Daily Archives: January 8, 2009

Electric Cars from the Past, Present, and Future
digg_url = ‘http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/01/slideshow-gallery-23-electric-cars-evs.php’;Transportation plays a major role in our lives. We would all like to keep the benefits that it brings us while getting rid of the negative side effects (global warming, air pollution, etc). Walkable cities, public transit, and

Michael Franti is the thunderous voice and poetic brain behind Spearhead, a band that melts hip hop, R&B, reggae, and funk with a message of love and rebellion. Franti has long been outspoken on issues of political reform, peace, and ecological sanity. His documentary film, “I Know I’m Not Alone,” follows his barefoot journey across the Middle East, guitar in hand.

Michael speaks with TreeHugger about his hopes for the new president, his efforts to live greener—both at home and on the road—and the making of Spearhead’s new record, All Rebel Rockers.

Listen to th

Tim DeChristopher after his now-famous auction bidding. Photo via the Salt Lake Tribune.

Is protesting via an auction paddle the new style of eco-civil disobedience? As we previously noted , the Bush Administration’s sale of leases on Utah’s wild lands drew complaints from many environmental groups. “This is the fire sale,” said Stephen Bloch of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “This is the Bush administration’s last great gift to the oil

photo: Martin Pettitt

Just a quick update to a post from back in September. At that time we reported that Deepwater Wind was planning an offshore wind farm in Rhode Island but didn’t provide many details. Well, the location still has yet to be determined, but we can bring you a bit more on the project, which is expected to generate about 15% of the state’s electric needs (we already knew that part

). Here’s what we know:

Efficiency. Image credit:Nature.com

Projections from the International Energy Agency show global energy demand growing by close to 30 percent by 2020, setting the stage for massive growth in the carbon dioxide emissions that are warming our planet. But as my colleagues and I at the Earth Policy Institute demonstrate, by dramatically ramping up energy efficiency the world would not only avoid growth in energy demand but actually reduce global demand to below 2006 levels by 2020

Flooding in York, photo: Claudio Mazzetti

Due to rising temperatures caused by global warming, severe floods which normally occur every 5 to 25 years could happen more frequently and become more intense across the north of England, a new report indicates. Science Codex has a summary of the work of Dr Hayley Fowler of Newcastle University, but this is the gist of how bad things could get:

Image: 2OC

Here’s a novel way to generate some (extra) electricity: Bath, UK-based company 2OC has unveiled a plan to capture wasted pressure from the natural gas grid, Cleantech reports. By 2010 the group hopes to be able to generate 20 MW of power in east London. This is how the ‘geo-pressure’ system would work:

images via Plastolux

With Stair P*rn on hiatus I have to work for a living and find lovely renovations like this one, designed by b-arch in Florence. While I cannot tell if the stair is made from recycled material, just about everything else in the loft is.

When you’re buying a new electronics products there’s lots to consider. A few years ago there was practically zero information if you wanted to make an environmentally sounder choice. The huge problems caused by the dumping of old electronics in places like Ghana was only just starting to be recognized. Fast forward to 2009 and there’s a plethora of competing claims made by companies

Image Ross Parry Agency via Daily Mail

Congratulations to Emily Cummins for building a portable evaporator fridge out of household parts in her grandpa’s potting shed. The Daily Mail claims that she has “invented an Amazing Solar Powered Fridge,” which would be a terrific thing if it was a) solar powered and b) she invented it.