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How Nature Inspired the Alphabet
15 March 2010 15:45:03
32,000 years ago, ancient humans gathered in a cave in Lascaux, France, where, by firelight, they created the first hand-drawn forms--scenes depicting man's relationship with the natural world. The favorite subject in those first drawings was the ancient ox, so impressive in stature and strength, that it was deified by our earliest ancestors. This reverence for nature remained as civilizations formed, and with it, written language. It is no won...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Fish Have Feelings Too, You Know
15 March 2010 15:30:20
Photo: Georgia Aquarium
A new book, Fish Feel Pain?, is hoping to dispel the notion that fish are somehow incapable of experiencing pain or unable to learn. The book, which is being met with some controversy, says that fish have gotten a bad rap as unfeeling simpletons, destined to be thought of as food--even among some who call themselves vegetarians. In fact, fish may be much more complex and sensitive than ever imagined. Sound fishy? You may be surprised....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Santa Fe Enchanted With Eco-friendly Art
15 March 2010 08:00:00
Local indigenous dance group Rulan Tangen and Dancing Earth use costumes and sets made of recycled and organic materials. Photo via the Santa Fe Art Institute Blog.
A year-long show focusing on the four elements is bringing well-known environmental artists to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to create new works and engage with the community in what appears to be an up-and-coming hub for recycled and other eco-friendly art....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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"We Were Wrong" - Coal Burning For Electricity Is A Poor Indicator Of Motive For Opposing Cap & Trade
15 March 2010 07:10:09
Ranking of selected US states for dependency on coal for electricity production and for total consumption. Figure 1.- high-dependency states. . Image credit: USEIA data, graphic by J. Laumer
Much has been written here and elsewhere of the fact that around half the nation's electricity comes from coal. We have several posts demonstrating that a handful of highly coal-dependent states drive up the average national dependency on coal for electricity (listed in Figure 1, above). We've also...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Scientists Say They've Found the Most Efficient Way Yet to Turn Carbon Dioxide Back into Fuel
15 March 2010 06:52:39
Credit: Mr. Thomas via Flickr.
Scientists say too much carbon dioxide is bad for the Earth. And too much carbon monoxide can kill you. So why are researchers at the University of Michigan excited about turning CO2 into CO? Because the end product could come in handy for producing electricity and hydrogen. U of M chemists, along with others from the University of Oxford, say they've come up with an efficient way to turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using visible light (like sunlight). ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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The Silly Season Is Upon Us: Fiorina Goes After Boxer on Climate Action
15 March 2010 04:57:16
Doesn't it seem like President Obama was just elected? Well, he was, but alas there is no offseason in politics. The 2010 mid-terms are heating up and California Republican candidate Carly Fiorina is wasting no time going after Senator Barbara Boxer. Her ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Inflatable Bike Case Makes Taking Your Bike Easier
15 March 2010 04:00:05
Image: biknd
For all those times you wish you could have brought your bike with you on the train, bus or plane, now there is Biknd Helium. The Helium bike case is not quite lighter than air, but definitely lighter than a standard hard case, weighing in at a mere than 9.5 kg (20.9 lbs). The trick: it's inflatable. Canadian start-up company Biknd has a patent pending for their ingenious invention. The features in Biknd's design will make your fingers twitch to get packin'. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Happy Pi Day From TreeHugger and Planet Green
15 March 2010 03:35:08
We are big fans of Pi Day and have been celebrating it for years, last year with this yummy mushroom and barley pie. Having the great event fall on a Sunday this year threw us off, so instead we round up our previous posts.
...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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TONIGHT: Jessica Biel, Emile Hirsch, and Kenna Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 'Summit on the Summit' Documentary (Video)
15 March 2010 01:08:26
Jessica Biel, Kenna, and Emile Hirsch attend Summit on the Summit premier at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Wireimage
We have been covering the Summit on the Summit expedition, to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis, since it was Read the full story on TreeHugger
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College Students Listen Up: Enter The Arbor Day Now Video Challenge and Win $2,500 in Trees For Your Community or College Campus
15 March 2010 00:00:00
photo: Arbor Day Now
Are you an amateur videographer at heart just waiting for your time to shine? Well, now's your chance. The Arbor Day Foundation is looking for compelling videos to get people planting trees. And the top contest winner will receive $2,500 in free trees to shade their neighborhood or college campus. Find out what it takes to win some loot for your community....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Crowdsourcing the Most Energy-Efficient Life
14 March 2010 07:16:00
ISO bright ideas. Photo by Paul Keller via Flickr.
If you want to get people to boost their personal energy efficiency, you should appeal to their vanity, their inner couch potato, their wallets, and their competitive nature. That's the strategy that came out of a cocktail party hosted by the online magazine Slate as part of an ongoing attempt to "harvest the collective intelligence of [its] readers for the good of society" -- starting with figuring out how best to save money an...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Florida Governor Wants Bailout for Drywall
14 March 2010 05:44:59
HVAC heat exchanger corrosion associated with Chinese drywall presence. Image credit:ChineseDrywall.com
This headline is certainly the meta-story that hovers above the request by Florida's Republican Governor for Federal money to cover the cost of re-repairing thousands of hurricane-damaged homes which were repaired first with Chinese drywall. Florida's Governor wants Federal money because insurance companies won't cover the re-repairs for it's citizens (shocking isn't it?)...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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The 2012 Menace May Be Real, Like Sarah Palin
14 March 2010 04:12:21
Credit: Flickr via Michael Francis McCarthy.
2012 is a movie, the end of the Mayan calendar, maybe the end of the Earth. But, thankfully, it's all a myth. Or is it? The 2012 phenomenon gets a new spin from Lawrence M. Krauss in the March 2010 issue of Scientific American. The bottom line: 2012 could be the beginning of the end if we don't take steps to combat climate change, and call out naysayers like Sarah "Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Good News: EU Is On Track To Meet Its Renewable Goals
14 March 2010 02:53:02
photo via flickr
There's a lot of grim climate news, of course, but the EU keeps moving forward. On Friday, the European Commission announced that the EU, which is made up 27 member countries, is on track to meet its goal of generating 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. The Commission also says the EU will meet its other two goals of increasing energy efficiency by 20 percent and decreasing emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Ethical Fashion Finds at Arboretum Apparel
14 March 2010 01:14:39
Whether you're located in Healdsburg, California or virtually--like I am in NYC--visit Arboretum for ethical fashion finds. Olsenhaus' Elizabeth Olsen told us about the boutique; they were the first to place an order for her delectable vegan shoes nearly two years ago. Click through for more green designers in store:
...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Get Set For Earth Hour With Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady
14 March 2010 00:00:00
It's shouldn't take a gorgeous super model and her rather handsome NFL husband to convince you to participate in this year's Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 pm, but it certainly doesn't hurt. From time zone to time zone, the world's citizens will be turning off their lights. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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The Week in Pictures: Twin Elephants Born in Thailand, Kia's Electric Car, Green Oscars, Smart Toilets, and More (Slideshow)
13 March 2010 10:10:17
From the news that the first known male elephant twins were born in the north-eastern province of Surin, Thailand to sustainable clothing ensembles and the The Cove's Oscar win at the Academy Awards, a lot happened this week in green. Find out what else happened in the world of green this week in our photo roundup of most popular, most important, and most oddball stories.
...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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And Now For The Best Argument Against Global Warming . . .
13 March 2010 09:09:00
Image via SF Gate
Over at the San Francisco Chronicle, Dr. Peter Gleick, the president of the Pacific Institute has come up with the most believable argument against global warming that I've yet encountered. And so, I'll close out my Friday by sharing it....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Global Warming's Evil Twin: Ocean Acidification - A Present And Measurable Danger
13 March 2010 08:36:32
Acid ocean "SOS." Image credit:Alaska Marine Conservation Council
US EPA has decided to consider ways that US states can, under already delegated authorities, curb pollutants that may otherwise add to the power of global warming's evil twin: Ocean Acidification. (Note: many US States regulate stack emissions to reduce acid rain and also have the delegated Federal authority to limit the acidity of effluent discharges within their boundaries. So, this would be an extension of State's rights, by interpretation of existing Federal and State la...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Confirmed: LG Chem to Build $303 Million Lithium-Ion Battery Plant in Michigan
13 March 2010 08:25:26
Image: LG Chem
The Supply Chain for Electric Cars is Growing
About 6 months ago we wrote that LG Chem was thinking about building an advanced lithium-ion battery plant in Holland, Michigan, to supply battery packs to GM for the Volt PHEV. Now it's confirmed, everything's official and the groundbreaking is scheduled for this summer, with a 2012 target for the beginning of operations. LG Chem says that the plant will create over 400 jobs by 2013, and many people will be hired and trained in advance....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Chicken vs Egg: Does Suburban Sprawl Represent the Free Market or Over-Regulation? Neither.
13 March 2010 08:20:02
Postwar suburban sprawl, courtesy of George Bailey and his Savings and Loan
A lot of the Libertarian types think that those of us promoting higher densities and urban life are trying to limit freedom of choice. Joe Mysak wrote in Bloomberg about us:
The notion appeals especially to people who like to think they'll be in charge after the revolution. They would apparently love nothing more than for the population to be confined to Soviet-style concrete-block high-rises and be forced to take state-run streetcars to their little jobs at the mill.According to the Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Infographic: "How Cars are Killing Us Around the World"
13 March 2010 07:46:23
Image: Infrastructurist
Risk assessment is hard. We humans are hard-wired with many cognitive biases that can often distort our perception of reality and make us fear the wrong things. For example, on average, people will be more afraid of something with which they are unfamiliar compared to something that they see every day. Cars fall into the "familiar" category, and to remind us of the risk associated with driving, the nice people are the Infrastructurists made a really cool infographic that shows how cars are killing people around the wo...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Hollywood Donates Big to Rescue an Icon, Stars Flaunt Green Fashion at the Oscars, and More
13 March 2010 07:42:20
Photo via Sörn @ flickr
On Thursday, the Trust for Public Land released a roster of Hollywood A-listers and companies--including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, the Walt Disney Company, the LucasFilm Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Steven Spielberg, Warner Bros., Fox, Sony, NBC Universal, and Time Warner--who have collectively donated more than $3 million to save one iconic piece of land: Cahuenga Peak....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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One Cyclist Travels Two Continents to Save the Trees
13 March 2010 07:41:15
Image credit: Good
When one Peace Corps volunteer came to understand the flimsy safeguards a "reserve" provided the forest near his post in Paraguay, he was motivated to do something that would provide true protections for the trees. The solution he settled on involved two wheels and a lot of miles....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Report: European Companies Buying Their Way Out of Carbon Cuts
13 March 2010 07:25:00
Photo via Guardian
Most cap and trade schemes proposed by governments include provisions that allow polluting companies to buy carbon offsets--initiatives that pay for tree planting in South America or solar panel installation in India and so forth--instead of cutting emissions exclusively from their own operations. So, surprise, surprise, a recent report from the AP in the Huffpo Green has revealed that companies pa...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Red Carpet Green Dress: Catalyst For A Revolution
13 March 2010 06:20:54
Suzy Amis Cameron and James Cameron reveal Jillian Granz's winning sustainable dress at Global Green's Pre-Oscar Party. Photo: Cerraeh Laykin
I know, the dress looks blue—Avatar blue to be exact. But, it's actually about 85% green. The Red Carpet Green Dress Contest was created by Suzy Amis Cameron, wife of Avatar director James Cameron, to send a message that one can wear green on the red carpet. In addition to designing Oscar-worthy gowns out of sustainable fabrics, the contest also serves as an international fundraiser event for her beloved Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Scientists Protest Proposed Ivory Auction
13 March 2010 06:12:26
Image credit: marfis75/Flickr
Tanzania and Zambia, conservationists fear, may receive special permission from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to auction off a combined total of 112 tonnes of stockpiled ivory.
Though such auctions are strictly monitored by international organizations and the revenue earned is required to be used for elephant conservation projects, many believe that the sale could drive market demand for ivory and Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Lithium-Sulfur Breakthrough Could Mean Safer and More Energy-Dense Batteries
13 March 2010 06:11:32
Image: ACS, Yang et al.
Theoretical Energy Density: 1550 Wh/KG !
A few months ago I wrote about a battery breakthrough related to silicon nanowire anodes. The researchers said that it showed great promise, but that one of the main challenges to its commercialization was finding a cathode that could handle all this extra power. Well, it looks like that problem has been solved (that was quick!) thanks to a new lithium sulfide (Li2S) cathode with 10 times the power density of con...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Batman in the Bike Lanes: Guerilla Bike Activists Fight Back
13 March 2010 06:09:50
Photos by Lloyd Alter
With the constant rewiring of the internet, deferred maintenance and the inevitable freeze-thaw cycle, you need good teeth to ride in Toronto bike lanes; otherwise they are shaken out of your skull. The Urban Repair Squad to the rescue, giving our roads a Pow! Bam! and Crunch!, just like an old Batman episode, warning us if the dangers ahead.
...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Is Creating Green Jobs a "Sensible Aspiration" for Governments?
13 March 2010 05:42:45
Photo via A Green Living
That's the topic of an ongoing online debate over at the Economist.com. In one corner, green jobs advocate Van Jones, who argues that governments should engage in the active practice of creating green jobs, by, for example, incentivizing clean energy projects. In the other, Andrew P. Morriss, a professor of business and law at the University of Illinois, who argues that green job creation should be left to the marketplace. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Busting a Myth: Does Facebook Water Vapor Comment Disprove Global Warming?
13 March 2010 05:35:15
Image: Shefaet, Flickr
This one goes out to mig. Mig wrote us and explained that yesterday a distant facebook friend posted this:
"Oceans are the single largest CO2 reduction system in the world. Water Vapor is the biggest contributor of CO2 in the atmosphere and 97% of all CO2 in the atmosphere comes from natural sources, not man made."
Mig says: "Now, i'm not a scientist and don't know enough about all of this to debunk or confidently argue the point or the source. Have you heard of this?"...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Paperless Passports The Future of Airport Security? e-Passports with AMOLED Screens Announced at CeBIT 2010 (Video)
13 March 2010 04:50:00
Screenshot via youtube video
German company Bundesdruckerei showed off what it is calling the world's first e-passport equipped with an AMOLED display at CeBIT 2010. It could be the future of airport security, ditching paper passports for one driver's license-like card that can display a rotating view of the passport owner. And what's even more amazing is that the card doesn't need a battery for the screen to function. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Massive Gap Widens Between Republican and Democrat's Belief in Climate Change
13 March 2010 04:14:00
All charts and graphs via EnviroKnow
I've written before about the ever-increasing politicization of climate change--the thesis that the scientifically backed consensus that human activity is warming the planet is now treated as a political belief isn't a hard one to prove. But just in case I need to back the claim up with some hard numbers, Gallup has released the results of its most recent poll on climate change. In it, it's revealed t...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Chinese Zoo Accused of Letting 11 Rare Siberian Tigers Starve to Death
13 March 2010 03:46:02
Photo: CC
The Food Was Too Expensive...
Sad story of the day: 11 rare and endangered Siberian Tigers starved to death while confined to "cold, cramped metal cages" at the Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo in China's North-East. The deaths took place in the past three months, with reports saying that "the tigers starved to death, having been fed nothing but chicken bones". The food bill for the tigers ran to about $1,320 (9,000 yuan) a day....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Can One Call Mitch Kapor's Berkeley House "Green"?
13 March 2010 03:15:22
Kapor Klein House model, Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects
There is a fight going on in Berkeley, over the construction of a house for Mitch Kapor, the founder of Lotus and creator of Lotus 123, the program that made personal computers useful. Neighbours, architects and others call it "absurd" that the house should be called green, saying its 10,000 square feet is far too big. One neighbour complains that "green building begins with using 'just enough' and preserving what already exists. Clearly the idea of 'just enough' is not part of the design concept."
But how much is too much?...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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