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There will come a day …

... when buying green tags to offset [your group's activity here] is no longer worth sending out a press release about. And it can't come soon enough.

Carat Top

Ringing in a new era of ethically and ecologically responsible jewelry Did you know 30 tons of waste rock can be generated in producing one gold ring? Us neither, but now we’re never getting married. Trying to keep a step ahead of consumers’ growing social and environmental consciousness, the jewelry industry is making some changes. […]

Aral Be There

Aral Sea coming back to life after decades of draining damage The dramatic diminution and pollution of Central Asia’s Aral Sea is one of the 20th century’s most stunning eco-disasters — but its restoration may become an eco-miracle of the 21st. Since the World Bank’s $85.8 million Kok-Aral Dam project began in 2001, the Aral […]

Fuel Me Once …

Enviros sue Bush admin over lax fuel-economy rules for light trucks In a new lawsuit, the Center for Biological Diversity has charged the Bush administration with violating the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which requires the feds to regularly update fuel-economy standards to the “maximum feasible level.” With currently available technologies, light trucks could […]

Increase fuel efficiency with magnets!

As the developed world scratches its collective head over the puzzle of fuel efficiency -- "Why would we want something that's good for us in the short term and the long term?" -- a Los-Angeles-based company has patented technology to reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency, all with the humble holder-of-plastic-letters-onto-the-refrigerator: the magnet. Save the World Air, Inc., do-gooders and lovers of acronyms, own the manufacturing and marketing rights to ZEFS and CAT-MATE devices, which are ...

... specifically engineered to minimize environmental pollution, to enhance fuel system performance and to increase engine efficiency. Variations of these devices can be attached to the internal combustion engines or exhaust systems in most automobiles, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, generators and other stationary implements.

And then there were eight

Maryland has joined seven other Northeast states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Maryland is more reliant on coal-fired power plants than are the other states in the regional pact, and the enactment of such tough pollution control legislation there is considered a major environmental victory.

The dominoes are falling.

We’re in it!

(photo credit: Mark Seliger, exclusively for Vanity Fair.)

I have here in my hot little hands the latest issue of Vanity Fair, which, though alleged not to hit newsstands until April 11, mysteriously arrived at the Fremont PCC several days early.

It's the "green" issue, with great feature pieces from Al Gore and Mark Hertsgaard, and a 20-or-so-page photo spread with environmental notables of various sorts -- including the "E-gitators," pictured above. Go e-gitators! (I guess that makes Chip's new kid an e-gitator tot.) From left to right: Graham Hill of Treehugger, Jennifer Boulden and Heather Stephenson of IdealBite, Laurie David of StopGlobalWarming, and our very own Chip Giller.

Debate rages about who came off as more rakish and handsome, Graham or Chip. I think my wife more or less nailed it when she said, "Graham is more WB handsome; Chip is more Discovery Channel handsome." I guess we can live with that. (Good call keeping the stubble, Chip!)

But ladies ... can we talk about the Mary-Tyler-Moore-style sweater belts? Did this get trendy when I wasn't looking? Cause I don't care if your belt is made of bamboo and crafted by workers in a well-paid Guatemalan peasant collective, sweater belts is fugly, and I'd hate to see such lovely, talented, committed e-gitators end up getting fugged.

Anyway, as far as I know, none of the content is available online yet -- so just go out and buy it on a newsstand near you. You can put Chip on your wall!

He's come a long way, baby.

Two new nature books for city slickers

Lately, green is the new black in the American metropolis. Here in New York City, the cabbies are driving hybrids and the fashionistas are wearing organic jeans. Even in my decidedly un-hip Brooklyn neighborhood, the corner deli sells organic milk and cookies. Green is busting out all over. Photo: iStockphoto. Green-tinted consumerism is probably gaining […]

What do full-sized pickup trucks and peacocks have in common?

Associated Press reminds us that things are still looking bad for U.S. car manufacturers:

The U.S. auto industry's slump hit GM hard in March, when the struggling automaker's sales fell almost 15 percent as rival Toyota reported its highest-ever monthly sales.

But, not all is lost:

Still, Ford's F-Series truck held its own, posting a 5.5 percent increase for the month, its best March sales since 2000, with 84,168 sold. Ford said it was the third consecutive month sales rose for the nation's best-selling vehicle.

Biggest energy companies in U.S. call for caps on carbon emissions

Tuesday saw a tectonic shift in the climate-change debate during an all-day Senate conference on global-warming policy. A group of high-powered energy and utility executives for the first time issued this directive to Washington: Bring on the carbon caps! The Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard statements from leaders representing eight big energy companies, including […]