Just got this photo from a reader and friend, Wynne McCormick, who actually helped us launch The Daily Green a few years ago as a talented business analyst. But now she is unable to analyze this massive growth in her refrigerator. I am posting it here in hopes that one of you, good readers, will be able to explain how this happens.

Wynne said she has kept her fridge on the “4″ coldness setting, out of a possible 10, for ages, and never had any ice issues before, until she placed a package of baking soda inside a few months ago (baking soda might not be the most effective way to control odors anyway). But then this iceberg started forming around the baking soda carton, slow at first.

Wynne says she didn’t notice it for some time, maybe a month, since she is busy packing for moving. But the iceberg has gotten so big that it burst several glass bottles, and now she’s afraid it will break the glass shelving.

Any ideas how this could form so suddenly? Does it have anything to do with the baking soda? Let us know!

Shai Aggasi’s Better Place launches a pilot program in Tokyo.

Shai Aggasi’s Better Place launches a pilot program in Tokyo.

Last week, on Earth Day, was the first Christie’s Green Auction, called “A Bid to Save the Earth.” As my friend Emma Grady at Treehugger reported, in a few short hours, $1,387,000 was raised for four major environmental NGOs: Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and The Central Park Conservancy.

The good news for those who couldn’t attend the glamorous, star-studded affair is that a companion online silent auction runs until May 6, co-operated with the good folk of Charitybuzz, and featuring some exciting items like dinner and theater with actress Sigourney Weaver, high green fashion pieces and a signed replica of the Millennium Falcon.

The live auction, complete with an old-school, British-accent auctioneer, was hosted by Susan and David Rockefeller, Jr. (note pic below), and emceed by green-leaning comedian Chevy Chase. Chase’s lovely wife Jayni, a longtime champion of environmental education, was on hand as well. Chevy Chase had some funny quips, including a racy one about the Rockefellers. Notably, the event took place in “their” Rockefeller Center, with Christie’s beautiful space decked out with hanging plants, “living walls” and flat screens ticking off global carbon emissions.

2010 Heart of Green Lifetime Achievement winner Ted Danson was a guest of the auction, telling press it was a “great way to celebrate Earth Day.” So was international superstar Salma Hayek (pictured), in $5,700 boots. I asked Hayek for a green tip she’d share with readers of The Daily Green. “I think of my two-and-a-half year old daughter, and how we have to think of our children,” she answered. She asked me for a green tip, and I told her to turn her water heater down to save energy, but still have hot water. “Should I turn it off if I’m going to be away?” she asked. I told her it was probably a good idea, but since she travels a lot she should think about getting a tankless water heater.

There’s a lot to think about when buying your next car. The auto industry is at a critical turning point as it transitions to electric drive. It’s like 1900, when the head scratcher in the marketplace had to choose between a gas, steam or electric car. The discriminating chose the EVs — they were quieter, more reliable, and didn’t have to be cranked — but the rapid advance of internal combustion soon made them obsolete. As early as 1915, electric cars had become the domain of elderly women (like Henry Ford’s wife).

So here are some things to think about when making that important decision. It’s just a car, you say? Well, your car is the most expensive thing you own, besides your house. Maximizing resale value is an important thing.

1. SUVs are on their way out. The book value of larger SUVs has plummeted in recent years, as crossovers have come to dominate the market. A two-year old Hummer would sell for a fraction of its original cost even if the brand wasn’t headed for oblivion. Anything with less than 20 mpg on the highway is a dinosaur today. Plus, check it out on Craigslist — the market is saturated with used SUVs, many of them put up for sale by unrealistic owners looking to recoup their investments. It isn’t going to happen.

2. Consider a minivan. I know, only “soccer moms” drive vans. But they are more fuel efficient than SUVs, offer easier access and load capacity than other choices, and hold their value better. If you’ve held off from buying, say, an eminently practical Toyota Sienna because of the image thing, it’s time to re-examine your values. Most of your style-conscious friends drive SUVs, right, so who’s being the conformist here?

3. All hybrids are not considered equal. The honkin’ Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid costs $50,000, yet it offers only marginal fuel-economy benefits over the standard truck, and it actually uses more gas than the aforementioned non-hybrid Toyota Sienna (which is half the price). What’s the point? A number of manufacturers offer either luxury or high-performance hybrids (Lexus, Mercedes, BMW) that fail to optimize fuel-economy benefits. The hybrids that make sense to me are smaller cars — like the Prius, Honda Insight and Civic, Ford Fusion — that combine aerodynamics, low weight and restrained interiors to maximize on-the-road mpg.

Come out tomorrow (Saturday, April 24) and catch me on a panel at 2:15 in NYC, at the e4 Eco Expo for Environmental Education. It’s a unique, student-led event that should make anyone feel inspired by the next generation of green leaders. I’ve never had such an extensive pre-interview before a conference, by panel moderator (and high school student) Alex Peaslee. Based on Alex’s thoughtful, challenging questions, it sounds like we’re in for a great discussion!

Joining me on the panel, focused on green lifestyle, will be Karen Stewart Brown of Stewart + Brown green fashion, Julie Gilhart, the fashion director of Barneys New York, and Jane Iredale of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics.

There are lots of other great panels throughout the day, plus a keynote by NRDC chief Fred Krupp and exhibits. The conference is FREE, which is great, and remember that it is organized by students, with support from Teens Turning Green, though you’d never guess that from the professionalism and quality of planning, as well as the lineup.

If you come, make sure to say hello!

e4 is at the Collegiate School at 260 West 78th Street (between Broadway and West End). Register and get full conference details.

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Follow Brian Clark Howard on Twitter

Come out tomorrow (Saturday, April 24) and catch me on a panel at 2:15 in NYC, at the e4 Eco Expo for Environmental Education. It’s a unique, student-led event that should make anyone feel inspired by the next generation of green leaders. I’ve never had such an extensive pre-interview before a conference, by panel moderator (and high school student) Alex Peaslee. Based on Alex’s thoughtful, challenging questions, it sounds like we’re in for a great discussion!

Joining me on the panel, focused on green lifestyle, will be Karen Stewart Brown of Stewart + Brown green fashion, Julie Gilhart, the fashion director of Barneys New York, and Jane Iredale of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics.

There are lots of other great panels throughout the day, plus a keynote by NRDC chief Fred Krupp and exhibits. The conference is FREE, which is great, and remember that it is organized by students, with support from Teens Turning Green, though you’d never guess that from the professionalism and quality of planning, as well as the lineup.

If you come, make sure to say hello!

e4 is at the Collegiate School at 260 West 78th Street (between Broadway and West End). Register and get full conference details.

Friend us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter

Follow Brian Clark Howard on Twitter

Yesterday — Earth Day — marked the DVD and Blu-Ray release of James Cameron’s Avatar, now the biggest grossing film to date. The timing of the release is considered early, which is interesting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the connection to the strong environmental themes in the film. What’s also exciting is that the filmmakers are supporting the release with genuine action for Pandora, er the Earth.

According to news reports, consumers snapped up 4 million copies of Avatar on Earth Day, including 1.5 million of those on Blu-ray, a record. Yet the film is still playing in some theaters, and an Earth Day home release is considered a rush effort. Critics of Hollywood’s “old media” business model, such as Muhammad Saleem of The Drill Down and Mark Cuban, say earlier release of home video is a great way to reduce piracy while giving consumers what they want, instead of treating your customers like criminals (by using digital rights management systems and targeting illegal downloaders).

At a recent event for press in NYC, Avatar producer Jon Landau said, “Every bit of data on the disc is the film. The best quality is with the least amount of stuff on it” — which he said is why there are no trailers or commercials. A special edition disc should be available in November, according to Landau, with deleted scenes, commentary, more explorations of Pandora and more.

Much of the coverage of Avatar in recent months has been over the technology of 3D, which some feel is being over exploited in the wake of Cameron’s smashing success. Some critics had speculated that home video versions of Pandora wouldn’t sell, since it is not being released in a home 3d version (Landau said he didn’t believe the technology was there yet, or in enough homes to warrant a foray.)

But clearly, as the Earth Day release numbers show, the film holds up. Interestingly, some reviewers are reporting that they prefer seeing it in 2D. Some people have said that 3D is disorienting. “In 2D, your eye can roam more, and notice more details,” said Landau.

Landau said that he has been working with James Cameron for 15 years (the two won an Oscar for Titanic). Prior to that he was executive VP of feature production for 20th Century Fox, and worked on some other films, including 1989’s Honey I Shrunk the Kids (a movie I loved as a kid, and which also has some green and ecological themes).
“We’re excited that Fox suggested a home release of Avatar on Earth Day,” Landau said. “They felt the themes in the film were related. And we will plant one million trees around the world by the end of the year,” he added.

Filed under: Home, News, Polit-eco

Joe Biden unveils the “Retrofit Ramp-Up” without dropping a sinlge f-bomb, Credit: Sabah Arar, Getty Images

Want a a free home energy upgrade courtesy of the federal government? As part of the White House’s official Earth Day festivities, Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the “Retrofit Ramp-Up,” a plan to dole out $452M in energy retrofits to 25 communities across the country.

Using funds set aside by the Recovery Act, contractors will literally be going door-to-door to offer Americans a chance at a free energy-saving upgrade. The only problem is that you have to live in one of these 25 privileged communities. Lucky for me, my town made the cut. Did yours?
Here’s the list of communities that made the cut (I have no idea how or why they were chosen):

Austin, Texas – $10 million
Boulder County, Colorado – $25 million
Camden, New Jersey – $5 million
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning – $25 million
Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, Ohio – $17 million
Greensboro, North Carolina – $5 million
Indianapolis, Indiana – $10 million
Kansas City, Missouri – $20 million
Los Angeles County, California – $30 million
Lowell, Massachusetts – $5 million
State of Maine – $30 million
State of Maryland – $20 million
State of Michigan – $30 million
State of Missouri – $5 million
Omaha, Nebraska – $10 million
State of New Hampshire – $10 million
New York State Research and Development Authority – $40 million
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $25 million
Phoenix, Arizona – $25 million
Portland, Oregon – $20 million
San Antonio, Texas – $10 million
Seattle, Washington – $20 million
Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance – $20 million
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, Ohio – $15 million
Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation – $20 million

Apparently, the lucky contestants will begin to receive their optional upgrades starting next fall. During his announcement, Vice President Biden explained how the program will ostensibly work, “The same construction crew would upgrade all the homes on the same block at the same time. That saves contractors time and money. They can pass the savings on to their customers. And it’s just a much more efficient way to operate.”

I’m sure that you’ll receive some kind of notification before construction crews show up at your door … but then again, you never know.

For more information about these projects, check out the Energy Department’s website.

The White House’s Big Earth Day Announcement originally appeared on Green Daily on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re a commuter, chances are you drive to work alone — after all, 76% of us do, producing three quarters of all transportation emissions along the way. The whole point of the book Bowling Alone is that Americans aren’t as sociable as they used to be — only 64% drove alone in 1980 — and that’s why the car pool bit the dust.

A company called Avego thinks it has a solution for our wired-in times. It does require relating to other human beings, though. “Shared Transport” is a variation on the informal “slugging” or “casual carpooling” that has grown up around congested highways in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Because cars with two or more occupants can travel in the HOV lanes, people gather at set take-up points for free rides.

Avego Shared Transport is a free iPhone app for on-demand ridesharing, and it’s just been updated to be more user-friendly. The driver, registered online by Avego, gets ride requests on the iPhone from would-be riders.

According to Steve Hansen of ITS America, a transit-promoting nonprofit that gave Avego an award for its ride-sharing app, drivers verify the rider’s identity with a one-time auto-generated PIN number. The driver is directed to the pick-up point, and the rider gets regular GPS-based updates on the car’s approach. The market incentive is $1 plus 20 cents a mile automatically debited from the rider’s account. The driver gets 85 percent of the money and Avego 15 percent.

Worried that you’ll pick up a serial killer or maybe just a creep? There’s no guarantee you won’t, but Avego says it will introduce a self-policing feature that includes a one- to five-star rating for riders and drivers. According to Jason Conley, director of government relations at Avego, users will also have an opportunity to make filtered matches — ie, same sex or non-smokers only. Conley said any reported incidents would result in the rapid expulsion of the responsible party.

Enterprising souls can create their own Avego ride-sharing communities anywhere (and it’s not limited to the U.S.). But Avego will launch programs in partnership with local governments in several cities over the next couple of months, Conley said. Avego also works with municipalities on programs offering real-time passenger information for bus transit, and for van-pooling systems, too.

Anything that eases congestion is a good thing. Traffic snarls cost the U.S. $87 billion each year, waste 2.8 billion gallons of gas and cause 3.7 billion hours of traffic delays. General Motors’ Project PUMA, which posits tiny self-driving pod cars avoiding congestion using real-time traffic information, is a related approach to the same problem. But that’s in the future. Avego says it can start cutting congestion right now.