Articles tagged “Pollution”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Green Glossary: Kelp Forests By Team Planet Green IN Travel & Outdoors Oct 10 2008 Kelps are "large brown seaweeds or algae (Class Phaeophyceae) which belong to the Order Laminariales." Kelp forests, as defined by the folks at Kelp Watch, "occur in cold, nutrient-rich waters and are among the most beautiful and biologically productive habitats in the marine environment." Kelp forests provide a home for a wide array of marine animals. + READ MORE

Renovation Nation Episode: Seattle: Lower Level Addition By Team Planet Green IN Renovation Nation Oct 9 2008 Steve meets a family who is installing a rainscreen for its house - out of recycled paper! He then goes underground into a rainwater collection tank, shows us how organic plaster can reduce indoor air pollution, and tours a... + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Half-Life By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Sep 29 2008 This term was first used in 1907 as "half-life period" but in our short attention span society, it was shortened to just "half-life." Either way, it has three definitions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)... + READ MORE

Don't DIY: Car Washing By Josh Peterson IN Tech & Transport Sep 29 2008 Doing it yourself is a popular green technique often undertaken by yourself and others like yourself. Sometimes, however, it is best to leave things to the professionals. Don't practice medicine on yourself. Don't get behind the cockpit of plane with no flight experience, even if you think that you know the greenest way to get somewhere and don't wash your own car at home. + READ MORE

Roadie Blog, Week 8, Heal the Bay By Team Planet Green IN Battleground Earth Sep 25 2008 Earlier this morning, while driving along the coast, we got a text message telling us to where to report for our next adventure. Thanks to our savvy bus driver, who knows the coasts of California like the back of... + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Offshore Drilling By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Sep 25 2008 It's in the news and in the presidential campaign, but what is offshore drilling and why does it matter? As stated by the folks at Wiki, "offshore drilling typically refers to the act of extracting underground resources which lies underwater near the shoreline." + READ MORE

Green Glossary: PCBs By Team Planet Green IN Food & Health Sep 23 2008 PCBs belong to "a broad family of man-made organic chemicals known as chlorinated hydrocarbons." PCBs were "domestically manufactured from 1929 until their manufacture was banned in 1979." Despite the ban, PCBs may still be present in products manufactured prior to 1979, + READ MORE

6 Reason to Buy a Used Guitar By Elizabeth Seward IN Work & Connect Sep 22 2008 As a guitarist, I understand the appeal of the brand new guitar. Sometimes you get your mind made up that you want a guitar made from an exotic and rare wood, but you need to think about the repercussions of these sorts of purchases before buying. + READ MORE

Support the Tooth Fairy Project, Monitor Radiation Levels By Josh Peterson IN Food & Health Sep 18 2008 A watchdog organization known as the Radiation and Public Health Project has been conducting a study of the levels of strontium-90 found in baby teeth. This project is called the Tooth Fairy Project. The RPHP postulates that nuclear power facilities are emitting low levels of strontium-90 that end up in the environment. The molecular structure of strontium-90 is so similar to calcium that the body will deposit the radioactive material into teeth and bones. By testing baby teeth, the Tooth Fairy Project can pinpoint where the highest levels of strontium-90 are located and make assessments as to what is causing this. + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Depleted Uranium (DU) By Team Planet Green IN Tech & Transport Sep 12 2008 Depleted Uranium (DU) is the byproduct of uranium enrichment or, as described by the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW),"DU is a waste product of the nuclear industry." The ICBUW adds: "Depleted Uranium itself is a chemically toxic and radioactive compound, which is used in armor piercing munitions because of its very high density. It is 1.7 times denser than lead. This allows it to easily penetrate the steel armor of tanks and other vehicles when fired at high velocity." + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Great Pacific Garbage Patch By Team Planet Green IN Travel & Outdoors Sep 11 2008 Sure, you've heard of the Cabbage Patch, but what in the world in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Well, it just happens to be the planet's largest landfill...and it's floating in the North Pacific Ocean (to be exact roughly in an area between 135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N). Thanks to swirling ocean currents, much of the world's trash has accumulated into this part of the Pacific Ocean. How much trash? According to HowStuffWorks.com, every square mile of ocean hosts 46,000 pieces of floating plastic and plastic constitutes 90 percent of all trash floating in the world's oceans. + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Carbon Tax By Team Planet Green IN Work & Connect Sep 10 2008 The Carbon Tax Center defines it as such: "A carbon tax is a tax on the carbon content of fuels—effectively a tax on the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Thus, carbon tax is shorthand for carbon dioxide tax or CO2 tax." + READ MORE

Green Glossary: Superfund By Team Planet Green IN Travel & Outdoors Sep 8 2008 No, this ain't some new Wall Street money-making scam designed to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Sadly, it's worse. Superfund is "a term used for the monies available to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up abandoned or inactive hazardous waste sites." + READ MORE

Focus Earth: August 23, 2008 By Team Planet Green IN Focus Earth Aug 22 2008 This week, Bob and the Focus Earth team bring you eco-reports from the city, the sea, and everywhere in between. Get the facts on the environmental legacy the 2008 Olympic Games will leave behind in Beijing, go deep into the... + READ MORE

G Word Video: From Gas to Electric Car By Team Planet Green IN G Word Aug 18 2008 One of the Go Green Girls has a confession: she drives a normal, gas-powered, car. Sure, she wants to replace it with a hybrid or electric vehicle, but at the same time she does not want to just pass... + READ MORE

Surprising Fun with Superfund Sites By Brian Merchant IN Travel & Outdoors Aug 18 2008 Superfund sites may be uncontrolled hazardous waste zones marked by the government for cleaning efforts, but that doesn't mean that nothing good can't come from them. Now, that might give you the impression that every Superfund site gives off a radioactive glow, and is patrolled by men in bright orange jumpsuits and gas masks. Not so. Of course, there are varying degrees of severity and hazard from site to site?but plenty are in prime shape to be cleaned up and put to use for the environment instead of hurting it. + READ MORE

What's a Brownfield, and What Do We Do With It? By Brian Merchant IN Travel & Outdoors Aug 18 2008 A brownfield is an abandoned industrial or commercial facility, like a factory or a warehouse, where there's likely been some heavy pollution that's resulted in contamination to the environment. Often, the damage is severe enough that the lingering pollutants could cause health issues. + READ MORE

Focus Earth: August 16, 2008 By Team Planet Green IN Focus Earth Aug 15 2008 This week on Focus Earth, Bob Woodruff and his crew of eco-reporters bring you the big stories about everything from how athletes are dealing with air pollution in the Olympic Games to how rock stars are going green in their... + READ MORE

Cooperating Our Way to Less Pollution, Globally By Eric Leech IN Tech & Transport Aug 12 2008 Many countries today are so engrossed with their own pollution problems, that they forget that it is not just their own pollution that they have to worry about, but the pollution from other countries. USA Today has reported that the US is currently becoming increasingly polluted by foreign toxins, such as mercury from China, dust from Africa, and smog from Mexico. + READ MORE

David Says: Green Future is all About Efficiency By Team Planet Green IN G Word Aug 12 2008 As I travel down the G Word road, one thing is becoming profoundly clear: The big thinkers are all about efficiency. Game changers like Jonathan Goodwin and his elegant, fuel-efficient engine dreams, food manufacturer John Blazevitch, and many others... + READ MORE