I visited it when I was in NYC a month ago, and can vouch for the fact that it is amazing. It’s beautiful and unique and just fits into the urban landscape in such a seamless way.

Take a look at the High Line website for more info and photos. Also fascinating is the story about how it came to be. Take a look!

I learned something new in the past couple of weeks.  We recently closed on a house (yay!) and one of the first things I mused with our realtor about was, “should we install A/C?”  The Bay Area in general has great weather, but the last few summers have had a few days here and there where temperatures were above 90 degrees, making it unbearably hot indoors as well.  Today happens to be one of those days – yesterday, temperatures were almost 90 in our apartment, and today, it definitely went past the 90 F mark.  It’s hard to resist the temptation to install A/C on days like this.

Anyway, our realtor mentioned installing an attic fan instead.  Have you heard of these?   During the summer, the temperature in your attic can get well over 100 F.  Without an attic fan, heat gets trapped, and it makes your house warmer.  An attic fan helps cool down your attic, making your house much cooler.  IF you also happen to have A/C running, an attic fan improves efficiency; there’s less work required by your A/C unit to cool down the house.  I’ve read that it can save up to 30% on cooling costs, so in the long run, it may be cheaper for you to install one in your own home.

By the way, attic fans are electric or solar.  I think they may also come in hybrid versions but I haven’t seen any so far.  We’re thinking of installing the solar fan since no energy would be required to run it.  Now we just need to figure out where to buy one of these and who can install it.  Anyone have any recommendations?

During these times, I’ve heard people are trading in being green for some extra green. When it comes to putting food on the table or keeping a roof over your head vs. buying products that have are green (and more expensive), it’s tough to argue which one wins.

However, keep in mind that being green often means living a smarter and more frugal lifestyle. For example, turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them. Take shorter showers. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels. Combine trips when you need to go out and run errands. Bring a reusable shopping bag to the market – it doesn’t cost you a thing, and you may even get a little green back from the store. In fact, doing many of the things we’ve been discussing in ThingsThatMakeYouGoGreen will help you save green.

If you have ideas and tips on green things that save green, let us know. I can be reached at greenhl [at] ttmygg [dot] com. I would personally love to hear your ideas!

Unless we see a huge decrease in gas prices (I’m talking about a nearly impossible sustained decrease of 50 percent or more), I don’t see consumers changing their new habits any time soon. Unfortunately for the oil industry and fortunately for the environment, consumers have picked up some good habits they’re likely unwilling to change.

It’s estimated that orangutans will go extinct in 3 to 20 years. THREE YEARS? Come on people! Give me a f-ing break. Are we seriously going to let this happen?

From Plenty Magazine, here’s a really sad quote to put some perspective into what’s happening:

Hardi Baktiantoro from the the Centre for Orangutan Protection in Indonesia says,

“I find dead orangutans, they have starved to death. There is no food, no water,” he said. He tells me that on the Indonesian island of Kalimantan (formerly Borneo), more than ten orangutans are starving to death each day because of palm-oil driven deforestation. “The situation for orangutans today is very, very critical. The experts say the orangutans will be extinct in 2015. The orangutans will be extinct in next three years unless the government takes extreme action to save them. But instead they are planning convert 455,000 hectares of forest [in Kalimantan] into new plantations, mostly palm oil,” he said.

The workers on those plantations see orangutans as nuisances that trample and eat their crops. “The plantation workers have to protect the oil-palms. That is their job. To them the orangutan who is hunting for food is only a pest,” said Baktiantoro, clicking through slides on his laptop of orangutans whose fingers and hands have been mutilated by plantation workers, and others chained to workers’ dormitories.

This is just really, really sad. And totally shameful and egregious that we are letting this happen.

Could we be seeing the effects of global climate change? Reports say some of California’s reservoirs are at their lowest levels in 30 years. California’s largest reservoir, Lake Shasta, is only at 48 percent of capacity, while Lake Oroville, the next largest reservoir, is only at 40 percent capacity. Oroville, which supplies water to Southern California, will be at around 20 percent capacity by the end of this year. Prospects look even worse with a dry 2009 forecasted. Some areas of California area beginning to discuss mandatory water rationing as voluntary rationing has only resulted in a 3 percent reduction thus far.

Some may say we’re in a climate cycle, but I don’t remember California being this dry in many years. There have been droughts in California, but if projections are correct, next year could be the worst in the state’s history. I don’t need to tell our readers we have to conserve. I just wonder sometimes if we’ve reached the point of no return in terms of the adverse effect we’ve had on our planet.

Two months ago, I wrote how high gas prices may actually be good in that we are beginning to change our often wasteful habits. As a nation, gas consumption is noticeably decreasing. We’re carpooling more, we consolidate errands, we avoid unnecessary trips, and we’re buying smaller cars. I can’t remember the last time larger, more powerful vehicles were out of vogue!

I just read a Time magazine article that discusses things we can like about $4 gas. It’s a great article which not only discusses the sacrifices we have to make, but also looks at the silver lining in terms of the positive adjustments we’ve made to accommodate high gas prices.

So, what can we possible like about $4 gas you ask? According to Amanda:

1. As shipping costs increase, more jobs are coming back to the U.S.
2. With increasing transportation costs, urban sprawl has dramatically decreased
3. JB wrote about this – 4 day workweeks are reality in some companies and governments
4. Decreased pollution
5. We are more frugal – we check tire pressure more often and are buying smaller cars
6. People are driving slower to save gas, which has resulted in fewer traffic deaths
7. Insurance rates for some are decreasing as they drive less and qualify for lower mileage rates
8. There is less traffic as people drive less, carpool more, and increase their use of public transportation
9. With skyrocketing gas bills, police are walking and bicycling more, which means more police spending time in communities
10. As people eat out less, obesity decreases

You may not agree with all these points, but Amanda does offer a fairly compelling perspective. We all hate to see people making sacrifices, especially when putting gas in the tank means being unable to put food on the table. However, as Amanda writes, “The suffering will go on. But the story, like any good tragedy, is not without redemption. “

Anyway, with the recent July 4th holiday, I’ve started hearing a lot more about people who are taking “staycations.”  In case you haven’t already heard about this, a staycation is a vacation that is spent close to home.

Instead of taking a road trip, for example, a growing number of people are opting to spend their vacation time at home, enjoying their local surroundings.

Personally, I think this is a fabulous idea.  You can relax in the comfort of your own home, check out the local attractions (how many of you have visited the museums in your city on the “free” day?), save money on transportation and food costs, etc.

I wonder, how many of you are doing the same this year?   I have to admit, the thought of a staycation has crossed my mind.  But, I guess it’s not worth worrying about as I have very few vacation days left that I can take at work!

So what’s the big deal, you might ask?  Well, did you know…

1. 25 percent of all marine species need coral reefs to live and grow.
2. 40 percent of fish caught commercially use reefs to breed.
3. They have medicinal value!  Some produce compounds active against many common health problems, such as astham, heart disease, and leukemia.
4. Coral reefs provide economic benefits via tourism.

So these tropical rainforests are pretty important… and in the US only, almost 50% of all coral reefs are in poor or fair condition, due to rising ocean temperatures, coastal development, land based pollution (e.g. sewage) and overfishing.Sadly, I read that worldwide,

• 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been effectively destroyed and show no immediate prospects of recovery.
• 24% of the world’s reefs are under imminent risk of collapse through human pressures; and a further 26% are under a longer term threat of collapse. [Source]

If there are any silver linings here, I would point to the growing mass of scientific documentation, and increased awareness from the population at large – hopefully this will spawn an uptick in efforts to save our coral reefs.  If you want to get into the action, check out this very excellent list on 25 things you can do to help.

While many companies are striving to become carbon neutral, Coca-Cola is seeking to become water neutral, meaning all the water used to produce its line of beverages will either be returned directly to the earth or reclaimed through recycling and conservation. This is a lofty goal, and Coca-Cola hasn’t actually set a timeframe. However, the company is aware that water is a precious resource which it needs to make beverages and which it needs for the company’s survival. For Coca-Cola, increasing population numbers and increasing demands on water make their goal more critical than ever.

For each liter of beverage bottled, Coca-Cola uses approximately two and a half liters of water. This amounts to nearly 100 billion gallons of water used annually, equivalent to about 20 percent of total U.S. water consumption. The water used includes water that goes directly into its beverages as well as water that is used for cleaning, lubricating machines, and growing sugar and corn (for corn syrup).

Recently, Coca-Cola has been an environmental target. In 2002, a Southern Indian village accused a Coca-Cola bottling facility of polluting and depleting groundwater, leading not only to a PR mess, but also forcing the bottler to shut down and leave the village. The last thing Coca-Cola wants is poor press, especially as corporate environmental responsibility is become more critical than ever. Also, imagine if Coca-Cola is banned from all or parts of burgeoning countries such as India or China. Being shut off from huge populations and areas for growth would be disastrous for the company.

Coca-Cola has taken some steps as it recognizes the potential PR mess that may be caused by a lack of significant proactive corporate responsibility. In some facilities, waste water is captured, treated, and used for street cleaning and car washing. Coca-Cola is also taking simple steps such as fixing leaking pipes and using less water intensive lubricants for its machines. Coca-Cola can probably take a chapter out of Wal-Mart’s book and create low-water consumption facilities with devices such as waterless urinals. Coca-Cola realizes the importance of water in its supply chain and the need to preserve as much of this natural resource as possible. If real water shortages come about, forcing bottling facilities to shut down will be the least of Coca-Cola’s worries.