Category Archives: Technology

For whom the oil tolls

On April 20th around 10pm local time, a drilling vessel leased by British Petroleum (BP), the “Deepwater Horizon,” exploded, killing eleven workers. At the wellhead, 5,000 feet below the ocean surface, the fail-safe blowout preventer (BOP) did not pinch off the well as it was designed to do. The ruptured well gushes an estimated 5,000Continue reading “For whom the oil tolls”

What’s wrong with this picture?

From the Sierra Club: Download the Sierra Club Eco Heroes application and be entered in our drawing to win five nights at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows with roundtrip airfare for two and a full-day tour of Volcanoes National Park with Hawaii Forest and Trail. Tell me, do you find this as ironicContinue reading “What’s wrong with this picture?”

What's wrong with this picture?

From the Sierra Club: Download the Sierra Club Eco Heroes application and be entered in our drawing to win five nights at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows with roundtrip airfare for two and a full-day tour of Volcanoes National Park with Hawaii Forest and Trail. Tell me, do you find this as ironicContinue reading “What's wrong with this picture?”

If it’s not grown, it has to be mined

Recently, Barnes and Noble launched its own e-book reader, the “Nook,” to compete with the Amazon Kindle.[i] E-readers are handy electronic devices, they can hold hundreds of books, and use an ‘electronic paper.’ They have been heralded as alternatives to ‘dead-tree publishing.’ Without doubt, digital technology improves lives. Consider mobile phones: once isolated African fishermenContinue reading “If it’s not grown, it has to be mined”

If it's not grown, it has to be mined

Recently, Barnes and Noble launched its own e-book reader, the “Nook,” to compete with the Amazon Kindle.[i] E-readers are handy electronic devices, they can hold hundreds of books, and use an ‘electronic paper.’ They have been heralded as alternatives to ‘dead-tree publishing.’ Without doubt, digital technology improves lives. Consider mobile phones: once isolated African fishermenContinue reading “If it's not grown, it has to be mined”

A Tempest in a Toilet Bowl – Environmentalists Say ‘Plush Toilet Paper Wipes Out Forests’

Environmentalists Say Plush Toilet Paper Wipes Out Forests Does buying soft toilet paper really threaten the environment? The blogosphere overflows with hyperbole saying it does. “Americans Wipe Their Butts with Non-Renewable Trees,”1 one site trumpeted. Another gushed, “Use recycled toilet paper and paper towels and reduce the demand of destroying virgin forests!”2 I’m sure sheContinue reading “A Tempest in a Toilet Bowl – Environmentalists Say ‘Plush Toilet Paper Wipes Out Forests’”

A Tempest in a Toilet Bowl – Environmentalists Say 'Plush Toilet Paper Wipes Out Forests'

Environmentalists Say Plush Toilet Paper Wipes Out Forests Does buying soft toilet paper really threaten the environment? The blogosphere overflows with hyperbole saying it does. “Americans Wipe Their Butts with Non-Renewable Trees,”1 one site trumpeted. Another gushed, “Use recycled toilet paper and paper towels and reduce the demand of destroying virgin forests!”2 I’m sure sheContinue reading “A Tempest in a Toilet Bowl – Environmentalists Say 'Plush Toilet Paper Wipes Out Forests'”

Perhaps that Sahara Plantation Could Power Itself

University of Washington researchers have produced electricity from a tree. Perhaps once they plant the Sahara with those eucalypts to alleviate global warming, the trees could deliver the power to provide their water. Or maybe not. According to their online article,”The custom circuit is able to store up enough voltage from trees to run a low-power sensor.”