TreeHugger

Youth Outdoors Programs Benefit From Donated NEMO Tents

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:21:43 -0500

NEMO Equipment,r for their recycled backpacking tent and bamboo tent poles. We also noted how they donated over 150 tents to Kashmiri earthquake victims. Now they are at it again with the donating thing. This time generously forking over $13,000 USD in backpacking and mountaineering tents to youth outdoor programs.]]>...

With Help from Species Survival Plan, Red Wolves May Have a Future

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:55:53 -0500

Photo from Gregory Koch Red wolves are one of the rarest mammals in North America. They are a mere 100 strong in their native habitat of North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. But with the help of the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) in South Salem, NY, the Canis rufus may grow in number…first in New York, and then in North Carolina.]]>...

In Defense of the Cow: How Eating Meat Could Help Slow Climate Change

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:27:44 -0500

Photo via stock.xchng by bouwm019 Should we be eating more beef in order to slow global warming? It sounds counterintuitive, but it may be so: Cattle could be part of the whole ecological equation to solving climate change and restoring healthy, bio-diverse ecosystems. I am a vegetarian, but I maintain there is a place for grass-fed beef on family menus—and pasture-raised cattle in global warming solutions. Cows can help more than harm if they are sustainably raised.]]>...

Rhino Poaching at 15 Year High as Asian Demand Increases

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:17:00 -0500

Indian rhino in Kazaringa national park, Assam, India. Photo: Lip Kee Yap via flickr Asian demand for rhinoceros horn for medicinal use has driven poaching in Africa and Asia to a 15 year high, WWF reports. This is of course despite the fact that trade in rhino parts from any species is banned under international treaty. In some places it has gotten so bad that a decad]]>...

84 Recycled PET Bottles to Make ECOALF Cabin Trolley

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:03:54 -0500

ECOALF is the new fabric developed by the Spanish company fun&basics, made from recycled PET bottles. It is a high quality textile: flexible, tension resistant, long lasting, waterproof and lightweight. The first bags made from ECOALF are a toilet bag, a small bag, a cabin trolley and a large, wheeled luggage bag. The fun thing about them is the visualisation of the recycled bottles. Each bag tells you exactly how many 75cl PET plastic bottles were needed to make it. ]]>...

Can Coral Reefs be Healed by Wave Power?

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:15:45 -0500

Oh buoy! Could this ocean energy converter save coral reefs? Photo from SwellFuel With almost half the world's coral reefs threatened with extinction and the rapid decline in the oceans’ biodiversity, according to a recent report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it’s going to take more than cloning reefs to save the seas. Enter an ominous-looking little buoy. ]]>...

Drink Clos LaChance Wine to Save Endangered Hummingbird

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:24:00 -0500

This is neither a Honduran Emerald or Clos LaChance, but it is a hummingbird drinking nectar from a wine glass. Image via: HummingbirdsLiberty on Flickr.com It may not be organic or biodynamic, and it might not be saving the planet, but drinking Clos laChance endangered hummingbird series wine will (help to) save one hummingbird species a yea]]>...

Climate Change too Abstract For You? Dengue Fever Could Spread to 28 U.S. States

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:44:18 -0500

In red are counties that have one of the 2 Dengue mosquito vector species. Blue are are vulnerable areas. Image: NRDC That's Pretty Concrete and Scary Matthew recently wrote a post about the climate change induced expansion of the tropics and the consequences of it. One of the main ones is the Northward movement of certain tropical diseases. The NRDC has just released a report on the subject (subtitle: "Mosquitoes Known t]]>...

Cape Farewell 2009: Artists Inspired by Trek Through Andes

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:40:00 -0500

Cape Farewell Andes Expedition Members Measuring Carbon in Soil at Wayqecha Station. Image via Cape Farewell. We reported last year on TreeHugger founder Graham Hill's trip with Cape Farewell to the Arctic. This year you can feel like you're part of their latest expedition, an 18-day trek through the Andean Rainforest, thanks to Twitter and a helpful Ge]]>...

Green Vision for a Place With a Grim Past

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:30:00 -0500

Artist Joyce van den Berg's vision for the former No Man's Land in Berlin includes walking paths, composting areas, and plenty of greenery. An area once called a "death strip" wouldn't seem to harbor much in the way of recreational potential, but when Dutch landscape artist Joyce van den Berg looks at the former No Man's Land that once separated East and West Berlin, that's exactly what she envisions. And by presenting her artistic interpretations of what that might look like at the German Center for Architecture (DAZ), she hopes to get Berliners to see the same thing.]]>...

Six Flags Creates Green Theme Parks

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:05:00 -0500

Image via: Ezeiza on Flickr.com Earlier this year the Six Flags Inc. is adding green throughout their 20 theme-park locations, but many are so behind the scenes that you may not have noticed. ]]>...

New Research Gives Hope for Plant Species Preservation in Deforested Amazon

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:52:00 -0500

photo: Ventura via flickr Current rates of deforestation in the Amazon will have markedly less impact on the number of plant species to likely go extinct by mid-century, new research shows. Rather than the 20-33% predicted by some studies scientists from Wake Forest University say that 5-9% of species are likely to be extinct, Achmad Rabin Taim via flickr A bit more than a year ago, Lloyd wrote about how palm oil is in everything and since then more and more voices have detailed just how environmentally devastating the Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil trade has become. What's more, according to Wikipedia, Public domain Heigh-Ho! Heigh-Ho! Breaking Down Dead Leaves! Leaf-cutter ants, fungi and bacteria are playing as a team when it comes to extracting the most energy possible out of dead leaves, and scientists think that by studying this 50-million years old "symbiotic bioreactor" they can figure out how to make biofuels more effectively. But they can't just study the ants, or the fungi, or the bacteria in isolation; they have to look at the whole thing together and sequence the whole community genome (17 different organisms). Read on to find out]]>...

Carré-d'Etoiles Mini-Prefabs For Green Vacations

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:47:02 -0500

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Global Warming is Shrinking the Soay Sheep of Scotland

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:19:15 -0500

Photo: Wikipedia, CC The Incredible Shrinking Sheep! Could the changing climate be shrinking animals? That seems to be the case for the Soay sheep of Scotland. "The island of Hirta, on the western coast of Scotland, is home to a special breed of sheep. Soay sheep, named after a neighbouring island, are the most primitive breed of domestic sheep and have lived on the isles of St Kilda for at least a millennium." These sheep are already smaller on average than other breeds of sheep, but according to a recent study, they have been getting even smaller...]]>...

Can Rock Festivals Get Green? Denmark's Roskilde Certainly Tries

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:30:28 -0500

Denmark's Roskilde Festival doesn't try to proclaim that rock festivals don't have an impact - instead this year's four days of rock]]>...

Richard Branson Opens Farm to Fork Eco-Resort in NJ

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:41:00 -0500

Image via: Ninety Acres Culinary School Richard Branson, known for supporting all types of wild and high profile schemes (renewable energy, carbon capture, alternative fuels for Virgin Airlines and even eco-resorts on his famous islands), now he's into something a little more mellow: funding a F]]>...

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint By Flying to Paris (Slideshow)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:07:08 -0500

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Re-Think The Shark! Clever Ad by Save Our Seas Foundation

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:01:55 -0500

We Can't Limit Conservation Efforts to Cute & Cuddly Animals... Here's a clever ad about "Re-Thinking the Shark" by the most excellent Save Our Seas Foundation (check out their proje]]>...

Endangered Species Alert: Amur Tigers Found to Have an Effective Wild Population of Just 35

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:57:00 -0500

Amur Tiger at the Zurich zoo, photo: Tambako the Jaguar via flickr A few months ago I included the Amur Tiger (also know as the Siberian Tiger) in a slideshow of animals which very well could go extinct in the coming decades. It was for good reason, as a new piece from the BBC shows. This largest of all the tigers has an effective wild population of just 35 individuals:]]>...

Monsters in Our Midst. ‘Mazing Magnified Images

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:20:31 -0500

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Question: Should Cycling be Allowed in All Parks?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:02:52 -0500

Photo: Flickr, CC What a Concept! Bikes in Parks! I was reading this post about how Copenhagen now allows cycling in parks, and it seemed like such a good and obvious idea, I wondered "why not everywhere?" Of course, some parks already allow it and even have bike paths, but in many parts of the world, you are supposed to actually walk your bike (though not everybody does it). What do you think? Should cities allow cycling in their parks?]]>...

Bike Heaven in Empty Slovenian Hydro Pumped Storage Power Plant

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:15:37 -0500

Photo: Photos by keki & subtilen "Surface is very smooth hydroisolation coating, so perfect for riding." A lot of us treehuggers are cyclists, and I bet most of us have a dream place they wish they could ride in. For some, it might be the quiet Scottish countryside during the summer... and for others it might be the empty accumulation pool of a hydroelectric pumped storage power station!]]>...

Is Brooks Running the Best Green Source for Runners?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:36:08 -0500

Photo: PRNewsFoto/Brooks Sports, Inc You a runner? Or an exercise-oholic? And you want your workouts to reflect your green lifestyle? Well, the race is ON…or at least for me and a few friends to find the best performing green running equipment. Since February of this year (2009), I’ve made it my personal mission to seek out the most excellent green products in the running world as I train for my first marathon in No]]>...

Summer Streets Coming Back to New York City in August: 7 Miles of Car-Free Roads

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:19:07 -0500

Photo: Flickr, CC I Love the Smell of Car-Free Roads in the Morning! New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with NYC DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, has announced that the Summer Streets initiative is coming back to the streets of NYC this August. Last year was a great success, with over 50,000 people joining the fun on each of th]]>...

Amazing Treat Machine: A Dog-Friendly Cardboard Snack Dispenser

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:11:21 -0500

Photo credit: Amazing Treat Machine Your pooch may be smarter than the average dog—canine Mensa material, to be exact—but the premise for the Amazing Treat Machine is so simple that even the dumber-than-dirt dog will get it: Tennis ball goes in, tennis ball and treats come out. ]]>...

The World's Top Five International Bike Tour Companies

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:40:08 -0500

Photo via Francois Schnell @ flickr There's no better way to soak up a country than by bike: It's quicker than walking, greener than just about every other form of transportation, and you get to see towns, scenery, and people that you'd never encounter from the relative comfort of an air-conditioned tour bus. Whether you're a novice rider or a super-fit cyclist, whether you want a family vacation or a romantic getaway, and whether you're looking for trips in the Yaban TV. The Turkish hunting and fishing channel Yaban TV (Wilderness TV) is on a mission to spread a message that should be fairly self-evident: If people who like to hunt and fish don't help protect the environment, there won't be any game left for them to pursue. "We are not hunters," says producer and board member Dr. Ali Bürkev. "We are nature's soldiers."]]>...

US Forgives $30 Million in Indonesia's Debt to Help Preserve Sumatran Forests

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:39:00 -0500

photo: Marc Veraart via flickr Just last month the US reauthorized a bill that trades debt relief for forest conservation pledges. Mongabay is reporting that Indonesia is availing itself of the program, having $30 million in debt forgiven in exchange for increased forest protection in Sumatra:]]>...

Smog is Increasing Risks of Premature Births by 128%

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:27:06 -0500

Photos: Flickr, CC & Flickr, CC Add it to Asthma, High Blood Pressure, and Cardiovascular Diseases Did we need one more reason to to fight against smog? I don't think so, but we got one anyway thanks to a study to be published in Environmental Health Perspectives and covered by Discovery News. A team from the University of California, Irvine, has shown that pregnant women living within 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) of a major ]]>...

Los Amigos: Volunteers Vacationing with Scientists

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:00:00 -0500

Long Horned Beetle Researcher at Los Amigos Research Station, Peru. Image via: Rob Holmes, Green Living Project. This year, you've decided you want to do more on your vacation than lounge around like a beached whale, eh? Well why not volunteer, but not just volunteer anywhere, why not check out the Los Amigos Biological Research Station which allows guests to work alongside and with researchers in the Peruvian Amazon. Pretty cool, right? ]]>...

Palm Oil Plantations Orphan Baby Orangutans & Leave Them Nowhere to Call Home

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0500

photo: Brian Snelson via flick Hopefully you already are aware of the plight of orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra as logging and palm oil plantations continue to rapidly destroy their habitat. The rate of deforestation and habitat loss is so great that some scientists are predicting that the orangutan will be the first great ape to go extinct in modern ti]]>...

Unintended Consequences: Swifts in Nosedive, Modern Architecture and Weatherization Blamed

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:29:38 -0500

Wikipedia Swifts, described in the Times as "those soaring harbingers of summer", have declined in population by 47% in the last twenty years in the UK, and some suspect it might be because of people fixing their houses.]]>...

OMG KITTENS! Colorado Biologists Discover Litter of Lynx Kittens

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:52:15 -0500

Photo credit: AP/Colorado Division of Wildlife Spring brought a surprise delivery from the stork: A litter of 10 lynx kittens—the first newborns documented in Colorado since 2006, gladdening the hearts of conservationists, as well as drawing waves of squeals from computer monitors everywhere. (Warning: clicking on the below link may cause your screen to explode from the intolerable cute overload.)]]>...