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• First-Ever Carbon Map Shows Global Warming in Peru's Amazon
  This image shows an area of road building and development adjacent to primary forest in red tones, and secondary forest regrowth in green tones. Credit: Carnegie Institution. You can see the effects of global warming in a new high-resolution map that shows carbon locked up in tropical forest vegetation and emitted by land-use practices in Peru's Amazon. The maps were created with satellite mapping, airborne-laser technology, and ground-based plot surveys. And the images may help pave the way for a new United Nations monitoring system to curb deforestation and forest degradation....Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Wyoming Town Close to Drilling Told To Avoid Drinking Water
  image via Gasland I lived in Wyoming for 8 years and it breaks my heart that the state's landscape is being so significantly altered by the oil, coal and gas industry. I never visited the town of Pavillion when I was in Wyoming, and now I don't have much of a desire to go there after federal officials told locals to avoid drinking their tap water and to make sure they have ventilation when showering. Pavillion is located close to several natural gas drilling sites. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• On This Labor Day, Demand Safe Green Jobs, And Honor Those Who Work With Their Hands
  There is a price to pay for cheap energy and gas for our cars that goes beyond dollars, as we saw this year with the 29 dead miners in West Virginia and the 11 on the Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf. American labor used to make things and fix things, and used to be proud to do it, for a decent wage. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• 'Local' Cream Travels 340 Miles to End on its Own Doorstep
  Image credit: Roddas From the very beginning, TreeHugger has been a huge advocate for local food. Ever since Time Magazine declared that local food was going mainstream back in 2007, there's been a steady stream of retailers and restaurateurs getting in on the locavore bandwagon. Heck, we even have Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Human Activity May Have Boosted Palau Shellfish Size
  photo: Wikimedia Commons A new study in the Journal of Archaeological Science shows there are exceptions to the conventional eco-wisdom that increased human activity always spells harm for animals: Researchers from North Carolina State University have discovered that the size of one mollusk, that's been a food source for Pacific Islanders for thousands of years, has increased in size in conjunction with human population growth. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Can Big Society Save the Planet, and Squash Big Government Too?
  Image credit: Conservative Home I've always found the assertion that all environmentalists are socialist a little hard to swallow. I know plenty of conservatives who love the natural world and abhor waste. And I know plenty of radical greens whose anti-authoritarian, DIY streak puts them in direct conflict with any "big government" solutions from the traditional left. This very debate is flourishing right now over in the UK, with the Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• New Green Fashion Website is a One-Stop-Shop for Fall Style Trends
  Samantha Pleet; Camilla Norrback. Photo: Label Gazer I'll keep this one light and fun: it's Labor Day, after all. Label Gazer is the Style.com of green fashion: it's a resource for consumers to browse designers and collections -- without added commentary -- and it's user friendly; according to Goodlifer, anyone can submit an item -- designers, store owners and consumers. And not only are there num...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Banksy Continues His Environmental Theme in Graffiti
  Images from artkrush Banksy, that super-productive and ubiquitous graffiti artist, is at it again. Last week his work was popping up as a children's ride that was an anti-BP statement. He is back from his North American tour, where he visited Toronto, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, and Boston, promoting his film and creating havoc wher...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• 18% of Grade Schools in Japan Feed Whale to Kids
  Photo via kasei.co.uk It turns out that a surprisingly high number of grade schools in Japan are serving their students more than just a well-rounded education. According to the results of a survey released today, whale meat is back on the menu at about a sixth of Japan's public elementary and junior-high schools...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Epic Shark Feeding Frenzy Caught on Film
  Sharks are normally considered solitary hunters, but one incredible video shows that sometimes they do get together -- and in a big way. Off the Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Hail the Whale! See And Hear The Blues Gathered Off The Coast Of Long Beach
  Photo from one of Captain Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari Boat Tours In the past week, copious amounts of planktonic krill have drawn large groups of blue whales off the coast of Long Beach in Southern California. As many as 25 whales have been spotted from the shore. Dan Salas, captain of Harbor Breeze Cruises' 65-foot vessel, told reporters that recently as many as 100 blue whales have been spotted swimming in the wate...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• MIT Creates Self-Assembling Solar Cells That Repair Themselves
  MIT's Test Cell Patrick Gillooly, MIT Solar cells are intended to mimic the photosynthesis of plants -- converting light into energy in the most efficient manner possible. But what other characteristics of plants could be handy for the renewable energy sector to mimic? How about the self-assembly of chloroplast, the component of plants that do all the vital photosynthesis. Leaves repair themselves after sun damage again and again to keep up their ability to convert light into energy. Now, MIT researchers believe they've discovered how to use this self-assembly to restore solar cells damaged by the sun....Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Captain Planet Turns 20, and Get His Own Holiday
  Image Credit: Captain Planet @ 20 If you're like me, when you think of Captain Planet, you're hit with a wave of nostalgia for your 1990s childhood. But even if you're a bit older (or younger), I'll bet you're excited to hear that the world's first and only eco-superhero is turning 20 years old this month, and is getting a party to celebrate. The Captain Planet Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating youth about the environment, has declared September 15, 2010 "National Captain Planet Day." To mark the occasion, a group of adult "Planetee...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Creating a Cycling Culture in the World's Cities
  South African cyclist Aldren Muvhambe. Photo by Nic Grobler via Bicycle Portraits. The sad recent news story about a 5-year-old girl killed by a street-cleaning vehicle while riding bikes with her father in the Turkish province of Konya -- a city that had previously announced plans for the country's first bike-sharing program -- got me thinking about what it wo...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• High Levels of Arsenic Found in Children's Urine, You'll Never Guess Where it Came From
  photo: Sara Novak A story reported in Grist and first published in the Salt Lake Tribune said that alarming amounts of arsenic were found in two Utah children's urine. The girl's urine tested 50 percent above what's considered safe and the boy's tested 75 percent above acceptable levels. The culprit turne...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• In Milan, 30 Green Designers will Show Spring 2011 Collections at Collective Fashion Week Event
  Credit: Marilisa Cosello/Terre di mezzo Eventi While I am gearing up to cover Fashion Week here in New York, other cities are prepping for the debut of spring/summer 2011 collections: In Milan, Terre di mezzo Eventi and Isola della Moda have organized a green fashion event, called "So Critical, So Fashion," which is geared towards" ethical consumerism," that will highlight the work of fashion brands, independent designers, and socially- and environmentally-responsible enterprises that are working to spur innova...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Recent News on BP Spill Dispersants Reminiscent of Russian Toxic Rain Prediction
  Image: Craig Anderson, Flickr Earlier this summer, when the BP Oil Spill was still at the top of the headlines everywhere, Russian predictions of a toxic rain consequent to the BP oil spill were generally dismissed by the scientific community. But the cultural meme, as well as an underlying level of anxiety for Gulf residents, was planted. Now, reports are appearing that raise the spectre of the Russian prediction. Are people living ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Drought Politics In Colorado - Candidate For Governor Fostering State's Rights Or Ignorant Provocation?
  Image credit:Colorado Trout Unlimited. Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes seems to have a habit of hitting the xenophia-flavored cool aid. April's recent post covered his ranting about how promoting bike riding is part of a world government conspiracy designed to steal personal freedoms. At the time I thought 'well...it might win him some Tea Party-style votes and he won't lose too many bike riders who otherwise would have supported him.Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Asian Elephants Get a New Home at the Smithsonian National Zoo
  Image Credit: Mehgan Murphy, National Zoo If you've been to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. lately, you may have noticed that they've been working on the first stage of their "Elephant Trails" project- a bold initiative to build a complex of indoor and outdoor habitats for the zoo's Asian elephants that will allow the endangered animals to thrive. Phase I, which opened to the public yesterday, includes two new outdoor yards and an elephant barn, which is Read the full story on TreeHugger
  
  
  
  
  
• Handmade Online Marketplace Etsy Raises $20 Million Financing
  Handmade is becoming big business -- reeeally big. Etsy -- the online marketplace for handmade items -- announced earlier this week that it has raised $20 million in venture capital financing and has now tripled its valuation at $300 million (not including the funding). With sales up a whopping 72% from last year, business is booming -- not to mention ex-Google exec Adam Freed being roped in as Etsy's new chief operating officer. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger