News
Wednesday Green Roundup
Here are some of the stories running around the green web this week.
Recycled wood flooring and recycled glass surfaces on Jetson Green-
Glass2 is produced with 99% recycled glass with no resin and can be worked on by stone and glass fabricators.
Staybull Flooring salvages waste wood from lumber mills around the world in more than 20 wood species. The discarded strips are binded using solvent-free and VOC-free adhesives, then milled and finished with a VOC-free ceramic finish for a strong detailed mosaic looking flooring. Pricing can start at $4.50 sqft and can do double duty by also reducing labor costs and construction waste.
Ecogeek reports on the groundbreaking of the nations largest wind farm in California-
Just outside Los Angeles, a 3-GW wind farm project is on track to be operational by next year. Able to power 600,000 Southern California homes, the Alta Vista Wind Energy Center located in the foothills of the Mojave Desert just north of Los Angeles will have the first phase up and running by next year with full completion in about 10 years.
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GreenNote
Thinking of something to do for the weekend? How about spending your Saturday in the sun or in the shade of the Space Needle while listening to green music. Of course, the music itself cannot be green but the people, supplies, and purpose can be. At the Seattle Center this Saturday July 24th comes GreenNote, a celebration of sustainable music and culture.
GreenNote is an awareness festival consisting of of environmentally friendly products, sound, food, and people who are all there to spread the word of green while listening to the beautiful music that comes along with it. The festival features artists who are environmentally conscious and passionate about their music as well. › Continue reading
Laughing in the Face of Disaster
image via Flickr - alancleaver 2000
After all, it was only the court jester who could laugh at the king. That kind of insight is invaluable.
Humor provides perspective, an ability to seeing ourselves and our views outside of our normal, critical awareness. Humor can also be a way to work through resistance (internal or external) or barriers of opposing view points and to communicate with an emotional depth otherwise too risky for seriousness.
Solar Plane Begins 24-Hour Test Flight
Seven years of hard-work recently culminated in the beginning of a 24-hour test flight of the HB-SIA, an experimental solar-energy powered aircraft. This unveiling comes with a sigh of relief as the flight has already been delayed once due to technical issues with the communications equipment. The intentions of the team are to take the plane up to an altitude of approximately 28,000 feet after which the pilot will determine whether the plane can successfully fly during the night with the energy stored during the day’s sunlight.
Powered by 12,000 solar cells, the group hopes that the plane will be a harbinger of things to come – “to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel,” as the team’s co-founder Bertrand Piccard puts it. Though the group recognizes that solar airplanes won’t be replacing commercial airplanes with jet propulsion engines any time soon, the hope is that the project will be a means of moving towards a world with newer, cleaner technology.
The Gulf Oil Spill is Sad, But How Does It Affect Me?
I am sure many people are uttering these exact words right now when seeing images and news of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill in the Gulf. It is really sad, but unless you live along the affected coast or are a fisherman, it can be hard to connect with the devastation and see it for the disaster it really is.
It may be helpful to look at a similar disaster to see the likely effects, the Exxon Valdez oil spill. That oil spill killed as many as half a million birds, including more than 150 bald eagles and approximately 4,500 sea otters. While it may be something you may have not even thought twice about, it is still impacting us to this day, in ways you may not have imagined.
Even though the Exxon Valdez spill was in 1989, it is still killing wildlife today, 21 years later. Everything from Salmon to Pacific herring and pigeon guillemots — are not recovering. Populations of clams and mussels are still affected by the lingering oil, as are sea otters and birds such as harlequin ducks and black oystercatchers. Digging down only 4 to 10 inches, you will find pockets of oil still left over from the 1989 spill.
What may be even more scary is that we haven’t really had a spill like this to compare to, and the unprecedented use of a toxic chemical dispersant only adds to the unknown.
The environmental fallout:
- Oceanic Currents
- Hurricane Season
- Containment
- Fishing Impacts
- Bird Migration
- Estuaries and Marshes
- Coral Reefs
Given the location and the extent of this spill, we may be in much bigger trouble. The Exxon Valdez spill was large, but was largely contained and somewhat isolated when compared to the far reaching and ranging Gulf oil spill. Converging oceanic currents in the area can carry the oil hundreds, even thousands of miles from the spill site and the upcoming hurricane season could spread and disperse it even more rather than floating in a large slick.
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The Case Against Whaling: Prostitutes
And just when you thought it wasn’t possible, the whaling issue becomes dirtier. On one side, it was found that whale feces form a significant contribution to the marine environment, and in turn, to the ecosystem as a whole. This of course is positive and presents even greater reason to discourage unnecessary whaling. On the other, pro-whaling government officials seem to be coming clean that their votes were purchased through money and prostitutes.
Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission / NOAA.
The Sunday Times sent investigators undercover, in light of the looming discussion on whaling quotas (Japan and other pro-whaling nations are pushing to legalize commercial whaling to some degree with quotas), to several different countries to try and find if any representatives would be willing to trade their vote in exchange for money. Implicated in the investigation were representatives from Grenada, Republic of Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and St Kitts and Nevis. They were approached by a fictitious billionaire proposing to purchase their votes for substantial aid packages.
A Great Green Festival Weekend
Last weekend I had the pleasure to attend the Green Festival Seattle 2010. Upon first walking into the event, I was overwhelmed with over 300 exhibits, excited to see all of the friendly faces, and ready to learn a lot about everything green. The Green Festival took place June 5th and 6th in the Washington State Convention Center. I attended the festival on Saturday, June 5th, and volunteered there on Sunday which was a fantastic experience. The staff of the event were knowledgeable, friendly, organized, and most of all excited to be a part of, and provide, a wonderful weekend for many individuals and families. One thing I noticed while I was volunteering: a large percentage of the people coming to attend the event had free passes which had been given out at Verizon stores and other places. The Green Festival is completely focused on trying to provide as many people as possible the opportunity to spend the weekend learning about living green and green products, and that is a great thing.
Here are a few products and companies I learned about while I was there:
Marcal Small Steps – Marcal is a company with a ‘green culture.’ Being the oldest environmentally friendly paper product distributor in the US since 1950, their mission is to provide affordable and recycled paper products to families. Their Small Steps line was created in 2009 and consists of recycled bath tissue, napkins, towels, and facial tissue. Because their products are 100% recycled, no trees are used in their manufacturing and they have already saved 23,720,740 trees and counting. › Continue reading
Green Twitter Movers and Shakers
Twitter is a great place to learn, interact and stay up to the minute on local, regional and national news, events or just connect to the people and issues you care about. Here is a list of some of the biggest and best tweeters sorted by categories. Scroll down and find your interests and connect, or share your own favorites in the comment section below!
Green Living
- @inhabitat – Green design in your habitat
- @the_daily_green – Great daily green tips
- @dwell – Modern & green home design
- @renest – Home style and design features
- @jetsongreen – Green Building News and Features
- @OrganicLife – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
- @dannyjseo – Great DIY home decorating ideas
- @AltCon – Green living for the Alternative Consumer
Green News
- @grist – Independent Environmental Journalism
- @triplepundit – People, Planet and Profit, green business news
- @guardianeco – The Environment section of UKs The Guardian paper
- @HuffPostGreen – Green section of the Huffington Post
- @Greenopolis – Recycling news, features and more
- @current_green – Environmental news in video format
Eco Opinions
- @drgrist – David Roberts, Energy Politics blogger for Grist
- @derekmarkham – Derek Markham, aka Natural Papa
- @thegoodhuman – David, author and social media activist
- @AlexSteffen – Alex Steffen of worldchanging.com
- @KGeee – Katherine Goldstein, the Green Editor for the Huffington Post
- @FakePlasticFish – Beth Terry, living without plastic
- @TwilightEarth – Adam Shake, environmental discussion, advocacy and activism
Green Products
- @Urthbags – Beautifully recycled bags & totes
- @simplywoodrings – Rings made from re-purposed & sustainable wood
- @amenityhome – Modern home eco accessories & linens
- @tierraideas – Imaginative upcycled products
- @greenasweegrow – Organic baby clothing & bedding
- @CarlaRose – Eco + Chic bath and body
- @PeopleTowels – Your own personal traveling towel
Eco Fashion
- @FashionEthic – Eco fashion from Seattle
- @Ecouterre – Future of sustainable fashion
- @Ecosalon – Eco trends in fashion and life
- @ecofashionista – Eco fashion activism
- @ecofabulous – Sexy sustainable style
Car Free Vancouver – June 20th
Image: Flickr user Foxtongue
Vancouver’s annual Car-Free Day was officially launched in 2008 following a number of successful smaller events in the years before all building up to this celebration of healthy communities, authentic cultural festivals, and most of all, car-free streets. The 2009 Vancouver’s Car-Free Day tempted over 150,000 people to join in the fun and to take the day to look at their city in a new light. With great available public transportation and pedestrian friendly streets, it’s no surprise that this idea has taken off. › Continue reading
Green Festival Seattle 2010
My favorite thing about eco-friendly products and green living is that there are so many expos, conferences, and events that provide fun and easy ways to learn more about green companies. I was really excited when I saw a flier for the 2010 Seattle Green Festival and just completed my registration to volunteer for the event. Green Festival also takes place in San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington DC and struck gold when it was here last year.
The festival is a joint project by Global Exchange which aims to create green economies that embrace diversity and Green America which promotes economic power and sustainability around America. The festival is Saturday and Sunday, June 5th and 6th. Saturday from 10am to 7pm and Sunday from 11am to 6pm at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.
Release, React, Recycle
This is awesome! 
There are many ways to alleviate anger and frustration and many ways to recycle. Combine them and you get Glassphemy! I a new project in New York by the creative David Belt to encourage fun recycling. Glassphemy! Is a 20ft by 30ft clear box with high walls of bulletproof glass in Brooklyn. At one end of the box, people stand and throw glass bottles at people on the other side. Guests can aim at their friends for a little extra fun, and even a way to get rid of aggression! This is a great example of repurposing!
“Recycling’s so boring,” said Belt “We tried to make it a little bit more exciting.” Last summer David Belt created another fun recycling project – the dumpster pool! Belt transformed an industrial lot into a lo-fi country club with cabanas, barbecues, photo shoots, and dumpster swimming for under $1000. › Continue reading
