February 2009
45 posts
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"It's Time for Cities to Favor People, Not Cars" →
That was the message transportation planner Timothy Papandreou brought to “Expanding the Vision of Sustainable Mobility,” a symposium sponsored by the Art Center College of Design. The school could be called the Harvard of transportation design, and two-day conference drew experts in fields as varied as urban planning and aerospace engineering to discuss where the future of mobility...
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Eat pasta / help save the planet
The renowned food scientist Harold McKee wondered whether we need to cook pasta in so much water. Not as superfluous a concern as it may seem — after all, heat is energy. So he did some experiments…
I’ve found that we can indeed make pasta in just a few cups of water and save a good deal of energy. Not that much in your kitchen or mine — just the amount needed to keep a burner on...
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"It begins with energy" →
From President Obama’s address to the nation last night:
It begins with energy.
We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century. And yet, it is China that has launched the largest effort in history to make their economy energy efficient. We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing...
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TIME Magazine: Eat Your Greens →
When people ask about my nearly meatless diet, I say, “I’m doing an experiment in futuristic eating. Eventually we’re all going to have to eat this way. I figured I’d start now.”*
If you really want to go green, the conventional thinking goes, buy a hybrid. Practically speaking though, there is a faster and cheaper option: shift to a low-carbon diet. The meal plan...
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No Lunch Left Behind →
Alice Waters and Katrina Heron make the case for a “government bailout” of the National School Lunch Program, which costs the United States Department of Agriculture about $9 billion a year, offers meals packed with ingredients found in fast food, and, as a result, is threatening the health of our children, particurlarly those from low-income families.
How much would it cost to feed...
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International labor trains international policy...
Climate-L reports:
The International Training Centre (ITC) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) organized a pilot training under the umbrella of the Green Jobs initiative for about 20 policy makers from Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe, from 9-13 February 2009, at the UN Staff College in Turin, Italy.
The aim of the training was to provide participants with the...
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Reid, Clinton, Others To Discuss A 2009 Climate... →
The flippancy of Senator Reid’s language is jarring, but this is encouraging news…
WASHINGTON — Saying it’s time to “take a whack” at climate change, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he plans to push for Senate action on global warming by the end of summer.
The Nevada Democrat in an interview with The Associated Press said the Senate will take up energy...
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IS IT GREEN?: Designer Totes →
I’ve got a pack of eco-bags, including some custom-made just for me (with the 2050 logo!), but I recognize that many are not manufactured at the most sustainable standards. For example, Anya Hindmarch’s wildly popular “I Am Not A Plastic Bag” totes were made from conventional (non-organic) canvas, with cheap labor in China. Inhabitat rates other popular designer...
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“A 2007 study by the University of California, Davis and the US Forest Service...”
– SEED (via therealjanelle & mattlehrer)
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Yet another reason to loathe Republicans and some... →
Jan Adams writes:
One of the numerous advocacy outfits I support, the Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC), has just let me know that Republicans worked hard to keep any funding at all for walking and cycling out of the stimulus bill. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina offered an amendment (defeated) to prohibit such funding. Senator John Ensign of Nevada chimed in:
This is not a time to build...
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Obama Champions Efficiency in Stimulus →
This is of special concern to me — I run an internship program that puts CUNY students in building efficiency projects around NYC. Next year, I’d love for them to be a part of the President’s nationwide push for efficiency.
In a press conference yesterday, Obama said:
This is another concern that I’ve had in some of the arguments that I’m hearing. When people suggest that,...
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Coffee, Tea Or Carbon Credits? : NPR →
marc:
At a time when most airlines are skimping on basics like food and pillows, one carrier is going in a different direction. Rather than just offer peanuts or movies for purchase, Virgin America is selling environmentally conscious passengers the chance to fly guilt free. Virgin has become the first domestic airline to offer carbon credits in-flight.
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The White House welcomes back the labor and...
Every keynote speaker at the Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference alluded to the fact that finally after eight long years, the labor and environmental movements are no longer enemies of the President. It’s crazy to think that simply by acknowledging two of the most important political movements — movements that in every other democracy are kind of a big deal — President...
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2 tragedies, 1 glimmer of hope
In the Australian state of Victoria, at least 135 people have died and 750 homes have been destroyed in fires. It may not be the case that global warming is to blame for the fires (official suspect arson), but a hot and dry climate is certainly not helping.
Near Chicago, 65,000 gallons of oil sludge spilled from a holding tank at a Caterpillar facility and contaminated a 3-mile stretch of the...
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Environmental Views, Past and Present →
A comprehensive look on the environmental damage wrought by the Bush era, which begins with this understatement:
Mr. Bush was not known for his concern over the environment.
Hat tip to PWK.
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“Who are we in the final hour? What kind of species are we? Are we locusts? Or...”
– Van Jones
“What Winona was trying to say, in a nice way, was ‘I told you so.’”
– Van Jones. He added, “All of us come from tribal people. Your
great-great-grandmother was right.”
“You know this green economy? Well, we had it for about 30,000 years. No offense,...”
– Winona LaDuke
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“I’m sayin’ it here: the Teamsters were wrong to advocate for...”
– James Hoffa, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The coalition of labor and environmentalists is still tenuous (more a salad than a smoothie, despite what some presenters have said), but this statement was a welcome olive branch for some members of the Sierra Club,...
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Dark Days for Green Energy →
A conference attendee brought up this article in a session yesterday. The response from a policy wonk was that this is why tax incentives are not enough — the renewable energy sector needs direct grants to ride out the recession. Tax breaks are worthless without profits.
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“Let the blue-green-wonky alliance live on!”
– Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist for Vice President Biden
Minnesota Pride
Loving the representation from my home state at the Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference: Congressman Ellison from Minneapolis spoke yesterday, Senator Klobuchar is speaking today, Winona LaDuke of Honor the Earth is up tomorrow, and David Foster, ED of the Blue Green Alliance, who was born and bred in Mankato, is running the whole show.
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8,000 parts
In a wind turbine. Most of those parts are still not made in the US. “Those wind turbines can be made in America, and if we do this policy right, they will be made in America,” said Senator Stabenow of Michigan. “And by the way, one of our biggest competitors is Germany. Not exactly low-wage jobs. But what they have is a 21st century manufacturing strategy.”
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Smarter transport, please
Last year, the average American wasted $1,000 of gas and emitted thousands of pounds of carbon into the atmosphere because of clogged roads and highways.
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“I do not believe the labor movement is part of the problem. I believe it’s...”
– President Obama. It’s absurd that it’s gotten to the point where that statement, coming from him, is revolutionary.
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“The fact of the matter is, today there are more jobs in the renewable energy...”
– Achim Steiner, UN Environmental Program Executive Director.
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Roosevelt Rising
4 out of 5 of the morning’s speakers gave shout-outs to FDR.
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“This is the working class, progressive movement’s Davos. This is where we...”
– Leo Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers.
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If Global Warming is to Last 1,000 Years, Why Cut... →
A recent study found that given current greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, we’ll be feeling the effects of global warming for at least the next millennium.
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James Lovelock’s One Last Chance to Save Humanity... →
grapefruite:
Bury Massive Amounts of Charcoal to Sequester Carbon
(via Treehugger)