Recycling hotel soap to save lives

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/16/cnnheroes.kayongo.hotel.soap/index.html

By Ebonne Ruffins, CNN

June 16, 2011 4:54 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• CNN Hero Derreck Kayongo, a Uganda native, started the Global Soap Project in 2009
• The group recycles partially used hotel soaps and sends them to impoverished nations
• Kayongo says many children are dying because they lack access to basic sanitation
• Do you know a hero? Nominations are open for 2011 CNN Heroes

Atlanta (CNN) -- That bar of soap you used once or twice during your last hotel stay might now be helping poor children fight disease.

Derreck Kayongo and his Atlanta-based Global Soap Project collect used hotel soap from across the United States. Instead of ending up in landfills, the soaps are cleaned and reprocessed for shipment to impoverished nations such as Haiti, Uganda, Kenya and Swaziland.

"I was shocked just to know how much (soap) at the end of the day was thrown away," Kayongo said. Each year, hundreds of millions of soap bars are discarded in North America alone. "Are we really throwing away that much soap at the expense of other people who don't have anything? It just doesn't sound right."

Kayongo, a Uganda native, thought of the idea in the early 1990s, when he first arrived to the U.S. and stayed at a hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He noticed that his bathroom was replenished with new soap bars every day, even though they were only slightly used.

"I tried to return the new soap to the concierge since I thought they were charging me for it," Kayongo said. "When I was told it was just hotel policy to provide new soap every day, I couldn't believe it."

Kayongo called his father -- a former soap maker in Uganda -- and shared the experience.

The 11th Hour

http://www.filmsforaction.org/Watch/The_11th_Hour/

Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, this captivating documentary explores the perilous state of our planet, and the means by which we can change our course. Contributing to this crucial film are noted politicians, scientists and other ambassadors for the importance of a universal ecological consciousness. The 11th Hour is directed by Nadia Connors and Leila Conners Peterson and features narration from Academy Award® Nominee Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed, Blood Diamond). The environmentally friendly DVD packaging is produced with 100% certified renewable resources. A portion of the profits will be donated to Global Green.

New Bioretention Cells in Washington

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151156955172270&set=a.422100082269.194110.18765892269&type=1&relevant_count=1

One of DDOE’s new bioretention cells at work during yesterday’s rainstorm! This facility helped capture a considerable amount of water from 1st St NE yesterday in NOMA, allowing it to be sequestered by plant life or infiltrate into the ground. Projects such as this are necessary for reducing polluted stormwater runoff from reaching our local streams and rivers. Just an example of how the District is working hard to restore our local watersheds, the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. Come check out this beautiful new device at 1200 1st St NE., Washington.

Aerial images of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction

http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2012/11/aerial-images-of-sandys-destruction/#1

• »

Burnt houses are seen next to those which survived in Breezy Point, a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens, after it was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

People (bottom) walk near the remains of burned homes after Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Over 50 homes were reportedly destroyed in a fire during the storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People (bottom) walk near the remains of burned homes after Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Over 50 homes were reportedly destroyed in a fire during the storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People walk through the remains of burned homes after Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Over 50 homes were reportedly destroyed in a fire during the storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People walk on a partially submerged road near the remains of burned homes after Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Over 50 homes were reportedly destroyed in a fire during the storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Residents walk past burned houses in Breezy Point, a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens, after it was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

Men stand near a destroyed home in Seagate, New York. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

An aerial view of the LaGuardia airport in New York. New York City and the sodden U.S. Northeast began an arduous journey back to normal on Wednesday after mammoth storm Sandy killed at least 64 people in a rampage that swamped coastal cities and cut power to millions. The New York area’s John F. Kennedy and Newark airports reopened after thousands of flights had been canceled, leaving travelers stuck for days. LaGuardia, a third major airport, was scheduled to reopen on Thursday. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

Abandoned and flooded cars are viewed in the heavily damaged Rockaway neighborhood, in Queens where a large section of the iconic boardwalk was washed away in New York. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Debris piles up near the foundations of the historic Rockaway boardwalk in Queens after it was washed away during superstorm Sandy. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The John B. Caddell, a 700-ton water tanker, is seen grounded in this aerial photo in New York. The 167-foot tanker ran aground Monday night from the storm surge caused by Hurricane Sandy. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

A view of storm damage over the Atlantic Coast from the helicopter behind Marine One with US President Barack Obama and Governor Christie as they view the Hurricane Sandy damage in New Jersey. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)

This picture provided by the US Coast guard shows flooded homes in Tuckerton, New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline on October 29. (US Coast Guard)

Hurricane Sandy damage is seen on the bay side of Belmar, New Jersey. (Tim Larson/New Jersey’s governor’s office)

Hurricane Sandy damage is seen on the bay side of Belmar, New Jersey. (Tim Larson/New Jersey’s governor’s office)

A view of a track and field littered with debris after water receded in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

An aerial view of the damage around Atlantic City, New Jersey is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)

Rubble from Superstorm Sandy remains by homes at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Long Branch, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Boats are strewn amid wreckage from Superstorm Sandy in Sea Bright, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Boats are strewn among houses amid wreckage from Superstorm Sandy in Sea Bright, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Homes in the Dover Beaches North neighborhood are surrounded by sand washed in by Superstorm Sandy in Ocean County, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)/Getty Images)

Homes in the Dover Beaches North neighborhood are surrounded by sand washed in by Superstorm Sandy in Ocean County, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Homes in the Dover Beaches North neighborhood are surrounded by sand washed in by Superstorm Sandy in Ocean County, New Jersey. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)

A helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City observes displaced homes on the New Jersey coastline. The storm has claimed many lives in the United States and has caused massive flooding across much of the Atlantic seaboard. (U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)

The property damage along the New Jersey coast caused by Hurricane Sandy. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Swanson/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)

A woman walks on the beach past homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Mantoloking, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Homes sit in ruin at the end of a bridge wrecked by flooding from Superstorm Sandy in Mantoloking, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Homes sit in ruin at the end of a bridge wrecked by flooding from Superstorm Sandy in Mantoloking, New Jersey. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

An aerial view of the damage around Mantoloking, New Jersey is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. (Doug Mills/Getty Images)

A house floats in the bay after it was washed from its foundation during Hurricane Sandy in Manotoloking, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Boats are piled next to a house, where they were washed ashore during Hurricane Sandy, near Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Boats are seen in a yard, where they washed onto shore during Hurricane Sandy, near Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Sailboats are seen washed up behind several homes following Hurricane Sandy in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Sailboats are seen in a jumble at a marina dock where Hurricane Sandy came ashore near Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)

Damaged houses covered in sand in Lavallette, New Jersey are seen in an aerial view of Hurricane Sandy damage. (Tim Aubry/Greenpeace)

Two beach goers walk along the shoreline where a damaged home remains among pilings from a washed-out boardwalk, after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Lavallette, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius/Reuters)

A lone house stands on the shoreline among destroyed homes after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Lavallette, New Jersey. (Steve Nesius)

Hurricane Sandy damage is seen on the bay side of Seaside Heights, New Jersey. (Tim Larson/New Jersey’s governor’s 

China builds road right around "nail house" as owner Luo Baogen refuses to sell

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57553658/china-builds-road-right-around-nail-house-as-owner-luo-baogen-refuses-to-sell/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cbsnews%2Ffeed+%28CBSNews.com%29

People stand near a house sitting in the middle of a new main road on the outskirts of Wenling city in east China's Zhejiang province, Nov. 22, 2012. / AP

BEIJING

In the middle of an eastern Chinese city's new main road, rising incongruously from a huge circle in the freshly laid pavement, is a five-story row house with ragged edges. This is the home of the duck farmer who said "no."

How Long Until It's Gone?

Habitat Restoration: An Economic Engine

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1094074675001?bckey=AQ~~%2CAAAAmZfSubE~%2CRcH_vKEgcc8rO41NFM8ONh0xjXYYADXb&bclid=1796853385001&bctid=1816998344001

A series video of ocean, wetland ,and fishery restoration.

Tree houses of the Korowai tribe of New Guinea

http://todayswhisper.com/tree-houses-of-the-korowai-tribe-of-new-guinea

Deep within the inaccessible jungle of the southeast Indonesian province of Papua, about 150 kilometres inland from the Arafura Sea, lives the Korowai tribe – a clan totally isolated from the rest of the world. They are hunter-gatherers living in a small society of traditional family ties who need to share all they have in order to survive. Until their discovery by a Dutch missionary in 1974, the Korowai had hardly any contact with the outside world.

Drained Wetlands Give Off Same Amount of Greenhouse Gases as Industry

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121123092742.htm

ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2012) — Drained wetlands in Sweden account for the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as Swedish industry. This is shown by a summary of research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Forests and agricultural fields on drained previous wetlands make up between five and ten percent of Sweden's surface area. When these wetlands are drained, they become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

"We note that drained wetlands which have been forested or used for agricultural purposes are a significant potential source of greenhouse gases of a magnitude that is at least comparable with the industrial sector's greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden."

Emissions from these drained wetlands can be reduced, but that involves rewetting the land -- resulting in a negative impact on forestry production. According to the researchers, compromises may be necessary.

"As long as wetlands remain wet, only methane is given off," says Åsa Kasimir Klemedtsson from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Gothenburg. "However, for more than a hundred years land has been drained for agriculture and forestry, producing large quantities both carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide."

Together with researcher Örjan Berglund from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dr Kasimir Klemedtsson was commissioned by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency during the summer and autumn of 2012 to compile information about greenhouse gases from drained wetlands.

New rules were introduced at last year's Durban Climate Change Conference with the second Kyoto Protocol phase. These rules include the possibility of reporting wetland drainage or rewetting of drained wetlands. Sweden now faces the choice of whether to include these ahead of the second Kyoto Protocol phase.

Why Poverty?

Few short clips with English subtitles, talking about poverty, education, and crime.


【⇒ 為什麼貧窮？ Why Poverty？官網】

Peru Passes Monumental Ten Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods

http://www.whitewolfpack.com/2012/11/peru-passes-monumental-ten-year-ban-on.html

Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for the next ten years

In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review. 

Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision 3 years after the decree was written despite previous governmental pushes for GM legalization due largely to the pressure from farmers that together form the Parque de la Papa in Cusco, a farming community of 6,000 people that represent six communities. 

They worry the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will compromise the native species of Peru, such as the giant white corn, purple corn and, of course, the famous species of Peruvian potatoes. Anibal Huerta, President of Peru’s Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the ”danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology.” 

While the ban will curb the planting and importation of GMOs in the country, a test conducted by the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) at the time of the ban’s implementation found that 77 percent of supermarket products tested contained GM contaminants. 

”Research by ASPEC confirms something that Peruvians knew all along: GM foods are on the shelves of our markets and wineries, and consumers buy them and take them into their homes to eat without knowing it. Nobody tells us, no one says anything, which involves a clear violation of our right to information,” Cáceres told Gestión. GMOs are so prevalent in the Americas that it is virtually impossible to truly and completely block them, whether through pollination or being sneaked in as processed foods.

“There is an increasing consensus among consumers that they want safe, local, organic fresh food and that they want the environment and wildlife to be protected,” wrote Walter Pengue from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, in a recent statement concerning GMOs in South America. “South American countries must proceed with a broader evaluation of their original agricultural policies and practices using the precautionary principle.” 

Note: This decree was signed into effect on April 15th 2011 

SOURCE: Occupy Monsanto