Plenty folds

Plenty magazine (both the print and web editions) joins the list of magazines that have gone under due to rapid shifts in the economy and media landscape. I applaud Plenty's good intentions, and it's sad that those involved in the venture are losing their jobs. But I also take Plenty's bow as a sign -- even a positive one -- of where we are in our national and species-level focus on the environment.

While the short-term hype around green consumerism is fading, perhaps the long-term trend towards "bright green," long-term, systemic thinking and collective behavior is just getting going.

Nokia "Remade"

I'm surprised that Treehugger takes such a dim view of the new Nokia "Remade" phone.

Even though it's a prototype, as far as concept cars go, it's a pretty good one. Nokia or some other company could start using the ideas implicit in "Remade" to design the next generation of cradle-to-cradle personal electronics devices.

Admittedly, no one has made the business models here work yet, but given the importance of the task, and the number of people working on the problem, someone will eventually get this right.

Where do Bearitos come from?

A great map showing the corporate parents of many of today's popular organic food brands. From Phil Howard at Michigan State University. (Thanks to Roxie for the link!)

Running dry

The NYT has been running an important series of articles about disappearing water supplies in the U.S. due to climate change. The bad news: According to Steven Chu of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, “There’s a two-thirds chance there will be a disaster... and that’s in the best scenario.” The good news: Cities and regions across the country are taking their futures in their own hands, and looking systemically at potential solutions.

The American West: Disappearing snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas and elsewhere forces some drastic choices.

Orange County: Turning sewage into drinking water.

Fort Collins: Going nuclear in this "deeply green" city could jeopardize local water supplies.

"Good things happen in the dark"

On Saturday night October 20th, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Building, and dozens of local homes and businesses will turn off their lights for one hour. It's all part of Lights Out San Francisco, a local grassroots organization I'm excited to be involved with.

Events like these have more than just symbolic value... They bind neighborhoods together, and remind people of their individual and collective power to take on climate change. LOSF will publish the energy-saving results on its website, and the organization is also distributing thousands of free CFL light bulbs, which will help cut down on San Franciscans' carbon emissions and energy bills long after the event itself.

So treat yourself to a candelit dinner, and encourage your local businesses participate. San Francisco is just the start: the event is going national with Lights Out America on March 29, 2008.

A big week for green TV

Discovery Communications acquires Treehugger

Broadcasting & Cable releases a Green TV issue

Jack Bauer and 24 fight climate change

Go green by getting lazy

From Worldchanging blogger Karl Shroeder:

"There is a secret to changing your behavior. The trick is not to trust your own willpower. Instead, arrange conditions outside yourself such that the desired new behaviour is always your laziest option."

Clean Energy Trends 2007

Joel Makower and Clean Edge have released their free report on the most important clean energy trends for 2007, including the following top five:

the traction of carbon markets

the growth of closed-loop biorefineries

the promising growth of advanced batteries

Wal-Mart's unexpected clout as a clean-energy market maker

energy utilities' growing enlightenment around renewable energy

CSRWire's top stories 2006

Catch up on what you might have missed, from the latest in shareowner activitism, to the sale of Tom's of Maine to Colgate-Palmolive.

2006 top greenbiz stories

Joel Makower sums up the top 10 green business stories of 2006, from alternative fuels to carbon offsets, from Wal-Mart to water.

Mr. Green Jeans

Awesome new eco initiatve from Levis. As reported in 5 Blogs Before Lunch.

Black is the new green

Great article in today's Worldchanging about terra preta—the extra-rich soil found in Amazonian rain forests, and one potential solution for taking carbon out of the atmosphere.

Love Worldchanging.

The canary is dead

A particularly sad and shocking video on Current TV about the destruction of the world's coral reefs.

Companies are finding that it's not easy marketing green.