ENVIRONMENT AND JUSTICE ACTION NEWS FROM THE FOUR
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IN THIS
ISSUE The Preston Papers -
From Re:Source Editor
World
EcoNews
EU Leads Sustainable
Change
Green Change Makes Dollars and Sense
GREEN BUSINESS
NEWS
Th!nkGlobal with Electric
Vehicles
Th!nk Global Designs
InkJet Recycling Program
Google Boosts Green Tech.
HOME NEWS
Community TV In
Peril!
IMF Critisizes
US Lack of Universal
Healthcare TIGER PRESERVATION PROJECT
GO ZERO
CARBON!
THE BEAUTY
SPOT
Help Stop Militarism In Our
Schools
OXFAM AFRICA
RELIEF
The Preston Papers - From
Re:Source Editor Preston Sommes,
Jr.
The recent speaches at the Democrat's National
Convention emphasized what Earth Neighbors have known for years,
Ecofriendly products and processess make dollars and sense and will
provider the world's workers with good jobs and the resources
people need to clean up out Planet for Tigers and everything else.
Doubt it? Read on...P.S.
World EcoNews
EU LEADS IN CLIMATE CHANGE HELP
The European Union's executive arm unveiled on
1/23/2008 details on how to slash greenhouse gas emissions by a
fifth in 2020, including mandatory targets to produce renewable
energy and curb industrial emissions. The European Commission said
member states unable to meet mandatory renewables targets at home
could pay other EU countries to install the likes of wind and solar
power on their behalf. In a planned overhaul from 2013 of the EU's
emissions trading scheme, covering high carbon-emitting industry,
the Commission proposed to cut by 2020 the supply of emissions
permits by 21 percent versus 2005 emissions. The Commission
estimated revenue for member states from selling permits at 50
billion euros ($73 billion) a year by 2020 and urged them to use it
to support clean technologies in Europe and developing
countries.
GREEN
CHANGE MAKES DOLLARS AND SENSE
New Environmentalism - It Just Makes Dollars and
Cents
When marketing giant such as Wal-Mart or an
innovative technology company such as GE start to change, you know
that change is universal. In fact, these are the views of
non-profit organizations such as the GLOBE Foundation of Canada
that promotes innovative approaches to addressing serious
environmental challenges. The new wave of environmentalism
recognizes the marketplace as an important mechanism for problem
solving. Incentives for a healthier world lead consumers and some
business leaders to respond accordingly. The argument is straight
forward.-new environmentalism strikes a balance between punishment
and incentives that encourage environmental
innovation.
It's not a new argument but it is an important one.
Traditional environmentalism has failed to appreciate the
importance of incentives in guiding human action, whereas the New
environmentalism focuses on individual decision-making that
provides incentives for people to become good environmental
stewards.
The New Environmental
Movement
While this may sound Utopian, in fact here is
growing evidence that this new environmental paradigm is being
widely endorsed and has staying power. High energy prices have also
helped defined the "˜new environmentalism' according to the
study. Consumer interest in reducing energy related expenditures
and increased attention to energy costs in general serve as an
important catalyst for changing public opinion.
More information on the Harris/Decima research
program on the New Environmentalism is available at
GLOBE-Net - the on-line Guide to the Business of the
Environment - www.globe-net.com
GREEN BUSINESS NEWS
Time to TH!N K Electric Car?
Major US electric vehicle manufacturing plant
announced Californian firm hopes to kickstart electric car era
Renault to develop electric cars for Israel project Nissan Planning
New Fuel-Cell Vehicle for Early 2010s. The new venture was
announced at the 2008 FORTUNE Brainstorm Green Conference held in
Pasadena, California, that brought chief executives from all over
North America together to talk about the business
opportunities.
Think Cars Are
Almost Here!
TH!NK city is an environmental vehicle, emission free and 95
percent recyclable. It reaches a top speed of 100 km (65 miles) per
hour and can drive up to 180 km (110 miles) on a single charge.
?¨TH!NK city meets all European and US federal motor vehicle
safety requirements. At the Geneva Motorshow earlier this year,
TH!NK announced a strategic
partnership with energy giant General Electric, also an investor in
TH!NK. At the Show, TH!NK unveiled its future car, the ¨TH!NK
Ox, the first 4/5-seater fully electric vehicle which is slated to
begin production in 2010. The TH!NK city is currently produced in
Norway and international sales are slated to begin in Scandinavia,
with Switzerland and France also being the initial focus areas.
Sales other than initial trial and demonstration projects will
begin in The North American market in 2009. Vicki Northrup, an
electric car veteran, has been retained by TH!NK
North America as Operations Manager and will initially be based out
of
TH!NK North America's Menlo Park Office.
Thinking Global Yet?
TH!NK designs, develops, manufactures and markets
environmentally friendly vehicles and technologies. The company has
more than 17 years of experience in developing and producing
electric vehicles and there are about 1,200 vehicles driving on
Norwegian roads today. The latest TH!NK city is the
fifth-generation electric vehicle that has been produced in Norway.
Series production of the newly designed TH!NK city car started late
last year and the first cars will be delivered to Norwegian
customers. The capacity of its first assembly plant in Aurskog,
outside Oslo, is presently being increased to 10,000 cars per year.
TH!NK expects to be producing at full capacity sometime
during
2009. Enthusiastic owners with the vision and resources want to
make TH!NK the car company of the 21st century.
HP INNOVATES CLOSED LOOP INKJET CARTRIDGE RECYCLING
PROGRAM, GIVES PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES SECOND
LIFE
In an industry first, HP today announced it has
developed an engineering breakthrough that enables the use of
post-consumer recycled plastics in the production of new Original
HP inkjet print cartridges. More than 200 million cartridges have
been manufactured using the process thus far. HP used more than 5
million pounds of recycled plastic in its inkjet cartridges last
year, and the company is committed to using twice as much in 2008.
The company's innovative recycling process facilitates the
combination of multiple sources and grades of recycled plastics
from everyday water bottles to highly technical HP inkjet
cartridges. In addition to closing the design loop, using recycled
content saves energy and keeps plastic out of landfills . Since
piloting the process, HP has used enough recycled plastic to fill
more than 200 tractor trailers.
GOOGLE HELPS BOOST GREEN
TECHNOLOGIES
Google Inc is prepared to invest hundreds of millions of
dollars in big commercial alternative-energy projects that
traditionally have had trouble getting financing, the executive in
charge of its green-energy push said on Wednesday. The Internet
search giant, which has said it will invest in researching green
technologies and renewable-energy companies, is eager to help
promising technologies amass scale to help drive the cost of
alternative energy below the cost of coal.
HOME NEWS
Community TV In Peril In
California Currently a bill to do the
same thing in California is moving rapidly through out State
legislature. It is important that we contact our State legislators
NOW! to make sure that public access TV is a requirement of ANY who
provide cable television access in our cities. This vital
communication chennel brings us news about our government and
grassroots programming that is the voice and the vision of our
city.
What Can You Do? Long Beach Support Production of Community
TV!
The Legislation that will allow many companies to provide cable TV,
Internet and telephone service has been passed by the California
Legislature. Now it is up to cities to make provisions for
community program production and to coordinate broadcasts.
Help Save Community Television
Contact you Long Beach City Council representative and
Mayor Foster and let them know you want production of Community TV
supported by funds the city earns from boradcast networks. Call now
and ask what is being done to make sure Community TV continues in
Long Beach!
IMF
Criticizes US Health Care Researched by
Sandra Karnes
The U.S.
government issued a barbed riposte after the IMF suggested that
Washington institute health insurance for all Americans and balance
its budget faster than planned. Speaking at the launch of the
Outlook report, IMF chief economist Raghuram Rajan said that the
United States was not always the poster child for the policies long
advocated by the Fund.
"In a globally competitive economy, it is very important you insure
the individual, you have a safety net for the individual, because
they're at serious risk of losing their job and so on," Mr. Rajan
said, "Which means you have to have some form of universal health
care. It is very, very hard, in this competitive economy, for 40-
million-plus Americans to be uninsured, of which eight million are
children."
U.S. Tells IMF to Butt Out of Health Care Issue - Jitendra Joshi,
Agence France Presse, 4/21/2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0421-11.htm
TIGER PRESERVATION PROJECT
Go Zero Carbon!
Only the
industry-funded propagandists are still challenging the existence
of human-caused climate change. The science is settled. The
evidence is even more frightening. For example, 2005 was the
hottest year on record. Greenland's glaciers are melting 2.5 times
faster than a decade ago. Hurricanes are becoming more severe due
to higher water temperatures. And, the concentration of CO2 in the
atmosphere is at a 650,000-year high.
On
January 18th, all six former and current EPA chiefs, Republicans
and Democrats, agreed that 1) climate change is happening and 2)
humans are responsible.
What can you do?
The good news: You can make a difference. Working Assets has joined
with the nonprofit Carbonfund.org to help you take immediate and
effective action to slow global warming. The answer is simple and
affordable. Support Carbonfund.org with a tax-deductible donation
today and reduce your climate footprint by supporting wind energy,
energy efficiency and reforestation projects.
For less
than $5 a month the average person can offset their direct climate
impact -- 10 tons of carbon dioxide per year -- from their home,
car and air travel.
Toward Zero CO2
As U.S.
citizens, we have a special responsibility. Though we make up just
5 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of total
greenhouse gas emissions. Just over a year ago, the Kyoto Protocol
on climate change took force. Yet, the United States still hasn't
joined on.
What can
you do? You can carpool. You can turn off the light when you leave
a room. You can demand that politicians improve fuel efficiency
standards.
for more
information go to Carbonfund.org
THE BEAUTY SPOT
Help Stop
Militarism In Our Schools
The Army
Recruiting Handbook for High Schools (available on the No Draft, No
Way <http://www.nodraftnoway.org>
website) says that the Army's goal is "school ownership." Our goal
is to deny them that ownership. The schools belong to the people,
not to the Pentagon.
Join the
national movement against military recruiting. No Draft No Way is
calling on parents, students, and local activists to work with your
PTA, union, school board, city council, or student government to
pass a resolution barring recruiters from your local schools. We
are currently compiling a list of all such local initiatives -- if
you are organizing a local initiative, you can list it here
<http://nodraftnoway.org/organizer.shtml>.
Or contact
<http://nodraftnoway.org/ndnwcomments.shtml>
for information and help to organize a local campaign.
Please join us in this national campaign by helping to organize, do
outreach, distribute educational materials, and donate to help with
all aspects of organizing, especially the immediate publication of
this book, which will be an invaluable resource for young people
all over the country who want to oppose the very real dangers of
militarization and war.
*Donate
<http://nodraftnoway.org/donate-new.shtml>
to help build a
national movement against military recruiting and the
draft.
Organize
<http://nodraftnoway.org/organizer.shtml>
a local No Draft No
Way chapter.
Sign up
<http://nodraftnoway.org/signup.shtml>
for Updates.
OXFAM ACTION UPDATES
Millions of East Africans Need Food and Water - Donate
Now
http://ga0.org/ct/c7qqd3s1UzpB/
East
Africa is facing one of the worst droughts in memory. Yet the
international response has fallen short of what is
desperately needed by the affected regions in Ethiopia, Kenya,
Somalia and Tanzania, where the lives and livelihoods of millions
of people are threatened. Help Oxfam step up its relief efforts in
East Africa - click here to make a secure online donation now.
http://ga0.org/ct/c7qqd3s1UzpB/
Oxfam is
already responding by delivering water, food, and other vital
supplies to more than 500,000 people, but millions more need help.
With your financial support, Oxfam can scale up its response to
save many more lives in the region. This is a food crisis that
cannot be ignored - please donate today.
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