Photo via wilihybrid
When it comes to baby animal photos, we really can't get enough. But not only is it springtime -- and therefore cute baby animals are on the brain -- but World Water Day is approaching (March 22nd). So we figured we'd bring you photos of some of the cutest aquatic animals you've ever seen -- starting with this Galapagos sea lion pup. Click through for a whole lot more loveableness:
Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Proposal for Worldwide Ban on Polar Bear Trade Defeated Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:21:00 -0500
Photo via Cobbers
A ban backed by the United States to ban the international trade of polar bear skins, teeth and claws at the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species has been shot down, due to opposition led by Canada and Norway. The US argued that the international trade of the bear parts was damaging populations that are already endangered by habitat loss caused by climate change. And yet. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Goodone Creates Sexy Figurehugging Knits for Upcycled AW10 Collection (Photos) Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:08:47 -0500
link _____________________________________________
Earth Hour Countdown: Does It Make A Difference? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:05:54 -0500
One of the big myths about Earth Hour is that it doesn't actually make any difference, that the generators are running anyways. But the generators run on schedules and the operators now take Earth Hour into account. In Ontario, Canada, they dialed back the generators and reduced power generation by more than 6%. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Looking at the Bright Side of the Capture and Death of Rare Snow Leopard Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:47:00 -0500
Photos via Environmental Graffiti, credit Panthera Snow Leopard Trust
USA Today recently reported that a snow leopard was captured in Afghanistan and as a result of the physical and mental trauma of being caught and transported for sale, the big cat died. However, conservationists are trying to look at the bright side, which is the way in which Afghans reacted to the capture and treatment of the incredibly rare animal. When the Afghanistan National Environmental Protection Agency received word that a snow leopard was captured and sold by Afghan vil...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Creative Kid Mobility: Bike to Baby Stroller in Seconds Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:55:42 -0500
On my bike in the middle of the day, I see a lot of moms on the streets pushing strollers, and I always ponder that some of them might be happier and get more done on a bike. However, I know the hurdles to biking with babies, and there's an awkward in-between time when babies get too big (and also too heavy) for bike seats and trailers but they may not be quite rea...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Affresol: Prefab Houses Made From Plastic Landfill Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:31:07 -0500
It may well be the ugliest house we have shown on TreeHugger, and it is made of garbage, too. But Ian McPherson of Welsh startup Affresol takes plastic waste, grinds it down to little granules. They then mix it with liquid resin and pour it like concrete into panels, which they call Thermo Poly Rock (TPR). ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Best of Inhabitat: 6 Super-Cool Floating Homes and Habitats Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:18:14 -0500
It used to be that rising tides due to climate change were just a far-off fear - now they're a present-day reality. But we all know that humans are a race of survivors, and some of the best designs come out of the necessity to adapt to environmental changes and challenges. So while we're working on actually mitigating global warming, architects, designers and visionaries are one step ahead, imagining homes, buildings and entire cities situated above or e...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Kate Moss Fights Malaria with Recycled Mosquito Net Dress Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:53:10 -0500
link _____________________________________________
Gorilla Marketing 101: Nestlé, Palm Oil and the Power of the Internet Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:23:23 -0500
Protesters in Orangutan suits and modified Kit Kat signs.
In a great example of Gorilla marketing, Greenpeace in Europe appears to have been successful in persuading Nestlé to drop Indonesian palm oil producer Sinar Mas Group because of their "continued expansion into rain forests and "critical orangutan habitat." The campaign focuses on Kit Kat, the most popular chocolate bar in Europe, and is a great example of how activists can succeed and how corporations can screw up bigtime.
(Note: Nestlé does not make Kit Kat in the United States, it is licenced to Hershey)
...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Why Haven't Electric Bikes Caught On? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:17:09 -0500
link _____________________________________________
News From Mother Jones: The Future of Meat Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500
Hi, TreeHuggers. Here's what's new over at Mother Jones' Blue Marble blog:
Meat Production Set To Double by 2050: A new report offers insights into meat's environmental impact. A key finding: The livestock sector, including feed production and transport, is responsible for about 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (the beef, pork and poultry industries emit large amounts of CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases).
Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Where Have All the Flowers (Daffodils) Gone? Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:08:24 -0500
Image from Mail Online
This is England, the parks and gardens and countryside are supposed to be filled with golden daffodils by now. This is why we live here. But where are they? With this year's never ending winter and the long cold spell just beginning to end, the flowers haven't bloomed yet.
The village of Thriplow has been holding their daffodil festival on the same weekend for 41 years and this is the first time that this has ever happened. It is also the coldest winter in 30 years and t...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
The Electric Bicycle World Tour and What The World Looks Like from an E-Bike (video) Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:00:31 -0500
Guim Valls Teruel is travelling 5 continents on an electric bicycle to promote the use of cleaner energy and the non-reliance on fossil fuel worldwide. Currently in New Zealand, the Electric Bicycle World Tour has already clogged quite a lot of mileage so we decided to see how Guim's getting on so far. Guim started his tour on the 5th of June 2009 from the Olympic stadium in Beijing and his plan is to arrive in London in 2012. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
You People Saved Water Last Year - So Rates Are Going Up! Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:04:43 -0500
Leaking water supply pipe. Image credit:Alliance For Water Efficiency.
Yesterday I performed a web search on "water rate hike" and as expected, water rate hikes that range from 1.8% to as high as 35% are being asked. It's a situation found in many US municipalities. And there is anger to follow.
A common rationale is that 'customers used less water last year.' Because operating costs are relatively constant, the argument goes, (same pipe maintenance and health regulations to meet regard...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Auto Alliance Says Hands Off EPA's Ability to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:49:20 -0500
photo via flickr
In a surprising but welcome move, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers today sent a letter to House and Senate leadership stating its opposition to Sen. Lisa Murkowski's efforts to take away the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA has the ability, known as the Endangerment Finding, to set strict emissions reduction stand...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Surfer Teaches an Alpaca to Catch a Wave (Video) Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:09:46 -0500
Photo via Pilar Olivares / Reuters
Peruvian surfer Domingo Pianezzi loves to ride the waves--so much so, in fact, that he's made it his mission to share the experience with different animals he comes across. Over the years, Pianezzi has become quite accustomed to teaching all manner of furry and feathered friends how to surf, but for the first time yesterday he hit the wav...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Today on Planet 100: Cyclone Tomas (Video) Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:54:18 -0500
link _____________________________________________
Ray LaHood's Tabletop Speech at the National Bike Summit Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:25:47 -0500
link _____________________________________________
Don't Forget About Flour Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:20:09 -0500
Image credit: Good
It's in bread and pasta, cookies and muffins—indeed, it's in most of the food we eat—but if you're not careful, it's easy to forget about flour. That, Good tells us, would be a mistake....Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Green Beer: TreeHugger Tested, Planet Approved (Slideshow) Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:15:39 -0500
Image credit: arvindgrover/Flickr
Sitting outside with a cold beer is an iconic moment of the spring and summer. Drinking beer is also, of course, an essential part of many St. Patrick's Day celebrations. For these reasons we present a small collection of some of our favorite green beers to add to your shopping list this season.
Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Green Eyes On: Another Atrazine Bombshell - Changing Frogs' Sex Traits Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:50:52 -0500
Photo via: WikiVisual.Guest blogger Sara Snow is a green lifestyle expert and board member for Discovery's 24/7 future-forward network Planet Green.
About a year ago the Chief Scientist at The Organic Center (a national organization for which I serve on the Board of Directors), Chuck Benbrook, alerted us to an interesting study being conducted by some UC Berkeley zoologists, led by Tyrone Hayes, looking into the effects of Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Smart Lighting? Software-Controlled Networked LED Lights Save Tons of Power Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:35:19 -0500
Photo: Digital Lumens
A Bright Idea for the Lighting Industry
According to the US Department of Energy, lighting represents about 12% of energy consumption for residential buildings and 25% for commercial ones (presumably because commercial buildings are kept much brighter than residential homes on average). That's a lot of energy, and despite recent improvements thanks to CFLs (Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Is This Ad Too Scary for Television? (Video) Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:13:00 -0500
Britain's independent watchdog agency, the Advertising Standards Association, has decided it is. The ad, which features a a father reading a bedtime story to his daughter about the the impacts of climate change, caused a stir when it was first released. The ASA has now "rebuked" the government for the ad campaign--which includes 4 print ads as well as the TV spot--saying that the campaign "exaggerates the threat Britain faces" as ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Could Health Care Bill's Passage Endanger Energy Reform? Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:35:00 -0500
Photo via Atro City News
There's one major way that it feasibly could--and that's if the passage of a health care bill causes Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to jump ship on energy reform efforts. Josh Nelson grapples with this possibility in a good piece over at EnviroKnow, noting the senator's threats to bail on energy reform if the Democrats use the reconciliation process to pass parts of the health care legislation. And the loss of Graham's support would...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Post Cap & Trade, Manufacturing Jobs Will Move To US States With Greener Power, Not China Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:06:26 -0500
States that could, in the future, attract manufacturing jobs using low reliance on coal as a marketing tool. Image credit: J.Laumer, with USEIA data.
A few days ago I asserted that total coal consumption per state is a more useful metric than coal dependency for electricity. In this post, which borrows a graphic from the linked one, I'd like to take the insight to the next level.
Job "leakage," from here on out, is also an interstate game.
Post C...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Don't Bogart That Tree: It's Not Really Carbon Neutral Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:46:40 -0500
Trees suck CO2 out of the air as they grow and then release roughly the same amount of CO2 when they're burned in the advanced power plants, said Jack Byrne, d...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Steven Chu Begins Nationwide Energy Efficiency Push in US Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:36:00 -0500
Photo via BellonaIt's About Time . . .Steven Chu has an op-ed from the World Economic Forum report reposted in the Huffington Post today, and it's full of both good points and good news. The ol' one-two goodness combo, as I like to say (full disclosure: I've never said that before in my life). Moving on. Highlighted in the piece are some ironclad arguments as to ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Revenues for Solar PV, Wind, and Biofuels Expand by 11.4% to $139.1B in 2009 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:28:16 -0500
Photo: Flickr, CC
Clean Energy Still Growing Strongly
Despite a very difficult year for most industries in 2009, the three major branches of the clean energy sector have shown some significant growth. "In 2009, combined global revenue for the three major clean-energy sectors - solar photovoltaics (PV), wind power, and biofuels - grew by 11.4 percent over 2008, reaching $139.1 billion. These three sectors are expected to reach $325.9 billion by 2019, according to the Clean Energy Trends 2010 report i...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Toxic FEMA Trailers To Be Auctioned Off With Warning Stickers Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:25:14 -0500
Warning stickers everywhere - here is the original sticker on the units warning "Not for Recreational Purposes" (Photo: Tim's Nameless Blog)
In the hopes of liquidating a national shame as quickly as possible, the U.S. federal government is now auctioning off most of the 120,000 toxic, formaldehyde-contaminated trailers once used to house Hurricane Katrina victims. Though the resale of the trailers had begun in earnest last year, they are now being auctioned off in bulk for a fractio...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
TreeHugger's Best of Green 2010: Cast Your Vote Today! Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:49:55 -0500
Last year, TreeHugger honored more than 170 winners across eight topics with our first annual Best of Green Awards. This year, we asked for your nominations and the response was overwhelming with hundreds of suggestions spanning dozens of categories.
Now, your suggestions, along with some of our own, have been compiled and it's time to vote for your favorite....Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Sanyo Completes Installation of Solar Parking Lots for Electric Bikes in Tokyo Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:30:28 -0500
Photo: Sanyo
Muscles and Sun
Sanyo Electric has completed the installation of two solar parking lots in the Setagaya ward in Tokyo, Japan, and a third smaller solar parking is coming. The two big stations will each have 40 Eneloop electric bikes, and the small one 20. These will be available as "community bicycles" for local residents and visitors (kind of like regular bike-sharing, but no details on membership conditions yet)....Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Most Africans Blame Themselves for Climate Change, Poll Finds Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:18:00 -0500
Photo via EHP
This might be the most depressing story I've read all day (and that's saying something when your job description includes reading depressing stories all day): a recent survey found that most Africans 'blame themselves' for climate change, citing the damage they've done to the environment in their homelands. Remember, all of Africa combined is only responsible for some 4% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions--they're among the least responsible for global warming in the world. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
link _____________________________________________
Photo: 
Photo via 
Photo via 
One of the big myths about Earth Hour is that it doesn't actually make any difference, that the generators are running anyways. But the generators run on schedules and the operators now take Earth Hour into account. In Ontario, Canada, they dialed back the generators and reduced power generation by more than 6%. ...
Photos via 
It may well be the ugliest house we have shown on TreeHugger, and it is made of garbage, too. But Ian McPherson of Welsh startup Affresol takes plastic waste, grinds it down to little granules. They then mix it with liquid resin and pour it like concrete into panels, which they call Thermo Poly Rock (TPR). ...
It used to be that rising tides due to 
Kate Moss in a recycled mosquito-net dress. Credit: 
images courtesy of Abitare
It seems you can build just about anything out of cardboard. Fabrizio of the Italian design magazine 
Protesters in Orangutan suits and modified Kit Kat signs.
In a great example of Gorilla marketing, Greenpeace in Europe appears to have been successful in persuading Nestlé to drop Indonesian palm oil producer Sinar Mas Group because of their "continued expansion into rain forests and "critical orangutan habitat." The campaign focuses on Kit Kat, the most popular chocolate bar in Europe, and is a great example of how activists can succeed and how corporations can screw up bigtime.
(Note: Nestlé does not make Kit Kat in the United States, it is licenced to Hershey)
...
Image credit: 
Hi, TreeHuggers. Here's what's new over at Mother Jones' 
Image from 
Guim Valls Teruel is travelling 5 continents on an electric bicycle to promote the use of cleaner energy and the non-reliance on fossil fuel worldwide. Currently in New Zealand, the 
Leaking water supply pipe. Image credit:
Photo via Pilar Olivares / 
Image credit: Good
It's in bread and pasta, cookies and muffins—indeed, it's in most of the food we eat—but if you're not careful, it's easy to forget about flour. That, 
Image credit: 
Photo via: 
Photo: Digital Lumens
A Bright Idea for the Lighting Industry
According to the US Department of Energy, lighting 
Britain's independent watchdog agency, the Advertising Standards Association, has decided it is. The ad, which features a a father reading a bedtime story to his daughter about the the impacts of climate change, 
Photo via 
States that could, in the future, attract manufacturing jobs using low reliance on coal as a marketing tool. Image credit: J.Laumer, with USEIA data.
A few days ago I asserted that 
Photo via 
Photo: 
Warning stickers everywhere - here is the original sticker on the units warning "Not for Recreational Purposes" (Photo: 
Last year, TreeHugger honored more than 170 winners across eight topics with our 
Photo: Sanyo
Muscles and Sun
Sanyo Electric has completed the installation of two solar parking lots in the Setagaya ward in Tokyo, Japan, and a third smaller solar parking is coming. The two big stations will each have 40 
Photo via 
