Daily Archives: November 28, 2008

Every time I feel as though L.A. is finally on the cusp on improving its (woefully) underfunded public transit system, something comes along to scuttle my excitement. The latest controversy surrounds the Expo Line, an $862 million light rail project that will connect downtown Los Angeles to Culver City and which is slated for completion in mid-2010. (That will be the first phase; the second phase will eventually extend the line from Culver City to Santa Monica — see the “subway to the sea.”) The plan could be delayed, however,

Wolf’s eye taken at the Smithsonian Naturalist Center in Leesburg, VA.
Image credit:Steeve-o, Night Wolf, Flickr

In the nights just before this Thanksgiving, Canadian cold air flowed over the wilderness cabin I was staying in, reaching a night time low of zero degrees F, and blanketing skies with myriad stars, such as I could never have seen from any US city.

Sometime after midnight of the first night, the cabin grew very cold, forcing me to get up to stoke the wood stove. Reluctantly, I stepped out into the night to answer ‘nature’s call.’ Transfixed by the brill

I’m referring, of course, to angel investors — individual investors who put money into startups, typically at a pretty early stage.  Here on this site, and even more so in the media, the heavy focus is on venture capital inventments from institutional investors.  But that ignores the critical role angels often play in getting the [

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Image from kaet44

It’s not quite rocket science, but, as it turns out, it does involve a healthy dose of math and physics. The new “law” coined by Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, and a team of other U.S.-based researchers will allow scientists to predict when and how icebergs in Greenland and Antarctica calve, or break off from larger ice shelves. The calving process is important because it is known to accelerate ice sheet flow and contribute to sea level rise.

Thanks to the gang at Daily Candy for their great tip on new eco-store Hammocks and High Tea. The designs are described as “home goods inspired by life and fusion of the tropics” and the cute, simple designs are a beautiful touch to any backyard retreat or bedroom hideaway. All materials are eco-friendly, recycled and/or non-toxic, and make great gifts for a housewarming party

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Image source: The Guardian

On the heels of Governor Schwarzenegger announcing state renewable energy standards for on Monday November 17, the Santa Clara City Council elected on Thursday November 20th to take the standards and raise them. The local utility already provides 28.5% of the city’s power from renewable sources and sees no problem of meeting the state goal of 33% by 2020.

“The Sockfather” is a silly spoof underscoring why eco-socks are better.

Why has it been incredibly easy to buy organic t-shirts and yet so relatively difficult to find a good, affordable selection of good organic and/or eco-friendly socks? Socks are as necessar

Image source: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Watching the world around us and the changes big and small that occur all the time, sometimes you just have to do something to reflect what you are experiencing. It is this need to create that brings Human Nature: Artists Responding to a Changing Planet to the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. The exhibit, on display until February 1, 2009, is part of an artist residency program “investigating the relationships between fragile natural environments and the human communities that depend on them.” In practice, that meant <a href=”http://www

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We’ve written a lot about wood pellet stoves, and are intrigued — and a bit wary — with story out of Uganda about a new pellet stove that burns coal pellets.

Enviro Fuels Manufacturing, a Florida-based company, recently launched its Enviro High Efficiency Stove in <a href=”http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01

Photograph of pro-Kyoto protest in Istanbul via NTVMSNBC.

Though separated by language, culture, religion, and thousands of miles–not to mention attitudes about, say, safety and punctuality–Turkey and the United States have one big thing in common: neither country has ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.