At approximately 1:45 p.m. a 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook the grounds of the north-east U.S. and southern parts of Ontario and Québec. To be more precise though the quake’s center was around 60 kilometers North of Ottawa, Ontario. Apparently the quake was felt in Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, N.Y., Toronto and surrounding areas. I know I felt it, living in Ottawa myself. When I say I was sitting on a crack I didn’t think of it in that sense, but now I’m going to have too!

Here’s a video from a man living in Ottawa seconds after the quake hit.

Some info Here

The farthest report I’ve seen is from Dubuque, Iowa, more than 1200 km from the estimated center of the quake. – Andy Lang (from the globe and mail chat through their article on the subject)

This one sounds kinda funny for a partnership, but it’s real. General Motors (GM) and Segway have partnered up to develop a new urban transportation device providing personal mobility. This partnership is a result of 18 month collaboration to project Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A) The P.U.M.A. has a lot of common ground with the Segway Personal Transporter.  

P.U.M.A. features an all-electric powertrain, plus a side-by-side two-wheel layout. Like the Segway, it uses dynamic stabilization technology to keep it upright and balanced.Where P.U.M.A. pushes ahead is in practicality, usability and safety. Unlike other personal mobility devices such as Toyota’s i-Unit or i-Real, P.U.M.A. accommodates two passengers in a pod-like capsule that’s shielded from the elements (as pictured, this early-development prototype doesn’t have the extra bodywork). It also features seats, seatbelts and a safety cage. Thanks to a more sophisticated electric powertrain and battery pack, its top speed is 56 km/h, and it can travel up to 56 km/h between charges

This is a video about the world’s demographic changes and what is in store for us from the near to distant future. Some of these numbers are downright scary and difficult to comprehend… you are warned.

When I posted an article about the Ottawa Home And Garden show on Friday I thought we would be able to give you a video tour of the Bonneville eco-conscious house but it turns out we weren’t allowed to video or even take photos of the inside of the house. So here we have a few pictures that show the exterior of the house.

Although we did not film the inside I can still tell you how it was. What stood out when going in the house was the prevalent wood you could see everywhere. Wood floors, wood beams going across the ceiling and wood cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom. Counter top were granite and and both kitchen and bathroom sinks were porcelain making a very appealing look. The shower was all glass with ceramic floor and enough place for two people to shower at the same time.

One thing that really caught my eye was the separated room for the toilet. That’s right! In one room you had the shower, tub and large sink, and in the other room you had the toilet and a smaller sink. This is great because you don’t need to wait for the other person to finishing his shower before being able to use the toilet.

One of the key features of this house was the superior isolation that Bonneville offers. Since Bonneville homes are prefabricated they developed their own way of isolating them and they really succeeded.

Of course all the appliances featured in the house where energy star rated and the furniture’s were supposedly eco-friendly but I didn’t get the chance to verify this one.

I’m sorry for not being able to show you a video tour but I hope that this description was enough to give you an idea of what it looked like.

If riding your bike to work was too much of an effort for you, now there is a solution. For $650 you can make your bicycle electric and never worry about sweating on your way to work.

The system is also really easy to install on your bicycle. It consist of the battery you see on the picture with the BionX logo and the electric motor which is incorporated in the wheel. The bike can reach speeds of 32 km/h on electric power.

If you’re planing on touring across the country their is an option for this too. They offer 2 other option which include a much bigger battery for much longer distances.

For more information on this product visit ridemore.ca

Globalization, it is what this world is being geared for. Every second we learn new thing and create ways to process more information, faster. Even the new American president preaches change. Here’s a video that shows just how fast we “change”

It’s called “shift happens”

Photo: Flickr 1

If want to know if you’re green car savvy, there is a 10 question quiz you can take at Planet Green. I just finished doing it and I got a 70% mark. Not bad!

I invite you to take the quiz because you can also find out some interesting facts about bio-fuels and hybrid car batteries.

Poll Answers

If your answer was never please drop us a comment to explain you decision.

In this video discover +1 Water that comes to you in a bottle made from a renewable resource, corn, not petrochemical biproducts. The bottles are made from certified biodegradable NatureWorks PLA, and is not only compostable but is also recyclable along with other plastics. For more information click Here

Joe Lucas, the spokesman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) was just interviewed for a piece exploring the myth of “clean” coal. (You may remember ACCCE as the folks who spent over $10.5 million on energy lobbying.)

It seems that the spokesman who represents the industry that puts out more than one third of our CO₂ emissions — the leading cause of global warming — is having some trouble grasping reality.

Transcript:
Still the industry refuses to say its plants contribute to global warming.
[Question:] Can you just answer that yes or no? If you believe that burning coal causes global warming?
[Joe Lucas:] I don’t know, I’m not a scientist.

You don’t have to be a scientist to know that burning coal is a leading source of global warming pollution. (”GHG Emissions and Sinks 1990–2006,” US EPA 2008.)

But it certainly is hard to believe that while the industry has spent $10.5 million on lobbying, their spokesman isn’t better informed.

Choking children, destroyed crops and a devastated fishing industry. That’s the price the local community at Cilacap in Indonesia have had to pay since a coal-fired power plant was constructed in their town. Today 40 Greenpeace activists and local community representatives chained themselves to the gates of the coal plant to block the transport of coal on Central Java’s south coast.

The action is in response to the Indonesian Minister of Energy’s decision to build or expand 35 more coal-fired plants in the next 2 years – including doubling the size of the Cilacap plant. The activists are determined that, rather than devastate more communities and fuel global warming with coal power, Indonesia should embrace its potential in geothermal, solar and wind energy, and choose for an energy revolution.

That’s what has just happened in Greece where, following a six-month long Quit Coal campaign by Greenpeace, the Greek Minister of Development has stated that the government is not considering hard coal or nuclear power as part of Greece’s energy future. Instead the Greek government will be rewriting its Long-Term Energy Plan to exclude coal and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

That’s the kind of future Indonesia needs to choose. Along with allies including KAM Cilacap, JATAM, Walhi and Sekolah Demokrasi Ekonomi we have launched a campaign against building new, and expanding existing, coal-fired power plants in Indonesia. The first step is the launch of an Indonesian version of our True Cost of Coal Report, which spells out the real costs of coal power – over 350 billion euro a year in environmental and health costs; costs that are borne by communities like Cilacap rather than utilities like PT Segara Sumber Prima who operate the planet in Cilacap.

Decisions like those being taken in Greece and Indonesia will have a global impact. In December this year, world leaders have their best chance to avoid run-away climate change at the UN talks in Copenhagen. As countries like Greece choose for an energy revolution the chance of a good deal rises, but if nations like Indonesia lock themselves into a future of pollution the challenge becomes greater.

The Quit Coal Tour- Greece, October 2008

In 2008, the Rainbow Warrior and the Arctic Sunrise took the clear message to Quit Coal to 11 Mediterranean and European countries, including Greece.

When the campaign began, four new coal-fired power plants were planned in Greece. Following a campaign against the first, we met with the prospective owner and convinced him to drop the plan. We also hosted the two main opposition parties in Greek politics on board the Rainbow Warrior, where both agreed to quit coal if they came to office. Now that determination has reached the government and Greece can look forward to a cleaner future.