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The car-fetishes altar of happiness, the NY International Auto Show at the Javits Center, this year experienced a rather special protest from the people behind StreetFilms. Thousands of people flocked to the NY International Auto Show at the Javits Center on Saturday. In the midst of it all, Lady Liberty ended her 100 year “spectacularly combustible love affair” with the automobile. Lady Liberty said, “Frankly, this relationship has just gotten to be much more work than it’s worth. My health, liberty and freedom have suffered greatly, and now I hope that my new relationships will finally give me security and happiness.” Then Reverend Billy officiated her marriage to “Mr. Transit” and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir sang in celebration. Video after the jump: (more…) View the full article -
There are currently around 12000 traditional “yellow cabs” in New York today. They are big and gas-guzzling. Now Ford wants to replace them all with their new Ford Transit Connect Taxi Concept. The new Ford Transit Connect is smaller and more compact than the older yellow cabs. They are designed with less horizontal space and with more vertical space. But it will actually have more space for passengers and their cargo than the older cabs. It also features dual sliding doors which help cause less pain in an over-crowded city like New York. The Ford Transit Connect uses a standard 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine which uses 30% less fuel and releases 90% less exhaust fumes than the older cabs. The new cab will get an estimated 19 mpg in the city. The driver of the cab will get an in-dash computer, running Microsoft Auto software, which is linked to Internet and offers traffic, weather, and navigation information and help. View the full article
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There have been some talks, especially on the Internet, that the global temperature this winter has increased less than it's done the last fourteen years. Climate deniers have, of course, been acting like crazy about this. But is it true? Are the climate deniers correct? Can we finally breathe out? Have all the scientists been wrong all this time? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. (more…) View the full article
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The video below shows a windmill in Hornslet, near Ã…rhus in Denmark, being ripped apart by… wind. Oh the irony. But it does show the power of renewable energy, and in this case wind power. (more…) View the full article
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If you don’t recycle you might spend eternity in Hell. At least that is what the Vatican warns it’s followers. The Roman Catholic Church recently “modernized” their list of deadly sins and added seven new deadly sins “for our times”. Failure to recycle is one of them. Other deadly sins is now to play around with genetic modifications, carrying out experiments on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty and becoming obscenely wealthy and taking drugs. View the full article
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In Madrid, the capital of Spain, a huge structure called the “Air Tree†is currently under construction. It is designed to both affect the surrounding environment and act as a social gathering point for people. The “Air Tree†will generate its own electricity using solar photo voltaic cells placed on top of it. The solar panels will generate enough electricity to be able to sell the energy to local energy companies. (more…) View the full article
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Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of General Motors is trying his best to downplay a comment regarding climate change he made a few weeks ago. In front of reporters in Texas Bob Lutz dismissed global warming as a “total crock of s—â€. He still foolishly tries to defend his comment by saying, in a blog entry titled Talk About a Crock, that his “thoughts on what has or hasn’t been the cause of climate change have nothing to do with the decisions I [he] make to advance the cause of General Motors.†Yeah. Right. View the full article
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A high-speed railway system is finally coming to America. And with America I mean Argentina and not the USA. The newly elected President, Christina Kirchner, has decided to build a 710 km (440 mile) long high-speed railway system in Argentina for a total cost of $1.35 billion. (more…) </img> </img> </img> </img> View the full article
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The European Union has introduced a new logo for organic food. The new logo will be obligatory in 2009 for all organic products sold within the European Union member states. But you can already see the new labelling on organic products. It’s up to individual EU countries to decide if the new logo will be accompanied by national organic logos, such as the Swedish organic labelling KRAV. Mariann Fischer Boel, EU Agriculture Commissioner, said that “this is an excellent agreement which will help consumers to recognize organic products throughout the EU more easily and give them assurances of precisely what they are buying.” View the full article
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It's time to clear this up folks. Hopefully you already know that surfing with a black background (on your computer screen) will not always save energy. If not, let me explain why black backgrounds aren't that green. Black backgrounds can save some energy if you use a CRT screen (CRT screens are those huge and big screens). If you, like the majority, uses an LCD screen (the flat ones) a white background instead of a black will save energy. LCD monitors are built with a light behind the screen that is always on. So when you show a white page you just let the light shine through the screen. If you show a black page on the other hand the LCD light is completely blocked and it requires more energy to shine through. According to Google "displaying black may actually increase energy usage". Blackle and SaveAndSearch are two of a few sites that is based on the idea that surfing with a black background on websites will save energy and therefore be good for the environment. But unfortunately surfing black isn't really that green. If you are interested in saving energy and helping the environment there are better and more efficient ways than using black or white backgrounds when you surf or search the web.
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If I say Mars, what do you think of then? No, the planet Mars is the wrong answer. The correct answer is Magenn's Power Turbine MARS. MARS is a new simple solution to produce wind energy, anywhere. According to Magenn their MARS has all advantages over current existing wind turbines. But how does it work and why is it better than ordinary wind turbines? MARS produces its energy 1000 feet up in the air. That means MARS can generate electricity on a regular basis. Another upside with MARS compared to the more ordinary wind turbines is that it can't produce the so called "ground turbulence" and that, according to Magenn, MARS won't kill any birds due to its big compact size. MARS is bird and bat friendly with lower noise emissions and is capable of operating in a wider range of wind speeds - from 4 mph to greater than 60 mph. Magenn says MARS is as silent as an air conditioner. No wonder when it's located 100 feet up in the air. But how does it get so high up in the air you might wonder? Well, Magenn's Air Rotor System is filled with helium which makes it lighter than air. Just like how an airship works. With MARS Magenn is trying to attract developing nations that has a limited or non existent energy infrastructure. MARS will go into production sometime this year.
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The German web host Strato has stated that it will be completely carbon-free in January 2008. The impressive thing is that they will go the whole way with real renewable green energy and not just purchasing green tags (RECs). Does it sound like a mission impossible or a PR-coup to you? It’s not. Strato has already proven that they mean serious by having reduced its energy usage with 30 % per customer in the past 18 months. In an interview with The Register the CEO of Strat, Damien Schmidt, said that “while people may be more aware of reducing their individual carbon footprint, it was also important for tech firms to "look behind the screen" and consider the sizable, carbon-munching emissions spat out by IT equipment.†Green Blog is happy to see that more and more web host companies are taking their responsibility by going green and wish Strato the best of luck.
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Our destructive impact on the planet[/url:4590b] The Guardian and A&C Black published a few weeks ago a set of amazing and scary set of satellite images that shows our destructive impact on our planet. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2007/aug/08/2?picture=330352718[/url:4590b]
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Help India to ban energy wasting incandescent light bulbs[/url:2f84c] Greenpeace in India have in the last two weeks been working hard with their climate change campaign “with a series of protests set to the backdrop of massive flooding across South Asiaâ€. Greenpeace especially try to convince the government in India to ban the ordinary energy wasting incandescent light bulb. If India were to ban energy wasting incandescent light bulbs “it would save at least 12,000 MW of electricity and over 55 Million tonnes of CO2 per yearâ€. Greenpeace activists have for example protested outside one of India’s historical landmarks, the Mysore palace. Activists have also placed a 20-metre (66ft) life ring in the harbour of the capital of India warning about rising sea levels that “would render most of Mumbai’s low-lying areas uninhabitableâ€. They have also blockaded the entrance to one of the country’s leading lightbulb manufactures demanding the company to shift its production to CFLs. Now it’s your turn to help convince the government of India to ban energy wasting incandescent light bulbs by signing the India ban the bulb petition. - Sign the petition![/url:2f84c] - Climate Protests in India[/url:2f84c]
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Take Action against Climate Change[/url:0d6ae] We can no longer ignore the overwhelming scientific evidence. Global warming is real and science shows that we humans have made enormous impacts to our planet that affects our welfare and survival. Global warming is the biggest threat facing humanity today. We can stop the worst effects, but only if we act now. You have the responsibility and power to act. Let’s get started! http://www.green-blog.org/action[/url:0d6ae]
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Acorn Host is a green reseller host. Reseller host means that Acorn Host buy hosting space from another web host and sell that space to their own customers. Reseller hosting is not unusual, your current host is probably a reseller host. This is what Acorn Host say about themselves: Web hosting from a company that shares your values. We are dedicated to being a company that enriches and supports life. We offer exceptional uptime, responsive service, and carbon neutral hosting. Sounds good, but let’s get back to the reseller part. From what we have been able to dig up Acorn Host servers are located in a data-centre owned by either ServInt or SwitchMedia (I would bet my money on ServInt). But none of these two web hosts are a green web host. So that means Acorn Host is not a reseller host of another green web host. But how is Acorn Host a green web host then you might ask? Well, Acorn Host says this on their site: Acorn Host purchases Green Certificates monthly for the amount of energy that is used to run the servers, office equipment, lights, etc. Green Certificates (also known as Green Tags) are a simple way to offset the use of carbon-based energy sources and effectively power a business (or your home) on 100% renewable energy resources, without changing electricity providers. Find out more about the Green Certificates program at 3phases.com. Acorn Host buys energy credits (also known as RECs or Green Tags) to make their hosting green. This is not the best way to be a green web host on, but it is a start. Green Blog would love to see Acorn Host become greener by taking part in more “green projects†or actually doing it's hosting like Aiso. But being a reseller host is not the easiest thing. You can’t buy your own data-centres just like that. So we understand if Acorn Host can’t be any better. That is why we need to put more pressure on our governments and energy suppliers to drop the investments in fossil fuels and nuclear energy and start supporting renewable energy. That way all hosts will become green web hosts to a certain extent. I also want to mention that the most recognized certifier of RECs is Green-e, an independent, non-profit group that verifies renewable energy credits and certifies that they are what they claim to be. Acorn Host uses this RECs certifier. But does Acorn Host offer anything more worth mentioning? Well in fact they do. Acorn Host is woman owned and offers discounts to non-profit organisations. http://www.acornhost.com
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Athenaeum is one of the green web hosts that we recommend. Athenaeum is a family owned web host located in the UK. Jamie Simpson and Sue Rhodes are the owners. They are both vegetarians since several years ago. This is what they say about themselves: Ecological Hosting is an ethically run, reliable and responsible Internet hosting company. We are a small, friendly, family run business providing services with a personal touch. All our servers, offices and the data centre we use operate on renewable energy. Our main hosting environment operates from a data centre running on solar power with a solar panel array capable of generating upto sixty kilowatt-hours of electricity each day. We are the only UK company (to our knowledge) offering hosting based in a data centre facility powered entirely by solar energy. With prices starting at just £23.50 per year, there really is no reason to ignore your conscience. Make the switch today and help protect our environment. Jamie SimpsonSue RhodesThey maintain Athenaeum from their home which means they have no CO2 polluting travels to their office. Does it sound weird that they maintain and run a web host from their home? Well maybe a little. But Athenaeum is at the moment an Aiso reseller (Aiso is another fully green web host that we support. If you are interested we have written about Aiso before). That means they buy hosting space from the green web host Aiso and sell to their own customers. Reseller hosting is not unusual, your current host is probably a reseller host. Athenaeum uses recycled paper for most of their office printing. They recycle used office paper and card. They review their suppliers and their own measures to reduce the amount of paper they use (e.g. email invoices, online banking, reusing envelopes, using online government systems for VAT returns etc). Athenaeum also reuses equipment and buys things that last longer, meaning they try to waste as little recourses as possible. Athenaeum plans on building a green data centre in the UK. They have no final details yet, but they have a very clear vision of what their “ideal†would be. For an example check this image. http://www.ecologicalhosting.com
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Aiso uses 120 solar panels to power their offices and servers.Aiso is located in Romoland, California just 120 miles East of Los Angeles and is one of the few green web hosts that have been around for a really long time. Aiso started their businesses 1997 and they "are growing an average of twenty percent per year and expect this trend to increase over the next few years". Being one of the first green web hosts really helps, then you can be sure they offer green hosting because they actually cares. Aiso are one of the few hosts that offers hosting 100% powered by solar panels, a renewable and clean energy source. They don't buy any energy credits (RECs) to offset their environmental footprint. AISO.Net is a reliable and responsible green web hosting company. We have made a strong commitment to help fight pollution and preserving our natural resources. Solar panels run our data center and office, not energy credits. Solar tubes bring in natural light from the outside providing light during the day. AMD Opteron powered servers use sixty percent less energy and generate fifty percent less heat. These are just some of the ways AISO.Net is becoming the world's most responsible green web hosting company. If you want you can watch their 120 solar panels on a live security camera here. The solar panels doens't just power their data center and servers, they also power their offices. According to BP Solar, Aisos solar panel system will eliminate the production of: 19,890 pounds of Carbon Dioxide (CO2/GHG) per year, 5.9 pounds of Nitrous Oxide (NOX/smog) per year, and 0.45 pounds of Sulfur Dioxide (SO4/acid rain) per year. This is the equivalent of planting 3.5 acres of trees per year or driving a vehicle for 24,671 miles (9.7 times from LA to NY) per year. Aiso data center and office interior is completely built using steel. Aiso also has 7 solar tubes which bring in natural light from the outside. That means that they don't need to run lighting during the day. Their backup generator is runs on propane gas. Propane gas is cleaner burning than diesel and does not emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and produces no sulfur dioxide or particulate which is the primary causes of the greenhouse effect and acid rain. Doesn't all that sound great? But wait! There is more. Aiso is also planning on placing a green roof for the data center. They will also replace all their compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) with LED lightning (contain no mercury). The green roof is a layer of dirt 3 to 4 inches thick with drought resistant plants. The new green roof can reduce our cooling and heating requirements by up to 50%. When finished, AISO will be the first and only public data center in North America with a green roof. As a little side note Aiso is the hosting provider of Live Earth (SOS). http://www.aiso.net
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We understand that our first challenge "Move to a green web host" might be a bit hard and difficult to do. It’s hard to find a good web host that you personally can feel happy with. Or maybe you are afraid of moving your blog to a new web host, afraid of loosing those blog posts or anything else important. But don’t worry! We will help you in any way we can. Because this is one of the most important things you can do to help fight global warming. You can contact us with any questions you may have about challenge number one. Now lets start the tutorial! Some web hosts offers automatic backup of your web host account. But not everyone does this. And really, you can still loose everything even if your host makes automatic backups. So the safest and easiest way to sleep on nights is to do the backups yourself. But how do you really do an easy backup of your whole hosting account? It’s actually very easy! Just follow this short and easy guide about how to make a full backup of your host account. I will show you how to do a backup using your hosts cpanel. Pretty much all hosts use cpanel or at least something that resembles cpanel. Okay, let’s get started! First of all you need to login to your cpanel account. The easiest way to do this is to type in your domain name and add “:2082†after it. So it looks like this: http://www.yourdomain.com:2082. This will take you to your cpanel account. Now find an icon or a text called “Backups†or something like that. On the image below you will see how my “Backup†looks like in cpanel 11. Now you will be taken to a page where you can download or restore your MySQL Databases and a few other things. But you don’t want to download a single Database file. You want to make a full backup. Look for a link or a button called “Download or Generate a Full Backupâ€. This one is often located at the top of the page. You will now be taken to another page. It is here you will do your full backup. The easiest way to make a full backup is to choose “Home Directory†as “Backup Destinationâ€. Type your email address. You will receive an email telling you when the backup is completed. You don’t have to care about the other fields. Now click on the button called “Generate Backupâ€. Now you are almost done! As I said before an email will be sent to you when the backup has been completed. So wait until you receive the email. Got the email now? Great! Now you can login with your FTP program and you will find the backuped file zipped and ready to be downloading in the Home Direcotry of your host account. Now you are finished! Just don’t forget to download the backup file to your own computer.
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It takes a lot of energy to power and maintain servers for a web host. Therefore one of the most important things you as a blogger or webmaster can do is to choose a green web host. With green web hosts I mean hosting companies that power their servers with renewable energy such as wind and solar power. Some of these green web hosts generate their own energy via renewable energy sources. Other web hosts offers carbon offsetting, discounts to non profits, letting their employees telecommute, etc. Please check out our Green Web Host page for a more up-to-date list on Green Web Hosting Alternatives. WebCtel - Solar powered hosting SolarWebWorks - Solar powered hosting EcoSky - Both wind and solar powered hosting The Green Web Host - Mostly wind but other energy sources too Locomotive Media - Wind powered hosting Elfon - Wind powered hosting SustainableMarketing - Wind powered hosting Aiso - Solar powered hosting Dreamhost - Insure that the power they use is generated in an ecofriendly manner. This is typically wind or solar, but it could also be biogas or geothermal. Acorn Host - Sustainable growth, Non-profit discounts and purchases Green Certificates. Green-blog.org uses Acorn host and we are so far very happy with the service. Green WebHost - Solar powered, paperless and will also plant a tree on your behalf. Athenaeum - Solar powered hosting Ilisys - Solar and wind powered hosting. Will also plant a tree on your behalf. So which host should you choose then? Which is the best? I am sorry but I can’t tell you which host is the best because I haven’t tested all of them. You should always do a background check on any host you are interested in. See if they got some testimonials from customers. But any of these web hosts are better than your current one that isn’t doing anything at all to prevent global warming.
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Welcome to Green-Blog.org. This site's goal is to spread knowledge of global warming among the blogosphere and to help fight it. There are so many ways you as a blogger can help to increase the awareness of global warming and help stopping its worst effects. One way, and this way is really what Green Blog is all about, is to choose a green web host. We will tell you what kind of options you can choose from and what green web hosting is really all about. Our work has just begun and we would love to hear from you with ideas and opinions about how this site can help spreading the “green†among fellow bloggers and webmasters.