A friend forwarded me this link of Whole Tree Architecture creations and I wanted to share!
How cool is this? Roald Gunderson creates buildings from whole trees! From the site: “According to the Forest Products Laboratory, a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree.”

Enjoy!
It’s all about self improvement as we approach the new year. Check out this list of 52 (! )simple ways to lower your carbon footprint. It’s ideal for our readers who are college students. But, there’s plenty of tips that are applicable to all! Posted by Beth
A Reflection on Copenhagen
We wish we could report Copenhagen was a brilliant success, but unfortunately not so folks. Initiatives fell severely short of our hopes. Here’s guest blogger Clay Bedwell’s take:
Years of anticipating a climate conference where the US was represented by anyone but a half-witted oil baby quickly faded away when Win Jabao of China eagerly took the roll of DoucheLord, stripping the deal of almost every meaningful goal. (Mark Lynas provides a spectacular first hand account of the negotiations.) Ultimately, like Bush at Kyoto, China chose the all mighty dollar over the environment, failing to understand that economic growth and sustainability are anything but mutually exclusive.
To a certain extent though its clear that China understands the value of sustainability. They tout some of the fastest growing and most aggressively subsidized solar and wind industries in the world, and they have made their intention perfectly clear; one day they will supply the rest of the world with Chinese made renewable energy hardware. Whether this prophecy comes true or not, it’s important to understand the distinction between renewable energy implementation and responsible renewable energy implementation. Not surprisingly, China has a preference towards
Copenhagen Climate talks are all over the news.
This NY Times article was sent to me by a friend – Great reading while you’re snowed in!
Enjoy!
Hot Cocoa is the perfect Christmas treat in my opinion. It brings me back to my childhood and puts me in a festive mood while I’m wrapping presents (or watching It’s a Wonderful Life for the 50th time.)
This year I decided to put an eco-friendly twist on an old classic by making a vegan version (no animal products used.) It was even better then the original!
Plus, sometimes it’s just soothing to make something from “scratch” rather than use a prepackaged food.
Tasty Vegan Hot Cocoa Recipe:
Want to limit the eco-impact from your gift-giving this year? 
Instead of the typical gift ideas, give an ‘experience’ gift. Movies, concerts, restaurants, massages or cooking classes all are thoughtful alternatives of the typical stocking stuffers.
Another bonus: You can pick something you & the recipient both enjoy to spend time together!
My friends, co-workers & family know I co-write “Green Philly Blog” and ask for green advice. While I often can assist, I occasionally don’t even know the answer… (Sorry to expose that fact.) As Beth & I have mentioned before, the green route isn’t always crystal-clear – especially with green imposters. When I was asked about eco-friendliness of toilet paper, I had to do a little research.
My old roomie & I were meant to be: As one visiting friend pointed out, we were huge fans of 1-ply toilet paper – not always found at mid-20, chick apartments. However, it turns out this mutual love of 1-ply is quite eco-friendly.
Want to know what to look for in TP purchases? Experts recommend:
Introducing : Philadelphia Recycling Rewards
Last week, Mayor Michael Nutter announced the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program that will be citywide by July 2010. Philadelphia Recycling Rewards is a partnership between the Streets Department & RecycleBank that allows residents to earn points for discounts, full-value gift cards or charitable contributions at participating merchants and non-profits. Previous RecycleBank’s partnerships have proven to increase recycling efforts & aid the local economy. According to Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski, this program is Philly’s biggest Greenworks initiative to date in helping the City become the Greenest City in America.
Philadelphia is now the largest City in the US to reward residents for recycling efforts. The program is anticipated to bring the City’s recycling diversion rate- the amount of recyclable materials that are diverted away from landfills—to record levels. $$ talks – Every ton of waste diverted from landfills saves the city about $65.
City residents will be notified when Philadelphia Recycling Rewards will launch:
Copenhagen is all over the news this week… so what’s the deal with the Climate Conference? This week our guest blogger, Clayton Bedwell, shares his expertise.
With the largest and most anticipated global climate conference in history kicking off in Copenhagen, here are a few story lines that are shaping expectations:
US & China Ready to Play Ball – Last Wednesday The Obama Administration announced they were ready to take a plan to Copenhagen that would reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels, by 2020, and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. One day later China announced a plan to slow the growth of greenhouse gasses by 2020. Clearly the US and China have realized that the age of running from global climate reform has come to an end, but given how little both countries are willing to sacrifice in relation to their European counterparts, its hard to imagine that the Copenhagen Climate Talks will yield the profound results that was once expected.
East Angelia University & The Emergence of “Climategate”
Green Philly Blog
What Readers Are Saying
- Julie on Half-Assed Recipe: “Feef” Stroganoff (aka Fake Beef)
- Gardentina on Half-Assed Recipe: “Feef” Stroganoff (aka Fake Beef)
- Main Line Chamber of Commerce Awards Law Firm Green Makeover : Find out What all The Fuss is About at February 21st Public Event on Friday Quickie: Energy Assessment
- Julie on Shit Green People Say – a Green Philly Blog Film
- thelma on Shit Green People Say – a Green Philly Blog Film
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