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Is Valentine's Day full of hidden evil? We take a look at the issues behind flowers, chocolates and diamonds and find out how to buy ethically this Valentine's Day.
The Story of Bottled Water employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry's attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to take back the tap, not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all.
Our production partners on the bottled water film include five leading sustainability groups: Corporate Accountability International, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Pacific Institute, and Polaris Institute.
There is the same amount of water on Earth today as there was when the dinosaurs roamed. And just less than one percent of the planet's water is available to meet the daily drinking water, sanitation and food needs of nearly 7 billion people and millions of other species. Learn more about water in all its forms and how you can make a difference.
A trimaran built in Taiwan from plastic bottles and other recycled materials sets sail for the first time. Its mission is to promote oceanic environment awareness on World Ocean Day.
Named the Polli-Boat, this trimaran is made of recycled materials bound together by a wood-plastic composite.
The main flotation system, Polli-bricks, is made of plastic bottles with strengthened polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in use today.
Its unique hexagonal shape allows the bricks to interlock strongly enough to withstand the pressure of sailing.
Waste advertising banners are used for the trimaran's sail.
[Arthur Huang, Founder and Managing Director, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.]: "The concept of a polli-boat is using hundred percent trash, basically we are using this new material we are developing, it's basic organic fiber mixes trash polymer. The other is another structural material we design which are called polli-brick, using recycle PET blown into these interlocking brick, so we are using the interlocking brick as a major floatation pontoon."
Eight hundred four of these bricks were used to support the boat.
The Polli-Boat also utilizes wind and solar power, which are interchangeable in different weather conditions.
[Arthur Huang, Founder and Managing Director, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.]: "It's been propelled, one by renewable resources, obviously sailing that's using wind, the other is using solar energy with we have six modules of soft solar panels and each panel is capable of generating 72 watts, and 72 watts is able to power an electric motor that powered the boat up and down the non-windy area. So the whole idea is the propel, the power system is also going to be renewable energy."
The trimaran is 23 feet long. Huang says its mission, as it sails across Taiwan, will be to promote sustainable energy and environmental awareness.
The boat-launching ceremony was accompanied by an eco-friendly creative boat competition held by the dock.
Sponsored by the National Geographic Channel in Taiwan, ten designs were selected out of almost 200 entries to compete for the most innovative boats using recycled materials.
One of these boats was shaped like the endangered black-faced spoonbill to promote wetland protection.
Another was designed to look like a floating city in an effort to raise awareness of rising sea levels and global warming.
Scientists are developing autonomous robots that can generate their own power. Microbial fuel cells could be the answer, since these microbes can turn any organic material into electricity. UK researchers say they could be the future of sustainable energy.
They're on the lookout for something that can fuel a truly autonomous robot. One that can extract power from any environment it operates in. And it would never run out of juice.
UK researchers are looking into microbial fuel cells, or MFCs. These tiny microbes can turn organic matter into electricity. This could potentially allow robots to function in remote, or even hazardous environments with no worry about their next battery charge.
This is because MFCs can extract electrical energy from any organic material that's digestible by the microbes in the fuel cell. All you need to do is to feed the MFC food - be it plant matter, flies or dead mice. And this will trigger a digestion process that can make electricity. Conventional fuel cells and batteries rely on a catalyst to speed up chemical reactions to make electricity. But they degrade and need replenishing. On the other hand MFCs just need food, and these microbes will continue to generate electricity..
The world's first commercial solar tower plant gives a breathtaking glimpse of the future of power generation. What's stopping the technology's widespread adoption?
Recycling doesn't have to be a chore--it can be something the whole family can take part in. Recycle with your family with help from Gorgeously Green's Sophie Uliano and her daughter.
Help reduce waste and keep our environment clean by making an effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic grocery bags, keeping them out of the landfills.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 12:00PM 