greenrightnow.com

Mosquitoes…Have to beat them, should you DEET them?

BKessler — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:55:26 +0000

By Barbara Kessler Green Right Now It comes up every summer, that pesty green quandry: Should you use strong chemicals like DEET to fend off the mosquitoes and ticks that can transmit the insidious Lyme Disease and the potentially deadly West Nile Virus? We want to use less toxic protection, formulas that are based on natural ingredients or at least those that haven't been shown to cause neurological damage (albeit in rare cases). Ironically, using DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) to protect against West Nile forces you to choose between potential rare neurological side effects. Will you overreact to DEET or be the unlucky one whose case of West Nile mushrooms beyond a flu-like illness into one with neurological manifestations? Which raises the question -- what are the odds? That's nearly unanswerable. Too many people who are bitten by mosquitoes infected with West Nile are asymptomatic, and too many reactions to DEET may have been attributed to something else, or were the cause of improper use (i.e., obsessive-compulsive application).

Greenpeace zings Trader Joe’s for being last on seafood sustainability list

BKessler — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:20:02 +0000

From Green Right Now Reports: Greenpeace followed up the release this week of its latest Carting Away the Oceans scorecard with a friendly and fishy demonstration outside Trader Joe's stores in San Francisco. Greenpeace members, two of whom dressed as orange roughy and others who parodied Trader's by wearing Hawaiian shirts mimicking the store's trademark uniform, handed out information on why its important to select and buy seafood that can be replenished and also asked prospective customers to sign petition postcards to privately held grocery company.

Digging into nature in air-conditioned comfort

John DeFore — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:10:59 +0000

By John DeFore Green Right Now Somewhere in between the sleep-away camps, beach excursions and baseball games of summer, kids and parents alike generally see the appeal of the sand-free floors and refrigerated air of a good museum. Institutions across the country know this is a great time to squeeze some education into kid-friendly, entertaining exhibitions; here's a list of some of the best nature-oriented attractions for vacationers who've felt a bit too much heat this month.

Vegawatt gives restaurants an easier way to use their oil waste as biofuel

Ashley Phillips — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:51:28 +0000

By Ashley Phillips Green Right Now Restaurants looking to green their operations by generating some of their own electrical power are finding it easier as vendor companies try to fill in the gaps. Owl Power Company, for instance, has developed a way for restaurants to more conveniently use vegetable oil as fuel. Owl's Vegawatt is a combined heating and power system that runs on vegetable oil and can be connected to existing heating and power systems to be used as supplemental green energy.

Despite global ban, Japan, Iceland and Norway still hunting whales

Melissa Segrest — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:14:21 +0000

By Melissa Segrest Green Right Now In 1986, the International Whaling Commission banned the catching and killing of whales for commercial purposes worldwide. Whale populations - such as the North Pacific gray and the North Atlantic right whale - were threatened because of centuries of unrestricted hunting.

That ban is still in effect, with two exceptions: aboriginal peoples whose survival depends on whaling (Alaska, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, Denmark and the Russian Federation) and whaling for scientific purposes.

New California law will improve mercury thermostat recycling

Tom Kessler — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:02:48 +0000

From Green Right Now Reports A new California law goes into an effect this week that will make it easier to recycle dangerous mercury thermostats. The Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008 increases the number of thermostat collection locations and requires heating and air conditioning wholesalers with physical locations in California to collect thermostats from the public and contractors. Retailers are also encouraged to participate. Co-sponsored by the California Product Stewardship Council and Sierra Club California, AB 2347 is California's first full producer responsibility legislation and makes California only the third state to pass such a law in an effort to protect public health.

Bats threatened by “White-Nose Syndrome”

BKessler — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:20:14 +0000

By Christopher Peake Green Right Now Bats have creeped us out since man and bat first met. But not many of us know just how important bats are to mankind's existence and fewer of us know that at least five species of bats are battling an epidemic that could have devastating consequences for both bat and man. To quote the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, "Worldwide, bats play critical ecological roles in insect control, plant pollination and seed dissemination" (seed dissemination is critical to rain forest regeneration). There are 25 species of North American bat.

Timberland’s ‘Earthkeepers’ boot disassembles for recycling

BKessler — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:08:00 +0000

From Green Right Now Reports Here's a product that gives new meaning to the phrase, "tread lightly." The Timberland Company has unveiled the Earthkeepers 2.0 boot, designed to be disassembled and recycled rather than discarded at the end of its product life. The company says consumers who buy the Earthkeepers 2.0 boots can simply return them to any Timberland store for recycling at the end of their use. Timberland says it will launch a "second life" program to pilot reusing components from the returned boot to make a new pair of shoes.

Greenpeace scores groceries for seafood sustainability

BKessler — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:43:12 +0000

By Barbara Kessler Green Right Now When you fish for seafood at your local grocery, it can be difficult to tell whether you are supporting sustainable fishing practices. Was the snapper you selected caught using legal, sustainable fishing practices? Should you even be buying it? Is the Chilean Sea Bass you just purchased on the "Red List" of jeopardized marine species? Does the grocery you're patronizing buy seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council?

New Belgium Brewing Co. - promoting low-carbon beer and biking

BKessler — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:32:48 +0000

By Michele Chan Santos Green Right Now Green-minded visitors to northern Colorado should consider a tour of the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins. New Belgium, best known for its Fat Tire Amber Ale brand, is one of the most environmentally progressive breweries in the world. The brewery has used wind-powered electricity since 1999, and green-design methods have been incorporated throughout the company. I visited the headquarters on a recent trip and discovered that many aspects of company life are dedicated to sustainability. New Belgium sponsors a charity bike-and-music event called "Tour de Fat" in eleven cities in the United States, including Austin, Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland, that encourages people to trade their car for a bike, at least for a day. At Tour de Fat events, beer is served in compostable cups, and performers take to a solar-powered stage. (A Tour de Fat schedule is online.)

City households emit fewer greenhouse gases, study reports

BKessler — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:26:49 +0000

By Barbara Kessler Green Right Now City centers are often portrayed as grimy, polluted places. And they can be grimy, polluted places - the daily destination for thousands of carbon-emitting commuters and home to many smokestack industries. Just don't blame the people living there. Households closer to the urban action are, on average, far less polluting, according to research by the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The reason is not hard to fathom: People living in more densely developed areas drive less and are more likely to take public transportation.

Liquid silicone: An eco-friendly dry cleaning solution

Ashley Phillips — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:27:25 +0000

By Ashley Phillips Green Right Now Once, people pounded clothes with rocks to get them cleaned. Now we've come full circle, with dry cleaning headed back to those Earthy roots. Many people are familiar with the use of hazardous chemicals in modern dry-cleaning solution. The primary cleaning solvent used in most dry-cleaners is perchloroethylene or "perc". The Environmental Protection Agency classified this petroleum chemical as a Toxic Air Contaminant and a probable human carcinogen and many environmentalists believe that the residue on your clothes can't be a healthything. Now there is a better alternative and believe it or not, it is made essentially from liquefied sand.