Daily Archives: December 5, 2008

Image from Jen SFO-CBN

In what’s become a depressingly predictable trend, the EPA’s higher-ups have once again chosen to consciously ignore the better advice of their scientists and reverse a long-standing rule banning the dumping of coal mining debris into mountain streams. ProPublica’s Joaquin Sapien writes that the reversal will clear the new for a new measure that environmental groups are rightly calling a “gift t

Photo by participating teacher Sue Cullumber

One of the final stops on the International Teacher Program was a site not quite as quintessentially Galapagos as wandering an uninhabited beach filled with sea lions and marine iguanas, or gazing at sad ol’ Lonesome George. No, we rounded out our tour with a visit to one of the most sophisticated recycling centers i

Photo credit: Foodhoe

Three renowned Hong Kong chefs have been named WWF Ocean Friendly Chefs and will design menus featuring sustainable seafood species recommended by WWF’s Seafood Guide. The chefs are Lau Chun from Yellow Door Kitchen, Margaret Xu from Yin Yang Fresh HK Cuisine and Jacky Yu from Xiyan.

Hong Kong residents are some of the largest consumers of seafood per capita in the world. According to the Hong Kong Ecological Footprint Report 2008, the huge demand for seafood is contributing the

cute little fuel efficient Japanese car

When I last wrote about how Suburbs + Cheap Gas = Big American Cars and suggested that as long as gas was cheap Americans would keep buying big cars, I was roundly criticized. Only one commenter sort of got the relationship when I suggested a big honking gas tax was the answer:

The sales figures clearly show that left to our own devices, most of us prefer an F-150 (or in my case, a Nissan Titan) to some crap-tastic, over-priced sissymobile. You don’t like Prius sales figures? Well, then why don’t YOU put your money where your mouth is, and Y

Photo via Just chaos

It is part of an effort to raise awareness about the plight of the flamingos at this spot. The breeding ground is being flooded with sewage, and a housing project is proposed for nearby.

Read on to find out what’s happening and how to help. And of course how to watch little flamingo chickies that have just hatched.

photo: Stirling Energy Systems

Poor economy or not, there are still a number of large scale renewable energy projects in the works. One such project seeking regulatory approval is the 850 MW Solar One power plant, to be built by Stirling Energy Systems in the Mojave Desert, 37 miles east of Barstow, California.

The project application has been submitted to the California Energy Commission and should it be approved, this is what Stirling will be building:

By: Alan Fortescue (Note: The opinions expressed here are those of the author’s, not necessarily Earthwatch’s.)

There is a lot of talk about how president-elect Obama is going to sign into law a new economic stimulus plan in the first days of his administration. Some predict it will be in the range of $700 billion (and NO, this is not the already-squared-away $700 billion the Bush administration earmarked for bank bailouts and the like, but a brand NEW $700 billion). The idea is that with a wildly tail-spinning economy something dramatic must be done to stop the spiral towards an <a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/1

Darren Johnson represents the Green Party in the London Assembly.

The political mainstream is failing to come up with really creative solutions and seems fixated on short-term answers to boost consumer spending. Yet, so far, the green movement has failed to make its voice properly heard. This is not for the lack of brilliant ideas

.Greens need to tackle people’s everyday fears and aspirations in a way they can relate to in a language that is relevant. Otherwise, environmental concerns will just be seen as an abstract luxury for the good times that can easily be dispensed with once the going gets tou

Photo via Voltaic Systems; Full Disclosure: Shayne McQuade, founder of Voltaic Systems, sits on TreeHugger’s Board of Advisors.

Great news for everyone wanting to utilize solar power for their laptops. The Generator by Voltaic Systems is a solar-powered backback we’ve featured on TreeHugger before, but there are some cool improvements to it that make it perfect to both carry and

Photo by Corey Leopold/Flickr

We all know organic produce is better for our health, but recent research in organic pecan farming has revealed it can also be better for farmers’ pocketbooks.