Additional Articles

Three U.S. retailers pledge to avoid fish from embattled Ross Sea (Safeway, Wegmans, and Harris Teeter)
(03/14/2012) The Ross Sea, a massive bay off Antarctica, has been dubbed the world’s last ocean due to its pristine state, long-untouched by industry and fisheries. However, over the last 15 years New Zealand commercial fisheries have entered the sea, seeking the slow-growing Antarctic toothfish which is usually sold as the high-end Chilean sea bass. Now as conservation groups plead for nations to grant the Ross Sea protected status, Greenpeace has begun a campaign to get good retailers to steer clear of stocking Antarctic toothfish. To date, Safeway, Wegmans, and Harris Teeter has all pledged not to source from the Ross Sea. Antarctica: Ross Island in the Ross Sea. Photo by: Bigstock.Little is known about the Antarctic toothfish, this one was captured and photographed underwater in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Photo by: Paul Cziko, supported by US-NSF through the DeVries-Cheng Lab at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Saved: African wildlife haven threatened by biofuels land grab

Fischer's turaco on branch

Feb 29, 2012, www.rspb.org.uk | “The Dakatcha Woodland in Kenya – home to several globally threatened bird species – would have been destroyed if proposals for a plantation of the biofuel crop jatropha were given the green light.”

Hannah Urpeth shared a link.
“Saved: African wildlife haven threatened by biofuels land grab
A Kenyan wildlife haven threatened by the rush to grow biofuels for European companies such as IKEA, has been saved.”
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Monsanto Found Guilty of Chemical Poisoning in France

February 13, 2012, www.aturalsociety.com | “In a major victory for public health, a French court decided today that GMO crops monster Monsanto is guilty of chemically poisoning a French farmer. The grain grower, Paul Francois, says he developed neurological problems such as memory loss and headaches after being exposed to Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller back in 2004.”

“The monumental case paves the way for legal action against Monsanto’s Roundup and other harmful herbicides and pesticides made by other manufacturers. The case is extremely important, as previous legal action taken against Monsanto by farmers has failed due to the challenge of properly linking pesticide exposure with the experienced side effects.
Monsanto Found Guilty of Chemical Poisoning in France | Natural Society
A French court decided today that genetically modified foods monster Monsanto is guilty of chemically poisoning a French farmer using Lasso.”
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US Composting Council’s Annual Conference Inspires and Educates while Producing “Zero Waste”

February 9, 2012, www.compostingcouncil.org | (Ronkonkoma, NY) For the 20th year practitioners and supporters of commercial-scale composting came together for the world’s largest conference and trade show dedicated to the recycling of organic matter. The 800 attendees came from 44 states or territories plus 13 countries representing Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. The conference, held at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin Texas, provided attendees with an array of technical sessions, receptions, an extensive trade show, the annual awards dinner and live demonstrations of some of the newest and biggest equipment on the market.

After a strong keynote from Whole Foods Global Vice President Lee Matecko, attendees chose among the twenty-one technical sessions that were organized into seven tracks over two days and covered nearly every aspect of the industry. Talks ranged from increasing the collection of organic discards from restaurants and households through improved processing efficiency and safety, to developing and expanding new products and markets. A full day track was devoted to “compostable plastics”, where representatives of all parts of the “value chain” could share recent advances and work together to overcome challenges in this emerging field.

~ 800 attendees came from 44 states or territories plus 13 countries representing Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. For the 20th year practitioners and supporters of commercial-scale composting came together for the world’s largest conference and trade show dedicated to the recycling of organic matter.
US Composting Council’s Annual Conference Inspires and Educates while Producing “Zero Waste” | US C
compostingcouncil.org
US Composting Council
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GRAND CANYON BANS PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES

Congratulations Grand Canyon National Park!!
For finally pushing through the ban of plastic water bottles within the national park!
5gyres.org, 2/07/12
Well its official.  The Grand Canyon National Park is set to ban disposable plastic water bottles.

Progress Energy looking to cancel main construction contract for building Levy County nuclear plant

Thursday, January 26, 201, www.tampabay.com | “Progress Energy plans to cancel the main development and construction contract for its proposed nuclear plant in Levy County, but its customers will have to keep paying in advance anyway.”

 

GoodNews FortheEarth
“~ CONTRACT FOR NUKE PLANT IN FLORIDA CANCELLED”
Comments:
Good Vibrations http://issuu.com/greenpeaceinternational/docs/lessons-from-fukushima?mode=window&backgroundColor#222222– Lessons from Fukushima…

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Levi’s Unzips New Policy Excluding Logging Giant Asia Pulp & Paper

Levi's Announces New Forest Product Policy
1/18/12,  » Rainforest Action Network Blog, understory.ran.org, Asia Pulp and Paper is having a hard time holding onto customers these days. With the release of its forest products purchasing policy, Levi Strauss & Company has become the latest major brand to ban business with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). This comes on the heels of a major public cancellation with…  Posted by Thérèse Williams, “Levi’s new global policy not only excludes controversial fiber supplies linked to rainforest destruction (like that from APP), it also proactively maximizes the best environmental fibers available.   Good Vibrations and 2 others like this.

94% Renewable Electricity By 2017 Is Goal For Nicaragua

January 6, 2012, cleantechnica.com | “Nicaragua has one of the most aggressive renewable energy goals in the world — it intends to have 94% of its electricity come from renewable energy by 2017.”

Nicaragua is not only aiming for an impressive 94% renewable energy goal within 4 years, it’s also aiming to make a point. For the 2nd poorest nation in South America, renewable energy is not only possible, but economically viable.
http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/06/94-renewable-energy-by-2017-is-goal-for-nicaragua/
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McDonald’s Closes All Their Restaurants in Bolivia

Photo: McDonald’s Closes All Their Restaurants in Bolivia:  Fast-food represents the complete opposite of what Bolivians consider a meal should be. To be a good meal, food has to have be prepared with love, dedication, certain hygiene standards and proper cook time.Not to mention that 800 sq miles of forest is being destroyed every year to package their food! http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/mcdonalds-closes-all-their-restaurants-in-bolivia/12787/What's wrong with McDonald's? (Available in 7 different languages) http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

December 22, 2011, www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com | “Bolivia became the first McDonald’s-free Latin American nation, after struggling for more than a decade to keep their numbers out of ‘the red.’  And that fact is still making news.”

Virginia Bryan shared The Sustainable Culture‘s photo.

…trees saved by McDonald’s closing in Bolivia…
McDonald’s Closes All Their Restaurants in Bolivia: Fast-food represents the complete opposite of what Bolivians consider a meal should be. To be a good meal, food has to have be prepared with love, dedication, certain hygiene standards and proper cook time. Not to mention that 800 sq miles of forest is being destroyed every year to package their food! http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/latino-daily-news/details/mcdonalds-closes-all-their-restaurants-in-bolivia/12787/ What’s wrong with McDonald’s? (Available in 7 different languages) http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

Corporate role model: Seventh Generation Commits to Reducing Its Water Footprint

Dec 5, 2011, www.seventhgeneration.com | “As a company, Seventh Generation cares deeply about its water footprint. We’re actively working to reduce the amount of water that goes into our products.  This fall, we went one step further and challenged all our employees to take the issue of water conservation to heart. Together, we committed to nearly 500 actions designed to reduce our personal water footprints.”

“Corporate role model: Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation Commits to Reducing Its Water Footprint
Did you know that of all the water in the world, only 3% is fresh? And that less than one third of 1% of this fresh water is available for human use? The rest is frozen in glaciers or polar ice caps, or is deep within the earth beyond our reach. To put it another way, if 100 liters represents the wo…”

Monsanto, Bayer and Dow face trial for ‘systematic human rights abuses’

November 16, 2011, www.theecologist.org | “The world’s major agrochemical companies, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenta, DuPont and BASF, will face a public tribunal in early December accused of systematic human rights violations.

Monsanto, Bayer and Dow face trial for ‘systematic human rights abuses’
www.theecologist.org