Home / treehugger.com rss archive / September-29-2007


An Ultrathin, Anime-Inspired, Protein-Based Computer Memory Chip
It may seem like an unlikely source of inspiration for a new computer memory technology, but "Detective Conan" (otherwise known as "Case Closed") - a popular anime and manga series about a young detective who uses high-tech gadgets to help him solve cases - could have provided the creative spark that led to the development of a protein-based ultrathin memory. Using ferritin, a protein commonly found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes that facilitates iron storage, scientists from Japan's Nara Institute of Science and Technology came up wi...

Clinton Global Initiative Highlights: Energy & Climate Change
Governor Charles Crist (R-Fl) is really, really tan, Virgin puts its planes on a diet, and Wendy Abrams installs a public art project you can't avoid. Plus, Brad Pitt!...

Seeding is Believing in Vermont
In this video by YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip), which is made up of a trio of friends chronicling a year-long "eco-expedition" through all 50 Un...

Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid In The Lead (Apparently)
Media coverage we've seen is confusing as to whether the Toyota FCHV-6 is a pure play fuel cell or a hybrid fuel cell vehicle. We'll assume hybrid, as it would be logical to leverage their current front runner position in hybrid tech. Check out HydrogenCars blog for more details. "Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen.""The latest version of the FCHV features a high-pressure tank of 70Mpa that can store double the amount of hydrogen as ...

Wearing a Piece of the Titanic
Not that you've probably ever given it any serious consideration, but how would you feel about owning a piece of the Titanic - to tell the time? Yes, taking the principles of reuse and recycling to new heights, a Switzerland-based watch company - Romain Jerome - is planning on using steel taken from the actual vessel to craft a set of 2,012 limited edition Titanic DNA Watches. Furthermore, the watches' dial faces will be coated with black lacquer paint - whose main ingredient consists of coal from the ship.They will be made available on (conveniently enough) 2012, to coincide with the centenary anniv...

One Year Ago in TH: LEDs on the Go, Camouflage is the New Green + More
Because we don't know where we're going until we realize where we've been: one year ago in TreeHugger, we spied some LEDs on the go (above left), pondered whether or not camouflage was the new green with Britain's Department of Defence going green beyond just the color of their tanks, and eyed Recy, the Recyclable Roadster. We also took note of KiteShip, which employs Ve...

Real Treehuggers Support Adding LNG Terminals
North American nations are considering a combined total of 64 liquefied natural gas import terminal proposals. These projects are somewhere between underway and identified. To view industry-supplied facts and perspectives on LNG, check out this site. If you are strongly opposed to LNG port additions, please don't just shoot us an angry comment before checking out the following reasoning.We mentioned before that a major trade-off decision facing North America is coal vs conservation. Actually, that was something of an over...

Critical Mass Turns 15
Oh, adolescence. It was fifteen years ago this week that 40+ bicyclists got together for a group ride, showing that roads aren't just meant for cars. From this unceremonious "birth," Critical Mass has grown to become a part of the bicycle culture in many cities around the world. As is the case with many teenagers, the group has gone through quite a growth spurt:What began with four dozen bicyclists riding together up Market Street on Sept. 25, 1992, has turned into a monthly happening that regularly draws thousands of participants pedaling along the streets of San Francisco, at times drawing both praise and scorn. We would send Critical Mass a...

Trinity Glass - A Merger for Beautiful Countertops
At the West Coast Green conference last weekend, I had the opportunity to sit down with EcoTop/EcoClad creator Joel Klippert, and Squak Mountain Stone creator Amee Quiriconi to talk about the creation of green surfaces. The two recently joined creative forces to develop Trinity Glass a unique countertop surface that is both refined and rustic. These two designers shared a little bit of their passion for the industry and the charge they get from designing with materials once though to be worthless....

TreeHugger Radio: Mexico High on Greenhouse Gasses, Bushs Climate Plan, and the Art of the Superfund Site
This week, president Bush tries to convince the world hes serious about the fate of the human race, while a new poll finds public satisfaction with climate leadership down in the dumps. With the construction of the worlds highest climate monitoring station, Mexico proudly enters the global warming tracking community, and TreeHuggers Eliza Barclay is on the scene to speak with key players. Melding toxic waste with interactive art is a delicate science, but Superfund365 has done just that, and artist Brooke Singer discusses her creation. ...

Agrilandia: Italian Organic Farming in China
Beijing parents who belong to the urban migration in China have found an opportunity to bring their children back to the land. On 17 hectares east of Beijing Capital International Airport, the Agrilandia Italian Farm opens its doors to visitors who want to sprawl in the grass, eat an authentic Italian meal or self-pick around twenty varieties each of apricots, cherries, plums, peaches, apples, grapes and pears. Claudio Bonfatti, and his wife Lu Hongwei, started the farm as a family retreat and to grow vegetables and herbs for authentic Italian dishes at their Beijing restaurant, Peter ...

Not Blanche: An "All-night Public-space Thing"
Last year's Nuit Blanche all-night contemporary art festival was such a hit (400,000 people showed up!) that it is being repeated in Toronto tonight, but is now ScotiaBank Nuit Blanche, and some people think that it has gone all mainstream and corporate. The Toronto Public Space Committee has organized not blanche, an alternative, non corporatized version that is less about art and more about public space and urban issues. They have organized a poster harvesting/button making crew- "Harvest expired posters from around the neighbourhood, then come back and make your own unique wearable piece of public space!"

Ontario Election 2007: Who is the Greenest, Part 2
We looked at this earlier, but now 13 environmental groups have released a comparison of the Conservative, Green, Liberal and NDP platforms.Unlike in the United States, there is a remarkable consensus in Ontario; Peter Gorrie of the Star notes that all of the parties claim to be green, and are in fact tripping over each other to convince voters they're on the right side of what has become a motherhood issue.The analysis rated each party as "Yes," "No," or "partial" on six major issues. As expected, the Greens got the most "Yes" marks and no "No's." They're far out on their own because, true to ...

Clinton Global Initiative Highlights: Strategies to Improve Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
From Day 2 of the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, 27 Sept. 2007Related commitments made during CGI (and donation opportunities) below the fold. ...

The Third Industrial Revolution
In Germany, that is what they call the development of low-carbon or no-carbon technologies needed to wean economies off fossil fuels. In theory, the wealth and the jobs - entire industries perhaps - created by the technologies would help to offset the potentially horrendous costs of reducing carbon output.Eric Reguly quotes a report that suggested the third industrial revolution is well under way in Germany. It said the new energy and ecology-related fields are becoming the country's top job creation engine. "By 2020, this sector will be employing more people than mechanical engineering or the automotive industry," said the writer of the report. Already, Germany has created ab...

Chemically, Deodorants Stink
Heidi Sopinka of the Globe and Mail looks at the chemical composition of deodorants, even from the health food store, and asks "Is it possible to obliterate body odour and be good to the planet?" and concludes that it is pretty tough. 50% of "natural" deodorants contain petroleum-based propylene glycol; others contain gender bender triclosan, parabens, and talc, which is illegally mined in India. She concludes: Avoid antiperspirants entirely, and if after reading the label you find no mention of parabens, talc or propylene glycol, you're on the right track. You might have to arrange for emergency reapplications t...

Quote of the Day: Gro Brundtland on Climate-Change Mitigation in Norway
I'm a technology optimist and it's going to be an important part of the solutions, but yet on Monday, Alcoa represented industries speaking in the United Nations in the mitigation plenary, what did he say? He said, we need clear, enforced, global policies and we need fair, effective and binding international commitments. That was the message from industry on Monday because if they get that, the drive towards doing what is right will be there and they will be able to grow, they will be able to invest and they will be able to do the right thing towards clean ene...

How to Detox Your House
So many chemicals in our houses, in our carpets, bedding, insulation, paints, glues and countless other household goods. Adriana Barton at the Globe and Mail finds that the potential health hazards of many everyday chemicals have only recently come under scrutiny. She writes: Bisphenol A, found in plastic items such as drinking bottles, causes reproductive-system defects in animals; so do flame retardants and phthalates used in fragrances, lotions, vinyl and other products. The risks to human health aren't well documented, however - and even less is known about the compound effects of chemical cocktails in the body.People have reason to be concerned about potential toxicants and aller...

VIDEO S&WFF: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (Last Day to Submit FIlms)
When the Soviet collapse occurred in 1990 Cuba had an emergency transition to local organic agriculture, renewable energy, and large-scale mass transit. The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (US/Cuba, 2006, Documentary, 53min by Community Service Inc, Faith Morgan) uses Cuba's experience to show how a society can change from an industrialized, global focus to a local, community-based one. The filmmakers approach Cuba as a living model for how the rest of the world can ...

Just For the Love of It: Walking from UK to India With Zero Money
It would be hard to describe TreeHugger as being anti-money or anti-commerce, especially given our recent high-profile acquisition by the Discovery Channel. However, theres no doubt that many of the steps towards building a sustainable society lie not in international commerce or monetary transactions, but in getting to know your neighbor and rebuilding your community. You only have to look at the astounding spread o...

Ethical Weddings on Honeymoons by Rail
The trains that operate between the UK and mainland Europe have fast become a regular subject on TreeHugger. Weve covered the fact that they already produce 90% less emissions than flights on similar routes, and that the operator Eurostar is making efforts to reduce these emissions by a further 25% and offset the rest. Most recently the same company made our pages for its efforts to compete with airlines...