Phillipe Starck's wind turbine design got a lot of press when it was shown last month; even the normally sensible Alice Rawsthorn suggested that "there are sound reasons for taking his product seriously." TreeHugger Matt tried to follow up and get some technical details and got this response from the company: "Unfortunately, this is still an ongoing project and we don’t have enough information to communicate on it. Please contact us again next year."

Jalapeno Peppers and Salmonella: What's the Root Cause? US print media continue to mince words about the summer-long, Mexican peppers linked, salmonella outbreak. What makes the general reluctance to 'tell it like it is' especially galling is that everyone knows it is best not to drink the tap water in Mexico. This is not some politically incorrect condescension: every tourist book warns visitors to avoid the water and salad greens or unpeeled fruits and vegetables because they might be 'washed' with contaminated water. Washington Post documented the facts about the recent Salmonella outbreak - and the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is refusing to disclose records about a new class of pesticides that could be playing a role in the disappearance of millions of honeybees in the United States, a lawsuit filed Monday charges.

If Congress bows to pressure from Republicans and decides to lift its restrictions on offshore oil drilling, it is unclear exactly what would happen next. Such a move would take the country into uncharted waters.

The UN says the dumping of 500m tonnes of chemical waste in Abidjan led to at least 16 deaths and more than 100,000 other victims needing medical treatment. Two years on it is still here.

Stuart Orr of the World Wildlife Fund explains a new report that shows each Briton uses 4,645 litres a day when hidden factors are included

A new analysis of government data is the first to link low-level arsenic exposure, possibly from drinking water, with type 2 diabetes, researchers say.

When the state agency watching over polluters recently tallied how many folks it needed to protect the health of Puget Sound and local waterways, they concluded they had less than half of what they needed.

On the 30th anniversary of Love Canal, a preliminary New York State Dept. of Health study says women whose mothers were pregnant and exposed to the chemicals, have double the risk for reproductive problems as well as increased cancer rates.

Federal officials plan to remove over 16 million tons of abandoned uranium waste from a mining site along the Colorado River, but environmental groups warn that new toxic pollution threats lurk downstream.

China and Australia will test a post-combustion capture (PCC) pilot plant in Beijing as part of a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from thermal power stations.The plant, officially announced last week (31 July), is a collaboration between the China HuaNeng Group, the country's largest power producer, and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

If wind energy converters are located anywhere near a residential area, they must never become too noisy even in high winds. Most such power units try to go easy on their neighbors' ears, but even the most careful design cannot prevent noise from arising at times.

Caputmortum:

The concept of cooling is known to mankind since ages, but the thought of corrugated galvanized iron sheets and sisal sack fabric to create a cooling system to cool camel milk created in Somalia is outstanding! It’s a very uncomplicated and simple process, as the only thing one needs to do is hang the fabric in a manner that it touches the water and because of the capillary action water flows down along the sides of the iron.

The vent keeps the inside air circulating and the wind guides direct air flow over the exterior surfaces resulting in a lucratively useful mechanism.

Via: Uberreview

Caputmortum:

The concept of a green gym is not new, but more and more number of gymnasiums adopting this technique certainly is a pleasant surprise. Us humans are always trying to figure out interesting ways to utilize renewable energy and this gave rise to exploring the terrain of a fitness centre. Everyday tons of people visit the gym and give away tremendous amount of energy through work out, and optimally utilizing this to supply power is ultra-cool.

Portland’s, The Green Microgym also plans to pursue a similar mantra. The owner of the place said that the Human Dynamo is an exercise machine that consists of four spin bikes which are attached to a small generator. These bikes have weed whacker motors and truck alternators so that the clientele can easily create energy and eventually power the space, generating up to 75 watts per hour. Future plans include power generation from elliptical trainers. This certainly is a good technique to save up the gigantic amount of electricity used in these places. Now only if these ideas were adopted on a larger scale!

Via: Clean Technica

Caputmortum:

Here’s a good way to get that wooden furniture you’ve always wanted without a guilty conscience. The very aptly named ‘Rising from Ashes: Furniture from Lost Trees’ was recently unveiled at the Morton Arboretum and will be on display through September 7th before travelling to other venues. Roughly around 30 pieces on the display are put together by various members of the renowned Chicago Furniture Designers Association.

The collection is an innovative and eye catching set consisting of chairs, chests, tables, shelves and the icing on the cake is that they are all made from reused wood from Ash trees. These trees have been damaged by the Emerald Ash Borers, a nasty bug that feeds on the tree eventually destroying it. Also, the ash tree isn’t normally used to make furniture and once felled naturally or from infestation, this comes of little use and hence is wasted. But I’m glad that now people are paying attention and taking steps to remedy this. Hopefully, the next time your beloved Ash tree is felled it can reincarnate itself into a priceless piece of furniture for your living room.

Via: Chicagoist

The Republican platform for 2008, hammered out by the Republican National Committee ahead of the party's convention next week, is mildly greener than in 2004, making it "the greenest platform we've ever had," according to a member of the committee. The draft platform acknowledges humans' role in climate change but still takes digs at the issue and only supports solutions where no one has to alter their lifestyle. "The same human activity that has brought freedom and opportunity to billions has also increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere," it says. However, solutions should not "force Americans to sacrifice their way of life or trim their hopes and dreams for their children." The platform had said at one point that "Increased atmospheric carbon has a warming effect on the earth," but the phrase has now apparently been removed. The draft platform also dropped specific calls to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as delegates thought the pro-ANWR-drilling stance could hurt McCain's electability. But that doesn't mean the ANWR issue is dead; party officials said they'd focus on changing McCain's position post-election.

sources: The Washington Post, Associated Press, Congressional Quarterly, Bloomberg

We mentioned the other week how new recycled content backpacking tents were on display at the recent Outdoor Retailer trade show. Yet for all the goods green news that continues to comes from the adventure sports industry, forward thinkers in the marketplace know that as Nature Deficit Disorder takes hold, their customer base for tomorrow is shrinking. So, in a move that mirrors the No Child Left Inside...

BBC Thread: Junky Styling Interview "The forward-thinking design team who have turned fashion on its head. Annika Sanders from Junky Styling discusses their unique approach to designing clothes. All their designs are made from second hand suits, shirts, woollen garments and vintage fabrics." DH Love Life: Earth Prize by Daryl Hannah Daryl visits Richard Branson at home in his own patch of the Carribbean - Necker Island. She finds out how Branson is making his island 100% carbon neutral, what he's doing with t...

South Korea will spend US$103 billion through 2030 in developing new renewable energy, to cut its reliance on fossil fuels and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The new plan, announced on Wednesday, is part of a long-term energy strategy and will come on top of other energy policies and overseas resource development plans. Capacity for solar, wind, bio and geothermal power generation will be expanded. South Korea wants to lower the portion of fossil energy to 61 percent by 2030 from the current 83 percent, while bumping up the portion of new renewable energy to 11 percent, according to

Sprawl is a constant issue at the outside periphery of every city in the country. Although matters have abated temporarily in the midst of the housing and mortgage crunch, new construction continues to decimate the countryside at further distances away from the city centers. However, the state of California is weighing a measure in the state legislature that might help curtail the growth of exurban sprawl developments.

The extension of suburbs further and further out from the core of businesses and services not only consumes acres of land, with its attendant loss of woods, fields, wetlands, farmland, and animal habitat, but it also requires miles of pavement, and the attendant infrastructure (sewers, phone and power lines, etc.) to support the new development. Residents of these displaced communities are forced to rely on cars for more and more of their access to various services and amenities, and very often travel greater distances to work as well as other destinations. This increases both the consumption of fuel resources and the pollution caused from the extra travel.

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