Sierra Club Green Home

With a population of over 4.4 million, Singapore is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Juxtaposed to this crowded urban area is also over 2,000 plant varieties, 57 types of mammals, 98 types of reptiles, and 25 varieties of amphibians. Hundreds of bird and butterfly species migrate there each year and one third of the world’s hard coral reefs are found in its surrounding waters. The natural diversity that is Singapore includes rainforests, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, and coastal forests. (Photo by )

Recology’s Artist in Residence program had an exhibition of art made from materials scavenged from the San Francisco dump on January 20th and 21st. The featured artists were Ethan Estess, Terry Berlier, and Donna Anderson Kam. These original and resourceful pieces included cement sculptures, drawings with discarded material, and marine life representation.

As the economy shows signs of moving in the right direction, so does our personal and national energy consumption. A growing number of energy efficiency programs are noticeably increasing our energy savings and our usage efficiency. According to a new report from the Institute for Electricity Efficiency (IEE), in 2010, our overall national energy efficiency programs saved enough electricity to power almost 10 million homes. That almost 112 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity was a 21 percent increase over 2009 levels. (Image courtesy of The Edison Foundation)

CODA is more than a car company. These self-described “hippies of the car industry” are on a mission to get an electric car in every garage in the United States. They do their part by creating a more affordable, practical electric vehicle (EV), and by raising awareness of the EV option. Next month, CODA will release their four-door sedan with two battery options: 125 miles per charge, or 150 miles per charge. (Photo courtesy of CODA)

Tickell advocates biofuels as the answer. His message is “Change your fuel, change your world.” Over the course of two hours, Tickell takes a meandering route, weaving personal perspective with at least 50 insightful interviews recorded during the 11 years it took to make the film. Ultimately, FUEL works, coming full circle to deliver the substance behind Tickell’s message of change. (Photo courtesy of FUEL Website)

OAKLAND, CA — Six hospital systems in the San Francisco Bay Area are joining with local food distributors to make healthy, sustainable food an integral part of the hospital network. The Regional Produce Sourcing Project aims to make sustainable food more available to hospital systems, and to create more demand for it. (Photo courtesy of Kaiser Permanente)

Many design challenges stand in the way of making buildings zero net energy, and Sierra Club Green Home is pleased to see this competition tackle them head-on. The goal of the contest is to spark creative thinking about developing these types of buildings. (Photo courtesy of American Institute of Architects)

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — It may feel small, but I learned from reading the Laguna Beach Independent newspaper that “all of Laguna Beach’s hotel and lodging properties have agreed to recycle hygiene products to benefit children and families in need through the nonprofit Clean the World Global. When one looks at what the numbers could add up to and the impact, this recycling effort is not insignificant in the least, even for a little seaside town. (Photo by Casa Laguna Inn, courtesy of Laguna Beach Visitors Bureau)

Every year, 25 to 30 million live Christmas trees are sold in the United States. Their ornaments and decorations help brighten our holiday. But after the holiday, they end up curbside as trash or, in towns offering such services, as recycling. A sad fate for such a wonderful part of Christmas.

Around the country, a new tradition is growing: renting a living tree for the holidays. (Photo by Monica Hudson, RentALivingChristmasTree.com)

SAN FRANCISCO — A young soccer player from San Francisco is making waves in the scientific community with her research on local playing fields. Claire Dworsky collected 110 water samples from 10 soccer fields across San Francisco, half of them with grass and half with artificial turf. Her research showed dangerous chemical run-offs from artificial turf. (Photo courtesy of Action for Nature)