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In 1543, Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus challenged the view that the Sun revolved around the earth, arguing instead that the earth revolved around the Sun. His paper led to a revolution in thinking -to a new worldview. A new book, Eco-Economy, discusses the need today for a similar shift in our worldview. Since 1974, Lester Brown, through the Worldwatch Institute’s annual State of the World reports, has served as a witness to our planet’s deteriorating ecology. Now he’s started a new non-profit, Earth Policy Institute, to help people develop a shared vision of what an environmentally sustainable economy, an eco-economy would look like. This book outlines his vision. “We can see glimpses of the eco-economy emerging in the wind farms of northern Germany, the solar rooftops of Japan, the reforested mountains of South Korea, and the steel recycling mills of the U.S.” The question is, do we join together to build an economy that is sustainable or do we keep at the status quo until its inevitable decline? One way or another the choice will be made by our generation, but it will affect life on earth for countless generations to come. Download the book or order it: www.earth-policy.org
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If you are in San Diego the first week of February, check out the first EcoFilmFest & Expo at the San Diego Natural History Museum (February 1-3). You will be treated to award-winning films (with speakers and discussions), live performances, and innovative product displays that demonstrate effective individual responses to sustainability issues. The group is looking for volunteers to help them develop future directions such as an ecofilm competition and gaia awards to raise the visibility of sustainability to the American public.http://www.ecofilmfest.org
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Green Building Conference Alongside OlympicsMany of the world’s greatest green buildings will be on display alongside this year’s Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The conference and exhibition, “The Physical Fitness of Cities: Vision and Ethics in City Building” will coincide with the games, February 1-3. Countries from around the world will display their approaches and leading examples of green design. Guess who is the keynote? [sorry this link is no longer available]Royal Institute of British Architects CompetitionThe theme of this year’s competition is urban sustainability. Using the Lochend Butterfly site in Edinburgh, Scotland, students and architects may submit entries that explore issues of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Previous themes have been Ideas for a Holistic Hotel, Ideas for a Sustainable School and Zero CO2 housing. First prize for this international competition is L10,000 (US $14,500). Deadline: February 28, 2002. [sorry this link is no longer available]Green Design SchoolsThe Ecosa Institute in Prescott, Arizona is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to incorporating sustainability into the design professions. Architecture, planning, and landscape design students participate in an intensive semester program that immerses them in ecological design and whole-systems thinking. The first Total Immersion Program In Sustainable Design graduated its first […]
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Nine universities across Europe with a reputation for teaching renewable energy are joining together to offer a Masters degree in Renewable Energy. The one-year course is devised for engineers or equivalent technical background. Predicting the number of people that will be employed as renewable energy expands is difficult, but one thing is certain: there are too few training and education programs around the world for the number of people that will be needed. EWEA (European Wind Energy Association) predicts the current 30,000 wind energy jobs in Europe will increase to 190,000-320,000 new jobs to reach 40 MW of wind power. For PV, about 100,000 employees will be required to reach a production capacity of 3 GWp. The European Biomass Association projects that employment will increase to 100,000 to realize current expansion plans.Currently, most training in the field takes place as part of other coursework. A 1995-6 study of 624 companies, organizations, research centers and universities concluded there are few postgraduate level teaching materials specifically on renewable energy. The Masters course is divided into 3 parts: a Core Module providing a technical foundation in key technologies; Specialization in one technology or implementation aspect; and a Project, during which the student gains […]
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It's not hard to imagine why the U.S. Defense Department is the nation's largest energy user ( 1% of all energy) when their tanks get .56-mpg and aircraft get 17-feet-per-gallon. Amory Lovins tells us how they can root out waste, potentially saving us $10 billion a year.
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The Federal Network for Sustainability (FNS) is a new initiative to help agencies across the federal government implement sustainable practices. It functions as a trade group and consists of representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE), EPA, General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Park Service, U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, Bonneville Power Administration, and NASA. There have been a number of attempts to direct the single largest purchaser of products and services in the world – the U.S. federal government – toward environmental purchasing. The Environmental Preferable Purchasing program launched in 1993 and President Clinton’s 1998 “Greening of Government” Executive Orders have met with only modest success. Recently, the EPA conducted a study to find out why. They found that surprisingly, federal employees do not perceive the programs as mandates because they were issued government-wide, rather than by top management in their own agencies. Also, few employees understand the “environmentally preferable purchasing” or how to do it. FNS hopes to rectify these problems. FNS has four initiatives slated for 2001-2002: 1. Electronic Products Stewardship: FNS is supporting EPA’s efforts to develop and promote electronic product stewardship initiatives. 2. Green power: promote the use […]
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What's the status of organic food certification is China?
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Beantrees, one of the few purely organic coffee companies, is positioned to rapidly expand the company as well as the organic coffee market. Coffee is a huge market - with equally huge environmental and social ramifications. Try a cup!
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Victory! Illegal Mahogany Logging Stopped in Brazil Amazon & Dutch banks pull out of palm oil plantations.
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The Alameda County Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California (see photo) will host the largest roof-top solar electric system in the U.S. (the fourth largest in the world). PowerLight Corporation will expand the Jails existing solar array from 640 kilowatts to 1.14 megawatts – to provide 30 percent of the facility’s power needs. Along with energy efficiency improvements, the system will save the county $400,000 the first year, and $15 million over its 25-year lifespan. [sorry this link is no longer available]— — —For the past seven years, Vestas Wind Systems (Denmark), the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, has owned a 40 percent stake in the second largest manufacturer, Gamesa Eolica (Spain). The companies have parted ways and Gamesa bought its shares back. Gamesa is also purchasing the Navarre government’s nine percent stake to buy back 100 percent of the company. Analysts say Gamesa’s plans to expand in the Danish company’s markets caused the rift. Will Vestas buy Enron Wind, the only U.S.-based manufacturer of utility-scale wind turbines? Vestas plans to begin manufacturing wind turbines in the U.S. if the U.S. Production Tax Credit (PTC) is extended. The company’s goal is to increase its world market share from 18 percent […]
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