Archive for Environment
Cleaning up the world with the United Nations
Posted by: on September 19, 2008 in Tags: Environment, oceans, Sustainable development, UN
Just as Marguerite was complaining on her blog about the waste lying on the beautiful beaches of Hawaii, the United Nations are launching this week-end an initiative to tackle the problem.
Indeed, today’s is the sixteenth Clean Up the World week-end and events are organized by the UN in over a hundred countries and is due to mobilize 35 million people.
This year’s main theme is cleaning up our oceans and shores as estimates mention more than 13,000 pieces of plastic in every square kilometre of ocean. Continue reading »
You perhaps don’t know it but swimming is by far my favorite sport. This is to the point that I seriously consider having one day my own pool to daily swim a kilometer of breaststroke.
One of the problems faced by swimming pools - besides using a lot of water, an increasingly scarce resource - is the extensive use of potentially harmful chemicals like chlorine.
But the Daily Green provides us with great data and pictures on natural swimming pools, an alternative to their traditional counterparts. Continue reading »
On environmental protection and growth
Posted by: on September 16, 2008 in Tags: Biodiversity, Environment, Sustainable development, UN
Today’s is the international day for the protection of the ozone layer. It is the occasion to celebrate the little shield above our heads that enabled life to appear on this planet.
For this special day, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, wrote a most interesting article on why the protection of our environment and economic growth are not contradictory.
This is even the reverse, the countries which will take care of Nature will enable themselves to make prosper both their society and economy. Continue reading »
The story of stuff… a mandatory video ?
Posted by: on August 27, 2008 in Tags: Environment, lifestyle, Sustainable development, Video
For the past few months, I have been reading about this video without never watching it. After a comment on La Marguerite Blog, I decided to do so.
In 20 minutes or so, I learned a lot about the true cost and life cycle of the stuff we buy year after year and how this excessive phenomenon endangers our planet and very survival.
I don’t agree with everything stated by Annie Leonard, but I believe nonetheless that it should be watched by all to better grasp the consequences of consumerism. Continue reading »
Why recycling has a really bright future
Posted by: on August 20, 2008 in Tags: Environment, Sustainable development
With the prices of raw materials and oil going up the roof, recycling becomes increasingly interesting. By reading Green with a gun I found some most interesting data on that topic.
Kyle quotes there a great article from The Times and give us as well more note worthy data and thoughts. This reminds me that I have been sorting out waste daily since I am a teen.
This simple action is one of the very basis of a more sustainable lifestyle with less waste and more respect for our planet. Continue reading »
The UN project to save bees and pollinating agents
Posted by: on August 8, 2008 in Tags: Biodiversity, Environment, Sustainable development
It had been some time I hadn’t written about a UNEP project that is due to make our planet a better place. This time, the organization is targeting bees and other pollinating species.
Indeed, they are threatened in many ways - from pesticides to habitat loss and degradation - as I was reporting it a year ago in a previous article in French.
Nearly $27 million (or 17 million Euros) will be allocated to prevent the collapse of these species, which are most important to our very survival. Continue reading »
Nearly half of primates are in danger of becoming extinct
Posted by: on August 6, 2008 in Tags: Environment, forests, Sustainable development
According to a new report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 39 percent of primates species are in danger of becoming extinct.
The situation is most worrying in Asia where more than 70 percent of primates species are endangered due to the increasing human population who needs more place and… more food.
This is horrifying me beyond word. Indeed how can we talk about sustainable development and respect for Nature ( or Gaïa ) when things like these are occurring ? Continue reading »
Beijing Olympics and the fear of bad air quality
Posted by: on July 22, 2008 in Tags: China, Environment, pollution
After the algae bloom come the worries on Beijing’s air quality. To improve this, the local government took a drastic measure : cars will be allowed to drive on alternate days.
This measure is due to decrease by up to 60 percent the pollution of the 3.3 million cars of the city. Meanwhile, new subway and bus lines were opened.
Will all these measures be enough for athletes to have a good air quality ? It is to be hoped as many eyes worldwide will look at China’s efforts on pollution. Continue reading »
Africa’s rapidly changing environment
Posted by: on June 13, 2008 in Tags: Africa, Climate change, Environment, forests, Sustainable development, water
According to the 390-pages atlas released by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Africa is changing rapidly because of many factors like deforestation and climate change.
The already fragile environments are under pressure due to wars, the increasing population and water scarcity, a major problem as 300 million people suffer from it.
However, all these dramatic consequences could be avoided as some UNEP actions are already fruitful, and this shows that the worst could be avoided Continue reading »
Destruction of Nature costs 2,000 billion euros per year
Posted by: on May 23, 2008 in Tags: Biodiversity, Environment, Sciences, UN
According to a new report from the United Nations, the disappearance of both fauna and floral species costs six percent of the world GDP, or more than $3,100 billion.
The German newspaper Der Spiegel proposes a recap of the new paper, named The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
So not only does destroying the environment is bad for our health as I related in a previous article, it also costs us a lot of money. Continue reading »
