Highbrow Magazine - going green https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/going-green en Environmental Victories of 2013 https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3416-environmental-victories <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 01/06/2014 - 10:18</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2trees%20%28pavelahmed%20flickr%29.jpg?itok=HEnmO9lq"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2trees%20%28pavelahmed%20flickr%29.jpg?itok=HEnmO9lq" width="480" height="322" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/">Indian Country Today</a> and our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/01/ten-environmental-victories-and-triumphs-of-2013.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p>With all the talk of rising temperatures, acidifying oceans and melting polar ice, it is hard to see the healthy trees for the forest, as it were. Yes, the emerald ash borer and the mountain pine beetle are making inroads, and extreme weather is becoming the norm. But it’s important, too, to note the environmental triumphs and victories that tribes either helped engineer or benefited from, or both.</p> <p> </p> <p>Native peoples reintroduced fading species, restored habitats and stopped big industry in its tracks.</p> <p> </p> <p>Several species began coming back, many of them thanks to the efforts of tribal programs. Northwest tribes were pleased to see a record return of Chinook salmon to the Columbia River. A healthy wolf population flourished in Yellowstone National Park, strengthening the wildlife web around it. Here are some of the more notable wins, and the tribes involved in making them happen.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>1. Pushing Back Against Mega-Loads</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The Nez Perce had been trying to stop mega-loads from traversing a federally designated scenic highway through their territory for years. In 2013, a judge finally said, “Enough.” The football-field-sized pieces of equipment destined for the Alberta oil sands up in Canada are no longer permitted to trundle within 50 feet of the Nez Perce creation site. Although the battle has now moved to Oregon and the Umatilla Tribe, this was a big win for the Nez Perce and sacred places.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1fish%20%28USFWS%20Pacific%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:334px; width:640px" /></p> <p><strong>2. The Return of the Salmon</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Build the habitat—or take out the obstacles—and they will come. Northwest tribes were exultant as more than a million Chinook salmon made their way back up the Columbia River to spawn, a record.</p> <p> </p> <p>Of course, there is still much work to be done—in fact, many habitat-restoration efforts seem to be compromised as fast as they can be put into place—but just the sight of so many fish returning was enough to keep hope alive.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>3. Black-Footed Ferret Rebounds</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Last August we noted the return of the black-footed ferret, thanks largely to the efforts of the tribes who hosted their reintroduction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Lower Brule Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, and Rosebud Sioux, all in South Dakota, plus the Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana and a deeded ranch in Arizona managed by the Navajo all hosted the nearly extinct animal when it was released into the wild. Last seen, they were starting to reproduce. Could thriving be far behind?</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>4. White Sturgeon Stages Comeback</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho is keeping this endangered species, which has been around since the dinosaurs roamed, from going extinct by breeding them in a fishery.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hatchery workers spend days every month in spring catching these huge fish, taking them to the hatchery and holding them until the females are ready to spawn. They then collect the eggs and return the adult fish to the Kootenai River.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1cougar%20%28forestwander.com%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:367px; width:550px" /></p> <p><strong>5. Air Spawning Keeps Steelhead Trout Alive</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Without impediments, this sea-going trout can spawn twice, spending the intervening time in the ocean. But slack water reservoirs and numerous dams have caused less than 2 percent of kelts to survive the return trip. Enter the Yakama, Warm Springs, Colville and Nez Perce tribes, which have launched innovative programs to take steelhead trout and store them during the time they would normally live in the ocean, then re-release them when it comes time to spawn. It’s a one-of-a-kind program to save this threatened species that only Indian tribes are engaged in. Although the notion of “recycling” a fish might seem outlandish, that is in essence what they are doing.</p> <p> </p> <p>Over in their corner, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe celebrated the return of another ancient trout species, the lahontan cutthroat. This one was in fact thought to be extinct, <em>The New York Times</em> reported in April, until fish with the same DNA was found in a creek near Pyramid Lake in Nevada. The tribe got to work, and by summer, tribal members were finding 20-pounders.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>6. Cougars Swarm Turtle Island</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Be they known as pumas (Inca), cougars, mountain lions, catamounts or panthers, this feisty kitty has “re-colonized the Black Hills of South Dakota, the North Dakota Badlands and the Pine Ridge country of northwestern Nebraska,” <em>The New York Times</em> reported in June. More recently, <em>National Geographic</em> called it one of the more remarkable animal comebacks on record.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1eagle%20%28PaulWaggener%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:428px; width:640px" /></p> <p><strong>7. Big Oil Admits Defeat in the Chukchi Sea</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>For now, at least, offshore drilling has been suspended in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, after a series of mishaps showed three oil companies that they were woefully unprepared for emergency response, given the extreme weather.</p> <p> </p> <p>Royal Dutch Shell started the trend by nixing its 2013 Arctic offshore drilling plans altogether because of equipment problems, the company announced last February 27. About a week later, Norwegian conglomerate Statoil said it would hold off on drilling until at least 2014. Most recently, ConocoPhillips announced on April 10 that it was suspending its plans to drill exploratory wells off Alaska’s Arctic coast in 2014. Though Alaska Natives did not directly engineer this, it was a victory for them and other environmental stewards.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>8. Bison Gets Its Day</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The bison finally got its day—the first Saturday in November, to be exact, when the first official National Bison Day was decreed.</p> <p> </p> <p>Earlier in the year, back in August, the first genetically pure bison in a century were released onto the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>9. Eagle Killing Doesn't Pay</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>In November, Duke Energy Renewables Inc. was not only fined millions but also pleaded guilty to criminal charges for killing eagles with its wind turbines. In doing so, Duke became the first wind-power company to ever be found criminally liable under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Although Duke’s earnings dwarf the fine, the plea and fine combo marked a milestone.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>10. Wolves Prove Their Worth</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The resurgence of the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park has benefited everything around it, researchers ascertained last summer. The wolves eat the elk, which then do not eat the berries, which then leaves more food for grizzlies, wrote the team from the universities of Oregon and Washington State in the Journal of Animal Ecology.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/">Indian Country Today</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/indians" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Indians</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/native-americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Native Americans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wolves" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wolves</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bald-eagles" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bald eagles</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/salmon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">salmon</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving the environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going green</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-trees" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving trees</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/oceans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">oceans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/trees" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">trees</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nature" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">nature</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">ICT Staff</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">PavelAhmed (Flickr); USFWS (Flickr); Paul Waggener (Flickr); CindyLou Photos (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 06 Jan 2014 15:18:29 +0000 tara 4065 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3416-environmental-victories#comments The New Crop of Green Republicans https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3165-new-crop-green-republicans <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 11/05/2013 - 09:46</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1greenrepublicans.jpg?itok=FbQwssaH"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1greenrepublicans.jpg?itok=FbQwssaH" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From our content partner, <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/could-california-get-a-new-crop-of-green-republicans.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> A new environmental scorecard of California legislators reveals an emerging trend – an uptick in the scores for Republicans, bolstered by a new crop of moderates.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The 2013 scorecard by the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) ranks state lawmakers on a scale of zero to 100 percent based on their voting record on key environmental bills in the last session.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The scorecard, released last Wednesday, shows that average scores for Republicans have steadily grown in the last few years. The average score for GOP Assembly members nearly doubled to 15 percent, while that of Senate Republicans more than tripled to 10 percent, compared to the previous year. Still, average scores for GOP legislators were far below that of their Democratic counterparts, which ranged from 87 to 90 percent.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The State Senate average was 66 percent, and the State Assembly average was 64 percent. Gov. Jerry Brown scored 89 percent, according to this year’s scorecard.</p> <p>  </p> <p> David Allgood, CLCV political director, said the top-two primary system, approved by California voters in 2010, has allowed more moderate Republicans to be viable in state politics.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Allgood, who has been an environmental lobbyist with the nonpartisan organization for more than 20 years, says that going forward, he expects to “see better scores from Republicans, because there is a much greater opportunity for Republicans to be less ‘ideologically rigid.’”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Under the system being used today, candidates of all political leanings appear on the same primary ballot. The two candidates who receive the most votes face off in November, regardless of their political party affiliation. Under this system, voters in some districts could find themselves choosing between two Democrats or two Republicans, which could spur candidates to move to the center to attract more votes.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In addition, Allgood said, decline-to-state voters can select candidates in any party in the primary -- and they tend to bolster the environmental voting bloc, similar to Democrats.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Bill Allayaud, director of government affairs in California for the Environmental Working Group, agrees that the top-two primary system introduces a new dynamic into state politics, but he says it’s too early to tell if there’s a trend.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Allayaud said he’s cautious, pointing out that the political shift could also result in more moderate Democrats.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1trees%20%28PavelAhmed%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 429px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> The scorecard released this week does show a slight drop in the environmental scores of freshman Democrats this year compared to non-freshman lawmakers, from 87 to 83. Although it is a small change, the scores for Assembly Democrats has declined seven percentage points since 2010.</p> <p>  </p> <p> A group of “business Democrats,” who are more moderate is growing, and now calling themselves the “new Democrats,” Allayaud said, and they support a less progressive agenda.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Allayaud says he’s optimistic that another key change – a longer lifetime maximum of 12 years in the State Legislature – will also boost pro-environmental votes. Assembly members are up for re-election every two years, and Senators every four years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “We hope to see legislators feel safe about re-election and less beholden to campaign contributors,” he said, adding that lawmakers can vote for measures that benefit their constituents, such as greater protections for clean air and water.</p> <p>  </p> <p> With a record number of freshmen Assembly members this year – half of the Assembly are new – CLCV’s Allgood says, the longer legislative terms gives them more time to learn about environmental issues.</p> <p>  </p> <p> There’s always a steep learning curve for new lawmakers, says Allgood, and by the time they are acclimated, they have to leave office. He says the longer terms should give them more time to understand  the importance of the environment to their constituents.</p> <p>  </p> <p> With nearly a dozen bills related to fracking introduced at the beginning of the session, the scorecard identified fracking as one of the biggest environmental issues in California last year. Gov. Brown signed SB 4, a bill that contains some of the strongest fracking regulations in the nation. The governor also signed into law several other priority bills, including a ban on lead ammunition, bills expanding consumer access to renewable energy programs, and a bill that curbs flame retardants in building insulation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But the scorecard also noted a record amount of money spent by an oil industry group -- $2.3 million in the first six months of the year was spent by Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) – to lobby lawmakers and defeat legislation that would have called for more regulations on the industry. Their investment seems to have paid off. Of the 11 bills proposing regulations on fracking, only one passed – and although it is stronger than regulations in other parts of the country, some environmental groups say it is a very diluted bill compared to other legislation that was proposed.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Meanwhile, Allgood notes that the scorecard “raises more questions than answers.” We know how lawmakers are voting, but we don’t know their reasons -- or whether the uptick in the scores among freshmen GOP signals a change in the way they view environmental issues.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/could-california-get-a-new-crop-of-green-republicans.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: New America Media; Pavel Ahmed (Flickr).</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going green</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/green-party" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">green party</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/greening-america" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">greening of america</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/climate-change" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/green-politics" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">green politics</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ngoc Nguyen</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:46:29 +0000 tara 3797 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3165-new-crop-green-republicans#comments How Solar Energy Got a Necessary Boost https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2839-how-solar-energy-got-necessary-boost <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 09/26/2013 - 10:18</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1solar%20%28Mojo%20Mike%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=ygMaef0q"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1solar%20%28Mojo%20Mike%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=ygMaef0q" width="480" height="272" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> From our content partner, <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/09/a-kickstarter-for-your-electricity-bill---new-funding-models-give-solar-a-boost.php">New America Media</a> and KALW’s Crosscurrents:</p> <p>  </p> <p> Fly low over California, and you’ll see a patchwork of black and shiny rooftops fitted – with solar panels. It didn’t always look like this. Just over a decade ago, there were fewer than 500 solar rooftops in the state. By last year, that jumped to over 160,000. Much of that growth has happened in just the past few years. It doesn’t stop there; national industry analysts say the solar sector grew by a third in just the first quarter of this year, with California leading the charge.</p> <p>  </p> <p> A few things are making solar more accessible, among them: cheaper panels, rebates, and new ways to for pay for them. Crowdfunding is among these new and creative ways to finance solar panels. Instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars to install solar, other people pitch in and get something in return. It’s like a Kickstarter for your electricity bill – and it’s a business model that allows people to participate directly in making solar happen.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It happened for the Shawl Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley. As piano melodies spill out the door, and dancers walk in and out, Managing Director Rebecca Johnson explains how and why her studio went solar. For one thing, she says, they were spending about $400 a month on utilities. Then they noticed their neighbors.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “All our neighbors are totally residential homes and when they got solar, we thought wow, our roof is the same exact slope as well,” says Johnson.</p> <p>  </p> <p> As they were figuring out their options and getting quotes, they got an unexpected offer. A man named Andreas Karelas offered them a lease to own a system that would power 100 percent of the center’s electricity needs. They wouldn’t owe any money up-front and their monthly bill would drop.</p> <p>  </p> <p> When she saw the offer, Johnson says she thought, “the proposal it looks too good to be true. I don’t understand where the loophole is.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Andreas Karelas is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit RE-volv, based in San Francisco. He says, “Our mission is to empower people to invest collectively in renewable energy.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> In other words, to crowdfund the dance center’s solar panels.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Crowdfunding is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a way to raise money from a lot of small donations instead of, say, one giant bank loan. The dance center is a classic example. RE-volv launched a campaign through the website Indiegogo. In the campaign video, Karelas encouraged people to think about energy in a new way, “about individuals and community centers that are generating their own power on their homes and places of work that use that energy and then share it with their neighbors.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> RE-volv raised about $25,000 through foundations and donations from 300 people around the world. That money paid for the upfront costs. Once the project was underway, the dance center started paying just under $300 a month to lease the panels. That money goes into a fund that generates interest and helps pay for future projects. So when you donate 50 bucks to the dance center’s roof, you’re not just supporting them – you’re also helping other projects down the line.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “So our hope is that people will be eager to kind of put their money into something where it does earn a return but they're not asking for the return back themselves. They’re asking for the return to be reinvested into more and more solar, allowing it to grow exponentially,” says Karelas.</p> <p>  </p> <p> This is pretty different from how solar providers usually work. In a typical lease, the dance center would make payments for 10 or 20 years, then at the end of that, either renew the lease or buy the system at market value. If they didn’t, or couldn’t, the company might take the panels back. With RE-volv’s model, the dance center will own its system outright after 20 years.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “For us it’s not so much the finances as the decision that we made and having our community know that their dancing is now solar-powered is just a powerful sense of community,” says Johnson.</p> <p>  </p> <p> RE-volv is just one of several companies trying out models for crowdfunding solar energy. Dan Rosen is the CEO of Mosaic, an investment crowdfunding company based in Oakland. Their model also offers a return – but this one is for investors.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Where our base of investors can become advocates and some of the best advocates for clean energy, because they're invested in it. Because they have skin in the game,” says Rosen.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Mosaic provides an online platform where anyone can invest directly in a clean energy project and earn 4-6 percent interest. Investments can be as little as $25.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The way Rosen sees it, “You know Warren Buffett is investing tremendous amounts of money in solar right now. But someone asked, who has more money than Warren Buffett? We all do. We all have more money than Warren Buffett.”</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2solar%20%28USFWS%20Mountain%20Prairie%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 332px;" /></p> <p> So far, Rosen says Mosaic has financed 15 projects, raising $3 million from about 2,000 people. For example, 138 people paid to put solar panels on the roof of the Asian Resource Center or ARC, a building that houses a bunch of nonprofits and businesses in Oakland. ARC now makes monthly lease payments of about $340 to Mosaic. ARC’s payments help pay each of those investors a return.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “So Mosaic is bringing a new source of capital to the table that is people power. That is powered by individuals and small institutions. And institutions that want to invest in clean energy,” says Rosen.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I think that has the appeal for some investors who couldn’t otherwise get into investing in solar PV very easily of being able to make small investments and still get into this market,” says Severin Borenstein, co-director of the Energy Institute at the Haas School of Business.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He says it’s a niche market. “As far as the growth of this industry I think it’s going to be driven by the economics, both the true costs of installing solar relative to retail electricity prices and the tax treatment,” says Borenstein.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Though he says the retail cost of electricity is higher than the actual cost, which raises questions about the stability of the solar sector. “The way it is in California, people pay a higher price per kilowatt if they consume more,” says Borenstein. That’s because most utilities roll the fixed costs of the transmission lines and managing the grid into our electricity usage. So going solar also means the utility eats that additional cost.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Those very high prices you’re paying don’t reflect the actual cost of supplying power to you,” says Borenstein. This makes going solar more attractive and utilities see the threat.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The utility recognizes it’s giving incentives for people to install solar instead of buy their power from the utility and as a result they are trying to change those tariffs,” says Borenstein. For example, to change the rates to charge everyone a fixed monthly fee for being connected to the grid. If that happens, Borenstein says the whole solar sector could slow. But for now, it’s still growing.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding is a way that we can democratize energy,” says Rosen. He sees crowdfunding as a way to change the whole energy industry. He anticipates major growth in solar rooftops, enough to disrupt the way utilities currently work. Where people with their own energy sources – like solar panels – distribute the excess to their neighbors.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “A world of where every home could essentially be a power plant. Because it really is inevitable. It's cheaper to put solar on your home than not. It will happen. It’s economics,” says Rosen.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Solar still makes up less than 1 percent of the country’s total electricity production today – rooftop solar makes up even less of that. Crowdfunding projects have a long road ahead. But they’re hoping it’s a sunny one.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>This work was supported by a 2013 New America Media Energy Reporting Fellowship in collaboration with </em>SoundVision Productions’ Burn: An Energy Journal<em>.</em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong><em>Photos: Mojo Mike (Flckr); USFWS Mountain Prairie (Flickr).</em></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/solar-energy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">solar energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/solar-power" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">solar power</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/energy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">energy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/electricity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">electricity</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/solar-panel" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">solar panel</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crowdfunding" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">crowdfunding</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/power-supplies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">power supplies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going green</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/green-energy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">green energy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Laura Flynn</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Mojo Mike (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:18:08 +0000 tara 3576 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2839-how-solar-energy-got-necessary-boost#comments ‘Fierce Green Fire’ Takes Viewers on Thought-Provoking Journey of Environmental Tragedies https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2294-fierce-green-fire-takes-viewers-thought-provoking-journey-environmental-tragedies <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 12:26</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumfiercefire.jpg?itok=fGGMRE5d"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumfiercefire.jpg?itok=fGGMRE5d" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> A young forest ranger, staring at the grey wolf he had just shot, sees a fierce green fire blazing from the animal’s eyes.  That connection between man and beast became a symbol for Philip Shabecoff’s book chronicling five decades of the environmental movement.   And it was that same book that became the inspiration for the film, <em>A Fierce Green Fire, The Battle for a Living Planet</em>, written and directed by Mark Kitchell.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The subject is so vast that it demands a director up to the task.  No stranger to activist movements, Kitchell created <em>Berkeley in the Sixties</em>, one of the defining protest films of its era, and the winner of many awards, including the the Best Documentary by the National Society of Film Critics.  Undaunted by the amount of research required, the mountains of archival footage to unearth, the spokespersons and narrators—Ashley Judd, Meryl Streep and Isabelle Allende, among others—necessary to make a relevant case for the survival of planet Earth, Kitchell has succeeded brilliantly.  The film unfolds in five acts of issues central to his story, the people and places that have made a difference, bringing us closer to comprehending the incomprehensible.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Swept across verdant plains, punctuated by images of a bald eagle, a running elephant, and in the distance, the black smoke from a factory’s waste—all to the tune of a quickening drumbeat—we are bombarded by images of the beauty and devastation to come.  Robert Redford, a recognized voice on the subject of conservation, starts with a lighter touch.  In the battle of nature versus humanity, he tells us that it “all started with ladies’ hats.”  The Audubon Society, primarily made up of Boston socialites, were intent on saving plumed birds.</p> <p>  </p> <p> However, the main focus—nature versus humanity—goes much deeper than hats.  It’s the Grand Canyon that’s at stake and the courageous battle of the Sierra Club, with David Brower at its head, to stop the Colorado River Storage Project from constructing 15 dams from Wyoming to Mexico.  Activist Martin Litton at 92 remembers it well.  He knew if they didn’t put a halt to the government’s plan, the Canyon’s river would run dry.  “Let’s not be nice,” he demands.  “If you don’t have hatred in your heart, what’s the point?”  Brower launched a huge ad campaign that finally won over the public.  The copy was bold and confrontational: “Shall we flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get closer to the ceiling?” With breathtaking archival shots of the Canyon and its massive rock formations, the Chapel analogy is apt.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2fiercefire.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 538px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> After seven embattled years, Congress and Senator Udall were forced to abandon the project and more than a million acres were declared wild by law.  But David Brower was relentless.  Labeled by followers and detractors the “Arch Druid”, he declared the whole world a national park,  stepping down from his leadership post with the Sierra Club.  He went on to start Friends of the Earth, embracing the anti-nuclear movement.  He became, simply, the most famous environmentalist of his time. </p> <p>  </p> <p> One of the most iconic and moving arguments in defense of planet Earth is delivered by Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog.  He was convinced if NASA could release the first photographs of Earth from space, the public’s perception would be changed in an instant—the life versus death view of a green world juxtaposed with the cold lunar landscape would be transformational.  Those who came of age during the years of the first ventures into space remember the almost spiritual power of those first images. And there’s no question that a documentary on the environment is richer for their inclusion.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Lois Gibbs may not be a name on everyone’s tongues these days, but thanks to the film’s second segment on pollution, we can only hope that denizens of young women feeling powerless to change environmental conditions in their own backyards will make her their role model.  Through her present day on camera testaments and flashbacks to her impassioned, fired-up presence as Love Canal’s principal spokeswoman, we see a Niagara Falls community on the verge of collapse by 1978, living atop 20,000 tons of lethal chemicals dumped by the Hooker Chemical Corporation and, presumably, including residue from the U.S. Army’s own Manhattan Project. </p> <p>  </p> <p> The evidence against the perpetrators is staggering.  According to Gibbs, 56 percent of the community suffered defects, with children born with three ears, extra fingers and toes.  When she tried to move her son from his elementary school on medical advice, the principal told her he “was not going to move 400 kids because of one hysterical mother.”  Her success with the New York State Health Department wasn’t much better.  As she recounts it, “they think that it’s a random cluster of genetically defective people.”  Driven to desperate measures when the government refused to move the homeowners, Gibbs and a group of other frightened residents kidnapped two EPA representatives, delivering an ultimatum to Washington.  In October of 1980, President Carter paid a visit to Gibbs, insuring that some 900 families would be permanently relocated.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Kitchell focuses briefly on the subsequent grassroots movements that rose up, such as the uncomfortable truth that dumping has continued in places with a high Black populace.  It’s the director’s choice to focus throughout on a variety of individuals in their struggle that gives the film its heart. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3fiercefire.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 204px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Protest would take many forms, not all of them pretty to contemplate, but the efforts of the Greenpeace campaigns, and Paul Watson’s heartrending attempts to save the whales and baby harp seals from cruel and unnecessary extinction is at the core of Act Three.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Greenpeace’s Rex Weyler, Paul Watson and Bob Hunter went literally into the “belly of the beast” when they set out in 1975 to confront Russian whaling ships.  It’s a slaughterhouse, blood turning the waters red with protestors standing on the prow of their small boat, directly in front of the harpoon shooters.  As the film depicts the grisly details of harpooning, we discover it’s the female to be attacked first, which brings the sperm whales quickly into action and their own demise.  Nothing is spared in the telling.  The camera focuses on a close up of a whale’s eye, while Watson explains the reason behind the killing.  Realizing the Russians were not eating the animals but using the lubricating oil for making intercontinental missiles, he declared he wasn’t interested any longer in saving humans in his efforts, but the whales. However controversial their efforts were to some, a moratorium on the killing was declared in 1982.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The “Going Global,” section describes Brazil’s Amazon as “ground zero” for the environmental movement.  When the country’s generals marched into the forests and the burning began, Chico Mendes became the spokesman for the rubber-tappers and protectors of the trees.  Here, we see the native women feeding the tree choppers, then in Gandhi-like fashion, forming human circles around the trees. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Mendes and his devoted followers kept up the struggle, but the opposition had their say, creating in the wake of his murder a great martyr.  The faces in mourning on film provide a lasting portrait to his significance.  Though 58 million acres were set aside, the struggle continues—soil farming, logging, and chemical spraying continue to threaten the great Amazon while the spirit of protest holds steady. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Perhaps Kitchell chose to save climate change for his final act as the facts in our face daily cannot be ignored.  Two voices of particular force are worth mentioning.  James Hansen is the perfect NASA spokesperson for the Greenhouse effect.  His 1970s work on Venus’ atmosphere taught him that the planet had experienced the same fate billions of years ago, enveloped by an atmosphere of carbon dioxide.  He remains a tireless activist against what he perceives as the crimes against humanity and nature on the part of fossil-fuel company executives. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Bill McKibben, author and founder of 350.org, is ardent about the need to halt runaway climate change.  Scientists have measured carbon dioxide in parts per million (ppm), with 350 as the highest safe upper limit.  McKibben feels we are dangerously close to that number rising to 800-1000 ppm within a short period and it is our obligation to prevent the unthinkable.  In the words of Rachel Carson, the author of <em>Silent Spring</em>, “the obligation to endure gives us the right to know.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> These eloquent voices among others provide the kinds of information we all need to embrace.  The message, carried aloft by extraordinary images and original music by Garth Stevenson and Todd Beckel Heide, with a score by Randall Wallace, may overwhelm some but hopefully inspire others to act. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>(This First Run Feature opened in March at the Cinema Village in New York and will open this spring across the country, returning to Washington, DC for the Environmental Film Festival hosted by the National Geographical Society.) </em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong><br /> <em>Sandra Bertrand is a contributing writer at </em>Highbrow Magazine.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/fierce-green-fire" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">fierce green fire</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/environment-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the environment</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/environmental-hazard" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">environmental hazard</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/environmental-tragedies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">environmental tragedies</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/epa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">epa</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going green</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving the environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mark-kitchell" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mark kitchell</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sandra Bertrand</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:26:01 +0000 tara 2589 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2294-fierce-green-fire-takes-viewers-thought-provoking-journey-environmental-tragedies#comments The Ultimate “Green” Sacrifice: Why I Gave Up My Car https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1067-ultimate-green-sacrifice-why-i-gave-my-car <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 16:19</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumgoinggreen.jpg?itok=tSCFzFZn"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumgoinggreen.jpg?itok=tSCFzFZn" width="480" height="289" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/news/">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> San Francisco - For the first time in over two decades, I am no longer a driver. Facing spiking gas prices and much-needed repairs, I finally donated my Toyota Corolla to an organization that takes care of orphans.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It's an odd feeling to be on this side of being green. Without a car, my sense of time and space has been immediately altered. What was once a matter of expediency is now an effortful navigation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "I'll be there in 15 minutes!" I used to tell a good friend who once lived nearby but who now resides, without a car, at an inconvenient distance. Going to my favorite Asian food market suddenly has turned into another arduous chore: Once a 30-minute event, it has become a two-hour ordeal, with bags in hands, and bus transfers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Indeed when I came to San Francisco from Vietnam with my family at the end of the Vietnam War, I remember such delight when my older brother bought his first car. We were still sharing an apartment with my aunt and her children, but as we cruised the streets at night, it felt as if we were becoming Americans.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The automobile, after all, is intrinsically American, and owning one largely determines how we arrange our daily lives; it is as essential to us as the train and metro are to the Japanese or Europeans. Indeed, a car is the first thing an American teenager of driving age desires; to drive away from home is an established American rite of passage.</p> <p>  </p> <p> For immigrants, the car is the first thing we buy before the house. Vietnamese in Vietnam marvel at the BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes that their relatives drive in America, and no doubt the sleek photos sent home cause many to dream of a life of luxury in the United States.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It seems a natural progression that the housing crisis should quickly lend itself to a car crisis. Both were readily available at one time, with easy loans and cheap gas. But now, with skyrocketing gas prices and faltering mortgages, many have had to give up one in order to keep the other.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Not surprisingly, the car is often the last thing that downtrodden Americans let go. "I can see losing my house, but I can't imagine losing my van," one unemployed friend told me. "I can live in my van. But not being able to get where I need to go would be worst than not having a house."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Mobility defines us far more than sedentary life, thus the car is arguably more important than the house. Americans, despite accepting global warming as de facto, are still very much in love with the automobile. On average, we own 2.28 vehicles per household.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Addiction</strong></p> <p> Our addiction to the automobile is as much a symptom of our nomadic culture as it is a matter of necessity: Urban sprawl, combined with little public transportation, makes the car essential. A job seems almost always to require it. The distance between here and there is daunting without a vehicle at one's command.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The car, culturally speaking, is mobility and individualism combined. Thelma and Louise escaped from urban ennui by hitting the freeway with the wind in their hair, the horizon shimmering chimerically ahead. They found romance on the road. Indeed, their final moment approaches the mythic, as the blue Thunderbird Convertible flies across the Grand Canyon, taking the notion of freedom beyond any open road.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Our civilization, too, is driving toward an abyss. The covetous American way of life in the age of climate change and dwindling energy resources has become unsustainable.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Former Vice President turned eco-activist Al Gore called for a radical change in our collective behavior a few years back. He wanted us to completely replace fossil fuel-generated electricity with carbon-free energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal by 2018.</p> <p>  </p> <p> "The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk," he said. "The future of human civilization is at stake." We are now being called upon, the Nobel Prize winner told us, "to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes."</p> <p>  </p> <p> I wish he were exaggerating, but my gut tells me that the green guru is pointing us in the right direction. How and if we'll ever get there, how we'll find a collective will to act, I have no idea. But I do know this: Humanity has arrived at a historic juncture and it now seems that a drastic shift in the collective behavior is called for. If this means finding the will to be frugal and give up certain luxuries, then so be it.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Disposable</strong></p> <p> America was built on the premise of progress and expansion. Yet our vision of a future of unimpeded opportunities and comfort is now in conflict with the health of the planet. The consumer culture requires continuous acquisition, and it is built on the concept of disposable goods. And it's unfortunate that consumer culture now defines much of the world. Our way of life has created an unprecedented crisis on a planetary scale.</p> <p>  </p> <p> I can tell you from experience, however, that being on the right side of the green divide is not easy. As I trudged to work this morning, a 40-minute trek, I dearly missed my car. As I budget my time and memorize bus routes and timetables, it seems as if I am returning to my humble immigrant beginnings, repudiating some notion of being an American.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But I'm not. Because I can, giving up the car is my new American responsibility.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p> Andrew Lam is author of <em>East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres</em>" and <em>Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora</em>. His next book, <em>Birds of Paradise</em>, a short story collection, is due out in 2013.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org/2012/03/giving-up-a-car-is-a-new-american-responsibility.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">green</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-green" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going green</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/saving-environment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">saving the environment</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/car" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">car</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gas-prices" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gas prices</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Andrew Lam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">livingsimply.org</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:19:56 +0000 tara 696 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1067-ultimate-green-sacrifice-why-i-gave-my-car#comments