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GM 2007 Ride and Drive
Monday night I represented TH at GMs recent Collection show with 13 other blog types some environmental, some car related and some all-around Southern California blogs. This is their traveling show presenting all of their cars achieving 30+ mpg, and a few prototypes of things to come. I was hoping there would be more riding than driving, but this event was actually a chance to sit down with GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and talk all things hybrid, electric and flex fuel.The evening started with a tour of the fleet held at Universal Studios outside of the Terminator 3D ride and the Mummy ride. All of the cars were arranged on a green runway carpet. We mingled out front and got a quick rund...

Get Wood: Grain Surfboards Say its Good
Grain surfboards are made of wood, specifically Northern White Cedar, with some Western Red Cedar added for colour accent. The timber is sourced in their home state of Maine. And although it is not yet FSC certified they are continuing to seek this out. The white cedar is said to be super light, extremely rot-resistant and beautiful to look at. The boards are claimed to ding and crack much less than standard non-renewable foam based surfboards. As to how they perform afloat, Grain says, Youll discover that wooden surfboards ride with more energy and carry more momentum down the wave. And while they may seem slightly heavier on land, in water, they feel much lighter due to t...

For Peat's Sake, a Renewable Replacement
Photo credit: jshiellOrganix, an organic-residuals-management company, is now shipping its first commercial peat-moss replacement to customers in the regionone that could herald a new environmentally friendly way dairies can manage their waste.Gardeners are familiar with peat, compressed into cake-like pellets for starting seeds indoors or used in bulk as a soil enricher, compost component, or an ingredient in planting mix. But peat harvesting is an industrial-scale mining operation that is rapidly turning

Now That's Festival Food
Goodbye hot dogs, pizza and cola - hello mango/chamomile soup, organic kettle corn and organic sweet iced tea. Perhaps the greenest part of last weekend's Austin City Limits festival was not in the carbon offsetting or the banning of styrofoam, it was the food. Unlike the usual bland festival fare, ACL's food court was filled with tasty local foodstuffs. All of the booth's present were restaurants and vendors from the city, eliminating a ton of food miles from the fairgrounds. The food was certainly great, but the best part of the food court on three consecutive 95 degree days of Texas heat was the beverage selection. Two in particular caught our attention -

Tully's Switches Over to Compostable Coffee Cups
Tully's Coffee is now the first major coffee retailer to use a fully renewable and compostable paper cup for its hot beverages. With its use of International Paper's Ecotainer Hot Cup, which is lined with a bioplastic made from corn, rather than a petrochemical one, Tully's has also simultaneously launched an in-store collection program to divert the used cups and other compostable food waste to organic composting facilities, rather than losing them to the landfill. ...

Transformers: Swintak Turns Dumpster into Boutique Hotel
TANNIS TOOHEY/TORONTO STARNuit Blanche was a one-off, a night-long shot-in-the-arm last year from Toronto's creative community that was an overwhelming success, with 425,000 people out in the rain from 7PM to sunset. Being an early-to-bed type I missed it, but flakes like me are lucky; it was such a success that they are running it again. I particularly want to see the work by an artist recently seen at Conflux, Swintak, who is transforming a City of Toronto dumpster into a boutique hotel, complete with "rosewood furniture, multiple-hundred thread count sheets and...

Baseball Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend
Hey batter, batter, batter: These bracelets, earrings, and pendants are truly in a league of their own. Made of wood or plastic material salvaged from the seats of famous ballparks, including Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Wrigley Stadium, the sterling-silver accessories are a subtle and fun way of showing that ol' team spirit, while keeping junk out of the landfill. (Now, if they were made with recycled findings, as well, then we'd have a home run.)Each item is en...

Happy Trails: Green Travel Blogs Pick Their Top Eco Destinations
The Guardian ambushed five eco-travel bloggers to find out what their top green destinations were. It garnered a wide range of responses, including El Remanso Wildlife Lodge in Costa Rica, Keveral Farm in Cornwall, and Balamku Inn in Mexico.Budget travelers can camp out at Hostel One66 in Singaporen...

Wasting Away in Traffic
The average American will spend almost a full work week in traffic, according to a new study by the Texas Transportation Institute. The 38 hours per year the average commuter spends stuck in their car every year means 26 extra gallons of gas and $710 per person.Traffic congestion continues to worsen in American cities of all sizes, creating a $78 billion annual drain on the U.S. economy in the form of 4.2 billion lost hours and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuelthat's 105 million weeks of vacation and 58 fully-loaded supertankers. And, if one full work week wasted in traffic isn't enough, the still reigning champ of American traffic congestion has that num...

10 Reuse Solutions for Plastic Bags
Photo credit: brownphotographyEven the most diligent reusable-tote-carrying greenie eventually gets saddled with a couple of plastic bagsthat's how insidious these blights upon the environment are. But we've also seen some brain-rattlingly creative ways some people have been squeezing out a second, third, or fourth use out of their plastic bags, whether it's by fusing them into fabric,

Mexico City Mayor Commits To More BRT Lines
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard today announced the expansion of of the citys bus rapid transit (BRT) system, known here as the Metrobus, by creating an additional nine lines over the next five years. Ebrard signed a commitment to partner with the Center for Sustainable Transport (CTS), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and EMBARQ the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport to reduce transport-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; improve urban transport; improve accessibility, traffic safety and public security; and boost the quality of public spaces in Mexico City. CTS...

Oops...There's Fly-Ash In The Clean Coal Ointment
A few months back we reported on why we felt coal-fired utilities have so strongly resisted stringent air emission standards for mercury: it, or other heavy metals captured in pollution control devices, could potentially cause fly ash to become regulated as a hazardous waste in the US. All coal contains a variety of heavy metals; and, mercury, a heavy metal ubiquitous among coals, is especially dangerous to human health. The less mercury that is allowed to go up the stack as vapor, or attached to particulates, the more mercury is transferred to fly-ash, bottom ash, or wastewater discharged from coal-burning plants. There absolutely is no "away" for mercury. Even if you co...

Fall Fashion 07: HER Design
HER Design is dipping heavily into Cradle-to-Cradle-certified wool flannel this fall with three all-new styles: Rain (a hobo bag), Mist (a clutch with a chain leash), and Droplet (a wristlet) (below the fold).A few signature styles are also getting outfitted with new materials and colors, including Iris (above), a purse that now comes ...

No Green Till Brooklyn
All right, so Im a little partial towards Brooklyn. This shouldnt stop you from checking out the 3rd Annual Green Brooklyn Event being held this Friday by Brooklyns Center For The Urban Environment. Those already savvy to the boroughs transportation alternatives, local do-gooders, eco-design h...

TreeHugger Discussion Forums
Just a reminder: The TreeHugger Discussion Forums are fully launched and linked from our header menu, as you can see from the screenshot above.Feel free to drop by and join the discussion. It's easy and fast to register, and no rocket science is involved with using the forums: You click on discussion threads you want to read, if you want to reply, you hit "Post Reply". That's it!Come check it out!...

Quote of the Day: Jane Goodall on the Human Animal
Millions of people do not realize how closely connected we humans are with the rest of the animal kingdom. They do not realize that we ourselves are animals. Instead, they perceive a false reality in which humans stand on one side of an unbridgeable chasm and the rest of the animal kingdom stands on the other. Imagine a chimpanzee, so like us in so many ways, reaching out to us across that chasm. There is an unspoken question. "Will you acknowledge me as 'kin'" If you dare look into his eyes and take hold of his hand, he will look back toward the other animal beings and then back to you with a question, "What about them? Don't ...

Canada Cuts Spending on Wildlife
Greater Snow Geese rest in the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area near Quebec city October 13, 2006, after stopping to feed on American bulrush rhizomes. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger Watching for changes in wildlife habitat, doing environmental monitoring, would seem to be a good thing if you were interested in understanding the effects of global warming; they are the canaries in the coal mine. So, of course the Canadian Government is killing the canaries, or at least the people who watch them; according to the CBC, the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Network, which observes changes in ecosystems, has lost 80 per cent of its budget. The Migratory Bird Program, which mon...

Birthdays Without Pressure
You knew it was bound to happen, and a group of parents and professionals in St. Paul, Minnesota have come up with a campaign called Birthdays Without Pressure. After noting the endless circuit of parties and hoopla for young children in which they had become entangled, and observing the often endless pile of gifts each one adds to the inevitable mound of toys the child already has, they set about to stimulate a local and national debate on how to manage childrens birthdays without all that pressure and excess....

NYC Garbage in a Box
Psst, hey kid, want some of our finest garbage? Yeah, you only WISH we were kidding. Uncannily enterprising artistor batshit crazy, same differenceJustin Gignac takes the second of the three Rs to a whole new level of trashiness by plucking garbage off the streets of New York City and them assembling them into signed, sealed, and numbered plastic cubes. Just some of the things you could get in your own slice of the Big Crapple: tin foil, a

Americans at London Fashion Week
As Bonnie Alter wrote yesterday TreeHugger has been having fun following Fashion in London this week. We're particularly excited to see that one year from it's launch the Estethica show is bigger, brighter and more vibrant than ever. This comprehensive showcase of ethical fashion has proved so popular that even our friends from across the pond have been prompted to come and join in. We were impressed by the American presence and struck by how many of them commented on what a wonderful atmosphere the Estethica show has. A stro...

State Of The Day: Massachusetts
With the US Congress still making no real progress with energy and climate issues, the US States are in a clear lead. Yesterday we mentioned the coal vs wind debate in Pennsylvania. Today's State Of The Day is Massachusetts, which, leveraging the just released US PIRG report, is challenging itself as well as...

Safeway Sold on Solar
Photo credit: axisNorth America's second-largest supermarket chain has embraced the power of the sun by installing a solar-panel array atop a newly renovated Safeway Lifestyle store in Dublin, California.The solar equipment will generate approximately 7,500 megawatt hours of electricity per yearenough to provide 20 percent of the 55,000-square-foot retail facility's average power usage and up to 48 percent of its power during peak daylight hours. The store's on-site retail fuel station is already powered by wind energy. Safeway says it plans to extend the program ...

Dynamotive Demonstrates First Commercial-Scale Bio-Oil Plant
Dynamotive Energy Systems, a company we've mentioned several times in the past (see here and here), announced yesterday that it had hosted a tour of its first (and the world's first) commercial-scale fast-pyrolysis plant in Guelph, Ontario. In attendance were over 75 experts from the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Bioenergy Task 40 and other biofuel organizations. During the visit, company officials demo...

French General's Natural Hemp Roller Blinds
J'adore French General's natural hemp roller blinds, which are luminously bright, low-key, and ooh-la-la elegant. Four 1/8-inch poles are sewn into the pre-washed fabrics for strength and folding, all ready for mounting onto your windows. Includes hardware and instructions. If you're a do-it-yourselfer with a taste for flair, French General also sells a gorgeous 59-inch-wide handprinted summer hemp, Oiseaux Bleux, in a blue-and-white toile pattern featuring birds, butterflies, and botanicals. Tres chic, non?

Fight Global Warming on Talk Like a Pirate Day
Wellington Grey reminds us that September 19th is Talk Like A Pirate Day, and of the indisputable link between global warming and the number of pirates extant on the high seas. So befriend a pirate; our planet is at stake. ::Wellington Gray...

Eco-Home Chic: Michaelis House
As part of Open House London, some people open their homes to a limited number of visitors through a pre-booking system. We booked the Michaelis House, knowing that Alex Michaelis had renovated Conservative Party Leader David Cameron's house and made it greener. He is the society eco-architect of choice for the rich and environmentally concerned. Little did we know, when we arrived in a lovely area of Kensington that it was the house of the great one himself that we were visiting. Standing at his front door in bare feet, and looking like George Clooney (if he had been an architect), Michaelis welcomed us and invited us to look around, ...

Back to the Future: Footomobiles, Electric Skateboards and Sustainable Mobility
Heres an interesting post from XKCD about predictions of the future coming true. The author, Randall Monroe, has recently been spending some time looking through old newspaper predictions for the 21st Century, and it seems the similarities to his own life are uncanny. In particular, the above illustration of Footomobiles seems to have caught Randalls attention, having previously ridden a Segway. Randall goes on to describe the wonders of his current footomobile, an electric skateboard from Exkate. Randall claims that if lithium-ion batteries could be made to work with it, it co...

The Big Green Gathering Appeals for Help
While it may sometimes be a little too close that hippy aesthetic that TreeHugger tries hard to avoid, there is no doubt that the UK-based Big Green Gathering, Europes largest green-themed festival, has been a huge influence for a lot of people seeking a more sustainable direction in their lives. From workshops on crafts, renewable energy, and sustainable gardening, to natural healing areas and solar-powered stages, the BGG has put on some very big, very green parties since its beginnings in the 1980s. It is with some concern, then, that we hear that the festival is in trouble. This years event ...

Survey: How Do You Dry Your Clothes?
When Jasmin posted about vinyl dryer balls, noting that they were made from "one of the most poisonous plastics ever created, posing great environmental and health hazards in its manufacture, product life, and disposal." she suggested no alternatives and our readers bounced pounced. "This is frustrating. So we shouldn't use Bounce Sheets, and I shouldn't use dryer balls. What then, pray tell, are the environmentally responsible alternatives?" and "this goes off complaining about a few ounces of PVC that will last decades while ignoring the 800 lb gorrilla: the 800 lbs of coal tha...

Thomas Friedman: There is No Green Revolution
The New York Times has finally ended its Times Select policy where we could link to news (available everywhere) but not opinion. Thus we can now inflict upon our readers the full silliness and wrongheadness of writers like Thomas L. Friedman, who goes to Doha in the Mideast and Dalian in China, two booming cities covered in construction cranes, consuming oil and spewing CO2 like there is no tomorrow. He uses them to make that point so beloved of those who would have us do nothing about global warming:Hey, Im really glad you switched to long-lasting compact fluorescent light bulbs in your house. But the growth in Doha and Dalian ate all your energy savings for breakfast. Im g...