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Long Wait for the Bus? Budget Cuts Could Be the Reason Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:11:44 -0500
Image credit: Good
Times are tough for everyone—including municipal governments. One are that has suffered from diminished budgets is public transport. Across the country, transit workers are losing their jobs, making it that much harder to maintain the systems and schedules. Though there are some signs of economic recovery, more public transit jobs are expected to be lost before things get better....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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The Port of NY/NJ Will Replace Dirty Old Diesel Trucks to Slash Air Pollution Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:51:04 -0500
Photo: Public domainOther Truck Fleets, Pay Attention
Did you know that replacing a pre-1994 diesel truck (or at least the engine) with a 2004-2006 model could cut soot pollution by about 2/3, and reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by more than half? Post 2007 diesel trucks are even better, with a reduction of soot particles by about 95% and NOx by at least 3/4. That's a pretty big difference (though it doesn't solve CO2 emissions), and it esp...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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There Could Be Libraries For Everything Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:40:13 -0500
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Today on Planet 100: China Signs Copenhagen Accord (Video) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:18:28 -0500
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Canada's Largest Supermarket Chain to Install Solar Panels on 100+ Stores in Ontario Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:39:42 -0500
Photo: Google Maps
Loblaw Couldn't Resist Ontario's Generous Feed-in Tariff?
Loblaw is announcing today that it will put solar panels on the roof of 4 supermarkets in a pilot program, with the ultimate goal of installing solar arrays on more than 100 stores in Ontario. This is not surprising considering how insanely generous the feed-in tariffs for solar power are in the province (between 53.9 and 80.2 ¢/kWh, with 20-year contracts). I just hope that measures have been taken to avoid repeating what happened in S...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Freakonomics Watch: "The Primitive Food Movement" Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:36:41 -0500
The first Freakonomics book was a lot of fun; the second less so, as it sort of devolved into "if the scientific consensus and/or coast-hugging liberal elite are for it, we are against it" type of thing. Hence Freakonomics Watch; or perhaps it should be called James McWilliams Watch, since he appears to be the contributor to their blog with the most attitude about anything green. Now he is on about The Persistence of the Primitive Food Movement, where "Bicycles are losing gears, runners are afoot in shoes designed to create a barefoot sensation (some are even running barefoot), and m...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Hard Rocker Joins Fight for His Homeland's Forests Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:30:00 -0500
Cyclists assemble in Yerevan, Armenia, for a bike tour to Teghut Forest. Photo by Ruzanna Hovasapyan via ride-earth on Flickr.
Armenian environmental activists fighting plans to build a copper mine in an endangered forest got a boost recently when former System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, surely the world's most famous Armenian-American rock star, sent a me...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Photo via Andrew Evans of the National GeographicKing Penguins are notorious for their prim, tuxedoed appearance--but a recently discovered all-black penguin seems unafraid to defy convention. In what has been described as a "one in a zillion kind of mutation," biologists say that the animal has lost control of it's Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Call for Entries: The 2010 James Dyson Award Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:47:01 -0500
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Gary Lauder on the Social and Environmental Impact of Stop Signs and Roundabouts (Video) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:17:12 -0500
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MIT Scientists Discover a Way to Generate Electricity with Thermopower Waves in Carbon Nanotubes Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:39:55 -0500
Image: MIT
Could Store Power at 100x More Energy/Weight Than Lithium-Ion
A team of scientists at MIT has discovered a new way to generate power with carbon nanotubes. In a paper titled "Chemically driven carbon-nanotube-guided thermopower waves" published in Nature Materials, they describe how they made "thermopower waves" flow through the nanotubes, generating a significant amount of power relative to the size of the nanotubes. This opens up new areas of research in energy gener...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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80 Rare Butterflies Released to Spend their Short Lives in the Wild Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:38:03 -0500
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Until the 20th century, the Palos Verdes peninsula—a small spit of land south of Los Angeles—was the only home of the blue butterfly Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis. Unchecked development, however, eroded this small habitat and nearly caused the extinction of the fickle butterfly.
After years of work rebuilding the degraded ecosystem, conservationists released 80 Palos Verdes blue b...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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How Best to Debate Climate Deniers on TV? Simple: Don't. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:13:00 -0500
Photo via Sheerman-Chase
I can't wait to see the comments on this one. Really, I can't. But this is a concept that I think is important to think about, especially at a time when much of the media appears to be buying into the narrative that the science supporting climate change is being 'called into question'. As a result, we're seeing more calls for televised 'debate' than usual, especially from outlets already convinced that global warming is a big hoax. So what's a climate scientist to do when s/he's asked by a skeptic to appear on Fox News to defend the Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Can Fish Stay on Restaurant Menus? Chef Dan Barber Explores Revolutionary Approach to Fish Farming (Video) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:10:00 -0500
Photo via casers jean
How do we keep fish on the menu? Chef Dan Barber asked this question at the recent TED 2010 event. Farmed fish is a problematic issue - sustainable fish farming is even more so. What's sustainable, and is farmed fish ever really sustainable? Are there any fish that we can keep on the menu and feel confident that we aren't eating our way towards a filthy ocean devoid of life? Barber gives a hilarious talk as he describes is journey to find out exactly how we can keep fish on restaurant menus, and cites a particularly perfect fish being raised through a ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Are Zeppelins the Future of Air Travel? (Slideshow) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:49 -0500
Image: massaud
Concocting crazy flying machines has long been a favorite hobby of mankind. Our generation, accustomed to being whisked to our destinations on commercial airliners, hardly gives a thought to some of the crazy inventions of earlier eras. But clouds are on the horizon. Whether du...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Endangered and Threatened Species That are Apparently Delicious (Please Don't Eat Them) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:27 -0500
Credit: Giant Salamander Protection International
It's polite to ask before eating the last cookie, or the last piece of cheese, or the last animal of its kind on Earth. Actually, you can't have permission for that last one: you can't eat endangered species. You're just asking for bad karma if you do. And hopefully guilty indigestion. Some cultures crave species that are disappearing from the planet, however, and groups out there are trying to put a stop to it. Here are seven animals that have the bad luck to be tasty:...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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BBC's Inside Out Airs Expose on The Impacts of UK's e-Waste on Developing Countries Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:33:00 -0500
Photo via dieselboiie-Waste is finally starting to go mainstream and the issue is making its way to television viewers. While some examples of e-waste on TV are horrifying, like the Amazing Race episode that made light of dumps and the extremely hazardous environments in which e-waste "recyclers" work, other programs are diligently chipping away at the veil between gadget ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Cathy Erway on The Art of Eating In: The TreeHugger Interview Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:20:00 -0500
Photo via Goodlifer
Cathy Erway is an acclaimed food writer and sustainability activist based in New York City. Two or so years ago, she renounced the consumptive culinary culture of the big apple, and set out to eat in--for every meal. An ambitious undertaking in a city practically built on dining out. Erway documented the ordeal on her blog Not Eating Out in New York, where she shared her trials and tribulations, insights on the sustainable benefits of cooking at home, and her favorite new recipes. We caught up with Erway to discuss her n...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Olympic Hockey Final Affects Water Supply, Canadian Economy Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:15:13 -0500
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Should Cell Phone Towers Be Put on Residential Buildings? Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:30:38 -0500
Image: Lloyd Alter
Between the upgrading of existing systems and the licencing of new carriers, the rooftop landscape of Toronto, Canada is changing rapidly as new antennae are added daily. While TreeHugger has discussed the question of cell phone safety many times, we are usually talking about the phone itself, where users have some control, rather than the base stations, where residents in apartment buildings with base stations on the roof do not. Is this exposure dangerous? A recent installation raises some questions....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Woot! Bike There Feature Added to Google Maps! (Video) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:21:00 -0500
It's about time! Google Maps has finally added a Bike There feature. They've been plugging away for awhile now on ways to get directions for cyclists that avoids hills, excessive traffic, and points you in the best directions for pedaling to your destination. After a long time of lobbying by grassroots groups (it was all the way back in Read the full story on TreeHugger
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New Charging Method Could Mean Exponentially Faster Battery Recharge Times Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:55:00 -0500
Photo of batteries via Moria, molecules via Technology Review
Chemists have figured out a new way to charge up electronics that drastically speeds up how long it takes to fill up to full. Ibrahim Abou Hamad at Mississippi State University show off a new way to recharge lithium ion batteries that could be a huge boon for electronics across the board, but while we immediately think of how much faster we might be able to text away on our cell phones, or go snap photos with our digital cameras, the real impact could happ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Powering Up Electronics With Cotton Fabric? It's Happening. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:20:00 -0500
Photo via WonderMike
Cornell University is about to have a fashion show. And at that fashion show will be clothing made of fabric that is simply electrifying. No, really. Juan Hinestroza, assistant professor of Fiber Science and Apparel Design, has developed cotton threads that, while remaining flexible and comfortable to wear, can conduct electric current as well as a metal wire. Simply knotting the threads is enough to create a complete circuit. A solar-powered dress with this technology literally woven into its fabric will be featured at the upcoming fashion show. Bu...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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BP Still Ranked Greenest Oil Company by Greenopia - Citgo Brings Up the Rear Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:54:00 -0500
photo: BPGreenopia has updated their guide to the greenest oil companies--though it may seem like it, it's not entirely an oxymoron--and BP is still on top. The other positions have shifted a bit, with
Sunoco and Hess taking second and third place:...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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69 Bear Invasions In New Jersey Last Year: Hunt On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:36:32 -0500
Dog wounded in New Jersey black bear attack. Image credit:News 12, video.
Without getting into what constitutes a black bear "home invasion" or "pet attack" incident, all would agree that black bears frequently in the yard, tipping trash cans, smashing the chicken coup, attacking pets in the yard, and possibly breaking in on a search for food calls for action. There is an environmental side to this story, too, as reported on NJ News 12 Interactive and elsewhere and ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Co-opportunity by John Grant - Join Up For a Sustainable, Resilient, Prosperous World (Book Review) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:15:32 -0500
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Electric Assist Bike Fail - Iwatani Fuel-Cell Assisted Bicycle Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0500
Photo via Tech On
When it comes to innovation in the greener electronics sector, there are ideas that are smart, but haven't quite found their mojo when it comes to the finished design or prototype. And then there are just flat out bad ideas. This bike falls into that second category - unfortunate because an electric assist bike that requires no help from the grid is an attractive idea. But this one falls flat. In fact, the makers don't even like it. But there is one benefit to this terrible bike. Starting out by listing what's wrong, we can uncover more about what ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Zoo Explores Poop Power and Insulation to Cut Carbon Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:47:37 -0500
Image credit: 10:10 Campaign/Michele Turton
Paignton Zoo in the UK has already hit the headlines for exploring vertical farming to feed its animals. Now the zoo will be recycling the nutrients from that animal feed to power itself. That's right, Paignton zoo is seriously looking at getting into poop power. Elephant poop. And that's just one element of this innovative zoo's quest to slash its carbon emissions....Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Town Battles Supermarket Expansion and Wins Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:03:27 -0500
Image from Mail online
There can hardly be a town without Tesco in Britain. The supermarket controls 30% of the business in the country and has stores everywhere. As it expands relentlessly it often wipes out small local businesses in its way. Sheringham, a resort town of 7,500 people has held out for 14 years against Tesco. Instead it has butchers and bakers and fishmongers along its main road.
Tesco applied for planning permission to build on the main street and met with opposition by the loca...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Finding the Key to Subsidizing Solar Power Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:16:00 -0500
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Who Will Lead The U.N. On Climate Change? Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:59:14 -0500
photo via Climate Changer
A few weeks ago, UN Climate Chief Yvo de Boer stepped down from his post as the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat. Who replaces him figures to be a signal of where the UN is going on climate change. Developing countries have had a hard road to climb in the UN process and three are stepping up to nominate a replacement for Boer. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Pre-Dinosaur Era Plant Specimens Brazenly Stolen Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:38:49 -0500
This photo, via The Telegraph, shows just how difficult it is to move one of the large, primitive cycads.
Important specimens from one of the world´s oldest and rarest species of plant were stolen last weekend, covert ops style, from a botanical garden in South Africa. The species, cycads, is so old, in fact, that their broad ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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