Blogs

Getting Developing Nations on a Greener Path Without Creating a New Renewable Energy 'Colonialism'

Family and friends pose in front of a house in South Africa with a new solar heating system. Photo by Abri_Beluga via Flickr No matter how much it might help the environment for fewer nations to produce and consume at U.S.-style levels, slowing global development would clearly be an unworkable -- and profoundly unfair -- way to address the climate crisis. As environmental scientist Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker put it this morning at a conference in Berlin: "Poor and cle... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 123

5 Ways the U.S. Military is Going Green

Photos: Various, see links below. A Memorial Day Special It's Memorial Day weekend in the US, a holiday that commemorates the men and women who died while in the military. We thought that for the occasion we could have a look at recent ways in which various branches of the US military have been reducing their environmental footprint. There's still a lot of work to do on that front, but some progress has been made.... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 143

Harnessing The Wind's Vibrations For Electricity

Photos: Cornell University Vibro-Research Group (From left: Jamie Pelletier, Albert Dodson, Rona Banai, Zach Gould, Marco Zhang, mechanical engineering professor Frank Moon and Jared Valentin.) As a renewable energy resource, wind has lots going for it - but one major downside is the cost to set up the wind turbines themselves, not to mention the problematic visual impact and the noise pollution it generates (often likened to a small jet engine, especially for those living close by). However, undergraduate students from Cornell University's Vibro-Wind Research Group are working on a space-saving prototype that will harness win... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 247

Hair Raising Campaign to Clean Up Gulf Oil Gusher

Volunteers produced a lot of boom at Felix' Fish Camp, Mobile Alabama, to absorb oil. Photos courtesy of Matters of Trust Since the Top Kill method has failed, cleaning up the continuously leaking oil in the Gulf of Mexico is clearly a nonstop effort until the gusher is somehow capped. Marine toxicologist and author Riki Ott left her home in Alaska to bring her expertise to the Gulf as well as her experience with the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill 21 years ago, especially in stopping the use of ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 182

Shark Egg "Window" Proves Even As Babies They're Scary (Video)

Photos via Galileu In hopes of better understanding the stages of fetal development in sharks, researchers from Brazil's Guaruja Aquarium have literally opened a window into the once elusive world of shark eggs. For researchers, this new, unobscured peek into the humble beginnings of sharks may offer insights into how best to preserve them, many ... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 203

Solar Charger Goes Bonzai With the Electree

Until Jonathan Ive gets around to playing with solar chargers we are probably going to have to keep looking at the dull grey plastic crap that Jaymi keeps showing us. Or there is Vivien Muller's Electree, a sort of solar bonzai with photovoltaic leaves. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 315

What's Really Wrong with Our Oceans? Money, Politics, Greed, Money...

Photo via jenny downing Written By Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) The epic voyage of Plastiki is bringing into sharp focus the inordinate environmental and economic impact humanity is having on the oceans and seas. While the focus is solid waste, and especially plastic marine litter, the expedition also underlines the myriad of other, sometimes invisible, factors that are accelerating the degradation and decline of fisheries to coastal ecosystems, such as mangroves ... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 289

Robot Fish Take Over Schools of Real Fish, Lead Them to Safety

Images credit: NYU-Poly Now this is the kind of robotic fish we're really looking for. It doesn't just content itself with scanning the ocean for information on pollutants or changing temperatures, as all the other robo-fish we've seen so far are being programmed to do. Nope, this robotic fish is in the hero business. It is designed to take over schools of real fish and lead them toward safer water. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 33

Consensus Matters II: Blogging is not Science

Image credit: InfoThought When I wrote a post last week asking why so many people hate environmentalists, RecycleNot brought up a climate skeptic/denialist talking point I hadn't heard in a while—that science does not work by consensus, and that argument from authority is a logical fallacy. On the face of it, it's an attractive argument for those who don't believe in man-made climate change, and one we heard many times when TreeHugger was inundated with 'skeptic' commen... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 36

Seinfeld Rickshaws, Bike Taxis and Other People-Powered Transport

Credit: Screen capture. An important anniversary recently passed with little or no fanfare. April marked 12 years since the airing of "The Bookstore," the classic Seinfeld episode when Kramer and Newman try to start a rickshaw business in New York City. Their plans failed, hilariously, but the world knew overnight what a rickshaw was. What have rickshaws been up to since? Well, they were popular in Asia years before they became a Seinfeld plot ... Read the full story on TreeHugger read full article ...
Read more...

Wednesday,02 June, 2010 | Hits: 40