The ultra luminous X-rays lasted about 10 days in the aptly named Fireworks galaxy
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Astronomers Puzzle Over Short-Lived Glowing Green Light Bursts
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Planet-friendly products are getting easier to find, but they’re still too expensive for most people to buy.
If you can’t afford fair trade coffee, organic cotton towels, and reclaimed wood tables, environmentalism can seem like a cause you can’t join. It’s good to shop your values, but the truth is, you can’t shop your way to sustainability. If you’re too broke to shop green, there’s a pretty good chance that you are already living that way.
Housing ties with transportation as Americans’ biggest direct carbon impacts, making fantasies of off-grid homesteading or net-zero efficiency hard to resist. At least, they would be if they weren’t so expensive.
As inspiring as these sorts of homes are, it takes 15 to 20 years for a net-zero house to offset the carbon emissions from its own construction. Which means that energy retrofits to an old house are not only much cheaper than moving to a new one, they are just as green.
Density, meaning both the size of your home or the number of people you squeeze into it, lowers per capita emissions more than almost any other housing change. Besides reduced per capita energy consumption, the benefits cascade into reduced transportation emissions and consumer waste.
In fact, the U.S. could achieve half of its climate targets if everyone got a roommate.
Feel guilty because you can’t afford a Prius? Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s true that about 80 percent of a vehicle’s emissions result from driving it rather than manufacturing it. But the exact math on whether it’s greener to buy an efficient new car is not clear cut.
Replacing your 1970s Buick that gets 8 mpg with a 1990s Honda might be greener than buying a new electric vehicle (unless it’s a recycled EV). Next time your old car is in the shop, you can feel extra virtuous.
Walking, biking, and taking public transportation are all greener than driving, no matter what kind of car you own.
Four-fifths of the impacts that can be attributed to consumers are not direct impacts, but are secondary impacts, the environmental effects of producing the stuff we buy.
If your tight budget has you thinking twice before you head to the register, you are eliminating waste before it’s produced. That’s called precycling, and it’s the greenest consumer choice you can make.
When you really do need to buy stuff, a new organic cotton T-shirt is undoubtedly better than a new one made from conventional cotton. But life cycle analysis shows that by far the most important factor is the number of times consumers wear a garment before throwing it out. Buying second-hand is almost as good as not buying at all, because it extends the life of the product.
Forget fancy dinners at the latest organic, locavore restaurant. Even fast food is more expensive than cooking at home.
What you might not know is that cooking at home produces fewer greenhouse gases than eating the same meal at a restaurant. Plus, you have more influence over your own ingredient choices and food waste at home. Suddenly, making beans and rice starts to look like environmental activism.
Feature image courtesy of 1820796 from Pixabay
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Applicants will need to be comfortable with rappelling down the battlements of a historic castle
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Calling All Green Thumbs! A Legendary British Island Is Looking to Hire a Resident Gardener
In 1900, magician, astronomer and filmmaker Nevil Maskelyne used a special adapter to film the astronomical event in North Carolina
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The Oldest Film of a Solar Eclipse Has Been Restored and Released Online
Intriguingly, the call is very similar to the one produced by East African vervet monkeys, suggesting that these responses are evolutionarily hard-wired
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Green Monkeys Borrow Their Cousins’ Eagle Warning Call When Drones Are Near
Our planet is a mess.?Fish are?disappearing from our oceans. Global warming is on the rise. A million species are on the brink of extinction. Plastic pollution is out of control. Predictions for the future are even more alarming.
In the face of such overwhelming challenges, it can sometimes feel like the only answer is to build an off-the-grid cob house and grow your own food. But while that?might sound like an idyllic lifestyle, it’s not a feasible solution for most people.
The majority of us?have lives in the city that we either can’t leave behind or simply don’t want to. It’s where we earn a living, raise our families and caffeinate ourselves.
We might not want to live elsewhere, but at the same time we’re also acutely aware that our urbanite carbon footprint dwarfs that of our yurt-dwelling counterparts.
Humans tend to be an all or nothing lot. We either deny the evidence in front of us or we try to do everything in our power to make a difference. As a Care2 reader, you obviously fall into the second category. Me too.
Unfortunately, doing everything isn’t an option. Finding balance as an eco-conscious urbanite?is key. It’s about doing your best, rather than striving for perfection. How do you do that?
My wife and I have been eating a vegan diet for almost eight years now. Not harming animals is our number one priority. We might compromise in other areas, but not this one.
What’s most important for you? It could be living a zero-waste lifestyle, eating locally grown, organic food or whatever.
Identify something you can do unfailingly. Knowing you’re doing one thing perfectly (or close to) will help you feel better about the fact that you can’t do everything.
With some things, you have to take a hard line no matter what. They’re the kinds of issues that you can’t compromise on.
You might eat meat, eggs and dairy, but that doesn’t mean you have to support factory farming.
You might enjoy pampering yourself, but that doesn’t mean you have to use products that have been tested on animals.
You might like wearing nice clothes, but that doesn’t mean you have to contribute to?the fast fashion industry.
There’s always a sustainable alternative. It might not be as readily available, and it could cost more, but it’s better than indulging your desires at the expense of another living being.
Living plastic-free is an ongoing mission in our house. We’re nowhere near where we’d like to be, but we’re doing our best.
Recently, we discovered that a local plant-based food brand?supports Sea Shepherd, a?non-profit, marine conservation organization fighting to protect our oceans.
We’ve always loved Fry’s Foods but stopped buying it because of the packaging. When we heard about their efforts to make a difference, we decided a compromise was in order. Rather than just toss the packaging in the trash, we’ll be making eco-bricks with our non-recyclables.
I’ve always believed it’s important to support businesses that are making an effort to be eco-conscious. It’s not always easy, as they have investors to placate and staff to pay. In spite of this, they still try.
A powerful way to?protest the things we don’t like (factory farming, manufacturing of single-use plastic, etc.) is with our pockets. We need to support the businesses that are?making a difference?and ignore the ones that are contributing to the problem.
As eco-conscious urbanites, our approaches will differ from person to person. What holds true for all of us, however, is our belief that we can leave the world a better place.
Focus on the things you can do and don’t worry so much about the rest. That may be easier said than done when you’re?constantly being bombarded with bad news, but it’s important to try. Instead of getting down about the way things are, go out there and make a difference in whatever way you can. It’s also helpful to go on a news fast every now and then.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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May is National Bike Month. What better time to dust off your trusty bicycle and get some fresh air. Why? Because it’s fun, healthy and way better than driving.
Established in 1956, National Bike Month is an opportunity to pay homage to something that makes us all feel like a kid again: the humble push bike.
If you’re like most folks, the only thing you have to lose are the extra pounds you accumulated this past winter. Besides, with all the ways cycling trumps driving, why wouldn’t you want to trade in your sedan for a shiny new bicycle?
Traffic. If you drive a car and have a job, there’s no avoiding it. When you cycle to work you get to enjoy the fresh air and scenery while whizzing past the people sitting in the cars. People assume driving is faster, but think about it: when last did you see a gridlock in the bike lane?
Between gas, parking, maintenance, toll fees, etc., car ownership is a costly business. When you ride a bike you have to pay for the bike, that’s it. Sure, it will require the occasional service or some new brake pads every now and then, but it’s nothing compared to what you have to shell out for a car.
In a car, you’re ensconced in your metal bubble. You might listen to the radio or a podcast, but aside from that you’re not really engaging in anything but the task at hand. (Which is a good thing, don’t get me wrong.)
On a bicycle, there’s more of an opportunity to smile, say hi and maybe even enjoy a brief chat with a fellow cyclist or pedestrian.?Even if you drive with your window down, you’re not going to start a conversation with the person in the next lane. That would just be weird.
Cars have a big impact on the environment. Bicycles, on the other hand, could help save the planet. That’s what the IPCC claims in their report on the impact of global warming, anyway.
A smaller carbon footprint is only part of it. According to Viewchange.org, “A simple bicycle can mean transportation, employment, even access to education and healthcare.”
This one’s a no-brainer. Whether or not sitting is the new smoking, we know it’s not good to sit for extended periods of time. Using a standing desk is a great idea. You know what’s even better? Riding your bike to work.
Cycling brings with it numerous health benefits. It promotes weight loss, improves your mental wellbeing, builds muscles, helps you sleep better and?makes you happier.
Riding a bike also?increases longevity. Maybe not as much as racquet sports, like tennis and baddington, but enough to make a difference.
Celebrating National Bike Month could be as simple as riding your bike. If you’re in the mood, why not rally your workmates and take part in National Bike to Work Week (May 13-19) as a team?
If the whole week is a stretch, you could always take part in Bike to Work Day, which takes place on Friday, May 17. There’s also the option to plan your own event with your friends or local bike club.
Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in one of America’s bike-friendly cities. Fortunately, there are?a number of?things you can do to build a bike-friendly community in your own neighborhood.
The first step is to do a?quick assessment to see what’s preventing people from cycling (or cycling more) in your community. The Bicycle Friendly America program will then provide you with customized feedback to help you move forward.
We spend so much time sitting in our cars that we’ve forgotten there are other ways to get around. Why not make May the month you drive less and peddle more?
In case you’re wondering, you’re never too old to get back on your bike. This 105-year-old man recently broke the cycling hour record for centurions.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Renewable energy outworked coal in April—and will likely do the same in May—though the trend likely won’t last once air-conditioners switch on
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For the First Time, Green Power Tops Coal Industry in Energy Production in April
Surveys show the species increasing 8 percent near Hawaii and 4 percent elsewhere, though hawksbill turtles aren’t faring as well
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Green Sea Turtles Are Bouncing Back Around U.S. Pacific Islands
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