Eco-Beat, 10/9

Will “No Impact Man” convince Stephen Colbert to change his carbon spewing ways for just one week? Could wearing fur actually help the environment? Is it creepy to recycle the heat from crematoriums? Today’s Eco-Beat has the scoop on all the latest green news and tips.

No Impact Man Challenges Colbert Could America’s funniest fake conservative talk show host join forces with crazy zero-waste guru Colin Beaven to go “no impact” for one week? In his own words: “No way in hell. In fact, while I’m sitting here, I may just burn a stack of tires.”

Wear Fur, Save the Wetlands? It’s definitely not a PETA slogan. Righteous Fur, founded by Planet Green contributor Cree McCree, is promoting guilt-free fur products made from the pelts of the invasive and damaging nutria (big dirty rodents). The pelts from trapped nutria would otherwise go to waste.

Australia Holds Up Cap’n Watson’s Visa The infamous Sea Shepherd captain and his controversial whale hunter hunting mission are facing unforeseen setbacks, and it’s not even whale season yet. Bowing to the pressure from Japan, Australian officials have reportedly placed a hold on Watson’s work Visa.

Leilani Munter’s Green Eating Advice How does race car driver Leilani Munter compensate for her race car’s emissions? Simple, she’s a vegetarian. Says Leilani: “Cut back on your meat intake. Grazing animals produce methane which is 21 times more heat trapping than CO2.”

Crematorium’s Exhaust Powers A/C Unit A crematorium in Taipei has built an elaborate system to use the heat from its ovens to generate electricity, which then powers the air-conditioning in the waiting room. Apart from the creepiness factor, it’s undeniably green … in a Soylent Green kinda way.

Green in a Flash:

• National park visitors are less likely to donate to conservation NGOs.
• Take a booze cruise on the Hopworksfiets green party bike.
• Showcasing our concern for the pristine environments of other planets/moons, NASA crashed a rocket into the moon in the search for extraterrestrial water.

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