Poor nations push for climate deal

The UN's Least Developed Countries bloc and small island states seek a new deal about thc climate, as many of them are vulnerable to climate impacts such as drought or inundation.

EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard backed the request.

The 48-country Least Developed Countries bloc (LDCs) includes:

• Countries prone to drought, such as Ethiopia and Mali.
• Countries with long flat coastal zones such as Bangladesh and Tanzania.
• Himalayan mountain states including Bhutan and Nepal (melting glaciers pose serious dangers to those countries).

Some rich nations and developeing countries such as Brazil, China, and India are not so crazy about a new deal.

• Climate deal pushed by poorest nations (BBC)
• Big pollution emitters stall talks of new deal (BBC)

Record High Greenhouse gasses to linger on

Record high greenhouse gases will hang around for decades, tgeh U.N.'s weather agency says, even if the world were to stop pumping those into the air right now. Great.

An article about this appeared in the "Insurance Journal". Why is a business interested in climate change or greenhouse gasses? Think about it. Global warming impacts health, crops, livestock, locations of harmful insects, available water, ocean currents, and much more. And things like air pollution also affect health, which affects sick days and impacts the cost of medicare care as well as health insurance.

Climate warming and air pollution are bad for business, in the long run.

• Record High Greenhouse Gasses to Linger for Decades (Insurance Journal)
• "Insurance Journal" articles involving global warming

What does a label mean?

WebMD warns that while many "green" or "natural" cleaning products are indeed safer, others are “greenwashed”. That means they are marketed as "natural" but still have suspect chemicals.”

How can you tell? “Get in the simple practice of looking at product labels to see if the cleaning manufacturer is clearly disclosing all ingredients,” reports WebMD. “If it is not…it could mean the manufacturer is trying to hide a particular suspect ingredient.”

Also, just because a product has an eco-certification printed on its label doesn’t necessarily mean it should be trusted. To make sure, check the Eco-Labels section of Consumer Reports’ Greener Choices website, which gives the low-down on what labels really mean and whether they are backed up by government regulations.

The Greener Choices site asks, "Did you know? ..."

• The "free-range" label doesn’t necessarily mean the animals went outdoors.
• "Fair Trade Certified" means more than paying producers a fair wage.
• Meat labeled as "natural" can contain artificial ingredients.

Another good resource is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Household Products Database, which provides ingredient lists for thousands of products on U.S. store shelves.

If you want to play it safe and natural when cleaning your home, WebMD suggests using white distilled vinegar—it kills mold and mildew, eliminates soap scum and sanitizes, all in one fell swoop—to clean windows, tile, cutting boards and countertops. Another effective yet gentle natural cleaner for countertops and bathtubs is baking soda, especially when mixed with a few drops of mild soap. Borax can be called in for tougher stains.

If you’re interested in cleaning greener, there are many sources of natural cleaning recipes online. Or check out the cleaning products aisle at your local natural food store, where you will find a wide range of cleaning formulations from the likes of Seventh Generation, Ecover, Green Works and Earth Friendly Products (which sells a “Safeguard Your Home” retail pack that includes one each of a window cleaner, an all-purpose cleaner, a dishwashing liquid, an automatic dishwasher gel, a laundry detergent and a fabric refresher), among many others.

• Eco-label center, Greener Choices (a Consumer Reports site)
• Free range -- U.S. vs. Europe (WikiPedia)
• Free range issues
• Green and clean - top picks for cleaning your home (WebMD)
• Household products database (NIH, NLM)
• Looking behind the "natural" label on foods (NPR)

Disclaimer: The author subscribes to Consumer Reports online

Source: Based on an article in "EarthTalk"®, a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (http://www.emagazine.com/). You may be interested in the online archive of past EarthTalk articles or in the EarthTalk article news feed.

Dirty data - Apple, Facebook, IBM

Apple, Facebook, and IBM are all especially guilty of getting significant amounts of power from coal-fired power plants. This finding was came to light in a Greenpeace report about the energy use of the 10 biggest tech companies.

You'd think that these rotten apples would be red-faced!

Facebook also came under fire earlier in 2011 when reporters found that the company planned to buy electricity for its new eco-friendly data center in Prineville, Oregon — one of the greenest such facilities ever designed and constructed — from a utility that gets most of its power from coal.

Green cloud services firms

The companies that scored best scored best in use of renewable alternative energy sources for cloud services?

• Yahoo
• Amazon.com
• Microsoft

Google also leads in green

Google has been a real leader in the building of green data centers, even powering them with renewable energy. The company released environmental footprint scores for several of its data centers. While the energy usage required to run its cloud services (Google Search, Google+, Gmail and YouTube) seems huge in the aggregate (it used 260 megawatt hours to power its data centers in 2010), it boils down to only 7.4 kilowatt hours worth of energy annually per user.

Google reports that to provide an individual user with its services for a month uses less energy than leaving a light bulb on for three hours. And because the company has been carbon neutral since 2007, “even that small amount of energy is offset completely, so the carbon footprint of your life on Google is zero.”

Cloud computing will help environment

In the long run, analysts think that the widespread shift to cloud computing will be a great boon to the environment. A report released in September 2011 by Pike Research, “Cloud Computing Energy Efficiency,” predicts that because of the shift to cloud computing and increasing efficiencies, data center power consumption will decrease by 31 percent between 2010 and 2020.

Learn more about green IT and cloud computing

• How dirty is your data? (Greenpeace report) (PDF)
• Energy Star
• Cloud Computing Efficiency (Pike Research)
• Cloud comuting's green paradox (CNET)
• Green Computing via Cloud Computing
• Green Data Center Alliance

Source: Based on an article in "EarthTalk"®, a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (http://www.emagazine.com/). You may be interested in the online archive of past EarthTalk articles or in the EarthTalk article news feed.

Climate change effects

Climate change doesn't just mean bad changes in weather patterns or a warmer overall climate.  It also affects all God's creatures on his planet.br />

Some are more at risk than others. “Species with small population sizes, restricted ranges, and limited ability to move to different habitat will be most at risk,” reports the National Audubon Society. “Similarly, different habitats and ecosystems will be impacted differently, with those in coastal, high-latitude, and high-altitude regions most vulnerable.”


Audubon also reports that the timing of reproductive events (egg-laying, flowering, spawning) across different species that depend on each other is happening earlier than ever “in some cases interrupting delicate cycles that ensure that insects and other food are available for young animals.”


Another leading conservation group, Defenders of Wildlife, has detailed how a long list of other North American fauna is in decline as a result of global warming.


While the problem is serious and many leaders is serious denial, you can still be part of the solution.

• Swap incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) or, even better, the new generation of LED bulbs.
• Bike, walk and take mass transit more.
• Drive your car less.
• Telecommute when you can.
• Try to source as much of your food and other goods locally to cut down on carbon-heavy transcontinental freight shipping.

Links to organizations listed:

• Audubon Society
• Defenders of Wildlife

Source: Based on an article in "EarthTalk"®, a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (http://www.emagazine.com/). You may be interested in the online archive of past EarthTalk articles or in the EarthTalk article news feed.

Earth home to 8.7 million species

A 2011 study reveals that God's earth is home to over 8.7 million species. Wow!

Quiz: We would be good steward's of God's creation if we (pick one):

• Overharvested, overfished, or overhunted most of those 8.7 million species.
• Poisoned most of those species by our actions that affect the air, water, or land they need to thrive.
• Ignored those 8.7 million species.
• Actively worked to protect and preserve all of God's creation.

Releted links

• How many species on earth? About 8.7 million new estimate says
• 86% of earth's species still unknown? (National Geographic)
• Biodiversity (Wikipedia)

Another reason to buy local food

Freight companies generate a lot of pollution. While transportation technologies and fuels have become more efficient, freight demands have also surged over the past two decades. Today, in the U.S. alone, for example, freight is responsible for about a quarter of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Most freight trucks, locomotives and ships run on diesel engines, which pump out nitrogen oxides, small particles, and carbon dioxide (CO2). Repeated exposure to nitrogen oxide-based smog and small particles has been linked to a wide range of human health problems. Then there's the damages being wrought in our atmosphere and ecosystems by CO2 emissions.

A 2005 analysis by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) showed that heavy duty trucks cause 78% of the freight-related pollution.
 
So how can you help? One way ... choose to buy food that is grown locally. This helps the local economy and small farmers plus it reduces pollution.

• Buy from farmers' markets.
• Support restaurants that buy locally grown items.
• Join a food co-op. Get in-season produce from local growers.

Links about locally grown food

• 10 reasons to eat local food
• Community supported agriculture
• Eat local
• Food co-cops
• Interactive map of local farmers' markets, CSAs, restaurants, ...
• Local is the new organic

Source: Based on an article in "EarthTalk"®, a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (http://www.emagazine.com/). You may be interested in the online archive of past EarthTalk articles or in the EarthTalk article news feed.

10 simple things that help

Below are ten simple things you can do to help protect God's earth (adapted from a World Wildlife Federation flyer).

Do anytime...

• Drive less; walk more.
• Go for second.
• Watch your waste.
• Plan meals better so you don't have to throw away some food.
• Don't overeat. When you do it's garbage in - garbage out (as waste).
• Recycle paper in its many forms -- cereal boxes, "junk mail", bill envelopes, ...
• Bag it
• Use your own canvas or similar reusable bag.
• Buy bags that do not have lead-based paint (some made in China allegedly do).
• BYOB (Bring your own bottle) of water. Don't keep buying plastic bottles that only create problems at landfills.
• Get in touch with your roots. Tree roots that is. Plant a tree.
• Support the good guys. That is, support non-profit organizations that actually help the environment.

Winter

• Put on a sweater.  Use a sweater to keep you warmer, then turn down the heat a few degrees.

House strips EPA of water authority

The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to strip the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its authority over state water quality. Why did they do this, what are the ramifications and what do leading green groups have to say about it? -- Joseph Emory, York, PA.

The legislation in question, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018), passed the House of Representatives this past July with strong support from Republicans and will likely be voted on by the Senate in the Fall. It aims to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also known as the Clean Water Act (CWA) in order to give authority over water quality standards back to the states.

The bill’s backers—including most House Republicans and lobbyists for the mountaintop coal mining industry and factory animal farms—claim it will bring jobs to Appalachia and other distressed regions of the country where they say economic growth has been crippled by stringent environmental regulations. The bill would prevent the EPA from overruling decisions made by state regulatory agencies. The GOP web site says:

“By second-guessing and inserting itself into the states’…standards and permitting decisions, EPA has upset the long-standing balance between federal and state partners in regulating the nation’s waters, and undermined the system of cooperative federalism established under the CWA in which the primary responsibilities for water pollution control are allocated to the states ... EPA’s actions have created an atmosphere of regulatory uncertainty for the regulated community, and have had a chilling effect on the nation’s economy and job creation.”

But those opposed to the bill, including the White House and many Congressional Democrats, say that its provisions would undermine stringent federal water quality protections some four decades in the making.

“H.R. 2018 could limit efforts to safeguard communities by removing the Federal Government’s authority to take action when State water quality standards are not protective of public health,” said the White House after the bill passed in the House by a count of 239-184. Such changes, they added, could adversely impact public health and the environment through increased pollution and degradation of water bodies that provide drinking water, recreation and tourism opportunities, and habitat for fish and wildlife.

For their part, environmental groups couldn’t agree more.

“Make no mistake: This bill would take the environmental cop off the beat and put at risk drinking water for millions of people, the habitat for scores of wildlife, and the jobs and economic growth that depends on a safer, cleaner environment,” said Larry Schweiger of the non-profit National Wildlife Federation, adding that, if enacted, the bill would take us “back to a time when rivers caught fire because of rampant pollution.”

Environmentalists are optimistic that backers won’t have enough Senate votes to pass the bill. Meanwhile, President Obama has pledged to veto any such legislation that does make its way across his desk. But political winds shift quickly inside the Beltway, and only time will tell if the bill will gain enough support to withstand a veto. The quality of the nation’s water supply hangs in the balance.

Sources and more information

• EarthTalk", from E/The Environmental Magazine, 28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851. Phone: (203) 854-5559 ext 106, FAX: (203) 866-0602, earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com.
• HR 2018
• National Wildlife Federation
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Magic sand filters heavy metals from water

A huge concern in many parts of the world is drinkable water. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that about 884 million people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water.

Researchers have now come up with a novel idea that could help ease this health issue. Sand itself is a good filter for biological waste, but not so hot at removing heavy metals, which can make people sick.

The research shows that coating grains of sand with a carbon material dramatically reduced the heavy metals in water.

Green grilling

Just in time for the summer grilling season, The Weather Channel has a special section of Green Grilling Tips. The tips really come from the Mother Nature Network.

I found it disappointing that the tips about what type of grill to buy are not really tips at all. They are "think about this" and "consider that" statements. Nice and valid, but the comments may not actually help you select a grill.

Likewise their link to "Seven Tips for a Guilt-free BBQ" is not really about the BBQ itself. It's about the side dishes. I guess it's true -- there is no BBQ that is truly healthy. I was hoping, but ... [sigh]

Nevertheless, the Green Grilling Tips section is interesting and has some good advice. And that page led me to search and find more.

• Green Grilling Tips (Weather.com / Mother Nature Network)
• Green Grilling (My Carolina Today)
• Green BBQ - 5 Ways to Green your outdoor celebrations (Green Living Eco)
• Savor Great Green Grilling (6-slide slideshow)

Creation quote of note

"All Creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it."

-- United Methodist Social Principles ¶160 – The Natural World

Over 300 new species found in Philippines

Scientists working in the Phillipines have discovered hundreds of new species, some of which may hold potential for new drugs.

During our zeal to develop more territory for a profit, we need to pause and reflect on not only the consequences to God's creation, but also to our own future health and that of our descendents.

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Contaminated produce

People trying to eat healthier and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables may never think about which ones have more pesticides. We just don't mentally link "fresh" with pesticides. But maybe we should pay more attention to that.

This may be another reason to shop organic for fruits and vegetables that are high on the pesticide list.

This year, bumping celery from the number one spot as having the most pesticides is the ever-popular apple. Though the amounts of pesticides found on produce are within FDA limits, you may want to consider consuming foods with less pesticides and buying more organic produce for the "dirty" ones.

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Related sites

• Summary of the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean 15"
• Does washing eliminate pesticides? (FDA)
• Safe handling of raw produce (FDA)

Ashes and Eco-Justice

The National Council of Churches for Christ (NCC) Eco-Justice blog is featuring a weekly Lenten series on eco-justice as applied to local communities.

The first posting, just in time for Ash Wednesday, is "Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust. Trash Forever?"

The series will use the below Bible passages:

• Week 1: Ezekiel 34:18-19
• Week 2: John 20:21-22
• Week 3: Acts 2:44-45
• Week 4: Mark 8:1-9
• Week 5: Matthew 18:20
• Week 6: John 20:24-27

Top EPA accomplishments

The Aspen Institute has published a list of “10 ways the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has strengthened America over the past 40 years.” By the way, the EPA was founded by the Nixon administration in 1970. The EPA has helped protect and preseve God's earth in many ways.

• Banned widespread use of the pesticide DDT, which was killing off wildlife and threatening public health.
• Greatly reduced acid rain due to reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. Acid rain pollutes water sources.
• Changed public views of waste, which led to innovations making use of waste to create energy and make new products.
• Banned lead from gasoline.
• Classified secondhand smoke as a known cause of cancer. This led to smoking bans in indoor public places, thereby improving public health.
• Set strict emission standards for pollutants emitted by cars and trucks.
• Regulated toxic chemicals and encouraged development of less harmful ones.
• Established a national commitment to restore and maintain the safety of fresh water (the Clean Water Act).
• Promoted fair environmental protection for minority and low-income citizens.
• Increased the amount of public information about chemicals and/or pollutants people may be exposed to in their daily lives.

Current EPA focus areas

• Dealing with climate change.
• Further improving air quality.
• Assuring the safety of chemicals used in everyday products.
• Protecting increasingly compromised waterways and coastal areas.
• Building stronger state and tribal partnerships.
• Expanding protection for underrepresented communities.

Potential future problems

Any of the possible types of roadblocks listed below could hamper the EPA in improving our national stewardship of God's earth.

• An unfriendly Congress.
• Weak White House resolve.
• Public apathy
• Future natural and man-made disasters that divert both attention and resources.

Sources and more information

• EarthTalk", from E/The Environmental Magazine, 28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851. Phone: (203) 854-5559 ext 106, FAX: (203) 866-0602, earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com.
• Apen Institute report (PDF)
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Thank the EPA!

The National Council of Churches of Christ's newsletter today asks all interested in protecting and preserving God's earth andGod's children to say a big, "Thank you!" to the EPA. Their email is quoted below:

"Join us in saying “Thank You” to the EPA for saying “no” to the devastation that Mountaintop Removal mining has on God’s Creation and God’s children.

Two weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a veto of permits for a new West Virginian mountaintop removal coal mine - the Spruce Number One mine. After years of litigation and debate, the EPA said “no.”

• No to the destruction of God’s Creation.
• No to polluted water and choked waterways.
• And No to adverse health impacts and high rates of poverty in Mountaintop Removal communities."

If you would like to sign an electronic petition of thanks, surf on over to the NCC Eco-Justice page.

Google Earth Outreach

In case you didn't know ... Google has a special outreach effort for Google Earth that encourages nonprofit organizations to use Google Earth to help tell their story and follow their actions.

At the Google Earth Outreach site, Google proclaims, "You want to change the world. We want to help." All sorts of projects and actions with either the full Google Earth program or the Google Earth web browser plugin, called EarthView.

Below is a video introduction about Google Earth Outreach.

Sports go green

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has helped makes sports more environmentally friendly through its “Greening the Games” initiative. The NRDC has helped dozens of pro sports teams evaluate and improve their environmental impacts.

Philadelphia Eagles. The NRDC started working with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 2004, providing advice for the team's "Go Green" effort. Today the Eagles:

• Get all of their energy at Lincoln Field from wind power
• Pour fans’ drinks in biodegradable corn-based plastic cups
• Power their scoreboard with solar panels
• Have reduced overall electricity use by a third

Major League Baseball. In 2008, NRDC teamed up with Major League Baseball (MLB) to first green the All Star Game and, in 2009, the World Series. The NRDC later assessed each team’s environmental footprint and recommended improvements. Several teams then built or refurbished their stadiums with sustainability in mind. Boston’s Fenway Park, Atlanta’s Turner Field, Washington, DC’s Nationals Park, and San Francisco’s AT&T Park all get high marks for pro-environment features and operations.

U.S. Tennis Association. Also in 2008, NRDC began working with the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) to green its top event, the US Open. Results included a move to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper for tournament programs. An environmental review of all operations at the USTA Billie Jean King  National Tennis Center in Queens, New York led to a number of green improvements for the 2009 US Open, including the switch to 90 percent post-consumer recycled paper for some 2.4 million napkins, increasing the percentage of Hybrid vehicles, and a move to wind turbines for the tournament’s electricity. For the 2010 US Open, the USTA expanded its efforts at the National Tennis Center to help ensure that the US Open registered as little impact on the environment as possible. The NTC grounds featured site-wide composting for the first time. Hybrid vehicles made up 60 percent of the player transportation fleet and a sponsor held a daily MetroCard giveaway, where 125 fans each day won a $4.50 MetroCard to encourage use of mass transit to the US Open.

National Basketball Association. The NBA jumped on the NRDC sports bandwagon in 2009, working with the group to organize its first annual Green Week in early April. During Green Week, the entire league works to increase environmental awareness and generate funds for related causes. As part of the festivities, which took place in 2010 as well and will happen again in April 2011, each NBA team hosted community service events including tree plantings, recycling drives and park clean-up days.

National Hockey League. NRDC got the NHL to skate in on the act as well, helping to green the Stanley Cup Finals and working with individual teams as it did with baseball and football. In announcing the launch of the NHL Green program, league commissioner Gary Bettman commented that it’s only fitting for professional ice hockey to care about staving off global warming: "Most of our players learned to skate on outdoor rinks. For that magnificent tradition to continue through future generations we need winter weather—and as a league we are uniquely positioned to promote that message."

National Football League. The NFL itself has also come aboard, putting varied green initiatives in place at the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl and other big events. The NFL website states that Super Bowl XLV's Climate Change Initiative includes several steps to reduce the overall greenhouse gas impact of Super Bowl activities and events:

• Renewable energy credits. The NFL is using renewable energy credits to provide "green" power for all major Super Bowl XLV event venues including Cowboys Stadium, the Super Bowl Media Center, NFL Super Bowl headquarters, the NFL Experience and the AFC and NFC team hotels.
• Tree planings. Several thousand trees are being planted at sites that include all 12 North Texas Super Bowl host communities as part of the overall "greening" of Super Bowl XLV. Partners include the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Trees Foundation and the US Forest Service. On Monday, Jan. 24, a luncheon event called "Touchdown for Trees" will honor the mayors and the students in each of the twelve communities for their participation in this regional project.
• Monitoring of tree planting results. In partnership with the US Forest Service, the environmental benefits of all trees planted the past seven years in connection with Super Bowl will be monitored and the quantitative results certified by researchers at the US Forest Service.
• Biodiesel fuel. One third of all buses in use on game day will be using biodiesel fuel.

Sources

• EarthTalk", from E/The Environmental Magazine, 28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851. Phone: (203) 854-5559 ext 106, FAX: (203) 866-0602, earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
• NRDC's "Greening the Games" web page
• National Football League news story, January 14, 2011
• US Tennis Association News, "USTA launches new programming and fan enhancements for 2010 US Open", May 25, 2008

Related links

• Greening the games (NRDC)
• NBA Green
• NHL Green
• MLB Team Greening Program
• Super Bowl XLV Community Outreach Programs