EarthBlips - Latest Green Living News Articles

Meat You Halfway

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Don't wanna give up meat altogether? Try for a happy medium - go meatless at least once a week for ginormous environmental and health benefits, without compromising your taste for the occasional sustainably raised burger.

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Finnish cleantech, Oy

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 02:53:07 +0000

"Oy" in Finnish means "Inc." as in "incorporated" and bears no relation to the Yiddish phrase that immediately came to mind when I saw the impressive list of companies on our itinerary for the cleantech blogger tour of Finland hosted by Finnfacts, a nonprofit that helps journalists learn more about the country's wealth of business and travel offerings. Though Finland is best known for telecommunications giant Nokia, I learned the first day that t

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Shopping evolution

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 00:38:37 +0000

As any female with a male relative, companion or friend will tell you, men hate to shop.

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Sun-soaked Scandinavian shelter

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 23:20:39 +0000

As all eyes begin to turn (if they weren’t turned already) towards the beautiful city of Copenhagen for the commencement of next week’s

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Eco-photos of the week: Nov. 29-Dec. 5

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 20:22:40 +0000

Eco-photos of the week: Nov. 29-Dec. 5

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Recycle old holiday lights free

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 20:00:31 +0000

Recycle your old, inefficient Christmas lights — and get rewarded with a discount on new, efficient LED lights! E-light retailer HolidayLEDs.com offers a free Christmas light recycling program anyone can take advantage of. Simply pack your lights and mail them, along with a note with your name and email address, to HolidayLEDs.com, Attn: Recycling Program, 118 Rosehill Dr., Suite 1, Jackson, MI 49202.

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President Obama heads to Allentown

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 19:49:39 +0000

Today, CEOs, orga

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iPhone app: Eat this, not that

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 19:41:25 +0000

We all want to make better choices when we go out to eat. It’s difficult. When you’re looking at a menu at a restaurant, you never know what type of fat and calories are in a dish.

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The Dog Meat Mafia: Thailand's illegal dog trade

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 19:01:31 +0000

Stray dogs are just as common in the streets of Thailand as pigeons in New York, and are treated about the same – with indifference, or annoyance at their pervasiveness.

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Customizable cardboard Christmas trees

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 18:30:39 +0000

Fake Christmas trees are generally frowned upon by environmentalists, since most are made in China of synthetic plasticky materials. But I’ve found a couple fake trees I can endorse — because they’re made of recycled cardboard! Cardboard Christmas Tree.

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Give the gift of clean hair

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 18:24:01 +0000

Happy Thursday! With just 22 days until Christmas, your shopping time is quickly dwindling away.

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Take our endangered species quiz

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 18:02:58 +0000

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An endangered species ... lottery?

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:57:31 +0000

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Nonja Facebook: Orangutan Takes Photos, Shares Them Online

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:29:53 +0000

She's like the Ashton Kutcher of the ape world: An orangutan in the Vienna Zoo now has a Facebook fan page to showcase the photos she takes with a digital camera. The orangutan, named Nonja, uses a Samsung ST 1000 point-and-shoot that automatically uploads the photos.

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DIY organic biscotti with chocolate chips

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:28:50 +0000

Homemade biscotti is not only an impressive gift, but it can offer a fresher, healthier and more affordable treat for holiday parties.

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Catholic League upset over Joanna Krupa's PETA ad

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 16:32:33 +0000

The Catholic League are upset about something again (when aren't they?). This time they're angry at model and former "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Joanna Krupa (also a Catholic, and for the record, I was born and baptized as a Catholic before converting to Pastafarianism) for appearing in a PETA ad wearing angel wings and holding a cross that's conveniently covering up her censorables. The ad encourages people to "Be and Angel for Animals- ALWAYS ADOPT.

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Support your local Christmas tree farmer

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:52:26 +0000

I know Christmas trees aren’t food, and I’m the food blogger. Supporting local farmers is important to me, and I think it’s important to many of my readers, too. So I’m going a little off topic this morning. I’m sure you won’t mind. I believe in supporting local any way I can. Sometimes, it’s by buying food from local producers. Sometimes, it’s by choosing a cup of coffee from the independent, local coffees shop instead of a chain.

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Daily Briefing: Thurs.

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:42:51 +0000

ENEMY AT THE GATES: Asian carp are trying to invade the Great Lakes, but first they'll have to get past state and federal officials who are waging an all-out war to protect the vast freshwater ecosystem. Authorities with the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S.

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Planners, Meet Science

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:31:36 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I registered for the 2009 World Town Planning Day Online Conference, with the theme “resilience in a changing climate.” Through the conference I had the opportunity to learn how both developed and developing countries around the world are creating unique planning, scientist and community partnerships to create developments and retrofit structures and spaces to combat and adapt to climate change. Phil Hill, a geologist from Natural Resources Canada , along with other scientists around the world, believes that there is enough evidence to suggest that the climate of our planet is changing and that now is the time to plan for it. During the first session of the World Town Planning Day Online Conference , held in mid-November, Hill spoke to a few dozen attendees about the importance of strengthening the relationship between scientists and planners to shape planning policy to encourage green house gas mitigation and the adaptation of human settlements to climate change. ...

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Bill Chameides: Whither PCBs? The Story from the Lab to the Hudson River and Beyond

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:23:07 +0000

You've probably heard about fish contaminated by PCBs. Here's the story of how the pollutant got to the fish and what's being done to try to rid PCBs from one of our prized waterways. Last month General Electric wrapped up the first phase of its effort to remove large swaths of contaminated sediment from the Hudson River. It's a project that has been many years in the making -- nearly a full century, if the discovery and manufacture of PCBs are taken into account. In our video Dr. Bill Chameides gives the PCB backstory from the lab to the manufacturing plant. Then Duke alumnus David Rosoff picks up the story, giving an overview of the Hudson River dredging project, A to Z. Related Content The Dredging of the Hudson River - DukEnvironment , Fall 2009

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The Grossest Things You Can Recycle

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:13:14 +0000

At the Huff Post Green, we are all for the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. We love to hear about people finding new and creative ways to reuse everyday objects, however, even we have our limits. Is it possible that some things are just too gross to recycle? We'll let you be the judge. Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!

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Best Microscopic-Life Images Of 2009 (PHOTOS)

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 12:56:21 +0000

The BioScapes competition, sponsored by Olympus America, Inc., recognizes microscope photos of plants, animals, and other life-forms that capture the "fascinating minutia of life," according to Olympus. "These images and movies reflect some of the most exciting research being done around the world and reveal the art that exists in optical microscopy," Olympus's Osamu Joji said in a statement. Each year the company chooses a panel of microscope-imaging experts to judge the competition, which is open to anyone using a light microscope--the familiar apparatus from high school science classes, which uses visible light and lenses to magnify objects. Check out these breathtaking images from National Geographic below: Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!

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Sin Tax

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Need a quick karma boost? Do good: Donate extra stuff you don't need before the year ends , so you can take advantage of tax deductions come April 2010, while spreading a little holiday cheer. It's an easy gamble.

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Love dogs and the earth?

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 05:45:18 +0000

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Cloudy with a chance of green

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 05:13:03 +0000

As a kid, I had the worst time finalizing holiday wish lists. Because of my small family, these lists received limited distribution yet I took my sweet time with them and continually added toys up until the last minute. Just when I thought one was complete, a TV commercial would catch my eye and a talking teddy bear or complicated squirt gun would need to be tacked on to the list.

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Corporate sustainability institute launched

Thu, 3 Dec 2009 01:12:10 +0000

Business owners a

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Driven mad by granola bar wrappers

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 23:13:43 +0000

As a mom prone to sweating the small stuff, wrappers are driving me crazy: Granola bar wrappers, juice boxes and pouches, the foil lids on yogurt containers and the wrappers containing those ubiquitous 100-calorie packs of yummy, sinful junk food. [[social-toolbar]] We are swimming in wrappers that can’t be recycled or composted, and the onslaught is hindering my goal of sending no more than two tall-kitchen garbage bags to the landfill each month. Yes, some wrappers can be recycled into tote bags and other whimsical item

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Scroogenomics: an answer to 'cyber monday'

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 23:04:28 +0000

Retailers are elated about one of the best days in ecommerce history.

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Publix shows us how they're going green

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:32:33 +0000

MNN blogger Siel Ju gets the inside scoop on how Publix is going green. Want more? Check out our other videos on MNN. [[transcript]]

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Can this man cure AIDS?

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:14:54 +0000

[[social-toolbar]]Typically, AIDS research is funded by scientific groups like the National Institutes of Health and other research organizations, but one man’s quest to use a revolutionary approach to create a vaccine against the disease is finding funding in those most unlikely of places – from nonscientists, according to a recent piece in Newsweek. At first, Dr.

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Thinking the unthinkable: Missing children

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:03:09 +0000

Here's a terrifying statistic ... According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Missing Children Statistics, on average, a child goes missing every 40 seconds in this country. Over 800,000 kids are reported missing in the U.S. every year.

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Haunted waters: Hunting ghost traps in Maine

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:02:32 +0000

There's something scary beneath the waters of Maine and it has nothing to do with resident author Stephen King; it's ghost lobster traps that have state officials and some lobstermen afraid. Ghost traps are those lobster traps that cut loose, for one reason or another, from their buoys.

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Give the gift of green panties

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 22:00:39 +0000

The greenest closet is the one you already own — and the greenest additions are pre-loved items. Even the greenest eco-fashionista, however, tends to draw the buy-it-used line at underwear! Eco-friendlier panties can make some of the best green gifts: Useful, cute, comfy.

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MNN sends reporters to Copenhagen

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 21:10:40 +0000

World leaders will gather next week in Copenhagen to discuss and (hopefully) sign a new climate treaty. But politicians won't be the only people present. We're sending two of our own to cover the historic event — and you can help send a third. Here's the scoop: Our blogger Karl Burkart will be reporting live from Copenhagen next week.

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Good vibrations

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:41:12 +0000

Do you own a clunky, thump-y, no-so-discreet washing machine that sends you into duck-and-cover earthquake panic mode when it goes into spin cycle? If researchers at Bristol University have their way, owning tremble-prone household appliances like washing machines and dishwashers might actually be a good thing.

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Ecollywood: Cowboys cheerleaders, Keith Brooking and Tanya Tucker

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:29:30 +0000

How do football players feel about the environment? Watch this exclusive Dallas Cowboys edition and find out what Keith Brooking has to say.

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232 toxic chemicals found in 10 newborns

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:17:19 +0000

It’s no surprise to most MNN readers that the vast majority of American adults have BPA (bisphenol A) and other worrisome chemicals in our bodies. That’s what happens, after all, when you grow up in a chemical world.

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Fritz Henderson is freakin' out as GM CEO and Ed Whitacre is freakin' in

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:51:55 +0000

Any lingering doubt that Fritz Henderson was pushed from his CEO position atop General Motors yesterday was reportedly cleared up by his daughter, Sarah, who (at least according to the car-blogging Jalopnik.com) posted an obscenity-laced Facebook tirade on the subject.

Find more top green news, videos, and blogs on EarthBlips: Green Living, Facebook, Ed Rendell

One man’s cure for AIDS

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:51:36 +0000

Find more top green news, videos, and blogs on EarthBlips: Green Living

Ecollywood: George Clooney's driving habits

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:33:43 +0000

Getting well-deserved Oscar buzz for his role as a corporate hatchet man who flies around the country pink-slipping employees in Up in the Air, George Clooney burns up less fuel on terra firma. “I ride a motorcycle almost everywhere I go, so that helps,” he told MNN at the movie’s premiere.

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Denmark plugs in to electric cars

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:25:33 +0000

Amidst excitement surrounding the Copenhagen Climate Talks, Danish transportation minister Lars Barfoed told the New York Times his country wants "to be a test and laboratory country for electric cars, hybrid cars, and other new technology." Denmark is currently offering a slew of incentives to encourage motorists to go green with their cars, including $40,000 tax breaks, free parking in

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Organic Hanukkah food gifts

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:15:35 +0000

Hanukkah begins at sundown on Friday, December 11 this year. I’ve rounded up some treats that make great gifts during the holiday that are organic, too. Iced Hanukkah sugar cookies – Little Laura’s Sweets makes these beautiful iced cookies from organic ingredients and sells them through Foodzie.

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10 eco-Advent calendars

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:09:44 +0000

Advent calendars — those treat-filled charts that help count down the days before Christmas — are a fun, kid-friendly tradition that taps into the holiday spirit. Early Advent celebrations in 19th century Germany often included lighting a daily candle, or drawing successive lines of chalk on the door to mark the passage of time. These days, most Advent calendars are made from cheap, disposable paper and filled with individually wrapped candies.

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Tips for a greener, less wasteful holiday

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 17:06:06 +0000

As the old-timers say, "if you fail to plan, you can plan to fail." Organizing an environmentally-friendly holiday gathering is no exception to the rule: it's easier to reduce waste if you start thinking green well before the holidays hit -- making sure you don't overbuy, over-cook, over-package, and so forth.

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CA recycling woes lead to unemployment

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 16:53:48 +0000

California’s beverage bottle recycling program is on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to the state’s massive budget deficit. Two main factors have created a perfect storm, so-to-speak, and the recycling program is facing some serious cutbacks. First, the state borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from the program in an attempt to balance the budget.

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Smart fridges - helping to cool the planet?

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Tom Young, BusinessGreen , Wednesday 2 December 2009 at 16:39:00 Over 3,000 npower customers to take part in first large scale UK trial of smart grid enabled fridges Over 3,000 npower customers are to take part in a major "smart grid" trial throughout 2010 designed to assess the effectiveness of so-called smart fridge technology capable of cutting power...

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Greener Gift: Mountain Hardwear laptop bag

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 16:30:59 +0000

I'm spending some time over the next week sharing some of the greener products I use in my everyday life as suggestions for your holiday gift giving.

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Widespread Panic: Watch the video and win New Year's Eve tickets, VIP passes

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Watch our exclusive video of Widepread Panic lead singer John Bell as he offers his tips on how to go green in the new year.

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Lou Dobbs: 'Who The Hell Does This President Think He Is?'

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Former CNN host Lou Dobbs lashed out at President Obama on Tuesday for working on an international climate change treaty, suggesting it was a step toward monarchy and demanding, "Who the hell does this president think he is?" Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a long-time climate change denier, said the president was planning to commit the U.S. to emissions standards set by House legislation that is stalled in the Senate. "Senator, this begs the question, if I may put it forward right now: Who the hell does this president think he is?" Dobbs said angrily. "I don't know, because you can't do that," Inhofe responded. "And I think it's certainly disingenuous to mislead countries into thinking that a president is -- you know, this is not a kingdom, He's not able to do that." "Not yet!" Dobbs cut in. Listen: In reality, President Obama is merely planning to pledge a provisional target -- "the first time in more than a decade that an American administration has offered even ...

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Daily Briefing: Wed.

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 15:44:13 +0000

DYNAMIC DUO: After Europe spent the last decade leading the fight against climate change — even adopting the world's first cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases — it's now being pushed aside by the United States and China as the Copenhagen climate summit approaches, the NY Times reports.

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