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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Erin Brockovich Goes to Washington
Watch out Washington, Erin Brockovich is coming your way. And it’s not a social visit. She’s on a mission to shake, rattle and overhaul the nation’s toxic chemical laws, in particular the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
The TSCA, which was passed in 1976, is seriously outdated and offers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) no real authority to obtain information needed to evaluate whether a chemical used in home products is or isn’t a health and safety risk.
A reformed TSCA, drafted by Senators …
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EcoMeme: Apple’s Greener Macbook, iMac – a Wash?
Is the greening of Apple skin deep, or does it run to the core? The mobile and computing device juggernaut released its fall 2009 Macbook laptop and iMac desktop computer recently, touting “environmental,” among other desirable features in each.
These include: a polycarbonate case, longer life battery and LED-backlit display in the laptop, and the use of mercury-free glass and other “highly recyclable” materials for the desktop.
The flurry of comments that follow every Apple release and product review, web-wide, included questions about how well the computer juggernaut is doing …
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Green or Greenwash? Southwest’s ‘Green Plane’ Takes to the Skies
Passenger airplanes may never be carbon neutral but many airlines are attempting to find ways to reduce their carbon emissions and become more environmentally-friendly. Some airline, such as Air New Zealand, have been testing alternative fuels.
Southwest Airlines, however, has decided to turn their planes green from the inside out. No, the plane isn’t made of recycled materials and it doesn’t jet around thanks to biofuel. Instead, Southwest has converted one of their Boeing 737-700’s into a “green plane” with the …
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Measuring the Eco Pawprint of Your Pets
Cats and dogs are the latest animals to fall under the microscope of green living with a new book called “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living.” Written by two New Zealand architects specializing in sustainable living, this provocative book is bound to stir people up.
The authors, Robert and Brenda Vale, claim that these popular house pets use up more energy resources a year than driving a car. According to their calculations, published in New Scientist, …
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UN Questions Green Credentials of Biofuels
Biofuel usage has increased considerably in recent years, mostly driven by government mandates to find cleaner fuel options. But a new UN report brings into question how environmentally friendly these biofuels actually are.
The report, from the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management, suggests that before we start patting ourselves on the back for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using biofuels, we really need to examine more closely the environmental effects of producing ethanol and other renewable transportation fuels.
Using a life-cycle …
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Wisconsin Brewery Lights Up Hospital the Green Way
As a rule, hospitals aren’t all that keen on the alcohol industry. Alcohol, after all, is seen as causing many of the accidents that bring victims through their emergency room doors every day.
But one hospital in LaCrosse, Wisconsin is starting to see the alcohol industry in a totally new light. Gundersen Lutheran Hospital and the local City Brewery are participating in a joint heat and power project with the potential to create about 3 million kilowatt hours of energy a year.
The project consists of …
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Counting on Copenhagen? Think 350
World leaders are preparing to meet in December for the Copenhagen Climate Talks, but by all accounts it’s starting to look like whatever agreement they hammer out will be, at best, a mediocre attempt to appease their citizens, and each other, rather than a full attack on fighting global warming.
Is that what we want? Hell, no! We want more walk, less talk. But to get the walk from world leaders, we need to be heard.
Enter 350.org, an international grassroots campaign that uses the power …
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