Great Green Job of the Week: Director of the European Office for the Center for Clean Air Policy

The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) is seeking a director for their European office in Brussels, Belgium. CCAP recently formed a new independent nonprofit association in Brussels – CCAP Europe. This organization is the foundation for new program development in Europe as well as the management entity for the Global Sectoral Approaches Study – a major project funded by the European Commission. The new Director of CCAP’s European office will join the CCAP team working on programs and solutions through CCAP’s international policy programs.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE DIRECTOR OF CCAP’S EUROPEAN OFFICE

The Director of CCAP’s European office will work closely with staff in Europe and the US, as well as with partners and stakeholders worldwide, to advance climate change solutions. The focus will be on climate solutions in the EU, through the UNFCCC and other processes.

Reporting to the Director of International Policy based in Washington and closely coordinating with the Director of International Climate Dialogue in Paris, the Director of CCAP Brussels will seek to build relationships and program opportunities in Europe, contribute to the management of the European Climate Dialogue program, help represent CCAP policy positions and analytical work in international negotiations, and assist in representing CCAP ‘s Global Sectoral Approaches Study. Detailed description of each program and policy issue worldwide can be found at www.ccap.org.

APPLICATION AND NOMINATION INFORMATION

Nominations and applications are due by October 31, 2008. Due to the pace of the search, candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications must include including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, where you learned of the position, salary history and salary requirements and a writing sample. In addition to your resume (in Word or pdf format, please include at least two personal references. Send applications to recruitment@ccap.org. In order to expedite the internal review process, please type “Brussels” and your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.

See the qualifications for this job opening at the Treehugger Jobs Board.

Link [Treehugger Jobs] + [CCAP]

More Farmers Should Use the Lounge n Pick

Farmers, are you tired of your wives and daughters lounging around in the sun, soaking up rays while you’re out plowing the field and picking the harvest? Well, now you can put them to work with guaranteed 50% less complaining.  They won’t have to actually touch dirt at all, and the risk of coming into contact with insects is minimal.  With the Lounge n Pick, you can even employ paraplegics and the elderly.  The convenient removable cover allows your harvesters to sun themselves on nice days, and be shielded from the rain when necessary.  The convenient conveyer belt system delivers your harvest directly into containers at the end of the line.  It can be yours for only $999.99!*

*Fashionable camouflage bench pads extra.

Link [Wacky Archives]

Visiting Sweden? Stay in a Jumbo Airplane Hostel at the Arlanda Airport

Entrepreneur Oscar Diös had been itching to set up a hotel in the Swedish city of Arlanda for years.  Arlanda Airport is the biggest airport in the country, and he was convinced that demand for more lodging there was great.  So, when he heard there was an old disused Boeing 747-200 sitting at the Arlanda Airport, an idea popped into his head: he would turn it into a hostel.

From Jumbo Hostel:

From the beginning of December, hostel guests will, for the first time ever, be able to spend the night in a real, seasoned jumbo jet – on the ground! This is the perfect way to start your trip abroad. The plane is a used out jumbo jet model 747-200 made in 1976. It has been awarded a brand new, modern interior decoration, offering night guests an experience apart. It’s exciting for aviation enthusiasts and families with children as well as for business people. This exhilarating experience leaves no-one indifferent –we promise.

Even if you don’t want to stay there, visitors are welcome to stop by for a snack in the cafe.  You can even walk out on the airplane’s wing.  They’ll be taking reservations for overnight stays starting this December.

All in all, pretty awesome reuse! You can join the mile-high club without ever leaving the ground.

Link [JumboHostel] via [Gizmodo] via [RandomGoodStuff]

Paris Helium Balloon Shows Air Pollution Levels

A giant helium balloon in the skies of Paris gives city residents a very clear idea of how polluted the air is at any given time. The tethered balloon gives real-time reports of atmospheric pollution using a lighting system that can be seen from more than 12 miles away.

From Physorg.com:

A company called Aérophile announced its recent launch of the gas balloon, known as the AERO30NG Aérophile 5500 model, which is located in the Parc Andre Citroën in Paris. Aérophile manufactures tethered gas balloons as tourist and cultural attractions for places including Disney Village in Paris and the Great Park Balloon in Irvine, California.

The newest balloon, which is filled with 6,000 cubic meters of helium, will serve as both an eco-diagnostic public awareness tool as well as a tourist attraction.

Around the city, air pollution data will be collected by several sensors set up by Airparif, an organization that measures air quality in France. Based on this data, the Aérophile balloon will display two measurements: ambient air quality and air pollution produced by auto emissions, which is measured at major traffic junctions.

The balloon’s color signifies the ambient air quality using three projectors that are located in the middle of the balloon. For example, red signifies highly polluted air, orange for polluted, yellow for moderate, light green for clean, and green for very clean.

There’s a second display at the bottom of the balloon that shows traffic pollution levels. Both displays can be seen both day and night.

This is brilliant. What better way to get people to notice the city’s air pollution levels? It’s as simple as looking up at the sky. It couldn’t be more visible. Brilliant!

Link [Physorg.com]

From Children in Buckets to Old Men in Suits, Amsterdam Does Bikes Right

Amsterdam gets a lot of things right. Among them are drug policy and tulips. It’s becoming increasingly clear that another thing they do far better than most other countries is bicycles. A traveler in Amsterdam took 82 pictures of bicycles in 73 minutes in a single city square, and the variety is amazing. Riding bicycles isn’t just an occasional recreational activity in Amsterdam – it’s a way of life.

This photo shows a normal scene of bikes parked in Amsterdam:

Here are just a small selection of the photos taken, and in them you’ll see bicycle riders of all sizes, ages and walks of life, including a very old man and a very young child, a man in a suit, a woman in pearls, people carrying large bundles and children balanced precariously on handlebars. It almost sounds like a Dr. Seuss book. It’s awesome.

People in Amsterdam take their bikes seriously. Very seriously. Check out the high security chains and locks, human-powered headlight contraptions, and all of the decorative touches. The photographer questions why they use such strong locks when all the bikes look to be worth about $10 – I think it’s because so many people ride bicycles, people wouldn’t think much to ‘borrow’ somebody else’s to get where they need to go – not to sell it.

You may find it curious that nobody’s wearing a helmet, kids seem so dangerously unprotected and many of these people are even talking on cell phones while they veer around cars in busy intersections. Sure, it looks dangerous to us. Trying to do these things in America would amount to a death wish, but there’s a simple reason why it works in Amsterdam: respect and awareness. They’re just used to it. The people driving cars know to watch out for people on bicycles. When you have a culture where bicycle riding is so commonplace, it’s easy to adjust. Wouldn’t it be great if we could get there, too?

Check out the site for all 82 pictures, plus large enhanced versions.

Link [Ski Epic]

Americans, Quit Your Bitchin’: Gas in Sierra Leone Costs Over $18 a Gallon

Americans are whining and complaining about gas prices like never before. Gas hitting $4 per gallon is considered absolutely crazy – an all but insurmountable obstacle to going about our daily lives. We here at EarthFirst have professed our beliefs about gas prices and the need for Americans to start thinking differently about transportation before. Now we bring you the reality of gas prices throughout the world: Hello, Americans! We’ve been enjoying artificially low gas prices for decades!

The average in many other countries, including the Netherlands, Greece, New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland and England is around $7/gallon. In Denmark, Eritrea, France, Finland, Germany and Iceland, it’s close to $10. People in Sierra Leone, Africa undoubtedly find other ways to get around considering that gas costs a whopping $18.43 per gallon there.  People in these countries actually (gasp!) take public transportation! The horrors!

Want to pay less for gas? Perhaps you should consider moving to Venezuela, where it costs just 17 cents a gallon. Venezuela is known for its highly polarized political climate, evil overlord dictator and ever-rising violent crime, though you will likely enjoy the food and the view from the plane as you fly in and out. Some of the other oil-rich countries with low gas prices include Egypt, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran.  I’m sure they’ll welcome you with open arms. Good luck, and send us a postcard.

Link [Wikipedia]
Photo credit: Flickr user Payton Chung

The Swiss Like ‘Em Better In A Zoo: Second to Last Wild Bear in The Country Gets Shot

The Europeans seem to prefer them this way; this bear resides in the zoo in Stockholm. The species this creature belongs to, however, once roamed wild from Ireland to Japan, and from Scandinavia to Africa. The brown bear, as they’re called, is of course scarce is Western Europe now. And a bear that was recently released in Switzerland, where he was one of only two in the country, has come to grief, as MSNBC reports:

Sharpshooters killed one of two wild bears in Switzerland after officials determined it had lost its fear of humans and posed a risk, authorities said Tuesday.

Environmental organizations expressed dismay, but government officials said they had no choice. The 2-year-old brown bear was the younger brother of an animal that met the same fate in Germany’s Bavaria in 2006. Both were part of a project to reintroduce bears to areas of Europe where they had been extinct.

“JJ3 was getting bolder and bolder, and even let people observe him,” said Stefan Engler, president of the canton of Graubuenden. “We saw no other way to influence the behavior of the bear.”

Most people who live in bear country in North America would have to regard this as pretty feeble stuff. Some bears are like this. You have the odd moment of visceral terror, but you live with it.

Still, it’s a miracle that overcivilized Europe has bears at all. Remnant populations of brown bears exist in the mountains in Spain and Italy, and there are a fair number in Eastern Europe, in places like Romania, where former dictator Nicolai Ceausescu liked to shoot them. He is himself well-ventilated now, so maybe the bears pass more peaceful days. Their mere existence is cause for hope.

Link [MSNBC]

Photo: Flickr user M. Prinke.