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POPSThe Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Also Know As The Trash Vortex 
Sad Picture: No one to blame for this but ourselves. Four fifths of the plastic detritus floating over 2.5 million square miles of ocean surface arrives there from land-based run off: from stormwater, in other words: litter. Sadly - many people take the "out of sight, out of mind" approach. Plastic contamination in the world's oceans is worse than previously imagined and no amount of technology can clean it up. We are damned to a future of pollution by plastic. All succeeding generations will only see an ocean filled with trash. Net a piece of plastic, and you’ll find barnacles and small crabs clinging to it. Not a good thing for fish, birds, and mammals that mistake it for its natural food, such as eggs, jellyfish, or other sea creatures. Most of the plastic will eventually photo-degrade into small, dust-like particles to the point that it will be non-detectable to the human eye, but ingestible by sea mammals, birds, and fish—many of which we then consume ourselves.
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POPSLargest, Strangest & Scariest Collective Activities in the World "As humans we have a difficult time comprehending large numbers, and vast collections of people perhaps in particular. There is something simply surreal about a pilgrimage that attracts more people than the population of Texas or a festival that draws thirty thousand revelers deep into one of the harshest deserts on Earth. These three events are vastly different in terms of geography, history and purpose but are all impressive in their own way and right as these images show."
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POPS16 Of The World's Best Squares: Think About The Details From Mexico to Italy to Iran, these remarkable squares can inspire us all. What stands out most is that design is only a small fraction of what goes into making a great square: small details add up to great places. Historically, squares were the center of communities, and they traditionally helped shape the identity of entire cities. Like the tentacles of an octopus extending into the surrounding neighborhood, the influence of a good square (such as Union Square in New York) starts at least a block away. Any great square has a variety of smaller "places" within it to appeal to various people. The use of a square changes during the course of the day, week, and year. The streets and sidewalks around a square greatly affect its accessibility and use, as do the buildings that surround it. Any community where people want to discover the rewards of public life can make a square its centerpiece.
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POPSDisaster Gives Birth to Greenest Town in America To leverage environmentalism to rebuild and sustain itself in the wake of near total destruction, it just may unwittingly be writing a modern survival guide for rural America. Currently, the town has completed town houses for working class families that are LEED gold certified. Gold certification means these places will be almost twice as efficient as they used to be. A lot of what's happening in Greensburg is some of the first in the country.
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POPSWhen Nature Re-claims the Planet: Life After People Humans won't be around forever...Imagine when humans leave the Earth...What happens to its biggest and most prosperous capital cities and other attractions when mankind is gone! Check out the book: "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. He offers an approach to examine humanity's impact on earth, by envisioning the Earth without us.
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POPSFather of India's Green Revolution Prepares for Evergreen Revolution “In every crisis is an opportunity” Swaminathan is once again agitating for revolution -- this time a perpetual one. In the early ‘60s, India grew 12 million tons of wheat every year. Starvation was rampant and the country imported much of its food. Swaminathan, an agricultural geneticist, developed new strains of high-yield wheat for his country and the programs that led to an India that exports food. Today, India grows some 70 million tons of wheat and has become the world's second-largest wheat producer. He says that today India has reached a plateau in production and productivity because a problem of under investment in rural infrastructure. His M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development follows a pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-women orientation to a job-led economic growth strategy in rural areas through harnessing science and technology for environmentally sustainable and socially equitable development.
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POPSIzzy Lane and the Unique Sheep Sanctuary of Scotland Isobel Davies loves sheep - she created a Sheep Sanctuary in Scotland after she found that many sheep were sent to slaughter for various reasons from being male to being lame. She also discovered that farmers were burning the wool sheared from their sheep rather than selling it to manufacturers in other industries. Because 80 percent of the wool used in Britain’s clothing industry was imported, the native farmers couldn’t compete with the low prices—it would actually cost them more to properly shear and sell the wool than it would to just hack it off and burn it. Davies decided to create an economic model that would preserve the sheep AND support the British clothing industry. She created Izzy Lane Sheep-Friendly Clothing!
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POPSNo Traffic? Michigan to Build Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Super Highway Michigan to build the country's first Maglev public transportation system: to be constructed between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Interstate Traveler Hydrogen cars will carry people, cars (drive on/off) and cargo. Construction is set to begin this year (2008). Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Super Highway? It is a collection of vital municipal utilities bundled into a Conduit Cluster: a public transit network built along the right of way of the US Interstate Highway Systems, and any other permissible right of way where such a machine would be of benefit. It will be a integration of solar powered hydrogen production and distribution with a high speed magnetic levitation ( MagLev ). A Maglev, or magnetically levitating, train is a form of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles (predominantly trains) using electromagnetic force. The first commercial Maglev was opened in 1984 in Birmingham, England.
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POPSIntergenerational School: Empowers Elderly to Stay Active K-6th school in Cleveland welcomes volunteers in their 80s & 90s, some with Alzheimer's or dementia. The founders believe volunteering gives the elderly a sense of purpose and happiness, as well as many health benefits. TIS fosters an educational community of excellence that provides experiences and skills for life-long learning and spirited citizenship for learners of all ages. TIS encourages communities to create new environments that empower learners of all ages, as they become life-long contributors to a society. TIS incorporates community volunteers into the life of the school. Volunteers perform a variety of tasks from painting and setting up classrooms to mentoring young readers and writers. TIS is a free public school. Founder of TIF, Peter Whitehouse, believes when some people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they feel shame and withdraw themselves from society, so engagement is necessary for older people who have aging-associated cognitive challenges.
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POPSWhat Ideas Will Shape our Future? The 10 Ideas of the 21st Century "More than money, more than politics, ideas are the secret power that this planet runs on." "The 21st century will overturn many of our basic assumptions about economic life. The 20th century saw the end of European dominance of global politics and economics. The 21st century will see the end of American dominance too, as new powers make their voices heard on the world stage." "The challenges of sustainable development—protecting the environment, stabilizing the world's population, narrowing the gaps of rich and poor and ending extreme poverty—will render passé the very idea of competing nation-states that scramble for markets, power and resources." "The defining challenge of the 21st century will be to face the reality that humanity shares a common fate on a crowded planet." "6.6 billion people living in an interconnected global economy producing an astounding $60 trillion of output each year."
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POPSUrban Gardener Thinks Higher: A Rooftop Garden for Room to Grow Why should you consider a rooftop garden? * Increase access to private outdoor green space within the urban environment * Support urban food production * Promote individual, community, and cultural diversity * Improve air quality and reduce CO2 missions * Delay stormwater runoff * Increase habitat for birds * Insulate buildings * Increase the value of buildings for owners and tenants alike * Create job opportunities in the field of research, design, construction, Iandscaping, gardening, health, and food production
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POPSUnderground City? The Future of Amsterdam Dutch engineers have proposed building an underground city 6 floors under Amsterdam's picturesque canals, which would be drained section by section during construction. It is both feasible and sustainable, creating a city beneath the city is not futuristic, it may be a necessity in this day and age. And what will this city hold? Parking, shopping and "leisure". Should they be digging up Amsterdam for parking and shopping, OR should they have added public transit and bike lanes instead? Construction could last up to 20 years.
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POPSIncredible World Wildlife Fund Posters From Around the World WWF’s ultimate goal is to build a future where people live in harmony with nature. Here are a couple of the messages: “Preserve your world. Preserve yourself.” “Global Warming is changing the world’s climate rapidly. Icebergs are melting, oceans are rising, nature is revolting. Act now, conserve energy and treat the planet with respect, or we’ll have a world at sea.” “Animals around the world are losing their habitats due to climate change. By choosing a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, you can help prevent this. Take action now.” “Save the world with a few coins” “For Nature, small animals are as important as the big ones.” “A single can of dissolvent, or tin of paint, can pollute millions of liters of water.” “Building a single golf course puts thousands of trees at stake.” “Where is your home?” http://www.wwf.org/
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POPSPorridge: A Good Source of Energy For Your Body & Your Factory A FIFE factory is to become one of Scotland’s greenest when it begins generating all its own energy from oat husks. Quaker, which produces Scott’s Porage Oats at its Uthrogle Mills plant near Cupar, is to invest £6 million in a combined heat and power biomass boiler which will make it carbon neutral. The husks, removed from the oats during the milling process, will provide 9,709 MWhrs of electricity and 10,902 MWhrs of steam a year, reducing its emissions by 9,000 tonnes a year. “This innovative approach by Quaker to cut carbon emissions through investment in new low carbon technology will be a powerful signal to other businesses that reducing carbon emissions and looking for sustainable energy sources makes business sense.”
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POPS12 Environmental Victories in 2007 The Environmental Defense Fund uses science, economics and law to create innovative, equitable and cost-effective solutions to society's most urgent environmental problems.
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POPSHow Parking Lots Can Beat the Heat & Gain Energy On hot, sunny days when air conditioners threaten to overload the power grid, solar power generation makes a lot of sense. Parking lots in asphalt-rich cities have great solar potential because the panels can be oriented to optimize power production during summer afternoons when electricity is most valuable. Google, for example, has installed solar canopies on its parking lots to satisfy 30 percent of its headquarters' power demand. Because the parking lots for most commercial buildings are bigger than the buildings themselves, economies of scale for large installations can further reduce the cost of the solar panels. We shouldn't wait until the next heat wave to think about getting solar power from our parking lots.
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POPSMaryland Zoo Welcomes It's First Baby Elephant! At 290 pounds, he is quite a big baby boy! Mother and son are doing well: "She's been teaching him things already. " Less than 24 hours after he was born, his keepers thought they could already see his personality emerging. "He seems like a very trusting little calf. He doesn't seem particularly nervous," "I feel like he's already thinking, sorting things out. You can see the little wheels turning." I can't wait to see him!
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POPSA Mobile Sea Barrier To Save Sinking Venice The project is building 78 floodgates at the 3 inlets that link the Venice lagoon to the Adriatic Sea. When the giant doors are at rest, they will be lying on the bottom of the inlet channel, invisible to the world. Each gate will be up to 92 feet long, 65 feet wide, and will weigh 300 tons. The gates allow one inlet to close and not the other so you are not obliged to close the whole lagoon. Some 37 percent of the work has been completed, and MOSE should open as planned in 2012.
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POPSOklahoma: Home To The World's Largest Switchgrass For Energy Field Oklahoma has made an aggressive establishment of 1,000 acres of switchgrass: the first of its size anywhere in the world focused on biomass production. The fields also will serve as a "living classroom" where agricultural producers, policymakers and the general public can see and experience these crops, which will play a key role in the United States' energy future. A unique "living laboratory" to understand the production and long-term impact of bio-energy crops, as well as experiment with new production techniques and critical harvest, collection and transport methods. This dedicated land will allow us to demonstrate the advantages of switchgrass. A cellulosic bio-refinery currently being constructed by in Hugoton, Kansas (less than 35 miles from the fields) to process the switchgrass into bio-fuel. “Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain, and the wavin' switchgrass can sure smell sweet…”
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POPSIndian Artists Free to Express Their Own Culture: Virgin Comics After decades of outsourcing and emulating the West, artists finally feel free to do what they want and share their culture with the rest of the world. "You can't handle that kind of freedom all of a sudden. So it takes about three to four months of time to adjust." "Because it's been built upon an outsourcing model...we do a tremendous amount of unlearning."
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POPSBeyond Zero-Energy: The World's 1st Positive Energy Building Generates more energy than it consumes. The building’s aggressive approach to sustainability enables it to offer the lowest energy consumption per square meter for its class. The complex will utilize sustainable materials and feature integrated wind turbines, outdoor air quality monitors. In addition to serving as the Masdar headquarters, the building will accommodate private residences and ‘early bird’ businesses starting up in the city. The Masdar development will be constructed over seven phases and is due to be completed by 2016.
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POPSAppalachian Trail: Maine to Georgia...Could It Be Extended? Benton MacKaye was convinced that the pace of urban and industrial life along the East Coast was harmful to people. He convened the first Appalachian Trail "conference" in Washington, D.C., in 1925. That gathering of hikers, foresters, and public officials embraced the goal of building the A.T. Currently, the A.T. goes from Maine to Georgia, but there is a movement to extend the A.T. to attach to the existing Alabama Pinhoti trail. Such a move would require an act of Congress: to change the wording of the National Trails System Act of 1968 to include Alabama. But --- it is not that easy when you take into consideration Georgia. An extension could siphon hikers and their tourist dollars away. I think that an extension would carry on Mackaye's original vision: He envisioned the A.T. as a path interspersed with planned wilderness communities where people could go to renew themselves. An extension into Alabama would only expand this wilderness escape and national treasure.
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POPSSalt: The Key to Successful Solar Power SolarReserve will be able to produce electricity at night or in inclement weather. This product is more predictable than water reserves, the supply is free and inexhaustible, and the environmental impact is essentially zero.
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POPSYouth Court: Teen Offenders Allowed a Jury of Their Peers...Other Teens With more than 1,270 youth courts in 49 states: Youth courts are one of the fastest growing ways to prevent juvenile delinquency. Youth courts, also called Teen courts or Peer courts, are unofficial, alternative courts in which first time, teen, low-level offenders, are diverted from the juvenile justice system and agree to be judged by other teenagers. The teens don’t decide guilt or innocence they are there to only hear out the defendants, ask questions and hand out sentences. Not harsh sentences, but alternatives for these kids to come back into the community and become better citizens: such as completing community service, a drug awareness program, a mediation program, or a job interview program…one sentence included writing an essay on where he expects to be in 5 years. Youth court offers a win/win situation: It lightens the overburdened juvenile court system, educates its student officers and tries to rehabilitate offenders by building on their strengths.
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POPSWoman Challenges Putin and Saves World's Oldest & Deepest Lake Environmental activism is growing increasingly hazardous in Putin's Russia. With growing limitations on freedom of speech in Russia, if you oppose a state company, you can expect to come to the attention of the state security services. But Rikhvanova, a biologist and veteran environmental crusader, was devoted to saving Lake Baikal, she won even Putin's ear after organizing protests, petitions and flash mobs. (Last year her adult son Pavel was one of 20 people arrested after an attack on her group's environmental encampment). Baikal, also known as the "Blue Eye of Siberia", is the world's oldest and deepest -- and largest -- freshwater lake, home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world. Rikhvanova is now organizing to block the expansion of a state-run uranium enrichment facility at Angarsk, just 50 miles from Lake Baikal, where the Russian government is planning to import nuclear waste from around the world
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POPSNaples Is Drowning In Garbage...Mozzarella In Danger The streets of Naples, Italy are filling up with garbage thanks to the country's mafia. The problem is having a devastating effect on the local cheese industry. One of the biggest, healthiest industries in and around Naples is milk, butter and cheese producing.
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POPSHolland: Build an Amphibious House for a Floating Future Who says you have to live on dry land? Try a floating house... Building floating foundations is a snap. Just fill a concrete box with some kind of plastic foam, flip it over, and you've got a stable platform that's ready to float. And the more of these platforms you join together, the more stable they are. Zevenbergen's company has already built floating greenhouses and has plans for houses that not only float, but also move. His idea is that you can move them along the river, and go to a city which is close to the river, and park your home there in a special harbor which is constructed for this type of boat. A nomadic way of living, that you can change the area where you live depending on the season or whatever.
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POPSPlanning the Future of Rwanda "A bit perversely, the genocide itself has become a sort of psychic engine for development, the glimpse of darkness that inspires the light" Capital of Rwanda: Kigali Population in 1990: 7 million Killed in the 1994 genocide: 800,000 Population today: 9.7 million Estimated population in 2030: 20 million Urban population in 1990: 5.3% Urban population in 2003: 21.8% Kigali annual growth rate: 7–9% Kigali population in informal settlements: 83% Average per-capita annual income: $280 Population with regular access to electricity: 5% Projected population with access to electricity in 2011: 10%
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POPSPhotographs of a Generation "It's Complicated: The American Teenager" “Whatever their identity or station in life, the young people were candid and poignant in talking about themselves, often revealing estrangement from parents or ostracism by peers, discomfort with their bodies, or worry about the future.” A diverse set of teenagers, less-common subjects, such as a country preacher, a coal miner, a 19-year-old girl in prison, a Maine lobstergirl, a Georgia transvestite, and a 16-year-old female "naturist," photographed nude at a family resort in Florida. Sometimes she was not welcome and "chased out of towns," for asking questions such as "Have you been sexually active?" The New York Public Library has purchased a complete set, along with transcripts of the interviews (not all appear in the book), with the intention eventually to mount an exhibition. Please check out the photo gallery: beautiful photos and emotional quotes: http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2008/mar/bowman/bowman_gallery/index.html
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POPSThe Throw-Away Culture: Do you Own your Stuff? Our new economy may be just the motivation people need to stop and think before they toss. If something breaks our first instinct is to throw it away and buy it new, instead of trying to fix it. But even if we wanted to fix it, manufacturers have made it difficult for us to repair, re-use or upgrade our stuff. Mr. Jalopy urges technology companies to create forums for consumers to share ideas, and pushes car companies to sell patterns so people can create accessories like seat covers....he wants companies to make schematics readily available so consumers can fix and re-imagine the objects they buy.
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POPSItaly Works To Relieve Stress: 2008 Roman Pillow Fight Do you ever have one of those days where all you want to do is smack someone? Rome, Italy - April 27, 2008: Over 300 people met in Piazza Santa Maria, in the Trastevere neighborhood, to celebrate the 3rd annual Roman Pillow Fight. Of course, to make all things fair, this pillow fight started exactly when the piazza’s clock tower chimed 6 pm… and then BAM! Feathers everywhere! The purpose of the annual Pillow Fight is to relieve stress and anxiety…and have some fun! Pillow Fight Fever is spreading and becoming a worldwide phenomena so if you want to start your own pillow fight next year, International Pillow Fight Day is March 22! Or visit http://www.pillowfightday.com/index.php to see is your city already participates!
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POPSHow Does San Francisco Keep 70% of Their Trash Out of Landfills? “When we look at garbage, we don’t see garbage. We see food, paper, metal, glass.” The 70 % diversion rate includes recycling, composting and source reduction (meaning reusing things instead of throwing them out.) The city has 12 recycling streams, or programs, devoted to different materials, including regular garbage, construction debris, furniture and paint. For example, much of the concrete from demolished buildings is recycled in new sidewalks. Unwanted paint is blended it in 55-gallon drums: resulting in 3 colors — off-white, beige and green — are packed in 5 gallon tins and sent to local nonprofit organizations, schools or charitable institutions in Mexico. They can collect scrap paper to re-sell because of low levels of glass contamination. Garbage trucks can compress mixed loads of paper, cans and bottles without breaking the bottles. Compare 2006 diversion rates: Chicago 55%, New York City 30.6%, Milwaukee 24%, Boston 16% and Houston 2.5%.
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POPSUnconventional Fundraising: Why They Chose to Disrobe & Pose 12 women, aged 70 to 92, posed semi-nude for the 2008 Ladies of Greenspring Calendar for a good cause: To raise money for a fund to help their fellow residents who are encountering financial hardships. The fund enables residents to remain at Greenspring, knowing they will always receive the care they deserve.
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