San Francisco tries to get off the bottle

We've a heap of good reading to keep you environmentally educated this weekend.

I must confess that when I look back over previous Friday Linkfests, and try to compare the impact of items in the Good News section with those on the negative side of the scale, it's not hard to see we really need to ramp up the 'action' to 'promises and pledges' ratio. On that note, if you haven't already - please do get involved and help spread the word on Celsias efforts along these lines.

So, here they are - this week's good, bad, and interesting from around the world. Be sure to comment and let us know your thoughts on whatever struck you as particularly important or interesting.

.

Good News A wave of anti-plastic bag enthusiasm is beginning in Britain. Let's do what we can to build this movement! Worldwide, 1 million plastic bags are currenty consumed per minute, and yet they take 500 years to decay in landfills (they know, coz the bags brought over on the Mayflower still look like they've another century left in them). Oh, and here's another cool San Franciscan endeavour. We're pro tap water here at Celsias. San Franciscan Mayor, Gavin Newscom, is too! He's announced a phased-in ban on bottled water for city departments and their workers. "We're hoping to set the example for the private sector and other cities in getting off the bottle," said a spokesman. You can read the two-page Executive Directive here (PDF). In case you're wondering what's the big deal - "Unrefrigerated, non-carbonated bottled water makes for an environmental impact between 90 and 1000+ times that of tap water." (see comparison, PDF). Regular Celsias readers will know we're wholly supportive of relocalisation efforts. If we could get rid of our obscene industrial food and other product swaps, it'd take a serious bite out of our environmental deficit. So forgive me if I get excited when I see small efforts in this direction get overwhelmed with responses. If only the big guys would stop working in the opposite direction. "The EU and the US have vowed to co-operate on reducing global aviation's contribution to climate change under a "green skies" partnership" Meanwhile, Airline leaders are pledging to be carbon zero by 2050 - a seemingly impossible task, but we hope this pledge does more than merely bring a round of applause for the speaker. In the meantime, I note, super-cheap flights are still in fashion. While the numbers of 'common birds' in the U.S. are plummeting, at least concerted efforts at saving the Bald Eagle are bearing fruit. See what can be done if only we want to! Bad News A survey of 4,000 people in the U.S. reveals 71% of Americans believe global warming has nothing to do with human activities. In light of the fact it's looking increasingly like 2007's IPCC reports have undershot in their predictions of catastrophe, not having the biggest polluter in the world (per capita) on board as we try to find solutions, puts this squarely into the very bad news section. Thanks Big Oil! Deserts are easy to create - simply take and take from your soil, without giving back, whilst ignoring natural soil systems, and voilà! We've done this throughout history, but now we're getting particularly good at it - and on a scale never seen before. Add Climate Change to the mix, and if we don't learn from history soon, there won't be a future to take those historical lessons into. The water supplies of millions in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia are literally evaporating before their eyes. Andean glaciers are disappearing so fast, and so fully, that some are giving them 20-30 years before they'll disappear completely. The head of the Bolivian climate change panel says rich countries should create a global fund to compensate poor nations for the effects of global warming. "We're the victims of climate change, the underdeveloped countries like Bolivia, which are suffering the effects of shrinking glaciers..." If you haven't already, I'd recommend you read our pesticide primers (here, and here). Then consider a recent report that indicates some of our most common agricultural and industrial chemicals are reducing temperature tolerance in creatures - not a welcome scenario as the world warms. Cherry Picking from Around the Blogosphere & MSM The rapid melt of icebergs is having another effect - supplying a surge of nutrients to plankton and krill. Biofuel lobbyists are on the defensive as food prices rise, and while they're blaming higher fuel costs on the higher food prices, others say that increased ethanol demand will keep fuel prices high. Meanwhile, China, who can still remember their catastrophic famine of the late 1950s (with a death toll of around 30 million) have decided they're a little less inclined to rush in, or persevere, where their U.S. industrial counterparts are so eager to tread. An international competition challenged participants to develop revolutionary concepts for building healthy, vibrant communities that would address climate change and reverse, rather than add to, environmental damage. Here are some great ideas for keeping the home cool this summer. I like the following logic from the article: "Air conditioners may offer tempting temporary relief from summer heat, but they’re a huge environmental no-no. You may be cooling your home, but the fossil fuels you’re burning in the process are only making your summers hotter."

 

And, finally - check out a house made entirely out of recycled materials: [myspace 1234962599]

 

Want to comment? Visit the Celsias Lounge and find or start a topic!