Green Options

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As the human population continues to skyrocket and conditions on planet Earth get (proportionally) more troubled, we have heard about a lot of ways we can change our lifestyles to lessen our impact on the biosphere. Yes, we know that changing our bulbs to CFLs is great; we know that driving hybrids is great; we know that reducing, reusing, and recycling are all great. And they surely are!

However, one essential aspect of our human lives that often does not receive much attention is our diets. This is rather shocking, too, because whatever else happens, whatever we stick in our lamps or drive, we always need to feed. And as more and more of us pop up on the planet, Mother Earth is going to have a lot of hungry human mouths to feed.

Your dietary habits–what, where, and even how you eat–are profoundly important when it comes to sustainable living. I am not an accredited expert on economics, agriculture, or nutrition, but I have done more than my fair share of research on these and other topics (especially the latter two) related to sustainable food choices. In what follows, then, I share some ingredients I have come across in a recipe for an eco-friendly diet.

1. Eat simply. Packaged foods that have ingredients lists spanning several sides of the box, with words you cannot pronounce and substances you never thought could exist, are obviously not “natural” and can do funky things to your body. Plus, the more things in your Frankenfood, the more resources required. Simple eating gives your digestion an easier task and reduces your exposure to potential toxins, too, which ultimately helps keep you healthy.
2. Choose organic. Although an organic label does not guarantee good farming or business practices by the company/producer, you can at least be sure that an organic product will have required less chemicals and toxins in order to go from field to table. Besides reducing pollution going into the biosphere, you also reduce pollution going into yourself with organic foods.

According to an old adage, necessity is the mother of invention; it forces people to find alternative ways and tools. In Zimbabwe today, devising skills to survive is the norm of daily living.

As a means to cope with erratic electricity power cuts which are undoubtedly a defining characteristic of the ongoing socio-economic crisis in Zimbabwe, many Zimbabweans living in urban areas have resorted to using the tsotso stove because of its low labour and energy saving characteristics.

Traditionally, rural as well as low-income households have always depended on fuelwood which usually chews up loads of firewood, thereby endangering the environment.

This is a guest post by freelance environmental writer Tom Schueneman, publisher of GlobalWarmingisReal.com

Sierra Magazine has recently announced its list of the ten “coolest schools in America” for 2008.

For our purposes here “cool” doesn’t refer to the level of party, but to the school’s efforts to address climate change and sustainability.

Until recently, that sort of cool remained largely the domain of small, private colleges, but no more. The colleges ranking in this year’s list represent a diverse range of institutions, from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina with 850 students, to Arizona State, the country’s second largest, with 51,500 students. Being cool is in.

Iowa State University has figured out a way for the youngest and/or hippest generation of go-getters to power their iPods while maintaining that business professional look: solar neckties.

Via: Gagdets Blog News

The mega-trends of social media and sustainability share plenty of the same DNA.

The Arnold Palmer is an exceptional beverage. It takes two individual beverages, iced tea and lemonade, each very good in their own right, and creates an even better one. That’s how we feel about social media and green living i.e. sustainability.

There is nothing inherently green about social media. The Web 2.0 revolution is driven by code and the Internet as a platform. According to Wikipedia, it describes this as a trend in “technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.” This is largely a virtual world.

The move toward sustainability, on the other hand, is taking place entirely offline in the actual world. It is about balancing our impact and more wisely managing our natural resources. The United Nations describes it as commitment to “the provision of a secure environmental, social, and economic future.”

As different as they are, these two trends share one key quality: they’re changing the world for the better. They are changing politics, business, culture, and society. In the following we explore 10 ways that the trends of social media and sustainability intersect as well as align.

Special Note: Sustainablog and Max Gladwell are supporting Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). By clicking this link and signing up for SocialVibe, once featured in our Ten Ways to Change the World Through Social Media, you’ll effectively donate $1 to the cause. We also encourage you to watch the live telecast on ABC, CBS, and NBC, September 5th, at 8:00pm ET/PT.

Wisconsin’s Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming has recommended that the state achieve 2005 levels by 2014; reduce emissions by 22% from 2005 levels by 2022 (someone one day will have to explain to me the fascination with number alliteration); and finally, it calls for 75% reductions from 2005 levels by 2050.

The task force has also recommended a two-pronged approach, adopting state level support for either a federal or state-level cap and trade program, as well as a series of policy recommendations for several important state industry sectors:

1. Energy Sector
2. Transportation Sector
3. Agriculture and Forestry Sectors
4. Industry Sector
5. Waste Sector

It may sound simplistic, but Israeli President Shimon Peres makes a good point;  “The problem itself (terror and Iran), is like a swamp with mosquitos.  It’s preferable to dry out the swamp than try to kill every single mosquito.”

While meeting with representatives of the students’ village in the town of Dimona, Peres said;

“When the price of oil rises, the terrorist organizations feel better; the feeling needs to be brought

[...]

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Last week we sent an email to our action network asking how people were coping with high oil prices. The response on our sister blog, the Green Room, was enthusiastic — over 600 comments! Here are some of our favorites, organized by topic:

Strategies to Increase Gas Mileage

From Ann:

I’ve been driving 60 mph on the highway and have seen a dramatic improvement in my gas mileage. I’m getting 38-40 mpg in my Toyota Camry on the highway! Drive 60 when you go.

From Mike Frisch:

I have dropped my fuel use by 70-80%

1) I bicycle two days per week (25 mile round trip) - great exercise & fun.

2) I purchased an electric bike/scooter (Ego cycle 2 LX, cost $1700) and I use it two days per week - costs 10 cents to charge it - great fun.

3) On the days I have to use my car, I carpool, and I drive 60 mph or less to save fuel.

Editor’s Note: For others thinking of trying scooters, be sure to do it safely. Motorcycle and scooter accidents are on the rise due to inexperienced converts.

State regulators in Colorado have given the green light to plans by Xcel Energy to shut down two coal-powered energy plants in the state, and build one of the world’s largest utility-scale solar-power facilities.

The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (SBA) is a non-profit organization created to promote cradle-to-grave biodiesel practices for verifying that all points in the production and distribution chain are sustainable.

And now they want your input on what those sustainable practices and standards should be — they’ve released the first draft of their “Principles and Baseline Practices for Sustainability” (PDF) to the public under a 45-day comment and review period.

So, if you’ve ever questioned the wisdom of growing our own fuel, or you’ve wondered how biofuels can be considered sustainable at all given other seemingly cleaner options like solar, wind and geothermal, now’s your time to speak up.

Last week, EcoWorldly hosted a renewable energy festival, highlighting energy projects and issues around the globe. Here, with links back to the original articles, are some inspiring successes and dismal failures in renewable energy as they were explored by our team of international environmental writers this past week.

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