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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title>Is Flying Standby Greener?</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/is-flying-standby-greener/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/is-flying-standby-greener/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/is-flying-standby-greener/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/travel-and-vacation/" rel="tag">Travel and Vacation</a></p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1003965"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" alt="airplane in blue sky"  src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/03/airplane.jpg" /></a>We may all be flying a little less in these financially tight times, but we also may be looking for cheaper ways to fly when we have to get somewhere far away. In my case, buddy passes from friends who work for airlines have allowed me to travel more than I could have otherwise.<br /><br />I was talking to one of those friends recently, who said that when she calculated her carbon footprint, she didn't count her standby flights: the planes would fly anyway, she said, and plus, it would make her carbon footprint huge.<br /><br />If I took my standby flights out of by carbon footprint calculation, my footprint would go down several thousand pounds of C02.  What do you think? Is flying standby greener? <br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/is-flying-standby-greener/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Is Flying Standby Greener?</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/is-flying-standby-greener/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1461814/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/is-flying-standby-greener/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>airplanes</category><category>green travel</category><category>GreenTravel</category><category>standby flights</category><category>StandbyFlights</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>EPA Protects Environment</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/epa-protects-environment/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/epa-protects-environment/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/epa-protects-environment/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/polit-eco/" rel="tag">Polit-eco</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/climate-change/" rel="tag">Climate Change</a></p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1022488"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" alt="traffic on expressway near minneapolis"  src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/03/traffic.jpg" /></a>This should not be a news item, but it has been popping up on green news sites and pages all over in the last couple of days.<br /><br />The EPA has said that greenhouse gases are dangerous to our health. They've said it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/washington/25epa.html">before.</a>  But this time, it appears the White House is listening.  This means that we can officially start regulating greenhouse gases, which has <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/07/12/bush-wont-be-regulating-greenhouse-gases/">not always been a priority</a> of the nation's leadership.<br /><br />Some lawmakers have already been working on carbon cap-and-trade CO2 program, which would require polluters to buy permits according to the amount of pollution they release into the atmosphere.<br /><br />The move is already producing warnings from some legislators, who are worried about the massive amount of  regulations on businesses that could result. This is explained further over at <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&amp;sid=aeIMm4IAEsMI&amp;refer=us">Bloomberg.</a>  Either way, we're going to be hearing a lot more about greenhouse gases in the coming days and months.<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE52M4JB20090324?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=environmentNews>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/epa-protects-environment/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1496659/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/24/epa-protects-environment/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>carbon</category><category>carbon regulation</category><category>CarbonRegulation</category><category>EPA</category><category>greenhouse gases</category><category>GreenhouseGases</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:20:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Letters Get to the Meat of the Industry</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/18/letters-get-to-the-meat-of-the-industry/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/18/letters-get-to-the-meat-of-the-industry/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/18/letters-get-to-the-meat-of-the-industry/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/food/" rel="tag">Food</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/activism/" rel="tag">Activism</a></p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1151589"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/03/cow.jpg" alt="white calf" /></a>A group called <a href="http://www.rpaforall.org/">Responsible Policies for Animals, Inc.</a> this week sent <a href="http://www.rpaforall.org/getunivout.html">letters</a> to the governors of every state asking that land grant universities get out of the meat industry. <br /><br />The group, who sell a bumper sticker proclaiming "They're sentient beings, not food choices" says that the entire meat industry is environmentally destructive.<br /><br />The letter criticizes the academic course of study frequently called "animal science" which, according to RPA, teaches students to slaughter animals and make ice cream, among other things. The founder of the group, Eric Cantor, says that animal science "rejects scientific knowledge that humans are herbivores."<br /><br />My only experience with animal science courses were those taken by friends preparing to be veterinarians (most of which are distinctly not planning on slaughtering animals for a living), but I know that there is also money in the livestock industry, as well as education in that arena. I'm not sure how successful this campaign will be, though. What do you think?<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/18/letters-get-to-the-meat-of-the-industry/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1489824/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/03/18/letters-get-to-the-meat-of-the-industry/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>animal rights</category><category>animal science</category><category>AnimalRights</category><category>AnimalScience</category><category>meat industry</category><category>MeatIndustry</category><category>universities</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Fish First To Do The Deed</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/26/fish-first-to-do-the-deed/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/26/fish-first-to-do-the-deed/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/26/fish-first-to-do-the-deed/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/plants-and-wildlife/" rel="tag">Plants and Wildlife</a></p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diplomystus_and_Knightia_Green_River_Fm_WY.jpg"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/fossilfish.jpg" alt="fossil fish" /></a>A recent study in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7233/abs/nature07732.html">Nature</a> finds evidence that a prehistoric fish was the first to reproduce by fertilization inside the female. <br /><br />The fossilized fish is over 350 million years old, and though the fossil has been in the hands of the Natural History Museum in London for years, scientists recently decided that a smaller skeleton inside the fossil was not a last meal, but instead was a developing baby fish. <br /><br />This finding is important because until fairly recently, scientists thought that the predominant form of reproduction this long ago was external-- the female laying eggs in the water, where they would then be fertilized by the male. Instead, it seems that the more advanced process of viviparity-- reproducing internally-- has been around for quite a while. No word yet on how much fun these fish had with their newfound activity.<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7909984.stm>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/26/fish-first-to-do-the-deed/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1472457/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/26/fish-first-to-do-the-deed/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>evolution</category><category>fish</category><category>fish reproduction</category><category>FishReproduction</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:05:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Hug a Really Big Tree</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/25/hug-a-really-big-tree/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/25/hug-a-really-big-tree/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/25/hug-a-really-big-tree/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/climate-change/" rel="tag">Climate Change</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/plants-and-wildlife/" rel="tag">Plants and Wildlife</a></p><img border="1" align="right" vspace="4" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/hugtree.jpg" alt="California Redwood" />Recent research says that tropical forests are absorbing more C02 than we thought they were. <br /><br />The study reports that trees within forests across Africa are getting bigger, and also trapping more C02 per year that original estimates. Researchers warn that although right now the forests are taking on more C02, and more of the burden of carbon emissions, their absorption capabilities are not unlimited. <br /><br />The New York Times' John Tierney <a href="http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/contrarian-carbon-cutters/">recently reported on a list of strategies</a> from Wired Magazine for cutting carbon emissions, one of which is to plant and grow lots of young trees in place of older trees, as young ones absorb more C02.  You might say that such a plan would fail to see the forest for the trees. A stand of farmed, identically aged young trees just isn't as pretty as a diversified ecosystem.<br /><br />I think it might be a good idea to plant more trees, of course, but I'd hate to see giant old redwoods like the one in the photo fall for a little more carbon capture. <p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/19/forests-carbon-emissions>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/25/hug-a-really-big-tree/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1469337/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/25/hug-a-really-big-tree/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>carbon dioxide</category><category>CarbonDioxide</category><category>trees</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:05:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Civil Disobedience: Climate Change Edition</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/24/civil-disobedience-climate-change-edition/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/24/civil-disobedience-climate-change-edition/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/24/civil-disobedience-climate-change-edition/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/climate-change/" rel="tag">Climate Change</a></p><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/">Dr. James Hansen</a>, head of the <a href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/">NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies</a>, will lead a national day of civil disobedience at the Capitol Power Plant on March 2, 2009. <br /><br />In the video below, Dr. Goddard says that he thinks its time we take a stand on climate change, and that our current rate of use of fossil fuels cannot continue. That's why the action will be at the coal plant that powers the nation's capitol.<br /><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PPCFx1fMBeI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PPCFx1fMBeI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/24/civil-disobedience-climate-change-edition/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Civil Disobedience: Climate Change Edition</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.capitolclimateaction.org/>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/24/civil-disobedience-climate-change-edition/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1469272/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/24/civil-disobedience-climate-change-edition/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>civil disobedience</category><category>CivilDisobedience</category><category>climate action</category><category>climate change</category><category>ClimateAction</category><category>ClimateChange</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:15:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Workin' On A (Mountaintop) Coal Mine</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/19/workin-on-a-mountaintop-coal-mine/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/19/workin-on-a-mountaintop-coal-mine/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/19/workin-on-a-mountaintop-coal-mine/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/celebrities/" rel="tag">Celebrities</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/activism/" rel="tag">Activism</a></p><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/mountaintop.jpg"  alt="mountaintop removal mining" />Ashley Judd says enough's enough when it comes to a coal mining practice called mountaintop removal.  <br /><br />Though the actress seems to be advocating for a lot of different causes these days. this particular industry has a stronghold in her home state of Kentucky, and the Appalachian mountains that surround it. She has said that coal mining itself is not as bad as this particular method of extracting coal. <br /><br />Advocates of the practice claim that one of its benefits is the creation of more flat land, while many opponents think that the ratio of coal extracted to the amount of damage done to the mountains is an unacceptable cost. Not only are tops of mountains sheared off (as well as topsoil and vegetation), but the runoff and erosion can affect rivers and streams in surprising ways. <br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/19/workin-on-a-mountaintop-coal-mine/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Workin' On A (Mountaintop) Coal Mine</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.dailyindependent.com/local/local_story_049012052.html>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/19/workin-on-a-mountaintop-coal-mine/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1465474/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/19/workin-on-a-mountaintop-coal-mine/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>ashley judd</category><category>AshleyJudd</category><category>coal</category><category>coal mining</category><category>CoalMining</category><category>environmental justice</category><category>EnvironmentalJustice</category><category>mountaintop removal</category><category>MountaintopRemoval</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Oil in the Ocean, Ire on Land</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/oil-in-the-ocean-ire-on-land/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/oil-in-the-ocean-ire-on-land/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/oil-in-the-ocean-ire-on-land/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OilSheenFromValdezSpill.jpg"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/oil-slick-wikimedia.jpg" alt="oil slick after Exxon Valdez spill" /></a>There's been another oil spill, this time off the coast of Ireland, in the Celtic Sea. Irish officials are monitoring the movement of the slick, as they are currently unsure of how much may come ashore.<br /><br />Boats from several countries are now at the site of the spill, which is currently being credited to two Russian ships, an aircraft carrier and an oil tanker<br /><br />Here's a <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iBNa8BOeeKCzKfZlrck3S4ztBYNA">more extensive article</a> on the spill, though it quotes Russian officials as saying the spill poses no ecological danger. Yeah, I agree. I mean, what kind of <a href="http://oils.gpa.unep.org/facts/economy-health.htm">damage could 500 tons of oil do in the ocean</a>? Russian officials also <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/02/17/Russia_denies_major_Irish_oil_spill/UPI-96711234891383/">dispute the amount of oil spilled</a>; media reports have estimated the spill at up to 500 tons, while officials claim the spill is closer to 12 tons.<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.motionbox.com/videos/0a99d9b21a19e6c387?type=hd>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/oil-in-the-ocean-ire-on-land/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1463423/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/oil-in-the-ocean-ire-on-land/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>Celtic Sea</category><category>CelticSea</category><category>ireland</category><category>oil spill</category><category>OilSpill</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:40:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Aliens Among Us</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/aliens-among-us/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/aliens-among-us/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/aliens-among-us/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/471074"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/aliens.jpg" alt="aliens" /></a>The BBC reports that at least one American scientist thinks we don't have to leave home to find aliens.<br /></p>
<p>"We don't have to go to other planets to find weird life. It could be right in front of our noses - or even in our noses," the BBC quotes Paul Davies, an Arizona State University scientist, as saying.<br /></p>
At the annual meeting of the <a href="http://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>, Davies called scientists to start looking in "hostile environments"-- places like <a href="http://www.monolake.org/">Mono Lake</a>, which has a heavy arsenic load, or deep ocean vents -- for overlooked alien life forms.<br /><br />Those who, like Davies, think there might be more here on Earth than we know, subscribe to a theory that says life has evolved here more than once, creating a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_biosphere">shadow biosphere</a>-- a second set of life forms that live so differently from what we know that we might not have thought to look for them. Davies warns the BBC, though, that he's not talking about the kind of alien life found on <a href="http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org/StarTrek.html">Star Trek.</a><br /><br />Davies, a theoretical physicist, managed to reference Star Trek, "smoking but not inhaling," graduate student labor, and a "Mission to Earth" all in one interview with a trusted news source, while also explaining the scientific background to his reasoning. Who knows-- if he can do that, maybe he can find aliens among us too.<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7893414.stm>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/aliens-among-us/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1462841/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/17/aliens-among-us/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>aliens</category><category>American Association for the Advancement of Science</category><category>AmericanAssociationForTheAdvancementOfScience</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:35:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>There's a (Bat) Fungus Among Us</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/16/theres-a-bat-fungus-among-us/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/16/theres-a-bat-fungus-among-us/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/16/theres-a-bat-fungus-among-us/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/plants-and-wildlife/" rel="tag">Plants and Wildlife</a></p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/210376"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" alt="bat on the ground" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/bat.jpg" /></a>The mysterious disease that has killed thousands of bats already in the northeast has now appeared in bats that hibernate in Pennsylvania mining caves.<br /><br />The disease, called white-nose syndrome, is often accompanied by a certain fungus that can be found on bats in the dying colonies. In places where the disease has been confirmed, bats' hibernation patterns are altered, and they often move to warmer parts of a cave or even engage in a behavior scientists are calling "fly and die"-- where the bats try to leave their hibernation place altogether, but die shortly thereafter. <br /><br />I don't find bats terribly cute and cuddly-- especially when they surprise me in my laundry basket, which happened a few weeks ago--but they do serve a lot of <a href="http://www.ecology.com/features/bats/index.html">important functions for humans</a>. <p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/16/theres-a-bat-fungus-among-us/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>There's a (Bat) Fungus Among Us</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203172713.htm>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/16/theres-a-bat-fungus-among-us/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1460863/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/16/theres-a-bat-fungus-among-us/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>bats</category><category>Pennsylvania</category><category>white nose syndrome</category><category>WhiteNoseSyndrome</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:05:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Another Day, Another Sludge Spill</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/10/another-day-another-sludge-spill/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/10/another-day-another-sludge-spill/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/10/another-day-another-sludge-spill/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a></p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Des_Plaines_River_Lake_County_Illinois.jpg"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" alt="Des Plaines River"  src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/desplainesriver.jpg" /></a>What's worse than waste from the coal burning process overflowing its container and <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/">spilling over a town</a>?<br /><br />How about oil waste spilling into a river? About 6,000 gallons of used oil sludge spilled into the Des Plaines River in Illinois on Sunday.<br /><br />An electric pump that was supposed to move the waste from one holding tank to another didn't do its job.  This happened at the <a href="http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=8703&amp;x=7">Caterpillar </a>plant in Rockdale, Illinois. The company says that it immediately notified authorities and is working to clean up the spill.<br /><br />The <a href="http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/4DEFBE1AD677182F85257558005E851A">EPA </a>says this spill won't affect humans,  though a three mile section of the river was shut down to traffic.<br /><br />Considering the changes promised by the Obama administration in regards to environmental policy, this situation in his home state might be a good one to watch. So far, it seems that Caterpillar is doing its best to clean up the spill.  But I wonder if one day we might consider storing waste more than 100 feet from rivers?<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/green/chi-oil-spill-09-feb09,0,2176734.story>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/10/another-day-another-sludge-spill/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1455252/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/10/another-day-another-sludge-spill/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>Des Plaines River</category><category>DesPlainesRiver</category><category>Illinois</category><category>river pollution</category><category>RiverPollution</category><category>spill</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:27:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Ashley Judd Says Control Palin, Not Predators</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/05/ashley-judd-says-control-palin-not-predators/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/05/ashley-judd-says-control-palin-not-predators/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/05/ashley-judd-says-control-palin-not-predators/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/celebrities/" rel="tag">Celebrities</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/polit-eco/" rel="tag">Polit-eco</a></p>Ashley Judd is headlining a new commercial for the <a href="http://www.defendersactionfund.org/">Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund</a>. The commercial attacks Sarah Palin's support of a state program that encourages the aerial killing of Alaskan wolves.<br /><br />The policy is meant to balance out the predator/ prey populations in Alaska, particularly to sustain moose and caribou populations for hunting, according to Palin. <br /><br />Palin claims that Defenders of Wildlife is using her, and her office, as a fundraising tool, unfairly. She also says that the predator control program is scientifically based and important. The <a href="http://www.akwildlife.org/content/view/75/70/">Alaska Wildlife Alliance</a> argues, to the contrary, that<br /><blockquote>Alaska's current predator control programs are clearly not based on sound biological science, nor is there any requirement that sound science must provide the basis for designing, implementing, and monitoring predator control. Furthermore, within Alaska, there is no general agreement among hunters, wildlife biologists, and policy makers as to what constitutes sound science. As a result, the current programs are based mainly on political science and are strongly endorsed by the governor who vows to continue them.<br /></blockquote>Judd says that Palin is "casting aside science and championing the slaughter of wildlife." Maybe if we take wolves <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080223105255.htm">off the endangered species list</a> some places, and shoot them other places, Goldilocks and the caribou will finally be safe. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NM4pUuvjRBI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NM4pUuvjRBI&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/content/entertainment/stories/2009/02/05/Palin_Judd.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/05/ashley-judd-says-control-palin-not-predators/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1451181/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/05/ashley-judd-says-control-palin-not-predators/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>Alaska</category><category>Ashley Judd</category><category>AshleyJudd</category><category>Predator Control</category><category>PredatorControl</category><category>Sarah Palin</category><category>SarahPalin</category><category>Wolves</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:40:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Get your hot coffee, and green it too</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/03/get-your-hot-coffee-and-green-it-too/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/03/get-your-hot-coffee-and-green-it-too/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/03/get-your-hot-coffee-and-green-it-too/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/food/" rel="tag">Food</a></p><a href="http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/prdNonCoffee.aspx?Name=My_K-Cup"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/02/kcuplarger.jpg" alt="single cup keurig coffee filter" /></a>Seeing as hundreds of<a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2009/02/02/starbucks-closing-300-more-stores/"> Starbucks stores are closing</a> and most people don't have the money to spend on fancy coffees anyway, how can you improve your at-home or at-work coffee drinking experience?<br /><br />For those who like hot coffee and work in small offices, brewing a whole pot every time you want some coffee isn't always the best answer. You wind up with scorched and/ or extra coffee, and that smell that means the coffee pot is always on in the office.<br /><br />One answer became popular a few years ago: single-serving pod coffeemakers that prepare a single cup of coffee from a pre-measured mini-filter pack or plastic cup filled with coffee grounds. But many, have <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/05/23/is-keurig-just-another-name-for-waste/">questioned the green-ness</a> of such a coffeemaker.<br /><br />I could never buy one of the single-cup coffeemakers, because the thought of all those pods would create too much consumer guilt for me to enjoy my caffeine fix. But thanks to the advice of a friend who was gifted the wrong kind of coffee pod machine, I now know one way to lessen the environmental waste produced by them.<br /><br />There are now. . . reusable filters for single cup coffee makers. <br />Some of the single-cup Keurig coffee makers have a filter that you can simply place where the disposable cup would normally go. You fill the reusable filter with the appropriate amount of ground coffee (again, in larger grounds than a normal pot) and still get your hot, single cup of coffee-- but only have to dispose of the used grounds. <br /><br />Yes, you may still use more grounds of coffee per cup, but you don't have to worry about the piles and piles of little plastic cups--one for each cup of coffee-- filling your trash can, and then a landfill somewhere. <p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/03/get-your-hot-coffee-and-green-it-too/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1448015/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/02/03/get-your-hot-coffee-and-green-it-too/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>coffee</category><category>single cup coffee maker</category><category>SingleCupCoffeeMaker</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:50:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>King Julien's Relatives Threatened By Mine</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/king-juliens-relatives-threatened-by-mine/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/king-juliens-relatives-threatened-by-mine/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/king-juliens-relatives-threatened-by-mine/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/plants-and-wildlife/" rel="tag">Plants and Wildlife</a></p><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hapalemur_aureus.jpg"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/01/bamboolemur.jpg" alt="bamboo lemur" /></a>Whether you know about Madagascar's lemurs from the eponymous movie, or because they're an often-cited and charismatic endangered species, there's now even more cause for concern for the species. <br /><br />Conservationists report this week that a nickel mine in Madagascar will negatively impact the ecology of the area, including increasing risks for several local endangered species. <br /><br />Though the company responsible for the mine is working to minimize its environmental impact, they are still clearing forests--including a 220 kilometer long, 25 meter wide path for the mine waste pipeline.<br /><br />In the photogenic endangered animal category is the rare Greater Bamboo Lemur, reduced now to about 110 individuals living in the wild. <p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/king-juliens-relatives-threatened-by-mine/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>King Julien's Relatives Threatened By Mine</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0122-madagascar_mine.html>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/king-juliens-relatives-threatened-by-mine/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1436282/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/king-juliens-relatives-threatened-by-mine/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>endangered species</category><category>EndangeredSpecies</category><category>lemur</category><category>madagascar</category><category>mine</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:02:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Tungsten, or 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/20/tungsten-or-50-ways-to-kill-your-lover/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/20/tungsten-or-50-ways-to-kill-your-lover/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/20/tungsten-or-50-ways-to-kill-your-lover/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[Tungsten is in many everyday weapons, from bullets to golf clubs to "armor penetrators." But wait! There's more! From Science Daily and Chemical Engineering News comes word that tungsten might be more dangerous than we thought.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:W-TableImage.png"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/01/tungstensmaller.jpg" alt="chemical illustration of tungsten" /></a> <br /><br />The military thought it would be safe to use tungsten in the manufacturing of "<a href="http://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/green_bullets.html">green bullets</a>" (safe except, of course,when the bullets killed people) but recent research has suggested that the chemical has nasty side effects on plants (stunted growth), earthworms (reproductive problems) and aquatic creatures (premature death). <br /><br />We currently use tungsten for everything from light bulbs to <a href="http://www.tungstenworld.com/Tungsten-Wedding-Bands/">wedding bands </a>. It is also used to make very tough metal alloys, and to keep your clothes from catching fire. And it's in <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town?icid=sphere_wpcom_inline">coal ash</a> too, which, turns out, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98741603">might not be</a> so good for us.<p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/20/tungsten-or-50-ways-to-kill-your-lover/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Tungsten, or 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/87/8703sci2.html>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/20/tungsten-or-50-ways-to-kill-your-lover/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1434196/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/20/tungsten-or-50-ways-to-kill-your-lover/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Analyzing Google Searches</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/12/analyzing-google-searches/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/12/analyzing-google-searches/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/12/analyzing-google-searches/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/green-by-the-numbers/" rel="tag">Green by the Numbers</a></p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1046708"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="computer screen" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/01/computerscreen.jpg" /></a>While I was sipping a cup of tea and browsing my gmail, I ran across this little tidbit: <br /><br />On a desktop computer, two <a href="http://www.google.com/">google</a> searches consume the same amount of energy--or produce the same amount of C02--as boiling water for tea in an electric kettle. A single search produces about 7g of C02, which doesn't sound like a lot until you multiply that number by the millions of searches performed each day. <br /><br />The slightly surprising rate of energy consumption results from the techniques used by google to speed up search results, which also means that your queries might be sent to various data centers around the world. The further the information travels, the more energy is used.<p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/12/analyzing-google-searches/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Analyzing Google Searches</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5489134.ece>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/12/analyzing-google-searches/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1426451/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/12/analyzing-google-searches/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>energy consumption</category><category>energy use</category><category>EnergyConsumption</category><category>EnergyUse</category><category>google</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:45:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>EPA Slips on Perchlorate</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/02/epa-slips-on-perchlorate/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/02/epa-slips-on-perchlorate/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/02/epa-slips-on-perchlorate/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/health/" rel="tag">Health</a></p><a href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/936096"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="photo of table salt "  src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2009/01/salt.jpg" /></a>The EPA made a misstep in its evaluation of the chemical perchlorate, according to a report that came out this week. The report was criticized for failing to consider the effects of perchlorate in tandem with other chemicals on human health.<br /><br />Perchlorate, which can be found in areas where jet fuel residue has accumulated, potentially blocks the uptake of iodide by the body. Iodide is added to most of the world's table salt to prevent iodine deficiency, which can cause goiters as well as mental problems.<br /><br />One medical geographer, Larry Ladd, is concerned enough about perchlorate levels in drinking water that he has created<a href="http://www.perchlorate.org/"> this website</a> which provides resources about the chemical's potential affects on human health. The EPA provides <a href="http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/unregulated/perchlorate.html">this page</a> about perchlorate, though it focuses primarily on decisions about regulating the chemical.<br /><br />The EPA has not set a standard for acceptable amounts of perchlorate in drinking water, and does not require cleanup of perchlorate contamination.<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/washington/01epa.html>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/02/epa-slips-on-perchlorate/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1416722/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/02/epa-slips-on-perchlorate/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>EPA</category><category>perchlorate</category><category>toxics</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:10:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Ash and Sludge Cover Tennessee Town</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/health/" rel="tag">Health</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/polit-eco/" rel="tag">Polit-eco</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="fly ash disposal in virginia" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2008/12/flyash.jpg" />Instead of a white Christmas, some folks in Kingston, Tennessee got an ash and sludge covered Christmas Eve this year. <br /><br />Coal ash (compacted ash is pictured in the photo at right) is a byproduct of the combustion process that makes energy out of coal. The companies that produce the energy-- and the accompanying waste--have to find somewhere to store the fly ash. Often it is held behind dams, berms, or other holding devices. Yesterday, some of this ash (300 million gallons of the stuff, according to the <em>New York Times</em>) broke free of its dam at the Kingston Fossil Plant. It knocked at least one home off of its foundation, and left a sludge several feet deep across one section of town.<br /><br />Could anyone have seen this coming? Well, yes-- environmentalists have been working to have fly ash <a href="http://alleghenysc.org/?p=807">regulated</a> more strictly for a while now.<p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Ash and Sludge Cover Tennessee Town</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/us/25sludge.html?_r=1&amp;partner=permalink&amp;exprod=permalink>Read</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1411720/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/26/ash-and-sludge-cover-tennessee-town/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>clean coal</category><category>CleanCoal</category><category>coal</category><category>coal byproducts</category><category>CoalByproducts</category><category>environmental justice</category><category>EnvironmentalJustice</category><category>fly ash</category><category>FlyAsh</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Worldwatch: Education Key to Environmental Change</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/20/worldwatch-education-key-to-environmental-change/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/20/worldwatch-education-key-to-environmental-change/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/20/worldwatch-education-key-to-environmental-change/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/polit-eco/" rel="tag">Polit-eco</a></p><a href="http://www.stockxpert.com/browse_image/view/228594/?ref=sxc_hu"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="key to unlock world"  src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2008/12/unlockearth.jpg" /></a>The Worldwatch institute published <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5971" style="">this open letter</a> from a number of environmental leaders to new Education Secretary <a href="http://www.cps.k12.il.us/AboutCPS/people/Duncan/duncan.html">Arne Duncan</a> yesterday, urging him to remember the role of education in carrying out necessary changes to our national environmental policy. <br /><br />The authors of the letter think that (gasp) we have to actually educate our national citizenry in order to pursue our goals of a greener, cleaner economy. They write:<br /><blockquote>Creating millions of new green jobs through targeted investment and spending is one thing; filling those jobs with qualified candidates is quite another thing. This transition will require a massive job training (and retraining) effort on the part of business, government, and education if it is to scale up quickly.<br /></blockquote>Indeed, it seems that we could use some boosts in our educational system to areas critical to environmental development like math and science, as well as a basic understanding of the way climate change works. Or maybe we've <a href="http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/obama-and-mccain-no-climate-doubt/">figured that out</a> by now?<br />Among other suggestions, the authors of this letter ask that Duncan support a series of White House conferences on greener and healthier economies and communities; establish strong funding of education programs at the EPA, National Science Foundation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and they suggested some specific new positions that should be added to the Administration. <p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/20/worldwatch-education-key-to-environmental-change/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1407583/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/20/worldwatch-education-key-to-environmental-change/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>climate change</category><category>ClimateChange</category><category>department of education</category><category>DepartmentOfEducation</category><category>Education</category><category>Obama administration</category><category>ObamaAdministration</category><category>Worldwatch Institute</category><category>WorldwatchInstitute</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:32:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title>Factory Farms Stink</title><link>http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/15/factory-farms-stink/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/15/factory-farms-stink/</guid><comments>http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/15/factory-farms-stink/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/health/" rel="tag">Health</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/polit-eco/" rel="tag">Polit-eco</a>, <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/category/activism/" rel="tag">Activism</a></p>Ever wondered about the environmental implications of your Christmas ham? Many porkers in the U.S. are grown in facilities with thousands of animals. Putting this many of pigs in one place sometimes makes the pigs and the people around them unhappy, particularly because of the waste they produce. Following <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/12/cutbacks-to-air-water-monitoring-programs/">this report</a> released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, I spoke with registered nurse Barb Kalbach about her work trying to clean up factory farms. Barb works and lives in Iowa, where there are lots <a href="http://www.iowacci.org/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2008/12/factoryfarm.jpg" alt="concentrated animal feeding operation in iowa" /></a>of large facilities that raise livestock. <br /><br />I asked her if, as a nurse, she notices any health effects of the hog farms on local communities. She responded: "If you have a large hog facility nearby and you're elderly or very very young it goes without saying that there's going to be an impact [on health]." Health professionals say that levels of <a href="http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts114.html">hydrogen sulfide</a> (one of the noxious gases produced by animal waste) in the air should not exceed 15 parts per million (ppm). In order to determine air quality around these facilities, though, regular and accurate testing must occur.<p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/15/factory-farms-stink/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Factory Farms Stink</em></a></p><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> </p><p><a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/15/factory-farms-stink/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/forward/1398908/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a> | <a href="http://www.greendaily.com/2008/12/15/factory-farms-stink/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p>]]></description><category>concentrated animal feeding</category><category>ConcentratedAnimalFeeding</category><category>environmental justice</category><category>EnvironmentalJustice</category><category>factory farming</category><category>FactoryFarming</category><dc:creator>Leslie Wolcott</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:05:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>