the drop » Energy & Natural Resources

The Most Polluted Places on Planet Earth

The international non-profit environmental action group, the Blacksmith Institute, last week released its rankings of the world’s most polluted places. Out of over 300 sites nominated by NGOs and local communities, 35 were identified by an advisory board of international environment and health experts as meriting special emphasis. Of these, ten locations were singled out for tragic infamy, ranked together as the Top 10 worst polluted places on the planet:

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Wheels on Meals

18,000 miles at the cost of 4 cents per mile

‘Grease Not Gas’ is a group dedicated to social change through alternative fuels. Originally founded to create a diesel-to-oil information DVD, their project has grown, through collaborations with Snowboarder Magazine and MTV, into a documentary detailing the ins and outs of renewable energy. The movie shows the nationwide tour of the band Piebald and their snowboarding friends, who’re traveling across the US powered by SVO (straight veggie oil) and WVO (waste veggie oil).
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WORLD WAR NO: Apocalypse Impending?

'The Middle East Theatre of War' (GlobalResearch.ca)

When a former Middle East bureau chief of The New York Times is writing that “War with Iran — a war that would unleash an apocalyptic scenario in the Middle East — is probable by the end of the Bush administration,” we should awaken to the possibility. When he continues, “It could begin in as little as three weeks,” concerned citizens everywhere should resolve to work together to prevent it.

Writing on Alternet on Tuesday, Chris Hedges warned of an American naval armada barreling towards the Strait of Hormuz: the 50 kilometer-wide, 21 kilometer-narrow waterway adjoining the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea…

“The aircraft carrier Eisenhower, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage, guided-missile destroyer USS Mason and the fast-attack submarine USS Newport News, is, as I write, making its way to the Straits of Hormuz off Iran. The ships will be in place to strike Iran by the end of the month. It may be a bluff. It may be a feint. It may be a simple show of American power. But I doubt it.“

Three weeks ago, a Time magazine cover-story broke the news of a “‘Prepare to Deploy’ order sent through [U.S.] naval communications channels to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters” alongside “a second request, from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO)” asking “for fresh eyes on long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf.” A follow-up post in The Nation reported the public affairs office of the Navy Department at the Pentagon confirming that “the Eisenhower Strike Group, bristling with Tomahawk cruise missiles… is scheduled to arrive off the coast of Iran on or around October 21“ — next Saturday — just over two weeks before mid-term elections in the US.
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Farming for Biofuels

Fields of Biofuel

This week on BBC’s Green Room, president of the UK’s National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Peter Kendall, argues that UK agriculture can meet the country’s demand for both food and fuel crops: “Farmers in the UK see the opportunity to provide the feedstock to biofuel producers as a way to deliver secure, low-carbon fuel to the nation’s motorists.”, he says.
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Chinese Car Boom

On a recent ‘Car Free Day’ in Beijing, the capital was clogged with vehicles and the sky a drab shade of grey. The sheer number of cars on the roads had made a mockery of the city initiative to make dwellers ride their bicycles or use the public transport. As the expanding Chinese middle class aspires to car ownership, studies project China will have more cars on the road than the United States within 15 years. For everyone from environmental activists to government officials, China’s growing addiction to the automobile is a worrying trend.
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Sour Apples

Greenpeace is calling all Apple fans to join the campaign for demanding the company to create greener products. Apple fans love the sleek design and the meticulous attention to detail. But why do the products still contain hazardous substances that other companies have already abandoned? Greenpeace argues that a cutting edge company shouldn’t be cutting lives short by exposing children in China and India to dangerous chemicals, but should rather be setting a green standard in the market.
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Amazon Deforestation: Brazil is taking action

Aerial shots showing deforestation along the Rio Branco River. ( WWF-Canon / Mark Edwards)

One of the questions answered at the Table of Free Voices on September 9 was “What can I do, and tell others to do, to stop global warming?”, donated by Nancy Clemons. In a BBC article published this week I found out what the Brazilian State of Acre is doing about Global Warming induced by deforestation. The government of Acre has embarked on reforestation as public policy. It intends to make cattle ranchers reforest land which they have cleared for grazing. Up until a decade ago, private landowners were allowed to deforest 50% of their land. Luis Menezes of WWF group in the Acre capital Rio Branco says the impact of deforestation is being felt locally:
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“Business Rebel” Richard Branson pledges $3 billion to combat global warming

Branson at the opening event of one of his many brands: Virgin Bride. Next costume will be green...

Story found at lime: Richard Branson, the British mogul behind the Virgin multi-brand, plans to invest the profits from all transportation sectors — including train companies and five airlines - in research and business efforts to develop and promote renewable, sustainable energy sources. From signing the Sex Pistols in his early Virgin years to offering space flights – Branson is known for audacious projects and thinking BIG. The original AP story reveals that Branson made the decision after talking with former US Vice-President Al Gore - whose movie “An Inconvenient Truth” about Climate Change changed some minds in the States.

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Brian J. Weller’s MIND-MAPS

The array of extraordinary people, ideas and exchanges all around me is overwhelming. An example: over lunch, I was lucky enough to meet Brian J. Weller and take a look at his extraordinary mind-maps, ingenious resources for fostering a well thought-out response to these challenging questions.
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Design for Life

Massive Change exhibit, © Bruce Mau Design Inc 2006

What is sustainable design? Its reach is enormous. Everything from a Kinder Egg to a skyscraper is designed but sustainable design seeks to develop goods that will leave a minimal environmental footprint and not cause tricky social or economic consequences and that’s a tall order.
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Arundhati Roy asks herself: What form of resistance is effective and acceptable?

Be sure to take a close look at Arundhati Roy’s provocative question about the future of non-violent resistance and armed struggle. “What is effective?,” she wonders. “What is the right thing to do?”
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Historic Deal on Global Warming in California

Hasta la vista, gass emissions!

California would become the first state to impose a limit on all greenhouse gas emissions, including those from industrial plants, under a landmark deal reached Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats. The agreement marks a clear break with the Bush administration and puts California on a path to reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by an estimated 25 percent by 2020.
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Profitable Reforesting

The Finca Leola farm in Costa Rica.

Planting trees not just sustainably (which would be to plant them as fast as you harvest them), but over-sustainably (plant faster than you harvest) can reverse deforestation and be profitable at the same time. There are several profitable reforestation projects around the world now. EcoWorld features a blog forum where individuals can learn more about the money side of reforestation and get useful advice on how to start their own farm.
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Defining Ecotourism: Is the Flight Included?

The Bishop of London calls flying on holiday a symptom of sin.

On the Idealist blog, there’s a recent link to a story on World Changing about an ecotourism project in Patagonia, Chile, called Dos Margaritas. While the profile highlights a successful project, the comments tell a larger story about the ecotourism concept. World Changing readers replied to the post concerned about the vague definition of “ecotourism” and the lack of standardization and certification for ecotravel companies.
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Investing: Can Money Grow on Trees?

An increasing trend in socially responsible investing (Photo: Photocase)

A Worldwatch Institute feature reports on a new study about environmental and social reporting practices in the business world. The research by the Social Investment Research Analysis Network (SIRAN) shows a trend towards objective, standardized reporting within the S&P 100. Currently, 79 out of the 100 blue-chip companies have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) website, an increase in 34 percent from the previous year.
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The Segway Challange

Segway inventor Dean Kamen

Segway Personal Transporters (PT) are two-wheel, stand-up scooters with rechargeable batteries and an ingenious control system that responds to the direction the rider leans. Since the high-tech vehicle was launched 5 years ago, it has been mainly used by police agencies. But the Segway is gradually getting more popular amongst private users.
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Online Dating for Endangered Orangutans

Small gestures of traumatised orangutangs indicate interest. (AP)

The Orangutan’s natural habitat on the indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo has become fragmented or has disappeared altogether. In the protected Sebangau National Park, located in the southern part of Borneo, orangutans are brought in on a daily basis. The apes in the rescue center, who are considered traumatised, have been short of entertainment. A zoo in the Netherlands has come up with a plan to set up a webcam connection to the rescue center that will allow communication between orangutans in Holland and Borneo.
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Bill Clinton and World Mayors Form Alliance on Global Warming

Bill Clinton launches the Clinton Climate Initiative in LA.

Former US president Clinton and about 300 mayors of the world’s largest cities announced an initiative earlier this month to cut their greenhouse emissions as part of the reductions required by the Kyoto Protocol. After world leaders failed to agree on a global solution to tackle climate change, mayors joined an alliance spearheaded by Mr. Clinton to adopt stringent targets to reduce emissions in their cities. 279 US Mayors, representing 50 million Americans, are already implementing measures even as President Bush holds out against Kyoto.
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Managing the World’s Water Resources

(Photo: Stockholm International Water Institute)

The successful WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Initiative dramatized the global water crisis by adapting a familiar nursery rhyme.

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water:
After a drink of the water,
Jack died of cholera
and Jill from amoebic dysentery.

The problems of managing the world’s water resources and providing clean water will be revisited from August 20-26 during the World Water Week 2006 conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Technology that Benefits Humanity

Kinkajou LED Projector (Design That Matters, Inc.)

When browsing the latest high-tech products on the market, it’s clear that necessity is no longer the mother of invention. Developing innovative products which are desperately needed to solve social problems is a difficult task, from financing research to pricing. In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, John Voelcker profiles 10 social entrepreneurs who received awards for “technology benefiting humanity” from the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California (idealist.org).
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Cow Power Generators in Vermont

The Renewable Energy Law Blog announced that the Central Vermont Public Service recently awarded over 666,000 USD in grants to four dairy farms. The money will be used to aid in building systems which produce electricity from cow manure. The CVPS Cow Power™ program gives Vermont electric customers a choice to purchase a percentage or all of their energy use from the cow generators for an extra charge of 4 cents per kilowatt hours.

At the Bruce Spruce Farm in Bridgeport, it is estimated that 1,500 cattle is sufficient to power 300 to 400 average homes. The Minnesota Science Buzz page explains the process and benefits of producing electricity from methane generators. Learn how to build your own methane generator at Re-energy.ca.

112 Free Voices: Oscar Olivera, the man from Cochabamba

“I would like to ask if we are prepared to continue to let ourselves be ruled by money, transnational companies, the World Bank, the IMF and governors who collaborate in the plundering of our natural resources. I’d like to ask if we are prepared to fight to dispel our own fear and to subordinate our own interests to those of achieving true emancipation for the world.”

Oscar Olivera is a former shoe factory worker and unionist who helped co-ordinate a movement against water privatization in his home city of Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1999. Following World Bank advice, the Bolivian government handed over control of the city’s water infrastructure to multi-national corporation, Bechtel, which then raised rates by as much as 300%.
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Greenland’s Glaciers Melting Faster than Ever

Greenland's ice sheets may be disappearing up to five times faster than was previously thought. (NASA/SVS)

Two new studies published yesterday in the journal Science determined that the Greenland ice sheet, earth’s second largest freshwater reservoir, is melting at a rate three times faster than over the previous five years. If the vast frozen wastes thawed completely, they would release enough water to raise sea-levels by 6.5 metres worldwide. An article published in Earthtimes says that the increasing flow of freshwater from the melting glaciers has already started changing the composition of oceanic currents in north-west Europe.

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Derrick Jensen has 5 Questions for you…

dropping knowledge released a new Copyleft film today featuring five timeless questions from Derrick Jensen, one of the leading advocates of environmental sustainability in the USA. Jensen’s recent two-volume work, Endgame, takes dead aim at industrial civilization and its devastating impacts on the environment.
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Energy Innovations Across the Globe

Power Planet Map: Alternative Energies Worldwide

The New Power Planet map accompanied a special report in Popular Science Magazine, dedicated to solutions for fixing the U.S. “fossil-fuel addiction.” The map highlights global strategies using local geological attributes and innovative ideas to save energy.
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Arundhati Roy asks herself: What form of resistance is effective and acceptable?

Iranian Bloggers Joined by President Ahmadinejad

Creating A New Universe

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Energy & Natural Resources

The Most Polluted Places on Planet Earth

Wheels on Meals

WORLD WAR NO: Apocalypse Impending?

Farming for Biofuels

Chinese Car Boom

Sour Apples

Amazon Deforestation: Brazil is taking action

“Business Rebel” Richard Branson pledges $3 billion to combat global warming

Brian J. Weller’s MIND-MAPS

Design for Life

Arundhati Roy asks herself: What form of resistance is effective and acceptable?

Historic Deal on Global Warming in California

Profitable Reforesting

Defining Ecotourism: Is the Flight Included?

Investing: Can Money Grow on Trees?

The Segway Challange

Online Dating for Endangered Orangutans

Bill Clinton and World Mayors Form Alliance on Global Warming

Managing the World’s Water Resources

Technology that Benefits Humanity

Cow Power Generators in Vermont

112 Free Voices: Oscar Olivera, the man from Cochabamba

Greenland’s Glaciers Melting Faster than Ever

Derrick Jensen has 5 Questions for you…

Energy Innovations Across the Globe