The Green Grok Blogs on Waste
Building Hope One House at a Time
by Bill ChameidesNov 20, 2009
filed under: Nancy Murray, buildings, greenhouse gas emissions, business, climate change, housing, recycling, global warming, Builders of Hope, sustainability, homelessness, waste
Nancy Murray has taken recycling to a whole new level — she recycles houses.
Small Underwater Changes May Be Big Deal for Life Everywhere
by Bill ChameidesNov 12, 2009
filed under: C cycle, N cycle, phytoplankton, lakes, nitrogen, ecosystems, carbon, photosynthesis, pollution
Air pollution is causing a fundamental change in the way lakes work.
Trash Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
by Bill ChameidesOct 21, 2009
filed under: trash, waste, garbage, composting, energy, recycling, landfills, dumpster diving, freegan, recycled paper, Do It Yourself, pollution
Looking to lower your impact on the planet? Look no further than your trash bin.
1950s Vs. 2000s: The Drive to Supersize
by Bill ChameidesOct 15, 2009
filed under: Statistically Speaking, energy, low impact, electricity, energy efficiency, Energy Star, population, no impact, pollution
A lot has changed in the past 50 years, much for the better. Energy efficiency measures, for example, have meant less pollution and savings in electricity costs. But there is a but....
Urban Air Pollution: Stay on the Windy Side of the Street
by Bill ChameidesOct 14, 2009
filed under: science, air quality, air pollution, cars, research, particulate matter, traffic, automobile, Environmental Protection Agency, transportation, pollution
Thinking of an urban stroll to clear the head, move those bones, and take in a breath of fresh air? Be careful that noxious car exhaust doesn’t put a dent in your healthy walk. A new study helps point the way.
Living on the Edge
by Bill ChameidesSep 28, 2009
filed under: social science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, climate change, nutrient runoff, water pollution, climate disruption, agriculture, Anthropocene, The Limits to Growth, boundaries, particulate matter, ocean acidification, carbon dioxide emissions, oceans, global warming, water, chemical pollution, Holocene, climate, biodiversity, Thomas Malthus, ozone hole, Club of Rome, pollution
Are there limits to how much we can grow as a society and survive?
GDP: Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be?
by Bill ChameidesSep 23, 2009
filed under: climate change, water pollution, Nicolas Sarkozy, politics, overfishing, Peter Bartelmus, Green GDP, air quality, Joseph Stiglitz, China, policy, gross domestic product, economy, ecosystem services, global warming, global economy, ecosystems, Alan Mollohan, air pollution, economics, pollution
The headline reads “U.S. Climate Bill Could Cut GDP 3.5 Percent by 2050.” Should we care?
Forget Mackerel. Holy Bass.
by Bill ChameidesSep 16, 2009
filed under: intersex fish, Richard Nixon, dead zone, policy, fish, legislation, endocrine disrupters, water, Clean Water Act, water pollution, nutrient runoff, fertilizer, politics, waste, pollution
The Clean Water Act is no longer keeping our water clean.
The Ups and Downs of Global Haze
by Bill ChameidesAug 19, 2009
filed under: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, Martin Wild, aerosols, air pollution, global dimming, pulse of the planet, global warming, surface solar radiation, global brightening
Tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere can affect the climate. How? A special issue in the Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres sheds some light on the subject.
Air Pollution + Parental Stress = Asthma?
by Bill ChameidesJul 29, 2009
filed under: stress, asthma, air pollution, IQ, science, research, health, traffic, children
We all know that air pollution is not good. But what does that have to do with IQ and stressed-out parents?
Coal Ash Waste: Where We Are Now and Where We Still Have to Go
by Bill ChameidesJul 13, 2009
filed under: hazardous waste, coal, coal ash, Environmental Protection Agency, waste, Kingston Fossil Power Plant, pollution
The Kingston coal ash spill was the spark that lit a fire under the Environmental Protection Agency to make coal ash safe. The short update: no flames, but the fire is smoldering.
Drink Up Your Soft Drink - Another Critical Habitat in Decline
by Bill ChameidesJul 09, 2009
filed under: seagrasses, Pulse of the Planet, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, water pollution, seagrass meadows, habitat degradation, pollution
A new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences takes stock of the global status of seagrass meadows. Seagrass meadows?
GM Declares Bankruptcy
by Bill ChameidesJun 01, 2009
filed under: transportation, business, air pollution, automobile, automakers, health, Wall Street Journal, carbon dioxide emissions, General Motors
The end of an era, to be sure. But how did this happen? The result of meddling by “pointy-headed busybodies” or the inevitable march of time?
Cash-for-Clunkers Agreement: Still Not Ready for Prime Time
by Bill ChameidesMay 08, 2009
filed under: U.S. Congress, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, climate change, legislation, global warming, cars, transportation, carbon dioxide emissions, Cash for Clunkers
Congress has been kicking around the idea of paying people to scrap their old cars and buy new, more fuel-efficient ones. On May 5, Democratic lawmakers and President Obama reportedly agreed on a one-year cash-for-clunkers proposal. Unfortunately, as far as the planet is concerned, the proposal ... well, kind of clunks.
Sympathy for the Oil Industry?
by Bill ChameidesMay 06, 2009
filed under: oil shale, oil, greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas, T. Boone Pickens, climate change, energy, oil reserves, global warming, oil drilling, Robert Samuelson, Washington Post, oil resources, pollution, global economy, economy
The poor oil industry. After years of record profits, things have soured with the collapse of oil and gas prices. And now I read of an Obama “bias” against the industry. Heavens!
Statistically Speaking: Toxic Releases: How Much Do We Really Know?
by Bill ChameidesMar 26, 2009
filed under: TRI, air pollution, Statistically Speaking, REACH, TSCA, Environmental Protection Agency, waste, European Union, pollution
Last week the U.S. EPA issued the Toxic Release Inventory for 2007 – a compilation of the toxic chemicals and compounds that industries released to our land, water, and air during 2007. Great. But does the TRI tell the whole toxic release story?
Exxon Valdez 20 Years Later
by Bill ChameidesMar 18, 2009
filed under: oil, waste, oil company, oil spill, oceans, Exxon Valdez, Prince William Sound, ecosystems, fossil fuels, pollution
Prince William Sound, 2009. Pictures of picturesque beaches and icy-blue waters might suggest that the effects of the 1989 oil spill are long gone. Dig a little deeper, and a very different picture emerges.
Finally Standards for Coal Ash … Just in Time?
by Bill ChameidesMar 11, 2009
filed under: waste, toxins, water pollution, Bill Clinton, Kingston Fossil Power Plant, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, coal ash, policy, Environmental Protection Agency, power plants, Tennessee Valley Authority, pollution
On Monday, while the Environmental Protection Agency sought information from electric companies about their coal waste disposal practices, a new crisis was bubbling up around Maryland. It’s about time EPA acts on coal waste. But is it enough?
Environmental Roundup
by Bill ChameidesMar 05, 2009
filed under: wetlands, air quality, lead, air pollution, water, health, recycled paper, Environmental Protection Agency, waste
From coastal wetlands and "green" tissue paper to getting the lead out, here are four environmental news items theGreenGrok thought you might want to know about.
Obama On Tar Sands - Or Should I Say Oil Sands
by Bill ChameidesFeb 20, 2009
filed under: Canada, oil shale, oil, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, global warming, tar sands, global economy, Barack Obama, Stephen Harper, Carol Browner, pollution
Yesterday President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Harper talked about Canadian tar sands. They spoke of them euphemistically, calling them “oil sands.” Now, politicians choose words wisely – perhaps they employed the term to make tar-sand oil seem less egregious? PC talk fixes nothing.
