Published on July 21st, 2008
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Al Gore presented a dramatic and widely discussed speech on matters of climate, carbon emissions, and energy last week. Maybe you didn’t get to listen to it at the time, and would like to read the text, but reading speeches can be boring.
Science-fiction author and journalist Bruce Sterling, who founded something called the Viridian Design Movement back in 1998 has posted the text of Gore’s speech interspersed with his own comments (((which he nests in triple parentheses))).
It makes an interesting document that much more fun to read:
We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. (((Or, “American politician schemes to save civilization.” Hey, it’s a plan. Who else has got such a plan? Any similar politician of any other country? No, I didn’t think so.)))
Published on June 24th, 2008
Island Press is marking the 20th anniversary of ‘global warming’ as a term entering the public consciousness with a free electronic copy of The Challenge of Global Warming, an early book addressing the issue.
On June 23, 1988, NASA Scientist James E. Hansen testified on Capitol Hill before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Hansen told the Senate committee that global warming was real – and was happening now.
Other news sources also had articles and coverage of the 20th anniversary of ‘global warming.’ Links to some of those stories can also be found on the Island Press site.
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Published on June 19th, 2008
Kansas City MO architect Bob Berkebile is one of the key figures in establishing the importance of green building in this country. Berkebile was instrumental in the founding of both the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as well as the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment (COTE).
Those once-radical ideas have started to go mainstream. In 1993, Berkebile helped create a new group that wasn’t confined to architects: the U.S. Green Building Council. The inaugural meeting of the council fit into a conference room at AIA headquarters. Last November, more than 22,000 green-building advocates and entrepreneurs traveled to Chicago for the council’s annual conference.
Read a profile of Berkebile via: The Pitch
Published on June 10th, 2008
Restaurants in seven cities across the US are part of the initial wave of the Food & Water Watch “Take Back the Tap“ Campaign.
“The consumer advocacy group is working with cities across the nation to urge local restaurants and chefs to sign a pledge to switch to serving only tap water, help educate customers about the benefits of tap over bottled water.”
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Published on June 3rd, 2008
The Economist reports bras and panties from the world’s first carbon neutral clothing factory are set to hit Britain’s high streets this month.
Photo credit: losiek at Flick’r Under Creative Commons License
Published on May 16th, 2008
Icebergs, glaciers and ice caps might soon be endangered species, thanks to climate change, so enjoy them while you can. One of the most extraordinary images of an iceberg I’ve yet to see appears in the U.K.’s Telegraph: a marbled “rainbow” iceberg photographed by a Norwegian sailor in the Antarctic.
Published on May 12th, 2008
Worried about the potential health effects of cellphone radiation? A clothing company named Remus has unveiled a stylish solution: the E-Blocker suit for men that features metal woven into the fabric to reflect radiation from mobile phones and Bluetooth devices. No word on whether E-Blocker fashions for women are in the works, though.
Published on May 6th, 2008
Cool looking contraption, huh? What you’re looking at is Finavera Renewables’ latest project in scalable wave power technology. If you think that picture is pretty cool, you’ll enjoy the animation:
Photo: U.S. Minerals Management Service
Published on April 30th, 2008
Think you could get by using only as much water as a rural African villager: about 20 liters (a little over five gallons) per day? Brits Sophie Morris and Paul Martin each describe their experiences taking the 20-liter challenge. (Hint: both suffer bouts of “flushitis” in facing the fact an average toilet uses eight to 10 liters per flush.)
Published on April 25th, 2008
Today’s Register features an amusing series of screenshots illustrating how computer companies and Web hosts are falling over one another in the race to put on a green face for their customers. One of my favorite comments in the post: “So, do windmill makers use servers on their web sites to advertise the greenocity of their windmills?”
