Manuel said:
"This is great news! I hope all cities pass this into law.The practice of using plastic bags just to quickly dispose of them has been going on far t..." [read]
Jay Knecht said:
"What are the performance stats for the Son of Max? ..." [read]
gazelle said:
"@ Dallas:
The book, and the supplementary videos in the "How It All Ends" youtube series, address this in detail, but I'll try to paraphrase:..." [read]
Barry said:
"Kofi Annan has about as much of a clue about electric cars and developing countries as Ann Ann the Panda.
He underestimates the ingenuity o..." [read]
JJ said:
"Very cool. I didn't thought that biodesel might be our future fuel...." [read]
Derek said:
""I guarantee you this will spark huge debates around the world," she said. "We have to delve into this in a way that hasn't been done in a long tim..." [read]
Malnutrition and iron deficiency are rampant problems in developing nations across Africa. They can lead to serious health issues and mortality, especially in young people. But a nutritionist in Nigeria has uncovered a remedy that could drastically improve extremely poor diets and help feed Africa's youth--a recipe for giant snail pies. More nutritious than beef, and far more abundant, giant snails could be the key ingredient to a healthier Africa. Oh yeah, and evidently they taste great.
In so many cleaner commercials, the happy housewife works alongside singing, scrubbing bubbles that show how cheerfully the cleaner can battle soap scum, germs, and whatever other grime is building up in your bathrooms. However, what happens after the singing stops? Method has created this hilarious commercial that will make you think completely differently about those singing bubbles, and what's in the cleaner you use.
GOOD excels at illustrating complex issues with infographics that are easy to understand and fun to look at. One of their latest addresses the relationship between bike commuting and obesity. I could try to explain it, but I think they do a better job of it:
Sure, agriculture provides us with the food we all eat every day. But do you know how those agricultural practices impact global warming? Turns out there's some pretty big impacts, on both the sustainable and industrial sides of the equation; employing sustainable practices, like organic agriculture, has huge potential to help in the fight against global warming, and maintaining the status quo with widespread industrial agricultural practices will continue to be terribly detrimental for the climate. Dig deeper to learn more about the ways agriculture impacts global warming.
Rachel Zedeck moved to Kenya with the intent to help Kenyans feed themselves through eco-friendly farming. Her solution - put everything you need into one backpack. Everything needed to get going on sustainable farming practices is included, and the program is proving to be successful - she and a group of farmers in the Mau Forest, successfully planted12 Hectares using a new distributed production model and supplies from the eco-friendly back pack farming kits. But will this pilot program prove whether or not sustainable farming can feed a country?
A major air hub, with constant take-offs and landings and dozens of vehicles and large buildings is an obvious source of pollution. These huge airports may be strains of the atmosphere as a whole, but their immediate impact on our local airspace, thanks to mandated buffer zones, is usually fairly small.
Regional and general aviation airports, however, have much smaller buffer zones and, according to a new study, are responsible for much more local air pollution than was previously thought.
Searching for organic and eco-friendly products, but at a great price? Step into Organic Gurus - a new website that offers skin care, bath & body, makeup, cosmetics, aromatherapy, coffee, tea, spices, eco books, bags, bottles and more. The site focuses on making organic affordable, so they offer everyday discounts on nearly 100 brands including top sellers like Dr. Bronner's, Aubrey Organics, Badger Balm and Weleda. They also feature luxury skincare lines such as Kimberly Parry, skinnyskinny, Buddha Nose, Naya Organics and Skincando's Combat-Ready Balms.
Each ingredient and product is carefully screened by Organic Gurus and if an ingredient doesn't meet their criteria, they'll even work with the manufacturer to modify the formula.
It has been a science fiction dream: the completely integrated, closed loop system "micro-farm." And we get it with the Inka Curve, a vertical minifarm that provides herbs, grasses, fruits or vegetables grown on a vertical "bio-quilt."
Photo via Yealand's Estate.
When a winery says it is striving to become the world's most sustainable, and then says it plans to ship its organic sauvignon blanc in PET plastic, well, it definitely needs more explanation. Are we going to have that wine bottle versus box debate all over again, with a plastic bottle added to the life cycle analysis? The answer, at least at Yealand's Estate, seems to be yes, we are....
Image credit: Friendly Aquaponics
Instant feedback is nice. No sooner do I write a post about Hawaii-based Friendly Aquaponics—praising their work, but noting that their plans for aquaponic systems don't come cheap—that I get an email from them telling me I'm right, and that's why they've launched one of the most affordable DIY aquaponic options out there. And they are less than complimentary about their competition!...
Image via TheSquigglyLine.
If gentically engineered (GE) crops mean more chemicals, farmer costs, and health risks...is that a good thing?
If you've listened recently to public radio, you may have heard the following promotional announcement on Marketplace, produced by American Public Media: "Marketplace is supported by Monsanto, committed to sustainable agriculture; creating hybrid and biotech seeds designed to increase crop yields and conserve natural resources."
The problem with this ad, according to research published by The Organic Center, and also a recent article on Bloomberg.com, is that it is just not true.
...
Aquaponics has been a hot topic on TreeHugger of late. Whether you find it the coolest thing to hit urban gardening, or cruelty to fish, aquaponics are gaining popularity. Kijiji Grows demonstrated their aquaponics system at San Francisco Green Festival this weekend, and it looks like a great addition to the market of aquaponics systems available. ...
Image credit: National Trust
Ahh, pee—From the selective flush to the shared flush to peeing in public to peeing in the shower, there's almost nothing that seems to bring up a livelier discussion here on TreeHugger than how to treat human urine. And from "why not, peeing in drinking water is gross anyway", to "ugh, could environmentalists get any more disgusting"—reactions to urination alternatives seem to be sharply divided. Now the UK's National Trust, a national charity responsible for the upkeep of some of the country's most precious stately homes, gardens and parks, is wading into the discussion. And they're likely to upset the feminists as well as the pee-phobic, claiming male superiority when it comes to urine. ...
Photo credit: alvi2047 via Flickr
No, this isn't another article about mercury in vaccines, it is also not about vaccines causing autism, nor is it about vaccines not being vegan. This article is about an entirely different argument against vaccines that has surfaced in the international media and on conspiracy theory websites (which I won't legitimize by providing a link, but Google will help you find them if you are curious).
...
Bringing your lunch with you is greener than buying lunch while out, in no small part because you're skipping wasteful packaging. But packed lunches, can still have wasteful packaging if you're wrapping your sandwich up in Cellophane. A couple businesses at the San Francisco Green Festival are on top of making lunches greener, but they have a very different approach, leaving people to question which one gets the thumbs up, and which gets the thumbs down.
...
Image credit: AsymmetricA looming peak oil crisis isn't the only thing we have to worry about. Jeremy has already noted that the world could be facing a severe phosphorus shortage over the coming century, a shortage that would seriously curtail our ability to grow food. (Phosphorus is a vital plant nutrient used as fertilizer.) Warren has already pointed out that recycling human urine could help preserve this precious resource, a task that's easy enough for the home gardener. But what other measures can we take at home to keep the phosphrous in our gardens? It turns out that part of the answer may lay in the bones. (The other part may lie in leaving the bones well alone.)...
photo: The Nature Conservancy
The Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will back off on its plan to ban as of 2011 the sale of raw oysters from the Gulf Coast during part of the year because they have been linked with about a dozen annual deaths from poisoning. The move met stiff resistance from oysterman and foodies who say that frozen oysters are no substitute and that the ban will ruin a cultural tradition. ...
Soybeans are one of the world's most genetically modified crops. Photo credit: Clearly Ambiguous via FlickrFood security is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the global food discussion, and for good reason -- it's a big challenge that's only going to continue to grow, and there's even a dedicated conference for it next week.
As the understanding of the problem grows, attitudes toward genetically modified crops -- perceived to be part of the solution to some -- are changing, and changing for the better, according to Dr. Harvey Glick. He's the director of research for Monsanto, the world's largest purveyor of genetically modified foods. Curious....
Photo credit: Abhijit Tembhekar via Flickr
Scientists in Australia have developed an apple that won't rot. Or, won't rot for a long, long time. The delicious-sounding RS103-130 apple is a rare cross-breed 20 years in the making, cooked up by researchers at Australia's Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries. They claim the shiny red apples will stay fresh, delicious, and crispy for four months. But, wait; aren't things like apples supposed to rot?...
Eating Animals, the new book by Jonathan Safran Foer (of Everything is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close fame) takes a look at what it actually means to give up meat, take it out of our vocab and eliminate it from our most gluttonous popular, holiday traditions. If you've read The Jungle or Fast Food Nation, or any variety of farming-industry tell-alls, this is like a 2.0 version. Safran Foer attempts to look more closely at what it means to be human and change an entire way of thinking. Like John Mayer said, "We're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fightin' for." Then again, apparently the book was powerful enough to turn Natalie Portman vegan. No kidding....
Editor's note: This guest post was written by Paul Shapiro, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States' factory farming campaign.Reducing our Global Food-Print
When we think about minimizing our contributions to climate change, we may consider switching our light bulbs, driving less, buying local, and more. These are all important and laudable ways to reduce our carbon footprint, but, as Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein notes, "there's no reason to ignore the impact of what we put on our plates." In other words, changing these habits is no excuse for ignoring what's arguably the most important lifestyle choice we can make: reducing our food-print simply by eating lower on the food chain....
Image credit: Crop Mob
News of a large group of landless young people invading a farm tends to bring images of revolution. And NC-based Crop Mob does indeed have revolution in mind, but the group's methods are more about giving than taking. As I noted in my original post on Crop Mob, the organization is part of a wider resurgence of young people taking up farming. It was borne out of a discussion group on the problems facing young farmers, but rather than sit around talking about challenges, the group decided it was better off getting things done. So, armed with hoes, shovels, wheelbarrows, and bucket-loads of good will, the Mob has been descending on local farms to offer a helping hand. And after a full year of Mobbing, the idea is spreading.
(Usual Disclaimer/Declaration of Bias: As always, when I write about my community, I know some of the people involved and am honored to call them my friends. I try not to let that cloud my judgment, but nobody is perfect.)...
Photo credit: antkriz via Flickr
The World Summit on Food Security convenes next week in Rome, and the buzz leading up to it has focused on what it will take to produce enough food to feed the world. It's an issue that sounds simple enough on the surface -- humans have been growing food and feeding themselves for millenia -- but each locale around the globe presents a unique challenge.
Factors like the climate, government, economy, culture, and food traditions all play a role, in differing levels, in each foodshed around the globe. When it comes to food security, though, a real hotspot in the 21st century is India, where Reuters continues it's extended special report. Can it achieve food security?...
Image from bbc
TreeHugger was invited to a press conference by Holland & Barrett to celebrate 25 years of conservation. The UK's largest health food store chain announced that the stores will be giving up plastic bags as of the new year and customers will be sold jute and cotton carrier bags instead. Kudos to Holland & Barrett; the more stores that give up the bag the fewer bags out there to pollute the world.
Also speaking at the event was a professor who told a fascinating story about how the Large Blue Butterfly has been saved from extinction. It's like a detective story--only with botanists instead of CSI. ...
Photo credit: FotoosVanRobin via Flickr
You don't have to be a vegetarian to eat green. Not only that, we can feed the fast-growing population of the planet, and slow down (and eventually stop) climate change, and stop destruction of the world's forests, all without the deleterious effects of factory farming.
So says a new report from Friends of the Earth, which lays out a model for food production and consumption that includes fair, healthy diets for the entire planet's population, and sustainable management of the planet's resources, too.
Sounds pretty good. But is it too good to be true?...
Image credit: Friendly Aquaponics
It always appeals to me when I see a business that lists, as one of its goals, to "put ourselves out of business as soon as we can" by spreading its knowledge as freely as generously as possible—especially when Leonard Nimoy is quoted as inspiration. But I suspect Friendly Aquaponics in Hawaii will be in business for some time to come. And that's no bad thing. If their website is anything to go by, their aquaponics system is one of the most impressive I've seen. ...
Photos: Window Farms
With city space at a premium and urban sprawl devouring previously prime agriculture land, vertical farming has been touted as one possible solution to the metropolitan masses. We've covered many of the grand schemes, most of which are likely to remain no more than stylish computer renderings of an architect's skyscrapery wet dreams.
Window Farms take the vertical farming notion and make it both real, and more human scale. Whether they are more functional art than a real direction forward for urban agriculture is a matter for conjecture. But at least the prototypes are out there growing stuff, which is way more than can be said for a CAD rendering....
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the weekly archive if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
on 11.20.09
Photo via Yealand's Estate.
When a winery says it is striving to become the world's most sustainable, and then says it plans to ship its organic sauvignon blanc in PET plastic, well, it definitely needs more explanation. Are we going to have that 
Image credit: Friendly Aquaponics
Instant feedback is nice. No sooner do I write a post about 
Image via 
Aquaponics has been a hot topic on TreeHugger of late. Whether you find it the coolest thing to hit urban gardening, or
Image credit: 
Photo credit: 
Image credit: 
Soybeans are one of the world's most genetically modified crops. Photo credit: 
Photo credit: 
Editor's note: This guest post was written by Paul Shapiro, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States' factory farming campaign.
Reducing our Global Food-Print
When we think about minimizing our contributions to climate change, we may consider switching our light bulbs, driving less, buying local, and more. These are all important and laudable ways to reduce our carbon footprint, but, as Washington Post columnist 
Image credit: 
Photo credit: 
Image from bbc
TreeHugger was invited to a press conference by 
Photo credit: 
Image credit: 
Photos: Window Farms
With city space at a premium and urban sprawl devouring previously prime agriculture land, vertical farming has been touted as one possible solution to the metropolitan masses. We've covered many of the grand schemes, most of which are likely to remain no more than stylish computer renderings of an architect's skyscrapery wet dreams.
Window Farms take the vertical farming notion and make it both real, and more human scale. Whether they are more functional art than a real direction forward for urban agriculture is a matter for conjecture. But at least the prototypes are out there growing stuff, which is way more than can be said for a CAD rendering....
