Archive for October, 2011
Halloween is a scary day and it has very little to do with the ghouls and gremlins. Well, actually, it does, but not in the way you might think. Halloween is the first of the fall holidays that lead to an uptick in waste production among Americans. Each Halloween, Americans spend about $40 per person on candy, decorations, greeting cards and costumes. But what becomes of the rubber masks, candy wrappers, artificial cobwebs, plastic cauldrons, vinyl witch noses and spooky lawn decorations on November 1st? A lot of it ends up in the garbage and sugar-addled kids start counting down...
Over at greendiary.com, writer Dipanjan Biswas gives us a quick briefing on what you shouldn’t be throwing into your recycling bin! Recycling is an environment friendly activity. Recycling helps to reduce damage done to the environment due to excessive non-composing waste and excessive production. However, there are some items which are harmful to the environment if recycled. The things we will talk about in this article are the ones prohibited by most municipal systems and are or no use to commercial recycling industries as well. Here are the 15 environment enemies which should never be recycled. 1. Wet paper It sounds...
If you’re lucky enough to own the techie wonder that is the iPad, you probably care for it as you would a small child. There are a bunch of cases to choose from for the compact device, but none quite as environmentally sound as Matt & Nat‘s Otis sleeve. Its outer is made of blue- and beige-swirled cork and its faux-suede lining of 100% recycled bottles, a resilient combination that will protect your iPad from knocks and damage. An exterior pocket offers additional storage for slim miscellany that you want to keep nearby, whether USB stick or the business cards you...
Leonardo DiCaprio has long since become one of Hollywood’s most committed activists for environmental and animal conservation movements. He recently gave his support to the bill banning the shark fin trade in California, and was added to the jury for the Zayed Future Energy Prize because of his environmental work. Now, the actor/activist will be leading a campaign by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) raising awareness of endangered elephants. IFAW’s Animal Action Education program features a campaign each year during Animal Action Week. This year, October 3-9 will be all about elephants and how you can help protect them ivory poaching,...
New York Times reporter Justin Gillis recently put out a story titled “With Deaths of Forests, a Loss of Key Climate Protectors,” a recommended read for anyone concerned about how climate change is affecting the planet and what it means for the present and future. Gillis looks at the warning signs from the world’s forests and the signals aren’t good: wildfires, drought and insect infestations are putting vast tracts of forests under extreme stress, leading to feedback loops that result in more CO2 in the atmosphere. Writes Gillis: The devastation extends worldwide. The great euphorbia trees of southern Africa are...
SXSW Eco is a three-day conference acknowledging the need for a concerted, cross sector approach to solving recognized sustainability/environmental challenges! The inaugural edition of SXSW Eco will be start today October 4th and go til October 6th at the Hilton Hotel in Austin, Texas! The eco conference will host an international audience of executive level decision makers from the public and private sectors, and thought leaders from academia. This event will evolve the environmental conversation beyond “talk” and actually work towards solutions. SXSW Eco is for professionals at the forefront of the post-recognition discussion who are dedicated to making progress...
From sneakers to sustainability, Nike has been promoting its “Better World” platform to focus its eco-conscious, people- and planet-improving goals. Now, it’s putting its money where its mouth is. The apparel giant last year established a Venture Capital arm focused on alternative energies and more efficient manufacturing, called the Sustainable Business and Innovation Lab. Nike‘s venture capital fund is going to invest in startups that promote eco-friendly, healthy lifestyles and are working in the areas of green innovation and technology or alternative energy sources. To support Nike’s strategic evolution and better enable Nike to transition to sustainable business models, we have transformed the...
As if we needed another reason to remind ourselves of why we can’t get enough of the lovely Gisele (Who by the way appeared in Paris Fashion Week exclusively for Givenchy). Well, earlier this week Gisele Bündchen, took off her runway heels to plant trees in Sao Paolo, Brazil with a group of children. Bündchen, 31, went back to her home country to celebrate the launch of ‘Gisele and the Green Team’on Cartoon Network Brazil.In addition, the model attended an event at the Center of Forest Experiment of the SOS Atlantic Forest Foundation, which aims to promote the conservation of biological and...
BMW AG introduced a hybrid-powered version of its new 5-Series sedan, called the ActiveHybrid 5. This marks a significant change in the company’s philosophy in the last several years. When the Toyota Prius and a few other hybrid models began to take off, the German car maker said it wanted to avoid the obvious inefficiency of carrying two power systems in one vehicle. The new car adds a 55-horsepower electric motor for a combined output of 335 horsepower and the ability to travel on electric power alone for short distances. The hybrid power system charges its lithium-ion battery while the car is braking or...
