Daily Archives: March 5, 2010
Cool Roofs and Earth Tube Air Conditioning in Renew Magazine
Installing earth tubes at Aldo Leopold Center. Photo: from Renew magazine
Dumb Roofs
Renew magazine for Jan – Mar covers a lot of ground in its 106 pages on “technology for a sustainable future.” But for me the stand-out article covers a subject dear to my heart. The dumbest idea in Australian architecture – black or dark grey roofs.*
We get a bucketload of sun in this country. Just recently several of our major coastal cities had consecutive days over 40°C (104°F). What are the best colours to attract the hot sun’s rays? Black and dark grey. It’s madness. We’re building houses to be be ovens and so…Read the full story on TreeHugger
When it Comes to Good Choices, is it Better to Reward the Good or Punish the Bad?
Image credit: Grist
The name “junk food” alone tells us that our bag of chips, corn syrup-laden cookie, and giant soda are not the best food choices. Still, people reach for those foods everyday.
But what if junk food was taxed? Would that change people’s behavior? Or maybe subsidies that made healthy food cheaper would be more effective? Recently, psychologists have attempted to use science to answer these questions….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Sustainable Dining on a Bus
Image credit: Good
It doesn’t seem like there could be much that’s sustainable about a giant bus—or a roving restaurant—but Restaurateur Kai Schoenhals is using both to help move local food beyond its traditional boundaries….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Conventional Wisdom May Worsen Savannah Droughts
Image credit: iluvrhinestones/Flickr
From Texas to South Africa, farmers and ranchers on the drought-plagued savannah know that cutting down water-hungry shrubs and trees helps keep more moisture in the soil. This conventional wisdom has ruled land management for generations but there is one problem—it may not be true.
According to new findings by researchers at Texas A&M University in College Station, the exact opposite might be the case….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Today on Planet 100: Top 5 Gas Guzzling Dinosaurs (Video)
<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/59348474001?isVid=1&isUI=1&publishe…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Gabrielle Anwar Lives the Simple Life, Meryl Streep’s Message for Moms, and More
Photo via EcoStiletto
Actress Gabrielle Anwar–most famous for her Scent of a Woman tango with Al Pacino and her current role on USA’s Burn Notice knows that the lessons you learn as a kid are the ones most likely to stay with you–whether that means teaching her daughter that acting isn’t all that glamourous or instilling good, green habits at a young age. …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Forget the Oscars, The Toxies Are Much More Exciting
I am so embarrassed that we missed our walk down the red carpet for the Toxies on Wednesday night at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater. Established by Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (Change), it recognizes those chemicals that have so affected our lives.
GreenBiz lists some of the winners, starting with a Star on TreeHugger:
Worst Breakthrough Performance and Viewer’s Choice Award for Worst Chemical of 2009: Bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen impersonator found in polycarbonate p…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Ethical Superstore Hosts Carnival of the Green
This week marks Carnival of the Green #216, and it’s being hosted by Ethical Superstore, a site based in the UK that’s committed to helping the ethical consumer “buy what you believe in.” Through the Ethical Superstore website, you can purchase the finest quality fair trade, organic, and eco friendly products.
So head on over to this week’s Carnival which includes a round up of green news and events from the past week and your best green tweets, submitted by other bloggers and green sites. <st…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Mercedes Unveils Tree of Innovation at Oscars
Source: Merkley and Partners
This Sunday nestled among the tributes to Hollywood’s brightest stars during the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Mercedes-Benz USA will unveil a new ad campaign called “Tree of Innovation” which stars the S400 HYBRID and showcases the company’s expanding repertoire of environmentally oriented vehicles. The ad is the first to …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Prairie Dog and Black-Footed Ferret Populations Plagued By Plague
The Utah prairie dog. Photo by Dean Biggins, U.S. Geological Survey.
Guest blogger NaturallySavvy.com is dedicated to natural and organic living.
Plague once struck mortal fear in humans, but it’s a thing of the past, right? Not so, according to research published in a special issue of the journal Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, which focused solely on plague.
Two of the papers in the issue were co-authored by a U.S. Geopogi…Read the full story on TreeHugger
