Come October and Wal-Mart Stores Inc will be going the eco-friendly way. Yes, the largest retailer in the world has decided to reduce plastic bag wastage in its stores by 25 per cent in the US and 50 per cent in other countries. Keeping in tune with the new green promise, the store will be selling a new 50-cent reusable bag in the U.S. Also, its baggers will be trained to pack bags more efficiently.

Actually, Wal-Mart is just becoming a part of the global attempt to curb the use of plastic bags. San Francisco has outlawed non-biodegradable plastic bags from supermarkets while California is encouraging their reuse. Even China has decided to put an end to the use of ultra-thin plastic bags. Countries like Rwanda and Bangladesh have also followed suit.
But looks like Wal-Mart’s little sacrifice is not aggressive enough! Environmentalists applaud their efforts but they do not think it will be able to make much difference in the large picture. The steps have to be more drastic, they say.
Via economictimes

On Ecoblog has already been treated Global warming as an argument that color the roofs of the houses in white is a good practice to lower the temperature on the planet. Now, however, is published a study (by physical Hashem Akbari of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory along with some experts at the University of California) that has provided some interesting numbers on the effectiveness of this application also include the usefulness of sidewalks. According to this research, if hypothetically the 100 biggest cities in the world installing roofs white and change the sidewalks with more reflective material, it would have a significant effect raffreddante. Let’s see why. The average percentage of area employment in the cities are very high, in fact around 25% as regards the roofs and 35% in case of sidewalks.

The data are clear: If you were to replace these materials with other reflective surfaces, it would save about 44 billion tons of greenhouse gases, or the amount of gas that all countries of the world emit in a year. The scientific explanation is that the solar radiation incident verrrebbe reflected in the form of short waves. The latter without the chance uscirebbero become so long, or heat, which on the contrary would be retained by the molecules of greenhouse gases.

This emerged from the data presented during the conference on climate change research in California. Such an application would offset more than 10 years of emissions, even without reducing those industries. Just in the American state, since 2005, has regulated that the flat structures are required to have roofs white.

One roof of about 90 square meters, the standard measure of an American house, Cut 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Experts point to convince the UN to change the rooftops in major cities of the globe. The advantages, besides the already mentioned benefits on global warming, would be those with significant energy savings, lowering a few degrees in temperature in cities and major reduction of smog.

This is certainly a laudable position taken by scientists, although it probably would be first of all should do more analysis on the costs necessary for the implementation of a project like this.

The State of California is celebrating the delightful Festival of Roses and the festival surely gets and extra tinge of green with an announcement as major as this one. Biofuel is a major fuel provider and is emerging as a fuel that is here to stay despite all the protests against it. The fuel not only is encouraging researchers to explore new and cheap sources to produce energy from, but is also filling in a crucial gap in the supply chain. The city of SF is now all set to add to that production in a huge way with its new Biodiesel Plant.

The Mayor of San Francisco revealed a proposal between Darling International and the Port of San Francisco to retrofit an old rendering facility to produce biofuel. The new plant will recycle fats, waste grease, and tallow to generate 7.5-10 million gallons of biodiesel per year. San Francisco?s proposed biodiesel plant would be situated within on old rendering facility in the Hunter?s Point district owned by Darling International. Under the plan the facility will be renovated to turn grease waste into useable, sustainable energy.

While no official word is yet out on it, the feeling is that the State will purchase all the fuel produced by the plant to fulfill the energy needs of the Bay area. This will mean more green energy and a decrease in Carbon Footprint and that is something California has been trying hard to achieve.

Via: Inhabitat

There are not many LEED Platinum certified green homes across the US and while the number is growing, it probably needs to spread more rapidly in order to really help the planet cool down. While US is still trying to switch to green, California seems to the leader in renewable energy and green architecture in the country. The 4600 sq ft Margarido House is by no means a small home, but with the addition of a plethora of green building features it will become the first LEED-H Platinum certified home in Northern California.

The Margarido House will feature almost every green strategy you can imagine and will be 55% more efficient than California’s Title 24 energy standards. The loads of green features inside make your head go on a dizzy ride. Its construction incorporates a variety of sustainable and fire resistant materials, and all of its poured concrete contains 25% fly ash. The interiors feature LED lighting, smart house automation, locally sourced products, and recycled concrete and glass countertops.

A planted roof garden and deck top off the project, and the house is site-sensitve, featuring permeable paving, rain and ground water reclamation, and drought tolerant landscaping and plants. While the owners of the house believe that ‘Green can be beautiful and sexy’, the rest of the world might find it hard to argue with after taking a look at this green masterpiece that defines new conventions and defies the old!

Via Jetsongreen

Large metals containers that have been used for years at the port and left as scrap can be turned in to your dream home! That is by no means a lie and a brave venture Peter DeMaria of DeMaria Designhas proved this to the world. While many artists and designers intend to create furnishings for your home from scrap, Melinda has gone out and made a wonderful home out of nothing but used and discarded shipping containers. Large metal shipping containers that are left empty at ports around the US are being repurposed into modern, eco-friendly housing.

What began as an experiment for emergency housing has become a realistic and less costly option to traditional construction. Logical Homes offers nine models of container homes for construction around Southern California. The homes will average about $150 to $200 per square foot; in comparison to $220 to $250 per square for traditional construction in the area. Started by Peter DeMaria, the firm provides the amazing and exquisite homes to all those who need them at a price that is far less that those of regular spaces.

Logical Homes’ models will range from 640 to 3,250 square feet and look very much like mid-century tract homes from the exterior. The corrugated metal shipping containers are enhanced with large windows and custom paint. Energy-efficient appliances and bamboo flooring add to the eco-equation inside, while recycled denim insulation helps keep heating and cooling demands to a minimum. This is a cool new venture that seems to be gaining ground at a very fast pace and if you were ever to enter one of these then you would not even notice the difference unless someone pointed it out to you.

Via:  trendir

Superbly crafted four new airplanes have recently exhibited their green and marvelous specialties in an inimitable air race organized by NASA at Santa Rosa (California). In this only one of its kind race each plane was striving hard to prove it best in terms of swiftness and speed as well as fuel competency and effectiveness. Moreover the competing planes were also focusing on lower noise levels for creating a calm and quiet environment.  Amongst the four planes, Greg and Geoff Stevenson’s DA-20, an extremely resourceful and ecofriendly plane consumes bio-diesel as secondary power for landing and taking off. Also it embraces an electric motor and fuel injection mechanism for extra fuel efficiency and noise free ambiance.

Another one in the series is Pipistrel Virus which offers excellent noise balancing and fuel competency via a steady propeller speed switch. Remaining two air planes which participated in the race were: UFM-13 Lambada which has prevailed lowest noise award at 62 db and the Flight Design CT which is also embedded with extra green features like motorcycle muffler and noise dampening panels. Hence loaded with enormously advanced and green technology these lately launched eco planes in air would definitely offset inestimable environmental afflictions. 

Via Gizmodo

California is emerging on the world map as one city that loves adopting eco-friendly measures!  The latest addition in its green repertoire is the water conservation plan which began last year. The latter’s pay off is evident in the form of millions of gallons of (precious) water being saved. The city’s Long Beach Water Department adopted a strict water conservation plan in the wake of an impending drought like situation. The court’s directives on limiting the import of water from Northern California further led the water department of Long Beach to adopt measures that direct the city dwellers to judicially use water in their activities (especially outdoor applications). The water department also made use of media (print, online and television ads) to actively educate and promote this green move among the city’s inhabitants.

 
This year in July Southern California sold 1.85 billion + gallons of water, a figure 13 percent less than July2007’s consumption records. Also, the water saving drive has resulted in a sixteen percent drop if one picks up the data of ten yrs average! When asked how the city managed to effectively employ water-conservation, Ryan Alsop (Director of public affairs, Long Beach Water Department) said, “We work with businesses to convert landscaping, and revert to reclaimed water”. The plan thus included slashing water consumption and its wastage in residential as well as business sectors of the city. The modus operandi employed till date includes offering efficiency rebates to companies and restaurants, promoting the use of effective plumbing devices like irrigation controls, shower heads& toilets. Incentives like a rebate of $60 per unit was given to those restaurants which opted for the use of pre-rinse spray heads and installation of high-efficiency urinals fetched a rebate between
$200 - $400. The department looks forward to a further more efficient implementation of this conservation drive in the upcoming three years.
The move taken by Long Beach water department is indeed encouraging and it is interesting to note that the water-conservation plan is well carved out. By using sustainable techniques and efficient equipments the city sure wants to embark on a green and ecologically safe future. Its time that other should follow this example!
 
Via: greenbiz

It is not a small feat that in a country where majority of the population is obese and suffering from one or more diseases linked to unhealthy life style like diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension etc., California became the first state to ditch trans-fats, well, to some extent.  Much to the discontent of the restaurateurs all across the state, Governor Schwarzeneggar passed a law that bans restaurants and retail food establishments to use food products and raw materials containing trans-fats.  Despite the ire of the California Restaurant Association, what comes as a pleasant surprise is that the bill has been taken in the right spirit by the Californians.

Although the bill seems like the proverbial tip of the iceberg, but it’ll have a huge impact on the health of citizens in the long run.  Healthy life style begins with the healthy eating practices. Considering that California shells out a whopping $21.7 billion a year on obesity problems, this bill will not only improve the general public health but its consequences can be felt even in the economy.  Such radical steps need to be taken in order to make amends to the damage already done as well as rid future generations of the ill effects of poor lifestyle choices.

via Source

Tired of a soaring electricity bill? Concerned for nature, want to reduce global warming but are a victim of lousy habits, always forgetful about switching off the lights or fans when you leave a room? For all those who are perfect example of “old habits die hard” notion but are willing enough to adopt greener ways, California based Agilewaves has come up with a smart device- The Resource Monitor. The device is native integrated system which functions in real time to monitor the electricity, gas and water consumption of your house. With the real monitor, you can carry out your chores without being worried about a hefty bill at the end of the month as you can set specific monthly targets for consuming these three facilities. The device uses behaviorally-driven quantitative feedback by the users for effective monitory. It is fit for use inside homes and offices. Resource monitor displays the consumption details and carbon footprint of a household/office via a built-in touchscreen interface or a password protected web page.

As I already said, the system is a real time analyst so now you can get hourly details about the eco-footprints of your daily activities inside your home/office. This well-structured monitoring approach helps in tightening the noose over reckless consumptions and wasteful activities. The company says its latest resource monitor tracks the performance of major appliances and then, calculated the resource consumption room/floor wise. Features like Standard browser application, real time data display, intuitive graphic UI, temperature data in key locations, budget setting and trend analysis and visualize time-series data to name a few, make Resource Monitor the ultimate watchdog device. The appliance comes from a responsible software company and it looks after your social, environmental and financial performance in a well–organized and efficient manner. Well readers, I m thoroughly impressed and would certainly go for it! What about you?

Via: agilewaves

The state of California sure knows what it means to “Go Green”! This time the initiative comes from the California Building Standards Commission. The latter has announced a statewide adoption of “green” building code on Friday 18th of this month.The announcement comes as a happy surprise among Californians, who are the pioneers to adopt such a code for their state in the entire United States of America!

Here’s what the Californian governor said,”By adopting this first-in-the-nation statewide green building code, California is again leading the way to fight climate change and protect the environment.”The Commission found out that in terms of higher carbon footprint the state’s buildings rank next to its transportation.

Thus, this announcement reflects a positive concern to improve the situation by reducing the carbon emissions. The new standards yet to be employed promise :

• 20% improvement in water use efficiency for both residential and commercial plumbing fixtures
• a 50% increase in conservation for water used in landscaping
• reduction in energy consumption by 15%
• overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020

The new policies are envisioned to be in sync with the goals mandated in Assembly Bill 32 (passed as law 2 years ago).

Friday also saw the introduction of Green Building Initiative by governor Schwarzenegger (Executive Order S-20_04). This initiative calls for a 20% cut back in energy consumption by all state-owned buildings by 2015. As of now, a total of 13 state-buildings are LEED certified. According to the Green Building Initiative, the renovation of rest of the state-buildings will be planned in a manner to acquire a LEED Silver certification.

The initiative taken by Californian government is very inspiring. Let us hope that other states and countries of the world follow this trail in order to achieve a sustainable, greener and healthier tomorrow.
Source: enn