Daily Archives: January 13, 2009
Promoting Train Travel In Japan

Photo: JR East
We noted previously that PR campaigns to make trains fun, sexy, and romantic include posters and TV commercials here in Japan, with well-known actors and actresses at scenic locations. For people over 50, Japan Rail makes a special effort:
British Journalists Take On Skeptics, Liars and Incandescent Bulbs

It gets tiresome, responding to those who say this cold winter proves global warming a hoax, or that compact fluorescents only belong in Stalinist work camps. That doesn’t stop some of the better British writers from trying, even though they are talking to a wall. James Randerson does a great job of demolishing the anti-CFL cranks who clearly have not seen one since 1999:
Burts Bees Saves $25,000 a Year After Dumpster Diving
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Photo via Editor B
Burt’s Bees employees stocked up two weeks of trash. They then suited up in Haz-Mat gear and dove in.
What they found is now saving them $25,000 a year and brings them much closer to their goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2020
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Masdar, Abu Dhabi: Dubious No More

Daryl Visscher for The New York Times
We have shown so many awful projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi that it was hard to take projects like Masdar seriously; are they real or greenwashing? Now it appears that Lord Foster’s Masdar is under construction and they are getting serious. Elisabeth Rosenthal quotes Khaled Awad, a director of Masdar, in the New York Times:
Balanced Score Card For Alternative Transportation Energy Sources Ranks Wind-Electric First; Ethanol In Last Place
Mark Z. Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University
A recent research report by Mark Jacobson (pictured), updated and available for public review in Energy And Environmental Science, ranks several alternative transportation energy sources against key criteria. Among the criteria used, are those typically overlooked by proponents of, and investors in, the various propulsion technologies being acti
Green Inaugural Ball Announces Rockin’ Musical Headliner

The Green Inaugural Ball, presented by Planet Green, is kicking off on January 17th, and there’s a special musical treat for event attendees. We’re very excited that one of our Top 5 Buzzworthy Green Musicians was selected to play at the Ball!
Read on for which Grammy Award-winning musician will play, and more details about this very cool event.
How to Go Green: Work from Home

Photo credit: Martin Poole/Getty
Working from home sounds like a sweet deal: trade work clothes for sweats, skip rainy and crowded commutes, and set a schedule that fits you best—whether you’re an early bird or a night owl. And while there are some obvious environmental pluses to giving up commutes, take-out lunches, and weekly printer paper deliveries, setting up a home office comes with its own opportunities to cut back on energy use, trim waste production, and condense your carbon footprint.
Planet Green’s How to Go Green: Working from Home guide gives you all the information you nee
Time to Move to Detroit?

image: Cardcow
Detroit is on a lot of people’s minds these days, what with the bailouts and the auto show. TreeHugger has looked at Detroit real estate before, questioning how such a valuable asset could be left to rot like this. Economist Ryan Avent has an idea: “a bunch of us new media types should pack up and head to Detroit, where we could all buy mansions for $1000.”
Deadly Ghost Net Removed from Sunken Ship

Public Domain image via Wikipedia
Ghost nets are nets that are lost at sea and continue to kill wildlife. Off the California coast, a 9,000 pound ghost net is being removed from a ship sunk in 2006, thanks to a group of SCUBA divers and the Ocean Defenders Alliance
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