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Science textbooks in every grade-school classroom will tell you that we are currently living in the Holocene geologic epoch…but this probably won’t be the case for very much longer. Many of the world’s leading scientists propose that the Earth has now entered a new geological...
Ever since the 1950s, when suburbanization took off in the United States, we have been lamenting the way in which we’ve “paved paradise to put up parking lots.” And now that we’ve covered an estimated 800 million spaces in the U.S.—an area larger than all of Puerto Rico—urban planners...
Are big companies really going green? Before the recession of the late 2000s hit, the environmental movement had gained enormous ground and everyone was thinking green. Companies came out with green initiatives and programs left and right. Let’s look at what’s happened to...
This article on climate change in the Pacific Northwest United States is part of a series of Greeniacs articles on climate change in different regions of the United States. The other article published so far have covered climate on the East Coast, in the Southeastern region, the Midwestern...
This year’s Earth Day theme, “Mobilize The Earth,” superbly captures one of the emerging trends of the environmental movement. For the first Earth Day in 1970, Founder Senator Nelson chose the date April 22 because it would not interfere with college students’ academic, social or...
You may not have heard of atrazine, but chances are it has been used as an herbicide—weed-killer—to help grow the food you eat. Atrazine is currently the second largest selling pesticide in the world. It is used primarily on corn in the United States, but it is also used to help...
Over the last 50 years, the average temperatures in Alaska have increased at more than twice the rate of the rest of the United States. Alaska displays effects of climate change as they are currently unfolding better than any other place in the United States. Indeed, many scientists...
One consequence of human-released carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is an ocean significantly more acidic than it was just a few generations ago, and this change is accelerating in tandem with our carbon dioxide emissions. The most recent scientific article on the phenomenon appeared...
The eight major islands that make up the U.S. State of Hawaii were built from five separate volcanoes. One of the three still active volcanoes in the islands, Mauna Loa, is famous for the role it has played in the discovery of climate change. In 1958, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
Every year, tens of millions of tons of oil products are shipped through the Panama Canal. But despite the important role Panama plays in the transportation of oil around the world, it has very few energy resources to add to the shipments that pass through its backyard. Due to this...
The two words most people would use to describe the Southeastern United States are dry and hot. Decades of western movies have portrayed this region of the United States as a barren, dry, and dusty region. However, the climate of the Southwest is more complicated than that. While many...
Dead zones are hypoxic or anoxic—meaning low or completely zero concentrations of dissolved oxygen—areas that form in the world’s oceans. Dead zones were first noticed in the early 1970s when scientists from Louisiana State University discovered an area in the Gulf of Mexico that...
From the deep woods of Wisconsin to the to the cornfields of Iowa, from the land of many lakes to industrial Detroit, from the windy city to the Great Plains and Badlands, the Midwest is characterized by a unique mix of farming, manufacturing, and forestry. Part of the region’s...
Utilizing small electric cars, the Witkar system emerged as one of the first major carsharing programs during the 1970s in the city of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Witkar system allowed users to check out cars from one location and drop them off elsewhere—all controlled via 1970s...
We use high tech gadgets like cell phones all day, every day, but we almost never stop to ask questions about their environmental impact. For instance: Where do cell phones come from? What happens to all of the cell phones that we simply stop using when we move on to the...
So what are these greenhouse gases we hear about all the time anyway? Lost? I was too! So I set out to look up and understand the basics behind greenhouse gases, and I have shared my recent pursuits with you in this article! It turns out that GHGs (this will be our shorthand for...
In an obscure but oft-quoted excerpt from the “Marine Foresight Panel Report,” the British Office of Science and Technology asserts that “if less than 0.1% of the renewable energy in the oceans could be converted to electricity, it would satisfy the present world demand for energy...
So we know that plastic bags are bad. To this end, cities around the world are thinking of enacting plastic bag bans or taxes, and many people are now using reusable bags. Because of this increased attention, there are numerous facts and factoids being thrown around regarding...
From the get-away beaches of the Florida coast to the to the Blue Ridge Mountains, from the outer banks of North Carolina to the farms along the Mississippi delta, from Graceland to the battlefields of the Civil War, the Southeast has a distinctive appeal and history. Part of...
A few years ago, Greeniacs brought us great news regarding the first wave of 21st century bike-sharing programs in the United States. Building off previous programs that had failed in their attempts to essentially give out free bikes, Washington, DC launched SmartBike DC. Enabled...
As I write this article, the largest dam removal project in the world is underway on the Elwha River in Washington State. Over the next three years, 18 million cubic yards of sediment and 48,600 acre-feet of water—equal to over 2 billion cubic square feet, enough...
What if somebody told you that they could practically guarantee to reduce both your monthly bills and your impact on the environment at the same time? You might scratch your head since it seems everyone is always telling you that going green is only for the rich folk. Well, it...
The events of 2011 tested the resolve of environmentalists everywhere. The year was full of reminders of the kind of resolution it will take to continue to gain small environmental victories in 2012, but it was also full of events that should inspire us as we consider new resolutions...
No ‘Poo… what's the longest you've ever gone without using shampoo? I'll admit it—on a bike trip I once went 11 days without showering, and my hair became an oily, knotty mess! That's why I was surprised to hear that there are many people who happily go without shampoo for weeks, months...
Quick! How much energy did you use for heating last year? When was the last time you replaced the weather stripping on your windows? What is the vampire load of your television? What kind of power plants or renewable sources does your utility company use to generate power for...
We have our traditionalists, myself included, who want to preserve sacred past times like gathering around the fireplace with friends and family and reading a book or a newspaper in peace. Now, our world is cluttered with Facebook and Twitter...
Discussions about global warming and climate change can seem abstract and distant. After all, climatic changes can only be measured over a long period of time, and the changes often seem so, well… global. In order to fully appreciate how climate change will impact our lives, it is important to pause and consider what global warming means on a...
Energy. We hear the word all day long. Save energy, I need some energy, Energizer bunny, etc. But, when it comes down to it, we’re often left grasping for straws when we try to explain what energy is. And given our current climate situation (it’s drastically changing , by the way)...
From crow pose to tree pose, yoga evokes a physical and spiritual connection with nature. Through the concepts of karma and ahimsa, yoga teaches that every action – no matter how small – has consequences. By challenging yogis to mind their breaths, the practice fosters an awareness...
Information communication technology (ICT), better known as Information Technology (IT) is all around us. While the internet is the vehicle that transports ICT, ICT is really what we as users interact with. It includes everything from telecommunications, computer processing, data...
It might sound strange to imagine drinking from a cup made of corn, or cutting your potatoes with a knife actually made from potatoes, but more and more people are adopting this practice—whether they know it or not. This is the new world of cups, plates and utensils made from bioplastics! Such items are composed of natural materials and therefore...
The time of year is approaching again to gather with family and friends and share your thanks over a big meal. Yes, Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner! While this season is usually a time to celebrate the land and its offerings, it can also be a time to give our respect back to the environment. Below are some ideas to make this...
Soy is a plant native to Southeast Asia and, perhaps surprisingly, is a member of the pea family, Fabaceae. The soy plant can grow from one to five-feet tall and grows in clusters of pods. Through fermentation techniques, soy can be made into other forms that you may encounter in restaurants more often, such as tempeh, miso, tofu, and of course...
Climate change, global warming, erratic weather, we hear these terms being thrown around everywhere these days. There are many who contend that climate change is upon us, no ifs or ors about it. There are others who say this is a natural cycle that has occurred over Earth’s history and has nothing to do with human activity. The big question is...
Have you ever eaten at your local restaurant or coffee shop and seen those green bins labeled “compost only”? Well if you are like me and stand there with your cup, fork, spoon, and plate in hand wondering which bin to put each thing, you have come to the right place...
Are we addicted to oil? I think so. In 2009 the United States consumed 18.8 million barrels of oil a day. Another piece of evidence is our Nation’s pursuit of extracting oil from tar sands in Canada, a proposal to expand an existing pipeline to increase production by about 700,000 barrels a day—this is known as the Keystone XL Pipeline...
Solar power is gaining momentum every day, but is it growing as fast as it should be? Government backed programs in the United States have created considerable markets in New Jersey, California, and just about any state with a good amount of sun. The 30% federal tax incentive, generous loan guarantees, tax credits, and renewable portfolio standards...
What is Hemp? Hemp is a plant of the Cannibus genus that can be grown in a large range of soil types, however it grows best in nitrogen-rich and non-acidic soil. Most importantly, hemp is one of the strongest fibers in the world! Luckily, it also grows quickly with very low pesticide usage, making it one of the more sustainable materials available...
What are Biofuels? Biofuels are an energy source derived from any organic plant, animal, or living material. The most prominent use of the word has been the increasing use of biofuels as a renewable energy source in the green industry—the two most well known renewable biofuels being ethanol and biodiesel. However, there are a good number more...
Even die-hard environmentalists don't demand that police officers make the safety of the environment their top priority. This is because we want and expect the police to prioritize human safety! When it comes down to it, we all worry more about our safety – and our friends' and family's safety – than the safety of a tree or a mockingbird. Remarkably...
Energy is one of the most important issues around the world, and has been particularly important in developing countries.1 The World Bank categorizes developing countries as those “with low or middle levels of GNP [Gross National Product] per capita.”2 Developing nations are usually marked by their industrialization and economic growth, with...
Once you've poured that last drop of juice or spooned out a final taste of yogurt, you (hopefully) throw that plastic container into a big blue recycling bin. You (hopefully) encourage your friends to do the same. You feel good about recycling because you know that your juice jug won't contribute to the 3.5 million tons of trash in the Great Pacific...
Hybrid buses are now appearing all over the country, from big city transit systems to college campuses, and they represent a significant advancement in environmentally-conscious transportation. While most of the country’s buses do not use this new technology, the trends are quickly changing—almost 20% of New York City’s fleet of buses are...
We'd like to think that when we pass from this Earth, our environmental footprint goes away too. The unsettling truth is that even in the afterlife we can pollute. In the United States, the most common type of funeral is a burial with embalming and open-casket visitation. However, this tradition didn't begin until the Civil War, when bodies...
While the smart grid is one of the hottest buzz words in the energy and green industry, few know exactly what it is, and for good reason. As recently as August 1, 2011 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a comprehensive catalog of smart grid standards. The smart grid is still being defined and its capacity as a technology...
There are many types of pollution in our environment: water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, and more. But one of these – space pollution – is in a category all by itself. Space pollution refers to the gathering debris in orbit around the Earth, made up of discarded rocket boosters, broken satellites, and more. And just like the other...
Energy efficiency is performing the same action or process as before, but using less energy to do so. Most well known is the growing trend of exchanging incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which are 75% more efficient than incandescents. Different from energy conservation, energy efficiency focuses on changing...
Renewable Energy and the U.S. Military... We rightfully associate war with environmental destruction—the spraying of Agent Orange in the jungles of Vietnam, the burning of oil wells in Iraq , the development of the gas-guzzling Humvee —and we rarely applaud the military for its contributions to environmental technologies. When destruction drives...
As the summer of 2011 winds down, the 2012 Olympics – set to launch in London on July 27 – seem pretty far off. But for the organizing and planning teams behind the massive event, many of which have been at work on the Games for five years or more, next summer can’t come soon enough. So far, just about everything is going according to plan...
They're yellow, sweet, seedless, always about the same shape and size. We love them in our breakfast cereals, our yogurts, our breads, and just on their own as an easy on-the-go snack. They're nutritious, filled with good potassium. But are bananas environmentally friendly? Who grows them, and how? Why is it that they're always about...
What is ethanol? Ethanol is an alcohol-based fuel that has become popular around the world and is most commonly used to fuel your motor vehicles. However, it is the corn-based ethanol that has garnered interest across the world for over a decade. While corn ethanol is the predominant feed stock of choice, ethanol can be made from a variety of feed...
For those who live in big cities, noise can be a source of constant annoyance and problems. Even within the walls of an apartment, it is rare to be completely insulated from the regular interruption of sirens, construction work, loud neighbors, and more. This is referred to as “noise...
What is a green job? A green job is generally defined as any job that helps or encourages an environmental and sustainable world economy. Collectively, these green jobs have created what many call a green economy, or more technically speaking, a “clean energy” economy. A clean energy economy has been defined as one that “generates jobs...
In 2006, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32), also known as the Global Warming Solutions Act. This major piece of legislation required the state to seriously rework its greenhouse gas regulations. Specifically, the bill called for a new set of policies that would bring emissions down to 1990 levels by the year 2020—a...
We'd be walking down the street or through a park, holding our parent’s hand, and then we'd see it—the curve of a swing set, or the red, blues, and yellows of the monkey bars… and we set out running. Playgrounds teach kids invaluable lessons—how to share, move, imagine, and have fun! Today, as children become more sedentary and their opportunities...
The basic framework of this debate has been covered over and over by the media, but few reports have delved deeper into the issue to look at the specific tax breaks that exist, when they were created, and how much money they are worth to oil companies. That information is exactly what you will find below, and hopefully it will...
The age of renewable technology and energy is upon us, or is it? As discussed in the previous Greeniacs article on Energy Issues, solar power and wind power are two popular but unfortunately underused players of the renewable energy industry. In 2009, wind power accounted for only 1% of electricity production in the United States, while solar energy...
For starters, what are biofuels? Biofuels are known as any fuel made from organic matter, with the most well known fuels coming from corn, soybeans, palm, algae and many other plants. So now what are algae? This is a trickier question than you think, but most of us know algae as the green colored “scum” found on ponds and unfortunately sometimes...
Living in the United States, where water is plentiful in most areas, it is often easy to forget that a growing portion of the world’s population faces significant water shortages and a host of related problems. Water is a global resource, and water shortage is a global issue. Even if your community has enough water right now, it is important...
Automobile companies, both in the United States and abroad, are finally getting serious about producing consumer-friendly electric cars. The last few years have seen significant progress, as automakers begin to roll out the first versions of electric cars that they hope may soon dominate the automotive industry. As with any new technological...
With the world gradually turning its back on inefficient (incandescent) lighting, what should you use as a green replacement? The phasing out of incandescent light bulbs began several years ago with much of Europe banning incandescent bulbs in 2009. In the United States, incandescent light bulbs will begin to disappear in 2012, with nearly...
How exactly do your daily actions impact the environment? What if everyone lived like you? Find out by playing with one of the dozens of eco-calculators available for free online! The most popular calculators determine your environmental footprint, which is a measure of how much land area it takes to support your lifestyle. According to the...
Hydropower, which is energy harnessed from the power of falling water, has been used around the world for thousands of years. The first hydroelectric power plant in the United States went online in 1882, and within a few decades hydroelectric power made up approximately 40% of U.S. electricity. Hydropower now constitutes only 10% of U.S...
Can you imagine selecting one of your children to be successful at the expense of your other child or children? Unfortunately, in the world of energy resources and management, policy makers are faced with this very dilemma. A major dilemma presented today lies between clean energy and ecosystem preservation. If creating a carbon-neutral society...
Carbon Neutral is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit these days, so what is it exactly? Is it a goal, a guideline, or a gimmick? Carbon neutrality is at the forefront of any conversation concerning alternative energies or climate change. Of course, in order to attain carbon neutrality, we have to start off by cutting carbon emissions...
Faced with rising oil prices and waning oil reserves around the world, this is the era in which the world’s energy portfolio will forever change. I view “peak oil” as occurring the moment that alternative energies become...
What does it mean to run a green building? This question requires you to decide how to manage the building, how to stock it, how to heat and cool it, and how to manage its waste and hopefully a recycling and composting program. A green business is not simply just what you “do,” what you make, or perhaps even what you promote. Running a...
Biodiversity can simply be defined as the variation of life at a given site or ecosystem. However, it is through this diversity that natural systems adapt, evolve, and thrive. This link is so strong that the term biodiversity is regarded as synonymous with ecosystem health. Diverse ecosystems usually have “increased stability, increased productivity... 
We all recognize the heated debate in this country surrounding climate change, aka “global warming .” Some say the earth is warming, some say it is cooling, and others concede that it is changing but insist that it is not due to human action. What is interesting is how different groups frame the climate change debate in a manner that furthers...
It was the 1960s, the age of the post-WWII consumer frenzy, of atomic explosions, of leaded gasoline, and the Vietnam War. The air pollution in Los Angeles was so bad that breathing it was the equivalent of smoking 2.5 packs of cigarettes per day. There was a lot to complain about, and this state of the environment gave rise to environmentalism...
In an era of great environmental uncertainty, and at a pivotal point in time when nations will decide the earth’s fate, Earth Day comes as a welcome reminder of our role in the global environmental movement. Just over forty years ago, during a time of revolutionary environmental legislation in the United States, Earth Day was added to our...
Bamboo is one of those plants that people seem to either love or hate. There are over 1,400 species of the grass around the world—900 species are tropical while 500 seek temperate climates. Over 80% of the world’s bamboo is located in Asia, with another 10% in both Africa and the Americas. Bamboo’s claim to fame is definitely its speed...
Planet Earth is teeming with phones. There are about 5 billion cellular phones in use right now, and 500 million of them—10 percent—are smartphones. Unfortunately, these numbers are swelling. The United Nations expects the number of smartphones to quadruple to 2 billion in just four years. At each stage of its lifecycle, a smartphone...
If the last article on erosion did not get your attention, perhaps you will take erosion a bit more seriously when you see it forever alter infrastructure and entire housing communities. This time around, let’s look at more dramatic forms of erosion, including sinkholes, coastal erosion, and landslides. This does not discount the impact...
Children are suffering from nature-deficit disorder. “I like to play indoors better, 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are,” a fourth grader in San Diego once told Richard Louv, author of The Last Child in the Woods. Instead of playing in the sun, children are exploring virtual worlds—television, computers, and mobile phones, just...
When you think about saving the environment, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think about stopping deforestation, reducing pollution and harmful emissions, promoting biodiversity, or protecting the Earth’s waters—but how many times have you stopped and thought about soil erosion? According to David Pimentel, professor of ecology at Cornell...
The Solution to World Hunger… Insects? After a marathon weekend watching the travel channel’s program, Bizarre Foods, where Andrew Zimmern travels the world to sample the cuisines from different countries and cultures, I found myself thinking that insects could be the solution to world hunger. Some of what Zimmern samples are pretty standard...
I recently read a question posted on the Greeniacs Forum page that essentially asked, “how green are you willing to go?” I find this question intriguing—why would I feel uncomfortable doing some things but not others? My response is twofold: societal pressures and legal pressures, which undoubtedly go hand in hand. Laws are in place to enforce...
Picking up where we left off in Part I of our Art and the Environment series, art reflects humanity's changing perception of nature's relationship with God and living beings here on Earth. For centuries, European artists drew and sculpted humans and religious figures in indoor settings. Nature was...
There's no excuse not to green your lifestyle. Unless you're locked up in prison, that is. Fortunately for inmates, some prisons are investing resources into greening their grey-and-white facades. What goes on in United States prisons matters, especially since the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The U.S. has almost a...
Art came before writing and even speech—art was humankind’s first expression of its relationship with nature. Art and the environment is such a huge topic that we will have a two-part discussion on it, so read up here for Part I and then look to Part II coming soon! The first homo sapiens adorned their bodies, then their tools. The earliest...
Energy is everywhere—it is stored in all matter, but needs to be converted into energy that humans can use. Likewise, all of the waste we produce is a source of energy. The law of conservation states that energy cannot be created AND that it cannot be destroyed—meaning our daily waste contains useful energy The task we are left with is simply...
Here is a hypothetical situation: I buy a new hybrid car, say the Toyota Prius. Not only am I happy to own a Prius because they are trendy, but they also use substantially less gasoline per mile than a comparable vehicle, which equates to being more energy efficient. Sounds pretty good, especially with all of this global warming talk and my attempts to...
Chocolate is indulgence, youth, love, and happiness—except when it contributes to deforestation and child labor! Make a change and this Valentine's Day, get your sweetheart a chocolate treat that spreads your love all the way to the cocoa seeds of Africa. Chocolate’s Origins: Chocolate comes from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree, which means...
Looking to rev up your social life in 2011? If you are a green-minded single looking to meet other green-minded singles, here are some ideas to get your eco-mingling on! Try volunteering with a local environmental organization to look for a date with similar goals! Volunteering together to plant trees or clean up the local creek can benefit...
Forests are disappearing at a rate of about 36 football fields per minute. That equates to an annual loss of 12-15 million hectares of forest, which is an area roughly the size of Costa Rica. The United States Forest Service defines “forest” as land that is at least one acre and at least 10 percent stocked with trees of any size. Forests...
The Amazon rainforest is not what television has made it out to be. It's not always teeming with wildlife, nor is it ever absent of human footprints. In the Peruvian Amazon, there's Iquitos, a city of more than 400,000 people, the largest city in the world that has no roads connecting it to the outside. I flew into Iquitos a few summers...
Community service is a great way for people to give back to their community while supporting causes near and dear to them. It is also a great way to meet other like-minded individuals. Sometimes community service is a job or school requirement, and in such cases it is best to get involved in something you are truly passionate about so it is...
Other countries may have thousand year-old cathedrals, cobble-streets, amongst many other national treasures, but the United States has land. Million-year-old geologic formations are our cathedrals, and our national parks, forests, and monuments pay tribute to and preserve these natural wonders for generations to come. I have been fortunate... 
In today’s world and economy, plastic is one of the most important materials we use in our products—from our toothbrushes to our cars. Plastic is everywhere, and for a good reason. It is so versatile, strong, flexible, light, and cheap. So why is plastic bad? For one thing, it is derived from petroleum, a resource that is not infinite and whose...
On average, a woman uses over 16,000 tampons in her lifetime. This staggering statistic begs the question—what are all of these feminine products doing to the health of our planet and our bodies?! Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients that conventional tampons and sanitary napkins contain...
Since the winter months started rolling around I have been digging out my old sweaters, scarves, and other winter garb from the bottom of my closet. For years I have been avoiding my thermostat to keep myself from cranking up the heat. Not everyone can do this, however, and heaters cause huge spikes in our energy usage every year around this...
Whether we have reached “peak oil” yet is up for debate. Peak oil is “the maximum rate of the production of oil in any area under consideration, recognizing that it is a finite natural resource, subject to depletion." The peak oil crisis refers to the time when the petroleum supply is so low that extraction is no longer economically justifiable...
Silicon Valley, known today as the new Detroit, is a growing spot for new and innovative greentech companies. New environmentally-progressive ideas and technology are being implemented daily in Silicon Valley—where the technology boom originated. Let’s hope Silicon Valley will do for sustainability what it did for the internet! Here is a look...
High-speed Train Network—Ever since the Obama administration set aside eight million dollars in stimulus money for high speed trains in 2009, the project has been proceeding on into 2010 and many estimate that we will have a high speed train network in effect by 2025. This will reduce the number of cars on the road and increase...
This has been quite a year for the environment! As the world entered a new decade, the environment faced some significant obstacles. While moving into the holiday season and a new year, it is important to remember some of the events our planet has faced. Below is a snapshot of what have been considered the major events affecting our environment for 2010...
Now that Thanksgiving has past and we are well recovered from our food comas, it’s time to start thinking about your holiday gift-giving! When thinking of purchasing decorations and gifts this year try to be more environmentally responsible in what you choose to buy...
Climate change and global warming are hot topics these days, and the public lands and forests owned and managed by the Federal government of the United States are not being overlooked. Federal Agencies such as the Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Energy (DOE), and Department of Agriculture (USDA), among others, are implementing...
In recent years, it seems that the lightest of the metals—Lithium (Li)—is getting more attention than the precious metals. Lithium has become increasingly popular due to its ability to store lots of energy in a small lightweight package: the lithium-ion battery. In the 1990’s, lithium started being used commercially...
It has been estimated that 41% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives and that 21% of Americans will die of the disease. You’ve been told that genetics and certain lifestyle choices increase your risk of becoming part of that statistic, but you might not have heard that our environment is also a leading contributor...
“Alternative fuel source” talk is everywhere these days! So what’s the latest in alternative fuel sources you ask? Microbial fuel cells! A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a specific type of biological fuel cell that converts chemical energy to electrical energy using microorganisms as the catalysts. Many different kinds of waste can be converted into...
Biobutanol is arguably the better biogas when compared to ethanol for usage in motor vehicles. Because of its naturally heavier structure and similarity to traditional petroleum based gasoline, biobutanol is more versatile. Unlike ethanol, which needs special piping or mixing with water in order to transport it, biobutanol can be transported...
Caffeine is the world’s most popular psychoactive drug. Scientists even speculate that plants use caffeine to paralyze pests. Nonetheless, every person in the world drinks an average of one caffeinated beverage per day! We have consumed caffeinated plants since the Stone Age, though the caffeine molecule wasn’t isolated and named until...
Given our Nation and world’s reluctance to changing habits, scientists are turning more and more towards the idea of Geoengineering—otherwise known as Climate Engineering. The notion of geoengineering is not a new one… When the issue of climate change and global warming first arose, the solution to the problem was not thought to be reducing greenhouse gases. Rather, scientists sought to stop the problem using technology starting during Lyndon Johnson’s presidency in the mid-1960s. Geoengineering...
Why wouldn’t you get excited about something called “smart metering”? In case you haven’t heard, smart meters are being marketed as the gas and utilities digital metering system of the future. You remember your old meter—it had those spinning mechanical dials that someone from your utilities company had to manually inspect to determine your...
Are you familiar with the new food lingo? There’s organic and slow food, pastured and GMO-free. There are locavores and omnivores, CSA members and foodies. And they’re all part of a global movement that’s reevaluating the relationships between us, our food, and our environment...
At the forefront of the cleantech revolution, many residents of Silicon Valley are utilizing technology for sustainable living practices. Many local businesses, including tech companies, hotels, etc. are remodeling their buildings to be LEED certified, installing solar power panels, buying wind/water power, as well as adding charging stations...
Community gardens are pieces of land that are managed and gardened by a group of people. These plots of land can be found in urban, rural, or suburban areas and can be found anywhere from a school, hospital, or within a local neighborhood. Most community gardens grow fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs for the people involved, or they can...
At the time of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, I was interning in Washington D.C. with the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Once word of the leaking oil got out, government reports put estimates of the spill at 1,000 barrels per day, then 5,000 bl/day a few days later—a number repeated in the media ad nauseum. On the other side...
Who wants some eggs?! The answer is: a lot of us…on average, each American eats about 250 eggs a year. There are around 340 million egg-laying chickens in the United States and 5 billion worldwide.3 That’s almost equal to the number of human beings!
Why so many eggs? Because the egg really is incredible. We figured that out about 10,000...
LEED Certified Winery Set to Open at U.C. Davis… One of the best Viticulture and Enology programs in the country lies on the University of California at Davis campus, also known as U.C. Davis. For those of you who don’t know, the terms viticulture and enology are simply scientific words meaning: the study of making wine. The school’s...
Vegetarianism Goes Mainstream! The vegetarian diet has been around for thousands of years and consumed across many different cultures. Plato, Leonardo da Vinci, Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Einstein are just a few noted famous vegetarians of the past. Einstein was even quoted to believe, “Nothing will benefit human...
The 2010 World Green Roof Congress goes to London this September! Green roofs have been a subject of conversation in the environmental world for a long time. They have the ability to change a bland, unused, rooftop, into a beautiful, lush, exciting, and green space secretly tucked into an urban atmosphere. 2010 has been a great year for...
The last 20 years has seen a fundamental shift in American consciousness concerning all things environmental. Finally, America is waking up and realizing that it must work together to protect the environment. This strong conviction has caused an explosion of the Green Movement throughout the world as environmentalists urge governments, companies..
Biodiesel, the conversion… As we watch in horror at the pollution, capitalist frenzy, and war surrounding the oil industry, people around the globe are naturally turning toward alternative fuels. One of the most readily available, simplest to accomplish means of limiting your oil consumption without giving up your car is to convert a diesel...
Urban beekeeping is on the rise! Urban communities have started a fairly new movement—beekeeping in small plot backyards, on rooftops, in hotels, restaurants, and in small urban gardens. Honeybees are an instrumental part of our global food system and our natural environment. These little creatures are responsible for pollinating over one-third of the crops...
The Swim for Clean Water… Located in the Pacific Northwest, the Columbia River is an intensely cold glacial water source with a lot of history, much of which has been drowned by industrial and hydropower damage. The documentary written, directed and produced by Andy Norris, called Source to Sea: The Columbia River Swim, deals with a variety...
For all of us residing between ten degrees North and Alaska, August marks the opening of the floodgates for farmers large and small. Festoons of tomatoes, basil, eggplant, peppers, peaches, and plums are being picked every day from immense fields and orchards to tiny little rooftop gardens in bustling metropolises. For those of us who...
Sicily Not Willing To Jeopardize Its Biggest Asset… Each year thousands of people from around the world vacation on the majestic coastline of Sicily. Known for its breathtakingly clear waters, rich marine life and incredible foods and wines, Sicily is considered one of the top tourist destinations in the entire world. And Sicily is fully aware of it. The BP Gulf of...
These days, it’s almost a dirty word—petroleum. The ‘p’ word, also called CRUDE OIL, is something we use everyday but don’t like to talk about. Instead, we prefer discussing wind and solar energy—the alternatives to that uncomfortable, dirty necessity: PETROLEUM. Petroleum is embedded in our daily lives, and does much more than just run our cars. Petroleum derived substances are found in products ranging from aspirin to polyester, and without them, our lives would look very different....
The BP oil spill was a rare, catastrophic event unlike any other oil spill. For starters, it’s the largest oil spill in United States history. While most oil spills have been caused by collisions of ships carrying oil, the BP oil spill was caused by a large blowout. Such a large blowout, or a fire-starting explosion from oil drilling, hasn’t...
How do we decide what food to eat? From PROCESSED FOOD, food made cheaper with PESTICIDES and ANTIBIOTICS, to LOCAL, ORGANIC and higher quality food, Americans choose how they eat based on their economic situation, knowledge of nutrition, and accessibility. The short film, Montana Fare, by Jaime Jelenchick, is a documentary about...
The average American uses 80 to 100 gallons of water every day! To put that into an interesting perspective, that’s about 850 pounds of water, the same weight as an adult alligator. Unfortunately, most people are oblivious to their household water consumption. When all the water you use quickly disappears into a drain or a pipe, it’s...
This decade has brought a number of environmental issues to the forefront of public consciousness, words like global warming, carbon footprint, and deforestation have become part of our everyday vocabulary. As these environmental issues have become more prominent, so have others receded, with mantras of “save the rainforest” and “save the...
Someone has suggested a fourth R in the waste hierarchy: reduce, reuse, recycle, and RETHINK. A few days ago, thumbing through a magazine, I read a letter to the editor from a woman who complained: “Please stop putting ‘green’ articles in your magazine. They’re a dime a dozen.” I had to agree with her, even though I’m “guilty” of writing...
When thinking about the state of our environment, it is hard to look past all the disasters that keep occurring in the world. However, there are some remarkable people working hard to bring these issues to the public, to make all of us more conscious of Mother Earth. On April 20, 2010, The Daily Green and Home Depot sponsored an event called...
All around the world, 20 to 25 million people have been forced out of their homes, almost completely due to natural forces out of their control.1 As high as the number of environmental refugees currently is, climate change is expected to vastly increase that amount to around 150 million by 2050.2 Hurricanes, monsoons, droughts, and floods will become more frequent and more destructive. Rising temperatures will worsen desertification. Rising sea levels not only threaten to flood...
The Environment’s Worst Offenders… While going green has become better for the corporate bottom line across the United States, there are still times when circumventing environmental laws and regulations maximizes margins. Below are four corporate criminals who shirked environmental responsibility when it became too costly...
Options for Water Filtration at Home! Water is essential to human life, and millions of people end up drinking contaminated water everyday. In the United States, many households have access to clean drinking water, yet even safe drinking water can carry contaminates like pesticides, fertilizers, heavy metals, and chlorine. Because these...
Thermohaline circulation isn’t a phrase you hear everyday. That is, not unless you’re an oceanographer. This fundamental ocean process supports three-fourths of marine life and shapes regional climates around the world. Climate change, often referred to as Global Warming, however, could slow or shut down entirely the essential ocean process...
We at Greeniacs love the natural world. We work everyday to uphold our environmental values and protect Mother Earth. We are outraged when the environment suffers because of corporate irresponsibility, as is currently the case with BP’s oil spill crisis in the Gulf. Still, there is a line between passion for the environment and zealotry...
Water is essential to all forms of life on Earth. Most of the water consumed by the average human being has been around for hundreds of millions of years and is constantly recycled in our atmosphere. Humans are made up of 60% water and we rely on it in every aspect of our lives. Yet, as the human population continues to grow at a rapid...
We live in a society focused on statistics. We measure every conceivable statistic on sports from baseball to our everyday use of gas in our cars. Yet for some reason we seemed shocked and worried that it has finally reached a level where energy accounting is becoming a mandated requirement for commercial buildings. Yes, here in...
We are currently witnessing the 6th major mass extinction in the planet Earth’s history. While the reasons for this decline in life are many, one of the biggest causes is global warming. Global warming is directly affecting our planet’s biodiversity,and if carbon dioxide levels continue to rise at their current rate, “over 35 percent of our...
It’s a basic biological truth that we sometimes forget: we all create waste. The rich tend to produce more than the poor, but all of us, whether politician or pauper, leave something behind. The advanced waste disposal systems in industrialized nations help us to ignore the waste we produce, but the world’s poor don’t have this luxury, and...
The tenacious eating machine, the Asian Carp, was imported by catfish farmers to eat algae to clean their ponds and released into the rivers during floods of the early 1990s. Since then, they have steadily created a stronghold on the Mississippi river system, growing and reproducing at staggering rates. Along some stretches of the Illinois...
Every year, our world produces thousands of tons of garbage. The United States alone generates over 230 million tons of trash, equally about 4.6 pounds per person in a single day. Only a small percentage of that garbage is recycled and the rest of it is incinerated or piled into landfills. But as landfills across the world are closing...
Renewable energy sources are constantly being analyzed and debated in the news, but do you really know how the actual process works? Where does that energy actually come from? Impress your friends with some scientific knowhow and learn about the science behind six major renewable energy technologies...
With Senator Lindsey O. Graham withdrawing his support, previously being the lone Republican backer of the Senate’s climate change bill, global warming is once again in the news (did it ever leave?). Cranky climate deniers make noise on partisan talk radio, however, the evidence in favor of anthropogenic global warming is based on extensive...
With the worlds’ current dependency on oil, our environment continues to pay the price for the demand. On April 20, 2010 a BP oil rig caught on fire, exploded, and then later sank about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Not only did this disaster leave at least 11 people presumably dead, but it will also continue to leave a lasting impact...
In May of 2009, Dell Computers announced a new policy that it would not export E-waste (electronic waste) to developing countries. In February of 2010, Hewlett Packard announced a similar policy. These announcements brought a degree of attention to the practice of shipping electronic waste from developed countries to developing ones...
Electronics are finding their way into more and more households across the world. They can be used as tools or as toys, for work or for pleasure. Sometimes they come in the form of a large flat-screen TV, other times they can be as small as a pocket-sized iPod. Often, electronics allow us to perform tasks more efficiently, communicate with...
It’s not news that our bee population is declining; beekeepers have slowly seen the crisis unfold for years. The New York Times reports statistics on just how bad the decline is: “Bee losses are ranging from 30 to 60 percent on the West Coast, with some beekeepers on the East Coast and in Texas reporting losses of more than 70 percent...
Oxygen and Our Oceans: The entire ocean ecosystem relies on oxygen and each part of that ecosystem requires a different level of oxygen to survive. There are a variety of fish and other marine life that can thrive on low-oxygen water, while others simply require more oxygen in their waters to survive. Low-oxygen waters, known as hypoxic...
On October 28, 1805, explorers Lewis and Clarkencountered what they named the “Beautiful Buzzard of the Columbia.”1 On February 16, 1806, they captured a live one of these birds—a “relic of the ice age”—and measured its wingspan at nine feet two inches. Less than two centuries later, in 1967, the massive bird that had become known...
If you have ever seen a doctor for a cold or any other bacterial infection, it is almost certain you were prescribed a form of antibiotics to fight off the sickness. For this, antibiotics are miraculous, and one couldn't begin to count the lives they have saved and the amount of suffering relieved. On the downside, for several decades, humans...
It’s Spring Vacation time, which gets me in the mood to plan a trip. Home or abroad, I’m still the same person who can’t bring herself to toss a pop can. Why should I leave my green ways behind me just because I’m traveling? Green vacationing means choosing activities that have less impact on the planet: staying closer to home, driving...
Solar power, the generation of electricity from sunlight, is the world’s largest energy resource and also the largest available energy source in the United States. With a new administration in the White House, there has been a renewed focus on the environment and alternative energy solutions. President Obama recently passed the...
Water is one of Earth’s most abundant natural resources. Paradoxically, more than one billion people around the world do not have access to clean water. As the world population grows, this problem is expected only to get worse. One popular solution to the problem is water privatization...
China is the most populated country in the world, and they are currently the second biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, behind the United States. If China's carbon emissions keep up with a pace of 7% per year growth, by 2030 its carbon dioxide (CO2) production will equal that of the entire world today...
President Barack Obama recently announced that his administration has “approved an 8.3 billion dollar loan guarantee” for new nuclear power plant construction. This loan will go to Southern Company, which will build two advanced reactors at a plant in Georgia—the first ones built in the United States since 1976. Those supporting the...
As discussed in the previous Greeniacs article titledEndangered Species, over 350 species across the world will likely be affected by climate change in the coming years if we do not reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide is the most abundant heat-trapping greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, and if we do not control it...
While some sectors of society have embraced alternative forms of energy such as wind and solar, others are exploring ways of reaching previously unreachable oil. Known as oil sand or tar sand, these are deposits of sand or clay, water and bitumen,which is a heavy and viscous oil. Unlike traditional sources of oil, oil sand requires...
Critics of climate change claim that there is no actual evidence of significant global warming. In fact, they say, scientists are only relying on computer models, which are notorious for being imperfect and unable to predict the future pattern of a complex climactic system with any real certainty.
Smog, the cloud’s ugly, earthborn sister, is formed when pollutants combine with sunlight, creating what are called particulate matter and Ground-level Ozone. It afflicts many of the world’s major metropolitan areas, and its effects range from irritating to deadly. In London’s Great Fog of 1952, for example, as many of 12,000 people—yes...
Farming grows up… The sky is the limit, especially when it comes to the future of farming. In fact, vertical farming was recently named the 16th best world invention of 2009 by Time Magazine. Innovational companies, like Valcent, have created efficient, affordable systems that reduce water use, limit pesticides and can be place in...
The Greenest Characters in Pop Culture… Let’s take a look at some of the most enduring environmental figures in American pop culture. They are the products of imagination that brought environmental awareness to those too busy, or lazy, to pick up a copy of Silent Spring...
On January 8th, 2010, the TERRA podcast revealed a two part program titled “Angels of the Forest: Silky Sifaka Lemurs of Madagascar.” Produced by Sharon Pieczenik and Erik Patel, the program discusses his efforts to conserve the unique Silky sifaka Lemurs in Madagascar. The program notes that about 98% of land animals in...
The cold winter months tend to be the time of the year that most people wrap up their spring and summer gardens. However, the fall and winter months can provide many opportunities to continue gardening and make your soil even more fertile for future growing seasons. Whether you want to grow winter edibles...
I know February might seem a little early for a Summer Reading List, but consider it preparation for global warming. Combine the chronologically organized works below with this Greeniacs article, and you will have more than enough books to bury your head into as the summers get longer and hotter… 
What is the Future of Recycling? Over the past 40 years, recycling programs across the United States have made significant progress. Currently, there are over 8,000 curbside recycling programs in operation in the U.S., a significant jump from 1973 when Berkeley, CA gave birth to the first program. Additionally, in the past 15 years, the U.S. has...
Paying the piper—water scarcity in the 21st century: When people talk about water scarcity, one of the many consequences of global warming, they do not mean that the earth is running out of water. While only two percent of the earth’s water is freshwater, that is still enough to go around. What water scarcity pertains to is...
Why is sea ice disappearing so quickly? Climatologists and global warming experts knew that global warming was going to melt ice sheets around the world, but they never predicted it would be this fast. The most dramatic examples of ice loss so far have been the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Ocean. Why would it be in those places? It has to do with just being...
Trading bread for briquettes—MFIs are a new type of charity. Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean you have to give up on giving. While supporting traditional environmental charities is a wonderful way to make a difference, you might also want to consider giving to eco-oriented microfinance institutions...
Are you a New Year’s resolution-maker? Well, in 2010, countries across the world are making environmental sustainability resolutions! With the recent world climate conference in Copenhagen setting the precedent for a more environmentally progressive future world, many countries are implementing goals to limit their... 
With 7 wins and 29 losses this season so far, the Minnesota Timberwolves have one of the NBA’s worst records, but their Target Center Arena is an environmental slam dunk. In 2009, the Timberwolves unveiled the first green roof in professional sports, which, at 2.5 acres, is also the fifth largest green roof in the United States. The roof cost $5.3 million to...
With our global emphasis on green and sustainable living, many people are actively doing their part to engage in “green acts”. Whether it’s recycling, toting reusable grocery bags, there are a number of ways to engage yourself in balanced living. Step 1 to realigning your lifestyle using eco-principles is to begin seeing differently. See... 
Can rock go green? You’ve evaluated your transport, your diet, and your electricity usage. What about your musical equipment? Following the warmest ever documented decade, it is obvious that every decision you make has environmental implications—even the decision to rock. Here are some of the latest developments in eco-friendly guitars...
Although comprehensive recycling programs are increasing in popularity throughout most cities across the United States, the volume of garbage produced in cities continues to outweigh the volume of waste recycled there. Currently, the U.S. creates over 250 million tons of municipal waste each year and only 32.5% of that waste is sent...
Here’s a thought: converting your engine to run on biodiesel or vegetable oil is not a progressive idea; it is regressive. It dates all the way back to 1900, the year when Rudolph Diesel, the French-born son of German immigrants, successfully used peanut oil to run an engine at the World Exhibition in Paris. Sadly, we haven't made...
Americans are buying bigger houses, accumulating more products, upgrading continuously, working longer hours, being more productive, and becoming more in debt than ever before. In response, the voluntary simplicity movement emerged, driven by a fairly simple goal: rebelling against the consumerist culture of excess that had...
I am sitting in a wooden long-tail boat with Thomas, a Lao man whose white teeth contrast with near-black skin as he creases his face into a smile. From beneath the shade of his billowing hat, Thomas (his adopted English name) tells me that he was born, and will also die, on Don Det, one of Laos’ Four Thousand Islands. The Four Thousand...
Everyone hates being told “I told you so”, and most women also hate thinking their mother was right. However, on stepping upon the threshold of 30, and with my mother now in her early sixties, I can’t help but notice that on a good day, she looks not more than maybe only five or ten years older...
Is ecotourism really eco-friendly? The travel and tourism industry is the largest sector of the world business economy and is responsible for over 230 million jobs and more than 10% of the gross domestic product worldwide. Tourism is especially important to developing countries: according to the Global Ecotourism Factsheet, “for the world’s...
May Your Holidays be Green… The holiday season is one of America’s most excessive and extravagant times of year. However, I do confess, there is something about this time that sends chills of joy through me. It is a combination of the lights, people buzzing along the streets, Christmas trees and menorahs lit up all over town, great...
The holiday season is here! The 2009 holiday season not only marks the end of another year, but it also marks the end of a decade—a decade that has finally made the environment a priority. Global warming has been coined the word of the decade, major climate negotiations are currently taking place in Copenhagen, green technology...
By the year 2030, India will pass China as the world’s most populous nation. Its population at that time is estimated to be 1.53 billion people. Currently, India’s 1.15 billion residents contribute to a disproportionately low six percent of the world’s CO2 emissions, but that number is “expected to triple within the next 20 years”. And in...
As recycling programs across the country continue to expand and provide more options, the question as to what can and cannot be recycled may become more and more confusing. Some typical questions may be: can I recycle this pizza box with my other paper; should I recycle this broken bottle; do I need to wash out my plastic shampoo bottle...
It all began with Dolly the lamb. Now scientists have taken cloning to a whole new level: meat production. That’s right, in the not so distant future you could find yourself in the meat isle picking up laboratory grown pork. Scientists in the Netherlands who started this project call it “soggy meat,” however, I wouldn’t be...
In 1919, the founding father of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, had a vision to create a hydroelectric dam at Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. Almost a century later, his idea has finally come to fruition. After 2 decades of construction, the Three Gorges Dam will soon be running as a hydroelectric river dam that spans the Yangtze River in...
A social movement called dumpstering is one of the most repulsive and fascinating environmental movements, and has regained popularity over the last few years. Also known as dumpster diving, urban foraging, and freeganism, dumpstering is basically the act of looking through dumpsters to find food, furniture, and household items to use. Dumpster...
Although the debate around climate change still continues, many species around the world are being affected by warming temperatures. Some may argue that the Earth is going through a natural warming cycle, while others may argue that the warmer temperatures are a product of global warming and excessive greenhouse gases in our...
While most people go into hibernation mode during winter, wanting nothing more than to curl up around a fire with hot coco, there are those of us who start going slightly delirious at the thought of being caged in for the cold winter months. However, unless you’re in the Arctic, there’s no reason why you have to induce self imprisonment during...
By 2009, 184 countries signed the treaty with plans to minimize the effects of global warming. However, with the treaty expiring in 2012, we could be left without a concrete international agenda to help prevent climate change. Concerned countries, like Denmark and the United Nations, realized this and created the Climate Change...
Airports, it’s time to recycle! I recently returned home from a cross-country trip to Michigan, spending an excessive amount of time in several different airports. Due to the time and circumstances of my layovers, I was forced to have my coffee and meals of the day at a couple of different hubs and purchase some reading material to entertain the delay. Like any good...
Last week I was on my roof, industriously squeezing caulk along the vinyl siding on the upstairs dormer windows. October in Indiana – the red maples were aglow, the skies were deep blue, and it was not cold, but cool enough to need a jacket. Leaf rot scented the air. I enjoy caulking. Not just because it’s a home repair I can actually...
Every time a G20 Summit is held, tens of thousands of protesters, each seemingly fighting for a different cause, show up to voice their contempt for this global meeting. But for all the reasons globalization is protested, including the spread of capitalism, the exploitation of cheap labor, protectionism, etc., perhaps the most asserted is...
Living in San Francisco, this conjures up many images, so how does composting fit in? The city of San Francisco has a long history of being eco-forward, allowing residents and city officials to take a lot of pride in their environmentally friendly way of life. This past year, the city took their eco-minded practices to the next level: San...
Throughout the past couple of years, “Eco Products” have taken over. From soaps to computers to billboards, most companies look for a way to advertize their “green” efforts. While walking through an isle in the grocery store one afternoon, I wondered, are all these so called “eco products” true in their claims? My skepticism was validated...
What exactly are NEVs? Even if you saw one, you might not recognize it. They look and act very similarly to golf carts. They can travel at low speeds, between 20 to 35 mph, up to a range of around 30 to 40 miles in one day. That might sound a little limited, but that's enough of a range for city driving or around the neighborhood, thus the name...
Thinking of making your Halloween eco-friendly this year? Hopefully the answer is “Yes!” Every October, millions of Americans spend billions of dollars preparing for Halloween. We head out to stores to stock up on candy, costumes, decorations, and other party supplies. Sadly, most of the Halloween goods we buy are not very eco-friendly—and...
There is so much hype behind anything organic these days, organic food, organic cosmetics, organic babies, literally everything is becoming pesticide-free, all natural, eco-hype. Another a recently trendy organic must-have is organic clothing. Swedish clothing company H&M, which possesses lines from fashion-celebrity bigwigs like Madonna...
Is our drinking water safe? Clean, fresh drinking water is something that we take for granted. Because it is necessary for human life, it should be considered a right, not a privilege. However, more and more studies show that many households in the U.S. are drinking water that is actually filled with contaminates, chemicals, and harmful waste...
All environmentalists want to curb the effects of wasteful and damaging human activity on the environment, but some environmentalists believe the root of major environmental problems is simply the rapid growth in the number of humans on Earth. This phenomenon is otherwise known as overpopulation. As demonstrated by the recent food...
The use of a conventional fireplace still leads to harmful smoke, fumes and other indoor air pollutants – definitely something to consider if you have pets or children. Traditional open fireplaces burn very inefficiently and produce hundreds of chemical compounds, including carbon monoxide, organic gases, particulates, and some of the same...
On the last days of September of 2009, the United States Senate presented a renovated bill from the House of Representatives to Congress called the Senate Climate Bill (SCB). The aim of the legislation is to boost the green economy through investment in energy technology. The authors behind the bill, who include California Senator Barbara...
While most people love the concept of a glass house, they have one major problem with it - privacy. But there’s a simple solution – curtains. Lightweight curtains would provide both shade during summer months as well as privacy, without compromising the structure’s aesthetic appeal. But what a lot of people also don’t...
Most people are aware that drinking bottled water is wasteful, hence the craze behind reusable water bottles such as Sigg or Nalgene. However, it was not until the recent economic downturn that the consumption of bottled water finally slowed down for the first time this decade. Since its conception in the mid 1970s, bottled water has risen...
They say people in glass homes shouldn’t throw stones. Well, this is one glass home you’re not likely to find a squabbling pair in. In 1984, Buddhist monks in Thailand began gathering bottles to decorate their shelters. The interest not only attracted a lot of tourists but also resulted in a flood of donated bottles to...
Jellyfish are, indeed, increasing in number thanks to at least three different things we humans have done. First off, many of the jellyfish's natural predators and competitors for food have been over-fished, allowing jellyfish to thrive and grow in population in their absence. Second, nitrogen and phosphorus run-off into the ocean creates areas...
Wind energy is becoming a popular alternative to fossil fuels because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions. The use of wind as a power source has been around for thousands of years. Historically, it has been used across the world to pump excess water off of flooded land, to saw-mill timber...
Fortunately, nowadays it is much easier to make eco-friendly lifestyle choices than, let's say, 20 years ago. Whether it is the car you drive, the oven you use, the clothes you wear, or even the everyday products you buy, there is a green alternative. I have made many changes in my life for the environment, but one question that still lingers...
The first environmental problem with smoking is the process required to make cigars and cigarettes. In the United States, tobacco, a plant relatively sensitive to disease, requires the use of more pesticides per acre than most other crops, amounting to 27 million pounds of pesticides each year. While this is bad for the environment, the...
Homeowners around the world who want to do something good for the environment while also reducing their electricity bill are increasingly turning to solar energy for their home. Although it's great that there are so many ways to introduce solar energy into the home, it can be hard to decide what to do amongst all of the options. Some solar...
Back to school shopping is always a feeding frenzy. I’m in a hurry, and with each daughter insisting that she “needs” the hot pink erasers or the cute Post-It Notes, I end up tossing stuff willy-nilly into the cart and making my escape. One way to stop the feeding frenzy is to follow that tried and true formula: the three Rs. The first R means...
In recent years, global warming has been a heavily debated topic. It is widely understood that our planet is warming at a faster rate than usual, but the cause of this warming remains in conflict. The Earth does have a natural cycle of warming and cooling, but the warming process has increased significantly over the past century. In our lifetime...
Conventional dog food contains pesticides, chemicals, additives, and preservatives that are harmful to your pet and the environment. Several brands of pet food have even been recalled as not safe for consumption. By feeding them natural or organic foods, you will be reducing the amount of toxins ingested by your pet and released into...
It might be odd to think about, but the delicious food on your plate is closely linked to the environment. Grains, meat, fruit, vegetables, and nuts once grew in the wild as part of a natural, complex ecosystem. Although these vital ingredients still fuel modern society, the process of getting our food has changed drastically. Most urban dwellers...
Many would argue that an abundance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere due to human activity is consequently trapping more heat in our atmosphere. Others would argue that our Earth is going through a natural warming cycle and the rise in temperature is due to natural causes. However, most scientists would agree that global warming is a result...
Batteries are commonplace in most households. Americans purchase nearly 3 billion dry-cell batteries every year to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools. Most of these batteries are single use, or dry-cell, and the average person in the U.S. discards 8 of these per year. Many states consider...
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that people spend 90% of their time indoors, but that indoor air quality can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. Whether in your home or business, follow these 10 easy steps to ensuring you have the cleanest indoor air possible. Don't Allow Smoking Indoors - There is no safe level...
Illegal drugs are a well-known menace to society. The social impacts and the effects that they have on the body are widely known. However, when thinking about the illegal drug industry, the environmental impact of producing these drugs is often overlooked. The most commonly abused drugs—marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin—also pose...
Mountaintop removal mining has recently become one of the most controversial methods of mining for coal. Recently, there has been a growing protest against the practice. Although mountaintop removal has large environmental and social costs, it is more cost-effective for the coal company. The reason is because of the physical process of...
Despite our society's over dependency on prescription medication, there still remains a great deal of interest in allergy relief minus meds which only mask the problem instead of cure or control it. However, thanks to on going research and interest in natural living, there is now a growing list of natural ways to alleviate allergies without...
Sustainable building has been around for centuries, but it hasn’t been until recently that green building practices have become a priority for new construction in the United States. One of the most notable examples of the rise in green building in the US is at the federal level. Not only have a few significant pieces of legislation passed for the green building...
An invasive species can be defined as a non-native species that adversely affects the ecosystem, usually by out-competing native species. Over 50,000 non-native species have been introduced to the United States alone, either intentionally or unintentionally, and cost an estimated $130 billion annually. Almost half of the species...
What is New Urbanism? New Urbanism is a recent trend in city planning that developed in the last few decades. The basic premise of New Urban neighborhoods is a rejection of all the environmental and social consequences of suburban sprawl. While originally a solution to housing congestion in cities, sprawl is now creating many more problems of its own...
Since the 1960's, clearcutting has been one of the most controversial methods of logging in the logging industry. On the other hand, it has remained the most widely used method in United States national forests. Clearcutting simply is the practice of cutting down all the trees in an area and growing new, even-aged trees in their place...
Spring is the time of year that many people are getting their gardens ready for the warm summer weather and sunshine. For many of you, this time of year also means planting and planning your gardens strategically to avoid deer and other pests from eating your blooms. Small insects like mites, grubs, and aphids or even large pests like rabbits and...
My last article explained how to benchmark your utility bills so that you can determine if your building is energy efficient or not. People often assume that their building’s HVAC system was designed by an engineer to operate efficiently so what need is there to benchmark energy usage? In California, buildings are required to be designed per...
A green lifestyle is an ethical commitment to conservation - or just simply a greater awareness of what we're consuming and what impact we have on our environment. Over the last few years, with the rise of a 'green' trend, we've seen a lot more companies not only catering to the green market, but making it easier to consumers to be educate...
Americans love their lakes. Fishing is as American as apple pie and wakeboarding is the new skating. But how safe are these beloved recreational sports? Pollution from industry and agriculture dump phosphates and carcinogens either illegally or legally into lakes while non-native species somehow find their way into waterways and dominate...
With the broadcast of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", the issue of global warming had escalated to unprecedented heights. These days, nearly all consumers are at least aware of global warming, and with the media's push to "go-green", many are now turning that awareness into constructive lifestyle changes.One of the more prominent...
Don’t just save money, earn more - some companies, such as Whole Foods and Harbec Plastics have generated millions for cost cutting moves. Marketing themselves as eco-friendly, they were able to get featured by major online and print publishers and generate the kind of publicity that money can’t buy...
Today’s the day to plant my garden tomatoes. I’m yearning for that home-grown taste! You say you have no room for a garden? No problem. With six hours of sunlight, you can grow tomatoes on a balcony or patio with ease. A few rules apply to growing container tomatoes. Choose a small, compact variety to fit your space; often the label will...
Just a year before the first Earth Day in April of 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught on fire. Now that sounds pretty absurd, considering a river is comprised of water, the natural counterbalance to fire. But Cuyahoga was the dumping point for the vessel of industrial pollutants being carried from Cleveland to Lake Erie. Contaminated...
Santa Barbara made history in May of 2009 with the Jesusita fire. After two other separate and significant fires within just 10 months of the Jesusita and a total of four major fires in two years, residents were scratching their heads wondering when the threat of another natural disaster would finally subside. But the truth is that fire is a...
Grilling on the BBQ, lounging around the pool, soaking in the view on your patio - these are all the signature trademarks of summer, but so is the blazing unrelenting heat that comes with it. As much as we love summer, we can't help but feeling tortured by its heat. And great as summer is, it's not-so-great features include a sweltering...
People are becoming more concerned about the cost of their commercial space and many companies are now looking beyond the base rent and wanting to ensure that the building they buy or lease is energy efficient. Many tenants today want to know what the total cost of their lease is going to be, and they seek to determine beforehand all of the...
This festival was very green friendly displaying an awareness of helping the environment by providing compost and recycling trash bins throughout the festival, using solar panels to power the “Tunnel Stage,” offering a recycling store to accept used bottle, cans, plastic cups, and old cell phones in exchange for different prizes such as Vitamin...
Want to watch your environmental impact but still have a fantastic wedding day celebration? Couples all over the world are making it happen by finding simple ways to “green” their weddings. From invitations to wedding attire, there are many easy and low cost ways to keep your nuptial celebrations eco-friendly. While there are “green wedding...
Purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs), installing solar panels, holding environmental rallies, and demanding organic and local food are just a few things that campus environmental groups around the nation have been up to. From small community colleges to big universities, students at campuses across the United States are joining...
As a child growing up in the Midwest, I was able to enjoy the luxuries of our seasonal vegetable garden and other fresh produce from local farms. I remember picking fresh berries on our camping trips to Lake Michigan and eating snap peas or cherry tomatoes directly from the vine in my backyard. I rarely considered washing these fresh picks...
It was a suburban gardener’s worst nightmare: a grub as big as a toddler! Thank goodness it was just part of the Chicago Field Museum’s new Underground exhibit, in which visitors “shrink” to 1/100ths of their normal size and experience soil up close and personal. Tree roots as big around as tree trunks. Gigantic crayfish lurking in corners...
My last article provided a simple way to measure your utility consumption by calculating your building’s kilowatt hours per square feet per year. One tip to help make the process of gathering your utility information easier is to use the free tools found at most utility companies. As an example, Pacific Gas & Electric provides free commercial...
Ninety percent of the world's big fish are gone or over fished. Yikes. Quite a heavy opening liner, I know, but declining fisheries is one serious topic. If you thought the first fact was grave, digest this one: the world takes out a half a billion pounds—yes that is billion with a “b”—of seafood from the oceans every single day! How...
For the greater half of my life, my daily diet has been vegetarian. My middle school years turned me onto the animal rights movement, causing me to dismiss red meat, and then white meat, and finally any form of seafood. As I got older, my taste for eggs and most dairy products began to fade, but I have yet to give up cheese and chocolate...
Reconciliation ecology is the idea that humans and endangered species can live side by side, even in advanced civilizations. Humans now occupy over 95% of terrestrial earth, and other species are being enclosed into smaller and smaller spaces. The more humans contribute to habitat loss, the more species are lost. Reconciliation ecology...
Many years ago, as I was moving out of my college apartment in Boulder, Colorado, I was faced with a devastating decision. Did I really have to throw the loads of plastic bags that were shoved into one of my kitchen drawers in the garbage? It didn’t seem right to me. Not only was it dumbfounding that an eco-conscious town like Boulder...
Remember the Victory Gardens of World War II? The term nowadays is “Recession Garden,” as more people are gardening to supplement their food sources. Our circumstances are remarkably similar to the 1940’s: we’re at war, we’re self-rationing because of job loss and rising costs, and we’re trying to stay hopeful despite bad news about Wall...
In spite of the nay-sayers, the Doubter Debbies of the world who resist the displacement of dirty fuels and who swear that global warming is a myth, the shift towards a green-conscious future cannot be helped. Almost a half a century ago, the peregrination towards Earth Day began as environmental cognizance took hold in the hearts of the...
In the past few years, we've discovered so many different ways to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. Everyone wants to go green, but not everyone has the time, money, and effort to do everything. Fortunately, changing just a few of these little habits can make a huge difference. Here are the top ten easiest (and cheapest) things you can do to go green...
As our world moves to a deeper shade of green, environment-focused opportunities continue to unfold. In the United States, a huge shift is being made in the design world, where many new buildings are taking the green approach. Examples of platinum-rated buildings granted by the U.S. Green Building Councils’ LEED rating system can be found...
It seems to me that every city has an excuse for why it is not going green. Big business and governments alike complain that switching too fast to renewable energy sources will cause a sag in the already sagging economy, that reducing emissions by x-percent below some year's levels is not possible, that environmentalists are asking...
Last week I asked John Vialard of my local Marshall County, Indiana electric cooperative to do an energy audit of my house. It’s an inventory of a home’s energy output, followed by some energy-saving solutions—usually a free service to utility customers. I learned that while some energy innovations are great, simply cutting back makes the...
My granddad used to tell me that “old habits die hard,” and that if I wanted to make a personal metamorphosis that it would take hard work and constant consciousness of my actions. For some cities in the world, the same is true for environmental action. Whether a city’s start lied in the era of coal mining or its history a time piece of...
Too often human adulthood is comparable to a hamster running on a wheel. The routine of every day life seems to fall into the get up, go to work, go to the gym, make dinner, watch TV, go to sleep mode, leading to an unshakable cycle that comprises your life. This austerely-put realization should not be depressing in any way, it should propel you...
Speaking of new habits, recently I switched to milder, less-toxic household cleaning products to reduce my family’s exposure to scary chemicals. Marketing messages for today’s commercial products shout that the only good germ is a dead germ! But average American homes don’t need to be as sterilized as the Centers for Disease Control. Some...
Wake up and smell the burning coal, Peters, I thought, after eyeing my whopping electric bill. So far my family’s efforts to cut our energy usage resemble chopping down a mighty redwood with a herring. Not that we haven’t been trying. I programmed my thermostat, keeping daytime temperatures at a balmy 68 degrees. My thin-skinned youngest...
Free-range meats and eggs are exploding in popularity around the world. In the United Kingdom, free-range eggs have actually outsold those from traditional farms, and many major stores are selling only free-range eggs. In California, a proposition on the ballot in November of 2008 passed, which forces pig, cow, and chicken farmers to either...
In Hollywood the hottest new celebrity diet, major eco-food trend and secret is about to emerge as the next major national sensation! Did you know that many sources pointed to the raw organic diet as having brought Britney Spears to the road of recovery? Or that it saved Super Model Carol Alt’s health, life, and modeling career...
Environmentalists receive a bad rap for being extremely picky about every energy-consuming detail of human life. They ask people to change their eating and transportation habits just to prevent a few tons of carbon dioxide from being released. Granted, this is crucial in the whole “everyone doing their part” affair, but what if I told you one...
Biodynamic agriculture is one of the most sustainable methods of agriculture.1 It does so by incorporating organic farming techniques, composting, crop rotation, and attempts to integrate and reuse all of the natural resources on the farm. However, biodynamic agriculture is much more than just an agricultural method, it is...
Choosing a college or university can feel like a full-time job. There are thousands of schools in the United States—each with its own claim to fame. Prospective students are forced to search through a pool of schools to find one that they can identify with and receive their desired education from. If the environment is a top priority, a new...
It is what some scientists have called a biological “murder mystery.”1 Miles of coral reefs all over the world are losing their colors and dying off under the sea, leaving nothing but a vacant skeleton of what was once a habitat of bustling life. The cause is unknown. Some say it’s the rise in water temperatures. Others point to change in ocean...
If you have not personally felt the impact of our current economic crisis, consider yourself lucky. Global leaders consider our current situation to be the “most serious global recession since the 1930s.” Yikes! With a new President in office in the United States and the world’s business and government leaders brainstorming solutions, our...
Here's a little test: Google “cruise ships and the environment” and tell me what pops up on the browser first. Cruise liners discussing the breathtaking views you'll see while you sail off to Alaska? Or perhaps pictures of the vibrant reefs seen while scuba diving in the Bahamas? Sure these both fit the description, but most likely you'll...
Everyone has heard of global warming, but how many people have heard of ocean acidification? Recently, more and more political attention is being paid to this relatively unknown side effect of global warming. A scientific panel, consisting of the United Nations and other international groups, called for “urgent action” against ocean acidification...
My husband and I score high on compatibility quizzes. Our ideal vacation is a beach, a book, and peering up from the page only long enough to discuss our next meal. We relish silly British sitcoms and ballroom dancing. We disagree on one thing, though: I’m a Tosser and he’s a Keeper. I would recycle anything not nailed down—even important...
The month of February brings us Valentine’s Day-that [sometimes] dreaded holiday of pressure and expectations. Whether you are single or coupled up, Valentine’s Day offers the tradition of card giving, flowers, chocolates, dinner, and of course, romance. Instead of stressing about how to make a dozen red roses or a heart-shaped box of chocolates...
An ideal human world would boast zero emissions, but we are a species whose livelihood depends on the consumption of energy. We use energy and we use a lot of it, and simple physics tells us that what come in must some how come out one way or another, and our form of energy exhale is usually in some sort of harmful green house gas emission...
It is the most positive form of vandalizing to date. Volunteers clandestinely transforming patches of ugly weeded or trashed parcels of urban land into sustainable gardens of native plants. The idea behind this revolution, called “guerrilla gardening,” is to renovate small scraps of industrial land to enhance street-side beauty as well as...
In the United States, we generate over 400 million tons of trash each year. Some of that waste biodegrades, some of that waste can be recycled, but some of it sits around for hundreds of years with nowhere to go. Some of the most stubborn waste is plastic. Americans alone throw out about 60 million plastic water bottles everyday, use about...
The winter of 2008 saw a heavy decline of bat population in the Northeastern United States. Hibernating bats in caves across New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts were dying in numbers of up to tens of thousands. The species affected include little brown bats, Indiana bats, and northern long-eared, tri-colored, and small-footed...
The month of December 2008 provided us with some unusual weather patterns. Snowfall hit unexpected places like Las Vegas, Malibu, and Payson, Arizona. Areas of the Pacific Northwest that are used to a winter full of rain, including Portland, OR, were buried in snow for days. Boulder, CO experienced the coldest year in over a decade and...
Striving for carbon neutrality is an ongoing international battle whose importance is shown though its ubiquitous media coverage. Nonetheless, gaining this enhanced public knowledge system has been and continues to be an arduous road. While global warming has become the popular quagmire of the late 20th and early 21st century, the beginning came...
Many of us use the holidays as a time to stay home and rest, but some of us use the holiday season as an opportunity to travel. If you are one with a travel bug, try taking the environment into consideration with your trip planning this year. With over 390 National Park Service areas covering more than 84 million acres across the United States...
Everyone's heard about global warming, but relatively few people have heard about global dimming. What is global dimming? Substantial parts of the world are actually dimmer, i.e., less light, darker, than they were several decades ago due to air pollution.The United States, for example, is about 10% dimmer, while parts of the former...
Corporations everywhere are looking for a way out of significantly reducing their carbon emissions. Populations are demanding emission cut backs and during every political election new initiatives emerge that aim to cut big business' use of dirty fuels. Some companies have argued that environmental standards are too harsh, that the bar is set...
The holiday season presents a huge list of things to think about: travel, gift giving, meal planning, and so forth. If you have children or are buying a gift for a child this year, you may also want to think about whether or not the toy you are considering may be toxic. Yes… toxic! Among the many threats that toys present, namely, choking hazards...
With Thanksgiving soon approaching, gift-giving season is just around the corner. Many retailers say that “Black Friday”, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is their biggest shopping day of the year; while others see the largest sales increase the Saturday before Christmas. Regardless, we are soon to embark on one of the spendiest times of the...
Volunteering not only means that you are performing charity work in an altruistic and selflessness fashion; volunteering has a whole new meaning in this day and age. Consider volunteering as something you do for people who are not as fortunate as yourself, think of it as an exchange of ideas and a cultural experience. Being a volunteer, a person...
Celebrities have become the bread and butter of our weekly news, whether we or they like it or not. Although tabloids usually focus on relationship status or weight and style changes, celebs do a lot of good for the environment that deserves positive attention. These aren't just famous people who pay thousands of dollars to attend an...
It is a hard thing to explain and an even harder thing to imagine. The disappearance of millions of honey bees across the United States with no tangible explanation and no dead bees left behind to examine. Bees are simply vanishing. But before you declare a spiteful “good riddance” from all those stings or embarrassing situations where you run...
Beating the energy crisis is no easy feat, especially with an ailing economy tempting energy companies to continue employing cheap, dirty energy. Those in charge offer the public solutions that involve boosting technological advancements, rather than urging people to reduce their bad habits and consumption rates. For Peak Oil Communities...
This year voters were faced with a series of controversial issues on their November ballots. In particular, Californians were given the opportunity to vote on environmentally related issues explicitly and implicitly. One initiative that may have been an implicit vote for the environment was Proposition 2, also known as the Standards for Confining Farm Animals...
The hunt for new energy sources began with the obvious: products of mother earth that are known to be energy-rich. When the consequences of petroleum use became too hot to handle, and sources of gasoline were rumored to be dwindling in supply, people sought a source that was renewable. The genius behind renewable energy sources is...
Very literally translating to mimicking biology, biomimicry is an old idea emerging as a new sustainable method of smart design at a time where industries are searching for more eco-friendly ways to produce their goods and services. Biomimicry is the idea that imitating nature's design, either through species design or ecosystem function, people...
It is no secret that the world's intractable addiction to coal as an energy source has been a major cause of global climate change. Mountain top mining has stripped landscapes of their geological history and underground excavations for coal have led to numerous deaths. And although coal accounts for 22% of the United States’ energy use...
It's no secret that eco-friendly practices and lifestyles are gaining popularity around the world. However, more people want to do good for the environment not only on their own, but within entire towns and cities centered around sustainable living. Unified by using collective means to do environmental good, these “ecovillages” are actually...
People always seem to be talking about organic-this and organic-that, and all it really seems like people know about the word “organic” is that it represents something void of pesticides, that it is beaming with natural goodness, or it is somehow yoga-related. And yes, these things are true—except for maybe the yoga thing—but there is another reason to...
California is known for being a state to set nation-wide environmental trends, and this November's election is no different. A significant amount of election buzz has been circling around Proposition 1A, a measure formulated by nearly two-thirds of California's legislative branch that calls for the implementation of a high speed rail stretching...
It seems that every time you look, another species is being added to the endangered list. Just recently, the federal government placed the beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet under the protection of the United States Endangered Species Act. A decade-long recovery program has failed to assure their survival, mostly due to development and a range of economic and...
With the green movement taking over the production world, selling everything from toxin-free lamp shades to organic jeans, morphing your bathroom into an environmentally friendly zone is relatively simple. Greening your bathroom is not only good for the environment, but it is also great for your and your family’s health...
Many of us tend to over look the environmental impacts or threats within the healthcare industry as we depend on it for our well-being. I was shocked when I found out how much unnecessary pollution goes into our Nation’s healing process. An organization working to combat many of these issues, Health Care Without Harm, offers some pretty alarming statistics: The...
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Green Facts
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A steel mill using recycled scrap reduces related water pollution, air pollution, and mining wastes by about 70%.
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One recycled aluminum can will save enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, or a TV for 2 hours.
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Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct.
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Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth can save as much as 10 gallons a day per person.
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You will save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide for every 10,000 miles you drive if you always keep your car’s tires fully inflated.
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Glass can be recycled over and over again without ever wearing down.
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Refrigerators built in 1975 used 4 times more energy than current models.
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Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to make the material from scratch.
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Americans throw away more than 120 million cell phones each year, which contribute 60,000 tons of waste to landfills annually.
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Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.
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An aluminum can that is thrown away instead of recycled will still be a can 500 years from now!
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For every 38,000 bills consumers pay online instead of by mail, 5,058 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided and two tons of trees are preserved.
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Nudge your thermostat up two degrees in the summer and down two degrees in the winter to prevent 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
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Less than 1% of electricity in the United States is generated from solar power.
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You will save 100 pounds of carbon for each incandescent bulb that you replace with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), over the life of the bulb.
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Recycling 1 million laptop computers can save the amount of energy used by 3,657 homes in the U.S. over the course of a year.
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Washing your clothes in cold or warm instead of hot water saves 500 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and drying your clothes on a clothesline six months out of the year would save another 700 pounds.
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82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from burning fossil fuels.
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A laptop consumes five times less electricity than a desktop computer.
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A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.
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A tree that provides a home with shade from the sun can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime.
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Recycling for one year at Stanford University saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.
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The World Health Organization estimates that 2 million people die prematurely worldwide every year due to air pollution.
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Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial fleet of airplanes every 3 months
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Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.
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If every U.S. household turned the thermostat down by 10 degrees for seven hours each night during the cold months, and seven hours each weekday, it would prevent nearly gas emissions.
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Recycling 100 million cell phones can save enough energy to power 18,500 homes in the U.S. for a year.
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Shaving 10 miles off of your weekly driving pattern can eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
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Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide than equivalent stands of trees.
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American workers spend an average of 47 hours per year commuting through rush hour traffic. This adds up to 23 billion gallons of gas wasted in traffic each year.
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States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume.
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Due to tiger poaching, habitat destruction, and other human-tiger conflicts, tigers now number around 3,200—a decrease in population by about 70% from 100 years ago.
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You’ll save two pounds of carbon for every 20 glass bottles that you recycle.
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It takes 6,000,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.
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Current sea ice levels are at least 47% lower than they were in 1979.
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Americans use 100 million tin and steel cans every day.
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In the United States, automobiles produce over 20 percent of total carbon emissions. Walk or bike and you'll save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
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77% of people who commute to work by car drive alone.
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In California homes, about 10% of energy usage is related to TVs, DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players.
