Fresh Greens
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Washington Auto Show: Green Technology Officially Mainstream
Continue reading… 1 CommentThis is a guest post by U.S. News production coordinator Leandro Oliva.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the annual Washington Auto Show, where I scoured the showroom floor looking for green technology in the current and upcoming lineup of cars for the 2010/11 model year. While the auto show here in D.C. is not known to be the first place automakers unveil their new designs in the U.S. (that honor is usually reserved for the Detroit and L.A. Auto shows), there was nonetheless a very strong showing in alternative fuel and hybrid-electric models.
Among the American car makers, Ford carries the distinction of having its midsized Fusion Hybrid as the North American Car of the Year, offering a sedan with a very respectable 41 MPG city/36 hwy, powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery and a 2.5L Atkinson Cycle I-4 engine. While the 'rental car' styling of the Fusion is simply on par with the Toyota Camry and other vehicles in its class, there are thoughtful green features, such as its 100 percent "earth friendly" yarn upholstery and the use of recycled materials within the interior, which make it an appealing purchase for eco-minded consumers. Also on display were Ford's other hybrid vehicles, including those offered by its sister brand, Mercury. These include the small-sized SUV, the Escape, and its Mercury variant, the Mariner. Both models remain almost unchanged for 2010, with the exception of a few additional equipment offerings.
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Apple iPad Touts Environmental Cred
Continue reading… 1 CommentApple's game-changing iPad, unveiled today, has both techies and green bloggers starry-eyed - the latter because the company is keeping it green for the new touch-screen device.
Here are some of the green features for the iPad: It's BPR-free, PVC-free, has arsenic-free display glass, a mercury-free LCD display, and a glass and aluminum enclosure that is highly recyclable. That gives the device relatively the same eco-cred as the MacBook Air. The device will also feature a 10-hour battery life, and more than a month of standby battery capacity, meaning it will hold charge after long periods of inactivity.
So far, so good. But Martin LaMonica of CNET rightfully points out that these measures only go so far - the rest is up to users. New product launches put techies on an Sisyphean quest for the newest gadget, but that means a constant cycle of replacing still-working technology. And what happens to those old netbooks that will be discarded in favor of an iPad? Chances are, they won't be recycled properly, and will sit in a drawer or box somewhere for a decade before ending up in a landfill. There, they'll leach toxic chemicals into groundwater. Though the iPad may contain fewer harmful chemicals, the device's longevity matters: the more often it has to be replaced, the more resources it will consume.
The iPad's iBooks application puts it in direct competition with e-readers like the Kindle and Nook. E-readers cut down on the amount of resources used in book production, offsetting the gadget's own emissions after one year of use, according to a study by the Cleantech Group. Recycling rates for paper are much higher than they are for electronics, though. But the iPad is more than just an e-reader, so it would presumably displace the purchase of additional mobile gaming, music and video devices, as well as books.
Of course, none of this matters to the most die-hard Apple fans, who are clamoring to get their hands on an iPad, green or not. If you're one of them, and have an old computer that you'll subsequently retire, here's how you can recycle it responsibly - and some earn some cash for it, too.
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Sustainable Seafood Restaurant Guide Takes on Michelin
Continue reading… 0 CommentsYou wouldn't eat a panda burger. If you saw rhino nuggets on a menu, you'd probably be appalled. But many fine-dining restaurants serve up endangered and threatened species, and you may have even eaten one without knowing it. It's not steakhouses or bistros flaunting their lack of environmental ethics, but rather, seafood and sushi restaurants. There, you'll find critically endangered species of tuna, eel and other fish on the menu - and that's what one British journalist is trying to change.
Charles Clover, a reporter for the Telegraph, is the author of The End of the Line, a book that details our bleak future if we continue to overfish our oceans. Many of the fish we eat today are on the verge of total collapse - some are already there - and experts in predict that if we do not modify our fishing practices, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048. A documentary based on Clover's book made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival last year featuring scientists, fisherman and industry whistleblowers. It also featured Clover's lengthy quest to talk to the restaurateurs of upscale sushi chain Nobu about the endangered bluefin tuna they serve at their restaurants worldwide.
A year later, Clover has launched Fish2Fork, a sustainable seafood dining guide that rates restaurants not just on their food, but on the environmental ethics of their menus. Clover has ranked a limited sample of top seafood restaurants in the U.S. and the U.K. on factors that include the species and sourcing of their food, their transparency, and their sustainability policy, or lack thereof. Restaurants were rated on a scale of red and blue fish, with five blue fish representing the highest score, and five red fish representing the worst score.
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What's Green at the Consumer Electronics Show This Year
Continue reading… 4 CommentsLast year, green bloggers seemed excited that the Consumer Electronics Show was trying to be more environmentally-friendly. It appears that their tone for 2010 has changed. Treehugger titled a post "Consumer Electronics Show 2010: A Steaming Pile of Hypocrisy?" On the Huffington Post, blogger Robert J. Elis noted that the press room was no longer giving out notebooks to save paper. "This is the Consumer ELECTRONICS Show -- the place is loaded with ELECTRONICS. Everywhere. You're bombarded by ELECTRONICS. Electricity, batteries, flashing lights, electronics, electronics, electronics are coming out of every year. And they're "going green" by eliminating paper?? I don't think so."
He certainly has a point. But there's plenty of green to go around at CES, from the innovative to the ire-inducing greenwashing. A few highlights:- Pay more attention to Nokia products when you're looking for a green gadget. According to Greenpeace, Nokia ranks the highest in their Guide to Greener Electronics, ahead of the pack for their elimination of many toxic chemicals in products, despite a weak recycling record. Greenpeace ranked Nintendo and Microsoft at the bottom.
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Home, Sweet Home Office
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday about the numerous benefits of working from home, which I'll reiterate here: saving money on transportation, having a more relaxed work environment with flexible hours, getting a tax-write off, and working in your pajamas, of course. But they neglected to mention that working from home is good for the environment, as well.
It's something that I discussed with Christine Esposito, president of Terracom Public Relations, for an article about saving money by going green in our upcoming personal finance magazine issue. Christine moved her business into her home, and estimates that she saves several thousand dollars a year as a result. She no longer has to worry about a commute in Chicago's snowy winters. She saves money on gas, and has shrunk her carbon footprint. She's found the practice to be especially good for her green PR firm.
"If you're a green business in particular, it not only saves you money but supports your green brand," said Esposito. "It's one way to walk your green talk." Esposito said that working from home can feel isolated at times, but loving the space that she's created for her office—which is on a separate floor from the living space in her home—and the time and money she saves makes it all worthwhile.
You don't have to be an entrepreneur to work from home and reap financial and environmental benefits. It's easy to stay connected to your office through conference calls, webcams, and frequent email check-ins. If you have a traditional office job and are worried about losing touch with your office, you might consider asking you boss for permission to work from home only one or two days a week. If you're an entrepreneur, or self-employed, and worried about the price of outfitting your home with expensive equipment, consider coworking, an office-sharing arrangement.
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10 Things You Should Know About the Household Product Labeling Acts
Continue reading… 0 CommentsWhat, exactly, is in your household cleaning products—and is it harmful for you and your family? Two recent bills aim to make the labeling of household products clearer and safer for families. Here's what you should know:
1. To sum it all up: "Each covered product introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce shall bear a label that states completely, accurately, and legibly all of the ingredients of such product."
2. Introduced over the summer, the Senate bill is the second by Sen. Al Franken. Said Franken:
"How many times have you heard on the news or read in the paper about a new drug or chemical that has been recently linked to health or environmental hazards? It happens all the time. An ingredient that a company claims is 'perfectly safe' today could be reclassified as 'dangerous' tomorrow. And an ingredient that is safe for most people could be a major irritant for a child with asthma. Eventually, I hope that manufacturers will take pre-emptive action and eliminate potentially harmful chemicals from their products. In the meantime, this legislation is a common sense step in the right direction."
3. The House bill has been introduced by Rep. Steve Israel, who said in a statement:
"Like big tobacco, the big chemical industry in American has gotten away with too much for too long. They’ve deprived us of basic information about the chemicals being used in our homes and workplaces, some of which are downright dangerous. The people who are the most at risk are the ones who spend all day with these chemicals at work and we can’t let big chemical take advantage of them anymore."
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7 More Ways to Save Money and Go Green This Thanksgiving
Continue reading… 3 CommentsIt's time, once again, for Americans to give thanks and enjoy a bountiful meal. It's also a day to watch what you eat—and not just in regards to your waistline. The year 2009 was notable for an emphasis on greener, more sustainable eating, from the White House garden to the movie Food, Inc. Last Thanksgiving, I wrote about saving money, starting traditions, decoding turkey labels and defending your vegetarianism. Here are seven more money-saving tips for a green Thanksgiving.
[Slide Show: 10 Money-Saving Green Thanksgiving Tips.]
1. Use a slow-cooker. Fall is the season for slow-simmered soups, so there's no better time to bust out the Crock Pot. As an added bonus, the slow-cooker is one of the most energy-efficient devices in the kitchen. According to Planet Green: "When compared to a conventional oven which uses 2.7 pounds of CO2 for one hour of use, a slow cooker uses .9 pounds of CO2 for seven hours of use." The Daily Green offers some slow-cooker Thanksgiving recipes here.
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The Safest Cities for Walking to Work
Continue reading… 0 CommentsEarlier this week, my colleague Matt Bandyk listed the 15 best cities for people who crave shorter commutes and less time in the car. And while, to most people, that means hopping on a train, bike, or bus, Matt was good enough to highlight arguably the most difficult of those options: walking. In many of the communities highlighted, residents get themselves to work in less than 20 minutes via the lowest-impact method of all: their own two feet. But they are a rarity. Our communities have been designed for cars, not pedestrians, so in many places, it's all but impossible to walk safely to work.
Transportation for America has issued a report on the safety and walkability of America's biggest cities, and some of their findings are cringe-worthy. In the past 15 years, more than 76,000 American pedestrians have been struck and killed on our roadways. Children, the elderly, and minorities are disproportionately affected. Transportation for America has developed a Pedestrian Danger Index that accounts for the pedestrian fatality rate of a metropolitan area weighted by the amount of residents who walk to work, since cities wth more pedestrians are likely to have higher fatality rates. The more pedestrian commuters in a city, the safer is it likely to be for them. Therefore, the cities with the fewest pedestrians and the highest fatality rates are considered the most deadly for these commuters. -
Sharing is Green (And Good for Your Wallet)
Continue reading… 7 CommentsIt's one of the first things you're taught in preschool: Sharing is caring. Be nice. A recent crop of sharing websites has proven that sharing is nice for the planet, too—not to mention our wallets. Think about it: Each website that hooks you up with a loaner dress, car, or tool will save you cash, eliminate needless purchases, and reduce waste. Check out these sites that help facilitate sharing.
Transportation: Zipcar is old news. For urbanites in Washington, D.C. (and soon, Boston), bike sharing is the new way residents are getting from point A to point B cheaply and healthily. Like car sharing, anyone can pay for a membership and can pick up bikes at depots scattered throughout a city—Washington's year-old system has more than 10 ports. Bike sharing is picking up speed: D.C.'s program is receiving extra funding for more stations and bikes, and unlike European bike-shares, the system has had few incidents of theft or vandalism.Office space: Small business owners or solo entrepreneurs need not toil away in solitude from a home office. The practice of coworking allows individuals and small businesses to share office space, and with it, resources like copiers and printers. Many who cowork love the collaborative aspect of it—sharing space, and also ideas. EcoSalon recommends this site as a resource for finding a coworking space near you.
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The Green War on Pets
Continue reading… 10 CommentsPeople who care about the environment are often people who also care about animals—the kind of folks who take in stray cats and adopt shelter dogs, driving them home in a Prius. But over the past month, the tide of green opinions seems to have turned against those sweet-faced puppies and kittens, which some environmentalists view as a waste of precious resources. Instead of having a pet, you may as well get an SUV.
Much of the impetus for this anti-pet sentiment comes from Robert and Brenda Vale, scientists and authors of “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living.” In it, the Vales argue that cats and dogs consume resources, devastate wildlife populations, and contribute to pollution and the spread of disease. Thanks to their calculations, we get this graphic from New Scientist, which displays the footprints (pawprints?) of hamsters, cats, large and medium-sized dogs, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and a Volkswagen Golf. As you can imagine, you're better off seeking companionship with rodents, based on the amount of resources they consume. Cats are second best, but owning either of the vehicles is better than having a dog—mostly for the amount of meat they consume. Also unnerving is this chart from Wired, which displays the amount of land required to produce food for all of the pets in America, versus land needed for enough solar panels to power the whole country. Turns out, feeding Fido takes up 17 times more land than meeting our entire electricity demand.
