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Forging Art and Science: Nature’s Toolbox Exhibit Builds Conservation Awareness
Posted on October 15, 2012 | No CommentsPhotos and Article By Talia Beechick On May 22, Chicagoans experienced the opening of Nature’s Toolbox, a new exhibit at the local Field Museum which, according to the exhibit’s curator Randy Jayne Rosenberg, aims to “light a path between our everyday activities and the loss of species and biodiversity,” she said in a statement. “Its goal is to demonstrate the potential to harness nature’s amazing designs and blueprints to build a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature.” And believe me, this exhibit did just that.... -
Solar Energy: A Surprisingly Underutilized Resource
Posted on October 10, 2012 | No CommentsBy Caitlin Vandewater It’s often been said that without the sun, life as we know it would not be possible. It provides us with light, heat and a way to track time. The sun has been a symbol of life and vitality for centuries now, and in the next decade, it may take on another important role as energy provider. Currently, there is an intense focus on trying to narrow down or change where the U.S. draws its electrical power from. Commercials for natural gas, coal and other nonrenewable energy... -
Nvate Ndepth: Is Risky Business with King Coal Endangering Mountains in Central Appalachia?
Posted on September 27, 2012 | No CommentsBy Carolina Luna The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), a nonprofit legal organization based in Charlottesville, Va., published its 2012 Top 10 Endangered Places in the Southeast. The list aims to inform Americans about the environmental issues threatening several distinctive regions of cultural and ecological significance in six states: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. For example, the Dawson Forest in Georgia, the Savannah River in South Carolina and Georgia, the Catawba-Wateree River Basin in North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia are all listed. What... -
Funding a Documentary to Bring Awareness Back to Climate Change
Posted on September 16, 2012 | No Commentsby Michael Cleland September marks the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, the international ozone treaty that solved the ozone crisis. Steven Dorst’s new documentary, “Shattered Sky,” tells the historical success story of, “how America led the world to solve the biggest environmental crisis ever seen,” according to the documentary’s Facebook page. “In 1987, 25 countries negotiated under the banner of the U.N. Environmental Program and agreed to cut CFC production by 50 percent,” said Dorst in an interview with Policy Innovations. “Shattered Sky” aims to inspire the American public... -
Greenwashing: Are your Eco-Friendly Products Really Green?
Posted on September 14, 2012 | No CommentsBy Janet Martin When starting a new company, there are many things an entrepreneur needs to consider. Aside from the obvious—product, location and distribution to name a few—companies must also consider the type of image they hope to portray. According to the Small Business Notes website, “a company image is the combination of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, opinions and visions people have about you, your products and services, or your company.” Generating and maintaining a certain image is by no means a bad idea because it helps maintain a constant... -
Innovative Buildings: Ally Center’s Green Office Building is Doing More to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
Posted on September 5, 2012 | No CommentsBy Travis P. Dickerson with additional reporting by Linzy Novotny The energy used by buildings accounted for 38.9 percent of the total amount of U.S. energy consumed in 2005, according to a report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Buildings included office buildings, accounting for 46.3 percent of the total, and residential buildings, making up the rest at 53.7 percent. With these figures in mind, improving the efficiency of office buildings will have a major impact on energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions over time. LEED and Energy Star... -
Green Gadgets: 10 Products to Lessen Your Carbon Footprint
Posted on August 29, 2012 | No CommentsBy Caitlin Vandewater From a young age, we are taught to turn off the faucet while brushing our teeth and to shut off the lights when we leave a room. Our parents make it a game of sorts, telling us we are helping the environment, and secretly their wallets. It’s these first lessons from childhood that plant the seeds for environmentally conscious adults. Nowadays going green can sometimes be a little more daunting, especially since our dependency on electricity and technology has increased over the past few decades. Thankfully, there... -
Biofuels Meet Tobacco Road: How North Carolina is Spearheading the Biofuels Industry
Posted on August 23, 2012 | 1 CommentBy Travis Dickerson Aside from having a good sense of humor, my freshman biology teacher was also a farmer. “Most people don’t know this,” he would say, “but there’s a lot of sex going on in them cornfields.” Getting college students to express an interest in plant reproduction required extreme measures. It didn’t work on me but the girl sitting two rows down sat up and started taking notes. That is kind of how it is with biofuels. Selling people on the virtues of biofuels is hard to do when... -
Keystone XL: Are Oil Sands a Solution or a Bandage? Part II
Posted on August 21, 2012 | No CommentsBy Carolina Luna Here’s a link to Keystone XL: Part I Continued from last month’s issue of Nvate, Keystone XL is a proposed crude oil pipeline that would span nearly 2,000 miles and stretch from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. This month’s issue focuses on the creation of jobs, consequences of an oil spill and suggested alternatives to the pipeline. To get the whole story, read May’s issue, wherein you will learn about the environmental impact that processing the oil has on Canadian forests and indigenous people.... -
The New Forms of Consumption: Edible Bottles and Inhalable Chocolate
Posted on August 20, 2012 | 1 CommentBy Talia Beechick I know—I did a double take when I first read it too, but indeed, a professor at Harvard’s Wyss Institute is not only creating biodegradable shells which taste like the drink they put inside, but he has also developed an aerosol caffeine boost called Aeroshot and a form of inhalable chocolate called Le Whif. WikiCells are edible food containers Biomedical engineering professor David Edwards teamed up with French designer Francois Azambourg in the fall of 2010 to begin to develop the edible, portable food and drink containers....