TH Exclusives

From the 35-mile long volcanic rift in the Ethiopian desert that has been confirmed as the beginning of a new sea to the news that oil continues to gush into the Timor Sea--at an estimated rate of somewhere between 400 and 2,000 barrels per day--from an oil rig off the NW coast of Australia, a lot happened this week in green. We took a tour of Paris Hilton's $325,000 dog mansion--complete with air-conditioning and designer furniture--and saw spooky photos of Readers' Green Halloweens. 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.

Business & Politics

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?

Travel & Nature

Photo via Exclusive Lifestyle. Artist's rendering of the Galactic Suite Space Resort.

You think you'd find the Galactic Suite Space Resort in a cartoon, comic strip or kitschy hotel in Disney World, right? Wrong. Whether you like it or not, it's real, and plans to open its super-future-like doors to paying guests in 2012.

Don't confuse this hotel however, with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic project, which plans to propel tourists into suborbital space at $200,000 a ride. Galactic Suite Ltd, the company behind the resort, has bigger, more "bling" plans in mind--a veritable space playground for the rich and famous.

A three night stay comes at a pretty 4.4 million dollar price tag and begs to question: at what cost for the environment?

Fashion & Beauty

Barney's Simon Doonan and Sesame Workshop's Gary Knell at Fashion Delivers/ K.I.D.S. gala in NYC. Credit: Thomas Iannaccone, Via WWD

Fashion Delivers, a non-profit organization that supplies victims of natural disasters with donated product, and Kids In Distressed Situations, Inc. (K.I.D.S.) raised almost $1.2 million dollars at their annual charity gala in New York City Thursday night. Find out which Sesame Street Muppet in attendance asked "If a vegetarian eats vegetables, does that mean a humanitarian eats..?" After the jump.

Cars & Transportation

Credit: Dave Askins, homelessdave.com.

You don't need electricity to do the laundry. It's as easy as riding a bike.

My wife's 90-year-old aunt still washes her laundry by hand, and dries it with a wringer.

God bless her. But if you're a little busier, you can keep your clothes clean with pedal power. GreenovationTV has a segment on the low-tech solution.

Business & Politics

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.

Cars & Transportation

Why did you stop? Well, I was recompiling my kernel and got a segfault...
Mavizen has decided to offer a new electric bike based on the previous winner of the TTXGP so that other teams can have a solid foundation to build on for next year. The TTX02 is based on the KTM RC8 with a Agni powerplant. The twist is that they call it a "laptop on wheels" because of all the electronics it packs on top of what is strictly required to control the electric motor (dash-mounted computer that runs Linux, has wifi connectivity and a web-server, etc).

Business & Politics

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.