It seems that light-colored rooftops and roads really can curb carbon emissions and combat global climate change, according to a study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Radiative forcing and temperature response to changes in urban albedos and associated CO2 offset, by Surabi Menon, Hashem Akbari, Sarith Mahanama, Igor Sednev and Ronnen Levinson.

This particular study employs a global model to extrapolate on the supposition that cool roofs and cool pavements, in cities around the world, not only keep them cooler but can also help to cool the world.

The potential of cool roofing and paving to help cancel the heat-island effect of densely populated cities and suburbs is very exciting. A fellow researcher at Berkley, Art Rosenfeld, explains it simply, “If all eligible urban flat roofs in the tropics and temperate regions were gradually converted to white (and sloped roofs to cool colors), they would offset the heating effect of the emission of roughly 24 gigatons of CO2, but one time only. However, if we assume that roofs have a service life of 20 years, we can think of an equivalent annual rate of 1.2 Gt per year. That offsets the emissions of roughly 300 million cars for 20 years!”

According to Yale environment 360, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has directed all department offices to install cool roofs on any new buildings or when replacing old ones.

There are some very helpful links at the U.S Department Of Energy's Cool Roof Resources for Federal Agencies.

(Photo credit:mlinksva, creative commons, flickr)

"Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us." Henrik Tikkanen

There are so many harmful pollutants in our environment that we have little, immediate, control over. Waste from manufacturing and harmful runoff from agricultural processes. Industrial and motor vehicle emissions such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides that cause acid rain, I could go on and on.

Here are some simple, easy ways to minimize our exposure to harmful chemicals in our day-to-day lives:

1. Try to avoid all products that have "chloro" as part of their name such as wood preservatives, herbicides, insecticides, chlorine bleach and triclosan. Triclosan--a chlorophenol--is often found in antibacterial cleansers and toothpastes. Studies have linked triclosan to cancer. Avoid PVC cling wraps as well, look for wraps that are identified as non-chlorinated plastic.
2. Avoid Styrofoam--Polystyrene--like the plague, Bring your own BPA free container, to get takeout food and drinks. Plenty of people are already doing this on a regular basis, no one will think you're weird.
3. Never ever burn trash, treated wood, or any kind of plastics. Avoid burning things in general. Reduce, reuse and recycle, responsibly.
4. Using simple biodegradable cleaners like lemon, vinegar and baking soda is a great way to avoid a host of toxic chemicals in our home. There is not much, in the way of grease or grime, that these three can't handle.
   
5. Filter our home drinking water. Although the United States has one of the safest, most bountiful supplies of potable drinking water, there is no guarantee that the water coming out of our tap is completely safe.

More and more we need to think about the repercussions of our everyday actions. Building awareness is the first step. Taking action by being responsible consumers and stewards of our planet is the next, most important, step.

Action without knowledge is irresponsible, knowledge without action is useless.

Make each new day, greener than the last.

(Photo credit:Picture Perfect Pose)

When it comes to food, it really costs to waste. With world hunger on the rise, that skillfully wielded parental diatribe from a generation or so ago about "starving children in other countries" still holds true, now more than ever.

Our mothers, it seems, were right to chide us about the certain evils of squandering food. If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you know what I mean. Plates of salad barely nibbled--why do we order them?--mounds of starch, protein and vegetable matter daily get scraped into the garbage.

The cost to the environment and pocketbook of food waste in developed countries is monumental. The EPA and USDA estimate that the U.S. alone spends about one billion dollars a year to dispose of food waste and that the methane gas produced by decaying food in landfills accounts for a staggering 34 percent of all methane emissions in the U.S.

This being said, I am pleased to share briefly the story of what one restaurant is doing to stem this tide. An Australian restaurant called Wafu, just outside of Sydney, cautions its patrons about the unsustainable downside of waste.

Wafu has its conservation policy posted outside of the restaurant, along with their proud declaration about the use of organic foods free of gluten, dairy, sugar and eggs.  Their mission statement is as follows: "To contribute toward creating a sustainable future we request a little more of our guests than most other restaurants." Wafu gives a 30 percent discount to customers who eat all the food they order. According to Planet Green, patrons who waste food are fined and asked not to return.

Bravo, Wafu, our mothers applaud you! Let's hope this trend in green dining catches on.

(Photo credit:mil8 flickr creative commons)

In a world where news is noise and there is plenty of it to go around, it is important to practice discretion.

Global warming, climate change, environmental innovations, gains and disasters... I could go on all day, but I won't. Suffice it to say that it is important to find and distill reliable green news, so that we can be informed and act effectively on behalf of our beleaguered environment.

As a lean, green society of eco-advocates it is essential that we band together to make a loud green noise.

Here is a list of helpful green-focused websites and resources:  

1. Yale Environment 360 is an online magazine "offering opinion, analysis, reporting and debate on global environmental issues."
2. Environmental News Network--ENN's mission is to "inform, educate, enable and create a platform for global environmental action."
3.  World Wildlife Federation--WWF's mission is the conservation of nature. "Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, we work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth."
4. Global Green USA, "is Global Green is working to address some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. In the United States our work is primarily focused on fighting global climate change by creating green buildings and cities."
5. Environment and Sustainable Food at Change.org highlight the latest news and actions pertaining to sustainable food and the environment.
6. Treehugger, which declares itself "a media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream."
7. Grist, "a beacon in the smog, seeks to draw out the real meaning behind green stories and to connect big issues like climate change to daily life."
8. The Environment and Health division of the nonprofit news organization Mother Jones is a great up-to-the-minute resource.
9. Worldchanging's mission is "to inspire readers around the world with stories of new tools, models and ideas for building a bright green future."
10. Green blog at The New York Times seeks to "introduce us to many of the central figures in the environmental landscape, asking them questions on our behalf. 

Good, responsible social networking is one way to help build a more informed, sustainable and empathic civilization.

We here at Super Eco encourage you to find the green news you trust and tweet and/or Facebook it to the world!

(Photo credit:1 Johnny, Super Eco group on flickr)

Just in case we needed it, another nail in the coffin of denial about global warming arrives in the form of a brand new scholarly paper. This month in Global Ecology and Biogeography A Journal of Macroecology, a report was published in which researchers present compelling evidence of shifting biomes.

Patrick Gonzales--visiting scholar at the Center for Forestry, UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources--states that this paper is "the first global view of observed biome shifts due to climate change" and that "it's not just a case of one or two plant species moving to another area. To change the biome of an ecosystem, a whole suite of plants must change." In other words, intelligent plant-life is actually shifting to more comfortable digs.

Providing insight into this bellwether report Science Daily relates that over the past century vegetation has been gradually shifting toward the poles, where temperatures are cooler, toward the equator, where rainfall is greater.

The gravity of this paper rests in its apparent utility as a planning tool. "Scientists had not quantified this risk before," said Gonzalez. "We developed a simple classification system that natural resource management agencies can use to identify regions in greatest need of attention and planning. We have worked with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to explore the application of our results to adaptation of natural resource management."

The paper clearly implies that the speed of these biome changes will depend on our efforts to curtail global warming and that shifting vegetation is sure to have a massive impact upon world economies.

(Photo credit:andreas photography, Super Eco group on flickr)

Last week's benefit concert for The Rainforest Foundation with Sting, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Dame Shirley Bassey and Debbie Harry is over and done with—but behind the scenes, the dedication of Rainforest Foundation founders Sting and wife Trudie Styler rolls on. The power couple has devoted their energies to rainforest preservation for more than 20 years now. CBS' Katie Couric talked to Sting and Styler at a rehearsal for the gigantic benefit concert. The half-hour interview is chock full of insights and eco-discussion, from the couple's 21 years of rainforest advocacy to how Sting discovered yoga, how the couple balances the infamously large carbon footprint of their extensive air travel, what motivates them to stay in such good shape ... even what books are on their nightstands and Sting's thoughts on reality contests such as X-Factor.

Sting on denying climate change: "I think people who deny climate change, when they jump out of the 20th floor of a hotel and they say 'Hey, look, nothing's happening!' When you hit the bottom, something happens. We are in this downward spiral; we've got to stop it."

On the Copenhagen climate change summit: “Copenhagen was an unmitigated disaster…” “an entire waste of resources…getting all those people there…huge amounts of money and time were spent and it generated absolutely nothing.”

The sprawling interview, featuring both hard questions about the environment and a little bit of unabashed celebu-gawking, is a real gem; see it all embedded here.

(Photo credit:David Shankbone, flickr)

Could this be one more strike against the struggling honeybees? Scientists at the University of Kebangsaan Malaysia have observed that some bees don't seem to be pollinating flower seeds, possibly because of a missing "scent trail" caused by a weaker scent in flowers growing in areas affected by global warming. "The aroma producing chemical compounds in flowers dry up faster now compared with before," noted Dr. Abdul Latif Mohamad.

Flowers in colder climates are able to hold onto their essential oils longer. But in Malaysia, scientists noted, insects and butterflies are travelling farther than ever to reach hilly ars and deeper into the jungles, where the weather is cooler, for their fair share of nectar.

You can give the bees a place to pollinate by planting your own backyard bee garden. Hosting a haven for bees not only boosts your own garden but also helps take the sting out of the world's troubled bee population.

(Photo credit:P.J. McAdie, Super Eco flickr)

We have all heard fables and fairy tales about pretenders. Pretenders who seek to be accepted and trusted under the cover of some simple disguise. The audacity of greenwashing corporations however is no fairy tale. These are companies who do big-bad-things to our planet while wearing the cloak of green.

We recognize this distinguished somber green cloak, like the one in the Lord of the Rings with the Elven leaf clasp at the neck, which acts as a veil of assurance and protection. The problem is that some companies donning these cloaks are not heroes. Some of them are planet pillaging Orcs who hope to be taken seriously in this guise. They even expect us to help them raid the paddock at night.

Greenwashing is akin to money laundering where the currency being cleansed is image and reputation. The best defense against greenwashing is we, the informed consumer.

Some good news, the FTC is working on stiffening guidelines to combat greenwashing, according to an article in the New York Times.

Here are some organizations who can help us to make green choices in the marketplace:

1. The FTC search engine offers a wealth of information for the green consumer.
2. Greenpeace Greenwashing seeks to "confront deceptive greenwashing campaigns, engage companies in debate, and give consumers, activists and lawmakers the information and tools they need to confront corporate deception"
3. Greener Choices is a division of Consumer Reports that seeks to inform the green consumer.
4. EcoLogo "provides customers--public, corporate and consumer--with assurance that the products and services bearing the logo meet stringent standards of environmental leadership."
5. CorpWatch seeks to hold corporations worldwide accountable for their actions.
6. GreenBiz labels itself as the "business voice of the green economy"
7. TreeHugger has some great consumer buying guides.

There is plenty of information available about greenwashing and it is so important to vote, for how a company conducts itself, with our dollar.

(Photo credit:jude on flickr)

March 8th is International Women's Day  a day on which hundreds of events that celebrate women occur all around the world.

For so many women green is the color of choice, the color of hope. Green initiatives offer a way out of poverty and oppression for women and cast a new light upon their role within the nuclear and Global family.

2010 being declared the International Year of Biodiversity, makes this year's celebration of women more poignant since biodiversity is key to the survival and livelihood of so many women worldwide.

The green movement has so many incredible women achievers to celebrate. Here are just a few interesting sites that celebrate women and the environment:

1. Going Green: Women and the Environment at Women Make Movies films by and about women.
2. The Green Women listing at Best Green Blogs
3. The Green Belt Movement whose mission it is: "to mobilize community consciousness for self-determination, equity, improved livelihoods and security, and environmental conservation."
4. The Eco Mom Alliance "a global organization of mothers working collectively to reduce global warming and propel an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable future.
5. Audubon Women In Conservation Program "was created for girls and women to discover the world of conservation and connect with the best and brightest women leaders in the environmental movement."

Happy International Women's Day 2010!

(Photo credit:blmurch on flickr)

I daresay that climate change naysayers will be forced to sit up and take notice when the price of their beloved java rises through the ceiling, roof and beyond. Eventually we all may be dialing back our coffee consumption in the face of skyrocketing prices.

Global warming is having a devastating impact on coffee growers as they scramble to claim land at higher altitudes upon which to plant their crops.

According to Nestor Osorio, head of the International Coffee Organization "There is already evidence of important changes" he states that "In the last 25 years the temperature has risen half a degree in coffee producing countries, five times more than in the 25 years before."

Climate change has shifted the delicately balanced patterns of rainfall and aridity needed for coffee to flourish and prosper. From Brazil to Indonesia coffee is a mainstay export and one of the most important trade commodities in the world.

Fair trade coffee may be the coveted gift you want to give for any occasion as it becomes more and more precious.

Pero anyone?

(Photo credit:P.J. McAdie on flickr)