Cars & Transportation

We Need More Separated Bike Paths
The video above shows the transformation of Prospect Park West in Brooklyn. The addition of a two-way separated bike lane has had a calming effect on traffic, making the area safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and the extra-safety of the new bike lane is attracting lots of new cyclists of all skill levels. It clearly shows that "if you build it they will come" when it comes to bike infrastructure. Via Streetfilms. See also: How Copenhagen Became a Great People-Oriented City (Video)

Business & Politics

Image via Washington Times

In the post-Deepwater Horizon explosion rush to expose every devious, idiotic, two-faced, greedy, and hypocritical move BP has every made, the media has brought us a veritable treasure trove of anecdotes and revelations: BP saved millions by cutting corners on the destroyed rig. BP had shady connections to the Lockerbie bomber. BP licensed an oil disaster board game! Obviously, these range from the genuinely terrible to the the downright trivial. Somewhere along that spectrum lies the most recent "BP gotcha" -- news has surfaced that BP helped write California State's public school curriculum.

Business & Politics

Image: Wikipedia, CC

This Document Was Not for Public Consumption
A leaked study by the German military reveals that the Bundeswehr is taking the possibility of peak oil (the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, leading to a gradual decline) very seriously. The authors of the study, led by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Will, forecast a "shifts in the global balance of power, of the formation of new relationships based on interdependency, of a decline in importance of the western industrial nations, of the 'total collapse of the markets' and of serious political and economic crises."

Business & Politics

Photo: Say goodbye to San Rafael Falls, Ecuador? (via listafterlist.com)

Ecuador made waves not too long ago as the first country to not only recognize the constitutional rights of ecosystems, but also for demanding money in exchange to not drill into their rich oil reserves -- located under their equally-rich rainforests.

Now, the cash-strapped South American nation is courting controversy again as it plans to go ahead with a Chinese-financed hydroelectric project that could dry up San Rafael Falls, the country's highest waterfall.

Business & Politics

"The Scott Naturals brand Smart Flush bag offers a safe and easy way to save water at home." Caption & image credit:PR Newswire

Kimberly Clark is promoting their 'green' TP line with a plastic bag-based remake of the old toilet tank brick trick. (Try saying that 4 times as fast as you can.) Advertising Age reports that KC, owner of the Scott Naturals brand, plans to give away "750,000 Scott SmartFlush toilet-tank inserts, which the brand claims can save a typical family 2,000 gallons of water a year." They are bags which hang inside the toilet tank to displace some of the original capacity - lowering the flush volume (as pictured). Big retailers are after it...

Business & Politics

Photo: The Godfather

Cosa Nostra Goes Green
It seems like the mob has discovered that there's money to be made with wind power in Italy. The mafia is up to its usual tricks: fraud, extortion, bribery, money laundering, etc. Police wiretaps even caught an alleged mafioso telling his wife: "Not one turbine blade will be built in Mazara unless I agree to it." Read on for more details.

Business & Politics

Watch the full size video on Planet Green

Today, on Planet 100, a fleet of oil-absorbing robots is ready to respond to the next offshore oil disaster, an earthquake in New Zealand caused damage but also may have created a new fault line in the earth's crust, and an ad campaign in Hong Kong tries to sell "fresh air."

Science & Technology

Photo via Gizmag

Bike-powered washing machines aren't a new idea; however, at least one big appliance company is backing up the idea. Haier, an large electronics company out of China, showed off a human-powered washing machine concept at IFA 2010. It's fairly simple -- an exercise bike collects energy as the person pedals, and the charging battery then powers the washing machine. Supposedly 20 minutes of work is enough to wash one load of clothes on cold cycle. The idea of using human power to get off grid even a little bit is tempting -- and of course gyms are becoming quick to harness the power of people exercising. But could it work at home?