News

We wish we could report Copenhagen was a brilliant success, but unfortunately not so folks. Initiatives fell severely short of our hopes. Here's guest blogger Clay Bedwell's take: Years of anticipating a climate conference where the US was represented by anyone but a half-witted oil baby quickly faded away when Win Jabao of China eagerly took the roll of DoucheLord, stripping the deal of almost every meaningful goal. (Mark Lynas provides a spectacular first hand account of the negotiations.) Ultimately, like Bush at Kyoto, China chose the all mighty dollar over the environment, failing to understand that economic growth and sustainability are anything but mutually exclusive. To a certain extent though its clear that China understands the value of sustainability. They tout some of the fastest growing and most aggressively subsidized solar and wind industries in the world, and they have made their intention perfectly clear; one day they will supply the rest of the world with Chinese made renewable energy hardware. Whether this prophecy comes true or not, it's important to understand the distinction between renewable energy implementation and responsible renewable energy implementation. Not surprisingly, China has a preference towards

Copenhagen Climate talks are all over the news. This NY Times article was sent to me by a friend - Great reading while you're snowed in! Enjoy!

Copenhagen is all over the news this week... so what's the deal with the Climate Conference? This week our guest blogger, Clayton Bedwell, shares his expertise. With the largest and most anticipated global climate conference in history kicking off in Copenhagen, here are a few story lines that are shaping expectations: US & China Ready to Play Ball - Last Wednesday The Obama Administration announced they were ready to take a plan to Copenhagen that would reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels, by 2020, and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. One day later China announced a plan to slow the growth of greenhouse gasses by 2020. Clearly the US and China have realized that the age of running from global climate reform has come to an end, but given how little both countries are willing to sacrifice in relation to their European counterparts, its hard to imagine that the Copenhagen Climate Talks will yield the profound results that was once expected. East Angelia University & The Emergence of "Climategate"

Happy Monday! (Hmmm... Is that an oxymoron?) Here's something to brighten the start of your week: Check out the Reusablebags.com major fall sale! If it's time to invest in some new bags or you just have the shopping itch - this site has a good selection. I'm a big fan of these bags. They're sturdy enough to handle heavier items and are made of 100% recycled fabric.

Turning a business “green” can seem like a huge undertaking. For a non-profit this evolution might seem even more daunting. But if a soup kitchen can afford to create a green facility, who can’t? The Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, N.J has partnered with Philadelphia green design firm, DAS Architects, to create one of the first environmentally friendly soup kitchens. Each month Cathedral Kitchen provides 8,000 meals to the poor and hungry. Operating since 1976, Cathedral Kitchen’s contribution to the community is significant. Now, they’re going beyond the call of duty to give back to the environment. Five green things about Cathedral Kitchen’s new facility:

It's that time of year again... the time I'm envious of college students everywhere trekking back to campus, ready to engage in the best time of their lives. Thinking about going to school (whether graduate or undergrad) with an eco-friendly mindset? Want to know if your alma mater is a green-friendly campus? The top 15 Greenest Colleges came out from the Princeton Review as follows:

We are... Going Green! Last week, my alma mater Penn State announced an Energy Conservation Policy to go green and save money this fall by limiting energy use. Penn State's energy consumption is 83% of greenhouse gas emissions at the university - which isn't cheap. PSU's cumulative electric bill has doubled to apprx. $2 million per month since rate caps were lifted earlier this year. To combat a $25 increase per semester for students, Penn State is campaigning to cut energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Guidelines for this plan include staff and students actions including:

Huge confession ... I'm getting trashy.

While I'm a huge fan of long distance running, I was more than willing to take a mini-vacay from the sport since my Philadelphia Marathon debut in November. Anyone who's run a marathon can vouch the time commitment and excruciating pain hours after completion. That's why I was fascinated by this video of two Canadians who ran 11,000 miles (aka 1 marathon per DAY) for a year to inspire eco-action: (Video courtesy from their Run for One Planet site) Matt Hill & Stephanie Tait ran across North America (Forrest Gump style) and completed their journey in May, crossing through 25 states and 10 provinces. Congrats Matt & Stephanie!