Being green means thinking about things you never thought about before, thinking about processes, and then making decisions. The false choice of 'Paper or plastic?' (bring a reusable cotton bag) is preceded by choosing to buy or not to buy, if buying then what to buy. One daily choice we all face is 'what's to eat?' The answer is simple - something from sustainable agriculture. The action is more difficult, leading to more questions - what and where? Fortunately there are websites to... Read Full Story

Jon Stewart on The Daily Show ripped apart an oil industry ad showing where your gas dollar goes - producers, refineries, exploration, taxes - evidently absolutely nothing went to their record profits. Another industry ad asks and answers the question of 'Who Owns the Oil Companies? - You Do!" through pension funds, mutual funds, stock. Which is true. It didn't ask "Who controls the votes which controls the corporation?" There's two forces at work here: Democracy and Capitalism. In a... Read Full Story

While you're searching out news on how the US is turning Green as the new Red, White, and Blue, and whether that Green is gangrene or a fresh sprig of spring, one of the sources one doesn't usually turn to is Vanity Fair. Sure, Redbook or Ladies Home Journal may have the obligatory trend article of "10 Costless Effortless Green Things You Can Do To Save The Planet Immediately" starting with changing your light bulbs. But Vanity Fair? Well, for a finger on the pulse of America's not-as... Read Full Story

"Be Air Aware" is the theme of this year's Air Quality Awareness Week, April 28 to May 2, 2008. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established Air Quality Awareness Week to remind Americans of the important role that air quality forecasts can play in their daily lives. May is also the beginning of ozone season, where excessive sun exposure may have a negative impact on your health. Stay covered up, and offset the loss of... Read Full Story

The Law of Unintended Consequences states that any action will produce some unintended consequences. A classic example is a bypass – a road built to relieve traffic congestion on a congested road – that attracts new development and with it more traffic, resulting in two congested streets instead of one. This maxim is not a scientific law; it is more in line with Murphy's law as a warning against the belief that we can control the world around us. In other words, each cause has more than one... Read Full Story

CMO stands for Cubic Mile of Oil, and is a measurement of energy consumption. Credit SRI International's Hew Crane with coining the term, found in a forthcoming book A Cubic Mile of Oil. This was reported by C|Net. The measurement is an easy to grasp measurement, and can put a lot of the current energy situation into perspective. That perspective isn't one we necessarily want to see, but need to know. The bad news is, renewable energy has a long way to go. The good news is, now we have... Read Full Story

The American Journal of Human Genetics cites a study by the Genographic Project which suggests that humans began to evolve into two separate species before returning to one species. Ever think the same thing when you place your recyclables by the curb, and your neighbor hasn't separated out theirs? (The link goes to the BBC news story.) There are those who believe humans have negligible impact on the environment, or that it is someone else's problem, that they are freeride passengers... Read Full Story

Eco-Website of the day: BBC News State of the Planet in graphics . These graphics are based upon the UN's latest Global Environmental Outlook report. They show population growth, land and water scarcities, humanity's ecological footprint, regional CO2 emissions, biodiversity, and an example of the fast pace of urban growth - Las Vegas, comparing 1985 to 2003 via satellite photos. Last year China outpaced the US in carbon emissions to take first place in emissions. Both countries base... Read Full Story

The Asian Development Bank asked that governments (read the US) rescind biofuel subsidies to ease soaring fuel prices. In a nutshell, the US is the largest producer of biofuels and is promoting biofuels (especially corn-based), which is leading to deforestation and the use of crop lands to grow fuel instead of food, which results in higher food prices. A free market would balance itself out, with food shortages and higher prices acting as an incentive to grow more food crops, but not when... Read Full Story

The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) "Agriculture is not just about putting things in the ground and then harvesting them…it is increasingly about the social and environmental variables that will in large part determine the future capacity of agriculture to provide for eight or nine billion people in a manner that is sustainable" Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP Intergovernmental Plenary Opening Address: April 7... Read Full Story