Eco Lesbo Vego

What have we been talking about? What’s been happening in the world?

Eco Lesbo Vego

We discussed:

• Reducing your workload to allow you to keep up with your low impact life.
• Using your corporate resources to do business sustainably.
• The exciting news that you don’t need to scrub your recyclables clean before putting them in the recycling bin!

I also posted a vegan recipe – Avocado Dip. It’s made of versatile tastiness win!

Environmental News from Australia and Around the World

The Beijing Olympics improved the environment of the city more than anticipated according to a United Nations (UN) assessment released this week. The assessment of the Beijing Olympics outlines whether the environmental targets set down by the Olympic committee and the city were met or exceeeded. In almost every case, Beijing did better than expected, with fewer cars on the roads, more green spaces, less air pollution and a generally more livable city.

We may someday use solar energy to convert CO2 into fuel – and the technology to achieve this is already available. A team from Pennsylvania State University created the device they hope will reduce the effect of emissions on the global climate. The device is currently producing amounts of fuel that are too low to be practically used, but it’s at least a 20% improvement on the next most efficient version, and the team is already working on improvements. I think the idea is awesome – using renewable energy to create a renewable fuel that doesn’t just avoid creating pollution but actively reduces it? That’s my kind of invention.

The strong greenhouse effect over the Arctic is worsened by melting ice caps – something we always knew. New studies show, however, that it’s not just that the ice reflects heat out of the atmosphere better than sea water. Two other factors are also in play:

• More liquid H2O means a larger surface area from which water vapour (a greenhouse gas) can evaporate
• Water stores solar energy more readily than ice does, later releasing that heat into the lower atmosphere.

These three factors combine to make warming in the Arctic more severe than in other regions. I was surprised to note that the reflectivity of ice, while the most commonly cited reason, is not even the driving force behind Arctic warming.

Mobile phone manufacturers worldwide have agreed to a cross-industry standard that will ensure all mobile phone chargers are the same as of 2012. To make things even better, the new chargers will be more than twice as energy efficient as the current chargers. The universal nature of this charger means that you won’t have to chuck your old one next time you buy a new phone. While I’m sure new phones will still come with a new charger, so you’ll still have just as many as you did before, I’m pretty sure most people won’t throw the old one away, but continue to use it. How many of us were annoyed when Nokia updated its charger style for their new phones? Prior to that, everyone I knew with a Nokia had several identical chargers – one at home, one at work, one at Mum’s place… Now imagine that, for not just all Nokias, but all phones of any brand. How cool will that be? If your old charger dies, it will be much easier to pick up a second-hand one from someone who has an extra, too. I see a lot of Wanted posts on Freecycle for phone chargers. Some folks are all negative about why the telco companies haven’t done this before, but I’m choosing to focus on the positive – it’s awesome that a group of companies have banded together to make this possible, supposedly just for the environment and their customers.

The sharp drop in the price of used materials means that kerbside recycling is under threat, even here in Australia. Understandably, that’s got some people up in arms, but currently local councils are bearing the brunt of the cost, and it’s simply not sustainable. Some companies are currently stockpiling until the market improves, but other people are calling for the widening of the market for recyclable materials. Councils are suggesting that manufacturers be forced (through legislation) to sell consumables with less packaging. Gee, I’d have never though of that before! I don’t think kerbside recycling will be phased out without a big outcry from the public – after so many years of it here, we’re just too used to it. I remember how strange I found it to live in small-town Texas and not be able to just drop things into the recycling bin. With the increased awareness on the environment in recent years, people are going to be even less likely to be keen to give it up. Someone is going to have to legislate in a ‘less packaging’ law though, because I don’t see how else to combat the problems. And it stands to reason that the less used material there is, the higher demand will be and thus the higher the price. A ‘less packaging’ law might actually stimulate the industry.

Of course, there’s lots of other news. Did I miss anything particularly important? Leave a comment and let me know.