Photo Credit: Scott Chang

The world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases is on it’s way to becoming the largest producer of clean energy, some say.  China not only leads the race in production of wind turbines, but has made giant leaps ahead of the West in their manufacturing of solar panels as well.  Not to mention- the country is rallying to find the most efficient types of coal power plants.  This leads us to the question many are beginning to ask:  Will China prevail in the energy-technology industry?  Will the West at some point switch from a dependence on oil in the Middle East to a dependence on sustainable energy from China? Read more…

Photo Credit: Jared Tarbell

Fresh off an attempt to reboot his image and his administration during the State of the Union Address, President Obama is taking swift action to follow through on at least one of his talking points from the evening. The president recently announced a plan to invest in and further explore alternative energy sources in and for the United States. Read more…

Image Via The New York Times, SERA Architects

Imagine an 18 story (200 foot tall) building covered in vertical vegetation that changes with the seasons… Sound almost like a modern-day fairy tale, right? Well, in Portland, Oregon it’s more like a science that, in 2013, will become reality. The Federal Government is beginning a $133 million renovation on its main federal building that overlooks the downtown plaza. Thanks to Obama’s federal stimulus package last year, which promotes environmentally friendly projects, this federal building will soon be green in more ways than one. Read more…

Photo Credit: Lee Tang Joh

Wine has been a staple of our social lives and culture for many years.  Now, the staple wine region of California has set an example for others to follow.  Beyond the third party wine audit system recently announced by the Wine Institute of California, this particular initiative pushes California’s wine standards even higher.  While the audit system is certainly sustainable, the Napa Green Program is to some, the “best, most well thought-out program” the industry may have seen yet.  In fact, it is the industry’s most comprehensive “best practices” in land-use and wine production. Read more…

Photo Credit: Etienne Boucher

The American people are becoming increasingly aware of what goes into the food we eat. Not just pesticides and other chemicals but also the truth about why our food is so cheap and the repercussions of the current system, both environmental and social. Industrial agriculture has delivered cheap groceries and a greater variety in what we choose to eat; but it has also brought us contaminated meat, carcinogenic hormone-filled milk, and environmental disaster. The cheap prices we see at the market are a farce. The costs that we are averting is being dumped on something or someone else. The article in Time Magazine by Bryan Walsh titled “Getting Real about the High Price of Cheap Food” displays what is wrong with the food we eat and shows how some companies are choosing to do it the right way. Read more…

Photo Credit: Howard Ignatius

Many of us eat fish regularly without realizing that we may be contributing to a major problem. Habitat destruction and overexploitation are the two main problems associated with the fishing industry. In addition to those, toxins and aquaculture can have negative impacts on consumers and the environment. By simply understanding the threats that the marine environment is facing, and being informed on how you can reduce your impact on the marine environment, you can still eat fish but enjoy them in a sustainable way. Read more…

H. Koppdelaney

New green technologies and the desire for sustainable living have become the resource for a new renewable energy project soon to be underway in 2010. The project is known as the Sahara Forest Project, a center that will work as a model for the development of larger scale green complexes intended to be built in deserts around the world. The idea is to provide a sustainable “oasis” for desert communities. Scientists are deliberating between arid sites in the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the U.S. to be the first to host this experimental facility. As with most new green developments, the project has stirred up controversy amongst environmentalists and specialists. Read more…

A Tiny Village

Kivalina, a minute Inupiat Eskimo village with only 400 residents located just off the Northwestern coast of Alaska, doesn’t have a hotel, restaurant, or movie theatre. But what it does have is a huge lawsuit that might just deal the devastating blow to major greenhouse gas emitting companies needed to change the way the U.S. handles climate change. Kivalina is accusing ExxonMobile, Shell Oil, and 22 other fuel and utilities companies of increasing the global warming which has led to the drastic erosion of the small island’s coasts. In the past sea ice surrounded the island during the winter months preventing heavy wind and wave erosion. However, the sea ice no longer forms due to warmer temperatures. Read more…

Photo Credit: Julie A. Brown

Over the years, vegetarian groups and environmentalists have advocated the policy that “less meat= less heat.”  However, that is not necessarily always the case.  In the past, cows, other livestock, and their consumers have been cited as environmentally detrimental because of the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from housing the livestock, and the livestock themselves.  In 2006, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that 18% of the world’s man-made greenhouse gas emissions comes from livestock.  Cows especially take the fall because they are fed more energy-intensive feed than other livestock and emit more methane than other livestock. Read more…

Photo credit: Rashida S. Mar B.

With all the recent rain California has been experiencing, L.A.’s approval of the Low Impact Development ordinance last week seems all the more relevant at this point in time.  For those like myself who are not familiar with this idea of “LID”, it is a new approach to managing storm water and urban runoff by controlling it at the source with small, cost-effective systems vs. traditional “end-of-line” treatment facilities.  Basically, it is one way to mitigate the negative effects of both development and urbanization, while improving water quality and recharging groundwater. Read more…