Frankly Green

The Environmental Cost of Shipping Groceries Around the World

Every wonder why buying local products can have a positive environmental impact? This excellent article about the true costs of shipping food around the world will help explain. I was fascinated to learn that fuel used in international freight carried by air and sea is not taxed! That means that we are subsidizing the true costs of shipping food around the globe! And it makes no sense that Great Britain imports 15,000 tons of waffles each year while simultaneously importing the same amount! And regular readers know how I feel about shipping water around the globe. 

The New York TImes
April 26, 2008
By Elizabeth Rosenthal

Link to Article

Cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, then shipped back to Norway for sale. Argentine lemons fill supermarket shelves on the Citrus Coast of Spain, as local lemons rot on the ground. Half of Europe’s peas are grown and packaged in Kenya.

In the United States, FreshDirect proclaims kiwi season has expanded to “All year!” now that Italy has become the world’s leading supplier of New Zealand’s national fruit, taking over in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

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But the movable feast comes at a cost: pollution — especially carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas — from transporting the food.

Nalgene to Phase Out Hard-Plastic Bottles

MSNBC.com
Containers made with bisphenol A chemical linked to health risks
The Associated Press
April. 18, 2008

Link to Article

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles made with bisphenol A will be pulled from stores over the next few months because of growing consumer concern over whether the chemical poses a health risk.

Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives.

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With more than 6 million pounds produced in the United States each year, bisphenol A is found in dental sealants, baby bottles, the liners of food cans, CDs and DVDs, eyeglasses and hundreds of household goods. The chemical has been linked to neurological and behavioral problems in infants and babies, along with certain cancers, diabetes and obesity.

Walking the Talk: Some Celebs Are Living Green

MSNBC.com
DiCaprio, Daryl Hannah, others take environmental issues to the next level
By Michael Ventre, MSNBC contributor
April. 10, 2008

Link to Article

Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, has been with the nonprofit environmental group in Southern California for almost 20 years. He has seen many celebrities come and go, and then come back again to stay. He has seen some show up once and disappear.

Over the years, he has changed his opinion of that last group.

“When I was younger in my career, it did bug me a lot,” he admitted. “I said, ‘Why can’t they be there for us all the time?’ Over the years, I’ve changed that opinion completely. Now I’m very grateful for any help we can get in that arena.”

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But in a less polarizing climate, in which the process of getting the word out on issues relevant to everyone is crucial, a celebrity name can have as profound an effect on the drafting of a bill in the state legislature or on fundraising as it can on the marquee of a multiplex.

And in the green world, as in life, some are more committed than others.

Slab of Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses Amid Warming

Reuters UK
By Will Dunham

Link to Article

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Satellite images show that a large hunk of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf has started to collapse in a fast-warming region of the continent, scientists said on Tuesday.

The area of collapse measured about 160 square miles of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, according to satellite imagery from the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf is a broad sheet of permanent floating ice that spans about 5,000 square miles and is located on the southwest Antarctic Peninsula about 1,000 miles south of South America.

"Block after block of ice is just tumbling and crumbling into the ocean," Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said in a telephone interview.

"The shelf is not just cracking off and a piece goes drifting away, but totally shattering. These kinds of events, we don't see them very often. But we want to understand them better because these are the things that lead to a complete loss of the ice shelf," Scambos added.

Green Ghostbusters Nab Hidden Power Leaks

By Alexis Madrigal
Wired.com

Check out this great article on a company, Sustainable Spaces, that performs home energy audits and helps make homes more energy efficient while improving indoor air quality (full disclosure - I am an investor in the company and also a board member. However, I was a happy client well before making an investment or joining the board!)

Link to Article 

Behind the drywall, your home's heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are breathing. But chances are, they're not doing a perfect job, and their malfunctions and inefficiencies aren't just bad for your wallet, they're bad for the climate, too.

San Francisco-based startup Sustainable Spaces estimates that homeowners could reduce their energy costs by up to 50 percent by taking simple steps like fixing bad duct work and installing the right insulation. And since 21 percent of U.S. energy consumption goes into American homes, greater efficiency could help reduce the country's overall energy footprint, too.

Click on the link above for the full article!

Help for Gadget Freaks - What to do with Old Electronics

My friend Zem made a great post on her site ecofabulous listing several resources for gadget freaks! The resources include places that will fix gadgets (rather than dumping them in a landfill), supply parts, and buy your old gadgets and electronics.

Make Sparkling Water at Home with the Penguin From Soda Club

I made a previous post on the Soda Club's system for making sparkling water, sodas, and energy drinks at home. We have been testing their newest addition to the line - the Penguin.

The Penguin features a cool design and glass bottles that look much nicer than the bottles used on the standard unit. And best of all, Soda-Club’s home carbonating machines eliminate bottle and can waste by letting you use good old tap water to make soda, sparkling water and energy drinks at home. If you like sparkling water, soda, or energy drinks, think about all the bottles and cans you could save (not to mention $$) by making your own at home.

While we primarily use the Penguin to make sparkling water, Soda Club does sell all natural flavorings as well as soda mixes and energy mixes. Several friends have purchased units and all reports have been positive. We have been using our original Edition One for 4-5 months and still have not used even one CO2 tank - and we have consumed lots of bubbly water in the office!

Video: Garbage Island

Check out this CNN.com video that profiles and island of trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In this area of the Pacific, huge amounts of garbage have been accumulated by ocean currents. The garbage and plastic breaks down into smaller pieces, some of which are consumed by fish and other marine life which, in turn, is consumed by humans. Yes, we are eating our own garbage!!

Hunters Target Global Warming

MSNBC.com
9 major groups meeting with key House lawmaker to express concerns
The Associated Press
April. 10, 2008

Link to Article

WASHINGTON - Global warming could force elk and mule deer from much of the American West. Wild trout could disappear in lower Appalachian streams. Two-thirds of the country's ducks may disappear.

A new assessment of the threat to fish and wildlife habitat has hunters and anglers calling for action.

Groups representing nine major hunting and fishing organizations planned to meet Thursday with the House committee chairman who hopes to write legislation to curtail greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

E-Cycling: Recycling Old Electronics

Here is a good article that addresses the issue of electronic waste. There are also some good resources to help you properly dispose of old electronics.

After the Techno Lust, There's Always E-Cycling
From NPR

Link to Article

 Americans are using — and getting rid of — more electronic devices than ever. As technology improves and gets cheaper, old cell phones, computers, iPods and digital cameras end up in desk drawers, basements — or on the curb.

While some of these gizmos are recycled, lots of them still wind up in the garbage. In 2005, the EPA estimated there was about 2.2 million tons of e-waste. And about 80 percent to 85 percent of that ended up in landfills, with the remainder being recycled.

Electronics contain mercury, lead and cadmium, which can harm the environment by leaching into groundwater or into the air through incineration.

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More consumers are realizing the need to recycle electronics, but it's not easy being green.

There's no national system for recycling, so consumers need to do their research about where to take their items for disposal. But Web sites including myGreenElectronics.org and E-cycling Central offer searchable databases of local recycling centers across the country.

Also See:
Video: Old Electronics Are a New Gold Mine

E-Cycling Resources