TreeHugger

Kick Off the Earth Day Anniversary Celebration This Saturday

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0500

Image credit: ©Getty Images This Saturday, March 20, kick off the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with Pamela Lippe, president of Earth Day New York, and Matthew Modine, actor, activist, and founder of Bicycle For A Day. Taking place during the Go Green Expo at Pier 92 in New York City, the event will mark the unve...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cool and Gorgeous Perpetual Mechanical Watch Costs Nearly $600,000

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:30:00 -0500

Image via Hodinkee This is one of the first watches I've ever seen that made me almost want to wear a watch. Well, until I saw the price tag. Yet despite that, it has some great design principles we love, including using solar and perpetual motion to keep the battery charged as well as being crafted for quality and longevity. This is the kind of heirloom design we love to see. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Toshiba Cuts Incandescent Bulbs From Line Up, Shaves 430,000 Tons Off Potential CO2 Emissions

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0500

Photo via Anton Fomkin After shipping nearly 4.07 billion incandescent light bulbs over the last 120 years, Toshiba is cutting the product from its manufacturing line-up, focusing on greener technologies like LED lighting instead, an area in which it has been making headway. The decision to eliminate the outdated technology is expected to help cut 430,000 tons of potential CO2 emissions per year. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Greece Gets Grief for its Environmental Neglect

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:33:00 -0500

The bearded vulture (seen here in Tibet) is one of the bird species at risk in Greece. Photo by reurinkjan via Flickr. Already in the doghouse with the rest of the European Union over its massive debt and financial instability, Greece is now coming in for criticism for another kind of mismanagement: failing to protect its natural parks and biodiversity....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Summer Rayne Oakes Designs Battling Beetles Organic T-Shirt to Benefit Green Cross International

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:05:35 -0500

Model, environmental activist, and author, Summer Rayne Oakes--hardly needs an introduction--is the new face and designer behind the latest edition of the Ever.green series for YOOXYGEN. The series of limited edition organic cotton t-shirts for him and her benefit Green Cross International and are produced by EDUN LIVE. Oakes' des...Read the full story on TreeHugger

From the Just What We Needed Dept: A Credit Card Holder with Button-Activated Card Selection

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0500

Photo via Curiosite In case you were in need of a piece of useless junk, we bring your attention to the Credit Card Holder. It holds six cards, which can be ejected from the holder by pushing the button associated with that type of card. So rather than having, say, an organized wallet, you can carry around a chunk of metal and obtain curious looks from store clerks every time you try to pay for something. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Getting School Nutrition on the Front Burner Again

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0500

photo: School Food Focus I've written about school lunches on a number of occasions. The Child Nutrition and WIC Act of 2004 needs to be reauthorized and expanded. It expired on September 30, 2009, according to the School Nutrition Association, but the issue has been pushed to the back burner as a result of other legislative priorities, including healthcare reform and the war in Afghanistan. But now with First Lady Michelle Obama putting school lunches on the front burner...Read the full story on TreeHugger

ESPN's Tony Kornheiser on Cyclists: "Run 'em down!" Lance Armstrong Responds. [Updated]

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:42:32 -0500

Hate Speech Against Cyclists? Did ESPN's Tony Kornheiser forget to take his medication before a recent show? I don't know what happened, but he ended up spewing hate against Washington DC cyclists, telling his listeners and co-hosts that he could barely contain himself from "running them down" (sa...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Jack Johnson's Eco-Tour, Gisele Bundchen's Model Skincare, and More

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:42:42 -0500

Photo via Top Acoustic Songs While musician Jack Johnson is no stranger to promoting environmentalism with his tours, albums, and fundraising efforts, this year's tour will take things one step further--by donating all of the proceeds to charity. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

McDonald's Happy Meals Evidently Invincible

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:31:48 -0500

The picture you're looking at above isn't of just any Happy Meal. It's a Happy Meal that's an entire year old. Yup, author Joann Bruso decided to undertake a little experiment with McDonald's most recognizable icon (besides that bizarre man-clown, that is). So she bought a Happy Meal, took out the hamburger, and plopped down in her office. For a year. This is what happened. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

New Report Claims China Squeezing US Firms Out of Its Renewable Market

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 -0500

Photo via China Daily A new industry report claims that China is favoring its local wind power firms, and that it's effectively squeezing out US firms attempting to set up operations. The report suggests that this is particularly unfair since China is going ahead with its controversial investment in a massive 600 MW, $1.5 billion wind farm outside Dallas, Texas with US firm McGarr. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

How Vulnerable is Your State to an Oil Price Spike?

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:22:00 -0500

It's an age-old pattern: when the price of oil rises, we start hearing all kinds of talk about eliminating the nation's dependence on foreign oil, and anti-oil company populism runs high. When oil prices fall, Americans tend not to care so much. But the threat of an oil price spike to the economy remains very real nonetheless. So it's worth taking note of the National Resource Defense Council's new report (pdf), which details just how vulnerable vari...Read the full story on TreeHugger

School Lunches May Be Making Children Fatter

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:48:19 -0500

Image credit: Good Children who eat the food served in school cafeterias, a new study has found, are more likely to be overweight or obese than their peers who bring food from home. While the study did not look at the nutritional content of school food, it does show, the authors say, the importance of educating children in healthy eating habits....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Win Up to $10,000 for Reducing Coffee Cup Waste

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:30:27 -0500

Image credit: quinn.anya/Flickr Every year, betacup tells us, 58 billion disposable coffee cups are thrown away. That's thrown away, not recycled. Clearly, this is a big problem. betacup hopes to put an end to this senseless waste with a contest that calls on the talents of the world's best designers as well as the experience and ideas of everyday coffee consumers....Read the full story on TreeHugger

8 Days To Earth Hour: 101 Things To Do

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:25:25 -0500

Two years ago I wrote about my worry about getting through an hour without consuming electricity; our local paper came up with a good list of sixty tongue slightly in cheek things to do. We excerpted a few from the Globe and Mail: 2. Go for a walk and see what the neighbours have switched off. 3. Or turn on all the lights in every room and see how long it takes before someone knocks on your door. 5. One word: Fondue! You get a great meal, no electricity required. 15. Go totally 18th-century and play charades by candlelight. 16. Look for stars in the darker night sky, o...Read the full story on TreeHugger

V6 and V8 Engines Losing Ground to 4-Cylinder Engines

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:19:26 -0500

Image: Wikipedia, CC Americans have been known for a long time for their love of big cars and big engines, but this is slowly changing. Big V6 and V8 are slowly losing ground to smaller and more fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines, a trend that still has momentum despite a drop in fuel prices in 2009. According to Ward's Auto, in 2009 "the installation rate for V-6 and V-8 engines fell to 57.1%, from 63.9% in '08, continuing a 5-year decline from a peak this decade of 76.2% in '04."...Read the full story on TreeHugger

EPA Cautions Pet Owners Using Spot-on Products to Kill Fleas and Ticks

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:15:04 -0500

Photo by reery via Flickr. Guest blogger Cara Smusiak is a journalist and regular contributor to NaturallySavvy.com's Naturally Green section. Fleas and ticks: two pests guaranteed to give pet owners the willies. Spot-on treatments may seem like a simple solution, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a look at the risks of using spot-on pesticide products because there has been ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Chef's Breast Milk Cheese Curdles Up Controversy

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:40:04 -0500

Looks like... cheese. The cheese in question, encrusted with carmelized pumpkin (Photo: Daniel Angerer) Last week, New York City chef Daniel Angerer, owner of Klee Brasserie and new parent, managed to incur the wrath of the Department of Health with his tongue-in-cheek offer on his blog for people to come try what he called Mother's Milk Cheese - made from his spouse's breast milk. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Great Debate Over Meat

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:21:46 -0500

Image credit: Good Everyone loves a good debate: Especially when two legitimate, well-reasoned, sides are presented. In a new series, Good revisits some classic debates by presenting an essay arguing each side of the issue....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Do You Trust Scientists?

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:17:00 -0500

Photo via Todd Neff Guardian columnist George Monbiot recently did the written-word equivalent of throwing his hands up in the air over the growing chasm between actual climate science and the public's understanding of it. One of his key points is that science has grown so specialized that scientists in different disciplines are rarely even able to fully grasp one another's work--much less us laymen. As a result, their findings can seem so complicated that it essentially amounts to a ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Today on Planet 100: Top 5 Eco Contradictions (Video)

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:58:53 -0500

Read the full story on TreeHugger

We Add Up Asks Schools to Compete for Garden Kits

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:47:26 -0500

Image credit: Samuel Mann/Flickr It seems that We Add Up is always pushing some fun and innovative new campaign to raise awareness and encourage action. If they're not designing a cool new t-shirt, they're biking across the country: Always in an effort to curb climate change. Now, in honor of the Read the full story on TreeHugger

Celebs on the Mountain: Watch MTV's Summit on the Summit

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:47:10 -0500

We've been closely watching the star-studded climb that brought Emile Hirsch, Jessica Biel, Isabel Lucas and others on a grueling trek to the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The climb, replete with gut-wrenching altitude sickness, A-list drama, and a healthy dose of perspective on the global clean water crisis, all got captured in an hour-long show for MTV. And in case you missed it this month, it's been posted in full over at Read the full story on TreeHugger

LG Under The Gun for Cheating on Energy Efficiency Testing

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:25:00 -0500

Can you trust these guys? Image via LGEPR LG has not been the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to gaining street cred for green labeling. They had their Energy Star label stripped from several of their refrigerator models after it was discovered that the fridges far exceeded Energy Star requirements for electricity consumption. Now they've been caught red handed rigging the testing process in Australia. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

David Cameron Calls for Carbon Tax on Electricity Generated from Coal and Gas

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:19:15 -0500

Photo: Wikipedia, CC David Cameron, the leader of the conservative party and possibly the next primer minister of the UK, said today that a Conservative government would put a tax on the carbon emitted by coal and natural gas power plants. "The levy would be put in place for 25 years and would be set at a gradually rising rate determined by the Treasury." This would create a floor price for carbon pricing which would lead to more predictability (which is needed when you're investing billions in ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Taking out the Trash...From Ocean Garbage Patches (Slideshow)

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:30:28 -0500

Trash collected by the North Atlantic expedition. Image credit: 5 Gyres We have all heard that there is a swirling mass of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean. What many people still don't know, however, is that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not alone. In fact, there are five s...Read the full story on TreeHugger

AT&T Launches Cell Phone Charger with Zero Vampire Power Draw

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:35:00 -0500

Image via AT&T AT&T has announced a new charger coming to market soon, one that solves the problem of excess power consumption during charging. As we know, phone chargers - and most charger - draw a small amount of power from the outlet even when the connected device is done charging. Concept devices and Read the full story on TreeHugger

Wearable Windmill to Harvest the Breeze Looks A Little Flighty

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:15:00 -0500

Image via Mary Huang A windmill. That you wear. Oh, that we were joking. But it's not April Fool's Day yet, and this thing is real. It's a harness that you wear, so you can harness the wind. Like a functional fairy suit. It's called the Dandelion, and it's quite the fashion statement. Check out a video of the outfit in action. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

It's not God, it's Climate Change

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:30:24 -0500

Constance Okolett at entrance to her kitchen in eastern Uganda Asinget village Osukuru sub county Tororo district. Image credit: Oxfam International/Flickr This post was written by Constance Okolett, a farmer from Tororo district in Eastern Uganda and a mother of seven. She is also a community activist and chairperson of the Osukura United Women Network. Climate change is happening. I know this because it is hurting my people. In my village in eastern Uganda, climate change has thrown the life that my neighbors and I have always known into chaos, leaving us to struggle with the...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tendril Launching New Home Energy Monitor - Progress, or Just Another Gadget?

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:20:00 -0500

Image via Tendril Tendril, one of the main leaders in the home energy management industry, is finally releasing what most other home energy management companies have already released - a gadget for watching your energy consumption and shifting to better habits through access to real time usage and pricing information. But while home power monitors and dashboards abound, Tendril is hoping this one won't get lost in the fray. It's called "Vision" and it's a digital clock-like in-home energy display. But does a single-use device like this have a...Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Week in Pictures: Best Argument Against Global Warming, Starving Sea Lion Pups, Fuel-Efficient Police Cruisers, Smart Traffic Lights, and More

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:14:05 -0500

From the news that dozens of sick and hungry sea lion pups have washed up on California shores this winter to Ford's new purpose-built Police Interceptor car that is significantly more fuel-efficient than the venerable Ford Crown Vic, a lot happened this week in green. BMW and Siemens unveiled a system of networked traffic lights that save time and fuel, high speed trains are set to run from Beijing to London, and Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, has come up with the most believable argument against global warming. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo roundup of most popular, m...Read the full story on TreeHugger

CITES Votes No on Bluefin Tuna Ban: Japanese Embassy Serves the Endangered Delicacy at a Pre-Convention Reception

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:40:00 -0500

photo: Keith Ellenbogen Even though the World Wildlife Fund recently warned that Atlantic bluefin tuna will be wiped out completely by 2012 if we don't halt the overfishing of it, we still can't seem to protect the species. By some accounts, eating the quickly diminishing tuna is now similar to feasting on a gorilla burger, but this didn't sway votes at the Convention on International Trad...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Time to Evolve! Americans Want A Better Energy Star Label

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:35:00 -0500

Image via Energy Star EcoAlign has just put out a new EcoPinion survey, this time about Energy Star. And the findings are not exactly surprising: most Americans want Energy Star to evolve because right now, the brand is losing meaning. While it's highly recognizable among consumers, Energy Star is in need of a make-over so that consumers can be sure they're getting products that not only meet a certain standard, but exceed it. The survey...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Hide Your Piano In Your Dining Table

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:33:31 -0500

Images by Joost van Brug In yet an other great example of combining functions to take up less space, Georg Bohle builds a piano into a dining table. For that matter, you can have music while you dine. "The pianotable offers a dinner with the accompaniment of a piano. The piano player takes a seat at the dining table."...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Free Sammy! Whale Shark in Dubai Aquarium Should Be Freed

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:30:00 -0500

Sammy shares that aquarium with some 65,000 other fish. Photo: Lori Greig via flickr. Dubai's aquariums can't catch a break. First one in a mall cracks at the seams and now the one at the Atlantis The Palm hotel has come under fire for continuing to keep a four-year old female whale shark, dubbed Sammy....Read the full story on TreeHugger