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Posts Tagged Conservation

Bali tiger meeting to save tigers

Jul 15

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Zulkifli Hasan, Jakarta

The on going high level officials meeting on tigers in Bali is an occasion for Indonesia to help forge an unprecedented agreement for cooperation in the conservation of this vitally important species during a meeting of representatives from the 13 countries that still have tigers.

We believe that Indonesia can help drive, in Bali, the creation of this ambitious plan to save this global icon and revered national symbol.
Additionally, this is an opportunity for Indonesia to build on last month’s commitment to preserve biodiversity when government leaders announced a major agreement with Norway to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) in Indonesia’s forests and peat lands.

Tigers are in trouble. With a worldwide population of as few as 3,200 tigers in the wild, they are on the brink of extinction.
thejakartapost.com

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Energy Efficiency Helps Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure

Jul 15

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By Jonathan Hiskes

Energy-efficient homes have significantly lower default and delinquency rates than typical homes, according to an internal analysis conducted for a major financial institution last year. Here’s yet another reason why it makes no sense that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have effectively killed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a financing tool that has helped make efficiency improvements affordable for thousands of American homeowners.

Homes built to federal Energy Star standards for efficiency had default and delinquency rates 11 percent lower than other homes, the 2009 analysis found, according to two people familiar with the document. The analysis accounted for variables including income and location, since many new homes are built in sprawling areas (where high transportation costs contribute to foreclosure rates).
organicconsumers.org

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Britain Curbing Airport Growth to Aid Climate

Jul 5

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In a bold if lonely environmental stand, Britain’s coalition government has set out to curb the growth of what has been called “binge flying” by refusing to build new runways around London to accommodate more planes.

Citing the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, Prime Minister David Cameron, a Conservative, abruptly canceled longstanding plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport in May, just days after his election; he said he would also refuse to approve new runways at Gatwick and Stansted, London’s second-string airports.

The government decided that enabling more flying was incompatible with Britain’s oft-stated goal of curbing emissions. Britons have become accustomed to easy, frequent flying — jetting off to weekend homes in Spain and bachelor parties in Prague — as England has become a hub for low-cost airlines. The country’s 2008 Climate Change Act requires it to reduce emissions by at least 34 percent by 2020 from levels reached in 1990.
nytimes.com

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An eco-friendly floor finish – from cows

Jun 24

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Polyurethane substitute is made from eco-friendly whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking.

By Nancy Humphrey Case, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Andrew Meyer believes that he’s found a “whey” to help Vermont’s dairy farms by turning a cheesemaking byproduct into an eco-friendly wood finish.

Like other water-based substitutes for traditional (oil-based) polyurethane, Vermont Natural Coatings’ (VNC) PolyWhey dries fast and emits no toxic fumes. It releases very low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), about one-quarter the amount released by some polyurethanes. Unlike other waterborne finishes, its hardness makes it a viable option for professional-grade work, experts say.
csmonitor.com

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Couple pays for wedding by recyling cans

Jun 23

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If you got an invitation to the wedding of Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish you might have considered getting them a case of Pepsi or a half-rack of beer. You’ll need a new idea now.

The Spokane couple was collecting aluminum cans to pay for the wedding and recently announced they had collected enough to stop.

The couple collected 5 tons of aluminum, according to their recycling company. That is approximately 400,000 cans (or enough to pay for a $3,800 wedding).

“It’s wonderful,” said Andrea, who said the idea started as an “earth friendly” way to raise awareness of recycling while finding a fun way to pay for their wedding.

More than few people seem to be recycling their idea, too.
khq.com

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Rome gets hotel made from rubbish

Jun 10

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Save the Beach Hotel, taking guests for four days only, is adorned with debris from the world’s beaches.

Its five rooms and reception are lined with 12 tonnes of rubbish, including toys, cans, car exhaust pipes.

Danish supermodel Helena Christensen, who has stayed at the hotel, said it was a striking work of art.

“When you’re inside the house, there are walls as there would be in a normal house, but they are all made of inorganic waste,” Ms Christensen, who is also an environmental campaigner, told the BBC.

“And then the outside… is completely covered in everything that we throw on beaches.

“And so you can basically just go around the house, and look at a lot of very personal objects, and some of them make you really wonder what made a human being throw this away on a beach.”
bbc.co.uk

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As Part of Growing Trend, UPS Adds 200 Hybrid Trucks

Jun 7

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United Parcel Service this week is rolling out 200 new hybrid gas-electric delivery trucks in eight U.S. cities. Over the course of a year, the 200 new hybrid trucks are expected to reduce fuel consumption by roughly 176,000 gallons and cutting CO2 gases by nearly 1,800 metric tons.

The move by UPS is part of a growing trend, identified in a new report from Pike Research about the global market for hybrid medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses. Pike forecasts an increase from 9,000 vehicles sold globally in 2010 to more than 100,000 vehicles in 2015.
matternetwork.com

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Compost Startup Helps Restaurants Cut Costs

Jun 1

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by AVISHAY ARTSY

A new green startup business in New Hampshire collects compostable material from local cafes and restaurants. The company’s business model is to help restaurants be more eco-friendly — and save money on trash removal.

At the Black Trumpet restaurant in Portsmouth, N.H., chef and co-owner Evan Mallett says he’s long wanted to compost, but no one could offer regular pickups, and their tiny restaurant has no extra space for storage.
Listen to story

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Canadian loggers, green groups to protect forests

May 19

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By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Most of Canada’s largest forestry companies announced a groundbreaking deal with environmental groups on Tuesday that will restrict logging in the country’s vast northern forests.

The agreement covers 170 million acres (690,000 square km) — an area nearly twice the size of Germany — and ends years of battles over logging in Canada’s massive boreal forest, which environmentalists say helps fight global warming by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide.

The forestry companies will stop all logging immediately on 75 million acres to protect woodland caribou herds under pressure from development.

The two sides will then spend three years working out which restrictions to impose on logging in the remaining 95 million acres.
reuters.com

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Schools Recycle More Than 48,094 Pounds of Beverage Cans

Apr 28

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SCHOOLS CATCH THE RECYCLING SPIRIT

WASHINGTON, /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Sustaining our environment requires a “can-do” attitude, as was demonstrated by schools participating in the 2009 Aluminum Can Council’s (ACC) America Recycles Day (ARD) National School Challenge. During a 12-week period last fall, 133 schools, representing more than 70,000 students, joined with aluminum suppliers and beverage can manufacturers in a national recycling competition. Collectively, they raised over $53,000 and recycled more than 48,094 pounds of used aluminum beverage cans.

To recognize the efforts of the top three schools collecting the most cans per student, the Aluminum Can Council will award each school a $250 prize on Earth Day. The winning schools are:

  • First place – Twin Lakes High School, Monticello, Indiana. The school partnered with Ball Corporation’s metal beverage packaging facility in Monticello and other businesses in the community to recycle 7,092 pounds of aluminum beverage cans, or 9.8 pounds per student. They raised $3,556, which funded the band’s new uniforms.
  • Second place – Collins Intermediate School, Conroe, Texas. In another partnership with Ball Corporation, this school worked with the Ball’s metal beverage packaging plant in Conroe to recycle 3,845 pounds of aluminum, or 7.44 pounds per student, and raise $2,832 for the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.
  • Third place – Academy of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, St. Louis, Missouri, teamed with Metal Container Corporation in St. Louis, to recycle 6.7 pounds of used aluminum beverage cans per student.

prnewswire.com

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