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California to allow personal vehicle sharing services?

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:20:32 +0000

City CarShare is trying to pioneer personal vehicle sharing, where car owners would make their vehicles available to a pre-screened pool of personal vehicle sharing participants during the periods of the day when their car is not in use, which for many vehicles is upwards of 90 percent of the time.

via sfgate.com

very interesting idea, if they can work out the insurance issues.

Posted via web from Genius Now

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There’s an Urban App for That

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:54:18 +0000

Hopefully the loitering youth return fire with their own iPhones, en masse, sending these doddering busybodies into some kind of Facebook doghouse.

via wired.com

actually the idea is good…. but love the snark

Posted via web from Genius Now

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‘Decon green’ isn’t a color

admin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:20:05 +0000

The main ingredients in each Decon Green formula are peroxides, the same substances that are in many household cleaners and whitening toothpaste. To bolster their effectiveness, the peroxides are mixed with bicarbonates or other non-toxic bases.

via Military develops multi-purpose ‘green’ decontaminants for terrorist attack sites.

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Cities Under Siege

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:02:06 +0000

Sounds like a very interesting read, and dealing with some hard tradeoffs that neourbanism is going to need to consider.

In his new book Cities Under Siege, published just two weeks ago, geographer Stephen Graham explores “the extension of military ideas of tracking, identification and targeting into the quotidian spaces and circulations of everyday life,” including “dramatic attempts to translate long-standing military dreams of high-tech omniscience and rationality into the governance of urban civil society.” This is just part of a “deepening crossover between urbanism and militarism,” one that will only become more pronounced, Graham fears, over time.

Bacteria to electricity

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:39:44 +0000

The discovery of the tiny Geobacter microbe by Dr. Derek Lovley of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst holds the key to understanding microbial energy conversion. Geobacter uses its hair-like extensions, or pili, to generate electricity from mud and wastewater. Researchers have developed a strain of Geobacter that is eight times more efficient than other strains at producing power.

via From bacteria to electricity: The future of green energy.

The impact of meat production

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:23:43 +0000

Global meat production has tripled in the past three decades and could double its present level by 2050

via Major report reveals the environmental and social impact of the ‘livestock revolution’.

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Introducing Jumo

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:26:43 +0000

What’s interesting here is that he’s got a track record in both politics and business.

As the article noted, “Think of the site as philanthropy, volunteerism and social networking all rolled into one.” And as Hughes' email noted, it's “an online platform to connect individuals and organizations working to change the world.”

via Chris Hughes, Facebook Co-Founder, Introduces Jumo – Tonic.

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Corn Ethanol Doesn’t Reduce Carbon Footprint

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:39:03 +0000

Corn ethanol doesn’t appear to be the way to go, for multiple reasons. So no, it’s not “green”.

“The new study, published in the March issue of BioScience , finds much lower emissions from indirect land-use change than the Searchinger paper calculated but still enough to tip the balance away from corn ethanol.”

http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=Mzc4NzM

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Call for Papers: Public Libraries and Resilient Cities: Creating Sustainable and Equitable Places

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:34:42 +0000

“Public libraries are at the forefront of a number of significant and pressing urban and environmental sustainability issues, and are evolving a leadership role in addressing these through sustainable urban design practices, contributions to economic regeneration and a commitment to social equity.”

via Peter Scott’s Library Blog: Call for Papers: Public Libraries and Resilient Cities: Creating Sustainable and Equitable Places.

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Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:06:02 +0000

Including sound energy and running water…. pair this with a lowhead water turbine and things might get very interesting.

“This study provides a simple and cost-effective technology for direct water splitting that may generate hydrogen fuels by scavenging energy wastes such as noise or stray vibrations from the environment,”

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