Google Earth Gone Green
By Jenna Kirkman
Filed Under Green Living, The Big Picture | 1 Comment
Google Earth lets you zoom through three-dimensional Appalachian mountains, map out your dream vacation in Tahiti, or “fly” to a high-resolution satellite image of your very own home. The newest version comes equipped with close-up street views, 3D buildings, and stargazing abilities, but it is more than just fun and games – Google Earth is becoming one of the most important eco-tools of our time.
Already, Google Earth 4.3 comes with a Global Awareness feature that calls attention to eco-attractions like Fair Trade Certified Farms, Greenpeace Climate Control Areas, and Unicef Water and Sanitation Projects. Other businesses have been teaming up with Google Earth to provide add-on downloads in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format in order to showcase international issues.
Basically, these KMLs enhance your view and global knowledge by painting a layer of interactive data and information over the Google Earth globe. Popular add-ons include: Disappearing Forests, Green Buildings, and EDGE Endangered Mammals. The Climate Change in Our World application, created by Google and Met Office Hadley Centre, not only shows current temperature stats, but also projects possible warming trends from now until November 2099.
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined Google to create two add-ons that help American businesses, communities, and the general public track the main source of environmental evil – pollution.
In the first add-on, the EPA pinpoints locations from the United States Emissions File, which divides pollution into seven major point-source sectors; Cement Facilities, Chemical Manufacturing, Electric Generating Units (EGU), Natural Gas Pipelines, Oil and Gas Production, Petroleum Refineries, and Pulp and Paper Industries.
On the map, sectors are color-coded and can be clicked to reveal the company’s name, location, and a summary graphing total emissions from six common pollutants; carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. Pretty cool.
Even cooler, though, is the EPA’s second add-on, Air Now, which shows you the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for certain areas of the United States, updated every hour, and forecasts 
tomorrow’s AQI, too. An area’s AQI predicts how the air quality will affect your health, and is based on a color-coded scale from 0 – 500, with 0 (green) being completely safe, and 500 (red) the most hazardous.
The UK Air Quality Archive has a similar Air Pollution add-on, and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has produced a similar emissions application that maps pollution in Canada and Mexico in addition to the US, but a worldwide air pollution and emissions add-on is yet to be found.
Still, Google Earth’s revolutionary display of global data and statistics, and its ability to connect cultures in a creative new way, has made details about air pollution and emissions easily accessible and of interest to everyone.
Individuals who are searching for a vacation destination or a new home will steer clear of heavy pollution. As a result, new real estate and tourist attractions will be built in lower-risk areas. Businesses will move or implement new branches within less polluted communities, which will motivate these regions to sustain their green reputation. And most importantly, these trends will help inspire communities and businesses in heavily polluted areas to lower emissions and clean up their act.
Want to check out Google Earth for yourself?
- Read over the User Guide, and download the free version of Google Earth.
- Browse Google Earth 4.3’s already awesome features located in the bottom left navigation window, or search for downloadable KMLs that spark your interest.
- Visit Google Earth Outreach to find businesses, non-profits, and individuals who want to share a global message, or to seek help in creating your own KML.
Posted on September 26, 2008 |
The Dark Side Of The Internet
By Greg Berry
Filed Under The Big Picture | 6 Comments
There was a day, back in the good ‘ol dot com era (and before, when computers were still new and offered unlimited promise) when we used to talk about the paperless office, and ultimately, a paperless life. One of the big promises of this paperless life was how many trees would be spared. And we felt good. Later we realized computers and the Internet enabled us to print many more pages than we ever could before, when it was just us creating our own documents. Good thing the Canadian Boreal Forests are so close. (Joking.)
Fast forward 15 years, now more things run on the Internet than ever. Facebook, Salesforce, iTunes, YouTube, Maps, xBox, Skype. And on and on and on. Since most of us don’t immediately equate the bits and bytes with moving electrons, and moving electrons with burning coal, it’s easy to feel that this web-based lifestyle is pretty green. It turns out it’s actually not. Each and every move we make, the windows we keep open, the programs we run simultaneously-they add up…to a whole lot of electricity and hence, CO2 emissions. Continue reading The Dark Side Of The Internet…
Posted on June 26, 2008 |
Top 5 Easiest Ways To Save The Planet
By Jenn Breckenridge
Filed Under Green Living | 3 Comments
1 CARPOOL by Wolf
Sharing a trip with one other person immediately cuts the emissions in half by taking a car off the road. On average a carpool saves 527.8 gallons of gasoline and 4.536 tons of CO2 each year. The average family purchases 1,143 gallons of gas per year.
2 EAT LESS MEAT by DAVEC
Raising meat for food (livestock) is an environmental disaster, contributing more to global warming than transportation, using up 30% of the Earth’s land (yes, that’s right, 30% of the entire land mass of the Earth is used directly or indirectly in livestock production), contributing to significant water pollution, using up tons of energy and water for raising and transporting livestock, etc. For example, it takes 2500 gallons of water to produce 1 lb of meat. The average American eats 185 lbs of meat per year, meaning 462,500 gallons of water can be saved by moving to a vegetarian diet!
3 TUNE YOUR CAR REGULARLY by Argam
Keep your engine tuned properly. Checking spark plugs, oxygen sensors, air filters, hoses and belts are a few examples of maintenance that can save a vehicle owner up to 165 gallons of gas per year, resulting in potential savings of over $600.
4 ELIMINATE JUNK MAIL by karlbach
- Junk mail destroys 100 million trees a year — the equivalent of deforesting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
- Largely due to deforestation, junk mail manufacturing creates as much greenhouse gas emissions annually as 3.7 million cars.
- Every year, Americans receive 848 pieces of junk mail per household — 44% of which ends up unopened in a landfill
Also, more than half of unsolicited mail is discarded unread or unopened; the response rate is less than 2%. And junk mail creates 4 million tons of unnecessary waste per year! Calculating the weight of the junk mail trash from EPA data, it works out to 13.4% of 1276 lbs per household! So that’s 170 pounds of trash per household per year.
5 DON’T WATER YOUR LAWN EVERY DAY by Ghengis
The amount of water used by a sprinkler in one hour is equal to the daily water needs of a family of four! The average sprinkler will use in excess of 240 gallons of water per hour. If the average person sprinkles every day for a half hour and reduced that to once a week, one could save 37,560 gallons a year!! This is huge!
These Top 5 Creative Solutions were chosen by the folks at CreativeCitizen.com, the freshly launched collaborative website for community-proposed eco tips.
Posted on June 12, 2008 |
A Creative Citizen Is Born
By Jenn Breckenridge
Filed Under News & Reviews | 2 Comments
When you talk to Scott Badenoch about his newly launched dot com, you get the sense that this one is going to go big time. He is smart, articulate, and self-assured as he runs you through the ways CreativeCitizen.com is going to bridge the disaggregated actions of the exploding Green Movement. Scott and partner Argam DerHartunian are driven by the mission to help everyone conserve 5 important elements: water, electricity, waste, emissions, and money. Badenoch explains his take on conservation, “No one is going to throw away their lifestyle and start wearing loin cloths and walking everywhere. It’s vital that the green movement find a place in people’s lives that saves them time, resources and money, rather than the other way around.” Continue reading A Creative Citizen Is Born…
Posted on June 12, 2008 |
Top 10 Reasons to Ride Your Bike…Everywhere
By Greg Berry
Filed Under Green Living | 4 Comments
First, I must preclude this Top 10 with a note about my cycling experience. I’ve been bike commuting for all of my professional life, and before that all during college, and before that I was an early convert to mountain biking. In short, I’ve spent my whole life on a bike and I think it’s the coolest thing going. Why, you ask? Well…
10. No Traffic
Well, this one kind of depends. I commute on bike paths almost the whole way. I bought my home with this in mind, but not everyone has that as a criteria. Either way, at least you’re not contributing to evil traffic, and hopefully you can avoid it altogether.
9. Enjoy The Outdoors
As a culture, we have gotten so completely disconnected from our natural environment, it’s frightening. On your bike you can hear the birds, breathe the outdoor air. See the clouds and decide for yourself whether or not it’s going to rain. Beyond reconnecting with the outside world, cycling is completely emissions-free!
8. Critical Mass
Calling all rebels and rabblerousers…Biking is political protest. If you didn’t know about Critical Mass before, you do now. It’s happening monthly in cities all over the country. Come join us, it’s a blast.
7. Community
Once you start bike commuting regularly, you’ll notice that you see the same people out there. You’ll meet someone from your neighborhood you didn’t know before. And you’ll develop camaraderie that doesn’t come from watching the same TV show.
6. Relax
We all spend too much time rushing around. There’s reason for me to believe that humans weren’t meant to go so fast all the time, hence jet lag. When you’re only moving as fast as your body can make you go, there’s a better sense of groundedness. Continue reading Top 10 Reasons to Ride Your Bike…Everywhere…
Posted on May 22, 2008 |
Go Green, Slow Down, Save Money
By Pippa Sorley
Filed Under Green Living | 5 Comments
I admit it. As an adrenaline junkie I like to do things fast. I like to ski fast, bike fast, I even prefer running trails over hiking them. Lo and behold- I like to drive fast. That is, until I learned about all the crazy costs that come with putting my pedal to the metal.
With peak oil, the ever-rising price of gas (which is perhaps a blessing in disguise), and climate change swiftly sweeping across the planet, it’s time for all of us to pay heed to the collective effects of our driving habits. With the US consuming over 400 million gallons of petroleum per day, we in turn produce about 7.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions…every day. Perhaps it’s come time for us to just slow down.
According to fueleconomy.gov, most engines don’t run efficiently past 60 miles per hour. For every 5 miles per hour you drive over 60, you are most likely wasting 20 cents’ worth of gasoline per gallon. And, this of course doesn’t take into account the environmental cost of driving too fast. Who knows how many CO2 emissions can be saved by chilling out a bit while driving? Continue reading Go Green, Slow Down, Save Money…
Posted on May 19, 2008 |
Top 5 Most Eco Countries
By Pippa Sorley
Filed Under The Big Picture | 27 Comments
Measuring the “eco-ness” of a country immediately begs the question- what exactly is being measured? Is it the country’s cultural and social contributions, or merely the percentage of GNP devoted to renewable and environmental technologies? Do the metrics take into account the losses of warfare or the abundance of natural resources?
Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, in conjunction with Columbia University, recently released its first official Environmental Performance Index. The EPI is a ranking of almost every nation’s commitment to with a range of metrics for everything from greenhouse gas emissions to water purity and conservation practices.
It is not surprising that the wealthy Scandinavian countries dominate the top five, while the poorest African nations fell into the bottom five. You may think all developing nations would be so focused on daily subsistence over global environmental standards, that they wouldn’t score well on the Environmental Performance Index. However, several developing countries proved that money isn’t everything. Columbia, with a per capita GDP of $6886, came in at number 9, well ahead of France and Japan. And Costa Rica, far from being wealthy, scored number 5 due to its commitment to wildlife conservation and environmental practices. The United States embarrassingly came in at number 39, well below large nations like Canada and Russia, and small ones like Latvia, Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Let’s take a look at how the Eco Top 5 are making it happen… Continue reading Top 5 Most Eco Countries…
Posted on May 1, 2008 |
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