IMEX - The Worldwide Exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. How to establish a Farm to School program. Two north Atlanta moms hit on a great idea while standing at a neighborhood school bus stop. While waiting for their children to come home from classes one afternoon last year, Elizabeth Davis and Angela Renals discovered they had several mutual interests: environmentalism, healthy eating and growing their own food. That’s when Davis suggested they attend an inaugural county-wide Farm to School meeting. Chesnut Charter Elementary School hasn’t been the same ever since. It’s been less than a year but Chesnut now has a Farm to School program that includes an organic vegetable garden, a start on a small orchard, visits from farmers and a monthly, locally grown fruit or vegetable day. The school also recently won a grant to help fund the program. Part of a trend Similar programs have been established at 9,807 schools in 2,305 school districts in all 50 states, according to the Farm to School network website.
Farm to School genesis Modifying children’s eating Pull the junk food Curriculum Cafeteria. California Water Wars: High Stakes Vote At Metropolitan Water District Of Southern California. SAN DIEGO — California's giant water wholesaler approved a smaller rate increase Tuesday than its staff proposed, but it wasn't low enough to satisfy officials who claim a "shadow government" has seized control of the agency and is targeting consumers in San Diego. The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California approved 5 percent annual rate increases for each of the next two years after a highly unusual attack by the San Diego County Water Authority, the largest of its 26 customers.
San Diego claims Metropolitan's rate structure is stacked against the nation's eighth-largest city and its suburbs. The allegation was the basis of a lawsuit it filed in 2010 in state court. San Diego wanted to limit annual rate increases to 3 percent. San Diego launched a website last month to lift what it describes as a veil of secrecy at Metropolitan, its largest supplier. Metropolitan has demanded San Diego remove Metropolitan's defaced seal from the new website, . Also on HuffPost: Emanuel: Citywide Recycling A Reality By 2013. Until Chicago has a city-wide recycling plan in place, lots of recyclable materials will end up here. Shortly after taking office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel promised to revamp Chicago's recycling system after more than a decade of failed attempts.
Last summer, Emanuel announced a plan to use both private contractors and city laborers to keep the cost down for residents. Thanks to competitive bidding, Emanuel said, the entire city can count on having curbside recycling by 2013. "Competitive bidding for recycling services has saved taxpayer money and increased efficiencies while maintaining quality service," Mayor Emanuel. "These savings and efficiencies will help to make citywide recycling in 2013 a reality and further Chicago's reputation as leader in sustainability efforts. No longer will Chicago be a tale of two cities when it comes to recycling. " The city's current curbside recycling program only covers 241,000 households, leaving 359,000 without any recycling pickup. Top 20 Oil-Producing Countries (PHOTOS)
Indian Man Single-Handedly Plants a 1,360 Acre Forest. A little more than 30 years ago, a teenager named Jadav "Molai" Payeng began burying seeds along a barren sandbar near his birthplace in northern India's Assam region to grow a refuge for wildlife. Not long after, he decided to dedicate his life to this endeavor, so he moved to the site so he could work full-time creating a lush new forest ecosystem. Incredibly, the spot today hosts a sprawling 1,360 acres of jungle that Payeng planted — single-handedly. The Times of India recently caught up with Payeng in his remote forest lodge to learn more about how he came to leave such an indelible mark on the landscape. It all started way back in 1979, when floods washed a large number of snakes ashore on the sandbar. "The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. While it's taken years for Payeng's remarkable dedication to planting to receive some well-deserved recognition internationally, it didn't take long for wildlife in the region to benefit from the manufactured forest.
Scientists Warn of Low-Dose Risks of Chemical Exposure. Since before the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring 50 years ago, scientists have known that certain synthetic chemicals can interfere with the hormones that regulate the body’s most vital systems. Evidence of the health impacts of so-called endocrine-disrupting chemicals grew from the 1960s to the 1990s. With the 1996 publication of Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and J. Peterson Myers, many people heard for the first time how such exposures — from industrial pollution, pesticides, and contact with finished consumer products, such as plastics — were affecting people and wildlife. Since then public concern about these impacts has grown. In 2009, the American Medical Association called for reduced exposure to endocrine- disrupting chemicals.
Last week, 12 scientists – including such experts as Colborn and the University of Missouri’s Frederick vom Saal — published a paper that they say significantly advances the debate. . © 2012 Yale Environment 360. For Pennsylvania's Doctors, a Gag Order on Fracking Chemicals. Who is the Route 29 Batman? This guy. - Rosenwald, Md. View Photo Gallery: Meet the Route 29 Batman. Police pulled a man over on Route 29 in Silver Spring last week because of a problem with his plates.
This would not ordinarily make international news, but the car was a black Lamborghini, the license plate was the Batman symbol, and the driver was Batman, dressed head-to-toe in full superhero regalia. It didn’t take long before images of the Dark Knight’s encounter with law enforcement began turning up in Facebook news feeds, on CNN and the London tabloids.
The episode even made it into Jimmy Fallon’s monologue on NBC earlier this week. Jokers emerged instantaneously too. “Let him do his job,” one commenter urged on the Post Web site. No, they did not. The Caped Crusader is a businessman from Baltimore County who visits sick children in hospitals, handing out Batman paraphernalia to up-and-coming superheros who first need to beat cancer and other wretched diseases. “I’m just doing it for the kids,” he says. “Batman,” he said. Lenny B. The Green Elite: The Top 10 States for Renewable Power - Jordan Weissmann - Business. Nationwide, renewable electricity makes up a tiny share of the economy. But one state generates a whopping 84 percent of its power from green sources. Solar panels in California. Reuters When you step back and look at the country as a whole, the United States only generates just small fraction of its electricity from renewable energy sources -- about 10.4 percent in 2010, according to the U.S.
Energy Information Administration. That's the entire contribution of hydro power, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and the other assorted green forms of energy that many hope our economy will transition to in the 21st century. That fraction is growing, but slowly. Sixteen states beat the national average of renewable electricity, and in the slideshow below, I've ranked the top ten, using the EIA's recently released data for 2010. There are a few clear regional patterns. So where does this all leave us? Govt uses special powers to slash cancer drug price by 97% - The Times of India. Paypal Does it Again. Plastic-eating fungi found in Amazon may solve landfill problems. How to reuse silica gel packets.
We find them everywhere, popping out of all sorts of packaging, lurking like an ugly bug in vitamin bottles and new shoes. Working freight at my store, I touch dozens of silica packets each day and often ask what I can do to recycle them. Couldn't we collect them and send them off to a manufacturer for reuse? Silica gel is a desiccant, a substance that absorbs moisture. Despite its misleading name, the silicate is actually a very porous mineral with a natural attraction to water molecules. Manufacturers utilize the gel to keep goods from spoiling, molding or degrading due to humidity. Although silica gel has massive potential for reuse, I haven't had any luck finding a recycler. Put packs in your ammo cans and gun cases/safes to keep dry.Protect personal papers and important documents by putting some gel in a baggie wherever these are stored.Keep with photos to spare them from humidity. And my personal favorite: Squirrel some away in your car, especially on your dashboard.
Preserve: Gimme 5. Finally, a simple and fun recycling solution for your yogurt cups, hummus tubs and other #5 plastic containers! If you’re serious about recycling, you know that more than a third of American communities don’t accept these common containers for recycling. And many communities that do accept #5 plastics are often forced (by economic necessity) into bundling them with other plastics; in this process, they’re combined (downcycled) to form a mixed plastic bale, which is of low value and is often shipped overseas to an unknown end of life. Preserve and our partners created the Gimme 5 program to offer a simple way to save these plastics and make sure they have the opportunity for renewal. We put extra time and effort into collecting and recycling #5 plastics to drive systemic change in the way consumer products are made, used and handled at the end of their lives. Ready to start recycling your #5 plastics? The smell of freshly-cut grass is actually a plant distress call.
Slow Shipping Sails Into Existence: Why Businesses Should Care. In this world of increasingly instant gratification, what could possibly be the appeal of the shipment of your company’s products taking much longer than usual? A lot, if it’s via New Dawn Traders. The environmental impact of shipping and flying by plane have long received dramatic headlines.
But shipping by boat? Not so much. Yet it should, as the 15 largest ships in the world produce as much sulphur oxide pollution as all the cars in the world combined. And that’s just the start. Environmentalist Jamie Pike is currently sailing on an alternative: Irene, a vintage ketch that was once part of the British Merchant fleet. The New Dawn Traders are looking beyond their solitary ship and into what’s possible after this. All well and good, but what’s the benefit to the companies whose products are being shipped? Like fair trade, companies that intentionally use shipping can but eliminate the environmental impact of their transport. Readers: Would you as a business use Slow Shipping? Flushing toilets could heat future buildings. Imagine how much wastewater is flushed down the pipes in large building projects every day.
Green tech entrepreneurs at OriginOil have created a system that instead repurposes it to generate heat for tenants and treat the water. OriginOil, a start-up based in Los Angeles, CA., has begun a pilot of its urban algae farm concept at the La Défense complex near Paris. Wastewater from buildings nourishes algae growth; algae is processed to make heat. The company is attempting to prove that integrating algae production into large building complexes will help bring them closer to net zero.
The French government has mandated that new commercial buildings must produce more clean energy than they consume and purify or recycle water. Riggs Eckelberry, OriginOil's CEO, said that its flat panel PBRs (photobioreactors) are suitable for vertical surfaces, and that tall buildings, such as high rise apartment complexes, are a prime target. Related on SmartPlanet: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch In an area of marine debris, laying approximately 135 to 155 West and 35 to 42 North.
Although it shifts every year and exact position is hard to tell. It lies within North Pacific Gyre and does not go anywhere, as it is confined by its currents. The area. The Patch is around 2200 kilometers long and 800 kilometers wide. 1 760 000 square kilometers. Almost 3 times more than Spain and Portugal combined. Pacific Sea. How does it form? Currents in the Pacific Ocean create a circular effect that pulls debris from North America, Asia and the Hawaiian Islands. Where does it all come from? 80% Land; brought by sewer systems and rivers to the sea. 20% Ships and ocean sources like nets or fishing gear, many containers fall into the sea after severe storms. Interesting facts. Photodegredation Plastic never biodegrades, it doesn۪t break down into natural substances.
Plastic Soup Depth to 10 meters. Not all plastics float. Problems created by plastic: Disposable diaper 500. Scoring the rhetoric on Obama’s energy policies. Election-year politics have bombarded the American public with conflicting stories about President Obama's energy policies. The president takes credit for increasing fossil fuel production under his administration, while the fossil fuel industry blames him for falling production. So what's the truth? As always, I'll begin with the data. Consider this chart of U.S. fossil fuel production from 2003 through 2011: Most of our domestic fossil fuel production is on private and state lands, however. Where federal policies have more influence is on production from federal lands, which is what draws most of the criticism about the president's policies.
Of that production, the vast majority is oil, and nearly all of it comes from offshore: With those charts in mind, let's score the rhetoric about the president's policies. President Obama's rhetoric As an example of President Obama's rhetoric, I'll use his weekly address to the nation on March 17. True. True. True. True, but little credit to him. True. Interesting Recycling facts! Recycling For Money: Don't throw that away. Most of us have piggy banks or some process of saving our loose change. But, saving pennies never goes any further than this. There is a lot of value in the things we throw in the landfill everyday. There is also a lot of satisfaction gained by recycling these products, especially when recycling for money. I am a big believer in the old adage "a penny saved is a penny earned". We will squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste and throw dollars in the trash. Below are a few things that will change your mind about recycling for cash.
Copper is found in electrical, plumbing, heating and air systems, and automobiles. Before throwing away that lamp, cut the cord and place in a bin If you are junking a car, take out the radiator and other copper tubing. Brass is also similar to copper and used liberally in most homes. Most of us have saved aluminum cans. Lead is not as common and found in such items as wheel weights, old window weights, and fishing tackle.
Eco-Friendly Tea | Brewing Tea | Tea Brewing Methods. Tea is a relatively energy-efficient beverage. A cup of tea, made by boiling only the amount of water you need, produces about one tenth of the carbon footprint generated by a large cup of cappuccino. To put this into perspective, if you drink four cups of black tea every day for a year, you will have used as much energy as a single 40-mile car ride. On the other hand, the energy involved in a three-a-day latte habit is equivalent to flying halfway to Europe! * Here are a few tips to make your tea habit even more eco-friendly: Measure and Then Fill.
Stick With Gas If Possible. For Electric Stove Users. For Tea Drinkers at the Office. Cold-Brew Iced Tea. Local Water = Smaller Footprint. *Source: “The World’s Water, 2008-2009″ by Peter Gleick, et al, www.waterfootprint.org.**”Source: “Best Way to Boil Water” by Luke and comments by Gregory Hancock, August. Wind Power Without the Blades: Big Pics. 0GeHf.jpg (JPEG Image, 900 × 1900 pixels) - Scaled (45. Offshore_hdt_019op.jpg (JPEG Image, 3072 × 2304 pixels) - Scaled (37%) 10 Linked BP Oil Spill Whistle-blowers & Experts Continue To Mysteriously Die. Hjwwl.jpg (JPEG Image, 700 × 468 pixels) REVE - Regulación Eólica con Vehículos Eléctricos - Over 60 New York Solar Companies Say They Can Help Fox's Bill O'Reilly Go Solar -- Will He Live Up to His Word?
How German Solar Has Made All German Electricity Cheaper. Startup Aims to Cut the Cost of Solar Cells in Half. Tech Focus: Taking on China in solar module market. Solar panel made with ion cannon is cheap enough to challenge fossil fuels. Solar Tiles by Solarcentury! (New) Solar Cheaper Than Diesel Making India’s Mittal Believer: Energy. Clean Energy Could Supply U.S. with 70% of Electricity by 2030, NOAA Director Says.
The end of baseload? It may come sooner than you think. Mars Chocolate launches 1.258MW solar garden in North America. Rocky Mountain Institute - Driving the Efficient Use of Resources. Now US says solar PV to be cheaper than fossil fuels by 2020. The rising tide of climate change - The Drum. Unsatisfied By Record Profits, Oil Giants Demand $2 Billion Tax Cut To Drill In Alaska. Bright Days: How India Is Reinventing Solar. Hot news in cleantech: algae lamps, solar bonsai. Giant kite could be future of wind power. Renew Economy - News and analysis for the clean energy economy : Renew Economy.