·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full post at Treehugger.

While farmers in the US are trying to save money by feeding their cows junk food, the London Times reported today that scientists have found a diet that just might cut down on the belching coming from cows. By feeding cows chopped hay and straw, only 6-7cm in length, farmers can cut down on emissions by 20%. While cows don’t really prefer the straw/hay combo, they will learn to eat it by adding silage, wheat, maize, soya or sugar beet, “just as children are encouraged to take their medicine by cloaking it in a syrup” because they can’t pick around it.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

This one’s fun for the whole family –– who’s talking the green talk? Obama or McCain? And since when? SpeechWars, a nifty research tool developed by Jerusalemite Ben Reis, can help you find out what green words presidential candidates are really using in their speeches, and since when.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

Other than a brief addiction a few years back to some Tom Clancy video games which shall remain nameless, I’m not really much of a video gaming person. That said, using video games to teach kids about renewable energy and raise awareness about green ideas is really a pretty cool idea. And that’s just what the folks over at AlternativeEnergy.com have done.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

Sitting at your desk bored at work? Scanning TH for the 15th time today while waiting for your TPS report to print out? Heres something you and the whole office gang can get into – the Battleground Earth Lightbulb Game. Its just you and a fleet of lightbulbs – think Atari’s Asteroids game- and its your mission to rid the world of those nasty lightbulbs. A word to the wise, shoot ahead of where the bulb is going if you want even a “shot” at hitting them. How to hit the green/red ones? Now that takes skill and I’ve got no clue. The smashing lightbulb sound effects are really addicting, almost as much as this game is.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

In the latest development of large-scale biomass energy production, the Netherlands is now home to the world’s largest biomass power plant running only on – yep, you got it – chicken manure. Though biomass energy schemes are hardly anything new, (see these “power to the people” projects in California, China, India and Uganda) it’s a matter of scale and the plant’s dual objective to provide an alternative source of energy, while tackling a serious problem: namely, the high environmental impact of an excess stream of chicken droppings.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

Every year, intrepid young men and women set out for college. Even more exciting than this, is that for many of them, it’s their first chance to live away from home. But, with the excitement and fun of furnishing a new dorm room comes a price. Every year, college students (and their parents) generate thousands of tons of garbage, because of the choices they make in buying furniture and accessories. Luckily, getting your dorm room to be green has never been easier. All it takes is a little effort, a little creativity, and a few tips and tricks.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

What is a city to do for it 1500 vehicle strong diesel-powered transportation fleet after already converting them all to run on biodiesel? Reduce the distance that biodiesel travels from point of manufacture to the filling station, obviously.

Though San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has only just announced the project and it still needs to go through additional approval steps, the city of San Francisco and Darling International have indicated that they hope to build a biodiesel processing facility near Pier 92 on the city’s waterfront.

The 7.5-10 million gallon per year facility would used locally-sourced recycled fats, waste grease and tallow to produce biodiesel, albeit in relatively small quantities for a commercial plant.

Read the full Greenwire story at ENN.

A trade group that promotes green building design is urging state legislatures to form caucuses to support environmentally sustainable schools.

The U.S. Green Building Council, the Washington, D.C.-based group that promulgates the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating tool, is spearheading the “50 for 50″ effort to lower school energy and maintenance costs and bolster student learning and health.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

The most ingenious idea at an organic market over the weekend at Gothenburg’s Gunnebo “castle” was in the Future Gardens exhibit – designer Topher Delaney used construction debris bags with poked holes for lettuce and other garden veggies to peek out of – a great way to build a garden up instead of out – and a lot less weeding! A low-tech version of vertical farming.

Read the full story from Worldwatch.

The U.S. bottled water market is slowing down after years of steady growth, suggesting that international awareness campaigns may be curbing consumer demand.

While bottled water continues to expand in global popularity, the U.S. market is expected to grow 6.7 percent this year, the smallest increase this decade, according to data collected by the Beverage Marketing Corporation.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

What’s the eco-conscionable thing to do with a used mattress? Pawn it off on a (really) broke friend? Try to give it to Goodwill or list it for giveaway on the Free page on Craigslist? These options are tough, because the idea of sleeping on a used mattress just strikes most as creepy — it’s like wearing secondhand underwear. So you likely do what most of us do — haul it out to the curb and leave it by the trash for the garbage men. As a result, around 40 million mattresses get flipped into the landfills every year. And let’s face it — the options for eco friendly solutions seem pretty slim.

Enter Architecture for Humanity and Rubicon National Social Innovations: they’ve teamed up to launch the Discarded Dreams design competition bent on reusing that seemingly unrecyclable bedding.

Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times.

Marcela Herrera wiped sweat from her nose as the screeching sound of a saw cutting lumber mixed with mariachi music blaring from a house across the street. Clipboard in hand, Herrera jotted down addresses in this Pacoima neighborhood where lumber, steel, ironworks and heavy equipment rental shops operate near homes.

A few blocks away she noted a child care center, where youngsters played outside in air that reeked of a chemical.

“There are a lot of hazardous waste sites around my house,” Herrera said in Spanish through an interpreter. “I wanted to do something to help out.”

Frustrated because she must keep her asthma- and bronchitis-suffering daughters indoors to protect their health, Herrera recently joined a cadre of northeastern San Fernando Valley residents to catalog the location of industrial businesses and their proximity to gathering places for young and elderly residents, who could be most affected by contaminated air and water.

The effort, known as “ground truthing,” is part of an ambitious project devised by environmental justice researchers and a local nonprofit group to compile an accurate picture of where toxic and hazardous sites are located in Southern California and how they affect the health of nearby communities.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

The College Sustainability Report Card 2009 is almost upon academia. It’s that dreaded time–when all those green-talking universities who haven’t put in the due legwork have to forge their parent’s signatures; when environmentally unfriendly colleges try to pencil in a line down the far right side of the ‘F.’ Yes, it’s time for the Sustainable Endowment Institute’s intense annual eco-evaluation of the universities and colleges of the U.S. and Canada. Does your college have what it takes to profess with the greenest of the green?

Read the full post at Treehugger.

The Dutch airline KLM has invested in algal biofuel development, looks forward to participating in a European carbon bank program, and claims to fly 25 percent more efficiently than its competitors. And now, the unusually green-seeming airline is offering the option for those flying in Business Class to order hake farmed from a Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable fishery in South Africa, as a pilot program lasting from September to November 2008.

Climate Progress plugs Thomas Friedman’s new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Friedman’s previous book, The World is Flat, was a New York Times bestseller. Friedman is a columnist for the New York Times.

According to Treehugger, MTA New York City Transit is promoting their environmental successes with posters in subway stations. There are links to other Seen in New York environmental projects at the end of the post.

Read the full post at Sustainablog.

Just as technology continues to infiltrate the masses, becoming less and less a geeks toy, so environmental consciousness and awareness continue to spread. For some, it might be as simple as bringing calico bags to the supermarket. For others, it is taking your house off the grid and growing your own veggies.

But one area that a lot of families and households are stepping up in is the collection of rainwater.

A local company is selling rainbarrels made out of recycled plastic at the Market at the Square in Urbana. If you have local rainbarrel sightings, leave a note in the comments.

Read the full post at Treehugger.

Last week we had the pleasure of checking out the One Planet–Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century installation at the United States Botanic Garden just a stones throw from the Capitol in Washington, DC. Despite the odd name (isn’t sustainability for the 21st century hard enough?) the federally-funded exhibit offered a dazzling array of inspiring eco demonstration projects, including the kinds of energy technologies the current administration and government has done so little to support.

One of the many cool exhibits was Sustainable Schoolyards, sponsored by Friends of Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities, which showcased outdoor classroom concepts and ecological teaching tools suitable for almost any schoolyard.

Today, EPA revealed a new online tool, Energy Star @ Work, to provide Americans with tips and information on how to save energy and protect the environment in the workplace. Energy use in commercial buildings and manufacturing plants accounts for nearly half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 50 percent of energy consumption nationwide. With the average American worker spending almost 8 hours a day at their place of employment, the workplace offers a unique opportunity for people to make a significant impact in the fight against climate change.

“Millions of Americans are already doing their part to save energy by being more energy efficient at home,” said Robert J. Meyers, EPA’s principal deputy assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. “With help from EPA’s Energy Star program, we can also take many of the same energy efficient steps in the workplace.”

Energy Star @ Work is an animated image of a typical office work space with tips and links to valuable information employees can use on a daily basis—from starting a Green Team in the office to simply changing a desk lamp bulb. Simple actions by employees can make a big difference in the overall energy performance of a building. Some of the tips included in the Energy Star @ Work tool include:

• Replace the bulbs in desk lamps with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. These light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. Energy Star qualified lamps and light fixtures also are available for even more energy savings.
• Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are done using office equipment to completely disconnect the power supply. Even when turned off, electronic and IT equipment often use a small amount of electricity when plugged in.
• Remember to turn off your lights when leaving conference rooms and your work space, especially at the end of the day.
• Use Energy Star qualified battery chargers or power adapters which, on average, use 30-35 percent less energy than conventional models. Don’t forget to unplug battery chargers or power adapters when equipment is fully charged or disconnected from the charger.
• Get involved! Create a Green Team with your co-workers, help reduce office waste, and set a goal to earn the Energy Star label for your building.

EPA also offers energy-saving tips for building managers, executives, and small businesses; information on taking the Energy Star Challenge; and a downloadable tip card to pass along to friends, family, and coworkers.

About Energy Star
Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through superior energy efficiency. Today, the Energy Star label is on more than 50 different kinds of products, on new homes, and on commercial and industrial buildings. In 2007 alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved more than $16 billion on their utility bills while reducing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 27 million vehicles.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

New research suggests that exotic species, instead of causing extinctions, may actually aid diversity.

WOW! The Wonders of Wetlands is a professional development course designed to teach educators all about the functions and values of wetlands and give teachers a fun and hands-on way to bring wetlands alive and to their classes.

Two courses will be available in IL in October

• October 17 — The Douglas-Hart Nature Center in Mattoon, IL
• October 25 — The Ballard Nature Center in Altamont, IL

Both courses run from 9am – 4 pm
Cost: $45 per course includes instruction and curriculum guide.
For more information about these courses or to register, please visit www.wetland.org. Register at least one month in advance to receive $5 discount. (Register by phone for discount 410-745-9620)