24 Mar 2015

Marine Animals at ‘Gunpoint’ Will Make You Reconsider Your Plastic Use

We’ve all done it and keep on doing it; buying articles overly wrapped in unecessary plastic; disposable razors, candy bars, processed food, soda, etc.  
But did you ever stop to think what the impact all those purchases will have after you’re done with them?
Read article

Zeoform

Remember? I did those poufs made of 100% recyclable plastic called Zeoform years ago?

The company has been busy growing up since then and they have another fundraiser to finally start up on a bigger scale.

Interested in replacing plastic parts for this incredible strong material?
Check it out
ZEOFORM - Hemp+Water & nothing else
Zeoform Jemima's Voiceover from Zeoform on Vimeo.

23 Mar 2015

World Water Day 2015:

Photos to make you think twice about wasting this precious resource.
People gather to get water from a huge well in the village of Natwarghad in the western Indian state of Gujarat
The world will have only 60% of the water it needs in just 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of the resource, a UN report warns.
Read more

21 Mar 2015

Amazon Rainforest Lives Faster, Dies Young Amid Carbon Gas Blitz

The Amazon rainforest is losing its capacity to absorb carbon as tree deaths increase, weakening its ability to alleviate the impact of man-made climate change, according to a study led by the University of Leeds.
Read article

19 Mar 2015

Selling Sustainability - The Missing Link


On March 13th, 2015, eTool with support from Psaros, hosted a discussion at Spacebud about a very important yet underserved topic - how to 'sell' sustainability. The discussion featured speakers:Chris Ferreira, Sven Robertson and Adam Johnson.

In case you missed the event or would like a refresher, Alex Bruce wrote a great wrap-up post about the discussion here or watch the video. 

Global food trail leads to massive waste and downgrading of farming and horticulture in Australia

Supermarkets promote year-round supplies of fruit and vegetables that are seasonal in Australia. Photo: Bloomberg

Last week's spate of hepatitis A cases linked to imported frozen berries threw a harsh and sudden light on the global nature of the modern supermarket trade.
Economists argue that food imports and exports serve important roles in the international trade. Many scientists, chefs and growers, however, feel that the global food business, allied to aggressive discounting by supermarket chains, results in the denaturing of produce, massive waste and downward pressure on wages and conditions around the world.

Large food corporations tend to regard their supply chains and production processes as matters of commercial confidence. Some general examples, however, are well known.
In order to optimise trade, Australian supermarket chains work hard to suppress the age-old customer expectation that particular fruits and vegetables are available only at certain times of year. The strategy requires "counter-seasonal" stock – imported fresh fruit and vegetables from countries with complementary weather patterns.
The import and sale of fresh vegetables is on a relatively modest scale. According to industry body AusVeg, total imports in 2013-14 were valued at $AU70 million. This comprised mainly garlic from China, tomatoes from New Zealand, onions from the US, and asparagus from Mexico and Peru.
The import of frozen vegetables, however, is a much bigger game, with the total for 2013-14 increasing 12 per cent to $256 million, with New Zealand accounting for just over half of the trade. Processed frozen vegetables were an even bigger category, growing 19 per cent to $309 million, with Italy and China our two biggest sources.
Australian science writer Julian Cribb – author of two key books on global food systems and an expert on Australian food security – argues that constant downward economic pressure on farmers around the world is leading to a lack of renewal, investment and research in agriculture. This, in turn, introduces long-term vulnerabilities into the global food supply.
Cribb sees the aggressive acquisition of food businesses by corporate giants such as Nestle, Coca-Cola and Unilever as a key driver of the problem.
"The issue is less about global versus local, than about the concentration of ownership," he said. "It is that which is destroying farming communities and landscapes - by driving the prices down."
To award-winning Australian chef Alla Wolf-Tasker, relentless discounting by supermarket chains causes multiple problems.
"The drive to produce the cheapest food in the world is a problem," she said. "Food has become so cheap that it has no value – that's why most people throw away around a third of what they buy.
"Food needs to be repositioned in our priorities. Acquiring food needs to be seen as more important than acquiring a new plasma television. Food is what you should be prepared to pay for."
Read article

14 Mar 2015

Nature Is Speaking



Lupita Nyong'o is Flower | Conservation International (CI)
Watch the films



Nature Is Speaking


Kevin Spacey is The Rainforest | Conservation International (CI)


Nature Is Speaking


Ian Somerhalder is Coral Reef | Conservation International (CI)


Nature Is Speaking


Edward Norton is The Soil | Conservation International (CI)


Nature Is Speaking


Robert Redford is The Redwood | Conservation International (CI)
Watch the films

Nature Is Speaking


Harrison Ford is The Ocean | Conservation International (CI)
Watch the films


Nature Is Speaking


Julia Roberts is Mother Nature | Conservation International (CI)
Watch the films

8 Mar 2015

Under the Dome by Chai Jing

Beijing had 175 polution days in 2014 - Tianjin had 197 polution days in 2014 - Shenyang had 152 polution days in 2014 - Chendu had 125 polution days in 2014 - Lanzhou had 112 polution days in 2014 - Shijiazhuang had 264 polution days in 2014

7 Mar 2015

Industrial Vs Sustainable Agriculture


How can we feed the world—today and tomorrow?

The biggest players in the food industry—from pesticide pushers to fertilizer makers to food processors and manufacturers—spend billions of dollars every year not selling food, but selling the idea that we need their products to feed the world. But, do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world? Can sustainably grown food deliver the quantity and quality we need—today and in the future? Our first Food MythBusters film takes on these questions in under seven minutes.
Check out the website: 
http://foodmythbusters.com/