kuros said:
"not in St. Louis Mo
Prop M to fund and expand rapid transit
failed
Big cuts coming this spring..." [read]
John said:
"It's still an island. Any serious poaching is going to be a close-ended proposition pretty quick. ..." [read]
John said:
"I don't know about the cats, but any tool library with four dibbles gets my vote.
Sounds like a locavore's dream...." [read]
Johnny Yuma said:
"Throwing chemicals that can cause injury to others is battery. Fouling the anchor of a ship at sea risks the lives of all hands aboard.
Boa..." [read]
Ron Wagner said:
"All the above are correct and insightful. Please educate yourself on this issue. Read Alcohol Can Be a Gas. Read up on ethanol and cattle fed. The ..." [read]
AJ said:
"Whilst it is mostly cheap wine that appears in the "Chateau Cardboard" packaging, there is at least one wine (Banrock Station) that put the same qu..." [read]
If you’ve been waiting for something great to make you stand up and find a way to change the world there’s no doubt that the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is built for you. Launched in collaboration between the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Siemens Foundation and Discovery Communications as a means to educate, empower and inspire students and their teachers to become agents of change in making the environment a top issue in their neck of the woods.
And the prizes for the top entries that students submit are sure to grab their attention!
Before: Evil city trees blocking view of billboards
In Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, they ban billboards. In America? They pass laws to chop down trees that might block their view. In Florida, they passed a law in 2006 that gave billboards guaranteed views. One Osceola, Florida legislator said "Those billboards are important, they feed lots of families,This is a tourism corridor. Tourism depends on billboards, not on trees."
It’s all but conventional wisdom at this point that corn ethanol isn’t the renewable energy savior that it was once cracked up to be. Several power farm lobby groups still portray corn ethanol as the answer to the United States’ energy problems and this is why Robert Bryce argues in a new Yale Environment 360 piece that Federal ethanol blending mandates have not be scaled back or repealed. Bryce gives a good overview of the issue:
Cash From Quatar for Fisker
Fisker, the maker of the upcoming Karma plug-in hybrid sports sedan (all-electric range of 50 miles with gas engine kicking-in to charge batteries over that, similarly to the GM Volt), has announced it has closed a $65-million round of financing led by an affiliate of the Qatar Investment Authority, a state-owned, state-funded sovereign wealth fund. Apparently the QIA wants to "strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes." In any case, this new hydrocarbon-money should help Fisker put electric cars on the road...
How Representative Are Voluntary Industry Greenhouse Gas Emission Registries? When USEPA or a US trade group promotes a voluntary environmental standard for industry, they'll get participation from the usual sector leaders. The rest pretty much lay back in the weeds, content to do what minimum the actual law requires, until some sort of market advantage becomes obvious or it becomes a requirement to do business in some other nation. That's just how it is: some US companies are "proactive" and others are "reactive" when it comes to the green stuff. Voluntary standards appeal to the "proactives."
Those cmpanies which can measure and cost effectively manage without being told to will; those with more difficulty - more carbon intensive or less technically adept - are unlikely to voluntarily report and manage greenhouse emissions. As a result, the voluntary approach likely provides an imprecise indication of what is being emitted, and and possibly an over-representation of what is doable for emission reductions, by the average industry in a sector. For the first half of the problem at least, there is a prospective solution on the horizon; and, it looks a lot like the best practices for financial accounting.
Practical Problems With Voluntary, Self-Reporting
Voluntary standards for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas equivalents (GHG-e) are available from consortia, trade groups, states, and for-profit entities (see below for example listings). These tend to be described under the catch phrase "climate registry," but implicitly include protocols for measurement, estimation, documentation, and reporting. For North American industry, USEPA has a voluntary standard under development for greenhouse gases.
We have posted about the Mies Van Der Rohe's Farnsworth House a number of times, often as an example of how NOT to design a building. Today it is under water. It was already elevated on risers, but the Fox River near Chicago has risen two feet above that.
At the beginning of the summer France unveiled its so-called ‘bonus-malus’ system for taxing polluting vehicles and, hopefully, encourage people to purchase less polluting transportation options. Now a similar scheme has been unveiled that would similarly apply taxes on other consumer goods based on their environmental impact.
Cutlery and dinnerware made from plastic and non-biodegradable cardboard has been confirmed to be on the list, hence Le Figaro dubbing it ‘la taxe pique-nique’. How much more will your luncheon in the park going to cost:
Stéphane Dion has based his campaign on the Green Shift, a strong environmental stance that should be drawing all the Canadian Treehugger types to his side. But there is so much history of the Liberals as the Natural Governing Party that many environmentalists just have trouble considering a vote for the Liberals. In fact, the numbers are staggering: in British Columbia and Ontario, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is outpolling Dion on some questions.
(Photo: s2art.) The government of Buenos Aires province (a territory separate from Buenos Aires city but accounting for about 37% of the country population) has approved a law to ban shops and supermarkets to give polyethylene plastic bags in its territory.
In a two-year period, the bags will have to be replaced by recipients from biodegradable materials, such as paper or special plastics that decompose. When that period ends, shops that still give plastic bags could face bills and even closure of their venues.
Find out about repercussions to the measure and other initiatives that are taking place on national and provincial levels in the extended....
(Photo: US Marines of Camp Schwab and members of the Henoko Senior Citizens’ club joined together to beautify a portion of the beach in Okinawa, Japan. Source: Japan Update)
Today we celebrate a public holiday here in Japan, known as "Respect for the Senior Citizens" (also marking the harvest full moon). Demographically speaking, Japan is an aging society, with an increasingly old population. Many of them are actively participating in different activities to save the environment, educating others about sustainable development, or - at least - shaking their heads at the mass-consumption and wastefulness of the younger ones.
According to research by Japan NGO Council on Ageing (JANCA), many seniors are interested and involved in environmental issues, ranging from garbage disposal, maintenance of the natural environment to global environmental problems (e.g., global warming). Their efforts are mostly local and/or the range of their activities may be limited, but, having experienced poverty and pollution, a lot of today’s seniors are apprehensive about the recent “culture of wasting.”
JARC & JANCA started actively encouraging more senior citizens in Japan to tackle environmental problems. They note that JANCA members have brought the green back in the ruins of a fire after the World War II.
We also have the experiences in overcoming pollution due to the industrialization as well as in developing energy-saving technology. Above all, we have the Mottainai spirit that derives from Japanese life culture. As the first generation of the longevity society at a global level, we senior citizens strongly hope that the efforts in environmental protection would be spread worldwide in order to pass the sustainable global environment to the future generations.
Image Courtesy of Power Vote
The Energy Action Coalition is spearheading Power Vote, a political movement focused on getting young voters to register and to support clean energy initiatives in the upcoming election cycles. The concept is simple: interested or concerned youth log on to the Power Vote website, and sign a pledge to make voting for clean and renewable energy their priority this election. And it’s gaining traction fast—Power Vote went from 2,802 to 102,412 pledge signatures in two weeks. At that rate, the organization’s goal of one million pledges seems like no problem. But what, exactly, will the youth of Power Vote do?...
Adapting to climate change is a slow, largely reactive, process in the USA - and likely to stay that way where public works are involved.
Businesses Adapt Reactively, By Managing Investment Risk
Businesses are no doubt already doing it: "should we re-invest in a place that gets smashed by a hurricane every few years?" For capital-intensive industries, especially - I'm talking mainly about factories with expensive machinery and non-portable, non-outsourced technology - this is a serious driver for investment decisions. Add the layer of US capital markets being severely strained by a growing banking crisis, and you can see the criticality of business decisions.
For Farmland, Abandonment Is The Ultimate Choice
Crop acreage that is repeatedly flooded, or which is projected to be flooded permanently, will eventually revert to nature. Subsidies can prop up a risky continuance for a few years; but, eventually, the wet acres go. Now would be a good time to think strategically about such matters, as has a multidisciplinary research team in California....
Co-op America Goes Green(er?)
After 25 years, Co-Op America is making a pertinent moniker change for the greener. The non-profit organization, with 100,000 members in tow, has long been involved in encouraging the development of sustainable business and technologies. So it makes sense that, in a thrust to update and better advertise their mission, Co-op America will change its name to Green America next year. But why the change now, after a quarter century of pro-green practices?...
Los Angeles Times reports that prior to her announced selection as Senator McCain's running partner, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin sent a letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, stating her opposition to a California bill designed to improve air quality in and around major California ports. California ports manage vast numbers of cargo containers, some of which are redistributed from California to Alaska.
Palin's missive attacks Senate Bill 974, which has been approved by the state Legislature but needs Schwarzenegger's signature to become law...The bill would create a $60 fee for each 40-foot cargo container moving through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, which together handle more than 40% of the nation's goods.
Via LAT, Palin asks Schwarzenegger to veto fees aimed at cutting pollution at California ports Image credit::Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times "A container ship sits idle at the Port of Los Angeles."...
1 Gear is All You Need
Tesla Motors, makers of the much talked about Tesla Electric Roadster, has just announced that it has selected BorgWarner to produce the new Roadster 1-speed transmission (ratio of 8.2752:1, can go up to 14,000 RPM).
More Powerful and Efficient
The updated version 1.5 powertrain, which also includes a more powerful inverter and an enhanced motor design, will produce 30% more torque (to 280 foot-pounds) while also increasing the EPA rated range of the electric car by 10% to 244 miles (393 kilometers), up from 221 miles (255 klicks). The ¼ mile time for the car is now in the 12.9 second range.
But what happens to those lucky few who have Tesla Roadsters with the old powertrain?...
With the school year just beginning and Christmas not too far away there’s a great line of plush toys designed to help teach kids about the world around them that just may work well in the early elementary or PreK classroom or even as a stocking stuffer.
The toys, called Idbids, are a trio of colorful characters that each encourage kids to make “iddy biddy” steps to go green through various activities that work to simplify complex issues and make them easy for kids to understand.
Each character has green feet, it’s very own personality and is dedicated to a particular environmental element.
...
photo: Stewart Williams
As more and more Arctic sea ice melts and it really starts sinking in that exploration for all the oil and natural gas trapped under that ice may be getting a whole lot easier sooner than we imagined, it’s not too surprising that Russia would reiterate its claim to a large chunk of those resources. According to international treaties each nation is entitled to a 200-mile economic zone off their coastlines, but Russia isn’t having it:...
Image source: Getty Images
California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is proposing legislation that would allow insurance companies to lower rates for drivers that cut back on drive time, which could come in effect as early as next year. Two kinks still need to be worked out. The first that drivers would have to prove that they are in fact driving less, either by supplying maintenance receipts or odometer readings. A GPS or other electronic device is not part of the program. The second: the program would be voluntary for insurance companies to adopt. Though some insurance companies already offer a similar program so it would be up to customers to encourage their provider to get on board.
Benefits include fewer cars on the road (obviously) so less traffic, fewer traffic accidents, less pollution and customers would save money both on gas and insurance. Environmental Defense Fund reports that if 1/3 of Californians join the program, it would save 55 million tons of CO2 by 2020, equal to removing 10 million cars from the road. In 2000, California had 23.4 million registered vehicles and drivers logged 280 billion miles annually. No word yet on whether this will be linked to improved public transit programs or other alternative driving campaigns. Poizner is a possible GOP candidate for the next California Governator in 2010....
Plug-in Hybrid Trial
Toyota and EDF (Électricité de France) has had a partnership to test plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) for over a year now. It started in France, and it is now expanding to the UK. The plug-in hybrids are modified Toyota Prius hybrids. Extra NiMH battery packs extend their all-electric range, and they can be recharged from the grid (something the regular Prius can't do).
Plug-In Prius Hybrids in the UK
According to Toyota (pdf), "The UK partnership is designed to evaluate vehicle performance within an urban environment, vehicle infrastructure requirements, and driver behaviours and expectations." Read on for more on the UK trial....
Image source: San Diego Coastkeeper
Last night, the Encinitas, CA City Council Natural Resources Committee voted to draft a ban on plastic bags, which may include a fee for customers use of any single-use plastic bags and paper bags as reported on KPBS. Next, its up to the City Attorney's office to develop language and guidelines for the program, which may be up for a vote this November.
The City of San Diego, the second largest city in California, is also considering a similar ban, as is the state of California. The California Ocean Protection Council is looking at not only banning plastic bags state-wide, but also requiring that all take-out container manufacturers take their products back and properly dispose of them. Countries around the world have already banned the bag. Coastal cities in the US - San Francisco, Annapolis, Manhattan Beach and now Encinitas - tend to be the first to enact similar bans....
Halogen-Free CPUs
Chip-maker Intel has announced that is has started shipping four halogen-free Xeon processors (series 5200 and 5400). The chips are functionally the same as the previous versions, and they are drop-in compatible.
What's Wrong With Halogens?
Halogens might not sound that bad because we're familiar with the word (all those lamps), but the Halogen family includes fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. "Halogens are highly reactive, and as such can be harmful or lethal to biological organisms in sufficient quantities." Now, we're not saying that your CPU is dangerous to you (don't try too eat it, though), but over the manufacturing of millions of them, it adds up to a lot of halogens. Removing them will no doubt make electronics recycling safer....
Take the Lipstick Off the Renewables Subsidy Pig and it's a Different Animal.
To grasp the meaning of this bar chart, you have to know which line items are embodied in the big ticket items. For example: "Ethanol production received $3.0 billion in blender’s credits under the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, exceeding any conventional or renewable fuel." That's a three billion dollar pig feeding from the public trough, making food more expensive for humans and real pigs! Subtract that oinker and the renewables bar would drop down to fourth place (total of $1.9 billion for non-ethanol renewable energy support).
Wind subsidies come under the Electricity category: "The estimated value of production tax credits to wind producers in FY 2007 was $666 million." So, roughly half of the 2007 subsidies for electricity went to wind. If Congress actually renews that credit, which is looking doubtful for this year, look for that wind number to become a great deal larger in FY 2009. Story and graphic via::USEIA, How much does the Federal Government spend on energy-specific subsidies and support?...
Hummer Excessive Even for Bling City
Dan Towbin's Hummer dealership in Las Vegas is one of the biggest in the USA. It was even featured in the "King of Cars" documentary on A&E. But the time they are a-changin', and the Vegas Hummer dealership will soon shut down, making it at least the 8th Hummer dealership to close in the US.
Reborn from the Ashes, Smaller & Smarter
But Mr. Towbin has plans. ACcording to the WSJ, he wants to open a Smart car dealership, and he's already selling many other brands including Vespa scooters. From Hummers to Smarts and Vespas. Not bad....
ABC will be running an interview with Sarah Palin this evening on no less than three of its programs (World News, 20/20 and Nightline) and as Earth2Tech puts it, has been milking them for all they’re worth. In the run-up to that interview, last night on Nightline Charlie Gibson spoke with Palin about her view on global warming—she seems to be coming around slightly on global warming being caused by man—as well as her steadfast support of drilling for oil in ANWR. ...
Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty (National Geographic)
Though some feared the Rwandan genocide and decade-long civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had driven it to extinction, the rare Okapi still stalks World Heritage site Virunga National Park, according to the first ever photos of the animal in the wild, released yesterday.
A deer-like creature known for its zebra-like stripes, the okapi (pron. oh-cop-ee) is the closest living relative of the giraffe, with whom it shares a long blue tongue. It has a small bump in the corner of its head, a trait that once led to speculation that it was the inspiration for the unicorn. Okapi is so rare it itself was once thought to be mythical.
As a "blood" animal, the okapi is hardly alone. Though poaching and habitat loss are predominant threats, an untold number of vulnerable species have been effected by -- and effect -- war and politics.
Like global warming, the slaughter of animal species can no longer be simply seen as a long-term environmental issue, but as one that directly impacts security -- and leads to human atrocities. ...
photo: trasroid via flickr
With the idea that most first generation biofuels really aren’t all their cracked up to be sinking in more deeply—competition with food, increased tropical deforestation and possible species extinction, some having increased net carbon emissions when compared to fossil fuels——the news that biofuel targets coming under fire in the EU should come as any surprise.
Earlier in the summer the then-incoming EU president went so far as to say that setting specific quota levels was a mistake. The focus should be first on determining how much fuel could be produced sustainably and then assessing how much fuel could be produced. Apparently that idea went by the boards as a reassessment of EU biofuel targets has just concluded and the results aren’t all that much different than what was in place before. ...
After 21 Months, Berkeley Tree-Sitters Surrender
Since December 2006, a community of UC Berkeley tree-sitters has been occupying a 1.5 acre grove on the university's Campus. This Wednesday, the last four remaining people climbed down. Pics of the tree people--and the fate of the trees--below the fold.
...
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the weekly archive if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!
If you’ve been waiting for something great to make you stand up and find a way to change the world there’s no doubt that the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge is built for you. Launched in collaboration between the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Siemens Foundation and Discovery Communications as a means to educate, empower and inspire students and their teachers to become agents of change in making the environment a top issue in their neck of the woods. 
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://test-treehugger.pairsite.com/nav-commenters.gif)
How Representative Are Voluntary Industry Greenhouse Gas Emission Registries? When USEPA or a US trade group promotes a voluntary environmental standard for industry, they'll get participation from the usual sector leaders. The rest pretty much lay back in the weeds, content to do what minimum the actual law requires, until some sort of market advantage becomes obvious or it becomes a requirement to do business in some other nation. That's just how it is: some US companies are "proactive" and others are "reactive" when it comes to the green stuff. Voluntary standards appeal to the "proactives."
Via 
(Photo: 
(Photo: US Marines of Camp Schwab and members of the Henoko Senior Citizens’ club joined together to beautify a portion of the beach in Okinawa, Japan. Source: 
Image Courtesy of 
Co-op America Goes Green(er?)
After 25 years, 
1 Gear is All You Need
Tesla Motors, makers of the much talked about Tesla Electric Roadster, has just announced that it has selected BorgWarner to produce the new Roadster 1-speed transmission (ratio of 8.2752:1, can go up to 14,000 RPM).
More Powerful and Efficient
The updated version 1.5 powertrain, which also includes a more powerful inverter and an enhanced motor design, will produce 30% more torque (to 280 foot-pounds) while also increasing the EPA rated range of the electric car by 10% to 244 miles (393 kilometers), up from 221 miles (255 klicks). The ¼ mile time for the car is now in the 12.9 second range.
But what happens to those lucky few who have Tesla Roadsters with the old powertrain?...
With the school year just beginning and Christmas not too far away there’s a great line of plush toys designed to help teach kids about the world around them that just may work well in the early elementary or PreK classroom or even as a stocking stuffer.
The toys, called Idbids, are a trio of colorful characters that each encourage kids to make “iddy biddy” steps to go green through various activities that work to simplify complex issues and make them easy for kids to understand.
Each character has green feet, it’s very own personality and is dedicated to a particular environmental element.
...
photo: 
Image source: Getty Images
California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is proposing legislation that would allow insurance companies to lower rates for drivers that cut back on drive time, which could come in effect as early as next year. Two kinks still need to be worked out. The first that drivers would have to prove that they are in fact driving less, either by supplying maintenance receipts or odometer readings. A GPS or other electronic device is not part of the program. The second: the program would be voluntary for insurance companies to adopt. Though some insurance companies already offer a similar program so it would be up to customers to encourage their provider to get on board.
Benefits include fewer cars on the road (obviously) so less traffic, fewer traffic accidents, less pollution and customers would save money both on gas and insurance. Environmental Defense Fund reports that if 1/3 of Californians join the program, it would save 55 million tons of CO2 by 2020, equal to removing 10 million cars from the road. In 2000, California had 23.4 million registered vehicles and drivers logged 280 billion miles annually. No word yet on whether this will be linked to improved public transit programs or other alternative driving campaigns. Poizner is a possible GOP candidate for the next California Governator in 2010....
Plug-in Hybrid Trial
Toyota and EDF (Électricité de France) has had a partnership to test plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) for over a year now. It started in France, and it is now expanding to the UK. The plug-in hybrids are modified 
Image source: San Diego Coastkeeper
Last night, the Encinitas, CA City Council Natural Resources Committee voted to draft a 
Halogen-Free CPUs
Chip-maker Intel has 
Take the Lipstick Off the Renewables Subsidy Pig and it's a Different Animal.
To grasp the meaning of this bar chart, you have to know which line items are embodied in the big ticket items. For example: "Ethanol production received $3.0 billion in blender’s credits under the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, exceeding any conventional or renewable fuel." That's a three billion dollar pig feeding from the public trough, making food more expensive for humans and real pigs! Subtract that oinker and the renewables bar would drop down to fourth place (total of $1.9 billion for non-ethanol renewable energy support).
Wind subsidies come under the Electricity category: "The estimated value of production tax credits to wind producers in FY 2007 was $666 million." So, roughly half of the 2007 subsidies for electricity went to wind. If Congress actually renews that credit, which is looking doubtful for this year, look for that wind number to become a great deal larger in FY 2009. Story and graphic via::
Hummer Excessive Even for Bling City
Dan Towbin's Hummer dealership in Las Vegas is one of the biggest in the USA. It was even featured in the "
Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty (National Geographic)
Though some feared the Rwandan genocide and decade-long civil war in the 
photo: trasroid via 
After 21 Months, Berkeley Tree-Sitters Surrender
Since December 2006, a community of UC 
