The Conservation Report

These solar panels on the Vatican roof will reportedly offset “210 tons of carbon dioxide and this is the equivalent to 70 tons of oil.” From the International Herald Tribune:

Workers began putting photovoltaic cells on the roof of the hall to convert sunlight into electricity. In sunny Rome, engineers say the cells will produce enough electricity to illuminate, heat or cool the hall.

The hall is used for weekly papal audiences during winter and other times of year when the weather is bad.

Pope Benedict XVI’s has made conserving resources an important concern of his papacy.

Video from the BBC NEWS:

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Calculate you carbon footprint here.

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If you live in North Carolina and have an account with the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union (SECU) or meet its requirements to join, then you can qualify for a green car loan, which “is designed for members purchasing new Hybrid and Alternative Fuel vehicles that are more environmentally friendly and less dependent on petroleum based fuel [and the] loans will feature a rate 1% lower than SECU’s current new vehicle loan rate, making the product even more appealing.” The North Carolina State Employees Credit Union is dedicated to “energy conservation efforts.”

AIR POLLUTION: Aérophile´s balloon turns different colors depending on the air pollution levels, as registered by the air quality organization Airparif.

AMERICAN CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Biggest drop in U.S. oil demand in 26 years

ANTARCTIC MELTING: Antarctic ice shelf breaking up in dead of winter: Experts surprised that cold hasn’t frozen trend, now expect quicker demise

BIODEGRADABLE: Green Earth Technologies, creator of organic engine products, has released their new automotive lubricant to its G-Oil line, a 10W-30 that has set a new biodegradability standard

CATTLE GRAZING: Federal rangeland managers said continuing to allow cattle to graze on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is harming the rare plants, fish and wildlife the monument was created eight years ago to protect

CHINA: Plight of the Little Emperors: Coddled from infancy and raised to be academic machines, China’s only children expect the world. Now they’re buckling under the pressure of their parents’ deferred dreams.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Cattails could be agents of climate change (The good kind)

CRYPTOZOOLOGY: Vampire hound caught on film?, Farmers claim they have seen the “Dracula dogs” sink their teeth into the necks of terrified livestock

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Mitsubishi’s Electric Car Will Be Released in 2009 for $37,500

ENERGY: Honolulu to air condition buildings with seawater, $21 billion Alaska energy plan proposed: RENEWABLE AND ALTERNATIVE: Inclusion of coal in projects leaves some lawmakers less than happy, Utah four day work week environmentally friendly

ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE; SOLAR: How a giant solar tower could power the future

EXTINCTION: Wildlife extinction rates ’seriously underestimated’

FISHERIES: Groups deliver 150,000 comments to Bush Administration calling for withdrawal of proposed rule that would undercut environmental review, stifle public input in oceans & fisheries management, Ocean fisheries protections to be weakened: Bush plan would give industry greater power over fishery management decisions, Since the Parties to the Nauru Agreement signed a Third Implementing Arrangement which among other measures include restricting fishing in the high seas and 100% observer coverage of purse seine vessels, there has been a lot of talk in the media about a new wave in regional fisheries management., Three crew members of the trawler Atria: accused of fish dumping, and the master is accused of failing to record catch correctly

FISHERIES OBSERVER: Fisheries program graduates its first two observers

FUEL ECONOMY: Teen drives on one tank of gas for entire summer

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS AND ORGANISMS: Prince Charles warns GM crops risk causing the biggest-ever environmental disaster

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Geothermal energy will help power Anaheim, California

GLOBAL WARMING: Schwarzenegger confirms link between global warming and wildfires, hits Bush for not believing the science

GREEN: The world’s first eco-disco, Surya, opens for business, Using carbon dioxide as an ingredient in plastics could help reduce the use of fossil fuels, and be another market for waste CO2.

GREENWASHING: Nice jugs part 2: Green packaging or greenwashing

NEW SPECIES: 21 new species of livebearing fish named, British scientists have found new species of oral cavity bacteria which contribute to various mouth problems such as tooth decay, Bird species result of climate change?: A group of scientists are scratching their heads this week as they try to figure out how a new species of bird came to be, way up in the mountains of Vermont

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Navy opposes VA offshore drilling. Period. End of debate., Pelosi indicates openness to offshore drilling vote

OPEC: Opec income hits record as oil prices soar

ORGANIC MARKET: A capitalist dream: Company designs and maintains organic garden in your backyard

PLASTIC BAGS; STYROFOAM: Seattle’s ban on plastic and styrofoam

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Levitating train from L.A. to Las Vegas gets boost: Bush signs law freeing dollars for levitating train from Disneyland to Las Vegas

SALMON: NORWAY: Farmed salmon in hot water

SCIENCE: Science close to unveiling invisible man, A new BBC series makes use of satellite technology to create stunning images of Britain from above, you can also see how everything has become so traceable with the use of GPS technology, Amateur astronomer spies gassy “cosmic ghost”, Bionic bra: Victoria’s circuit: Looking for a better way to charge her iPod on the go, Adrienne So had an idea – could she invent a bionic bra to harness the energy of her bouncing breasts?

SOLAR: New, cost effective solar energy devices from MIT, GM to build world’s biggest rooftop solar station in Spain: US automaker General Motors said Tuesday it will equip the roof of its factory in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain with solar panels to create the world’s largest rooftop source of power from the sun, 90% of Israeli homes solar hot water equipped, Hawaii first state to require solar water heaters, Solar energy creating economic boom for Nevada, U.S. allowing new solar again, Times Square gets solar-powered billboard, India launches climate change plan focusing on solar power, Community solar power, Dyeing to boost solar efficiency by 50%: MIT has perfected a dye technology that could change the solar world as we know it

SUBURBIA: What is the future of suburbia? A freakonomics quorum

UPWARD MIGRATION: Pacific species set to invade warmer Arctic, Atlantic waters

WAVE POWER: Giant rubber snakes to capture wave power?

WHALING: Japan says we are witnessing the death of the International Whaling Commission

WIND POWER: Village of Mackinaw City wind turbine generators: They went on line the day of the ribbon cutting, December 3rd, 2001. In their first 4 days of operation they produced enough energy to power 9 homes for a year. As of the Fall of 2003 they produced over 4,000,000 kWh of energy.

This project has received many positive comments from residents and visitors alike. The residents voice their pride in being part of such a project that brings renewable energy to the region. The visitors are impressed with the way they look. Some go so far as to call them kinetic sculptures., Argentina will produce massive wind power turbines, While U.S. off-shore wind industry struggles, Germany announces 30 new wind farms: European nation sets ambitious renewable energy goals, Debate flares over wind power in Texas

Urban gardeners are turning deserted, neglected and vacant city land into lively and beautiful green spaces. Buzzfeed describes the green political-social movement as “part political statement, part an act of pure cultivation, the guerrilla gardening movement is sprouting in cities everywhere.”

On the Net: The Guerrilla Gardening Homepage

IMAGE by Lisa Bauso for The New York Times

From churches to strip clubs, all businesses have the ability to practice sustainability and reduce their carbon footprint. One strip club reduced their carbon footprint by banning meat products in their food and dancing in leather but dancers were allowed to to wear artificial leather or pleather. However, according to Kara Jesella for the New York Times the owner “may have underestimated the appeal of stripping to vegans, or of vegan cuisine to striptease fans” since he “put the club up for sale.”

Veganism and vegetarianism are often linked with the movement to fight animal cruelty and the meat industry, which is often seen as a clumsy, cumbersome and inefficient giant sucking up resources and spewing too much carbon pollution as a result. More from the New York Times:

TWO things that you can find a lot of in Portland, Ore., are vegans and strip clubs. Johnny Diablo decided to open a business to combine both. At his Casa Diablo Gentlemen’s Club, soy protein replaces beef in the tacos and chimichangas; the dancers wear pleather, not leather. Many are vegans or vegetarians themselves….

People adopt a diet free of animal products for a variety of reasons. They may believe it is healthier or more environmentally friendly. They may support animal rights. In addition, veganism is often part of a larger progressive agenda, which makes many particularly sensitive to sexism charges.

Carol J. Adams, the author of “The Sexual Politics of Meat,” a bible of the vegan community, said that women’s rights and the rights of animals have often been aligned. She traces the relationship to the 1890s. “A lot of feminist suffragists also became vegetarian,” said Ms. Adams, who gave up meat in 1974 while living in a feminist community in Cambridge, Mass. She noted that Susan B. Anthony attended a dinner at which the toast was for “Total Abstinence, Women’s Rights and Vegetarianism.” (An unrepentant omnivore, Ms. Anthony had a predilection for porterhouse steak.)

Ms. Adams added that feminists were early adopters of vegetarianism. “Back in the ’70s, lots of women were saying, ‘I don’t want to be a piece of meat. I’m not going to eat a piece of meat,’ ” she said.

Vegans who use sexuality to promote the cause say it is a good way to convert carnivores — in particular, men.

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Who says red meat can’t be green?. Butcher Adrian Banks of Sheffield, England is kicking the plastic bag habit. The butcher is also purchasing all his beef from local sources instead of Scotland to further reduct his carbon footprint.

Recently, claims have been made that the numbers of animals, which interact and die from plastic bags are overestimated. However, plastic bags are a petroleum-based product that are difficult to recycle. Animals like the leatherback sea turtles do die from impaction by mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish. Plastic bags are often torn into smaller pieces and these smaller pieces can be consumed by even more aquatic creatures, which mistake the anthropogenic material for food.

Furthermore, now that the snow is melting here in Grand Rapids the streets and trees seem to be littered with plastic bags of all shapes and sizes. They often are hung up the trees too. The bags are an eyesore and remain in the environment for years. As a result, I believe biodegradable plastic bags should be used. From The Star, UK:

“For environmental reasons we wanted to stop using plastic carrier bags,” said butcher Adrian Banks.

“We have stopped getting our beef from Scotland and now nearly all our meat is locally sourced and we are turning around all our practices to be more eco-friendly.

“The plastic bags were a problem. We’d thought about using paper but they a
re not good for serving meat - so we have gone down the biodegradable route.”

Now Roney’s, which has stood on the corner of Sharrowvale and Hickmott Road for nearly 50 years, is charging a 5p ‘tax’ per bag which will be donated to Weston Park Hospital.

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Even sex toys can contain chemicals that may be carcinogens, and these chemicals may even threaten reproductive health. Sex toys, like a lot of the goods we buy, use, and discard, also degrade the environment. When these materials degrade within the environment and release their chemicals, they subsequently harm our health. Here is a nice YouTube clip from TreeHugger explaining how to buy a green sex toy.

On the Net:

1. How to Buy Green Lube
2. Sustainable Sex Toys: Just in Time for Valentine’s Day!
3. Top Green Sex Tips
4. Love-making gets green light from adult stores

1. HOMO SAPIENS: City dwellers evolving into new species, scientist says @ canada.com




2. GREEN: America’s 50 Greenest Cities @ Popular Science




3. SALMON: Farmed Salmon Decimating Wild Salmon Worldwide @ National Geographic News




4. HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: ‘Misinformed Craze’ For Hybrids Delays Greener Technology @ the WIRED Blog Network




5. WIND POWER: And the wind waits … and waits … @ the Star Tribune
6. CLIMATE CHANGE: King Penguins Declining Due to Global Warming @ National Geographic News
7. TAILPIPE EMISSIONS: Texas’ voucher program to retire older cars off to strong start @ dallasnews.com
8. GREEN CONSTRUCTION: Work starts on Gulf ‘green city’ @ the BBC
9. ENERGY MIX OF THE FUTURE: It’s Raining Energy. Hallelujah! @ Discovery News
10. SUSTAINABILITY: The Unsustainable Church of Scientology @ ecoble
11. ENDANGERED SPECIES: Habitat for Mexican spotted owl to stand @ MercuryNews.com
12. CITES: Conservation laws threaten rare orchids @ NewScientist
13. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: Feds change course on Idaho trout listing @ the Times-News: Magicvalley.com
14. DELISTING: Pesticide Campaign Takes Pelicans Off Endangered List @ AHN

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Image from Nick Kaloterakis for Popular Science

Green air travel is almost here and it looks cool. From Popular Science:

Modern air travel is a marvel. It’s also a source of endless delay, annoyance and planet-killing greenhouse gases. A proposed hydrogen-powered hypersonic airliner could change all that. The plane is Reaction Engines’s A2 concept, a Mach-5 (3,400mph) craft for 300 passengers funded in part by the European Union’s Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies project (Lapcat). Lapcat wants an airliner that can fly from Brussels to Sydney in less than four hours. If built, the A2 will do just that—without producing a trace of carbon emissions.

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From the Dodge City Daily Globe, KS:

The Greensburg City Council voted Monday to build all city buildings to LEED Platinum standards, which is the top level of certification available from the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a point-based building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000. The projects use such features as using recycled building materials, alternative energy sources and water-conserving fixtures.

The small western Kansas town, which was mostly destroyed by a tornado on May 4, is believed to be the first town in the country to set that goal.

On the Net: USGBC: LEED

From ESPN :

The NFL is planting thousands of trees in Arizona forests blackened by wildfires to help offset greenhouse gas emissions from the Super Bowl in February.

The league also will power University of Phoenix Stadium and the adjacent NFL theme park with clean energy sources, from New Mexico wind turbines to California geothermal plants.

On the Net: NFL’s Environmental Program

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Not to take the fun out of the holidays but I do agree with this opinion from Deb Roelofs who wrote into The Grand Rapids Press. I believe being tactful reflects sustainability because plastic inflatable decorations are just too much:

Here is one small way our community members can sabotage efforts to save the planet. Purchase thousands of colored lights and plastic inflatable toys for your yard to seek attention and stress the power grid. Leave them on 18 hours a day. Hope that your house is highlighted in the annual parade of lights story in The Press.

That will encourage hundreds of people to tour the city in their cars and SUVs and use more precious resources viewing the spectacular electronic display. Then we can all be assured we are doing our part to keep the American consumerist spirit of Christmas alive.

Examples of how folks are having a “greener” Christmas include:

On the Net: SUSTAINABILITY: How green is your Christmas tree? And other tips.

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There are many ways to have a greener Christmas. First, buy a tree that is not necessarily organically produced (unless locally produced) but meets certain conservation, environmental thus sustainability requirements. Organic does not necessarily reflect sustainable. For example, why purchase sustainable produce from New Zealand when the same produce can be purchased here from a farmer who uses petroleum based fertilizers but practice conservation minded agriculture? From The Dalles Chronicle Local News:

To pass muster, a farm must be inspected to ensure that it meets certain standards for managing wetlands, nutrients and pests. Water and soil conservation measures are reviewed, and biodiversity and worker safety are also considered.

The trees are not organically grown, but the coalition says the measures help mitigate some of the environmental dangers of Christmas tree farming, such as excessive use of pesticides and contribution to erosion.

Another way to be as sustainable as possible is to use LED Christmas lights. The Rockefeller Christmas tree will use LEDs this year to not only conserve energy but promote energy conservation. From TIME:

Choose LEDs (light-emitting diodes) instead of incandescent bulbs to decorate your tree and home. They’re more expensive, but last much longer and use 80% to 90% less power than conventional mini bulbs. LEDs, which cast a bright white light, also stay cool to the touch so they won’t singe the tree—or your child’s fingers. Brookstone.com’s oversized multicolored LEDs—$10 per 12-ft. strand—look just like the lights Dad used to put up.

You can even rent a rooted Christmas Tree that can be replanted. From LivingChristmasTrees.org:

[The Original Living Christmas Tree Company] makes it convenient for you to have a live tree. You don’t have to haul it around or buy a pot or have a place to plant it. TOLCTC takes care of all that for you. Some of the money you pay to rent your Christmas tree goes toward lowering the price of your tree to the group that buys and plants your Christmas tree, so by renting a tree from us you’d be subsidizing the price of trees to planting groups like; watershed councils, parks departments, churches and schools. This is our Sixteenth year. Over two thousand trees have been planted. Living Christmas Trees are planted where they grow old and improve the environment.

Some folks left practical advice on Olivia Zaleski’s How To Green Your Christmas Tree story via the Huffington Post on how to have a greener Christmas. Although fake Christmas trees are petroleum based and not biodegradable, this person offers some practical advice:

We have an artificial tree. The same one we’ve had for 10+ years (before that we had a used artificial tree). We do have to replace it next year as its finally falling apart. I think that’s not too bad as far as sustainability. We will also go all LED next year. This year we’re about 50/50, but we’re going all LED as soon as they go on sale.

and more food for thought from this comment:

Beware of Christmas Trees,,,,they are cancer causing. Loaded with herbicides pesticides and other chemicals. They are not safe for kids or adults. But you won’t find this out from the National Tree Growers Association,,,,its big business. And after the trees are cut down the ground is polluted with the chemicals for many years to come and it wouldn’t be safe to grow food for decades. Try artificial or some other sensible plant,,,,forget these mass produced evergreens.

Also consider buying reusable gift bags made from recycled fabric from Patagonia ($2 each, 800-638-6464). They look groovy too.

Other ways people are having a green Christmas include:

On the Net: Olivia Zaleski’s How To Green Your Christmas Tree
On the Net: Green Wrap and Gift Bags
On the Net: Real vs. Artificial Christmas Tree

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Get your gobble gobble locally if you can.

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On the Net: eWaste.com
On the Net: E-Waste: Dark Side of Digital Age
On the Net: Ease E-Waste, Inc.- Electronics Recycling and Disposal - Home
On the Net: The Conservation Report | Sony Taking the Lead by Developing Recycling Infrastructure