Green Options

Sometimes the solution to a complicated problem arrives in a simple form, and that’s the case with Hydro International’s Hydro Stormbloc system.  The Stormbloc modules look like nothing more than oversized milk crates but they could help some communities finally resolve chronic stormwater flooding problems that have bedeviled them for years, and harvest rainwater for recycling, to boot.

Slash-and-burn agriculture may be bad for the environment, but in southeast Asia, the cure may be worse than the disease. Endorsed by multiple governments, at both the local and national levels, as well as numerous business interests, everyone from individual farmers to massive corporations has been replacing the traditional slash-and-burn, more technically known as swidden, method of farming with rubber plantations managed with European techniques. In the last 20 years, over 1.2 million acres of land in China, Thailand, Vietnam, [...]

Global warming forces natural resources into unnatural conditions, and the people who rely on them are similarly forced into unnatural positions

According to reports, the floods destroying Queensland and other parts of Australia are now causing an even bigger problem - crocodiles in the streets.

One 5′3″ crocodile was hit by a car earlier this week, and there are reports of more of the large reptiles washing into the area. From Yahoo! News:

The army has been called in to help with rescue and recovery efforts, while three reports of large crocodiles washed

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10 minutes of raw video clips from the coal slurry pond disaster in Tennessee.

Unnatural disasters have become a fact of life dependent upon fossil fuels. The latest of these disasters came early Monday morning when a coal slurry impoundment at the TVA Kingston Power Plant near Harriman, TN burst, allowing approximately 500 million gallons of toxic coal ash to rush into the surrounding community.

Climate change must be factored into all new planning to safeguard coastal developments against sea level rise, the State of Victoria in Australia has decided.

What if your house could simply walk away from natural disasters? This house can. Designed by an art collective in Denmark, the 10 foot high house is solar and wind-powered and can walk across a variety of terrain. It is equipped with a living room, bed, toilet, kitchen, and wood stove, and is controlled by an internal mainframe computer.

From the administration that brought you:
* A weakened Clean Air Act
* A weakened Clean Water Act
* A weakened dollar
* An unjust war
* An increase in logging contracts
* Strained international relations
* The border fence
*And much, much (MUCH), more…

Now brings you:
*A solution to floods and fires

Editor’s note: Please join us in welcoming Joshua S. Hill to the Green Options writing team. Based in Donvale, Australia, Joshua is a freelance writer who’s published articles on global warming/climate change at Mongabay.com, and the Canada Free Press. He’ll be contributing to our coverage of these issues, as well as delving into green technology.

It’s been two days since negotiators from

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