photo: adpowers via Flickr
Discovery's Planet Green/TreeHugger seeks an intern to collaborate on a high-impact innovative environmental initiative. Intern will perform research (primarily online) related to climate change initiatives, and will assist with the development of a presentation addressing questions of how individuals can most effectively reduce their carbon footprint. This presentation will be given on a regular basis by multiple Discovery team members, and will represent the first step in a significant, broader initiative. ...

This week is
Carnival of the Green #186 and it's being hosted by
Conserve Plastic Bags, an informative blog whose goal is to raise public awareness on the consumption of plastic bags. Since it's inception (which began as a class project), it has since evolved to include content about a multitude of other current environmental issues as well.
So head on over to
this week's Carnival, which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. Also, as we recently announced, this week's Carnival makes the debut of our new
#bestgreentweets feature from Twitter. Find out which ones made the cut - enjoy!
We are now accepting host requests for 2010! Read on to find out how to host....
"There are lots of questions"
To meet its ambitious goals -- a 20 percent increase in energy productivity and a ten percent decrease in emissions compared to 2005 levels by the end of 2010 -- China will need to rely on strong
national policies, like the so-called
"green" stimulus package. But it will also require the determination of the officials overseeing the country's
ferocious,
unprecedented urbanization -- China's mayors.
To arm them with the know-how they want and the connections they need, the government has turned to
Dr. Steve Hammer, the director of the Urban Energy Project at Columbia and an advisor to New York City and London in their own
sustainability plans. Some lessons from those cities apply, he tells TreeHugger -- and like some Chinese cities, some lessons need to be built from scratch....

In the week when
Daryl Hannah and James Hansen were arrested for protesting against mountain top removal
TH Blog Love gets all fiesty and goes out marching in the blogosphere to find 5 more green activism stories of the week. Click through to find out whose protest banners we picked out......
More images below
Now here’s something happy for rainy days: the Spud Raincoat, made from potatoes and designed by the guys from
Good for Environment! Under the brand name
Equilicuá, they make thought provoking products such as the
Econo, a water saving device for potted plants. The Spud Raincoat is for times when plenty of water is falling from the sky, and will definitely cheer you up on a grey day. The coat educates every by-passer on bioplastics by telling them “I was a potato”. And indeed, this waterproof coat is made entirely of bioplastic derived from potato starch and other natural resources, which makes it a 100% biodegradable and compostable product. And to give it the final touch at the end of its product life, the coat has integrated seeds so that plants grow out of it once it is returned to the earth!...
Photo via stock.xchng by ortonesque
Let’s clear up one issue: There is no such thing as
local vs. organic. When it comes to consumer choice, we should be buying local
and organic, though for mostly different reasons....

This week is
Carnival of the Green #185 and it's being hosted by
The Daily (Maybe), a blog that covers the adventures of a socialist within the Green Party. Here you can find political news, world news, and reading materials in between.
So head on over to
this week's Carnival, which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. Also, as we recently announced, this week's Carnival makes the debut of our new
#bestgreentweets feature from Twitter. Find out which ones made the cut - enjoy!
We are now accepting host requests for 2010! Read on to find out how to host....
photo: Jon Lugoff
Local economies could certainly use any sort of a boost that they can get right now and we all know the benefits of buying locally for the planet. In these times of economic hardship consider the benefits of
buying locally on your community’s own economy. The 10 percent shift is an initiative which pushes the individual not to do buy cheaply in bulk, funding the Walmarts of the world, but rather to fund local producers....
Photograph: Jay Westcott/Rappor
Never heard of
Stanley Greenberg? Probably means you’ve been
living under a rock for the last, say, twenty years. He’s a political mastermind – akin to being described as the world-champion of public opinion polls. His client list reads like a who’s who of domestic and international government –
Bill Clinton,
Tony Blair,
Nelson Mandela and
Ehud Barak. When the chance to talk
enviro-political shop with the Grand Pooh-bah “o” Polling appeared, it was an
easy vote of
YES WE CAN!...

In the week when green fashion icon
Safia Minney is awarded an MBE by
The Queen for her services to British Fashion TH Blog Love waltzes round the blogosphere in search of 5 more stylish fashion stories of the week. Click through to enjoy our sartorial discoveries......
Photo credit: Joi @ Flickr
Bamboo has been back and forth across our radar ever since TreeHugger was but a sprout, and we've seen the wonder-grass used for just about everything. And, while
bamboo isn't always super-green, there's no denying its utilitarian handiness. Take a spin through the wonderful world of bamboo, in pictures.

...

This week is
Carnival of the Green #184 and it's being hosted
The Conservation Report, a blog that presents the latest environmental buzz, news, and comment. From air pollution to political issues to zoonotic diseases and everything else in between.
So head on over to
this week's Carnival, which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. Also, as we recently announced, this week's Carnival makes the debut of our new
#bestgreentweets feature from Twitter. Find out which ones made the cut - enjoy!
We are now accepting host requests for 2010! Read on to find out how to host....

This week the public were finally able to walk on the beautifully renovated disused railway line that is the
Highline in New York. On the other side of the pond abandoned railway tracks were also making headlines due to the Tube strike in London. As
Bonnie Alter has reported, London has seen many
novice bikers taking to the roads in an attempt to get to work on time. With these events in mind we travel around the blogosphere this week looking for green rail transport stories......
Photo via Crunchgear
This totally falls into the realm of un-TreeHugger and we're posting it as such. But not with out a side order of "that is friggin funny." Since most of us TreeHuggers work from home (read: home or any place that has a table and free wifi and hopefully half-way decent free-trade/organic/shade-grown coffee...) we think this USB-powered microwave is hilarious, but still a hunk of unhealthy plasticrap. You'll never guess what company created it......

Ever get all the way to the store only to realize you’ve left your reusable bag at home? After years of collecting new paper and plastic bags because their 99 cent, store-branded bags were forgotten, worn out or too small, Chris and Kate Charbonneau decided to develop their own solution –
Joey Totes. They are durable and convenient reusable bags designed to hold up to a whopping 40 pounds each.
We like that they stow into a tiny built-in pouch (so it’s hard to misplace) and they easily fit into a purse or coat pocket. Even better, each pouch can also store at least one other tote (two for the “
Big Joey”), so all of the bags are kept in one place....

This week is
Carnival of the Green #183 and it's being hosted by our dear Carnival founder, Al Tepper, over at
ooffoo. Have you visited the site yet? The term "ooffoo" itself is the html code for the color green and it has been created to help like minded people participate in this philosophy; to network, communicate, help, advise and share.
So head on over to
this week's Carnival, which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. Also, as we recently announced, this week's Carnival makes the debut of our new
#bestgreentweets feature from Twitter. Find out which ones made the cut - enjoy!
We are now accepting host requests for 2010! Read on to find out how to host....
Photo: Pacific E-Bike
See also:
Awesome Idea: Copenhagen's Cyclist Counter (#500,000 Gets a Free Bike)
Graham Hill Shares His Experience with the Terra Electric Bike
It is said that the bicycle is the most efficient mean of transportation. Yet some people who would like to
commute by bike are scared off by hills, long distances, sweat, etc. That's where the electric assist bike comes in! Add a little electricity to the mix, and you have a super-charged bicycle that makes most common excuses melt away. TreeHugger founder
Graham Hill rode a
Terra electric bike around San Francisco for a month and shares his experience with us below. Keep reading for the juicy stuff!...

We love dad (or hubby or grandpa--insert your preferred Papa Bear-figure here) and know that he deserves the best. So why not choose a gift that reflects style, substance, sophistication,
and sustainability? Make him swoon with a dashing gift that's delectably green in obvious ways (a beginner's beekeeping kit, a deluxe bike bag system) or one that's secretly sustainable (all-natural BBQ charcoal, an energy-efficient iPod clock radio). Wherever your dude falls on the green spectrum, this guide will help you do your part for Dad on Father's Day. ...

Punta Cana, the super-sized 30,000-room
resort town that plays host to most visitors to the Dominican Republic, doesn't sound like much of a model for
sustainable tourism. But the area's first resort,
Puntacana Resort and Club, is beating a
greener path, with an ecological foundation and environmental research center that have undertaken a range of promising initiatives, from local schooling to coral conservation. In an awards ceremony in Brazil last week, Puntacana became the first Caribbean organization to
receive the Tourism for Tomorrow Award from the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Jake Kheel, the head of the Ecological Foundation, spoke to me about the resort's commitment to sustainability, how a single company can spread
ecotourism ideas among other hotels and governments, and Oscar de la Renta's fondness for bees....
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if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.