- Renewable Energy Accelerates Meteoric Rise ENN, 2/29
- Disputing the 'Consensus' On Global Warming Grist, 2/29
- Weekly Clean Energy Roundup Sustainable Business, 2/29
- Use Rebates to Stimulate Environment The Columbian, 2/29
- Carbon Trading Could Protect Forests, Reduce Rural Poverty Mongabay.com, 2/29
- Building Green in San Francisco San Francisco Bay Guardian, 2/29
- The Smallest of Pollutants Linked to the Biggest of Health Risks US News and World Report, 2/29
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/29/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/28/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Food and the Spectre of Malthus Financial Times, 2/28
- How to Save the Rainforests ENN, 2/28
- Cap and Caulk: How Smart Climate Policy Can Cut Our Energy Costs Sightline, 2/28
- Rethinking 'Forest Health' Logging New West Environment, 2/28
- Solutions to Global Problems Start Close to Home Register Guard, 2/28
- Paper Towels and Napkins vs. Cloth Care2, 2/28
- Ice Cream Crisis As Bees Buzz Off The Guardian, 2/28
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/27/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Madagascar Hopes Saving Rainforests Can Spur Development The Canadian Press, 2/27
- Despite Green Rhetoric Companies Are Working to Undermine Regulation of Carbon Emissions Business Week, 2/27
- Using Organic Fertilizers Could Protect Against Climate Change ENN, 2/27
- It's the Economics Stupid - How to Make the Case Against Coal Grist, 2/27
- New Nike 'Trash Talk' Shoe Made From Manufacturer's Waste Treehugger, 2/27
- The Thin Wet Line - Local & Global Ecosystem Markets Ecosystem Marketplace, 2/27
- Dust in West Up 500% in Past 2 Centuries ENN, 2/27
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/26/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Energy Policy: We Won't Get There By Tinkering Houston Chronicle, 2/26
- We'll Save the Planet Only If We're Forced To The Independent, 2/26
- 10 Things America Must Do to Avert an Energy Crunch (and Protect the Planet) Houston Chronicle, 2/26
- Global Warming Inspires Enterprising Solutions USA Today, 2/26
- Cap and Trade For Individuals? Boston Globe, 2/26
- How a Visit to Beijing Helped Inspire BC's Carbon Tax Globe and Mail , 2/26
- Antarctic Glaciers Surge to Ocean BBC, 2/26
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/25/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Green Standards Communicate Degrees of Eco-Friendliness in Sustainable Products LOHAS Weekly, 2/25
- Restoring Soil Carbon Can Reverse Global Warming, Desertification, and Biodiversity Loss Mongabay.com, 2/25
- Green IT Departments Save Companies Money, Research Finds LOHAS Weekly, 2/25
- Questioning Cap and Trade Living On Earth, 2/25
- For 'Eco-Moms', Saving the Earth Begins at Home NY Times, 2/25
- Climate Change Driving Mongolians From Steppe to Cities National Geographic News, 2/25
- UN Says World Fisheries Face Collapse ENN, 2/25
Friday, February 22, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/22/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Conservation of Wildlife Habitat May Prevent Emerging Diseases ENS, 2/22
- Business Begins to See Profit in Going Green CS Monitor, 2/22
- Green Corporate Communications - The Unstoppable Urge to Talk the Talk Two Steps Forward, 2/22
- Carbon Traders, Not Conservationists, Could Save African Rainforest Mongabay.com, 2/22
- Taking Charge of Energy Prices Grist, 2/22
- Detox Your Home - Room By Room Planet Green, 2/22
- China's Carbon Dragon CS Monitor, 2/22
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/21/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Breaking Down the Barriers to a Green Economy ENN, 2/21
- A Solar Grand Plan Scientific American, 2/21
- British Columbia Unveils Carbon Tax Toronto Globe and Mail, 2/21
- Conservation Strategies Can Mitigate the Impact of Global Warming on the Amazon Mongabay.com, 2/21
- Practicing Green - Uncovering and Countering Greenwash The Triple Pundit, 2/21
- Small Amazon Farmers Especially Vulnerable to Climate Change Mongabay.com, 2/21
- Scientists Blame Ocean Dead Zone on Climate Change Mongabay.com, 2/21
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/20/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- The Big Impact From Greening Small Businesses GreenBiz, 2/20
- A Third of U.S. Military Budget Could Cure America's Fossil Fuels Addiction Grist, 2/20
- It's Waste Not, Want Not At Green Subaru Plant USA Today, 2/20
- Renewed Effort on Renewable Energy Living On Earth, 2/20
- Researchers Develop Energy-Generating Clothing BBC, 2/20
- Pesticide Brew Spells Trouble For Salmon Science Now, 2/20
- Bad Biofuel Policy Boosts Asian Inflation Asia Sentinel, 2/20
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/19/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Biodiversity is Vital For Survival, Says FAO Fishupdate.com, 2/19
- Green Economics: Turning Mainstream Thinking On Its Head ENN, 2/19
- Climate Fight Must Enlist Biodiversity and Communities Oneworld.net, 2/19
- Leading Brands Call for Action On Climate Change ENN, 2/19
- Climate Change Spurs Local Action USA Today, 2/19
- Building the Ecocities of Tomorrow Treehugger, 2/19
- Climate Change Has Major Impact on Oceans Science Daily, 2/19
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/15/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Three Big Ideas to Avoid Recession AND Green the Economy Treehugger, 2/15
- Study Finds Profit in Cutting Emissions Financial Times, 2/15
- Conscious Consumer In a Nutshell LOHAS Weekly, 2/15
- Corporate Sustainability - It's About Attitude ENN, 2/15
- Engineer Plans to Sell Compressed Air-Powered Car in India Within a Year BBC, 2/15
- New Crop of Western Ranchers Buck Cattle Industry to Go Green San Jose Mercury News, 2/15
- Shrinking Time Frame to Prevent Dangerous Climate Change? ScienceAlert, 2/15
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/14/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Greening Your Valentines Day Salon.com, 2/14
- Better Biofuels Before More Biofuels SF Chronicle, 2/14
- Into the Lion's Den - Nobel Winner Urges Oil Execs to Help Cut Emissions ENN, 2/14
- PR, Media Attention and Consumers Driving Climate Change in the Corporation The Triple Pundit, 2/14
- The Importance of Measuring Building Energy Use Greener Buildings, 2/14
- Ocean Acidification Threatens Fishing Industry NPR, 2/14
- Farmed Salmon Decimating Wild Salmon Worldwide National Geographic, 2/14
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/13/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Generation Green Taking On Parents to Help Them Save the Planet Canadian Press, 2/13
- London Triples Fee For Most Polluting Cars Entering City Bloomberg, 2/13
- High Speed Rail Advances Globally, Crawls in U.S. ENN, 2/13
- Maybe Money Can Grow On Trees Wall Street Journal, 2/13
- Consumers Must Stop Forest Destruction BBC, 2/13
- Survivalist Green: Where Will You Be Living In 10 Years? Treehugger, 2/13
- Lakes Mead and Powell Could Run Dry By 2021 CS Monitor, 2/13
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/12/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Age of 'Green Economics' Is Upon Us, Says UN's Ban Reuters, 2/12
- Financing the Transition From a Brown to a Green Global Economy ENN, 2/12
- Merril Lynch Inks Massive Carbon Forestry Deal to Avoid Deforestation in Indonesia Ecosystem Marketplace, 2/12
- Farming Carbon As a Cash Crop The Star, 2/12
- Hairy Breakthrough in Nanosolar Treehugger, 2/12
- The Paperless Home Treehugger, 2/12
- Killer Wales Loaded With Toxic Fire Retardants - Could Foreshadow Serious Human Health Problems Times Colonist, 2/12
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/11/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Wall Street Buys Into Climate Change Living On Earth, 2/11
- Cashing In On Climate Change NPR, 2/11
- Biofuel Crops That Require Destroying Native Ecosystems Worsen Global Warming Science Daily, 2/11
- Sustainable Supply Chain Initiatives Booming ENN, 2/11
- A Green and Trash-Free Lunch For Your Child ENN, 2/11
- What Goes Into the Ocean, Ends Up On Your Dinner Plate Treehugger, 2/11
- Goldman Sachs: Why the Price of Peak Oil is Famine Telegraph, 2/11
Friday, February 08, 2008
Chris Matthews Fails America, Embarrasses MSNBC, on Climate Change
One of the things that really scares me about the politics of advancing climate change solutions is the unbelievable ignorance of current and former elected officials like James Inhofe and Tom Delay.Yesterday, Delay was on Chris Matthews' MSNBC show, Hardball. When Matthews asked Delay for "the official conservative position on climate change", Delay stated that:
"there is no science to suggest that man is the cause of climate change", and "it is arrogant to suggest that man can affect climate change. There is no science that supports such a notion."
How about, perhaps, the joint statements of the G8+5 nations' National Academies of Sciences?
What was just as concerning to me as Delay's absurd statement is the lack of a pointed response from Chris Matthews. Hardball, you call your show, Mr. Matthews?! You completely abdicated your responsibility to educate your viewers in the best available knowledge on climate change by failing to challenge Delay's wrong, if not delusional statement.
For those of you who are working hard to advance climate change solutions, and are highly discouraged by Matthews' failure to properly play 'Hard Ball' with Delay on this most important matter, email Chris Matthews at hardball@msnbc.com and ask him to do a better job next time.
- Jon Gelbard
P.S. The level of ignorance displayed by Delay here suggests to me that people should really be required to pass some kind of basic exam before they are allowed to run for major public offices and make decisions that affect the well being of the entire world. Otherwise, you end up with people in power who absolutely lack the knowledge and competence to be formulating policies. We've certainly been learning this the hard way the past 8 years!
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/8/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- An Interview With Google's Green Energy Czar Grist, 2/8
- Green Stimulus Vote Falls Short By One Vote - McCain's - In Senate Grist, 2/8
- Climate Teach In Touches on Green Pathways Out of Poverty SF Bay Guardian, 2/8
- Rainforest Alliance Validates First Carbon Offset Project to Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance Standards In Indonesia ENN, 2/8
- 10 Critical (and Money Saving) Steps in a Green Home Remodel Green Key, 2/8
- Huge Fracture on Beaufort Ice Pack Worries Scientists CBC, 2/8
- Top 10 Surprising Results of Global Warming LiveScience, 2/8
Toyota Highlander Hybrid Review
In August, I picked up a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Our other car is a Toyota Corolla, which we'll replace with a Prius as soon as we can.Since we travel to Tahoe (we are big skiers) and camp a lot, we like to have a 4WD vehicle with plenty of space for ourselves, our gear, and Qanuk the collie.
How does the Highlander stack up for a hybrid?
Frankly, I give it a C-. Why?
1. The mileage is highly unsatisfactory
It's nice to average 26+ miles per gallon in an SUV, but Toyota could have done better in a bunch of ways:
- First, why is the vehicle offered only in a 6-cylinder engine? All that power is nice, but I just don't need it. I'd have been fine with a 4 cylinder that gets 30+ miles per gallon. In fact, given that I'm buying a hybrid because I want best best mileage I can get in this type of vehicle, I'd have much preferred a 4 cylinder!
- Second, given that people who buy hybrids are interested in, let's think hard about it...MILEAGE, why is the vehicle in 4WD full time?! It would be much better if I could get 30+ miles per gallon by keeping the vehicle in 2WD the 75+% of the time that this would be fine.
- Why do you literally need to learn how to drive a hybrid -- which takes time and experimentation -- to keep the car in electric mode? There's gotta be a better way to make a car like this. It's just ridiculous that it takes the foot sensitivity of a ballerina to keep the car in electric mode. Press on the gas just a little too much, and you're out of electric mode. Just a tad of an uphill, and the vehicle is out of electric mode. How many people are really going to take the time to actually learn the right way to drive a hybrid to take full advantage of the electric engine? I doubt very many.
2. The gear options stink - car is difficult to control going down steep hills
I'm used to driving stick and using the gears to keep the vehicle under control in bad weather, going downhill, etc. Even when driving automatic vehicles, most still have a few gears that help you keep the vehicle under control, for example, when driving down the steep, winding Interstate 80 out of the Sierras on a snowy evening.
Needless to say, I find the gear options of my Highlander Hybrid - either "D" (Drive) or "B" (Engine Breaking - barely more resistance than D) extremely unsatisfactory. Surely Toyota can either offer their hybrids in stick, or at least give us a few gear choices - maybe a 1, 2, and 3 like in the RAV4.
3. Why doesn't it have low-range?
Now I rarely need low range, but as an ecologist who does field work in remote locations, sometimes it comes in VERY handy. I sure wish a hybrid with low range was available!
Conclusion - My Next Car Will Be A...
Frankly, I just know Toyota can do better than this Highlander Hybrid that I'm just not very satisfied with. I know, for example, that their diesel 4WD vehicles can get 30+ miles per gallon, but are for some inane reason not available in the U.S. yet. If I could get my hands on, for example, a Hilux diesel that I could run on straight vegetable oil from my local sushi restaurant, I'd be happy as a kid in a candystore. Make that a hybrid diesel - now we're talkin 35-40+ miles per gallon! Upgrade that to a PLUG-IN HYBRID DIESEL Toyota Hilux? Now I'd buy that in less time than Joba Chamberlain's fastball takes to hit Jorge Posada's glove!Come on Toyota - please give us the quality 4WD hybrid that we know you can! (I even put covers on all the seats in my Highlander so that as soon as something better comes out, I can trade it right in!)
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/7/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- How to (and not to) Sell Sustainability GreenBiz, 2/7
- Idaho Bill Would Grant Tax Credits for Land Conservation Idaho Statesman, 2/7
- Biodiversity to the Energy Rescue - Could Discovery of New Chlorophyll Revolutionize Solar Power? Treehugger, 2/7
- Waste Oil to the Peak Oil Rescue? Scientists Make Oil From Waste Paper, Yard and Crop Waste Treehugger, 2/7
- Greening the San Francisco Party Scene The Triple Pundit, 2/7
- How to Green Your Wardrobe ENN, 2/7
- World Oil Production May Have Already Peaked - Lester Brown People and Planet, 2/7
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/6/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Clinton or Obama - Who's Greener? Grist, 2/6
- Making Agriculture Sustainable ENN, 2/6
- To Save a Forest: World Eyes Grand Plan of Payoffs to Preserve Trees, Protect Climate International Herald Tribune, 2/6
- Ecotourism: The Business of Saving the Earth Through Travel Entrepreneurist, 2/6
- California to Require Net-Zero-Energy Buildings ENN, 2/6
- Overfishing May Hurt Amazon Forest Trees Mongabay.com, 2/6
- Scientists Identify 'Tipping Points' of Climate Change The Independent, 2/6
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/5/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
- Candidates' Positions on Climate & Energy Issues Grist, 2/5
- Green Can Be Inexpensive, With a Little Work S.F. Chronicle, 2/5
- Next Car Debate: Total Miles Driven Wall Street Journal, 2/5
- Banks Set Emissions Standards for U.S. Power Sector ENN,2/5
- People Spending Less Time Outdoors Mongabay.com, 2/5
- Scientists Puzzle Over Amazon's Role in Warming World USA Today, 2/5
- Worrisome Chemical Found in Kids Seattle Times, 2/5
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/4/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
Consumers Urged to Be Cautious As False 'Green' Ads Draw Global Scrutiny Wall Street Journal, 2/4
- San Francisco Peak Oil Preparedness Task Force Explores Life After Fossil Fuels The Bay Area Guardian, 2/4
- A Green Energy Industry Takes Root in Calofirnia NY Times, 2/4
- A River Restored: Pulling the Plug for Salmon The Columbian, 2/4
- Detroit Auto Show Parades Environmental Future Georgia Straight, 2/4
- Big Oil Has Trouble Finding New Fields SF Chronicle, 2/4
- Culprits in Hottier, More Fire Prone West Are People, Says New Study Published in Top Journal The Oregonian, 2/4
Friday, February 01, 2008
Sustainability News Headlines - 2/1/2008
News of Sustainability Benefiting People Today
The Peak Oil Crisis - The Future of Cars, Part I Falls Church News Press, 2/1
- Alternative Energy, Green Jobs, and Economic Stimulus The Triple Pundit, 2/1
- It's Really Not That Easy Being Green SF Chronicle, 2/1
- Don't Bother With the "Green" Consumer ENN, 2/1
- Construction Industry Embraces Green Building LOHAS Weekly, 2/1
- Rising Energy Costs Driving CIOs to Go Green LOHAS Weekly, 2/1
- The Peak Oil Crisis - The Future of Cars, Part II Falls Church News Press, 2/1
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