Some one actually design the roof of a building to look like a Teletubby home! I love it! LOL. Very avant garde. Read about it here here.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Design Inspired by Teletubby?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Water Water Everywhere Not a drop to Drink
Tap water is being polluted with Perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children across the nation. I had thyroid problems when I was pregnant and I use tap water when I cook so this news is disturbing... Also, the Washington Post reports that the US DOD is a big contributor!
This is nothing new. More info.
This is nothing new. More info.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
101 Ways to Save the Earth
This website http://onehundredthings.wordpress.com/ lists 101 Things Designers Can do to save the earth. You don't have to be designer to do the things on the list. You may be already doing some of the things. I think its worth a look. But I'm warning you, this is a looooong list!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Extraordinary Green Architecture
Today I am truely impressed... inspired even... by Italian architecture. Construction is beginning in Dubai for the world's 1st twirling skyscraper. Between each of the 78 floors are turbines spinning and the exterior of the building is made of solar panels. The building is alive- a renewable machine- that creates 10 times more power than what it needs to function. Incredible.
More details here.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Is Global Warming Really Happening?
Is Global Warming Really Happening?
I'm afraid so... Fabled shipping passages along the north coast of Russia and Canada, normally clogged by thick ice, have both thawed this summer, raising the possibility of short-cut routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. What's old may become new again.
UN: New Laws May Be Needed as Ice Caps Melt
UN: New Laws May Be Needed as Ice Caps Melt By Betsy Kraat
OSLO-- A new set of United Nations laws may be needed to regulate new Arctic industries such as shipping and oil exploration as climate change melts the ice around the North Pole, legal experts said on Sunday.
They said existing laws governing everything from fish stocks to bio-prospecting by pharmaceutical companies were inadequate for the polar regions, especially the Arctic, where the area of summer sea ice is now close to a 2007 record low.
"Many experts believe this new rush to the polar regions is not manageable within existing international law," said A.H. Zakri, Director of the U.N. University's Yokohama-based Institute of Advanced Studies.
Fabled shipping passages along the north coast of Russia and Canada, normally clogged by thick ice, have both thawed this summer, raising the possibility of short-cut routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Dozens of legal experts are meeting in Iceland from September 7-9 to debate the legal needs of the polar regions. Other threats include a surge in tourism, with 40,000 visitors to Antarctica in 2007 against just 1,000 in 1987.
Many legal specialists believe there is a lack of clarity in existing laws about shipping, mining, sharing of fish stocks drawn northwards by the melting of ice, and standards for clearing up any oil spills far from land.
"Oil in particular and risks of shipping in the Arctic are big issues. It's incredibly difficult to clean up an oil spill on ice," said conference chairman David Leary of the Institute of Advanced Studies, which is organizing the conference with Iceland's University of Akureyri.
With the ice receding fast, defining what conditions are "particularly severe" could be a problem, said law professor Tullio Scovazzi of the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Leary said the eight nations with Arctic territories -- the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland -- have so far preferred to limit discussion to existing international laws.
The World Wildlife Federation is among those urging a new U.N. convention to protect the Arctic, partly fearing that rising industrial activity will increase the risk of oil spills like the Exxon Valdez accident off Alaska.
"We think there should be new rules, stricter rules. We are proposing a new convention for the protection of the Arctic Ocean," said Tatiana Saksina of the WWF.
Alaska's state governor Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate in November 4th's U.S. election, is an advocate of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A boom in tourism in Antarctica meanwhile risks the accidental introduction of new species to an environment where the largest land creature is a flightless midge.
Bio-prospecting may also need new rules. Neural stem cells of Arctic squirrels could help treat human strokes, while some Arctic fish species have yielded enzymes that can be used in industrial processes.
Reuters
www.reuters.com
I'm afraid so... Fabled shipping passages along the north coast of Russia and Canada, normally clogged by thick ice, have both thawed this summer, raising the possibility of short-cut routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. What's old may become new again.
UN: New Laws May Be Needed as Ice Caps Melt
UN: New Laws May Be Needed as Ice Caps Melt By Betsy Kraat
OSLO-- A new set of United Nations laws may be needed to regulate new Arctic industries such as shipping and oil exploration as climate change melts the ice around the North Pole, legal experts said on Sunday.
They said existing laws governing everything from fish stocks to bio-prospecting by pharmaceutical companies were inadequate for the polar regions, especially the Arctic, where the area of summer sea ice is now close to a 2007 record low.
"Many experts believe this new rush to the polar regions is not manageable within existing international law," said A.H. Zakri, Director of the U.N. University's Yokohama-based Institute of Advanced Studies.
Fabled shipping passages along the north coast of Russia and Canada, normally clogged by thick ice, have both thawed this summer, raising the possibility of short-cut routes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Dozens of legal experts are meeting in Iceland from September 7-9 to debate the legal needs of the polar regions. Other threats include a surge in tourism, with 40,000 visitors to Antarctica in 2007 against just 1,000 in 1987.
Many legal specialists believe there is a lack of clarity in existing laws about shipping, mining, sharing of fish stocks drawn northwards by the melting of ice, and standards for clearing up any oil spills far from land.
"Oil in particular and risks of shipping in the Arctic are big issues. It's incredibly difficult to clean up an oil spill on ice," said conference chairman David Leary of the Institute of Advanced Studies, which is organizing the conference with Iceland's University of Akureyri.
With the ice receding fast, defining what conditions are "particularly severe" could be a problem, said law professor Tullio Scovazzi of the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Leary said the eight nations with Arctic territories -- the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Finland -- have so far preferred to limit discussion to existing international laws.
The World Wildlife Federation is among those urging a new U.N. convention to protect the Arctic, partly fearing that rising industrial activity will increase the risk of oil spills like the Exxon Valdez accident off Alaska.
"We think there should be new rules, stricter rules. We are proposing a new convention for the protection of the Arctic Ocean," said Tatiana Saksina of the WWF.
Alaska's state governor Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate in November 4th's U.S. election, is an advocate of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A boom in tourism in Antarctica meanwhile risks the accidental introduction of new species to an environment where the largest land creature is a flightless midge.
Bio-prospecting may also need new rules. Neural stem cells of Arctic squirrels could help treat human strokes, while some Arctic fish species have yielded enzymes that can be used in industrial processes.
Reuters
www.reuters.com
Consumer Reports Investigates Energy Star Program
WOW. What you think you are saving may not be what you are really saving. Of course, it is better to try and be green than not to be green at all but how disappointing?! I hope Energy Star gets it together.
Consumer Reports Investigates Energy Star Program
Consumer Reports’ recent investigation into the Energy Star program reveals that lax standards and out-of-date test protocols plague the federal program, according to the organization. The report, featured in the magazine’s October issue, notes that the percent of products that qualify for Energy Star is increasing because standards are too easy to reach and federal test procedures haven’t kept pace with new technology. In addition, Consumer Reports’ tests found the energy consumption claims reported on some products’ EnergyGuide label to understate significantly what consumers are likely to experience.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 25 percent of products in a category should qualify for Energy Star. But until recently, for example, 92 percent of all dishwashers qualified. Under a tighter standard, it’s now about 50 percent. A high number of residential-use oil-fired boilers (67 percent) and dehumidifiers (60 percent) also qualify for the program.
What’s more, it usually takes the Department of Energy (DOE) three years to publish new rules--a period that includes comments from manufacturers, organizations such as Consumers Union, and others--and another three years for the updated standards to take effect. Input into the rule-making process by those who have a vested interest in easy-to-meet standards, such as manufacturers, can also dilute those standards, the report says.
Energy Star is a 16-year-old federal voluntary program administered by the DOE and EPA that covers more than 50 product categories. The program grew out of efforts by the federal government to forge a set of nationwide guidelines and create a logo that clearly indicates energy-efficient products. Qualifying Energy Star appliances and consumer electronics should use less energy--about 10 to 25 percent less than the DOE’s maximum allowed amount for that category.
New, sharp-looking appliances may be tempting to consumers, but their energy-consumption claims may not reflect real-life use. Consumer Reports’ comparative energy tests of refrigerators, which are tougher than the DOE’s and better resemble how consumers use refrigerators, found five Energy Star models--three from LG and two from Samsung--whose annual energy consumption would likely be far greater than that claimed on their EnergyGuide labels.
For example, Consumer Reports found that the Samsung RF267ABRS, a refrigerator equipped with French doors and through-the-door ice and water dispensers, used 890-kilowatt-hours per year--a number higher than the 540 kWh annual consumption claimed under the less rigorous Energy Star Program. There was an even larger difference between company claims and Consumer Reports’ more-demanding test measurements for the LG LMX25981ST French-door fridge. LG claims it uses 547 kWh per year, but Consumer Reports’ tests found that real-life energy use would be more than double. In the case of the LG models, the Energy Star protocol allows for the ice maker to be turned off during testing, resulting in the ice melting. Consumer Reports believes that consumers would not turn off the icemaker, and that appears to be a primary reason for the discrepancy between the Energy Star and Consumer Reports’ test results.
Consumer Reports notes another flaw with the Energy Star program. To qualify, many companies must self-certify that their products comply with the standards. The DOE does not test products for compliance with Energy Star standards. There’s often no independent verification of what manufacturers report. Instead, the government relies mostly on manufacturers to test their competitors’ appliances to the same standards and report back on results of suspicious energy-use.
Consumers Union has made some recommendations that can help fine-tune the Energy Star program, including:
--Testing procedures should be brought in line with the technology available in consumer products. The DOE and EPA should more frequently review procedures and standards as new technology and products hit the market.
--The DOE should require some independent verification of test results.
--The program should consider a graded qualifying system that uses letters.
--Federal officials need to better police companies and enforce standards, including increasing spot checks of Energy Star-qualified products.
The full report on the Energy Star program is featured in the October issue of Consumer Reports. The report also contains a guide to help consumers interpret the EnergyGuide label, a comparison of energy consumption over the decades by televisions, nine myths about compact fluorescent light bulbs and Consumer Reports’ first ever ratings of tankless water heaters.
Consumer Reports Investigates Energy Star Program
Consumer Reports’ recent investigation into the Energy Star program reveals that lax standards and out-of-date test protocols plague the federal program, according to the organization. The report, featured in the magazine’s October issue, notes that the percent of products that qualify for Energy Star is increasing because standards are too easy to reach and federal test procedures haven’t kept pace with new technology. In addition, Consumer Reports’ tests found the energy consumption claims reported on some products’ EnergyGuide label to understate significantly what consumers are likely to experience.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 25 percent of products in a category should qualify for Energy Star. But until recently, for example, 92 percent of all dishwashers qualified. Under a tighter standard, it’s now about 50 percent. A high number of residential-use oil-fired boilers (67 percent) and dehumidifiers (60 percent) also qualify for the program.
What’s more, it usually takes the Department of Energy (DOE) three years to publish new rules--a period that includes comments from manufacturers, organizations such as Consumers Union, and others--and another three years for the updated standards to take effect. Input into the rule-making process by those who have a vested interest in easy-to-meet standards, such as manufacturers, can also dilute those standards, the report says.
Energy Star is a 16-year-old federal voluntary program administered by the DOE and EPA that covers more than 50 product categories. The program grew out of efforts by the federal government to forge a set of nationwide guidelines and create a logo that clearly indicates energy-efficient products. Qualifying Energy Star appliances and consumer electronics should use less energy--about 10 to 25 percent less than the DOE’s maximum allowed amount for that category.
New, sharp-looking appliances may be tempting to consumers, but their energy-consumption claims may not reflect real-life use. Consumer Reports’ comparative energy tests of refrigerators, which are tougher than the DOE’s and better resemble how consumers use refrigerators, found five Energy Star models--three from LG and two from Samsung--whose annual energy consumption would likely be far greater than that claimed on their EnergyGuide labels.
For example, Consumer Reports found that the Samsung RF267ABRS, a refrigerator equipped with French doors and through-the-door ice and water dispensers, used 890-kilowatt-hours per year--a number higher than the 540 kWh annual consumption claimed under the less rigorous Energy Star Program. There was an even larger difference between company claims and Consumer Reports’ more-demanding test measurements for the LG LMX25981ST French-door fridge. LG claims it uses 547 kWh per year, but Consumer Reports’ tests found that real-life energy use would be more than double. In the case of the LG models, the Energy Star protocol allows for the ice maker to be turned off during testing, resulting in the ice melting. Consumer Reports believes that consumers would not turn off the icemaker, and that appears to be a primary reason for the discrepancy between the Energy Star and Consumer Reports’ test results.
Consumer Reports notes another flaw with the Energy Star program. To qualify, many companies must self-certify that their products comply with the standards. The DOE does not test products for compliance with Energy Star standards. There’s often no independent verification of what manufacturers report. Instead, the government relies mostly on manufacturers to test their competitors’ appliances to the same standards and report back on results of suspicious energy-use.
Consumers Union has made some recommendations that can help fine-tune the Energy Star program, including:
--Testing procedures should be brought in line with the technology available in consumer products. The DOE and EPA should more frequently review procedures and standards as new technology and products hit the market.
--The DOE should require some independent verification of test results.
--The program should consider a graded qualifying system that uses letters.
--Federal officials need to better police companies and enforce standards, including increasing spot checks of Energy Star-qualified products.
The full report on the Energy Star program is featured in the October issue of Consumer Reports. The report also contains a guide to help consumers interpret the EnergyGuide label, a comparison of energy consumption over the decades by televisions, nine myths about compact fluorescent light bulbs and Consumer Reports’ first ever ratings of tankless water heaters.
Who are the Green consumers?
This study is a little old and I wish I had a more up to date one but it is good in that it shows how consumers are segmented in the growing green marketplace.
Out of the Box: From 'Think Different' To Indifferent
May 1, 2006
-By Edited by Becky Ebenkamp
According to the Natural Marketing Institute, about one-quarter (23%) of the U.S. adult population can be classified as Lohas consumers, who have a profound sense of environmental and social responsibility (Lohas stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability). They are the most likely group to buy environmentally and socially responsible products. Other segments:
• Nomadics: Comprising 38% of the population, Nomadics are the largest segment and the group that best overlaps with Ideal Bite's Light Greenies. They are less resolute in their attitudes than Lohas consumers, but still show moderate levels of concern and practice some behaviors, such as recycling.
• Centrists: Slightly more than a quarter of the U.S. population (27%), Centrists don't see the relevance of Lohas, but are not completely indifferent.
• Indifferents: Roughly 12% of the population, Indifferents' attitudes and behavior are driven by immediate needs, not the health and sustainability of the planet or society. In the past few years, there has been a corresponding increase in the percentage of Indifferent consumers, increasing from a low of 3% in the U.S. general population.
Out of the Box: From 'Think Different' To Indifferent
May 1, 2006
-By Edited by Becky Ebenkamp
According to the Natural Marketing Institute, about one-quarter (23%) of the U.S. adult population can be classified as Lohas consumers, who have a profound sense of environmental and social responsibility (Lohas stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability). They are the most likely group to buy environmentally and socially responsible products. Other segments:
• Nomadics: Comprising 38% of the population, Nomadics are the largest segment and the group that best overlaps with Ideal Bite's Light Greenies. They are less resolute in their attitudes than Lohas consumers, but still show moderate levels of concern and practice some behaviors, such as recycling.
• Centrists: Slightly more than a quarter of the U.S. population (27%), Centrists don't see the relevance of Lohas, but are not completely indifferent.
• Indifferents: Roughly 12% of the population, Indifferents' attitudes and behavior are driven by immediate needs, not the health and sustainability of the planet or society. In the past few years, there has been a corresponding increase in the percentage of Indifferent consumers, increasing from a low of 3% in the U.S. general population.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Poppycock
Hello. I found an article worth the time to read. Businesses and scientists and local governments are pulling together to make a greener world but there is major resistance out there.... Some... One Republican would even call getting more efficiency "Poppycock". See full details at this article: Why we never need to build another polluting power plant? http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/07/28/energy_efficiency/index.html
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