Tag Archives: organization

Square Feet: Worker Bees on a Rooftop, Ignoring Urban Pleasures

by Stacey Kawano Posted on August 6, 2013

green4us

Dogtripping – David Rosenfelt

David Rosenfelt’s Dogtripping is moving and funny account of a cross-country move from California to Maine, and the beginnings of a dog rescue foundation When mystery writer David Rosenfelt and his family moved from Southern California to Maine, he thought he had prepared for everything. They had mapped the route, brought three […]

iTunes Store
Merle’s Door – Ted Kerasote

Now including a wonderful new photo insert chronicling Merle’s life, this national bestseller explores the relationship between humans and dogs. How would dogs live if they were free? Would they stay with their human friends? Merle and Ted found each other in the Utah desert— Merle was living wild and Ted was looking for a pup to keep him company. As their b […]

iTunes Store
Warhammer Battlefields: Border Wars – Games Workshop

Races clash endlessly across the battlefields of the Warhammer world, fighting bloody skirmishes to expand their domains and repel invaders. Border Wars is a two player Warhammer campaign that can be set anywhere in the war-torn Warhammer World. It allows players to use any armies they choose in a series of linked battles, charting a bitter war between rival […]

iTunes Store
Colter – Rick Bass

COLTER pairs one of America’s most treasured writers with our most treasured “best friend.” Colter, a German shorthair pup, was the runt of the litter, and Rick Bass took him only because nobody else would. Soon, though, Colter surprised his new owner, first with his raging genius, then with his innocent ability to lead Bass to new territory a […]

iTunes Store
Warhammer: Lizardmen – Games Workshop

Long before the rise of the new races, the Lizardmen ruled supreme. Alien, enigmatic, and without mercy, the Lizardmen will stop at nothing to restore order to a chaotic world. It is what they were made to do. After long ages of fighting to preserve their ancient civilization, the Lizardmen now seek to conquer, fully enacting the unfinished plans of their lo […]

iTunes Store
How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Lizardmen – Games Workshop

Brightly coloured scales, tarnished golden weapons and yellowed claws are all distinctive visuals of the Lizardmen army. From the markings denoting specific spawnings to the icons of the ancient Slann cities, each Lizardmen force has a unique appearance. This product contains eleven painting guides for a wide variety of Lizardmen Citadel Miniatures, includin […]

iTunes Store
Warhammer 40,000: The Rules – Games Workshop

There is no time for peace. No respite. No forgiveness. There is only WAR. In the nightmare future of the 41st Millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of destruction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens and threatened from within by Warp-spawned entities and heretical plots. Only the strength of the immortal […]

iTunes Store
Warhammer Battlefields: Lustria – Games Workshop

The jungles of Lustria ring with the sound of battle as the Lizardmen march to war. This product details a two player Warhammer campaign set in the steamy wilds of Lustria, allowing you to battle against a friend across the tabletop. It also includes digital campaign tracker, so you can mark your progress toward victory.

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, “Yes, […]

iTunes Store
Index Astartes: Company Champions – Games Workshop

Honour bound to defend their Company Commander, the Company Champion seeks out powerful foes and answers challenges from enemy warlords. The Champion is always a great warrior, chosen from the most skilled veterans of the Company and is deadly in battle. About this Series: The Adeptus Astartes are genetically engineered warriors, created by the Emperor […]

iTunes Store

See the original article here:  

Square Feet: Worker Bees on a Rooftop, Ignoring Urban Pleasures

Posted in alo, ATTRA, Citadel, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LG, Monterey, ONA, Oster, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Square Feet: Worker Bees on a Rooftop, Ignoring Urban Pleasures

July 30: Try Out 1,000 Green Products for Free

by HarralGeidl697 Posted on July 30, 2013

This seven-piece vegan brush set from Christopher Drummond is one of the 1,000 products available for free on July 30. Image: Courtesy of John Paul Selects

On July 30, 1,000 sustainable and eco-friendly products will be given away free via JohnPaulSelects.com. The website, founded by Paul Mitchell Systems and Patron Spirits Co-Founder John Paul DeJoria, helps visitors identify and purchase sustainable products based on various attributes, such as the use of recycled materials, philanthropic benefits or animal-friendly ingredients or practices.

DeJoria decided to host the giveaway to celebrate his receipt of “The Visionary Award” from the Green Business Bureau (GBB) earlier this month.

“We wanted a way to commemorate our winning the award and to show appreciation to the community for supporting us. This also allows people to test out some products they might be interested in,” he said.

In a blog post, the GBB  stated that DeJoria received the award because he is considered “a perfect role model for our thousands of members who work hard every day to develop their companies and serve their communities.”

Products available via the giveaway range from vegan makeup brushes and rain boots to bamboo toothbrushes and nail polish and are available for free on a first-come, first-served basis.

John Paul Selects works to “to attract, inspire and educate the human spirit on behalf of the best emerging sustainable brands and eco-conscious entrepreneurs who are striving to make a difference, both socially and environmentally.” The website aims to make finding quality, eco-friendly products easier by vetting them in advance using six criteria and also excluding those that contain ingredients or use practices that do not meet the organization’s standards.

earth911

Continued:

July 30: Try Out 1,000 Green Products for Free

Posted in alo, Anker, ATTRA, bamboo, eco-friendly, FF, GE, ONA, organic, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on July 30: Try Out 1,000 Green Products for Free

Reach for the Sun

by Myrna Posted on July 24, 2013

Photosynthesis, in the form of biochar, may be one of our best defenses against climate change. @Doug88888/Flickr A gigantic, steaming-hot mound of compost is not the first place most people would search for a solution to climate change, but the hour is getting very late. “The world experienced unprecedented high-impact climate extremes during the 2001-2010 decade,” declares a new report from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization, which added that the decade was “the warmest since the start of modern measurements in 1850.” Among those extreme events: the European heat wave of 2003, which in a mere six weeks caused 71,449 excess deaths, according to a study sponsored by the European Union. In the United States alone, 2012 brought the hottest summer on record, the worst drought in 50 years and Hurricane Sandy. Besides the loss of life, climate-related disasters cost the United States some $140 billion in 2012, a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council concluded. We can expect to see more climate-related catastrophes soon. In May scientists announced that carbon dioxide had reached 400 parts per million in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, humanity is raising the level by about 2 parts per million a year by burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and other activities. To keep reading, click here. Continued – Reach for the Sun Related Articles Climate Change Slowdown is Due to Warming of Deep Oceans, Say Scientists The Alberta Oil Sands Have Been Leaking for 9 Weeks CIA Backs $630,000 Scientific Study on Controlling Global Climate

See original article:

Reach for the Sun

Posted in alo, ATTRA, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, PUR, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Reach for the Sun

Say bye-bye to cheap food

by Carson Silverman Posted on June 12, 2013

Say bye-bye to cheap food

By John Upton

Shutterstock

They won’t be $1 for long.

The days of agricultural plenty are over and it’s going to keep getting harder for everybody to afford enough food to eat.

That’s the somber conclusion of a new international report, which warns that low food prices “seem now a feature of a bygone era.” Blame climate change, degraded land, growing populations, and increasing energy costs.

“[W]ith energy prices high and rising and production growth declining across the board, strong demand for food, feed, fibre and industrial uses of agricultural products is leading to structurally higher prices and with significant upside price risks,” states the 10-year agricultural outlook [PDF] published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

From Think Progress:

The report notes that “increasing environmental pressures” — which include climate change-fueled storms, drought and flooding — will be one of the main factors slowing the growth of food production around the world. In China in particular — a country the report focused on, with a fifth of the world’s population and steadily rising income levels — water shortages will be one of the key problems facing food production as rainfall becomes more variable. And there will be other risks for China as well. As the report notes: “Food availability will be impacted by changes in temperature, water availability, extreme weather events, soil condition, and pest and disease patterns.”

But China’s not the only country that faces threats to food production from climate change. Last year, a report from Oxfam warned that extreme weather events would cause food prices around to world to soar in the coming decades. The report projected worldwide corn prices to spike by 500 percent by 2030, and that another U.S. drought in 2030 could raise America’s corn prices 140 percent on top of that.

And from Bloomberg:

Even as population growth slows in the next decade, the world will still have an additional 742 million people to feed by 2022, according to the report. …

Global yield growth for crops, particularly grains, has been slowing for at least two decades, partly due to reduced investment in crop research, according to the report. That trend is expected to continue in the next decade.

“Measures to reduce food loss and waste will be important in meeting rising demand and for increasing productivity,” the organizations wrote.

It’s almost enough to make you lose your appetite.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Climate & Energy

,

Food

,

Living

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Visit site:  

Say bye-bye to cheap food

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, organic, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Say bye-bye to cheap food

InsideClimate wins Pulitzer for reporting on tar-sands spill

by gjrrkjujp Posted on April 15, 2013

InsideClimate wins Pulitzer for reporting on tar-sands spill

By Lisa Hymas

Nonprofit news site InsideClimate has done killer work reporting on the dangers of tar-sands pipelines, work that’s gotten far too little recognition — until now. On Monday, three reporters at the organization were honored with a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on national affairs. The Pulitzer site notes that the prize was awarded to …

Lisa Song, Elizabeth McGowan and David Hasemyer of InsideClimate News, Brooklyn, N.Y., for their rigorous reports on flawed regulation of the nation’s oil pipelines, focusing on potential ecological dangers posed by diluted bitumen (or “dilbit”), a controversial form of oil.

More from InsideClimate:

The trio took top honors in the category for their work on “The Dilbit Disaster: Inside the Biggest Oil Spill You’ve Never Heard Of,” a project that began with a seven-month investigation into the million-gallon spill of Canadian tar sands oil into the Kalamazoo River in 2010. It broadened into an examination of national pipeline safety issues, and how unprepared the nation is for the impending flood of imports of a more corrosive and more dangerous form of oil.

Speaking of unprepared:

The recent ExxonMobil pipeline spill in Arkansas, which also involved heavy Canadian crude oil, underscores the continuing relevance of this ongoing body of work, as the White House struggles with reaching a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

You can read the prizewinning series on the InsideClimate site, or get it as an e-book, or read Grist’s handy summary. And then follow InsideClimate every day. They do nonprofit green news sites proud!

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

Twitter

and

Google+

.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Climate & Energy

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

From:

InsideClimate wins Pulitzer for reporting on tar-sands spill

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, InsideClimate News, ONA, PUR, solar, solar panels, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on InsideClimate wins Pulitzer for reporting on tar-sands spill

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

Twitter

.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Living

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Read original article: 

American kids still pretty lead-poisoned

Posted in ALPHA, Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on American kids still pretty lead-poisoned

U.S. lags woefully behind other rich countries on energy taxes

by NielPostma231 Posted on January 30, 2013

U.S. lags woefully behind other rich countries on energy taxes

By Philip Bump

Americans spent $16 billion last year bailing out farmers affected by the drought. Which might lead a sensible person to wonder whether farmers advocate policies meant to prevent future droughts, thereby potentially saving money — and their yields — over the long run.

The New York Times offers an answer:

To understand the complicated politics of climate change in the United States, you may want to talk to Pamela Johnson, president of the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Board. …

Ms. Johnson’s main concern, and that of most other growers in the association, is not about how to deal with a changing climate — how to slow the pace of warming and how to adapt to a warmer world with more erratic weather.

Rather, growers worry that political support for crop insurance might flag after a year in which taxpayers paid billions in subsidies to farmers while virtually everybody else faced deep budget cuts.

“We are Americans before we are farmers,” Ms. Johnson said. “We know we have budget problems.” Still, she added: “For our farmers, crop insurance is the main concern. It helps keep us in business.”

The Times article focuses on the failure of the U.S. to use energy-related taxes, like a carbon tax, to address climate change. While such a tax couldn’t “single-handedly” win the fight, as the article claims, it could certainly have an effect.

Among the 34 industrialized nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, these taxes average about $68.4 per metric ton of carbon dioxide. The United States, by contrast, has a gas tax to pay for highway improvement, and that’s about it. Total federal taxes on energy amount to $6.30 per ton.

Some states add excise taxes — California has a gas tax equivalent to about $46.50 per ton of carbon dioxide and a $2.33-per-ton tax on jet kerosene. But, according to a review by the O.E.C.D., the [U.S.] federal government is unique in imposing no taxes on other energy use, from residential heating to power generation. …

[A carbon tax] would raise lots of money. Estimates reviewed in a report by the Tax Policy Center ranged from 0.6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product — for a tax of $20 per ton of carbon dioxide — to 1.6 percent of G.D.P. for a tax of $41 per ton. Consider this: 1.6 percent of G.D.P. is $240 billion a year. And $41 per ton amounts to an extra 35 cents a gallon of gas.

It’s an interesting discussion, and the accompanying graph of carbon taxes in 34 countries provides context for America’s failure to act. (At least we’re doing better than Mexico!)

But it’s a futile point to make. First, as we’ve noted before, there is very, very little political will to enact a tax on carbon pollution. Despite optimism in some sectors — like in the office of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) — a tax on carbon wouldn’t get out of the Senate, much less the far-more-conservative House.

Politicians won’t act in part because of the second reason a carbon tax is doomed: It’s considered anathema to business growth. Take Pamela Johnson of the Corn Grower’s Association:

“Farmers would be deeply affected by an energy tax,” Ms. Johnson said.

As things stand for them, it is probably cheaper to deal with the occasional drought.

Cheaper for the farmers — if not for the Department of Agriculture, which finds its wallet $16 billion lighter.

Update: A just-released poll from Friends of the Earth suggests that voters strongly support a carbon tax when asked — even when hearing arguments against such a policy. I suspect that this doesn’t change the politics articulated above to any great degree.

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Climate & Energy

,

Food

,

Politics

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

View original article: 

U.S. lags woefully behind other rich countries on energy taxes

Posted in GE, LG, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on U.S. lags woefully behind other rich countries on energy taxes

European agency declares popular pesticide too dangerous for bees

by iscciaglewstrone123 Posted on January 17, 2013

European agency declares popular pesticide too dangerous for bees

By Susie Cagle

Are you sick of hearing about colony collapse? Hey, me too! But I’m guessing the bees are even more fed up at this point.

For the first time, Europe’s food safety agency this week officially labeled the world’s most popular insecticide, imidacloprid, as so dangerous as to be unacceptable for use on crops pollinated by bees, though the body lacks the power to ban the chemical. The report also called into question two other types of neonicotinoid pesticides. All three sound super-evil.

From The Guardian:

[Imidacloprid’s] manufacturer, Bayer, claimed the report, released on Wednesday, did not alter existing risk assessments and warned against “over-interpretation of the precautionary principle”.

The report comes just months after the UK government dismissed a fast-growing body of evidence of harm to bees as insufficient to justify banning the chemicals. …

Scientists at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), together with experts from across Europe, concluded on Wednesday that for imidacloprid “only uses on crops not attractive to honeybees were considered acceptable” because of exposure through nectar and pollen. Such crops include oil seed rape, corn and sunflowers. EFSA was asked to consider the acute and chronic effects on bee larvae, bee behaviour and the colony as a whole, and the risks posed by sub-lethal doses. But it found a widespread lack of information in many areas and had stated previously that current “simplistic” regulations contained “major weaknesses”.

Bayer and other chemical giants published their own report this week, claiming that banning neonicotinoids would cost farmers hundreds of millions. But neonicotinoid manufacturers will still have to give the European Commission a response to the EFSA report by the end of this month, and the Commission could actually possibly maybe ban the pesticides.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture have expressed concern over the chemicals in the past, but pretty much stopped there — at concern. And then approval. And then widespread spraying on just about everything we and the bees eat!

The EFSA isn’t a regulatory board, just an advisory one, so the E.U. doesn’t have to listen to its warnings. But bee health seems to be EFSA’s jam, and it’s not likely to back down. Last summer, the organization put together this video on all the threats to our tiny, stingy, pollinatey pals. It’s as cute as it is horrifying.

The more we learn about exactly what’s killing all the bees, the more the problem seems fixable, at least in theory. If the E.U. really goes to war with big chemical companies over tiny bees, it could be a game-changer. Meanwhile, the U.S. will be over here, still spraying with abandon.

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

Twitter

.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Food

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Read More:  

European agency declares popular pesticide too dangerous for bees

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on European agency declares popular pesticide too dangerous for bees

Climate negotiators are betting on improbably deep emissions cuts

by Myrna Posted on November 30, 2012

Climate negotiators are betting on improbably deep emissions cuts

By Philip Bump

It’s the strategy of every bad gambler: If you just keep betting more than you lost, you’ll eventually come out ahead. Lose $10, bet $20. Lose that, bet $30. In a rigged game, though, a game where the odds are tilted however slightly against you, eventually you’ll go broke, making one or two huge bets that don’t pay off.

Which is the situation the U.N. finds itself in during its current climate negotiations in Qatar. When it comes to the carbon dioxide levels we need to maintain in order to avoid catastrophic temperature rises of 2 degrees Celsius, we’re deep in debt, meaning that we’d need steeper and steeper bets in order to win.

From Reuters:

“The possibility of keeping warming to below 2 degrees has almost vanished,” Pep Canadell, head of the Global Carbon Project at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization, told Reuters. …

Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, have risen 50 percent since 1990 and the pace of growth has picked up since 2000, Canadell said. In the past decade, emissions have grown about 3 percent a year despite an economic slowdown, up from 1 percent during the 1990s.

Based on current emissions growth and rapid industrial expansion in developing nations, emissions are expected to keep growing by about 3 percent a year over the next decade.

For the talks to have any chance of success in the long run, emissions must quickly stop rising and then begin to fall. Temperatures have already risen by 0.8 C (1.4 F) since pre-industrial times.

If we can just slash emissions by 3 percent, by 5 percent, by whatever percent next year, we can avoid disaster. Avoid coming up broke.

The Washington Post‘s Brad Plumer makes the same point, using the graph below.

Climate Action Tracker

Click to embiggen.

The graph is from a report by Climate Action Tracker [PDF] that outlines the various mechanisms and strategies under which we could stay below the 2 degree Celsius mark. In other words: the bigger bets we need to make. Ignore the boxes in that graph. Focus on the lines. Steeper and steeper lines mean bigger and bigger bets.

My analogy breaks down in one way. If you’re sitting at a roulette table, trying to break even, to save your shirt, you actually make the bet. In the case of taking action to slow climate change, the world isn’t even in the game.

Source

Is there still time to avoid 2°C of global warming? Yes, but barely, Washington Post
As nations haggle, global carbon cut targets get impossibly deep, Reuters

Philip Bump writes about the news for Gristmill. He also uses Twitter a whole lot.

Read more:

Business & Technology

,

Climate & Energy

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Original article:  

Climate negotiators are betting on improbably deep emissions cuts

Posted in GE, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Climate negotiators are betting on improbably deep emissions cuts