Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon has introduced a new way of burning away those extra pounds while saving the planet.

Too good to be true?

Well apparently, it is the first fitness center in the US that will use human power combined with solar energy to produce renewable energy. To help them in their global cause, all you have to do is to sign up for $30 a month, jump into their eco-bicycles and pedal away.

Adam Boesel, owner and founder, envisions Green Microgym to be a gym "that produces as much energy as it uses." In an interview with Sierra Club Radio, Adam says the goal of the gym is to "[achieve] a net zero energy usage [carbon] footprint."

Recognizing the real threats of climate change, the Spanish council of ministers has just approved a reforestation project this Friday to plant 45 million trees in the next four years in the Spanish peninsula and in the Baleares Islands, which have been suffering from frequent forest fires due to desertification, costing the government major economic loss.

This announcement came a day after it was reported in Reuters that the Spanish people are one of the least informed among its European neighbors on the negative effects of global warming. Elena Espinosa, minister for the Environment also announced the creation of a Research Institute for Climate Change in Zaragoza Spain, the same location where the International Expo 2008 for Water was held this year, discussing the challenges of water and sustainable development.

In 1989, the world witnessed one of the worst environmental disasters in history: the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. More than 30 million gallons of crude oil were spilled, affecting the community and livelihood of the people of Prince William Sound. Last Updated ( Saturday, 09 August 2008 12:15 ) Read more...