popular story links this week

Ever wonder how many Huggers it takes to change a light bulb? No? Well, ever wonder the real cost difference between incandescent, CFL, and LED light bulbs? Here's a wiki article that looks at the cost of ownership of these different light bulbs that takes into account the initial cost of the bulb, its energy consumption, its light output, its lifetime length, and the cost of electricity.

Homemade ethanol guru Floyd S. Butterfield and Silicon Valley entrepreneur and innovator Thomas J. Quinn want to see you making ethanol in your backyard. Their creation, called the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler, is a stacked washer-dryer sized reactor that can convert sugar into ethanol for (they claim) $1.00 per gallon.

A very interesting poster has been created on the basis of this measurement. In addition, the design is really nice and has been rewarded on multiple occasions...

The European Parliament has set a target of having 25% of their energy come from renewable energy by 2020. Of that 25%, half is planned to come from wind energy.

Europe is already well on their way to making this happen as well, with 5 countries (Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Germany) having more than 5% of their energy provided by wind farms. Currently there exists 80 GW of installed wind capacity in the EU, though only 3.5 GW of that is derived from wind farms built off-shore.

This 100% biodiesel-powered, 78 ft wave-piercing trimaran aims to set an around-the-world speed record while maintaining a net zero carbon footprint. The Earthrace left Sagunto, Spain, on April 27, and has already made excellent time across the Atlantic, landing in Panama just 8 days later.

Conservationists in Kenya are opposing a multi-million dollar biofuels project citing threats to bird life abundant in a riverine delta area. The 50,000 acre sugar cane project was meant to provide raw cane for a giant sugar milling company too but it is believed its vision was more for biofuel than food.

This came from Reuters and if you ask me, I say that the researcher from the University of Exeter in Britain who said this is full of Sh%$#. Oh yes!!! This research was a waste of money. Let’s keep polluting the air so that the forest stay alive. Ya right. The way I see it we got to stop polluting, and that includes stopping deforestation, to keep our green lands alive.

Wait, wasn’t there supposed to be a rabbi in there somewhere?

Tonight was the Time 100 Gala, where Time Magazine celebrates 100 of the most influential people in the world today. This year, three religious leaders are included.

sustainablog's newest writer Justin van Kleek considers the (psychological) pollution environmental activists themselves can often spew. Or, to borrow the famous quote from Pogo, "we have met the enemy, and he is us."

A review of 320 studies, announced today, found that design definitely impacts human health.

Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.

Part 2 of Justin van Kleek's musing on activism, anger and better ways to communicate an environmental agenda.

300 garbage collection trucks in California will soon be fueled by the same trash that they haul. Landfill gas will be purified and liquefied, producing up to 13,000 gallons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) daily.

Shah borrowed $2,000 from a local trafficker, promising to repay the loan with 24 kilos of opium at harvest time. Late last spring, just before harvest, a government crop-eradication team appeared at the family’s little plot of land in Laghman province and destroyed Shah’s entire two and a half acres of poppies… “I never imagined I’d have to pay for growing opium by giving up my daughter,” says Shah…”It’s my fate,” the child says.

Who knew the strong spirit could help you save money and reduce chemicals?