Featured Blog Posts (73)

Sometimes the doom and gloom of environmental issues get me down. So it is always refreshing to find new, cool inventions people are designing to bring some practical resolutions to the problems. You'll see a new post in news items on GreenLine today about a small company called BioLite, that's producing an efficient wood stove/ electric charger for developing nations. They started by first designing a popular…

I must admit to being a little shocked to find out there is a formula for deciding which endangered species to save. I probably shouldn't have been, but it seems somehow wrong that such a formula exists. It means humans believe we can't and shouldn't save all species. Why? Because we don't have enough money to save them all.

At least that's the premise in this article from Business Insider.It…

Northern New Mexico is home to a lot of small farms. It is the way families have long survived with little money and a small plot of land.

Urban gardening and farming seems to be making a come back as well with interest in a return to healthier, less processed foods. I stumbled across this cool little radio blog on Google called Small Home Farm Radio. Blogger Erin, raised on farms, ended up in the city at age 12. She yearned…

I've long been fascinated by architecture and green building. My dream some day is to own a small, completely energy efficient, beautifully built house - the kind at least half the world could live in if they had a little financial help.

Here are some recent ones promoted by different designers:

The artistic recycled transportable shelter: Gomes

The …

On a happier note than black lung disease, here's one of the inventors coming up with the new products that can help move us off of coal-fired power and bring practical energy to even the poorest places in the world.

Santa Fe based nonprofit Bioneers carried a radio program today about Buckminster Fuller and his design genius. MIT architecture professor Shiela Kennedy is carrying on the genius with a portable energy producing project called MATx…

Until U.S. policy makers and utility companies commit to moving the whole energy system off non renewable sources, a good portion of the electricity most of us use in Santa Fe and New Mexico at large comes from coal-fired power plants. The least policy makers can do is make sure existing laws are upheld and the health of coal miners is protected as much as possible from black lung disease. That's not happening according to a recent series of  reports from NPR.…

A few years ago I took a series of green building and water harvesting classes at Santa Fe Community College. They were well worth the time. These layperson friendly classes are coming up and for any of you Greenliners interested in the latest about green design, saving water and alternative building methods, I highly recommend these classes.

Classes are on Tuesday evenings from 6 - 9 p.m. and are offered by Architects Designers Contractors Network in June and July 2012 at SFCC. The…

A story from the LA Times Friday about a new paper in the journal Nature should be yet another clarion call regarding the coming climate change disaster. But will it be?  For more than two decades, ever since the last earth summit in Rio de Janeiro, scientists have warned of what was coming. The science wasn't perfect. It couldn't say exactly when climate change would…

It is uncomfortable to look around at our lifestyles and start to analyze the impact they have on the environment. It sometimes feels like the only way to live gently on the earth is to do like author and international program developer William Powers - spend time in an off-grid 12 x 12 cabin. His new little book, called 12 x 12, is a great little read about his own lifestyle analysis.

I have few vices left, but good coffee and chocolate are two of them. Now, reading a…

New Mexico has some pretty good laws protecting dark skies from bright lights, but still, even in small villages you'll find the frequent pole with a big, ugly glaring light on it, washing out the stars. True the light brings a sense of security, but there are other types of lights that cast less of a glare into the night sky.

Award-winning documentary Ian Cheney has a film showing on PBS soon about the loss of dark skies…

Some Coloradans are opening a Pandora's box where water is concerned, and it is something New Mexican in-stream water flow advocates should keep an eye on.  Environmental lobbyist Richard Hamilton and others are advocating for two initiatives on November's state ballot, according toThe Colorado Statesman.

They believe their government is…

Hmmm. I'm not convinced the PowerPot will work, but I'm excited to try one when the designer actually launches the product in June. Basic idea: a simple cook pot with an electric cord attached to it. Heat the pot over a campfire or a campstove and it is supposed to generate enough electricity to power a cell phone, GPS or other small electronic device.

The…

This is a Dot Earth, NYT post well worth reading. Paul Douglas, a self-professed moderate Republican Christian meteorologist from Minnesota and an  entrepreneur, who believes the Republican Party needs to stop playing politics and recognize the climate is changing due in large part to human activity.  Bloomberg News today published…

The Global New Energy Summit opens next week in Colorado, bringing together scientists, investors and government officials to discuss the nation's energy future. The founder of the summit is Santa Fe venture capitalist David Bliven.  On the agenda: power transmission, renewable energy, coal fuel, financing, battery storage and…

Santa Fe's Mayor David Coss is inviting residents to take part in a national water challenge. Participation can make the city look good and win won participant a Toyota Priuus! Signing up is simple. Go to www.mywaterpledge.com and mark the ways you promise to help save water.

Currently, the Wyland Foundation managing the pledge, puts Santa Fe at 24th in the nation for…

The World Watch Institute has released it's new State of the World report. This  environmental research and policy organization began issuing these reports 29 years ago. This year's report, Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity looks at "the good life" of a growing middle class and how the current definition of that good life can't be sustained over the long haul.…

A new study has found anthropogenic aerosols - read fossil fuel fall out - on the surface of glaciers. The study was published recently in Nature GeoScience.

Jessica Robertson, PIO at the USGS does a nice job of describing the…

Battery storage remains the Achilles' heel for renewable energy. RE opponents say the inability to store renewable energy for peak use periods is the reason coal, nuclear and natural gas will always be needed to back up the grid's power supply.

But at least home-owners who want to try off-grid energy production may have some hope. Aquion is the latest company announcing a …

I was remiss in putting a brief in the newspaper so dear Greenliners, you get a special notice.

The great folks at The Feed Bin on West Alameda in Santa Fe are putting on their annual poultry seminar tonight (Feb. 16) at 6 p.m. at the store. They'll discuss caring for new chicks, proper feed and housing, and more. The workshop is free!

If you've ever wanted to raise your own backyard flock, this seminar is a great way to get started.

I keep hoping the brilliant folks at the Santa Fe Complex or LANL will develop an even more brilliant version of this virtual water game created for Lake Mead. The game teaches people a little about the problems of trying to keep water in the lake while letting Las…