SustainaBee - Today's sustainability news that matters tomorrow

Present! Re-Thinking Presentation Design

2009-03-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Update: After a few months of thought and a few weeks of preparation, I've now launched my presentations blog "ReThink Presentations"! It discusses presentation skills, design, presentation delivery, public speaking. I will also be posting slideshows every now and then and some of them will also be related to the area of sustainability.

(Original Post on 13 July 2008)
Hi to all the loyal readers, this time I want to present something a bit different. I just entered my presentation in the "World's Best Presentation" Contest over at SlideShare and I wanted to show what I've handed in here. I've created a presentation on... creating presentations :-). In the future I might do some of these in the area of sustainability.

If you enjoy it, please vote for it! (Just click on the link below the presentation)

Present! - Edition #1 Rethinking Presentation Design

View more presentations from Oliver Adria.

Entrepreneur Award of the German LOHAS portal KarmaKonsum

2009-03-04T04:48:00.000-08:00

A fellow LOHASian blogger is organising an Entrepreneur Award.

As part of the KarmaKonsum conference on the 19th of June 2009, at 8 PM the award will be given in the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). This award is provided in cooperation with the GLS Bank and GreenVenture.net.

The goal of the KarmaKonsum Entrepreneur Award ("Gründerpreis") is to give entrepreneurs in the neo-green and social area support, networking opportunities and a forum to exchange ideas.

Read more about it here http://karmakonsum.de/award

(it's only available in German, but if you are interested and need translation help, just let me know at blog@oliveradria.com)

Carnival of the Green #163 !

2009-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Yeay!! After a year of waiting SustainaBee is now hosting TreeHugger's Carnival of the Green and I'm excited to show you this week's posts!

You can find all the hosts at the Carnival of the Green's website. You can also find information on how to host a Carnival as well there.

Last week's host was teensygreen, check that page out once you're finished with this one to find out even more eco-posts :-).

Now to this week's posts!

Chris from Lighter Footstep tells us how Living Cheap is the New Green and writes: If going green is making you go broke, you’re doing it wrong. Saving resources and saving money go hand in hand. Here’s how to get started.

Renee from FIMBY writes about How our family of five lives (happily) ever after with no dryer, noting: "Our family of five doesn't own a dryer and I think it's totally manageable. Keep in mind I live in Maine where it is winter half the year. Not only is it doable but I think it's pleasant to be dryer-free. Maybe you're resolving ('tis the season) to be greener this year or maybe you're like my friend with a broken dryer. Whatever the reason I'm going to assume you're interested in how our family manages that most dreaded of household chores - the laundry pile."

Heather from The Greenest Dollar shows us how to make that romantic day of the year more eco-friendly in her post How To Have A Green Valentine's Day: Tired of pink teddy bears and impersonal cards? Me too. Here's a list of ways you can have a more intimate, eco-friendly Valentine's Day.

Betsy from Money Changes Things writes on Your Used Sneakers Fund Sustainable Farming in Africa: This project collects "used but not abused" athletic shoes, sends them to Africa, resells them, and uses the proceeds to fund sustainable farming. The video shows the magic!

Steve from super gas saver writes about a new eco-car in his post called New HHO Gas Exotic Car – 40mpg, Near 0 Emissions, But Does it Perform?, noting "Unfortunately, while green, you have to part with a tremendous amount of green to own one, as the MSRP is $150K. Hopefully this is just a glimpse of things to come with environmentally friendly performance vehicles."

Meg from "How to Make a Difference" writes about 5 Ideas to Help You say "Enough": The environment is [...] suffering from an economic system based on constant growth. We are drowning in rubbish, destroying pristine environments, and chasing species after species down to extinction. Isn't it time someone said "ENOUGH!"?
In a second posting called 5 Ways to Make a Difference With Your Money she writes "If we think carefully about how we use our money and recognise the power that it represents to us as consumers, we really can begin to use it to maximum effect to make a positive change in the world."

Beth from Fake Plastic Fish tells us Cutting Waste While Traveling... It's not so hard.: Many of us are mindful of our plastic waste during our normal lives but revert to disposables while traveling. Here are some ways to continue waste-busting while in the air and out of town.

Sally from Veggie Revolution has this to say about Fake firelogs burn cleaner than real wood: Fighting frigid temps with a fire in the fireplace? Tempted to use those easy fake firelogs? Go ahead! They're actually much greener and cleaner than real wood! Read Veggie Revolution blog this week and get the scoop on the different kinds of fake ones. There's quite a variety these days.

SVB from The Digerati Life has Wild Ways To Save For The Seriously Thrifty: writing "Here are some wild ways to save for those who are determined to live the thrifty and frugal lifestyle. I employ lots of green tips as well."

Stacey from The Smarter Wallet writes on Winterizing Your Home: Dos and Don'ts stating: "You can save on energy when you winterize your home."

Barry from 3stylelife tells us about Microdesign: "Central to the idea of microdesign is the ability to reuse clothing. By modifying our current garments, we create new garments while minimizing our burden on needing to create new garments."

RecycleCindy from My Recycled Bags tells us about her Free Recycled Valentine's Bag Pattern: With Valentine's day just around the corner, this week I offer my latest recycled bag which is crocheted from old plastic bags. Its a cute Valentine's heart bag that can be used to hold Valentine's cards or candy. The bonus is that this little bag can be used as a purse all year long after Valentine's day.
Next week will be Get With Green's turn. Check it out when it comes out next monday!

SustainaBee to host #163 Carnival of the Green!

2009-01-13T01:03:00.000-08:00

SustainaBee will host the 162th edition of Carnival of the Green!!

Go here to check for details
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/treehugger_to_b.php

Read on to find out where the carnival will be and to learn how to host:

SUBMITTING POSTS

To submit a post for consideration to the Carnival of the Green (do not submit content - just a link to your post), please email carnivalofgreen (at) gmail.com (Subject: Carnival of the Green submission) with the following info:

Post URL
Post Author
Post Summary

This Carnival is a summary, a digest, of the green blogosphere. When we say green we mean sustainability issues, etc. as opposed to plain old general Green Politics. Each host has the right to include whatever they wish and/or whatever they feel is worthy of being in the Carnival.

First German Sustainability Day!!

2008-12-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Sorry, after a long absence, I'm writing again.

I was invited to the German Sustainability Day which took place yesterday. All in all it was a good symposium, but I enjoyed the dinner event waaaay more!

The day started with some opening comments from some high-level politicians and then some prizes were given to the most sustainable companies. Here are some of the winners:

BASF - most sustainable company... BASF does chemical stuff
Henkel - most sustainable brand... they do non-food consumer goods and chemical stuff
Wuppertal - most sustainable city (I work there, yeaay!)
Lifetime achievement award - Klaus Töpfer (this is like the third time I'm seeing him live this year, he's just everywhere!)... if you don't know who he is, you should find out. He was the ex UNEP executive director and was the German environmental minister
Special Achievement Award - HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles)... I didn't know he spoke a bit of German :-). He's doing a lot for the environmental cause, especially rainforests.
Humanitarian Award - Annie Lennox... I never really took notice of her, but she's really awesome and energetic!

The consulting company A.T. Kearney did the awarding of companies. I might have chosen different winners, but I think all the winners deserved their wins.

Uhm, I forgot some of the other winners and I can't find it on the internet yet. Some of the things I learnt and found very interesting:

Annie Lennox' campaign SING (check it out now!) is a very causeworthy campaign for fighting HIV/AIDS especially in relation to women and children. She's very inspiring! Click here to find out how you can also help.
Steinbeis paper company recycles paper and produces recycled paper exclusively. They were - I think - the smallest amongst the nominated companies
Maria Mena (spontaneously?) did 3 songs in this small hall at 1 AM in the morning. No one really knew her but I've been listening to her songs a LOT in the last couple of months, so I was in the first row and I didn't even have to fight for it :-). Even got to talk to her for like half a minute backstage :-)
Prof. Schellnhuber, a climate scientist, who's quite famous in the German sustainability scene (and who also worked a lot on the UN IPCC report) works closely with the UK and even with Prince Charles. Through the IPCC he's a Nobel prize winner. Very impressive person, I like his no-nonsense approach.
Henkel, the German non-food consumer goods company, has some really cool initiatives and sustainability is part of the "company DNA". I didn't know this, since they don't commercialise it too much - which makes them even more sympatethic :-).

They even made a sustainability report on the whole event and compensated the CO2 emissions. A lot of the lighting in the dinner hall was with LEDs (these are even more efficient than conventional energy-efficient CFL lamps).

The dinner event was awesome, the food was awesome and the girl I took along was really cool. A really awesome night!!

Al Gore: A Generational Challenge to Repower America

2008-07-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Al Gore: A Generational Challenge to Repower America
Al Gore's speech in Washington, D.C. - found in http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/pages/304/

Ladies and gentlemen:
There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more - if more should be required - the future of human civilization is at stake.

I don't remember a time in our country when so many things seemed to be going so wrong simultaneously. Our economy is in terrible shape and getting worse, gasoline prices are increasing dramatically, and so are electricity rates. Jobs are being outsourced. Home mortgages are in trouble. Banks, automobile companies and other institutions we depend upon are under growing pressure. Distinguished senior business leaders are telling us that this is just the beginning unless we find the courage to make some major changes quickly.

The climate crisis, in particular, is getting a lot worse - much more quickly than predicted. Scientists with access to data from Navy submarines traversing underneath the North polar ice cap have warned that there is now a 75 percent chance that within five years the entire ice cap will completely disappear during the summer months. This will further increase the melting pressure on Greenland. According to experts, the Jakobshavn glacier, one of Greenland's largest, is moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day, equivalent to the amount of water used every year by the residents of New York City.

Two major studies from military intelligence experts have warned our leaders about the dangerous national security implications of the climate crisis, including the possibility of hundreds of millions of climate refugees destabilizing nations around the world.

Just two days ago, 27 senior statesmen and retired military leaders warned of the national security threat from an "energy tsunami" that would be triggered by a loss of our access to foreign oil. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq continues, and now the war in Afghanistan appears to be getting worse.

And by the way, our weather sure is getting strange, isn't it? There seem to be more tornadoes than in living memory, longer droughts, bigger downpours and record floods. Unprecedented fires are burning in California and elsewhere in the American West. Higher temperatures lead to drier vegetation that makes kindling for mega-fires of the kind that have been raging in Canada, Greece, Russia, China, South America, Australia and Africa. Scientists in the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science at Tel Aviv University tell us that for every one degree increase in temperature, lightning strikes will go up another 10 percent. And it is lightning, after all, that is principally responsible for igniting the conflagration in California today.

Like a lot of people, it seems to me that all these problems are bigger than any of the solutions that have thus far been proposed for them, and that's been worrying me.

I'm convinced that one reason we've seemed paralyzed in the face of these crises is our tendency to offer old solutions to each crisis separately - without taking the others into account. And these outdated proposals have not only been ineffective - they almost always make the other crises even worse.

Yet when we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges at the same time, we can see the common thread running through them, deeply ironic in its simplicity: our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges - the economic, environmental and national security crises.

We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change.

But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we're holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.
The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.

In my search for genuinely effective answers to the climate crisis, I have held a series of "solutions summits" with engineers, scientists, and CEOs. In those discussions, one thing has become abundantly clear: when you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices. Moreover, they are also the very same solutions we need to guarantee our national security without having to go to war in the Persian Gulf.

What if we could use fuels that are not expensive, don't cause pollution and are abundantly available right here at home?

We have such fuels. Scientists have confirmed that enough solar energy falls on the surface of the earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world's energy needs for a full year. Tapping just a small portion of this solar energy could provide all of the electricity America uses.

And enough wind power blows through the Midwest corridor every day to also meet 100 percent of US electricity demand. Geothermal energy, similarly, is capable of providing enormous supplies of electricity for America.

The quickest, cheapest and best way to start using all this renewable energy is in the production of electricity. In fact, we can start right now using solar power, wind power and geothermal power to make electricity for our homes and businesses.

But to make this exciting potential a reality, and truly solve our nation's problems, we need a new start.

That's why I'm proposing today a strategic initiative designed to free us from the crises that are holding us down and to regain control of our own destiny. It's not the only thing we need to do. But this strategic challenge is the lynchpin of a bold new strategy needed to re-power America.

Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.

This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans - in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen.

A few years ago, it would not have been possible to issue such a challenge. But here's what's changed: the sharp cost reductions now beginning to take place in solar, wind, and geothermal power - coupled with the recent dramatic price increases for oil and coal - have radically changed the economics of energy.

When I first went to Congress 32 years ago, I listened to experts testify that if oil ever got to $35 a barrel, then renewable sources of energy would become competitive. Well, today, the price of oil is over $135 per barrel. And sure enough, billions of dollars of new investment are flowing into the development of concentrated solar thermal, photovoltaics, windmills, geothermal plants, and a variety of ingenious new ways to improve our efficiency and conserve presently wasted energy.

And as the demand for renewable energy grows, the costs will continue to fall. Let me give you one revealing example: the price of the specialized silicon used to make solar cells was recently as high as $300 per kilogram. But the newest contracts have prices as low as $50 a kilogram.

You know, the same thing happened with computer chips - also made out of silicon. The price paid for the same performance came down by 50 percent every 18 months - year after year, and that's what's happened for 40 years in a row.

To those who argue that we do not yet have the technology to accomplish these results with renewable energy: I ask them to come with me to meet the entrepreneurs who will drive this revolution. I've seen what they are doing and I have no doubt that we can meet this challenge.

To those who say the costs are still too high: I ask them to consider whether the costs of oil and coal will ever stop increasing if we keep relying on quickly depleting energy sources to feed a rapidly growing demand all around the world. When demand for oil and coal increases, their price goes up. When demand for solar cells increases, the price often comes down.

When we send money to foreign countries to buy nearly 70 percent of the oil we use every day, they build new skyscrapers and we lose jobs. When we spend that money building solar arrays and windmills, we build competitive industries and gain jobs here at home.

Of course there are those who will tell us this can't be done. Some of the voices we hear are the defenders of the status quo - the ones with a vested interest in perpetuating the current system, no matter how high a price the rest of us will have to pay. But even those who reap the profits of the carbon age have to recognize the inevitability of its demise. As one OPEC oil minister observed, "The Stone Age didn't end because of a shortage of stones."

To those who say 10 years is not enough time, I respectfully ask them to consider what the world's scientists are telling us about the risks we face if we don't act in 10 years. The leading experts predict that we have less than 10 years to make dramatic changes in our global warming pollution lest we lose our ability to ever recover from this environmental crisis. When the use of oil and coal goes up, pollution goes up. When the use of solar, wind and geothermal increases, pollution comes down.

To those who say the challenge is not politically viable: I suggest they go before the American people and try to defend the status quo. Then bear witness to the people's appetite for change.

I for one do not believe our country can withstand 10 more years of the status quo. Our families cannot stand 10 more years of gas price increases. Our workers cannot stand 10 more years of job losses and outsourcing of factories. Our economy cannot stand 10 more years of sending $2 billion every 24 hours to foreign countries for oil. And our soldiers and their families cannot take another 10 years of repeated troop deployments to dangerous regions that just happen to have large oil supplies.

What could we do instead for the next 10 years? What should we do during the next 10 years? Some of our greatest accomplishments as a nation have resulted from commitments to reach a goal that fell well beyond the next election: the Marshall Plan, Social Security, the interstate highway system. But a political promise to do something 40 years from now is universally ignored because everyone knows that it's meaningless. Ten years is about the maximum time that we as a nation can hold a steady aim and hit our target.

When President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely in 10 years, many people doubted we could accomplish that goal. But 8 years and 2 months later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the moon.

To be sure, reaching the goal of 100 percent renewable and truly clean electricity within 10 years will require us to overcome many obstacles. At present, for example, we do not have a unified national grid that is sufficiently advanced to link the areas where the sun shines and the wind blows to the cities in the East and the West that need the electricity. Our national electric grid is critical infrastructure, as vital to the health and security of our economy as our highways and telecommunication networks. Today, our grids are antiquated, fragile, and vulnerable to cascading failure. Power outages and defects in the current grid system cost US businesses more than $120 billion dollars a year. It has to be upgraded anyway.

We could further increase the value and efficiency of a Unified National Grid by helping our struggling auto giants switch to the manufacture of plug-in electric cars. An electric vehicle fleet would sharply reduce the cost of driving a car, reduce pollution, and increase the flexibility of our electricity grid.

At the same time, of course, we need to greatly improve our commitment to efficiency and conservation. That's the best investment we can make.

America's transition to renewable energy sources must also include adequate provisions to assist those Americans who would unfairly face hardship. For example, we must recognize those who have toiled in dangerous conditions to bring us our present energy supply. We should guarantee good jobs in the fresh air and sunshine for any coal miner displaced by impacts on the coal industry. Every single one of them.

Of course, we could and should speed up this transition by insisting that the price of carbon-based energy include the costs of the environmental damage it causes. I have long supported a sharp reduction in payroll taxes with the difference made up in CO2 taxes. We should tax what we burn, not what we earn. This is the single most important policy change we can make.

In order to foster international cooperation, it is also essential that the United States rejoin the global community and lead efforts to secure an international treaty at Copenhagen in December of next year that includes a cap on CO2 emissions and a global partnership that recognizes the necessity of addressing the threats of extreme poverty and disease as part of the world's agenda for solving the climate crisis.

Of course the greatest obstacle to meeting the challenge of 100 percent renewable electricity in 10 years may be the deep dysfunction of our politics and our self-governing system as it exists today. In recent years, our politics has tended toward incremental proposals made up of small policies designed to avoid offending special interests, alternating with occasional baby steps in the right direction. Our democracy has become sclerotic at a time when these crises require boldness.

It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil ten years from now.

Am I the only one who finds it strange that our government so often adopts a so-called solution that has absolutely nothing to do with the problem it is supposed to address? When people rightly complain about higher gasoline prices, we propose to give more money to the oil companies and pretend that they're going to bring gasoline prices down. It will do nothing of the sort, and everyone knows it. If we keep going back to the same policies that have never ever worked in the past and have served only to produce the highest gasoline prices in history alongside the greatest oil company profits in history, nobody should be surprised if we get the same result over and over again. But the Congress may be poised to move in that direction anyway because some of them are being stampeded by lobbyists for special interests that know how to make the system work for them instead of the American people.

If you want to know the truth about gasoline prices, here it is: the exploding demand for oil, especially in places like China, is overwhelming the rate of new discoveries by so much that oil prices are almost certain to continue upward over time no matter what the oil companies promise. And politicians cannot bring gasoline prices down in the short term.

However, there actually is one extremely effective way to bring the costs of driving a car way down within a few short years. The way to bring gas prices down is to end our dependence on oil and use the renewable sources that can give us the equivalent of $1 per gallon gasoline.

Many Americans have begun to wonder whether or not we've simply lost our appetite for bold policy solutions. And folks who claim to know how our system works these days have told us we might as well forget about our political system doing anything bold, especially if it is contrary to the wishes of special interests. And I've got to admit, that sure seems to be the way things have been going. But I've begun to hear different voices in this country from people who are not only tired of baby steps and special interest politics, but are hungry for a new, different and bold approach.

We are on the eve of a presidential election. We are in the midst of an international climate treaty process that will conclude its work before the end of the first year of the new president's term. It is a great error to say that the United States must wait for others to join us in this matter. In fact, we must move first, because that is the key to getting others to follow; and because moving first is in our own national interest.
So I ask you to join with me to call on every candidate, at every level, to accept this challenge - for America to be running on 100 percent zero-carbon electricity in 10 years. It's time for us to move beyond empty rhetoric. We need to act now.

This is a generational moment. A moment when we decide our own path and our collective fate. I'm asking you - each of you - to join me and build this future. Please join the WE campaign at wecansolveit.org.We need you. And we need you now. We're committed to changing not just light bulbs, but laws. And laws will only change with leadership.

On July 16, 1969, the United States of America was finally ready to meet President Kennedy's challenge of landing Americans on the moon. I will never forget standing beside my father a few miles from the launch site, waiting for the giant Saturn 5 rocket to lift Apollo 11 into the sky. I was a young man, 21 years old, who had graduated from college a month before and was enlisting in the United States Army three weeks later.

I will never forget the inspiration of those minutes. The power and the vibration of the giant rocket's engines shook my entire body. As I watched the rocket rise, slowly at first and then with great speed, the sound was deafening. We craned our necks to follow its path until we were looking straight up into the air. And then four days later, I watched along with hundreds of millions of others around the world as Neil Armstrong took one small step to the surface of the moon and changed the history of the human race.

We must now lift our nation to reach another goal that will change history. Our entire civilization depends upon us now embarking on a new journey of exploration and discovery. Our success depends on our willingness as a people to undertake this journey and to complete it within 10 years. Once again, we have an opportunity to take a giant leap for humankind.

New Al Gore speech on the climate crisis

2008-06-08T02:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

here is a nice new talk from Al Gore. What makes me happy is that he says changing policies is the way to go. Based on this I also wrote a short article in a student magazine, stating that I'm all for changing light bulbs, but if you want to make an even bigger change, then urge your local/regional/national politicians to implement a positive environmental policy or better yet - get involved in local politics and make the change yourself! Enjoy the clip!

What the LOHAS really buy: New german study

2008-05-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

A new study from KarmaKonsum (the most popular german sustainability blog) and ACNielsen will finally empirically reveal what LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) really buy. The german study "Was LOHAS wirklich kaufen" (What LOHAS really buy) will be presented at the biggest Sustainable Consumption Conference in Germany "KarmaKonsum 2008".

The findings:

Main point: Only LOHAS make a point of buying organic produce and setting on quality.
The LOHAS are not a niche group anymore: Almost every third person belongs to this group. The new study differentiates this group's buying behaviour.
Basically there are two types of LOHAS, "Mature LOHAS" (die 'reifen LOHAS' in german) "Community LOHAS" (same name in german). The Mature LOHAS show the highest acceptance of LOHAS values; the Community LOHAS also show some acceptance but not as much. Then there're the others (die 'Anderen') - hedonists, ideologists and so on.
What do LOHAS buy? They buy organic produce overproportionally they look on quality and prefer brand products. And they prefer to buy retail, where they are given more options to choose sustainable products with the organic seal.

There are also some interesting details: Though the study shows the characteristic traits you would expect in LOHASians, e.g. in the case of toilet paper the quality is of more importance and in the case of detergents or ready food/convenience food the brand name will play a bigger role.

More on the big conference http://www.karmakonsum.de/konferenz/
Once the study is available, I will post a link here. If you're interested in getting on the hot information directly, write an email to blog@oliveradria.com and I'll let you know it comes out.

A smarter way to light your home

2008-04-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a really nice video on CFL lamps. It explains why CFL lamps should be preferred.

"The World is your Home" (TV ad)

2008-04-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, here is a nice TV ad created by UITP (International Association of Public Transport) in cooperation with UNEP.

Check out the website to receive more information.

SolarTaxi made it halfway around the world!

2008-04-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

here is some news from the SolarTaxi!! SustainaBee reported
on it about half a year ago just before they started the journey,
and now they've made it to Australia!
The newsletter is below.

========================================

Dear Solar Taxi fans!

It's time for a new Newsletter! We have now made it half way around
the world!! Exactly 8 months after our start and after 21359 km we
have now reached Perth in Western Australia!

What a journey! We started in Lucerne 8 months ago and up to now we
have traveled across 20 countries and 3 continents, and the vehicle is
still doing well. The only things we had to replace so far were the
chain, one wheel cog, a light bulb and the two tyres of the trailer.

What has happened in the last three months:
The highlight of our journey was definitely the World Climate Change
Conference in Bali last December, where the solar taxi was
transporting around the delegates, ministers and the press. We
received great worldwide media coverage and so we could show to the
world that we can even drive a car around the world with the power of
the sun, without using a single drop of petrol, and that something can
be done against global warming.

After Bali, we hitched a ride on the Greenpeace flag ship Rainbow
Warrior and celebrated Christmas and New Year on board of the ship on
High Sea, with a crew of 14 people from 13 countries. We even
encountered a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, but quite often during
the trip I suffered from Sea sickness, so it was not always really
pleasant. Finally, after four long weeks, we ended up at the end of
the world, on the northern tip of New Zealand. From there we drove all
the way to Christchurch on the Southern island.

This detour via Bali and New Zealand has extended our journey by about
3 months, but this is causing no worries, as the Executive Director of
UNEP, Mr. Achim Steiner, has invited us to the next World Climate
Change Conference, which will take place in Poland in December 2009.
If everything goes well, we should be back in Switzerland after tht
conference, just before Christmas, after 18 months all together.

Also with the team everything goes well. In these days of rest now,
while the boat is on its way from Australia to Singapore, we simply
relax. I am doing some office works in Singapore, while Thomas is
still hiking somewhere in the mountains in Western Australia. We have
also found a new almost permanent member in our team, Erik Schmitt
from Berlin. He is filming our journey for a documentary, and some
first cuts you can already see on youtube, see the links below.
Another new member is Frank Loacker from the canton of Zurich. He is
an electrician and specialist for electric cars, and he is going to
travel with us on the next leg all the way up to Korea.

All together, we have another 21000 km or more ahead of us, across the
Far East, North America and Western Europe. Next Monday we are going
to pick up the solar taxi at the port of Singapore, and then we start
the next leg of our journey next Friday. We are meeting the State
Minister in Melaka and I am going to hold many presentations at
different universities. Then we are going to travel across Thailand,
Laos, China and Korea. In the summer we are going to cross Canada and
the USA and in November we should be back in Europe. Our next
challenge is definitely China. This country has requested a 3-months
prior application for a transit permit. For not getting lost in this
jungle of applications and papers, we are receiving great support from
the Swiss Embassies and Consulates along the way, from my main sponsor
Q-Cells and from a Chinese travel agent. Let's see what is going to
happen there ...

For following our expedition, stay tuned on www.solartaxi.com !

Keep in touch and Happy Easter!!

Kind regards from Singapore

Louis Palmer

A miracle might be too much to ask - a textile story

2008-03-31T12:05:00.001-07:00

Just recently I was going into a regular mass-market clothing store (for the non-regular readers: I live in Germany) because I heard that it had just re-introduced organic clothing. I was very excited to find out what they had done to put in a new organic textile line. I was pleasantly surprised being welcomed by a giant "Bio-Cotton" poster on my way in. It was impossible to ignore all the "Bio-Cotton" signs hanging around in the first 20 metres (that's about 60 feet for the readers across the atlantic :-) ) of me entering the big store. Even the public announcement system was constantly repeating the "Bio-Cotton" ad. I was quite happy to find that the prices weren't that much above the "normal" cotton clothes and I set out to buy at least one. I thought to myself "organic textile is slowly becoming mainstream" - a nice thought.

Flashback: Just a month earlier I had tried to buy organic cotton shirts in the same store. I couldn't find anything. When I asked one of the salespeople, the first response was a blank look for 2 seconds. Then they thought really hard for another 3 seconds and then guided me to this tiny shirt rack and told me "The organic shirt from the last shipment a few months ago should be somewhere in between these shirts. If you can't find anything, then we probably don't have anything." Just to be sure I asked several other salespeople - with similar responses.

Flashforward: Now when I ask about "Bio-Cotton" shirts they're more than happy to help me find the "Bio-Cotton" shirt of my choice :-). I was really happy - this might be the first small step towards pushing other mass retailers to sell organic clothing.

On my way to the cash register I found an organic bag - woohoo, I don't need to use a plastic bag. Though after I paid, something weird happened - the cashier wanted to put my COTTON BAG into a PLASTIC BAG. Oh, well, maybe it was too soon to hope for miracles :-).

The European Commissioners' blogs!

2008-03-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I recently discovered that the European Commissioner for Energy (Piebalgs) had just recently launched a blog (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/piebalgs/). I thought to myself, hm, I wish the European Commissioner for Environment (Dimas) had one. To my great delight, he's had one since October of 2007 :-). (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/dimas/feed/)

He probably won't spill any secrets on the blogs, but it does give subjects on european policy a friendlier image and a more personal touch. Well, I've subscribed to both blogs already :-).

To all the cyclists: A really cool ad :-)

2008-03-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a really cool advertisement from the UK. Cyclists will appreciate it!

The original is here
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

KarmaKonsum 2008: Big LOHAS Conference in Germany

2008-03-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Hi to the german-speaking readers! A blogger friend of mine (who hosts one of the most popular sustainability blogs KarmaKonsum in Germany) is hosting a big conference on LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability)/sustainable consumption/sustainable lifestyles!
It sounds really exciting and many cool organisations will attend it. It will take place on May 30th, 2008 in Frankfurt.

http://karmakonsum.de/konferenz/

There's even a GreenCamp where you can present your own ideas (limited seating, so register soon).

If you live in Germany or you are in Germany during this time, be sure to check it out!

Small Actions to Change the World #9 (Blog Carnival)

2008-02-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the 9th edition of Small Actions to Change the World! It's been quite a while since I've written the last post and I apologise for that. The reason is that I had exams/studies, my vacation, my work and I am in the process of starting a sustainability organisation (check it out here :-) - in german only though). But without further delay, here are the great posts that I have received since the last edition!

Peter Crump presents 4 Unique Christmas Gifts For The Socially Conscious Male posted at Find That Gift For Him.

poetloverrebelspy presents Travel in Your Own Backyard posted at Less Than a Shoestring, saying, "There are many frugal and ecological benefits of nearby excursions vs. far-flung vacations. If you’re a traveler at heart but can’t pull yourself away from work or family for any number of reasons, consider planning a few days out to feed your travel bug. This post walks you through the planning."

Susan presents A New Generation of Carbon Offset Travel posted at The Innovative Traveler.

Nathan presents One Man’s Trash, Another Man’s Electricity posted at It's Easy Being Green, saying, "Something as simple as using our trash to create energy and keep stuff out of the landfill

Nathan presents The Gift of Green Travel posted at It's Easy Being Green, saying, "The gift of "green" travel".

Stretch Mark Mama presents Trash Talk posted at Stretch Mark Mama.

TheLittlestGuy presents carbon offsetting posted at TheLittlestGuy, saying, "Great new site on global warming, climate change, and what you can do to help stop it."

Holly Ord presents Stop Being Stupid About Green posted at Adventure Sports Weekly, saying, "A letter from the editor of Adventure Sports Weekly, Wina Sturgeon, about green, going green, and what is needed to save our planet from inevitable global warming."

Phil B. presents The Secret to a Well Kept Yard « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "The Secret to a Well Kept Yard

Pelf presents How do you convince your friends to go green? posted at The Giving Hands.

Repeat Revenue presents Solar Power Home » Blog Archive » Parts of a residential Solar System posted at Solar Power Home, saying, "Federal, State and Local incentives are available to use alternative forms of energy on your home. See what's available to you."

Pelf presents Some tips to green your office posted at The Giving Hands.

Marie presents Enlighten Your Apartment in 2008 posted at Green Your Apartment.

Samuel Bryson presents Christmas & Goats: a Time for Giving posted at Total Wellbeing.

Samuel Bryson presents Pedalling Money - Saving Money by Cycling: posted at Total Wellbeing.

Kevin Heath presents Involving Kids in the Fight Against Global Warming posted at More4kids.

Pelf presents 10 things you can do to conserve sea turtles posted at The Turtle Talks..

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Love Light Displays? 6 Ways To Trim Your Energy Costs, Not The Cheer posted at The Digerati Life, saying, "Thank you!"

As always at the end of the po st, here is a nice motivational something :-). It's an inspiring talk from Bono on activism in Africa. Have fun!

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
small actions to change the world!
using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:
small actions to change the world!, blog carnival.

Small Actions to Change the World #8 (Blog Carnival)

2007-12-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

Bzzzz, welcome to the 8th edition of SustainaBee's Blog Carnival: "Small Actions to Change the World!". We've received a lot of great submissions for this edition, so I hope you enjoy them very much!

isabella mori presents change therapy » Blog Archive » would you like a hug? posted at change therapy, saying, "our experience at free hugs day"

Todd Goldfarb presents 50 Ways You Can Be The Change posted at We The Change, saying, "hi there-- here is a terrific article which describes 50 Ways we can "be the change". Enjoy!"

Adam Zekmueller presents Give Better Glasses: Mission for Vision posted at Get Better Glasses!, saying, "Have old prescription glasses sitting in a drawer? Millions of people throughout the world cannot lead a normal life because they cannot see. This organization is working to change that."

Shannon Bullard presents Eco-Friendly Oahu posted at Go Oahu Card Blog.

FitBuff presents 4 Free Stress Relief Games | FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Just a few minutes a day can change the way you see the world. Here are 4 games scientifically designed to do just that by
forcing your brain to notice the joys of life, rather than the obstacles."

Aruni Gunasegaram presents entrepreMusings » Rock. Paper. Scissors. How Do We All Win? posted at Entrepremusings, saying, "It doesn't take mountain moving to make a difference. We can all do a little to help a lot.

Louise Manning presents 10 Ways to help the Environment in your garden posted at Green Garden Chat.

Christine presents Being Green in France: The Styrofoam Dilemma posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France, saying, "Deciding to go and stay green even when it's not the easiest choice, but rather because its the right choice!"

Edith presents 50 Ways to Change the World posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act.
Alex Blackwell presents A Time for Thanksgiving posted at The Next 45 Years

Jeremy Neal presents Thoughts on Quotes: Common Courtesy - Creative Thoughts - Famous Quotes posted at Thoughts on Quotes, saying, "Life is short, but there is always time for common courtesies."

Aisha Zoe presents Bouton de train posted at The Student Socialite.

Alex Blackwell presents There's Some Hero in You posted at The Next 45 Years.

Meredith Mathews presents Trees are among my favorite things posted at Lemonade Stand, saying, "A single tree will absorb 1 ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime."

Tupelo Kenyon presents Inspire Yourself on Purpose – Inspiration from Inside Out posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "Here are twelve common sense reminders on how to inspire yourself. The word “inspire” derives from root words that mean “in spirit” or “spirit within.” Although there’s always another step to take, these points are a natural result of recognizing and identifying with this realization of who we really are."

David B. Bohl presents Personal Fulfillment: Why Hobbies Matter posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, "In my previous life, before I threw up my hands (and my career as a financial trader), moved to Wisconsin and started living a life I truly enjoyed, I didn’t have time for a hobby. I was like the guy in the recent New Yorker cartoon lying on the beach with his laptop. He says to his wife, “It’s not that I’m a workaholic. I just work to relax.”"

That's it for thizzz edition of Small Actions to Change the World. As always, I will end it with an inspiring story. I won't buzz too much around it, the girl in the video clip will explain who she is in the first few seconds.

carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags:

small actions to change the world!, blog carnival.

Small Actions to Change the World #7 (Blog Carnival)

2007-11-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the November 7, 2007 edition of small actions to change the world! The delay is again due to my full schedule these past 2 weeks (I'm sure many of you have really busy schedules as well); so that I had to take at least half the weekend off to do nothing and re-energise :-). Without further delay, here is the 7th edition of the Blog Carnival "Small Actions to Change the World"!

ISPF presents Get Rid of Unwanted Mail. It's Bad for your Wallet and Bad for the Environment posted at Grad Money Matters.

FitBuff presents 7 Easy Breakfast Recipes: Healthy Breakfast in Less Than 5 Minutes posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "You've heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but the RIGHT breakfast is the key to starting your day with energy, productivity, and alertness. Whether you're rushing off to work or getting the kids out the door, there never seems to be enough time to prepare a healthy morning meal. Until now! Here's 7 easy and healthy recipes that you can prepare in less time than it takes to find your keys."

Riversider presents Preston Council Leaders Get A Sandbagging In Ribble Flood Furore posted at Save The Ribble, saying, "A city councillor uses sandbags creatively to make a serious point about flood risk."

Tupelo Kenyon presents Listen with Your Heart posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "When someone is talking to you, do you hear with your ears, monitor with your mind, or listen with your heart? Invest a few minutes thinking about the importance of listening well – a deliberate conscious act – and watch your relationships grow to a new level of closeness and understanding."

Alex Blackwell presents 10 Things to Say or Do Every Day posted at The Next 45 Years.

poetloverrebelspy presents Road Trip Savings: Fuel Costs posted at Less Than a Shoestring, saying, "Lower consumption = better for the environment + lower costs"

David B. Bohl presents Personal Fulfillment: Why Hobbies Matter posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, "In my previous life, before I threw up my hands (and my career as a financial trader), moved to Wisconsin and started living a life I truly enjoyed, I didn’t have time for a hobby. I was like the guy in the recent New Yorker cartoon lying on the beach with his laptop. He says to his wife, “It’s not that I’m a workaholic. I just work to relax.”

sasha presents Washing the washing posted at Tempyra, saying, "A follow-up post to an earlier one about taking stock of the small lifestyle choices that influence one's ecological footprint."

Roger Carr presents How Many People Do You Influence? posted at Everyday Giving Blog.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
small actions to change the world! using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

To conclude this edition I want to show a video clip of Hans Rosling on TED. It is about looking at things differently; at TED he gives a wonderful speech on Africa and aid. But one of his core messages is, you can't look at Africa as one big land with aid needs. With his enthusiasm he shows us that African countries have so much economic diversity and that we should take this into account when looking at this continent with 50+ countries.

Small Actions to Change the World #6 (Blog Carnival)

2007-10-29T01:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there, I'm really glad you stopped by to check out SustainaBee's "Small Actions to Change the World" Blog Carnival. This is the 6th edition and it keeps growing and growing! Of course the Blog Action Day on the Environment a couple of weeks ago helped a bit :-).
I am sorry for posting a week late, it was my birthday a week ago, and since then I have had really full days. Especially that I'm starting a new student organisation on technology and sustainability (e.g. asking questions like "what are the social implications of technology?" or "what is the role of engineering in development assistance?") I've been running from one place to another.

I'm thinking about having the carnival posted on a different blog every second time (i.e. SustainaBee once, two weeks later a different sustainability/environmental/social blog and so on). If you are interested in hosting a "Small Actions to Change the World" carnival, let me know by writing me an email!

Without further waiting, I present you the "Small Actions to Change the World" :-).

Summer presents Save Money By Saving Water posted at Your Frugal Family.

FitBuff presents Negativity is Contagious, Are You Immune? posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "This study shows how the smallest actions and ideas can not only change the world, but our own minds!"

Kevin Bedell presents A Simple Step You Can Take: Install a Low Flow Shower Head posted at 21st Century Citizen.

Tupelo Kenyon presents Choose the Companionship of Positive People Who Inspire You posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "If the people you spend the most time with are inspiring, supportive, encouraging, and they demonstrate qualities you want to emulate – great, you are on the right track. If not, it's up to you to do something about it. Life is too short to put up with other people's pity parties, bitch-and-moan marathons, and oh-woe-is-me clubs. (Enjoy soothing instrumental music as you read plus songs with lyrics related to each article – all free.)"

Phil B. presents 3 Reasons to Stop Using Dryers « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "Dryers, also known as drying machines or clothes dryers, may be fast and convenient to quickly dry our clothes and linens, however we seldom consider how much they really cost."

WhatWorksForUs presents What Works For Us: Save $$ - Go (Lime) Green posted at What works For Us.

Karen (aka Karooch) presents Shower with a Friend for Blog Action Day 2007 posted at Scraps of Mind.

Edith presents How You are Impacting the World (Blog Action Day) posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Phil B. was quite active , presenting another post: Recycle Christmas Trees « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "It is almost that time of year again when we buy a new Christmas tree. Are you going to just throw it away when done with it?"

Matthew Spears presents Joy at All Times posted at Loving Awareness, saying, "We tend to think of joy as somehow mutually exclusive to other experiences. If we're feeling sad, then of course it's impossible to have joy. Likewise if we're having a fight or our business is having a downturn. This article points out how they're not exclusive, and helps the invitation of joy into your life."

SpiKe presents 20 Tips For Laying The Foundations Of Your Environmentally Friendly Habit posted at Organize IT.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents 10 Simple Ways To Save Money And The Environment posted at The Digerati Life.

That's it again for an edition of "Small Actions to Change the World". If you want to submit a post to this carnival use our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on blog carnival archive.

And as always I will end with something inspiring. This time it's a speech of one of of the Nobel Peace Prize winners this year Al Gore. It's a talk he did on TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), an exclusive gathering of many inspirational people. In the second part of this video he talks about how the individual can help by doing his or her part in averting climate change. Have fun!

A call for a 'Stern Review' on Biodiversity (Blog Action Day)

2007-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Background You've probably heard of the Stern Review, now a much-quoted 600-page study. It is a report written be the ex-Chief Economist of the World Bank stating that inaction towards climate change (i.e. doing business as usual) will cost the world economy 5% to 20% or more of the global domestic product (GDP). It has done a lot to push forward the idea that environmental management and climate protection also makes financial sense and to show that it is in fact not contradictory to economic growth. Through environmental protection new markets will even open up, especially in the energy sector. New technologies will emerge.

Focus and 'concentration': CO2, CO2, CO2 Now the problem is that much of the focus is concentrated on CO2 and ppm (parts per million) and how we can reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. But the global problem goes much more than there - once CO2 emissions are stabilised it's not the end of the job. We might have stopped climate change but we should not forget the other things in life. Most importantly - biodiversity. To explain shortly, biodiversity means the varieties of life and living beings. It is essential to life. You could even go as far as saying it IS life. But the diversity of living creatures is decreasing day by day. If you've seen Planet Earth (BBC environmental series), it is really sad to think that younger children today can only see some of the creatures featured in the series on video because these animals will have gone extinct by the time the children grow up. Some of the creatures were even captured on film for the first time. It is sad to think that it might be the last time as well.

A call So I want to make a call for a Stern Review on biodiversity. Sometimes the only language people will understand is money. The Stern Review showed that inaction will cost up to 20 times as much or more than stern actions (excuse the pun :-) ) on climate change. This finally made some politicians and business people listen to the problems of climate change.

There is the IPCC Report from the UN that focuses on the scientific basis of climate change (which just recently won the Nobel Prize along with Al Gore, by the way), and the "financial" counterpart to this is the Stern Review.
There is also a huge UN Biodiversity Report called the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, it is similar in scale as the IPCC report. But what is missing now is the "financial" counterpart for this one.

Quantifying biodiversity in monetary terms will be a huge challenge, especially because of the interrelations and connections between the different organisms. Who is to say what an ant, whale, horse, bee costs as an animal group? It is already hard to put a money value on an animal species in a small part of a small region of the world. Doing this on a global scale will be a challenging and daunting task, and whoever takes it up will get hard criticism and praise at the same time. But it will shed light on the biodiversity problems we are heading at. If a report of this kind doesn't work, maybe we need an Al Gore for biodiversity.

(This post is part of the Blog Action Day on the Environment)

Small Actions to Change the World #5 (Blog Carnival)

2007-10-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone and welcome to the 5th edition of "Small Actions to Change the World" carnival. This is the first one that is published after 2 weeks. If this turns out to be good, I will keep on posting these editions every 2 weeks. That's why this post will be a bit shorter than you are used to. And I'm sorry this post is a day late; next to organising my university courses, my part time work, my volunteer work and the weekend class reunion I had little time in between, so I hope you forgive me :-).

FitBuff presents Lifeline Screening: 15 Types of Blood Tests and Checkups You Need posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "So, how do you make sure you are aware of your true overall health condition without becoming a paranoid hypochondriac? Below is a list of tests and screenings that should be included in your regular checkups..."

sasha presents Making a Personal Difference to the Environment posted at Tempyra, saying, "An article on me taking stock of the little changes I've made to my life with the aim of reducing my personal impact on the environment and a list of further improvements I want to make. I'm looking for comments and ideas about reducing your environmental impact."

SustainaBee says: That's a great idea; it can be very encouraging to see what things you've done and to set goals that you want to achieve!

Ravi Vora presents 5 Creative Ways to Have a Great Week | Ravi Vora posted at Ravi Vora. Thank you for a nice and short post :-).

Summer presents Save money by saving water posted at Your Frugal Family.

SustainaBee says: Another example of how saving the environment also makes financial sense!

Sarah Filipiak from German Sheperd Central presents Don’t Buy That Puppy In The Window saying: "The simple move of bypassing pet stores in your search for your next dog will save lives." Wow, what an insightful post. I didn't know these things about puppies.

That's it for this edition of "Small Actions to Change the World". I hope you had a nice read :-)! If you want to submit a post, use the carnival submission form.

Past editions of the carnival can be found here.

And as always, I will conclude this carnival edition with an inspiring story. This one is a lecture (a edited WSJ.com-version YouTube video is included in this post) that has inspired me in the last few weeks. Here is a part of the WSJ article (and at the bottom you can find the YouTube video and the link to the complete lecture on Google Video):

"Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor, was about to give a lecture Tuesday afternoon, but before he said a word, he received a standing ovation from 400 students and colleagues.

He motioned to them to sit down. "Make me earn it," he said.
What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? For Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, the question isn't rhetorical -- he's dying of cancer. Jeff Zaslow narrates a video on Prof. Pausch's final lecture.

They had come to see him give what was billed as his "last lecture." This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted "Last Lecture Series," in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?

It can be an intriguing hour, watching healthy professors consider their demise and ruminate over subjects dear to them. At the University of Northern Iowa, instructor Penny O'Connor recently titled her lecture "Get Over Yourself." At Cornell, Ellis Hanson, who teaches a course titled "Desire," spoke about sex and technology.

At Carnegie Mellon, however, Dr. Pausch's speech was more than just an academic exercise. The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months. His lecture, using images on a giant screen, turned out to be a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life."

The full lecture can be seen on Google Video

How CO2 is stealing the show

2007-10-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is a post from another blog that I started but have unfortunately discontinued. But only so I have more time to focus on SustainaBee :-). So this post might sound a bit more serious, because it was for a more serious blog. Here it is:

===

News about climate change is increasing. And more and more the focus is set on the big bad Greenhouse Gas called Carbon Dioxide, also known as CO2. The focus of many studies is how we can reduce CO2 emissions, be it through more efficient technology, by consuming less, by driving less and so on. Study after study are confirming: Yes, CO2 actually IS bad.

Maybe because CO2 is so specific and is (relatively) easy to explain we read about it in the newspapers. Some companies are betting on nuclear energy because it is almost CO2-free. CSS is an up-and-coming technology that stores the CO2 emitted by coal power plants. Some are putting their money on nuclear fusion, e.g. the international ITER project costs 5 billion Euro for construction and another 5 billion Euro to keep up and running. All noteworthy, but what happens when we have found a source of CO2-free energy? Are all our problems solved? Not quite.

One of the main reasons we start to care about CO2 is - selfishly - because our winters are getting warmer and oil is getting more expensive. It sort of initiated this green wave, which I hope lasts quite a bit. What happens when oil prices drop dramatically and we have a cold winter (which is possible for a short term), is global warming put into the book shelve next to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", picking up dust?

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
What about biodiversity? What about the poor people especially in the third world most affected by nature's changes? What about overfishing? It is quite a shame that while the UN-backed IPCC (Climate Change Report published in 2007) report got as much notice as a Take That Reunion Tour the findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment from 2005 is comparable to the Spice Girls (something's happening, but no one really cares).

Similar to the IPCC report the Ecosystem Assessment is UN-backed, more than 1,000 scientists worked on it for a period of about 4-5 years. Even the structure is based on the IPCC report (and might I add, the design and layout of the Ecosystem report is quite much better). The board of members included renowned scientists, leaders and several nobel prize winners. And some of the scenarios were just as horrifying but not that many people took notice.

(The first image is a statistic on cod fishing in Newfoundland)

Small Actions to Change the World #4 (Blog Carnival)

2007-09-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, welcome to another edition of "Small Actions to Change the World", this being the 4th edition of the series and I'm positively surprised that it has been gaining popularity. So much so, that I will post an edition every 2 weeks now! Now you don't have to wait a whole month for another edition anymore! And once an edition arrives, it will now be shorter and the chances are bigger that in total you will read more of these inspiring posts from all over the world!
Once there are enough editions I will start making "Best of" theme issues. But more on that next time :-). Enjoy the post and have a nice read!

FitBuff presents Free Water, What a Novel Idea! | FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "This article explains how I'm saving over $50 a month AND decreasing the amount of plastic water bottles that I was throwing away on a daily basis."

Millionaire Mommy Next Door has a post on consumption called How to Treat Affluenza: Spend Less and Live a Happier Life posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, saying, "David Wann (co-author of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic) encourages us to become historical superheroes. We can change our world; save our world. Let's curb our consumption so that our grandkids can read about our generation in their history books with reverence."

Dean presents 21 Tips on How to Stay Cool This Summer For Less posted at Mr. Cheap Stuff, saying, "How to stay cool with out turning off your Air Conditioner."

marguerite manteau-rao presents The Big Monster posted at La Marguerite, saying, "Thoughts on how to handle the big monster - global warming."

Tiffany Washko presents Down To Earth Guide to Global Warming posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

Melissa presents Coupon Karma posted at A Penny Closer, saying, "Thanks for considering my submission!"

Tupelo Kenyon presents Make Assumptions Obsolete by Communicating posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "We assume because we don’t know. We don’t know because we don’t ask. We don’t ask because we act as if we already know. Or, we don’t want to appear stupid. [...] The solution is clear communication. When we know the truth, assumptions are forever unnecessary."

Edith Yeung presents A Voice to Remember posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Vihar Sheth presents The Debate Heats Up: Vegetarianism & Climate Change posted at Vihar Sheth.

Todd Goldfarb presents A Simple Way to Make Your Home Green posted at We The Change, which is about switching to green power and how small changes can make a bigger difference than you think.

Activist Mommy presents It's Easy Being Green posted at Activist Mommy, saying, "Win a copy of It's Easy Being Green by sharing green living tips". Having been a regular submitter of articles, I'll gladly promote Activist Mommy's promotional activity :-)

Marilyn Terrell presents Orbitz Adds Eco Options posted at Intelligent Travel, introduces Orbitz' new eco options.

That's it for this edition. I hope you had fun reading it as much as I had fun posting it :-)! If you want to submit a post, use the carnival submission form.

Past editions of the carnival can be found here.

And as always, I will end this post with an inspirational story. It's a nice story about changing yourself and leaving the past behind. It had made me smile at the end :-).

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. I'm talking about my annual "Guilt Trip."

I got tickets to fly there on Wish I Had airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my baggage, which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was weighted down with a thousand memories of what might have been. No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town.

As I checked into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year's most important event, the Annual Pity Party. I wasn't going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there.

First, there would be the Done family, you know, Should Have, Would Have and Could Have. Then came the I Had family. You probably know ol' Wish and his clan. Of course, the Opportunities would be present, Missed and Lost. The biggest family would be the Yesterday's. There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share.

Then Shattered Dreams would surely make an appearance. And It's Their Fault would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in his life, and each story would be loudly applauded by Don't Blame Me and I Couldn't Help It.

Well, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing that there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and subsequent "pity party" could be cancelled by ME! I started to truly realize that I did not have to be there. I didn't have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I CAN'T CHANGE YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as encouraging. Knowing this, I left the City of Regret immediately and left no forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I've made in the past? YES! But there is no physical way to undo them.

So, if you're planning a trip back to the City of Regret, please cancel all your reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a place called Starting Again. I liked it so much that I have now taken up permanent residence there. My neighbors, the I Forgive Myselfs and the New Starts are so very helpful. By the way, you don't have to carry around heavy baggage, because the load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. God bless you in finding this great town. If you can find it -- it's in your own heart -- please look me up. I live on I Can Do It street.

The Big Green Apple

2007-09-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

New York has been making headlines lately by announcing its steps to make the city greener.

Just a few weeks ago it announced that by 2012 it wants to make its cab driving greener by using hybrid taxis. Though taxis still create emissions (as opposed to electric cars like the Tesla) hybrid cabs are an ideal choice for New Yorkers. The traffic in New York is very dense which means they have to "stop and go" all the time, re-charging the batteries every time they break and using it when they drive.

The Master Plan - PlanNYC 2030
This is all part of a Master Plan for greening New York by the year 2030 (I'm amazed a city will plan for that long!). They even have a nicely designed website and a 158-page report to go with it. Here are some of the interesting measures that are part of "The Plan":

Energy: Create the New York City Efficiency Authority (NYCEEA) responsible for reaching the city's demand reduction targets
Transportation: Increase Capacity on key congested routes - Seek to fund five projects that eliminate capacity constraints
Water: Encourage the installation of green roofs through a new incentive program (I don't know why this was put under "water")
Air: Waive New York City's sales tax on the cleanest, most efficient vehicles
Air: Partner with stakeholders to help plant one million trees by 2017
Land/Open Space: Fulfill the potential of at least one major undeveloped park site in every borough
Transportation: Complete the City's 1,800-mile bike master plan
Transportation: Seek to use pricing to manage traffic in the Central Business District (CBD)

These are very ambitious goals for greening New York. The question is, whether they will achieve these. But with a good plan in place and a motivated mayor it's possible. But with 23 years to go in the plan, we have to wait and see.

But they're off to a good start. According to the SustainLane rankings (which ranks US cities' urban sustainability) New York is already in 6th place, just behind Oakland and before Boston with Portland leading the race. (article continues)

Mayor Bloomberg interviewed on green cabs

London Calling
London is another big city that is working on its green image. London's mayor Ken Livingstone has introduced a congestion charge of 25 pounds (about 50 dollars) for every day you drive in Central London. It's that high because it has to "hurt". And this actually only effects about 5% of the drivers.
People who live in Central London and who own a "gas-guzzler" will have to pay an additional annual fee with which you can buy a small car - 6000 pounds. (article continues)

Listen to London's Mayor Ken Livingstone being interviewed

Even Abu Dhabi is working on creating an almost zero-carbon, zero-waste city extension by 2009. It would be nice in the future to see a big city in one of the emerging countries like China or India to push towards greenery. Though China have set many new regulations, implementation by the local and regional government is still lacking.

It's very encouraging to see London's and New York's plans in place. The cities' high visibility and popularity will make them a role model for other cities who wish to become greener.

Small Actions to Change the World #3 (Carnival)

2007-08-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm glad to be able to welcome you to the third edition of this carnival! And it seems like it's getting more and more popular. Starting next month, I will think about making this carnival a bi-weekly thing since there are so many great submissions that have been handed in and I would really like to include so many of them, but at the same time I don't want to make one edition too long. And it also seems that some of the submitters are becoming regulars, which makes me really happy :-).

Tupelo Kenyon presents Take Time for You posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "Don't put yourself at the end of the list. You deserve to be first, at least some of the time. Don't let your entire life slip by with everything else (and everyone else) getting preferential treatment over your most important priorities. Their needs are important, but yours are important too. Celebrate life by taking time for YOU!" I highly agree, too often we don't think about ourselves and taking time for us. (Don't confuse this with becoming selfish, it's more about setting priorities.)

Tiffany Washko has some nice ideas on how to host an Eco Friendly Birthday Party posted at Natural Family Living Blog. It has some really nice and specific ideas, I might use 1 or 2 of them myself :-)

Louise Manning has some great gardening tips in 10 Ways to help the Environment in your garden posted at Green Garden Chat. At first it might seem like a lot of work, but once I think about it, I don't think it's more work, it's just different work.

Stretch Mark Mama presents a very short post called You Vegan! posted at Stretch Mark Mama.

marguerite manteau-rao presents Laurie David’s list « La Marguerite posted at La Marguerite, saying, "Our family's small steps to change the world, based on Laurie David's list, from La Marguerite's blog, relating "My Inconvenient Truth: the Daily Sins of a Green Girl Wannabe"". What a long list of nice ideas - have you started implementing some of them? Why not start today?

vivek khemka presents some really nice ideas how to act and make a difference in Ten Simple Ways to save the World - One at a Time. posted at The Red Pencil.

Millionaire Mommy Next Door presents Memories are made of the things we DO, not the things we BUY posted at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, saying, "Should we buy a boat? Or would we rather go fishing?" This gives us something to think about.

Toni presents Plants: The office cheerleaders posted at Happy Nest, saying, "A plant can help transform the dreariness of your work desk AND make you feel more positive. They're the office cheerleaders!" This is a really good idea. Fortunately, my boss also likes plants and has placed them around the office.

Patricia doesn't just give one or two ideas but presents 30 Things That Take 30 Seconds Each: Which Will You Do To Change The World? posted at Patricia. It takes 5 seconds to read each idea - for a combined 35 seconds for each action :-). Why not start now?

Stretch Mark Mama presents a second post with a really nice story (with a really cute picture) at Trash Mash posted at Stretch Mark Mama.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Curb Appeal: One Of My Best Investments Yet Or How I Turned $80 Into $5,000 With Minimal Risk posted at The Digerati Life. I've never really looked at trees in this way - what a great idea.

edithyeung presents How to Clean Out Your “Closet”, and Make Space for More Good posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act.. I think that cleaning out your closet doesn't just make physical space, but it also clears up your mind sometimes!

That's it for this edition of "Small Actions to Change the World". Thanks so much for reading. As always, I will end this post with an inspiring story!

If you want to submit a story, you can do so here by using the carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found in the
blog carnival index page.

Today's inspiring story is somewhat different than usual - it's a YouTube video. If you've never heard of it, it's about something really nice and simple - a hug. I've seen this video a couple of times and I've heard the news of this spread a bit. I've even seen someone doing this in Germany :-). Take a look!