By The Hive
In today’s sustainable snapshot, Chevron admits it won’t do a thing to stop global warming, a 12 year-old boy recycles 8,000 shoes, and a new company pulls carbon out of thin air.
UPDATE: Oil Rig Slams Into Alaskan Coast
“After a failed five-day fight to tow the Kulluk conical drilling unit to safe harbor amid four-story waves and 70-mph winds, the crew of a powerful tugboat deliberately let its line go, sending the rig along Sitkalidak Island’s shore … There also are fears that the longer the Kulluk is stranded at Sitkalidak Island, the greater the chance that it will be further damaged and some 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel could spill.” – Houston Chronicle
Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out Of Thin Air
“Whether streaming from the tailpipes of cars or the smokestacks of so many power plants and factories, carbon dioxide emissions keep growing around the globe. Now a Canadian company has developed a cleansing technology that may one day capture and remove some of this heat-trapping gas directly from the sky. And it is even possible that the gas could then be sold for industrial use.” – New York Times
America’s Real Criminal Element: Lead
“New research finds Pb is the hidden villain behind violent crime, lower IQs, and even the ADHD epidemic. And fixing the problem is a lot cheaper than doing nothing.” – Mother Jones
362 Record Highs In 2012, 0 Record Lows
“This was the year where winter was like spring. Then spring was like summer. Finally summer was something from the Dust Bowl era. Imagine what our weather will be like if we are foolish enough to ignore all scientific warnings.” – Think Progress
12 Year-Old Boy Recycles 8,000 Shoes
“Eco Erek, as he is known, has spent the last four years collecting old jeans and shoes to be recycled. Each year he gets more and more donations as his story spreads. This year he saved 8,000 shoes that were destined for the dump and handed them over to clothing recycler USAgain. They will now be either given to the under-privileged or recycled into something new like running tracks or playground surfaces. And on top of all that, USAgain have also donated $1000 to a clean-up charity on Erek’s behalf.” – Green Thing
“Smart” Market Adds Refrigerator Doors
“When supermarkets leave the produce and meat and dairy sitting out in the open, they are paying to cool the whole store, because those veggies are essentially sitting in an open refrigerator. That costs a lot, first of all, and second of all it wastes a lot of energy and precious resources. U.K. supermarket chain the Co-operative has decided to put an end to this rather silly practice, and has equipped 100 of its stores with produce refrigerators that have doors. The Co-operative estimates it will save about $80 million a year with this practice. Other stores, however, are afraid to do the same.” – Grist
Americans Throw Away $165 Billion Of Food
“It’s costing Americans around $165 billion a year that they’re spending on food they’re not eating, and for the average American family that can be up to $2,200 per household,” Gunders told HuffPost Live. Meanwhile, she explained, our portion sizes have increased tremendously. “The average cookie, for example, has tripled in size since the mid-80s,” – Huffington Post
Massachusetts Town Bans Plastic Water Bottles
“The campaign Ban the Bottle claims that “It takes 17 million barrels of oil per year to make all the plastic water bottles used in the U.S. alone. That’s enough oil to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year.” Their website also states: ‘In 2007, Americans consumed over 50 billion single serve bottles of water. With a recycling rate of only 23%, over 38 billion bottles end up in landfills.’ According to the EPA, in 2010, the U.S. generated 31 million tons of plastic waste.” – TIME
Chevron: We Will Not Fix Global Warming
“When questioned about the need to address global warming in an interview with the Associated Press, Chevron CEO John Watson said he believes the only path to global prosperity is more ‘oil, gas, and coal.’ Watson also said that it’s up to government leaders to find ‘a better solution for us’ when dealing with emissions — not the companies responsible for emitting the carbon pollution heating the planet.” – Think Progress
Cost Of Combating Climate Change Surges
“An agreement by almost 200 nations to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 will be far more costly than taking action now to tackle climate change, according to research published on Wednesday. Quick measures to cut emissions would give a far better chance of keeping global warming within an agreed U.N. limit of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times to avert more floods, heatwaves, droughts and rising sea levels.” – Reuters
Warren Buffet Supercharges Solar Industry
“MidAmerican Energy Holdings, the electric utility owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathway group, announced today it had acquired a 579-megawatt solar development in Southern California. The Antelope Valley Solar projects, which are actually two adjacent arrays in Kern and Los Angeles counties, will comprise the largest solar project in the world, according to the company’s release, serving close to 1 million residents.” – Business Insider
