Latest Articles

The Cradle-to-Cradle Will Rock

Smart, eco-friendly design making inroads in the business community The seminal 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, inspired a slogan for 21st century designers: “Pollution is a symbol of design failure.” They proposed that every material used in manufacturing should be capable […]

AAA for Effort

Legislation would force EPA to get realistic about fuel-efficiency stats A bill debuting in Congress today would require the U.S. EPA to revamp its gas-mileage tests to more accurately reflect real-world driving conditions. Currently the EPA determines mileage ratings for vehicles by using 30-year-old tests that allow vehicle engines to get warm, never push the […]

You Say Tomato, I Say Hidden Costs of Transport

Locally grown food greener than organic, British study says Though organic farming is relatively easy on the environment, buying locally grown food, even the pesticide-sprayed variety, is usually more earth-friendly than buying organic, a new study contends. Published in the journal Food Policy, the study found that the transportation of food over long distances — […]

Consider this

Oft-villified sneaker behemoth Nike has introduced five new styles that tread a little lighter on the earth. Part of a new line called Nike Considered, the casual shoes and boots are part of the company's effort to examine ways to reduce waste, eliminate toxic substances, and follow their image consultants' advice to atone for that whole small-children-working-in-sweatshops-in-foreign-countries thing:

Among other changes, the Nike Considered shoes are largely made with materials found within 200 miles of the factory, to cut down on fuel consumption in transporting them. The leather comes from a tannery that recycles wastewater to ensure that no toxins are released into the environment, and it is pigmented using vegetable dyes. Hemp and polyester are used to make the shoe's woven upper and shoelaces. The midsole is cut to lock into the outer sole, lessening the need for adhesives in constructing the shoe. The shoe's outer sole includes recycled rubber.

Bubba, we hardly knew ye

It all started innocently enough. Well, sort of. Nantucket lobstermen hauled up a 22-pound crustacean and sold it to a market in Pittsburgh. The owner, awed by the clawed -- which was nicknamed Bubba and estimated to be 100 years old -- decided to donate it to the local zoo. On Tuesday, the big fella arrived there, and promptly swam to the big trap in the sky.

Lobster author Trevor Corson has a few thoughts about the misguided effort to "save" Bubba, and conservation guidelines in Maine that would have left him in the sea to begin with.

P.S.: You know what would be funny? Dead lobster gummi candy.

10 reasons national parks need help

The National Parks Conservation Association has launched a new campaign called "Faded Glory: Top Ten Reasons to Reinvest in America's National Park Heritage." Reading the top ten list is eye-opening, if somewhat depressing: Funding shortfalls are hurting education efforts, historical preservation, the war on invasive species and poaching, routine maintenance, the list goes on. Give it a look and then follow their directions to take action.

Reefer madness

A U.S. research ship made its way out of Mexico yesterday after banging up a coral reef and potentially screwing with marine life. The vessel -- operated by Columbia University but carrying scientists from several countries -- had spent five weeks using sonic pulses to examine a crater for clues to dinosaur extinction. While whalehuggers asserted that the technology could damage undersea creatures, the crew encountered a bigger problem: it ran aground in mid-February, damaging 20 square yards of reef north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Upon departing, Columbia coughed up $200,000 and blamed the whole thing on faulty charts.

Hasta luego!

Whole Foods

Readers who found our interview with John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods, interesting, may also be interested in this Forbes story on Whole Foods, which focuses on the "food-as-porn" marketing and business strategy of the growing (mostly) organic giant.

(Via Green Life)

Forget about CO2 for a minute already

It's a dirty secret in the blog world that occasionally bloggers will recommend that their readers read something that they themselves have not read. (Gasp.) But not this blog! At least, not any more! Or rather, at least not this time!

Yesterday I was going to recommend "Bringing Society Back into the Climate Debate" (PDF), a new paper by Roger Pielke Jr. and Daniel Sarewitz (found via their excellent Prometheus science blog). But then I realized that it's a PDF, it's wonky, it's written in dry academic language, and y'all would never read it. And really, how could I expect you to if I hadn't? So last night, I read it.

My initial reaction: They make an extremely good point. Enviros need to reconsider their monomaniacal focus on cutting CO2 emissions.

Go beneath the fold for a brief summary.

And You Thought Clinton Liked Hummers

Feds using terrorism excuse to crack down on eco-activists The U.S. government is using the Patriot Act to go after radical environmental activists — and some unfortunate folks who just happen to look like them — by branding them as “terrorists.” Despite the fact that the Earth Liberation Front has caused no injuries during its […]