Photo credit: Collin Dunn When it comes to the Galapagos, most people think : Islands; tropical; Equator; volcanoes; some variation on those general ideas probably pops to mind, unless you’ve been here. If you have been here, you probably know that a few of the islands are home to the Galapagos Penguin. If you haven’t been here (or studied the islands, or just know a lot about it), you may be thinking one thing: What the heck are penguins doing on the equator?… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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images credit Science + Sons Three years ago we showed the original Phonophone , which amplified your iPod without batteries. The science behind it was the same as those old record players with the big horn; Wikipedia explained that “Acoustic horns convert large pressure variations with a small displacement into a low pressure variation with a large displacement.” But the original Phonophone was large and expensive at $875. Now the designers contradict their own motto, “To put a song … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Image credit: Wieden + Kennedy London I already wrote about the Off-On program’s efforts to turn energy savings in London into money for solar in Africa . We already know that solar can be a life saver in developing countries , and it can be a great boost for school performance too. We also know tha… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Papal Science Advisors Say World’s Poor Need GM Crops & Scientists Have Moral Duty to Develop Them
December 1, 2010 No Comment
photo: Luigi Guarino / Creative Commons The Vatican’s science advisors have come out in support of genetically modified crops , saying that they scientists have both the right and moral duty to produce them to help the world’s poor, Ne… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Canadian Government Partnered With Polluting Industry to Fight US Climate Action
November 30, 2010 No Comment
photo: Diane Worth / Creative Commons Considering the considerable official enthusiasm for the highly polluting and carbon intensive Alberta tar sands, this really isn’t so surprising: According to correspondence obtained by the Pembina Institute , the Canadian Government is “pursuing an orchestrated strategy to undermine US effort to combat climate change” and partnered with polluters to fight US effort to reduce emissions from high-carb… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Photos: Wikipedia, Public domain. Investing Now for a Better Future In a speech at the National Press Club, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu made the case for more R&D in the U.S., especially in the energy sector (“the 2010 federal budget is $3.6 trillion, of which 0.14 percent went for research and development related to energy”). Dr. Chu explains why this is essential for both economic development and to meet environmental challenges, and he compares China’s progress in clean technologies and energy to the wake up call that was the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Starbucks and International Paper "Close the Loop", Recycling Cups into Cups
November 30, 2010 No Comment
Starbucks has very proudly announced the completion of a pilot project where they have proven that paper cups can be recycled into new paper cups. They call it a breakthrough in their “goal of ensuring 100 percent of its cups are reusable or recyclable by 2015″ In a press release they say: “This innovation represents an important milestone in our journey,” said Jim Hanna, Starbucks director of Environmental Impact. “We still have a lot of work to do to reach our 2015 goal, but we’re now in a much stronger position to build momentum across … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Photo: Youtube Let’s Hope it Won’t Stay Just a Commercial German car maker Volkswagen has produced a series of ads based on “fun theory”, the simple idea that if something is fun or if there’s something in it for you, you are more likely to do it than if you’re just “supposed to”. It’s pretty simply psychology, yet if we look at everything we’re supposed to do, that fact is very rarely taken into account by authorities. One of the ads is about a special speed camera (see the video below): Like a regular speed camera, it can fine drivers who go over the speed limit, but there’s also a carrot… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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