Green Environment

The abandoned Beelitz-Heilstätten hospital housed thousands of TB victims plus a young Adolph Hitler, and more recently it set the scene of a series of grisly murders. This is just a brief summary, please visit Environmental Graffiti to see the full, formatted version of the article

Read the rest of 1800-Year-Old Chedworth Roman Villa Wins 2013 RIBA Architecture Award Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Chedworth, Chedworth Roman Villa, England, English Hertage and Cotswold District Council, National Trust, preservation, RIBA, roman, ruins

Thomas Bachand is trying to get information to map the Keystone XL Pipeline: Since December I’ve made close to two dozen calls to the friendly and professional staff at the Department of State in an effort to track down my FOIA request. Early on, the Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues referred me to the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. I explained the whole matter of milepost markers and waterbody crossings to the kind woman there – only to learn, over a month and five calls later, that she was transitioning out of the job. Her parting voice mail assured me that the DOS had the GIS information I was looking for and that a new report from TransCanada would be coming out soon. Many calls later, the best her replacement could do was to say that she didn’t have a response for me. I think she got tired of my follow up calls, though. Another month later, in mid-March, I received an email from the person reviewing my request, saying: Since you have exchanged messages and have spoken on the phone with various of my colleagues concerning your above referenced case, I just wanted to let you know that I was assigned as reviewer; that I have finished my work; and that I am therefore sending the case for senior review. I hope that the case will be concluded in the very near future. “Finally, pay dirt!” I said to myself. A year after filing my request I was going to receive a response. The thing is, he didn’t send along his number. I waited. Emailed. Waited some more. Six weeks later I tracked him down and left a message. Turns out, he had written me a letter and it was sitting over in Legal waiting for review. Over the ensuing weeks I left more messages and sent a couple of emails and there my letter sat in Legal. I imagined it buried under other letters just like it in the “In” box, waiting it’s turn. I tried to not take it personally, but yes, the reviewer, too, tired of me. He passed me off to the Public Liaison, a cheerful woman who insisted she was going to get to the bottom of it. She explained the whole FOIA process to me. My request would have a tracking number assigned to it. Then it would be checked that it was valid and, indeed, something the DOS could respond to. For the first time it occurred to me that the DOS could be getting totally bizarre FOIA requests for such things as Wayne Shorter’s overseas play lists or pizza recipes used in Ghana. My request would than be assigned to a geographic team and a privacy team, where a case analyst would conduct a review and do cable searches before sending it out to “taskers” to find the data. The final step would find my request returned for review and evaluated for how it fit with the law. Come again? I did all that tasking a year ago! I told them who to call. Gave them the numbers. Yet, there the letter sat. I’ve been assured I’ll get it any day.

The World Bank says it will increasingly view its efforts to help developing countries fight poverty through a “climate lens.” In a report released Wednesday, the international lending institution warned that heat waves, rising seas, more severe storms and other impacts of climate change will trap millions of people in poverty. As a result, the Washington-based bank said it is stepping up support for efforts to curb climate change and to help the world adapt to it. “Urgent action is needed to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to help countries prepare for a world of dramatic climate change and weather extremes,” World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. via June 19 News: Climate Change-Poverty Link Highlighted in World Bank Report | Huffington Post Green

It has been over two years since the catastrophic meltdown at the Fukusima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and the bad news keeps on rolling in. On the heels of an announcement by Tepco that the water at the facility is contaminated with low levels of cesium, the company reported that the groundwater is also polluted with strontium-90. The highly toxic substance is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors. The discovery will no doubt complicate Tepco’s ongoing struggle to contain leaks inundating the basements of reactor buildings. Read the rest of Radioactive Strontium-90 Found in Fukushima Groundwater Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: cesium, cleanup, contamination, fukushima daiichi, groundwater, leak, Pollution, Solar Power, strontium-90, TEPCO, tritium

Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois (Credit: Shutterstock)On Monday, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation to regulate fracking in the state of Illinois. Legislation overwhelmingly passed both the Illinois Senate (52-3) and the House (108-9) last month. The law is now seen as the nation’s strictest for oil and gas drilling. The Chicago Tribune writes that the legislation will force oil and gas companies to register with the Department of Natural Resources. In the permitting process they must detail: how the well will be drilled the amount of fluid used and at what pressure how it will withdraw water, contain waste, and disclose the chemicals used Additionally, a 30-day public comment period begins seven days after the Department of Natural Resources receives a permit application; and people who suspect fracking has polluted their water supply can request an investigation forcing the Department of Natural Resources to investigate within 30 days and reach a determination within 180 days. While other states like Arkansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming, have rules or laws requiring companies to disclose chemicals used during the drilling process, Illinois is the first state to require fracking companies to disclose the specific chemicals used both before and after fracking occurs. Illinois will also be the first to mandate companies conduct water testing throughout the entire fracking process. Hydraulic fracturing typically involves injecting a high pressure combination of water, sand, and a mix of previously undisclosed chemicals into fissures in underlying bedrock to allow natural gas to escape. The chemicals in this water-intensive process have come into question because of their potential to pollute groundwater. Currently, the most efficient way for gas companies to dispose of the chemical-laden water is to store it in underground wells where it may reach water sources in the future. With fracking operations already established in the state, many people feel that this rule offers strong protection and should be seen as a model for other states. At first, oil and gas companies claimed that the mix of chemicals involved in fracking was a trade secret and therefore needed to be kept from the public. Parts of the Illinois law will limit the ability of fracking companies to claim that the chemicals used in their process are proprietary information. This regulation could mark the beginning of a new wave of fracking legislation. Other states are working on similar rules. The Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is drafting a rule that would require companies to register the chemicals they use through FracFocus.org. California’s SB 4 has passed the Senate and moved to the assembly where, if passed, it will require companies in the state to disclose chemical names and concentrations in an attempt to bring transparency to the process. As for the Obama administration, the Bureau of Land Management’s draft rules released in May fail to protect people from harm and instead protect the oil and gas industry from having to follow strong environmental standards. More disheartening is that BLM adopted the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model bill written by ExxonMobil. Illinois’ new law comes only after three months of the end of the state’s 2012 drought. The drought in Illinois last summer cut corn production to the lowest levels since 2008 and soybeans to the lowest level since 2003. Springfield residents were under mandatory water-use restrictions from July 31, 2012 until March 7, 2013. Droughts in the Midwest will become more frequent and will cause more limitations on water usage as a result of climate change. Every fracking job requires 2 million to 4 million gallons of water, according to the Groundwater Protection Council. The EPA has also estimated that the 35,000 oil and gas wells used for fracking consume between 70 billion and 140 billion gallons of water each ye

Designer Chris Hough created this set of biodegradable, portable speakers using only waste and reclaimed materials. Made up of a combination of nutshells and waste newspaper, the speakers are strong, light and tactile. Connected through a 3.5 millimeter audio cable, the product is intended for amplifying the sound on mobile phones and laptops. Each speaker is handcrafted using a two part cast mold and can be endlessly replicated. + Chris Hough The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing! Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: all natural speakers, Biodegradable speakers, Chris Hough, diy speakers, Nutshells, Portable Speakers, Reclaimed Newspaper, speakers

Read the rest of France’s Metaphone is a Solar-Powered Pixelated Music Hall That Vibrates with Music Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Architecture, Daylighting, france, green materials, herault arnod architectes, Metaphone, music, music hall, Solar Power

Credit: AP Photo/NOAAViafrom the Center for American Progress “Star Trek” would have us believe that space is the final frontier, but with apologies to the armies of Trekkies, their oracle might be a tad off base. Though we know little about outer space, we still have plenty of frontiers to explore here on our home planet. And they’re losing the race of discovery. Hollywood giant James Cameron, director of mega-blockbusters such as “Titanic” and “Avatar,” brought this message to Capitol Hill last week, along with the single-seat submersible that he used to become the third human to journey to the deepest point of the world’s oceans — the Marianas Trench. By contrast, more than 500 people have journeyed into space — including Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), who sits on the committee before which Cameron testified — and 12 people have actually set foot on the surface of the moon. All it takes is a quick comparison of the budgets for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to understand why space exploration is outpacing its ocean counterpart by such a wide margin. In fiscal year 2013 NASA’s annual exploration budget was roughly $3.8 billion. That same year, total funding for everything NOAA does — fishery management, weather and climate forecasting, ocean research and management, among many other programs — was about $5 billion, and NOAA’s Office of Exploration and Research received just $23.7 million. Something is wrong with this picture. Space travel is certainly expensive. But as Cameron proved with his dive that cost approximately $8 million, deep-sea exploration is pricey as well. And that’s not the only similarity between space and ocean travel: Both are dark, cold, and completely inhospitable to human life. Yet space travel excites Americans’ imaginations in a way ocean exploration never has. To put this in terms Cameron may be familiar with, just think of how stories are told on screens both big and small: Space dominates, with “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” and “2001 A Space Odyssey.” Then there are B-movies such as “Plan Nine From Outer Space” and everything ever mocked on “Mystery Science Theater 2000.” There are even parodies: “Spaceballs,” “Galaxy Quest,” and “Mars Attacks!” And let’s not forget Cameron’s own contributions: “Aliens” and “Avatar.” When it comes to the ocean, we have “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Sponge Bob Square Pants,” and Cameron’s somewhat lesser-known film “The Abyss.” And that’s about it. This imbalance in pop culture is illustrative of what plays out in real life. We rejoiced along with the NASA mission-control room when the Mars rover landed on the red planet late last year. One particularly exuberant scientist, known as “Mohawk Guy” for his audacious hairdo, became a minor celebrity and even fielded his share of spontaneous marriage proposals. But when Cameron bottomed out in the Challenger Deep more than 36,000 feet below the surface of the sea, it was met with resounding indifference from all but the dorkiest of ocean nerds such as myself. Part of this incongruity comes from access. No matter where we live, we can go outside on a clear night, look up into the sky, and wonder about what’s out there. We’re presented with a spectacular vista of stars, planets, meteorites, and even the occasional comet or aurora. We have all been wishing on stars since we were children. Only the lucky few can gaze out at the ocean from their doorstep, and even those who do cannot see all that lies beneath the waves. As a result, the facts about ocean exploration are pretty bleak. Humans have laid eyes on less than 5 percent of the ocean, and we have better maps of the surface of Mars than we do of America’s exclusive economic zone — the undersea territory reaching out 200 miles from our shores. Sure, space is sexy. But the oceans are too. To those intrigued by the quest for alien life, consid

Buying a mobile device these days can feel like signing a pact with the devil – and to make matters worse, it’s difficult to determine where the parts were sourced and assembled and whether they were ethically produced. Fairphone aims to take the guilt out of gadgetry by producing the world’s first openly-designed, conflict-free smartphone. The company launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to reach their minimum goal of 5,000 pre-orders and now the Fairphone is on its way towards mass production. Read the rest of The Fairphone is an Openly-Designed Conflict-Free Smartphone Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Android, banka, bill of materials, conflict free, democratic repulbic of congo, dragontrail, Europe, fairphone, Firefox, indonesia, jellybean 4.3, mediatek chipset, north america, rwanda, smartphone, solutions for hope project, ubuntu