We are also undoing our green efforts at home as well as the extra weight that Americans have put on over the past 50 years has pretty much negated the gains that the automakers have made in fuel efficiency over the same period of time says Jim Motavalli of Mother Nature Network.

So how can we combat all this?  Here are 5 ways that Jennifer recommends:

Go to bed an hour earlier:  Sleeping longer helps lose weight

Trade the gym for working out in Mother Nature: It is easier to be motivated to workout.

Cook your own food: you can then control what goes in it and how much you eat, and you can focus on organics… Support Community-supported Agriculture (CSA)

Support your local farmers market: It will help you appreciate your food more.

Go Vegetarian: Lessens the impact on the earth and vegetarians are up to 20% slimmer than meat eaters.

To read the complete article, click here.

But, what if you have a real one that was cut down?  How should you dispose of or recycle it? Well, there are many ways to do this, but we hope you opt for one that is green and eco-friendly as twenty-eight million is a lot of tress to dispose of.

One of the easier ways of disposing of your tree is to recycle it at a local recycling center. Of you do not know where your recycling center is near you, well, this is a good time to find out. Just Google “recycling center” and your zip code or city the name of the city and state you live in and you should have no problem finding one. Also, many municipalities have drop of locations marked that you can take your tree to for them to pick up in mass quantities and often your waste pickup company will pick them up for you at curbside. Give them a call and see.

What happens with these trees is that most of the time they are mulched and allowed to compost over time to create eco-friendly fertilizer. Some places use these trees to help shore up shore lines and reduce erosion. Some burn them, but this is not a recommended method as it can be dangerous and can generate a lot of heat and resin in your fireplace and that can start future flue fires later.

Let us know what method you used this year by commenting below.

To read the original article, click here.

A recent task force on the Puget Sound area of Tacoma-Pierce County in Washington State sent recommendations to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency about what needed to be done Smog to reduce soot in the air and meet the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. While both industry and diesel vehicles create a significant amount of soot, by far the largest contributor to the situation comes for wood burning stoves and fireplaces which make up more than 53% percent of the total load to the environment in that area.

Since the Northwest has such an abundance of trees, it is natural to think about using them for fuel. Some experts even state that this type of fuel is eco-friendly and since it is renewable is a good fuel source. However, many believe that the impact to the air quality of burning these fuels cannot be reasonably justified.

In 1985, Seattle had a smog problem that was linked to residential burning of wood in stoves and fireplaces that was so severe that the SeaTac airport had to be closed. Good news, since then, was linked to residential wood stoves. Since then, according to Jim Nolan, executive director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the smoke in the area can been cut by 75% or more.

So, what do you think about this? Please share your thoughts so we can see where our community stands on this issue.

To read the original article, click here.

Switzerland, Sweden and Norway are tied for first with two each with one each in Canada and one in Finland.

WHITEPOD ECO RESORT, SWITZERLAND

HOTEL de GLACE, QUEBEC

MONTE ROSA HUT, SWITZERLAND

ICEHOTEL, SWEDEN

IGLOO VILLAGE OF HOTEL KAKSLAUTTANEN, FINLAND

MOUNTAIN HILL CABIN, NORWAY

SKIPARK 360, NORWAY

TREEHOTEL, SWEDEN

I like the Hotel de Glace in Quebec. The craftsmanship is truly amazing; however, the igloo village in Finland that allows you to watch the Aurora Borealis it pretty cool too.

Post a comment and tell us your favorite… And maybe you can take a cool vacation to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.

To read the original article, click here.

When most of us old timers were younger, Christmas trees were cut down from old growth wild forests, but today, most come from sustainably harvested Christmas tree farms that cut their trees when they are 9 to 12 years old.

Today, more than 50% of Christmas trees that are found in our homes are of the artificial variety.  While many people think these artificial trees make more eco sense than cutting down live trees others think that the chemicals used to make the artificial trees create more of a threat to the environment than cutting down live ones. It is also thought that the live ones still help with climate changes by reducing greenhouse gases and decreasing global warming while they are growing.

There are a couple other alternatives one could choose as well:

1) buy a live one in a pot and plant it after the holidays.

2) Don’t get a tree at all.

Let’s see what the community at eco.ORG has to say about this. Tell us what you think!

Because heat is a key ingredient in ozone formation, it is critical that we take action today to curb global warming. UCS research shows that warmer summers will likely produce more bad air-quality days in many parts of the country—especially in urban areas where car- and smokestack-related emissions tend to be higher—making ozone-related health impacts and their associated costs much worse.

Unfortunately, federal emissions-reduction policies continue to stagnate: the Obama administration delayed the release of a revised national ozone standard until at least 2013, and the Environmental Protection Agency also delayed its draft rule for reducing global warming emissions from power plants. Because heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide linger in the atmosphere for decades, these delays allow emissions to continue to build, guaranteeing at least some additional increase in temperatures and making future emissions reductions more difficult and costly.

To learn more about the connec­tion between global warming and ozone pollution, and what UCS is doing to help reduce the risks, visit www.ucsusa.org/climateandozonepollution.

Presented in the Union of Concerned Scientists Earthwise Newsletter, Volume 14, Number 1, winter 2011/2012

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has indicated that that CO2 levels are now at 389 parts per million, up from about 280 parts per million 250 years ago. It was said by WMO Deputy Secretary-General Jeremiah Lengoasa that CO2 emissions are responsible for 80% of this rise. He also indicated that these greenhouse gases have long life spans an that even if we eliminate the current conditions that produce them, the current concentrations will remain in the atmosphere for decades to come. Many scientists and climate activists say that 350 parts per million was already the danger point.

This concentration appears to be accelerating as the increase in CO2 between 2009 and 2010 was 2.3 ppm as opposed to the increase in the 1990′s that averaged 1.5 ppm.

The burning of  fossil fuels and the loss of forests that absorb CO2 and the use of fertilizer were indicated by the report as the main reasons for these increases.

Representatives from most of the world’s nations will gather in November 2011 in South Africa to try to and agree on ways to stem this problems and head of serious climate issues that are expected to hit once the concentration of CO2 hits about 450 ppm.