TH Exclusives

Those of you who, as I do, have long felt that photosynthesis was the unsung hero of the energy debate will find much to like about Oliver Morton's "Eating the Sun." Though ostensibly about the history of photosynthesis, this epic volume is so much more: an account of the planet's early development, a vivid recounting of some of the twentieth century's most heated scientific rivalries and discoveries and a shrewd, almost philosophical, take on the climate and energy crises.

Morton, who has written for several publications, including The New Yorker and The Economist, and who is now Nature's chief news and features editor, has the keen eye of a scientist and the flowing writing style of an accomplished novelist. Where another might have struggled with the sheer scope of this book, Morton ably guides the reader through the dense narrative, describing every technology, theory and equation down to the minutiae with the ease of an accomplished scholar-scientist (at over 400 pages, that is quite a feat).

TH Exclusives

Bicycles and Bikes.
When those words are uttered most brains no doubt trot off to the memory to retrieve images of diamond framed vehicles with two large wheels of about 26 inch diameter. While that might be prevailing view of bicycles, it is not the complete picture. As we shown on TreeHugger many times, bikes come in all shapes and sizes.

Smaller wheels tend to make a bike much zippier to manoeuvre, stronger (shorter spokes) more compact for storage and they turn heads. The gearing is adjusted to compensate for the wheel size. They do however, find potholes faster and don't 'track' as well on loose surfaces. Overall, however, they are hugely fun to ride and isn't that how cycling should be?

Collected here, after the fold, and in no particular order, are twenty one (21) of those bicycles with smaller than standard spinning bits. (Stay tuned for a companion round-up on trikes and quad bikes.)

TH Exclusives

Embodying a variety of sustainability options -- "using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency" and several more -- William McDonough and Michael Braungart offer Cradle to Cradle certification as a way to label some of the greenest products available today. Here are some of our picks for those who made the C2C cut.

	1) The first six Cradle to Cradle certifications were announced back in late 2005, with the Think Chair by Steelcase (pictured) on the list as an early adopter, along with the Zody Chair by Haworth, Hycrete Technologies' Hycrete concrete additive, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Classic Wool Flannel seating fabric, and Victor Innovatex's Eco Intelligent Polyester seating, and panel fabric.
	2) gDiapers earned the first -- and, so far, only -- certification for baby care products with their flushable/compostable diaper lining. gDiapers have no elemental chlorine, perfumes, smell or garbage, and the damp ones can even make good compost -- they recommend that the brown ones always get flushed down.
	3) Most recently, Surface iQ's commercial wallcoverings have earned Cradle to Cradle certification. The only printed commercial grade wallcovering to have earned this certification, Surface iQ's products have an impressive green résumé; non-PVC composition free of elemental chlorine, formaldehyde and halogenated fire-retardants top the list. The remaining two picks are after the jump...

TH Exclusives

As Mike mentioned earlier today, in the green smackdown between reading online vs. reading dead tree publications, the answer is: it depends, on a lot of things. Fair enough, but when it comes to bringing books and the like into the electronic world, what are some of our options?

	1) Amazon's Kindle is trying to do for e-books what the iPod/iTunes combo did for digital music; some publishing executives think Amazon’s entrance into the e-book world as a major test for the long-held notion that books and newspapers may one day be consumed on a digital device. You don't have to wait to read TreeHugger on Kindle, though.
	2) Before their was Kindle, there was the Sony Reader, an interesting device in its own right. It uses no power to hold its image so only changing pages consumes any juice; it is apparently very clear and easy to read, and you can adjust the font size to suit your aging eyes.about which David Pogue, of the New York Times, says,"The Sony Reader is an impressive achievement, and an important step toward a convenient alternative to bound books.
	3) TreeHugger Lloyd is a big fan of the New York Times slick online reader; he says it "is so good that I might just dispense with the Dead Tree Version. It looks good, is completely intuitive, updates itself and completely changes the experience of reading news on a computer. It may also be the first thing that Microsoft has done in years that is cooler than Apple." The remaining two picks are after the jump...

TH Exclusives

The "slow movement" may be gaining steam around the house, but it all started with Slow Food, in Italy. Here are some of our picks for enjoying food after taking the pedal off the metal.

	1) Sometimes it takes a slow cooker to get the most from slow food; take a peek under the lid of a ‘hay box,’ a cooking vessel lined with an insulative material that traps a lot of air. The heat contained in the food, especially water dense meals, continues to cook the food because the insulation reduces the ability of the contained heat to escape. The time it takes is offset by a very significant energy efficiency gain. Plus your stove/oven is freed up for other pots and pans, and you can't burn meals that are slow cooked!
	2) The New York City arm of the Slow Food movement has unleashed its own seal of approval, or rather, snail of approval, as those gastronomic gastropods would have it. Awarded to restaurants, bars, food and beverage artisans, and retailers -- who have rated exceptionally in three categories (Quality, Authenticity, and Sustainability) -- the emblem is the non-profit's way of recognizing an eatery's contribution to the city's food supply.
	3) Slow Food London's Christmas market, held on a frosty day, showcased what the movement is all about, featuring a wide and varied selection of producers and products described as "good and clean and fair." Local wild mushrooms, fried in olive oil, in a chunky roll, with grated parmesan on top provided the energy to check out the many vendors. Yum! Food, fashion and New Zealand, after the jump...

Psst...TreeHugger has been nominated for two Bloggy Awards -- Best Topical Weblog and Best Group Weblog. Please vote for us now! (Hint: To find us, scroll toward the bottom of the page.)

TH Exclusives

Mashing up different function with Google's mapping feature can yield lots of cool, green results, like the year-to-year tracking of solar photovoltaic installations in California. Here are our picks for other suave mashups.

	1) When searching for directions, Google Transit makes it easy to find public transit alternatives; just click "Take Public Transit" and your route, directions and even cost (with a comparison versus driving) will pop right up. So easy, it's not even a mashup, technically; you can use it with regular Google maps in selected cities.
	2) Use Walk Score to determine how walkable your neighborhood is. Just type in your address and it scores it, with a map of everything that's around; 70 to 90 is very walkable; 90 to a hundred is a walker's paradise. What's the use? Remember, walkable communities promotes better health, reduction in greenhouse gases, more transportation options, increased social capital and stronger local businesses.
	3) Garage Sale Tips & Maps helps connects the people with the sales; all you do is type in your address, and the map does the rest. All registered garage sales happening around you pop up, and it'll help you get directions, add your own garage sale, and chat about your experience (and all the great stuff you saved from the landfill) in the forums. The original mashup and bowling with topography, after the jump...

TH Exclusives

TreeHugger has covered lots of ground when it comes to bottled water, from examples of better bottles to bottles that left us scratching our heads. Here are some of our picks for the wide world of bottled water.

	1) To calculate the true costs of bottled water, Sustainability Engineer and MBA Pablo Päster did a thorough and exhaustive study of the cost of bring a liter of Fiji Water to America. He starts with the production of the bottle in China, taking the bottle blanks to Fiji, and confirming that it takes more water to make the bottle than it actually holds. He then transports the bottle to the States by ship. Not even including the distribution in the States, the numbers are absolutely staggering.
	2) If that weren't enough, the Union of Concerned Scientists gave us a world of reasons to ditch bottled water, including the cost -- 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water -- and the oil required to make the bottles -- approximately 1.5 million barrels -- that barely scratch the surface of reasons why we should be enjoying water from the tap instead of the bottled variety.
	3) Artist Stuart Haygarth chose to let discarded water bottles make a statement with his chandelier series called "Drop." His work is always about both making recycled materials beautiful and functional, but also about exposing our overuse of those materials; with his treatment of bottled water, he's taken something that's a real problem in the waste steam (we haven't railed against plastic wine glasses or eyeglass lenses much) and put his personal spin on it. Boycotts and the industry fighting back, after the jump...