Attempts to recycle E-waste and donations of old electronic devices are harming poor people's health and devastating the environment, writes Nele Goutier. Agbogbloshie, once an idyllic landscape of wetlands and small farms, is now the most toxic place in the world ...
… E-waste in Ghana: where death is the price of … agbog-fire.jpg Attempts to recycle E-wasteand donations of old electronic devices are … their final destination under the cloak of recycling. It is the most toxic place in the …
Hunter Lovins is on a mission, writes Sophie Morlin-Yron: to put the transformational technologies we already have to work for the benefit of people and business - and to re-create the economy so it's no longer a machine for polluting the planet and devouring natural resources, but a mechanism for building and sustaining natural and human capital.
… Wild horses, Hunter Lovins, and the way to a better world Sophie … world are unemployed, she says - and that's a waste of human capital. Good capitalism equals … (a restorative approach where nothing is wasted) and 'biomimicry' (where product design …
An ecological project has taken root on an abandoned olive grove outside Ramallah. As well as restoring the land itself, its deeper aim is to nurture the ancient links between the Palestinian people and nature, and rebuild a culture of steadfastness in the soil of their native country.
… The Green fight to save Palestine's land Mashjar Juthour | 4th August 2014 Ethical … sewage into our farms and dumping their waste in our valleys. But before they came, … we use rain water harvesting. Our grey water recycling system allows us to water gardens …
Plastic waste, often burning, is a constant companion in Gambia, a poor country where few enjoy formal rubbish collection, writes Louise Hunt. Now a pioneering project to upcycle waste plastic is beginning to tackle the problem - and in the process enhancing women's social and economic status.
… Gambia - recycling for women's wealth and independence … Louise Hunt | 13th August 2014 News Waste Africa Gambia Green Economy Pollution …
A Parliamentary report reveals that £200 million has been wasted on failed 'public-private' PFI projects for waste management, writes David Hall. The obvious solution: to allow local authorities to build and operate their own, which is cheaper and more flexible. The only problem: under UK government rules, it's PFI or nothing.
… PFI waste incinerator contracts burn more money … solution: to allow local authorities to build and operate their own, which is cheaper and … for dealing with waste, at the expense of recyclingand re-use. Waste disposal is …
An anti-environment plot by Junckers' Commission would abandon agreed 'green' laws for clean air, waste reduction and recycling. But the leak of key documents to EurActiv has stimulated fierce opposition by Green MEPs and environment groups, while eleven EU countries have called on Junckers to hold to the green laws and speed up their implementation.
… Leaked: EU Commission plot to ditch wasteand air pollution laws EurActiv | 12th … laws for clean air, waste reduction andrecycling. But the leak of key documents to …
Interface's sustainability model shows how large industrial companies can slash their carbon emissions and other environmental impacts without compromising profitability, reports Sophie Morlin-Yron. The key is to aim high!
… May 2014 Comment Corporations Green Economy WasteRecycling Energy fishing-net-cut.jpg … companies can slash their carbon emissions and other environmental impacts without …
As Cameron 'cuts the green crap' Paul Mobbs remembers how the decisions of a Conservative government 20 years ago to go easy on the owners of contaminated land and old waste dumps have led to present day blight, ill-health and death. Now brow-beaten regulators and politicians in hock to party funders are doing it all over again.
… Death by landfill - cutting 'green tape' … Paul Mobbs | 22nd December 2014 News Waste Toxics Politics Regulation UK … on the owners of contaminated landand old waste dumps have led to present day blight, … in 1999/2000. They had, as a method of 'recycling' , dumped highly toxic incinerator …
Nuclear energy is essential to preserve the world's biodiversity, according to 69 conservation scientists. But there's a mysterious omission in their analysis, writes Jim Green: nuclear weapons proliferation. And after a major exchange of nuclear bombs, and the 'nuclear winter' that would follow, exactly how much biodiversity would survive?
… Nuclear power and biodiversity - don't forget WMD … land use, safety (fatalities), solid waste, and radiotoxic waste. WMD proliferation … - because its electrorefining-based fuel-recycling system cannot separate weapons-grade …
The UK's nuclear decommissioning authority has a problem - what to do with over 100 tonnes of plutonium. Jim Green evaluates the NDA's options, and sees another generation of nuclear white elephants in the making.
… Jim Green evaluates the NDA's options, and sees another generation of nuclear white … with MOX has been disastrous - £1.4 billion wasted on a MOX fabrication plant at … technology maturity for the fuel, reactor andrecycling plant are considered to all be low" …
One unintended consequence of China's spectacular economic growth is a growing water shortage, reports Joshua Bateman. As rivers run dry, aquifers sink, climate harshens and pollution spreads, he asks: can China solve its water crisis?
… run dry, aquifers sink, climate harshens and pollution spreads, he asks: can China … and leakage and quality improved by treating waste before discharging in rivers." According … water treatment rates of 85% and a national recycling rate of 15%." Another solution is to …
Anyone working to protect badgers from culling will know of Dominic Dyer - wildlife advocate and new director of the Badger Trust. Lesley Docksey met him 'on the hoof' at a recent march - and found out just why the badger campaign is so important to him.
… will know of Dominic Dyer - wildlife advocate and new director of the Badger Trust. Lesley … issues, ranging from climate change andrecyclingwaste to animal testing and fox hunting. "This …
Europe's periphories are meant to be in a state of collapse - but not so the Shetland Isles, where Thembi Mutch found a land of open skies, howling storms, historic traditions, and an active, growing community of notable individuals ...
… Maybe we can all learn from smaller islands? Thembi Mutch | 8th March 2014 Ethical Living Scotland UK man-guitar.png Europe's periphories are … Primary school kids audited their canteen andwaste practices. As the Shetland saying goes, …
The future of small island states has to be renewable, says Zaheer Allam. But that's only the first of many choices. It's just as important to develop energy networks that are diverse, resilient, adaptive and flexible - and avoid the centralised, unimodal models that investors and bureaucrats prefer to impose, often at huge long term cost.
… - a renewable energy future for small island states Zaheer Allam | 5th September 2014 … with significant emissions and toxic wastes. Additional problems are created by … we urgently need to think about is that of waste. In 12 years, we are going to find …
In California, water no longer runs to the sea - it runs towards money, writes Will Parrish. Most of the state's water is already controlled by agribusiness elites. Now, backed by politicians, they are planning to grab the little that's left, leaving nature and indigenous communities high and dry.
… grab the little that's left, leaving nature and indigenous communities high and dry. California's watersheds have been … wildlife extinction, toxic dumps, nuclear waste, and yes, global warming. How is it …
After over a decade of fracking, oversight of the industry's radioactive waste is still lacking, reports Sharon Kelly. Over half of the 280 billion gallons a year of radioactive waste water from fracking ends up in rivers and streams.
… Fracking's radwaste - supervision remains inadequate Sharon … waste water from fracking ends up in rivers and streams. It has been roughly twelve years … away for treatment, injection underground or recycling. Although the study was quite small, …
Maria Evrenos left her wallet at home for a week to discover that even an inexperienced urban forager can survive without money for a week by treasuring other people's trash.
… plum, before she drops it into my canvas bag. And there it nestles next to two partially … and things that otherwise would have gone to waste; tending to the abandoned, left-over, … us with goods. WRAP (set up in 2000 to help recycling take off in the UK and to create a …
Plastic pollution in the oceans is impacting every level of marine life, writes Kate Rawles, from micro-plankton to whales. And here is your chance to do something about it - join a research expedition to the Azores next month to study the problem and develop solutions!
… Kate Rawles, from micro-plankton to whales. And here is your chance to do something about … than 5mm, are the most abundant form of solid-waste pollution on the planet. Their source? … this context; from boycotting plastic bags to recycling to reducing our overall consumption …
Had enough of being a 'good environmental liberal' - trying to do the right thing while the world gets ever worse? Adam H argues for a Deep Green Resistance that attacks the power structures that perpetrate environmental destruction.
… teeters on the brink of total collapse. And it's being pushed: by capitalism, by … will push back. With everything left to lose, and a whole world to gain, we need to push … building, pollution, deforestation, nuclear waste, fracking and more. Those in power don't …
Of course rising world population matters, writes Biff Vernon, due to its impact on the planet and its resources. But to actually do something about it, don't even mention the 'p' word. Instead let's cut back on our wasteful, high-consumption lifestyles - and empower women everywhere!
… Biff Vernon, due to its impact on the planet and its resources. But to actually do … the 'p' word. Instead let's cut back on our wasteful, high-consumption lifestyles - and … to trade. By all means campaign for better recyclingand reuse, efficient use of limited …
How can we reduce our ever increasing throughput of raw materials? By breaking out the the 'iron cage of consumerism', writes Mariale Moreno: make things to last - whether clothes, houses, cars, or washing machines. Join a car club. Share domestic appliances with neighbors. And bring back the laundromat!
… Recycling is not enough! Sharing is the way to … 2014 Ethical Living Green Economy Consumerism WasteRecycling laundromat-cut.jpg How can we … Share domestic appliances with neighbors. And bring back the laundromat! Every year …
The EU faces a choice: a green, democratic future of clean prosperity and social justice? Or a dirty future of corporate domination with resurgent nuclear power, expanding fossil fuels, GMO agriculture and weak human and environmental protection? Junckers' Commission represents the latter. We must assert our own vision - or there will be little worth staying in for.
… on the brink - green future or industrial wasteland? Oliver Tickell | 12th December 2014 … to reduce waste to landfill and increase recycling would get bunged into the …
A partnership between an Oxford-based social enterprise and the local Council provides a blueprint for financing community energy projects, writes Wendy Twist. And with £2.3 million in the bank, things are really starting to move ...
… between an Oxford-based social enterprise and the local Council provides a blueprint for … energy projects, writes Wendy Twist. And with £2.3 million in the bank, things are … communities in Oxfordshire, didn't go to waste. So she marshalled the support of her …
If you don't want industrial agriculture ravaging the world to feed cities nutrient-deprived, genetically modified, chemical-drenched pap, here's an alternative, writes Matt Bevington: let cities grow their own fresh produce on 'vertical farms' in disused industrial buildings, restoring sustainability and accountability to the food chain.
… buildings, restoring sustainability and accountability to the food chain. … base of fish tanks where it processes fish-waste. Bacteria convert waste into nitrogen which fertilises the …