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.