Biochar or Compost – What’s Best for Soil Quality?
Despite claims that biochar could offset 12% of human carbon emissions, and boost agricultural production in the process, others are not so sure. Whether it’s the author of the biochar solution saying it’s not a solution (OK, not a complete solution), or George Monbiot’s warnings on the large-scale production of biochar, there is no doubt […]
Microbes transform sewage sludge into plastic
POOP PLASTIC PUTS WASTE TO WORK It’s ultimate dream: Take human waste and turn it into one of the most ubiquitous materials around, plastic. The Sacramento-based startup Micromidas has the technology to do it. And no, their polymer doesn’t stink. When Micromidas CEO John Bissell and his colleagues were undergrads at UC Davis, they recognized […]
Does New Public Transit Increase Gentrification and Lower Ridership?
Smart Planet points us to a report (PDF here) from Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University that concludes that new transit can lead to gentrification. My first response was well, duh, isn’t that the point? It has always been a rule in real estate development that investment follows infrastructure; if you […]
Focus on low carbon way to meet the need the quickest way forward
Mexico City, Mexico – A focus on satisfying needs is a better basis for a low carbon economy than a focus on improving technologies for delivering the same goods that have met the needs so far, according to case studies delivered to business leaders in Mexico City today. A report issued by the Low Carbon […]
US Gives $50 Million for Clean Burning Stoves in Developing World
by Brit Liggett Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a public-private partnership called the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves to which the US government will donate $50 million to increase the number of clean burning cook stoves in the developing world. In less developed nations, most people cook on stoves that use […]
Can Charcoal Slow Climate Change and Improve Agriculture?
Adding biochar to soil might be a good way to cut pollution from agriculture while improving fertility. By: David Biello, Scientific American The ancient inhabitants of Amazonia knew how to keep fragile soils fertile—and may have hit upon a way to combat present-day climate change. That technique? Biochar, or any plant or animal waste turned […]
Location-efficient mortgages make Smart Growth affordable
How to make Smart Growth affordable by Jonathan Hiskes, Grist.org Let’s say you want to live in one of those fancy Smart Growth developments that green urbanists are always going on about. Let’s say you want to live in any neighborhood with transit service and a grid that encourages walking and biking. Great. Living in […]
LEED Loophole: ‘Platinum’ buildings can score zero points for indoor environmental quality
Is There a Loophole in LEED Building Certification? Utne Reader, 8/2/2010 3:57:23 PM by Will Wlizlo So your new corporate campus was built with reclaimed lumber and uses 90 percent renewable energy. Too bad on the inside it might be a toxic deathtrap. In These Times reports on a possible loophole in the Leadership in […]
Now your Cell Phone can help you garden???
A New Customizable Application for Farmers and Gardeners 7/28/2010 11:46:28 AM By Shelley Stonebrook, Mother Earth News Managing your crops isn’t always easy, but now there is a new application on Weather.com to help. Weather.com now features customizable local weather applications, including an Agriculture Application where farmers can get their daily forecast with precipitation, and […]
Conservation for the sake of conservation doesn’t work!
This story is just another example of why we cannot expect to reforest and conserve our rainforests and other natural resources without tying an self-sustaining economic generator into our projects… conservation means nothing to someone who does not have any food on their table and can’t afford to educate their children! – Jeremy Can Sustainability Grow in a […]