Daily Archives: November 19, 2008

Image from WHOI

Believe it or not, there actually has been a good deal of research done on whether salps, a group of tubular, free-floating tunicates (which one of my former professor affectionately to as nature’s “poop machines”), could help slow climate change. (And, if you don’t, try typing “salp carbon,” or some variant, into Google Scholar and see what you find.) How, you wonder? By living up to their nickname, of course: producing copious amounts of carbon-replete waste, or particulate organic matter (POC), that are exported to

Belt drives for bicycles are a great thing. Especially for those who don’t want to fuss with maintenance and lubrication. Though we wonder if Associated Press might’ve got a bit too carried away when they stated that, “While some smaller custom bike makers have used them before, Trek is the first to use the technology for mass-produced bicycles.”

We’ve been reporting on belt drives for bikes, almost as long as TreeHugger has been taking up pixel space. Back in 2004 we noted the iXi, And thence the <a hr

:: Foodies, rejoice! Get inspired to host a local, organic Thanksgiving feast with the help of Alice Waters, Dan Barber and Mario Batali.

:: Save money–and waste–by making homemade dog toys for Fido this holiday season.

:: Throw together the seemingly random ingredients you have sitting in your pantry and fridge (a la Kelly’s Quinoa Cakes with Tomato, Swiss Chard and Olives) for

photo: Mathias Degen

Some preliminary data was recently released on how well the 39 nations which ratified the Kyoto Protocol are doing in reducing carbon emissions and the result for the group overall is, well, a mixed bag. Sixteen nations are on track to meet their obligations, while 20 are not.

Part of the reason: Between 1990-2006 emissions from the countries of the former Soviet Union declined by 36% as those nation’s economies crashed on the rocks. However from 2000-2006 emissions from these nations rose 7.4%. At the same time emissions from richer developed nations rose 10

photo via Texas A&M

In our own species, trends from the 1980’s have come back into fashion recently—witness the reemergence of leg warmers—and now the animal kingdom is getting in on the ’80’s thing too, as Pygmy Tarsiers, animals closely resembling creatures from the 1984 movie Gremlins, and thought to be extinct, have been found in the mountaintop forests of Indonesia. The carnivorous primate had not been

photo: Doc Searles

Though Congress let the offshore drilling and oil shale development ban lapse back in the end of September, few expected that new rules to develop US oil shale would be proposed before the end of the year. Well, the Bureau of Land Management apparently couldn’t wait.

In a move which the BLM says “could result in the addition [to US supplies] of up to 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from lands in the Western United States” and which will “increase and diversify America’s energy supply”, new rules for

The Plug & Play Energy Bike and a little slice of heaven just waiting for you to adopt

Costa Rica.
Image credit: Global Inheritance and The Nature Conservancy

Planet Green’s non-profit partners ring in the holiday season with sustainable cheer—offering uniquely refreshing gift ideas, green events and more. See what they’re up to and then choose which one (or two) you’d like to support!

Image: Sam and Ian on Flickr
Though marine conservation is stepping up worldwide, a new study has found that countries still have a relatively long way to go before they meet their commitment to protect 10 percent of their respective waters. Whereas 12 percent of the world’s land is protected, only 4 percent of the world’s coasts are designated as “marine protected areas” (MPAs) – a term used to describe a holistic and well-connected global network of <a href=”http://www

Image source: Chevy Volt, pre-production image with Solar World logo

Will Bail-out Prevent Development of Greener Cars?
The German company SolarWorld, offered approx. 1 billion euros (US $ 1.3 billion) in cash and credit for the German assets of Adam Opel GmbH, a unit of General Motors Corp (GM) Wednesday. General Motors European spokesperson Karin Kirchner stated that ”Opel is not for sale” and declined further comment.

Well, that may depend on whether GM gets t

Photo via Cleantechnica

Slap a sticker on your cell phone and consider it charged. Well, that’s the goal of myFC, anyway.

The Swedish-based company is working to make charging hand-held devices incredibly easy and efficient, and they’ve devised the FuelCellSticker, which could be just such a solution.