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The 2010 Environmental Performance Index, which ranks the world's nations according to environmental policy and performance, was released last week at the World Economic Forum. The index is compiled every two years by Yale and Columbia University researchers. Leading the rankings is Iceland, which is powered almost entirely by renewable energy sources. Rounding out the top 5 are Switzerland,......read more
From Neatorama: On April 20, 2010, a mayday call from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico reporting an explosion aboard signaled the beginning of one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in the United States. Today, the environmental, economic, and political repercussions of the oil spill are just being felt – but what happened the day the rig went ablaze,......read more
"Permaculture" is quickly becoming something of a buzzword. But what exactly does it mean? Wikipedia defines permaculture as "an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies." It is a very broad topic, but essentially refers to living sustainably with our environment in every way imaginable. The......read more
With all the bad news about the environment constantly flooding the media, it's not always easy to feel positive about things. Recently, if we're not stressing about the oil spill, we're worried about the fate of climate legislation. Environmental progress almost seems like a "one step forward, two steps back" scenario. At SHFT, we try to stay focused on all the good......read more
National Geographic and Globescan teamed up for the third annual Consumer Greendex study, which evaluates the "greenness" of shoppers in various countries around the world. The study monitored 17,000 consumers in 17 countries, taking into account energy use, transportation, food, housing, and knowledge of environmental issues. The end result is a vaguely scientific index of sustainable......read more
After a midterm election that saw the House of Representatives shift from Democratic to Republican control, it's become abundantly clear that comprehensive climate legislation is going to be incredibly difficult if not impossible to pass. That's all the more evident when you consider that two dozen members of Congress who voted for the Waxman-Markley climate legislation a short while......read more
COP16 kicks off in Cancun, Mexico today, and expectations are low. It seems like not that long ago that the Copenhagen talks failed in such spectacular fashion. We can still taste the defeat. Tastes bad. Despite the dreary outlook, there is potential that something good can come from the meetings. But any chance at success will require that leaders shift their approach. In a recent NYT op-ed......read more
When 5,000 red-winged blackbirds dropped dead from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas on New Year's Eve, people got a little freaked. A few day's later, 500 dead and dying red-winged blackbirds fell onto a Louisiana highway, and no one felt any more comforted. Experts try to allay our fears. "It's not surprising if it's one or two events like this," said Melanie Driscoll, a senior bird biologist......read more
This looks like it's gonna be good. Fall & Winter explores the nature of a planet at the crossroads. Traveling 12,000 miles across the United States, the filmmakers interviewed a diverse group of people whose lives and work intersect in many ways, and discovered a burgeoning movement that just may be humanity's saving grace. From the filmmakers' statement: This film presents the......read more
Processing sewage is a challenging and expensive endeavor, one that can contaminate the surrounding environment. NYT reports that New York City's Department of Environmental Protection is looking at ways to turn the costly and polluting process into one that creates energy and income. Naturally occuring algae at New York waste plants produce sludge and butanol that can be converted into a......read more
