Green Options

Sigourney Weaver narrates “Acid Test“, an illuminating and terrifying NRDC documentary that explains how quickly our planet’s oceans are acidifying due to all of the carbon dioxide that we are pumping into our air. This pollution is causing rapid changes in our oceans’ chemistry that will completely disrupt all life on the planet as we know it on a scale that has not been seen for tens of millions of years.

This August PBS is airing “Playing for Change“, a multimedia effort which seeks to unite musicians from all over the globe to promote positive change and worldwide peace. Musicians and artists are also being brought together to perform and raise money to build art and music schools for communities in need. Here is a diverse group of international musicians performing a beautiful collaborative version of Bob Marley’s song “One

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Many of us have a large circle of friends, coworkers and family members that seems to grow wider each year. As our gift list grows longer, holiday time can bring with it a sense of environmental dread. The excess packaging, wrapping paper, bows, tape, and whatnots. The time spent searching for the perfect gift for folks who likely have just about everything they need or want. (How many re-giftable items do you receive each year?) Then you buy a couple of extra gifts just in case there is somebody you might have forgotten and you want to avoid that awkward moment of the one-sided gift exchange! Ugh.

Consider making this holiday season low impact and no-stress by joining the Blue Planet Run Holiday Gift of Water program.

The UK government announced today that Britain has overtaken Denmark to become the world’s biggest producer of offshore wind power.

The rise to the top of the global league table follows the construction of a new wind farm off the coast of Skegness, Lincolnshire, which increases the UK’s total electricity generation from offshore wind sources to 590 megawatts (MW), enough to power 300,000 homes.

This week from our friends at ZapRoot: The FDA needs to have their heads examined. We respond to the numerous Chinese comments. Explore the world through Google Earth’s Environment section.

This week’s show links:

Eco Child’s Play - CA Fails to Pass Chemical Ban in Baby Products
Eat Drink Better - FDA Allows Producers to Irradiate Spinach & Lettuce
BPA Opinions
Corn Syrup All Natural
Google Earth Environment

Universities and academic institutions are developing new technologies aimed at solving the world’s energy and climate change challenges at a truly amazing pace. Some of the most exciting and promising cleantech ventures are being developed at universities around the world right now, yet barriers to commercialization prevent most from being realized.

While many top U.S. universities have tech transfer specialists on staff and departments dedicated to the commercialization of research, many others, especially in developing economies such as Brazil, India and China, don’t have readily available access to investors and industry.

Several years ago I was invited by the Danish Prime Minister to attend a globalization council meeting on the commercialization of university research. We found that although there are 7,500 universities and more than 10,000 research institutions worldwide (twice the size of the global automotive industry), there is no annual forum for academic researchers to convene and exhibit their latest research and innovation to industry.