Who’s Who in Green: Bahar Shahpar
July 31, 2009
When it comes to retro-chic eco fashion, there’s nothing quite as stylish as the designs created by Bahar Shahpar. The New York-based sustainable fashion designer with a special knack for unusual prints and bright pops of color owns one of the most sought-after labels in the business, and is also co-founder and creative director for The Four Hundred, a showroom representing the best in high-end sustainable fashion.
Shahpar, born in Iran and raised between Georgia, New Jersey and California, launched her first eco fashion collection, called agricult, in 2005, following it up with the debut of her self-titled label.
Shahpar had always been interested in art, having tried her hand at make-up artistry, art direction, event production and owning an art gallery in San Francisco. When she dabbled in designing her own line of accessories, her passion for fashion caught fire. Clearly, it was her calling – Shahpar’s luxurious designs have been featured in Lucky, ELLE, NYLON, Vogue an Women’s Wear Daily.
Of her designs, Shahpar told The Persian Mirror,
I love to work with all natural materials that have texture and come from the earth. Not because I am a hippy or anything but because I feel they carry a history with them. I used feather and was also obsessed with vintage leather. My mother doesn’t understand it. She says I like “old and dirty” things. We promote fashion forward items that are organic yet have style I use organic cottons, silks, vintage items and hemp. I like to have sustainable design.
Shapar could certainly be an inspiration for others who are looking to get into sustainable fashion design. She offered some tips to EcoSalon in a January 2009 interview:
Sustainable design takes many factors into account, not just fiber and fabric choices. The first basic steps are to minimize waste and source and produce locally whenever possible. Cutting down on transportation costs and supporting local economies and fair trade goods can have a huge impact, and designers should look at the big picture ““ sustainable design includes all of the choices we make when we design a product, so we really need to start looking at the full life cycle of that product.
When it comes to fabrics, the reality is that our choices can be limited in some categories, but there are some areas in which we have many sustainable alternatives to conventional materials and there is absolutely no compromise. I encourage all designers to just try to find alternatives to what they’d normally use, without feeling like they have to edit their design vision. Of course, if anyone is interested in learning more about sustainable fabrics, viewing our C.L.A.S.S. fabric library, or taking advantage of our consulting services, please contact me.
Bahar Shahpar’s Green Score: 24,981
Cancer Patient Fined for Cleaning Up Litter
July 31, 2009
All Paul McCarthy of the Greenfield area of Pittsburgh wanted to do was help his neighborhood live up to its name. The 62-year-old former city electrician began cleaning up litter and overgrowth along a section of town called ‘The Run’, piling it along the sidewalk for Public Works to pick up. Only they didn’t, and those piles have led to legal troubles for McCarthy, who’s currently being treated for cancer.
McCarthy’s efforts have led to fines because, according to the city, he didn’t do enough. While the ill man toiled over trimming weeds along sidewalks and gathering debris, he wasn’t bagging the waste or coordinating his efforts with Public Works. But McCarthy had repeatedly called the city’s help line when he noticed the trash, and got no response.
From the Post-Gazette:
To Rob Kaczorowski, city Public Works Department’s deputy director of operations, fighting litter is all about communication and coordination — something Mr. McCarthy’s vigilante clean-up push lacked.
“We’re all for volunteer efforts, but it has to be coordinated,” Mr. Kaczorowski said. “Some of the stuff he does, I think he does to aggravate us.”
Bill Smith, executive director of the Greenfield Organization, said his group does mass clean-ups with city help, but added that there’s a place for Mr. McCarthy’s approach.
“From my perspective, this is the kind of thing the city wants people to do,” he said. Public works staff “are put out because this is creating a little more work for them.”
McCarthy got citations twice. The Department of Public Works had concluded that it was the only way to stop him, and it worked: McCarthy is no longer bothering to clean anything up. The Post-Gazette reports that new bags and cups have started to accumulate.
A 62-year-old cancer patient wants to help make the city he lives in more beautiful, and gets fined for it. Awesome. Great job, Pittsburgh Public Works.
Link [Post-Gazette]
Great Green Job of the Week: Solar PV Installation Instructor/School Director, Solariv
July 31, 2009
Solariv is seeking qualified technical instructors for contract teaching opportunities for our solar thermal and photo voltaics training center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Class length is 6 days long and Solariv is looking for an instructor to spearhead the school and grow the program offering.
Primary Responsibilities:
• Create and manage Solariv’s Solar PV Installation training programs.
• Publish training tools for students
• Conduct needs assessment to determine training and course opportunities.
• Deliver training to end users and conduct train-the-trainer classes
• Interact with relevant government and local organizations to develop specifications for the content of courses.
• Prepare lesson plans including, course design, method, media, and documentation to be presented; manages enrollment, tracking of participants and continuous improvement of both courses and training methodology with goal to expand course offering
• Main school administrator responsible for course schedule, outline and growing students.
Qualifications:
• Bachelors degree in education, business, engineer, or related technical discipline
• NABCEP installation certification (ISP Instructor Certification desired)
• Minimum 3 years experience installing solar thermal or PV systems
• Classroom teaching experience
• Demonstrated familiarity with adult learning styles
• The ability to accept and offer positive and constructive feedback
• Must possess excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
Benefits: A competitive benefits package commensurate with experience.
Spanish a plus! From local community a plus!
Apply at the Treehugger Jobs Board.
Link [Treehugger Jobs] + [Solariv]
Southwest Must Face Harsh Water Shortage Realities
July 30, 2009
Does it make sense to transport massive quantities of water to a desert, so that people can replicate the lifestyle of a lush, wet climate? Hardly, but that is what Southwestern states have been doing for years, relying on Nevada’s Lake Mead to support millions of people – and unnecessary things like green lawns and golf courses.
But soon, they’ll have to find another way. Lake Mead has dropped 28 feet in the past two years, and experts say it might be bone-dry by 2021.
From The Good Human:
While places like Las Vegas are giving money to residents to “de-grass” their lawns (which I think is a fantastic idea – who thinks its a good idea to use fresh water just to have a green yard?), replacing them with cactus and other drought-resistant plants, I don’t think it goes far enough. Seems that politicians don’t actually want to make any substantial changes to their water policies because they are afraid of the political repercussions – something I am getting very tired of seeing.
In L.A. for example, under a severe drought warning, the Mayor asked people to water their lawns “only” 2 times a week…I am not sure if the Mayor knows that L.A. is actually in the middle of a desert and maybe there shouldn’t be grass growing there anyway! We need real, heavy-duty water restrictions put in place everywhere in the Southwest that feeds off the Colorado River if we want to have water flowing out here in the next 50 years. If we don’t, we are going to look back with amazement at how we stupidly ignored all the signs pointing to a severe drought in the area.
So, does this mean that everyone living in these dry states should pack up and move? Not necessarily, but smarter water consumption is certainly in order, and people are definitely going to have to make some sacrifices. You live in a desert – deal with it.
The Good Human suggests a number of things that could help including allowing every citizen to harvest rainwater, limiting the watering of parks an golf courses, and allowing the use of graywater in every new residential building.
We can’t keep acting like fresh potable water is an unlimited, easy-to-access resource.
Link [The Good Human]
Photo credit: Marla Miller
Tennessee: We’ll Take Tourism Over Blowing Up Our Mountains
July 30, 2009
Tennessee has effectively told coal miners boycotting the state because of its anti-mountaintop removal stance not to let the door hit their asses on the way out. The coal industry had its panties in a wad because Tennessee lawmakers supported legislation that would protect the state’s beautiful mountains from being destroyed, and asked its employees not to vacation there in protest.
Ultimately, limited tourism dollars from mining industry employees don’t stack up against the revenue generated by visitors who come to see the state’s mountains. In fact, the mining industry isn’t worth going to any trouble over at all.
NRDC rounded up some facts:
The NRDC currently has a campaign urging senators all over America to pass the Appalachian Restoration Act, and end mountaintop removal mining – ask your state’s senators to vote yes on this important act. And better yet, show Tennessee how much you appreciate their bravery and stewardship with your own tourism dollars – the Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the nation’s most beautiful.
Link [NRDC]
Photo credit: Flickr user busymommy
Overfishing Not Fishermen’s Fault, Say ‘Deadliest Catch’ Seamen
July 30, 2009
Overfishing is a huge environmental problem – the world’s oceans are losing their stocks of fish at a dramatic pace. Almost 80% of fish stock is fully- to over-exploited, depleted or in a state of collapse, which means bad news for the entire ocean ecosystem and the humans that depend upon fish for survival. Schools of fish are no match for the fishing industry’s modern technology, and many blame fishermen for unsustainable fishing practices.
Not so fast, say the stars of The Discovery Channel’s reality series ‘Deadliest Catch’. In a Reuters report, several of the show’s boat captains assert that small commercial fishermen shouldn’t take the fall for the problem.
Several fishing boat captains from the Emmy-nominated cable TV show say government bodies and fisheries need to set wiser fishing quotas to ensure healthy fish populations and a balanced food chain. The show’s fifth season finale airs on Tuesday on the Discovery Channel cable television network.
“When things go wrong, the fishermen get blamed, but the truth is we are only fishing what they tell us we can fish,” captain Phil Harris told Reuters, referring to the quotas that Alaskan crab fisherman like him are given at the beginning of each season setting limits to how much they can catch.
“It makes me so angry when people talk about overfishing. We have never overfished, they give us a quota and we catch it,” said captain Andy Hillstrand, who heads his family-owned vessel the “Time Bandit.” “People call fishermen greedy, but it is not their job to regulate it.”
For years, the fishing industry has rewarded large-scale operations for capturing vast quantities of fish – so they worked on methods and technology that would help them catch the largest amounts possible.
When the European Union put strict fishing quotas in place, unscrupulous fishermen responded by catching as many as they could and then dumping the less valuable species and smaller fish – which were dead by this point – back into the ocean to avoid fines. Fishermen claimed it was the only way they could make a living with such “ridiculously low quotas”.
Scientists, environmentalists and the commercial fishing industry have been unable to agree on a solution that works for everyone.
Link [Reuters]
10 B.S. Statements in the Climate Change Debate
July 29, 2009
When people who don’t know what they’re talking about spew utter hogwash about an important issue to people who don’t really grasp the issue in the first place, can anything important ever get done? Unlikely – and that’s the reality we’re living today as both parties of government debate climate change in front of an American public that can’t tell they’re being bullshitted.
WorldChanging is paying attention, and sorting out the truth from the half-truths, misrepresentations, lies and propaganda. They’ve put together the Top 10 Bogus Statements (BS) in the US Climate Debate, with a reality check following each one.
Check out the first two:
No. 10 BS: The United States can’t make a firm commitment to reduce greenhouse gases until China and India do.
Reality check: With this statement, international climate negotiations assume the stature of an Alphonse and Gaston routine. The modern version – “I’m not going to do the right thing until you do the right thing” – would be comical if it weren’t so childish and potentially tragic.
Why shouldn’t the United States make a hard commitment to cut carbon before China, India and other developing nations do? We’re responsible for most of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today. We have been emitting them with abandon for generations.
On the other hand, many developing nations such as China and India are attempting to pull millions of their people from poverty. I don’t believe they deny their obligation to help solve the climate problem. In fact, many of China’s clean energy goals are more aggressive than ours. But they want the leeway to help their people approach the standard of living people enjoy in the U.S.
What the hell: Let’s be big about this and agree to go first. If the US is worried about a trade disadvantage with countries that don’t have carbon regulation, then let’s institute a “border adjustment” – the price those countries should pay for not agreeing to hard targets.
No. 9 BS: Coal will be with us for a long time to come.
In a recent interview with Grist, the chief White House environmental advisor, Nancy Sutley of the Council on Environmental Quality, said: “[C]learly coal is a part of our energy mix now and it’s likely to be so in the future… [E]ven if we were to stop using coal tomorrow, it’s used around the world and we have to deal with its environmental impacts.”
Reality check: Of course we must deal with coal’s environmental problems, but the best way to do that is to stop using it. Accepting that coal is part of our future is not the policy that motivates us to find substitutes. And whether we can deal with its environmental impacts is open to question. We don’t yet have and may never find a cost-effective and safe way to permanently sequester huge amounts of carbon dioxide from coal. If the technology ever is perfected, it will significantly increase the price of electric power from coal, while the price of power from renewable resources is coming down.
Then there’s mountain top removal and all the other environmental damages and carbon emissions associated with extraction and production (See No. 7 below). Let’s shoot for an international climate agreement that sets specific near-term targets for phasing out coal power, along with an aggressive program to replace it worldwide first with natural gas, then with renewable low-carbon fuels.
Head on over to WorldChanging for the rest, which includes statements about domestic oil production, mountaintop coal removal, putting a price on carbon and more.
Link [WorldChanging]
Photo credit: Flickr user dullhunk
Bay Area Global Warming Experts Prepare for Epic Flood
July 29, 2009
Experts in the San Francisco area are planning for a flood “of Noah’s Ark proportions” which they believe could be a possible consequence of global warming. To anyone who lives in the area, that may seem unlikely, especially given that much of California has spent the last few years clenched by a severe drought.
But that doesn’t mean that rain isn’t coming – and when it does, the parched, crusty earth won’t be able to absorb much water.
From The Daily Bulletin:
Last year, a USGS-led team of 300 scientists created a detailed scenario for a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Southern California, followed by a “ShakeOut” drill of 5.4 million residents, a disaster preparedness record.
Many of the same scientists are now fashioning a hypothetical ARk Storm scenario similar to the mother of all known California floods – the Great Flood of 1861-62.
That flood, occurring during 45 days of rain, turned California into an inland sea. It also forced Gov. Leland Stanford to take a rowboat to his inauguration, wiped out a third of taxable land and virtually bankrupted the state.
Despite more than a century of flood channels, debris dams and levees built since, such a flood could wreak $25 billion in damage to the state capital alone, according to the Geological Survey.
And because of global warming, scientists forecast such a colossal gully-washer born by the “pineapple express” jet stream to happen sooner rather than later.
Winter rainfall is expected to increase dramatically on the West Coast with climate change, but summers will still be incredibly hot and dry. Add wildfires into the mix – which cause erosion – and you’ve got prime conditions for floods that, according to NASA scientist Bill Patzert, “will make Katrina look minor league.”
10 teams of experts are currently working on ways to prepare. They’ll be revealing their recommendations in the summer of 2010.
Link [The Daily Bulletin]
Photo credit: Science Daily/FEMA
Walls of Bacteria Could Stop Spread of Desertification
July 29, 2009
A 3,700-mile wall made from bacteria and sand could help stop the spread of desertification in Africa. Desertification is one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems, and one that threatens the lives of millions of people. Architect Magnus Larsson recommended the plan at the TED Global conference in London this week.
From BBC News:
“The threat is desertification. My response is a sandstone wall made from solidified sand,” said Mr Larsson, who describes himself as a dune architect.
The sand would be stabilised by flooding it with bacteria that can set it like concrete in a matter of hours.
The wall would effectively be made by “freezing” the shifting sand dunes, turning them into sandstone.
“The idea is to stop the desert using the desert itself,” he said.
The sand grains would be bound together using a bacterium called Bacillus pasteurii commonly found in wetlands.
“It is a microorganism which chemically produces calcite – a kind of natural cement.”
Larsson admits that the idea has a lot of kinks that need to be worked out, but there’s no other plan that sounds any better. The best idea previous to this one was to plant a line of trees along the border of the Sahara, but because of the poverty in these areas, they would only end up getting cut down for firewood.
Desertification makes land less productive, reducing its ability to grow plants. It leads to unsustainable agricultural practices, further land degradation, socio-political strife and mass exodus into other cities or countries, causing shortages of resources there as well.
The idea does sound a bit kooky, but at this point, something needs to be done.
Link [BBC News]
Respect Nature or It’ll Stab You in the Eye
July 28, 2009
If you’re a fan of bizarre animated music videos about dads with creepy hair and weirdly long nipples who sing in their underwear (who isn’t?) you’ll love this.
GreenUpgrader found it and all we can say is THANK YOU.
“How would you feel if a giant hand came out of the sky and decided to crush you?”
Amazing!
Check out more stuff from the brilliant minds that created this video – Kristen Lepore and Garrett Davis.
Link [GreenUpgrader]
Justin Timberlake’s Golf Course is Actually Semi-Green
July 28, 2009
When we heard that Justin Timberlake was going to be creating a ‘green’ golf course called ‘Mirimichi’, we were skeptical. Golf courses aren’t exactly known for being environmentally friendly in any capacity, particularly because of all the water and chemicals generally used to keep that grass green and lush. Then there’s the fact that golf courses usually displace wildlife.
According to Ecorazzi, Timberlake’s golf course – which had its grand opening over the weekend- is actually quite an impressive effort.
Since the grand opening over the weekend, even more has been revealed regarding the extent of the 28-year-old singer’s mission to create a site where “golf and nature exist in harmony.” For instance, only 85 of the 200 acres are ever mowed — leaving the rest to transition over to “native grasses”. Also, if you’re on the staff, prepare to love weeding — by hand. To limit the use of chemicals, a large portion of the weeds that do grow are pulled out using manual labor.
And speaking of chemicals — as Mirimichi is the first in the nation to be designated as a certified Audubon International Classic Sanctuary – its use of synthetic fertilizers is strictly limited. Surrounding each water feature is an invisible 25-foot barrier where Audubon rules ban the use of chemical fertilizers or herbicides. Where they are needed, the course uses organic or slow-release products to cut down on runoff throughout the property.
According to a Memphis paper, Mirimichi will use a mix of 80 percent native plants and 20 percent exotics.
All that, and it’s still got all of the features that golfers want in a course – deep pit bunkers, elevated greens, lakes and creeks on 7,400 yards of land. We gotta hand it to Timberlake – he pulled it off. Mirimichi is the greenest golf course we’ve ever heard of.
Link [Ecorazzi]
Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Smaller Than Expected
July 28, 2009
Good news doesn’t come as often as we’d like nowadays, so it’s nice to be able to report that this year’s Gulf of Mexico dead zone isn’t nearly as large as experts thought it would be. NOAA-sponsored forecast models predicted that it would be bigger than usual at 7,000 – 8,000 square miles, but the actual size is about 3,000 square miles.
However, the change in square miles doesn’t mean it’s any less severe than usual. In fact, it’s worse. This year’s dead zone is “unusually thick”, reaching from the ocean floor almost to the surface of the water. And the smaller size doesn’t mean that the amount of pesticide-laden runoff that causes the dead zone in the first place has decreased.
From PhysOrg, via Treehugger:
“The results of the 2009 cruise at first glance are hopeful, but the smaller than expected area of hypoxia appears to be related to short-term weather patterns before measurements were taken, not a reduction in the underlying cause, excessive nutrient runoff.” said Robert Magnien, PhD., director of NOAA’s Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research. “The smaller area measured by this one cruise, therefore, does not represent a trend and in no way diminishes the need for a harder look at efforts to reduce nutrient runoff.”
The average size of the dead zone over the past five years, including this cruise, is now 6,000 square miles. The interagency Gulf of Mexico/Mississippi River Watershed Nutrient Task Force has a goal to reduce or make significant progress toward reducing this dead zone average to 2,000 square miles or less by 2015. The Task Force uses a five year average due to relatively high interannual variability.
The solution is reducing fertilizer use on farms along the Mississippi River. When too much fertilizer is applied, the excess runs off into the river and is carried all the way to the Gulf, depriving the waters of oxygen and making them unlivable for most marine life. Treehugger reports that one proposed solution is crop biodiversity, which would cut down on the need for chemicals on farms.
Link [Phys Org] via [Treehugger]
Photo credit: NOAA
Turn an Old Shoe Organizer into a Vertical Garden
July 27, 2009
GreenUpgrader has found yet another crazy-brilliant way to grow lots of food, even with a yard the size of a postage stamp. Instructables member pippa5 realized that a shoe organizer would not only give her more space to garden, but would keep cats and other animals out of her plants and eliminate the need to bend over.
All you need to get started is a shoe organizer, curtain rod, hooks, soil, plant seeds and a piece of wood to keep the base of the organizer off the wall. You can also put a trough-style planter underneath it to catch drips.
Simple, cheap, brilliant.
Link [Instructables] + [Green Upgrader]
Green College Spotlight: Colorado College
July 27, 2009
Drawing upon the adventurous spirit of the Rocky Mountain West, Colorado College of Colorado Springs has challenged its students to develop habits of intellect and imagination that will prepare them for learning and leadership throughout their lives. That mission has clearly spread to understanding, practicing and sharing sustainability on and off campus as the small private liberal arts college has amped up its green resume in the past year.
Colorado College conducted an environmental inventory and created a sustainability management plan in January of 2008, and in the year and a half since then, they’ve managed to green up campus operations enough to earn a B on the College Sustainability Report Card. That’s a lot of work in such a short amount of time, and everyone involved is to be commended on their efforts.
In May 2008, Colorado College students, donors and staff collaborated to install solar panels that produce enough energy to power the equivalent of one of the campus’ language-themed residential houses. After determining a plan of action for tackling energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gases, the college has set a goal of carbon neutrality and is working toward meeting strict efficiency standards. Colorado College is currently pursuing a wind power project and is also considering a solar array that would make the campus carbon neutral.
One of Colorado College’s new building projects has achieved LEED certification, the Russell T. Tutt Science Center, which has a shower for bicycle commuters, xeriscaping, wind-generated electricity, low VOC paints and many other green features. The new Cornerstone Arts Center is also seeking LEED Silver certification. Other buildings on campus have undergone energy efficiency makeovers.
The college has biodiesel buses and several hybrid and electric vehicles among its fleet, and students can get downtown via a shuttle program or ridesharing. The campus is also bike-friendly, and first-year students are not allowed to bring their own vehicles.
Food services works with an on-campus organic farm, and the chefs purchase local products from Colorado Springs area farmers including beef and dairy products. Students, faculty and staff have many organic and fair trade options and are rewarded with a discount for using reusable cups and bags.
Colorado College shows how quickly you can get things done when you set your mind to it. We’re looking forward to hearing more about how they’re working toward going green when the 2010 Green Report Card is released.
Link [Colorado College] + [Green Report Card]
SERRV International: Gorgeous Fair Trade Goods
July 27, 2009
From lovely dangling earrings made from blue-tinted mother-of-pearl discs to elegant recycled glass wine decanters, SERRV International has a wealth of high quality goods created by artisans and farmers around the world. When you buy jewelry, holiday décor and home goods from SERRV, you’re helping to give someone else a better life.
From Serrv.org:
Our work encompasses more than just buying and selling.
We offer prepayments so our partners can sustain their business.
Create new designs so they can build their markets.
Teach new skills so they can develop their craft.
Provide grants so they can expand their resources.We support equal rights for women.
Guide sustainable development.
And of course, pay a fair wage.
There’s a lot of really great stuff on this website – perfect for gift-giving. Check it out!
Link [SERRV]
The World’s Weirdest Plants
July 26, 2009
Mother Nature has produced some mind-boggling oddities, and though most of them may be members of the animal kingdom, the world’s flora has its share of weirdos as well. From a gigantic, fleshy, parasitic flower that smells like rotting flesh to water lilies that can hold the weight of two people, the strangest plants on Earth are a sight to behold.
ABC Action News has rounded up 7 of them:
Rafflesia arnoldii
Found in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo, the Rafflesia arnoldii produces the largest individual flower on earth.
The flower can grow up to three feet across and weigh up to 24 pounds.
It’s a parasitic plant that attaches itself to a host plant and feeds off of it for nutrients and water.
And boy, does it smell. Rafflesia arnoldii emits an odor similar to rotting meat to attract insects for pollination purposes.
This plant is rare and hard to find. The flower takes months to develop and only last a few days.Titan Arum
Here’s another real stinker.
Also found in Indonesia, the titan arum is known as the “corpse flower” for its awful smell of rotting meat.
The titan arum can grow up to 10 feet in circumference, reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh up to 170 pounds.
Unlike the equally bad-smelling rafflesia arnoldii, the titan arum is not a single flower, technically speaking. It is formed by a cluster of much smaller flowers, called an inflorescence.
Check out five more, along with slideshows of each natural oddity, at ABC Action News.
Changent Katherine Walsh Greens Up Boston College
July 26, 2009
When Katherine Walsh joined a student organization called ‘Ecopledge’ at Boston College, it wasn’t exactly a popular group to be in. There were just five members, and the general sentiment among her fellow students at the time was that environmentalism was just for “crazy hippie treehuggers.” Then, as part of the group, Walsh attended the annual Northeast Climate Summit at the University of Vermont, meeting hundreds of other college students dedicated to environmentalism – and it changed her life.
When, as a sophomore, Walsh found herself thrust into a leadership position in Ecopledge, she decided to make some changes. From Changents.com:
We started questioning our focus as a group and realized we could not continue focusing on the national issues without trying to change our own issues at BC. We started off slowly, establishing and nurturing better relationships with Facilities Management,Residential Life, and Dining Services, or as we liked to refer to them as “The Big Three”. And so began the next three years of triumphs, disappointments, lessons, and great change. Some highlights: BC moving from 33rd to 12th in RecycleMania; the beginning and continuation of campus events like Harvest Fest, Mt. Trashmore, and the Better Off Contest; the changing of over 800 incandescent bulbs throughout campus to fluorescent bulbs; hiring of an Energy Manager, promoted to Director of Sustainability and Energy Management; the creation of a BC sustainability website (bc.edu/sustainability); the purchase of five BigBelly solar trash compactors; numerous energy retrofits in garage and Plex lighting and heating and cooling mechanisms; the creation of a campus organic garden. BC even just had its first (and very successful) “BCisGreen Week”.
BC Dining has been a true “Changent” of its own, establishing a Green Cafe of organic and local foods only, composting and new recycling patterns in the dining halls, and no longer selling bottled water within the actual food areas. These many accomplishments came through our committed long hours of meetings, campaigns, collecting signatures, hosting campus events, and campus-wide publicity through “The Heights”. We in Ecopedge were rewarded for our work with the Mass Lottery Community Champions Award, the “Ever to Excel” Award, the “Skills: Leadership Award”, and the 2008 Heights Person of the Year Award.
Today, Ecopledge is a popular campus organization with over two dozen members. In addition to winning the “Ever to Excel” Award as a group, Katherine Walsh won the 2008 Leadership Award for her efforts on behalf of the environment.
We’d like to congratulate Katherine and all the other past and present members of Ecopledge who have helped make Boston College a much greener place. Check out Katherine’s continued work to ‘Grow Boston Greener’ at Changents.com/KatherineWalsh.
Link [Changents]
Subway Car Reef Project Fails Spectacularly
July 25, 2009
In an ECO FAIL of grand proportions, the project that aimed to recycle used subway cars into habitats for marine life has ultimately resulted in more junk floating around in the ocean. New Jersey paid millions to have the old subway cars shipped from other states and sunk into the ocean off the coast of Delaware, but the stainless steel cars quickly disintegrated.
Only two of the 48 cars that were submerged are still upright and intact. The Press of Atlantic City spoke to Darlene Yuhas, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had estimated they would serve as good reef habitat for 25 to 30 years.
“All the evidence suggested they would be long-lasting. In fact, the EPA data was these cars should last 25 years,” Yuhas said.
Other East Coast states that took the subway cars have reported similar problems.
The state DEP has done more surveys since February and has decided to end the program after cars were only deployed at the Atlantic City Reef and the Cape May Reef, which is about 9.1 nautical miles off Cold Spring Inlet. Cars had been earmarked for three other reefs, including the Shark River, Garden State South and Deepwater reefs, before the termination.
“We did in fact notify the New York Transit Authority that we would no longer be accepting their cars,” Yuhas said.
As Shea Gunther points out over at MNN, we tried something like this before and made a big mess instead of helping marine life. The tires that were dumped into the sea off Florida’s coast in the 1970s to act as an artificial reef broke apart and caused damage to actual living reefs nearby. It’s probably just not a great idea to dump our crap into the oceans, no matter what it’s made out of.
Link [MNN] + [Press of Atlantic City]
Photo credit: NJ.com
UK Getting its Toxic Waste Back from Brazil
July 25, 2009
Last week, it was discovered that British companies had been dumping toxic waste in Brazil and Ghana, polluting poor communities and endangering the health of the people who live there. The waste included syringes, condoms and bags of blood along with other hazardous substances. Brazil, for one, isn’t going to take it any more – the country is demanding that the UK take it all back.
Britain’s Head of Waste, Liz Parks, says taking back the waste – which has been found in about 90 shipping containers – could take weeks. Two British companies have been identified as the culprits.
From BBC News:
She also warned the British courts took the dumping of hazardous waste very seriously.
“We do prosecute people. We’ve had a number of successful prosecutions in recent years.
“And in fact in the crown court, people can be fined unlimited amounts and prison sentences are imposed.”
Roberto Messias, president of the Brazilian environment agency, Ibama, declared that Brazil was “not a big rubbish dump of the world”.
The agency also said the arrival of the toxic cargo had violated the Basel Convention on the movement of hazardous waste, of which both the UK and Brazil are signatories, which came into force in 1992.
Even worse than the fact that Western countries think it’s cool to unload their toxic waste on other countries is the fact that the guy that owns the two companies is Brazilian himself. The director of one of the companies claims that the containers should have contained only plastics for recycling and that any other contents were the responsibility of their suppliers – but there’s no way they didn’t know that their shipping containers were full of rotting, maggot-infested medical waste.
We’ve got to find better ways to deal with all of the waste we’re producing as we multiply across the face of this planet. Things are getting out of hand.
Link [BBC News]
Photo credit: Flickr user Totoro!
