Green Options

By Dr. Lisa Moore, Environmental Defense scientist. (Cross posted from Climate411.org.) Photo: Green OptionsLast week, Yahoo! launched a new site that can calculate how much your carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions go down when you try their energy saving tips. It's fun to use, and I especially appreciate the snazzy interactive features because I know how hard people worked to build it. My colleagues and I provided the Yahoo! design team [...]

Chicagoan Betty Schlatter, a self-described nonathelete, traded in her van for a bike.By Leslie Valentine, Writer/Editor at Environmental DefenseNational Bike-to-Work Week is May 14-18, and there's no better time to start doing just that. Here's why. Besides the glorious spring weather, bicycling instead of driving pays off: you save gas money, avoid traffic jams, get exercise, help curb global warming pollution and [...]

By Mel Peffers, Project Manager of Environmental Defense Living Cities program Cars in traffic in New York City Last week, after Mayor Bloomberg announced his bold "greenprint" for New York City, Environmental Defense called for people to share stories about traffic. Arturo, a resident of Long Island City, Queens, New York, responded. He describes the perils of living on a busy [...]

Cross posted from Climate411.org, a blog by Environmental Defense's chief scientist, Bill Chameides.Tons of CO2 pollution. We are always hearing about how many tons of CO2 pollution we emit. The average American car emits about seven tons of CO2 in a year; the average American family, about 24 tons; the United States as a whole, over seven billion tons; and worldwide, almost 30 billion tons. The [...]

By John DeCicco, Environmental Defense automotive expertAmerican cars and light trucks are a huge source of global warming pollution. U.S. autos emit more than 333 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, roughly one-fifth of the nation's total carbon dioxide emissions. In 2004, U.S. cars and light trucks traveled 2.7 trillion miles. That's equal to 10 million trips from the earth to the moon. Any serious effort to fight global [...]

By Erica Rowell, Environmental Defense Writer, Editor, ProducerCFL and incandescent bulbs side by sideQuality was spotty in the 70s, but this is a new millenniumApple computers. Punk. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). What do they have in common? They were introduced in the 1970s and are now back in style.CFLs have improved dramatically from their inauspicious beginnings. They took a while to come on, flickered as they [...]

By Timothy Fitzgerald, Environmental Defense fisheries scientistLong the provender of imperial banquets and champagne tastes, beluga sturgeon caviar from the Caspian Sea has been called the Rolls Royce of caviar. But therein lies the problem. Likened to black gold and magic pearls, the eggs of the beluga sturgeon are so prized that this bony ancient fish, going back 200 million years to the age of dinosaurs, has been [...]

Editor's Note: We're happy to introduce another blog feature today, a bi-weekly column by Environmental Defense. Every two weeks, Online Activism & Outreach Coordinator Jessica Bosanko will bring you news, information and action items about ED's efforts to "find innovative, practical ways to solve the most urgent environmental problems." By Timothy Fitzgerald, Environmental Defense scientistSeafood lovers who want safe and eco-friendly fish might need help sorting [...]