Recent Huggs

I've been submitting "green" news stories to the user-initiated eco-news service Hugg.com; you can see all my huggable items here, and if you create an account, you can submit news and give others a hugg.

• Sales of hybrids in the US continued to climb in August, with a total of 26,189 units sold. That represents an increase of 21.4% from August 2005 and an increase of 2.2% from July 2006. In August, hybrids represented 1.8% of the total light-duty vehicle market. Toyota continued to lead the way, with strong sales of the Prius (11,117--3 units more than July’s total) and the Camry Hybrid (4,977--a slight 1% decline from July). The Ford Escape and Mariner hybrid had a relatively strong month, posting 1,789 units, an increase of 31% from August 2005. [Here's a larger version of the graph at the right, showing sales of all hybrids.] [Hugg original news source]
  
  
• Greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands fell by around 2 percent in 2005 from a year earlier and were at approximately the same level they were in 1990, announced the country's Central Bureau for Statistics. An agency spokesman said the fall from 2004 was due to carbon dioxide emissions saved by increased use of biomass fuel for electricity generation, by households using less energy for heating during a warm winter, and by increased import of electricity. Climate change watchdogs generally praised the announcement, but said the public should be skeptical about how the fall in emissions was measured and what it means. [Hugg original news source]
  
  
• About one new tree for every man, woman and child in Seattle. That's what it will take to reach Mayor Greg Nickels' goal for regreening the city over the next three decades -- the planting of 649,000 trees, plus keeping the tree cover we already have. Trees increasingly are being viewed as an asset to urban spaces. They clean pollution from the air and turn a key global warming gas into oxygen. They catch rainfall and slow the flow of contaminated stormwater from roadways into salmon streams. [Hugg original news source]
  
  
  
  In October the city is giving away 2,000 trees to residents who apply for a Plant-a-Tree-for-Free coupon at community centers citywide. See www.seattle.gov/environment/trees/tree_request.htm for more information.