Green living tips - Blogs

Antibiotics Contaminating The Environment

Green Living Tips — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

A couple of years ago I published an article titled "Old Medication And The Environment" that discussed the importance of disposing of unused/expired medication properly. I mentioned at that time not a lot was known about the environmental and human health impact of the presence of pharmaceuticals in waterways. Now we know a little more and the news isn't good. Recent ...

Heartland Institute Climate Campaign Backfires

Green Living Tips — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

A billboard campaign paid for by the Heartland Institute to inform the public about what it views as the collapsing support for the concept of humanity's role in climate change has backfired in a big way. The group launched a billboard campaign last week featuring a mug shot of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski along with the words, "I still believe in global warming. Do you?" Announcing t...

More Of Us Recognising Hyperconsumption

Green Living Tips — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

A recent survey has found people are increasingly getting sick of accumulating stuff - this could be good news for the environment. Euro RSCG Worldwide first looked at the topic of hyperconsumption toward the end of 2009. Their latest study "confirms the movement toward mindful consumption to one extent or another". Two-thirds of those surveyed were concerned wi...

The Frac Sand Threat

Green Living Tips — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Much of the controversy around gas fracking operations have focused on the chemicals used in the process - but the enormous quantities of frac sand needed also pose an environmental threat. Fracking involves the use of sand and fluids injected deep underground to fracture rock and coal seams to allow gas to be harvested. There's been all sorts of concerns about the practice, from la...

Jellyfish Numbers Increasing

Green Living Tips — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Increases in jellyfish numbers around the world may be yet another coal mine canary in relation to our impact on the planet.Scientists from the University of Columbia have found increasing jellyfish populations in 62 per cent of the regions they analyzed; including East Asia, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Northeast U.S. Shelf, Hawaii, and Antarctica.According to PhD student Lucas Brotz, le...

Lego And The Disconnect From Nature

Green Living Tips — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

I recently wrote about "battery" children and NDD - Nature Deficit Disorder. Earlier this year, I posted an item on Lego now being made with wind power. The two seemingly unrelated issues were connected last week during the celebration of 50 years of Lego in Australia. Before Lego fans get upset by this; I'm not pointing at Lego with a trembling ...

Brookesia Micra The World's Smallest Chameleon

Green Living Tips — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Nature can fit so much into a tiny package. Introducing the world's smallest chameleon and among the world's smallest vertebrates; Brookesia micra. Brookesia micra reaches a maximum snout-vent length in males of 16 mm, and its total length in both sexes is less than 30 mm at maturity - under 1.25 inches. As a juvenile, it's much smaller of course and this image highlights j...

Trust, Bucks And Green Products

Green Living Tips — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EDT

A recent survey found over three-quarters of people will stop buying a product if the company behind it exaggerates environmental claims. The 2012 Cone Green Gap Trend Tracker also reveals a solid demand from Americans for companies to green up their act. According to the survey report, American consumers expect companies to address the full environmental impact of a produc...

The Cardboard Casket

Green Living Tips — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Funerals can be such lavish affairs, and that can include the casket we are buried in. I understand that to some people buying an expensive coffin to bury a loved one in is a sign of deep respect and recognition of the importance that person had in their lives. We learned this practice from ancestors such as the ancient Egyptians. However, we aren't all Pharaohs, royalty and such a...

Agriculture's Big Players Getting Bigger

Green Living Tips — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EDT

A team from Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) recently produced the "Power in Agriculture" report for this year's Oxford Farming Conference. The report details the distribution of power in the agricultural sector in terms of economics, demographics, politics and natural resources. The report says ongoing consolidation through takeovers and mergers has seen trans-national ...

Some Covert Farm Investigations Now A Crime

Green Living Tips — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST

Under some circumstances, undercover investigations of farms in Iowa will now be considered a crime. On March 2, Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad signed legislation into law that will see gaining access to farms and agricultural operations under false pretenses being considered fraud, punishable by fines and/or jail time. Agricultural Production Facility Fraud, also referred to as the "A...

Shonky CSG And Fracking Surveys

Green Living Tips — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

A colleague received a call last night from a market research firm, asking him how he thought things in the state he lives in were going. However, it soon became clear what the survey was really about - coal seam gas (CSG) mining, which employs the highly controversial process of fracking. Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) involves the use of sand, water and chemicals pumped under high pr...

Clothesline Bans Could Be Void

Green Living Tips — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Drying your clothes on a good old fashioned clothes line and courtesy of the sun can cut emissions and save a stack of cash, but in some communities they are banned for "aesthetic" reasons. As mentioned in my article on the environmental benefits of clothes line use, an average electric clothes dryer run for an hour will use 5 kWh of electricity (...

The $330,000 Test Tube Hamburger

Green Living Tips — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

A bit over 4 years ago, I first posted about in-vitro meat, also known as cultured meat. In 2009 I posted an update and since that time, research has progressed to the point one scientist says he is getting close to serving up a full hamburger. The "test tube" hamburger, created from cow stem cells, is worth around 250,000 euros (about $330,000) according to Maastricht Unive...

The Heartland Institute's Own ClimateGate?

Green Living Tips — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Heartland Institute, a powerful non-profit think tank that in my opinion appeared to take great joy in participating in the witch hunt associated with the ClimateGate non-scandal*, looks like they may have one of their own to deal with - but will it be without the "non"?Leaked documents obtained by DeSmogBlog reportedly from The Heartland Institute "expose the heart of the climate ...

Chemtrails And Contrails

Green Living Tips — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

After a recent article I published on contrails, the scars we see across the sky caused by plane exhaust, I received a few emails about chemtrails - a supposedly related but much more sinister threat to the environment and human health. I had heard of chemtrails prior - usually along with the words, "nutty conspiracy theory". But with my curiosity piqued after t...

Lake Vostok To Reveal Its Secrets?

Green Living Tips — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Much of the earth has been explored to some degree and its creatures documented. One of the few places that hasn't been examined - and often consequently negatively affected - by humanity is a vast lake in the Antarctic buried under miles of ice. Well, until next week that is (perhaps).Lake Vostok is a fresh water lake located beneath the central East Antarctic Ice Sheet. According to Wikipedia, i...

The Evergreen Revolution

Green Living Tips — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Green Revolution saved potentially billions from starving, but it was only meant to be a temporary reprieve. With the threat of a particularly frightening future looming, the United Nations has urged we now embrace an "Evergreen Revolution" - one that is sustainable. The development of high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties and better agricultural techniques in the...

Bees Still Struggling

Green Living Tips — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

Bees are another creature I never gave much thought to prior to Green Living Tips and my knowledge of them was pretty much limited to their sting, production of honey and "pollinating stuff". Running GLT has been wonderful in teaching me that so- called lowly creatures deserve more of my respect, interest and assistance. It's the pollinating work that bees too t...

World's Smallest Frog

Green Living Tips — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

It's nice to sit back from the environmental doom and gloom that hits my inbox each day to celebrate the wonders of nature - after all, it's what the battle is all about. The biodiversity of this planet never ceases to astound me and I find the discovery of new species particularly exciting as it means mystery remains in the world of wildlife. We still haven't managed to formally identify and ...