What are some of my crazy superstitions? Wearing my shamrock pants for a Notre Dame football game; taking a nap and having pasta before one of my own basketball games; never ever using a green tee on the golf course; wearing the blue pin-stripe suit for a big presentation; using my favorite mechanical pencil for a test; and, always having a $2 dollar bill in my pocket for good luck. I often vacillate on the value these rituals provide to me.
To be or not to be … green
As part of the "Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability" research on green gentrification trends in cities across Europe, the lab regularly engages with residents and activists affected by large-scale greening and redevelopment projects as well with those that have little or no access to green space. In this short documentary shot and edited by filmmaker Alberto Bougleux, we explore the case of Barcelona and feature the voices of those who are fighting for the right to neighbourhoods that are both green and affordable.
Veganism also positions itself as an actor in the preservation of the environment, calling for a reduction in the environmental footprint caused by animal exploitation. But in truth, both carnivorous and vegan diets impact water consumption, greenhouse gases, and transport of non-local ingredients. Anyone wanting to go vegan for the sake of reducing their carbon footprint needs to carefully research to origins of what they're eating.
Even if the ecological balance sheet may be favourable, is it idyllic? An Oxford University study shows that the average diet of someone eating a lot of meat and 2000 calories emits 2.5 times more greenhouse gases than the average diet of a vegan eating 2000 calories. But the origin and production conditions of food products must also be taken into account. For example, several studies have shown a larger water footprint for nuts and beans than for chicken, so switching from a diet that had a high proportion of chicken to a vegan diet that required protein from legumes and nuts resulted in a larger water footprint in some cases. (However, overall, studies have shown that diets with reduced meat consumption have a lower environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land use).
Pietro Leemann of Joia in Milan runs the first vegetarian Michelin starred restaurant (award received in 1996). After 30 years of existence, Joia is considered the most important restaurant in Europe and the world in terms of green, ethical and sustainable cuisine.
Using molecular techniques, Wedin et al. looked at fungi living on different parts of aspen (Populus tremula) in northern Sweden. On analysing four independent genomic markers, they found that three different species of a fungal genus (Stictis) grew directly on wood without bark as typical saprophytes (top photograph); but when on the bark of the trunk, the same species associated with green algae to form a whitish, crust-like lichen (bottom). In both images the scale bar is 1 mm.
This is unlike cleaning up pollution (also called remediation), which involves treating waste streams (end-of-the-pipe treatment) or cleanup of environmental spills and other releases. Remediation may include separating hazardous chemicals from other materials, then treating them so they are no longer hazardous or concentrating them for safe disposal. Most remediation activities do not involve green chemistry. Remediation removes hazardous materials from the environment; on the other hand, green chemistry keeps the hazardous materials out of the environment in the first place.
If a technology reduces or eliminates the hazardous chemicals used to clean up environmental contaminants, this technology would qualify as a green chemistry technology. One example is replacing a hazardous sorbent [chemical] used to capture mercury from the air for safe disposal with an effective, but nonhazardous sorbent. Using the nonhazardous sorbent means that the hazardous sorbent is never manufactured and so the remediation technology meets the definition of green chemistry.
To set the record straight: to be called alexandrite, a chrysoberyl has to fulfil three basic criteria: 1) It has to show a moderate to distinct colour change observed under standard lighting situations (daylight and incandescent light). 2) It has to contain a distinct amount of chromium and 3) as a consequence has to show a distinct absorption band at about 575 nm (related to Cr3+) (see Figure 2). Although greenish brown to yellowish brown chrysoberyl may show a slight colour shift towards a slightly more brownish hue in incandescent light, such stones do not qualify as alexandrite, as their colour is mainly or completely related to iron.
The evil Iago plants doubts in Othello's mind about his wife's faithfulness, while advising him, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." (Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)
".... if jealousy wasn't a factor, three out of every four married people were highly satisfied with the emotional facets of their marriage. However, when the 'green-eyed monster' entered the mix, levels of satisfaction dropped to less than half for married folk." -Michelle Lodge, HealthDay.com, Feb. 12, 2010
Purdue University turf grass specialist Aaron Patton inspects a lawn that is partially green and partially brown, showing signs of drought stress. (Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
* Advantages: Turf will stay green, aesthetically pleasing and actively growing; ground remains soft so it can be used for recreation; deep soaking will foster deep roots, which will help plants better survive a prolonged drought.
"Once the lawn turns brown and goes dormant, we can't tell if a lawn is dying unless we water and wait to see the response," Patton said. "That is why we advise to water once every two weeks with one-half inch of water once the turf goes dormant to keep plant crowns hydrated during drought. This amount of water will not green up the turf, but it will increase long-term survival during long dry spells."
In one of my first attempts to use the SEO analysis tool, I found myself cheating the tool to receive a green bullet. At the time, I also contributed to a mom blog, besides writing posts for Yoast.com. I wanted to write a post about my favorite brands of newborn clothes. Of course, I had done some extensive keyword research in advance. And I wanted this post to rank for [baby clothes].
A whole new profession has sprung up that has become ever more sophisticated inmaking these so-called attributional life-cycle assessments (LCAs).1 LCAs result in a setof environmental impact indicators per product. When this analysis is used, product Ais deemed greener than product B if it has lower indicator results than product B. Allwe need to determine whether a product is green is a benchmark product, which definesthe amount of environmental impact that is typical or average. A product is calledgreen when its life-cycle environmental impacts are lower than those of the benchmark.
This is the state-of-the-art thinking about green products. Infact, many managers and management scholars have a much cruderapproach to greenness. Frequently, they simply look for one productattribute that can be labeled green and call a product green if itscores high in this attribute. This way bio-based materials (such asclothes made from natural fibers), products with recycled content,and hybrid cars are labeled green products even without genuineanalysis. LCA, with its life-cycle perspective and multiple environmentalindicators, is clearly an improvement over such simplisticthinking. Unfortunately, even adding life-cycle thinking cannot savethe fundamentally flawed concept of the green product.
The trouble with green products starts with the seemingly commonsenseidea that greenness can be determined through comparisonto a benchmark product. LCAs would help you conclude that ahybrid SUV is indeed greener than a conventional, equal-sized SUV.But the customer might actually choose the hybrid SUV instead ofa conventional compact car with higher fuel economy. The benchmarkidea can be just as problematic for intermediate goods. Anexample would be a utility that chooses electricity from natural gasover renewable electricity, and not over coal-based electricity as istypically assumed. Suddenly, the hybrid SUV and electricity fromnatural gas are not green any more.
Imagine someone buying a refurbished cell phone (or any otherrefurbished electronic device) in addition to, rather than instead of,a new one, say as a backup device.2 Or picture someone buying therefurbished product because she cannot afford a new one. What aboutsomeone who buys a brand new, very energy-efficient gadget, not insteadof a less energy-efficient gadget, but instead of no gadget at all?Maybe the advertised greenness of the energy-efficient gadget even encouragedthe consumer to purchase it instead of not buying anything.
The examples where the correct benchmark seems to be no purchaseat all overthrow the naïve assumption at the core of the greenproduct idea, which is that each product category has a constant orat least predetermined sales volume, and customers simply chooseamong the alternatives within the category. That the problem goesfar beyond choosing benchmarks can be illustrated with a closeexamination of the mother of all green activities: recycling.
This is how the direct rebound effect goes: The owner of an oldSUV with poor gas mileage gets the brand-new hybrid version withimproved fuel economy, clearly a green version of the old car. In thegreen product narrative, the owner drives a fixed number of milesevery year, so the hybrid car will reduce gasoline consumption andall related emissions. It will also save the owner money. There is,however, considerable evidence that the owner will use some ofthe savings to drive more (for instance, taking a job that is fartheraway from where she lives, or moving farther away from her job).5The larger this so-called direct rebound effect is, the less green isthe hybrid vehicle. 2ff7e9595c
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