Agriculture Archives - Page 2 of 2

20 Universities That Encourage Green Living

1) Nanyang Technical University – School of Art, Design and Media - The architectural structure of this building maximizes interior daylight, makes smart use of lack of space and land in the local area, minimizes materials, and uses lower water and electricity uses. 2) Yale University – Kroon Hall - Kroon Hall at Yale University is made from 80% certified timber, 16% recycled content. Also, 34% of the purchased materials came from regional sources. As a result, there is an 81% reduction in annual potable water use, which saves an average 500k gallons of city water a year. They are also seeing a 61% reduction in energy use compared to a similar building and program. It features rooftop photovoltaic panel providing 25% of the building’s electricity. Half of the red oak paneling came from a forest in northern Connecticut that’s managed by the school itself. 3) Carnegie Mellon University – Gates and Hillman…

Food Safety for the Fourth

With Independence Day coming up this weekend, a lot of US citizens will find themselves Barbecuing and cooking for friends and family. We certainly will. My personal favorite grilled hot dogs with a side of beans, fruit salad, and maybe some barbecued corn on the cob; and to wash it down, some refreshing lemonade. I don’t know about you, but there have been some gatherings that did not end so well, and have left me not wanting to enjoy shrimp or some other type of food for a long time. Here are some food safety tips to help your scrumptious ribs and potato salad not make any one go home sick. Temperatures It is important that when cooking meat, you keep a close eye on the temperature. Poultry should hit 165 °F at the minimum and be held there for at least three (3) minutes. Beef, pork, lamb, and veal should all hit 145 °F and be held there for at least three (3) minutes. It is important these meats are cooked so hot because most bacteria cannot survive these temperatures. Any…

State Dept. to Spend $450K for Green Jobs–in Morocco

(from CNSNews.com) – The State Department through its Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs plans to spend $450,000 to create green jobs in Morocco. “Morocco has set the goal to become one of the world’s largest sustainable economies by 2020, with an emphasis on creating green jobs in: renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, environmental and natural resource management, and improvement in environmental technologies,” the grant announcement said. “Morocco’s green growth strategy focuses on three major areas that include: energy security, food security, and environmental security. This includes solar and wind power, energy efficiency, intensive and communal sustainable agriculture, and solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions reduction,” the grant said. The U.S. and Morocco signed a Joint Statement on Environmental Cooperation in 2006, the grant said. “The 2010-2012 Plan of Action reflects the current priorities for trade-related env…

Microsoft Research Shows How To Save 60% Of Earth’s Plants

Beth Buczynski for Earthtechling Biodiversity is one of Planet Earth’s greatest strengths. Ecosystems depend on many different plants and animals to stay healthy. When species go extinct, it’s like removing links from a chain. Too many weaknesses, and the entire system could fall apart. New research from Microsoft aims to show that while it’s an immense challenge, it’s possible to protect over 60 percent of Earth’s plant species from vanishing into the ether. In partnership with Duke University and North Carolina State University, Microsoft researchers used computer algorithms to identify the smallest set of regions worldwide that could contain the largest numbers of plant species. The result, they say, is a model showing how putting just 17 percent of the planet’s land surface off limits to human contamination could save a huge number of important plant species. Image via Microsoft Research According to study results published recently in the journal Science, a more …

The Anti-Wood Woody

By Kimbriel Dean for Igniteme Woody Harrelson was my first crush. As a kid, all it took was a cute face and a big smile to make my heart flutter. As a naïve, sweet but not-so-bright bartender on Cheers, Woody was right up my pre-teen alley. Today, it takes brains, passion and heart to win me over. (Though a cute face and a big smile certainly don’t hurt!). Once again, I have a crush on Woody Harrelson, for all the right reasons this time around.In this day and age, we form opinions of celebrities based, in large part, on their lives outside of work. Whether or not that’s fair to them (I don’t think it is right for us to judge based on what we see in the media), it may be a good thing for the future of our world. Celebrities know how we expect them to behave with the money we give them in the form of movie tickets and music downloads. We know there are plenty of celebrities who pay lip service to their cause of choice, but some of them appear to live their word with integrity.…

Walmart, Folgers Share Compost Farm

With $500,000 and 10 acres of land you may want to start your own Commercial Composting business. By Laura Baverman of the Cincinnati Enquirer Marvin Duren started composting 35 years ago because it was good for the environment Today, he's helping Walmart do the same. The owner of Marvin's Organic Gardens in Lebanon won a contract from the world's largest retailer to compost food waste from as many as 160 of its stores in Ohio. It's a major feat for the organic farmer, who founded the 75-acre operation in 1999 with a plan to dedicate one third of his land to composting. (more…)