantation tree pulp in a process that recycles most of the production solvents. Tencel is a relatively new fibre, having first appeared in 1987, and scoring its own textile category, known as Lyocell. Interest in the fibre waned for a while, but has been revived of late, with a whole raft of new fabrications coming to light. ...
Ecuador Moves Forward with Plan to Not Drill the Amazon in Exchange of Funds
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10.28.09
A kid stands on pipes of previous oil extractions in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Photo: Lou Dematteis for the Crude Reflections book.
We spoke about this campaign being in the making before, and about a presentation of it a month ago at the UN, but now it's a fact: Ecuador is promoting the measure internationally to get funds, and says Germany, Spain and France have shown interest in backing up the plan. The country is also considering forming a consortium of countries with natural resources....
A "Digital" Photo Frame To End The Debate Over Electric or Old Fashioned
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.28.09
Image via Think Geek
While 25% of broadband households will have a digital photo frame by the end of this year, the debate over newfangled photo frames is a hearty one. On the gadget geek side, a digital photo frame is worth the electronic effort, since it eliminates the need to print photos, can be used for classy advertising in offices, keeps people who get bored easily from having to stare at the same photo for too long... But on the other side of the debate, why does anyone really need another electronic when photo frames are cheap and abundant in closets, thrift stores, garage sales and so on. So here is a photo frame that tries to make friends among the two camps. ...
Best of BloghHer: Plastic Produce, Pet CPR, Ethical Beverages
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.28.09
Photo credit: s_fox
Local! Organic! Seasonal! And...wrapped in plastic? Beth Terry wants to know why farmers markets still use so much plastic.
Are you an animal lover? Britt is, and she's found 9 animal-centric blogs you should be reading.
But...how much of an animal lover are you, really? Could you give a pet in distress mouth-to-snout or CPR? ClizBiz has a quick how to and a story of the remarkable rescue of a 100-year-old turtle.
When Siel started blogging, if it was organic and fair trade, it was plain coffee. Now she's found 3 cool drinks with an eco-ethical mission.
Alanna went on a voyage of discovery through the vegetarian cookbooks of the brilliant Deborah Madison. Here are her favorites.
BlogHer is the leading participatory news, entertainment and information
network for women online. Follow us on Twitter (@Blogher), on Facebook, and at BlogHer.com....
Zumbox + Greenopia: Paperless Postal Mail for Green Businesses
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.28.09
Image via Zumbox
Zumbox and Greenopia have teamed up to put local green businesses front and center in the consumer eyes, while also helping those businesses go paperless in their mailings. The paperless postal mail service Zumbox will help Greenopia's rated green businesses, starting first in the San Francisco and New York areas, so neither customers nor businesses have to deal with paper junk mail anymore. ...
From the Forums: How to Keep Halloween Green?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.28.09
Image Credit: rochelle, et. al-online
Greenvert writes:
I really enjoy handing out candy on Halloween, but I can't get over the amount of waste that goes into individually wrapped pieces of candy. I know that people won't let their kids take unwrapped candy from strangers (there are psychos out there, after all). So is there any alternative? I'd love to celebrate a green Halloween...Have ideas? Want to know what other people are saying? Join the discussion....
Farm in a Box: Aquaponics Systems for Everyone (Video)
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.28.09
Image credit: Farm in a Box
From Aquaponics USA's ready to use mini-fish farms to Access to Aquaponics' $499.99 starter kits, there are more and more companies aiming to take aquaponics (a symbiotic combination of hydroponics and fish farming) into the mainstream. Jaymi over at Planet Green has just covered Farm in a Box's broad range of aquaponics systems, and with prices starting at $35 for a DIY instruction kit, ranging up to $3000 for a full system, there's something for every pocket. ...
All Aluminum House Has Green Roof, Solar Power
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.28.09
While it takes a lot of energy to make aluminum, most of it is recycled and it does not take a lot of energy to do that. So building a house entirely out of aluminum makes some sense; it can probably be dismantled easily and if nothing else, turned back into pop cans.
Atelier Tekuto has built an elegant single family house in Kanazawa City, Japan almost entirely out of aluminum. Notwithstanding our bias against jazzy expensive single family houses, this one has some interesting features. Starting at the top: a green roof and solar collectors.
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NY Event: Ecouterre Official Launch Party at Kaight
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.28.09
Our friends over at eco-fashion website Ecouterre.com are celebrating their launch with a party at Kaight NYC-- our Best of Green winner -- tomorrow night. Slip on some Terra Plana's and walk or ride--bike style, I hope--over to 83 Orchard Street for thirst-quenching organic cocktails and conversation on sustainable fashion. Click through for details. ...
Chicago Fashion Week: Frei Designs Spring 2010
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.28.09
Frei Designs Spring 2010 at Chicago Fashion Week. Credit: Chad Smith
The Vert Couture green show during Chicago Fashion Week was the place to be for eco-minded fashionistas this past weekend. Frei Designs' Annie Novotny showed her spring 2010 collection--along with Mountains of the Moon, Vaute Couture, and Bryant McLemore Smith--at the show. Click through for Annie's vision of spring 2010--loose fitting dresses, skirts, and tones of gray--and her organic creations on the runway. ...
Food Portion Sizes Keep Growing
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.28.09
Images from Divine Caroline
PSFK picks up an interesting post about how food portions, both in restaurants and at home, have increased over the last twenty years. While a dietitian will tell you that a portion of meat shouldn't be larger than a deck of cards, most servings now are more like the size of a paperback book.
It is the inevitable result the corn-based industrial food system; while other costs, like staff and real estate were increasing, food costs were stable or decreasing so you just made things bigger, added another layer to the whopper. Divine Caroline notes that " large quantities of cheap food have distorted our perceptions of what a typical meal is supposed to look like."...
Best of Inhabitots: Top 7 Eco-Friendly Rocking Horses for Kids
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 10.28.09
Photo credit: Whatchawant
True to its name, the Whatchawant is whatever your child wishes it to be.
Can't decide between a rocking chair or a rocking horse? This traditional Baltic rocking chair horse does it all.
If you're short on space, the Tori Foldable Rocking Horse can be packed away after your tot has ridden into the sunset--for the day, anyway.
This rocking "Pizzly" bear keeps up with the climate-changing times by fusing grizzlies with their polar brethren.
The aptly named Giddyup Rocking Stool uses actual reclaimed leather saddles for an authentic, home-on-the-range touch.
Why should kids hog all the fun? Here's a rocking horse for the young at heart, if not in years.
Plan Toys' Walking Elephant bucks the rocking-horse trend with a tiny, mobile pachyderm.
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....
Supermodels Get Nearly Naked for Climate Change (Video)
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10.28.09
October 4th marked a day of action that spanned 181 countries and 5,200 separate events, all for the sake of one number: 350. Inspired by this colossal (and exceedingly creative) global display, a small cadre of New York models put their beautiful bodies behind the message of atmospheric salvation. In this video for 350.org, they count backward from 390 parts per million-our current carbon dioxide levels-shedding layers as they go. But they stop at 352, just shy of the mark, leaving the final glory to our imaginations. (Video after the jump) ...
Use Your Melon: Melon's Slice Folding Bike That Is.
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.28.09
We've been highlighting a heap of folding bikes recently (see list below). Melon Bikes is another to add to an ever growing collection. Their focus is that the simpler they "can make a bike to maintain, ride, and transport, the more fun you will have owning it." And Melon have opted to go with 20" wheels as an integral part of their story. Suggesting that with a wheel size that owes its heritage to BMX racing, you'll have a blast, "quick-starting to a high speed instantly - no big wheel inertia to overcome."...
7 Ways Leonardo DiCaprio Proves Green is Sexy
by Blythe Copeland, Great Neck, New York on 10.28.09
Photo via Sustainability Ninja
Yes, he's blond, blue-eyed handsome and yes, he's talented. But Academy Award-winning Leonardo DiCaprio continually proves he is more than just a pretty face jumping on the celebrity hybrid bandwagon. From resorts protecting islands to his role with eco town Greensburg to his green girlfriends (supermodel Gisele was just named UNEP Goodwill Ambassador and Bar saves beaches), Leo's passion for green and successful efforts in this arena means he is influencing both fans around the world and other celebrities. He's not perfect: He lives a jet-setting lifestyle (though tries to stick to commercial flights) and he smokes while biking, but he's one Hollywood star that we can't get enough of. Here are seven ways Leonardo DiCaprio proves green is sexy....
Trend Watch: End Times For Journalism - Terminix Selling Newsprint Insulation Treated With Pesticide
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.28.09
"Despite the apocalypse, newspapers will refuse to die." Image credit:Guardian, OrgangrinderBlog.
US newspaper readership rates have slipped another 10%, ytd. Not to worry. A new print journalism business model may have been discovered by Terminix, the pest control company. Turning "readership" into "R-Value," they are selling pesticide-soaked newsprint as building insulation, entombing, for posterity, an archive of the scant coverage given climate science over the last two decades. Just skip the reading, and send the papers right to the insulation factory. Balloon Boy gets full coverage on your thousand dollar TeeVee. ...
Mules Instead of Tanks Used in Balkan Peace Keeping
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.28.09
Image from typicallyspanish.com
We don't often write about using less cars and trucks in wars; somehow nature and the environment don't come up in those debates. But NATO is switching from using high-tech vehicles to mules in the Balkans because the mules do a better job.
When it comes to navigating the treacherous mountain passes, sturdy little (5ft. tall) mules from Murcia, southern Spain are just the ticket. They can go places where vehicles with GPS and state-of-the-art weaponry can't make it....
The Best Climate Change Articles Written by Sitting US Senators
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.27.09
Photo via Progressive Times
As the climate debate heats up in the Senate, we thought it'd be a fine opportunity to round up the best climate writing done on the bill so far--by the Senators themselves. These 3 articles are required reading for anyone interested in the climate legislation saga. Without further ado, here are the 3 must read op-eds on climate change by US Senators....
flora&fauna Offers 25% Off Nature-Inspired Fashion
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 10.27.09
Image via flora&fauna.
We love learning about fashion designers and their inspirations - it's what makes each of them different in such a great way. Pauline Siu found hers amongst the surroundings and wildlife in British Columbia. From the beauty in nature, the irresistible cuteness of animals, and the intricacy of the planet's delicate eco-system, flora&fauna was born.
With a blend of clean lines, rich colors, and lasting style, flora&fauna incorporates nature and animal themes into each design, and uses organic and sustainable fabrics. Our favorite - The Jellyfish Tube Top. The company is also proud to support their local animal welfare and nature conservation organizations.
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Helix-Shaped Wind Turbines Could Power Nigerian Cell Towers
by Jacob Gordon, Nashville, TN on 10.27.09
Vertical axis wind turbines are an intriguing technology that most people still know little about. The turbines we are accustomed to use blades to turn a horizontal axis (which is often housed in the little cupola on the top of the turbine's tall stem). Vertical axis turbines turn a vertical shaft (picture a barber's pole) to generate power. Helix Wind, a US maker of some very slick looking vertical axis wind turbines, has struck a deal with a West African telecom company to power cell phone towers with wind. This allows the towers to operate autonomously without transmission lines or diesel generators....
Guide to Good Grub in Minneapolis - St. Paul
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.27.09
Image via: Mr Luke Harby on Flickr.com
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Do you have to slide on your values when you want to eat a nice meal out on the town? Are you in a smaller town and figure there's not much but fast food around you? How do you find a restaurant that is able to purchase local, fresh food when your city is 3 feet under snow? Do restaurants these days compost? And of course, how are workers treated? These are among the 14 items included in Heavy Table's Atlas of Ethical Eating Guide to Minneapolis - St Paul restaurants, now available. The Atlas is not just a guide to good eating but a celebration of all things local in Minneapolis - St Paul....
Ocean Acidification Means Hard Times Ahead For Shellfish
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.27.09
photo: Robert Rheault via flickr.
New research from Stony Brook University's School of Marine at Atmospheric Sciences shows the future isn't so pleasant for the world's clams, scallops, and oysters: In one of the first studies to look at the effects of ocean acidification on shellfish, scientists have found that "relatively minor increases in ocean acidity" have a detrimental effect on their growth, development and survival:...
Illegal Logging Makes Indonesia World's Third Largest Emitter of Greenhouses Gases
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.27.09
After U.S. and China...
Indonesia is made up of 17,508 islands, most of which were totally covered by forest until about 50 years ago when that number dropped to 80%. But now, illegal logging and the burning of forests are making the country the third biggest emitter of GHG in the world (!) behind the U.S. and China. According to a piece in the Independent, Indonesian officials estimate that illegal logging alone is responsible for the loss of 10 million hectares of tropical rainforest....
Now You See It, Now You Don't: Safety Scarf for Cyclists
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.27.09
Image via: Dave Newkirk
Now with the drop in temperatures for places in the northern hemisphere, cyclists are going to need more layers and also more reflective gear as the sun goes down earlier and earlier. RF-Scarf now makes a scarf that comes in a sleek, black material that when exposed to bright light "magically" becomes reflective. It's a perfect accessory for walking commuters too....
As Corals Kick the Bucket, It's Time to Freeze Them for Posterity
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
Photo via Wildxplorer
Coral reefs are dying, and despite our best efforts at conservation, many scientists think there's no stopping their decline. In a move on par with the creation of seed banks, scientists think it's time to start freezing species specimens in case we need to clone them for future reefs. ...
60% of Americans Now Support Cap and Trade
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.27.09
Six in ten Americans support cap and trade, the mechanism at the heart of climate legislation in US Congress that uses the market to put a price on carbon emissions. Only 37% oppose it--these are the findings of a new national poll from CNN. And what's even more interesting is how those votes break down. ...
UNC and Duke Energy to Build Offshore Wind Turbines, Despite State's Plan to Ban Them From Mountaintops (Updated)
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.27.09
Is a Storm Brewing in North Carolina? Image via: Inhabitat
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The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC) isn't dismayed by reports of other states having a tough go at getting mountaintop wind turbines approved. In fact, they weren't even dismayed when their own state of North Carolina announced earlier this year that they just might ban wind turbines for the state just for being ugly, and no we're not kidding. Those Tar Heels are taking it all in stride and working with Duke Energy to get wind turbines installed just off the coast, reports UNC News. ...
Shrimps' Eyes Are Biomimetic Solutions to Better DVD Players
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
Photo via Stephen Childs
Mantis shrimp - giant shrimp living on Australia's Great Barrier Reef - are being eyeballed (har har) as holding solutions to creating a higher quality DVD player, and it's all because they have the most complex set of eyes in the animal kingdom. That complexity could be translated into a DVD player that can handle a whole lot more optical information than anything currently produced. ...
From the Forums: Leash Your Dog, Save a Koala
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.27.09
Image Credit: piston9-online
Cath09 writes:
Everybody talks about cats endangering native wildlife, but what about dogs? People should be more responsible with their dogs. They too can kill or maim wildlife, like these poor koalas.So what do you think? Join the discussion....
Tigers Given a Bit More Breathing Room in Nepal - Bardia National Park Expanded
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.27.09
photo: Claudio Gennari via flickr.
China may be doing little to stop the illegal tiger trade, but Nepal has just taken some action to protect its tigers: WWF reports that the Bardia National Park has just been expanded by some 900 square kilometers (350 sq.mi.) in order to protect an estimated population of just 121 breeding individuals: ...
Fisker Buys Idle GM Plant in Delaware to Make Second PHEV (Project NINA)
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.27.09
Fisker's Second PHEV Will Cost About $40k After Tax Credit
It seems like Fisker is wasting no time spending some of the DOE money it recently got: It is announcing today the purchase for $18 million of an idle GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware. That might seem like a relatively small sum, but Fisker expects that it will have to spend about $175 million to refurbish the facility before production....
Rare Black Bear Quintuplets Caught on Film!!
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.27.09
Image via: Tom Sears
It looked like on of those sappy, hokey forwards when I opened the email about black bear quintuplets. Yeah sure, I thought, and now if I don't pass this email along to 50 of my best friends, I'll have bad luck breathing down my neck, right? Or I'll sprout wings and fly away. Well turns out the photographer Tom Sears does exist, and so do all 6 bears, a real rare find indeed....
The World's DIY Hero: An Interview With William Kamkwamba, Windmill Wunderkind
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10.27.09
"The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind"
To most of us, old bicycle parts are mostly good for DIY furniture projects if they're good for anything, and windmills are best designed by people with advanced degrees.
When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba, of Masitala Village in Wimbe, Malawi, stumbled across the image of a windmill for the first time while pouring over a library book, he wasn't thinking like that. He was thinking of his village's lack of electricity (only 2% of Malawi is electrified) and of how electricity could power an irrigation pump, which would help his family and others cope with meager crops. If you've been reading TreeHugger, or any news really, you probably know what happened next......
Will a Mac Mini Pay for Itself in Power Savings?
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.27.09
Photo: Apple Inc.
This Guy Says Yes, But It's More Complicated Than That...
ShareA blogger recently claimed that his new Mac Mini would be paying for itself within two years because his power bill had been slashed by half (see the screen grab below). His headline ("Free Apple Mac Mini. No Strings Attached!") was of course sensationalistic, but there is an important truth behind it: People too often forget to look at the total cost of ownership (TCO) when they're buying computers and other electronics, and making them more aware of it is a good opportunity to encourage good green practices....
PopTech Turns Scientists into Rock Stars with New Fellows Program
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
Photo via PopTech
Jane Goodall. Jacques Cousteau. E.O. Wilson. Rachel Carson. You've heard of them, right? But, you probably don't need to take off your shoes to finish counting how many truly famous environmentally-focused scientists you know the names of. With climate change being on the tips of everyone's tongue - and for good reason - scientists have a more important role to play in the public eye. Battling back special interest lobbyists with quality scientific information, and rallying citizens around major environmental issues is vital for change, PopTech wants to help scientists engage mainstream America in issues of concern. PopTech is starting a fellows program that will put the best minds at work on the most important problems, including energy, food, water, public health, climate change, conservation ecology, green chemistry, computing, education, oceans, and national security. And they'll help the scientists and their solutions get the attention they need. ...
Obama's Big Smart Grid Stimulus: $3.4 Billion Going to 100 Projects
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.27.09
Carol Browner,Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, with President Obama
18 Million New Smart Meters
ShareThe sweet stimulus bonanza isn't over. Today the Obama administration has announced 100 grants to smart grid projects across the U.S. (25 big projects, 75 smaller ones). In total, about $3.4 billion dollars will be allocated, and when combined with funds from utility customers, this should add up to an investment of about $8 billion into grid modernization. "We have a very antiquated system that we need to upgrade," said Carol Browner, energy coordinator for the Obama administration....
China Failing to Stop Gangster's Tiger Trade - Investigators Offered Many Leopard Skins Too
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.27.09
Tiger skin in Lhasa, photo: EIA
The illegal trade in tiger and other big cat skins and body parts is big business for international crime syndicates, with tiger skins fetching up to more than $21,000 each. Now, an undercover mission by the Environmental Investigation Agency shows that China is doing little to stop it, despite international commitments to do so:...
More COP15 Expectation Management: UN Plans Post-Copenhagen Talks - Kerry Says We've Done All We Can
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.27.09
photo: Sara Petagna via flickr.
Though the grand exercise of managing expectations regarding the possibility of actually getting a global climate deal signed at the COP15 talks has been going on for a couple months now, here are the latest examples courtesy the United Nations and Senator John Kerry:...
Bad News on the Wolf Front - Key Alpha Wolves Killed in Montana
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
Photo via Todd Ryburn
Three alpha wolves vital to a study tracking their pack's patterns were killed earlier this month by hunters in Montana. The study effectively ended, but the controversy around the wolf hunts, which were allowed to start again this year, is sparked up. ...
The Best of Fast Company: OceanWorks International Airport, Health Care in the Developing World, and Global Warming PR Stunts
by Ariel Schwartz of Fast Company on 10.27.09
This week at Fast Company, we looked at a proposed offshore airport in San Diego, creative health care ideas for the developing world, global warming PR stunts, and the Bournemouth Reef.
San Diego, California needs a bigger airport, but it doesn't have any space. The solution? Build a massive offshore airport, according to OceanWorksDevelopment.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently gave 76 grants of $100,000 each to scientists who have come up with creative ways to fight infectious disease in the developing world. Here are some of our favorites.
The Maldives underwater cabinet meeting may have snagged headlines, but it was far from the first global warming PR stunt. We take a look at other stunts that made an impact.
The U.K's Bournemouth Reef will create giant waves for surfers, but it will also be a boon to the local ecosystem--and the tourism industry.
Fast Company sets the agenda, charting the evolution of business through a unique focus on the most creative individuals sparking change in the marketplace....
Tesla Rear-Ended by Prius in Denmark, Pushed Under SUV
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.27.09
From the Forums: What's Your "Green Vice?"
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.27.09
Image Credit: Jeff Kubina-online
Mike Z wants to know:
Do you love long hot showers? Revving your V-8 engine? Cranking the AC to 68 in the middle of summer? What is your green vice?So what's yours? Join the conversation....
New Tech, Schmew Tech - US Consumers Can Cut 123 Million Tons of CO2 Per Year Without It
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
Photo via Robert S Donovan
It doesn't take inventing a whole lot of new technology to save a whole lot of GHGs. It just take a whole lot of people utilizing the simple, inexpensive technologies we already have rolling out that help cut down on energy consumption. If US consumers used existing technology to its fullest, we'd save a whole France-worth of carbon emissions, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. And to get more people to be savvy about what options are already on the table, scientists say social networking will play a role. ...
Department of Energy Invests $151 Million in Tomorrow's Transformative Technologies
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.27.09
photo: Tetsumo via flickr.
Money from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (aka The Stimulus) continues to find its ways through the governmental pipes and out into the world. The latest: The Department of Energy has announced that $151 million in funding for several projects under the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy. As Energy Secretary Chu said in making the announcement, many of these may ultimately never pan out, but here are some of the projects DoE thinks are worth investing in:...
Love Your Stuff: Material Possessions Are Not Evil
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.27.09
Image credit: Sami Grover
I've been thinking a lot about the things we own and what they mean. From Buy Nothing Day to Freecycle to The Story of Stuff, rethinking our relationship to money and material possessions is a central theme within the sustainability debate. Many greens believe we've become too wrapped up in our love of stuff. But I wonder if we've got it the wrong way around. Maybe we don't love our stuff enough. ...
Conclusions of the 2009 World Forestry Congress
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 10.27.09
Photo: Paula Alvarado.
As we mentioned last week, from October 18 until 23 Buenos Aires was host of the XIII World Forestry Congress. With less than two months to Copenhagen, climate change in the center of political discussions, and forests being a critical tool to fight global warming, the discussions inside the panels were of special interest this year.
TreeHugger attended many of the conferences and here are some ideas and conclusions drawn from the conversations....
Chicago Fashion Week Spring 2010: Mountains of the Moon - Interview with Designer Melissa Baswell
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.27.09
Mountains of the Moon Spring 2010 at Chicago Fashion Week. Credit: Chad Smith
While we physically missed Chicago Fashion Week's Vert Couture green show--for the sake of our carbon footprint--we sat down with Mountains of the Moon Designer Melissa Baswell--virtually, of course--to talk sustainable fabrics, her spring 2010 vision, trends for next season, and more. Click through for Melissa's vision-turned-reality in her photos from the runway. ...
Recycled Sail 'Sea Bags' Create 'Cure Bags' to Benefit Maine Cancer Foundation
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.27.09
Sea Bags' Cure Bag; sailed around the world and recycled in Maine. Credit: Sea Bags
Sea Bags brings reusing sails for good to another level with their limited edition Cure Bags. Not only do these handmade bags have a story--the fabric has literally sailed the ocean blue--but they also help fund breast cancer research with 50% of sales proceeds benefiting the Maine Cancer Foundation. View the bag up close, after the jump. ...
Rare White Lion Cubs Make Their Debut (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
The West Midlands Safari Park near Bewdley in Worcestershire, UK is home to three white lion cubs, who have just been dubbed ready for the public eye. Visitors will get to feast on their cuteness, and with only about 30 white lions in existence, they'll get to see a very rare sight indeed. Check out a video of the cubs at play after the jump. ...
12 Ways To Use Shipping Containers As Offices, Housing and Art
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.27.09
I was poking around in the Google Sketchup 3D Warehouse and amazed to find dozens of interesting designs for shipping container housing by designers of all abilities from all over the world. There seems to be no end to the enthusiasm for them. A case still can be made that they are designed for freight, not people, but imaginative responses keep coming. We did a roundup last year, but have covered enough new projects to do another....
13 Creepy, Strange and Gross Green Inventions
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.27.09
Image via The Tissue Culture & Art Project
We're gearing up for Halloween creepiness, and what better place to start than the inventions of science? Leather grown in a test tube? Cyborg bunnies sporting augmented reality contact lenses? Oh, there's plenty of weirdness to be had here. Check out this freaky collection of green gadgets and robots that can make most anyone get the shivers.
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Good Way To End Paper Recycling Completely: Make Ethanol Motor Fuel From Waste Paper
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.27.09
Hardwood pulp futures market price trend. Image credit:INO.com
Today's printing and writing papers commonly have 20-30% recycled content. For fiber packaging materials, 60 to 100% recycle content is typical. It took decades for industry to reach those levels. Can you imagine what would happen if the paper industry had to price-compete against oil companies for waste paper feedstock? Recycled content of all manner of papers would surely decrease. More virgin forests would have be cut to make up the difference, whenever ethanol demand spiked. Singled-minded researchers from the National University of Singapore seem to have conveniently overlooked that predetermined outcome....
No Screw No Glue Barbeque by Joost van Bleiswijk
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.27.09
Mocoloco shows the latest work of Joost van Bleiswijk, whose technique of designing and assembling furniture and other objects out of sheets of metal takes flatpack to a new extreme. You are in serious trouble if you lose the instructions....
All UK and Irish Tetra Pak Packaging to be FSC Certified
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.27.09
Image from Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak is the world's largest packaging company so when they decide to do something environmental it has a big impact. They have just announced that all of their UK and Irish packaging will be FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. That means that all the products using the Tetra Pak system will now be using environmental packaging with the FSC logo.
How big is big? This development will see supply increase from 200 million FSC-certified
packs available across the world in 2008, to over 1.5 billion packs in the UK and Ireland alone. ...
Nike Strategizes on Deep Green Future
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.26.09
Green is the new black at Nike. Image via: LogoDesignGuru
At the Pop!Tech Conference this year, one thing to come out of the event are the new Labs that Pop!Tech will be holding to find solutions to many of today's resource use 'issues.' Nike was first with their hand up, asking for help on finding a way to make shoes and other items keep running for miles and miles without the need for new resources. Pop!Tech said they accepted that challenge and will get on it right away....
Buy CFLs for Less Than $1USD in Sacramento
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.26.09
Image via: LiveGreenTwinCities
You want to do the right thing, but as we've all heard, it's not always easy being green. In fact, just last month Matthew reported on the sharp decline in CFL sales. To encourage energy efficiency and lower utility bills, especially during those hot Sacramento summers, the local utility SMUD is now partnering with area retailers to offer compact fluorescent light bulbs for sale for just .99 USD. ...
Would You Drink Bottled Water If It Came in a Recyclable Paper Container?
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.26.09
Image via: One Drink at a Time
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There are many reasons that the hair on the back of your neck might stand up when someone says the words bottled water - all that wasted plastic, the people harmed in the making of said plastic, the communities 'losing' their water when it is bottled. But, sometimes you need portable water containers. (Okay, we admit that there are alternatives, but what if?) If that container was made from recycled paper instead, would you drink bottled water then?...
Move to Braddock, PA And Afford the Life You Always Wanted, Or Why Small Towns Are Best
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 10.26.09
Image via: john_fobes on Flickr.com
For all of you struggling out there under hard times, this is for you. For anyone with a dream to quit their job and open up their storefront but can't do that due to finances, listen up. The Mayor of Braddock, PA wants you to know you can have all that and more, if you move to his city, reports the New York Times....
Environmental Reporter from UK Sunday Times on CFLs: RUN!
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
John-Paul Flintoff is the Environment writer for the Sunday Times, a UK Murdoch paper. On Sunday he wrote an article Poisoning ourselves to save the planet about the dangers of mercury from compact fluorescents. He starts off with a description of mercury poisoning from a nameless "informant" who worked for years in heavy industry.
"Their teeth fell out first, then they got the shakes and malaria-type symptoms."
There is no question that mercury poisoning is a serious problem, but this describes Minimata disease, or Mad Hatter syndrome, that comes from years of exposure at very high levels. It is not quite the same thing as what you get if you break a compact fluorescent.
Flintoff says the man is astounded that the bulbs are for sale without a health warning. He concludes with a statement from his "informant":
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Green Eyes On: Green Halloween Tips You May Not Have Thought Of
by Sara Snow on 10.26.09
Photo via Smashing Magazine.
Each year Americans spend billions of dollars on Halloween candy, costumes and other Halloween related décor-type items (over $3 billion was spent in 2006 alone). They're shelling out $20-50 a piece on costumes and $10 and up on bags of candy.
But, this year more-so than in years past, people have enhanced awareness of health issues like cancer, obesity, and diabetes rates, of environmental health, and this year less people have the luxury of spending their hard earned dollars on store-bought costumes so they're being forced to look elsewhere for their ghost and goblin attire.
All of that brings us to my five tips for throwing a greener Halloween...in ways you may not have thought of.
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5 Reasons New Yorkers Are the Most Eco-Friendly People in the US - Without Even Trying
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.26.09
photo: Eric E Yang via flickr.
TreeHugger's been saying for a while that urban living is one of the greenest ways to live. Well, over at Yale Environment 360, David Owen (who's a staff writer for The New Yorker, by the way...) lays out some stats as to why New York City should probably get renamed the Big Green Apple:...
"Hose-to-the-Sky:" Still Spewing SO2 Idea to Stop Global Warming?
by Roberta Cruger, Los Angeles on 10.26.09
Hosed by this theory or greenwashed? Photo by Tony Stl via Flickr
On ABC's 20/20 last Friday, Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's former chief technology officer, and founder/CEO of Intellectual Ventures (IV), resurrected the idea of stretching a 2-inch hose up 100,000 feet (15 kilometers) into the stratosphere and releasing sulfur dioxide to cool earth's temps by a degree and reverse global warming. Cheap and easy solution or preposterous possibility?
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Beyond Cancun: Discovering a Deeper Green Get-Away at CESiaK
by Jessica Root - Brooklyn, NY on 10.26.09
Photo credit: Jessica Root
When my boyfriend had surprised me with two round-trip tickets to Cancun for my birthday, let's just say I was surprised. He's in school for a Masters of Science in Environmental Management. I like to wax poetic about the benefits of ecotourism. Cancun, the infamous Spring break destination (thanks, MTV!) known for over-developed hotel strips, excessive water usage and lackadaisical waste management hardly makes it to any greenie's get-away list.
Little did I know that Cancun, home to the Yucatan Peninsula's main airport, would merely serve as our portal to the peninsula's off-the-beaten track beauty and tropical paradise like that discovered within Centro Ecologico Sian Ka'an (CESiaK). ...
Power Socket SWITCH Would Cut 11% Off Electric Bills
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.26.09
Images via Yanko Design
We all know about phantom load--the electricity that continues to run through your electronics and appliances when they're turned off but still plugged in. Also called vampire power, it accounts for as much as a whopping 11% of our electricity usage. And while there have been products designed to fight the phantom loads, we haven't yet seen a truly viable large scale solution. But the Power Socket Switch might be just that--with the flick of a wrist, it lets you turn off the power flow to each socket it your home....
Canadian Tar Sands: Still Super Dirty, Even With the Best Carbon Capture & Storage Technology
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.26.09
Want some more evidence that squeezing oil out of Canada's tar sands is just a horrendous idea? Here it is: New analysis from WWF shows that even with carbon capture and storage technology, the emissions for tar sands-based oil are still well in excess of conventionally-produced oil. Not to mention that CCS does nothing to address the other environmental issues associated with tar sands production.
Only 50% Reduction in Upstream Emissions Possible
According to the report Carbon Capture and Storage in the Alberta Tar Sands, CCS "has limited potential to reduce upstream emissions to levels comparable with the average for conventional oil," with "even the most optimistic estimates from industry experts" showing reductions in the 10-30% range in the medium term and up to 50% in the long term. ...
Kellogg's Laser Flakes Put the 'K' in Sustainability
by Jeff Kart, Bay City, MIchigan on 10.26.09
Credit: .HEI via Flickr.
What's that, you say? There is no "K" in sustainability? Precisely. But the folks at Kellogg's, in Battle Creek, Michigan, plan to start using lasers to etch their logo onto their corn flakes.
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It Isn't Just A Helmet, It is an Ear-Pulling Navigation Device
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
Here is a helmet that I bet even Mikael at Copenhagenize might put on. Its really a GPS navigation device that gets rid of the problems with sound or visual signals that might distract you; instead, it tugs on your ear....
Best of The Infrastructurist: Flammable Tap Water, Floating Airports, and the Hanging Gardens of Barcelona
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10.26.09
Our pals at the indispensable built environment site The Infrastructurist sent over a round-up of some of the best recent posts:
Crazy or Brilliant? A Plan To Build A Giant Floating Airport Off California Coast
San Diego desperately needs a new airport. Problem is, there's really nowhere to put it. So a local entrepreneur is trying to build a three square mile floating platform out in the Pacific. He's envisioning the $20 billion project as a model for green offshore infrastructure--which just might become a major new industry in the 21st century....
The US Senate's Very Own Climate Week
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.26.09
Photo via TMC Net
This week will be a busy one for climate action in the Senate--there's going to a be a full week of hearings in the Environment and Public Works Committee, with the likes of Energy Secretary Stephen Chu and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson weighing in on the importance of passing climate legislation. There's also some new funding for clean energy funding, a great op-ed from a senator, and more. Hearings, speeches, articles, calls for action--it's like the US Senate is having its very own climate week....
AP Throws Cold Water on Skeptics' Global Cooling Claims
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.26.09
photo: Kevin Dooley/Creative Commons via flickr.
Between the brouhaha over Super Freakonomics and an article from the BBC, there seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or not the climate is actually warming now. It didn't seem to matter that NOAA stats indicate warming, and that the Union of Concerned Scientists, as well as numerous prestigious climate scientists' work all show that the trend is toward more warming. Well, the Associated Press put their own statisticians on the case and found, yes, the world is indeed still warming: ...
MoJo Special Climate Issue: Make Your Own Magazine Cover
by Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada on 10.26.09
Image: Mother Jones
But Don't Just Look at the Cover, Read it Too
Our friends at Mother Jones have created a pretty cool app (Magazine 2.0?). They write: "We've made an app that lets you put your kid/cat/aunt/whatever on the cover of our issue devoted to the political and economic changes that climate change will bring. Send it to your friends, your members of Congress, even President Obama. We'll feature some on our site (if you give us permission, of course)." You can go play with it here, and of course, you should check out their special climate issue (November/December 2009). See also: A Lot of Hydro Power Depends on Glaciers, and We All Know What's Happening to Those... and Crap. Global Warming Could Reduce "Catch Potential" in Tropical Fisheries by 40%....
Moto Designshop Figures Out a New Way To Deal With Cars
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
Cars are not only a problem on the road, they are a real problem in house designs, particularly on narrow lots. In most townhouses built with garages the bulk of the facade is lost to an ugly door, and the occupant gets no light from the front. A Weekly Dose of Architecture presents an innovative way of avoiding this.
Moto Designshop has come up with an elegant, if expensive solution, an "animated facade". What would normally be a garage at grade is a parking space on a lift with a green roof on top- you drive in, drop the car into the basement and voila, you have a green front courtyard.
The Grid House, being built in Philadelphia, also has a moving wood screen as well, so that the courtyard can also be private green space. It is a really clever solution to a difficult problem- how to deal with cars on an 18 foot wide house....
From the Forums: Do Humpback Whales Still Need Our Help?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.26.09
Image Credit: Big Blue Ocean-online
SgtMaj writes:
The U.S. is looking at possibly removing humpback whales from the endangered species list. Why do I get a bad feeling that we'll be watching the Japanese whalers harpooning humpback whales on Whale Wars soon? You know, it would sure be a nice change if the EPA would actually start protecting the environment.What do you think? Join the discussion....
Climate Change Impact World Map Unveiled
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.26.09
Image via the BBC
To the uninitiated, climate change can seem like a vague, apocalyptic problem that's either too far away to bother with, or too chaotic and confusing to attempt to understand. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, more droughts, more rainfall, more storms, and so on. And yes, global warming will cause each of these--but it might be useful for people to know what it's going to do to them. Enter the world climate impact map....
Keep Warm With Planet Green's Materials Guide for Insulation
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
Insulation can be so confusing. Batt or spray? Denim or foam? How much is enough? Where do you put it? Many of the so-called experts don't even know for sure. We try to explain in our new Green Materials Guide on Planet Green.
This is a work in progress; we will be adding more. But have a look at our Green Materials Guide....
New York City and Energy Code Changes
by Neil Chambers, New York City on 10.26.09
Photo by Andrew H. Walker
Energy Code sounds like a dull topic, but if you're hope is to see things like energy use or carbon emissions reduced - energy codes are at the heart and soul of your desires. Considering the fact that energy codes are only about 40 years old in the United States (and only 20 years older in Europe), the fields that determine how regulations govern the way buildings actively consume energy is a young and fertile. In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg created a task force made up of local green building organizations and more than 170 professionals to address what's the best way to improve the efficiency of the megacity. Starting this week at the Center for Architecture, a series of lectures by experts involved with task force are beginning to explain exactly how these changes will affect clients, buildings, code, permitting and your pocketbooks. I had a change to do a Q&A with Chris Garvin, the first speaker of the series, to get his insider's perspective on what this all means....
The Best Swag Bag EVER! PopTech Hands Out Solar FLAP Bags That Turn Into Lanterns
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.26.09
If I didn't already have a solar bag from Voltaic, I'd be so jealous right now. Attendees at this year's PopTech received as their swag bag the FLAP - Flexible Light and Power. It's messenger bag with built in flexible solar cells that can charge up a mobile device, or power an LED in the bag, turning it into a lantern. It certainly sets a new standard for swag bags at events. How great is it to offer attendees not only a cool bag, but off grid charging capabilities too?! Check out how neat this bag is - it's far more than just fancy swag, it's a solution for off-grid lighting for impoverished people.
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Why Are Children In China Saluting Cars?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
Du Bin for The New York Times
The The New York Times ran this photograph and says that it was all about traffic safety.
"Education officials promoted the saluting edict to reduce traffic accidents and teach children courtesy. Critics, who have posted thousands of negative comments about the policy on China's electronic bulletin boards, beg to differ. "This is just pitiful," wrote one in a post last year. Only inept officials would burden children with such a requirement rather than install speed bumps, others insisted."
But is this really about speed bumps and traffic safety?...
From the Forums: Green Life, Yes. Green Burial, Why Not?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.26.09
Image Credit: caccamo-online
Outsidethe box writes:
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust do I need all this formaldehyde can't I just rust? Look where we have gotten with funerals, bodies desecrated by strangers bodies of loved ones ripped open to be filled with toxic chemicals. Put in a concrete vaults inside a very expensive casket that cost as much as a car. Then put in a graveyard where the grass will be mowed at a large expense indefinitely. THIS IS DEFIANTLY NOT GREEN! ... Face it when we are dead we don't need to waste resources on the dead but gift them to the living...What are your ideas on this taboo subject? Can we change this archaic system? Would you want a green burial?So what do you think? Join the conversation....
Venom Introduces First Carbon Neutral Alkaline Batteries...But Can Disposable Be Green?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.26.09
Image via Venom Power
Oh noes. Another case of greener but not green. Venom introduces batteries that are carbon neutral...but they're still disposable alkaline batteries. So, do we pick apart just how "carbon neutral" disposable batteries can possibly be, or do we congratulate Venom on taking steps forward on greening batteries that are an undeniable product in our market place? ...
Just What We Needed Dept: The Buddy Desk
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
My biggest fear when riding my bike has always been getting right hooked by some lady in an SUV on a cellphone. I don't have to worry as much about that any more; as of today where I live in Ontario, Canada, texting or holding a cellphone to your ear while driving is illegal. Now all I have to worry about whether she is eating her lunch or working on a computer while sitting at her new Original Buddy Desk.
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'We Changed the Odds Today' - 350 Takes Over Times Square (Slideshow)
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10.26.09
photo: Matthew McDermott
It may have been alternating between heavy mist and outright downpour in Times Square for the International Day of Climate Action, but that didn't really seem to dampen anyone's spirits. Several hundred people packed into the center of the New York's tourist-theater-consumerist world to rally around a single scientific data point. The really great part was the stream of photos coming in from other 350 events all around the world -- all of which were broadcast on the several electronic billboards -- quite a departure from the normal messaging in the vicinity.
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Dying Coral Reefs to be Frozen, Preserved for the Future
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 10.26.09
Photo via GA Tech
This may be the bleakest forecast yet for coral reefs--researchers just concluded that the prospects for the world's coral reefs' survival are so slim that a plan must be launched to freeze samples in liquid nitrogen and preserve them for future generations. ...
Readers' International Day of Climate Action Photos (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.26.09
International Day of Climate Action in the Hollywood Hills. Credit: Vanessa Ryder
From readers in the Hollywood Hills and students at Stellenbosch University in South Africa who posed for a 350 photo-op to TreeHugger writers who formed the number five in London's South Bank and rallied in a climate change march in Fayetteville, Arkansas, global citizens participated on a grand scale in support of 350 and the International Day of Climate Action, Saturday, October 24, 2009. Check out awe inspiring photos and keep checking back we'll be updating this slideshow, click through to submit yours.
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Book Review: Crude World by Peter Maass
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 10.26.09
There are lots of reasons to look for alternatives to oil and to use less of the stuff; the two main ones you hear about in America are climate change and energy security.
But there is another story, another problem with oil- the disruption it causes in communities that are unprepared to deal with the sudden wealth that comes from sitting on top of it. Peter Maass has visited those parts of the world, some of them places that very few people would dare to go, and has written about them in Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil.
You really don't have to get past the Contents page to learn what the book is about; the chapter titles are Scarcity, Plunder, Rot, Contamination, Fear, Greed, Desire, Alienation, Empire and Mirage. ...
Bioplastics from Sewage? Cradle-to-Cradle Roofs? Cleantech Open Competition Announces 6 Innovative Finalists
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.26.09
Image of San Francisco via http2007
The California Cleantech Open - one of the most influential cleantech competitions in the nation - has announced the finalists for this year's award. The top entrants in six categories, from energy efficiency to transportation - will vie for a grand prize, with the winner announced in November. Choosing a winner will be a tough job, as each of the entrants are start-ups with great ideas - turning raw sewage into bioplastic, cradle-to-cradle roof tiles, fuel-efficient long-haul trucks...
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Bike Fashion Show in NYC: Chic Urban Cycling Style (Video)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.26.09
Chic cycling, street style at 'Bike Style' fashion show in NYC. Credit: Emma Grady
Hudson Urban Bicycles (HUB) in the West Village, New York City, hosted Bike Style Saturday night, a fashion show premiering chic urban cycling looks. Friends of HUB donned tailored bicycle wear--blazers, cropped pants, and caps--from designers Lela Rose, Reiss, Sheila Moon, and Outlier; strutted and danced 'cross the runway to DJ jams; mounted European-origin bikes from Batavus, Abici, Moof, and Linus, and rode out into the rainy NYC night. Click through for our videos--the def jams might have you chair dancing--and more photos from the show. ...
Universal Phone Charger Approved, Could Save 13.6 Million Tons of CO2
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.26.09
Photo via RusselljSmith
Earlier this year we caught word that the EU might force universal cell phone chargers onto manufacturers. "Force" is a little rough...more like "require them to be environmentally responsible and simply logical and quit manufacturing planned obsolescence and exclusivity into piles of plastic and wires." Last week, a universal charger was approved by the International Telecommunication Union that, while not being "forced" upon manufacturers, is available for them to adopt as they roll out new phones. ...
Vaute Couture's Vegan Winter Coats
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.26.09
Vaute Couture Fall/Winter 09 collection of vegan coats. Credit: Vaute Couture
Vaute Couture, a small fashion house in Chicago, is an "activist fashion label" known for their vegan coats. The 100% vegan line designed by Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart premiered in Fall 2009 after eight months of extensive fabric research. Last night they showed their Spring 2010 collection at Chicago Fashion Week's Vert Couture show -- we'll bring you highlights later this week. Click through for photos of Vaute Couture's luxe coats--a windy city and winter staple--and their version of the classic organic cotton tee. ...
"Bugs in Pictures" Photographer Interviewed on the Today Show (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.26.09
Photo via Thomas Shahan
We have some really cool news. After seeing the Bugs in Pictures: Incredible Insect Macro Photography slideshow we featured a few weeks ago, the Today Show got a hold of us asking how they could contact the photographer and have him on the show. We were more than happy to connect them and late last week, Thomas was interviewed! Check out the interview, and some of the fantastic photos that are making him famous. ...
Battery Chargers - Solar Chargers to Buy, Chargers to Hack, And Concept Chargers to Wait For
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 10.26.09
Photo via scalespeeder
One of the ways to green up gadgets that require batteries is to use rechargeable batteries and practice habits that make your batteries last as long as possible. But if you're using rechargeable batteries, you're still likely juicing them up with power from the grid - the coal-burning grid. Here are some great options for getting off grid power for your rechargables - including chargers you can hack yourself from stuff around the house - and some really cool concepts for battery chargers that we might see one day.
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Volvo Makes A Car That Stops For Pedestrians (and Next, For Bikes)
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 10.26.09
Nadav Kander is Winner of Prix Pictet Photography Prize 2009
by Bonnie Alter, London on 10.26.09
Image from Prix Pictet: Chongqing IV (Sunday Picnic)
The Prix Pictet is the new global photography prize that focuses on sustainability. Sponsored by Pictet & Cie, a Swiss bank, and in its second year, this year's theme is the earth. Last year it was water.
A shortlist was announced in July and the winner is Nadav Kander, an Israeli photographer living in London. He beat out the heavy hitters on the list such as Andreas Gursky and the Canadian Edward Burtynsky. His theme and obsession is the Yangtze River, 4,100 miles long, where "more people live along its banks than live in the USA, one in every eighteen people on the planet."
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Is there a Hotel Greenwashing Police?
by Bonnie Hulkower, New York, New York on 10.26.09
Photo by Alamy via the Guardian
To psychologically prepare for cold weather, I've been planning a trip to somewhere warm this winter. Like me, more and more people who love to travel are also concerned about the eco-friendliness of the hotels they're choosing. According to the annual North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, hotel guests' awareness of "property-initiated 'green' programs" shot up in 2009: 66% of hotel guests state that they are aware of their hotels' conservation efforts (up from 57% in 2008). More and more hotels are playing into it, ramping up their marketing efforts to ensure their environmentally-conscious practices are recognized. Unfortunately, the "green" efforts that hotels have been marketing aren't always actually so green. The practice of "greenwashing" -is used by hoteliers to draw the heads of eco-tourists into their hotel beds- and it is on the rise. So how can we separate the green hotels from the greenwashed? ...
The Week in Pictures: Elephants Extinct by 2025, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Green Home Improvement, and More (Slideshow)
by Emma Grady, New York, NY on 10.25.09
From the news that all 600,000 African elephants will be extinct by 2025 at current rates of poaching, according to figures from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, to Congress' approval of a bill that will allow three wheelers to get funding from the Department of Energy, a lot happened this week in green. Our Best of Green winner Chris Jordan visited the Midway Atoll, right in the heart of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and photographed sobering pictures of albatrosses stuffed with plastic detritus, Christine put together a slideshow of creatures found in the world's most powerful tidal maelstrom, and readers sent in their green home improvement 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: Carteret Islands Sink and More .
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Do Wild Pigs Know the Daylight Savings Time?
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 10.25.09
Animals Shocked by Daylight Savings Time Change
You bet animals know what time it is! Wild pigs have a highly acute sense of time. What they don't know is this: humans swing their daily schedule up an hour in the Spring and back an hour in the Fall. And this can lead to conflicts. Wild pigs accustomed to enjoying their usual evening acorn-snuffle in the lonely dusk may be surprised to find the two-legged naked animals up and about. And a surprised wild pig is a dangerous wild pig....
From the Forums: What's the Deal with Nuclear Recycling?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.25.09
Image Credit: redjar-online
TreeHuggerForever writes:
The latest issue I have become familar with is the reprocessing of nuclear waste. I have read that 95 percent of America's power reactors could be recycled for future use, as opposed to piling up at over filled plant storage facilities...However, on the opposing end, I read that this is a very dirty and expensive process (is it?) and the resulting plutonuim chemical is coveted by terroists and a "key ingredient" in weaponry...Is nuclear recycling a good (yet inferior) option too? Or should we eliminate dependence on nuclear power plants all together?So what do you think? Join the discussion....
Organic Watchdog Group Files a Complaint With the USDA Against Target
by Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 10.25.09
photo: J Novak
In response to what the Cornucopia Institute calls a continual blurring of the line between organic and all natural, last week they filed a complaint against Target with the USDA. ...
Composting Your Corpse (Again): Lee Hays' Hillarious Living Will
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.25.09
Image credit: Follow the Drinking Gourd
"When corn and radishes you munch
You may be having me for lunch"
When I wrote about Ethical Man's plans to compost his own corpse comments ranged from those who thought it was a good idea, to those who thought 'sky burial', or even making pencils from human remains, would be a better option. Others have looked at flash-freezing, smashing then composting corpses, or even feeding them to coral reefs. But composting dead bodies is not a new concept—a friend just sent me a poem written by folk legend Lee Hays to Pete Seeger's wife in 1981. If might be the best (and funniest!) argument for compost burial that I've ever read. ...
From the Forums: 12/21/2012- What's Going to Happen?
by Alex Davies, New York City on 10.25.09
Image Credit: pizzodisevo-online
Outsidethebox writes:
Hey if were around I think a party is in order. To steal from Prince, party like is December 21, 2012. Well I predict if the universe is lined up we could have unusual ocean tides from abnormal gravity. But it probably will be just another day.So what do you think? Join the conversation....
Green in the USA: Five Things I Love about America
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 10.25.09
Image credit: Planet Green (with thanks to Chelsea for the hack)
America, love it or leave it, right? Well it ain't that simple.
As any expatriate will tell you, moving countries always brings an astounding mix of conflicting emotions. There's so much new, refreshing and different to celebrate about your new homeland, and yet so much that you took for granted back home. As a UK national who is married to a green American, who just became the father of a green American, and who just received permanent resident status, I thought I'd tally up the things that drive me nuts about The States. But before I annoy all the patriots, I thought it safer and more productive to list the positives too. Because, contrary to what (some) green-minded Euros might think, there's plenty to love about this country....
With Words, Hip Hop and Hundreds of Bicycles, Beijing's Youth Call for Climate Action
by Alex Pasternack, New York, NY on 10.25.09
The resounding call for climate action that capped a series of talks in Beijing this week between the US and China didn't come from top officials, but from a more unusual constituent: young Beijingers.
The city's celebration of the 350.org International Day of Climate Action began, appropriately, with a parade of bicycles. A sharp contrast to the city's big National Day parade on October 1st, the band of hundreds of young citizens, expats and NGO workers climbed on their two-wheelers -- and in some cases, one-wheelers -- and plied their way through the center of the city to a carnival at the Natural History Museum. ...
Turks Take to the Streets, and the Sea, to Demand Action on Global Warming
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 10.25.09
The "Sun, Wind, 350 Right Now" march in Istanbul. Photo by Jennifer Hattam.
On the morning of Oct. 24, Idil Özkarakaya brought students together to paint banners for the day's climate-action march in a symbolic location: the Istanbul neighborhood of Halkalı, one of the areas hardest-hit by September's devastating floods....
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.
- BTC Elements Blog
- Celsias
- Clean Edge - The Clean-Tech Market Authority
- Cleantech Investing
- SRB Marketing | CONSCIOUS CLICKS - The Blog
- Daily Green, the Blog of GreenForGood.com
- Endogenous preferences
- Environmental and Urban Economics
- Environmental Economics
- EQUITY GREEN
- gDiapers: the early years...
- Gil Friend
- The Green Giraffe
