Ants show us how to make super-highways
Turkey poop will power electric plant
Call for ‘green collar’ workers
Farming Out Global Warming Solutions
Transition Targets for the Dynamic City
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(Posted by David Zaks in News and Views at 4:47 PM)
by Worldchanging New York local blogger Starre Vartan Terrarium light fixtures, a chair of ribbons of HDPE recycled plastic, gorgeous oversize flowers crafted from wool blanket scraps, and a chair seat made from seatbelts exemplified Brooklyn-based eco-designer Matt Gagnon’s comment, “Green design is good design.” Gagnon was one of four panelists at Reclaiming Design, a discussion event held on Sunday evening that was part of Haute GREEN 2007. After having a chance to check out all the amazing creations (most of which were recognizable as great modern design first, and sustainable or recycled second) moderators Jill Fehrenbacher and Emily Pilloton of Inhabitat kicked off the conversation. [Jill’s also a contributor to Worldchanging.com. — Ed.] Tejo Remy of iconic Dutch design group Droog, Carlos Salgado, furniture designer for Scrapile, and Sam Grawe, Editor of Dwell Magazine joined Gagnon on the panel. Salgado of Scrapile introduced his repurposed wood creations, in which raw material is recovered from the dumpsters of woodworking shops and construction sites, by highlighting some of the differences between traditional designs and those that are made from recycled materials: “Most designers think of the concept first, but we have to look at the material first and design around that… (more)
(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Sustainable Design at 1:07 PM)
by Worldchanging Los Angeles local blogger Jennifer Murphy Last week we adopted two more chickens from Path to Freedom. We’ve had backyard chickens for almost three years now. It’s been a rewarding experience. They are easy, entertaining and inexpensive to keep. Like home-grown vegetables, home-raised chickens connect our family to the cycles of the earth, make us more self-sufficient, and provide delicious healthy eggs for the table. As homeschoolers, we’ve found many learning opportunities arising from these feathery friends running around the yard. We got our original chickens from Path to Freedom too. Those two were in need of a home after being raised by the school next door as a science project. Now the Dervaes are hatching and raising chicks themselves to sell as part of their Peddler’s Wagon. Our new girls came from the first batch they raised successfully. Twenty-three people have ordered chickens since February. Jordanne Dervaes says by the time she’s done this year, she will have raised about 140 birds. Their blog journal has kept us abreast of their progress, from egg to pullet, including a couple of rocky spots along the way. Jordanne has a special knack with animals and she does a lot… (more)
(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Food and Farming at 1:12 PM)
Well, we all heard about those pesky whales that got stuck in the Sacramento River, right? Well, Captain Killmore, created by Mark Fiore has a novel way of getting back whales “where they belong… on the end of a harpoon!”. Also, meet Captain K’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd mates – Japanese “scientific” whalers, and that “quiet lot” – Iceland and Norway. Then there’s the “countries of the night” – countries like Laos (which has no coastline!) that has recently signed up to support Japan’s push for a return to full-blown commercial whaling. (Check out the Laos t-shirt in the movie), and of course, the US Navy and their wonderful underwater weapons…
Fantastic work from Mr. Fiore. Grim, yet amusing…
Volvo has introduced a nifty little ‘game‘ on their website who’s purpose it is to educate us mere mortals about which fuel types emit the most CO2. First you pick which fuel types you want to know the stats on. When you click ‘Start,’ it shows each car with its specified fuel type run around a maze (with authentic traffic noise in the background – ooohh… ahhh…). Each car stops when it has discharged 10 kg of carbon dioxide. What’s interesting about the calculation is that it includes not only the CO2 discharged when the fuel is combusted in the engine, but also the CO2 produced in the extraction, production and distribution of the fuel. I won’t spoil it for you, so see if you can guess which one wins.
After the ‘course’ is run, you see the results of the different fuel types of the cars you’ve chosen, or you can look at the results from all of them. After that, for an “In-depth analysis,” it will show you the CO2 produced specifically in “Well to Tank” and “Tank To Wheel” phases of the fuel’s life cycle.
Making learning this information fun is one of the key steps to global awareness necessitating change. Props to Volvo for taking the initiative (but don’t think we didn’t notice that those cars are S80s). Click “Which way is the future?” for a nice little P.S.A.
[Source: Volvo, Thanks for the tip, Sarah T.]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
by Worldchanging New York local blogger Amy Shaw: This summer the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum is featuring an ambitious and refreshingly different kind of design exhibition: Design for the Other 90%. The show features ingenious yet low-cost functional objects that, according to the museum, highlight “the growing trend among designers to develop solutions that address basic needs for the vast majority of the world’s population not traditionally serviced by professional designers.” Well arranged in the museum’s magnificent garden, Design for the Other 90% treats the viewer to one good idea after another, in the form of solar-powered portable LED lights, devices that store rainwater for irrigation, and insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria (shown at the bottom). Many of these products are already in use in dozens of countries around the world, including the United States. I found a few products especially useful, economical, and well built. The LifeStraw, shown here, is a portable water-purification tool that one drinks through to turn any still water into drinkable water. The Q Drum, designed to make it easier for people in drought-prone areas to carry water over distances, is a wide donut-shaped container with a rope strung through so that the… (more)
(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Sustainable Design at 1:04 PM)
by Worldchanging New York local blogger Amy Shaw: This summer the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum is featuring an ambitious and refreshingly different kind of design exhibition: Design for the Other 90%. The show features ingenious yet low-cost functional objects that, according to the museum, highlight “the growing trend among designers to develop solutions that address basic needs for the vast majority of the world’s population not traditionally serviced by professional designers.” Well arranged in the museum’s magnificent garden, Design for the Other 90% treats the viewer to one good idea after another, in the form of solar-powered portable LED lights, devices that store rainwater for irrigation, and insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria (shown at the bottom). Many of these products are already in use in dozens of countries around the world, including the United States. I found a few products especially useful, economical, and well built. The LifeStraw, shown here, is a portable water-purification tool that one drinks through to turn any still water into drinkable water. The Q Drum, designed to make it easier for people in drought-prone areas to carry water over distances, is a wide donut-shaped container with a rope strung through so that the… (more)
(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Sustainable Design at 1:04 PM)
by Worldchanging Seattle local blogger Deepak Singh: Imagine a home that combines sustainability with no utility bills. The city of Issaquah plans to build a community of such “zero energy” by 2009. The current plan calls for ten homes to form King County’s first community of solar powered abodes that would, in theory, produce as much energy as they consume. It is safe to say that homes in the U.S.—and anywhere else for that matter— consume a lot of energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), residences contribute to 21% of all carbon dioxide emissions, a number significantly higher than some might expect. As many are already aware, there are severeal ways to reduce energy consumption in homes, not least by turning off unused appliances as covered in this post on shutting down computers. Even with the kind of design planned for the Issaquah community, reaching an “energy neutral” state will take significant discipline from the home owners. Regardless, this is another step in the continuing effort to develop sustainable living standards and to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The homes are part of a DOE program encouraging zero-energy home construction. The project called “Building America” has… (more)
(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 12:58 PM)
A user pointed out this popular media account of a recent Science journal article that finds “the world is now on track to experience more catastrophic damages from climate change than in the worst-case scenario forecast by international experts”. The research found that between 2000 and 2004 global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels increased by three times greater than in the 1990s. The person that forwarded this to me pointed out that “we are beyond A1F1 which with carbon feedbacks [search] means we on track for over +8 degrees C in warming… Over 5.5 degrees C, at this rate of global change, would by best guess be limit of survival for humanity… Coupled with the recent news on the Antarctic Ocean means that IPCC 4 is hopelessly out dated now.” The accumulation of recent science beyond the pondering, politicalized IPCC process would seem to indicate that we have entered a period of abrupt, perhaps run-away climate change that will have severe consequences for the Earth’s future habitability. Most scientists are too cautious to make such predictions — indeed the traditional scientific method seems ill-prepared to counter a once off planetary emergency that threatens the survival of existence. It is well past time for drastic measures if we are to have any chance of fighting global heating and winning. I am dismayed by the helter-skelter of schemes and projects that seek to profit from the situation without offering a vision of what must be done to survive.
Filed under: MPG, BMW, Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen, Legislation and Policy
In an effort to sway consumer’s minds when it comes to the types of vehicles they purchase and the regulations concerning fuel mileage of those vehicles, a consortium of automakers is running radio and print advertising in some states. The group, Auto Alliance, consists of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Porsche, and is known officially as The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Their mission: “The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers represents the common interests of its members and provides a forum to enable them to advance public policies that meet consumer and societal needs for clean, safe, efficient, and affordable personal transportation. ”
Although claiming that “we need a balanced approach that avoids harm to Americans dependent on larger cars and light trucks,” according to Gloria Bergquist, the group is not really taking a balanced approach in the states the ads will be heard and shown in. According to this article, “the alliance said it would spend “way north” of $1 million on the ads to be run in Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all states with high percentages of truck and SUV owners.”
The ads are said to be targeted towards truck owners and mothers who drive larger vehicles and are concerned with safety. The idea is that fuel mileage regulations would make it more difficult for consumers to purchase heavy duty, work capable pickups and for mothers to find safe vehicles.
Click here for ad one (.mp3). Click here for ad two (.mp3).
Grassroots efforts are also said to be in effect to contact retirees from the large automakers with similar information. At this time, automakers are under regulations that were created in 1975 to regulate fuel economy. So, all of you consumers out there, what do you think?
[Source: Detroit News]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.