Image Credit: Rolling StoneRolling Stone joins about every other magazine on the planet (score!) by publishing an environmental issue, specifically, a "special report on climate crisis". …

Two weeks ago, I lost one of my favorite socks while moving to a new apartment. I'd feel pretty silly about having just a pair of sock being shipped across the country so I kept putting it off….

Usually, when I think of Beverly Hills, I don’t think “green”. Rodeo Drive? Yes. Mansions with manicured lawns? Yes. Brenda, Brandon, and the rest of the 90210 gang? Unfortunately, yes. But none of…

From the Sacramento Bee:

The city plans eventually to have at least 51 percent of its electricity supplied by renewable sources of energy — compared to about 13 percent for PG&E today. Those new sources could include a wind farm in Solano County, geothermal power from the desert, solar panels in the city’s sunny southeast section and even wave power supplied by the Pacific Ocean.

A much more aggressive energy efficiency program would also play a role.

City officials and analysts believe that San Francisco can dramatically boost its use of renewable energy and still get its power for less than residents are paying now. One big reason: municipal bonds. The city can borrow money with low, tax-free interest rates not available to the private utilities.

That cheap money might be able to jumpstart renewable energy projects that otherwise would never get off the ground. Most such projects have high upfront costs and then fairly minimal costs to operate.

This is a plan Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and other groups have been pushing for a while. It’s called “Community Choice Aggregation”.

This one kind of slipped by me, but Greenpeace UK did a cool thing a couple days ago. The set up booths at airports and gave away free train tickets.

Over the past hour or so, impromptu ticket exchange booths have been appearing in airports across the UK.

Greenpeace volunteers (fetchingly dressed as stewards and stewardesses – pics here) have been offering BA passengers checking into domestic flights climate-friendly train tickets.

It’s not just because we’re generous souls – it’s also because flying causes 10 times more damage to the climate than taking the train. And it’s responsible for 13 per cent of the UK’s impact on the climate (that’s the government’s own figures).

Continue reading Air travel and climate change…

The Fair Trade label and its many derivatives and relatives have become familiar to consumers in the last few years as awareness of the backstory behind products drives demand for increased transparency. We want to know that the people who produced our goods did so in just and equitable circumstances, and without harming the natural environment or exploiting local resources. These certifications offer values-based consumers the assurance they seek. But the farmers and producers (almost all in the developing world) who send their goods to us with fair trade labels represent only a portion of the number of farmers and producers wanting to join the network of international trade in fair and environmentally-responsible goods. In order to be a part of that chain, though, they have to have sufficient financial stability to create the relationships with international traders that position them for success. If they can’t obtain the financial leverage to prove to trade partners that they’re a safe bet, they struggle endlessly to profit from choosing more sustainable production practices, while on the other hand, if they can’t convince lenders to finance their enterprises, they can never get in the door with the trade partners. Ultimately they may revert… (more)

(Posted by Sarah Rich in Socially Responsible Investment at 3:49 PM)

Bats might not be the first wild creatures that come to mind when you think of species threatened by urban growth, but in London, declining bat biodiversity has captured the interest and concern of one artist and several institutions who together have launched a competition to design a bat house. Artist Jeremy Deller produces socially and politically-charged work primarily focused on the UK, but it was in Texas, while filming a documentary in 2003 (for which he won the Turner Prize in 2004), where he found his love of bats and established an ongoing commitment to their protection. He came back to the UK with a plan to create a public sculpture that could also house displaced bats. Soon the idea grew and became a collaborative national project. In partnership with the Bat Conservation Trust, the Arts Council of England, the RSA’s Arts and Ecology program, and London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, The Bat House Project launched a series of design challenges and a competition to collaboratively design a new house for London bats. The Project highlights the potential for architects, builders, home-owners and conservationists to work together to produce wildlife-friendly building design. It connects the worlds of art and ecology… (more)

(Posted by Sarah Rich in Biodiversity and Ecosystems at 11:07 AM)

Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, tells the story of how she and her family lived for a year eating only food they grew themselves or that they purchased from local…