Generation that Gets to Remake the World

Organic producer jump-starts his company with Whole Foods loan

AZ_Sun — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:13:24 -0500

The business section of the Arizona Republic today featured a real success story about a local Phoenix man, Justin Baumgartner, who in 2006 started his own company Laughing Giraffe Organics, which produces raw, vegan, organic products, including macaroons and granola.

Earning $50 a day at a local farmers market is a tough way to make a living, and it's hardly an incentive to start your own business. But it didn't deter Justin Baumgartner.

Solar Thermal Factory Opened in Vegas, Triples Worldwide Manufacturing Capacity

11thhouraction — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:25:52 -0500

While Ausra CEO Robert Fishman was far from excited yesterday about the BLM solar moratorium policy, he was perfectly happy to tout his company’s new 130,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Las Vegas. “This is a crossover point for this industry. Ausra’s factory is accelerating Nevada’s and America’s solar future by tripling worldwide manufacturing capacity, relieving the supply constraint that has slowed the industry, and continuing to drive down costs,” Fishman said in Ausra’s press release.

The factory will be the Palo Alto-based companies first North American manufacturing and distribution centers and will supply reflectors, absorber tubes and other components for the company’s solar thermal power plants. At full capacity, the facility will produce more than 700 MW of solar collectors annually.

Site provided by www.treehugger.com

WALL-E is Wonderful and Heart-Warming

AZ_Sun — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:01:03 -0500

I wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie WALL-E ever since I saw a trailer for it last January. I saw this sweet and charming film yesterday and just LOVED it. I highly recommend seeing this film no matter what age you are.

All the top film critics are raving about WALL-E. Here is what some of the other film critics are saying.

Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
WALL-E is probably the sweetest movie ever made about humans destroying the earth.

Stephan Whitty, Newark Star Ledger
WALL-E is a surprisingly moving parable of what we waste, and what we should cherish -- and wrapped in a romance so absurdly moving it could wring a tear or two even from Gort and Robby the Robot. Or a parent and child.

MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
WALL-E is art. Hell, it's philosophy -- it's practically religion.

Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Inteligencer
WALL-E, an animated robot love story with an environmental message and a slapstick delivery, is a charmer of a film and a delightful piece of storytelling.

Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
Not only is this a great Sci-Fi film, it's also easily one of the most romantic! Dismissing this as just another kid’s film is not only unfair to the movie, it's unfair to you.

James Rocchi, Cinematical
Too many kid's movies are created to give kids things to buy; WALL-E is a kid's movie that might, perhaps, give you and your kids pause to think about what things truly cost.

Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee
Offers a touching robot romance, visuals as artful as they are state-of-the- art, and vital messages about environmental and personal health.

David M. Kimmel, Worcester Telegram & Gazett
...an immensely appealing film for all ages.

Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
WALL-E is not only a triumph in terms of style, it's also a triumph in terms of story. There's a real emotional resonance and depth to this material

Ken Fox, TV Guide’s Movie Guide
It can hardly be called a children's film, but a masterpiece of feature-film animation for all ages.

John P. McCarthy, Boxoffice Magazine
The genius of WALL-E is how so many disparate influences...are incorporated and evoked while creating something unique...What a wonderful world it would be if the talents they manifest here could somehow be marshalled to address real-life problems.

Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
By turns sad, hilarious, exciting and, ultimately, hopeful, this is a film of Great Truths masquerading as child's play.

Erik Childress, eFilmCritic.com
Not since Titanic will you have heard two prospective partners cry out each other's names with as much longing (and frequency) and if there's any karma, fate, or pure love out there to believe in than WALL-E will equal its attendance and then some.

Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
While the film's social message comes through loud and clear, it never detracts from the heart of the picture--the unlikely romance between WALL-E and EVE.

Adam Fendelman, HollywoodChicago.com
Though perfection in film is a highly unlikely proposition, WALL-E indeed has become 2008's first perfect film and one of the best Pixar projects of all time.

Source: RottenTomatoes.com

First Solar Powered Rickshaw

11thhouraction — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:41:16 -0500

London-based research and design company SolarLab is developing a solar-powered rickshaw. The vehicle, which is due to be launched next year, will derive up to 75% of its power from photovoltaics mounted on its roof, and the rest from pedal power.

"As a London-based company, we understand the tangible effects of pollution and congestion in our city. Our solar rickshaw will offer a radical transport solution for tourists and residents of any major metropolis. More importantly, our design is modular enabling easy conversion to load-bearing vehicles for inner city logistics and supply-chain requirements."

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Site provided by www.dezeen.com

Japan Airlines To Make Biofuel Test Flight

11thhouraction — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:21:50 -0500

Japan Airlines will join Air New Zealand, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa, and Virgin Atlantic on the list of airlines investigating biofuels in an attempt to improve their environmental image and hopefully reduce costs.

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Site provided by www.treehugger.com

NEW SEARCH ENGINE SEEKS TO BUILD A GREEN FUTURE!

mhaney — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:13:38 -0500

The first Flash Search Engine is an Environmental Search Engine!! http://www.greenplanetsearch.com is now live!

When Mike Haney first presented the idea behind the technology behind

www.greenplanetsearch.com, he was laughed down. Virtually, of course. “Everyone can

dream,: scoffed one, erroneously.

A few people were intrigued. The combination of Haney’s vision of a Flash-driven search

engine, and the plan to create a dazzling environmental education resource, eventually

attracted a loose-knit corps of collaborators, most of whom have never met in person first

among them Andre Roussille, a French computer programmer, and now part owner of the

company.

The upshot from this collaboration, apart from the stunningly beautiful homepage, is the

only people involved in the creation of the search engine, is that the only people involved

in the development devoted environmentalists, who genuinely wish to disseminate good

information to students and educators.

Later, through a similar serendipity, Mr. Haney teamed up with a veteran journalist who

agreed to lend his services to the site, building from scratch a source of environmental

news and policy analysis.

Advertisers will be strictly vetted by the companies shareholders, limited to companies

that are making a meaningful contribution the planet’s health.

The final result, which was launched this week, is the culminating of thousands of

hours of work, and more than a few false starts.

It boasts easily navigable information, experiments, lesson plans, presented in an interactive and graphically enhanced format,

and has an exclusive global climate change resource section for teachers and kids.

If you would like more information about greenplanetsearch.com, or to schedule an

interview with Mike Haney, please call Mike Haney at 305.531.3746 or e-mail info@greenplanetsearch.com.

The Jonah Sisters...

Huntley Addie — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:02:32 -0500

Pulished Thursday, June 19, 2008 in Montreal Gazette...

Good use of a poor waste

The school year has ended and I just can’t wait to see if my ex-student will get on Oprah Winfrey this year, or next.

Two weeks ago, Stephanie Jonah, who I taught a few years back, showed up at my door with a simple plan that involves me, you, any and all schools, Oprah Winfrey and Africa.

She never outright mentioned Oprah, but…

This wonderful eighteen year old, ever proud of her deep roots and rich Ghanaian heritage, has teamed with her older sister, Beatrice, in order to try and make a little difference in a big way.

I always say go big or go home, and this initiative sums up that mantra in a large way.

“I have always wanted to make a difference,” Stephanie told me in a recent telephone interview. “But I have often felt limited and helpless to do much. My sisters and I, living both in Canada and Ghana, have always done what we could, donating old games or toys to help needy children. But that only got us so far.

“At this point, being still young, I don’t have money enough to donate what I’d like. Still, I remember at the end of a school year, my friends and I would throw out most of our school supplies. I bet this is still happening.

“I thought, why not put these wasted supplies to good use?”

So, Stephanie embarked upon her quest to recruit some schools to assist her in this effort. Trouble is, this time of year, ironically, schools are so busy and everyone is so worn out, that they are not the Mecca for supporting new initiatives, regardless of their potential or brilliance.

By the time I met with this dynamic young lady, she already felt a little defeated.

“I have gone to three high schools,” she told me, “and all three gave me the same sort of reply. From: ‘Well, we have already done what we can do this year for Africa’ to ‘Well, we keep our supplies for our own students with needs’; even though these are valid and fair excuses, I still feel a little down.”

Sure Ghana, a little further east of the Beaconsfield mall, may seem beyond our immediate concern and maybe we feel inundated by the throes of those in pain and need on our very street, but this does not have to be the point.

The point is not why should I help this person or that rather the point is: why should I not?

People act like they care. They cry at the movies and want to, for a few fleeting seconds, pool those tears into a river of action. And yet, it is the rare few who actually ride a wave of doing anything at all.

When someone comes up with an effort that really doesn’t cost a whole lot in time, energy or dollars, the cynicism and indifference of the ‘actors’ can do significant damage to the spirit of those ‘Stephanies’ who could make a difference.

I want to support my ex-student in this, and yes, I also want her to be on Oprah for this is a damn good idea!

What Stephanie Jonah proposes is simple. As schools shut down, instead of wastefully ditching binders, duo-tangs, dividers, old dictionaries, paper, pens, pencils, erasers or whatever into garbage bins -- give them to her.

She will collect as many supplies as she can garner and send them to Africa. Her sister, Beatrice, living in Accra the capital of Ghana, is expecting the first shipment in July. And schools have already been lined up, and are soon to line up.

So, before bolting out to the summer pool, soccer field, or for vacation fun, do some organizing. Take a look at all the dividers and unused loose-leaf paper; the binders that can be reused; the pencil cases, and organize now, for next year, for yourselves.

Anything extra, or unwanted – Stephanie will take it.

Our English department at John Rennie, in order to support the Jonah sisters, is equally simple. It takes each teacher about 5 minutes out of their lives.

The grade 11 final provincial exam was delivered with answer booklets for the students to respond in. These booklets are twenty pages of lined paper each. Students use on average about ten of these pages. Each student was given three booklets to use.

That’s ten blank pages in each booklet at the end of the exam; or thirty sheets of lined paper per student. With three hundred students that’s three thousand pages – not bad.

We are simply collecting that paper for her and in the end, that might make a pretty good start.

Will it get her on Oprah? We’ll see.

If you’d like to support Stephanie in any way, please contact her at: students.helping.students@hotmail.com

Tree Media Group Screens The 11th Hour in Japan, Sponsored by Deutsche Bank

11thhouraction — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:03:55 -0500

Deutsche Bank is sponsoring two screenings of The 11th Hour this week in Japan. The Tree Media Group team departed from LA to Tokyo yesterday and will travel around the country to screen the film. Included in the team is Leila Conners (Writer/Director/Producer of The 11th Hour), Stephan McGuire (Associate Producer of The 11th Hour), Richard Dent (Co-Director of The 11th Hour Action Campaign), and Holli Fajack (Tree Media Office Manager).

TV Alert: “GREENSBURG” Premiers Sunday June 15th on the Planet Green Channel

AZ_Sun — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:51:33 -0500

Just a reminder that GREENSBURG premiers this Sunday, June 15th at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery's new Planet Green channel. The 13-part series follows the green rebuilding story of Greensburg, Kansas after a devastating EF5 tornado traveled through the area on May 4, 2007 destroying at least 95 percent of the city. The series features Leonardo DiCaprio as its executive producer, and will be a behind-the-scenes look into the rebuilding of Greensburg as an eco-friendly community which will showcase as a model for the rest of the world to follow.

I have been feeling a little guilty about looking forward to this new series since a disaster had to happen in order to make this series possible. But now with all the recent disasters happening all over the country with more tornadoes and severe flooding causing people to lose their homes, businesses and towns, a series like this is hitting the airwaves at exactly the right time. The community of Greensburg can give hope now to other people by showing how they turned life’s challenges into personal triumphs.

Since Planet Green debuted this past June 4th I have had the opportunity to watch a few of the shows. My eco-ego has enjoyed watching WA$TED the most. I have to admit that watching this show gives me an air of superiority, in that I feel I’m very green compared to the people they profile on the show. LOL

Then I watch Living with Ed and my air of superiority gets diminished very quickly, because my actions pale in comparison to Ed’s actions. I don’t do anything even close like riding a stationary bicycle every morning to generate enough electricity to make toast like Ed does.

Compared to Ed, I’m a very light shade of mint green.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something...and that's what counts.

Arizona State University Taps into Sun with a Huge Solar Project

AZ_Sun — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:01:39 -0500

The nation’s first School of Sustainability was established at Arizona State University. The university, along with the School of Sustainability at its core, has been mounting an unprecedented comprehensive sustainability effort aimed at finding solutions to the most pressing issues the planet faces, and is committed to guiding humanity from its present course of environmental destruction.

ASU is showing how to walk the talk with plans for installing one of the largest rooftop solar-power plants in the United States. The plan calls for 2 megawatts of generating capacity installed on 135,000 square feet by the end of the year.

That's enough to run 4,600 computers and reduce carbon emissions by 2,825 tons per year, or the equivalent of taking 530 cars off the road for a year. Long-term plans call for up to 7 megawatts of solar-generating capacity to be built at ASU in Tempe, with additional solar installations at its campuses in downtown Phoenix and other locations.

"These large-scale solar installations demonstrate ASU's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality through on-site, renewable-energy generation," ASU President Michael Crow said.

ASU is becoming a major player in solar research and sustainability. This is a real-world showcase of its efforts.

Read More @ The Arizona Republic