TresSugar

Models Strip Against Climate Change - Love It or Leave It?

TresSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:00 PDT

A few days ago, an International Day of Climate Action was put on by the global campaign 350.org. Figuring the public is more likely to pay attention to practically naked models than Al Gore (naked or not), the group put together a video of smiling models taking off their clothes because global warming makes them too hot. I'm already skeptical of naked activism, but I think this video is trying to appeal to people who like barely-clothed models. I think they might want to rethink their angle - if global warming causes beautiful people to strip, won't some people think that's a good thing?

Oh Snap! They're Meeeeeelting For a Cause

TresSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:30:00 PDT

The World Wildlife Fund set up 1,000 ice figures yesterday in Berlin, Germany to raise awareness about global warming. The artistic demonstration was meant as warning that melting ice could significantly raise ocean levels. I say: we have to save the adorable ice people!

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Très Bizarre: Japanese Company Cares About Global Warming

TresSugar — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:00:00 PDT

How do they express this? By featuring a young girl shaving a hot bear in the forest in places he can't reach. If you shave a bear in the forest and no one's around. . .oh, nevermind.

Casa Verde: Paint It White

CasaSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:30:00 PDT

If you've ever read Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, you know that some of life's most important lessons were learned when we were young. One of them might save the world, sort of. As a kid you learned that light-colored surfaces reflect the sun's rays, while dark surfaces absorb them and warm up. Well, have you ever considered applying this simple technology to your home? Obama's energy secretary Steven Chu is pitching painting all rooftops white to curb global warming, saying that, "it’s the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars on the road for 11 years," if not more. If that's not reason enough for you to paint it white (what do the Stones know?), consider that a reflective rooftop will reduce your air-conditioning costs this Summer, which in turn will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Cha-ching! The folks who built New Orleans's Superdome know what I'm talking about.
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Gore's Inconvenient Follow Up on Its Way - Would You Buy It?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:50:09 PDT

Climate change crusader Al Gore is back with a new book - Our Choice. The follow up to An Inconvenient Truth will spell out everything Gore has learned in the last few years, including concrete solutions to the climate issue. As the title hints at, Gore will hammer home the need to make bold choices.

And of course the book wouldn't be relevant without a tie-in to the current economic crisis (people can only handle one crisis at a time!). Our Choice explains how green policies can create new jobs and stimulate the economy.

Would you choose to buy Al Gore's new book when it's released in November?

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City vs. Country: Who's Polluting the Earth More?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:30:20 PDT

I always thought cities won the CO2-reduction argument with their tiny apartments and efficient undergrounds. Turns out, I was right! Sort of.

In many countries, cities have much lower per person emission rates, compared to the national average.

The real culprit? Not the driving culture of rural areas, but the high-consumption lives wealthy countries lead. Wealth that (until last year?) started in low-CO2-emitting cities like New York, which only emits 7.1 tons of CO2 per person while the US average is 23.92.

But when you look to poorer countries, urban areas are the pollution centers. To see why,

Cities like Beijing and Shanghai, which house the emission-emitting factory jobs wealthier countries shipped off, have higher CO2 emissions per capita than China's national average.

When you factor in poorer countries' lenient environmental regulations, cities seem to be the greater evil. While only half the world's population lives in cities, they consume 75 percent of global energy. UN-Habitat said cities emit 50-60 percent of greenhouse gases, but 80 percent when you factor indirect emissions from city dwellers.

Sounds like the problem is born in wealthy countries and bred in poor ones, no? Good thing China won't be "poor" much longer!

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Picture It: Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

CitizenSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:00:39 PDT

Nevermore was the message scientists sent today in Coventry, England as a New Orleans-style funeral march was staged to mourn lost generations of the future. It comes on UK's Climate Change Day of Action when the protest leader, NASA's director of the Goddard Institute For Space Studies, said scientists have a moral obligation to become politically involved.

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Do You Think Global Warming Is Exaggerated?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:30:04 PDT

Well it looks like a backlash against green is upon us just in time for ~~St. Patrick's Day~~ Earth Day. According to a new Gallup Poll, a growing number of Americans think global warming is exaggerated.

Today, a record-breaking 41 percent of Americans believe the news hypes up the seriousness of global warming, compared to 28 percent who think the media underestimates the threat. And 29 percent of those surveyed think global warming is correctly portrayed.

Overall it looks like the sense of urgency surrounding global warming is melting away. So pretend you're Goldilocks' three (polar) bears - is news coverage of global warming too hot, too cold, or juuuuust right?

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Should Obama Put Global Warming at the Top of His List?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:00:39 PST

President Obama has his hands full with the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, and healthcare reform. Now, Denmark is piling a task on his to-do list. The Scandinavian country's minister for climate and energy said Obama must push through laws fighting global warming ASAP. If Congress manages to pass, say, a cap-and-trade law, the US would set a powerful example for developing countries.

International leaders will meet in Copenhagen this December with the intention of creating an alternative to the Kyoto agreement, a treaty George W. Bush refused to sign. Everybody's looking to Obama to signal that he will take on global warming, unlike his predecessor.

Would you like to see comprehensive environmental legislation passed by the end of the year?

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Sonoma and Mendocino Wine Regions Prepare For Dry Spell

YumSugar — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:15:15 PST

Due to a lengthy dry spell in Northern California this season, Sonoma and Mendocino counties face a potentially devastating drought. This water shortage poses an immediate threat to Russian River grape growers and the region's hospitality industry.

Local officials have warned residents that water usage cutbacks may be as high as 50 percent. The dry spell won't just be about brown lawns and dry pools. The first to weather the impact? The region's grape growers, who will be forced to reconsider whether or not to turn on the spigots for frost protection in March. In addition, the drought's effects will likely spill over to the entire region's hospitality industry, as restaurants would be facing restricted flow on water, and forced to ration water, which is used in everything from making drinks in-house to doing dishes and mopping the floor.

I find this news alarming, and can't help but think it's a direct result of global warming. Did it ever occur to you how much a climate change could impact a sector such as the restaurant or wine industry?

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