Time lapse of snow flakes forming

Where does your Christmas tree come from?

Nearly 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. each year, and while they appear in our homes only briefly, growing them is a full-time, year-round task.

Large-scale Christmas tree farms like Oregon's Noble Mountain Tree Farm are massive operations that employ thousands of workers.

They're designed to be efficient, and they rely on both old-fashioned human labor and modern technology.

While trees are planted and tended by hand at Noble Mountain, the harvesting process involves helicopters flown by skilled pilots whose speed and precision recently took the Internet by storm in a viral video.

How to grow a modern Christmas treeNoble Tree is one of the world’s largest suppliers of Christmas trees, with 6 million trees planted on more than 5,000 acres. The farm grows a variety of trees, including Douglas firs, noble firs and Scotch pines.

Trees are planted by different methods at Noble Tree, depending on the terrain. On hills, workers plant individual seedlings by hand, while a simple planting machine is used on level ground.

Every tree is shaped by hand annually. Douglas firs are sheared by specially trained workers to achieve their classic shape while noble firs have their branches cultured so the trees will fill out.

"It takes extensive training for an individual to acquire the necessary experience to be able to look at a tree and proceed successfully with proper removal of branches," according to the Noble Tree website.

Workers also do frequent "top work" on the trees, cutting poorly formed tops and leaving the buds they think will form better ones.

It takes six to 10 years for a crop of trees to mature, and when they're ready for harvest, farm operators aim to get trees to consumers within hours of cutting them. This is where helicopters come into play.

At Noble Tree, helicopters lift freshly cut trees in loads of 20 and transport them to the farm's multiple staging areas. The trees are processed and loaded onto trucks or refrigerated vans, depending on the distance the trees must travel.

How green is that Christmas tree?There’s long been a debate over whether real trees or fake ones are the more eco-friendly holiday choice, but plastic trees aside, can large-scale tree farming be sustainable?

The 1 million acres of Christmas trees growing in the United States produce enough oxygen for 18 million people per day, according to the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association. And for every tree harvested, an estimated three new seedlings are planted.

Although tree-farming practices vary, it's in the grower's best interest to follow some sustainable practices. Trees need good soil to grow, so at Noble Tree water bars and cover crops are used to minimize soil erosion and runoff.

It's also common practice to rotate crops to allow soil to rest and to grind up stumps from old tree crops to add nutrients back to the soil.

Still, large-scale Christmas tree farming isn't entirely green. Fertilizers and pesticides are often used, and transporting trees by truck and helicopter is hardly eco-friendly.

If you want a more sustainably sourced tree, look for ones certified organic by the USDA or for a Certified Naturally Grown tree, which meets similar requirements. These trees are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, and they employ sustainable methods like composting and erosion control.

LocalHarvest.org can help you find an organic Christmas tree farm near you.

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Ice skating on a lake perfectly frozen like glass

Microbeads from face cleansers are making their way into lakes

Several months ago, scientists warned that tiny microbeads, a common ingredient in facial cleansers, were flowing into the Great Lakes, with no way to remove the potentially harmful plastic. Now, a new study provides evidence of the microplastics in the world's largest surface freshwater source -- and gives scientists a fighting chance to get microbeads out of consumer products.

"Microplastic Pollution in the Surface Waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes," published this week in scientific journal Marine Pollution Bulletin by the 5 Gyres Institute with researchers from SUNY Fredonia, documents the existence of microbeads in the Great Lakes.

"We found high concentrations of micro-plastics, more than most ocean samples collected worldwide," said Marcus Eriksen, who has a doctorate in science education and was the lead author on the paper. Eriksen is the co-founder executive director of 5 Gyres, a nonprofit that studies aquatic plastic pollution.

Scientist used a manta trawl (essentially, a net) to collect samples from 21 points in lakes Erie, Huron and Superior. All but one contained plastic. Much more plastic was found in Lake Erie, the most populated of the three lakes. Two of its eight samples, downstream from Erie, Pa., Cleveland, Ohio and Detroit, contained 85 percent of all the microplastic particles collected in the entire study.

At one point, they found 466,000 particles per square kilometer, with an average of 43,000 particles per square kilometer. Most of these particles, which are used in bath products to scrub skin and are meant to wash down the drain, are less than one millimeter in size.

The microplastics they found "were of similar size, shape, texture and composition to plastic microbeads found in many consumer products used as exfoliants, giving us circumstantial evidence that these products, designed to be washed down the drain, are not adequately being captured by sewage treatment,” Eriksen said.

Halyna Breslawec, who has a doctorate in medicinal chemistry and is chief scientist for the Personal Care Product Council trade association, said that while its member companies are committed to environmental responsibility, microplastics pose a relatively small threat.

“Compared with other environmental sources of plastics, microplastics (MPs) from cosmetics and personal care products comprise a relatively small percentage of total plastics by mass." Breslawec told The Huffington Post in an email. "Evidence continues to show that concentration levels in terms of ecological effects are low.”

Erikson agrees that their size is relatively small, but that is in part why they are cause for concern. In .1 gram of a facial cleanser, he found 6,000 microbeads. Three small tubes of the cream cleanser would contain about a million microbeads. Though many of the microplastics are captured by waste treatment plants, Eriksen said "there are potentially millions of these microbeads just drifting across the Great Lakes."

And they may pose a danger to aquatic life. The microbeads, which are similar in size to fish eggs, can be swallowed by fish and stay in their systems for a long time. Eriksen explained that dangerous chemicals that aren't water soluble can attach to plastics, and they hypothesize that it may be possible for microbeads to be a carrier for pollutants that can be absorbed into fish tissues once swallowed.

It also raises concerns about what happens further up in the food chain if fish absorb toxins. There's been little documentation on the effects of microplastics on ecosystems so far, but Eriksen said that was no reason to wait to act.

"This is the chance to employ the precautionary principle," Eriksen said. "If we suspect harm, why wait?"

Rather than solely present their findings, 5 Gyres has let their research steer advocacy. They're pursuing legislation in Great Lakes states that would prevent the use of microbeads in consumer products.

"Products that are made to be thrown away using a material designed to last forever really have no place in the 21st century," he said.

They aren't just waiting for slow-moving legislative bodies to act. In less than a year, several major companies have agreed to stop using microbeads in their products. Unilever (including Dove, Pond's and other brands) committed to phasing out microbeads globally by 2015. Johnson & Johnson (which includes Neutrogena and Aveeno) has begun to phase out microbeads and is not developing new products containing them. The Body Shop, L’Oreal, Colgate-Palmolive and others have all agreed to phase out microbeads in the coming years, according to the 5 Gyres Institute.

There are natural exfoliating alternatives, already used in some products, like sea salt or crushed apricot seeds.

5 Gyres is also a partner in the "Beat the Microbead" campaign, a project of the Plastic Soup Foundation and Stichting De Noordzee of the Netherlands, which produced an app that lets consumers scan the barcode of a product to see whether it contains plastics.

"Thats the way I think science needs to go," Eriksen said. "Science without solutions is only doing half its job. ... Scientists can't just say, 'here's the information' and give it to the world to make sense of it. Scientists, who know the information best, have to be the communicators."

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Video from a GoPro strapped to an eagle

Crazy footage of a sinkhole swallowing trees

Wildcam captures bear dance party

Time lapse of the North Pole melting

Change the way you see the world

Sweden wants our trash

Move over Abba, Sweden has found new fame. The small Nordic country is breaking records — in waste. Sweden's program of generating energy from garbage is wildly successful, but recently its success has also generated a surprising issue: There is simply not enough trash.

Only 4 percent of Swedish garbage ends up in a landfill, according to Swedish Waste Management. Due to its efficiency in converting waste to renewable energy, Sweden has recently begun importing around 800,000 tons of trash annually from other countries.

Norway is now paying Sweden to take its garbage. Swedish sights are also set on Bulgaria, Romania and Italy as future trash exporters, as Catarina Ostlund, a senior advisor for the country's environmental protection agency, told PRI. Those countries rely heavily on landfills – a highly inefficient and environmentally degrading system.

Sweden is leading the way in waste management, but it is one of few. We live in a world where nearly 70 percent of deep sea Arctic creatures are in contact with human trash like plastic bags and beer bottles. In the United States, where the EPA says 250 million tons of trash was generated in 2010 alone, only about 34 percent was recycled.

Sweden creates energy for around 250,000 homes and powers one-fifth of the district heating system, Swedish Waste Managements says. Its incineration plants offer a look into the future where countries could potentially make money off of their trash — and not just dump it in the ocean or bury it in mass landfills.

"I would say maybe in the future, this waste will be valued even more," Ostlund said. "So maybe you could sell your waste, because there will be a shortage of resources within the world."

Leave it to the Scandinavians to make even trash chic.

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Environment: What is your state good and bad at?

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Somewhat related: Here is the trailer for a new documentary entitled "Trashed."

Earth's amazing sights

Nature is beautiful

With music from Radiohead

Mt. Hood - Salmon River Rainforest from Cannon Productions on Vimeo.

Ghetto Hikes

Ghetto Hikes is a tumblr from a 28 year old who takes inner city children on nature hikes.

Time lapse film of Yosemite National Park

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Around the world time lapse

17 Countries. 343 Days. 6237 Photographs. One incredible journey. Kien Lam writes:
"After I quit my job last year, I packed a bag, grabbed my camera and bought a one way ticket to London. 17 countries later, I put together this time lapse video of the many amazing places I came across. "

Timescapes

Tom Lowe, 2010's astronomy photographer of the year, has been working on “Timescapes” for more than two years. This trailer gives you a glimpse of what Lowe has in store for us.

TimeScapes 4K from Tom Lowe on Vimeo.

The most powerful images of 2011

There are 41 images in total here. Below are some really powerful images that I pulled out of the mix.

Two lights from the former site of the World Trade Centers shine for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Phyllis Siegel, 76, left, and Connie Kopelov, 84, both of New York, embrace after becoming the first same-sex couple to get married at the Manhattan City Clerk's office.

A girl in isolation for radiation screening looks at her dog through a window in Nihonmatsu, Japan on March 14.

Christians protect Muslims during prayer in Cairo, Egypt.

Chile's Puyehue volcano erupts, causing air traffic cancellations across South America, New Zealand, Australia and forcing over 3,000 people to evacuate.

In this television frame grab from KIMT in Mason City, Iowa, slain Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson's dog Hawkeye lays next to his casket during funeral services in Rockford, Iowa. Tumilson was one of 30 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan on August 6 when their helicopter was shot down during a mission to help fellow troops who had come under fire.

A U.S. Army soldier takes five with an Afghan boy during a patrol in Pul-e Alam, a town in Logar province, eastern Afghanistan.

Robert Peraza, who lost his son Robert David Peraza, pauses at his son’s name at the North Pool of the 9/11 Memorial.

Patagonia's cyber Monday marketing campaign: genuine or a ploy?

From their website:

Today is Cyber Monday. It will likely be the biggest online shopping day ever. Cyber Monday was created by the National Retail Federation in 2005 to focus media and public attention on online shopping. But Cyber Monday, and the culture of consumption it reflects, puts the economy of natural systems that support all life firmly in the red. We’re now using the resources of one-and-a-half planets on our one and only planet.

Because Patagonia wants to be in business for a good long time – and leave a world inhabitable for our kids – we want to do the opposite of every other business today. We ask you to buy less and to reflect before you spend a dime on this jacket or anything else.

Environmental bankruptcy, as with corporate bankruptcy, can happen very slowly, then all of a sudden. This is what we face unless we slow down, then reverse the damage. We’re running short on fresh water, topsoil, fisheries, wetlands – all our planet’s natural systems and resources that support business, and life, including our own.

The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing. Consider the R2® Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 liters of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60% recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste.

And this is a 60% recycled polyester jacket, knit and sewn to a high standard; it is exceptionally durable, so you won’t have to replace it as often. And when it comes to the end of its useful life we’ll take it back to recycle into a product of equal value. But, as is true of all the things we can make and you can buy, this jacket comes with an environmental cost higher than its price.

There is much to be done and plenty for us all to do. Don’t buy what you don’t need. Think twice before you buy anything. Go to patagonia.com/CommonThreads, take the Common Threads Initiative pledge and join us in the fifth “R,” to reimagine a world where we take only what nature can replace.

Amazing nature photos

"Fairy tale woods"Fairy Tale Forest - Tasmania

 

French Alps

 

Patagonia, Chile 

Cave in Vietnam