SDCA

PETS - THEY'RE KILLING US - a last rant

Can I please have some comment on the impact of domestic pets. I took the ecological footprint - came in at 4.2 planets (sad to say - but flyings bad), but there was no impact given to domestic pets - who fart copious amounts of methane (at least in my home), eat meat almost daily, and are a waste (yes, unless they are doing something meaninful, like stopping the house getting burgled, rather than rolling over for a tummy rub, they are a waste).
In terms of waste - the domestic pet industry is a huge growing industry in the billions - much of it pointless and again, showing the excess and watse of the developed world.
I understand they have some medicinal benefits - assign one to each hospital and school. But if people weren't obese to start with, they wouldn't need an excuse to own a pet- plus pet owners are a mixed bag - notice how they resemble the owners ;-) in looks and weight.
It might sound harsh - but surely I'm not alone in my views that domestic pets should be curtailed. Far better off having pets of local threatened wildlife that have had their forests destroyed by our greed, than another dog or cat.

A smallstep for your lawn, a big step for Las Vegas.

The industry is not always the main culprit in droughts: check out this video, and you will see your backyard choices are important.

It is probably a proof that a sustainable developpement era is coming to the US!

VEJA SNEACKERS !

I give you the link if you are interested in the VEJA company and its sustainable development policy, and also if you want to buy sneackers !!

Eco vandals trash neighboor's Hummer SUV!!!

you thought your neigbor wouldn't approve your choice of car, but this tops it! check the following video of a vandalised hummer..... pretty funny!

Interesting concept: "la théorie de la décroissance" :

I have spent several hours trying to find the english expression of this recent concept, which is called in France la théorie de la décroissance. So, as I think it's a really interesting theory, I'm gonna try to explain it to you guys and maybe you will help me find the english words for it...
La théorie de la décroissance ( maybe decrease theory or ungrowth theory ) is a political, economical and social concept, opposed to the current political consensus around economic growth. It totally tackles the prevailing idea that the increase in merchandises production (goods and services) leads to a better quality of life. So, it suggests that we should decrease both production and consumption, and that it is the only way we have now to respect climate, ecosystem and to save us.
Once one ecological footprint's individuals or groups is superior to one earth, there is no economic development model which allows to keep a viable environment.
Think about it: do you really buy stuff that you really need ? Does your life depend on it ? Many of our purchases are far from necessary: they just respond to artificial needs created by firms and marketing / communication ...
So, you could always argue that we can't stop consuming and producing, and I agree with you. But at least we can think about our ways of consumption and try to make some changes: do we really need all this ?
Moreover,one can always argue that stop consuming and producing would also create unemployment, a decrease in purchasing power, and eventually social violences. It could also seems to be a recessive idea.
I hoped what I wrote was understandable t and if you can help me and tell me if there is an english expression for it and some action groups that exist it would be great !

what s wrong with neoclassical economics???

To illustrate what we talked about this morning i just would like you to read this Robert Solow comment : “if it is very easy to substitute other factors for natural resources, then there is in principle no ‘problem.’ The world can, in effect, get along without natural resources, so exhaustion is just an event, not a catastrophe.”!!!!!

Do we really need to think that hard to solve this one??? C'mon!

It’s late and phone sex service is not available, so I decided to reflect on a solution! Subsequent to my reading of the course article entitled “Economic man, cleaner planet”, I became enlightened by the market-based solutions proposed in the article (as an alternative or complement to conventional “command & control” approach such as heavy regulation)

My solution is simple:

- You want to flush the toilet 35 times per day – PAY FOR IT!!! (i.e. scaled rates beyond a linear cost model…)
- You want to let your lights running all day – PAY FOR IT!!!! (we already have a scaled-rate system in Canada)
- You want an big SUV with an 8 cylinder engine that runs on gasoline? – PAY FOR IT!!! (e.g. additional taxes based on emissions output ratio)

I really believe in the market-based approach. Price sensitivity is a universal concept (mostly anyways), which can very effectively alter purchasing patterns and consumer behavior. Couple this (i.e. pricing strategy upheld by government at the retail level geared towards pricing commensurate with environmental footprint) with a marketing campaign to educate and continue to raise awareness and I believe results would be better than actual (in Canada anyway). If I reflect on Canadian practices (e.g. washing our driveways as Genevieve mentioned), we are definitely not using our scare resources in an efficient manner (i.e. extremely poor service efficiency ratio!!!)

Pressure at the retail level will filter its way up the chain. In addition, how about companies having to contribute to a environment fund based on their environmental footprints (which would really incentivize them!).

All of this seems so obvious…but we don’t need rocket-science to figure this one out! The difficulty lies in the behavioral change needed and this can only come with a highly level of consciousness that comes with education.

I ask: would this be difficult?

Peace in the Middle East,

sAdam

Water crisis in Egypt 2007

Hey Folks,

Take a look at this short but eye opening video clip...Makes you appriciate the clean water you have!!!

Thush

Supplier commmitment

I found an article outlining how Peugot are trying to ensure that their suppliers follow the same guielines as them with regard to sustainable development. For me it is good to see a large company that can exert some power over smaller suppliers having an initiative like this. Large firms need to act as leaders and pull the smaller firms along behind them.

The article is short and to the point so give it a read

Change management in the US

Michael, and the other students from the US, may have seen this article all ready, but for those who have not and are wishing the US would jump onto the Global fight against climate change will be happy to hear that an other large State, namely Florida (good thing the President's brother is no longer Governor..!) will institute new emission laws to combat global warming. They have finally seen the repercussion of global warming on their state...maybe the Governor recently saw Former VP Gore's movie...;-) Please click the attached link

This is the second very large state to embark in the fight against global warming, after California. When will the federal government see that their own people want to see leadership from them and begin to steer this huge ship towards the global fight against GHG. From a change management perspective this is a perfect case study. We all know that to effect change a champion needs to be identified, in this case the US now have two big states on board. This should cause serious pressures on the Bush administration to consider an action plan finally.

Any thoughts!

JM

Water Shortage

There is so many good blogs and I find it unfortunate that I won't be able to read them all carefully. That being, in those I've read, I haven't really seen any extensive discussion on water shortage. This topic is definitely one I have the most at heart and felt obligated to express myself on the subject. I'm making this blog short on purpose so people don't get discouraged by the length and ignore it.

Why is this topic so dear to me?? Because for being Canadian and in the Canadian Forces, I will find myself right in the middle of this upcoming storm. We all know that Canada is inevitably going to be a world target for water supply shortly because of the enormous quantity of soft water we have. As Jeremy stated, if you think the wars for oil are bloody and cruel, we haven't seen anything at all yet. Oil we can live without, not water. You've all seen what we can do to each other for a "nice to have" like pieces of lands or oil. Not a pretty picture at all. Now try to imagine how it will be when we fight for something we need to SURVIVE.

Canada won't be a nice and quiet country for much longer. It has already started by the way... as discussed with another student, the United States are now trying to buy water from us. Want to have a glance at how fast the problem is coming?? Read this.

Please comment. I would appreciate having every nationality's point of view on the subject. Any thoughts on how to tackle the problem??

How you can give value to shareholders and society...

Companies able to tackle issues such as poverty, climate change and population shifts are those most likely to succeed in the future, or so say the World Business Centre for Sustainable Business Development. This YouTube Video outlines views shared by eight global business leaders on the matter. It's called 'From Challenge to Opportunity' and it sets out a "manifesto for tomorrow's global business" as defined by the Tomorrow's Leaders group of the WBCSD. Most interestingly, they discuss in the video why and how four key areas of business and sustainable development need to be profitable in order to be effective.

Enjoy..........

Em

Biomimicry?

I've come across a recent business-related article that may represent an example of biomimicry. The first chapter of 'Natural Capitalism' defines biomimicry as 'reducing the wasteful throughput of materials...by redesigning industrial systems on biological lines'. The example provided later in the text is that of the spider, which produces a silk as strong as Kevlar from digested crickets and flies, without the use of chemical additives. I interpret this point to mean, 'if Mother Nature does it best...simply copy her process'.

Craig Venter, the head of Celera Genomics, garnered fame for leading the team of scientists that mapped the human genome. Venter has made news again in this week's BusinessWeek, for his controversial attempt to patent man-made organisms that may someday be capable of performing specific tasks. The article describes how his new for-profit organization hopes to unvail synthetic micro-organisms that are capable of making fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen.

Though his patents will undoubtedly spark additional controversy, his stated goals fall in line with one of author Paul Hawken's four central strategies of natural capitalism.

- Mike T

Hilary Clinton's Potential Plans- You tube Interview

Hillary describes her plan to create a strategic energy fund that will invest in developing and deploying clean and alternative energy here!

Do you agree 50 billion is enough for the fund??

Sustainably Develop with Nuclear Energy

Ecologists often oppose nuclear as a viable source of energy to ensure our future or to reduce GHG emissions, arguing the nuclear waste and proliferation threats are too dangerous.

I feel the nuclear industry, combined with renewable sources of energy, is the only heavily energy productive system virtually CO² emission free that can provide energy for the increasing demand and help countries reduce and/or maintain their GHG emissions.

As some of you may know, the nuclear industry represents the biggest energy supply source for France. Without this source of energy our country could simply not reach the Kyoto Protocol's goal it signed. It allows France to remain independent as far as energy consumption is concerned. We even export nuclear energy in Europe and we can ensure autonomy on the long run.

Regarding the choice of new sources of energy to implement to supplant CO² producing industries, renewables and nuclear are too often opposed whereas the two sources can be - and should be - seen and settled as complementary: renewables alone cannot provide enough energy to meet the growing demand but they can surely play a more important part in the energy mix, especially solar for water warming for households and biomass, as other alternatives.

I would also like to make a comment about antinuclear activists' frequent observations about safety and threat of accidents (like Tchernobyl disaster) or of terrorist attacks, and go beyond the technical figures in favour of nuclear facilities' safety and say that I don't think any hypothesis is being neglected to protect France's strategic, economic, environmental long-run plans.

My final words of these lines will bring to mind those of Mitterand back in 1981, and often mentioned during 2007 presidency campaign in saying: Greenpeace does not have a monopoly over environmental matters!

You tube videoEnergy Independence & Climate Protection: The Business Case

Energy Independence & Climate Protection: The Business Case: This you tube videa is tres interesting! It gives snippets from interviews with some of America's top business people with regards to their stance on clean energy. My fellow future managers take note! Enjoy! Emily Fitz

Volonteers wanted

The new Greenpeace campaign against global warming will be photograped by Spencer Tunik (famous for his naked crowd pictures). He is currently looking for vonlonteers for his next photograph: a naked crowd on a swiss glacier.
If you want to volonteer and you are not affraid of getting a cold, click here

According to the last report from the group of intergovernment climat changes experts, we should take drastic measures before the next 8 years or the situtation will be irreversible.

I am not convinced a naked body is the best way to raise awareness on global warming, but if it works, maybe it is worth it.

ARCELOR MITTAL : Corporate social responsability / Sustainable development ???

I think that this morning during the presentation of sustainable development in ArcelorMittal, the two ladies were taking about Corporate social responsability (CSR) instead of SD.

What are the differences between CSR and SD ? It is hard to avoid the confusion between this 2 terms, because CRS is closely linked with the principles of Sustainable Development.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could mean that corporations have the "obligation" to take in account the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and at the same time ecological considerations.

Sustainable Development sugests that companies should base theirs strategy on financial factors (profits or dividends) on the one hand, but also on the short-term and long-term social, political, economic and environmental consequences of their activities.

By the way, I visited the website of Arcelor Mittal and there is no mention of "environment" in the "philosophy" of the company...link :http://www.arcelormittal.com/index.php?lang=en&page=8

How I was able to cut my electricity bills in half!

I was paying way too much in electricity bills last year in 2006 and I decided to take action. I live in a 1000 square feet (100 square meters) condo in Ottawa Canada with electrical heat. I was paying an average of 400 CDN $ during the winter months.

I visited the Hydro One website called Power Wise for simple tips on how to reduce electricity consumption (that’s the company in Ottawa that provides electricity) and here are the results: my consumption in 2007 dropped to about 220 to 250$ for comparable periods.

Here are the actions I took:
1-replaced old appliances (fridge, old washing machine and dish-washer)
2-Service heat pump and electric boards.
3-Changed all light bulbs for efficient fluorescent light bulb.
4- We also close our computers/ printers when not using them.

Makes sense for my wallet and for the environment. I would like to see a more systematic application of these principles in businesses as a measure to reduce costs.

Actually, that there are some initiatives to implement new policies according to this article. My only critique is that as usual with any level of government, its taking place at a snail’s pace. 2012 - That’s in over 5 years!

McGuinty Government to Ban Inefficient Light Bulbs by 2012

Long term SD growth

Home Depot could be a good example for other companies which think that SD is incompatible with capitalism. Home Depot had been ranked “No. 5 for Most Environmentally and Socially Responsible Companies from the Natural Marketing Institute in March 2007”.

HD has policies for many if not all sections of their supply chain: from purchasing processes to waste management. HD’s website gives detailed information about concrete actions taken by the company to buy, for example, wood in a more “responsible” way: “our sales of FSC certified (by the Forest Stewardship Council ) wood products increased from $16 million to $350 million.”

HD also encourages their customers to reduce, recycle and reuse. They propose tips, environmentally friendly products and energy-efficient products to theirs customers, informing them about advantages of these products for the environment. Information is provided to them through their website, clinics that they offer to customers, signs into theirs stores and information given by their vendors.

Quantitative (qualitative when necessary) goals are fixed in order to self-evaluate their improvements. Results and information about taken actions are not provided in annual reports: HD prefers to updated these information as often as necessary on their website.
Partnerships with governmental and non-profit organizations are part of the company’s strategy in order to achieve their goals of being a good neighbour, taking decisions that will promote sustainable development.

HD often relies on consultants recommendations to help them improve their procedures. Their corporate culture, implemented by the founders of the company, must also play a big part in their employee’s ability and willingness to improve and make sure that their SD policies are taken into consideration when decisions are made.

HD has a global approach towards social responsibility, sustainability and environmental performance by always taking into consideration the impact of their decision on environment and on their communities. They have a wide variety of program, guides and policies which can be view on their website.

Thank you for all the comments

Firstly, I have to thank you to all the people who left the feedback for my perviously comment.
The purpose I posted my comment is try to get more people to discuss about 'Sustainable development'. For myself, I would love to look after the environment rather than the profit, as Cein said early if tthere is pollution all over the world, no matter how wealthy we have we could not spend the money.
But It is very much true the thing happened in China, people argue about they should make money first, when they have enough money they will look after their environment.

There is the Report by Michael Orme for The Daily Reckoning, everyone might take a look. The crises has been happened already, now is try to figure out how manage the problems.

China's crises: toxic sandstorms
Every year between March and June, Beijing regularly suffers from the ‘yellow outs’ of Feng Chenbao. These huge plumes of toxic grit are born in the Gobi desert during the dry and windy season. They form a chocking pall as they pick up heavy metal particles and carcinogens, such as dioxins, as they pass over China’s industrial regions.

Each spring, they hurl millions of tonnes of sand not just at China but at North and South Korea and Japan as well. Indeed, the Korean Environmental Institute puts the damage caused in Korea alone at nearly $5bn a year, and reckons nearly 2 million people become ill during the sand storm season.

The storms do not stop in East Asia though. They often make it all the way across the Pacific to the western United States, and have been known to make it as far as the Atlantic – travelling a full halfway around the world.

This is now a tremendous problem. According to the United Nations Environment Protection Programme there are now five times as many toxic sand storms blowing across northeast Asia each Spring than was the case in the 1950s, and it’s worsening further with increasing desertification in China. In total, a third of the world’s arable land is already being affected.

China's crises: desertification
Why is China turning to desert? The process is nothing new in itself. In the 4th century BC the philosopher Mencius wrote about it and its human causes, including tree cutting and over-grazing. But the rate at which China and India are growing rapidly creates huge problems for global agriculture.

It is widely known that poor people increase their consumption of meat at a greater rate with each increase in income. This puts increasing demands on arable land.

Cows bred for meat are much hungrier and thirstier than the grain that goes into bread or rice. According to the BBC, a kilogram of grain-fed beef needs at least 15 cubic metres of water. A kilo of lamb from a sheep fed on grass needs 10 cubic metres. By comparison, a kilo of cereals needs only from 0.4 to 3 cubic metres. But it takes 12 kilos of grain for each kilo of feedlot beef.

So it is not enough to produce incrementally more food for each new person on the planet. The world must now produce exponentially more food for each new person because of increasing wealth in the developing world. So far, the solution has been the so-called “green revolution”. Increasingly sophisticated fertilisers and more productive strains of crop have enabled the world’s farmers to keep pace with its increasing population.

However, at base, the green revolution has relied on over-use of scarce water resources to grow crops on already dry land.

China's crises: drought
I can't stress enough the risk of drought the developing world faces. If the world’s water were compressed into a single gallon, only 4 ounces would be fresh. Of that, only two drops would be easily accessible and only one of which would be for human use. From that single drop, more than 90% goes to agriculture and industry.

What's more, new strains of wheat and maize may improve crop yields, but they are a lot thirstier than older varieties. That's increasingly counter-productive as much of the world turns arid as a result of climate change. These crops are supported by irrigation sourced from non-replaceable underground water reservoirs alongside the widespread use of new dam projects. This is having a dire effect on global water supplies, yielding yet another source of global and geopolitical disruption and crisis.

So the spectre of a global water shortage of biblical proportions is due less to leaky pipes and over-use of garden hoses than to the green revolution. For example, the Saudis have spent over £20bn pumping water from an underground reservoir to supply a million hectares of land in the desert to grow wheat. For every tonne of wheat grown, the government supplies 3000 cubic metres of water – or over three times the norm for wheat cultivation. And it all comes from wells that are not being replenished by rainfall.

A third of all irrigation systems across the world use such underground water. Yet while these one-off sources are pumped dry, farmers in India’s rain starved Gujarat region insist on raising dairy herds...so they can use 2,000 litres of water to produce one litre of milk!

Agricultural crisis in China and elsewhere
In short, the world’s agricultural system is beginning to warp, threatening the global trading mechanism and raising the spectre of widespread famine. Since 1984 world grain production, for example, has failed to keep pace with world population growth. In the space of 20 years it’s fallen from 343kgs per person to 303kgs.

Meanwhile, a startling 12 million hectares (30m acres) of farm land becomes un-farmable – an area roughly half the size of the UK.

Few think of China as a desert nation but that’s what it’s becoming. According to the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology just 7% of China’s land mass is now supposed to feed a fifth of the world’s population.
The arable land is concentrated near the east coast as the Gobi desert encroaches from the northwest. And a "Great March East" - reminiscent of Mao’s forced "Long March" - could begin as the rural poor invade the cities of the East and South...cities that are already creaking as they try to cope with the current influx of people from the country.

There are undercover reports of tens of thousands of protests in the Chinese countryside, where many impoverished and increasingly desperate farmers spend more time clearing away sand than farming. They are unable to scratch a living.

Some local officials are hiring gangs of thugs to quell these protests. There is near panic in official circles in China, and not just because these dust storms and pollution in general may ‘blot’ out the showcase Olympics in 2008.

There looms the much more serious prospect of "chaos under heaven".

http://www.moneyweek.com/file/18825/why-china-is-heading-for-environmental-catastrophe.html

This picture is in Beijing 2006

The Celebrity Spokesperson

While Al Gore is understandably lonely within his club of Academy Award winning, ex-Vice President, Harvard- educated, climate change experts...I was interested to see who else might be on his speaking tour. Jeremy's Powerpoint slides make reference to Ray Anderson, who is another superb spokesperson for the SD effort (and not just because he's a product of Atlanta, Georgia!)

The YouTube video of an interview with Ray Anderson can be found here. If I remember correctly, the first excerpt was taken from the movie 'The Corporation'.

In my opinion, Mr Anderson provides an excellent speaker for this cause because he continues to work 'inside' the system. He is perfectly situated as a successful businessman who was initially skeptical, yet is able to describe explicit examples of how his company, Interface, utilized SD efforts to improve profits. Anderson is audibly passionate about his goal of 'zero footprint' from his organization as he describes how customer questions of their behavior in 1994 led to his company's establishment of an 'environmental vision'.

Anderson also spends considerable time in additional interviews referencing inter-generational distributive equity, often referring to industry's 'plundering' of available resources with no concern for future populations. He helped fund 'Alliance to Save Energy', which includes helping children establish energy saving campaigns in their respective schools.

Anderson could charge admission to his speaking engagements based on his success at Interface alone. His immediate credibility with the business community make him an excellent representative for the SD cause. While scientists may hold the most expertise, they may be deemed obscure to the uninitiated. Remember, Phil Knight would have been happy to tell us that NIKE manufactured the best shoe for sport...but it wasn't until Michael Jordan told us, that an empire was born.

- Mike T

Al Gore's movie - "An Inconveient Truth"

This is a great "eye opening" movie that identifies some of the major issues facing human existence and sustainability on this planet! Al Gore is noble and does a great job in promoting awareness of the global issues at hand.

I will promote this film and do my part in raising awareness in the U.S. however i feel that Al Gore can greatly broaden the reach of his message by making this video available online for FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, as a jet-setting, author and politician, he can also do his part by driving around in fuel efficient vehicles instead of the stylish 8 cyclinder gas guzzling Mercedez Benz S class that he was being chauffered in during the film. If he's going to talk the talk.. he should walk the walk!!!!

The EU gives options as to how you can control climate change

Here is an interesting campaign that provides several options that you could incorporate into everyday life.
click here

Global warming ?? No ...

A famous french scientist Claude Allègre wrote in September 2006 an article that lead to a big controversy in France. He was, 20 years ago, one of the first scientists who started to worry about CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and its potential disastreous effects. But recently he totally changed his mind. As he has quite an impressive resumae, we can't say that the man is an idiot who just needs some attention.
According to Claude Allègre, there are climate changes ( that he does not deny), but we can't say that these are caused by carbon dioxide. He also says and prooves that Antartica is currently gaining ice and that the Kilimanjiro ice melting is due to natural causes, not human behaviors.
This man is a scientist, his previous demonstrations were recognized by the whole scientific community. He disagrees with Al Gore and most of the scientific research studies on greenhouse effect / global warming. I don't agree with this guy: I am more convinced by Al Gore demonstration. But I just wanted to know what you guys think about that . The fact that some scientists keep denying that human behaviors and mass consumption don't have effect on our planet : doesn't it prevent citizens and governments to take serious measures ?
The article that Claude Allègre wrote was taken very seriously for instance by the US Government and I think that these information (or "misinformation" ?) can explain and justify some lack in governmental / global policy. On this website, you'll find a US Senate report in which you can read some weird affirmations like "Climate Change is Nothing New" or - even better- "Droughts Less Frequent".
I don't know if we should laugh or cry reading this ...

Innovative recycling

Mc Donalds which is fondly or not so fondly known by most of us, is inrtrestingly on a mission to contribute to sustainable development in (Other than the contribution its making to the growing obese population - E.g: Australia, U.S). It has begun a recycle programme which converts gallons of cooking oil which is left over into biodiesel, thereby saving 1.5 million gallons of gasoline used by its delivery fleet in the U.K.
It is estimated that this effort will prevent the emission of 1,675 tons of carbon per year.
Its not a ground breaking invention but it sure is a good start and given the enormity of the global network of this fast food chain it could prove to be a good contribution to sustainable development if initiated around the globe.

Australia & Kyoto - we're not that bad...plus Al Gore.

Given Australia actually gets to enjoy an increase in CO2 emmissions to 108%, thought i should find out some more facts to share - as if we are not party to the Kyoto treaty, why have any target?

To confirm, Australia did actually sign the Kyoto treaty, agreeing to the 108% target, however did not ratify as the Govt of the day (still in power), believed a clear path on developing countries, namely China and India needed to be included.

Another interesting fact is the reasons supporting our increase in emissions, which are strong migration, strong economic growth, reliance on coal and also our mining of cleaner (but still non-renewable) energy for developing countries;

"many of the greenhouse emissions arising in Australia help others to lower their emissions. For example, Australia's recent success in concluding an LNG deal with China will mean that although Australia will emit around 1.5 million extra tonnes of carbon dioxide annually to produce the LNG, China will emit 7 million tonnes less than if it had used coal. The global atmosphere benefits, even though Australia's emissions increase."

See, we're not such bad guys afterall.

In terms of the Al Gore movie - I still think far too much time wasted on Al Gore and not dealing or addressing the issues. The reality is that we are heating the planet - has Europe plans in place for the abscence of the gulf stream? where will food production need to go, and what type of crops should we be growing for the future? The last ice age was 11,000 years ago, we are clearly headed towards another. While the Canadians will be alright, they're use to the cold ;-), the planet and mother nature is about to shake up the rest of us.....

On another thought, Jeremy made mention of the girl in the last class choosing not to have kids.....while I have a friend that has a similar bleak and pessimistic view on life, I raise (in my defence for having children) that it could be one of our children that invents cold fusion and solves all the problems!!!!! certainly, children that are raised with environmentally aware parents will be best placed and educated to make a difference, (either before or after the ice age).

PS I will respond to many of the postings, but an struggling with the sign in for the moment.

Cheers

Barry

Does it really worth it ?

We talked yesterday about Johannesburg summit, its cost and the results or changes that it may have caused. Here is an article dealing with the cost of the G8 summit which took place this year in June, in Germany.
http://www.europeus.org/archive/2007/06/17/the-g8-summit-a-useless-exercise-at-high-costs.html

Few weeks ago I saw an interview on television of a financial analyst who has calculated the costs of the G8 summit. Not only financial cost but also on the environment. This interview mentionned for instance that George W. Bush needs 2 airplanes when he is travelling: I let you imagine the consequences on the greenhouse effect.

Don't get me wrong, I don't say that this is useless but if we could calculate a "ratio of efficiency "( the cost / the agreeement and progresses made) I don't think that the result would be very good. Maybe a simple conference call would have the same effect... I just think that the money spent for our leaders to meet and discuss and try to agree on some measures should be spent differently, in marketing / communication campaign that could really lead to some mentality changes. Or each country could broadcast Al Gore's movie in every theater for free, so that every citizens would have the same information. I don't know ...

Climate change increases risk of megafires

http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/03/12/1868939.htm
The effect of bush fires on any society is often quite severe, and could definately be seen as a contributor to pollution and greenhouse gas production

I thought I would pass on a couple of interesting observation on bush fire from Australia.

Victoria, one of the smaller states `` suffered 273 fires in a single day in September, and more than 600 in three days in October``.

This increase in reasent times in the number of fires is quite obviously linked to the El Niño effect and climate change
This lovely little link shows quite effectively how bush fires occur and travel.

It is important to note that bushfires are quite natural in Australia, and are required as part of the ongoing regenerative mechanisn for a large amount of Australias biodeversity. So much so that it is only recently that Australia has started deliberatly burning off large areas of bushland, to faciltate this regenerative process. This link gives a great feel for the effort put into fire management in Australia.

It must be said though that Australia has made many mistakes with management of our natural resources, and in particular how we manage our bushland. One mistake that lead to a much greater understanding of fires occured in 1983.This particule fire claimed 75 lives and over 2000 homes, and burnt over & & million acrest. Not surprising, because it occured on a wednesday Australian`s call 16th Feb 1983 `Ash Wednesday`. Imaginative bunch don`t you think.

So with the added risk of a continent drying out, it is reasobly fortunate that Australia has started managing it`s fire needs. In fact some recent research has found that carbon dioxide emmissions are significantly lower with burnback activity because the fire is not as intense, and some materials get to decompose. There is an added risk that the spores will be consumed by the much more intense fires

??Sustainable development??

Everyone is talking about the environment and pollution, and everyone is thinking about sustainable development, but the question is it really relavent to the business?
When you are going to establish a new company, there are shortages for financial resources, human resources, and the other company resources. Do company's shareholders still need to consider about sustainable development?
Which is more important compare to Profit and environmental?
Is it necessary to look at long term strategy reather than short term?
If the company don't have enough people to pay for their emoplyees, do they still need to think about to invest new technology to save the enironment?

What is the first thing company should do?
A. Gather the money
B. Look after the environment (without financial support)
C. Look after the business and environment (with high cost and risk)
D. Gather the money, then look after the environment

Saving trees in China

Over the last few years China has been importing a massive amount of waste paper. This is being recycled and saving millions of trees along the way. The paper industry in China imported almost 20 million tonnes of paper in 2006 with almost 60% of the fibre used in producing the paper being recycled. Usng waste paper saved about 54 million metric tonnes of wood being harvested for pulp last year.
"In the last four years alone, China has prevented 65 million tonnes of waste-paper from heading to landfills in the US, Japan and Europe," according to Bran Stafford the author of the article.
The worry is that the ever growing demand for paper is going to lead to the continued destruction of forestin Indonesia and Russia.
In China the Ministry for foresry have recently launched a handbook for logging conpamies to make forestry in the country sustainable.
The ministry said the booklet would "guide and standardize Chinese companies' sustainable forestry activities overseas", the Reuters news agency reported.
I have given you a summary of the article but if you want to read the full article follow
this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6897231.stm
How sustainable is this approach considering the reduction in paper use throughout the world? Do you think your particular country could attempt something similar?

Are we good citizens?

We all know that the Planet is going through an important ecology crisis. Just to give you some concrete examples :
- global average temperatures have increased from 13.7oC to 14.3oC in the last 100 years
- frequency of extreme weather (floods, droughts, storms) is increasing
- populations, ranges, migration patterns, and seasonal & reproductive behaviour of animals and plants, on land and in the sea, are changing...

We also know that some people in the world contribute more to this crisis than others. For example :
- If annual paper use in China (35 kilograms/person) were to climb to the US level of 342 kilograms, China would need more paper than the world currently produces
- If the Chinese had one or two cars in every garage and consumed oil at the U.S. rate, China would need over 80 million barrels of oil a day – slightly more than the 74 million barrels per day the world now produces.

But what about us? Are we much more like Americans or Chinese people? Do we have a good behaviour?
In my opinion, this is an important point... We all know the ecological problems but we often don't know if we have a "so-bad" lifestyle.

I found a surprising quiz that helps us to answer this question. It asks us 15 questions and shows us how our behaviour is! I thought I was a good citizen but finally, if everybody lived as I do, we should need more than 2 planets to live!!

At the end of the test you will find :
- advice of what to do to improve our behaviour
(you can directly go here)
- different links to join the campaign

Let me know how many Planets you all need to survive!

I wanted to show you this quiz because I think it is a good way to make us aware that we are all responsible for the current situation BUT we all can do something to improve things.

Leslie.

The last person to leave may not have any lights to turn out...

My reflection:

It is clear to me that sustainable development won’t make any real progress until almost all of the nations reach a critical state where the global economy becomes paralyzed by the environmental constraints. Until such a point, exploitation of countries whose ecologic limits have not been exhausted will remain a favored alternative. Only then will we begin to make real progress on the issue of sustainable development.

Article:

link
http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9196256

The above reflection came after my reading of an article appearing in The Economist (“Back to the Dark Ages”). Although the central idea to the article probably has less to do with sustainable development that it does with the state of affairs in Zimbabwe (particularly their economy), the following passage struck me as I believe I could actually be facing this in my lifetime:

“last week the national power company (in Zimbabwe) announced that it would ration electricity in cities, possibly to a meager four hours a day, just as the southern hemisphere's winter is starting to bite.”

Concluding remarks:

As far as I know, Canadians (most of us anyway) are not taking this seriously as we have not yet truly felt the full impact of the devastation we have created (i.e. it’s still business as usual).

http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9196256

Office Towers Use Ice to keep buildings Cool this summer

http://www.comcast.net/news/science/index.jsp?cat=SCIENCE&fn=/2007/07/16/715370.html

New York City - USA uses Innovation to keep office buildings and apartments cool while also saving on electrical consumption and costs!

This could prove to be a more efficient and cost effective means on staying cool for large metropolitan cities!!!

- Ashley

Graphic shows how ice is used to cool office buildings; 2c x 3 1/2 inches; 96.3 mm ...

System Relies on Ice to Chill Buildings
By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jul 16, 2:19 PM

NEW YORK - As the summer swelters on, skyscrapers and apartments around the city will be cranking up the air conditioning and pushing the city's power grid to the limit.

But some office towers and buildings have found a way to stay cool while keeping the AC to a minimum _ by using an energy-saving system that relies on blocks of ice to pump chilly air through buildings.

The systems save companies money and reduce strain on the electrical grid in New York, where the city consumes more power on hot summer days than the entire nation of Chile.

It also cuts down on pollution. An ice-cooling system in the Credit Suisse offices at the historic Metropolitan Life tower in Manhattan is as good for the environment as taking 223 cars off the streets or planting 1.9 million acres of trees to absorb the carbon dioxide caused by electrical usage for one year.

Such a reduction in pollution is valuable in a city where the majority of emissions come from the operation of buildings. State officials say there are at least 3,000 ice-cooling systems worldwide.

"It is worth it to do in New York City," said William Beck, the head of critical engineering systems for Credit Suisse. "If you take the time to look, you can find innovative ways to be energy efficient, be environmental and sustainable."

Because electricity is needed to make the ice, water is frozen in large silver tanks at night when power demands are low. The cool air emanating from the ice blocks is then piped throughout the building more or less like traditional air conditioning. At night the water is frozen again and the cycle repeats.

Ice storage can be used as the sole cooling system, or it can be combined with traditional systems to help ease the power demands during peak hours. At Credit Suisse, for example, the company must cool 1.9 million square feet of office space at the Met Life tower, a historic building that was New York's tallest in the days before the Empire State Building.

In the basement, three main cooling rooms house chilling machines and 64 tanks that hold 800 gallons of water each. Credit Suisse has a traditional air conditioning system, but engineers use the more efficient system first.

Construction on the system took about four months, and company engineers say it is extremely efficient.

"The concept is the same, but when you make something mechanical, it can break, but a big block of ice four floors below grade level isn't going to do anything but melt," said Todd Coulard of Trane Energy Services. The company built the Credit Suisse system and is one of several that work with ice storage.

Trane, the air-conditioning arm of American Standard, also developed a system for Morgan Stanley's Westchester County offices, and just completed a new system for its offices on Fifth Avenue. A new Goldman Sachs headquarters will also have ice cooling. Credit Suisse is looking at installing the systems in offices around the globe, but nothing has been decided yet.

Coulard, an expert in energy efficiency, was hired by the company four years ago to develop the energy services department.

"I've been doing green since before it was cool," he said. "The idea of not only saving money for large companies, but doing something that benefits the environment is win-win. It's doing the right thing."

Engineers say the power-saving results from the system are impressive. And it translates into millions of dollars saved in energy bills for the companies.

Ice storage at Credit Suisse lowers the facility's peak energy use by 900 kilowatts, and reduces overall electric usage by 2.15 million kilowatt-hours annually _ enough to power about 200 homes.

At the Morgan Stanley facility in Westchester County, the system reduces peak energy use by 740 kilowatts and overall electricity usage by 900,000 kilowatt hours annually.

Both companies received incentives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority under a program designed to improve the power grid and help businesses reduce operating costs.

The technology isn't for every office space. There has to be room to install the large tanks. And costs are considerable: Credit Suisse spent more than $3 million to renovate its cooling system; and Morgan Stanley's costs were comparable, which means the technology is best suited to large companies.

"This is for companies that want to go green but that there has to be other benefits, returns on investments," Coulard said. "It works for larger companies because their cooling costs are so considerable."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Why Societies collapse?

One the issues I found most interesting in my beginnings to explore the topic of sustainable development is the question of why, throughout the ages many of the great societies that have been built into great empires such as the have collapsed. Jared Diamond introduces this idea suggesting that “collapses have been self-inflicted ecological suicides, resulting from inadvertent human impacts on the environment, impacts similar to the impacts causing the problems that we face today.”

However he also makes the point that is not just the impact of humans on the environment; in fact he raises five elements: 1. Environmental damage 2. Climate change 3. Societies relations with hostile neighbours 4. Societies relations with friendly neighbours and finally 5. Peoples cultural responses to events.

http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/bbing/stories/s707591.htm

I think it is very interesting for us to look back at history in attempt to learn from the mistakes of the societies like those given in the article. It shows how it is not enough to just be aware of the environmental damage in order to sustain our environment for the future.

Rich countries vs. Poor countries

http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/greenview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9497272

Following a publication on the Economist web site, I'd like to comment on the fact that, according to the recent HSBC poll, people from the rich countries are less concerned of the damaging environmental effects than the people from the poor countries. Complexity of the economic system of a developed nation provides a stronger safety net to allow to mitigate or delay effects of environmental impacts, to redistribute negative implications through complex and interdependant economy. In the poor countries, where economies are often fully dependant on limited number of main industries, any environmental negative impacts are realized in much faster and more direct ways. In terms of specific examples, a draught (caused by global warming) in Canada will not bring such a devastating negative effects on natioanl economy, as compared to Ecuador, where the main GDP component is agriculture. People in poor countries fully realize their dependancy on environmental and therefore, voice their concerns more actively.

Johson and Johnson's Strategy for Sustainable development

Johnson & Johnson claim to be committed to environmental excellence, instilling high environmental values in all employees, utilizing the best environmental practices in all products and processes and contributing to global sustainable development.

The publications below provide information about their efforts to attain these goals.

Check out the following link to access an interactive document which outlines their 2006 Sustainable Development Report! Tres interesting!

no oil new money?

Last summer, I was reading the book The Coming Economic Collapse: How You Can Thrive When Oil Costs $200 a Barrel by Stephen Leeb, Ph.D. and it really got me thinking of the way we live and use petroleum to function as a society. I enjoyed this reading because of the possible implication for creating wealth in a new renewable energy economy. A lot of old carbon economy wealth could be destroyed by high oil prices and money would be changing hands to the leaders in this new economy. The most exciting thing is that I want to take part in this revolution by forming my own enterprise eventually after I am done with school. It’s not too late to enter the renewable energies market – the boom hasn’t even really started.The following website has an interactive map that provides some perhaps reasonable estimates of the world supplies of oil.

Most authors such as Stephen Leeb and David Strahan paint an apocalyptic idea of our future without oil within the medium term future. However, I tend to think that we will get hit first by serial rises in gas prices (or small oil shocks) possibly in a year or two again. The last time the prices of gas significantly rose in 2005, it seemed like the public wanted to regain control over their energy consumption: hence, the subsequent popularity of the SMART car and hybrids. That is why I believe we will have a step-wise transition from carbon economies to a carbon-free one. Only feeling the pain of high prices can really get people going – and innovations aren’t missing.

A physicist from Cyrium I met in Ottawa last May was telling us how much energy is available in world (other than carbon). The problem is more a question of harvesting the energy than finding new energy. He was developing new solar silicon chip more efficient than what is currently on the market. I think I would like to use my expertise in marketing later to bring an innovation from lab to market. In Canada, we still derive very little part of our energy needs from renewable sources.

The one innovation that really got me excited when I visited a trade show last year in Ottawa is the geothermic pump. For Canadians, a very important portion of our expenses goes into heating our homes during winters. According to the rep at the kiosk, geothermic energy could reduce heating costs by up to 75%. By coupling renewable energies such as wind and solar power with geothermic energy, Canadians could still live through winters even in a carbon free economy after passing the Hubert peak.

The book The Coming Economic Collapse made me realize how fast oil could be depleted. We can still profit from this revolution if we position ourselves correctly by marketing one of the new technologies before this boom. Do you have any idea how to profit?

Competitive Advantqge - Govt Intervention and the Tuna Industry

Leading on from class, and the exchange between myself and Rene, i thought i should share the story of the Tuna Industry in Australia and just how much better off they are with the introduction of a quota system that factors into account the size of the breeding pool/bio-mass.

Firstly, while Japan is often times guilty of doing the wrong thing - the Internationql body established to protect the Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT), only works because they drove it initially and still purchase some 95% of world supply. As Japan buy the end product, they are able to obatin buy-in from all member nations (including many undeveloped/developing nations). (NB while Japan took initiave, they are guilty of overfishing their agreed to quota)

The article link I hqve provided is an excellent example of compqring two coins of the same industry - where one is actuqlly increasing the bio-mass and looking to protect the future of the industry, the other is harvesting unsustainably. Happy to discuss further, as I am well acquqinted with the industry down south, but it shows very clearly how by increasing the regulation in an industry, it can produce optimal 'economic' outcomes.

PS apologies for any typos - its a french keyboard

Cheers, Barry

Stylish & Fast.... cars that run with NO Gas!!!!

Tesla Roadster: No Gasoline, Plenty of Juice
The New Electric Car Doesn't Compromise on Style or Speed
By VICKI MABREY and ELY BROWN
May 14, 2007 —
It goes zero to 60 in about four seconds. Its top speed is 130 miles per hour. And it doesn't use an ounce of gasoline.
It's the Tesla Roadster, a new car that's fueled entirely by electricity and could be hitting the lot just in time. Today the Energy Department reported that the average gallon of regular gasoline is now $3.10 -- a new nominal record price for the United States.
The Tesla Roadster is named after Nicola Tesla, the largely forgotten genius inventor of alternating current electricity, and it's the brainchild of Martin Eberhard, who said he designed it because he cares about the environment and because he wanted one for himself.
"It's time for us to do something about our dependence on foreign oil," Eberhard said. "It's time for us to do something about global warming. But I wasn't ready to go drive around some goofy little car. & Think of how electric cars look. All the ones you've ever thought of."
There haven't been many electric cars. Early automobiles ran on electricity, as did General Motor's ill-fated and quickly abandoned EV1, which debuted in the 1990s and died soon thereafter. Eberhard said there's "nothing beautiful" about the Prius, perhaps the best-known hybrid car. "It doesn't do anything for me," he said. "Think of it this way. A world of 100 percent hybrids is still 100 percent addicted to oil."

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

Read more..... http://abcnews.go.com/Business/LifeStages/story?id=3173316&page=1

Wind Power

Hey folks,
As we all know sunny Ireland manages to produce quite a high amount of wind, especially in the west of the country. The company I am starting work for in September are the largest financers of wind farm projects in Ireland.
One of their projects is the Sorne Hill Wind farm Project in County Donegal. This in in the north west of the country.
This wind power generation will actually reduce the cost of energy to consumers.
there are obviously a few glitches but its a pretty interesting read, even if you just look at the summary.
link

Sustainability starts in your backyard!

DAN Palmer trained as a permaculture designer after studying psychology and philosophy and becoming a PhD. Plamer found gardening was more down-to-earth and practical, which he found a relief after years of studying.

Palmer developed Permablitz, modeled on the television series Backyard Blitz, wherby people volunteer their time and plants to create environmentally friendly spaces for growing fruit, herbs and vegetables in other people's backyards. The only condition is that in return you volunteer your time to do the same for others.

Permaculture creates edible gardens which assist with the conservation of through reduced transport requirements, use less water and encourage composting.

In addition, permablitz contributes to building communities through the sharing of skills relating to permaculture and sustainable living. The program creates the opportunities to allow members of the community to form important supportive social networks.

To view the whole article : http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/blitzing-the-burbs/2007/07/16/1184559700758.html

Cannabis as the Ultimate UK green machine!!!

The Uk government is about to spend more than £500,000 in an attempt to develop the world’s first recyclable vehicle made from hemp in collaboration with Ford and Hemcore, which grows plants closely related to the ones that produce cannabis.

In fact ( for the ones who have no clue about what Hemp can be )Hemp is the common name for plants of the genus Cannabis as a source of industrial, food and other non-drug products, including cultivation information.

The first utilisation of Hemp will be to offer an alternative of internal components such as plastics ( one of the most difficult material to recycle )
Nevertheless this projet won t be so easy to set up : Growing hemp is strictly controlled because of the association with drug use

In order to have more informations on this topic you can go and have a quick look on the following link

Chloe

Alternative Fuel used in Canada: Ethanol

As introduced today by the Canada team, our country is amazingly rich in natural resources. One of its principal is the oil sands and heavy oil resources (petroleum) present in the Province of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In order to use that resource smartly, Canada has developing a program to encourage the use of Ethanol in the cars in order to protect the environment from gas emission: the Ethanol Expansion Program (EEP). It has been put in place to increase domestic production and use of ethanol, a renewable transportation fuel, and reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is in the scope of the Canada's engagement to reduce those GHG emission by 33% a year. The program encourages firms to produce this type of alternate fuel by financially contributing though repayments.

Not bad eh!!

To educate you, here is some interesting info about ethanol that comes from the website below:

Ethanol is blended with gasoline to produce a fuel which has environmental advantages when compared with gasoline, and can be used in gasoline-powered vehicles manufactured since the 1980's. Most gasoline-powered vehicles can run on a blend consisting of gasoline and up to 10 percent ethanol, known as "E-10", which is available at some regular service stations across Canada.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel because it is produced from biomass. Although the conversion of the biomass to ethanol and the burning of the ethanol produce emissions, the net effect can be a large reduction in GHG emissions compared with fossil fuels such as gasoline. The reduction depends on the feedstock and the production processes used to make ethanol. E-10 from corn produ