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Health/Environment

December 20 to 31, 2005

"The Graying of Hawai'i"

The sorry state of wasteful corporate packaging - the most over-packed item in history...

A lot of people are eating Splenda, the latest sugar substitute...

"Prescription Drug Use at Record High for Americans"...

The weight of American tourists is causing chairs on the Queen Mary 2 to break...

Antimicrobial products may harm developing nervous systems...

The winner of the second Dwell eco-prefab house contest...

April 25 to May 1, 2005

Growing Tea In Hawaii

Aluminum Bottles

A beautiful woodpecker thought to be extinct for 60 years is found...

46 benefits of building green...

Bamboo bikes could be a great industry for bamboo-filled regions...

April 18 to 24, 2005

Partly thanks to its sale of hybrid cars, Toyota expects to see its best first quarter in 48 years. GM expects to lose $850 million that same quarter due to short term bets on "cheap" and "plentiful" gas...

Power utilities can fund the migration to greener technologies by selling "green power", like the Tennessee Valley Authority is doing...

The DIY solar cycle holds its own solar panels...

Loss of habitat and food has led to a steep decline in the Monarch butterfly population...

Ecologically responsible hostels can be efficient and beautiful (and a source of income and workers for organic farms)...

Clothing made of bamboo is cheap and apparently feels pretty good too...

April 11 to 17, 2005

Efficient hydroponic growing - did you know that clorophyll runs on red light? Lettuce matures three times faster when growing under red LEDs, which also cut electric bills by 60%...

A request for proposals to turn health fitness centers and gyms into power plants...

Hey, developers - check out the Green Building Products directory...

Laptop design is causing posture-related problems...

The Mother Jones graphic expose on the modern house...

The number one buyer of rice in the U.S. threatens a boycott if GMO crops are grown...

April 4 to 10, 2005

China spends three times the world average on energy to produce $1 of gross domestic product - and 70% of its energy comes from coal. Because the U.S. isn't in the Kyoto accord, imported Chinese products come with a terrible environmental cost behind them...

A more balanced, scenario-laden view of the U.N.-backed Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, mentioned last week...

With 99% confidence, researchers have found that planetary biodiversity comes and goes roughly every 62 million years, and may be due to astrophysical causes. Looking at the graph, I think we're at a low point...

Did you know that in 2000, EPA-banned GMO corn was found in Taco Bell tacos, which could produce anaphylactic shock? Here's more on how corporations are surreptitiously introducing GMO into the world's crops...

You may one day clean your teeth with a light wand...

Hey developers! Use Ecoglo, non-radioactive, non-toxic, non-battery-using technology for your emergency lighting systems...

The new Breezehouse, a modern prefab home designed for "casual indoor-outdoor living"...

March 28 to April 3, 2005

1,360 scientists from 95 countries say that two-thirds of the world's resources are "used up" in a four-year $24 million U.N.-sponsored survey...

G.M.'s vice-chairman, on why he thinks people will still buy big SUVs: "Rich people don't care"...

Things to use when clean water gets scarce - the AquaPak costs a dollar to make, runs on solar, and can purify up to four gallons of water a day...

Atkins Nutritionals admits its diet could be dangerous...

A shortage of silicon is making solar cells scarce. A federal program could help, but funding for solar energy has gone from "pathetic" to "laughable and ridiculous"...

A new solar-powered street trash compactor is only four feet tall yet can hold ten times more trash than an average garbage bin. It also signals when garbage pickup is needed, eliminating unnecessary stops...

Gory images of this year's Canadian seal hunt...

Here's a package for turning empty roofs into green ones...

The site for the prefab Flatpak house has been revised and is better than ever, with lots of nice pictures...

This new book provides a visual guide to sprawl...

March 21 to 27, 2005

Environment Hawaii, an independent, nonprofit, award-winning publication that has been around for nearly 15 years may be going out of business due to lack of financial support. It's the last 100% environmental news publication in Hawaii...

At last, "rising gas prices threaten viability of biggest SUV sales". Note that many Americans are still buying inefficient vehicles and driving them farther to boot...

Renting a car on Maui or Oahu? Try the Bio-Beetle, the first all-biodiesel rental cars in the world...

A new newspaper column only reviews cars that do better than 30 mpg. Let's see more columns like this...

The beneficial powers of darkness and listening to one's body clock...

"The Basics on Genetically Modified Foods"

Here's what sumo wrestlers eat to grow weight, and the recipe for making it. Looks delicious!

Here's the best article on the walking octopus I could find...

March 14 to 20, 2005

"Mount Kilimanjaro Photo Wake-Up Call for Action Against Global Warming" - in case you needed visual proof...

And here's photos of all those wildflowers that have been blooming in Death Valley lately...

"Mercury Pollution, Autism Link Found - U.S. Study"...

Could trapped frozen natural gas under the sea be a solution to the world's energy problems?

Breast-enhancing bubble gum is popular in Japan these days...

March 7 to 13, 2005

Turns out the human mind can't process more than four interdependent variables at once. Our planet is doomed...

Half of the world's 6,000 languages will disappear in less than a century, leading to "grave consequences for biodiversity" says the U.N.. Most people use one of only 8 languages...

Irresponsible trapping over decades has psychologically changed monkeys in India to the point that "simian aggression has reached alarming proportions"...

Australian scientists prove that less trees along the Amazon River mean less rain...

A salmon may be the "first genetically enhanced animal sold for consumption in the United States"...

Learning From Nature

Nike launches "Considered", an eco-friendly line of shoes...

Let's see Starbucks use these new paper coffee cups that are decomposable and biodegradable. The U.S. Navy's ordered 20 million of them...

"The most comprehensive video ever made on the design and construction of a green home"...

February 28 to March 6, 2005

"The Drugs I Need!"

A friend wrote this article about the Kolea, a five ounce bird that has been flying from Alaska to Hawaii annually for the last 120,000 years...

"Dolphin Beaching Came After Sub Exercise"

1,000 patients are getting iSights to enable at-home telemedicine. Hands down, the iSight provides the best PC video and audio conferencing quality I've ever experienced...

This pill camera takes 50,000 pictures of your insides over eight hours...

A "brain pacemaker" turned previously untreatable "beyond suicidal" people into antique dealers and PTA members. Ever seen "The Terminal Man"?

15 celebrities drove hybrid cars to the Oscars...

HIV/AIDS' impact on life expectancy in Africa - the big picture...

Bubba, the 22-pound lobster...

February 21 to 27, 2005

New super-cool solar roof tiles blend invisibly into housetops. Let's see these around town!

The new 1-kilometer high Solar Tower, which could power 200,000 homes, has found a building site in Australia. This got a lot of press this week...

Photographer Chris Jordan's "Portraits of American Mass Consumption"...

Decomposable pod-like eco-coffins...

A compact kitchen/bathroom/storage unit for small spaces...

The way things are going, the world's population will be 9.1 billion by 2050...

Nature is a lot tougher than you. Scientists revive 32,000 year-old frozen bacteria...

February 14 to 20, 2005

The Weekly Gloom and Doom

U.S. cities are increasingly looking into tapping ocean waves for power...

Chloroflourocarbon-free expanded polystyrene housing can withstand the worst earthquakes recorded and is energy-efficient too...

A nice-looking floating homes prototype...

February 7 to 13, 2005

A quarter of the economy's growth is taken up by healthcare spending...

44% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists feel findings were suppressed that would require greater protection of endangered species...

Genetically modified plants are proving to be an excellent way to clean up toxic soils...

A pretty good study of the contents of the Red Bull energy drink, recently approved for sale in Canada...

A new study shows that melatonin may have broader effects in the brain than previously thought...

Another new study shows that peanuts are the nutritional equivalent of the "perfect fruit"...

This man has converted 15 diesel Mercedes to run on biodiesel, with 15 to go...

Consumer Reports offers a report on condom effectiveness...

January 31 to February 6, 2005

This Week's Gloom and Doom

Try using these climate change bumper stickers...

Make your own fires in the coming apocalypse with this gadget...

California's explosion of autism cases worsened last year...

New modular, great looking, eco-friendly rug systems...

How the Atkins diet is affecting fast-food menus...

January 24 to 30, 2005

Whole-grain foods are becoming an industry trend. Wonder Bread now makes a whole-grain alternative, following "unprecedented consumer interest in healthier foods"...

The government is accusing DuPont of hiding materials that suggest that a chemical in Teflon leads to cancer and birth defects. Not only that, the chemical's been found in people's bloodstreams. After 50 years of Teflon use, DuPont may be liable for $300 million...

Only nine chlorine plants in the U.S. put eight tons of mercury into the environment each year, although some say 65 more tons are unaccounted for annually. This is mostly due to the use of obsolete 19th-century technology that the EPA overlooks...

Thanks to rampant over-prescription of antibiotics for over half of U.S. patients, antibiotics may be useless in 50 years...

Why don't local supermarkets sell reusable shopping bags at time of checkout? Here's how some towns in Australia managed to ban disposable plastic bags at supermarkets, saving 350,000 bags in the first year...

Incredible before-and-after comparisons of the faces of meth users...

It appears that the very healthy white tea is getting popular...

Unusual events "unheard of in the history of seismology" have been recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar islands since the tsunami...

The wind-up cell phone charger...

January 17 to 23, 2005

Three new wind farms in Hawaii should provide power for almost 20,000 homes before 2006...

A new solar hot water heater is 30 to 40% more efficient than flat plate solar systems...

Need thermal or acoustic insulation? Use eco-friendly itch-free insulation products...

Never mind the U.S. - electronics companies are using less lead in products thanks to European Union regulations...

Ecological pole houses. And the company is Hawaii-based!

The American Heart Association says that over 10% of U.S. children between 2 and 5 are obese...

January 10 to 16, 2005

The new vortex dehydration system turns trash into a fine dry powder and can reduce landfill volume by 90%. Those in Hawaii pondering the landfill problem should take note...

Unfortunately, it looks like the GM power train in Hawaii's new hybrid buses is not quite as fuel efficient as promised...

One in five FDA scientists were pressured to approve drugs they thought were unsafe. One described his work as "junk science". Not a good thing for our pill-popping society...

Harper's Index for December 2004.

Another crack in the suburban facade: In the Bay Area, 50% of residents want new homes built closer to job centers.

How about introducing "bike stations" into areas, for commuting and socializing?

Paper or plastic? Neither. Here's a great answer to this question...

The "HangOut", a very cool spherical treehouse for 21st-century living...

"Popular shampoos contain toxic chemicals linked to nerve damage". Apparently this includes Head and Shoulders, Suave, Clairol and Pantene Hair Conditioner...

January 1 to 9, 2005

Do SUVs make you stupid?

Has Somender Singh, a mechanic from India, developed an invention that makes conventional engines 20% more fuel efficient?

Monsanto paid a $1.3 million penalty to settle charges of bribing the Indonesian government to help facilitate the cultivation of its genetically modified crops...

Before and after tsunami photos, matched up with each other...

"Extreme Homes of Exotic Islands"

Of all things, Olestra may actually remove toxins, including dioxins, from your body...

An architecture firm is turning the considerable amount of waste from Boston's massive Big Dig project into office buildings and groovy-looking modern housing...

More on Michelin's air-less tire, which lasts two to three times longer than conventional tires...

For the ultra-sustainable lifestyle, refer to

New eco-friendly cork tiles resist mildew naturally...

December 13 to 19, 2004

Why the Portland REI store is one of the greenest retail stores in the U.S....

Precast concrete walls that use recycled material and are up to 50% more energy efficient than regular walls...

Could methane burps result in runaway global warming?

100% corn-based packaging now in use...

Drinking green tea prevents Alzheimer's...

December 6 to 12, 2004

Watching TV "rewires" infant brains, causing behavioral disorders...

Place a remote camera on an eagle and this is what you get. See an eagle dogfight from the eagle's point of view!

An inspiring account of an organic farmer in Marin County, CA. - this is the future of farming...

An absolutely cool higher-tech redesign of the VW bus. I think this would be a huge hit...

How to get your house off the grid...

Here's a good resource for the enviro-conscious - treehugger.com...

The corporate fallout detector...

An interesting essay on how anti-consumerism can actually increase consumerism...

Beijing's Watercube, which aims to be a sponge-like masterpiece of biological architecture...

The shrinking turtle house...

November 29 to December 5, 2004

The world is not growing enough food to meet the rising population...

Relax - high blood pressure makes you stupid...

The Straight Dope takes on alternative burials...

Whoops, another Hawaiian bird species nears extinction. "This species was a unique part of Earth's history... we'll never have another one like it if it disappears."

Are Detroit automakers missing the hybrid car revolution?

Here's an inspirational program on Kaua'i that recycles used glass into works of art...

"Researchers compost old mobile phones & transform them into flowers"...

Scientists figure out how to make hydrogen from sunflower oil. Does this mean that one day I'll be able to power my car from my cell phone compost pile?

November 22 to 28, 2004

Experts say the health of the ocean is linked to Hawaii's economic health, warn of problems...

"Pro-Bush Think-Tank Claims Climate Change May Be Good"...

A South Korean woman paralyzed for 20 years is now walking again, thanks to stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood...

More than 27% of U.S. babies were delivered by Caesarean section, the highest percentage since 1996...

Everybody reported on the dolphins that protected four New Zealand swimmers from sharks...

November 15 to 21, 2004

Stem cells may be the key to controlling tumors...

The GOP seeks a ban on RU-486, the "abortion pill"...

"A New Vision for Nuclear Waste"...

The artificial disc - "the first major breakthrough in back surgery since the 1940s"...

"Towards Alternative Cities, the Green-Friendly Way"

"Scientists Debate Blending Of Human, Animal Forms"...

"Meditation May Bolster Brain Activity"...

November 8 to 14, 2004

This article gives the best "you can see the changes with your own eyes" summary of the "Global Climate Change in the U.S." report...

"Living Outside Inside" - a book on design that integrates interior and exterior space. This reminds me of a story Yoko Ono told about moving to the West from Japan at age 14, where she had lived in a traditional house with sliding doors open to the outside. She was baffled by the way European architecture provided little square peepholes to the outside...

Communities offering "zero-energy homes" are popping up that allow homeowners to cut as much as 90% off their utility bill...

"Biodiesel fuel attracts loyal following in Islands"...

Controversial thoughts on energy alternatives. The point is that major changes in energy sources cannot be monolithic - everything affects everything else: "Bio-Diesel: Salvation or Disaster?"

Eat less, breathe more - the physics of gluttony...

November 1 to 7, 2004

Asian Farmers Sucking The Continent Dry

This was all over the news - Americans are getting heavier, leading to tons of extra weight and fuel for airlines. And 3.8 million more tons of carbon dioxide in the air...

McDonald's bans "fat" people from their new TV ads...

Stem cell manipulation induces the birth of new neurons. This work may lead to Alzheimer's and spinal cord injury cures...

One of the great mysteries of evolution - that of how the eye evolved - has been solved. This mystery has been one of the arguments for introducing creationism into schools...

Things That Return To Bite Us

"Ag-tourism becomes $35 million business for Hawaii"

Because of a clash with federal law, legislation protecting whales from high-speed boats in the Hawaiian Islands National Marine Sanctuary has been overturned. This may lead to the end of offshore sightings of marine life in that area...

Healthy Clothing

The smoke-free cigarette...

October 25 to 31, 2004

"Energy and America's Future"

"New report warns of pace of Arctic climate change"...

Guess we'll all be eating squid in the future. There are more squids than humans by biomass now, thanks to overfishing and climate change...

Hypoallergenic cats and glowing deer...

Sustainable flooring made with cork and bamboo...

A new prototype medical robot that's supposed to crawl through your intestines? Seems a little hard to swallow...

Dead things are a core part of the ecosystem. But many forests are in trouble due to excessive dead wood removal...

New no-frills hotels are coming - only $10 a night...

About Clearview, the new clearer, usable typeface that will be used on all Federal road signage. Ask your state to adopt it!

Planning a Critical Mass bike ride? Here's strategies you can use to help stop police harrassment...

October 18 to 24, 2004

"Humans Aren't So Complicated"

"World Living Beyond Its Environmental Means"...

Once the Yucca Mountain 40,000-year nuclear waste repository opens in 2010, it will be 1/3 smaller than needed to store all the accumulated waste by then...

"Heavy traffic bad for your heart"...

Warm offices are linked to higher productivity...

"Scientists are developing a pill to reduce the terror of a traumatic event"...

Five trips that can change your life, part five - volunteer vacations...

The first 100% solar-powered winery...

A living neural network taken from a rat's brain interacts with an F-22 fighter jet flight simulator...

Researchers develop an electronic replacement rat neuron that works "with a 95% accuracy rate"...

October 11 to 17, 2004

"1/3 of the world's frogs, toads and newts are on the brink of extinction", thanks to pollution...

The Earth's 12 most fragile places...

The average mpg of a 40-foot Gillig Phantom bus, used in Honolulu: about 4. The average mpg of a hybrid-diesel bus used in Seattle: 7.5.

China faces an obesity epidemic...

"McDonald's Losing Revenue in World-Wide Market"

An astute reader points out that hyaluronic acid, which has been touted as an "anti-aging remedy", is found in taro (used for poi, the Hawaiian food staple). Here's the connection to a long-lived Japanese village, where more live beyond 85 than anywhere else in the U.S....

The American health care system continues to flounder, with employer insurance increasing 11% in 2004...

Can nanofiltration solve the world's water problems?

Cultural (read: advertising) messages affect sensory perception...

Airplane contrails scar the atmosphere...

How Nobel-prize winner Wangari Maathai overcame beatings and jail to empower women to plant trees in Kenya. 30 million trees later, here is her story...

More on Wal-Mart vs. the Pyramids - workers told to hide archaeological relics they found...

Transparent ventilator bricks keep 85% of noise out...

Crate & Barrel switches to "Geami", a new tissue-based biodegradable, recyclable, efficient packing material...

October 4 to 10, 2004

Another proposal for plasma arc/gasification technology in Hawaii. Could it solve Oahu's "landfill crisis"?

More news on efforts to restore coral reefs via low voltage currents, and sad statistics on worldwide coral deaths...

A team of high school students create a hydrogen truck powered on nothing but sunlight and water...

The world's largest wind power project starts near Beijing...

A rapid body temperature cooling device may help improve athletic performance. My friend at IDEO helped design this a few years ago...

September 27 to October 3, 2004

"Greenlanders Mystified by Incredible Shrinking Glacier"...

California mandates free cell phone recycling. Every state should pass such a bill...

Will solar-powered ISPs take off?

Eat healthy leftovers - become a freegan!

Is "small plate dining" the next American eating trend?

September 20 to 26, 2004

"Automakers Give Biodiesel a Boost"

Using animal scents - rats for disasters and dogs for cancer...

Discovery - morphine occurs naturally in the brain...

A part of the brain that removes fear has been found...

A new report finds that wood is one of the most environmentally-sensitive building materials...

Option, a new mini enviro-friendly prefab house...

Researchers are finding ways to reduce buckyball toxicity...

September 13 to 19, 2004

The Olsen twins, one of which was recently treated for an eating disorder, are now promoting McDonald's happy meals in France...

About the horrible pollution and cancer-causing rivers in China...

NEC announces biodegradable laptops...

Some schools now support organic lunches...

Beer may have the same benefits as wine...

More links to ecological burial resources...

A new truck gets 7 miles to the gallon...

September 5 to 12, 2004

"Bacteria Turn Toxins Into Plastic"...

"Clean Air Tech Has Ancient Roots"

The 9/11 "tower of light" tribute captures thousands of birds...

August 30 to September 5, 2004

Melbourne scientists say they've developed a cure for malaria...

Ecotourism needs more experienced guides...

August 22 to 29, 2004

An experiment reviving coral reefs with low-voltage electrical current receives "remarkable results"...

Enterprise housing - creating affordable, sustainable housing in urban, mixed-use environments...

New ventures try to generate electricity from sea power with wave turbines...

A car engine that runs off air...

"Breakthrough reached in fight against fruit fly"...

The first interior commercial space in Hawaii to get gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council...

August 15 to 22, 2004

It's a shame when the people that live in paradise end up polluting it. 45% of beach trash comes from Hawai'i...

Hawaii lumber should be sustainable, especially these days when housing materials are in such demand! The HI Lumber Products Association launches a site...