TOP 100 CAMPING SITES
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| Stove Versus Microwave: Which Uses Less Energy to Make Tea? Dear EarthTalk: How does the microwave compare in energy use, say, to using a gas or electric stove burner to heat water for a cup of tea? -- Tempie, Dexter, MI [More] rss.sciam.com |
Popularity of Bamboo Bikes Grows In the cycling world, the name “Calfee” evokes images of upscale, featherweight carbon-fiber road bikes, produced by California designer-manufacturer Craig Calfee. But bamboo now constitutes one leading edge of his portfolio, in part because the bikes, he notes, have “the lowest carbon footprint on the planet.”Bamboo’s versatility is no secret. Certain varieties are fast growing yet extremely rugged. There are bamboo bridges, dams, boats, even airplanes [see “Bamboo Boom,” by Michelle Nijhuis]. And thanks to its shape and remarkable vibration damping, bamboo practically begs to be made into bicycles. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Whither the Oil Age? 150 years of black gold The American age of oil began 150 years ago today. Or, if you prefer the phrasing of President George W. Bush, the U.S. addiction to oil can be traced back to the original pusher "Colonel" Edwin Drake who began producing oil from the first commercial well near Titusville, Pa., (about 100 miles north of Pittsburgh). [More] rss.sciam.com |
Being Green: 10 Earth-Friendly Habits You Can Adopt A Bus with Legs Remember the good ol’ days when kids walked to school? Those treks weren’t as rough as some people recall them--five miles through the snow, uphill both ways!--but they did burn calories instead of fossil fuels. Today kids need more opportunities for exercise, but many parents feel it’s not safe for them to walk alone. One simple solution is to organize a “walking school bus” or “bicycle train” for your neighborhood, with one or more adults supervising a group of children traveling together. It’s a good way to build muscles and communities. For details on how to get started, see www.walkingschoolbus.org . [More] rss.sciam.com |
Environmental ills? It's consumerism, stupid Two typical German shepherds kept as pets in Europe or the U.S. consume more in a year than the average person living in Bangladesh, according to research by sustainability experts Brenda and Robert Vale of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. So are the world's environmental ills really a result of the burgeoning number of humans on the planet--predicted to reach at least nine billion people by 2050? Or is it more due to the fact that while the human population has doubled in the past 50 years, we have increased our use of resources four-fold ? [More] rss.sciam.com |