My friends at Sokwanele – an activist organization in Zimbabwe – sent me a card: The card commemorates the second anniversary of Operation Murambatsvina – which translates in Shona to “Operation Drive Out Trash”. The campaign, officially known as “Operation Restore Order” was designed to “reclaim” slum areas throughout Zimbabwe. The operations may have forced the relocation of as many as 2.4 million people, and were harshly condemned by the Zimbabwean opposition and the international community. Many people believe that the clearances were designed to punish slum dwellers from voting against Mugabe in the March 2005 parliamentary elections; others argue that they were designed to weaken the MDC opposition party, which had widespread support in these communities. I probably wouldn’t have thought about Murambatsvina today had I not gotten the card – unlike my friends at Sokwanele, I don’t have this week marked on my calendar. So in that narrow sense, the e-card was effective. And it’s got me thinking that eCards are an excellent, simple tool that campaigns – like the Free Monem or Free Kareem campaigns, for instance – might consider using to spread their messages. I expect eCards to be saccharine, sweet and sent by relatives I… (more)

(Posted by Ethan Zuckerman in Movement Building and Activism at 10:27 AM)

A growing culture of urban gardening in Singapore and other major cities in Asia may hold the key to reducing city temperatures, Reuters reports. Apartment dwellers who tire of endless rows of concrete buildings have resorted to planting vegetables in boxes, trees in troughs, and even lawns on concrete yards. Gardeners boast of the visual aesthetics of the gardens, but the vegetation itself has the added benefit of blocking the sun’s rays and lowering temperatures through evapotranspiration, according to experts. The high-rise gardening movement started small but is growing, participants say. “I thought I was the only one—the only odd nut, the only crazy person interested in growing vegetables,” said Wilson Wong, a Singaporean who started a website where fellow urbanites can share advice and arrange nursery shopping trips and plant swaps. Furn Li, who transformed his concrete balcony into a garden featuring aquatic life, giant tropical ferns, and white pebbles, won Singapore’s first “apartment gardener of the year” award last year. And Hong Kong resident Arthur Van Langenberg has written the book Urban Gardening, documenting his lush urban garden that showcases hundreds of plants and several tree varieties. The government of Singapore is recognizing the importance of urban gardens… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Climate Change at 9:31 AM)

The practice of philanthropy wields influence far beyond the amount of money that foundations and individuals give away each year. Because a great number of the tasks most vital to building a better future demand investments whose return is measured in impact rather than dividends — tasks that would not be done correctly (or sometimes at all) if they needed to return a profit — smart philanthropy acts as a sort of yeast, catalyzing innovations that will pay off handsomely in future public benefits, from child welfare to ecosystem services. But much of the philanthropic work done today is less smart than it ought to be, and a whole host of new ideas is bubbling up which offer the possibility of real transformation in the field. One of the biggest changes is a dramatically increased demand for transparency in the ways foundations and donors track and reveal the impacts their giving has, why their gifts were made, and what they’ve learned from their failures. Shockingly enough, many philanthropists still treat their grantmaking and evaluation processes like business secrets, when they ought to be thinking about how to leverage the value of the new knowledge their money has purchased (in the… (more)

(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Philanthropy at 10:33 PM)

Filed under: Hybrid

Retail giant Wal-Mart has taken delivery of its (and the industry’s) first hybrid Class 8 big rig. The Peterbilt Model 386 Hybrid is the result of a partnership between Peterbuilt and Eaton, latter of which was tasked with developing the truck’s hybrid system. There are no surprises in how it works. Braking energy is recovered and stored in the batteries, which in turn power an electric generator/motor that’s used to supply added punch, increase range, and, in certain situations, allow the rig to operate on battery power alone. The batteries also supply power to the truck’s electrical and accessory systems, and the projected fuel cost savings to owners is around $9,000 annually based on the current price of diesel.

The Model 386 Hybrid will continue to be tested and evaluated while it serves in Wal-Mart’s truck fleet, helping Peterbilt refine the vehicle and its aerodynamics ahead of its full market launch, which is expected in 2009. Wal-Mart will likely be there, checkbook in hand, as increasing fleet efficiency by 25 percent is one of the planks inthe retailer’s new “Sustainability 360” platform.

[Source: The Pete Store via Wired.]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Lexus, Tesla Motors, AutoblogGreen Exclusive

Not all episodes of Sundance’s The Green programming block feature green vehicles, but when they do, they do. Tomorrow night (Tuesday, the 22nd), the Big Ideas for a Small Planet segment goes for a “Drive.” And it looks like fun.

“Drive” follows the same breezy pace as the other Big Ideas episodes (like the first one, “Fuel“), with cool people talking about cool cars and all saying that the world can certainly become a better place. It’s engaging and a good way to keep beating that “EVs are golf carts” stereotype (well, until we get to the NMG, anyway).

The four big ideas are as follows:

First, the electric sports car. This segment features – surprise, surprise – the Tesla Roadster. Man, that car is still so cool looking, even after seeing so many pictures and videos of over the last 10 months. Chelsea Sexton, of Plug In America, and David Friedman, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, give a condensed version of the last 100 years of the electric car and we also go on a visit to Tesla Motors. CEO Martin Eberhard introduces viewers to the car; and we tag along on a short ride and drive for people who’ve agreed to buy a Roadster. Phil, who I’m pretty sure is the same Tesla employee who drove me in the Roadster prototype last summer, takes some advance purchasers for a spin and we see “Who Killed the Electric Car?” director Chris Paine driving the Roadster. Scott Burns, the producer of An Inconvenient Truth, says the Roadster is the first car he’s ever purchased without taking it for a test drive.

The second idea is high performance hybrids, and here we get to go 100 mph down the AMCI test track in a Lexus hybrid with Paul Williamsen, National Manager of the Lexus College. Williamsen’s work is mostly training service technicians and he tells us that the LS 600h features a hydrocarbon absorber that holds onto hydrocarbon emissions until the catalytic converter is warm enough to process them. The Lexus hybrids aren’t solely designed to reduce emissions, but more to increase power without adding emissions.

Idea three is the electric commuter car, here embodied as the NMG, what used to be known as the Sparrow. Dana Myers, founder of Myers Motors, Myers says that the average American spends four hours a year at the gas station, so plugging your car into your garage outlet at night saves time as well as money. He gives the camera crew a quick tour of the factory, and we see the engineers experimenting with a polymer lithium ion battery option in the NMG. It’s not a 100 percent smooth, but they do get the tiny, three-wheeled NMG to zip with the new batteries. It sound like the NMG’s range with these batteries might be between 50-80 miles, according to Myers.

There’s more on the show, and a clip of the Tesla ride and drive after the break. Try not to be too jealous.

[Source: Sundance]

Idea four: electric conversion vehicles. Lowell Simmons, of Miramar High School, who teaches his students how to turn a gas car into one powered by batteries, is featured here. Simmons and his students are filmed at the Battery Beach Burnout, earlier this year. Like the “Fuel” episode, “Drive” ends with an alternative fuel competition, but this ones ends with our featured driver doing a bit better than before.

All in all, “Drive” isn’t going to inform regular AutoblogGreen readers of much. But it is cool to see these cars in motion, and it’s actually kind of inspiring to see 30 minutes of smarter driving advocates talking about their cars in one sitting. The show is paced and filmed like most modern cable shows, with a few nifty effects thrown in to the clips of people talking about this or that. The vehicles described by the big ideas here cover a range of prices ($90,000+ for the Roadster to $4,000-$6,000 for the electric conversion – which doesn’t include batteries, of course) and we don’t hear all that much about the on-the-road realities (limited range, etc.) but they’re certainly not presented as something only for cashed up greenies. Electric cars are the future, and people like these are going to help us figure out how to get there.

Thanks to Sundance for the preview disc.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: MPG, Honda, Nissan

Call me a mini-minimalist but I like basic cars. Of course, to me, “basic” means at least adequate performance, good fuel economy, good handling, good quality, safety and decent looks. If there is a choice between a fancy nameplate and an extra $10,000 in my pocket, give me basic any day. That is why I am really interested in the Fit and the Versa, and the way they are described in Popular Mechanics.

The Honda Fit 4 door wagon, as reported, would meet all my requirements. It does it with 109 HP. It is a quality build. It gets near-hybrid fuel economy (33.3 MPG) with a price tag under $16,000. That is about as much as some accessory packages on a Cadillac Escalader or a Ford Extortion.

The Nissan Versa is “2 box” design like the Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit. Drivers are raving about the interior space but are not so crazy about the engine: transmission combination. Hopefully Nissan will listen and make the proper adjustments. Right now, a Versa goes for just over $16,000 and has been averaging 28.3 MPG.

The “sacrifice” today’s American auto buyers can make to be green is to return to the size vehicle their parents bought in the 1970s. They can also opt for E85 vehicles or those that can burn biodiesel or hybrids. Most have been buying 3,000 lbs of transportation and another 2,000 lbs of image. Time to just buy the transportation. Hauling around 2,000 lbs of image costs a lot of money.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: Legislation and Policy

In order to evaluate the true impact of the fuels we use we need to know the well to wheel carbon output of the fuel. That means we need to look at all of the carbon emissions that go into producing, distributing and using the fuel. With a well-to -heel analysis, a locally produced algae biodiesel would probably be much cleaner than electricity produced at an older, coal-fired power plant.

The state of California wants to give their residents the opportunity to purchase low-carbon fuels so they will be publishing rankings of the full life cycle carbon emissions of various fuels. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to cut vehicle fuel carbon ten percent by 2020. Schwarzenegger’s plan would also allow for credits for companies selling low carbon fuels.

[Source: MSNBC]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Editor's note: This week, GNMParents writer Barb Lattin asks for your suggestions — how do you "green" your spouse?

Have you seen Ed Begley, Jr.'s show Living With Ed? If you missed it, it's a "reality" show that follows Ed and his wife, Rachelle Carson, as they go about their daily lives.

Why would following this couple around be interesting? Because Ed is "green" and Rachelle isn't.

I made sure to set it up in my Tivo because I didn't want to miss one episode. You see, their "green relationship" is mine and my husband's, only reversed. I thought that I'd glean some tips on how to make encourage my husband to be more friendly to the environment.

Dave and I have been together for more than 14 years and I feel I've scarcely made an impact on him. Despite all my efforts over the years, he continues to choose eco-unfriendly behaviors: he throws recyclables in the trash, he'll put a disposable diaper (used for away from home) on our son instead of cloth, and he keeps "the pedal to the metal", even if the light's red up ahead.

I am completely frustrated by his lack of interest in choosing the environmental option and don't know what to do about it. I've tried so many different ways to encourage his environmentalism:

• I've explained to him why it's important
• I've shown him how simple it is to make green choices
• I've shared statistics with him
• I've gotten angry with him
• I've told him he's disrespectful of me because he doesn't respect something about which I'm passionate

None of them seem to have made any impact.

I told Dave about the series and was surprised to find out he was interested in watching it with me. And although we both found the show quite funny, I soon regretted "letting" him watch it.

Not only did the series not give me any ideas on how to help my husband, it made my point even more arguable to him. While we were both laughing at the show, we were laughing at different things: Dave would laugh at "what" Rachelle was saying while I would laugh at the fact that she was saying it.

Ed also has the finances to live the kind of green lifestyle that I'd love to live, even if it is probably more extreme than I'd ever be. Dave saw Ed as a zealot, his lifestyle unrealistic – at least for us and most others. Still, a lot of what Ed said (to Rachelle or to the cameras) were reminiscent of things I've said to my husband.

What I just don't understand is why don't the points that make environmentalism important to me make it important to my husband?

Now my husband is in his 40's and I'm wondering: Is he too set in his ways? Can I have hope that we won't be having these discussions when he's in his 80's?

Or do I need to get over my frustration that he's just tolerating my green ways instead of embracing them himself? I've heard there will be a second season of Living With Ed. It's my hope that this time the show will highlight the "why's" of the choices Ed¹s making and be more educational, instead of it being a showcase of the back-and-forth between Ed and his wife about the choices around their house. Then I might finally get some ideas to use against with my husband.

Mr. Begley, care to share some tips with me?

Whether it's your driveway, your patio, deck or sidewalk, give it a sweep before turning on the hose. You'll save a lot of water, especially during those drought prone summer months.

A free-flowing garden hose can flow at over twelve gallons a minute! Cut down on the amount of water used by getting a water spraying nozzle. This will give you more control of the flow and use the H2O more efficiently. Seal up any leaky connections, and hose down surfaces less often and for less time.

And before you think about spraying at all – sweep first. This may eliminate the need for hosing all together, and will cut down the amount of water needed. Any old broom will do, but if you want to opt for an eco-friendly broom check out Sweep Dreams, available at 3R Living.

Amy says: I live in NYC and it is a daily ritual for shopkeepers and maintenance guys to hose down the sidewalk in front of their building instead of just giving it a little sweep. The act is so prominent in the city it even made a Seinfeld episode:

ELAINE: Officer. Officer, is there some reason this man has to always be using a hose? I mean, he's flooding the sidewalk. It's a waste of water. Couldn't he just use a broom?

Can't we all just use a broom?

Thanks to GO's Philip Proefrock for the tip!

© Greenpeace Photo by Melanie Duchin

50 million years after their ancestors forsake the land, it looks like whales have crawled back onto land, just time for this month’s International Whaling Commission meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. This one seems puzzled by the scary owl…

In other rumours – Blue Whales have been spotted as far inland as Montana. What devil’s going on?

Tell your government that you vote NO to commercial whaling »
whales.greenpeace.org »