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Next Green Thing
Climate Change Refugees
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, November 5, 2009.
From the coast of Australia to the shores of the Maldives public officials are looking out at the ocean with increasing alarm.
A report presented at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change predicts that sea level could rise as much as three feet by the year 2100. If these predictions come to pass, entire cities and even countries would be wiped out, turning citizens into refugees. Some researchers predict that 75 million Pacific Islanders will be forced to relocate by 2050.
Last week, an Australian parliamentary committee recommended a ban on coastal development. One official there said bans would be necessary if the government wanted to prevent, “a major loss of life” if erratic weather patterns and rising seas continue.
Joining us with more is geophysicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Pollack. Pollack is the author of A World Without Ice which delves into what the rapid disappearance of ice would mean for millions on the planet.
(Drawing by Oxfam International via Flickr/Creative Commons)
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From the coast of Australia to the shores of the Maldives public officials are looking out at the ocean with increasing alarm.
A report presented at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change predicts that sea level could rise as much as three feet by the year 2100. If these predictions come to pass, entire cities and even countries would be wiped out, turning citizens into refugees. Some researchers predict that 75 million Pacific Islanders will be forced to relocate by 2050.
Last week, an Australian parliamentary committee recommended a ban on coastal development. One official there said bans would be necessary if the government wanted to prevent, “a major loss of life” if erratic weather patterns and rising seas continue.
Joining us with more is geophysicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Pollack. Pollack is the author of A World Without Ice which delves into what the rapid disappearance of ice would mean for millions on the planet.
(Drawing by Oxfam International via Flickr/Creative Commons)
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Power Paths
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
Since the 1960s, power companies operating in the four corners area of the U.S. have run power lines over the Navajo and Hopi nations. The transmitters carry electricity to growing sunbelt cities, supplying nothing to people living just below -- many of whom live in darkened homes without the luxury of electricity.
In exchange for use of the land, water and sky, Southern California Edison and other companies paid millions of dollars in royalties to the tribes. That relationship ended in 2003, when the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines closed, along with the Mojave Desert Power Plant. Now American Indians are trying to transition away from fossil fuel power into clean energy.
The story of that transition against the tribal governance and established power companies is told in Power Paths, a film by Bo Boudart, which airs on PBS’ Independent Lens tonight. Steve Michelson is the films executive producer, and joins us with more as part of our "next green thing" series.
Since the 1960s, power companies operating in the four corners area of the U.S. have run power lines over the Navajo and Hopi nations. The transmitters carry electricity to growing sunbelt cities, supplying nothing to people living just below -- many of whom live in darkened homes without the luxury of electricity.
In exchange for use of the land, water and sky, Southern California Edison and other companies paid millions of dollars in royalties to the tribes. That relationship ended in 2003, when the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines closed, along with the Mojave Desert Power Plant. Now American Indians are trying to transition away from fossil fuel power into clean energy.
The story of that transition against the tribal governance and established power companies is told in Power Paths, a film by Bo Boudart, which airs on PBS’ Independent Lens tonight. Steve Michelson is the films executive producer, and joins us with more as part of our "next green thing" series.
Building Artificial Trees
By Virginia Prescott on Monday, October 26, 2009.
Think back to elementary school science and good old photosynthesis - when plants turn the energy from the sun into sugars and suck up carbon dioxide in the process.
Now scientists are trying to isolate that last step. In this case, using artificial trees made out of synthetic resin instead of leafy green plants. It’s called air-capture technology and researchers say it’s one of the more practical geoengineering ideas being developed to combat climate change.
As part of our next green thing series, we’re joined by David Biello, associate editor at Scientific American who wrote about air capture technology for Yale Environment 360.
Yale Environment 360: Pulling CO2 from the Air: Promising Idea, Big Price Tag
San Diego Union-Tribune: Scientists envision trees – real or fake – extracting excess CO² from air
CNN: 'Synthetic tree' claims to catch carbon in the air
(Photo courtesy of The Breakthrough Institute)
Think back to elementary school science and good old photosynthesis - when plants turn the energy from the sun into sugars and suck up carbon dioxide in the process.
Now scientists are trying to isolate that last step. In this case, using artificial trees made out of synthetic resin instead of leafy green plants. It’s called air-capture technology and researchers say it’s one of the more practical geoengineering ideas being developed to combat climate change.
As part of our next green thing series, we’re joined by David Biello, associate editor at Scientific American who wrote about air capture technology for Yale Environment 360.
Yale Environment 360: Pulling CO2 from the Air: Promising Idea, Big Price Tag
San Diego Union-Tribune: Scientists envision trees – real or fake – extracting excess CO² from air
CNN: 'Synthetic tree' claims to catch carbon in the air
(Photo courtesy of The Breakthrough Institute)
Ninety Days of Trash
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, October 21, 2009.
Yesterday was garbage day in Concord, New Hampshire. People gathered their purple pay-as-you-throw bags filled with food wrappers, kitty litter, and paper towels and set them on the curb. By the time they got home from work, a garbage truck had whisked those bags away and trucked them to one of the nearly three thousand landfills in North America.
I recycle, I have a compost pile, and I’m admittedly a little neurotic about minimizing trash, so most weeks i don’t give my garbage a second thought. But if Canadian filmmaker Andrew Nisker saw my weekly output, he might put me up to a challenge: to collect and store all of my garbage for three months.
Nisker found a family who was willing to pile up ninety days worth of waste in their garage. He filmed the entire pungent ordeal in order to illustrate just how much trash one family can produce. Then he connected the dots between that mound of garbage and the pollution that clogs landfills and waterways around the world.
Andrew Nisker joins us for our Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont.
(Photo by Charley Lhasa via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Yesterday was garbage day in Concord, New Hampshire. People gathered their purple pay-as-you-throw bags filled with food wrappers, kitty litter, and paper towels and set them on the curb. By the time they got home from work, a garbage truck had whisked those bags away and trucked them to one of the nearly three thousand landfills in North America.
I recycle, I have a compost pile, and I’m admittedly a little neurotic about minimizing trash, so most weeks i don’t give my garbage a second thought. But if Canadian filmmaker Andrew Nisker saw my weekly output, he might put me up to a challenge: to collect and store all of my garbage for three months.
Nisker found a family who was willing to pile up ninety days worth of waste in their garage. He filmed the entire pungent ordeal in order to illustrate just how much trash one family can produce. Then he connected the dots between that mound of garbage and the pollution that clogs landfills and waterways around the world.
Andrew Nisker joins us for our Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro, Vermont.
(Photo by Charley Lhasa via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Water: Facts and Predictions
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, October 13, 2009.
Water is quickly becoming the most critical natural resource of this century. Not oil, not gold, but water. In some parts of the world, water seems so plentiful that people don’t think twice about running the tap. Outside of our kitchens, the picture is more dramatic.
Yesterday, the World Bank reported that water will become dangerously scarce in the Middle East within decades unless it is radically better managed. In the world’s driest regions, “per capita water availability is predicted to halve by 2050 even without the effects of climate change.” Previous World Bank reports underscore the current severity: 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health, economies, and increasingly, geopolitics.
Dr. David Howell is professor emeritus at Stanford University and a former geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. We’re also joined by Susan Marks, journalist and author of the new book Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America.
(Photo by Renata Virzintaite via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Water is quickly becoming the most critical natural resource of this century. Not oil, not gold, but water. In some parts of the world, water seems so plentiful that people don’t think twice about running the tap. Outside of our kitchens, the picture is more dramatic.
Yesterday, the World Bank reported that water will become dangerously scarce in the Middle East within decades unless it is radically better managed. In the world’s driest regions, “per capita water availability is predicted to halve by 2050 even without the effects of climate change.” Previous World Bank reports underscore the current severity: 80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health, economies, and increasingly, geopolitics.
Dr. David Howell is professor emeritus at Stanford University and a former geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. We’re also joined by Susan Marks, journalist and author of the new book Aqua Shock: The Water Crisis in America.
(Photo by Renata Virzintaite via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Eco-Insulation: Filling Your Walls With Fungi
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, October 7, 2009.
If you peel back the walls of a typical American home, you’ll find several inches of insulation. Whether it’s blown into drafty attic floors or tacked to wall studs, most insulation is made out of fiberglass or cellulose. Although cellulose is made out of recycled newspaper, it’s treated with sodium borate or boric acid to make it flame retardant - not what you’d call “green.”
A pair of entrepreneurs from Troy, New York have come up with a new solution: mushrooms. Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre came up with a rigid insulation material made from billions of interlocking mushroom roots. It can also be used as a packing material that’s grown, not manufactured. For our next green thing series, we’re talking with Eben Bayer, co-founder and CEO of Ecovative Design.
Popular Science: Invention Awards: Eco-Friendly Insulation Made From Mushrooms
Scientific American: Staying Cool: Green Insulation Gets Warm Reception
(Photo courtesy Ecovative Design)
If you peel back the walls of a typical American home, you’ll find several inches of insulation. Whether it’s blown into drafty attic floors or tacked to wall studs, most insulation is made out of fiberglass or cellulose. Although cellulose is made out of recycled newspaper, it’s treated with sodium borate or boric acid to make it flame retardant - not what you’d call “green.”
A pair of entrepreneurs from Troy, New York have come up with a new solution: mushrooms. Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre came up with a rigid insulation material made from billions of interlocking mushroom roots. It can also be used as a packing material that’s grown, not manufactured. For our next green thing series, we’re talking with Eben Bayer, co-founder and CEO of Ecovative Design.
Popular Science: Invention Awards: Eco-Friendly Insulation Made From Mushrooms
Scientific American: Staying Cool: Green Insulation Gets Warm Reception
(Photo courtesy Ecovative Design)
Harvard Yard Goes Organic
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.
There’s something new underfoot at Harvard University. Literally. The august, shady green of Harvard Yard is getting an organic facelift.
Bacteria and fungi fed by compost have replaced pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and replenished the soil and grass traversed by thousands of students and faculty each day. What started as a one-acre pilot project has spread through 25 acres. And plans are being drawn to make all of Harvard's 80 acres of green space organically grown in the next two years.
It’s a model that other campuses and institutions are looking to follow. Our "next green thing" series continues today with Wayne Carbone, manager of Harvard's landscape services.
At Harvard’s site, there's also a kind of mini-course on organic landscaping, including recipes for compost tea.
The New York Times: The Grass Is Greener at Harvard
(Photo by Mossaiq via Flickr/Creative Commons)
There’s something new underfoot at Harvard University. Literally. The august, shady green of Harvard Yard is getting an organic facelift.
Bacteria and fungi fed by compost have replaced pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and replenished the soil and grass traversed by thousands of students and faculty each day. What started as a one-acre pilot project has spread through 25 acres. And plans are being drawn to make all of Harvard's 80 acres of green space organically grown in the next two years.
It’s a model that other campuses and institutions are looking to follow. Our "next green thing" series continues today with Wayne Carbone, manager of Harvard's landscape services.
At Harvard’s site, there's also a kind of mini-course on organic landscaping, including recipes for compost tea.
The New York Times: The Grass Is Greener at Harvard
(Photo by Mossaiq via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Design For Social Good
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, September 24, 2009.
A well designed-product can be aesthetically appealing and fulfill a necessary function. But should it make the world a better place? A growing movement thinks so. Design activists have identified a need for humanitarian-minded design, and believe designers have an obligation to create products that improve all people’s lives, not just those who can afford to consume more stuff.
Last year, Emily Pilloton founded Project H Design with a laptop and a thousand dollars in savings. The group seeks to empower people to create simple solutions to daily problems. Project H has grown quickly to include more than 300 members and nine chapters around the world. Emily’s new book Design Revolution profiles more than one hundred innovative design products, from safer baby bottles to low-cost prosthetics for landmine victims. Emily Pilloton joins us from San Rafael, California as part of our “next green thing” series.
A well designed-product can be aesthetically appealing and fulfill a necessary function. But should it make the world a better place? A growing movement thinks so. Design activists have identified a need for humanitarian-minded design, and believe designers have an obligation to create products that improve all people’s lives, not just those who can afford to consume more stuff.
Last year, Emily Pilloton founded Project H Design with a laptop and a thousand dollars in savings. The group seeks to empower people to create simple solutions to daily problems. Project H has grown quickly to include more than 300 members and nine chapters around the world. Emily’s new book Design Revolution profiles more than one hundred innovative design products, from safer baby bottles to low-cost prosthetics for landmine victims. Emily Pilloton joins us from San Rafael, California as part of our “next green thing” series.
Eco Dilemmas: Acid Rain, Beer or Wine, and Wood Furniture
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, September 22, 2009.
Back in the eighties, the steel industry’s collapse wasn’t the only thing plaguing Pittsburgh. Acid rain was the environmental scourge of the day, and Pittsburgh’s pH levels were the worst in the country. Since then we haven’t heard much about acid rain. Did it go away?
For answers to that and other under-the radar environmental questions, we turn to Nina Shen Rastogi. She writes the Green Lantern column for Slate.com, and joins us from New York to walk us through some eco dilemmas for our “next green thing” series.
Stories From Today's Roundup:
Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?
(Photo by Adam Polselli via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Back in the eighties, the steel industry’s collapse wasn’t the only thing plaguing Pittsburgh. Acid rain was the environmental scourge of the day, and Pittsburgh’s pH levels were the worst in the country. Since then we haven’t heard much about acid rain. Did it go away?
For answers to that and other under-the radar environmental questions, we turn to Nina Shen Rastogi. She writes the Green Lantern column for Slate.com, and joins us from New York to walk us through some eco dilemmas for our “next green thing” series.
Stories From Today's Roundup:
Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?
(Photo by Adam Polselli via Flickr/Creative Commons)
No Impact Man
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, September 16, 2009.
In March of 2007, The New York Times ran a story called “The Year Without Toilet Paper,” about Colin Beavan, Michelle Conlin and their daughter Isabella. Almost instantly, No Impact Man was thrust into the spotlight.
Colin and his wife decided to live for a year generating as little waste as possible. They avoided carbon-fueled transportation and shopped for nothing other than food which was grown within a 250-mile radius of their East Village apartment. Eventually they stopped using electricity all together, in a kind of 9th floor walk-up version of Walden Pond.
The Times profile generated a stream of critics and some defenders. Colin’s year, and his blog from the time inspired the book No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries he Makes about Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. A documentary film rolls out in U.S. cities this month.
As part of our "next green thing" series, Colin Beavan joins us to talk about his experiment and whether it's possible for one family to truly make a difference.
In March of 2007, The New York Times ran a story called “The Year Without Toilet Paper,” about Colin Beavan, Michelle Conlin and their daughter Isabella. Almost instantly, No Impact Man was thrust into the spotlight.
Colin and his wife decided to live for a year generating as little waste as possible. They avoided carbon-fueled transportation and shopped for nothing other than food which was grown within a 250-mile radius of their East Village apartment. Eventually they stopped using electricity all together, in a kind of 9th floor walk-up version of Walden Pond.
The Times profile generated a stream of critics and some defenders. Colin’s year, and his blog from the time inspired the book No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries he Makes about Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. A documentary film rolls out in U.S. cities this month.
As part of our "next green thing" series, Colin Beavan joins us to talk about his experiment and whether it's possible for one family to truly make a difference.
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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.
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