Scientists Name Top 25 Environmental Threats of the Future

More forecasting and critical evaluation, less dawdling on existing, well studied issues: that, in a nutshell, is the main recommendation made by a broad coalition of 35 scientists, environmentalists, journalists and policymakers, who were asked to put their collective brainpower together to draw up a list of the 25 future environmental threats that might arise in the U.K. up to 2050 (but could just as well apply to most countries around the world). The overriding message of their report, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology (sub. required), is that policymakers and researchers need to rely more on horizon scanning (i.e. forecasting) to identify the gaps in knowledge and policy that could predispose the country's biodiversity to future risks.

They criticize the short-sightedness of research administration and funding, which, they claim, often pushes scientists into competing for short-term interests at the cost of exploring new questions and which cripples communication between researchers and policymakers. This report, which helped foster the type of interdisciplinary communication the authors recommend, cites many of the same villains we've come to learn about over the last few years, including nanotechnology, geo-engineering and genetic engineering. Here's a partial list:

1. Nanotechnologies
2. Invasive potential and possible ecosystem impacts of artificial life and biomimetic robots
3. Unintended consequences of pathogens developed by modern biotechnology methods
4. Facilitation of non-native, invasive species through climate change and ‘invasional meltdown’
5. Frequency of extreme weather events
6. Geo-engineering the planet to mitigate the effects of climate change
7. Step change in demand for food and hence pressure on land for agriculture
8. Reduction of coldwater continental shelf marine habitats
9. Nature conservation policy and practice may not keep pace with environmental change
10. Adoption of monetary value as the key criterion in conservation decision-making

As they themselves recognize, many of these "threats" may turn out to be little more than hype (or, at best, minor issues); forecasting, by definition (especially in scientific circles), is a tricky game as there will always be missing pieces and because our scientific understanding will never be fully up to snuff. While many of these threats are likely to come to the fore over the coming decades (if not earlier), they might still constitute only a small fraction of the problems we will likely be dealing with in 2050. Via Treehugger

Norways eco Prision

Here’s an island prison that’s about as distant in principle from Alcatraz as is it in location. Bastoey Island, about 45 miles south of Oslo, hosts some of Norway’s worst offenders in what is effectively an eco-village working holiday camp. Instead of the traditional barred cells, prisoners, including murderers, rapists, drug dealers and thieves, live in separate, unlocked house on the island. Although only one and a half miles from the mainland, prisoners are reluctant to escape, lest they get returned to the typical maximum security unit and lose the privilege of serving their time where they’re learning valuable skills, as well as gaining respect for themselves, each other, and the environment.

The island prison uses solar panels, is almost self-sufficient with food from its own organic garden, and operates a strict recycling system. This is an interesting experiment in eco-therapy — where reconnecting offenders with nature may well also help develop a noble sense of purpose, that in turn helps them reconnect with society.

Via Celsias

Five of the Best Micro Wind Turbines

They have been around for centuries, but they are quickly becoming the darlings of the eco-friendlies and clean energy nuts. Windmills, or in this case, wind energy generators, come in all shapes and sizes. But, how feasible and cost-effective would it be for you to integrate a small wind system at your home, cabin, or camp? It might actually be easier than you might think. And if the small-wind tax credit somehow holds onto its tenuous place in the farm bill, it might just be cost-effective for you to invest one that can help defray, or even eliminate your monthly electricity bill.

The economics will be different for everyone, so I am not necessarily encouraging you all to run out and buy a micro wind turbine. I will also warn you that interconnection laws vary by country, state, province, municipality, etc. So, before spending ANY money on one of these gizmos, be certain that you have an adequate wind resource, and if you are planning on connecting to the grid, that you understand the interconnection standards that apply. Please use this information with caution: you must not cloud your judgment with mental images of backward-spinning electric meters and negative utility bills. While this is possible, you don’t want to spend all of your hard-earned money on a micro turbine that your local HOA, planning board, or zoning commission never lets you put up.

I should also note that while vertical axis wind-turbines may be the wave of the future for small-wind (especially in urban settings), there are lots of companies making big claims about their products right now, and I am not comfortable with my own knowledge of the products to include them in this listing.

Note: prices listed are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, it is quite possible to find them for less (nobody pays ‘retail’ anymore, right?)
1. Southwest Windpower Skystream 3.7
The Skystream 3.7 is the first fully-integrated, grid-tied wind energy system designed for residential use. The product is an all-inclusive wind generator (with controls and inverter built in) designed to provide quiet, clean electricity in very low winds. Unlike many other turbines, the Skystream 3.7 will turn downwind because it has no tail rudder to keep it facing into the wind.

Cost: $5399 (not including tower and installation materials)
Rated Capacity: 1.9 kW continuous output, 2.6 kW peak
Startup Windspeed:8mph
Rotor: 12 feet (3.72 m); 50-325 RPM
Interconnection: Utility connected or battery charging
Alternator: Gearless, permanent magnet brushless
Voltage Output: 240 VAC (Optional 208 VAC)
Estimated Energy Production: 400 kw per month @ 12 MPH (5.4 m/s)

2. Southwest Windpower Air X
The AIR is the world’s number one selling small wind turbine. The redesigned Air X incorporates a new microprocessor-based technology that results in increased performance, improved battery charging capability, greater reliability and the reduction of “flutter” noise from the machine. The Air X is ideally designed for powering small appliances in off-grid installations, remote communications facilities, marine applications, and communities in the developing world.

Cost: $600
Rated Capacity:400 watts
Startup Windspeed:8mph
Rotor: 46 inches (1.14 m)
Interconnection: Battery charging
Voltage Output: 12, 24, 48 VDC
Estimated Energy Production: 38 kw per month @ 12 MPH (5.4 m/s)

3. AeroVironment Architectural Wind
Architectural Wind is a small, modular wind turbine system designed for installation on buildings in urban and suburban areas. This is done by eliminating the support tower, reducing noise and vibration, and creating a modular housing that installs quickly and easily onto buildings, without penetrating the roof.

The turbine design has received critical praise for a while now, receiving the Red Dot International Design award and a 2007 Annual Design Review award. With a sleek, color-matched series of specially designed, highly efficient and low profile wind turbines, property owners can integrate Architectural Wind systems easily into new and existing buildings. As Preston at Jetson Green pointed out, the AeroVironment turbines have been installed at the new Kettle Chip facility in Beloit, WI that can produce roughly 28,000 kilowatt hours of power per year under normal wind conditions.

Architectural Wind is scalable and works very well in urban environments. The price and output of the machines will vary because of the drastically different requirements of individual installations. If you need more information on cost and specs, you can contact AeroVironment through their website.

4. Southwest Windpower Whisper 500
The Whisper 500 can produce enough energy to power a small to moderately sized home. Formerly the Whisper 175, the Whisper 500 was completely redesigned in 2004 to work in harsh, high wind environments. The Whisper 500 is a two bladed fiberglass reinforced blade and incorporates a patented “angle governor,” designed for quiet operations in high winds.

Cost: $7,095
Rated Capacity: 3kw
Startup Windpeed: 7.5mph
Rotor: 15 feet (4.6 m)
Interconnection: Utility connected or battery charging
Voltage Output: 24, 32, 48 VDC or 240 VAC
Estimated Energy Production: 1500 KWh/month @12.5mph

5. Bergey Excel
The Bergey Excel is designed for high reliability, low maintenance, and automatic operation in adverse weather conditions. It is available in two configurations: battery charging and grid-tied. The Excel is a ruggedly built turbine that comes with a 5 year warranty. In a moderate location, the Excel 10kw can provide enough electricity for the average home.

Cost: $21,900-$27,900
Rated Capacity: 10kw
Startup Windspeed:7.5 mph
Rotor: 22 feet (6.7 m)
Interconnection: Utility connected or battery charging
Voltage Output: 48 VDC or 120, 240 VAC
Estimated Energy Production: 1500 KWh/month @12.5mph

Via Clean Technia

Want to Green Clean Your School? Here's How

Operating on the belief that “children learn best through experience. If their schools are green, children will learn to live that way,” the Center for Environmental Education is an online resource for students and teachers at K-12 schools, bursting with information and how-to’s for greening their environments. Available on its Web site is “Blueprint for a Green School,” which gives suggestions for three levels of action in ten categories: curriculum, energy, environmental health, food, green building, maintenance, procurement, recycling and waste, transportation, and water. Students and teachers can also learn more about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change issues here.

In addition, there’s a searchable collection of reviewed environmental curricula, and a soon-to-come section on demonstration schools, with profiles of schools that are in the process of change.

“Blueprint for a Green School” was written in 1995 by Jayni Chase, the founder of the CEE. In 2008, it’s being updated and made accessible for download off the Internet. According to the CEE, it’s become “a vital link between the ‘in-the-trenches’ educators and the abundant environmental resources available.” Via Conscious Lifestyle

Twenty Six Foot Robot Lead's Greenpeace

--celebrity + charity + global relief--

Greenpeace strikes again!


Yesterday activists from the organization protested against the massive amounts of e-waste that Phillips generates. The organizers of the protest placed a twenty six foot robot made entirely of electronic trash directly outside a Phillips shareholder meeting. Protesters then climbed a facade of the Amsterdam hotel and posted a massive banner reading "Phillips: Simply Take Back and Recycle."


"Philips should take responsibility for its own e-waste," said a Greenpeace spokeswoman in a Reuters interview on Thursday.


"Philips has to set up collection systems in all countries where it puts products on the market. In this way, Philips can prevent the e-waste ending up in developing countries."


The company quickly responded citing its position as leader in the Dow Jones sustainability index for personal and household goods.


Gerard Kleisterlee, the company's chief executive, responded to the event at the shareholder meeting, simply citing that e-wast was, in their opinion, the "responsibility of consumers and governments."


Great...and gas emissions are also only the fault of consumers ? Nothing like a good game of productive finger pointing to end our week, eh?! Via The Lohasian

Green Chic - a new book on going green!

You always knew going green was the right thing to do but hemp dresses and recycled t.p. were just so........hippy. Well, Green Chic, the new book by Christie Matheson, shows that there's no reason to go live in a treehouse - it's the little things that make a big difference. For example, did you know that:

1. Unplugging your cell phone charger when not in use saves the earth from 100lbs. of carbon emitted each year?
2. Using cold water to wash your clothes is much more eco-friendly than hot water and actually prolongs the life of your clothes?
3. Eating and buying local products is healthier for you while saving the earth from the exhaust and gas associated with shipping.

Some things I knew, some things I didn't, but the great thing about this book is that it's not preachy. I highly recommend picking up a copy and finding the tips that work for you. Really, it's so easy!!

"So how can I WIN THIS BOOK?"

Go to Desgin Sprout to learn how

First Algae Biodiesel Plant Goes Online: April 1, 2008

PetroSun has announced it will begin operation of its commercial algae-to-biofuels facility on April 1st, 2008.

The facility, located in Rio Hondo Texas, will produce an estimated 4.4 million gallons of algal oil and 110 million lbs. of biomass per year off a series of saltwater ponds spanning 1,100 acres. Twenty of those acres will be reserved for the experimental production of a renewable JP8 jet-fuel.

Gordon LeBlanc, Jr., CEO of PetroSun had this to say:

“Our business model has been focused on proving the commercial feasibility of the firms’ algae-to-biofuels technology during the past eighteen months. Whether we have arrived at this point in time by a superior technological approach, sheer luck or a redneck can-do attitude, the fact remains that microalgae can outperform the current feedstocks utilized for conversion to biodiesel and ethanol, yet do not impact the consumable food markets or fresh water resources.”

Microalgae have garnered considerable attention, since acre-by-acre microalgae can produce 30-100 times the oil yield of soybeans on marginal land and in brackish water. The biomass left-over from oil-pressing can either be fed to cattle as a protein supplement, or fermented into ethanol.

The big problem has been figuring out how to collect and press the algae, and in the case of open ponds, to prevent contamination by invasive species. PetroSun seems to have figured it out, and this may be the first algae biofuel plant to get off the ground.

PetroSun won’t be making fuel immediately, but plans on either building or acquiring ethanol and biodiesel production plants. They’ve conveniently located themselves in an area accessible by barge, which should make fuel distribution a snap.

An aerial view (Google maps) of the algae farms can be seen here. Via gas 2.0

MIT solar start-up raises $12m

1366 Technologies, a new MIT start-up aiming to make silicon solar cells competitive with coal, yesterday announced it has secured $12.4 million in a first round of financing co-led by North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners.

MIT Professor, 1366 founder and CTO, Ely Sachs, noted that 1366 Technologies will be combining innovations in silicon cell architecture with manufacturing process improvements to bring multi-crystalline silicon solar cells to cost parity with coal-based electricity.

‘The science is understood, the raw materials are abundant and the products work. All that is left to do is innovate in manufacturing and scale up volume production, and that’s just what we intend to do.’ The company has just taken space in Lexington to build its pilot solar cell manufacturing facility.

1366 Technologies’ roadmap includes a new cell architecture that uses innovative, low-cost fabrication methods to increase the efficiency of multi-crystalline solar cells. This architecture, developed at MIT, improves surface texture and metallization to enhance silicon solar cell efficiency by 25% (from 15 - 19%) while lowering costs. 1366 Technologies will partner with solar companies and government agencies, licensing its technology to accelerate the ongoing global transition to solar. In addition, the company plans to build industrial, 100 megawatt plants around the world.

“Once the pilot plant has proven itself, we’ll work with governments and energy agencies worldwide to build a string of factories,” said Carmichael Roberts, general partner at North Bridge Venture Partners, who is joining 1366 Technologies board of directors as chairman.

Also joining the board is Bob Metcalfe, general partner at Polaris Venture Partners, who added, “By driving down the cost-per-watt of silicon solar cells, 1366 Technologies will drive continued development of the solar industry. Solar electricity will be central long term to meeting the world’s accelerating needs for cheap and clean energy.” Via Energy Refuge

Green energy trends for 2008

“We live in interesting times: the transition from a reliance on high-carbon energy sources to low-and-zero-emission technologies. The trend, we believe, is incontrovertible.” – clean edge

©Aleksander RodicClean Edge, an American clean-tech research and consulting firm, has launched their latest ‘Clean Energy Trends 2008’ report in which they identify five key trends affecting clean-energy markets and a forecast of markets for four clean-energy technologies.

This is a positive report that shows that 2007 was a “banner year for clean energy, with no signs of a slowdown in 2008”.

Despite a challenging economic outlook – plummeting housing prices, record-high oil prices, sinking consumer confidence, looming recession (sound familiar?) – solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, energy intelligence, hybrid – and all-electric vehicles, advanced batteries, green buildings and other clean-energy related technologies and markets are at an all time high.

The five trends the report covers are:

Start-ups power the electric car – while the global car companies go through years-long retooling to create alt-fuel vehicles, smaller firms are beating the big guys to market

Sustainable cities sprout from the ground up – a vision of future cities is beginning to emergy, creating intriguing new opportunities; the emergence of new, fossil-fuel, carbon-neutral cities – in the middle East of all places – see our article - fix the cities, fix the problem http://www.urbansprout.co.za/fix_the_cities_fix_the_problem where the Masdar Initiative in Abu Dhabi is highlighted in the comments.

Overseas players power US wind market boom – spurred by renewable portfolio standard mandates, growing investor and public awareness, and the weakness of the dollar, the US is among the fastest-growing markets for wind power

Geothermal resurfaces as a growth sector – it is experiencing a global renaissance, particularly as large, utility-scale projects

Oceangoing shipping takes a cleaner tack – the trillion-dollar shipping industry accounts for 4.5 percent of global CO2 emissions, double the latest estimates for aviation

According to their research:

Biofuels (global production and wholesale pricing of ethanol and biodiesel) reached $25.4 billion in 2007 and are projected to grow to $81.1 billion by 2017. In 2007 the global biofuels market consisted of more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol and 2 billion gallons of biodiesel production worldwide.

Wind power (new installation capital costs) is projected to expand from $30.1 billion in 2007 to $83.4 billion in 2017. Last year's global wind power installations reached a record 20,000 MW, equivalent to 20 large-size 1 GW conventional power plants.

Solar photovoltaics (including modules, system components, and installation) will grow from a $20.3 billion industry in 2007 to $74 billion by 2017. Annual installations were just shy of 3 GW worldwide, up nearly 500 percent from just four years earlier.

The fuel cell and distributed hydrogen market will grow from a $1.5 billion industry (primarily for research contracts and demonstration and test units) to $16 billion over the next decade.

The report also questions whether coal and nuclear are on the decline, based on Europe’s experience over the last decade, which indicates that coal and nuclear are beginning to contract rather than expand.

It looks at potential pitfalls and potholes that include the rising impact of biofuel production on food supplies, uncertain US policies around production tax credits for renewables and carbon regulations and a global economic recession, which could curtain spending across a range of industries. Via Urban Sprout

Recycle Your Electronics from Home Via Mail

The U.S. Postal Service has come up with a handy new and useful service called “Mail Back” to allow you to send them your old gadgets in the mail for free.

Postage-paid envelopes are available for pickup in about 1500 post offices in cities that include 10 areas, including Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago with hopeful plans to expand nationwide if the trial is successful.

What happens to the gadgets? Once mailed, the discarded old electronic gadgets end up at Clover Technologies Group for recycling. The post office will run the pilot program for 90 days and will be accepting the following items:

* Cell phones
* PDAs/ Blackberries
* MP3 players
* Digital cameras
* Ink jet cartridges
* iPods

Via Got 2 be green

First to green wins, Clorox decides

I've written before that the big companies should make enviros the target market. To be enviro, these days, is to be cool, ethical, caring and driven by values. And as people become aware that enviro-concerns are really human concerns, that toxins in our environment mean toxins in our bodies, and that a happier planet makes for happier people, the importance of green products in the marketplace is only going to increase.

Whoever gets there first is going to win in the long term.

I don't say this because I approve of greenwashing, the practice of making products seem green as a cynical marketing tactic. Of course, I abhor the practice and think, from a business point of view, it is an ultimately short term way to work, because it will backfire when customers realize they have been betrayed.

But what I want to say to the designers and product managers who come across this blog is that investment in truly sustainable product design is going to pay off and pay off big. Treating the earth kindly is not a philanthropic exercise but a profitable one (I give a few guidelines, by the way, for what I think will win enviro-customer loyalty, here and here).

And if Clorox's introduction of the Green Works line of biodegradable home cleaners is anything to go by, I'm not the only one to think so. When such a huge consumer brand thinks green is the way to go, you better worry whether it might be the way to go for your business, too.

Back when Clorox took over Burt's Bees, I wrote that I was suspicious of the giant corporation's intentions to maintain the brand's environmental credentials. I wrote that some sort of certification or transparency was needed in order to allow customers to reassure themselves.

Marketing on the basis of environmental ethics requires more than just a product. It requires a way for customers to reassure themselves that you remain true to those ethics. Indeed, I suspect that the skepticism of enviros like me is one reason big corporations have shied away from the market, fearing it could end up working against them.

Clorox appears to have overcome the transparency problem and potential customer skepticism with the endorsement of Green Works by the Sierra Club (see New York Times story here).

That the Sierra Club is taking an undisclosed amount of cash for the endorsement is potentially problematic. By profiting from Green Works sales, Sierra Club finds itself in the position of both running with the foxes and hunting with the hounds. And schemes like this can get watered down if they become widespread.

But I still think this is an important step forward.

This partnership between an environmental organization and a corporation big enough to get green products into the mass market means that a huge amount of toxic cleaning products will be displaced and demonstrates that a major corporation can move green out of the niche. The agenda of the environmental organization moves forward, money is made, and all of us end up with a safer water supply and a happier planet.

This a victory all around, and I hope brand managers and CEOs of the major corporations take notice. If you aren't, like Clorox, the first to introduce truly sustainable products to the mass market in a trustworthy fashion, you're going to lose. If you are the first, you'll win. Via No Impac Man

Tip of the Day - Recycle Your Television

Do you have an old TV stashed in your closet or basement? What the heck should you do with them?

Old televisions can’t go curbside for garbage pick up. The risk of lead leaching is too great.

Yahoo! Green has some great tips to help you figure out the best way to recycle your old TV:

• Search through Earth 911’s database of recycling, disposal, and donation alternatives. Just enter your ZIP code and get a list of options instantly. Need more? Look through the Electronic Industries Alliance list of state-by-state e-cycling resources.
• Some retailers and manufacturers, like Best Buy and Sony, offer recycling programs. Visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of participating e-cycling companies to find out what’s available in your area.

Check out the rest of the tips and read the full article here. Via Allies Answers

National Tropical Botanical Garden Goes Green

Located on the breathtaking Hawaiian Island of Kaua’i, the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) has begun construction on its green headquarters which will serve as an educational, research and conservation center.

The non-profit institution serves as an invaluable resource dedicated to discovering, conserving and studying tropical plants, many of which are endangered. It will house an extensive research library and herbarium, as well as administrative offices.

Aligning construction efforts with its core mission of preserving the environment, the center is expecting to be LEED Silver certified through the U.S. Green Building Council. The new center will employ daylighting strategies, native landscaping, sustainable furnishings, and local materials to minimize pollution associated with transportation. Via Green Strides

Bumper Stickers With A Green Message.

Here are some of my favorite bumper stickers that I found that are about the green movement. I listed where you could get them at the bottom of the post, if you so desire.

Via The Good Human

Solar Thermal Electricity: Can it Replace Coal, Gas, and Oil?

One of the most common arguments against large-scale use of renewable energy is that it cannot produce a steady, reliable stream of energy, day and night. Ausra Inc. does not agree. They believe that solar thermal technology can supply over 90% of grid power, while reducing carbon emissions.

“The U.S. could nearly eliminate our dependence on coal, oil and gas for electricity and transportation, drastically slashing global warming pollution without increasing costs for energy,” said David Mills, chief scientific officer and founder of Ausra.

You may be wondering, how will we have electricity at night or during cloudy weather?
Will we use large banks of batteries or burn candles?

The ability to utilize solar thermal technology after the sun sets is made possible by a storage system that is up to 93% efficient, according to Ausra’s executive vice president John O’Donnell.

High efficiency is achieved because solar thermal plants do not need to convert energy to another form in order to store it and do not rely on battery technology. Parabolic mirrors focus solar energy to generate heat. This heat generates steam that turns turbines, thus generating an electric current.

If you want to generate electricity-at, say, 3 am-heat from the sun can be stored for later use. This gives solar thermal technology the ability to not just produce peak power, but also generate base load electricity.

Peak Power: The First Wave of Solar Thermal Plants
The maximum amount of electricity demand on the power grid occurs during weekday afternoons and evenings in the summer months in most regions of the United States. This is largely caused by air conditioning loads, which gobble up electricity.

Because the electric grid needs to be able to handle these peak loads, capacity is built to specifically handle these loads. Natural gas and oil typically comes to the rescue to produce this electricity. Although these plants are expensive to operate, they are cheaper to construct than most of the alternatives. They are fast to start, producing power in 30 minutes or less. Additional power plants are constructed just to generate electricity for the times when it is needed most.

This causes peak electricity to be more expensive. A kilowatt hour of electricity at 3 pm and 3 am does not come with the same price tag to the utility company.

“Adding solar plants that reliably generate until 10 pm displaces the highest cost alternative power,” said John O’Donnell. “That is the first wave of solar thermal plants. The daily and seasonal variation in grid load in the United States matches solar availability.”

Base Load: Replacing Coal Power
Base load is the minimum amount of electricity demand placed on the power grid over a 24 hour period. Coal and nuclear plants commonly supply this energy. These plants can take hours or even days to heat up to operating temperatures and are run more continuously than peak power plants.

Due largely to the lower cost of fuel, these plants can produce electricity at a lower cost. If a carbon tax is implemented in the future, this will increase the cost of electricity generated from coal.

Generating electricity around the clock with solar thermal technology relies on storage systems that run turbines long after the sun sets. “Ausra has a very active energy storage R & D group and we will be prototyping a couple of systems this year here in the US,” said John O’Donnell.

Solar Energy Storage
This is not a new technology, having been used for plastic manufacturing and petroleum production for a long time. Solar thermal plants have a cost advantage compared to photovoltaic technology because energy can be stored as heat without being converted to another form or relying on batteries.

“My favorite example in comparing energy storage options is on your desktop,” said John O’Donnell. “If you have a laptop computer and a thermos of coffee on your desk, the battery in your laptop and the thermos store about the same amount of energy. One of them costs about $150 and the other one costs maybe $3 to $5. On the wholesale level, storing electric power is at least 100 times more expensive than storing heat.”

The future certainly looks bright for solar thermal technology as concern over climate change increases. Global demand for electricity is growing rapidly, requiring clean solutions. Via Cleantechnia

Whirlpool’s Green Kitchen

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Whirlpool launched an eco friendly kitchen concept for the future. The concept behind is based on the energy circuit in the nature, applied on the kitchen appliances and furniture. The amount of resources used is smaller than for a normal kitchen, the savings one can make being around 24%. For example: the fridge works 24h a day; it produces heat and can be used to heat up water for the dishwasher.

Also, the appliances have maximized energy use and re-use so that you can save money and save the planet.

I may say it’s a good idea but I should see it at work. The concept can be applied for big spaces where you can have all the system arranged. But how about the small places? Can the system really work for smaller living spaces, for an over grown world population and urban areas? Time will tell. Via Trendhunter

Green Term: Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST)

Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) is the synthetic growth hormone that is given to cows to make them grow bigger so that they can produce more milk. It is completely unnecessary for the health of the cow, and many studies show it is actually harmful to the cow. In fact, in 1999, Canada banned its use because of its effects on cows and it is also banned in New Zealand, Australia and parts of Europe.

In the U.S., the FDA (who I am growing increasingly unhappy with) not only allows the use of rbST in cows, but it does not require the products made from those cows to be labeled with its use. In fact, the company that makes the hormone, Monsanto, is currently trying to get legislation passed to make it illegal for milk cartons in the state of Pennsylvania to indicate that the milk does not contain rbST.

The FDA says that rbST is safe for humans, that it cannot produce effects in humans because the hormone cannot survive digestion and even if it did our bodies don't have the right growth hormone receptors to recognize it.

But I'm not buying it. I'm not buying their research and I'm not buying the milk. There are many independent studies that have been done that show theirs a possibility that those who drink milk with rbSt have increased chances for allergies and antibiotic resistance. There are others who believe that the hormones in the milk are causing early physical development in children.

I can't say for certain that rbSt has any negative effects on humans. But I'm not taking the chance. I don't buy everything organic, but with as much milk as my kids drink, I do buy organic milk. Milk that is labeled "hormone free" isn't necessarily organic, but it's a step in a healthier direction. Via A Little Greener Every Day

How to change the world

Don’t just stand there on the sidelines. Get involved! Make a difference. Spread the word. There’s so much you can do. Stanley Campbell has written a great list of 12 steps on how to be an activist:

1. Speak out about an issue. Don’t remain silent, but don’t scare people away. Try to express your concern in a positive manner. The world doesn’t want you to act, and the rich want you to shop, so God bless the social justice activist! But if you are concerned about the environment, pollution, war, poverty, or the high price of living (or anything else), then speak your mind! Teddy Roosevelt said “do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”
2. Find like-minded friends. These won’t be your real friends (in fact, your real friends will think you’re crazy). Pass a petition and sign people up. Folks who give their name and address may give time, energy and money
3. Find the official(s) in charge. Everything’s got somebody in charge, often a chain of command, and you have to find out to whom to address your concerns. Don’t demonize them, for often they are as concerned as you. It’s not a conspiracy that the world is the way it is. It’s just the way it is and it can be changed.
4. A good organizer keeps track of supporters’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and whatever else comes down the pike. Build that list. Share the work, by sharing your concern. Delegation of work means you trust people to help. That trust will help you get things done.
5. Find people who are working on the same issue. And there’s always people working on the same issue who’ve probably won a few battles, and can tell you a few stories. It’s nice not having to reinvent the wheel.
6. Use resources like libraries and the Internet to educate yourself and find national organizations that will support you.
7. Bring in speakers-outside agitators and experts who will enlighten and educate the community as well as the officials. This is a good organizing tool, but don’t bust the bank. Find experts who won’t demand high fees, but who can share information.
8. Use the media. Make a list of every outlet and try to get personal with the reporters. They are all overworked and appreciate it when someone writes an articulate story for them to use. Don’t be afraid of radio talk shows and television cameras. Find spokespeople.
9. Money is no object, but you have to ask for it. Really, people will give to a cause if they trust you. So learn how to beg. Find folks who will keep track of the cash. If you need more than $8,000 a year, find a lawyer and set up a tax-exempt organization, or find an existing group that will take on your cause.
10. Get a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order and learn its spirit. Your meetings will devolve into squabbles or be driven off track unless you learn how to conduct them. Share responsibilities.
11. Celebrate your victories. Use any excuse to have a party, sing some songs, listen to poetry and reflect; all the while, charge admission or pass the hat. Try not to treat people on the other side as “the enemy.”
12. Never say no to somebody else’s issue. In fact, encourage people to get up from their television sets and make the world a better place.
There’s lots of issues. No one thing will bring about redemption, but a whole lot of little steps get us closer to paradise. Good luck! Via OFF-Grid

The Global Warming Costs of the Iraq War

As if we needed more reasons for outcry against the war in Iraq…here is some information I found at DeSmogBlog. Pretty important information on this day, which is the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Please read on and go thank the folks at DeSmogBlog for sharing it with us.

The Global Warming Costs of the Iraq War: “

Oil Change International has released an startling report today quantifying both the greenhouse gas emissions of the Iraq War and the opportunity costs involved in fighting war rather than climate change.

Heres a few the interesting (and disturbing) facts found in the report:

• Total US spending on the Iraq war could cover all of the global investments in renewable power generation that are needed between now and 2030 in order to halt current warming trends.
• Just the $600 billion that Congress has allocated for military operations in Iraq to date could have built over 9000 wind farms (at 50 MW capacity each), with the overall capacity to meet a quarter of the country’s current electricity demand.>
• In 2006, the US spent more on the war in Iraq than the whole world spent on investment in renewable energy. Via BSB
  

Wind or Solar? Which Renewable Energy is Right for You?

Let's say you already purchase green power from your power company, but you want to go one step further and start generating renewable electricity yourself. First off, let me shake your hand. I can now add you to my list of personal heroes.

But where do you start? How do you know what's best for your area and home?

1. Try the MyWatts Estimator
The MyWatts Estimator is a tool offered by ChooseRenewables.com that will let you plug in your address, and pop out a recommendation on the wind and sun situation in your area. It will also let you know whether there are any wind and sun incentives available in your region.

Unfortunately for me, both solar and wind are poor in my area, though solar is the slightly more viable option.

2. If you are considering Solar:

• Go to FindSolar.com to begin to understand what size and scope of solar system you'll need to complement your current energy usage. You can also leverage them as a starting point to find a contractor.
• The US Department of Energy has a checklist to help you figure out what solar system will work for you, and important information on permits.
• 
  

3. If you are considering Wind:

• Spend some time in the Small Wind Toolbox from the American Wind Association. It will walk you through some of the steps and considerations for implementing wind in your home.
• The US Department of Energy has a checklist to help you figure out what wind system will work for you, and important information on installation and permits. Their Wind Powering America program also offers per-state guidelines and support groups to help you decide on how to proceed with wind.
• 
  

4. Make sure you understand your power company's policy on Net Metering.
When you install your system, you'll have two options: to be off the grid, or to be on the grid. If you stay on the grid for those cloudy or windless days, you'll probably have the option to participate in a Net Metering program. This means that you can sell any excess power that you generate back to the power company in some shape or form. Give your power company a call and see how it works in your area. Via Brave New Leave

Closing the recycling loop

Oliver Heath is the UK’s favourite celebrity interior decorator, I say he’s the favourite because he’s one of the few who really takes green issues seriously, so he’s my favourite anyway. Here’s his latest effort for the environment, in conjunction with Recycle now.

Here are some great recycled products that you could buy to close that recycling loop.

Kitchen & Home:

Recycled aluminium foil - save loads of energy by using recycled aluminium foil.

Recycled glass wine glasses - perfect for drinking organic and Fairtrade wines with a clear conscience. Good looking too!

The ultra-useful Cycloc bicycle storage solution - this little recycled plastic gizmo simply hangs your bicycle on the wall, freeing up floor space in your hall, or shed, or garage. Wherever.

Fashion:

Unisex recycled London Fire Brigade hose belt - you’ll have a belt that has saved lives.

Personal:

Recycline toothbrush - not as gross as it sounds. Not actually a recycled toothbrush, but rather a toothbrush made of environmentally sound materials, and easy to recycle.

Recycline Razor - an easy to recycle re-usable razor. Via ecostreet

Eco-Friendly Hair Care

I am loving Burt's Bees products. They are paraben and phthalate free and have been a nice replacement for The Body Shop and Pantene products that I love, but now avoid because they contain every kind of paraben you can imagine. Today I used the Raspberry and Brazil Nut Shampoo and Conditioner. I was concerned at first about how they would work on a black woman's thick mane, but found the results to be superb. That just goes to prove that anything with brazil nuts in the mix is going to be awesome. My hair smells good, feels good and looks great! I really like the fact that reading the ingredient list is more like reading a smoothie recipe than reading a spec sheet for an industrial floor cleaner. You will be tempted to taste these products, but stick to using them as marketed. Via Black and into Green

Corporate Sponsorship for a Wind Farm

Companies have long been willing to pay a lot of money to attach their names to prominent places. The future home of the New York Mets in Queens will be called Citi Field, after Citigroup. The Academy Awards ceremony takes place at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Steelcase, the furniture company, is paying to name a new wind farm in Panhandle, Tex., after the son of the company’s founder.

So at a time when most companies are scrambling for a prime seat on the green bandwagon, why not a company-branded wind farm?

John Deere Wind Energy is building an eight-turbine, 10-megawatt wind farm in Panhandle, Tex., that is scheduled to open in May.

Steelcase, the big furniture company in Grand Rapids, Mich., has committed to buying the farm’s entire output of renewable energy credits — the alternative energy version of carbon offsets, usually just called R.E.C.’s — for its first five years of operation. And it is paying a premium — it declines to say how much — for the right to name it the Wege Wind Energy Farm, after Peter Wege, the son of the founder of Steelcase and a prominent environmentalist in Michigan.

Nancy W. Hickey, the chief administrative officer of Steelcase, said both the name and the purchase fit in with Steelcase tradition. Steelcase is well on the way, she said, toward reaching its goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 25 percent by 2012, “and this is another way to help get us there.” Energy credits from the wind farm will offset the equivalent of 20 percent of the power used by Steelcase operations.

Ms. Hickey said the Wege name (pronounced WEGG-ee) is strongly associated with environmentalism, so the naming fits well with the Web-based “Green Giants Campaign” that the company initiated in January to draw attention to prominent environmentalists.

Even without the naming rights thrown in, it is unusual for a company other than a utility to buy all of the energy credits of a project before it is built. But environmental experts say such deals may become commonplace.

“The demand for wind power and for R.E.C.’s is outpacing the supply, so I won’t be surprised to see more companies trying to lock up the renewable energy credits that become available,” said Andrew Winston, an environmental consultant and co-author of “Green to Gold,” a book about environmental marketing.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, are hoping he is right. “After all, the best environmental policies are the ones where there’s a strong economic rationale for doing the right thing,” said Mark S. Brownstein, managing director for business partnerships for the Environmental Defense Fund.

The access to upfront money could also herald a new era for small wind farms, said Elizabeth Salerno, manager of policy analysis for the American Wind Energy Association. “This could really make more communities embrace local wind projects,” she said.

Whether it can make shareholders and customers embrace Steelcase is not as clear. Steelcase will affix “provided by Steelcase” to all of the Wege farm’s signs and promotional materials. But branding specialists say it should have placed its own name front and center.

“So many people care about the environment now that you really can get a lot more juice from naming a wind farm than from naming a stadium,” said Hank Stewart, vice president for strategic messaging at the environmentally themed advertising agency Green Team. “But they really missed an opportunity by not leading with their brand name.”

Michael Watras, president of the brand consulting firm Straightline, said that using the Wege name just muddles what should have been a straightforward message. “Few people know who Peter Wege is, so it creates a disconnect in people’s minds,” he said. “If they’d called it the Steelcase Wind Farm, the tagline could have said, ‘We support an eco-friendly environment.’ ”

In a sense Deere & Company also has a vested interest in Steelcase’s adding luster to its reputation. That could attract more customers for naming rights to wind farms.

In general, it costs $1 million to $2 million to build each turbine on a wind farm. Bradley W. Johnson, John Deere’s director for business development, said his company would probably have built this farm even without the extra money. But he expects that premium prices for naming rights would enable Deere to undertake projects that are too small to be economically practical right now.

“It costs us $350,000 to bring in a crane, whether you are building 4 turbines or 40,” Mr. Johnson said. “And you have the same legal fees, and costs of mobilizing a crew or negotiating contracts with utilities.”

Mr. Johnson said that several companies had already expressed interest in providing upfront financing for small wind farms in exchange for naming rights. Ted G. Rose, vice president for business development for Renewable Choice Energy, which arranged the deal between Deere and Steelcase, envisions naming rights catching on for all sizes of farms.

“This is a new business model, and it could attract any brand that wants to be linked with sustainability,” he said. “Imagine the G.M. wind farm, the Apple wind farm — it’s not unthinkable at all.” Via New York Times

Al Gore Backs Carbon Tax

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday that adopting a carbon tax is one of the best things governments can do to fight climate change.

"I know this sounds like a bigger idea than the political system can accommodate," Gore said during a Web cast discussion with Cisco Systems Chairman and CEO John Chambers. Gore said he is convinced that reducing taxes on businesses and employees -- and replacing the lost revenue with pollution taxes, principally a carbon tax -- is the way to go.

With no price tag today, CO2 is not just invisible as a gas it’s also "invisible to the markets," he said, so it’s not taken into account in the daily decisions of governments or businesses. Adding such a price tag would spur innovation in CO2-reducing technologies in industry sectors like solar, wind and energy efficiency, Gore said.

It’s not a new idea.

In February British Columbia said it plans to introduce a carbon tax; San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he hopes to get a carbon tax passed this year (see British Columbia Curbs Carbon, Gavin Newsom: ’We’re Still Playing in the Margins’ and SF Mayor Gavin Newsom Makes Waves).

Last month the Congressional Budget Office released a study finding that a carbon tax could achieve emissions reductions at a much lower cost than an economic cap, which is often presented as an alternative to the tax (see the office’s Director’s Blog). At The Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference earlier this month, several speakers, including General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, suggested that although a carbon tax might make sense, the word "tax" is too polarizing to be politically acceptable (see Schwarzenegger: Federal Government ’Asleep at the Wheel’).

Meanwhile the U.S. Senate is considering a bill, introduced in October by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va., that would create a cap-and-trade program to limit the amount of carbon some companies could emit. The bill would also set up a trading system in which less-polluting businesses could sell credits to heavier polluters (See New Climate Bill Could Boost Greentech). Economists such as Arthur Laffer also have weighed in against cap-and-trade-schemes. Via Greentech Media

New faucet design saves energy while saving water

People are familiar with motion-sensing faucets that turn on when people move their hands under them, and automatically turn themselves off, so they don’t have to handle the germy handles. People like that. But Toto takes this design much further with its Ecopower faucet, which saves energy AND water. How? It uses “self-generating hydropower” to automatically recharge a tiny battery in the faucet, thus saving the electricity normally used to make these motion-sensing faucets turn on and off.

“The EcoPower faucet recharges itself every time it is used. The flowing water causes a turbine to spin, creating a current that’s stored in the rechargeable batteries. The faucet will stay charged with as few as five uses per day.”

Why is this so exciting? Because it shows that engineers are beginning to think of ways to save energy in even the most mundane of processes and applications. So the EcoPower faucet uses a mere .25 gallons in ten seconds, and also saves energy by not requiring any electrical energy to turn it on and off. Beautiful!

How are Solar Panels Attached to my Roof?

OMG WHY IS WATER COMING THROUGH OUR CIELING!!!

The fear about roof penetration from solar installations is definitely in the top 3 concerns of people that are serious about installing solar power, so let’s just clear the air. I don’t personally know how every company installs solar energy panels on a roof, but I know how our company does it, and that is what I’m going to explain in this article. I also know that some people shouldn’t be doing it at all.

Installation practices vary by roof. Spanish tiles are the most expensive type roofs to install PV modules on. The reason is that we have no choice but to walk on them, and inevitably break some of the tiles. The owner must have extra tiles lying around, or we must be able to find a match ahead of time to be able to replace. If not, we cannot do the job. There is also some added time spent both drilling through them and treading carefully upon them. Wood shake shingles are particularly awful as well. The easiest and thus cheapest type of roof to install solar energy on is a composition roof.

There is a unique benefit to the flat, tar-and-gravel roofs and the flat polyurethane foam ones, because you can aim the photovoltaic modules in any orientation or tilt you desire, although to build that scaffolding to put them on costs a few bucks extra. With a pitched roof you are often limited to the orientation and tilt provided by the roof, which, if perfect already, is going to be cheaper than doing a flat roof.

Spanish Tile	Tar and Gravel	Wood Shake	Composition

We use something called “fastjack” to attach to the roof. Fastjack is made by pro solar. Then we seal the crap out of it with this stuff from GeoCellUSA.

Here are some notes:

1. Yes, we stick giant lag bolts into your beams like the one with fastjack in the picture above.
2. Panels aren’t that heavy. Most of the coding requirements come from “upforce.” Basically there is way more danger to the panels catching air like a sail and ripping off your roof than there is to them weighing too much and pushing through your roof. If they are bolted to the rafters then they are attached to the infrastructure of your house and not the roof, and there are no worries.
3. We’ve never had a customer have a leaky roof because of a solar installation we have performed, and we’ve been around 30 years. The sealant we use is very high grade and warrantied for 50 years.
4. A huge amount of labor is spent finding the exact center of the rafters. There are new mounting products coming out that will reduce this labor.
5. We can coordinate with a roofer so that we come in and put the posts in, they do the roof, then we come back and do the install.
6. It’s about $1000 bucks (of course that could be less or more based on size) to pop off existing panels to let a roofer do his thing, and then put them back on, so never let doing your roof stop you from getting solar. It’s almost always better to start saving money on energy today. Via Solar Power Rocks
   

Google To Spend $10 Million on Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Project

As usual, Google is at the forefront of, well, everything. But this one is a little surprising: their philanthropic branch, Google.org, is putting $10 million into plug-in electric hybrid research and real-world testing. If you’ve been reading Gas 2.0 lately, you already know that’s as much as will be rewarded to the winners of the 2010 Automotive X Prize for revolutionary green car technology.

Last September, Google offered up the $10 million in a formal Request For Proposals (RFP), saying they wanted to invest in any company that would “accelerate the commercialization of alternative transportation that reduces vehicle fossil fuel use and climate emissions.” In other words, getting plug-in hybrids, fully electric vehicles, vehicle-to-grid capabilities, and batteries and other storage technologies on the market.

Google’s own project, called RechargeIT, hopes to accelerate the development of plug-in hybrid and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. They’ve already set up a demonstration fleet by adding plugs and batteries to four Prius and two Ford Escape Hybrids. In an ongoing analysis, Google will be using performance data from the fleet to examine the usefulness of plug-in hybrids and their ability to transfer power to and from the electricity grid (that’s the V2G part). Google will also experiment with drawing power for the cars from their solar charging stations campus.

You can follow along with the results of Google’s performance data on the RechargIT.org dashboard or blog. You can also compare emissions and mileage data to your own vehicle with Google’s Vehicle Calculator. Via Gas 2.0

7 Ways To Save Fuel Without Buying A New Car.

Sure, we’d all love to drive a Tesla roadster, or to kick the car habit all together, but some of us just aren’t ready. Maybe you have an excessive commute or maybe you have to take the kids to soccer and music lessons. Maybe that Tesla roadster just isn’t in this years budget. Here are some steps you can take with your current car to save fuel.

First, we’ll want to know the current MPG (miles per gallon) and GPM (gallons per month). Normally, we’d just want to know miles per gallon, but we are concerned about lowering our overall consumption.

Tracking the GPM is very easy. Begin by filling up your tank on the first day of the month and making a note of the odometer (number of miles). Throughout the month, track all fuel purchases and on the 1st of the following month, fill up again, noting gallons purchased and odometer reading. You can then add up your gallons purchased to calculate gallons consumed through the month (GPM). You can also divide the total miles by the gallons consumed to calculate the miles per gallon.

Now that we can measure our efforts, here some steps to improve our consumption!

1. Take less trips. This may seem obvious, but simple steps like posting a shopping list of the fridg. and only going to the store once a week, combining trips or riding bicycles when you can will save quite a bit of fuel.

2. Drive slower. OK, maybe not always, but when you are driving faster than 30 miles per hour, air resistance becomes a significant factor. …

3. Time lights. Many traffic lights are timed so that if you drive at or below the posted speed limit (on the major road) that you will get green lights all the way. My personal record over 20 green lights on a 6 mile trip through an urban area. If you make the trip often, you will learn what it takes.

4. Coast. Pay attention to areas ahead of you where you will have to slow down. Let off the gas and let your car slow down on it’s own. There is no point driving fast and then having to hit the brakes.

5. Don’t let your engine idle. In the morning, don’t let your car warm up more than a minute or two. At train crossings, turn the engine off. If you aren’t moving, you are getting ZERO miles per gallon.

6. Air resistance. Luggage racks, roof racks and open windows all contribute to slow down the flow of air over your vehicle. I was able to remove the bars to the roof rack on my van and the square license plate holder on the front of my car. I almost always drive with the windows up. In the summer, I use the vents when I need air.

7. Rolling resistance. Make sure your tires are properly inflated and that chassis and wheel bearings are properly lubricated. Have the brakes serviced and make sure the front end is aligned. Generally, make sure your vehicle is properly maintained. Friction is your enemy!

Obviously, your primary concern while driving is safety, so if this advice conflicts with what you feel is safe driving, do what you think is right. Via Groovy green

It keeps getting warmer, no matter what some people say

There have been some talks, especially on the Internet, that the global temperature this winter has increased less than it’s done the last fourteen years.

Climate deniers have, of course, been acting like crazy about this. But is it true? Are the climate deniers correct? Can we finally breathe out? Have all the scientists been wrong all this time?

Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

To be able to see a real trend in global warming you must study the temperature under a long time span to be able to see if the temperatures are increasing or not. And the trend is clear – the temperatures are increasing. The chart above clearly shows how temperature increases from year to year (the red line) and the trend (the blue lines).

It’s worth noting that the warming has increased faster the last 10 years than before.

The global temperatures are still increasing but have been slowed down this winter a bit due to La Niña. This ocean-atmosphere phenomenon has a cooling effect on the earth.

During the La Niña period sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 0.5 °C. La Niña is similar to El Niño but where La Niña cools down the planet El Niño increase the global temperature by at least 0.5 °C. Via Geenblog

Top 10 reasons to be a Green Mormon

#10 Mormons are cheap and being sustainable saves money

# 9 The prophet said to plant a garden

# 8 Being translated is the smallest carbon footprint of all – just ask the Three Nephites

# 7 You can now be even more peculiar than all the other peculiar people in your ward

# 6 The stuff in Revelations doesn’t sound so bad if you believe in global warming

# 5 Feeding 5000 people with a few loaves and fish is really the way to go

# 4 We don’t have enough commandments yet

# 3 The earth already represents the lowest kingdom – making it worse leaves only outer darkness

# 2 We’re already used to saying, ‘It’s against my religion…’

# 1 Free your guilty conscience

Via Green Mormon Architect

Defending our country, defending our planet.

I'm right now swamped at work and other parts of my life feel like a jet streaking across the sky shedding pieces of its fuselage and excessive green house gases. Life can be dog eat dog kind of experience, where being green, or hell just being a good person can be hard in order to make it day to day. Sad but true, being green can feel like cutting off your nose to spite your face. OK, I'll cut out the cliches and quotes at this point, exhaustion hinders the originality muscles a little bit.

To that end, our acts of more environmental living is an actually an act of defense, of preserving our self interest. It may challenge our economy, cause adjustments, force us out of our rut. Often our acts of environmental protection have no direct relationship to our economy, our realpolitik or our day to day. However, it does remind me of another time when all expenditures were tied to the defense of our country. In 1969, Physicist Robert WIlson testified in front of congress and he was asked what exactly did a project have to do with defending our country. His reply is now legendary,

"It has only to do with the respect with which we regard one another, the dignity of men, our love of culture. It has to do with: Are we good painters, good sculptors, great poets? I mean all the things we really venerate in our country and are patriotic about. It has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to make it worth defending."

Do being green necessarily benefit us directly? Does being green help us have more? Maybe not, but by living more effectively it makes our world worth having. Via Car Free in California

Air Dry Before You Hair Dry

Today’s tip is from Christie Matheson’s book, Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style.

Air dry your hair before you blow dry. According to Christie, using a hairdryer that’s 1875 watts for 12 minutes a day every day adds up to over 500 pounds of CO2 per year. If you cut your dry time in half by air drying or towel drying very well, you can cut your hair dryer emissions in half as well.

Christie says that this comes with the added benefit of saving your hair from damage.

Keep reading, there’s a giveaway!

I enjoyed reading my copy of Green Chic, and in the spirit of being eco-friendly, I’d like to pass it on for someone else to read.

For the rest of the week, I’m going to make the Tip of the Day a tip from Green Chic. Sign in with a valid e-mail address to comment on the Green Chic Tip of the Day posts from Tuesday, March 18th through Friday, March 21st.

For each comment, you’ll get an entry (one per day, please). The giveaway will close on Sunday, March 23, at noon (Eastern), and I’ll draw a name out of a hat to determine the winner. The winner will be announced on Monday, March 24th. Comments that appear to be spam will not be counted. Good luck! Via Allies Answers

A Business Card that Grows

This is a great way to make sure clients keep your business card on their desk instead of stashed in a drawer. The “Another Bloomin’ Designer” business card designed by Jamie Wieck, adds a green bonus to boring business cards. Simply soak the bottom of this green business card, wait 4 days and you’ve got life sprouting from it! The card works as a miniature house-plant, growing either cress or alfalfa sprouts when “activated” by water. How clever.

via got2begreen

China Wants International Cleantech Fund for Itself

Perhaps China’s been peering over India’s shoulder, watching the deals it’s worked out with Australia to fund its burgeoning cleantech market. And it wants some of the same.

Like China, many emerging economies need and want to cut their global warming emissions but don’t have the money to purchase the latest technologies. So China’s come up with the idea of a Multilateral Technology Access Fund to use rich nations’ capital to fund cleantech in poorer nations. Specifically, the country calls on developed nations to allocate at least .5 percent of their annual GDP to help distribute cleantech beyond commercial interests.

The Access Fund idea was discussed at a forum about next steps after the Kyoto Protocol expires. We’ll see whether the developed nations bite on this idea whole-heartedly or even strike some sort of balance with assisting the devloping world grow sustainably while also making sure that they are investing in the necessary resources at home. Via Cleantechnica

How To Package A Green Product

We’re green entrepreneurs right? We eschew over-packaging. We skip the plastic overwrap. We limit the packing materials. We think reusable.

But…will consumers pay for it?

A recent Nielsen study shows that half of all US consumers would give up all convenience packaging if it would benefit the environment.

• • 58 percent feel that packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home is dispensable
  • 55 percent would give up packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container
  • 53 percent don’t need packaging designed for easy transport

As green company business owners we try to make every aspect of our products green, including how they are packaged. Often that means thinking reusable. That may not always be the smartest choice if it increases product cost, especially as prices for everything from raw materials to transportation are increasing these days.

On the other hand, some consumers will pay extra if the package provides selected benefits. But, notice not even half of all consumers would.

At the same time, the study finds that:

• 26 percent of U.S. consumers are least willing to give up packaging designed to keep products clean and untouched by other shoppers
• 31 percent want to keep packaging designed to keep products in good condition
• 31 percent want to keep packaging that preserves products to make them last longer and stay fresher
• 33 percent need packaging information, including food labeling.

As the market for green products get more competitive green entrepreneurs have to spend more time considering how packaging impacts their cost of doing business. Limiting materials makes sense. Increasing the cost of your product with something consumers aren’t willing to pay for, when big high volume companies are suddenly your competitors, does not. Via Ecopreneurist

Laundry Detergents and Softeners

If you are trying to go green and change your detergents this can be expensive. I have tried Seventh Generation Free and Clear and Baby Seven Generation and I liked them a lot. I did not try other green detergents since I liked these ones. Particularly, I found no difference between the Seventh Generation and Baby Seven Generation in terms of ingredients. This can be quite expensive, but if you are looking for sales you can get good prices. I used Tide, Cheers and, respectively Dreft in the past but now I switched to Seventh Generation Free and Clear and Baby Seventh Generation. It is more expensive that the others but after looking at the ingredients list, I decided that my family is worth the price difference.

	Price per load
Natural, green laundry detergents
Ecover Laundry Powder, 48-Ounce Box	.33
Seventh Generation 2X Laundry Concentrate, Free & Clear, 50-Ounce Bottles	.28
Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent, Baby, Ultra-Concentrated Liquid, 50-Ounces Bottles	.33
Conventional laundry detergents
Tide Free HE 2x Concentrated Liquid Detergent, 64 Load Bottle	.27
Cheer HE 2x Concentrated Liquid Detergent, Color Guard, 64 Load Bottle	.20
Dreft Powder Detergent, 40-Load Boxes	.28

Fabric Softener

I have tried both Ecover and Seventh Generation and I liked them both. I used Downy and Snuggle in the past and what I did not like much was the strong smell of the perfume. Ecover and Seventh Generation smell nice and the fabric feels soft and fresh. At Amazon they are cheaper than the conventional products. Once you like something you can try finding it on Amazon because they have good deals but they sell them in batches. That is why is important you like the product first. The price comparisons are made per load used. For the softeners the prices of the green ones are lower so, why not trying them out?

	Price per load
Natural, green fabric softener
Ecover Fabric Softener, 32-Ounce Bottle (40 loads)	.09
Seventh Generation Natural Fabric Softener, Blue Eucalyptus and Lavender Scent, Ultra-Concentrated, 40-Ounce Bottles (40 loads)	.10
Conventional fabric softeners
Downy Ultra Liquid Fabric Softener, Free & Sensitive, 40 Load Bottle	.13
Snuggle Exhilarations, 3x Concentrate Fabric Softener, White Lavender & Sandalwood, 32 Loads	.15

Via A bunch of greens

EU Agrees a Deadline For Climate Action

The fight against climate change has moved on considerably in the past year. Today, the debate is less about if, and more about what.

But concrete action has been slow, and whilst the world continues to talk, emissions continue to rise. However, another small but significant step has been made during the past week with an agreement between EU leaders to commit to legislation setting firm targets for a 20% reduction in Co2 emissions before 2020.

Janez Jansa , Prime Minister of Solvenia who currently holds the rotating EU presidency told reporters that EU leaders have taken a “huge step forward” with this agreement.

Beyond emissions reductions, the agreement also seeks to reduce energy imports, liberalise internal energy markets to increase competition, reduce taxes on environmentally friendly products, and to achieve world leadership in renewable energy technologies.

Unsurprisingly, some concerns have been raised. Germany and France, in particular have expressed worries about the impact of emissions reduction legislation on the competitiveness of their industries. EU nations with expensive labour costs such as Germany have struggled in recent years under increased competition from low wage countries in the far East and South America as global competition continues to intensify. France and Germany have recently been at loggerheads over proposed vehicle emissions reductions, amid concerns over the impact on their auto manufacturing industries.

Seeking to arrest these concerns, Jansa stated “We are convinced that the costs of these measures will be much lower than if we don’t act”. Indeed, it looks as if the debate is now moving quickly beyond what to how much? Via Eco Wordly

Super-Insulating Vacuum Glass

In terms of energy efficiency, windows are one of the biggest contributors to heat loss from buildings. However, a new window technology being developed by Guardian Industries could allow for windows that can provide insulation values comparable to a standard insulated 2×4 stud wall, with a new double-pane glass and a vacuum between the panes.

A thermos keeps hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold by separating the contents from the outside world with a vacuum. Heat is conducted by three modes, conduction, convection, and radiation. A vacuum prevents conduction and convection, and a reflective coating serves to reflect radiated heat back where it came from. The Guardian VIG (vacuum-insulated glass) works the same way, with a vacuum between two panes of glass, and a low-E coating to prevent radiant heat from escaping.

Ordinary single-pane window glass is not much better than an open window when it comes to insulation value. Even a good quality double-pane window only has an R-value of 3 or 4, typically. A typical 2×4 stud wall has an R-value of 12 or better. Superinsulated houses with thick wall construction and very high R-values will often use triple glazing, and will minimize the size of the windows in order to keep the efficiency of the system as high as possible and reduce the amount of energy lost through the windows.

The new glass provides a vacuum space between two panes of glass. To keep the two sheets of glass from being drawn together by the vacuum, low thermal-conductivity spacers are placed in the space between the two panes. (These are the small dots that can be seen in the photograph.)

While the vacuum is only about 1/100th as strong as what is typically found in an ordinary thermos, it is still far better than standard double pane glass in preventing heat loss from conduction and from convection. The only other glazing systems I have come across with close to this level of insulation value have been nanogel-filled windows, but those are just translucent, and do not allow clear vision through the glass.

The manufacturer, Guardian Industries, is reportedly hoping to have this glass commercially available by the end of 2009. More importantly, while other researchers have been exploring the idea of vacuum glass for several years, Guardian is expecting to be able to produce this glass at a reasonable cost over conventional glass.

The head of the Building Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was quoted as saying, “This performance level would convert most windows in heating climates into net energy suppliers, providing more energy to the home via passive solar gain (even facing north) than the window looses.” Via Green Building Elements

How green is your cell phone tower?

In the developing world, where electric grids are less reliable, many cell phone towers have to generate their own electricity. With diesel generators, that means that energy costs can add up to 2/3 of the total maintenance costs. Theft and vandalism are also a big problem with these systems.

As a result of these high energy costs, many cellular providers in the Third World have adopted green power supplies. In addition to wind and solar power, some of these cell phone systems incorporate biodiesel.

Photo courtesy of Tirau Dan at Flickr.com.

Designers are also rethinking the traditional cell phone tower. In 2007, Ericsson introduced the Tower Tube - a self contained concrete tower that has less visual impact and a smaller carbon footprint. Since they use concrete instead of a steel structure, and have no need for a perimeter fence, these towers release approximately 20% less CO2 than conventional towers. Other companies are getting rid of cell towers entirely by using trees!

If you look closely, the cell towers near your house may already be using solar or wind backup power supplies. Here’s an example of a solar panel that powers weather monitoring equipment on a cell tower.

Via Practical Enviromentalist

Buying a Used Bike

First of all, the bicycle world thrives on lore. There are lots of dedicated cyclists with very strong opinions about what constitutes a proper bike. They will tell you the exact gear ratios you need, the only proper brand of tire for your area, and what color seat you should have. Ignore them.

If you’re reading this, you probably aren’t too interested in knowing what titanium is, or winning the local race. You want to get a bicycle that will let you stretch your legs and spend a little less time in the car. Maybe start running a few errands, or commute to work once in a while. Most likely, you also want to spend as little money as possible to get started. So here is a quick primer in getting a bicycle.

Rule number one is Patience. Unless you live in a remote area, there is a constant supply of used bikes on the market. You don’t need to settle for something that doesn’t meet your needs.

Where should I buy a bike?

1. Go to your local x-mart stores and note what brands of bikes they sell. These brands go on your “Not even if it’s free” list.


2. Stay away from pawn shops and used sporting goods shops. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen a pawn shop bike that needed repairs costing two or three times what the guy paid for bike.


3. If you’re lucky enough to have a bicycle co-op in your community, check them out first.


4. The next best choice is a bike shop that sells used bikes.


5. Last choice is private party sales. This is where the best prices are, but this is also where you run the greatest risk of getting a problem bike.

What should I look for in a used bike?

• Here are a couple of pictures of the basic anatomy of a bike.


• The bike should be clean, but expect some grease on the chain.


• The tires should not have any cracks in them.


• The wheels should not wobble more than 1/8” to either side when you spin them. The wheels should spin freely and slow down gradually.


• The handlebars should turn easily with no “catches” anywhere. Straddle the bike, squeeze the front brake, and rock the bike forward and back. There should be no rattling in the head tube, which is where the handlebars come out. The handlebars should feel solidly attached.


• The cable housing should not be cracked or frayed.


• The bike should have eyelets to attach a rack and/or baskets. Preferably it will already have at least a rear rack. You’ll be surprised to find that a set of baskets or panniers can end up costing as much as the bike.

What kind of bike should I buy and what features should it have?

The easy answer is “buy a bike that’s comfortable”. Ignore the marketing hype about road bikes versus mountain bikes versus hybrid, comfort, or touring bikes. Get on it and pedal around for a few minutes. You may have to raise or lower the seat a bit to see if it works for you. This is where buying from a shop or co-op is handy. They’ll have the tools to make those adjustments for you. If you have to lower the seat against the frame, or raise it until the warning line appears, move on to the next bike no matter what kind of deal you’re offered. Don’t listen to anybody who tries to “fit” you to a bicycle according to a set of rules. You are not going to be racing. Comfort is far more important than efficiency.

After you’ve found a bike that is comfortable, make sure it has brakes you can operate and that actually stop the bicycle. If you have to squeeze the brakes for all that you’re worth to stop the bike, move on. If the brake lever comes all the way to the handlebar and you’re still moving, find another bike. It may just be a simple adjustment, but why take the risk?

The next thing to consider is the number and type of gears. Unless you live someplace hilly, having a front shifter is not very important. If you’re only going to ride on a bike path, you may not need gears at all. There is nothing wrong with pushing the bike up the occasional hill. If the bike has gears, make sure they all work smoothly.

Don’t worry about how much the bike weighs unless you have to carry it up stairs or load it on the bus. Be prepared to spend a lot more money to get a lighter bike.

Don’t worry about the frame material. It’s most likely going to be steel or aluminum, but it’s absolutely not important on a bike like this.

Suspension is not necessary or even desirable except possibly a suspension seat post. If you’re looking at a bike with a rear shock, keep looking. If the suspension fork bounces like a pogo stick, keep looking.

Don’t forget to budget for accessories. I won’t belabor the point, but I don’t ride without a helmet and neither does Chile. Lights are essential if you ride at night. A decent lock is a must-have item. A pump and patch kit plus spare tube will make life a lot easier. Check around - you may be able to get some of these accessories for free by attending a free bicycle safety class. Via Chile Chews

Could a President Obama or Clinton stop global warming?

Of course not. But they both have solid plans to avoid catastrophic climate change, which I examine in my new Salon article, “Obama and Clinton plan to cool it“:

We’ve seen that a President McCain is not likely to be the leader this country and the world need to maintain the planet’s livability for our children and the next 50 generations. What about a President Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? Both would be a giant step forward. Unlike McCain, they have both put out detailed and comprehensive plans. (Obama’s is here. Clinton’s is here.) Although you wouldn’t know it from the media coverage, these plans are more important to the long-term health and well-being of future generations than the candidates’ healthcare or Iraq plans.

The article explains why “no president, not even a modern-day Lincoln or FDR, could possibly stop global warming even by their second term,” but also why it is crucial the the next president embrace an aggressive set of policies to begin sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the article focuses on Clinton’s and Obama’s crucial strategies for accelerating clean technology deployment.

If the next president does not start us on the path to avoid catastrophic global warming, he or she will be ensuring that subsequent presidents receive an endless number of calls at all times of day to deal with the ever worsening impacts on this country and the world. As guest blogger Bill Becker, Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Action Project, recently wrote, “The best 3 a.m. phone call is the one that never has to happen.” Via Climate Progress

Half of Natural Products Contain Cancer Causing Chemical

New tests of 100 “natural” and “organic” soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that nearly half of them contained a cancer-causing chemical that is a byproduct of petrochemicals used in manufacturing.

Many items that tested positive for the carcinogen are well-known brands, including Kiss My Face, Alba, Seventh Generation and Nature’s Gate products, sold in retail stores across the nation.

Where To Get A Green MBA, And Beyond

Have you been pondering getting your feet wet in the ever expanding world of green business? Perhaps you’re already in it, to a degree, but want to go deeper. An MBA perhaps? Sustainable Development? Design? But where? Coming next Thursday, I’m going to tell you what I know from personal experience at one of the premier places today to get a sustainability focused MBA: Presidio School of Management.

But first, let me tell you what else I know, and I invite you to fill in the blanks. There are now several programs out there, such as the esteemed Bainbridge Graduate Institute up in Washington state, which has been around roughly the same amount of time as Presidio. They offer both a full MBA and two certificate programs, in Sustainable Business, Entrepreneurship, and Intrapreneurship. The certificate programs are aimed for those already in business, or who have already gotten an MBA.

The Green MBA program is another early entrant into this realm, and recently underwent what seems a helpful transformation, relocating to Dominican College in San Rafael, California. They currently offer an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise. As before, they have a social justice/activist leaning, in addition to their business education. Judging by their website, the future looks promising for this program, with a stronger integration between academic learning and active engagement with the real world.

In Europe, a dynamic, creative, real world oriented business program of a different flavor exists, known as KaosPilots. I had the pleasure of meeting many of them while I was at Presidio, as they were in San Francisco for a semester, tasked with engaging with the local population, and creating their final projects while there. It’s a decidedly Nordic styled program, with a quirkiness throughout, a lot of creativity, and as their name suggests, getting comfortable with navigating the chaos that is our world.

Another strong newcomer is the soon to be launched MBA in Design Strategy at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, California. This program, spearheaded in part by my former Presidio classmate, Nathan Shedroff, a multi-talented Experience Strategist, author, and teacher, looks to be quite impressive, if their introductory description is any indication:

The innovative MBA in Design Strategy, which will enroll its first class of students in fall 2008, unites the studies of design, finance, and organizational management in a unique curriculum aimed at providing students with tools and strategies to address today’s complex and interconnected market. The program’s approach encompasses performance, strategy, innovation, and the encouragement of meaningful, sustainable social change.

Numerous a la carte classes and programs can also be found out there, such as the Sustainable Development offerings at Chico State University.

Next Thursday I will go into some depth about Presidio School of Management, a program that continues to evolve and become an ever stronger offering, from which I myself have benefited, graduating in their third cohort. Via Ecopreneurist

Get Your City On Google Transit

Google posed a challenge to all the attendees of the American Public Transportation Association's recent TransITech conference: get your city on Google Transit by Earth Day 2008. We've written before about how great a tool it is, and were proud to help instigate it. Transit now shows up as an option for every "driving directions" trip you type into Google Maps (if your city is hooked up), encouraging the use of public transit and making it easy for those that would otherwise never even try it. It's a win for the transit agencies, too, because their specialized trip-planner websites are all made with expensive proprietary software, while Google's system is free and they publish their API.

If your city isn't hooked up, you can play along at home by writing your local transit agency and telling them to join the challenge. Get your city online by Earth Day! You can send them this link for all the information they need on how to get their data into Google's system. Via Worldchanging

What is SKOY?

Many of us use paper towels daily and toss them out, not thinking twice how much we’ve used. When there are big spills, it’s amazing how many paper towel sheets are used to clean up spilled milk. Well, I was lucky enough to try out some samples of SKOY via one of the SKOY owners, Michelle Lundqvist, who claimed this highly absorbent and reusable product is equivalent to 15 rolls of paper towels. I was eager to see if it could actually pick up, at the very least, after my child…and of course, try it out in the kitchen, bathroom and other surfaces.

First though…
What is SKOY? It’s a 100% biodegradable, absorbent, re-usable, European-made, multi-use cloth for the home or office. The cloths are made from a natural cotton and wood-based cellulose pulp which can be used in replace of your sponge, wash cloth or paper towels. Each SKOY cloth has the absorption factor of 15x its own weight and surprisingly dries up fairly quickly. When it dries, it hardens to minimize growth of bacteria and is even safe enough to toss into the dishwasher or microwave to keep the cloths germ-free. Each cloth has the ability to last anywhere from 1 week to 1 month depending on the usage. SKOY cloths takes around 5 weeks to completely biodegrade under the right compost conditions.

When I received my package, I was delighted to get 4 brightly colored SKOY clothes (water-based colors), with a simple raffia tie wrapping. They were quite adorable with a cute flower design on each one, perfect for encouraging my toddler to use it for cleanup. The cloths are soft, but thick and really do hold quite a bit of water. I experimented with some spilled milk - they worked great! But I was a bit skeptical about using them for surfaces. I wasn’t sure if the thickness of the cloths would interfere with polishing my furniture (how much spray would I have to use?) I was surprised though. They worked BETTER than paper towels…much better actually. Not lying. I got a shinier look, no ‘paper flecks’ were left behind and it even seemed to pick up more dirt than a paper towel. Now, I realize the paper towels were shifting some of the dirt around and not actually picking it up! I’m sold!

They are quite affordable at $5.99 for a 4-pack with mixed colors or white, especially for the durability and performance of the cloths. You can purchase them online on SKOYs site or if you are in the San Diego area, they will be available at Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School in PB and Cardiff Seaside Market. Via got2begreen

Why Are We Wasting?

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
(William Shakespeare, from his play “Julius Caesar”)

“We have met the enemy, and they are us.”
(Walt Kelly, from his cartoon strip, “Pogo”)
_________________________

The Chicken and the Egg

There are two schools of thought about why Americans generate so much waste. One school believes we have been conditioned to consume by big business, big media, and big marketing. People from this school are convinced that these massive entities – informally or perhaps not so informally – have conspired since the Industrial Revolution to line their pockets by socking us and sacking the environment. The other school believes just the opposite. These folks hold that the consumption treadmill rolls on and on because that is what American consumers want. The American character, they say, is self absorbed and materialistic, so business and media respond by producing more and more stuff.

The first school, which I call the Conspiracy School, believes the sustainable solution is more and more and more government regulation. The second school, which I call the Culture in Crisis School, believes the sustainable solution is blowing up Hummer dealerships. I believe the second school has it right with regard to diagnosing the illness, but has it all wrong when it comes to prescribing the cure.

The Conspiracy School is dead wrong but appealing – we all know how dearly Americans love a conspiracy. We don’t want to believe one man acting alone killed John F. Kennedy. We don’t want to believe a small group of fanatics perpetrated the events of 9-11. However appealing, buying in to these theories requires enormous twists of logic that defy common sense and everyday experience. Blaming over-consumption on a smoke-filled room full of conspiratorial suppliers is no different.

Americans, character issues aside, are a fickle lot when it comes to consumption. Having spent decades in marketing, I can attest to the difficulty in figuring out what consumers want. Responding to market demand is a tricky enterprise – for every new product that succeeds, ten or twenty or thirty fail. Consider the example of 3M, arguably the most innovative company in packaging over the last fifty years. 3M’s entire corporate culture, in fact, is built on the principle of product innovation. As a distributor of several 3M packaging divisions, we were continually being asked to throw our resources behind a steady stream of new product rollouts. Over a period of twenty-plus years, most of those rollouts unceremoniously rolled up. A small minority caught on. Only a handful caught fire.

Now if this is the track record of 3M, the best in the business when it comes to innovation, how hard must it be for an average manufacturer to determine customer wants and needs? Pretty tough indeed. That is why business, from a marketing standpoint, is essentially reactive. In the main, marketers spend their time reading tea leaves – trying to understand what products will sell, and then crafting a strategy to make them visible in the marketplace. The notion that companies have the time, desire, and wherewithal to create consumer wants and needs is preposterous. The notion businesses can create demand on a massive scale fails to take into account market complexities far too vast to predict, let alone control. Big business, big media, and big marketing may indeed pander to base consumer instincts, but that is about all you can say. Via sustainable is good

The Shrinking Glaciers of Switzerland

The Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern is hosting a photographic exhibition which documents the gradual disappearance of many of Switzerland’s glaciers. Featuring contrasting photos of Swiss landscapes over the last 100 years the pictures reveal the full extent of glacial retreat in some regions.

See the dramatic contrasts between old and new at the melting glaciers picture gallery. Via Ecoworldly

The pencil or the pen, wich is greener?

I was in a hotel a few weeks ago. The hotel boasted about its green credentials by boasting about its kitchen garden on the grounds, supplying a good proportion of the kitchen's food.

I'm not sure if the yoghurt, I had at breakfast, came from the garden though. Nor was the orange juice I drank, freshly squeezed from the orange groves I failed to notice. However, the heated swimming pool was shut down for maintenance so that probably reduced the carbon footprint a good deal. Bravo!

In my room the television was a low power LCD model and there was no remote so I had to get off the bed to change channels. Less electricity, more exercise. Well done! Though I think the remote was probably stolen by the previous inmate. I was glad of the handy switch provided for me to turn off the radiator. Why is 22C the ideal hotel room temperature?

Of course, I don't need to describe the room to you. It's like any other hotel room so you'll know exactly where the writing desk was. Upon it were two sheets of writing paper (my carbon limit's worth probably) and a pencil. Not a biro with all of its oil gobbling plastic, oil processed metal and oil based ink but a environmentally safe pencil.

However, that pencil was no ordinary pencil, it was a recycled pencil. Unlike my pencils at school that had the words, 'Cumberland - Made in England - 2B' printed upon them this pencil proudly boasted, 'This pencil is made from recycled vending cups'. Wonderful the wooden shaft wasn't made of wood but of recycled plastic coffee vending machine cups.


Any attempt made at sharpening the pencil will yield shavings of plastic that are in no way recyclable. They will end up joining the non-recyclable rubbish on a landfill site, where the plastic will breakdown and leach chemicals into the water table. Nice one, idiots! Via The Good Life

MTV launches Climate Change Campaign

TV Networks recently bowed its new Switch Blog, which is meant to foster an interchange of ideas on how to re-engineer the ways we live and become more sustainable. It hopes to be a lively place where we can learn how to go green and help the planet.

Here’s how they describe the site:

Switch is MTV Networks International’s Global Climate Change Campaign. We’ll be looking for the best ideas and innovations that can help us reinvent how we live in ways that are cool for us and the planet. (We’ll also be getting ideas from you guys, no matter how wacky…)

On the Switch site, it’s all about seeing things in a different light—a green light. You’ll find clever ads, interesting videos, and tips from Environmentors. The Switch blog is here to bring you the info that falls through the cracks and fill in the gaps, including the latest trends and fashions that are keeping the earth clean and keeping you classy.

It isn’t about what we can’t do, it’s about what we can. It’s time to Switch.

You can give Switch a look here

Via Climate of our future

Green Term: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

HDPE is a kind of plastic resin that is used in things like milk and water bottles, detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, grocery bags, and margarine containers. It's the type of plastic that has a number 2 in the center of the recycling symbol.

HDPE is one of the easier plastics to recycle and most community recycling programs accept these products. They usually aren't recycled into their original form. Often HDPE products are recycled into things like park benches, milk crates, toys, plastic lumber, and plastic speed bumps.

If you are concerned about the chemicals that leech out of plastic water bottles, look for bottles with a #2 on the bottom. HDPE is one of the safer plastics and is one that is considered reusable/refillable. If the water bottle has a #1 on the bottle, it is safe for only one use and then should be recycled. Via A little greener every day

The Newspaper HouseHere's What Happens to a Tesla Electric Car Battery at the End of its Life

Three years ago, we were already trying to reassure people about hybrid car batteries. There seems to be a lot of myths surrounding them, and now's a good time for a little mythbusting. Tesla has just released information about what happens to its battery packs (pictured above) at the end of their useful lives, and we think it's a good case study.

First, we learn that the cells are manufactured in Japan where there are relatively strict environmental laws, and meet the RoHS standards. They are mostly made of lithium metal oxides with zero lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBBs or PBDEs. In fact, there no heavy metals, nor any toxic materials. Tesla says that, by law, its battery cells could be landfilled, though that's not what they actually do.

There are some exciting potential uses for the [Energy Storage System] ESS in its afterlife. While our ESS is designed to maximize performance and life in our roadster, at some unfortunate point, the ESS will come to the end of its useful life in the application :( . However, it might be possible to use the ESS in other applications. For example, the ESS could be used as a power source for off-grid backup or load leveling. The battery requirements for such an application are not as demanding as a high performance vehicle battery. This being said, eventually the batteries will no longer hold a significant charge and will need to be disposed of.

So the batteries might not go straight from cars to recycling, but when they eventually do, Tesla will be working with Kinsbursky Brothers, Inc.(KBI)/Toxco to:

• maximize the amount of materials that can be reused
• maximize the amount of materials that can be recycled
• minimize energy consumption utilized during the transportation and recycling process

In practice, the cells are sent to a hammer mill that turns them into pulp (second photo in this post). They then separate the elements and re-use what can be re-used (cobalt, aluminum, nickel, and copper, etc).

So the battery pack saves thousands of gallons of gasoline/diesel over the life of the vehicle, it is less toxic than the lead-acid batteries that are in regular cars, and at the end of its life it is recycled (which is more than can be said about most things in our society).

The Tesla, and electric vehicles in general, are certainly not perfect and there's lots of room for improvement. But it's nowhere near as bad as those who think battery packs are toxic waste believe. Via Treehugger

Lower Emissions than a Prius? Meet the Toyota iQ!

Have you ever wondered what amazing new technology would beat hybrids in the “green” category? Plug-ins, electric cars, fuel cells, carbon-capture cars? Turns out the next step forward could be a step backward.

Enter the Toyota iQ: small, sleek, roomy, and possibly with lower CO2 emissions than Toyota’s ubiquitous Prius. Why do I call the iQ both a step forward and a step backward? It’s because the iQ isn’t a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or anything else that’s been hyped up in the news recently. The iQ represents simplicity and good design — showing that a small car with some innovation can still go pretty far.

GCC posted on the iQ recently identifying a few things that make this “city car” special:

• New differential: With a new differential Toyota was able to alter engine configuration and shrink the size of the engine bay big time. This allowed designers to move the front wheels almost to the front of the car, giving the car a surprisingly long wheelbase compared to its overall length.
• Underfloor fuel tank: Having fuel stored under the floor instead of under the trunk means that the rear overhang can be lessened and the wheels moved closer to the rear of the car.
• Heater/A/C shrinkage: Toyota managed to compress the size of the heating and cooling system without compromising performance. This is behind the iQ’s asymmetrical dashboard and gives provides a bit more cabin room on the passenger side.
• Dash and seating: As I just mentioned, the iQ’s asymmetrical dashboard frees up room for the passenger. The passenger also has the ability to move their seat up rather far, giving the back seat passengers a bit more room to breathe. In a car this small, the rear seats will definitely only be suitable for smaller people, so this feature is a great bonus in terms of usability.
• Ultra-slim seats: It may seem slight, but the iQ’s seats free up another 40 mm for rear passengers.
• 
  

It’s great to see a release like this from a major manufacturer instead of endless speculation and posturing that you sometimes get with (especially American) car-makers. Look forward to another post with more details and information from possible test drives! Via Gas 2.0

Remember to Recycle Your Medication

Back in December, I discovered the importance of recycling unused or expired medications. The conventional “wisdom” of flushing drugs down the toilet only facilitates pollution of our waterways and our drinking water.

This week, the Associated Press published its investigative results on drug contamination in drinking water. The investigation showed a broad range of drugs has been found in the drinking water supply for 41 million Americans. The health and environmental impacts of these drug traces are controversial and still under investigation – though some recent studies have shown sexual changes in male fish. Persistent exposure to drugs, even in minute quantities, is enough to cause concerns for most physicians, scientists and environmentalists.

Of course, the contamination is also a result natural body excretion but improper disposal is easier to avoid. There is currently no national drug take back program. However, the EPA recommends consumers take advantage of local take-back programs offered by pharmacies or hazardous waste collection. If no near-by programs can be found, try using the resources posted on the Green Pharmacy Program, sponsored by Teleosis Institute. The program lists take back locations in California, other states and instructions on how to dispose of not accepted items.

And don’t forget, one of the best ways to avoid unused or expired medication is to buy in small quantities. So forgo those Costco-sized bottles of ibuprofen and buy only what you need! Via Organic Picks

Sink your teeth into green dentistry

If you’ve ever sat in the dentist’s chair and wondered where all the latex gloves, chemicals, and x-ray films end up, or stopped to consider how much water and electricity the office uses, you aren’t alone. Some dentists are starting to take off their protective eyewear and see the bigger picture.

In September 2006, Bob Bhamra opened the UK’s and perhaps the world’s first carbon neutral dental practice, Jiva Dental in Kingston, just southwest of London.

On a tour of the office, Bhamra explains that the wooden floors are made from sustainable wood, the plant-based, marmoleum floor coverings are fully biodegradable and naturally inhibit bacterial growth. The lighting is low-energy in the communal areas and low-voltage in the treatment rooms; renewable energy provider Ecotricity powers the practice. The heating and cooling units are the most energy-efficient on the market, the computer screens are energy-star rated, and all the water in the practice goes through a filter that diminishes calcium and other deposits, increasing the longevity of the instruments and reducing the need for maintenance.

Instead of traditional x-rays, the practices uses digital ones that emit 90 percent less radiation, require no chemicals to be processed, and the phosphor x-ray plates can be reused.

Bhamra says there are still steps he could take to make the practice even greener. “It doesn’t stop here,” he says, adding that he’s “thinking about the possibility of a solar panel on the roof.”

Dentists across the pond are going green, too. In Southeast Portland for example, Mint Dental Works is poised to become the nation's first LEED-certified dental practice. Dentist Jason McMillan and his wife, Rebecca, have installed equipment that keeps the mouth moist during treatment without using lots of water, saving a staggering gallon per minute. Dual-flush-valve toilets and sinkless treatment rooms (hand sprays are used to sterilize hands) are just some of the other measures designed to keep water use to a minimum.

Down south in Athens, Georgia, drought makes the water situation even more precarious. To help conserve the resource, the Athens Family Dental Center encourages staff and patients to frequent the porta-potties out back instead of regular toilets. They also hand out water-saving tip sheets to all patients

Back in Kingston, Bhamra says he hopes to do more than reduce waste and tread more lightly. “It’s about getting people to think responsibly,” he says, “to think about how we fit into things, to think about our neighbors on this planet.”

For Catherine Bazan, a dental nurse and receptionist who has been at Jiva since it opened, working in an office where all the waste is separated and recycled and water is used sparingly has made these behaviors “automatic.” She says, “This place makes me feel good.”

Patient Miche Fabre Lewin read about the carbon-neutral practice and decided to try it out despite living about an hour away by train. Everything about the experience, from the space, its eco-credentials, to the service and care provided, were thoughtful and conscious. “Dr Bhamra even invited me to bring my own music for my treatment” (the unenviable extraction of two wisdom teeth). “It was a great blend of low-tech and high-tech,” she says. “I’m trying to turn all my friends on to him.”

With people like Bhamra and the McMillans showing the way forward, the days of low-impact dentistry may be just around the corner. Just don’t be surprised if you are asked not to flush! Via Plenty Magazine

Comparison Wasting

Filipinos, or Pinoys, waste 1.2 million tons of rice each day. That amounts to a spoonful of rice per person, according to this article in the Philippine Star. In response, the Filipino government has launched a rice conservation program and an advocacy campaign.

Well, folks, we Americans waste about 40 percent of all the food we produce and I’m still waiting for the big federal food conservation program. And the advocacy campaign.

Certainly, the two countries are dramatically different, but so is the level of waste. Compare one spoonful of rice with American per meal waste estimates: 0.35 pounds per student at colleges, 0.6 pounds per person at hospitals and a full pound per person at conferences.

Note: These estimates come from John F. Conolly and Associates, a consulting firm with six years of experience helping businesses reduce their food waste. They are on page 5 of this report mapping Massachusetts’ food waste. Via Wasted Food

California Cars to Get Global Warming Stickers

Go shopping in 2009 in California for a new car and you’ll notice some new information on the smog index window sticker. Next to the smog score will be a global warming score. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is putting the finishing touches on the program. You can see some of the details in the presentation from their last meeting.

According to CARB, approximately 13 states have thus far adopted the California’s Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) regulations, which requires the smog labels. At least eleven of those states, including New York, Connecticut, Oregon, and Washington are likely to adopt the new global warming labels.

Vehicles are assigned a score of 1 to 10 based upon their emissions, with 1 for the worst, and 10 for the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. However, calling it a “Global Warming Score” and having 10 be the best is likely to cause some confusion. Perhaps “Planet Saver Score” would be better? Via Climate Progress

Babmoo Re-Cheargable phone

Rock star quality, this cel phone is the most earth friendly electronic gadget I’ve seen on the market yet…

Ok, so check this out. I hit on this piece of eco-news yesterday on Inhabitat and I’ll explain it to you here in simple terms. This mobile phone, a finalist at the 2008 Greener Gadgets Design Competition, is made out of bamboo. Yes, you heard me right….Keep reading….

It’s biodegradable so when placed in the landfill, it decomposes into a bamboo plant. Read above for details…Can it be so? Oh beautiful joy!

So the most amazing aspect of this phone? It charges manually with muscle power. There is a cranking device (check out the first photo) that gives it enough power to make a phone call. That means you never have to plug this eco-chic Goddess into the wall. Talk about saving precious resources…Hallelujah…

The case is made out of bio-plastic from renewable sources…

This sleek and elegant beauty was designed by eco-tech-maverick Gert-Jan van Breugel who is a frickin genius. According to his website, he graduated in 2007 Cum Laude at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, department Man and Mobility and currently works for firms in Holland and Belgium.

You Europeans are so advanced…I’m in awe of you…

According to Inhabitat, “The phone was designed in response to the one billion new handsets being produced every year, with only 10% being recycled. The average mobile customer replaces their phone once every 18 months, causing 36kg of carbon dioxide to be released in the manufacture of a 90 gram phone.”

What an amazing contribution to healing this planet…Don’t you think?

This is going to hit the marketplace with a serious eco-chic vengeance. I can tell you this—I’ll be first in line. Via Planet Pink Green

Green Tip #9 - Participate in the National Recycling Programme

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has implemented the National Recycling Programme for several years, where recycling bags or containers are given to residents living in housing estates and landed properties. These recycling bags or containers are given by appointed recycling contractors and are collected fortnightly. You can make use of the recycling programme to recycle items such as paper, plastic and glass bottles, metal cans and old clothing, instead of throwing them away.

In addition, there are recycling bins placed at housing estates (one set of recycling bins placed for every five blocks), and also public recycling bins placed at train stations and high traffic locations. Check out the locations of the nearest recycling bins at the NEA website. The government has also recently announced that it will make it mandatory for condominiums and private apartments to provide recycling facilities in phases.

With all these recycling facilities in place, it’s easy to recycle and there’s no more excuses not to. Via Asian Green

60 Gardening Ideas for Kids

It’s already March, which means it is time to get into the garden! One of my greatest challenges when I first became a parent was to figure out how to garden with young children.

At first, I tried to rush out during their naps and frantically weed, plant, and harvest. Then, I realized I was robbing my children of the incredible experience of learning about plants and growing their own food.

Previously, I wrote about 10 Tips for Organic Gardening with Children. Recently, I discovered Molly Dannenmaier’s book A Child’s Garden: 60 Ideas to Make Any Garden Come Alive for Children. Wow, 60 ideas…that beats my ten!

The photographs in A Child’s Garden are incredibly beautiful and inspiring! Featured in the photos are innovative examples of how to create special natural places for your children in the garden, such as mazes, paths, out-of-the-ordinary sandboxes, child-friendly ponds, peepholes, etc.

A historical perspective is also included to contrast the disappearing of outdoor afternoons in modern children’s lives. “Long hours of unstructured outdoor exploration are a fast-vanishing aspect of contemporary childhood.” This is one reason I have chosen to raise my children in the rural mountains, where everyday is filled with outdoor fun; however, if you live in or near a city, your backyard can be transformed to a child friendly garden.

Molly Dannenmaier breaks down nine essential elements to consider in a child’s garden, demonstrating her knowledge of child development. These elements are:

1. Water
2. Creatures
3. Refuges
4. Dirt
5. Heights
6. Movement
7. Make-Believe
8. Nurture
9. Learning

The ideas contained in this book are very creative and inspiring. For example, it is suggested that children enjoy theme gardens, much the same way an adult will plant a medicinal or herb themed garden.

Children also love theme gardens, especially when the subjects recall childhood stories, songs, lessons, or family lore. A Peter Rabbit garden planted with Mr. McGregor’s beets, radishes, and strawberries brings to life a story children have heard and seen illustrated in books but not replicated with living props…A Tinkerbell garden filled with tiny fairy flowers such as cowslip, foxglove, and creeping thyme can be planted and then sprinkled with corn starch “fairy dust” for good luck.

Of course, I love the idea of connecting literature and gardening. A Child’s Garden is simply a beautiful and inspiring book. If you need a little encouragement to garden creatively with your children, this book will not let you down. Of course, make your family garden organic for your children’s and the planet’s health! Via Eco Child

Solar thermal power

The solar power revolution continues at full steam (or should it be ‘full beam’?) with more breakthroughs ande openings being reported everywhere. Greenbang, for instance, writes that the state of Victoria in Australia will be home to the largest photovoltaic stations in the world. The mega power plant will begin generation in 2010 and be fully completed by 2013, the “result of a deal struck between Aussie firm Solar Systems and energy company TRUenergy, apparently worth $290 million, with TRUenergy snaffling 20 percent ownership of Solar Systems.”

On the technological innovation front, Technology Review has a fascinating article about solar thermal power, which it describes as a “low-tech alternative to photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity…In a solar thermal plant, mirrors concentrate sunlight onto some type of fluid that is used, in turn, to boil water for a steam turbine.” And what’s the advantage of that? Apparently, there are two: cost and storage capacity. Solar thermal power is relatively low cost at a large scale. While wind power, for example costs 8 cents per kilowatt, solar thermal power costs 13 to 17 cents. But “power from wind farms fluctuates with every gust and lull; solar thermal plants, on the other hand, capture solar energy as heat, which is much easier to store than electricity. Utilities can dispatch this stored solar energy when they need it - whether or not the sun happens to be shining.” Via Energy Refuge

Want to shop green? Buy less

We are all used to coming up with solutions to problems. And new business opportunities are so often the solution for crisis situations here in America. But, buying green is not always the solution for the environmental crisis this planet is facing. Buying less is.

I get it. I’m a girl, you know. While I am not a shopaholic by any means, there are certain things I cannot live without. But then, there are many I can even though it looks like I cannot.

According to Sierra Club:

"The average American buys 53 times as many products as someone in China and one American's consumption of resources is equal valent to that of 35 Indians. Over a lifetime, the typical American will create 13 times as much environmental damage as the average Brazilian."

So, the solution is buying less, not just buying green even though it’s a new fashion. Switching brands and paying more will not resolve the climate catastrophe we are facing.

A great Washington Post article states that:

“The culture of obsolescence has become so deeply ingrained that it's practically reflexive. Holey sweaters get pitched, not mended. Laptops and cell phones get slimmer and shinier and smaller. We trade up every six months, and to make up for that, we buy and buy and hope we're buying the right other things, though sometimes we're not sure: When the Hartman Group, a market research firm, asked a group of devout green consumers what the USDA "organic" seal meant when placed on a product, 43 percent did not know. (The seal means that the product is at least 95 percent organic -- no pesticides, no synthetic hormones, no sewage sludge, no irradiation, no cloning.)

Which is why, when wannabe environmentalists try to change purchasing habits without also altering their consumer mind-set, something gets lost in translation.”

Buying green is a novel idea. In many cases it’s a better alternative because you are exposing yourself and your family to fewer toxic chemicals. Organic food is definitely a good choice and EWG has been a strong advocate of it. However, the best way to help the planet is to buy less and to reuse more. So, when you go out shopping this spring, check out those consignment stores in your neighborhood, you might be able to find pretty cool clothes there too. And if you feel that you still have the money left in your “green” budget, think of donating to research and advocacy environmental organizations that are advocating for change of environmental laws on state and national level. Via Enviroblog

Energy (IN)efficient Homes

Fair Warning: This one is a tome!

The way we build homes now is incredibly inefficient in comparison with even 100 years ago. For the greater thesis project on neighborhood design, I'm reading this amazing book called Vernacular Architecture by Henri Glassie. It explores the connection between the way humans organize their lives and the way their houses are built. So in Ireland 50 years ago for example, homes had thatched roofs. You would ask your neighborhood thatcher to come and take care of business for you. This was something that had to be repaired often and different members of the community were responsible for different portions of the home creation. Homes were as 'green' as you could get since the materials used to make them were local. They were also energy efficient since they were built to jive with their surroundings.

Now of course, homes aren't built for a specific person's needs. They're designed detached from people altogether. Profit is the number one goal. Materials are shipped in from all over the world and shoddy construction seems the norm. Developers won't even take the time to situate the home on the lot in the best way or have windows facing the proper direction! According to the government's energy-saving website, as much as 30 percent of the energy our homes use is wasted through drafts and lack of insulation.

I have thatched roof cottage envy! I've expressed before my displeasure at how disconnected I am from my stuff. The same rings true for my home. I want to be able to build my dwelling, assure it meets my needs and it holds true to my environmental principles, but I can't. I don't know how and I don't have any friends who know how either. This is a lifegoal of mine, but I haven't the time or the money at present.

What I can do is make simple modifications to my house to up the efficiency a bit. I have the draftiest house in the world. It's essentially a glorified studio, but has 5 windows! This is great for light and I don't have to use lamps until after 6 pm, but my little radiator has to work constantly to keep the place warm. If I turn it off, the house is an icebox within the hour! In my bathroom, there's a vent that is basically a hole in the wall. There's plastic flap over it, but it doesn't close all the way. Great for summer; horrible in Winter. Condensation freezes there some mornings! On three sides of my home, the walls are cinder block covered in wallboard with NO insulation at all. If I'm ever too hot, all I need to do is touch them and I'm freezing again.

I managed the following yesterday:

1) I taped the stupid bathroom flap shut with packing tape. Much toastier environment to dry off after a shower! I notice a difference already.
2) Armed with cardboard cutouts and white duct tape (to match my white walls and window) I pasted the cardboard where my window unit AC is to stop the draft a bit. The AC unit does have those stupid accordian flap thingies, but it's really thin plastic between me and the outdoors. Not enough.
3) I took down my silly gauze curtain from the window in my bed area and hung a blanket up instead to try and trap some warm air on this side. It looks hideous but i'll work on making a better curtain later.
4) In the kitchen, I duct taped my two windows at the seams. It's perhaps a little too Anthrax-scare for comfort, but I won't be opening them for another month at least since they lead into the courtyard where the undergrads who inhabit the other apartments in my house have beer pong matches nightly. It's too loud to warrant the windows' use until summer heat demands it. I realize they make weatherstripping for this sort of thing, but I'm too cheap to buy it.
5) There's a place under my front door where air gets in. I've taken a long, skinny strip of cardboard, covered it with the white duct tape so it's camoflaged, and taped a little flap to the bottom of my door so that there's less of a hole.

This was all Free, since I already had the stuff. Hopefully it will cut down a bit on the amount of fuel used to heat my home!

[Image via A Picassa Album ] Via Greedy Green

Book Review: How To Turn Your Parents Green

How To Turn Your Parents Green is written by James Russell, illustrated by Øivind Hovland and was supplied by Charlie at Green Books.

Aimed at kids ‘from 8-80′ How To Turn Your Parents Green is a book for a future generation of eco warriors. Presenting the challenge to be green as a battle of the Greens versus the Groans (ungreen adults) the book urging children to become green by fining their parents if they’re not environmentally-friendly.

But it’s more than that, it tries to put the pester power that kids have to good use - turn it away from sweets and candy to switching off the tap and buying local food. And it does this with the help of humorous phrases and great drawings by Øivind Hovland.

Although I make the ludicrous age range for this book, I’m admittedly quite a bit older than those it’s really aimed at. So at first the phrases ‘Ghastly Global Warming’, Hellish Halogens’ and other similarly alliterate and capital lettered ones got on my nerves. But after a while I got used to it and ‘Lazy Train to Chubville’ got me smiling.

While humorous, the book is also informative and it does this cleverly by asking questions but then often making up one of the answers just to make you smile. It nicely explained what a leachate is (rubbish sludge mixed with rainwater) and other facts are presented simply and in a way that a child could easily relate to a parent.

The explanations of subjects like importing fruit from abroad or having a standby button on the TV show how ridiculous they are and that the reader shouldn’t stand for such practices. Luckily it then tells you what you can do about them and gives examples of things done in the past - such as the boy who saved the Severn Beach railway line. Practical examples, goals and checklists make it almost an activity book and even inspired me to do more.

Apart from my initial problem of getting into the book, once you’re used to the style it makes an enjoyable and informative read for all ages. Aimed at kids changing their parents’ habits (fining them for using carrier bags etc), it also has useful tips for turning teachers green and also becoming a green citizen yourself.

Available at from Green Books, How To Turn Your Parents Green costs £6.50, is 91 pages, is printed on Nine Lives recycled paper and published by Tangent Books. Via Green Guys Global

Focus on Heating Challenge

This pie chart about British household energy consumption. I hadn't realised that 84% of our energy usage is for space heating and water heating. It makes low-energy lightbulbs look like a bit of a waste of time.


They're not, of course. They're an easy thing that everybody can do. And if everybody does it (switch to low-energy lightbulbs) then it makes a big difference.


Reducing your home heating bill isn't quite as straightforward. But it has the potential to make a much bigger impact than changing lightbulbs - both on your own fuel bills and on your carbon footprint.


I made a list of ways you can reduce your home heating bill, and none of them involve turning the heating off and shivering:

• Add to your loft insulation
• Make sure you have cavity wall insulation
• Install double or even triple glazing
• Exclude draughts
• Close curtains when it gets dark.
• Make sure the curtains have thermal lining
• Put foil behind radiators
• Turn off radiators in unused rooms
• Use timers to make sure the heating is only on when it needs to be
• Wear a jumper
• Turn down your heating thermostat

If you can think of any other things I could add to the list, do let me know. Notice that turning down your thermostat is last on the list. Once you've made your house more insulated and draught-proof you'll want to turn your thermostat down anyway because you'll be far too warm.


I tried to pick one of these things for March's challenge, then I thought - let's do them all. So that's this month's challenge. Every time you do one of the things on the list, vote in the poll. Even if it only makes a 5% difference in your home heating usage, that will swamp any saving you could make in lighting, appliances, leaving gadgets on standby, or any other single part of your domestic energy budget. Via Bean Sprouts

Pumped Storage To Back Up Renewable Energy

Q: I was informed by the lead engineer for the NY Power Authority that our hydropower systems like Niagara Falls operate at efficiencies over 95%. If this is true, wouldn't it make sense to use wind powered electrical generation to pump water to elevated sources so the energy could be provided steadily from this source in times of low wind volume? -- Tim G., Buffalo, NY

A:

Tim, I couldn't agree more that storage is the key for traditional energy and all renewables whether it be the intermittencey of wind, darkness for solar, drought for hydropower and biomass. Only geothermal and ocean energy (wave, tidal, ocean thermal and currents) appear immune. In my earlier Q&As, I addressed use of synthetic fluids, thermal salts and advanced batteries for storage as well as creating hydrogen as the storage medium.

Pumped storage is also a solid approach, assuming there either is an existing dam whose turbines can absorb the capacity or a man-made site where local environmental and site permitting allow diversions to conduit the water. Don't assume, as professionals in the hydropower industry can add, that getting these allowances for a pumped storage project is easy. But with concerns about climate change and other emissions, I personally endorse pumped storage as far safer and more geographically dispersed than many other energy options being bandied about. And especially for wind, where many times the resource doesn't match the utility electric loads, pumped storage may be a viable option to add value to the wind or other renewable energy resource. Via RE

The most destructive projecto on earth: Albertas Tar Sands

With oil prices over $100 a barrel this week, the companies involved in Canada’s tar sands must be rubbing their hands in glee. The $26 a barrel cost of processing (compared to about $1 in Saudi Arabia) suddenly doesn’t look so bad. Oil companies who have chosen not to invest may be tempted to reconsider, and that’s very bad news.

The Athabasca tar sands, in Alberta, may be the world’s largest oil reserve. Only the surface sands are accessible at the moment, but if the technology develops a little more, there’s potentially six times more oil there than the whole of Saudi Arabia - enough to last 200 years, say the champions of the project.

But, it’s not liquid oil, and extracting the crude from the sand takes vast reserves of water, a quarter of Alberta’s fresh water. This water is so polluted at the end of the process that it is simply left to stand in huge tailing pools that altogether cover some 50 square kilometres. It’s so toxic that birds landing on the ponds would die. Some places use propane cannons to scare the ducks away; others just rake the dead birds off the surface. As the ponds aren’t lined, waste water leaks into the Athabasca River, polluting everything downstream - lakes, deltas, and the Mackenzie River.

It also destroys the land. Huge areas of the boreal forest ecosystem have been felled and the underlying peat bogs cleared away to expose the sands. At the end of the processing there is nothing but a ‘toxic moonscape’ of earthworks, ponds, and 80 foot high piles of pure sulphur. 5,000 hectares have been destroyed already, and David Schindler of the University of Alberta estimates that in ten years time they will have cleared an area the size of Florida.

The air is not spared either. It takes enormous amounts of heat to extract the oil, approximately a barrel of gas for every two of crude. The total emissions of the tar sands project will soon be equivalent to the whole of Denmark. Acid rain falls all across Alberta and now Saskatchewan too. In the summer, the tailing ponds release carcinogenic benzene. “If the wind is from the north-west,” writes Aida Edemariam of the nearby boomtown of Fort McMurray, “you can smell oil on the air: heavy, slightly sour, unmistakable.”

All of this makes the tar sands ‘the most destructive project on earth‘ (pdf), according to last week’s report by Environmental Defence.

Having read last week that the site was visible from space, I tracked it down on Google. It’s right here if you want to explore it and see for yourself. Via Celsias

11 easy ways to reduce noxious

Trying to make sense of all the scare-mongering news about the dangers of chemicals, I came up with a short list that is easy to follow and will avoid the most dangerous of them. It's not complete, but you won't break the bank while reducing the ones that are quite common. I wish there was a way to quantify by how much these simple steps reduce the toxic chemicals, but I have no way to tell. I hope it's a lot.

TO REDUCE/AVOID:	DO:
mercury in your body	eat low-mercury fish like tilapia & pollock, rather than eat high-mercury choices like tuna & swordfish.
perchlorate from your tap water (and other chemicals)	filter your water for drinking and cooking.
dust and other bacteria in your house	leave your shoes at the door. Clean up the indoor air which is more polluted than the outdoor air.
toxic gases by cooking in the nonstick pans	chose cast iron pans instead of nonstick.
bisphenol A and other chemicals in your food	do not use processed, canned, or fast foods and never use plastic to warm your food in a microwave. Do not use plastic bottles for feeding your baby, use instead the ones made from glass. Avoid using bottles made from polycarbonate.
pesticides	eat organic vegetables and fruits.
phthalates, parabens, and so many other chemicals found the personal care products	avoid perfumes, cologne, nail polish, and any products with fragrance on the ingredient list. Chose products that are water-based, parabens free, and 100% vegetarian.
phthalates in your home (since they are found everywhere in the environment)	avoid the plastics in the kitchen, avoid vinyl toys and any product made from vinyl (e.g., shower curtain), avoid air fresheners.
flame retardants coming in contact with your body	chose products made from natural fibers, like cotton and wool - those are naturally fire resistant.
toxic chemicals in cleaning products	chose green products like those with no fragrance, bio-degradable, non-toxic.
chemicals in your environment	avoid the use of pesticide and insecticides on your plants.

Via A Bunch of Greens

Wind farms and birds

American wildlife conservationists have issued a warning that wind farms might drive whooping cranes, the lattest North American bird, to extinction if proper studies are not carried out before installing mills. “Companies want to put their farms where the best wind is, and that overlaps with the migration corridor of the whooping crane,” Tom Stehn, the whooping crane coordinator of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, told AFP. “There are areas where we know large numbers of whooping crane stop (during migration) and we would like wind companies to avoid those areas, with a good buffer zone,” he said.

Concerns about the impact that windmills are not new and pressure has been mounting over the years to avoid cases like this. The good news is that offshore wind farms pose a smaller risk to migrating birds as they seem to be able to avoid them. Via Energy refuse

The future of eco-fashion

It is official: the future of ethical fashion is the new range of alternative fabrics.

From Germany we have Tenzing Modal, a spun fiber made from cellulose extracted from Beech wood. Some claim this is the first carbon neutral thread.

From the Netherlands we have Nettles:

“I just wanted to demonstrate that nettles can be a viable alternative to cotton and other textiles that are harmful to the environment,” says Crebas. In 2006, working with one of his sons, Frank, he planted 33 hectares of the common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) on the land where they live and work in Emmelord, in Holland’s north-east Polder region. Today, this has grown to 80 hectares. They also have five hectares of nettles growing in both the Czech Republic and Lithuania. — Guardian

And from China we have the current favorites, Hemp and Bamboo.

There are some pretty big claims made about bamboo in particular:

Better for the environment

- Bamboo is 100% naturally grown, without assistance from man. Our bamboo is 100% sustainable
- Bamboo thrives naturally without using any pesticides or fertilizers
- Bamboo fibre is 100% biodegradable

As the fastest growing plant in the world, bamboo grows to its maximum height in about 3 months and reaches maturity in 3-4 years. It spreads rapidly across large areas. Because of this, bamboo is known to improve soil quality in degraded and eroded areas of land.

If organic clothing made from bamboo becomes popular, it means more bamboo plantations, which means more photosynthesis and less greenhouse gas. “The greatest challenge facing mankind” would get just a little easier.

Better for you

- Fabric made from bamboo is incredibly soft
- Bamboo fabric is smooth and luxuriously comfortable

‘Bamboo Dry’ – absorbs and evaporates sweat in a split second. It doesn’t stick to the skin. It’s extraordinary natural breathability keeps you comfortable and dry for longer.

‘Bamboo Thermo-control’ – bamboo fabric is highly breathable in hot weather and also keeps you significantly warmer in the cold. Keeping you more comfortable in all temperatures - ‘Air conditioned clothing’

‘Bamboo Fresh’ – bamboo is antibacterial, forever. By killing almost all bacteria, bamboo stays fresher and odour free for longer, is more hygienic and healthier. — bambooclothing.co.uk

There is currently considerable discussion amongst eco-fashion blogs about whether any of this is actually true.

As the guys at Lotus Organics point out, the processing of bamboo is pretty intensive and not particularly environmentally friendly, and a Dovetail Partners report into the cultivation of bamboo is not particularly positive.

Many of the natural stands of bamboo in China are no longer truly natural regenerates since management has caused ecosystem conversion toward plantations. — Dr. F. Maoyi, Chinese Academy of Forestry in a 2005 Dovetail report (PDF) about bamboo flooring

The question is whether any of the other materials would stand up to the same kind of scrutiny. I somehow doubt it.

People that question why brands do not use more of these materials generally fail to appreciate the complications involved in producing clothing - it is not simple to substitute one material for another as it may have totally different properties and require different machinery.

That is not to say that it is impossible, but creating a viable supply chain is more than a small eco-brand can do in a climate where there is little demand for these products.

And anyway, I’ll tell you a secret.

Each year, thousands of tonnes of used clothing are collected in the UK alone. Much of this is baled and shipped to Eastern Europe and Africa, where it is sold, in the process decimating local economies — an unfortunate by-product of our obsession with disposable fashion. This is an almost untapped mountain of material which could be ‘mined’ to produce new clothing.

This is the future - high class clothing with low environmental impact. Expect to see much more of this happening in the near future, and remember you heard it here at Celsias first. Via Celsias

Will Connecticut Ban Plastic Bags?

It seems there's another battle being fought, though both sides appear to agree on one thing: plastic bags = bad news for the environment. Retail stores seem to favor incentives such as charging for using plastic, or rebates given for plastic bags that are returned to the store, but lots of people think an outright ban is the way to go.

What's most interesting is yet again, our youth in Connecticut is leading the charge!

According to this article in The Day...

On Monday, the growing movement to curtail the use of plastic bags by grocery stores and other retail outlets gained a foothold in Connecticut when the legislature's Environment Committee heard testimony on a bill that would ban the use of non-biodegradable bags by 2010. Americans use an estimated 50 billion to 80 billion plastic bags annually, only a small fraction of which get reused or recycled.

“Life will go on without plastic bags, as it did for thousands of years,” said Emily Rintoul, 15, of Portland, one of several youths who urged lawmakers to push Connecticut to become the first state to enact a law to ban or discourage their use. “Please don't pass this burden of these bags onto my generation.”

Eleven-year-old Malaika King of Hartford, who preceded Rintoul with similar testimony, concluded by handing out nylon reusable bags to each member of the committee. Her mother, Imani Zito, sells the bags in her store, The Green Vibrations Alchemy Café and Eco Boutique in Hartford. Via CT Green