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Author |
Published |
Section |
Thanks a Latte
Starbucks addresses water wastage following tabloid indictment |
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15 Oct 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:00 PM on 15 Oct 2008 As John Edwards always said, never underestimate the power of a tabloid. Following the revelation in British rag-mag The Sun that constantly running dipper wells waste a humongous amount of water, a Starbucks spokesperson confirms, "Stores will be instructed to switch off the dipper well tap and will wash spoons after use." And the plot thickens: According to PRWeek.com, a se ... |
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| Topics: business, food, green living, news, progress, water conservation (all these topics) |
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For Peat's Sake
Deal reached to halt deforestation on Sumatra |
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09 Oct 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:51 PM on 09 Oct 2008 Indonesian authorities have agreed to halt deforestation on the island of Sumatra, which has lost about half of its forest cover to logging since 1985. Conservationists joined Sumatran tigers, orangutans, rhinos, and elephants in applauding the deal, launched at the World Conservation Congress being held this week. Deforestation has increased the impact of flooding and forest fires on the island, not ... |
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| Topics: deforestation, Indonesia, logging, news, progress, wildlife, World Wildlife Fund (all these topics) |
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Constructive Critical-ism
Feds will designate critical habitat for polar bears |
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07 Oct 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:33 AM on 07 Oct 2008 The U.S. government will designate critical habitat for polar bears off Alaska's coast as part of a partial settlement of a lawsuit brought by Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Center for Biological Diversity. The Interior Department declared polar bears a threatened species in May, but neglected to make any stipulations for habitat protection. "You can't ... |
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| Topics: Alaska, Department of Interior, endangered species, Greenpeace, litigation, news, NRDC, oil and gas drilling, polar bears, progress (all these topics) |
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Give 'Em a Hand
Wal-Mart will slice use of plastic bags |
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25 Sep 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:10 PM on 25 Sep 2008 Wal-Mart aims to cut plastic-bag waste in its global operations by an average 33 percent over the next five years, the retail behemoth announced Thursday at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. And if you ever doubted that Wal-Mart is big, consider this: The move is expected to eliminate some 9 billion plastic bags each year, equating to more than 135 million pounds of trash by 2013. Wal-Mar ... |
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| Topics: business, green living, greening biz operations, greenish companies, news, progress, shopping, Wal-Mart, waste (all these topics) |
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Mercury Falling
E.U. will no longer export mercury |
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25 Sep 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:31 AM on 25 Sep 2008 Hold on to your thermometers: The European Union will ban exports of mercury as of March 2011. The 27-nation bloc stopped mining mercury in 2001, but its exports of the metal account for up to a quarter of global supply. The export ban will require mercury that's no longer of service to be put into storage instead of sent abroad. "Mercury poses a threat to human health and the environment in the European Un ... |
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| Topics: European Union, health, mercury, news, progress, toxics (all these topics) |
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Now They've Gone and Gordon It
Greenpeace protesters acquitted in coal-activism case |
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10 Sep 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:10 PM on 10 Sep 2008 In a decision that anti-coal activists say is a gamechanger, six Greenpeace protesters have been acquitted of nearly $53,000 in criminal-damage charges for painting "Gordon" on a British coal plant. The activists climbed a 650-foot coal-plant chimney last year with the intent to paint "Gordon bin it" in huge letters, aiming to pressure Prime Minister Gordon B ... |
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| Topics: climate, coal, energy, England, Gordon Brown, grassroots activism, Greenpeace, James Hansen, litigation, news, progress (all these topics) |
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The Longest Yard
EPA requires emissions cuts by lawn mowers and speedboats |
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04 Sep 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:11 PM on 04 Sep 2008 Gas-powered lawn mowers and speedboat engines will be cleaner under new regulations announced Thursday by the U.S. EPA. By 2011, engines in new lawn and garden equipment must emit 35 percent less smog-forming emissions, and recreational watercraft must cut emissions 70 percent by 2010. "EPA's new small engine standards will allow Americans to cut air pollution as well as grass," ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, news, progress, regulation, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Yazoo Keeper
EPA puts kibosh on wetland-destructive Army Corps project |
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02 Sep 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:14 PM on 02 Sep 2008 The U.S. EPA has vetoed a giant, expensive plan to build the world's largest water pump in the Mississippi River delta. The so-called Yazoo Pump flood-control project would have sucked 6 million gallons of water a minute from 67,000 acres of wetlands along the Yazoo River. The scheme, proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and first authorized by Congress in 1941, would have cost $220 m ... |
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| Topics: Army Corps of Engineers, habitat protection, Mississippi River, news, placemaking, progress, US EPA, water conflicts, wetlands (all these topics) |
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Xcel-lent Adventure
In landmark deal, utility will disclose climate-change risks |
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28 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:21 PM on 28 Aug 2008 In a first-of-its-kind deal, utility Xcel Energy has agreed to give its investors detailed information about the risks that climate change poses to business. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Xcel and four other utilities in September, asking them to determine whether their plans to build new coal plants posed undisclosed risks to investors -- from lawsuits and the c ... |
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| Topics: business, climate change impacts, coal, energy, investing, New York, news, progress, utilities (all these topics) |
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But What Will They Use for Sleds?
Colleges forgo cafeteria trays to save water and energy |
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26 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:07 PM on 26 Aug 2008 Colleges around the country are ditching cafeteria trays to lower water and energy use and to prevent wasted food. "If a college is looking to go 'green,' they need to start looking in the dining facility," said Sodexo spokeswoman Monica Zimmer; the food-service company expects 230 of the 600 colleges it serves to stop using trays. Skeptics worry about broken dis ... |
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| Topics: campus activism, education, food, news, progress, waste, water crisis (all these topics) |
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The Golden-State Touch
California bill aims to curb sprawl |
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21 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:10 PM on 21 Aug 2008 Hopes are high that a bill aimed at curbing California sprawl will pass the state legislature and be signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill, SB 375, would channel transportation funding toward projects that encourage smart growth. Each of California's 17 metropolitan regions would create a "sustainable community strategy" to encourage compact development; projects included in t ... |
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| Topics: California, legislation, news, placemaking, politics, progress, sprawl, state politics, urban planning (all these topics) |
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The Coal Shebang
Colorado utility voluntarily shuts down two coal plants |
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21 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:01 AM on 21 Aug 2008 Two coal-fired power plants in Colorado will be shut down -- not because green groups sued like crazy to make it happen, but because a utility volunteered. Citing concerns about public health and greenhouse-gas emissions, Xcel Energy asked permission of state regulators to close its coal plants, and regulators have approved the plan. Xcel becomes the first utility in the country to shut dow ... |
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| Topics: coal, Colorado, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, progress, solar thermal power, utilities, wind power (all these topics) |
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Takin' a Shine to You
Ginormous solar plants to be built in California |
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15 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:34 AM on 15 Aug 2008 Two gigantic solar plants will be built in California under deals announced Thursday between utility Pacific Gas & Electric and companies OptiSolar and Sun Power. Together, the plants could generate 800 megawatts of electricity at peak capacity, enough to power 239,000 homes. (Perspective: The total peak capacity of every photovoltaic panel in the U.S. as of last year was 750 MW.) The lar ... |
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| Topics: business, California, energy, news, progress, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
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Over the Humpback
Some big whales no longer in trouble |
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12 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:40 AM on 12 Aug 2008 There's bad news and good news from the world of marine megafauna. The bad: Almost a quarter of the 80 types of whales, dolphins, and porpoises are in trouble, with nine listed as "endangered" or "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Entanglement in fishing gear poses the main threat. The good: Thanks to a global hunting moratorium, humpback, commo ... |
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| Topics: endangered species, lists, news, oceans, progress, whaling, World Conservation Union (all these topics) |
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I Wear My Sunglasses at Night
With research breakthrough, solar power could work when the sun don't shine |
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01 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:51 AM on 01 Aug 2008 Wind and solar energy face a distinct hurdle: sometimes the wind don't blow and the sun don't shine. But new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests a breakthrough in the intermittency problem. In a study published Friday in Science, researchers demonstrate a photosynthesis-inspired process to use electricity from renewable sources t ... |
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| Topics: energy, innovation, news, progress, renewable energy, scientific research, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
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Turbine of the Times
Wind power in China is 'huge, huge, huge' |
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25 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:44 PM on 25 Jul 2008 China, known for its environmental struggles, is looking to have a success story in wind power. "China's wind energy market is unrecognizable from two years ago," says Steve Sawyer of the Global Wind Energy Council. "It is huge, huge, huge. But it is not realized yet in the outside world." China's wind generation has increased by more than 100 percent per year since 2005, and the ... |
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| Topics: China, energy, news, progress, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
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The Powers of Darkwoods
Canada protects B.C. caribou habitat |
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24 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:49 PM on 24 Jul 2008 A giant tract of land in southeastern British Columbia will become protected habitat, the Canadian government and Nature Conservancy Canada announced Thursday. The so-called Darkwoods area, purchased from a private forester, adds up to 550 square kilometers of mountains, valleys, and wetlands (that's 212 square miles, for metric-system hatas). The area is home to endangered mountain caribou, grizzly be ... |
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| Topics: Canada, endangered species, habitat protection, Nature Conservancy, news, progress, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Random and wiggy video of the day
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David Roberts |
16 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
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| Topics: China, education, India, innovation, population, progress, video (all these topics) |
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The Boreal World
Ontario protects gigantic forest area |
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14 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:16 PM on 14 Jul 2008 The Canadian province of Ontario will permanently protect a gigantic swath of boreal forest in what green group ForestEthics says is the largest conservation deal in Canada's history and one of the top three forest protection initiatives anywhere, evah. Some 225,000 square kilometers of trees -- that's more than 86,800 square miles in American -- will be kept safe from resource exploration and development. T ... |
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| Topics: Canada, habitat protection, news, progress (all these topics) |
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TGIT
State workers in Utah will enjoy mandatory three-day weekends |
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07 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:16 PM on 07 Jul 2008 Starting in August, thousands of Utahns will begin enjoying mandatory three-day weekends. Some 17,000 government employees will switch to a compressed workweek -- four days a week, 10 hours a day -- as the state undergoes a yearlong experiment aimed at reducing energy and fuel costs as well as greenhouse-gas emissions. While employees of various U.S. counties and cities mandate a shortened week, ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, innovation, news, progress, Utah (all these topics) |
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Revisiting Malthus
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David Roberts |
03 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Robert Kaplan: Nevertheless, if Malthus is wrong, then why is it necessary to prove him wrong again and again, every decade and every century? Perhaps because a fear exists that at some fundamental level, Malthus is right. For the great contribution of this estimable man was to bring nature itself into the argument over politics. Indeed, in an era of global warming, Malthus may prove among the most-relevant philosophers of the Enlightenment. |
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| Topics: food, politics, population, progress (all these topics) |
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Pulled Out a Plum
Montana forest conservation deal biggest in U.S. history |
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01 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:01 AM on 01 Jul 2008 Some 500 square miles of privately owned forest in the northern Rocky Mountains will be protected under a deal announced Monday by the Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land. The groups will pay Plum Creek Timber $510 million for the checkerboard tracts of land in northwest Montana. The deal is "the largest land purchase, for conservation purposes, in American history," sa ... |
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| Topics: habitat protection, Nature Conservancy, news, progress (all these topics) |
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A Coal New World
Landmark ruling halts Georgia coal plant on basis of CO2 emissions |
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30 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:38 PM on 30 Jun 2008 A Georgia coal plant cannot go forward until it receives an air-pollution permit limiting its carbon-dioxide emissions, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore ruled Monday. The ruling marks the first time a judge has used the Supreme Court's classification of CO2 as a pollutant to regulate emissions from an industrial source. Moore's decision overturns a p ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, climate, coal, energy, Georgia, greenhouse-gas emissions, litigation, news, progress (all these topics) |
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Pass the Sugar, Sugar
Florida will buy out sugar company to restore Everglades |
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24 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 3:22 PM on 24 Jun 2008 Nearly 300 square miles of sugar plantation in the Everglades will once again become marsh, as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced Tuesday that the state will buy the land from U.S. Sugar Corp. If all goes to plan, the $1.75 billion deal may be the largest environmental restoration in the history of the United States. Environmentalists have long lamented the sugar industry's role in ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, Florida, habitat protection, industrial ag, national parks, news, progress, wetlands (all these topics) |
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Climate Security Action
Quick post-mortem on Lieberman-Warner |
Tony Kreindler |
07 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A quick post-mortem on this week's vote on the Climate Security Act, which was pulled from the Senate floor on Friday after its sponsors fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed to final debate. I think I can safely sum it up in one word: progress. There's the obvious marker of a majority of the Senate -- 54 senators in all -- voicing support for moving forward with the bill. Forty-eight voted for cloture, and another six offered written statements of suppor ... |
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| Topics: climate, legislation, politics, progress (all these topics) |
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