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Garbage Patch in the Atlantic Now Makes Two

It was hoped that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was one-of-a-kind phenomenon, but studies have revealed another massive clump of plastics and other marine debris swirling in the Atlantic Ocean. The second patch has been tagged "The Atlantic Garbage Patch" after its well known counterpart located in the Pacific.

EPA Launches Green Video Contest

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced last week the launch of Faces of the Grassroots, a nationwide video contest centered on the environmental justice movement.

EPA defines environmental justice as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."1

Vancouver 2010 Takes Gold in Sustainability

There are few traditions that receive as much affection by the global community as the Olympic Games. Every two years the world's top athletes convene in a display of fellowship and solidarity in an effort to make the world a better place through sport. As host of the 2010 Winter Games, Vancouver aims to show that sustainability is also an essential element in such a world.

Recent Findings on Pluto Offer a New Perspective on Climate Change

{addthis off}Pluto has always been shrouded in mystery, drifting on the fringes of our Solar System some 3.5 billion miles from planet Earth. Until recently, images of the dwarf planet have been hazy at best, hinting at a fuzzy grey sphere of frozen gases.

Michael Pollan on Democracy Now

Today we're going to spend the hour with one of the key voices in that film, journalist and bestselling author Michael Pollan. He's among the nation's leading writers and thinkers on food and food policy. He's the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University [of] California, Berkeley School of Journalism. He's written several books about food, including The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. His latest book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual.

Listen to the interview »

Read the transcript »

The Sahara Forest Project's Renewable Energy Oasis

{addthis off}The middle of a desert might be the last place on earth you'd expect to find a large-scale freshwater, renewable energy, and sustainable food production facility—but just wait and see. That's precisely where The Sahara Forest Project (SFP) plans to begin work on its pilot restorative growth facility sometime later this year.

Local Foods - A Guide for Investors & Philanthropists

Enthusiasm and demand for locally grown food has increased tremendously in recent years. The rapid growth of farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture farms, and top selling books on local food and farming systems are strong indicators of this rising demand. As both an emergent industry and an important social and environmental movement, local food systems are beginning to catch the attention of profit-seeking and philanthropic investors alike, as well as existing food businesses considering greater participation in this sector.

 

Remembering a Quiet Hero: Miep Gies

Little attention was brought to the recent passing of Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who helped to safeguard Anne Frank from Nazi persecution during WWII.  Even her name itself is unfamiliar to many.  Gies' story is a testimony of selfless devotion to others in need, coupled with a deep sense of humility that portrays a truly remarkable everyday hero.

Are You a Cultural Creative?

Statistically speaking, you just might be.  According to the research of sociologist Dr. Paul H. Ray, approximately 35 percent of the U.S. population in 2008 was considered to be part of this recently emerged subculture, with that figure steadily climbing at around 2.5 percent annually.  His work spans more than two decades of extensive research, which demonstrates that Culture Creatives are radically reshaping the values that define mainstream American culture.

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Remembering a Quiet Hero: Miep Gies

Little attention was brought to the recent passing of Miep Gies, the Dutch woman who helped to safeguard Anne Frank from Nazi persecution during WWII.  Even her name itself is unfamiliar to many.  Gies' story is a testimony of selfless devotion to others in need, coupled with a deep sense of humility that portrays a truly remarkable everyday hero.

Read more...

Local Foods - A Guide for Investors & Philanthropists

Enthusiasm and demand for locally grown food has increased tremendously in recent years. The rapid growth of farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture farms, and top selling books on local food and farming systems are strong indicators of this rising demand. As both an emergent industry and an important social and environmental movement, local food systems are beginning to catch the attention of profit-seeking and philanthropic investors alike, as well as existing food businesses considering greater participation in this sector.

 

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The Future of Farming?

NEW YORK — Dr. Dickson Despommier has an unsettling message for farmers — in 50 years, he says, “soil-based agriculture will no longer be sustainable.” Read more...

Michael Pollan on Democracy Now

Today we're going to spend the hour with one of the key voices in that film, journalist and bestselling author Michael Pollan. He's among the nation's leading writers and thinkers on food and food policy. He's the Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at the University [of] California, Berkeley School of Journalism. He's written several books about food, including The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. His latest book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual.

Listen to the interview »

Read the transcript »

Read more...

Financial Crisis Means More Hunger

The global financial crisis has pushed the ranks of the hungry to a record 1 billion people, a milestone that poses a threat to peace and security, United Nations food officials said Friday in Rome. Because of war, drought, political instability, high food prices and poverty, hunger now affects one in six people, according to an estimate by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. There are100 million more hungry people now than last year, the agency said. It defines hunger as the consumption of fewer than 1,800 calories a day.

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United Nations Environmental Program

"The report, released earlier this year, says that countries with policies to promote renewable energy have seen employment surge in this sector.

The report cites the example of Germany where the number of jobs in this sector almost quadrupled to 260,000 in less than 10 years.

It also quoted a study undertaken in 2000 by the British government which found that for every $1.4 million invested in residential energy efficiency, between 11 and 13 full-time equivalent jobs were created."

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Blocked Rivers Threaten Livelihood of Brazilian Tribes

Plans to build more than 200 hydroelectric dams bring prospect of cheap electricity but destruction of Amazon habitats.

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E.P.A. Clears Way for Greenhouse Gas Rules

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday formally declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, setting in motion a process that will lead to the regulation of the gases for the first time in the United States.

The E.P.A. said the science supporting the proposed endangerment finding was "compelling and overwhelming." The ruling initiates a 60-day comment period before any proposals for regulations governing emissions of heat-trapping gases are published.

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SPI2009: Solar Industry Needs to Come Together and Fight, Urges SEIA President

Rhone Resch, president and ceo of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), has called on the solar industry to "enlist" in the fight to secure a policy environment that allows solar to compete with other forms of energy.

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World's First Offshore Wind Farm?

This past Friday, plans for the world's first offshore wind farm took a big step towards approval. In what has now become a rather bitter fight, the decision over whether to build 130 windmills across 25 miles of federal waters in the Nantucket Sound hurdled past proposed environmental concerns.

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Ocean Power Technologies to Develop Wave Power Station in Japan

Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. will develop a demonstration wave power station in Japan together with a consortium of the three Japanese companies Idemitsu Kosan Co., Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., and Japan Wind Development Co.

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Sun Powered LUMENHAUS has a Shifting Solar Facade

The 2009 Solar Decathlon may have come to a close, but we wanted to shine a little more light on one of our favorite projects, Virginia Tech’s LUMENHAUS.

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Green Building LEED Certification Supports Green Power :: Renewable Choice Celebrates 1,000 LEED Projects

Boulder, CO (PRWEB) October 28, 2009 -- Renewable Choice Energy, a national sustainability company known for its award-winning wind power partnership with Whole Foods Market and the world's largest supplier of renewable energy for the Green Power Credit for LEED certification, is celebrating having now supplied more than 1,000 LEED-certified buildings with green power to reduce their environmental impact, support renewable energy development in the U.S. and Canada, and efficiently obtain points towards LEED certification.

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A Shift In Attitude

In our quest for relief to current urban problems the first shift may not be in the type of transport, but our ideas of what a city should be. And if we can do that, our experts say, we can conquer not only congestion, but perhaps sprawl, traveling time, and yes, even that sense of disassociation we have within our communities.

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Japanese Fishermen Brace for Giant Jellyfish

(CNN) -- Giant jellyfish descend on the Sea of Japan, causing untold devastation to coastal villages and leaving a trail of destruction and human misery behind.

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How Mushrooms Can Save The World

You may only have thought of mushrooms you buy at the supermarket, “psychedelic mushrooms”, or maybe even wild gourmet mushrooms, but have you thought about how they grow and what benefits mushrooms contain, not only nutritionally, but environmentally?

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Two reports see jobs boon in spending on clean energy

Two reports released Thursday project that if $150 billion were spent annually on clean energy rather than fossil fuels, the United States would see a net gain of 1.7 million jobs each year.

A dollar-for-dollar transfer from fossil fuels to renewables is "not really going to happen," said Robert Pollin, professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts and co-author of both studies. Read more...

Sustainability Issues In The Mediterranean

On 25 June 2009 the first ministerial level sustainable development summit under the Union for the Mediterranean took place in Paris.

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East Bay Green Corridor: Green For All? Part II

The City of Berkeley isn’t waiting for new zoning to foist an outsized biotech project on West Berkeley. On July 2 planning staff urged the Zoning Adjustments Board to approve Wareham Development’s application for a 4-story, 92,000 square foot spec lab at 740 Heinz (across the street from Magic Gardens nursery). The building requires two variances: one for its 74-foot height (existing allowable height is 45 feet), the other for its floor-to-area ratio of 4 (the existing allowable FAR is 2).

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CCS to Help Curb Climate Crisis?

As climate change takes center stage as one of the most pressing global issues in history, the race is on to discover new technologies that will radically reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate the pending damages of rising global temperatures.  Some climate change experts believe carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) to be the just the answer.

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Recent Findings on Pluto Offer a New Perspective on Climate Change

{addthis off}Pluto has always been shrouded in mystery, drifting on the fringes of our Solar System some 3.5 billion miles from planet Earth. Until recently, images of the dwarf planet have been hazy at best, hinting at a fuzzy grey sphere of frozen gases.

Read more...

Environmental Impact of Google Searches

Performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea, according to new research.

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Sourcemap.org: Helping to Transform the Materials Economy

{addthis off} For over half a century now, linear product life cycles have dominated the marketplace and come to define the value sets that characterize modern economics.  The average consumer has unwittingly invested untold amounts of time, energy, and income to ensure that the Materials Economy remains a driving force throughout cultures around the world.  Product marketing incessantly bombards consumers in an effort to dupe them into believing that happiness and peace of mind are to be found in the latest product trends.

 

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