Squamish Environment Society

Photo via Reisendame A stunning 87 countries around the world are still littered with undetonated landmines, and their impact is devastating. Tens of thousands of people are killed or injured by mines every year, and they pose a grave threat to ecosystems and wildlife. But an unexpected solution may be on the way--scientists have developed a special kind of bacteria that actually begins to glow in the presence of landmines. Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Wikipedia, Public domain It Could Work We usually hear about pumping CO2 underground in the context of carbon capture and storage (CCS). But there might be another use for that CO2 in the field of geothermal power. It hasn't been proven to work yet, but some money from the Federal stimulus funds has started to flow to 9 projects that want to test this out. The idea is: "Carbon dioxide that's cycled through hot regions kilometers underground can efficiently bring heat to the surface, where it can be used to generate electricity. The likelihood is that the process would leave lots of ca... Read the full story on TreeHugger

There are a lot of options out there for green web hosting. In an effort to green up an energy and resource intensive industry, some use carbon offsets, some sign up for green power plans with power companies. Canvas Dreams, however, is one web hosting company that goes farther than most to be as eco friendly as possible. They shrug off even the thought of carbon offsets and instead go to the root of the problems - green power, a smal... Read the full story on TreeHugger

75% of our electricity goes into buildings, and much of that runs air conditioning. The entire system is built to try and cope with the peak loads that come in summer. TreeHugger has covered ice storage systems before; they simply make ice at night, when electricity is cheaper and it is cooler, so it is easier to make, and then run air conditioning during the daytime when it is hot and electricity is in short supply. This can knock the peak off the demand curve and significantly reduce the need for new power plants. But we learned In the Calmac Booth that it can have another significant benefit: It can act as a battery for wind power.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

For most people, empty ink cartridges unfortunately head to the trash bin, or if we're lucky, to the reclcying bin or back to the store for recycling. But few people refill cartridges, which is one of the most efficient, green uses. Silo Ink isn't a bottomless ink cartridge, but it's about as close as we can get. The giant cartridges not only reduce waste and are refillable, but will save you 80% on the cost of ink. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Community based product service systems are an excellent green product service system allowing a lot of people to use one item when they need it, rather than everyone purchasing the same product only to use it once a year. But what about creating an income based on sharing your stuff? Rentalic is a person-to-person renting service where anyone can hop online and rent their stuff - from parking spaces to holiday decorations - and bring in a little cash, while the renters can get access to things they nee... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Out on the market for only a few days, Dog Flushies from Absurd Doggie Products made a debut at San Francisco's Green Festival. Plastic bags for picking up puppy poo are a fast selling product, but they aren't usually good for the environment, so the idea of bags that dissolve in water is kinda of appealing. And, the company is putting out a product that is essentially a flushable toilet for outside so you're not traipsing through the house to the bathroom with a bag full of something smelly. Still, we aren't convinced that these are a silver bullet for the problem of "biodegradable" bags. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

All elephants living in Indian zoos and circuses will be moved to wildlife parks and game sanctuaries where the animals can graze more freely. Read the story here.

Image credit: Tor Valenza/RenewableEnergyWorld From SunPower's super-efficient solar cells to Lennar Homes going 100% solar in California, it's clear that more and more rooftops will be sporting solar PV and solar thermal panels as households seek to generate some of their own energy. Renewable Energy World raises an interesting question in this regard—as solar gets increasingly common, even commodified, Read the full story on TreeHugger

Close up of a dead snail fish--its deeper-living relatives were caught on camera A species of snail fish--the deepest living fish in the world--have been captured on camera in the southern hemisphere for the first time. These strange, pink-bodied fish were photographed at a stunning depth of 24,800 feet in the Kermadec Trench off the coast of New Zealand. See photos and video of the bizarre deep sea fish in action after the jump. digg_url = 'http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/worlds-deepest-living-fish-cau... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Lead ingots via Wikipedia Lead is unfortunately an important component in electronics, especially when it comes to piezoelectronics. We're mostly familiar with piezoelectricity when it comes to concept devices - things that can generate a charge based on pressure being applied to them. But it is used in a lot of common gadgets, such as phones with touch screens. But the best compounds for piezoelectricity are lead-based, and lead is something we all want to see phased out of electronics... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image via Hanaoka Is this the new wave of accessories to go along with all the bamboo-covered computer devices on the market? Japanese artist Hanaoka likes to cover stuff in grass, including this interesting-looking computer mouse. But it's not the only thing Hanaoka likes to cover in grass (-imitating substances). ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: Mr. T in DC via flickr. Striking one against the 'it's so cold outside that global warming must be a myth' crowd comes this next piece, via Science Codex. Research to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters shows that over the past decade the number of record hot days has been double the number of record cold days:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo via Sebr Give it up for recycled art. This Mona Lisa is in the lobby of the headquarters of ASUS in Peitou, Taiwan. It looks like a photomosaic, but the pixilated Mona Lisa is a bit more geeky than that. Check out more photos after the jump.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

It's Friday and it's time to do two things. First, look at pretty art work. And second, follow the message in the artwork. And we have a perfect item that helps you accomplish both things. The image of the whole poster is too tall to fit here, so you'll have to click through to see the whole thing. But it's definitely worth it. Something about it is entirely calming, and the message is important. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: kaet44 via flickr. A mixed bag in climate change news this morning: Satellite imagery reveals that Amazon deforestation has dropped to the lowest rate since Brazil began monitoring efforts, President Inácio Lula da Silva announced yesterday afternoon. Woo hoo! But a new article in the journal Science shows that the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing m... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sometimes the most impressive products at Greenbuild are the most innocuous and boring looking things; last year I thought the best of show was Agriboard, a SIP made from straw. This year I spent some time trying to figure out this ridge vent for a standard shingled roof with tubes running through it, thinking that there wasn't much surface area on it and it isn't going to do much. Then I realized that all of the heat in an attic runs through the ridge vent and this thing turns your entire roof into a solar collector. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: Garmin Knowledge is Power digg_url = 'http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/garmin-eco-route-gps-add-on-fuel-efficiency-mpg.php';Most of us probably don't realize that over the past few years our cars have turned into computers on wheels. There are tons of sensors everywhere, but most of that information isn't available to the driver. That's a shame, because if it was parsed through a user-intuitive interface, it could ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Video credit:Waste Management Each day each person throws out about 4.7 pounds of garbage that is often taken to a landfill to be processed where it eventually decomposes. But what many people don't know is that the waste process doesn't necessarily end there. When organic waste decomposes through natural mea... Read the full story on TreeHugger