Bad Environmental News

Red Dates are New Articles within the last week
Green Dates are Updated within the last week

11/29 How the US is Reusing Depleted Uranium - Nuclear
11/12 Black Sea Disaster - Petrolium
11/11 Mercury Among Us - Land Destruction
11/10 Chemicals For Vanity - Home Environment
11/8 Concerns About Lead - Home Environment
11/1 TN Town Runs Out of Water - Global Warming, Water Management
10/2 US Coast Guard Not Ready For Expanding Sea Global Warming
9/30 Yellow Frog Extinction - Land Destruction
9/15 Arctic Sea Melts - Global Warming
8/14 A Ubiquitous Chemical - Industry
7/28 Lake Superior Shrinking - Global Warming
7/6 NASA Scientist Predicts Rapid Ice Sheet Melt - Global Warming

Save Our Environment Action Alerts

11/20/07
Stop Overfishing
Last year Congress passed a new version of the nation's fishery management law to put an end to decades of overfishing in our oceans. The new law requires fishery managers to follow the recommendations of scientists on how much fish can be caught on a sustainable basis.
Click here to act today and help make sure the Bush administration follows the requirements of the new law!
Right now, under pressure from a few members of Congress and small numbers of fishermen, the National Marine Fisheries Service is about to approve a fishing plan for summer flounder (also known as fluke) that would let fishermen catch 25% more fish than the scientists say is sustainable.
This would violate the new law. But that's not surprising, since the fishery managers have allowed overfishing on summer flounder for 20 years.
This is one of the first rules of the new law that are being reviewed and the administration needs to know that YOU are paying attention.
Please urge the Bush administration to follow the requirements of the new law and stop overfishing summer flounder.
If this plan moves forward, a terrible precedent will be set. From here it is a slippery slope that could result in overfishing many other fish populations, hurting marine mammals, and causing habitat destruction.
Please make your voice heard on this important issue.
Click here now to the tell the Administration to stop destructive overfishing of summer flounder and obey the new ocean fishing law!
Thank you for all your hard work.
Sincerely,
Julie WatermanCampaign Director, SaveOurEnvironment.orginfo@saveourenvironment.org

US Removing Depleted Uranium

Iraqi cancers, birth defects blamed on U.S. depleted uranium
By LARRY JOHNSONSEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER FOREIGN DESK EDITOR
SOUTHERN DEMILITARIZED ZONE, Iraq -- On the "Highway of Death," 11 miles north of the Kuwait border, a collection of tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles are rusting in the desert.
They also are radiating nuclear energy.
In 1991, the United States and its Persian Gulf War allies blasted the vehicles with armor-piercing shells made of depleted uranium -- the first time such weapons had been used in warfare -- as the Iraqis retreated from Kuwait. The devastating results gave the highway its name.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/95178_du12.shtml

Remains of toxic bullets litter Iraq
The Monitor finds high levels of radiation left by US armor-piercing shells.
By Scott Peterson Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p01s02-woiq.html


Ecological Warfare
Iraq's Environmental Crisis
By JEFFREY ST. CLAIR and JOSHUA FRANK
Depleted uranium has a half-life of more than 4 billion years, approximately the age of the Earth. Thousand of acres of land in the Balkans, Kuwait and southern Iraq have been contaminated forever.

http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair10252007.html

Army made video warning about dangers of depleted uranium but never showed it to troops
A special investigation on the effects of depleted uranium reveals the Army made a tape warning of the effects of depleted uranium which was never shown to troops despite the fact the Pentagon knew the agent to be potentially deadly, CNN reports Tuesday.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/CNN_Agent_Orange_tame_compared_to_0206.html

Depleted Uranium Contaminates Europe
By Lauren Moret 27 February, 2006
After the "Shock and Awe" campaign in Iraq in 2003, very fine particles of depleted uranium were captured with larger sand and dust particles in filters in Britain.
These particles traveled in 7-9 days from Iraqi battlefields as far as 2400 miles away.
The radiation measured in the atmosphere quadrupled within a few weeks after the beginning of the 2003 campaign, and at one of the 5 monitoring locations, the levels twice required an official alert to the British Environment Agency.
http://www.countercurrents.org/moret270206.htm

Ideas For Conserving At Work

11/28 Lighting A Business - NY only
11/9 Electronic Vampires Electric
10/30 Green Cars Gasoline
10/30 Energy Bill - Misc
8 Ways to Save - Misc
10/24 Storm Window Solar Panel - Heat
9/4Fuel Oil - Heat
8/30 Steps For Business To Save NG - Natural Gas
Information for Worship Centers - Misc
Irrigation Conservation - Water
Choose The Right Toilet - Water

Kyoto Protocol

11/28 Australia elects prime minister who wants to ratify Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol climate treaty may soon welcome a new industrialized country to the fold. Australia's newly elected prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has announced he will act in the next few weeks on a campaign promise to have Australia ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which would make the United States the only industrialized country in the world not to agree to making mandatory reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions under the treaty. Showing just how eager the new prime minister is to get busy reducing greenhouse gases, Rudd met with government officials about ratifying Kyoto the day after his decisive electoral victory over the conservative outgoing Prime Minister John Howard on Saturday. Rudd has also promised a gradual withdrawal of Australia's 550 troops from Iraq and has indicated he intends to formally apologize to Australia's aborigines for the country's policy of separating children from their families to speed the assimilation process from the 1930s to the 1970s. Not to be outdone, President Bush, um, pardoned two turkeys ... before sitting down to eat a different one.

Also - China Making Post-Kyoto Deal?
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/11/13/122452/95/?source=weekly

Taken From Wikipedia.com -
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an amendment to the international treaty on climate change, assigning mandatory emission limitations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the signatory nations.
The objective of the protocol is the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."[1]
As of December 2006, a total of 169 countries and other governmental entities have ratified the agreement (representing over 61.6% of emissions from Annex I countries).[2][3] Notable exceptions include the United States and Australia. Other countries, like India and China, which have ratified the protocol, are not required to reduce carbon emissions under the present agreement.
There is some debate about the usefulness of the protocol, and there have been some cost-benefit studies performed.

The treaty was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December 1997, opened for signature on March 16, 1998, and closed on March 15, 1999. The agreement came into force on February 16, 2005 following ratification by Russia on November 18, 2004. As of December 2006, a total of 169 countries and other governmental entities have ratified the agreement

State and Local Governments CAN Make A Difference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Greenhouse_Gas_Initiative

11/28 Midwestern governors sign greenhouse-gas reduction pact
The governors of six Midwestern states and the premier of Manitoba signed on to the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord last week, the first such multi-state program in the U.S. Midwest. For those of you keeping track at home, along with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast and an agreement among West Coast governors, about 48 percent of the U.S. population is now represented in some form of regional GHG reduction program. The Midwest agreement commits Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Manitoba to setting up a regional cap-and-trade system for trading emission credits. Credit trading would begin in 2010, but no reduction goal has been established yet. Indiana, Ohio, and South Dakota also signed on, but only as observers. At the same conference, 12 Midwestern governors agreed to various other goals, such as aiming to have 30 percent of the region's electricity come from renewable sources by 2030, and working to increase the use of biofuels.
The agreements: Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord [PDF], Energy Security and Climate Stewardship Platform for the Midwest [PDF]

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, or ReGGIe) is a regional initiative by states in the Northeastern United States region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The RGGI is designing a cap and trade program for emissions from power plants. In August 2005, the RGGI staff working group proposed an emissions reduction program that would start in 2009 and lead to a stabilization of emissions at current levels (an average of 2002-2004 levels) by 2015. This would be followed by a 10% reduction in emissions between 2015 and 2020. The proposal would also allow participants to purchase offsets to meet 50% of their emission reductions.
As of December 20, 2005, seven Northeastern US states were involved in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Massachusetts and Rhode Island dropped out at the last minute; Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney objected to a lack of opt-out provisions if energy prices exceeded a certain threshold.[1] Massachusetts rejoined on January 18, 2007, on the order of newly elected Governor Deval Patrick.[2] California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has also expressed interest in California joining the initiative [1]. It is believed that the state-level program will apply pressure on the federal government to support the Kyoto Protocol.
Participating states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island
Observer states and regions: Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Eastern Canadian Provinces.

Climate Change Action Plan
A parallel effort to reduce emissions in the Northeast is the New England Governors/Eastern Canadian Premiers Climate Change Action Plan, which calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020. For comparison: the EU aims to reduce emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 and the average reduction required under the Kyoto Protocol is 5.2% by 2012. On December 20, 2005 seven states, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" committing themselves to move forward with the program. Special provisions are made in that document for Massachusetts and Rhode Island to join the effort at any time prior to January 1, 2008.
In addition, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) is building a Regional Greenhouse Gas Registry (RGGR) to help track emissions in the region. This effort is similar to that of the California Climate Action Registry.

Business Ways To Save

With all the hype about “going green,” you may have already started replacing household cleaners with organic ones or maybe you’ve even traded in that gas-guzzling car for a hybrid, but why stop there? Check out some office-greening opportunities below. The possibilities are endless!
11/28 Update under #4

1. Replace petroleum-based ink with soy-based ink
Ink made from soybeans is not only better for the environment but better for your company’s bottom line, as well. Soy ink has lower levels of volatile organic compounds than ink made from petroleum, so it emits less harmful toxins into the air. Soy ink produces brighter and sharper colors because of the innate clearness of the soybean oil, which petroleum and other vegetable oils don’t have.

Paper with soy ink is easier to recycle because soy-based ink is easier to remove in the de-inking process of paper recycling than petroleum-based ink. Prices for color soy-based ink are comparable to those for petroleum-based ink, but less soy ink is needed per print job and soy ink reduces paper waste, so you are actually saving money! If those reasons aren’t enough, by using soy-based ink, you are also supporting American crops rather than relying on the foreign oil industry.

Soy ink is currently only available for commercial printers, however, and can’t be used for personal printers or ballpoint pens. Most ink manufacturers produce at least one soy ink, so check with your local ink manufacturer about purchasing soy ink.

Quick Stats

Soybeans only use about 0.5 percent of the total energy that is needed to create the ink.
About 90 percent of the country’s daily newspapers with circulations of more than 1500 use soy ink.
About one quarter of commercial printers in the United States operate using soy ink.
When soy ink reaches its full potential, it will consume 457 million pounds of soybean oil a year.
EPA Project Summary: Waste Reduction Evaluation of Soy-based Ink
Soy is “Greening” the Toner Cartridge Industry

2. Eliminate vending machine waste
Coffee-making vending machines may save you from caffeine-withdrawal headaches in the morning, but they don’t help out the environment. If your office vending machine dispenses its own cups, make sure they are recyclable or see if the machine allows you to use your own reusable mug instead of dispensing a plastic cup each time it makes a beverage.

Even better, provide machines that allow employees to make their own beverages. This cuts down on waste and energy usage! If you don’t think you can go without a vending machine, however, consider asking the machine provider to de-lamp the machine. This will save a significant amount of energy, considering the lights and ballasts in a typical refrigerated vending machine use about 180 Watts. You can also add an occupancy sensor on the machine that reduces the vending machine’s power requirements during periods of inactivity.

Quick Stats

A typical refrigerated vending machine consumes 400 Watts — at a rate of 6.39 cents per kWh, that’s an annual operating cost of $225.
De-lamping vending machines can save $100 every year.
Energy Efficient Beverage Vending Machines
VendingMiser Energy Controls For Vending Machines

3. Cut down on office transportation
Offer carpool-matching services that allow employees to find co-workers that live near them. Also, encourage biking and walking to work by providing bike racks outside of the office. Then reward those who do take advantage of these environmentally friendly transportation options! Parking incentives such as parking spots close to the office or shaded/covered parking may entice workers to buddy up for their commutes. Improve e-mail and video teleconferencing capabilities to allow for more telecommuting, and try to provide flexible work schedules for employees, so they can work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days.

Check out Sharetheride.com for a Phoenix-wide carpool matching service provided by Valley Metro.

Quick Stats

Driving 10 percent less, by walking, cycling, carpooling, or taking public transit, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.2 to 0.8 tonnes per year, depending on the vehicle.
According to AAA, the cost for owning and operating an average size car is 52.2 cents per mile, when driven 15,000 miles per year.
Carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to the greenhouse effect, and cars produce about 30 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Car Sharing – use cars only when you need them
Carpool Crew – search for people with similar interests with whom to carpool
Learn About Carpooling from the U.S. EPA

4. Switch out certain light bulbs and monitoring lighting usage
11/28 Lighting A Business - NY only
We obviously can’t work without lighting, but we can do our best to cut down on unnecessary use of lighting, especially in the evenings and on weekends when no one is in the office. Since exit signs are lit up 24/7, they use up a lot of energy and therefore add a lot to your office electricity bill. Make sure all office exit signs are illuminated using compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), light emitting diodes, neon lighting or electroluminescent lighting technology. These will cut down on energy use and lower your electricity bill.

Replace old fluorescent lighting fixtures that are likely using T-12 lamps with T-8 fluorescent lamps. With T-8 lighting, you’ll get better color, less flickering and T-8 lamps use 20 percent less energy than T-12 lamps.

Occupancy sensors are a good idea for areas of the office that aren’t used as much as others, such as the break or conference room. These sensors will detect when a person enters the room and turn on the lights. When they sense no one is in the room, the lights will turn off. These are easy to install and relatively inexpensive.

Visit WattStopper to browse occupancy sensor options.

Quick Stats

Replacing tungsten bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps typically makes an immediate cost savings of between 50-80 percent, and CFLs last up to ten times longer.
Over its life span, a fluorescent tube will save 640 kWh of electricity compared with the equivalent 100-watt standard bulb. This reduces the production of carbon dioxide, a green house gas, by half a ton and sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain, by 3 kg.
According to a US Department of Energy (DOE) end use study from 1995, lighting accounts for about 29 percent of the energy use in a typical office.
ENERGY STAR Lighting – save the planet and save your money
Department of Energy - tips on how to improve your lighting and save energy/money
Economics of Energy Efficient Lighting for Offices

5. Make the most of your office equipment
According to the Department of Energy, office equipment accounts for 16 percent of an office’s energy use. The use of computers, printers, copiers and fax machines adds up, but simply turning your computer’s sleep mode on when you’re not using it can save energy.

It is a myth that activating a computer screen saver saves energy; it actually wastes more of it. In addition to putting your computer to sleep when you are away, make sure to turn the machine off when you leave the office for the night. Certain printers, copiers and fax machines also have sleep modes that can be automatically activated when the machine senses inactive periods. Also, consider consolidating these machines by purchasing a machine that performs multiple office functions.

If you’re looking to purchase new office equipment, visit ENERGY STAR to browse office equipment that cuts down the use of energy and reduces pollution.

Regularly cleaning the coils of your office refrigerator and defrosting the freezer will cause the refrigerator to operate better. It will also operate better if it is kept full, so if you’re refrigerator is too big for the amount of people in the office, fill the extra space with water bottles.

Quick Stats

A Lawrence Berkeley Lab study from 1999 estimated that one workstation (computer and monitor) left on after business hours is responsible for power plants emitting nearly one ton of CO2 per year.
If every US computer and monitor were turned off at night, the nation could shut down eight large power stations and avoid emitting 7 million tons of CO2 every year.
IBM estimates it saved $17.8 million worldwide in 1991 alone by encouraging employees to turn off equipment and lights when not needed.
EPA - Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at the Office
EPA - Conservation Tips for Business
Guide to Help you Buy and Use Environmentally Friendly Office Equipment

6. Keep an eye on your paper usage
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each employee in a typical business office generates 1.5 pounds of waste paper per day. That’s a lot of paper – most of which can be recycled or not used at all. There are several ways to cut down on how much paper you use, but if you must use paper, make sure to recycle it! This will not only help out the environment, but it will also benefit your bottom line.

Ways to use less paper

Make hard copies only when necessary. View documents on your computer instead of printing them out, and use e-mail to send documents rather than printing them or sending them via “snail mail” or fax.
Use a stick-on label on the first page of a fax instead of a full cover sheet.
Reuse paper that only has printed material on one side. Keep a bin for this paper by any printers, fax machines or copiers to use as draft paper.
Make sure all printers and copiers are set up to print on both sides of each sheet of paper. Some older machines may not have this function, but as those machines wear out, replace them with ones that have a double-sided printing function.
When buying paper

Buy recycled paper. Make sure to purchase paper with the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled content available.
Only buy paper that is PCF (processed chlorine free). According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, PCF paper contains recycled content produced without elemental chlorine or chlorine derivatives. Any virgin paper in the product is totally chlorine-free (TCF). PCF paper is preferred over TCF because recycled content is used in the former type of paper.
Use unbleached and uncolored paper. If you need to use colored paper, use pastel colors.
Buy products in bulk to minimize packaging.

Quick Stats

A single-sided 10-page letter costs $0.55 to mail; that same letter, copied onto both sides of the paper, uses only five sheets and $0.34 in postage.
A ton of 100 percent recycled paper saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions, and three cubic yards of landfill space.
In the U.S., over 40 percent of municipal solid waste is paper – about 71.8 million tons each year.
The Green Office - Buy Environmentally Friendly Office Supplies
Conservatree - Find Information on Different Types of Recycled Copy Paper and More

7. Monitor heating and cooling systems and water usage
According to a TIME magazine article, heating, cooling and powering office space are responsible for almost 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and eat more than 70 percent of total electricity usage. You can save about 10 percent on your electricity bill by just adjusting that thermostat by one or two degrees.

Ways to save money and energy

Use automatic setback thermostats. These thermostats automatically adjust the temperature settings for weekends and evenings when people are not in the office.
Consider outside air economizers that use outside air to cool down buildings when the air outside is cooler than the air inside.
Think about solar shading. You can use a reflective roof coating and/or window films and shading to reduce the amount of heat from the sun that penetrates your office building.
Keep the blinds closed. In the winter, this will conserve heat in the office, and in the summer, it will keep heat out.
Save on utilities

Add aerators to existing faucets. This can cut faucet water usage in half and save energy when using hot water.
Fix leaks. One dripping faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day.

Quick Stats

Heating, cooling and ventilation accounts for 39 percent of the energy use in a typical office.
An adjustment of only a degree or two can cut heating or cooling bills by two to three percent. Extending that to three or four degrees can produce savings of 10 percent or more.
Water heating in an office can account for nine percent of the total energy load.
Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drop per second can waste up to 2,700 gallons of water each year.
EPA - Using Plants to Reduce Heating and Cooling Needs
EPA - Water Efficiency for Businesses

8. Consider all of your options
Hire an energy manager or transportation coordinator. It may be beneficial to have someone in the office whose sole job it is to set up carpooling or keep track of office recycling and energy use. The money spent on paying somebody to hold this position will be well worth it when you get your utility bill and help save our planet.

Use non-toxic cleaners or insist your janitorial service use them when cleaning your office. According to the Portland Office of Sustainable Development, cleaning products are responsible for 10 percent of the poisonings reported to poison centers nationally. A lot of cleaners wind up going down the drain and toxic chemicals sometimes then end up making their way into groundwater or waterways. Chemicals from these cleaners also end up in your office air and can have negative health effects.

Join Energy Star to promote energy efficiency. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy that looks to help companies save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. According to the Energy Star Web site, with the help of ENERGY STAR, Americans “saved enough energy in 2006 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million cars — all while saving $14 billion on their utility bills.”

Make sure all business meetings and conventions follow specific green standards..

Sources:
Wikipedia
EPA
egeneration
Oregon.gov
TIME.com
NRDC.org
Carpooltool.com
Clean Air Campaign
Bannock Planning

Green Cars

11/28 From TheGrist.org
Bush administration's fuel-economy regs for bigger vehicles smacked down A federal appeals court has rejected the Bush administration's fuel-economy regulations for 2008-2011 model light trucks and SUVs. In the scathing tone that the Bushies are becoming quite familiar with, the judges declared that the regulations did not consider the economic impact of vehicle emissions' contribution to climate change, and ordered the Transportation Department to come up with new, tougher standards. The court also asked for an explanation of why the agency considers light trucks and SUVs in a separate category from passenger cars, saying the distinction "overlooks the fact that many light trucks today are manufactured primarily for transporting passengers." Enviros had petitioned the appeals court less than a month after the regulations were announced in March 2006; subsequently, 11 states joined the lawsuit. While we always love to see climatic injustice smacked down, this specific issue may become moot if Congress passes -- and Bush OKs -- an energy bill with tougher fuel-economy regulations.

sources: The New York Times, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee

11/28 From TheGrist
Hybrid Chevy Tahoe wins "Green Car of the Year" award
The Green Car Journal has awarded the "Green Car of the Year" prize to ... drumroll please ... the hybrid Chevy Tahoe. An eight-passenger SUV not yet on sale? Whaaa? "People don't think green when SUVs are concerned and for generally good reason, since SUVS often get poor fuel economy," says Green Car publisher Ron Cogan. "Chevrolet's Tahoe Hybrid changes this dynamic with a fuel efficiency improvement of up to 30 percent." Be that as it may, the Tahoe Hybrid's 21 miles per gallon in city driving is a far cry from the fuel economy achieved by smaller, more park-able hybrids.

From AutoBlog.com
Here we have the first image of the upcoming plug-in hybrid luxury car from Fisker set to debut at this year's Detroit Auto Show in January. Developed in conjunction with Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, the plug-in hybrid will cost around $100,000 and initially be built in a run of just 100 units. Fisker hasn't given out any details on the car, like how much power it will produce or what its fuel economy will be, but from the picture above we can tell it will be a stunner. That's not surprising, as the company's namesake, Henrik Fisker, designed such cars as the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, among others. Though the image is small, we can make out design elements from many other high-end autos including a Ferrari 599-esqe front end, some Maserati Quattroporte in the midsection and, of course, a little Aston in the rear. Check back here in January for some solid info on what this car's all about.
[Source: Fisker via Carscoop]

From Greenmesh.com
India’s largest automaker, MDI, is set to start producing the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicle. The vehicle uses compressed air in an innovative engine design instead of exploding gasoline resulting in zero emissions at the tailpipe.

The $12,700 CityCAT, one of several Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. The vehicle is filled with 4350 psi of air in minutes by a special hose at equipped service stations for about $2.. It also has an internal compressor that can fill the car in four hours from the electrical grid.

From TheAirCar.com
Welcome to the future!
After fourteen years of research and development, Guy Negre has developed an engine that could become one of the biggest technological advances of this century. Its application to Compressed Air Technology(CAT) vehicles gives them significant economical and environmental advantages. With the incorporation of bi-energy (compressed air + fuel) the CAT Vehicles have increased their driving range to close to 2000 km with zero pollution in cities and considerably reduced pollution outside urban areas. The application of the MDI engine in other areas, outside the automotive sector, opens a multitude of possibilities in nautical fields, co-generation, auxiliary engines, electric generators groups, etc. Compressed air is a new viable form of power that allows the accumulation and transport of energy. MDI is very close to initiating the production of a series of engines and vehicles. The company is financed by the sale of manufacturing licenses and patents all over the world

From Yahoo.com
Top 100 Green Cars

From EPA.gov
IMPORTANT REMINDER: EPA's fuel economy estimates are designed to allow consumers to comparison shop. Your fuel economy will almost certainly vary from EPA's rating. This is based on a number of factors such as weather, road conditions, your driving and maintenance habits, and your use of air conditioning. For more information on how your fuel economy can vary, or tips to improve your fuel economy, please visit Your MPG Will Vary and Gas Mileage Tips on www.fueleconomy.gov.

GreenCar.com - e-zine

Black Sea Disaster

By Chris Baldwin,
Reuters
Posted: 2007-11-12 11:09:31
Filed Under: World News
ILYICH, Russia (Nov. 12) - Russian rescue helicopters searched for five missing seamen on Monday after a storm in the northern mouth of the Black Sea , while a slick of oil from a sunken tanker began washing onto beaches.

Rescue officials said three people died in the storm that struck the narrow straits between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea on Sunday, sinking a small oil tanker and at least four freighters and leaving other ships stranded on the shoreline. The ships were battered by waves as high as 18 feet.

Birds seeking shelter on the shore near the center of the storm were covered in a treacly mixture of oil and seaweed -- the first evidence of what one Russian official called an "environmental disaster."

The sea was calm again by Monday but at Novorossiisk, Russia's second biggest port for exports of oil and oil products, officials had ordered tankers not to dock because a second storm was on its way.

Nikolai Lityuk, regional head of Russia's Emergencies Ministry, said the navy had been called in to help with the search and rescue operation, and the clean-up.

"Our main aim is to find the ... people who are missing," he told reporters at the port of Kavkaz, where the operation's headquarters have been set up. "The second objective is to deal with the consequences of the oil spill."

Earlier, rescue officials had said they were searching for eight missing seamen but this was revised to five after three bodies were recovered.

"Three helicopters and 11 rescue ships are taking part in the (search) operation," Emergencies Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov told Reuters by telephone.

OIL-COVERED BIRDS

The oil spill came from the Volgoneft-139, a small Russian oil tanker which broke in two during the storm when it was off the Ukrainian port of Kerch.

Officials said it had spilled at least 1.3 million gallons of fuel oil. In cold weather, the thick, treacly substance is liable to sink to the seabed instead of dispersing, making the clean-up harder.

At the coastal settlement of Ilyich, halfway between Kavkaz and Novorossiisk, about 100 workers were on the beach using shovels and a bulldozer to scrape globules of oil off the sand.

"This oil came in last night, along [an 8-mile] stretch," said Alexander Mikhalkov, foreman of the clean-up crew.

A flock of about 1,000 rails, a species of wetland bird, were huddled on the beach, unable to fly because their feathers were coated with oil. Some were unable to stand.

Cleanup workers said wild dogs had been taking advantage of the birds' condition to attack them. A Reuters reporter found a number of the birds on the beach with their heads torn off.

Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environment agency Rosprirodnadzor, said the spill could take years to fix. "This is a very serious environmental disaster," he said on Sunday.

Russian officials said shipping in the area had been warned well in advance of heavy storms but some captains had ignored the advice and put to sea.

The polluted area is at the heart of the migration route from central Siberia into the Black Sea of red-throated and black-throated Siberian diver birds.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Toxic Mercury Article

Excerpts From The Article

As many as 600,000 babies may be born in the U.S. each year with irreversible brain damage because pregnant mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Medical researchers are just beginning to explore the effect of mercury exposure on adults that leaves some in a disorienting "fish fog."

Nationwide, more than 8,000 lakes, rivers and bays are compromised by mercury's toxic effects.

Where is all the mercury coming from, and can something be done to stop it?

A partial answer can be found in the nearly 500 coal-burning power plants that supply about half the nation's electricity. The $298 billion electric utility industry is the nation's largest source of mercury air emissions and the latest target of federal and state clean air regulations.

The EPA's new Clean Air Mercury Rule, effective in 2010, gives energy companies until 2018 to cut mercury emissions to an industrywide 15 tons.

Mercury also has been removed from products such as thermometers and paint, batteries and toys. Most childhood vaccines no longer contain thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury. Many dentists have discontinued the use of metal amalgams to fill cavities

Test kits
http://www.heavymetalstest.com/mercurytest.php - for house
http://www.sierraclub.org/mercury/get_tested/ - for body
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/get-tested-for-mercury-contami - for body

Lead Threat in Binghamton NY

Excerpts from the article:

Almost 30 years after it was banned from paint, and despite the recent recall of millions of toys and other products, lead -- a dangerous toxic metal -- still lurks in the homes of thousands of Southern Tier children.

Compounding the issue: Broome's children are less likely to be checked for lead than kids in most upstate counties -- though the test is readily available and the federal government says every child should be tested twice by age 2.

A Press & Sun-Bulletin review of state and county health department records, U.S. Census figures and federal housing data found that problems continue:

* Every year, dozens of Tier children are found to have dangerously high lead levels and dozens of others have enough lead in their systems to require medical attention. Pediatricians become concerned when a blood test shows lead levels above 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood. A microgram is a millionth of a gram; a deciliter is one-tenth of a liter.

In 2003, state figures show, 106 children in Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Tioga counties were found to have levels above 10. Another 14 had more than twice that amount in their bodies. And that doesn't take into account the hundreds of kids who aren't being screened.

Statewide, 4,533 children were identified in 2003 as having elevated lead levels. That many children would almost fill the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

* Odds are that a Tier child will live in, be cared for at or regularly visit a house containing lead.

* Children born in Broome since 2000 remain less likely to be checked for lead than kids in most other upstate New York counties.

State figures show that only 43.3 percent of Broome babies born in 2000 and 2001 were tested before the age of 16 months, a rate lower than that in 47 of the 55 counties north of New York City. In 2004, county figures show, 952 of the 2,026 babies born in Broome weren't screened before age 2. That's despite a push by the state to have blood-lead screenings done on at least 80 percent of kids younger than 1, and the national health community's push to end lead poisoning by 2010.

"We're doing the screenings to see if a child is sick," said Broome County Lead-Poisoning Prevention Coordinator Bill Pedley. "But the emphasis really needs to be on prevention."

In the early 1990s, the city of Milwaukee pioneered a technique for making homes lead-safe. It focuses on replacing windows or repairing them by shaving the wood and repainting it, then covering part of the frame with vinyl or aluminum.

Milwaukee pays homeowners $160 per window to repair or replace them -- an offer extended to landlords, too, unless a child in their building turns up with elevated blood lead. Then, the landlord must pay the costs; if he fixes that property, he's eligible for aid for other properties.

The program has succeeded. In 1995, 39 percent of city kids had elevated lead levels in their blood; by 2006, it fell to 6.6 percent. Total cost: $53.5 million -- about two-thirds from federal grants.

Nevin wondered whether millions of children exposed as babies to lead through car exhaust would commit more-violent crimes than children exposed to lower levels. So he began comparing leaded-gas consumption through much of the 20th century with FBI crime statistics.

He found a "stunning" fit, he says. The trend lines match almost perfectly: Leaded-gas use climbed in the 1940s and fell in the early 1970s. Twenty-three years later, rates for violent crime followed in near unison. He also studied lead-paint levels from 1879 over the next 60 years, matching them to murder rates from 1900-59.

Nevin published his findings in the journal Environmental Research in 2000.

"People think this is just a 'city thing,'" said former Rochester school principal Ralph Spezio. In 1999, wondering why so many of his students needed expensive special-education services, he found high lead levels in 41 percent of the children. Among special-education students, it was 100 percent.

Also -
Gov't Info on Lead

Lead Test Kits

Theories On The Environment

10/26 Theory On Drought Monitoring
8/28 Desertification
8/20 Wind Turbines Along Highways - updated 8/29
Genetically Engineered Plants Destroying Bees?
Radio Frequencies and Bees
Global Warming

Letters To Send

Make Your Own Public Service Announcement
10/27 Wind Turbines Along Highways - Published in Binghamton NY
10/27 Pushing Local Gov'ts to use Vegetable Oil for Diesel Published in Binghamton NY
10/28 Meteorologists Need To Step Up On Water Management
Going Unscented - Published in Binghamton NY

At Least 10 Reuses For Everyday Items

At Least 10 Uses For:
10/26 Old Jeans
Updated 10/24 Old Clothes
9/15 Egg Cartons
9/3 Styrofoam
9/1 Cardboard Tubes
8/28 Pill Bottles
8/3 Dryer Lint Uses. Seriously
8/25 2-Liter Bottles
8/25 Sawdust
8/24 Milk Jugs
8/23 Egg Shells
8/22 Newspapers
8/21 Paper Grocery Bags
8/21 Plastic Grocery Bags
Tennis Balls
8/21 Wood Ashes

Electric Vampires

Sent to me by Tammy through Doug of Vestal UMC's Green Team:

By JULIE CARR SMYTH - Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio(AP) A force as insidious as Dracula is quietly sucking a nickel of every dollar's worth of the electricity that seeps from your home's outlets.

Insert the little fangs of your cell phone charger in the outlet and leave it there, phone attached: That's vampire electronics.

Allow your computer to hide in the cloak of darkness known as "standby mode" rather than shutting it off: That's vampire electronics.

The latest estimates show 5 percent of electricity used in the United States goes to standby power, a phenomenon energy efficiency experts find all the more terrifying as energy prices rise and the planet warms. That amounts to about $4 billion a year.

The percentage could rise to 20 percent by 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In California, lawmakers passed a proposal last year _ dubbed the Vampire Slayers Act _ to add vampire electronics labels to consumer products, detailing how much energy a charger, computer, DVD player, PlayStation, microwave or coffee maker uses when on, off or in standby mode.

"It's something people don't know about," said Dave Walton, home ideas director for Direct Energy, a utility and energy services company that has one of its four main offices in Dublin, Ohio.

The issue is particularly pressing in Ohio, the nation's No. 1 emitter of toxic air emissions _ mostly from electricity production at the state's coal-fired power plants. Walton said skyrocketing energy costs mean everyone should worry about the vampires in the house.

The International Energy Agency has estimated standby energy use by vampire electronics at 200 to 400 terawatt-hours a year. The entire country of Italy consumes about 300 terawatt-hours of electricity each year, according to the agency.
Picture any appliance that displays a clock while otherwise idle, such as a microwave oven, coffee maker or DVD player. They constantly consume little bits of energy.

"About 40 percent of the electricity being used to power your home electronics is consumed while they are in that standby mode," Walton said. "If you just focus on that piece, you will be making a big step."

Ditto for things that charge, such as cell phones, PDAs, toothbrushes or portable tools, some of which trickle a charge even after the device that's charging is at capacity.

Some chargers halt the flow of current when it's not needed, which should happen automatically with chargers for lithium-ion batteries. If you're uncertain, Walton advises unplugging chargers when not in use.

He recommends hooking up your home computer system, including accessories like a printer or scanner, to a single power strip that can be easily switched off each night. He advises shutting off the other vampires too, though the inconvenience of resetting the clocks, channels and timers on those devices each morning will discourage most people.

The government-backed Energy Star program, coordinated jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, identifies appliances that consume less energy.
If one in 10 American homes used only appliances endorsed through the program, the Energy Department estimates, it would reduce U.S. carbon emissions by the same amount as planting 1.7 million acres of trees.

From AboutMyPlanet.com

Vampire electronics suck! Literally! These are electronics that use energy even when seemingly turned off or idle. CNN recently did a video report about these electronics and found that even some washing machines, when you turn them off, still suck energy. Many homes have up to 50 vampire devises. For example, a turned on DVD player uses 11.32 watts, and when it's turned off it still uses about 6 watts of energy. A home computer uses around 60 watts in standby.

From GrinningPlanet.com

Exact figures on total losses to standby power are not available, but the most recent major survey on the subject estimated that in the United States, 5% of electricity usage is due to standby power. In Europe, the numbers run slightly higher: France at 7% and Germany and the Netherlands at 10% each. Australia comes in at 11%, Japan at 12%.

There's a cool little gadget available that can help you determine which of your plug-in items are the most inefficient power consumers. It's the Kill-A-Watt electricity usage monitor. You just plug it into the wall outlet and then plug your electrical device into the Kill-a-Watt monitor. It will allow you to assess how efficient the electrical device is. You can calculate the item's electrical cost by the day, week, month, or year to help you decide whether a more efficient model would save you money over time

The amount of standby power wasted varies among electronic equipment, but overall, the cost to consumers and businesses for all the electricity lost to vampire power in the US is estimated to be $4 billion annually. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates the global energy consumption due to standby power at between 200-400 terawatts per year.

Not all of this vampire power is truly wasted—after all, many of the features in modern electronics that require standby power are either critical for proper functioning of the unit or are associated with desirable features. Most wasted standby power is consumed by inefficient power supplies and components that are getting power unnecessarily. An Australian study of global standby power usage in electronic devices estimated that electronics manufacturers could reduce vampire power by 30% right off the bat just by using existing, better technologies—and with minimal additional cost to consumers.

TN Town Ran Out Of Water

Tennessee Town Runs Out of Water
By GREG BLUESTEIN,
Posted: 2007-11-01 22:30:40
Filed Under: Nation News
ORME, Tenn. (Nov. 1) - As twilight falls over this Tennessee town, Mayor Tony Reames drives up a dusty dirt road to the community's towering water tank and begins his nightly ritual in front of a rusty metal valve.With a twist of the wrist, he releases the tank's meager water supply, and suddenly this sleepy town is alive with activity. Washing machines whir, kitchen sinks fill and showers run.

About three hours later, Reames will return and reverse the process, cutting off water to the town's 145 residents.The severe drought tightening like a vise across the Southeast has threatened the water supply of cities large and small, sending politicians scrambling for solutions. But Orme, about 40 miles west of Chattanooga and 150 miles northwest of Atlanta, is a town where the worst-case scenario has already come to pass: The water has run out.The mighty waterfall that fed the mountain hamlet has been reduced to a trickle, and now the creek running through the center of town is dry.

Three days a week, the volunteer fire chief hops in a 1961 fire truck at 5:30 a.m. - before the school bus blocks the narrow road - and drives a few miles to an Alabama fire hydrant. He meets with another truck from nearby New Hope, Ala. The two drivers make about a dozen runs back and forth, hauling about 20,000 gallons of water from the hydrant to Orme's tank.

"I'm not God. I can't make it rain. But I'll get you the water I can get you," Reames tells residents.Between 6 and 9 every evening, the town scurries. Residents rush home from their jobs at the carpet factories outside town to turn on washing machines. Mothers start cooking supper. Fathers fill up water jugs. Kids line up to take showers.

"You never get used to it," says Cheryl Evans, a 55-year-old who has lived in town all her life. "When you're used to having water and you ain't got it, it's strange. I can't tell you how many times I've turned on the faucet before remembering the water's been cut."

"You have to be in a rush," she says. "At 6 p.m., I start my supper, turn on my washer, fill all my water jugs, take my shower."

During its peak in the 1930s, Orme (rhymes with "storm") boasted a population of thousands, a jail, three schools and a hotel. But those boom times are long gone.

After the coal miners went on strike in the 1940s, the company shut down the mine and the town has never been the same. Not a single business is left in Orme. The only reminder of the town's glory days is an aging wooden rail depot that sits three feet above the eerily quiet streets.

Although changes are coming - cable TV arrived just a few years ago - cell phones still don't work there. The main road into town is barely wide enough for two cars to pass one another. Dogs wander the streets, farm animals can be heard all around town, and kids gather outside the one-room City Hall to ride their bikes.

"It's like walking back in time. It's Never-Never Land here," says Ernie Dawson, a 47-year-old gospel singer who grew up in Orme.

Water restrictions in Orme are nothing new. But residents say it's never been this bad.

Even last summer, as the water supply dwindled, city leaders cut off water only at night. But in August, Reames took the most extreme step yet and restricted use to three hours a day.

Elected in December, he has now spent $8,000 of the city's $13,000 annual budget to deal with the crisis. Most of the money went toward trucking water from Alabama.

He has tried to fill the gaps with modest fundraisers, but it hasn't been easy. A Halloween carnival last week cleared about $375 and a dog show two weeks ago made $300.

The town has received a $377,590 emergency grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that Reames hopes will be Orme's salvation. A utility crew is laying a 2 1/2-mile pipe to connect Orme to the Bridgeport, Ala., water supply. The work could be finished by Thanksgiving.

"It's not a short-term solution," Reames says. "It is THE solution."

He says the crisis in Orme could serve as a warning to other communities to conserve water before it's too late.

"I feel for the folks in Atlanta," he says, his gravelly voice barely rising above the sound of rushing water from the town's tank. "We can survive. We're 145 people. You've got 4.5 million people down there. What are they going to do? It's a scary thought."


11/6 - From The Grist.org

The Weight of Water U.S. states face water shortages The catastrophic California wildfires got all the press, but it's worth paying attention to an equally intimidating but slower-moving threat: water shortages. From Georgia to Massachusetts, Florida to New York, the Great Lakes to the West, U.S. states are getting thirstier. In fact, the government predicts that at least 36 states will face challenges from inadequate water supplies within five years, thanks to a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, sprawl, waste, and overuse. "Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," says Jack Hoffbuhr of the American Water Works Association. Officials hope that measures such as water recycling, efficiency, and desalination will save the day. In the meanwhile, local officials are tightening their grasp on any available supplies, and debates over how to address the problem are simmering.

Theory From Leslie
http://kermitsteam.blogspot.com/2007/09/theory-on-drought-monitoring.html

Another Theory From Leslie
http://kermitsteam.blogspot.com/2007/08/desertification-theory.html

Lead Concerns A Gov't Report

This is exerpts from the CDC (MMWR). I posted a very similar page on my hurricane relief blog.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5608a1.htm?s_cid=rr5608a1_e

Recommendations for Testing

CDC (102) and AAP (3) have recommended that health-care providers conduct blood lead tests on children enrolled in Medicaid and those identified as being at risk on the basis of the state or local screening plan or the risk assessment process. Federal policy requires that all children enrolled in Medicaid receive screening blood lead tests at ages 12 and 24 months and that blood lead screening be performed for children aged 36--72 months who have not been screened previously (103). Despite this, blood lead screening rates for Medicaid children have been low (<20%) href="http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/grants/contacts/CLPPP%20Map.htm">http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/grants/contacts/CLPPP%20Map.htm.

Targeted screening strategies enable clinicians to assess risks for individual children and recommend blood lead testing for a subset of children in the jurisdiction thought to be at increased risk for lead exposure. CDC recommends that risk evaluations be conducted on the basis of such factors as residence in a geographic area, membership in a group at high risk, answers to a personal-risk assessment questionnaire (which might include local factors such as cultural practices or products, such as herbal remedies, traditional cosmetics or imported spices), or other risk factors relevant to the jurisdiction (102).

CDC recommends that locally developed targeted risk assessment and blood lead screening strategies be applied at ages 1 and 2 years (102). Children aged 36--72 months who have been identified as being at risk and who have not been screened previously also should receive a blood lead test (102). For clinicians in areas that lack a state or local screening plan, CDC recommends that a blood lead test be performed on all children at ages 1 and 2 years and on children aged 36--72 months who have not been screened previously (102).

Because lead exposures might change with a child's developmental progress (e.g., walking or reaching window sills) or as a result of external factors (e.g., family relocation or home remodeling), two routine screenings are recommended (at approximately ages 1 and 2 years). Among children in Chicago at high risk with BLLs <10>10 µg/dL when tested again at age >2 years (103). This report does not change current CDC recommendations in ages for routine blood lead testing. However, certain local health departments (e.g., those in Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) recommend blood lead screening at younger ages or more frequently (106--108). For example, these departments recommend BLL testing starting at ages 6--9 months in high risk areas, blood lead testing at more frequent intervals (e.g., every 6 months) for children aged <2 href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5608a2.htm?s_cid=rr5608a2_e">Resource Guide for help and information

Exerpts

Consumer Product Safety Commission - recalls, etc. http://www.cpsc.gov/
Dept of Health and Human Services - FAQs www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead
The EPA - lead in drinking water - www.epa.gov/lead
Lead test kits

Live Earth Carbon Foot Print

11/1
Last week, we released the Carbon Assessment and Footprint report documenting our environmental performance on 07-07-07. This is the first time that an event of this magnitude has measured and presented its impact in such a detailed report. In an effort to offer another means of viewing this data, we partnered with Visible Strategies of Vancouver, Canada to graphically display the data of our Carbon Footprint in their interactive "see-it" reporting tool. With this tool, you can easily interact with the data, compare each city's results and read interesting stories about how each venue managed in the areas of energy, transportation and waste by venue. Please visit the see-it tool and start clicking!

Pre-Event Estimates
The media cited a variety of estimates before the concerts. On concert day, the Daily Mail quoted an estimate of 31,500 tons of carbon emissions for the global event footprint (including attendee transport), and a waste estimate of 1,025 tons. Internal estimates were generated as well to assess the success of reduction strategies and act as a safeguard to large number variances.
In June, Live Earth produced a final pre-event internal estimate of 18,526 tons, after most reduction strategies were planned and long-term changes were in place, but before the results of concert-day reductions could be known.

Post-Event Calculations
After the Live Earth concerts, we calculated our estimated gross carbon emissions, throughout
our ten-month planning and execution process (and including the concert day itself) at 19,708 tons.

Live Earth’s post-event calculations of our estimated emissions were significantly below all pre-event external estimates in every category except for audience travel. Our actual carbon footprint was roughly 40% below the estimate quoted in the Daily Mail.

Additionally, we generated only about one-tenth the amount of waste that was expected, and of the waste we did generate, 81% was diverted from landfills to be composted or recycled.

As is typical for live events, a great majority (86%) of the estimated emissions were generated
by the nearly 1 million people attending the concerts. Energy use and air travel by Live Earth staff and artists combine to make up the next three largest categories: electricity and fuel use

Achievements by Others

The NFL Super Bowl has been phasing in “green” practices for several years. The carbon accounting for the 2006 Super Bowl measured the impact of selected emissions-generating activities.

The carbon equivalent measured for those activities was roughly 500 tons, with about 70% attributed to the NFL transportation fleet used to shuttle NFL guests around the host city, and 30% attributed to electricity use at the venue.

Likewise, the producers of the 79th Academy Awards took impressive steps to “green” the telecast and related events. Carbon accounting was only one of the environmental issues addressed in the course of producing the Oscars, which also part of the Oscars’ focus, which also included species extinction, deforestation, toxic waste, and environmental pollution. The carbon accounting focused primarily on energy use.

Because they were multi-venue events like Live Earth, the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2006 Olympics are worth reviewing. The 2006 World Cup games in Germany saw 3.4 million attendees at 64 games in 12 cities. The World Cup greenhouse gas accounting captured approximately 92,000 tons of carbon equivalents and the World Cup generated approximately 1,494 tons of waste.

The 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy provide another basis for comparison. The Games consisted of 16 days of competition with 342 Olympic Medal events in 3 Olympic Villages. The carbon accounting considered transportation by teams, officials, sponsors, volunteers and media to and within the Olympic Villages (but not travel by spectators), preparation, operation and dismantling of accommodations and venues, and transportation for waste management. Total carbon emissions measured 106,000 tons, and the Games generated 1,212 tons of waste.

Associated Organizations

Alliance for Climate Protection
The Alliance is a new organization engaged in an unprecedented public education campaign on both the urgency and the solvability of the climate crisis.

Building on the momentum of “An Inconvenient Truth,” our objective is to persuade individuals, communities, states, and corporations across the world to begin to quickly reduce their own greenhouse pollution in order to become “carbon neutral.” Furthermore, The Alliance is working to move the US past a tipping point, beyond which political and business leaders and all sectors of civil society compete to offer policies and programs that will sharply reduce emissions.

Through an innovative combination of communication platforms—like Live Earth—and an influential collection of supporters that includes the environmental community, key leaders in business, the entertainment industry, hunters, labor and many others, the Alliance will reach new audiences that until now have not engaged in solving the climate crisis.

The Climate Group
The Climate Group is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing business
and government leadership on climate change, based in the US, UK and Australia and operating internationally.

The Climate Group convened last summer’s roundtable discussion with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Prime Minister Tony Blair and a select group of prominent CEOs and business leaders from leading California and international companies to share ideas on how business and government can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The roundtable resulted in a historic cooperation agreement between the UK and California to advance the deployment of clean energy and clean technologies and a Leadership Statement on Climate Change signed by twelve of the participating CEOs.

I Count
I Count is the campaign of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition, which brings together over 50 of the UK’s most respected organisations passionate about climate change. With a combined experience of over 700 years and a supporter base of over 4 million, the campaign is showing the public and politicians that climate change is not too big a problem to fix.

The campaign has created a range of compelling ways to inspire individuals to reduce their carbon footprint in work, rest and play and a public platform to demand that the UK government keep within the widely accepted global warming danger threshold of 2 degrees C.
As the NGO partner for LIVE EARTH UK, I Count will transform all the awareness and excitement generated by the concert, into individual action and positive pressure on politicians.

Avaaz.org
Avaaz.org is a new multi-issue online network that provides opportunities for citizens of every country to take concerted action on urgent global problems like climate change, poverty, and human rights. Its mission is to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decisions.

It operates in 12 languages. Launched in January 2007, Avaaz.org has grown to more than 1 million members hailing from every nation in the world. Avaaz means “voice” in several European, Middle Eastern, and Asian languages.

Campaign Sponsors and Partners

Recycling at Live Earth Johannesburg.
Climate Action Partnership
CAP is an alliance between major conservation
organizations in South Africa who have a common vision of reducing the impact of climate change on South Africa’s unique natural diversity. CAP aims to reduce species extinctions by planning for climate change, for example by incorporating conservation corridors into South African landscapes, allowing species to shift their ranges in response to changes in climatic conditions.
CAP also works to reduce South Africans’ carbon footprints and in addition offers carbon footprint offset opportunities through forest rehabilitation projects in South Africa, benefiting the climate while at the same time increasing habitat for forest species and creating jobs for rural communities.

Fórum Brasileiro de ONGs e Movimentos Sociais
The Brazilian Forum of NGOs and Social Movements
for the Environment and the Development (FBOMS) was created in 1990 in order to facilitate the participation of civil society in the process of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio-92). FBOMS mission is the harmonization between social, economic and environmental questions aiming at sustainable development, seeking to achieve a fair, equal and environmentally sound society.
FBOMS Brazil has more than 550 member organizations, both NGOs and social movements from all across Brazil.

ICLEI
ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of 1,000 local governments,
including more than 250 in the United States, working to advance sustainable development
and climate protection. Since 1990, ICLEI has helped local governments set and reach tangible
goals with positive results for their communities.
When it comes to global warming, ICLEI’s members provide leadership at the local, national and global scale and are proving that local action can indeed move the world.

United Nations Environment Programme
UNEP’s China office in Beijing works closely with the State Environmental Protection Administration
of China (SEPA) and other ministries, international agencies and nongovernmental organizations in implementing programmes in environmental assessment, law, education and training, management, technology transfer and innovation, and natural disaster prevention. It also helps to develop and support projects under the Global Environment Facility, an international fund to address climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, transboundary water and chemical management issues.

World Future Council
The World Future Council is a new voice in the global political arena—one that draws on our shared human values to champion the rights of future generations, and works to ensure that humanity acts now for a sustainable future. The Council unites fifty highly respected figures from across the globe and from all walks of life to create a strong ethical voice to represent future generations.
Selected through a global consultation process involving 2,500 civil society organisations, the Council members bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise. Coming together to identify the key issues of the day, the Council draws on this knowledge and experience to set the agenda for the activities of the WFC.

World Wildlife Fund
For more than 45 years, the World Wildlife Fund has been protecting the future of nature. The largest multinational conservation organization in the world, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.