Tag Archives: living

A Photographer’s Focus Shifts from Suffering to Serenity

by Myrna Posted on April 22, 2013

A photographer whose career has focused on suffering turns to serenity. Link: A Photographer’s Focus Shifts from Suffering to Serenity Related ArticlesAn Earth Day Thought: Litter MattersArctic Nations Seek Common Management of Fishing as Open Water SpreadsBasketball Giant Keeps Pressing China on Rhinos and Ivory

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A Photographer’s Focus Shifts from Suffering to Serenity

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You’re forking out $9,000 a year to own your car

by Myrna Posted on April 16, 2013

You’re forking out $9,000 a year to own your car

By Lisa Hymas

Forget, for a moment, the environmental costs of driving a car. The financial costs alone should be enough to shock you into walking, biking, busing, and sharing.

From USA Today:

The average owner of a sedan has to shell out nearly $10,000 a year to own and operate that car, according to auto club AAA.

A new AAA report shows, on average, the cost of driving 15,000 miles a year rose 1.17 cents to 60.8 cents per mile, or $9,122 per year. Overall, that’s a roughly 2% increase on the cost of operating a car last year.

And from CNN:

The costs vary a lot according to the type and size of vehicle, though. It costs about $7,000 a year to own a small car in the United States but about $11,600 to own a four-wheel-drive SUV, according to AAA.

The study factored in costs such as fuel, maintenance, insurance, tires and depreciation.

As we pointed out a couple of years ago, owning a car is basically like having a second mortgage. OK, a second mortgage on a small house in a cheap area. But still!

Transit pass, anyone?

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This apartment building comes with its own algae-fueled power supply

by m4nhrt Posted on April 16, 2013

This apartment building comes with its own algae-fueled power supply

By John Upton

ArupThis building doesn’t just have green paint, it has green algae. 

When it comes to powering a home with energy from the sun, solar panels seem passé compared with the technology embedded in the façade of a new apartment building in Hamburg, Germany.

Green slime, not dissimilar to that which taints the Great Lakes and other nutrient-rich water bodies in the warmer months, grows in panels mounted along exterior walls of the Bio Intelligent Quotient (BIQ) House. The algae will be harvested to produce biofuel and help heat the 50 apartments inside.

From the website of the International Building Exhibition:

The sides of the building that face the sun have a second outer shell that is set into the façade itself. Microalgae — tiny plants, most no larger than bacteria — are produced within this shell. They enable the house to supply its own energy. The only thing that the algae have to do is simply to grow. They are continuously supplied with liquid nutrients and carbon dioxide via a separate water circuit running through the façade. With the aid of sunlight, the algae can photosynthesise and grow. This façade is the first of its kind in the world and makes use of the very latest energy and environmental technology. …

The algae flourish and multiply in a regular cycle until they can be harvested. They are then … transferred as a thick pulp to the technical room of the BIQ. The little plants are then fermented in an external biogas plant, so that they can be used again to generate biogas. Algae are particularly well suited for this, as they produce up to five times as much biomass per hectare as terrestrial plants and contain many oils that can be used for energy.

Design powerhouse Arup, the firm behind the building, is pretty proud of itself, suggesting that algae-coated buildings could become commonplace. From The Daily Mail:

Jan Wurm, Arup’s Europe Research Leader, said: ‘Using bio-chemical processes in the facade of a building to create shade and energy is a really innovative concept.

‘It might well become a sustainable solution for energy production in urban areas, so it is great to see it being tested in a real-life scenario.’

The news comes after Arup announced their vision for the future of skyscrapers which suggested that buildings would be ‘living’ buildings powered by algae that respond automatically to the weather and the changing needs of inhabitants.

The $6.6 million BIQ building will be ceremonially switched on next week. And if the façade fails to live up to its clean energy–producing promise, the building will still draw energy from the sun in a more conventional manner: old-fashioned solar panels on the roof.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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This apartment building comes with its own algae-fueled power supply

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Climate changes for wine regions could mean hangovers for wildlife

by Burt Bollman Posted on April 8, 2013

Climate changes for wine regions could mean hangovers for wildlife

By Susie Cagle

Wine grapes are about as sensitive as your head the morning after you’ve tied one on with a bottle of Bordeaux: They need just the right climate to thrive. And that climate, of course, is changing.

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences predicts the rapid decline of wine-growing regions from California to Australia — quite the headache for the $290 billion a year global wine industry.

The Guardian reports:

Researchers predict a two-thirds fall in production in the world’s premier wine regions because of climate change. …

The scientists used 17 different climate models to gauge the effects on nine major wine-producing areas. They used two different climate futures for 2050, one assuming a worst-case scenario with a 4.7C (8.5F) warming, the other a 2.5C increase.

Both forecast a radical re-ordering of the wine world. The most drastic decline was expected in Europe, where the scientists found a 85% decrease in production in Bordeaux, Rhone and Tuscany.

The future was also bleak for wine growing areas of Australia, with a 74% drop, and California, with a 70% fall

Wine growers in the Cape area of South Africa would also be hit hard, with a 55% decline. Chile’s wine producers would expect losses of about 40%, the study found.

But it’s not like we’re gonna give up the stuff, of course. Winegrowers are expected to turn to heavier irrigation to keep their vineyards producing for now. And ultimately some will start looking to move to higher, cooler ground — with potentially grave impacts for the animals and plants that already live there.

“One of the adaptation strategies for grape growers will be to move into areas that have a suitable climate,” Rebecca Shaw, a scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund and an author of the paper, told The New York Times. “This adaptation has the potential to threaten the survival of wildlife.”

A warmer world could open up grape-friendly growing regions right in the middle of critical wildlife areas: the Yellowstone-to-Yukon migratory corridor near the U.S.-Canada border, and endangered giant panda habitat in China. Pandas especially have good reason these days for wanting to drink their problems away, but let’s not push the bottle on them, folks.

Wine lovers, drink up while you’re still able, but you might also want to develop a taste for beer sold in reusable growlers.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Climate changes for wine regions could mean hangovers for wildlife

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American kids still pretty lead-poisoned

by Aaron Dempsey Posted on April 5, 2013

American kids still pretty lead-poisoned

By Susie Cagle

stevendepolo

Lead-free gasoline: It’s pretty great, as far as gasoline-without-extra-toxins goes. But even though we’ve made great strides in reducing lead pollution over the last few decades, America’s still full of the stuff.

More than half a million American children under 5, or 1 in 38 young kids, have low-grade lead poisoning, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The surveys from 2007 to 2010 showed an 8.6 percent decrease in childhood lead poisoning compared to 1999-2002.

Until last year, the CDC only tracked people with 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, considered the threshold for lead poisoning by the CDC, World Heath Organization, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. But five micrograms per deciliter is considered enough to potentially cause damage.

Those approximately 535,000 kids aren’t really a representative sample of American youth, though.

“Persistent differences between the mean [blood lead levels] of different racial/ethnic and income groups can be traced to differences in housing quality, environmental conditions, nutrition, and other factors,” the CDC said in a statement. In other words: This is way worse for poor kids of color who live in our urban sacrifice zones.

From the Associated Press:

Often, children who get lead poisoning live in old homes that are dilapidated or under renovation. They pick up paint chips or dust and put it in their mouth. Children have also picked up lead poisoning from soil contaminated by old leaded gasoline, from dust tracked in from industrial worksites, from tainted drinking water, and other sources.

Some have linked a reduction in environmental lead exposure to a reduction in violent crime nationwide over the last few decades. Regardless, I think we can all agree that we’d prefer lead-free kids. The CDC suggests that children can counteract high blood lead levels by increasing their iron and calcium intake. But wouldn’t a strong lead abatement effort  be even more effective?

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Americans want more renewable energy and more climate-change prep

by RubinkJoseph Posted on April 2, 2013

Americans want more renewable energy and more climate-change prep

By John Upton

Shutterstock

/ Gencho PetkovSeeing the light.

This is how the typical American thinks in 2013, according to a couple of new polls: “More solar power, please. No more nuclear, thanks though. And let’s get ready for this crazy climate-change thing.”

A Gallup poll of 1,022 people revealed that a whopping 76 percent of Americans think the U.S. should put more emphasis on developing solar power. Even Republicans are into it, with 68 percent of them calling for more solar. Wind is also popular. So too is natural gas, supported by about two-thirds of Americans. Support for oil and coal is split along party lines, with most Republicans favoring efforts to dig up and burn more of the dirty fuels and most Democrats opposing them. Nuclear, meanwhile, is not particularly popular with either party.

Gallup

Click to embiggen

The surging popularity of renewable energy coincides with a growing and overdue awareness of the hazards associated with climate change. We reported recently on an uptick in the number of Americans who now grasp that humans are affecting the weather.

And now a poll of 1,174 Americans by Stanford University reveals that most people want the nation to prepare for rising seas and intense storms (though they’re not too keen on having the government pay for it).

From Stanford:

A new survey commissioned by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center for Ocean Solutions finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans want to prepare in order to minimize the damage likely to be caused by global warming-induced sea-level rise and storms.

A majority also wants people whose properties and businesses are located in hazard areas to foot the bill for this preparation, not the government. Eighty-two percent of the Americans surveyed said that people and organizations should prepare for the damage likely to be caused by sea-level rise and storms, rather than simply deal with the damage after it happens.

Among the most popular policy solutions identified in the survey are stronger building codes for new structures along the coast to minimize damage (favored by 62 percent) and preventing new buildings from being built near the coast (supported by 51 percent).

“People support preventive action,” said survey director Jon Krosnick, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and professor of communication, “and few people believe these preparations will harm the economy or eliminate jobs. In fact, more people believe that preparation efforts will help the economy and create jobs around the U.S., in their state and in their town than think these efforts will harm the economy and result in fewer jobs in those areas. But people want coastal homeowners and businesses that locate in high-risk areas to pay for these measures.”

Now those are some polls we’d like politicians to pay attention to.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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blogs about ecology

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Americans want more renewable energy and more climate-change prep

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Sandy refugees set to be booted from NYC hotels

by OfeliawWeeks Posted on April 1, 2013

Sandy refugees set to be booted from NYC hotels

By Susie Cagle

Coming up on the six-month anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, New York City is ready to move on. But more than 2,000 Sandy refugees still living in the city’s hotels are not — since they’re, you know, homeless.

John de Guzman

This is no longer a housing option — and soon a hotel might not be either.

According to the city’s Department of Homeless Services, upwards of 900 displaced families are living in more than 45 different hotels throughout the five boroughs. Since last October, more than 3,000 storm-swept families have spent one or more nights in a hotel through a city program, which is slated to end on April 30. A separate FEMA program does not yet have an end date.

“We’re trying to get people focused on the future,” Homeless Services commissioner Seth Diamond told The Wall Street Journal. That would be a future in which they might not have anywhere to live, apparently. Diamond said the city would be placing some people in public housing units, while others might receive federal Section 8 vouchers. Everyone else would apparently be on their own, with some potentially having to leave the city altogether.

From The New York Times:

Some housing experts and elected officials said the city’s reliance on hotels underscored how federal and local disaster planning had to be revised to include more emergency rental assistance.

“Why are we spending money on hotels instead of helping families pay the rent?” asked Rosanne Haggerty, president of Community Solutions, a nonprofit organization in New York that works to end homelessness. She added, “For a fraction of the cost, families could be in a stable situation and getting a running start in putting their lives together.”

The damage from Hurricane Sandy revealed how many residents of coastal areas in New York, especially in Brooklyn and Queens, were renters with low incomes.

Of more than half a million households across New York and New Jersey that registered for assistance from FEMA by February, 43 percent made less than $30,000 a year, according to studies by Enterprise Community Partners and the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University.

Some of those who have still not found permanent housing had been living in illegal basement apartments and in other living arrangements without leases or other documents needed for apartment hunting or immediate federal rental assistance. A small group, about 2 percent, are illegal immigrants and another small group has not cooperated in efforts to place them. …

But mostly, they are poor.

FEMA is spending an average of $252 per night per family for the hotel rooms — which is still a far cry from the kind of scratch you’d need to buy those beachfront homes in the bargain-flooded, basement-priced Rockaways.

Susie Cagle writes and draws news for Grist. She also writes and draws tweets for

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Sandy refugees set to be booted from NYC hotels

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Dogs, Nets and Poverty – a Tough Combination

by Myrna Posted on March 30, 2013

An effort to rescue two puppies determined to be ensnared in fish nets has a surprising end. Original article –  Dogs, Nets and Poverty – a Tough Combination Related Articles55 percent of U.S. rivers and streams are in poor condition, says EPAGlobal Study of Monsoons Finds Ocean Variations Have Driven Recent ShiftsThe best ocean ads you’ll ever see

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Dogs, Nets and Poverty – a Tough Combination

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Subaru finally introduces a hybrid; crunchy yuppies rejoice

by John Basset Posted on March 29, 2013

Subaru finally introduces a hybrid; crunchy yuppies rejoice

By Lisa Hymas

Subaru

These crunchy yuppies sure look happy with their Crosstrek Hybrid.

Just 16 years after Toyota first started selling the Prius, Subaru has unveiled its own hybrid.

AP reports:

Subaru is coming out with a gas-electric hybrid crossover SUV for the crunchy-granola crowd that wants to save fuel but still haul kayaks to the river.

The Japanese brand, which specializes in all-wheel-drive vehicles, unveiled the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid on Thursday at the New York International Auto Show.

The company’s first gas-electric hybrid gets somewhat better gas mileage than the conventional Crosstrek and has stop-start technology that shuts down the engine at red lights to save fuel. It has all wheel drive and the same 8.7-inch ground clearance so it can go on trails. …

Subaru expects 28 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. That’s 3 mpg better in the city than the gas version with an automatic transmission, but only 1 mpg better on the highway.

Prices will be announced closer to the car’s arrival at dealerships this fall.

Wired reports that the Crosstrek Hybrid “stands to be the most fuel-efficient, low-emission, all-wheel-drive hybrid crossover in the United States.”

Therefore: “Urban hipsters and Portlanders, rejoice.”

Lisa Hymas is senior editor at Grist. You can follow her on

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Climate change is killing the corn cob pipe

by Cynthia Perez Posted on March 26, 2013

Climate change is killing the corn cob pipe

By Susie Cagle

Add another item to the list of things climate change will kill! But this one makes me a little gleeful.

NPR reports that “corn cob pipes have made a comeback in recent years” (which, what?), but now higher temperatures and drought are severely cutting into the supply of this “natural product.”

ilmo joe

The country’s one last mass producer of the pipes, Missouri Meerschaum Company, is suffering from a serious lack of decent corn cobs to fashion into $10 cancer-depositing machines for your lungs.

It’s probably fitting that drought could kill the corn cob pipe, though — after all, it’s also taking out tobacco crops (with a little help from hurricanes). Uh, thanks, climate change?

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