Environmental Effects of Offshore Drilling

Most of the United States coastal areas are banned from offshore drilling (drilling in the ocean for oil and natural gas). Last month, President Obama proposed legislation to reverse that ban on parts of the east coast and on the northern Alaskan coast. In total, over 297 million acres of the ocean will be fair game for oil exploration. Drilling for oil in these parts of the ocean would allow the U.S. to lessen their dependence on foreign oil without affecting current levels of oil consumption. In addition, the U.S. government would be able to generate a profit from the offshore leases that would be negotiated with oil exploration companies like BP and Transocean. The reversal could also lead to the creation of thousands of jobs for Americans – something the American people could really use during this bad economic climate.

While politically it may make sense to lessen our dependence on other countries and their oil supply, and economically we need more jobs for Americans, expanding offshore drilling is a terrible idea because of the environmental risks that are involved. The ban on offshore drilling was put into place over twenty years ago because of the environmental risks that would threaten our oceanic ecosystems if drilling were to occur. If an accident were to happen on an offshore oil rig, it could affect marine life in that area, as well as jeopardize the beaches. As Dr. Jill Stein says in an article about offshore drilling, “There is no way to guarantee complete safety from spills. If part of the east coast of the US suffered a spill comparable to the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989, the result would be a catastrophe for public health and valuable natural habitats.” And many other people agree with her. Greenpeace members have been quoted in a number of their blogs saying, “It’s not a matter of if a spill will occur, but when — and where.”

And as it turns out, those Greenpeace members were right. Last Thursday, an oil rig exploded, and then sank just 21 miles off the Gulf Coast (see full story here). Besides the safety issues for the workers on the rig – currently eleven workers are officially missing and presumed dead – the impact this event will have on the environment may be detrimental. Oil and natural gas from the rig burned for over 36 hours causing thick black clouds of smoke to rise away from the scene heavily contributing to air pollution in that area. But even worse, the amount of oil that spilled – and continues to leak from the deep-water well – will pollute the surrounding oceanic and coastal habitats, harming many organisms that live there. There are two different wildlife preserves located only a few miles from the explosion and the impact on those preserves is still unknown. Marine biology professor, Chris Frid was quoted on forests.org saying, "That part of the gulf's coastline consists of a sedimentary shore with lots of muddy inlets. The oil will penetrate into the mud, and because it contains no oxygen the oil will not biodegrade. For generations, any disturbance of the sediment will bring oil back to the surface and that will happen over a very large area."

With an estimated 8,000 barrels of crude oil leaking each day, it is reported that officials are doing their best to clean up the spill as fast as they can. But so far, they have been unsuccessful in their attempts to both stop the oil leak, which is leaking from the sunken rig and the deep-water well in three different spots, and clean up the spill. Instead, the ocean currents are spreading the spill making the clean up area larger and more difficult to deal with. We have let the technology that allows us to drill for oil surpass the technology we currently have to clean up any resulting accidents. Experts say that at the current rate of oil leakage, in 40 days the spill will surpass the 260,000 barrels spilled by Exxon Mobil when the Valdez tanker hit a reef off the Alaska coast in 1989. That spill caused the death of hundreds of marine animals and cost millions of dollars in environmental work to try to reverse harms caused to thousands of other animals. This week, dead sea turtles, catfish, horseshoe crabs and marine birds have begun to wash up on the shore in Mississippi. They are not coated in oil, and cannot yet be directly linked to the spill, but the number of animals found dead makes marine biologists believe that their deaths are linked to the pollution from the oil spill.

While this oil rig explosion has been, and will continue to be a huge problem, a more common problem with offshore drilling the is minor leaks and spills from oil tankers that transport oil from the rig to land, as well as minor leaks from rig platforms themselves. Each incident does not do that much damage on its own and therefore does not really receive as much press as huge explosions do. But the frequency of these spills makes them just as big of a problem. Offshore drilling is filling our pristine oceans with oil and harming innocent marine animals as well as running delicate ecosystems that we depend on for food.

What can be done to prevent future oil spills? Really nothing can be done except to stop offshore drilling. No one is even sure of the cause of this most recent explosion, and obviously the problems that can occur because of offshore drilling are unpredictable. If the U.S. needs to lessen their dependence on foreign oil, it might be a better idea to heavily invest in other forms of energy – ones that are cleaner and better for the environment than oil – which is not a renewable resource anyway. These new forms of energy could also create thousands of new jobs for Americans, and they would be jobs that would be able to last longer than jobs associated with offshore drilling since they would be environmentally friendly and the resources would not be finite. An even better solution would be to cut down energy consumption in the U.S. overall reducing our general need for oil and other polluting sources of energy. But that is just an environmental pipe dream. I am sure that is not going to happen until something really drastic forces Americans to reduce their consumption.

Organic Coupons

There is nothing that I love more than a good deal. And right now over at the Earth Fare website, you can print over $85 worth of manufacturers coupons for organic groceries and products. Save money while saving the environment! What could be better? And included in this coupon book is a coupon for $1 off any Seventh Generation cleaners which you can read about in my previous post.

LA Ranked Smoggiest City

State of the Air, a report, was released today by the American Lung Association that -- after completing extensive research -- found Los Angeles has the worst air quality of any city in the United States. In one year, the report found that the average Los Angeles resident was exposed to 140 days where the air was at a dangerous level. The American Lung Association's California director, Bonnie Holmes-Gen, said that this is not just a problem, but a crisis. People are actually dying early because of the terrible air quality. California as a state had the most cities (ten) with harmful air quality out of any state in the country. It is true that the air quality is not as bad as it used to be, and that state and county legislators have been working on this problem for a while now, but obviously more needs to be done.

On the other side of the spectrum, my hometown, Honolulu, was reported as the city with the best air quality in the nation. Too bad I am moving to LA for good!

Cruises Bully Alaska

For over a year now, cruise lines have been bullying the Alaska government through lawsuits and threats. And recently, the Alaskan government has started to give in. A few weeks ago, they lowered taxes for cruise ships by 25% and today they relaxed pollution legislation, allowing cruise ships that come into Alaskan waters to dump chemicals from fecal waste. Alaska's pristine waters and marine organisms are about to experience more pollution just because the cruise ships are unwilling to invest in waste management systems.

I think that this power that the cruise ships are lording over governments trying to protect their natural environments is disgusting. The cruise ships don't even pay any tax because they just charge it to the passengers. It is all a power move to try and sway legislation their way and it is working. Alaska has given in to increased levels of pollution just so the cruise lines won't stop coming to their ports. There will come a day when people care more about the environment and the consequences of pollution than making money. And I can't wait for that day to come.

Read more about the injustice of the cruise lines here.

Did You Know?

Glass produced from recycled glass instead of raw materials reduces related air pollution by 20%, and water pollution by 50%. Enough glass was thrown away in 1990 to fill the Twin Towers (1,350 feet high) of New York's World Trade Center every two weeks.

For more facts on recycling and pollution, click here!

Climate Scientist Sues Newspaper

A lawsuit was launched this week by a climatology professor, Andrew Weaver, from the University of Victoria against The National Post newspaper. Apparently, a number of articles written in The National Post misquoted Prof. Weaver and when he asked them to retract the articles, the paper flat out refused.

The articles have now been quoted on other websites, and the lawsuit demands not only The Nation Post take down the articles where he was misquoted, but that they track down every other website that quoted them, and have them delete his affiliation from their websites as well. Weaver explained, "If I sit back and do nothing to clear my name, these libels will stay on the Internet forever. They’ll poison the factual record, misleading people who are looking for reliable scientific information about global warming.”

The articles that are being disputed are Weaver's Web, posted on December 10, 2009, Weaver's Web II, posted January 27, 2010, Climate Agency Going Up in Flames, posted January 27, 2010, and So Much for Pure Science, posted February 2, 2010.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day! And it is a day to celebrate the earth and its environment. Earth day was started 40 years ago to promote awareness for the environment and it is even more important to do that today then it was 40 years ago. Many people feel that the current economic climate makes it difficult to convince people of the importance of issues like global warming and oceanic pollution. And with the political sides so evenly matched on these issues, it is unclear whether any climate legislation will be able to make it through congress. An interview with Denis Hayes, the coordinator of the very first earth day, discusses these issues as well as many more.

On another note, Disney's Oceans was released today to the general public, giving people an awe inspiring view of the beauty of our oceans. As part of Disney's nature division, Oceans allows people to be more in touch with the wonders of oceanic ecosystems creating awareness of the amazing creatures we need to protect.

New Bill Passed in Colorado

A new bill was passed today in Colorado that promotes the use of natural gas to cut down on emissions in the state. The bill was signed by Colorado State Governor, Bill Ritter, and it is being called the clean air, clean jobs act by many involved. The bill only took 17 days to get passed. For more on the bill, click here.

Plastic is the Devil

It is a well known fact that plastic is bad for the environment. The process of making plastic involves using large quantities of oil—a rapidly diminishing resource, not to mention one of the most controversial political topics today. Plastic does not decompose (chemically break down into simpler forms of matter) in any reasonable time scale, which means that it sits in landfills for thousands of years, or worse, ends up in our oceans and waterways where it is ingested by, and eventually kills, large numbers of marine organisms. And even though all of this is well known fact, millions of Americans wash tiny pieces of plastic down their drains every day. True, most of these people do not know they are doing it, but in this case, ignorance is not bliss. The tiny pieces of plastic that I am talking about are microscopic beads used as exfoliates and they are found in a surprising number of popular, brand-name soaps and scrubs.

My recent posts on the great Pacific garbage patch and the great Atlantic garbage patch made me wonder: What exactly is causing all of that plastic to end up in the ocean? My research alerted me to a book by Alan Weisman entitled The World Without Us that describes, as the titles suggests, what would happen to everything on earth if humans were to just magically disappear. One chapter, Polymers are Forever, talks about polyethylene, the most widely used plastic compound in the world, and how it is commonly found in shower massage creams, body scrubs, and hand soaps as an exfoliate. In the past, exfoliates were made of grounded up seeds or oats. But recently, manufacturers have been switching over to polyethylene. Whether they switched because it is cheaper or creates a more consistent product is unknown. The fact remains that millions of Americans wash billions of plastic particles down the drain and into the ocean everyday.

Why is plastic so bad? Well, as I mentioned before, plastic does not decompose, which means that once it is made, it is here to stay. However, when plastic is left out in the sun, it breaks up into smaller and smaller plastic pieces until it is microplastic—plastic fragments that are 1 mm or smaller. And this is when it gets really dangerous. Researchers reported, in this article in a popular science magazine, that “free-floating toxins from all kinds of sources—copy paper, automobile grease, coolant fluids, old fluorescent tubes, and infamous discharges by General Electric and Monsanto plants directly into streams and rivers—readily stick to the surfaces of free-floating plastic.” The toxic microplastic is then ingested by marine organisms like zooplankton that comb the sea eating particles in the water. Zooplankton and other similar organisms at the bottom of the food chain are then eaten by predators and the toxins are amplified as it takes each step up the food chain, eventually ending up in humans. The same article reported, “[o]ne study directly correlated ingested plastics with PCBs in the fat tissue of puffins. The astonishing part was the amount. Takada and his colleagues found that the plastic pellets eaten by the birds concentrated poisons to levels as high as 1 million times their normal occurrence in seawater.”

Microplastics are not, by any means, the whole problem. Other small plastics (larger than microplastics) are routinely ingested by marine animals, who may either choke on them and die or end up with so much plastic in their stomachs that they starve to death. But one of the biggest things about plastic exfoliates is that they don't need to break down in order to end up in the stomachs of marine life. They are manufactured to be small, and they are meant to be washed down the drain, which leads them straight to the ocean. Exfoliates almost seem like they were designed to murder marine animals.

How does the polyethylene get from our sinks to the ocean? Well, all of the wastewater we create gets transferred to a sewage treatment plant. There, it is treated to make it as clean as possible again. Some of that water is reused, but a lot of that treated water is dumped into the ocean. Microplastics and small pieces of polyethylene—including those used in exfoliating scrubs—are too small to be caught by the treatment filtering systems. So they get dumped into the ocean along with this rest of the treated waste water.

I, myself, was ignorant of the polyethylene exfoliate problem until I read The World Without Us, and after doing more research, I was surprised to see the brands of soaps that were included in a still incomplete list of soaps to avoid if you don’t want to contribute to this problem. I have been using the Bath and Body Works line of hand soaps for years now only to find out that their signature blue scrubbing beads are really polyethylene. Other popular brands like Clean and Clear, Neutrogena, and Oil of Olay also use polyethylene in their products. There are a few brands out there, like St. Ives and Burt’s Bees, still fighting the good fight and using natural exfoliates.

The biggest problem I have with this whole situation is that no one knows about it. For years, huge corporations have been manufacturing these harmful products and we, as consumers, have been buying them and using them, directly, but ignorantly, harming the environment. Why is it that no one knows that their favorite face wash is killing cute little seals? As I mentioned in my previous posts on the world’s garbage patches, once the plastic reaches the ocean, it is almost impossible to get it back out. No effective method of clearing the garbage patches has been found. That means at this point, the best offense is defense! We have to stop polluting the ocean with plastics. People need to be informed about polyethylene exfoliates so they can make an educated choice when picking out their soaps and scrubs. While I was able to find some news articles and blog posts about this issue (like this one, this one, and this one), there was not as much publicity about it as one would hope. We can all help by spreading the word, but more importantly, by voting with our dollars. If people were to all stop buying polyethylene scrubs, you can be sure that companies would get the message and stop making them. Post about this issue on your blog, tell your friends, and even write to your favorite (or ex-favorite) cosmetics company either to tell them thanks for caring about the environment, or thanks for not caring.

New Energy Sources

A new energy source is being utilized in Europe: people! In France, they put down a special flooring on a particularly busy street that can harvest energy from feet hitting the floor. They got the idea from a night club that had a similar flooring. French officials are hoping that the foot traffic of the day will power the street lights at night.

In Sweden, scientists have found a way to harvest body heat. A busy train station has been set up with a system to harvest the body heat which is used to heat tanks of water and eventually heats neighboring buildings saving on electricity costs. Many people are critical of both of these systems because of the high development costs, but as long as it is conserving energy, I am all for it. There will soon come a time when saving money will not be everyone's first thought with regards to energy.

The Great Atlantic Garbage Patch

A few days ago I made a post about the great pacific garbage patch. Now, many bloggers are writing to report that researchers have discovered a garbage patch in the middle of the Atlantic ocean as well. Since it is so hard to see from the surface of the water, no one was sure of the extent of the damage. I won't go into details on how the garbage patch was created since I covered that in my previous post. But I want to stress the importance of the garbage patches and further explain what we can do to prevent them from growing. It is a fact that we live in a consumerist nation, but there are still things we can do to save the environment. Most of the disposable items we use on a regular basis are made of non-biodegradable plastics. And so much of those plastics end up in our oceans killing fish and entering the food chain. Recently, I went to a fair and I was so pleased to see that one booth was selling dessert on pressed palm leaves (100% compostable). I bought some dessert from them and found that the plates were sturdy, clean, and made the dessert look more fancy than if it had been on a plastic plate. Doing stuff like using palm plates instead of plastic is the only way that the garbage patches are going to get smaller since no reliable way of cleaning the garbage patches up has been discovered. If everyone takes a second to think about what they are using, it may go a long way for the future of our world.

The Masters

On a side note from all of the environmental stuff, Phil Mickelson won his third green jacket today beating opponents -- including newly returned Tiger Woods -- in golf's Masters tournament. While it is not the same kind of "green" jacket, it is still a big deal!

All Solar Plane!

The worlds first all solar plane took flight yesterday reaching an average speed of 45 mph. The plane, Solar Impulse, was able to take off, fly properly, and land without any major glitches. The total flight time was 87 minutes and just the first step of a plan to go around the world using only solar energy. This is a huge step for both the aviation industry and the renewable energy industry.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Today I am going to talk about one of the most mind blowing pollution stories: The great pacific garbage patch. For those who have never heard of the great pacific garbage patch, listen up! The great pacific garbage patch is a gyre (a large system of rotating ocean currents) of marine litter that has become particularly concentrated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While it is difficult to measure the size of the plastic "island", most scientists and oceanographers believe that the garbage patch is roughly two times the size of Texas. Yes, you heard me right. There is a patch of plastic particles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is two times the size of Texas.

How did this happen? Well 80% of all marine litter comes from land, not ships. And the oceans currents flow in a particular pattern that causes the majority of oceanic debris to mass in between the U.S. west coast and Hawaii. The millions of pieces of plastic and other garbage are not visible from space because the sun and the ocean essentially wash all color out of the plastic pieces making them clear and invisible from space.

Besides the problems of oceanic polution and the disruption of marine ecosystems, the great oceanic garbage patch may soon begin to directly effect humans. The sun also causes the plastic pieces to brake up into smaller and smaller pieces until they are barely visible. While the pices of plastic float around the ocean, they soak up toxins and other harmful chemicals. Fish and other marine animals end up unintentionally eating these toxic plastics. When fisherman catch these fish, the plastic winds up in our food supply.

Today I bought a bottle of water from Crepe'n Around -- an amazing crepe truck run by 3 friends -- and was happily suprised to see that the bottle was made 100% from plants and that it was compostable. The company that makes this bottled water is called Prima. The water inside tasted great too. Some bottled waters have a weird taste, but Prima water tasted fresh and it is enrched with minerals. Here is a fun fact that came off the bottle I bought:

"If all beverage bottles were made from plants, not oil, we'd save the equivalent greenhouse gas of not driving nearly 1 million cars a year."

Oil Spills in Australia

About one year ago, a ship was damaged causing a major oil spill (270 tons of oil) to pollute the Great Barrier Reef. Just this week, a Chinese ship carrying coal and oil hit the Great Barrier Reef and causing one of the oil containers to crack. The ship didn't report the accident until well over 2 hours past the event. So far, only 2 tons of oil has leaked into the ocean, but there is a good chance that the damaged ship could fall apart dumping thousands of tons of coal and oil into the water. To many, this whole situation seems fishy and lots of questions are being raised. Why was the ship so far out of the acceptable shipping lanes? Why did it take so long for the ship to report the situation? I'm not sure why the crash happened, but I do know that it is a terrible thing that happened. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living marine ecosystem on our planet. It really is tragic that so many damaging accidents keep occuring. It makes me feel like shipping companies need to take greater care and responsibility when they know they will be travelling in that area.

Read more about the spill here.

Living Green

Check out this website for some tips on living environmentally friendly: Global Stewards.

Good One Government

The Federal Government will apparently give anyone an "energy-efficient" rating now days. The Government Accountability Office went undercover and sent 20 products to the EPA and Department of Energy to get them approved as "energy-efficient". The items included things like space heaters with dusters taped on to it. Out of the 20 items, 15 of them passed and were given the ratings. I can't believe the government would be so careless at a time when American citizens really need some direction in cutting down emissions. Read more about the story here.

Spring is Here!

Spring is finally here and that means it is time for spring cleaning. Seventh Generation has come out with a new line of environmentally friendly cleaners that use natural ingridents to clean. One of the ingridients is the commonly found herb thyme which has the power to kill over 99.99% of germs naturally. They have also introduced 100% recycled paper towels to accompany the cleaners. Environmental bloggers are very excited about the introduction of Seventh Generation's new line and have posted their reviews of the products.

I am very happy that Seventh Generation has come out with their environmentally friendly line of cleaners because using harsh chemicals for cleaning really makes a negative impact on the environment. As it becomes trendier to be "green", I am looking forward to seeing more products like these cleaners.

Humans are too Stupid

Bloggers are writing about respected climate scientist James Lovelock and his publication of a report in The Gaurdian saying that humans were too stupid to deal with the issues of global warming. He feels that humans are not yet eveloved enough to understand and prevent climate change. In his opinion, one obstruction to preventing climate change is democracy. Lovelock says, "Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being. I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while." But this is something that isn't likely to happen anytime soon. For something to humans to do something about climate change, Lovelock thinks that some major catashtrophe needs to occur and shock people into action. I agree with everything he has to say. At this point, there is lots of evidence pointing to the eventual destruction of our planet. Yet, no major changes have been made in people's lifestyles. At this rate, major damage will be made to the environment.

Fun Fact on the Importance of Recycling

Here is a fun fact for the week from the Student Environmental Advisory Counsel. "During the time it takes you to read this sentence, 50,000 12-ounce aluminum cans are made."

Oceanic Acidification

Many bloggers are writing about a group of marine ecologists who have recently found that the ocean is becoming more acidic due to increased levels of carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere. The marine ecologists ran simulations in a fake "ocean" by adding carbon dioxide at the future predicted rates. The results were upsetting. The increased acidity in the "ocean" killed off a certain type of sulfur-consuming bacteria. Without this bacteria, there will be "a significant impact on the ocean’s productivity and the overall global climate system." This means that not only the oceans would be effected, but humans would also be effected by this change.

Earth Hour Still Important!

So a few days ago I made a post about WWF's annual Earth Hour (which, by the way, is tonight from 8:30pm until 9:30pm). As the time draws closer for this event to occur, many bloggers are debating the helpfulness of Earth Hour for the environment. As one blog puts it,

"A climate change campaign to get everyone to switch off their lights will not reduce carbon emissions, according to electricity experts...the fall in electricity use for such a short period is unlikely to result in less energy being pumped into the grid, and will therefore not reduce emissions."

I would like to say that I still think Earth Hour is still important! The reason for the occurrence of this event is not only to reduce emissions -- which it apparently isn't doing -- it is also to raise awareness for climate change and the ways in which individuals can help to reduce emissions in their daily lives. Maybe Earth Hour won't decrease emissions, but if everyone was more conscientious about turning lights off and using less electricity, then eventually, less energy will be pumped into the grid because it is not needed. So for all of those saying that Earth Hour is pointless, think about all the reasons for Earth Hour, not just the obvious ones.

Yay for LA!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released the results of a study they were conducting on environmental buildings. The study focused on different cities around the U.S. and determined which cities had the most energy efficient buildings. And guess which city was the forerunner in green buildings... our very own LA! Other cities that placed in the top five included Washington D.C., San Francisco, Denver, and Chicago. The EPA's press release also reported that in 2009 alone, 3,900 commercial buildings across the U.S. have recieved the EPA Energy Star classification and have raked in "annual savings of more than $900 million in utility bills and more than 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions." That's pretty impressive for a years work.

Plastiki

Plastiki, a boat made of more than 12,000 plastic drinking bottles, set sail 5 days ago from San Francisco on a journey across the Pacific Ocean to raise awareness for plastic pollution around the world. Over at Ralph Potts Vagabonding, the paid tribute to Palstiki's voyage and also shared some of their troubles with recycling. They said that, "Bottled water in the west is easy to avoid — after all our tap water is perfectly drinkable — but it’s tougher when you’re abroad in Africa, Asia and South America where the local water supply is suspect at best and sometimes even dangerous." I completely agree with them on this issue. Only having gone abroad a couple of times myself, I was always very conscious of making sure my drinking water was from a reliable source. While it is possible to bring a filter with you when you travel, it is sometimes hard to use it. Vagabonding and I both agree that there needs to be a better way to access clean water abroad.

On another note, here are some fun (or not so fun) facts about plastic:

• 2.5 million bottles are trashed every hour in the U.S.


• 90% of plastic materials used are not recycled


• Plastic accounts for 60%-80% of all marine pollution


• For every liter of bottled water that’s manufactured, another two liters of water are used to make it

Avatar Definietly Not the Greenest Movie

A couple of weeks ago I made a post about James Cameron's claim that he was the greenist director because of his message in Avatar. I went to see Avatar for the first time last weekend and now that I have seen it I would like to give my opinion on his claims.

I don't know how he could have thought that it sent out a message to the public about being environmentally friendly and green. That was not the takeaway I had at all. I felt like Avatar was trying to teach viewers a lesson in harmony among different people and races more than it gave a lesson in environmental issues. Movies like Wall-E and an Inconvenient Truth had much more blunt messages about the dangers of ignoring the environment's needs.

Earth Hour

This week Saturday is the chosen date for this years earth hour, a program started by the World Wildlife Foundation. At 8:30pm on Saturday, everyone is supposed to turn out their lights in an effort to save electricity and promote awareness for energy conservation and the problems occurring because of climate change. Some big landmarks have pledged their support and have promised to turn out the lights including the Las Vegas Strip.

Many environmental bloggers have been creating posts on this event to try and get the word out to the public (see here here and here). Many of these bloggers have also put up pictures and videos from previous years earth hour event.

Some blogs are also debating on the effectiveness of WWF's Earth Hour. They argue that while it is great to conserve energy for an hour, that won't even make a dent in the problems we are facing today and the even bigger problems we will face in the future. They also believe that "there is a risk that it makes people feel that the solution to reducing emissions is to turn off the lights for one hour" and "turning off lights for one hour makes little overall difference and is not an on-going solution, and rather smacks of WWF marketing than effecting real change."

I disagree with these statements and think that it is great that Earth Hour is happening because even if it doesn't make a huge difference, it reminds people that conserving energy -- in any way we know how -- is important. And if it allows WWF (a non-profit dedicated to making this world a better, more sustainable place) to receive some good publicity and marketing, I say even better.

Fun Fact

Here is a fun fact to contemplate from Think Quest:

Energy saved from one recycled aluminum can will operate a TV set for 3 hours, and is the equivalent to half a can of gasoline.

And all of that is just from one can. So the next time you throw a can in the trash can instead of the recycling bin, think of the real consequences of your action!

Thermowaves!

Scientists at MIT may have come up with a new way to generate electricity. They are calling this new power source thermopower because the waves are generated from a previously unidentifiable process where high thermal activity creates waves filled with electricity. The Green Car Congress has more scientific details on how the process actually works. The study was published in an online journal, Nature Materials.

Besides the fact that this could be a new renewable energy resource, researchers are excited because the discovery opened up the way for a new area of study, something that is becoming more rare as the years go on. Since the discovery was just made this month, the scientists at MIT are unsure about the practical applications of this new energy source. But since the waves produce such a high burst of electricity in such a small space, they are discussing the idea of using it in electronics as small as a grain of rice. If indeed that is possible, the realm of technology would be greatly enhanced.

Turn in Your Old Jeans!

Gap is running a promotion where people can turn in their old jeans and receive 30% off a pair of new Gap Jeans. And why does Gap want my old jeans you ask? Well, Gap has partnered with Cotton from Blue to Green Organization to turn old pairs of jeans into natural cotton fiber insulation for homes and communities in need.

Insulation is important in homes to keep them warm during the winter and cool during the summer. Also, proper insulation can help save on the gas and electricity bill because the heater or air conditioner doesn't need to be used as often.

Old jeans are turned into a natural cotton fiber insulation by a simple recycling process. First, all medal attachments like buttons and zippers are removed. Then, the denim is shredded and turned into its fiber state. The fibers are dipped into solutions to make them non-flammable and set into sheets which are cut and packaged as the final product. The newly made insulation is used in homes and commercial buildings across the U.S. To see a video of this process, click here.

This promotion with Gap is only running from from March 5 to March 14 so hurry and find your nearest Gap! This is a great solution to finding an environmentally friendly way to dispose of your old jeans.

Cheers!

Here is a little fun fact for the day and some good news for college women! A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that women who drink are less likely to gain weight over time. The study followed 19,000 women for 13 years. And at the end of those 13 years, they found that the more women drank, the less weight they had gained. Conversely, women who didn't drink at all were the ones who gained the most weight. Read more about the specifics of the study here.

Cause of Dino Extinction Confirmed

What caused the most severe mass extinction ever? It has been re-confirmed that a meteor crash in Mexico was the cause of the end of the Cretaceous period (better known as the age of the dinosaurs). All past research was re-examined, and new evidence was discovered by 41 researchers from across the globe. They concluded that a large meteor -- the impact site was over 200 kilometers wide -- crashing into earth 65.5 million years ago is the only possible explanation for the mass extinction. For more details on the new findings and fun facts about the meteor, click here!

EU Gives the Go-Ahead for the Cultivation of a Biotech Potato

Until Tuesday, all genetically-engineered plants were not allowed to be grown in any part of the European Union. This changed yesterday as officials gave the okay for a new breed of potato -- called the amflora potato -- to plant roots in EU soil. This is a very controversial topic, as many people believe that the dangers associated with engineered plants and animals are too unpredictable. Some of these concerns can be read about here.

One of the most compelling arguments for keeping genetically-engineered plants from taking root is that no one really knows what will happen when these new plants are introduced. Too many times, scientists have made mistakes with species introduction. Many times when a stronger plant enters an area, it chokes out the other native plants that have been growing there. Also, when, for example, new genetically-engineered rice was introduced, people became too dependent on it and many of the other rice varieties became virtually extinct. Not only does this harm diversification, if a disease were to come and wipe out this certain type of rice, we would have a world famine on our hands. Many EU citizens are afraid something similar may happen to the potato in Europe now that farmers are allowed to grow this new potato.

The other very controversial thing about officials giving the okay for the amflora potato has nothing to do with the environmental repercussions that may occur. Many EU citizens are upset that lobbyists, not voters, were the ones who were able to push this topic through the government and get it passed. This is a political issue that I am not going to get into right now, but with all of the harms -- both political and environmental -- it makes you wonder: Is the amflora potato doing more bad than good?

Environmental Standards Across the Borders

Chinese officials have recently outlawed the sale of Hummers in China because they consume too much energy and harm the environment. This is just an example of the steps China is taking to become more energy efficient. In fact, they hope to have 15% of their energy be derived from renewable resources by 2020, just 10 years from now.

The U.S. however, is still in the planning stages of the renewable resource movement as discussed in Larry's Environmental Issues Blog here. On the U.S. Department of Energy website, there are tips and tricks to helping Americans conserve earth's limited resources. This includes a guide to fuel economy on the 2010 model vehicles. The government, however, has not made any significant decisions on how the country will turn towards renewable energy sources. For the world sake, I hope they will get it together soon as the U.S. is the most consumerist nation in the world.

Is Avatar the Greenest Movie?

James Cameron has recently claimed that he is the greenest director of all time because the message in his box office hit Avatar. Janet Wilson of Grist goes into details of why the director thinks this here. But, as Cameron's wife pointed out, movies like WALL-E and An Inconvenient Truth have reached just as many viewers. In fact, they may have even had a stronger environmental message. While Cameron may have a "green" past in movie making, he should think about what he saying before making such bold statements.

I guess I'll take the SUV

Recently, two researches have found that having a pet dog is twice as bad for planet earth than driving a SUV. They published all of their findings in an easy to read book. How can that be you ask? Apparently, the land it takes to produce the plants and animals used in dog food could be used to produce twice the amount of energy it takes to build and fuel a SUV. And what about your pet cat? Well owning a cat increases your carbon footprint to a level equivalent to a Volkswagen Golf.

Now not everyone believes that this is all true. Pet owners have come to the defense of their lovable pooches pointing out holes in the scientists data:

"...your dog is worse than your SUV has way too many variables. For one, they used a German Shepherd as their baseline, which weighs in around 70 or 80 pounds. And while I know there are 100+ pound dogs out there, I don't know a single dog owner with one... Also, they compare their baseline pooch to driving 10,000 km a year, which is only 6,250 miles. I think it would be awesome if everyone with a car only drove 6,000 miles a year, but the average American actually drives 12,000."

However, later it is admitted, "Then again, maybe I'm just a guilty greenie rationalizing my own need to have a pet." I would have never thought that man's best friend would be less of a friend to the world than a SUV.

AeroVironment, Inc.

Here is a cool company that is on the cutting edge of the "green movement", and they are headquartered right here in Los Angeles. While their main line of business is in unmanned aircraft systems, recently, Aerovironment has been focusing their efforts on clean technology solutions.

One of these solutions is the PosiCharge EV fast charge system that allows industrial, electric vehicles and machines to perform more work and use less energy. It has been helping manufacturers cut costs, reduce CO2 emissions, and be more energy efficient in business operations. AeroVironment has been working with GM to integrate this technology with the technology used in hybrid and electric cars. Together, they have relesed the GM Impact prototype and are working on furthering the electric car market.

AeroVironment also has a business sector that provides an array of engineering services focused on clean transportation and clean energy. Some of their past projects were things like the universal solar pump contoroller, a clean water system designed to harvest solar energy used to facilitate water pumping to remote areas. They also have worked on projects that set up wind turbines on office buildings in a way that helped supply some of the buildings energy while adding to the asthetics and architectual design of the building.

AeroVironment is one company that is doing their part to help the world be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

The Green Police

Since the Super Bowl was last week, I thought it would be fun to talk about one of the commercials that aired during it. The commercial was for the Audi A3 TDI which burns clean diesel instead of gasoline and won the green car of the year award by the Green Car Journal. The commercial jokes about "green police", but it actually is showing viewers many ways they can be more environmentally friendly. Check out the commercial, have a few laughs, and learn to save the earth!

Welcome to The Green Twig

Welcome to The Green Twig! This is a new blog that will explore issues concerning the earth's environment. New posts will be regularly added that cover topics like green technology or pollution and every post will discuss how the environment is affected, whether positively or negatively, by that issue. Reading this blog will help give you insights about how your actions affect the environment as well as teach you about new initiatives that help battle pollution.