Beekeeper Laura Johnson enjoys tending to her buzzing friends, but the real motive behind her hobby is stopping the decline of honey bees.

Honey Bees (Photo: USDA)

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has been threatening bees, and the dozens of crops they serve, around the world for the past several years.

So Johnson, an organic gardener in suburban Atlanta, decided it was time to jump into honey.

It wasn’t a great year to start. An unusually rainy season cut honey production for many Georgia beekeepers. And since Johnson’s hive was so new, she decided to let the bees keep their honey this year instead of harvesting it.

“That’s part of the reason I got a hive. I figure if we help the bees along maybe that will help. Without bees we won’t have food,” she said.

Johnson reasons that more bee keepers can help slow the decline of honey bees. And with scientists breeding stronger strains of bees, she hopes they have a fighting chance.

Right now she has one hive, but has plans for another in the spring.

“I’m trying to do it as natural as possible, with no chemicals,” she said. “I was green before it was cool.”

For example, she puts powdered sugar in the hive to get rid of mites and cinnamon to discourage ants.

Bee keepers across the US had a slightly better year in 2009, with honey bee losses slowing slightly in the U.S. over the 2008-2009 winter, when the most bees succumb to disease. About 29 percent of the domestic honey bees died from CCD and other causes, compared with 36 percent and 32 percent in the previous two winters.

While the year was better, losses of that magnitude are not “sustainable,” according to the report by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the USDA.

Georgia saw a rough harvest this year, according to avid beekeeper and county cooperative extension agent Tom Bonnell.  Honey production was down due to a weird confluence of heavy rain and heat. Bonnell’s hives only produced eight gallons this year, compared with 15 gallons last year.

Like his fellow bee keepers, Bonnell monitors reports about CCD, a phenomenon in which the bees leave the hive, become disoriented and fail to return, leaving the hive to die.

Some experts believe Colony Collapse Disorder can be attributed to a virus caused by the varroa mite; others say the bees are being poisoned by pesticides that act on the nervous system. The bees are exposed to the pesticides while eating pollen in crop fields, and the neurotoxins cause them to lose their bearings.

Some believe another contributing factor to CCD is the way bees are used in commercial agriculture, with beekeepers taking hives large distances across the US to pollinate fields. This theory maintains that the traveling bees become vulnerable to disease and stressed as they move in and out of their home turf.

Tom Bonnell demonstrates his working honey hives

“About every 10 years something comes up and aggravates the honey bee,” Bonnell said. “I think CCD is hitting the commercial bee keepers and not the hobbyists … (is) because they (hobbyists) don’t drag bees all over the United States.”

“Once you drag them from state to state you don’t know what they’re getting into.”

Heightened awareness of CCD has led to an increase in the number of new beekeepers and bee clubs, Bonnell said. And that’s a sweet situation.

“It can be a family adventure. You can look at that as an heirloom to pass down to generations,” Bonnell noted.

Commercial beekeeper Billy Engle also relishes the practice of bee keeping, but has decided to downsize this year because it’s too much work for his failing health.

Engle has operated Rose Creek Honey Farm in The Rock, Georgia for more than 20 years.

“It was not a good year for bees. Mine really have not died off like the previous two years, but I only had half a honey crop this time,” he said.

Rallying for a clean energy bill in Massachussetts, noted climatologist Dr. James Hansen told students this weekend that they must take the future in their hands.

Massachusetts Sleep Out (Photo: Ian McClellan)

“Our universe is incredibly unjust and inequitable for young people and future generations. ” Dr. Hansen said.  “Unless someone can change the direction, young people are really in trouble.  Our governments are not taking actions or planning actions that will achieve this.”

Dr. Hansen, known for sounding the alarm about climate change to Congress 20 years ago, appeared in Boston to support students and environmentalists who have been sleeping out to press Massachusetts lawmakers to commit to 100 percent clean energy for the state by 2020.

After sleeping out with the students encamped on Boston Common, Dr. Hansen joined them in lobbying lawmakers today. He testified before an informational hearing sponsored by the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change. (And being cited for trespassing by Boston police.)

Others testifying included:  Dominique McCadden, Northeastern University student and participant in The Leadership Campaign; the Rt. Rev. Roy Cederholm, Jr., Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Mass.; Frank Ackerman, Senior Economist at the Stockholm Environment Institute.

Earlier at the Sunday rally, several other supporters spoke, including:

Marla Marcum of the Massachusetts Council of Churches; Linnea Palmer Paton, a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Alex Propp, a student at Amherst College; Steve MacAusland, co-founder of the National Interfaith Power & Light Movement; Ken Ward of the JP Greenhouse; State Representative Will Brownsberger, vice-chair of House Global Warming and Climate Change Committee; and Craig Altemose, a Harvard graduate student and coordinator of The Leadership Campaign.

The Leadership Campaign, which is run by Students for a Just and Stable Future, is coordinating the protests.

What do you get when a scientist and a minister collaborate?

When the subject is climate change, you get a book, A Climate for Change, co-authored by scientist Katharine Hayhoe and her husband, pastor Andrew Farley.

A Climate for Change

The premise of the couple’s book, published Oct. 29, is that before anything can be done about climate change, people need to be convinced that there is a need to do so. Their book, as the subtitle suggests – “Global warming facts for faith-based decisions” – attempts to address questions that Hayhoe and Farley have received in their respective lines of work.

Hayhoe, who is an atmospheric scientist, was a reviewer for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). She is a professor in the Department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University. Farley, who also is the author of The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church, is the lead teaching pastor at Eccleisia, a church in Lubbock, as well as a professor at Texas Tech.

“We wrote this book in a non-political way,” says Hayhoe, in a phone interview. Climate change is not a political issue, but how we go about fixing it, is, she says.

“Our book is dedicated to anyone who’s ever asked if climate change is real. My husband and I could find no book that answered the questions that people had. How do we know that it’s humans who cause climate change? What’s the science?

What we do is offer the really basic facts.”

And, as Hayhoe, notes, numbers don’t lie. Sixteen pages of the book are devoted to full color graphics that explain climate change in facts and figures.  One graph shows how the earth’s average temperature has risen from 1850 to the present day. Another shows various sources of greenhouse gases and where the most emissions come from — deforestation is listed at 8 percent; electricity generation is the highest at 21 percent. (Many experts would consider those numbers too low. Among environmental scientists there’s near consensus that deforestation is responsible for about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and that burning fossil fuels for electricity production causes at least 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.)

One particularly fascinating graph shows the human impact on climate change with one line showing the effect of humans on temperatures and the other line shows simulated temperatures without humans. The latter line, the one without humans, has noticeably lower temps.

While Farley is a Christian minister, Hayhoe says their book isn’t just for Christians. The book is for “anyone with any compassion,” she says. “Climate change is hurting our global neighbors. All religions believe in taking care of others who are disadvantaged. The people being hardest hit by global warming are the economically disadvantaged, in part, because they don’t have the resources.”

Hayhoe and Farley use the example of the Inupiaq people of Kivalina, a remote 600-foot-wide reef in northwest Alaska. They have made their livelihood for generations along the frozen shores of the Chukchi Sea. Today the protective sea ice, which used to buffer the island from winter storms, is taking longer to form each year. As a result, autumn storms hit the area before the sea ice can form, causing erosion. Until now, the Inupiaq people have built seawalls to protect their village, but erosion is destroying the area so rapidly that the people may have to leave the island permanently.  Relocating the village will cost between $150 and $250 million, a price that these villagers cannot afford.

“We were given a perfectly designed balance that we have altered,” Hayhoe says. However, the book notes that people have proven in the past that these imbalances can be repaired. The authors point to the original Clean Air Act which was developed in 1970 in response to the acid rain created by coal-burning power plants. They also note that chloroflurorocarbons  (CFCs) were banned once scientists realized that the ozone was being depleted thanks to the CFCs used in air conditioners, spray cans and refrigerators. Most recently prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese government figured out a way to clean the air for the athletes. They did so by shutting down factories and limiting car use. All of these events show that humans can address climate change, Hayhoe and Farley say. It just takes motivation and innovation.

An interesting point that Hayhoe and Faley make is that there is such a thing a good greenhouse gases. “If we didn’t have these good greenhouse gases,” says Hayhoe, “ the planet would be a frozen ball of ice. These good greenhouse gases would keep the earth at about 55 degrees.”

“Unfortunately, we have taken something that is good and then taken too much of it – similar to overeating. We should have some greenhouse gases , but we have now tipped the balance,” she says.

The authors say they by and large, they have received support from both environmental and faith-based groups. “Interestingly, we have had some negative reaction from the environmental community,” Hayhoe says. “They say our book spends too much time explaining climate change; that it’s not urgent enough.”

“Our thought has always been that there is no point in talking about the urgency of climate change unless people understand what it’s about,” she says.

“People of faith have told us this is the resource they’ve been looking for,” says Hayhoe. “Among the questions we have gotten: ‘If we believe God is in control, how can climate change happen? Isn’t global warming just part of a natural cycle?’”

The facts are clear, says Hayhoe.  From 1850 until 1910, temperatures were stable; they rose from 1910 to 1940; then between 1940 and 1970, they were stable again. However, since 1970, temperatures have steadily risen.

And it’s important, say the authors, to differentiate between weather and climate. They are not the same. Weather, as they point out in the book, is the day-to-day condition. Climate is the weather over a long period of time.

Respecting God’s creation is the answer to dealing with climate change, says Hayhoe. Making wise choices while living on Earth and understanding that what we do, affects others, are key. Farley advises readers to act based on the freedom of choice, not out of a sense of guilt. Guilt, he says, isn’t a good motivator. People should act from the heart, no matter what their religion.

Copyright © 2009 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

How many more causes can we shop or tweet for? At least one more, hopes Haagen-Dazs, makers of those indulgences so inadequately called ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has been running a campaign to raise awareness about the decline of honey bees due to Colony Collapse Disorder. It’s close to the ice cream maker’s heart, and also should we say vat? , because the bees help pollinate almonds and, obviously, supply honey, both vital ingredients for HD flavors.

Haagen Dazs announced it is extending the campaign through December and has invited the public to participate in a week of  tweeting for the cause via TwitCause, the largest social cause portal on Twitter. During the designated week, Nov. 5-11, Haagen-Dazs will donate $1, up to $500 a day, for everyone who tweets their support. The money will be sent to the University of California-Davis for a new Bee Sanctuary/Education Center and for research on how to help save the bees.

Honey bees in North America have been declining due to CCD for several years. The mysterious phenomenon claims entire colonies after the bees become disoriented and the adults fail to return to the hive.

Fact: America has an abundance of food.
Question: So why does anyone go hungry in this country?

A potato gleaning in Virginia (Photo: Society of St. Andrew)

Armed with this simple thought, the Society of St. Andrew (SOSA) took up the cause of feeding the hungry in 1979 with the idea of gleaning fields for salvageable produce.

“We do this in two says,” says Carol Breitinger, communications director. “We use volunteers in the field for hands-on gleaning, or we send out trucks to pick up surplus crops that farmers can’t use and would just end up in the landfill.”

Once SOSA obtains the produce, they distribute to food pantries around the country. Breitinger says they salvage 20 to 25 million pounds of food a year with the help of 30,000 to 35,000 volunteers. The volunteers come from church groups, schools, scout troops, and even from the people who need the food.

Becky and Dave Aduddell of Wake Forest, N.C., are two of SOSA’s veteran volunteers. “We’ve been doing this for five or six years now,” says Dave, who is a web programmer for a local community college by day and a bass player by night. The couple was hooked after a friend who was gleaning introduced them to the concept. “It sounded like such an eminently logical idea that we joined him very shortly after he started.”

Gleaning a field in North Carolina (Photo: Society of St. Andrew)

“Our interest in gleaning stems from that great desire within each of us to ‘do some good.’ We like it because it is very concrete and tangible. Writing a check to a charity gives one a good feeling and a sense of satisfaction, but going out and working to glean, then delivering the produce directly to the recipients is a very concrete act.”

The Aduddells bring their gleaned crops to a public housing complex in the small town where they live.

The couple acknowledges that the gleaning process wasn’t a big stretch – both of them come from farming families. “While we didn’t grow up on a farm, we spent time doing farm work as kids, so this is a nice déjà vu for us,” says Dave.

In mid-October the Aduddells joined several hundred volunteers for the 19th annual Yam-Jam, sponsored by SOSA. The group salvaged unharvested sweet potatoes from a 50-acre field in rural Johnston County, North Carolina. The area had already been harvested by professionals. In addition to sweet potatoes, Becky says the group has collected corn, green beans, collards, tomatoes, watermelon, squash and blueberries.

“A good 20 percent of produce is lost in the fields,” says SOSA’s Breitinger. She says the USDA calculates that 96 billion pounds of food is wasted in this country before it gets to market.

Why do farmers leave good food behind? “Sometimes commercial growers must leave one field to move on to the next crop,” says Breitinger. Other times, the produce isn’t “perfect” enough for market – not quite the right size or color, but perfectly edible. Also, sometimes the farmer can’t afford to pay another crew to come through his fields again.

Gleaning a perfect cabbage in Virginia (Photo: Society of St. Andrew)

Farmer Leo Stallings says he has leftovers because there isn’t a big market for produce in Franklin County, the area of North Carolina where his farm is located. Stallings, who has been in the farm business for 40 years, grows a number of crops including sweet corn, beans, cantaloupe, collards, peas, squash and string beans. “This area is not very commercial. There are few markets. Growing is not a problem, but selling is. We don’t have a co-op to handle acres of crops.

“I try to plant about as much as I think will sell. But because the market varies, I often have leftovers.”

Stallings says SOSA volunteers come out in the summer and late fall to salvage his fields. He says he doesn’t mind giving it away. “I don’t want it to go to waste and they give us a tax credit for it.”

When large growers donate a tractor trailer load of food, SOSA might contact a group of volunteers, often a church group, to sponsor a “potato drop.”

“Imagine 45,000 pounds of loose potatoes dumped into a church parking lot,” says Breitinger. “Volunteers then put 10 to 15 pounds of potatoes into mesh bags. We contact the local food pantries to come to pick it up.”

Man-made chemicals that have long made life easier for everyone from cooks to clothiers are getting another round of scientific scrutiny. They may be related to unhealthy levels of cholesterol, a study released Monday suggests.

Jessica Nelson, one of the authors of a new study of chemicals' impact on cholesterol

The chemicals are PFCs, and they’ve already been proven problematic. The Environmental Protection Agency and the top producers of one PFC (perfluoroalkys) have agreed to eliminate its use and emissions worldwide by 2015.

Even if they were eradicated tomorrow, the researchers at Boston University School of Public Health point out that some PFCs linger in the body a long time – one has a half-life of up to 8½ years.

There are hundreds of PFCs, and science is just scratching the surface of their potential impact on people. The chemicals are used to create non-stick or repellent materials on a laundry list of products. Your cooking pan, that waterproof jacket, your carpet and the packaging your frozen dinner came in all contain PFCs. The chemicals are used in almost every industry, from automobiles to electronics, textiles to cleaning products.

“PFCs have been used for over 50 years,” said Jessica W. Nelson, one of the authors of the study. “It is a large family of chemicals. There has been a fair amount of study in animals, but studies with people have been fewer.”

In studies of animals, there were direct correlations between high PFC levels and a host of illnesses, including cancer and developmental problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“So far, these have mostly consisted of studies in people who work with PFCs and have higher exposures. Studies of people exposed to background levels are just starting to come out,” Nelson said.

Many water-repellent fabrics and surfaces contain PFCs.

“We really don’t know specifically how people are being exposed to PFCs. . . . They’re used widely in industry as surfactants and coatings. They make products resistant to stains, oil and water,” Nelson said Monday. “They’re used in products like pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags, take-out food wrappers, textile coatings, carpet treatments . . . “

Researchers believe PFCs may enter the body through food and drinking water, ingesting and inhaling air and dust, or directly from products.

So what is the correlation between the PFCs and cholesterol?

The scientists were able to gather blood serum from 2,094 people, making use of a large, varied group of Americans who have been part of an ongoing survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Our study found an association between blood levels of several PFCs and higher levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol,” Nelson said. Of the study participants, the 25 percent carrying the highest levels of PFOS, PFOA and PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid) in their bodies had higher levels of “bad” serum cholesterol.

The study participants with the least amount of those three PFCs had less “bad” cholesterol in their bodies. There was not a clear link between PFCs and body size/weight and insulin resistance, which the researchers also analyzed.

Non-stick cookware has long been made with PFC coatings.

One interesting finding in the study suggests that even typical adults with relatively low levels of the three PFCs in their bodies had higher LDL cholesterol than the general population. This was especially pronounced in people with PFNA in their systems.

The fourth chemical, PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonic acid), which has not been studied extensively, did not appear to have a strong link with cholesterol levels.

Researcher Nelson emphasized that their findings are “exploratory, and need to be followed up.

“Our results do not say that PFCs cause higher cholesterol. However, the association that we found – together with what other studies have found – is cause for concern and more research.”

The most prevalent chemical, PFOS, was more common in non-Hispanic white males, and age didn’t appear to be a factor.

The ranks of people with high levels of “bad” cholesterol has been growing, and that is linked to coronary heart disease, among other health problems.

“Despite its limitations, this study contributes to the literature suggesting that PFC exposure may disrupt cholesterol metabolism or homeostasis in humans,” the report said.

The study appeared in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal and is available online. The journal is part of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The EPA has answers to frequent questions about PFCs, and more information is available from the nation’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

It’s not just environmental lobbyists who are gearing their words toward strong action at the upcoming Copenhagen climate change negotiations.

At a recent appearance in New Orleans, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, dubbed the “Green Patriarch” by Al Gore,  minced no words about the urgency of addressing climate change:

“We have reached a defining moment in our history…the point where absolute limits to our survival are being reached,” and we “instead of living on income, or the available surplus of the earth, we are consuming environmental capital and destroying its resources as if there is no tomorrow.”

The Patriarch was speaking at the opening address for the 8th Religion, Science and Environment (RSE) Symposium that began Oct. 20.  The RSE, a non-governmental organization based in Athens, began in 1995 with the mission to protect the planet by providing common ground among the worlds of religion, science and the environment. His All Holiness Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Christian Orthodox Church, oversees RSE.

The symposiums look at the future of global waters, which cover 7/10 of the planet’s surface. Scientists, environmentalists, policy makers and representatives from the world’s major religions have developed what RSE’s website describes as “a vibrant environmental ethics movement.”

In addressing the symposium, entitled “Restoring Balance: The Great Mississippi River,” the Patriarch said, “We stand in solidarity with the people of New Orleans and all people who seek a better life. And we are present with you to call for a renewed consciousness for environmental responsibility, and an awareness of what such a consciousness entails.”

Blessing the Mississippi, His All Holiness Bartholomew and Cardinal McCarrick

Referring to the Mississippi, the Patriarch said, “this river comprises a microcosm of our planet. In its waters, we observe many of the world’s ecological issues. We are humbled in its presence. We have come to listen to its story, to learn from its history…As the Mississippi links the prairies to the sea, we ourselves form the link between the past and the future.”

The symposium, said RSE spokesman Paul Brown, “was one of the last major gatherings before the critical climate talks to be held in Copenhagen in late November and early December.”

Although there are indications that the United States and China hope for success, “many feel that the world’s politicians do not understand the urgency of the situation, or the need for radical thinking and action,” he said.

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader to 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, echoed this thought in his opening address, where he spoke of the need for change and for humans to recognize that we are at  “a defining moment in our history.”

Brown said the group hopes the serious tone is not lost on policymakers.

“Climate change,” Brown said, “does not respect national boundaries…Religion and science should transcend national boundaries: both forces need to make their voices heard and galvanize the politicians at Copenhagen into action.”

His All Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew has led other symposia around the world, featuring the Danube and Amazon Rivers, the Aegean and Black Seas.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

In an effort to bring attention to the nation’s outdated toxic chemical laws, Seventh Generation, the makers of many environmentally safe home products, has partnered with Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families in the Million Baby Crawl. This campaign is asking everyone, moms or not, to urge Congress for stronger chemical regulations.

Erin Brockovich

Synthetic chemicals are currently regulated by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This out-dated law still allows the existence of materials that some experts have said not only harm the environment, but cause cancer and many other serious illnesses. Under the TSCA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have the authority to get the information it needs to evaluate a chemical’s risk. The EPA has only been able to require testing on 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds currently in use. The time is overdue for toxic chemical policy reform.

Well-known environmental activist and mom of three, Erin Brockovich has joined forces with Seventh Generation to lead the campaign. Saturday, she called upon some other famous Hollywood moms to join in on her efforts. Amy Smart, Kellie Martin, and Catherine McCord are some of the eco-celebrities that came out to The Little Seed, a children’s boutique for eco-moms, to kick off the Million Baby Crawl campaign.

“I am an advocate for awareness, the truth, and a person’s right to know. I believe that in the absence of the truth, all of us stand helpless to defend our families and our health, which are the greatest gifts we have,” said Brockovich in a statement. “In many instances, our issues may seem to fall on deaf ears, but I’m living proof that when we speak loudly enough, change will occur. I’m urging everyone to join me in the Million Baby Crawl to help make that difference and make sure all our voices, young and old are heard.”

So far, 6,300 crawlers have joined the campaign. You can join the crawl.  You can name your crawler, and even customize his/her skin tone and clothing color.

Do what you can, not just for the environment, but for the health and safety of your family and yourself.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

If anyone doubted that there’s a global grassroots movement to fight climate change, they may reconsider after viewing the photos that streamed in this weekend from the International Day of Climate Action.

Demonstrators in Sydney at the Opera House

From Sydney to Barcelona; the Himalayas to Hollywood, people in more than 180 nations gathered to display the number 350 — the benchmark that many scientists consider to be the safe upper limit for carbon in the air. Above 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide (Earth’s atmosphere is already at 390), greenhouse gases play havoc with arctic ice and the oceans, sending Earth toward a tipping point that climatologists around the world would bring disastrous floods, coastal losses, droughts and vast alterations in farmland.

The organizing group behind the demonstrations, 350.org, asked concerned citizens and like-minded groups to coalesce around this single number to make a point that the people across the globe want solutions.  Specifically, they want their national leaders to take serious steps to curb global warming at the upcoming United Nations’ climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

350 in Bangladesh

The wave of actions that rippled across the planet this past weekend began in the Pacific, where many islands could be inundated by the rising seas created by greenhouse gases. It moved with the time zones around the planet, to the mountains where glaciers are thinning to Africa where the ability to grow food is threatened.

In Bonn, activists make their desires clear (Photo: Robert von Waarden, Spectral Q)

In Europe activists used the day to express their hopes that political leaders will act decisively. Environmentalists are concerned that politicians may move too slowly, and that without a firm move toward clean energy and away from polluting fossil fuel industries, the planet’s atmosphere will continue to fill with greenhouse gases.

At 11 a.m. on Saturday, Columbia University’s two largest student environmental groups gathered in the middle of campus to bang on drums, strum guitars, blow through horns and yell at the top of their lungs. For one ear-throbbing minute the campus erupted– all in the name of the environment.

The literal wake-up call to the Upper West Side of New York City kicked-off the day-long festivities, organized by Green Umbrella and Eco-Reps, for the International Day of Climate Action, a world-wide day of events organized to deliver a unified call to action for bold leadership on the climate crisis.

Demonstrators at the Brooklyn Bridge

“This movement may be small today, but we’re not alone at all,” said Greg Tulchin, the head organizer of Columbia’s 350 Event. “We’re connected to all these millions of people around the world.”

Despite the relentless downpour in the city, scheduled events carried on in NYC, with the grand finale in Times Square including supporters chanting and carrying signs as jumbo screens streamed climate day slogans. At Columbia, a small group of students and neighbors huddled under tents while creating their own 12-foot banner for Times Square. They made newspaper pots for planting and watched eco-related performances.

Students at Columbia College (Photo: Sommer Saadi)

“There is a lot of information out there [about climate change] and it can be really overwhelming,” said Elizabeth Kipp-Giusti, publicity director of EcoReps, one of the organizing groups. “If we can do a little bit to facilitate that process of going through it all, then that’s a step toward having people be more environmentally aware and that’s all we can ask for.”

With the goal of the day being to raise awareness about 350 and the December UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhagen, being in the middle of the campus, in the middle of the city, making lots of noise translated to success—no matter the weather.

Theater Troupe in Trujillo, Peru (Photo: Valkiria)

While rained soaked events from Boston to Washington D.C., demos in the rest of the US fared better, with people turning out in tiny towns like Orono, Minn., and major cities, including larger gatherings in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Everywhere people made a point about the effects on climate change on their corner of the world, declaring “We love our snow” in Alaska, with that changing to “Save Our Coasts” on Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles.

The sun shone also on events in South America, which has been losing natural habitat to over-development, and in Africa, is already hitting hard. Many island nations and countries in low-lying areas, which stand to lose coastal lands to rising seas as well as worsening storms, participated in the demonstrations, from the Maldives and Micronesia to the Caribbean.

School children in the Dominican Republic

Bill McKibben, environmental activist and founder of 350.org, declared the day a huge success to supporters and urged anyone who’s curious to visit the website and see the photos.

“It was so sweet to watch the day move around the globe, with thousands upon thousands of pictures appearing, sometimes a dozen a minute! There were photos of climbers high on the glaciers of Switzerland holding 350 banners, of bicycle parades from Copenhagen to San Francisco, of organizers in Papua New Guinea beating their church gong 350 times while churches in Barcelona rang their bells 350 times.”

“…Together, we’ve shown the world that a global climate movement is possible and set a bold new agenda for the upcoming United Nations Climate Meetings in Copenhagen this December,” he said. “The 350 target is the new bottom line for climate action and world leaders must now meet that target.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

The US Department of Energy’s 2009 Solar Decathlon showcased the best in solar-powered home design as conceived by colleges students. Over 20 teams from across North America and Europe competed in this year’s competition.

1st Place Solar Home

Team Germany came in first place overall with a score of 908.297 out of 1,000. Team Germany also won the last competition in 2007. The team’s philosophy of “pushing the envelope with as many new technologies as possible” took them straight to the top.

Out of the ten categories, Team Germany’s “SurPLUShome” won Net Metering and scored very highly in the other categories. The team’s two-story home has furniture and appliances that either fold away or can be transformed into something else to serve additional purposes. There are photovoltaic panels on the roof and all sides of the home, even the north side, to produce 200% of the energy required for the house.

The type of solar panels used are less efficient than some, but collect power even on cloudy or rainy days. The aggressive covering of the home with the panels led to the excess energy produced. The panels collected power even on rainy days.

Construction costs for Team Germany’s home was estimated from $650,000-$850,000.

See a video about the house on You Tube.

The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana’s Gable Home came in second with their home that produces up to four times the energy needed. The team focused on performance but “also achieved elegant simplicity in design,” according to the judges.

This home uses 90% less energy than typical construction. Laminated bamboo was

2nd Place Solar Home

used in construction, which is stronger than wood and more rapidly renewable. This home’s construction costs are significantly lower with a range of $250,000-$450,000.

Team California, made up of Santa Clara University and the California College of the Arts, finished in third place with its Refract House. This home’s temperature and lighting can be controlled from anywhere with a simple iPhone application. The judges gave it first place for Architecture and Communications and raved about its aesthetics.

“Beautiful in every respect, Refract House broke out of the box and masterfully executed the melding of interior and exterior spaces,” they reported.

3rd Place Solar Home

To conserve space, the team equipped the house with built-in furniture. Team California’s construction costs were $450,000-$650,000.

Congratulations to all the Solar Decathlon participants for their efforts to make the future greener.

For details about other winners, see the Solar Decathlon website.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

This Saturday is International Day of Climate Action — a chance for everyone to take a stand on behalf of the planet and possibly participate in one of 4,300 actions that are planned in 171 countries.

With participation numbers like that, the number “350″ is becoming a popular rallying cry.

“We had no idea it would go viral like this. It seems far-fetched that you could get that many people to rally around a scientific data point, but the number just keeps climbing. It shows just how scared of global warming much of the planet really is, and how fed up at the inaction of our leaders,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org.

Added Matt Fitzgerald, a organizer for the group: “We’ve been hearing from the politicians and the corporations, now we’re hearing from the people. And in over 170 countries they’re calling for a Copenhagen agreement that sets us on a rapid path to 350.”

350.org began the International Day of Climate Action campaign not only to wake up politicians, but wake up the world. The group wants everyone to know about and understand the number 350, which signifies the level many scientists have identified as the safe utmost limit for CO2 in the atmosphere, in parts per million.

Here are a few unique events around the US:

Austin

• Get Clean to Get Green

The Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (GNDC) extremely affordable, net-zero energy subdivision is truly raising the bar for local, affordable, community-based development. This large infill project involves subdividing approximately 7.2 acres into four tracts, which will be developed into both multi-family condominiums and single-family homes. Currently the land is vacant, and remediation of the brownfield is starting Saturday. Every unit on this property will have net-zero energy bills. A large portion of these units will be affordable to extremely low-income households. Join in and get dirty.

• Education Stroll

Join in a moving forum that will not only be good for you, but for the planet. Participants will take a walk in their neighborhood or across the city to talk with people about the urgent need to reduce our carbon emissions so we can quickly scramble back to 350ppm. Walkers/educators are asked to carry signs illustrating important concepts and will stop in businesses along the way (where appropriate and arrangements have been previously made) to speak with larger groups. Spread the environmental word.

Chicago

• Chalk Walk

Columbia College Chicago will be celebrating the arts and bringing awareness to the environment. The college will demonstrate how one can make their own paper by reusing old paper and turning it into pulp. Later, each person will be given a piece of chalk in to use to trace their “carbon footprint” on the sidewalk. Participants will make a pledge, write something meaningful, and decorate their footprint however they would like. There will be volunteers and organizations showcasing art and visual displays along the walk. There will be art stations, tables, and anything else participants want to use to express themselves.

• Go Go Green

The 2009 Go Go Green 5K will raise awareness about the urban ecosystem and educate the community on eco-friendliness on Saturday at Diversey Harbor. People of all ages are welcome. Participants are encouraged to bring household recyclables, old batteries and gym shoes to the race. The race begins at 9am.

Dallas

• Boomer Green Teams

Volunteers will be saving money while saving the environment for area senior citizens. Participants will be installing free compact fluorescent light bulbs for low-income senior citizens. This simple task will reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions.

Los Angeles

• Eat Locally, Think Globally

Enjoy socially responsible fine dining, with locally sourced foods and wines at unique sophisticated venues. Created and produced by Chef Rico Mandel & Helen McHugh, their new concept “Restaurant without Walls” blends the social consciousness of environmental awareness with a luxurious gourmet culinary theme at specially contracted, interchangeable locations.

New York

• Dance to Save the World: Studio 54

Join 250 movers and shakers at Studio 54, for StartingBloc’s second annual Fellow-run fundraiser, BLOC PARTY II. This year they will be celebrating “social innovators”, presenting an inaugural award to Majora Carter, an environmental justice and green jobs pioneer from the South Bronx who has worked on climate change initiatives most of her career.

• Climate at the Cathedral

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine invites the community to come join in ringing bells, delivering messages and taking photos to commemorate IDCA. The cathedral will ring its iconic bells 350 times.

Anywhere

• Twitter Hour

Maybe you do not have a couple of hours to get out this Saturday. It is OK. You can still make a difference from the comfort of your own home. Twitter has swiftly become the new communication tool for people everywhere, even celebrities and politicians. So TWEET it.

President Barack Obama is one of the people with the most power to create a positive outcome at the upcoming Copenhagen meeting. Let him know that 350 ppm target is the only way to stop the planet tipping into climate crisis. From 12-1 EDT, send “USA MUST formally adopt the 350ppm CO2 target at Copenhagen 09 – the ONLY WAY to prevent runaway climate change NO EXCUSES!” All the tweets sent to President Barack Obama need to contain the same message, to create maximum impact, according to 350.org.

It is not too late to join an event or even register your own. Either way, make this Saturday about something much larger than yourself.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Health reform has gripped your attention and dominated your computer and TV screens for weeks now.

In case you’ve got little time to spare to study up on climate legislation coming down the pike soon after this huge debate, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change has boiled it down to a summary report.

Get up to snuff on what the Kerry-Boxer bill, called the The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, by reading the Pew synopsis.

Willing to dig deeper? See Sen. John Kerry’s website for summaries by section of the bill. It’s written in even plainer English and makes it clear what’s in (natural gas and nuclear power) and what’s out (it does not raise the federal deficit by one single dime).

The bill developed as the Senate counterpart to the House’s Waxman-Markey climate bill, but it differs in key ways, for instance, focusing mainly on how to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Most notable, given the origins of the bill in the more conservative Senate, it aims higher, shooting for a 20 percent reduction in GHG from 2005 levels by 2020 compared with the Waxman-Markey goal of  a 17 percent reduction for the same time frame.

The ultimate goal: An 83 percent reduction in GHG’s by 2050, just inching past the standard 80 percent reduction that scientists argue for.

After setting that critical threshold, the bill, like Waxman-Markey, aims to create clean energy jobs and promote energy security by underwriting local, renewable energy sources and installing a cap-and-trade system that puts a price on pollution.

(The authors are Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).