WASHINGTON - Americans rank last in a new National Geographic-sponsored survey released Wednesday that compares environmental-consumption habits in 14 countries.

Americans were least likely to choose the greener option in three out of four categories - housing, transportation and consumer goods, according to the assessment. In the fourth category, food, Americans ranked ahead of Japanese consumers, who eat more meat and seafood.

The rankings, called "Greendex," are the first to compare the lifestyles and behaviors of consumers in multiple countries, according to the National Geographic Society.

It plans to conduct the 100-plus-question survey annually and considers trends more important than yearly scores, said Terry Garcia, executive vice president of National Geographic's mission programs.

"This is not just a one-time snapshot," Garcia said. "Some of the most important information may yet be revealed."
India and Brazil tied for the highest score: 60 points out of 100. U.S. consumers scored 44.9.

In between, China scored 56.1, Mexico 54.2, Hungary 53.2, Russia 52.4, Great Britain 50.2, Germany 50.2, Australia 50.2, Spain 50, Japan 49.1, France 48.7 and Canada 48.5.

Results are based on 1,000 online respondents per country interviewed in January and February by GlobeScan, an international polling firm.

To see how you score, take an abbreviated version of the survey at National Geographic Greendex

How Americans ranked among 14 nations in eco-friendly choices.
Transportation: 14th Place
Housing: 14th Place
Consumer Goods: 14th Place
Food: 13th Place

Source: McClatchy Newspapers
Above article printed in Arizona Republic

“Planners have granted permission to build Sherford, a brand new town for 12,000 people, in South Devon that is billed as Britain’s greenest settlement. Work is expected to begin later this year to transform rolling countryside near Plymouth into the experimental new town with 5,500 homes. In Sherford, cars will be banned from some parts and 390ft wind turbines will loom over a 400-acre car park on the outskirts.”

Half the power needs for the new town will come from renewable sources — with all home sporting solar panels. Additionally, most of the materials to build the town will be sourced from a 50-mile radius! The business section — which will provides jobs for about 7,000 people — will be covered in either green roofs or “covered in a thin layer of rubble to attract insects and birds.” Everything about the town will be organized to encourage walking; not to mention all waste including water and sewage will be recycled to cut CO2 emissions. All of this, and Charles intends to give it a traditional English charm — with the theme being modeled on the Wiltshire market town of Marlborough.

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Article provided By: www.http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Come visit my REpreneur blog's home at http://www.repreneur.typepad.com

 

REpreneur -- One entrepreneurship student's adventures in renewable energy, green building, and sustainability.

Dear Future Investor,

G.E.M. Technologies has a breakthrough energy that can change our world.

We have had two rounds of testing conducted by Dr. Robert Buxbaum, a Princeton graduate, which were very successful. While they were MICRO TESTS, they produced extraordinary over unity for seven days. See the graphs below:

Dr. Buxbaum states in his report about Test #2: "There was a 1.5 degrees Celsius permanent difference, suggesting a significant heat output from the flask (for a week)."

Dr. Buxbaum states in his report about Test #3: "The result of this experiment suggests a significant amount of permanent heat output - enough to maintain a 1.4 degrees Celsius temperature difference for a period of a week."

FROM G.E.M. - These experiments are MICRO-TESTS, in that, we used only 1/3 cup of gases and 1 tablespoon of water in order to prove our formula. The above test data represents 1400% and 1500% over unity. Our only deduction is for the combustion of the amount of hydrogen we used and that calculates out to be 0.104. Everything else is over unity.


As you can see from the above graphs, we have something truly amazing which deserves further testing. We would like to do that testing at the Hydrogen Research Center in South Carolina. They will have the unit available for us in April.

When we scale up our tests, we will be achieving much greater temperature differences and undeniable over unity. Our next scheduled test will be with three different volumes which will achieve the following temperatures and over unity.

Test 1: A total of 270 ml of ingredients (approximately 1 cup + 1 tbsp). This test will achieve 58.62 degrees Celsius or 137.52 degrees Fahrenheit. Our only deduction will be for the combustion of hydrogen at 0.312 degrees Celsius.

Test 2: A total of 540 ml of ingredients (approximately 2 cups + 2 tbsp). This test will achieve 117.24 degrees Celsius or 243.04 degrees Fahrenheit. Our only deduction will be for the combustion of hydrogen at 0.624 degrees Celsius.

Test 3: A total of 810 ml of ingredients (approximately 3-1/4 cups). This test will achieve 175.86 degrees Celsius or 348.55 degrees Fahrenheit. Our only deduction will be for the combustion of hydrogen at 0.936 degrees Celsius.


These tests will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have harnessed something magical and transformative for our society and planet.

The graphic tests above prove two things:

1. The first proof was the heat energy which was an outstanding 1400% and 1500% beyond that which we put into it.

2. The second proof was that this sustained for an entire week, seven days, with nothing else added.

So, the question is what do these MICRO TESTS prove to make an investor want to take a chance on us?

We know that 1-2 degrees Celsius is not going to save the world, even if that represents 2000% over unity. What we did prove is that there is electron excitation which produced the heat and sustained that for seven days. We used no electricity, we input nothing else into the flask, around the flask, or near the flask, we simply mixed ingredients. A MIRACLE IN A FLASK, the electrons were excited. Ask yourself why?

If you put 1/3 cup of gasoline into your car and left it running would it continue to run for seven days?

As we go up in volume, we will reach even greater electron excitation levels and heat levels. It is at this point that we will capture the world's attention.

We need a top notch team to finish our research, implement mechanical engineering, and build prototypes. Our testing will prove many things and will prove that we can eliminate carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, we can clean up all our polluted rivers, lakes, and streams, and we can provide a level of health never before seen on this planet.

Nikola Tesla:

"One day man will connect his apparatus to the very wheel work of the universe.The very forces that motivate the planets in their orbits and cause them to rotate will rotate his own machinery."

Harmony and order rules the cosmos and G.E.M. Technologies has the secret to what that harmony is and how to capture it.

We are talking about preserving the three most important ingredients to life on this planet, clean air, clean water, and health for the people. It seems almost unconscionable for someone not to help us. If we are right, we change the planet's downward spiral and no future to that of a future of HOPE and SURVIVAL for all generations.

I know that it is hard to comprehend that something so simple could save the world, but what have we got to lose in trying this. Fuel cells will not save the world, biofuels will not save the world, magnetic motors will not save the world, and certainly solar panels or wind power will not save the world. The time it will take to implement all of these things in any GRAND SCALE will be too late. The energy potential of these modalities does not address the problem of the world being so out of harmony. The energy source which is offered to you is HARMONY ITSELF.

You will find our business plan on our website. If you are interested in helping us change the world, we will be happy to forward a formal copy for your review.

I hope the above and our website will touch your soul and open your eyes to a brighter day of potential on this planet.

G.E.M. Technologies, Dennis Holmes states:

G.E.M. Technologies is searching for that perfect investor, who wants to
make record breaking returns, one who truly and sincerely cares about our
planet and the welfare of humanity.

This investor will have read our website and business plan and come away
knowing that what we have is truly an out-of-the-box visionary technology
that, once implemented, has the potential to preserve the future of mankind.


Respectfully,

Judy Beebe
G.E.M. Technologies
406-844-0222
www.omegaenergycell.com

Dennis Holmes
G.E.M. Technologies
Phone: (978) 994-1159
www.omegaenergycell.com

Dear 11th Hour Action,

www.Greenplanetsearch.com is filling it's search engine database with as many eco-friendly sites as possible, so we need your support in completing this worthwhile task. Any green website (especially those who incorporate learning) are desired. So give me an email at greenplanet.mike@yahoo.com

Your humble servant

Michael Haney

Founder

www.greenplanetsearch.com

 

OAKLAND, Calif. — Although he will not be moving from the dilapidated homeless shelter here for another week, Paul McClendon, 55, has his oversized baby-blue garbage bags packed. Sitting on his bed in a winter jacket, he talked Thursday about the new, so-called green shelter with the central heating that he will be moving into.

Mass-transit systems across the USA are accelerating orders for diesel-electric hybrid buses, despite an extra cost of more than $100,000 per bus.

Four U.S. cities recently ordered more than 1,700 hybrid buses, General Motors, one of two major manufacturers of hybrid bus systems, plans to announce today. The orders include 950 for Washington, D.C., 480 for Philadelphia and 300 for Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Read more

 

 

With pressure for action increasing from shareholders, policymakers and the public, many companies must balance the steep learning curve of implementing sustainable growth with the harsh realities of meeting the bottom line. This is where Business Roundtable is at its best. As an organization of 160 CEOs of leading U.S. companies, we have actively encouraged the cross pollination of ideas on sustainability for many years. And we have the guidance and resources to meet these challenges. For companies, “Doing well, by doing good” does not have to mean doing it alone.

Our “S.E.E. Change” (Social, Environmental, Economic) initiative is just one example of bringing together the enormous resources of the private sector, providing members learn-by-sharing venues, and comparing best practices. It is a platform to assist member companies from the drawing board to the realization of sustainable growth programs.

The following is a roadmap developed by Business Roundtable members to meet these challenges. See the full toolkit at S.E.E. Change’s Sustainable Growth Toolkit.

Here is an insider’s look at the challenging, yet necessary steps businesses must consider as they endeavor to implement sustainable growth programs:

Click here to read more...

Site provided by www.treehugger.com

For years we have been saying that solar powered air conditioning just makes sense- if you are boiling in Phoenix the sun is probably shining really hard. We have seen big units, evaporative units that won't work in humid climates, a few vaporware units and even home-made absorption chillers

Now it looks like a Spanish company, Rotartica, has put it all together, by combining evacuated tube thermal collectors with a water-heated absorption chiller, and sized it at 4.5Kw (1.28 tons) for residential use, all packaged in a neat little box.

To read more, click here

Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry announced construction of a 2,500 square-foot green home designed to be a showcase for green living. The aim is to spark discussion about changes in consumers' lifestyles to combat global warming, said museum president David Mosena.

The Smart Home was designed by architect Michelle Kaufmann of Oakland, California. The 2-bedroom, 2-bath house will feature a number of green building designs. Kaufmann said it's not just the products in the structure -- which are currently on the market -- that makes the project green. Design features, such as strategically placing windows to make daytime lighting unnecessary or controlling air flow, are also part of the earth-sensitive approach. Kaufmann said for her clients, "No longer is 'bigger is better.'" Now, she said, "they want more with less" using smart designs and energy saving devices.

Museum officials say they are still calculating the cost of the Smart Home. Kaufmann-designed factory-built, eco-friendly homes start at $250 per square foot. The Smart Home is scheduled to open May 8 and run through January 2009.

Since I was born and raised in Chicago, or as I still say ‘Chicawgo,’ I think this is very exciting news because Chicago is a major world city that attracts both leisure and business traveler. The Museum of Science and Industry has always drawn huge crowds of tourists, plus it is extremely popular with the local residents as well. This museum is by far the most poplar museum in Chicago with children and school groups because of all its hand-on exhibits. So now many school age children will have a chance to see what it means to build green.

You can read all about the Smart Home HERE

For all you non-Chicagoans, if you ever get a chance to visit Chicago and see this exhibit you should please note the following lesson in linguistics regarding home features.

Grachki  (grach'-key): Chicagoese for 'garage key' as in,  Waja do wit da grachki? How my supposta cut da grass if I don't git intada grach?'

Frunchroom… It's not the 'parlor.' It's not the 'living room.' In the land of the bungalow,
it's the 'frunchroom,' a named derived, linguists believe, from 'front room.'