August 2009

  • Climate Change Bill Hits Another Delay

    By ecoscott on 8/31/09 11:04pm
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    Doctor Who?Doctor Who?And so we are in the last 100 days of the lead-up to Copenhagen and it is crunch time in the U.S. for a climate change bill. We have a few months for the Senate to make some kind of bill out of what the House has passed on. Obama is wrapped up in defending and fighting for his version of the healthcare reform bill and legislation right now, preserving the heartbeat of his domestic agenda. What has been asserted by several administration officials is that we, as the U.S., need to have a climate change bill in place so that we have a starting point for the Copenhagen summit.

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  • The dirty hippies were right

    By monica on 8/31/09 4:39pm
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    How right they were...

  • The Lesson of the Pacific Garbage Patch

    By ecoscott on 8/30/09 3:56pm
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    Plastic BottlesPlastic BottlesClimate change and global warming are sometimes things that it’s hard to put a finger on- what is it that each of us does everyday that contributes? You can think of the times you commute on public transit as saving gas, or turning off your tap when you brush your teeth as saving water. More hands-on are when you recycle a plastic bottle or choose to use a reusable cup to get your coffee in the morning.

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  • Go Green or Don't, Already

    By sarajean on 8/30/09 1:56pm
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    Green is definitely the new black. Plenty of companies, retailers, restaurants and even travel agencies are jumping on board the green wagon, and for once, I’m totally in favor of a fad. Of course, I hope it sticks around and changes from being a fad to simply the way we all live.

    That said, some companies really need to learn to walk their talk. The one that’s really been getting to me lately is magazines. For one, magazines aren’t that green; I don’t see the recycled emblem on most of them (do you?), so I’m thinking they’re probably from virgin wood. You know they’re mass produced pulp products, so they themselves really aren’t that earth-friendly.

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  • What is Gray Water?

    By sarajean on 8/30/09 12:42pm
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    As an eco-minded earthling who recycles and composts, I was baffled when I heard the words “gray water” mentioned the other day. What was gray water, I wondered?

    It turns out that the word is greywater, and it’s simply water that’s being recycled. Also called sullage, it’s the water left over when you do dishes, wash your laundry, or take a bath.

    We really don’t think of reusing this water, but it makes sense to do so. Why waste so much water, after all, when it’s still perfectly useable? No, we can’t actually cook with it, and I definitely wouldn’t bathe in my dishwater, but I wouldn’t mind watering our plants outside with it.

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  • Blue Planet Film Fest to Hit a Planet Near You

    By sarajean on 8/30/09 12:15pm
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    From September 4 through 7, the first Blue Planet Film Fest ever will be held at The Ambrose hotel in Santa Monica, CA. Aimed at being a forum to get people aware of the environment and animal rights—as well as to get inspired and motivated to take action—it’s expected to brand environmental films as a genre and get them more into the public spotlight, much as the Sundance Film Festival did for independent films.

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  • Sockeye Salmon Numbers Lower

    By ecoscott on 8/29/09 3:28pm
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    Sockeye SalmonSockeye SalmonFish around the world are in trouble. The changing temperatures of water are changing how they live, where they want to live, and even their migration and mating patterns. The sockeye salmon are hit hard by rising water temperatures, dams that make spawning difficult, and overfishing. In fact, fishing of the sockeye salmon has become heavily restricted because the numbers are down.

    In Idaho, the sockeye salmon have begun to return to the river after their numbers went down below 100- but this is only after aggressive efforts by local authorities and wildlife activists to help them get around dams and protect them through the now fragile mating season and spawning run.

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  • U.S. Lagging in Climate Change Leadership

    By ecoscott on 8/28/09 11:23pm
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    IndustryIndustryThe Copenhagen summit is just 100 days away and countries around the world are making commitments and passing national legislation toward cutting emissions and battling climate change.

    Among the big players, the EU is clearly leading the way, and China is making a lot of commitments to reducing their emissions in the coming decades. The U.S., for all of the clean power and sustainability initiatives and talk, has passed little legislation toward any kind of meaningful change. Couple that with the lack of signing the most recent Kyoto Agreement and you have a country that is a major emitter with no plan in place for how to deal with climate change in the future.

    That could prove problematic in the negotiations and conversations at the Copenhagen meetings.  

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  • Quiz: How Far Would You Go for the Environment?

    By sarajean on 8/27/09 9:49pm
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    Just how far would you go to protect the environment? Add up the items below and see what kind of an environmentalist you are!

    You turn off the lights when you’re not in the room: 1 point.

    You throw things in the trash instead of on the highway: 1 point.

    You don’t waste gas idling in your car (such as in the drive-thru): 2 points.

    You don’t use the sprinklers when it rains: 2 points.

    You buy recycled stuff when you can. 2 points.

    You keep a compost bin: 3 points.

    You regularly write or call Congress in support of environmental issues: 3 points.

    You buy all eco-friendly stuff, from laundry detergent to cosmetics: 4 points.

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  • Ethanol- How much land will it take for this cleaner fuel?

    By ecoscott on 8/26/09 6:54pm
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    CornfieldCornfieldRenewable energy is one of the most promoted environmental changes and promises of our time- the idea that we can trade in our dependence on fossil fuels and harness clean, renewable, or sustainable energies to actually create more useful and less damaging energy is perhaps the grandest and most attainable promise of our generation. While there are plenty of arguments over the degree to which each of the green fuels or energy sources is effective or green, there are seldom arguments made about how damaging some kind of green fuel is to the environment it claims to aid.

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  • U2's Big Shoes

    By sarajean on 8/25/09 7:37am
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    BonoBonoLike a good portion of the world, I’m a huge U2 fan. My daughter and I jam to The Best of 1980-1990 and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb weekly, if not daily. I would never argue about the band’s talent or simple sheer coolness—even though I occasionally miss Bono’s hair—and love the guys to death.

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  • Ocean Acidification and The Threat to Marine Life

    By Niki Fears on 8/17/09 6:10pm
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    The latest environmental debates that have taken place over the past year or so have made us quite aware of the problem with greenhouses gases, particularly with carbon dioxide (CO2) which is released by a number of factories, industries, plants, and even our cars whenever fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, are burned. All of this CO2 is released into the atmosphere and contributes to the growing problem of global warming; however, the greenhouse effect is not the only problem caused by CO2 emissions.

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  • Record Sea Temperatures Threaten the Stability of the Oceans

    By Niki Fears on 8/17/09 6:07pm
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    NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) released a recent report on the temperatures levels of the seas from this past July to reveal a record breaking high that has scientists concerned.

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  • Solar Thermal Energy: a doorway to the American Mojave desert?

    By lafeeverte on 8/16/09 7:14pm
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    Solar PanelSolar PanelInteresting move made by the Obama administration recently, in fulfilling the much awaited promise of bringing green energy to America. To bring green energy to America.... hallelujah.. build it and they will come (the jobs, the feeling of salvation, the relief of doing something environmentally responsible) because after all, when it comes to climate change and melting ice caps, America is the number one offender. We know that, we all know it. But, with Obama in charge now, that's all going change, it is changing hallelujah! The newspapers, say so. Happening all around us. We will hold our heads high, at last, green energy! Praise green energy! Gateway to salvation, hallelujah! Can I get an Amen?

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  • China Commits to CO2 Cuts by 2050

    By ecoscott on 8/15/09 2:55pm
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    Factory SmokeFactory SmokeThe road to Copenhagen continues and one of the power-players is making a statement as far as committing to CO2 cuts. Thus far, the EU has made a big commitment to cuts over the next few decades, the U.S. and China (until now) have been elusive with specifics, and Russia is sticking to the Kyoto baseline numbers that basically let them grow without making cuts due to an accounting aberration.

    In the larger context, developing nations are asking that industrialized nations make deep emissions cut commitments. According to a new article today, China is doing just that. Top policy maker Su Wei, Director-General of the Climate Change Department at the National Development and Reform Commission (that’s quite a title) said that China’s carbon emissions will begin decreasing by 2050.

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  • Be an Eco-Friendly Screenwriter with Greenwriter.org

    By sarajean on 8/15/09 8:01am
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    If you’re a screenwriter, you probably know how many pages it takes to make a movie. Though your script is likely to be only a fraction of those, it’s still a hefty print job that takes a toll on the planet’s tree population. In fact, every year America’s screenwriters print 180 million sheets of paper! If you’re looking for more eco-friendly ways of doing your job, Greenwriter.org may be for you.

    Greenwriter.org is a website that allows writers to create their own personal accounts to use in order to feature their screenplays in a searchable database. As long as your script is WGA registered, it can be featured in the Greenwriter catalog. The best part is that the entire service is free of charge!

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  • Suburban Redesign and Cleveland

    By ecoscott on 8/14/09 10:31am
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    earth blue marbleearth blue marbleI live in San Francisco, an amazing city that packs a million people into a seven square mile peninsula. This past weekend I traveled to Wisconsin for a family reunion and spent some time at the house where I grew up, where my mother and father still live, a house nestled in the classic Midwestern suburbs: a subdivided farm turned into rows of houses with yards, and about a mile away, a few strip malls and other kinds of developments. Just close enough to walk to if you really want to, but not an enjoyable walk because of all the traffic from people who don’t understand why they shouldn’t take a car (or pickup) everywhere.

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  • Mother Earth, The Hummer Part II: The Source is With You

    By sarajean on 8/13/09 2:04am
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    In April we talked about the awesomely primal humming that Mother Earth has been mysteriously emitting. If you remember, these hums have the loudness of 6.0 earthquakes and were said to be generated by the “interaction between the ocean, the atmosphere, and seafloor, between the Northern Pacific and the Southern ocean.”

    Researchers have been trying to put their heads together and find out what the cause of this hum is for over a decade. The source of the hum has now been discovered to be sea waves crashing against one another—specifically in the Pacific Coastal region of North America.

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  • China and Emissions

    By ecoscott on 8/12/09 7:54pm
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    Earth, without too many emissionsEarth, without too many emissionsSo, who do you think has the best approach to dealing with climate change among the biggest world powers? There’s the U.S. who chose not to be part of the Kyoto Protocol because we said it wasn’t fair, tend to drag our heels on anything that could maybe possibly be detrimental to the economy, but have recently agreed to a North American cap and trade market openness with Canada and Mexico. Then there is the EU, which seems like it is tripping over itself to be out front, calling for cuts and pledging massive reductions in carbon emissions over the next few decades.

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  • How Do We Work Together on Climate Change?

    By ecoscott on 8/11/09 10:48pm
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    earth blue marbleearth blue marbleClimate change and what to do about it are on everyone’s mind- from citizens to the media to the politicians. In December, world leaders will meet to map out a global response and action plan. There are summits and preparations going on all over the world right now and they will continue up until that summit happens in Copenhagen. And there is little to show for it at this point.

    Last year (2008) global CO2 emissions rose 1,94% says the German renewable energy industry institute IWR. Kyoto did not work and is not working- at least not in the short term. That will be a valuable lesson for everyone to look at and consider in December. The United States has to be involved this time around- we have to sign on, do it, make it a priority and do things differently. It’s pretty easy to say, but will be an absolute polar bear to implement. Are you ready?

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  • A Radical Rethink Around Food Production

    By ecoscott on 8/10/09 9:17pm
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    Britain FarmBritain FarmNow this is good stuff. Britain is asking for a radical rethink on food production- which sounds like a fantastic idea. Though if it is really the government asking for something radical from the people, they better be careful- and for a country with such bland food to begin with, maybe they are just playing culinary catch up…

    But what does food production look like right now? I was writing about water footprint labels this weekend- their intention is to raise awareness around how much water is used in the production of food. I realized I had no idea how much water it took to create most of the food that I eat- and was surprised to learn that meat and dairy require far more water than any other kind of food to produce.

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  • How do we create Green Habits?

    By ecoscott on 8/8/09 10:03pm
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    earth blue marbleearth blue marbleIt’s all about habits. I was reading a book today called Start Late, Finish Rich (it’s about becoming a millionaire even if you are currently in debt) and he was talking about habits. About how like 90% of what you think about during a day is pretty much the same as what you thought about the day before, and so on and so on and how much of that thinking becomes automatic- becomes a habit. Take a term like brand loyalty- that’s really just a habit. Something you get used to buying and you come to trust, or at least just know what to expect, something you are familiar with. Familiarity has a strong gravity, often too strong to break until there is some good, strong, possibly painful reason to do so.

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  • Green Fun at Environmentaland

    By sarajean on 8/7/09 2:00am
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    One might think that a theme park of all places would be one of the least environmentally-friendly locations on the planet. Between the obnoxious consumerism in every gift shop (found every ten yards apart), the mass waste of overly-priced, bad food and equally bad throw-away plates and utensils, and the sheer use of energy, many environmentalists—roller coaster junkies or not— limit their attendance, with hardcore activists likely refusing to visit at all.

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  • What do you DSIRE most?

    By lafeeverte on 8/6/09 11:24am
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    Let's talk about your deepest desires. You can tell me, I'm discreet. Tell me everything, so I know. It's playing with a great big windmill all of your own, isn't it? Stroking the round barrel of your own bio-fuel making station.... oh, god, yes that does feels good! Or from the distance, gazing back into a raucous gleam, orbs of insatiability, reflected in the heady gaze of those solar panels on your roof beckoning... DSIRE is here to help. DSIRE loves to grant your every wish and satisfy your desires thoroughly.

    DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy

    http://www.dsireusa.org

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  • Citizen Scientist

    By lafeeverte on 8/2/09 8:36pm
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    Never thought of yourself as a citizen scientist before? Expand your self-identification by engaging yourself with the great outdoors in a brand new way. Grab your camera and head for the outdoors with a notebook and pen with friends, family, or a loved one for a day of outdoors adventure that will benefit the scientific studies of nature. Butterflies and Moths of North America is a nonprofit organization that encourages hobbyists, photographers, and nature lovers of all ages to submit their photos and documentation to the regional coordinator for their state. The specimens are cataloged and mapped on their website. The collection of this data would be impossible without the help of citizen scientists and it is a fun way to get involved. You can browse the beautiful photographs of Americas butterflies and moths at their website, and look up your regional coordinator. www.butterfliesandmoths.org


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  • Forged Letters Won't Sway Cap and Trade Vote

    By ecoscott on 8/2/09 7:13pm
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    MailMailThe carbon cap and trade legislation is a contentious issue- there are environmentalists on both sides, citing the possible climate change battling progress and the minimal advantages of the program, and businesses on both sides as well, citing the need for such regulations but expecting them to be fair and not hurt economic competitiveness.

    The issue has taken a nasty turn in a letter-writing campaign involving correspondence sent to U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello from North Carolina in an attempt to sway his vote on the climate change legislation. And U.S. Rep Edward J. Markey is going to launch an investigation. It seems that half a dozen forged letters were sent by a Washington grassroots lobbying firm called Bonner & Associates.

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