Clipmarks | Sustainable Clips

"Eco-architecture could produce 'grow your own' homes"

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:02:29 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: http://www.physorg.com/news138541462.html

Eco-architecture could produce 'grow your own' homes

"Eco-architecture" may sound like a Buck Rogers vision of an ecologically-sustainable future, but that future is now thanks to the guidance of Tel Aviv University Professors Yoav Waisel and Amram Eshel. The concept of shaping living trees into useful objects -- known as tree shaping, arborsculpture, living art or pooktre –– isn't new. But scientists are now ready to use this concept as the foundation of a new company that will roll out these structures worldwide.

Pilot projects now underway in the United States, Australia and Israel include park benches for hospitals, playground structures, streetlamps and gates. "The approach is a new application of the well-known botanical phenomenon of aerial root development," says Prof. Eshel. "Instead of using plant branches, this patented approach takes malleable roots and shapes them into useful objects for indoors and out."

drawz

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:42:52 GMT

clipped by: drawz

Clip Source: losangeles.craigslist.org

You will work in the political arena, getting your hands dirty, building organizations and fighting for victories that put us on a more sustainable and more democratic course. Campaign staff will make $4000-6000 over the summer.

To apply for a job to save the environment, call Chris at 213-251-8630 or visit our Web site.

We are also hiring college graduates to run our campaign offices across the country. Competitive salary and benefits available.

"stolen by government men with guns" - more police raids

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:39:56 GMT

clipped by: Maxwell_Smart

Clip Source: www.godlikeproductions.com

Hey friends, we need your help! Our Earth Activist Training Sustainable Skills Bus has been seized without cause by the police.

When asked why they pulled the bus over they refused to answer.

Shortly afterward Sergeant Paul Davis, a commercial vehicle inspector arrived on scene. Despite the polices insistence that the reason for impoundment was for a commercial vehicle inspection the Permibus crew were not allowed to remove anything from the bus including computers, toiletries, and 17-year-old Megan Wilson's shoes.

"If the combined law enforcement of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Ramsey County, and the State of Minnesota can pull over and impound a vehicle and home used to teach organic gardening and sustainability, one has to wonder what it is our government really fears. After all, we seek to teach people that the real meaning of homeland security is local food, fuel and energy production. For that we have had our lives stolen by government men with guns."

Slow Home: Annie House from Bercy Chen Studio

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:53:35 GMT

clipped by: zalisan

Clip Source: www.treehugger.com

"Suburban sprawl is like fast food; cheap and easy but also unsatisfying and boring." says the intro Slow Home, which says "takes its name from the slow food movement which arose as a reaction to the processed food industry.

The house is a certified city of Austin green building project and scored 3 stars out of the highest possible 5 star rating. Sustainable principles of design are incorporated throughout.

1. GO INDEPENDENT

2. GO LOCAL

3. GO GREEN

4. GO NEAR

5. GO SMALL

6. GO OPEN

7. GO SIMPLE

8. GO MODERN

9. GO HEALTHY

10. GO FOR IT

Stop procrastinating. The most important, and difficult, step in the slow home process is the first one that you take. Get informed and then get involved with your home.

Slow Cities Spreading Fast

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:43:21 GMT

clipped by: zalisan
clipper's remarks: No matter our individual takes on the major issues facing us today whether they be local, national, international, the truth is we sure could use a dose of stepping back, re imagining our place and how we can modify the way we approche these issues.

Clip Source: www.treehugger.com

Chiavenna is a Slow City located at the foot of the Italian Alps. Especially on a Saturday, residents and tourists enjoy strolling and chatting in the streets of the old town.

While the United States is a more fast-paced society, there are a number of examples that you can point to that indicate an openness for the idea of slowness. The number of farmers markets have increased dramatically and the options to buy organic food are bountiful. Urban design has become more concerned about placemaking and human interactions. Green building designs, sustainable urban development, growth management, and other measures to contribute to a greener environment are becoming more commonplace.

There are now 42 slow cities in Italy, and more and more cities -- in Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Poland and Norway -- conform to the movement's list of strict requirements. ::Spiegel

Local entrepreneurship has become a key driver of urban economies and adds diversity to our main streets. " Planetizen

The Evolution of ecological architecture and biourbanism

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:41:41 GMT

clipped by: zalisan
clipper's remarks: Another in a growing line of visionaries taking all aspects of the human condition into account when creating toward a more sustainable future.

Clip Source: ecopolis.com.au

Clip Source: www.ecopolis.com.au

The accommodation has achieved Advanced Ecotourism Accreditation, the highest level possible in the Ecotourism Australia certification program. Winner of the Eco Sponsor Prize in the IDEA awards 2006, the project was listed as a great example in the ‘Design Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism Development’ in South Australia.

Clip Source: www.ecopolis.com.au

The Whyalla EcoCity Information Feature represents, in microcosm, the principles of ecologically responsive urbanism at work in which the environments behind and between buildings are as important as the buildings themselves, and in which energy, water and resources are conserved whilst maintaining human comfort and nurturing the spirit.

Clip Source: www.ecopolis.com.au

Steel framed, strawbale construction makes this an unusual project, with the scale being larger than the usual domestic scale associated with strawbale. Particular colours are used for each compass orientation, in line with Buddhist philosophy.

Clip Source: www.ecopolis.com.au

Democrats find 'green' political convention tough to enforce

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:50:02 GMT

clipped by: Smoke TNT

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

DENVER--The Democratic Party has boasted that its convention here will be "the most environmentally-sustainable" gathering in the party's history, complete with a director of sustainability, low-power lighting in some areas, and calculations of carbon footprints.

But reality doesn't always match expectations. Bikes aren't permitted inside the convention's security perimeter, so golf carts and other vehicles are used. The wooden card keys proved buggy, and some were replaced with more-reliable plastic. Fried mini-donuts were prominently on sale inside the Pepsi Center. Party VIPs and celebrities told their decidedly non-green town cars and GMC Yukon XL mega-SUVs--rented from limo provider A Class Above Transportation--to idle, with engines and air conditioning on, in the nearby pickup area.

Tags: democrats, liberals, garbage, hypocrisy

Dollar Strenth Aug.'08

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:38:04 GMT

clipped by: robm47

Clip Source: www.resourceinvestor.com

The U.S. Treasury cannot defend the dollar without the cooperation or at least acquiescence of the East Asian central banks, especially the People’s Bank of China with its mountain of foreign exchange.

But how much firepower has the U.S. Treasury got to sustain this dollar rally? With the cooperation of other monetary authorities around the world, it has a lot. But that still doesn’t make support for the dollar inexhaustible. The downward adjustment of the dollar to a sustainable parity must, at some point resume.

It may now suit almost everybody for the dollar to be given a break. That won’t always be the case though. And when the dollar’s fall resumes, the gold price will be reinvigorated. But if the dollar gains further support in the meantime then gold is vulnerable.

Tags: usdollar vs gold

New twist on generating hydroelectricity

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:02:19 GMT

clipped by: pokkets

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Eric Bland

An former steel town in the US may soon turn its local river into a source of power by using a grid of electricity-generating smart materials.

The town of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, is planing to line the bottom of the Kiskiminetas River with tiny electric generators, which it hopes will generate between 20% to 40% of the city's electricity supply.

"Vandergrift is trying to be the model green town," says Assistant Professor Lisa Weiland, a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh

sustainable power will most likely come from a grid of undulating strips made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a material that generates a slight electrical current when it is moved, in this case, by the currents and eddies in the Kiskiminetas River.

the resulting electrical current would pass to small substations along the river's edge

"There are other materials that give better performance or have higher energy densities

But we're willing to sacrifice a little power to keep the ecosystem happy."

Are Malthus's 1798 Food Shortage Predictions Coming True?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:53:00 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: "Have we beaten Malthus? After two centuries, we still do not really know."

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

In 1798 Thomas Robert Malthus famously predicted that short-term gains in living standards would inevitably be undermined as human population growth outstripped food production, and thereby drive living standards back toward subsistence. We were, he argued, condemned by the tendency of population to grow geometrically while food production would increase only arithmetically.

For 200 years, economists have contended that Malthus overlooked technological advancement, which would allow human beings to keep ahead of the population curve.

The idea that improved know-how and voluntary fertility reduction can sustain a high, indeed rising, level of incomes for the world remains correct, but only if future technology enables us to economize on natural capital rather than finding ever more clever ways to deplete it more cheaply and rapidly.

We will need a new politics to recognize the importance of a sustainable growth strategy and global cooperation to achieve it.

ULTra Personal Rapid Transit

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:40:37 GMT

clipped by: rj3sp

Clip Source: www.atsltd.co.uk

A new approach to public transport

WELCOME TO THE ULTra WEBSITE

PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) provides on-demand driverless travel using its own guideway network

ULTra offers an advanced form of PRT, ready for application, giving effective, low cost and sustainable transport for cities, airports and special developments worldwide.

Clip Source: www.atsltd.co.uk

Clip Source: uk.youtube.com

ULTra PRT sustainable transit

ULTra is a battery-driven, 100-mpg-equivalent, elevated personal rapid transit system with many four-person vehicles. First deployment is scheduled for London Heathrow Airport in Spring 2009, to serve Heathrow's new Terminal 5. Working as circulator transit for office parks, airports, universities, and other major activity centers, ULTra is faster than a car. In these applications, ULTra makes carpooling and conventional transit more effective, by solving the "last mile problem." http://www.atsltd.co.uk/

[Video]

Clip Source: www.ultraprt.com

Heathrow ULTra PRT Construction Underway

Clip Source: uk.youtube.com

BAA Heathrow ULTra PRT

[Video]

Tags: ultra, prt, transport, transit, personal, on-demand, driverless, travel, heathrow

PanAmerican Properties: Restoring the Environment One Tree at a Time

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:38:02 GMT

clipped by: ibsinc
clipper's remarks: A sustainable economic development program of reforestation for the underserved peoples of Panama www.paulownianow.org

Clip Source: www.startupnation.com

WORLDS FASTEST GROWING HARDWOOD SHADE TREE!
THE ROYAL EMPRESS TREE
Also known as Sapphire Dragon Tree, Paulownia, Kiri Tree, Foxglove Tree & Princess Tree

With the decline of our native forests to the lumber industry, Paulownia trees have come into the spotlight worldwide for their ability to produce high quality timber at a much faster rate than any other hardwood tree.

With an extraordinary growth rate and huge air filtering leaves that convert carbon into oxygen at a higher rate than almost any other tree, Royal Empress Trees are rapidly becoming an important part of the solution to reducing our impact on the Earth.

PanAmerican Properties is developing a reforestation initiative designed to create a neutral zone between the indigenous reservations, legitimately established by both international and national law and the non indigenous communities that are invading these reservations and are cutting down the forests to grow grass for grazing cattle.

Tags: start up nation, paulownia, reforestation, agriculture, environment, sustainable development, underserved peoples

Buy Stock Photos

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 04:47:13 GMT

clipped by: jeanydeb
clipper's remarks: Zymmetrical is the first and only Fair Trade marketplace to buy
stock photos from Artists worldwide, in a way that delivers you fresh image
content every week, and the Artists a sustainable income.

Clip Source: www.zymmetrical.com

Tags: stock photos, stock images, buy photos

Fresh Kills, New York’s Next Wind Farm?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:40:47 GMT

clipped by: CohoctonWindWatch

Clip Source: cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com

Having spent decades persuading the city to close the giant Fresh Kills landfill, Staten Island officials are now arguing that the vast site would be the perfect home for the energy-creating windmills that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has proposed as a way to make New York City more sustainable.

Tags: industrial wind, wind turbines, nyc wind, environment

Irradiate Your Food

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:47:31 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: Instead of working on sustainable alternatives, FDA now irradiating our food.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

F.D.A. Allows Irradiation of Some Produce

WASHINGTON — The government will allow food producers to zap fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce with enough radiation to kill micro-organisms like E. coli and salmonella that for decades have caused widespread illness among consumers.

It is the first time the Food and Drug Administration has allowed any produce to be irradiated at levels needed to protect against illness.

“This is probably one of the single most significant food safety actions done for fresh produce in many years,” said Robert Brackett, chief scientist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which petitioned the agency in 2000 to allow manufacturers to irradiate a wide variety of processed meats, fruits and vegetables and prepared foods.

“It’s a total cop-out,” said Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch. “They don’t have the resources, the authority or the political will to really protect consumers from unsafe food.”