The Earth Tub

Question: What are some ways that hotels who produce large volumes of food sraps minimize wastes? Currently all food scraps are thrown into a large commercial compactor bin. Any ideas…

U.S. National Bird: image courtesy of Ackerlund's Guide ServiceYesterday, June 28, 2007 the Interior Department took the American Bald Eagle off the Endangered Species List. After 40 years of…

By Ecotality blogger Doug Snodgrass.  Originally published on June 28, 2007. 

Are you doing something about climate change? Perhaps the scope of your project is Live Earth-massive, or there’s a…

Here at the Tällberg Forum, both daylight and heady discussion about sustainability and global understanding seem to go on around the clock, but the show-stealer so far was the panel on climate change. “Rogue” NASA scientist James Hansen lead the panel off with a grim pronouncement, saying that there looms a “huge gap” between what is understood (by scientists) about global warming and what is known by the public. In short, Hansen says, the climate crisis is a far more dire and present danger than most of us like to think. “We are closer to a level of dangerous, human-made interference with the climate than we realize. … We are about to leave the Holocene” Hansen is particularly concerned about the timeframe within which we must act. There is increasing evidence that we are rapidly approaching a series of climate tipping points, where feedback loops in the environment (the march of forests pole-wards and melting glaciers and sea ice, meaning the Earth’s darkening surface retains more of the sun’s heat; melting tundra releasing increasing amounts of methane as it thaws; etc.) began to contribute to a galloping greenhouse effect brought on by our actions. (For a particularly elegant discussion of… (more)

(Posted by Alex Steffen in Climate Change at 3:16 AM)

Prince Charles has cut his global warming emissions by 9 percent in the past year, according to an annual review (printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink) of the prince’s accounts. Charles…

Cheers! Have a refreshing sip of an organic beer. Except it's not organic, but it says it's organic. But it's not. What?

The USDA, which certifies organic products, announced a…

In my 15+ years of animal and vegetarian/vegan advocacy, I have answered countless questions – some smart, some thoughtful, some antagonistic, some ridiculous, and some over and over and over. Some…

The Sea Change Strategies blog recently posted about the Tyranny of Big Lists and how too many non profits are attempting to communicate with very large lists, yet getting a very small response or open rate.

The metaphor they pose about sharing your thoughts on a movie with the whole theater versus just your close companions is especially compelling.

It made me think about how non profits really need to think about targeting their audience. Sending to a list of thousands or even hundreds is not always effective, especially with the decline in open rates and the increase in spam filters. We need to take more time and cultivate our media lists, making sure we are reaching the right people. And that may only need to be a few people, not hundreds.

Green Media Toolshed has a Target Your Audience top ten that is helpful, along with tips on Building a Targeted Media List.

The next time you rush through sending out your press release, take a minute to look over your list, think about its size, and whether the contacts on the list are ones who will truly want to hear from you or cover your issues. You may realize you need to refine the list and make it more targeted.

-Yvonne Archer

I've been a doubter of fuel cell technology for a very long time. Commercialization has always seemed just "over the next hill" with promises of "we're almost there"…

Researchers at Rice University claim they've discovered a way to make ethanol from the waste glycerol (syn: glycerin) produced in biodiesel manufacturing. If true, it could be the biggest…