Earth Day // Current

Green 'Back-to-School' Measures Proposed

The millions of children and thousands of school buildings about to start a new cycle of learning would both benefit from some serious greening, says the Earth Day Network (EDN), offering suggestions from turning off light switches to adding solar panels.

"The back-to-school season is a perfect opportunity to begin or continue greening efforts at your school. Whether public or private, large or small, school greening efforts offer educational, environmental, and economic benefits for the whole school and community," says Earth Day Network Director of Education Sean Miller.

EDN has demonstrated that by adding just 2 percent to building costs, a "green" school can be constructed. Among the savings are 585,000 pounds of carbon dioxide reduction and lower energy costs.

These energy savings, they calculate in a study entitled "Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits," are sufficient to allow a school to hire two more teachers.

Green initiatives at schools, moreover, were shown in the 2006 report to have a positive impact on student performance and teacher retention rates.

Children, parents, and teachers can contribute toward a greener school by making sure electronics are unplugged when not in use, keeping doors closed during winter months, discouraging the idling of buses in front of schools, and packing re-usable lunches with little to nothing to be thrown away.

EDN also encourages parents to work with schools to perform energy audits that point to potential changes, such as switching from electric to LED lights for Exit signs, providing reusable utensils in cafeterias, organizing recycling programs, or exploring the possibility of installing a green roof, which can help regulate building temperature and contribute to energy savings.

The Washington, DC-based environmental group, launched at the time of the first Earth Day in 1970, also offers materials for its network of 25,000 teachers, helping them integrate environmental learning into the curriculum, including games and hands-on activities.

One suggested class project, for example, is to measure how much junk mail the school receives, and contact companies to remove the school from their mailing lists. Then measure again and estimate how much paper is being saved.

Getting down and dirty with nature is particularly important to environmental learning and counteracting NDD, or Nature Deficit Disorder, characterized by the vast amount of time spent indoors by Americans and identified in the increasingly popular book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.

In response, EDN and others are advocating for passage of the No Child Left Indoors Act, to ensure that throughout their school experience children can interact with nature, and thus learn to respect, value, and conserve it.

The Act would ensure that environmental education becomes a formal part of the standard curriculum and that teachers have the resources required to teach it.

EDN's "Green Schools Campaign" has an ambitious goal: to "green" all of the elementary, middle, and secondary schools in the United States within a generation. The millions of children and thousands of school buildings about to start a new cycle of learning would both benefit from some... more

goldenways
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3 months ago

Green Tip: How to Bike to Work (without all the sweat)

So you want to bike to work but you don't want to show up all sweaty? Here are some tips to keep you looking and smelling... more

Dorothee
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3 months ago

Solar car tours the world

Louis Palmer has driven thousands of miles through Europe, the Middle East, India, China, Australia, New Zealand and now Minturn, Colorado. He hasn't spent a dime on gasoline.

His car is the Solar Taxi. It's a sleek blue machine that sits low to the road, doesn't make a sound while running and pulls a trailer covered in solar panels. The sun is his fuel, and there aren't any earth warming carbon emissions pluming out a tail pipe.

The solar taxi will be the first solar-powered vehicle to circumnavigate the globe. Palmer, the visionary and leader of the tour, said the big mission is to show the people of the world that global warming can be stopped, and we can be independent from fossil fuels.

Palmer and his team began their journey on July 3, 2007, in Lucerne, Switzerland. They're planning to make it through 40 different countries on five different continents and end the tour at the World Climate Change Conference in Poland in December.

On Friday, the Solar Taxi team stopped in Minturn for lunch at the Turntable. They were getting ready to head over Vail Pass their highest elevation point for the whole trip. The next stop is Denver, then they'll be driving through the Midwest, Washington D.C., New York and ending the North American jaunt in Montreal.

So far, the solar car is performing quite well, Palmer said. It can get up to 55 miles per hour, and is handling the mountain roads fine.

If the car needs to drive more than 100 kilometers a day, they have to charge the battery with additional power, which is just a matter of plugging it into an outlet. To help with that, they have a solar power plant on a rooftop in Berne, Switzerland, that puts solar-generated electricity back into the grid.

This means a zero-carbon emissions trip. Palmer says that this car shows that the technology and ability to drive without depending on fossil fuels exists and that solutions to the world's energy problems are out there.

And if you aren't sold on the environmental pluses listen to the economics. He said about a dollar's worth of electricity is enough to power the car for 100 miles. Think of that next time you fork over 50 bucks for a fill-up.

Photo: Dominique Taylor/Vail DailyLouis Palmer has driven thousands of miles through Europe, the Middle East, India, China, Australia, New Zealand and now Minturn,... more

JanforGore
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47 responses

3 months ago

Canadian Renewable Fuels Association

Founded in 1984, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of... more

Enjoy_Cannabis
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1 response

4 months ago

EPA approves coal fired plant at Desert Rock despite opposition from Navajo Nation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an air permit for Desert Rock Power Plant on Thursday, the final day it was... more

JanforGore
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24 responses

4 months ago

Obama No Peace Candidate

Senator Obama is not for peace. In 2005-2006, alone, Obama voted with Republicans for 20 major Senate bills for war and the... more

TouchArt
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26 responses

4 months ago

Naomi Klein Debunks Bush's Offshore Drilling Plan (VIDEO)

stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust | July 18, 2008 10:50 AM ... more

TouchArt
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4 responses

4 months ago

10 powerful requests for today

10 powerful requests for today - by Dieter Braun (Indian in the machine) www.indianinthemachine.com 1. I request to live... more

TouchArt
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13 responses

4 months ago

Al Gore's Ten Year Energy Challenge

A momentous challenge calling upon us to have the same spirit that birthed this nation and make no mistake about it, this is just as much an issue of Democracy as it is an economic, environmental, or national security issue. However, as usual, all we see on blogs and in the media by the usuals is bickering about whether climate change is "natural" or not when we already know that most of the effects on our planet we are seeing are a result of human behavior.That has been debated ad nauseum, and is why this country will wind up at the back of the pack when other countries pass us up regarding coming into the 21st Century. We are stuck in first gear still while the rest of the world is in drive.

We have been getting our oil from the Middle East and now will we get our solar panels from there too because we in this country are so myopic and politically polarized to the point that we cannot even concede one damn point? The alternate energy market is just waiting for a boom in this country. Employment in this country would soar and with investment, we would get the economic shot in the arm we need to avoid economic collapse while saving ourselves. Many say (even people in his own party) that Mr. Gore made this proposal at the wrong time with gas prices being so high... to that I say, WHAT?

This was the absolute right time to come out and tell people the truth that they are being lied to and duped by big oil and coal. This was exactly the right time to come out and tell people that they have a CHOICE and that they have the power in this next decade to put those choices into motion. That they have other options for energy that can be cheaper than what they are using now. Of course the oil and coal companies and special interests and their minions are not too happy about that, but I say, screw them. They have done more harm to this planet and economy with their pollution and wars than any alternate energy being instituted could do. It is time for them to see that their way is not the best way for the continued sustainability of this planet and work to make amends for what they have done.

The Earth as it stands now is going through changes in climate that are too exacerbated to just be natural and the cost of ignoring it far exceeds the cost of implementing changes to avoid it. What price do you put on a human life? That has been confirmed by the IPCC, NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, and thousands of other studies and scientists' reports from around the globe. It is a known fact also that for YEARS scientists in possession of these facts have been gagged by our government to keep quiet about it, because the very thing Mr. Gore stated must be done is something they don't want to do because they believe it will ground their gravy train.

More at the link.A momentous challenge calling upon us to have the same spirit that birthed this nation and make no mistake about it, this is just... more

JanforGore
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38 responses

4 months ago

Vandalism in the Sky - H.A.A.R.P. is Death

Youtube.com by TheRealLawnMowerMan in April, 2008

"HAARP Boils The Upper Atmosphere.HAARP will zap the upper atmosphere with a focused and steerable electromagnetic beam. It is an advanced model of an "ionospheric heater". (The ionosphere is the electrically-charged sphere surrounding Earth's upper atmosphere. It ranges between about 40- to 600 miles above Earth's surface.)
Put simply, the apparatus for HAARP is a reversal of a radio telescope; antennas send out signals instead of receiving. HAARP is the test run for a super-powerful radiowave-beaming technology that lifts areas of the ionosphere by focusing a beam and heating those areas. Electromagnetic waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate everything -- living and dead...."

"Looking at the other patents which built on the work of a Texas' physicist named Bernard Eastlund, it becomes clearer how the military intends to use the HAARP transmitter. It also makes governmental denials less believable. The military knows how it intends to use this technology, and has made it clear in their documents. The military has deliberately misled the public, through sophisticated word games, deceit and outright disinformation.
The military says the HAARP system could:
give the military a tool to replace the electromagnetic pulse effect of atmospheric thermonuclear devices (still considered a viable option by the military through at least 1986).
replace the huge Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) submarine communication system operating in Michigan and Wisconsin with a new and more compact technology.
Be used to replace the over-the-horizon radar system that was once planned for the current location of HAARP, with a more flexible and accurate system.
provide a way to wipe out communications over an extremely large area, while keeping the military's own communications systems working.
provide a wide area earth-penetrating tomography which, if combined with the computing abilities of EMASS and Cray computers, would make it possible to verify many parts of nuclear nonproliferation and peace agreements.
be a tool for geophysical probing to find oil, gas and mineral deposits over a large area.
be used to detect incoming low-level planes and cruise missiles, making other technologies obsolete."
________________
From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
where we know that zapping humans and the ionosphere
with a billion watts can't be good.
Youtube.com by TheRealLawnMowerMan in April, 2008 "HAARP Boils The Upper Atmosphere.HAARP will zap the upper atmosphere... more

TouchArt
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24 responses

4 months ago

What Follows Video - Painter, Feminist, and Native American Art Activist

From the Series: What Follows Description: Charleen Touchette is a painter, feminist, writer and Native American art... more

TouchArt
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3 responses

9 months ago

Photos: NASA's top 10 views of Earth

To celebrate the beauty of our planet on Earth Day, NASA released its 10 favorite photos taken by astronauts on the International... more

kushan
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4 months ago

Your City Council Could Save the World

TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos, New Mexico sent this good news from green architect and visionary Santa Fean Ed... more

TouchArt
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6 responses

4 months ago

Heaven On Earth

This film belongs in the category of Earth and Science. I challenge the minds of those who are between the ages of 14-25 to just... more

dharmadogpictures
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4 months ago

Economic future of global energy

Another message on the economics of Global Energy from TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos, NM at New Mexico Global... more

TouchArt
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4 responses

4 months ago

Billy Warsoldier - Indian Artist and Philosopher

Check out this documentary video of our old friend Billy Soza Warsoldier. __________________________ A short doc about the... more

TouchArt
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4 months ago

G-8 leaders only pledge to halve emissions by 2050

Pledging to “move toward a low-carbon society,” leaders of the world’s richest nations endorsed Tuesday the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, but did not specify whether the starting point would be current levels or 1990 levels, and refused to set a short-term target for reducing the gases that scientists agree are warming the planet.

The declaration by the so-called Group of Eight — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — came under intense criticism from environmentalists, who called it a missed opportunity and said it ignores the urgent need to cut emissions more rapidly.

However, European leaders, who have long pressed President Bush to adopt a more aggressive stance on climate change, said they were pleased with the agreement, which is nonbinding. They cast it as an important step toward laying the groundwork for a binding international treaty, to be negotiated in Copenhagen in 2009 under the auspices of the United Nations.

“This is a strong signal to citizens around the world,” the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, told reporters at a news conference near here. “The science is clear, the economic case for action is stronger than ever. Now we need to go the extra mile to secure an ambitious global deal in Copenhagen.”

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To me this sends a strong signal that for the fate of this Earth and our species to be in the hands of these eight countries means that nothing effective will be done to solve this urgent crisis. Again, this is what happens when you make this crisis a political issue. Halving by 2050 is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. The Arctic ice will be melted by then (which of course they probably want to be able to plunder the resources there as well,) coal plants will have spewed millions of tons of toxic gases into the air by then, and many islands in other parts of our world already threatened by sea level rise will be feeling the affects of our behavior. As it stands now we are approaching the third degree of a six degree doomsday scenario. Are these leaders so greedy and blind to scientific reports that they actually think this is good enough? And the fact that it is non binding is simply and honestly, BS.

As an environmentalist but more importantly as a citizen of the world I am outraged that these men of rich countries think they can tell the poor of this world who will feel the brunt of this most what they are going to do. I say it is time for people to tell them that they are going to do what must be done. I now have little hope for Copenhagen next year. All I see are political leaders using this crisis as an economic ping pong ball and bargaining chip as droughts become more pervasive and prolonged, glaciers continue to melt, storms become more intense, and the resources that we depend on from our land and oceans become scarcer and more polluted. As it is already the oceans are more acidic than we thought, and should this be the first summer the Arctic is ice free it is only a portent of more to come. We don't have until 2050 for politicians to get around to this!

What will it take to get the message through to these people? A global revolution? Remember this also, all of this opens the doors for government and multi nationals to continue their chokehold on the poor and oppressed. This climate crisis is just what they are looking for to institute a one world government and make the most profit they can from this. So of course, they will take their time. That is why they alone cannot be allowed to dictate to us what our future will be, especially when our survival is on the line. Good enough? No. It is an outrage.Pledging to “move toward a low-carbon society,” leaders of the world’s richest nations endorsed Tuesday the idea... more