Science & Technology

Photo: Stirling Energy Systems

New and Improved Solar Thermal Collection Dish
While a lot of people think about photovoltaic panels when "solar power" is mentioned, solar thermal must not be underestimated. One of the players in that field is Stirling Energy Systems (SES), who we've written about before when they set a new world record for "solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency" (31.25 percent, beating the previous record of 29.4 percent). Well, in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, SES has refined its SunCatcher design. Read on to find out how the new version compares to the old one.

Food & Health

Photo via stock.xchng by bouwm019

Should we be eating more beef in order to slow global warming? It sounds counterintuitive, but it may be so: Cattle could be part of the whole ecological equation to solving climate change and restoring healthy, bio-diverse ecosystems. I am a vegetarian, but I maintain there is a place for grass-fed beef on family menus—and pasture-raised cattle in global warming solutions. Cows can help more than harm if they are sustainably raised.

Travel & Nature

Indian rhino in Kazaringa national park, Assam, India. Photo: Lip Kee Yap via flickr

Asian demand for rhinoceros horn for medicinal use has driven poaching in Africa and Asia to a 15 year high, WWF reports. This is of course despite the fact that trade in rhino parts from any species is banned under international treaty. In some places it has gotten so bad that a decade's worth of successful conservation efforts are being reversed:

Fashion & Beauty

Photo credit: Label

Karen Stewart and Howard Brown, Jenny Hwa, and Linda Loudermilk are household names—well, okay, if you live in the kind of home where green togs regularly crop up in dinner conversation—but there's a rising phalanx of upcoming designers ready to vie for your sartorial affections.

In this slideshow, we feature 20 environmentally savvy fashion designers who haven't quite achieved the same level of acclaim as the big guns of sustainable style, whether it's due to their label's youth, geographic locale, or lack of attention from the media. (Us included. Mea culpa!) We guarantee, however, that you'll be hearing more about these haute-to-trot talents before long—in fact, we'll bet our Olsen Haus vegan pumps on it.

With thanks to the fab Amy DuFault for her brilliant suggestions.

Business & Politics

Photo via NY Daily News

Okay, so it turned out not to be a total failure--the G8 nations (the US, UK, France, etc) ended up pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, and to work towards keeping temperature levels from rising 2 degrees Celsius. As for the developing countries, led by China, India, and Brazil--they pretty much said, 'We'll get back to you.'

Fashion & Beauty

It’s always nice when you can one-stop shop. Such is the case with Beautorium, a natural and organic beauty emporium that carries some the most ethical and effective beauty brands, all in one place. There are 20 brands and about 650 products available on the Beautorium’s website and each has been carefully hand-picked based on certain criteria.

Design & Architecture

The New York Times tells us about 100abandonedhouses.com, a website with stunning photographs of abandoned houses in Detroit, shot with an old Hasselblad.

Business & Politics

Missouri coal train, photo: Scott Granneman via flickr

You know how I said a few days ago that not every state in the US was dependent on coal? Well, that's entirely not the case in Missouri and that little fact is having some repercussions already. Like any climate bill of strength not ever passing in the Senate, at least if the statements Huffington Post is running by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are anything to go on. Here she is on the possibility of a climate change bill actually making it through the Senate:

Recent Comment by Shaun : "fta..."Apparently McCaskill hasn't been paying attention to statements from India and C..." [read]