According to the NYTimes, the EPA announced that it will designate the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, one of the most contaminated waterways in the nation, a Superfund site. This designation paves the way for a federally-funded clean up process of decades of pollution; the 1.8 mile canal was shown to have pesticide pollution as well as PCB cancer-causing pollution. The EPA estimated that the cleanup would last 10 to 12 years and cost $300 million to $500 million.…
From last week’s Wall Street Journal comes news that despite the best of intentions from the local government and residents of Boulder, CO significant energy savings are yet to be realized.
Beyond the usual justifications on the whys and why-nots of any local initiative, the really interesting thing is that energy audits have not been terrifically successful in getting people to move forward on retrofits, despite understanding exactly where savings can be realized.…
A reader submitted this link regarding a traveling exhibit dubbed “Seasons of Change” about global warming’s impact on New England. You can find it at the Ecotarium in Worcester through May, where you might also enjoy an Inspiring Breath of Spring! and other exhibits. Eventually, it will be accessible via public transportation at the Museum of Science, but not anytime this year.
Posted
on February 25, 2010, 11:41 am,
by Tara Holmes,
under
Business
According to a recent United Nations report, that’s being complied by Trucost, the world’s top 3,000 companies cause $2.2 trillion in environmental damage per year1. The report is said to include all 500 companies on Standard & Poor’s list of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States. Richard Mattison, the chief operating officer of Trucost, commented that the report not only examined company impacts but also goods and services, greenhouse gas emissions, local pollutions, particulate emissions, and use of natural resources like water and timber. While the aim of the report is to bring light to environmental business ethics, it’s also telling how complicated such reporting can become: many US companies do business and manufacture products globally making regulation, evaluation and monitoring a challenge.…
Posted
on February 24, 2010, 11:14 am,
by JPierce,
under
Other
LiveScience has a nice collection of “blue marble” images to help put things in perspective.
Posted
on February 22, 2010, 10:34 am,
by LGlick,
under
Cambridge,
Conservation & Efficiency,
Events,
Lighting,
Saving MoneyTags:
Barnraising,
volunteer,
Weatherization
On Sunday, February 21, eighteen volunteers participated in a community canvass campaign to spread awareness about simple home improvements to save money, energy, and the planet. The event organized by the Home Energy Efficiency Team and the Cambridge Energy Alliance sought to help cut carbon emissions in East Cambridge through a CFL light bulb exchange.…
The poster child of human environmental destruction in the 90’s is still imperiled, even if the focus has shifted to global warming. Of course the two are intimately related, and besides the forests’ huge impacts on local watersheds—effectively creating their own rain—the forests’ trees and soils obviously have a major impact on the carbon cycle. Still, the onslaught upon the lungs of the world is not only unrelenting but expanding.
Looking for a green activity to keep the February doldrums at bay? Check out these free events hosted by Somerville Climate Action on February 22nd!
Got water, ambient light, 2 minutes per day & a spare glass jar?…
Not only is the infamous Pacific Garbage Patch (or gyre as it is properly known) is possibly much larger than previously estimated, an Atlantic counterpart has been discovered.
