The Green House Effect

2008 Top-10 Green Building Products [BuildingGreen]

Ecofriend — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:44:00 +0000

Social Entrepreneurs: How to Change the World Through Business

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:25:05 +0000

I love to read, but am lucky if I have time to finish even one book a month. Fortunately, I can “cheat” and listen to author interviews on the radio or via podcasts, and I just listened to an engaging interview with Pamela Hartigan, the founding partner of the yet-to-be-launched Volans Ventures and the founding director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, about her new book titled The Power Of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World.

The podcast is part of Stanford Social Innovation Review’s “Design for Change” series, and I recommend that you listen to it.

But if even that shortcut is too much for you, I’ll give you a couple of highlights.

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Urgent: Sign USDA Petition Demanding Stronger Regulations for Genetically Engineered Crops!

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:02:53 +0000

The comment period for proposed rule changes on Genetically Engineered Organisms ends on Monday, November 24th.

Sign the Center for Food Safety’s petition and make yourself heard on genetically modified foods and pharmaceutical crops issues!

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Palin Praises ‘Great Country’ in Which Turkeys Are Slaughtered Behind You on TV

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:17:57 +0000

Sarah Palin, apparently oblivious to the turkey slaughter behind her, gives a press conference on…oh, who cares what she’s talking about. All I can notice are the turkeys.

This story contains additional media. Click here to view the media.

Video Credit: TheSexyPatriot on YouTube

Prototype Generator Harnesses Vibration Power

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:09:26 +0000

Omron Corp. recently debuted a small prototype generator that harnesses power from vibrations to create electricity. The model will be cheap—approximately $10.36— due to its simple structure and packaging.

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Can a Modern Green Home Be Built for $100K?

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:47:02 +0000

Follow Philly’s Postgreen as they attempt to build a modern green home for $100,000.

Just over a year ago, Philadelphia developer Postgreen undertook an ambitious project, to build a modern green home for $100,000. Not only are they seeking to shatter the myth that green homes are unaffordable, but they are documenting every step on their site, 100KHouse.com. Located in the New Kensington area of Philadelphia, the house will be a roughly 1,000 square foot two bedroom one and a half bath modern style home - and will not be a prefab; rather it is being built from the ground up according to LEED for Homes guidelines using such affordable energy saving materials as SIPs (structurally insulated panels.)

Documenting the progress of the 100K House are Postgreen President Chad Ludeman and PR Director Nic Darling. Both are convinced that affordable green building is not only possible, but necessary to bring about true environmental change. Their blog posts are not limited to the progress of the 100K House; they write about a range of interesting green topics.

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Washington Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Wind Power in Landmark Case

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:40:51 +0000

Wind energy advocates won a big victory Thursday in Washington when the state’s Supreme Court ruled that local county commissioners can’t block wind farms.

The case, Residents Opposed to Kittitas Turbines v. State of Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, represents a big win for renewable energy advocates in the ongoing struggle to site wind energy installations; a struggle that has become a pervasive part of local renewable energy politics.

>>More on Wind Energy at RG&B

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UbiGreen Cell Phone App Keeps Track of Your Carbon Footprint

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:33:32 +0000

Keeping track of your carbon footprint can be hard; you may walk or take the bus everywhere, but how much CO2 is that cross-country plane trip letting loose? UbiGreen, a new cell phone application developed by Intel and the University of Washington, senses whether you’re in a plane, train, or car to let you know exactly what your carbon footprint is.

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Eco-Pregnancy Makes for Healthy Babies

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:14:21 +0000

Many women discover the green lifestyle when they are expecting, or become moms. Wanting to do the best you can for your child includes considerations that you make before your baby is even born – after all, that’s why you’ve given up wine, right? Everyone knows that eating right and getting enough rest will help both mother and baby be healthy, but the green movement has opened our eyes to the effects that the world around us can have as well.

Back in 2005, a frightening study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found chemicals in the blood of the umbilical cords from 10 newborn babies. These chemicals were linked to cancer, birth defects, and hormone disruptions, and included lead, mercury and PCBs. Since then, moms-to-be have demanded more information about reducing the impact of the chemical soup that we all live in.

We Are What We Eat

According to most studies, it’s not clear whether organic food has higher nutritional value than its non-organic counterparts. Regardless, one thing is for sure: organic food contains fewer chemicals. Organic food is grown without artificial fertilizers, conventional pesticides, or sewage sludge, and processed without ionizing radiation and food additives. That stuff is gross, whether you’re pregnant or not. To label a food product organic, it must be certified by the National Organic Program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A USDA Organic seal indicates that the product contains at least 95% organic ingredients, so look for this label.

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Mini Electric Car Fun But Quirky During My Short Test Drive

Green Options — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:13:44 +0000

At the LA Auto Show today, I had the privilege of testing the 2009 Mini E electric car on a short drive downtown. It’s zippy off the line and maintains the Mini’s sense of fun and performance, yet it also has a few quirks that may make driving it a bit of a hassle — at least during an initial “mental adjustment” phase.

The new-for-2009 Mini E electric car is undoubtedly one of the most highly-anticipated cars being released next year. Initially the car will only be offered to a select group of 500 people in the Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey metro areas who will be chosen by Mini to provide the exact set of testing conditions Mini engineers want to evaluate.

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