01 | October | 2013 | Indoor Air Quality Lab

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 10.1.13 share

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

EMISSIONS

IPCC report recommends fossil fuels stay in the ground (via Huffington Post)

What the carbon budget means for business (via Environmental Leader)

EU carbon market main hurdle to aviation deal, India says (via Bloomberg)

COAL

Europe whets appetite for coal as US eschews it (via Climate Central)

Stop funding coal, green groups tell European Bank (via BusinessGreen)

The local election that could determine the future of US coal (via Climate Progress)

Nebraska coal plant tests new pollution-control system (via Houston Chronicle)

RENEWABLES

Offshore wind in Europe: Lessons for the US (via Huffington Post)

Deutsche Banks says China solar PV may reach 15GW in 2014 (via Renew Economy)

Brazil: Just not that into second-generation biofuels (via Energy Collective)

Movin’ and shakin’ – geothermal projects face a rocky road (via Renewable Energy World)

US renewables mid-year report: 10% energy consumption, 14% net electrical generation (via Renewable Energy World)

Tax credits to spur renewable energy seen set to end (via Bloomberg)

US Air Force trains for combat on wind power (via CleanTechnica)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

China faces steep climb to exploit its shale riches (via New York Times)

US gears up to be a prime natural gas exporter (via New York Times)

North Carolina rejects federal funds for fracking studies (via Grist)

CLIMATE

“Climate refugee” fighting to stay in New Zealand goes to court (via ABC News)

The hard math of flood insurance in a warming world (via Time)

How farmworkers experience a warming climate (via EarthFix)

Bloomberg, Steyer, Paulson team up to gauge global warming’s economic toll (via The Hill)

New climate assessment likely to spark action by companies; Congress, not so much (via ClimateWire)

Resilient communities are the incentive for businesses to focus on climate change (via Triple Pundit)

“Atmospheric River” smashes storm records in Pacific Northwest (via Climate Central)

OIL

An uphill climb for the oil giants (via New York Times)

Feds to release new rules for offshore emergency equipment this year (via Houston Chronicle)

Lawyers tell trial BP lied about size of US Gulf oil spill (via Reuters)

Texas regulators issue few fines for Eagle Ford pollution (via EnergyWire)

TRANSPORTATION

Electric vehicles speeding toward 7% of all global sales by 2020 (via CleanTechnica)

EV-wary consumers still want utilities to develop charging infrastructure (via Renew Grid)

BMW to electrify its entire lineup (via CleanTechnica)

Ford C-Max hybrid owners get rebate for disappointing mileage (via New York Times)

GRID

Will energy storage save the grid? (via Energy Collective)

New California net metering study appears to be DOA (via Greentech Media)

TAR SANDS

Oil sands deals dive as foreign-state firms scrutinized by Canada (via Houston Chronicle)

British Columbia, Alberta move closer to tar sands pipeline agreement (via Globe and Mail)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy efficiency drive yields $1 billion, 11 million metric tons CO2 cuts for US manufacturers (via Triple Pundit)

POLITICS

EIA can operate through October 11 under government shutdown (via Reuters)

EPA to be hit hard in shutdown, could delay renewable fuel standard (via Reuters)

FERC nominee Binz withdraws amid coal pushback (via Politico)

“No evidence” EPA used private emails to keep records secret (via The Hill)

Can Bob Inglis make the GOP relevant on climate and clean energy policy? (via Greentech Media)

Posted: | Categories: Alberta, Atmospheric River, biofuels, BMW, Bob Ingliis, BP, Brazil, british columbia, california, canada, Carbon budget, carbon capture, Carbon market, China, climate, Climate Change, Climate refugees, coal, Coal exports, Deutsche Bank, Eagle Ford Shale, eia, electric vehicles, emissions, Energy Efficiency, energy storage, EPA, EU, European Bank, ev, EV charger, FERC, Floods, Ford, Ford C-Max hybrid, fracking, geothermal, grid, Gulf of Mexico, Henry Paulson, india, IPCC, Michael Bloomberg, natural gas, Natural gas exports, Nebraska, Net metering, new zealand, News, North Carolina, offshore drilling, offshore wind, oil, oil spill, Pipeline, production tax credit, renewables, Resilience, Resilient communities, Ron Binz, Shale gas, solar, solar pv, tar sands, texas, Tom Steyer, Transportation, wind

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Spotted: How to Make a Pinata that’s Quick and Easy share

Store-bought pinatas are far from eco-friendly. Here's how to make a pinata that's totally unique and uses reclaimed materials.

Kids love a pinata. Heck, so do grown-ups. We had a party once years ago where we filled a giant octopus-shaped pinata with airplane-sized bottles of booze, and it was such a hit! Whether you're planning a kid's birthday party or a grown-up shindig, here's how to make a pinata the quick and easy way.

How to Make a Pinata with Reclaimed Materials

Zoe Saint-Paul over at Slow Mama shares a great tutorial on how to make a quick, easy pinata, and with just a couple of substitutions, you can make this already pretty eco-friendly project even greener. Here are the materials she calls for, along with substitution suggestions:

empty cardboard box - just make sure this is reclaimed. If you don't have an empty box on hand, your local package store probably has a mountain of them and would be happy to share one with you.
crepe paper - instead of new crepe paper, use strips of paper from your recycle bin. Old junk mail or coffee filters (rinsed and dried) would both work really well.
spray adhesive - these can be pretty toxic. Instead of a spray adhesive, just use watered down glue to paper mache your pinata. Paint the section that you want to cover with the glue mixture, and stick your strips of paper down.

Reclaimed paper isn't going to give your project a uniform color. That could be a-OK - the kids are just going to whack it to pieces with a broomstick, right? - or you can paint it to make it uniform. Hit the home improvement store for a pint of zero-VOC paint, if that's your plan.

The real trick for how to make a pinata that's quick and easy is skipping the fringe. Do kids really care about that? I bet they just want to whack that thing and get at the candy that's inside!

Click here for the tutorial!

Have you made a pinata? Was your technique like the one I describe, or did you do it differently? Share your tips on how to make a pinata in the comments!

Posted: | Categories: Craft Recycled, DIY, DIY pinata, how to make a pinata, pinata

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