environment

Norman Foster is a well-known British Architect that has helped build plenty of structures throughout the world, including Wembley Stadium, Hearst Tower, and plenty of others throughout his career of four decades. Efficient and green, his buildings are easily recognizable throughout various countries of the world.

In this TED Talk, he reveals how computers can assist in the building of "green" and nearly pollution-free buildings during the DLD Conference 2007 in Munich.

Watch this TED Video in which Foster explains more:

The folks at onefewer.com do not mess around. Check out the video below to hear how you can decide what to do with this obsolete gas guzzler. Can anyone say domino effect? Ok, that may be a stretch, but this is cool nonetheless. Here's the story from digg.

"There's no way around it: 13 MPG sucks. But what do you do with a Range Rover that's already on the road? Selling it just passes the burden on, so, should we blow it up? Drive it off a cliff? Convert it to a biodiesel or plug-in hybrid and give it to an organization that can use it to do something great? This guy will use the best idea he gets.."

Read the whole story on onefewer.com and make sure to share this with others. You can do so by clicking the green "share" icon below.

The college selection process is a rigorous one. As a rising senior, I know how difficult it is to search for a school that meets all your needs, be they class size, student teacher ratio, best dorms, or even best parties. Every little thing counts in order to make sure your four years go smoothly. But when cruising college campuses and digging through acceptance stats, how many of us stop to think about how a school best our meets ecological needs? I doubt most even have a clue how to tell just how green their dream college or university really is.

It might not be a top priority for some, but for those young men and women who are becoming increasingly environmentally aware, it is important for them to have this information at hand.

In fact, according to a Princeton review survey, “six out of 10 college applicants and parents say the environmental factor would affect their decision to apply to or attend a school.”

Groups such the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) have started to release rating systems which students and parents can use to narrow down or even expand their college choices. The SEI in Cambridge Massachusetts gives letter grades to at least 200 public and private schools with the largest endowments. It grades how well a school uses its funds to advocate for the environment, as well as green campus factors.

Among those colleges listed as “Climate Change and Energy Leaders” are: Amherst College, Arizona State, Cornell University, Duke University, Harvard, MIT, New York University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, University of Washington, Wesleyan, and Yale. To find out more about various other colleges and to see who else made the list, check out theSEI’s 2008 Report Card. And while you’re at it, read more about others’ takes on the sustainability reports.

Personally, I love the idea of the reports, and will definitely be factoring them into my ongoing search for the perfect college.

(Shame on you, Northwestern! Go Cornell!)

Congratulations to Adi Segal, the Green Camp Initiative Coordinator, for all of his successes with Camp Ramah in the Berkshires!

Adi Segal has united with the staff at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires to form a commendable community-benefiting venture, which emphasizes the deeply-rooted Jewish value of environmentalism. The Initiative works to make the Berkshires Camp, and other sleep away camps, more environmentally sustainable through educating and leading by example. It raises awareness about environmental issues; increases conscious activism among staff and campers; and decreases the amount of waste (i.e. solids, water, energy, etc.) produced in the camp, thereby reducing its Eco-Footprint. It strives to reach all 600 campers and 200 staff members so that they will leave camp with a new eco-friendly mindset, bringing the message of environmentalism home to their communities.

Already, the Initiative has instituted a recycling program, introduced green cleaning products, replaced all light bulbs with CFLs, switched to post-consumer recycled paper, and reduced the plastic drinking cup usage by over 25,000. In addition, each age group will have programming dedicated to environmentalism; these eco-friendly courses will include Torah study, trash audits, and sustainable farming.

Camp Ramah in the Berkshires is the first camp to be inducted into the Green Flag Schools program and the Rutgers Environmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement, which will allow Camp Ramah to buy green products at a discounted price. With the Camp Ramah's and Adi's combined dedication to sustainability, the environment is sure to continue to benefit!

Key factors can certainly influence people to eat at one particular restaurant instead of another: the eatery’s service, its sanitation grade, and above all, the quality of the food. But do you ever consider where you will eat based on how green a restaurant is? The next time you choose where to eat, check out izzitgreen.com. IzzitGreen provides online reviews for restaurants and other businesses, evaluating their degree of eco-friendliness. The site is driven by consumers like you and me because it is us who contribute our opinions, add the ratings, and inspire companies to become more environmentally conscious.

You read all sorts of ratings in your everyday life, but never have you come across a place that gives you the opportunity to judge something by their goodness and greenness (or lack thereof). IzzitGreen changes this exact notion. Here is a tidbit behind their reasoning: “If you care about the state of our planet, you need to know ‘is it good’ and IzzitGreen? Just like peanut butter and jelly or Pinky and The Brain, ‘good’ and ‘green’ are fine on their own. But when they get together…that’s when greatness happens.”

IzzitGreen asks you to ponder, “What goes in”, “What comes out”, “How’s it run” and “What [businesses] care about,” before utilizing your purchasing power. Although it is still in the beta version and only available in Boston, the site will soon expand and will definitely help individuals help each other make wiser lifestyle choices. Browse through IzzitGreen’s guides to learn more on what it means for various establishments (coffee shops, dry cleaners, florists, food, movie theaters, nightlife, restaurants, and yoga & gym) to be green.

Photo courtesy of Toshiba.

Conscious Lifestyle would love to help you win one of these grants:

The Captain Planet Foundation
$250 to $2,500 for hands-on environmental projects for students under 18 years old. Winners are notified four months after the deadline, so please plan carefully.
Deadlines: September 30, December 31

Mollie Parnis Dress Up Your School Awards
$500 to $3,000 to support student led projects that beautify schools or neighborhoods immediately surrounding schools.
Deadline: September 30

Healthy Sprouts Awards to Support Awareness of Nutrition and Hunger
These awards support school and youth garden programs that teach about nutrition and the issue of hunger in the US.
Deadline: October 15

President's Environmental Youth Awards The program recognizes young people for projects, which demonstrate their commitment to the environment. Projects have ranged from recycling programs; nature preserves; tree planting programs; videos, skits, and newsletters that focused on environmental issues; and environmental science projects. To be eligible, students must submit to their local EPA regional office evidence of a completed project as defined in the President's Environmental Youth.
Deadline: October 31

mtvU Grants
If you've got an original idea about how to make the world--or your campus, neighborhood, or town--a better place, mtvU Grants want to help you make it happen by providing: up to $1,500 to launch your new organization or initiative; an opportunity to be featured on mtvU News; and exclusive access to helpful resources and tools in cooperation with Youth Venture.
Deadline: anytime

The BRICK Awards
BRICK Award winners get a shot at $100,000 in scholarships and grants to support their projects and organizations. The BRICK Awards are open to U.S. and Canadian leaders ages 25 and under. Applications will be online soon.

Youth Community Service Awards
Recipients of the Yoshiyama Award for Exemplary Service to the Community leave a lasting impression in their community - many, though not all, have started projects and programs, or taken on challenges, that relate to the corporate citizenship, philanthropic, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) priorities of the Foundation and Hitachi, Ltd. - improving the wellbeing of economically and socially isolated Americans. The Award is accompanied by a gift of $5,000, dispensed over two years. Recipients may use the Award at their discretion. Applications will be online in December.

Are you an avid bottled water drinker? Do your H2O drinking habits have you go to the grocery store or put change into a vending machine? If so, you should stop and rethink the way you are getting your source of water. Bottled water takes a tremendous toll on the environment – the manufacturing and transporting of plastic bottles burn up oil, create pollution, and emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Not to mention, all the plastic waste they will end up becoming!

Many people may feel the need to choose bottled water over regular tap water because they think it is tastier and healthier. However, it is the bottled water corporations that have made you believe in this false notion. In fact, 40% of bottled water in the U.S. and Canada comes straight from the faucet! Bottled water is essentially the same as tap water! That’s right, the math is clear: municipal tap water + hefty price + environmental damage = bottled water.

So, save yourself some money and do the planet a favor. Take the Think Outside the Bottle Pledge: “[I opt] for public tap water over bottled water; and [support] the efforts of local officials who prioritize strong public water systems over bottled water profits.”

• As an activist, direct your local officials to cut city spending on bottled water and invest in strong public water systems.
• As a restaurant owner, serve tap instead of bottled water to encourage more sustainable eating habits.
• As a student, raise public awareness by organizing events, such as the Tap Water Challenge and the World Water Challenge. You can get support from Conscious Lifestyle for it.

Do your part to challenge the corporate control of water, for the environment, for your health.

Photo courtesy of Corporate Accountability International.

With a B.S. in Environmental Geosciences from Boston College, Merril Putnam plans to put the skills she learned in college to work in the world beyond campus. At school, she served with four others on the board of the eco-friendly BC group Ecopledge. For growing the group from nine to several hundred members, and for promoting environmentalism through such programs as the Recyclemania Competition, Clean Energy Project, Think Outside the Bottle Campaign, organic vegetable garden, Bulb Brigade, and now annual Harvest Fest Celebration, the school newspaper honored the board as "Person of the Year." During her time at BC, Merril also contributed to the establishment of Sustain BC, a group composed of student, faculty, and staff that studies how to make the campus more sustainable and the administration more receptive of environmentalism; the creation of the Office of Sustainability; and the promotion of awareness of environmental issues to Facilities Services, BC Dining, and ResLife. This summer, she is interning for Au Bon Pain, working specifically on environmental sustainability issues. In September, she departs for Copán, Honduras, where she will study eco-tourism and water sanitation for a year. She hopes to help find a way to develop the city's resources so as to "maximize the extent of community involvement, improve health and education, and retain the region's cultural integrity." Post-Fulbright, Merril will pursue a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture with a focus on Environmental Planning. In her search for a school to attend, she is only considering those with programs that have a sustainable component in their vision statements. She hopes to focus her studies and eventual occupation on designing with the existing environment in mind; redeveloping brownfields and revitalizing cities; and curbing sprawl by designing smart neighborhoods with common green spaces, reduced pavement, and mixed-use features. Overall, Merril hopes to improve people's environmental health and safety, regardless of income, race, or age. Congratulations to Merril and the entire BC Ecopledge venture!

Let the games begin!

Every fall, the East Campus dorms at Duke University partake in a month-long waste, water, and energy reduction competition. Students earn points for their residence hall and prizes for themselves by doing their part to reduce their ecological footprints and to become educated about the environment. Here are the highlights:

Recycling Rate- Residence halls with fewer amounts of recyclable materials in their trash bags (on an unannounced day during the competition) score higher.

Energy Reduction- The greater the dorms reduce electricity usage below their per capita (based on historical consumption data), the more points they receive.

Online Impact Survey- Residence halls are scored according to the percentage of residents that finish a survey, thereby helping the university assess the level of environmental literacy of the freshmen class.

Eco-Film Series- Students earn participation points for their dorms by attending showings of environmentally-themed films, such as Planet Earth.

Zero Energy Pledge- Residence halls gain points if residents promise to unplug appliances before leaving campus for Fall Break.

Eco-Trivia Night- Points are awarded by taking an environmental trivia quiz.

Recycle for the Children- Students earn points if they pick up bottles, cans and glasses around the football stadium following every home football game. (Proceeds from the sale of the materials go to the Duke Children's Hospital.)

Earth Jam- Attendees engage in an interactive environmental festival about environmental stewardship and receive credit for coming.

Eco-Footprint Calculator- Students collect points for their dorms by calculating the environmental impact of their lifestyle choices.

The residence hall with the most cumulated points at the end of the month gets cake from Mad Hatters and ice cream from Maple View Farms in a championship party with the University President. Individual prizes through raffle include an iPod Nano, iTunes Gift Card, a Trek mountain bike, and gift certificates to local restaurants and Duke Stores.

These are some of the events that take place in Duke's Eco-Olympics, and some great ideas to start your own Eco-Olympics at your school! Let the games begin on your campus, and help promote environmentally-friendly behavior and awareness across the entire student body. For more information, click here.

Photo courtesy of Duke Environmental Alliance.

Ms. Frizzle's Magic School Bus may be able to glide through the Solar System, traverse on the ocean bottom, and cruise among human blood cells, but there's one indisputable feature the Scholastic-branded vehicle doesn't have: an environmentally-sound engine from the twenty-first century.

The Wake County Public School System, the 19th largest public school district nationwide, with 156 schools and 134,000+ students, has changed the notion of the conventional school bus. Over 99% of buses in the United States, including the 838 from Wake County and the one Magic School Bus in a popular children's book series, emit diesel exhaust into the air and directly contribute to respiratory illnesses in humans.

Last year, the school system in North Carolina decided to give a new idea a try. They became one of the first school districts in the country to operate a new plug-in hybrid electric school bus. Advanced Energy, a Raleigh-based non-profit corporation, led the Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Bus Project. The innovative vehicle holds the potential to double fuel efficiency and reduce emissions by up to 90 percent. It runs on a 25/80-kilowatt hybrid-electric powertrain parallel to the traditional V8 diesel engine. Plug-in hybrids, in contrast to regular hybrids, are recharged when they are parked overnight and allow more of the energy to come from batteries – another step to an environmentally cleaner world.

And, why not? Not only is the hybrid bus good for the environment, it may alleviate the pain at the pump that's currently been hitting the pocketbooks. School districts burn through 7,500 gallons of gas every 3 1/2 school days and, based on recent prices, they need to replenish with $29,000 worth of fuel.

Photo courtesy of ABC 11.