photo: abdallahh via flick
Big new developments in tidal power have been pretty weak of late, but here's one which could amp things up a bit.
World Energy Research and
Blue Energy Canada have signed an agreement to develop a 200 MW commercial tidal power project,
Renewable Energy World reports. The cost is $500 million; the location isn't entirely clear. The technology? Blue Energy's vertical axis tidal turbine:...
Wave. Image credit:
Science Blogs, making waves.
As the earth warms, the melting of the earth’s two massive ice sheets—Antarctica and Greenland—could raise sea level enormously. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt, it would raise sea level 7 meters (23 feet). Melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would raise sea level 5 meters (16 feet). But as I note in
Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, even just partial melting of these ice sheets will have a dramatic effect on sea level rise. Senior scientists are noting that the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections of sea level rise during this century of 18 to 59 centimeters are already obsolete and that a rise of 2 meters during this time is within range....
image via: blog.communiquepr.com
We've been hearing a lot about the
decline of print media. Some call the
lessening demand a crisis, as it results in a reduction of jobs within the major media organizations who have become large employers, as well as the loss of an iconic and nostalgic door delivery service. Others agree that one of the most avoidable waste streams is now undergoing a positive and long overdue transformation into the digital age, and with it, a shift towards fresh, independent voices. ...
Toby Barlow writes about making Detroit a city for cyclists instead of cars.
While bike enthusiasts in most urban areas continue to have to fight for their place on the streets, Detroit has the potential to become a new bicycle utopia.
New York Times
An online debate:
This house believes that sustainable development is unsustainable.
The Economist...
A vegetable garden outside Istanbul's thousand-year-old city walls.
In the shadow of Istanbul's old city walls, enterprising
urban farmers have carved out small plots of land to grow vegetables, adding a welcome bit of greenery to the roadside as they make, or at least contribute to, their own livelihoods. Green-thumbs in the capital city of Ankara once had a similar opportunity -- before the land started being sold out from under them....
Edgar Martins via New York Times
We have been discussing
Whither the McMansion, wondering about their future; their present is equally troubling.
The New York Times sent photographer Edgar Martins across America to document "the physical evidence of the real estate bust." It is an appalling scene of excess and waste....
Photo via
News Daily
The leaders of the G8 will be meeting this week in Italy and on the table, of course, is just what these rich countries will do about climate change. We are down to about 150 or so days before the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen, and it's well known that without leadership from the G8, there will be no fair and effective deal. Here's what we can expect out of Italy....
Outer-hallway meeting room, with privacy glass, allowing natural light penetration.
SAP, USA, newly constructed LEED "Platinum" headquarters building.
I recently had a chance to speak with representatives of the global business software company SAP, as well get a tour of the firm's nearly completed LEED Platinum US Headquarters building in Newtown Square Pennsylvania. The result, written as a composite interview, is a profile of SAP's global sustainability strategy, punctuated with a photographic tour of the new building.
There was a discussion of sustainability strategy with Scott Bolick, Vice President, SAP Sustainability, in Palo Alto, CA, USA; a tour and talk with Brian Barrett, building Manager, SAP, Newtown Square; and, finally a discussion with Bill McDermott, President of Global Field Operations, SAP AG, and member of the SAP Executive Board, and other members of his staff. Shall we begin?...
Flickr user tom h
On Monday, New Yorkers riding the subway to work were met with a costlier spin of the turnstile: a 12 percent increase in their fares,
from $2 to $2.25, as the Metropolitan Transit Authority copes with a
severe $2 billion deficit.
But how does the new,
much-
bemoaned cost of admission to the country's biggest subway (and bus) network stack up against fares in other world-class cities? And how well in general does the New York City subway, well, fare?...
Yaban TV's programming includes the shows (clockwise from top left) "Hunting World," "Wilderness Life," "Hunter's Album," and "Hunting Kitchen." Images via Yaban TV.
The Turkish hunting and fishing channel
Yaban TV (Wilderness TV) is on a mission to spread a message that should be fairly self-evident: If people who like to hunt and fish don't help protect the environment, there won't be any game left for them to pursue. "We are not hunters," says producer and board member Dr. Ali Bürkev. "We are nature's soldiers."...
Falafel sandwich. Image credit:
Vicarious Foodie.
Journalists traditionally like to show "two sides" of the story, even if, as is the case with climate science, one side is fringe, and the result is a confused, angry public. This need for journalistic "balance" has helped develop the equally absurd dichotomy of vegetarian versus meat eater. From which, comes the pale, thin vegetarian, versus the fat meat-eater. Then came the
Atkins low carb diet, offering nothing for the overweight vegetarian (yes, they exist), and requiring the awful trade-off of waste-line versus carbon footprint. For me, that left Ben Franklin's dictum, '
everything in moderation,' sounding like the most sensible way forward. TreeHugger does like to stir the pot, however. Adding "Eco-Atkins" to the lifestyle sandwich sounds like more fun than a TV cable talk show. Falafel on, then....
National Post
There is an everything strike going on in Toronto, another nail in its reputation as a City that works. Ferries aren't running, pools are closed, and the garbage isn't getting picked up. But what is in those bags stacking up in our parks? Why do we generate so much garbage?
Perhaps it is an appropriate time to experiment with going zero waste; here is a roundup of some posts we have written on the subject to help you on your way.
...
Image Credit: wetwebwork
Are you a programmer? Working on a green project? Want to win $10k? How about $100 off a Gnomedex ticket?
Betsy Aoki, Program Manager, Live Search:
The Live Search team, in partnership with the awesome Gnomedex conference, is sponsoring a developer contest called Code for Green that we hope will make a difference to the economy (Green = Money) and the Earth’s ecology (Green = Environment) long after the contest is over.
To reinforce the green theme, the five winning developers will be rewarded with cash:
-$10,000 and a $100 Bizspark membership for each winner in the two categories
-$3,000 and a $100 Bizspark membership for three finalists
...
Photos: Courtesy of Guayaki.
Keeping native communities and woods untouched may seem like a beautiful idea, but it is -in most cases- an unrealistic goal.
Many communities of indigenous people want to develop and grow, and work their lands. The real question is, then, Can that happen in a truly sustainable way? Is there a way for them to get revenue without harming the environment and encountering sustainable growth (not just a few years of richness to leave burned ground behind)?
The Ache Guayaki Kue-Tuvy project in Paraguay might be a good example that this is possible. Guided by the folks of Guayaki, a company which
we've talked about a few times, a group of 45 families that wanted to start laboring their lands learnt a technique to cultivate crops under native woods and found a way to get profit while maintaining vegetation and opening new business opportunities.
How did they do it? Keep reading....
Photo via Flickr
Scientists have long identified a temperature increase of 2 degrees C as the tipping point for runaway climate change. Now an impressive group of 47 climate organizations have written to President Obama to see if he supports a goal of keeping warming "as far below 2 degrees C as possible." ...
Images via architect's website
We have not shown a lot of summer getaways on TreeHugger as of late; it often takes a lot of driving to get to them. But summer is here, and there is so much architectural eye candy around. Like Neeson Murcutt's lovely box house 500 km south of Sydney....
Photo: Reuters, from Mail Online
This is a very unsettling and sad example of development gone terribly wrong. A newly built 13-storey apartment building has fallen and one person is dead; it was fortunate that noone was living inside these new flats by a river in Shanghai.
Shoddy construction and the use of sub-standard materials is a concern in China's construction sector as the country scrambles to build out cities and finish massive infrastructure projects to keep pace with fast economic growth.
It appears to be unclear why the building toppled. Any thoughts?...
Michael Fitzgerald writes an interesting article in the Boston Globe with a number of suggestions for "retrofitting. In the past several years, engineers, urban planners, and entrepreneurs have come up with imaginative new ways to take what we now know about living more energy-efficiently, and grafting that technology onto cities without clearing away what’s already there." Suggestions include
reskinning, bikes on demand,
smart grids, mobility hubs, solar rentals and
podcars. Oh well, five out of six ain't bad. More at the
Boston Globe.
To balance this quality journalism, the Globe also ran the The Silliest Article Ever on the Local Food Movement.
...
Image credit: Marjukka Grover
Because Water is so Vital, Even Enemies Can Find Common Ground
There's no doubt that as our climate gets weirder, the world will increasingly face a severe
water crisis. Given the fact that we absolutely cannot live without water, it's perhaps understandable that we all get a little panicky - see, for example, the discussion over in our forums about whether
global warming could lead to war, or check out Jaymi's post on
water wars erupting in India. But flicking through the ever thought-provoking UTNE Reader this month, I was presented with a more hopeful vision - an Oregon State University professor and experienced water mediator who believes that water is so fundamental to life that it can actually bring enemies together.
...
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the
if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
on 07. 9.09
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.treehugger.com/nav-commenters.gif)
:
"This sickens me... I wish these dog fighters get what they deserve in court!..." [read]
Image: 
