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green living, Health, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, sustainable living, May 4th, 2012,
You have to be nuts not to be eating nuts (pun intended)! Nuts are super-nutritious for you, easy to carry around, and delicious. With so many varieties of them, it’s hard to tell which ones are the cream-of-the-crop when it comes to nutritional punch. We did the research, and we picked out the 5 “core” nuts that you should be eating daily to give you that daily punch you need for maximum energy at minimum cost. Raw Almonds Want to have “wolverine” like energy? Take about 40 raw almonds a day. Avoid the salted kind. Brazil Nuts Brazil nuts cover…
Tags: EthicalCommunity.com, green living, natural living, nuts, top 5 nuts
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Weird & Wonderful, May 3rd, 2012,
By Michael D. Lemonick I’ve never told anyone this before, but when I was a kid, I always wanted a rubber chicken. Many of the comedic heroes of my childhood got to play with them — the Three Stooges, for example, and Soupy Sales (I’m dating myself and revealing my lowbrow side all at once here). It’s not like they were all that hard to find, even before the Internet. I also had a slightly more elevated set of interests, including an endless fascination with the space program. I was too young to be aware of Sputnik, but I watched…
Tags: NASA, NASA rubber chicken, NASA rubber chicken Camilla, space, space exploration
Recycling, Sustainable living, Videos & Documentaries, Weird & Wonderful, ,
A Dutch architectural firm is creating buildings from locally recycled material, significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions normally produced during the construction process. Rotterdam-based 2012architecten terms this use of local, reused materials, which cuts down on transport, waste and fuel costs “recyclicity” or “superuse” with the goal of regenerating “districts into dynamic ecosystems”. Besides buildings, 2012architecten designs other structures like playgrounds and campgrounds along the same principles. From Al Jazeera English: There are no limits to the model. The architects have designed everything from single homes to offices, playgrounds and cafes. Waste materials have included parts from decommissioned aeroplanes, washing machines,…
Tags: 2012architecten, architects, recyclicity, superuse, waste
Natural disasters, Pollution, May 2nd, 2012,
95% of debris from the 2011 tsunami that devastated parts of Japan will end up in that swirling vortex of plastic and other rubbish – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but some will hit the shores of North America. Lighter debris has already reached places like Alaska, where a Japanese teenager’s football washed up on Middleton Island. The man who found the ball is married to Japanese woman, who was able to read the teenager’s name plus the name of his school. Amazingly, a moving crate containing a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a set of golf clubs was found on…
Tags: Alaska, America, British Columbia, debris, japan, tsunami
Animals, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, May 1st, 2012,
A dolphin has spent several days apparently hiding out in Orange County, California’s Bolsa Chica wetlands reserve. When rescue workers on paddleboards attempted to persuade the dolphin to return to the open sea on Saturday, it was driven back into the wetlands by a group of dolphin bullies. On Friday, it was human spectators who scared the dolphin back into the reserve. Marine experts are now recommending that the dolphin be left alone rather than encouraged to leave and be exposed to the intimidating dolphin group. It can feed on fish in the wetlands and is able to find its…
Tags: bullied, California, dolphin, Reserve, wetlands
Climate & Change, Science & Technology, Apr 30th, 2012,
I read the news today, oh boy. Wind farms are causing global warming? No, but maybe a bit of local warming. A new study of wind turbines in Texas shows that rotating blades force warm air downwards at night, causing ground temperatures to rise by up to 0.72C (1.3F). And so the headlines read that wind farms warm the night, or as Reuters states ‘Wind Farms Might Have Warming Effect’. But they also cool ground temperatures during the day according to previous research. Isn’t this piece of information equally significant? The Guardian doesn’t include it in their article, while Discovery…
Tags: temperatures, Texas, warming, wind farm, wind turbines
Conservation, green living, Nature, Sustainable living, sustainable living, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 28th, 2012,
Species: Southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) Status: Critically Endangered (CR) Interesting fact: The southern bluefin tuna is one of the largest bony fish in the world, growing up to 4.3 metres long! The southern bluefin tuna is an incredibly streamlined and powerful fish capable of reaching speeds of up to 70 km per hour through the water. Swimming together in shoals, the southern bluefin tuna migrates vast distances from the spawning grounds in the Indian Ocean to the feeding grounds in colder, southern waters. During the spawning period, a mature female will produce several million eggs. Southern bluefin tuna are opportunistic…
Tags: ARKive.org, Conservation, critically endangered species, endangered species, fish, oceans, Southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii
green living, Sustainable living, Apr 27th, 2012,
Ernest Callenbach, author of the environmental landmark novel Ecotopia, died of cancer on April 16th in Berkley, California, at the age of 83 . Ecotopia was first self-published in 1975 and is credited as being a major influence on the environmental movement. One of the first novels in the ‘environmental utopia’ genre, Ecotopia blended science fiction, utopian fiction and contemporary scientific research, as well experiments in alternative living, which were actually being practiced at the time. The novel deals with the premise that Oregon, Washington State and Northern California break off from the rest of the US and form an independent…
Tags: California, Callenbach, Ecotopia, Ernest, novel
Politics, Pollution, Apr 25th, 2012,
Research commissioned by the human rights group Amnesty International found that an oil spill in the Niger Delta was at least 60 times worse than claims made by the oil giant Shell. Royal Dutch Shell is currently being sued over the spill in a London Court by a group of 11,000 Nigerians, including many fishermen of the Bodo region, who claim their livelihoods were destroyed. Though 60 times Shell’s figure, the Amnesty International estimate is still half of what Martyn Day, lawyer for the Bodo communities puts the damage at. From Reuters: The Amnesty accusation is based on footage of…
Tags: amnesty international, bodo, Niger Delta, Nigeria, oil spill, Shell
Climate & Change, Health, Wildlife & Flora, ,
It’s coming some time and maybe… The Asian tiger mosquito originates in hot and muggy South East Asia. But international trade, tourism and (increasingly) climate change will enable the tropical disease-carrying insect to establish itself in northern Europe, including the UK. Reports last September from the US told of how the smaller, but more aggressive Asian tiger mosquito was causing problems in the states of California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii; and cities including Memphis, New Orleans and Washington DC. In Europe, the Asian tiger has already encroached upon parts of Italy, Spain, southern France, the Balkans and even The Netherlands….
Tags: Asian Tiger, dengue, Europe, mosquito
Animals, Videos & Documentaries, Weird & Wonderful, ,
Well, we can’t always post serious news. Here are a couple of cute videos demonstrating how pets help their owners in unusual ways. We’ve all heard of the dog that fetches the morning paper and the cat that catches mice or keeps your feet warm (if you can’t bear the thought of a dead mouse). And now for something completely different. How about a Newfoundland Labrador in Norfolk, UK who helps his owner thatch roofs? He’s a thatcher and his name is Axel, not Margaret. OK, so he doesn’t actually do any work, but he sits on the roof and…
Tags: cat, dog, pets, video
Conservation, Nature, Sustainable living, Weird & Wonderful, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 24th, 2012,
Species: Goliath frog (Conraua goliath) Status: Endangered (EN) Interesting Fact: The goliath frog is the largest frog in the world, weighing in at over 3 kilograms. The goliath frog can be found in flowing rainforest rivers in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Goliath frogs lack vocal sacs, and so their courtship displays do not involve the characteristic calls of most other frogs and toads. Females lay several hundred eggs onto vegetation on the river bottom, and once hatched, the tadpoles feed on the plant Dicraea warmingii. Complete metamorphosis takes around 85-95 days, and once mature the adults feed on insects, crustaceans…
Tags: ARKive.org, Conraua goliath, Conservation, endangered frog, endangered species, Goliath frog
Natural disasters, Nature, Videos & Documentaries, Apr 23rd, 2012,
Popocatépetl, meaning Smoking Mountain in the indigenous Nahuatl language of central Mexico, is at it again. Only 70 km (43 mi) southeast of the capital, the volcano is visible from Mexico City on a clear day – and by ‘clear’ I mean a lesser variety of extreme smogginess than normal. Popocatépetl started spewing lava rocks and columns of ash almost 10 days ago. The world-famous active volcano has also been roaring loudly, causing concern among local residents. Though so far no evacuations have taken place, the government of Puebla state issued warnings for locals including to not leave animals outdoors, cover water…
Tags: ash, lava, Mexico, Popocatépetl, video, volcano
Conservation, Politics, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 20th, 2012,
The demilitarized zone that makes up the borderlands dividing North and South Korea is an unlikely (and unintentional) wildlife reserve. The DMZ is home to many species that are extinct on the remainder of the Korean peninsula. Full of landmines and guarded by armed soldiers from both the north and south, the area is obviously unwelcoming to human visitors. But this has allowed the forest to grow and wildlife to thrive for nearly 70 years. The rest of Korea is a different story: international competition over the country’s resources and a 40-year Japanese occupation stripped and devastated the peninsula. What…
Tags: DMZ, Korea, wildlife
Climate & Change, climate change, Natural disasters, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 19th, 2012,
By Michael D. Lemonick For years, we who communicate about climate change have been wringing our hands over how to make people understand the problem at a gut level. Endangered polar bears? Too far removed. Island nations like the Maldives sinking beneath the waves? Too far away. Hot temperatures by 2100? Too far in the future. But like the first, outlying squalls from an oncoming hurricane, the first effects of climate change are already here, in the form of heat waves, droughts, intense rainstorms and more, and people are evidently noticing. Not just the extremes themselves: you couldn’t have missed…
Tags: climate change, climatecentral.org, extreme weather, global warming, natural disasters
Climate & Change, Conservation, Politics, ,
Brazil’s controversial Belo Monte Dam project is set to be the 3rd largest dam in the world and is expected to displace roughly 20,000 people and submerge some 4,000 sq km (1,550 sq mi). Located in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Pará, the dam is being built on the Xingu River, which many people depend on for their livelihoods. But it’s not just locals, indigenous groups or environmentalists who should be concerned. The Amazon is the “lungs of the Earth”, meaning that we all benefit from and/or depend on the oxygen the dense rainforest provides, not to mention…
Tags: amazon, Belo Monte, Brazil, dam
Business, Conservation, Apr 18th, 2012,
American billionaire and erstwhile presidential candidate Donald Trump is campaigning against wind energy in Scotland. Why? Because he thinks the presence of wind turbines will deter patrons of the golf resort he plans to construct on the Scottish coast in Aberdeenshire. In a submission to Scottish Parliament, Trump claimed that wind farms will end tourism in Scotland and ruin the environment. The business magnate, reality TV star and son of a real estate tycoon threatened to pull his golf resort project out of Scotland if the wind project went head, claiming that Scotland will “go broke”. A Scottish Government spokesman…
Tags: Donald, energy, golf, resort, Scotland, Trump, wind, wind farm
Conservation, green living, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 17th, 2012,
At Leo Politi Elementary, a public school in inner city Los Angeles, California, students learn about wildlife in a 5,000 square foot (465 square meter) oasis of native flora and fauna. The school is located in a crowded, economically disadvantaged neighborhood – more of concrete jungle than a real jungle. But three years ago the school decided to clear a concrete area and turn it into an space for native California fauna. Soon insects and birds came to take advantage of the lush plant life. Students have thrived in their new natural environment, with science scores rising six fold in…
Tags: elementary, Leo Politi, Los Angeles, school
Climate & Change, Natural disasters, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 16th, 2012,
Dry weather in much of England is threatening to devastate farming and wildlife, and could extend past next Christmas. Parts of England have entered official drought status, with water rationing measures in place. Soils are so dried out that recent rains did little to help conditions. This may sound like strange weather in a country known for rain rather than droughts, especially in April, but the dangers are all too real. Helen Vale, national drought coordinator at the Environment Agency is quoted in the Guardian: The amount of water that we use at home and in our businesses has a…
Tags: drought, England, water, wildlife
green living, Science & Technology, Sustainable living, sustainable living, ,
Starting your own little indoor farm doesn’t need to be difficult. It is in fact quite an easy process! Growing indoors is especially useful if long winters in your area affects how you get fresh produce. Growing indoors gives you an instant access to produce that’s essentially organic (provided you get the right seeds) and free of industrial pesticides. So let’s put on our garderning hats in place of our culinary outfit and get started! First, get a pot. You don’t to spend your limited free time on gardening, so a self-watering pot will be your secret weapon. This type…
Tags: EthicalCommunity.com, green living, grow indoor, grow veggies indoor, indoor herbs, organic gardening, veggies
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