Green Options

It took 10 years, but Richard Jenkins — a British engineer from Hampshire — has broken the land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.

The Ecotricity Greenbird, on the dry plains of Ivanpah Lake just south of Las Vegas, hit a record breaking 126.1 mph. A speed which is 10 mph faster than the previous record which was set by American Bob Schumacher in 1999, driving his Iron Duck vehicle.

U.S. President Barack Obama called congressional approval of the Economic Stimulus Bill a “major milestone on our road to recovery”, but Republicans have been spreading rumors and crying foul to discredit the legislation.

Is it possible for a family of five to take a road trip from Michigan to Las Vegas in at least a little bit of an eco-friendly way? I really don’t know. I’ve looked into some eco-friendly options but so far I’m not finding what we need or just not finding it in our price range.

Las Vegas has a few eco-hotels but they aren’t exactly kid friendly. I’m sure there will be other hotels along the way in other cities that are. We will be driving right through Denver, Colorado. I am sure they must have plenty of eco-options.

Motorola has announced plans to launch the world’s first completely carbon neutral mobile phone, at CES 2009 in Las Vegas.

The shell of the W233 Renew is made entirely of recycled water bottles, and will be available via T-Mobile within the next three months. The struggling cell phone manufacturer has also teamed up with CarbonFund.org to offset the energy used in the manufacture, distribution and operation of each phone throughout its lifetime.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established final radiation standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

This past week in Vegas ushered in new designers and a new category, the ECOllection, at the steadily growing, highly anticipated annual Magic fashion event.

One of this year’s standouts was Loka Kouture. The rocker chic collection by Paloma Posford and Dahiana Cedeno, launched in 2007 from a small studio in Venice, CA and line brings a new edginess to the glam rock look by blending sexiness and socially responsibility. The line is eco-conscious, vegan and sweat shop-free. Rock on ladies.

Some disturbing news came out this week about the future of Lake Mead, a man-made lake on the Arizona-Nevada border created by the Hoover Dam. According to researchers, there is a 50% chance that the lake will be dry by 2021, unless we take action now. Even scarier? The 10% chance that this catastrophe will occur within 6 years. OK, I’m officially freaked out.

Why is Lake Mead’s survival so crucial? Courtesy of melting snowpack feeding the Colorado River, the lake supplies 90% of Las Vegas’ water. Yes, you read that correctly: 90%. The Colorado system also meets much of the demand in the rest of the Southwest, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Tucson. Without this source, the current drought experienced in this region will become exponentially worse.