Marketing to Women Key to Protecting the Environment
Lest anyone doubt that marketing to women is a fast-track way to protect the environment, just review the presentations made at last week's M2W (Marketing to Women) conference in Chicago by Frito-Lay, Motorola, Glam Media (the fastest growing women-oriented site on the Web) and more. Women have the clout to put companies on notice: when it comes to reducing climate change, restoring our air and water, and protecting the health of our kids and families, we can -- and will -- use our purse to pull manufacturers in a cleaner, greener direction.


Russian Youngsters See the Wood from the Trees to Win Volvo Adventure
A campaigning project to rescue and revive an endangered and environmentally-sensitive urban park in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod has won the 2008 Volvo Adventure and the US$10,000 first prize, the five students of the 'Green Sail' team, beating off stiff competition at the World Final in Gothenburg today. Having won their own Russian national title, the power of five young students, Arthur Erofyev, Darya Aleksandrova, Mary Ermylova, Nastya Horytonova, Julia Udina was demonstrated on stage at the Gothenburg Convention Centre on Monday as they brought the plight of the park to the world in an inspired and impassioned presentation to the Volvo Adventure World Final jury and an audience of over 500 young environmentalists.


OPINION Biofuels 2.0: It’s Time for Congress to Act
Efforts to replace oil with biofuels in the United States are at a critical juncture. Double-digit growth in the production of corn-based ethanol has contributed to a sharp increase in grain and soybean prices while failing to deliver the environmental gains that had been hoped for. It's time to reduce the incentives for food-based biofuels and accelerate the transition to more sustainable alternatives - the so-called "next-generation" cellulosic technologies, which are expected to become viable in the coming years.


Stop the Presses
An article in the San Jose Mercury News tells us that it takes a gallon of oil just to make a toner cartridge. That wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t discard 8 empty cartridges a second in the U.S. And if it didn’t take 450 years for one to decompose.


After years of confrontation, green groups and companies finding common ground
Corporate America and major green groups are starting to build ties as companies see the benefit of getting ahead of a trend toward environmental responsibility. While partnerships have been emerging case-by-case, environmentalists are starting to ramp up their efforts to target money mangers and investors in an attempt to change how corporations do businesses.


Democratic candidates play up "clean coal"
Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are talking more about "clean coal" and less about global warming as they woo voters in West Virginia and Kentucky -- two states that sit at the heart of the nation's coal economy. In a bid to draw voters ahead of Democratic primaries in West Virginia on Tuesday and Kentucky on May 20, both candidates are playing up the ascendant role of commercially untested and so far economically nonviable ways of converting America's plentiful coal supplies into electricity without spewing massive quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.


Eco Friendly Flooring Doesn’t Have to be Drab
Undertaking a home building project? Sustainable, eco-friendly materials are the only way to go — they’re better for you, as well as the planet. According to GreenBuilding.com, “the US EPA ranks indoor pollution among top five environmental risks, and unhealthy air is found in up to 30% of new and renovated buildings.”�


Korean Village Runs On 100% Solar Power
The Korean village Donggwang gets 100% of its power from the sun. The village is located on the semi-tropical island of Jeju-do. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.


Genetic sleuths unmask secrets of big tomatoes
The secret behind growing large tomatoes lies not in the fertilizer or the perfect soil conditions, but in just a few genetic changes that over time have resulted in tomatoes 1,000 times bigger than their wild ancestors, U.S. researchers said on Sunday. Without these changes, tomatoes would be little more than berries on a bush.


India's green revolutionary is back in spotlight
Forty years after he helped rescue the world from growing famine and a deepening gloom over the future of food supplies, Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan is once again agitating for revolution -- this time a perpetual one. The 82-year-old scientist, dubbed here the father of the Green Revolution for helping development a hybrid wheat seed that allowed Indian farmers to dramatically increase yields, says the current food crisis offers the world a chance to put farmers on the right road to unending growth.


McCain pledges to combat climate change
Republican John McCain pledged to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of U.S. President George W. Bush. In remarks he prepared to give at a wind technology firm in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, the Arizona senator said he would seek international accords to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would offer an incentive system to make businesses in the United States cleaner.


Renault seen investing up to $1 bln in electric car
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - The head of an Israeli-backed electric car project estimated on Sunday that its partner, the Renault-Nissan alliance, would likely invest $500 million to $1 billion in the swappable-battery electric cars. "This is the cost for a three-year car program," Shai Agassi, the founder and chief executive of California-based Project Better Place, said on the sidelines of a news conference to introduce the electric car prototype.


An Eco-Friendly Gift Guide for Mother's Day
Now that Earth Day has come and gone, it's that time of year when "love your mother" can be taken literally again. But here's a bonus: green Mother's Day festivities allow you to be kind to Mother Earth and the woman who pushed you out her cervix. Of course, the best gifts are stuff-free (and even free free -- carefully planted smooch, anyone?), but here are some ideas if you feel the need to drop some dough.


1.5 Million Chinese Children Take Part in Painting Competition on Climate Change
An unprecedented 1.5 million Chinese children have participated in a painting competition on the topic of climate change, in a sign of the country's growing awareness of environmental issues. The competition, held in China for the first time, saw the children collectively submit 200,000 paintings on the theme of climate change. Some 620 paintings were selected for prizes by the jury, which was made up of renowned Chinese artists, UNEP officials and Ms Elizabeth Rihoy of Resource Africa.


How to recycle clothes
One of my sisters, Kate, was spring cleaning a couple of closets recently and after sorting through things she wound up donating most of her clothes to the local church. But there was a small pile of clothes that looked ripe for the dump. Karmically, she didn’t want to deposit these pre-loved clothes into the trash bin. So she did what sisters do — asked the older one for advice. I came across a great suggestion from organicgardens.com where we discovered that cotton and wool “rags”� and old leather gloves could be composted.


American Apparel Finally Comes Clean(er)
American Apparel, a company well known for sexual harassment suits, scandalous barely legal marketing imagery, and de rigeur retro basics, is quietly known among environmentalists for something different”�setting the bar for fair wages in manufacturing and incorporating solid steps towards environmental sustainability. Now clearly, a manufacturing behemoth is going to have a tough time calling itself “sustainable,”� but American Apparel doesn’t even try. They do. Since 2006, 20% of their electricity for their factory in downtown LA is produced by solar energy, there’s recycled content in their shopping bags, and a majority of their manufacturing scraps get reclaimed for the making of their smaller items, like thongs and such.


Are Myanmar’s Storm Victims Suffering Needlessly?
As the floodwaters of Cyclone Nargis began to recede from Myanmar's low-lying Irrawaddy Delta this week, at least one regional leader was quick to note that this devastating disaster could have been partially prevented through coastal preservation. Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), mentioned in an address in Singapore that expanding coastal populations and widespread mangrove degradation played key roles in worsening the cyclone's impact.


Kick the oil habit and make your own ethanol
A new company hopes drivers will kick the oil habit by brewing ethanol at home that won't spike food prices. E-Fuel Corp unveiled on Thursday the "MicroFueler" touting it as the world's first machine that allows homeowners to make their own ethanol and pump the brew directly into their cars.


More Choice for Women Means More Sustainability
Washington, D.C.-Unwanted childbearing is a greater demographic force than the desire for large families, and may have been for centuries, suggests Robert Engelman, Vice President at the Worldwatch Institute, in his new book More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want. Expanding the capacity of all women to choose when to bear children is thus the surest route to achieving an environmentally sustainable population. In countries that make effective personal control of reproduction possible for all, women invariably have two children or fewer on average, according to More. Such low fertility levels eventually lead to gradually declining populations in the absence of net immigration.


New Generation of Farmers and Farmers Markets in California
THERE'S been a changing of the guard at the Coleman Family Farm stand at the Santa Monica Farmers Market on Wednesday mornings. Ask Bill Coleman a question and he's likely to answer, "Ask Romey." Romey -- Romeo on his birth certificate -- is Coleman's son and though his eventually becoming the boss was expected, it nonetheless comes as a bit of a surprise to longtime market shoppers who might still think of him as the kid they watched grow up.


China says Beijing Olympics "basically" carbon neutral
This summer's Beijing Olympics will be "basically" carbon neutral thanks to a series of energy saving measures such as the use of solar power and an afforestation program, a senior official said on Thursday. Technology Minister Wan Gang said that the event was expected to generate 1.18 million tonnes of carbon, in part because so many athletes and spectators were traveling long distances.


In food price crunch, more Americans seek help
BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Carolyn Stanley, a single mother with five children, receives $327 in food stamps each month to feed her family. With prices for staples like bread and cheese going ever higher, each month is harder than the last. She buys hot dogs over higher-quality meat and feeds her kids cereal, but even with other government support she often has to seek help from local churches and from friends.


Nuclear Energy Heats Up US Presidential Race
Nuclear power -- controversial in the United States and throughout much of the world -- is on the agenda of all three US presidential candidates as they seek to diversify the country's energy mix and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Interviews with top policy advisers to the three White House hopefuls reveal a varied approach to the technology that some observers see as a necessary answer to fighting climate change and others view as expensive and dangerous.


Strida 5.0 - the ultimate folding bike
I’m not a cyclist by any means but it appears to moi that Great Britain based Strida has completely conquered the concept of the folding bike. The triangular frame is constructed of lightweight aluminum and power is transferred to the rear wheels via a silent, clean Kevlar belt. Handlebars are mounted horizontally so the rider can sit comfortably upright with an excellent view potential road hazards. In about five seconds the triangular frame folds-up into a compact form that can be wheeled into an office closet, loaded into your car or taken on the train. The Strida has no external grease or oil to create a mess or ruin your carefully constructed workday fashion ensemble.


Redesigning Global Economic Governance
A distinct set of global institutions governs the international economic system: the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Each has its specialty, and they are complemented by a number of even more specialized institutions with more restricted membership, such as the Bank for International Settlements and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Each institution is aware of the others, but none is responsible for the overall coherence of their various policies, let alone the achievement of international objectives.

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