Kayakas!

This excellent short video by the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation about the coral reef near the Phoenix Islands speaks for itself. Most of us could use more knowledge of our planet’s oceans and their ecosystems, and coral reefs are a very important piece of the puzzle. Please watch the video, but also learn some coral reef facts, find out about simple things you can do to help and consider supporting financially the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation.

It”s a big holiday weekend in the US and Canada, with celebrations of independence and federation happening near and far. Here in TreeHugger nation, we like to celebrate Energy Independence Day as well. Here are some of our picks for celebrating without foreign oil, dirty power and (too many) carbon emissions.

1) Boycott Exxon and take a ride on a solar-powered electric bike instead.

The city of Chicago recently unveiled their Bike 2015 Plan, which they”re calling “the most ambitious bike plan in the United States.” The plan, which features a whopping 150 strategies to encourage bicycling, recommends projects, programs and policies to encourage use of one of our favorite modes of transportation. Three years in preparation, the plan will implement Mayor Richard M. Daley’s goal to make Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States. Work has already begun on 75 of the plan’s 150 strategies, including, constructing 10 miles of new bikeways in 2006 to help reach the plan’s goal of a 500-mile bikeway network by 2015, permitting passengers aged 14 to 17 to board CTA trains and buses with their bicycles, on a trial basis, so that Chicagoland high school students can combine transit and bicycle use, and providing free valet bike parking at 11 Chicago festivals in 2006. The plan will also establish a mini-grant program to support community bicycling efforts and provide secure bike parking inside five to ten city buildings, to encourage more employees to bike to work. The full plan is here and has tons more info on the eight chapters of the plan and the rest of the initiatives to be achieved by 2015. We”ve been seeing some good things coming out of Chicago when it comes to bikes lately; we hope this is just the tip of the iceberg. ::Bike 2015 Plan, ::Chicagoland Bicycle Federation press release via ::Digg

OurEnergy is a free program that takes the cost and some of the guesswork out of supporting renewable energy by integrating it in your regular purchases. They partner with over 700 online retailers who give a small percentage of your purchase to support domestic wind power. Just sign up (which will generate 100 kilowatt-hours, just for coming on board), carry on as you normally would, buy stuff here and there as necessary, and feel good the next time there”s a breeze. The program helps eliminate the cost barrier between traditional and renewable energy while easily incorporating into our day to day lives. They claim that it is the only program that supports clean energy generation at no additional cost to energy consumers. We”re not advocating that anyone go out and just buy stuff for the heck of it, and while we”re acutely aware that buying too much of anything is not a good thing, we all still need stuff, and a lot of us use the internet to get some of it. Why not help support wind power at the same time? Check out the mega-list of retailers who are funding the wind energy with part of your purchases here (it”s too long to even mention the big names), and sign up here. Being a TreeHugger doesn”t get any easier than this. ::OurEnergy via ::AutoblogGreen

We enjoyed a witty post on Daily Candy earlier this week about deeds done that need forgiving. We were amused to see that the worst offence necessitated a peace offering in the form of a tree. “The time you lost your best friend’s earrings, a heartfelt e-card did the trick. And when you crashed her car, you sent roses (and a check). But now that you’ve gone and given mouth-to-mouth to her crush, it’s time for the big guns. Something along the lines of an entire tree from Eternitree.” Obviously we think the gift of a tree is wonderful for any occasion, we’re not sure you need to go to such drastic measures to give or receive one! You might even want to treat yourself to some shady foliage; see Alex’s recent tips on how to keep cool this summer. In any case if you feel, for whatever reason, in a tree buying mood, rest assured it’s a growing bond for Eternitree. They ship trees year round to any state in the US. via: Daily Candy. Thanks to Simran for the tip. ::Eternitree

When people residing in and around the Boston area hear the words “The Big Dig” they either laugh or shutter. The $14.6 billion dollar project was first proposed in the 1980s and with the groundbreaking in 1991, the goal was to change Boston’s downtown roadways to make it easier for traffic to get in and out of the city. Now, 15 years later, the project is finally coming to an end and we have to say the new roads are definitely more convenient. Paul Pedini worked for 11 years as vice president of Modern Continental Construction, one of the project’s principal contractors. He now lives in a 4,300 square foot home he refers to as The Big Dig House that was completed this past March. The house, located in Lexington, Mass., incorporates 600,000 pounds of recycled materials from The Big Dig. It’s built from highway panels and bridge piers salvaged from what’s known as the largest public-works project in the history of the United States. Because the project had no more use for so many of the materials, administrators didn’t want to pay to store the slabs so landfill was the other option. But for Pedini, burying perfectly good materials didn’t make sense. In his home, two concrete Inverset panels (which once formed part of a temporary ramp leading to Boston’s Tobin Bridge) hang in the rafters while a 27-inch-wide painted girder (that once helped support slurry walls along Storrow Drive) now helps brace the home’s 69,000-pound roof. “It’s kind of like Junkyard Wars meets Habitat for Humanity,” Pedini commented. The Big Dig House was the winner of the first Metropolis-sponsored Next Generation competition. For more information and photos of other materials used, visit ::Metropolis Magazine

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