Archive for October, 2009
Global Warming Cycles Threaten Endangered Primate Species
Posted on October 30, 2009 - Filed Under Climate, Global Warming | Leave a Comment
Two Penn State University researchers have carried out one of the first-ever analyses of the effects of global warming on endangered primates. This innovative work by Graduate Student Ruscena Wiederholt and Associate Professor of Biology Eric Post examined how El Niño warming affected the abundance of four New World monkeys over decades.
Wiederholt and Post decided [...]
Hybrid Automaker Fisker to Buy GM plant in Delaware
Posted on October 28, 2009 - Filed Under Green Technology | 2 Comments
Fisker Automotive Inc. said today it has signed a letter of intent to purchase a former General Motors assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., for $18 million.
The startup electric car company said it will work with the United Auto Workers union to organize the new plant. “Our intent is to work with the UAW,” said Russell [...]
EU Urged to Raise Bar on Climate Financing
Posted on October 28, 2009 - Filed Under Climate, Global Warming | Leave a Comment
European Union leaders were told they have to find 15 billion euros a year to help developing countries fight global warming if this week’s summit is to be deemed successful.
Leaders from the EU’s 27 member countries are split into three camps going into a summit starting Thursday at which they will try to agree a [...]
Cigarette Butt Litter is More Than Just Annoying
Posted on October 27, 2009 - Filed Under environment | 1 Comment
Dear EarthTalk: Has anyone ever studied the environmental impact of discarded cigarettes? I’m constantly appalled at the number of drivers I see pitching their butts out their car windows. – Ned Jordan, via email
It’s true that littered cigarette butts are a public nuisance, and not just for aesthetic reasons. The filters on cigarettes — four fifths of [...]
The Electric Car and the Road Not Taken
Posted on October 27, 2009 - Filed Under Green Technology | 1 Comment
It’s one of the most exciting design challenges of our time. It’s a (very) rare opportunity to reinvent a ubiquitous object that is the most expensive and, often, most emotive thing that many people will ever buy except for their homes. It’s also a chance to help to save the planet.
What is it? The electric [...]
Food Recycling Law A Hit In San Francisco
Posted on October 27, 2009 - Filed Under Recycle | 1 Comment
Tossing food scraps in your garbage can is a crime — at least in San Francisco. A brand-new city law requires residents to discard food waste in a separate bin.
It’s the first program of its kind in the nation, and so far, it’s a mandate San Franciscans seem to relish. In fact, many residents and landlords [...]
Feds Designate Polar Bear Habitat in Alaska
Posted on October 26, 2009 - Filed Under environment | Leave a Comment
The Obama administration said it is designating more than 200,000 square miles in Alaska and off its coast as “critical habitat” for polar bears, an action that could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas.
Federal law prohibits agencies from taking actions that may adversely affect critical habitat and interfere with polar bear [...]
Almost Half of U.S. Consumers Would Choose a Green Cell Phone
Posted on October 24, 2009 - Filed Under Green Technology | Leave a Comment
According to the poll of 1,000 American adults carried out by ABI Research, just 7% would be willing to pay a premium to go green, a figure that may cause cell phone companies to think deeply before investing heavily in environmentally friendlier models.
Speaking about the findings, industry analyst Michael Morgan said, “These survey results mean [...]
Cars and the Environment
Posted on October 24, 2009 - Filed Under environment | Leave a Comment
Thinking green is the latest step in society’s love affair with the car. How does your driving fit in?
And maybe it is. But cars are so incredibly useful, and technology promises so many ways of making them better that it’s hardly time to buy a horse.
Numerous studies have attempted to measure the automobile’s ecological footprint, [...]
Cell Phones and Radiation: 10 Best and 10 Worst
Posted on October 23, 2009 - Filed Under Environmental Problem, environment, environmental issue | 2 Comments
How much radiation does your cell phone emit? It’s easy to find out the answer thanks to the Environmental Working Group’s new online guide to cell phone emissions.
The non-profit research and advocacy group ranked over 1,000 different cell phones according to radiation levels. It looked at the publicly available, but difficult to find, specific absorption rate (SAR) [...]
