Green Daily

Now that I've managed to absorb the the simplified information about the Copenhagen Climate Conference, aka COP15, I'm getting a grasp on the many ancillary programs and activities that are planned concurrently with the conference.

Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Ritt Bjerregaard, (best title, best name, possibly ever, and she's a groovy older lady who wears awesome glasses!) is hosting a gathering of the mayors from large cities around the world as a gesture of support. Well, support and pressure -- they're gathering as a show of strength, to tell state leaders that the citizens of the world expect a decisive action to come out of COP15. You tell 'em, Ritt!

I think one of the coolest events related to the conference is the special Earth Hour the citizens of Copenhagen plan to observe at 7pm on December 16, the day before COP15 concludes. This is their way of demonstrating support for the conference, and also to encourage the world leaders to come to a consensus.

Is online grocery shopping more eco-friendly than the grocery store? Looking for ways to fight the green fight on you college campus? Are you ready to take you personal water conservation to a new level? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Is it Green? Al Gore Invests in Ocado Al Gore, inventor of the internet and champion of climate change legislation, is investing heavily in an online UK grocery retailer named Ocado. While Al's no stranger to eco-controversy, the question this time around: Is shipping groceries greener than running retail stores?

Working to Green Your Campus Recently, Grist release their picks for the top 20 Green Universities. For those students who aren't going to transfer simply based on greenness, you can always work to make you college a little more environmentally-aware. Tree-sitting is not required.

Shower Like the Planet is Your Battleship A new shower head can cut a few gallons out of your shower, but if you really wanna get hardcore, I mean military-style hardcore -- try a Navy shower. Developed to conserve water at sea, it works like this: Turn on the water, get soaked, turn it off, lather, then rinse.

"The Cove" Worked, but Not for Whales In an odd twist on the dolphin slaughter story, fishermen in Taiji did round up 100 dolphins -- but didn't kill them. Instead, 50 f them were sold to aquariums. Things didn't go so well for the 50 pilot whales involved; they were killed in the name of tradition and whale steak.

EU Says Goodbye to Thomas Edison The European Union's ban on the incandescent bulb went into effect this month. That doesn't mean that the creepy light bulb police will be knocking on doors, but it does mean retailers are prohibited from purchasing any more old-school bulbs -- the end of an era.

Green in a Flash:

• Just a reminder: A jellyfish is not a toy -- or a weapon.
• Google's mirrors may one day cut the cost of solar plants by 25%.
• The Ford Focus Hybrid will be the first contestant in Jay Leno's Green Car Challenge.

Every year on the third Saturday of September, all the best people have the same social engagement: Get together and clean up the beaches around the world. The event is the International Coastal Cleanup, and this year that date is September 19th. Make a note on your calendar!

The annual International Coastal Cleanup is the largest volunteer day of its kind. The Ocean Conservancy leads this event, with several sponsoring partners including Coca-Cola and Bank of America.

Last year 400,000 volunteers in 100 countries and 42 US states collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash. This year they hope to see more volunteers in even more locations.

For more than five years I've been one of those annoying people in San Francisco, driving a Toyota Prius and feeling smugly eco-superior. There have been many times when my husband and I have gloated over how little we spend on gas and how light it makes our carbon footprint.

This summer I had a chance to drive a few Ford 2010 models, and in that process met several people on the Ford Safety and Sustainability Team. Knowing that Ford offers several hybrids -– the Fusion, Escape, Milan and Mariner -- I figured our conversations would focus on that technology, and maybe get into plug-in electric vehicles.

In the course of several discussions, including a one-on-one interview with Sue Cischke, Ford Group Vice President, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering, I learned something surprising: figuring out which car is most environmentally-friendly for your situation is more complex than just picking the hybrid.

Why is Pamela Anderson ripping the clothes off of air travelers' backs? Are you ready to bury the hatchet with SIGG? Should you have fewer babies for the environment? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

PETA's Airport Security Commercial Doesn't Fly Pamela Anderson teamed up with PETA once again to use her uh ... assets to campaign against animal products. She plays a scantily-clad airport security officer who literally strips passengers of their fur and leather clothing. Needless to say, it's been rejected by airports.

SIGG Wants to Make it Right Following a tidal wave of critical press, SIGG's CEO made a formal apology yesterday saying that he made a mistake by not announcing that SIGG's liners contained trace amounts of BPA. To win back your trust, SIGG is making it easy for you to trade in your old SIGG.

Should the Environment be Part of Family Planning? I don't think I'm alone in saying that if there's one thing that instantly gets under my skin, it's someone who's trying to lecture me about how many children I should or shouldn't have. If you're trying to have the family-print discussion with someone, I suggest reading this first.

Should We Ban the Coat and Tie? Hoping to conserve some electricity during an energy crisis, the government of Bangladesh has banned employees from wearing suits and ties. That's right, they banned suits and ties. That way, they can turn up thermostats in government buildings.

The Giants' Laundry Team Hits a Grand Slam As the Giants battle for a playoff berth, the team's laundry services have already clinched the pennant. Along with other green efforts at Candlestick, the team's uniforms are now being washed in phosphate-free, botanical suds from locally-based VASKA.

Green in a Flash:

• The UK is considering a tax hike to keep more passengers grounded.
• Yesterday, Boulder became the first fully functioning smart grid city.
  
• The world's largest solar plant will be build by an Arizona-base company, in China.

Down the endless web of concrete hallways at Arthur Ashe Stadium, past framed photos of former champions, there is a large chute on a loading dock with a single purpose: Collecting recyclables.

There are 500 containers for bottles and cans peppered across the 46-acre Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The bins are the public face of a campaign to show that, while the courts may have painted blue years ago, this year the message is green.

"You don't know what you don't know," says Rita Garza, director of public relations and Green Task Force chairwoman for the USTA. Garza is honest about how much she had to learn about paper cups, renewable energy and tennis ball cans when Billie Jean King called for the U.S. Open to green its practices at the complex that bears her name.

Are cigarettes part of Russell Crowe's new cycling workout? Why do green watchdogs have a beef with Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour menu? Want to resurrect your favorite pair of jeans? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Russell Crowe Will Bike Your Wheels Off After the paparazzi snapped Russell puffing on a cigarette during his intense training regimen, a Sydney gossip columnist ridiculed Robin Hood's new workout plan. True to form, Russell challenged the columnist to keep up with him on a ride around Sydney. They couldn't.

Madonna's Shocking Beef Scandal OK, maybe it's not shocking at all, but Madge's end-of-tour beef request is drawing fire from green celeb watchdogs. Apparently, she ordered up 110lbs of kosher beef to celebrate the end of her Sticky and Sweet Tour. That's a water footprint of 271,040 gallons!

Aussie Cows Munch Seaweed If Madonna had ordered her beef from an Australian farmer participating in the Reef and Beef program, she could have at least cut down on her carbon footprint. A group of scientists believe that feeding cows seaweed could greatly reduce their harmful flatulence.

Rehabilitate Your Worn-Out Jeans With every dearly beloved pair of jeans there comes a time when you must decide to either ignore the hole in the crotch and hope that nobody notices, or junk 'em. Now, there's a third option: Denim Therapy. These guys don't just patch up your jeans, they heal them.

Get the Skinny on Eating Green Thankfully, decreasing your environmental foodprint and your waistline aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, if you heed these seven green eating tips, you're almost certain to shed some pounds.

Green in a Flash:

• Can an electric cars really go 100 miles for just $1?
• Woo hoo! Amazonian Deforestation dropped 46% this year.
• Localwashing: It's like greenwashing, only with stuff that's questionably local.

You know those times when you suddenly notice that you've produced seven bags of trash in one week, or you calculate the carbon footprint of a bowl of strawberries from Chile and realize eating them is like 200 bazillion times worse than burning tires in your backyard?

Me too, and I always vow to do better, then don't get around to it. Colin Beavan was like us, filled with good ideas but fallible in the execution. Then he decided to really try to make a difference. For one year he did everything he could to make as little impact as possible on the Earth: Reduce the trash he produced. Only eat local, vegetarian food. Live without electricity or toilet paper ... in the middle on New York City.

Calling it the No Impact Project, Colin wrote a book about the experience, and kept a blog during the year. A documentary about the experience, called "No Impact Man," is about to be released in theaters across the country. Colin sets a great the example, but it's his wife, Michelle, who steals the show and makes you believe this kind of change is possible for everyone.

Is Jay Leno really going to turn female viewers into green gearheads? Need a green cheat sheet to make this whole back-to-school thing a little easier? Looking to unload the BPA-leaching SIGG bottle you bought because you though it didn't leach BPA? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Why Did Jay Leno Institute the Green Car Challenge? Always the ladies' man, Jay is reportedly trying to lure female viewers with his segment about ... race cars. Says Jay: "Whenever I would drive a green car, like an electric car, when I drove it to the show, the female guests would go, "What is that? Does that not use gas?"

The Green Back-to-School Cheat Sheet From school supplies to packing lunches, the back-to-school push can overwhelm even the most conscientious of helicopter parents. Whether you want to reduce your back-to-school footprint or research the potential dangers lurking in the classroom, look no further.

Major Retailers Now Accepting Your Tainted SIGG ... Sort of. Short of actually announcing their unofficial return policy and unleashing a flood of SIGG returns at every big box store on the block, SIGG is quietly exchanging bottles made before August 2008 for a newer, truly BPA-free mobile water device.

Sweet New Gadget Cools Your AC I've heard of planting shrubs to shade you AC for better performance, but a misting system dedicated to your AC unit? The Cool-n-Save (it just had to have a dorky infomercial name didn't it?) supposedly lowers you AC cost by 30%. Does it work? Ed Begley Jr. endorses it.

Window Shopping? Read This First If you've got stars in your eyes about upgrading all those drafty windows in your aging house, I hope you have some Visine handy. Those eyes may go bloodshot when the estimates come in. Windows aren't exactly a cheap greenovation, but is it worth taking the plunge?

Green in a Flash:

• It's official, the Industrial Age reversed a global cooling trend.
• Contrary to popular belief, smog actually helps plants grow. Weird.
• Enviros are proclaiming a resounding victory over the dolphin killings in Taiji thanks to "The Cove."

This video of Andy Dick, dressed as a cleaver-brandishing Ronald McDonald, and talking to fake talk show host Jiminy Glick is many things:

• hilarious
• disgusting
• misguided
• riveting
• still hilarious

Love 'em or hate 'em, PETA knows how to play the media like an army of puppets. Even if some of us are relatively uninspired by the plight of McDonald's chickens (obviously I don't condone cruelty to animals but priorities, people, priorities), none of us can resist the spectacle of a mass-murdering fast-food clown trash talking chickens.

Is Brad Pitt going to give up acting to be a sustainable architect? Why are Michael Jackson's tigers in danger? Wanna ditch the chemicals for an eco-friendly pool cleaner? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Brad Pitt Supports Sustainable Building in Spain Once again showing his enthusiasm for sustainable architecture, Brad Pitt made a quick trip out to Aviles, Spain, to study the eco-aspects of the new Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Center. Planners hope it will rival Bilbao's Guggenheim when it's complete.

Michael Jackson's Tigers Threatened with Extinction ... But not from poaching or a lack of prey species. The leaders of the Shambala Preserve (where MJ's tigers now reside) are ignoring a mandatory evacuation order from LA fire officials. Would you wanna load 100 wild animals, including big cats, into pet carriers?

Eco-Friendly Pool Cleaning In one foreclosure-ravaged town in Florida, code enforcers have ditched the chemicals and started using a much cheaper and greener option to treat abandoned pools: Live catfish. At about 10% of the cost of chemicals, these pools are sanitary once again.

Sustainable Computing is Beautiful For those of us who place a premium on both aesthetics and sustainability, the options out there limited, but growing. If you're like me and you stare at a computer all day, you might consider beautifying your workspace with an eco-chic bamboo laptop stand and mouse.

The Making of the Prius Harmony Commercial I agree, the new Prius commercial is really awesome ... the flowers, the choreography, the music, it's all very, uh ... harmonious. But are the spots so wonderful, in fact, that we actually want to watch behind the scenes video footage about how they were made? Apparently we do.

Green in a Flash:

• Is it really practical to grow a garden in your fridge?
• Should cities install waterless outdoor Pee Tree urinals?
• This totally offensive WWF ad is not really a WWF ad at all.

Golf, which has long been the easy-to-vilify target of the green movement, may not be quite as evil as we've been taught to believe. In some cases it might even be considered something good for animals and the environment!

A new study done in Sweden shows that the ponds found on golf courses can actually be very hospitable for wetland critters. In fact, they're better than regular ponds for the great crested newt, a protected endangered species. And there is even a type of dragon fly that you can only find in golf course ponds!

Besides the ponds, which apparently are more than chemical stews of frog hormone disrupters, the study also showed that most courses have surprisingly large areas of natural habitat for wildlife, since there can be up to 70% of non-play area. In urban areas, where there is little green space at all, a golf course could be the best opportunity for wildlife to find a place to nest.

Did you know that Alec Baldwin was an green tennis guru? Want an inside look at the Obama veggie garden? Who's behind this insidious Captain Planet movie hoax, because a lot of disappoint fans want to rip them a new one? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

The US Open Goes Green Thanks to stars like Billie Jean King, Venus Williams and even Alec Baldwin, the US Open has launched a wholesale effort to make the tournament more eco-friendly with recycling and t-shirts that read "Save Our Planet - It's the Only One with Tennis." So true.

Inside the White House Veggie Garden First Lady Michelle Obama has given the masses an opportunity to take a behind the scenes look at the famous White House organic veggie garden. Check out the video where Michelle discusses her philosophy on gardening and revolutionizing America's eating habits.

Captain Planet Movie Rumors Won't Die Ever since a prankster posted a rumor that a live action Captain Planet movie was in production on Wikipedia, the rumor refuses to pass on into oblivion. At this year's Comic Con, the CP fans were once again whipped into a frenzy by a well-crafted, fake movie poster.

Is Bubble Wrap Recyclable? For most people, the only known way to reuse bubble wrap is to simply enjoy the pleasure of popping each individual bubble and then toss it. Though it's not universally welcomed at recycling centers, there are plenty of people who may want to take it off your hands.

Want to Check Out "No Impact Man" for Free? No Impact Man hits theaters a week from Friday and the eco-flick's promoters are offering free tickets for pro-active Twitter addicts. Check out the "No Impact Man" trailer and details on how to win free tix.

Green in a Flash:

• Is climate change stoking California's wildfires?
• McDonald's is going to install electric car charging stations.
• On the first day of Japan's dolphin slaughtering season, the notorious cove is empty.

When you think billboards, you probably get an image of Times Square, or another urban setting where oversized ads loom, clamoring for your attention. But do you ever wonder what happens to a billboard when the campaign is over and the space is needed for a new ad?

Many billboards are made from highly durable vinyl, which as you know is not remotely biodegradeable. According to Terracycle, in the US alone we send 3 million billboards a year to landfills -- about 10,000 tons of vinyl. The inventive upcycling company came up with a solution: partner with Yak Pak and make a variety of cool bags from the material, and sell them for under $35.

Target is also getting on the billboard bag bandwagon. They commissioned emerging artists like Michael Anderson and Josh Goldstein to create art billboards in Times Square. The billboards will be on display from Labor Day through Halloween. After the campaign, they will be upcycled into bags designed by Anna Sui, and retail for $29.99.

What are Ed Begley's top five most important tips for going green at home? Why does Heather Mills hope that "Frankenstein-inspired" is a fall fashion buzzword? Shopping for some eco-chic styles for fall? Today's Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

Ed Begley's Top Five Quick Tips I can't say that Ed's insightful yet obvious green tips have blown my mind, but come on ... it's Ed Begley. Sometimes it not what gets said that's important, it's who says it. Even if I've heard it a thousand times, it's more encouraging coming from Ed.

Heather Mills Debuts Green Fashion Line Perhaps it was the use of the @ sign in the name, but I had a feeling that Heather's Be@One clothing line was not going to spark a fashion revolution. Instead, critics described her styles as "Frankenstein-inspired" and "laughably horrid." Hey, at least they're recycled.

Fall Fashions: Nau Even More Sustainable! After an ominous shutdown a year ago, the eco-clothing company founded by former Nike and Patagonia execs is roaring back to life with a new and improved lineup for fall. Nau's Fall 2009 collection is packed with smart-looking styles from sustainable sources.

The Green Way to Deal With Autumn Leaves Should you burn them, bag them, or just ... leave them? That crunchy carpet isn't a menace, but a leafy layer of free super-mulch. The best thing to do is chop them up into smaller pieces (preferably with an eco-mower), then pile them up around your trees.

California Wildfires Spread Haze Across the US Thousands of homes near LA are currently being threatened by a fire so intense, it's creating its own weather and flinging smoke so high into the atmosphere that its causing hazy skies in Denver. Think rain -- together we can make it happen.

Green in a Flash:

• Tesla hired two execs this week from Audi and YouTube.
• The EPA is expected to declare CO2 a dangerous pollutant.
• Good news! Over 13% of US energy generated in May came from renewable sources.