We can't even decide on how to save the world

I was once in a meeting that was organising part of the G8 rally in Germany's Heiligendamm (G8 summit 2007). I didn't really know what kind of meeting it was at the time (I'm talking about the meeting, not the G8 summit :-)), I was only told it had something to do with G8 and I was sent by my organisation to represent us. Not knowing how to dress, I'd rather overdress than underdress. So I wore my suit and my tie, and after a 5-hour trip I was anxious to see who's involved.

Where have I landed?
I finally arrived there, I found the door, and reached for the handle. I enter a room with people in their pullovers and T-Shirts, as casual as they come. The closest thing to formal was a buttoned-up rolled-up shirt. There were about 30 people from 20 different organisations in a big round table ordered in a circle (I think only 4-5 women were there).

So after a short time of amazement, I took my tie off, loosened the top shirt button and now fit better into the group. Though I still had the feeling they think I was some traitor with a corporate background. As it turns out they were discussing about the logistics, the planning of the G8 rally and the main message they wanted to present to the G8 leaders. Some very left representatives were there, the most notable fellow was a mid-20 year old german student with a pullover and rasta curls (I don't want to judge by appearances, but it was obvious after the first hour he was quite a left activist).

No, I won't listen to you, but you're sure as hell are going to listen to me
The problem is when 20 different groups all want to be heard there can often only be one outcome, either everyone has to make a compromise or not much happens. The problem at the meeting was, many times when we were close to coming a decision, someone would say: "Sorry, no, I can't accept that. The document is missing the phrase [enter phrase here]." This phrase or word could be peace, it could be social justice, it could be climate change. So at that point an endless argument would break out, and already in agenda point 2 we're not on schedule anymore. One guy even pretended to take a nap because he was offended no one would understand that his idea was the best one (this guy was annoying and destructive in the discussion process, but he wasn't the only one).

The Economist's Green.View had a report on the breaking up of environmental groups and had an analogy that they found in a movie:

Among the many targets of “The Life of Brian”, a satirical Monty Python film, is the tendency of radical left-wing political movements to splinter. The film’s would-be revolutionaries of the People’s Front of Judea, the Judean People’s Front and the Popular Front of Judea are too busy quibbling and accusing each other of treachery to cause much trouble for the occupying Romans.

"But my priority is more important"
It was similar to where I was. There were peace groups, environmental groups, 3-in-1 groups (economical, ecological and social), activist groups, networking groups, discussion groups. It was a wide range of people and they couldn't decide on even wording of some of the documents.

Sometimes the disagreements are over priorities. In 2005 Britons saw David Bellamy, a noted naturalist and wildlife enthusiast, threaten to chain himself to a wind turbine to protest against plans to build a wind farm in Cumbria, a remote and unspoilt part of England. Mr Bellamy objected on the grounds that the turbines would ruin the natural beauty of the moorland. At other times, global problems are cast against local concerns. Diesel engines produce less carbon dioxide than do petrol ones, so some greens want to see the use of diesel fuel encouraged. But diesel also emits more carcinogenic particles, earning the ire of campaigners for cleaner urban air. Finally, there are arguments over basic facts. There is much debate among environmentalists as to whether plant-derived biofuels are a good thing (since they emit no extra carbon into the air) or a bad thing (since producing them can involve deforestation).

But perhaps the biggest rift is over nuclear power. Here, disagreements reach the most rarefied levels. James Lovelock, a chemist who invented the Gaia hypothesis (the earth is a balance of interdependent mechanisms) and is godfather to a generation of greens, provoked much anger and soul-searching in 2004 when he declared that nuclear power offered the only credible solution to climate change. Opposition to atomic energy, said Mr Lovelock, was based on “irrational fear fed by Hollywood-style fiction, the Green lobbies and the media”. Equally influential organisations such as Friends of the Earth, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace preach the traditional anti-atomic doctrine.

[...]

Caught in the crossfire, many of the green movement’s foot-soldiers are tormented by doubts. Many will tell you that their own attitudes have shifted from outright opposition to nuclear power a few years ago to grudging acquiescence as the scale of the climate-change problem has become apparent.

Well, all in all, it was a very long day, but I left earlier (6-7 hours of multi-group debating was enough). I was put on their mailing list and saw similar things going on in their mailing list. Back and forth, back and forth. In the future I will try to avoid that type of meeting. It was fun and informative but not productive - not my type of meeting. There were too many people, too many didn't have interest in listening to other people's point of view. 3-4 people were the talkers and once they started talking they couldn't stop, dragging and provoking the discussions endlessly. Some people did have interest in finding a solution and were very productive and constructive, but unfortunately their voices were drowned by the bickering over small details.

I have nothing against activist groups, I think peaceful protests are needed to make your voice heard. But deciding on one direction with 30 different representatives from 20 different NGOs or NGO-ish groups just seemed impossible that day.

I'm glad the G8 summit did produce some results (nothing tangible yet) and protest were mostly kept peaceful and I hope to see some good results on climate change in Bali 2007. It would be a nice year, the G8 green light was made in my country of nationality and the decision will hopefully be made in the country I grew up.

A nice BBC report on the G8 protest in Germany 2007 (9:48 mins)

7 Reasons why you should NOT care about the environment

With all this "greenery" going around, climate change and global warming, environmental protection, biodiversity and so on and so on I have made a list of why we should NOT care about the environment.

<sarcasm>

1. Research towards the environment takes money away from other good research. Why should we invest into forests, cleaning water and clean technology? Research in these areas is just taking money away from reasonable research such as faster automobiles and stronger air-conditioners. When global warming comes I don't want to spend too much time in the over-heated car and I don't want to be sweating at home.
   
   
2. It looks ugly to have clean energy. Windparks are just so ugly with their white blades and their turning. And who wants a solar-cells covered roof? Roofs are the first thing you see when you fly over a country with an airplane. It just ruins the first impression for tourists.
   
   
3. Humans should rule earth, not insects. There are about a million known insect species, 3 times more than all other species together. If humans really want to be king of the earth, we should eliminate as many other species possible. The good thing with insects is we don't know many of them and how they function, so it's safe to kill them.
   
   
4. A rise in the number of graduating biologists. We would have a rise in the number of biologists, including marine biologists if we eradicate many types of animals and plants, because then there won't be so many different genus and species to remember. And we can always use more academics. To be more efficient, we should eradicate a whole family or even class of animals, that gets rid of a whole branch in the biological nomenclature that students have to remember.
   
   
5. Non-natural objects like buildings don't "heal" themselves like trees, therefore they need more maintenance, creating more jobs! I hope you don't oppose against this air-tight reason for creating more concrete roads and high-rise buildings. If you are against this reason, you are not very sympathetic towards the working people.
   
   
6. We would save a lot of time! We can cut the small talk short because we don't need to talk about global warming anymore or Al Gore's latest book. In meetings we can focus on money and financial growth instead of being occupied with natural resources.
   
   
7. Less worrying and no need to change lifestyles! It IS a huge hassle to get into an electric car or a hybrid instead of a normal fuel-based SUV (it just feels weird when the car makes no noise!!). And there's no need to look on a different shelf to get an energy-efficient lamp instead of the normal light bulb. I'd rather pay 4 times more for electricity than looking on another shelf! Nobody tells me where to look when I'm shopping!

Maybe you have some more ideas on how we can further ignore the environment and create a better economy? Let me know!

</sarcasm>

Just to make sure: I hope everyone understood the sarcasm behind this post :-). I wrote this to make a bit clearer how ridiculous it is to not care about the environment. There's no real reason why we can't protect our environment and create a more sustainable planet. And it might take some getting used to, but it won't hurt the quality of life - the opposite is true. Being more friendly towards the environment makes us more conscious about our surroundings.

If you want a good read on how civilisations went under because of neglecting or mis-using the environment, pick up a copy of Jared Diamond's Collapse.

Want to know more about how well-being and environmental sustainability can be used to create a happy planet? Read more about it in the Happy Planet Index.

The Big Carbon Offset Lie?

Many of you will have tried carbon offset to get a carbon neutral life or at least head towards that direction. Numerous companies are springing up from everywhere offering carbon offsetting. But are they really what they claim to be?

What is Carbon offsetting?
The world can only take so much emissions of greenhouse gases. Since people in industrialised countries emit more CO2 and other greenhouse gases through e.g. flying, driving, food packaging and production, electricity usage than the earth can handle, they try to buy carbon credits through special companies. What these carbon credits do is that for e.g. 1 tonne of greenhouse gas we "over-emit" they will save up somewhere else. Since developing countries still use old and inefficient technology, it's very cheap to invest there. So by, for example, replacing a wood-burning stove with a solar-cooker, the developing country might save a tonne of CO2 per year because solar cookers don't emit greenhouse gases. And that's how a person in an industrialised country can compensate/offset the "over-emissions".

The problem: The projects aren't working
Now, according to a very well-written Guardian story, this doesn't seem to be working.

One company, Equiclimate, which is run by Christians and recommended by the [UK] government, has sold thousands of tonnes of offset which are now worthless in financial and environmental terms. It bought up some of the special permits which allow European companies to emit specified amounts of carbon. The idea was to sell them to customers who would "retire" them, thus cutting the amount of carbon which those companies could produce. But the European commission distributed 170m too many of the permits and so the thousands which have been bought by Equiclimate's customers make no difference at all. People may believe they are offsetting the emissions from their patio heaters by signing up to the Calor Gas offsetting scheme, but the sad fact is that Calor Gas is relying on 5,000 tonnes of EU permits which it bought from Equiclimate when most of the permits were already worthless. "We chose them because they were recommended by government," a Calor Gas executive said.

[...]

Atmosfair, a German offsetting group which is well regarded for its commitment to the environment, undertook to rewrite a section of its website following a phone call from the Guardian. Since 2004, it has been offering air travellers offsets which carry the gold standard awarded by a Swiss-based group backed by dozens of environmental NGOs. In an uncertain market, this gold standard is highly desirable. But none of the five projects on which Atmosfair is relying has yet produced a single verified gold standard reduction in emissions. One project was never intended to reach gold standard; one has been withdrawn; one is stalled. The remaining two - solar-powered kitchens in India and energy from palm oil waste in Thailand - are up and running, but neither has yet completed the gold standard process. Atmosfair's founder, Dietrich Brockhagen, acknowledged that what he was selling was "forward" credits even though the two projects might fail finally to generate them. "You have a point, that the customer might not understand this," he said.

Even worse, private companies that have tried to be seen as a pioneer in greenery - even in very polluting industries - have fallen way short.

It is 20 months now since British Airways proudly announced a new scheme to deal with climate change: for the first time, passengers could offset their share of the carbon produced by any flight by paying for the same amount of carbon to be taken out of the atmosphere elsewhere. "I welcome warmly this move from BA," said the then environment minister, Elliot Morley.
And how much carbon has BA offset from the estimated 27m tonnes which its planes have fired into the air since that high-profile moment in September 2005? The answer is less than 3,000 tonnes, less than 0.01% of its emissions - substantially less than the carbon dispersed by a single day of its flights between London and New York. The scheme has been, as BA's company secretary, Alan Buchanan, put it to a House of Commons select committee earlier this year, "disappointing".

The project has failed, according to one well-placed BA executive, because one part of the company wanted to improve its image by going green while another part wanted to protect its image by saying nothing at all about the impact of air travel on global warming. The result was that the scheme was launched and then banished to a dark corner of BA's website.

A couple of days later the Guardian published another article saying that certain standards need to be set, because at the moment anyone can set their own rules.

The fast-growing but increasingly criticised carbon offset industry is at risk of being discredited by "cowboy" operators unless it draws up a recognisable set of standards that customers can trust, one of the most senior figures in the sector has warned.

The comments, from Jonathan Shopley, chief executive of the CarbonNeutral Company, highlight growing unease that blue-chip businesses could turn away from carbon credits amid increasing evidence that some schemes are of dubious value.

Even worse for the fledgling industry, many environmentalists are increasingly opposed to offsetting because they fear companies are opting for cheap and ineffectual swap schemes instead of cutting their CO2 output.

"There are credibility issues and there are cowboys around," said Mr Shopley. "It is probably to be expected for an industry at this stage but we need a set of standards and outside verification so that self-regulation can engender trust and integrity in the market."

But at least it's good that efforts are being made.

CarbonNeutral, one of the biggest offsetting companies in the UK, has already developed its own off setting standards, verified by independent assessors. The growth of the London-based firm underlines the growing interest in climate change and carbon off setting around the City.

"We have doubled our revenues over the last financial year and whereas two years ago we would get one inbound call a week about offsetting, it is now over 100," said Mr Shopley, who is supporting the Climate Group, a non-profit organisation, in its attempts to draw up rules under a "voluntary carbon standard".

This is a good thing, because some companies, well-intentioned in their drive towards carbon neutrality have run into problems.

HSBC, the global banking group which promised to go carbon neutral in 2005, says its experiences of trying to offset carbon led it to draw some harsh conclusions.

"The police, the fraud squad and trading standards need to be looking at this," Francis Sullivan, an environment adviser to the bank, told the FT.

SustainaBee says: I've never believed that much in carbon offsetting. Maybe once doubts can be cast aside, I will put a little money there. Until then, why not take that extra money that you would have spent on buying carbon credits and use it for implementing measures that can reduce your carbon emissions? E.g. change all your light bulbs to energy-efficient ones (save up to 80% of electricity!), switch your water tap with a more water-saving one (save up to 40% of water per tap!), save up the money for a flat-screen TV or a flat-screen monitor, or maybe get an iMac, a very energy-efficient PC.

Will my bank save the world?

I've been waiting for weeks for the letter. Though their processing may not be as standardised and super-efficient as big institutions, I think the company's idea is a really cool one. And that's why I waited, day after day. And then, one saturday morning, I looked into the mailbox and: Voila!

GLS Bank
Today it finally arrived! "Dear Mr. Adria, as per request we have opened your internet banking account..." and so on. What I'm talking about is that I finally have my GLS Bank account. The bank was founded about 30 years ago and was the first german bank to have an ethical philosophy as their driving force. GLS is an abbreviation for (translated) Community Bank for Loans and Gifts.

What's so special about them is that all the money I have in my account will only be loaned for purposes that they have deemed loan-worthy (such as renewable energy, organic farming, health, social causes). Even better, they choose about 10 areas they will invest in, and I can choose specifically in which of these 10 areas my money will be put in. I chose renewable energy. So, by law, for every 1 EUR I have in my bank account, they can loan 12,5 EUR for a renewable energy project - isn't that great?! There's a second bank like this in Germany, the Umweltbank (Environmental Bank) and I think UK's Cooperative Bank has a similar idea behind it. I don't know which other countries have banks like this, but if you do, write to me!

Big Finance catching up on sustainability issues
Of course big finance institutions don't want to get left behind, CitiGroup wants to direct 50 billion USD in the next 10 years towards fighting climate change and HSBC goes carbon-neutral. Financial Times has even set up a Sustainable Banking Award and many banks want to get on this list.

The Dilemma: 50 billion USD or 100%?
My dilemma now lies in whether I should stay with CitiBank, who are willing to finance huge sums to projects against climate change or whether I should move to the bank that will invest ALL its money into sustainability-related projects (environmental, social, cultural, community)?

This is similar to the investing dilemma of best-in-class approach (where I invest in the most sustainable companies in ANY sector, even oil) vs. a sector-only approach (where I only invest in a certain sector, say, environmental technologies).

For now I will have money in both accounts, but I can see in the future that I will change completely to the GLS Bank.

Why we still need a CitiGroup
In the end, we will still need the CitiGroups of the world. It's the big ones that can move the markets, the small ones often give the impulses and the ideas. It's quite improbable that a small bank will grow so fast just through their environmental action. It's improbable that the small sustainable local store chain will be bigger than "big bad" Wal-Mart, and I don't think they want to. But it is probable that Wal-Mart will move towards a more environmentally friendly direction. And this is what we need: The big movers moving in the right direction.

But at the moment it's often mini-steps they're taking. CitiGroup, with profits at 21,5 billion USD in 2006 and assets close to 1,9 trillion (that's one thousand nine hundred billion!) it makes the sum of 50 billion USD in financing seem quite small now. So until they make bigger steps, I will move my money to my new environmentally friendly bank.

Small Actions to Change the World #1 (Carnival)

I'm delighted to launch the first edition of the Carnival "Small Actions to Change the World" with this post! This will be a monthly carnival with articles that contain small actions any person can make in order to create a better and more sustainable world! Although some articles were posted after deadline, I will still include them here, I'll make it my Small Action to Change the World :-).

We kick-off this Carnival with an article from Chris Baskind from LighterFootstep, he tells us Why small changes matter. This is an excellent introductory post for this first Carnival.

Tracy from The EcoStreet Blog presents How to host an eco-friendly children's party. To the parents: Small actions with little kids could result in big action with big grownups later :-).

PlasticLess presents Five Easy Ways to Reduce Your Plastic Use. Be sure to check it out and start saving today!

Jess Sand from Small Failures gives you 5 Steps to a Better Farmers' Market Experience. Keep these in mind next time you go to there!

Jeremy Hobbs from Jeremy's Consumer's Corner presents an innovative web platform SwitchPlanet.com. His opinion on the site "I'm loving the combination of reducing waste, and charitable donations. Great service!"

Astrid Lee from Therapeutic Reiki presents World Healing a worldwide distant healing initiative which you can join from anywhere. Why not give it a try?

Riversider from Save The Ribble present a photo-rich article on the Mud and Maritime Festival. He explains: "We help explain the importance of River's Mud for wildlife at Preston's Maritime Festival."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of "small actions to change the world!" using our carnival submission form. The next deadline is July 20th! Also visit our blog carnival index page to get more information.

I want to end this article with a story. An old man once walked along the beach. Suddenly in the distance he saw colours on the beach. He went over to see what it was. It turns out that these were starfish. There were so many of them washed up from the sea. Though he was amazed, he didn't think about it twice and just went further for a walk when he saw a child - this child was throwing starfish into the ocean. One by one. The old man walked up to him and said: "What are you doing? There are so many of them - you won't be able to save them all!" To this the child replied: "I might not be able to save them all." The child picked up a starfish and said: "But I can save this one. And this one. And this one."

130 Scientists on the Polar Star to check European Seas' Ecosystems

The ship "Polarstern" (Polar Star) is in icy waters. Just a couple of months ago it was on the Atlantic Ocean doing measurements on the climate and atmosphere.
Now it is on a big journey to Northern Norway and Spitzbergen, where they will examine the Ecosystem of the deep European oceans.

130 Scientists from 11 countries are taking part in this adventure, which is split into 3 phases as part of a project for the International Polar Year 2007-2008. With the help of the manned underwater vehicle JAGO the coral reefs of the deep ocean can be analysed, photographed and tested. Additionally to the Pilot one scientist can sit in this vehicle which can go as deep as 400 metres.

For about 3 weeks, until the 21st of June, 4 pupils will take part in the expedition as part of HERMES (Hotspot Ecosystem Research on the Margins of European Seas). From then on, the scientists will report on the happening on board the Polarstern for about 3 weeks and after that it's the teachers' turn to report for two weeks.

Found via:

• Pupils on the journey with Polarstern - A diary (Readers Edition, german only)

SustainaBee says: Wow, how exciting! The students must be also very delighted to be on board! I hope the EU has more projects in the future where kids, pupils and students can participate.
I will surely report back once the journey is over!

Ads, Ads, Ads: UNEP's Creative Gallery on Sustainable Communications close to 1000 ads!

The UNEP Production and Consumption Branch has created a gallery of sustainability advertisements. At the time of writing the advertisement database has grown to 970 ads! Some of them are quite funny, such as the ads which were shown in Thailand (created by Saatchi & Saatchi) featured below. The themes range from Energy to Production Patterns, from Disaster Reduction to Education and Awareness. They have also recently introduced a rating feature, so you can rate the ads after registering.

Take a look and browse around!

(the video quality is better in the UNEP gallery)

Morocco looks to be first arabic country to draft law to promote renewable energy

As the first arabic country Morocco has drafted a law to promote renewable energy. Its system leans towards the german Renewable Energy Act. This is where power supply companies are obligated to pay a fixed price for electricity produced through renewable energy. So when a person has a solar roof, the person can put it into the national grid and the company is obligated to pay a fixed amount. The cost of this is spread among all power suppliers, so the companies get their fair share of burden.

Changes on paper for this new law are not out of the question but the resolution has been accepted by the general secretary of the government. The goal of the new law is to raise the percentage of renewable energy from currently 2 percent upto 10 percent until 2010.

SustainaBee says: Great, more and more countries are hopping on board the renewable energy train. Let's hope the law is set soon and Morocco and this sun-rich country can start building solar power and wind power plants!


Found via:

• Umweltschutz-News.de article (german only)

Further reading:

• German Feed Laws Power Nation to New Renewable Record in 2006 (Wind Works, February 2007)
  

eBay UK launches FairTrade portal

eBay UK has just recently launched an eBay FairTrade portal. It will have 3 main categories, these are: Clothes & Accessories, Jewellery, Home & Garden. All of the items will have a set price (no bidding). This will make it easier for buyers because instead of going to one shop to get FairTrade items, they can choose from a number of suppliers (at the time of writing there were 9 sellers).

SustainaBee says: This is great! The UK has often been pioneering things concerning FairTrade and also environmental actions. I hope other eBay-countries follow in their footsteps and add a FairTrade or environmental portal.
I hope it doesn't come to a FairTrade price war on eBay, something which might have a opposite reaction of what FairTrade is actually about.

Further reading/references:

• eBay UK FairTrade portal
• About FairTrade standards (fairtrade.co.uk)
• Voting with your trolley (Economist article, critical look on whether shopping fair/organic helps)
  

Airbus determined to cut flight emissions by half until 2020

Airbus, the big aircraft manufacturer wants to cut its flight emissions by half until 2020.

"The industry must do everything it can to ensure that the contribution to worldwide carbon dioxide emissions by air transport does not increase from two to three percent as planned," Gallois told a press conference. "Starting in 2008 Airbus will increase its budget for research and technology by 25 percent" as part of an effort to ensure that by 2020 all new Airbus aircraft will emit half the amount of carbon dioxide released at present.

Airbus currently spends 350 million euros (466 million dollars) on research and technology. Gallois said that in the manufacturer's industrial and production operations the goal is also to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2020 and to cut energy consumption by 30 percent.

He called on Boeing and other aerospace players to take part in a meeting in the next few months to discuss environmental issues confronting the aviation industry. "I call on our partners, our suppliers and our competitors to forge a common vision on how to become a green industry, for new ideas will only spring from a common effort by all the key players.

SustainaBee says: This is great that they're finally doing an effort. But as we've learned from industry, often times words are spoken - especially when people are currently listening - but actions not taken. Once a trend ends (in this case - cleaning up the environment) companies suffer from amnesia. It is a good step by Airbus but we have to wait and see to see the results.

Further reading/references:

• On airplane's invisible CO2 (SustainaBee Post)
  

This is your home, it's the only one you've got!

Watch this very cool video from Global Mindshift. Or you can also view it here directly through an uploaded YouTube video (the time synch on the YouTube video is a bit off towards the end).

Was Robin Hood a banker? German banker gives money to poor customers

In the city of Odenwald an employee has been charged with unloyalty in 168 cases and is looking towards jail time of up to 3 years. What are the reasons behind this?

Well in the time between January 2001 and January 2006 the bank worker has been "transfering" money from certain customers' account to other customers' account. The reason behind this was that he wanted to give the money to the people who didn't have enough liquidity and under normal circumstances wouldn't have gotten a new loan.

How was this possible? Well he did several things, in one case he took some stocks from some customers sold them without placing an order and received 83.000 EUR for that. In other cases he faked telephone calls with customers who wanted to transfer money - so to make the impression that he was taking normal orders. This put in another 765.000 EUR. Another 300.000 EUR he made was through - among others - creating false money transfer forms. And he also took money as cash from the customers account (he had a anaging position and therefore had the power to do so) and gave them in cash to another customer or just cashed it into the bank account. This made another 949.000 EUR.

But he lost track of the accounts and the exact transfers. So while he tried to compensate the money which were transferred away from the customers' account in some way, he failed to compensate 640.000 EUR of the money.

He has been charged and can have it revised by a higher instance of the court system. He will probably do so because he will go to jail and won't get any probation.

SustainaBee says: Well, the intention was good, but the methods were all wrong and doesn't make it right. It would be nice to live in a society where money is more equally distributed, but stealing from people is not the answer.


Found via:

• CSR-News.net story (german only)
  

On airplane's invisible CO2

It is a strange thing that airplanes' CO2 is not included in the agreements of the Kyoto Protocol. One solution to this was suggested at one of the workshops at EU's Green Week.

What I concluded from the session is that the aviation industry (which was not included in the Kyoto Protocol) should insist that it will be included in the next climate change framework (to prevent being seen as the “bad boy” of climate change) and that it should work as hard as possible (with government support) on developing new types of airplanes (zero-emission airplanes by 2050?) and alternative fuels (but there also respecting environmental constraints, e.g. on the use of biofuels). But I also feel that because of the expected air travel growth (what if all middle class Chinese and Indians start travelling for tourism as we Westerns do?) there will come a time when international policymakers will have to “define” the kind of air travel that is still absolutely necessary (cargo, business) and the air travel that is for leisure (can this best be done via the price mechanism?).

A new article from the Canada-based Globe-net notes that emissions might also be included in the new Emission Tradings Scheme (ETS).

In recent years, governments and international organizations have looked at policy options that could create incentives or impose requirements on aircraft operators and manufacturers to reduce emissions.

At the forefront of this push is the European Union, which has proposed that aircraft be covered under the region's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Only domestic flights are covered under the Kyoto Protocol, so international flights are currently not targeted by any regulatory emissions reduction efforts.

Under the proposal, emissions from all flights within the EU will be covered in 2011, with international flights to be included in 2012, impacting airlines based in Canada directly. The EU hopes to serve as a model for other countries, and projects that by 2020, the cost of a typical return flight within the region could rise by $3-$9 Cdn.

An independant study by Ernst & Young thinks otherwise, though. EurActiv report on this.

On 6 June, the aviation industry unveiled an independent impact-assessment of the inclusion of aviation into the ETS, which it claims demonstrates that the Commission's proposal "will jeopardise the long-term viability of the European aviation industry".

[...]

Moreover, as operating costs rise, profits will fall due to the fall in demand, which will occur once ticket prices rise, because demand for air travel is in fact highly price-sensitive, claims the study.

The study also shows that, whatever the geographical scope of the scheme, it will put EU aircraft operators at a "perpetual competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis non-European carriers". Airlines are therefore calling on the Commission, Council and Parliament to review the proposal and make it less detrimental to the sector. They say that a different baseline and cap are essential.

SustainaBee says: Hmm... confusing. But in the light of current problems I think it's better to take care of our environmental problems. If our environment deteriorates our economy will surely suffer so much more than through our inaction!


Further reading:

• Analysis of the EC Proposal to include Aviation Activities in the Emissions Trading Scheme (Ernst & Young study, pdf)
  

Will the UAE have the first zero-carbon city?

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates plans to build a 5 billion USD extension to its city, which will come very close to a zero-carbon, zero-waste city. They have set up an ambitious plan to finish building by 2009.

Using the traditional planning principles of a walled city, together with existing technologies to achieve sustainable development, this six sq km expanse will house an energy, science and technology community.

Called the Masdar (meaning ‘source' in Arabic) Initiative, this ambitious plan for a 'Green City' is being driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, a private, joint stock company established and wholly-owned by Mubadala Development Company.

‘‘As the first major hydrocarbon-producing nation to take such a step, Abu Dhabi has established its leadership position by launching Masdar, a global cooperative platform for open engagement in the search for solutions to some of mankind's most pressing issues -- energy security, environment and truly sustainable human development,'' Masdar chief executive Sultan Al Jaber said.

Abu Dhabi accounts for more than 90 percent of the UAE's oil resources, and the country's reserves, exceeding 100 billion barrels, ranked third largest in the world.

AngryBee says: Bah, those rich people just want to show off how much money they have!


SustainaBee says: Wow, the Masdar project sounds great! They do have a lot of money sitting on so much oil, but it's great to see money put to so good use! This could be a benchmark for future sustainable housing projects.

SolarTaxi to drive around the world!

"With the power of the sun around the world - stop global warming! 40.000 km... 40 countries... 14 months..."
These will be the first words you read when you go on the SolarTaxi homepage (german only). A swiss team is determined to go around the world to meet innovators, politicians and other people who are combatting global warming. They will write about their world tour in their website and they are doing this to show that there are solutions to have a sustainable life on earth. They will start on the 3rd of July 2007 and will start in Lucerne, Switzerland with their CO2-free car!

The idea came from the initiator of the project, Louis Palmer, who wanted to be the first to go around the globe in a solar-powered car. He's already taken the car on a 3.000 km test run from Lucerne, Swiss to Barcelona, Spain and back - with practically no problems (except maybe those pesky cell-phone-photographers).

SustainaBee says: What an exciting project! Once they start the tour, I will be sure to report on it with updates!



Found via:

• Around the world in a solar car (KarmaKonsum, german only)
  

EU urges states to hurry up with CO2 emission targets

In a recently released EU report it was stated that the emissions in the EU-15 fell slightly between 2004 and 2005, by 0.8% to be exact. That makes it 1.5% in total since 1990. The EU-15 though, have ratified the Kyoto protocol, stating that they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% until 2012. They even made an agreement to themselves, to cut emissions by 20% until 2020.

"It is very encouraging that we are cutting emissions while the European economy grows strongly," said EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas in a statement on Thursday (14 June). "But it is clear that many member states need to accelerate their efforts to limit emissions significantly if the EU is to meet its Kyoto target," he warned.

[...]

"Several EU countries are still emitting more greenhouse gases than they did in 1990 or even increased their emissions from 2004 to 2005. The EU keeps on saying that it cares about climate change, but the overall data shows that this is not kicking yet," said Sonja Meister from Friends of the Earth. The remaining 12 member states, which became EU members after the UN agreement was signed, each have individual Kyoto targets.

[...]

"We are very confident that we will be reaching our Kyoto target," Mr Dimas' spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich said on Thursday. "There is a positive trend and in addition, these figures do not show yet the significant input that the emission trading system will have," she said, adding that other measures such as targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy would help.

SustainaBee says: Well, it's nice to see that the EU-15 are decreasing emissions even though they're growing economically. Though efforts have to be pushed even stronger, but I am optimistic and see a chance that the EU-15 will make the Kyoto targets!

Ikea Staff Light-Bulb Giveaway!

Ikea is taking creative strides in making the swedish furniture company greener. It's giving away energy-efficient light bulbs to all of its employees, saving the employees a lot of electricity costs in the long-run.

As part of its ongoing plans to reduce its environmental impact, Ikea said every new employee, as well as every current employee, would receive the bulbs, which would cost the company about £45,000 (around US$88,000) to start. The company will also replace the light bulbs for free when they stop working in about five years.

"Every new worker will also get a pack of bulbs as part of their package when they join the company," Charlie Browne, environment manager at Ikea U.K., told the Guardian. "We have been taking measures to save energy at our stores and we also have an obligation to educate our co-workers."

SustainaBee says: This is great! I hope more companies will follow in IKEA's footsteps. This will make the employees think more about energy-efficiency in their surroundings. With me, it also started with a light-bulb.
Now if they could just persuade all their customers to get hybrid or electric vehicles for their IKEA-shopping...

WiTricity: Look, mom, no wires!!

Tesla had a vision of distributing cheap, wireless electricity for everyone. For a long time that vision was buried, but researchers at MIT are digging to find the technology to make the vision come true, wireless electricity.

Researchers at MIT have shown that it's possible to wirelessly power a 60-watt lightbulb sitting about two meters away from a power source. Using a remarkably simple setup--basically consisting of two metal coils--they have demonstrated, for the first time, that it is feasible to efficiently send that much power over such a distance. The experiment paves the way for wirelessly charging batteries in laptops, mobile phones, and music players, as well as cutting the electric cords on household appliances, says Marin Soljačić, professor of physics at MIT, who led the team with physics professor John Joannopoulos.

SustainaBee says: This sounds great. Although this technology is still far from mainstream, these folks at MIT made a promising step! Hopefully research on this continues!

Green Week opens in the EU!

Green Week has opened! Follow some of the updates by someone who's actually doing a presentation there (it's on the role of cities and regions to tackle climate change).

“Past lessons, future challenges” is the overall title of this year’s Green Week organised from 12 to 15 June in Brussels and was also the topic of the first high-level opening session this morning.

Commission President Barroso started the session with a remarkably optimistic evaluation of the recent G8-meeting and a positive picture of EU environmental policies. The fact that the Portuguese Commission President was present for the first time ever in Green Week is probably a good indication that in the last year there has been a serious shift in thinking within the European Commission. The Barroso commission which started its mandate under the banner of competitiveness and economic growth has clearly opened its eyes to the challenge of global warming, although its “overarching” strategy, the sustainable development strategy, has not made too much progress. Mr Barroso still has a long way to go if he wants to move from Kyoto to Johannesburg.

SustainaBee says: Great! I hope ideas are plentiful and actions are initiated there! With the (relatively) positive G8 outcome the contents of the Green Week will have received some international backing.

New Blog Carnival: Small Actions to Change the World!

Hi everyone, starting now I will be starting a new Blog Carnival called "Small Actions to Change the World". I'd be really happy if you would join!

What is it about?
So I will be collecting ideas from all of you and will post good ones on this web site (if there are too many I might spread them among several posts)! It should be small things most people can do and that have a nice effect towards society.

It doesn't have to be strictly environmental, because there's more to sustainability than just environmentally sustainable. You can submit ideas on society, culture or even economic things if you think they contribute towards sustainability.

Examples would be like "Change your light bulb to an energy efficient one" or "Create a support group" or "Write a letter to your mayor".

Here is the link to BlogCarnival.

To protect and serve the environment - the Energy Police

China has taken drastic measures to ensure that electricity is not going to get overused. It has actually implemented an Energy Police which should monitor the electricity use during the hot summer months.

In response to the government’s calls to curtail energy consumption in cities, Beijing has established an energy-saving police team, the Associated Press reports via the Xinhua News Agency. The 20-member force will monitor office buildings, hotels, schools and other big buildings to make sure their energy consumption meets government standards. That means office buildings cannot be cooled to below 79 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and cannot be heated to above 68 degrees during the winter, according to the AP.

SustainaBee says: I find it great to see that China is doing much to cut pollution to a low (for example investing lots of money into solar energy) - but it is sad that the consumer has to be feared into using electricity wisely. An educational campaign might have been better or giving the consumer an incentive of some sort (if that's okay with communist China).

One million Toyota Hybrids sold!

What a milestone! One million Toyota Hybrids have been sold. We congratulate Toyota and hope they keep innovating - go Kaizen!

Toyota Motor Corp.'s cumulative sales of gas-and-electric-powered vehicles totaled 1.047 million as of the end of May. Of those, nearly 345,000 hybrids were sold in Japan, while 702,000 were sold abroad, the company said in a statement.

The Prius is the clear leader, with a total of 757,600 units sold since its 1997 introduction in Japan. Toyota began selling the Prius in North America, Europe and other places in 2000. Last year, the model made up more than 40 percent of hybrid sales in the U.S.

Demand for hybrids, which deliver superior mileage by switching between a gasoline engine and electric motor, has soared amid higher oil prices and greater consumer concern about pollution and global warming.

SustainaBee says: This is great - what a big step Toyota has achieved! But they should be wary what's around the corner, electric cars are gaining momentum and it seems that there are several who want to join the electric cars race - a competition which should benefit the environment.

Pope goes solar: How wrong can he be?

The Pope in a step towards greening has set up solar roofs at the Vatican.

The roof of the Paul VI auditorium will be redone next year, with its cement panels replaced with photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity, engineer Pier Carlo Cuscianna said.

The 6,300-seat auditorium is used for the pontiff's general audiences on Wednesdays in winter and in bad weather during the rest of the year. Concerts in honor of pontiffs are also staged in the hall, with its sweeping stage.

The cells will produce enough electricity to illuminate, heat or cool the building, Cuscianna said.

"Since the auditorium isn't used every day, the (excess) energy will feed into the network providing (the Vatican) with power, so other Vatican offices can use the energy," he said.

A feasibility study for the planned conversion, published recently in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, found it made economic sense. It quoted from Benedict's speeches defending the environment and noted that his predecessor, the late John Paul II, also championed the safeguarding of natural resources.

SustainaBee says: While this might not have huge direct environmental effects, the Pope - a role model to so many young people around the world - shows that protecting natural resources should be a concern to everybody!

Smart Grids - Save Energy!

With the increase of renewable energy, de-centralised energy will also increase, just think of solar energy, wind energy or even hydropower. They are rarely centralised like when using nuclear power. As noted at Gristmill, this poses a challenge for energy distribution and can have serious consequences as an example in the US shows.

But today's power grid cannot do it. A system built on central generating stations, little changed from the first power grids deployed in the late 1800s, lacks flexibility and smarts. We need a new grid capable of networking millions of distributed energy devices such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and smart appliances. We need an internet of energy that employs the latest in digital technologies. We need a Smart Grid.

On August 14, 2003, an overheated transmission line in Ohio sagged into the power grid's greatest natural enemy, a tree branch. The resulting power failure cascaded from the Midwest to Broadway in seconds. Power grid operators were quickly on the phones trying to grope through the grid equivalent of the fog of war, but it was too late. The biggest blackout in U.S. history was underway, leaving 50 million people without power.

But with Smart Grids, not only reliability can be improved, but also energy efficiency! A core component of the Smart Grid would be the two-way communication (instead of the one-way communication we have now Supplier->Consumer). Both supplier and consumer can benefit from this technology, as a case study from EnergyPriorities notes!
In order to level and stabilise demand, the company "charged customers more for energy during the peak periods, and less during periods of lower cost and demand. The goal was to encourage customers to shift certain loads by a few hours." And the benefits:

Instead of visually checking meters and manually recording the readings, PSE could use automated meter reading (AMR) technology to gather the data electronically, four times a day, over a fixed wireless network.

AMR is a system of intelligent electric meters, a communications network, and servers to gather the data and deliver it to the utility's billing software. The technology had matured enough that PSE could choose from several vendors and minimize its own technology-related risks.

[...]

As PSE hoped, customers shifted their loads according to the price incentives. The average residential customer shifted 13 kilowatt hours out of peak periods and into off-peak periods. That four percent shift might not seem like much, but it translates to about 25,000 kilowatts of reduced peak demand.

[...]

There were a few surprises for PSE from their PEM experience. One was that some customers in the control group also shifted their loads, even though they didn't have the incentive of a lower price.

This may be reflective of customers' desire to do the right thing, the effect of having the information and being educated about energy costs, short-term curiosity, or confusion about whether the TOU rates applied to them.

The second surprise was a net decrease in energy consumption among PEM participants. Says Starnes:

"One area that was a nice surprise for us was the conservation effect. We weren't asking people to use less energy, we were strictly asking them to move their loads. Instead, they actually used less energy. We got a measurable conservation effect of one to two percent, which is significant when you multiply it by the thousands of kilowatt-hours involved."

Unfortunately due to other reasons the programme was discontinued, but there are countries that are moving forward with automated meter reading (AMR), a big first step towards Smart Grids. Hopefully this could lead to more energy-conscious consumers.


AngryBee says: Consumers won't change their behaviours! It's useless, we should just continue with our old ways.


SustainaBee says: I believe that with the right technology and some incentives we can change things! And also the business development manager of the company in the case study said: "I think the major lessons are that it works, customers understand it, and they are in fact willing to step up and make a change in their behaviour if they're given the right information."


Further reading:

• Powering the Smart Grid (pdf, Climate Solutions)
  

The mayor of London pushes new flight tax

The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who has made some steps towards greening London is now backing a flight tax. One of the scenarios would look like that you would have one "free" flight each year and every additional flight you will have to pay a new flight tax.

He said: "We are not being honest with people about aviation - the rate of increase from emissions from aviation is terrifying. The more £6 holidays to Marbella, the worse it is going to get."

He claimed that a tax on flights similar to one proposed by the Tory leader David Cameron was necessary to reflect the damage aviation is causing to the planet.

"It is nice that people can have short-haul breaks but at what price to the planet? That's why I like David Cameron's idea of a tax on every second or third flight you take in a year."

Mr Livingstone said he would support a levy of around £15 on every holiday flight people take - apart from one trip per year.

The mayor also criticised government claims that an expansion in airport capacity was necessary for the economy. He pointed out that only 15% to 18% of air traffic around London was related to business; the rest was for leisure.

AngryBee says: Why should we pay more for our flights? Let us fly, in total we don't do that much damage, only a few percent of total emissions.


SustainaBee says: This is good step towards putting a price on environmental damage. Until now we can pollute the air for free, which is terrible for the environment! Especially with air travel increasing dramatically in the next decades it could be one of the biggest polluters soon. If you live in a big country, chances are there are many exciting places you haven't seen in your region yet - why not take the train for your next holiday?

Further reading:

• Most Britons willing to pay to save the environment (Guardian)
  

General Motors trying to catch up in the Electric Cars Race

After the Tesla Car has emerged as one of the breakthrough electric cars, big car manufacturers are trying to catch up. General Motors is now re-starting its electric car line up.

The automaker announced two new contracts designed to speed up the production of electric batteries for its Chevy Volt, and its CEO said alternative fuel vehicles were a high priority for the company.
The announcement came at the G.M.'s annual shareholder's meeting here, and was part of a plan to reduce the amount of gasoline the company uses across its product line.
"Energy diversity means that we'll continue to improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, as we have for decades," said Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors. "But importantly, we're also dramatically intensifying our efforts to displace traditional petroleum-based fuels by building a lot more vehicles that run on alternatives, such as E-85 ethanol."
Wagoner said G.M. is significantly expanding its commitment to alternative-fuel vehicles, not only the Chevy Volt concept car, introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January, but also to a wide variety of hybrid gas-electric vehicles.

AngryBee says: Those big car manufacturers will never do anything to save the earth! All they want is profit, profit and money!


SustainaBee says: Great, finally the big car manufacturers are waking up! It's a shame they didn't pursue it when they had the chance ten years ago. But oh, well, the more manufacturers join now, the better! Let the electric car race begin!


Further reading:

• How Oil Companies saved the Electric Car (GreenBiz)
  

Microbacteria: Source of future jet fuel?

MIT's technology review recently wrote a piece on how microbacteria can replace the normal kerosene fuel in airplanes. With air travel rising this might be a great alternative.

"Carbon-dioxide emissions from jets are a growing environmental concern. In the United States, about 12 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions come from jet fuel, a rate that is expected to rise as air travel increases. In addition, fuel prices have more than doubled from 2000 to 2006, boosting airline operating costs and making airlines increasingly desperate for a more price-stable alternative.

[...]

The company's approach is to engineer the metabolic system of microorganisms to create a variety of specialized hydrocarbons. [...] Amyris scientists say they can now produce hydrocarbons with properties that rival the current jet-fuel industry standard, a kerosene-based product known as jet-A. The microbial factories ferment sugar to produce hydrocarbons, a process that has significantly less impact on global warming than traditional fuel production."

SustainaBee says: With air travel rapidly increasing in the next few years and even decades, this might be a great alternative. Of course it will take a while until regulatory hurdles are overcome. And there's also the question whether or not it's feasible to create enough of this fuel. But even a good "blend" option could greatly contribute to a cleaner environment. Let's keep an eye on the developments!

Solar Power prices to fall by 40% in the next 3 years

According to a report by the WorldWatch Institute (a well-respected think tank) the price of solar power might drop by 40% until 2010.

"The solar industry is poised for a rapid decline in costs that will make it a mainstream power option in the next few years,according to a new assessment by the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Prometheus Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Global production of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, which turn sunlight directly into electricity, has risen sixfold since 2000 and grew 41 percent in 2006 alone. Although grid-connected solar capacity still provides less than 1 percent of the world's electricity, it increased nearly 50 percent in 2006, to 5,000 megawatts, propelled by booming markets in Germany and Japan. Spain is likely to join the big leagues in 2007, and the United States soon thereafter."

This is great news! Soon solar power can compete with coal power and other source of electricity! Some of the solar panels might soon not just come from Europe or the US:

"The biggest surprise in 2006 was the dramatic growth in PV production in China. Last year, China passed the United States, which first developed modern solar cell technology at Bell Labs in New Jersey in the 1950s, to become the world’s third largest producer of the cells—trailing only Germany and Japan.

[...]

"To say that Chinese PV producers plan to expand production rapidly in the year ahead would be an understatement,” says Travis Bradford, president of the Prometheus Institute. “They have raised billions from international IPOs to build capacity and increase scale with the goal of driving down costs. Four Chinese IPOs are expected to come to market this month alone."

SustainaBee says: Great news! The solar race has begun :-). Competition will drive prices down which will make solar energy more common. Soon there will be little excuse not to get the majority of electricity from renewable energy. Until then, why not change to an electricity supplier that uses a lot of renewable energy?


Further reading:

• Solar Power Set to Shine Brightly (WorldWatch Institute)
• Solar Generation (Greenpeace International)
• Solar Power getting 40% cheaper by 2010 (ecogeek)
  

G8 and Climate Change

After days of negotiating and months of anticipation the G8 countries (US, Germany, UK, Japan, Russia, Italy, France, Canada) they released a document that they will set an agreement for the time after the Kyoto Protocol (which sets emission limits until 2012) runs out in a few years time. No actual deadlines were set (the G8 meeting is an informal one, so no regulations are set there) but they will be discussed in Bali, when the environmental ministers meet in December 2007.

"Combating climate change is one of the major challenges for mankind and it has the potential to seriously damage our natural environment and the global economy. We noted with concern the recent IPCC report and its findings. We are convinced that urgent and concerted action is needed and accept our responsibility to show leadership in tackling climate change. In setting a global goal for emissions reductions in the process we have agreed in Heiligendamm involving all major emitters, we will consider seriously the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan which include at least a halving of global emissions by 2050." (from the Chair's Summary of the Heiligendamm meeting)

SustainaBee says: Considering that before the G8 meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany the United States were alsmost surely set on dis-agreeing with any climate change pacts, this can be considered - as the host Angela Merkel said - a "huge success". But we have to see until the end of the year to see if words will turn into action.

About the blogger behind SustainaBee

Hi everyone,

I'm glad you stopped by the SustainaBee blog :-). Some words on me,

my name is Oliver Adria, I am a 26 year-old electrical engineering student who lives in Cologne, Germany. I grew up in Indonesia and spent about 20 years there before moving to study here. (My nationality is German, by the way, though blood-wise I'm quite mixed.)

I work part time in an international centre for sustainable consumption and production near Cologne and volunteer in several sustainability and student initiatives. Recently I founded my own student organisation, called the "Initiative for Technology and Sustainability"(website in german only).

For more information on me, be sure to visit http://www.oliveradria.com/
You can send emails to me via blog@oliveradria.com

Oliver Adria

Personal Recommendations

(book, amazon.com)
The Book of the very popular movie by Al Gore. It has many nice graphics and explanations on the science of climate change and global warming.








(dvd, amazon.com)
The very famous movie/documentary on Global Warming.
Opinion: If you haven't seen it yet, you might be missing out on something. Even if it's only able to talk about the movie at parties :-).







(book, amazon.com)
The Book by Jared Diamond. It shows different scenarios of small to medium civilisations that have existed in the past and in some way or another, collapsed. He makes the case that often the environmental situation is a factor (sometimes small, sometimes big) and he shows us that we need to take care of our planet if we don't want to end up like one of the collapsed civilisations.
Opinion: Highly recommended, a lot of interesting case studies.



(web, freely downloadable)
The UN-backed Millennium Ecosystem Assessment holds a lot of information on biodiversity. This is the report on biodiversity as the IPCC report was for climate change.
Opinion: This is very technical, it might be enough to read the "Message from the board". I think the assessments are more for scientific use. The PowerPoint presentation which is available on their web site is highly recommended, a lot of good and explanatory graphics.


(book, amazon.com)
A book that was first published in the 70's. It shows different scenarios that humanity can end up with depending on the different actions (or inactions) taken.
Opinion: Very good book, although a bit technical for the not so interested person. But for someone who wants to know more about sustainability, this is a good place to start.







IPCC Report (will be added soon)

Stern Report (will be added soon)

Change the World for a Fiver (will be added soon, available in UK only)

Beyond Oil (will be added soon)

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - don't take it all too seriously - read some Douglas Adams :-) (will be added soon)