Iraq War Pre-Meditated

this is my 3rd repost. i think bush patrol has been deleting this post.;
To whet your appetite for this article, click here to view a Greenpeace advertisement. Tony Blair is dressed up like a hooker and in America, he is picked up by an American and taken to a hotel room and performs a sexual act on his American friend, end ends up being squirted by oil. The message is don't let Blair be Bush's puppet on climate control.

Blair 'made secret US Iraq pact'
from www.bbc.co.uk
Original Link to Article

Tony Blair and George W Bush decided to invade Iraq weeks earlier than they have admitted, a new book by a human rights lawyer has claimed.

The book by Philippe Sands says the two leaders discussed going to war regardless of any United Nations view.

And it suggests the US wanted to provoke Saddam Hussein by sending a spy plane over Iraq in UN colours.
Downing Street said on Thursday it did not comment on discussions that "may or may not have happened" between leaders.

'Disarm Saddam'
The revelations come in an updated edition of Mr Sands' book Lawless World, which caused controversy when it was first published early last year.

The government has always insisted military action was used as a last resort against Saddam Hussein's regime.
Mr Blair told MPs on 25 February 2003: "Even now, we are prepared to go the extra step to achieve disarmament peacefully."

But the new book centres on a meeting between Mr Bush and Mr Blair at the White House three weeks earlier, on 31 January.

Professor Sands, a QC and professor of international law at University College London, says the two-hour meeting was also attended by six advisers.

The book quotes from a note it says was prepared by one of the participants.

Surveillance aircraft
According to the note, Mr Bush said the military campaign was pencilled in for March. Mr Blair is quoted as saying he was "solidly with the president and ready to do whatever it took to disarm Saddam".

The book claims Mr Blair only wanted a second UN Security Council resolution because it would make it easier politically to deal with Saddam.

And it says Mr Bush told Mr Blair the US "was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours".

If Saddam fired on them, the Iraqis would be in breach of UN resolutions, he suggested.

Mr Bush is also quoted saying it was possible an Iraqi figure would defect and be able to give a "public presentation" of weapons of mass destruction.

The note said Mr Bush thought there was also "a small possibility that Saddam would be assassinated".

The book also claims the president "thought it unlikely that there would be internecine warfare between the different religious and ethnic groups".

'Will not re-litigate'
It also claims the note reveals the two leaders discussed a number of options.

A Downing Street spokeswoman told BBC News the events leading up to the war had been thoroughly investigated.
A spokeswoman said the prime minister only committed UK forces to Iraq after securing the approval of the House of Commons on 18 March 2003.

The decision to resort to military action into Iraq fulfilled the obligation imposed by successive UN Security Council resolutions after other routes to disarm Iraq had failed, she said.

The spokeswoman said No 10 did not comment on conversations between the prime minister and other leaders.
In the US, Frederick Jones, chief spokesman for the National Security Council, said the White House would not comment on what was said or not said in alleged private conversations between Mr Bush and foreign leaders.

Mr Jones said the White House "was not going to re-litigate how the nation went to war".

Acting Liberal Democrats leader Sir Menzies Campbell said Mr Blair had "a lot of explaining to do" and a full inquiry into the Iraq decision was now "imperative".

"It would appear that the diplomatic efforts in New York after the meeting of January 31[for a second UN resolution] were simply going through the motions, with the decision for military action already taken," he said.

Sir Menzies said the suggestion that the US considered using their military aircraft in UN colours to provoke Saddam Hussein "illustrates the rush to war".

Crying, or rather, Angry Over Spilt Pollution

I failed to see the news last night about this so I looked for the article online. The late night news featured the Rapu Rapu residents with skin disorders and health problems due to infections from the mine spill. The local bishop and local fishing movements all point to government's involvement in the issue.

Never mind if whether its a whale or a dugong, it is still sea life, a living being, a national treasure and pride.

Never mind if whether its cyanide or mercury or whatever leak there was, there still was a leak from a mining plant, any leak is pollution! In the first place, all mining plants are pollutants! they don't just leak from time to time, they pollute everyday! And to think there are 800 + mining plants in the country dumping toxic wastes!

I want to write about something we can do, but as of now, I don't have any information or access to anything yet, ill be in touch. Meantime, here are three articles I found from www.inq7.net

___________________________________________
Report says it was whale, not dugong
First posted 11:52pm (Mla time) Feb 01, 2006 By Joanna Teressa P. Los Baños Inquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A16 of the February 2, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

LEGAZPI CITY—The carcass found on the shore of a village in a controversial mining site in Albay belonged to a sperm whale, not a dugong (sea cow), as thought earlier, officials said on Tuesday.

Rey Juan, Bicol regional director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), quoted two other officials as saying the carcass, earlier thought to be that of a dugong, was actually that of a sperm whale.

A report by the MGB regional office said the carcass was brought to the municipal cemetery to be buried since it was emitting foul odor.

“Foul odor also emanated from the burial site (which then had to be deodorized) with chlorine and Lysol,” the report added.

A press statement from Lafayette Philippines Inc. said that a picture of the whale’s carcass was attached to the MGB report and showed a fin on its top side, indicating it was not a dugong. The whale was pregnant.

It said that, according to the MGB report, the whale most likely died from its wounds.

Wounds

It (whale) “bore contusions, lacerations and wounds all over its body.”

According to Lafayette, “the (MGB) report did not say if the wounds were man-inflicted or not. The report in effect rejected allegations by antimining activists blaming Lafayette’s mining activities for the whale’s death. It was also the activists who claimed it was a dugong.”

In a statement, Lafayette said its mining operations in Rapu-Rapu, Albay was highly unlikely to be the cause of the whale’s death since smaller fishes would have died, too, before the whale did if the waters of Rapu Rapu were indeed contaminated.

In an earlier interview, Jose Belando, 56, the fisherman who first saw the carcass, said “I saw it (dugong) yesterday morning (Jan. 26) in the shore near a tree in my house, with its stomach’s side up.”

“At first I did not notice it since I thought that it was just an ordinary fish and I would not benefit from it,” he said.

His neighbors milled around the big bloodied carcass and thought at first that it was a dolphin.
He could not tell the cause of its death. “I just saw it there. I could not tell how it died.”

The MGB report was prepared by Christian Oropesa, senior science research specialist, and engineer Roy Collamar.

The mining firm said official findings released only last week showed that the island’s waters sampled on Jan. 6 and 19 were well within the government’s strict cyanide standards.

Original Link to Article

Lafayette woos critics; bishop sticks to position

First posted 00:34am (Mla time) Jan 21, 2006 By Bobby LabalanInquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A15 of the January 21, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

SORSOGON CITY—The head of the new team that would run the mining operations in Rapu-Rapu, Albay of Lafayette Phils. Inc. (LPI) started a campaign to win the hearts and minds of his firm’s critics, but apparently failed to convince the bishop of Sorsogon province.

Carlos Dominguez, new LPI head, met with the firm’s supporters and critics in Albay and Sorsogon to find out first hand the concerns of communities that host its Rapu-Rapu project.

Dominguez told the people he met that he was there “to listen, not to argue; to find out what really happened regarding the two mine spills last year and what needs to be done.”

He also asked those who seek to stop Lafayette’s operations, especially some Church leaders, to wait for the final results of a chemical analysis that would identify the real cause of a fish scare in Sorsogon province.

But Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes, a staunch mining opponent, said he still doubts whether LPI’s operation would be safe for the environment.

“We could never expect them to care for us, Lafayette’s heart is not for Filipinos,” said Bastes.
The bishop said he would “never have a change of heart” no matter what financial assistance Lafayette gives to the people.

One report of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, dated Nov. 11, 2005, showed that the waters of Bacon and Malubago in Sorsogon are “within the standard limits for mercury.”
LPI has repeatedly said it does not use mercury in its operations.

“Stopping the operations of the Rapu-Rapu project simply because of still unfounded allegations regarding the fishkills would not solve other more equally pressing problems of the community like poverty and joblessness,” said Dominguez in one of his dialogues.

“If it is pursued in a responsible manner, the Rapu-Rapu project can make a difference in the life of the communities and in shaping the future of the youth because we are all partners here. One’s success is everybody’s success. Inversely, stopping the operations of the project will be everybody’s loss,” he said.

But Bastes continued to be critical of LPI.

“We are not after the financial gains... but the effects on the environment mining would bring to us,” said the bishop.

The new Lafayette chair assured Sorsogon officials that they were willing to pay for damages that might be attributed to the mining operation.

But Bastes said no amount of compensation could ever restore a damaged environment.

The bishop said he now has documents to be presented to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines when it convenes next week.

Original Link to Article

Who’s to blame for the mine spill in Rapu-Rapu?
First posted 01:50am (Mla time) Jan 21, 2006 Inquirer
Editor's Note: Published on Page A14 of the January 21, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

“ALBAY Gov. [Fernando] Gonzales cautioned local officials against blaming the Lafayette mine spill for allegedly contaminating the waters along the coastal towns of Sorsogon.” (Inquirer, 1/2/06)

For the information of the governor, there is no other mining facility, plant and smelter, or industrial factory located along the coastal towns of Sorsogon province.

If the governor doesn’t approve of local officials faulting the mining firm’s spill for the contamination, then there are only the higher government officials like himself to blame for pandering to the whims of foreign firms like Lafayette and looking the other way when tragedy strikes.

“Contaminating the water” is water pollution in simplest terms. It’s not only mercury that can pollute our waters. And Lafayette has confirmed that other elements, like cyanide, had “leaked into several bodies of water in Rapu-Rapu town of Albay.”

Unfortunately, the “bodies of water” in Rapu-Rapu are not lakes or dams, fenced and contained inland. The bodies of water are the open sea that flows to the nearby province of Sorsogon. Last Dec. 28, we personally saw what the waters along the mining facility looked like -- dark as death.

We are not only talking here of an immediate concern -- fish scare and/or fish kill. We go beyond that -- the devastation of marine biodiversity in the long haul.

And we’re not talking here of Lafayette mining alone. There are supposedly some 878 other mining firms in the country. What havoc can they create if even half their number dump their toxic debris into our seas?

If the governor didn’t know it, the Philippines has been identified as the epicenter of marine biodiversity. “The Philippine Islands ... has the richest concentration of marine life on the entire planet.... Teeming with life on its coral reefs, mangrove swamps, seagrass beds and soft-bottom habitats, the Philippine Islands are the marine counterpart to the Amazon rainforests in terms of concentrated biodiversity,” Michelle Nery noted in “The Best of Philippine Biodiversity.” (Issue 19, 4th Quarter 2004)

Just across Rapu-Rapu are the 500-hectare mangrove forests of Prieto-Diaz town where 9 out of the 21 species of seagrasses endemic to the Philippines are abundantly present.

Foisting investment and employment opportunities or taxes and dues versus environmental conservation reeks of rapacious sycophancy. Has the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau also taken over the functions of the Department of Labor, Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, Department of Finance or Bureau of Internal Revenue? Even Secretary Michael Defensor’s taking pride in the Philippines’ winning an international award as best mining site is short of groveling.
What has the title done to the environment and people of Armenia, its 2003 holder, and Sierra Leone, its 2004 holder?

Original Link to Article

Dakila Ka Pilipinas!

I really feel bad I was not able to participate because of personal matters. I just want to feature Rock Ed's very allegorical clean up of the Philippines. The activity was held at Luneta Park last January 27-29. Know more about ROCK ED and volunteer :)

text and photos (by Paolo Picones and Jake Verzosa) sourced from www.rockedphilippines.org.


DAKILA KA PILIPINAS!

Rock Ed joined Dakila, a group of artists and musicians who banded together to take on issues addressing social change. For the kick-off project of 2006, the two groups invited everyone to help clean Luneta Park’s Philippine relief map and the pool surrounding it. This monument celebrating our geography was cleaned over twelve years ago by a group of artists (Ronnie Lazaro, Lav Diaz, etc) and this year they’ve decided to do it again. This time with Dakila and the volunteers of Rock Ed Philippines.

Dakila’s convenors Ronnie Lazaro and Lourd de Veyra are also part of the core group of Rock Ed, and they are joined by character actor Tado and Parokya ni Edgar’s bass guitarist, Buwi Meneses.

We invited schools and organizations to field volunteers to help out on that day. Scrubbing and cleaning are in order so come in outfits that can handle dirt and grime. More than a clean up project, this is a figurative statement we want to make.

“Linisin ang Pilipinas!” Literally. Para malinaw ang pakay.

The volunteer fire brigades of the Chinese community have generously offered their help.

Dakila's statement says, you do not have to be shot in Luneta to be a hero. You have the power to make a difference. And Rock Ed says, at the same time, it is in the little habits that the destiny of a nation is formed.

English won’t ease RP’s woes -- militants

I for one am guilty about my general language of communication ( i do hope to communicate with those who do not understand tagalog or bisaya though). I still use tagalog or cebuano whenever I'm talking to people in the same tongue (hmm, labo ba/). English is important as the global language, yes, but if we lose our knowledge of our mother tongue, we continue to destroy our local culture. We keep on blaming the west for globalization as cause of cultural identity crisis but yet, we dont realize that we ourselves are causing it. We are vocal against globalization but we fail to catch out tongues ( pun intended) first. (sige na nga, (anong guilty sa tagalog?) "guilty" ako!!!)

I was thinking the other day what kind of future the Philippines would have if we continue to propagate the call center industry. I believe we would become a country without a unique industry or profession. Becoming a service industry is like cleaning up the world's toilets. Don't get me wrong. I do respect the need of our young graduates to earn. I really do. The lack of jobs that can sustain our needs is an important factor to consider. Do they know that there is a recent rise of the creative industry which is now competitively adding to the economic development of other countries among other rise in knowledge and skill specialization based industries? Does the government envision how stagnant the call center service industry will become in the future?

I think the government AND the people as well ( hell, yeah, we the people! because we just keep on complaining about the government yet we do not do anything!!!!!) are just up in our asses to finding solutions to the symtoms of our country's problems, why not use our heads? Where the root of the matter is? Cases like extra efforts to manage our solid wastes without enough effort to reduce consumer culture. We can effectively reduce pollution by trying not to pollute in the first place! Take note GMA's 1 B grant to the PNP to promote peace and order and economic stability. With all due respect to the President's agenda and her advisers, HOW CAN WE SOLVE CRIME IF THE ROOT OF CRIME IS POVERTY? The burden of VAT and the RVAT to everyone is not being used for the right solutions. Just like terrorism, security threats are rooted from injustice, from unfair distribution of resources. So budgeting P500 M + to Department of Education VS P1 B to the PNP is just a bad equation for the solution of poverty.

English won’t ease RP’s woes -- militants
First posted 06:12am (Mla time) Jan 30, 2006
from www.inq7.net
Inquirer Editor's Note: Published on page A5 of the Jan. 30, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

PROFICIENCY in English would not ensure the country’s economic progress, militant workers said Friday as they denounced calls for the restoration of English as the medium of instruction in schools.

“Just because citizens from rich countries like South Korea want to learn English here doesn’t necessarily mean that learning English will translate into economic salvation for us,” Anakpawis party-list Representative Crispin Beltran said in a statement in English.

Beltran was reacting to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines’ backing of the call of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Makati Business Club and the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines for a return to English as the medium of instruction so that more
Filipinos could be hired as call center agents and medical transcribers.

Another militant labor leader, Fernando Hicap of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, said the moderate TUCP’s call signified “false hopes and acts of puppetry and class betrayal to the cause of our working people, nothing more, nothing less.”

“This is the kind of colonial orientation and leadership that would [turn] this country into a colony of English-speaking modern day slaves,” he said.

Beltran said the proposal incorrectly assumed that poor English communication skills was the major cause of the economic problems of the country today when the real cause was “the depression of the economy due to foreign plunder and pro-foreign and anti-people policies.”
He pointed out that advanced countries like Japan and South Korea emphasized educational instruction in their mother tongues.

“Economic growth for these countries did not begin with learning English, but with building a strong domestic economy and national industries first and foremost,” he said.

Beltran said the government’s education policy should be directed toward honing Filipinos’ critical thinking skills.

“We should train our labor force to be productive and active shapers of society, not merely [be] appendages to foreign demands,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ll just be creating another generation of American parrots.”

Many literacy studies, according to him, concluded that the best way to teach a second language was by enabling the students to master their mother tongue to the point of critical thinking.
These skills can then be transferred to the second language, he said. Jerome Aning

The $1 Million A Square Kilometer Solution

Im recalling last weeks news about an oil tanker that spilled near the Great Barrier Reef... the oil washed up on their mangroves. Its horrible to think that maritime laws would allow passage of oil tanks over or near world heritage sites. Please clean up!

Im not sure yet how to figure out whether our local fishing industries are consistently practicing safe fishing practicies ( hopefully they are) so its kind of vague how to determine where to buy or not (also because i don't eat seafood hehe).

Perhaps minimizing pollution is the best solution as consumers. Pollution goes to sea which gets washed ashore to mangrove forests, trapping spawning sea life or those that depend on the rich decomposing materials from trees. Pollution goes to air then we get global warming that causes coral bleaching. Don't step on corals nor buy coral products ( jewelry, decor, etc.). Join coastal clean ups. Itll do you and the ocean some good :)

The $1 Million A Square Kilometer Solution
Emily Gertz from www.worldchanging.com

Talk about a real estate bubble: A new report from the United Nations Environment Program estimates that a square kilometer of mangrove or coral reef can be worth over $1 million per square kilometer per year for the economies of tropical nations.

More precisely, that's the average value of the ecosystem services coral reefs and mangroves provide -- from nurturing fisheries to protecting coastlines from the erosive forces of wind and waves.

The report is full of amazing numbers -- too many to recount here entertainingly, so check out the report itself (PDF file). Here are just a few high points from UNEP's gloss on the findings:

• The economic value of coral reefs ranges from $100,000 to $600,000 per square kilometer per year overall -- while it costs only about $775/sq km/yr to protect them.
• Reefs are worth over $1 million per square kilometer per year in parts of Southeast Asia, where reef-based fisheries generate about $4.46 million in income annually. In the Caribbean, they generate about $310 million a year.
• Mangroves are worth about $900,000/sq km/yr on average. That ranges from about $100,00/sq km/yr in American Samoa (adding up to about $50 million annually), to a whopping $3.5 million/sq km/yr in Thailand.
  

What do these numbers mean in terms of daily life? Well, reef fish alone may account for a full quarter of the global fish catch, feeding one billion people. Mangroves are also vital fish habitat -- one managed mangrove in Malaysia supports a fishery worth about $100 million a year in income.

Spending that $800-odd dollars/sq km/yr to preserve a square kilometer of mangrove or reef can add up to a lot of erosion mitigation. According to UNEP, an Indonesian hotel has spent about $125,000 a year over seven years restoring its 250 metre-long beach, which eroded after losing its reef protection to offshore coral mining.

And then there's the global aquaria trade. Reefs supply a large proportion of the fish and other marine critters that eventually end up in the tanks of an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people in Europe or North America -- and if managed carefully, this trade has the potential to provide livelihoods for many, says UNEP. In 2002, a kilo of fish destined for home aquaria was worth nearly $500, compared to about $6 for fish destined for pan and plate.

And finally, there are the as-yet-undiscovered benefits that the biodiversity sheltered in coral reefs and mangroves may hold for us, like new pharmaceuticals

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affirmed -- in a terrible way -- the value of mangroves and coral reefs to save human lives. But our history shows over and over that some influential forces in the world hold life relatively cheap. UNEP's new report does the math: balancing the wealth mangroves and coral reefs generate against the income and resources lost when they're destroyed proves that saving them makes overwhelming economic sense.

Green Marketing and the '4/40 Gap'

Green Marketing and the '4/40 Gap'
Joel Makower
from worldchanging.com

The notion of "sustainable consumption and production" continues to be one of the more persistent and vexing challenges on the sustainability front. The challenge, of course: how to balance global consumers' seemingly infinite needs, desires, and aspirations with the planet's decidedly finite resources. Aligning production and consumption at a sustainable level will require some combination of fixes on both the supply side (technological innovation that produces radical levels of efficiency, for example) and the demand side (promoting and incentivizing responsible and appropriate consumption).

While there seems to be steady progress on the supply side, the demand side of the equation seems unchanged -- and stubbornly unchangeable. Consumption levels in both the developed and developing world keep rising, with no end in sight. And consumers seem to continually say one thing and do another, a phenomenon known as the "4/40 Gap": roughly 40% of consumers say they're willing to buy greener products, but only 4% actually does, at least according to some surveys.

A new publication from the United Nations Environment Programme, Talk the Walk: Advancing Sustainable Lifestyles through Marketing and Communications, attempts to close the 4/40 Gap by promoting the use of mainstream communications and marketing strategies to change consumer attitudes. Say the authors: "The key to overcoming barriers to sustainable consumption while making a profit definitely constitutes the Holy Grail for marketers, with potential for delivering double-digit growth for years to come."

Such bottom-line-enticing come-ons, the authors' earnestness, and the publication's slick graphics notwithstanding, it's a tough sell.

Sure, there's some good stuff here, including a gallery of advertising approaches promoting some aspect of sustainability, from the subtle to the not-so-subtle (see above). Some of these are even laudable, such as the efforts by Grupo Pão de Açúcar, Brazil's largest retailer:

It aims at promoting small Brazilian producers by introducing their products to mainstream retail circuits. Products selected for promotion also demonstrate social and/or environmental value-added. . . . As a result, some 60,000 products from 69 different small suppliers have been sold in a little over a year, generating sales of US$220,000 and accounting for between 0.04% and 0.23% of sales of each participating store.

It should be pointed out that $220,000 represents about one-half of one percent of Grupo Pão de Açúcar's $43 million advertising budget.

And then there's the inspiring story of a campaign by Kia, the Korean car maker, to promote its Sedona model in the U.K. As a new kid on the block in the U.K. market, Kia seized on the public debate on climate change to differentiate itself from competitors -- including a daring campaign to encouraging walking instead of driving for short trips. Kia promoted the notion of a Walking Bus -- in which "a group, or 'bus', of children walk from home to school each morning quickly and safely under the guidance of trained adult supervisors." The campaign launched in 1999 and is still active.
But, speaking as a corporate communications strategist, Talk the Walk doesn't reveal many secrets -- and the insight it does offer often seems more sinister than sincere. One example is its notion of the "green Trojan horse":

As exemplified by organic and fair-trade products or first hybrid vehicles, the ultimate role of green products in shaping sustainable consumption patterns probably consist in changing consumers' attitudes, building confidence in new solutions or technologies, and acting as a Trojan horse in mainstream groups' marketing approach, to finally contribute to level the playing field, without necessarily going mainstream themselves.

That is to say, "Make consumers be greener in spite of themselves" -- my paraphrase, not theirs.

That's a less-satisfying conclusion than one would hope. Ideally, consumer product companies and their customers would engage in a robust conversation about how the former can profitably serve the latter's needs in a way that honors people and the planet -- and not simply sneak greener products into the mainstream. It would involve ads and marketing messages that inform, inspire, and incentivize us to change our buying habits -- and to understand how and why we should.

And it would involve more than just the companies themselves. In a briefing book on sustainable consumption and production that I co-authored a few years ago, we laid out five key strategies that would be necessary to accelerate meaningful change: Increasing consumer awareness and choice; promoting innovative policies; accelerating demand for greener products; demanding corporate accountability; and encouraging sustainable business practices. All of these need to work in concert to address the fundamental issues at hand.

It's not that our everyday shopping trips need to be deep-think exercises that ponder the nature of everything we buy -- not that this wouldn't be Nirvana. But the frustrating problem inadvertently raised by Talk the Walk is that fomenting a robust green consumer movement will take much more of a thoughtful, holistic approach to moving the marketplace than most companies are willing to take.

Volunteer for Rock Ed

Rock Ed Music and Arts Project Group, New Volunteers Orientation - Wednesday, 25 January 2006, 6:30 pm, 3rd Floor, JESCOM Building, Ateneo Loyola Campus.

Know more about Rock Ed

Call for Entries for the Moonrise Film Festival

Call for Entries for Documentary Film Festival

The search for the best documentaries on Philippine environment and culture is here once again! The Center for Environmental Awareness and Education (CEAE) is announcing its call for entries for the second Moonrise Film Festival scheduled on 18-20 August 2006.

Last year, sixteen entries competed for the prestigious Grand Charlie award. More than P450, 000 worth of prizes were at stake, with a grand prize of P100, 000 for the best documentary."

Aside from professional filmmakers, we are inviting and encouraging first-time filmmakers, teachers and students to once again put forward their entries for this year's Moonrise Film Festival.Last August 2005, more than 1600 teachers, students, religious, government and non- government officials visited Gateway Mall's Cineplex during the 3-day film festival to view the different entries that focused on a variety of environmental and socio-cultural issues.

Moving Mountains, a film that vividly illustrates the destructive effects of large-scale mining in the Cordillera, secured the award of best documentary. Worth mentioning are the other films that received various citations and are remarkable in their own right such as Legacy: Philippine World Heritage Sites, Tamaraw Quest, Wailing for Paradise, Agno, and Environmental Art.

The Philippines is considered a global hotspot for biodiversity, having one of the richest ecosystems and wildlife in the world. Our country can also pride itself with the uniqueness of its cultural and historical heritage. Sadly, much of these natural treasures have already been lost, neglected, and destroyed, which makes it ever more relevant and urgent to document these issues through film.

Anything in and about the Philippines, from garbage to underwater life, from forests to historical sites, has the potential to make for a good story. We are looking for documentaries that are both entertaining and educational.Winning films also have the opportunity of being shown in different film festivals here and around the world!

These events are valuable reminders of the power of media to boost awareness on environmental and socio-cultural issues about the Philippines.Last year's Moonrise Film Festival was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Conservation and Environmental Grants, BFAR-FRMP, Unilever Philippines, GMA 7, Yehey.com, Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE).

CEAE is now accepting entries for the 2006 Moonrise Film Festival. Deadline for early submission is on May 31 and late final deadline on June 30. For any inquiries regarding participation or sponsorship, please visit www.moonrisefilmfest.com, or contact CEAE at (02) 721 7360 during business hours, or email email@ceae.org. Complete details and guidelines is posted on our website.

Stop Using Plastic!!!!!!!!!

Introduced just over 25 years ago, the ugly truth about our plastic bag addiction is that society’s consumption rate is now estimated at well over 500,000,000,000 (that’s 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute! photo from www.reusablebags.com

My friend Reena and I are putting together a campaign to promote green grocery bags in groceries. Primarily to promote reusable bags like canvas bags, net bags, et al... Perhaps temporary option would be to require groceries to provide alternative bags like paper for those who have vehicles to transport their groceries home. Another temporary option would be to require groceries to give discounts to those who reuse the grocery's plastic bags.


Facts and figures regarding the true cost of plastic bags
from www.reusablebags.com
Top Facts - Consumption

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
• According to the American Forest and Paper Association, in 1999 the U.S. alone used 10 billion paper grocery bags, requiring 14 million trees to be cut down.
  According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person.
• According to Australia’s Department of Environment, Australians consume 6.9 billion plastic bags each year—326 per person. An estimated .7% or 49,600,000 end up as litter each year.

Top Facts - Environmental Impact

• Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.
• Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
• As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected. Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.
• According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone "from being rare in the late 80s and early 90s to being almost everywhere from Spitsbergen 78° North [latitude] to Falklands 51° South [latitude].
• Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.

Trends from Around the World!

I think this is interesting information. Im currently working on my policy proposal for World Bank's Panibagong Paraan policy proposal contest to greening the supermarkets - requiring them to hold clean and green products, alternatives to plastic bags, and developing a campaign for green consumerism in the Philippines... hmm... im sure its going to be tough. Other proposals im planning to submit would be promoting art enrichment programs in public schools as well as environmental education for public schools. (now to finish all these before Feb 15 would require extra hard work heee :) anyway, check out what the other countries are doing to significantly reduce plastic pollution in their respective locales:

Africa

In South Africa, plastic bags have been dubbed the "national flower" because so many can be seen flapping from fences and caught in bushes. In response to the government threat of a ban on single-use plastic bags, the plastics industry lobbied for a bag tax instead. Negotiations led to a bag tax set for introduction in May 2003, to be paid by manufacturers and to be passed on to consumers. Similar to the Irish PlasTax, the charge for each bag used will appear on shoppers’ sales receipts as a reminder that they can save money by using reusable bags. South Africa is also instituting improved recovery and recycling systems.

Africa Update: Kenya is joining the war against plastic bags. The Kenyan government, in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, issued a report on Feb. 23, 2005 suggesting that Kenya should ban the common plastic bag that one gets at the checkout counter of grocery stores, and place a levy on other plastic bags, all to combat the country's environmental problems stemming from the bags' popularity. Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki recently said: "In our major cities, plastic bags are used in large quantities at the household level. However, these bags are not disposed of in ways that ensure a clean environment. My country welcomes initiatives to address this problem." Read more about the report here.

Australia

Australia is in the process of deciding how to control plastic bag waste, and is considering a tax on single-use HDPE bags.

Australia update: The retailers' Code of Practice for the Management of Plastic Carry Bags was accepted by Ministers in October 2003. There are many commitments, including reaching a 25% reduction in plastic bag use by the end of 2004 and a 50% reduction in plastic bag use by 2005. The Code includes a commitment by retailers to report twice a year. Initial reports show that Australian supermarket shoppers slashed their use of plastic bags by 29% by June 2004! Read more about the report here. Furthermore, Coles Bay in Tasmania successfully banned plastic check-out bags in all their retail stores. In the first twelve months, Coles Bay stopped the use of 350,000 plastic check-out bags.

Bangladesh

In March 2002, Bangladesh slapped an outright ban on all polyethylene bags in the capital, Dhaka, after they were found to have been the main culprit during the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged two-thirds of the country. The problem was that discarded bags were choking the drainage system. Plans are to extend the ban nationwide.

Bangladesh update: The polythene ban is leading to a revival of the jute bag industry and other sustainable and biodegradable alternatives. It is widely acknowledged that jute may be one of the solutions to the polythene menace. Jute grows abundantly in Bangladesh and requires a lot less energy for processing than polythene.

China

The term "white pollution" has been coined in China for the tumbleweed of polythene blowing on the streets where according to UK's The Guardian, 2 billion are used each day.

China update: to combat the growing problem of plastic bags in China, Guo Geng, a political adviser in Beijing, has proposed the introduction of a "bag tax" in a bid to help cut demand for plastic bags and raise more money to tackle pollution caused by the bags. Media reports claim that the Ministry of Finance is conducting a feasibility study for introducing such a tax.

Denmark

As part of a larger packaging tax introduced in 1994, Denmark taxes plastic bags. The stated aim is to promote the use of reusable bags. However, the tax is paid by retailers when they purchase bags, rather than by shoppers, yielding less dramatic results than the Irish PlasTax, which charges consumers directly for each bag used. Still, consumption of paper and plastic bags has declined by 66%.

Denmark update: Denmark employs a general waste tax that has proven to be very successful. The waste tax is differentiated so that it is most expensive to landfill waste, cheaper to incinerate it and tax exempt to recycle it. Also (as described above), they have so-called "green" taxes on packaging, plastic bags, disposable tableware and nickel-cadmium batteries. Read more about Denmark's applaudable efforts here.

Hong Kong

In 2001, it was estimated that 27 million plastic shopping bags were disposed of each day in Hong Kong. This is four times the consumption level per person of Australia. Hong Kong has implemented a campaign of “No plastic bag, please”, and prohibits retailers over a specified size from providing free bags. The program has been designed to educate the public on alternatives to plastic bags and to encourage customers to make environmentally friendly decisions and purchases. Along with the public campaigns, there is an environmental tax in place for products for which there is an environmentally-friendly alternative readily available.

India

In India, a law introduced recently prohibits plastic bags thinner than 20 microns in the cities of Bombay and Delhi, along with the entire states of Maharashtra and Kerala. The restriction is meant to discourage production and use due to the thicker bags being more expensive. The logic seems a bit odd and its success is marginal. India update: in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, a new law states that anyone found even using a polythene bag could face prison or a stiff fine. The new law bans the production, storage, use, sale and distribution of polythene bags. The law is based on legislation passed by the national parliament, but Himachal Pradesh is the first state to have implemented it. In addition, the government of the western Indian state of Maharashtra banned the manufacture, sale and use of all plastic bags, saying they choked drainage systems during recent monsoon rains. Manufacturers and stores selling plastic bags will be fined 5,000 rupees while individuals using bags face penalties of 1,000 rupees.

Ireland

Republic of Ireland was consuming 1.2 billion plastic shopping bags per year before introducing the PlasTax. Since the tax of about $.13 per bag was introduced in March 2002, consumption has plummeted by 90%. To complete the win-win cycle, the $ 9.6 million raised from the tax in the first year is put into a “green fund” to further benefit the environment. Ireland Update:the extremely effective PlasTax continues to produce amazing results, the latest figures nearing a 95% reduction in consumption. This levy has been viewed as a major success by the government and environmental groups alike. It has also been enthusiastically embraced by Irish consumers, thanks to an intensive environmental awareness campaign that was launched in conjunction with the levy. Irish retailers, although skeptical in the beginning, have also recognized the huge benefits of this levy. The amount of plastic being sent to Irish landfills has been dramatically reduced, bringing about a clear, visual improvement in cities, on coastlines and in the countryside due to the decrease of litter.

New Zealand

Several of New Zealand's leading retailers are taking the initiative to tackle the plastic bag beast by introducing reusable shopping bags for sale. Foodstuffs New Zealand, owner of Pak'N Save and New World, is stocking shelves with 20,000 cotton, reusable bags while competitor Progressive Enterprises scrambles to follow suit. The Warehouse is also doing its own line in reusable bags. Initial results have been positive. According to Stuff (New Zealand's leading news website with 430,000 unique users per month), it is estimated New Zealanders use more than 2.2 million plastic bags each week.

New Zealand Update: government sponsored programs are promoting environmental awareness, urging consumers to Reduce Your Rubbish and consider eco-friendly alternatives to the plastic bag. Grassroots efforts are also popping up around the country to help in the fight to eliminate plastic bags.

Scotland

Scotland may put a "plastax" on plastic bags - recent legislation proposed in Scotland would put a 15-pence tax on each disposable plastic bag handed out to shoppers. The levy is based on Ireland's "PlasTax," which only a few months after it was implemented, succeeded in lowering plastic bag consumption by 90% while raising 3.5 million euro for environmental projects.

Scotland update: Scotland’s threatened levy on plastic carrier bags has moved closer to approval. A new bill outlining the proposal is now almost ready to be put before the Scottish Parliament. In addition, many regions are joining the fight against plastic bags. Reusable cotton shopping bags are to be distributed free to shoppers on a trial basis to encourage people to reduce the number of plastic bags they use, under the the "Fantastic it's not plastic!" initiative. Furthermore, Amy Gray, Aberdeen City Council's Business Waste Minimisation Officer says, "Aberdeen City Council is encouraging residents to become more waste aware. Refusing plastic bags at checkouts is a simple step anyone can take to reduce the amount of waste they produce. Aberdeen City Council is also lobbying for the introduction of a tax on plastic bags in line with other forms of packaging."

Switzerland

Switzerland requires supermarkets to charge $.15 to $.20 per paper bag. The majority of shoppers bring their own reusable bags.

Taiwan

In October 2001, Taiwan introduced a ban on distribution of free single-use plastic bags by government agencies, schools and the military. The ban was expanded to include supermarkets, fast food outlets and department stores, and will eventually apply to street vendors and food dealers. Disposable cutlery and dishes are also banned. The head of Taiwan’s EPA felt so strongly about the issue that he made an ultimatum that he would quit if it weren’t implemented. Even though the plastic bag industry lobbied hard and tried to create a grass roots movement to stop the ban, it was drowned out by the majority and ultimately implemented.

United Kingdom

Inspired by Ireland, the United Kingdom is considering a PlasTax. The current Minister of the Environment, Michael Meacher, is in favor of it. But the British Plastics Federation, the “Carrier Bag Consortium”, and other plastics industry groups are strongly opposing such a tax.

UK update: while a plastic bag tax has yet to be adopted by government, they fully support reusable carrier bags and some retailers have taken up the cause. "Bag for life" and "penny back" schemes have been introduced by some of the large supermarket chains, encouraging consumers to consider the benefits of reusable bags as an alternative to plastic bags.

United States

While this is a relatively new area of concern in the United States it is ripe to take-off. The federal system in the US means that cities, states, and local townships can initiate their own actions aimed at significantly curbing single-use plastic bags.

United States update: as many of you already know, San Francisco is thinking about imposing a 17 cent surcharge on plastic and paper grocery bags. They would be the first US city to do so, if the proposal gets the go-ahead. One study has shown that stores are handing San Franciscans around 50 million bags year! Click here for more information on this topic.

DOING OUR PART

Use a tote bag or the plastic bags you have at home ( tip : roll them up and store them in your bag)

Say no to plastic. Sometimes Im guilty of this like when I buy sanitary pads in public hee.... If you can dump your purchase in your bag, tell them you'd rather keep your receipt. Example : medicines from mercury drug et al, how do you think you'll use those tiny bags afterwards? etcetera etcetera.

When ordering take out, ask them not to use styrofoam and plastic - other options if unavoidable : use aluminum since recycling this is easier than plastic and it keeps your food warm, ask them to use paperbag as container. You need not use plastic utensils the delivery would come with if you're eating at home or your office pantry, so ask them not to include them - use your own dinnerware at home. better yet, just eat at the restaurant if you can :) sometimes eating alone is enriching :)

smoky mountain boy ( photo from www.ilo.org)

An "Award" Corporations Don't Want to Win

An "Award" Corporations Don't Want to Win
Gustavo Capdevila
from Inter Press Service News

GENEVA, Jan 13 (IPS) - The annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) usually brings juicy benefits for transnational corporations, except for a handful that are singled out for a dubious distinction by civil society groups: the Public Eye Awards for irresponsible corporate behaviour.

History will repeat itself this year when the WEF meets once again Jan. 25-29 in the Swiss ski resort, where the nominees for the Awards include Alcoa, Bayer, Coca Cola, Chevron, Novartis, Walt Disney, Citigroup and Nestlé.

Two international non-governmental organisations, Pro Natura - Friends of the Earth Switzerland and the Berne Declaration, announced this week that they will grant the Awards on Jan. 25 in Davos.

The Awards are aimed at highlighting particularly irresponsible behaviour on the part of corporations in the areas of the environment, labour rights, human rights and taxes.

The objective is to take a look at the activities of the companies from a different angle, with a vision that it not limited to a merely economic focus on the environment, said Sonja Ribi, Pro Natura project leader for Politics and International Affairs.

The Award winners are selected from nominees proposed by non-governmental organisations from around the world. Last year the prizes went to Dow Chemical, oil giant Shell, U.S.-based retail chain Wal-Mart, and KPMG International, an accounting and consulting firm. Nestlé was also recognised with the "people's choice" award.

The novelty this year is a positive prize to reward a company that has stood out for its respect for environmental and social standards.

Oliver Classen, a representative of Berne Declaration, said the negative Awards are aimed at simultaneously counteracting the influence of the WEF, and to contribute to a debate on the darker zones of globalisation that is merely profit-oriented.

WEF, a Geneva-based private international organisation, has drawn the world's prime business and political movers and shakers together every year for the past 35 years, to discuss global problems and propose solutions.

The activities at the Forum are the target of criticism from civil society organisations, which are opposed to the approach it takes towards globalisation.

"But with the Public Eye Awards, we show what steps are possible and necessary in order to bring about a more socially just and environmentally sustainable economy," argued Classen.

He said that the effort to nominate and select companies for the Awards make his organisation feel closer to the World Social Forum (WSF), an annual gathering of tens of thousands of civil society activists first held in January 2002 in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre to debate alternatives to globalization in its current shape and form and possible solutions to international problems.

This year's WSF will be held in three different parts: Jan. 19-23 in Bamako, Mali; Jan. 24-29 in Caracas, Venezuela; and in March in Karachi, Pakistan.

Read the rest of the article

Military Spending on the Rise

why not just kill the hungry instead which is what they're doing anyway?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! unjust distribution of wealth begets hunger and displacement begets terrorism begets war begets death.

Military spending on the rise
from www.odemagazine.com
Global military spending is rising significantly, according to World Watch magazine (September/October 2005). Not since the historic peak reached around the end of the Cold War in 1989 have outlays been so high. According to a report published in June 2005 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), combined international military expenditures totalled $1.04 billion U.S. in 2004. While millions of people around the world have to make do on less than two dollars a day, governments are spending an average of $162 U.S. per world citizen each year on weapons and soldiers. The United States now spends nearly as much as the rest of the world combined: $455 billion in 2004, or 47 percent of the total.

Global Priority in $U.S. Billions (1998)

Basic education for everyone in the world - $6B
Cosmetics in the United States - $8B
Water and sanitation for everyone in the world - $9B
Ice cream in Europe - $11B
Reproductive health for all women in the world - $12B
Perfumes in Europe and the United States - $12B
Basic health and nutrition for everyone in the world - $13B
Pet foods in Europe and the United States - $17B
Business entertainment in Japan - $35
Cigarettes in Europe - $ 50 B
Alcoholic drinks in Europe - $105 B
Narcotics drugs in the world - $400B
Military spending in the world - $780B

Global warming and destructive logging: a deadly combination

Global warming and destructive logging: a deadly combination
January 05, 2006
from www.greenpeace.org.ph

Manila, PHILIPPINES — Climate change and destructive logging proves to be a deadly combination, as abnormal weather patterns caused by climate change continue to wreak havoc with the recent floodings in Oriental Mindoro, Isabela, Palawan, Quezon, Bicol, and Caraga.

The deadly combination of abnormal weather patterns associated with climate change and continued destructive logging -- which together brought on the recent catastrophic flooding in Oriental Mindoro, Isabela, Palawan, Quezon, Bicol, and Caraga -- will continue to wreak havoc in the country unless concrete steps are taken to curb both climate change and logging, Greenpeace warned Thursday.

“Catastrophic floods have already been attributed to extreme precipitation associated with climate change . But even more extreme devastation results when such abnormal weather events combine with the effects of destructive logging,” said Von Hernandez, Campaign Director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “The Philippines has already experienced the impacts of this deadly combination many times in the past, the worst among them being the Ormoc tragedy in 1990 and the Aurora and Quezon disasters of 2004. These disasters will continue to recur so long as measures to mitigate climate change and stop logging are not undertaken,” he added.

Last month’s floods which occurred almost simultaneously in various provinces throughout the country have displaced tens of thousands of families living in the affected areas.

In a Greenpeace report released November last year entitled “Crisis or Opportunity: Climate Change Impacts and the Philippines” author Leoncio Amadore PhD, one of the Philippine’s foremost meteorologists, determined that the impacts of climate change have already been manifested in the Philippines by extreme climate occurrence such as, floods, droughts, forest fires, and an increase in tropical cyclones(1).

“Climate change will aggravate the misery of an already over-burdened Filipino community,” explained Amadore,“Countries must combine both adaptive strategies such as disaster-preparedness programs and, continuous vulnerability assessments along with emission reduction measures such as displacing fossil power with renewables and energy efficiency.

“Logging, meanwhile, has exacerbated the effects of heavy rains. Continuous logging—both legal and illegal—severely compromises the natural carrying capacity of the forests, which act as effective barriers against strong winds, rains, and landslides during typhoons, to provide protection from natural calamities. Citing statistics,Greenpeace said that an average of 500 lives is lost every year due to the 17 to 22 typhoons that pass through the country annually. This figure more than doubled in the November-December 2004 floods and landslides. Ten times that number perished in the Ormoc Tragedy, which also occurred in the month of November, in 1991. These numbers and other“devastation” statistics, such as damage to property and infrastructure will increase as the frequency and strength of typhoons increase.

While the government has cited extreme rainfall as the cause of floods, it has yet to acknowledge that the denudation of forest lands have also had a hand in the calamities.

“Government officials always use the extreme precipitation argument to wash their hands off any responsibility for the disastrous floods,” Hernandez said. “Given the increasing prospects of extreme precipitation in the future, the government should carry out stronger measures to protect remaining forests and stop destructive logging, as well asinstitute policies to reduce the country’s dependence on climate change-causing fossil fuel energy systems and create a massive shift towards renewable energy.
”“While we cannot entirely blame human folly for some of these catastrophes, nature has brutally highlighted our collective failure to listen and learn from its bitter lessons. Simply put, what we inflict upon nature, we inflict upon ourselves. Indeed our experiences with earlier disasters should have prepared us to anticipate and takepreemptive action against future environmental hazards,” said Hernandez.

Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organization that uses non-violent creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems to force solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

green dream house

I've always wanted to live in a house like this someday if time will allow, with my own greenhouse, observatory and studio :) you can also check out www.permaculture.co.uk for ecoliving solutions. dream switch on....

Ecohouse Brazil
Sarah Rich
from WorldChanging.com

A Newly Electric Green – Sustainable Energy, Resources and Design see all posts in this category

In the Urca neighborhood near the base of Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf mountain, architect Alexandra Lichtenberg tackled a remodeling project that demonstrates that being green isn't the exclusive domain of high-cost, luxury residences and backwoods off-grid dwellings. A good green remodel is within reach of the average well-intentioned homeowner in the average urban neighborhood anywhere in the world, and the EcoHouse proves it.

The EcoHouse Project undertook to provide not only a more eco-friendly environment for its inhabitants, but also a tool for evaluating comfort levels within ecologically-enhanced and highly efficient thermal, water and lighting systems. The architect's goal was to create comparable or better amenities in the home while improving the ecological impact. In the hot, humid climate of Rio, the house served as a case example for similar climates worldwide.

Below is an overview of the various aspects of the remodel. Any one of these is available to homeowners at minimal cost, and most are just as easily implemented in an existing building as in a new home.

Rainwater Catchment
Rainwater catchment is one of the most sensible things we can do to increase our home water efficiency as well as to reduce water pollution and store runoff in our neighborhoods. Most rainfall runs over impermeable urban surfaces straight into storm drains without ever being used, which—given the ease and benefits of collecting it—is an unnecessary waste.

In the EcoHouse, a concrete cistern collects rain from the roof and patio, which flows through a gravity-driven mechanical filter. It is then pumped to the recycled water tank located on the highest green roof, and distributed by gravity to toilets, garden irrigation system, and faucets used for non-potable water. In the first year, the system accounted for 28% of the total water use of the house.

Sewage recycling
Even the most hardcore environmentalists sometimes shy away from dealing with gray water and sewage. However, there are a number of well-designed compact sewage treatment systems that make residential water reuse easy and clean. A Brazilian company called Mizumo provided a test system for the Ecohouse Urca Project. Intended for small urban lots, it measures 1.20m x 2.60m x 2.10m. The system is meant to provide water for the same non-potable uses as the rainwater system. Before being pumped to the water tank on the green roof, the water undergoes sand and UV light filtration to eliminate any remaining impurities.
Passive cooling The best means of achieving passive heating and cooling is through well-planned orientation of a house on its site. With existing buildings, though, there are other ways to make use of passive technologies, such as strategic placement of shade trees, extension of eaves and overhanging roofing, and window glazing. Keeping the walls, windows and roof of the house cool by deflecting or avoiding direct sunlight, the inside stays cooler, as well, without A/C or other high-energy systems.

Green roofs and facades
Green roofs enhance passive cooling capacities, absorb rainwater, and offer another usable outdoor space for residents—a perfect spot for cultivating a garden. The EcoHouse's old ceramic tile roof was replaced by green roofs, using mostly grass and cooking herbs. All northwest-facing façades were fitted with an aluminum trellis to protect the outside walls from sun exposure. A vigorous vine will climb the trellis and create a shield to absorb most of the direct radiation that would hit the walls.

Natural ventilation Natural ventilation is another component that is often best installed during the initial building process of the home, when operable skylights and windows can be designed into the building. For the EcoHouse remodel, the architect did a reconfiguration of the internal layout to allow for natural ventilation. Air circulation is vitally important, not only to reduce heating and cooling costs, but for the health of the inhabitants. Keeping a good inflow of fresh air enhances the interior atmosphere so that it never feels stuffy or stagnant.

Renewable energy
Two solar systems heat all the hot water in the house, both working in a passive thermosiphon system, which takes advantage of gravity and eliminates the need to pump liquids around the house. Normally, solar panels mounted on the roof heat water in a tank several floors below, which means that the liquid needs to be pumped to the roof for heating. In a thermosiphon system, the tank is on the roof, placed above the solar collector.

As the temperature of the heat-transfer fluid increases, its density decreases. The fluid rises, causing natural convection, which permits passive circulation in the pipes. In the EcoHouse, one of the two solar systems has an electrical backup source. The other functions completely on solar.

Many thanks to Alexandra Lichtenberg, who provided info and images for this piece. The EcoHouse is a bright example of what's possible for any one of us, in any location or climate. With some simple changes to a handful of home systems, we can easily reduce our costs, increase our comfort, and enhance our quality of life.
www.ecohouse.com.br

People of the World Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol

People of the World Ratifying Kyoto Protocol
Target: Jan Eliasson, President of the sixtieth session of the United Nations Gene, United Nations General Assembly
Sponsor: Erez Luke Cohen

We the undersigned people of the Earth hereby support, accede and ratify the goals, targets and issues brought in the Kyoto Protocol.

We acknowledge the role that Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emitions play in Climate Change and Global Warming and therefore see the importance of greatly reducing levels of such emitions.

We acknowladge the importance of keeping our economy and the welfare of our friends and neighbours in good conditions.

Nevertheless we acknowledge that dramatic climate change in the world will result in the fall of economies and the welfare of people worldwide.

Therefor - we support any governmental/non-governmental actions to reduce GHG emitions in a sensible way to the issues and complications at any given situation.

We support the implementation of any new technological and scientific inventions and discoveries that might help us achieve the goals of reducing emitions, cleaning the enviroment and preventing Global Warming.

We pledge to act in the best way we can to promote mitigation of all forms of Greenhouse Gas emitions, whether in preventive/remedial/engraving action or in advocacy for these actions to our representatives on different levels.

We, the undersigned People of Earth, see the importance in the safe-keeping of Rainforest and other heavy flora and fauna areas as GHG sinks as well as other enviromental beneficiencies. We support actions to achieve the safekeeping of existing such areas, to re-creat former ones and to cultivate new sinks.

We, the undersigned people of Earth, support all actions of the UN and goverments worldwide in working together to solve the problems of Climate Change and Global Warming.
We hereby request our leaders to step forward and lead noticeable efforts to iradicate pollution in general and GHG emitions in particular.

Know more about the Kyoto Protocol
Sign the Petition!

Walking in the Dalai Lama's Shoes

Ah I wonder... but I bet it must be hard... or i suppose its the easiest yet we complicate the simplest of things. im really having so much trouble with shoes lately, i think id rather go barefoot :(


The Dalai Lama and the Rivers of Tibet
Joel Makower
from WorldChanging.com

Dharamsala, India -- My wife, Randy Rosenberg, is an independent art curator and consultant to museums, companies, and institutions. For the past 18 months, she has been curating a major exhibition titled The Missing Peace: The Dalai Lama Portrait Project.

The exhibition -- which will open next June in Los Angeles, then travel to Chicago, New York, and Miami, and on to Europe and Asia through about 2009 -- brings together artists from around the world who are creating artworks in many media that depict the Dalai Lama, his values, and his world. The project is sponsored by the Dalai Lama Foundation and the Committee for 100 for Tibet.

It is that exhibition that has brought us to Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibet Government in Exile. And, on this day, to a private audience with His Holiness to talk about the exhibition -- and, as it turned out, the environment.

When we arrived, the Dalai Lama greeted us at the door, shook our hands, and invited us to sit and talk. Randy quickly launched into a briefing about the exhibition, describing the various themes in which the artworks have been arranged -- "Humanity in Transition" "The Unity of All Things," "Spirituality as a Global Commodity," and others.
His Holiness listened with interest and immediately homed in one particular theme -- Tibet: Its the People and Its Land. "It is important to give a clear presentation about the land," he said. "Not just the beauty or some animals, but the emphasis on the major rivers and their source of life."

The problem, he explained, is that many of the rivers that flow through large areas of Asia -- Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Pakistan, and Vietnam -- including the Yellow river, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Salween, and Yangtse, all originate in Tibet. And it is at these rivers' origin that large-scale deforestation and mining are taking place. The pollution of these rivers is having a drastic effect not just on Tibet's ecology, but on the downstream countries.

He continued:
Within my lifetime, the glaciers in Tibet have reduced quite rapidly. According to some scientists, at the rate of reduced snowfall and becoming warmer, then after a few decades, all the major rivers will become very different. That means the whole northern India will suffer because of drought.

The unnecessary exploitation of nature in Tibet has to stop for that reason. It is of immense importance to educate that the ecology in Tibet needs special care. Without adequate caution, just exploiting the major resources, is wrong. The communists always do that for two reasons. First, they are really ignorant. And second, they don't care.
Another key issue, said the Dalai Lama, is Tibet's growing population, the result of the Chinese government's relocation of millions of its citizens to Tibet, where Chinese now outnumber Tibetans. In addition to putting Tibetans at an economic disadvantage, the continuing migration of Chinese progressively erodes the capacity of the region to provide clean air and water and other critical resource needs.

He explained:
Two centuries of limited population is okay. But much increased population in those lands is of great damage to the ecology. So, one of our real fears is the rapidly increasingly Chinese population. They are causing great damage not just to Tibet's ecology, but also to its culture.

It was a brief conversation with this holy man -- about 20 minutes in all -- but it was an unexpectedly ecologically focused one. Saving Tibet turns out to be about much more than saving Buddhism and the Tibetan culture. It is literally about saving Tibet: the land, its rivers, and all of their life-giving properties.
There's one final story to tell before we depart Dharamsala. It's not related to anything environmental. It's about the Dalai Lama's shoes.

As I mentioned, my wife, Randy, is curating a show in which more than 75 artists from around the world are creating artworks that depict the Dalai Lama, his values, and his world. One of those artists is Sylvie Fleury, a Swiss installation artist. For the exhibition, Fleury wanted to use a process called kirlian photography to portray the Dalai Lama's aura. Toward that goal, she asked Randy to procure something that belonged to the Dalai Lama that she could use to photograph the aura. So, Randy worked through channels to do that.

Soon thereafter, the shoes arrived. The Dalai Lama's office had sent an old pair of brown Dexter shoes, size 7-1/2.
When they arrived at our home, the first notable thing was the shoebox in which they had been packed. The brand of the shoebox: Easy Spirit. Clearly, someone back at headquarters was having a little fun with this.
As we sat around admiring the shoes, it was tempting to want to try them on -- how many of us can say we have walked in the Dalai Lama's shoes? But we resisted the temptation -- after all, we didn't want to mess with the aura. (Besides, the shoes wouldn't have fit: My feet are a full size larger.)
And so the Dexters were dutifully repacked for shipment to the artist in Switzerland. Since I was the next one heading out the door that day, I was tasked with delivering them to Fedex. And because this was an international shipment, there was some paperwork involved.

The Fedex clerk asked, "What's in the box?"
"A pair of shoes," I replied.
"Are they a gift?"
"No. Just a pair of shoes."
She persisted. "Anything special about them?"
"Nope."
"Do they have any special value? Are they fragile or breakable?"
"No," I replied. "They're just a pair of shoes."
And all the time I wanted to tell her: "THEY'RE THE DALAI LAMA'S SHOES!"
I couldn't, of course, because the paperwork would no doubt have tripled.

In our audience with the Dalai Lama this week, I told him this story about his shoes. He chuckled along appreciatively and joked that since the shoes had been resoled, the resulting aura might well be that of his cobbler.
But he got serious when I mentioned how we had been tempted to try them on -- to "walk in the Dalai Lama's shoes." And I assured him we hadn't.

To which he replied, simply but sternly: "Good."

But there's a bigger story here than a mere encounter with a great man's footwear. Tenzin Tethong, former chair of the Dalai Lama's cabinet, who now teaches at Stanford (and chairs the Committee of 100 for Tibet, one of the sponsors of The Missing Peace), says that the goal of the exhibition should not be about hero worship, or even the fight for Tibetan freedom. And it's not about how we become the Dalai Lama, or walk in his shoes.
Rather, says Tethong, the exhibition must show how each of us can walk alongside the Dalai Lama: how each of us has a story, and how that story can share in the Dalai Lama's story -- of compassion, peace, and the unity of all things.

Original link to the Article