Janet Larsen
http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2009/update85
Future firefighters have their work cut out for them. Perhaps nowhere does this hit home harder than in Australia, where in early 2009 a persistent drought, high winds, and record high temperatures set the stage for the worst wildfire in the country’s history. On February 9th, [...]
If you ever found yourself forced to define the term “community,” you might find yourself reverting to something akin to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s attempt to define pornography: “I know it when I see it.” While different communities have different purposes, goals, and activities, [...]
A team of American and French scientists have just documented the fact that there are a lot of bacteria in cigarettes and that the bacterial population includes some human pathogens. They don’t actually know if this leads to human disease- after all, [...]
Questions are accumulating about how water demand needed to supply a hydrogen vehicle industry might affect large water bodies like the Great Lakes.
Even as political leaders in the auto-making Great Lakes region tout hydrogen-powered vehicles as a potential catalyst for an economic turnaround, questions are accumulating [...]
How many of the environmental education initiatives that you know of were started by teachers, parents, or non-profit organizations? That’s typical: from artistic approaches to rainwater harvesting to solar boat building, most efforts at teaching kids about environmental issues start with adults. But students [...]
This is a followup post that will attempt to address some additional, wide-spread myths about the commercial sale of seed. In this case the topic with be “GMO” seed improved through genetic engineering (an industry that is now [...]
There is a lot of confusion and disinformation circulating today about seeds and the ethics of their commercial sale. Actually a healthy, commercial seed industry is critical for agricultural sustainability. Because seeds are such a fundamental component of the [...]
Copenhagen is a water town, and the iconic symbol of Denmark’s capital city is the Little Mermaid silently standing watch over the harbor. Next month the Little Mermaid welcomes the global community coming to negotiate at least the foundation of an international treaty at the COP15 [...]
For the 193 national delegations gathering in Copenhagen for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in December, the reasons for concern about climate change vary widely. For delegations from low-lying island countries, the principal concern is rising sea level. For countries in [...]
A landfill gas-to-energy plant in Conestoga, Pennsylvania.
When it comes to corporations fighting climate change, landfill owners don’t necessarily leap to mind. But in Michigan, the landfill industry is working to repeal a 19-year-old ban on the disposal of grass clippings and tree trimmings in dumps — [...]
Ok, I didn’t actually clear this challenge with the Nobel Committee, but I think we could convince them. Nobels were awarded early in the 20th century when German scientists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch made the sequential advances that made it [...]
Have trouble getting up early on Saturday morning to get to the farmers market? Yeah, me too. And while more supermarkets are featuring more selections of local food on their shelves and in their stalls, there’s nothing quite like that straight-from-the-farm produce. What’s a [...]
From the comment streams and emails I’ve been getting about recent posts, it is clear that many people believe things that are not actually true about the environmental profile of organic fertilizers. I don’t mean to minimize the challenge we face when it comes to [...]
I’m probably going to irritate some people with this post. I apologize in advance because that is not at all my intention. For those readers that don’t think climate change is a real problem, I respect the fact that there is uncertainty [...]
Editor’s note: This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally-friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by [...]
Ray Anderson’s epiphany about his own role in environmental destruction after reading Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce has taken on mythic status in the fifteen years since. The “spear in the chest moment” he experienced transformed Anderson into a leader in sustainable thought and [...]
Lester R. Brown
Can we change fast enough? When thinking about the enormous need for social change as we attempt to move the world economy onto a sustainable path, I find it useful to look at various models of [...]
My previous post retraced the precipitous decline in the reputation of biofuels that occurred between 2006 and today. In this post I’m going to talk about just a few of the activities going on for “second generation” [...]
Buying your first home is both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. Imagine the heightening of both of those emotions if you choose to 1) buy an older house full of character, and 2) jump right into green updates and renovations upon purchase. You’ll then have a good [...]
In 2006 I attended a BIO meeting in Toronto focused on the new bio-based economy. Oil had just risen to $70/barrel and it was a time when environmental NGOs, biotech companies and [...]
This post was written by Stacy Feldman (reporting from Barcelona, Spain), and originally published at SolveClimate.
The United States must deliver concrete mid-term greenhouse gas reduction targets by next month or it will destroy efforts to achieve a framework for a global climate change [...]
www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/press_room/C68/pb4_ch7_datarelease
In Chapter 7 of the recently released Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, Lester Brown lays out the Plan B goals for eradicating poverty and stabilizing population. Behind the scenes are a number of datasets and graphs that delve deeper into the trends discussed in the chapter. [...]
Here’s a thing not often seen in the U.S. - a “First Nation’s” Chief sanctifying an urban conference about the Resiliency of Cities. First of all, we don’t refer to our Native Americans as “First Nations people” and rarely are they offered the honor of sanctifying civic events.
[...]
In the comment streams on my blog posts there is a recurrent theme from one segment of the respondents - they have a deep distrust in the large companies that are involved in modern agricultural technology. They don’t believe these companies will behave [...]
The International Day of Climate Action last Saturday saw the power of grassroots activism leveraged by new media and social networking. Through an online and viral campaign, Bill Mckibben’s climate action group 350.org inspired an international response of more than 5,200 events in 181 [...]
For anyone who has seen the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, they might get that same feeling of “us” versus “them” that fills the truly indie 9500 Liberty. Body Snatchers grabbed its content and texture from the red scare, the McCarthy era where [...]
The discussions following my two last posts about climate change opinion shifts and about an anti-science coalition have made it clear that one of the reasons people distrust science is that “Science” fails to [...]
Lester R. Brown
Our early twenty-first century civilization is being squeezed between advancing deserts and rising seas. Measured by the biologically productive land area that can support human habitation, the earth is shrinking. Mounting population densities, once generated solely by population growth, are now also [...]
A wise Nebraska farmer I know taught me this saying: “It’s what you know for certain that keeps you from learning.” This principle is at the core of why certain groups and entities are rejecting good science.
As a scientist, and particularly as a scientist involved [...]
Life, Money and Illuision is not about the magical arts or wizardry, though it does demystify money and Wall Street’s greedy aspirations abetted by the global push for more growth and consumption (and jobs).
Life, Money and Illuision: Living on Earth as if we want [...]
http://www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/plan_b_updates/2009/update83
By Lester R. Brown
Emissions Drop 9 Percent in Last Two Years
For years now, many members of Congress have insisted that cutting carbon emissions was difficult, if not impossible. It is not. During the two years since 2007, carbon emissions have dropped 9 percent. While [...]
This post was originally published on Eco-Libris blog on October14.
If you didn’t hear yet about Zumbox, you need to recheck your news resources.
In the last couple of weeks you hear about them everywhere - from an announcement on two new clients: the [...]
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released results of a major survey tracking what people believe about “Global Warming.” It is not encouraging! Across age, [...]
Last Monday the popular show “CSI: Miami” ran a segment in which a young woman dies and it turns out to be because of a GMO corn developed by a rogue company called “Bixton Organic Foods.” In the plot, the company willingly puts people at risk. [...]
While we selected one of the best-selling residential wind turbines in the US, a 10kW (kilowatt) rated machine built in Norman, Oklahoma by Bergey Windpower Co., there’s still wear and tear common among any machines, especially those that have to stand up [...]
Industrial hemp may be one of the most versatile and environmentally benign crops out there, but because of its relationship to marijuana, the cultivation of this crop has been banned in the United States since the late thirties. [...]
It’s getting to be almost a cliché here in San Francisco with large music festivals that have either a green backbone or a heck of lot of social justice behind it. Both Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass sit only slightly in the rear [...]
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily speaks with Tom Schey, President of Minimal Productions. Schey is now leading green home building in Southern California and is the author of an upcoming book on fun ways to green up your life. [...]
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks with Founder and Editor of Eco Child’s Play, Jennifer Lance, about a host of green topics, including living off the grid, [...]
Dawn of A New Era
A revolution occurred in California on August 4 led by Santa Barbara-based graywater advocate, Art Ludwig, and an army of passionate stakeholders from throughout the state. The revolution was the historic graywater code adoption that took place in Sacramento at the [...]
School lunches are a social justice issue for children in our country today. Sugar is our nation’s biggest addiction, after oil.
And sugar, coupled with poor nutrition, is just as debilitating. A poor diet, one that is preservative rich and nutrient poor, causes [...]
Our Global Ponzi Economy
Lester R. Brown
Our mismanaged world economy today has many of the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme takes payments from a broad base of investors and uses these to pay off returns. It creates the illusion that it is [...]
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks blogging with Adam Shake of Twilight Earth and Eco Tech Daily. Adam and his business partner Derek Markham were named by TreeHugger as the “Celebrity Twitter [...]
What were you thinking about on September 16, 2008? Green business ideas probably weren’t at the top of the list… September 15 was the day that Lehman Brothers went belly up, and you were probably more [...]
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce promotes itself as the “voice of business” by representing business ideas and interests in Washington. Really? If this is true, then why are so many businesses leaving the [...]
There’s just too much emphasis on “getting a job” these days.
Okay, so we’re at nearly 10 percent unemployment nationally (if you believe the Federal numbers), so many people are without a steady stream of bi-monthly paychecks. Yet, 90 percent of Americans who had a [...]
Dominique Browning, the former editor-in-chief of House and Garden, is partnering with Environmental Defense Fund to launch a new column called “Personal Nature: Dominique Browning’s distinctive take on all things environmental“. The column will highlight the human impacts of environmental [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the use of intelligent irrigation technologies to save water and green your landscaping with Chris Spain, CEO of Hydropoint.
I just got back from three days at one of my favorite ag industry meetings: The Produce Marketing Association “Fresh Summit.” To those in the industry this is just known as the PMA. This is an [...]
Today I picked the grapes from my vineyard. I got 366 usable pounds from my 25 vines even though I lost at least 100 pounds to birds that somehow penetrated my elaborate net system. The harvest will still give me between [...]
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks with green blogger, publisher, and supermom Jill Fehrenbacher, founder of green design blog Inhabitat.com and its new eco-parenting sister site Inhabitots.com.
[Courtesy of our friends at [...]
If life’s a journey, Journey Inn — an eco-inn and retreat that’s designed with nature completely in mind, spirit and body – serves as a guide.
Located in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin, about an hour from St. Paul-Minneapolis, this Travel Green Wisconsin and Green Routes certified [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas’ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the history, present, and future of electric cars with Alex Campbell, Director of Communications for Zap.
I’ll come back to the Mycotoxin issue soon. Instead, I’ll talk today about my serious worries about Climate Change.
People involved in world agriculture have no patience with the supposed “debate” about climate change. We are already seeing the effects, [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the topic of the smaller homes living movement, and how downsizing helps you go green with Shay Solomon, author of Little House on a Small [...]
How does a community develop when preserving a sense of place is essential to the long-term prosperity and quality of life for those who reside there?
When development starts taking on the “more is better” mantra, some communities opt to take a breather, declaring a [...]
I am a big fan of Conservation International (CI) and have been for ten years ever since I worked with the NGO during my previous life at a multinational corporation. I admire CI’s [...]
When dermatologist June Irwin first stood up in 1985 to speak at a Hudson, Quebec, town council meeting about the potential link between synthetic lawn pesticide and herbicide use and human and animal illnesses, she was written off [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas’ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the topics of non-toxic household cleaning products and green bathroom remodeling with the “Queen of Green,” author and blogger Debra Lynn Dadd.
I need to be very careful in what I say about this topic because it would be easy to scare people beyond what is rational. I could also also easily make enemies in the [...]
Do you remember RecycleBank, the Philadelphia-based company that rewarded customers for recycling? I thought that was a great idea, and I’ve got a similar response to Earth Aid’s new rewards program for energy savings. Rolled out earlier this month in Washington, [...]
If you’re a fan of the Sundance Channel’s series Green Porno with Isabella Rossellini, you’re probably already aware that the acclaimed show launched its third season on Monday (with a focus on marine animals). But how well do [...]
Lots of people in America are worried about their food - usually not about having enough food, but mostly about things that might be in their food that could potentially hurt them or their children. People also worry about the environmental impacts of' [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas’ Editor-In-Chief, talks with David Kram, Energy Specialist for the Rising Sun Energy Center of the California Youth Energy Services about how California residents can get [...]
Environmental care is a practical, worldly thing. But it is also a step in one’s personal evolution. On the one hand, it is a practical response to the environmental problems we are facing. It is also a foresighted response to the issues (economic and environmental) [...]
Do you get your java on the go? If so, what do you do with the paper cup once you’re finished? Throw it in the trash…recycle it…maybe you never gave it much thought. But did [...]
Millions of Americans are declaring financial sustainability, even if they don’t exactly call it that. After all, we can’t borrow our way out of debt.
We’re paying down or paying off credit cards. We’re getting rid of our mortgage or putting an extra payment toward [...]
GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks about clean energy products, corporate sustainability initiatives, and cost-effective carbon offset solutions with Gillan Taddune, Chief Environmental Officer of BeGreen/Green Mountain Energy Company.
[Courtesy [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas’ Editor-In-Chief, talks about the new Enertia Electric Motorcycle and new plug-in technologies with Craig Bramscher, CEO of Brammo.
Dr. Norman Borlaug passed away this weekend at 95. He left behind an amazing legacy of contribution to humanity. It is likely that he saved more human lives than any other person in history. He [...]
This is a follow-up to a previous blog about a pesticide reduction commitment that McDonalds has made and why that will be challenging in terms of their potato supplies and quality.
Companies with prominent, valuable, consumer “brands” are prime targets for activists because these entities cannot afford to ignore threats that might hurt their public image. Remember Nike and the foreign “sweat shop” issue. [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, talks about efficient ENERGY STAR products and the Change a Light Campaign with Wendy Reed, Campaign Manager for ENERGY STAR.
[Courtesy of our friends at [...]
I can’t believe what I read on Bloomberg.com, “International Paper’s ArborGen joint venture with MeadWestvaco [...]
Imagine that: Walking through a network of trails from our Wissahickon Farms Country Inn, a rustic private cabin nestled in the woods, to grab dinner in town more than a mile away where the restaurant, Indian Creek Orchard Winery and Grille, features mostly local ingredients to [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas’ Editor-In-Chief, talks about Fair Trade, organically grown Yerba Mate energy drinks with David Karr, Co-Founder of Guayaki.
[Courtesy of our friends at [...]
This post was originally published on Eco-Libris blog on September 5.
On August 19 Cleantech Group published a report that was supposed to put an end to an ongoing debate on the question if the Kindle and other e-readers are actually greener than physical books. The [...]
I waited to write this post until after I had the opportunity to speak with SIGG CEO Steve Wasik. I am still disappointed.
Over this last week we have learned that SIGG bottles manufactured before August 2008 (not 2009, as I mistakenly mentioned earlier) contained [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, talks about affordable wind power appliances for residential and commercial use with Mike Hess, CEO of Mariah Power.
The Image above is corn growing in Zimbabwe.
There was a scholarly article published late last year by Dr. Robert Paarlberg entitled “The Ethics of Modern Agriculture.” I would encourage anyone concerned about both the environment and about feeding people to read [...]
As millions of Americans are finding themselves waking up with less disposable income, fewer job prospects, less income thanks for forced furloughs or lost value in their 401(k)s, some are rediscovering the joys of growing our own food, sharing picnics with others in our community, going [...]
There is an old saying in the fresh produce industry: “Produce is purchased based on appearance, not by taste.” This is unfortunately often true. People buy their fruit and vegetables based on how fresh and blemish-free they look. They don’t normally have the chance to [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, talks about sustainable forestry management with Katie Miller, Communications Director for the Forest Stewardship Council.
[Courtesy of our friends at [...]
As Muslims the world over celebrate Ramadan, a new organization called Green Ramadan is looking to turn one of the 5 pillars of Islam into a monthlong activity that helps the environment as well as fulfilling a religious obligation.
Targetting Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Green Ramadan’s [...]
I live in the suburbs in Northern California and walk to work, so I really see the details of other people’s front yards as I walk past them. Mostly these are just boring little grass plots going to waste on each side of the sidewalk.
Yet [...]
The World Agroforestry Centre has recently released a paper titled ” Trees on Farm: Analysis of Global Extent and Geographical Patterns of Agroforestry.” The researchers used five [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, discusses biodynamic winemaking, vineyards, and farming with Katrina Fetzer, Director of Sales and Marketing for Ceago Vinegarden.
[Courtesy of our friends at [...]
I’m coming to the conclusion pretty fast that just about every hotel will eventually be walking the talk when it comes to going green – though some are walking slowly while others are galloping as if there isn’t a minute to waste. While ecotourism continues [...]
If you picture a grain farmer out tending a field, you might imagine someone sitting on the metal seat of a tractor like the one in the picture above, moving slowly across a field - perhaps the farmer has a straw hat. That image [...]
The chart above shows the historical average yields for wheat and corn in the US. Note that until the 1930s the relative yields of the crops were similar and were not changing. After that time yields of both crops began [...]
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, talks Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) and EEStor’s promising new battery technologies with Ian Clifford, CEO of ZENN Motor Company.
[Courtesy of our friends [...]
David de Rothschild’s Plastiki is a seaworthy boat made from reclaimed plastic bottles. Michael Reynolds’ Earthships (the subject of the documentary Garbage Warrior) are homes built from reclaimed materials, and designed to provide basic needs for the homeowner: energy, food, water, and [...]
Carol Coletta, head of the national network CEOs for Cities and host of the weekly radio show Smart City, writes on Good Magazine's web site:
"It is increasingly clear that the old American dream is shattered, and we need a" [...]
Steve Savage, Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, Earth Policy Institute, Keith Rockmael, Dave Dempsey, Tom Schueneman, Paige Donner, SolveClimate
