Green Lifestyle and Sustainable Culture News - ENN

Roads, skies to be less crowded over holiday

AP — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:22:00 EST

CHICAGO - Despite plummeting gas prices and unusual last-minute holiday deals on airplane tickets, more people are expected to stick close to home this Thanksgiving. In fact, the Automobile Association of America says the 41 million Americans expected to take trips at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving is about 600,000 less than traveled last Thanksgiving.

Fly the Friendly Green Skies This Holiday Season

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:58:00 EST

As many Americans get ready to fly to their aunt’s house in Milwaukee or grandmother’s house in Syracuse for Thursday’s traditional Thanksgiving meal, many critics are chiming in again about the polluting and wasteful nature of the air travel industry. In fact, air travel has come under sever criticism this year not only for how much fossil fuels are used and how many carbon emissions are produced, but also for many companies’ attempts at greenwashing the industry.

How the Rich Are Destroying the Earth

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:36:00 EST

There is an emergency. In less than a decade we will have to change course -- assuming the collapse of the U.S. economy or the explosion of the Middle East does not impose a change through chaos. To confront the emergency, we must understand the objective: to achieve a sober society; to plot out the way there; to accomplish this transformation equitably, by first making those with the most carry the burden within and between societies; to take inspiration from collective values ascribed to here in France by our nation's motto: "Liberty, ecology, fraternity."

Efficient Jeans: Those Made With Organic Cotton Or Hemp

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:29:00 EST

Efficient jeans are still hard to find. Conventionally grown cotton requires more pesticides to grow than any other crop. The more efficient method is to grow organic cotton or hemp. The surf company Reef makes some good organic cotton jeans, like their Heritage Jean

Trees for kids: Indonesia's way of beating global warming

Reuters — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:21:00 EST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian city battling the effects of deforestation has come up with a novel way of tackling the problem. Would-be families must plant a tree. "Everyone who wants to get married or apply for a birth certificate must plant a tree," Syahrum Syah Setia, the head of Balikpapan city's Environmental Impact Management Agency, said.

The silent emergency

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:13:00 EST

Ajocular former paratrooper, Amadou Toumani Touré was once dubbed Mali's "soldier of democracy", the man who ousted a dictator in a 1991 coup before organising elections and handing power to a civilian administration the following year. He was elected president himself in 2002 and has since acquired a new title: he is, in the pantheon of world leaders, the biggest champion of clean water and functioning toilets. That is what development workers call him and he describes it as a compliment.

Green Your Thanksgiving, from Travel to Turkey

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:43:00 EST

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – I show up, stuff myself with some of my favorite foods, help clean up a little, and then lay on the couch and watch TV. No agonizing over the perfect gift, no holiday crowds…I don’t even have to cook. But all of that gluttony does have a price that’s paid by the environment. From travel to turkey and beyond, there are many ways that this wonderful holiday can be more eco-friendly.