Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is now literally people-powered. After their gas-fueled generators were confiscated on Friday, the protestors have found a solution in the stationary bike. According to estimates from the non-profit group Time’s Up, it’ll take only 11 of these bikes to provide enough power for the entire OWS camp. Plus, with the weather getting colder, getting a little exercise might just be what some of the protestors need to stay warm out there. Check out the video above for more info on how exactly these bikes work.

Turns out Occupy Portland has been using stationary bicycles to supplement their generators for weeks now. Check it out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Via: Raw Story]

If there’s one thing to say about Nature Propelled, it’s that I sure as hell wish that I was able to learn about the water cycle like these folks do. Traveling across the U.S. and Mexico in eco-friendly style (read: they drive a renovated old fire truck named “Baby,” decked out with all of their renewable energy needs and running off vegetable oil), Seth Warren and the rest of the gang follow the natural cycle of water by way of the playgrounds the natural energy creates.

From surfing in Baja to hang-gliding in Arizona to skiing in Colorado to kayaking in Montana, the crew in Nature Propelled knows how to have a damn good time while trying to save the world. Warren and his team use Baby not only as an environmentally friendly vehicular device, but also as an educational tool in classrooms wherever they go.

Informing the world about the dangers of climate change and how we can help to stop it through the natural energy created by the earth’s cycles by way of outdoor recreation, Nature Propelled is an optimistic new look at the state of our world. It is definitely a must-see for climate advocates and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

One of the coolest parts of working out on a ReCardio elliptical is that it displays the amount of watts-hours that are generated, and specifies what the resulting electricity may be used to power. To learn more about human powered electricity at the UO rec, look here.

[photo: Flickr]

On Saturday people around the world switched off their lights for an hour to highlight the severe threat of climate change. Gauging by the amount of countries and monuments that took part, as well as the publicity generated by all the efforts, Earth Hour 2009 seems like it was a huge success. Now all we need to do is take all of that momentum and turn it into real change to avert environmental disaster.

What did you do for Earth Hour?

What: Earth Hour is an annual international event organized by the World Wildlife Fund and asks businesses and households to turn off their electricity in order to raise awareness on the need for action on climate change.

When: The last Saturday of March each year, this year it’s March 28th.

Why: Help WWF reach its goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights. As WWF puts it, “For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote –œ Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming.”

How: At 8:30pm local time, switch off your lights for exactly one hour.

Think switching off your lights can’t really make a difference? Think again. Last year Toronto saw a 8.7.% drop in energy consumption during Earth Hour. And big American cities like New York and even Las Vegas are taking part, turning off the lights in iconic buildings like the Empire State Building.

Learn more at the Earth Hour website and then make a quick move for your light switch tomorrow night at 8:30.

If you’re still a believer in “clean coal” you won’t be after this video. Thanks to Appalachian Voices for putting this together in order to get the word out about the horrendous environmental effects that the burst at Tennessee Valley Authority back in December has had.

Last week’s coal sludge disaster in Tennessee is still fresh on our minds. When 2.6 million cubic yards of sludge broke through a dike at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant, concerns were raised about toxic chemicals that may be leaking into the ground and flowing downriver. Not to mention the destruction for the many homes in the area.

The millions of yards of sludge from the coal-fired plant have led Tennesseans to speak out loudly against the energy source, holding anti-industry signs including one that said “clean coal is a myth.” When ashy sludge from the upriver coal-fired plant takes over your yard — and ruins your Christmas — it’s no surprise the Tennesseans are in an uproar. But the coal industry still wants us to believe that clean coal is for real. Remember those clean coal carolers? They may have died a dirty death, but the coal industry still needs a voice for it’s message. And what better way to get a message out than in the blogosphere? The Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (a coal propaganda group) is looking for people to join its Blogger Brigade. And they’re even on Twitter.

But no matter how many bloggers they get, it’s still going to be hard to claim that coal is clean. Especially after watching this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Let’s think about the environmental ramifications of inflatable boobs lost at sea.

1. This is not based on any scientific evidence, but inflatable boobs have got to be just as, if not more, dangerous to marine life than plastic bags. Think of the poor turtles!
2. The mere production of inflatable boobs — a useless gag gift that serves no real purpose — is probably not environmentally friendly; I’m pretty sure they’re not made with recycled PET.
3. Think of all the energy it takes to get a cargo ship from Beijing to Sydney. That use of energy may be justifiable when it comes to clothes, electronics and other items that we use everyday, but for inflatable boobs??? Come on!

Moral of the story? Keep reading Wend. The magazine that believes enough in what it publishes that it doesn’t have to send along free junk to make you feel like you got your money’s worth. Is that something you believe in too? Subscribe today!

Thanks to our friends at bikeportland.org for digging up this political attack ad from Pennsylvania that appeals to everything that is wrong with everything in America right now.

In the ad, Kathy Dahlkemper is accused of encouraging the citizenry to make personal sacrifices to save energy. Among the [cough] revolutionary and [cough, cough] “wacky” ideas she suggests perpetrating on the good people of Pennsylvania: walk more, ride bikes more.

And she calls herself a patriot.

Warning: Wend Magazine is not responsible for any shattered computer screens or torn-out hair resulting from the rage this video is likely to instill. Watch at your own risk.

[Via: BikePortland.org]

You might not have expected it from the state known for its big whig oil execs, but Texas just approved a $4.93 billion wind power transmission power, giving a major boost to the development of wind energy in the southern state.

Texas is actually already the largest producer of wind power, but transmitting it has been problematic; turbines have been known to shut off at times because the energy produced can’t be transmitted. But the new multi-billion dollar project will help in that area, installing a web of transmission lines which will carry energy from remote areas in the western part of the state to heavily populated metropolises like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

The investment is expected to bring a significant reduction in energy costs. “We think it’s going to lower costs, lower pollution and create jobs. We think that for every $3 invested, we’ll probably see about an $8 reduction in electric costs,” said Tom Smith, the state director. I guess it’s high time to be proud to be a Texan.

More in the New York Times article here.

[Photo via jcwadeaz, flickr]

Even the friendliest of the eco-friendly produce waste — as progressive as we might be, at the end of the day we still end up with a handful of un-compostable, un-recyclable waste. What is an environmental activist to do? Turn that waste into power.

The City of Ottawa, Ontario recently approved the building of a waste-to-energy facility that will convert 400 metric tons of waste into 21 megawatts of net electricity. This will be North America’s first such facility, and it is expected to power up to 19,000 homes. Now that’s a good use for trash.

Although this will be North America’s first such plant, encouraging examples of similar facilities can be found in Europe and in Asia. Meanwhile this month our friends down under — Australia that is — at the Macarthur Resource Recovery Park began accepting its first batch of garbage from 300,000 people. So how does it work? First all recyclable items are sorted out and then the trash is thrown into giant tanks where billions of microbes work to turn the waste into methane used for power.

Maybe producing trash isn’t so bad after all… as long as you live next to one of the processing facilities that is.

[Via Huffington Post Green]

[Photo D'Arcy Norman, flickr]