Blogs

Kitties love the planet too

Trystan L. Bass — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:15:33 PDT

If you're unfamiliar with LOLcats, then you won't find this post at all amusing. Just go read the news or something.

But if you can has a funny, then pop over to Globalwarminghateskittens.com. This one-joke site shows kittens who care about climate change, LOL-style.

They're tree huggers, they're afraid of increased mosquitoes due to rising world temperatures, and they're worried about flooding.

Each photo of an adorable feline includes an informative link about the topic too. So you get cute kitties, a clever joke, and environmental news. Have the dogs done as much for us lately?

Living with 100 things

Trystan L. Bass — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:38:56 PDT

How much stuff do you need to live? Probably a lot less than you think.

David Michael Bruno will attempt to live with only 100 personal items from November 12, 2008, to November 12, 2009. It's like he wants to be a No Impact Man for consumerism.

He outlines the rules for this 100 Thing Challenge in his blog. He's only counting stuff that belongs and relates totally to him, not the rest of his family (so the house and furniture are safe, although he does count a car and a bunch of camping equipment). And a few things get counted as one group (like underwear and books; the later is a bit of a cheat, admittedly).

Considering the vast amount of stuff most American homes contain, Bruno is really paring down dramatically. Why? To be blunt: "Run-away consumerism is making many of us narcissistic jackasses." Buying things and keeping up the Joneses goods is never-ending, and what we own tends to own us. Bruno notes, "The main thing to remember now is that stuff is not passive. Stuff wants your time, attention, allegiance."

You can't help but think of recently departed George Carlin with his bit about stuff. Too much stuff for your house!

Some people have asked if the 100 Thing Challenge could be bad for the economy (well, if more people did it). Bruno doesn't claim to be an economist, but he suggests that paring down possessions can emphasize more critical, conscious spending.

This is similar to what sustainability expert Annie Leonard, creator of the movie The Story of Stuff, said. When we learn more about the connections between sustainability, consumption, and the environment, we can be more transformative in our actions.

How many things could you live with? Think you're up to the challenge? Comment on Bruno's blog or join the Facebook group to track your progress.

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:09:35 PDT

Completing the circle: Gas at the pump, war in Iraq, and global warming

The war in Iraq, originally known as O.I.L. (Operation Iraqi Liberation, that is) recently passed its fifth anniversary. Oil Change International recently published a study that quantifies the greenhouse gas emissions from the Iraq War as well as some of the environmental opportunity costs.

Bicing takes Barcelona by storm

In its first two months, Bicing, a bike-sharing program in Barcelona, Spain, garnered over 30,000 subscribers. The programâs popularity has only grown, which is good news for new bike-sharing programs in Washington D.C. and San Francisco.

All aboard for National Train Day

May 10th marks the first edition of National Train Day, a celebration of trains, tracks, mass transit, and efficient travel. The date is significant as the anniversary of the joining of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways in Utah 1869 -- which created the U.S.' first transcontinental railroad.

Valley Girl decries car culture

The Los Angeles' Times "Emerald City" blog recently ran a great post illustrating how Southern California turned from sunny citrus paradise to car-choked hell. Cassandra Davis mixes an historical account of the evolution of car culture in SoCal with her own firsthand experiences growing up as a Valley Girl.

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Mon, 05 May 2008 06:51:49 PDT

HGTV âgreen homeâ: Complete with gas-guzzling SUV!

Has green-washing hit a new low? HGTV has completely missed the point of what it means to be sustainable with its new Green Home Giveaway sweepstakes.

The winner gets a fancy âgreenâ home in Hilton Head, SC, complete with energy-efficient appliances, eco-floors, amenities, doo-dads, etc.; a membership to the local water-sucking, pesticide-spewing golf course; and a hybrid SUV. Of course all of these prizes are carefully branded and marketed through the HGTV programming.

Bicycle City: Perfection, sans picket fences?

Bicycle City sounds like a place Iâd like to live. By plannersâ description, its highlights include a âwalkable, urban design; vibrant local economy; eco-friendly, sustainable design; organic farming; human-powered transportation; strong and diverse community; active healthy lifestyle.â

By contrast to most urban areas, Bicycle City doesnât have âpollution, traffic jams, parking lots, national franchises, strip malls, stress, chemicals, or 'cookie cutter' â designs.

Glastonbury Festival celebrates green transport

The annual Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is encouraging concertgoers to leave their cars at home. A full third of people attending the three-day celebration (akin to Woodstock, but in the English countryside) will commute by public transport (including via coach and rail) and festival organizers are encouraging all who attend to car-share, if they must commute by vehicle. âThe aim is to reduce the number of cars which come to the festival,â organizers say.

Cars cause a scentless spring

Cars have made us fat, diseased, cash-strapped, and disconnected from one another and ourselves. Now, thanks to air pollution caused by cars and power plants, we don't even have the scent of flowers to appreciate. As National Geographic reports, the potency of the smell of flowers has been reduced by as much as 90%.

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:37:08 PDT

Eight ways to overcome excuses and start cycling

You havenât yet begun bike commuting, but youâve considered it. Whatâs putting the brakes on your brilliant plans? Perhaps a handful of good excuses that have made cycling to work a mere pipe dream. Whatever your reason for continuing to take the car, thereâs likely a simple means to make bike commuting an efficient, reliable, and sustainable way to get to work. Here are eight common (probably lame) excuses -- and how to overcome them with chutzpah. Prepare to dust off your helmet.

Birmingham's big city plan

Leader of the Birmingham, UK, City Council Mike Whitby commissioned a study to move the city towards sustainability and revitalize the city centre. Dubbed the âBig City Plan,â the goals include decreasing the city's carbon emissions by 60% by 2026, revamping mass transit systems, and moving the city towards self-sufficiency with livable and walkable neighborhoods, local produce and products sold locally, and homegrown industries to support the residents.

Paris-Roubaix inspires commuters?

Paris-Roubaix is a âhard man's race.â If you never realized that cycling is one of the world's toughest sports, check it out. The event is so over-the-top difficult that it can't help but inspire everyday cyclists to stop making excuses and get out and ride.

Greening the concrete jungle

Asphalt gardening is growing in popularity, as green-thumbed urbanites reclaim the concrete and break ground to turn parking spots into lush, green space.

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:04:55 PDT

To make cities âresilient,â reduce car travel

The goal for modern cities, as environmental scientist Peter Newman describes it, is to move beyond âsustainabilityâ to âresiliency.â The model of constant consumption needs to stop and cities need to be constructed in such a manner as to make this possible.

One of Newman's main targets is a decrease in oil consumption and, not surprisingly, minimizing the use of cars. Building of suburbs should be scrapped in favor of denser urban settings than enable mass transit, walking, and biking.

U.S. car sales crash in 2008

In the short span of one year, car sales in the United States have come crashing down -- and the change is significant. Industry giants Chrysler and General Motors sold 19 percent fewer automobiles in March 2008 than they did in March of 2007, according to sales reports. Ford isn't faring much better with sales that are down 14 percent. Meanwhile, Toyota is still hanging on with a mere 10 percent drop.

Introducing Hummer H8: The Earth f@#ker

Tired of tip-toeing around the Hummer's inherent incongruity with things like caring for the planet, giving a damn about anyone's safety, or working towards national energy self-reliance, the auto manufacturer has officially proclaimed, âScrew it!â

Diesel exhaust hurts your brain

New research indicates that exposure to diesel exhaust may cause long-term damage to brain function. The study, conducted by Particle & Fibre Toxicology, tracked the effects of the nanoparticles found in diesel exhaust.

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:37:52 PDT

America ends its affair with autos

Last Saturday, Lady Liberty formally announced that her long-standing affair with the automobile was over, once and for all. The original Miss America decided to call it off in honor of the New York Auto Show, with support from her friends at Streetsblog.

Streetsblog staged the event, dubbed âThe End of the Affair,â at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, where the auto show is held annually.

In California, it pays not to park

If someone paid you to park your car at home and find an alternate way to get to work, would you take the money and run? Angelenos and commuters throughout California are cashing in on a new program that pays them to take transit or their own two legs, instead of their cars.

Ethanol production is spreading the dead zone

The large âdead zoneâ that grows in the Gulf of Mexico every summer is nothing new. The toxic runoff of nitrogen fertilizer used on conventional crops in the Midwest leads to a huge swathe of sea that is incapable of sustaining life.

Corn is the biggest culprit in creating these environments, and now that the U.S. is looking to biofuels as a solution to its energy needs, the problem's only getting worse. Bush signed legislation at the end of 2007 that will triple the amount of corn ethanol produced over the next several years.

New York City council approves congestion pricing

On Monday, the New York City Council voted in favor of Mayor Michael R. Bloombergâs proposal to introduce congestion pricing on the clogged streets of Gotham. The measure passed in a 30-20 vote. Itâs up to state legislators in Albany to pass the plan before it can be implemented. If Albany does approve the measure, the city would be eligible for $354 million in federal grants for improvements to existing mass transit.

Huddler's new green shopping community

Hank Green — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:37:35 PDT

There are a lot of product recommendation engines in the world. In fact, one could make a pretty good case that there are too many. But Huddler may have actually gotten it right this time.

It's launched a service with a green spin at greenhome.huddler.com. The site is a blog, a social network, a wiki, and a recommendation system all rolled into one. I've spent the last hour on it, enjoying myself tremendously.

I've written reviews of a few green products I own (like the Earth LED CL-5), and I marked a few items as things that I very much want to own (like the Chevy Volt).

The system is extremely simple to use, not to mention pleasing on the eyes. There seems to be a pretty good community growing up inside of the site, plus a huge amount of information on thousands of green products. You can subscribe to users, discussions, topics, anything! It's a joy to use.

Of course, like all social sites, there is a battle to be fought for participation. It will only be a truly enjoyable and robust platform if a large community adopts the site. In order to entice folks, they've got a giveaway going on right now, which you enter yourself into every time you do anything on the site. So that's nice.

But we'll have to wait and see if Huddler can somehow create a chicken without an egg.

Possibly the biggest eco-giveaway ever

Magnus Hølvold — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:32:35 PDT

There's no shortage of giveaway contests on the Internet, but the popular tester of green products, Lifegoggles, now wants to give EcoGeeks a contest of their own.

Up for grabs is an ever-growing stack of gadgets and other products that has so far reached 69 prizes, all of which are of the "green" persuasion.

You can enter the contest in five different ways, all of which lead to varying amounts of exposure for the Lifegoggles and, consequentially, more exposure to various green gadgets and beauty products and the green movement in general.

The news is also good for people not of the United States, as quite a few of the prizes are available for international contestants.

So get your hands on those EcoGeeky gadgets, widgets, and gizmos! Check out the Great Green Giveaway for the list of prizes and how to win.

Carectomy week in review

Joshua Liberles — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:52:54 PDT

The green car is a myth

We at Carectomy have become fond of the expression that âthe greenest car is the one you don't drive.â Tom Konrad referred to us in his article for AltEnergy Stocks when he stated, âA carectomy is better than a better car.â Eco-Chick pointed out that the smartest car is ctill worse than the dumbest bike. And the country of Norway went so far as to proclaim it illegal for car manufacturers to use the words âgreen,â clean,â or âenvironmentally friendlyâ in any car advertisements.

DIY Electric Car asks, and answers, the questions: Are super-efficient or alternative-fuel cars eco-friendly? Can a car be green?

Walking tours provide context

The best way to experience any travel destination isn't behind the glass of an air-conditioned tour bus: it's on foot, moving slowly, with your eyes, ears, and nose taking in the essence of the place.

That's the idea behind Context Travel, a company that compares its tours to small seminars in a liberal arts college classroom.

Trendsetting Japanese teens choose iPods over cars

While Stateside suburban soccer moms may still be plowing down narrow streets with their wide-berth S.U.V.s, a new generation of Japanese have deemed the car superfluous. The Wall Street Journal reports that many young Japanese have decided not to use a car because itâs just not necessary.

Proof that âSan Jose hates pedestriansâ

San JosÃ© hates pedestrians -- at least, according to a web site by the same name. The site offers photographic evidence of its slogan: âSan JosÃ©: where cars matter more than people.â