In partnership with the Daylife people (who we've written about here), we've created the first "green index". It works a bit like a stock market index, except that instead of tracking stocks, it tracks mentions of certain key green phrases in the media. It's a way to gauge how much mindshare certain concepts have and see if they are gaining or losing ground compared to last week. Not very scientific, but lots of fun!
New keywords can be added to it and if you click on an entry, you can see more details and read recent new stories on that particular topic.
Next is what we call the TreeHugger Green Index "badge". It shows the direction the index is moving this week and will link back to the permanent home of the TreeHugger Green Index. We'll make code available that you can cut & paste in your blog if you want to show the badge and have an easy way to keep track of the green index.
Also, if you have any suggestions, please contact us. Thank you.
Recent Business Related Posts
The Climate Clock and Copenhagen
Bonfire Image credit:Wikipedia
For those concerned about global warming, all eyes are on December's U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The stakes could not be higher. Almost every new report shows that the climate is changing even faster than the most dire projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their 2007 report.
Yet from my vantage point at Earth Policy Institute, internationally negotiated climate agreements are fast becoming obsolete for two reasons. First, since no government wants to concede too much compared with other governments, the negotiated goals for cutting carbon emissions will almost certainly be minimalist, not remotely approaching the bold cuts that are needed.
...
Community Planning for Peak Oil: This Doesn't Look So Dark (video)
Image credit: Transition Whidbey
I posted on Friday about Worldchanging's critic of the Dark Side of Transition Towns, in which Alex Steffen argued that the Transition Town movement is effectively burying its head in the sand—promoting ineffectual, perhaps folksy [I paraphrase], individual action instead of systemic or political change, and maybe even gleefully anticipating a social collapse. No sooner do I finish writing about the ensuing debate, that I come across a video that, I think, shows the true heart of Transition. ...
Green Living: Leading by Example or Passive Aggressive Preaching?
Image credit: South Park/Comedy Central
As I noted in my post on The Art of the Eco-argument, we're often better off leading our own lives than telling others how to lead theirs. In fact, if eco-snobbery is left unchecked, it could lead to a major backlash against the environmental movement. But, having recently noted some negative reactions to folks who are very much just 'doing their own thing', another question bothers me. Can leading by example become a subtle but passive aggressive form of preaching? Can we, and should we, mitigate the way we communicate our own lifestyle changes, or should folks who get annoyed by our prius driving, bike riding, plastic bag eschewing ways just get a life? ...
Voices from Hopenhagen: Copenhagen With an "H," by Tham Khai Meng of Ogilvy & Mather
Images courtesy of Hopenhagen/Ogilvy & Mather.
This guest post was written by Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, as part of the Voices from Hopenhagen series.
In explaining the genesis of the name "The Beatles," John Lennon famously wrote, "A Man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them 'From this day on, you are Beatles with an A.'"
With its roots in such a story, the name of the band came to reinforce some essential characteristics of the thing it was naming: free imagination, inspired irreverence, and a dose of whimsical humility. Name and band were fused - and the John, Paul, George, Ringo foursome by any other name would not have been so sweet. ...
C.K. Prahalad, Kraft Going Green(ish) and The COP15 Lead Up in Barcelona
A weekly wrap up of green and socially minded business news from the gang at TriplePundit.com.
Warrior Film-making: The Story of Free Range Studios - Startup Friday features the makers of The Meatrix today and the trials and tribulations of launching a media enterprise with a sustainable goal.
C.K. Prahalad Q&A: Lessons from the Bottom of the Pyramid - Jim Wiktin had a chance to interview C.K. Prahalad on the 5th anniversary of his seminal work, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Find out what's new!
Chocolate Goes Green: Kraft Rolls out Sustainable Sweet Treats - Kraft Foods is known more for junk food than quality, sustainably produced food. But a new partnership with Rainforest Alliance suggests change is in the air for one new brand of chocolate.
Barcelona Climate Talks End after a Week of Boycotts - The last meeting on the Road to Copenhagen emphasized the lingering stalemate between rich and poor nations, and the equally unmoving impasse between political factions in the United States. Is there a chance for progress?
The Fourth Bottom Line of Sustainability: Perspective - Steven Kenney suggests it's time to put a fourth P alongside people, planet, and profit: perspective....
REDD Forest Protection Scheme Still Missing Key Safeguards as Barcelona Climate Talks Close
photo: Felix Francis via flickr.
As the last official negotiations before the COP15 climate talks came to a close in Barcelona, progress on REDD forest protection scheme negotiations hit a new low. That's the word from the Ecosystems Climate Alliance, which says several key safeguards, as well as explicit language protecting intact forests, are missing: ...
China's New Disneyland Will Force 5,000 Families of Farmers Out of Their Homes
Disneyland sure is a wondrous place--beloved characters, thrilling rides, an entire fantastic world where a child's imagination can run wild. It's fun for the whole family. Unless, that is, you happen to be one of the 5,000 families of poor farmers that are getting kicked out of their homes by the Chinese government so Disney can build its latest Magical Kingdom....
Massive On-Site Composting: The Eden Project Raises the Bar
Image credit: The Eden Project
The UK's Eden Project has long had our attention as a Treehugger's wonderland. From the 124 acre biome conservatories, to the rock concerts from Moby, Brian Wilson and PJ Harvey, to the recycled glass flutes they sell, created from bottles at their own restaurant, to hosting the premier of the Age of Stupid—this is much more than your average tourist attraction/conservation exhibit. And the team at Eden has just passed an important milestone—composting over 100 tonnes of its own food waste. As usual with these guys, it's not just what they do, but how they do it....
Stephen Colbert Argues About Global Warming. With Himself. And Al Gore (VIDEO)
Photo via No Fact Zone
We all know who Stephen Colbert considers to be his most worthy foe--himself. He tells us so every time he does a Formidable Opponent bit, in which he argues with different versions of himself over the topics of the day. Last night, the Stephens took on the global warming debate, with a little help with dual Al Gores. Video after the jump....
Down In The Dumps About Climate Change? Remember The Power Of One
Image credit:Earthwatch's program for the HSBC Climate Partnership program
Does the looming climate crisis leave you feeling helpless? Apathetic? Disengaged? Disempowered? Well, you're not alone.
According to a recent global survey of consumer attitudes to climate change, our optimism that we can avert catastrophic climate change is waning worldwide. The Climate Confidence Monitor research, commissioned by the HSBC Climate Partnership is a survey of consumer attitudes, carried out across nine countries. Its aim is to gauge levels of concern, optimism, confidence in leaders to take action and personal commitment to tackling climate change. Over three consecutive years that the research has been undertaken, levels of optimism have taken a nose dive across all regions, and are lowest of all among wealthier nations such as the USA and Europe.
...
EPA Bans Pesticide Insecticide Carbofuran by 2010
A worker sprays carbofuran on a tree in Kannenfeldpark, in Basel, Switzerland. Photo by pppspics via Flickr.
As of the end of the year, one more pesticide will be absent from food crops grown in the United States.
In May the EPA ruled that the current residue limits of the insecticide carbofuran on food crops was too high, and the agency has now decided to fully revoke carbofuran tolerances (more commonly known as residue limits). What this means is no carbofuran residue on a food will be deemed acceptable as of 2010. The move follows in the footsteps of the European Union, which banned carbofuran nearly a year ago. But the U.S. ban isn't all that surprising--it has, after all, been three years in the making....
Could Cap and Trade Cause the Next Subprime Mortgage Scale Financial Crisis?
Photo via First Strung
A new report from the Friends of the Earth says that cap and trade systems are dangerous. They allow traders to package emissions permits into complex financial products and sell them in bundles--much like they did with subprime mortgages. And we all know how that went. ...
