CO₂ NEUTRAL CHRONICLES

by Hanh Pham

I helped give out thousands of free CFLs for an Earth Day celebration last week. While most people were gracious and appreciative of the gift, a number of them asked where to dispose of the bulbs once they were burned out. Luckily, that’s not too hard any more to find a place to recycle them, especially in a large city – I told them to go to the household hazardous waste facility (to find your nearest CFL recycling station, go to www.Earth 911.com).

Some people weren’t as . . . receptive. One man flat ...

Read more... | 6 Comments | Published: 05/06/08

We have copied Nicholas Kristof’s fascinating Op-Ed article from the New York Times on April 13, 2008 below, in case you did not see it. Learn why climate change can be considered a human rights issue.

Extended Forecast: Bloodshed
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF


New York Times

April 13, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist

Here’s a forecast for a particularly bizarre consequence of climate change: more executions of witches.

As we pump out greenhouse gases, most of the discussion focuses on direct consequences like rising seas or aggravated hurricanes. But the indirect social and political impact in poor ...

Read more... | 53 Comments | Published: 04/22/08

by Aarthi A.

Over the past year, we’ve seen massive changes in awareness of climate change – even President Bush’s speech yesterday addressed the burgeoning awareness of the American public. A year ago this week, on April 14th, 2007, 1,400 demonstrations and rallies and events were organized in all 50 states for the Step It Up National Day of Climate Action.

Over the past year, Step It Up activists have mobilized to form important advocacy groups focused on creating effective climate change policy over the next two years. Grassroots organizers across the country formed the first, 1Sky, which is ...

Read more... | 40 Comments | Published: 04/18/08

by Aarthi A.

When the blue screen of death became a weekly visitor to my laptop a couple months ago (along with a host of strange airplane noises), I took it down to Best Buy to be fixed. After two weeks I got it back with fervent assurances that it was fine. . . only to find that there are now possibly two airplanes taking off every time I start my computer. And just like that, not five years after I bought it, it’s time to buy a new computer. As I’d rather not retire this one to the makeshift ...

Read more... | 1728 Comments | Published: 04/16/08

In a renewed commitment to reduce my carbon footprint, I did some research on free and low-cost ways to make my apartment more energy efficient. I found very useful tips from Energy Star, California Energy Commission, and the US Department of Energy. What I decided to really focus on in my apartment is leaking energy, which is sometimes referred to as “phantom” or “vampire” energy. Most electronic devices consume energy just from being plugged in, even if they aren’t turned on. My search was pretty quick as I looked around my apartment for culprit energy-suckers. Just ...

Read more... | 66 Comments | Published: 04/14/08