Nature photo of the day

Icy windshield in Seattle

Is this how your city does Bike Lanes?

Another great video from Streetfilms:

Anti-whaling effort picks up speed

Fifty knots worth. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society today announced its acquisition of the Batboat-like Earthrace -- renaming it the Ady Gil, and announcing plans to use it as (what else) an interceptor.

More after the jump.

Carbon storage - how it could work

Last year we had a good laugh at politicans who were saying America could be powered by "clean coal." What they were talking about, what they are still talking about, is carbon capture and storage (or sequestration). CO2 would be captured at the source, then -- disposed of. Somehow.

Of course this does nothing about the other part of the coal idiocy, the input side.  The environmental disaster caused in the course of mining coal is enough by itself to take coal generated electricity off the table. 

Masdar goes downtown

The Masdar carbon neutral city project in Abu Dhabi has chosen an astounding design for its downtown. The winner is Australia's innovative LAVA Architecture. Features include an outdoor plaza sheltered from the sun with umbrella-like structures that close at night, adaptive building facades, and roof gardens. LAVA animation



Article and more great illustrations at Architecture & Design

Puget Sound tribes work to cleanup derelict fishing gear

Derelict fishing gear refers to lost and abandoned nets and traps that create hazards for marine-dependent life. The effort involves local conservation groups and Native American tribes, and is now getting federal stimulus funds. William Yardley's article is in today's New York Times.

It's a ginornous tragedy

While you wouldn't think the health insurance reform debate ventures into green territory, a current experience of mine does exactly that.

• My health insurance company took away my choice of pharmacy. I usually go to a locally owned chain, but for one particular drug I need, my insurance made me choose between two national mail order pharmacies. This is being done for excellence in service and for your convenience, the letter read.

Renewable Energy Agency Says No Nukes

Good news for those following the formation of IRENA, the new International Renewable Energy Agency. Apparently responding to concerns that pro-nuclear ties of IRENA-host United Arab Emirates would taint the agency, IRENA chief Helene Pelosse has said her agency will not support nuclear projects due to waste and risks:

"IRENA will not support nuclear energy programmes because it's a long complicated process, it produces waste and is relatively risky," Helene Pelosse, director general of IRENA, told Reuters in a telephone interview from the French Alps.

Seattle disposal bag fee - Aug. 18 Referendum

Seattle's 20-cent per bag fee on paper and plastic must get past an August 18 ballot measure. The run-up to the vote pits environmentalists versus an out of town, chemical industry-funded campaign.

Correction Although the referendum was submitted by fee opponents, a Yes vote will let the fee stand.

To avoid the fee, shoppers need only bring their own bags when they shop.

Seattle hold-out house to become 'public'

It was her home, an anti-corporate symbol, and then a tattoo. Now Edith Macefield's house in the Ballard neighborhood will become a kind of park (Seattle P-I):

The literal elevation refers to [real estate "coaching firm"] Reach Returns' plan to elevate the home to the height of the surrounding commercial building and create a two-level open space underneath. The open space would feature plantings and water features and be available to the public during business hours. People can pay $250 to $5,000 (depending on the size) for a tile on which they can write their credo, according to the Credo Square Web site. The tiles would then be installed on the site. The project is also charging $75 (for an individual or family) or $200 (for a company) to have names etched into a wall on the site.

= = = = =

Credo Square Update: Buyer has criminal history (+ links)

USA Joins IRENA

Reuters:

U.S. joins International Renewable Energy Agency
Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:23am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States joined the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Monday as part of the Obama administration's commitment to developing a new energy policy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

Seattle creek sees daylight again

A new smart growth development next to Seattle's Northgate Mall has replaced a parking lot -- and exposed the headwaters of Thornton Creek to the light of day for the first time decades.

Before

Clean Water Restoration Act goes to full Senate

On a 12-7 vote, the Environment and Public Works Committee on Thursday approved a version of the Clean Water Restoration Act, S. 787. If it becomes law, one of the more useful changes is the clarification of the federal government's regulatory jurisdiction, by replacing the term "navigable waters" with "waters of the United States." So-called 'property rights' activists have questioned the old language in order to attack protections for wetlands and small bodies of water.

In news relating to the non-wet part of the biosphere, the House Appropriations Committee approved an EPA funding bill that bars spending, from any legislation, that would make factory farms report greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Clean Air Act. Even though the rule would only apply to the biggest livestock operations, agri groups fear it could lead to EPA regulations or fees on methane from animals. Even though EPA says it has no plans to go that far.

Bike accident, hazard & theft report database using G-Maps

Ever had a bike accident, hit a pothole or -- the worst -- had your ride stolen? Now there's a new place to report and map these incidents: Bikewise, from the people at Seattle's Cascade Bicycle Club.

Is there a particular pothole that has annoyed you for months, but it doesn't get fixed? Channel your frustration! Go into Bikewise's Hazard section (after setting up an account, naturally) and click on Report A Hazard. The simple 4-step process allows you to describe the problem, then locate it in the familiar Google Maps interface.

Tonight - "Whale Wars" Season 2 premiere

Whether you find them inspiring or annoying (or both), the Sea Shepherds are back chasing the Japanese whalers for another season on Animal Planet. Tonight at 9 ET/PT:


 
Also: Seattle-area man saves the ship

Tell the White House to join IRENA

What individuals do in their daily lives is important to the goal of creating a sustainable world.  We're all consumers, and our choices can signal companies that we want organic food, green products and green manufacturing.  But national policies create such signals that have the force of law.

There is a need for the entire planet to adopt renewable energy, not only the major industrialized nations.  It makes little sense to go to sustainable energy in the G20 countries, only to replace it with fossil fuels used by the developing world.  Yet renewables are expensive and new technology which developing countries can't always afford -- or find uneconomical due to cheap nonrenewables.

Sighting: Orca "J2" is nearly a century old

Read this most interesting post at the Seattle P-I.

Sighting: Orca "J2" is nearly a century old

Read this most interesting post at the Seattle P-I.

Tags:

Watch the finches

Daylight hours, Pacific time.


Supposedly they could start flight training at any time.

I heard about this on the radio show Clout.

Masdar City and the World Wildlife Fund

The Masdar eco-city endeavor in Abu Dhabi is a participant in One Planet Living, a project of World Wildlife Fund and the sustainability group BioRegional.

Being a partner in One Planet Living means the Masdar City project has agreed to apply ecological footprinting and these ten sustainability principles:

Zero Carbon: Net CO2 emissions of zero. Energy efficient buildings and infrastructure; energy from on- and off-site renewables.

Zero Waste: Eliminate waste flows to landfills and incineration. Reduce waste generation through improved design; encourage re-use, recycling and composting; generate clean energy from waste; make no-waste part of the definition of resource efficiency.

Creative Energy!

Art has always been a great vehicle for getting people to think about important issues. So imagine your community creating public art that also generates electricity. That's the idea behind the Land Art Generator Initiative.

LAGI is an international group of artists, architects, scientists, and engineers who are partnering to create environmental art installations that produce clean electricity for the grid, as well as aesthetic beauty. The project is working in the United Arab Emirates, as part of that country's interest in moving away from a petroleum-based economy.

Preview Heathrow's new surface transit technology

These are some of the videos from the "PRT@LHR" (Personal Rapid Transit at London Heathrow) conference, which was held April 21-23. The Heathrow "Urban Light Transport" (ULTra) system is the first in the new-generation of automated transit technologies; it is similar to the transit system planned for Masdar City in Abu Dhabi.

Important marine conservation report coming to Frontline

"Poisoned Waters," a new documentary coming to PBS Frontline on April 21, looks at endangered Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay more than 30 years after the passage of the Clean Water Act.

Excerpts

Hopefully this program will call attention to the main culprit: the polluters is us. The communities have short term economic interests in not cleaning up these important waterways, and we may have delayed just long enough to make the damage irreversible.

UPDATE (4/22): Did you catch the show? Watch it here!

Rrrrowrrr!

What do we think of the PUMA, from GM and Segway?



NY Times story
ABC News video

I am particularly impressed by the tie-in with OnStar as a "v2v" (vehicle to vehicle) control system. To my mind, this makes the long-term PUMA concept doable, something more than a splashy gimmick that will magically disappear once GM gets its bailout money.

While not public transit, I believe Neighborhood Electric Vehicles don't require licenses to operate, so it lowers one access barrier to better transportation. I could easily see local transit agencies contracting to rent fleets of PUMAs to expand rail station ridersheds.

The major hurdle PUMA has to overcome is how they will safely mix in traffic with regular automobiles. I wonder if they could be so popular that onstreet bike lanes would have to be converted to Bike/PUMA lanes.

Tattoo parlor honors woman who resisted

Remember Edith Macefield of Seattle, who wouldn't budge when developers wanted her home for part of a Trader Joe's?



A business in the neighborhood has created a unique product in her honor. Link

MIT's CityCar project

Proposed for an unidentified Asian city. Read about it at the Boston Globe.

Another great 'Clean Coal' spoof

This one from Joel and Ethan Cohen for the Reality Campaign:

More on Masdar

Check out this new article on Masdar in the March/April edition of MIT Technology Review. After a couple years of expansive conceptual descriptions and media speculation, this article serves as a good status report on what the Masdar City program is hoping to accomplish, and how it's going about achieving it. Representative clip:

...many experts are optimistic that the city can become a test bed for new approaches to the engineering and architectural problems involved in creating environmentally sustainable cities. Although architects have already designed and builders constructed many small zero-emissions residences and commercial buildings, projects involving large, multi-use commercial buildings have fallen short of expectations, using too much energy or failing to generate enough.

Alternative energy - why is the US so timid?

The rest of the world is moving ahead with lowering carbon footprints. My favorite is Abu Dhabi's Masdar, the planned zero carbon, zero waste city project. Cost: $20-ish billion. Construction on the city's first phase and its massive solar farm is well underway.

Yesterday President Obama went to Denver to visit a solar panel installation at their Museum of Nature & Science.

Wow.

The difference was so stark that on his daily Air America online show, pundit Marc Maron remarked that Obama ought to have gone to Abu Dhabi instead of Denver:


"Break Room Live" 2/17/09



So how about it -- why is America so timid on alternative energy? Is it entrenched interests? Severe aversion to "risk"? Our focus on short-term profit? Should Obama appoint a Secretary of Innovation?

Clean Coal: This is Reality

Paper from poop

The hands-down Most Interesting item we received over the holidays was nice (really nice) quality paper made from:

That's right. Elephant poop.