The Green Village News for March, 2009

Emissions Control Areas to be Imposed Around the US Coast

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday announced the proposed introduction of emissions control areas (ECAs) around the coast of America. This action aims to protect Amercian citizens living and working in and around America’s coastal regions by decreasing the amount of air pollution caused by the harmful emissions released by oil tankers and ships, and would see an area of 230 miles of  the American coastline designated as a buffer zone.

Earthjustice, a public interest law group who act on behalf of organisations, groups and coalitions to help strengthen and enforce environmental laws, have challenged EPA’s proposal however, as it omits the arctic waters of Alaska. One of Earthjustice’s attourneys from their environmental law program, Sarah Burt, commented that,

“By initiating this process, EPA has taken an important step forward in protecting the health of port communities and the coastal environment from harmful ship pollution. However, by failing to include most of the waters off the coast of Alaska, EPA has left a gaping hole in the nation’s environmental and human health protections.”

This omission is of particular concern due to the anticipated melting of sea ice around Alaska that would leave the route open for more ships and tankers to be passing through this delicate eco-system. Earthjustice have submitted a letter to the EPA requesting the amendment of the policy to extend the area of the ECA to cover the Alaskan coast.

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Posted in Environmental Impact, Environmental Politics, Green Planet | No Comments

MSc in Ecorestoration at Dimoria College in Asia

Monday, March 30th, 2009

In a world where we hear a lot in the news about the environmental devastation across the planet, from deforestation to pollution of water supplies, loss of natural habitats for plants and animals to the destruction of peatland, there is somewhere you can study the science of eco-renovation to learn how to go out there and help heal some of the damage done to the land.

The masters award, offered by Dimoria College, Assam in Asia, and affiliated with Dibrugarh University, covers topics such as wetland restoration, grassland management and wildlife ecology and management, and will arm students with the knowledge and experience of working in these fields to enable them to work in these fields following completion of the course. The college principal, R.C Bharali commented that the subject is,

“a general need of this modern world because deforestation and degradation of the ecology is a great concern of the human beings.”

The first cohort of students studying the award are currently undertaking their work placements, where they will work in the field gaining first hand experience of the effects of human activity on the eco-systems encountered. The college offers further courses with links to the environment, such as Sponsored Vocational Courses in Forestry Wildlife Management and Industrial Fisheries.

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Tipped Over The Edge – Dream Home vs The Environment

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

U2′s guitarist, The Edge, is at the centre of environmental controversy over plans to build his ‘Dream Home’ in Malibu, California. His plan involves building a home and four additional properties out of sight of his own home that he would then sell off at an estimated £10m per property. The neighbours have cricised the guitarist’s motives, one of them commenting that,

“This is hypocritical to the core for a man who has spent his career preaching environmental issues. He is obviously trying to make a profit but it’s not as if he needs the money, is it? It is an overly ostentatious and self-serving development.”

There is concern over the impact that the development would have on the local area, especially the implications for the flora and fauna for which the site is their natural habitat. Although the design is supposed to look like leaves falling down the side of the mountain, the building work would disrupt and devastate the area. One of the neighbours, a contractor himself, commented that the current road would not be sufficient to withstand the heavy machinery travelling up and down it moving the earth that would have to be excavated in order for the mansion to be built, as the top of the mountain would have to be levelled to accomodate the new property.

An unnamed local also commented that there has already been work undertaken at the site, digging a 15 foot trench to take soil samples and test the drainage in advance of work beginning later this year. She expressed concern regarding the amount of animals that could be at risk from this excavation, saying,

“This area is full of deer and foxes that could easily become stuck in a rut like that. We also have a wide variety of birds and smaller animals which will be frightened off by a huge project like this.”

Neighbours are hoping that The Edge will rethink the development and stick to his green principles rather than choosing to satisfy his own dreams.

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Countdown to Earth Hour…

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

At 8.30pm in their local timezones, people all around the world will switch off their lights for Earth Hour. It all started on the 31st of March 2007, when Sydney, Australia encouraged it’s citizens to switch off as many lights around the city as possible for one hour. This put forward an important statement to the rest of the world about climate change. A statement that Sydney was able to pull together 2.2 million of it’s residents towards a simple common cause.

On the same date last year, 370 cities in 35 different countries joined in. In the country where it all started, 2008 saw 58% of Australian adults switch off their lights for one hour and throughout the world, an estimated 50 million people did the same.

This year, the event (organised by WWF) has already seen people from 2800 cities in 83 countries pledge that they will switch off their lights in a bid to show the world’s leaders that people want to see urgent action to combat climate change. Many spin-off events will take place during Earth Hour, including candlelit festivals in the woods, pub quizzes in the dark and pitch black meditation sessions. The Green Village itself will be switching the lights off in our offices and turning the site black for the occasion.

To pledge your commitment, sign up on the WWF website and spread the word to as many people as you can!

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Posted in Companies and Organisations, Energy and Resources, Environmental Impact, Events and Courses, Green Planet | No Comments

New York’s 1st Women’s Sustainability Conference

Friday, March 27th, 2009

The first New York Women’s Conference for Sustainability takes place this weekend, 27th-29th March, starting at 6:30pm tonight. The conference aims to provide those attending with knowledge, information and inspiration to act on important issues such as climate change and take action to make communities more sustainable places to live rather than simply being aware of the environmental problems that exist.

The conference, hosted by WISE, Women’s Initiatives for a Sustainable Earth, welcomes men, women and children to come along and learn more about making a difference to the world we live in, however director or WISE, Dorothy Reilly, explains the reasons for focusing on the role women can play,

“Women control 85% of consumer spending, and are caretakers of their homes and communities; WISE is launching this conference because we feel that helping women collaborate in their communities and across the state will be a powerful way to energise action toward climate stability.”

Speakers from a variety of grass roots organisations are scheduled to talk at the event over the course of the weekend, including Sarah Newkirk, the Director of Coastal Conservation at The Nature Conservancy on Long Island, Ann Goodman, Executive Director at the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future (WNSF), and Rachel Harris, U.S. Climate Change Campaign Coordinator at the Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO).

Full details of the programme and how to attend are available through the website.

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Posted in Events and Courses, Green Family, Green Living | No Comments

An Insight Into the Prius’ New Rival

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

With the launch of Honda’s new hybrid car, the Insight, the Toyota Prius now has some competition in the greener car market. The Insight, which Honda name as ‘A hybrid for everyone’, comes in cheaper than the Prius which has been ‘the’ hybrid car for the past ten years, but it’s £18k price tag has left it sadly outside the budget of many people. Honda’s hybrid makes the option available to more people, with prices starting from £15,490.

So what do you get for your money? Well apart from the standard hybrid features that the Prius has, an 8-year or 100,000 mile warranty on its hybrid components to put people’s minds at rest who haven’t ventured into this area of technology before, excellent fuel economy, having the ability to comfortably hit 60mpg, although the official stats boast 62.4mpg and emissions are low at 101g of CO2 emitted per km travelled. The added bonus of no congestion charges to pay if frequenting central London, and for the rest of us, only £15 road tax, make it easier to see what could make this car extremely attractive as an alternative to the Prius.

However not everybody can afford a brand new car, and if they can, even this will be out of the league of many. There is a lot more choice of economic vehicles about than there used to be, such as VW’s blue motion Polo and Golf which offer 74.3 and 62.8mpg respectively, and the Polo only emits 99g/km of CO2. And of course, although not the answer for everyone, the only carbon emissions from a bike are from the breath of the rider…

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Posted in Ethical shopping, Green Living, Green Planet, Science and Technology, Transport and Travel | 1 Comment

Rescue Missions To Be Aborted For Beached Whales

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Scenes like those of the rescue attempt to return the beaked whale that became stranded in the Thames in 2006 will be a thing of the past. New official guidelines will mean that rather than try and return these creatures to the sea, the option that will be used will be euthanasia.

Scientists have concluded that humanely ending the lives of beached whales such as sperm and beaked whales, is a more responsible and less cruel option for the mammals, due to the damage that would already have been caused to their bodies by being beached in the first place. Paul Jepson of the Zoological Society of London, (ZLS), stated that,

“Between 2002 and 2006, there were 30 sperm whales and 24 beaked whales reported stranded in the UK and none of them survived.”

Blood samples from whales that died have been analysed, and they show that the causes of death for the animals is a combination of muscle damage, dehydration, due to them being unable to obtain water through their food, and kidney damage caused by the release of myoglobin, the oxygen carrying protein that allows whales to swim deep underwater, into the bloodstream.

Under the new guidelines, if it is possible to return the whales to ocean-depth water within a short timeframe, rescue attempts will still go ahead. Tony Woolley of the RSPCA stated that,

“We now have a clear direction for those who respond to the strandings. The presumption will be euthanasia unless the animal can be refloated in a very short period of time into oceanic-depth water, which is extremely unlikely in the British Isles because of the logistics of getting animals to those waters in that time period.”

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Healing with Herbs on ‘Grow Your Own Drugs’

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Viewers were introduced to a range of herbal remedies and beauty products that are quick and easy for anybody to make in their own homes on last night’s ‘Grow Your Own Drugs’. This week’s episode, which focussed on the healing powers of herbs, featured a peppermint body scrub and a coldsore curing lip salve made from lemon balm.

Lemon balm is a pretty herb that is very easy to grow, and contains natural chemicals to treat inflammation and fight against viral infections such as troublesome coldsores. The balm was made using 21 chopped tablespoons of the herb, which grows profusely so a good trim back of the plant would give you plenty for the recipe.

Another recipe featured was a breath freshening spray, aimed at helping wean people off their reliance on chewing gum and mints. The spray was made from a thyme, mint and eucalyptus tincture, which is left in alcohol for a month until ready for use. The spray works by making use of the antibacterial properties of the majority of the ingredients, especially thymol, the active ingredient contained in thyme. A make-up artist who frequently used mints because of close contact with clients tried the spray and found it to be very effective.

James Wong also introduced viewers to the healing properties of the plantain, which grows in most garden lawns, and contains natural sterols which act as an antihystamine, and polyphenols which help calm inflammation. The plant can be used to sooth insect bites and stings such as nettle stings, bringing relief from the itching that people experience. He showed how simple it can be to make your own cream that can be stored in the fridge, or even the freezer, for use at a later date. The series is currently available on BBC’s iplayer, and the recipes are available on the Grow Your Own Drugs website.

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Posted in Green Living, Grow Your Own, Health and Wellbeing | No Comments

A New Greenhouse for The White House

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

The south lawn of The White House is to once again become an organic garden, providing fresh, organic vegetables for The White House kitchen, and leading by example, demonstrating to the American people just what can be achieved in the average garden space. This is the first time that a veg garden has been in use at The White House since the “Dig For Victory” campaigns of World War II.

Campaign group Eat the View, who aim to get high impact gardens installed in high profile places, put pressure on the Obamas to join in and plant a kitchen garden at The White House. First Lady, Michelle Obama has said that the motive behind the kitchen garden is that passers-by will see the garden and the goodness being produced there and be inspired to plant and grow their own vegetables and produce at home.

The drive comes at a time when obesity is at a high in America, and educating people and children alike about the nutrional value of food, and the health benefits that can come from eating home grown veg is high on the agenda. Both in terms of knowing what your food has grown in, and had put on it, and also the exercise you get maintaining the plot, there are no negatives to getting involved and growing some veg for yourself!

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Posted in Environmental Politics, Ethical shopping, Green Living, Green Planet, Grow Your Own | No Comments

Saltwater Technology To Power The Netherlands

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

The Netherlands is famous for its dams, dikes and floodgates that were installed across the country to bring an end to the potentially devastating floods that could wipe out thousands of humans and animal lives and reek damage on the buildings and infrastructures of the nation. The 75-year-old ‘Afsluitdijk’, built by Cornelus Lely, stretches from North Holland to Friesland that was installed following a huge tidal wage struck The Netherlands in 1916, and is being looked at as a site for generating renewable energy from saltwater.

The process, which would be a kind of reverse electrodialysis, works by extracting the energy that is generated when saltwater and fresh water mix. Scientists have been aware since the 1950s that electricity could be obtained by means of this process, but nobody had ever ascertained how efficient or viable this process could actually be on a large scale. Until now.

Bert Hamelers, an environmental engineer from the Sub-Department of Environmental Technology at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, together with Jan Post, a civil engineer and PhD student of Hemelers, would be working in conjunction with Leeuwarden research institute, Wetsus, to further develop knowledge and technologies around energy generation from saltwater/freshwater mixing.

One of the major attractions to the technology is not only the fact that it is renewable and clean, but it estimated that over 80% of the energy can be recovered. Compare this to the efficiency of coal, where between 38 and 50% of the energy released by the burning of this dirty, depleting fossil fuel is captured, and it doesn’t take a genious to work out how much more beneficial this technology could be across the world. Especially when the process occurs naturally at river estuaries across the globe, it seems that this opportunity to harvest clean, green, renewable energy is there for the taking.

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Posted in Energy and Resources, Green Planet, Science and Technology | 1 Comment

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