It didn't take too much browsing through on StumbleUpon to find some great green links to share. If you are new to StumbleUpon and would like to read a quick post about how I use it to find great green links, you can read Finding New Sites on the Green Web with StumbleUpon. Enjoy!
• So Why Is Gas So Damn Expensive?
Well, actually its not. One gallon of gas does the work of one adult male working for six weeks (pretty cheap for the cost of $3) but for the purpose of this publication I'll be discussing the recent price rise relative to the historic price of gasoline.
During the Christmas shopping season of 2001, Americans were paying, on average, just a few pennies over 1 dollar for each gallon of gasoline they used to cruise from the shopping malls to their office parties. Today the cost of our favorite fuel has soared to an historic height above any previous price, $3.22/gallon as I type. The now-broken record of $3.15 (adjusted for inflation) was set back in March of 1981, six months into the Iran/Iraq War. And we saw really high prices again in the autumn of 2005, after Hurricane Katrina beat up on the Gulf Coast and a large amount of our oil infrastructure concentrate in that part of the country. But this time there has been no new supporting crisis.
• 70% Of Americans Don't Know Plastic Is Made With Oil
According to a recent nationwide online survey, 72 percent of the American public does not know that conventional plastic is made from petroleum products, primarily oil. Moreover, 40 percent of the respondents believe that plastic will biodegrade at some point. The survey was conducted by InsightExpress on behalf of Metabolix, a company that manufactures a biodegradable plastic made with corn. (Bioplastics are becoming quite popular these days — you can read more about them here). In their press release, Metabolix says "…Very few people realize that plastics are made from oil, further contributing to the problems of energy dependence, greenhouse gas emissions and depleting resources. In fact, nearly 10 percent of U.S. oil consumption – approximately 2 million barrels a day – is used to make plastic.
• Algae Biodiesel May Soon Be Reality
The biodiesel community has always been marked by spirited enthusiasm, a clear sense of mission, and the dream that biodiesel could one day play a significant role in our energy future. That dream may soon be a reality. Researchers at Utah State University say that farming algae, with reported oil yields of 10,000 gallons per acre, could become an economically feasible biodiesel feedstock by the end of the decade.
This is the Holy Grail of biodiesel: an oil source that could make a serious dent in our fossil fuel consumption. Our most productive feedstock today, the oil palm, doesn't even come close with yields of 635 gallons/acre, and is followed distantly by the U.S. standard, soy, at 48 gallons of oil/acre.
• Paris Embraces Plan to Become City of Bikes
PARIS, March 23 — Paris is for lovers — lovers of food and art and wine, lovers of the romantic sort and, starting this summer, lovers of bicycles.
On July 15, the day after Bastille Day, Parisians will wake up to discover thousands of low-cost rental bikes at hundreds of high-tech bicycle stations scattered throughout the city, an ambitious program to cut traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking and enhance the city's image as a greener, quieter, more relaxed place.
By the end of the year, organizers and city officials say, there should be 20,600 bikes at 1,450 stations — or about one station every 250 yards across the entire city. Based on experience elsewhere — particularly in Lyon, France's third-largest city, which launched a similar system two years ago — regular users of the bikes will ride them almost for free.
• Little Organic Gardeners Need Little Tools
Gardening season is in full swing, and my children love to be in the garden. One thing I have found vital to their gardening participation is appropriately sized garden tools. Magic Cabin offers Little Gardener Tools. Both a small and large set are offered priced at $21.95 and $27.95 respectively. The small set of Little Gardener Tools iconis on backorder until June 4, but the large set is currently available. The Little Gardener Tools are real tools designed for real work! Here is the description from Magic Cabin:
Budding farmers can dig right in with these pint-size, perfectly proportioned garden tools that are made for real work, with hardwood handles and enameled metal implements.
• Sign DeSmog's petition to throw the Junk Science off Fox News
Yesterday we reported that News Corp. CEO and Fox News owner, Rupert Murdoch announced that his company would join the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Murdoch stated: "Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction…"
The first thing Murdoch and News Corp. can do to show that they are truly committed to fighting global warming is ending its reporting of misinformation about the science behind global warming on the Fox News Channel.
And the best thing you can do to help make this happen is by signing DeSmogBlog's online petition (click link) and then send it to all of your friends and have them sign it as well. Ask them to forward it on to their friends.
Steve Milloy (aka. "The Junkman") is a regular Fox News columnist and tireless campaigner in the war against climate science. A quick read of Milloy's website and you will find the usual laundry list of scientific claims that have long been dismissed by the scientific community — the experts in the field of climate science.
• Australian cities facing 'Big Dry' water shortages
SYDNEY (AFP) – Drought-stricken Australia faces the world's most extreme climate change challenge as millions of city dwellers try to cope with water shortages, according to the country's most recognised scientist.
The government has already made the unprecedented declaration that farmers will receive no irrigation water from July in Australia's most fertile region if the country's worst drought in a century continues.
Water restrictions have been imposed across the vast island continent and scientist Tim Flannery, named the 2007 Australian of the year for his pioneering environmental work, says the problem will only get worse.
• Agami Creative
Agami Creative is a small web design studio that specializes in “green” and socially responsible projects. We also love working with small-to-medium sizes businesses of any industry. Our services include web design and consulting, email marketing, and more.
• Organic Bees Are Thriving
Over the past few weeks we have highlighted reports that suggest bee populations are declining at rates of up to 80% in areas of the U.S. and Europe. Experts are calling the worrying trend "colony collapse disorder" or CCD.
While no one can pin point the exact reason as to why bees are declining so rapidly it is interesting to note that no organic bee keepers are reporting losses.
Remember to drop thumbs up on the links above if you like 'em. Visitors and new members are always welcome at our Green Options and Green Stumblers StumbleUpon Groups.
Happy Stumbling!
The model of sustainable design for urban residential buildings increasingly emphasizes not only energy efficiency and intelligent use of materials, but also social interaction and a sense of community. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes criteria actually include community-related considerations towards the top of their 8-point rating system, highlighting the importance of looking first to the context and density potential of a site before beginning to build. As cities grow, of course, there will be little choice but to pack into more closely-knit dwellings. Some future-focused designers have been considering how to accomplish this task in architecture while preserving exposure to greenery and creating a sense of non-claustrophobic interaction. We’ve seen it in Denmark and now a new project emerges out of Seoul, Korea. Seoul Commune 2026 was conceived by Seoul firm, Mass Studies, which investigates “architecture in the market-oriented context of mass production and intensely over-populated urban conditions.” The project riffs off of the “towers in the park” typology utilized in a number of large Asian cities, which sets highrise apartment towers in an expanse of green space, creating openness to offset the compact privacy of the residences. But Mass Studies feel that this model is… (more)
The partnership between GM and the Governor’s Ethanol Coalition has been in effect since 2005, and has now been extended to at least finish out 2007. Towards that end, GM has loaned an E85 Chevy Tahoe to Lt. Governor Becky Skillman of Indiana. This is one of 13 states so far that GM has partnered with to promote E85 as the renewable resource solution to our oil dependency.
