Green

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  • Gear Up Your Kids with Eco Friendly School Supplies

    the daily green
    31 Aug 2010 | 1:10 am
    From the Gulf Coast to Joshua Tree National Park, and from Bristol Bay to the state park next door, some of America's cherished vacation destinations are at risk. Also see TDG Senior Editor Dan Shapley discuss this story on ABC News and check out 10 Endangered Vacations: 2009 Edition

  • Bottled Water: Still Pure Hype

    Switchboard, from NRDC
    Adrianna Quintero
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:26 pm
        Tuesday’s Washington Post featured an exceptionally well-written, extended article by reporter Dan Zak about a day in DC’s Trinidad neighborhood.  Trinidad is a long-disinvested part of the city’s northeastern quadrant, and in many ways it is ripe for recovery.  In fact, transition is already becoming visible, so that the community provides a vivid portrait of renewal’s components, hopes and fears.  From Zak’s article: “Hardly an oasis, Trinidad still smarts from a rash of homicides that prompted police checkpoints two…

  • New Smart Wheel Makes Cycling Easier

    greenUPGRADER
    Becky Striepe
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:37 am
    This article was written by Mark King, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 25th August 2010 16.14 UTC Customers at the UK's leading supermarkets used 43% fewer carrier bags in 2009-10 than they did in 2006, when figures were first recorded, with 6.1bn single-use bags used in 2009-10 against 10.7bn four years earlier. According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap), the amount of material used to make carrier bags has reduced by 39,700 tonnes per year in the past four years, but figures for May 2010 alone indicate that we may be seeing a return to greater usage. Data collected from…

  • Hurricane Earl Path: Watches and Warnings from North Carolina to New Jersey

    the daily green
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:25 am

  • Walmart and the Sustainability Index: One Year Later

    Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward
    joelmakower
    19 Jul 2010 | 12:11 am
    I recently posted a query on Twitter and Facebook asking a simple but vexing question: "Someone committed to the environment is called an environmentalist. What do you call someone committed to sustainability?" The answers I got were largely snarky, smug, and, ultimately, unsatisfactory. (I probably should have added a single-worded addendum: "Seriously.") Suggestions included "A good ancestor," "Idealist," "Human," "Thinker," "Educated," "Brilliant," and the like. A few folks gamely stepped up to the challenge:…
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    GardeningNude

  • Social Media Success - Never Take No For An Answer

    Shawna
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:50 am
    Yes, I am known as the inspirational "green" chick that talks about sustainability, building community, doing good, and of course, gardening. How do I reach my goals? How do I get up every morning and do it? Easy-Peasy - - I never take no for an answer and I keep charging forward even when things look the darkest. Watch the video below and you will see a few amazing things that have happened because of this mindset. If I can do this - you can too. Keep your head down and your heart full - do the right thing and start making a difference with your life today. http://www.thecasualgardener.com,…

  • Tie-Dye Car - A Great Green Eco-Chic Choice In A Down Economy

    Shawna
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:03 am
    With an energetic "K-BONG" I smack my head against the front door as I open it. How I managed to do this is still a mystery, but it is the telling beginning of a long and arduous business day. Two business meetings with sponsors before noon, followed by a late luncheon meeting, and a hurried drive back to take my youngest to gymnastics lessons. Mental speed - approximately 100 miles per hour - non-stop with full-on stress mode turned to high. Then I spotted the above car parked in a Chicagoland suburban parking lot when I stopped for almond milk at Whole…

  • Chicago Skyline Photo Shows That Nature Always Finds A Way

    Shawna
    26 Aug 2010 | 8:07 am
      Life finds a way to survive in a concrete jungle like Chicago. Here you see a bird landing on the roof of Navy Pier with the Chicago skyline behind it. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from the book, Jurassic Park, it is Malcolm speaking to Gennaro, "Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way" (p. 160). Recently I was at a convention on Navy Pier in Chicago. Entertainment was offered on the roof of the pier, so we all went up to see the action. Seeing the view from this perspective is magnificent, and…

  • Visiting the President of Ireland's Gardens - Soon To Be Organic Certified

    Shawna
    12 Aug 2010 | 1:26 pm
    Shawna Coronado standing at the rose and lavender garden at Áras an Uachtaráin, the President of Ireland's residence.Traveling to Ireland this summer to keynote at the very green and sustainable Bloom 2010 event was a tremendous experience because of the warmth and beauty of Ireland's people. What made the trip completely over-the-top was receiving an invitation to tour the gardens of Áras an Uachtaráin, President Mary McAleese's official residence gardens in Dublin, Ireland. President McAleese is known for a quote which I think strongly reflects the garden which has been built…

  • How To Make Good Green and Eco-Friendly Patio Furniture Choices

    Shawna
    9 Aug 2010 | 12:11 pm
    Shawna Coronado's floating patio made of recycled/reclaimed materials with crafted/painted reclaimed shovels and mirrors on the back wall and an aluminum Jaclyn Smith Today Dining Set in front. Photo credit Brenda Haas of BG Garden - http://www.bggarden.com.In my search for eco-friendly patio furniture I discovered there are very few satisfactory products that will hold up to weather well, thereby lasting longer without replacement. There are only a few rare products made from 100% recycled material. There are very few who are "reusing" old materials and making…
 
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    TreeHugger

  • California Bombs on Plastic Bag Ban

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:25 am
    Photo by Taberandrew Despite San Francisco leading the way on banning plastic bags back in 2007, California senators rejected a proposed plan to ban plastic bags statewide. The measure to remove carryout plastic bags from supermarkets, drug stores and convenience shops would have taken effect by July 2012 in larger stores, and 2013 in smaller stores, and it would have made California the first state to institute a ban like this. It was

  • Alexandra Cousteau, the Ocean Ambassador (Podcast)

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:14 am
    "We all live downstream from one another," says Alexandra Cousteau. In other words, what we do to the water, we do to ourselves. A third-generation Cousteau explorer, Alexandra is an ambassador of the sea. She's the host of Planet Green's Blue August, is currently traveling the world as a documentarian with her organization Blue Legacy, and, when she has a spare moment, does things like c...Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • New York City Inks Contract for Up to 475 Compressed Natural Gas Buses

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:01 am
    Photo: New Flyer What's the Difference Between CNG and Diesel? The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the "MTA") has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ("CNG") heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. We know that buses are a pretty green way to move lots of people around in urban area, but how much better are CNG buses compared to regular diesel buses? The U.S. Department of Energy has some numbers to allow us to compare....Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • David Suzuki: Our Obsession With Private Automobiles is Unsustainable

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:48 am
    bitefight via Torontoist Quote of the Day from David Suzuki in the Georgia Strait: Technological developments [such as electric cars etc.] are welcome, but maybe it's time we started rethinking our car culture as whole. The average car in North America carries 1.5 people, which means that most cars on the road only have a driver in them. Is it really efficient to use more than 1,000 kilograms of metal to transport 100 kilograms of huma...Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • If Octopuses Are Self-Aware, Are You Less Likely To Eat Them?

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:37 am
    Photo via Brian Gratwicke Does the intelligence of an animal factor in on your decision whether or not to eat them? Many people consider pigs to be incredibly intelligent, but they're still mostly factory farmed in often abhorrent conditions. Scientists are pushing for dolphins and other cetaceans to have non-human person status, complete with inalienable rights. But they're still hunted every year as a fish stock, as the documentary The Cove has highlighted. And what about cephalopods, a.k.a. octopuses and squid, which are known to be highly intelligent -- so...Read the full story on…
 
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    Switchboard, from NRDC

  • New Book Says Potential for Efficiency Is Much Larger than Previously Thought

    Frances Beinecke
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:15 am
    In yesterday’s New York Times, NRDC’s David Goldstein said that America could reduce our projected energy use by more than 80 percent in the next 40 years. That may sound like a bold claim, but in his new book, Invisible Energy: Strategies to Rescue the Economy and Save the Planet, David explains exactly why these enormous gains in energy efficiency are possible. David is a physicist who won a MacArthur Genius Award in 2002 for his work demonstrating that refrigerators, air conditioners, and other appliances could be designed to use less energy and still reduce consumer costs and…

  • Gulf Coast Disaster - Thursday, September 2

    Eric Young
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:38 am
    Day 136Highlights in this issue:> Weather permitting, engineers will start to raise blowout preventer> Judge rules against government on drilling moratorium> Gulf coast workers waiting for payments say government is worse than BP> BP’s advertising tripled in the three months after spill> BP officials to brief on “lessons learned” from spillThis morning’s summaryIt’s not over yet but we’re getting closer. Crews are expected to begin the process of removing the blowout preventer on BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico today. Weather and…

  • A portrait of a neighborhood in transition

    Kaid Benfield
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:26 am
        Tuesday’s Washington Post featured an exceptionally well-written, extended article by reporter Dan Zak about a day in DC’s Trinidad neighborhood.  Trinidad is a long-disinvested part of the city’s northeastern quadrant, and in many ways it is ripe for recovery.  In fact, transition is already becoming visible, so that the community provides a vivid portrait of renewal’s components, hopes and fears.  From Zak’s article: “Hardly an oasis, Trinidad still smarts from a rash of homicides that prompted police checkpoints two…

  • Bottled Water: Still Pure Hype

    Adrianna Quintero
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:26 pm
    One email instantly caught my eye this morning as I checked my email, “It's time to show your support for bottled water,” the email boldly declared. My first reaction was a combination of amazement and laughter. The email shouldn’t have surprised me -- after all it was a press release from the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), the lobbying arm of the billion-dollar bottled water industry. It’s their job to protect their funders—no matter how much pollution and waste they produce, or how they devastate our environment. IBWA’s job is to grease…

  • Here on Earth God's Work Must Truly Be Our Own

    David Doniger
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:45 pm
    As noted on the blog Climate Progressand reported in the Sandusky Register, an Ohio Tea Party group known as the Freedom Institute of Erie County has sent around a questionnaire asking candidates whether they agree or disagree with some 15 propositions.  This one caught my eye: “2.  The regulation of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere should be left to God and not government and I oppose all measures of Cap and Trade as well as the teaching of global warming theory in our schools.” Tempting to ask if the Freedom Institute believes the same for other air pollutants, such as…
 
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    Grist - the latest from Grist

  • Oil-platform explosion in the Gulf. Yes, another one.

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:33 am
    by Jonathan Hiskes. Oopsy daisy: An offshore oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday morning, injuring one worker, the United States Coast Guard said. The platform, which was owned by the Houston-based Mariner Energy, was floating in relatively shallow waters 340 feet deep to the west of where a drilling rig leased by BP blew up and sank this spring, killing 11 people and touching off an environmental calamity. All 13 members of the work crew on board Thursday were accounted for, the Coast Guard said, though the injured worker’s condition was not immediately known.

  • Help! I have vampires on the farm

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:52 am
    by Steph Larsen. There’s a clan of blood-sucking vampires that calls my farm home. Unlike most, this clan is entirely female, and they like to hunt in the evening after the sun goes down. There aren’t any coffins for them to sleep in, though they enjoy hanging out in the shade of leafy vegetables in the garden.I’m talking, of course, about mosquitoes. This summer’s substantial rain has led to an exploding population of them, and it’s made an otherwise lovely country existence nearly intolerable.Under normal circumstances, I love summer with a passion. Fresh foods…

  • Richard Burr: objectionable and vulnerable

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:52 am
    by David Roberts. In my depressing-ass post yesterday, I noted that Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) departure from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) would leave Richard Burr (R-N.C.) as the ranking Republican. Burr, I said, “seems unobjectionable.” It has been pointed out by certain interested parties that despair is no excuse for abandoning standards altogether. As it happens, there is plenty about Burr’s record to which one might reasonably object. He has voted against removing subsidies for oil companies, against extending tax credits for…

  • How will you keep walruses from learning to fly?

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:24 am
    by Ashley Braun. That’s what I consider the core message to be of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s cute animated video about climate change’s effects on sea creatures. Deviating from the nature mockumentary style, this one instead takes the high tech approach to global warming by going the CGI walrus route. This pretty clearly emphasizes the difference between humans mitigating climate change (e.g., driving less) and marine life adapting to climate change (cue flying walruses). It’s probably also worth noting that John Cleese narrates it and, according to the Aquarium,…

  • Avett Brothers play benefit show; give me excuse to write about them

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:41 pm
    by David Roberts. Y’all know I love The Avett Brothers something fierce. (See Friday Music Blogging here and here.) It’s rare that they wander into Grist’s purview, so I don’t usually get a chance to write about them. However! On Monday, they planned to be passing through Portland and wanted to do a show, so they looked around for a worthwhile cause for which to play a benefit. They heard about Terra Nova Community Farm, a project whereby Terra Nova High School students grow and sell organic produce to local businesses. That sounds like something our own Tom Philpott…
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    the green skeptic™

  • Philadelphia Subways to Brake for Energy Generation

    greenskeptic
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:11 am
    Image by kitch via Flickr What do you get when you pair the latest 21st century energy technologies with with one of the country’s oldest transportation systems? Viridity Energy, a Philadelphia-area smart grid company, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which has its origins in the early 1900s, when electrified trolleys were the transportation du jour, have teamed up to find out. Their pilot project will use Viridity Energy's software optimization system to help SEPTA capture and recycle energy generated by trains, trolleys and even electrified buses using…

  • Lomborg: A Saul/Paul Conversion?

    greenskeptic
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:32 am
    Image via WikipediaHas Bjørn Lomborg had a Saul/Paul conversion on the road to Global Warming's Damascus? Or is Lomborg once again playing the media for attention on the eve of releasing a new book?  The Guardian reported this morning that the world's most high-profile climate change sceptic (er, skeptic) is now declaring that global warming is "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today" and "a challenge humanity must confront," in his new book to be published next month. Read The Guardian story here. What timing for an about-face: Lomborg has long been a media…

  • Green Skeptic Friday Linkfest - 08/27/10

    greenskeptic
    27 Aug 2010 | 12:25 pm
    First, some good news from our oceans for a change: Oceanospirillales are into dining on oil, according to researchers in a new article in Science Up to 40 New Plant and Animal Species Discovered in Indonesian Waters: Indonesian Bounty   and MIT researchers have developed a swimming, oil skimming robot that may be deployed in the Gulf: Seaswarm But forests are still be hammered by our disposable culture: China's 45 billion disposable chopsticks require 100 acres of forest every 24 hours (100 acres every day -- that's insane!): Chop Fooey   Back on this side of the globe,…

  • Philadelphia: Birthplace of Energy Independence?

    greenskeptic
    26 Aug 2010 | 9:18 am
    Image via Wikipedia Philadelphia Navy Yard, Robert N. Dennis collection Can Philadelphia become the birthplace of another kind of American independence: energy independence? Two developments this week add to the Greater Philadelphia region's bid to become a regional powerhouse, if you will, of energy efficiency, clean technology research and commercialization, and entrepreneurship. The location of these new developments is the old Philadelphia Navy Yard, the "city within the city" that is rapidly becoming an economic center with the headquarters of URBN, TastyKake, and the Aker Philadelphia…

  • Bill Gates On the Energy War Path

    greenskeptic
    24 Aug 2010 | 6:00 pm
    Image via Wikipedia When Jason ­Pontin, Technology Review's editor in chief, sat down with Bill Gates earlier this summer, one of their topics was energy. Readers of The Green Skeptic will find much to admire in Mr. Gates' take on energy and, as I did, much that is familiar, including the need for massive investment in R&D, the economic value of entrepreneurs, the efficiency of a carbon tax over cap-and-trade, and the importance of deploying all energy "miracles" (we call 'em buckshot) to help get us to energy transition. You can read the energy section of the interview here: Technology…
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    msnbc.com: Environment

  • American Samoa approves plastic-bags ban

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:04 pm
    American Samoa will make it illegal for stores to hand out plastic bags once a new law takes effect early next year. American Samoa - Oceania - Law - Plastic bag - Government

  • Wall St. firm behind slow solar on federal lands?

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:13 pm
    Five years after federal land managers opened up stretches of the Southwest to solar power developers, vast tracts still sit idle. Solar power - Energy - Business - Renewable - Solar

  • Sponsored By:

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:44 pm

  • Greenpeace wants Facebook center off coal fuel

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:44 pm
    Greenpeace said about 500,000 Facebook users have urged the world's largest online social network to abandon plans to buy electricity from a coal-based energy company for its new data center in the U.S. Facebook - Greenpeace - Coal - Social network service - Mark Zuckerberg

  • Japan dolphin-hunting town begins annual pursuit

    31 Aug 2010 | 10:07 pm
    Japanese fishermen set out Wednesday on the first dolphin hunt of the season in Taiji, the Japanese village portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove." Japan - Cove - Asia - Academy Award - Ric O'Barry
 
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    msnbc.com: Climate Change

  • Report: climate science panel needs change at top

    30 Aug 2010 | 11:24 am
    Scientists reviewing the acclaimed but beleaguered international climate change panel recommended on Monday major changes in the way it is run, but stopped short of calling for the ouster of the current leader.

  • Massive coral die-off in 93-degree waters

    17 Aug 2010 | 11:16 am
    One of the most destructive and swift coral bleaching events ever recorded is under way in the waters off Indonesia, where water temperatures have climbed into the low 90s.

  • US says it's committed to cutting greenhouse gases

    2 Aug 2010 | 10:26 am
    The United States assured international negotiators Monday it remains committed to reducing carbon emissions over the next 10 years, despite the collapse of efforts to legislate a climate bill.

  • Squirrels Getting Fatter With Climate Change

    2 Aug 2010 | 7:16 am
    Longer summers are causing marmots -- which are large, ground-dwelling squirrels -- to become heftier, heartier and more plentiful, according to a 33-year study published in the latest issue of Nature.

  • Study: Farming limits greenhouse gases

    2 Aug 2010 | 6:32 am
    Advances in conventional agriculture have dramatically slowed the flow of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, in part by allowing farmers to grow more food to meet world demand without plowing up vast tracts of land, a study by three Stanford University researchers has found.
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    ecorazzi

  • Calling Clooney: New Website Calls For Humanitarian Brainstorming With Emmy Honoree

    Elizah Leigh
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:08 am
    If classy had a ‘face’, it would look exactly like George Clooney’s easy-on-the-eyes mug. The confident yet ever-humble Academy Award winner was recognized for his dedication to global humanitarian issues during Sunday’s 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Award ceremony and spent the majority of his time on stage shining light on the value and necessity of assisting those who befall unfortunate circumstances well beyond their control. After being presented with a shiny new Bob Hope Humanitarian Award by former ER main squeeze Julianna Margulies (the fourth ever distinction given to a…

  • Discovery Gunman Wanted “Life Of Privacy To Action”

    Michael d'Estries
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:14 am
    Back in 2008, when James Lee was preparing for his first protest (we derided that campaign here) against the Discovery Channel, he started a forum thread on Yuku detailing his plans — and offering a bit of insight into his issues with the network. “Why should I smile? Should I be laughing at the state of the planet? Should I give a big smile to everyone when they tell me the planet is f*cked? Do you think that this is some kind of JOKE??? I find it very strange how people can smile over tragic news, especially this one.” There are over 13 pages of back and forth comments…

  • Nicolas Cage Speaks Out In Support Of Gulf Coast Hurricane Survivors

    Daelyn Fortney
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:38 am
    Nicolas Cage, longtime supporter of Amnesty International, is featured in a new video by the activist organization which draws attention to the Gulf Coast Hurricane survivors who are still trying to rebuild their lives after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In the video, Cage tours the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans and witnesses firsthand the devastation caused by the storms while speaking with local community leaders. “People in the Gulf Coast have the right to return to affordable safe housing,” says the actor, who also attended Amnesty International’s Annual General Meeting…

  • A Solar Powered White House? Groups Call For Prez To Take Action

    Elizah Leigh
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:23 am
    Either the solar vibe we sent out earlier this week actually worked or we have far more Ecorazzi-holics tweeting and spreading the good green word than we ever imagined. (Editor’s note: probably not – but I love the optimism) Whatever the case, it’s remarkable that a mere two days after we reported that the Prince of Wales is putting $46,500 worth of solar panels on his home — and we questioned when our commander in chief was finally going to kick his solar act in high gear – guess what happened? The ‘Globama’ campaign — urging the White House to do Mother…

  • Buzz For ‘Cool It’ Eco-Documentary Getting Hot-Hot-Hot!

    Elizah Leigh
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:16 am
    The 2006 Oscar winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which pretty much put climate change and environmental awareness at the forefront of our minds, is still considered to be the cream of the crop in terms of educational and illuminating eco-films. As far as we know, Al Gore isn’t busily working on an update, but he may want to whip out a pad and pencil now that Cool It is about to make its debut. Helmed by Yale graduate and two-time Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner – the same woman behind DIG! and Recycle – there’s great anticipation building for this…
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    Earth911.com » news

  • California Senate Rejects Plastic Bag Ban Bill

    Trey Granger
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:03 am
    California Bill AB 1998 (commonly referred to as the Plastic Bag Ban Bill) was rejected by the California Senate on Tuesday after it failed to receive the two-third majority vote. It would have been the first state-wide plastic bag ban in the U.S....

  • The Revival of the Cardboard Chair

    Jennifer Berry
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:01 am
    It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a cardboard chair that is both comfortable and sturdy! If you’re a devoted Earth911.com reader, doubtless you’ve seen our snarky remarks about our own cardboard chair misadventures last...

  • Newspapers Go Digital, Print Goes…On Your Wall?

    Amanda Wills
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:17 am
    Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Brasil announced that it will become the first in the country to become 100 percent digital. While it’s a trend American print has already seen – thanks to the iPad and the continued success of online...

  • The Week-long ‘No Impact’ Challenge Is On

    Lori Brown
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:53 am
    In November of 2006, self described “guilty liberal,” Colin Beavan, snapped and decided to swear off plastic, go organic, become a bicycle nut, compost, turn off his power and “generally become a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to...

  • RFID Bins: The New Recycling Police

    Trey Granger
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:01 am
    The newest trend in curbside recycling is the use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID), a tiny computer chip in the recycling bin that can do everything from weighing the contents inside to tracking which bins are used on a regular basis....
 
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    The Green Girls

  • Video: Art + Fashion = Project Vyne

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:32 am
    Watch this episode of Conscious Living TV, for highlights from "Emergence"--the launch of Chicago-based Vyne magazine at the Museum of Contemporary Art which is bridging the gap between luxury and eco lifestyles.   Learn more about Bianca at ConsciousLivingTV.com    

  • The Majestic Plastic Bag | Mock-umentary (video)

    31 Aug 2010 | 1:18 pm
    Help stop our 19 billion bag-a-year habit in California and put an end to plastic pollution. Tell your Senator to support the AB 1998 at http://www.HealtheBay.org/BagBillYour voice counts! Now, watch this...   Author Bio.The founder of myEARTH360.com (a proud sponsor of the The Antarctica Challenge screenings at the International Polar Year Conference) plus I Count for myEARTH, Lynn is also a contributing editor to a number of online environment focused publications, including elephantjournal.com. You can find her on twitter and facebook.   

  • Gotta Love Going Green, Feeling Better & Looking Younger!

    31 Aug 2010 | 7:48 am
    Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a “fountain of youth” really existed? Well maybe it does. In fact, many people are looking and feeling younger than they have in years, just by making changes they may have never dreamed of before. Did you know that “going green” could be the best anti-aging regime you could invest in? Most traditional skin, hair, and personal care products are loaded with suspected toxic ingredients that have been linked to everything from weight gain, nausea, dizziness, eczema, to headaches and more, but are also believed to act as endocrine…

  • Eco Friendly Produce Bags

    30 Aug 2010 | 4:01 pm
    One more way to join the movement to reduce plastic bag usage...Washable Produce Bags!     No more plastic bags in the produce aisle or the refrigerator.  Take the produce bags with you when you visit the food market (along with reusable shopping bags, of course), and place your organic produce in them.  To keep the food market, farmer's market, or garden produce fresher longer, place the bags directly in the refrigerator.   Washable Produce Bags are also: Reusable Made from recycled material Machine washable Dry quickly Store easily Durable…

  • Please help Melanie

    30 Aug 2010 | 7:21 am
    Melanie is 15 years old and her doctor just told us that she will not live to see her 18th birthday. Mel had a case or Rheumatic Fever which now resulted in Rheumatic Heart Disease. Though the incidence of rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease is low in the United States, it continues to be the leading cause of cardiovascular death during the first five decades of life in the developing world. Melanie Serbano was born on July 18th 1995 in a small province in the Philippines. She has five siblings. Three of them are ages 8, 7 and 5. Melanie's mom is a housekeeper and her dad is a sugar…
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    The Alternative Consumer

  • eco deal of the day – ecolissa for eco fashion

    Maureen
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:33 am
    There’s a new green fashionista on the block. To celebrate the Grand Opening of Melissa Dion’s ecolissa.com, an eco and vegan conscious fashion site for women — you’ll receive 10% off your first order of already reasonably priced threads.  Some personal faves (above) – Cholla Elroy dress and Second Eco Denim jeans.  Just enter GO10 [...]

  • edgy green style – recycled sterling silver strap ring

    mr. happy
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:39 am
    Tired of mass-produced, sterile fashion?  Need an edgy accessory to help you regain some of your lost street cred.  Maybe this industrial looking ring can help recapture a little of that ‘Trent Reznor’ vibe that used to be part of your appeal. The adjustable ring, designed and created by Revonav, is made of recycled sterling [...]

  • GreenSmart – Baringo Messenger Bag – a tried & true review

    Maureen
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    For this Tried and True Green Product Review, a complimentary Baringo messenger bag was provided to us by GreenSmart. Check out GreenSmart’s new Baringo messenger bag — it’s good looking and has a lot of great features.  Every time I use it I tell at least one person, “it’s made from 31 recycled plastic bottles.”  [...]

  • voltaic systems new solar chargers pack a punch

    rd
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:45 am
    Voltaic Systems looked at there competitors in the compact, portable solar charger marketplace and said, “we can do better.”  They’ve intro’d three new portable 4 watt chargers that far exceed the 1 watt of power provided by many popular competitors.  These compact chargers will transform 1 hour in the sun into 3 hours of cell [...]

  • back to school idea: G-Bike City electric bike

    rd
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:12 am
    Sending your precious progeny off to college?  Is that fruit of your loins pressuring you for a car to tool around campus? Maybe you should rethink getting them that car, and get them a fully electric, zero emissions e-bike, like the G-Bike City.  You can avoid costly insurance and registration (this electric bike meets federal [...]
 
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    Environment News Network

  • Indonesian Volcanos

    1 Sep 2010 | 2:38 pm
    The geography of Indonesia is dominated by volcanoes that are formed due to subduction zones between the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate. Some of the volcanoes are notable for their eruptions, for instance, Krakatau for its global effects in 1883, Lake Toba for its supervolcanic eruption estimated to have occurred 74,000 Before Present which was responsible for several years of cold of volcanic winter, and Mount Tambora for the most violent eruption in recorded history in 1815. Indonesia's Mount Sinabung has recently erupted, two days after it sprang back into life after over 400…

  • Priceless rock art in National Conservation Lands being defaced, destroyed, stolen

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:31 am
    Ongoing investigations of sites within our National Conservation Lands in the Southwest and southern California are uncovering evidence of cultures and traditions dating back thousands of years. These sites are providing a one-of-a-kind opportunity to research, study, and assess how these different cultures lived and adapted. Something new is being found all the time. Yet, most have never heard about these efforts, let alone the sites and the cultural treasures they contain. One unit within the National Conservation Lands, Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado, has been focal point of these…

  • The Environmentalist’s Paradox

    1 Sep 2010 | 8:06 am
    The signs are all around. Many places in the world show degradation of the air, water, and soil. Species becoming extinct as natural habitats are being destroyed. The emissions of greenhouse gases that can alter the planet's climate are unacceptable. All the environmental issues put together amount to a very serious threat to human welfare. Yet at the same time, all accepted measures of well-being show that, on average, quality of life is improving around the globe. How does an environmentalist call society into action under such conditions?

  • NOAA Reopens More than 4,000 Square Miles of Closed Gulf Fishing Area

    1 Sep 2010 | 7:01 am
    Today NOAA reopened 4,281 square miles of Gulf waters off western Louisiana to commercial and recreational fishing. The reopening was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states. On July 18, NOAA data showed no oil in the area. Light sheen was observed on July 29, but none since. Trajectory models show the area is at a low risk for future exposure to oil, and fish caught in the area and tested by NOAA experts have shown no signs of contamination.

  • Marine Animals Suggest Evidence for a Trans-Antarctic Seaway

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:50 am
    As part of a study for the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) analysed sea-bed colonies of bryozoans from coastal and deep sea regions around the continent and from further afield. They found striking similarities in particular species of bryozoans living on the continental shelves of two seas -- the Ross and Weddell -- that are around 1,500 miles apart and separated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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    The Oil Drum - Discussions about Energy and Our Future

  • German Military Study Warns of Potential Energy Crisis

    Robert Rapier
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:30 am
    This week a study on peak oil by a German military think tank was leaked on the Internet. The document shows that the German government is closely studying the issue of peak oil, and is aware of the potential for serious consequences as oil production declines. The study is reminiscent of the Hirsch Report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, that warned of the risks posed by peak oil. The document warns of the potential for regional shortages, market failures, and a shift in political power toward those capable of exporting oil. This report describes potential outcomes that…

  • BP's Deepwater Oil Spill - Preparing to Move - and Open Thread

    Heading Out
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:25 am
    The annotations to the ROV feeds from BP are becoming a little more descriptive, particularly with those related to the Q4000, which will be playing a significant part in the replacement of the blowout preventer (BOP) on the Deepwater Horizon well. However, at 9 pm on the 1st, with the waves still a little higher than desired, the activity has yet to start. One of the new camera feeds that is being displayed is a weight indicator on the deck of the Q4000. This is not yet on line, but Admiral Allen pointed out on Wednesday the loads that will come onto the vessel. We anticipate removing the…

  • Drumbeat: September 2, 2010

    Leanan
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:08 am
    John Michael Greer - Green Wizardry: A response to Rob Hopkins Rob Hopkins is a smart guy, and even though he’s garbled a fair number of the details, his post raises useful points regarding some of the core issues I’ve tried to bring up in the Green Wizards posts. The first of those is that one of the motivations behind the Green Wizards project is a recognition of the limitations of the Transition Towns project. I’ve discussed my concerns about that movement on several occasions on this blog, and don’t see any need to repeat those comments just now. The crucial point, though, is one…

  • Ethanol Blend E85 Case Study: Iowa

    Robert Rapier
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:28 am
    Iowa - The Saudi Arabia of Ethanol Iowa is to corn ethanol what Saudi Arabia is to oil. At present Iowa has the capacity to produce 3.5 billion gallons of ethanol per year, which is 26% of the nation’s total (Source). This is of course due to the large amount of corn production in Iowa, enabled by ample rainfall and rich topsoil. But Iowa differs from Saudi Arabia with respect to energy production in one very important detail: Saudi Arabia satisfies their own energy needs with the oil they produce, and exports the excess. Iowa on the other hand exports the vast majority of the ethanol…

  • BP's Deepwater Oil Spill - Continuing to Wait; Wave Glider - and Open Thread

    Gail the Actuary
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:20 am
    This thread is being closed. Please comment on http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6911. Additional work near the Deepwater Horizon well site continues to be delayed by high waves. Once the current weather pattern clears, work can commence again. We understand that today, Wednesday, BP is expect to submit a new report evaluating lessons learned in its response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to U.S. regulator the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. According to BP, "This report focuses in particular upon the key equipment, facilities and planning tools that were…
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    EcoSalon: Green Fashion, Culture, News and Lifestyle

  • Eco Love in the September Issues

    Leaf through the pages of this year’s September issues — traditionally the biggest of the year for fashion magazines — and you might think,  “What double-dip recession?” or even, “What global environmental crisis?” The 2010 editions of Vogue, Elle and Harpers Bazaar are ad-solutely thicker than last year’s and, naturally, conspire to create a cacophony [...]

  • Care of Hummingbirds: To Dye or Not to Dye

    Since moving to California, I have become besotted with hummingbirds. These graceful little birds are found only in the Americas and until a year ago I had only seen them in photographs and wildlife documentaries. I’d seen slow-motion video footage of the figure-eight beating of their wings but never an actual live bird. They seemed [...]

  • 7 Bizarre Beauty Treatments That Need to Go

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? So that means beauty treatments are also in the eyes of the participant. But sometimes, these eyes are smeared with snail ooze. Or maybe they’re splashed by a ramen noodle spa or slithered across by snakes during a massage. Some beauty treatments around the world seem [...]

  • Credit Where It’s Due: Attributing Weather Events to the People Responsible

    The weather this summer in the Bay Area has been nothing short of awful. And with me being what my friend calls a “High Priest of Ra,” it’s been posited that my missing a sacrifice or committing some other ungodly affront has resulted in this madness. We’re talking stretches of frigid weeks in July, a sunless, cold [...]

  • Bondage Ropes and Coastal Bliss

    I wish I could tie August around my wrists, carrying the satisfaction of whimsical sunsets and anticipation of impending fall with me year round. There is something about natural rope that insinuates the nautical splash of coastal bliss that only summer can nurture. Go ahead, get tied up and roped into these gorgeous commodities. Clockwise [...]
 
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    digg.com: Top News

  • Put Down the Electronics and Back Away

    27 Aug 2010 | 8:37 am
    I know, it's TechStuff, so I should be telling you to pick up the electronics, right? According to a study at the University of California, San Francisco quoted by Matt Richtel of The New York Times, rats engaged with new experiences go through periods of intense brain activity. But the rats don't actually process what they've experienced and learn from that experience until they stop and have the chance to think about it. Richtel said the researchers believe the same may be true for people as well.

  • Sunspot Photo is Most Detailed Ever (pic)

    25 Aug 2010 | 7:44 am
    ...

  • Top 10 Least Environmentally Friendly Government Subsidies

    24 Aug 2010 | 9:02 pm
    Urban sprawl, pollution, over-consumption, deforestation…like it or not, U.S. taxpayers are still paying for all of these things to occur in America. Despite recent investments in green jobs and technology, an array of government subsidies pay big dirty industries like oil, coal and factory farms to destroy the environment in every way possible.

  • Beekeeper Creates Bee Resistant to Colony Collapse Disorder

    24 Aug 2010 | 6:26 pm
    A British beekeeper has been working on creating a new strain of honeybee resistant to the varroa mite, a prime suspect in colony collapse disorder (CCD), and it looks like he's hit a high note after 18 years of careful observation and selective breeding.

  • Transparency: The Most Fuel Efficient Airlines (Graphic)

    24 Aug 2010 | 5:52 pm
    While some airlines have done experiments in running planes on biofuels, air travel normally requires an enormous output of carbon-emitting jet fuel. Various factors, like plane models, total load, and chosen route can effect one trip's fuel efficiency, but which airlines consistently manage to use the least fuel in their operations?
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    Yale Environment 360

  • Fear of Wolf Predation Is Not Slowing Over-Browsing by Elk

    Yale Environment 360
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:28 am
    A new study contradicts the widely held hypothesis that fear of recently reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone National Park would force elk to browse more selectively and therefore lead to a resurgence of growth of aspen trees. In fact, a study conducted by Matthew Kauffman, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, found that since wolves were reintroduced in the park in 1995, elk have continued to browse young aspen at a rapid rate, preventing the trees from re-growing in many sections of Yellowstone. Relying on a map showing areas where elk have been killed by wolves in the park, Kauffman…

  • Commercial Organic Farms Produce Superior Soil and Fruit, Study Says

    Yale Environment 360
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:50 am
    The most comprehensive study to date comparing commercial organic farms with conventional farms shows that the organic farms produce more flavorful and nutritious fruit and help create soils with superior chemical and biological properties. Researchers from Washington State University, conducting a multi-disciplinary study of 13 organic and 13 conventional strawberry farms in California, found that the organic strawberries had significantly higher antioxidant activity and concentrations of ascorbic acid; had a longer shelf life; contained more dry matter, or “more strawberry in the…

  • A Steady, Steep Decline for The Lowly, Uncharismatic Eel

    Yale Environment 360
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:27 am
    The freshwater eel, which spawns in the middle of the ocean, was once abundant in much of the world. But the proliferation of dams, coastal development, and overfishing have drastically reduced eel populations, with few defenders coming to the aid of these fascinating — though still not fully understood — creatures. BY JAMES PROSEK

  • Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon Dropped 48 Percent in Last Year, Agency Says

    Yale Environment 360
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:54 am
    Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research reported that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon declined 48 percent in the past year, falling from 1,689 square miles to 886 square miles for the 12-month period ending July 31. A Brazilian conservation group, Imazon, issued a more conservative estimate, saying deforestation declined by 16 percent, falling from 682 square miles to 575 square miles for the same period. The large discrepancy is because the space agency uses visual interpretation by analysts of satellite pictures, while Imazon uses an automatic deforestation detection method…

  • New U.S. Ratings System Proposed For Vehicle Emissions and Efficiency

    Yale Environment 360
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:52 am
    The Obama administration has proposed adding new labels to showroom vehicles that give letter grades based on their fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions. The new labels, which U.S. officials hope to introduce for 2012 models, would provide consumers with more complete information on efficiency and environmental performance, including associated air pollutants. “From electric to plug-in hybrid vehicles, we think a new label is absolutely necessary to help consumers make the right decision for their wallet and for the environment,” said Gina McCarthy, an EPA assistant administrator.
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    GreenBiz.com Green and Sustainable Business News

  • Nescafé Targets Coffee Sustainability with $350M Investment

    GreenBiz Staff
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
     Nestlé is investing nearly $350 million over the next decade to expand its reach into sustainable coffee farming, make its factories more efficient and reduce its packaging. Beyond the Cup: The Nescafe Plan is the company's global project that adds onto the nearly $200 million already spent on coffee project in previous years.

  • Spotlighting the Green Benefits of LEDs

    Claudia Girrbach
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:00 am
    Since the first humans carried a torch to provide light, heat has been a by-product of producing light. Traditional electric lights give off more heat than light. But LEDs are twice as efficient as fluorescents at converting electricity to light, generate very little heat, are nearly maintenance free and provide a high quality of light. So what's standing in the way of their broad adoption?

  • eBay Gives Away 100K Reusable Green Shipping Boxes to Sellers

    Matthew Wheeland
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:00 am
    The company's latest green initiative encourages sellers to reuse shipping boxes made of recycled materials as a way of promoting greener shipping methods.

  • ComEd Creates 'Smart Grid Innovation' Corridor Near Chicago

    GreenBiz Staff
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:20 pm
    The company, a subsidiary of utility giant Exelon, launched what it is calling a "Smart Grid Innovation Corridor" in 10 Northern Illinois communities where there are already smart meters installed in 130,000 homes. Five pilot tests will take place in the corridor, using the smart meter technology as the foundation.

  • Why We're Asking the Wrong Questions on Cap-and-Trade

    Andy Mannle
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:33 pm
    Instead of asking how much cap-and-trade will cost, we should be asking how much it saves us. The glacier in the room is that the real costs won't come from cap-and-trade, but from climate change itself.
 
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    Reuters: Environment

  • Hurricane Earl takes aim at U.S. East Coast

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:02 am
    HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina (Reuters) - Powerful Hurricane Earl bore down on the U.S. East Coast on Thursday on a path toward North Carolina's barrier islands, which it was expected to lash with dangerous winds and pounding surf.

  • Nations meet on climate cash, U.N. sees long haul

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:21 am
    GENEVA (Reuters) - About 45 nations met on Thursday to seek ways to raise billions of dollars in aid to help the poor combat climate change as the United Nations warned them of a long haul to slow global warming.

  • Gaston heads toward Caribbean, may be hurricane

    2 Sep 2010 | 4:36 am
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Gaston, the seventh named storm of this Atlantic hurricane season, on Thursday was churning west in the central Atlantic on a path that could take it into the Caribbean Sea.

  • U.S. test shows water problem near natgas drill site

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:37 pm
    PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - U.S. government officials urged residents of a Wyoming farming community near natural gas drilling sites not to use private well water for drinking or cooking because of chemical contamination.

  • Warmer temperatures in China to reduce crop yields

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:00 am
    HONG KONG (Reuters) - With the climate set to get warmer from greenhouse gases, Chinese scientists predicted on Thursday that freshwater for agriculture will shrink further in China, reducing crop yields in the years ahead.
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    Great Green Goods - Shopping the Eco-friendly Way!

  • Trashy and sassy! – Recycled Necklaces Gone Bad

    green
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:38 pm
    From artist, Erin Stevens: “The base of the pendant is the bottom of a beer can. I haven’t figured out a way to incorporate the entire can, but at least it is a start.” I love the simplicity not to mention the creativity! When you wear this lovely…. only YOU will know its thorns. Created [...]

  • Recycled Jewelry – Concrete and Glass

    green
    24 Aug 2010 | 9:48 pm
    Crafted entirely by hand from different colors of concrete and crushed glass. The glass/concrete mixture fills formed stainless steel and brass. Some of the pieces created by this artist contain 75% post consumer recycled glass collected from local beaches. Check out the variety of shapes and sizes …clouds, lightning bolts, flowers, teardrops, hearts, and clovers! [...]

  • Recycled Paper Fun!

    green
    15 Aug 2010 | 3:23 pm
    From “Artesa”, created from recycled magazine pages using a “rolling” process that artist, Flavia, learned as a child while playing with movie tickets and store receipts. These days, she rolls up scrap magazine pages, while carefully choosing the perfect color of the coils and slowly shapes her bowls and baskets. The results take weeks to [...]

  • Another artist working in Coffee Cups

    green
    8 Aug 2010 | 3:40 pm
    Since everyone loved Cheeming Boey, here’s another artist working on coffee cups….Paul Westcombe (b. 1981). His work can be found in London’s Trinity Contemporary and The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea.

  • Cheeming Boey: Recycled Styrofoam Cup Art

    green
    1 Aug 2010 | 3:46 pm
    Cheeming Boey, an artist from Newport Beach, CA, creates his art using a Sharpie and recycled Styrofoam cups. Ever since 2006, Boey started drawing on foam cups as a hobby and has now turned the project into a serious business. Each cup takes a few hours to several months to create. His work was recently [...]
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    msnbc.com: Environment

  • American Samoa approves plastic-bags ban

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:04 pm
    American Samoa will make it illegal for stores to hand out plastic bags once a new law takes effect early next year. American Samoa - Oceania - Law - Plastic bag - Government

  • Wall St. firm behind slow solar on federal lands?

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:13 pm
    Five years after federal land managers opened up stretches of the Southwest to solar power developers, vast tracts still sit idle. Solar power - Energy - Business - Renewable - Solar

  • Sponsored By:

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:44 pm

  • Greenpeace wants Facebook center off coal fuel

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:44 pm
    Greenpeace said about 500,000 Facebook users have urged the world's largest online social network to abandon plans to buy electricity from a coal-based energy company for its new data center in the U.S. Facebook - Greenpeace - Coal - Social network service - Mark Zuckerberg

  • Japan dolphin-hunting town begins annual pursuit

    31 Aug 2010 | 10:07 pm
    Japanese fishermen set out Wednesday on the first dolphin hunt of the season in Taiji, the Japanese village portrayed in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove." Japan - Cove - Asia - Academy Award - Ric O'Barry
 
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    greenUPGRADER

  • Generating Clean Energy with Bodily Fluids

    Becky Striepe
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:06 am
    I'm not sure what's going on lately, but I keep coming across battery and energy technology that turns human waste and blood into power. When talking to a friend about it he said, "You're one vomit engine away from perfection!" We're high brow people. Really, though, turning waste into power is a pretty ingenious idea. Human waste is definitely a renewable resource. On top of that, the way we dispose of it now is far from ideal. Sewage treatment uses tons of energy and water. Wouldn't it be amazing to turn our waste back into something useful instead? Pee Power The component that makes urine…

  • Reader Tips: Small Space Greenery and Menstrual Products

    Becky Striepe
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:46 am
    I love reading the excellent feedback you guys share, and once again there were some great responses that felt like they deserved the spotlight. Here are some excellent reader tips on adding green to small spaces and on reusable menstrual products. Greening Small Spaces Commenter Jane grows red onions, green onions, and tomatoes in containers and had great ideas for container gardeners. My favorite tip? The great thing about containers, is that they can be moved to sunnier locations when necessary, or taken out of the rain when they’ve had too much. Being able to move them around is a huge…

  • Flickr Find: Wine Bottle Garden

    Becky Striepe
    29 Aug 2010 | 11:01 pm
    It was just about a year ago that we looked at all of the different ways you could use wine bottles and corks to fancy up the garden. One of my favorite ideas for old wine bottles is edging a garden bed with them, but concerns about the bottles breaking always made me a bit gun-shy to try it out. You can imagine my delight when I came across the beautiful photo above on Flickr the other day! Not only has Scrappy Annie rocked the wino garden, it sounds like it's held up quite well over time. She says the bottles have been in place for 10 years, and they're still going strong! Not only have…

  • Plastic bag use plummets in supermarkets since 2006

    The Guardian
    26 Aug 2010 | 4:38 am
    This article was written by Mark King, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 25th August 2010 16.14 UTC Customers at the UK's leading supermarkets used 43% fewer carrier bags in 2009-10 than they did in 2006, when figures were first recorded, with 6.1bn single-use bags used in 2009-10 against 10.7bn four years earlier. According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap), the amount of material used to make carrier bags has reduced by 39,700 tonnes per year in the past four years, but figures for May 2010 alone indicate that we may be seeing a return to greater usage. Data collected from…

  • New Smart Wheel Makes Cycling Easier

    Becky Striepe
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:37 am
    Ever huffed and puffed your way up a steep hill, or worse yet had to hop off and walk your bike because pedaling just wasn't cutting it on that incline? A new smart wheel might mean the end of those moments and help encourage more folks to use bikes for transportation. The two biggest reasons I hear for not riding bikes are that it's too hard and that being sweaty at your destination is not an option. Since most cycling sweatiness probably comes from exertion, the Copenhagen Wheel helps with both of those problems by making cycling easier! How Does it Work? While you're pedaling or braking,…
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    Huffington Post: Latest Green News

  • Pavillion, Wyoming Warned Not To Drink The Water By Federal Government, Contamination May Be Linked To Gas Drilling

    ProPublica
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:42 am
    The federal government is warning residents in a small Wyoming town with extensive natural gas development not to drink their water, and to use fans and ventilation when showering or washing clothes in order to avoid the risk of an explosion.

  • Oil Platform Explodes In The Gulf Of Mexico Off The Louisiana Coast

    AP/Huffington Post
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:46 am
    Scroll Down For Updates: An offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill. A commercial helicopter company reported the blast around 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel said. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats were en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast. The Coast Guard said initial reports indicated all 13 crew members from the rig were in the water. One was injured, but there were no deaths. The platform owned by…

  • American Samoa Bans Plastic Bags

    AP
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:06 am
    PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — American Samoa is going to make it illegal for stores to hand out plastic bags once a new law goes into effect early next year. Gov. Togiola Tulafono, who signed the ban into law last week, said the measure would help preserve the environment for future generations. "I believe this bill ... is a step in the right direction toward protecting the natural beauty of our islands and our native land and sea creatures," Tulafono said in a letter to the territorial Legislature. The bill says plastic bags litter the landscape, fill streams and pollute the ocean.

  • Greenpeace: Facebook Data Center Urged To Ditch Coal Power With Support Of 500,000 People

    AP
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:44 am
    AMSTERDAM — Greenpeace said about 500,000 Facebook users have urged the world's largest online social network to abandon plans to buy electricity from a coal-based energy company for its new data center in the U.S. Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo sent a letter Wednesday to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg warning that the company risked its reputation and financial health if it ignored the environmental impacts of its actions. "Facebook is really out of step with the trend" among information technology companies, Naidoo told The Associated Press by phone. But…

  • Why Bike Sharing Must Be Saved

    treehugger.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:38 am
    But after five years, something scary started to happen, in addition to the vandalism and abandonment that plagued Bicing and other big programs...ridership started to decline.
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    Huffington Post: The Green Blog

  • Maria Rodale: It's Perennial Love!

    Maria Rodale
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:36 am
    Today tomato week continues with a very special treat...a short film that celebrates our passion for tomatoes by featuring passion and tomatoes. Perennial Love is perhaps the first romantic melodrama with an all-botanical cast. There's romance, drama, mystery...and plenty of lycopene. Tomatoes in love! We hope you enjoy it. But be forewarned...there was too much romance to fit into a single reel. So you'll have to come back tomorrow to see the exciting, dramatic, and saucy conclusion! (You'll also get a fantastic recipe for tomato sauce.) To watch Perennial Love and for more from Maria…

  • Andrew Beahrs: Irreplaceably Delicious: The Flavor of America Has Always Been Wild

    Andrew Beahrs
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:23 am
    I first tasted mallard duck in Gillett, Arkansas. Stuffed with cream cheese and diced jalapeno, wrapped in bacon, and broiled to a perfect medium, the mallard breast was smoky, peppery, and absolutely delicious. It was also very much a thing of its place, having been cooked by local hunters near the rice fields of Gillett, where duck hunting is both culturally and economically vital. In Arkansas, I had to ask what kind of duck I was eating; but until a century ago, diners -- even urban diners -- could distinguish between canvasback and mallard ducks as readily as we now do between tuna,…

  • Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D.: The Discovery Channel Shooter: James Lee's Rage Against Civilization

    Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D.
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:46 am
    Bron Taylor is an Environmental Studies scholar at the University of Florida with whom I once worked to develop an Environmental Studies program when we were both at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Among other things, his scholarly work has paid close attention to environmental movements around the world, from radical to mainstream manifestations, with special attention to their ethical, spiritual, and political dimensions. After hearing about the incident in Maryland yesterday where a protester was shot and killed by police after threatening employees at the Discovery Channel's…

  • Jeff Biggers: Scandal of the Week: NIKE Runs Mountaintop Removal Football Ad, Disrespects Coal Miners

    Jeff Biggers
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:30 pm
    "If we are to remain leaders in the green economy, then we have to be relentless in our pursuit of clean energy. We have to constantly evaluate all aspects of our energy footprint. Find opportunities to collaborate and partner with other companies and organizations. And as one of Nike's long-held business maxims so aptly declares, never stop evolving, especially when it involves doing the right thing."--Sarah Severn, director of stakeholder mobilization for Nike Inc., August 17, 2010 So much for evolution, NIKE. Still embroiled in infamous sweatshop practices, NIKE is now running an ad with a…

  • Hector E. Sanchez: The Latino Community's Stake in a Clean Energy Economy

    Hector E. Sanchez
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:45 pm
    The risks of climate change due to excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are significant for everyone, and are an even greater concern for working Latino families. The majority of Latinos are concentrated in urban areas in 15 states that account for 86.5% of the total Latino population. Over 80 percent of Latinos within the United States live in counties that violated at least one federal air-pollution and our children are 2.5 times more likely to develop asthma than non-Latino children. The reduction and regulation of harmful air pollutants and heat-trapping gases is a public health…
 
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    The Economy

  • Best Criminal Attorney

    Economy
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:51 am
    Here is your Criminal Attorneys that come to give you access to the extremely serious world of the criminal justice system. It will help you find the best criminal attorneys to mount a successful defense. Because of the serious matter, all are provided deliberately. You should get what you need. All will be friendly in simple process. Click and complete the form on available page now! Criminal Defense Lawyers have held a public position in the government court system. It happens before turning to private practice. Observe that this can seriously affect the outcome of your case. You should be…

  • ONLINE SLOTS IN EXIST

    Economy
    25 Aug 2010 | 3:32 pm
    Online games are far superior. See slot games related to their mechanical counterparts. How about error-free? See that computer remain running. Players or gamers or gamblers or more don’t have to worry about anything.  A person rigging a machine online is always in progress. In case like messing over a person, surely whatever situation or condition won’t do that. It can easily be seen by spending a few minutes playing. A little bit of experience in finding secure website will lead players or gamers or gamblers or more on their way to happiness. The “far superior” is proven here, in…

  • ART OF INFORMATION

    Economy
    24 Aug 2010 | 1:55 am
    Infographic World has learned all of info graphic’s branches. It is a field of art science speaks about the core of the subject: infographics. We will admire results of info graphic works of infographic designer. The designers that have specification and specialization on info graphic design field have finished them perfectly. It means that Info Graphic World has achieved the original mission for serving on Art of Information. What is the meaning of the “Art of Information”? See: infographic so that you can find the answer. It is art via graphic for giving clients to get information for…

  • SO EASY TO GET THE PLACE

    Economy
    19 Aug 2010 | 1:51 pm
    Ensure that you are in the right place here: sports pick site. “The Best Cappers-The Lowest Prices” is Pick Nation’s motto. It offers you in picks. You can buy them in various products. For knowing the products, please click the bold letter right now. The place is very easy to be caught. You will find your needs’ answers. The “Not a Gaming Site” will service you in full time, in humble, in easy-going. All will be full in safety. Guarantee: no credit card proud! Whatever your cards: either Visa or Mastercard or American Express or Pay Pal is no problem for all. What products you…

  • ONLINE BLACKJACK GIVES ALL

    Economy
    18 Aug 2010 | 2:40 pm
    Don’t worry about money! Money is available in a machine of gambling. If we are playing online blackjack, it means what we need is in front of our eyes. Go ahead to do it! It is our time. Luck is speaking. Money is hearing the luck. Ears are staring at a spot via heart. Brain is on right strategy. All are in a simultaneous system. The system is working hard. It is in its way namely online. Don’t go and leave our place. Keep the position and focus on. No time to wasting time. No a word to spending head. It should and should go on. Time is money needs our concern. Don’t worry about…
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    GreenerBuildings

  • YKK AP America Launches Green Building Video Contest

    GreenerBuildings Staff
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:05 am
    Architects, designers, contractors, manufacturers, students and others interested in green building innovation and showcasing their ideas on video have a shot at a $1,500 grand prize and bragging rights in a contest sponsored by YKK AP America.

  • Spotlighting the Green Benefits of LEDs

    Claudia Girrbach
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:00 am
    Since the first humans carried a torch to provide light, heat has been a by-product of producing light. Traditional electric lights give off more heat than light. But LEDs are twice as efficient as fluorescents at converting electricity to light, generate very little heat, are nearly maintenance free and provide a high quality of light. So what's standing in the way of their broad adoption?

  • 10 Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Costs in Your Building

    GreenerBuildings Staff
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:08 pm
    Here are 10 ways you can reduce your energy usage and costs without sacrificing comfort or building functionality.

  • ComEd Creates 'Smart Grid Innovation' Corridor Near Chicago

    GreenBiz Staff
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:20 pm
    The company, a subsidiary of utility giant Exelon, launched what it is calling a "Smart Grid Innovation Corridor" in 10 Northern Illinois communities where there are already smart meters installed in 130,000 homes. Five pilot tests will take place in the corridor, using the smart meter technology as the foundation.

  • Making the Most of LEED-EBOM

    Alex Spilger
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:20 pm
    Project registration for LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance is the fastest growing among all the LEED certification standards offered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Here are tips on how to make the most of LEED-EBOM certification and help position your tenants to pursue LEED for Commercial Interiors.
 
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    Eco Friendly

  • How to Build Your Own Greenhouse – DYI

    Eco-Friendly Guru
    18 Aug 2010 | 11:48 am
    To build your own greenhouse you have several decisions to make so you can get equipped. There are some crucial things to take into consideration before you start to build your own greenhouse. Site, style, and size are significant things to take into consideration when you choose to build your own greenhouse. After these decisions are made you then need to take into consideration what you might build your backyard greenhouse out of. When you build your own greenhouse location is significant. Your greenhouse must be constructed someplace the sun will shine on it all year round. Consider how…

  • The Benefits Of Glass Food Storage Containers

    Eco-Friendly Guru
    8 Aug 2010 | 5:05 pm
    To build your own greenhouse you have several decisions to make so you can get equipped. There are some crucial things to take into consideration before you start to build your own greenhouse. Site, style, and size are significant things to take into consideration when you choose to build your own greenhouse. After these decisions are made you then need to take into consideration what you might build your backyard greenhouse out of. When you build your own greenhouse location is significant. Your greenhouse must be constructed someplace the sun will shine on it all year round. Consider how…

  • Instructions To Build A Raised Garden Bed

    Eco-Friendly Guru
    8 Aug 2010 | 2:40 pm
    To build your own greenhouse you have several decisions to make so you can get equipped. There are some crucial things to take into consideration before you start to build your own greenhouse. Site, style, and size are significant things to take into consideration when you choose to build your own greenhouse. After these decisions are made you then need to take into consideration what you might build your backyard greenhouse out of. When you build your own greenhouse location is significant. Your greenhouse must be constructed someplace the sun will shine on it all year round. Consider how…

  • Hollywood Stars on your Bag

    admin
    21 Aug 2009 | 12:30 pm
    To build your own greenhouse you have several decisions to make so you can get equipped. There are some crucial things to take into consideration before you start to build your own greenhouse. Site, style, and size are significant things to take into consideration when you choose to build your own greenhouse. After these decisions are made you then need to take into consideration what you might build your backyard greenhouse out of. When you build your own greenhouse location is significant. Your greenhouse must be constructed someplace the sun will shine on it all year round. Consider how…

  • Sea Shells for Elegance

    admin
    1 Aug 2009 | 3:24 pm
    To build your own greenhouse you have several decisions to make so you can get equipped. There are some crucial things to take into consideration before you start to build your own greenhouse. Site, style, and size are significant things to take into consideration when you choose to build your own greenhouse. After these decisions are made you then need to take into consideration what you might build your backyard greenhouse out of. When you build your own greenhouse location is significant. Your greenhouse must be constructed someplace the sun will shine on it all year round. Consider how…
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    People & Place

  • Climate Science and National Security

    2 Sep 2010 | 5:26 am
    On The Wire | Volume 01 Issue 02 by Howard Silverman If the nation is to prepare for, prevent and respond to global climate change, climate science and national security professionals will have to find a new way of doing business or risk having valuable science lost in translation. read more

  • Premises for a New Economy: An Agenda for Rio+20

    24 Aug 2010 | 10:33 am
    On The Wire | Volume 01 Issue 02 by Howard Silverman A new economy will need a new economics, which goes beyond the calculating, self-interested, individual to take account of community, compassion, and cosmos. read more

  • Harvey Brooks: Science and Society

    23 Aug 2010 | 10:48 pm
    On The Wire | Volume 01 Issue 02 by Howard Silverman One does not have to be a cynic about democracy to believe that broad public participation is not necessarily the best way to resolve technically complex issues. read more

  • Matthew Nisbet: Science Communication

    17 Aug 2010 | 7:28 am
    On The Wire | Volume 01 Issue 02 by Howard Silverman Disparate disciplines must work together to bring many sources of specialized knowledge and experience to bear on societal engagement and solutions to climate change and other environmental problems. read more

  • Naomi Oreskes: On Scientific Knowledge

    14 Aug 2010 | 7:54 am
    Media Library | Volume 01 Issue 02 by Howard Silverman History shows us clearly that science does not provide certainty. It does not provide truth. What it provides us with is the consensus of experts. read more
 
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    Ecolect Materials Database

  • Faux Leather

    Brentano, Inc.
    13 Aug 2010 | 9:56 am
    Material summary Brentano faux leathers have stunning surface quality and top physical properties. Often mistaken as real leathers, Brentano faux leathers have the added benefits of being affordable, easy to care for, and a greener alternative to both vinyl and leather. Environmental attributes Made from a polyurethane-based face attached to a substrate, Faux Leathers avoid the need for animal products and the harmful chemicals used to treat the hides. Brentano offers an “Ultra Friendly” series that uses almost no solvents and 1/3 of the envergy compared to traditional methods. The…

  • Eco-Wool

    Brentano, Inc.
    13 Aug 2010 | 9:43 am
    Material summary Brentano’s 100% eco-wool is a natural and environmentally friendly fiber that requires less water and fewer pesticides to produce than linen or cotton. The fabric actually aids in air pollution reduction by absorbing VOC’s in the atmosphere, including formaldehyde. The fibers themselves have almost no toxic residues and the fabric is compliant with the EU eco-label standard. Environmental attributes Requires less water and fewer pesticides than linen or cotton. Absorbs VOCs in the atmosphere, including formaldehyde. No toxic residues. The wool is “eco-wool” from New…

  • Bamboo Cloth

    Brentano, Inc.
    13 Aug 2010 | 9:29 am
    Material summary Brentano’s Bamboo cloth is 100% biodegradable. The bamboo plant is a rapidly renewable plant species that requires little to no pesticides and has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Furthermore, the extensive root system reduces the need for replanting using diesel-emitting machinery for planting and tilling. The plant also absorbs more of the greenhouse gas CO2 and produces more oxygen than an equivalent amount of trees. Environmental attributes Bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource. The extensive root system reduces the need for replanting using diesel-emitting…

  • Ashland-e Tiles

    Hakatai Enterprises, Inc.
    13 Aug 2010 | 9:08 am
    Material summary The Ashland-e series is a recycled glass tile made by Hakatai Enterprises, a leading glass tile importer and distributor. Featuring a hand-crafted aesthetic, these tiles will add dimension and beauty to any project. Environmental attributes All tile in the Ashland-e series is comprised of between 30% and 70% recycled glass. Ashland-e tiles preserve bottles and other waste glass that would otherwise have entered the solid waste stream. The waste glass is a mix of approximately 90% post-consumer and 10% pre-consumer material. Carbon neutral shipping is available. Hakatai…

  • Medite II

    SierraPine
    13 Aug 2010 | 8:54 am
    Material summary Medite II is an interior grade, engineered wood-based panel manufactured from pre-consumer recycled wood fibers combined with formaldehyde-free synthetic resin. This panel provides the flexibility of a superior composite panel with the emissions of lumber and other grain wood products. Environmental attributes Made with pre-consumer recycled wood fibers. Uses a urea formaldehyde-free binding agent. Technical information Medite II is recommended for use in schools, museums, day care centers, hospitals, medical and dental facilities, retirement homes, laboratories, and other…
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    Good Guide

  • Innovative Business Models to Incentivize Consumers

    josh
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:57 am
    For the last several years there has been a significant shift in consumers’ purchasing habits toward buying greener products. But the one thing we continue to see in study after study is that most mainstream consumers are not willing to sacrifice price, performance and/or quality to buy more sustainable products. This has become a chicken-and-the-egg conundrum for businesses. How can product manufacturers develop greener products that are also competitive on the other legs of product positioning with low adoption from mainstream customers? After all, costs, and therefore prices, will only…

  • Welcome George Consagra!

    Dara
    27 Aug 2010 | 11:55 am
    GoodGuide is happy to welcome George Consagra as our new Chief Executive Officer. We’ve had a great first week getting to know George and look forward to the energy and expertise he will bring to the GoodGuide table. For more information, check out the formal announcement on GoodGuide’s new leadership. Do you have questions for our new CEO? Share them below, and we’ll try to get them answered in a future post!

  • School Lunch with a Nutritional Punch

    sheila
    19 Aug 2010 | 12:38 pm
    Each year, the average American child eats half of their lunches in a school setting. What goes into those meals can vary by who prepares those meals - whether it’s you, the federal government, a contracted food service company, or a trained chef. Thanks to television programs like Jamie Oliver’s “School Food Revolution” and the federal government’s “Let’s Move” campaign to reduce childhood obesity, a lot more attention has been placed on what kids are eating for their midday meal. As a result, the upcoming renewal of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act (which dictates how…

  • Behind the Tampon Ratings

    sheila
    12 Aug 2010 | 11:44 am
    After several months of reviewing scientific articles, pondering rating schemes, surviving awkward moments in the feminine hygiene aisles of local stores, and analyzing products, we are proud to announce the launch of GoodGuide’s tampon ratings. Starting last week, individuals have been able to browse and compare over 100 tampon products from leading brands to make better, smarter purchases. We’re thrilled to be able to provide this information to women, but would like to make sure the ratings are interpreted correctly. So, we’ve put together a short list of FAQs so that you can make…

  • GoodGuide Gets Greener

    sheila
    6 Aug 2010 | 12:43 pm
    If you were to ask GoodGuide employees why they work here, one of the reasons you’re likely to hear is that we’re a Certified B Corporation. As a B Corp, we’re required to conduct an environmental impact assessment. To that end, the GoodGuide Internal Goodness Committee has undertaken the task of identifying environmentally sustainable business practices that can be carried out on a day-to-day basis. The good news is that we’re already doing the basics: using e-documents instead of paper, recycling and composting, purchasing used office furniture, relying on our own ratings to stock…
 
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    ecopop RSS feed

  • OPPOSITE DAY!

    It was a small gallery and book store dedicated to the art of children's books. The art was good and inspiring and in Abilene of all places. Why? Because the mayor at the time was curious to know why a children's book had so many mentions of Abilene.

  • Art From Fire.

    ART from the ashes has announced its first exhibition, artist reception and silent auction at Cisco Home in Pasadena, California. The exhibition will run from November 1-15 and the silent auction will take place on November 1st. Proceeds from the auction will go to benefit Meta (Making Education the Answer).

  • Molotov Cocktails and Ice Cream Smiles.

    The Anarchist Ice Cream Truck, a NY ice cream company that serves treats for the streets with a side of anarchy. Meet Aaron Gach, a 34-year old entrepreneur who is taking his hi-tech Ice Cream Tactical Unit to the streets.

  • Helping The Homeless Help Themselves.

    In a recent article from the Oregon State Wire, we learned that, in Corvallis, the homeless were being hired to count the homeless. It seems like a no-brainer but it got us thinking.

  • Billboards Provide Disaster Relief.

    We've often wondered about these space-holder ads and if they couldn't work a little harder or be put to better use. One idea we had a few years back was to have local artists create billboard art using a series of sentences like "This Space For Rent" and "Your Ad Here." Our driver liked that idea and said he'd "Get 'r done".
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    The Good Human

  • Book Review: Twelve By Twelve by William Powers

    david
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:30 am
    If how many dog-eared pages a book has after you have finished it is any indication of how good it is, Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream is amazing. I have never (and I do mean never) folded down that many corners of pages I wanted to revisit later in a single book. And in all honesty, I don’t even want to really say too much about the book because I believe you have to experience it for yourself – I don’t want to inject my interpretation of it too much and possibly spoil it for you. When I started the book, I expected nothing more…

  • Do One Thing: Get A Drying Rack.

    david
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am
    Want to see where I dry most of my clothes? Well, here you go: Yes, I have a dryer, and yes, I use it on occasion. But most of my clothing, towels, and cleaning rags go on this rack or on hangers to dry. We aren’t allowed to put anything on our porches to dry anymore, so I have to put everything in my bathroom instead. This rack cost me about $10, and not only does it save me money on my electric bill and reduce my carbon footprint, but it also reduces the wear and tear on my clothes… and in turn, they last longer. So Do One Thing and either pick up an inexpensive drying rack or…

  • Greenwash Of The Week: P&G ‘Future Friendly’.

    david
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:30 am
    Proctor & Gamble’s new ad slogan is “Future Friendly”, but when looking at the products they are branding with it, you have to wonder who exactly runs their ad division – a hired team of greenwashing experts? Non-recycled content toilet paper and paper towels, Swiffer sweepers, chemically-scented body sprays, Febreze, disposable diapers, deodorant with aluminum in it, petroleum-based dish soap… the list goes on… and on… and on. In the paper on Sunday, there was a 32 page insert about how they are Future Friendly and that by buying the products…

  • What Companies Are Still Testing Products On Animals?

    david
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:30 am
    While we try to buy the most eco-friendly this, that, and the other thing that we can, do we ever stop to consider if those “good” products are ever tested on animals? Or if some parent companies tell the world at large that they are “sustainable” while they abuse animals in locked-down laboratories? Something I read stirred my interest in looking up some of this information, and I was surprised at what I found. There are still a ton of companies testing their products on animals, and even some that run ads on TV and in magazines talking about how green they are. In…
 
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    green.tv

  • Drop into the Ocean - Part 1

    1 Sep 2010 | 5:00 pm
    Take a deep breath and imagine the oceans... Short Greenpeace documentary outlining the threats to our oceans and what can be done to restore their health.

  • Invention boosts solar water heating

    31 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    Willis Renewable Energy Systems, Belfast won a 2010 Ashden Award. The Solasyphon is a plumbing innovation that speeds up and simplifies the retro-fitting of solar water heating in existing homes, saving the cost of buying a new water tank. 2,500 have been sold, with installations going ahead in many overseas markets as well as the UK.

  • The Hard Facts behind CO2 Capture and Storage

    30 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    Climate change, caused by rising carbon dioxide levels, is threatening our future. Carbon Capture and Storage is the only technology that can radically reduce the CO2 produced by the world's largest emitters - power plants and heavy industry.

  • Marine Reserves - Part 1

    26 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    A growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates what we at Greenpeace have been saying for a long time - that the establishment of large-scale networks of marine reserves, urgently needed to protect marine species and their habitats, could be key to reversing global fisheries decline. Voiced by Mariella Frostrup.

  • Bee-Cam Diaries - Dead Queen Bee

    25 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    The National Trust and BBC Local Radio are encouraging people to 'Bee Part of It!' this summer through a campaign to help the honey bee.
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    INHABITAT

  • American Somoa Becomes First U.S. Territory to Ban Plastic Bags

    Cameron Scott
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:40 am
    With California’s proposed statewide ban on plastic bags swept aside as collateral damage of the state’s broken political system, American Somoa emerged as the first U.S. state or territory to ban plastic bags at all retail stores. The landmark bill was signed into law last week and will take effect on February 23rd of 2011. Read the rest of American Somoa Becomes First U.S. Territory to Ban Plastic Bagshttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg…

  • BREAKING: Another Oil Rig Explodes in the Gulf of Mexico

    Bridgette Meinhold
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:45 am
    Just when you thought things were getting better in the Gulf of Mexico, another oil rig has just exploded. This morning around 9:30 am CDT a commercial helicopter reported that an oil production platform exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana. All 13 of the workers are accounted for, although one has been injured and is en route to the hospital. The Coast Guard has deployed multiple helicopters, an airplane and several Coast Guard cutters to the site. This oil rig was apparently not producing any oil, but it is not clear if there is or will be a leak. This newest explosion, five months…

  • Peace Corps to Start Clean Energy Program in the Americas

    Brit Liggett
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am
    Since 1961 when President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order, thousands of volunteers have traveled to developing countries to implement programs that range from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Now they’ll be adding another task to their list: the implementation of renewable energy. The US government just awarded the Peace Corps with $1 million to start a program that will bring clean green energy to developing communities in Central and South America. Read the rest of Peace Corps to Start Clean Energy Program in the…

  • Win a Back to School Solar Bag Bundle Worth Over $500!

    Yuka Yoneda
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    GO BACK TO SCHOOL WITH AN AMAZING NEW SOLAR BAG! If you want to put your best (and greenest) foot forward as you start the new school year, we’ve got something that will help – a lot. We’re giving away a fantastic Back to School Prize Package (worth over $500) packed with green school supplies to one lucky winner – and it could be you! This amazing bundle includes 7 awesome 100% recycled hardcover notebooks in assorted colors and styles by ecosystem, a 100% recycled binder, tabs and binder pouch from Naked Binder, and to top it all off, an amazing solar-powered bag by…

  • Hong Kong Activist Group Selling “Fresh Air” for 25 Cents a Bottle

    Brit Liggett
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:32 am
    Are you a resident of Hong Kong? Are you having trouble breathing because of the dense air pollution? Have no fear, Fresh Air is here! The Clean Air Network, a Hong Kong based awareness group is selling bottles of Fresh Air for just 25 cents to local residents. With Hong Kong’s air quality three times as bad as New York City’s and twice the level of London’s, it’s high time they start doing something about it. Check out the mock — yes, that’s correct, the bottles of air aren’t real — infomercial after the jump. Read the rest of Hong Kong…
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    BASIL & SPICE--LIVING GREEN!

  • (8/2010) Orangutan: Status Symbol Of The Wealthy In Indonesia

    At Basil & Spice
    23 Aug 2010 | 2:52 pm
    Sally Kneidel, Ph.D.-- Pet trade threatens orangutan survival "Having a pet orangutan is a status symbol," I was told by my Indonesian friend Ria, who lives and works in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Doesn't matter if the animal lives in a small, dirty cage behind the house, which most do; it's still a social asset to have one.A baby orangutan living as a pet. Photo by Chris Shepherd (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia); used with permission. Originally printed in the TRAFFIC publication "In Full Swing..." listed below in Sources. That's too bad, because the local, national, and international demand for…

  • (8/2010) Investigation Of Natural Resources From Gulf Oil Spill

    At Basil & Spice
    15 Aug 2010 | 7:03 am
    By Dr. Joseph S. Maresca April 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill- Mid-August Status The Skytruth Oil Spill Tracker showed the following improvements from a visual inspection of a map depicting the major areas of the spill with both small and large red dots. During May 2010, there were 3 large red dots on the map in the New Orleans area, 1 large red dot in Sarasota, Florida and a smaller dot just North of Havana. By August, the initial 3 large dots in the New Orleans area were reduced to much smaller red Padre Island National Seashore - Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)dots. The large red dot in…

  • (8/2010) My Search For A Wild Orangutan By Sally Kneidel, Ph.D.

    At Basil & Spice
    15 Aug 2010 | 6:36 am
    Sally Kneidel, Ph.D.-- On my Asian quest to see wild and semi-wild orangutans, I wasn't sure I'd find a single one of the red apes roaming free in a forest. Orangutans used to be widespread in Southeast Asia, but now survive only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Orangutans on both islands are in serious trouble. Only 6500 Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) survive in the wild. The World Conservation Union lists the Sumatran species as "critically endangered" on their IUCN Red List. Sumatran orangutans are considered one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. The Bornean orangutan…

  • (8/2010) Nuclear, Solar, Fusion Desalination Possibilities

    At Basil & Spice
    12 Aug 2010 | 4:48 am
    By Dr. Joseph S. Maresca New Power Sources and Desalination Could Bring Freshwater to More Places on Earth The supply of fresh water is becoming more of an issue in places like the Western part of the United States, China, Saudi Arabia and others. Large scale desalination plants are either in operation or planned in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Israel, India and the USA. Desalination provides fresh water from salt water utilizing extremely large amounts of energy and infrastructure. Nuclear power desalination might be popular on a large scale. Currently,A view across a reverse osmosis…

  • (8/2010) FirstLook: Running Out Of Water: The Looming Crisis

    At Basil & Spice
    4 Aug 2010 | 4:58 am
    Review By Dr. Joseph S. Maresca Foreword by Congressman Edward J. Markey The book begins by explaining some of the classic water wasters. For instance, 634 gallons of water are employed to produce an 8 ounce steak. 1800 gallons of water are used per person per day. The world population will be 9 billion people by mid-century. There are algorithms in operations research to allocate water algorithmically utilizing linear programming. Right now, the global temperature threatens the California water supply. As the supply of water decreases, less hydropower is produced. Singapore transformed sewer…
 
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    DeSmogBlog - Clearing the PR Pollution that Clouds Climate Science

  • The Uneven Energy Playing Field and the Spindoctors who Ignore it

    Kevin Grandia
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:48 pm
    There has been a recent surge in articles from fossil-fuel friendly sources pointing to the inequity of tax credits and government subsidies being directed to the renewable energy sector.  The latest is by Alan Caruba writing on the industry-backed CFACT website bemoaning a $7 million investment in a wind project in New Jersey.  What Caruba and others fail to mention in their argument is that the fossil fuel industry - the main competitor to the renewable energy sector - receives more than ten times as much in government subsidies globally. A recent report by Bloomberg New Finance…

  • Washington Post Editorial Slams Ken Cuccinelli "Embarrassing" Witch Hunt Against Climate Scientist

    Brendan DeMelle
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:53 am
    ken_cuccinelli_370x278.jpeg The Washington Post penned an excellent editorial yesterday deriding Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's political attack against climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann, a former UVA professor whom Cuccinelli has targeted in a witch hunt.  The Post editorial notes that "the overblown critique of climate science that emerged early this year continues to underwhelm," citing several examples of the recent rash of politically-motivated attacks on climate science, including the much-ado-about-nothing 'Climategate' episode last winter, the repeated attacks…

  • On Factual Literacy and Media Responsibility In The Age Of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh

    Jim Hoggan
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:05 pm
    This New York Times online editorial last week by Tim Egan, "Building a Nation of Know-Nothings," says a lot about the need for literacy, respect for facts and rational thought all being important building blocks for democracy.  Egan notes the "astonishing level of willful ignorance" evident among the public, thanks to the lies and distortions put forward "largely by design" by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, "aided by a press afraid to call out the primary architects of the lies." Egan correctly points out that this pattern is all too often seen on the subject of global…

  • Clean energy drowned out in Washington by a Two Billion Dollar Juggernaut

    Kevin Grandia
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:01 am
    capitol coal.JPG Red State bloggers are all in a tizzy over an Open Secrets article showing that the American Wind Energy Association spent over $5 million last year on lobbying politicians in Washington, DC. It's about time we started seeing the clean energy sector make its voice heard on Capitol Hill and I hope we see more people pushing lawmakers to consider legislation that promotes the use of clean and unlimited sources of energy like the sun and the wind. But the hair-pulling by Red State bloggers is more than a little ridiculous when you consider that the American Wind Energy…

  • Bjorn Lomborg Now Says Climate Change “Chief Concern,” Calls for Carbon Tax

    Brendan DeMelle
    30 Aug 2010 | 4:02 pm
    bjorn-lomborg.jpeg   The Guardian reports today that long-time global warming contrarian Bjorn Lomborg has changed his tune a bit, and now acknowledges that climate change is "a challenge humanity must confront."  In an interview with the paper, Lomborg calls for a carbon tax and a $100 billion annual investment in clean technologies and other solutions to climate disruption.  Lomborg has never been among the outright climate deniers, acknowledging repeatedly over the years that he accepts the science confirming manmade global warming.  But until now he has downplayed…
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    How can I recycle this?

  • Recycling for charity: how to set up a money-raising scheme?

    louisa
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:00 am
    I regularly get emails from people involved with small charities asking how to set up recycling programs that will help them raise money for their cause. Collection/recycling programs have been part of charity fundraising for a long time, but recently most seem to have moved from collecting large amounts of low value items (such as stamps or milk bottle tops) to collecting more valuable items (such as broken jewellery, mobile phones or toner cartridges). There is a lot of competition now for those type of items – not only between the charities but because it’s so easy for people…

  • How can I reuse or recycle a glass table top?

    louisa
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:00 am
    We’ve had an email from Josie: My council (Suffolk) say they’ll only recycle glass bottles not other glass like windows. I’ve got an old glass coffee table to get rid of, what can I do with it? That’s a pretty standard glass recycling policy – only bottles and jars, not plate glass (like windows or photo frames) or cooking glass items (pyrex or other dishes) – so it’s probably better to look for reuse rather than recycling ideas. Firstly, as with all furniture, try to pass it on to someone else who might still use it — even if you think…

  • Five fantastic reuses for plastic milk bottles

    louisa
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:31 am
    With their semi-rigid sides & strong handle, plastic milk bottles are very easily reusable – which is useful since there are bajillions generated every day. We’ve had loads of great suggestions about them over the years but here are some of my favourites: 1. Pencil sorter Mentioned as a featured link a few weeks ago, I love how neat and practical these containers are for coloured pencils/pens. Stored on a shelf, the lids could be painted the colour of the pencils to make for easy identification. 2. Paint caddy One close to my heart at the moment because we’re decorating…

  • How can I reuse or recycle mouldy bread?

    louisa
    27 Aug 2010 | 4:00 am
    We’ve had an email from Milly: I know about making breadcrumbs with stale bread but is there anything that can be done with bread that’s gone a bit mouldy? I don’t mean eat it of course but compost it? Obviously the best thing to do is avoid it going mouldy in the first place – freeze it if you don’t have time to use it up or turn it into breadcrumbs there and then. But sometimes loaves have a tendency to turn in a blink of an eye so it’s harder to avoid. Bread is one of those things that some people compost and others don’t. It will break down quite…

  • Reduce This: How can you tell when something is good quality?

    louisa
    26 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    Over on my new frugal living/growing/cooking blog The Really Good Life today, I’ve asked a Reduce This related question: How can you tell when something is good quality? The first stage of the recycling triangle is Reduce – reduce the amount of things you buy/use and buy items that’ll last and can be repaired rather than ones that need replacing frequently — but how can you tell what will last? What cues tell you when something is worth the extra money? And when it definitely isn’t? Do you have a particular area of expertise? If so, tell us all about it on The…
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    UrbanWorkbench

  • Fall and Falling Prices?

    Mike Thomas
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Image via Wikipedia As we slide toward Fall, out of the shimmering mirage days of summer, there is a lot of talk out there about housing prices in Canada – and none of it is real good. Interestingly, there is less of an attempt to put a positive spin on things from the Real Estate sector, I’m wondering if this is because they are hoping that everyone is just too busy with preparing for school, or purchasing an iPhone 4 to care about what their home price might be doing. On a more serious note though, it does raise the question of whether property is the sound investment it has…

  • Peak Oil Vignette 7 -The College

    Mike Thomas
    27 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    The community had always just assumed that there would be a college in town. It had been a feature of the local economy since its construction and grand opening in 1967 with many of the local kids starting or completing their studies in the institution, and many more young adults travelling from far and wide to study in the Kootenays. The college was still a destination for people travelling long distances, however the reasons had changed. No longer were students experiencing the dichotomy of social freedom and pressing academic deadlines that is common in tertiary institutions, rather the…

  • The Bear

    Mike Thomas
    24 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    The bear came last night. A sow, a big momma, a big hungry momma. Even though we’d hidden the bin, she tore the critter-proof lid off  and devoured the remnants of human meals past. This was the first bear we’d seen in the backyard. There had been signs before, but never a face-to-face encounter. Bang. She lumbered off at my prompting, down the hill to the orchard, away from the ripped open garbage to the ripe apples. Dessert. Away from the humans. This morning I inspected our fence line and the orchard. Just like a human, the greed of one generation destroys the…

  • 80 Year Old Watermain

    Mike Thomas
    18 Aug 2010 | 7:12 am
    There is a story to these pictures, if you are wondering what the growth is called, it is referred to as “pipe tuberculation” or “insoluble corrosion residue buildup” and the main issue is that it increases pipe friction losses thus reducing fire flows, but can also ultimately lead to pipe failure. The infrastructure in many of Canada’s cities is failing. This is an example of a pipe that until yesterday was still in service eighty years after it was installed, it has spent it’s life providing water to thousands of residents and aside from annual hydrant…

  • The Lifesaver Bottle

    Mike Thomas
    13 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    Clean water is something that most of my readers probably quite happily take for granted. Despite the fact that in most Cities the systems we use to clean and transport water are among some of the most decrepit parts of the infrastructure of the communities we live in, we assume that when we turn on the tap, clean water will be available immediately. Watch the 10 minute video below and learn something about the economic and health realities of dirty water. While the bulk of the video presentation is about the third world applications of this invention, disaster applications are mentioned,…
 
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    Environmental Health News

  • Feds fail to use land for solar power.

    jpmyers@ehsic.org
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    Not a light bulb's worth of solar electricity has been produced on the millions of acres of public desert set aside for it. Not one project to build glimmering solar farms has even broken ground.

  • Climate panel must adapt to survive,

    jpmyers@ehsic.org
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    A long-awaited report has recommended an overhaul of the IPCC. The proposals were met with a largely favourable response from climate researchers who are eager to move on after the media scandals and credibility challenges that have rocked the UN body during the past nine months.

  • Climate change puts China harvests at risk.

    jpmyers@ehsic.org
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    Climate change could reduce key harvests in China by a fifth if the gloomiest scenarios prove true, according to a study on Wednesday.

  • Climate change report says a meter of water would completely over Jamestown Island.

    jpmyers@ehsic.org
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    As Virginia braces for a possible bashing by Hurricane Earl, two environmental groups on Wednesday released a report that suggests things may only get worse for low-lying areas in Hampton Roads, especially area National Parks.

  • Facebook faces campaign to switch to renewable energy.

    jpmyers@ehsic.org
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    In one of the web's fastest-growing environmental campaigns, Greenpeace international says at least 500,000 people have now protested Facebook's intention to run its giant new data centre mainly on electricity produced by burning coal power.
 
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    Green Car Congress

  • CODA to Launch CODA EV in Hawaii in 2011

    Mike Millikin
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:37 am
    CODA Automotive intends to distribute the battery-electric CODA Sedan to consumer and fleet customers in Hawai’i in the third quarter of 2011. CODA plans to begin limited deliveries at the end of 2010. The CODA Sedan is a four-door, five-passenger car, powered by an all-electric drive system, including a CODA-designed 33.8 kWh Lithium-ion battery system. CODA’s proprietary battery management and thermal management systems keep the battery within a specified temperature range which enhances safety and durability, and allows for a consistent and dependable range of up to 120 miles (193 km)…

  • Study Finds That Tripling US LDV New Fleet Fuel Efficiency by 2035 Through Evolutionary Change is Ambitious But Doable

    Mike Millikin
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:28 am
    New fleet efficiency horizon in terms of energy intensity and fuel consumption rate compared to historical fleet averages and recent US regulations. Source: DeCicco 2010. Click to enlarge.Tripling US new light-duty vehicle fleet fuel efficiency by 2035 through evolutionary change—e.g., relying heavily on improvements in advanced engines and in the application of hybrid drive technology—rather than on revolutionary alternatives such as plug-in vehicles or hydrogen requiring extensive new infrastructure is an “ambitious but defensible horizon” according to a new study by…

  • Catalytic Dehydration of Fructose into HMF with Ionic Liquid

    Mike Millikin
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:50 am
    Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore have demonstrated the catalytic dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) in an HCl–imidazolium ionic liquid (catalyst–solvent) system, in ambient conditions. HMF can subsequently be converted into plastics, petroleum or diesel fuel extenders, or into diesel fuel. The Singapore team concluded that high yields and excellent recyclability make the system a promising choice for fructose dehydration. DFT calculations suggest that the solvent “switches” the dehydration from thermodynamically…

  • India Sugar Industry Commits to 1B Liters Ethanol

    Mike Millikin
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:38 am
    Economic Times. India sugar mills have committed to supplying one billion liters (264 million gallons US) of ethanol to oil marketing companies for blending with gasoline during the next sugar year, starting in October. “In order to achieve the mandatory five per cent blending programme, oil marketing companies require 860 million litres of ethanol. But commitment of one billion litres has come from sugar the industry,” Apurba Chandra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference here. India has the capacity to produce three…

  • Thermal Management System for the Ford Focus EV Battery Pack

    Mike Millikin
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:32 am
    The all-new Ford Focus Electric, which debuts in the US late next year and in Europe in 2012, will be powered by a lithium-ion battery pack with cells from CPI/LG Chem (earlier post) that utilizes heated and cooled liquid to help maximize battery life and gas-free driving range. Thermal management of lithium-ion battery systems is critical to the success of all-electric vehicles because extreme temperatures can affect performance, reliability, safety and durability. Ford has chosen an advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system to regulate the temperature of its lithium-ion battery…
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    TerraPass Footprint

  • "Doubt is our product."

    18 Aug 2010 | 6:27 pm
    Global warming skeptics, tobacco industry, CFC defenders actually the same people. by Tim Varga I just finished reading Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway’s exhaustively researched new book, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, and must recommend this work to anybody interested in how science is communicated and debated in the public sphere. Oreskes and Conway are science historians, at UC-San Diego and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, respectively, and the picture they paint is of a concerted and…

  • Payments for livestock loss not changing opinions

    17 Aug 2010 | 5:39 pm
    Ranchers not happy about wolf reintroduction, regardless of compensation. by Tim Varga It turns out that even though ranchers and farmers get paid for any livestock killed by reintroduced wolves, that cash doesn’t change negative opinions about wolves one bit. Retributional compensation is supposed to help. Whether local governments, voluntary insurance cooperatives, or NGOs provide the financial support, the idea is that livestock losses caused by reintroduced predator species could be mitigated by financial compensation for that loss. The results of a new study(subs. required)…

  • Copenhagen Wheel competing for Dyson Award

    17 Aug 2010 | 10:33 am
    E-bike addition could transform traditional bikes. by Tim Varga Looks like the Copenhagen Wheel Adam was so gaga about has topped the list of US regional entries, and will compete against 17 other inventions from around the world for the James Dyson Award of design. The winner will be announced on August 24, but in the meantime, we can all enjoy the snappy marketing video above. At a retail price of $600, the Copenhagen Wheel may be priced low enough to make a big splash. MIT’s Senseable City Lab (the wheel’s designers) says to look for the wheel in stores by June 2011.

  • EPA rejects attempts to reconsider endangerment finding

    6 Aug 2010 | 2:03 pm
    Petitioners misrepresent the science, but EPA knows what it's talking about. by Tim Varga The EPA recently responded to 10 petitions challenging the historic Endangerment Finding that linked increases in the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases with a decline in human welfare. The petitioners challenging the Finding - mostly conservative groups including the Ohio Coal Association, the Southeastern Legal Foundation and the State of Texas - argued that the EPA should reconsider based on new evidence found in the CRU emails (aka Climategate), which supposedly call into question the…

  • Heat seeking camera used to assess home energy use

    29 Jul 2010 | 6:52 pm
    Fly by night operation provides a detailed map of heat loss in Belgium. by Tim Varga The quality of your home’s insulation can be hard to assess without tearing into walls or poking a hole in the roof to see what’s underneath. But a group of municipalities in Belgium have taken a creative approach to helping people learn about their roof insulation: they hired an airplane-mounted thermal imaging camera to photograph neighborhoods over a four-night period in winter. The resulting map gives a detailed portrait of heat loss through the roofs of Antwerp. Through a website, residents…
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    World Resources Institute: Earthtrends

  • WRI Climate Data Now Available In Google Public Data Explorer

    EarthTrends
    10 Aug 2010 | 8:11 am
    WRI is working with Google to make our data related to climate change more approachable and interactive than ever. Google's Public Data Explorer is a new tool that makes large data sets easier to understand and explore. Users can reimagine data sets from a growing list of providers (like the U.S. Census, Eurostat, the World Bank, and, now, WRI's Climate Analysis Indicators Tool - CAIT) as interactive charts and maps that illustrate data relationships and trends over time. These new data visualizations can be embedded in other websites and easily shared via email or social networks. read more

  • New Mapping Website Tracks Changes and Threats to Southern U.S. Forests

    EarthTrends
    8 Mar 2010 | 8:48 am
    SeeSouthernForests.org provides a new way to learn about, and protect, the forests of the southern United States. Changes over a large area are often hard to see. This can be especially true when it comes to forests where incremental forest loss often goes unnoticed until it is too late. A new website and report by the World Resources Institute seek to change this and allow people to visualize the trends and drivers of change affecting southern forests. read more

  • Access to Information

    Samah Elsayed
    29 Dec 2009 | 2:06 pm
    One of our key priorities at EarthTrends is ensuring that the public have access to the type of information that can be used to understand trends, shape ideas and inform change. Information is crucial to both development and good governance. Successful decision making can only occur if both leaders and the wider public have a complete picture of the key trends and issues impacting their nation and communities. This is particularly important when it comes to sustainably managing a country's natural resources. However for many, particularly in low income countries, easy access is not always a…

  • Population and Consumption

    Richard Kahle
    13 Nov 2009 | 2:36 pm
    The air is full of carbon dioxide and other pollutants; The ocean is emptying; We have observed record setting harvests over the last few years, and yet chronic hunger persists and has recently been increasing; The planet is experiencing the 6th great extinction; All of these are the result of human activity. This evidence illustrates that we have not responsibly managed, neither through governance nor technology, our environmental resources. In the absence of finding a sustainable relationship with our ecosystem, we might conclude that we have reached Earth's carrying capacity.read more

  • Sanitation: Access and Health

    EarthTrends
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:12 am
    Human waste may be a topic that people generally do not or prefer not to think about. However, its capture and disposal (often referred to in terms of sanitation) play a vital role in human health and development. The importance of sanitation as a basic human need has made it an international development priority and a key target in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Even though since 1990 the percent of the global population with access to improved sanitation has increased (see Figure 1.), lack of improved sanitation still threatens human health and development particularly in…
 
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    American Public Media Marketplace

  • The problems stirred up by coffee cups

    25 Aug 2010 | 2:13 am
    Did you have a cup of coffee this morning? Coffee is big business for a number of companies, but the beverage has created some complicated recycling issues and raised environmental questions as well. Sustainability reporter Adriene Hill talks with Steve Chiotakis about problems with paper coffee cups.

  • Program trains solar panel installers

    23 Aug 2010 | 2:17 am
    Underwriters Laboratories, the group that certifies the safety of many products, has designed a new training program for electricians who install solar panels. Leoneda Inge reports.

  • Where the oil industry meets alternative energy

    11 Aug 2010 | 3:57 am
    Nolan Hart got a lot of photos of drilling rig explosions and pumpjacks at sunset from working 25 years in the oil industry. Krissy Clark perused his site and explored how oil and gas-based energy is fueling renewable resources.

  • BP spill inspires fashion through disaster

    10 Aug 2010 | 10:00 pm
    The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has inspired a string of t-shirt designs. We gathered a few stand-outs.

  • EPA takes aim at cement plants

    10 Aug 2010 | 11:01 am
    We've known for some time that mercury's a toxic pollutant. The government's regulated many factories' emissions of the stuff. And the newest as of this week: cement plants. Scott Tong reports.
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    Ecofriend

  • City and the Skyline is an ecologically sustainable visual delight

    AditiJ
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:26 am
    Eco Factor: Self-reliant future cities with organic food production. HP Skyline 2020, the online design competition asked students and professionals to collaborate and elucidate their visions and designs that would change the skyline thereby transforming the city itself has recently announced its winners. Encouraging designers to come up with fresh visual imaginations for the skyline discarding preconceived notions, competition saw over 300 entries giving a tough competition to one another. The National Winner of the competition Anto Gloren and Sayali Athale from Pune, India visualized…

  • Contemporary houseboat offers green and luxurious housing in Germany

    AditiJ
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:51 am
    Eco Factor: Wooden houseboat to provide permanent residences on water. The very thought of living in a houseboat leaves me enthralled. The whole experience of being surrounded by clean water, while enjoying magnificent view, comfort and luxury is just larger than life. Offering you the same experience in the lap of nature, Rost Niderehe Architects have designed a houseboat on the Eilbekkanal in Hamburg, Germany. Combining the comfort of a traditional family home with the character of a boat, the stunning houseboat features great woodwork and steel work that enhances the aesthetics. It follows…

  • Stanford researchers develop high-speed, low-cost filter

    AditiJ
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:33 am
    Eco Factor: High-speed filter purify water using electrified nanostructures. Our developing world is facing some serious diseases like cholera, typhoid and hepatitis, thanks to the dirty, unsafe water. In an attempt to provide a solution, researchers at Stanford University have developed a new high-speed, low-cost filter by simply dipping plain cotton cloth in a high-tech broth full of silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes, which could easily be implemented to purify water. Unlike conventional filters that physically trap bacteria, this new filter lets them flow on through with the water, but…

  • CANDELA aims to promote the use of eco-friendly candles for lighting

    Jolly
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:13 am
    Eco Factor: Lighting system makes use of soy-based candles. Industrial designer Simon Enever is aiming to encourage a younger, broader audience to use candles by providing a system that includes a push button lighter and extinguisher in a retro/modern package. The system, dubbed CANDELA, the device provides a safe and enclosed flame from a soy-based candle. The candle can be ignited using a piezoelectric lighter, which activates when the “On” button is pressed. Pressing the “Of” button rotates the sniffer to instantly extinguish the flame. Replacing the candle is just as clean as the…

  • Bioserie’s bioplastic iPhone case is made entirely from plants

    AditiJ
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:54 am
    Eco Factor: iPhone case made from toxic-free bioplastic. If you wish to pamper your iPhone with a protection that is not only stylish, but also green, then iPhone cases from Bioserie is something that your eyes will rest on. The new iPhone cases released recently are made from bioplastic, which is an organic material that contains no toxic ingredients and releases fewer carbon emissions during production. Claimed to be the world’s only bioplastic covers made from plants, they are classy, clean and innovative. The screen protection in the front lets you keep your iPhone anywhere without…
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    Consumer Reports: Home & Garden

  • Labor Day deals without the legwork

    Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:00 am
    Of all the holiday-weekend sales, Labor Day is the biggest. Not only is it wedged between summer and fall, when retailers slash prices on seasonal wares to make room for new inventories, but it also catches the tail end of the back-to-school rush. Consumer Reports has combed through the circulars, websites, direct mailings, and Facebook pages (yep, Lowe’s, Sears and Walmart, among others, all have ‘em) in search of the product categories that will likely see the most red tags this weekend.   If you’re a subscriber to ConsumerReports.org, remember that you can access our Ratings…

  • New Whirlpool plant cooks up some jobs in Tennessee

    Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:58 am
    Whirlpool refrigerators tends to perform well in Consumer Reports’ tests, with the brand’s Gold GX5FHTXV[Q] topping our Ratings of bottom-freezer refrigerators. The home-appliance maker said today it is taking at least a small step back from offshore manufacturing when it announced its plan to rebuild a cooking-appliance plant in Cleveland, Tennessee, with construction of the one-million-square foot facility beginning at the end of 2010. That would add 130 employees to the current 1,500 at Whirlpool’s Cleveland plant.   There had been talk of the Benton Harbor, Michigan-based…

  • Watching out for Earl? Here's how to be prepared

    Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:29 am
    Thousands of tourists were ordered to evacuate islands off the coast of North Carolina as Hurricane Earl continued its inexorable approach towards the mid-Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center issued various warnings and watches that extended up to the New England states. A warning indicates hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours; a watch indicates 48 hours."Our two biggest concerns," Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center Director, told NBC's Today are "the coast of North Carolina and extreme southeast Virginia on early Friday morning, late…

  • Calif. lawmakers to anti-plastic advocates: That's not my bag, baby!

    Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:53 am
    California lawmakers have rejected a bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags after a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice, the Associated Press reports. The Democratic bill, which failed late Tuesday, would have been the first statewide ban, although a few California cities already prohibit their use. Supporters of the bill said it would be good for the environment while opponents claimed the measure would be bad for the economy. The bill's author isn't giving up. "It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when…

  • DOE reports on new Energy Star verification testing

    Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog
    1 Sep 2010 | 5:00 am
    Early results show a significant number of qualified products might not meet specifications   Seventeen percent of appliances tested so far might use too much energy to qualify for the Energy Stars they currently carry, according to Richard Karney, team leader for the Department of Energy’s appliance testing and verification program. He presented the findings in a recent webinar. These models, tested over 5 percent worse than their Energy Star specification. Twenty-nine percent of room air conditioners fell into this category, as did 16 percent of refrigerators, and 4 percent of…
 
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    metaefficient

  • The Most Efficient Public Swimming Pool In The U.S.

    Justin
    27 Aug 2010 | 8:09 am
    A community swimming pool called the Richmond Plunge has just opened in Richmond, California, and it may be the most efficient swimming pool in the country. The Richmond Plunge has many efficient features: it’s heated by solar collectors, it’s entirely chlorine-free, and the building is powered by solar panels on the roof. The Plunge is a historic pool — it was first opened in 1926. Now, after ten years of renovation it has been reopened. (more…) Related posts:Chlorine Alternatives For Efficient Swimming Pools Cannonball! Jumping into a swimming pool is a classic…

  • Organic Men’s Summer Clothing

    benjamin
    16 Jul 2010 | 6:24 pm
    Organic Men's Summer Clothing Looking sharp while beating the heat is only half the battle when it comes to choosing summer clothing.  Many of us like to choose clothes and fabrics that are as healthy as possible, both for ourselves and for the environment. Here are some of our top picks for men’s organic summer clothing.  You can feel good about reducing potential toxins in your closet as well as the environmental footprint of your wardrobe – and look good while doing it. (more…) Related posts:Women’s Wool Shirts For Summer As the summer approaches and the…

  • Best Solar LED Lawn And Garden Lights

    benjamin
    13 Jul 2010 | 8:14 am
    Best Solar LED Lawn And Garden Lights Since LEDs are an efficient light source and draw far less power than traditional bulbs, they are perfect for off-the-grid applications where solar cells charge a battery that powers the lamp. Large-scale applications of this concept include LED road lane markers, but smaller-scale projects like lighting your lawn or garden are perfect uses for them as well. Keep in mind that most solar LED lights simply won’t be as blazingly bright as a wired halogen lamp, but they can be an efficient and convenient way to illuminate your outdoor spaces – especially…

  • Best Baby Bike Seats

    Ryan
    17 Jun 2010 | 3:43 pm
    Best Baby Bike Seats Every parent loves to bring their kids along with them for bike rides, and baby bike seats allow them to do this easily. Today, baby bike seats are fitted with suspension systems to keep your baby from rattling. Also, the locking mechanisms are more capable of attaching these baby bike seats to any style of bicycle. They are also more comfortable than ever, so it’s even easier to get your child out on the bike paths this summer with you. Getting your child on the road to fitness and efficient living early is a great way to keep them on that path for a lifetime.

  • Chlorine Alternatives For Efficient Swimming Pools

    benjamin
    7 Jun 2010 | 7:46 pm
    Chlorine Alternatives For Efficient Swimming Pools Cannonball! Jumping into a swimming pool is a classic way to beat the heat on a hot summer day. But clean pool water requires a combination of filtration, circulation, and sanitization. Chlorine has long been the most common tool for keeping pools free of bacteria and algae – but it has its drawbacks, and there are alternatives. (more…) Related posts:The Most Efficient Public Swimming Pool In The U.S. A community swimming pool called the Richmond Plunge has just... Green Roofs – Efficient Design Starts At The Top Green roofs…
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    Sustainable Industries: All Articles

  • By the Numbers

    Sustainable Industries
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:00 am
    Paul Hawken Earlier this year, at the Sustainable Industries Economic Forum, Paul Hawken challenged us to take a look at the use of the gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of the vitality of the world economy. After looking at some alternatives to the GDP, we drew the following comparison of two countries at different ends of the spectrum.

  • Notice anything different?

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    We hope you enjoy the new look and feel of Sustainable Industries, debuting with this, our 91st consecutive monthly edition of the print magazine. Ninety-one consecutive monthly issues? We must be mad. There once was a day when our access to news came in the headlines of a daily newspaper plopped on our local city curb at 4 a.m., and our access to analysis came in a glossy magazine in the mailbox. While some certain special magazines still have their merits, it’s no secret the sense of urgency in print frequency has long past.Sustainable Industries’ focus has always been on…

  • Is optimism infectious?

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
     Walking into Cameron Sinclair’s office in San Francisco’s South of Market District, the first thing one notices is a whiteboard calendar mapping out worldwide travels. Executive director of Architecture for Humanity, Sinclair is, at any given time, as likely to be in Canada or Cambodia as in his San Francisco home base. While the global economy is inching through a recession, Sinclair tripled his staff in 2009 and his 10-year-old nonprofit is looking to double its $5 million budget in the next decade. With projects ranging from earthquake reconstruction in Haiti to centers…

  • People Get Ready

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    ECOtality is deploying its Blink electric vehicle chargers in popular spots from Arizona to California. Courtesy Ecotality San Francisco is readying its streets for EVs. Courtesy Chargepoint ECOtality teams with Chevy and Nissan through the EV Project. Courtesy ECOtality. With the nation’s biggest carmakers—not to mention the country’s brightest startups—readying their electric vehicles for the road, an even greater push is going on behind the scenes to ensure a smooth road for electric vehicle (EV) owners.Much of the media attention in 2010 has been on the EV…

  • Down (Town) on the Farm

    Ashley Deforest
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Weber Thompson's vertical farm prototype for Newark, N.J. Courtesy Weber Thompson Seattle's P-Patch program has changed policy to allow for urban farming. Volunteer Jay rosenberg shows a map of Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco. Photo by Zoey Kroll Hayes Valley Farm hosts permaculture design certificate teacher trainings. Photo by Zoey Kroll  For centuries, the nation’s food system was closely woven into the fabric of our communities, dictating our land-use patterns, defining our regional character and shaping regional economies. But with the industrialization of our…
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    Matter Network - Clean Technology, Green News and Sustainable Business News

  • The Cisco/Itron Alliance - Game Changer or Buzzword Bingo?

    2 Sep 2010 | 5:51 am
    Cisco and Itron announced a strategic alliance that promises to "advance the transformation of the world's energy infrastructure". It sounds pretty big, yes? The press release would be a good source for smart grid "buzzword bingo", with the announcement of a joint collaboration on a standards-based, open, highly secure, interoperable, scalable, reliable, enterprise-class, IP-based, end-to-end, reference-design platform. The hour-long press/analyst call didn't seem to clear up the confusion, judging from the number of calls I fielded from various folks just afterwards. So just what did Cisco…

  • Imagine H2O Launches 'X-Prize' for Water Innovation

    1 Sep 2010 | 5:01 pm
    By Timothy B. Hurst Water. Most Americans think nothing of it. Turn on the faucet and we expect clean water to flow under good pressure at the temperature of our choosing. But to make all that happen, water requires energy and lots of it. A full 3 percent of electrical power generation is used to treat, pump and distribute water in the U.S. (to say nothing of heating it). And in California, that figure is as high as 19 percent. Imagine H2O is turning the concern about the intersection of energy and water into an opportunity by opening a $100,000 global competition to find the world's most…

  • Marine Animals Suggest Evidence for a Trans-Antarctic Seaway

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:03 am
    By Science Daily A tiny marine filter-feeder, that anchors itself to the sea bed, offers new clues to scientists studying the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet -- a region that is thought to be vulnerable to collapse. As part of a study for the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) analysed sea-bed colonies of bryozoans from coastal and deep sea regions around the continent and from further afield. They found striking similarities in particular species of bryozoans living on the continental shelves of two seas -- the Ross and Weddell --…

  • Proposed Vehicle Labels to Include GHG Emissions and Fuel Economy Comparisons

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:32 am
    By Thomas Miner The U.S. EPA and Department of Transportation today proposed two new fuel economy labels for passenger vehicles and light trucks, both of which change the way fuel efficiency information is communicated and includes detailed information about vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions. The first label design (see Image 1 below) proposed features a letter grade which communicates the vehicles overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance. It also provides consumers an estimate of the expected fuel cost savings over five years compared to an average gasoline-powered…

  • Shell Signs on for $12B Alt-fuel Project

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:24 am
    Jo BorrasEnergy giant Shell International has signed binding Agreements with Brazilian company Cosan to begin forming a new, $12 billion joint venture project that would see Shell develop sugar cane ethanol and new, "next-generation" alternative fuels.More on what this project means for the future of biofuels, after the jump.With annual production projections, the Shell/Cosan project aims to be one of the largest ethanol producing firms in the world, and-considering Shell's equity in logistics firms Iogen Energy and Codexis-enjoy enviable access to infrastructure that will allow easy…
 
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    Environmental Defense Fund: Climate 411

  • Green Jobs: California's Economic Bright Spot

    Sharyn Stein
    9 Aug 2010 | 10:39 am
    One of the strongest arguments for passing a climate and clean energy bill is that it will boost the economy and create jobs. Here's more evidence to support that claim: an updated map compiled by Environmental Defense Fund that shows more than 3,500 "green" businesses in California alone.   EDF's Tim Connor wrote about the map on our California Dream 2.0 blog. He says: Naysayers often claim that we should slow down our progress on clean energy and clean air because the overall economy is struggling.  The truth is that the green economy is a bright spot, generating…

  • Reflections from the Leader of our National Climate Campaign

    Sharyn Stein
    30 Jul 2010 | 12:24 pm
    This week, Steve Cochran took a moment to share his thoughts on the recent developments in the Senate with EDF supporters and activists. He discusses some of the frustrations and some of the challenges ahead, such as protecting California's climate change law from a hostile ballot initiative in November's election. He also looks at bright spots, such as the growing support for climate action within the business community. He closes by putting this moment in a historical context: "You know, I read history and I’m getting old enough to have lived some of it, and the hard truth…

  • NOAA Report Confirms: Yes, the World Is Warming

    James Wang
    30 Jul 2010 | 11:48 am
    A report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides new evidence that global warming continues relentlessly.  The report comes after climate science was found to be solid in several official investigations into the so-called “Climategate” controversy, and it adds even more urgency to the need to reduce global warming pollution to prevent severe impacts in the future. The report, "State of the Climate in 2009," was authored by more than 300 scientists from 160 research groups in 48 countries.  It confirms that each of the past…

  • The Consequences of Inaction on Climate Change

    Fred Krupp
    23 Jul 2010 | 8:51 am
    What a long, hard road it has been getting Congress to pass a strong climate and energy bill. I regret to say that the news is not especially good, though the door is not yet completely closed. After weeks of intense negotiations among EDF and other environmental organizations, Senate leaders, the White House, and some sympathetic members of the utility industry, we are still several votes short of the 60 required to break a Senate filibuster. Because of this, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that the Senate will not take up a limit on global warming pollution before the August…

  • From the blogosphere: the latest on the climate bill

    Rebecca Rasch
    22 Jul 2010 | 3:27 pm
    Not surprisingly, a number of blogs today talked about Senator Reid’s (D–Nev.) statement that he’ll move forward with a somewhat scaled-back energy bill. The legislation is slated to include a response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and energy efficiency incentives, but omit a carbon cap or many of the broader climate change measures that were part of the House version of the bill. For the state of play, CleanTechies includes a helpful bulleted list of “highlights of legislation introduced in the Senate that may contribute language to the final package.” The Vine questions the…
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    GreenMonk: the blog

  • Digital Lumens intelligent LEDs cut Maines energy for lighting by 87%

    tom@redmonk.com (Tom Raftery)
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:19 am
    Tweet Photo of before and after installation of Digital Lumens lighting system in Maines Paper & Food Service courtesy of Digital Lumens. Digital Lumens reduced the cost of lighting for their first customer by 87%. Digital Lumens specialise in high-bay lighting for warehouses, cold storage facilities, and manufacturing plants. This is a mostly invisible but very large segment. It is estimated that in the US alone, $5bn worth of lighting is sold into the supply chain sector every year. Mike Feinstein, Digital Lumens’ VP of Sales and Marketing, told me on a recent call that they are…

  • The zero-emissions Nissan Leaf test drive

    tom@redmonk.com (Tom Raftery)
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:10 am
    Tweet I love the idea of electric cars and have done for a long time. Recently, one of my best friends Ray Flynn, proprietor of Flynns Garage (a Nissan Dealership in Carlow, Ireland), contacted me to let me know he is one of only 15 Nissan dealerships in Ireland who have been approved to sell the new all-electric Nissan Leaf. As such he had a limited number of slots available for a test drive and he wanted to know if I’d like one of them. I jumped at the chance! The Leaf is a totally electric car relying completely on its 24 kW·h/90 kW lithium ion battery pack for power. The battery…

  • Friday Green Numbers round-up 08/27/2010

    tom@redmonk.com (Tom Raftery)
    27 Aug 2010 | 4:30 am
    Tweet Photo credit tiffa130 And here, after a short break, are this week’s Green Numbers: US wind energy usage grows by 28% Consumption of electricity from wind rose by 28% between 2008 and 2009, according to the federal government’s annual energy report. tags: us wind energy renewables greennumbers Spanish companies have 9,210 MW of installed wind power outside Spain The installed capacity of Spain increased by 2,459 MW in 2009, reaching a total of 19,149 MW (these figures include both the activities of national and international operators). This way, wind energy rose as the…

  • Smart Grid Heavy Hitters – Dr Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Canada

    Tom Raftery
    26 Aug 2010 | 4:17 am
    I recently had an opportunity to interview Dr Ann Cavoukian, the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario, Canada about Smart Grid data privacy. Commissioner Cavoukian has written and presented extensively about Smart Grid privacy. She is also the author of a white paper on Smart Grid privacy called SmartPrivacy for the Smart Grid and Dr. Cavoukian partnered with two major utilities to develop a practical roadmap for utilities to achieve the gold standard in data protection (Privacy by Design: Achieving the Gold Standard in Data Protection for the Smart Grid). Here is the full…

  • Holidays

    Tom Raftery
    4 Aug 2010 | 11:33 am
    Tweet Photo credit Dale Smith I’m heading off on holidays to Ireland tomorrow (Aug 5th) until the 17th – so expect the posting frequency here to slow down dramatically for the next two weeks! Hopefully we’ll have better than above but I have lived in Ireland so I’m not optimistic Have a great (Green) one and see you all in a couple of weeks. Tom. Tweet
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    The Green Mom Review™

  • Wrap-n-Mat

    Katherine
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:33 pm
    What: Wrap-n-Mat Features: A reusable sandwich wrap and a place mat, all in one—the Wrap-n-Mat is perfect for meals on the go. It’s easy to clean; simply hand wash and hang to dry. (Tip: Get two so you can use one while the other is drying). Green Factor: The lining is made with a low-density polyethylene, which is free of phthalates, lead and BPA. It’s estimated that every school day, 20,000,000 plastic baggies are used and discarded—Wrap-n-Mats are a great alternative to disposable plastic packaging! Bonus: Available in regular and large sizes. Check out the web site for colors,…

  • A Ray of Hope!

    Janet
    28 Aug 2010 | 9:44 pm
    I’ve bought Eden Organics canned goods on many occasions in the past, mainly because I’d heard their can liners were BPA-free. But when I actually saw it on the side of the can, my heart leapt. No, really. I was THAT excited. Someday I hope we’ll see “BPA Free” on ALL canned foods. High fives to Eden Organics for making my weekend just a little bit better—and to Canada for officially declaring BPA (bisphenol-A) toxic!!! The Green Mom Review™..

  • Nimble Nester Stacking Arches

    Katherine
    25 Aug 2010 | 8:23 pm
    What: Nimble Nester Stacking Arches Features: From Little Sapling Toys, a lovely set of stacking arches that are simple in appearance, yet perfect for young, developing minds. Kids can hone their balancing, fine motor and pattern-making skills with this timeless wooden set that can be passed on for generations because hello? NOT made from junky plastic. Green Factor: Made out of maple, cherry and walnut; the arches are finished with a light beeswax and organic jojoba oil. Bonus: For every toy sold, Little Sapling Toys plants a tree. Find It Here: Little Sapling Toys The Green Mom Review™..

  • Back to School: Staple-Free Stapler

    Katherine
    22 Aug 2010 | 11:27 pm
    What: Staple-free stapler Features: This ingenious little tool stitches (up to five) pieces of paper together, eliminating the need for staples on packets containing five or less sheets. It’s cute, safe for smaller hands and it means that the days of having to pick staples out of page corners before recycling (or shredding) are over! Green Factor: The staple-free stapler never needs to be refilled, makes paper recycling a bit easier. Bonus: Greenraising offers eco-friendly fundraising items–check out their website for more information. Find It Here: Greenraising This Week’s…

  • WIN: LunchBots for Waste-Free Lunches

    Janet
    20 Aug 2010 | 12:24 am
    What: LunchBots Features: Dishwasher safe stainless steel lunch containers that can be reused over and over for waste-free lunches. Green Factor: They’re made from the highest quality stainless steel and contain no plastic, BPA, phthalates, or VOC’s and independently lab-certified to be lead-free. Bonus: Use the following coupon code for 15% off an order from Lunchbots: BACKTOSCHOOL Win It: One randomly selected winner will score a set of Uno and Duo Lunchbot containers! Just leave a comment telling us what you’d pack in a Lunchbot. Giveaway ends at midnight  8/27/10; $30…
 
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    GreenPacks.org

  • 40,000 California Plug-In Hybrids Given HOV Lane Access

    Siyahi
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:02 am
    In the state of California, vehicles that meet certain fuel economy and tailpipe emission criteria have been given special access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes, also known as HOV or carpool lane. In cities that are swamped with cars, this is a major advantage to hybrid and other green car owners. The rumbles of trouble  arising in this system have been happening since the number of vehicles that qualify for this access are growing rapidly. Recently, the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill (SB 535) into law which extends HOV-lane access, starting 2012, to 40,000…

  • InterPark Announces Green Sweepstakes

    Siyahi
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:56 am
    In an attempt to encourage the concept of environmental sustainability in Chicago, InterPark has announced that it is launching the 2010 “Green Sweepstakes” contest. The Sweepstakes has exciting prizes to be won – most sought after of which will definitely be a two-year lease on a 2010 Tesla Roadster convertible. InterPark is a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital Real Estate that provides parking management services at over 100 parking facilities across the US. The company’s operations impact parker satisfaction as well as asset performance including cash control, staffing,…

  • Eco-Friendly, Stress Busting, Cost Effective G-Bike – Out Now!

    Siyahi
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:42 am
    The new G-Bike is out. Cost effective, without compromising on style, the bike is fully electric and can be used for 35 miles on a 4-8 hour charge, at a speed of 20 mph. The eco friendly battery powered electric bike is available in two models – the City and the Chopper – which intend to give a totally new travel option to commuters who were waiting for a green, stress free alternative to their usual commute. Available at Santa Monica’s Fred Segal Fun, the bikes boast of operating at a mere 29 cents per charge. Other features include pedals that can be removed, remote control alarm,…

  • Quick Charge, Electric Public Transport in South California

    Siyahi
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:13 am
    A public transportation agency in the South California region of San Gabriel/Pomona plans to have as part of their services all electric buses that can charge in a jiffy. The company, Foothill Transit, has bought three EcoRide BE35 all electric buses and two charging stations. The vehicles are capable of charging up in ten minutes, thanks to the 72 kilowatt-hour battery packs they have. The buses and charging stations have been bought from Proterra, a relatively new company that provides fast-charging electric vehicles for commercial purposes. The batteries that Proterra uses are 50% bigger…

  • New Green Range From Toy Company Blabla Out Soon

    Siyahi
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:49 am
    Handmade toy company Blabla has been recognized for their excellence in design and product through numerous awards throughout the years. Families who buy Blabla once usually become fans for life. The company is all set to unleash their new range of handmade toys, clothes and dolls at Masion & Objet in Paris. The show will run from September 3-7, 2010. The Blabla booth at Masion & Objet will be designed by set designer Frank Vesser. The new collection is based on the inner world of a child and his/her search for laughter, beauty and authenticity. The range has been designed by Florence…
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    GreenSmith Consulting

  • What the Bamboo Revolution Looks Like

    Paul Smith
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:33 am
    Last week I published a profile at Triple Pundit on the Portland based, boundary expanding, successful despite the given wisdom/state of the economy company called Bamboo Revolution. Growing 40% in an industry that's shrunk 50%, they clearly are on to something. I took a lot of photos in their space, which serves as a demonstration of bamboo's versatility, and a sketch pad of sorts for new ideas they're working on. A few made it to the Triple Pundit piece, but all had an interesting story. So rather than keep them to myself, here's what I saw:  Before Bamboo Revolution transformed it, this…

  • 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World

    Paul Smith
    27 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am
    This post was written by Rob Reed. He is the founder of MomentFeed, a location-based marketing, strategy, and technology firm. Location technologies are transforming how we experience, navigate, and ultimately better our world. From the global to the local, here are #10Ways geolocation is a positive force for good. Social media has changed the world. It has revolutionized communications on a global scale, and the transformation continues with every status update, blog post, and video stream. The global citizenry has become a global network. Since becoming widely adopted just a couple years…

  • GreenSmart Moves Recycled Bottle Based Gear Bar Higher

    Paul Smith
    16 Jul 2010 | 1:21 pm
    I've had the pleasure of watching Grass Valley California based GreenSmart make the transition to a green company over the past three years, done with thought and full consideration of the impact of the options they were exploring. With the release of their Bottles 2 Bags messenger bag line, they've truly hit it out the park. In the video below I'll take you on a little tour or their Baringo bag, and point out some lesser known details that clearly show how a company can effectively balance quality gear while being strongly sustainable. They've clearly hit their stride, and get that it's…

  • GreenSmith Sessions #2: Humble European CSR Superstar Fabian Pattberg

    Paul Smith
    12 Jul 2010 | 3:45 am
    Welcome back for the second edition of the GreenSmith Sessions, this time with Fabian Pattberg, a man with a multicultural awareness of business, having lived and worked across Europe and exotic Nashville, Tennessee. The GreenSmith Sessions are an evolving series of dynamic conversations with the key influencers, thinkers and doers in the sustainable business realm, and all the neighboring arenas it touches. Fabian and I had a far ranging conversation, addressing if and how CSR is and can remain relevant in the days of BP, what the US and EU can learn from each other, who he thinks is doing a…

  • GreenSmith Sessions #1: Joey Shepp of Earthsite

    Paul Smith
    23 Jun 2010 | 5:00 am
    Somewhere amidst the preparation to move my life 12 hours away to Portland, Oregon, an idea took root: Talk to the people that inspire me, and share it with you. My goal is to have brisk freeform conversations with some of the key influencers, thinkers and doers in the sustainable business realm, and all the neighboring arenas it touches. Rather then be a linear Q & A, I want to  see them be a dynamic dialogue that will give you much food for thought.It's called GreenSmith Sessions. My first guest is Joey Shepp, who has been involved in the sustainable business realm in some form or…
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    Autoblog Green

  • Mazda's "uniquely engineered" Sky engines will offer best-in-class fuel efficiency

    Eric Loveday
    2 Sep 2010 | 11:06 am
    Filed under: Diesel, MPG, Mazda, Green Daily Mazda6 mules are out there somewhere being tested right now for a planned debut in early 2012. The vehicles feature an entirely reworked suspension, an advanced six-speed automatic transmission and a multi-purpose platform that will underpin several new Mazda models. Mazda sources say that the new 6, with its advanced platform and new range of engines, should be future-proofed for upcoming emissions and safety standards for at least a decade after its launch, but Mazda's approach to engineering engines that will meet future regulations is rather…

  • GM says Chevy Cruze Eco with an automatic will hit 36 mpg highway

    Eric Loveday
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:58 am
    Filed under: MPG, Chevrolet, GM, Green Daily 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco - Click above for high-res image gallery General Motors recently slapped a price tag on the ultra-efficient 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Starting at $18,895, the compact Cruze Eco isn't the cheapest vehicle in its class, but it will be one of the most efficient compact sedans available whether you opt for the manual or automatic transmission. The Cruze Eco, when equipped with a manual transmission, is projected to hit 40 miles per gallon on the highway. But let's face it, most buyers will opt for the slushbox. Choosing the…

  • Rumormill: GM to follow Hyundai with four-cylinder-only mid-size cars

    Sam Abuelsamid
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:00 am
    Filed under: MPG, Chevrolet, GM, Lightweight Hyundai made some news last fall when it launched the all-new 2011 Sonata with a four-cylinder-only engine lineup. It now looks like General Motors might be following suit for its mid-sizers. By leaving out larger V6 engines as a possibility, Hyundai was able to design a lighter structure while still meeting new safety requirements and maintaining passenger volume. GM has already opted for four-cylinder engines in the new Buick Regal even though it didn't get any structural weight advantage since the Opel Insignia that it's derived from is…

  • Electric motorycle entrepeneur killed in car accident

    Eric Loveday
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:56 am
    Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Green DailyMatthew Dieckmann, president of Santa Rosa-based Electric Race Bikes and known by friends and neighbors as the "local electric motorcycle entrepreneur," was involved in a fatal crash in Santa Rosa, CA late Monday morning. Dieckmann was piloting an electric motorcycle near the Coddington Mall when he collided with a Toyota Prius. Though the Prius driver suffered no injuries, 29-year-old Dieckmann did not survive the crash. Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Doug Schlief stated that Dieckman's motorcycle struck the passenger side of the Prius.

  • GM announces $15,910 MSRP for Chevy Express, GMC Savana CNG packages

    Eric Loveday
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:02 am
    Filed under: Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Natural Gas, Green Daily Starting this fall, commercial fleet customers can opt to order their full-size GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express vans with either a factory-fitted compressed natural gas (CNG) system or a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) setup. The CNG/LPG vans will be delivered from the factory with the chosen fuel option and all necessary components installed and won't require any aftermarket modifications. General Motors has finalized pricing for the CNG system but, due to its lofty price tag, we don't expect many buyers will be opting for this natural…
 
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    Awake at the Wheel

  • Heavy-duty Ford trucks gain efficiency

    propel
    13 Aug 2010 | 5:08 pm
    With a free computer upgrade, Ford gives its 6.7-L PowerStroke V8 turbocharged diesel engines an added boost of fuel efficiency. This translates to a 20% increase in efficiency for the 2011 Super Duty diesel pickups over last year’s models. Ford … Continue reading →

  • Air Force Base adds Freedom to its Fuel

    propel
    6 Aug 2010 | 8:47 am
    Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is helping to create independence from imported oil, providing security to our nation in a whole new way. The base has announced the addition of E85 Flex Fuel, a change that positively affects our economy, our environment … Continue reading →

  • Find Flex Fuel E85 on your iPhone

    propel
    23 Jul 2010 | 10:13 am
    Find, edit and update E85 retail locations–all from your iPhone. The Renewable Fuels Association recently released a new iPhone App, E85 Fuelfinder–view in iTunes Preview–to help drivers locate E85 access nation-wide. Users can add favorite stations, get driving directions, and … Continue reading →

  • Run faster, cleaner? Use E85.

    propel
    12 Jul 2010 | 6:18 pm
    The old rules of racing are being challenged as cleaner and more efficient automotive fuels find their way to the track. Project Green, a group of researchers from the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has found that modern fuel-injected … Continue reading →

  • Volkswagen BlueMotion vehicles named 2010 World Green Car brand

    propel
    9 Jul 2010 | 11:27 am
    “The definition of the World Green Car of the Year was expanded a bit today when the World Car of The Year organization named Volkswagen‘s BlueMotion product brand – including the Polo, Passat, and Golf models – as the 2010 World Green Car during … Continue reading →
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    BioDieselNow

  • Daily News—09/02/10

    Robert Gleeman
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:12 am
        Middletown, Indiana: fresh acquisition of biodiesel plant on track for profitability Photo from: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=37037 Biofuel producer Imperial Petroleum has said its newly-acquired biodiesel plant in Middletown, Indiana, is now on the way to becoming “highly profitable”. The company bought the e-biofuels LLC facility back in May with the intention of converting it to its own technology (see this BrighterEnergy.org story). Ahead of that process, Imperial said today that it has negotiated a series of feedstock purchase agreements and…

  • Daily News—09/01/10

    Robert Gleeman
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:10 am
      Environmentalists say EU biofuel creates an African land-grab An intern of Biofuel Research at the firm's biodiesel plant in Singapore, June 2006. Photo: Reuters An international coalition of environmental groups says European demand for biofuels has driven local communities off their land in Africa and curbed the production of staple foods.   In an effort to protect communal land in Africa,Friends of the Earth, an international network of environmental groups, is criticizing the European Union for driving land acquisition by foreign companies across sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Daily News—08/31/10

    Robert Gleeman
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:08 am
      Columbia, SC will recycle used cooking oil into biodiesel through public works department Kim Foster-Tobin Columbia residents can now recycle cooking oil at the city’s Public Works facility off Harden Street. The city will donate the cooking oil to a Winnsboro company, Midlands Biofuels, which will convert it to biodiesel. The company will then sell the biodiesel back to the city to use in one of its garbage trucks. The program, which is dubbed Southern Fried Fuel Initiative, has two purposes: • First, to cut down on the amount of grease dumped into the city’s sewer system.

  • Daily News—08/30/10

    Robert Gleeman
    30 Aug 2010 | 6:52 am
      Ohio: American Electric Power interested in producing electric power from biodiesel Photo from: http://www.aep.com/contact/ COLUMBUS, Ohio – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is seeking quotes for the supply of biodiesel to one or more of its generating stations in Ohio. AEP is seeking quotes for the truck delivery of biodiesel blended with red-dyed No. 2 fuel oil to its Picway, Muskingum River and Conesville plants in Ohio. AEP is evaluating the use of biofuels as a renewable fuel source for start up and flame stabilization as part of its compliance with alternative energy…

  • Daily News—08/27/10

    Robert Gleeman
    27 Aug 2010 | 6:51 am
      Running for CA Governor, Jerry Brown speaks at San Diego biodiesel plant Above: Dem. gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown outlines his plan to create a half-million green jobs in California by 2020, at New Leaf Biofuel in Barrio Logan on August 26, 2010. SAN DIEGO — California’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown was in San Diego Thursday for a campaign stop at New Leaf Biofuel in Barrio Logan. The company converts used cooking oil into biodiesel. Brown said small, renewable energy businesses are the wave of the future. “This is small business, but it is reflective of…
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    IHT: Business of Green

  • Berkeley Debates the Demise of a Cougar

    By TODD WOODY
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:53 am
    A mountain lion wandered into the uniquely tolerant town of Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, and was ultimately shot by police. Heated debate has ensued.

  • Protest Shuts Down Oil Rig off Greenland

    By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:06 pm
    Exploratory drilling by a Scottish oil firm was halted after four Greenpeace protesters scaled the rig and suspended tents from its underside.

  • Fresh Air for Sale, in Hong Kong

    By BETTINA WASSENER
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:28 am
    A tongue-in-cheek commercial from an antipollution group, already a hit on YouTube, delivers a message about what the city's pollution could portend.

  • BP Tripled Ad Spending After Spill

    By JOHN M. BRODER
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:29 am
    An anatomy of the oil giant's media response to the Gulf disaster.

  • A Nuclear Giant Moves Into Wind

    By MATTHEW L. WALD
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:10 pm
    Exelon, which recently backed away from building new nuclear plants, announced that it was buying John Deere Renewables.
 
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    Ecogeek

  • Where's My Air Car!?

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:57 pm
    It sounds like a good idea: Use electricity to compress air, stuff it in a tank and use the power expelled by the air's release to power a vehicle. Seems like a good idea, certainly a lot easier to understand than nano-constructed cathodes on a lithium ion cell. And several companies have been actively attempting to build cars powered by conpressed air for quite some time. We at EcoGeek have been excited about them. The two biggest of these companies are MDI, a French company and Tata Motors, India's largest car company. But I have bad news. Today, here at EcoGeek, we are declaring the air…

  • Color Filter Could Boost LCD Efficiency by 400%

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:29 am
    Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a color filter that could boost the efficiency of LCDs, the power hog of all your gadgets, by more than 400 percent, and no, I didn't add an extra zero there. The researchers made an optical film that colors and polarizes the light that passes through an LCD, taking the place of the several layers of optical devices that typically serve the same function in an LCD.  Those multiple layers give rise to inefficiencies:  the best LCDs out today only emit eight percent of the light their backlights produce. The researchers found that the…

  • Lithium-Ion Battery Prices Set to Drop

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:39 am
    It looks like supply and demand is working out in the consumers' favor when it comes to lithium-ion batteries.  Production has been ramping up for the batteries as more electric cars go into production and that has led to an oversupply that may just keep piling up.  Analysts are predicting a price drop of between 19 and 25 percent by the end of the year -- a slash that could also spell cheaper electric cars in the very near future. Battery makers in Japan and Korea, like Samsung and Panasonic, account for 75 percent of the world's production, and they've been competing to get the largest…

  • Coast Guard Implementing Net Zero Housing

    31 Aug 2010 | 7:56 am
    The U.S. Coast Guard has set a goal of a net zero carbon footprint for housing at their Southwest Harbor Base in Maine.  The base is using solar panels, solar hot water heaters and now a wind turbine for their energy needs.  Efficiency-boosting retrofits will also be done, including new electrical systems and better insulation. The newly-installed wind turbine sits atop a 70-foot tower and provides power to a duplex housing unit located on the base.  The upgrades and retrofits will begin in October. The Coast Guard is looking to install wind power at other bases in Maine and around the…

  • EPA's New Fuel Economy Labels Open For Public Comment

    30 Aug 2010 | 1:17 pm
    The US Environmental Protection Agency has released its new vehicle fuel economy labels which are proposed to replace the current vehicle labels starting with the 2012 model year. The new labels provide consumers with additional information and a comparative ranking for new cars, with a comparison bar (not unlike what is now provided on appliances like refrigerators and clothes dryers) showing where the particular vehicle falls along the line from best to worst in fuel efficiency, greenhouse gasses, and other pollutants. Two alternative forms of labels (plus a third option which is not…
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    Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

  • American Somoa Becomes First U.S. Territory to Ban Plastic Bags

    Cameron Scott
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:40 am
    With California’s proposed statewide ban on plastic bags swept aside as collateral damage of the state’s broken political system, American Somoa emerged as the first U.S. state or territory to ban plastic bags at all retail stores. The landmark bill was signed into law last week and will take effect on February 23rd of 2011. Read the rest of American Somoa Becomes First U.S. Territory to Ban Plastic Bagshttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg…

  • BREAKING: Another Oil Rig Explodes in the Gulf of Mexico

    Bridgette Meinhold
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:45 am
    Just when you thought things were getting better in the Gulf of Mexico, another oil rig has just exploded. This morning around 9:30 am CDT a commercial helicopter reported that an oil production platform exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana. All 13 of the workers are accounted for, although one has been injured and is en route to the hospital. The Coast Guard has deployed multiple helicopters, an airplane and several Coast Guard cutters to the site. This oil rig was apparently not producing any oil, but it is not clear if there is or will be a leak. This newest explosion, five months…

  • Peace Corps to Start Clean Energy Program in the Americas

    Brit Liggett
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am
    Since 1961 when President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order, thousands of volunteers have traveled to developing countries to implement programs that range from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Now they’ll be adding another task to their list: the implementation of renewable energy. The US government just awarded the Peace Corps with $1 million to start a program that will bring clean green energy to developing communities in Central and South America. Read the rest of Peace Corps to Start Clean Energy Program in the…

  • Win a Back to School Solar Bag Bundle Worth Over $500!

    Yuka Yoneda
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    GO BACK TO SCHOOL WITH AN AMAZING NEW SOLAR BAG! If you want to put your best (and greenest) foot forward as you start the new school year, we’ve got something that will help – a lot. We’re giving away a fantastic Back to School Prize Package (worth over $500) packed with green school supplies to one lucky winner – and it could be you! This amazing bundle includes 7 awesome 100% recycled hardcover notebooks in assorted colors and styles by ecosystem, a 100% recycled binder, tabs and binder pouch from Naked Binder, and to top it all off, an amazing solar-powered bag by…

  • Hong Kong Activist Group Selling “Fresh Air” for 25 Cents a Bottle

    Brit Liggett
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:32 am
    Are you a resident of Hong Kong? Are you having trouble breathing because of the dense air pollution? Have no fear, Fresh Air is here! The Clean Air Network, a Hong Kong based awareness group is selling bottles of Fresh Air for just 25 cents to local residents. With Hong Kong’s air quality three times as bad as New York City’s and twice the level of London’s, it’s high time they start doing something about it. Check out the mock — yes, that’s correct, the bottles of air aren’t real — infomercial after the jump. Read the rest of Hong Kong…
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    CNET news: green tech blog

  • Motor City getting in on electric fever

    Candace Lombardi
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:28 am
    Coulomb Technologies installs free public electric-charging station in downtown Detroit as part of ChargePoint America program to encourage EV adoption.

  • Cisco buys Arch Rock in smart-grid push

    Martin LaMonica
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:46 am
    Networking giant to augment its IP-based communications tech with planned purchase of start-up Arch Rock, which makes wireless sensors for buildings, data centers, and utility networks.

  • Cisco, Itron team on smart-grid networking

    Martin LaMonica
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:59 am
    Cisco and smart-meter maker team on communications system based on IP to connect everything from people's homes to power distribution equipment on the grid.

  • Waste Management going for 'black gold'

    Candace Lombardi
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:06 am
    Garbage collector plans to offer organic gardening products made from expanded organic waste collection service.

  • Philly subway to capture energy from braking trains

    Martin LaMonica
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:15 am
    The smart grid goes underground in Philadelphia, where a battery will store energy from regenerative braking, cutting power costs and earning revenue on the grid.
 
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    Efficiency Matrix

  • Basic Mitt now available in Wholesale Outlets

    admin
    10 Aug 2010 | 5:22 am
    Demand a downlight cover to FIX Safety issues and save on Heating, Cooling and Lighting costs every year! An Aussie home with 40 downlights, installed with Halogen Mitt’s, could save you up to 1848kW/h of energy a year, via Heating and Cooling alone!  Click here for the Report Basic Mitt Key Features include: Transformer Holder. Insulative Material. Ventilation for 50W Dichroic Lamps. Fire Rated up to 2 hours by the CSIRO. Material expands towards a fire. Installable from below ceiling, with electronic transformers Call ANL Lighting now to place your orders (03)8833 7000

  • The Only Downlight Cover & Lamp Retrofit.

    admin
    29 Jan 2010 | 8:06 am
    Featured at the Going Green Expo! Halogen Mitt Downlight Cover Features include: Installable without an Electricians Licence. Includes Transformer Holder. Downlight covers can be Installed from beneath or above the ceiling. Our 35W SilverBack lamp provides equal brightness to a 50W Dichroic Halogen Lamp, but radiates most of its heat downwards and wastes no light upwards. Our 20W SilverBack globe can effectively compete  against Compact Fluoro Downlights by producing brighter light output than most CFL globes, while consuming only 20W of energy.  With the Downlight Mitt this retrofit…

  • Efficiency Matrix Announces Downlight Covers Are Now Mandatory in Australia

    admin
    21 Nov 2009 | 6:02 pm
    Halogen Mitt Key benefits for downlights: Save on lower Wattage Lamps Downlight cover includes an R-Value for insulation. Insulation installed all around the cover, (no clearances) Protect LED Lamps from extreme heat in your roof when Summer hits. Makes any fitting into a Fire rated downlight Efficiency Matrix Halogen Mitt Features: Downlight Mitt Thermal Image, running with the Efficiency Matrix 35W Halogen Lamp The Ultimate Energy Efficiency Downlight cover product for Energy Star Ratings! Includes Transformer holder. Tested with insulation completely submerging the Mitt and passes…

  • The Downlight Swiss Cheese Effect

    admin
    17 Nov 2009 | 5:49 pm
    Common Inefficiencies of Downlights Here is a brief explanation on how downlights make your ceiling into Swiss CHEESE, while also exposing your insulation to risk of fire. CHEESE Convection Currents When your lights are turned on, heat from your halogen lamp encourages air from your living area to shoot up into your roof area. Heated Air pressure During cold days, opening around your downlights and gaps in your insulation enable hot air to freely pass into your roof space from your living area.  Hot air wants to go up. Expansion of Heated Air During hot days, the sun creates extremely hot…

  • New Downlight covers released, joining the Ranks of the Halogen Mitt

    admin
    16 Nov 2009 | 4:14 am
    Two new products will be released within the coming weeks.  These down light covers will complement our current green/energy star LED Mitt/Halogen Mitt to provide a complete retrofit for 50W halogen lamps for downlight protection. The new Basic Mitt, is a Ventilated diy downlight cover, which can be used primarily for fixed head fittings, and will be very affordable for the do it yourself installation, and can be used with standard dichroic halogen lamps. The new Loft Mitt, is a large insulation downlight cover, primarily designed for insulation installers to be installed from above and…
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    Clean Break

  • Toronto mayoral candidates talk about greening the city’s economy

    Tyler
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:45 pm
    The debate, hosted by Toronto Greenhouse and moderated by yours truly, took place this evening. Please come back after noon on Wednesday for access to a transcript of the event and to post any followup questions you may have. Candidates have been invited to visit this site and answer questions. Stay tuned. UPDATE: After a sincere attempt to transcribe last evening’s Green Government debate, I have decided to not proceed because certain parts of the debate were inaudible on my digital recorder. It would be unfair to post a transcript in which the comments of certain candidates are…

  • Canadian company one of several clearing land in Africa to grow biofuel crops

    Tyler
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:44 am
    A new report from Friends of Earth is taking aim at several companies — including Canada’s Kimminic Corp. of Mississauga — for buying up land in Africa and clearing it so biofuel crops can be grown. The group claims that Kimminic has purchased 13,000 hectares of land in Ghana that will be used to grow Jatropha, which produces an oil that can be used to make biodiesel. “Non-edible agrofuel crops such as jatropha are competing directly with food crops for fertile land. The result threatens food supplies in poor communities and pushes up the cost of available food.

  • Joe Romm’s book Straight Up is a treasure of climate-related widsom

    Tyler
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:15 am
    I meant to review Joe Romm’s most recent book Straight Up a few months ago but didn’t really dig into it until I started research for my own book. Also, I’ve been regularly following his blog, www.climateprogress.org, since it was started and much of the content in the book — a compilation of his best climate-related posts with commentary and updates — isn’t new to me. But if you’re someone looking to expand your knowledge of climate change science, policy, and the technologies needed to address global warming, then I highly recommend Romm’s…

  • $20 LED lightbulb at Home Depot a welcome start, but call me when it hits $10 — even better, $5

    Tyler
    29 Aug 2010 | 7:26 pm
    My Clean Break column for this Monday acknowledges Home Depot for selling the first sub-$20 LED lightbulb for a standard household light socket. It was only months ago — weeks, even — that the $40 pricepoint was being tossed around. These lower prices can’t come any faster. I respect the compact fluorescent bulb, I really do, but it just doesn’t cut it for me. Mercury. Premature blowouts. The light quality has gotten much better, and the price has come a long, long way — $1.50 a bulb in most places compared to $11 or $12 a decade ago. But LEDs are just so much…

  • Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV an ideal inner city electric car

    Tyler
    27 Aug 2010 | 9:47 am
    Just had my first spin of a Mitsubishi i-MiEV today and quite enjoyed it. I’ve driven the plug-in Prius (retrofitted by Hymotion), the Tesla Roadster and a ways back a $1-million fuel cell Ford Focus, and have to say that being a person who lives in a big city and lives in a two-car household, the i-MiEV so far is the best fit for me. It helps that I’ll soon be able to ditch my kids’ car seats. The car has a 100 km to 120 km range, depending on how many passengers you have and how much you use radio/aircon/heating. I now work from home and maybe twice a week do the 15 to 20…
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    Fake Plastic Fish | Live Life With Less Plastic

  • California: We Could Have Been A Leader!

    Beth Terry
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:47 pm
    I’m sick at heart this morning.  I was going to write a post about how empowered I felt after taking my washing machine apart and putting it back together again.  But I’m too upset by the actions of the California senate this morning to give a crap about that. UGLY TRUTH Last night, I fell asleep in my living room chair while watching episodes of Ugly Betty on DVD.   Early this morning, Michael woke me up with some ugly news: California legislators struck down AB1998, the California plastic bag ban bill that so many of us have been excited about. I wrote about AB1998 back in…

  • Back to School in 1974. LunchBots Giveaway in 2010.

    Beth Terry
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:53 am
    How often do we hear ourselves bemoaning the plastic world we’ve created and wishing we could go back to the good old days before our disposable culture got the better of us? I was having a few of those thoughts last night when I realized that as far as school lunches are concerned, some things may have gotten worse, but we also have some better options now than those available when I was a kid. In 1974, way, way, way back in the day, ”Back to School” meant I finally got new clothes for the year.  Not that the clothes ever lived up to my fantasy of for once having…

  • Say No To Singles

    Beth Terry
    25 Aug 2010 | 10:00 am
    My vision of a plastic-free, zero-waste world is not a singles club.  No, I’m not discriminating against uncoupled people.  But I am a bigot when it comes to the three categories of Singles products, all of which have been featured on the new Facebook Plastic Crap Wall of Shame lately.  The first two, I’ve written about extensively, and the third might surprise you. 1) Single-use Disposables Think plastic drink cups and cup lids, plastic food containers, plastic straws, plastic packing materials and blister packs and clamshells.  Or other ridiculous disposable items, like…

  • BlogHer10 Conference Recap: Keeping It Real

    Beth Terry
    24 Aug 2010 | 3:10 pm
    BlogHer is about community, the power of women’s blogs and the promotion of women’s voices.  It’s also about corporate sponsorship, commercialism, and the tradeoffs made to create a platform and conference experience for 2,400 women. I LOVED my BlogHer conference experience this year.  It was a rockin’ good time.  Nevertheless, I am troubled by some of the fundamental values of the organization, and I won’t be participating on the Green Team for future conferences.  But first, the good stuff… BlogHer10 WIN 1) Connecting with other women bloggers.

  • Reinvention, Fake Plastic Fish Style (Eat Your Heart Out, Madonna)

    Beth Terry
    18 Aug 2010 | 12:53 pm
    The Yahoo! Shine video below, recorded at the BlogHer conference, is ostensibly about reinvention.  And apparently, I’m reinventing myself this week as a blogger who isn’t blogging.  I figured that out after a few days went by and I hadn’t finished a post. I’ve started several of them… one about the great things that happened at the BlogHer conference and another one about the stuff that made me mad/disappointed. I’ve also begun posts about plastic-free deodorant options, sustainable mattress choices, and staying away from singles.  And I’ve got…
 
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    Clean Energy Stocks

  • Investorideas.com - Solar Stocks Sector Close-Up; Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd (NYSE:STP) Builds on Yesterday's Gains in Early Trading

    www.Investorideas.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:37 am
    Investorideas.com - Solar Stocks Sector Close-Up; Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd (NYSE:STP) Builds on Yesterday's Gains in Early TradingSeptember 2, 2010 - (Investorideas.com renewable energy/green newswire) - Investorideas.com a leading global investor and industry portal covering the green and renewable energy sector release a sector close-up on solar stocks following yesterdays market surge. Several leading solar stocks gained in the market upside. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd (NYSE:STP) (over 6%) and Y ingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) (over 5%) both had impressive gains of over for the…

  • Solar Stocks Bouncing off Bottom – Led by Solar Seven

    www.Investorideas.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:40 am
    Solar Stocks Bouncing off Bottom – Led by Solar SevenPoint Roberts, South Salem, New York- September 2, 2010 - http://www.investorideas.com/ and its green investor portal, renewableenergystocks.com reports on solar stocks with J. Peter Lynch.Solar Stocks Commentary with J Peter Lynch – read other articles, Exclusively for InvestorIdeas.com and Renewableenergystocks.comhttp://www.renewableenergystocks.com/PL/Solar Stocks Bouncing off Bottom – Led by Solar SevenOver the past few weeks the market has been one of those short term “trendless” markets that can drive investors crazy and…

  • Investorideas.com - Green Agriculture Stocks; China Green Agriculture, Inc. (NYSE: CGA) up pending earnings call

    www.Investorideas.com
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:20 pm
    Investorideas.com - Green Agriculture Stocks; China Green Agriculture, Inc. (NYSE: CGA) up pending earnings callSeptember 1, 2010 - www.InvestorIdeas.com, a leader in sector research tools for investor’s reports on agriculture stocks and green agriculture stocks for investors.The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSEArca: MOO) was trading at 44.57, up 1.03 (2.37%) 1:18PM EDT.China Green Agriculture, Inc. (NYSE: CGA) was trading at $9.94, up $ 0.34 (3.54%) 1:16PM EDT pending its earning news. China Green Agriculture, Inc. (NYSE: CGA) will Host Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2010 Results…

  • Investorideas.com - China Cleantech Stocks: OTCVolumeleaders.com Most Active ($2.00-$5.00): (OTCBB: SOKF), (OTCBB: LNDT), (OTCBB: KMKCF), (OTCBB: EESC)

    www.Investorideas.com
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:26 pm
    Investorideas.com - China Cleantech Stocks: OTCVolumeleaders.com Most Active ($2.00-$5.00): (OTCBB: SOKF), (OTCBB: LNDT), (OTCBB: KMKCF), (OTCBB: EESC)Point Roberts, WA (Investorideas.com Newswire) August 31, 2010 - OTC VOLUME LEADERS reports on the most active trading stocks on the OTCBB. OTC Volume leaders ($2.00-$5.00) include SOKO FITNESS & SPA (OTCBB: SOKF), LIANDI CLEAN TECH (OTCBB: LNDT), CONTINENTAL MINERALS (OTCBB: KMKCF), and (OTCBB: EESC).Sign up for Tomorrows Hot OTC Market Leaders Today!Email: Sign up for Tomorrows Hot OTC Market Leaders…

  • The Benefits of Urban Agriculture; Trends in Green Agriculture and Sustainability

    www.Investorideas.com
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:33 am
    The Benefits of Urban Agriculture; Trends in Green Agriculture and Sustainability August 31, 2010 - www.InvestorIdeas.com and its environmental investor portals, report on the benefits of urban agriculture for investors following green agriculture. Aquamer Medical Corp. (OTCBB: AQUM) (DBA/ Urban Agricultural Corp.) a sustainable agriculture stock recently announced the acquisition of Urban Agricultural Corp. ("Urban Ag"), a privately owned company. Urban Ag currently holds an exclusive license for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has right of first refusal to purchase exclusive licenses…
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    Cleantech Blog

  • Electric Cars get A+ from EPA

    John Addison
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:28 am
    By John Addison (9/2/10 from original post at Clean Fleet Report) New Proposed Stickers When you go shopping for a new car it is useful to see a quick summary of fuel economy, how much you might save in fuel over 5 years, and the price. Now that people are web surfing faster, moving with purpose through auto shows, and scanning car lots with speed, the EPA is proposing adding grades “A” to “D” on window stickers. You would still get rich comparative details at a website like the popular http://fueleconomy.gov/ Pure battery-electric cars would get an “A+,” go to the head of the…

  • Solar needs a new Metric

    Jigar Shah
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:42 pm
    I just read a very interesting article from Motley Fool on the oversupply of solar in the marketplace that is predicted in 2011. The article went on to try to compare the competitive position of the thin-film mfg and the crystalline mfg based on $/Wdc. Of course for those of us in the industry we know that this has no meaning given the widening efficiency gaps, but like Moore's law the $/Wdc is followed by investors like a hawk. The more important metrics are:1) $/kWh delivered - this includes the installed cost of the system plus the energy production per rated W. First Solar thin-film often…

  • I Am Shocked -- Shocked! -- At Green Hypocracy

    Richard T. Stuebi
    30 Aug 2010 | 10:47 am
    by Richard T. StuebiIn today's world, it's easy to claim being "green". You can recycle, you can drive a Prius, you can have solar panels on your house, you can install CFLs in every light socket, but...in actuality, how green really are you?This question was the focus of a recent posting on Yahoo! by Lori Bongiorno entitled "Signs of a Green Hypocrite", in which Ms. Bongiorno illustrates several hypothetical examples of someone seeming to be doing the right thing...only to swamp the environmental benefit by some other ill-advised action.Of course, green hypocracy is not limited to…

  • Shell’s new $12 Billion Investment in Advanced Biofuels with Cosan

    John Addison
    25 Aug 2010 | 2:55 pm
    By John Addison (8/25/10) original post at Clean Fleet ReportShell (NYSE: RDSA) and Cosan (NYSE: CZZ), one of the world’s largest sugarcane ethanol companies based in Brazil, signed binding agreements to form a $12 billion joint venture for the production and commercialization of ethanol and power from sugar cane. The resulting joint venture, if completed, will be the third largest ethanol producer in the world with 4,500 retail stations and annual production capacity of 2 billion liters (440 million gallons). This venture gives Shell an opportunity to lower the carbon footprint gasoline…

  • Why Conservatives Are Bad on Energy: It's All About the Costs

    Neal Dikeman
    25 Aug 2010 | 10:22 am
    By Tom Rooney, CEO SPG SolarConservatives,  let's talk about energy. And why so many conservatives are so wrong -- so liberal, even -- on wind and solar energy. Let's start with a recent editorial from the home of 'free markets and free people," the Wall Street Journal. Photovoltaic solar energy, quoth the mavens, is a "speculative and immature technology that costs far more than ordinary power." So few words, so many misconceptions. It pains me to say that because, like many business leaders, I grew up on the Wall Street Journal and still depend on it. But I cannot figure out why people…
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    Green Tech Media: Cleantech Investing

  • All you need is… R&D?

    info@greentechmedia.com
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:45 pm
    I'm not much of a web guy, but I'm terrifically impressed with Twitter these days. For one thing, after I posted a pretty critical take today on a book I'd just read, it was a new experience to have the author (Vinnie Mirchandani, "The New Polymath") pretty immediately reach out to me to ask why I felt that way.  That launched a good online dialog between the two of us.  We agreed that cross-disciplinary innovation is huge for cleantech in particular.  We agreed on the need for significantly more resources to be put behind it, and to be put into the sector in general.  We…

  • It’s not the information, it’s what you DO with the information that matters

    info@greentechmedia.com
    25 Aug 2010 | 8:01 am
    Now that energy efficiency is all the rage in cleantech venture circles (note to cleantech VCs: don't pitch LPs on your firm being "differentiated" because you target capital efficient businesses...), investors have been particularly attracted to the energy efficiency plays that appear to be at the intersection of energy efficiency and information technology.  The hope being that these investments would scale like an IT play, but be accessing the large market opportunity in energy efficiency. The majority of such investments I get approached on, however, are simply information gathering…

  • Anxiety and optimism

    info@greentechmedia.com
    13 Aug 2010 | 12:55 pm
    Wondering what the general emotion of the cleantech venture sector is right now? The three posts I put up today (here, here and here) should paint the picture pretty well. Things are happening.  Deals are getting done.  Startups are making progress, moving into production and revenue phases.  Some exits are taking place.  Emotion: Cautious optimism. But funding remains tight.  And companies are having to take inside-led rounds to get by.  Moving into production phases makes that challenge even more acute.  Investors are backing their companies through a few…

  • A look at how bad 2009 was for solar companies

    info@greentechmedia.com
    13 Aug 2010 | 12:36 pm
    At Canaccord Genuity's very good sustainability dinner in Boston this week, I had an enjoyable conversation with CG's Marc Marano, a leader on their cleantech team.  He told me about some pretty interesting data they'd pulled together on the solar industry. We're all familiar already with what a down year 2009 was for financings, but perhaps no sector was harder hit than solar panel manufacturers.  Marc's team had pulled together a list of all the financings in the solar sector for the five quarters Q1 2009 through Q1 2010.  And looking over their tally, I see 18 follow-on…

  • Learnings from the Gevo S-1

    info@greentechmedia.com
    13 Aug 2010 | 10:29 am
    S-1s are great.  You can't learn everything about a company from them, but you can learn a heck of a lot.  And when the company is pretty indicative of an entire subsector, you can use that company's data to help illustrate trends across a market. Gevo's S-1 is well worth reading through.  Because the company is, I think, fairly illustrative of what many venture-backed "2nd generation biofuels" stories have looked like.  I don't have any insider knowledge of Gevo, so it's also a good one for me to talk about simply from what's in the S-1 and available to all... Here are…
 
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    The BiOH Experience

  • Soy sleepy? Buy pillows made with BiOH® polyols at Target® while supplies last!

    Nicole, BiOH Polyols Assistant Marketing Manager
    13 Aug 2010 | 9:30 am
    I am soy excited to share with you that Target Home brand memory foam pillows with BiOH polyols will be available for purchase at over 50 selected Target retail locations nationwide while supplies last. Whether you are a parent, student, mother or significant other, you can rest easy knowing that you have the choice of a more renewable pillow. We have hit the bull’s-eye with this incredible opportunity to bring BiOH polyols into bedrooms all across America. Stock up on soy and look for the logo when you’re browsing the bedding aisles of this trendy retailer (that is if you can make it…

  • We are excited to announce our sponsorship of Project UDesign.

    Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant
    15 Jul 2010 | 10:17 am
    Have you ever been curious about what goes into the furniture design process? What the inside of a factory REALLY looks like? What furniture designers think about before they start sketching? What kinds of sustainable materials are available to make eco-friendly furniture? READ ON to learn more! WHAT IS Project UDesign? A fun way to meet people online and offline, network within the furniture industry and with the event partners, pick the winning student who creates your favorite upholstered wing chair design- which will be produced by Century Furniture- and, at the same time, learn more…

  • Slow Home Movement – Being mindful about the impact your furniture has on the environment

    Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant
    16 Jun 2010 | 11:03 am
    Interior designer Gloria Battista Collins, who sent us the video below, is a key proponent of this new movement. Slow Home means being mindful and knowledgeable about the furniture you purchase for your home and the impact on the environment of the materials that are used to make it. It means buying the best furniture you can afford so that it will last and not end up in a landfill. It means slowing down to appreciate and remember the memories that accrue to each well-loved piece you own. Thank you, Gloria, for using furniture made by TLSbyDesign, an Indiana based manufacturer, who uses foam…

  • Tiffany Bradley wins our Bed Head is Soy Stylish contest!

    Jenny, BiOH Polyols Marketing Assistant
    7 Jun 2010 | 7:56 am
    Congratulations to Tiffany Bradley for winning our Bed Head is Soy Stylish photo contest! Her “Morning Me… Bleh!!!” bed head photo garnered the most public votes and was also the favorite among our judges. The Bed Head is Soy Stylish contest is a partnership with Serta® Mattress and the 2010 HGTV Green Home. Tiffany will receive a top of the line, queen size mattress set from the new collection of HGTV Green Home mattress collection by Serta® shipped directly to her home! Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! To see all entries and the runners-up, please view our…

  • LEE Industries Embraces More Soy

    Jessica, BiOH Polyols Marketing Manager
    10 May 2010 | 12:32 pm
    Jump for Soy! At the April 2010 High Point Market, LEE Industries introduced a new cushion option in their upholstered leather collection that is made with >30% soy content in the foam - the highest  renewable content currently offered in the industry! Two chairs from LEE's Leather Collection in their High Point Showroom The cushions are made with Bio-Lux™ Max technology from NCFI Polyurethanes where 50% of the foam’s petroleum-based polyol is replaced with BiOH Polyols. NCFI has been using BiOH technology in their foams since 2006 and continues to explore ways to add more…
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    Environmental Leader

  • Manufacturers to Pay for E-Waste under New Wisconsin Law

    Environmental Leader
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:57 am
    Wisconsin’s new electronic waste (e-waste) recycling law shifts the financial burden from local governments to manufacturers now that users have to recycle their old computers, cell phones and other electronic devices, reports Government Technology. Based on a product stewardship approach, the law gives the primary responsibility for collection and recycling to the manufacturer. Manufacturers had to register with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) starting Jan. 1. In June, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) adopted a resolution for state and federal legislation that will shift…

  • Cisco, Itron Partner to Boost Smart-Grid Development

    Environmental Leader
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:46 am
    Cisco and Itron have signed a strategic alliance that will further enable the development of a comprehensive smart grid by developing next-generation architecture and technology for an intelligent distributed networking infrastructure. This joint-development agreement is focused on introducing the first fully-implemented IPv6-based communications to the smart grid market, delivered through Itron’s OpenWay smart metering platform. This alliance will leverage Itron’s existing OpenWay platform, as well as Cisco’s networking and cyber security technology and expertise. The…

  • California Rolls Out Zero Net Energy Plan for Buildings

    Environmental Leader
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:32 am
    The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), along with stakeholders, has released the state’s Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Action Plan for Buildings. The roadmap provides an action plan to shift the state’s 5 billion square feet of commercial property space from the biggest energy consumers in the state to “net zero” energy users, through greater energy efficiency and on-site clean energy generation by 2030. California’s commercial property space consumes 38 percent of the state’s total power supply, which make this sector the biggest energy users in the…

  • Greenpeace: 500,000 Facebook Users Tell Social Network Site to Get Off Coal

    Environmental Leader
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:22 am
    In a campaign that started in February to get Facebook to change its strategy to power its planned data center in Prineville, Oregon, with renewable energy instead of coal, Greenpeace has garnered support from 500,000 Facebook users under its “Unfriend Coal” campaign against Facebook. With half a million signatures in hand, Greenpeace sent a letter to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg calling for the world’s largest social network to cut ties to coal-fired power at its new data center in Oregon, reports Reuters. Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace, writes in the letter:…

  • EPA Rejects Texas Air Pollution Rules for Third Time

    Environmental Leader
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:08 am
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected some aspects of Texas’ rules for air pollution for the third time in five months because they violate the Clean Air Act, reports Houston Chronicle. The EPA said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s New Source Review — which mandates when industrial plants must implement additional pollution controls — did not meet Clean Air Act requirements. The New Source Review is required by the federal Clean Air Act and is typically administered by states, according to the Dallas Morning News. Under federal…
 
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    Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward

  • ULE 880 — The World Weighs In

    joelmakower
    22 Aug 2010 | 11:11 pm
    We've just reached the halfway point in the public comment period for ULE 880 - Sustainability for Manufacturing Organizations — the company-level sustainability standard my colleagues and I helped develop — so it's a good time to take stock. First, some background. Three weeks ago, GreenBiz.com and UL Environment (ULE), part of the venerable standards organization Underwriters Laboratories, publicly released a draft of the above-named standard, which rates large and midsized manufacturers across more than 100 indicators covering environment, workforce, community, governance,…

  • Introducing ULE 880 - Sustainability for Manufacturing Organizations

    joelmakower
    2 Aug 2010 | 4:11 am
    Today, a new sustainability standard for companies is being released for public comment: ULE 880 - Sustainability for Manufacturing Organizations, a partnership between UL Environment, a division of Underwriters Laboratories, and my colleagues at GreenBiz.com. It is a day that I've been awaiting for the better part of a decade. A 45-day comment period opens today, during which we're hoping you will review the draft standard and provide detailed feedback. (More about that in a minute, but if you're in a rush to get there, click here.) ULE 880 is the first in a series of…

  • What Color is the Triple Bottom Line?

    joelmakower
    26 Jul 2010 | 12:11 am
    I recently posted a query on Twitter and Facebook asking a simple but vexing question: "Someone committed to the environment is called an environmentalist. What do you call someone committed to sustainability?" The answers I got were largely snarky, smug, and, ultimately, unsatisfactory. (I probably should have added a single-worded addendum: "Seriously.") Suggestions included "A good ancestor," "Idealist," "Human," "Thinker," "Educated," "Brilliant," and the like. A few folks gamely stepped up to the challenge:…

  • Walmart and the Sustainability Index: One Year Later

    joelmakower
    19 Jul 2010 | 12:11 am
    It’s been exactly a year since Walmart’s historic launch of a Sustainability Index and other measures to assess suppliers and products and, remarkably, the sun still rises in the East and sets in the West. As I stated in my analysis that day — July 16, 2009 — “there is both more and less going on here than meets the eye.” One year later, I’m sticking to that story. A brief review: Last summer, Walmart announced that it would assess its suppliers on environmental and social criteria. It announced a Sustainable Product Index to “establish a single source of data for evaluating…

  • Shanghai: A City of Two Tales

    joelmakower
    6 Jul 2010 | 7:56 pm
    I'm writing this en route home from Shanghai, where I've spent most of the past week touring, visiting, meeting, and experiencing this Asian megacity for the first time. The occasion was Expo 2010, the world's fair situated on both sides of the Huangpu River, which runs through the center of China's largest city. I came to Shanghai primarily for the opening of an art installation, "The Nature of Cities," on cities and biodiversity, at the Expo's United Nations pavilion. The theme of the exhibition — created and produced by Art Works for Change, the…
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    Sustainablog

  • Help For The Homeless – Delivered By Bike?

    Rory Woods
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:39 am
    Photo courtesy of Maxim Karp This group of friends does exactly that. They gather every Sunday to assemble sack lunches and distribute them to people in need via bike. Food Not Bombs with a Twist: Burritos and Bike Delivery The Burrito Project was started in Los Angeles, but chapters have formed in many cities since its inception. The Fullerton, CA chapter meets every Sunday to assemble burritos and distribute them, often to the same people with whom they have developed relationships over the course of weeks or months. You Can Be the Change While the sack lunches that are distributed are…

  • Denver Man Invents World’s First Solar-Powered Light Bulb

    Calfinder
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:46 pm
    What do ski risers, ceiling bike storage, goggle fans and solar-powered light bulbs have in common? Stephen Katsaros. He’s an entrepreneur and inventor from Denver, Colorado with a knack for getting things done, as evidenced by the quick conception in January (and birth in July) of the Nokero Solar Light Bulb, with which Katsaros plans to replace the toxic fuel that one-quarter of the world still uses for lighting. The Nokero is the world’s first solar-powered light bulb and, while it may sound strange to adorn a single light bulb with solar panels, the Nokero is easy and fast to…

  • Book Review: Hunting: In Search of the Wild Life, Edited by Nathan Kowalsky

    Justin Van Kleeck
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:55 am
    Author’s Note: A free review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher, Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell’s series of philosophy books for general readers, Philosophy for Everyone, aims to serve general, non-expert readers without actually treating them as “dummies” or creating watered-down, one-size-fits-all philosophy. The risk such an endeavor always faces is to end up serving nobody while trying to serve everybody, failing to satisfy either the experts or the neophytes. In the anthology Hunting: In Search of the Wild Life (affiliate link), editor Nathan Kowalsky brings…

  • Geothermal: Getting Energy from the Earth

    Earth Policy Institute
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:57 am
    By Lester R. Brown The heat in the upper six miles of the earth’s crust contains 50,000 times as much energy as found in all the world’s oil and gas reserves combined. Despite this abundance, only 10,700 megawatts of geothermal electricity generating capacity have been harnessed worldwide. Partly because of the dominance of the oil, gas, and coal industries, which have been providing cheap fuel by omitting the costs of climate change and air pollution from fuel prices, relatively little has been invested in developing the earth’s geothermal heat resources. Over the last…

  • Green Business Blog Carnival #12 at Green Building Elements

    Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:38 pm
    Another week, another Green Business Blog Carnival. Our friends at Green Building Elements did a very nice job of wrapping up the news you can use from the green business blogosphere… Quite a variety of stories this week… from the business of sustainable wine making (and whether it actually results in better wine), to US energy flows, to some green businesses you’ve never heard of (yet)… And my favorite post this week? You may argue that it’s not strictly business-related, but Jonathan Mariano’s guest post at Triplepundit asking if we need a green Tea Party…
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    wattwatt.com latest pulses

  • How Heat Pumps Work

    Steve
    Posted on September 1, 2010 by Steve Brown Steve Brown Development Director for Envirotec Ltd explains the theory behind how heat pumps work:  Heat pumps use the same technology as is used in a refrigerator, exploiting the temperature difference between the refrigerant gas and its surroundings. Both rely on three key facts.  Heat will move down a ‘temperature gradient’ from a higher temperature to a lower temperature. When a liquid changes to a gas, heat is extracted from the surrounding to provide the energy for this change (e.g. boiling water to steam).Refrigerant…

  • Super Nova 60: The Great, Green Glitterati Yacht

    Dean
    Posted on August 31, 2010 by Dean Dowd Sauter Carbon Offset Design, a firm dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by up to 100 percent in the shipbuilding industry, recently announced the Super Nova 60, a mega yacht as big on "green" technologies as it is on luxury.At $50 million, the luxury aspect is virtually assured. But the vessel is also equipped with 650 square meters (777 square yards) of solar photovoltaic panels, rated at 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and provided with lithium-ion backup battery storage.In fact, between the solar PV, power sailing kinetic energy…

  • The zero race isn't about speed but green

    Philippa
    Posted on August 20, 2010 by Philippa Martin-King The Zero race aims to take electric vehicles round the world in 80 days - non-driving time spent on boats and so on discounted.It isn't so much about speed, but about responsibility and sustainability. Ensuring that emission-free practices are tested and proved, it aims to make the most of renewable energies.The race is supported by some leading names, not only commercial, but political, climatic, environmental and international. You can follow progress on Twitter. Just before the start, for example, a day on which we were expecting to…

  • Carbon capture with "Synthetic trees"

    Laila
    Posted on August 19, 2010 by Laila Briquet-Mosig The August 2010 edition of National Geographic has an interesting article on the "Synthetic tree" idea, which I've posted about previously.  Looks like development is well underway.

  • electric cars

    tammy
    Posted on August 17, 2010 by tammy beede all hybrid cars contribute a lot to our environment which produce zero emission.
 
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    EcoEarth.Info: Earth Blog

  • RELEASE/VICTORY: Vedanta Mine Plan on Sacred Tribal Mountain Halted by Indian Government

    24 Aug 2010 | 6:59 am
    Vedanta's controversial bauxite mine on the Dongria Kondh’s tribal land has been stopped, after four years of protests by local peoples supported by Survival International and a wide range of affinity campaigns, including most recently by EI’s Earth Action Network. By Earth's Newsdesk, a project of Ecological Internet (EI) CONTACT: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org Controversial plans to develop a bauxite mine on sacred tribal land in India [search] have been cancelled by India's environment ministry. The Dongria Kondh’s – an indigenous tribe who have lived since time…

  • ALERT! Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sells Out Democracy, Local Peoples and Resources to Red China's Mining Agency

    12 Aug 2010 | 10:14 am
    TAKE ACTION HERE NOW! Sir Michael Somare [search] - PNG's deeply corrupted PM, and once the great founder of this amazing country - is illegally clinging to power and giving away natural resources by gutting environmental law. PNG has Earth's third largest rainforests [search] and important intact fisheries which are being threatened by his efforts to run roughshod over landowners, including those trying to stop the dumping of mine waste into Madang's bays and lagoons. Given his increasingly despotic and unbalanced behavior, it is clearly time for Mr. Somare to resign. DISCUSS THIS ALERT:…

  • ALERT! Save Poland’s Bialowieza Forest, Europe's Last Primeval Temperate Forest

    10 Aug 2010 | 7:24 am
    TAKE ACTION HERE NOW! Ask the Polish government to stop exploitation of the primeval Bialowieza Forest [search]. Bialowieza Forest is on the verge of ultimate devastation caused by the state foresters and the timber industry that exploit precious Bialowieza Forest to manufacture products like furniture. Let’s support local calls for the cut to be reduced immediately, as a step to quickly ending primary forest logging in the area, and make all efforts possible to enlarge Bialowieski National Park to cover the entire area of Bialowieza Forest. EI has been active in campaign for over a decade,…

  • ALERT UPDATE: India's Dongria Kondh Tribal Way of Life Threatened by British Vedanta Mining – Let’s Build on Initial Success

    6 Aug 2010 | 12:40 pm
    TAKE ACTION HERE NOW! Vedanta Resources, a British mining company, is set to destroy the forests, wildlife and way of life of the Dongria Kondh people. A new protest email has been added which is going to Indian government officials in support of local demands. Please take part in this new protest target. Also, our action to date has caused HSBC and WestLB banks to publicly distance themselves from Vedanta and Niyamgiri mining, an early success. This is reflected in the updated 2nd email to send. Please send both! EI is doing this alert in close consultation with local communities through…

  • ALERT! Please Encourage Rainforest Action Network’s New Leader to Work to End Primary Forest Logging

    4 Aug 2010 | 7:58 am
    Sadly and Shockingly, Rainforest Action Network is one of the primary, crucial supporters of continued primary forest logging. Let them know they must resign from FSC and commit to ending primary forest logging. TAKE ACTION HERE NOW!: Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has a much needed new Executive Director – Rebecca Tarbotton. For almost two years Ecological Internet has worked to get the once luminary old-growth protection organization to stop supporting Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) certification of industrial 1st time logging of 500 year trees in millions of year old primary…
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    Mom Goes Green

  • MGG’s energy efficient investment: new windows!

    Doreen
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:31 am
    So, we did it!  We made our first major energy efficiency investment by purchasing new windows for our home… and despite having spent some cash, I’m actually very excited. Home heating can account for approximately 27% of our carbon footprint and 25% of a  home’s heat escapes through windows… pretty significant, I’d say.  Our installation technician told us that he’s had customers that literally saved half on their home heating bill after installing new windows.  Sure, the windows that had to be replaced were probably a disaster(!) but I’m excited to see what kind of…

  • Choose good, organic eggs… for the “health” of it!

    Doreen
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:05 am
    Eggs have been getting a lot of bad press these days, and for good reason.  Two massive egg farms, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farm (that house 7.5 million(!) egg producing hens kept in cramped, filthy conditions), are to blame for over 1,500 people contracting salmonella poisoning.  I can’t say that I’m surprised. Research has shown that hens in these farms are more likely to produce contaminated eggs than free-range and organic hens simply due to the horrendous conditions where they are forced to spend their days and the cheap, unnatural grains they are fed, that often include…

  • Simple tip: ONE way to make your dryer more efficient!

    Doreen
    27 Aug 2010 | 8:48 am
    Ahh… laundry day.  It’s looming in the MGG household and it happens to be one of my least favorite of mom-duties. (I’m fine with the washing/drying part but I deeply dislike the putting-away part!) Anyhow, I digress… so, today I just want to share one little tidbit about how to be a bit more energy efficient with the duty, aside from the long list of ways to green your laundry that I’ve shared in the past. Fact:  The average American household spends $150 in energy consumption each year to simply dry their laundry. Fact: ONE SIMPLE way to avoid 30% excess usage of energy – CLEAN…

  • Does organic food taste better?

    Doreen
    20 Aug 2010 | 7:40 am
    Last night while having a family dinner on our back patio (in the middle of a discussion of our pending “kids’-back-to-school dread”) my husband and I had the following conversation: (Husband:) “This dinner is fantastic!” (MGG:) “Yea, it’s good!” (Husband:) “No, really.  It’s fantastic!  Is it all organic?” (MGG:) “Well, of course, honey.” (Husband:) “No, seriously.  Never buy anything that isn’t organic again!” (MGG:) “I try not to.  It is good.” (Husband:) “Honestly, organic food is amazing!” (MGG:) “I agree!”  (*smile*) Have you…

  • Before you get seafood, get “Seafood Watch” first!

    Doreen
    18 Aug 2010 | 8:40 am
    I’ve really, consciously, tried to put more seafood into regular rotation on our menus around the MGG house… not always easy with little kids, but most of the time they go along with the program! My biggest concern, however, has always been knowing what to buy.  It’s really not so cut-and-dry and you can’t just memorize all of the do’s and don’ts since it really matters ‘how and where’ it was raised/farmed or caught. Yes, that’s the tricky part. Luckily, while on vacation, I discovered a fantastic resource that’s the solution to my woes.  My discovery came in the…
 
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    EcoEarth.iNFO

  • Nigeria: Minister Warns On Climate Change-Induced Disasters

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Daily Trust: Nigeria is susceptible to climate change-induced disasters, Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey has warned. Odey said yesterday in Minna that climate induced disasters may soon affect the country as he maintained that research had revealed that Nigeria would succumb to the adverse effects of climate change. The minister's representative, Mrs. Olabisi Jaji, who was speaking at the commencement of the visit of Task Force members of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate ...

  • Gulf oil rig explodes off La. coast

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    AP: An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion. The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau ...

  • Climate-change assessment: Must try harder

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Economist: IF THIS week's report into the workings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) by a council of national academies of science were the sort of report children take home from school, its main themes would be expressed as "could do better" and "needs to show workings". Stern parents might read it as calling for a Gradgrind-like clampdown; more indulgent ones as an inducement for the little darlings to try a little harder. At a meeting in Busan, South Korea, this October, ...

  • BP begins removing cap from Gulf well

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Reuters: BP Plc said it had begun removing a cap from equipment atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well on Thursday, the first of several steps in advance of plugging the leak for good. "We expect that to happen this afternoon," spokesman Scott Dean said. The cap has shut off all oil flow from the leak since July 15. Once it is gone, BP can remove a failed blowout preventer and replace it with another before plugging the leak through a relief well. (Reporting by Kristen Hays; ...

  • Gulf oil rig explodes off La. coast

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    AP: An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill. Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel says the blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday. Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast. Ranel says it hasn't been determined whether the structure is a production ...
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    EE/RE Investing: Tom Konrad

  • Hedging the Value of a Home with S&P/Case-Shiller Futures

    Tom
    30 Aug 2010 | 4:03 pm
    I’m currently looking for a rental house in Fairfield County, CT, but have been totally disgusted with the rents… they are high enough that it currently makes more sense to buy (in terms of a basic time-value of money calculation)… if you assume that you’re going to stay there for a few years and housing prices won’t depreciate further in the meantime. Unfortunately, I’m not comfortable assuming that house prices will not drop further, so I looked into the idea of hedging my expected exposure to the New York housing market with a short position in futures…

  • Drivers’ Rising Price Elasticity

    Tom
    22 Aug 2010 | 1:37 pm
    A recent paper from Todd Litman at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute shows that drivers have become more sensitive to changes in the price of driving (and gasoline) in recent years. Recent estimates of the long-run elasticity of driving are between -0.4 and -0.6, meaning that a 10% increase in the cost of driving should decrease miles driven by 4-6% over time. There are several policy implications of rising elasticity: 1. People are more able to adjust their driving habits in response to changing prices, so pricing measures such as gas taxes, parking fees, and Pay-as-you-drive pricing…

  • Renewable Energy World Podcast: The Renewables Gap

    Tom
    17 Aug 2010 | 11:30 pm
    As a long-time listener to the Stephen Lacey’s weekly podcast, I was happy to join in as he takes an in-depth look at the Renewables Gap: the question of where the energy is going to come from to power the necessary transition to a clean energy economy, an issue I looked at in Managing the Peak Fossil Fuel Transition. I’m in great company on this podcast, so if you don’t tune in for me, you might want to know what Bill McKibben has to say about it. You can download or listen to the podcast here.

  • The ERoEI of Energy Efficiency

    Tom
    4 Aug 2010 | 8:10 pm
    In previous articles, I’ve often claimed that the Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for energy efficiency measures is much higher than the ERoEI for Renewable or fossil energy generation. This was based on the logic that a high ERoEI is needed to sustain the high financial returns from energy efficiency. Unfortunately, there are few studies of the energy return on energy efficiency, so most of my evidence was anecdotal. No longer. I was just reading the 2009 Annual report for Green Building company PFB Corporation (PFBOF.PK.) PFB manufactures SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels)…

  • Many “Social” and “Sustainable” Mutual Funds Owned BP

    Tom
    11 Jul 2010 | 12:40 pm
    Marc Gunther takes a look at why so many “Sustainable” and “Socially Responsible” mutual funds owned large stake in BP. Worth a read. Some of the biggest offenders were * the Dow Jones Sustainability Index * Pax World Funds * MMA International Fund * Legg Mason Social Awareness Fund while the Sentinel Sustainable Core Opportunities Fund has Transocean (which operated Deepwater Horizon) as its biggest holding. Among the relatively rare sustainable funds that were practicing what they preach (at least as far as oil companies are concerned) were Portfolio 21 and the…
 
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    EleBlog

  • Network Controls & Electric

    jsalimando
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:30 am
    Ranked among the 25 fastest-growing companies in S.C. Recent story (short) from The Greenville News. The comopany targeted growth in structure cabling. Now, it's achieved that goal . . . and it's time to set its sights on something bigger: "Right now, in the cabling market, specifically in the Upstate, we're the majority of the market share," Cunningham said. "The problem with that is once you get the majority, you can't get it all. It's not even good for business."

  • Basics of Energy

    jsalimando
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:27 am
    The DoE's Energy Efficiency + Renewable Energy op has launched a new website devoted to Energy Basics. Seems like a portal offering a different level of access to what's already posted to the DoE/EERE website(s).

  • Solar Power's Growth

    jsalimando
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:25 am
    EL Insights, which I think is the research arm of the folks who own EnvironmentalLeader.com, publicized a tiny little bit of future projections done about the solar industry. But while they shared only 2 paragraphs, I really found this one interesting:From 2010 to 2015, the U.S. solar market is projected to increase from $9.8 billion to $78.1 billion. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 51.4% during this time period.WOW! There's not much more here.

  • Electrical Apprenticeship Comments Of Note

    jsalimando
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:21 am
    From the 6/28 Nation's Building News (official weekly pub of NAHB): See the final paragraph below. Fred Humphreys, Home Builders Institute (HBI) president and CEO, was recently interviewed . . . about the benefits of electrical apprenticeships. The following is excerpted from the Lowe’s article. An apprenticeship certainly isn’t the only way to become an electrician. Trade schools, community colleges and starting as an electrician’s assistant are other options aspiring electricians can pursue. But the combination of paid on-the-job training and classroom instruction provides apprentices…

  • Bergelectric - E-biz

    jsalimando
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:19 am
    From a vendor press release:Bergelectric Corporation has seen dramatic improvement in time tracking workflow processes, payroll and overtime, with Airclic’s mobility solution. “Once we made the decision to work with Airclic – it clicked, and I don’t know why we didn’t invest in a mobile solution sooner,” said Robert Shaw, Vice President of Human Resources for Bergelectric. “Human resource managers are wasting time and money if they are not leveraging the real time data that mobile solutions can deliver. We are eager to see where else within our company that we could utilize this…
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    Blue Marble Feed | Mother Jones

  • This Is Supposed to Make Us Feel Better?

    Kate Sheppard
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:47 am
    With news of yet another oil rig exploding breaking this morning, an admission from the federal incident commander that the response to the BP disaster may have been bungled is not at all reassuring. The Press-Register reports: In hindsight, if BP had removed the 5,000-foot-long tangle of riser pipe from its damaged Gulf well in the early days of the spill, a new blowout preventer or cap could have been installed, shutting down the well perhaps within weeks instead of months, according to both the federal incident commander and petroleum engineers. "I think that is one thing we will look…

  • Another Oil Rig Explodes

    Kate Sheppard
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:47 am
    News on this is just trickling in, but apparently there's been another oil rig explosion off the Louisiana coast. The New Orleans station WDSU reports that the Coast Guard has been called in, and the 13 workers on the rig have been accounted for. The explosion happened 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay at around 9 a.m., on a rig owned by Mariner Energy. There aren't a whole lot of details yet; will update as they come in. The Houston Chronicle has more.    

  • What Sustainable Seafood?

    Julia Whitty
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:07 pm
    The world's foremost certifier of safe and sustainable fisheries has just been slapped down in a new op-ed by a top-shelf collection of scientists in the latest issue of Nature. The problem is that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is ignoring science in favor of bureaucracy, write the authors, researchers from the University of British Columbia, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and elsewhere. The idea behind the MSC, which was established in 1997 by the World Wildlife Fund and Unilever (one of the world's largest fish retailers), was to help consumers eat fish…

  • Sorry, Drilling Regulators: No More Oil Orgies

    Kate Sheppard
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:50 pm
    Last night, Michael Bromwich, the new director of the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (formerly known as the Minerals Management Service), circulated an email to staffers outlining new ethics policies for employees who deal with offshore drilling, an attempt to reform his run amuck division's rep for being too cozy with oil and gas interests. Most of the new rules seem like a no-brainer, but given MMS' history, perhaps we should be grateful they're now on paper. Here's how Bromwich's memo begins: District employees must perform their duties…

  • What's Missing From Interior's New Scientific Integrity Policy?

    Kate Sheppard
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:18 pm
    The Department of Interior issued a new draft policy on scientific integrity on Tuesday, a long overdue addition to the agency's manual outlining the rules and regulations for employees when it comes to ensuring that their decisions are based on sound science. It's certainly a step in the right direction, given such a policy didn't even exist previously. But there are still concerns that the policy doesn't go far enough in reforming an agency known for ignoring (or outright manipulating) scientific findings. In the wake of the BP disaster, Interior has come under increased scrutiny when it…
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    All MNN Content

  • Daily Briefing: Thurs.

    Russell McLendon
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:23 am
    EARL NEXT DOOR: The Outer Banks of North Carolina are eerily calm and breezy this morning, but that tranquility is expected to slowly crumble throughout the day, the National Hurricane Center warns, as the monstrous Hurricane Earl approaches the coast.

  • Discovery channel gunman's militant manifesto

    Jenn Savedge
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:22 am
    By now, you've probably read the news story about James J. Lee's standoff at the Discovery Channel yesterday.

  • Another global warming denier inches closer to Washington

    Andrew Schenkel, Guest Columnist
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:57 am
      As the final ballots are being counted and perhaps recounted in Alaska’s Republican Senate primary, it’s probably time to take a look at the man Alaskans are likely to send to U.S. Senate.    Joe Miller is endorsed by Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Laura Ingraham. If the bearded Alaskan ends up winning the primary, he will upset Sen.

  • Men who don't ask for directions waste $3,000

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:43 am
    Do you already own a fuel-efficient car — that you vigilantly hypermile to save gas and money? Then I hope you know where you’re going, because driving lost in a greener car is still a big waste of fuel.

  • Super-sized is the new normal

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:35 am
    Do you love Chipotle’s organic chicken burritos? Guess how many calories the total meal has. If you guessed a reasonable 300, you’re right — assuming you’re referring just to the organic tortilla! Eat the chicken and the rest of the tasty innards of the burrito, and you’ll have consumed 970 calories!
 
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    Greentech Media

  • Independent Test Exonerates PGE Meters, Blames Management

    info@greentechmedia.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:15 am
    The Structure Group, an independent organization retained by the California Public Utilities Commission to examine the smart meters installed by Pacific Gas & Electric in Northern California, issued its report today. The meters worked. PG&E, however, did not communicate the technology and benefits behind smart meters to customers and did not handle customer complaints well. Structure tested 750 meters and 147 electromechanical meters and in field, meter-to-meter and laboratory tests, Structure found no problems. Structure, however, also examined 1,376 complaints about smart meters…

  • With Arch Rock Purchase, Cisco Takes Aim At Silver Spring Networks

    info@greentechmedia.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:53 am
    The brewing competition between Cisco and Silver Spring Networks has just lost its subtlety. The networking giant today bought Arch Rock, a privately held company that specializes in standards-based mesh networking technology for monitoring data centers and, more importantly, for connecting different assets on the grid (namely AMI networking solutions). Yesterday, Cisco cut an alliance with Itron, the smart meter maker, that will lead to Cisco complementing Itron's meter offerings with AMI networking hardware and software. With these two deals, Cisco has created the foundation of a…

  • JDSU, an Optical Giant, Enters the CPV Market

    info@greentechmedia.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:32 am
    The concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market has been long on promise and short on results.  But there have been a few hopeful signs of late.Kleiner Perkins saw fit to invest $130 million into CPV systems vendor Amonix.  And shortly after that fund raise, Cogentrix announced a 30-megawatt project with Amonix.  That's easily the largest CPV project in the history of CPV.SolFocus recently said that it would have 10 megawatts in the ground by the end of the year. Concentrix Solar, German-based CPV vendor, funded by Good Energies and recently purchased by Soitec, just announced the…

  • The Biggest Green Market? Seven Reasons Why It’s Green IT

    info@greentechmedia.com
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:08 am
    Over the past few weeks, I've had a number of meetings with engineers, executives and investors and such, and I keep coming away with the same conclusion. The fastest-growing and arguably most attractive segment in alternative energy and energy efficiency lies in hardware, software and networking equipment. Yep, green IT. Part of the conclusion is a historical and personal bias: I wrote about semiconductors and PCs for eleven years. But I still think green IT is a sustainable trend. Here's why: 1. Looser-Than-Normal Wallets. Data centers continue to inexorably absorb functions once handled in…

  • The Problem With Ethanol, California’s New EE Standard, and More

    info@greentechmedia.com
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:13 pm
    Beware the sticker price. Propel Fuels, which wants to build 75 alternative fuel gas stations in California, unveiled one in Oakland yesterday, according to several news reports. The company already operates stations in Oakland and Seattle. One of the big problems with ethanol has been the availability of pumps dispensing E85, the 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gas blend. While General Motors and others have sold thousands of flex fuel cars, the U.S. only has a handful of ethanol stations. In 2008, there were 1,400 compared to 170,000 gas stations. Propel is trying to solve that problem by…
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    LILL's LIST

  • Simple, Scrumptious Sauteed Desserts

    Lill
    23 Aug 2010 | 8:39 am
    Image by mikeczyzewski via Flickr If, like me, you believe that desserts are one of the basic food groups, but have been avoiding them to lose weight, this post is for you. Usually, when we think of dessert, we think of baked goods like cakes, cupcakes and pies. Or we think of the gooey, chemical-laden [...] Related posts:Simple Baked Apple Recipe Yummy Summer Desserts That Are Good For You 5 Simple Ways To Stay Green When You Can’t Afford To

  • Yummy Summer Desserts That Are Good For You

    Lill
    22 Jun 2010 | 10:58 am
    Image via Wikipedia Many times, when we try to lose weight, the first thing we do is give up dessert. After all, you can’t lose weight eating sweets, right? Wrong. As long as you eat the right ones, adding something sweet to your meal can actually be good for you. Now that summer has finally [...] Related posts:Simple, Scrumptious Sauteed Desserts Dips and Whips for Beautiful Skin Easy, Healthy Apricot Muffin Recipe
 
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    No Impact Man

  • Join thousands doing the Sierra Club No Impact Week--Starting 9/29

    Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man
    25 Aug 2010 | 8:32 am
    The No Impact Experiment is a one-week carbon cleanse that starts on Sunday, August 29th. It is a chance for you to see what a difference no-impact living can have on your quality of life. It's not about giving up creature comforts but an opportunity for you to test whether the modern "conveniences" you take for granted are actually making you happier or just eating away at your time and money. Sign up by clicking here.

  • Reuse by having community "free stores"

    Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man
    17 Aug 2010 | 7:20 am
    It saves resources, saves money, and builds community. What I like about this kind of thing is that any of us can start it anywhere at any time without going through any of the existing power structures--corporations, non-profits, government. It's pure citizen action that is both better for the people and better for the planet:brooklyn free store It's a store with no hours, no retailers and no customers, reports Colin Moynihan in the New York Times (8/16/10). It's called the Brooklyn Free Store, and as the name suggests, everything is free. Open for just six weeks, it is located…

  • I'm on vacation!

    Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man
    11 Aug 2010 | 6:56 am
    I'm taking a break from everything in the glorious seaside town of Southold, New York. Just telling you in case you're wondering why you're not hearing anything on the blog. Back in business next Monday!

  • The Senate decides to do nothing about climate change... and what you can do

    Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man
    28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am
    I am so frustrated to have to say that the Senate leadership has decided not to bring a bill to the floor to do something about climate change this session. Here is what my friend Gillian Caldwell from 1Sky has to say on the subject, and I agree with her down the line: I am furious and frustrated. We're sweltering here in Washington DC -- living on a planet that just survived the hottest six months in recorded history -- and yet last week the Senate announced it plans to do absolutely nothing for the foreseeable future about our climate crisis.Big Oil, Dirty Coal and their allies in…

  • Thoughts on creating positive change in your organization

    Colin Beavan aka No Impact Man
    27 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am
    This weekend I worked with a group junior staff at a certain organization. Part of what we did was workshop what could be done to make their organization more eco-effective or even--a word I like better--"regenerative." The group elected four representatives to approach senior staff with ideas. I sensed frustration in them and sent them the note below. Maybe someone else who is trying to create change within their organization might find it helpful, too, so I'm posting parts of it here.Remember that the best way to cause lasting change is to inspire it rather than to force it.
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    Orion Magazine Articles

  • Working the Line

    Photographs by David Taylor Text by Luis Alberto Urrea
    19 Aug 2010 | 12:56 am
    Photographs by David Taylor Text by Luis Alberto Urrea THE BORDER PATROL AGENT was driving us to supper in a desert border city. Since the publication of my book The Devil’s Highway, I have found myself in this situation with regularity. When I started writing that book, there was no indication that the migra agents would come to consider me their confidant. Even, for some agents, a friend. If you had told me this in my more radical days, or in my Tijuana boyhood, I would have laughed. It wasn’t late, but the night was already heavy on the land, dropping hard like it does in…

  • Redemption Songs

    by Erik Reece
    19 Aug 2010 | 12:55 am
    by Erik Reece ON A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER NIGHT, Emmylou Harris is taking the stage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and it is quite a thing to see. In black cowboy boots and flowing black raiment, she lets the applause die down, then eases straight into a song about a woman dressed in black, who aims to shake the devil off her back—one of these days. I’ve been listening to Emmylou Harris sing “One of These Days” for going on thirty years, ever since I first dropped a needle on her record Elite Hotel and well, you know, fell in love. I bought almost every Emmylou Harris…

  • Dark Horse

    by Lisa Couturier
    29 Jul 2010 | 12:32 am
    by Lisa Couturier I WENT TO AN AUCTION last Monday. Not an auction for foreclosed homes. Not an auction for priceless art or jewelry or land. I went to the New Holland Livestock Auction in the Amish and Mennonite country of New Holland, Pennsylvania, where each week horses are sold—though I’d no intention of buying one. I know a thing or two about horses. I spend a significant amount of time with them and can groom them, bathe them, saddle them, walk them, run them on a lead, ride them, feed them, blanket them, work them in a round pen, give them medicine, soak their sore hooves,…

  • Duty Dodgers

    by Bill McKibben
    28 Jul 2010 | 11:50 pm
    by Bill McKibben I DON’T THINK of myself as especially hard working. I started my career at The New Yorker as a young staff writer—and in those days in New York publishing circles, the day began at ten a.m. That’s when the receptionist arrived, the switchboard opened. As a result, twenty-five years later, if I’m sitting at my computer by nine-thirty I still think to myself, “I’m early!” (Not only that, but twenty-five years later every place else I’ve ever lived still seems cheap by comparison.) Still, even with that laggardly start, I’ve…

  • Instead of Suns, the Earth

    by Christopher Cokinos
    14 Jul 2010 | 11:24 pm
    by Christopher Cokinos IN HIS ACERBIC COLLECTION of essays, The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World, writer and critic Thomas Disch says that “there can be no question that the rocket ship is the genre’s primary icon. . . . It is an identifier, like the cross or the hammer and sickle, with a single all-encompassing meaning, one that transcends all distinctions of class, taste, or even logic.” The similes Disch chooses are apt, for science fiction’s upward gaze has all the hallmarks of faith, religious or secular. It is a kind of dreamy…
 
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    Pumps

  • Oil Prices Set to Skyrocket

    Guy in a Suit
    11 Aug 2010 | 12:59 pm
    A fellow blogger over at oilprice.com speculates that oil prices may be going as high as $100/barrel by the end of the year. …the fundamental assumptions of the oil industry upside down, and that sharply higher oil prices were in the cards, probably $100/barrel by year end. Major oil companies with deep pockets at risk were rushing to offload their existing offshore leases and partnerships in producing wells to avoid BP’s potential $30 billion hickey. While we feel $100/barrel is particularly high, it’s nearly impossible to overstress the importance of potential new federal…

  • 2010 Hurricane Season About To Break Loose

    Pump Girl
    5 Aug 2010 | 12:57 pm
    Thank goodness BP is making such good progress on stopping the leaking well, because hurricanes are coming! June and July did not live up to predictions by the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center, but conditions in the Atlantic’s main hurricane -forming region are now ripe. The CPC says 70% chance of 14-20 named storms, 8-10 hurricanes and 4-6 major hurricanes. Warm ocean temps & La Nina, yikes! Mid-August is the time when the action revs up. Colorado State’s forecast calls for 18 named storms (which include Alex and Bonnie), 10 hurricanes, and five…

  • Crude Rally Raises Pump Prices

    Guy in a Suit
    4 Aug 2010 | 11:43 am
    The Associated Press reports that a market rally on crude oil has Americans paying more at the pump this week. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded rose 2.1 cents to $2.747 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Oil has traded above $82 for two straight days. It was around $77 a week ago. Motorists are paying about 2.3 cents more than a month ago and 18.6 cents more than a year ago. In addition to this rally, commercial oil reserves are steadily depleting. This will likely translate into higher gas prices at the pump throughout the…

  • Low Confidence & Weak Dollar Drive Up Oil Price

    Guy in a Suit
    29 Jul 2010 | 11:09 am
    The AFP Reports: World oil prices were higher on Thursday, winning support from firmer equities and the weaker dollar after recent falls that were sparked by downbeat news in key consumer the United States. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, climbed 29 cents to 77.28 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for September gained 28 cents to 76.34 dollars in early afternoon London deals. Analysts said the weaker dollar spurred some buying because oil is traded in the US currency, making the commodity cheaper for holders of stronger units These higher…

  • Crude Stablizes as Bonnie Dissipates

    Guy in a Suit
    26 Jul 2010 | 10:58 am
    Tropical Storm Bonnie, which was on course to disrupt Gulf oil production and cleanup efforts alike, has fortunately failed to pick up steam. According to Bloomberg, oil prices are likely to maintain at their current levels throughout the summer. “It’s going to take better macroeconomic news or perhaps storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico to spring prices from their narrow trading range,” said Christopher Bellew, senior broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London. Front-month futures prices haven’t settled below $70 since May 25 or above $80 since May 4. The 30-day range is $71.09 to…
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    The Budget Fashionista

  • OMG- Lanvin at H&M This Fall

    Kathryn
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:50 am
    Yep, you heard right. High-end designer label Lanvin is collaborating on a limited edition diffusion line at H&M. The line will be available in stores around the Thanksgiving holiday. From the folks at H&M: H&M is proud to announce that its next designer collaboration will be with Lanvin, one of the most influential brands of the 21st century. Designed by Lanvin’s artistic director Alber Elbaz, and mens­wear designer Lucas Ossendrijver the collection will go on sale in around 200 H&M stores. It will be launched November 20th in North America and on November 23rd in the rest…

  • MICHAEL Michael Kors – 50% Off + Free Shipping

    TBF
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:00 am
    The Deal: MICHAEL Michael Kors – 50% Off + Free Shipping The Lowdown: Get 50% off or more on MICHAEL by Michael Kors Items, plus free shipping. (We’re on love with this snake skin printed pump on sale for $51.98). This offer ends on 9/7/10 Shop: Smart Bargains

  • Would You Wear Shoulder Jewelry?

    Kathryn
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:09 am
    Retailers are grasping this season to find something, anything to get you to buy. As we’ve noted before, 2010 is all about recycling old trends. Gray? Check. Camel? Check. Leggings? Check. Return to [......]

  • Etsy Find: Tartan Clutch – $25

    Rachel
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:23 pm
    Etsy Find: Tartan Clutch – $25 So soft and colorful you’ll want to carry it everywhere, this retro-inspired tartan clutch is based on a design from the 1920s. The clutch is fully lined and clos[......]
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    Protecting Our Environment

  • solar panel sizing chart

    ProtectingOurEnvironment.com
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    [mage lang="en|fr|en" source="flickr"]solar panel sizing chart[/mage] [mage lang="en|fr|en" source="article" backup="answers"]solar panel sizing chart[/mage] [mage lang="en|fr|en" source="youtube"]solar panel sizing chart[/mage] [mage lang="en|fr|en" source="tags"]solar panel sizing chart[/mage] [affmage source="amazon" results="10"]solar panel sizing chart[/affmage] [affmage source="overstock" results="20"]solar panel sizing chart[/affmage] [affmage source="cj" results="10"]solar panel sizing chart[/affmage] [affmage source="clickbank" results="3"]solar panel sizing chart[/affmage]

  • Organic Flower Delivery with Organic Bouquet

    ProtectingOurEnvironment.com
    28 Jul 2010 | 5:39 pm
    … I’ve stumbled across a wonderful service for organic flower delivery.  Below are just some example of beautiful flower bouquets that you can have delivered – and they are organic flowers too! PopShops™ affiliate stores

  • A Beautiful Collection of White Tiger Posters

    ProtectingOurEnvironment.com
    12 Jul 2010 | 10:37 pm
    … If you’re looking for amazingly gorgeous white tiger posters then please see the collection below from AllPosters.com. They are truly stunning creatures… Buy Posters at AllPosters.com

  • Galapagos Penguins – Photo

    ProtectingOurEnvironment.com
    8 Jul 2010 | 12:05 am
    A rare Galapagos penguin on Bartolome Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

  • Adventure Eco Travel – Go with Purpose

    ProtectingOurEnvironment.com
    7 Jul 2010 | 8:15 pm
    Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~ Albert Einstein Travel can mean something different for everyone.  Some may look at it as an opportunity to escape from the stresses of daily life.  Others may look at it as a means to unwind and relax.  For one person, it can mean adrenaline and adventure; for another, it is about new experiences and immersing in new cultures. On the same lines, people typically fulfill their desired reasons for traveling by first picking their destination, according to what kind of trip they wish to experience.  And, lucky for…
 
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    The New Republic - The Vine Feed

  • Another Rig Explosion In The Gulf

    Bradford Plumer
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:21 am
    Not good. Some updates from CNN: An oil rig has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana… The accident took place 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana on the Vermilion Oil rig 380, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough tells CNN that all 13 workers involved in the rig explosion are accounted for, but one person is injured. … Asked about concerns regarding oil leaks or pollution, Colclough said "there are reports the rig was not actively producing any product, so we don't know if there's any risk of pollution."…

  • The Earth's Busted Up, Yet Humanity's Doing Just Fine. Why Is That?

    Bradford Plumer
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:37 am
    Here's a paradox for you. Most ecologists would agree that we're ravaging the Earth's natural resources at an unsustainable rate—and pushing up against some dangerous thresholds in the biosphere. (See my old piece on planetary boundaries for the gloomy version of this tale.) Broadly speaking, the planet's ecosystems are in terrible shape, and this is widely believed to have negative consequences for humanity. And yet, at the same time, human well-being has never been better. People are living longer, healthier, and richer lives. If you could rev up a time machine and choose to be…

  • Could Reid Resurrect the Renewable Standard?

    Bradford Plumer
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:26 pm
    First it looked like the Senate might pass a big comprehensive climate-change bill. Then we found out, no, there weren't 60 votes for any such thing. Well all right, greens muttered, why don't we just settle for a cap on utility emissions and a renewable electricity standard? Nope, not enough votes for that either. Ooookay, well how about a bill that at least regulates the oil industry, what with all that gook bobbing around in the Gulf? No, no, and… no. And yes, it was awfully quaint for greens to have believed that a legislative body might actually be able to pass legislation. So is…

  • The Skeptical Environmentalist Is... No Longer Skeptical?

    Bradford Plumer
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:58 pm
    Now this is a pretty striking about-face: The world's most high-profile climate change sceptic is to declare that global warming is "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today" and "a challenge humanity must confront", in an apparent U-turn that will give a huge boost to the embattled environmental lobby. Bjørn Lomborg, the self-styled "sceptical environmentalist" once compared to Adolf Hitler by the UN's climate chief, is famous for attacking climate scientists, campaigners, the media and others for exaggerating the rate of global…

  • Man's Inhumanity To Mann

    Bradford Plumer
    30 Aug 2010 | 11:28 am
    Of all the pet causes by climate skeptics, the obsession with Michael Mann has always struck me as one of the weirdest. Most of the broader public probably has no idea who Mann even is—he was one of the climatologists who created the "hockey stick" graph that used various bits of proxy data (such as tree-ring samples and ice-core measurements) to reconstruct global temperatures over the past 1,000 years. Mann and his co-authors found that the current spate of global warming is unprecedented during that time span. Hence the term "hockey stick"—the temperature…
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    best baby products that are safe, natural & organic

  • The Greenman – Eco-friendly Solar Lamp

    baboo baby
    7 Aug 2010 | 7:29 pm
    The Greenman eco lamp has it all – solar powered, LED bulb, bio plastic corn base trimmed with bamboo.  Could it get any simpler?  Turn the Greenman upside down during the day to collect solar energy.  Turn the solar lamp right side up to use the collected solar energy to power the lamp in the [...]

  • Personalized Fabric Growth Chart

    baboo baby
    1 Aug 2010 | 9:23 am
    As baby starts standing upright, a growth chart will surely be needed in order to keep track of every growth spurt.  A.E. Wilder creates these decorative fabric growth charts that will hang beautifully on any wall.  Each handmade growth chart is made of cotton fabric using various decorative buttons and embroidered designs to make each [...]

  • Customizable Tripp Trapp Eco-friendly High Chair

    baboo baby
    30 Jul 2010 | 3:57 pm
    First created back in 1972, the Tripp Trapp high chair by Stokke has been a favorite of parents for decades.  The Tripp Trapp wooden high chair will grow with your child from baby to adulthood due to its easy to use adjustable height system.  Use the new and improved Baby Set to provide better support [...]

  • Unique Cotton Summer Baby Hats

    baboo baby
    29 Jul 2010 | 8:36 pm
    These fun sun hats created by WorthyGoods, are a sure things this summer.  They’re so fun, your baby might not even try to take them off!  All hats are made with cotton fabric.  Organic cotton is used in the lining of the hats.  These unique summer hats come in many styles, sizes and patterns that [...]

  • Handmade Toy Dolls by BlaBla

    baboo baby
    27 Jul 2010 | 5:56 pm
    The bigger the better when it comes to these handmade giant dolls by BlaBla.  Made with cotton yarn, these natural cotton toys combine vibrant colors, soft knitted textures and adorable characters.  Dress them up, sit them down for tea, these life sized dolls will enchant any child while stimulating their imagination. Knitted by expert knitters [...]
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    Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit

  • Women Move Corporations Green

    Leon Kaye
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:27 am
    At the Pasadena Convention Center, the Women in Green Forum is bringing together professional women (and yes, a few men) from various industries and functions to discuss topics from finance to fashion. Yesterday afternoon, women with sustainability leadership roles at AEG, Interface, and Walmart shared ideas on what can be done to get one's organization to move responsibly towards achieving that triple bottom line.

  • The Most Important Assets are not on the Balance Sheet

    Leslie Back
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:05 am
    In the context of accounting, an asset is defined as any item of economic value that a corporation owns, especially those that can be converted to cash. Examples include land, equipment, inventory and the like. Intangibles, such as patents, trademarks and goodwill (only recorded during times of acquisition) can also be quantified for the balance [...]

  • Profit Trends in Organic Food Markets

    Jeff Siegel
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:04 am
    The farmers’ market was absolutely packed this past Saturday. Of course, it was my own fault for getting up so late… If you’re not there by 7:00 a.m., you have to maneuver through the flocks of hungover hipsters that always seem to congregate around the Thai food stand that displays deep-fried spring rolls like delicate [...]

  • The Growing Backlash Against Smart Meters

    Cory Vanderpool
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:02 am
    If you think that the task of modernizing our nation’s century-old power grid seems overwhelming, you are not alone. This arduous, complex and multi-faceted transition is underway and even the initial steps are being met with resistance. Wireless devices are essential to a smarter grid and smart meters are a vital component to the overhaul. [...]

  • Will Money Talk? Banks Shy from “Dirty” Projects

    William Donovan
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:00 am
    One of the biggest breakthroughs in the area of corporate social responsibility came when major corporations looked at their social and environmental impact beyond their own doorstep and thought about their supply chains. Major brands with global networks such as Nike, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Walmart made positive changes in where their goods were made or [...]
 
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    Max Gladwell: Social Media and Green Living

  • Social Media Currency: A Workshop, Part III

    Max Gladwell
    7 Aug 2010 | 9:27 am
    Social media is a value exchange, and the exchange of value requires common currency. In 2008, we conducted social media workshops for a number of clients. Below is Part III of the full-day presentation (also see Part I and Part II). In Part III, we dive into the four types of social media currency. This may not be an exhaustive list, but it covers a broad swath of the social media economy. Social media value comes in the form of various types of currency. Cash is not one of them. Just as cash was once backed by gold, each of these is backed by corresponding value. Time is a finite resource,…

  • Social Media Currency: A Workshop, Part II

    Max Gladwell
    6 Aug 2010 | 3:35 pm
    Social media is a value exchange, and the exchange of value requires common currency. In 2008, we conducted social media workshops for a number of clients. Below is Part II of the full-day presentation (also see Part I.). The second part of the workshop introduces the concept of a social economy—the economy in which social currencies are exchanged. The Social Web has its own economy. Like any, it’s based on value. But it’s not the same as the actual economy. It’s governed by a different set of economic principles, if you will. John Battelle is a well-known blogger, entrepreneur,…

  • Social Media Currency: A Workshop, Part I

    Max Gladwell
    5 Aug 2010 | 2:20 pm
    Social media is a value exchange, and the exchange of value requires common currency. In 2008, we conducted social media workshops for a number of clients. Below is Part I of the full-day presentation. Admittedly, we encountered many blank stares when suggesting social media success amounted to trading in various types of non-cash currencies. For the most part, these people were expecting tutorials on using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and blogs. And if we hadn’t gotten sidetracked with other projects, that would have certainly been part of the second workshop. But before one can…

  • Twitter is the Happy Days of the Internet

    Max Gladwell
    3 Aug 2010 | 12:05 pm
    Giving Twitter credit for effectively spinning off companies like Foursquare, Gowalla, Plancast, GetGlue, and Foodspotting. Happy Days is one of the most successful and iconic sitcoms of all time. This idealized portrayal of life in the ’50s and ’60s ran from 1974 to 1984. It gave us the Fonz, the term “jumping the shark”, and a bevy of spin-off series. In fact, few shows have had as much success in spinning off other hit shows as Happy Days. The shows Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy each had successful runs and launched the careers of Penny Marshall and…

  • 10 Ways Geolocation is Changing the World

    Max Gladwell
    23 Jul 2010 | 2:57 pm
    This post was written by Rob Reed. He is the founder of MomentFeed, a location-based marketing, strategy, and technology firm. Location technologies are transforming how we experience, navigate, and ultimately better our world. From the global to the local, here are #10Ways geolocation is a positive force for good. Social media has changed the world. It has revolutionized communications on a global scale, and the transformation continues with every status update, blog post, and video stream. The global citizenry has become a global network. Since becoming widely adopted just a couple years…
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    Energybloggers.

  • propane multi valve

    admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:03 am
    propane multi valve GE Merlin RO Water Filter System Overview Crown Verity Propane Burner Control Valve $21.43 This Crown Verity replacement propane burner control valve is designed for Crown Verity Gas Grills and Griddles. Propane only. Multi-Valve Tool $112.95 Used to install the valve spring keepers without the need for a large cumbersome valve spring compressor Designed to [...]
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    Decide What to Buy

  • What’s the best place to buy appliances?

    Kat
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:11 am
    Reevoo’s been collecting reviews of shops for around 18 months now.  Every time someone reviews a product for us, we ask them what they thought of the shop they bought from. You can see this information on every Reevoo.com price comparison table, and check it all out in our shop review section. Since buying kitchen appliances is usually a little more involved than shopping for, say, a pair of headphones, customer service and reliable delivery are even more important than usual.  Getting the lowest price is great, but the delivery arriving on time and good after-sales care make a…

  • Do I need a cooker hood?

    Kat
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:16 am
    Cooker hoods are often treated less an appliance and more as a kitchen accessory, with most shoppers choosing them based purely on style.  There’s a good reason for this: they are always on display and, along with the cooker, they are a focal point in the kitchen. So why should you pay attention to more than looks when you buy a cooker hood?  Why do you need one in the first place? Why do I need a cooker hood? When you cook on a hob, particles of fat, moisture and odours are released into the air.  Without a hood to suck all these up, you’ll get lingering smells, a thin layer of grease…

  • Tablet Computing News Round-Up

    Ed
    19 Aug 2010 | 7:13 am
    Although there have been a few notable competing efforts like the Joojoo, the iPad has more or less had a clear run at the emerging tablet market so far. But things are about to get a bit more interesting… Toshiba launched their dual screen Libretto W100 in the US this week- their initial run sold out in just 48 hours. The device has dual 7-inch touchscreens and runs Windows 7. They’ve not announced UK availability yet, but are also planning an iPad style 10-inch tablet running Android for release later in the year. Samsung’s well regarded Android-based iPhone competitor the…

  • What Are The Best Laptops For Students?

    Ed
    19 Aug 2010 | 6:30 am
    So, the A-Level results are out and another year’s worth of freshers are preparing to head off to university. These days a laptop is practically mandatory; whether it’s paid for by parental generosity or a summer of stacking shelves, it’s important to get your money’s worth, so we’ve compiled a list of the best laptops available at the moment. They’re sorted into different categories, providing for a range of needs and budgets to make it easier to find the right laptop for your, or your departing offspring’s, needs. Best laptop for portability Best…

  • How to: copy VHS to DVD

    Kat
    19 Aug 2010 | 3:19 am
    Even though the death knell for VHS was sounded about 5 years ago, a fair few of us have still got videos hanging around. If you have  DVD player and a VCR cluttering up your living room, just so you can watch cherished old recordings or camcorder footage, maybe now is the time to consider converting your VHS to DVD? You can pay a specialist company to convert your cassettes, but unless you’ve only got a couple, this can work out very pricey.  Alternatively you can get some computer software and connect everything up to your laptop or desktop, but that’s normally pretty fiddly.
 
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    Modern Eco Homes

  • Eco-Friendly French Verrines for Must Have Monday

    Kristen Banker
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:39 pm
    There are new words on every French lips: Verrines and apéritifs dînatoires. And if you wanted to go full-French, you could have an apéritif dînatoire during which you would serve des verrines délicieuses. Verrines are a beautiful way to serve food, and as the name indicates, the food is served in a glass, which allow [...]

  • GreenSmart Laptop Sleeve Review

    Katie Nielsen
    27 Aug 2010 | 10:51 am
    I’m a big fan of the color blue and my Macbook (as a freelance writer, I rarely leave home without it). Subsequently, I was thrilled when GreenSmart requested MEH review one of their eco-friendly laptop sleeves. Not only was I (conveniently) in the market for a new one, the sleeve looked stylish and durable – [...]

  • How to Tell the Green from the Guile

    Katie Nielsen
    25 Aug 2010 | 10:52 am
    With the ever-growing buzz of green living reaching fever pitch, it comes as no surprise that there are those hoping to cash in on the trend. Case in point: there are many companies – large and small – that have adopted a false eco-spin in hopes to sway consumers and boost profits. So how can [...]

  • 7 Ways to Green your Back-to-School Routine

    Katie Nielsen
    18 Aug 2010 | 4:02 pm
    All around the country millions of children (and their ecstatic parents) are gearing up for another school year to begin. For many, back-to-school is synonymous with buying “stuff”; from school supplies to shoes, it’s time to restock on everything the kids will need for the upcoming year. Lest you think being green and back-to-school shopping [...]

  • Reclaimed Wood and Tin Frames for Wee Wallet Wednesday

    Kristen Banker
    18 Aug 2010 | 10:27 am
    Handmade from reclaimed roofing tin and scrap plywood, these rustic frames are an awesome way to display photos, hold memos or notes. Margaret Taylor’s business of creating artful picture frames, mirrors, furniture, birdhouses, garden and wall art actually began as a hobby. Taylor gained experience and knowledge helping her father on house projects. She was inspired [...]
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    Ode Magazine

  • An ode to optimism

    25 Aug 2010 | 10:23 am
    “What does ‘ode’ mean?” my Norwegian friend asked as we enjoyed a beer on a spring afternoon in the harbor of Oslo, at the fjord from which the Vikings ruled the seas some 1,200 years ago. “It means ‘tribute’ or ‘song of praise,’” I replied. “Ah,” he said. “We have exactly the same word in Norwegian and it has the same meaning.” It didn’t surprise me. “Ode” has the same meaning in many languages—English, Dutch, Italian, French, German, Portuguese. It is an ancient…

  • Singing for seeds

    25 Aug 2010 | 10:23 am
    Together with Cuban farmers, Humberto Ríos Labrada (center) works on promoting biodiversity.Photo: Will Parrinello Somewhat surprisingly for an agricultural scientist, Humberto Ríos Labrada is often found singing and dancing before a crowd. “In practice, music is much more effective than my scientific studies,” Ríos explains. The inspiration for his songs—which he performs in farming communities throughout Cuba—comes directly from his work promoting plant diversity. Ríos became involved in this work by chance. For Cuba, the collapse of the…

  • Forests are not for free

    25 Aug 2010 | 10:23 am
    Workshop participants in Brazil learn from Forest Trends how to add value to their ecosystem.Photo: Rebecca Vonada Why should we pay for the services of, say, a cellphone provider, but not those of a rainforest? Michael Jenkins, an ex-forest ranger in Haiti and Brazil, didn't see why we shouldn't, so he came up with a way of determining a realistic price for the services these ecosystems supply. As director of Forest Trends, he creates financial stimuli to encourage the improvement of these ecosystems and in the process create a market for environmental restoration. Forest Trends has…

  • Positively transformative

    25 Aug 2010 | 10:23 am
    Learning centers offer that important personal touch. In the midst of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, most academic hubs are reassessing their futures, trying to maintain a level of rigor and service in the face of dwindling endowments and anxious students. Not Southwestern College. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the school just got an improbable (not to mention LEED-certified) art therapy complex. State-of-the-art catchments purify the water, and photovoltaic cells provide all the electricity. “We had no interest in going into a fear place and hunkering down…

  • High-touch help

    25 Aug 2010 | 10:23 am
    Simple human contact can help reduce physical pain and emotional anxiety. Photo: David Servan-Schreiber Carla has fallen off her bike and has a bad cut above her eye. She’s bleeding; she’s shaking; her head hurts. Her husband Jack has called an ambulance, but doesn’t really know what else he can do. So he holds her hand and strokes her hair gently. He tries to reassure her and tells her everything is going to be all right, that she’ll soon be in good hands. Once they get to the hospital, Jack isn’t allowed to go with Carla while she’s being treated.
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    Big Green Purse

  • Seven Ways to "Green" Your Period

    Diane MacEachern
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:37 pm
    If you're like most women, you'll use as many as 11,000 tampons during the course of your lifetime. Add to that a couple of thousand pads and panti-liners and the ecological impact of your monthly cycle really starts to add up. All that feminine hygiene creates tons of trash. Particularly egregious are the plastic applicators that come with some tampons. They're capable of escaping from any landfill - or wastebasket, for that matter - and often end up bobbing i a lake or river,or littering a playground or the roadside. The darn things are so indestructible even a…

  • Salmonella-poisoned eggs make a strong argument for local, organic, family farms.

    Diane MacEachern
    23 Aug 2010 | 10:39 am
    I love eggs, but I hate food poisoning more. I'm betting so do the more than 2,000 people who have been sickened by eating tainted eggs produced by factory chicken farms in Iowa. After all, no one I know enjoys the impact salmonella has on their digestive tract, since it induces vomiting, dizziness, diahrrea, fever, abdominal cramps, blood infections and even death.   Investigators are still trying to understand how this potentially lethal bacterium was able to infect so many eggs in such a short period of time. One possible cause is getting a lot of…

  • It's Time for BlogHer to be Green - Inside and Out.

    Diane MacEachern
    16 Aug 2010 | 7:38 am
     BlogHer is the world's largest network of women bloggers. As such, it commands substantial financial sponsorships from multi-national conglomerates, many of whom jump at the chance to peddle their wares to the thousands of attendees who throng BlogHer's annual conferences. After all, these women are bloggers: their online presence functions like a  giant megaphone to the rest of the world. What company wouldn't want to promote its products to so many potential free advertisers? How "green" the BlogHer conferences are has become increasingly…

  • Students Start Food Fight So They Can Have Re-usable Lunch Trays.

    Diane MacEachern
    10 Aug 2010 | 1:31 pm
    Kids are going green, and not just at home. A cadre of student activists at Piney Branch elementary school in Takoma Park, MD, are agitating to replace the throw-away polystyrene lunch trays used in their public school cafeteria with reusable, washable ones. They've raised over $10,000 towards the purchase of a dishwasher to clean the trays. Officials who oversee the school in Montgomery County, MD have thus far refused to allow the kids to even test out a reusable trays program, saying it is too expensive. But the kids are fighting on. Full disclosure: Both my kids attended…

  • Little girls are worrying about bras when they should still be playing with Play Dough.

    Diane MacEachern
    10 Aug 2010 | 9:06 am
    Girls six and seven years old should not have to go shopping for a bra. But in this day and age, it seems like that's exactly what they have to do. A new study reported in the journal Pediatrics found that very little girls are developing breasts earlier than ever before, increasing their risk of breast cancer and other health problems and subjecting them to taunts from boys that undermine their self esteem. The study's authors say exposure to toxic chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA), some preservatives, and additives found in plastic may be among the reasons why. Red flags…
 
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    Non-Toxic Kids

  • ADHD Over-diagnosed, A New Study Says

    Katy Farber
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:39 pm
    I read this story with great interest as a teacher and parent. A new study is linking the attention problems often associated with ADHD with the age of a student.According to the article:"Elder found that how old a child is relative to peers in the same class also affects teacher perception of ADHD symptoms. In other words, teachers tended to perceive ADHD symptoms more in younger kids than older kids, even in the same grade. Younger children were also more likely to take stimulant medication for ADHD. The study authors suggest that children who are young for their grade may get an…

  • No Farmers Market? Don't Worry, You can Still get Wholesome Produce Wherever You Live

    Katy Farber
    29 Aug 2010 | 7:15 pm
    (Here's a guest post about finding local foods.  Enjoy!)The biggest benefit of living in a food conscious area is the over abundance of farmers markets. There, you can find a range of the most exotic foods, all home grown, organically produced, and completely wholesome and healthy. But if you don't live in an area where you have the opportunity and privilege of venturing to the local farmers market to pick up your usual produce, never fear. There are simple and affordable ways and means of finding and stocking up your fridge full of good, wholesome produce.The easiest and most convenient…

  • Take Hormones Out of our Ice Cream!

    Katy Farber
    26 Aug 2010 | 5:43 pm
    (Here's a guest post and green mama activism action about getting recombinant bovine growth hormone out of major ice cream brands. I am amazed several brands still contain this hormone, as most milk companies have phased it out.  Thanks to Rick for leading this campaign, and fighting for healthier food for our families.)More and more people are finding out that recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) is injected into cows producing some of the dairy foods we feed to our children. This drug harms cows, leads to increased antibiotic resistance in humans and may increase cancer…

  • Buy Local Eggs from Your Trusted Farmer (avoid salmonella and factory farmed eggs)

    Katy Farber
    25 Aug 2010 | 6:49 pm
    Since heading back into my classroom, and getting ready to send my two girls to school for the first time, I haven't been paying much attention to the news.  My mother finally alerted me several times to the massive egg recall and widespread illnesses that have been playing out in recent weeks.  Wondering if you have recalled eggs in your fridge?  Check this article out to find out.  My first thought is:  here is more evidence that factory farming is bad for us, animals, and the environment. We've seen the spread of salmonella from irresponsible and inhumane farming…

  • Toy R Us and Wall Street: Stop Selling PVC Toxic Toys!

    Katy Farber
    24 Aug 2010 | 9:06 am
    Here's a Green Mama Activism action from our friends over at CHEJ. Despite promises to reduce toxic chemicals in toys, new testing shows that Toys “R” Us continues to sell products made out of polyvinyl chloride or PVC, the poison plastic, without adequate cautionary labeling for parents. Chemicals released during PVC’s lifecycle are linked to chronic diseases on the rise in children including asthma, learning disabilities, obesity and cancer.Now Wall Street bankers are set to profit from the sale of this toxic asset! KKR, the private equity firm that owns Toys “R” Us, is…
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    Crunchy Chicken

  • Craft Challenge update

    Crunchy Chicken
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 am
    I thought I'd give you an update on how much progress I've made in my Craft Challenge - where you were supposed to pick one of your unfinished craft projects and pledge to finish it by the end of September.What started as a huge pile of cut out pieces for Emma's quilt has turned into completed top and bottom quilt pieces. I pinned the batting and the layers together last night and will begin the

  • How do you save money?

    Crunchy Chicken
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:00 am
    Here's a quickie post, but hopefully it will get a lot of comments for people to learn from. Aside from just not buying stuff you don't need, what's your favorite money-saving tips?My favorites are:• Reducing energy and water usage• Refinancing mortgage • Replacing items with more energy efficient things (when they are ready to be replaced)If you need some advice of your own, check out this list

  • Raspberry Lime Rickey recipe

    Crunchy Chicken
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:00 am
    I was going to do a wrap-up for Pioneer Week, but I guess there isn't much more to be said than I've already mentioned in previous posts. We didn't drive much, ate almost all homemade food, did a lot of foraging for blackberries, camped out back, line dried clothes, used minimal water and energy and, overall, had a super fun, relaxing week.One person did ask for the recipe for the raspberry syrup

  • Year round line drying laundry

    Crunchy Chicken
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:00 am
    I haven't done my full Pioneer Week wrap-up yet, but I did want to mention one thing that has come out of it. My habit for hanging laundry has been re-established and, since I'm not using an exclusive outdoor rack or laundry line, I can move the whole thing in willy-nilly depending on our rainy Seattle weather. The other fun thing is that I can move it around the yard to chase the sun for maximum

  • Radical homemakers

    Crunchy Chicken
    27 Aug 2010 | 12:00 am
    The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran the article, Radical homemakers reclaim the simple life, describing how women are stepping off the professional track and going back to homemaking. But, not in a 1950s way. More like an 1850s way which include subsistence farming, food preservation, bartering and frugal living.These women are staying home to raise not only their children, but chickens, and
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    Green and Natural Parenting

  • How to Make Kefir

    Tiffany
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:29 am
    If you have been around any traditional foods / nourishing traditions enthusiasts then no doubt you have heard them sing the praises of Kefir. What exactly is it though and how do you make it at home? Kefir grains are actually a gelatinous grouping of bacteria and yeasts that grow during the process of fermentation. The grains themselves look very much like tiny cauliflower heads but they can turn milk, or other beverages into a drink that is deliciously sour and sparkling, charged naturally with carbon dioxide. The grains can be used again and again to make a continuous supply of kefir…

  • Raising Minimalist Children in a Society of Excess

    Tiffany
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:24 am
    There is a growing trend toward minimalism and voluntary simplicity. I have written about it many times here. We made a huge leap towards minimalism and a more simple life last year. We moved from a large house in the suburbs to a small 1000 square foot house in the city. We downgraded to one car and we got rid of 50% of our belongings. You kind of have to when you move into a smaller place. It was a wonderful experience and has helped us see more clearly what kind of life we want to shape. We are moving again to a better area of town and a slightly nicer home but it is only 300 square feet…

  • White Vinegar For Household Cleaning

    Tiffany
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:20 am
    If you are looking for a safe, non-toxic cleaner and overall household helper, white vinegar is a near perfect solution. This humble substance can be used in a variety of ways to clean and disinfect your home. I love to fill my sink with hot water, pour in some vinegar and a cloth rag, and give the house a through cleaning. I love the smell and wish it would last longer… it just smells so clean without the smell of noxious chemicals. Here are some ideas for how to use vinegar in your cleaning. 1. Deodorizer Vinegar can help remove odors from clothes and drains. For drains, pour about 1…

  • Glass Water Bottles

    Tiffany
    28 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    I have known for awhile that glass water bottles were out there but up until I got a Lifefactory Glass Bottle recently, I had never tried one. I love that plastic is now becoming taboo and that stainless and glass are the hot new items. I breastfed my babes so I never got to try the newer glass baby bottles but I guess having a grown up glass bottle kind of makes up for that. Just like the baby bottles, these reusable glass water bottles are made of heavy duty glass that will not break easily and they have a silicone sleeve to offer even more protection. So how does it kick plastic bottle…

  • SHOPPING CART BASKETS

    Tiffany
    27 Aug 2010 | 7:09 am
    Cool product alert!!  I am super excited to have found these in my Internet browsing this morning. While I do have more than enough reusable bags there are just times when I forget them. Yes, I put them in the car, I often carry a pocket size bag in my purse even but once I use that and carry it in the house, I am so bad about remembering to put them back. I have ended up getting paper bags more often than I would like to admit. These shopping cart baskets may be just what I need. They are supposed to be big in Europe and Reusit is the first US company offering them here. You stick them…
 
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    Crunchy Domestic Goddess

  • Garden Goodness – Wordless Wednesday

    Crunchy Domestic Goddess
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:56 am
    This is the first year I’ve attempted to grow watermelon (which the kids LOVE) and am so pleased to see a few of them looking edible. :) Its been so fun to see the melons growing a bit more each day. I’m hoping this little baby will be ready to eat soon, but I have no idea when to pick it. Any suggestions? I think I need to track down my Botanical Interests seed packet to read more about it. :) How’s your garden doing this year? See more Wordless Wednesday posts at the original WW home and at 5 Minutes for Mom. Don’t miss a single CDG post, subscribe to my blog.

  • Child-led Weaning: They Aren’t Going to Nurse Forever

    Crunchy Domestic Goddess
    30 Aug 2010 | 4:40 pm
    A little more than two years ago, I wrote about my experiences nursing a preschooler. At the time I discussed the fact that my nearly 4-year-old daughter was still nursing and how I never planned or expected to be nursing a 4-year-old, yet it just happened. “I didn’t set out to nurse a preschooler, but somehow along the way my sweet little baby grew from an infant to a toddler and eventually blossomed into a preschooler in what now seems like the blink of an eye. I am confident this won’t go on forever and when I look back on this time when she’s 10 or 20 or 30, and I look at the…

  • Should bars refuse to serve pregnant women?

    Crunchy Domestic Goddess
    20 Aug 2010 | 4:01 am
    A pregnant woman walks into a bar… It sounds like the start of a joke, but what actually transpired when an expectant mother ordered a glass of wine at a New Orleans’ restaurant isn’t a joke at all. Annie Krasnow of The Stir recently told the story of her friend who, at seven months pregnant, visited New Orleans with her husband for a “babymoon” – in other words their “last hurrah” before entering parenthood. After a day of taking in the sights, they went to a quiet restaurant where the expectant mother ordered a glass of Chardonnay. The…

  • Spanking and Criminal Behavior

    Crunchy Domestic Goddess
    18 Aug 2010 | 5:07 am
    It saddened and concerned me when I saw that nearly 109,000 people (at the time of this writing) on Facebook had “liked” the following statement: “I’d rather go to jail for spanking my kids than for them to go because I didn’t.” - Likey Does that mean spanked kids *never* go to jail? Or *only* unspanked kids go to jail? What the frack, people? What. the. frack. Maybe the “Likey” was created in jest. Maybe the people who are liking it are just joking around. I don’t know. Its possible that I’m overreacting. I’ve been known to…

  • On BlogHer’10 and Writing

    Crunchy Domestic Goddess
    16 Aug 2010 | 10:37 pm
    A week and a half ago, I attended my second BlogHer conference. It was many things to many people. For me it was inspiring, thought-provoking, educational, interesting, fun, exhausting, exciting, frustrating, troublesome, inspiring, surprising, exhilarating, awesome, and (yes, I’ll say it for the third time) inspiring. Unlike my first year of attending BlogHer, I made a point of pacing myself this year. I decided to only attend a few of the panels and some of the keynotes. I made plans to do things outside the hotel (like sight-seeing with my friend Heather from A Mama’s Blog). I…
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    The Green Phone Booth

  • Green to Gold

    Green Bean
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:15 am
    From the bean of Green Bean.It has been 10 long days since I'd squinted into the sunlight, breathed fresh air, walked without a "walk-run" in my steps. Even longer since I'd not had that film on my hands. The kind that comes from touching other people's castoffs. From folding someone else's bed linens or sorting someone else's wooden trains from plastic action heroes.But today was it. The last day of our community's three day Rummage Sale event. An event precipitated by months of "eBaying" Jimmy Choo shoes and girl's Gymboree clothing, of selling furniture and bicycles on Craigslist, and of…

  • Conscious Shopper Challenge: Join a Swap Network

    Erin aka Conscious Shopper
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:15 am
    The next few weeks of The Conscious Shopper Challenge will focus on developing an attitude of non-consumption. Here's the next challenge in this series:JOIN A SWAP NETWORK Image by xlordashx I'm not sure if "swap network" is a widely used term or if I made it up, so let me explain a little bit... A swap network is a way to trade stuff, time, and skills with others rather than using money. It can be as simple as unloading some free stuff on Freecycle, or it can be more of a bartering system where you swap one thing to get something else in return. For example, a friend of mine gives my oldest…

  • You better believe it

    EnviRambo
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:32 am
    Bleatings from EnviRambo.Yesterday I attended a birthday party for my husband's 89 year old grandmother. It was a small gathering of family with food and drink. We were all asked to bring a dish to pass, beverages and eating utensils would be provided. As we sat down to eat I noticed that the family behind us hardly had anything on their plates. Some chips, salad, and beans. No meat. My first thought was vegetarian and I immediately wished I had brought mac 'n cheese instead of pulled pork sandwiches. Then my husband reminded me of Ramadan. Their plates weren't empty because they are…

  • Meatless Monday ~ Comfort food

    Kellie
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:15 am
    Good morning Boothers! It's Meatless Monday again already. What's cooking at your place?My kids have only been back in school for a week and already half of the house is sick with colds. The rest are sure to fall soon. Tonight I'm making some comfort food for all of us -- Pinch My Salt's Potato & Leek Soup with home made croutons. Pinch My Salt is one of my favorite food blogs of all time. I owe my love of pumpkin baked goods - and my ability to make pumpkin puree from scratch - to Nicole.This is the first season that I've cooked with, or been able to identify, leeks and I can't get…

  • First fundraisers of the year...

    Robbie
    28 Aug 2010 | 7:11 am
    Greetings from Going Green Mama!The pencils hadn't even been sharpened yet, and there it was: the first fundraising requests for the school.Yes, it was plural. Requests.Because as we learned at the school open house recently, it's all about raising dollars for programs. The cynic in me thought that was what tuition was for.I don't have a problem with fundraisers per se. In some cases they are needed for special projects or endeavors. But I do have a problem with the message we send to our kids: Buy more crap.And crap is what it often is. It's wrapping paper, or candy, or microwavable popcorn,…
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    Green and Clean Mom ™

  • PVC in Sippy Cups FDA Approved Not Mom Approved

    greenandcleanmom
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:12 am
    Non-profits, business and organizations often have promotional items to pass out at expos, fairs and for “goody bags” that help brand their company, remind the customer of who they are and how they can be reached. It is common to see pens, bags, notebooks, key chains, etc. as promotional items. It is always a challenge [...]Post from: Green and Clean Mom (TM) all rights reserved.PVC in Sippy Cups FDA Approved Not Mom Approved

  • Green Irene Enzyme Based Cleaners

    greenandcleanmom
    30 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    I am always looking for a safe cleaner for my stainless steel appliances. Most are full of toxic ingredients that leave my appliances looking wonderful but my head hurting and lungs wheezing. Not good for me or the environment. When I attended the Green Soiree I was fortunate enough to finally meet my good friends [...]Post from: Green and Clean Mom (TM) all rights reserved.Green Irene Enzyme Based Cleaners

  • Little Bites

    Haley
    26 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    My daughter,who we call B, is 2 and very independent right now. B’s favorite thing to say is “NO! I do it by myself”. Little Bites, from Kinderville, has been a great transition from sippy cups and little baby bowls to big girl dinning supplies. Since my daughter isn’t quiet ready for glass bowls, cups, [...]Post from: Green and Clean Mom (TM) all rights reserved.Little Bites

  • Ditch the Disposables

    Haley
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:30 pm
    Is little red riding hood knocking on your door? I’m not talking about your children’s bed time story either but that “time of month”!  Believe it or not there are eco friendly products for that special time of the month and I was lucky enough to be able to try them after attending the Green Soirée [...]Post from: Green and Clean Mom (TM) all rights reserved.Ditch the Disposables

  • Eat Cleaner

    Haley
    25 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    When asked what kind of dessert I want for my birthday, my response is fruit salad. I love fruit and veggies. Not only do I love them but more importantly, my daughter does. When I ask her what she wants for a treat her most common response is “carrots please” I am one lucky mom. [...]Post from: Green and Clean Mom (TM) all rights reserved.Eat Cleaner
 
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    GreenStyleMom

  • Tri Report

    GreenStyleMom
    29 Aug 2010 | 4:38 pm
    So I did it. Just a week ago. And now I can't wait to do another one!All in all it went really well. Like most races, when I got to the end, I felt like I could/should have pushed harder. Oh, well. The only goal was to finish, and I was faster than I expected! The swim was my favorite event. I finished in the top 20% despite a very relaxed swim (I kept imagining that it was just an easy

  • 50lbs

    GreenStyleMom
    27 Aug 2010 | 7:24 pm
    of apples sitting in my kitchen!!The kids (already!) had a day off from school this week, so we went apple picking. And, yes, it does seem early but apples ripen earlier in Colorado than they do in other parts of the country.We invited our friend Miss D to go along with us. I keep meaning to blog about Miss D and what an important part of our lives she has become. Last winter I was feeling

  • 1st Day

    GreenStyleMom
    18 Aug 2010 | 7:42 pm
    So, so, so busy the last week or so. Plus I think I'm still adjusting to being back at this altitude. All I want to do is sleep!School started today, and Jack is now a big kindergartner! He was so impatient to start all last year when Kate was there, but as the big day approached, he got more and more nervous (which manifested in some not-so-lovely behavior!) Fortunately the transition has been

  • Home Sweet Home

    GreenStyleMom
    9 Aug 2010 | 3:17 pm
    After 3 weeks away, the kids and I are finally home. Can't wait to update and post some photos (hopefully just a few of the 900+ photos I took!). But it is all going to have to wait while I catch up on email (500+) and enjoy the last week of the kids' summer vacation.

  • Last Morning in Acadia

    GreenStyleMom
    30 Jul 2010 | 3:36 pm
    My mother-in-law & sister-in-law were wonderful to let me slip away for a run. Ran (& often just hiked quickly) from our campsite to Eagle Crag. Beautiful.- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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    Green Talk™

  • Rent Your Neighbor’s Possessions at Rentalic Instead of Buying. Save and Be Green.

    Anna@Green Talk
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:47 am
    I love companies that are formed out of a founder’s own frustration especially when they have a green mission.  In the case of Rentalic, founder, Punsir Abeywickrema, borrowed a wheelbarrow one weekend from his neighbor.  Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the job and felt guilty to ask the neighbor to borrow it again.  Instead he rented it from a rental company. The green light bulb went off in his entrepreneurial mind.  And ta dah!  He created Rentalic so others could borrow without feeling guilty.  So, how did he absolve the guilt?  Money. So what is Rentalic? As explained…

  • ElKay’s EZH2O Water Refill Station. The End of Plastic Water Bottles

    Anna@Green Talk
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:31 am
    With everyone sporting their own BYOB (bring your own water bottle) wouldn’t it be nice to have a refill water fountain? Just stick your bottle in the slot and water to go. No more plastic water bottles or paper cups at the cooler. Well, you are in luck since Elkay’s EZH2O fillable water station with or without a water fountain makes the ubiquitous plastic water bottle or paper cup a thing of the past.  Many of you might recognize the name, Elkay, as it pertains to high quality kitchen sinks.  In fact, I have their sink products as well. So,  I can only imagine the quality of…

  • Sustainable Cargo Shipping Options Using the EcoLiner

    Anna@Green Talk
    23 Aug 2010 | 6:31 pm
    When I first watched the below video of the Ecoliner, a hybrid sailboat, I could not imagine why anyone would use a sailboat for cargo shipping. Even to promote a green alternative.   Visions of  Captain Jack Sparrow and his Black Pearl of the Pirates of the Caribbean being a green beacon danced in my head. Heck, everyone is going some shade of green today. So, why not? As I dug deeper I realized that Fairtransport Shipbrokers was on to something. Why not ship your cargo in a sustainable manner for those companies wishing to green their transportation footprint?  Why not use the …

  • Green News 8.23.10 Smart Meters to Wastewater Rocket Science

    Anna@Green Talk
    22 Aug 2010 | 11:27 pm
    Photo by Fernando de Sousa. This week we have a large list of green news which is sure to excite and be dazzle you. Conflict-Free’ Electronics Bundled in Financial Reform Law Nanotech coatings can enhance electricity output from wastewater Foursquare Coming to a Search Engine Near You? GE and 4 VC Partners Offer $200M to Fund Best Smart Grid Ideas Why You Should Stop Cutting Costs and Focus on Your Best Customers. I know this is not a green article but it struck a cord in me. I am trying to help businesses cut their budgets by being sustainable.   However, there is no substitution for…

  • How to Remove Gum From the Dryer and Clothes

    Anna@Green Talk
    19 Aug 2010 | 10:17 pm
    Check out my video below. The Bubble Gum Story Sometime I think we glide through life barely noticing the flowers let alone the bees. And because of this someone above thump you on the head like Little Rabbit Foo Foo, and tells you to wake up. In my case, it was the bubble gum in First Son’s pocket that emplodded in the dryer. My Poor Dryer Didn’t Know What Hit it. When I say emplodded I mean it. Pink bubble gum all over the dryer caked on like a bad paint job. A mother’s worse nightmare. Wait a second. No a second worse nightmare. Two months ago, it was ball point pen all…
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    EnviroMom

  • EnviroMom on Vacation! Back on September 7

    Renee
    23 Aug 2010 | 6:45 am
    After a long, hot (no wait, scratch that…) fast and furious, and fairly cold summer (yes, our gardens are still waiting for something that looks like a tomato), EnviroMom is taking a break. Time for us to kick off our shoes, commune with nature, build some fairy houses with the kids, and soak up what little vitamin D the summer has yet to offer before school starts in September. Aside from The Motherhood Talk on August 25, we'll be pretty much offline. But if you have something urgent, send EnviroMom an email. We always love to hear from you! Otherwise, we wish you an enjoyable rest of…

  • EnviroMom on The Motherhood.com: August 25

    Renee
    23 Aug 2010 | 6:45 am
    I'll take part in a Live Talk on TheMotherhood.com on Wednesday, August 25 at noon EDT (9am Pacific time). Last time Heather and I participated in a Talk on the TheMotherhood, our heads were spinning, but our fingers were flying, trying to keep up and share the green love. This next live Talk features Michelle Conlin -- the wife of No Impact Man -- discussing her no impact year, as well as some other great green bloggers we've had the pleasure of virtually meeting, such as Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse and Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish. Please feel free to join in the…

  • Portland: Bike Commute Challenge, September 2010

    Renee
    23 Aug 2010 | 6:44 am
    Portlanders -- looking to share the love of bike commuting? The BTA's Bike Commute Challenge is a friendly competition to encourage biking to work during the usually warm and dry month of September. My husband participated last year, and had a blast with it. Sign up!! Should be fun.

  • Portland: Muddy Boot Festival, Sept. 10-12

    Heather
    20 Aug 2010 | 7:00 am
    Mark your calendars, Portland peeps, for this year's Muddy Boot Festival! I've attended the past two years and love this event. Their mission: to promote sustainable living. Yee-haw! Firstly, those two high fructose corn-drinkin' boys from the movie King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, will be giving the keynote address on Friday the 10th at 7pm (advance tix are $15-20...totally worth it). The festival itself runs Saturday from noon-9pm and Sunday noon-6pm, $5 admission each day for ages 12 and up. You'll get great live music, sustainably-produced food and beverages,…

  • The Majestic Plastic Bag: A Mockumentary

    Heather
    19 Aug 2010 | 8:22 am
    Watch this. You will laugh, you will cry. You will wonder whatever happened to Jeremy Irons. Then you will get angry. And maybe feel helpless, despite the fact that you've given up the plastic bag. If you live in Oregon, you might follow the Ban the Bag campaign on Facebook to keep tabs on next year's legislation effort. In California, Heal the Bay, a non-profit that produced that excellent video, is encouraging residents to contact their legislators TODAY to pass AB 1998 banning plastic bags statewide, which is coming up for a vote any day now. If efforts are ramping…
 
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    Mindful Momma

  • Back To School with the Green Moms Carnival

    Micaela
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:04 am
    Welcome to the 3rd annual back-to-school edition of the Green Moms Carnival!! Clearly this is a HUGE topic and the carnival gets bigger & better every year! I was happy to include submissions from quite a few new contributors as...

  • Green Moms Carnival Next Week!

    Micaela
    25 Aug 2010 | 3:17 pm
    Hey everyone! If you've come here for the Green Mom's Carnival - you've come to the right place. Except that we've decided to postpone it by a week. We're all too busy finishing up our vacations and enjoying the last...

  • Roasted Tomato Love

    Micaela
    25 Aug 2010 | 8:14 am
    Whew - it finally cooled down long enough for me to roast up my abundance of CSA tomatoes. It never fails to surprise me how a large pile of tomatoes can become so small but all it takes is one...

  • Healthy Snacks To Go eBook Giveaway Winners and Discount!

    Micaela
    24 Aug 2010 | 4:23 pm
    Whoopsy - I misunderstood the giveaway code: it is MM25off and has been extended an extra day. Sorry for the inconvenience! My little giveaway for 2 copies of the Healthy Snacks To Go eBook is now closed and I've picked...

  • Stewart + Brown = Eco + Style

    Micaela
    23 Aug 2010 | 12:42 pm
    Take a spin around your local shopping mall and you probably won't come up with much in the way of eco-friendly clothing. It simply hasn't hit mainstream. But there are companies who are pioneering their way in sustainable fashion. Stewart...
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    organicmania.com

  • “Mom, I Can’t Go to School: I Don’t Have a PLASTIC Water Bottle!”

    I swear I’m not making this up. No sooner had I finished my post about the Top Ten Green School Projects to tackle, and fallen into bed when my newly minted third grader hit me with this zinger. It seems stainless steel water bottles are noisy. Really. When little hands drop stainless steel water bottles from [...] Related posts:Green Moms & Public Schools: Top 10 Green School Projects – Pick One! If your child is heading off to school for the... Mandated Waste: Simple Questions about School Lunch Reform Last Thursday evening I was thrilled to hear Chef Ann... Back to School with…

  • Green Moms & Public Schools: Top 10 Green School Projects – Pick One!

    If your child is heading off to school for the first time, prepare yourself: you may suffer Green Mom Culture Shock, like I did when my son entered public school two years ago. For eco-conscious parents who have agonized over a zillion purchasing decisions related to choosing the greenest, healthiest products for home cleaning and only [...] Related posts:“Mom, I Can’t Go to School: I Don’t Have a PLASTIC Water Bottle!” I swear I’m not making this up. No sooner had... Mandated Waste: Simple Questions about School Lunch Reform Last Thursday evening I was thrilled to hear Chef Ann...

  • Help a Fisherman Out: #CitizenGulf National Day of Action

    What are you doing Wednesday night? If you happen to live in DC, San Francisco, L.A., Santa Monica, San Jose or any one of the 19 cities listed here, think about joining a Citizen Gulf meet-up to mark a National Day of Action to help Gulf fishermen and their families impacted by the Gulf Oil [...] Related posts:Thinking Again About a Hybrid or Electric Car? You’re Not the Only One It seems like an eternity ago that decisions to purchase... Are you a Slactivista? Not Today! Take Action with 350.org Events in Bethesda & Your Hometown Yesterday at the final Blogpotomac Conference I…

  • Towards A Better BlogHer

    As someone who blogged last year about SwagHer, decrying Blogher ‘09’s excessive  swag and pushy promotions, I feel compelled to report on the atmosphere at BlogHer ’10. What a difference a year makes. It’s to BlogHer’s credit that they actually practice what they preach – they listened to the community’s feedback and implemented changes that vastly improved [...] Related posts:The Babies of BlogHer: The Second Annual Round-Up In the second of what I hope to be an... The Top 10 Things I Loved About BlogHer I had a great time at Blogher. Some people... Related posts brought to…

  • How Selling My Babies’ Stuff Gave Me The Baby Blues

    It should have been a simple business transaction: clear the clutter, post the old baby things online, and use the money for a trip to one of those kiddie-meccas. But as I tweeted here, all of a sudden I began to feel…sad…emotional…melancholy. Oh my God, I had the baby blues all over again! Those gorgeous brand new [...] Related posts:The Babies of BlogHer: The Second Annual Round-Up In the second of what I hope to be an... BPA for Babies? Say No in Maryland: NOW! If you’re been reading my blog for a while, you... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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    babyminding

  • Breastfeeding Versus Bottle Feeding – Why All The Hate?

    jenstate
    26 Aug 2010 | 10:01 am
    One of the greenest things we can do as new mothers is breastfeed our infant. After all, it seems everyone agrees that breast milk is best and of course it requires no possibly BPA-laden bottles (unless you need to pump of course) and no manufacturing facility. I am a big supporter of breastfeeding for the first year when possible. From antibodies to perfect nutrition, it really is the best and greenest option for our children. I nursed both of mine for a year and am glad that I did. It wasn’t easy. I very much disliked it but I did it anyway. From mastitis, to clogged ducts, to…

  • The Power of Vitamin D – From Preventing Illness to Healthier Pregnancies

    jenstate
    19 Aug 2010 | 6:14 pm
    Vitamin D continues to be in the news, and Babyminding has written about it before. From fighting viruses like the flu to healthy pregnancies and mental health, optimal Vitamin D levels have been associated with wellness for years. New information is always coming in from different sources about the importance of  this vitamin for preventative wellness. In this post, we explore a couple of recent articles about Vitamin D and why it’s important for your family. With school starting back and September almost here, cold and flu season is upon us. I know there are a lot of parents out…

  • Probiotics Shown to Help Ease Colic in Infants

    Tela
    17 Aug 2010 | 10:03 am
    The journal, Pediatrics, released the findings of a study, “Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17 938 in Infantile Colic: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial” that shows probiotics may help to ease colic.  According to WebMD: Colic occurs during the first three months of an infant’s life in which an otherwise healthy child cries and cannot be comforted for three hours or more every day. Colic affects up to 28% of infants and has no known cause or cure. However, recent research suggests colic may linked to an immature immune system struggling with bacterial…

  • Girls Going Through Puberty Earlier

    jenstate
    11 Aug 2010 | 9:55 am
    The belief that American girls are going through puberty earlier and earlier is not a new one. I remember when my twelve year old  niece was a toddler, I had this conversation with my sister-in-law. With a new study backing up the idea that indeed our girls are going through puberty earlier, it’s a topic worth discussing again. According to the study, about 15% of girls are showing signs of breast development by the age of seven. SEVEN!! My tiny daughter is six years old now, and while I don’t see this happening to her, I would hate for it to happen to other little girls well…

  • Infographic: How Soda Impacts Health

    Tela
    10 Aug 2010 | 7:02 am
    I love infographics.  I think they are a more compelling way to share information, and in our fast paced lives, they allow us to absorb information more quickly.  Take a look at the infographic below about harmful effects of soda consumption over time, courtesy of  Term Life Insurance: via The Daily Green (click to enlarge). We don’t typically keep soda in our house unless it’s for an adult party.  In fact my husband broke his Ginger Ale habit last year and my kids are not allowed to have any type of soft drink or soda.  I’m even more convinced now that it’s best…
 
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    greenUPGRADER

  • Generating Clean Energy with Bodily Fluids

    Becky Striepe
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:06 am
    I'm not sure what's going on lately, but I keep coming across battery and energy technology that turns human waste and blood into power. When talking to a friend about it he said, "You're one vomit engine away from perfection!" We're high brow people. Really, though, turning waste into power is a pretty ingenious idea. Human waste is definitely a renewable resource. On top of that, the way we dispose of it now is far from ideal. Sewage treatment uses tons of energy and water. Wouldn't it be amazing to turn our waste back into something useful instead? Pee Power The component that makes urine…

  • Reader Tips: Small Space Greenery and Menstrual Products

    Becky Striepe
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:46 am
    I love reading the excellent feedback you guys share, and once again there were some great responses that felt like they deserved the spotlight. Here are some excellent reader tips on adding green to small spaces and on reusable menstrual products. Greening Small Spaces Commenter Jane grows red onions, green onions, and tomatoes in containers and had great ideas for container gardeners. My favorite tip? The great thing about containers, is that they can be moved to sunnier locations when necessary, or taken out of the rain when they’ve had too much. Being able to move them around is a huge…

  • Flickr Find: Wine Bottle Garden

    Becky Striepe
    29 Aug 2010 | 11:01 pm
    It was just about a year ago that we looked at all of the different ways you could use wine bottles and corks to fancy up the garden. One of my favorite ideas for old wine bottles is edging a garden bed with them, but concerns about the bottles breaking always made me a bit gun-shy to try it out. You can imagine my delight when I came across the beautiful photo above on Flickr the other day! Not only has Scrappy Annie rocked the wino garden, it sounds like it's held up quite well over time. She says the bottles have been in place for 10 years, and they're still going strong! Not only have…

  • Plastic bag use plummets in supermarkets since 2006

    The Guardian
    26 Aug 2010 | 4:38 am
    This article was written by Mark King, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 25th August 2010 16.14 UTC Customers at the UK's leading supermarkets used 43% fewer carrier bags in 2009-10 than they did in 2006, when figures were first recorded, with 6.1bn single-use bags used in 2009-10 against 10.7bn four years earlier. According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap), the amount of material used to make carrier bags has reduced by 39,700 tonnes per year in the past four years, but figures for May 2010 alone indicate that we may be seeing a return to greater usage. Data collected from…

  • New Smart Wheel Makes Cycling Easier

    Becky Striepe
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:37 am
    Ever huffed and puffed your way up a steep hill, or worse yet had to hop off and walk your bike because pedaling just wasn't cutting it on that incline? A new smart wheel might mean the end of those moments and help encourage more folks to use bikes for transportation. The two biggest reasons I hear for not riding bikes are that it's too hard and that being sweaty at your destination is not an option. Since most cycling sweatiness probably comes from exertion, the Copenhagen Wheel helps with both of those problems by making cycling easier! How Does it Work? While you're pedaling or braking,…
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    Chemically Green

  • Feds Making Green Loan to Company with Large Debt – ZBB Energy Corporation

    chemicallygreen.com
    19 Aug 2010 | 10:13 am
    Stock Information NYSE: ZBB 0.66 Change: -0.04 Time: 4:00pm Prev Close: Open: Volume: 0.75 0.765 17775 Is the  Federal Government getting into the venture capitalist business, loaning money to a 10-year-old company saddled with a massive debt load and an initial stock price of $6.00 per share? Case in point, President Obama visited ZBB Energy Storage Corp. last week and expounded upon how green technology is the wave of the future and all the jobs being provided by the aforementioned company. During a visit to a Wisconsin company to promote his energy policy, President Barack Obama praised…

  • Last Man On The Moon: Says Global Warming No Way!

    chemicallygreen.com
    14 Aug 2010 | 12:28 pm
    Last Man on the Moon: Global Warming not Caused by People Biographical Data for: Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, PH.D. SANTA FE, N.M. – Former astronaut Harrison Schmitt, who walked on the moon and once served New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, doesn’t believe that humans are causing global warming. Schmitt said “historical documents indicate average temperatures have risen by 1 degree per century since around 1400 A.D.” Schmitt also said “geological evidence indicates changes in sea level have been going on for thousands of years.” He said smaller changes are…

  • Al Gore and The Climate Debate that Never Happened

    chemicallygreen.com
    19 Jul 2010 | 8:28 am
    A Heated Exchange: Al Gore confronts his critic(s), but one critic openly confronts Mr. Gore to a debate! Revisiting the Climate Debate, 2009. Never mind that the scientific community is divided over what causes global warming, how bad it is and how to deal with it. Al Gore plays Chicken Little to the media’s applause, insisting that the world is warming dangerously and that he has the solution. (Watch the video, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal) Former Vice President Al Gore repeated his message that climate change is a planetary emergency at the WSJ’s economics conference in…

  • BP Twitter Fail Whale

    chemicallygreen.com
    3 Jul 2010 | 6:40 pm
    One artist’s interpretation of the BP oil spill. Judging by the inclusion of the infamous Twitter Fail Whale, we can only assume he’s had trouble posting to Twitter in the past. Creativity courtesy of nouincolor.com.

  • Photo Journal of an Oil Spill Cleanup

    MichDe
    28 Jun 2010 | 4:48 am
    Documentation of an Oil Spill The Malaysian-flagged MT Bunga Kelana 3 was carrying about 62,000 tons of light crude oil, the country’s coast guard said. Singapore port authorities said the spill measured about 4 kilometers by 1 kilometer and was located 6 kilometers south of Singapore’s southeastern tip. Singapore and Malaysia activated oil-spill response companies and a clean-up operation involving 20 craft was under way. There were no reports of injuries among the 50 crew members. A view of the damaged MV Waily, a bulk carrier registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines, after a…
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    Best of Mother Earth

  • Skip The Flu Shot Take Your Vitamins Instead

    Karen Hanrahan
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:42 am
    Prepare for Flu Season – Skip The Flu Shot - Take Your Vitamins Instead. article below sourced from a former newsletter We are approaching “Flu Season” again, and manufacturers are gearing up to collect more record profits. Their usual dis-information campaigns are in full swing. A headline on the American College of Physicians Online website states that ”Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death for older Americans and infects 5% to 10% of elderly Americans every year. The flu leads to 300,000 hospitalizations and kills 30,000 to 40,000 Americans every…

  • No Impact Man Here!!

    Karen Hanrahan
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:44 pm
    I am very very excited to share that Colin Beavan affectionately known as No Impact Man will be the convocation speaker here in MY very own community at Illinois Wesleyan University! The event is open to the public.  Note: Seating will be limited! 30,ooo college freshman have read Colin’s Book as part of their summer reading freshman orientation.  30,000 !!!!!! Wesleyan turned the read into an opportunity for discussion and their very own version of No Impact Experiment. To quote IWU’s press release: To celebrate Beavan’s visit to campus, the University Wellness Center is…

  • Pearly Eggplant

    Karen Hanrahan
    30 Aug 2010 | 10:28 am
    photograph by karen hanrahan I am so taken with the beauty of fruits and vegetables. This stunning pearly lavender gem is an eggplant from Prairierth Farm. Katie authors a delightful blog that shares her very full life as an employee, student, farmer and soon to be wife! I didn’t purchase the above eggplant, because eggplant is one vegetable that I am not fond of,  however I did take a picture of it because LOOK at it!! It is so beautiful!!

  • Shiso

    Karen Hanrahan
    30 Aug 2010 | 10:01 am
    This richly pigmented leafy wonder is called Shiso Shiso is Japanese In Korea they call it Ghatnip it is a cross between mint and basil it smells absolutely heavenly I have been adding it to my salad-centric evening meals I am very drawn to it’s color and rugged texture Nanam at Epiphany Farms introduced me (smile) photograph by karen hanrahan

  • Back To School Thoughts From Green Moms!

    Karen Hanrahan
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:34 am
    I can’t believe that it’s our THIRD annual back to school carnival with green moms! What a gathering of remarkable GREEN minded back to school information. Please mark this post as a resource for you and share it with those you might know! Happy Back To School!! photograph by Karen Hanrahan
 
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    Go Green Travel Green

  • New Zealand Geothermal Parks: Rotorua Hot Springs & Thermal Pools at Te Puia, Wai-O-Tapu, Waimangu and Hells Gate

    Elizabeth
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:36 am
    Rotorua, New Zealand is the place to be for geothermal activity. There are more hot springs, thermal pools, sulphur spas, mud pools, and volcanic valleys than you can count. We managed to squeeze trips to four of Rotorua’s most well known geothermal parks into our three day stop in the city. (Thanks, in part, to our press pass that allowed us free entry into each.) Most people won’t have the time or money to see more than one or two geothermal parks. So how do you choose which to visit? Here’s a break-down of what we liked best about each park: Te Puia Te Puia is the closest park to…

  • Kea Campers and Campervans Review

    Elizabeth
    12 Aug 2010 | 7:32 am
    When we first started planning our New Zealand Trip I had no idea how we were going to get around. We considered a tour group, bussing, and renting a car - all of which had their plusses and minuses. But, when we received our press kit from Tourism New Zealand and I saw the countless ads for campervans I knew I had found our mode of transportation. It seemed from the press kit that everyone in New Zealand traveled by camper. (And, after traveling in New Zealand we found that many people do.) Now all we had to do was choose a company. Pretty much all of the companies were offering 50% off to…

  • Hells Gate Rotorua Wai Ora Spa: New Zealand Geothermal Park and Mud Baths

    Elizabeth
    10 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    After experiencing the bizarre dig-your-own-spa at Hot Water Beach New Zealand, we became increasingly intrigued with New Zealand’s geothermal activity. Many of the best geothermal parks are located in Rotorua, a city where we spent several days. Each of the geothermal parks is a little different. We went to four and found that Hells Gate provided the best mix of Maori culture, geothermal activity, and relaxation (thanks to their mud baths and sulphur pools). To imagine what a place called “Hells Gate” looks like, consider this quote from George Bernard Shaw which lead to the name…

  • 5 Green Backpacker Activities when Backpacking South America

    Elizabeth
    4 Aug 2010 | 6:33 pm
    This is a guest post written by Ben Kvamstad. While backpacking in South America it’s easy to get stuck on the big city route. The excitement and thrill of major cities like Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago is hard to resist. But it’s important to remember that backpacking is so much more than getting drunk at the hostel bar and partying until 7am in the morning! Get out in the wild, push yourself out of your comfort-zone and do something that you never thought you would dear to do! South America has a great offer off green activities that are good for you and good for the…

  • Hotel Coupon Codes and Promotions

    Elizabeth
    28 Jul 2010 | 7:51 pm
    Hotel coupons aren’t quite as easy to come by as car rental coupon codes, but you can definitely snag some good deals. Hotels generally have two types of discount coupons and promotions. Discount coupons are actually coupons that you have to click through or know the code to redeem. Promotions are the deals that are available to anyone who happens upon it. But, the downside of promotions is that those who know about them first may fill up all the hotel’s space. Here are my favorite tips for getting the best price for hotels: 1) Sign up for your preferred hotel chains frequent customer and…
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    Life Goggles

  • Method Laundry Detergent Eco Product Review

    Adam
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:00 am
    Method continues it’s expansion of eco-cleaning products and has released its first laundry detergent. Just looking at the bottle you know it’s going to be different, it’s an unusual shape and has a pump on the top proudly stating that “4 PUMPS = 1 WASH” and that this 300ml bottle is equal to 25 washes. Impressive stuff. Method Laundry Detergent has a patent-pending formula which “seeks out dirt and stains” and means that you only need to use a quarter of the amount of detergent that you usually need, hence a small bottle with a lot of washes. There…

  • Start them young – getting kids involved with green issues

    Jen
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    Teaching our children from a young age how to be eco-friendly is probably one of the best things we can do for the environment. All children love to play in mud or collect bugs and this is the perfect time for us to show them that being eco-friendly can be fun. Hunting mini-beasts When I was young, you were always sure to find me in the garden or a park, hunting under rocks and climbing up trees, looking for little creepy crawly creatures. At the time I did not really know what their place in the world was, I just had fun seeing what I could find. Now days nearly every garden centre has a…

  • Green Dating – Find Sustainable Love Online

    Adam
    27 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    Online dating has exploded over the last few years so it’s nice to see green alternatives popping up. Here, Jill Mytton writes about her site, Countryside Friends: “With oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the exceptionally hot summer which has certainly reactivated the climate change debate, this week admittedly the rain has arrived, green issues and the environment have never been so high on the public agenda. So in the midst of all this serious environmental news what on earth is green dating? “Well perhaps it isn’t just the environment we need to think about but also…

  • Babies in Sheep’s Clothing Lambskin Merino Wool Eco Product Review

    Adam
    25 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    Babies In Sheep’s Clothing is an online store selling ethical lambskin and merino clothing for babies and children. Based in East Sussex, it sources high quality, handmade ethically produced lambskin and merino clothing from New Zealand that are built to last – the founders passionately believe that their products should be passed along to a brother or sister. As I don’t have any children, I passed on the beanie hat so my godson, Harry and his mother Kate to review. “As well as stocking a fabulous selection of sheepskin products,Babies In Sheep’s Clothing also…

  • The Power of Recycling Furniture

    Jen
    23 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    Do you remember the last time your office had a refit? Or the last time you bought new furniture for the house? What happened to all the old furniture and computer equipment? The truth is, it probably ended up in a landfill site somewhere out in the countryside. One man‘s trash is another man‘s treasure The vast majority of office furniture that is removed in an office refit is still completely reusable and there are many charitable organizations that will be more than happy to take it off your hands. These not-for-profit organizations will use your unwanted furniture for many worthwhile…
 
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    The Greenists

  • Take Yourself Back to the Future

    Guest
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:28 am
    The following is a guest post by Neil, who attended Debbie Durkin’s 4th Annual Eco-Emmys Celebrity Chateau, where he met with a representative from Hybrid Solar Lite.  Hybrid Solar Lite provided flashlights for Neil’s review, but his opinions are his own. I bought my first car last week.  I recently moved to Los Angeles from New York City, for though the mass transit in New York proved to be more than adequate, their West Coast equivalent…isn’t.  However, I was eager to purchase this car for it would help me realize a childhood dream.  Growing up, my sole impression of…

  • 5 Great Recycling Websites

    Courtney
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:00 am
    Please welcome today’s guest poster, Louise Baker. The importance of continual, proactive recycling cannot be over-emphasized: humans produce many pounds of waste every day through thoughtless consumerism, while not limiting their consumption or making any attempt to re-use their possessions. However, a little effort put toward recycling can prevent functional products from filling up landfills; they can begin to save the planet, one recycling act at a time. What follows is a list of 5 great recycling websites that promote recycling, and thus a sustainable future. 1) Earth911.com Earth…

  • Fresh Food For Baby

    Melissa
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    If you have access to fresh food and freezer/refrigeration, making fresh, homemade baby food is a green, economical, DELICIOUS, and incredibly satisfying way to ensure that your child is receiving the highest quality food that you can provide. I decided to make homemade baby food after I opened a jar of organic peas and began gagging because of the horrid smell! I did not want to feed my children anything that I was not willing to taste (or sniff) myself.I was amazed at how easy and inexpensive it was! A single glass jar of organic butternut squash puree can cost close to $1.00. I could…

  • Sprout Watches

    Courtney
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:00 am
    I’m a somewhat outdoorsy kind of gal, and despite the sweltering heat this summer, I’ve done a lot of bicycling, kayaking, river tubing and hiking. All this is great fun, but for one thing: I have a watch with a metal band, and metal watch + sunscreen + my sweaty wrist = no fun. And since I’m also the kind of gal who constantly wants to know what time it is, I soon found myself in the market for a durable watch with a cloth band that I could wear while I’m enjoying the outdoors. So I went watch shopping online, and it wasn’t long before I found Sprout. In…

  • A/V Fridays AND What’s Going On!

    Allie
    27 Aug 2010 | 1:16 am
    I haven’t put up links in a week or two, so I thought I’d give you two posts in one. Above is my cat’s video review of the Adopt A Cat Organic Catnip Toy from GoodThingsGreenThings.com. And now, links! OnlineDegrees.org listed The Greenists as #26 on their top 100 list of Green Blogs for Students!!!! Hudson Valley Green Festival tickets are on sale for the September 4th event!  We’ll be posting more about this event next week. The Good Human gives helpful hints to finding a car sharing service near you. Asthma Mom has health tips for the school year. Crunchy Chicken…
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    Mommy Brain Reports

  • Rice Krispies Challenge & Giveaway!!

    Monica
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:39 pm
    I have very fond memories from when I was a child, of my dad in the kitchen, making Rice Krispies Treats. Once in a while, he’d change it up, and toss in chocolate chips, or M&M’s, or even drizzle them with chocolate. Now, I have children, and I love making Rice Krispies Treats with them. [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Kisado kicked my bootie…

    Monica
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:52 am
    This is more for the Jacksonville, NC area, but I figured I would tell everyone about this anyway… So, the TaeKwonDo school that my girls and I have attended since April has started offering a new fitness class in addition to traditional TaeKwonDo. It’s less martial art and more of a fitness program… Kisado I’m [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Wisk.. Still removing stains

    Monica
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    I remember back to when my mom would throw clothes out if they had stains on them, or they were dubbed play clothes or home clothes only. Luckily, I don’t necessarily have to waste the girls’ clothes. I have had to fight all kinds of stains, and some have been easier than others to deal [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • It’s Game Time!!!

    Monica
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:00 am
    It’s that time of year again.. The days are getting shorter, the air is starting to cool off, and I’m starting to get the craving for chips and dip… It’s FOOTBALL SEASON!!! I’m a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.. Don’t ask why… I’ve never lived there, never even visited there, but I’ve followed the team through quite [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Saving some “Sears”ious Money!

    Monica
    28 Aug 2010 | 8:23 pm
    Ok Ok… that was trying a little hard there with that title… but read on a bit, and you’ll see why I thought of that… We’ve all heard about various “frequent shopper” cards, and coupons, or rewards you can get for shopping with some of your favorite stores. I’ve signed up for so many of [...] [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Green (Living) Review

  • Report calls for farmers to be given power to reverse food chain injustice

    Veshengro
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:03 am
    by Michael Smith (Veshengro) Urgent action is needed, so the findings of a report, to address the failing food system in Britain and to give farmers the power to set farm policy. A report by the Food Ethics Council states farmers are the people best-placed to set agricultural policy in Britain while consumers, at the same time, should be and need to be educated about the social and environmental implications of cheap food. The Food Injustice Report, published following a 12-month investigation into social injustice in food and farming, says farmers, agricultural workers, the environment and…

  • OUT OF THE ORDINARY FESTIVAL CELEBRATES FOURTH YEAR IN SUSSEX

    Veshengro
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:57 am
    OOTO moon attuned and all about the vibe The Out Of The Ordinary Festival (http://www.outoftheordinaryfestival.com) the green and family friendly gathering that celebrates the changing seasons returns once more to East Sussex this September, 2010, for a chill out that looks likely to sell out. Out Of The Ordinary will once more be offering its remarkable vibe at Knockhatch Adventure Park, near Hailsham, from September 17th to 19th, and will feature an out of this world line-up of bands, speakers and performers all powered by the sun (literally), moon and stars. Festival director Stuart Mason…

  • Heinz meanz plastic jars for Beanz

    Veshengro
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:31 am
    by Michael Smith (Veshengro) Now I have seen it all! Or have I? Is everyone gone mad? Heinz is to sell its famous baked beans in a resealable plastic bottle so that open containers can be kept in the fridge. Marvellous – NOT! This is as stupid, I am afraid to say, as when Sainsbury's went and put chopped tomatoes into Tetrapak kind of packs which cannot be recycled. What is wrong with emptying a tin can into a storage container, maybe a repurposed glass jar? Nothing and it is, in fact, environmentally friendly. This, on the other hand, is madness. The new Heinz Beanz packaging is a plastic…

  • THE GREEN COMPANY SECURES MAJOR DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT

    Veshengro
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:24 am
    Leading solar and wind installation and development company The Green Company (Europe) Limited (“TGC”) announces that it has secured investment from leading private investment fund, Constantine Group plc. Baker Tilly Corporate Finance and Veale Wasbrough Vizards advised TGC on this transaction which will enable the business to continue its successful development. Established in 2006 and with offices in Bristol and Glasgow, TGC installs and develops solar photovoltaic (PV) farms and also medium scale wind turbine projects for landowners, businesses and investors. The company provides…

  • Save the date: 10:10:10

    Veshengro
    30 Aug 2010 | 10:55 am
    10:10:10 – a global day of doing by Michael Smith (Veshengro) Sunday October 10, 2010 will be the 'global day of doing' and there’ll be thousands of practical carbon cutting events and activities all over the world. The 10:10 organization wants your business or organisation to be a part of it. Mark the day in your diary now. From Cosmopolitan magazine to hit TV shows, to thousands of individuals, to business, hospitals and schools – everyone will be doing something. On 10:10:10 itself, the 10:10 organization wants to see your pictures, mails and video, which they‘ll then be streaming…
 
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    Lighter Footstep

  • Daily Briefing: Thurs.

    Russell McLendon
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:41 am
    EARL NEXT DOOR: The Outer Banks of North Carolina are eerily calm and breezy this morning, but that tranquility is expected to slowly crumble throughout the day, the National Hurricane Center warns, as the monstrous Hurricane Earl approaches the coast.

  • Discovery channel gunman's militant manifesto

    Jenn Savedge
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:22 am
    By now, you've probably read the news story about James J. Lee's standoff at the Discovery Channel yesterday.

  • Men who don't ask for directions waste $3,000

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:43 am
    Do you already own a fuel-efficient car — that you vigilantly hypermile to save gas and money? Then I hope you know where you’re going, because driving lost in a greener car is still a big waste of fuel.

  • Super-sized is the new normal

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:35 am
    Do you love Chipotle’s organic chicken burritos? Guess how many calories the total meal has. If you guessed a reasonable 300, you’re right — assuming you’re referring just to the organic tortilla! Eat the chicken and the rest of the tasty innards of the burrito, and you’ll have consumed 970 calories!

  • EcoloBlue extracts water from thin air

    Karl Burkart
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:57 pm
    Hi-tech Atmospheric Water Generator sucks humidity out of the air and purifies it for about 20 cents per gallon.
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    TerraCurve.com - Go beyond green.

  • Giant sea turtles swimming up to safe haven in Panama

    Joe Ascanio
    27 Aug 2010 | 8:25 pm
    For aquatic nature lovers, the majestic sea turtle’s nesting patterns are awe-inspiring. Each year between April and October, endangered and threatened sea turtles get their annual chance to expand their shrinking populations and perhaps ensure their presence in our oceans for another of its generations. A key nesting ground for many sea turtle species, the Panama coastline’s warm, equatorial waters are home to five different types: the hawksbill, loggerhead, green, leatherback and olive ridley species. This time of the year, newly hatched turtles can be seen struggling across Panama’s…

  • New adventure travel site launches to help “Book the Adventure of a Lifetime”

    Joe Ascanio
    23 Aug 2010 | 7:17 am
    Adventure travelers may just have a cool, new go-to site for both searching and booking authentic, transformational travel experiences around the globe. A new online booking site, AvidTrips.com, has just launched a public BETA in an effort to establish a “next generation online adventure travel marketplace.” The site features a rapidly growing inventory of horseback riding, bicycling, mountain climbing, hiking/trekking and safari tours. All-in-one adventure resource AvidTrips offers the rare opportunity of connecting travelers directly with local tour operators, providing a trustworthy…

  • San Francisco welcomes new shark exhibit in name of conservation

    Joe Ascanio
    21 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    The Aquarium of the Bay has just added a HUGE Sevengill Shark to its many exhibits, setting an example for ongoing shark research and marine conservation. The 9.5 ft. long, 319 lb. female Notorhychus cepedianus is one of the largest sharks the facility has ever exhibited. A nonprofit marine nature center, the Aquarium conducts extensive research on sharks in the San Francisco Bay. Staff will eventually tag the animal and release it back to the exact point in the Bay where it was collected. “The new sevengill, which was collected as part of our ongoing shark research program, is swimming…

  • Boeing helps Haiti rebuild, schools are top priority

    Joe Ascanio
    18 Aug 2010 | 11:44 am
    Last January, a record-breaking earthquake destroyed the already dismal way of life for large populations in Haiti. Since then, an outpouring of international support – specifically from within the travel industry – has been instrumental in helping the small nation in its recovery efforts. After the catastrophe, the Boeing corporation in conjunction with the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC)  set in motion plans to commit $2.2 million to help those affected by the earthquake, immediately handing over $1.3 million to The American Red Cross for post-event relief efforts.

  • ‘Freedom to Travel’: How will an ease on Cuba travel restrictions affect the industry?

    Joe Ascanio
    18 Aug 2010 | 7:05 am
    There is a lot of talk and rumor these days over whether or not President Obama will ease travel restrictions with regard to Cuba, our southern-outcast neighbor. The Obama Administration is deliberating the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act – a bill that was introduced into the U.S. Congress in February 2009 – that would allow U.S. citizens to engage in unrestricted travel to Cuba for the first time since 1963. According to a recent article in the Miami Herald, “The Obama administration will soon ease some restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba and other sanctions following…
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    Solar Feeds

  • Green IT at Applied Materials $AMAT

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:09 am
    Green Information Technology (IT) is a critical part of Applied Materials’ greenhouse gas reduction efforts. What started as a modest program in 2007 has evolved into an integral part of every IT project and investment decision including data center optimization, desktop and device improvements and remote collaboration tools. The Data Center Applied Materials has substantially reduced the energy required to run our data centers through... go to solarfeeds for the rest of this story>>>>>

  • New England: Positioned to Lead Cleantech Revolution

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:03 am
    Over the past several months, businesses, environmentalists and policy experts alike have been pressing the U.S. Senate to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation that places a price on carbon.  The New England Clean Energy Council, where I work, has been among those actively pushing for such a bill.  One of the points we’ve tried to drive home with our region’s legislators is that New England is ideally positioned to... go to solarfeeds for the rest of this story>>>>>

  • Micro Inverters for Solar Homes

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:00 am
    For the non-engineers out there who are interested in learning as much as possible about how solar panels work, here’s a brief overview of micro-inverters and what they can add to a solar installation. Solar panels need (micro)inverters to convert the electricity they produce to a type that can be used at home. Solar photovoltaic panels produce DC (direct) electrical current, and household appliances use AC (alternating) electrical current.... go to solarfeeds for the rest of this story>>>>>

  • The Future of Green School Buildings

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:44 am
    The large number of deteriorating public school buildings are causing school boards across the US to consider new green schools and retrofits that save energy as well as improve learning. This greening of schools is at the forefront of green building and this is a trend that will likely intensify. In the US, Federal incentives are already helping boards to green their schools. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s fiscal... go to solarfeeds for the rest of this story>>>>>

  • JDSU Enters The CPV Market

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:31 am
    The concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) market has been long on promise and short on results.  But there have been a few hopeful signs of late. Kleiner Perkins saw fit to invest $130 million into CPV systems vendor Amonix.  And shortly after that fund raise, Cogentrix announced a 30 megawatt project with Amonix.  That's easily the largest CPV project in the history of CPV. SolFocus recently said that it would have 10 megawatts in... go to solarfeeds for the rest of this story>>>>>
 
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    Green Your Decor

  • Beautiful Clockwork: Handpainted, Recycled Record Clocks

    jennae
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:58 am
    I have seen my fair share of things made from recycled vinyl records. Bowls, clocks, mirrors, coasters — if it’s made from a record, I’ve probably seen it. The common thread between all of them is that they all still look like records. That’s great if you’re buying them for nostalgia’s sake, to help you remember what music sounded like on a record player or in memory of days past. But these clocks from etsy seller Kailey Hawthorn of Studio K are a far cry from their humble beginnings. The records were used as a canvas, and the result is a collection of…

  • Pretty & Patterned: Organic Cotton Floral Upholstery Fabric

    jennae
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:23 am
    I have become quite the collector of fabric — most of it organic, and some of it secondhand. I rarely know what I’m going to use it for. Only that I eventually will use it. My fabric stash thus far has come in really handy for making cloth napkins and handkerchiefs for my daughter to take to school, and I’m made my fair share of pillow covers. This fabric is a good candidate for the collection. While I tend to avoid florals like the plague, I have taken a newfound interest in patterns like this one from Harts Fabric. As frilly as it is, the pattern manages to mix modern and…

  • Making My Home Greener and Cleaner, Part 1

    jennae
    26 Aug 2010 | 9:45 am
    A lot of things have changed for my family since January. When my daughter was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), it felt like someone pulled the rug out from under us — like things would never be “normal” again. In part, we were right. The doctors and nurses charged with my daughter’s care warned us that we should expect to find a “new normal,” and that we eventually would find our footing, even if it took a while. They were right. One of the things that we’ve had to reevaluate is how clean we keep our house. This is not to say that our…

  • Get the Look: Pre-Painted Bamboo Blinds

    jennae
    19 Aug 2010 | 10:33 am
    Remember those bamboo blinds that I hand-painted last summer for my mother’s patio? Yesterday, I stumbled upon bamboo blinds with a similar style pre-painted on them at World Market. It is available in warm colors (red, orange and cream) and a cooler palette (blue, green and yellow). And even better, they cost less than what I paid for each of the original unpainted blinds. I can’t vouch for where the bamboo came from or whether the difference in price is due to a difference in quality (although reviewers at the site say they’re good quality for the price). However, if you…

  • Green Steals of the Week: Organic Crib & Toddler Bedding

    jennae
    19 Aug 2010 | 10:08 am
    I have spent months with baby fever, in part because so many of my blogging friends recently had or are having babies and I wanted to remember what it felt like again. Sending my daughter off to kindergarten only multiplied that effect, although I wonder how wise it is to wish for an infant now that the house is finally quiet in the daytime…lol. Still, I find myself intrigued by all things baby, so these deals definitely caught my attention. First up is the gorgeous bedding set by Ferm Living shown above. It is crib sized, but most experts do not recommend putting a duvet in a crib with…
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    Chris Gammell's Analog Life

  • Shhh, Don’t Tell The Aussie…

    Chris Gammell
    18 Aug 2010 | 8:48 pm
    I know we said we wouldn’t talk about it on our sites any more, but I figured once more can’t hurt. We have our latest episode of The Amp Hour up on the new website, just waiting to be downloaded or streamed. I will say though that you should pull the RSS feed ASAP in order to not miss any future radio shows. Who knows what kind of hijinks you’d miss out on? Anyway, don’t tell the Aussie! I don’t want to upset my co-host. But do remember to shoot over to The Amp Hour for the 4th installment of the new radio show and leave some nice comments there.

  • Part Review: LT4180

    Chris Gammell
    16 Aug 2010 | 7:36 pm
    A note about part reviews: I do not get paid to do reviews. I am either doing them out of the kindness of my heart, because they have some historical significance (as in the case of my review of the LM741) or most likely I think the technology is important and interesting. All opinions are my own and I would not suggest making any part choices based on the information in this article alone. Read some datasheets, they’re pretty informative. No wire is perfect. Basically, that’s the premise behind this chip, the LT4180. The real background is that when someone is providing power to…

  • Follow Up Post: Electronics People Online

    Chris Gammell
    13 Aug 2010 | 5:58 am
    I really don’t have much to say in response to my last post about where all the electrical engineer sites are online other than: message boards. I alluded to the idea of message boards when I mentioned EEVBlog, though unknowningly at the time; I thought EEVblog was only videos. Working with Dave on The Amp Hour has shown me that a message board can really help hash out ideas (if you’re one of the content generators), get suggestions, or get questions answered (if you’re watching or reading and don’t understand something).  So I started hunting and found some other…

  • Same Show, Same Time, Different Location

    Chris Gammell
    10 Aug 2010 | 4:45 am
    We finished recording the 3rd installment of our newly-named radio show–”The Amp Hour”–last night. The show focused on a couple different topics, we were trying to stay a little bit more focused than we had been previously. Anyway, be sure to click the link above to get to the podcast/radio show, I don’t plan on putting the audio on this page anymore. I would also suggest that you try out the RSS feed on The Amp Hour, it’s the easiest way to get up to date info on the program; plus I’d like to discontinue posting that there is a new episode up on both…

  • Radio Show Has Moved!

    Chris Gammell
    7 Aug 2010 | 8:21 am
    Dave and I have decided to move the radio show we started together to a separate site. We also chose a name for the site, The Amp Hour. Going to a different site will allow Dave to continue providing video podcasts on the EEVblog site and I can continue providing analog type articles (and podcasts) on this site.  Our content will appear there from now on, but we’ll be sure to link over to that site for the next few shows to ensure people know where the audio files can be found. While I’m sure I’ll miss all the traffic working with Dave has brought to this site, I’m…
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    Innovative News

  • Extracting energy from winds at altitude

    Cecilia
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:24 am
    The Macani Power Inc. company in Alameda, CA is developing Airborne Wind Turbines (AWT) to extract energy from powerful, consistent winds at altitude. Makani AWTs will produce energy at an unsubsidized real cost competitive with coal-fired power plants, the current benchmark of the lowest cost source of power.The Macani wing and a conventional wind turbine operate on the same aerodynamic principles. The Macani wing is transformed into a kite by tethering it to the ground. The aerodynamics remain the same but the wing can harness the energy in the wind by pulling against the tether. The…

  • Backpack water filter system

    Cecilia
    20 Aug 2010 | 8:05 am
    Researchers of the University of Kassel, (website unfortunately only in German) Germany presented recently a very innovative water filter system of the size of a backpack. This water filter system is based on nano technology meaning that the membranes filtering the water are of nano size keeping out bacteries and other harmful particles. In areas like Pakistan where the floods leave the people without drinkable water in villages which aren’t reachable this kind of water filter system can help. It can be used permanently filtering about 1,200 liters (317 gallons) per day. It weighs only…

  • Ultrahigh-Power Energy Storage

    Cecilia
    19 Aug 2010 | 11:12 am
    Researchers from the U.S. and France report the development of a mirco-supercapacitor with remarkable properties. Supercapacitors bridge the gap between batteries, which offer high energy densities but are slow, and “conventional” electrolytic capacitors, which are fast but have low energy densities. The newly developed devices offer four times higher energy than batteries and three times faster than conventional supercapacitors which are used in backup power supplies, wind power generators and other machinery. These new devices are called “micro-supercapacitors”…

  • Seoul will install 100 new EV charging stations

    Cecilia
    17 Aug 2010 | 2:26 pm
    In an effort to promote the use of eco-friendly vehicles, the city government of the South Korean capital Seoul is working to secure enough parking spaces to accommodate minimum two electric vehicles and at least one charging station at each of Seoul 25 district (”gu”) offices.  In recognition that lack of EV charging facilities is the biggest challenge in promoting the eco-friendly vehicle, the city government signed a joint agreement with three large Seoul-based retailers for the installation of over 100 EV charging stations until the end of 2010. Within this year, E-Mart is…

  • Eco-friendly method for reducing mosquitoes

    Cecilia
    28 Jul 2010 | 2:34 pm
    Researchers of the University of Haifa in collaboration with researchers of other universities have chemically identified, for the first time, compounds released by mosquitoes’ natural aquatic predators that function as warning signals for egg laying mosquitoes. Introducing these natural chemicals into mosquito breeding sites will cause the mosquitoes to sense risk of predation to their progeny and avoid laying their eggs there.  Applying such synthetic compounds to mosquito breeding sites would not only result in much fewer mosquitoes in the immediate area but probably reduce mosquito…
 
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    Resilience Science

  • Flooding in Pakistan from the ground and from space

    Garry Peterson
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:19 am
    An aerial view of floodwater covering the land as far as the eye can see, around Taunsa near Multan, Pakistan, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer) A boy sits on a bed as his family members salvage belongings from their destroyed house in Pabbi, Pakistan on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood) From the Big Picture photoblog from the Boston Globe Severe flooding in Pakistan and  Continuing Pakistani floods.  Also National Geographic. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured these images of the Indus River around the city of…

  • The “Ctrl+Alt+Del” of Global Change Sciences

    Victor Galaz
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:53 am
    Twitter|@vgalaz This is one of those important things that seldom make the headlines. While climate change science has received considerable public attention, especially since the controversies around the IPCC scientific assessments, another fact is seldom, if ever, acknowledged – that  a number of international global change programmes are reorganizing to better match the increasing need for policy-relevant, integrated sustainability science. The Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) as an example, has been reorganizing its work the last years, to better integrate the natural and…

  • Johan Rockström at TED on planetary boundaries

    Garry Peterson
    31 Aug 2010 | 1:21 pm
    Johan Rockström, from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, talks at TED about strategies people can use to transform our civilization (citing work on Latin American agriculture, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Kristianstad in Sweden, and Elinor Ostrom’s work) to enable the Earth System to remain within planetary boundaries. Ethan Zuckerman provides a summary of the talk here. Related posts:Johan Röckstrom talks about Planetary Boundaries Planetary Boundaries Three books about planetary transformation

  • Teaching creativity?

    Garry Peterson
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:06 am
    A Newsweek magazine feature by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman on the Creativity Crisis in America presents a discussion of research on creativity: When you try to solve a problem, you begin by concentrating on obvious facts and familiar solutions, to see if the answer lies there. This is a mostly left-brain stage of attack. If the answer doesn’t come, the right and left hemispheres of the brain activate together. Neural networks on the right side scan remote memories that could be vaguely relevant. A wide range of distant information that is normally tuned out becomes available to the left…

  • Learning Leadership Tony Hayward’s Way

    Garry Peterson
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:52 pm
    Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School, writes about what can be learned about leadership from the failure of BP CEO Tony Hayward to cope with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Leadership Tips from Tony Hayward (or Not): The Case of Tony Hayward and the Gulf Oil Spill will be fodder for business school discussions for years to come, as a how-not-to-do-it guide for leadership when disaster strikes. Mr. Hayward must have studied management in a parallel universe, where a set of anti-rules for bad leadership are taught. Here’s what I imagine are those anti-rules. *…
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    Jetson Green

  • On the Urban Water Crisis [Giveaway]

    Preston Koerner
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:22 pm
    Leave a comment below through the end of Friday, September 3, 2010, to be considered for this random book giveaway.* Jerry Yudelson is a green building leader, but he's also a professional engineer with a master's degree in water resource development.  Relying on this background, Yudelson authored a new book called Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis.  The truth is, as he explains, the global human population is expected to quadruple from 1950 to 2050, placing more and more stress on water resources.  Swift action is necessary to prevent a water crisis, and Dry Run provides a…

  • Eco Shore Homes for Long Beach Island

    Preston Koerner
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:04 pm
    Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Kevin Romano of SquallCo Development about his new website and modern green homes offered on Long Beach Island. The development company has two home plans, the smaller called Akamai and the other called Ohana, which have been designed in a joint venture with Steve Midouhas. With these, SquallCo hopes to make warm, modern, sustainable homes more approachable to folks in the area. Akamai, pictured in the first three renderings, is a 1,250 square foot home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. At roughly half the size of typical new construction,…

  • Next Gen Prefab Called v100 Mod Box

    Preston Koerner
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:11 am
    If Apple were to sell a homes, perhaps they would look something like this.  The v100 Mod Box is a 10' x 10' x 10' cube made with green materials, state of the art appliances, and stylish fixtures.  It's a new kind of structure that can be assembled by anyone -- no tools required -- and lives comfortably despite the fact that its footprint is so tiny.  Shown is a pair of Mod Boxes.  One box has the kitchen and living room, while the other has the bedroom and bathroom.  Amenities include walnut cabinets, an induction cooktop, a Fagor refrigerator, and Duravit sinks and shower and…

  • August Green Coverage in Review

    Preston Koerner
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:12 pm
    Roughly 39 articles later, it's hard to believe it's September with the new season fast approaching.  Last month, our most popular article on Facebook was this one on i-house 2.0, while the most shared article on Twitter was this one on an edible living wall.  For more green coverage, stay current with our weekly email newsletter delivered every Saturday.  Below you'll find a gathering of links from last month.  Developments & Projects: Natural Green Townhomes on the East Coast Fantastic Monastic Modules in Big Sur, California The Belmont Earns LEED Silver in Dallas Green Maxie…

  • Luxury LEED Vineyard Resort in Oregon

    Preston Koerner
    30 Aug 2010 | 10:55 pm
    Planted in the middle of a new vineyard in Newberg, a small town in Willamette Valley, The Allison Inn and Spa is doing some amazing things in terms of reducing the ecological footprint associated with typically high-impact hospitality operations.  The resort and vineyard was designed by GGLO to save 48% on utility costs, as well as reduce potable water use by 78% and overall water use by 37%, compared to a comparable non-green project.  The Allison was completed in September last year and has been certified to the LEED Gold level.  The project includes 85 guest rooms, conference space, a…
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    greenbuildingsNYC

  • Down On The Riverside: Scott Stringer Unloads On Extell’s Riverside Center Mega-Development

    David Roth
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:08 pm
    There are sprawling mega-developments and then there are sprawling mega-developments. And for all the digital ink we’ve spilled on Williamsburg’s New Domino and Flushing’s Flushing Commons, the title of Sprawling-est, Most Megascale Mega-Development in New York City is pretty undoubtedly Extell’s hilariously elephantine 3 million square foot Riverside Center, which will feature 2,500 apartments, a 250,000-square-foot hotel and an additional 208,000 square feet of retail space, for starters. To Extell’s credit, the development is both better presented and less…

  • Friday Reading: Bronx’s LEED Neighborhood Booming, TED Types Put Green Building In Context, NYC’s Friendliest Toilet

    David Roth
    27 Aug 2010 | 3:33 pm
    This is a good thing, of course, but not everything can be a crudely demagogued non-mosque on not-so-hallowed ground or major league green retrofits at super-iconic Manhattan skyscrapers. Some stories are just interesting stories, and not necessarily the sort of things that demand exhaustive coverage. Also it’s early evening on Friday, and you’re probably about as anxious to read 1200 ultra-emotional words on some green building topic or other as I am to write those words. But, in the return of our sporadic and (presumably?) wildly popular Friday Reading series, we’re…

  • Maki, Rolling: Fumihiko Maki’s Ambitious, Green 51 Astor Place Might Actually Get Built

    David Roth
    26 Aug 2010 | 3:30 pm
    Truth be told, we do take a sort of faint schadenfreude-y pleasure in watching the steroidal mega-developments of the last Manhattan real estate boom get cut down to size. It doesn’t help that the unwarranted grandiosity of those scaled-back projects still yields undistinguished finished products — Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point, we’re looking at you — but there’s a sense of cosmic justice to it, a sort of Flannery O’Connor-ish gravity in evidence, as these oversized ego-blasts are reduced to either mere buildings or forever unbuilt object lessons in…

  • So, Has Anyone Heard About This Empire State Building Thing?

    David Roth
    25 Aug 2010 | 5:01 pm
    It’s a strange thing to write: when will someone in New York City finally notice the Empire State Building? Obviously there are some of us (ahem) who find it easier to lavish attention on the city’s worst real estate projects, but the idea that the Empire State Building is somehow lacking for attention — the same Empire State Building thronged by tourists and towering over midtown, the same one from King Kong and Kavalier and Clay — just looks wrong, here on the pixelated page. But, considering that what is arguably New York City’s biggest and most ambitious…

  • Get Out Of Town: Hudson Passive House In Claverack, NY Aims For Net Zero, Green Prefab Montauk Home Wins AIA Honors

    David Roth
    19 Aug 2010 | 3:16 pm
    You know what is very different than long, super-fervent screeds about The Not-At-Ground-Zero Non-Mosque? Interesting green buildings that are not in New York City. So let’s step out of the idiot whirlwind surrounding poor Park51 and get ourselves up the country, shall we? Wonderful. We’re going to Montauk first, so you should probably pack some swim trunks. Montauk, a place your writer has been happy — very happy here and here, but also happy elsewhere — and which has, in its low-key way, been a part of the little green revolution going on in the Hamptons and on Long…
 
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    Green News and Expert Opinions

  • The Adventures of Nat Turner, Blair Grocery and the Lower Nine Garden

    "No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them for they're always there."
-- Norman Vincent Peale  Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans five years ago flooding 80% of the city, destroying homes, stores, schools, churches, and lives.  When the levees broke the Lower Nine, one of the poorest areas of the city, found itself under 15 feet of water. The predominately African American community was almost wiped off the map. Even today only one fifth of the original residents have returned and the infrastructure is…

  • What is LIfe after Peak Oil?

      While Western governments from the U.S. to the UK debate the validity of “peak oil”, and obfuscate the probability under a cloak of secrecy, the working world wrings its hands, wondering what will happen when the day arrives and the energy needed to fuel industry – the lifeblood of national economies – is no longer available.   Peak oil, as first proposed by geophysicist Dr. M. King Hubbert, describes the moment when global oil extraction reaches a maximum and begins to gradually decline, setting up a scenario where each barrel of oil is increasingly…

  • Right and Wrong

    Why climate science divides people along political lines. It was Australia’s second climate change election. Climate change deposed the former leaders of both main parties: Kevin Rudd (Labor) because his position was too weak, Malcolm Turnbull (Liberals) because his position was too strong. When Julia Gillard, the new Labor leader, also flunked the issue, many of her supporters defected to the Greens. Labor’s collapse began when the senate rejected Rudd’s emissions trading scheme. Faced with a choice between dissolving parliament and calling an election or dropping the…

  • Research Shows Global Warming Shrinks Range Where Blue Oysters Can Thrive

    Last June I reported on changing levels of acidity in the Chesapeake Bay and its affects on the shells of young oysters, making them thinner than usual thus making them more available to predators such as crabs.  Now a study been published in the Journal of Biogeography indicating that climate change is raising water and air temperatures along the U.S. east coast and shrinking the region where blue mussels, or mytilus edulis, are able to survive.  Blue oysters, known for their sweet flavor, used to be found as far south as Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 60 years ago, but ...

  • Actors and Activism in the Wake of the Gulf Oil Spill (+ Video)

    The NRDC caught up with Actor Ryan Reynolds in New Orleans last week and produced the video below. It covers Ryan's thoughts on the current situation in New Orleans in the wake of the gulf oil spill. He also contributed as a guest blogger on the NRDC site onearth, stating: You don't have to make a personal trip to the Gulf of Mexico to realize the BP disaster has blown the cover off a subject some would prefer to keep quiet: the ongoing damage inflicted by our addiction to oil. When you see images of blackened beaches, grounded ...
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    Ecobunga!

  • Last Call: Nominate Ecobunga! for the People's Choice Award

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:31 am
    Deadline fast approaching! If you dig our deals, please take a moment to nominate Ecobunga! for Green America's People's Choice Award for Green Business of the Year. We're an itty-bitty business trying to save people lots and lots of dough, so your thumbs up would mean a lot to us. Thanks!

  • 20% Off Water-Conserving Simple Flush Kit

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:59 pm
    Get 20% off The Simple Flush -- a nifty, easy-to-install system designed to reduce your toilet's overall water use by 30-50% and save you up to $100 a year. Simple Flush provides dual (full/half) flush functionality at the push of a button. At checkout, use coupon code.

  • Labor Day Deals on Green Home, Clothing, Kids Gifts and More

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:58 pm
    Celebrate Labor Day in green style at Green Rainbow Shop! Save $50 on purchases over $100 or $20 on purchases over $50. Green Rainbow Shop carries everything from organic clothing, to natural soaps, toys, recycled jewelry, recycled glass plates, recycled paper and much more.

  • 20% Off Eco-Friendly Fashions for Women

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:58 pm
    Enjoy 20% off your entire order at Ecolissa, where you'll find hip eco-friendly fashions for women from brands like Indigenous, Toggery and Ecoskin. Shipping only $5 within the US! At checkout, use coupon code (one time use only; cannot be combined with any other discounts or coupons.)

  • Win Books about Green Homes & Restoration

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:57 pm
    BigBlendMagazine.com is giving away two books about green home renovation: "Kennedy Green House: Designing and Eco-Healthy Home from the Foundation to the Furniture" by Robin Wilson and "Green Restorations: Sustainable Building and Historic Homes" by Aaron Lubeck.
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    the New American Village

  • Compost This

    30 Aug 2010 | 8:42 am
    This weeks newspaper column: (Read it in the Hattiesburg American.) My tomato plants lived a long and fruitful life.May they rest in pieces … in the compost pile. More and more, people are starting their own backyard compost piles. Far from being a Johnny-come-lately idea, humans have practiced various forms of composting for millennia.Early farmers found that a mix of animal waste, straw, crop residues and other organic material would gradually turn into a rich, fertile, soil-like substance that was very good for growing crops.Archeological evidence shows signs of deliberate composting in…

  • A More Perfect Union

    16 Aug 2010 | 5:17 am
    This week's newspaper column: (Read it in the Hattiesburg American) “Be the change you want to see in the world.” When taken to heart and followed up with action, this is one of the most empowering and result-generating quotes I’ve ever come across.Of course, these words of wisdom were uttered by a meek, 90 pound man who was credited with breaking the will of the mighty British Empire and gaining independence for the nation of India - one Mahatma Gandhi. On a more personal level, some years ago I was with a friend and mentor of mine – architect and futurist Doug Michels – when…

  • Feng SHe Launches Today

    6 Aug 2010 | 10:32 am
    There's excitement in the air. Today is the launch of a brand new website devoted to achieving a balance of masculine and feminine energies in all areas of our lives. It's called Feng SHe.And, I'm delighted to announce that I was selected as a regular contributor to the site. I'll have a weekly column exploring aspects of feminine/masculine balance in all areas creative. Click on the Creativity icon to read my articles.So please click in to FengSHe.org on a regular basis and join the discussion.Directly from the heart - thank you!James Polk

  • Buck Up, America

    2 Aug 2010 | 5:49 am
    This week's newspaper column: (Read it in the Hattiesburg American.) “If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, either way, you’re right.” Attributed to Henry Ford, this is one of my favorite quotes, and it’s especially applicable to the current debate over fossil fuels and renewable energies. Voices arguing against moving away from traditional dirty energies – most notably oil, gas, and coal – in the direction of clean energies proclaim that running America on renewable energy is a pipe dream, a fantasy – “pie in the sky!" But I ask you:Whatever happened to that good…

  • Food For Thought

    19 Jul 2010 | 8:13 am
    This week's newspaper column: (Read it in the Hatteisburg American) Most Americans are very sure they know exactly where their food comes from:the Grocery Store. That’s right.We drive to the supermarket when convenient and fill ever-larger shopping carts with seemingly endless varieties of familiar and exotic edible offerings.And why not? It’s easy and predictable.Today’s corporate agribusinesses have become so very efficient at factory farming, processing, and the logistics of moving things from place to place that it’s no wonder most citizens are disconnected from the source of one…
 
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    BeMoreEco

  • Sun’s ‘quiet period’ explained

    Loz
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Solar physicists may have discovered why the Sun recently experienced a prolonged period of weak activity. The most recent so-called “solar minimum” occurred in December 2008. Its drawn-out nature extended the total length of the last solar cycle – the repeating cycle of the Sun’s activity – to 12.6 years, making it the longest in almost 200 years. During a solar minimum the Sun is less active, producing fewer sunspots and flares. The new research suggests that the longer-than-expected period of weak activity may have been linked to changes in the way a hot soup…

  • Woolly mammoth extinction ‘not linked to humans’

    Loz
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    Woolly mammoths died out because of dwindling grasslands – rather than being hunted to extinction by humans, according to a Durham University study. After the coldest phase of the last ice age 21,000 years ago, the research revealed, there was a dramatic decline in pasture on which the mammoths fed. The woolly mammoth was once commonplace across many parts of Europe. It retreated to northern Siberia about 14,000 years ago, where it finally died out approximately 4,000 years ago. The reasons for its extinction are unclear and have been a matter of heated scientific debate. Some…

  • Eon installs first turbine on MoD land

    Loz
    29 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    The first wind turbine to be used on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land has been installed by Eon at the Duke of York’s Royal Military School in Kent. Over the 20-year lifespan of the turbine, it will save 114 tonnes of carbon emissions and will help contribute to the MoD’s target of generating ten percent of power from renewable sources. The Duke of York’s Royal Military School is used to educate the children of serving army personnel and the turbine is also intended to teach pupils about renewable energy. Colin Grenville, Eon’s microgeneration sales manager, told…

  • Branches of low carbon restaurant chain to open in the UK

    Loz
    27 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    The low carbon restaurant chain Otarian is to open its first UK branches in London this week. Based on the principle of vegetarianism, the chain will be the first to include information on carbon footprints to internationally recognised standards on all of its menus . Restaurants in Wardour Street, Soho, Shaftesbury Avenue, and Covent Garden are due to open on August 20th. Otarian operates a no air freight policy, meaning all products are delivered by road and if a reliable supply cannot be obtained the dish is altered. Some 98 per cent of waste from the restaurant is either composted or…

  • FSB: Green improvements must be economically viable

    Loz
    25 Aug 2010 | 7:00 am
    The government must do more to help small businesses in the UK improve their energy efficiency, a new report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) concludes. Entitled Making Sense of Going Green – Small Businesses and Low Carbon Economy, the report claims that the coalition must provide incentives for small firms to make their buildings more eco friendly and expand the current system of loans to make going green economically viable. As 44 percent of small businesses in the UK rent their premises, the FSB said steps must be taken to make energy efficient improvements beneficial to both…
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    Leafygreen.info

  • Reduce – Waterweek 16 oz. Bottles

    Courtney
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    For the past few weeks I have been using Reduce – Waterweek 16 oz. plastic water bottles.  Unfortunately they were nothing amazing to make me switch from my usual water bottle to this one as my daily. These bottles are actually smaller in size than what I am used to.  It is certainly not enough [...]Check out the review @ Reduce – Waterweek 16 oz. Bottles

  • E-Z Breathe

    Ed
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:00 am
    So when I opted to review the E-Z Breathe basement unit I wasn’t sure what I was actually getting to be honest. I read up on it to see bold claims of Dehumidifier, air purifier and ventilator. It seemed too good to be true claiming to reduce not only the moisture while controlling mold and [...]Check out the review @ E-Z Breathe

  • littlemateo.com

    Mike
    26 Aug 2010 | 10:00 am
    I wish the organic onesizes with a bit of simplistic fontography came in adult sizes, but they’d probably call them t-shirts.  Little Mateo is a new company that takes a simplistic artsy idea and makes it personal. Pick your letter or number and color and you’re done.  Babies that wear onesizes make their mom and [...]Check out the review @ littlemateo.com

  • RSS Grafitti on Facebook

    Mike
    25 Aug 2010 | 2:22 pm
    I’m sitting here drinking a Flying Dog Dogtoberfest not getting ready for the summer to end and decided to change the way Facebook provides the content from the site.  Hopefully it works out better for all of you reading that way.  Facebook’s Leafygreen.info Fan page will display content using RSS Grafitti.  I’m sure it will [...]Check out the review @ RSS Grafitti on Facebook

  • Radius – Source Toothbrush

    Courtney
    25 Aug 2010 | 7:00 am
    Radius toothbrushes have been creating ergonomic toothbrushes since 1982, so they have been leading the way of toothbrush design for quite some time.  For the past several years I have been using a battery-powered toothbrush, with happy results.  Only disliking always having to replace the batteries, so I was interested to try a manual toothbrush [...]Check out the review @ Radius – Source Toothbrush
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    Renewable Energy News - RenewableEnergyWorld.com

  • Intertek Opens Solar Thermal Test Lab

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:00 pm
    Intertek a global leader in testing, inspection and certification services announces the addition of solar thermal testing capabilities to its Dallas, TX facility. The laboratory, accredited by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC), A2LA and Standards Council of Canada, tests solar thermal equipment to safety and performance standards including SRCC SD 100, CSA F378-87 and EN 12975-1. Compliance to these standards is required for manufacturers to receive SRCC Certification and the ETL Listed Mark for North American market access.

  • Interested in Wind Turbine Testing? Vestas Is, Too!

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:00 pm
    How does a wind turbine manufacturer know that its products will be able to last in the field for 20 years? Testing. Vestas claims that it has the most comprehensive dedicated testing facility on the planet.

  • Mascoma Buys SunOpta BioProcess for $51 M

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:00 pm
    Ethanol manufacturer Mascoma announced that it has acquired Canada-based SunOpta BioProcess Inc. (SBI), a division of SunOpta Inc. The two companies will now combine SBI's fiber preparation and pretreatment technologies with the consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) technology of Mascoma bringing Mascoma a step closer towards its full commercialization of cellulosic ethanol.

  • U.S. Keeping up with European Biomass Demand

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:00 pm
    The U.S. has some of the best biomass resources in the world. The ironic thing is, we ship a lot of it over to Europe, where they put it to good use for heat and electricity.

  • Turkish Renewable Energy May Feed EU Grid

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:00 pm
    Turkey plans to connect to the European electrical grid this month using GE's smart grid technology. The Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEIAS) will now be able to buy and sell power in the European electricity market, hopefully expanding the reliability and availability of energy, especially renewable energy, throughout all of Europe.
 
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    Earth911.com » news

  • California Senate Rejects Plastic Bag Ban Bill

    California Bill AB 1998 (commonly referred to as the Plastic Bag Ban Bill) was rejected by the California Senate on Tuesday after it failed to receive the two-third majority vote. It would have been the first state-wide plastic bag ban in the U.S. AB 1998 would have prohibited any grocery store or other large retailer [...]

  • The Revival of the Cardboard Chair

    It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a cardboard chair that is both comfortable and sturdy! If you’re a devoted Earth911.com reader, doubtless you’ve seen our snarky remarks about our own cardboard chair misadventures last year. But incredibly, our faith in this fantastic and recyclable material-cum-furniture has been restored. A while back, Earth911 met up [...]

  • Newspapers Go Digital, Print Goes…On Your Wall?

    Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Brasil announced that it will become the first in the country to become 100 percent digital. While it’s a trend American print has already seen – thanks to the iPad and the continued success of online publishing – it got us to thinking about how much newsprint will actually be saved. [...]

  • The Week-long ‘No Impact’ Challenge Is On

    In November of 2006, self described “guilty liberal,” Colin Beavan, snapped and decided to swear off plastic, go organic, become a bicycle nut, compost, turn off his power and “generally become a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter [...]

  • RFID Bins: The New Recycling Police

    The newest trend in curbside recycling is the use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID), a tiny computer chip in the recycling bin that can do everything from weighing the contents inside to tracking which bins are used on a regular basis. Cities currently utilizing this technology include Houston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But some cities are [...]
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    Green-Trust.Org

  • Cleaner Air – CO2 Scrubbing with Algae

    Steve Spence
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:56 am
    Are you trying to build a underwater habitat, or maybe a space station? Maybe you just want a cleaner indoor environment. You can build a CO2 scrubber with algae. This will remove CO2, produce Oxygen, and some types of algae (spirulina) are a high nutrient food source (as well as a fuel source). Another way to produce oxygen (and hydrogen) is electrolyzing water, but it’s a very inefficient process. http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Algae-Home-CO2-Scrubber-Part-1/ http://illumin.usc.edu/article.print.php?articleID=178 ©2010 Green-Trust.Org. All Rights Reserved.. Related…

  • Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource

    Steve Spence
    30 Aug 2010 | 5:54 am
    water is the world’s life source and essential to all living creatures. Although we live on the blue planet, only 3 percent of all our water is drinkable. Yet we’ve grown accustomed to using it with abandon – individuals consume about 80 to 100 gallons per day adding up to the equivalent of an Olympic sized swimming pool every year. By this decade’s end, when the world population is predicted to reach 8 billion, we will face severe shortages. In this ground breaking and forward-looking book, Harvard professor Peter Rogers and former general manager of the San Francisco Utilities…

  • Water for Life

    Steve Spence
    29 Aug 2010 | 7:02 am
    An excellent free booklet from Hesperian on how to obtain water, store it, and make/keep it clean. This booklet provides practical guidance on the most important “how to” questions dealing with access to water. It highlights, among other issues, what can be done to make water safe for drinking and cooking, and how to protect groundwater resources, collect rainwater, and store water safely. http://www.hesperian.info/assets/environmental/Water_EN.pdf ©2010 Green-Trust.Org. All Rights Reserved.. Related posts:ROOF WATER HARVESTING FOR A LOW IMPACT WATER SUPPLY Drip irrigation with rain…

  • Landfill Gas: Fuel of the future?

    Steve Spence
    29 Aug 2010 | 5:21 am
    Methane in landfill gas is 20x more potent as a greenhouse gas than much maligned CO2 (plant food). Landfills all over the world are emitting this gas (as do cattle). Although there are some attempts at capturing it as a fuel, many locations flare it, or ignore it altogether. The Bloom Energy fuel cell is one way to convert this gas into electricity, and engines can be modified to burn the gas as well (much less expensively than a fuel cell). Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as biomass, manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste,…

  • Standing Seam Metal Roof with Solar Panels

    Steve Spence
    25 Aug 2010 | 3:17 am
    A metal roof with built-in solar panels is the most energy efficient and longest lasting solar roofing solution. A metal roof will usually last in excess of 50 years, and solar PV panels usually last 30+ years with minimal loss of efficiency or or electric power production. The combination of the two creates a one-time green roofing investment that will pay for itself over time, and then it will produce free electricity. Such a smart combination eliminates the chance of roof leaks, since there are no roof penetrations, and gives a homeowner piece of mind and confidence in their green metal…
 
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    Green Living Ideas

  • Europe Cuts Coal Consumption 16.3%

    Susan Kraemer
    30 Aug 2010 | 3:18 pm
    Europeans now get 46.4% of their electricity  from non-carbon courses, if you include nuclear, which supplies most of the electricity at 28%. In 2009, they cut coal consumption drastically from 2008. Europeans’ hard coal production dropped 9.2% in 2009 from 2008, and Europe similarly reduced their production of natural gas which in 2009 supplied just [...][Europe Cuts Coal Consumption 16.3% from Green Living Ideas]

  • No Name Key’s Fight to Remain Off the Grid

    Jennifer Lance
    25 Aug 2010 | 9:10 am
    When you live off the grid, it becomes part of your persona. It is part of your identity; one way you might describe yourself to strangers.  Off-gridders take personal pride in their ability to make their own power, be energy efficient, and live without the gadgets many Americans take for granted as part of life. When [...][No Name Key’s Fight to Remain Off the Grid from Green Living Ideas]

  • The Crop Mob Unleashes Community on Sustainable Farms

    Scott James
    24 Aug 2010 | 9:26 am
    You may have seen a “flashmob” as part of a guerrilla marketing stunt in the last few years, where hundreds of people descend on an urban location to participate in a coordinated show that is a surprise to everyone but those involved. How would that marketing idea play out in the green world? The Crop [...][The Crop Mob Unleashes Community on Sustainable Farms from Green Living Ideas]

  • Solar Leasing Makes Solar Power Affordable

    Scott James
    17 Aug 2010 | 12:09 pm
    Anyone I know who is interested in solar power usually has two thing that make them tilt their head, clench their teeth and do the breathe-in hesitation- high up front costs and maintenance. It can cost a lot of money to buy solar panels, and even more to keep them in optimal shape once you [...][Solar Leasing Makes Solar Power Affordable from Green Living Ideas]

  • Climate Counts Back-2-Cool Campaign

    Zachary Shahan
    12 Aug 2010 | 10:29 am
    It won’t be long before we’ll start seeing Back-2-School advertisements again. Back-2-School campaigns seem like relatively harmless advertising campaigns, right? Maybe not. Back-2-School season actually creates more revenue for the US’ top 100 companies than any other time of year other than the holiday shopping season. And, as with all advertising campaigns, Back-2-School advertising campaigns [...][Climate Counts Back-2-Cool Campaign from Green Living Ideas]
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    Ecopreneurist

  • We Ecopreneurs- empowering local village women for sustainable income generation

    Asif Iqbal
    31 Aug 2010 | 5:34 pm
    Recently our campaign Climate Project Connectors started a new voluntary initiative “We Ecopreneurs” to empower local village women in the sub division Balakot (Pakistan) by exploiting opportunities for income generation through organic farming. There are reasons that we started this initiative. The first thing is the conservative rural society that always obstructs women to access income-generating opportunities as compared to men. This makes them dependent and excluded from decision making. Women usually work in fields to help their male family members, but their work is often…

  • Connecting Consumers to Causes on BloomSpot

    Leah Edwards
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:18 am
    Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Emily Smith, Manager of Marketing and Business Development at BloomSpot, sharing her experience in using social media to help build a mission-based business initiative. BloomSpot is an online lifestyle magazine featuring the best restaurants, hotels, spas and more in SF, NY and LA. BloomSpot’s Community Circles program is a social buying program, enabling members to contribute to a cause of their choice, while shopping online In a space where competition is strong and barriers to entry are relatively low, it’s important as an entrepreneur to always…

  • Turning Smelly Food Scraps Into Gold

    Jennifer Kaplan
    30 Aug 2010 | 11:15 am
    This is a guest post by Julie E. Gabrielli, NCARB LEED, a green business advisor, founder of GOforChange.com and author of the greening business action list with a twist!. Keith Lasoya, founder of  Waste Neutral, owns an organics waste hauling company that collects source-separated “all food” scraps (pre- and post-consumer) waste in the Baltimore, MD metro area. Simply put, Waste Neutral turns smelly food scraps into rich compost. Founded in January 2008, the company has a simple mission. As articulated by Lasoya, “Most people, when they think about recycling, they think about…

  • Stimulus Money to Help Renewable Energy

    Shannon Suetos
    28 Aug 2010 | 8:26 am
    If the world does indeed go on past 2012, the U.S. should see major stimulus money improve renewable energy efforts.  Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, “Government stimulus spending has put the country on track to double renewable energy production capacity by 2012 and halve solar power costs by 2015.” “The report outlined a goal of doubling renewable energy capacity from the 28.8 gigawatts of solar, wind and geothermal sources installed as of the end of 2008 to 57.6 GW by the end of 2011, which would be enough to power 16.7 million homes, or 55 million electric cars, for a…

  • 7 Questions For A Greener Competitive Advantage

    Jennifer Kaplan
    27 Aug 2010 | 11:47 am
    If you’re like most business owners, you want to provide value to your customers in a way that gives you an edge over the competition. That means seizing opportunities to provide offerings that deliver more value to your customers than your competitors deliver. Remember, your commitment to the environment is a competitive advantage. By being green, you can attract customers who value your environmental offerings. If you’re looking for ways to enhance your competitive advantage with sustainable business practices ask yourself a few key questions that can help you identify additional…
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    Go Green Street

  • Renewable Roofing Options

    Green Tara
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:45 am
    Two Sides to Renewable Roofing Options When considering your choices in making your home as green and eco-friendly as possible, there may be one thing you haven’t thought about – the roof. The roof is just supposed to do its job and every so often, it has to be replaced. Homeowners typically replace their roof [...]

  • Back To School With Seventh Generation Giveaway

    Green Tara
    27 Aug 2010 | 6:22 pm
    It’s that time of year again when many families are heading back to school and others just started. When the kids head back to school, you need to prepare for more than just PTA forms coming home with the kids. Germs and lots of them will be coming from from school too. But, you can [...]

  • Getting Married In Green; Tips for an Eco-Friendly Bridal Shower

    Green Tara
    26 Aug 2010 | 11:10 am
    Planning a bridal shower is one of the many important tasks of being a bridesmaid. If you are looking for a unique bridal shower or to plan a bridal shower for a bride who is very much into saving the environment, there are plenty of things you can do to have an eco-friendly wedding. Planning [...]

  • Modern Rugs to Accent Your Eco-Friendly Decor

    Green Tara
    23 Aug 2010 | 7:06 pm
    Decorating is one of my major passions and I am always re-arranging my home, changing out decor and looking for ways to change my rooms up for a fresh feel. When we put our bamboo floors down, the livingroom instantly took on a new look. With the new look however, came cold floors. There is [...]

  • Meliciously Yours; Positively Brand Yourself Review & Giveaway

    Green Tara
    21 Aug 2010 | 9:35 pm
    When I am apparel shopping I generally look for a few things. How comfortable an item looks, what it is made from, and how it show’s off my style. Anyone who knows me or who have ever saw me, knows I am a pretty colorful person. From the clothing I elect to wear, right down [...]
 
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    Good To Be Green

  • Green Innovation: New Dryer Filter Saves Money on Electricity

    I came upon a small company in Washington, Missouri owned and operated by a retired couple that have developed a filter made for use only on electric clothes dryers which allows the user to return the hot, humid air back into the home during the winter months. The name of the product is Dryernet and basically [...]

  • Spill Baby Spill, in the Gulf…

    June 30th BloggersUnite for The Gulf & Save Our Planet Join the Effort What can we do to help, to lend a hand in the clean up effort? There are many things that people can do to help, even if we are not there: Planning a Vacation? Go to the states affected and spend your money there. The local economies [...]

  • Earth Day and Recycling Pets…

    Earth Day is here again, and it’s a great reminder to remember that animals are not throwaways. For what ever reason that dogs, cats and many other kinds of animals end up in shelters, they deserve a second chance at a being loved at a forever home. Overpopulation is the number 1 cause of death [...]

  • Free Climate Count iPhone App

    ClimateCounts.org provides tools and information that help us make more informed decisions about the companies we wish to do business with. They put out a free Climate Count iPhone App that scores some of the worlds largest companies in 17 business sectors so that we can see how well or not so well they are [...]

  • Green iPhone Apps

    This video brought to you by Zaproot.com has some a great resources to save you money and help mother earth with these Green Apps for your iPhone. Check it out!
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    greenstrides

  • College Students Can Go Green in the Dorms

    Joyce Benson
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:51 pm
    Here’s an informative list of easy tips that can be implemented in any dorm room.  The only thing I would add to the list is something to warm up the floor, such as eco-friendly carpet tiles made from recycled content.  See my earlier post here about these ingenious, modular floor coverings. [[ Please visit GreenStrides.com for the full post, links, and more information. ]]

  • Save the Date! Northeast Green Buildings Open House

    Joyce Benson
    27 Aug 2010 | 4:35 pm
    Each year, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) organizes a FREE tour of homes and businesses that showcase innovative energy solutions.  Last October, over 500 sites were toured by 16,000+ people!  This is your opportunity to see first-hand the latest in energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy systems. Learn about solar panels, geothermal systems, pellet stoves and [...] [[ Please visit GreenStrides.com for the full post, links, and more information. ]]

  • Eco-friendly School Supplies

    Joyce Benson
    19 Aug 2010 | 7:38 am
    As crisp leaves begin to fall, it signals that it’s time to go back to school.  If you’re concerned with the impact all of your supplies has on the environment, there is something you can do — choose to purchase goods that are earth-friendly.  Whether it’s notebooks made with recycled content or banana leaf fibers; [...] [[ Please visit GreenStrides.com for the full post, links, and more information. ]]

  • AIA’s Top 10 Green Projects

    Joyce Benson
    18 Aug 2010 | 7:25 am
    Each year, the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment (COTE) awards ten super sustainable structures. Most of the winners are located in the United States, however one winner is in Canada and another in Saudi Arabia.  The outstanding eco-friendly features include: Reuse of historic buildings Non-toxic materials, healthier homes Energy efficient design Wind, geothermal and passive solar [...] [[ Please visit GreenStrides.com for the full post, links, and more information. ]]

  • Eco-Friendly Garden Fountains

    Joyce Benson
    6 Jul 2010 | 3:06 pm
    Whether you’re creating a relaxing outdoor “room” in a large backyard or making the most of a small balcony, the soothing sound of a bubbling fountain adds tranquility to any space.  They’re great for drowning out street noise or serving as a water source for birds. Fountains that include solar-powered pumps are easy-to-install and don’t require [...] [[ Please visit GreenStrides.com for the full post, links, and more information. ]]
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    Retro Housewife Goes Green

  • Breaking News! Oil Platform Explodes

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:12 am
    Update: The rig is owned by Mariner Energy. "Mariner Energy is among the largest independent oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.  At year-end 2009, the company had interests in nearly 350 Federal offshore leases, with more than 110 of those in development."- Mariner Energy A oil platform has exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana. It's still on fire and no one knows if anything is spilling. It may have been a natural gas explosion. All workers have been accounted for, one is injured but no one on how badly. The coast guard has said reports show the rig wasn't…

  • Natural Gas- Not a Green Fuel

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    Many companies are trying to tell us that natural gas is a clean energy source. While it is true that it burns much cleaner than other currently used fuel, can cover most of our energy needs, and is widely available in the US and Canada, they are leaving out some important facts. They say we have over 100 years worth in North America. Is it only me that thinks that is just a band-aid to put the next generation in our shoes only with less time and options? Also do you know how they drill for natural gas? Chemicals and water are pushed into the ground and mini earthquakes are caused. Natural…

  • Greening Your Laundry

    30 Aug 2010 | 7:37 pm
    I have had several people ask how the fact that I use cloth napkins, rags in place of paper towels and other reusable items effects my amount of laundry. It really doesn't. Here is a picture of a weeks worth of reusable items that needed washed. Even on it's own it's much less than a load but it just ends up in other loads I do anyway. So no added water or energy used. There are also many ways to make your laundry greener. One of the easy ways is changing the products you use in the wash. For laundry soap look for natural brands like ECOS, Biokleen, soap nuts and Seventh Generation. Free…

  • Making Organic Food More Affordable

    29 Aug 2010 | 3:38 pm
      Some rights reserved by Tracy O Yesterday I wrote about why it's important to eat organic food, now we will talk about how to afford it. I asked my readers on Facebook and Twitter to give me the ways they save money so they can afford organic food and here is what some of you said. "Eat at home more, and use the money you used to spend out buying more quality food."- Sara from Mama Goes Green " Buy bulk grains, in season produce, eat less meat, and learn to cook."- Sara Ann from Native Roots Market (where I buy a lot of my groceries) @Organicbug suggested the Dirty Dozen. This is a…

  • Organic Food, Is It Worth It?

    28 Aug 2010 | 11:12 am
    Photo Credit: Secret Tenerife Time.com came out with an article titled "What's So Great About Organic Food?" and I think it has annoyed some of us who eat organically. While it was a bit more pro organic food than other articles I have seen that just want to peg organic food eaters as elitist or stupid, it's still telling us it's not realistic. So is organic food worth it and a realistic goal? An article on Technorati looks at the cost difference and makes some very good points. "I know a married couple. Between them they own a humvee, an SUV, a luxury sedan, and a rather souped up Harley…
 
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    Cooking Up A Story Food News

  • Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney talk about Truck Farm (video)

    Cooking Up a Story
    11 Aug 2010 | 4:00 am
    CUpS: Food News Well they’ve done it again. The two filmmakers that brought us King Corn, Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney, have come together to create another film that covers an important subject about how do we grow fresh, local food in dense urban environments, with a good deal of fun and quirkiness folded in: Truck Farm. Old Gray Dodge; Courtesy of King Corn The truck that has the lead role in this film is no newcomer. She played a pivotal part in King Corn – she delivered the duo to Iowa to grow their one acre of genetically modified corn, provided a resting spot to eat their fast…

  • Seeds of Life: Consolidation in the Seed Industry (video)

    Cooking Up a Story
    21 Jul 2010 | 4:00 am
    Frank Morton, an organic seed breeder from Philomath, Oregon, explains the current structure of the global commercial seed industry, as part of our ongoing series, Seeds of Life. (see related: Animated Charts Showing the Seed Industry Structure from Phil Howard, Assistant Professor, Michigan State University.) On the surface, understanding the organizational structure of the seed industry may seem a pursuit into the arcane, and wonkish world of academics, and private seed breeders. This is certainly not the case! World's Top 10 Seed Companies; ETC Group, 2007. Click to enlarge image According…

  • Monsanto v. Geerston Seed Farms: The Supreme Court Alfalfa Decision (video)

    Cooking Up a Story
    28 Jun 2010 | 4:00 am
    CUpS Food News: A Conversation with Craig Johnston June 28, 2010; The recent Supreme Court decision on the Roundup Ready Alfalfa case (PDF) has drawn a mixture of reactions from the mainstream media, and from the Blogosphere. To help us better understand this decision, CUpS sat down with Craig Johnston, professor of environmental law at Lewis & Clark Law School, and the lead author (on behalf of the NRDC) of one of the briefs presented to the Supreme Court in this case. A Field of Alfalfa Alfalfa is the fourth largest cash crop, and is conventionally grown on over 20 million acres of land…

  • Seeds Of Life: Open Pollination (video)

    Cooking Up a Story
    14 Jun 2010 | 4:00 am
    CUpS: Food News Organic Seed Breeder, Frank Morton Working In the Field; Wild Garden Seed, Philomath, Oregon Continuing with our Seeds of Life series, Willamette Valley organic seed breeder, Frank Morton, explains the benefits of open pollination in plant breeding, and the important role for farmers in the selection process to continually improve plant varieties for better local adaptation. In open pollinated plant varieties, pollination can occur from the pollen of related species that sometimes travel great distances (as measured in miles), by insects, wind, and birds. Open pollinated…

  • A Conversation with Anna Lappé on Climate Change, Industrial Agriculture, and Conversion to a Climate Friendly Food System-2 (video)

    Cooking Up a Story
    7 Jun 2010 | 4:00 am
    Part 2, continuing the conversation with Anna Lappé, the question that arises, what is the proper role for government to play with our food system? Lappé sees an important role for government to play. Without a strong government to represent the interests of the people, narrow private interests prevail, often to the detriment of society. One can look at the sharp rise of food safety issues over the past decade to see the corrosive effects of lax government oversight and enforcement, coupled with the increased centralization (and consolidation of ownership) of large-scale food production,…
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    Popular Science - The Environment

  • MIT's Self-Assembling Solar Cells Recycle Themselves Repeatedly, Just Like Plant Cells

    Clay Dillow
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:00 am
    MIT's Test Cell Patrick Gillooly, MIT Plants are extremely efficient converters of light into energy, more or less setting the bar for researchers creating photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electricity. As such, researchers are constantly trying to mimic the tricks that millions of years of evolution and development have taught to plant biology. Now, a team of MIT scientists believe they've done it, creating a synthetic, self-assembling chloroplast that can be broken down and reassembled repeatedly, restoring solar cells that are damaged by the sun. While the leaves on a tree…

  • Oil Rig Explodes in the Gulf of Mexico (Again)

    Clay Dillow
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:04 am
    Miss the good old days of daily oil disaster news? Worry not, for another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded this morning, leaving all 13 crew members in the water but - according to initial reports - all are alive and only one is injured. The rig is owned by Mariner Energy (somewhere a BP exec is breathing again) and is not currently producing, according to the Coast Guard. Details are sketchy right now, but rescuers are en route to the site about 80 miles south of the central Louisiana coast. We'll update as this one develops. [NYT]

  • Future Mars Colonists Could Learn To Terraform By Studying Darwin's Methods

    Rebecca Boyle
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:57 am
    Ascension Island Charles Darwin's artificial forest captures moisture from clouds that drift over the volcanic peaks on Ascension Island. Google Earth The father of evolution apparently played God with a tropical ecosystem 160 years ago, and the results could inform future experiments to terraform Mars, botanists say. The BBC recounts how Charles Darwin helped build an artificial forest on Ascension Island, one of his subjects of study from his trips on the HMS Beagle. Today, the island is home to species of plants that would not naturally co-exist. Darwin and his friends put them there, and…

  • Climate Villain Bjørn Lomborg Does U-Turn, Says Global Warming is a $100 Billion Problem

    Rebecca Boyle
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:00 am
    Bjorn Lomborg Lomborg.com Apparently, some tigers can change their stripes -- especially if they have books to sell. One of our favorite climate villains, the Danish economist Bjørn Lomborg, has apparently warmed to the idea of climate change, and now says it's a problem on which the world ought to spend $100 billion annually. Lomborg's forthcoming book, Smart Solutions to Climate Change, declares that global warming is "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today." He examines eight methods to reduce or stop it, including wave, wind, solar and nuclear power, as well as…

  • By 2035, Smarter Technology Should Triple Efficiency of Regular Gas-Powered Cars, If They're Still Around

    Clay Dillow
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:59 am
    A University of Michigan researcher thinks we can triple the fuel economies in our petroleum-powered vehicles in the next 25 years. All we need to do is replace horsepower with brainpower. John DeCicco, a lecturer at the School of Natural Resources and Environment at Michigan, isn't bearish on alternative fuels or electric vehicles, but he argues that the most cost-effective means of reducing carbon footprints and keeping fuel prices from swallowing us whole is an evolutionary progress in the combustion engines that already make up our transportation paradigm. That means placing efficiency…
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    5 Minutes For Going Green

  • Cloth Diapering

    Amber
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:07 am
    I am going to confess something. When my first child, Hannah, was a baby we used disposable diapers. We clad her little bottom cheap throwaway diapers that we bought in bulk, then we turned them into little sausages using our Diaper Genie. It was fast and easy - I'll say that much. But I was not entirely happy with the choice. There was a lot of diaper garbage each week - diaper garbage that is still sitting in a landfill today, 5 1/2 years later. Diaper garbage that will likely still be sitting in that landfill 1000 years from now. I did some research when I was pregnant with my second…

  • A Tale of Two Farms

    Amber
    9 Aug 2010 | 8:16 am
    I've recently had the chance to visit two very different dairy farms in my area. And thinking about the two farms has made me consider my views on agriculture and dairy cows. The first farm that I visited was Little Qualicum Cheeseworks. It's a small farm that produces cheese on-site, using the milk from its own herd of cows. The cows spend most of their time outdoors, grazing in the pasture. Their diet is supplemented in the winter with hay and silage, during the time they can't be outdoors. The farm has an SPCA certification that means its animals are well cared for. They…

  • Travel Green to BlogHer '10

    DianaP
    23 Jul 2010 | 4:09 am
    In less than two weeks more than one-thousand bloggers of all ages, races and yes, sexes will descend on New York City. Ushered in on a cloud of anticipation, excitement and social media they will spend two days learning, connecting and yes, partying. This year, as in years past, BlogHer is working to implement important green initiatives conference wide — an exciting development in and of itself — and paired with the cooperation of individual attendees and the coordinated efforts of every blogger who travels to the conference we can have an even greater impact on the environment…

  • Swaddle Those Bums!

    Anne (A Little Bit Crazy)
    22 Jul 2010 | 9:07 pm
    Cloth diapering is one of my favorite ways to be green. For as many fears as people have about getting started with cloth, it is honestly much easier than you think it is. I always tell everyone that even my husband is a huge fan of them. (Seriously, isn't it always the guys who are the most squeamish?!) Well, for those of you who are ready to get going, or have a few and want to stock up on a few more, my favorite site has a huge clearance sale going on right now! Swaddlebees puts items in their clearance store a few times a year and I almost always grab up a good pile. I even noticed…

  • Summer Green Isn't Easy

    DianaP
    13 Jul 2010 | 4:01 am
    You know that old saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"? It's inspiring in theory, but let's be honest here; sometimes, when the going gets tough, even the tough get overwhelmed, frustrated and feel at least a little bit guilty when their actions fall short of their ideals. Summer is one of those tough times for me. It's a season that has been full to the brim with commitments from work to recreation since… well, since humans have had leisure time anyway. In fact, I don't know who coined the phrase "the lazy days of summer" but…
 
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    Reuters Video: Environment

  • Mole rats key to human longevity?

    31 Aug 2010 | 8:38 am
    Aug 31 - The genes of naked mole rats are being examined by British and South African scientists in a bid to understand the secrets of the hormone oxytocin. Basmah Fahim reports.

  • Newly found monkey almost extinct

    27 Aug 2010 | 1:48 pm
    Aug 30 - Scientists uncover a new monkey species in the Amazonian jungles of Colombia but warn that it is near extinction -- only 250 exist. Tara Cleary reports.

  • Green homes for Katrina-struck area

    27 Aug 2010 | 11:53 am
    Aug 27 - "Make It Right," an organization co-founded by actor Brad Pitt, builds energy-efficient and environmentally friendly houses in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward - a neighborhood decimated by Hurricane Katrina five years ago. Tara Cleary reports.

  • Europe's eel population declining

    26 Aug 2010 | 7:03 am
    Aug 27 - Europe's indigenous eel population has decreased by 70 percent over the past 30 years with botanists blaming a virulent parasite in a species of Japanese eel imported for agricultural purposes in the early 1980's. Basmah Fahim reports.

  • UK students on electric car crusade

    24 Aug 2010 | 1:53 pm
    Aug 23 - A group of British engineering students has reached the halfway point of a journey from one end of the Americas to the other in a converted sports car powered by electricity. Tara Cleary reports.
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    Sustainable Industries: All Articles

  • By the Numbers

    Sustainable Industries
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:00 am
    Paul Hawken Earlier this year, at the Sustainable Industries Economic Forum, Paul Hawken challenged us to take a look at the use of the gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of the vitality of the world economy. After looking at some alternatives to the GDP, we drew the following comparison of two countries at different ends of the spectrum.

  • Notice anything different?

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    We hope you enjoy the new look and feel of Sustainable Industries, debuting with this, our 91st consecutive monthly edition of the print magazine. Ninety-one consecutive monthly issues? We must be mad. There once was a day when our access to news came in the headlines of a daily newspaper plopped on our local city curb at 4 a.m., and our access to analysis came in a glossy magazine in the mailbox. While some certain special magazines still have their merits, it’s no secret the sense of urgency in print frequency has long past.Sustainable Industries’ focus has always been on…

  • Is optimism infectious?

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
     Walking into Cameron Sinclair’s office in San Francisco’s South of Market District, the first thing one notices is a whiteboard calendar mapping out worldwide travels. Executive director of Architecture for Humanity, Sinclair is, at any given time, as likely to be in Canada or Cambodia as in his San Francisco home base. While the global economy is inching through a recession, Sinclair tripled his staff in 2009 and his 10-year-old nonprofit is looking to double its $5 million budget in the next decade. With projects ranging from earthquake reconstruction in Haiti to centers…

  • People Get Ready

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    ECOtality is deploying its Blink electric vehicle chargers in popular spots from Arizona to California. Courtesy Ecotality San Francisco is readying its streets for EVs. Courtesy Chargepoint ECOtality teams with Chevy and Nissan through the EV Project. Courtesy ECOtality. With the nation’s biggest carmakers—not to mention the country’s brightest startups—readying their electric vehicles for the road, an even greater push is going on behind the scenes to ensure a smooth road for electric vehicle (EV) owners.Much of the media attention in 2010 has been on the EV…

  • Down (Town) on the Farm

    Ashley Deforest
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Weber Thompson's vertical farm prototype for Newark, N.J. Courtesy Weber Thompson Seattle's P-Patch program has changed policy to allow for urban farming. Volunteer Jay rosenberg shows a map of Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco. Photo by Zoey Kroll Hayes Valley Farm hosts permaculture design certificate teacher trainings. Photo by Zoey Kroll  For centuries, the nation’s food system was closely woven into the fabric of our communities, dictating our land-use patterns, defining our regional character and shaping regional economies. But with the industrialization of our…
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    Green Cotton

  • Beantown stays green at Boston GreenFest

    edale
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:09 pm
    Food, fashion and fun were all on the agenda at last week’s Boston GreenFest, held from August 19-21. Featuring eco-minded exhibitors from all over New England, the family-friendly event took over Boston’s City Hall Plaza. Organic food vendors, green design companies, and plenty of local businesses were on hand to both showcase their wares and [...]

  • Green Cotton: Renewed, Refreshed, Restyled!

    edale
    20 Aug 2010 | 9:52 am
    Welcome! Green Cotton is returning after a summer-long hiatus. We have missed reporting on the eco-apparel industry and sharing our ideas and insights with you. We hope you will welcome us back to the blogging world and check back regularly for all-new content. As always, we will be reporting on the latest initiatives when it [...]

  • Boston green expo shows eco-living is Down 2 Earth

    edale
    18 Apr 2010 | 12:08 pm
    From April 10-12, the third annual Down 2 Earth Sustainable Living Expo (d2e) took over the Hynes Convention Center, filling it with an indoor garden, solar panels, organic fashion, gourmet coffee and chocolate and fun for everyone, from the eco-novice to the eco-expert. For those just getting into the idea of green living, the event [...]

  • Reflections on the ‘GreenShows’ Bringing Eco to NY Fashion Week

    Shana
    16 Mar 2010 | 6:12 pm
    We have been covering Fashion Week (particularly New York and London shows) at Green Cotton for the last few seasons, always keeping an eco eye on the runway. Though we are not always able to find much “green” in the tents, we are able to review the latest trends and predict how they will impact [...]

  • February eco-fashion finds

    Shana
    18 Feb 2010 | 6:44 pm
    February may be cold, snowy and somewhat dreary, but spring fashion is already in stores and fall fashion is already being paraded down the runways. So instead of moping over gray skies, get ready to shine in some new eco-fashion finds. Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but these sweet styles continue to evoke [...]
 
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    Greenspace

  • Gulf oil spill: BP's ad spending climbs

    Bettina Boxall
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:32 pm
    As BP oil spread across the gulf this summer, the company spread advertising money across the media, spending more than $93 million to counter images of the mounting disaster. That was more than triple the amount the company spent on ads during the same period last year, from April through the end of July, leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s spill investigation reported Wednesday. The company says the ads were intended to keep Gulf Coast residents informed on issues related to the oil spill and to ensure transparency about its actions.  “It feels like BP is…

  • Mayor Villaraigosa: 'Go home, Texas oil companies!'

    Margot Roosevelt
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:49 pm
    Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "Go home, Texas oil companies," Villaraigosa urged at a news conference aimed at encouraging voters to oppose Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative to suspend California's 2006 climate change law until the state's unemployment rate drops. "We won't compromise our environmental and health standards so you can make more…

  • California Senate tells motorcyclists to pipe down [Updated]

    Susan Carpenter
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:58 pm
    Motorcyclists who swap their bikes' stock exhaust systems for so-called loud pipes may be more likely to get a traffic ticket under a California bill that passed the Senate on Monday. SB 435, also known as the Motorcycle Anti-Tampering Act, gives law enforcement officials the ability to cite noise pollution violations under the California Vehicle Code, reinforcing a 27-year-old federal regulation that is rarely enforced. Under the proposed law, motorcyclists pulled over for other traffic violations could also be cited for illegally noisy exhaust pipes and fined $50…

  • Time to update the Energy Star program?

    Tiffany Hsu
    30 Aug 2010 | 3:48 pm
    The government’s Energy Star system, used to rate products and retrofitted buildings for energy efficiency, could use a fixer-upper of its own, a legislator said Monday. The voluntary program uses relative instead of absolute ratings, comparing subjects to others in the same field, according to Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.). For example, consumers are told that a certain Energy Star-rated washing machine uses 30% less energy than a traditional appliance but aren’t informed just how much energy is used or how much money can be saved in energy bills, Maloney said. Energy Star…

  • Students compete to join deep-sea research around Catalina Island on submarine

    Louis Sahagun
    27 Aug 2010 | 4:15 pm
    Southern California high school students are competing for a chance to participate in deep-sea research missions around Santa Catalina Island aboard the Antipodes: an acrylic-bubbled submarine that will descend to where no one has gone before. Eight students, including two from Santa Catalina Island, will be selected to assist scientists as they evaluate food webs, topographies, rare species and unexplored shipwrecks down to 900 feet. To be considered, students must submit their own proposed research projects and have permission to be absent from the classroom for a full week in October…
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    FedEx Citizenship Blog - Environment & Efficiency

  • Gulf Turtle Rescue

    Jason Baker
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:24 pm
    Overview:read more

  • 777F: FedEx Drives Value Back to Customers

    David Cunningham
    16 Aug 2010 | 2:29 pm
    Asia Pacific is one of FedEx fastest growing regions. The region’s GDP growth is forecast to rise to 7.5% in 2010 and moderate to 7.3% in 2011, marking a healthy rebound from the 2009 slowdown . With Asia leading the global recovery, FedEx has focused our efforts on improving connections with the region and helping our customers tap into the opportunities that are arising. One of those efforts is the introduction of the 777F.read more

  • No Longer Walking

    Mitch Jackson
    3 Aug 2010 | 7:09 am
    “No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.” – Orville WrightI guess Lindbergh never heard that one. Or, then again, maybe he did. To be fair, Orville and Wilbur Wright were at the very beginnings of aviation, as we know – they were striding in the early stages of flight. But, it reminded me of a statement back in November 2008, where I said you have to walk before you can fly. That was written in the early stages of our citizenship reporting.read more

  • The View From the Driver’s Seat of a Sea Turtle Rescue Truck

    MShellito
    26 Jul 2010 | 6:57 am
    The husband and wife driving team of Ron and Margaret-Mary Shellito are at the wheel of a FedEx Custom Critical truck for the sea turtles rescue effort. They have more than 26 years of experience driving FedEx Custom Critical trucks, with a focus on transporting temperature-controlled shipments. Between them, they have driven more than eight million miles without an accident.By Margaret-Mary Shellito Friday, July 9 – Morningread more

  • Innovation: Knickers in a Twist

    Mitch Jackson
    22 Jul 2010 | 6:43 am
    “Oh, the world! The world! All the world knows the world of trouble the world is eternally occasioning!” – from Diedrich Knickerbocker’s History of New York by Washington Irvingread more
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    Inhabitat

  • American Somoa Becomes First U.S. Territory to Ban Plastic Bags

    Cameron Scott
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:40 am
    With California’s proposed statewide ban on plastic bags swept aside as collateral damage of the state’s broken political system, American Somoa emerged as the first U.S. state or territory to ban plastic bags at all retail stores. The landmark bill was signed into law last week and will take effect on February 23rd of 2011. Read the rest of American Somoa Becomes First U.S. Territory to Ban Plastic Bagshttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg…

  • BREAKING: Another Oil Rig Explodes in the Gulf of Mexico

    Bridgette Meinhold
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:45 am
    Just when you thought things were getting better in the Gulf of Mexico, another oil rig has just exploded. This morning around 9:30 am CDT a commercial helicopter reported that an oil production platform exploded 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana. All 13 of the workers are accounted for, although one has been injured and is en route to the hospital. The Coast Guard has deployed multiple helicopters, an airplane and several Coast Guard cutters to the site. This oil rig was apparently not producing any oil, but it is not clear if there is or will be a leak. This newest explosion, five months…

  • Peace Corps to Start Clean Energy Program in the Americas

    Brit Liggett
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am
    Since 1961 when President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order, thousands of volunteers have traveled to developing countries to implement programs that range from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Now they’ll be adding another task to their list: the implementation of renewable energy. The US government just awarded the Peace Corps with $1 million to start a program that will bring clean green energy to developing communities in Central and South America. Read the rest of Peace Corps to Start Clean Energy Program in the…

  • Win a Back to School Solar Bag Bundle Worth Over $500!

    Yuka Yoneda
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    GO BACK TO SCHOOL WITH AN AMAZING NEW SOLAR BAG! If you want to put your best (and greenest) foot forward as you start the new school year, we’ve got something that will help – a lot. We’re giving away a fantastic Back to School Prize Package (worth over $500) packed with green school supplies to one lucky winner – and it could be you! This amazing bundle includes 7 awesome 100% recycled hardcover notebooks in assorted colors and styles by ecosystem, a 100% recycled binder, tabs and binder pouch from Naked Binder, and to top it all off, an amazing solar-powered bag by…

  • Hong Kong Activist Group Selling “Fresh Air” for 25 Cents a Bottle

    Brit Liggett
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:32 am
    Are you a resident of Hong Kong? Are you having trouble breathing because of the dense air pollution? Have no fear, Fresh Air is here! The Clean Air Network, a Hong Kong based awareness group is selling bottles of Fresh Air for just 25 cents to local residents. With Hong Kong’s air quality three times as bad as New York City’s and twice the level of London’s, it’s high time they start doing something about it. Check out the mock — yes, that’s correct, the bottles of air aren’t real — infomercial after the jump. Read the rest of Hong Kong…
 
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    Twilight Earth

  • Water: Nature’s Wonderdrug–Now with Wonderdrugs! (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:13 am
    Between 2006 and 2007, the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas screened tap water from 19 US water utilities for 51 different compounds. The 11 most frequently detected compounds are highlighted in the cartoon and described below. 1.used to treat cardiovascular disease, 2.an herbicide banned in the European Union (still used in the US) has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks and in changes in animal behavior, 3.a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder, 4.an estrogen hormone blamed for causing gender-bending changes in fish, 5.an anti-cholesterol drug, 6.a…

  • Pesticides and ADHD (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    From Grist: More research linking pesticide exposure to ADHD in kids Follow all of Mean Joe Green’s environmental cartoons on JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at @GreenCartoons. Related posts:Chemicals and Obesity Speeding up Puberty in Girls (cartoon) Monsanto: They Made good WMD’s–I bet They Make Healthy Food! (cartoon) BP’s Getting All Cap-Happy (cartoon)

  • Monsanto Gets Beat–May Lose Beets (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    17 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    A victory for anyone who likes healthy food, soil, and water! Monsanto’s sour plans for the sweet beet were spoiled as a federal judge banned genetically modified sugar beets. This is great news and hopefully a large step forward to getting food production back on a less toxic track. Sugar beet, you are a beacon of hope for your genetically altered veggie brothers and sisters. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White you are a beacon of hope for humans who eat food and drink water. Follow all of Mean Joe Green’s environmental cartoons on JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at…

  • Chemicals and Obesity Speeding up Puberty in Girls (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    11 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    The news that chemicals and obesity causes premature puberty in girls is the latest of thousands of red flags waving high above our food production and consumption status quo. Of course, things are changing, but are they changing fast enough? Nope. The only thing changing quickly is the level of toxicity in our children. Follow all of Mean Joe Green’s environmental cartoons on JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at @GreenCartoons. Related posts:Pesticides and ADHD (cartoon) BP’s Getting All Cap-Happy (cartoon) Tea Partiers and Suicide Bombers (cartoon)

  • BP’s Getting All Cap-Happy (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    6 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    If only BP would put all of this new found cap success to work to stop other toxic gushers… Follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons Follow all of his green cartooning at JoeMohrToons.com. Related posts:If Climate Change Was a Dog (cartoon) Genetically Modified Truths (cartoon) Tea Partiers and Suicide Bombers (cartoon)
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    Jute & Jackfruit Blog

  • Coming Soon: Prairie Underground Fall 2010

    Shana
    30 Aug 2010 | 6:57 am
    Jute and Jackfruit’s first wave of Prairie Underground Fall 2010 is coming very soon – and we are so excited about this brand new collection! For the first time ever, we’re seeing an organic cotton denim line – including jackets and dresses– that is simply breathtaking. In addition, stunning fall colors are found on classic [...]

  • New on CLEARANCE at Jute and Jackfruit!

    Shana
    27 Aug 2010 | 7:44 pm
    We are getting ready for our biggest season of the year — FALL 2010 — and are offering great deals on current merchandise. Get them while they last! Check out our newly added items to CLEARANCE as well as to our SALE section. For a sneak peak, find the beautiful hand crocheted organic cotton dress [...]

  • On the Road Last Week in July

    Shana
    21 Jul 2010 | 5:16 pm
    We are hitting the road from Jul 22 – July 31 (going to the San Juan Islands) so will be winding down our office during that time.  All orders placed between the 22 and 31st will be shipped on August 2 and 3. We will be responding to emails as often as possible. Thanks for [...]

  • Welcoming Jute and Jackfruit’s Newest Member of the Team

    Shana
    18 Jul 2010 | 10:57 am
    Please welcome Kai Jones to our Jute and Jackfruit team! As many of you may be aware, I recently gave birth to a baby boy (6 weeks ago this week): Kai Jones. Kai was born May 31 at MGH in Boston after a lengthy 16 hour back labor (most painful experience of my life), but [...]

  • Giveaway at Jute and Jackfruit: Boston Mamas!

    Shana
    12 Jul 2010 | 4:36 pm
    Boston Mamas is celebrating their 4th Birthday this July (July 9 to be exact) and as part of that celebration  Jute and Jackfruit is participating in their Birthday Giveaway! We are very excited to celebrate with Boston Mamas – especially since Jute and Jackfruit owner Shana Yansen is now a mama (just gave birth to [...]
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    The Solar Drop

  • which solar power system would you install?

    Deep Patel
    15 Aug 2010 | 2:43 pm
    Similar to a computer which is made up of not only the processor but a keyboard, mouse, RAM, memory, monitor, speakers..etc, there's a lot more to solar power than just the solar panels. An ordinary solar power system includes solar panels plus mounting hardware, inverters, wires, clips, clamps, standoffs, L-Feet, grounding lugs, connectors, wire management, disconnects combiner boxes and many nuts & bolts not the mention the tools required to get the system installed.For someone installing a solar power system for the first time, it's an overwhelming process of figuring out all the parts…

  • attaching solar panels to a metal roof

    Deep Patel
    11 Jul 2010 | 10:18 pm
    The electrical side of installing a solar electric system is a pretty straight forward process although when it comes to the mechanical aspect of attaching solar panels there can be a lot of variances based on the type of roof.One of our customers was involved with a new home construction project that had a standing seam metal roof. He called us and asked us to design and provide him with a complete solar electric system that would attach to the metal roof.The 4.1 kilowatt grid tie solar electric system consisted of 18 Canadian Solar CS6P 230 watt solar panels with an Enphase M190…

  • clean solar panels produce more power

    Deep Patel
    9 May 2010 | 9:57 am
    Dirty solar panels before PowerBoostEvery major solar panel manufacturer recommends solar electric system owners to wash their solar panels as needed to harvest maximum power. Soiling is a term used to describe particle build up on solar panels which includes dust, dirt, bird poop and other debris that solar panels encounter in the outdoors.Research conducted by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) suggests that solar panel power output can decrease up to 10% from the accumulation of dirt. Efficiencies of solar panels can drop up to 20% in areas where bird poop, air pollution or dust…

  • Solar Cabana on The Price is Right

    Deep Patel
    4 May 2010 | 2:23 pm
    We got our 15 seconds of fame on National TV on Earth Day 2010 last month. Our Solar Cabana was given away as a prize on the longest running TV game show in history The Price is Right produced by CBS. check out the video!The unique aspect of the Solar Cabana is it offers an affordable method for homeowners and businesses to get started with solar power without a huge upfront investment typically associated with rooftop solar.Additionally, in many cases the roof is not the best place to install solar panels due to shading, improper orientation or age of roof. The Solar Cabana provides…

  • Interviewed by SolarDave

    Deep Patel
    21 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am
    We're working on a unique solar panel project called, Battle of the Solar Panel Brands. A solar panel competition that makes various solar panel brands compete head to head against each other to determine which solar panel will generate the most kWh (kilowatt-hours) in our local area.A few weeks ago, our project caught the attention of SolarDave, a respectable solar blogger. SolarDave thought it would be interesting to his audience to have a conversation with me about the process of installing solar panels on his very first podcast. The purpose of SolarDave's blog is to take people along for…
 
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    Energy Conscious Consultant

  • Keep Your Cool and Keep Your Money

    Robert Farbe
    28 Aug 2010 | 8:51 am
    Are your electric bills high enough?  With the summer heat season, our air conditioning units are running at the max.  We have all heard to turn up our thermostat whenever we leave home.  But I don’t think you should. Air Conditioning Units When you leave the house for work, you shouldn’t raise your air conditioning thermostat. When you return home and lower the temperature, the air conditioner has to work twice as hard and as long to try to catch up with what you have done to the walls, the doors, the furniture, the curtains, and whatever else that exist in your house.  What happens…

  • Coal Ash Trash

    Robert Farbe
    21 Aug 2010 | 7:37 am
    Coal is the most commonly used form of producing electricity in the United States. In fact, almost half of all electricity produced in this country is from coal.  When coal is used to produce electricity, it also produces a by-product or waste product called coal ash.  This coal ash is like dust.  It flies into the air and becomes harmful to our atmosphere.  I heard that they actually have 130 million tons to dispose of.  According to the EPA, this coal ash contains (among other chemicals) mercury, lead, and arsenic.  These ingredients are harmful to any human being in any form. Yet,…

  • Undertaking Photovoltaic May Be Over Your Head

    Robert Farbe
    14 Aug 2010 | 8:15 am
    Photovoltaic is another source of alternative energy.  The technology is constantly improving.  But before your run to install your solar powered system, there are a few things you need to know. You must be certified within your state to install any solar powered system.  You can install your own system but do you know enough to do that? You must know electrical code.  To install an alternative source of renewable energy, you must follow the National Electric Code of 2008.  Electrical code can change or be updated yearly.  That code is the basis for your installation.  In the…

  • Licensed Electrician Required For Solar Installation

    Robert Farbe
    9 Aug 2010 | 7:41 am
    A licensed electrician should be installing your solar powered system.  Solar code is covered in the National Electric Code (NEC).  It covers all aspects of the installation:  voltage drop, heat wiring, grounding and everything of the solar modules that is a installed on the roof. When an electrician puts his license on the line for a disconnect that follows the inverter, he is putting his license on the line for the whole installation.  That means the wiring from the solar modules to the combiner.  This includes installation from the roof flashing to the grounding on each module to the…

  • Home Waterproofing

    Robert Farbe
    29 Jul 2010 | 7:41 pm
    Most people think houses are weatherproof and they are not. Here are the top 3 reasons that I have found for houses to leak. Flashing: Incorrectly Installed I lived in an old house with a flashing that leaked.  How did it leak?  The flashing was incorrectly installed to go down instead of up. The rain from Hurricane Katrina blew the rain upward, and sideways.  That is unusual because rain usually comes down.  But when you have storms that blows the rain from the side or windblown rain, a lot of houses are damaged from it if they are not flashed properly from the top.  They can’t take…
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    Get Eco Now

  • iPhone Game Features Heroic Fish Dodging Gulf Oil Spill Damage

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:40 am
    Image via Elephant Journal We’ve had an influx of iPhone apps based on the Gulf oil spill , and many of them also donate proceeds to helping clean-up efforts. So what makes Puff Puff: Gulf Spill any different? It’s still an app about the life post oil disaster and it donates 30% of net proceeds to ecosystem restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. But perhaps the importan… Read the full story on TreeHugger Go here to read the rest: iPhone Game Features Heroic Fish Dodging Gulf Oil Spill Damage

  • Dual-Flush Toilet Retrofit, With Adjustable Flush (Video)

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:30 am
    Image credit: Brondell Simple Flush Dual-flush toilets have always been popular here on TreeHugger. After all, it seems insane to use the same amount of drinking water to flush your number ones as your number twos. (It actually seems insane to use drinking water at all, but that’s another story.) But rather than just advocating ripping out your old fixture—we’ve always been keen on adapting your old throne. From the View original post here: Dual-Flush Toilet Retrofit, With Adjustable Flush (Video)

  • Curious Whales Check Out Photographers with Stunning Results (Slideshow)

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:27 am
    Photo via The Daily Mail The ocean’s whales are some of the Earth’s most massive and majestic animals, reaching sizes of up to 80 feet long and 150 tons. As the targets of centuries of whaling, they have a violent history — and are still recovering from an industry that depleted their numbers substantially. But while whales can be aggressive at times, they are more often gentle, curious creatures — and likely to check out foreign objects in the water, including boats and photographers. The rest is here:  Curious Whales Check Out Photographers with Stunning Results…

  • Alyza Challenge Cut Short To Announce Decision On Vegan Character

    EcoGreenBags
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:52 am
    Marty Lang, who is currently working to get funding for his new movie Rising Star , announced yesterday that he was cutting the Alyza Challenge short. The Alyza Challenge asked online voters to determine whether Alyza, the main character’s love interest in the film, would follow a plant-based diet. The contest was originally scheduled to run through September 10 but due to overwhelming support in one direction, Lang halted the challenge and announced his decision. “We are going to make Alyza a vegan character,” said the director. “Thank you all for your unbelievable support of the…

  • ‘The Cove’ Now On Netflix Instant Streaming

    2 Sep 2010 | 6:15 am
    It may not be “free” like someone was requesting earlier, but instant access to watching the Academy Award-winning The Cove just became a lot easier. The documentary is now available online through the Netflix streaming service — something 61% of their 15 million subscribers used last month alone. Apple also recently announced access to Netflix through their iTV, iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. If you haven’t seen the film (and have Netflix), grab some popcorn and hit the movie here . The rest is here: ‘The Cove’ Now On Netflix Instant Streaming
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    The City Fix

  • Arriving at Better Road Safety Measures

    Jonna McKone
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:02 pm
    In its recent infographic, GOOD magazine looks at “handful of cities around the world and how often their pedestrians are killed while attempting to traverse” some of the world’s biggest urban landscapes. However, the graphic ...

  • What Is It About 20-Somethings and Cars?

    Jonna McKone
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:01 am
    American young adults are driving less, says a recent piece in AdvertisingAge.  Only 77 percent of 19-year-olds today have their license, compared to 92 percent in 1978.  And the proportion of automobile miles driven ...

  • City Systems, Fringes and a New Blogger

    Jonna McKone
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:15 am
    As TheCityFix’s newest full-time blogger, I’m excited to have the opportunity to write about transportation and city issues. I became interested in sustainability growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, where I advocated for climate change policy ...

  • Back to School Edition: Mobile Classrooms Set Up in the Slums of India’s Largest Cities

    Jonna McKone
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:57 pm
    For children in massive cities, access to education is dependent on mobility. India’s families living in marginal areas or fringe settlements face cultural, economic and geographic barriers that prevent kids from attending school regularly. The web ...

  • FedEx Makes More Efficient Deliveries with Zero Emissions Electric Bikes

    Jonna McKone
    30 Aug 2010 | 3:17 pm
    An electric, non-carbon emitting tricycle for adults is way more exciting than it sounds, especially when an international company like FedEx Corp. uses the bikes to deliver packages across the city of Paris. FedEx now has four ...
 
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    GigaOM

  • Cisco Buys Up Arch Rock for the Smart Grid

    Katie Fehrenbacher
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:01 am
    Cisco’s smart grid assault continues. This morning, the networking giant announced that it plans to acquire Arch Rock, a startup which has been selling wireless network products for data centers and buildings for years. In June, Arch Rock announced its first smart grid wireless network product based completely on open standards. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Cisco said Arch Rock’s technology will be used for its smart grid offering. Cisco’s acquisition announcement today comes after it said yesterday that it has teamed up with smart meter heavyweight Itron to…

  • Fun With Smart Grid Trade Marks!

    Katie Fehrenbacher
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:00 am
    Who’s trade marking smart grid terms, tag lines, and products? Utilities, solar firms, and some of the ones you’d expect: GE, S&C, SmartSynch and Grid Net. If you were considering trade marking a product under the term GridSmart, better think again, there’s two companies — Nexant and AEP — that have been gunning for that term. And here’s a sign Xcel Energy isn’t so stoked on SmartGridCity anymore: it let its trade mark application for “SmartGridCity Kids” expire. Darn, no smart grid themed daycare. Where Solar Meets Smart Grid, Smart…

  • Report: The Winners & Losers of the Solar Shakeout

    Ucilia Wang
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:00 am
    Picking winners and losers is always an interesting and dicey exercise. Lux Research took that plunge and issued a report this week that pointed to likely winners in revenues and IPO candidates over the coming year, as well as some companies that they issued “caution” on. The winners names that popped out included Amonix, Enphase Energy and Abound Solar — the cautions were for Solyndra and Nanosolar. Lux’s Jason Eckstein, author of the report, argued that a new shakeout is coming as government subsidies in countries such as Germany and France are set to decline. These…

  • GM Tries to Trade Mark “Range Anxiety,” Tesla Shrugs

    Katie Fehrenbacher
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:39 pm
    “Range anxiety” is the fear that a plug-in vehicle will run out of battery power and leave its driver stranded — it’s not usually something an automaker that makes electric vehicles wants associated with its brand. But GM does, and apparently filed a trade mark for “range anxiety” in July (first reported by Jalopnik). GM says the purpose of trade marking range anxiety is for “promoting public awareness of electric vehicle capabilities,” or basically marketing. Why? Because GM’s first plug-in vehicle the Volt is an extended range plug-in…

  • Software, Sensors, Partners Drive Greener Data Centers

    Jeff St. John
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:35 am
    There are many tech-paved roads that lead to reduced energy use in data centers, from software-centric solutions to those that put sensors on every server and fan. But the paths to commercializing those technologies are, by comparison, relatively few — and that means that early partnerships with the incumbent giants in the field will be an important test for any one startup’s technological solution. Over at GigaOm Pro (subs. req.), I take a look at three startups — Sentilla, Arch Rock, and SynapSense — with different approaches to data center energy efficiency, both in technology and…
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    The Chic Ecologist

  • What is eco-silk?

    Dean
    12 Aug 2010 | 7:03 am
    Peace Silk vs. Eco-Silk I have been trying and trying to find an eco-friendly wedding dress for my September wedding, and it was much much harder than I anticipated. There are a variety of organic companies that sell dresses, and a few designers have environmentally conscious choices, but let me tell you, the options are [...] Related posts:Eco-Friendly Underwear Pivot Boutique – Eco Smart Fashion in Chicago PeopleTowels: No they’re not made out of people…

  • Kanon Organic Vodka

    Jean-Paul
    5 Aug 2010 | 12:07 pm
    A hot new introduction from a 400 year old distillery, Kanon Organic Vodka originates from the Gripsholm Distillery in Sweden. Dating back to 1580, this old world distillery with royal history was the largest distillery in Sweden supplying its foundry workers with high quality spirits from locally grown organic wheat. High quality organic vodka offerings [...] Related posts:Local Organic Vodka and Gin – Organic Nation Organic Vodka and Scotch Whiskey Green Cocktails, Eco-Friendly Spirits and Organic Liquors Organic, Shaken and Stirred – Green Cocktail Book Review Valentines Day…

  • Wednesday Green Roundup

    Jean-Paul
    28 Jul 2010 | 2:14 pm
    Here are some of the stories running around the green web this week. Recycled wood flooring and recycled glass surfaces on Jetson Green- Glass2 is produced with 99% recycled glass with no resin and can be worked on by stone and glass fabricators. Staybull Flooring salvages waste wood from lumber mills around the world in [...] Related posts:Gulf Oil Spill Disaster Vetrazzo Recycled Glass Countertops The Gulf Oil Spill is Sad, But How Does It Affect Me? Plyboo Bamboo Plywood and Durapalm Palm Tree Sustainable Flooring All Things Ethically Sourced

  • GreenNote

    Katy Maynard
    20 Jul 2010 | 5:08 pm
    Thinking of something to do for the weekend? How about spending your Saturday in the sun or in the shade of the Space Needle while listening to green music. Of course, the music itself cannot be green but the people, supplies, and purpose can be. At the Seattle Center this Saturday July 24th comes GreenNote, [...] Related posts:Green Festival Seattle 2010 A Great Green Festival Weekend Eco-Chic Expo Seattle Green Festival Seattle Green Festival Gold

  • Eco Friendly Clothes Shopping – Verdessence

    Jean-Paul
    20 Jul 2010 | 11:52 am
    A topic covered often here on The Chic Ecologist are brands and stores which carry eco friendly clothing. Based in Chicago, Verdessence is an on-line retailer opened by Lauren McGinty and Michael McCarthy out of a desire to promote positive change in the world. They were kind enough to send me an item from one [...] Related posts:Organic Colorful Childrens Clothes – Happy Green Bee Destroying Clothes- Brand Managmenent and the Apparel Industry Sustainable Eco Friendly Gifts and Decor – Branch Home Eco-Friendly Underwear Friday Eco-Friendly Finds
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    The Green Thing Blog

  • We want it!

    Katee
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:59 pm
    This is brilliant! It's like the 118 guys and the 'We buy any car crew' all smacked into one ridiculous commercial about electronic waste recycling. What's not to like?! It's a silly and seemlingly effective campaign to get local residents in the Toronto area thinking about how to adequately dispose of ewaste. To watch some of the other equally amusing videos, visit the City of Toronto's website to see more (Yes, this is a city council funded film ;) ). (Spotted on Unconsumption)  

  • DIY solar heater

    Katee
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:07 pm
    Robert Tierney, a retired RAF pilot has been doing some backyard tinkering. With an old radiator, blackboard paint and silver cooking foil he's made a solar hot water system for under £250. To put this into perspective, a commercial system costs upwards of £4,000. This DIY invention combines great all-consuming use of materials as well as looking at better ways of plugging into better energy. There's quite a lot of information out there on DIY solar heaters, so check it out!   (Spotted in the Telegraph)

  • And the winner is...

    Katee
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:53 pm
    Big congrats to Sugru for winning the title of Sustainability's Next Top Model! With over 100 more votes than the other 3 models, Sugru has won by a mile. Sugru will now receive a Green Thing marketing campaign worth a whopping £50,000 to help them on their way to world domination. Thank you to everyone who voted!

  • Just AAsk

    Katee
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:14 pm
    In a UK based study conducted by Sheilas' Wheels Insurers, apparently the average male motorist drives 276 miles each year while lost - because he's too proud to ask for directions. 26% of men will wait at least wait at least half an hour before asking for directions, and 12% of male motorists refuse to ask a stranger for help at all! The age old stereotype of men never asking for directions has now become an environmentally significant statistic. Women are just as culpable to waste fuel from unnecessary driving- but this is not because of refusing to ask for directions, it's because they…

  • A Garden Party to Make a Difference

    Katee
    29 Aug 2010 | 7:39 pm
    Green Thing is going to a garden party next week. A BIG one. It's going to be great. You should really come. Start and the Prince of Wales have decided to throw a 9-day long party, in Prince Charles historic gardens, to get people together, thinking about what a sustainable future could look like. There are loads of activities like designing and sewing your own bag, cooking tips and plenty of musicians, artists, comedians and entertainment. It's an event for all ages. Green Thing will be there in the flesh, so come along and find out about our new top secret project or just pop in for a chat.
 
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    FabianPattberg.com

  • Should we care about what Bjorn Lomborg is saying? No, not really!

    Fabian
    1 Sep 2010 | 5:53 am
    Do you remember the Danish professor Bjorn Lomborg? He rose to questionable stardom in the Climate Change world as a Climate Change skeptic with his book “The skeptical environmentalist” and has been a prolific person in this field ever since. This week he announced a u-turn in his opinion whether Climate Change is happening or not. Headline: Bjørn Lomborg: $100bn a year needed to fight climate change ‘Sceptical environmentalist’ and critic of climate scientists to declare global warming a chief concern facing world. This is the article in the Guardian. The reaction so far…

  • The strong voice of the CSR community

    Fabian
    30 Aug 2010 | 5:07 am
    It is now exactly 7 days ago that a storm in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) world broke out over an article by Aneel Karnani published in the Wall Street Journal titled: ”The case against Corporate Social Responsibility”. In the article he argued that the idea of companies having a duty to address social ills is not just flawed but that it also makes it more likely that we’ll ignore the real solutions to these problems. All week last week the reactions to this article from around the CSR community flooded in. People tweeted on Twitter, shared on Facebook and emailed from…

  • How Sustainability can become a pre-competitive factor for business success

    Fabian
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:12 am
    We need to change the way we think about sustainability and the future of our planet. This is the straightforward message how Jason Clay from WWF is ending this TED talk which I would like to present in today’s blog post. I can really recommend this video to anyone interested in Sustainability. For me the most interesting message includes the need of NGO’s such as the WWF to work and cooperate with the biggest global brands on the key issues such as the global production of palm oil or the rainforest deforestation in order push us as consumers more towards demanding more sustainable…

  • The Sinar Mas Palm Oil saga continues

    Fabian
    19 Aug 2010 | 4:20 am
    Several months ago Greenpeace started Kit Kat Nestle campaign to protest against the use of palm oil from companies that are trashing Indonesian rainforests, threatening the livelihoods of local people and pushing orang-utans towards extinction. Here is my post about the effect of the campaign: The Greenpeace Nestle Kit Kat campaign In the end Greenpeace prevailed and now Nestle has stopped using palm oil products that come from rainforest destruction. One of the major suppliers of Nestle was Sinar Mas. This company has now again come under immense pressure as Greenpeace reports this week:…

  • My Top Five Sustainability / CSR Communication Examples

    Fabian
    16 Aug 2010 | 8:45 am
    Today we received our organic vegetable box as we do every Monday. Inside where some great vegetables and this little note: What a great short note to say that this lettuce is not perfect but that there is also nothing wrong with it. This is what I call direct and easy to understand communication. I, as a customer, would like to see more of this kind of communication. But obviously this is not the norm we all know when we talk about Sustainability / CSR reports and related documents. This kind of communication as illustrated above is therefore I believe even more important if you are…
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    Green Building Law Update

  • Does Collaborative Design Minimize LEEDigation Risk?

    Chris Cheatham
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:32 am
    Today, I am publishing a guest post from engineer Ian T. Hadden.  I asked Ian to write a guest post after he made the comment "there is something built into the high performance, sustainable design building method that works against litigation" on August 9.  Below, Ian elaborates on his point so please take a look and let us know what you think.  If you are interested in guest posting for Green Building Law Update, please contact me at chris@cheathamconsulting.com with your story idea.  Your story should focus on risk management, legal or regulatory issues in the…

  • LEED Building Vacated Due to Structural Issues

    Chris Cheatham
    25 Aug 2010 | 11:30 am
    Construction defects often take a long time to develop.  Take, for example, the Courthouse Square building in Salem, Oregon, which is used for county offices and retail stores.  It was constructed in 2000 and received its LEED certification in 2002.  As early as 2002, problems were identified at the project, including cracked grouting and loose tiles.  But it was not until July 2010 that the Courthouse Square buiding had to be vacated due to structural problems:  "Henderson said the county started monitoring the floor in 2008 after an evaluation by David Evans…

  • Innovative Programs Foster Green Technology

    Chris Cheatham
    12 Aug 2010 | 5:57 am
    If you could ask some of the world's leading companies about their green technology programs, what would you ask?  I was recently faced with this daunting question.  On August 17, I will be moderating a panel on green technology for the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.  Registration is still open and I hope you willconsider attending the event if you are in the D.C. area.  There will be a question and answer period following the panelists' short presentations, so if you have questions, this is the perfect event for you.  As I was preparing for the panel, I…

  • What is the LEEDigation Tipping Point?

    Chris Cheatham
    9 Aug 2010 | 11:47 am
    I was recently asked to write an article about LEEDigation - green building litigation - for an online construction magazine.  As I thought about the topic, I thought about the factors that have prevented this type of litigation from developing.  But then I wondered, "what is the tipping point for LEEDigation?"  If you have not read Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point, I highly recommend it.  Basically, he defines tipping point as: "the moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire." I will share my…

  • Staying in Step with Carbon Footprinting (and Federal Procurement)

    Chris Cheatham
    6 Aug 2010 | 9:50 am
    I first met Daniel Moring as an aide to D.C. Council Member Mary Cheh when we discussed the D.C. Green Building Act.  We recently met up to discuss the General Services Administration's proposal to require greenhouse gas emissions reporting and I asked him to write a post on the topic.  Enjoy and have a great weekend.   By: Daniel Moring Although a climate bill lies in shambles at the foot of Capitol Hill as the summer recess approaches, a new approach to evaluating federal contracts by the General Services Administration could go a long way to realizing at least some of…
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    Seed & Sew

  • Kate’s Preloved Martina Skirt

    katelivesinbrooklyn
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:27 pm
    We have blogged about Preloved before, the Canadian label that reconstructs beautiful garments to near-couture perfection out of pre-loved vintage clothing.  But this is more of a love story about our blogger, Kate, who has been dreaming of owning this label for a long, long time.  She recently stopped into Alter in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, one of her favorite boutiques that frequently carries eco-labels like Preloved, Matt & Nat bags, and Melissa shoes. There, hanging on the wall, was the last remaining Martina skirt from the Spring 2010 collection, in brick red, originally $155, marked…

  • Close your toes

    katelivesinbrooklyn
    31 Aug 2010 | 1:58 pm
    With summer winding down, you better be on the hunt for the perfect closed-toe flats to keep your feet warm when it starts to chill down.  Etsy Shop Extraseed is pretty much the place to get them if you want to marry fashion and eco.  We’ve been watching this collection grow over the past year, and by this Fall there’s nearly every color and pattern you could imagine to choose from now, all made by hand with vegan leather or eco-friendly cotton.  We love the stitching across the toe, and the simple, functional yet feminine style – and at under $40 a pair, they’re…

  • Label Gazer

    katelivesinbrooklyn
    13 Aug 2010 | 10:20 am
    Label gazer?  More like addictive desire machine that inspires greed, delight and underproductivity at work.  This is eco fashion’s very dangerous answer to Tumblr. Do not click here if you’re at risk of above.

  • United By Blue

    katelivesinbrooklyn
    13 Aug 2010 | 10:02 am
    United By Blue (UBB) is a sustainable apparel and accessories company that for every 1 product sold, 1 pound of trash is removed from oceans and waterways through organized cleanups.  So far, the company has removed over 3,000 pounds of trash since May 2010.  They organize cleanups on a weekly basis, and encourage individuals to start their own cleanup if there is no organized UBB cleanup in their area.  It is a great way to hang out with a group of friends, work out, and do environmental good. The site features several products for sale, for men and women: Organic shirts (retail: $29.50)…

  • K.Grace Designs

    katelivesinbrooklyn
    12 Jul 2010 | 12:51 pm
    K.Grace is dedicated to bringing eco-friendly and sustainable clothing to fashionable women of all shapes and sizes.  With the philosophy that every woman needs sturdy, stylish staples with interesting details to rotate into their wardrobe season after season, K.Grace tailors these beautiful frocks and jackets, each piece made of quality, sustainable fabrics in fair-trade facilities.  The Spring/Summer 2010 Collection uses blends of hemp, organic cotton, and recycled materials.  We love the gathered waist on the Waterfight Dress and the unique, asymmetrical collar on the Beach Dress above.
 
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    Go Green Solar

  • which solar power system would you install?

    Deep Patel
    15 Aug 2010 | 2:43 pm
    Similar to a computer which is made up of not only the processor but a keyboard, mouse, RAM, memory, monitor, speakers..etc, there's a lot more to solar power than just the solar panels. An ordinary solar power system includes solar panels plus mounting hardware, inverters, wires, clips, clamps, standoffs, L-Feet, grounding lugs, connectors, wire management, disconnects combiner boxes and many nuts & bolts not the mention the tools required to get the system installed.For someone installing a solar power system for the first time, it's an overwhelming process of figuring out all the parts…

  • attaching solar panels to a metal roof

    Deep Patel
    11 Jul 2010 | 10:18 pm
    The electrical side of installing a solar electric system is a pretty straight forward process although when it comes to the mechanical aspect of attaching solar panels there can be a lot of variances based on the type of roof.One of our customers was involved with a new home construction project that had a standing seam metal roof. He called us and asked us to design and provide him with a complete solar electric system that would attach to the metal roof.The 4.1 kilowatt grid tie solar electric system consisted of 18 Canadian Solar CS6P 230 watt solar panels with an Enphase M190…

  • clean solar panels produce more power

    Deep Patel
    9 May 2010 | 9:57 am
    Dirty solar panels before PowerBoostEvery major solar panel manufacturer recommends solar electric system owners to wash their solar panels as needed to harvest maximum power. Soiling is a term used to describe particle build up on solar panels which includes dust, dirt, bird poop and other debris that solar panels encounter in the outdoors.Research conducted by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) suggests that solar panel power output can decrease up to 10% from the accumulation of dirt. Efficiencies of solar panels can drop up to 20% in areas where bird poop, air pollution or dust…

  • Solar Cabana on The Price is Right

    Deep Patel
    4 May 2010 | 2:23 pm
    We got our 15 seconds of fame on National TV on Earth Day 2010 last month. Our Solar Cabana was given away as a prize on the longest running TV game show in history The Price is Right produced by CBS. check out the video!The unique aspect of the Solar Cabana is it offers an affordable method for homeowners and businesses to get started with solar power without a huge upfront investment typically associated with rooftop solar.Additionally, in many cases the roof is not the best place to install solar panels due to shading, improper orientation or age of roof. The Solar Cabana provides…

  • Interviewed by SolarDave

    Deep Patel
    21 Feb 2010 | 11:00 am
    We're working on a unique solar panel project called, Battle of the Solar Panel Brands. A solar panel competition that makes various solar panel brands compete head to head against each other to determine which solar panel will generate the most kWh (kilowatt-hours) in our local area.A few weeks ago, our project caught the attention of SolarDave, a respectable solar blogger. SolarDave thought it would be interesting to his audience to have a conversation with me about the process of installing solar panels on his very first podcast. The purpose of SolarDave's blog is to take people along for…
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    ecomii simple living blog

  • Get a Rest from Pests, Naturally

    Chantal O'Keeffe
    25 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    Are household pests beginning to take their toll on your stress level? If you’re like me, and millions of other Americans, you’ve probably come home from work to find a trail of ants leading the charge, or an errant mouse hopping out of your sink of dirty dishes, as surprised as you are that someone [...]

  • The Campaign to Take Goats to the White House

    Kirsten Dirksen
    23 Aug 2010 | 6:59 am
      The owners of Bellevue, Idaho’s Cottonwood Ranch think that goats make such great pets they believe not only should every neighborhood have a backyard dairy, but that there should be one at the White House. “We think Michelle’s daughters would love to have baby goats,” explains Lesley Moore. “That’s our push is to take the baby [...]

  • A Pet That Makes Milk

    Kirsten Dirksen
    19 Aug 2010 | 2:55 am
    They’re as playful as dogs and they also provide milk (and if you chose, meat). Backyard goats may not have reached the popularity of pet chickens, but they’re gaining ground, even in cities. It’s now legal to farm goats in cities like Chicago, Portland, Seattle or Detroit and campaigns are raging to change ordinances in places [...]

  • Healthy Dog, Healthy Planet: Bath Time

    Chantal O'Keeffe
    17 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    If you have a dog then you’ve most likely spent hours trolling pet food stores or boutiques, searching for the perfect, healthy food, toys and treats for your pup. If you’re anything like me, it has left you confused. Having recently adopted my first dog, I have scoured the Internet night after night, trying to make [...]

  • Book Review: Green Housekeeping

    Chantal O'Keeffe
    12 Aug 2010 | 6:00 am
    First an admission: it was the back of the book that sold me. “Want a low-maintenance bathroom that takes 30 seconds a day to clean?” Why yes, I do. “Need whiter whites that get white for free?” Had the author been to my home? Green Housekeeping (Simon & Schuster, 2006) by Ellen Sandbeck seemed almost too good to be [...]
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    Chelsea Green

  • Alice Shabecoff: To Vaccinate Your Child….Or Not?

    jmcdougall@chelseagreen.com (Chelsea Green Publishing)
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:00 am
    This article offers an impartial introduction to the otherwise hotly-contested subject of childhood vaccinations. And it shows how vaccines fit into the whole problem of the toxic assault on our children. Donna Curless’s three children were born and spent their early years in Brick Township, a mid-size, middle income New [...]

  • Jamie Court: Taking The “Do Not Track Me” Fight to Google in Times Square

    jmcdougall@chelseagreen.com (Chelsea Green Publishing)
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:45 am
    Right now, running twice an hour in Times Square, there’s a 540 sq. ft. animation of Google CEO Eric Schmidt giving little kids free ice cream and secretly gathering their personal information. It’s promoting a one minute, avatar-style animated short titled Don’t Be Evil? that can be watched at InsideGoogle.com. Do you [...]

  • EXCERPT: From When Technology Fails on Mother Earth News

    jmcdougall@chelseagreen.com (Chelsea Green Publishing)
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:00 am
    As Hurricane Earl speeds toward New England, we grasshoppers wonder if the lights are going to stay on over the weekend, and we eagerly turn to Matthew Stein’s extensive survival resource When Technology Fails. Recently, Mother Earth News began a series of excerpts from the book. Here’s the first: The following is an excerpt from When Technology [...]

  • Gene Logsdon: Transplanting Tree Seedlings

    jmcdougall@chelseagreen.com (Chelsea Green Publishing)
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    I have a hunch that readers thought I was joking when I wrote recently about growing tree seedlings in roof gutters. The picture above proves that it works. I thought by now (late summer) the seedlings would have died for lack of water, but [...]

  • WATCH: Book Trailer for Growing Roots by Katherine Leiner

    jmcdougall@chelseagreen.com (Chelsea Green Publishing)
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:00 am
    We frequently hear that the farming population of the United States is both dwindling and aging, as big agribusiness applies outlandish economies of scale to the tired soil. But at the same time there is a burgeoning population of young people getting back to the land in ways both practical and passionate. It’s happening in [...]
 
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    Featured Blog Posts - Change2

  • ACT set ambitious emissions targets. A great program or destined to fail?

    Lee Stewart
    This morning the ACT is set to announce a very ambitious target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2020. The announcement has left some wondering whether this is realistic as the territory recently downgraded its NoWaste 2010 target to just an inspirational goal. You can check out the full story here and I would be keen to get your thoughts is ACT making the right move or is this setting up for failure?

  • Zero Carbon Plan for Australia

    Terence Jeyaretnam
    Did you know that enough sunlight falls on the earth’s surface every hour to meet world energy demand for an entire year? That the average amount of solar energy that falls on Australia is about 15,000 times the nation’s energy use? Then there’s wind, geothermal, wave and hydro to draw on, in vast renewable quantities. Coal is cheap, but that’s because the real price of carbon has not been taken into account. These renewable sources, which are in abundance, are, at first, more expensive to draw on, but priced properly, are cheap, reliable and clean. And, with climate change, there’s…

  • Citizens Assembly? More Consultation On Climate Change? Didn't we do that years ago?

    Lee Stewart
    Being an optimist I thought that maybe Julia Gillard might be a bit different and act on Climate Change and that the upcoming election we would see a credible climate change policy from a major party.So the news coming out today on Julia's announcement for a citizens assembly which include up to 200 volunteers who would work alongside scientists and advise government on climate change doesn't really make sense to me for the following reasons: We already have consensus on climate change it was the 2007 Election Didn't we have 20/20 vision summit? What happened to that? What are 200 volunteers…

  • The Buzz Beyond Sustainability

    Nick Potter
    It’s official: I’ve ended my relationship with sustainability. We still see each other occasionally but the magic is missing. I’ve moved on to other words. We actually cut loose a long time ago. So it’s sayonara sustainability. It was great while it lasted. Breaking up with sustainability wasn’t easy. We had a long-term relationship. We also keep bumping into each other because sustainability is still hanging out with many people I work with. I’m fine with that, as I can see the positive role that it's playing. I’m grateful for the way that sustainability still brings us…

  • The Gap Story and the One Report that Changed Everything

    Lee Stewart
    Last week I was invited to be a part of an Executive Round Table discussion on Ethical Supply Chains. The event was kindly hosted by the United States Studies Centre and the NSW Department of State and Regional Development. The keynote address was delivered by Dan Henkle, Senior VP of Global Responsibility for clothing manufacturer Gap Inc. Now I have been to dozens of these type of events and you will usually see my eyes glaze over if I see another Al Gore chart, penguin or polar bear in a PowerPoint. Lucky for me and the audience Dan didn’t use any PowerPoint slides or recite climate…
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    Your Daily Thread

  • Will Ride For Food, Donuts And Good Times

    Sara Roderick
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:45 am
    Have Yourself a Tasteful, Taste-Filled Weekend 9021Oh! Beverly Hills Gets Tasty What could be better than unlimited samples of cocktails? Unlimited samples of food from some of L.A.’s top restaurants – including your favorite eco-eateries Fig, Akasha, and Culina – of course! Top chefs, like Michael Voltaggio, will delight you with their cooking skills, mix the perfect cocktail and provide you with the most mouth-watering morsels around at this weekend’s Taste of Beverly Hills. Why? Treat your sweetie to the perfect Date Night, enjoy unlimited Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Bellinis at…

  • Labor-free Deals

    Sara Roderick
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:58 pm
    American Apparel Has Met Its Match Sales on pieces like Mociun’s 100% organic cotton tissue jersey Bridge Tank and organic cotton stretch jersey Block Top will have you saying so long to your old basic tees and hello to rad designs. mociun.com … … Oh Baby Show your little one who’s the light of your life with some of the hippest formaldehyde-free and organic apparel and blankets around. Use the online code STAR20 for 20% off your purchase. babystar.com … … Green As Grass…Grass-fed Beef, That Is In honor of Labor Day, this Friday, September 3, Whole Foods…

  • Jessie May Antique Rings

    Alissa Pittenger
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Check out our Jessie May antique rings photo shoot! We love these unique pieces of jewelry. Related ArticlesWonderful World of Jessie May Designs Kimberly McDonald Geode Jewelry Win an Eco-Friendly Necklace

  • Wonderful World of Jessie May Designs

    Alissa Pittenger
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Welcome to the whimsical world of Jessie May…inspiration, hope and laughter embodied in cozy organic cotton clothes and signature recycled finds. Join the fun! Hand designed and crafted locally in Los Angeles, Jessie May pieces tell a story from all over the globe. We YDT girls fawned over her unique antique rings made from recycled treasures from Jessie’s travels through Japan, Ukraine and elsewhere abroad. And because each piece is unique, every season she launches a new ring collection full of new finds. Stay tuned for her upcoming Harvest Hope line available in a variety of…

  • Inter-Act at Opportunity Green

    Tracy Hepler
    31 Aug 2010 | 5:00 am
    Inter-Act at Opportunity Green A conference to connect, collaborate and capitalize on the new sustainable economy Our world is interconnected.  Every action or inaction we take has consequences.  Whether or not you believe in the capitalistic machine, if we want green to succeed…business needs to be a big part of that movement. Opportunity Green is an annual conference (think TED for green thought leaders) that will take place on September 22-24 at LA Center Studios in Downtown Los Angeles. The conference will showcase “the next generation of thought leadership to develop and implement…
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    FocusOrganic.com

  • Organic Carpet Cleaning

    Stefanie
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:46 am
    The following is a guest post from Sonya Sparks. S. Sparks is a writer for small businesses and online stores with an emphasis on health and beauty. Some of her most recent work includes articles at TVTopTen.com and Ace Clean Carpets in San Diego. Toxic chemical carpet cleaners not only have a huge impact on our bodies but also the environment. Whether sprayed, sprinkled or poured these toxic cleaners can cause a wide array of health problems and pollute the earth and air. The most common ingredients found in these cleaners include perchloroethylene (perc), sodium hydroxide (lye), pesticides,…

  • All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume 113

    Stefanie
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:47 pm
    Welcome to the August 30th, 2010 edition of All Things Eco. Be sure to Stumble the posts you like, or submit them to other social bookmarking services. Let's promote each other, as well as this blog carnival. © Focus Organic for 2010. | Permalink | One comment

  • Early Ideas for Green Holiday Shopping

    Stefanie
    29 Aug 2010 | 11:08 am
    It’s not even the official end of summer yet, and already the Christmas decorations are beginning to appear in some of the big box retail locations throughout the United States and worldwide. With much of the global economy still mired in a prolonged recession, retailers are nevertheless optimistic that the 2010 Holiday shopping season will show growth compared with last year. The following is a quick look at some of the early trends emerging amongst retailers who appear to be trying new, eco-friendly tactics to increase market share. A growing industry in the last decade has been the…

  • BPA Free Tea Traveler and Organic Tea Sampler Winner

    Stefanie
    26 Aug 2010 | 11:42 am
    Thank you to everyone who entered our giveaway, and thank you to Teas Etc. for providing the great prize! Our winner has been randomly selected, and it is comment #20 - Kristina. Congratulations! Kristina will be sent an email right after I publish this post, and will have 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will have to be selected. Still want a tea traveler? You can purchase yours at Teas Etc. © Focus Organic for 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments

  • All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume 112

    Stefanie
    23 Aug 2010 | 1:20 pm
    Welcome to the August 23rd, 2010 edition of All Things Eco. Be sure to Stumble the posts you like, or submit them to other social bookmarking services. Let's promote each other, as well as this blog carnival. Looking for suggestions on sites to help promote the new carnival format... are there any sites to promote the linky formats, for example? © Focus Organic for 2010. | Permalink | 16 comments
 
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    Super Eco

  • 10 things we should clean regularly

    Lucy Meskill
    21 Aug 2010 | 2:00 am
    Here is a list of 10 items, or categories, that need to be cleaned regularly and are often neglected:Those wonderful green, reusable shopping bags which, if we do not wash them every other month or so, can be teeming with bacteria. I throw mine in the washer on gentle with some detergent and hang dry.The steering wheel, door handles, shifter and wiper and directional controls in our cars are things that get used almost every day and can get unbelievably grimy. Our keys, talk about something we use every day that we often don't wash, can be easily washed in soap and water. I always remove my…

  • Scotland bids on floating wind farm

    Lucy Meskill
    20 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    Statoil, Norway’s largest energy company, plans to build a demonstration site to test its “floating” offshore wind turbines. This move is based upon the success of their 2.3-megawatt prototype floating 10 kilometers offshore at Karmoy in Norway. Company spokesman Oistein Johannessen reports that their Norwegian prototype has been working “beyond expectations” in waters 200 metres deep.According to an article at Bloomberg, Statoil announced during a meeting with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, that it is considering two sites in the waters off the Scottish…

  • Five ways to green back-to-school

    Lucy Meskill
    13 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    September is right around the corner, and the yearly ritual of back-to-school shopping has already begun. School supplies run the gamut from the utilitarian to the ridiculous and, oftentimes, the toxic. Here is some basic advice about shopping for and greening our children this fall. Let's begin by talking about backpacks. A backpack is usually a "must have" for kids these days. It is important to choose a non-toxic style that won't ruin their backs. Choose a small to medium-sized pack with lots of specialized, convenient compartments. The bigger the backpack, the more kids will stuff into…

  • How to join the Canvolution

    Lucy Meskill
    9 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    Once again, we are living in a great age for canning. Not since the "Of Course I Can!" poster days of World War II has there been such a broad nationwide campaign in favor of canning. Home canning then was a natural outgrowth of Victory Garden initiatives all across the U.S., where homemakers were encouraged to grow and "put by" as much food as possible so that the bulk of our nation's food supply would be available to feed our troops and allies.Well, it's a new day, and though the groundswell of this current canning movement--similar to the one in the '40's and '50's--cuts across all…

  • Microbe managing the gulf spill

    Lucy Meskill
    6 Aug 2010 | 3:30 am
    A host of tiny microbe managers have taken up the cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. According to an Article in The New York Times, hoards of heroic hydrocarbon-chewing microbes, like Alcanivorax borkumensis, are showing up on the scene. These microbes exist in the gulf because of the thousands of naturally occurring oil and gas seeps in the seabed floor. These fissures leak at fairly regular rate and have been doing so for millions of years.  Although none of these natural seeps even comes close to the magnitude of oil spilled by the Deepwater Horizon, the fact that these swarms of…
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    Envirofuel

  • Want Instant Delivery of New Blog Posts & Comments?

    Joy Victory
    25 Aug 2010 | 7:43 am
    Jabber is almost as fast as lightning. Do you ever wish you could get instant notification of when your favorite bloggers update? Or even when a new comment is published on their blogs? If so, you might want to use a service called Jabber to make your blog conversations as fast as lightning (well, almost as fast). With Jabber, you get split-second delivery of new blog posts and comments — for any WordPress.com blog you want to follow. This means there’s no need to wait for your RSS feed to update, or to use blog email subscriptions. There are endless ways that Jabber might be…

  • More ways to share

    Lenny
    24 Aug 2010 | 7:39 am
    Starting today there is a new way for your readers to share the posts on your blog with friends. This feature allows you to add sharing functionality from a range of services to the bottom of your blog posts. Here’s a quick video introduction: To begin with we have the following services for you to choose from. If there is a service missing from the list, don’t worry! You can add your own custom services as well. Facebook Twitter Press This Reddit Digg StumbleUpon Email to a friend Print You can control these new options in your dashboard by going to Settings > Sharing. You can…

  • Jazz Up Your Posts With Zemanta

    Joy Victory
    17 Aug 2010 | 12:49 pm
    Ever wish you had a blogging assistant who helped you write posts that are full of great links, photos, and tags? Wish no more: We’ve partnered with the folks at Zemanta to give you a hand at quickly jazzing up your posts. Once you’ve activated Zemanta, you’ll see several new widgets on your edit screen that let you quickly add recommended links, photos, tags, and articles. With just a few clicks your post goes from simple to snazzy. Here’s a quick video overview: How to Activate Zemanta To add Zemanta, go to Users > Personal Settings in your Dashboard. You’ll…

  • New Theme: Oulipo

    Lance Willett
    16 Aug 2010 | 8:54 am
    Are you tired of clutter? Are you looking for a theme that puts the focus on your content and gets out of the way? Meet Oulipo, our newest theme. Oulipo’s clean, grid-based design and elegant typography make it perfect for a one-page announcement site, a photoblog, a journal… or anything else you choose to showcase. Example showing Oulipo's light color scheme and beautifully simple layout. You’ll notice the unique placement of the left-side menu: it’s pinned in place. This keeps the site title, description, and main navigation in view at all times. A screenshot…

  • New Twitter “Tweet Button”

    Andy P
    12 Aug 2010 | 8:43 am
    For those of you who have been dreaming of an easier way for your readers to share your posts on Twitter, that day has come. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve added an official Tweet Button as an option for all WordPress.com blogs. How it works: When one of your readers hits the Tweet Button, they will be shown a popup that includes a shortened link to your post. Readers can add in a quick message, and then hit “Tweet” to send the post to their Twitter feed as a tweet — all without leaving your blog. Additionally, each time a reader tweets your post,…
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    Energy Priorities

  • Energy Efficiency Report Names Top Ten States and Policies

    Energy Priorities Magazine
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:09 pm
    The Center for American Progress will release a report today, entitled "Efficiency Works: Creating Good Jobs and New Markets Through Energy Efficiency." (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) August 31, 2010

  • The Most High-Tech Green Buildings

    Energy Priorities Magazine
    16 Jul 2010 | 9:56 am
    Forbes has gathered ten buildings it considers to be the most high-tech in the world. The photos are worth the trip. (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) July 16, 2010

  • Out of office!

    Energy Priorities Magazine
    1 Jul 2010 | 12:40 pm
    July and August are vacation time for Energy Priorities and the Building Priorities Briefing. (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) July 01, 2010

  • The Smart Grid Wants You - Building Priorities Briefing

    Energy Priorities Magazine
    30 Jun 2010 | 6:31 pm
    The smart grid wants you! But what does it take to be a participant in the smart grid? What's in it for you? If the smart grid is so smart, why does it need buildings to integrate with it? And what about the people who are paying for the smart grid -- yeah, all of us -- what do we get out of it? Denis Du Bois interviews two pioneering experts at the building-to-grid frontier, at ConnectivityWeek 2010. (podcast) (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) July 01, 2010

  • Leadership Strategies for a Clean Energy Economy

    Energy Priorities Magazine
    16 Jun 2010 | 8:51 pm
    The West Coast Energy Management Congress came to our neck of the woods this year. EMC is among a very few energy conferences that began long before current craze for green, and is still going strong. (continued at http://energypriorities.com/) June 17, 2010
 
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    smartfamilytips

  • Vegetable Gardening With Your Kids

    Beth
    9 Aug 2010 | 3:17 am
    This is a guest post from Mike Lieberman who blogs at Urban Organic Gardener. One of the excuses that I often hear from parents about not growing their own food is that they have kids and don’t have the time. Why not include the kids and make it a family bonding experience? That’s what families have done for thousands of years. It’s not until recently that this trend has changed. Lately, families and society have shifted the responsibility of food to others. We can go to the grocery store whenever we want to buy whatever we want. There is no sense of where it came from or what’s…

  • Name Bubbles Review – Back to School

    Beth
    4 Aug 2010 | 5:22 pm
    My girls will start kindergarten in a matter of weeks and I can’t get over how much stuff they have to have. And all of it has to be labeled. . .notebooks, folders, boxes of crayons, scissors, towels for nap, lunch boxes, markers. . . the list goes on and on. I’ve purchased from other label companies before, but just a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon Name Bubbles. I’m hooked. Here’s What I Like: Eco-Friendly Ink. This is probably at the top of the list for me. Name Bubbles is the only label company I’ve found to use environmentally-friendly ink, a feature I…

  • Planet Box Lunchbox Review – Back to School

    Beth
    3 Aug 2010 | 7:50 am
    I’m wild about the new Planet Box lunch box. I found them online and the more I learned, the more eager I was to try it out. Caroline was kind enough to send one for me to sample and after receiving it, I promptly ordered (and gladly paid full price for) another one. Here’s What I Like: Made of Stainless Steel. There’s no worry about BPA, it’s dishwasher safe, and should last indefinitely. Compartments. The Planet Box includes well thought-out compartments to hold a variety of lunch items. Recycled Materials. The carry bag is made of recycled bottles and comes in three…

  • Green News Updates

    Beth
    27 Jul 2010 | 2:57 pm
    There are several green news bits I wanted to share with you. The Story of Cosmetics Some time ago I wrote about Annie Leonard’s, The Story of Stuff. In this video, she follows the path our stuff makes from idea to product in the store. It does a great job of making us aware of just how many resources it takes to create and ship all of the stuff we consume. She recently completed a new project called The Story of Cosmetics. One of the focus points of this blog is the number of chemicals we are exposed to from everyday products. If you’re at all interested in what’s invading…

  • Greener Back to School for Kids and Adults

    Beth
    21 Jul 2010 | 2:49 pm
    Thinking about greener ways to go back to school isn’t just for kids. Most adults use many of the same kinds of supplies that kids use in school. We may no longer need crayons, but we all use paper and writing utensils and scissors and tape. We all eat lunch and need some way to carry our gear around. I’ll be writing about ways to green your back-to-school purchases in the coming weeks and I’ll include items for adults as well. We’ll look at school and office supplies as well as green backpacks and messenger bags and briefcases. But for now, a few general tips: One of…
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    GoGreenTube Videos

  • Leather Sofas -Great in Style and Design

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:14 pm
    Leather Sofas -Great in Style and Design From: sofaandsectionals http://www.sofasandsectionals.com/ specializes in quality brand name sofas at affordable prices. Enjoy free shipping on all sofas, love seats, sectional sofas, leather, sleeper sofas, Leather Sofas, Leather Recliner, Leather Couch, Leather Sectionals, Leather Sectional Sofas, Berkline Sofa, Palliser Sofa & more.

  • Get Startling Windows in Fort Worth

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:48 pm
    Get Startling Windows in Fort Worth From: markjaksion http://www.thermalwindowsdfw.com :- Windows are at the high priority for any home. Quality with eye-catching look is the top of the priority list. No one can predict that what kind of damages can take place if your windows are of poor quality.

  • Why Study at the Earth Savers Institute?

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:31 pm
    Why Study at the Earth Savers Institute? From: EarthSaversInstitute Old School Paper Cut-Out Stop Motion Video. Enjoy!

  • How to form a Green Team @ Work

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:29 pm
    How to form a Green Team @ Work From: EarthSaversInstitute Old School Paper Cut-Out Stop Motion Video. Enjoy!

  • What is a Vegetarian?

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:24 pm
    What is a Vegetarian? From: EarthSaversInstitute Old School Paper Cut-Out Stop Motion Video. Enjoy!
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    GreenITers Blog Posts

  • E-Book Readers: Make Your Own for Less

    William Smith
    Occasionally on Twitter, I've posted comments about the e-book readers currently on the market as being a joke, but it's hard to say precisely why I feel this way in 140 characters or less. In this blog post, it is my intention to explain why in a good bit more detail. It is also my intention to show a solution. First, to be fair to the concept of the e-book reader, the idea of being able to take a lot of books with you on a compact device is actually a pretty sound one. My problem lies, however, with the impressions that devices like Amazon's Kindle, Sony's E-Reader and Barnes & Noble's…

  • A Movement in the Making

    Julie
    I kayaked with a beluga whale. I saw a beaver in the wild. I climbed a sand dune. I could not have said that until a few weeks ago and the exhilaration of it spilled over to my blog - see posted about a week ago. I was truly awestruck and still am marveling that this was indeed my country - really, came at me from out of the blue. If anything, it's made me even more eco-conscious and a great advocate for eco-travel and conservation. Ironically, just as the thrill for the natural world subsides, my mood falls in to an abyss as word of wildlife destruction in the Gulf Coast starts to permeate…

  • Greening the World, One Step at a Time

    Julie
    If knowledge is power, then I think I've found the right group! For a long time, my concern for the environment has overwhelmed me, stemming mostly from my love for travel, natural landscapes, animals and clean air! Really though, I think most people are similar minded but just don't have an outlet for their thoughts, lack the money and knowledge to do anything about it and much like politics, feel that their voices aren't heard. Inspired by the great thinker's of the past and wanting to put my money where my mouth is - here I am and ready to learn more about how to adapt, adjust and change…

  • Power Addicts

    Gemma Percy
    I am not an expert or an environmentalist, I am just someone who wants to see climate change taken seriously. Without electricity my life grinds to a halt, my iPhone dies, my laptop beeps and the lights switch off. Sitting in the dark, my mind boggles about the scale on which we need power for everyday life, let alone progress. Slowly I start to see the magnitude of the problem we face. We are, and will continue to be, power addicts. As much as I need power, I crave clean power because, as a resident on this planet, I like my home and want it to stay the way it is. I recycle, turn off…

  • Are you?

    Flavio Souza
    Are you tired of searching through thousands of Apps just to find a few Eco ones? Tired of paying for every Eco App you tried on?Mobile phones have become excellent tools for not just making phone calls (which has become practically a secondary use of the devices) but also for going green. There are gads of applications you can download to your phone that provide tips, tricks, and planning for eco-friendly living. Moreover, Eco Friendly apps span serious programs that help you for example track your carbon footprint and monitor your energy consumption to altruistic entertainment that allows…
 
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    Mother Nature Network: Earth Matters News

  • Another global warming denier inches closer to Washington

    Andrew Schenkel, Guest Columnist
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:57 am
      As the final ballots are being counted and perhaps recounted in Alaska’s Republican Senate primary, it’s probably time to take a look at the man Alaskans are likely to send to U.S. Senate.    Joe Miller is endorsed by Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Laura Ingraham. If the bearded Alaskan ends up winning the primary, he will upset Sen.

  • Nigeria on cusp of 'demographic disaster'

    Super Admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:46 am
    Nigeria could become the fifth most populous country in the world, teetering on the edge of a "demographic disaster" unless its stagnant economy rapidly expands to support its teeming youth population, according to a report released Wednesday.   Estimates in the report by the British Council show Nigeria's population of 150 million people will swell by another 63 million people by 2050.   Nigeria will have a ready supply of workers into the future with more than 40 percent of the West African nation's younger than

  • Risks remain with Gulf well cap coming off

    Super Admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:36 am
    The image of thick crude gushing from a blown-out oil well a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico was turned off when a tightly fitting cap was secured on top a month-and-a-half ago.   Engineers weren't expecting that sight again Thursday when they planned to delicately remove the cap as a prelude to raising the massive piece of equipment underneath that failed to prevent the worst offshore oil spill in U.S.

  • Some dig in, others flee coast as Earl nears

    Super Admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:09 am
    Hurricane Earl blew toward the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday as a major storm with winds of around 145 mph as forecasters tried to pinpoint exactly how close the strongest gales and heaviest surge would get to North Carolina's fragile chain of barrier islands.   They also were trying to figure out whether the storm would stay offshore as it tracks up the Northeast coast or bring hurricane-force winds to

  • 4 questions to ask about the proposed eco-grades for cars

    Andrew Schenkel, Guest Columnist
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:05 am
      The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined forces with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in announcing a new idea calling for an energy-based, rating system for all new cars and light trucks.   In their joint press releases, the agencies acknowledged that for 30 years the EPA required millage estimates for both highway and city driving to be posted on the sale stickers fo
 
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    Mother Nature Network: Business

  • Sustainable building materials

    Steve Pollak
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:58 pm
    Sustainable building materials help lighten the footprint of any construction project.   Both residential and commercial developments benefit from using these environmental choices.

  • Two million smart meters installed

    Melissa Hincha-Ownby
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:29 am
    On Tuesday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that Recovery Act-funded smart grid projects have reached a new milestone – the installation of two million new smart meters.

  • What is sustainable construction?

    Steve Pollak
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:26 pm
    Sustainable construction brings together the principles of green building methods and eco-friendly values in a bid to lighten the environmental impact of residential and commercial structures.   The concept encompasses using resource-efficient construction methods for the design, construction, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction of buildings.   The U.S.

  • Watch: Partisan politics delaying the economic recovery

    Melissa Hincha-Ownby
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:48 am
    On Monday, President Obama asked for the partisan political games to stop because the tactic is delaying the nation's economic recovery.

  • LEED Gold for Sony Pictures

    Melissa Hincha-Ownby
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:39 am
    Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) doesn’t just make award-winning films, they also build award-winning office buildings. The company’s Lot and Office Transformation (LOT) Project in Culver City, Calif., has received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
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    Mother Nature Network: Technology

  • EcoloBlue extracts water from thin air

    Karl Burkart
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:57 pm
    Hi-tech Atmospheric Water Generator sucks humidity out of the air and purifies it for about 20 cents per gallon.

  • Apple event: Will Apple reinvent TV?

    Karl Burkart
    1 Sep 2010 | 5:21 pm
    The average American household (representing 66% of total households) has three televisions, at least one desktop computer and one laptop. What if one of these devices could do double duty as a Hi Def TV AND computer rolled into one?

  • New book looks at the ways language shapes how we think

    Katherine Butler
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:24 am
    For many years, experts believed language functioned as a sort of mind-shaper. Several decades ago, a chemical engineer moonlighting as an anthropology lecturer named Benjamin Lee Whorf claimed that language imposed a reality on the speaker’s mind that is different from our own. Despite a lack of evidence, Whorf’s theories were given credence until their exposure seriously discredited the study of language. For a time, the study of language took on a fringe element in academia.   But times have changed.

  • Apple's fall product launch

    Super Admin
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:16 am
    Apple Inc. is hosting a music-themed event Wednesday that is likely to yield updated iPods, though the company will not confirm any details.   Apple-watchers also speculate that the company could show off a new version of its Apple TV set-top box or add more music-discovery features to its iTunes music software.   Apple sent an e-mail invitation to members of the media last week with a photo of a guitar, and has unveiled new iPods at similarly timed eve

  • Warship blocks activists from protesting new Arctic oil development

    Karl Burkart
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:38 pm
    In case you haven't heard the news, Greenland is melting and fast, resulting in not one but two ironic twists.
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    Mother Nature Network: Food

  • Slow food recipes

    Jessica Leader
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:18 pm
    One of the healthiest fads to hit the restaurant scene of late, slow food is a new focus on sustainable, organic and local eating.   Slow foods are healthy and delicious. They are not only good for the environment, but are easy on the wallet as well.   And, with great movements come great minds. It is a new generation of eco-friendly chefs that make eating healthy the same as eating well.

  • Seasonal recipe: Pumpkin spice cookies

    Robin Shreeves
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:39 am
    Pumpkin Spice Cookies   I had it in my mind that I wanted this week’s seasonal recipe to something fallish and something to stick in a lunch box in honor of back to school. Yesterday, when I went to check my RSS feed the perfect recipe jumped right out at me.

  • Salvaging of shipwrecked champagne begins in Baltic Sea

    Super Admin
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:13 am
    Work to salvage around 70 bottles of two-century-old champagne found in a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic Sea has begun, an official of the autonomous Finnish Aaland islands said Tuesday.   "Taking everything into account it seems that we are currently salvaging the oldest champagne in the world," Rainer Juslin, the permanent secretary of the Aaland government's education and culture ministry, said in a statement.   "The bottles, whic

  • 7 safety tips for bagged lunches

    Robin Shreeves
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    Packing your kids lunches for school is one way to make sure that they are eating the foods you want them to eat. It’s good to pack a nutritious, waste-free lunch, but it’s even better to make sure that the lunch is safe from anything that might make your kids sick.

  • America chooses its favorite farmers markets

    Robin Shreeves
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:01 am
    The votes have been counted, and Americans have voted for their favorite farmers markets in American Farmland Trust’s Favorite Farmers Market contest.
 
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    Mother Nature Network: Transportation

  • The economy is driving down hybrid sales

    Melissa Hincha-Ownby
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:38 am
    The nation’s economy is shaky, at best. Millions of Americans are unemployed or left to wonder if their homes will ever regain the value they lost when the housing bubble burst. The unsteady state of the economy is forcing American consumers to think hard about their buying choices and the auto industry, including the hybrid market, is being hit hard.   Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.

  • Opportunity Green 2010 in Los Angeles

    Melissa Hincha-Ownby
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:07 am
     

  • Motivational speaker likes the Nissan Leaf so much he's now a car salesman

    Jim Motavalli
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:27 am
      Longtime electric vehicle advocate Paul Scott, vice president of California-based Plug-In America, likes the Nissan Leaf so much that … well, he decided to start selling them. Wanna buy an electric car? Paul has a deal for you.   It’s pretty unusual for nonprofit environmental guys to actually put their money where their mouth is. They’re more likely to bash corporations than to go to work for one.

  • Updated car stickers to include environmental info

    Super Admin
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:45 am
    Will your new car get an A in fuel efficiency?

  • Cars stickers may display an environmental grade

    Melissa Hincha-Ownby
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:42 pm
    The FuelEconomy.gov website allows consumers to research the fuel economy and environmental impacts of the majority of vehicles available today. However, not all consumers take the time to research a vehicle online and instead rely on what the sticker says.   While the car sticker reveals information about the vehicle’s fuel efficiency, environmental impact data is not readily available. If proposed changes from the U.S.
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    Mother Nature Network: Lifestyle

  • Men who don't ask for directions waste $3,000

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:43 am
    Do you already own a fuel-efficient car — that you vigilantly hypermile to save gas and money? Then I hope you know where you’re going, because driving lost in a greener car is still a big waste of fuel.

  • Super-sized is the new normal

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:35 am
    Do you love Chipotle’s organic chicken burritos? Guess how many calories the total meal has. If you guessed a reasonable 300, you’re right — assuming you’re referring just to the organic tortilla! Eat the chicken and the rest of the tasty innards of the burrito, and you’ll have consumed 970 calories!

  • Emmy gifting suites: Going green and giving back

    Gerri Miller
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:28 pm
      Editor's note: This week's Ecollywood column was so long, we split it into two.

  • Ted Danson takes on role of evil oil man

    Michael d'Estries
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:27 pm
    Ted Danson is known for his ocean conservation efforts in the real world, but he's about to take on a much different role for his next film.   The actor has been confirmed for the upcoming movie "Everybody Loves Whales" (also known as "Whales") which tells the true story of efforts in 1988 to rescue three grey whales trapped under ice in the Arctic circle.   Danson will play an oilman with absolutely no interest in saving the giant mammals — which must have been an appealing polar opposite to his real life

  • Ecollywood: Our weekly celebrity column

    Gerri Miller
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:14 pm
      Editor's note: This week's Ecollywood column was so long, we split it into two.
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    Mother Nature Network: Shea Gunther

  • Senate Republicans block BP investigation

    Shea Gunther
    27 Aug 2010 | 2:01 pm
    The U.S. House of Representatives voted 420-1 to give the presidential commission investigating the BP oil spill full subpoena power. In the Senate the move was blocked by Republicans. I wouldn't be surprised if the Republicans colluded behind the scenes with the Senators agreeing to block the measure to give their House colleagues political cover to vote for it (Senators, serving six year terms, have much less to worry about when it comes to re-election).   Check out the proceedings.

  • Vladimir Putin shoots a whale

    Shea Gunther
    27 Aug 2010 | 9:58 am
    Vladimir Putin lives a pretty sweet life. The Russian prime minister spends a lot of time touring around his massive country pulling off publicity stunts staged to make him look tough and heroic. He dabbles a lot in the '"man vs.

  • Link drop: Bears, billionaires, and British Petroleum

    Shea Gunther
    26 Aug 2010 | 2:30 pm
    Happy almost-weekend!   Here are some good links you should be reading.   • Don't be fooled by BP's PR department (aka the U.S. government), there's still a lot of oil left in the gulf.
 
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    Mother Nature Network: Matt Hickman

  • Where's the green in the Oval Office makeover?

    Matt Hickman
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:03 pm
    One of this year’s biggest interior design stories, the decorative revamp of the Oval Office, hit the wires yesterday and, naturally, inquiring eco-minds what to know how sustainable design elements played into the redesign, if at all.   From what I’ve seen, the Oval Office’s decorative facelift is, for lack of a better word, safe.

  • Arcade Fire rocks the suburbs

    Matt Hickman
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:28 am
    I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of often bombastic alt-rock darlings, Arcade Fire.

  • Asheville's hippie-less hemp house

    Matt Hickman
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:08 am
    Please, hold your “green” house jokes for a moment to take a look at a beautiful and efficient home in Asheville, N.C., that’s built from hemp.

  • The Baja: A waterless urination station

    Matt Hickman
    31 Aug 2010 | 1:09 am
    Let’s cut to the chase and start off with the big question: would you ever install a urinal in your home?   Although I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a private residence that sports a urinal (I’ve seen a few bidets here and there but, then again, they can add a dose of “continental sophistication” whereas urinals can't)  but I don’t think the idea isn’t all too shabby, especially in dude-heavy households. Add water conservation to the mix and I think it’s golden.

  • Julia Russell: LA's pioneering Eco-Homesteader

    Matt Hickman
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:42 pm
    This past weekend, The Los Angeles Times published an insightful, inspiring profile on a pioneer in the green home movement who I was previously unfamiliar with: Julia Russell of the Eco-Home Network.    In 1988, Russell opened her
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    Mother Nature Network: Jenn Savedge

  • Discovery channel gunman's militant manifesto

    Jenn Savedge
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:49 am
    By now, you've probably read the news story about James J. Lee's standoff at the Discovery Channel yesterday.

  • 4 crafts for Rosh Hashana

    Jenn Savedge
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:22 pm
    Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is right around the corner, beginning at sunset on September 8th this year.

  • Farmer trading cards

    Jenn Savedge
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:59 am
    Here's a cool idea from the folks behind Rhode Island's Farm to School program: Farmer trading cards. They're wallet-sized cards that kids can print out and trade with friends while learning about their favorite farmers. They can even bring the cards along on their next visit to have the cards signed by the famous farmer.   Each double-sided card has a picture of the farmer on the front along with the farmer's bio and "stats" (equipment, acres, pets, and farm animals) on the back.

  • Another BP spill sickens kids in Texas

    Jenn Savedge
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:36 pm
    We've all had our eyes focused on the Gulf for some time now — so much so that we might be missing disasters happening in our own backyards.   That's just what happened to families in Texas City, Texas, who found out about another toxic BP spill that occurred in their neighborhood after a piece of equipment critical to the refinery’s operation broke down, releasing a total of 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals, including the carcinogen

  • Go bald for charity

    Jenn Savedge
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:35 am
    How far would you go to raise money for a good cause? If you're willing to shave your head (for real or virtually) you could raise some serious change for DoSomething.org, an organization that encourages volunteerism in young people.     BIC 4 GOOD is encouraging people to shave their heads for charity, and they're offering a number of ways to do it ... depending upon how far you're willing to go.
 
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    Mother Nature Network: News Roundup

  • Daily Briefing: Thurs.

    Russell McLendon
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:23 am
    EARL NEXT DOOR: The Outer Banks of North Carolina are eerily calm and breezy this morning, but that tranquility is expected to slowly crumble throughout the day, the National Hurricane Center warns, as the monstrous Hurricane Earl approaches the coast.

  • Daily Briefing: Wed.

    Russell McLendon
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:41 am
    EARL POWER: Hurricane Earl weakened to a Category 3 storm early this morning, but forecasters warn it's still a powerful hurricane that could wreak havoc along the U.S. East Coast well into Labor Day weekend.

  • Daily Briefing: Tues.

    Russell McLendon
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:43 am
    SLEEP TIGHT: Beds across America are under attack from tiny, blood-sucking bugs, but as the Science Times and the AP report today, no one is really sure why. Bedbugs are "nest parasites" that have preyed on people ever since we lived in caves, and they were common in U.S.

  • Daily Briefing: Mon.

    Russell McLendon
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:53 am
    TILL DEPTH DO US PART: The 2010 Gulf oil spill may have been the largest such disaster in history, and hobbled BP's race to the frontiers of oil exploration, but it was only a speed bump for the industry overall, the New York Times and Guardian report today.

  • Weekend Briefing

    Russell McLendon
    27 Aug 2010 | 9:09 am
    FIVE YEARS LATER: The crisis-weary Gulf Coast reflects this weekend on a tragedy even more painful than the BP oil spill — five years ago on Sunday, Hurricane Katrina careened into southeastern Louisiana, flooding New Orleans and triggering one of the most horrific episodes in American history.
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    Mother Nature Network: Karl Burkart

  • EcoloBlue extracts water from thin air

    Karl Burkart
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:57 pm
    Hi-tech Atmospheric Water Generator sucks humidity out of the air and purifies it for about 20 cents per gallon.

  • Apple event: Will Apple reinvent TV?

    Karl Burkart
    1 Sep 2010 | 5:21 pm
    The average American household (representing 66% of total households) has three televisions, at least one desktop computer and one laptop. What if one of these devices could do double duty as a Hi Def TV AND computer rolled into one?

  • Warship blocks activists from protesting new Arctic oil development

    Karl Burkart
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:38 pm
    In case you haven't heard the news, Greenland is melting and fast, resulting in not one but two ironic twists.

  • Hype builds around mysterious Bloom Box

    Karl Burkart
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:55 am
    After a recent 60 Minutes airing about Bloom Energy, California-based Bloom Energy is receiving a new wave of hype around its flagship SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell). Both Google and Ebay have purchased the "mini power plants in a box" and are banking on the units as a way to ensure a steady stream of greener, cleaner power.

  • Greenpeace hosts independent study of the Gulf

    Karl Burkart
    29 Aug 2010 | 6:04 pm
    Greenpeace will give teams of scientists direct access to study the long-term effects of the Gulf oil spill on marine ecosystems.
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    Mother Nature Network: Robin Shreeves

  • Seasonal recipe: Pumpkin spice cookies

    Robin Shreeves
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:39 am
    Pumpkin Spice Cookies   I had it in my mind that I wanted this week’s seasonal recipe to something fallish and something to stick in a lunch box in honor of back to school. Yesterday, when I went to check my RSS feed the perfect recipe jumped right out at me.

  • 7 safety tips for bagged lunches

    Robin Shreeves
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    Packing your kids lunches for school is one way to make sure that they are eating the foods you want them to eat. It’s good to pack a nutritious, waste-free lunch, but it’s even better to make sure that the lunch is safe from anything that might make your kids sick.

  • America chooses its favorite farmers markets

    Robin Shreeves
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:01 am
    The votes have been counted, and Americans have voted for their favorite farmers markets in American Farmland Trust’s Favorite Farmers Market contest.

  • Gourmet magazine refuses to die

    Robin Shreeves
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:29 am
    First, I told you that “Gourmet” magazine was going to be no more. Last year, Conde Nast decided to quit publishing the respected food and wine magazine.

  • Eco-friendlier wines for Labor Day

    Robin Shreeves
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:34 am
    I have reviewed a few wines in alternative packaging, but I’ve never bought alternatively packaged wine before. My husband came home with a box of Shiraz about a week ago because he thought it was time we gave it a shot. While I won’t be buying that particular box again because I didn’t like it, I do realize that the quality of some boxed wines have come a long way. I’m willing to try some more.   CNN did a piece on reasonably priced wines in boxes and Tetra Paks for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
 
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    Mother Nature Network: Siel Ju

  • Men who don't ask for directions waste $3,000

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:43 am
    Do you already own a fuel-efficient car — that you vigilantly hypermile to save gas and money? Then I hope you know where you’re going, because driving lost in a greener car is still a big waste of fuel.

  • Super-sized is the new normal

    Siel Ju
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:35 am
    Do you love Chipotle’s organic chicken burritos? Guess how many calories the total meal has. If you guessed a reasonable 300, you’re right — assuming you’re referring just to the organic tortilla! Eat the chicken and the rest of the tasty innards of the burrito, and you’ll have consumed 970 calories!

  • A fun way to rage against plastic waste

    Siel Ju
    31 Aug 2010 | 1:53 pm
    While green Californians wait with bated breath to find out if their state Senate will vote to ban disposable plastic bags, one Californian is urging all to say no — not just to the bags but to all single-use items.

  • McDonald's Happy Meal defies time

    Siel Ju
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:44 am
    If a lack of options forced you into McDonald’s during a road trip, you may have had the experience of discovering a remarkably intact and pristine-looking French fry while cleaning out your car months later.

  • 'No More Dirty Looks'

    Siel Ju
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:53 am
    Related on MNN: 11 beauty products that might be killing you   Want to make living green look good — by looking good? A new book by two cool green girls promises to hottify you, eco-style.
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    Mother Nature Network: All Videos

  • Shooting reported at Discovery TV offices

    MNN User
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:14 pm
    Video: Maryland police report a shooting has taken place in the lobby of the Discovery Communications building, and hostages are being held by a man with an environmental agenda.

  • Ecollywood: Doctors' orders

    Ashley Chase
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:53 pm
    Doctors know best, and these "doctors" — James Pickens, Jr. and Sarah Drew from "Grey's Anatomy," Olivia Wilde from "House" and Paul Adelstein from "Private Practice" — say go green. (Gerri Miller)   [[transcript]]

  • FDA finds foul conditions at egg farms

    MNN User
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:08 am
    Video: Two new FDA reports detail “stomach-churning” conditions, including contamination and dilapidated structures, at two of the nation’s biggest egg producers.

  • The future of farming

    OnEarth magazine
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:44 pm
     

  • Bloom Box could revolutionize energy

    MNN User
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:41 pm
    Video: More and more companies are investing in green technology. One of the rising stars is Bloom Energy, which is providing solid oxide fuel cell technology and products for distributed electricity and hydrogen generation.
 
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    Merry Microfiber Blog

  • Sparkling Clean Windows!

    admin
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:51 am
    photo credit: Kristoffer M.C. Do you have a problem with getting your windows sparkling clean and streak free? Have you ever washed your windows thinking you had them sparkling clean; only to discover, that when the sun came around, they were still streaked. I have lots of times, till I found microfiber cloths and towels. Other tips I have used before microfiber towels are: Using newspapers to dry the windows with, but that left you with carbon on your hands from the print on the paper. Using a little vinegar in the water helps to cut dirt and grime. Wiping the inside of the windows in one…

  • Redneck Sprinkler!

    admin
    24 Aug 2010 | 11:53 am
    I got this idea from an email with “redneck” solutions! If you are in need of a sprinkler, and got a pop bottle or a plastic drink bottle available, just poke some holes in it, connect it to your garden hose and “wha la” you have yourself a cheap sprinkler. If it gets crushed or some creatures decide to chew on it, (as it happens at our house) then just make yourself another.

  • Got A Swiffer – Save Money With A Microfiber Cloth!

    admin
    19 Aug 2010 | 8:22 pm
    Do you have a “Swiffer” or Pledge Sweeper? Are you tired of having to buy cloths to use on them? Are you looking for a better alternative? Try a microfiber cloth instead! Just place a 16 x 16 all purpose microfiber cleaning cloth around the head, pushing the ends into the holes on the top of the sweeper, and dust away. When full of dirt, remove and shake out; when finished just wash in your regular laundry or rinse out in detergent and hot water. Need to mop the floor, just wet the cloth in hot water and mop up those dirty spots. Works great on all hard surface floors. Got a…

  • Recycle Those Plastic Cards!

    admin
    16 Aug 2010 | 11:27 am
    photo credit: TheTruthAbout… When a debit card or credit card is expired – what to do with it? If you throw them in the garbage, make sure you cut them up into little pieces first, so no one can get your information. Or you could recycle them into useful items. My husband has cut up old credit cards and old drivers licenses into pics for his dulcimer. He has a difficult time getting dulcimer pics so he makes his own, and these cards seem to give him the right stiffness in a pic for playing. Other ideas from Mary Cheapskate’s 6-15-10 newsletter were from 8 crafty ways to…

  • Easier Cleanup with Microfiber!

    admin
    12 Aug 2010 | 2:03 pm
    In the wee hours of the morning, yesterday, we got a deluge of rain. We got 4.8 inches of rain, and someone that lives about 8 miles from us, said it came in about one hour. That was allot of rain to come in such a short period of time. We had water coming into our basement in places it never had come in before. I think it was coming so fast that it just didn’t have a chance to “run” away and it was “looking” for a place to go. The basement of our house was built in 1948 and it cement blocks. I have worked on caulking and sealing the walls with a sealing caulk…
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    Compass

  • New Report Reveals Widespread Toxic Coal Ash Contamination

    Heather Moyer
    27 Aug 2010 | 6:45 am
    This is the weekly blog post from Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. Power industry lobbyist Jim Roewer: "Wasn't a problem."Leslie Stahl: "Well, it was a problem, but we just didn't know it."This excerpt from a recent 60 Minutes story on toxic coal waste sums up the current trouble with the millions of tons of toxic ash left over each year from burning coal for energy. While scientists and experts know, and have known for years that coal ash is full of harmful pollution that can cause cancer and other serious…

  • The Reign of King Coal is Ending

    Heather Moyer
    17 Aug 2010 | 5:01 pm
    This is the weekly blog post from Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. Contrary to the impression you may have been left with after reading a recent Associated Press piece about the future (or lack thereof) of coal in this country, the reign of “King Coal” is ending. Though the AP piece makes some good points (specifically, noting that “the process [for producing electricity from coal] has changed little since Thomas Edison built the first plant in 1882” and that even after $3.4 billion in stimulus spending, there is currently “no way of capturing…

  • Thousands of Sierra Clubbers Demand U.S. Bank to Stop Coal Abroad

    The Sierra Club
    13 Aug 2010 | 1:12 pm
    7,769 Sierra Club members told the Export-Import Bank that instead of financing dirty power projects abroad, it should be positioning U.S. companies to lead in a competitive clean technology market that can create thousands more jobs in the US. These comments were directed at the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Kusile coal-fired power plant proposed by the South African Utility. By Justin Guay At nearly 5,000 megawatts of output, the Kusile plant would be one of the largest dirty-coal plants in the world, and would be one of the single largest point sources of climate disrupting…

  • Clean Energy News of Note

    Heather Moyer
    11 Aug 2010 | 11:06 am
    It's the summer doldrums, but there's still been a lot of clean energy and dirty energy news hitting the wires out there. Here are some highlights.First up we have a NY Times article about using "brownfields" as clean energy sites in California - meaning using dried up farmland as good siting for solar power projects. From the article:Unlike some renewable energy projects blocked by objections that they would despoil the landscape, this one has the support of environmentalists.The San Joaquin initiative is in the vanguard of a new approach to locating renewable energy…

  • Burning Coal + Hot Days = Unhealthy Air Warnings

    Heather Moyer
    10 Aug 2010 | 10:26 am
    This is the weekly blog post from Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign. Yesterday and today are code orange unhealthy air alert days in the Washington, DC, region where I live. The 95+ degree temperatures and excessive ground-level ozone create extremely unhealthy air – especially for kids, senior citizens, and people with pre-existing health conditions.These aren't the first days this summer where we've had these warnings, and I know that the Washington, DC, region is not alone in its unhealthy air warnings. Temperatures are soaring across the U.S. - and…
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    The Green Life, from the Sierra Club

  • No Impact Week: Energy

    The Sierra Club
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:01 am
    No Impact Man, a.k.a. Colin Beavan, took a yearlong vow to live a zero-waste lifestyle in New York City. The experiment inspired a blog, a book, a film - and others to embrace green habits. This week's tips will help you try a one-week carbon cleanse. Sign up here to share the results of your own No Impact Project. Tip #4: Unplug Appliances If you can't buy green power in your state, look for ways to reduce your energy consumption. Instead of relying on electrical appliances this week, you might hang laundry to dry on a clothesline or trade TV time for a family game…

  • Daily Roundup: September 1, 2010

    The Sierra Club
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:01 pm
    Case of the Munchies: Canadian authorities will spare the lives of at least 17 black bears that were repeatedly fed dog food by marijuana farmers. The bears, discovered during a drug bust, will be fed until winter hibernation, which officials hope will disrupt their dog-food habit. Montreal Gazette and AFP Eco-Extreme: A population-control activist took hostages at the Discovery Channel's Maryland headquarters, then was shot and killed. CNN and MSNBC Cove Continued: Japan's annual dolphin hunt began today in Taiji. Ecorazzi Just Say No: The Bahamas suspended the…

  • Outdoor Ed: Classes in Which No One Ever Struggles to Stay Awake

    The Sierra Club
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:01 pm
    Backpacking trips, gear-loan programs, and rock-climbing walls are common college offerings nowadays. But these schools take nature-based extracurriculars to a whole new altitude. From left: courtesy of UCSD, courtesy of Andrew Dreher, Montana River Photography The Outdoor Program at the University of Montana trains students to become certified rafting guides as part of their undergraduate education. During a weeklong course, recruits negotiate the Blackfoot and Clark Fork Rivers' abundant rapids. The certification includes wilderness first aid, boat rigging, and river-rescue skills. The…

  • Book Roundup Wednesday: National Parks

    Green Life
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:01 pm
    Every Wednesday, we review a selection of new and upcoming books addressing a specific aspect of environmentalism. This week, we're recommending books about national parks. National Parks: The American Experience, 4th Edition (by Alfred Runte, $26, Taylor Trade Publishing, Mar. 2010) Runte, a prominent environmental historian, argues that America's national parks were not established for purposes of environmental protection but from a rising sense of nationalism. His book, an engaging and enlightening history of national park development,…

  • No Impact Week: Food

    The Sierra Club
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:01 am
    No Impact Man, a.k.a. Colin Beavan, took a yearlong vow to live a zero-waste lifestyle in New York City. The experiment inspired a blog, a book, a film - and others to embrace green habits. This week's tips will help you try a one-week carbon cleanse. Sign up here to share the results of your own No Impact Project. Tip #3: Eat Locally and Seasonally By making just a few dietary changes, you can lower your carbon "foodprint." Avoid packaged, processed foods and opt instead for locally grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Raising livestock for food is…
 
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    DeSmogBlog

  • The Uneven Energy Playing Field and the Spindoctors who Ignore it

    Kevin Grandia
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:48 pm
    There has been a recent surge in articles from fossil-fuel friendly sources pointing to the inequity of tax credits and government subsidies being directed to the renewable energy sector.  The latest is by Alan Caruba writing on the industry-backed CFACT website bemoaning a $7 million investment in a wind project in New Jersey.  What Caruba and others fail to mention in their argument is that the fossil fuel industry - the main competitor to the renewable energy sector - receives more than ten times as much in government subsidies globally. A recent report by Bloomberg New Finance…

  • Washington Post Editorial Slams Ken Cuccinelli "Embarrassing" Witch Hunt Against Climate Scientist

    Brendan DeMelle
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:53 am
    ken_cuccinelli_370x278.jpeg The Washington Post penned an excellent editorial yesterday deriding Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's political attack against climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann, a former UVA professor whom Cuccinelli has targeted in a witch hunt.  The Post editorial notes that "the overblown critique of climate science that emerged early this year continues to underwhelm," citing several examples of the recent rash of politically-motivated attacks on climate science, including the much-ado-about-nothing 'Climategate' episode last winter, the repeated attacks…

  • On Factual Literacy and Media Responsibility In The Age Of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh

    Jim Hoggan
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:05 pm
    This New York Times online editorial last week by Tim Egan, "Building a Nation of Know-Nothings," says a lot about the need for literacy, respect for facts and rational thought all being important building blocks for democracy.  Egan notes the "astonishing level of willful ignorance" evident among the public, thanks to the lies and distortions put forward "largely by design" by Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, "aided by a press afraid to call out the primary architects of the lies." Egan correctly points out that this pattern is all too often seen on the subject of global…

  • Clean energy drowned out in Washington by a Two Billion Dollar Juggernaut

    Kevin Grandia
    31 Aug 2010 | 10:01 am
    capitol coal.JPG Red State bloggers are all in a tizzy over an Open Secrets article showing that the American Wind Energy Association spent over $5 million last year on lobbying politicians in Washington, DC. It's about time we started seeing the clean energy sector make its voice heard on Capitol Hill and I hope we see more people pushing lawmakers to consider legislation that promotes the use of clean and unlimited sources of energy like the sun and the wind. But the hair-pulling by Red State bloggers is more than a little ridiculous when you consider that the American Wind Energy…

  • Bjorn Lomborg Now Says Climate Change “Chief Concern,” Calls for Carbon Tax

    Brendan DeMelle
    30 Aug 2010 | 4:02 pm
    bjorn-lomborg.jpeg   The Guardian reports today that long-time global warming contrarian Bjorn Lomborg has changed his tune a bit, and now acknowledges that climate change is "a challenge humanity must confront."  In an interview with the paper, Lomborg calls for a carbon tax and a $100 billion annual investment in clean technologies and other solutions to climate disruption.  Lomborg has never been among the outright climate deniers, acknowledging repeatedly over the years that he accepts the science confirming manmade global warming.  But until now he has downplayed…
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    Celebrate Green

  • Glass belt buckles made with wind power

    Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:06 pm
    by Lynn and Corey Even though we’re not big shoppers, we love going to trade and craft shows where we discover clever or new-to-us ideas by people who are moving toward sustainability. Last year, at one show, we came such a company, Namaste Glass. Loved the name and loved that they are making glass items on their property in rural Cottage Grove, OR, where their house and studio are powered 100% by the wind. When we spied their gorgeous belt buckles from across an aisle, we were literally stopped in our tracks. They are literally show stoppers! Co-owner, Holly Carrigan told us,…

  • Nothing to wear, nothing to wear

    Lynn
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:36 pm
    by Lynn Watch out! I’m on my soapbox today! I’m 65 years old and delighted to be alive. Unfortunately, many friends didn’t make it this far, so I refuse to complain–much. But something has me a bit upset lately. It’s the lack of eco-friendly styles and clothing for women of a certain age and accompanying–normal, if Reubenesque–OK round–shape. I’m not a clothes horse and in fact, really dislike shopping, but I do need to cover myself up lest I cause a scene when I occasionally venture out in public. Over the last five years, eco-friendlier…

  • My version of Eggplant Napoleon

    RobinS
    26 Aug 2010 | 7:37 pm
    Organic eggplant in my garden used to make this dish. If you don't have eggplant or tomatoes in a garden, hit the local farmers market for fresh, sustainable vegetables. Both eggplant and tomatoes are in abundance at the end of summer. Last summer, I threw this dish together one night and it was a  hit. What I didn’t know was that the ingredients are basically what are used to make a dish called Eggplant Napoleon. This summer, I’ve been seeing various recipes for Eggplant Napoleon all over the place. I think my version is a little easier than most of the ones I have seen.

  • I’m a bagaholic-Part 3

    Lynn
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:11 pm
    This standing up in front of the world and admitting my addiction to shopping bags has proved to be therapeutic in many ways, but mostly because fellow bagaholics have come out of the woodwork! Thanks to all of you who read posts 1 or 2 in this series and along with me, admit that you simply cannot stop saying “yes” to reusable bags. As troubling as the addiction may be, at least we’re not addicted to plastic! In Part 2 of this series, I talked about how much I crave bag systems and reviewed Blue Avocado bags. (By the way, if you’re reading this before August 31, 2010,…

  • The best way to make baked potatoes in the summer

    admin
    19 Aug 2010 | 12:27 pm
    I am still on my slow cooker in the summer kick. If you remember a few weeks ago, I shared with you a recipe for Slow Cooker French Dip that my family loves. The slow cooker is on right now making something for tonight’s dinner, but that’s not what I’m going to tell you about today. Today I want to tell you that you can make baked potatoes in the slow cooker. I never have baked potatoes in the summer because of the amount of time they take in the oven. I don’t want my oven blasting away at 400 degrees for over an hour on a late summer afternoon. Remember, not only does…
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    G Living

  • The End Of Gourmet, The Demise Of An Old Friend, And My Shattered Heart

    Sarma Melngailis
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:00 am
    Looking back at the demise of something so dear to my heart. I wrote this post last year as the end was blaring out of the TV, but something this big this important should be shouted from the roof tops, so here is my tribute to not just a magazine, but to an old friend, [...] Read the full story on gliving.com

  • The MMM Purple Pea Caviar With Fresh Flax Corn Bread By GreenChef Callie England

    Callie England
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:09 am
    Photography Callie England I’d be totally lying if I said I weren’t a sucker for anything colored pink or purple. Which is why, when I came across these purple hull peas at the market, I couldn’t resist the splurge! The price was high, and I had no clue what I was going to do with [...] Read the full story on gliving.com

  • The Insanely Tasty Green Mountain Parfait By GreenChefs Golubka

    Golubka
    29 Aug 2010 | 10:00 pm
    Photography Golubka Parfait is a wonderful thing. It allows those of us who find boredom in single-flavour desserts to enjoy many tastes and textures elegantly layered in one tall glass. This one was inspired by Japanese parfaits, in which the most peculiar colours and foods are combined to make... Read the full story on gliving.com

  • The Oh So Luxury Moss Mat

    Inaia
    29 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    I love a beautiful G bathroom where I can treat myself to some private, personal, spa- like luxury and nothing would go better in my dream bathroom than designer La Chanh Nguyen’s live Moss Carpet. My feet would feel worshiped if greeted by this beautiful patch of living moss after a nice bath. The... Read the full story on gliving.com

  • A New Sort Of Speakeasy: Kombucha Culture and Backroom Brewing

    Sayward Rebhal
    28 Aug 2010 | 8:21 am
    Photographer: Sayward Rebhal Lindsay Lohan was spotted swilling it, and soon everyone and their damned Chihuahua was talking about that strange, stinky tea called kombucha. But before you could say ‘fermented mucous blob’, the potion was pulled from the shelves of every Whole Foods and health food... Read the full story on gliving.com
 
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    Tiny Choices

  • Bottled Water While Travelling

    Jenn
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:00 am
    We certainly don’t have to repeat this: Team Tiny Choices is very anti-bottled water.  But during my recent travels in Central America, I drank more of the stuff than I care to admit– and this was also the case when I visited India last year. It nearly killed me, buying so much of the stuff, but the option might very well have actually killed me.  It’s easy for my NYC-dwelling-self to forget that most of the worlds’ population does not have access to clean drinking water.  And while this is a sad but true statistic while I’m at home, once I put myself on the…

  • 100+mpg car

    Karina
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:00 am
    Have you all heard about this? The Avion is a car which was prototyped in the 80s, and which is super efficient and designed to get over 100 miles per gallon. And there’s a guy who is driving one from Mexico to California! As they say: “In our testing the car we were able to achieve 80 mpg At 70 mph and an astonishing 114 mpg at 55 mph driving from Eugene OR. To Portland OR.” Wow! that’s great! There’s a news story here, they started driving down this weekend. Now, I look at this car and think a few things: 1. what a geat commuter! 2. with a lightweight vehicle…

  • Surfboard & Snowboard Wax: Oops…

    Jenn
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    I recently picked up a new obsession/hobby (it’s a fine line): surfing.  Add this to my love of snowboarding and nordic skiing, and I’ve now got three board sports to participate in during two seasons of the year.  Lucky me! All three of these pursuits have one main thing in common: it’s necessary to apply specialized & highly engineered wax to boards/skis.  For skis & snowboards, the wax allows the planks to glide smoothly over snow, and wax on a surfboard gives the rider enough traction to stand and maneuver.  In both circumstances, the wax gets rubbed off and…

  • Recycling Aerosol Cans

    Karina
    30 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    I just got back from a beach vacation, and as a redhead with fair skinwhile I have a lot of things to say about sunblock in general, I will say this: it is much easier to keep the little kids protected from sunburn by using aerosol cans of sunblock spray instead of subjecting them to lotion lotion lotion. So of course, after making that decision I found myself where Jenn and I often do - wondering if it was the right choice, and even if it wasn’t, how I could make it better. First I refreshed myself on why we all generally steer away from aerosol cans. I mean - they’re made of…

  • Easy Peasy Tip: Use a Dish rag!

    tinychoices
    28 Aug 2010 | 3:00 am
    Here’s an old fashioned tip - use a dish rag in the kitchen! Sponges are convenient and effective, but they’re also disposable and sometimes have lots of plastic involved. Even the eco-friendly sponges are still something that must be bought frequently. So how about moving back to a tried and true technology that our grandparents used? Get some dish rags to use! you can make your own easily (especially if you crochet or knit) or buy them, and the key seems to be to have one that is not too big, because it will be overly swishy and in the way when you wash dishes. Have several on…
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    Jamble Magazine

  • Marine animals suggest evidence for a Trans-Antarctic seaway

    Admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:34 am
    Environmental News Network: A tiny marine filter-feeder, that anchors itself to the sea bed, offers new clues to scientists studying the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet — a region that is thought to be vulnerable to collapse. As part of a study for the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) analysed sea-bed colonies of bryozoans from coastal and deep sea regions around the continent and from further afield. They found striking similarities in particular species of bryozoans living on the continental shelves of two seas —…

  • NOAA Reopens More than 4,000 Square Miles of Closed Gulf Fishing Area

    Admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:34 am
    Environmental News Network: Today NOAA reopened 4,281 square miles of Gulf waters off western Louisiana to commercial and recreational fishing. The reopening was announced after consultation with FDA and under a re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states. On July 18, NOAA data showed no oil in the area. Light sheen was observed on July 29, but none since. Trajectory models show the area is at a low risk for future exposure to oil, and fish caught in the area and tested by NOAA experts have shown no signs of contamination. “Scientists, food safety experts,…

  • Indonesian Volcanos

    Admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:34 am
    Environmental News Network: The geography of Indonesia is dominated by volcanoes that are formed due to subduction zones between the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate. Some of the volcanoes are notable for their eruptions, for instance, Krakatau for its global effects in 1883, Lake Toba for its supervolcanic eruption estimated to have occurred 74,000 Before Present which was responsible for several years of cold of volcanic winter, and Mount Tambora for the most violent eruption in recorded history in 1815. Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung has recently erupted, two days after it…
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    CTN GREEN NEWS

  • Phoenix Grabs stage at Lollapalooza

    editor
    24 Aug 2010 | 2:19 pm
    Every year at Lollapalooza there are always great alternative bands that headline the Budweiser stage. Phoenix, a band who has been present in the alternative scene for about ten years, was welcomed to headline the stage this year on Saturday night. Their ambient music was a nice counterpart to the opposing band, Green Day,  playing a few hundred yards across the park. Before their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their fan base in America included french following indie trendsetters, but with their latest album, their sound and lyricism has expanded. Now they have are one of the…

  • Phoenix grabs stage at Lollapalooza

    editor
    24 Aug 2010 | 2:14 pm
    Every year at Lollapalooza there are always great alternative bands that headline the Budweiser stage. Phoenix, a band who has been present in the alternative scene for about ten years, was welcomed to headline the stage this year on Saturday night. Their ambient music was a nice counterpart to the opposing band, Green Day,  playing a few hundred yards across the park. Before their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their fan base in America included french following indie trendsetters, but with their latest album, their sound and lyricism has expanded. Now they have are one of the most…

  • Lady Gaga Hits Main Stage at Lollapalooza

    editor
    24 Aug 2010 | 2:07 pm
    Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady Gaga on stage,  raised the bar this year at Lollapalooza 2010 as one of the most extravagant performers to date. Her costumes were monstrous and fantastical, and with a $150,000 production cost, it was expected that the show would melt faces. Even with minor sound issues, her message to fans was clear: little monsters be free! Be different! But these minute long pep talks cut into the flow of the show and the her little monsters lost their momentum. She kept reflecting on how she was picked on and neglected, and wants to tell those in…

  • Lollapalooza 2010

    Robin
    24 Aug 2010 | 2:01 pm
    If it’s August, and you’re in Chicago, you know it’s hot. If you’re in Grant Park between Friday and Sunday, it’s even hotter. And bigger, too. This year’s Lollapalooza, Chi-town’s biggest annual music festival, has clearly evolved into a massive, well-oiled machine, welcoming near 100,000 music fans a day from across the country. Lolla’s creator, ex Janes Addiction lead-man Perry Ferrel, has expanded the grounds to encompass nearly all of Grant Park with two new stages. With a party this size you’d expect the trash-cans to be overflowing,…

  • JAY Z BEYONCE FOREVER YOUNG COACHELLA

    Ambassador of Green
    18 Apr 2010 | 6:04 pm
 
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    EcoPlum EcoContentz

  • Top Ten Ways to go Green in College!

    The green movement is taking over the world. Businesses are opting for alternative energy, shoppers are buying organic and people are becoming more aware. Despite this, many college students believe that opting for a sustainable lifestyle is impractical, as they cannot afford to buy local, organic products, or pay a few extra dollars a month for alternative energy sources. For example, when faced with the option of buying a dozen sustainably raised eggs for $5 from the local farmer, or a dozen industrial eggs for $1.50 from the local grocery store, college students will more often than not…

  • Dede's Green Scene - Celebrities' Heroic Roles in the Gulf

    Summer is known for its release of movie blockbusters: big action movies filled with adventure, a villain and a hero to save the day. This year, there is a real tragedy happening in our gulf. On April 20, 2010, a Deepwater Horizon drilling rig by British Petroleum exploded causing an oil gusher to leak oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This oil spill is a heartbreaking tragedy and even though a cap has been placed on the well, which has completely shut off the leaking oil as of July 16, 2010, the ocean and ecosystem won't fully recover for years. Prior to that, an estimated 1.5 million gallons of…

  • Designing Green: Make Your Home Function Eco-Consciously

    While I write and talk about using sustainable materials in home design quite a bit, it is also important to make sure your house runs efficiently. In every green-conscious home, appliances are eco-friendly, plumbing is water-efficient and light bulbs use as little energy as possible. Here are a few companies that I suggest to design clients for stylish, water-conserving and energy-saving products.

  • A Responsible Sugar Fix

    Got a sweet tooth? There’s no need to be ashamed. After all, candy isn’t just for Halloween. Like other products, however, there are some manufacturers that are more responsible than others. Considering where your candy comes from and how it’s produced is one step towards being a more responsible consumer.

  • Leaving My Mark....in a Good Way

    Working at a restaurant, you witness a lot of waste. In the nearly six years that I’ve been a manager at Bonfire restaurant, I’ve used my position to try and make its footprint less noticeable. Bonfire started as a family-owned business about fifteen years ago before recently evolving into a corporation. Regardless of our new ownership, my superiors are very open and supportive of making our business more environmentally-friendly.
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    Ecoplum - EcoTipz

  • Cleaning Silver the Green Way!

    Whether you're bringing out the silverware for a dinner party or looking to give your silver jewlery a little spruce, try out these great tips from Smart2BeGreen! Instead of using commercial silver polish, which contains a lot of chemicals and toxins, use baking soda. First, line a glass pan with aluminum foil with your silver on top. Then, pour boiling water and a cup of baking soda. Watch the tarnish collect on the aluminum foil. You can also make the baking soda into a paste by adding water and rubbing out the tarnish. Then, rinse with water and dry with a soft cloth. Clean your silverware…

  • One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, Good Fish!

    Do you like eating seafood but worry that its quality may be a tad fishy? Well, now you can enjoy seafood without the fret by eating sustainable seafood! You can make sure your restaurant serves sustainable seafood by checking out rating systems beforehand. They also warn you against restaurants that serve fish on the endgared species list. Check out Fish2Fork for restaurant rating systems in your area! They also have lists of the top ten fish to avoid. The Enviornmental Defense Fund has a database of fish listings that are sustainable as well. You can also make a delicous sustainable seafood…

  • EWG's 2010 Suncreen Guide

    The Environmental Working Group has come out with it's 2010 Suncreen Guide to help you find suncreens with fewer hazardous ingredients. The best sunscreen is a hat and a shirt. No chemicals to absorb through the skin, no questions about whether they work. But when you can’t get away from exposing your skin to the sun, use EWG’s top-rated sunscreens to provide broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB-sunburn) protection with fewer hazardous chemicals that penetrate the skin.   Best Beach & Sport Sunscreens

  • Recycle Bride

    Summer's coming up and that means that we are in the middle of wedding season. Every bride needs something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, but what about something recycled? RecycledBride.com is a website where brides can sell items from their weddings to future brides. There are 2.4 million weddings a year and most of the items purchased aren't used again after the big day. So why not let another bride use them and reduce the bridal carbon footprint? Check out Recycledbride.com and make your special day a green day!

  • Hidden Chemicals in Perfume and Cologne

    The Environmental Working Group has just released a report ranking 17 top frangrances by the number of "secret" chemicals that are not listed in their ingredients.    These secret are associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions, and include many substances that have not been assessed for safety in personal care products. Also in the ranks of undisclosed ingredients are chemicals with troubling hazardous properties or with a propensity to accumulate in human tissues.   NOT SO SEXY: HIDDEN CHEMICALS IN PERFUME AND COLOGNE   DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT
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    Ecoplum - The Orchard

  • Actions for The Chesapeake Bay

    The Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches across 64,000 square miles and encompasses parts of six states and the District of Columbia. The Chesapeake Bay and its watershed make up one of the most biologically productive systems in the world, with more than 3,600 migratory and resident animal species that live, feed, find shelter and reproduce in the estuary and its watershed. Habitats in the watershed provide a vital ecological link for Atlantic Coast fish populations and birds using the Atlantic Flyway.

  • Farewell Copenhagen, Next Stop Mexico City

    A month has almost passed since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) widely known as COP-15 was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many had hoped that this summit would lead to an accord that would progress from Kyoto's success. The Kyoto Protocol (which came out of the COP-3 Climate Talks in Kyoto, Japan in 1997) was aimed at combating global warming through an international environmental treaty.

  • EPA's New Mandatory Reporting Requirements For Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    Starting on January 1, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require large emitters of heat-trapping emissions to collect greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data under a new reporting system. These large emitters include fossil fuel suppliers and industrial gas suppliers, direct greenhouse gas emitters and manufacturers of heavy duty and off road vehicles and engines. It is expected that this mandatory reporting requirement will cover approximately 85 percent of the nation's GHG emissions and apply to approximately 10,000 facilities.

  • GreenChill - A Cooperative Alliance of the Supermarket Sector

    The GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership is an EPA cooperative alliance with the supermarket industry and other stakeholders. The partnership was established to promote advanced technologies, strategies, and practices that reduce refrigerant charges and emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.

  • What is Smartway?

    In 2004, EPA launched SmartWaySM — an innovative brand that represents environmentally cleaner, more fuel efficient transportation options. Having personally worked in the U.S. EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality and on the development of this program, I realized the importance of the brand. The brand represented "the smart way to save fuel, money and the environment." Basically, the program promotes the concept of green travel through a partnership alliance with government and industry.
 
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    Development in a Changing Climate

  • What Does It Take To Build A Wind Turbine Industry?

    Anthony Lambkin
    26 Aug 2010 | 6:39 am
    Angela Crandall In less than 10 years, firms in China, India and South Korea progressed from no wind turbine manufacturing experience to state-of-the-art wind turbine systems. Consider this: Goldwind from China installed 2,727 MW in 2009, a 140% increase on 2008 that saw its international market share rise to 7.2%. The Indian company Suzlon owns 9% of the global market share. What policies led to such robust domestic wind power development? Last month, the International Finance Corporation's (IFC's) Cleantech Investment Program hosted Dr. Joanna Lewis, a professor at Georgetown…

  • Russian wildfires: No winners from climate change

    Alan Miller
    12 Aug 2010 | 8:37 am
    A commonly heard comment in climate change discussions has been that the benefits of climate change – milder winters, increased agricultural productivity -- also have to be acknowledged. Russia and Canada, it has often been argued, could be economic “winners” from climate change due to easier access to ocean shipping routes, longer growing seasons, and the space and water necessary to increase agricultural production. A 2008 report of the U.S. National Intelligence Council notes that Russia “has the potential to gain the most from increasingly temperate…

  • Identify, cost and prioritize: A new report on the economics of adaptation

    Joel B. Smith
    10 Aug 2010 | 10:18 am
    A policy-maker in Ethiopia, managing a predominantly agricultural economy, and one that is likely to greatly affected by climate change, would probably like to know the impact of climate change as well as what it will cost to adapt to the impacts. Given the potential for more droughts and floods, what are the strategies and costs for adaptation? Like Ethiopia, other developing countries are grappling with the same question. It is an important one, but has not been widely addressed until recently.   This matter was given sudden prominence in 2006 when the Conference of the Parties (COP)…

  • We will miss you Stephen

    Anita Gordon
    5 Aug 2010 | 3:43 pm
    When Stephen Schneider died on July 19th at the age of 65, the world lost a giant in climate change science. Stephen was one of the first prominent scientists to highlight the importance of human caused climate change. He was one of the early pioneers of computer modeling of the global climate system that helped understand future scenarios. He became the editor of an important journal, Climatic Change, and an influential member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as advisor to a number of U.S. presidents.     For me the loss was more…

  • Can Corporations Lead When Governments Don’t?

    Alan Miller
    3 Aug 2010 | 10:04 am
    The past week saw the final demise of proposals for U.S. legislation to address climate change, and a sense of gloom pervades discussion about prospects for a similar effort by the new Congress next year. Among major corporations, however, one can still find many examples of impressive environmental initiatives and investments. The same week, for example, General Motors (GM) announced two costly steps predicated on consumer demand or regulatory pressure for environmental performance. The more highly publicized news was that GM would begin accepting orders for its long awaited hybrid…
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    Eco-Chick

  • Repurpose or Reuse Common Household Items in Your Home Decor

    Starre Vartan
    26 Aug 2010 | 9:56 pm
    The following is a guest post by the contributor of DIY-Guides.com, where you can find other useful decoration tips. Photo by suzette. If you have an old household item that you just don’t use or maybe even don’t like any longer… why not give it new life and use in your home? It will be more eco-friendly – by not filling up our landfills, and help on the pocketbook at the same time. It’s a win-win situation. So don’t think of a piece of furniture or household item as “old” or “useless” – repurpose it into something useful that…

  • Two Beautifully Useful Whole Foods Cookbooks

    Starre Vartan
    23 Aug 2010 | 12:22 pm
    See, I’m putting in serious effort at learning to cook! My love of food comes from three main sources; one primal, one inculcated, the third learned as an adult. First, my natural appetite for delicious, healthy meals and snacks is fairly well-known (I think I can count on one hand the times in my life when I wasn’t hungry!), and I can eat absolutely anything, with no known food allergies or sensitivities. Second, my grandma raised me on garden-fresh produce and a combo of Lebanese (hummous, tabouli and pilaf being staples), Armenian that she learned from her mother-in-law as a…

  • NaturevsFuture’s Autumn, 2010 Collection: Sustainable Modern Classics

    Starre Vartan
    17 Aug 2010 | 11:37 pm
    NatureVsFuture from water&power on Vimeo. Nina Valenti’s been designing eco fashion longer than most people have even known what the phrase meant. Her line, NaturevsFuture, debuted in Spring, 2002, and her iconic details have been staples of the eco fashon scene for years, landing her coverage in major fashion press. Her cutout dress is currently included in the FIT exhibit, “Eco Fashion: Going Green” through November, 2010. What works about Nina’s pieces is that they are timeless and yet never look boring or old-fashioned. Her Autumn, 2010 line is filled with her…

  • Video: Princeton’s Student Eco Fashion Competition

    Starre Vartan
    10 Aug 2010 | 3:28 pm
    I had lots of fun judging the first-ever Princeton Eco Fashion Competition back in May; and now there’s a great video that gives the winner, and second- and third-place designers a chance to speak about their designs. Check it out! For more on Princeton’s Eco Fashion Competition, check out my judges’ coverage here.

  • Mi-Bra Organic Cotton Sports Bra: Running with A Great Idea

    Starre Vartan
    10 Aug 2010 | 1:12 pm
    As a runner who definitely finds inspiration to go a little further (or a little faster; I love to sprint) through music, I thought the Mi-Bra was total genius as soon as I saw it. A sports bra with a pocket up front to hold your iPod or MP3 player in (and a wee space for your headphones cord to thread through), it’s ideal for those of us who run with iPod in hand (which is really annoying). Like me, Mi-bra creator Carolina Baker found that the arm band music holders didn’t work for her, and instead of just complaining about it, she solved the problem herself: I created the mi-bra…
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    GreenCarReports.com

  • 2012 Infiniti M35h Set For 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show Debut

    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Nissan and its Infiniti luxury division may have been late to the table when it comes to hybrids but neither brand is shying away from launching a new generation of gasoline-electric vehicles. Infiniti has fired the latest round in the battle for hybrid supremacy with the unveiling of a new hybrid version of its latest M sedan, the 2012 Infiniti...

  • 2011 Ford Fiesta: First Drive Review

    2 Sep 2010 | 5:53 am
    We’ve been hearing about the 2011 Ford Fiesta for quite a long time. We drove a European version more than a year ago, and liked it a lot. It had edgy styling, great handling, and a far more inspired interior than the drab, grey-plastic monotony of competing subcompacts. Last year, well before cars landed at dealers, Ford’s...

  • 2011 Ford Fiesta Day Three

    1 Sep 2010 | 8:49 pm
    This post will be short and sweet, since we have an early wake-up call for our drive from Boston to New York City tomorrow. We began the day in Montreal, stopping by the famous Schwartz's Deli before setting out for Montpelier, Vermont. In Montpelier, we explored the picturesque city--the smallest state capital in the U.S. by population--after...

  • 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid Says "Green" With...Flowers

    1 Sep 2010 | 8:25 pm
    In the green-car world, the leaf is the king of all icons. The 2010 Honda Insight fertilized the idea when it bowed in 2008; it still promotes greener driving with electronically rendered displays of plants that add leaves as the car's computers sense a light, planet-conscious foot on the gas pedal. The king of the leaves? The 2011 Nissan LEAF, of...

  • 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid: Live Photos

    1 Sep 2010 | 2:09 pm
    We're live today in Washington, D.C., with the first High Gear Media drive of the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. We've road-tested the similar Ford Fusion Hybrid, but the Lincoln version promises its own package of distinct styling cues and a finer interior, while still delivering the 41-mpg highway fuel economy rating of its mass-market cousin. The MKZ...
 
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    AllCarsElectric.com

  • Epic Electric Vehicles Unveils New Torq Roadster

    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Epic Electric Vehicles is a little known company based in the U.S. that manufactures all sorts of electric modes of transport including boats, ATVs and now street-legal roadsters. The company’s latest effort is the new Torq three-wheeler, which kind of looks like an edgier, stripped down version of the Tesla Roadster. Not much info has been...

  • GM Turns To Scare Tactics To Sell The 2011 Chevrolet Volt

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:09 pm
    Fear is a powerful motivator. It has been used in the past to start wars, persuade kids to study at school and of course, sell life insurance. But now GM appears to be gearing up to use the fear of running out of electricity to give the extended-range 2011 Chevrolet Volt a competitive edge over purely electric cars. In a move which will not...

  • Plug-In Electric Vehicle Sales To Top 3.2 Million By 2015

    1 Sep 2010 | 12:30 pm
    With several big electric vehicle launches due over the next few years and order books filling up quickly, we're sure to start seeing more of them on the roads. Research agency Pike Research has announced that combined sales of full-electric (battery electric, or BEV) vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) will take off over the...

  • 2011 Chevrolet Volt Production Starting November 11, 2010

    1 Sep 2010 | 5:53 am
    While prototypes of the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt have been running around the streets of America for the past several months, the first customer delivered car won’t be built until production officially kicks off on November 11, 2010. The information comes from people familiar with the Volt's launch activities and was confirmed to...

  • 2010 Paris Motor Show: European-spec 2011 Mitsubishi i-MiEV

    31 Aug 2010 | 12:30 pm
    Don't want a 2011 Chevrolet Volt or 2011 Nissan Leaf? Fear not - there are a raft of other EVs waiting in the wings to satisfy your desire for something different. If you live in the U.S. though, you'll have to wait until late 2011 to get your hands on Mitsubishi's 2012 i-MiEV. For EV fans in 14 European markets, potential buyers will be getting...
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    Deep Climate

  • McShane and Wyner 2010

    Deep Climate
    18 Aug 2010 | 11:32 pm
    Over at ClimateAudit and WUWT they’ve broken out the champagne and are celebrating (once again) the demise, nay, the shattering into 1209 tiny splinters, of the Mann et al “hockey stick” graph, both the 1998 and 2008 editions. The occasion of all the rejoicing is a new paper by statisticians Blakely McShane and Abraham Wyner, entitled A Statistical Analysis of Multiple Temperature Proxies: Are Reconstructions of Surface Temperatures Over the Last 1000 Years Reliable? [PDF]. The paper, in press at the Annals of Applied Statistics, purports to demonstrate that randomly…

  • Open Thread # 5

    Deep Climate
    12 Aug 2010 | 11:34 am
    Seems like a good time to start a new Open Thread and close the old one (a.k.a. the “TCO on Tiljander/MMH/CA/life in general” thread). Honours this time go to Gavin’s Pussycat, whose comment will start things off.

  • What have Wegman and Said done … lately?

    Deep Climate
    3 Aug 2010 | 5:36 pm
    While we’re waiting for John Mashey’s magnum opus on the Wegman report (and believe me, it is well worth the wait), let’s take a look at what Edward Wegman and his protege and report co-author Yasmin Said have been up to recently (again, a big hat tip to John). The Interface Symposium (an annual statistical computing conference dating back to 1967) held its 2010 edition in Seattle June 16-19, with Wegman and Said as program chairs. And what a program it was! The program book [PDF] is now available online. So, without further ado, here are the two “invited…

  • Wegman Report update, part 1: More dubious scholarship in full colour

    Deep Climate
    29 Jul 2010 | 7:02 pm
    This is the final instalment in a series of posts documenting dubious scholarship and unattributed sources in the background chapter of the touchstone of climate contrarians known as the Wegman Report. That report has been touted as Exhibit A proving the “destruction” of Michael Mann’s “hockey stick” graph by self-styled climate auditor Steve McIntyre. Previously, I found extensive passages bearing “striking similarity” to a classic text by the distinguished paleoclimatologist (and “hockey stick” co-author) Raymond Bradley in the…

  • Open Thread # 4

    Deep Climate
    19 Jul 2010 | 1:20 pm
    Here’s another open thread for general discussion (I’ll try and open these more frequently from now on, say every month or two). Comments not related to specific posts should be posted here. Maybe Willard and PolyIsTCO can get the ball rolling …
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    Green Living

  • McD's goes McVeg in India

    LindsayHutton
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:52 am
    The sun never sets on the McEmpire.read more

  • Your Vegan Science Reel

    LindsayHutton
    26 Aug 2010 | 4:50 pm
    A few riveting nuggets of recent studies in veganism: read more

  • ReUsies sandwich and snack bags

    GreenLiving
    24 Aug 2010 | 11:53 am
    In a previous reviews (Smart School Lunches) we wrote about packing litterless lunches.read more

  • The papermaker’s secret

    GreenLiving
    24 Aug 2010 | 6:53 am
    In our past issues about an eco wedding, we wrote about the eco-friendliness of letterpress printing for your invitations. Well, in response to this article, one of our readers — Nina in Chicago, who runs a letterpress print shop — wrote to us to share a little secret. read more

  • Have fun turning your laundry green!

    GreenLiving
    23 Aug 2010 | 1:47 pm
    Let’s face it, no matter how you dress it up, laundry is a chore, plain and simple.read more
 
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    Mommy Goes Green

  • Portland Events for Green Mamas

    Tiffany
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:53 pm
    If you’re a green mama in Portland, here are some great events for you this fall: The Eco-School Network is a group of parents in the Portland Metro area who are interested in bringing earth-conscious practices to a school’s operations and a child’s experience there. All members have taken the Agent of Change class, which offers important skills for creating change and a shared framework for consultation on projects within schools.  We will be offering a FREE school-focused class just for moms, from noon to 1:45pm on five Mondays: October 18, 25, November 1, 8 (break), December…

  • What is Phenoxyethanol?

    Tiffany
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:00 am
    I’ve seen the preservative, phenoxyethanol, on many cosmetic bottles so I finally took the time to find out what it is.  According to Wikipedia, it is an organic chemical compound, a glycol ether often used in cosmetics, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals.  Chemical of the Day says that phenoxyethanol is commonly used as a fragrance ingredient so if you don’t see ‘phenoxyethanol’ in the ingredient list but you do see ‘fragrance’, it could be in there anyway.  The Green Beauty Guide says these are ‘nicknames’ for phenoxyethanol: Dowanol Arosol…

  • Belli Skin Care

    Tiffany
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:05 pm
    Belli Skin Care is all about mothers.  They carry a line of skin care products specifically designed for pregnancy, motherhood and babies.  The founder, a medical doctor, was concerned about chemical absorption through the skin so he designed the line for his (then) pregnant wife so she would have safe products.    Belli Pregnancy products are screened for any ingredient that has been linked to birth defects, using a technology called teratology which searches through 16,000 medical research articles.  The Belli Motherhood collection is screened through LactMed to help exclude any…

  • Natural Vines Licorice

    Tiffany
    23 Aug 2010 | 12:55 pm
    I love me some black licorice.  Don’t even waste my time with red licorice, I’ll take black or nothing at all.  My favorite tea is licorice, too.   Just thinking about cold weather and a warm cup of black licorice tea makes me cozy and warm inside. So when American Licorice Company asked if I’d be interested in testing out their new Natural Vines Licorice line, I did not hesitate to say YES, YES, and yes PLEASE! Fortunately for me (and them), it did not disappoint.  Since the bite size pieces are only 17 calories apiece, we ate the black licorice in about a day.  It…

  • Chlorine in Swimming Pools and the Link to Asthma

    Tiffany
    18 Aug 2010 | 11:22 am
    My husband has asthma and while he hasn’t struggled seriously with it, I am hoping our children will not get it.  So far, I think our daughter is in the clear but time will tell whether or not our son has it.  I’ve done many things to reduce their risk including keeping harmful cleaning products out of our house, using organic dairy products, keeping pets out of our house and using allergen free products on our beds.  I’ve also kept them out of chlorinated swimming pools.  Don’t worry, our kids aren’t deprived of summer fun in the water.  There have been…
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    BFreeNews

  • Nations meet on climate cash, U.N. sees long haul

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:17 am
    Via Reuters news - GENEVA (Reuters) - About 45 nations met on Thursday to seek ways to raise billions of dollars in aid to help the poor combat climate change as the United Nations warned them o...

  • Cisco buys wireless sensor outfit Arch Rock in smart-grid push

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:15 am
    Via CNet Green Tech - Networking giant Cisco moves to beef up its IP-based communications technology with planned purchase of start-up Arch Rock, which makes IP-based wireless sensors for buildings...

  • iPhone Game Features Heroic Fish Dodging Gulf Oil Spill Damage

    2 Sep 2010 | 6:49 am
    Via Treehugger - Image via Elephant Journal We've had an influx of iPhone apps based on the Gulf oil spill, and many of them also donate proceeds to helping clean-up efforts. So what makes Puf...

  • eBay Gives Away 100K Reusable Green Shipping Boxes to Sellers

    2 Sep 2010 | 5:40 am
    Via GreenBiz - The company's latest green initiative encourages sellers to reuse shipping boxes made of recycled materials as a way of promoting greener shipping methods....

  • Review: 2011 Honda CR-Z

    2 Sep 2010 | 5:18 am
    Via Auto blog green - Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, In The AutoblogGreen Garage Take off your rose-colored glasses, CRX fans 2011 Honda CR-Z - Click above for high-res image gallery Okay, so the 2011...
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    Twilight Earth

  • Water: Nature’s Wonderdrug–Now with Wonderdrugs! (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:13 am
    Between 2006 and 2007, the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas screened tap water from 19 US water utilities for 51 different compounds. The 11 most frequently detected compounds are highlighted in the cartoon and described below. 1.used to treat cardiovascular disease, 2.an herbicide banned in the European Union (still used in the US) has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks and in changes in animal behavior, 3.a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder, 4.an estrogen hormone blamed for causing gender-bending changes in fish, 5.an anti-cholesterol drug, 6.a…

  • Pesticides and ADHD (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    25 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    From Grist: More research linking pesticide exposure to ADHD in kids Follow all of Mean Joe Green’s environmental cartoons on JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at @GreenCartoons. Related posts:Chemicals and Obesity Speeding up Puberty in Girls (cartoon) Monsanto: They Made good WMD’s–I bet They Make Healthy Food! (cartoon) BP’s Getting All Cap-Happy (cartoon)

  • Monsanto Gets Beat–May Lose Beets (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    17 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    A victory for anyone who likes healthy food, soil, and water! Monsanto’s sour plans for the sweet beet were spoiled as a federal judge banned genetically modified sugar beets. This is great news and hopefully a large step forward to getting food production back on a less toxic track. Sugar beet, you are a beacon of hope for your genetically altered veggie brothers and sisters. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White you are a beacon of hope for humans who eat food and drink water. Follow all of Mean Joe Green’s environmental cartoons on JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at…

  • Chemicals and Obesity Speeding up Puberty in Girls (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    11 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    The news that chemicals and obesity causes premature puberty in girls is the latest of thousands of red flags waving high above our food production and consumption status quo. Of course, things are changing, but are they changing fast enough? Nope. The only thing changing quickly is the level of toxicity in our children. Follow all of Mean Joe Green’s environmental cartoons on JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at @GreenCartoons. Related posts:Pesticides and ADHD (cartoon) BP’s Getting All Cap-Happy (cartoon) Tea Partiers and Suicide Bombers (cartoon)

  • BP’s Getting All Cap-Happy (cartoon)

    JoeMohr
    6 Aug 2010 | 4:13 am
    If only BP would put all of this new found cap success to work to stop other toxic gushers… Follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons Follow all of his green cartooning at JoeMohrToons.com. Related posts:If Climate Change Was a Dog (cartoon) Genetically Modified Truths (cartoon) Tea Partiers and Suicide Bombers (cartoon)
 
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    TradePub: Utility & Energy

  • Oil & Gas Financial Journal

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:20 am
    Oil & Gas Financial Journal provides petroleum industry managers, analysts and investors credible, useful information about the most important financial developments of their business. OGFJ brings to the worlds of petroleum finance and investment the type of authoritative coverage that Oil & Gas Journal gives to industry operations and technology.Request Free!

  • Renewable Energy World

    1 Sep 2010 | 12:20 am
    Renewable Energy World provides authoritative articles, case studies and essential news on global developments in the renewables sector. Every issue includes features on wind power, solar thermal, photovoltaics and biomass. Regular coverage is also devoted to geothermal, energy storage, small hydro, and hybrid systems.Request Free!

  • Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production

    1 Sep 2010 | 12:20 am
    Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production highlights the increasing importance of the power sector to the overall development of the world's rapidly changing power generation industry. It informs industry personnel about worldwide developments in cogeneration and distributed, or decentralized, power generation through authoritative articles and case studies written by leading international experts.Digital or Print (Print subscribers : allow 3-4 weeks for each delivery)Request Free!

  • Turbomachinery International

    1 Sep 2010 | 12:20 am
    Emphasis on various applications where gas turbines and related turbomachinery are used worldwide. Coverage includes the maintenance, overhaul and repair of gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors and all rotating equipment and turbomachinery.Request Free!

  • Water Technology

    1 Sep 2010 | 12:20 am
    Water Technology® Magazine has been reporting on the water treatment and bottled water industries for almost 30 years. In print and online, it delivers substantive information that is written for those who know the business. Water Technology® brings you a mix of the latest technology and product news, sales and marketing expertise, business management tips, and interviews with industry leaders.Water Technology® Magazine is now available in an environmentally-friendly digital edition. All qualified subscribers are eligible to receive a FREE introductory subscription in the digital format.
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    freshdialogues

  • Batteries 101 – A Venture Capitalist View

    alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:47 am
    By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this week’s Fresh Dialogues, Mark Platshon, an expert in battery technology with venture capitalists, Vantage Point , provides some Battery Basics. What is a battery? “Throw a dart at (two elements on) the periodic table and you can make a battery out of it…a potato and a penny can make a [...]

  • Carl Guardino on AB 32/ Prop 23: We’re not going to sit idly by

    alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)
    25 Aug 2010 | 12:56 pm
    By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues You’ve no doubt heard about the November ballot measure (Proposition 23) which aims to to scupper California’s landmark climate change legislation, AB 32. In this Fresh Dialogues interview, Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, didn’t pull any punches in his response to those behind the plan. “We’re not going [...]

  • Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn Entrepreneurship

    alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)
    18 Jul 2010 | 4:43 pm
    By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues June 24 marked the 13th annual SDForum Visionary Awards, a celebration of the innovators and chutzpah that make Silicon Valley unique. Although the four visionaries come from diverse backgrounds, Silicon Valley was the common theme for the evening. The visionaries gave a revealing glimpse into the Silicon Valley [...]

  • Guy Kawasaki: On Evangelism

    alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)
    13 Jul 2010 | 1:15 pm
    By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Guy Kawasaki, the renowned Apple evangelist shares his top tips on how to become a great evangelist and how to leverage your success. This segment is part of a longer interview which took place in front of an audience of over 500 on July 7, 2010 at UC Santa [...]

  • Richard Lowenthal: Tesla, Range Anxiety & the Role of Charging Stations

    alison@freshdialogues.com (Alison van Diggelen)
    28 Jun 2010 | 1:58 pm
    By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the eve of Tesla’s IPO, Richard Lowenthal of Coulomb Technologies discusses the vital role of charging stations in creating a thriving ecosystem for electric vehicles. Lowenthal, a Silicon Valley based maker of charging stations, argues that a comprehensive network of charging stations is a vital prerequisite for the [...]
 
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    EcoGreenHotel

  • Improving Your Energy Performance at Your Green Hotel

    Parisiscott
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:02 am
    One Easy Way to Get Started If you stop to think about it, your hotel is sort of like a machine. It’s got a ton of moving parts – the building and all of its infrastructure, the staff and administrative personnel, the grounds – all of those components have to be in good working order or the whole operation will suffer. But there’s another moving part to your machine that you might not have considered right off the bat, and that’s the energy that powers your entire hotel engine.  If your building, its infrastructure, your personnel and the grounds surrounding the building are not…

  • Eco-Friendly Fabrics

    Parisiscott
    25 Aug 2010 | 2:51 am
    Organic cotton to bamboo, these are the threads you should know about. When it comes to purchasing your linens, you have the power to make a difference. It’s up to us,consumers including green hotel purchasers, to buy from companies that will create a shift in the market for our environment and long-term health. You should know that not only are chemicals in the foods that we eat, but they are also found in our upholsteries, blankets, bed sheets and clothes. More and more, people are experiencing health problems such as rashes, allergies, respiratory and concentration problems due to…

  • GREEN TEAMS Part 5: Engage Customers to be Part of the Solution

    Parisiscott
    23 Aug 2010 | 4:32 am
    Our GREEN TEAM series is coming to a close soon. We’ve covered numerous topics on how to engage your employees in sustainability, now we’ll take a look at how leading companies are engaging their customers through different mediums and a quick idea on how you can create a green tool kit Engage Customers to be Part of the Solution Without customers, you can’t run a business. What would happen if you work together to achieve a goal? eBay realized the most powerful thing they could do as a company would be to invite their consumers into the equation. Many of their customers have green…

  • Hotel Cuts Water Use Nearly 80%

    Parisiscott
    17 Aug 2010 | 11:42 pm
    Is that possible? Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque, New Mexico, claims they’ve done just that. Reopening after a $30 million remodel, the Andaluz reduced their water use by 78% with their water savings program. The Andaluz, which previously existed as the La Posada hotel, was extensively remodeled according to LEED standards. In order to cut water use, the Andaluz developers implemented numerous water and energy saving conservation measures, including: “Oxygen-assisted” low-flow shower heads Rainwater collection system for irrigation (in process) Efficient low-flow toilets Solar…

  • National Building Competition Midpoint Update

    Parisiscott
    11 Aug 2010 | 2:27 am
    It’s been four months since the launch of the EPA’s National Building Competition and fourteen contestants have been in fierce battle to win! They’re at the midpoint of the first-ever national contest to reduce their energy use. Currently, there is only a one percent margin that separates the leader from the next contestant. The fourteen contestants have together reduced their energy consumption by over 24 billion Btu and reduced their carbon dioxide emissions equal to the electricity use of 330 homes for a year – impressive would be an understatement! By shedding the energy waste,…
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    idea green shop

  • DIY Wind And Solar Power With Earth4Energy

    Theodore Jackson
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:29 am
    If you are the type of "environmentally conscious" person who wants to save yourself a ton of cash while also doing your bit to "save the planet" then you need to do yourself and the earth a small favor and order the Earth4Energy Guidebook. Why? Because it'll give you with all of the information you need to build windmills or solar panels on your own.
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    Go Green

  • CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

    31 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment) is the UK's mandatory climate change and energy saving scheme. [Wired by: Go-Green.ae]

  • DuPont To Supply Materials For Planetsolar

    31 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    DuPont will provide innovations in photovoltaic modules and high-performance marine coatings to PlanetSolar, the largest solar boat ever built.[Wired by: Go-Green.ae]

  • The Green Nut

    30 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    TheGreenNut.org is a consumer-friendly web site, created by USA pistachio growers to tout the healthy and wholesome benefits of eating pistachios, the only Green Nut.[Wired by: Go-Green.ae]

  • Call2Recycle - Free battery and cell phone collection program

    30 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    Call2Recycle is the only free battery and cell phone collection program in North America.[Wired by: Go-Green.ae]

  • 2011 Eco Calendars

    27 Aug 2010 | 5:00 pm
    The 2011 eco calendar features 12 fresh-from-the press designs printed double-sided on 6 sheets of plantable seed paper. These fabulous floral motifs will help you brighten your desk year-round.[Wired by: Go-Green.ae]
 
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    Worldchanging: Bright Green

  • FOUR YEARS.GO. - A New Campaign to Shift the Trends of Humanity

    Amanda Reed
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:45 pm
    The time to act on climate change is now. In that light, a new campaign called FOUR YEARS.GO. has been started to inspire action towards a more environmentally sustainable and socially just planet in the next four years. As they say in their introductory video (see below), the campaign is not a new organization, rather it is a new goal for every organization and for every person to work together in a short amount of time for a better future. Their mantra? "The next four years will determine our planet's next 1,000." So GO! The campaign is still in its infancy, but it's powerhouse creative…

  • Climate Skeptic - Now with Less Skepticism!: Lomborg Changes Tune

    Alex Aylett
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:45 pm
    For those who – like me – missed the news on Monday: the world's most well known climate change skeptic has done a dramatic about face. Bjorn Lomborg's 1998 book “The Skeptical Environmentalist” has been a pillar for critics of climate science and policy. He has made a high profile for himself by taking a strip off of pretty much anyone – from the media to the IPCC – who has called for rapid action on climate change. But on Monday in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, he called climate change "undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today" and proposed a…

  • Stealing the Future, The Ethics of Dust, and Networked Sprawl

    WorldChanging Team
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Looking back one, two and five years ago today on Worldchanging: 2009 The Rights of Future Generations Alex examines the rights of future generations and wonders in what courts those rights might be defended, and how... 2009 Manifesta: Caring for Fungi and Pollution Regine Debatty reviews two artistic architectural works at the Manifesta biennale that both explore waste residue... 2005 Smart Sprawl Jamais Cascio reflects on Walter Siembab's idea of "Smart Sprawl," a networked approach to re-imagining and restructuring suburbs and cities... Other recent "look backs": August 27 August 30 August…

  • Water and Security in Iraq

    Alex Steffen
    31 Aug 2010 | 6:45 pm
    The New Security Beat is on a roll of late, most recently running this short interview with Iraq’s first Minister of the Environment, Mashkat Al Moumi: NSB: Iraq’s water minister recently called the water infrastructure situation “a threat to national security.” Would you agree with that assessment?... MM: I definitely agree with Minister Latif Rasheed on his analysis. The lack of proper infrastructure to supply water aggravates the population against the government. The water supply situation was critical when I was in office. For example, according to the Ministry of Water Resources…

  • HafenCity: A Case Study on Future-Adaptive Urban Development

    Amanda Reed
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:30 pm
    Cities need to plan for the future now by developing infrastructure and communities that make them resilient, rugged and adaptable to planetary changes. Coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to increased flooding from larger storm surges and sea level rise. And, as Bruce Stutz noted last year, "adapting to this reality has become a key part of future planning for London, Rotterdam, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, and Seattle, as well as low-lying cities across Asia" and New York City. Here's another waterfront city that is taking future-adaptive urban planning seriously: HafenCity. HafenCity is…
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    Green Tech

  • Motor City getting in on electric fever

    Candace Lombardi
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:28 am
    Coulomb Technologies installs free public electric-charging station in downtown Detroit as part of ChargePoint America program to encourage EV adoption.

  • Cisco buys Arch Rock in smart-grid push

    Martin LaMonica
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:46 am
    Networking giant to augment its IP-based communications tech with planned purchase of start-up Arch Rock, which makes wireless sensors for buildings, data centers, and utility networks.

  • Cisco, Itron team on smart-grid networking

    Martin LaMonica
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:59 am
    Cisco and smart-meter maker team on communications system based on IP to connect everything from people's homes to power distribution equipment on the grid.

  • Waste Management going for 'black gold'

    Candace Lombardi
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:06 am
    Garbage collector plans to offer organic gardening products made from expanded organic waste collection service.

  • Philly subway to capture energy from braking trains

    Martin LaMonica
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:15 am
    The smart grid goes underground in Philadelphia, where a battery will store energy from regenerative braking, cutting power costs and earning revenue on the grid.
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    Grist - the latest from Grist

  • Oil-platform explosion in the Gulf. Yes, another one.

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:33 am
    by Jonathan Hiskes. Oopsy daisy: An offshore oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday morning, injuring one worker, the United States Coast Guard said. The platform, which was owned by the Houston-based Mariner Energy, was floating in relatively shallow waters 340 feet deep to the west of where a drilling rig leased by BP blew up and sank this spring, killing 11 people and touching off an environmental calamity. All 13 members of the work crew on board Thursday were accounted for, the Coast Guard said, though the injured worker’s condition was not immediately known.

  • Help! I have vampires on the farm

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:52 am
    by Steph Larsen. There’s a clan of blood-sucking vampires that calls my farm home. Unlike most, this clan is entirely female, and they like to hunt in the evening after the sun goes down. There aren’t any coffins for them to sleep in, though they enjoy hanging out in the shade of leafy vegetables in the garden.I’m talking, of course, about mosquitoes. This summer’s substantial rain has led to an exploding population of them, and it’s made an otherwise lovely country existence nearly intolerable.Under normal circumstances, I love summer with a passion. Fresh foods…

  • Richard Burr: objectionable and vulnerable

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:52 am
    by David Roberts. In my depressing-ass post yesterday, I noted that Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) departure from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) would leave Richard Burr (R-N.C.) as the ranking Republican. Burr, I said, “seems unobjectionable.” It has been pointed out by certain interested parties that despair is no excuse for abandoning standards altogether. As it happens, there is plenty about Burr’s record to which one might reasonably object. He has voted against removing subsidies for oil companies, against extending tax credits for…

  • How will you keep walruses from learning to fly?

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:24 am
    by Ashley Braun. That’s what I consider the core message to be of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s cute animated video about climate change’s effects on sea creatures. Deviating from the nature mockumentary style, this one instead takes the high tech approach to global warming by going the CGI walrus route. This pretty clearly emphasizes the difference between humans mitigating climate change (e.g., driving less) and marine life adapting to climate change (cue flying walruses). It’s probably also worth noting that John Cleese narrates it and, according to the Aquarium,…

  • Avett Brothers play benefit show; give me excuse to write about them

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:41 pm
    by David Roberts. Y’all know I love The Avett Brothers something fierce. (See Friday Music Blogging here and here.) It’s rare that they wander into Grist’s purview, so I don’t usually get a chance to write about them. However! On Monday, they planned to be passing through Portland and wanted to do a show, so they looked around for a worthwhile cause for which to play a benefit. They heard about Terra Nova Community Farm, a project whereby Terra Nova High School students grow and sell organic produce to local businesses. That sounds like something our own Tom Philpott…
 
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    Change.org's Sustainable Food Blog

  • Happy National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

    Sarah Parsons
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am
    O.K., so maybe America's growing childhood obesity epidemic isn't exactly a cause for celebration. But when the President of the United States actually starts giving this problem the attention it deserves, it's appropriate to whip out the party hats. Yesterday, President Barack Obama declared September 2010 as "National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month." The proclamation drew attention to the fact that one out of every three American children are now considered overweight or obese, a public health crisis that sets kids up to develop dangerous medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease,…

  • The Case of the Missing Agricultural Middle

    Katherine Gustafson
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:40 am
    The recent debate among food writers on the New York Times op ed page and Grist magazine highlighted a glaring problem, one that concerns not only our food system but also our advocacy for a better one: The middle has gone missing, and no one's speaking up for it. The two "sides" of the debate (which, as I've stated, I don't believe are really opposing sides at all), seem to be speaking up for the benefits of the extremes. Stephen Budiansky writes in the New York Times that industrial operations might have their place in a workable food system in instances where the efficiency they offer is…

  • Will Listing Calorie Counts on Menus Really Help Combat Obesity?

    Nicole Makris
    1 Sep 2010 | 5:00 pm
    It might not be the opportunity to revolutionize fast food into locally sourced, organic, and cruelty-free meals that we've all been waiting for, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking public feedback on a plan that may combat obesity. A soon-to-be implemented federal law requires that fast food and chain restaurants post caloric and nutrition information on their menus. Any chain with more than 20 franchises must post the calorie content of each menu item publicly by March 23, 2011, one year from when President Obama signed the health care reform bill, the Affordable Care Act,…

  • Back-to-School Special: Free, Gross, Fattening Lunches

    Sarah Parsons
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:30 pm
    Even a casual observer can tell you that lunches served in school cafeterias are gross. I mean, come on: A rib-b-que or bagel dog? I'm still not sure what part of an animal a "rib-b-que" comes from, and as for a bagel dog, wrapping a hot dog in breakfast does not make the "meat" any less dubious. New research shows that these vittles aren't just vomit-inducing — they actually make kids fatter. Even though cafeteria meals are required to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutritional standards, a new study shows that  federally funded school lunches contribute to America's childhood…

  • NuVal Turns Local Grocers Into Nutritionists

    David Orr
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:00 pm
    As the problems associated with obesity become more widespread and the demand for healthy foods rises, some grocers are beginning to see themselves in a new light — that of nutrition adviser. Grocery store chains around the country have started to offer shoppers more direct and straightforward nutritional advice than what is typically found on food labels. In an effort to promote health, increase customer loyalty, and perhaps win-back some customers from natural and specialty stores like Whole Foods, some grocers have gone so far as to hire dietitians to walk the aisles with shoppers and…
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    GoodGuide - Home

  • Innovative Business Models to Incentivize Consumers

    josh
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:57 am
    For the last several years there has been a significant shift in consumers’ purchasing habits toward buying greener products. But the one thing we continue to see in study after study is that most mainstream consumers are not willing to sacrifice price, performance and/or quality to buy more sustainable products. This has become a chicken-and-the-egg conundrum for businesses. How can product manufacturers develop greener products that are also competitive on the other legs of product positioning with low adoption from mainstream customers? After all, costs, and therefore prices, will only…

  • Welcome George Consagra!

    Dara
    27 Aug 2010 | 11:55 am
    GoodGuide is happy to welcome George Consagra as our new Chief Executive Officer. We’ve had a great first week getting to know George and look forward to the energy and expertise he will bring to the GoodGuide table. For more information, check out the formal announcement on GoodGuide’s new leadership. Do you have questions for our new CEO? Share them below, and we’ll try to get them answered in a future post!

  • School Lunch with a Nutritional Punch

    sheila
    19 Aug 2010 | 12:38 pm
    Each year, the average American child eats half of their lunches in a school setting. What goes into those meals can vary by who prepares those meals - whether it’s you, the federal government, a contracted food service company, or a trained chef. Thanks to television programs like Jamie Oliver’s “School Food Revolution” and the federal government’s “Let’s Move” campaign to reduce childhood obesity, a lot more attention has been placed on what kids are eating for their midday meal. As a result, the upcoming renewal of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act (which dictates how…

  • Behind the Tampon Ratings

    sheila
    12 Aug 2010 | 11:44 am
    After several months of reviewing scientific articles, pondering rating schemes, surviving awkward moments in the feminine hygiene aisles of local stores, and analyzing products, we are proud to announce the launch of GoodGuide’s tampon ratings. Starting last week, individuals have been able to browse and compare over 100 tampon products from leading brands to make better, smarter purchases. We’re thrilled to be able to provide this information to women, but would like to make sure the ratings are interpreted correctly. So, we’ve put together a short list of FAQs so that you can make…

  • GoodGuide Gets Greener

    sheila
    6 Aug 2010 | 12:43 pm
    If you were to ask GoodGuide employees why they work here, one of the reasons you’re likely to hear is that we’re a Certified B Corporation. As a B Corp, we’re required to conduct an environmental impact assessment. To that end, the GoodGuide Internal Goodness Committee has undertaken the task of identifying environmentally sustainable business practices that can be carried out on a day-to-day basis. The good news is that we’re already doing the basics: using e-documents instead of paper, recycling and composting, purchasing used office furniture, relying on our own ratings to stock…
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    Green Blog

  • Canadian Newspaper Has It Right: To Go Green Cut Down On Packaging

    30 Aug 2010 | 3:32 pm
    Canada is a big source of American packaging material, and that includes newsprint. So applause should be offered to a recent editorial in the Peace Arch News, a newspaper which is distributed in the Metro Vancouver communities of South Surrey and the city of White Rock, British Columbia, Canada that face the U.S. border which called for manufacturers and retailers to cut down on the waste.Here are some excerpts from the piece: "The sheer amount of packaging we deal with every day is staggering. According to the U.S.-based Dogwood Alliance, 25 per cent of the 2.4 million…

  • Power IT Down This Friday!

    26 Aug 2010 | 1:25 pm
    Friday August 27 is "Power IT Down" day. Organizers say "just by turning off your computer, monitor and printer -- and any other peripherals -- when you leave work for the day, you can help save tens of thousands of costly kilowatt hours."(There are also the knock-on benefits of reducing dangerous emissions, slowing down climate change and minimizing havoc-causing brownouts and blackouts.)"Think saving a few kilowatt hours won't make a big difference?" says the web site. "To demonstrate the benefits of Power IT Down Day and how energy savings can be put to good use, its sponsors will make a…

  • A Practical Way To Use Electric Vehicles: Commute/Reverse Commute Station Cars

    21 Jul 2010 | 9:47 am
    Electric vehicles (EV) presently and will continue to suffer one crippling flaw for most applications: the lack of range. Note the words 'most applications' for there is an imaginative and practical means of using them that is discussed later on.A recent National Post 'Motor Mouth' article by David Booth points out that the batteries required to move EVs generate electrical energy far less efficiently than do gasoline or other fuels.  Gasoline produces about 6,000 watt-hours/pound whereas the "most optimistic numbers" he has seen for advanced lithium-ion batteries is 110…

  • Revive The Economy. Save The Planet. Get Efficient.

    2 Jul 2010 | 11:20 am
    Nearly every firm, agency and especially nonprofits subscribes if not reads to the notion of doing more with less as the key to productivity, profits or achieving other desired results.So why not take this sensible, proven concept to energy? And in the process slice the U.S. deficit, chop healthcare and other high costs, kickstart the economy and breathe and live easier?That's the argument made by David Goldstein, who is co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC's) energy program and a MacArthur Genius Award grant winner in 2002 for his work on energy efficiency, in his…

  • Dump BP, Dump the Pump (But Enable The Alternatives)

    16 Jun 2010 | 3:05 pm
    With excellent timing, following U.S. President Barack Obama's taking BP to the woodshed for what may have been a preventable Gulf of Mexico oil drilling disaster the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) issued a release asking people to ride mass transit on June 17, the 5th annual National Dump the Pump Day. "Sponsored by APTA which is partnering with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Sierra Club this year, the National Dump the Pump Day is a public awareness day that highlights the benefits of public transportation, two of which are saving money and…
 
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    Sustainablog

  • Help For The Homeless – Delivered By Bike?

    Rory Woods
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:39 am
    Photo courtesy of Maxim Karp This group of friends does exactly that. They gather every Sunday to assemble sack lunches and distribute them to people in need via bike. Food Not Bombs with a Twist: Burritos and Bike Delivery The Burrito Project was started in Los Angeles, but chapters have formed in many cities since its inception. The Fullerton, CA chapter meets every Sunday to assemble burritos and distribute them, often to the same people with whom they have developed relationships over the course of weeks or months. You Can Be the Change While the sack lunches that are distributed are…

  • Denver Man Invents World’s First Solar-Powered Light Bulb

    Calfinder
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:46 pm
    What do ski risers, ceiling bike storage, goggle fans and solar-powered light bulbs have in common? Stephen Katsaros. He’s an entrepreneur and inventor from Denver, Colorado with a knack for getting things done, as evidenced by the quick conception in January (and birth in July) of the Nokero Solar Light Bulb, with which Katsaros plans to replace the toxic fuel that one-quarter of the world still uses for lighting. The Nokero is the world’s first solar-powered light bulb and, while it may sound strange to adorn a single light bulb with solar panels, the Nokero is easy and fast to…

  • Book Review: Hunting: In Search of the Wild Life, Edited by Nathan Kowalsky

    Justin Van Kleeck
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:55 am
    Author’s Note: A free review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher, Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell’s series of philosophy books for general readers, Philosophy for Everyone, aims to serve general, non-expert readers without actually treating them as “dummies” or creating watered-down, one-size-fits-all philosophy. The risk such an endeavor always faces is to end up serving nobody while trying to serve everybody, failing to satisfy either the experts or the neophytes. In the anthology Hunting: In Search of the Wild Life (affiliate link), editor Nathan Kowalsky brings…

  • Geothermal: Getting Energy from the Earth

    Earth Policy Institute
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:57 am
    By Lester R. Brown The heat in the upper six miles of the earth’s crust contains 50,000 times as much energy as found in all the world’s oil and gas reserves combined. Despite this abundance, only 10,700 megawatts of geothermal electricity generating capacity have been harnessed worldwide. Partly because of the dominance of the oil, gas, and coal industries, which have been providing cheap fuel by omitting the costs of climate change and air pollution from fuel prices, relatively little has been invested in developing the earth’s geothermal heat resources. Over the last…

  • Green Business Blog Carnival #12 at Green Building Elements

    Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:38 pm
    Another week, another Green Business Blog Carnival. Our friends at Green Building Elements did a very nice job of wrapping up the news you can use from the green business blogosphere… Quite a variety of stories this week… from the business of sustainable wine making (and whether it actually results in better wine), to US energy flows, to some green businesses you’ve never heard of (yet)… And my favorite post this week? You may argue that it’s not strictly business-related, but Jonathan Mariano’s guest post at Triplepundit asking if we need a green Tea Party…
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    Change.org's Environment Blog

  • 10 Ways To Celebrate Labor Day, Sustainable Style

    Sarah Newman
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:30 am
    As summer's long hot days quickly fade, Labor Day weekend festivities are often people's last chance to picnic, lounge in the grass and soak in the sun before trees turn to crimson and the sky darkens early. In the spirit of the holiday, there's plenty you can do to honor the intertwined issues of labor and our environment. Being a patriot is about a whole lot more than just sporting your red-white-and-blue. It's about building a country that's also committed to green, worker-friendly practices that ensure a healthy future for all. Here's how to honor workers around the world, sustainable…

  • Help Eliminate America's Sweatshops on Wheels

    Tara Lohan
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:41 am
    When it comes to the environmental impact of our purchases, we often contemplate carbon footprints and food travel miles. And it's true, much of what we buy comes from overseas -- in June alone we imported $43 billion worth of consumer goods. What we usually don't think about is how those boatloads of goodies enter through our nation's ports, which are in turn jam-packed the physical manifestations of our nation's trade deficit: diesel trucks moving goods in and bring them out. And yes, those trucks are responsible for a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. But that's not the only problem. Our…

  • Don't Change Your Light Bulbs in the Dark

    Keith Harrington
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:35 pm
    “We’ve got to change laws, not just light bulbs.” Climate change organizers have used some variation of this argument for years. Its rationale is pretty simple: stabilizing the climate requires sweeping policy changes, so the time and energy we’d all spend greening our own lives would be much better spent getting politically active. It says activism is a zero-sum game. But while the recent death of the U.S. Senate's climate bill highlighted a need for more grassroots political action, it has also exposed a need for the climate movement to undertake a more wholesale strategic shift.

  • Eco-terrorist Takes Hostages At Discovery Channel Headquarters

    Jess Leber
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:14 pm
    Listen up: Here is a lesson in how not to save the planet. It comes from a man named James Jay Lee, who proclaims he is undertaking a "Save the Planet Protest" (Here is his MySpace page). Earlier today, he stormed the headquarters of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland with a gun and possibly explosives and has reportedly taken hostages. The situation is now unfolding, and police have evacuated the building. Update: News outlets are reporting that police have shot the gunman and taken him into custody. Three hostages have been released safely. The condition of James Lee is not…

  • Here Comes the Cleanup Crew, There Goes the Neighborhood?

    Jess Leber
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:15 pm
    "There goes the neighborhood," isn't the first reaction you'd expect when authorities offer to clean a contaminated waste dump. But that's exactly what old-timers sometimes fear. In Queens, New York, for example, community members were antsy when the state offered tax credits to remediate a string of abandoned industrial waste sites along the Manhattan-facing waterfront. Their worries were kind of spot on. Today, high-rise luxury condominiums (with some affordable housing mixed in) have replaced empty lots, and the main street strip is filled with hipster bars and cafes. Call it…
 
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    TreeHugger

  • California Bombs on Plastic Bag Ban

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:25 am
    Photo by Taberandrew Despite San Francisco leading the way on banning plastic bags back in 2007, California senators rejected a proposed plan to ban plastic bags statewide. The measure to remove carryout plastic bags from supermarkets, drug stores and convenience shops would have taken effect by July 2012 in larger stores, and 2013 in smaller stores, and it would have made California the first state to institute a ban like this. It was

  • Alexandra Cousteau, the Ocean Ambassador (Podcast)

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:14 am
    "We all live downstream from one another," says Alexandra Cousteau. In other words, what we do to the water, we do to ourselves. A third-generation Cousteau explorer, Alexandra is an ambassador of the sea. She's the host of Planet Green's Blue August, is currently traveling the world as a documentarian with her organization Blue Legacy, and, when she has a spare moment, does things like c...Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • New York City Inks Contract for Up to 475 Compressed Natural Gas Buses

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:01 am
    Photo: New Flyer What's the Difference Between CNG and Diesel? The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the "MTA") has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ("CNG") heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. We know that buses are a pretty green way to move lots of people around in urban area, but how much better are CNG buses compared to regular diesel buses? The U.S. Department of Energy has some numbers to allow us to compare....Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • David Suzuki: Our Obsession With Private Automobiles is Unsustainable

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:48 am
    bitefight via Torontoist Quote of the Day from David Suzuki in the Georgia Strait: Technological developments [such as electric cars etc.] are welcome, but maybe it's time we started rethinking our car culture as whole. The average car in North America carries 1.5 people, which means that most cars on the road only have a driver in them. Is it really efficient to use more than 1,000 kilograms of metal to transport 100 kilograms of huma...Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • If Octopuses Are Self-Aware, Are You Less Likely To Eat Them?

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:37 am
    Photo via Brian Gratwicke Does the intelligence of an animal factor in on your decision whether or not to eat them? Many people consider pigs to be incredibly intelligent, but they're still mostly factory farmed in often abhorrent conditions. Scientists are pushing for dolphins and other cetaceans to have non-human person status, complete with inalienable rights. But they're still hunted every year as a fish stock, as the documentary The Cove has highlighted. And what about cephalopods, a.k.a. octopuses and squid, which are known to be highly intelligent -- so...Read the full story on…
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    TreeHugger's Most Popular Posts

  • Curious Whales Check Out Photographers with Stunning Results

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:09 pm
    Reaching sizes of up to 80 feet long and 150 tons, whales are some of the oceans' most varied and majestic creatures -- and they're also some of its most endangered: Of the 11 species of great whales, at least nine have been severely impacted by years of whaling, according to Sea World. But while whales can be aggressive at times, they are more often gentle, curious creatures -- and likely to check out foreign objects in the water, including boats and photographers. Right Whale This massive right whale came up to wildlife photographer Brian Skerry with "great curiosity, but no aggression," he…

  • Live On From Beyond The Groove: Have Your Ashes Pressed Into Vinyl

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:45 am
    TreeHugger has reviewed many different, greener things to do with our bodies after we have shuffled off the mortal coil, from freeze-drying to composting . Now an English company offers a new option: Have your ashes pressed into vinyl record albums. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Exclusive Look at California's Secret Titan Redwood Trees

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:23 am
    Deep in the forests of northern California is a grove of trees unlike any other in the world. Within only a few acres lies an incredible density of old-growth redwood trees—including many of the world's largest trees. It's called the Grove of Titans and its location is a secret. Do you have comments on this slideshow? Leave them here. Image credit: M. D. Vaden of Oregon... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Female Cyclists Demand Respect, and Kisses from Hot Men

    1 Sep 2010 | 1:49 am
    Image credit: Joe Plommer/The Mule Bar Girls April may believe we need more girls on bikes, but there is no doubt that gender politics and cycling can be an explosive mix. When I wrote about podium girls—or the practice of bike races employing female cyclists to look pretty and kiss men—the response from our readers was mixed to say the least. Some felt it was just part of the culture, others felt it was degrading and disappointing. Now a top female cyclist is weighing in on the debate, demanding a hot male athlete to even up the score. Oh, and maybe she'd like a little bit of…

  • UFO Lands In Swedish Tree House Hotel

    31 Aug 2010 | 10:02 am
    We love the idea of the Swedish TreeHotel, with its Almost Invisible Mirrored Tree House and its The Bird's Nest Tree House that Hides Among The Branches. The bird house designer, Bertil HarstrAm of Inredningsgruppen, has another in the works: a UFO.... Read the full story on TreeHugger
 
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    TreeHugger

  • New York City Inks Contract for Up to 475 Compressed Natural Gas Buses

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:01 am
    Photo: New Flyer What's the Difference Between CNG and Diesel? The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the "MTA") has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ("CNG") heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. We know that buses are a pretty green way to move lots of people around in urban area, but how much better are CNG buses compared to regular diesel buses? The U.S. Department of Energy has some numbers to allow us to compare.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • David Suzuki: Our Obsession With Private Automobiles is Unsustainable

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:48 am
    bitefight via Torontoist Quote of the Day from David Suzuki in the Georgia Strait: Technological developments [such as electric cars etc.] are welcome, but maybe it's time we started rethinking our car culture as whole. The average car in North America carries 1.5 people, which means that most cars on the road only have a driver in them. Is it really efficient to use more than 1,000 kilograms of metal to transport 100 kilograms of huma... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • When Bike Sharing Falters (and Why We Can't Let It)

    2 Sep 2010 | 5:11 am
    Photo credit by batega via flickr. In its early days, Barcelona's Bicing seemed like an unparalleled success. With 400 stations and 3,000 of the squat, burly red-and-white bikes stationed around the city, Bicing quickly became part of Barcelona's big city atmosphere and was enthusiastically received by inhabitants. But after five years, something scary started to happen, in addition to the vandalism and

  • California To Extend Carpool-Lane Access To 40,000 Plug-In Hybrids

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:30 am
    Photo: Flickr, CC Should Access for Regular Hybrids be Phased Out? In California, vehicles that meet certain fuel economy and tailpipe emission criteria are granted special access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV, aka the carpool lane). In car-centric places like Los Angeles, it's a huge advantage. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill (SB 535) into law that extends HOV-lane access to 40,000 qualifying plug-in hybrid ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Electric Sports Cars, SUVs and Mini-Vans in Fully Charged Round-up (Video)

    1 Sep 2010 | 7:19 am
    Image credit: Fully Charged Robert Llewellyn has been busy once again. Having road tested of the BMW Mini-E, explored fast electric car charging, and reviewed the Nissan Leaf, the cult British TV presenter and comedy actor has also been trying out some more unusual EV's. From a fully electric Range Rover SUV, through... Read the full story on TreeHugger
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    TreeHugger

  • iPhone Game Features Heroic Fish Dodging Gulf Oil Spill Damage

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:40 am
    Image via Elephant Journal We've had an influx of iPhone apps based on the Gulf oil spill, and many of them also donate proceeds to helping clean-up efforts. So what makes Puff Puff: Gulf Spill any different? It's still an app about the life post oil disaster and it donates 30% of net proceeds to ecosystem restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. But perhaps the importan... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Cork Furniture and Cardboard Bars by Marina68 (Photos)

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:11 am
    At TreeHugger we like cork, that warm material that can be harvested without chopping down trees, is fully renewable and biodegradable and can be shaped into many funky objects apart from stoppers to keep the wine in the bottles. The designers at studio Marina68 in Barcelona have worked with this local material and created a series of furniture, that embrace craftsmanship and eco-friendly materials. Have a look below for some of our favourites.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • McKibben On Tour, Stops By New York to Inspire Letterman (Video)

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:40 am
    photo via 350.org Big props to David Letterman for bringing on Bill McKibben earlier this week to talk to Letterman's 4 million nightly viewers about global climate change and Bill's 350.org project. 350.org has a savvy campaign to get the White House to put solar panels back on the roof after Ronald Reagen had them taken off in the 80s. Dave asked some sharp questions about nuclear power and political inaction, and Bill, as always, was ready with sharper answers that added some hope to the fight for an energy revolution. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Mark Ronson Brings Bikes to Life and Chases Babes (Video)

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:04 am
    Image: MSN.com I'm admitting it: I have a great big dude crush on Mark Ronson. The British musician/producer has put together some of the best pop music the world's heard in a while, and I can't DJ a party without spinning his recut of Britney Spears' Toxic (with Tiggers, ODB, and the Daptones horn section). Ronson's upcoming release, Record Collection, includes a track called Bike Song, and the video is a beautiful thing. Ronson, Spank Rock, and Kyle Falconer bring the city's bikes t... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Live On From Beyond The Groove: Have Your Ashes Pressed Into Vinyl

    1 Sep 2010 | 8:45 am
    TreeHugger has reviewed many different, greener things to do with our bodies after we have shuffled off the mortal coil, from freeze-drying to composting . Now an English company offers a new option: Have your ashes pressed into vinyl record albums. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger
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    TreeHugger

  • House Built From Hemp Is Full Of Green Surprises

    2 Sep 2010 | 8:49 am
    All images from Push House In much of the world, hemp is thought of as a useful building material; Warren recently showed us an interesting house from Australia and it is common in the UK. But in America, it is still the butt of hippie jokes; Matt Hickman of the Mother Nature Networks describes a new house in Asheville, North Carolina with references to Tommy Chong and describes the interior:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Dual-Flush Toilet Retrofit, With Adjustable Flush (Video)

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:30 am
    Image credit: Brondell Simple Flush Dual-flush toilets have always been popular here on TreeHugger. After all, it seems insane to use the same amount of drinking water to flush your number ones as your number twos. (It actually seems insane to use drinking water at all, but that's another story.) But rather than just advocating ripping out your old fixture—we've always been keen on adapting your old throne. From the

  • Cork Furniture and Cardboard Bars by Marina68 (Photos)

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:11 am
    At TreeHugger we like cork, that warm material that can be harvested without chopping down trees, is fully renewable and biodegradable and can be shaped into many funky objects apart from stoppers to keep the wine in the bottles. The designers at studio Marina68 in Barcelona have worked with this local material and created a series of furniture, that embrace craftsmanship and eco-friendly materials. Have a look below for some of our favourites.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Kwantlen Xthum: First Nations Meeting Place at University Scoops Design Awards

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:38 am
    Designing a space to serve multiple functions can be a challenge. British Columbia design studio Public had to learn about a whole new range of uses for Xthum, at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where the Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen and Katzie Nations needed a space for celebrating, feasting, storytelling, counselling, advising, studying, and relaxing. How do you fit that all in?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • UFO Lands In Swedish Tree House Hotel

    31 Aug 2010 | 3:02 pm
    We love the idea of the Swedish TreeHotel, with its Almost Invisible Mirrored Tree House and its The Bird's Nest Tree House that Hides Among The Branches. The bird house designer, Bertil Harström of Inredningsgruppen, has another in the works: a UFO.... Read the full story on TreeHugger
 
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    TreeHugger

  • PACT's Playful Organic Undies Support Artists with Disabilities (Photos)

    2 Sep 2010 | 4:03 am
    Image courtesy of PACT. I love PACT underwear. Not only do they have a philanthropic twist -- past collections have supported non-profits like Oceana and Global Green USA -- but their design is playful and fun -- the way panties should be. Today, Pact unveiled their latest organic underwear collaboration with Creative Growth, an art program for persons with disabilities; ten percent of proceeds will be donated to support the a... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Computer Wire Dress by Tina Sparkles Makes Statement About e-Waste

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    Images via Tina Sparkles Electronic clothing is something that continually fascinates some designers. From circuit board boxers to keyboard purses to blinking bicycling sweaters, there's just something about turning electronics into fashion. But Tina Sparkles does it w... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Textiles and Eco-Clothing at the Royal College of Art Summer Show

    1 Sep 2010 | 3:05 am
    All Images by B. Alter: Jrumchai Singalavanij With ecological and sustainable fashion growing more popular, it's important that students be interested and involved in this area: they are the future. In which case we are in luck: at this year's Royal College of Art Summer Graduate show there are some fascinating new designers on their way up. Jrumchai Singalavanij is committed; she makes all of her creations out of recycled bits from the textile industry and transforms them so that they can be woven. Her pieces are fa... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Green Fashion Pioneer Kuyichi Opens First Concept Store in the UK

    31 Aug 2010 | 4:09 am
    Image via TreeHugger We've been covering eco-fashion denim brand Kuyichi since 2004, when TreeHugger was still in its formative years. Founded in 2001, by international NGO Solidaridad, the sustainable brand -- and winner of our Best of Green Award for Non-U.S.--based Casual Brand -- has spread to more than 500 stores across Europe and now they have their very own ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Old Newspapers Get a Colorful (and Functional) Makeover with Holstee's Recycled Wallets (Photos)

    31 Aug 2010 | 4:07 am
    Photo: courtesy of Holstee. From the makers of the eco-hipster tee comes a recycled wallet made from old plastic bags and newspapers collected from the streets of Delhi. New York-based eco-fashion brand Holstee has partnered with a non-profit in India to help provide employment to those often referred to as 'rag pickers.' Holstee's slim wallets are minimalist in design and safely store your essentials: metro card, credit card, ID, etc. Each wallet has a one-of-a-kind pattern and is made with 90... Read the full story on TreeHugger
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    TreeHugger

  • Local Flower Bouquets are Seasonal and Eco-Friendly

    2 Sep 2010 | 3:12 am
    Image from my luscious backyard Fancy exotic bouquets are losing their bloom. Flying in flowers from around the world is expensive in terms of money and the environmental impact. Some florists this summer are starting to use local flowers for their bouquets: as in picked from neighbourhood gardens. Now florists are turning gardens into mini-flower farms for their small businesses; renting or trading space in neighbouring gardens for flower beds. Part of the success comes from a change in... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Eating Local, Organic, Or Vegetarian Can't Stop This - Only The Federal Government Can

    31 Aug 2010 | 8:39 am
    "Corn falls into the East Nishnabotna River in Montgomery County, Iowa. Severe row crop land erosion is occurring along the river." Caption/image credit, this and subsquent images:Gannon, Desmoines Register The dramatic pictures you see in this post speak for themselves: Iowa crop land and even corn falling directly into a river. They symbolize mismanagement of the land by farmers, the Federal government, and corporations which lobby for the policies which lead to this... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Britain's Allotment Culture: When Residents Demand Land, They Get It (Video)

    31 Aug 2010 | 7:49 am
    Image credit: The Journey TV From this awesome tour of a permaculture allotment, to residents battling to keep their gardens, Britain's 'allotment' culture has featured regularly on TreeHugger. And not without good reason. These small plots of land, rented from local government for an affordable fee, are visible in almost every town and city across the country,... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Self-Sufficiency Versus a Backyard CSA (Video)

    31 Aug 2010 | 6:43 am
    Image credit: Peak Moment TV A few years ago, Scott McGuire launched an experiment in backyard sustainability—exploring how much food he could grow in his backyard for his family, and whether they could reach self-sufficiency. So what happened? Having grown everything from annual vegetables to grains, Scott made a realization that it would be almost impossible to grow all his family's food in such a small space. But rather than give up, or scale back his ambitions, he launched a CSA to feed other families ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Setting Up and Running a School Garden. Toolkits for Teachers

    31 Aug 2010 | 5:10 am
    All Images: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have released a follow up document to their 2005 publication, Setting Up and Running a School Garden. The newer manual is a School Garden Teaching Toolkit, comprising a bunch of step-by-step lessons to "engage learners actively and encourage them to observe and experiment." Both manuals are very comprehensive, each being around the 200 page mark. As the FAO's Growing Connection
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    TreeHugger

  • Déjà Vu All Over Again: Offshore Oil Platform Explodes in Gulf of Mexico

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:35 am
    Image: Google Maps Thankfully, No Deaths This Time An offshore oil platform exploded and caught fire today in the Gulf of Mexico. It is located about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site of BP's massive oil spill. All 13 people who were on the rig were evacuated and only one was injured, reports the U.S. Coast Guard.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • New York City Inks Contract for Up to 475 Compressed Natural Gas Buses

    2 Sep 2010 | 11:01 am
    Photo: New Flyer What's the Difference Between CNG and Diesel? The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the "MTA") has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ("CNG") heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. We know that buses are a pretty green way to move lots of people around in urban area, but how much better are CNG buses compared to regular diesel buses? The U.S. Department of Energy has some numbers to allow us to compare.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Exploiting Utah's Oil Shale Deposits is Fossil Foolishness (Video)

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:35 am
    Ahead of its upcoming report Fossil Foolishness: Utah's Pursuit of Tar Sands and Oil Shale Western Resource Advocates has produced the above short video detailing, as you might imagine from the title, why even though it may be ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • California To Extend Carpool-Lane Access To 40,000 Plug-In Hybrids

    1 Sep 2010 | 10:30 am
    Photo: Flickr, CC Should Access for Regular Hybrids be Phased Out? In California, vehicles that meet certain fuel economy and tailpipe emission criteria are granted special access to the high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV, aka the carpool lane). In car-centric places like Los Angeles, it's a huge advantage. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill (SB 535) into law that extends HOV-lane access to 40,000 qualifying plug-in hybrid ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Is the UK's First Green Cell Phone Rating System Bending the Rules?

    1 Sep 2010 | 9:45 am
    Photo via KhE O2, a communications company in the United Kingdom, has just launched the country's first green cell phone ranking system -- something of which Apple did not want the iPhone to be part. But G... Read the full story on TreeHugger
 
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    TreeHugger

  • If Octopuses Are Self-Aware, Are You Less Likely To Eat Them?

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:37 am
    Photo via Brian Gratwicke Does the intelligence of an animal factor in on your decision whether or not to eat them? Many people consider pigs to be incredibly intelligent, but they're still mostly factory farmed in often abhorrent conditions. Scientists are pushing for dolphins and other cetaceans to have non-human person status, complete with inalienable rights. But they're still hunted every year as a fish stock, as the documentary The Cove has highlighted. And what about cephalopods, a.k.a. octopuses and squid, which are known to be highly intelligent -- so... Read the full story on…

  • Curious Whales Check Out Photographers with Stunning Results (Slideshow)

    2 Sep 2010 | 7:27 am
    Photo via The Daily Mail The ocean's whales are some of the Earth's most massive and majestic animals, reaching sizes of up to 80 feet long and 150 tons. As the targets of centuries of whaling, they have a violent history -- and are still recovering from an industry that depleted their numbers substantially. But while whales can be aggressive at times, they are more often gentle, curious creatures -- and likely to check out foreign objects in the water, including boats and photographers.

  • 7 Green Ferry Trips Around the World

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:44 am
    Photo via JWGA Inc Sometimes the waterway is both greener and faster than the highway. Though ferries are bigger than cars and usually use more fuel, they can carry hundreds of people and cars at one time. Plus, they are also often the shortest route from point A to point B -- meaning a fraction of the mileage that would be spent in a car. In cities that offer commuter ferries to keep rush hour under control, ferries are also a solution to traffic jams -- meaning less stress as well as fuel consumption. From New York and California to Italy and Australia, add thes... Read the full story on…

  • Today on Planet 100: Tiger Cub Violates Carry-On Restrictions (Video)

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:13 am

  • New Bee Species Discovered During Downtown Toronto Commute

    1 Sep 2010 | 8:55 am
    Example of a sweat bee -- Metallic colored sweat bee species are diverse, and difficult to identify to which species a specimen belongs; photo via zackzen Researchers Jason Gibbs who was working on a study of sweat bees discovered a new species while commuting from downtown Toronto to York University. It is one of 19 new species he found while examining 84 species of sweat bees in Canada -- so named because they are attracted to perspiration -- which are common in North America. His study goes a long way in cataloging a variety of bee that has proven a "nightmare" to study. ... Read the full…
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    TreeHugger

  • Cork Furniture and Cardboard Bars by Marina68 (Photos)

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:11 am
    At TreeHugger we like cork, that warm material that can be harvested without chopping down trees, is fully renewable and biodegradable and can be shaped into many funky objects apart from stoppers to keep the wine in the bottles. The designers at studio Marina68 in Barcelona have worked with this local material and created a series of furniture, that embrace craftsmanship and eco-friendly materials. Have a look below for some of our favourites.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Ask Pablo: Ceramic Plates vs Paper Plates

    30 Aug 2010 | 5:13 am
    Image Source: akseabird Dear Pablo: A few of my co-workers and I are wondering what we should tell people when they refuse to use ceramic plates for lunch meetings, etc. They want to use paper plates. Do you have any information on the comparison between resources used for dish-washing vs. paper production? This question has been asked by many people in many different forms. Years ago I was asked if it's better to wash dishes by han... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • The Week in Pictures: The Week in Pictures: Microbes Eat Gulf Oil Plume, Bubblegum Rubber, Real Life Sea Monsters, and More (Slideshow)

    27 Aug 2010 | 5:33 am
    What oil plume? Scientists have reported that the miles-long deep sea oil plume which resulted from the BP oil spill has essentially vanished, apparently eaten by microbes previously unknown to science. Also this week, an argument published by the Guardian calls for the FDA to lighten up on the regulatory process for approving genetically engineered animals; researchers have created a new kind of concrete that's made out of waste products from coal plants; and wildlife photographer Paolo Torchio discovered a mysterious "bearded" antelope in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve. This news and…

  • Boxsal, a Pretty Fun Picnic in a Cardboard Box (Photos)

    26 Aug 2010 | 1:35 am
    Summer is the prefect time for picnics, pretty much anywhere! On roof tops, in Central Park, at the beach, open air cinemas or the zoo, a good picnic is special. But how often do you make the effort and unleash your creativity to put together a delicious lunch or dinner in a box or basket? The design team The Three Blind Ants have just made it a little bit easier, a little bit more fun and a little eco-friendlier with the Boxsal. It is basically a fashionable cardboard box with enough room to fit a bottle of wine, snacks, sandwiches and more. Boxsal comes with beautiful utensils, plates, cups…

  • Best of Inhabitat: Packaging the Future

    20 Aug 2010 | 9:01 am
    Have you ever looked at a product the size of a pea wrapped in a layer of clear film, with a 20 page instruction booklet, vacuum packed in hard plastic, covered by another layer of cardboard and thought, "Why?!"? Well, you're not alone. We, along with our favorite eco-chick, green journalist Starre Vartan, were so frustrated with certain kinds of packaging—and inspired by others —that we decided to launch an entire series to exploring the
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    TreeHugger

  • McKibben On Tour, Stops By New York to Inspire Letterman (Video)

    2 Sep 2010 | 12:40 am
    photo via 350.org Big props to David Letterman for bringing on Bill McKibben earlier this week to talk to Letterman's 4 million nightly viewers about global climate change and Bill's 350.org project. 350.org has a savvy campaign to get the White House to put solar panels back on the roof after Ronald Reagen had them taken off in the 80s. Dave asked some sharp questions about nuclear power and political inaction, and Bill, as always, was ready with sharper answers that added some hope to the fight for an energy revolution. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • Like a Good Neighbor, the Clean Air Act is There

    31 Aug 2010 | 9:19 am
    Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has been the EPA's most effective tool for combating air pollution. When it was first enacted, the Clean Air Act only covered five pollutants. But over the last 40 years it has been amended to protect the public from dozens of additional dangerous pollutants. But air pollution doesn't stop at state lines, and as a result people throughout the country are forced to breathe unhealthy air. EPA's proposed Good Neighbor Rule will help states be good neigh... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • YouGoods Eco-Invention Contest Draws to a Close: Cast Your Vote for the Winner Today!

    29 Aug 2010 | 7:30 am
    Earlier this month, we told you about UncommonGoods' open design contest, looking for the next great eco-friendly invention. This week, the judges of the YouGoods contest, including TreeHugger founder Graham Hill, chose three finalists, based on the criteria that they be "unique, economical, and eco-friendly." Still in the running are: a reusable grocery bag with a built-in dry-erase shopping list, a double-wall t... Read the full story on TreeHugger

  • James Cameron Hits the Amazon To Stop the Belo Monte Dam (Video)

    28 Aug 2010 | 5:38 pm
    Image Credit: broddi via Flickr In the months since "Avatar"struck major environmental themeswhile banking nearly $3 billion, James Cameron, an avid environmentalist, has been very busy. He's been bringing his celebrity to fight the oil and coal industries and

  • Join Extreme Athletes to Protect the 360

    26 Aug 2010 | 3:57 pm
    Image courtesy of Protect the 360° "Climate change is real," BMX legend Dave Mirra says, "It affects everything from snow quality to quality of life." Indeed, as Protect the 360° explains, "climate change doesn't just mean warmer weather." Now, from skate parks to ski slopes, action-sports athletes and enthusiasts are banding together to make a difference—and you can join them.... Read the full story on TreeHugger
 
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    Green

  • Berkeley Debates the Demise of a Cougar

    By TODD WOODY
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:53 am
    A mountain lion wandered into the uniquely tolerant town of Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, and was ultimately shot by police. Heated debate has ensued.

  • Protest Shuts Down Oil Rig off Greenland

    By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:06 pm
    Exploratory drilling by a Scottish oil firm was halted after four Greenpeace protesters scaled the rig and suspended tents from its underside.

  • Fresh Air for Sale, in Hong Kong

    By BETTINA WASSENER
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:28 am
    A tongue-in-cheek commercial from an antipollution group, already a hit on YouTube, delivers a message about what the city's pollution could portend.

  • BP Tripled Ad Spending After Spill

    By JOHN M. BRODER
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:29 am
    An anatomy of the oil giant's media response to the Gulf disaster.

  • A Nuclear Giant Moves Into Wind

    By MATTHEW L. WALD
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:10 pm
    Exelon, which recently backed away from building new nuclear plants, announced that it was buying John Deere Renewables.
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    SocialEarth

  • More Than a Change Agent

    Amy
    24 Aug 2010 | 12:21 pm
    I am in a bit of a unique circumstance while writing this blog as I am sitting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia preparing to leave for a five-day trip to where more than 64 million Ethiopians live- in rural poverty. So, the implication of being a change agent for me- and thus, my answer to this [...]

  • International Development Design Summit 2010

    Guest Author
    28 Jul 2010 | 8:46 am
    48 participants representing 17 countries converged upon Colorado State University on July 7th, 2010 to kick off the fourth annual International Development Design Summit (IDDS). IDDS aims to produce innovative, scalable technologies and enterprises to meet the very real needs of the 2.6 billion people earning less than $2-a-day. For this year’s Summit, the focus [...]

  • Social Entrepreneurship Weekly

    Tristan
    26 Jun 2010 | 9:32 am
    This is a partner column in conjunction with Ashoka’s Change InSight blog. Every week I’m covering the top news, highlights, events and opportunities in the realm of social entrepreneurship. Everyday changemakers are addressing the hard questions of local, national and global quandaries. This weekly article accentuates those individuals and organizations creating systematic and lasting change [...]

  • Nonprofit Organization Highlights Local Changemakers in Haiti

    Tristan
    21 Jun 2010 | 12:19 pm
    “People in poverty are championing the way out of poverty,” declared Daphne Nederhorst, Ashoka Fellow and founder of Sawa Global, an organization highlighting local changemakers in their home communities. Four Sawa Global employees, including Nederhorst, recently flew to Haiti from their home base in Vancouver, British Columbia. Once on the ground, they didn’t bark orders [...]

  • An Avon Approach To Healthier and Wealthier Communities

    Guest Author
    8 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am
    The following article was written by Olivia Khalili of the Cause Capitalism blog. The concept is simple and brilliant. When I came across Living Goods, my stomach flipped with the potential impact of the organization’s work.  The mechanisms, intent and appeal match that of blockbuster social enterprises Kiva and charity: water. Living Goods replicates Avon’s [...]
 
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    Green Tech

  • Motor City getting in on electric fever

    Candace Lombardi
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:28 am
    Coulomb Technologies installs free public electric-charging station in downtown Detroit as part of ChargePoint America program to encourage EV adoption.

  • Cisco buys Arch Rock in smart-grid push

    Martin LaMonica
    2 Sep 2010 | 7:46 am
    Networking giant to augment its IP-based communications tech with planned purchase of start-up Arch Rock, which makes wireless sensors for buildings, data centers, and utility networks.

  • Cisco, Itron team on smart-grid networking

    Martin LaMonica
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:59 am
    Cisco and smart-meter maker team on communications system based on IP to connect everything from people's homes to power distribution equipment on the grid.

  • Waste Management going for 'black gold'

    Candace Lombardi
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:06 am
    Garbage collector plans to offer organic gardening products made from expanded organic waste collection service.

  • Philly subway to capture energy from braking trains

    Martin LaMonica
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:15 am
    The smart grid goes underground in Philadelphia, where a battery will store energy from regenerative braking, cutting power costs and earning revenue on the grid.
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    Energy Circle

  • Energy Conservation with Cookie Monster.

    Will
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:20 am
    No, no, I don’t spend all my free time watching Sesame Street episodes on YouTube, I swear. But a friend of mine posted this video on Facebook the other day and it tickled my fancy, both because it brought me back to the good old days and because, well, it’s pretty funny. Monsterpiece theatre? Come on now, that’s good stuff. Anyway, this particular Sesame Street clip, “Conservations with my Father,” featuring the famous Cookie Monster, focuses on ways to reduce your environmental impact through simple steps like turning off a dripping faucet or switching off the…

  • Around the Web: Energy Circle's Hand-Picked Links, Chosen Especially for Energy Efficiency Pros.

    Will
    27 Aug 2010 | 1:02 pm
    LEED’s Fatal Flaw. The most recognized green building standard in the country, maybe in the world, fails to protect human health through air quality and other safety measures. We should take note. (From Demand Side Solutions) Colorado Family Killed by Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Relatives of the family have filed a civil suit against 12 parties, including the owner of the building and the manufacturer of the boiler that released the carbon monoxide, in an effort to determine what caused the deaths and how a similar case can be avoided in the future. The tragedy highlights the need for…

  • ReCircle: Joe Biden, Stimulus Success, Smart Homes, Energy Efficient Mortgages, and more!

    Will
    27 Aug 2010 | 12:34 pm
    Biden: Stimulus Funds for Energy Innovation are Working. A new report from the White House demonstrates how federal funds for energy innovation are driving innovation, creating jobs, lowering the cost of clean energy, and cutting carbon. (From GigaOm) Poll: Do You Want a Home Energy Management System? CNET is conducting a poll on what sorts of technology people want to help improve the energy efficiency of their home. What do you think? (From CNET) What Are Energy Efficient Mortgages and Energy Improvement Mortgages? There are financing mechanisms out there to help you improve your…

  • ReCircle: Mandatory Energy Ratings, Inexpensive LEDs, Green Jobs, New Windows, and more!

    Will
    20 Aug 2010 | 11:05 am
    *As last week was officially vacation week at Energy Circle (we're based in Maine, summer's short), we've conglomerated the best curated links from the past two weeks into one long post this week. Hope you enjoy:  From Energy Circle: The Top 5 Energy Efficient Products to Take to College. As Energy Circle's summer intern Margaret Myers prepares to head back to school, she's concocted a list of the five basic energy efficiency tools and energy efficient products that every student should have in their dorm room. Curated Links from the Web: U.K. to Require Energy…

  • Around the Web: Energy Circle's Hand-Picked Links, Chosen Especially for Energy Efficiency Pros.

    Will
    20 Aug 2010 | 10:54 am
    *As last week was officially vacation week at Energy Circle (we're based in Maine, summer's short), we've conglomerated the best curated links from the past two weeks into one long post this week. Hope you enjoy:  U.K. to Require Energy Efficiency Ratings for All Home Sales. New legislation requires that energy efficiency ratings will be compulsory for all homes that go up for sale, signaling a shift toward greater awareness of energy efficiency within the real estate market. This is on our radar because the U.K. has a history of being ahead of the curve (think representative…
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    Green Event Connection

  • AzBizGreen 2010 “Connecting Green to the Community for Profit & Sustainability”

    Michael Green
    18 Aug 2010 | 10:31 am
    Title: AzBizGreen 2010 “Connecting Green to the Community for Profit & Sustainability” Location: Glendale, AZ Link out: Click here Description: 3rd Annual AzBizGreen 2010 “Connecting Green to the Community for Profit & Sustainability”. Please visit http://billclaydesignstudio.com/azbizgreen_2010.html for registration, topics, speakers, sponsors, agencies & businesses represented. Online registration required, free to attend. Date: 2010-10-07

  • Urban Beekeeping

    Michael Green
    4 Aug 2010 | 1:57 pm
    Title: Urban Beekeeping Location: Hopland CA Link out: Click here Description: In this introductory course, students will learn the basics associated with starting and managing a sustainable bee hive in an urban setting. Though a somewhat unlikely setting, cities are excellent environments for keeping bees if permitted by municipal code. This course will introduce students to the basic concepts and terminology associated with urban beekeeping, as well as the equipment necessary for keeping a successful hive. Students will learn what steps are necessary for establishing their own hive and…

  • GreenBiz Innovation Forum 2010

    Michael Green
    3 Aug 2010 | 8:48 am
    Title: GreenBiz Innovation Forum 2010 Location: San Francisco, CA Link out: Click here Description: Is your business well positioned to take advantage of the convergence of innovation and sustainability as a fundamental strategy? Join leaders in sustainability and GreenBiz.com for a landmark event, the GreenBiz Innovation Forum. The GreenBiz Innovation Forum is the first event for global companies focusing on how to embed innovation into their DNA to achieve both environmental and business goals. What sustainable innovation means — including technology, product, service, and business model…

  • Green Home & Living Show

    Michael Green
    2 Aug 2010 | 1:51 pm
    Title: Green Home & Living Show Location: Portland Expo Building Description: From simple solutions for reducing energy bills, to the latest green products and services, you’ll find it all at The 2nd Annual Maine Green Home & Living Show. Visitors can check out over 175 eco-exhibits while gathering information and inspiration from seminars, demonstrations and other activities for all ages and every shade of green. Start Date: 2010-10-23 End Date: 2010-10-24

  • Northwest Environmental Conference & Trade Show

    Michael Green
    31 Jul 2010 | 1:43 pm
    Title: Northwest Environmental Conference & Trade Show Location: Red Lion Hotel Jantzen Beach Link out: Click here Description: 2010 Northwest Environmental Conference & Trade Show is the premiere venue where Northwest environmental professionals update their knowledge on regulations, interact with peers on problem solving, get CEU credits and additional training and access vendors. This is the perfect time to increase your company’s vicinity and gain two days of exposure to a very receptive audience. With over 400 environmental professionals attending, the exposure for your…
 
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    Greenway Communique

  • Demands of the Discovery gunman?

    1 Sep 2010 | 11:55 am
    Romenesko is reporting that the gunman inside Discovery Communications is James Lee and he is making the following demands (although these are not confirmed to him as of yet):The Discovery Channel MUST broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet and to do the following IMMEDIATELY:1. The Discovery Channel and it's affiliate channels MUST have daily television programs at prime time slots based on Daniel Quinn's "My Ishmael" pages 207-212 where solutions to save the planet would be done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done, by people building on each…

  • Environmental campaigners ignore identity at their peril

    23 Aug 2010 | 6:14 am
    By ignoring the role that identity plays in individual responses to green messaging, environmental campaigners could strengthen aspects of identity that are antagonistic to pro-environmental concerns and behaviors. That cautionary message comes from an article by Tom Crompton and Tim Kasser in the July-August issue of Environment Magazine titled Human Identity: A Missing Link in Environmental Campaigning. Among the potential pitfalls identified by the authors are: Focusing on financial self-interest or social status as reasons for engaging in pro-environmental behavior could strengthen the…

  • This week in Green Communications & PR

    22 Aug 2010 | 12:48 pm
    Every week I Tweet and share dozens of links to content on green advertising, media, communications and public relations. If you want those links in real time, just follow me on Twitter and/or subscribe to my shared items on Google Reader. I had a big event Tuesday which you can read about from the links on my Twitter feed or my company’s cellulosic ethanol blog. But there was a lot of great content out there and I managed to get to a fair amount of it. Here are the links for the week: Advertising: Greens need to be more creative Hey, Kaco New Energy, Schuco, Solar World, and Yingli Solar!

  • Can small changes lead to big ones?

    20 Aug 2010 | 6:20 am
    How can people be convinced to significantly green their lives? To make the big changes needed to conserve natural resources and decrease energy use? Robert B. Cialdini may have something to suggest. Cialdini' is the author of Influence and I’ve been reading his follow-up book Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. Each of the 50 ways is given its own chapter in the easy to read book and number 14 is titled: “How can one small step help your influence take a giant leap?” This chapter tells the story of two social science researchers posing as the Road Traffic Safety…

  • Greens need to be more creative

    16 Aug 2010 | 6:04 am
    Environmentalists have to be more creative if they want to convince people to make more environmentally-friendly decisions. That’s the message from green marketing agency EcoAlign in the first of a series of “creative briefs” released this month. In this first brief, EcoAlign asked six artists (three from the U.S. and three from other countries) to create an original image of the “tree of life.” The diverse images can be licensed from EcoAlign with proceeds benefitting the National Forest Foundation and Groundswell International. I work much more often with words than images, but I…
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    EcoZebra

  • Day 114 – Take A Stroll on Broadway.

    Andrew Stone
    16 Aug 2010 | 8:25 pm
    If you haven’t hit the Broadway Summer Stroll yet this Friday, August 20th from 6-9pm, is your last chance this year. Presented by the Downtown Alliance, Local First and the Broadway Merchants Association, this has been a great once a month event this year.I am sorry to see it wrapping up for the year, but look forward to next year! About 365 Things To Do In Salt Lake City: This series features 365 wonderful things you can do in Salt Lake City, one day at a time, they may be year long activities or single day adventures.  If you have something you want us to feature in this series…

  • Day 113 – Creepy Crawler Days at the Gallivan Center. FREE fun for the kids!

    Andrew Stone
    10 Aug 2010 | 6:58 am
    Radio Disney is at it again with Creepy Crawler Days at the Gallivan Center this Tuesday, August 17th from 11am – 1pm. From the website: Our friends from Scales and Tails will teach your kids how to say “fun with a forked tongue.” Don’t miss this fun show with a giant torus, huge python and other scaly creatures. We will also bring back the super popular waterslide along with our waterfall for those kids wanting to cool off.   Bouncehouse and waterslide are free, train ride is $2, snowcones are also available for purchase. For more information on this and all…

  • Day 112 – Dress Up Like Your Dead and Walk Like a Zombie.

    Andrew Stone
    6 Aug 2010 | 9:07 pm
    Image by David Jackmanson via Flickr It’s time to get your best dead on and hit the streets for the 3rd annual Salt Lake City Zombie Walk. Held at 7pm On August 8th the walk will start in the park area between the Main Library and City Hall.  All you have to do is have a craving from Brains and dress in your best Zombie garb. More information on the walk and a map of the route can be found in Three locations: http://www.facebook.com/slczombiewalk http://www.myspace.com/zombiesinslc http://www.slczombiewalk.blogspot.com About 365 Things To Do In Salt Lake City: This series features 365…

  • Day 111 – Head up to Hogle Zoo Tonight For Lions, Tigers and BEER! Oh My!

    Andrew Stone
    5 Aug 2010 | 10:41 am
    You heard right! Beer at the Zoo!  They are shipping out the strollers and bringing in the beer TONIGHT from 6:30pm – 9pm.  Tickets are $40. Ticket price includes tastes of up to 15 different beers, Zoo admission, bratwursts and snacks courtesy of Taste of the Wild Catering!  Beers available will come from Hoppers, Uintah and the State Liquor Stores! For more information and to buy tickets, click HERE. IMPORTANT NOTE:    ** Please park in the South Parking Lot behind the Zoo, just off Wasatch Blvd.  Remember, the beer events are for responsible adults, 21 and older, and valid ID…

  • Day 110 – Take a Tour of the Utah State Historical Society Museum

    Andrew Stone
    4 Aug 2010 | 9:07 pm
    Image via Wikipedia How many of you knew there was a museum in the Rio Grande Depot? Along with housing the Utah State Historical Society and a Mexican Restaurant, this historical building (turning 100 this year) also houses a pretty great museum. In addition to a great museum the building also houses a Research Center where you can browse 100′s of 1000′s of historical documents, photos and more to do your own research. The first time I ever visited the museum I was taken by not only the beauty of the building, but also the rich history of our state and the vast displays of…
 
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    Go Green: DIYs, How-tos and Recipes - Editorial Staff Picks - SustainLane

  • Recipe for Basil and Mint Sorbet

    SustainLane
    If mint makes you think dessert and basil sounds like tomato sauce, you might be pleasantly surprised when you taste them together. Basil and mint are members of the same plant family - and the affinity becomes clear when they're combined. Active Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 1 1/2 hoursIngredients3 cups water, divided1 cup sugar (more or less to taste)1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, lightly packed1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, lightly packed1 tablespoon fresh lemon juiceDirectionsPour one cup of water into a heavy saucepan. Mound sugar in center of pan and then place over medium heat. Bring slowly to…

  • Australia Aims for Zero Emissions by 2020

    SustainLane
    The Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan , a report released by the non-profit group Beyond Zero Emissions in conjunction with the University of Melbourne's Energy Institute, provides a detailed roadmap to power Australia's with 100-percent renewable-energy by 2020. The Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, a report released by the non-profit group Beyond Zero Emissions in conjunction with the University of Melbourne's Energy Institute, provides a detailed roadmap to power Australia's with 100-percent renewable-energy by 2020.The research was published in July by the…

  • Off the Grid and Rural Sustainable Prosperity

    SustainLane
    Nick Rosen's new book, Off the Grid - The story Rosen tells in Off the Grid is an old one, and a quintessentially North American one, that of the noble soul stepping away from the entanglements of modern life, going back to the land and getting off-the-grid. I am the child of hippies. I have spent a fair bit of time in country places with solar panels and generators, composting toilets (or outhouses), water tanks and hoses and gardens, self-built homes and hacked pick-up trucks and home-made furniture. I was even born into a group of people who have owned and cared for and tried to restore a…
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    Five Percent: Conserve a Little Energy

  • Pakistan, Niger, Russian, US Floods, Droughts: Climate Change Preview

    Tom Harrison
    24 Aug 2010 | 9:37 am
    Click To EnlargeThere’s been a lot of dramatic weather this year, in fact more records than in recorded history — I would like to take a moment to consider their impact. Many, many people suffer, and much property was damaged or destroyed. These extreme weather events are all consistent with the predictions of climate change. Let’s go out on a limb, for a moment, and consider a world that has, with increasing frequencies, climate events like these. This isn’t going far out on a limb, because this kind of weather instability is one thing climate scientists have been…

  • Electricity Demand-side Management: A Better Use for Monitoring

    Tom Harrison
    14 Aug 2010 | 2:33 pm
    Demand for electricity is highest on hot days in the summer, mainly because people, and businesses turn on their air conditioners. Increased demand is pretty easy to predict using a weather forecast. When you turn on your AC, some generator, somewhere has to work a tiny bit harder — it happens almost instantly and automatically. All of this is entirely invisible to you. But, in the aggregate, when lots of people turn on their AC and this happens at scale, three things can occur: The generator (power plant) revs a little higher and produces more power, unless it’s at it’s…

  • Air Conditioning: 100 Percent Efficient (Minus Travel)

    Tom Harrison
    7 Jul 2010 | 11:25 pm
    It was 97°F in Boston this week, and we didn’t turn on the air conditioner. Or fans. That’s because we’re not home. We have vacated the heat of the city. Where we are, it’s a little chilly at night. We have the ultimate luxury. It’s not a central air system. It’s not a super-insulated house. It’s a very small, spartan cottage, on the water of Penobscot Bay in down-east Maine, which I share with my sisters. My mom, who is in her 80′s lives here in Deer Isle, Maine, year-round, and visited tonight. She was born in Baltimore, and as we…

  • Oil, Gas, Coal, Nuclear, Hydro, Geo, Wind, Solar: Which is Worse?

    Tom Harrison
    26 Jun 2010 | 6:12 pm
    Please rank the relative cost or trade-off of oil natural gas coal hydro geothermal wind solar When you rank, consider things like value cost climate benefit alternatives risk economics jobs What were your criteria? Were they different than they were a few months ago? Are corporations inherently evil? How about people? Is mountaintop removal a good way to get coal? Would you pay a little more to get coal other ways? Have you hear about Gasland? Did you know that natural gas releases about half the CO2 that coal does when burnt. Did you know natural gas prices are falling compared to others?

  • The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, XBox by BP

    Tom Harrison
    26 Jun 2010 | 4:10 pm
    Andrew Revkin linked this video on his DotEarth blog, today. I had a moment when I realized that this was the low end estimate for one day. It occurs to me that we need more of the kinds of visual displays of quantitative information as promoted by the famous Edward Tufte book of the same name. So, keepin’ it real, there is very little scale here, very little magnitude, and a lot more fun than much else. But it worked for me.
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    weeBgreen

  • When a good home garden goes bad...

    Teresa
    8 Aug 2010 | 6:06 pm
    Our home garden here in the suburbs of Philadelphia was looking pretty darn good in the beginning......but with a lot of hungry squirrels and birds it has taken a beating.  Our broccoli is no longer there; just the remains of a stalk that needs to be pulled.  Our large beefsteak tomatoes have been a delicacy of choice for pesky squirrels and so was our lettuce.  It could be rabbits too but I haven't seen a single rabbit lurking anywhere near the garden.  Squirrels on the other hand have been running rampant.   I needed to do something to attempt to keep the…

  • A new resource for natural family wellness and more...

    Teresa
    14 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am
    Natural Family Wellness • Specialized Care • Pregnancy Support Doylestown Natural Medicine Center Dr. Heidi Bencsik has brought her passion for natural family wellness care to Doylestown!  She takes pride in coaching families to reach their optimal health potential through individualized chiropractic care.  It is her mission to lovingly provide specialized chiropractic care to pregnant women, infants and children; while providing whole family care for improved body, mind and spirit. Open House Meet Dr. Heidi and hear how she will work with you and your family for optimal…

  • Philadelphia Green - Lavenders Body Care Clinic

    Teresa
    11 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am
    Recently I've had the pleasure of meeting some really interesting Philadelphia green professionals through on and offline networking.  Vera, the founder of Lavenders Body Care Clinic in Conshohocken is no exception.  I was happy to hear of Vera's new establishment, and look forward to visiting someday soon.  She was gracious enough to answer some questions I had about her business and the story behind Lavenders. What led you to open your spa in Conshohocken? After some research of areas to open, I realized that Conshohocken didn't have anything to offer in regards to…

  • Eco-friendly baby shower gift options

    Teresa
    1 Jul 2010 | 8:37 am
    Do you have a baby shower coming up for a "green mama-to-be"?  Do you want to give a gift to parents of a newborn that is sustainable and stylish?Do you have a budget in mind but no idea where to start when putting that baby shower gift together? weeBgreen can take the guess work out of the whole gift-giving process when it comes to buying for the earth-friendly mama-to-be.   Check out our new customized gift-giving options (all you have to do is select your budget and we'll do the rest)!

  • weekly sale item - handmade sports themed ribbon belt

    Teresa
    28 Jun 2010 | 8:29 am
    Here's our weekly sale item! Do you have a wee one who loves baseball, football or soccer??  Check out this adorable sports themed belt handmade by one of our favorite craftpreneurs.  Originally $12-15 each, this belt is on sale for $10-13 depending on the size you need.  Sizes range in toddler all the way up to 8+ years.  Oh, and it's only on sale until July 4th, so grab some today for your sporty wee ones!http://bit.ly/daglYg
 
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    Green Ad Bonus

  • Global Alliance for Banking on Values

    nickyurchenko
    30 Aug 2010 | 3:39 am
    The Global Alliance for Banking on Values is an independentnetwork of banks using finance to deliver sustainabledevelopment for unserved people, communities and the environment.

  • What is USA's ecological footprint

    nickyurchenko
    26 Aug 2010 | 7:48 am
    On the question What is USA's ecological footprint (or similar), computationalknowledge search engine, Wolfram Alpha, gives unfortunately very poor information.

  • Ecological Footprint Quiz

    nickyurchenko
    21 Aug 2010 | 6:29 am
    The award winning Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates the amountof land and ocean area required to sustain your consumptionpatterns and absorb your wastes on an annual basis. Afteranswering 27 easy questions you’ll be able to compare yourEcological Footprint to others’, post your results on Facebook joiningwith millions of quiz users to learn how to reduce your impact on the Earth.

  • Ecological Footprint Standards 2009

    nickyurchenko
    21 Aug 2010 | 12:36 am
    Global Footprint Network releases the Ecological Footprint Standards 2009.The Standards are build on the first set of internationally recognizedEcological Footprint Standards, released in 2006, and include key updatessuch as, for the first time, providing standards for products and organizationalFootprint assessments. Please free download the Ecological Footprint Standards 2009.

  • Is the Ecological Creditor & Debtor Initiative Antitrade?

    nickyurchenko
    21 Aug 2010 | 12:15 am
    Ecological Creditor and Debtor Initiative, developed by the Global FootprintNetwork, seeks not to discourage global trade but, rather, to enablecountries to see the benefit in reducing their resource dependence on theone hand, and increasing or maintaining ecological reserves on the other.Understanding this new distinction of wealth can help to lead climatenegotiations and climate policy on the more productive path, empowering all countries, whether ecological debtors or creditors, to implement more aggressive sustainability policies.
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    Sweet Greens

  • Earth Friendly Etsy Giveaway: La Alicia - Recycled Goodies

    Sweet Greens
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:53 am
    This week's Earth Friendly Etsy giveaway is from La Alicia, a fun little shop opened by Alicia Collina-Ashby in December of 2007. La Alicia is full of Earth Friendly frills including; earrings,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Amenity Kids: Organic Eco Friendly Afghan Throw Blankets

    Sweet Greens
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:56 am
    When we were little, my sister and I both had afghan throw blankets that our great grandmother had made for us. Mine was purple, pink and gray (similar to the one above) and my sisters was peach,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Pure Green Living Magazine

    Sweet Greens
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:30 am
    Pure Green Living Magazine recently launched and it is fabulous. I love everything about it, the concept, the style, the layout and the design. It has a little bit of everything that you need to live... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Little People - A Tiny Street Art Project

    Sweet Greens
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:54 am
    While at the beach last weekend, Mr. Sweet Greens, Eben and I were talking about how fun it would be to pose little people on the rocks at the beach and take their pictures. Today, I came across... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Go Back to School with Polarn O. Pyret's Eco Friendly Clothing at Inhabitots

    Sweet Greens
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:34 am
    Have you been looking for fun, stylish and organic clothing to send your child back to school in? If so, check out my article Go Back to School with Polarn O. Pyret's Eco Friendly... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
 
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    Japan for Sustainability

  • Panasonic Begins Shipping Samples of New Catalyst for Diesel Exhaust Gas Purification

    1 Sep 2010 | 2:00 pm
    Copyright Panasonic Corp. Japan's Panasonic Ecology Systems Co., a subsidiary of Panasonic Corp., announced on June 22, 2010, that it had succeeded in developing a new catalyst using no platinum to reduce particulate matter (PM) in diesel engine exhaust gas, and began shipping its samples.

  • Sagawa Express Receives 11th Environmental Grand Prize for Physical Distribution

    31 Aug 2010 | 2:00 pm
    Copyright SG HOLDINGS CO. The Japan Federation of Freight Industries (JFFI) selected and announced the winner of the 11th Environmental Grand Prize for Distribution on May 27, 2010. The recipient of the grand prize this year was Sagawa Express Co. This recognition system strives to promote the improvement of environmental measures and policies. In addition to the grand prize, there were also physical distribution prizes awarded for activities in environmental conservation and raising awareness.

  • JFS-Youth Team Launches Green Explorer (GE) Project

    30 Aug 2010 | 2:00 pm
    The JFS-Youth Team, which aims at increasing environmental activities conducted by Japanese students, launched the Green Explorer Project in October 2009. This three-month project is a simultaneous environmental project for students all over the world, in which they sent messages about efforts to build a sustainable society. By spreading information about youth activities on the Web, the project aimed to improve global cooperation. The unique characteristic of this project is that anyone, anywhere can easily take action by participating in local activities.

  • Epson Releases Cartridge-less Inkjet Printer

    29 Aug 2010 | 2:00 pm
    Copyright Seiko Epson Corp. Seiko Epson Corp., a major Japanese electronics manufacturer, released in Japan on May 12, 2010, a new inkjet printer, the EC-01, which does not use ink cartridges.

  • [Sustainability College] Relationship between Business and Consumption Surrounding Environmental Issues

    28 Aug 2010 | 6:52 pm
    Copyright JFS Lecturer: Mikako Awano, CBD Senior Officer, Conservation Division, WWF Japan Consumption is at the Base of DPSIR Cycle I'd like to begin with introducing the DPSIR conceptual framework (Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) to think about the connection between environmental issues and our everyday life. This framework was coined by the European Environmental Agencies in the 1980s.
 
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    Raising Them Green

  • The Green Mom Eco-cosm Revisited

    Melissa
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:15 pm
    I was recently invited to participate in a survey of green moms in social media conducted by The Social Studies Group. Today, the organization released a comprehensive summary of the report, The Green Mom Eco-cosm Revisited, and I wanted to just provide you, the readers of Raising Them Green, with a little insight into what other green moms are up to. The Green Moment Do you know your green moment, that time in your life when things switched from conventional thought to a more eco-conscious thought process? I do – it came shortly after I had my son. It turns out that I’m not alone. More…

  • Waste Free School Lunches – Year Two

    Melissa
    26 Aug 2010 | 10:41 am
    Last year I wrote about our switch to a waste free school lunch. The kids enjoyed having their reusable snack bags and my oldest actually understood the environmental reasons behind a waste free school lunch. We managed to not lose any of the sandwich or snack bags and although we’re short a few spoons, we survived the first year of waste free school lunches relatively unscathed. Now here we are, old pros at a waste free school lunch, and we’ve run into a few new bumps. New being the operative word. Each child wanted a new lunch bag. Since I strongly encouraged (i.e. made them) that they…

  • Watch: Green Smoothies for Kids

    Melissa
    24 Aug 2010 | 11:33 am
    I’ve been contemplating the green smoothie craze for our family. A few years ago I purchased some Berry Green powder (not the cool gels) and made green pancakes, green muffins, green smoothies, etc. The kids were OK with it for awhile but eventually started to boycott my green food. I’ve been reading a lot about green smoothies lately and I’m thinking we’ll try it with real fruits and veggies instead of Berry Green. Plus my oldest is underweight again (nevermind the CDC BMI charts, he’s fallen way off of his own growth chart) and so I need to start creating power…

  • The Challenges of a Healthy School Lunch

    Melissa
    12 Aug 2010 | 9:15 am
    With childhood obesity at an all-time high and still on the rise, a healthy school lunch is more important in today’s age than ever before. While some parents focus on packing a healthy and preferably waste free school lunch for their children, not all families have this luxury. The nation’s free and reduced lunch program is responsible for feeding millions of American children and unfortunately the food offered in most of America’s schools is anything but healthy. In this video, Chef Ann Cooper from Whole Foods discusses the five challenges of a healthy school lunch and…

  • What’s on Your School Lunch Menu?

    Melissa
    5 Aug 2010 | 5:00 am
    We’re furiously gearing up for back-to-school here in the Raising Them Green house and so I asked the kiddos what is on the school lunch menu and they quickly rattled off a few of their favorites. Here’s what we’re planning for school lunches this fall. Ants on a log Apples with peanut butter Yogurt with granola Celery, carrots and broccoli Tomatoes (with yogurt to dip for my youngest) Strawberries and blueberries Turkey sandwich Peanut butter and jelly Bagels with cream cheese Dried fruit and nuts to snack on I have to say that this is not a bad list at all. No requests for cookies or…
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    ecopolitology

  • Facebook faces campaign to switch to renewable energy

    The Guardian
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:01 pm
    This article was written by John Vidal, environment editor, for guardian.co.uk on Wednesday 1st September 2010 17.12 UTCSocial networking website Facebook is coming under unprecedented pressure from its users to switch to renewable energy. In one of the web's fastest-growing environmental campaigns, Greenpeace international says at least 500,000 people have now protested at the organisation's intention to run its giant new data centre mainly on electricity produced by burning coal power.Facebook will not say how much electricity it uses to stream video, store information and connect its 500m…

  • Discovery Building Hostage Taker Harassed Network Since 2008

    Timothy B. Hurst
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:05 pm
    James Lee warned in 2006 on MySpace: "Thanks for ruining my life Shannon. I am ready to go all the way with this one. All the way guys!"A man who had reportedly strapped some sort of explosive device to his chest and took three hostages the headquarters of Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland, has been shot and taken into custody by the Montgomery County Police. All three hostages reportedly escaped without injury.The suspect, identified as James Lee, has been protesting at the Discovery Communications building in Silver Spring since early 2008 for the network's programming…

  • Reid Says Passage of Renewable Energy Standard Still Possible

    Timothy B. Hurst
    1 Sep 2010 | 3:24 am
    (Screen grab of a comment from E-2 Wire, the energy and environmental politics blog at The Hill.)Is passage of a lame duck renewable energy standard really tyrannical? Well, that depends on who you ask.I really do like The Hill's energy and environmental politics blog, E-2 Wire. They do some excellent and timely inside-the-beltway reporting on the critical issues in energy and environmental politics today. And I can speak from authority when I say reporting on environmental politics isn't easy. Yet while the content may be great for an ecopolitics nerd like me, it is the stuff that comes…

  • Avatar Rerelease: James Cameron Sends ‘Message from Pandora’ to Stop Brazilian Hydroelectric Dam

    Timothy B. Hurst
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:31 am
    Timed with the re-release of the blockbuster film Avatar in theaters last week, director James Cameron has joined forces with Amazon Watch to get the word out about "A Message from Pandora" and the battle to stop the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon River."A Message from Pandora" is a special feature produced by James Cameron about a Brazilian Indigenous' movement to stop the damming of the Xingu river and the flooding of indigenous villages (watch the trailer below). "Here were people whose lives were going to be altered irrevocably, whose communities…

  • Why Your Lead-Free Faucet May Contain Up to 1/4 lb. of Lead

    Timothy B. Hurst
    30 Aug 2010 | 12:53 pm
    Congress considers bill to get lead out of lead-free faucetsEvery other month or so for the last eight years, my small local water district in Colorado has sent me--and everyone else in the district--a multi-page flier explaining that some of the water tested in my district contains elevated levels of lead.The letter explains that homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder and that the water district is bound by the EPA to send us these letters -- however, I wonder how much it costs to print and mail all of these fliers versus the cost of finding the…
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    About.com: Environmental Issues

  • How Cool is Your School?

    27 Aug 2010 | 5:50 am
    The Sierra Club has released the results of its fourth annual Coolest Schools survey, which compares the sustainability, conservation and energy-efficiency efforts of U.S. colleges and universities nationwide. Students traditionally have evaluated colleges according to three criteria: academic quality, location, and what kind of social life they can expect. While those considerations are no less important today than they ever were, an increasing number of students have added a fourth criterion to the list: schools with outstanding green credentials....Read Full Post

  • Canada First Nation to Declare BPA a Toxic Substance

    26 Aug 2010 | 6:15 am
    Canada is taking an historic step by becoming the first nation to add the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) to its official register of toxic substances. BPA is the primary component in hard, clear polycarbonate plastics that are used in thousands of everyday consumer products such as baby bottles, CDs and DVDs, and the linings of food and beverage cans. Numerous studies have shown that BPA can cause or contribute to health problems ranging from heart disease and diabetes in adults to impaired brain and hormone development in children....Read Full Post

  • How School Lunch Packaging Waste Adds Up

    25 Aug 2010 | 7:15 am
    Many of us depend on convenient school lunch throwaways to make morning prep time easier, and it can be difficult to resist those temptations in the supermarket, especially if the kids are shopping with us. But did you know that school lunch waste creates more than 18,000 pounds of garbage for the average elementary school?...Read Full Post

  • Lakeview Gusher of 1910 Bigger, Not Worse, Than BP Oil Spill

    15 Aug 2010 | 3:48 pm
    When BP finally stopped the oil flowing from its ruptured underwater well in the Gulf of Mexico last month [July 2010], the government announced that the 4.9 million barrels (more than 205 million gallons) of oil the well had spilled over the previous three months made it the worst accidental oil spill in U.S. and world history....Read Full Post

  • Gulf Spill Claiming More Wild Lives

    9 Aug 2010 | 11:41 pm
    While the government is crowing about the amount of oil it says has vanished from the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill, the oil that remains is making things rough for the wildlife in the area. ...Read Full Post
 
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    Funky Green Machine

  • Worldview Wake-Up: No Ifs, Ands or Butts

    1 Sep 2010 | 6:35 am
    Image courtesy of Treehugger and Surfers Against Sewage

  • Uh, Yeah - That's Ron Jeremy

    18 Aug 2010 | 8:50 am
    Image courtesy of LivingWithoutMeat.com

  • The Story You've Never Heard: Blood Tech

    30 Jun 2010 | 7:35 am
    According to an article by Brooke Smith and John Prendergast in The Huffington Post: Essential parts of our electronic devices are made from minerals found in eastern Congo. Tin, tantalum, tungsten -- the 3Ts -- and gold serve such necessary functions as making our cell phones vibrate or helping our iPods store electricity. The same armed groups who control most of the mines that supply these essential minerals to the world market are responsible for the epidemic of sexual violence in eastern Congo. Women and girls pay a gruesome price, and the persistent health conditions and severe trauma…

  • Worldview Wake-Up: The Sea is at Risk

    23 Jun 2010 | 3:18 am
    The sea is at risk of being uninhabitable. Join us before it's too late. Image courtesy of Ads of the World and Surfrider Foundation

  • Spaghetti-O's - Don't Do It!

    18 Jun 2010 | 9:55 am
    Campbell Soup Co. is recalling a whopping 15 million pounds of Spaghetti-O's with Meatballs after discovering that the meat was not cooked to to the proper temperature due to a broken cooker. Not to be outdone ConAgra Foods is recalling Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken and Rice frozen meals due to reports of salmonella outbreaks (at least 30 so far). Be careful what you eat! -RK
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    1-800-Recycling

  • Irresistibly Creative Cell Phone Recycling Options for One and All!

    Elizah Leigh
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:35 am
    Have you ever anointed yourself the reigning sergeant of the “recycling police”? If you’re an eco-sympathizer, you have probably tried on the role at least once at your place of employment, a friend’s party or certainly in your very own household. For newbies, swiftly diverting newspapers, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic from a doomed future of landfill entombment can often require vigilant determination, patience and a keen eye on the garbage pail, but with enough practice, it becomes as second nature as tying the laces on your sustainably stylish shoes. So, how do yesterday’s…

  • Seven Stonehenges Made from Recycled Materials

    Simone Preuss
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:21 pm
    Image: Steven Tyrone Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument made of massive standing stones in the heart of England, has inspired many an artist. For decades, people have been making their own reconstructions of the ancient site of worship, with whatever materials are at hand. The craze, however, hit a new pace in the summer of 1986, when Stonehenge became a world heritage site and was fenced off. Since then, various ‘Henges have cropped up all around the world, their spirit unbroken — and some of the greatest take the druid’s credo as their own, reusing and recycling materials to…

  • The Facts on Cell Phone Battery Recycling

    Lauren Kelley
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:11 am
    Cell phones are like potato chips — you can’t have just one. Whether it’s because a new, more desirable phone came out or because we changed carriers, we’ve all ended up with a few old phones lying around somewhere, gathering dust, waiting for that day when we’ll get around to recycling them like we always say we will. And, chances are, that dusty box in the closet also contains a few extra batteries from days of yore. You may think that a rechargeable battery that no longer works is not worth recycling, since it can’t be repurposed the way old cell phone parts may be, but in…

  • Go Sustainable: School Supplies for the College Student

    Tyler Farmer
    31 Aug 2010 | 1:33 pm
    While the heat of summer weans, for many, the thought of school just around the corner hammers our nerves and sense of freedom even more. So, why not make the most of it? Look forward to the new year of classes. Now add to that a hint of green thinking, and it might just be the best school year ever! Let’s focus our sustainable minds on the products college students need. To make sure life in the dorms is as comfortable and efficient as possible, there are a few key areas to address: technology, clothing and school supplies. Technology Unlike the school days on campus that your parents…

  • Verizon’s Amy Ridener: HopeLine Gives Your Old Cell Phone New Life

    1-800-Recycling
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:13 am
    They say cats have nine lives. Your old cell phone can, too! By donating your old phone to Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program, you’ll keep it out of the landfill and you’ll be helping some of the most vulnerable in our communities. Amy Ridener Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program collects no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories from any wireless service provider at our Communications Stores nationwide. These unused phones provide a valuable connection for victims of domestic violence — a hopeline — thanks to the nation’s most reliable wireless network. Donated…
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    Green Diary

  • All-electric concept vehicle comes equipped with trash dispenser

    DeshRaj
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:02 am
    The above-pictured concept electric vehicle is the brainchild of Brazilian industrial designer Raquelly Dias. With the conception of the unnamed automobile, the designer aims to promote cleanliness in technology parks around Florianopolis. The vehicle comes equipped with rechargeable batteries and an electric motor to offer squeaky-clean commute. You will find two garbage dispensers to collect both inorganic and organic waste attached to the vehicle. The dispensers feature wheels for easy haulage. Designer: Raquelly Dias

  • Anonymous artist converts shovel into a guitar

    DeshRaj
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:31 am
    Creativity graces one who can think about inducing positive alterations to things around him/her. An anonymous artist has upcycled a simple farm tool, i.e. a shovel, into a guitar. The entire conversion process, which involved measuring, cutting, and manufacturing, took a month. In images and video provided after the jump, you can see the artist actually creating music from his instrument. Beyond doubt, it is creativity at its best. What do you say? Via: EnglishRussia

  • NIT develops X-Frame electric car that folds up for compact storage

    AditiJ
    2 Sep 2010 | 3:14 am
    The X-Frame electric folding car is here to taking the compact cars to the next level of innovation to solve large city transportation problems. Unveiled at the Good Design Expo 2010 in Japan, this green concept is not only capable of changing its shape to suit different environments and speeds, but also folds up vertically for compact storage. Designed by researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology, the X-Frame is powered by a replaceable electric battery residing in the vehicle’s large orange rear wheel. It comes as an ingenious solution to the car parking problems in the urban…

  • German artist creates origami art from recycled materials

    DeshRaj
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:12 am
    Clemens Behr’s optical trickery makes it hard for one to tell between a 2D painting and 3D objects. He conjures up a similar feat of superlative artistry at Barcelona’s Rojo artspace. Mostly done with a colored tape, cardboard and other recycled materials found around Barcelona, the installations makes one perceive some sort of order in everything cluttered and confusing. Behr processes recycled cardboard and paper, and employs an easy folding technique to create these geometric, origami-like sculptures. You could see several 3D cardboard structures complementing the 2D images that…

  • Toyota MOB electric car concept to utilize liquid wood

    AditiJ
    2 Sep 2010 | 12:44 am
    Conceptualized by Spanish designer Jorge Marti Vidal, the Toyota MOB is one such car that is sure to arouse interest of many dedicated tree-huggers. The stunning vehicle that is a good balance between good-looks and sustainability derives inspiration from the idea of the Mobius strip for its extraordinary bodywork. Two continuous panels that weave their way back and forth create the bodywork and the chassis. Sporting a complicated shape, the all-electric car is made from liquid wood, an organic material formed using the waste product of lignin, left after the manufacture of paper. So, Toyota…
 
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    Pure Natural Diva

  • Diva Guide: 11 Tips for Reducing Salt Intake

    Tania Reuben
    29 Aug 2010 | 11:46 pm
    Schedules are about to normalize as families get ready to go back to school.  It’s a great time to start some new habits for the health of your family! For the next month PND is an ambassador... Whole living for the diva in all of us. What fabulous change can you make today? Visit Pure Natural Diva for a few ideas.

  • Better Back to School – Tips For a Greener School Year

    Tania Reuben
    26 Aug 2010 | 2:04 pm
    It’s that time of year again. Parents everywhere are preparing to send their children back to school. In the US they are expected to spend 18 Billion dollars on back to school, an average of... Whole living for the diva in all of us. What fabulous change can you make today? Visit Pure Natural Diva for a few ideas.

  • Wordless Wednesday: Blogher Pictorial

    Tania Reuben
    25 Aug 2010 | 12:19 am
    I know – I know… Blogher is over… but there are so many pictures I haven’t shared in other posts I decided to put the rest in one place!   Thank you to Romy of Romy Raves and... Whole living for the diva in all of us. What fabulous change can you make today? Visit Pure Natural Diva for a few ideas.

  • Brand Goals for Blogher? Bloggers?

    Tania Reuben
    24 Aug 2010 | 8:15 pm
    Blogher was an amazing experience.  I met so many fabulous people and learned a tremendous amount. Even before  the conference had wrapped questions began to mill around my mind – I... Whole living for the diva in all of us. What fabulous change can you make today? Visit Pure Natural Diva for a few ideas.

  • Diva Report: Egg Recall

    Tania Reuben
    24 Aug 2010 | 12:46 pm
    The Egg Recall is all over the news. I am VERY grateful that I’ve been buying most of the eggs for our family over the past months from a local farmer at our farmer’s market.  To be clear... Whole living for the diva in all of us. What fabulous change can you make today? Visit Pure Natural Diva for a few ideas.
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    Everyone's Blog Posts 全員のブログ記事 - GreenITers

  • E-Book Readers: Make Your Own for Less

    William Smith
    Occasionally on Twitter, I've posted comments about the e-book readers currently on the market as being a joke, but it's hard to say precisely why I feel this way in 140 characters or less. In this blog post, it is my intention to explain why in a good bit more detail. It is also my intention to show a solution. First, to be fair to the concept of the e-book reader, the idea of being able to take a lot of books with you on a compact device is actually a pretty sound one. My problem lies, however, with the impressions that devices like Amazon's Kindle, Sony's E-Reader and Barnes & Noble's…

  • A Movement in the Making

    Julie
    I kayaked with a beluga whale. I saw a beaver in the wild. I climbed a sand dune. I could not have said that until a few weeks ago and the exhilaration of it spilled over to my blog - see posted about a week ago. I was truly awestruck and still am marveling that this was indeed my country - really, came at me from out of the blue. If anything, it's made me even more eco-conscious and a great advocate for eco-travel and conservation. Ironically, just as the thrill for the natural world subsides, my mood falls in to an abyss as word of wildlife destruction in the Gulf Coast starts to permeate…

  • Greening the World, One Step at a Time

    Julie
    If knowledge is power, then I think I've found the right group! For a long time, my concern for the environment has overwhelmed me, stemming mostly from my love for travel, natural landscapes, animals and clean air! Really though, I think most people are similar minded but just don't have an outlet for their thoughts, lack the money and knowledge to do anything about it and much like politics, feel that their voices aren't heard. Inspired by the great thinker's of the past and wanting to put my money where my mouth is - here I am and ready to learn more about how to adapt, adjust and change…

  • Power Addicts

    Gemma Percy
    I am not an expert or an environmentalist, I am just someone who wants to see climate change taken seriously. Without electricity my life grinds to a halt, my iPhone dies, my laptop beeps and the lights switch off. Sitting in the dark, my mind boggles about the scale on which we need power for everyday life, let alone progress. Slowly I start to see the magnitude of the problem we face. We are, and will continue to be, power addicts. As much as I need power, I crave clean power because, as a resident on this planet, I like my home and want it to stay the way it is. I recycle, turn off…

  • Are you?

    Flavio Souza
    Are you tired of searching through thousands of Apps just to find a few Eco ones? Tired of paying for every Eco App you tried on?Mobile phones have become excellent tools for not just making phone calls (which has become practically a secondary use of the devices) but also for going green. There are gads of applications you can download to your phone that provide tips, tricks, and planning for eco-friendly living. Moreover, Eco Friendly apps span serious programs that help you for example track your carbon footprint and monitor your energy consumption to altruistic entertainment that allows…
 
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    ecoGLOSS :: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

  • Gloss How-To: Travel Greener

    Sophie Uliano
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:05 pm
    The first thing I think of when traveling is my luggage. As most of my suitcases are on their last legs, I went on a hunt this week to find myself an earth-friendly suitcase. I was…

  • Gloss How-To: Choose the Safest Fish To Eat

    Sophie Uliano
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:38 am
    Yesterday my daughter announced that sushi has moved into her top 5 “Favorite Foods” list. I was partly happy, because I’ll take her eating fish, rice, and seaweed…

  • Waste Free Lunches: Reusable Snack Packs

    Lolita Carrico
    27 Aug 2010 | 7:09 am
    My son started Kindergarten last year and with two snacks and a lunch to pack each day, I wasn’t too thrilled about all the waste we’d be amassing with all those plastic snack and…

  • Gloss Facts: ADHD and Pesticides

    Sophie Uliano
    25 Aug 2010 | 10:52 am
    It’s not rocket science to understand that pesticides are harmful and have always been harmful to human beings, especially children and pregnant women — so the recent research linking organo-phosphate pesticides to Attention Deficit/Hyperactive…

  • Top Five Ways to Green Your Fitness Routine

    Sophie Uliano
    24 Aug 2010 | 7:40 am
    It’s really easy to green — or be more conscious about — your fitness routine. Here are my top tips to Green Your Fitness Routine: 1. Develop a quick home…
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    Greenplanet.net - organic food natural lifestyle

  • Organic cosmetics overlook sustainable pagkaging

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:23 am
    Although an increasing number of beauty companies are focusing on reducing their environmental footprint through green formulations, resource efficiency and life-cycle assessments of their products, it seems that they do not pay sufficient attention to the impact of the packaging they use: in other words, even if they are aware of the environmental impact of packaging, they are slow to embrace sustainable packaging solutions.

  • 1 million producers benefit from Fairtrade certification worldwide

    30 Aug 2010 | 7:42 am
    Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) has published its latest Monitoring and Evaluation Report with rich information on producers and the benefits of Fairtrade certification. Information in the report is based on audit reports from 2008-2009 with over 92 percent of Fairtrade certified producers reporting.

  • Spain, organic products are not affected by the crisis

    30 Aug 2010 | 2:18 am
    The economic crisis is sparing the organic industry in Spain, as proved by the good results of specialized retail chains such as Veritas.

  • EU states to oppose Commission's GM crop proposal

    27 Aug 2010 | 6:10 am
    It seems that the EU governments will not welcome the Commission's proposal to allow member states to decide individually whether to grow or ban genetically modified crops. According to a Belgian EU Presidency source, several EU governments have already criticised the proposals, and last week German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) attacked the plans as a first step towards dismantling the bloc's single market.

  • UK, one third less organic products in supermarkets

    12 Oct 2009 | 2:25 am
    Despite claiming to support the recovery of the organic segment, Britain's Tesco and Asda have actually recently reduced by a third the range of organic products on their supermarket shelves, according to a new report published on October 10.
 
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    The Official Green Driving Blog

  • CNG Car Let's You Fly on Water!

    17 Aug 2010 | 7:26 am
    Lately we've been smacked with another wave of flying car news, cars that can drive on the road and fly in the sky do grab headlines. But what about flying on water? The Rinspeed Splash was a prototype car made in 2004 that can fly on water.  This prototype may be a few years old, but one look will tell you it's still ahead of the times. The Splash flies on water by utilizing a hydrofoil, which is something like an underwater wing. When the car/boat gets up to speed the wing lifts the vehicle out of the water. This technology is used in the world of racing boats but never has been…

  • B20 Badging on Ford's new F350 at FarmFest

    5 Aug 2010 | 6:16 am
    Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending FarmFest in Morgan, MN. The event is much like a state fair with the obvious focus on farming. I went to talk to people about using our app to find E85/Biodiesel and I ran into a Ford dealer from southern MN. He was showing off the new Ford F350, B20 badging and all!     Here's a close up of the B20 badging   Ford's all new 6.7 liter diesel pumps out 390 horsepower and 735lb.-ft torque!   It's great to see higher biodiesel blend capabilities coming out. From the reaction at FarmFest there's goign to be a lot of hard working…

  • The First Chevy Volt Commercial

    2 Aug 2010 | 11:14 am
    Fresh off the news of the Chevy Volt's price ($41,000 but 31,500 after Fed. Tax Rebate) is one of the most anticipated car commercials of the year. So anticipated GM just announced increasing 2012 Volt production by 50% (30,000 to 45,000 units).  Enjoy the first Volt ad!  

  • Highlights from the Green Drive Expo 2010

    23 Jul 2010 | 12:35 pm
    For those of you who didn't attend I wanted to share some of the great exhibits at the Green Drive Expo last week.  It was an awesome show... get ready to see some green cars in action- Obviously I have to start with our own booth... here it is just after setup the morning after a long drive in.   My booth neighbor was a very cool guy, Ron Hansen, president of Hybrid Battery Repair.  Ron can fix any kind of hybrid battery but he specializes in Honda Insight/Civics. He can fix your Insight battery for typically $750-$1,250..not a bad deal at all!  So if any of you need your…

  • DriveAlternatives Lite on iTunes! more coming soon...

    15 Jul 2010 | 11:30 am
    DriveAlternatives Lite has hit iTunes and is ready for download on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The app is free and will allow you to find, retrieve directions, and update fuels/prices to the most comphrensive fuel station database on the internet. The Line did a story about the app which you can read here. This is just the begining, we are hard at work on a fully featured version of the app. Again it will be free, our mission is to get every alternative fuel vehicle driving green as much as possible!  Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to be the first to hear when the new app is…
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    Green Building Elements

  • DOE Will Host Algae Webinar Sept. 8

    Glenn Meyers
    1 Sep 2010 | 7:25 am
    For builders and developers who might be considering using biodiesel as part of a sustainable energy supply chain, an upcoming U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) webinar might be well worth the investigative time. According to AlgaeIndustryMagazine.comDOE’s Biomass Program will host “The Promise and Challenge of Algae as a Renewable Source of Biofuels,” on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, from 2:00–4:30 p.m. EDT. The Web conference is the first in the Biomass Program’s Webinar series, which will cover many of the program’s activities and feature “Hot Topics” discussions relevant to…

  • Engineering School Renovation Earns LEED Gold

    Dawn Killough
    30 Aug 2010 | 7:13 am
    The newly renovated Duthie Center at the University of Louisville recently received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.  The renovation kept nearly 95% of the existing structure, including exterior walls, roof decking, and the structural floor. “Duthie Center for Engineering, the university’s first LEED-certified renovation project, is a wonderful example where education theory becomes a reality for our students,” said Ken Dietz, university architect and director of planning, design and construction. “The project underscores the…

  • Founder of Applied Ecological Services, Steven Apfelbaum Urges Smart Land Use

    Glenn Meyers
    29 Aug 2010 | 12:36 pm
    Steven Apfelbaum, founder of Applied Ecological Services (AES), has developed land-use solutions to help farmers, companies, landowners, and communities around the world. In a recent article, he called for developing a National Carbon Reserve. AES communications consultant, Maxine Mitchell, writes about balancing ecological issues with cost considerations, “From transforming dismal landfills and dusty iron mines into pristine preserves and prairies, Steve continues to show how ecosystem services result in healthy wild, rural, and urban landscapes while boosting the triple bottom line of…

  • Children’s Museum Is Hands-On Green

    Dawn Killough
    27 Aug 2010 | 7:37 am
    Named one of the top 10 children’s museums in the nation in Child Magazine’s most recent rankings, and recipient of the MetLife Foundation & Association of Children’s Museums 2010 Promising Practice Award, Madison Children’s Museum stands tall among peers as a place for children and adults to learn about sustainability through play.  It is striving to be the first LEED-certified museum in Wisconsin. Not only is the building green, but its exhibits are too.  Here are a few highlights: The Wildernest, an early learning area built out of materials sourced from within 100 miles of…

  • Green Business Blog Carnival Series 12

    Susie Kim-Carberry
    27 Aug 2010 | 4:35 am
    Green Building Elements is excited to host the Green Business Blog Carnival, a traveling weekly series that offers hodge podge of posts from green blogs. Started by sustainablog and TriplePundit (3P); it’s the perfect weekly wrap up to start your weekend off right. 3P asks Do We Need a Green Tea Party? What’s a fiscally conservative greenie to do? Perhaps the tea party has some merit, if only they would grasp ecological principals… Another possible greenwashing alert on SUNfiltered: O2’s “Eco Ratings” for cell phones: green or greenwash? British cell network O2′s…
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    CleanTechnica

  • Boycott of Petroleum Products from Alberta Tar Sands Gathers Steam

    Tina Casey
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:07 pm
    In a sign of things to come for corporate activism, The Gap, Timberland, Levi Strauss and Walgreens have just joined Whole Foods and Bed, Bath and Beyond in a boycott of petroleum products sourced from the notorious Alberta Tar Sands. As reported by Bob Weber of The Canadian Press, Federal Express has also adopted a policy that appears to lead toward joining the boycott. The move comes just as scientists from the University of Alberta released a report on the mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and nine other toxins from tar sands operations found in the Athabasca River system. In the meantime,…

  • Recovery Act Propels 3 GW of Solar Projects to Front in California

    Susan Kraemer
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:52 pm
    In a last-minute race to the finish-line, the CEC has approved a staggering 2,800 MW (or 3 GW) of solar projects this month in California. Among them are Tessera Solar’s 709 MW Imperial Valley Solar project in Imperial County (scaled down from 750 MW, by BLM request) and NextEra Energy’s 250 MW Beacon Solar Energy Project, the first large-scale solar-thermal power projects permitted in California in two decades. During the same time, only one 760 MW fossil plant was approved: Mirant Corp.’s 760-MW Marsh Landing Generating Station. This ratio of clean energy approvals to…

  • SunPower Corp. Sparks 1,000 New Green Jobs with Solar Installations for U.S. Government

    Tina Casey
    30 Aug 2010 | 8:10 pm
    Solar industry powerhouse Sunpower Corp. is busy creating new green jobs in the renewable energy sector, the latest endeavor being a group of contracts for a minimum of 20 megawatts in new solar installations for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, General Services Administration and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  All together, SunPower estimates that the construction work will create about 1,000 new green jobs in the local communities where the installations are located, in addition to saving taxpayers money by helping to shift the U.S. military into a more stable, low risk form of energy.

  • U.S. Coast Guard Goes for Wind Power

    Tina Casey
    30 Aug 2010 | 5:25 pm
    Following close on the heels of the U.S. Army, which just activated its first wind power project at the Tooele Army Depot in Utah, the U.S. Coast Guard is diving into wind power, too. The new turbine has been installed at the Coast Guard’s Southwest Harbor Base in Maine. The new turbine is only rated at 2.4 kilowatts, but in this case, size doesn’t matter. What really matters is that the U.S. military has historically been very cautious about adopting wind power partly due to concerns over radio interference, but now with two branches of the armed services getting their feet wet,…

  • Soda Could Add a Green Energy Pop to Laptops

    Tina Casey
    30 Aug 2010 | 4:39 pm
    Scientists from Saint Louis University in Missouri are reporting the development of a new class of biobased fuel cells, which could replace disposable batteries and their toxic components. The new biofuel cells could be used to power small electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones, and could be charged by sugar from common sources such as soda pop and vegetable oil. Conventional batteries, even when rechargeable, have become an enormous logistical issue, not only for consumers but also in terms of providing portable power for military purposes and dealing with supply and disposal…
 
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    Eat Drink Better

  • The Mediterranean Diet – Why Is It So Special?

    maxizenberg
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:00 am
    In the midst of your busy world – getting the kids to school, keeping the house organized, making sure your job and finances are secure – wouldn’t you like to take a Mediterranean vacation? Well, financially speaking most of us probably could not afford a luxury like that. Maybe we could look at this from a different viewpoint. How about a Mediterranean vacation for your body? Medical researchers have long been intrigued by the continuing good health and longevity of people living in the Mediterranean coastal region. These people exude such continuing good health and durability…

  • Eating Vegan: Recipe to Take Charge of Your Unruly Mint

    thefrugalgarden
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:00 am
    A lot of gardeners shy away from mint because of its invasive reputation. This recipe is my favorite revenge. My kind, old, brassy neighbor was the first person to share the joy of passing along plants with me along with the recipe for Risi E Bisi. Awesome any time, use your own easy to grow mint instead of shelling out money for the packets of herbs you’ll find at your grocery store. Risi E Bisi 3/4 cup shredded carrot 1 10 oz pack frozen peas 3 cups cooked brown rice 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions 2 tbs fresh mint, sliced thinly 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1 tbs oil Combine…

  • Brooklyn Grange – An Urban Farming Outfit

    Heather Carr
    1 Sep 2010 | 11:05 pm
    Urban farming and rooftop gardening in a city is not a new idea, but for whatever reason, it hasn’t really caught on. Brooklyn Grange is an urban farming company started a few years ago by Ben Flanner. When he quit his job in finance, he started rooftop farming in New York City. He rented a 6000 square foot rooftop in Brooklyn. After a bit of success, he searched for something larger and found it in a 40,000 square foot rooftop in Queens. From this rooftop, Brooklyn Grange sells organic produce directly to local consumers and area restaurants. They use no fertilizers or pesticides, only…

  • Green Diva’s Guide to Delicious Living: A Brief Encounter with Figs

    Megan McWilliams
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:00 pm
    A dear friend, who not only creates and prepares some of the most delicious meals on the planet, but also writes exquisitely about food, wrote an enticing and slightly sexy piece about figs. I was inspired. Although when it comes to figs, I’m easy. This ancient fruit may indeed be the first cultivated fruit in the Middle East, but for those of us living in the US, we can be grateful that California has risen to become the third largest producer of figs in the world, just behind Greece and Turkey. For some riveting facts about figs and their rich history, the California Fig Advisory…

  • Mid-Week Dinner Ideas From Facebook

    Becky Striepe
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:00 am
    The middle of the week is typically pretty low energy. We’re in the thick of the work week without that little boost from knowing that the weekend is almost here. When energy is low, cooking tends to go out the window. How do you handle that slump? It always helps to have a little cooking inspiration, so last week we asked our Facebook fans what they had cooking for mid-week dinners. Here’s what they had to say: Amy Barker cooks up “veggie fajitas with black beans and rice.” Crystal Miron had a bunch of quickie meal ideas: Black bean soup. Cheddar, Black Bean, &…
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    Planetsave

  • NASA Shrink Offers Insight on Plight of Trapped Miners

    Michael Ricciardi
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:02 pm
    One might not immediately draw a comparison between miners trapped underground and astronauts living aboard the International Space Station (ISS), but in fact, the two situations have much in common. Both involve isolated locations with multiple persons occupying very close quarters for long periods of time, and in which hazards to health and survival are always present. The on-going plight of the 33 trapped, Chilean miners has made news around the world. Efforts to sustain and ultimately rescue the miners continue but by all accounts a full rescue from the mine will take months. The hourly…

  • Water: Nature’s Wonderdrug–Now with Wonderdrugs! (cartoon)

    Joe Mohr
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:13 am
    Between 2006 and 2007, the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas screened tap water from 19 US water utilities for 51 different compounds. The 11 most frequently detected compounds are highlighted in the cartoon and described below. 1.used to treat cardiovascular disease, 2.an herbicide banned in the European Union (still used in the US) has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks and in changes in animal behavior, 3.a mood-stabilizing drug used to treat bipolar disorder, 4.an estrogen hormone blamed for causing gender-bending changes in fish, 5.an anti-cholesterol drug, 6.a…

  • Electric Car Batteries are Greener than Expected

    Joshua S Hill
    30 Aug 2010 | 9:26 pm
    The lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries that will be powering the electric cars of tomorrow are much greener than originally expected, according to new research conducted. Much has been made of whether electric cars will actually be the saviour of our future, or whether they are just redistributing the environmental damage to other aspects, like the production and disposal. One of the major concerns was how the lithium ion battery would affect the environment. In the end, the results of the study were surprising. “Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are not as bad as previously…

  • Newest Electrical Source is in the Air

    Joshua S Hill
    29 Aug 2010 | 8:48 pm
    New research into how lightning forms has started yielding what might be the first opening into a new source of alternative energy. According to a report presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society( ACS), scientists are already in the early stages of developing devices that could capture electricity from the very air around us, much like solar panels collect energy from the sun. “Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future,” said study leader Fernando Galembeck, Ph.D.

  • How Journalists and Environmentalists are Co-opted As Corporate Spies

    David Anderson
    29 Aug 2010 | 12:34 pm
    This isn’t breaking news, but Change.org has a great piece (via the Atlantic) on the story of a young, idealistic journalist who was offered the opportunity to be paid a mint ($20k) to take a dream trip through indigenous parts of Ecuador, and turned it down when she realized she was essentially being recruited as a corporate spy because of her credible journalistic background. Check it out. Photo credit: ChevronToxico, The Campaign for Justice in Ecuador
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    EcoLocalizer

  • So Many Vegan Donuts

    Rhonda Winter
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:01 pm
    We were just in beautiful Portland, Oregon this week to meet up with Zachary Shahan, another editor in the Important Media network. After walking around sunny downtown, admiring the city’s progressive urban planning, and pouring over books at Powell’s, we visited a local bakery, Voodoo Doughnut. Becky Striepe, the editor over at eatdrinkbetter.com, had suggested the place, effusing that the vegan donuts totally blew her mind. I have never seen so many vegan doughnuts in one place. They had your standard glazed, powdered, sprinkles, fritters and chocolate coconut cake, as well as…

  • Greenland’s Ice is Melting

    Dave Dempsey
    30 Aug 2010 | 2:23 pm
    Chuck Dayton’s recent kayak trip in the frigid waters off Greenland’s coast have confirmed many reports that its ice is melting at a shocking and catastrophic rate. The Minnesota conservation advocate is a 40-year veteran of the environmental movement; Dayton recently completed a kayaking expedition in the waters off Greenland.  He has returned with first-hand observations of alarming changes in glacial ice: “Global warming is real in Greenland; you can hear it. You can see the shrinking glaciers, and the melt-water atop the massive ice cap, and you know that as it melts,…

  • Why I will Engage in Non-Violent Direct Action against Big Oil

    Ryan Van Lenning
    29 Aug 2010 | 9:09 pm
    It will not be business-as-usual at the the offices of BP, Chevron, and the Environmental Protection Agency Monday morning in San Francisco’s financial district.  A rally, march, and acts of non-violent direct actions are planned by a coalition of a local organizations. I’m participating, and one of many willing to be arrested. Sometimes I wonder what acts of non-violent direct action for a clean energy future or civil disobedience to protest a permanent war economy must look like from a different angle. For example, what does it look like to all those aunts and grandmothers in the…

  • Sanctuary City: for the Rich

    Rhonda Winter
    29 Aug 2010 | 1:52 am
    Editor’s note: This is the seventh installment of Sanctuary City, a fictional apocalyptic serial that appears regularly in Ecolocalizer. Read the previous chapter here. Years earlier Cedar had lived in Sanctuary City, back when the region was an oasis of bicycles, free universal health care, community gardens, composting, barter and shared resources. Tom Ammiano and Harvey Milk were co-mayors of the town, and they governed very wisely. The public enthusiastically participated in an open transparent political process; important decisions were made with much collective input, respectful…

  • Minneapolis Bike Share Hits 50,000 Trips

    Dave Dempsey
    25 Aug 2010 | 12:08 pm
    Despite harsh winters, Minnesota’s Twin Cities are known for year-round bicycle commuters.  A new bike-sharing program launched in the midst of summer has proven to be a success. A new federally-supported bicycle sharing program in Minneapolis is doing well since its June 8 launch, adding to the Twin Cities’ reputation as a bicycle-friendly region. Nice Ride Minnesota is touting its success and encouraging additional ridership. About 1,000 people have paid either the $50 student rate or the $60 general public rate for a year of unlimited rides in advance, while over 50,000 rides…
 
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    Gas 2.0

  • Fast-Charging Electric Buses Come To SoCal

    Christopher DeMorro
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:27 pm
    I know we have a lot of readers from Southern California. Sure the weather is great, and the people are generally friendly, but for me it is just too crowded and congested to ever call home. Plus, for such a progressive place, there is a surprising lack of good public transportation. Then again, California has been making big strides towards electric and hybrid vehicles, whether en masse or one municipality at a time. Give credit where credit is due, I always say. Much credit is due the Foothill Transit authority, which serves Pomona and San Gabriel. They have, at great expense, purchased…

  • Portland’s Popular Streetcars Spark Interest In Other Cities

    Christopher DeMorro
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:24 am
    This summer I was lucky enough to be able to drive across the county and visit 29 states and dozens of different cities. One city that really stuck out to me though was Portland. It was young, hip, and, although cool in its own right, was not at all my scene (I’m a country boy through and through). What really stuck out to me about Portland though was the traffic, or lack thereof. See, Portland has a rather complete public transportation system, which includes a lot of streetcars. The streetcars have been a success for Portland, and other cities are taking notice. Combine that with…

  • Shell Signs on for $12B Alt-fuel Project

    Jo Borras
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:45 pm
    Energy giant Shell International has signed binding Agreements with Brazilian company Cosan to begin forming a new, $12 billion joint venture project that would see Shell develop sugar can ethanol and new, “next-generation” alternative fuels. More on what this project means for the future of biofuels, after the jump. (more…)

  • Ethanol Speedster to Storm Antarctica

    Jo Borras
    31 Aug 2010 | 3:43 pm
    That dangerous-looking propeller/catamaran thing?  It’s taking a team of 11 researchers on a trip that will cover 3,600 miles of the Antarctic surface as part of the (awesomely named) Moon Regan Transantarctic Expedition. That thing is pointy, loud, and fast… and you know you want one.  Find out more about this biofuel-burning ice-rider, after the jump. (more…)

  • New EPA Sticker Grades Your Car

    Jo Borras
    31 Aug 2010 | 12:56 pm
    The EPA is considering a new fuel economy sticker for new cars and trucks sold in the US that gives consumers more information about their new car’s environmental impact, and they’ve posted an interactive “walk-through”on the EPA website. More about the new stickers, and why they will spark insane shouting matches, after the jump. (more…)
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    Sustainablog

  • Help For The Homeless – Delivered By Bike?

    Rory Woods
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:39 am
    Photo courtesy of Maxim Karp This group of friends does exactly that. They gather every Sunday to assemble sack lunches and distribute them to people in need via bike. Food Not Bombs with a Twist: Burritos and Bike Delivery The Burrito Project was started in Los Angeles, but chapters have formed in many cities since its inception. The Fullerton, CA chapter meets every Sunday to assemble burritos and distribute them, often to the same people with whom they have developed relationships over the course of weeks or months. You Can Be the Change While the sack lunches that are distributed are…

  • Denver Man Invents World’s First Solar-Powered Light Bulb

    Calfinder
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:46 pm
    What do ski risers, ceiling bike storage, goggle fans and solar-powered light bulbs have in common? Stephen Katsaros. He’s an entrepreneur and inventor from Denver, Colorado with a knack for getting things done, as evidenced by the quick conception in January (and birth in July) of the Nokero Solar Light Bulb, with which Katsaros plans to replace the toxic fuel that one-quarter of the world still uses for lighting. The Nokero is the world’s first solar-powered light bulb and, while it may sound strange to adorn a single light bulb with solar panels, the Nokero is easy and fast to…

  • Book Review: Hunting: In Search of the Wild Life, Edited by Nathan Kowalsky

    Justin Van Kleeck
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:55 am
    Author’s Note: A free review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher, Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell’s series of philosophy books for general readers, Philosophy for Everyone, aims to serve general, non-expert readers without actually treating them as “dummies” or creating watered-down, one-size-fits-all philosophy. The risk such an endeavor always faces is to end up serving nobody while trying to serve everybody, failing to satisfy either the experts or the neophytes. In the anthology Hunting: In Search of the Wild Life (affiliate link), editor Nathan Kowalsky brings…

  • Geothermal: Getting Energy from the Earth

    Earth Policy Institute
    31 Aug 2010 | 9:57 am
    By Lester R. Brown The heat in the upper six miles of the earth’s crust contains 50,000 times as much energy as found in all the world’s oil and gas reserves combined. Despite this abundance, only 10,700 megawatts of geothermal electricity generating capacity have been harnessed worldwide. Partly because of the dominance of the oil, gas, and coal industries, which have been providing cheap fuel by omitting the costs of climate change and air pollution from fuel prices, relatively little has been invested in developing the earth’s geothermal heat resources. Over the last…

  • Green Business Blog Carnival #12 at Green Building Elements

    Jeff McIntire-Strasburg
    30 Aug 2010 | 1:38 pm
    Another week, another Green Business Blog Carnival. Our friends at Green Building Elements did a very nice job of wrapping up the news you can use from the green business blogosphere… Quite a variety of stories this week… from the business of sustainable wine making (and whether it actually results in better wine), to US energy flows, to some green businesses you’ve never heard of (yet)… And my favorite post this week? You may argue that it’s not strictly business-related, but Jonathan Mariano’s guest post at Triplepundit asking if we need a green Tea Party…
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    Eco Child's Play

  • Hank D and the Bee: Treat Your Worms Well

    Joe Mohr
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:13 am
    A little info on composting with worms from EcoChildsPlay–and your own bin from the Sustainablog store. Follow the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-on, follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons. Related Posts: Digging for Worms Hank D and the Bee: Hank D Eggs the Bee Hank D and the Bee: Hank Your Clothes Out to Dry Hank D and the Bee: Water is a Human Right (and Wrong) Hank D and the Bee: How (and When) to Water Your Lawn Hank D and the Bee: Treat Your Worms Well is a post from: Eco Child's Play

  • Back to School with Solar Panels!

    Jennifer Lance
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:32 pm
    Photo by Some rights reserved by Alaskan Dude Redding, CA is the second sunniest city in the US. There is no better way to teach our children than leading by example. That’s why I get so excited every time I hear about schools going solar!  Of course, during this recessive economy, cash strapped schools can hardly afford textbooks, let alone expensive photovoltaic panels.  Thankfully, the solar industry has come to the rescue. Many people are surprised to learn that Redding, California is actually the second sunniest city in the United States.  Redding ranks above sunny spots such…

  • Parental Convenience And Its Ecological Effects

    Jeremy Dyen
    27 Aug 2010 | 8:26 am
    Photo:   Some rights reserved by ilamont.com Parental Convenience And Its Ecological Effects We’re all so busy.  We have so many things to focus on and attend to.  We have to work.  We have to maintain our homes and our health.  We need some leisure or “down-time,” as well as time for individual creative exploration. There is only so much time in the day, so we need inventions for the sake of convenience: Disposable diapers, formula and loads of electronic devices for entertainment, with television being at the helm. With these items we gain time.  But at what cost?

  • Act Now to Honor the Mothers

    Healthy Child Healthy World
    26 Aug 2010 | 9:29 am
    The news may be filled with stories of crises and collapse, but through every downfall we are seeing greatness as mothers heed the call for change. As Amie Nelson says in “How Mothers Can Change the World,” “The positive light among us is the growing swell of activism from women formerly in the shadows. From heads of state to soccer moms, mothers around the world are doing incredible work to inspire, educate and engage their communities. Mothers are a force to be reckoned with, by their sheer numbers alone…The promising reality is that mothers are emerging as social advocates and…

  • Hank D and the Bee: Hank D Eggs the Bee

    Joe Mohr
    26 Aug 2010 | 6:13 am
    From Grist: Michael Pollan on egg recall and the high costs of cheap food Follow the rest of the Hank D and the Bee series at JoeMohrToons.com. For cartoon updates and other green goings-on, follow Joe on Twitter @GreenCartoons. Related Posts: Hank D and the Bee: Hank Your Clothes Out to Dry Hank D and the Bee: Water is a Human Right (and Wrong) Hank D and the Bee: How (and When) to Water Your Lawn Hank D and the Bee: Series Recap Hank D and the Bee: Bees Dying…Not Funny. Hank D and the Bee: Hank D Eggs the Bee is a post from: Eco Child's Play
 
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    Ecopreneurist

  • We Ecopreneurs- empowering local village women for sustainable income generation

    Asif Iqbal
    31 Aug 2010 | 5:34 pm
    Recently our campaign Climate Project Connectors started a new voluntary initiative “We Ecopreneurs” to empower local village women in the sub division Balakot (Pakistan) by exploiting opportunities for income generation through organic farming. There are reasons that we started this initiative. The first thing is the conservative rural society that always obstructs women to access income-generating opportunities as compared to men. This makes them dependent and excluded from decision making. Women usually work in fields to help their male family members, but their work is often…

  • Connecting Consumers to Causes on BloomSpot

    Leah Edwards
    31 Aug 2010 | 2:18 am
    Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Emily Smith, Manager of Marketing and Business Development at BloomSpot, sharing her experience in using social media to help build a mission-based business initiative. BloomSpot is an online lifestyle magazine featuring the best restaurants, hotels, spas and more in SF, NY and LA. BloomSpot’s Community Circles program is a social buying program, enabling members to contribute to a cause of their choice, while shopping online In a space where competition is strong and barriers to entry are relatively low, it’s important as an entrepreneur to always…

  • Turning Smelly Food Scraps Into Gold

    Jennifer Kaplan
    30 Aug 2010 | 11:15 am
    This is a guest post by Julie E. Gabrielli, NCARB LEED, a green business advisor, founder of GOforChange.com and author of the greening business action list with a twist!. Keith Lasoya, founder of  Waste Neutral, owns an organics waste hauling company that collects source-separated “all food” scraps (pre- and post-consumer) waste in the Baltimore, MD metro area. Simply put, Waste Neutral turns smelly food scraps into rich compost. Founded in January 2008, the company has a simple mission. As articulated by Lasoya, “Most people, when they think about recycling, they think about…

  • Stimulus Money to Help Renewable Energy

    Shannon Suetos
    28 Aug 2010 | 8:26 am
    If the world does indeed go on past 2012, the U.S. should see major stimulus money improve renewable energy efforts.  Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, “Government stimulus spending has put the country on track to double renewable energy production capacity by 2012 and halve solar power costs by 2015.” “The report outlined a goal of doubling renewable energy capacity from the 28.8 gigawatts of solar, wind and geothermal sources installed as of the end of 2008 to 57.6 GW by the end of 2011, which would be enough to power 16.7 million homes, or 55 million electric cars, for a…

  • 7 Questions For A Greener Competitive Advantage

    Jennifer Kaplan
    27 Aug 2010 | 11:47 am
    If you’re like most business owners, you want to provide value to your customers in a way that gives you an edge over the competition. That means seizing opportunities to provide offerings that deliver more value to your customers than your competitors deliver. Remember, your commitment to the environment is a competitive advantage. By being green, you can attract customers who value your environmental offerings. If you’re looking for ways to enhance your competitive advantage with sustainable business practices ask yourself a few key questions that can help you identify additional…
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    Crafting a Green World

  • Crafty Reuse: Ten Ways to Repurpose an Altoids Tin

    Becky Striepe
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:30 am
    Altoids tins are one of those icons of upcycling. Even folks who aren’t into crafting often reuse these handy containers for things like storing change or organizing small knick knacks. With a little bit of crafty love, you can turn that humble container into all sorts of fun creations! 1. To Go Candle If you’ve got a bunch of old candles that have seen better days, you can recycle that old wax into a new one! Just get a couple of new tealight-sized wicks, place them in your Altoids tin, and melt and pour the remaining wax right in. Green Upgrader shows you more on recycling old…

  • Fab Fabrics: BioCouture Made from Sweet Tea

    Becky Striepe
    31 Aug 2010 | 4:30 am
    We’ve talked about banana cloth and spider silk, and this week we’ve got another unusual fabric for you: fiber grown from sugary green tea! Designer Suzanne Lee has come up with a way to grow her own fabric by feeding bacteria with a sugary green tea solution. The base sounds a lot like the tea you’d make to brew a batch of kombucha: sugar to feed the bacteria and caffeinated tea as a catalyst. Using “less tea and sugar than a family might consume at home in two weeks,” Lee grew enough fabric to create an entire dress! Not only is BioCouture innovative, it…

  • Tutorial: Vintage Paper Bunting, Embellished with Vintage Beads

    Julie Finn
    30 Aug 2010 | 6:35 am
     There are many ways to re-use and enjoy vintage papers. For example, you can decoupage a built-in bookshelf with vintage wallpaper samples, alter antique books, and mail out a vintage greeting card. I’m fondest of re-using my vintage papers to transform modern or trendy projects. I scrapbook with my vintage papers, and let my girls collage with them. I also use them in decorative elements around my home. This particular bunting made from vintage wallpaper samples (although any vintage paper will do) is an excellent way to add interest to a space, and the vintage beads that separate…

  • Tutorial: Decoupaged Cereal Box Magazine Organizer

    Julie Finn
    29 Aug 2010 | 5:30 am
    I love my magazines. I hate to part with them. My Time magazine subscription, along with Wired and Entertainment Weekly, I read once and then use them for collage or I donate them to our recycling center’s reuse sidewalk. Others however, such as, Vegetarian Times, Martha Stewart Living, Family Fun, or Make Magazine, I simply can never part with. A featured recipe that didn’t appeal to me then will appeal to me now, or a craft project that doesn’t appeal to me now will perhaps appeal to me later. I regularly flip through back issues of my favorites as a pleasurable source of…

  • Seven Back to School Crafts for Kids

    Wenona Napolitano
    28 Aug 2010 | 5:00 am
    Trying to get kids excited for back to school but not having much luck? Get them involved with making their own school supplies! This will help them get excited and have a chance to showcase their own style. Dress up plain pencils, blah binders and boring books with scrapbook paper, stickers, or fabric. You can make just about any of the following ideas green by using only what you have on hand. These crafts can help get kids ready to go back to school with supplies they helped dress up. Next >>
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    Feelgood Style

  • Hot Ticket :: Fashion’s Night Out & Josie Maran.

    Emma Pezzack
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:23 am
    The fashion industry is in hyper drive with the lead up to Fashion’s Night Out (September 10th) and the whole industry is buzzing with excitement and anticipation, but let’s not forget… it’s Beauty’s Night Out too! For anyone who lives in NYC or is flying in for the big event,  Josie Maran will be making a live appearance at the Sephora 5th Avenue boutique.  From 7-9 PM the former supermodel and founder of Josie Maran Cosmetics, will be hosting her own in-store photo shoot, giving consumers mini-makeovers and pointers on how to pose like a pro before they step…

  • Top 10 Habits To Fight Premature Ageing

    Louise White
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:00 pm
    I’m often asked: When is the right age to start using anti-ageing products? The way I like to think of it is: When is the right age to start looking after the skin? The answer to that is that you are never too young. The care you give yourself and your skin from a young age will benefit you as you age, holding back the effects of the ageing process. Of course, we can’t hold it back completely. There are 2 types of ageing: external and intrinsic. Intrinsic ageing is the natural process that we inherit in our genes, we can’t stop this. External ageing is down to us and our lifestyle…

  • The New Fall Face :: What You Need

    Emma Pezzack
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:15 pm
    The new Fall face seen all over the runways this year makes a return to fuss-free and low maintenance with neutrals, earth tones, and a light-handed approach to application dominating. Creating a no makeup look using organic & natural cosmetics, without looking like you’re wearing nothing, isn’t quite as simple as it sounds, so here’s what you’ll need… RMS Beauty – Uncoverup #22: The start of any great looking face is flawless skin. Uncoverup melds beautifully with skin to give you a smooth, radiant finish that looks like your skin, only better. Use as concealer or foundation…

  • Team Tags: An Easy Way to Shop Eco on Etsy

    Becky Striepe
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:30 am
    Have you taken the handmade pledge? If you’re ready to get your handmade shop on but want to find the most eco-friendly goods available, team tags make that super simple on Etsy! What is an Etsy Team? An Etsy team is a group of sellers that share a common goal, passion, or craft. The artists support each other, share tips and tricks, and help promote each others’ shops. (Full disclosure: I’m a member of Team Eco Etsy and Team EtsyVeg.) That all sounds great for crafters, but what about for shoppers? For eco-friendly shoppers, the team tags can help narrow your Etsy searches…

  • Eye Fix – The Answer to Gorgeous Eyes

    Liz Thompson
    31 Aug 2010 | 11:55 am
    We women (and some men, too) are always on the search for the perfect eye cream.  Super hydrating, but not too oily.  Matte enough to apply makeup over, but not so matte it “cracks” under eyeshadow.  And if you can use it morning and night, double bonus. Well, I have good news for you…I am currently using such a product.  The Answer’s Eye Fix.  This fabulous eye cream is part of The Answer for Skin PMS line created by Caren Online co-founder, Ellen Holder.  The Answer is a unique anti-aging skincare line designed for those with hormonal-skin issues.  But let me just say, this…
 
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    1Sky Blog Posts about everything

  • A new beginning

    Gillian Caldwell
    1 Sep 2010 | 9:33 am
    It's hard to believe three years have passed since I joined 1Sky as its first Campaign Director, and how far we've come in such a short time because of your hard work and dedication. Which leads me to the decision I'm announcing today. It's with a bittersweet mixture of excitement and sadness that I am stepping down from my role at 1Sky to consult on social justice issues near and dear to my heart -- including, of course, climate change. 1Sky has grown from being a start-up in 2007 with a devoted founding board of directors, just one staffer (i.e. me) and no office, into a powerful grassroots…

  • Policy update 8/31/10: Two more weeks of recess

    Jason Kowalski
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:22 am
    The mid-term elections continue to dominate the August congressional recess. Members of Congress will go on campaigning for two more weeks before returning to Washington, D.C. in mid-September. 1Sky and our allies, including 350 and Energy Action Coalition, continue to hammer members of Congress to protect the Clean Air Act and work to address our addiction to fossil fuels and the climate crisis. See coverage in the New York Times. Congressional Timeline: 9/13: Congress returns from recess 10/8: Target adjournment for House 11/2: Election Day Key Primary Results In the Alaska Republican…

  • Weekly round-up 8/27/10: Coal poisons our water and other "shockers"

    Ines Ware
    27 Aug 2010 | 11:52 am
    I have always been weary of drinking tap water without a trusty water filter. However, I neglected to think about the fact that dirty coal waste contaminates water too. It's been recently reported that contaminants in 39 waste sites in 21 states have seeped into the groundwater. Dirty Coal pollutes our water with toxic metals such as arsenic, selenium, lead and chromium. And the worst part is that not all coal-waste sites have groundwater-monitoring data, which means that there could be pollutants in water that go undetected. States such as Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio,…

  • Katrina, five years later

    Adi Nochur
    27 Aug 2010 | 10:35 am
    Five years ago, our nation watched in horror as Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, taking more than 2,000 lives and displacing hundreds of thousands of others. In Katrina, concerned climate advocates like myself saw a vivid and disturbing preview of a future in which climate change continues unabated; a world in which more frequent and intense extreme weather events and natural disasters wreak havoc upon our communities, especially marginalized low-income communities and communities of color. Five years later, our government still has not taken the bold action we need to address the…

  • Cutting carbon: We can't afford NOT to

    Luis Hestres
    26 Aug 2010 | 8:43 am
    By 1Sky blogger Nick Santos. See his bio at the end of this post.-- Luis Take a good look at this graph from the Stern Review (data from McKinsey & Company). It's a graph of potential sources of CO2 reductions in Gigatons of CO2 equivalent per year (Abatement Gt CO2e/year) sorted by the cost of abatement in Euros per ton of CO2 equivalent reduced (Cost of abatement EUR/tCO2e). So, the height of a box shows the cost of that reduction, with negative costs being profits, and the width of the box shows the potential amount of CO2 we can reduce with it per year. The total area of a box is the…
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    earthgarage

  • Will the U.S. Switch from MPG to GPHM?

    2 Sep 2010 | 1:32 am
    The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that measure fuel economy by distance traveled rather than consumption. However, the EPA has proposed new fuel economy labels that will include a new fuel consumption number, stating how many gallons of fuel are used per 100 miles or GPHM. The reason for this new addition is that it is easier to compare fuel consumption through fuel used over distance instead of the standard miles per gallon. This number directly states the amount of fuel used over a fixed distance so it is easier and more accurate for drivers to compare it to the fuel…

  • Cars, Computers, Collusion

    1 Sep 2010 | 12:25 pm
    Computers and cars are rapidly converging. Microprocessors are present in almost every car, and control anything from braking to locking the doors. For many people, this is disturbing especially when things like the throttle and steering are no longer mechanically linked to the driver. Some people fear glitches like those that afflict computers and others see the trend as unsettling but ultimately beneficial. What isn't discussed much are the ways in which this could give unprecedented control of the vehicle to the driver.Cars such as the Honda CR-Z take advantage of the flexibility provided…

  • Manual or Automatic?

    1 Sep 2010 | 7:52 am
    This question tends to polarize many car owners, especially enthusiasts - what gets better gas mileage - stick or automatic? Autobloggreen had an article touting the virtues of the automatic transmissions, and pointing out why according to its article many automatics now get better gas mileage than their equivalent standard counterparts. The arguments boils down to one: automatic transmissions can now convert torque almost as efficiently as standards. Why? Two main reasons, the change from 3-speed automatic transmissions to 6-8 speeds in contemporary cars, and the introduction of electronic…

  • Green Cars - For the People, By the People

    20 Aug 2010 | 10:13 am
    Last week GM reported a 1.3 billion dollar second quarter profit, a big turn around from one year ago when it went into bankruptcy.While this is a bit encouraging the company still owes the U.S. government over 40 billion dollars.And regardless of this slight upswing, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that the company, as with all U.S. car manufacturers, is lagging in innovative technology that make cars more fuel-efficient. The Chevy Volt, which is scheduled to hit showrooms late this Fall is a positive start but we are still way behind. At Earthgarage I’ve come across dozens of interesting…

  • Lose that Shining Escalade, Fuel Efficient Cars Are Safer from Theft

    19 Aug 2010 | 8:51 am
    As if you needed another reason to buy a more fuel-efficient car, you can now feel safer about it because thieves just don’t want it.According to a report from the Highway Loss Data Institute, hybrids and fuel-efficient cars are stolen a lot less often than others. The report looked at insurance claims for theft losses from 2007 to 2009 and fuel-efficient cars showed some of the lowest losses.The insurance claims take into account both the number of times claims were filed and also the payment for the claims. The car with the most insurance claims for theft was the Cadillac Escalade, which…
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    Elliott's Thoughts

  • Another Petroleum Platform Explodes in the Gulf

    admin
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:23 am
    Reports are just coming in that another rig has blown up in the gulf of Mexico. GRAND ISLE, La. – An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP’s undersea well spilled after a rig explosion. The Coast Guard says no one was killed in the blast, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the area Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard the rig have been accounted for, with one injury. The extent of the injury was not known. Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said some…

  • Time Line Of the First 7 Years Of Digg

    admin
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:31 pm
      With Digg’s recent release of their new site design and algorithms, it’s a good time to look back into their past to see how they got to where they are now today. Jordan Kasteler from  Blue Grass created a great infographic looking back at the last 7 years of Digg’s history starting in 2004.   Now the real question is, where do you think Digg will be in the next 7 years?

  • The iPad Orchestra – When Geeks have too Much Time on Their Hands

    admin
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:10 pm
    Electronic music has been around for years, but it never stops amazing how the music applications for the iPhone and iPad drive people to start music groups on their new found button pushing skills. At least when the Mentalist covered kids by MGMT they sand along showing some kind of musical talent. However, since the iPad came out this group had to try to one up the Mentalist and their iPhones with the iPad Orchestra. So now please enjoy…(watch how serious their faces are) The iPad Orchestra from Alex Shpil on Vimeo.

  • Paper.li Twitter Aggregated Webzines

    admin
    1 Sep 2010 | 10:15 am
    Personally I don’t know if I would use this product however, it’s does look pretty spiffy. Blog posts, videos, pictures and links flow through twitter almost at the speed of light, at least if feels that way sometimes. SmallRivers’ Paper.li project is all about slowing this stream down so your followers can extract the key content from your streams by allowing you to take your twitter streams and creating a daily newspaper. The value add that Paper.li is proposing for their new product - Having a list of links that are being shared on a given day by a user and those he/she follows is…

  • Data Collection for A Happy Life?

    admin
    1 Sep 2010 | 8:05 am
    If you’ve ever seen the movie 2001 The Space Odyssey this product might look a little bit like HAL, the death computer or intergalactic travel.  Is this new technology as invading as HAL in The Space Odyssey? Or is this a valuable technology that will be in every smart home in the future? Happylife demonstrates a interesting vision of what the collection and presentation of data can look like. The installation accumulates, processes and displays human feelings and by doing so, it furthermore learns to predict changes in mood and behavior. It’s a research project by EPSRC, Royal College…
 
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    the Original Green Blog

  • The Green Academy - Or Not

    24 Aug 2010 | 2:19 pm
    Today’s academic experience prepares architecture students to design sustainably in some ways, but leaves them hideously unprepared in others. Let’s look at the hits and misses (and how to fix the misses) through the Original Green lens. This post is part of the new Twitter phenomenon: #Letsblogoff. The home page lists each week’s “idea worth blogging about.” This week, it’s “Are today’s college graduates ready for the working world?” That’s incredibly broad, so this post narrows the question to architecture and sustainability.Nourishable Places During early Original Green…

  • the Gizmo Green Conundrum

    17 Aug 2010 | 4:54 am
    Chicago’s new Greenway Self-Park illustrates the problems created by the Gizmo Green approach better than anything I’ve seen recently. Gizmo Green, of course, is the proposition that we can be green just by using better equipment and better materials. It lies at the heart of most discussions on sustainability today. Gizmo Green fits perfectly into the industrially-fueled Consuming Economy we’ve built over the past 85 years or so, and which I contrasted in this post with the Conserving Economy that true sustainability should be built upon. Gizmo Green is a perfect fit for the Consuming…

  • The Luxury of Small

    11 Aug 2010 | 4:59 pm
    Americans have endured the Poverty of Large for far too long; it’s time to return to the Luxury of Small. That’s my son Sam above, a newly-graduated chef from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, cooking in the kitchen of our tiny condo on South Beach. It’s a far cry from this house, which is where he and his brother David were raised: It was four times as large as our condo. It sat on one acre of land which was designed to be a self-sufficient homestead. I described it in some detail in this post on the Trouble with Consumption. We made all sorts of sacrifices to…

  • The Grand Lie of Urban Forestry

    3 Aug 2010 | 9:23 am
    Urban forestry has lots of useful information to offer, but there is a big lie at the heart of the majority of the work of urban forestry which threatens to discredit the entire discipline if anybody will call their hand on it. It’s the Root Zone Myth. As with any myth, there is some kernel of embedded truth. In the case of the Root Zone Myth, it’s the fact that, left alone in a field, a tree’s roots will spread about as far as its drip line, which is the outer limit of its leaves. So if the tree’s limbs and leaves were 40 feet in diameter, its root system would be, too. Now, the…

  • Neighborhood Schools

    21 Jul 2010 | 2:19 am
    Schools should be located in neighborhoods for many reasons, and their positioning is important to the walkability of the entire neighborhood. This is a far cry from the way schools are usually built today. Now, they’re located out on the highway somewhere, and walking to school is impossible because even if the school wasn’t several miles from home, no sane parent would let their kids walk beside the heavy speeding traffic of a typical highway. As a result, our schools have taken on the character of something more like a warehouse, instead of the civic buildings they used to be. Let’s…
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    Greenfudge.org

  • Breaking News: Oil Rig Explodes in Gulf of Mexico…Again!

    Arkisaeo (online)
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:26 am
    Image Source: Flickr. By: Fadder Uri. Another offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The rig is located west of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion/spill site that started back in April and is approximately 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay, located along Louisiana’s central coast. The explosion was reported by a commercial helicopter company early this morning. Since then, at least 7 helicopters, 2 planes, and 4 boats have made their way to the site. There were 13 people on board and fortunately, most of them escaped unharmed, save one who was injured. It is unknown if any…

  • The invisible enemy

    alef
    2 Sep 2010 | 6:03 am
    We disinfect everything all the time and not always wisely. While many of us are naturally immune against these invisible enemies, aka bacteria, others are born with a deficient immune system that does not allow them to live outside of a sterile room. For them, the battle against germs is a daily struggle as they are unable to produce enough white blood cells. The only treatment available today is still bone marrow donation, but not everyone has the possibility of finding a compatible donor. For this reason, at the Necker Hospital, researchers are trying new ways. One innovative treatment is…

  • Bullfighting vs. fire bull tradition exposes political hypocrisy in Spain

    Graham_Land
    2 Sep 2010 | 2:00 am
    photo by www.viajar24h.com The parliament of Catalonia voted to ban bullfighting in July, a move that enraged Spain’s bullfighting community and drew accusations of Catalan nationalist motivations rather than concern for animal welfare. Well, plainly both nationalism and animal welfare played their parts in the ban – apparent by the fact that groups from both camps participated in the anti bullfighting campaign. But on the different, yet similar issue of fire bulls in Catalonia, the groups are more split. In the Catalan town of Amposta, bulls are taunted after flaming torches are attached…

  • Update: Gunman at Discovery Channel Headquarters Killed by Police

    Arkisaeo (online)
    1 Sep 2010 | 4:37 pm
    Today, a man entered the Discovery Channel Headquarters near Washington, D.C. and held 3 people hostage at gunpoint. The man also had canisters strapped to his body that were suspected to be explosives of some kind. After several hours of negotiations, one thing led to another and the gunman ended up shot to death by the police. The shots detonated one of the devices strapped to his body, but it is still unknown whether the others were explosive or not. All 3 hostages—one security officer and two employees—are safe and unharmed. You can read more about the situation here. By Heidi…

  • Breaking News: People Taken Hostage at Discovery Channel’s Headquarters

    Arkisaeo (online)
    1 Sep 2010 | 2:58 pm
    Discovery Channel Headquarters decorated for Shark Week. Image Source: Flickr. By: Afagen.Several people were taken hostage at gunpoint today at the Discovery Channel’s headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C. The man was wearing canisters strapped to his body; whether they actually pose a threat or not remains to be seen, but FBI bomb technicians and the SWAT team were on scene to deal with the problem. Despite the situation, the good news is most of the workers were able to get out safely. The suspect is believed to be James J. Lee, 43, who expressed his dislike for Discovery’s…
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    The Green Blog Network

  • Green Sojourn In Paris And South of France

    Green Blog Network
    29 Aug 2010 | 7:55 am
      Traveling eco-friendly takes a little bit of extra effort, let's face it. In France, it's not as if Eco Hotels are few and far between, but if traveling Eco-Friendly is a priority, they are accommodations you have to look for. Paris offers several authentic choices, each distinctively different, offering up unique glimpses of the city and its environs. Two charming Parisian hotels that are both doing their share for the environment while providing excellent hospitality are The Hidden Hotel nestled in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris's 17th arrondissement and Hotel…

  • Fiat Offers Electric Bike Loaners

    Green Blog Network
    24 Aug 2010 | 6:53 am
    Last year we saw a UK Volvo dealership offer bicycles as loaner vehicles when customers' cars are in for service, and recently one of our spotters alerted us to something similar in Spain. Specifically, Fiat now offers owners of its Fiat 500 an electric bike option while their car is in the shop. Launched in May, Fiat's offering is now available in its Barcelona, Valencia, A Coruña, Sevilla and Madrid locations through a partnership with bicycle maker Trek. There's no charge for borrowing the electric bikes, which have a 70 km range and recharge during braking as well as through…

  • Western Climate Initiative Moves On, Goes Forward

    Green Blog Network
    22 Aug 2010 | 5:41 am
    U.S. states and Canadian provinces take up the slack where their respective Federal governments dither and delay on climate change action. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met with the British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, where they discussed mutually important issues including energy and the environment. The following photo was taken in the Governor’s Office at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California earlier this month.  Photo credit: Justin Short. The WCI was launched in February 2007 by the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington to develop…

  • X Games Take Over Downtown L.A....and Scream Green!

    Green Blog Network
    3 Aug 2010 | 1:47 am
    X Games 16 Skateboard Vert Men’s Final Results Final standings from the ESPN X Games 16 Skateboard Vert Men’s event held at The Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. on July 30, 2010. Name– Hometown– Score1. Pierre-Luc Gagnon – Carlsbad, Calif. – 93.002. Shaun White – Carlsbad, Calif. – 85.003. Andy Macdonald – San Diego, Calif. – 79.004. Bucky Lasek –Baltimore, Md. –60.005. Sandro Dias –Santo Andre, Brazil –60.00 Jamie Bestwick at X Games 16. Credit: Pete Demos/Shazamm/ESPN Images X Games 16 BMX Freestyle…

  • House Plant Vacations At The Hammer Museum

    Green Blog Network
    31 Jul 2010 | 7:58 am
    Houseplant Vacation - Plant Drop off  The Hammer invites you to give your houseplant a vacation during our August cultural retreat for plants. Throughout the entire month, participant's plants will be installed in the light flooded Lindbrook terrace, and presented with a series of readings, performances and musical events, for plants every Saturday from 1-4pm. See below for the full schedule and for information about plant portraiture by Lisa Anne Abash. (Please no sick/infested plants - this is a vacation, not rehab).Plant drop off is July 31, 11am- 6pm and pick up August 28, 11am- 6pm…
 
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    Free Energy

  • A Sign?

    Jim
    1 Sep 2010 | 6:35 am
    The Norway Spiral was also a Canadian phenomenon and our Gwandau Team reported same to our forum as it happened. This is a roundup of that event.

  • Cell Phones and Microwave Towers

    Jim
    17 Aug 2010 | 6:14 am
    Earth’s new microwave blanket. Actually this is a view of the background microwaves in our galaxy.  Earth’s microwave blanket might be more intense. “Susan Clarke, a former research consultant to the Harvard School of Public Health, said WiFi emits microwave radiation at the same frequency as that of a microwave oven” Would that be with [...]

  • Buddhist Temple Looks Like UFO

    Jim
    6 Aug 2010 | 2:58 am
    This is the Dhammakaya Temple located in Thailand about an hour’s drive from Bangkok.  To imagine the scale note the people in the foreground. I was in touch with a monk from this temple who just laughed when I said it looked like a flying saucer.

  • Energy Update

    Jim
    4 Aug 2010 | 7:20 am
    Currently I am expending energy ridding us of heavy spam but more important things are afoot, like the sun which just expelled a big one straight at the earth.  Bang Zoom, to the moon, Alice.  Has anyone heard of damage?  So far, the northern and southern lights seem to be playing this out by dancing [...]

  • Tesla History

    Jim
    23 Jul 2010 | 8:38 am
    This 1999 production covers a great amount of ground in 49 minutes and includes some facts you may not know or have forgotten.  Although eleven years old it seems quite up to date.  Well produced, and the host, Dean Stockwell was my favorite child star. In 1999, this historical documentary perched us on the edge [...]
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    PR Newswire: Energy

  • npower Reveals Billericay is Home to Britain's Oldest Boiler

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:42 am
    WORCESTER, England, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- npower hometeam's nationwide search for Britain's oldest boiler has come to an end with Colin Sadler from Billericay being revealed as the owner of the oldest boiler in the country. While the floppy disk, the video cassette and Bananarama have all been and

  • GOLDNEV RESOURCES INC. ANNOUNCES ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SHAREHOLDERS

    2 Sep 2010 | 10:09 am
    CALGARY, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Goldnev Resources Inc. ("Goldnev" or the "Corporation") (TSX Venture Exchange - "GNZ"), wishes to announce that an annual general meeting (the "Meeting") of the shareholders of the Corporation will be held at the offices of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Sui

  • Monsanto Executives to Address Investor Conferences in September

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:54 am
    ST. LOUIS, Sept. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Monsanto Company's (NYSE: MON) Carl Casale, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Brett Begemann, executive vice president – seeds & traits, will address investors in separate investor conferences in September. Executiv

  • Citizen Group Launches Multi-Million Dollar Ad Campaign to Stop Higher Energy Taxes

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:52 am
    ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) today launched an over $4 million national television and radio advertising campaign to oppose efforts from federal officials that would increase taxes on American energy companies.  The NTU sp

  • UPS and Electric Vehicles International Begin Demonstration of Fully Electric Walk-In Van

    2 Sep 2010 | 9:52 am
    STOCKTON, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Electric Vehicles International (EVI) announced that UPS has begun a 90-day demonstration trial of their walk-in van (EVI-WI). Over the past year, EVI and UPS have worked together to develop a vehicle to meet the needs of the parcel delivery service i
 
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    NG Power & Energy Europe

  • Ireland's 300 percent renewable energy potential

    18 Aug 2010 | 5:55 am
    Ireland reportedly has the potential to produce three times the country's energy needs according to a new book. The book, Green & Gold - Ireland a Clean Energy World Leader? by Alternative Energy Resources CEO John Travers, states that 20 percent of total Irish energy needs can be met by renewable energy within the next 10 years, while an impressive 80 percent can be met by 2050. Not just that, but 20 percent of Irish GDP can also be derived from clean energy exports. In his book, Travers says, "Clean energy can help rescue Ireland from its current economic and energy challenges. In…

  • Desertec Initiative debate continues

    11 Aug 2010 | 8:03 am
    The US$400 billion Desertec Industrial Initiative is one of the biggest, and most formidable, renewable energy projects proposed. The plan sees the construction of a vast solar power farm in the Sahara desert that could potentially supply all of Europe with electricity, but for now aims to supply 15 percent by 2015. However the consortium behind the project, that includes the likes of Munich Re, Siemens, E.ON, and RWE, is facing resistance from groups from fear the project is just a pipe dream. Possible problems for the project, they claim, include the political instability of the Maghreb…

  • Europe�s major wind projects

    10 Aug 2010 | 5:45 am
    According to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), there has been a strong growth in the wind market with 118 new offshore wind turbines being connected to the EU power grid during the first half of the year. In fact, all over the continent wind power seems to be on the increase. As such, Power and Energy EU has decided to look at the major wind projects that are currently being developed in Europe. One project rumoured to be the largest wind farm in Europe when completed is the Markbygden Vind AB, being developed by Svevind in northern Sweden. Expected to be finished by 2020, the farm…

  • Building a European super-grid

    5 Aug 2010 | 3:44 am
    With efforts underway to receive 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, Europe is engaging in a number of alternative energy projects, one of the biggest of which is a plan to build a €400 billion super-grid to link both Europe and the Middle East, so the continents can benefit from their respective power sources. Unsurprisingly, states in the Middle East have been pursuing solar power projects with Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and more recently Saudi Arabia, planning projects all around the Gulf. In Europe, where the sun is less regular, alternative renewable sources are…

  • UK's largest CO2 emitter to use biomass

    4 Aug 2010 | 6:09 am
    Drax, the coal-fired power station company and Britain's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, has said it could stop burning coal by 2020 thanks to plans to convert all six units of the coal-fired power station so that it only burns biomass. Speaking to The Guardian, the company Finance Director Tony Quinlan said, that while "Drax is a viable business today as a coal plant, the opportunity to turn it into a renewable power company is an exciting one and makes sense for the UK's carbon targets and for our shareholders." While this would be a bold step in the country reaching its target of…
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    Energy Bulletin -

  • German military study warns of potential energy crisis - English translation of main points

    bart
    2 Sep 2010 | 8:10 am
    This week a study on peak oil by a German military think tank was leaked on the Internet. The document shows that the German government is closely studying the issue of peak oil, and is aware of the potential for serious consequences as oil production declines. The study is reminiscent of the Hirsch Report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, that warned of the risks posed by peak oil. ... Below is a friend's translation of the major points in the report. read more

  • Ethanol blend E85 case study: Iowa

    kristinsponsler
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:43 am
    Iowa is to corn ethanol what Saudi Arabia is to oil. At present Iowa has the capacity to produce 3.5 billion gallons of ethanol per year, which is 26% of the nation's total. This is of course due to the large amount of corn production in Iowa, enabled by ample rainfall and rich topsoil. read more

  • Time management for overworked people or planning the harvest

    kristinsponsler
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:38 am
    It is manifestly the case that I have never fully mastered keeping things from getting overwhelming, but I get better at it every year (mostly). And there is a lot you can do to make sure that the canning and preserving don't make you crazy! read more

  • Food: Growing community food systems

    kristinsponsler
    2 Sep 2010 | 5:12 am
    Food systems can be a very powerful tool for resilience. In a revolutionary way, you can completely trasform things without people realizing what's happening--they are aware, but it just makes intuitive sense this way. It's also not about just going out and fighting the proverbial "man," or continuing an academic dialogue about what could happen or should happen; you don't have time for this because you've got a lot to do. read more

  • Peak oil notes - Sept 2

    kristinsponsler
    2 Sep 2010 | 4:36 am
    A midweekly roundup of peak oil news, including: -Prices and production -China continues to grow read more
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    Green-Buildings.com

  • Fly Ash Brick from CalStar

    GBGuru
    31 Aug 2010 | 8:42 pm
    Product Summary:  Comes in eight colors... All of them green. CalStar Products, Inc., headquartered in Silicon Valley, officially opened its green brick and paver plant in Caledonia, Wisconsin in January 2010 and has already received plenty of recognition for their mission to lead through science-based solutions. whyleed:  This product may contribute to earning points for the following LEED BD+C credit: Materials and Resources Credit 4: Recycled Materials Related Green Product:  Earth Stone Products Rain Run Splashblocks IceStone Durable Surfaces Expert:  Sarah Gudeman,…

  • Charlotte Pipe RePVC

    GBGuru
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:58 pm
    Product Summary:  The first NSF-listed sustainable PVC piping product with recycled material. There are three main sources for reclaimed non-potable water: - Captured rainwater - Recycled graywater - On-site or municipally treated wastewater Non-potable water from these sources can be reclaimed for reuse, which helps reduce wastewater generation and potable water demand while increasing the local aquifer recharge (according to the USGBC’s LEED BD+C Reference Guide). whyleed:  This product may contribute to earning points for the following LEED BD+C credits: Water Efficiency Credit…

  • Drivable Grass by Soil Retention

    GBGuru
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:38 pm
    Product Summary:  A permeable, flexible and plantable concrete paving system. The USGBC’s LEED BD+C Reference Guide describes many applications for pervious pavement, including aiding in credits for Stormwater Design, Quantity Control (SSc6.1), Quality Control (SSc6.2), Protect or Restore Habitat (SSc5.1), Maximize Open Space (SSc5.2), and Heat Island Reduction, Nonroof and Roof (SSc7.1, 2) by improving infiltration, minimizing building impact on the natural environment, and providing a drivable, structural surface that doesn’t absorb and hold heat from the sun. whyleed:  This…

  • greenscreen

    GBGuru
    31 Aug 2010 | 7:20 pm
    Product Summary:  The Elements are Simple... The Possibilities are Endless. A ‘green wall’ is a descriptive term used to refer to all forms of vegetated wall surfaces. Expert:  Sarah Gudeman, LEED AP, EIT Product Image:  read more

  • Maya Camou, LEED AP

    GBGuru
    28 Aug 2010 | 6:53 pm
    Summary of Services:  I am a LEED AP with an MA in Design Management and BA in Interior Design. I have worked in the NYC industry for about 15 years. I have a good understanding of current environmental issues and green building. I also have been an avid supporter of Urban Green and was one of the recipients of the 2010 Service Award. In my past work experience I was a senior project manager that acted as the principle point of contact for the project and managed all items. I analyzed client needs and created estimates that are both profitable and solid. I also found creative resolutions…
 
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    Green Antilles

  • jamaica’s waters may hold billions of barrels of oil; bahamas says no to oil exploration

    Thérèse
    2 Sep 2010 | 10:23 am
    There could be a substantial oil deposit in Jamaican waters: A company that has been exploring for oil in Jamaica says it has seen indications that there could be up to three billion barrels of crude in the country’s waters. Sagres Energy, the parent of Canadian firm Rainville Energy, received a licence to explore for oil on June 15th, 2006, and Special Projects Manager of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), Dr. Raymond Wright, says one of the prospects identified in the company’s seismic work “is considered to be rather large”. … President and Chief Geologist of Sagres…

  • call for papers: green technologies for survival

    Thérèse
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:51 am
    The Scientific Research Council (SRC) of Jamaica is holding its 23rd Annual Conference and Expo and is inviting abstracts for presentations and posters that address the theme “Green Technologies for Survival” [link goes to a PDF]: Twenty-minute presentations are invited in areas such as: • Food Security • Renewable Energy • Climate Change and Environmental Management • Trade • Health and Safety • Tourism. Abstracts of about 200 words should be submitted by September 9, 2010. An important part of the Conference will be an exhibition of Posters. Posters allow leisurely…

  • trinidad and tobago budget watch: the environment

    Thérèse
    2 Sep 2010 | 9:31 am
    How has environmental management and conservation figured in past national budgets for Trinidad and Tobago? Via the excellent and informative Cleaning Up the Mess Facebook Page.

  • GEF-IWCAM: think about water

    Thérèse
    1 Sep 2010 | 1:45 pm
    The above video, titled Think about water, is one of a series of shorts released by the Global Environment Facility project for Integrating Watershed and Coastal Areas Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (GEF-IWCAM). The overall objective of GEF-IWCAM is: to strengthen the commitment and capacity of the participating countries to implement an integrated approach to the management of watersheds and coastal areas. The long-term goal is to enhance the capacity of the countries to plan and manage their aquatic resources and ecosystems on a sustainable basis. Participating…

  • medicine from the caribbean sea

    Thérèse
    1 Sep 2010 | 12:55 pm
    Lots of info about corals and sponges on Green Antilles today! From Dr. Reese Halter’s article on Mother Nature’s Medicine Cabinet, I learned about the pharmaceutical potential of Caribbean marine resources: Caribbean sea squirts produce ecteinascidin offering promise for those diagnosed with melanoma and breast cancers. … Sponges are very efficient at fighting off viruses. The compound adenine arabinoside vidarabine is effective against herpes and shingles. Research from sponges lead scientists to develop the blockbuster AIDS drug AZT. … A deep water Caribbean sponge…
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