Posts Tagged ‘ecoscraps’

Could You Get By on 5 Gallons of Water a Day?

Flowing water. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Thegreenj.)Think you could get by using only as much water as a rural African villager: about 20 liters (a little over five gallons) per day? Brits Sophie Morris and Paul Martin each describe their experiences taking the 20-liter challenge. (Hint: both suffer bouts of “flushitis” in facing the fact an average toilet uses eight to 10 liters per flush.)

Shades of Green and The Green House: By Brad Gilchrist and Peter Menice

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I got the wonderful opportunity to interview Brad Gilchrist one of the creators (along with Peter Menice) of the cartoon The Green House. We will be highlighting their weekly strip “Shades of Green” on the EcoScraps blog every Monday. As an aspiring cartoonist it was very informative and interesting to hear about the directions their work has taken them and how they ended up together creating The Green House. Brad and Peter have both enjoyed successful careers as cartoonists, but I feel the true success is on its way. By “true success” I mean making a comfortable living doing what you love while making a difference in the world. As Brad puts it in the interview after the break:

“Which means more people seeing that living a simple, conscious life is more cool and rewarding than having a McMansion and a Hummer or II.”

You can play a part in their success by calling or e-mailing your favorite papers and tell them about the strip and the web site.

For my interview with Brad Gilchrist…

My Server’s Greener Than Yours

A big “green” computer. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)Today’s Register features an amusing series of screenshots illustrating how computer companies and Web hosts are falling over one another in the race to put on a green face for their customers. One of my favorite comments in the post: “So, do windmill makers use servers on their web sites to advertise the greenocity of their windmills?”

Canada Says ‘Yes’ to Clotheslines

An outdoor clothesline. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)What’s more unsightly: a backyard clothesline or a dangerously warming world driven to the tipping point by greenhouse gas emissions? Ontario officials have decided on their answer, which is why they’ll be banning local bans on outdoor clotheslines this summer.

Attack of the Spiders

A redback spider. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)Honeybees and songbirds might be getting harder to find, but not redback spiders. In fact, so many of the poisonous arachnids are swarming the tiny Baralaba Multi Purpose Health Service hospital in Australia’s Queensland state that officials are closing the facility for one day so they can fumigate. Authorities blame the infestation on warm temperatures that have encouraged the hatching of more spiders than usual.

James Bond Driver Dunks $230,000 Aston Martin

bond-car.jpgWhile filming the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, the stunt driver of Bond’s $200,000 Aston Martin, misjudged and drove off a cliff into 150 feet of water, knocking him out. 29 year old Fraser Dunn came to and managed to swim to shore with only minor injuries. Police weren’t amused, he was fined about $800 for dangerous driving.

Source:  Ananova 

Green Renovation Profiled on NPR

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As part of their Earth Day coverage, NPR’s All Things Considered  took a look at a LEED Platinum home renovation in Washington DC.  Peter Yost from the green building resource BuildingGreen helped to explain some of the possibly unfamiliar green building terms and explained how the elements of this renovation contributed to its being one of the greenest homes in the country.

While building tours on the radio can’t show pictures, the NPR website has several [...]

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished … Again

Water splashing. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)In yet another ludicrous example of people being punished for conserving (see a previous instance here), water-strapped Atlanta and Fulton County are mulling a 15-percent water rate hike to offset revenue losses caused by residents trying to reduce their consumption.

Beer Shortages May Be Coming Due to Climate Change

Empty beer glass CC photo by Tnarik from FlickrAmong the many other ill effects it is causing, global climate change may also be contributing to failures of hops and barley crops. Without these two essential ingredients, the supply of beer will be reduced, and prices for what remains will rise dramatically.

According to Jim Salinger, a climate scientist at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, the warming globe will likely cause a

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Big Brother Vs. Greens

A magnifying glass. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Tttrung.)An exclusive investigative report in this week’s Mother Jones provides yet another compelling reason to shred and recycle your office paper: revelations about a now-defunct private security firm that searched through Greenpeace’s trash for documents and targeted other environmental groups such as the Center for Food Safety and the Environmental Working Group.

China Wins the Gold Medal in Rain Control

533266226_dd979eaa90.jpgThe Chinese plan to use cloud seeding to prevent rain during the Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremonies. The chances of rain on Aug. 8 are close to 50%.

Source: LA Times

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