Whaaaa?
After having a pretty good week (which hasn't been every week lately) with the unveiling of the production Chevy Volt, GM is now making us scratch our heads once again.

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz was on the Colbert Report to talk about the Volt, and when asked about global warming, he said that he doesn't "believe in the CO2 theory" and adds that "32,000 of the world's leading scientists: think sun spots are to blame (the World Radiation Center disagrees - see the 4 Stages of Global Warming Denial). Watch for yourself.

photo: Corey Arnold

This week the European Commission announced that the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy was going to be reviewed, with the expectation being that both the number of vessels and the time they would be allowed to be at sea would be reduced so that declining fish stocks could be better protected. Well, a new article in Science magazine, proposes a better method to ensure that fish stocks don’t become depleted: A Catch-Share System. Here’s how it would work:

MRM's map of states they currently, or will soon serve with electronic recycling programs

Some of the best solutions are the most simple, such as putting important dates on a calendar in order to achieve goals. Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba teamed up to form Manufacturers Recycling Management, a company that manages electronics collection and recycling.

The company is now a year old and figures it is time to expand operations, so it has launched MRMrecycling.com, a website that will assist electronics companies in the sixteen states that have recycling laws, many that are only starting up next year or in 2010. But their website isn’t the only helping hand they lend.

NY Fashion Week came and went as fast as the I’m Not a Plastic Bag fad, bringing with it a mixed tote of eco-style preview parties, cause-related events and enlightening exhibits. Descending upon the sustainable scene were runways touting eco-friendly fabrics, socially conscious brands and the latest and greatest in what we can expect to be the next green fashion trends.

However, ‘Huggers have a knack for spotting a splashy fleeting fad from a green mile away. Here are five well-crafted and eco-conscious sustainable favorites we think are here to stay:

The author on board his brand new Bike Friday folding bicycle

The Allure of Folding Bikes Finally Got to Me
Okay, I'll admit it: I am a cycling fanatic. The bicycle is my sole means of transportation, and when I'm not riding from point A to B or hauling furniture by bicycle, I'm on my racing bike training for local races. Lately, as more and more people have gotten into cycling in order to avoid high gas prices, we've heard a lot of talk about the convenience of folding bikes for commuting, especially for people that need to be able to take a bike with them on a train or into their office. What's more, many avid cyclists who travel often find that folding bicycles are the only way to train while on the road. So as both a commuter and a racer, I soon found myself succumbing to the allure of a folding bicycle.

Eighteen executives of UK-corporations recently signed a letter to to "Gordon Brown, the prime minister, and the leaders of the opposition parties to ask for stronger action on climate change." This letter is remarkable in several respects. In it they suggest a faster reduction goal for C02 emissions than EU political leaders have thus far been considering (30% versus 20%, by 2020). But, here's the money quote as far as governance is concerned: a quote from the CEO of Johnson Matthey (pictured) a specialty chemical firm with a presence in North America.

Neil Carson, chief executive of Johnson Matthey, the speciality chemicals company, said: “Public procurement drives about one-third of the UK economy but to date, attempts to ‘green’ procurement have largely failed. The public sector should be setting bold, new and sustainable specifications for the products and services it buys.”

Government procurement should be equally bold and green in the USA and Canada, set to similar goals. Green purchasing policy by government needs absolutely to be a part of the Presidential debate in coming weeks.

Please: no comments about a socialistic agenda. The idea is to save taxpayer money while doing the right (green procurement) thing for the environment.

iLiad's such a tease

In just a few days, iRex will be launching a more advanced version of the iLiad e-reader, called the iRex Reader 1000. I love that they threw “1000” into the name. So geekable. And the device is truly cool for a tech nerd.

photo: Trey Ratcliff

Just a quick update on a post I did earlier this week. Three days after news of a proposed eco-tax in France on a range of consumer goods surfaced, the word now is that no such tax will be introduced. Modeled on the existing ‘bonus-malus’ system for taxing polluting automobiles, the tax would have been on a range of consumer goods such as washing machines, dishwashers, and (the origin of the name given to it by the opposition...) disposable plastic dinnerware. Why was this carbon tax (let’s call it what it would’ve been) nixed?