Daily Green Wrap-Up 10.August, 2012

Environmentalists have labeled this phenomenon of making a product appear to be more environmentally benign than it actually is “greenwashing.” They may not do much to actually lessen pollution, but they make people feel greener.
“The ad industry has stepped up to make you feel better about the things that are not green by making them feel green,” Graeme Newell, president of 602 Communications, a marketing research firm, told The Huffington Post.
We know that start-stop technology – which shuts down a car’s engine when the car comes to a halt – is going to be available in more and more vehicles. BMW, Mercedes and Porsche already have the technology on non-hybrid vehicles and Jaguar and Kia will introduce it soon. Ford, too, is adding start-stop to non-hybrid models for a modest fee. In the 2013 Fusion (pictured), it costs just $295. But how many vehicles soon get all quiet at red lights?
MIT professor Donald Sadoway discusses his research in energy storage at a recent TED talk
So few people know how to do things on their own anymore, and besides saving money, and having an intimate knowledge of how exactly things like plumbing work (which makes it less likely that they will put something stupid down a drain), DIY makes me feel smart and empowered.
Remember the Lorax who spoke for the trees? As colorful as they may be,Truffula Trees have nothing on the ones in our own backyard. These six magnificent trees would leave even the Lorax speechless — and you don’t have to venture into a Dr. Suess book to find them.
The interactive greenhouse gas map — a mashup of emissions data from state regulators and Google Earth’s mapping technology — allows users to see GHGs by facility, year, and location. Users can pinpoint sources of emissions on a map and see at a glance how a particular facility compares to others in the same county, zip code or throughout the state.

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