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2012 London Summer Olympics Aims to be Green

April 24, 2012 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

Aerial view of Olympic Park, summer Games 2012 London/Photo: London Evening Standard

 

Looking to raise the ‘go-green’ bar and promote enviornmental awareness, the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London have been announced by the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, as the ‘Greenest’ Olympic Games in history.

Committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the 2012 Games by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, The London Olympic Delivery Authority, responsible for building the Olympic infrastructure, aims to make the summer Games a globally ecological event, inspiring collective endeavors towards a cleaner, healthier planet for future generations.

Maximizing the social, health and enviornmental benefits of the Games, which begin July 27, the UK Government and the International Olympic Committee share a committment to set new sustainable standards for all the Olympic events.

With the theme of “Towards a One Planet Olympics 2012,” the government is inspired to leave a lasting legacy, making Olympic Park a blueprint for sustainable living beyond the 17-day event.

With sustainability guidelines incorporated into the construction of the Olympic venues, such as the new 6000 seat permanent indoor Velodrome that will host 28 cycling and paralympic events, the design makes optimal use of natural light, using little artificial light, and the wood materials used to build the structure are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Promoting energy efficiency by reducing carbon emissions, carbon management strategies include transporting the Olympic athletes and officials between the different athletic venues in electric vehicles, with 120 charging stations installed by ChargePoint. Additionally, event attendees will be encouraged to walk, bike or take public transport to Olympic venues.

Because of the negative impact Olympic Games can have on the enviornment, other key green initiatives of sustainability will be:

Energy: Energy efficient technology has been installed at Olympic Park with a biomass boiler that uses recycled woodchips to generate power and a 120m tall wind turbine that will create enough electricity for 1,000 homes.

Water: With conservation and resource management strategies in place such as reusing and recycling, the goal is to reduce water usage by 18% with the installation of water efficient fixtures at Olympic Park.

Waste: In an effort to reuse, reduce and recycle, all waste will be treated as a potential resource, ensuring that 70% will be diverted from landfills, which subsequently creates methane emissions that eventually escapes into the atmosphere.

Biodiversity: With the committment to protect the wetlands and species-rich grasslands, the Olympic Park Biodiversity Action plan includes that the London Wildlife Trust and the ecology team will work together, providing ecological management for natural habitats and species, protecting the wildlife in the Lower Lea Valley. A key area is to minimize the impact of construction activity and maintain ecological continuity awareness and the value of biodiversity.

As one of the most watched sporting events in the world, the 2012 London Olympic Games’ ecological committments hope to foster and encourage more sustainable living practices in the United Kingdom.

For more information about the 2012 London Summer Olympics’ green initiatives, visit the London 2012 Olympic Games website at: www.london2012.com/sustainability/ or the “Towards a One Planet 2012″ Sustainability Plan at: http://www.london2012.com/documents/locog-publications/london-2012-sustainability-plan.pdf

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Trader Joe’s New Bag Fee in September

April 13, 2012 · Filed under Environmental Movement, Green Living, Recycling · Tagged , , ,

The traditional paper bag and the reusable vinyl bag/Photo/C. Giraud

Your friendly neighborhood Trader Joe’s locations in the city of Los Angeles has jumped on the ‘charge for paper bags’ bandwagon in an effort to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable shopping bags.

Beginning September 2012, Trader Joe’s will charge 10 cents for each paper shopping bag.

In an effort to regulate bag use and minimize enviornmental waste, this move follows in the footsteps of the city of Santa Monica’s 2011 ordinance where retail customers are now charged 10 cents for each single-use paper shopping bag, which is part of the citywide ban on plastic shopping bags.

However, the Santa Monica Trader Joe’s has been charging for the bags since the ordinance went into effect in September 2011.

On the state level, www.Plasticbaglaws.org says that San Francisco was the first city in California, and the nation to implement the ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, instead of charging a fee.

The ordinance, Californians Against Waste, is part of California AB 1998 that eliminates the distribution of an estimated 19 billion single-use plastic shopping bags a year in California, reducing plastic litter pollution.

Enviornmental groups argue the errant plastic bags are often not recycled, at only 5%, and end up floating in the ocean or littering the streets.

Currently, the Los Angeles City Council is considering an ordinance banning the use of both paper and plastic shopping bags at 7,500 stores, switching to reusable bags only.

According to the website, ‘Broken Secrets,’ Trader Joe’s was the first store to market reusable canvas shopping bags in their 1977 campaign, “Save a Tree.”

Do you think this will encourage people to buy reusable shopping bags or pay the 10 cents for each paper bag when shopping at Trader Joe’s?

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Man’s Best Friend’s Bed Goes Green

April 4, 2012 · Filed under Green Living, Green Products, Recycling, Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

The Eco Nap dog mat comes in a variety of colors/Photo: West Paw Design website

Yes, Fido wants to get in on the eco-friendly trend too.

With the primary focus of reusing, recycling and reducing waste, the Eco Nap dog mat is made of IntelliLoft(tm) fiber fill, which is made from recycled 100% PETE plastic soda bottles.

Manufactured in the USA by West Paw Design in Bozeman, Montana, the non-toxic, earth-friendly organic dog mat is free of harsh chemicals and is enviornmentally safe.

Committed to recycling, West Paw Design estimates that each Eco Nap dog mat diverts 21 single-use plastic soda bottles, with a total of 544 tons to date, away from landfills.

With a goal of maintaining and creating a healthy planet for the next generation by minimizing their carbon trail by using less energy, West Paw Design reduces waste by cutting as much raw product as possible by reusing every piece of scrap material in the manufacturing process.

Placing values on pets and the enviornment, the lightweight, hypoallergenic Eco Nap dog mat is made from sustainable and natural resources and the super soft washable and removable cover is manufactured from 100% organic cotton.

With superior durable construction, the Eco Nap dog mat is a healthy alternative for both the comfort of your pet, while preserving the health of the planet.

For more information about the Eco Nap dog mat and their other planet friendly pet products, visit the West Paw Design website at: www.westpawdesign.com

Manufactured

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Spicewood Beach, Texas: Dry As A Bone

March 21, 2012 · Filed under Water Conservation, Water Shortage · Tagged , , ,

Water delivery truck at Spicewood Beach, Texas/Photo: Ben Sklar/NY Times

Dried up Lake Travis at Spicewood Beach, Texas/Photo: Jeff Heimsath/StateImpact, TX

Because of a weak La Nina weather pattern that results in below average rainfall, a very real drama is playing out in the small community of Spicewood Beach, Texas, because it’s the first town in Texas to literally run out of water.

Located 45 miles northwest of the state capital of Austin, Spicewood Beach is suffering from the worst drought since the 1940s and 1950s, with record low rainfall of just 14.88 inches in 2011.

With a La Nina weather pattern in place, where surface temperatures are cooler in the Pacific, which creates drier, warmer air in the southern states, the U.S. Drought Monitor reports that Central Texas has been suffering from extreme drought conditions since last summer.

The water in nearby Lake Travis, which was once prime waterfront property, has dropped to a record low, which means the ground water supplies have dried up. As a result, the 1,100 residents of the Texas town are without running water.

The 129,000 gallon water storage tank level has been dropping one foot a day and is projected to be empty in the next few weeks. Currently, water is trucked in four times daily carrying 4,000 gallons of water from neighboring communities.

According to the National Coalition of Food and Agriculture, drought conditions cause more damage than floods and have extreme effects on the enviornment, by putting stress on plant and animal resources, creating a negative impact and disrupting the ecosystem, affecting ranchers, agriculture, residents and livestock.

The Texas Forest Service reports that the drought has destroyed 500 million trees, or 10% of the state’s total.

With extreme water conservation measures in place, the estimated cost in damage is $5.2 billion.

According to the Lower Colorado River Authority, recent storms have brought some relief, but the area still suffers from extreme drought conditions.

To learn more about the dry weather conditions, visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at: www.noaa.org

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Eco-Friendly Ireland Hostel

March 17, 2012 · Filed under Energy conservation, Green Living, Organic Produce, Recycling, Uncategorized, Water Conservation · Tagged , , ,

Spaceship-looking hostel/Photo: Cheap-Hostels Website

Located in the North-West Irish countryside of Sligo County near Castlebaldwin, the eco-friendly Gyreum Ecolodge Hostel is designed to lower the carbon footprint by reducing the impact of human activities on the planet.

Derived from the Greek root ‘GYR’ that means ’round’ and ‘EUM’ implies ‘building,’ the innovative 100 ft. wide structure overlooks Lough Arrow and has a 360 degree view of Sligo’s cairned mountains and lakes spanning five counties.

On the cutting edge of energy saving technology, the iconic structure uses solar and wind power that aligns to dawn and dusk of the winter and summer solstices.

Renewable resources include solar panels that generate hot water, flagstone floors that are geothermally heated and wall insulation made of sheep’s wool. The water recycling system involves the collection of rain water in a 1500 litre tank that is pumped back for use in showers and toilets.

With its indoor-like camping features, the hostel-style accomodations include: capsule-tents, a glass domed library, a central hall with an open fireplace, a large movie screen and an organic vegetable garden.

The Gyreum Hostel is Ireland’s first ecolodge to be awarded the EU Flower for enviornmental and ecological standards and was one of four national finalists in 2007 for Best Ecological Building of the year.

For more information, visit the hostel’s website at: http://www.gyreum.com/

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Is It Safe Living Near Nuclear Generating Stations?

March 7, 2012 · Filed under Japan Earthquake, Radiation, Tsunami · Tagged , , , ,

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant Near San Clemente/AP Photo Lenny Ignelzi


With the recently reported radiation leak at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, operators of the facility said a ‘small’ amount of radioactive material from one of the units ‘could have’ escaped, but poses no danger to the surrounding communities.

Jointly owned and operated by Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric and the city of Riverside, officials at the San Onofre Generating Station said the leak was barely measurable.

Located just two miles from the residential seaside community of San Clemente and 45 miles north of San Diego, it’s estimated that 7.5 million people live within 50 miles of the nuclear generating facility.

The emissions-free station generates enough power to supply 1.4 million homes.

According to the World Nuclear Association, there are currently 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states producing 807 billion kWh worth of nuclear energy, supplying 20 percent of America’s electrical energy.

Upon further inspection of the entire facility a few days after the leak by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, officials said they discovered damage to another unit, which has been closed for several months for routine maintenance. The commission’s findings revealed extensive damage to dozens of tubes that carry radioactive liquid.

A spokesperson for the plant told ABC News that the plant is safe and the leaks and damage to the tubes are probably due to faulty equipment.

The leak raises concerns among enviornmental and nuclear watchdog groups because of possible radioactive material entering and contaminating the atmosphere and potentially creeping into groundwater supplies.

After the March 2011 cataclysmic 9.0 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake that generated a deadly tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people, devastating nearby towns and triggering a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, is it time to rethink nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels and find safer, low carbon, renewable energy sources?

For more information, visit the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station website.

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Steamboat Springs Ski Resort Green Initiatives

March 2, 2012 · Filed under Environmental Movement, Green Products, Recycling, Uncategorized, Water Conservation · Tagged , ,

ResortQuest Green Initiative Program/Photo: ResortQuest Website


With the purpose and goal of promoting green, sustainable enviornmental practices, Steamboat Springs, Colorado ski resort has set new standards for its eco-friendly initiatives that protect the enviornment in which the ski resort resides.

The internationally known ski resort is located in the upper valley of the Yampa River, just west of the Continental Divide at Rabbit Ears Pass.

With the ultimate goal of a 100% waste-free community by 2014, ResortQuest Steamboat and the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council have committed to developing and maintaining eco-friendly initiatives that include green hotel practices and the Zero Waste and Sustainability Initiative.

Resortquest green hotel practices include towel and linen re-use programs, trash recycling, using Cascades ‘North River’ bathroom paper products and Thymes Eucalyptus bath products in enviornmentally safe paper-bottle containers made of 75% paper, biodegradable Green-Key electronic keycards produced from paperboards instead of plastic, water conservation and post-departure thermostat control.

The Zero Waste and Sustainability Initiative is inspired to protect the community of Steamboat Springs by reducing the amout of waste that goes into landfills. The grassroots organization called the ‘Green Team’ aims to eliminate all waste from food and beverage outlets by using biodegradeble packaging, solid-waste recycling, reusing and composting programs.

Since 1993, the ski resort has won numerous awards in recognition of their enviornmental programs, such as: The Silver Eagle 2010 Award for Waste Reduction and Recycling, The U.S. Enviornmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership and the Green-e Renewable Energy Certification Program.

The National Ski Areas Association awarded Steamboat Springs Ski Resort as the best resort in Reduction and Recycling Program in North America for reducing landfill usage by 63%.

To learn more about the Steamboat Springs ski resort enviornmental initiatives, visit the Resortquest Steamboat and Yampa Valley Sustainability Council websites.

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Jessica Alba Launches Web-Based Eco-Safe Baby Products Store

February 27, 2012 · Filed under Environmental Movement, Green Living, Green Products · Tagged , , , ,

Appearing in such films as ‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World,’ ‘Valentine’s Day’ and ‘Little Fockers,’ the Golden Globe nominated actress Jessica Alba and busy mother of two young daughters co-founded the eco-safe baby essentials Web based store in January 2012 called, ‘The Honest Company,’ named after her 4-year-old daughter, Honor.

The California native became a first time mother in 2008, when she felt a strong responsibility to her daughter and to help other parents create and maintain a toxin-free, healthy, organic home enviornment after learning about certain chemicals used in various home and baby products.

Everyday household cleaning and baby products can be hazardous to both the enviornment and babies.

On her recent appearance on the Nate Berkus Show, Alba said there are commonly found toxins in most baby items such as diapers, bath and body lotions and cleaning products that use carbon-based chemicals that subsequenlty can cause a variety of health related problems such as respiratory illnesses.

Alba suggests that parents need to make safer choices when it comes to what products are in a baby’s enviornment, because their immune system isn’t fully developed until they are six-months old.

The eco-safe products on Alba’s Website include plant-based fashionable diapers, chemical free household cleaning and laundry products, and personal care items such as bath and body lotions for the entire family.

Alba also rallies support and raises visibility of the proposed updated
Safe Chemicals Act 2012, that would put common sense limits on toxic chemicals, making them safer, in an effort to protect against dangerous levels of toxins in products, which can be linked to serious health related problems.

For more information about Jessica Alba’s toxin-free, eco-safe products, visit: www.Honest.com

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Hollywood Glam Goes Green

February 20, 2012 · Filed under Environmental Movement · Tagged , , ,

With some eco-conscious celebrities arriving at the 84th Academy Awards this year in hybrid cars, one lucky diva will walk the red carpet wearing a winning-designed dress made completely from eco-friendly materials.

Suzy Amis-Cameron, wife of famed ’Titanic’ director James Cameron, is founder of  ‘The Red Carpet Green Dress’ contest. The dress design contest concept began in 2005 because enviornmental advocate Amis-Cameron believes that beautiful red carpet worthy gowns can be organically chic, created by using only sustainable and renewable materials. With the goal of bringing eco-awareness to the fashion industry, gown designers have the opportunity to consider sustainable, alternative materials.

The mother of five children, Amis-Cameron started the Red Carpet Green Dress contest to benefit Muse School in Calabasas, which she co-founded with her sister Rebecca. The antithesis of the traditional classroom setting, the child-centered school focuses on a healthy community and enviornment.

With hundreds of entries from all over the world, contest participants must design and make a gown completely from eco-friendly,  sustainable materials. Once the winner is chosen, the gown will then be worn by an actress on the red carpet at the Academy Awards February 26th.

In order to reduce consumption of new raw materials, some gown designers have started using eco-friendly, biodegradable and sustainable materials that are enviornmentally friendly.

Using recycled or reclaimed fibers, eco-friendly fashions are made using organic silk, bamboo, hemp and cotton that are produced without the use of pesticides, harsh chemicals or bleach.

With the fashion industry working towards a better and cleaner enviornment, eco-fashions began in 2005 during the prestigious New York Fashion Week, bringing eco-awareness to sustainable couture.

For more information, visit: http://www.redcarpetgreendress.com/home/

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New Orleans’ Mardi Gras Thinks Green

February 19, 2012 · Filed under Environmental Movement, Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

A volunteer from 'Arc of Greater New Orleans' picks up discarded carnival beads

It’s party nirvana once again in the Crescent City.

Often referred to as “America’s biggest party,” Mardi Gras is celebrated annually in the birthplace of jazz- New Orleans.

This year, the party is Tuesday, February 21.

A time of merriment, Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” which refers to the tradition of eating rich, fatty foods on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent.

With its infectious sound of marching bands, the streets are awash with party revelers spilling on to the streets of New Orleans with the tradition of watching parades, as large decorative floats with riders dressed in colorful and wacky costumes fling an estimated 25 million pounds of plastic beads to the crowds below.

But the non-profit, Arc of Greater New Orleans will have their hands full after the party revelers retreat and the annual celebration ends, when eco-conscious volunteers take to the streets of New Orleans and begin collecting millions of decorative beads that have found their way on to the streets and sidewalks of the various parade routes.

Typically, the discarded petroleum-based plastic beads eventually land in overburdened landfills.

Because traditional recycling centers do not accept the beads, the Metarie, Louisiana based non-profit rounds up the beads, recycles and resells them for next year’s carnival, with the profits going towards the larger mission of helping those people who are mentally challenged.

With the goal of keeping the beads out of landfills, the program which is growing in popularity, sold 100,000 pounds of recycled beads last year.

Jumping on the eco-conscious bandwagon, other bead recycling efforts in recent years have been made, such as setting out bead collection bins along the various parade routes.

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