EARTH HOUR UPDATE

LIGHTS OUT AT 8 P.M., MARCH 29, 2008

With one month to go, 30 million people are set to participate in Earth Hour 2008. At 8 pm on March 29, people around the globe will shut off their lights and power down their televisions to raise awareness of global warming. Read my original posting for more info.

During last year's Earth Hour, 2.2 million people in Sydney, Australia powered-down for one hour. This year, at least 24 cities have signed up, representing as many as 30 million people. In addition, over 56,000 people have registered on Earth Hour’s website, and over 3,000 businesses.

During last year's Sydney event, restaurants used candles and lights were turned off in homes and major landmarks, including the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. This year, other iconic buildings to be plunged into darkness will include San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, Chicago's Sears Tower, and the 553-metre CN Tower in Toronto.

Cities participating include Sydney, Copenhagen, Manila, Suva, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Christchurch, Toronto, Odense, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Atlanta, San Francisco, Bangkok, Ottawa, Dublin, Vancouver, Montreal, Pheonix, and others. Of course you don’t have to live in one of these cities to participate in this unique event: click here to sign up for Earth Hour 2008.

¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!

Sources, resources, discourses:

1. Reuters – article
2. Earth Hour - website

AUSTRALIA NEXT TO AXE THE PLASTIC BAG

NO LOVE FOR PLASTIC BAGS DOWN UNDER, IS THE PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

Australia wants to become the next country to rid itself of pesky plastic shopping bags, hoping to phase out plastic bags completely by the end of this year. The nation produces four billion plastic bags annually, with most of them ending up in landfill.

While there is resistance to the plan from Australian industry and retail groups, the government is sticking to its guns – and keeping its options open. Around the globe, countries and municipalities are finding ingenious ways to rid themselves of this plague of plastic, from bag taxes to outright bans. Whatever the government of Australia decides, one thing is certain: plastic shopping bags are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre! takes a look at the anti-plastic bag movement around the world:

CANADA: In April, 2007, Leaf Rapids, Manitoba became the first city in Canada to ban plastic shopping bags. Tofino, British Columbia did the same in May. Huntingdon, Quebec went bag free last month. The province of Quebec is currently considering a 20 cent bag tax.

CHINA: The Chinese government announced last month that plastic shopping bags will be banned nationwide effective June 1. Businesses who defy the ban will face hefty fines and/or the seizure of property. Read our full article here.

INDIA: A number of Indian states have outlawed plastic bags. A cow found dead in the streets of New Delhi recently had some 35,000 plastic bags in its digestive system. Cows are viewed as sacred animals by most Hindus. In Mumbai, storm drains clogged with discarded shopping bags were partially to blame for disastrous floods in 2005 that killed more than 400 people. Plastic bags are now completely illegal in the city of 18 million.

IRELAND: In 2002, Ireland passed a 33 cent tax on plastic bags. Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. The tax is collected by the government, which uses the money to finance environmental enforcement and cleanup programs. The country is now considering a similar tax for debit machine receipts and chewing gum.

U.S.A.: In March 2007, San Francisco became the first city in North America to ban the bags.

Bangladesh, Taiwan, South Africa, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Zanzibar have all banned the bag. In each of these countries, the main concern was unsightly — and ubiquitous — litter. South Africans have long referred to the thin white plastic bags as "national flowers."

While these countries have had success in cleaning up their plastic bags, efforts have failed in many places because of heated opposition from manufacturers and merchants, who have said a tax would be bad for business. In London, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, proposed taxes have failed to gain political approval. Some countries, like Italy, have settled for voluntary participation.

In January almost 42 billion plastic bags were used worldwide; the figure increases by more than half a million bags every minute. Over 500 billion bags are used annually worldwide. A vast majority are not reused, ending up as waste in landfills or as litter. Because plastic bags are light and compressible, they constitute only 2 percent of landfill, but since most are not biodegradable, they will remain there for hundreds of years. Read Karen Pearce’s excellent article on the life and death of a plastic bag here.

Of course nobody needs to wait for their government to ban plastic bags before they stop using them. Alternatives are readily available, ranging from re-usable bags to biodegradable bags made from tapioca starch. Making the switch from plastic bags is a simple step to help clean up your neighborhood, to help reduce energy from the producing and recycling of bags, and to help reduce the amount of plastic in the environment.

Shoutout to Australia for getting on the global bandwagon, and to every country, province, state, and municipality who has taken measures to rid the earth of the pesky plastic bag.

Sources, resources, and discourses:

1. The Australian – article
2. The Australian - article
3. CBC – article
4. Clean Up Australia – website
5. The Montreal Gazette – article
6. The Montreal Gazette - article
7. The Toronto Star – article
8. The New York Times – article
9. Westcoaster.ca - article
10. ABC – feature article
11. inhabitat - photo

COSMETICS COMPANIES GO SHARK FREE

COSMETICS GIANTS

TO STOP USING SHARK LIVER OIL

Two cosmetic giants have agreed to stop using shark liver oil as a base for moisturizing creams and lipsticks, amid concerns over threats to the survival of some species. Over a third of European shark species are under threat of extinction.

International companies L’Oreal and Unilever have agreed to replace the compound squalene, found in shark livers, with other oils from plant sources. Squalene is widely used in cosmetics as a natural, oil-free moisturizer, and can be found in products ranging from anti-aging cream to lip gloss. Deep-sea sharks have large reserves of squalene, and intensive fishing to supply the cosmetics industry has contributed to a dramatic population declines in certain species, including the gulper and kitefin. Deep-sea sharks are particularly vulnerable to overfishing as they are slow-growing, long-living and produce few young.

Unilever announced plans to remove squalene from its cosmetic brands including Pond’s and Dove, with new plant-based formulations expected on shelves as early as April 2008. L’Oreal is currently completing the phase-out of shark oil, however 12 make-up formulas, including 8 lipsticks under the Shu Uemura brand name which is owned by the company, remain unaltered. Beiersdorf, LVMH, Henkel, Boots, Clarins, Sisley and La Mer, an Estée Lauder brand, also have either made the decision to stop using shark-based squalene or had a policy to never use it in the first place.

Shoutout to Unilever and L’Oreal and every other cosmetics company who has stopped using shark-liver oil in their products. Shoutout to Oceana, the international marine conservation organization, for campaigning hard to end the use of shark oil in consumer products.

TAKE ACTION

Here's what you can do: Stop using products that contain shark squalene. Stop buying products from companies that continue to manufacture products using shark oil.

Sign Oceana’s petition to help protect sharks.

Sources, resources, discourses:

1. Telegraph.co.uk – article and photo
2. Cosmetics and Toiletries – article
3. Oceana – press release
4. Oceana – petition to protect sharks

LIGHTS OUT FOR INCANDESCENT BULBS

IRELAND, PHILIPPINES, AUSTRALIA,
CANADA, U.S.A. TO BAN THE BULB

Ireland has become the first country in Europe to ban the incandescent bulb. Sale of the traditional bulb will end by the beginning of next year, in favor of low-energy alternatives. The switch to energy-efficient bulbs will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 700,000 tonnes per year and shave 185 million euros (US$269.3 million) per year off householders' electricity bills. Ireland currently uses more energy for lighting homes than anywhere else in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has become the first country in Asia to ban the bulb, phasing out incandescents by 2010. The ban will reduce the Philippines' annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2.2 million tonnes.

Australia, the first country in the world to announce a ban, will be bulb free by 2009-2010. Canada will ban the bulb by 2012, the United States by 2014.

Industry is also jumping on the bulb bandwagon (or is that banned-wagon?). Philips, the world’s largest lighting manufacturer, says it will stop making incandescent bulbs by 2016.

WHY CHANGE BULBS?

First of all, traditional bulbs are old. The incandescent light bulb is based on a design invented in the 19th century by Thomas Edison. Less than 10 percent of the energy used by an incandescent lightbulb generates visible light; 90 percent is wasted as heat. Most of this energy is generated by fossil fuels, which causes CO2 emissions leading to climate change. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) use 5 times less energy than incandescents, which means far less CO2 pollution. CFLs, therefore, are better for the climate.

CFLs are also more cost-effective than regular bulbs. While CFLs cost more at the hardware store, they last far longer than an incandescent, and therefore save money in the long run. CFLs last between 6 and 15 years, while an incandescent usually lasts only one.

If the entire world banned the incandescent bulb in favor of energy-efficient bulbs, this simple step would permit the closing of more than 270 coal-fired power plants, sharply cutting worldwide carbon emissions. For the United States alone, this bulb switch could shut down 80 coal-fired plants. The European Union could shut down 25 more.

TAKE ACTION:

First, switch to CFLs if you haven’t already. Save yourself some cash while saving the world.

Next, join Greenpeace’s 7-step global energy efficiency campaign.

Shoutout to Australia for lighting the way. Shoutout to Ireland and the Philippines for showing leadership and acting quickly. Shoutout to Canada, the U.S.A. and Philips for getting on board. Shoutout to everyone who has already made the switch.

¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!

Sources, resources, and discourses:

1. EU Business – article
2. Reuters UK - article
3. Tech Digest – article and photo
4. The Associated Press - article
5. Greenpeace – article
6. Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government – press release
7. Natural Resources Canada – press release
8. Earth Policy Institute – article
9. BBC News – article
10. The Sydney Morning Herald - article
11. Greenpeace – light bulb Q&A

NORWAY’S HIDDEN SEED VAULT

SECRET VAULT BURIED IN ARCTIC ICE

MAY ONE DAY SAVE THE WORLD

The “Doomsday Vault” sounds like a plot device from a bad Hollywood movie:

a secret bunker hidden deep beneath a remote mountain, designed to save mankind from Armageddon…

only this vault is real, and it goes into operation on February 26.

Meet the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, named after the archipelago in Norway where it is located. The vault is hidden in a mountain deep in the Arctic permafrost near the village of Longyearbyen, built by the government of Norway and funded by Rome-based Global Crop Diversity Trust for the benefit of all mankind.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault’s purpose is ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations. The vault is designed to store duplicates of seeds from seed collections from around the world, bolstering global food security in case of natural or manmade catastrophe. More than 200,000 crop varieties will be represented. The first seed collection will go into the vault on February 26, with regular contributions until the vault contains seeds of most of the world’s crops.

The seeds at Svalbard Global Seed Vault will be stored at –18 degrees Celsius in specially designed, five-ply aluminum foil packages inside sealed boxes stored on high shelves inside the vault. The low temperature and limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and delay aging.

The loss of biological diversity is currently one of the greatest challenges facing the environment. Biodiversity is critical in building crop resistance to pests and diseases, and enabling cultivation in harsh conditions like drought, salinity and flooding - all of which will likely increase with global climate change, particularly in poor countries.

Shoutout to the government of Norway and Global Crop Diversity Trust for building the world's largest seed library, and to all countries participating in this global venture by donating local crop seeds. Dr. Strangelove would approve.

Sources, resources, and discourses:

1. IRIN – article
2. Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food - webpage

EARTH HOUR, 8 P.M., MARCH 29, 2008

LIGHTS OUT FOR SYDNEY, CHICAGO, TORONTO, COPENHAGEN, TEL AVIV, MANILA AND MORE

“Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced,

Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour

to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.”

At 8:00 p.m. on March 29, 2008, cities around the world will shut their lights off for one hour to symbolize their commitment to finding solutions for climate change. The objective of this dramatic gesture: nothing short of changing the world.

The initiative, called Earth Hour, started last year in Sydney, Australia. On March 31, 2007, 2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney shut off their lights for one hour. This massive effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, the equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for an hour. In 2008, the effort has gone global, with such cities as Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Manila and Tel Aviv agreeing to shut off their lights for one hour on March 29.

Even if you don’t live in one of the participating cities, you can still join Earth Hour by visiting the Earth Hour website and joining the 10,000+ other people (including yours truly) who have signed up to participate. It’s remarkably easy to get involved: just turn off your lights for one hour, and spread the word.

Big shoutout to the WWF and the organizers of Earth Hour around the globe for raising awareness and for taking direct action.

March 29, y'all.

Sources and additional information:

http://www.earthhour.org/

http://www.wwf.ca/NewsAndFacts/NewsRoom/default.asp?section=archive&page=display&ID=1567&lang=EN

http://www.thestar.com/earthhour