Maude Barlow, the author of a new book “Blue Covenant”, and the leader of an international water justice movement has drawn attention to the half-hearted efforts to protect water. Waste and abuse of water could lead to serious consequences that could be at par with those of greenhouse emissions.  It is depleting underground water tables, aggravating desertification, and even interrupting the circulation of water around the world.

Barlow has argued that people are mining underground water way faster than it can be replenished. Where farmers are using technology to pull water from deep underground, they fail to realize that water took thousands of years to fill aquifers.

Barlow is at loggerheads with the point of view shared by financial players, politicians and non-profit workers which suggests that virtual water trade and trading credits generated by not polluting water could be the best bet. According to her, tougher laws placing harsh penalties on polluters and increasing the amount of the world’s urban greenery such as green roofs or forest and meadow zones may be a better approach. In a world increasingly given to urbanizing mores, we are fast losing many of the meadows and green spaces that absorb water, while in coastal megacities, much of the rain water flowing straight into the ocean is evaporating and reaching the atmosphere.
 

Today well over a third of European sharks are threatened with extinction. Marine conservation organisation, Oceana has been fiercely campaigning against shark liver oil, also known as squalene. Squalene is an organic compound found in certain animal and plant sources, and  serves as an emollient in cosmetic products, such as creams and lotions. Sharks' livers are the biggest source of squalene oil and deep-sea sharks have especially large reserves of squalene.

Recently food and cosmetics giant Unilever has announced that it will switch to plant-based squalene in its cosmetics and household products the company manufactures. Boots, Clarins, L’Oreal and Estee Lauder have also embraced the change.

Sharks play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. Sharks, and those in particular deep-sea species, are slow-growing, cannot recover their populations fast enough. Sharks are also used as a by-catch in fisheries.
 

Companies are going all out with their green ideas and  oodles of useful information on recycling, reuseability, etc.

Verizon Wireless is offering customers tips on how they can celebrate the Earth Day. Newsweek readers can receive a reusable tote bag by turning the cover of the April 14 issue into an envelope they can use to send old plastic bags to Target.

Office Depot is all set to launch a new brand on Earth Day called "Office Depot Green" that will specialize in green products.

The company will also start programs for small businesses that will offer strategies and tips for energy efficiency. Designer Kelly LaPlante will set up a site later this year that will grade the greenness of building materials.

Some of the company's prudent steps to reduce its carbon footprint include swapping high-output fluorescents with regular bulbs and testing out low-emission vehicles for deliveries and building a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified building in Austin, Texas.

 

 Agro-chemical poisoning in Chile

Thirteen farm workers from the Region VII town of Pelarco were taken severly ill after  they were sprayed with plaguicides.

The incident took place in a small farming sector called Bajo Lagunilla. The workers, employees of the company Sociedad Agricola Beyce had informed their bosses that they were going to be working in the fields. Company officials chose to ignore health and safety concerms and got the entire area- and the workers—sprayed with the toxic insecticide Zero 5 EC. Workers are regularly exposed to plaguicides and environmental contamination.

The thirteen employees  complained of symptoms with severe headaches, nausea, stomach aches, and shivers, and all of them were hospitalized. The workers were given  chemical baths and placed under observation for several days before being allowed to return home.

The 710 workers cited by Chile’s Health Ministry often risked serious health threats. More than 39 percent of those accidents involved chemicals the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies as “extremely” and “very” dangerous.The real number of poisonings in recent years has been estimated to be anywhere between 2,500 to 3,000.  The fact is, for every case that’s reported, four go unreported.

It came about that these businesses in Chile violated a range of industry safety norms nor did not report accidents to local authorities. They failed to equip workers with adequate protective gear, among other things. They did not take care to construct chemical showers and emergency cellars in the event of an accident, and disregarded the mandate on the barring of fumigation where workers were present.  The fines imposed on them are not very intimidating either. 

Some measures for saving water include collecting rain water or even water used to wash vegetables to water houseplants. Take a shower rather than a bath. Collect rain water for use in the garden. Don’t run the tap whilst cleaning your teeth. Only boil as much water as you need when making drinks etc. Don’t leave taps (faucets) dripping - repair any worn washers. Only wash full loads in washing machines and dishwashers.

The International Motor Show in Geneva this month stood out for showcasing two small electric cars from the stables of Norway electric carmaker, Think Global. General Electric has invested a sum of $4 million investment from GE for the development of the carmaker’s longer-range models.

Think has introduced Think Ox, a futuristic five-seat crossover concept, which will sport a translucent roof with a solar panel. The other model is Think City, a tiny two-door that offers a 120-mile range with a top speed of 65 mph. Think City will be priced around $30,000.

Think’s “connect car” technology makes the Think City and Ox Internet-connected, and helps to calculate the cheapest and most environmentally beneficial times to recharge. GE Energy Financial Services (GE) also has invested $20 million in Massachusetts lithium-ion battery maker A123Systems, which will supply batteries to Think. GE’s scientists will work to improve battery technology for electric cars.

The New York International Auto Show is expected to launch several alternative fuel cars.

Always keep your environment neat and clean and grow more and more plants for a healthier tomorrow.

Rising ocean temperatures linked to global warming could decrease the number of hurricanes hitting the United States, say researchers. But their findings have been questioned by some at a recent meteorology conference.

The new study challenges research suggesting that global warming could be contributing to an increase in the frequency and the intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. Hurricanes feed on warm water, leading to conventional wisdom supported by recent research that global warming could be revving up more powerful storms.

Chunzai Wang of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Sang-Ki Lee of the University of Miami, US, examined 150 years of hurricane records and found a small decline in hurricanes making landfall in the United States as oceans warmed.

Wang says the number of those hurricanes actually hitting the United States is a much better indicator than the total number of hurricanes. This is because prior to the mid-1960s, when the advent of satellites and other technology made it easier to spot cyclones, some tropical storms and hurricanes lived and died far out at sea, undetected.

Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, and in one year has acquired the might of a global movement. Today millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in various cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour. We invite everyone in the U.K. around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time). whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

Make a definitive statement today and help to spread the message. Play your part in helping to fight climate change.

Throw in ideas for what you would do during Earth Hour!
 

The often underestimated cause of environment pollution is litter on city streets and alongside highways. One thoughtless act by a single person who tosses off an empty soda can add to an already large mass of litter. Contributing to that litter are trillion cigarette butts littered worldwide every year especailly in the most picturesque of places, beaches, nature trails, gardens, and other public places. The toxic residue in cigarette filters can take decades to degrade. Littered butts have caused numerous fires every year. 

Litter pollutes waterways and leaches toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater when it breaks down. There are simple ways of doing your part. Never let trash escape from your vehicle. Be alert and remember to take your garbage with you upon leaving a park or other public space. Seal household garbage bins tightly so animals can’t get at the contents.
 

A common habit mostly seen in children and youth in today’s society is a tendency to waste food. However much we despise it, children these days are spoilt for choices and allowed to be picky with their food. They promptly discard fresh vegetables and snack on greasy stuff to glory. Much of the edible food that constitutes healthy eating find their way in trash bins and ultimately into the land fills.  

The 'value meals' restaurants advertise, also leads to food getting thrown away as nobody eats it all - causing harm to the world  as well as to the body. In the throw-away-society we have created, impulsive buying, lousy food planning, a busy lifestyle and callousness adds to the woes of an already stressed out planet.

Healthy eating affords a range of choices in grains, veggies and fruits, including the organic versions and increases energy and strengthens the immune system in a way no junk or processed food can. 

Israel has been developing water technologies for decades now, and is now exporting its products abroad where it is finding eager buyers. Israeli companies are harnessing everything from bacteria to ultraviolet light technology, to treat, purify and reuse water. They have developed a unique recycling system using millions of small, plastic rings to breed bacteria and break down organic waste.

Netafim, a company that familiarized the  world with a water-sparing process known as drip irrigation was founded by Simcha Blass, an engineer and a kibbutz farming collective in the Negev desert. Today, Netafim nets more than $450 million in annual sales, mostly exports. It also aims to double its exports in the sector to $2 billion by 2010. One of its newest products, a wireless crop monitoring system, uses the concept of underground sensors and radios to ensure the right amount of water reaches each section of a field.

Of late, the world has woken to a number of cases of labor abuses and human rights violation in manufacturing facilities of reputed  companies in developing nations. The National Labor Committee has recently identified several cases of labor abuses at a factory in China's Guangzhou province that produces Christmas ornaments for Target and Wal-Mart has uncovered shocking details of numerous violations including the employment of children as young as 12 working 10, 12 and 15-hour days, seven days a week, for less than China's minimum wage. The average employee spent 84 hours per week at the factory and worked for 77 of those hours.

The report highlights the hard realities of  the sweatshops. The factory cheated workers out of pay  and employees who quit or were fired were cheated out of these wages when they left. Many workers had to go for months without a day off.  Employees working with toxic paints were not provided with even the most minimal protective equipment. If they developed skin rashes or other illnesses from their exposure to these toxic chemicals, they were not compensated or offered medical care. Instead they were forced to quit. Some children worked overnight. The factory did not pay China's legally mandated overtime premium also.

Wal-Mart's supposedly extensive inspection system appears to be clearly flawed.

Mattel is another glaring example of  a company  being  extremely callous to the environment as well as to the health of the people who manufacture its toys and expose themselves regularly to poisonous chemicals.

Al Gore’s brainwave on the $300m advertising campaign in the US is sure to ignite strong emotions and spark a debate about climate change among the presidential candidates. 

TV adverts might seem very banal for something as urgent and serious as this, but these ads can certainly be expected to move people and raise their interest level on this issue.

Apart from the powerful message, the ads are remarkable for getting political figures with diametrically opposite ideologies and viewpoints to come together expressing their collective wish for some political action on the climate change issue. This time around, probably, there’s a greater chance of causing a huge stir.

Anyone who feels inspired to act by these ads is invited to join Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection which aims to mobilise 10m volunteers to call for political action on climate change.

Researcher Platts and consulting firm Capgemini have published the results of a survey on the biggest concerns of 100 executives from the utilities industry.

Environment and greenhouse gas regulations top the worry list of executives. Global warming, climate change, and carbon emissions were the top environmental issues for 77 percent of the participants. Ninety-five percent of respondents said the industry's awareness of and response to environment has improved since 2006.   

Energy utility executives are already preparing, even though there are no federal regulations to restrict greenhouse gas emissions.

There is a much higher awareness of global warming and carbon emissions in the general public, which utilities feel necessary to respond to, said John Christiens, vice president of Capgemini's energy and utilities practice.

They are looking seriously at energy efficiency technologies including cleaner-burning techniques and storing carbon emissions underground, while exploring the expanded use of nuclear power and renewable sources of electricity, such as solar and wind. They are preparing to adopt advanced metering technology and smart grid infrastructure as this will enable them to curtail electricity use during peak times of the day.

On the issue of deregulation, the respondents did not arrive at a consensus, with utilities predicting that there could be more or less.

Dealing with an aging workforce was also one of the top five concerns of utilities.

"There's a lot of people talking about a carbon tax, or talking about a carbon cap and trade system, so many executives think the carbon trading will be a reality very soon," said Christiens. He also added that there will have to be investments made in carbon technologies as well.

The aging workforce was also one of the top five concerns of utilities.

Some solar panel installers have devised a way to give more people access to solar energy in their larger aim to make solar energy as accessible and cheap as the energy we get from polluting sources.

These companies are offering a scheme for customers to lease, rather than buy, the photovoltaic solar panels for their roofs.

SolarCity, based in Foster City, California, has started this scheme so that people who want to use clean power will not be intimidated by the formidable cost of buying solar panels, which on an average is about $20,000.

Under SolarCity’s lease program, customers with a small home will be set back by only as little as $70 a month for a 2.4 kilowatt system. The company is also offering an incentive to customers who sign up before July 31st- they will not be required to pay any money down on their system. The upfront costs finally should be between about $1,000 and $3,000.

SolarCity means to serve as a one-stop shop for both installation and financing.

With warning bells ringing about the kind of energy required to create packaging and its contribution to the landfill, packaging has become a hot topic and has  a bearing on company supply chains and product life cycles.

Companies are constantly worrying about the impact of  smaller packages products but  branding experts believe size is immaterial as long as the concept is great, then they would not lose their power over consumers. Besides, extra packaging makes the product heavy and dull, adds to shipping costs, both in terms of fuel costs and carbon emissions and leads to extra end-of-life waste and speculation about waste material used.

In the U.K., Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations has made it mandatory for companies to take full end-of-life responsibility for their products and packaging by fulfilling the clause that those that use 50 tons or more of packaging each year in their products must contribute towards a U.K.-wide recycling scheme.
 

A recent Internet-based survey conducted by the Nielsen Company in 48 nations assessed attitudes to climate change, water shortages, air and water pollution and use of pesticides.

Results showed that New Zealanders were the most concerned by trash from food packaging (and the most willing to go to great lengths to curb it) followed by People in Finland, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Norway. The numbers showed an improvement from a previous poll.

Half of those surveyed said they did not mind switching to “convenience packaging”, as well as re-sealable containers or plastic packages used during cooking. Only 30 percent said they were willing to abandon packaging meant to keep food clean and labels with instructions for cooking and use.

Overall, Nielsen said consumers showed an inclination to demand paper, board or glass of recyclable material, rather than plastic or polystyrene.

Incidentally, packaging specialists Multivac as well as retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour or Tesco are either simplifying or cutting back packaging.