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• Limits to Growth

  We've hit limits to growth pretty much as predicted so long ago by the Club of Rome. Time for a new economics eh? But good news is the Pacific Islands States are waking up and trying to save the tuna fishery, which sustains their economies. ABC Australia did a great program just last week | http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/stories/2008/2353455.htm
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  • Date: Sep 06 2008
  • Posted by GreenFunk

• yup

  I dislike smelly hippies just as much as all of the other America loving, God-fearing people of this nation, but I think the reason why you don't see a lot of garbage in the beaches/oceans is because it is all here... http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Trashing-Oceans-Plastic4nov02.htm
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  • Date: Sep 04 2008
  • Posted by roswell

• Excuse Me ???

  You claim to have seen an ocean of pollution "You never want to go there it's too difficult!" but you give us ONE photo a ONE piece of floating garbage. How am I to believe this story ? It just lends credence to theory that all this global warming hype is just that, HYPE! Send us proof....if you can! I don't accept BS from gay, Greenpeace so called scientists, so have a back up plan. Don't get me wrong I want to clean up the mess as much or more than you do. But what you don't get is that taxing the world will not help one bit. You need to convince every individual, even the rich people who can afford to sail on the ocean that throwing their garbage overboard is a dumbass thing to do. And get a real job for krist sake!
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  • Date: Jul 11 2008
  • Posted by nofool

• A greener society

  Being greener is not always esthetically pleasing to our senses....society needs to get accustomed to the change. Good move Travelodge (your buildings were ugly anyway might as well be green).
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  • Date: Aug 22 2008
  • Posted by respond

• Urban Fish Farming: Perch Blue Ribbon Fish

  Something Fishy At State Fair By Susan Bence August 4, 2008 | WUWM | Milwaukee, WI Today is the 5th day of the Wisconsin State Fair. Thousands of people will gobble up cream puffs and view prizewinning ponies, but they also might learn a thing or two about agriculture, including something you wouldn’t think of. That’s fish. Tucked among the farm animals, food stands, and souvenirs is the Ag Oasis, where I wander toward a blue and white striped tent. In the center of the tent stands a small sky-blue skirted table. On top of that table is a tiny tank, by fish farm standards. It’s no bigger than a large rolling suitcase, tipped on its side. This is a miniature model of what a fully functioning fish farm ecosystem could be. Right now, scientists are about to stock the tank with perch they’ve brought directly from their lab at the Great Lakes Water Institute. Jon Bales is working with the Water Institute. He’s one of the founders of the Urban Aquaculture Center, an organization that wants to develop fish farming in Milwaukee. “It was custom made. It has slots at the top for two trays of plants and the water is cycling through the fish tank up into the plants and back down. These are water-loving plants, watercress,” Bales says. And soon there will be 16 young water-loving perch too. Bales says the model demonstrates how an organic system can work, growing vegetables, raising fish and creating zero waste. “The Great Lakes perch population has been reduced by 90 percent probably. And then it was staged for a comeback they thought, and now we have the VHS Virus and fish are turning up dead on the shoreline. Boy everything points to let’s wise up. Let’s start not depending on natural bodies of water for our fish protein supply,” Bales says. He’s hoping some of the 850 thousand people who visit State Fair, will discover his 100 gallon tank and get as excited about urban farm fishing as he is. Bales has captured the imagination of 99 volunteers, who will help watch over the tank throughout the fair. Before the volunteers can start filling their shifts, the tank has to be stocked. Bales says, perch are happiest, in water around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. “Overnight this tank warmed up to about five degrees too high, so we need to cool this water down by adding some more cold water,” Bales says. He says you’ve got to be extremely careful whenever you transfer fish from one environment to another. Steven Yeo, one of the Water Institute scientists, announces the temperature has dropped now, but he still needs to do further testing. He draws a water sample from the tank and adds a solution to it. “I would only do this test when we are transporting fish to a system where it might have chlorine in it,” Yeo says. He says if the water turns pink, chlorine, that will kill the fish, is lurking in the tank. Yeo adds smidges of sodium sulfite to balance the water. Finally, Yeo and his colleagues okay the transfer. The perch are carefully dumped, one or two at a time, into the tank. Each one sinks listlessly to the bottom, and stay put. “They’re mad that we moved them. We netted them out of their tank and we hauled them in a box over here, so they’re not too pleased. And they have to adjust temperature now too, so they’re going to be a little upset. They probably won’t want to eat for a while,” Yeo says. I ask how many perch Yeo plans to put in the tank. “Fred will judge by how many we think it can hold,” Yeo says. He’s talking about Fred Binkowski. He’s the one with the little green net carefully orchestrating the transfer. This handful of fish represents less than a fraction of the research Binkowski oversees in his lab along Lake Michigan, where he tests and tweaks tens of thousands of perch and other fish. Binkowski says aquaculture isn’t a new concept. It’s been around since 5000 B.C. He says it’s a 30 billion dollar industry in China. “The US, they pale by comparison, it’s like a billion dollars a year,” Binkowski says. Binkowski says education isn’t just a piece of this display at State Fair. The public has to learn what to do with the fish. “If I give either the woman or the man, who does the cooking in the house a pound of hamburger they would be able to think of five things to do with it. If I gave you a pound of perch filets, you might not come up with any ideas to do with that,” Binkowski says. Binkowski says when scientists perfect the system, and perch can be grown efficiently and cost-effectively, the industry can take off here. The Urban Aquaculture Center is already learning the ins and outs of raising fish in an urban setting. Across town, 15 thousand fish are living under one roof.
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  • Date: Aug 13 2008
  • Posted by leontodd

• Green Bourbon?

  At THE BOURBON REVIEW, we are looking at exactly how green the bourbon industry was before. Nevertheless, we applaud Maker's Mark for this positive use of energy regeneration technology. Unfortunately, bourbon will not be able to earn the title "organic" for a while. It seems that we cannot confirm that the oak trees we use to make bourbon barrels cannot be labeled organic because no one was around 100 years ago to confirm that the tree was organicly planted.
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  • Date: Aug 06 2008
  • Posted by bourbon_bob

• Pollution tourism! Yeah!

  Great article, Eric. I'm somewhat obsessed with pollution tourism (having vacationed in both Chernobyl and in Kanpur, India's most polluted city). How did you choose your destinations for this list? You avoid all the standard places that show up on "most polluted" lists. Thanks for a great article, and let me know if you ever need tips or contacts for visiting Chernobyl.
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  • Date: Jul 03 2008
  • Posted by ablackwell

• amazing!

  This building will certainly be amazing. It's great to see money being put to good use!
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  • Date: Aug 05 2008
  • Posted by cait

• Canvas/Burllap Bags

  I am looking for a fairly cheap supplier of shopping bags that are not plastic....I would like to use these bags to help funding for the local homeless shelter. I have just signed up for this today... after listening to a Radio Show called "New Dimensions" on PBS Radio.. yesterday. Any help would be appreciated and.. it is a great way to meet other people in this country and around the world who are like minded. Thank-you for your time and effort(s) !!!! Have a great day !!! --Joe Olson
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  • Date: Aug 05 2008
  • Posted by cat4377

• Thank you for saying what needed to be said

  Thank you thank you thank you for a well written and well thought out response to Wired's irresponsible and offensive story. For a normally forward thinking and provocative magazine, this article just screamed of shock writing. It might have worked on some (ie. the soccor mom type who feels just a little bit less guilty about owning an SUV) but it didn't work on all of us. The thing I think is even more deplorable is the fact that the article gave misdirected and misinformed "facts" for people who either don't agree with living a greener life, or want to feel better about a part of their over-consuming life. It already makes my blood boil when I hear a woman in the grocery store saying she traded in her 12 mpg suv for a 16 mpg suv and she feels like she's doing some good, I can't wait till someone spouts WIRED's "fact" about a prius taking more carbon to make than an SUV. Thanks for spreading misinformation WIRED, you almost lost my subscription. Swye.net Living Naturally
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  • Date: Jun 08 2008
  • Posted by chazthetic