Kayakas!

Splitting with the Bush administration and setting a new standard in the country”s approach to global warming, California”s legislature is about to pass the broadest carbon dioxide emissions caps in the country. The Democratic-sponsored Global Warming Solutions Act (read the full text here), which Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger (further burnishing his green bono fides), has pledged to sign, aims to “terminate” emissions by 25 percent by the year 2020. With enforcement starting in 2012, it will require the state’s major industries to clean up their act, partly by setting up a cap-and-trade program that will allow businesses to buy, sell and trade emission credits with other companies. Though oil companies and other businesses opposed the bill, citing the high costs of compliance, Silicon Valley corporations issued their support. Surprisingly, so did the giant utility Pacific Gas & Electric, which praised the plan”s “market-based mechanisms.” The Bush administration wasn”t so sanguine, warning about “any program that moves jobs and increases emissions in other states or other countries.” Okay, but if such caps inspire inspire other states–and the national government–to follow suit, there will be nowhere for the greenhouse gas emissions to go but down.

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From the great book A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander.

We recently learned about this news from the state of Washington and we”re sorry to say that it seems that it”s a few months old. However, it is still good news! According to a state legislative bill, the state will now “extend the limitation on the phosphorus in laundry detergent (already in place) to include automatic dish detergent. Phosphates enter water bodies and stimulates excessive algae growth, which ultimately robs the water of oxygen and makes it unsuitable for recreation.” Finally, a state that knows there are better solutions! Now how do we get the others on board? Via ::Health Magazine

The overwhelming need to reduce mercury pollution has been a focal point for environmental activists and government regulators alike. Even the Bush Administration has called for a gradual 70% nationwide reduction in mercury emissions. For the most part, these reductions were to be achieved through the implementation of cap and trade policies similar to those used in efforts to combat sulfur dioxide emissions. However, there is significant doubt as to whether the power companies have the ability or the money to hit the 90% reduction targets that will be imposed by states such as Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota in 2015. As a result, power companies are scrambling to develop technologies that would essentially strip mercury from the emissions generated through the incineration of coal.

Less water, less electricity, minimal construction waste and an urban location on the reclaimed grounds once home to a steel mill all helped REI’s new Pittsburgh store reduce its environmental impact. Combined with its other green efforts, the store has earned a LEED-CI (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors) Silver rating from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The 26,500 square-foot, two-story store is the second REI store to receive LEED certification. In 2004, REI earned LEED-CI Gold for its store in Portland, OR – the first retail store in the nation to receive that designation. Other green aspects of the store’s construction include locally manufactured and high recycled content materials, a contract to purchase electricity generated by wind power and a minimum of paints, coatings or carpets that emit chemical fumes. TreeHugging architects at Mithun (we featured them when their design won the Cradle to Cradle home design contest) were also on the job, leading the architecture and design. ::REI Pittsburgh via ::CSRwire

TreeHugger prattles on and on about eating local food: it doesn”t have to go as far, so it can be picked and arrive at your table fresher, and doesn”t cause an excess of greenhouse gases to be spewed into our atmosphere as a result of shipping, and that makes it better. That”s all well and good during the late spring and summer, when growing season is at its peak, farmer”s markets are more plentiful and local produce is easiest to come by, but what about in winter, when everything cools off? Tom Philpott, staff writer at Grist and farmer in North Carolina, knows a thing or two about local food production, and has written an article about how to do it all year “round. His answer: small farms (like his) and greenhouses, where temperatures can be raised by the sun and regulated and maintained by thermal mass, thus producing summertime-like conditions all winter. He”s built a greenhouse, and will be trying it out himself this winter. Read the whole article for more thoughts on the local food revolution, in ::Grist.

The Seawater Greenhouse offers a low cost, sustainable solution to the problem of providing water for agriculture in arid, coastal regions. “The process uses seawater to cool and humidify the air that ventilates the greenhouse and sunlight to distill fresh water from seawater. This enables the year round cultivation of high value crops that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to grow in hot, arid regions…The overall process is extremely energy efficient. 1kW of electricity expended on pumping will remove 500kW of heat. Water can be produced at low energy costs (<3kWh/m3)”.

Cardboardesign had such a good initial response to its cardboard furniture and decorative products they decided to open a commercial website. “With prices ranging from $36 - $160, everyone can own a piece. From penthouses to playhouses, the furniture fits in any dwelling”.