Could breeding burpless sheep help a country reduce its greenhouse gas emissions?

According to an article in the Herald Sun, Australian scientists at the Sheep Co-operative Research Center are planning on finding out. They are in the process of testing 700 sheep with 20 different genetic lines in the hope of discovering, if not a burpless sheep, at least which ones will  burp less methane into the atmosphere than others.

So how do you measure the methane in a sheep’s belch?

Fairly simply, according to study leader John Goody. First you feed them. And then you accommodate them in specially designed booths capable of calculating the amount of methane gas per belch.

Given that agriculture, and in particular grazing livestock, accounts for at least 16 percent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions, the ability to selectively breed sheep genetically less predisposed to belching methane could possibly be a plausible way of helping to reduce Australia’s total emissions.

Woolly thinking or major scientific breakthrough? You decide.

Image: brew ha ha

The post Global Warming, No Burps About It appeared first on EcoSalon.

Do you live in San Francisco or are you planning to visit the city sometime in 2010?

If so, check out the Golden Gate National Parks Endangered Species Big Year contest.

It’s based on the annual competitive birding event that was highlight a few years ago with Mark Obmascik’s best-selling book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession.

But instead of focusing solely on birds, the GGPN’s Big Year contest wants to encourage people to converse with nature while spotting the 36 endangered species that live within its 75,500 acres spread across three counties (Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo).

And it’s not just about spotting interesting species such as the Western Snowy Plover, the North American Green Sturgeon, the San Mateo Thornmint, the Marin Dwarf Flax and the Mission Blue Butterfly. It’s also about doing something to help each of the species.

Participating is easy. First sign into the Wild Equity Institute’s online community. From there, you will receive an email with a link back to a webpage that provides a GGNP Endangered Species Big Year contest entry form. Submit this and you’ll have access to the endangered species checklist, along with an Endangered Species Big Year Calendar, and information on what you can do to help them recover.

For each species that you find in your wanderings around the national park, there is a specific recovery action that you must perform to help protect them, ranging from giving up your car and walking, biking, or using public transport for a week to volunteering to help restore a species natural habitat.

Turns out that in many cases finding the species is much easier than performing the recovery action.

But only those that do both will be in the running at the end of the year to win the  main prize of a $1000 gift certificate to retailers REI or Eagle Optics.

Contestants are expected to follow strict ethical guidelines and work on an honor system regarding spotting of species and performance of many of the recovery actions.

Sure sounds like a great way for locals and visitors alike to commune with nature.

Interested readers should head to the Wild Equity Institute website for full details.

Image: Mike Baird

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1% for the Planet, a global network of more than 1,000 businesses committed to donating 1% of annual sales to environmental causes, is jumping head first into the new year and new decade with the release of their first ever all-digital music compilation album – 1% for the Planet: The Music, Vol. 1.

It’s a diverse collection of rare and exclusive tracks by 40 different artists such as Jack Johnson, Brandi Carlile, Jackson Browne, Angilique Kidjo and G. Love, among others.

The artists, many of whom are dedicated environmentalists and 1% members, willingly donated their time and music in order to create this first of its kind “environmental album.”

And with all the proceeds from 1% for the Planet: The Music, Vol 1 going directly towards supporting environmental initiatives around the world, music lovers and environmentalists alike can sit back and enjoy the music knowing full well that they are playing a small part in making that happen.

The complete album (or single tracks) will be available for online purchase from Amazon.com,  Apple’s iTunes, and 100 other online music retailers. Plus, an “eco-download card” made from recycled materials will also be available for purchase in retail stores such as Patagonia. This eco-friendly alternative to a physical CD holds a promo code which, when entered at the 1% for the Planet site, will allow buyers to instantly download the music tracks.

The post Musicians Go 1% for the Planet with New Digital Album appeared first on EcoSalon.

Camels might be considered invasive creatures destroying the countryside and intimidating the locals in Australia,  but in Africa these nomadic animals are seen in a much more positive light. For years, organizations such as the Nomadic Communities Trust (NCT) have relied on camels to transport medicine and supplies to remote locales.

And now the camels are going solar. NCT, in partnership with Princeton University and The Art College of Design in California, have created solar-powered mini-fridges that strap to the camel’s back.

Featuring an ergonomic bamboo saddle, folding solar panels and a foot powered backup system, these solar powered mini-fridges can store vaccines and other medicines desperately needed in remote areas located off the power grid.

Once in the field, the solar panels will used not only to power the refrigeration systems but also to provide light at mobile clinic locations.

Currently being tested in Ethiopia and Kenya, it is hoped that these eco-friendly, camel-friendly solar powered mini-fridges will be in widespread use by 2010.

Image: Tambako the Jaguar

The post In Remote Regions, Clinics on Camels Save the Day appeared first on EcoSalon.

Better hope the lease isn’t up on the crystal stemware when your mother-in-law comes over for dinner.

Is encouraging citizens to rent, rather than own, household possessions the “secret weapon” countries need in order to meet their climate change targets?

Yes, according to WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), the British Government’s waste watchdog. The recently released WRAP report has found that if households shifted a fifth of their spending from purchasing to renting, there would be a 2 percent (or 13 million tonnes) reduction in CO2 emissions each year. We smell a micro-trend.

WRAP has identified these five categories of household items that should really, for the sake of the planet, be rented rather than purchased.

High-end clothing and accessories. Celebrities do it so why shouldn’t we? Renting from sites such as Bag Borrow or Steal, From Bags to Riches, Borrowed Bling, and Rent the Runway instead of buying not only saves you cash and clutter. It also lets you keep up with quickly changing trends.

Glassware and tableware. Keep the everyday glassware and tableware, but forget about stashing away a special occasions set of china. These can be rented as needed from local party and catering rental companies.

Tools and equipment for house and garden. A garage full of tools and machinery might look impressive but they are only taking up space if you only use them once or twice a year. Better to locate the nearest tool lending library and rent what you need when you need it.

Vehicles. For many of us (myself included), it’s hard to imagine not owning a vehicle. But not having one could be the answer to cash and space problems. Alternative options include car sharing, renting, and leasing.

Telephone, audio and recreational equipment. The problem with the continuing advancements in technology is that everyone rushes out to buy the latest gadgets as soon as they hit the market, regardless of whether or not they need it. As a result, people often throw out old phones and electronic equipment that still works, creating e-waste disposal problems.

Renting instead of buying makes senses really. After all, how many times have you bought something, only to use it briefly and then pack it away in a cupboard and drawer? If, instead, you were to rent it, use it and then return it, the item would soon be available for someone else to use.

As a result, less items would need to be produced and there would be less waste. Just don’t bounce the rent check, or it’s repossession of the china for you.

Images: tiffa130, quinn.anya, huzzahvintage

The post Renting Is the New Buying: From Cars to Clothes, Bags to Bling, Leasing Cuts the Cash and Carbon appeared first on EcoSalon.

How does a popular wine country town just outside of San Francisco become America’s first “cittaslow” city?

Apparently, as Sonoma discovered, by just being itself.

Being slow is considered a bad thing in many parts of the world, but in Sonoma they embrace their slowness. As a result, they meet all the requirements set out by the Cittaslow International, a network of slow cities around the world.

Obtaining the cittaslow ((Italian for  “slow city”) designation isn’t easy. To start with, it’s invite only. And just because a city is invited to apply doesn’t mean it is a shoe-in. Invited cities go through a rigorous application process to prove they embody Cittaslow values. Chief among these is the concept of the slow food movement, sustainable agricultural practices, conservation of and support for traditional artisan products, hospitality programs, historic preservation, and educational programs for all ages.

The next time you are in Sonoma, “sit a down” and relax. Enjoy the sun. Enjoy the wine. Enjoy the town. There’s no reason to hurry. After all, you are now in a cittaslow town.

Image: brianholsclaw

The post Sonoma Honored for Being Slow appeared first on EcoSalon.

Who says you have to be serious while saving the planet?

Definitely not Envirofone, the UK’s leading mobile phone recycling company. They recently did a survey asking Brits to share their favourite tips on how to reduce their environmental impact. Envirofone surveyed 3000 people, who came up with a mixture of useful and quirky (read: strange) ideas for greening our collective ways. From reusing tea bags to getting creative with underwear (in the name of decency we’re picturing the former), the top 1o tips were:

1. Share a shower.
2. Air your pants, don’t tumble dry them.
3. Turn underwear inside out for, um, extended use.
4. Share your bath water (with the whole family)!
5. Re-use your tea bags (hey, it’s the UK).
6. Use newspaper as wrapping paper this Christmas.
7. Use dirty socks as hankies. (Really?)
8. Recycle your old mobile phones.
9. Use old knickers as dusters.
10. Pee in the shower.

Now I’m more than happy to go with tips #1,2,5,6, and 8 but I have to say the rest of these tips are more than a little out of my comfort zone.

Image: quinn.anya

The post Brits List 10 Quirky Ways to Reduce Your Environmental Impact appeared first on EcoSalon.

Imagine driving along the road and seeing puffs of green or red smoke coming out of the car in front of you. If the new conceptual device created by artist Karolina Sobecka were to enter production, it could happen.

Sobecka is in the process of developing the puff, a cartoon cloud-shape car accessory that will attach to a car’s frame near the exhaust pipe and illuminate the amount of carbon emissions a car is discharging through three colors – white, green, and red. White would indicate the low levels, green moderate levels and fire engine red high levels of carbon emissions. (Hold your homeland security alert jokes, please.)

A companion iPhone app will also be available, designed to provide real time visualization of the emissions as well as driving data.

Alas, according to Sobecka, the puff is not heading for the market place. Instead, she has created it to generate discussion and dialogue about car usage. Her site, the Amateur Human, will eventually offer a Do It Yourself game plan, that will allow anyone to build on this concept and further personalize their approach to eco-consciousness.

To learn more about the puff, check out this interview with Sobecka at CleanTechnica.

The post The Color of My Car-bon appeared first on EcoSalon.

Commuting could take on a whole new meaning with the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) research project funded by the European Commission.

The project, based on the concept of linking vehicles together using wireless sensors, is aimed at finding an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way of getting cars to travel together, convoy style.

The way to do this, according to project SARTRE, is to create road trains of up to eight separate vehicles – cars, buses, and trucks – which has the potential not only to reduce fuel consumption, but also improve journey times and reduce congestion.

Lead vehicles would be driven by a professional driver controlling the road train. Any vehicle could use their sat-nav sensor to determine if a road train’s going their way. If it were, they would be able to approach the moving road train and indicate that they wish to join. The lead vehicle would then take control of the vehicle, positioning it and pulling it closer, allowing the newly joined driver to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery rather than focusing on driving.

The SARTRE project, scheduled to run for three years, aims to first determine the true feasibility of these “road trains” and then track test it in the UK and Sweden, with further plans for public road trials in Spain.

If successful, road trips as we know them will never be the same again.

Read more about this project here.

Image: pedrosimoes7

The post In: Convoys. Out: Carpools appeared first on EcoSalon.

A new study has found that the American health care sector accounts for 8 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.

The study, conducted by University of Chicago researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, measured how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases the health care industries (hospitals, scientific research, pharmaceuticals, etc) released. It is the first-of-its-kind calculation of health care’s carbon footprint.

Using the environmental input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) model of environmental impact developed by the Green Design Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University, the researchers were able to determine exactly how much health care activities directly and indirectly affected the environment.

Not surprisingly, hospitals release the largest amount of carbon emissions, mainly due to their high energy needs for temperature control, ventilation and lighting in large and often aging and poorly structured hospital buildings. But interestingly, the second largest contributor of carbon emissions was the pharmaceutical industry, primarily because of associated manufacturing and transportation.

While the researchers realize that hospitals and pharmaceutical companies are more concerned with treating people than the environment, they hope that the results of this study will encourage them to look at ways of providing health care and researching and developing drugs in a more environmentally friendly way.

Image: tacitrequiem

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