Daily Archives: December 14, 2008

Image from Monty Graham/Dauphin Island Sea Lab

If you have any interest whatsoever in jellyfish—and, really, who doesn’t?—then you should head on over to the National Science Foundation (NSF) website and read their special report on the environmental causes and ramifications of large jellyfish swarms. The interactive site is chock-full of videos, pictures (of course), interesting trivia (for example: a single jellyfish may release up to 45,000 eggs in a day) and several excellent primers on the

Jake Rajs—Stone/Getty Images

New studies show that operations from chicken farms generate more ammonia emissions annually than oil refineries and steel mills combined in poultry heavy states. About 8 times more. And now the EPA is pushing for an exemption for the poultry industry so they wouldn’t have to report those or other harmful emissions, on grounds that they’re protected under federal “right to know” laws. The Bush administration is hoping to get the exemption passed in January, befo

The fruits of IIE’s labors: teacher Karen Cruse giving a lesson on the Galapagos. Photo by Pete Oxford

Though I delved into Toyota’s reasons for annually executing their singular teaching program in the Galapagos, I amazingly failed to touch on the unsung heroes of the operation: the International Institute of Education.

IIE works closely with Toyota’s philanthropy division to orchestrate

Photo credit: Kimberly Faye

The old saying goes, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Smart businesses are always looking for an easier, greener, and more cost effective way of doing business, and this becomes even more important during economic down cycles, such as the one we are experiencing now. Today we are going to talk about one of the easiest means of boosting efficiency in a small business

outsourcing

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Photo Credit Carol Mitchell

At the end of every election, there is always a leftover pile of buttons, signs, banners, broken and elated hearts. This year was no different than any other, and while many states had recycle programs to help clean-up the aftermath of the election, many did not. You could always start up your own local post-election clean-up initiative with some neighbors, but what one woman decided to do with the collection of used banners from her neighboring area was qu

In Istanbul, hanging out your laundry is the only way to dry.

“Doesn’t it drive you crazy, coming from San Francisco to this?” another ex-pat asked me recently after finding out about my environmental inclinations. And while it’s true that recycling bins are few and far between, and organic foods not exactly the norm, in some ways, I’ve found it easier being green in Istanbul

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Was the faux auto bailout ad above the top story of the week? Or was it Our Favorite Guys on Bikes gallery? What about the EcoFont, Missing Acorns or something else? Check the full post below to find out what our top stories were this week!

Photo by Fred Dawson

Seems like the financial crisis has wracked more than just monetary institutions—Britain’s Millennium Seed Bank is under major threat due to a lack of continued funding. The bank, the largest in the world, is home to 10 percent of all of the world’s plant species, and stores six species thought to be extinct in the natural world. The bank may now fall short of its goal of collecting and conserving 25 percent of the world’s plant species by 2020—which could mean even more rare and <a href=”http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/5-worst-places-to-be-endangered-s

Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center on July 1, 1960.

If ever there was a time for Big Scientists and Big Engineers to take a leadership role in government, this is it. We now have reason to be optimistic that it may happen. The incoming US Federal administration has signaled its intent to put a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the helm of the Department of Energy, a Chemical Engineer to Administer the Environmental Protection Agency, and, if what I just heard is correct, a Harvard-educated architect in charge of the Department of Housing & Urban Development.

Business Nerds Out, Techno-Geeks In