It’s a Smorgasbord of Cardboard! January 25, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Climate, Pollution.Tags: California, cardboard, compost, Fiberwood, humanure, hydroseeding, landfills, mulch, Sacramento
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I’ve been reading a lot lately about humanure (a term which, I believe, is self-explanatory), but I gotta say, this concept is a little less… icky. Fiberwood, based out of Sacramento, CA (yay California!!!!), is a company that’s making mulch out of cardboard. In brief: tons of manufactured goods are constantly coming into the state, mostly in cardboard boxes. The cardboard winds up in landfills if not recycled. So Fiberwood is putting it to use–up to 100 tons a day!–for hydroseeding (mixing water and mulch at a ratio of 100 gallons for every 75 lbs. and then adding seeds to the mix; one application of this would be to restore ground cover in areas devastated by forest fires), and hydromulch (the mix minus the seeds; used to cover landfills in order to cut down on the smell emanating from them; 1/4″ thick layer of this mixture does the trick as well as a 6″ thick layer of soil). Thank God for people who are thinking outside of the (cardboard) box.
Green in ‘08…and Beyond! January 16, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Climate, Lifestyle, Pollution.Tags: Ceres principles, energy-efficient buildings, GM, microcredit, renewable energy, sustainable economies, The Good Earth, Worldwatch Institute
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Good news, folks. Worldwatch Institute’s “State of the World 2008″ report has encouraging findings. Governments and businesses around the world are finally realizing the necessity/profitability of green projects (energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy) and sustainable economies–ones that employ renewable energy, practice effective recycling with almost no waste, have air that is as clean as possible, and, especially, that provide for the lowest-income members of the population. Even GM is adhering to a code of environmental principles, such as careful disposal of chemical and industrial waste. Most likely, resistance to a globally beneficial way of living will continue from certain sectors, due to ignorance, laziness, and greed; however, there’s a constant increase in the number and variety of people jumping on the greenwagon. This good earth isn’t finished yet.
Candidates On the Greenwagon January 11, 2008
Posted by shomriel in Climate, Pollution.Tags: Barack Obama, cap-and-trade, Democrats, environment, Hillary Clinton, plug-in hybrids, presidential elections, public transportation
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It’s a good bandwagon to be on. With B-rack and Hils duking it out for the love of the people in ‘08, we’ve got ‘em both promising mega-change for the environment, with reassuringly comprehensive plans. Their plans mirror each other in a lot of ways–mainly their cap-and-trade system (companies are allowed a certain amount of pollution, and can essentially buy the ability to pollute more from those companies polluting less–up to a point), with an auction of pollution permits whose profits would go to help low-income families have energy-efficient homes. Obama has a more detailed vision for transportation, including allotting a bigger budget to public transport (which significantly decreases CO2 emissions) and investing in other non-driving options. Clinton’s transportation angle is investing in plug-in hybrid vehicles (with these, the electricity cost is much less than the cost of gas and there are less greenhouse gas emissions). My feel, for what it’s worth, is that Clinton tries to tackle a lot of different areas but is slightly vague in the execution, and I think the details are where it’s at.
(Thanks to Grist.org for a summary of the issues)
Newly elected Australian Prime Minister is a Kyoto Protocol-signing Baller November 26, 2007
Posted by beanstockd in Climate.Tags: Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, Kyoto Protocol
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Australia’s newly elected PM, Kevin Rudd, has vowed to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol, something his predecessor refused to do. Rudd promised to make climate change a priority, and will be attending a conference on the topic in Bali within the next few weeks.
