NewWays for Environmental and Social Change

IN THE OLD-GROWTH forests of the Pacific Northwest grows a bulbous, prehistoric-looking mushroom called agarikon. It prefers to colonize century-old Douglas fir trees, growing out of their trunks like an ugly mole on a finger. When I first met Paul Stamets, a mycologist who has spent more than three decades hunting, studying, and tripping on [...]

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES
From left, Mary Heim, Akiva Notkin and Lev Klarnet prepare for a recent Local Bounty community potluck put on by Sustainable Wallingford.

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES
At a Local Bounty community potluck sponsored by Sustainable Wallingford, Anja Floisand, 3, samples the fare. Most of the produce on the menu was [...]

This morning, a comprehensive plan for U.S.-China cooperation on clean energy and climate change was announced in Beijing by President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao. The overall plan is much more ambitious in scope and depth than we had anticipated and contains directives to create various institutions and programs addressing a wide array of [...]

People find the idea of going without toilet paper a bit shocking, but lots of people around the world do it, and there are good technologies available now to replace your toilet or add on to it. It is cleaner and healthier, and counterintuitively, saves a lot of water. Making a roll of [...]

Originally posted at AlterNet
Some say print books are passé, but I still like curling up on the couch with a mind-expanding read. Here are my top picks for ecological and sustainable reading.
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. Why settle for a throwaway culture? This book inspires [...]

The EPA asked the Army Corps to “suspend, revoke or modify the permit,” for the Spruce No. 1 Surface Mine in Logan County, according to the letter. “Recent data and analyses have revealed that downstream water quality impacts have not been adequately addressed.”

Europe has officially begun it’s ban on incandescent light bulbs, a ban that promises to save some $7 Billion a year in energy costs. Stores are allowed to continue selling their current stock, but they can no longer buy any more bulbs to sell. And while the EcoGeeks rejoice, others have flung up their arms in despair and cannot imagine a world where we don’t light our world with tiny little space heaters. So, with a ban looming in 2012 for the U.S., it’s worth taking a look at how Europe is handing the switch.

When you mix fresh water with salt water, a reaction happens so that a new salinity equilibrium can be reached. This dissipates energy that could be harnessed and turned into clean electricity using a new technique developed by Doriano Brogioli of the University of Milan Bicocca in Monza, Italy. Are we about to enter the era of “estuary power”?

Time magazine has an interesting list of the top 10 green stories for 2008. I liked re-reading them this morning. I can’t retrace quite how I got there, but you know how it is when one link leads to another. But, reading this list got me wondering about my own top 10 green changes of the last year.

The discovery that large amounts of oil could be found underground marked the beginning of a time during which this convenient fossil fuel became America’s dominant energy source. But what began 150 years ago won’t last another 150 years — or even another 50.

Why tow around a bus-sized motorhome when you can create a 100-pound trailer that has nearly everything you need? Meet a guy named Paul, creator of this bicycle-towed camper with a wind turbine on top, a place he called home at the Burning Man project for a week.

Buildings account for thirty-eight percent of the CO2 emissions in the U.S., according to the U.S. Green Building Council, and demand for carbon neutral and/or zero footprint buildings is at an all-time high. Now there is a new building material that is not just carbon neutral, but is actually carbon negative.

Our pals at GOOD are hosting a fun video contest asking “artists, inventors, and thinkers one simple question: “If there werent any pesky practical limitations, what world-changing device would you invent?” The deadline is August 26.

Entrepreneur Bill Gross’ Pasadena firm has had its ups and downs. But it is energized since turning to clean tech, including ESolar, which is opening an innovative solar power facility in Lancaster.

Looking to get outside and commune with nature? Live in an urban environment and not sure where exactly that nature is? (Hey, it happens.) The National Wildlife Federation’s Nature Find aims to get you on your feet and out the door.

India plans to generate 20GW from sunlight by 2020, putting green energy targets of developed nations in the shade

Artificial photosynthesis has yet to be cracked, but electrical engineers in the US think that synthetic leaves could be used to generate electricity in a different way – by sweating. Natural leaves constantly lose water through evaporation in a process called transpiration, which draws water from the roots to the very top of even the tallest trees. The new synthetic leaves also lose water through evaporation to create that mechanical water pump effect, and use it to generate power.

Scientists have discovered a remarkable, unexpected and cheap way to store hydrogen fuel– using carbonized chicken feather fibers.

Cellulose-loving fungi can cut biofuel costs by enabling existing corn ethanol plants to process cheaper, woody feedstocks such as corn stover

The fumes that waft from top-selling air fresheners and laundry products contain dozens of chemicals, including several classified as toxic or hazardous, says a University of Washington study published recently.