In: Convoys. Out: Carpools
Commuting could take on a whole new meaning with the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) research project funded by the European Commission.
The project, based on the concept of linking vehicles together using wireless sensors, is aimed at finding an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way of getting cars to travel together, convoy style.
The way to do this, according to project SARTRE, is to create road trains of up to eight separate vehicles – cars, buses, and trucks – which has the potential not only to reduce fuel consumption, but also improve …
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Big Pharma One of Our Biggest Polluters
A new study has found that the American health care sector accounts for 8 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.
The study, conducted by University of Chicago researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, measured how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases the health care industries (hospitals, scientific research, pharmaceuticals, etc) released. It is the first-of-its-kind calculation of health care’s carbon footprint.
Using the environmental input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) model of environmental impact developed by the Green Design Institute at Carnegie-Mellon …
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Grounds for Change Giveaway
Coffee makes the world go around. Well, at least my world anyway. Without it, I’m a bit like one of Snow White’s dwarf’s – sleepy, grumpy and dopey.
But I won’t drink just any coffee. Bad coffee doesn’t get past my lips. It not only has to taste good to me but it also has to be good for the environment. Which makes the Seattle based roaster Grounds for Change my perfect coffee match.
And here’s why. Grounds for Change:
- Deals not only in …
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It Came from Outer Space
Energy, that is. With few energy resources of its own, Japan is literally reaching for the stars in its attempt to turn unlimited clean energy into reality by 2030.
The nation’s plan, known as the Space Solar Power System (SSPS), involves positioning huge, floating photovoltaic dishes to hover in the geostationary orbit just outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
These photovoltaic dishes would harvest the solar energy that, at this level, is at least five times stronger than on earth and beam it down to earth through lasers and microwaves. …
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EcoMeme: The New ‘Niners & Gold Rush
First Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, now gold diggers have upset environmentalists and economists. It’s been like 1849 online with blogs abuzz over gold prices, prospectors and water use in California.
The precious metal is priced at a record dollar high now, thanks in part to China and India snapping up gold reserves. Panic and pricing like that drives laid-off Californians to go panning and miners to “explore,” sometimes damaging the farthest corners of the Earth to get gold.
Eco- and business-bloggers alike want to know: Is the …
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Turning Old Industrial Sites into Wildlife Habitats
Unsightly, decaying and unused, the “brown” industrial lands found throughout the United States serve only to remind people of changing technologies and economic downturns. The lands used to house factories and warehouses that hummed with activity and production. Now, they stand empty, overgrown, rusting, falling apart.
On the face of it, these lands appear only as environmental eyesores, but look a little closer and you’ll find these urban industrial sites can hold surprising ecological significance.
Scientists and ecologists around the country are working to redevelop many strategically-located “brown” …
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KISS My Carbon Footprint
Anyone who subscribes the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) philosophy will appreciate the results of this new study recently completed by Thomas Dietz and his colleagues at Michigan State University.
In a first of its kind study, the researchers examined the potential emissions reduction (PER) of 17 well-known energy saving actions that individuals already do or could do without any major lifestyle disruption and minimal to little damage to the wallet.
What they found was that if these 17 simple household actions were universally adopted by Americans, US carbon emissions could …
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EcoMeme: Gene Flow and GMOs
You gonna eat that? New research says genetically modified crops planted in the wild can change native neighbors’ DNA. So in the future, food activists worry, you might not have a dietary choice. Join the GMO debate.
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Rescue Dogs Get New Leash on Life
The casting call went out last January, not to big Hollywood agents but to animal shelters and rescue groups across the country.
Looking for four-legged crooners, black and white, who can get along with others on tour, do the old soft paw on stage, and won’t leap off into the audience when they hear the sound of applause.
Dozens of shelter dogs got the parts for the The 101 Dalmatians Musical including Rascal, a puppy with a broken leg found on the side of the road. Like the others, he has …
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