Green Blog

I have been struck by conflicting emotions during the current Mt. Eyjafjallajökull saga. While I feel sorry for the scores of stranded passengers I cannot escape a sense that what is happening is actually beautiful. A natural event can throw our high-tech and often arrogant society into a complete tailspin. We have no answer to this utterly normal phenomenon, and on top of this, don’t even seem to understand how to interpret it. Did we really have to cancel all these flights, or was it a gross overreaction? Confusion reigns, and we are – or should be – reminded of our rightful, unmasterly place in the world.

The other emotion is one of near horror.

Our friends at the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia are throwing a party on Friday. Here's what they have to say about it:

This Earth Day weekend, more than 300 local businesses leaders will come together to celebrate the progress of Philadelphia’s green movement. The Sustainable Business Network’s fourth annual SustainaBall will be held Friday, April 23 from 7:30-11 p.m. at The Chestnut Club at Arcadia Theater, 1529 Chestnut St.

Earth Day's 40th anniversary is coming up on April 22, and that means there will be an explosion of excitement on Thursday. But one explosion isn't enough anymore. In addition to Earth Day, the world has Earth Week, a means to harness the Earth Day energy and celebrate our planet for longer than just one day.

In support of Earth Week - which, by the way, was born in Philadelphia - and its goal of spreading education and awareness, LED Saving Solutions is taking part in a broad range of initiatives.

Six activists from six countries will receive Goldman Environmental Prizes on Monday, rewarding them for excellence in grassroots environmentalism.

If you're in the Philadelphia Area, and you haven't stopped by the Go Green Expo yet, we'd love to see you on Sunday.

The event has been a blast so far. Great information all over the place. Lots to learn about saving energy. Lots to learn about saving money. And lots to learn about saving the planet. Plus cars, gadgets, food, and, of course, totally inspiring people.

And you should be one of them.

Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Joe Leiberman (I-CT) have decided to push the release of their much anticipated climate and energy bill from April 22 to April 26.

Why? According to Senator Graham (as reported by The National Journal):

"One, we're not ready," he said.

Overview

Stepped on for more than 2,300 years, concrete rarely gets the respect it deserves. Perhaps the most ubiquitous building material, concrete strengthens our homes, schools, office buildings, and hospitals. Its manufacture is also among the most energy-consuming and polluting industrial processes. Analysts expect greenhouse gas emissions from global concrete production to become a larger contributor to climate change than the European Union in the next 20 years.

Worldwide, the equivalent of almost 270,000 trees is either flushed or dumped in landfills every day, and roughly 10 percent of that total is attributable to toilet paper. Meanwhile, growing populations, adoption of Western lifestyles, and sanitation improvements in developing countries are driving the increased use of toilet paper. According to the latest issue of World Watch magazine, the result is that forests in both the global North and South are under assault by paper companies competing to fill consumer demand.

Our friends at Simple Steps published a fascinating little how-to article last week that includes some thoughts about lighting without lights. That's right: lighting without lights.

As LED enthusiasts, we were surprised to be reading an article about energy efficient lighting without any mention of our favorite species of bulb, but bulbs were the least of Simple Steps' concerns.

The scale of economic destruction would be equivalent to that of the two world wars and the Great Depression combined.

Xie Zhenhua said that, about climate change. He is a senior Chinese negotiator in international climate treaty talks. It's a big statement, and many people, Americans especially, will look at China's reluctance to make a binding commitment to emissions reduction and dismiss the statement as empty rhetoric.