28 July 2010

All photos by author - taken at WOMAD 2010 festival Here's a frequent question asked by people wanting to create positive sustainable changes in the world: Is it more effective to work as a change agent from inside the current system or is it better to be an agitator shaking things up on the outside? Katie Alcott, founder of Frank Water, has wrestled with this question in her mission to raise awareness about the importance of safe drinking water and sanitation. Her decision to infiltrate t... Read the full story on TreeHugger

28 July 2010

Photo via eutrophication&hypoxia Earlier this week, we pointed out that only a small fraction of China's water is usable, let alone drinkable. And yet, the country is at the height of development. How can a country with so many people doing so much building and mimicking wasteful western ways have enough water to supply the demand. According to a new report, it doesn't. The Read the full story on TreeHugger

27 July 2010

photo: Woodley Wonderworks via flickr Still think last year's heavy snows in parts of the eastern United States were a sign that the world isn't warming? A new study in Geophysical Research Letters by scientists from Columbia University's Earth Institute show that it was converging weather patterns dumping all that snow; but the researchers also pointedly comment that a warming world will still... Read the full story on TreeHugger

27 July 2010

Photo: Flickr, CC UPS has just set itself a new fuel-efficiency goal for all of its "package delivery fleet", aiming for a 20% increase in MPG between the years 2000 and 2020. They are already well underway, with a 10% increase in mileage for their fleet of 60,000 ground vehicles between 2000 and 2009. The number might seem a bit abstract, but in practice it means that despite the fact that UPS drivers logged 77.3 million more miles than in 2009 than in 2000, they burned 3.2 million fewer gallons of fuel. Read on to find out some of the strategie... Read the full story on TreeHugger