Environmental News and Opinions
Another Carbon Footprint Calculator
With this carbon footprint calculator, you are able to input more detail and even have the opportunity to pay for your sins right away!
Speaking of Carbon Footprints...
Want a shocker? Go to this website and get an idea of what your carbon footprint looks like. I'd share my number, but I'm ashamed.
Carbon Footprint vs. Organic
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for reducing my carbon footprint. What worries me, however, is that people are really tuned in to the carbon footprint issue, possibly to the detriment of their health. For instance, if one decides to shop according to the carbon footprint of the food, they may be purchasing food which has been sprayed with chemicals but took only a short ride to the store. This is no only bad for an individual and his/
Real vs. Fake Christmas Trees
Every year I hear the same conversation. What to do? Cut down a tree or buy a fake?
I'm personally not so fond of fake trees. I like the smell of the real thing. I like the little bit of sap that gets stuck to everything around it and keeps the holiday spirit around a little longer. I like the needles stuck in my carpet, because it further supports my desire to remove the carpet. I like the way the tree is never perfect. And I like the process of bundling into the car dressed like we're about to climb a 14,000-foot mountain to drive to town and pick out a tree together. This year we actually cut our own tree and enjoyed hot cocoa afterwards, huddling in a temporary shelter while the wind threatened to blow it away. It was lovely.
Tess' Trash Challenge
Every once in a while you hear something that makes you want to take action.
Tess Vigeland did an interview on American Public Media the other day explaining her project: To carry her own trash (except for the recyclables) in a plastic bag for a full two weeks. Think about that! It will make you reconsider your purchases, certainly. It may make you wish you didn't have a cat. If you do in fact take the challenge, you will make some changes to your lifestyle. Small, perhaps, but changes that, when duplicated by many individuals, could really make a big change in our environment.
Black brew, green solutions: Oro Valley coffee vendor keeps close eye on the environment
Organic coffee is served in recyclable cups, and it comes from a roaster that promotes coffee produced through sustainable means. Elixer's coffee grounds end up in the compost piles of Tucson gardeners. These are small steps that owner Renee Wold has taken to spread the message that green is good. Wold said she and her partner, Charlie Panipinto, are working to run an ecologically responsible business in front of a Fry's Food and Drug store in Oro Valley. "We obviously try to create a product that's good for the people and good for the people who farm it and good for the environment," Wold said.
Target: An Environmentally Smart Place to Shop
These days it's not enough to be the price leader. Consumers expect corporations to support the community, insure that they are not employing child labor, avoid polluting the air and water, etc.
Target is a place you can be proud to shop, because not only do they say they care... they're proving it, too.
Brakes on Flakes
An update to a previous article posted in May. While governments are firing a warning "shot across geoengineer's bow," the location of the ship set to dump iron nanoparticles into the Pacific Ocean is apparently unknown. Does anybody else want to know where this ship is??
Weeds of the Globally Warmed Future
Some voices in the ag sector hail the benefits of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide—higher yielding, more vigorous crops—as an unexpected boon of the industrial revolution. This is because most plants evolved back when atmospheric CO2 levels were quadruple what they are today. Carbon levels tumbled when the ice ages kicked in, and most green plants have operated at half throttle ever since.
Steve Demos to Keynote 13th Socially Responsible Business Awards
The 13th annual Socially Responsible Business Awards (SRBA) breakfast will be held on Friday, September 28, 2007, at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD, during Natural Products Expo East. This free event is open to all industry members.
Ethanol Boom about to Bust, Researchers Say
The building boom in ethanol plants will go bust by the end of this year, scuttled by increased supplies of the fuel, falling prices and reduced return on investment, according to researchers at Iowa State University, in Ames.
Ethanol-Powered Ford Hybrid to Climb Capitol Hill
Legislators to Participate – but Where to Re-Fuel?
Washington, D.C., June 11, 2007 – On Wednesday of this week, Ford Motor Company will hand over several Ford Escape Hybrid E85s - the worlds first full-electric hybrid vehicles capable of operating on an 85 percent ethanol blend - to several D.C.-area organizations for real-world testing.
Tapping Hydroelectric Dams for Methane Gas
IPS, 6 June 2007 - Hydroelectricity is not as clean as most people might believe, because the reservoirs created by dams in tropical areas -- and in forested zones in particular -- emit greenhouse gases from the decomposition of organic material. But this downside can be turned into a benefit, and give a boost to the amount of energy generated.
Focus on 'Food Miles' is Too Narrow
Consumers need more information about the environmental impact of the food in their shopping basket if they are to make eco-friendly choices, according to researchers who have carried out a detailed analysis of the ecological costs associated with food.
They argue that the focus on "food miles" is missing the bigger picture and may be counter-productive.
MissionFish - Support your favorite causes through trading on eBay
How many of us think of saving the environment, saving a life, protecting children or saving animals when we think of eBay?
Here are a couple interesting facts:
- MissionFish has raised over $44 million (yes MILLION) dollars for nonprofits to date.
- There are over 10,000 nonprofits listed with MissionFish.
Sellers have reported increased bids for items marked with the charity icon 
. Some sellers report 20-40% higher sales prices for the exact same item when they sell it through MissionFish/
Posts: 4
Reply #4 on : Tue February 19, 2008, 09:18:34