Green Patriot Poster Contest

Are you an artist or graphic designer with a passion for the environment? The Canary Project is holding a ‘Green Patriot Poster Contest’ to spread awareness and inspire action in response to climate change, and entries are being accepted now. Poster designs should illustrate strength, optimism and unity in the fight against climate change and drive for energy independence.

From WorldChanging:

Poster entries can spread knowledge or encourage action: they could feature numbers like 350 or 80 percent by 2050, or could highlight scientists or prominent leaders making a difference in the movement. They could promote composting, the retooling of factories, or the retrofitting of houses. The possibilities are endless!

The Canary Project is accepting designs from anyone willing to take on the task, from designers at leading firms, to art students and all other passionate, creative thinkers. For more detail, to upload your design, or to view the posters that have been submitted so far (like the one above), please visit their site.

View and rate the ones that have aleady been submitted at the Green Patriot Posters website. You can also view a gallery of original World War II posters for inspiration.

This is a great way to spead the word about the urgent need for global warming action – pass it on to anyone you know who might be interested!

Link [WorldChanging] + [Green Patriot Posters]

UC Berkeley Controls Live Beetle by Remote Control

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have succeeded in controlling a live rhinoceros beetle by radio, controlling the movement of its wings and some other parts using signals sent to six electrodes on the beetle’s brain and muscles. The beetle was equipped “with a module incorporating a circuit to send signals to the electrodes, wireless circuit, microcontroller and battery.”

It’s difficult to imagine why researchers would need a remote controlled beetle, but Green Packs has their suspicions.

A rhinoceros beetles can carry a weight of up to 3g and fly carrying the module which weighs about 1.3g on their backs. Among other reasons, the researchers say the beetle “looks cool.”

But why? – For military surveillance?

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US funds the research making the experiment something intended for military purposes.

The university says that the technology can be utilized for peaceful purposes as well.  Haven’t we heard this kind of argument before?

Radio-controlled beetles can be useful in places that are too narrow or dangerous for a human to enter.  That makes sense. But what’s a beetle going to do there? Pirates used to send their parrots in to undesirable places, too.

Rhinoceros beetles can work as surveillance robots in place of humans.

Whoa, whoa, whoa – beetles that can spy on us? Beetles that can be controlled to follow us around, watch our movements and send data on us back to the military? Now this goes way beyond creepy. What are they really trying to accomplish with this?

And, those poor beetles, forced to give up control of their own bodies. Eek. Now I’m going to be paranoid any time I see a rhinoceros beetle.

Link [Green Packs]
Photo credit: Green Packs + OAS.org

Poo Power! Oslo Buses to Run on Biomethane

Citizens of Norway will soon be able to ride around town on buses powered by nothing other than methane from human excrement. It’s emissions-free, hardly costs a thing and doesn’t require drilling into the earth’s surface. Every single person in Oslo will be contributing something very personal toward this new method of powering the city’s buses.

From WorldChanging:

In Oslo, air pollution from public and private transport has increased by approximately 10% since 2000, contributing to more than 50% of total CO2 emissions in the city. With Norway’s ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2050 Oslo City Council began investigating alternatives to fossil fuel-powered public transport and decided on biomethane.

Biomethane is a by-product of treated sewage. Microbes break down the raw material and release the gas, which can then be used in slightly modified engines. Previously at one of the sewage plants in the city half of the gas was flared off, emitting 17,00 tonnes of CO2. From September 2009, this gas will be trapped and converted into biomethane to run 200 of the city’s public buses.

Hey, it makes total sense. This is a great example of thinking outside the box to find solutions that don’t require wars in the Middle East or the destruction of ocean ecosystems. The biomethane would otherwise be wasted, and if it can create fuel – isn’t letting it go to waste the same as lighting piles of hundred dollar bills on fire? This is going to be a huge money saver for Oslo, especially since the city’s diesel buses will only require minor modifications.

This idea should definitely be applied on a wider scale. The idea of ‘poo power’ may be kind of gross when you’re first introduced to it, but if it helps us get beyond fossil fuels, it’s pretty rad.

Link [WorldChanging]

Who’s Who in Green: Dr. James Hansen

No one has been more vocal about the need to address climate change than Dr. James Hansen. The NASA climate scientist’s testimony to Congress in the 1980s brought global warming into the spotlight, alerting the world to just how serious of a problem it really is. Since then, he has continued to advocate swift action on global warming, courting controversy at times but always staying true to his message.

There’s no question that Hansen has been incredibly influential. Despite pressure from colleagues who disagree with his urgent warnings, Hansen has never faltered in articulately communicating just how dangerous global warming is, how it’s going to affect the world and what we need to do to stop it.

As a college student in Iowa, Hansen trained in physics and astronomy, and he later focused his research on trying to understand the climate change on earth that would result from man-made changes to the atmosphere. Hansen was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1996, and he is now head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Among his specialties are interpreting satellite data and developing global numerical models for the purpose of understanding current climate trends, as well as predicting the impact of humans on climate.

In a June 2008 article at The Huffington Post, Hansen warned that “tipping points are near” for global warming, 20 years to the day after his famed 1988 congressional testimony.

What is at stake? Warming so far, about two degrees Fahrenheit over land areas, seems almost innocuous, being less than day-to-day weather fluctuations. But more warming is already “in the pipeline,” delayed only by the great inertia of the world ocean. And climate is nearing dangerous tipping points. Elements of a “perfect storm,” a global cataclysm, are assembled.

Climate can reach points such that amplifying feedbacks spur large rapid changes. Arctic sea ice is a current example. Global warming initiated sea ice melt, exposing darker ocean that absorbs more sunlight, melting more ice. As a result, without any additional greenhouse gases, the Arctic soon will be ice-free in the summer.

More ominous tipping points loom. West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are vulnerable to even small additional warming. These two-mile-thick behemoths respond slowly at first, but if disintegration gets well under way, it will become unstoppable. Debate among scientists is only about how much sea level would rise by a given date. In my opinion, if emissions follow a business-as-usual scenario, sea level rise of at least two meters is likely within a century. Hundreds of millions of people would become refugees, and no stable shoreline would be reestablished in any time frame that humanity can conceive.

Hansen boldly spoke out in 2005 and 2006 to the media about attempts by NASA administrators to influence his public statements about the causes of global warming. He claimed that NASA public relations staff were ordered to review his public statements and interviews, and said the White House edited climate-related press releases to make global warming seem less threatening. Though he was accused of having political motivation for making these statements, since he was no supporter of former President Bush, Hansen maintains that he’s actually a “middle-of-the-road conservative”.

In 2008, Hansen’s name was in the headlines once again after he controversially called for putting oil company executives on trial “for high crimes against humanity and nature”, saying the oil chiefs were actively spreading doubt and misinformation about global warming for their own financial benefit. Hansen also testified on behalf of the activists who defaced the Kingsnorth power station in Kent, England – and the activists were acquitted.

There are few people who can claim to have done as much for global warming awareness as Dr. Hansen, save perhaps Al Gore. It seems clear, standing now on the cusp of serious climate change consequences, that Dr. Hansen will go down in history as the man who tried to warn us all.

Dr. James Hansen’s Green Score: 97,665

Photo credit: Oscar Hidalgo for The New York Times

$100 Billion in the Economic Recovery Bill for Environment and Energy

The House passed an enormous $819 billion stimulus bill this week with only Democratic support – the number of votes they got from Republicans was a big fat zero (surprise, surprise). The Senate is expected to pass an even larger (roughly $888 billion) bipartisan bill soon, as well. In case you were wondering just how much of that massive economic recovery package is actually going to go toward the environment and energy, the Natural Resources Defense Council has broken it down.

From The Daily Green:

Environmental groups were fawning over the House bill, which Al Gore had personally lobbied for and which, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s tally, paves the way for:

$3.4 billion for states for clean energy projects
A grants program for renewable energy technologies covered by the renewable energy tax incentives
$6.2 billion for weatherization of low income homes
$3.5 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (supports clean energy projects primarily at the city and county levels)
$2 billion for clean energy research & development
$6 billion for increasing energy efficiency in federal buildings
$12 billion for transit
$2 billion for ready-to-go drinking water infrastructure projects
$6 billion for ready-to-go sanitation infrastructure projects

The Sierra Club and NRDC are have praised the bill for “moving America to a clean energy economy” and creating jobs. Of course, not everything in the bill is green – and there are a few sour notes. The Senate is adding $4.6 billion for coal and $50 billion for nuclear energy.

It’s difficult to even comprehend how much money $888 billion really is. Hopefully it’ll work- a lot of people have their futures riding on its success.

Link [The Daily Green]

Photo credit: National Parks Service

Great Green Job of the Week: Marketing Coordinator for William McDonough + Partners

William McDonough + Partners, an architecture and community design firm and acknowledged leader in sustainable design, is seeking an experienced vibrant individual with marketing experience to work in Virginia Studio. A bachelor’s degree in Communication, Marketing or Business preferred. 3-5years office experience required. Prefer experience with architecture or related professional service firm.

Knowledge of /interest in sustainability issues a plus. Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to work in fast paced environment with strong commitment to follow through and details. Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Power Point, Photoshop, Dream Weaver and In Design.

Marketing Coordinator will work with the Director of Communication and is responsible for:

• Fielding incoming potential project requests
• Updating marketing brochures
• Compiling marketing portfolios/brochures for perspective clients
• Coordinating and managing RFP/RFQ submissions
• Coordinating potential client visits to studio
• Managing marketing data base
• Responding to media and PR related questions
• Managing website postings

Competitive salary and benefits. View our website for application process www.mcdonoughpartners.com EOE

Requirements

3-5years office experience required. Prefer experience with architecture or related professional service firm.

Link [Green Jobs] + [William McDonough + Partners]

The Bizarre Natural Phenomenon of Ball Lightning – Photos and Video

Image via Xenophilia

No, that’s not a UFO you just saw travel across the horizon. That bizarre orb of glowing light is called ‘ball lightning’, and despite many reports of sightings over hundreds of years, scientists still know very little about this strange and unusual natural phenomenon.

They can’t tell us what causes it, or even exactly what it is. They can’t explain why people report being able to get startlingly close to these orbs, which reportedly range in size from tennis balls to beach balls, and seeing them roll on the ground.

Image via Xenophilia

National Geographic has a first-hand account from Graham K. Hubler, a physicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC:

“It drifted along a few feet above the ground,” Hubler recalled, “but when it came inside [the pavilion] it dropped down to the ground and skittered along the floor.”

“It made lots of gyrations or oscillations and a hissing sound like boiling water. When it went out the other side [of the pavilion], it climbed back up [several feet off the ground].”

Hubler says the ball behaved as if it had a charge and was following electric field lines along the Earth.

“I remember telling people what I had seen, and they thought I was crazy, so I stopped talking about it,” he said.

There are around 10,000 written accounts spanning many countries, all with similar observations. The sightings generally accompany thunderstorms, but scientists aren’t sure whether ball lightning is related to conventional lightning. Ball lightning floats near the ground, sometimes bouncing off the ground or other surfaces, doesn’t react to wind and defies the laws of gravity. An average ball lightning glows with the brightness of a 100-watt bulb, and some people have even reported seeing it melt glass windows.

Images via Ern Mainka Photography

We’ve included some photos here that purport to be of ball lightning, but it’s difficult to say whether that is really what has been captured. The one below shows what researchers believe might be ball lightning created in a laboratory.

Image via Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik

These videos may have captured ball lightning in action:

From National Geographic:

The record suggests that ball lightning is not inherently deadly, but there are reports of people being killed by contact—most notably the pioneering electricity researcher Georg Richmann, who died in 1753.

Richmann is believed to have been electrocuted by ball lightning as he conducted a lightning-rod experiment in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The phenomenon lasts only a short time, perhaps ten seconds, before either fading away or violently dissipating with a small explosion.

Theories include plasma clouds composed of charged particles that recombine into atoms and glow with light, as well as small particles holding together in a ball by electrical charges emitting chemical energy through oxidation. Researchers are trying to reproduce the conditions that seem to cause ball lightning in a laboratory setting to research the phenomenon further.

Bizarre, shocking and strange – it just goes to show that there is still so much mystery in this world, so many things we can’t explain or understand.

Link [National Geographic]

If Global Warming is to Last 1,000 Years, Why Cut Emissions?

We’re facing severe climate change for the next 1,000 years – complete with droughts, water wars, food shortages, floods and other extreme circumstances. After scientists made that less-than-rosy prediction this week, many people are already throwing in the towel, saying “It’s too late – there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

Well, hold it right there, scientists are saying – if we don’t drastically reduce emissions, things will be even worse. It’s true that we’ve already done enough damage to affect the climate, but doing nothing means climate changes will be even larger and “intolerable”, according to Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

From MSNBC:

What the study, published Tuesday, and some earlier ones have done is raise the bar for policy changes. Many scientists now say that while it’s crucial for individuals to reduce their carbon footprints, bigger strategies that can only come from government are necessary.

“This is a global problem and while individuals can do some, it needs concerted national leadership and international agreements,” said Trenberth, who was not involved in the study.

Former Vice President Al Gore reinforced that notion Wednesday, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about how the United States might rejoin international climate talks after the former Bush administration rejected mandatory carbon curbs in favor of voluntary action and technological fixes.

Susan Solomon, the lead author of the study and a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., said that while climate change is slow, it’s unstoppable.

Unsurprisingly, noted climate scientist Dr. James Hansen, who was the first to warn the United States government of global warming consequences back in the 1980s, has written to President Obama with a number of suggestions. He believes that Obama’s ideas are not strong enough and that we need to phase out coal plants that don’t capture or store carbon, tax carbon rather than cap it, and make nuclear power research and development a priority. These are controversial suggestions, but Hansen is insistent that they are absolutely necessary to avoid disaster.

Even if the U.S. government were to follow Dr. Hansen’s suggested plan, we can’t stop impending global warming. We can only slow it down. Trenberth says we need to begin preparing to live in a warmer world – and of course, that doesn’t mean breaking out the swimsuit and daiquiri maker. We’re not looking at much of the world becoming an island paradise, here – we’re looking at severe consequences that will kill many people, make large areas of land uninhabitable and completely change our way of life.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: IRRI images

Smart Urban Design: Grass-Lined Green Railways

Who says railway tracks have to be ugly? Some cities are showing the rest of the world that you can have public transportation and green space, in the same area. They look great, reduce the urban heat island effect, allow for more efficient stormwater drainage and reduce pollution. Inhabitat pulled together a collection of photos of these lovely examples of urban design, along with a great quote from Monocle Magazine:

“There’s something quite magical about watching trams in Barcelona, Strasbourg or Frankfurt glide silently along beds of grass as they do their city circuit. Where possible, this attractive combination of efficient public transport and inspired landscaping should be standard as part of the urban fabric.”

The photos show green rainways in places like Barcelona, Spain, St. Etienne, France and The Hague, Netherlands – but lest you think America doesn’t have any of its own, check out this photo (below) of a street car in New Orleans. Still, we could definitely use more (and more public transportation, period).

I rode the tram in Barcelona pictured in the top photo, and I can tell you that the grassy expanse definitely improves the looks of the road – especially considering how wide some of those roads can be.

Hopefully this grass doesn’t require too much maintenance, which would erase most of the benefits of doing this. Replace grass with low-maintenance, water-wise ground cover and you’ve really got a winning idea.

See more photos over at Inhabitat!

Link [Inhabitat] + [Monocle Magazine]

7 Green Ways to Lose Friends and Alienate People

You may take a lot of pride in being deep, dark green – but what you see as shining examples of eco-sainthood may come off to the rest of the world as rude, condescending and downright disgusting. Nobody wants to be friends with a sanctimonious bastard that looks and smells like he just rolled out of a dumpster. If any of these 7 greener-than-thou missteps apply to you, it might be time to tone down the smug and improve your personal hygiene.

7. Giving unsolicited green tips while in someone else’s home

Are you an eco consultant? Great! People will pay you good money to tell them what’s not green about their home and how to fix it. Otherwise, shut up. Going to a friend’s house and nitpicking everything you see that’s less than spectacularly eco-friendly is a fast-track to a lot of unreturned phone calls.  Skipping the ‘suggestion’ part and simply walking around their house turning lights and electronics off is a great way to end up with a boot in your ass.

Sure, you’ve got some golden nuggets of green wisdom to share and you hate to see people throw their money away and harm the environment. If it comes up in conversation, offering your tips is great – but critiquing people’s habits and possessions unprompted will get you branded as an eco-snob.

6. Hoarding in an attempt to cut back household waste

You cut back the amount of trash that you send to the curb every week by 75%. Congratulations! Now, if only you could make a tunnel through all of those plastic bottles and packing peanuts to get to the bathroom…

Holding on to stuff like electronics, batteries or light bulbs long enough to make a trip to a recycling center is cool – but hoarding tons of trash just so you can say you didn’t throw it out doesn’t accomplish anything. It’ll get thrown out, eventually – when your neighbors realize they haven’t seen you for weeks and the cops discover your body under a pile of rotting food, junk mail and used condoms. The idea is to cut back your consumption of throwaway stuff in the first place, not to turn your home into a public health hazard.

5. Ungraciously refusing gifts that aren’t green enough

So, Uncle Ted gave you a Wal-Mart gift card for Christmas and the look on your face when you opened it didn’t exactly convey the gratitude he expected. You were horrified, and decided to make your righteous indignation loud and clear so everyone in the family could learn a lesson about how Wal-Mart is an evil corporate virus that’s destroying the environment. That’s a great way to make everyone think you’re a stuck-up asshole who has no appreciation for nice gestures.

Take the gift card (or whatever), thank the person who gave it to you and donate it to someone who really needs it – or use it in any green way you can possibly think of. Letting people know, especially ahead of the holidays, that you prefer eco-friendly gifts is cool – but not right after receiving something that doesn’t pass muster.

4. Being the Green Office Nazi

Suggesting green changes in your office is a great way to spread sustainability. Taking it upon yourself to ration office supplies is not. Guarding the supply closet like it’s Fort Knox and snatching paper out of the secretary’s hand because she’s already used 3 sheets today isn’t going to win you any green converts.

Instead of loudly berating your co-workers for using paper cups and tossing used batteries in the trash can, put your well-meaning energy to work in a way that might actually accomplish something. Talk to your bosses about how going green could save them money and they’ll be more than happy to provide some recycling bins, refillable pens, recycled paper and other eco-friendly supplies.

3. Mistaking gag-inducing body funk for pleasant ‘natural scent’

It’s true that not everyone needs to wear deodorant. Some people are blessed with armpits that don’t knock other people over with noxious clouds of funk – but others seem to think that body odor is cool as long as you’re going deodorant-free to be green. If people’s faces are melting in horror and disgust when you pass them on the street, it’s time to address your problem.

We’re not suggesting that you douse yourself in AXE body spray. But seriously, a little deodorant can be a really good thing, and despite any frustration you may have experienced in the past with natural deodorants that don’t work, there are some that do. Kiss My Face Liquid Rock, for one, works just as well as conventional brands and is very safe and gentle.

2. Conserving water… by not showering

Throwing personal hygiene out the window in order to be green just isn’t necessary or fair to the people who have to be close to you at any given time. Going without deodorant is bad enough, but deciding not to bathe altogether ventures into Howard Hughes territory. When your hair looks like you could squeeze out enough oil to fry up a batch of hush puppies and your ears start to smell like parmesan cheese, you’ve taken it much too far.

We’ve all got to bathe, and with low-flow showerheads, timers and biodegradable cleansers, you can keep yourself passably clean without too much guilt.

1. Forcing guests to use “Family Cloth”

To follow the mantra “If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down” in your own home is a fine way to cut back on use of resources in the bathroom. Even putting a sign up for your guests is okay, though some will be too squicked out to comply. However, ‘family cloth’ takes bathroom eco-friendliness a bit too far when it comes to guests.

For those unfamiliar, ‘family cloth’ is a term for washable fabric wipes as an alternative to toilet paper. Yes, it’s ultra-green, especially considering that most toilet paper is made from virgin tree pulp – but your friends probably don’t want to share ass-wiping cloths with you. Provide backup toilet paper for guests, for the love of all things holy.

Japanese Group Uses ‘Toilet Poems’ to Save Paper

“Love the toilet”. Would seeing that message above the roll of toilet paper in a public bathroom make you use less paper? Kooky as it is, a Japanese group campaigning to save toilet paper as part of the country’s fight against global warming believes that ‘toilet poems’ can inspire conservation.

According to a study done by research center Japanese Toilet Labo, they might be right. The study showed that putting a ‘toilet poem’ at the eye level of the person seated in the restroom stall cut toilet paper use by up to 20%. The poems say things like “That paper will only meet you for a minute” and “Fold the paper over and over and over again”.

From Reuters:

“We asked ourselves what we could do for the environment in the toilet?” said Ryusuke Nagahara of the Japan Toilet Labo. “The answer is to save toilet paper and save water.”

Toilet paper use in Japan has been increasing in recent years, according to an industry body, possibly because of a rise in the number of public toilets, where people tend to use more paper.

“It’s because it’s free,” said an official at the Kikaisuki Washi Rengokai. “At home, people are more inclined to scrimp.”

I suppose what makes this work 20% of the time is simply the reminder not to mindlessly tear off way more sheets than you really need. Some people really do use unbelievably excessive amounts of toilet paper – I know this because I used to work in a small office with just a handful of women and as a group we went through astonishing amounts of toilet paper. It really is wasteful.

Japan Toilet Labo hopes to get their poems up in 1,000 public bathrooms across the country. Hey, if it works even a fraction of the time, why not? Everyone else will at least get a giggle.

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: AllFunnyPictures.com

10 Must-Read Articles for Green Job Hunters

So, the employment situation in America is looking mighty gloomy. That’s cause for anyone to worry, even if they’re not among the hundreds of thousands laid off in recent months – so preparing a back-up plan is a popular thing to do right about now. That beacon in the darkness? It’s the green collar job market. While so many other industries are laying people off, green businesses are growing, and there are thousands of green jobs to be had.

Green Gigs, a blog that posts daily lists of green telecommuting opportunities, came up with this list of 10 articles you should read if you’re seeking an environmental job or just want to get some info preemtively.

1) Get a Job: Top 10 Guides to Finding the Perfect Eco Career – TakePart: Where better to start then a list of must read environmental career guides?

2) Great Green Careers – CNNMoney Fortune: Learn how people are making green livings with this article that profiles five professionals and their chosen green career paths.

3) Ten Best Green Jobs for the Next Decade – Fast Company: Okay, you know you want a green career, but which to choose? Take a gander at this list of the ten hottest green jobs. Farming anyone?

4) Switching To Green-Collar Jobs -BusinessWeek: Just because you’re not a trained “green” professional, doesn’t mean you can’t forge a green career using your own expertise.

5) Opportunities For Green Growth: Myths and Realities About Green Jobs – Center for American Progress Action Fund: Go straight to the source – read Van Jones’ testimony before Congress regarding the realities of creating green jobs.

6) Where are the New Jobs for Women? – The New York Times: Uh-oh, all was going well until it was pointed out that most green jobs are dominated by males.

7) The ‘Green Jobs’ Myth – The Wall Street Journal: Hmmm…see what those in the EU have to say about U.S. “green jobs”.

Hot ‘Green’ Jobs Keep Evolving – U.S. News & World Report – Just what is a “green job”?

9) Why Obama’s green jobs plan may work – Los Angeles Time: It’s not all gloom and doom, maybe there is hope for a green economy.

10) Green industries offer job growth opportunity – msnbc: Yes, I knew it!

Check back with us early next week for the EarthFirst guide to nabbing a green job – info on how to prepare, which industries are the most promising and how to apply.

Link [Green Gigs]
Photo credit: Rainforest Action Network

Bring Back the White House Solar Panels!

Whatever happened to the White House solar panels, and Jimmy Carter’s solar thermal water heater? Some people want to point the finger at former President Bush, but the fact is, Reagan had them removed in 1986 and until recently nobody really knew where they ended up. The Huffington Post found filmmakers working on a documentary that tracked the panels to their current location.

In 1979, Jimmy Carter, in a forward-looking move, installed solar panels in the roof of the White House. This symbolic installation was taken down in 1986 during the Reagan presidency. In 1991, Unity College, an environmentally centered college in Maine acquired the panels and later installed them on their cafeteria.

In “A Road not Taken”, swiss artists Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller travel back in time and, following the route the panels took, interview those involved in the solar panel decisions, in the oil crisis of the time, and in the way that that moment presaged our own era. The documentary essay is still in work and will be about 70 minutes long.

It turns out that at some point Unity College donated one of the panels to Carter’s presidential library and auctioned off the rest [UPDATE: they were never auctioned off - see comments!]. The solar-powered water system still heats up the college’s cafeteria water.

In 2003, the National Parks Service quietly had new solar panels installed on the roof of a maintenance building on White House grounds. The Bush Administration also had two smaller solar thermal systems installed that same year. It has been reported that the 9 kW system on the maintenance building roof doesn’t produce much power because it’s too shaded by trees.

It seems like there’s plenty of sun in other areas on White House grounds, though – why not add more panels?  There have been a lot of calls for Obama to reinstall solar panels on the White House itself – there’s even a Facebook group in support of the idea.

Setting an example for the rest of the country is key.  Between that and a White House Victory Garden, our new president could show the whole nation the way forward. Bring back the White House solar panels!

Link [The Huffington Post]
Photo credit: Jimmy Carter Library via Treehugger

The World According to Monsanto

If this trailer doesn’t creep you out about genetically modified food, I don’t know what will. “The World According to Monsanto” is a french documentary directed by Marie-Monique Robin that paints a grim picture of a company with a long track record of environmental crimes and health scandals.

According to the YouTube description,

Monsanto is the world leader in genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as one of the most controversial corporations in industrial history. This century-old empire has created some of the most toxic products ever sold, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the herbicide Agent Orange. Based on a painstaking investigation, The World According to Monsanto puts together the pieces of the company’s history, calling on hitherto unpublished documents and numerous first-hand accounts.

Today, Monsanto likes to style itself as a “life sciences” company. The leader in genetically modified seeds, engineered to resist its herbicide Roundup, claims it wants to solve world hunger while protecting the environment.

In the light of its troubling past, can we really believe these noble intentions? Misleading reports, collusion, pressure tactics and attempts at corruption: the history of Monsanto is filled with disturbing episodes. Behind its clean, green image, Monsanto is tightening its grasp on the world seed market, striving for market supremacy to the detriment of food security and the global environment.

Polar Bears Float Past Houses of Parliament in London

Londoners got quite a shock yesterday as polar bears floated down the Thames River on icebergs, past the Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. They didn’t make some kind of bizarre, epic journey down from the Arctic, though – they’re sculptures launched in the river to raise global warming awareness, as part of the launch of new British television channel ‘Eden’.

From The Times Online:

A total of 15 artists spent two months constructing the 20ft by 20ft square structure, which was launched at 6:30am before travelling up the Thames, stopping besideTower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. The structure weighing, 1.5 tonnes, was winched into place.

The event coincides with the Eden Channel’s Fragile Earth series, presented by Sir David Attenborough.

Melting ice caps threaten the existence of polar bears as their habitat disappears. There will also be serious consequences for the two billion people who depend on glacial meltwater to feed rivers.

Sir David said: “The melting of the polar bears’ sea ice habitat is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. I commend Eden for highlighting the issue; we need to do what we can to protect the world’s largest land carnivores from extinction.”

The polar bear will also be touring other cities, including Glasgow and Birmingham.

That’s certainly a good way to grab people’s attention. The sculptures are pretty lifelike, but a close-up on the Times Online website shows that no fur was involved. (UPDATE: See video above!)

Link [Times Online]
Photo credit: The Daily Mail

Is Bottled Water Really So Bad?

I can’t tell you how many self-described environmentalists I know that have refrigerators full of bottled water. Not just gallon jugs, either, but giant Costco-sized packs of individual bottles. Now, we’ve all got our eco-sins – nobody’s perfect. And many of these bottled water-loving greenies assert that there are far worse habits they could have. Maybe that’s true, but bottled water and other beverages sold in individual plastic bottles certainly aren’t harmless.

Treehugger’s ‘Ask Pablo’ tackles the question, ‘Is bottled water really so bad?’

Surely there are bigger culprits out there. The problem for bottled water is that it is so ubiquitous and generally an unnecessary luxury. With most of the Western world having access to clean municipal water supplies, and even additional filtration, there is little reason to grab a pre-packaged dose of hydration, except for the sake of convenience, portability, or emergency preparedness. But successful marketing campaigns have created an image of purity, wealth, and health around bottled water and it is this situation that has triggered the bottled water backlash.

While everyone is bashing bottled water the rest of the bottled beverage industry has remained relatively untouched. This is despite the fact that all other bottled beverages contain a higher level of embodied environmental impact because they have ingredients in addition to water and their packaging is oftentimes heavier, translating into higher shipping emissions. Most of these ingredients are agricultural products: corn sweeteners for sodas, grapes for wine, grains for beer, etc. and their supply chain involves petrochemical fertilizers, diesel trucks, and processing factories. So all of a sudden bottled water doesn’t seem quite as bad, or at least this is how the bottled water industry sees it. Their argument is often that they are shifting market share away from high-calorie soft drinks to a much healthier alternative. Unfortunately this still ignores the fact that consumers can get healthy (and much cheaper) water from their tap as well as portability and convenience from Bisphenol-A free, reusable, and durable, stainless steel containers.

Pablo offers several suggestions for those who like soft drinks or carbonated water – check them out over at Treehugger.

Getting a faucet-mounted water filter is such a good investment and will go a long way toward reducing the amount of waste you produce – especially now that Brita is taking back old filters. Plus, with all of the great reusable containers out there, there’s really no reason to continue adding to the ridiculously large pile of empty plastic bottles that piles up around the world every day.

Link [Treehugger]
Photo credit: istock

Scotland Makes Fuel from Whisky

Leave it to Scotland to figure out a way to get renewable energy from the whiskymaking process. The land of whisky connoisseurs will soon have a plant run on energy created from byproducts of the distilling process. The company turning this grand idea into reality is ‘Combination of Rothes Distillers Limited (CoRD), joining up with Helius Energy to build a combined heat and power (CHP) plant along with a fertilizer factory.

From MatterNetwork:

Called GreenSwitch, the modular CHP unit will employ biomass made from biproducts of the distilling process and sustainably-harvested wood chips. Right next door, the GreenFields plant will turn a liquid biproduct [sic] called pot ale, into a concentrated organic fertilizer.

This £34 million project will take 18-24 months to ferment, at which point the GreenSwitch plant will produce 7.2 megawatts of electricty [sic], enough to power 9,000 homes. Although still in the planning stages, the venture already won the Best Environmental Initiative Award from the Scottish Green Energy Awards last December.

Scotland has dozens of whisky distillers, so if this idea caught on, it could be a great way to power not just the distilleries themselves but possibly even homes and businesses in the area.

Mmm, Glenlivet 18-year. I’d love it even more if the plant were run with green energy!

Link [MattersNetwork]
Photo credit: Flickr user tienvijftien

Mexico City Will Green its Garbage Dumps

Mexico City has a trash problem – a big one. Just 6 percent of the city’s waste is recycled, with the rest filling vast landfills that officials say are getting out of control. So, the new Waste Commission decided to set some lofty goals in an attempt to transform one of the world’s biggest and messiest waste management systems into a green system that would rival those in San Francisco or the Netherlands.

From MSNBC:

A newly formed Waste Commission is working to build four state-of-the-art processing centers in the next four years to recycle, compost or burn for energy 85 percent of Mexico City’s trash — compared with about 6 percent recycled today.

“The whole concept of recycling is very new in Latin America,” said Atiliano Savino, president of the International Solid Waste Association.

While many places are good at recycling one thing, such as aluminum, Savino said, he’s never seen a city revamp its recycling program on this scale in so little time. U.S. and European cities that now have recycling rates over 50 percent began decades ago.

But Mexico City has no choice. The federal government proposed to close the city’s main landfill this month, saying the 50 million-ton dump has become too full and leaches contamination. Scientists dispute that, and the closing has been delayed by a city appeal in federal court for an extension. Yet waste management officials know that soon much of Latin America’s largest metro area will be forced into expensive, temporary alternatives for dumping trash.

New processing centers will recycle 20% of Mexico City’s trash, compost 20% and burn another 45% for energy by 2012, according to the Waste Commission. The government will also harvest methane gas from Bordo Poniente, the city’s largest landfill, and use it to power the subway and light homes.

Considering that Bordo Poniente receives 700 truckloads of trash each and every day, such a program would make a huge difference. It will be a challenge for sure – especially getting the people of Mexico City to start sorting their trash, and to get the garbage worker’s union to collect separated waste. However they manage to do it, this will be a huge step forward for Latin America, providing a great example for many other cities with similar, if not as pressing, waste problems.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Flickr user maurortega

Generating Wind Power in Your Backyard

Ever wonder if you could generate wind power in your own backyard? You don’t have to have a ton of land or extremely windy conditions to benefit from a wind turbine. Smaller models around 15 feet in diameter perched atop a 40- to 100-foot tower are popping up at homes, farms and businesses all over the country. Green Living Ideas gives us the scoop on how to determine whether wind power is right for your property, and how to get started.

From Green Living Ideas:

Many models of residential-scale wind turbines can be connected to the electric grid so that a consumer has power even when the wind isn’t blowing.  Grid interconnection also means that if the consumer doesn’t use as much electricity as the turbine produces, the excess can be fed backwards into the grid for credit on the consumer’s monthly electric bill.

Small wind turbines are also popular choices for people who live in remote locations, away from the electric grid.  Uses for these off-the-grid turbines include powering cabins, pumping water on farms, and even powering accessories on sailboats.  For these applications, the turbine charges batteries to supply electricity even when the wind doesn’t blow.

Small wind systems are most practical for individuals or businesses located in areas with above-average wind speeds, and with at least half an acre of open land to allow the wind to “stretch its legs.”  Regions where electricity prices are also especially high make small wind systems an attractive investment.

Green Living Ideas also offers information about pricing, zoning, and preparing neighbors who might be opposed to the idea.

For those who can afford the initial expense, wind power is a great way to generate your own energy and lessen your dependence on fossil fuels, and hopefully it will become more affordable through tax credits in the future.

Link [Green Living Ideas]
Photo credit: Symscape.com

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