A recent AP investigation revealed that concentrations of pharmaceuticals are showing up on our nation’s drinking water - everything from antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones.
The state of Maine has had enough.
They want to become the first state to require drug companies to collect and properly dispose of unused medications. The idea is being cheered by state agencies, public health and environmental advocates.
Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, the bill’s sponsor said ”there’s a great deal of support. But drug companies don’t want to see this (happen).”
Drug manufacturers would have until January, under Perry’s bill, to establish a system to collect unwanted or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications. Mainers would also be allowed to mail in unwanted pills and other medications, should [...]
Pharmaceutical Giants Resist Maine's "Take it Back" Drive
Swine Flu Likely Not from Pigs
According to the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health, the “swine flu” isn’t attributed to pigs at all, but contains components of avian and human elements instead.
In a recent statement, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health, also known as the OIE, said ”the virus has not been isolated in animals to date. Therefore it is not justified to name this disease swine influenza.”
To call it the “North American influenza” is more logical, they said.
Director-general of the European Commission’s health and food safety department Robert Madelin said the European Union was placing no trade restrictions on imports since swine flu had nothing to do with the food chain.
The World Health Organization has dismissed any risk of infection from [...]
Kleenex – their Non-Sustainable Logging Practices
Softness is nice but not at the expense of our old growth forests. Kimberly-Clark, makers of Kleenex, is purported to still be harvesting wood from old growth forests, including the Boreal Forest, logging in areas containing trees 180 years old or more.
If this weren’t enough, Kimberly-Clark also purchases fiber from companies that both clear-cut and log in ecologically critical Canadian habitat.
Despite protests by K-C corporate about their sustainability practices, seems that “greenwashing” is alive and well. Cutting down old growth trees while saying you only use “100 percent recycled tree products” sounds suspiciously like a corporate game of “let’s see what the consumer will believe” or a sophisticated “shell” game.
The next time you buy [...]
A Cool Way to Recycle your Favorite Ride
Remember your favorite hot rod? Have an old “clunker” you love but your friends or family feels is an eyesore? Now there’s a way to keep that love alive in an earth-friendly way.
An enterprising Texan can turn “the love of your life” into furniture, even amazing art. Joel Hester’s The Weld House in suburban Dallas specializes in creating handmade steel furniture from 20 year old cars and trucks. The end results are astonishing, beautiful and unique.
For details and pictures, see www.joelhester.com.
PG&E Plans to Beam Solar Energy From Space
PG&E recently announced plans to create a solar station to produce what they hope will be affordable renewable energy, sending microwave beams of electricity into our homes.
Solar Space project
The solar “station” would consist of solar-powered satellites located 22,000 miles above the Earth’s equator that would produce 200 megawatts of power by 2016. To meet this lofty goal, PG&E has partnered with SolarEn Corp, a California-based company. The solar station – possibly miles across – would convert the sun’s rays into electricity, convert them to radio waves, then beam them back to Earth to a receiving station currently planned to be outside Fresno, California.
The proposed Solar Space Station in action
The estimated cost of this sci-fi sounding project [...]
Even the Friendly Skies are Going Green
It’s official. Green is everywhere. From green building to tote bags, from hybrids to clothing, you can’t turn around without hearing or reading about another environmentally-friendly company or product.
Now United Airlines has announced that as part of their “environmental commitment”, they, along with their “partner” Conservation International, have launched a carbon offset program to “counter the impact of carbon emissions.
Fascinating that United would announce this on Earth Day. Whether it’s merely a ploy to capitalize on one of the largest environmentally-focused days of the year or a make-a-difference venture, the timing raises a red flag of caution.
Consumers should investigate this before jumping on this bandwagon.
Use the Internet and Help the Environment
Since the first Earth Day on April 22,1970, a US Senator’s brainchild has become a grassroots movement. People and countries across the globe have begun addressing a growing list of environmental issues.
Also since then, a growing number of innovations and creative programs have sprung up to expand the original Earth Day idea – that one person can make a difference.
A great example involves something most of us do everyday – use the computer.A brother and sister in southern California teamed up to put the power of the internet to work to help the environment.
Every time you do an online search, click on any link and advertisers pay a fee . In 2005-2006, search engines generated [...]
How Green Are You?
Curious how green your lifestyle really is? GoGreenScore is a simple way to find out.
This short survey, complete with interactive graphics, demonstrates what level green your daily life is. It only takes a few minutes to see how your choices measure up. And don’t worry, it’s not about guilt. It just demonstrates where you are and let’s you see where you could make small changes.
After taking the survey, take a look at the green tips for ideas on how to up your level of green. And remember, it’s those small simple changes that make the difference!
Check out GoGreenScore.org for a fun and easy way to celebrate Earth Day every day.
Use Earth Day to Make A Global Difference
Earth Day – now 40 years old – has always been a celebration of possibilities, a recognition that we humans must make some changes in how we treat the planet and, by extension, each other.
Of the many choices we’re faced with, perhaps the greatest is an opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone else.
GlobalGiving an online organization that allows you to make a difference in the lives of people in another part of the world. Select from a wide variety of world projects, give a tax-deductible contribution to that project and GlobalGiving will match your donation 50 percent.
The GlobalGiving Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 organization that’s dedicated to connecting people with [...]
From Biomass to Fish Food: A Unique Way to Feed the World
What do forest conservation and fish food have in common?TimberFish Technologies, LLC, a company in New York state, has created a unique technology to produce contaminate-free fish via a forest-based feed production system.
This addresses a global problem, says Dr. Jere Northrop, TimberFish’s inventor and CEO.
This would be a real benefit to the aquaculture system, says Northrop, most of which run on a “flow through” system, creating fish waste treatment issues. TimberFish proprietary microbial biomass technology utilizes recirculation to clean up the water. The fish waste runs through plant material, which takes the waste out, converts it back into microbes, then into feed.
“(This) recycling system uses the energy of plants to [...]