Air pollution continues to plague many large U.S. cities, where coal plants and tailpipe emissions poison the air with asthma-aggravating, cancer causing ozone and particle emissions. But the picture, and the air, is much clearer in Peoria, Springfield and a few dozen other mid-sized meccas, according to the American Lung Association’s annual report. See what the air rates where you live.
Tags: · air, American Lung Association, Asthma, car emissions, Carbon Dioxide, coal plants, COPD, diabetes, heart disease, lungs, Ozone, particle pollution, pollution, smog
I remember 2007, when we started this website. People were tip-toeing toward greener behaviors. Activists were writing kids’ books explaining the greenhouse effect and urging tots to turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth. Scholars had assembled tomes, politely pointing out that we’d be running out of oil pretty soon. How things have changed on this Earth Day 2013…
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Climate Change, Earth Day, food system, Fossil Fuels, GMOs, green incentives, Keystone XL pipeline, Plastic bottles, pollution, Recycle & Reuse
For anyone who doesn’t want to reduce carbon emissions, China seems like a great scapegoat. The defenders of the status quo argue that U.S. companies will be at a disadvantage if we tax carbon or invest in clean energy because “China’s not doing anything.” Problem is: It’s not true.
Tags: · Andrew Winston, China, Fossil Fuels, Greenhouse Gases, pollution
Beekeepers in northeastern France say they have produced batches of unusually colored honey in recent months as a result of bees carrying unknown substances from a nearby plant processing waste from an M&M’S candy factory. Since August, beekeepers in…
Tags: · artificial coloring, Beekeepers, Beekeeping, Bees, colorants, food waste, M&Ms, pollution
Green Right Now Reports Does the new school year find you stocking up on zip baggies and cases of plastic water bottles? There’s no need! You can cross those disposables right off the grocery list by making the move to reusables. Chances are you already have reusable water bottles. Now it’s time to push the [...]
Tags: · Lunch Skins, plastic baggies, pollution, reducing plastic, reusable lunch bags, Reusies, Sandwiches, Snack Taxi
As conservation tips go, the suggestion to quit idling might seem like small stuff.
Indeed, it is more meaningful to give up your car for a day and take the train, car share or bundle errands and drive a lot less.
Tags: · Climate Change, green tips, Idling, pollution, reduce carbon emissions, save gasoline, stop idling, when to idle
Maya Lin, known for creating the aesthetically spare and inspiring Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington D.C., has produced another powerful tribute designed to prompt a reaction of awe and sober reflection.
Tags: · biodiversity, extinction, Maya Lin, pollution, species loss, What is Missing
A new study suggests that rivers may be funneling far more toxic mercury into the Arctic Ocean than previously believed, a finding that may portend even greater mercury concentrations in the future as the effects of climate change accelerate the region…
Tags: · Arctic Ocean, Mercury, pollution
Our oceans, long taken for granted, are being stressed by pollution, over-fishing and climate change. Plastic gyres, swirling pools of plastic refuse, occupy several spots in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The largest one, in the North Pacific, is estimated to exceed the size of Texas….These linked, but disparate problems — pollution, unsustainable fishing practices, jobs at risk — won’t be solved easily. That’s why several environmental and conservation groups working around the globe have formed the Global Partnership for Oceans. The groups hope that together they can work to save the marine environment before human pressures cause natural fisheries to collapse.
Tags: · EDF, IUCN, National Fisheries Institute, Oceana, Oceans, overfishing, plastic gyres, pollution, sustainable fishing, World Bank, WWF
Trade and foreign direct investment can have a positive effect on the serious environmental degradation confronting China, according to political scientist Ka Zeng at the University of Arkansas.
Tags: · Arkansas, China, China Business, China Environment, foreign direct investment, Foreign Trade, green tariffs, pollution, race to the bottom, Trade with China, University of Arkansas
This awesome piece by the Bay-Area Post Carbon Institute recently won a YouTube award for best non-profit video.
It’s must-see viewing for anyone wondering whether fossil fuels are the root of global problems. Could our dependence on finite, dirty, polluting fossil fuels be causing environmental destruction, jeopardizing food production, endangering future generations and fueling unending wars? (Hint: The answer is yes.)
While many have aimed to tell this story; this abbreviated history, forced to stick to the facts for the sake of brevity, rises above.
Tags: · environmental destruction, Green Energy, greenrightnow.com, oil dependence, oil wars, pollution, the history of fossil fuels in 300 seconds, unsustainable energy
If you value your drinking water, food, local economy, farmers, children, adults, animals and the health of the planet, you’ll want to take three minutes to see a cool new video that debuted at the annual Farm Aid event held in Milwaukee last week.
Underwritten by Anvil Sportswear, the biggest buyer of American-grown organic cotton in the U.S., this fun short film enumerates why it’s important to buy organic. In fact, it lists many, many reasons to go organic. And there are many.
Tags: · Anvil Knitwear, Climate Change, family farms, Farming, organic clothing, organic cotton, Organic Food, pesticides, pollution
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift