A number of products you probably did not know that they are made from oil

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    by Michael Smith

    Oil derived products are everywhere. But, do we all realize just how common they are?

    If you think you have gotten rid off your addiction to oil and oil-derived products, then think again.

    I can guarantee you that you will find at least one product in this list that surprises you. Oil derived products are more common than you think!

    Paper Cups - Paper cups are coated with plastic or wax in order to make them waterproof. We know plastic is derived from oil or natural gas, but did you know most wax is too? The type of wax used to waterproof paper cups is polyolefin wax - which is a polymer derived from oil or natural gas. In some places this coating is achieved with a kind of paraffin wax. The latter is directly an oil-derivative. This thin plastic or wax film coating also makes those paper cups non-recyclable in fact. Something that most people are entirely unaware of. Most folks think that those paper cups are better than Styrofoam because they think them to be recyclable. Shame they are not. Not that Styrofoam are better either. Reusable is the only way to go with all of that.

    Candles – Well, as we have just been talking about wax; did you know that candles are also made from polyolefin or paraffin wax? A natural alternative to burning those “wax” candles are beeswax candles or candles made from tallow, as they were in the old days.

    Fruits & Vegetables – Please note that the wax coating on your store bought fruits and vegetables is (right, you guessed it already) also made from petroleum. Yuck! Another good reason to shop at the local farmer’s market! Or grow your own where you can.

    Reusable Shopping Bags – Many reusable shopping bags on the market today are ironically made from the same oil derived materials they are designed to replace. Reusable shopping bags are typically made from non-woven polypropylene — PP or resin ID code 5 for short. While these bags are recyclable, I would recommend purchasing a heavy duty canvas reusable bag instead. Canvas reusable bags are made from cotton, and last longer. You also do not even have to purchase them. You can make them yourself, whether with a sewing machine or by sewing by hand. You can sew, can't you? You can't? Why not? Learn it.

    Detergent – Most commercially available dish, dishwasher, and laundry detergents contain some kind of petroleum based surfactants. Surfactants are the part of the detergent that allows them to pull grease and oil from materials. It also increases water penetration while washing clothing. Those are, however, so it is reckoned, safe for the environment, and in the case of some of them, better even than using Ecover, as with the latter, supposedly eco-friendly dishwash, one needs at least double if not three times the amount that I need from a leading brand.

    Polyester – You might be wearing oil derived clothing right now! Polyester is derived from PET plastic. The same material as 2 liter soda bottles. Or ethylene, made from natural gar or naphta, a bi-product of the petroleum industry. A lot of those clothing from polyester are, today, recycled from soda bottles. As a general rule, most products that start with the prefix “poly” are made of a plastic polymer. If you want to stay away from oil derived fabrics in your clothing, your best choices are hemp or organic cotton clothing. However, not everyone can wear hemp or wool, for instance.

    Paint – House paint is made from acrylic latex, yes even the so called eco-friendly brands of paint. Eco-friendly paints are otherwise normal paints that do not produce unpleasant, or harmful odors. Eco-friendly paint is typically marketed as Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) free, but they are still derived from oil.

    Foil packaging – Vacuum packed coffee, snack, and chip bags that have a thin metal coating on the interior are actually made of Mylar. Mylar is thinly stretched PET plastic, coated with a thin layer of aluminum, and sometimes finished off with a polyethylene laminate. An alternative to purchasing foodstuffs in Mylar packaging is to shop with reusable containers at farmer’s markets, or the bulk section in your grocery store.

    I hope that this list has you thinking about the enormous role oil continues to play in our lives beyond the gas pump, heating our homes, and cooking our food. Together, I hope we can continue to identify more sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives to oil derived products.

    Many of those products are something that I doubt we really would want to be without. Hence we should not use oil by burning it in the ICE but should rather make useful things from it. Then again, there are also natural materials available for most things, such as those that polyester clothing, for instance replaced. One problem though for some people, namely that they are allergic, like myself, to the likes of wool – any type of wool.

    The problem with oil is that we cannot, in this present day and age, really live without things derived from it in one way or the other. I doubt that even the most ardent environmentalist and eco-warrior would really like to live without his or her laptop or general PC and his or her cell phone. Let's face it. We need the stuff. Hence my recommendation, so to speak, that we look for an alternative way of travel, that is to say a way to get rid of the ICE, or to return to the original design of Henry Ford's, namely to run the car on methane. We have enough of the latter stuff and it is being produced in the sewerage works and landfill sites every second of the day. All that needs to be done is to “harvest” it.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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NATIONAL BIODIESEL BOARD OPENS "GREEN" BUILDING IN JEFFERSON CITY

    NEWS RELEASE

    Opening of New Headquarters Signals Missouri’s Key Role in Energy Security

    JEFFERSON CITY, MO: The carpet comes from recycled materials. The paint is nontoxic. The parking lot lights are powered by the sun. But what really makes the new headquarters of the National Biodiesel Board so eco-conscious is the work that goes on inside.

    Governor Matt Blunt, U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof and Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr joined the NBB in a ribbon-cutting and tree-planting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the organization’s new headquarters at 605 Clark Avenue.

    “We may be a national organization, but our roots have always been here in Missouri,” said Joe Jobe, NBB CEO. “Our industry plays a critical role nationally in meeting our energy needs, creating thousands of green jobs and millions of gallons of clean-burning fuel. Our rapid industry growth was reflected in our staff growth, prompting the need for new headquarters.” Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made from resources such as soybean oil, recycled restaurant grease and other plant oils and waste products. Last year, the industry produced 500 million gallons of biodiesel, up from 25 million gallons in 2004. The industry has consistently doubled or tripled production every year since then. Today there are 171 biodiesel plants nationwide, including seven in Missouri.

    “We have made Missouri a national leader in alternative fuels and renewable energy,” Gov. Blunt said. “The National Biodiesel Board’s decision to strengthen their presence in our state underscores just how critical Missouri is to supplying our nation with clean, renewable energy.” Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine in a blend of up to 20 percent with no engine modifications. Its use reduces emissions, including lifecycle carbon dioxide, by 78 percent.

    “I truly believe biodiesel is a sustainable fuel that is a vital part of our energy solution,” Rep. Hulshof said. “Never underestimate the ingenuity of the American farmer, who can provide both food and fuel from right here in the heartland, while cleaning up the air we breathe.”

    Nine NBB governing board members joined the event from throughout the country, including Chairman Ed Hegland, a soybean farmer from Appleton, Minn. He pointed out that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15% higher if biofuel producers were not increasing their output, according to a U.S. Department of Energy estimate.

    “Despite our higher petroleum costs, technological advances are allowing America’s family farmers, like me, to produce much more efficient harvests,” Hegland said. “Last year, the U.S. biodiesel industry displaced 20 million barrels of petroleum. Our annual contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is now equal to removing 700,000 passenger vehicles from America’s roadways.”

    Founded in 1992, the NBB’s mission is educating the public on biodiesel while reducing barriers to its widespread use.

    For more details on biodiesel, visit biodiesel.org.

    Source: National Biodiesel Board
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Reusable, the way to go!

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    by Michael Smith

    Reusable is definitely and certainly the way to go and that not only in the grocery bag department.

    The same applies for water bottles and, I am certain, also for other aspect.

    Why pay to throw away for one of the greatest costs of the bottled water is, in fact, the plastic bottles that you can, theoretically, due to health concerns, cannot reuse, at least not more than probably about ten times before the leaching of the chemicals could become critical.

    One other that could be mentioned is male grooming, that is to say, shaving. It is very near, it would appear, impossible nowadays to get one of the old-style safety razors that took that nearly foil-thin razor blade. While the blades are still obtainable, though even they are rather pricey it would appear that the razors themselves have all but vanishes, at least as far as new ones are concerned. If there are still any out there maybe a manufacturer of them would like to get in touch with us and let us review one for an article.

    Permit me, though, once more, to return to the silliness, not to say, stupidity, of bottled water. The people of the United States are the world's largest consumer of bottled water and with it plastic water bottles, but I wonder how many of them are actually aware that the designer water, and the water they believe to be spring water, that they consume by the thousands of gallons a day is, in a great majority of cases, nothing more than municipal tap water and while this may be filtered, even via so-called “reverse osmosis” it still is and remains nothing but tap. And I certainly would not pay $2 or more for a bottle of revamped tap water. I have better things to do with my money. Like buying a reusable water bottle and then using tap water, even though I may prefer to filter it via charcoal and such filter rather than drinking it neat. Nothing to do with the safety of it though; just I don't care much for the taste of chlorine.

    Coca Cola still refuses to admit, despite that it is a well-known fact and open secret, which, so at least I hope, everyone knows, that its Dasani (?) water comes from public sources. In other words, it is nothing but municipal tap water. At least Pepsi hat the integrity to openly state on the bottles of their designer water that it is from public sources. But enough of the wet stuff for a moment, I guess. This was after all about reuse and not just water.

    How many other things do we just throw away while they are, in fact, reusable, or while there are reusable versions available, and when it comes to one of the items I am as guilty as the next one, and that are batteries of the AA, the C, the AAA, and other such sizes. While there are rechargeable ones of them about, how many of us actually use them? I must say that I do not. Shame on me, I know.

    Obviously, my cell phone, my two-way radios and other items, such as the laptop, do have rechargeable batteries, but then, they come as standard.

    Well, as said above, the grocery bag is obviously one of the reuse items that we should consider, and we should ensure that we always have one or two with us, in case we have to rush to the stores. Reusable grocery bags can be had in all shapes and sizes and different materials and many you can even buy for lots of money. However, who would want to? Then again, you could buy Fairtrade cotton ones from a place such as Oxfam or similar and with your purchase support a good cause. In other instances there are livelihood projects such as Trashe Bolsas who make them from old advertising tarps and again the purchase of such bags brings an income to someone who needs it.

    There is, on the other hand, absolutely nothing stopping you from making your own from some material or other. An old pair of jeans that has gone past its “use by date” or some other garment, such as a T-shirt, can be sewn into a shopper that one can then take to the store and fill again and again with groceries, thereby helping the environment in more than one way. Firstly you have recycled and re-purposed something that otherwise might have gone into the rubbish and secondly you keep those plastic bags out of circulation. Reuse always!

    We could now here add the glass bottle and the glass jar as well. Those also could be reused and reused ad infinitum if we would just put measures in place to make them returnable to the stores – against a deposit – or simply against payment of a small sum, say 5pence or 10pence. Glass is such a valuable resource that it should not just be simple recycled by being crushed and reprocessed; it should be cleaned and reused till it actually breaks. The shards then can be recycled into new. Not before should that be done, that is to say, glass, whether bottles or jars, should until such a time that they really can no longer be used. Then and only then is the time to crush the glass for recycling and not before.

    I am sure you all can give us all loads more of examples as to where we should employs reuse and you are all most welcome to add those to this via the comments section.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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NEWMONT SELECTED FOR DOW JONES SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR

    NEWS RELEASE

    DENVER, CO.: Newmont Mining Corporation announced on September 10, 2008 that it was selected for a third consecutive year to be part of the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), making the DJSI North America and the DJSI World lists for 2008 (www.sustainability-index.com). In 2007, Newmont became the first gold company selected to be on the DJSI World, after being chosen for the DJSI North America index in 2006 and 2007.

    “The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is just one of the ways Newmont’s environmental and social performance are independently evaluated,” said Richard O’Brien, Newmont’s President and CEO. “Maintaining high standards and expectations for our performance is vital to the success and sustainability of our business, so we may continue delivering value and opportunity for our shareholders, employees and host communities.”

    DJSI World, Dow Jones’s premier sustainability index, tracks the performance of 2,500 leading companies, worldwide. The index independently evaluates companies’ long-term economic, environmental, and social performance, publicly identifying the top 10 percent of performers in areas of sustainability.

    O’Brien went on to add, “I am especially proud of our employees, whose ongoing commitment to sustainability honors our core values.”

    Companies are selected based on a systematic assessment identifying the top sustainability leaders in 58 different industry groups. The methodology evaluates companies based on a variety of criteria, including transparency, corporate governance, risk and crisis management, environmental management and performance, community relations and development, energy consumption and climate change, biodiversity, human resources, stakeholder relations, and safety.

    More information can be found in Newmont’s annual sustainability report, www.BeyondTheMine.com. The report is published as part of the company’s ongoing obligations as a founding member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (www.icmm.com) and in accordance with its commitments under the United Nations’ Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org) and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (www.voluntaryprinciples.org).

    Founded in 1921 and publicly traded since 1925, Newmont (www.Newmont.com) is one of the largest gold companies in the world. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, the company has approximately 34,000 employees and contractors, with the majority working at Newmont's core operations in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia and Ghana. Newmont is the only gold company listed in the S&P 500 index and in 2007 became the first gold company selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Newmont's industry leading performance is reflected through high standards in environmental management, health and safety for its employees and creating value and opportunity for host communities and shareholders.

    Source: Newmont Mining Corporation
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ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO HIGH-QUALITY CARBON OFFSETS FOR BUSINESSES AND CONSUMERS TO COMBAT CLIMATE

    NEWS RELEASE

    New Website Takes the Guesswork out of Identifying and Purchasing Carbon Offsets in Growing Voluntary Market

    WASHINGTON D.C., September 10, 2008: To help bring transparency to the fast-growing voluntary carbon offset market to combat climate change, Environmental Defense Fund today announced the launch of CarbonOffsetList.org, a first-of-its-kind online resource that will help businesses and consumers identify and purchase carbon offsets that represent real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets allow buyers to offset, or neutralize, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced from their own activities by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere.

    Developed through a rigorous review process in collaboration with a committee of external experts in the fields of science and policy, the website identifies 11 pre-screened, independently verified offset projects that meet Environmental Defense Fund’s criteria for high-quality carbon offsets. Environmental Defense Fund’s evaluation focused on the environmental integrity of the projects and whether projects could show verifiable and measurable proof of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The approach focused on finding high-quality emissions reductions regardless of project type, technology or supplier.

    “Companies increasingly see the value in incorporating carbon offsets into their overall climate action strategies, but until now, buyers had to do their own homework to determine which projects were most credible,” said Thomas Murray, managing director of corporate partnerships for Environmental Defense Fund. “CarbonOffsetList.org eliminates the guesswork and offers buyers direct access to a list of thoroughly vetted projects that meet Environmental Defense Fund’s high-quality criteria.”

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in the near term (through 2025) nearly one-third of the needed U.S. emissions reductions could be met by offsets. Voluntary action by businesses and individuals to reduce their emissions through on-site reductions and carbon offsets plays an important role. By connecting offset purchasers to high-quality projects, CarbonOffsetList.org will help ensure that money spent on offsets makes a real contribution to combat climate change.

    “While most experts are convinced that there is a role for carbon offsets, the subject often prompts more questions than answers,” said Bill Chameides, dean of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and member of the independent expert review committee. “Environmental Defense Fund's CarbonOffsetList.org should give purchasers confidence that the offsets they buy result in real greenhouse gas reductions to help meet their environmental goals.”

    In response to numerous inquiries from companies seeking guidance on using carbon offsets as part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy, Environmental Defense Fund developed the current list through a request-for-proposal and project-by-project review process. Environmental Defense Fund received more than 70 project proposals from dozens of suppliers, with a wide ranging diversity of project types and approaches. In order to be considered for inclusion, providers submitted project documentation for review, including project design documents and third-party verification reports.

    CarbonOffsetList.org features 11 emissions reduction projects ranging from capturing and destroying methane from landfills and dairy farms to reducing emissions at truck stops across the country. They are:

    Greater New Bedford LFG Utilization, Dartmouth, Mass., offered by CommonWealth Resource Management Corp. and Carbonfund.org

    North Country LFG Utilization, Bethlehem, N.H., offered by CommonWealth Resource Management Corp.

    Development Authority of the North Country Solid Waste Management Facility, Rodman, N.Y., offered by Carbonfund.org

    Upper Rock Island Landfill, East Moline, Ill., offered by Renewable Choice Energy

    Newton-McDonald County Landfill, Neosho, Mo., offered by 3Degrees

    Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority Landfill, Lebanon, Pa., offered by Terrapass

    Greenville County Landfill, Greer, S.C., offered by Sterling Planet

    Inland Empire Dairy Methane, Chino, Calif., offered by Carbonfund.org

    IdleAire Technologies Corporation Advanced Truckstop Electrification, Nationwide, offered by Carbonfund.org

    Integrated Gas Recovery Systems (IGRS) Landfill, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, offered by GreenLife

    Irani Wastewater Methane, Santa Catarina, Brazil, offered by EcoSecurities

    Environmental Defense Fund expects this list to continue to grow as additional information about the projects under consideration is received.

    Environmental Defense Fund has no financial interest in any of the featured projects on CarbonOffsetList.org, gets no benefit from transactions initiated at the site and accepts no funding from corporate partners.

    To learn more about the list of projects and Environmental Defense Fund’s criteria, please visit www.CarbonOffsetList.org.

    Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.

    Source: Environmental Defense Fund
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ENVIRONMENTAL WATCHDOG HONORED WITH $250,000 HEINZ AWARD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

    NEWS RELEASE

    Thomas J. FitzGerald recognized for work in advocacy and leadership

    PITTSBURGH, PA, September 9, 2008: The founder and director of the Kentucky Resources Council, dubbed the “watchdog of the environment” in the Bluegrass state, has been selected to receive the 14th annual Heinz Award for the Environment, among the largest individual achievement prizes in the world.

    Thomas J. FitzGerald, 53, of Louisville, Ky., an influential voice in improving the environmental landscape within his home state and across the nation, is among five distinguished Americans selected to receive one of the $250,000 awards, presented by the Heinz Family Foundation.

    “For more than three decades, Tom FitzGerald has raised a thoughtful and courageous voice on behalf of many communities, families and individuals whose environmental health would have otherwise been at risk,” said Teresa Heinz, chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation. “He has been a ubiquitous and persistent leader in advocating for the fair and equitable application of environmental laws and has generously and tirelessly shouldered the causes of those without the resources or expertise to fend for themselves. It is fair to say that Mr. FitzGerald is singularly responsible for the health and well-being of countless individuals – in Kentucky and throughout the United States – thanks in large measure to his vigilant commitment to seeing that environmental protections are enforced and the welfare of our citizens regarded as sacrosanct. We are indeed honored to recognize him with the 14th annual Heinz Award for the Environment.”

    Mr. FitzGerald has dedicated his career to helping citizens and organizations within Kentucky and across the country secure full and fair implementation of policies intended to safeguard their health, safety and quality of life. He is an authority on the enforcement of the national Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, the federal law designed to protect against the adverse environmental and societal effects of surface coal mining operations, as well as other regulatory issues affecting the environment. After earning his law degree, Mr. FitzGerald worked as a law clerk and environmental specialist for the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund, and in 1984, reshaped the Kentucky Resources Council, providing free legal assistance on environmental matters, pursuing environmental advocacy and making the name “Fitz” synonymous with environmental protection in Kentucky. Having worked to secure passage of a national mining law from 1972 forward, he was very active in the development of regulations under the 1977 law and in working with a handful of attorneys in the nation’s capital to defend those regulations against decades of industry lawsuits in the District of Columbia Circuit.

    To preserve lands from the environmental consequences of mining, Mr. FitzGerald regularly leverages a generally ignored provision of SMCRA to persuade regulatory officials to declare areas of local or regional importance unsuitable for coal mining operations, a strategy that has proven more effective than litigation. It was a tactic that helped to save Black Mountain, Kentucky’s highest peak, as well as protected the watersheds that provide the drinking water for the cities of Middlesboro and Pineville, Ky., and the view shed of the Pine Mountain Settlement School, from mining.

    Mr. FitzGerald’s influence extends well beyond issues related to coal. Working always on a pro bono basis and most often alone, he has helped draft ordinances to protect communities from sewage sludge disposal and factory hog farms as well as negotiated state statutes providing environmental protections related to brownfield redevelopment, the siting of new power plants, solid and hazardous waste management, renewable energy and energy efficiency. He has been a fixture in the halls of Kentucky’s General Assembly since 1978 and has lobbied to defeat scores of bills that would have lowered environmental quality and polluter accountability, including bills designed to strip local governments of their home-rule ability to regulate environmental problems, bills that would have prevented Kentucky’s environmental regulations from being more stringent than the minimum standards set by federal rules, and a bill that would have undercut Louisville’s Strategic Toxic Air Reduction Program. Additionally, Mr. FitzGerald continues to carry a caseload of individual cases where communities or individuals are threatened by air, land or water pollution, taking only those cases that the private bar would not take or which the citizen could not afford to bring.

    Looking toward the future, Mr. FitzGerald has developed plans for an environmental leadership training program designed to cultivate the next generation of environmental watchdogs and create teams of volunteers, drawn largely from retired state environmental employees, to assist citizens and communities impacted by pollution. He also has been an adjunct professor of energy and environmental law at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law since 1986.

    “I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated and selected as the 14th recipient of the Heinz Award in the area of the environment,” Mr. FitzGerald said. “I have been blessed many times over by family, by those whom KRC has represented, and by mentors who helped shape my unflagging belief that we each, working in good faith and with humility, can advance justice in all of its facets – environmental, economic, moral, generational. Kentucky, with 98 percent of our electricity generated by fossil fuels and an economy built on coal extraction and low-cost power, is ‘ground zero’ for climate change. In honor and in memory of the legacy of Senator Heinz, we at the council will continue to address these challenges and recommit ourselves to the unfinished work at hand of safeguarding our environment and creating healthy communities.”

    Since 1993, the Heinz Family Foundation of Pittsburgh has recognized individuals whose dedication, skill and generosity of spirit represent the best of the human qualities that the late Senator Heinz, for whom the award is named, held so dear.

    Presented in five categories, the other Heinz Award recipients are:

    Arts and Humanities: Ann Hamilton, 52, visual artist and educator, from Columbus, Ohio

    Human Condition: Brenda Krause Eheart, Ph.D., 64, founder of Generations of Hope and Hope Meadows, from Champaign, Ill.

    Public Policy: Robert Greenstein, 62, founder and executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, from Washington, D.C.

    Technology, the Economy and Employment: Joseph DeRisi, Ph.D., 38, molecular biologist, researcher and inventor, from San Francisco, Calif.

    The Heinz Family Foundation, one of the Heinz Family Philanthropies, began as a charitable trust established by the late Senator Heinz in 1984. His widow, Teresa Heinz, created the Heinz Awards in 1993 as the primary activity of the foundation. In addition to the Heinz Awards, the foundation directs a grant-making program that is active in a wide range of issues, principally those concerning women’s health and environment, health care cost and coverage, as well as pensions and retirement security.

    Nominations for the Heinz Awards are submitted by an invited Council of Nominators, all experts in their fields, who serve anonymously. Award recipients are selected by the board of directors for the Heinz Awards upon recommendation by a blue-ribbon panel of jurors in each category.

    Past recipients of the Heinz Awards include author Dave Eggers, personal computer inventor Steve Wozniak, energy authority Amory Lovins, gerontologist Robert Butler, medical anthropologist Paul Farmer, global warming scientist James Hansen, marine biologist Jane Lubchenco and Paul Anastas, a leader in the “green chemistry” movement.

    In addition to the $250,000 award for their unrestricted use, recipients are presented with a medallion inscribed with the image of Senator Heinz on one side and a rendering of a globe passing between two hands on the other. The medallion symbolizes the partnership, continuity and values carried on to the next generation. The hands also suggest passing on the stewardship of the earth to future generations.

    The Heinz Awards will be presented at a private ceremony in Pittsburgh on October 21.

    Additional information is available online at www.heinzawards.net.

    Source: The Heinz Family Foundation
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Germany sets the standard

    UK needs a feed in tariff for exported electricity produced by CHP

    The UK should follow the example being shown by Germany, which is taking radical steps to stimulate its already relatively healthy market for microgeneration and renewable technologies, according to leading British sustainability experts.

    German domestic and commercial users of combined heat and power (CHP) and photovoltaics (PV) already receive a guaranteed premium price for any electricity they generate themselves and sell back to the grid. From January 1 next year they will receive an additional financial incentive with the introduction of a payment for using their own electricity.

    CHP owners will receive between 11.59 and 13 Euro cents for every kWh they generate made up of a quarterly agreed price from their utility company, an ‘avoided network usage’ payment for not taking power from the Grid and an additional CHP bonus of 5.11 cents.

    PV users receive 49 cents because of the far higher cost of buying and installing PV systems.

    The German parliament has just passed the CHP Act, which guarantees these generous feed-in and own usage tariffs until 2016 allowing users to invest in CHP engines with confidence.

    At the same time, Germany has introduced a 10 per cent surcharge on fossil fuels providing further incentive for users to invest in alternative energy sources.

    German utility companies have the responsibility for administering the feed-in system and making the payments to individual users. This avoids the bureaucracy and complexity issues that discouraged so many UK consumers from claiming their grants under the Clear Skies and Low Carbon Buildings Programme. In Germany, the utility pays and then claims the money back from the Government.

    Private grid
    Germany is trying to create a localised ‘private’ grid system made up of thousands of individual microgenerators to reduce dependence on large, centralised power stations. Such a network is already up and running in part of the Black Forest.

    “Feed-in tariffs are proving extremely successful in Germany and I would urge the UK to consider a similar system,” says Matt Johler, export manager of Baxi-SenerTec, the UK owned CHP manufacturer based in Bavaria.

    “In 1999 the German market was very similar to the UK market today, but the incentives have totally transformed the commercial environment in favour of microgeneration. Under the new regulations, microgenerators now have the same rights as the large utility companies and power stations.”

    SenerTec has sold more than 18,000 CHP engines across Europe, but the majority have remained in Germany because of the favourable market conditions there for low carbon technologies.

    “CHP has the best payback of any of the sustainable technologies whatever the market conditions,” says Mike Malina, consultant to the M&E Sustainability campaign. “The German model is an ideal one for the UK to follow because it shows what can be achieved by using financial incentives.

    “If the UK government is serious about cutting carbon emissions and improving our security of energy supply, it must stand up to the utility companies and impose a feed-in tariff system that guarantees consumers a fair price for energy they generate themselves.”

    Currently UK microgenerators do not receive a guaranteed price for the electricity they sell back to the Grid. In fact, in many instances they receive no payment at all.
    “I'm highly envious of the German feed-in tariff for CHP,” says Phil Jones, chairman of the CIBSE CHP Group. “If we had anything like this in the UK then our industry would be far less hungry. “Relatively speaking we are a like a size zero in comparison to our continental friends and need feeding up…or in. I think that community wide CHP is the way to go - more efficient and cost effective than individual units plus it gathers together heat loads to form a larger base load, which is good for CHP. Let's hope for a big feed soon!”

    Misguided
    Opposition politicians seem to agree with the industry view. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg says:
    “Rather than pursuing an expensive and misguided policy to build new nuclear capacity, the Government should be moving to rapidly expand CHP. There can be no excuses not to act: CHP makes environmental and economic sense.”

    Mr Clegg called for the climate change levy exemption for CHP to be extended beyond 2012. He also welcomed a Greenpeace commissioned report that showed the UK could generate as much electricity as 10 nuclear power stations by increasing the capacity of nine existing large scale CHP installations. The report, carried out by Poyry Energy Consulting, also made the case for smaller scale, or mini, CHP by pointing out that businesses installing or extending CHP could cut their energy bills by over £1bn and could profit by selling excess electricity and recycling their waste heat.

    The amount of CHP generated in the UK has nearly doubled in the past decade, from 3.68GW in 1998 to 5.55GW in 2006. But Graham Meeks, director of the Combined Heat and Power Association, believes the government can do more to ensure the technology reaches its full potential: "Without effective and enduring incentives to make these investments, our next generation of power stations will simply replicate the failings of the past and continue with a needless waste of valuable heat.”

    Most industry observers concur that CHP is a safe bet and one of the most appropriate low carbon solutions for the UK.

    “CHP is an extremely mature technology that is enjoying a renaissance in many parts of Europe,” says David Shaw, business manager of Baxi-SenerTec (UK). “It really works and does not depend on weather or ground conditions or any other unpredictable factors. It is also not a borrowed technology, but is designed specifically for the purpose.”

    Using reliable internal combustion engine technology, the CHP unit generates electricity while it is running and produces heat as a by-product, which is captured and used for water and space heating in a wide range of buildings. By generating power at, or close to, the point of use, it avoids the massive wastage of central power stations, which lose around two thirds of their power in waste heat and transmission losses.

    Greenpeace points out that the heat is a crucial element as that accounts for 49 per cent of the country’s overall energy demand. It added that CHP had been “neglected” by the UK when it should have been a key component of our energy mix.

    The Carbon Trust has carried out extensive field trials in the UK over the past two years concluding that “a mini-CHP unit can provide savings of between 15 and 20 per cent when it is applied as the lead boiler”. It works best in applications with high and continuous heating loads like hospitals, leisure centres, sheltered accommodation, fire stations, homes with swimming pools and so on as the longer it is running the more efficient it is.

    Subsidy
    The UK remains the exception when it comes to providing incentives for microgeneration, according to Mr Shaw.“We are almost alone in Europe in having no policies aimed at providing continuous support for a mass market for microgeneration technologies,” he says. “We estimate that a 25 per cent capital subsidy for CHP would lead to 18 million units being installed by 2030. This would reduce the country’s CO2 emissions by 24 million tonnes a year and eliminate the need for the proposed new generation of nuclear power stations.“Gas-fired CHP is the most appropriate microgen technology for the UK as we have a relatively plentiful supply of natural gas and it can be easily retrofitted to existing heating systems,” adds Mr Shaw.Many experts suggest that a minimum feed-in tariff of 5p/kWh should be imposed to give consumers the incentive to produce their own electricity. However, this proposal was voted down in the debate over the UK Energy Bill this year and, although the House of Lords is considering amendments, only PV is being considered as a potential beneficiary of feed-in tariffs.

    Many people remain hopeful that the evidence presented by Greenpeace and the example set by other European countries like Germany – and also Denmark, which derives 40 per cent of its power from CHP – will allow common sense to prevail. We may yet see a change of direction on feed-in tariffs and other incentives for CHP of all sizes.

    www.baxi-senertec.co.uk
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Faithful+Gould and 4tell Partner to Deliver 'Green' Facility Solutions

    NEWS RELEASE

    Faithful+Gould US ("F+G") and 4tell Solutions, LLC, ("4tell" - formerly HCI Solutions, LLC) have announced late July 2008 that they have entered into an exclusive strategic partnership to deliver market-leading "green" facility solutions.

    The united offering of 4tell's sustainable facility governance technology platform and F+G's facility assessment consulting practice drives an increased value proposition through a "best-in-class" offering embodying multi-discipline facilities expertise, collaboration, proven business practices and innovative technology for the built environment.

    F+G assessments provide key information to determine condition, energy efficiency, security risks, life expectancy, environmental impact, code compliance and future repair and upgrade costs for buildings. 4tell's iPlan(TM) technology captures, manages, models and analyzes this critical data to deliver clients with the facility knowledge management and decision support tools necessary to meet their ongoing needs for sustainable facility governance, capital planning and performance management.

    This unique solution is transforming how the market-place sources facility consulting and technology services by empowering clients with the ability to leverage investments across key facets of their operation including relevant financial, energy, environmental and social factors.

    "Our partnership with 4tell enables organizations to dramatically improve performance and achieve their business objectives for sustainability and corporate social responsibility in today's real-world, bottom-line business environment," said Benjamin Dutton, Director of Facility Condition Assessment for F+G.

    By combining leading strategic management methods and business processes with proven engineering and economic models, the F+G and 4tell partnership empowers clients to adopt "green" governance practices for their facilities, infrastructure and buildings. These efforts result in improved capital and operating lifecycle budgets, streamlined facility governance processes, the ability to keep environmental commitments and comply with regulatory reporting requirements, as well as informing stakeholders through sustainability reporting.

    The partnership's solutions support the business processes of executives in charge of capital investment performance as well as the processes of facility, energy and security managers charged with improving the performance of their portfolios.

    "With F+G's ability to accurately and impartially analyze facility infrastructure and 4tell's expertise in converting that information into actionable decision, planning and project management processes, we collectively deliver a facility governance solution that enables organizations to optimize efficiencies and performance across their portfolios and maximize the value of their assets," said Jim Kavanagh, President and CEO of 4tell.

    Faithful+Gould is a premier construction consulting firm and operates at the forefront of the transport, property and industry sectors as one of world's leading project and cost consultants. Faithful+Gould is a member of the Atkins group of companies. Atkins is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy in Europe and the world's fifth largest global design firm. To learn more about Faithful+Gould please visit http://www.fgould.com.

    4tell(TM) provides technology solutions and consulting services that enable companies to adopt "green" governance practices for their facilities, infrastructure and buildings. 4tell is a member of the Cordjia group of companies. Sustainable Facility Governance is emerging as a core goal of leading organizations, both public and private, and embodies the economic, energy, environmental and social challenges that organization's face in today's global community. 4tell helps its clients to effectively manage portfolios, optimize capital, energy, and maintenance budgets, reduce emissions, improve security, and report on performance to stakeholders. To learn more about 4tell(TM) please visit http://www.4tellsolutions.com.

    SOURCE 4tell Solutions, LLC
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Bulldog Mini Bypass Pruning Shears BD3150 – Product Review

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    Review by Michael Smith
    The Bulldog BD3150 mini bypass pruning shears are a very nice and handy little pair of pruners for the cutting back of live or 'green' foliage and also capable of basically all small pruning tasks. In my opinion those pruners are also great for children who wish to help in the garden. Yes, I do know that they are cutting tools and sharp but they will never learn how to do things if they are not permitted to learn when young.

    The cutting capacity is 6mm which is just under 1/2 inch in old money. However, it is probably possible to cut a little thicker pieces like that. It all depends on what material they are. While I would not suggest to cut a 3/4 inch apple twig or one of other hard wood with this pair of pruning shears it it, however, possible to cut bramble runners of that size and even bigger, especially if they are “green”.

    While an ideal little pair of pruning shears for the home and also the allotment gardener they are also suitable for the professional when about generally in case there is something to be that needs dead heading, whether roses or flowering plants in general. In addition it is also an ideal small pair of secateurs for the Park and Countryside Ranger on patrol should the need arise to cut some bramble runners or such clear from a path to protect the public from injury. It is the small size here that comes in at the forefront, allowing it to just be slipped into a pocket or a notebook belt pouch or such.

    Those mini bypass pruners are also brilliant for harvesting produce in your veggie garden or plot, whether those be beans or other vegetables, and do a much better job than garden scissors, for instance.

    The grip is a soft elastomer kind of material than makes using them a pleasure.

    Priced at an RRP of £8.44 they hardly break the bank and as with all Bulldog tools we are talking quality at an affordable price. I know that you can get secateurs for less than £3 or even for as low as 99pence but what are you getting there?

    The only one thing that I am not too sure about, I must say, as to reliability and durability, is the yellow – in the case of the green handles version of the BD3150 mini bypass pruning shears that I was given for review – plastic sliding lock. I would have rather seen something like the lock on the BD3152 bypass pruning shears. In use I find that at times that lock slides forward and, in fact, locks the shears. This is, though, not the only kind of lock on secateurs that I have a problem with. The old style, as on the afore mentioned BD3152 – the clasp on the bottom of the handles – still takes a lot of beating. The spring too, maybe, just maybe, could do with, in my opinion, being just a little bit stronger.

    However, this small pair of mini pruners is something that many people will have been waiting for, and also those gardeners that want to be able to allow their youngsters a go in the garden with dead heading and such but the secateurs on the market in general are too large to really be able to do that. These mini pruning shears will, certainly, bridge that gap.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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BOGO LIGHT - Advertisement

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Reuse and re-purpose – better than recycle

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    by Michael Smith

    Reuse and re-purposing must always be the first step. Recycling should only be the final option.

    While the slogan may indeed be “reduce, reuse, recycle” the thought in everyone's mind is only the third “R”, in the majority of cases. They all think first and foremost about “recycle” and not about reducing and reusing. Why? Because they just cannot think any other way, it would seem. They do not, as yet, have the proper developed “green mindset”. Reusing and re-purposing are much more important than recycling as they can reduce the produced waste to a great degree and also the amount that have to go to recycling.

    The best case in point here would be that of glass bottles and glass jars. Instead of going off to be broken and ground down and then to be reprocessed into new glass bottles and jars – or even stuff of much less usable value – bottles and jars should be returnable again for reuse, like it used to be with bottles not so long ago when they had a deposit on them. The same could be done with all glass containers as glass can be reused ad infinitum. Collecting bottles and jars and then sterilizing them and refilling them must be a lot more energy efficient than destroying them and reprocessing them into new glass articles, mainly again bottles and jars. To me this is the wrong way round.

    Only when the bottle or jar, in the end, actually suffers and accident and breaks should the glass then, finally, go the “recycle” route to be reprocessed and not before. We waste the already made product and resource by breaking them up to be reprocessed when we could use them as they are. It is not rocket science and it has been done before. Mind you, I guess that the British government would have to commission a study on this matter first which would cost millions before we could even as much as think about doing it again. Unless, of course, industry will take the lead.

    Glass bottles and jars can be cleaned and then reused ad infinitum, as said already, without any effect on the produce inside the bottle or jar. Although I have not conducted a scientific study on the costing I am sure that it would be cheaper to reuse the bottles and jars – even if one would pay the consumer to return them by having a deposit of 20p on them or such, or even just 10p – than to collect the bottles for breaking up and reprocessing into new. The energy cost compared with the other cost, plus the environmental footprint must be a lot higher than that of the old way, that of deposit and return.

    Years ago we had, in most countries, deposit on lemonade, soda and beer bottles. Why not introduce this system again and also do the same for glass jars. Most jars are universal ones anyway and they could be all reused. This is neither, as previously said, rocket science nor will it require a multi-million Pound feasibility study. It is feasible for it has been done before. All it needs is the will, political and commercial, to set it up.

    I know that with regards to most of my readers here I am preaching to the choir in this matter but... there is always the chance, however, small, that someone who can do something reads this.

    Aside from the afore deposit and reuse of glass jars there is the old way of using them ourselves.

    Many readers, I am sure, remember their granddad or dad have a collection of glass jars in the workshop or garage with nuts, bolts, nails and all the other things that “might come in handy some day”. I still use jars for the same kind of purpose or, when they are about, plastic containers for this.

    In reality though I would rather see those jars go back to be refilled and that too could be rather simply done if stores would be set up who would sell goods loose again and where the consumer would go with his jars and containers to be filled up.

    Neal's Yard in Covent Garden, London, was set up like that many years back when one could go there with one's own jars and such to have them filled with peanut butter and other goods.

    The only things that, as far as bottles and jars are concerned, that cannot be reused by the companies, are the lids.

    After reuse comes re-purpose, as I said, and that we have covered also already as far as using them as containers for other things. Jars too make good storage containers for in the refrigerator for leftover foods and sauces. Do not attempt to freeze them though.

    With the help of some or the other bottle cutting device bottles and jars, until such as time that they can be returned for reuse, can be re-purposed by making them into usable and saleable items, from drinking glasses to vases and more.

    The lids from beer bottles and such, with the addition of a little magnet, make great little fridge magnets and there are many other ideas, I am sure, that readers can come up with. Anyone wishing to do so is welcome to share them here with the readers too.

    Aside from glass jars and bottles there are many other items too that could and should be looked at first and foremost with the view of how can they be reused or re-purposed before they are tossed into the appropriate recycling bin.

    Whether this be certain cardboard boxes – and let's face it, we used to make great use of shoe boxes in years gone by and I still do to this very day – or plastic containers of various types and sizes. In everything our first thoughts should be “what can I use it for or how can I re-purpose it” rather than simply “can it be recycled commercially and how and where”. First reuse and re-purpose at home or by means of being a little crafty for sale. Only when there is really no other option then the recycling bin.

    I hope I have given everyone some food for thought on a number of levels. Now let's reappraise the way we do things.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Functional food - delicious and healthy

    Linseed is said to protect against cancer - but not everybody likes the taste. Researchers have now isolated the valuable components of the flax seeds. Incorporated in bread, cakes or dressings, they support the human organism without leaving an unpleasant aftertaste.

    Cake that can ward off cancer? Noodles that lower the cholesterol level? What sounds like an advertising stunt could soon be a reality. Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising have isolated valuable components of linseed and lupin seeds and experimentally incorporated them in various foodstuffs: the linseed in cakes, bread, dressings and sauces, the lupins in bread, rolls and pasta. The result is not only delicious, but healthy as well. "Flax is not only high in soluble fiber, but also contains lignans. These substances are phytoestrogens, so they have a similar effect to that of the isoflavones that we know from soy beans. According to the literature, they protect the organism against hormone-dependent forms of cancer — that is, breast and prostate cancer," says IVV project manager Dr. Katrin Hasenkopf. "The lupins, on the other hand, contain substances that our studies have found to have a positive impact on the cholesterol level."

    But how do the researchers isolate the valuable components? "We make use of the differing solubility of the various constituents: If the pH value is acidic, the unwanted bitter substances are the first to dissolve. If the pH value is then set back to neutral, you get the valuable proteins — without the bitter taste. We are also able to separate large components from small ones by a series of filtration steps," explains Hasenkopf.

    The scientists are already skilled at isolating the valuable constituents. Now they are preparing to conduct further investigations with the aim of confirming the effects they hope to see. "The healthy effects of linseed and lupin seeds are already known from literature, but so far there is a lack of conclusive scientific investigations on the subject. These substances undoubtedly have very high potential," says Hasenkopf. The researchers will be presenting the linseed and lupin foods at the Biotechnica trade fair in Hannover on October 7 through 9 (Hall 9, Stand E29). In about three years' time, the expert hopes, the new cholesterol-lowering foodstuffs will be available on supermarket shelves — maybe even including cakes, bread rolls and sauces enriched with the valuable substances obtained from flax seeds.

    Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
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Environmental Consultancy Recognised For Their Energy Conservation Effort

    News Release

    In today's most competitive business economy, companies are under increasing pressure to improve energy efficiency and address longer term sustainability issues.

    When Mabbett & Associates Ltd (M&A) a Glasgow, Scottish based environmental, health and safety, and energy conservation consulting and engineering firm moved to new office premises they were presented with the ideal opportunity to 'practice what they preach' and increase the efficiency and sustainability of their own office premises.

    M&A purchased an 1850 Victorian, B listed townhouse and embarked on an extensive refurbishment project to modernise and restore the building for future use. This provided the firm's in-house building services engineers and chosen architect, Fiona Sinclair, with the ideal opportunity to redesign the buildings envelope, heating, lighting and ventilation systems at the design stage to make them more efficient by reducing the amount of energy the building needs in the first instance and therefore, introducing significant future cost savings. The M&A engineers also utilised many of the inherent features of an 1850 Georgian townhouse to fulfil their energy conversation goals.

    Detailed below are the main energy conservation features that M&A implemented in its historical building restoration programme:

    ·increased the insulation levels of the roof as it was largely uninsulated;

    ·retained the natural ventilation in the main offices using trickle vents and openable windows;

    ·replaced the original single glazed sash and case windows with low-e, double glazed units all designed in the 1850 motif;

    ·installed a new heating system with new mild steel pipework to serve radiators which were better placed under windows to release wall space and also reducing cold draughts and radiant cooling thus, making it more comfortable for the occupant. The heating system was also split into two (2) centrally controlled zones and local control provided to each office via thermostatic radiator valves; and

    ·rebuilt the entire electrical system and new high frequency fluorescent lights with triphosphor lamps were installed and wired so that the lights nearest the windows could be switched off when daylight is sufficient.

    All of the measures undertaken will not only save on the running cost of the building, but has significantly improved its Energy Performance Certificate rating under the Energy Performance of Buildings regulations.

    M&A were recognised by the Carbon Trust as a finalist in its annual Low Carbon Building Awards for its efforts to increase energy efficiency and therefore, reduce carbon emissions from the new office premises. The Carbon Trust also published a case study on M&A and its historical building refurbishment programme entitled: CTS051 Energy Management: lighting, heating and insulation upgrade make large savings. This can be downloaded from the Carbon Trust website: http://www.carbontrust.co.uk.

    Source: Mabbett & Associates Ltd
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Bisphenol A may make you stupid and depressed

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    According to a new study BPA may interfere with learning and with memory and remembering

    by Michael Smith

    Bisphenol A, found in hard plastic containers, may interfere with how we learn and remember, researchers at the University of Guelph have discovered.

    Coinciding with the release of the National Toxicology Program report on BPA, a new study reports that researchers from the Yale School of Medicine and Guelph University exposed African Green monkeys on the Island of St. Kitts to low levels of Bisphenol A for a month. They found that even low doses of BPA slow down the synapses in the brain.

    "It dramatically impairs the formation of synapses in the regions of the brain important to learning," biomedical science professor Neil MacLusky of the University of Guelph said.

    "These findings are worrisome”, he said, “because BPA is one of the most widely-used chemicals in the world."

    Researchers say there is a possibility that BPA might be a factor in brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, depression and schizophrenia. Oh cheers, pal!

    According to Medical News Today, This synaptic loss may cause memory/learning impairments and depression, according to study results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    "Our primate model indicates that BPA could negatively affect brain function in humans," said study co-author Tibor Hajszan, M.D., associate research scientist in Yale Ob/Gyn. "Based on these new findings, we think the EPA may wish to consider lowering its 'safe daily limit' for human BPA consumption."

    Hajszan said that although daily exposure of an average person to BPA usually does not reach the level that was applied in this study, human exposure to BPA is not limited to a single month, but rather is continuous over a lifetime. "The negative effect of BPA may also be amplified when estradiol levels are naturally lower than in healthy adults. That is why exposure to BPA may particularly be risky in the case of babies and the elderly."

    BPA is used in plastic water bottles, some baby bottles, dental prostheses and sealers,
    the lining inside of food cans, and probably other applications we may not even aware of publicly as yet. The chemical can leak from the products and be absorbed through eating or drinking.

    At least, as far as water bottles are concerned there are now 100% BPA free ones available such as the “We Want Tap” water bottle recently reviewd in the pages of this journal.

    While the government of Canada has banned BPA, a move which forced Nalgene to remove all its sports bottles and other water bottles from the shelves, the US Federal Drug and Administration is perfectly happy with industry funded research that states that the chemical is safe and the FDA basically says that BPA is safe for babies and everyone else.

    The worrying fact is that despite more than 100 published studies by government scientists and university laboratories that have raised health concerns about a chemical compound that is central to the multibillion-dollar plastics industry, the Food and Drug Administration has deemed it safe largely because of two studies, both funded by an industry trade group. May one ask how much bung money has come the agency's way to accept such findings?

    So much for an organization that is supposed to be protecting the health of the nation. With organizations as reliable that them in place the American people sure do not need enemies.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Cafédirect shines in Soil Association Organic Food Awards 2008

    Following Cafédirect’s recent record number of eight wins at the Great Taste Awards 2008, the UK’s largest 100% Fairtrade hot drinks company is celebrating again. It has also received two accolades from the judging panel in this year’s Soil Association Organic Food Awards.
    This is the twentieth year that the Soil Association Organic Food Awards have taken place and winning an award represents a true benchmark of excellence.

    Cafédirect’s Organic Machu Picchu single origin fresh ground coffee from Peru was ‘Highly Commended’, and its Organic Machu Picchu gourmet coffee beans were ‘Commended’ by the judging panel of respected food and wine writers and chefs.

    Grown on the lush foothills of the Andes and hand-picked by Cafédirect’s expert coffee growers, Organic Machu Picchu coffee beans are roasted to create a lovely smooth and full-bodied taste. With a nutty flavour and dark chocolate overtones, this coffee is really satisfying and particularly good when served after dinner.

    Zachary Dominitz, Head of Corporate Affairs for Cafédirect says, “We actively encourage and support our growers to make the conversion from conventional to organic farming. We pay higher premiums for organic products, providing an incentive for farmers to make the switch. In the last three years alone we have also reinvested 60% of our profits directly into growers' organisations and communities, enabling them to build sustainable businesses and continually improve the quality of their crops. And it shows!”

    Antenor Manuel Lopez Saavedra is a coffee grower from the Frontera de San Ignacio cooperative in Peru. He is part of a pioneering wave of farmers that produce organic coffee for Cafédirect. “Our partnership with Cafédirect has been a life-changing experience. It has enabled us to improve our economic wellbeing, enhance the quality of life for our families, and provide a means of protecting our environment.”

    Cafédirect’s Organic Machu Picchu gourmet fresh ground coffee and coffee beans and available from most major supermarkets, RRP £3.19 for a 227g bag.

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Organized crime now shifting to 'green' targets

    A report says that criminal groups now focus on environmental waste, illegally harvesting resources, as well as hunting rare animals

    Organized criminals in Canada and elsewhere are going green but instead of turning into environmentalists or turning green for envy they are turning to environmental crime as an increasingly lucrative way to raise money.

    A report released recently by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada says that crime networks have developed underground markets for electronic waste and scarce natural resources.

    The annual survey of organized crime, compiled from local police reports across the entire country of Canada, indicates criminals are using such markets to complement traditional revenue sources, such as trafficking in narcotics.

    "Criminal networks can profit by collecting e-waste in developed countries such as Canada and selling it to 'recyclers' in developing nations," the service reports. And this is, possibly, the reason we are finding e-waste from countries such as Britain and the USA on rubbish tips in Ghana, where the leaching PCBs and other toxic materials contaminate the water and the environment per se.

    "This practice is a violation of both Canadian and international law."

    The report does not put a dollar figure on illegal trafficking and disposal of computers, televisions and cellphones but warns such activity will peak, starting next year, as digital broadcast norms take effect in Canada and the United States, making millions of ordinary television sets obsolete.

    As digital is also going to be coming in in the UK in the not too distant future I am sure that we can see the same happening in Britain.

    "One of the reasons organized crime has been as successful as it is, is that they're very adaptable and it's not like they've given up any of their traditional markets," said RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, who chairs the intelligence service.

    Asked to outline the scope of illegal e-waste, Elliott said: "If it wasn't lucrative, organized crime groups wouldn't be involved in it."

    A United Nations environment program estimates 20 million to 50 million tonnes of e-waste is generated worldwide every year. On top of financing criminal networks, authorities are concerned about how black-market recyclers handle defunct electronics.

    "We're realizing that in terms of sales of laptops and electronic devices to organized crime there is often damage to the environment and it's a national concern," said Robert Chartrand, a Montreal police investigator who heads Quebec's bureau of the service.

    Often extremely toxic, much of Canada's e-waste, and that of other developed nations, ends up in Asia and Africa to be mined for parts.

    But the environmental threat represented by organized crime also extends to our natural resources. CISC notes that criminal networks have taken up illegal poaching and resource exploitation.

    Michael Smith, September 2008
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British Waste Minister gives anaerobic digestion the thumbs up

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    About a third of the food we buy in the UK ends up in the bin - but it all could be used at anaerobic digestion plants

    by Michael Smith

    Anaerobic digestion is the "way forward" when it comes to reducing the UK's massive landfill requirements, according to a top Defra Minister.

    Now who would have thought that that could be the way forward and the government of the UK actually admitting that? Times must indeed be a-changing.

    Joan Ruddock, the Waste Minister, said the process, which turns household food waste into electricity and compost, is "extremely attractive".

    She made the comments during a visit to an anaerobic digestion plant in Ludlow, Shropshire, last week.

    The plant is part of Defra's £30m New Technologies Demonstrator Program, which tests innovative technology that could offer alternatives to landfill.

    At its full potential, it is thought anaerobic digestion could produce enough electricity to power two million homes.

    Once again the British government it rather late with things but finally they have woken up. Others have been doing this for ages but, before, it could not be done in Britain, this govt. claimed.

    Again it takes millions of Pound Sterling in research before they seem to be able to even think about them doing a demonstrator program, while all they would need to do, like with so many other waste reductions and recycling programs is go and have a look at how those work in other countries and then, for goodness sake, build and use them here.

    The fact, which Ms Ruddock does not seem to know, it would appear, is that not only such anaerobic anaerobic digestion plants could provide the gas for powering the generating plants. The same gas is also present in all landfills and could be harvested from there as well. Now many more homes could all that power. Furthermore, all sewerage plants also have an abundance of this gas, namely methane and relatives of the same, and at present in both cases, namely that of landfill and sewerage plants, the gas is flared off or simply vented off.

    Visiting the plant, Ms Ruddock said: "Anaerobic digestion is extremely attractive. Why would we go on throwing food waste into holes in the ground when we could generate our own electricity and end up with a product that can be returned to the soil?

    "It seems to me that a plant on this scale would fit into any industrial estate in the country.

    "While the decision has to be taken locally - and in consultation with residents - I am sure this is the way forward."

    Nearly three quarters of people living near the Ludlow plant are taking part in the voluntary food waste collection scheme which supplies the plant.

    As the residents provide the “food” for the plant I sure hope that they also get the electricity thus generated at a very much reduced rate. That, however, I am certain, is but wishful thinking.

    The partnership running the trial said this success was down to good communication with the local community - an idea which Defra is backing.

    Defra is making a further £10m available for a program to further test the benefits of anaerobic digestion.

    While the idea, as I have been saying in all that I have written, is a good one why do we need to make millions again available to further test the benefits. The benefits are already known in other countries. Why do we not just use the findings from other countries and then get the finger out and do it ourselves rather than throwing money at research that need not to be done. Like the millions spent to research whether inland waterways and canals could be used to carry freight. What do those sitting in their ivory towers pay think our ancestors in the seventeenth century very well built the canals for; leisure and pleasure boating? Nay! For freight it was. For coal and pottery goods and much, much more. But I digressed. I tend to do that.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Solar power lights African nights

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    Burkina Faso student teacher Hema Cecile has a lot more time to crack the books thanks to a recent initiative from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

    The launch of the Lighting Africa program (www.lightingafrica.org) by the two organizations this year has made it possible for Cecile to swap kerosene lamps for a solar-powered LED lantern.

    That means she and a thousand other households in the town of Dedougou - which lies more than 200 km (124 miles) west of the capital Ouagadougou - can extend hours of study, reading or leisure without cutting back on other things.

    Cecile lives in the world's second poorest country, where the choice to keep a light on at night means sacrificing resources for necessities such as food, heat, power and shelter.

    The LED lights consume almost no power, and can keep shining all night if required. That should mean a more productive, better educated, wealthier population - a virtuous circle of reduced energy use and increased economic activity.

    Cecile, 23, is in her final year of teaching studies at the University of Ouagadougou and shares a single room with another student in a three-apartment building.

    "There is no electricity, and the drinking water is from the local fountain," she said when she spoke with the reporter on a mobile phone lent her by a friend.

    Her only power is from the solar panel built into her lantern, which she bought for a subsidized price of $20.

    Lighting Africa is a $12 million project which intends to bring light to the poorest regions across sub-Saharan Africa. The program works with the lighting industry to develop clean, affordable lighting and energy solutions for millions without access to electric grids.

    Its aim is to accelerate the market and to develop education programs that inform off-grid populations currently dependent on costly, inefficient and hazardous fuel-based lighting about modern alternatives.

    Cecile used to spend $3-4 a month on kerosene for her lamp. That is a large proportion of her earnings - like 70 percent of the population she lives on less than $2 a day.

    "I can work later at night - its good for my studies; I can read a book," said Cecile.

    In the weeks since buying her lantern she has managed to read four books including Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and Emile Zola's Germinal.

    She is among the most learned in a society which has the world's lowest literacy rate, according to a 2007 UN Human Development Report. When she graduates next year she will teach in a local Junior school.

    She makes ends meet by holiday jobs as a cleaner and an IT trainer. To earn her daily ration of cornmeal she does shifts from May to September in a corn field.

    Her solar lantern is made and distributed by CB Energie which won an open competition to be awarded the contract.

    "We have just started to make these lanterns in Burkina Faso and sold about 3,000 so far," said Arnaud Chabanne a French engineer who founded the company.

    The lanterns are designed to look like the kerosene ones they are replacing in order to increase adoption among the population. Each has a small solar panel on the top and costs an average $30, although some cost $100, depending on the size of the battery and the number of LED lights it contains.

    Because of the large number of sunlight hours in Burkina Faso, the lamps can be relied on to work whenever needed. The battery life is 2-4 years, and can be replaced once they lose their storage capacity. The LED lights last 5-10 years.

    Cecile had tried another solar lantern before she was given one by CB Energie, but "it did not last long each night' she said.

    CB Energie has distributed the lanterns to about seven percent of the Dedougou area's 15,000 households, and will continue until every needy household has one.

    "Petrol is expensive," said Chabanne, "so they can take this money for other things like food, or medicine."

    Although it is barely out of its trial period the project, Chabanne said there are signs the project is a boon for the population in areas other than household savings and education.

    "There are fewer people reporting eye problems to the local hospital."

    Source: Reuters

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Exporting recycling to China – and elsewhere - is 'better than binning it'

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    Shipping plastic and paper waste to China and other far away places for recycling causes less environmental damage than binning it in the UK, according to study. Doh?

    Sending the waste more than 10,000 miles is still more efficient in terms of carbon emissions than carting it off to landfill and using brand new materials to manufacture replacement goods.

    These are the findings of a study carried out by the government-funded Waste & Recycling Action Plan (WRAP) and will be music to the ears of district councils the length and breadth of the land, under siege from local paper reporters keen to prove the 'scandal' of waste exports.

    Shipping waste overseas is increasingly common the UK now collects more recycling than it has facilities to process domestically while rapidly growing economies such as China are hungry for raw materials.

    Over the past decade, the export of waste paper and plastic bottles has increased tenfold.

    Liz Goodwin, WRAP's chief executive, said: "It may seem strange that transporting our unwanted paper and plastic bottles such a distance would actually be better for the environment but that is what the evidence from this study shows.

    "As more and more of this material is being sold to China we wanted to know the impact that was having on the environment, and specifically whether the CO2 emissions from the transport outweighed the benefits of the recycling.

    "Although this study is only part of the environmental impact story, it is clear that there are significant CO2 savings that can be made by shipping our unwanted paper and plastic to China.

    "In some cases, we just aren't able to reprocess everything we collect or there isn't enough of it to do so. In these cases, shipping it to China, which has a high demand and need for material, makes sense in CO2 terms.

    She added that recycling waste produced by the UK in the UK where possible was still the preferred option.

    "WRAP will continue to build both the environmental and economic case for domestic recycling," she said.

    Regardless of what WRAP may like to greenwash with its report, the fact is and remains that shipping such materials abroad should not, in fact, have to happen. Such sorting and recycling of such materials should be done here, at home. Not only in order to create jobs but mainly to save the environmental costs of shipping the stuff all over the globe – for it does not just go to China – and also so that it could be guaranteed that the recycling be done in a proper manner. However, it seems to be considered better to have the stuff out of sight and therefore out of mind.

    The other excuses, as can be seen above, seem to be that it is better for the environment so send our recyclables abroad as otherwise we would have to dump them into landfills. Why would we have to do so. There is no excuse, and that given by WRAP is just a feeble one, for not processing this all here in the UK. Time we got some action going in this country.

    Alas, we have the NYMBYs that will not want to have a recycling plant here or a recycling business there, and they always win the day – amazingly. Same as when it comes to waste burning electricity generating plants or CHP ones.

    In many instance the waste is not going to the right places for recycling as recent finding showed but end up on refuse dumps in other countries, such as in Africa, in the case of electronic waste, much of which is toxic.

    The biggest problem with Britain is that we are no longer interested in producing anything whatsoever in this country and hence we send everything abroad to be processed and no amount of greewashing from a government-sponsored Quango alters that fact nor the fact that sending shiploads of recycling materials abroad to be processed is NOT sustainable in any way, shape or form.

    All we get from government, and not just that of the UK, is lots of talk as far as the environment is concerned and sustainability, and lost of fines but no incentives, but, unfortunately government has no idea how to walk the walk.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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BOGO LIGHT - Advertisement

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Tap re-usable water bottle - Product Review

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    Your Nalgene replacement has arrived

    Review by Michael Smith

    For all those that like the Nalgene bottles but not the Bisphenol A (BPA) in the polycarbonate plastic used for those bottles help is at hand. A replacement has arrived in the form of the “Tap” re-usable water bottle from “We Want Tap”.

    The Tap re-usable water bottle is made from a new generation of Tritan plastic which is 100% recyclable. It is also absolutely 100% free of Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, which is generally found in most other re-usable plastic bottles.

    In its design it is to a great degree like the Nalgene bottle so much loved by outdoors people, in that it has a wide mouth – big enough even for this writer's big mouth (well, many folks tell me I have rather a big mouth) – and I certainly prefer those openings in a bottle over the sports spigots and such like.

    The lid and the base both are made from recycled stainless steel and this makes this bottle a very good looking one as well.

    One could think of them as flasks for water. They are certainly set to become the ‘must-have’ item of the summer, as the bottles are stylish and sustainable, and will be available in two sizes, making them the perfect fit for your handbag, gym bag or fridge.

    The 400ml re-usable Tap water bottle, the fun, festive executive-size bottle is just the ticket for an on-the-go lifestyle - and this is the size that I was sent kindly by Mark of Consolidated for review. It fits in your bag or on your desk. The current retail price via the website is £6 (The price in is Pound Sterling for those readers in other parts of the world).

    The 400ml size, it would appear from the website, is currently the only size available at present though a 1 liter one is due to come out soon. According to the information available this size will then be priced at £8.50 and the prices certainly are not steep for something that appears to be a well thought out and made product.

    The bottles are guaranteed to last a lifetime and offer a practical alternative to unsustainable bottle water.

    I must say that I definitely think that the Tap re-usable water flasks will become, in due course, the hip item to be seen with rather than with the unsustainable bottled water in its PET bottles.

    While PET, being made from polyethylene and hence from a by-product of the petroleum and natural gas industry, and even from a by-product that otherwise might not be used (same as for the making of the plastic grocery bags) using those bottles is, nevertheless, and regardless, still not sustainable, as far as the water and the bottles are concerned. However, the alternative is at hand in the form of the bottle here review and it will very soon pay for itself.

    Let's face it. With bottled water in a sandwich bar running at about $1 a throw it only will take the purchase of six 500ml bottles to have paid for the Tap re-usable 400ml version and you don't have to pay for the tap water that you are going to use in the Tap bottle, or at least not very much. It is pennies if that even.

    Also, in addition, it should be noted that Tap will give 70% of profits from each Tap bottle sold to water and sanitation projects in the developing world. I am sure that this, aside from all the other benefits, already is a good enough reason to buy a bottle or two.

    I find the design of the bottle most attractive, especially the contrast of the lid and the base being in recycled stainless steel. This, and the large mouth of the flask, rather than the silly openings in many other bottles, would be the major selling point to me. The stainless steel base gives the bottle a firm stand and that is a very important point as well. The lid is attached via a webbing strip and a plastic ring to the neck of the bottle and this should keep the lid always to hand; another important factor.

    All in all this is certainly a little flask for the carrying of proper water, namely tap water, filtered if you so desire, and I can but recommend it to the world.

    For more information and to purchase bottles go online to www.wewanttap.com.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Biofuels Caused Food Prices to Soar 75% World Bank says

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    by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

    According to a report by the World Bank the run for biofuels in the developed world has caused food prices to increase by 75% worldwide.

    Anyone who had the idea that biofuels, like ethanol or bio-diesel, made from corn, soy, or rapeseed are going to solve our energy problems, better think again.

    Even if biofuels alleviate the energy headaches of the West, at the moment their cultivation has left populations around the globe starving.

    The Guardian newspaper of Britain got hold of a secret World Bank report that found the U.S. and the EU are directly responsible for the current critical shortage of rice and other grains around the world, forcing food prices up by 75 percent by diverting grain away from food cultivation and into biofuels.

    The Bush administration had the World Bank report suppressed and, no doubt, neither the British government not the European Union are going to be very happy about the fact that it is now in the public domain.

    Already food riots have broken out this year in Mexico, Indonesia, Morocco, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Yeman, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Egypt, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, India, and Somalia.

    To recap let's put the food/fuel issue in perspective – it takes more than the amount of maize that is required to feed the average African FOR A YEAR to make enough fuel to fill ONE SINGLE AMERICAN MOTOR VEHICLE TANK JUST ONE TIME.

    This is not something that can be called sustainable but sustainable they want to call it. This is greenwashing at its highest. We must not and cannot look to those fuels to “save” us. We must get away from the use of the infernal combustion engine, once and for all.

    The EU and the UK government must get away from their silly notion of a sustainable fuel policy using biofuels. It does not work and is not sustainable.

    While the use of wood for electricity generating plants is one thing that must be considered biofuels, whether ethanol or biodiel, unless the latter is from waste cooking oils or other such waste oils, should be abandoned now, once and for all. In the countries of South-East Asia the cultivation of palm oil for biodiesel is destroying valuable habitat and making the Orangutan homeless and by doing so in fact killing the species in the wild. All this just so that some in the developed world can continue their love affair with the gas guzzling motor cars and trucks. We must rethink and reevaluate our ways and our impact on the environment and also our impact on others that share this planet with us, whether other human beings or animals, fish, birds and plants.

    © M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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Industry to be asked for its views on oil reuse

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    by Michael Smith

    New guidance is being developed on turning used lubricating oils into a cheaper alternative to virgin fossil fuels – and industry, apparently, is going to be asked for its views.

    Oh my God! What, really? If the UK government continues this way it may just about turn into a democracy. Not that the views of those being asked will ever betaken note of when it comes to the bottom line.

    The Environment Agency and the Waste & Resources Action Programme have launched a consultation in a bid to clarify guidance for industry on reusing the oil.

    The consultation forms part of the Defra-funded Waste Protocols Project to encourage business resources to be used more efficiently.

    Recovered fuel oil varies in quality and is currently classified as waste, meaning that businesses using it have to meet emissions standards set out in the Waste Incineration Directive.

    The guidance, entitled “Quality Protocol for the Production and Use of Processed Fuel Oil from Waste Lubricating Oil” (oh, my, what a mouthful), sets out standards that processed lubricating oils must comply with to avoid being classed as waste.

    Martin Brocklehurst, head of environment protection external programmes at the Environment Agency, said that they have worked with industry, government departments and the Energy Institute to develop this Quality Protocol and that compliance with the protocol should ensure the continued protection of the environment while clarifying the regulations for businesses that process waste lubricating oil.

    Processed fuel oil users, he said further, will be given the confidence that the new product derived from waste materials conforms to agreed quality standards and that the agency is keen to hear the views of other stakeholders and hope to engage with a wide range of consultees.

    While this is all fine and good, that is to say, asking for input from the users of such oils, how long will it take before we, in fact, are seeing proper recycling of such oils into clean lubrication oils.

    For fuel we must get away from oils and oil based polluting fuels. Not only as regards to “greenhouse gases” and such like but simply for the fact that the constant pollution of the environment by use of mineral-based oils burned in the internal combustion engine and power stations is not sustainable, not that it ever has been. While there is a little problem with the burning of wood, as the only amount of carbon released is that which the trees have taken up in their lifetime, we must get away, as a nation and in general, from burning fossil fuels, especially oils.

    We should recycle used oils back, wherever possible, into lubricants rather than burning them. Obviously, where it is not possible to recycle such oils for reuse as lubricants then using such oils in power plants and such is, probably, better than just disposing of them in one way or the other without having any benefit from it.

    However, the fact remains, and not just because we may be running out of the liquid black gold, that we must get away from using oils for burning. Rather than spending lost of money on researching how we can continue to use oils and oil-based fuels – and not just mineral oil based – in the internal, which some people are also calling the infernal, combustion engine, we should be concentrating on alternatives to oil-based fuels, whether mineral oil or plant oil.

    Food for thought, as long as it is not food grains that are used for the fuel either...

    © M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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TAP LAUNCHES A REFRESHING ALTERNATIVE TO BOTTLED WATER

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    - Tap into the growing trend of re-usable bottles to save money and the environment -

    A new ethical enterprise called Tap has entered the world of bottled water, with a sole mission of getting Brits to re-think bottled water and turn to tap.

    Despite having some of the highest quality tap water in the world, Britain spends £1.5billion per year on designer label water, discarding over 3 million empties. Not only is this impacting on the environment, but it’s costing the nation too, with bottled water up to 10,000 times more expensive than tap.

    We Want Tap has really launched the real alternative to bottled water, namely what we already have and that is mains water, that is to say, TAP.

    In a bid to break the habit, Tap has launched its very own re-usable water bottles. Think of them as flasks for water. Set to become the ‘must-have’ item of the summer, the bottles are stylish and sustainable, and available in two sizes, making them the perfect fit for your handbag, gym bag or fridge.

    More importantly, they are made from a new generation of Tritan plastic which is 100% recyclable and free from the polycarbonate chemicals, such as being absolutely 100% free of Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, found in most other re-usable plastic bottles. What’s more 70% of profits from each Tap bottle sold will go to water and sanitation projects in the developing world.

    Bisphenol A (BPA), as most of us know by now, I am sure, has had some rather bad press as it is related to hormonal changes in humans and can affect children's hormonal development badly. Hence Canada has banned all BPA products, which meant 1,000s of baby feeding bottles had to be withdrawn and also Nalgene had to remove its old version bottled from the shelves.

    Guaranteed to last a lifetime, Tap’s new re-usable bottles offer a practical alternative to unsustainable bottle water. Priced at just £6 for a 400ml bottle and £8.50 for a litre version, it’s a small price to pay to help save the environment, and people’s wallets in the long run. They can be purchased online at www.wewanttap.com.

    Tap's founder, Joshua Blackburn, said: "Bottled water is simply a marketing invention, a brand – and one that is costing our nation both financially and environmentally. In a country where high quality water is literally on tap, we should be re-thinking the amount we spend as a nation on designer water.

    "Tap water challenges undertaken across the country have repeatedly shown that tap is top. To encourage people to love their tap, we’ve engineered the ultimate re-usable bottle which can be used over and over again – designer water is set to become a thing of the past."

    As Tap is also a consumer campaign, a range of stickers can also be purchased on the website to stick over existing empty bottles of bottled water – refilled with tap water - and raise awareness of Tap. Stickers cost £4 for a pack of 30 stickers – five large bottle labels, five small bottle labels and 20 fun size bonus stickers. It is advisable that ordinary water bottles are refilled only 10 times as most contain polycarbonate chemicals, such as BPA, to some extent. A Tap bottle, on the other hand, can be used for life.

    The Tap enterprise has been launched by Provokateur, the ethical communications agency, in association with Belu, the carbon neutral water company.

    The Centre for Innovation in Voluntary Action is responsible for the distribution of Tap profits to charity.

    Log onto www.wewanttap.com for more information

    by Michael Smith, August 2008
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