December 31st, 2009 by Editor
Recent interest in “land grabs” or the international acquisition of land to produce rice is sparked by a looming threat of inadequate rice supplies.
By sciencedaily.com
Found on the net by our news bot
December 31st, 2009 by Editor
Happy New Years everyone! As we count down to stroke of 2010 we’ve showcased our toptransportation,architecture, andenergystories, and now we’re thrilled to bring you our editor’s favorites! Each year we see an incredible array of green developments, and there are always several that stick in our minds as the most notable of the year. From the awe-inspiring to the innovative to the incredibly odd, read on for our editor’s favorite stories from 2009!
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
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By Mike Chino
Found on the net by our news bot
December 31st, 2009 by Editor
As thedecadecomes to a close, a whole new kind oflightis being spread around theTimes SquareNew Year’s ball-drop – the super-efficient kind! The famous glittering ball, the gargantuan “2010″ sign and the seven screens around New York City that will broadcast the eventtonightwill all be made fromLED lights. The ball itself will consist of 32,256 LED lights in a rainbow of colors projected through Waterford Crystal triangles.
Read the rest ofLEDs Light up New Years Eve 2010 in Times Square NYC!
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By Brit Liggett
Found on the net by our news bot
December 31st, 2009 by Editor
It’s no secret that Japan’s strategy of assigning a vessel to track the Sea Shepherd has proved to be a great success. Since launching Operation Waltzing Matilda in early December,Paul Watsonand his crew have had great difficulty shaking the tail of the Shonan Maru #2 and locating the Japanese whaling fleet. Having someone radio their position at all times to keep the whalers one step ahead of them has been effective — so much so, that the Steve Irwin took the past three days to regroup and refuelback in port in Hobart, Tasmania.
“Now the task is to refuel and slip past them and back into the Southern Ocean to find the main body of the whaling fleet,”Watson wrote on his blog.
In an encouraging show of support, a private vessel set out yesterday to search for the Shonan Maru #2 off of the Australian EEZ just south of Hobart. “The vessel is crewed by 6 people and has no links to any conservation group,” an email we received read. “They are just 6 guys who want to help.”
“The boat intends to find the Shonan Maru and then follow her andrelay her co-ordinates on twitterso that the Shonan Maru cannot sneak up on the Steve Irwin when she leaves port. The boat intends to only monitor the Shonan Maru #2 however should the Shonan Maru attack the crew is prepared to defend the boat and will not back down.”
According to the latest Twitter updates, the Steve Irwin has left port and the crew of the unnamed vessel have stepped up their efforts to locate the SM2. Since we know the Japanese also used aircraft in their initial spotting of the SS leaving port, we wouldn’t be surprised if something similar occurs yet again. Either way, as Watson pointed out in an earlier post, such tactics are costing the Japanese whaling fleet a great deal of cash. “We have cut their quotas and stolen their profits for three years in a row and I intend to make it a fourth,” he wrote.
Check out a recent video of the Ady Gil making getting in the way of the Shonan Maru #2 below:
By Michael d’Estries
Found on the net by our news bot
December 31st, 2009 by Editor
VC investment in green technologies totaled $4.85 billion in 356 deals in 2009, down from 2008’s $7.6 billion, though the number of deals in 2009 exceeded the previous year.
By GreenBiz Staff
Found on the net by our Eco Business News Bot
December 31st, 2009 by Editor
Brave new climate world – it’s amazing to what proportions the perversions have reached today. The coming copenhagen climate consensus summit is part of the great global warming hoax where scientists and experts have been silenced, threathened and muzzled, because the debate is over, and the lies are obvious so let’s pretend everything is wonderful so we can forward our agenda for the world or rather for the elite of the world. It seems that the majority of so-called responsible people are …
December 30th, 2009 by Editor
As the new year rapidly approaches we’re all thinking about what lies ahead, and and this is the time that many of us start to think aboutNew Year’s resolutions. I’veshared my personal New Year’s resolutions here, and we’ll be bringing you all the Inhabeditor’s resolutions soon. But it is not just people that can have New Year’s resolutions – websites can have them too! Our little websiteInhabitathas big plans for 2010 and would like to share then with you! Watch the video above to find out more about Inhabitat’s resolutions for 2010… and then tell us what you think! What do you want to see Inhabitat do in 2010?
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By Jill Fehrenbacher
Found on the net by our news bot
December 30th, 2009 by Editor
For the past week we’ve been sharing our picks for thebest green design stories of the year, and now we want to showcase YOUR favorites – as measured by traffic and general buzz. Fromliving moss carpetsof allshapes and sizestoflexible folding cellphonesandspiraling skyscraper farms, your clicks and comments have picked the following posts as our most popular stories of 2009. Tell us which was your ultimate fave by voting now!
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
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By Yuka Yoneda
Found on the net by our news bot
December 30th, 2009 by Editor
In a new interview withEcoStilleto.com, actressJulia Stilesopens upon her mock green fashion video, her love of the “human” side of environmentalism, and why she now regrets dissing her former vegan lifestyle. Check out a preview of the interview below!
That “Julia Stiles Styles” video is hilarious. Tell me how that came about.
We did “Oleanna” first in L.A. before we took it to New York and I met the guys who are in The Vacationeers; they were friends of friends. I thought their movie “The Scenesters” was really good and their videos for Google were really funny. We were hanging out one day, throwing around ideas and I just thought the idea ofJulia Stiles Styleswas great.
I didn’t mean to be disparaging of green fashion—also, we weren’t making fun of any celebs who promote that kind of thing. We were making fun of me. The idea that can create unwearable clothing. And of celebs who can be out of touch with how rich they are. So [in the video] the clothing is really expensive but it was inspired by homeless people.
Do you wear eco-friendly fashion?
There’s a raw food lunch spot here in New York called One Lucky Duck and I follow her blog a lot; she has links to other eco-clothing places. But I appreciate more the clothing lines that have equitable working standards for the people who make their clothing. I wish I could find more of them.
I really like the Edun label that Bono started. Other than that I feel kind of ignorant about the rest of it. I like the idea, I just don’t know how to find that many. I do have a few Edun t-shirts though.
What about eco-beauty?
I like all-natural products. Burt’s Bees is great, I like Dr. Bronner’s. Dermal-K is a company that’s all natural. All of the stuff that you can find a the health food store. No chemicals.
I’ve read about your work with Habitat for Humanity International and it seems that the concept of social responsibility is very important to you—more so than eco-consciousness. Is that true?
Obviously it’s important for consumers to be conscious about how we’re affecting the environment. But I think I’m more concerned with the human aspect of it. I would love to find a clothing line where the pieces are manufactured in a fair way. A label—like the fair trade certification label that you see on food—just so you know that the clothing isn’t made in a horrible sweatshop. Even American Apparel, they say everything is manufactured in L.A. but that doesn’t mean that the conditions under which they’re working are fair and friendly.
I feel like a hypocrite because my video is making fun of all this but it actually is important. Even Edun, which uses organic cotton as the main material in their clothing line, that’s important too because somebody that is growing that cotton has to inhale those chemicals.
How important do you think these kinds of actions are for you, personally?
I like that on your website there are simple tips of everyday things that you can do to be more conscious about now harming the environment. Obviously big changes need to happen but on an individual level it adds up. It’s not just one plastic water bottle you’re using. You have to multiply that by millions of people.
Are you still a vegan?
I’m not. I was for a couple of years and I ended up getting anemic. I regret going on a talk show and talking about it—I was young and impressionable and trying to be funny and I said something about how when I stopped it was great. But it wasn’t good, health wise, for me. I wasn’t doing it right, I think. I’ve incorporated the reason that I became a vegan in the first place into my diet now. I don’t eat meat that doesn’t come from a good source. I like to know what the animal was eating before I eat it.
For more of Julia’s exclusive interview with EcoStiletto,visit after January 1st.
By Michael d’Estries
Found on the net by our news bot
December 30th, 2009 by Editor
By now you should know that Ecorazzi has a strict zero tolerance policy when it comes to anything fur…and so does R&B starMario.
The well-known singer is a lifelong animal lover and has teamed up withPETAto record a very fancy ‘Ink, Not Mink’ fur-free ad. In the video, Mario says:
“[For] every piece of fur that you see out there…there’s an animal that’s lost his or her life. Hopefully we can get more people involved with not wearing fur and not killing animals. They have hearts, they have emotions.”
Wanna hear what else Mario has to say? Check out the video below and visitPETA.orgto learn more!
By Michael Parrish DuDell
Found on the net by our news bot
