Friday, June 6, 2008
US Falling Short on Greenhouse Gas Emmisions
From Democracy Now
Four Nations Attempt to Become Carbon Neutral
World Environment Day is being marked around the world today. It comes as four countries are competing to become the first nation to go entirely carbon neutral. Iceland, Norway, Costa Rica and New Zealand are all attempting to reduce their net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero. Jeanette Fitzsimons of the Green Party in New Zealand said great progress has already been made.
Jeanette Fitzsimons: “Our electricity system is nearly 70 percent renewable now, mainly from hydro, but with some geothermal and increasingly a little bit of wind. We have a goal, a government goal, to raise that to 90 percent renewable by 2025.”
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting the United States will announce next month that it cannot meet an international goal of making big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Chief US climate negotiator Harlan Watson said, “It’s frankly not do-able for us.”
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
16 Year Old Kid Breaks Down Plastic Bags
Here's a cool little story about a high school kid who just won a bunch of awards for isolating the microorganisms that break down plastic bags. The hope is that if done on a large scale, this can help clean up some of the mess that is out there.
While I think this kind of research is a double edged sword, we need to stop using plastic bags, not give people a reason to think it's all going to be ok, I like the idea of how this came about. Here's a kid who got sick of opening the closet door and having all those bags come out on top of him. So he decided to do something. It's why I have faith in the fact that we are going to fix this whole mess, kids are black and white, they are smarter than us, and they don't like being told that they can't do something.
And he's got a cool haircut to boot!
Thanks to Nick for sending this in.
Live Sustainably
Dave
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wanna Start A Worm Composter?
A lot of people have contacted me about worm composting, including most recently, Rex who works for the company that makes The Worm Factory, the composter that I use. He liked the videos that I put up on youtube and we got to talking and before you know it, he offered to have folks who come from the blog here get either 10% off on a bin or an extra tray when they order.
How cool is that?
I should point out that i can't say that these work any better or worse than any other composters, just that the do work well. If you want to make a composter yourself at home there are a ton of places to find designs on the web. That said, if you are one of those people who just wants to jump right in then head over to Jayne'sBazaar and type in Sustainable Dave in the promo code of the checkout section.
Let me know how it goes!
Live Sustainably
Dave
Gas Saving Tip From The Sierra Club
Got this in my inbox the other day. I've always know that slowing down saves gas but I like thier factual representation of it.
Live Sustainably
Dave
Memorial Day Weekend is coming and -- in spite of gas prices -- more Americans than ever are planning to getaway by car. But that doesn't have to cost as much as you think.
There are lots of ways to save gas (checked your tires lately?) but the easiest and most effective way is to slow down (just a little bit). When you add up the savings, it's like getting paid to relax.
So before you get behind the wheel for the upcoming holiday, show us what you're made of. Pledge to Drive 55 (or whatever the speed limit is on the roads you're traveling) for Memorial Day Weekend. Poor Sammy Hagar can't do it, but we bet you can. After all, even jets are slowing down to save money!
The Union of Concerned Scientists tells us that dropping from 70 to 60 mph improves fuel efficiency by an average of 17.2 percent. Dropping from 75 to 55 improves fuel efficiency by 30.6 percent!
Put another way, in a family sedan, every 10 mph you drive over 60 is like paying 54 cents per gallon more for gas you bought at $3.25 a gallon. That extra cost is even higher for big SUVs and other less-efficient vehicles.
And the time you save by going easy on the accelerator may not add up to as much as you thought. On a 300-mile trip, driving 65 instead of 70 mph would cost you only 20 minutes -- but save money and spew less carbon.
Have a great Memorial Day,
Greg Haegele
Director of Conservation
Saudi Arabias US Backed Nuclear Program
I guess this is really for anyone out there who still wonders whether we are running out of oil. Saudi Arabia has now rejected Bush's request to amp up oil production 3 times (well on the levels that he has requested anyway) and now it looks like the US is going to help the Saudis build a nuclear power program.
So riddle me this Batman, if oil prices are through the roof, and there is enough of it to bathe in and no end in sight, why not amp up production and cash in a bit? Furthermore, if you've got more oil than you can imagine, why the move to Nuclear?
Unreal.
Live Sustainably
Dave
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