PodCars in Ithaca?

There was a great article in this weeks Ithaca Times about a small group of individuals who want to bring "podcar" mass-transportation to Ithaca. Interesting stuff! I thought you might find it interesting: Connecting Ithaca.

A Big Week...

It's been a very big news week in regards to Climate Change. Talks at the G-8 Summit in Italy have generated a great deal of media stories. Below are two that came across my Twitter feed from NPR.

President Obama, who served as the chair of the energy and climate change forum at the G-8 Summit, has vowed that the days of US inaction are over!

"We also agree that developed countries, like my own, have a historic responsibility to take the lead. We have the much larger carbon footprint per capita. And I know that in the past the United States has sometimes fallen short of meeting our responsibilities, so let me be clear: Those days are over." - President Obama

To read more of this article posted on the NPR news blog click here:
Obama To World: Days Of U.S. Climate Inaction 'Are Over'

The other story that is coming out of these meetings is that the climate talks have ended with meager promises.

"International climate talks held in Italy this week ended with little progress. The rich industrial nations wouldn't promise to cut back their emissions in the near term. And China, India and the rest of the developing world wouldn't commit to cutting their emissions, ever." - NPR Morning Edition

To read more of this article click here:
Climate Talks End With Meager Promises

It seems like the news coming out of this summit is mostly good! What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.

Two Degrees...

The Associate Press reported today that the leaders at the G8 Summit in Italy have agreed to a limit on temperature rise:

"AP July 8 2008:Targeting global warming, President Barack Obama and other leaders of the world's richest industrial countries pledged Wednesday to seek dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to slow dangerous climate change. Setting a marker for success, they agreed for the first time that worldwide temperatures must not rise more than a few degrees.

However, their goals are nonbinding, and it's far from clear they will be met. The wealthy nations failed to persuade the leaders of big developing countries to promise to cut their own fast-spreading pollution, unable to overcome arguments that the well-established industrial giants aren't doing enough in the short term.

Obama and his counterparts from the other wealthy Group of Eight nations agreed that global temperatures should be kept from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, in the fight against weather changes caused by humans.

The results left some Western leaders cheering. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the group's statement a "historic agreement." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was "a clear step forward."

You can find the complete article here: NPR

Predictions for the Future

The New York Times recently reported on a U.S. study concerning possible consequences of global warming. These predictions indicate serious changes for Americans nationwide. Global warming has already affected human health, agriculture, coastal areas, transportation and water supplies. Follow this link to read more about the study’s conclusions:

Predictions for the Future

Composting -- Toilets?

I just came across this great article on NYTimes.Com. It's about how some cities are allowing for compostable toilets. I thought you all might be interested!

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/cities-contemplate-the-composting-toilet/

A Green Breakfast...

Earlier in the week we posted a link to an article from the New York Times about the carbon footprint that our breakfast creates. This morning I came across some recipes to make our own cereals from www.planetgreen.com.

This page provides recipes for cereals and granola bars. Cut out buying the cereal that was trucked in from miles away, that's packaged in plastic then cardboard and use fresh ingredients!

Check out the recipes here:

5 Awesome Granola Recipes

Michael Jackson -- Environmentalist?

I just came across this great article about Michael Jackson's ode to planet Earth, Earth Song, on the website TreeHugger.com.

"Michael Jackson was famous for his socially-conscious music, but "Earth Song," his big, bold environmental call-to-arms, is often overlooked. Still, by sheer dint of his reach, the song might have made Jackson (who bears no relation to U.S. EPA chief Lisa Jackson) a kind of super-sized Al Gore, a decade before An Inconvenient Truth."

Read More: www.treehugger.com.