Fresh Greens
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The Bailout Failure's Environmental Impacts
Continue reading… 1 CommentAside from sending the markets into a tailspin and lawmakers scrambling for other options on the Hill, the failure of the bailout package on Monday had consequences for environmental legislation and green-thinking consumers. Here's a roundup:
- Upon news of the nonbailout, solar stocks plummeted. Distracted by the financial crisis, the House and the Senate can't reach an agreement on how to extend energy tax credits that are key to making solar panels more mainstream. Congress is unlikely to approve the measures before the session ends.
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I'm Not a Plastic Bag (but I'm Not Remembering My Reusable One, Either)
Continue reading… 12 CommentsI've written before about the benefits of reusable shopping bags, but the Wall Street Journal brings up an interesting point today: How many of us have reusable bags that just sit at home? Sometimes, it's hard to break old habits. Other times, a run to the grocery store isn't premeditated, and you find yourself being forced to make do with plastic. Until cities ban plastic bags outright or stores cut down on the number of disposable bags they produce (as Wal-Mart recently announced it would), using a plastic bag is consequence free. And if we're still producing mass quantities of plastic bags in addition to reusable bags—well, that's not doing any good at all.
- Any tips for remembering your reusable bags? Let us all know in the comments below.
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Lisa Simpson, Treehugger
Continue reading… 2 CommentsBecause it's Friday, and the world is preoccupied with economic collapse, here's a bit of levity. In honor of the 20th season The Simpsons will be on the air, Lisa Simpson, the greenest member of one of America's most famous families, recently chatted with National Geographic about the ways that she's encouraging Homer and company to go green. And no, it doesn't involve organic doughnuts.
Some excerpts:
What is your family doing to "go green"?
Well, my Dad said his bald spot is "a solar panel for a love machine." I don't know what that means, but I'm looking into whether we can hook it into the grid and get carbon credits. -
5 Green Consumer Trends That Probably Won't Take Off
Continue reading… 7 CommentsEnvironmentally minded folks will go to great lengths to live sustainable lives. Sometimes, they go too far. Here are five eco-trends that won't be going mainstream anytime soon.
1. City chickens—Buying organic eggs at Whole Foods isn't enough for some city dwellers. To eliminate the carbon emitted during transportation, and the chance that a single feather on their chicken might have been harmed in the production of their eggs, some urbanites have taken to building chicken coops in the backyards of their rowhouses and stocking them with egg-layers. Some city ordinances permit this, while others don't. Though chickens are relatively easy to care for, they don't make for much of a pet. And what would the neighbors think?
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What the Great Lakes Compact Means for Bottled Water
Continue reading… 5 CommentsCorrected 9/25/08: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Public Trust Doctrine was excluded from the compact. The version also incorrectly stated that 1 percent of the lakes’ water became bottled water. The article neglected to mention that states have the ability to regulate bottled water independently.
Yesterday, Congress ratified the Great Lakes Compact, which prevents the diversion of fresh water from the lakes by any state that does not immediately border them. The bill is supposed to protect the largest source of fresh water in the country (90 percent of America's fresh water and 20 percent of the world's) and also to encourage other states to conserve water. President Bush is expected to sign it into law.
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Red, Blue, Green: Cities That Vote Democratic Are Greener Than Republican Cities
Continue reading… 7 CommentsThis shouldn't surprise anyone: In SustainLane's ranking of the greenest cities in 2008, cities that were green leaned Democratic, while voters in cities that were not so environmentally friendly tended to vote Republican. Same goes for the city's leadership: You'll notice on this graphic that all of the top cities have Democratic mayors (or, in New York's case, an independent). There's also an economic divide; many of the greenest cities were also the most expensive to live in and had higher incomes, while the bottom of the list had cheap housing and poorer citizens. Here are the top and bottom 10:
- Portland, Ore.
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Chicago
- New York
- Boston
- Minneapolis
- Philadelphia
- Oakland, Calif.
- Baltimore
- Arlington, Texas
- Long Beach, Calif.
- Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Indianapolis
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- Memphis
- Las Vegas
- Tulsa, Okla.
- Oklahoma City
- Mesa, Ariz.
Is your city on the list?
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Truckers to Protest Gas Prices by Causing Commuters to Waste Expensive Gas
Continue reading… 3 CommentsTo protest gas prices, Truckers and Citizens United will be organizing a convoy of vehicles to make their way through Washington tomorrow, which "could slow traffic in the nation's capital for hours." Their gas protest will cause traffic jams, which will cause cars to idle longer, and will waste the expensive and precious gas that the truckers are protesting. Whose brilliant idea was this?
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Planning an Ecofriendly Retirement
Continue reading… 1 CommentIt's not enough to just retire to a community that's healthful or a place where the golf courses are abundant. Retirees are now looking for retirement destinations where they can live ecofriendly lifestyles that still include all the amenities of traditional retirement. Are you one of the 40 million green boomers? Consider these tips for a green retirement and use our new Best Places to Retire search to find the city that's right for you.
- Location, Location, Location. If you retire near your friends and family, rather than a far away beach, you'll have to take fewer flights and you'll be closer to loved ones. Consider how the place you retire will affect not only your happiness but also your energy consumption.
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Artists Destroy Gas-Guzzling El Camino
Continue reading… 3 CommentsNot long ago, I wrote about a man who wanted to destroy his gas guzzler for the environment, soliciting advice on whether he should blow it up, crush it to pieces, or convert it to a hybrid. Unfortunately, Ryan Mickle's devotees are all still waiting with bated breath, as he has not updated his website since August 1. Last weekend, two Washington, D.C., artists beat him in his quest.
The YAY Team, a performance art group presented by the local Meat Market Gallery, sent out the vague invitation: "Please join the YAY Team in saying goodbye to a personal era of waste, materialism and ignorance. In 'Black Out: Retiring a Cloud of Guilt,' they will renew their commitment to healthy living and a healthy future as they remove what would have been a negative impact on all our lives for years to come." The location of the performance was a small parking lot in a gallery-heavy part of Washington, and a crowd started to gather 10 minutes before the show.
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Everything You Need to Know About the New Chevy Volt
Continue reading… 50 CommentsGM unveiled the production version of the Chevy Volt, the first extended-range electric vehicle, and lit up the Internet with opinions from car lovers and tree-huggers everywhere. Here's a quick guide to everything you need to know about the car of the not-so-distant future.
First, a quick rundown on the car's stats:
- The car will go on sale in 2010.
- No price has been announced yet, but estimates place it in the region of $40,000.
- The car's energy comes from a large T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack running the length of the car.
- The Volt can run for up to 40 miles without gasoline. About 75 percent of Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, according to GM, so they will not need to depend on fuel.
