A Picture Is Worth... (Literally) Unsustainably Developed Apartment Building

Photo: Reuters, from Mail Online This is a very unsettling and sad example of development gone terribly wrong. A newly built 13-storey apartment building has fallen and one person is dead; it was fortunate that noone was living inside these new flats by a river in Shanghai.

Shoddy construction and the use of sub-standard materials is a concern in China's construction sector as the country scrambles to build out cities and finish massive infrastructure projects to keep pace with fast econ...

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Michael Jackson's "Earth Song," His Biggest UK Single, Was Never Released in the U.S. (Video)

Michael Jackson was famous for his socially-conscious music, but "Earth Song," his big, bold environmental call-to-arms, is often overlooked. Still, it's indisputably the most popular green-th...

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Disappointed Europe "Demands More" from US on Climate Action

Photo via Frugal Cafe Well, the celebration was short-lived. There were some pretty big headlines that managed to poke their way through the 24/7 Michael Jackson death coverage announcing the passage of an "historic climate bill" (I happened to write one of them). It led the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Politico, and a couple other outlets--but predictably, the victory was destined to be bittersweet. And the Europeans didn't even wait until the bill was officially passed before they came out to announce...

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Was Michael Jackson the World's Biggest Environmentalist?

Jackson's "Earth Song," His Biggest UK Chart-Topper, Wasn't Released As a Single in America Michael Jackson was famous for his socially-conscious music, but "Earth Song," his big, bold environmental call-to-arms, is often overlooked. Still, by sh...

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Discovering The True Power Of Your Trash

Waste-to-energy facility in Broward County, Florida, situated at the Central landfill that also has a landfill gas to energy facility. Image credit:Waste Management Last week mayors from across the United States gathered in Providence, Rhode Island for the annual meeting (pdf) of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. From the many resolutions heard proposed at this year’s Conference, it’s clear that waste and energy issues are generating increased interest. Though probably not front and center on thei...

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Culturata Introduces First Certified-Organic Cotton Designer Dress Shirts to North America

Photo credit: Culturata Italian luxury shirt-maker Culturata has added 100 percent organic dress shirts into its fold, and they're expected to make landfall on U.S. and Canadian shores this month. (Check the company's blog for local stockists.) Touted as the first 100 percent certified-organic cotton designer dress shirts in North Americaâ€"although Culturata might have to duke it out with Boll Organic for that honorâ€"each shirt is cut, pressed, and sewn by hand in Italy using Italian-made textiles. ...

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Plant Waste Powered Limos to Bring World Leaders to Copenhagen Climate Talks

Photo via the Daily Mail If you're hosting the world's most important conference on climate change, you sort of have to sweat the small stuff. Eyes from around the globe will be watching to see what progress the world leaders can make towards uniting to combat global warming in your town. So you can't very well send any old gas guzzling limousine to cart the green-inclined heads of state around C...

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Extreme Drought - Water Softening Out

Hard water distribution in USA. Image credit:Wilkes University, WaterResearch.net When drought becomes severe, dissolved minerals increase in concentration in raw water. Additionally, if wastewater discharges cause reclaimed water to become too polluted with inorganic, dissolved substances, it can not be economically recycled. No surprise then that California is considering restrictions on the discharge of salt waste produced by certain types of water softeners. Culligan and its competitors are lobbying hard against the restrictions (revenue streams come from the continued servici...

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Women Should Sing to Their Tomatoes. Guys Should Shut Up.

Photo: The Ewan via Flickr We may live in society that stresses equality between the genders, but when it comes to gardening, women seem to have an upper larynx. According to a recent experiment by the Royal Horticultural Society in England, tomato plants grow faster when they are crooned at. The sung-to tomatoes grew two inches higher than their unserenaded counterparts. Female voices worked especially well for hasty tomato growth. Male voices, on the ...

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California To Require Heat-Reflecting Vehicle Windows, Starting With 2012 Model Year

You won't need this any more. And neither will baby need a sunscreen. Image credit:Alohakine.com, window sun shade. This past spring California Air Resources Board (CARB) was actively considering a regulation that required new vehicles to be painted with coatings formulated to reduce absorption of the sun's heat, lowering the vehicle's air conditioning load, and thereby improving vehicle efficiency. (Opposition to the paint rule was strong for technical and for political reasons; but, it's still under consideration.) See

Colorado Firefighter Training Goes Green

Photo via: Amagill While not often a target of environmental groups due to the increased preparation and safety it promotes, a firefighters training regiment is anything but green. Such training often involves the controlled burning of vehicles, hay, and wood structures. The byproduct of such a rigorous training schedule results in thick, black, billowing clouds of toxic smoke and fumes, which not only simulates the danger to the firefighters and victims, but also the environmental catastrophe these types of fires pro...

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