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photo by Joe Lencioni A few months ago, citing rising corn prices hurting his state’s livestock industry and which he linked to Federal ethanol-blending requirements, Texas governor Rick Perry filed a waiver request with the EPA to reduce the Renewable Fuel Standards requirement by half. Next Years’ Biofuel Requirement Stays at 11.1 Billion Gallons Today the EPA has announced that is has denied this request. The total volume of biofuels (both ethanol and biodiesel) which are ma...

Do you ever wonder what keeps our e-mail servers, search engines, and Web applications like Facebook and Flickr running?

Data centers around the world are responsible for storing and processing the "" of information that power modern computing.

But what's supporting data centers?

Vast amounts of power.

...

Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post points out that not everything can be blamed on global warming, that lousy farming practices, overpopulation and bad policies contribute. Morever, "Weather alarmism" gives ammunition to global-warming deniers. He notes: "Last week, we saw reports of more wildfires in California. Sure as night follows day, people will lay some of the blame on climate change. But there's also the minor matter of people building homes in wildfire-susceptible forests, overgrown with vegetation due to decades of fire suppression. That's like pitching a tent on the railroad tracks. The message that needs to be communicated to these people is: "Your...

photo by Al via flickr Here’s one that shows that municipal waste-to-energy programs can sometimes be dirty business. Mother Jones is running an article about how, in Delhi, Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism is being twisted around to build a waste incinerator which not only likely cause more pollution, but will also put tens of thousands of people out of work. ...

There is more to Elsinore than Hamlet; it also has this interesting project by Architect Tegnestuen Vandkunsten that demonstrates a lot of the principles that we should adopt over here. Even though it is fairly low density and could be townhouses, each with a front and back yard that are private, it goes for communal spaces outside. On gets density but also lots of room for kids to play, for parents to garden. It was first prize in a competition in 2004. The architect writes:...

photo by mgpenguin86 via flickr Discovery News is highlighting an interesting development in the field of rubber. According to new research being done in Ohio, dandelion root sap could be made into a rubber of equal quality to traditional rubber from trees, at a lower cost. The exact details concerning growing and harvesting the plants, such as how many inches apart and when they should be planted, are still being worked out, but the researchers expect that within a few years the processing plant in Ohio could produce a...

If you're trying to live an eco-friendly life, you probably know it can be helpful to hear from others that are doing the same. (That's probably why you're reading this on TreeHugger right now.) Sharing the tricks and tips to cutting your waste and making green choices is a must. It saves you the trouble of trial and error and helps you get green even faster. That's one of the reasons we started our TreeHugger Tips series - to allow readers to share their tips for going green. As technology advances, it will only become more easier to share ones tips and connect with experts to learn even more. In ...

Back in the day five years ago when Graham was dreaming up TreeHugger, the idea was to take the concept of "green" away from the hippie imagery and make it cool and mainstream. However, after crisis piled on after crisis, it quickly became apparent that it isn't about being cool, it is about survival. It also became obvious that there is no point going on about "oh my god we're all gonna die" if we want anyone to bother reading us, but that we have to be upbeat and positive about the things that we have to do and that individuals CAN do to move forward. So we talk a lot less about bamboo skivvies and a lot more about vegetable gardens. Five...

El Niño events periodically wreak havoc on the world's weather, increasing the risk of hurricanes and flooding in some regions, and droughts and forest fires in others. But despite telltale signs of their presence in the Pacific Ocean, including a reversal of ocean currents and large temperature rises, it can be hard to tell where else El Niños are having an effect.

A lost world has been found in Antarctica, preserved just the way it was when it was frozen in time some 14 million years ago.

Climate change is affecting the Tibetan plateau, threatening regional water supplies and altering atmospheric circulation for half the planet. The plateau is the world's third largest store of ice. But its temperature has risen by up to 0.3 degrees Celsius every ten years over the last fifty years — approximately three times the global warming rate.

3P Business Club: Eco Fashion Party at Club4Climate in London by Heather Wilkinson. "Check out and purchase some fabulous products from the hottest new brands in eco-fashion and bid for your favourite piece in the auction. Plus get some top tips from our personal stylists! 12th August 2008 at 6pm at the newly launched eco-bar Surya Bar - Club4Climate" ...

photo by dachalan via flickr In a very much armchair-psychology survey, I'd like to present two quotes from a recent article in The Guardian on climate change and then ask for readers to respond. The quotes are about preparing for a 4 degree temperature rise due to global warming. A Reminder: A 4 Degree Temperature Rise Will Be Globally Catastrophic What will we have to prepare for? Coastal flooding will more greatly affect 7-300 million people annually. Water availability in S...

The report, Paper Tigers?: The Role of the U.S. Captive Tiger Population in the Trade in Tiger Parts, found there are no reliable regulatory mechanisms to keep track of captive tigers in the United States. While the report shows no evidence that these tigers are currently a supply source for the international black market, these weak U.S. regulations could leave them vulnerable to illegal trade unless the issue is immediately addressed.

At MetaEfficient I’ve been waiting for years to review some exciting green computers, and now finally in 2008, we’ve seen the introduction of some truly green PCs. Although the components of green PCs cost about 10% more than regular PCs, they retail for about the same price. You can jump ahead and see our list of the greenest PCs. Or you can read about the details of the green rating processes.

Nature is Beautiful There are so many wonderful things all around us that we've never actually seen. Those who have seen the documentary series The Blue Planet and Planet Earth know what we're talking about. We could probably all make an effort to better appreciate these wonders, and a welcome side effect would probably be more eco-awareness....

Photo credit: Greenpeace/Kate Davison We've covered the extensive electronic waste, or e-waste, problems in China, India and Mexico in the past. Now Africa is emerging as a new favorite dumping ground for our aged electronic products, and the implications for human health are disturbing. Greenpeac...

Malaysia and Indonesia will cooperate in a biofuel development program, and may use the same biofuel specifications and amount of blending, Malaysia's commodities minister said on Tuesday. Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's top two palm oil producers, together account for more than 80 percent of the world's crude palm oil output.

As Big Oil continue to rake in record profits - $123 billion in 2007 - the oil and gas industry is due to receive $32.9 billion in tax breaks, royalty relief, subsidies and other support from public coffers through 2013. Analyzing the issue in "Big Oil, Bigger Giveaways," released July 2008, Friends of the Earth analysts note that the figure could grow dramatically over the next 25 years if these are extended and if oil companies win a lawsuit through which they are seeking to avoid paying as much as $53 billion in offshore drilling royalty revenue.

The haze blanketing Beijing lifted slightly on Tuesday although the sun was obscured by grey skies three days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Organizers want clean and crisp skies for the Games and have closed factories and pulled half the capital's 3.3 million cars off the roads to achieve their ambition. They are holding in reserve further plans to reduce the number of cars on the roads and shut more factories, if projections show unacceptable conditions in coming days.