So, it should come as very little surprise that the nuclear industry has the same ‘flexible’ view on ethics, legality and basic decency when dealing with its own people. In fact, not even the CEO of France’s nuclear giant, Areva, was safe: the Financial Times has recently revealed a catalogue of incompetence, espionage and massive financial failure (follow-up article) swirling around the French nuclear industry:

• Areva purchased a uranium mine for €1.8 billion that was valued at only €1.4 million two years earlier
• after purchase of the mine it became apparent that it contained a fraction of the uranium deposits that the Areva board believed
• a senior Areva executive was exposed as having hired a Swiss private investigation firm to spy on then Areva CEO, Anne Lauvergeon (known as ‘Atomic Anne’ in France)
• Lauvergeon alleges that her husband’s phone was hacked as part of this and is now starting legal proceedings
• the web of intrigue goes as high as the president of France, Sarkozy, who became personally involved when he forced Lauvergeon out and installed a friend of his, Henri Proglio who also happens to be CEO of EDF, one of the largest energy companies in France and the UK
• Areva have now written off almost €2 billion as a result of the failed uranium mine purchase, amid accusations of fraud – although no evidence for this has been revealed so far

This debacle is piled on top of the disastrous nuclear projects that are unravelling in Olkiluoto, Finland and Flamanville, France where Areva are trying to build their new “Nuclear Renaissance” power plants.

It all paints a picture of a desperate industry in turmoil as nuclear power continues its long-term trend of global decline, with the IEA reporting that nuclear is down 10% year-on-year as renewable energy climbs 24%. Given that the industry operates more like a crime syndicate than a legitimate business, it is a little difficult to feel any sympathy.

Along with flying atomic cars and glittering cities on the Moon, the claims of “unlimited, clean and safe energy” that is “too cheap to meter” that the nuclear lobby began promising in the 1950s have been utterly discredited. Let’s hope that the nuclear piranhas continue eating their own and finish themselves off quickly so that the planet can focus its full resources on deploying clean, safe and truly sustainable renewable energy in order to mitigate the worst of climate change.

This article was originally posted on the Green Blog under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license.

"Secretive oil billionaires attacking President Obama, with ads factcheckers say are “not tethered to the facts.” While independent watchdogs called this president’s record on ethics “unprecedented.” And America’s clean energy industry? 2.7 million jobs and “expanding rapidly.” For the first time in 13 years our dependence on foreign oil is below fifty percent. President Obama kept his promise to toughen ethics rules and strengthen America’s energy economy."

It’s interesting to note that Obama and the advertisement completely ignore to mention climate change. Instead of saying that fuel economy standards help reduce greenhouse gas emissions they are only described as a way to reduce our oil consumption. And the renewable energy investments are only mentioned in terms of job created. The advertisement also fails to mention that the dependence on foreign oil is largely due to a surge in oil and natural gas drilling and not because of a noteworthy decreased consumption.

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1. The Keystone XL pipeline would not reduce foreign oil dependency.
2. Contrary to popular opinion, Keystone XL would have increased domestic oil prices.
3. Proponents of the pipeline overstated the number of jobs that would be created.
4. Current Keystone pipeline leaked 12 times in last year.
5. And the environmental concerns about oil leaks are justified.
6. Mining tar sands would worsen global warming. Or in the words of NASA climate scientist James Hansen, be "game over for the planet."

Here is a little summary of the Keystone XL project so far:

1. Nebraska objects to the Keystone XL pipeline as they are concerned over potential oil spill accidents in the Ogallala Aquifer area, which supplies water to a large portion of US farm land. Climate activists around the US mobilized, and risked arrests in acts of civil disobedience, to raise the alarm about the environmental and climate risks of tar sands.

2. In response to Nebraska’s objections, TransCanada promises to find a better route for the pipeline and to revise the plans. But Republicans in the US congress decides to put an unreasonable deadline on the permit application to be able to gain political points in the upcoming general election. As a result of the deadline, TransCanada is not able to provide revised plan and the permit is incomplete.

3. Because TransCanada’s plans are incomplete the US government must reject the permit. If they were to approve the incomplete permit application they would set themselves up for easily winnable legal challenges by climate activists and pipeline opponents.

4. TransCanada will re-apply, and they will likely also win and get their pipeline permit a few months after the big presidential election. And considering Obama’s Keystone statement it probably won’t matter if there will be a Republican or a Democratic president in office by then.

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Six reasons Keystone XL was a bad deal all along
Here are six facts about the proposed Keystone XL deal that make clear why the pipeline was a bad deal for America and why it deserved to be rejected:

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Yes, it’s great that the pipeline is dead, and everyone from Bill McKibben and 350.org to every single demonstrator who got this done by leading the charge against the project against all odds, deserves our sincerest and most heartfelt congratulations and gratitude. It really would have been game over for the climate had the pipeline gone through.

But as we get past the celebration and refocus on the hard work ahead to ensure that the game is won in the end, it’s crucial to note what the president’s Keystone statement says about our chances for victory. And it’s not one bit encouraging.

Two things stand out. First, there’s not a single mention of the climate threat as one of the motivations behind the decision, when in fact it should have been the MAIN motivation. He blames it on the administration’s inability to meet the arbitrary Republican deadline.

What??!! Are you kidding me? You mean to say he would have gone along if Republicans had been more lenient and agreed to more time? This alone raises a huge red flag, the same he raised with his stance at Durban, where the U.S. shocked everyone with its inexplicable foot dragging and outright opposition to any significant progress.

Second, Obama once again boasts about his perplexing all-of-the-above energy policy, which includes the support of domestic oil, gas and coal in addition to renewables. Congratulate me, he seems to say, because oil and gas are up in America, alongside increases in solar and wind.

This is simply mind blowing. The planet risks an end-of-the-world scenario in a few decades with today’s runaway climate change and record increases in carbon and methane emissions. The latest science is the scariest yet, saying we’re this close to passing the dreaded 2 degree C temperature rise, and dreaded indeed it is. Avoiding that threshold already requires a herculean task, which leaves zero room for NEW fossil-fuel generation that locks in tipping-point emissions for decades more.

So why is the president of the United States, the same one who once promised with inspiring passion to halt the rise of the oceans, feeling great about today’s increase in oil and gas production? That’s the alarming part of his statement, the fact that this is something he is PROUD of, not something he apologetically laments being cornered into by politics.

No, he’s not sorry at all. Not one iota. He is concerned solely, it seems, with enhancing our security by ending the country’s reliance on foreign oil and replacing it with an all-of-the-above American menu. His often stated concern over climate change, we are then led to think, must be blurred by the 1990s assumption that we have a long time to solve this mother-of-all problems.

Mr. President, we do not have that luxury. You have to stand for the end of fossil fuels TODAY. Stopping Keystone helps, but you can’t stop there. When you signed up for the job, you told us you knew damn well that you would be the final president with any chance at preventing irreversible climate change. If you lose this year, we all know your Republican successor will lose the game in regulation, so we’re still cheering for you, because you may still be able to pull it off, even if it takes double-overtime. But not like this, Mr. President.

Not like this.

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Good Vibes uses leaves to represent how green an item is, and their products can receive up to six leaves. Each leaf represents a specific ratings factor: body safe, free of animal products, rechargeable, natural ingredients, recyclable materials, and U.S. made.

Good Vibrations spokeswoman Camilla Lombard explained that the company wanted to provide transparency for consumers, so that they know precisely what they are buying. According to Lombard, “Our top five products are consistently Ecorotic items, generating over 25 percent of overall monthly sales on average, and revealing that the market supports customer awareness around quality, materials, and ingredients for sensual products. . . . So green is good for business, at least in our case!”

Good Vibes is also a unique adult company because they have gone above and beyond the status quo by making groundbreaking research on phtalates, which were found to disrupt hormones. Consequently, Good Vibes ceased the sale of all items that contained the product in 2007, and the company notes, “Being made of materials that have been tested for safety can also warrant a product’s inclusion on our ecorotic® list. None of our toys contain phthalates, a plastic softener which have been linked to cancer and damaging sperm. As we learn information about other materials, we adapt our selection to incorporate new findings.”

Sex toys may not be the most politically friendly subject, but many people use them (even if they are hidden behind the garage door), and it’s certainly good to know that there are green adult products currently available on the market. So if you were thinking of getting that special someone a super sexy gift for the holidays, birthday, or a special occasion, Good Vibes certainly seems like a responsible and fun selection.

What are your thoughts on this edgy, risqué company? Please let us know in the comments!

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Check out some of the methods of harnessing the tremendous solar energy which is mostly wasted and which has the potential of solving a majority of the above stated global problems.

• Solar water heating equipment is one of the most common and predominant usage of solar power for domestic purposes. Water can be heated normally up to 60 degrees Celsius and can hugely cut down on the electricity bills.
• Solar powered heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems commonly called HVAC systems can be deployed at residential places. Homes with modern architecture can accommodate construction with specific materials which can act as heat store. This acts as a heater when surroundings is cold and acts as a cooler when it is hot.
• Cooking using solar power is possible by solar cookers. The incident solar light energy using concentrated solar power systems is used to boil the water and thus cook the food. This is can also be used as an oven, milk heater and so on.
• Solar powered vehicles are off the beat cutting edge technology automobiles which use solar panels for trapping more and more solar energy and convert it into useful mechanical energy. There are cars, bicycles, boats and even aircrafts which are solar driven.
• Photovoltaic cells which are commonly called solar cells are devices which convert incident solar radiation into electrical energy. These cells can be instrumental in lighting and other electrical needs of residential units.
• By switching over to solar power for simple equipments which we use in our daily lives, we can not only save a great deal of money but can be a significant shift towards utilizing renewable energy sources. Solar powered calculators, emergency lamps, decorative lightings, watches and other electronic gadgets can eliminate our dependency on fossil fuels and chemical sources of energy.
• There are these and many more ways of utilizing solar energy; but all it requires is a one time investment and then reap the benefits on a long run. Another advantage of using solar powered equipment is the relative low maintenance factor. The governments of most of the countries which are signatories of the UNFCCC are unconditionally giving investment and tax benefits for installations to shift over to solar energy for power requirements.
• What more? There are facilities for your house hold equipments to generate solar power and sell the excess to the power grids of the native country at the same price which is collected from you for using it!

As individuals, if we think there is nothing much that we can do about the global problems like climate change, global warming and energy crisis; then we can’t be more wrong. To save a better and healthier tomorrow for your kids and for all the coming generations, ACT NOW – ACT FAST!

This article was contributed by Catherine Annie on behalf of http://www.environmentbasics.com.

This article was originally posted on Natural Environment.

Apparently the girl had wandered away from her Awá tribe village, which consists of around 60 members who all live in complete isolation with the modern world, when she was captured by illegal loggers. Luis Carlos Guajajaras, a local leader from a separate tribe, said to Brazilian news sources that the loggers had tied the girl to a tree and then burned her alive. According to Guajajaras this was meant to be a warning to other indigenous tribes who live in a protected reserve in the north-eastern state of Maranhão.

“She was from another tribe, they live deep in the jungle, and have no contact with the outside world. It would have been the first time she had ever seen white men. We heard that they laughed as they burned her to death,” Guajajaras said.

News and evidence of this story are unfortunately few and limited. But this is understandable considering where the murder took place. But a third party, the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) which is a Catholic group, have said that they have seen footage of the girl’s charred remains.

Survival International, an organization which works for indigenous people’s rights around the world, reports that large areas of the Awá tribe’s territories have been destroyed by illegal logging. Members from the Awá tribe have been attacked by loggers before.

“The Awá rely on their forest to survive, but vast numbers of loggers are illegally invading their land, which now suffers one of the highest deforestation rates in the Amazon. More than 30% of one of the Awá’s territories has already been destroyed. […]The Awá have recently suffered a series of brutal attacks, and loggers have warned that the Indians will be killed if they go into their forest.”

FUNAI, a Brazilian government agency that is responsible for mapping out and protecting lands traditionally inhabited by indigenous people, have said that they are seeking more information about the reported murder. But I would expect it’ll be hard to find any substantial evidence in the Amazon forest two or even three months later.

But this is not an isolated case. CIMI reports that around 450 indigenous people have been killed by loggers between 2003 and 2010, and these are numbers that are acknowledged by FIMI. For example, last year the famous Amazon rainforest activist José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva was killed in an ambush near his home in Brazil. But it’s not just in Brazil that loggers are attacking people. In 2008, peaceful activists who were protecting an old-growth forest in Tasmania, Australia, was violently attacked by timber workers.

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One such game is ominously entitled “Fate of the World.” It’s a PC strategy game that deals with some pretty heavy issues—natural disasters, population growth, and energy consumption are but a few of the problems game players must face. As the game’s official website explains, “Your mission: Solve the crisis. But, like life, it won’t be easy. You’ll have to work through natural disasters, foreign diplomacy, clandestine operations, technological breakthroughs, and somehow satisfy the food and energy needs of a growing world population. Will you help the planet or become an agent of destruction?” And if your kid is more into iPhones, there’s the iPhone/iPad compatible “Face the Waste,” which also addresses environmental waste concerns.

Another interesting environmental game is National Geographic’s “Plan It Green.” In the game you play as the Mayor of Greenville, and your mission is to change the city for the better by creating green jobs, constructing eco-friendly homes, and beautifying your surroundings (from sidewalks to garage doors). CEO Kirk Owens explains, “This is the right product for the times. Not only is it a fantastic game, but it integrates a theme we all hear hundreds of times a week. . . . By working with National Geographic, we were able to go beyond pop green ideas and make a game that truly conveys the possibilities of the future.”

Do you feel that green video games are the key to get kids more involved and interested in green issues? What do you think is needed for these issues to resonate with adolescents? All comments are appreciated.

This article was originally posted on the Green Blog under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license.

The worst component on a sofa for not being green is the filling used to make sofa cushions. The vast majority are filled with polyurethane foam – which is a petrol-based product. So, for a start, that’s not very environmentally friendly as it’s a fossil fuel of which we only have a finite supply.

Added to this, it’s also highly flammable, so most sofa cushions are coated with flame retardants that are made with toxic chemicals. These used to be PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), but these are gradually being phased out because of their toxicity. In Europe PBDEs have been banned since 2004, and they are also being phased out in the US.

Studies have shown that PBDEs are found in house dust and indoor air, and that the contamination is greater in homes than in the air outside. The probability is that PBDEs migrate into the household air from the furniture. In lab tests, animals exposed to PBDEs showed memory and learning deficits, and PBDEs have also been linked to thyroid defects. In short, PBDEs aren’t good news.

The trouble is that polyurethane foam is the cheapest option for sofa cushions, so when you buy cheap furniture that’s what will be inside any soft furnishings. To make a greener choice, you have to spend more, particularly with fabric sofas. A better environmental option for sofa cushions is to opt for natural latex foam filled cushions.

Natural latex is sourced from rubber trees and has the added bonus of being mould and mildew resistant, as well as repelling house dust mites, so it’s great for allergy sufferers. You will have to pay more for it though, as rubber trees are relatively scarce.

This article was contributed by Celia Roche on behalf of http://www.harveysfurniture.co.uk/

This article was originally posted on Natural Environment.

Deaths like these have brought concern to many environmentalists as well as the government. It is against federal law to kill any member of an endangered species, and wind farmers now face potential repercussions when the new guidelines are put in place. Recently, it’s been reported that Pattern Energy Group has abandoned plans to construct a new wind farm in Sacramento because of concerns about the bald eagle population.

These wildlife concerns are as fresh as a newly painted garage door as ecologist David Cottingham explains, “We haven’t really had too many wind turbines heretofore in the country, so we are learning about it as we go.” The number of wind farms has greatly grown in recent years. The precise number of bat deaths by wind turbines is not known, but some scientists have estimated that the numbers are in the thousands.

According to Ed Arnett, director of science and policy at Bat Conservation International, “Most biologists will tell you that over time and cumulatively, [bats] won’t be able to sustain these fatality rates.”  Arnett adds that continued research could help minimize wildlife deaths and that wind power doesn’t necessarily have to be severely compromised. Arnett even stipulates that as little as 1 percent of wind power could be lost if farmers focus on shutting down during “danger periods.”

How do you feel about the clash between wildlife and wind energy? Do you think the focus should shift to a less hazardous form of energy? Let us know in the comments!

This article was originally posted on the Green Blog under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license.