Think Green Live Clean

Wolfgang Staudt

Inhabitants of paradise are the first to feel the real impact of global warming. Villagers that live on the Atoll islands are forced to pack up and leave their homes for good due to rising sea levels. Islands are likely to be the areas that are hit hardest by global warming and entire island chains may disappear within the next century. Read more…

After hearing years of depressing news about our enormously depleted fish populations, and how many of our solution-oriented fish farms are each actually more polluting than the combined “raw human sewage from a town of several thousand people,” I was about to put my last can of tuna in the closet as a proof for my grandkids of the days when we had fish. But now, with much improved technology and the concerned investment of a few business-minded individuals, your goldfish may have something more to smile about tomorrow. Read more…

Dan McKay

The city of Los Angeles has the highest recycling rate of the ten largest cities in the U.S. (about 65% of L.A. population reduce, reuses, and recycles). Recently, a new pilot program was announced that will encourage an even greater participation of such practices. Known as the RecycleBank, the program allots points to residents who recycle daily with the intention of creating the “cleanest, greenest big city in America” as declared by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. According to the mayor the program will work to better the city’s reputation for sustainability while stimulating the local economy. Read more…

Photo Credit: Curtis Palmer

We’ve all got computers, including me.  In fact- I’m using one as we speak and have likely used one on a daily basis since…well, since I can remember.  Societies produce more electronic goods by the minute it seems…but what happens to electronic devices like computers once we’re through with them? Read more…

Photo Credit: Ken Lund

Is money all it takes to overturn a government’s regulatory laws?  Independent oil company Veneco Inc. is certainly trying to prove it with its attempts to amend regulatory laws in Southern California.

Veneco Inc. owns a large oil storage facility in Carpinteria, California, a charming beach town just outside of Santa Barbara.  In 2005, it first proposed the Paredon Initiative, with plans to install an oil deck next to its storage facilities and do an offshore drill for oil in the ocean.  The project would sit right next to several residential areas, which could cause many health and environmental issues for the residents and disturb the coastal habitat.  Since this project is illegal in Carpinteria, negotiations ensued and an environmental review was conducted. 11 “significant and unavoidable impacts” were identified.   Read more…

Image Via Port of San Diego

Have you ever wondered why power boats, which often spend the  majority of their time in sunny windblown waters, aren’t powered by alternative energy like wind and solar? Well, now one is and it’s no small boat either. The Hornblower Hybrid is a 64-foot ferry boat that can hold 149 passengers. Though the boat is based out of San Francisco Bay and mainly serves as a ferry for passengers visiting Alcatraz Island, it was recently in San Diego Bay hosting bay cruises for companies, groups, or just individuals who pride themselves on caring for the environment. Read more…

Photo Credit: David Gil

According to the latest version of the Environmental Performance Index, Iceland leads the world as the top nation in environmental performance. The index is put together by researchers from both Columbia University and Yale University. A number of factors are examined in determining where countries rank on the index, and a final cumulative score is given to each country ranging from 25-100. Iceland received a 93.5. Among the factors considered for ranking are “environmental health, preservation of habitat and reductions in greenhouse gases, air pollution and waste.” Read more…

Have you ever dreamed of getting in a van and driving south until who knows when? I know I have, and in 1968 Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins lived this dream.  This 10,000 mile trip started in Southern California and “ended” in Patagonia, South America.  This trip changed the lives of the explorers and now, because of these two men and their work, over two million acres are under permanent protection.   Their epic adventure was recently recreated and made into a documentary/ travel/ surf film called 180 Degrees South. Produced by Woodshed Films, the film depicts a group of surfers/ explorers making their way from Southern California in a sailboat. The destination was Patagonia but where they ended up along the way could never have been predicted. The film is set to release this spring and from watching this trailer one word comes to mind: Epic.   Enjoy…

Photo Credit: Rene Ehrhardt

“This is about a different way of doing business,” said Jennie Nevin, a 31 year old who formerly worked as an investment specialist for Merrill Lynch. “It’s certainly different from Wall Street, where it was all about what you did. This is all about what we can do.”

What Ms. Nevin is referring to is a co-working space called ‘Green Spaces’ that is home to about 20 entrepreneurs (many of whom are in their 20’s) of environmentally centered start-up companies. The office, founded by Ms. Nevin and her partners (who are also very young: 29 and 30) opened in September in TriBeCa, New York and provides the perfect setting for green brainstorming. Another ‘Green Spaces’ was recently opened in Denver, Colorado and a third should be underway in Los Angeles in the near future. Read more…

Photo Credit: Didier Bier

You think you know what mushrooms are? Sure, they peek through the grass in moist areas, are neatly packaged in plastic crates in grocery stores, and sometimes overcooked on pizza. Not exactly the life-changing ingredient imagined when you think of our current global situation. Nevertheless, if we take the time to look just a little closer, we learn that these tasty mushrooms are simply the fruiting body of mycelium, our true hero in this story, that make up an underground network of fibers with enormous planet-saving potential. Read more…