Greenpeace – Making Waves: Choose the right biofuel or the orang-utan gets it

Last month in the UK, we launched a campaign with several other organisations for rigorous controls on biofuels. Governments across the EU are trying to force fuel companies to supply more biofuels and so cut carbon dioxide emissions, but while biofuels could make a small contribution in the battle against climate change, they could in fact do more harm than good.

If rainforests are cut down to make way to grow ‘green fuels’, it will not only destroy homes for animals like orang-utans, it will also be catastrophic for the climate by releasing more greenhouse gases by destroying forests than we will save using biofuels. The link between deforestation has been well documented so clearing forests to grow biofuel crops makes absolutely no sense.

Anyway, the campaign launched with a cheeky press ad (here’s a PDF version) warning of the perils of biofuels, which has now been made into a short, sharp shock of a film which is playing above. Enjoy.

Lighter Footstep: Ten Cheap Ways to Chill Your Refrigerator

Editor's note: This week, Lighter Footstep's Chris Baskind shares some tips for making your refrigerator run more efficiently. This post was originally published on May 30, 2007.

So how old is your refrigerator?

 

More than five years? If your fridge is similar to most, it uses about 40% more electricity than the ENERGY STAR certified units being sold today. And given the fact that your fridge is one of a typical home's biggest energy gobblers, that adds up to a pretty good chunk of change each year.

Replacing your current refrigerator with a modern unit could save you upwards of $70 and reduce your home's annual carbon dioxide footprint by a thousand pounds a year. Given that the life cycle of a fridge is ten years or more, it makes sense to replace aging units whenever possible. But that's not always financially feasible.

If you're not ready to upgrade, there are some things you can do to improve the efficiency of your current model:

Green Family Values: Environmental Children’s Literature

Reading aloud to a child is perhaps the single most important activity parents can do to help their child's developing mind. The benefits of reading aloud are numerous. Time spent snuggling up with Mom or Dad while listening to a story, provide children with a feeling of warmth, love, and security. The coziness and intimacy of sharing a book with a loved adult delights children. Evidence from research says that reading and talking to your child may be the single most important thing in determining your child’s intellectual, economic and social success.

The benefits of reading aloud to children also extends to seaking meaning from the messages present in the literature. Storybook content and illustrations provide a catalyst for discussing the green values expressed by the author and/or illustrator and espoused by your family. There are many wonderful children's books that use the narrative form to express green values and ideas, especially conservation. The following environmental children's books are amongst my five favorites as a teacher and a parent.

Greenpeace – Making Waves: Merkel and Bush

My favorite headline of the G8 so far, “Bush, Merkel vow to fight poverty, disagree on climate“. This follows what was apparently a very nice lunch meeting between the two of them. From the article:

But Bush made no reference to Merkel’s demands that G8 leaders commit to cutting global greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and limiting the worldwide temperature rise this century to 2 degrees Celsius.

Merkel, for her part, recognized that while the US and Germany agreed on combating poverty in Africa, there were other “areas here and there” which needed further discussion.

In perhaps not unrelated news, today German police boarded the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise – even though it was well outside the summit security zone. The police boarded without a search warrant and confined the 24 crew before seizing Greenpeace equipment including engines from inflatables, making the boats unusable, and the hull of a Greenpeace hot air balloon.

I wonder if, at any point during the lunch, Merkel and George “there ought to be limits to free speech” Bush touched on how far a government should go to ensure that leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations can meet without the inconvenience of protest.

Greenpeace statement in response Merkel/Bush comments today.

From the BBC: Who are the G8 protesters?

Californians More Efficient Than Most

Although California ranks second in total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that cause global warming, the U.S.’s most populous state is also one of the lowest emitters on a per-capita basis.

That’s right; the average Californian emits fewer CO2 emissions than people in all other states except Idaho, Vermont, and Rhode Island. According an Associated Press analysis of 2003 data (the latest U.S. Department of Energy numbers available), Californians are responsible for about 24,000 pounds of CO2 per person per year. In comparison, Wyoming emits 276,000 pounds per capita annually.

True, California has less heavy industry that many other states, and mild weather means residents aren’t blasting the heat or air conditioning as often as others. But although Californians drive just as far, live in homes just as big, and have just as many gadgets, the analysis found that policies put in place in the last 30 years have made the Golden State more efficient than almost any other.