Nissan has licensed its self-healing paint to a cell phone company that will use the coating on phones for the Japanese market. The paint reacts with the sun and heat to heal minor scratches in a week or less.
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Self-Healing Paint Coming to Cell Phones
Incandescent light bulbs will be collectors items soon, no matter what Michele Bachmann thinks . Instead of just throwing the old ones out, perhaps something creative can be done with them. Coincidentally, both Lifehacker and BoingBoing address this problem today; Boingboing with Professor Alexander’s Botanical Vasculum – Steamed … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Creative Re-use: Turn a Light Bulb into a Terrarium
Living in the Northwest, salmon is close to my home – and heart. That’s because the salmon restoration issue in the Northwest isn’t just about conservation. Like many other environmental issues, it’s also about jobs and the economy. In fact, salmon fishing brings tens of millions of dollars into the regional economy each year, representing thousands of jobs. But because of salmon declines in the Columbia and Snake Rivers over the past three decades, over 25,000 jobs have been lost. Just how much salmon decline are we talking about? During the time of the Lewis & Clark expedition up to 16 million salmon returned each year. Nowadays, that number is in the range of fewer than ten thousand fish. Salmon and steelhead are both endangered species but according to scientists, salmon runs would be restored by dam removal. Dam removal is a contentious issue, and for the last 15 years a national coalition of conservation organizations, commercial and sportsfishing associations, businesses and river groups have been in litigation against the federal government to ensure protection for the endangered fish. Dam removal is part of the protection advocated for by the plaintiffs and regional fisheries biologists. Last Monday, I went to the Portland Courthouse with Save Our Wild Salmon to listen to the latest in this process. U.S. District Court Judge James Redden declared that he wants to end this 15 year ordeal, and that a working plan is in sight. But conservationists and scientists are less confident. The science supporting the plan, called a biological option or “biop,” runs counter to the advice of many experts from the Forest Service, Department of Fish and Wildlife and the American Fisheries Society’s top scientists. “We scientists believed the President when he said he would protect science and strengthen the ESA, but secretary Locke and Dr. Lubchenco have seemingly allowed political pressure to circumvent a decision based on sound science,” said Bill Shake, retired Assistant Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Judge Redden has asked lawyers to supply written briefs next month to help him arrive at a final decision. Photo credit: pfly
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Will Proposed Biop Plan Restore Salmon and the Economy? A Portland Court Must Decide
[ See more under History & Trivia or in the Food & Health category ] Didn’t get enough to eat on Thanksgiving? Then feast your eyes on this absurd buffet of monstrously oversized food. While some may lament the inherent waste of food involved in creating the world’s largest burgers, omelettes and sushi rolls, there’s no denying that enormous edibles have their appeal all over the world. You’ll feel full just looking at these 15 record-breaking, gut-busting food items. Stomach-Popping Pumpkin Pie (image via: GhostStudy.com ) Nearly a ton of pumpkin was required to make South Africa’s record-breaking, 28-foot pumpkin pie. The massive dessert was three feet deep and took two days to create, and beat out the previous title holder in Circleville, Ohio, which took 360 pounds of sugar, 795 pounds of pumpkin, 60 lbs. of powered milk, 60 dozen eggs, 75 gallons of water and 400 lbs. of flour to make. 12,600 Calorie Gummi Bear (image via: Cool Things ) Have you ever wondered what 12,600 calories looks like? This huge gummi bear is the equivalent of 1,400 regular-sized gummi bears, stands nine inches tall and weighs five pounds. You can get one of your very own at VAT15 for $40 in your choice of blue raspberry, red cherry, and green apple teeth-rotting flavors. Monster of a Meatball (image via: MSNBC ) That old Italian-American classic, spaghetti and meatballs, is a favorite from coast to coast here in the U.S. – but not everyone is content with meatballs that can fit on a fork. Matthew Mitnitsky, owner of Nonni’s Italian Eatery in Concord, New Hampshire, set out to break the previous record, set by late night host Jimmy Kimmel, so he could bring the title back to the East Coast. He succeeded with his 222.5-pound meat monstrosity, beating Kimmel’s meatball by over 24 pounds. Tons of Tiramisu (image via: BBC News ) Tiramisu may be from Italy, but that hasn’t stopped both Switzerland and France from creating the two largest tiramisu desserts ever made. The 2007 Swiss version, in the shape of the confection’s country of origin, weighed over 1,742 pounds – but the French beat them handily in 2009 with their less artistic, but much larger 2,372 pound dessert, which contained over 4,000 eggs. Positively Enormous Pizza (imave via: CanPages.ca ) Over 1,100 pounds of flour, 1,763 pounds of cheese and 1,984 pounds of tomato paste were required to make the world’s largest pizza, which measured a whopping 122 feet in diameter. Created in 1990 at the Pick ‘n’ Pay hypermarket in Johannesburg, South Africa, the pizza was rapidly consumed in a not-so-orderly fashion by onlookers, who simply tore pieces off the edges with their hands. Largest Lollipop (imave via: Sri Chinmoy Bio ) It would take an awful lot of licks to even make a dent in this insanely gigantic lollipop, created in August 2009 in honor of spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy’s birthday. The equivalent of 165,070 regular-sized lollipops, this supersized sucker surpasses the previous record holder by 2,000 pounds, weighing in at 6,706 pounds. It’s 10 feet in diameter, 10 inches thick and 25 feet tall including the stick. Humongous Bowl of Hummus (image via: Javno.com ) Lebanese chefs set a new world record in October 2009 with the largest plate of hummus ever made. This garlicky dip contained 2,976 pounds of mashed chickpeas and 13,525 ounces of lemon juice, and was served on the world’s largest plate. Gut-Busting Burger (image via: The Metro ) Warning: eating this entire hamburger will undoubtedly result in extreme discomfort, followed by death. The aptly named “The Absolutely Ridiculous Burger”, served at Mallie’s Sports Bar and Grill in Detroit, Michigan, costs $350 and must be ordered 24 hours in advance. The 134 pound slab of meat is served on a 50 pound bun, and naturally, no single individual has ever been able to eat more than a small portion of it. Seriously Gigantic Sushi Roll (image via: Weird Asia News ) There’s nothing bite-sized about this ridiculously large sushi roll, created by martial arts movie star Jackie Chan’s restaurant, G. Sushi. As Chan demonstrated at the opening of a new location in Shanghai, this tightly packed roll of raw fish, rice, vegetables and seaweed is so big, it would take three adult men to circle it with their arms. D’oh! Largest Donut Made of Donuts (image via: Damn Cool Pics ) It’s the sort of epic donut that would knock Homer Simpson off his feet – a nearly 20-foot-wide creation that weighs more than two rhinoceroses. Assembled by Donut King for the release of The Simpsons Movie on DVD, this gigantic donut was made from 90,000 individual donuts and covered in half a ton of pink icing and 66 pounds of sprinkles. Omelette of 11,000 Eggs (image via: KCRA ) It took 20 people in rotating shifts to cook the world’s largest omelette, which weighed more than 1,000 pounds and was made from over 11,000 eggs. Villagers in Belorechenskiy, Russia got to consume the oversized omelette when it was done. Super-Sized Sandwich (image via: TechSufi ) It was the sandwich of sandwiches: a 5,440 pound stack of white bread measuring over a foot thick, huge slabs of cheese and meat, and untold amounts of lettuce and mayo. This world record sandwich was made by Wild Woody’s Chill and Grill, in Roseville, Michigan in 2005. Three months later, cooks in Iran tried and failed to break that record when the crowd started eating their 4,900-foot ostrich meat sandwich before it could be measured. Fattest Piece of Fudge (image via: World Amazing Records ) In June of 2009, a team of students led by a culinary professor at Lansing Community College broke the world record for the largest slab of fudge and made tens of thousands of dollars in proceeds, which were donated for need-based LCC scholarships. The fudge measured over 36 feet long, 8 feet wide and 6 inches deep and weighed in at over 520,000 pounds. Gigantic Gingerbread Man (image via: Go San Angelo ) The tallest man in the world presented the world’s largest gingerbread man at an Ikea outlet in the Norway’s capital Oslo in November 2009. 8-foot-1-inch tall Sultan Koesen, declared the world’s tallest living man in September, presented the 1,435 pound cookie, which broke the 1,307 pound record set in Smithville, Texas in 2006. Insanely Huge Ice Cream Cake (image via: China Daily ) Adorned with cute cartoon characters, the biggest ice cream cake ever made was nearly 16 feet long, 10 feet wide and three feet tall. Chinese workers who labored over the cake danced in celebration when it was completed in 2006 and declared a world record winner by Guinness World Records. Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist: 5 of the Largest Gorges & Canyons in the World The following collection has a mix of the longest, deepest, and widest (in area) canyons and gorges from around the world. 3 Comments – Click Here to Read More »» La Tomatina: The Biggest Food Fight on the Planet Once a year, tens of thousands of tourists gather in a town in Spain to hurl over one hundred tons of overripe tomatoes … all in just one hour. 14 Comments – Click Here to Read More »» 15 Fascinating Food Artists and Sculptors [70 Pics] Incredibly creative artists using food as a medium or subject, creating things like bacon villages, popes made of pizza and life-size butter sculptures. 9 Comments – Click Here to Read More »» [ WebEcoist - See more under History & Trivia or in the Food & Health category ]
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Super Size It: The World’s Largest Food
Image via Data Protection Online Many in the climate change denying camp are claiming that climate scientists are somehow secretive of the studies they do and the data they gather, because some private emails a few of them exchanged were hacked into and made public. This myth that climate data is secret is gaining traction, however, propagated by talk radio hosts l… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Climate Scientists’ "Secret" Data Revealed!
Image credit: Audubon NC When I wrote about efforts to increase access for Off Road Vehicles to beaches at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina , it stirred up quite a debate. Some locals bemoaned protection of birds that “are not from this area. They show up for a few months and migrate on.” Others favored conservation, citing their own friends’ habits of “taking their huge trucks and four wheelers and doing stupid things on the beach” as reason enough. But what exactly is it that the conservationi… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Organic John Patrick Everywhere you look you see them, even on the non-hog riding gang. Call them rebels with a cause – a need to look trendy while making a statement about planet-friendly fibers. Biker jackets ! The fashion trend comes full circle once again. Think back to Marlon Brando in his 1953 cult flick, The Wild One , where just manly men wore the hardware-ridden jackets. Fast forward to Seattle grunge hitting the scene in the mid 80s. Women and men clad in biker jackets, oversized flannel shirts and combat boots were the sensation. Scores of us identified with popular bands like Sonic Youth and The Pixies with an additional nod to grittier punk rock. Both sexes opted out of the mainstream, took their drugs, listened to Nirvana and gave the finger to fitting in. This time around, babes in biker jackets rule supreme in styles that speak more softly thanks to eco-designers utilizing alternative fabrics. This one from KellyB , made from 50% organic cotton and 50% recycled polyester, is a hot substitute for leather while still doing the job of keeping you warm. Raw Earth’s take on the trend in the color purple is right in gear for 2009. Reif , out of Portland, Oregon has her own hip take on the biker jacket in her Spring 2010 collection which just might be my go-to piece if I move fast enough. No longer are we expected to carry the weight of leather a la Brando. Now, it goes one further, getting notice not just for the cool factor, but the integrity of the design. Even Brando would have to agree: This is the real deal.
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Zip Is Hip, Again! Babes in Biker Jackets Go Organic
Mean Joe Green #81: Sarah Palin Cartoon Archive The politician that offers nothing but (mildly) good looks and soundbytes sprinkled with CRAZY, is all over the media lately because someone helped her write a book. Well, I want to take this opportunity to remind you just how dumb (I think/thought) she is… Mean Joe Green #26: Governor Palin vs. Science Published on September 17th, 2008 Mean Joe Green #30: All I Needed to Learn About our Nation’s Energy Woes, I Learned From a Starbucks Cup. Published on October 10th, 2008 Mean Joe Green #33 part 2: Palin Caption Contest Winner Published on October 29th, 2008 First place–Brent, “Don’t worry. I have been assured that with the recent advances in helicopters, AK-47’s and shredder bullets, you won’t feel a thing.” Second Place–Derek, “You’re either with us or against us!” Third Place–Jerry, “Hey, what’s the name of that conservation commission I chaired?” Mean Joe Green #56: The Palin Plan–Pipeline to Presidency Published on March 19th, 2009 More to come, I’m sure… Follow Mean Joe Green on Twitter at @GreenCartoons Mean Joe Green Cartoon Archive
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Sarah Palin Cartoon Archive (cartoons)
Some meat fresh from the lab. Photo via the Telegraph The prospect has always been intriguing, to say the least: producing meat without having to raise, feed, or butcher animals. It could prove to be a far less resource-intensive way to sate a meat-hungry populace and an answer to PETA ‘s prayers. And it may be a mere five years away from becoming a reality: scientists in the Netherlands have for the first time successfully
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Pork Meat ‘Grown’ in Labs to be Sold in Grocery Stores as Soon as 2014
The keefer before its very jazzy renovation We spend a lot of time saying that Heritage buildings are green, but Vancouver architect Gair Williamson , who has worked on a lot of them, says only “sort of” in an interview with a construction industry newspaper. “A building constructed in 1904 is not going to perform to modern standards. If we were to take the Keefer project and bump it up to LEED standards, it would be unrecognizable as a heritage building. If th… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Can Heritage Buildings Be Called Green?