A young man melting into a puddle of himself is something you don’t see everyday, much less in a busy public square. Yet this humourous but surprisingly effective spectacle is the latest effort by the Red Cross of Argentina to raise awareness about climate change.

Located in Buenos Aires’ Plaza Francia, the oozing young man passes out fliers urging spectators to use public transportation, conserve water, reduce, reuse, recycle and to use energy-efficient appliances. This imaginative piece of guerrilla publicity highlights the fact that much of the funding of the Argentinian Red Cross goes to assisting those who have been most affected by natural disasters exacerbated by climate change.

Cruz Roja (Red Cross) Argentina via Inhabitat

An endangered Waved Albatross chick, photo by Brian Merchant

The Galapagos Islands are brimming with avian life—some of the world's most famous birds call them home. From the Blue-Footed Boobies to the famed Darwin's finches, the world's only penguin that lives in tropical climes, there's no doubt that the archipelago is a top destination for birders around the world. What is in doubt, however, is whether some of these birds will survive the increasingly severe threats to the Galapagos.

Here are three of the most beloved birds found only on the Galapagos that might soon be found only in back issues of Audubon Society's field guides.

Image source: EarthEcho

Yesterday we reported on the work Reverb is doing to green concerts across the US. Today we report on the Warped Eco Initiative, now in its fourth year, and up for a huge grant ($10,000) for its work to green concerts across 46 cities in just 8 weeks as part of the Vans Warped Extreme Sports and Music Tour. Their work has brought solar and environmental action to mainstream and young audiences (up to 24,000 people a day). Now it's time to show them some love for all of their hard work.

Photo by Pete Oxford

The Toyota International Teacher Program has taken 30 of the top secondary school teachers in the US to some pretty fascinating talks and even more spectacular locales. But perhaps the best part of the program yet is the Galapagos/US teacher collaborative projects. Working together in teams of 5 or 6 US and Galapagueno teachers, the iniative's aim is to address the global environmental issues facing both the isolated island archipelago and the world's biggest superpower.

And it's both fascinating and inspiring to watch the teams work.

Image: Michelin

The Holy Grail of Eco-transportation
Could this be the technology that revolutionizes transportation? Will the company that invented the air-pressure tire trump that achievement by making electric cars affordable and practical? Michelin's Active Wheel system is the holy grail of wheel technology: a wheel with an integrated drive motor that has succeeded to meet unsprung weight limitations.

The Active Wheel frees automobile designers from the restrictions posed by the need for engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential and exhaust systems. Imagine the possibilities. Curiously, the prototype which Michelin will partner to bring to the roads in 2010 may not be what you imagined.

Recent Comment by garrygolden : "Thank you... Many forward looking auto designers have been talking about wheel-based mo..." [read]

photo by wikimedia

Climate change is making the impassable passable. The legendary and treacherous Northwest Passage, once believed to be unnavigable by larger ships, has been successfully traversed by a commercial cargo ship. Satellite photos had shown the passage to be open as early as 2007, but it wasn't until a few days ago that the navigability of the route was empirically proven.

Just after the Canadian election last month we imagined the Liberal leader going to the Governor General and saying:

"Climate change is too important for petty politics. The four parties with strong pro-environment, pro-Kyoto platforms got 61% of the vote and control 163 seats to the conservatives' 143. We are forming a Coalition against Climate Change and intend to ask the Governor-General to let us form the government."

Now, because of some real political stupidity on the part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it just might happen; his minority government may fall next week.

The outcome of a case pitting an environmental charity organization against the British Virgin Islands (BVI) government and several developers could determine the future of the Caribbean environment and set the groundwork for the creation of an international environment court, writes The Independent's Robert Verkaik. The Virgin Islands Environmental Council (VIEC), whose legal efforts are being backed by none other than Sir Richard Branson (who, it must be said, owns a family home on Necker Island, one of the Virgin Islands), is trying to block the construction of a multimillion-dollar luxury resort on Beef Island.

The campaigners argue that the resort would cause irreparable damage, and could possibly destroy, one of the region's most vulnerable mangrove systems. Under the developers' plans, one of the golf holes for their course would be located right in the middle of the threatened mangrove swamp.