An amazing video - El camino del Rey

OK so this is a slight deviation from the EarthDream topic but we've just been forwarded this video and felt compelled to share it.

Steal my idea wouldya? About.com I'm callin' you out!

Whilst mooching around the environmental websites I spotted this article on the About.com Environmental Blog.

What does this have to do with us? Nothing other than it's nice when an apparently Pullitzer prize nominated journalist is ripping off your articles (and your follow up article). Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery Larry, but you could at least have the good grace to link back to the old Earth Dream me old mucker jimminy lad barnacle son from the briney!

Of course it could be a coincidence, Larry could have just thought of the exact same idea for an article a month or so after we did and used most of the same categories as us. I mean I doubt the About.com entry in our links page even registers in their referrer logs so I doubt they made it back here via that route. I'm sure Larry, the Pullitzer prize nominee simply had a great idea independently of us and wrote his article. The fact that we did it first just means that we are better than Larry.

So where is my Pullitzer then?

Serj Tankian and Tom Morello "get it".

Recently popping up on the Earth Dream radar is the Axis of Justice, a non-profit organisation set up by two of rock musics most outstanding talents, namely Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame and Serj Tankian of System of a Down.

The Axis of Justice mission statement give you an idea what they are about.

Axis of Justice is a non-profit organization
formed by Tom Morello and Serj Tankian. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice.

We aim to build a bridge between fans of
music around the world and local political organizations to effectively organize around issues of peace, human rights, and economic justice.

Serj has also created "Elect the Dead" which aims to reform the frankly messed up democratic system in the United States.

As members of 2 of the most politically charged rock bands of the last 15 years Morello and Tankian are putting their money where their respective mouths (and guitars) have been.

Off-grid, Beer (mmmmm beer) and the Olympic Flame

Q: What do the 3 things in the title of this update have to do with each other?

A: They all appear in this update.

Firstly and most importantly let's talk Beer. If any of your pub buddies are still sceptical about climate change and need convincing point them to this article Global warming will affect beer production.

Also on the subject of fall down juice be sure to check out Grist's review of organic beers for hippies.

Spent all your utility bill budget on Beer? Never fear. Live off grid.

And finally, the link that isn't beer related. Let's all congratulate China on being so downright lacking in human rights that they have managed to taint an Olympic tradition that has managed to stand proud for decades despite the fact that it was invented by Hitler. Free Tibet, or "how parading something invented by Nazi's is backfiring on commies".

ED out.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Aircraft + Greenest Cars

Boeing have successfully tested a manned hydrogen fuel cell powered plane in Spain this week.

The plane uses the fuel cells to power an electric motor and was flown to over 3000ft.

Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23936802/

Lets hope this time around that hydrogen powered flight is a little safer...

From the same website I also spotted this nice little chart of the greenest cars of 2007:

Make and Model	Specifications¹	Fuel Econ. City	Fuel Econ. Highway	Green Score
Honda Civic GX	1.8L 4, auto [CNG]2	28	39	57
Toyota Prius	1.5L 4, auto CVT	60	51	55
Honda Civic Hybrid	1.3L 4, auto CVT	49	51	53
Nissan Altima Hybrid	2.5L 4, auto CVT	42	36	48
Toyota Yaris	1.5L 4, manual	34	40	47
Toyota Corolla	1.8L 4, manual	32	41	46
Toyota Camry Hybrid	2.4L 4, auto CVT	40	38	46
Honda Fit	1.5L 4, manual	33	38	45
Kia Rio	1.6L 4, manual	32	35	45
Hyundai Accent	1.6L 4, manual	32	35	45
Hyundai Elantra	2.0L 4, auto	28	36	45
Honda Civic	1.8L 4, auto	30	40	44

And just for balance they also included the least green cars. Note the impressive feat from Mercedes who have made a 3.0l diesel engine less green than a 6.5l Lambo!

Make and Model	Specifications¹	Fuel Econ. City	Fuel Econ. Highway	Green Score
Volkswagen Touareg	5.0L 10, auto stk 4wd [D]	17	22	14
Mercedes-Benz GL320 CDI	3.0L 6, auto 4wd [D]	20	25	16
Lamborghini Murcielago	6.5L 12, manual 4wd [P]	9	14	17
Jeep Grand Cherokee	3.0L 6, auto 4wd [D]	20	24	17
Bentley Arnage	6.7L 8, auto stk [P]	10	15	18
Mercedes-Benz R320 CDI	3.0L 6, auto 4wd [D]	21	28	18
Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI	3.0L 6, auto 4wd [D]	21	27	18
Maybach 57S	6.0L 12, auto [P]	11	17	18
Bentley Azure	6.7L 8, auto stk [P]	11	16	18
Ford F-2503	5.4L 8, auto 4wd	13	17	19
Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab3	5.7L 8, auto 4wd	13	18	19
Lincoln Navigator3	5.4L 8, auto 4wd	13	18	20