Earth Friendly Today

Vegetarian Restaurant Review – Blah, Blah, Blah London UK

Editor — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:04:35 +0000

Blah Blah Blah has been turning out excellent vegetarian food for more than ten years and in all that time it has maintained a high level of quality. The staff are welcoming and friendly and the feel is part-homely, part-elegant restaurant. The smell of the place is always a delightful mix of freshly picked herbs [...]

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Vegetarian Restaurant Review – Blah, Blah, Blah London UK

Solar Panel Installation Courses and How They Can Benefit Your Life

Editor — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:09:39 +0000

Being green minded is not something which many of us will take lightly, but what if you could not only help others to improve their lives by reducing their carbon footprints and actually save money whilst actually making a suitable living for yourself at the same time? I know, it seems oddly perfect, some might [...]

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Solar Panel Installation Courses and How They Can Benefit Your Life

Best Beds and Mattress

Editor — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:29:05 +0000

• Adjustable Bed Mattress: Adjustable Bed mattress is my first preference whenever I shop for mattress because it have elegant look and also gives great satisfaction when we lie on it. This adjustable bed mattress which I picked for my bedroom actually surprised my husband and also I got lots of appreciation from him for [...]

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Best Beds and Mattress

Are Green Consumers More Likely to Lie and Cheat?

Josh Loposer — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Filed under: News, Polit-eco, Activism

Is a person like this more likely to cut in front of you at the checkout line? Credit: Kathy Doucett, Flickr

Attention shoppers: The content of your bags may not reflect the content of your character.

While I'd like to say that earth-conscious shoppers are always honest, conscientious and charitable, a new study conducted by University of Toronto researchers Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong seems to suggest that just because you buy "fair trade," it doesn't mean you're likely to play fair or seek a fair deal.

In fact, the research appears to indicate that those who practice seemingly righteous shopping habits may be hiding a wickedly self-righteous streak. Say it ain't so!

The study (which has set off a chorus of 'I told you so's from those who've had their fill of smug Prius bumper stickers) was largely based on a series of online shopping experiments that showed green shoppers to be stingy, selfish and more likely to steal than their conventional counterparts.

According to the journal "Psychological Science," these experiments centered around two fictitious and extremely similar online stores, one with nine green products and three conventional ones, the other with nine conventional products and three green ones.

In one experiment, subjects were first assigned to shop either the green online store or the conventional one. Then, they were asked to participate in an "unrelated" money-sharing exercise (no real money was exchanged in the experiments, btw) with a random and unidentified individual in another room.

Now, which group was the least likely to anonymously share with an anonymous stranger? The answer: The group of subjects who'd just purchased green products shared significantly less than the ones who'd shopped at the conventional store.

In another even more surprising experiment, subjects were sent to one of the online stores, just like before. Then, they were asked to participate in an exercise where they could earn $2.07 by identifying which side of their computer screen contained more dots. In each exercise, it was plainly obvious which side had more dots (15 vs. 5, 14 vs. 6, etc.).

Though the experiment advised them that accuracy was important for future research, participants quickly learned that they're earnings would go up whether they chose correctly or not. At the end, they were instructed to take money from an envelope based on their corresponding score, giving them not only the opportunity to make money for incorrect answers, but also to take a little extra on top of that.

Guess what? The subjects who first shopped at the green store were more likely to be inaccurate in the dot game AND steal more money ($0.46) than they were instructed to by the computer. For shame!

Why the difference in behavior? The leading theories have to do with what is called "moral licensing." In a nutshell, it's the idea that making pro-social and ethical choices often allows people to feel justified in other self-indulgent and unethical behaviors ... because of their "moral credentials." For example, consider Al Gore's mega-mansion.

It all kinda reminds me a little of those fake "At Least He Drive a Prius" ads from a few years ago.

Are Green Consumers More Likely to Lie and Cheat? originally appeared on Green Daily on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Are Green Consumers More Likely to Lie and Cheat?

Clean Coal Runs Manipulative Ads During the Olympics

Cat Lincoln — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:05:00 +0000

Filed under: Activism, Alternative Energy, Climate Change

Coal miner Elmer Lloyd speaks against Mountain Top Removal

Watching the Olympics on Sunday night, I was shocked, amazed and dismayed to see a "clean coal" ad, apparently part of a new campaign to capitalize on recent political gains. Even more outrageous? The star of the ad, a personable young coal worker, made a connection between working in the coal industry and his brother serving overseas.

What does his brother, who is a soldier, have to do with clean coal? Oh, nothing. That was just another dirty emotional blackmail trick to try to make you think it's patriotic to support strip mining, black lung and air pollution.

It's bad enough that they are flat-out lying about clean coal. The technology does not exist, and if they can even figure out how to burn coal without the poisonous emissions, there is still the problem of how destructive it is to get it out of the ground. To drag our troops into it too? That's just disgraceful.
As I have said many times (Gillian Caldwell, the head of 1Sky.org even used my line with President Obama!) clean coal is a Unicorn. A nifty idea but merely a figment of an energy company executive's imagination.

Besides the dirty facts about burning coal -- like greenhouse gases and mercury emissions -- and the sad truth that the number of coal mining related jobs declines each year as the process is mechanized and automated, and that it's still incredibly dangerous for the brave workers who descend into those shafts, there is the environmental devastation that comes from getting it out of the ground.

Mountain top removal is the "cost-effective" method of coal mining where you blow the top off a mountain (literally, with dynamite) to get to the coal seam underneath it. Negative impact includes deforestation, water pollution, and destruction of wildlife habitat. Even coal miners think it's a bad idea!

I know we can't just switch to solar, wind and geothermal power, but if we want to create jobs, protect the environment, reduce our global emissions, and create a sustainable energy system for future generations, it's counter-productive to put any resources into the outdated and flawed coal industry.

And by the way: I have several family members in the service, who have done multiple tours of duty overseas. I support them wholeheartedly. And their service has nothing to do with clean coal! It's offensive that the coal industry -- or some manipulative shill at their ad agency -- is trying ride on the coattails of their sacrifice to trick patriotic Americans into agreeing with a bad idea. During the Olympics! I can't believe anyone was cynical enough to think it was a good idea to include that in the final cut of that ad!

To summarize: Alternative energy: yes. Clean coal: no. Our troops: seriously, don't bring them into this.

Clean Coal Runs Manipulative Ads During the Olympics originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Clean Coal Runs Manipulative Ads During the Olympics

Chevron Continues to Evade Responsibilities in Equador

Cat Lincoln — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Movies, TV and Books, Polit-eco, Activism

After 17 years of litigation, the $27 billion environmental law suit brought against Chevron by the people of Ecuador seems near a decision, and not in the energy giant's favor.

That's making Chevron panicky enough to say or do almost anything to try to get out of paying the huge fine, including making assertions against the Ecuadorian court system, the judge, and most recently that the court-appointed subject matter expert, is biased. This is despite the fact that Chevron insisted that the case be tried in Ecuador in the first place.

Back in October I reviewed the film "CRUDE", a documentary about the environmental disaster and lawsuit. I was also lucky enough to sit down for an interview with the director, Joe Berlinger, and hear first hand from him about the Rhode Island-sized swath of Ecuador that was catastrophically polluted by oil exploration and drilling done between 1972 and 1990 by Texaco, which is now owned by Chevron.
The case against Texaco seems crystal clear when you watch "CRUDE", which believe it or not, is fairly neutral and even-handed. The Chevron executives do an excellent job of digging their own graves, coming across as bad liars with an utter lack of morals.

Even Chevron admits the culpability of Texaco, but in the legal equivalent of throwing sand in the eyes of your opponent, they continue to attack the validity of the process. In this latest salvo, they've also declared that they won't pay any fine levied by the Ecuadorian government, and that they want to bring in an international arbitrator.

That would be just fine with Steven Donziger, the American legal advisor to the Ecuadorians, who has the tenacity of a terrier. He's quoted in the Huffington Post, saying "They're losing the case based on the evidence, so they're trying to fabricate issues to try to taint the image of the trial." And he's ready to have it tried in every country where Chevron has a presence.

Environmental activists and energy companies alike will continue to watch the progress of this case, which will certainly be held up as a precedent for all future environment responsibility suits. To learn more, put "CRUDE" on your Netflix!

Chevron Continues to Evade Responsibilities in Equador originally appeared on Green Daily on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Chevron Continues to Evade Responsibilities in Equador

Obama Follows up Clean Energy Talk with Action

Cat Lincoln — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:04:00 +0000

Filed under: Polit-eco, Alternative Energy

On Wednesday, President Obama dedicated a significant section of his State of the Union address to a pitch for clean energy, encouraging the Senate to pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill.

Today he backed up his words with a pledge to reduce the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 2020. The move will save the country $8 to 11 billion dollars. That's the way to lead by example!

It's a strong political gesture, for two reasons:

1. it's says the U.S. is serious about creating an industry -- both production and market -- for clean energy, and
2. it demonstrates on a large scale what eco-people know from our day to day lives: going green is smart because it saves money!

Everyone is wondering what other clean energy changes were signaled by Obama's State of the Union speech.

One of the high points (for me) included a jab at climate change deniers (it's petty, but I enjoyed and probably you did, too, if you're reading here!) Obama cleverly acknowledged their doubts, and then shifted the argument into a call for the economy-boosting jobs that clean energy will generate.He even made it a patriotic foot-stamper moment.

On the down side, he did indicate that there will be concessions for more off-shore drilling, and somehow, inexplicably, the myth of clean coal seems to have slipped in there, too.

Note: the is no such thing as clean coal. It's like Unicorns. Pretty but imaginary.

In general, it looks like Obama is doing a some dancing, taking a big step forward (clean energy pledge), a half-step back (drilling for more polluting oil), and maybe a step to side (that's the nuclear power part). But hey, it's good to finally be moving again after so many years of making believe we didn't have a problem at all!

Obama Follows up Clean Energy Talk with Action originally appeared on Green Daily on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Obama Follows up Clean Energy Talk with Action

Murkowski Partnered with Big Coal and Oil Lobbyists to Attack the Clean Air Act

Cat Lincoln — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:13:00 +0000

Filed under: Polit-eco, Activism, Climate Change

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Clean Air Act Foe. Photo: xx, Getty Images

On January 20th the Senate is voting on the national debt ceiling. An important issue, but hardly one that concerns environmentalists, right?

In a sane world, that would be the case. However, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has drafted a completely unrelated amendment to the bill which would hamstring the EPA's ability to enforce the Clean Air Act by banning them from regulating carbon dioxide as pollutant.

This is contrary to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that the EPA in fact must regulate greenhouse emissions, and standards, such as those for new car emissions.

Murkowski's amendment is funded and fueld by coal industry and big oil lobbyists who are running scared. In December the EPA announced that green house gases are a pollutant, and pose a threat to public health. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA could go after polluters -- like the coal industry -- who contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

Although she denies that the bill was influenced by lobbyists from those big polluters, after a Washington Post story revealed that big time coal industry lobbyists advised Murkowski's team on the bill, she did admit that two "experts" employed by the lobbyist wrote the text. Oh, and they both were in the EPA during the Bush Administration.

Her attack on the EPA's powers can only be called a campaign of lies and scare tactics, including claims that the EPA would unfairly target "the little guy" like farms, schools and small businesses, and referencing vague threats to the country's economic recovery.

Reality check: why would that make sense? Sure, individual small businesses should follow ecologically sound practices, but to see any kind of fast and dramatic change, the obvious tactic is to go after the big companies that have a global impact.

In addition to pure logic, EPA Adminstrator Lisa Jackson has also assured the public that their plan is to go after the largest polluters.

The cold, hard light of logic, reason, and the Washington Post have Murkowski possibly backpedaling on pushing through the amendment on the 20th. We can hope.

But even if she doesn't win this battle, she's not going to stop attacking the EPA and their ability to hold polluters accountable. It's still worth your time to contact your Senator and let him or her know that you wholeheartedly support all of the current powers of the Clean Air Act.

There are action alerts all over the internet to make it easy for you to write a letter, like Repower America's form, which gives you sample text and forwards the letter on your behalf. They also have a form set up for you to send letters to your local newspapers.

The science of climate change, CO2 emissions and pollution really isn't in question here. Murkowski's attack on the Clean Air Act is a purely political move, driven by the greed and fear of an industry that doesn't have a place in America's future.

Take action now and we can limit their toxic effect!

Murkowski Partnered with Big Coal and Oil Lobbyists to Attack the Clean Air Act originally appeared on Green Daily on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Murkowski Partnered with Big Coal and Oil Lobbyists to Attack the Clean Air Act

Geothermal Power: Use the Earth as Your Furnace

Cat Lincoln — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:03:00 +0000

Filed under: Home, Alternative Energy

You know those movies where scientists tunnel to the center of the Earth, and they have to use magic technology to survive the heat coming from the molten lava core?

That's not real. But there is some pretty amazing -- yet simple -- technology that allows us to use the naturally consistent temperature of Earth just below the frost line to heat and cool homes. It's also very eco-friendly: you don't burn anything, nothing is emitted, and you don't produce any waste.

Geothermal power is one of the greenest ways to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Even better? It's also one of the most cost-effective sources of energy!
A geothermal home HVAC unit basically has three parts. There is a pump in your home, probably in the basement like a traditional furnace. But instead of burning some kind of fuel, it's attached to an open or closed-loop system of pipes, which are buried under or near your home, and filled with a fluid that can transfer heat -- usually water or environmentally friendly anti-freeze.

The fluid moves through the heat exchange system of underground pipes, either getting warmed up or cooled down by the Earth. It's then sent back up, above ground, to a distribution system, which is either a system of air ducts, or radiant pipes in the floors.

And cost is another pro in favor of this method of maintaining a comfortable temperature in your living room.

Although it can require a substantial investment, particularly drilling for the pipes, the cost of running and maintaining it are low. Systems start around $4,000, and could wind up costing much more, depending on how much drilling is required. But running the system is so inexpensive that you could save 25-50% of your traditional energy costs!

Plus, you get a tax break for going green and saving some green. If you install a system between January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2016, you can claim up to 30% of the installed cost in tax credits in the year the system is placed into service. And there's no cap!

Add it up, the benefit to the environment and your bank balance make a geothermal residential heating and cooling system sound pretty appealing -- especially during this freezing cold winter that's gripping the nation!

Geothermal Power: Use the Earth as Your Furnace originally appeared on Green Daily on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

Geothermal Power: Use the Earth as Your Furnace

It’s Not Waste, it’s Energy!

Cat Lincoln — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Filed under: Gadgets and Tech, Alternative Energy

It's practically a post-holiday tradition: averting your eco-eyes as you drive past piles of non-recyclable, non-compostable, non-reusable trash crowding the curb, waiting for a ride to the Landfill of Non-biodegradeable Limbo.

Don't look away! Things can be different. We can use that trash for good!

Waste to energy plants take solid trash like non-recyclable plastic, and incinerate it, capturing the energy produced by the burn and sending it into the grid to heat homes and supply electric power.
But burning plastic, that's about as Carbon Awful as you can get, right?

Wrong. We're not talking about setting fire to a bunch of 2 liter soda bottles in an oil drum in the backyard -- that is an egregious act of pollution. And probably also deadly for everyone on the block.

Thanks to sophisticated technology, the emissions of your average waste to energy plant are generally lower than coal or gas powered energy plants. Counter-intuitively, the technology of burning trash helps us reduce greenhouse emissions!

This fascinating video about how a solid waste plant works, from Wheelabrator, which owns and operates several waste to energy plants in the U.S., illustrates the process. You can see the methods used to sort and neutralize the various components -- ferous metals, dioxins, particulate matter -- and capture the energy produced.

It's kind of inspiring to see how much can be recovered from "unusable" trash. Especially since landfills around the world are running out space fast. Many locations have less than 10 years of space left!

Added bonus? Communities that use waste to energy power sources tend to do more recycling, more reusing and generally make more conscious choices about consumption and waste disposal, so waste management improves across the board.

It's Not Waste, it's Energy! originally appeared on Green Daily on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:01:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Post from: Earth Friendly Today

It’s Not Waste, it’s Energy!