By Olga Orda •
June 19, 2008
A few weeks back, I was writing about CO2-friendly supply chains and saw the hefty list of U.S. companies that the Environmental Defense Fund had helped switch to recycled content in a drive to reduce paper waste across the nation.
Now, paper is back under the public eye in fuller force than ever because of its significant climate change footprint.
“Paper is a tremendously resource-intensive product to produce,” explains project manager Victoria Mills, “and the decomposition of paper in landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.”
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Most of Earth might be covered with water, but the large population of bipedal animals that crowd the planet’s land masses is doing its best to leave its imprint on the oceans as well.
A new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finds that humans have had a heavy impact on more than 40 percent of the world’s oceans. That’s an [...]
By MC Milker •
January 20, 2008
The commercial vessel, MS Beluga SkySails, sets sail with 10,000 metric tons of freight using a computer-guided kite to harness powerful ocean winds and reduce fossil fuel usage.
Comments from the crew…
“Huh. It works.” Captain Lutz Heldt just nodded approval.
By Lee Welles •
January 6, 2008
Like many of you, I’m very aware that what goes on my skin, in my hair and on my floors and countertops, also goes down the drain and into the world! I distinctly remember a moment, while congratulating myself for using a great, organic body care product, that I looked at the label and realized that bottle had traveled about 3000 miles! Then I squinted and saw that Unilever was distributing the product and I was no longer giving my money to the small, eco-friendly company that I thought I was!
This New York Times article has me again pondering the crossroads of eco-friendly products and economies of scale.
While I’m a big fan of the cleaning power of baking soda, vinegar, Borax and lemons …a decent homemade shampoo is still beyond me! It took me a while, but I found a skin care line that I like; not only because the ingrediants are simple and organic, but because the packaging is recycleble.
A catamaran equipped with solar panels has completed the first-ever solar transatlantic crossing. The Swiss team behind the feat, Transatlantic21, said the 14 meter boat produced 2,000 kilowatt hours of solar energy.
The boat traveled over 7,000 miles using the sun's energy to power an electric motor. Any surplus juice was stored in the on board batteries. The boat's skipper, Michael Thonney, declared that such an experiment proves alternatives exist and that nuclear power "is
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