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Toyota Announces Return of "100 Cars for Good" Program in 2012
February 13, 2012 08:49 AM - Editor, Justmeans
At the Chicago Auto Show today, Toyota announced the return of its "100 Cars for Good" program. For the second straight year, Toyota will award 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 U.S. nonprofits, with winners selected through public voting on the Toyota Facebook page. Applications for the program will open on March 12, 2012 at http://www.facebook.com/toyota. The announcement was made by Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales,U.S.A., who was accompanied by some of the nonprofits that received vehicles in last year's 100 Cars for Good program. "At Toyota, we appreciate what a big difference a new car can make for organizations working to improve lives and strengthen communities across the country, and we are thrilled to have this opportunity to lend a hand," said Rouse.
Innovative Wastewater Treatment Technology
February 13, 2012 07:01 AM - CleanTechies Guest Author, Clean Techies
Israel’s Aqwise is proving to be a success story of international proportions in the arena of biological wastewater treatment. The Company began as a small start-up offering innovative biological treatment of urban wastewater, and today offers a variety of solutions for municipal and industrial customers, due to intensive R&D and expansion into new arenas of activity. According to Israel NewTech, Aqwise is one of the first companies which singled out the potential of the cleantech market for Israeli hi-tech based entrepreneurs. The Company began as a small start-up, which developed innovative technology for the biological treatment of wastewater. Now, 12 years later, the Company is profitable, has 150 installations around the world, and representation and partnerships in over 20 countries.
Once, men abused slaves. Now we abuse fossil fuels
February 6, 2012 04:51 PM - Andy Gryce, Population Matters
Pointing out the similarities (and differences) between slavery and the use of fossil fuels can help us engage with climate change in a new way, says Jean-François Mouhot, visiting researcher at Georgetown University, USA. In 2005, while teaching history at a French university, I was struck by the general disbelief among students that rational and sensitive human beings could ever hold others in bondage. Slavery was so obviously evil that slave-holders could only have been barbarians. My students could not entertain the idea that some slave-owners could have been genuinely blind to the harm they were doing. At the same time, I was reading a book on climate change which noted how today's machinery — almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels like coal and oil — does the same work that used to be done by slaves and servants. "Energy slaves" now do our laundry, cook our food, transport us, entertain us, and do most of the hard work needed for our survival.
The Super Green Bowl
February 3, 2012 07:20 AM - Kara Scharwath, Triple Pundit
For the past 18 years, the NFL has been working to decrease the environmental footprint of the largest annual sporting event in the U.S. — the Super Bowl. Two years ago, we wrote about several initiatives aimed at reducing the events’ impacts. Last year, we covered how Super Bowl XLV was slated to be the greenest NFL championship game in history. This year, the NFL is trying to outdo itself yet again by working with the Green Mountain Energy Company and the Indianapolis community to make Super Bowl XLVI the greenest yet. I talked with Jack Groh, Director of the NFL’s Environmental Program, to get the details on this year’s efforts.
UPS Foundation Donates $6M To Champion Diversity
February 2, 2012 06:04 AM - Editor, ENN, Justmeans
It's good news for the human environment. The UPS Foundation today announced almost 120 grants totaling more than $6 million to non-profit organizations around the world that champion diversity and support diverse communities. For more than 60 years, UPS's philanthropic arm has funded organizations that support under-served and under-represented members of society. This year’s grants will support a wide range of programs, including those for wounded veterans, the hearing and visually-impaired, women and girls and culturally distinct populations.
Strong Work Ethics Stem from Early Childhood Development
January 30, 2012 09:46 AM - David A Gabel, ENN
A new study recently published suggests that attentiveness in kindergarten can accurately predict the child's work-oriented behavior throughout the rest of their school years and throughout their entire lives. This conclusion came after years of analysis and observation from elementary school homeroom teachers. For a young child, the classroom is the work place, so skills obtained there are translated directly to their adult workplaces. This study places even more focus on the importance of early education in shaping a more productive, work-oriented society.
Why Biodiversity Loss Deserves as Much Attention as Climate Change
January 27, 2012 01:58 PM - Akhila Vijayaraghavan, Triple Pundit
Biodiversity loss is probably a challenge that is often ignored as climate change looms. Currently the world is losing species at a rate that is 100 to 1000 times faster than the natural extinction rate, further, it is currently seeing the sixth mass extinction. The previous mass extinction occured 65 million years ago, and was caused by ecosystem changes, changes in atmospheric chemistry, impacts of asteroids and volcanoes. For the first time in history, the current extinction is caused by the competition for resources between a single species Homo sapiens and all others. A recent conference arranged by the Danish Ministry of Environment in the University of Copenhagen, provided an opportunity to influence the process of organizing a UN Biodiversity Panel. More than 100 scientists and decision makers from the EU countries gathered and came to the conclusion that drastic measures should be taken to decelerate current loss of biodiversity.
Italy risks worst environmental disaster in decades
January 21, 2012 08:22 AM - Silvia Aloisi, Reuters, ROME
Italy risks its worst environmental disaster in more than two decades if the 2,400 tonnes of thick fuel in the capsized Costa Concordia pollutes one of the Mediterranean's most prized and pristine maritime reserves. Seven days after the 114,500 tonne liner capsized off the Tuscan coast, its vast wreck is shifting precariously on an undersea ledge, threatening to slide further and undermining plans to pump the oil out safely. The ship keeled over after striking a rock and is now lying on its side on a shelf in about 20 meters of water off the little island of Giglio. Eleven people were killed and 21 are still unaccounted for. With hopes of finding any survivors all but gone, experts warn that beyond the loss of lives, this could turn into Italy's worst maritime environmental emergency since the sinking of the Amoco Milford Haven, loaded with 144,000 tonnes of oil, off the coast of Genoa in 1991. The clean up of that area was completed in 2008, 17 years after the accident, and the Haven shipwreck is still on the seabed, said Luigi Alcaro, head of maritime emergencies at ISPRA, Italy's government agency for the environment.
More Fuel Efficient Cars Spell Less Money For Mass Transit
January 20, 2012 08:02 AM - Phil Covington, Triple Pundit
Consumer Reports characterized this year’s North American International Auto show as "the rise of the mainstream plug in hybrid," foretelling a definite trend that’s emerging among automakers: fuel-efficiency is becoming the name of the game. This is great news for the environment, and for consumers, but with the vehicle fleet becoming more efficient in the USA, a probable negative consequence may emerge along with it. Specifically, as cars become more efficient, there will be less funding for mass transit infrastructure — an unfortunate systemic outcome indeed.
Prehistoric Peruvians enjoyed popcorn
January 19, 2012 09:07 AM - Jeremy Hance, MONGABAY.COM
Researchers have uncovered corncobs dating back at least 3,000 years ago in two ancient mound sites in Peru according to a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The ancient corn remnants, which proved residents were eating both popped corn and corn flour, are the earliest ever discovered in South America and may go back as far as 4,700 BCE (6,700 years ago), over fifteen hundred years before the early Egyptians developed hieroglyphics and while woolly mammoths still roamed parts of the Earth.