Tag Archives: discovery

Turning Off Electronics Is an Old Green Trick With a New Big Impact

Photo via Joel A Funk Jr Turning off lights when we’re not using them is an old, well-known way of saving electricity. So old, in fact, that it’s become a bit cliche to mention it as a way of trimming energy consumption. Bigger impacts like flying less or going vegetarian have started to take the spotlight, but the old OFF switch trick for lights and other electronics isn’t done yet. A new study shows that in Great Britain, small changes in energy consumption might make a bigger difference than we thought. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Turning Off Electronics Is an Old Green Trick With a New Big Impact

Why Are Corporate Giants Verizon, Qualcomm, GE Backing Smart Grid Start-Up Consert Inc?

Image via Consert Inc Consert Inc, a smart grid software company, is getting some major backing by big companies. Verizon, Qualcomm, Constellation Energy and GE have pulled together $17.7 million to invest in promoting the company’s software. Currently, Consert has software deployed with electric utilities in North Carolina and Texas, but they’re looking to spread. And the backing by big companies with known names is a sign that corporate cooperation is going to be a big factor in advancing the smart grid so that every tech company can benefit. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Why Are Corporate Giants Verizon, Qualcomm, GE Backing Smart Grid Start-Up Consert Inc?

The Week in Pictures: Angry Environmentalists Greet G20, New Gulf Oil Spill Time-Lapse Video, Cul de Sacs Make You Fat, and More (Slideshow)

This week, G20 leaders from around the world gathered in Canada to discuss issues of finance and they were met with protests from angry environmentalists, including kids covered in fake oil. NASA released a new Gulf oil spill time-lapse video that provides visualization of the spill; New research shows that by reducing the amount of meat and dairy eaten and changing farming practices, by 2055 we could reduce emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from agricultural sources by more than 80%(!); and Italy is installing more solar power in two months than California does in a year, and by the end of this year they are expected to hav… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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The Week in Pictures: Angry Environmentalists Greet G20, New Gulf Oil Spill Time-Lapse Video, Cul de Sacs Make You Fat, and More (Slideshow)

Tomorrow, BP Spill Will be the Largest in Gulf History

Photo via Discover Initially described as ‘comparably tiny’ by the man ultimately responsible for it, two months later the spill will become the largest in the history of the Gulf. It will pass up the Ixtoc-I spill of 1979, which was the previous record-holder. Congratulations, BP — you’ve broken the record for the biggest spill in the history of the Gulf, as well as the biggest in US history , no easy feat. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Tomorrow, BP Spill Will be the Largest in Gulf History

Baltimore Appoints a Food Czar

Image credit: Good.is Baltimore is a set beset by “food deserts”—vast urban areas without access to anything but fast food, snack cakes, bags of chips, and soda. The city is not unique in it’s situation—cities across the country face the same problem—but it is one of the first in the country to make a serious effort to address the problem with the appointment of a food policy directors …. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Baltimore Appoints a Food Czar

Last Glacier in the Pacific to Melt in a Matter of Years

Photo via Lincoln Hall There’s only one glacier left in the Pacific. It can be found on Puncak Jaya, a mountain range in isolated eastern Indonesia — for now. Lonnie Thompson, one of the world’s premier glaciologists, just finished a journey to the region to study the glacier, which he had previously assumed would remain there for at least a few more decades. His findings, however, now paint a different picture: the last glacier in the Pacific will have fully melted within the next couple of years. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Last Glacier in the Pacific to Melt in a Matter of Years

Does America Have a Water Crisis? (Video)

Video via OrganicNation.tv This post was written by Dorothée Royal-Hedinger, founder of

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Does America Have a Water Crisis? (Video)

The Quest for ‘Perfect Climate Information’

Photo via Joanneum What if the world had perfect climate information? If everyone had a perfect understanding of climate science and the threats posed by global warming, would that change most people’s limited commitments to individual action and our ability to implement good carbon-cutting policy? This question is a topic of an informal debate between the one-time NY Times climate reporter Andrew Revkin and Climate Progress’ Joe Romm, and it’s well worth thinking about in order to come to grips with why it is we’re so short of perfect climate information right now . …. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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The Quest for ‘Perfect Climate Information’

Will Libraries Turn Into Digital Reading Rooms?

Photo via CCAC North Library We’re fans of e-readers. They’re a way to dramatically decrease how many trees are used in the production of reading materials, especially text books, magazines and newspapers. But they have their place. While we love e-readers, we love libraries even more. Paper books that are shared over and over again are far greener than an electronic gadget. But, as e-books take over and the e-reader market booms, will libraries start to follow suit? Sony hopes so, with a new program to promote digital reading in libraries…. Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Will Libraries Turn Into Digital Reading Rooms?

"Oil and Water Don’t Mix" T-Shirt Aids BP Oil Spill Cleanup

Image courtesy of Surfrider Foundation. It almost goes without saying that the green fashion trend du jour is the commemorative anti- BP oil spill t-shirt; From clever slogans like “We’re bringing oil to American shores” to a “BP Cares” t-shirt (with oil stains) , there are plenty o… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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"Oil and Water Don’t Mix" T-Shirt Aids BP Oil Spill Cleanup