Edwards Campaign Goes Carbon Neutral and Helps Voters Do It Too!

by | Apr 18, 2007 | Uncategorized

John Edwards is the first presidential candidate to go carbon neutral. Not only has the campaign taken steps to offset its carbon footprint and conserve energy, they have also launched ReduceYourCarbon.com a site that lets people pledge to reduce carbon emissions through concrete steps like changing incandescents to fluorescents, adjust the thermostat, improve fuel economy through reducing driving or keeping tires inflated. (Interesting side note, EcoGeek recently pointed to a Popular Mechanics review of CFL light bulbs and the quality of the light apparently the curly bulbs have a bad rap and actually give off higher quality light than their energy consuming brethren!) It seems to me like ReduceYorCarbon.com could add a few more pledges people can take, reducing phantom load I first saw coverage of the Edwards Campaign’s site on the TerraPass blog which merely remarked that it is interesting how much of a role climate change is set to play in the campaign. Earlier this year, Edwards organized a national day of action to reduce energy consumption in which volunteers helped people better insulate their homes, change light bulbs and take other conservation steps. In other Carbon Neutral News, Yahoo has gone neutral! It would be great if they would also highlight sites and tips that help Yahoo users reduce their footprint...

Google Earth and Darfur

by | Apr 16, 2007 | Uncategorized

Google Earth has added a Global Awareness Layer that features data from a collaboration with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial on the Genocide in Darfur. It is a very moving presentation of data making Google Earth a valuable tool for education and activism around issues of human rights. The Geospatial data is linked with images and stories of survivors of the Genocide. We are working on a project for Witness to create a video sharing portal for video of human rights violations. I recently blogged about the Video Hub and Net Squared (go there, sign up and vote for the Video Hub, and the Genocide Intervention Network’s project). Mapping this kind of data can expose government lies to the bright light of day and also connect people a world away to the reality of life for our fellow humans. The work we are doing with TOPP on the Great Turtle Race is similar, in a way. By presenting compelling images and story with geospatial data, people are getting an opportunity to see something they normally would not, in this case, Leather Back Turtles swimming nearly one thousand miles. I remember in the days after Hurricane Katrina hit helping my friend identify her parent’s houses and see if they were under water using Google Earth. The tool is obviously very powerful. Google has recently added building footprints to Google Maps and the new “My Maps” feature. All very cool. But just last month Google replaced post Katrina images with pre-Katrina ones causing an uproar. The technology that Google is making available is great, but what happens when one company is the...

Turtles and Galapagos in the news again

by | Apr 13, 2007 | Uncategorized

President Rafael Correa ordered his government ministers to meet urgently to discuss ways of preventing environmental degradation in Ecuador’s famed Galapagos Islands. CNN has a story about environmental problems on the Galapagos and the steps that Equador is taking to preserve this unique place on earth. The turtles will be on their way there...