Blog

Getting Green in the Bedroom: Eco Friendly Personal Lubricants

September 13, 2008

[photo by Becca C] I was at Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe looking to satisfy a craving for dark chocolate and couldn’t help but notice the tubes of personal lubricant behind the counter. I’ve got to admit here: until right then, it hadn’t occurred to me that maybe those little bottles of lube from the drug store were problematic. Clearly, some research was in order! It seems that the issues with a lot of over-the-counter lubes are glycerin and paraben. Glycerin, which…

Chicago Firm Markets Tree-Free Paper

September 12, 2008

File this in the “pretty cool” folder: a Chicago-based company has found a way to make paper without using trees (and it doesn’t involve recycling used tree-based paper). GPA calls Ultra Green Film an “eco-friendly substrate” that not only doesn’t require trees, but doesn’t need water or bleach to make either. Instead, the paper is limestone-based, made of mineral powders bound together with small amounts of high-density polyethylene and a non-toxic resin.

Sustainable Living Roadshow: Be the Change Tour

September 10, 2008

[image via Sustainable Living Roadshow] The Sustainable Living Roadshow is touring the country in biofuelled vehicles spreading the word about green living. The tour integrates entertainment, education, media and business into an “off-the-grid eco-carnival!” They are visiting 11 schools across the country, educating folks on how to live, work and play more sustainably. Want to check them out? There are a few cities remaining on the tour:

A Call for “American Stories About Global Warming”

September 7, 2008

What can U.S. citizens do to raise awareness about climate change and help inspire positive action? How about helping to author a book about the subject? That’s what the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Penguin Classics are asking people to do: write or illustrate their personal thoughts about the impacts of climate change in the U.S. for possible publication in a book to be called, “Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.” “From Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo…

Eating Local in Atlanta: Supporting Local Farmers

September 7, 2008

[photo by Danny Boyster] Eating food that is locally grown can put a huge dent in your carbon footprint. Most food travels hundreds or even thousands of miles from farm to table, guzzling tons of fuel. All of that travel doesn’t help the food’s freshness, either! Yesterday, I wrote about growing your own fall vegetables. For some folks, though, that sort of thing is just not an option. Another great way to eat local is to hit up a farmers…

Austin Approves $2.3 Billion Biomass Energy Project

September 6, 2008

Last week, the Austin City Council approved a $2.3 billion purchasing agreement with what will become the largest wood-waste-fueled biomass plant in the United States. The city will buy all power produced by the 100 megawatt facility for the next 20 years Once completed—which should be sometime in 2012—the Sacul, Texas plant will be the largest of it’s kind in the country. The facility will generate power from burning wood waste from logging and mill operations, urban waste from tree…

Eating Local: Planting Your Fall Garden

September 6, 2008

[photo by Wanko] Fall is getting close. The official first day is September 22nd, but right now is the perfect time to get your fall food garden going! This is a wonderful time for gardening, with pleasant weather and fewer bugs around than the summertime. There are all sorts of great, hearty veggies that thrive in cooler weather! Fall Veggies Good vegetables for a Fall garden are ones that can withstand cooler weather. Cruciferous vegetables do well. So do root…

Slow Food Nation Opening – World Food Crisis

September 5, 2008

Even at 9 a.m. in the morning, a buzz filled the air even before the first official Slow Food Nation event kicked off in San Francisco’s War Memorial Palace. One of the food rock stars Michael Pollan moderated the discussion topic: The World Food Crisis with panelists Raj Patel, Vandana Shiva, Carlo Petrini, and Corby Kummer. Things got popping quickly with spirited remarks about the worldwide food shortage including one poke about biofuels by Patel, “It’s preposterous that we should…

Green in Fort Collins: Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair

September 4, 2008

Get out your calendars right now and reserve the weekend of the 20th and 21st of September! Plan to be in Fort Collins for the premier green festival of northern Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair. The Sustainable Living Fair is a solution based, hands-on, family oriented event designed to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about Sustainable Living Practices, Renewable Energy, Environmental & Social Responsibility, Natural Health, Green Building, Alternative Vehicles, Organic Agriculture, Local Economies and more.…

Fort Collins Welcomes Urban Chickens

September 3, 2008

In a victory for would-be self-sufficient urban farmers and organic gardeners alike, the city council in Fort Collins, Colorado, this week voted to let residents across town keep chickens in their backyards. Lovers of fresh eggs and healthy compost will have some limitations on their chicken-keeping capabilities, though. Each residence is limited to no more than six chickens (sorry, roosters, you’re out: it’s your loud crowing that sealed the deal). Birds also must be kept in secure enclosures that are…

Changing Locomotion in Midstream: California’s Ethanol Mandate (Part 2)

September 2, 2008

Editor’s note: Yesterday, guest contributor Alexis Madrigal introduced the rationale behind California’s ethanol mandate, and alluded to some of the “behind-the-scenes” changes that the mandate required. Today, he takes a look at one piece of the California ethanol infrastructure. II. The Geography of Green In northern California, the major incoming station for ethanol is the NuStar Selby Terminal outside Crockett, in unincorporated Contra Costa County. At places like Selby, rail cars filled with ethanol are unloaded into holding tanks, then…

Conservationists to Purchase and Destroy Two Maine Dams

August 28, 2008

Through a combination of federal grants and private donations, a coalition of seven conservation groups called the Penobscot River Restoration Trust have gathered enough money to purchase and demolish two dams and install a fish bypass on another. By doing so, they hope to replenish the thinning Atlantic salmon, river herring, and many other migratory fish populations. While the move is unprecedented, it is not without some flaws. The PPL Corporation, the power company which currently owns the dams, currently…

Post-Katrina New Orleans Goes Energy Smart

August 28, 2008

With this week marking the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans residents are looking back … but they’re also looking ahead, to a more sustainable and energy-efficient future. (They’re also praying feverishly that Gustav doesn’t head their way.) In addition to all the green rebuilding efforts underway throughout the Crescent City, existing homes that survived the post-storm flooding are also getting eco-friendly makeovers. Those efforts received a boost earlier this summer, when the New Orleans City Council approved the…

Man Suffers from 1,415 Diseases; Blames His Gorilla Meat Diet

August 24, 2008

The average man living in forest-prone areas and who depends on meat from endangered apes and other wildlife for his proteins plays the role of a carrying agent for the hundreds of infectious diseases that humanity is suffering from. Now experts are warning of the danger to humanity this lifestyle may be posing. Most of these diseases, identified in medical terms as zoonotic because of their ability to jump from animal to man, have been labeled as “emerging infectious diseases”…