Photo Credit: Victor Yeo

Have you ever thought about how much money you would be willing to pull from your wallet to preserve our earth’s forests? $50? $500? $5,000? If you find it extraordinarily difficult to put a monetary value on something so abstract, undefined, and unknown as a forest with all of its diversity and life support services then you are just like the rest of us.

In the past, the monetary value of a forest was based on the timber price that it could be sold for, but that equation leaves out some of the most important aspects of a forest…such as it’s diversity of plants and animals, the oxygen that it creates (which sustains human life), Read more…

Photo Credit: Dalliedee

What is the role of man in balancing, controlling, and restoring the natural world?  This is a question that is fiercely debated and difficult to answer.  In Idaho, a state that possesses a vast amount of wilderness and species, this question is one of the most prominent topics in assessing environmental issues.

Wolves were once an important predator that roamed Idaho’s forests.  However, due to their impact on farmer’s livestock, they were completely eradicated from Idaho.  In 1995, the wolf was reintroduced and under federal protection, the population has increased dramatically.  The rapid growth of wolves in Idaho has led to ecological changes such as a decrease in deer and elk populations.  Now, for the first time ever, there will be a hunting season for wolves in Idaho in an effort to control the population and restore ecological balance in Idaho’s forests.  The hunting of wolves in Idaho is heavily supported by farmers, hunters, and Idaho’s Fish and Game department.  It is opposed by most environmental groups and many Idaho citizens. Read more…

Photo Credit: Steve Punter

With a population over 8 million, Mexico City is making a dent in the production of plastic bags with its new ban outlawing the usage of standard plastic bags at the checkout line in supermarkets throughout the city. Only five months ago, the City passed a law requiring all stores to provide biodegradable bags in place of their harmful counterpart. On Wednesday, August 19, this law went into effect and will allow for a one-year grace period before penalties are imposed. (Such penalties have yet to be outlined). Read more…

Photo Credit: Indy Kethdy

From the disruption of Bush’s detrimental logging plans in Oregon to the newly stated U.S. Forest Management goal of ‘restoration and conservation’, the Obama administration is jumping through hoops to protect our National Forests. And by no means is this effort coming too soon with constant development threatening forests and wilderness areas  across our country. “It is time for a change in the way we view and manage America’s forestlands with an eye towards the future”, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at his first major policy address.  ”This will require a new approach that engages the American people and  stakeholders in conserving and restoring both our National Forests and privately owned forests. It is essential that we reconnect Americans across the nation with the natural resources and landscapes that sustain us”. (Side note: I’m writing this post on my phone as I “road trip” to Lake Powell for some good old shore-side camping) Read more…

Photo Credit: Scott LaPierre

While it is the antithesis of a natural phenomena, the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch is a new destination for environmental exploration and it is drawing the attention of both researchers and adventure seekers. The floating patch of garbage is twice the size of Texas and is located somewhere in remote Pacific waters between Hawaii and California. Ocean currents have helped form this garbage island as plastic from all over the world is discarded and transported into our oceans. Out of the 260 million tons of plastic produced per year, 10 percent ends up in oceans, particularly in areas such as the Pacific Patch. This summer, three different voyages have the patch as their destination point. Both expeditions plan to document the pollution disaster in order to study and provide information that will inevitably call for a global awareness. Read more…

Photo Credit: Rennett Stowe

While progress towards solutions to climate change are being made with trends such as electric cars, carbon credit trading, solar panels and windmill energy; it is a simple building strategy that could offset billions of tons of CO2.  The concept that is cutting costs and emissions is the “cool roof,” which is a shiny plasticized white covering on roofs that rely on the principle that white objects absorb less heat than dark objects.

The movement towards cool roofs has demonstrated how beneficial this small change in construction can be to benefit one’s energy bill. Studies are showing that white roofs reduce air-conditioning costs by 20 percent, making it one of the most affordable shields to global warming. Read more…

Photo Credit: Rupert Ganzer

Do you still remember the criteria you used to pinpoint your college of choice? Granted it had to be one that you got accepted into…and maybe it had to be a Liberal Arts, have relatively small classes, and have a decent standard of excellence? Or were you the one comparing the ratio of guys to girls, the number of beer cups next to the college name, and the size of the coed dorms? Whomever you were and whatever your criteria, I am guessing that an easily accessible ‘Green Rating’ was not involved in your final decision. Well now it can be with Princeton Review’s second annual ‘Green Rating’ available online for 697 colleges and universities around the country. (All you guys and girls still applying for colleges are psyched!) Read more…

Photo Credit: John Beetham

Overfishing is one of the monumental environmental problems that we face today on this planet. The ocean’s fish have been over exploited for years and major fisheries around the world are on the brink of collapse. This has led to a increase in fisheries research, where population declines are being studied and different sustainable management practices are being experimented with. A two-year study by a team of 21 marine scientists from universities around the world has shown that with intensive management practices and smart fishing major fisheries can begin the initial stages of recovery. Read more…

Photo Credit: Laura Ouimette

In a time of economic recession , budget cuts, and funding limitations for the California public school system, a new program aimed at sustainability and community is taking root and flourishing. Families, celebrities, company owners, and local residents are coming together to create edible gardens in public schools in Los Angeles and other urban area. Several figureheads in the food industry are striving to alleviate costs by donating soil, seeds, food for the volunteers, and other supplies from local farms and nurseries. Such projects have looked to the precedent set by Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard program, which now certifies other garden programs and provides advice and support. Read more…

If you have read my earlier posts, you know that I like writing about policy.  There is nothing that makes me more motivated and inspired than seeing environmental change in physical writing, a binding document that encourages as well as enforces certain standards and changes for the good of the planet.

For this reason, NOAA or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gets two big thumbs up for recently banning the commercial harvesting of krill.  These small crustaceans are a vital food source in the marine food web and only recently came under fishery pressure.  As Mark Helvey, a regional administrator for NOAA sustainable fisheries put it “Protecting this vital food source will help protect and maintain marine resources and put federal regulations in line with West-Coast states.”  Fishing for krill not only has implications in disrupting the marine food web, but threatens other marine creatures through destructive fishing practices that are similar to the fishery for shrimp (Check out www.shrimpsuck.org to find out more). Read more…