TreeHugger

The Week in Pictures: Rot-Proof Apple, Surprises at GreenBuild, Bacteria Lights Up Landmines, and More

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:01:24 -0500

From the news that scientists have created a bacteria that lights up around landmines to the development of a rot-proof apple--that stays fresh for 4 months--a lot happened this week in green. A new study called The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) shows that putting money into protecting wetlands, coral reefs, and forests is a better investment than gold, Lloyd visited GreenBuild 2009 in Arizona, and readers sent in photos of the one green object they just can't live without for our weekly slideshow. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo roundup of most popular, most important, and most oddbal...Read the full story on TreeHugger

How to Make Nano Solar Cells from Powdered Donuts (Video)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:01:55 -0500

It's friday and we know you need something to keep you busy for the weekend, so here's the perfect thing. As the efficiency (and business case) for nano-based solar technology continues to ascend, isn't time you got in the game? Don't worry, it's not as easy as it sounds; in addition to powdered donuts, you'll need some Passion tea from Starbucks and a bottle of Everclear. Even if the cells don't work you've got some good provisions to keep you busy till Monday. Enjoy....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Split Carbon Costs of Deforestation Between Producers & Consumers to Slow Felling Forests

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:43:00 -0500

It's probably no great secret to TreeHugger readers at this point that part of the reason carbon emissions in developing nations are rapidly rising is partially because manufacturing of goods for export to the developed world. In fact in China at least one-third of total emissions and about 50% of emissions growth in recent years is directly tied to goods consumer in Europe and the Uni...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rolls Royce Could Launch an Electric Phantom In a Year

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:36:07 -0500

Photo: Rolls Royce Does It Matter? Depends How You Look at It... Autocar reports that a source inside the company told them that Rolls Royce could have an electric version of its Phantom super-luxury car on the road by the end of 2010: "Internally it's thought that the near-silence of electric propulsion, and the fact that full torque is available from a standstill, would align perfectly with Rolls-Royce's core values. Engineers are currently hard at work making this a reality, although a running prototype has yet t...Read the full story on TreeHugger

U.S. Military Wary About Offshore Wind Power Off Coast of Maryland

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:11:53 -0500

Photo: Wikipedia, CC Maryland Offshore Wind Development Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, would like to see offshore wind power developed off the cost of his state, but the U.S. military has expressed fears that the turbines could "disrupt flight and weapon test ranges, as well as erroneously appear on radar as unidentifiable aircraft." Three military bases in the region are using that area in the Atlantic for training missions and flight tests....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Adrian Grenier Does Your Holiday Shopping, Al Gore Helps 30 Rock Go Green, and More (Video)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:24:42 -0500

Photo via TreeHugger Already thinking about your holiday shopping? Our gift guide is the perfect place to start, but if you're the kind of shopper who likes visiting a store rather than waiting for the UPS truck, check out Wired's fifth annual pop-up store in New York City--where a careful collection of green gifts has been selected by one of our favorite eco-celebritie...Read the full story on TreeHugger

$36 Billion Rainforest Protection Plan Agreed to by 35 Nations - Now Who Will Pay For It...?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:11:00 -0500

photo: flickrfavorites. A group of 35 nations have agreed to a plan that aims to reduce global deforestation by 25% by 2015, The Guardian reports. The price tag for it all could run as high as $36 billion over the next five years. Now who will pay for it all?...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rice Husks & Biomass Gasification Provide Power for Rural Indians

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:55:00 -0500

Rice = food and electricity at the same time... photo: ya po guille via flickr. One solution for getting clean electricity to the 440-some million people in rural India who currently don't have grid power (or any power...) is to build wind farms, solar power plants, or use some decentralized but still tech-heavy option such as solar panels. And then there's rice husks and biomass gasification. Not a new technology, bu...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Melting Arctic Sea Ice Diluting Surface Water - Threatens Shellfish, Entire Polar Food Chain

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:44:00 -0500

photo: Wikipedia. Here's a not so comforting discovery: A new paper in Science magazine says that Arctic sea ice melting is starting to dilute surface waters and threatening the tiny shellfish called pteropods that are the base of the Arctic food chain. Those small swimming snails get eaten by fish, which in turn ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Are Solar Chargers Turning Into Flowers? Beautiful iPetals Concept May Set Trend

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:35:00 -0500

Images via Petitvention Designers seem to be setting a new trend for solar chargers, turning small scale renewable gadget charging into something resembling a bouquet of flowers. Hot on the heals of the Sunny Flower solar charger concept we showed off in September comes the iPetal, a design strikingly similar, and perhaps establishing a trend for stylish solar. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Hundreds Speak Out In Support of EPA Global Warming Rule

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:22:50 -0500

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope (left) testifies at the Arlington EPA hearing as API's Howard Feldman looks on.
This week we saw some amazing public action as part of the two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hearings on its proposed tailoring rule, which we call the "Big Polluters" rule. Right now only a handful of pollution sources, including coal-fired power plants, are responsible for more than half of all of the global warming pollution in the United States. Cleaning these up is a large step towards stopping global warming, so EPA is proposing a new ru...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Readers, Send Us Photos of Your Favorite Heirloom or Antique!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:18:32 -0500

Antique fire engine. Credit: caitlinator / CC by 2.0 Is your Grandmother's China or charm bracelet your most valued possession? Is your ten-year old MacBook still serving its purpose? Did you rescue a Mad Men-era living room from Goodwill? Is the Nineteenth century painting in your living room still in its original frame? Prove it! We want to see photos of your favorite antique or heirloom in your home (or in your family)--that has lasted through the centuries--for our next Read the full story on TreeHugger

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Named Greenest City in the U.K.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:15:07 -0500

Newcastle-upon-Tyne has been named the greenest city in the U.K. in a sustainability audit conducted by Forum for the Future. Photo by Draco2008 via Flickr.com. Shrouded in smoke and the center of ship building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne was once a major industrial center. But the city has been transformed into the greenest city in Britain in recent years, according to a sustainability audit, The Guardian reports. Newcastle wa...Read the full story on TreeHugger

NY Event: Get Local! East Village Shopping Guide Launch at Sustainable NYC

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:14:54 -0500

Celebrate local shopping in the East Village with the Get Local shopping Guide. Credit: Get Local The East Village Community Coalition is hosting a launch party for the third edition of the Get Local Shopping Guide, celebrating local shops, merchants, and more in New York City's East Village, at Sustainable NYC next Monday, November 23, 2009. Click through f...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Breaking: Hackers Infiltrate World's Leading Climate Research Unit

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:05:00 -0500

Image via Menassat The email system of one of the world's leading climate researchers was just reported to be infiltrated by hackers. Protected information and email messages sent from climate scientists at the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) began turning up on public websites today. Why the CRU was targeted is still unclear--though there's speculation that with the Read the full story on TreeHugger

Women and Minorities Getting Left Out of Green Job Market, New Study Finds

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:19 -0500

Photo via Change If James Brown had been around to witness the rise of the green jobs sector and learned of the news from this recent study, he'd shake his head and say, "It's a man's world. Ow! After all these years and so much progress, even in a sector dedicated towards achieving the noble aim of an emissions-free economy, it appears some prejudices still plague us." Well, he might not have said it exactly like that. But it appears to be the unfortunate truth: wo...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Houses Get Small (Sort Of) In Response to Recession

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:57:48 -0500

Wall Street Journal Is it just the economy or is there a real change going on? Michael Phillips writes in the Wall Street Journal about how builders are offering smaller houses than they have in years. The Scarlett O'Hara stairs and two storey halls are out, and the plans are simpler, square-er, and way more efficient. Some might say that it is simply a response to the economy; as one commenter said " In a down economy smaller houses sell, and in a good economy bigger houses sell. Unless we have all ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

London Restoring Water Fountains, Giving Citizens Free Drinking Water

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:10:00 -0500

Photo via Maurice When did water fountains become more of a novelty than an expectation in urban areas? And when did their restoration become news? It seems to say something about the state of free clean drinking water in cities - perhaps we've realized we've gone too far towards bottled water and are finally, finally making our way back to the tap. Either way, London has restored a drinking fountain in famous Trafalgar Square, and hopes that it starts a trend of renovating fountains across the city, returning free clean water to citizens who are...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Supermarket Launches City-Wide Electric Vehicle Charging

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:58:08 -0500

Image credit: Webecoist From turning waste food into energy to delivering food by barge, UK supermarket Sainsbury's has been exploring alternative energy and transportation for some time. They even recently unveiled "people-powered" checkouts, though on closer inspection they appeared to be gasoline driven...Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Controversial Environmental Artwork of Christo and Jean-Claude (Slideshow)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:55:46 -0500

Wrapped government buildings and surrounded islands, endless fences and saffron gates: This is the work of Christo and Jean-Claude. Famous for their large-scale installations, the couple has drawn controversy throughout their career, but the goal, but simply, has always been to make people happy with expressions of beauty. As Jean-Claude explained, when people come to see their art, "They start smiling at each other, they start talking to each other, they are in a completely different state of mind. Is very rewarding for us, because they feel that freedom and they fe...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Skip The Spray-on Sunscreen? Widely Used Nanoparticles Could Cause Cancer: Study

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:42:38 -0500

Photo: Getty Images It's a fact of life that nanoparticles are everywhere: from sunscreen to underwear to performance wear - they are an invisible part of everyday life. Nanotechnology has made some promising inroads, but could these undetectable bits of material be harmful to our health? Recent studies however have raised serious concerns about the health impacts of nanoparticles in a plethora of con...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Giant Snail Pies to Feed the Malnourished in Africa

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0500

Photo via Great Lakes Malnutrition and iron deficiency are rampant problems in developing nations across Africa. They can lead to serious health issues and mortality, especially in young people. But a nutritionist in Nigeria has u...Read the full story on TreeHugger

New TV Ad Shows Polar Bears Falling to Gruesome Deaths (Video)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:25:11 -0500

Image via the Guardian An ad by Plane Stupid, an anti-airplane pollution advocacy group, is stirring some serious controversy in the UK and around the blogosphere. In a graphic TV ad designed to reveal the massive emissions that even short flights produce, CGI polar bears fall from the sky to bloody deaths in the city below. Watch the strange, jarring spectacle after the jump....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Method Commercial Turns Cleaners Dirty with Disturbingly Funny Shiny Suds (Video)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:22:00 -0500

Screenshot via peopleagainstdirty In so many cleaner commercials, the happy housewife works alongside singing, scrubbing bubbles that show how cheerfully the cleaner can battle soap scum, germs, and whatever other grime is building up in your bathrooms. However, what happens after the singing stops? Method has created this hilarious commercial that will make you think completely differently about those singing bubbles, and what's in the cleaner you use. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Who Is Gonna Pay For My e-Waste?? Not Me!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:55:00 -0500

Photo via shooting brooklyn According to a new study by Pike Research, 76% of consumers are aware that one of the primary components for reducing e-waste is proper recycling. Rejoice! 76% of consumers can see the obvious!! Now the only trick to getting more of those consumers - indeed everyone - to act on recycling and being sticklers about ethical recycling methods by collectors and recyclers, is to figure out who foots the bill, because 37% of those consumers also think...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tech Awards 2009 Recognizes Cows to Kilowatts as Winning Eco Project

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0500

Photo via foxypar4 Last night the Tech Awards kicked off in San Jose, California, honoring some incredible innovation happening across several categories, including the environment, education, health, biosciences and more. The competition in the environment section was tough, with GRUPEDSAC, a project providing customizable eco-techniques toolkits for self-sufficiency, the Ele...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Can Turkey Break the Copenhagen Deadlock?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:45:00 -0500

Turkey is being suggested as a "bridge between East and West" on climate change too. Photo of the Bosphorus Bridge spanning Europe and Asia by Jennifer Hattam. As a city that literally straddles Europe and Asia, Istanbul -- and, by extension, Turkey -- has been endlessly described as a "bridge" between East and West. But the manager of a international program on cities and global warming has actually managed to put a new spin on that old cli...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Out to Sea: Swimming the English Channel for a Cause

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:42:16 -0500

Credit: freefoto.com In the days before Big Brother, children used to dream of being famous for doing something. I wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up. On horseback. That is, until I discovered those particular combination of skills didn't constitute a recognized job description -- not since the 19th century anyway. Luckily I had another big idea up my sleeve, and it wasn't so much a career choice as a statement of intent. I was going to swim the English Chan...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Witold Rybczynski On The Four Paradigms of American Cities

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:32:25 -0500

Bettina B. Cenerelli, Trudeau Foundation Witold Rybczynski could be described as a public intellectual, a prolific writer of accessible books about houses, cities and urban design. He opened the Trudeau Foundation's conference Cities and the Public Sphere: Rethinking the Urban Commons. with the remark that "one of the advantages of getting old is that you can look back in horror and dismay at some of the things that we did as architects and planners." He then proceeded to look back at the four parad...Read the full story on TreeHugger

It's Been Proven: Women are Greener Than Men (In Some Countries)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:03:27 -0500

Image from stephaniehern.wordpress.com The good news is that women in industrialised countries are greener than men. A new study from the United Nations confirms that we have a lower carbon footprint and are better for the world's future health. Where to start, let me count the ways... Women drive and fly much less than men. We are more likely to buy ecologically friendly and organic goods, recycle and be energy efficient. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

World Toilet Day - Really? Yes...Really.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:54:50 -0500

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Image credit:flickr, recubejim's photostream World Toilet Day , which happens to be right now, is needed for good reason. Per the WTD website: "2.5 billion people worldwide are without access to proper sanitation, which risks their health, strips their dignity, and kills 1.8 million people, mostly children, a year;" and, "Because even the world's wealthiest people still have toilet problems - from unhygienic public toilets to sewage disposal that destroys our waterways." They ar...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Inhofe: "I proudly declare 2009 as the 'Year of the Skeptic'"

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:26:46 -0500

Photo via Green Inc. Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma has always been a thorn in the side of environmentalists, especially when it comes to climate change. He doesn't believe in the science and has pledged to go to the international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December to bare witness to the "fraud." Inhofe believes that 2009 was a good year for climate change deniers and he believes they are winning the fight for the public's hearts and minds. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Why New Renewable Energy Records Don't Mean a Thing, Unless We Also Reduce Overall Demand

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:09:00 -0500

photo: Chauncey Davis via flickr. Remember how last week Spain was touting a new wind power record, more than 50% of demand for part of the day on a Sunday morning? A pretty great thing, right? Not really, says the folks over at Low-tech Magazine. Without actually reducing overall energy demand, just adding more renewable energy (and touting absurdist re...Read the full story on TreeHugger

How Much Can Bike Commuting Curb Obesity?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:52:14 -0500

GOOD excels at illustrating complex issues with infographics that are easy to understand and fun to look at. One of their latest addresses the relationship between bike commuting and obesity. I could try to explain it, but I think they do a better job of it:...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Finally Truth In Oil Company Advertising! Enough Energy to Melt That Glacier

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:27:00 -0500

From a 1962 edition of Life Magazine available on Google Books... We were a bit late in picking up on this one, but it's really worth passing on anyway. So credit where credit is due: Grist had it first, then Read the full story on TreeHugger