Planetsave

Green Cities California (GCC) announced today the release of its Master Environmental Assessment (MEA) on Single Use and Reusable Bags. The MEA, commissioned by GCC and developed by ICF International’s Sacramento office, summarizes existing studies on the environmental impacts of single use plastic, paper, compostable and reusable bags, as well as the impacts of policy options such as fees and bans on bags. Meanwhile, proposed Minnesota legislation would tax plastic bags, adding to momentum against their continued use. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are reading this article, I think you are probably more concerned about the environment than most others. I assume that you keep up with environmental news a bit, reading more than the miniscule amount covered in the mainstream media.

However, I cannot make any guess as to how much you actually do to live a more environmentally friendly life.

Why?

The bottom line is, people inform themselves of the environmental problems in the world much more than they act. And even for those deeply concerned about the environment, it is very likely there is more they could be doing in their own lives to live a cleaner or greener life.

That is why I want to give one general tip for how to live a greener life. Maybe it is simple. But I think it is one of the best things you can do to transform your actions.

First, though, if you want some statistics on the difference between what people think need to be done and what they are actually doing, take a look at the results of this Americans’ Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming. January 2010 study from George Mason University and Yale University Project on Climate Change researchers.

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The science of climate change is not really the question at hand anymore. Of course, there is always more to learn, but that highly accelerated climate change is real and that humans are the main cause of that are no longer questionable facts to the large majority of the scientific community. What is questionable is whether or not we will address the issue, or to what degree we will address it, and how much our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, etc. will have to pay the price for our late and limited action.

Of course, outside of the scientific community, many climate change deniers and so-called “skeptics” continue to trick the media and act as if those fundamental issues of climate science are not resolved. As a concise response (with relevant links) to some of the most popular claims put forth by the anti-science climate change deniers, here is a list of 7 myths regarding climate change science.

For more in-depth coverage of a few of these topics, read Dr. Joseph Romm’s “The year climate science caught up with what climate scientists have been saying for years” or follow the links included for each myth.

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A volunteer poses with the bottles and cans collected at a Massachusetts watershed cleanup.

A month after the governor of Delaware proposed dumping the state’s beverage container refund law in favor of a new tax for community recycling, in-state and national environmental groups have come out against the recommendation.  Delaware is one of 11 states that has a law providing for beverage container refunds, which are strongly opposed by the beverage industry and some beverage retailers. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Mann, the somewhat infamous climate scientist from Penn State, shouldn’t be so infamous after all, we find out yet another time!

“An academic inquiry into the so-called ‘climategate’ email scandal has concluded that a well-known U.S. scientist [Mann] did not directly or indirectly falsify data in his research,” according to Mike De Souza of the National Post.

The investigation made it very clear (as other peer-reviewed analyses have done) that Mann’s “trick,” so horribly taken out of context and demonized by anti-science media and followers, was nothing unscientific, misleading or to be concerned about.

“They were not falsifying data,” said the report. “They were trying to construct an understandable graph for those who were not experts in the field. The so-called ‘trick’ was nothing more than a statistical method used to bring two or more different kinds of data sets together in a legitimate fashion by a technique that has been reviewed by a broad array of peers in the field.”

Furthermore, the report went on to praise Mann for how he dealt with this greatly unfounded skepticism and criticism of his scientific work. “The report praised Dr. Mann for his ‘composure’ and ‘forthright response’ to all questions, finding no evidence that he had attempted to hide or destroy information, emails or data from his research. It also cleared him of allegations of misusing any privileged or confidential information he had access to as an academic scholar.”

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As the product stewardship movement gains steam, attention is turning to the issue of unsafe disposal of residue or unwanted consumer pharmaceuticals.  The widespread detection of pharmaceutical residues in public waters and fish has raised biologists’ concerns.  In Minnesota, the popularity of public-sponsored take-back days and a coming legislative proposal in the 2010 session to create a network of collection facilities, funded by pharmaceutical makers, adds a new twist to the problem. Read the rest of this entry »

This week we’re on the topic of saving endangered sea life, and now is the best time to take action with the Ocean Conservancy!

The Obama Administration has a newly formed Ocean Policy Task Force that’s accelerating a planning process for our glorious ocean and coasts.

Since it’s up to us to make sure these plans maintain, protect, revive and restore the health of the sea sustainably, I also sent the message below to the Obama Administration and the National Ocean Policy Task Force. If we get these simple and straitforward letters to them before the February 12 deadline we’ll help lock in our country’s commitment to take action to ensure comprehensive, responsible ocean planning that holds us accountable in preserving a healthy marine environment for the planet.

Here is the letter we’re sending to President Obama and the Ocean Policy Task Force: Read the rest of this entry »

Last season NRDC announced it’s mission to save the Hawaiian island’s Whales, and now that this decision is facing the president we’re asking the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales under the Endangered Species Act because the loss of even a few whales could endanger the survival of the entire population. These whales are among the most imperiled wildlife in the Hawaiian Islands with only 120 of them alive today.

Help grant federal protection to Hawaii’s coastal population of false killer whales. Shown below is one of my letters urging the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales.

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Even if the U.S. government continues its pseudo protection to save the planet’s wildlife and natural resources they can be thanked indirectly as they recently created a new National Wildlife Refuge System Coloring Book. Most people might not be aware of the U.S. Refuge System, which includes more than 540 refuges, with at least one in every state and one about an hour’s drive from most metropolitan areas. Here in the Bay Area we have a few including Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Newark. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time to get angry. This is what John Kerry, not exactly the most extreme guy, is saying to us. Is it the best solution?

This is what Kerry told advocates of climate legislation recently:

“I want you to go out there and start knocking on doors and talking to people and telling people this has to happen. You know, if the Tea Party folks can go out there and get angry because they think their taxes are too high, for God’s sake, a lot of citizens ought to get angry about the fact that they’re being killed and our planet is being injured by what’s happening on a daily basis by the way we provide our power and our fuel and the old practices that we have. That’s something worth getting angry about.” (emphasis mine)

As part of my Bachelor’s thesis in sociology and environmental studies, about 6 years ago, I studied the history of the environmental movement in great depth. Since then, I have been keeping my eye on things, on the bigger picture, as I work in different fields — natural and organic foods, city planning and sustainable development, alternative transportation, and, now, online journalism with a green tint.

The underlying question, consistently, is: “How do we avoid, or — worst case scenario — deal with, huge environmental collapse?”

The issues have only gotten bigger (see: Global Warming in the Arctic — Much Worse than We Thought!, Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Faster than Ever and Oceans Absorbing CO2, Preventing Climate Change — Good, Right? No). But we seem to be going down the same road consistently, despite all the amazing efforts of people trying to turn this car around (and transform it into something green-friendly). The environmental movement, perhaps bigger than ever, still seems on the brink of failure.

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