Times Square Ball Goes Green

The Times Square New Year's Eve ball is celebrating its centennial by going green. The new 6ft ball, weighing about 1,100lbs, is covered with 9,576 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that use the same amount of electricity as 10 toasters. Check out the full BBC article about it.

Fuel Efficiency

Lately there's been a lot in the news about fuel efficiency. About a week ago (on Wednesday, Dec. 19th) Bush signed an energy bill that, among other things, increases fuel efficiency for cars, SUVs, and small trucks to 35 mpg by 2020 (today's standard is 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 for trucks and SUVs). The bill also "requires refineries to increase the use of ethanol from about 6 billion gallons a year this year to 36 billion gallons by 2022 and mandates that by then at least 21 billion gallons are to come from feedstocks other than corn" (that's from the NYT article). That sounds pretty awesome to me--I'm pretty much of the mindset that diversification of fuels is the way to go.

So basically it was a good Wednesday...except that on that same Wednesday the EPA denied California and a bunch of other states (including Connecticut) the right to set their own emissions standards (see another NYT article). EPA Administrator Johnson justified the denial by saying "'The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution, not a confusing patchwork of state rules,' he said. 'I believe this is a better approach than if individual states were to act alone.'" In short, a bunch of people were kinda pissed about that (if you are, too, click here to send an email to Johnson).

I guess it's sortof interesting that on the one hand, it's great that legislation that increases fuel standards passed...but on the other hand the passage of that bill is being used to justify denial of individual states' efforts (which would end up increasing fuel standards more than the national bill does). Hmm...

In any case, on the topic of fuel efficiency, over Christmas my brother showed me a really cool article about this crazy amazing mechanic from Kansas named Jonathan Goodwin. Apparently, he's some kind of car genius who modifies cars and trucks such that they become ridiculously fuel efficient. He added a jet engine to a Hummer so that it gets 60 miles to the gallon and 600 horsepower (I think Hummers usually get 9 miles to the gallon). It's "like a Prius on steroids." Anyway, if there's one link you click in this post make it this one...it's sortof a long story but definitely worth it.

Vampire Energy Chart

If you're still left on campus, don't forget to unplug all of your stuff that you won't be using for the next month! If you are wondering why, check on this chart on vampire energy (energy used while your laptop/speakers/appliances are turned off but plugged in).

Click here for the chart.

via GOODMAGAZINE

"Stuff-free" gifts

About a month ago, Grist posted "10 great ideas for 'stuff-free' holiday gifts." Maybe I should look into some of these, since I definitely haven't actually started my holiday shopping. Oops.

Recycling NEWSFLASH!

You can recycle the tops of the Summerfields/Usdan to-go containers. They're labeled with plastic code #1 (the bottoms are labeled with #5, which means we can't recycle them). For more about plastic codes, see this ancient post.

PLANET EARTH!

Yes, it's happening. We'll be showing Planet-effing-Earth tomorrow (Wednesday) evening in Shanklin 107. Two episodes will be screened at 8 and at 9. Come to one or both! Seriously, this is going to be amazing. Planet Earth on a relatively big screen?! Yes, that qualifies as amazing in my proverbial book. If you've ever wanted to be in EON, if you're signed up for the listserv but don't go to meetings, if you want to be in EON for one night and one night only, THIS is the EON meeting to go to. Check this out for more about Planet Earth.

What: PLANET EARTH SCREENING!
Where: Shanklin 107
When: Wednesday, 12/12 at 8 and 9 pm

If It’s Fresh and Local, Is It Always Greener?

Here's a provocative New York Times article about the idea of local food and carbon footprints. Is it always better for the environment to buy food that was produced nearby, or are there other factors that you should consider first? This is just another example of how all these issues are much more complex than they may seem, and it takes a dedicated and educated person to make the right decisions regarding the environment.

The Story of Stuff

Check out this video, The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard. It's all about the reality of consumerism in the United States and its clash with sustainability.

Channukah and Global Warming

"In a campaign that has spread like wildfire across the Internet, a group of Israeli environmentalists is encouraging Jews around the world to light at least one less candle this Hanukka to help the environment.

The founders of the Green Hanukkia campaign found that every candle that burns completely produces 15 grams of carbon dioxide. If an estimated one million Israeli households light for eight days, they said, it would do significant damage to the atmosphere."

Read the rest of the article.

This brings up a really interesting issue I've been thinking about recently: how much do we change for the sake of curbing global warming? I tend to get really "all or nothing" about it in my own life (which has been a cause for some anxiety). I'm of the mindset that in order to deal with global warming, we have to make real lifestyle changes and not just try to fit sustainability into the existing framework of our lives, since there are fundamental things about the way we live that are just not sustainable. For example, I'm thinking about the need to have food or whatever "to go"--one solution would be to make to go containers out of more recyclable materials, and the other (better, in my opinon) solution would be to encourage people to sit down and eat and take food to go only if they absolutely, last resort have to. Instead of treating the issue superficially, we should get down to the underlying habits and practices--the real source of the problem.

Anyway, that turned into a rant. Basically, as much as I believe in what I just wrote, I feel like there might be areas it'd be weird to mess with (like religious practices). I think I would totally light one less candle this year (if I were actually good about practicing Judaism), but I can understand why there's heated (ha...ha..) opposition to it. What do you think?

Also, in case you're interested in more about "green Judaism" (I just made that up), check out the Green Menorah Covenant.

Particularly relevant green gifts

The particularly relevant part is kindof a joke...but maybe not. Anyway, I subscribe to this daily tip thing from Ideal Bite (tagline: "a sassier shade of green"). It's green gifts week, and I couldn't resist sharing this one:


Gifts for Hipsters: What do you get for the person who is cooler than you could possibly hope to be?

The Bite
That they'll actually like, we mean. Finding gifts for hipsters can be harder than scoring tix to an M.I.A. concert (translation: "near impossible"), but we tracked down a few gifts that should garner more than that trademark blank stare from hipper-than-thou friends.

The Benefits

• Cool gifts (and not just in a metaironic sense). Help your friends keep their place at the very top of the [enter Lower East Side or other hipster 'hood here] scene.
• Fewer pesticides. Choose gifts with sustainable materials, like organic cotton (1/3 of the world's pesticides are used for the production of regular cotton).
• Smaller landfills. Some companies incorporate reused materials, such as recycled leather. People with fixed-gear bikes love that stuff.

Personally Speaking
Toshio has dreams about moving to Echo Park, getting an asymmetrical haircut, and listening to Grizzly Bear B-sides on vinyl for hours on end. Then he wakes up and realizes that he can't afford the right jeans.

Wanna Try?
Okay, usually they have a list of products/services in this section, but the funny part about the tip was the fact that it's a tip entitled "Hipster Gifts."

Here are my favorite parts:
BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters (people who use the website...yeah, I know) gift an organic T-shirt instead of a nonorganic one, we'll avert the weight of 22 hipsters in pesticides.

COCKTAIL FACT
In 2003, the NY Times reported that Pabst Blue Ribbon was the fastest-growing domestic beer brand due to its adoption by the hipster community. (I'm not gonna lie, I've never really thought of PBR as a "hipster drink...")


Here is the tip in its full glory (including the gift recommendations)

Green things to do at Wes this week:

Dirt Lecture--CANCELLED
Paolo Speirn '10 writes to let you know that Professor Lori Gruen is giving a talk and leading a discussion about the history and ethics of Environmental Justice. This should be a great look at integrating environmentalism with social justice.
Unfortunately, Lori Gruen's voice has gone out, so she will not be speaking on Wednesday night at Earth House as planned. We'll have to wait until next semester.

What: "Building Alliances for Environmental Justice," a talk with Lori
Gruen. (Courtsey of The Dirt lecture series)
When: Wednesday, December 5th at 8:00 pm
Where: Earth House (pink house on the corner of lawn and high st.)

Another Dirt Lecture

English Professor William Stowe is going to talk the natural world as it relates to the relatively new concept of vacation. "This has both good and bad effects for the natural world," he writes, "turning it into a commodity and at the same time something to be treasured and protected."

As our last Dirt lecture (for this semester) there will be food from Typhoon.

What: Professor William Stowe, "Nature: Treasure and Commodity"
When: Thursday, December 6th at 6:00 pm
Where: Earth House (pink house, corner of lawn and high street)
Food: Dinner from Typhoon will be provided.

First Friday
How does climate change affect us?
What is Middletown doing to address it?
A conversation with Bob Wall (Wes alum), Director of the CT Clean Energy Fund

What: Climate Change: Personal and Community Solutions
When: Friday, December 7th @ 4:30pm
Where: CCP (Center for Community Partnerships), 167 High Street

First Friday is a series sponsored by the Center for Community
Partnerships and is dedicated to building community amongst those
interested in service, activism and social change.

Green Computing

About a month ago, we posted about how ITS posted about green computing in their Technology of the Month blog (sorry, I really enjoy referencing earlier posts). Anyway, now there's a whole blog about!

Middletown Transportation Alternatives General Meeting

Interested in the politics of transportation, walking/cycling/public transportation, and encouraging Wesleyan and Middletown to have better and more sustainable transportation policies? If so, this is the meeting for you. The list of topics to be discussed includes Wesleyan's parking policy and Feet to the Fire events. All welcome! You can bring a snack if you want. For more info about Transportation Alternatives Middletown, clicky!

What: Middletown Transportation Alternatives Meeting
When: Monday, Dec. 3rd, 6:30-8 pm
Where: Russell Library, in the Hubbard Room

Carbon Credit (Card)

Ted sent us this awesome thing about a credit card that generates carbon offsets:

A couple of recent Middlebury grads have started a company, Brighter Planet, and signed a deal with Bank of America to create just such a card. Essentially, each dollar spent with the card earns a "point" towards various renewable energy projects, and they calculate that 1000 points will offset approximately one ton of carbon dioxide.

I've been hearing about this from my uncle--a professor at Middlebury--for a couple of years. Apparently some of his students came up with the idea during their final project in one of his Environmental Economics classes. I won't try and condense all of the great information they have on their site (how to reduce individual carbon output, what projects they're investing in, current climate change news) into this paragraph, but I urge you to check it out! These guys definitely know what they're doing.

Click here for the Press Release!