Global Warming · Eco-Chick

Browsing all posts tagged with Global Warming

Caught on Tape: The Environment

A great time out with the girls or with a guy who is into the environment. Movies! Movies! and more Movies! Reuters reports on the Environmental Film Circuit, particularly highlighting The Environmental Film Festival held in Washington, D.C. founded by Flo Stone. Stone states: “If you interpret the environment as we are … it’s about perception of your surroundings, of the world, of your own community, learning the incredible excitement of natural history and of life itself.” Given the state of energy, global warming, homeland security, and the like, the festivals have seem to be getting more attention this year. Other notables include:

community, Eco-Chick, Energy, Global Warming, Home, Lighting, movies

Sticking it to the man…Hillary style

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 02/19/06

A couple of weeks ago the Bar Association of San Francisco held a fundraiser and hosted NY Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for a one-on-one interview before an audience. Jane Pauley conducted the interview and Hillary held nothing back in her critique of our current administration and the frightening movement away from scientific findings regarding climatic change. As Pauley asked Clinton about global warming and the current doubt some officials have regarding the human factor in climate shifts, Clinton showed her vivacious humor and biting wit claiming that “…only in Washington” could the scientific findings related to global warming be called “opinion” and the administration find “the five or ten people in the world who agree with him (Bush)” to come to the government’s aid. I may not always agree with some of Hillary’s decisions (ie: voting for war in Iraq), but her eloquence and humor is refreshing. The criticism that Senator Clinton has been receiving for her “anger management” problems only serves to illuminate the Right’s persistent reliance on the cult of personality to deflect attention away from the important issues. While some feel Hillary may not inspire passion among her listeners, her articulate and careful language reflect her grasp of some of the key issues we are dealing with today.

Bush, car, Eco-Chick, Global Warming, humor, interview, News, NYTimes, opinion, Politics, style

The UK: Shedding Light on the Destruction of the Earth

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by Jennifer Cross · 02/01/06

Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair is on the ball. He is a man with his finger on the pulse. In a forward-for–the-U.K., government-commissioned report released Monday, he made the following statement:

“It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialization and economic growth from a world population that has increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable.”

Really? You don’t say!

The report outlined several “day after tomorrow” doomsday predictions that would make any woman reconsider subjecting her unborn offspring to what is projected to come in the next several years as a result of industrialization and modern-day living.

According to an article published on cnn.com today, “in the British report, the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Chris Rapley, warned that the huge west Antarctic ice sheet may be starting to disintegrate, an event that could raise sea levels by 16 feet (five meters).”

Not to mention other things highlighted in the report that one could conceivably look forward to, such as intensified weather patterns, a shift in climate zones and the spread of disease.

At least he’s been somewhat consistent. Blair could be found last year at the G8 summit hugging trees while suggesting to the other seven developed nations that they all step up to the plate and get this whole climate thing under control.

Nevertheless, his efforts were met with a lukewarm response, particularly by (you’ll never guess who) the U.S., who said “nay” to Kyoto, as saving the Earth could effect the U.S. economy.

arctic, Eco-Chick, Europe, gas, Global Warming, spring, style, sustainable, trees, weather

Crazy Capitalist and Enviro in the Same Sentence?

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by Starre Vartan · 11/22/05

Today’s NYTimes has an interesting article in a section I usually ignore. The front of the Business section has “Saving the Environment, One Quarterly Earnings Report at a Time.”

walmart
Wal-Mart uses a wind turbine to help provide electricity at a store in Aurora, Colo., as an experiment.

From the story by Dave Weaver:

A few years ago, scientists at Cargill Inc. learned how to make rigid, transparent plastics from corn sugars. There was just one problem: they cost a lot more than the oil-based plastics they would replace.
Plastic pellets derived from corn at NatureWorks. Some producers have adopted corn-based packaging, as the cost of oil-based products rose.
But that was before the price of oil shot up and companies came under pressure from consumers and investors to find economically sound ways to adopt “green” packaging and other environmentally friendly products and processes. This year, Wal-Mart, Wild Oats Market and many other retailers, as well as food suppliers like Del Monte and Newman’s Own Organics, all embraced corn-based packaging for fresh produce.
Sales at NatureWorks, the Cargill subsidiary that makes the plastic, grew 200 percent in the first half of this year over the period last year. “The early adopters were more influenced by environmental concerns than costs,” said Kathleen M. Bader, chairwoman of NatureWorks. “But now we’re competitive with petrochemicals, too.”
Cargill is one of several companies profiting from the concerns – of shareholders, communities and consumers – about global warming, leaking landfills and other potential environmental hazards. Huge companies like General Electric and Chevron now have separate businesses to market what they are calling environment-friendly products.
And new companies and university projects appear each day. Cornell University’s College of Engineering, for one, expects to have a commercial process for using bacteria to recoup energy from wastewater treatment within three years.
“There are a lot of creative types looking for the next big thing,” said Bob Sheppard, deputy director for corporate programs at Clean Air-Cool Planet, a nonprofit environmental education organization. “Well, these days, environment is it.”

That’s what I like to hear.