Archive for the ‘Global Warming’ Category
April 24th, 2009
Berkeley Considering Requiring Home Energy Improvements
Stumble it!
The City of Berkeley is always progressive (perhaps that why some call it Berzerkeley). They are taking a very strong stance on limiting their city’s contribution to global warming. In November 2006, Berkeley voters marked their concern regarding climate challenge by overwhelmingly endorsing a ballot that set a bold but simple mandate: reduce the community’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. The ballot measure passed with 81 percent of the vote. The measure directed the Mayor to develop a Climate Action Plan to reach that target.
City staff have drafted a 145-page Climate Action Plan which includes several proposals for home-owners to make energy-efficiency improvements to their houses. The plan covers such broad topics as advocating trash reduction, growing vegetables at home, and making energy upgrades to homes. You can read the chapter on Building Energy Use Strategies here.
This past Tuesday evening, things got pretty exciting at the Berkeley City Council meeting. Public comment on the proposed requirement for home owners to have energy audits performed on their homes and then make upgrades (e.g., insulation, caulking, etc.) was quite harsh. Understandably many citizens are not able to spend cash on home upgrades– especially in this economic climate. The Council voted to delay a vote and will meet again on May 5.
What do you think of the idea of cities requiring their citizens to improve the energy-efficiency of their homes? We admit we really like the idea of requiring home energy audits– they are relatively inexpensive and provide a plan that homeowners can follow to save energy and money. Some of the upgrades proposed will be inexpensive (window caulking, furnace filter changing, insulating hot water heaters, etc.) and some are more expensive (e.g., solar panels, tankless water heaters, etc.) We think homeowners should have the right to choose what changes they want to make to their homes — but that requiring them to at least know how they rate on efficiency and to learn what their options are is a great idea.
Popularity: 5% [?]
April 21st, 2009
A Green Home Contest for the Midwest
Springtime is the perfect time to go green, so Low Impact Living is very happy to announce a new green home contest for the Midwest. If you live within 300 miles of the Windy City and you live in a green home or want to make your current home greener, you’re eligible to compete. Low Impact Living and the Hotel InterContinental Chicago challenge you to make your home as green as you can!
We’re going to reward the greenest home and homeowners with a luxurious 3-night stay at the LEED-certified, greenest hotel in the Second City, the Hotel InterContinental. In addition, the winner will be treated to an eco-friendly stay in Chicago which includes tasty local cheeses and bio-dynamic wine at the adjoining ENO restaurant, a $50 gift certificate to the green clothing boutique Pivot and a gift from Chicago’s greenest boutique, Green Heart. More on the hotel and the prizes in a minute!
Low Impact Living will identify the single family home (and its proud owners) that has the lowest Low Impact Living Index (calculated using our Environmental Impact Calculator), and we’re going to share with you what that family has done to get there. Don’t worry if you haven’t done big projects like installing solar panels or a wind turbine - as the calculator shows, many of the best green home projects are simple and inexpensive. We’ll show you how to identify projects to make your home more eco-friendly. The contest will close on June 15, 2009. So you have time to make green changes!
What you have to do to enter
1. Visit our Household Environmental Impact Calculator and calculate your base LILI (Low Impact Living Index). It will only take five-ten minutes to use the calculator and create an account.
2. Once you’ve entered all of your base inputs, move on to the “select projects” page of the calculator. Make sure you only check projects that you’ve finished (or will finish by June 15th) before you log out.
3. Make sure that you log out or save your profile before leaving — if you just move on to another web site without logging out, your inputs could be lost.
4. If you’ve already created an account through our calculator, then you need to return and, log in again. We’ve added some new features recently, and they won’t work unless you refresh your account.
5. We realize the calculator isn’t all-encompassing yet, so there may be projects that you’ve done that don’t show up. If this is true, send us an email at contest@lowimpactliving.com describing what you’ve done. Low Impact Living staffers will review your efforts and award up to a 5% additional deduction for compelling projects.
How we’ll select the winner
The contest closes on June 15, 2009, and we will announce the winner on July 1. This will give us time to check with the finalists to make sure that they’ve completed all of their checked projects. (Past entrants to our green home contests are not eligible.)
If you are a finalist (in our top 10 lowest LILI scores), we may ask you to verify that your projects are actually completed, via photos or receipts / invoices for work performed. We’ll also ask for your address (not to be published!) so that we can verify entered information about your home. If you’re a winner, then you have to be willing to let us share your projects and process with everyone via our blog, and to provide us with the photos and project descriptions necessary to do that. You’ll become a green star overnight!
What you could win!
The greenest homeowner will receive three nights at the luxe Hotel InterContinental in Chicago (valid until May 2010). Chicago’s only Green Seal certified and Energy Star rated hotel, the InterContinental is partially housed in a historic tower built in 1929 and overhauled in 2009 with state-of-the-art, energy-saving appliances and fixtures (talk about recycling!) Located on the city’s Magnificent Mile, the hotel is within walking distance of Lake Michigan, stores, the Loop, and the Art Institute. The hotel’s historic, junior Olympic size pool is recognized as one of the best indoor pools in the U.S. and is included in Chicago’s major architectural tours.
The InterContinental is continuously improving its environmental performance through the development and sharing of best practices, training and recognition of excellence. In addition to utilizing innovative technology to conserve energy as well as reducing and recycling the waste it produces, the property is also committed to promoting effective environmental management to its key vendors and contractors. In addition, the hotel is mindful of purchasing local products and eco-friendly products to reduce carbon emissions.
ENO, the InterContinental’s chic wine, cheese and chocolate lounge, boasts organic and biodynamic wines and local cheeses and chocolates. The winner will experience the unique and artisan offerings of this Second City favorite, merely a few steps from your room.
The winner will also receive a $50 gift card from Pivot Boutique, which opened in September 2007 and is Chicago’s first boutique devoted to eco-fashion. The store’s designers use organic or sustainable materials and processes to create chic clothing, accessories and gifts.
Finally, the prize-winner will also receive a specially-selected gift from Green Heart Shop, Chicago’s only non-profit, eco friendly, fair trade store.
So, good luck, and get to greening, you Heartlanders!
Popularity: 8% [?]
April 17th, 2009
Yahoo Choo-Choo! Obama’s High Speed Rail Plan
We are tickled pink to learn about President Obama’s new high speed rail plan for America. What better way to cut traffic, reduce our global warming contribution, AND create jobs? Yahoo for this Choo Choo Plan, we say.
The President is committing $13 billion to fund his plan. He’ll be using $8 billion from the existing stimulus plan and plans to allocated $5 billion over the next five years.
The plan identifies 10 corridors for federal funding, including California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the Southeast, the Gulf Coast, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and New England. (For an illustrated map see this Wall Street Journal article.)
Read more about the plan at CNN.com here.
Popularity: 3% [?]
April 13th, 2009
Earth Day Events Across the Country
It’s that time of year again…Earth Day is April 22, Wednesday of next week. There are fabulous events going on all week across our glorious country. Get out there and celebrate Mother Earth!
In multiple cities: Green Apple Festival. This festival takes place April 17-20 in many cities– NYC, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Chicago, DC and more. There are bands, educational events, and lots of good free fun. Find out about a Green Apple Festival near you.
If your city is not listed here, you can find hundreds more cities and events by visiting the Earth Day Network events directory.
Los Angeles
Wilshire Center Earth Day/Car Free Day– Wednesday, April 22, 2009 from 11AM-2PM at 3700 Wilshire Blvd. The event will feature musical performances by Suzanne Teng & Mystic Journey, Naked Rhythm, Ballet Folklorico de El Salvador ASOSAL (El Salvadorian dance troupe), Korean Fan Dancing, Drumming, and a face painting artist among others. We will host a farmers market featuring organic and locally grown produce. The Mayor’s Million Trees Initiative along with KYCC will be giving out over 200 fruit trees.
Los Angeles Children’s Earth Day 2009 – April 26– Join us for the 12th annual Los Angeles Children’s Earth Day at STAR ECO Station on Sunday, April 26th, 10 am – 4pm. Admission is free and ECO tours only cost $5. It is sure to be a day of fun and festivities, as STAR students will perform various dances and songs from around the world! The event features games, crafts, activities, healthy cuisine and live entertainment designed to inspire children to help protect the planet.
San Francisco
San Francisco Zoo’s Party for the Planet–April 18– This fun and informative celebration of Earth Day is aimed at educating and entertaining Bay Area families on green, sustainable living solutions inside and outside of the Zoo, and incorporates everything you love about the Zoo animals. A variety of local, earth-friendly companies and services are showcased as well as music and puppet performances with “green-themes” that the whole family can enjoy! See how the Zoo is maintaining a green commitment to the animals and to the environment. Event free with admission.
Ghirardelli Goes Green– April 18– Join fellow S.F. Environment and non-profit volunteers at the first ever major green event at San Francisco’s famed Ghirardelli Square. You will be monitoring recyclables, compostables and trash bins to make sure festival-goers correctly deposit the item with which they are parting ways. You’ll also hand out tip sheets on green living practices, educating festival-goers in Earth Day solutions that are also economic and quality of life solutions. Free chocolate!
Seattle
Earth Day at the Arboretum– Work on environmental restoration or bring the family for a day of games and activities! Join UW Botanic Gardens, SCA, and Seattle Parks for a day of fun projects at the Washington Park Arboretum. Get your hands dirty for a cause removing non-native invasive plants, mulching, and improving the Arboretum. Bring the kids for games, leaf rubbings, and more.
Mercer Island Leap for Green Event — April 18 — The 2nd Annual Leap for Green Earth Day Celebration offers more fun than ever for kids of all ages! Join the Reptile Man, award-winning artist Marita Dingus, the Woodland Park Zoo, Puget Sound Energy, Full Circle Farm, EarthCorps, Veraci Pizza, Whidbey Ice Cream and more for an exciting day of hula-hooping, music, art projects, movies and inspiring ways to be kinder to the environment. Friends of Luther Burbank Park invite you to start the morning with an “Early Bird” birding exploration and end the day with an exclusive “Busy Beaver” north wetlands tour. It’s also Leap the Frog’s 1st birthday! Let’s celebrate!
Portland
Oregon Zoo Party for the Planet– April 26– Earth Day celebration includes an eco-fair, conservation station, games, crafts and exhibits.
Portland Farmer’s Market Earth Day Celebration– April 18– Seed planting activity for all ages, victory garden exhibit, potting station and a chance to learn how to lay out a 10-by-10-foot garden with vegetables and herbs being grown in the White House garden.
Chicago
Grant Park Earth Day Festival– Grant Park is the site of this weekend-long working celebration of green in Grant Park. Help get the 25-acre park in great shape by volunteering your time and skills. The volunteer event runs from 9 a.m. to noon on both days. Meet at the southeast corner of Balbo and Columbus (Hutchinson Field).
9th Annual Earth Day at the North Pond Nature Sanctuary –April 25– Spend the morning planting native wildflowers, removing litter, restoring a nature trail and caring for our park trees. Located in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Meeting location on plaza in front of North Pond Restaurant. Must be over 12 years old.
Kansas City
EarthFest 2009 –May 9– Event features interactive displays, workshops and product demos to help people explore and better understand the relative impact of their different green choices. Event-goers will explore five green villages: energy efficiency and other green practices for the home, eating local, buying local, green transportation and the great outdoors. StoneLion Puppet Theatre and other performers will delight children and adults alike in entertainment with an earth-friendly message. Pets are also welcome.
Austin
Austin Farmer’s Market 4th Annual Earth Day Festival — April 18– Join thousands of your neighbors, local green businesses and environmental groups and the cultural community in a manifestation of the Sustainability Revolution! Products, services, food, kids activities, music, art and more celebrating life in balance and restoration.
New York
Earth Day Grand Central Station — all week– In celebration of Earth Day, Grand Central Station stages a week-long Giant Earth Images exhibition and a two-day Earth Fair. The fair includes various activities and lectures, including recycling workshops, composting demos, music, dance and more.
Earth Day in Central Park – April 26– Celebrate Earth Day in Central Park on Sunday, April 26th from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Pack a picnic and enjoy live performances, planting and mulching projects, tree care and composting demonstrations, environmental education, and crafts with recycled materials. All events are free and open to the public.
Washington DC
Earth Day on the National Mall — April 19– Washington, DC will hold one of the largest Earth Day gatherings in U.S. history, the Green Apple Festival – a major day-long event on the National Mall to rally support for national action on global warming with a focus this year on environmental volunteerism. The event, sponsored by Earth Day Network, will feature music, entertainment, speakers and environmental activities.
Earth Day Tours at the Smithsonian — Starts April 18– Celebrate National Environmental Education Week and Earth Day: How have artists depicted our earth, its rocks and rivers, land, lakes and life? Investigate the human impact on our landscape with a family-friendly tour. Go green with American Art!
Popularity: 4% [?]
April 9th, 2009
Here Comes the PUMA: Electric Two-seater from Segway and GM
Just when you thought GM was a washed up brontosaurus, they come out with a pretty cool announcement. GM and Segway are teaming up to develop an electric two-seater called the PUMA. This small vehicle is for urban use– with a top speed of 35 miles per hour. And they say it can go for about 35 miles on a single charge.
The producers are comparing the vehicle to “an iPod on wheels” due to its revolutionary nature. (Wishful thinking?) The snappy little car comes complete with Internet connectivity and an electronic brain to drive by itself. They claim it can even find its own parking spot!
They plan to roll the PUMA out in 2010 but they have not yet announced a price.
Read more about the PUMA in this Marketwatch article and the Segway website.
Popularity: 5% [?]
