There are innumerable ways one can lessen their impact on the plant, but ever wonder which methods are giving you the most green for your buck? Like, is it better to buy organic groceries if it involves a fifteen minute drive to the farmers market, or should you forgo the wheels and huff it to the nearest non-organic supermarket produce aisle? Or what uses less energy – turning off one light for an hour or unplugging your cell phone charger for the day?

David MacKay, a professor at the University of Cambridge breaks down these often incomprehensible calculations by converting it all into Kilowatt-Hours, and providing an online guide of the efficiency trade-offs in his new (and free!) volume titled “Sustainable Energy – Without Hot Air.”

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This weekend, The New York Times Magazine profiled Jim Rogers, who is one of the oddest environmentalists out there.  What makes him odd is that he is the CEO of Duke Energy, the third-largest corporate emitter of carbon dioxide in the United States.  He invites environmentalists to his office to brief him on green initiatives, and was one of the more vocal supporters of a federal cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions.  From the article:

For years, he has opened his doors to the kinds of green activists who would give palpitations to most energy C.E.O.’s… In April, James Hansen, a climatologist at NASA and one of the first scientists to publicly warn about global warming, wrote an open letter urging Rogers to stop burning coal - so Rogers took him out for a three-hour dinner in Manhattan…Last year, Rogers astonished his board when he presented his plan to “decarbonize” Duke Energy by 2050 - in effect, to retool the utility so that it emits very little carbon dioxide.

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If you haven’t flown and/or seen the news recently, you may not have noticed that airlines are having some problems with the price of fuel and the like. So now they’re charging twenty-five bucks for your first bag and eighty bucks to let you off at your destination. But Air New Zealand is trying something different. The airline has just issued a press release stating that it expects to use one million barrels of sustainable fuels by 2013.

Air New Zealand, as well, is not content with using ethanol or another food-derived product. There are three criteria the airline is using to decide if a fuel is viable, according to CEO Rob Fyfe:

“Firstly, it must be environmentally sustainable and not compete with existing food stocks. Secondly, the fuel must be at least as good as the product we use today. Finally, it should be significantly cheaper than existing fuel supplies and be readily available.”

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. In celebration of Earth Day 2008, we made ‘green’ the major theme on the TakePart blog this week - green documentaries and television programs, Earth Day quotes and action activities, as well as some great film reviews. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Top 10 Earth Day Videos From the Hub

Joanne Herring Invites You to “Charlie Wilson’s War” Screening Discussion - Free DVD!

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Nicole Hughes:

Top 10 Documentaries About the Environment

Top 10 Ways to Take Action On Earth Day 2008!

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Andy Kondrat:

Top 10 Quotes About the Environment

Disney Launches DisneyNature to Make Documentaries - I Freak Out

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Jon Popham:

B Corporation Takes the Guesswork Out of Going Green

Sea Level Rise Explorer

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Giulia Rozzi:

Oprah and My Mom Going Green

Green It. Mean It.

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Gina Telaroli:

Taking Part In the Blogsphere With “The Visitor” and “Standard Operating Procedure”

“The Soloist” Explores the Homeless and Mentally Ill With Grace and Music

Celebrate Earth Day 2008 with these top 10 documentaries about the environment. The films below address a variety of ecological issues including climate change, vegetarianism, crude oil, industrial development and our oceans. When you’re properly inspired to green up your eco-behaviors and help preserve Mother Nature for future generations, and check out these top 10 ways to celebrate Earth Day!

1) An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man’s fervent crusade to halt global warming’s deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. [climatecrisis.net]

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Will slow economic growth and a looming recession kill energy-saving and eco-friendly initiatives that many corporations have adopted in their efforts to jump on the green bandwagon? Some are wondering about the possibility of current sustainability trends being turned around should businesses start to feel the financial crunch. Kevin Klustner, CEO of Verdiem (a ‘green’ software company), says in a recent article published for GreenBiz.com that although a “stagnation” economy may tempt some companies to abandon their greening programs, doing so might actually worsen their financial losses in the long run.

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Is BioTown USA running on fumes? Some say that the ambitious farming hamlet of Reynolds, Indiana, which set out to become the nation’s first energy independent town, has hit a few bumps on the road to their renewable Shangri-La.

Since 2005, Reynolds has been working toward generating its own electricity and gas for all homes and businesses by using a variety of renewable resources ““ from municipal trash to hog manure, and even town sewage. Called BioTown USA, the project was designed and fast-tracked by the Indiana Department of Agriculture. One of the major appeals of the project was its promise of decreased energy costs to the residents of Reynolds. With crude oil around $100 a barrel right now, a barrel of biomass at $40 holds promising relief for rising fuel costs.

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“Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars” is an inspiring film that tells the story of how a coal-busting Texan coalition of local mayors, ranchers, CEOs, community groups and citizens went up against Republican Governor Rick Perry and his Big Coal buddies - and won.

It’s been a year since this group of unlikely partners claimed victory in their battle for clean air against the Governor, who attempted to fast-track the building of 19 coal-fired power plants in Central and Eastern Texas. A state judge overturned the order, resulting in a record $45 billion dollar takeover of Texas’ largest electric company, TXU, and the scrapping of plans to build 8 of the 11 plants.

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The Go Green Expo in NYC is just one great way to celebrate our fast-approaching Earth Day. The expo will feature the latest in eco-friendly products and services, as well as interactive seminars, speeches, an eco-film festival, and even an eco-friendly fashion show. Green marketplace spending exceeded $200 billion dollars in 2006, and there’s no sign of it slowing down. Educating consumers about green alternatives is an important part of lessening our environmental impact.

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“Garbage Warrior“ is a new film about controversial architect Michael Reynolds, who has been building radically sustainable architecture and off-the-grid energy communities for 35 years. Our trash is his muse ““ everything from old tires to plastic bottles to beer cans ““ all transformed into energy independent eco-homes he calls “earthships.”

The walls absorb heat from sunlight in the winter, and insulate against the heat of summer. Windows are strategically placed and adjustable modulate sunlight; solar panels and wind turbines generate electricity. Rainwater is captured; wastewater is filtered and reused. Greenhouse areas are used to grow food. The aim is to make the people who live in these houses self-sufficient.

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