gRound-Up
Bill Clinton calls out climate deniers: “We look like a joke”
Former president Bill Clinton, speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, called out climate deniers and their champions in the GOP. He said, “If you’re an American, the best thing you could do is to make it politically unacceptable to engage in denial. We look like a joke. You can’t win the nomination of one [...]
World Record Eggplant Curry Made to Protest Biotechnology Bill in India
As part of a public campaign against the upcoming Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, the largest baigan ka bharta (eggplant curry) was made just a few days ago in Delhi. Chefs from Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi and the Indian Culinary Forum lead the cooking of about 342.5kgs (about 750lbs) of baingan ka bharta, [...]
Engineers Discover Alloy that Coverts Heat Directly into Electricity
How cool is this? A group of engineers at the University of Minnesota (yeah gophers!) has created a multiferroic alloy, Ni45Co5Mn40Sn10 to be exact, that “achieves multiferroism by undergoing a highly reversible phase transformation where one solid turns into another solid. During this phase transformation the alloy undergoes changes in its magnetic properties that are [...]
Complete Streets: About More than Just Bike Lanes
Check out this video from Streetfilms showing the many benefits of re-imagined city streets in New York City. It’s about more than just bike lanes.
New Laws Pose Potential Threat to Food Activists
In a recent New York Times article titled, “Animals, Cruelty and Videotape”, author Jennifer Mascia describes “Ag-gag” laws making it illegal to film inside slaughterhouses. So what, you might ask? Animal rights activists and those wanting to document the environmental and health effects of our modern agricultural system fear a nationwide trend. Some of the [...]
Infographic Shows Need for Better Bike Infrastructure in US
Check out this neat infographic about bicycle transportation in the United States that shows the states with the highest rate of bike mode use, the 10 cities with the largest share of bike use, and the ratio of female to male riders for each state and profiled city.
New Website Highlights Links Between Surfing and Environmental Issues
The Greener Blue is a new website focused on the intersection between surf culture and sustainability. “As advocates of green living, we want to provide the surf culture with a site that breaks down the different aspects of sustainability, so that brands and surfers can begin to make manageable, proactive lifestyle changes,” said the website [...]
Sea Level Rise a Threat to U.S. Coastal Cities
team of researchers at the University of Arizona has projected how future sea level rise will impact 180 of the largest coastal cities in the U.S. Their maps show that on average, 9% of land could be submerged by 2100.
Rising Global Food Prices and Political Instability
World food prices hit a record high in January – the highest since the FAO began monitoring in 1990. Some experts are saying that the popular protests across the middle east are in part due to these rising food prices. A drought in China that has damaged the winter wheat crop, and flooding in Australia [...]
Irrational Fear of Smart Meters in California
A paranoid anti-smart meter alliance has sprung up in Northern California. Comprised of Tea Party libertarians and left-wing health-alarmists, this loose movement has been successful at blocking installation of this benign technology in two counties.
Featured
How Information and Collective Action Cut Electricity Use on Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, was recently given a choice by Puget Sound Energy. Either cut electricity consumption or pay for a new electrical substation for the island to meet rising electricity demand. It turns out that the average Bainbridge household was using 60% more electricity than the regional average, meaning there [...]
Written by S. Neil Larsen on January 23, 2012
Urbanized: A film about the design of cities
Half of the world’s population now lives in cities. By 2050, it is estimated that this ratio will grow to over 75%. Put another way, 3.5 billion people live in cities now. Global population is project to reach 9 billion by 2050. That means that cities will need to the housing and infrastructure to absorb [...]
Written by S. Neil Larsen on January 17, 2012
A Look at Mixed-Use Urban Development in Ghana
While “mixed-use” development is a buzzword for progressive urban planners in the US, this type of urban development occurs naturally throughout cities around the world. A popular commercial center in Accra, Ghana is a great example of how mixed use areas support a great density of economic and social interaction.
Written by Victoria Okoye on October 26, 2011
Displacing Rural Communities for Delhi’s Drinking Water: Is the Renuka Dam Worth the Cost?
A controversy is brewing in northern India over plans to construct a dam in order to supply drinking water to Delhi, displace 750 families in the process. Is this dam worth the human and environmental cost, when up to 40% of Delhi’s water is wasted due to leaky pipes?
Written by Lakshmi Eassey on October 4, 2011
Freeing the Elwha: Witnessing the Largest Dam Removal Project in History
This past weekend, I traveled up to the northern coast of the Olympic peninsula in order to witness the removal of two dams along the Elwha river. The project is the largest dam removal project to date and one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects in U.S. history.
Written by S. Neil Larsen on September 19, 2011
Gore Blames Obama and Media for Lack of Climate Progress
Has President Obama done enough to combat climate change? Former Vice President Al Gore certainly doesn’t think so, and has ignited a firestorm in the media following his article in Rolling Stone in which he lays into Obama for his mediocre achievements in climate and energy policy. “Firestorm” may be a bit of a stretch, but [...]
Written by S. Neil Larsen on June 23, 2011
Cargill Salt Pond Development a Bad Idea for San Francisco Bay
Cargill’s proposal to transform their salt pond operation in SF Bay into a luxury housing development instead of restoring the original wetlands flies in the face of environmental responsibility. Sea level rise, strained water resources, and very un-smart growth are just a few of the reasons why this is a bad idea.
Written by Lakshmi Eassey on May 26, 2011
Can Indian and U.S. Ingenuity Lead the World to Clean Energy Solutions?
Last week, India and the United States announced an unprecedented funding opportunity for joint, collaborative research in three critical fields: solar energy, second-generation biofuels, and energy efficiency in buildings. Together, India and the U.S. are contributing $50 million across these three fields, over five years, to fund transformative, cutting-edge R&D. What is needed now is interest and initiative from the scientific community in both countries.
Written by Shravya Reddy on May 25, 2011
Bike to Work Day
Spring is finally here in most of the country, which means it’s time to dust off your bike and hit the road. In the San Francisco bay area, today happens to be Bike to Work Day, an event which encourages commuters to try commuting by bicycle as an alternative form of transportation.
Written by S. Neil Larsen on May 12, 2011
Earth Day 2011 – Duwamish River Restoration, Seattle
north wind weirThe Earth deserves more than just one day out of the year for us to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and the planet. Nevertheless, it does help raise awareness, and it’s a great excuse to get out and do something good for mother nature.
Written by S. Neil Larsen on April 22, 2011
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