Not too late: polluted ecosystems recover "rapidly"

According to researchers at Yale, once sustainable practices put in place, a polluted ecosystem will recover within a generation or two.  Which is very good news, even though the study is talking about more, er, traditional forms of pollution, and not about climate change. 

 

From Yale's website: "The Yale researchers found that forest ecosystems recovered in 42 years on average, while ocean bottoms recovered in less than 10 years. When examined by disturbance type, ecosystems undergoing multiple, interacting disturbances recovered in 56 years, and those affected by either invasive species, mining, oil spills or trawling recovered in as little as five years. Most ecosystems took longer to recover from human-induced disturbances than from natural events, such as hurricanes." 

 

It's like Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park: life finds a way.

 

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Majority of Americans support greenhouse gas regulation

A recent spate of polls indicate that American popular opinion is trending in the direction of strong majority support for greenhouse gas regulation, even if such regulation results in higher energy prices. 

 

Yesterday's ABC/WaPo poll, which revealed a number of trends to brighten any progressive's day, found the following about climate change regulation (via Climate Progress):

 

While majorities across the board support government regulation of greenhouse gases, it peaks among liberals (88%) and under 30s (80%), vs. 61% of conservatives and 64% of seniors. Support also ranges from 85% of Democrats, 65% “strongly,” to 64% of Republicans, 39% strongly. Concern about its cost is broader, and stronger, among those who’d presumably be hit hardest — lower-income adults.

 

If Congress were to pass measures ensuring that lower-income families don't bear a disproportionate burden with any new regulations, surely that concern would disappear.

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Gulf states to tax environmentally damaging products?

Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council are considering the imposition of a "green tax" on environmentally damaging products.

 

A green tax in one of the world's biggest communities of oil producing states? This should be interesting.

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Shower gadget puts dirty hot water to good use

I love technology.  Seriously, the amount of resources an average home can save through a little care and cleverness is impressive.  Here's a new bit of cleverness:

 

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You've probably heard the saying "like pouring money down the drain." Well, the innovators at EcoDrain say that's exactly what you are doing every time you take a shower -- unless you have installed their high-performance water heat exchanger, that is.

The EcoDrain device (the little gray rectangle in the illustration) circulates heat from your "used" hot water, and transfers it to the incoming cold water. Here's how it works: when you turn on the shower, hot water comes from your storage tank and cold water comes from the municipal supply. As you shower, the "waste" water is sent through a drainage pipe. EcoDrain is attached to this pipe, and transfers heat from the hot water to the incoming cold water supply. Hot water and cold water rush past each other separately inside the device to prevent mixing. Bottom line: the water will be warmer without you needing to turn up the heat."

 

Visit Worldchanging for a nifty diagram of the thingamajig.

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Pacific Northwest seeks a greener lumber industry

Many in the lumber industry, for decades used to clear-cutting old growth as its prime activity, are rethinking their work in light of the economic downturn and growing environmental concern. 

 

NYTimes: "For loggers and other rural workers, survival in the future might mean abandoning fights to cut older trees in exchange for being able to salvage smaller timber from burned forests. It might mean removing or rebuilding roads and structures on federal land, whether to reduce erosion or to improve recreational access. For the Forest Service, the stimulus money for thinning reflects an increasing emphasis on preventing wildfires, rather than simply fighting them, by removing smaller trees and brush from overgrown forests. The work may be less profitable for big timber companies than clear-cutting a hillside, but it can create jobs in places accustomed to losing them."

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A bike made of cardboard, sustainable?

Phil Bridge of Sheffield University has invented a £15 bicycle that is made out of industrial-grade cardboard.

 

However, surely the point of sustainable transit is to buy one thing that will last a long time rather than something that you have to buy again and again every sixth month, which isn't that sustainable anyway? All of the energy that is used to recycle and remake these bikes, can be used to make a bike that will last twenty years or longer, and this could save much more energy (remember that reuse is better than recycling and reduce is better than reuse). A longer-lasting bike will reduce and reuse.

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NASA climate scientist says its time for activism

James Hansen, a climate modeller with Nasa argues that corporate lobbying is undermining the democratic response to climate change.

 

From The Guardian report:

 

Speaking on the eve of joining a protest against the headquarters of power firm E.ON in Coventry, Hansen said: "The first action that people should take is to use the democratic process. What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash.

"The democratic process is supposed to be one person one vote, but it turns out that money is talking louder than the votes. So, I'm not surprised that people are getting frustrated. I think that peaceful demonstration is not out of order, because we're running out of time."

Hansen said he was taking part in the Coventry demonstration tomorrow because he wants a worldwide moratorium on new coal power stations. E.ON wants to build such a station at Kingsnorth in Kent,

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China eases environmental control of stimulus projects

In the latest of several blows to China's environmental policies, a number of stimulus projects are being rubber stamped on environmental impacts.

The South China Morning Post catalogues this and other recent policy shifts prioritizing development over sustainability:

"Since the release of the 4 trillion yuan (HK$4.5 trillion) stimulus package in November, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has approved 970 billion yuan in projects while putting on hold 14 others totalling 104 billion yuan, according to Vice-Minister Wu Xiaoqing.

He said the ministry had sped up mandatory environmental impact assessment for large projects that the State Council considered necessary to boost the economy.
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The mainland’s anti-pollution drive has suffered several heavy blows recently, with the much-touted “green GDP” project scrapped and a big cut in funding for pollution control.

While Beijing raised its budget for public housing, education and health care, it quietly cut spending earmarked for cutting pollution and energy waste in the revised stimulus package unveiled last week, from 350 billion yuan to 210 billion yuan."

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Affordable "starter solar" panels for twentysomethings

One of the problems with converting homes to solar power has been the high initial investment required. That looks set to change with new, affordable, expandable systems whose panels will sell for around $600. California's Veranda Solar is a startup leading the field, with flower-shaped panels are aimed at the twentysomething market, a group of consumers who want to go as green as possible but whose budgets are tight.

Come to think of it, aren't everyone's budgets tight these days?

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Blog: How about a little literary greening?

If your household is anything like the Ape household, books are one area in which you find it difficult, nay, impossible, to minimize or economize. But there are ways to make your habit greener, as laid out by The Greenest Dollar:

"If you’ve started feeling painfully guilty every time you buy a new book (all those trees!), or you’re looking for thrifty ways to save money when it comes to your reading habit, then you’re in luck. I’ve got some suggestions on how you can make your book obsession a bit more eco-friendly."

Greenest Dollar looks at Swap Sites, which partners people to swap books they're through with, free book downloads, and the shiny new contraption known as Kindle.

Of course, one mustn't forget the joys of browsing through secondhand bookstores like the fabled Strand of New York, not to mention the dear old Public Library when feeding the reading habit.

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