From Spice to Spin | By Sarah van Schagen, Sarah K. Burkhalter | Grist | The Grist List

From Spice to Spin

13 Jul 2007

Zigazig wha?

Turns out what the newly reunited Spice Girls "really, really want" is a fleet of Lear jets. Yes, plural. Said an Aussie paper about their carbon-intensive tour, "Clearly, Girl Power does not come in green." Clearly, the more important concern is whether Union Jack will fit the Spice rack.

Photo: Eamonn McCormack / WireImage.com

Luke ... I am your filter ...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was no air pollution to cause respiratory problems for bike riders. But back to the future: this decidedly Storm-Trooperish helmet/gas mask will help keep your air filtered and your look fashionable.

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The wind and the William

Screw waiting around for shit to happen: An enterprising African student has DIYed a wind turbine to power his home. Meanwhile, in the land of opportunity, we're still trying to finish knitting our holiday gifts from last year.

Photo courtesy William Kamkwamba

Photo: iStockphoto

We're gonna milk this for all it's worth!

The average dairy cow may burp up 50 gallons of ice-cap-melting methane a day, so scientists are working dairy hard to test bovine digestive aids -- like garlic. In udder news, garlic-flavored dairy products are soon to moove onto shelves near you.

You down with CO2? Yeah, we know you!

A group of Vermont students is hip-hopping on board the climate-change cause by bustin' rhymes about carbon dioxide. Their first eco-single begins, "Glaciers melting, waters rising, sky is storming, global warming!" And ... that's a rap.

Seen something weird, wacky, or wonderful in the environmental world? Think it deserves a place on The List?

Grist does not testify to the quality of consumer goods, guarantee the pop-cultural significance of trends, or vouchsafe the accuracy of news stories featured in this column. For all you know, we just made it up. Use it at your own risk.

Sarah van Schagen is Grist's assistant editor.

Sarah K. Burkhalter is Grist's editorial assistant.

Comments: (5 comments)

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Those Hot Spice Babes

Until now I thought the high methane content of the Spice Girls' music was causing global warming. I stand corrected.

by Underdog at 11:51 PM on 14 Jul 2007

Those Smokin' Hot Spice Girls

Until now I thought the high methane content of the Spice Girls' music was causing global warming. I stand corrected.

by Underdog at 11:55 PM on 14 Jul 2007

Move over Eminen

This video is so bad it's good.

In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world

by biodiversivist at 7:51 AM on 17 Jul 2007

The answer is that we need to consume less dairy

Instead of finding miracle digestive aids to reduce methane from cows, governments and NGOs should be encouraging people to consume less dairy and meat in the first place. High consumption of dairy among children has been linked to obesity. What other mammals consume the milk of another species after weaning? Planted based milks such as soy have a much lighter impact on the environment, especially if you buy organic. And with plant-based dairy alternatives you don't have to worry about all the hormones and antibiotics that are in most dairy products. If you do continue to buy dairy and meat products, try to buy less of it, since most of us get more than enough protein in our diets, and buy only grass-fed, humane certified, and organic.

by amc89 at 11:49 AM on 18 Jul 2007

Cycling cows, and other news.

What other mammals consume the milk of another species after weaning?

What other animals cook their food? What's your point?

As for the methane produced by cows, it's the fossil carbon content that counts. To the extent that cows consume forage that has no fossil fuel content, they are not really adding to the overall carbon in the terrestrial carbon cycle. They're just cycling it. Almost all grain-based feed has a fossil-carbon footprint, since it takes lots of petro-based fertilizer/herbicide and diesel for the tractor, plus processing, etc. Dairy cows that feed on pasture and hay have a very low fossil carbon footprint. Prior to industrial agriculture, bovine methane was not an issue.

by gmunger at 12:34 PM on 18 Jul 2007
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