- Vijay Vaitheeswaran (part one)
- Vijay Vaitheeswaran (part two)
- Vinay Gupta
- Alyce Santoro
- Mathis Wackernagel
- Tom Price
- Martha Marks
- Paul Hawken
- David Suzuki
- Wal-Mart's Green Gurus
- Alisa Smith and James Mackinnon, authors of Plenty
- Bob Perkowitz of ecoAmerica
- Ed Begley Jr.
- The Weather Channel's Dr. Heidi Cullen
Entries for February 24, 2008 - March 1, 2008
Total this week: 177
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor... Your Nuclear Waste
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 03. 1.08
Image courtesy of Akuppa via flickr
The potential approval of a company's request to import up to 20,000 tons of low-level nuclear waste from Italy has raised concerns among a slew of environmentalists and regulators that the United States could eventually become the world's "nuclear garbage dump," the Christian Science Monitor's Mark Clayton reports. The proposal, currently being weighed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), has stirred opposition from groups such as Friends of the Earth and powerful congressmen such as Democratic Rep. Bart Gordon, chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology....
Student Develops First Polarized LED
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 03. 1.08
Behold the future of LEDs (light emitting diodes): the polarized LED - a technological breakthrough that could usher in a new generation of super-efficient LEDs adapted for use in LCDs on a variety of consumer electronics. Martin Schubert, a graduate student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was awarded the prestigious Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize for his work - the culmination of several years' research.
His polarized LED is a step up from existing technologies; it allows for much better control of the direction and polarization of the emitted light, resulting in less wasted energy from scattered light and optimal light placement. According to Schubert, this should make it suitable as a backlighting component for a range of LCD screens, such as those found in televisions, cameras and cell phones - providing crisper, more lifelike images....
Baku Deathstar Cheap Imitation of Real Thing
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03. 1.08
At first I thought Rem Koolhaas should sue, he already is building a deathstar in Introducing Wood Turner Of Climate Counts - "Green Electronics: Only Half of the Story"?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 03. 1.08
Wood Turner, Project Director, Climate Counts is going to be guest posting with us for a bit. His focus is on voluntary corporate climate change efforts. Please join us in welcoming Wood and his team!
Climate Counts is a non-profit campaign that scores companies annually on the basis of their voluntary action to reverse climate change. The Climate Counts Company Scorecard -- launched in June 2007 -- helps people vote with their dollars by making climate-conscious purchasing and investing choices that put pressure on the world's most well-known companies to take the issue of climate change seriously. Launched by organics pioneer Stonyfield Farm, Climate Counts functions as a proxy for the average consumer in tracking the world's largest companies and believes everyday consumers can be the most important activists in the fight against global warming. New Climate Counts company scores will be available in April 2008....
He Raise Your Head
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 03. 1.08
Silencio.
A woman stands before a red curtain. She’s wearing a white knee length dress with blue polka dots. Her lips are moving (they have slightly too much lipstick on them). Her voice is barely audible, and it’s impossible to tell what she is saying. She’s drowned out by a hum of white noise.
Suddenly. Rammstein. Loud.
As the music fades again, we catch the last words of the woman’s speech. She says something about solar panels.
It seems David Lynch is hosting a sustainability weekend.
...
Hudson's Bay Company Going All Lululemony
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03. 1.08
All we can do is laugh and quote Torontoists's Patrick Metzger:
The Hudson's Bay Company, the storied Canadian retailer built on the eviscerated and flayed corpses of a million fur-bearing mammals, is looking to make amends. The display window of the Yonge and Bloor [Toronto] store is currently offering passersby a few suggestions on how to make their lives greener. Notably absent from the eco recos is "Buy Less Stuff." ::Torontoist...
The February Zeitgeist
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03. 1.08
Well we might as well rename the site GreenCarHugger or something like that, because with Mike back writing full time about cars and technology, five of the top ten posts in February were about cars, six if you include exhaustburgers. Us bicycling designer types can take some solace that the top three posts were design related.
...
 | 1) Casulo: An Entire Apartment's Furniture in One Small Box Well this little box was a very popular post, blowing everything else away, and proof that it is not all about cars! One of the great design ideas of the year; inside this box, there's an armoire, a desk, a height-adjustable stool, two more stools, a six-shelf bookcase, and a bed with a mattress. |
 | 2) Under Water City Proposed for Amsterdam We agreed that "This scheme and its underlying drivers, fly in the face of every responsible principle of sustainability and current trends" but others thought it made a lot of sense; by building under the canals no buildings need be disturbed for construction. There is a certain logic to it... |
 | 3) Bigger Better Bookcase Stair Every design site in the blogosphere loved Tim Sloan's extraordinary combination library and alternating step stairway. What's not to love? More after the jump... |
London to Retrofit Public Buildings for Reduced Emissions
by Jesse Fox, Tel Aviv, Israel on 03. 1.08
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, announced a new project last week to cut public buildings' energy use by 25%. Contracts were awarded for the first stage of the project, in which 42 public buildings will be retrofitted for energy savings over the next ten years.
The Greater London Authority is the first city in the Clinton Climate Inititative's C40 group of large cities to begin the process of retrofitting public buildings to reduce energy usage. The project is part of the Energy Efficency Building Retrofit Program, announced last May, which brings together 4 energy service multinationals, 5 of the world's largest banks and 16 of the globe's largest cities....
Tennessee Mayor Offers A Drink To Atlanta
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 03. 1.08
You may remember the recent water grabbing intentions of drought-stricken, development-drunk Georgia. See: "Georgia Considers Redrawing State Boundary To Get Access To Tennessee River." The Mayor of Chattanooga Tennessee, whose goods are coveted by neighboring Atlanta, has sponsored a resolution designed to satisfy drought parched throats:
WHEREAS, it is deemed better to light a candle than curse the darkness, and better to offer a cool, wet kiss of friendship rather than face a hot and angry legislator gone mad from thirst, and Whereas, it is feared that if today they come for our river, tomorrow they might come for our Jack Daniels or George Dickel, NOW THEREFORE, In the interest of brotherly love, peace, friendship, mutual prosperity, citywide self promotion, political grandstanding and all that I Ron Littlefield, Mayor of the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Do hereby Proclaim that Wednesday, February 27, 2008 shall be known as “Give Our Georgia Friends a Drink Day”Via::The Chattanoogan, "Chattanooga Sending Truck Load Of Water To Atlanta “Give Our Georgia Friends A Drink Day” Proclaimed" Image credit::distiller's websites (by registration only). ...
EU Scorecard on Environment Published
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 03. 1.08
The EU has rated only one of ten key environmental indicators as green, and four as orange, leaving five issues in the red zone in a new publication reviewing .2007 EU Environmental Performance (pdf). But as can be seen in the graph image here: where the EU is not meeting internal goals set by the Sixth Environment Action Programme, the bloc is still a pacesetter for global performance. Priority areas of EU policy include not only climate change, but also nature and biodiversity; environment and health and quality of life, and natural resources and wastes....
Most Huggable: Food Safety and Animal Welfare, What's a Watt?, Seed-Saving + More
by Team Treehugger, Worldwide on 02.29.08
Here's a downer of a question: should food safety and livestock welfare be separate issues?
The "Green Patriarch," the leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians, celebrated his 17th birthday this Leap Day.
For all the non-engineers among us who could use a little science reminder, refresh your memory about what a watt really is.
Starting a business takes a lot of time, effort, and planning. So why would any business owner want to add protecting the environment and saving the planet to their already endless to-do lists? Here's why.
Get the scoop on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which opened this with the beginning shipments of 100 million seeds that originated in over 100 countries.
Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg’s top stories. Why not submit your own green news?...
TH Forums Highlights: Hybrid Car Misconceptions, How Green are Cities + More
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.29.08
1) Forums user Its_not_easy_being_green wants to address some common misconceptions about hybrid cars, and hopefully clear the air (no pun intended) about what the electric motor really does, what the best way to reduce carbon emissions, and best practices for getting the maximum gas mileage. Everybody isn't on the same page in this thread, though, as there are some disparate views, when it gets down to the nitty-gritty; whose side are you on?
2) User Doug (the original) wants to know: are cities really more efficient? In response to our post about 19.20.21, a new project studying the growth of cities, Doug says, "Many love to say how much more energy-efficient it is to live densly in a city. You'll never convince me that all that pumping, trucking, wiring, blowing and the embodied energy in all that concrete is more efficient than living on 2 acres in the country in a wood-framed/hay-bale/packed-earth house". City fans, care to rebut?
3) Forums user greenjourn is doing a little research (for a magazine article) about talking the talk and walking the walk: "I am looking at whether the green lifestlye is popular in mainstream cultures or if it still remains in the fringe. I also want to see how much people are willing to spend to go green, and if it is purposely marketed to the upper middle class only. Do you live the green lifestyle? Why or why not?" Where do you draw the green line?
Today on Planet Green
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.29.08
:: Kelly tells us why we should be picking up Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food this weekend.
:: Make a string of silly characters out of old newspapers for your kids.
:: It's Leap Day and the official start of 2008's "Year of the Frog".
:: You can use vodka for more than just making martinis. Find out how.
:: You want an eco-friendly wedding? Try being a cheapskate, for starters.
:: Make a DIY iPod video projector that doesn't need any external power.
...
Steger, Branson, Ekran Highlight Global Warming Crisis at Famed Explorers Club in NYC
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 02.29.08
When I recently attended a talk given by Will Steger, Sam Branson and Sigrid Ekran at the Explorers Club in NYC I was struck by the sense of calm and focus surrounding these folks who’ll be heading out across the arctic ice in not too short a time to raise awareness of the effects global warming among schoolchildren across the planet. But as Sam Branson put it, their sense of mission is really led by a desire to ensure we don’t wait “to win minds and find out it’s too late to make a difference.”...
A Vending Machine? For Crows?
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.29.08
Our commander-in-chief Graham Hill, who is currently schmoozing it up with the intelligentsia at TED, just sent us a mysterious missive from his BlackBerry: "Makes vending machines to give crows peanut in return for Crow makes hook with wire. Amazing vid."
We were able to decrypt his message only with help from Boing Boing. The gist? A tech hacker named Joshua Klein has constructed a vending machine that teaches crows to deposit coins in exchange for some juicy peanuts. Klein discovered that the smart and adaptable avians would place the nuts on the road so that cars would run over them and crack them open. That's not even the most astonishing part of this experiment. The birds would then wait for the traffic signal to change, before picking up their food.
Before you ask, yes, there's a point to all this. ...
Mitsubishi i-MiEV Electric Car to Go Global
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.29.08
We recently covered the i-MiEV by Mitsubishi, a small urban electric car with a top speed of 130 kph (81 mph) and a range of 130 km (81 miles) or 160 km (99 miles), depending on the battery pack. TreeHugger readers who left comments seemed to like it, and we do too.
That's why we're excited to learn that Mitsubishi is planning to "bring its i MiEV electric vehicle to mature world markets," which means Japan, North-America and Europe according to the company presentation. Emphasis will be put on Japan, as usual, but for once it won't be the only market that gets a cool new technology. ::Mitsubishi Motors Unveils New Mid-Term Business Plan; i MiEV Goes Global
See also: ::Mitsubishi Keeps Testing, Improving i MiEV Electric Car, ::Mitsubishi Delivers i MiEV Prototypes to Japanese Utilities for Testing, ::MIEV: Mitsubishi Electric 4-wheel Drive Concept Car...
Contest: Project Earth Day for Student Fashionistas
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.29.08
Project Earth Day, an event organized by the USGBC Emerging Green Builders NY, is looking for a few good eco-savvy students to enter its 2nd Annual Student Competition. The questions you'll need to ask yourself: How green are you? And how does your built environment inspire your fashion?
The challenge is to use an image or photograph from your built environment as inspiration to create an innovative fashion garment to be showcased on the runway. Entrants will be judged on aesthetics, execution of design, and the incorporation of one or more "ecological design" principles, such as eco-labeling, or dyes and water consumption. The grand prize is $1,500, a profile of you and your design in a major publication, and a gift bag from the contest's sponsors, which includes Teknion., the maker of the Greenguard-certified Contessa chair. ::Project Earth Day...
Trunk Station: Home Office on Wheels
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.29.08
For telecommuters and self-employed home-office dwellers (not to mention bloggers) who don't have the luxury of a dedicated home office, having a suitable space to work that isn't a desk next to your bed can be tricky. It's important to have space dedicated to work, or at least somewhere to easily stash your stuff if your dining table or sofa doubles as your home office.
Straight from Japan, the Trunk Station fills both needs, creating a little half-cube and enough space to work on a computer, store some files and other useful stuff you'll need to get from 9 to 5; when your workday is through, fold it up and roll it away, out of sight and out of mind. Vaguely reminiscent -- and probably more practical -- than the Design Pod, we aren't sure if we're crazy about the idea of having a home cubicle, but we think there'd be something very satisfying about literally closing up shop at the end of the day. What do you think -- would you work in the Trunk Station? Check out more pics -- what it looks like closed, empty, and few renderings -- after the jump. ::Caina (Japanese) via ::Unpluggd...
Shigeru Ban's Shutter House Goes Live
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
We love Shigeru Ban, and were excited last September to see the first sketches of his new Shutter House condo project in New York. Now the project's website has gone live and one can look at the plans and admire the renderings in detail. I usually gripe about flash, but this is also a really cleverly designed site with intuitive and elegant navigation.
Better hurry though- only one unit left at ten million dollars. ...
The Suntory Mermaid II: A Wave-Powered Boat (!!!)
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.29.08
Photo: PopSci
Wouldn't it be great if boats ran on something that is both clean and plentiful at sea? Like waves for example. That's not so crazy, it seems: The latest offspring of the Mermaid family (see lower in this post for the whole family tree) is the Suntory Mermaid II, a wave-powered boat.
"This month, 69-year-old Japanese sailor Ken-ichi Horie will attempt to captain the world’s most advanced wave-powered boat 4,350 miles from Hawaii to Japan. If all goes as planned, he’ll set the first Guinness world record for the longest distance traveled by a wave-powered boat and, along the way, show off the greenest nautical propulsion system since the sail."
Here's how it works:...
Zerofootprint Toronto goes live!
by Ron Dembo, Zerofootprint on 02.29.08
The City of Toronto and Zerofooprint have officially unveiled a new community-based weapon in the ongoing battle against climate change.
"It is up to all of us to do our part to minimize the impact of our day-to-day activities," Mayor David Miller said yesterday at the launch. "Each of us can make a difference as we work together to make Toronto the greenest, most livable city in North America."...
Geneticist Craig Venter Wants to Create Fuel from CO2
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.29.08
Craig Venter, Biotechnology Pioneer
Craig Venter is an interesting person. He seems to always be at the cutting edge of biotechnology: In 2001, he made headlines for sequencing the human genome. In 2003, he started mapping the ocean's biodiversity. Now he, with his firm Synthetic Genomics, is working on ways to produce energy with micro-organisms.
Making Fuel from CO2
Still as ambitious as ever, he just announced at the TED conference (you can see Venter's previous TED talk here, but his new one is not online yet): "We have modest goals of replacing the whole petrochemical industry and becoming a major source of energy, we think we will have fourth-generation fuels in about 18 months, with CO2 as the fuel stock." What's this fourth-generation fuel he's talking about? Read on....
Allison Rogers Throws A Very Green Party
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 02.29.08
Recently, Allison Rogers threw a very green party. I arrived there quite inefficiently by driving through the icy streets of DC (for some reason I couldn't take the metro and bus that night). I knocked on the door, and was welcomed by Kayanna, one of Allison's vivacious green roommates. As I entered, I immediately observed that the whole house was lit with numerous strings of efficient LED lights....
Less is More: Modular Kitchen Concept by Fevzi Karaman
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.29.08
For many of us, the kitchen is one room in the house that can benefit most from design elements that help reduce clutter and create more space; as the focal point and gathering place of many homes, you can never have too much space. That's the idea behind Turkish designer Fevzi Karaman's modular concept: everything you'd need for a small kitchen is there, but neatly folds up and gets out of the way when you don't.
It probably wouldn't serve a family of five very well, but would be a great way to make the most of a small apartment. Hit the jump to see how a stove, sink, recycling bin, dish storage and more all fit in there. ::Fevzi Karaman at Coroflot via ::Unclutterer
See also: ::How to Green Your Kitchen, Compacta All-in-One Kitchen Island and ::Casulo: An Entire Apartment's Furniture in One Small Box...
Carbon Offsets For PG&E Customers: Five Bucks Per Month To Plant Giant Sequoias
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.29.08
Few native US forest species are more long-lived than Sequoias; which makes it pretty hard for US citizens to criticize this carbon offset scheme by worrying about how long the carbon would stay fixed. Might take awhile for the benefits to accrue in comparison to soil-conservation based, or other, offset projects. But then, not many hikers want a weekend tour of the soil.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said Tuesday it will pay about $2 million to help restore two California redwood forests as part of a ratepayer-funded program to offset the utility's greenhouse gas emissions. PG&E's ClimateSmart program will invest the money in restoration projects in the Garcia River Forest in Mendocino County and the Lompico Headwaters Forest in Santa Cruz County. The "carbon offsets" are the first purchased by ClimateSmart, which allows PG&E customers to pay an extra fee to offset emissions from their electricity and gas usage. More than 17,500 customers have enrolled in the program since it was launched in June, and the average residential customer pays less than $5 a month to participate.Via::San Francisco Gate, "PG&E invests to restore forests, offset carbon emissions" Image credit::Serendipita, Giant Sequoia...
Achieving Density in Prefabricated Housing
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
One of the problems with modern prefabricated housing is the challenge of achieving greater densities and adapting to more urban milieus. Tim Pyne is trying it with his M-Hotel; Andrew Maynard proposed his Corb V2.0;; Now, in the spirit of Bernard Rudofsky's "Architecture without Architects" we present the above, which our source at ::Adaptive Reuse says is "racing through the blogosphere faster than headlice through a kindergarten." We note that it has a shipping container and a wind turbine, hitting all the current trends. UPDATE: It is a stage set....
How Not To Build A Wind-Based Economy
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
David Cooper, Toronto Star
87% of the land in the Province of Ontario is "Crown Land"- owned by the government. They decided to open some of it up for wind power, and set a deadline of 8AM February 20th. There used to be a limit on the number of applications that one company can make, but there were too many shell companies being set up so the government removed that limit and set up a first-come, first served system. Result: one company, SkyPower, parks line-sitters in sleeping bags days in advance, much like a Spice Girls concert or a Toronto condo launch. A few minutes before the office opens, a car arrives with at least two hundred applications for the line-sitters to hand in. The result? A possible monopoly for one company.
...
Yves Béhar's Kada Multi-Functional Flat-Pack Stool and Table
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.29.08
Yves Béhar, the industrial super-designer with the One Laptop Per Child and LEAF LED light for Herman Miller to his credit (among many others), has definitely been following his own advice. When he was featured in Fast Company's Design Issue, he said, "Design is not a short-term fix. It's a long-term engagement that requires you to think about how design affects everything that touches the consumer--from product to packaging to marketing to retail to the take-home experience."
This philosophy is evident in Kada, his flat-packing, multi-functional stool and table
It does a lot with a little, which is one of our favorite ways to approach sustainability; if well-designed objects can do more for you -- like serve as a side table, stool, TV stand, etc. -- you'll need less stuff. We aren't the only ones to like this, either; the design won a Red Dot Design Award in 2007. Hit the jump to see more pics of Kada, including how it folds from flat to functional. ::Yves Béhar, manufactured by ::Danese Milano...
Mystery Solved: Materials Breakthrough Could Lead to Better Hydrogen Storage Systems
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 02.29.08
Image courtesy of jurvetson via flickr
It is a mystery that has confounded scientists for the better part of the last decade - how to explain the superior hydrogen storage capabilities of metal hydrides? Just over a decade ago, in 1997, scientists added a small quantity of titanium to sodium alanate, a commonly used metal hydride, to evaluate its properties as a storage medium for hydrogen; metal hydrides are a type of alloy that absorb and store hydrogen within their structure - when subjected to heat, they can release the gas.
To their surprise, the titanium augmented sodium alanate's capabilities as a storage system - lowering the temperature at which hydrogen was released, making the process much more efficient, while allowing for easier refueling and storage of high-density hydrogen at more conventional pressures and temperatures....
Delta Airlines Celebrates Green Issue, Initiatives
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.29.08
Delta Air Lines held quite a hootenanny at its Sky360° lounge in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday to celebrate the launch of its in-flight magazine's environmentally themed March 2008 issue, which you can read in its entirety online. Reason enough to party hearty and imbibe large quantities of Vodka 360? No one appeared to be complaining, even though eco-savvy details were few and far between: An eco-concierge desk manned by the staff of Greenopia, a multimedia presentation by the self-professed world's first eco-luxury vodka brand, and a terminal where guests could donate directly to The Conservation Fund. (Delta partnered with the non-profit in April 2007 to allow passengers to offset their air-travel carbon emissions.)
Delta's Sky is now certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, a program we have found somewhat dubious in the past. To the airline's credit, however, it did launch the first comprehensive in-flight recycling program in the United States, although this is currently limited to domestic flights into Atlanta. Still, some of the contents of the goodie bag each guest received, made of recyclable polypropylene in China, had us baffled:...
Crate & Barrel Adds More Sustainable Pieces
by Kara DiCamillo, Newport, Rhode Island on 02.29.08
After our initial launch, we were thrilled to find Crate & Barrel's Kona rug. And over the past few years we’ve covered the company's various eco-products, such as their glass food storage containers, their Bamboo Bento collection and, in the past year, their “green sofa.” Nowadays, we’re amazed at what they’ve come up with.
At first, we were skeptical of Crate & Barrel’s most recent e-newsletters, touting their commitment to sustainability, but we’re beginning to see that this might not be a case of your average green washing. “The best place to start making the world a better place is right at home,” reads the introduction to the environmental part of their website. “At Crate & Barrel, green is not a trend. It’s an ongoing mission.”
...
How to Green Your Rental
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.29.08
What’s the Big Deal?
Greening your home is one of the most important steps you can take towards living a greener life, yet so much of the advice on sustainable homes is written with the home-owner in mind. What about those of us who rent? Installing insulation, erecting solar panels, or replacing our windows is almost certainly not an option. So what can we still do to lessen our impact? Fortunately, even while renting, we’ve got more control over our living environment than we may think. Whether we’re changing out our light bulbs, applying weather stripping, painting with low VOC paints, or growing salads and herbs on our windowsill, every little effort we make takes us a step closer to sustainability. And who knows, by keeping good relations with our landlord or lady, we might even persuade them to insulate that loft after all.M-Hotel By Tim Pyne
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
We are longtime fans of UK architect Tim Pyne, one of the prefab pioneers with his lovely M-House. Now he has gone multi-unit with his M-Hotel proposal. The 500 square foot units plug into a steel frame "a bit like Corb did at the Unite" - I think it looks more like my Kenner Girder and Panel building set.
...
Recipe of the Week: Kasha Casserole with Root Vegetables and Mushrooms
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 02.29.08
Image credit: Chris and Jenni
My husband exuded an aura of disbelief when I told him I was serving him kasha for dinner earlier this week. He has been politely declining his mother's kasha for many, many years. My son, who is vegetarian, says there is no earthly reason to eat kasha, also known as buckwheat. But I was casting about looking for something to make and this recipe looked interesting so I thought I would try it.
I think I might have overcooked it a bit, because it was quite soft, but not unpleasantly so. I thought it was quite tasty, and my husband actually cleaned his plate. When I asked him what he thought he said "well, it's not like my mother's". High praise, indeed....
Burning the Future: Coal in America
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
Green Jobs - The Future is Now
by Greg Haegele, Sierra Club on 02.29.08
Every morning I wake up to more bad economic news--increasing concern that we're entering a recession, the credit crunch, and increases in energy prices.
And yet one industry is seeing growth despite the down times. The renewable energy industry is growing at a record pace. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S. wind power industry installed 5,244 megawatts in 2007, expanding the nation's total wind power generating capacity by 45% in one year and injecting an investment of more than $9 billion into the economy.
The solar industry added more than 300 megawatts of capacity last year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. From the Wall Street Journal article cited above, "(Solar power) [a]dditions are expected to roughly double this year. Large commercial solar installations now exceed home installations in California, reversing a long-term pattern and likely a bellwether for other states."...
Steve Greenberg on Bottled Water
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
Steve Greenberg of the Ventura County Star does a good graphic analysis of the silliness of bottled water. We think he is way off on the amount of CO2 generated per year; when we go back to the numbers posted by Pablo Paster on the true cost of bottled water, we calculate that it is off by about six or nine zeros. Used with permission by Steve Greenberg of ::Greenberg-art.com who seems to be single-handedly responsible for about half of the environmental cartoons seen on the net. ...
A Picture is Worth... Water & Air, All of It
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.29.08
Left: All the water in the world (1.4087 billion cubic kilometres of it) including sea water, ice, lakes, rivers, ground water, clouds, etc. Right: All the air in the atmosphere (5140 trillion tonnes of it) gathered into a ball at sea-level density. Shown on the same scale as the Earth.::Dan Phiffer, via ::reddit See also: ::Chinese Water: A Picture is Worth..., ::A Picture is Worth... Air Pollution in China...
Survey: Is Free Trade Good or Bad?
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
Both Clinton and Obama are trying to outdo each other in their promises to overhaul NAFTA and renegotiate free trade. No matter that Ontario has probably lost as many manufacturing jobs as Ohio, or that if there really was an open border then Ontario and Ohio, which are very close, could work together with upper New York State and Michigan to build a really strong local economy, but instead every week another border security impediment or charge is added to slow down trade. As Richard Florida noted, there are huge advantages for the economically depressed rust belt in improving links to resource and water-rich Canada. But hey, Canadians say go for it; they would love to get control of their oil and gas resources back.
...
Sneak Peek: Ryan Frank's New Design For Milan 2008
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 02.29.08
Our favourite 'free-range' designer Ryan Frank has been honoured with a special invitation to this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan. The world famous gallery Post Design, which has exhibited luminaries such as Ettore Sottsass and Ron Arad, has commissioned Frank to create a piece of furniture for the fair in April. Frank's response is Zig (pictured above). This funky modular shelving unit is made from solid bamboo, stained with natural colour, and has large castor wheels to make it easily mobile. The image above shows four units linked together to create a continuous storage system. Click over the fold to see a single Zig. We think it's fantastic that a gallery, with a design heritage as rich as the Memphis brand, is choosing to commission contemporary designers, like Ryan Frank, who push eco-design in new and exciting directions....
One Planet Products Wins Sustainable City Award
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 02.29.08
Having recently won Consultant of the Year at Building Magazine’s Sustainability Awards, the folks at the UK-based Bioregional Development Group are raking in the awards once more. This time it is the group’s One Planet Products that is being hailed as the leader in bringing green construction products into the mainstream in London. The group beat tight competition to win the sustainable procurement category at The City of London Corporation's Sustainable City Awards.
...
The Gig is Up: A Year of Green Steps is Over
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 02.29.08
A year ago Vanessa Farquharson drove a car, shopped in the big stores, used Kleenex, Canadian Official Threatens Obama and Clinton With Cutting Off Tar Sands Oil
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 02.29.08
Why worry about keeping church and state separate when oil and automobiles already poison North American political culture? Here's the latest dustup:- a trade war threat by a Canadian official against US presidential candidates. Analysis by category.
Car Making
Canada exports numerous cars that are designed in the US, assembled in Canada, and then sold in the US, bringing many jobs and sustaining a positive balance of trade for Canada (which does not want things messed up by challenges to NAFTA by US Democrats).
Lobbying
Neither do the Detroit-based car companies and the US oil companies operating in Alberta, all of which seem to have positive relationships with the present US Federal and the Canadian National Governments. Tactical similarities between national leaders of the US and Canada are remarkable:- see: Prime Minister Mini-Me Cans Science Advisor
US Politics
On the campaign trail, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both have been trash talking NAFTA a bit lately, taking a populist stance toward jobs and health and environmental protection. For Ohio's sake....
Chandeliers Go Modern and Green
by Bonnie Alter, London on 02.29.08
Chandeliers make a wonderful focal point for a room. Although we usually think of them as being more suitable for a hotel lobby or ballroom, there are some very funky ones being made, using recycled bits and pieces.
Madeleine Boulesteix makes hers out of vintage tea cups (pictured). She incorporates old kitchen utensils, jello moulds and cookie cutters into the structure. She says "I liberate them from their domestic duties by incorporating them in my chandeliers". She likes the idea of making something quite opulent out of humble objects.
Winnie Lui makes hers from found objects too: buttons, gloves, piping and figurines. Hers are less traditional looking; she likes to do them in either black or white. The composition is very complex and sophisticated and they would be at home in a chic bar or stylish apartment. ...
"V" Bike Sweden's Answer To City Cycling
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 02.29.08
Small balloon tires, a low-rider frame and lots of hauling attachments are the features Swedish cycling company Skeppshult felt would be most needed in a short-trip urban bike. For the new Skeppshult V, which will be released later in March, Skeppshult worked with designer Björn Dalhström to depart a little from its classic pastto create a cross between a Swedish postal carrier cruiser and an Italian '50s feel. "We had the bike's purpose in mind," says Skeppshult's Sven Andersson. "He added the graphic thought and form language to make V what it is."
With an all-steel frame construction and weighing in at 17 kilos (42 pounds), the three-gear V might feel like a pair of hefty toddler twins if you try to lug it up a lot of stairs day in and day out. But V's maneuverability and its front and back hauling attachments are pretty nifty. There are extra-wide package racks (widely used in Sweden) that can fairly easily be positioned into either frame end, and black or silver attaching boxes with lids that can take about a 20-pound load, as well as metal attachable baskets. Base bike to be priced at around 4,800 Swedish crowns (around US$775). Via ::Skeppshult.se ...
How Many Plastic Bottles Did it Take to Make This Suit?
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 02.29.08
Thirty.
Fit for the pages of GQ, eco-chic men can get even chicer with international clothier, Bagir.
The company – which clothes one in six British men – has just taken post-consumer waste to a new level through its EcoGir Recycled Suit.
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Mexico City To Compost Food Waste From Central Food Market
by Eliza Barclay, Nomad on 02.28.08
Each day Mexico City produces 5,100 tons of organic waste, 600 of which come from the city's sprawling Central de Abasto, or central marketplace. The center, known as the CEDA, is the largest food distribution center in the country and one of the largest in the world. In February, the city closed one of its principal dumps, the West Dump, when it reached maximum capacity. The closure has forced experts to think creatively about new ways to divert waste.
A diverse group of researchers from the National Autonomous University (UNAM) and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) recently came together to find a way to redirect the food waste from the dump to local farmers for compost.
"Close to 80 percent of the CEDA's waste goes to the landfill. We have to...recuperate the organic material to reduce the amount disposed at the dump," said Luis Tovar, head of the project and an IPN researcher. Before the closure, only a small fraction of the organic waste generated at the market -- between 30 and 40 tons -- was reused as compost at the West Dump....
Encyclopedia Of Life Goes Live
by Tim McGee, Helena, MT, USA on 02.28.08
It has been hard to wait for the launch of Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) since we first heard about it at the Aspen Ideas Festival in 2006. This week species from all over the planet get to celebrate, as EOL launched the first 30,000 species pages along with 25 exemplar species pages that contain a rich multimedia user experience- for us humans.
According to the EOL blog the site was so popular in the first few hours after going live that they crashed the servers.
"In the first 24 hours (minus the approx. 3-4 hours we were completely down) there were: 18.5M hits, 13.3M page views, and 940GB of data transferred."...
California Bill Requires Climate Change Be Taught in Public Schools
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 02.28.08
With climate change in full swing and folks like Will Steger heading out across the arctic in just a few weeks to raise awareness among kids of all ages as to the effects its having there, a Silicon Valley lawmaker is steadily gaining momentum with a bill that would require "climate change" to be among the science topics that all California public school students are taught. And, logically, would also require that all future science texts approved for use in California public schools include the topic as well....
Bare Sofa: Inner Beauty and Sustainable Design by the Brothers Dressler
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.28.08
We've admired the work of the Brothers Dressler before; the Toronto-based design duo (and, yep, they're actually twin brothers) really get it right when it comes to designing with sustainability and the environment in mind. Take the Bare Sofa, pictured above, for example; using 100% recycled fabric and FSC-certified solid walnut, they've created a wonderfully minimal piece that purposefully shows its inner beauty.
The Brothers say, "We have brought the skeleton to the outside to expose the structure and use tactile fabric to invite the contact of skin." We like the way the two elements work together, and like the thoughtful way it's put together even more; it's constructed so that at the end of its useful life, it can be disassembled into its components for re-use or recycle. Like much of their craft-level work, the sofa is available on a made-to-order basis, available in select fabrics with recycled content and can be customized by size and configuration. Contact them for more details. ::Brothers Dressler via ::Design Milk
See also: ::BuyGreen: Sofas and Loveseats...
Event: Nau Warehouse Sale, NYC, March 6-9
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 02.28.08
In anticipation of the launch of its first New York City store in 2009, Nau will be offering its eco-friendly outdoor and urban-lifestyle apparel at 40 percent to 75 percent off regular prices. Plus, 5 percent of all sales will go to the micro-financing site Kiva, as part the Portland, Ore.-based company's program Partners for Change. Currently, Nau is distributing $161,000 to local, national, and international community partners, bringing its total largess, to date, to more than $223,000.
In the pipeline: 10 additional retail locations in cities such as Los Angeles; San Francisco; Denver; Boston; and Bethesda, Md.; as well as second stores in the existing markets of Seattle and Portland.
Click below the jump, party people, for the complete invitation. ::Nau...
19.20.21: Studying the Rise of Supercities
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.28.08
Over half of the world's populations now live and work in cities. This trend will continue during the 21st century, creating "supercities" out of places like New York, Los Angeles, London, Moscow, Beijing, Mumbai, Mexico City and more. These supercities will become "vast, intensely urban hubs [that] will radically redefine the world's future macroeconomic and cultural landscape." These assumptions are both the inspiration and basis for a project called 19.20.21, spotted by TreeHugger head honcho Graham at the TED conference.
19.20.21 is a vast, global project that will take 19 of the world's largest cities -- those that will have 20 million people in them during the 21st century -- as case studies to explore the impact of the "supercity" phenomenon. Their hope is that by better understanding population's effect on urban and business planning and its impact on consumers around the globe, they can help the world prepare for a whole new ballgame that will occur as supercities swell and affect change on the global cultural landscape. And there are a ton of things they're going to have to consider.
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Video: Conscious Capitalism - Resolving the Conflict Between Consumerism and Progressive Innovation
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.28.08
Lollipop: Hide-Away Bunk Bed System
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.28.08
We've liked the space-saving sofa that transforms into bunks and traditional Murphy bed from UK retailer Bonbon Trading; they've combined those two concepts into "Lollipop," a horizontal folding bunk bed with a couple of cool options.
They can add a folding table to the front, to create additional workspace when the bottom bed is folded, and shelving on the top (pictured above). The whole thing is just 31 cm (just about 12 inches) deep, making it easy to turn any room into the guest/kids room. Hit the jump to see more pics, check out Apartment Therapy's cool round-up of horizontal-opening Murphy beds, and cross your fingers that these smart less-is-more space-savers will be available in the US soon. ::Bonbon Trading via ::The Design Blog...
It Slices, It Dices: Fusion Dining/Pool Table Combo
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 02.28.08
Too often, our dining tables are relegated to dust-collecting duty when it isn't dinner time. Functioning in the same way beds do in our lives -- that is, totally necessary when we need them, but just occupying space when we don't -- few dining tables offer the functional equivalent of something like a futon that can become a couch when not in use for its other purpose as a bed. Fusion Tables hopes to change that, by combining dining and billiards into one table. Yep, a pool table that changes into an elegant dining table, and back again, in just a few seconds.
It might not be quite as smart as the Ex Libris Bookshelf Table, but we bet it's more fun. Hit the jump to see more pics of it converting, and in classy dining mode. ::Fusion Tables via ::Freshome
See also ::BuyGreen: Dining Tables...
Map of 101 CleanTech Startups by Earth2Tech
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.28.08
A few years ago, venture capitalists were pouring funds into internet startups. They still do, but now the new "hot" thing is green, and tons of young companies are trying to make it into the various fields of the cleantech sector.
Earth2Tech has created a Google Map with 101 CleanTech startups (there's a functional version of it embedded lower in this post). It is pretty US-centric, and within that country Silicon Valley is probably over-represented (though the entrepreneurial spirit over there is hard to beat), but it's still very interesting to explore. You might even find something close to you that you didn't know about!...
Winners of Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Awards Announced
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.28.08
Must be fun to be a prince. Most people would probably consider it winning the birth lottery. But Prince Albert II of Monaco isn't spending all of his time at cocktail parties and working on his tan on a sail boat: His foundation has for goal to be an "accelerator of projects and solutions for the environment," and "it promotes sustainable and equitable management of natural resources."
To help highlight the good work done by certain individuals, it recently awarded prizes in three categories. Alain Hubert, the Belgian explorer and co-founder of the International Polar Foundation, won in the Climate Change category. Jane Goodall won in Biodiversity for her life-long commitment and pioneering research into chimpanzee behavior, which has transformed scientific perceptions of the relationship between humans and animals. Finally, Sunita Narain, the writer and environmental campaigner, received the Water Award for her work highlighting the need for water security and the use of rainwater harvesting in India. More photos and links below....
Coating Solar Cells to Boost their Lifespan
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 02.28.08
One critical consideration that has largely gone unnoticed amidst the recent wave of innovation in solar cell technology has been a focus on durability - and finding ways to increase cells' lifespan. Most polymer, or thin film, solar cells currently have a lifespan of about 25-30 years; over time, their ability to convert sunlight into electricity is degraded by UV light.
A team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, led by materials scientist Yang Yang, has developed a "photon conversion material," a special coating, that turns UV photons into visible light ones - which have longer wavelengths. As Justin Mullins reports in New Scientist, the coating, when applied to the cells, not only boosts the cells' energy conversion efficiency; it also increases their longevity by sharply reducing the damage caused to the cells. The researchers believe the coating could well add a few more years to the cells' lifespan....
Buy Green: Great Contemporary Dining Room Chairs
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 02.28.08
The greenest dining room chairs are the ones that use reclaimed or recycled materials, organic fibers and sustainable manufacturing practices. If you don't already have green dining chairs, this guide will help you find some. If your old dining room chairs are barely hanging in there, and you don't want Uncle Tony to come crashing down when he sits down for dinner the next time he visits, you need to find some sturdy and sustainable dining room chairs that will not only stand the test of time, but look good doing it.
In this Green Buying Guide, we will give you the low down on some of the most eco-friendly dining chairs out there. From FSC-certified wood to organic cotton to recycled materials, these green dining chairs chairs feature the best elements from some of our favorite sustainable designers. And, they are sure to please your hungry guests as much as your cooking (OK, for some of you, more than your cooking). Whether your style is elegant and formal or sleek and modern, hopefully you'll find a green dining room chair here to suit your taste.
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When Nature Won't Cooperate in China, Photoshop!
by Alex Pasternack, Beijing, China on 02.28.08
See a larger version with comments here (Wall Street Journal)
Like statistics in China, photographs "never lie." And they often do. This one, "taken" by photojournalist Liu Weiqiang, appears to show Tibetan antelope serenely galloping near the Qinghai-Tibet rail line around the time of its opening in 2006.
When it first surfaced, accompanying one of many state-sponsored news stories singing the praises of the new railway, I don't rememb