China wants its car makers to develop smaller, fuel-efficient models NOT the gas guzzlers that the US Big Three produced despite all the warnings to the contrary.

“We used to believe medium-sized cars would have the biggest market in China, but actually small cars have the greatest potential in terms of energy efficiency and price,” said a senior engineer  of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China.

While Americans kept producing gas hogs, Japan quietly went about its business gaining a stronghold appealing to the fuel-conscious consumer.

Toyota expanded its presence in the US with cheap fuel efficient cars back during the 70s crude oil crisis…and never looked back. Now that prices have dropped back down, chances are America will keep driving their cows around while this time, China ALSO gains a foothold.

Chinese still want midsized sedans. In ‘06-’07 sales for small compact cars dipped while the sedan sales went up 20%.  But, that will change….or will it?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe free for our updates via RSS feed. Thanks for visiting and please do come back!

Taotao is just ten months old. He has a sad story. His mama left him when he was a little guy, much like Knut in German, except that Taotao is in China.

Taotao’s keepers smeared polar bear urine and crap all over themselves so that Taotao would be fooled and let them help him. It worked. Taotao eventually sucked the fingers of his keepers, as opposed to other areas. He let them nurse him and he grew.

Taotao eventually grew from just several hundred grams to 35kg. Taotao now has his own private swimming pool and is growing. His favorite books are when keepers read global warming horror stories to him.

Keepers theorize that Taotao’s mother abandoned him because she was too young when he was born.

Taotao survived, however. Little guys who grow against the odds give us hope, no?

Since old mosquitoes spread diseases, Aussie researchers have been pondering what to do. The conclusion…have the buggers die sooner, without killing them or poisoning them, of course. That won’t work as the PETA mosquito bunch will be all over us, um, them.

Scientists have been trying genetically engineer mosquitoes to become resistant to malaria and dengue fever and such as an alternative to mass spraying of insecticide.

Just recently, researchers have discovered a way to breed mosquitoes to carry an insect parasite that will cause them to die sooner. Mosquitoes born with the parasite lived only 21 days instead of the usual 50 days…not long enough to encounter malaria and endure two weeks of incubation before the bug can spread the disease.

The plan is to somehow let the parasite grow more rapidly, attach to mosquitoes that carry diseases and have the mosquitoes die younger before they can infect anyone.

I don’t know about you, but it seems pretty naive to me to think that somebody thinks they can control the rampant setting free of parasites to kill bugs that are intent on causing diseases.

Because of time zones, the New Year’s Eve may have passed or it’s not there yet. We’d like to wish you to have the best year ever, to stay healthy and be better stewards to Mother Earth. Meanwhile, what’s your New Year’s Resolution? Is there any green “inside”?

Happy New Year 2009!

Alex & Bill

Image by M Kuhn

Tinks is going on a diet, like it or not.

Seems they had to fatten the fellow up just so as they could have him joining Britain’s Pet Fit Club, put him on a diet and get him crowned champion if he loses weight on a 100-day diet and fitness regime. There is something seriously wrong with this picture. How about we fatten up the owner till s/he is five times or more his/her normal size, then make that person lose it all in 100 days?

Eight of Britain’s most overweight pets are competing in a 100-day diet and fitness test in hopes of becoming the pet fit club champion.

How about this for a new year’s resolution? Let’s not abuse our pets. Let’s not let them get so fat they have to compete in such ridiculous schemes.

Isn’t there a belief that animals/pets often times look like their owners?

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

The small Japanese town of Kuzumaki (coo-zoo-mah-key), not to be confused with uzumaki (whirlpool) has just 8,000 residents that are showing the rest of the world how things might be done … that is, kicking the fossil fuel habit.

How green are they?

1. Electricity is generated from cow dung.
2. Dozens of wind turbines decorate nearby Mt. Kamisodegawa (kah-mee-so-de ‘like in dead’-gah-wah)
3. 25% of schools get power from 420 solar panels
4. biomass facilities
5. wood chips converted to gas

Read more »

China is second guessing, third guessing Mother Nature. The Middle Kingdom launched its third geostationary meteorological satellite - the Fengyun-2-06 as part of its Long March Series.

The satellite weighs in at 1,390kg and was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology in cahoots with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The 2-06 is the third in the series and is to play a part in weather forecasting (weather guessing) for China and her neighbors, all in hopes of reducing the impacts of disasters.

China has sent 115 missions into space as part of China’s Long March Series of Rockets launched in 1970. China also hopes to be a better player and partner in international meterological organizations.

I don’t know what this satellite launch costs, but I wonder if money might not have been better spent on the ground, shoring up mountains and providing break walls and dams and such.

What do you think?

Source: Xinhuanet

Here today, gone tomorrow and back again today. That’s the story with the Gumprechts green pitviper and a Theloderma licin.

Scientists have found more than 1,000 new species in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region over the past 10 years. A spider as big as a dinner plate, a rat thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago and a cyanide-laced, shocking pink millipede were also found.

A Gumprechts green pitviper and a Theloderma licin

The species were found in the rainforests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern China. The official number is 1,068 and just some quickies: the huntsman spider has a leg span of 30cm; the dragon millipede produces cyanide (I wonder who found this out and how?).

Scientists also found species in rafters at restaurants.

Lots of biodiversity in the region said the head of the World Wildlife Fund. The species included:

1. 519 plants,
2. 279 fish,
3. 88 frogs,
4. 88 spiders,
5. 46 lizards,
6. 22 snakes,
7. 15 mammals,
8. 4 birds,
9. 4 turtles,
10. two salamanders and a toad

and a partridge in a pear tree.

Discoveries took place on average of two a week for 10 years. And, all was right with Charles Darwin lovers.

Source: Cri

Just 9 months old GreenPacks, is celebrating Christmas (X-Mas, or whatever you call it) for the first time. We’re pretty darn excited and would like to wish you to stay healthy, happy and as green as possible.

“Feliz Navidad, Prospero Ano y Felicidad”

You most likely know what that means even though you don’t speak Spanish, but we’ll make sure you’re getting a good one. We want to wish you a Merry Christmas, so how can we do it better than Jose Feliciano ?

Merry Christmas!

Alex (and Bill)

Merry Christmas…Merry Christmas…Merry Christmas

None of that Happy Holidays stuff from me, though I have no evil intentions of being insensitive to others’ feelings.

Christmas is about Christ. Call me a Bible thumper if you like. I’ll take it as a compliment.

I believe the Earth we live on is a gift from the Creator and it is for *that* reason we ought to treasure it and be good stewards.

Find a ball on the side of the road and a child will play with it, then likely toss it aside. However, if the child is given the ball by someone who loves him/her very much, s/he is likely to treasure it forever. The ball we live on is a gift. Let us care for it, love it. Let’s recycle, make good use of reusable energy sources. Let’s not abuse the Earth. Because it’s a gift.

Christmas is a time of giving. There is only one gift greater than the Earth we live on. Let’s remember the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas….Merry Christmas….Merry Christmas