First, up – let’s hear it for cheerleader calendars! Yeah! (Sometimes I really hate my job, the research is such a burden, and so on).
Since sometimes it seems Treehugger has been around longer than the Earth itself, you’ll know it’s a momentous occasion when it collects together the best of all its posts in one place. Take a look, here at Best Of Green.
If you’re looking for another reason to be proud of your nearest or home city, find out where it ranks on Fast Company’s top 25 Least Wasteful American Cities – and if it’s somewhat down the list, why not ask your local authority why?
Remember the Cola Wars? Pepsi vs. Coke. Then Pepsi vs New Coke…and then The Entire World vs. New Coke, forcing Coca Cola to hurriedly backtrack. Coke won the day (read Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink to learn why) but that rivalry is forever simmering. Cut to the present…and could eco-friendliness become their new battleground? Greenopia puts the cola heavyweights to the test.
Could this be more poignant? Eco Worldly has a post on 11 recently extinct creatures that were photographed while they were alive. Will we see their likes again?
Pity brown paper bags – they suffer from a distinctly unglamorous street-cred. Yet you can do this with them. (Thanks to Alicia at Eco Chick.)
When you’re cycling around the city this summer – which is easy when bikes are this portable – you might want some cool tunes a-playing. Dave Burdick has his own suggestions at HuffPo (have to say, hearing Morrissey would make me want to crash, but to each their own). Oh, and I’d say to keep the headphones out of your ears when the wheels are turning, but you knew that already.
Detergent comes in either cardboard or plastic, and nothing else. Why? Yes, I’m scratching my head too, when glass is the perfect choice. So here’s how to do it right, at Apartment Therapy.
Inhabitat poses the question, is boxed water better? (The answer: fractionally.)
Marisa Belger enjoys getting to grips with quality recycled products at MSN Green – including recycled windshield glass (of which we’re also a fan).
Now for some truly shocking before-and-after photos. You think that turning off the lights for Earth Hour doesn’t make that much of a difference to the average skyline? If you take a look at these photos at Boston.com (via Earthfirst), the problem is glaringly obvious.
If you haven’t heard of El Hierro, we can’t exactly blame you (it’s actually the smallest island in the Canaries). But you can expect to hear a lot more about it, since it’s set to become one of the very few islands round the world that are powered totally from renewable sources. The bulk of the electricity is generated from hydro-wind sources, including a wind farm embedded in the crater of a dormant volcano!
Google is proving decidedly adept at changing the world. Take Google Earth, and the zillions of truly useful applications and map overlays that are being developed for it by scientists, technologists and committed amateurs worldwide. The latest? It’s called The Path To Green Energy, and it’s been developed by The National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In a nutshell: here’s where to build renewable energy. Amazing. (Thanks, Consumer Energy Report).
Now, let’s see what you think about this one. Scientists at MIT have discovered how viruses can be used to charge up batteries. Yes – viruses. No solvents, no toxic ingredients, completely natural – but technically using living creatures to generate power (very Matrix, I must say). And there’s the other issue, which is…hey, they’re viruses. Leaky batteries that could be infectious? Hmm.
Arianna Huffington recently invited Deep Green Living to have a mosey around her house and suggest ways she could be a little more eco. And…there are logs for the fire made of compressed coffee grounds? Can you imagine the aroma? I think Christmas just came early.
Ask a child to draw a cow, and it’ll probably be eating grass. Because that’s what cows do, right? Generally speaking, not so much. Will Winter and Todd Churchill think this is wrong – and they have a plan.
Taxi drivers in Boston aren’t too keen on the hybridization of the city’s taxi fleet, citing economic rather than environmental objections. Is this where local government steps into the breach? Follow the story at The New York Times.
Still staying with the ‘Times: sustainable building is how Pittsburgh transformed itself from a steel-industry giant to a slimmer, greener incarnation – and it looks set to ride out the recession in a slow, steady, sustainable way.
So – encouraging people to go green. The ones who switch off at the word “green”? Tough call. The sensible course of action is to focus on results, as with these 10 arguments at Planet Green – and in doing so, remind them that “green” is sometimes just a modern word for what’s been regarded as common sense for decades.
Yet another worrying sign that all is not well with GM crops – Treehugger reports that South African corn growers have been struggling with a harvest of tinkered corn that has failed to produce any seeds. Millions of dollars down the drain, and a sense of dread for the next harvest.
Guerrillas are getting everywhere. We’ve heard of (and love the idea of) guerrilla gardeners – but now it’s the turn of guerrilla retailers. Except, not really, because they’ve always been everywhere you look. Cultcase looks at 6 of the most remarkable.
We’re social media addicts, here at EcoSalon. And no, we don’t want to think of the amount of time we’ve spent on Stumbleupon, Digg, Facebook, Twitter and the like. (Too scary). But the National Wildlife Federation has a nice reminder of the power of social media to make a difference – in this case, saving wildlife. (So maybe it’s not so scary after all). Oh, and remember to Facebook your boss.
Want to go on holiday knowing that your dollars are reaching the community in the best way possible? Sounds like voluntourism is for you – here’s an outline at Razoo.
And finally…here we go again.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Image: Daniel Pink