Renew and Sustain News

product vs design

2010-06-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

LEED and the green indtry of america is convincing everyone that it's all product based. I woul argue that sustianability is 99% idea and practice basesd, with 1% having anythign to do with technology.

solar parking meter

2010-05-31T17:15:00.001-07:00

Bikes bikes bikes

2010-05-31T16:32:00.001-07:00

People are biking more then ever in DC. They have increased the number of bike lanes by 30%. People are biking to the bars and using power assist devices.

Bikes are a great way to get around. They don't use any fuel or emit anything. Not to mention it is the fastest way to get around DC. faster then driving, metro, bus, or taxi!!!
Get your bike on.

LED street lamps

2010-05-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

This is a huge step towards energy conservation and a sustianable future which still having the same security.

FREE coffee for being green

2010-04-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today at starbucks take your tumbler in be green save resources and get a free coffee!

Big business= bad environment

2010-04-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

California has some the strictest regulatioins and standards when it comes to environmental issues and measures. This is fantastic in a World where to much of the environmenta is polluted and damges do to carelessness and ignorance.

Now big Oil business doesn't want to adhere to the standards because it would effect there massive profit. The people need to stick together stand strong and fight for what is right.

Drill Baby Drill

2010-04-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Obama seems to have taken a note from Mrs. Palin!

A larg area of the US east coast and Gulf are now open for drilling.

Mr. President I understand you have a larger policy agenda but what about the Air car no fuel is required to operate this vehicle. What about solar wind geothermal and countless other less invasive and climate changing methods of energy?

Why must we prolong sustain and pat on the back an industry which rapes us every day.

I implure you to stand firm on the environment! Put money into sustianable development put people back to work in the factories redevloping the US making us stronger, and more inventive.

Do the right thing. What is right is not always popular. Do the right thing.

Census

2010-03-10T16:33:00.001-08:00

All,

I got a letter in the mail today along side all of the useless magazines and the bills i've already selected to come as paperless. This lovely letter from the Census Bureau to tell me in about a week I will get my census in the mail. Why did you they use excess resources, time and money to send me a letter to tell me they are going to send another letter?

This is a waste!

The environment bringing us together

2010-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

Friend,
Youth are hitting the road for a clean energy future, and we want to make sure you're part of the action.
Yesterday, the Hip Hop Caucus Clean Energy Now! Bus Tour kicked off in New Orleans. Over the next week, the bus tour -- joined by Repower America, Consequence youth partners, and a diverse coalition of organizations -- will swing through 5 states on its way to DC.
This historic initiative brings together leaders from the faith, business, and climate communities alongside hip hop artisits and environmental leaders to amplify the voices of young people and communities of color demanding a new clean energy economy. Tour stops will feature guests including DJ Biz Markie, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, actress Gloria Reuben, performer D. Woods and many others.
Find out more about the Bus Tour and get the latest updates on the Consequence Blog.
Next week, as the bus tour winds its way into DC for its final stop, they will be met by the winners of our Organize to be Heard Challenge; an amazing group of youth climate organizers from across the country.
On Wednesday, these winners will be officially announced at a rally/press conference with Lisa Jackson and Members of Congress outside the Capitol before descending on the Senate offices to deliver your call to action.
If you can't be there in person, follow our blog for the next best thing. We'll be posting photos, videos, and updates throughout the tour.
Together for a clean energy future,
Jeff Mann,Consequence Campaign
P.S. For real-time updates on this week's exciting action, check us out on Facebook and Twitter

Environmental and Safety Hazards Associated with Various Energy Sources

2010-02-09T16:52:00.001-08:00

2010 SOS

2010-01-18T08:00:00.001-08:00

http://www.sospecies.org/

the little people v. THE BIG PEOPLE

2009-12-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

This notion of big and small countries. This idea needs to stop. There is one Earth, one human race, one atmosphere, one sun, one moon. One bad apples ruins the barrow!

This is not the time to become greedy. This is the time to step to the plate.

On my bike ride into work. Yes I ride my bike everyday almost. One to not pollute and two for health.

I came across Climate Plan B.

TCK TCK TCK campaign

The people's support

2009-12-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

As noted by the movement in Copenhagen, It is the power of the people that have the ability to make the change. May our leaders see and do what is needed for the people!

Climate Summit

2009-12-08T07:19:00.001-08:00

The world has the best opprotunity ever to bring itself out of a ression without a war. To increase the health of the worlds human and animal populations. To help the environment, to save money and do the right thing for our planet.

The new technologies, innovations, jobs, ideas, and unification of the worlds nations could all be at hand:

THE CLIMATE SUMMIT OPENS

WITH A FILM VIEW HERE

Japan is working on some measures

China, India, the United States, Europe, South America, Africa, Asia... Everyone makes a difference This is the time.

"This is our chance" Step up your actions count!

Learn what you can do!

2009-12-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

Take a UN class on Sustainable Development!

National Recycling Day

2009-11-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

About 80 percent of our nation's garbage goes to landfills and 90% of it is recyclable!!!

America Recycles

Solar Decathlon

2009-10-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.solardecathlon.org/

"Once the finish line is reached and your goal is achieved... Do we not look for the next race to achieve a little bit more!?!"

~M Dieterich

Read below for more information. I applaud the efforts of the the D.O.E. This is a great real world application brought to universities. Which involves inter-discipline collaboration to achieve a finial goal.

With that said. From the prospective of Renew and Sustain everything can be improved upon. As quoted above. This competition has could go a little further. Below is item number 5 of the goals

"To promote an integrated or "whole building design" approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact."

The whole building design could incorporate more sustainability features. for example

One house used ironwood for flooring this is an Brazilian hardwood which is farm raised... for something to be farm raised in a rainforest. The rainforest has to be slashed and burned and then a monoculture planted... How is that sustainable?

Another used cabinets and counter tops from Ikea or a bed from another cheap depart store. What happened to the whole building design here? All of this money is being spent on alternative energies and reduction of Co2 and other greenhouse gases.

This program has the potential to bring awareness to all aspects "whole building design" and I would like to see more effort on the part of the participates in the category...

Or better yet the Solar Decathlon create a category for the most sustainable building this way it's an item to be achieved.

I do want to make clear the buildings do incorporate a lot of reused and sustainable elements. Most structures are made of recycled or recyclable materials. As a sustainable company I see where and how this can go to the next step with all components inside and out.

Solar Decathlon Information

For three weeks in October 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy will host the Solar Decathlon—a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.

Purpose

The Solar Decathlon brings attention to one of the biggest challenges we face—an ever-increasing need for energy. As an internationally recognized event, it offers powerful solutions—using energy more efficiently and using energy from renewable sources.

The Solar Decathlon has several goals:

To educate the student participants—the "Decathletes"—about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies. As the next generation of engineers, architects, builders, and communicators, the Decathletes will be able to use this knowledge in their studies and their future careers.
To raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, and how solar energy technologies can reduce energy usage.
To help solar energy technologies enter the marketplace faster. This competition encourages the research and development of energy efficiency and energy production technologies.
To foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines—including engineering and architecture students, who rarely work together until they enter the workplace.
To promote an integrated or "whole building design" approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact.
To demonstrate to the public the potential of Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as they consume. Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption from the utility provider.

not CoOL

2009-10-15T05:29:00.000-07:00

http://consequence09.org/splash-cool-short/?sc=om-facebook-sm-2f-1

2009-04-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

GreenLife Festival and GreenScape Exhibit and Auction

to Benefit the

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Saturday May 2nd

10AM to 9PM

Sunday May 3rd

11AM to 6PM

For a weekend program guide go to:

www.greenlifefestival.com

click on "Schedule of Events"

Hosted by the Historic Savage Mill

and Sponsored by

Smith Industries

www.smithindustries.us

Beer Tastings by Rams Head - Wine Tastings by Black Ankle Vineyard - DJ Chilli Amar & Street Team from MIX107.3 - Roving Magician & Balloon Artist - Puppet Shows - Live Bands on the Green - David's Natural Market - Bonaparte's Bakery - Rams Head Rathskeller, Tavern and Sunday Jazz Brunch - Scoops Ice Cream - Green Exhibitors - Green Expert Speakers, Del Karfonta and Ned Tillman - Zip Line, Giant Swing and Climbing Wall - Antique Appraisals - Massage, Facials, Thai-yoga - Photo Restoration - Shadowbox Assemblage - Games - Quilting - Tattered Angel Glimmer Mists Demo and Screened Image make and takes - Natural Botanical Hair Treatments - Solmate Socks - Water Color Paint Giveaways - Trade in Old Clocks - and more.....

8600 Foundry Street

Savage, Maryland 20763

www.greenlifefestival.com

2009-04-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EARTH DAY

VOTE EARTH

2009-03-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight join the cause and turn out your lights.

http://www.earthhour.org/home/

preserve life

2009-03-27T18:54:00.001-07:00

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/photogalleries/smallest-frog-pictures/index.html

Bio Diversity on the Vernal Equinox

2009-03-20T13:34:00.001-07:00

No. 452, March 19, 2009

	Hawaiian Plant Becomes First Species Protected Under Obama Administration

	Conservationists Victorious Against Bat-harming Oil and Gas Sale

	Feds Propose Habitat Protections for Four Endangered Snails

	Coalition Petitions Eight States to End Unsustainable Turtle Harvest

	Suits Brewing for Sea Turtles - Take Action Now

	Mexican Wolf Needs New Recovery Plan, Halt to Persecution

	Lawsuit Imminent to Protect Amargosa Toad

	Give an Hour to the Earth With the Flick of Your Thumb

Give a gift to nature and support the Center's work.

New! Are you all atwitter for species conservation? Now you can follow the Center on Twitter.

Tell your friends about the Center's e-mail newsletter!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Endangered Earth.

Hawaiian Plant Becomes First Species Protected Under Obama Administration

After a landmark Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit and more than a decade of waiting, this Monday the Hawaiian plant Phyllostegia hispida finally earned endangered status under the Endangered Species Act -- the first species to get this protection under the new administration. The tangly-vined, many-branched plant, currently reduced to just 24 known wild individuals, was considered for emergency listing to stop its imminent extinction more than three years ago -- but that move was quashed by the Bush administration, which instead put the plant on the "candidate list" to await protections indefinitely. Now, the future looks better for Phyllostegia hispida, but unfortunately, 251 species are still on the candidate list.

In 2005, the Center and allies sued the Bush administration for using the candidate list as a stall tactic to avoid granting species much-needed protections. The 251 candidate species have been waiting an average of more than 20 years, with at least 24 species having died out while languishing in line for protections. Our goal is to earn firm deadlines for protecting all 251 species within three years.

Get more from the Associated Press.

Conservationists Victorious Against Bat-harming Oil and Gas Sale

About a week after the Center for Biological Diversity and allies protested a plan to sell oil and gas leases on a portion of West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management agreed to withdraw the area from the lease sale to the benefit of endangered bats. The land in question lies just a few miles west of "Hellhole Cave," the world's largest winter hibernation site for the Virginia big-eared bat and a major winter refuge for the Indiana bat, and oil drilling could disturb geology connected to the cave system. Right now, bats in the Northeast need all the protection they can get from any threat, since they've been dying by the thousands as the deadly and mysterious white-nose syndrome sweeps across New England -- and it's just been detected in West Virginia. Besides threatening bats, oil and gas drilling in the area would harm water quality, stream flows, and habitat for countless other species.

"This oil and gas project was going to further threaten bat species already spiraling rapidly toward oblivion," said Center conservation advocate Mollie Matteson. "The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have a responsibility to make sure their actions do not harm endangered species or their habitat, and yet that responsibility was being ignored."

Read more in the Chicago Tribune.

Feds Propose Habitat Protections for Four Endangered Snails

Thanks to legal action by the Center for Biological Diversity and Wildearth Guardians, last week four tiny, spineless residents of New Mexico's Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge inched toward needed safeguards when the feds made a new proposal to protect refuge habitat for the Roswell springsnail, Koster's springsnail, Noel's amphipod, and Pecos assiminea snail. The latest proposal reinstates a 2002 proposal to protect 1,523 acres of habitat for the Pecos assiminea and 1,127 acres for each of the other three invertebrates. It would rightfully void the Bush administration's 2006 decision to slash habitat for the Pecos assiminea and protect none for the other species, made under the assertion that the snails got enough protections from the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge itself. But the refuge's managers don't control the area's underlying minerals, so to be a true refuge for all four snails, the Bitter Lake area needs extra protections to ward off oil and gas drilling.

"These four New Mexico invertebrates are found nowhere else on Earth," said the Center's Michael Robinson. "Protect these species and you protect the springs they call home, ultimately benefiting dozens of species and an incredibly unique place."

Get all the details in our press release.

Coalition Petitions Eight States to End Unsustainable Turtle Harvest

Last Wednesday the Center for Biological Diversity joined two dozen other groups to file emergency petitions with Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee to ban the commercial harvest of freshwater turtles. Out-of-control turtle collection in these states is detrimentally depleting native turtle populations, which are extremely sensitive to overharvest and are already threatened by pollution, road mortality, fishery devices, and habitat loss. Scientists warn that freshwater turtles can't sustain any significant level of harvest -- much less the modern-day turtle-harvesting "gold rush" to supply Asian food markets -- without facing devastating population crashes. And unfortunately for both reptile and human, many turtles destined for the plate are being contaminated with deadly pollutants.

The Center and allies have now petitioned every U.S. state with unrestricted commercial harvest or inadequate harvest regulations for freshwater turtles. Thanks to work we did in 2008, last Friday Florida passed the first-ever draft rule to ban commercial harvest or sale of freshwater turtles. This is a crucial step in safeguarding these shelled reptiles. Texas and Oklahoma are also making steps toward protecting turtles, and Georgia and South Carolina are considering turtle-harvest regulation bills. But we still have a long way to go to truly protect freshwater turtles -- and states desperately need to step up their turtle-paced action.

Get more on our petitions from the Lexington Herald-Leader and read about Florida's ban in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Suits Brewing for Sea Turtles - Take Action Now

Freshwater turtles aren't the only turtles that need help. To ensure that imperiled marine turtles get needed protections on land and at sea, last Thursday the Center for Biological Diversity and allies warned the National Marine Fisheries Service we'll sue if it doesn't respond to our petitions on additional safeguards for loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles. Back in 2007, we filed three separate scientific petitions seeking to upgrade the Endangered Species Act status of North Pacific and western North Atlantic loggerheads from "threatened" to "endangered," increase protections for loggerheads' key nesting habitat, and secure federally protected habitat for the leatherback in areas off California and Oregon. But a year and a half after our call to action, the Fisheries Service still hasn't met its 12-month deadline for responding to our petitions -- which actually expired last fall. Meanwhile, loggerheads have declined by at least 80 percent in the North Pacific, and the Pacific population of leatherback sea turtles is on the brink of extinction.

The Center is also fighting to make sure that loggerheads off Florida's west coast aren't subjected to continued injury and death in the Gulf of Mexico commercial bottom longline fishery. Nearly 800 loggerheads have been caught, injured, or killed by this fishery since July 2006. Obviously, these turtles don't have time to wait.

Read more on our pending lawsuits in the San José Mercury-News, watch Louie the sea turtle plead for protections, and take action yourself to help save these magnificent reptiles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mexican Wolf Needs New Recovery Plan, Halt to Persecution

In comments on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's latest assessment of the current Mexican gray wolf management program, last Tuesday the Center for Biological Diversity and allies let the agency know what the wolf really needs: a federal recovery plan to replace the grossly outdated current plan, along with a temporary end to all wolf trappings and shootings. The old recovery plan -- in fact released way back when Duran Duran's single "Hungry Like the Wolf" graced the charts -- hasn't been updated since 1982, and it doesn't specify how many wild Mexican wolves would constitute recovery. Nowadays, only one population, numbering a meager 52 animals and two breeding pairs, roams free in Arizona and New Mexico. Government removals of Mexican wolves from the wild under the outdated plan have left dozens of Mexican wolves in permanent captivity, 18 accidentally killed, and 11 straight-up shot.

By now, the Center's comments show, the noble gray wolf of the Southwest is hungry for an adequate recovery plan and needs immediate protection from persecution if it's ever to attain the relative success of its northern Rockies cousins.

Check out our press release, where you can read our comments for yourself, and learn more about the Mexican gray wolf.

Lawsuit Imminent to Protect Amargosa Toad

Last week the Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Responsibility gave a strong voice to Nevada's mostly mute, highly imperiled Amargosa toad when we warned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that a lawsuit's coming if it doesn't respond to our petition to protect the amphibian under the Endangered Species Act. Even though the toad's dwindling population is relentlessly plagued by development, nonnative predators, grazing, off-road vehicles, water projects, and climate change -- and the toad occupies just a single 10-mile stretch along the Amargosa River -- the federal government has so far ignored the species' plight and missed the 12-month deadline to make a decision regarding our February 2008 petition.

Fewer than 20 Amargosa toad breeding pairs are known near the Amargosa River in Nye County, Nevada -- and all the species' remaining habitat is at risk of destruction.

sustainability cartoon

2009-03-17T20:12:00.001-07:00

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd031309s.gif

IPCC Warns irreversible climate change

2009-03-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/03/12/irreversible.climate/index.html

Renew and Sustain News

EARTH HOUR

2009-03-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

On March 28th make a difference... Turn your lights off for one hour. Follow the link below for more details

http://www.earthhourus.org/main.php

Renew and Sustain News

Amazon Rainforest Concerns

2009-03-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

The links below are part of a growing concern for our Earth and it's state.

Global warming has reached a 'defining moment,' Prince Charles warns

Amazon Rainforest Will Suffer Catastrophic Damage, Even in Best Case Scenario

You can make a difference. Contact us to find out how.

Renew and Sustain NEWS

NEW WEBSITE

2009-03-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Check out the New Website for Renew and Sustain.

There is a new list of services and updated projects.

Renew and Sustain