Daily Archives: November 5, 2008
Greenhouse Farming in Spain Provides Potent Local Relief from Climate Change
Image from thebittenword.com
The residents of Almeria, Spain, could be forgiven for not thinking global warming a great threat to their fair city. While their countrymen have had to endure an annual temperature increase of 0.5°C since the early 1980s, the citizens of this small city have, instead, experienced a period of cooling. According to a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, local temperatures fell 0.3°C per year between 1983 and 2006 — an unexpected trend they attribute to the presence of a significant concentration of greenhouses
A Slice of Solar Powered Cake
Image source: Cake
Cake (player of songs such as The Distance, Never There and the remake of I Will Survive) is showing their support for solar by installing a photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of their recording studio in Sacramento, CA. Their sixth album is being recorded with 100% solar energy
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Manduka Pro Yoga Mats Offer Lifetime Guarantee
Image source: Mandaka
Yoga mats may seem like a dime a dozen these days, and even more so with all of the eco-friendly mats out there. We’re not saying eco mats are a bad thing, we’re just offering another way to make your yoga mat sustainable – offer a lifetime guarantee to pump new life into an old, dead yoga mat. That is exactly what Manduka offers with their new line of yoga mats.
Norwegian Lemmings Threatened by Climate Change
Image credit: Balsamia on Flickr
Norwegian Lemmings Suffer from “Wrong Type of Snow”
Earlier today Michael reported that climate change is reaking havoc on the axolotl (aka the “Mexican walking fish”). But the freaky looking fish isn’t the only animal being driven to the brink of extinction. Given their reputation, it’s amazing any are alive at all, but according to the BBC the lemming is now in serious trouble to
Will the Obama’s New Puppy be Green?
Image: Eagle Cross Kennel
In his acceptance speech (video across the fold), Barack Obama promised his daughters, Malia and Sasha, a new puppy. Obama touched hearts across America and the world when he told the precious first progeny: “I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us.”
Although Obama will certainly have a full plate re-establishing leadership in environmental protection and addressing climate change, a green puppy would capture the attention of America’s next generation of voters and demonstrate the new White House commitment to leaving a better planet for our children
All Things Obama
Eat. Drink. Better. serves up Election Victory Pancakes.
EcoSalon reviews the new Democratic government’s green plans.
The Naked Hippie sells organic Obama tees.
Sustainablog wonders what the new President’s first sustainable act should be.
Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg’s top green news stories. Why not submit your own green news?
Note: On November 17th, 2008, Hugg will no longer accept new submi
What it means for U.S. cleantech venture capital
With the election now behind us and a Democrat-controlled Washington, DC to be installed next year, I thought I’d share some quick non-linear thoughts on what this may mean for cleantech VC. Just one investor’s thoughts, to be taken for whatever they’re worth:
1. Overall, this is probably a very good thing for the U.S. cleantech [
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Metal Alloy Could Make Hydrogen Storage in Cars 60% Lighter Than Batteries
photo: Mike Babcock
One of the problems with developing a commercially workable system of using hydrogen as a transportation fuel is the fact that tanks that safely and securely store the hydrogen are generally so heavy as to be cumbersome in the vehicle. Well, Robin Gremaud, a Dutch-sponsored researcher, has found that an alloy of magnesium, titanium and nickel solves this problem by readily absorbing the hydrogen. A tank built of this material could also be up to 60% lighter than the amount of batteries required to power a car for a similar distance traveled.
Gremaud compared the weight re
G-Oil: Bio-Oil Passes API Tests, Soon to be in Retail Stores
Photo by Mad Paul
If you haven’t heard about the innovative idea of G-oil, developed by Green Earth Technologies (GET), it is basically a non-petroleum based motor oil, that uses, well, no petroleum. It is actually derived from animal fats which are processed into an effective oil for lawn mowers, scooters, mopeds, motorcycles, hybrids, and regular gasoline/diesel vehicles.
California Voters Reject Well Meaning But Poorly Drafted Renewable Energy Ballot Initiatives
photo: Katie Claypool
A quick post-vote update to some of the renewable energy ballot initiatives in California: With over over a third of votes counted, approximately 60% of voters have rejected both Proposition 7 and Proposition 10. Prop 7 would have raised California’s renewable portfolio standard for utilities to 50% by 2025; while Prop 10 would have have provided funding to help offset the costs individuals would pay in purchasing alternative fuel vehicles.