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]
(Images: AP) We knew the day of Robo Dumbo would come, we just didn't know it would come so soon. Actually, we couldn't be happier for Motola. After losing her foot to a landmine a decade ago while working in a Thai logging camp, the 48-year-old elephant has been fitted with a special prosthesis. Reports this week say she took a stroll, tossed some dust with her trunk, and is doing great.
Wanderlust Festival co-founder Jeff Krasno says that this new yoga/music festival is working to be one of the greenest festivals around. Practicing what they preach, this Tahoe based festival branded its own water bottles made from compostable plastic and filled them with locally sourced water as well as urging patrons to drink from their branded canteen bottles. And that's a good thing because it's hot. Listen to Krasno as he explains the green ins and outs of the festival.
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.
In Istanbul, hanging out your laundry is the only way to dry.
"Doesn't it drive you crazy, coming from San Francisco to this?" another ex-pat asked me recently after finding out about my environmental inclinations. And while it's true that recycling bins are few and far between, and organic foods not exactly the norm, in some ways, I've found it easier being green in Istanbul.
The Onion informs us that "With gas solidly over $4 a gallon for the first time and air travel becoming prohibitively expensive, many families are being forced to change their summer travel plans. What are people doing instead this summer?"
Their suggestions included:
-Siphoning gas from every car in the zoo's parking lot
-Breaking the news to kids that they're not going to Disney World after all, making up for it with the purchase of a crazy lawn sprinkler
-Foregoing tour of Ireland in favor of an afternoon at O'Shaughnessy's
-Packing the station wagon, piling into the station wagon, sitting in the station wagon, getting out of the station wagon
More in ::The Onion
An endlessly talented friend and photographer, Greg Gladman, was in Florida last month and took this photograph of an exuberant "activist" roaming the streets of the State-most-famous-for-navals. What do you think it means? Who is the singular “terrorist” that this dude is referring to? And what is up with all those flags?
Curiously, if you look really closely and zoom in on that truck (like we did) there is a Florida Farm to Fuel website and what looks like a State Department logo. Is that a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services truck!? From what we can see it sure is. So much for keeping the church and state separate. What does "Remember me Jesus" have to do with fighting terrorists and ethanol? This will hopefully provide you with a little pick-me-up giggle to help you past the post Valentine’s Day blues. See more of Greg’s photos on his website here.
With US Presidential elections, a potential recession, and climate policy in the air, TreeHugger has put its collective head together to channel information from the great beyond about the year ahead. We’ve called up the most mind-rattling 2008 prognostications about all matters environmental.
What a tumultuous seance it was (as pictured). Our psychic predictions range from a more energy-efficient Latin America to an oral virus-pandemic. Forget the ‘waronterra.’ The Population Bomb is back.
Year Of The Tree: The US political simile of "grass roots" campaigning or "grass roots" efforts of any kind will get a new twist in 2008: "tree-roots.” Critics of carbon offsetting via tree planting or fostering sustainable forestry practices miss the point. People just love trees. They love planting trees themselves...or hiring someone to do it on the cheap.
Add a couple of bucks to the price of an airline ticket: has there ever been a cheaper more convenient, way to plant trees? Ignore the carbon offsetting aspect. Buy an offset (dedicated for tree planting) and you're good to go. Offsetting with trees will grow in popularity, not recede. The FTC and those cynical cable talk show pundits can take a hike. Hopefully, somewhere they can see the forest.
When I recently opened my inbox I saw that I’d received an invitation from the Green Charter Schools Network to get involved with what they’re doing and being the curious creature I am I took the opportunity to check them out.
Turns out there’s a growing movement of charter schools focused exclusively on educating kids by utilizing the environment as a tool to foster their knowledge of the world around them, and I certainly believe that’s a positive thing.
And while I certainly don't know whether or not you'll find an owl in one of them, the reality is that most children will never attend a charter school in their lifetime. Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is that our public school system is the one that we, as a public, inevitably own. And undoubtedly the future that we and the owls share is inextricably linked with the future of that system.
Are you cool and creative? Do you know how to draw? Does this sound like one of those TV ads for art school? TreeHugger is looking for a graphic illustrator than can contribute to a special project.
The right candidate is professional, deadline-driven and totally gets the TreeHugger aesthetic. Hopefully, you are available immediately and can work in a fast-paced environment, too.
This is a freelance assignment that can be done from anywhere.
Please send a brief cover letter and a link to your online portfolio or no more than three lo-res examples of your work to meaghan(at)treehugger(dot)com. ...
We love watching good ideas grow. Two years ago William McDonough and Dr. Michael Braungart announced their program for Cradle to Cradle Certification and John said "If the MDBC certifications become popular, and we certainly think that could be a good thing, it could transform the very definition of "green design." Since then, C2C has been accepted by LEED for credit, has certified everything from diapers to surfboard wax, and is launching a new and improved C2C program, with with revised criteria based on knowledge gained during the first two years of the program. There will be a new entry level called Basic, resulting in four tiers of certification- Basic, Silver, Gold and Platinum - to reflect a product's relative success against the criteria, which are so obvious that everyone should be designing for it: "using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility." ::MBDC and ::Inhabitat
...
It was a big week for prefabs; Justin noted two that have gone places since: the Micro-Compact House, in production and was installed at the Technical University of Munich. It was intended that the students live there for one term but they all loved it so much that they asked to stay for the full academic year. In less than 100 square feet.
...
Words like green or sustainable- what do they really mean? We ponder this in our shiny new headquarters, shown above. We are reading "the Meaning of Everything", about the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary. Editor James Murray asked readers to report ""as many quotations as you can for ordinary words" to find where and when they were used, and cataloged them on slips of paper. In 1882 he had 3,500,000 million of them in 1029 pigeonholes. He didn't catch the new meaning of "green" or "sustainable."
Green is so mushy. Wikipedia thinks it is the same as Sustainable, but William McDonough once said
"We still have people talking about 'sustainability'! Nothing is more boring. Are you proud if your marriage is 'sustainable'?
We need a better word or a better definition. Any suggestions?
...
We quote from the Onion:
WASHINGTON, DC—The Environmental Protection Agency issued a bulletin Tuesday warning the bodies of American citizens, with their large concentrations of artificial, synthetic, and often toxic substances, have been reclassified as industrial waste.
"The average human body is now only 35 percent organic," EPA chief Ralph Johnson said. "Due to changes brought about by modern detergents, silicone implants, and processed cheese food product, it is no longer safe to allow human tissue to come into contact with our nation's topsoil."
Johnson said the EPA is seeking funding to construct a massive, federally managed human-body containment facility in the Mojave Desert to safely and viably store human remains. ::The Onion
...
The start of a new Sunday series where we dig into the archives.
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Trolling two year old archives is surprising for how many posts cover Exxon, modern prefab, solar messenger bags and yes, organic T's.
Yet much has changed. I have not put a tiger in my tank in two years, and like so many others, I have gone gaga over the hundred mile diet. Two years ago Mike did our very first post on it, coverage of their first article in The Tyee....
Topping the third round of Popular Mechanics’ DIY Rally 2007 is the work of Damon Vander Lind of MIT. He says he’s been reading PM since he was a kid, and it shows. His recumbent propeller trike is cobbled together from Frankenstiened bike parts and fiberglass blades that he crafted himself (with a simple process called “sandbagging.” Sure, easy.) “The propeller is similar to one Vander Lind made for a wind turbine to power a friend's yurt,” and they are hollowed out and wired with LED lights, creating a spinning circle at night when they get up to 300 rpms. Vander Lind says the propeller trike took him 3 weeks to build and about $500. I’m picturing the road race right now: the propeller trike, the HyperBike, and the Pterosail. The point of it all? It's clever and it's crafty. Beyond that, you got me. Check out the video below the fold to see him spinning around Cambridge, MA and blending up some migratory pigeons (kidding). ...
The news is all a bit serious at the moment. Like how Germany wants the G8 (Group of Eight) nations to get serious about climate change. The US says, “You serious or what? We ain’t signing up to no such thing.” Forget the so-called ‘roadmap’ to Middle East peace. Now we have the roadblock to protecting the future. So I took a few minutes out to refresh the soul, and remembered Holly Allen’s wonderful photograph taken during one guy’s attempt to make the world a better place - by skateboarding across Australia! It’s just a fisheye pic of the broad Aussie sky, but it also looks to me like a certain planet. The only one we’ve found, that has that delicious combination of water, soil and air so crucial to life as we know it. It’s a photo that reminds me of some lyrics by Sting:
“There is no monopoly in common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Americans (and Australians) [to paraphase] love their children too.”
Such a shame these two nations are dragging their feet, when we need to be running....
As we've noted, many mainstreammagazines are publishing "green issues," so the latest Mother Earth News proclaims on the cover "Every Issue is a Green Issue." The June/July issue features an article by Greg Pahl on residential wind turbines, a technology that may be ready to go prime time. Pahl notes that "recent technical developments have reduced blade noise and improved both turbine efficiency and longevity," so homeowners living in areas with the necessary amount of wind may take another look at this alternative.
This issue also gives close attention to the renewal of the US Farm Bill: articles by regular Grist contributor Tom Philpott and Farm Aid president Willie Nelson both argue for significant changes in American agricultural policy. Other features include articles by Barbara Kingsolver and Terry Tempest Williams.
If you're looking for the kinds of practical advice for which Mother Earth News is famous, there's no shortage of that, either. Readers will discover eight strategies for better garden soil, tips for maintaining a weedless organic garden, and the basics of wood working. This issue's departments also take a look at the Chevy Volt, and introduce the Hunan winged bean.
Many of these articles are available online; the rest are available only in the print edition. Subscriptions to Mother Earth News are a mere $10. ::Mother Earth News, June/July 2007...
This past weekend, we went to check out the Blue Man Group while here in Chicago. For those that haven't had a chance to catch the show yet, it's certainly something to see. With their colorful lights and fantastic music, our eyes were glued to the stage the entire time. One of you wrote in to tell us about the Blue Man Group's campaign to inform people about global warming when we asked "Who's Your Favorite Green Musician." But we have to say, they are definitely more blue than green (ha). Not only are their instruments made from PVC, but if any of you have seen the show, you know how it ends - paper is passed through the audience while their strobe lights are flashing. This TreeHugger couldn't help but cringe as the unbelievable amount of paper unrolled from more rolls than we could possibly count throughout the theater. And the pile at the top of the stage when the lights went on was certainly a site. Does anyone know if they recycle that paper since, according to their website, global warming is one of the most serious problems? ::Blue Man Group...
Even casual readers of TreeHugger could probably guess our favorite color. There's an awful lot of green around here, for sure, for good reason: not only does it represent the general tenet of our work, pushing sustainability into the mainstream, but also matches the hue of some important TreeHugger materials. Inspired by the National Theatreliterally going green, today, we'll take a look at some of our picks for green, green grass projects and ideas.
1) The Grass Chair is the ultimate grow-your-own and the answer to some design problems -- where to put the garden chairs, what kind to buy, will they get rusty, be comfortable, be green, look good…
2) Julian Lwin's BioBench is created from recycled cardboard cylinders embedded with seeds using a cellulose liquid; as the grass grows, the bench is designed specifically to biodegrade into ‘a rich mulch layer’ and turn into an ‘instant garden.’
3) The Wall Grass proves grass can be used for more than crazy seating ideas, as it helps humidify and purify the air inside and even out in your garden.
4) Ukranian fashion designer Andre Tan took the idea that grass is meant to be walked on pretty literally when he designed these sandals.
5) If your weekend plans call for cutting grass, be sure to leave the clippings behind. When done properly, clippings quickly decompose and return the nutrients to the soil naturally; we recommend a reel mower (they really work!) or maybe the Enviromower Eco 500....
Bringing up a baby can be tough for treehugging parents in our mass-produced, disposable world, so the latest issue of E/The Environmental Magazine features a cover story on "Raising a Healthy Child in a TOXIC World." Writer Brita Belli's approach goes beyond buying greener baby furniture and washable diapers: rather, she notes that "It’s ... possible that raising a natural baby and minimizing one’s impact on the Earth has less to do with buying products than choosing not to engage quite so enthusiastically in the consumer culture." Among the ways to do this: "attachment parenting" (which Belli herself practices with her own child), diaper freedom, and homemade organic baby food. Products aren't completely out of the picture, though -- Belli gives (mostly) thumbs up to gDiapers, for instance.
It's not all baby talk in this issue, though. Jim Montevalli takes a look at the energy and climate change initiatives wending through the new US Congress. William I. Lengman III covers a seeming contradiction in terms: organic fast food. Other departments focus on turtle egg poaching, utility grade solar power, and investing in exchange traded funds. The May-June issue of E is available at your favorite bookstore or newsstand; subscriptions (which give you access to all content online) are $14.95 for digital only, or $19.95 for the print version. ::E/The Environmental Magazine, May-June, 2007Photo credits: E magazine and (from left) Britta Belli, Greg Nickson and Elizabeth Parise...
After reading a New York Review of Books essay by NASA scientist James Hansen that criticized the media's giving air time or print space to "fringe contrarians" on climate science, writer Marilyn Berlin Snell imagined bringing together a group of influential and diverse leaders to discuss solutions to global warming. On December 14, 2006, Snell's imagined gathering became a reality: Al Gore, Vinod Khosla, Paul Anderson, Carl Pope, and others, gathered at the Sierra Club headquarters ready to talk about answers. The latest issue of Sierra, the official magazine of the Sierra Club, gives readers an inside look at that important discussion, along with excerpts from comments by Gore and California Senator Barbara Boxer.
Other features in this issue include a display of photographer Elizabeth Carmel's pictures of the High Sierra, and a look at the activities of the Eco Club at South Los Angeles' Crenshaw High School. Regular departments profile Tesla Motors' Martin Eberhard and crime-fighting botanist Jane Bock. And if you're looking for suggestions on outdoor adventure for this Spring or Summer, Jim Brandenburg points to Northern Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. A subscription to Sierra is one of the numerous benefits that comes with a membership in the Sierra Club. ::Sierra, May-June 2007...
When researchers at the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College are not busy creating "scalable, solar-powered, science platforms for the Antarctic", they take their robots out for a bit of snow-surfing. Check some of their cool autonomous solar robots under development. The fellow pictured above with the laptop is snow-surfing at about 5 mph. Here's a quote from the team:
One morning, while taking walking behind the robot and dragging a sled of equipment for quantitatively measuring the strength and cohesion of the snow underfoot, we realized what fools we were to man-haul the equipment ourselves. And, for that matter, how silly even to walk. So, we hooked the sled to the robot and went for a ride. The robot, it turns out, can haul its own weight (nearly 200 lbs.) on a sled and hardly notice it...Snow surfing behind the robot is not very exciting however; it only travels at a slow walking pace.
It seems not that long ago that Warren and I both hit 500 posts on TreeHugger and I learned how in comparison to him, I was just a poseur. Now I have completed 1500 posts and I have learned so much more, primarily from you, dear reader. After writing about Big Ass Fans I learned that I am a prude. On Valentines Day I learned that "The source of global warming might be all the hot air coming from Lloyd Alter" and to my wife's chagrin, "Lloyd, you need to get laid". Just two days ago I learned that I was an "excitable, aging, metrosexual "architect"." My opinions on excessive exterior lighting have me pegged as either an eco-fascist or eco-commie, I am not certain which. I am also patronizing and colonial. We won't even start with the Maui Instant Cottage.
This gig is sometimes tough, and I have taken my share of abuse. Yet in a lot of ways the comments keep us going, and I think the favourable ones outnumber the nasty ones. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has taken the time to read what I write, and look forward to writing 1500 more posts and learning yet more about myself. ...
While the bright yellow cover art and the title "The Iraq Handbook for Dummies" will have readers of the latest issue of Mother Jones turning pages towards the article that promises "Everything you need to know about Iraq but are afraid to ask," Treehuggers are bound to get distracted along the way by Bill McKibben's feature article, "Reversal of Fortune." Drawing from his forthcoming book Deep Economy, McKibben challenges one of the fundamental tenets of modern economics: growth is necessary and good. We'd expect a healthy dose of environmental evidence from McKibben on this topic, and the article doesn't disappoint in this regard. Ecological issues are only one part of a larger look at contemporary "civilized" existence, though, that struggles with the question "If we're so rich, how come we're so damn miserable?"
Other features this time around include a profile of teenage video blogger and activist Ava Lowery, a look inside Ave Maria University, a new, ultra-orthodox Catholic college started by Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, and a revelation of the biggest challenge facing the newspaper industry (and, no, it's not the Internet). Regular departments consider e-waste and built-in obsolescence, and pay a visit to a "born-again" abortion clinic. As always, Mojo is fresh, eclectic, and thorough. Pick up a copy, or part with a mere $10 for a subscription. ::Mother Jones, March-April 2007...
While those of us in the Midwest wouldn't necessarily think so, Spring is approaching! That means different things for different people, but for most treehuggers, getting outside is high on the list of priorities. The newest issue of Sierra, the official magazine of the Sierra Club, anticipates our yearning for the outdoors with a selection of feature articles devoted to landscapes both breathtaking and endangered. Writer Edward Readicker-Henderson details his trip to Greenland, "the locus of [his] childhood dreams," and reports on the changes imposed on this fabled land by global climate change. Daniel Duane's journey to Maui doesn't contain any ice, but does look at another environmental challenge: the damage wrought to the native ecosystem by feral pigs and goats, as well as other invasive species. Backpackers have a range of wild journeys from which to choose as Sierra Club experts discuss some of their favorite destinations. Finally, poet Gary Snyder reminisces on five decades of experience with fire control in the Northwest US....
Even with gas prices down for now, most of us would love to find a way to cut our fuel costs in half. One enterprising California winery found a way to do just that: replace their mowers with a herd of sheep. The CBS News video above explains how the Navarro Vineyards keeps the "lanes" between grape plants clear with baby doll sheep that aren't tall enough to munch on the crop. We'd guess that this helps keep the soil fertile, also. ::Greenthinkers...
I’ve been asking around and I can tell you, on the whole New Yorkers are quite upset about the odd weather we’ve been experiencing of recent. As a concept, global warming has entered into the public awareness in a big way. Its being reinforced by the wacky weather. Citizens are concerned and want to know what they can do to stop it.
All around New York, phone booths feature the above advertisement. These cheeky public service announcements provoke New Yorkers to either fight global warming or do nothing. The idea is to drive audiences to the website www.fightglobalwarming.com a site that provides information on the causes, science, and consequences of global warming. A large part of the site focuses on what every person can do to reduce their energy consumption and therefore do their part to help slow and reverse global warming. The PSAs are courtesy of The Ad Council, Environmental Defense, and ::Ogilvy & Mather...
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 08.17.09
(Images: AP)
We love watching good ideas grow. 
It was a big week for prefabs; Justin noted two that have gone places since: the 
Words like green or sustainable- what do they really mean? We ponder this in our shiny new headquarters, shown above. We are reading 
We quote from the Onion:
WASHINGTON, DC—The Environmental Protection Agency issued a bulletin Tuesday warning the bodies of American citizens, with their large concentrations of artificial, synthetic, and often toxic substances, have been reclassified as industrial waste.
"The average human body is now only 35 percent organic," EPA chief Ralph Johnson said. "Due to changes brought about by modern detergents, silicone implants, and processed cheese food product, it is no longer safe to allow human tissue to come into contact with our nation's topsoil."
Johnson said the EPA is seeking funding to construct a massive, federally managed human-body containment facility in the Mojave Desert to safely and viably store human remains. 
The start of a new Sunday series where we dig into the archives.
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Trolling 
, 
In celebration of World Ocean Day, the first ever 
The news is all a bit serious at the moment. Like how 
This past weekend, we went to check out the 
Even casual readers of TreeHugger could probably guess our favorite color. There's an awful lot of green around here, for sure, for good reason: not only does it represent the general tenet of our work, pushing sustainability into the mainstream, but also matches the hue of some important TreeHugger materials. Inspired by the National Theatre
After reading a New York Review of Books essay by NASA scientist James Hansen that criticized the media's giving air time or print space to "fringe contrarians" on climate science, writer Marilyn Berlin Snell imagined bringing together a group of influential and diverse leaders to discuss solutions to global warming. On December 14, 2006, Snell's imagined gathering became a reality: Al Gore, 
When researchers at the 
It seems not that long ago that 
While the bright yellow cover art and the title "The Iraq Handbook for Dummies" will have readers of the latest issue of Mother Jones turning pages towards 
While those of us in the Midwest wouldn't necessarily think so, Spring is approaching! That means different things for different people, but for most treehuggers, getting outside is high on the list of priorities. The newest issue of Sierra, the official magazine of the Sierra Club, anticipates our yearning for the outdoors with a selection of feature articles devoted to landscapes both breathtaking and endangered. Writer Edward Readicker-Henderson 
I’ve been asking around and I can tell you, on the whole New Yorkers are quite upset about the odd weather we’ve been experiencing of recent. As a concept, global warming has entered into the public awareness in a big way. Its being reinforced by the wacky weather. Citizens are concerned and want to know what they can do to stop it.
All around New York, phone booths feature the above advertisement. These cheeky public service announcements provoke New Yorkers to either fight global warming or do nothing. The idea is to drive audiences to the website 
