AQUAMANTRA interviews ENSO

A great interview talking about the ENSO bottle:

Melvin Wylie

Global Cleanup Day Targets Trash Headed to Ocean, Waterways

Volunteers Worldwide Mobilize for Ocean Conservancy International Coastal Cleanup

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2011 - Today, Ocean Conservancy and hundreds of thousands of volunteers around the world are hitting their local beaches, lakes, rivers, and waterways for the 26th Annual International Coastal Cleanup – the largest volunteer effort of its kind. Over the past 25 years, more than eight and a half million volunteers have removed 145 million pounds of trash in over 150 countries. Participants will spend the morning removing trash from coastlines and rivers all while keeping track of every item they find. Ocean Conservancy uses that data to produce the world's only annual country-by-country, state-by-state index of ocean trash. The report is shared with the public, industry, and government officials as we work together to find solutions to this serious problem. "Trash littering our beaches and choking our ecosystems is a threat to wildlife, our coastal economies, and ultimately to the ability of the ocean to sustain us," said Vikki Spruill, Ocean Conservancy's President and CEO. "You name it, it has been found on the beach. The eight million pounds of trash collected during last year's Cleanup would cover about 170 football fields a foot deep. "Ocean Conservancy's vision is for trash free seas. This problem is entirely preventable, and keeping our ocean free from trash is one of the easiest ways we can make the ocean more resilient." said Spruill. "The Cleanup gives everyone a chance to work in their community and be part of this global movement to protect our ocean. People from Nebraska to India to South Africa and Indonesia join the Cleanup because they are passionate about our ocean and want to make a difference. Companies organize employees for service days to help their communities. The Cleanup is the gateway for people from all walks of life to exercise their commitment to conservation." Armed with knowledge about the most prevalent components of marine trash, officials can make informed policy decisions, community leaders can tailor and expand recycling and other trash-reduction programs, corporate decision makers can improve technology and reduce packaging, and individuals can recycle, reuse, or properly dispose of trash to keep these items out of the ocean in the first place.

TRASH ITEM		25 Year Total
Cigarettes/Cigarette Filters		52,907,756 - 32%
Food Wrapper/Containers		14,766,533 - 9%
Caps/Lids		13,585,425 - 8%
Cups, Plates, Forks, Knives, Spoons		10,112,038 - 6%
Beverage Bottles (plastic)		9,549,156 - 6%
Bags (plastic)		7,825,319 - 5%
Beverage Bottles (glass)		7,062,199 - 4%
Beverage Cans		6,753,260 - 4%
Straw/Stirrers		6,263,453 - 4%
Rope		3,251,948 - 2%

Visit www.oceanconservancy.org/cleanup for additional information and to view our latest report on ocean trash - Tracking Trash - view our top ten list of actions everyone can take to fight ocean trash. The Coca-Cola Company has supported Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup for the past 16 years. Last year, Coca-Cola activated a global employee engagement campaign around the Cleanup called "Pick it Up, Clean it Up, Sea Change!" Nearly 26,000 Coca-Cola system associates, their friends and families in 175 locations across 40 countries participated in the Cleanup, contributing more than 200,000 hours of volunteer time. As part of its commitment to address global climate change, Bank of America has supported the Cleanup for the past several years, with thousands of employees participating in Cleanup events in the United States and around the world. Other national sponsors include National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Altria Group, Inc, The Walt Disney Company, Landshark Lager, Brunswick Public Foundation, and The Dow Chemical Company. Ocean Conservancy is the world's foremost advocate for the oceans. Through science-based advocacy, research, and public education, we inform, inspire and empower people to speak and act for the ocean. Ocean Conservancy is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has offices in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific, with support from more than half a million members and volunteers. To learn more about Ocean Conservancy visit www.oceanconservancy.org.

Melvin Wylie

Sawfish Study Underway

Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Supports Sawfish Studies in Florida Bay, Florida Keys, Tortugas and Indian River Lagoon

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Also known as the Carpenter Shark, Sawfish are a family of rays, characterized by a long, toothy nose extension. Several species can grow to approximately 7 meters or 23 feet. The family as a whole is largely unknown and little studied, until now. In October 2010, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and Hell's Bay Boatworks donated a custom boat and trailer, valued at more than $50,000, to the Florida Program for Shark Research. FPSR Director and world-renowned shark expert George Burgess recently filed this report detailing the ongoing sawfish studies he is conducting in the waters around South Florida: During the spring sampling season, three ongoing projects of the Florida Program for Shark Research at UF''s Florida Museum of Natural History, one in collaboration with researchers from Florida State University (FSU), focused on the distribution and movements of adult and sub adult sawfishes in the southern portion of its Florida range. We produced a survey of the waters surrounding U.S. Navy properties in the Key West region in order to determine the current status of sawfishes in those areas for the U.S. Navy/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Because of obvious security constraints, we were the first fish biologists to sample in these waters in decades. Concurrently, in conjunction with Dean Grubbs and fellow FSU scientists and the John Carlson of the National Marine Fisheries Service, we sampled the middle and lower Keys and Tortugas region and Florida Bay, catching and satellite tagging eleven sawfishes.  Satellite tags give long time and distance of movement information and we hope our tagging will help us better understand seasonal horizontal (up and down the coast) and vertical (depth) movements of the critters. We also caught and multiple tagged two large adults in Florida Bay, the tags being  raditional  spaghetti,  satellite, and active acoustic models.  The last allowed us to manually track the minute-to-minute movements using a receiver held under the boat.  Our first saw was lost within the first hour or so as it gave us the slip by scooting over a shallow bank, then boogying before we could detect its signal.  Having learned our lesson, on our second capture we got in 38 hours of tracking over three days, including day-night comparisons. The sawfish moved about in deeper channels by day, and then moved onto shallow, seagrass beds by night.  It chose the same shallow grassy area on successive nights, demonstrating some short-term site fidelity.  Next spring we plan to initiate placement of underwater listening stations on the bottom and tag the sawfishes with passive acoustic tags. These tags will leave a unique bleep on any receiver as the sawfish swims near, allowing us to track localized movements over longer periods and larger areas. We also will continue to satellite tag these and other sawfishes. While sampling for sawfishes we also caught many sharks and rays.  All of these animals also were measured, sexed, sampled (tissue for DNA) and tagged as part of ongoing studies of their biology and movement patterns.  We also continued our work in Indian River Lagoon (IRL), where we began tagging young bull sharks with spaghetti and passive acoustic tags in a ³new² region for us, the St. Lucie River estuary.  This work is being done with our colleague, David Snyder, of Continental Shelf Associates.  We also continue to download data from our underwater array of receivers in Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River and the northern IRL, where tagged bull sharks and rays still roam. During this time period we put 5000 miles in land travel on the Guy Harvey adorned Hell's Bay and God only knows how many sea miles on our faithful vessel!

Melvin Wylie

When Farmers Meet Designers: True Eco Fashion

  Città della Pieve, Italy - Is the perception of beauty man-made or is there such a thing as natural beauty? To ?nd out, an Italian designer and an organic farmer came up with the idea of growing shirts, having nature design fashion. After a two year period of growths in the hills of Umbria, near the Tuscan border in Italy, the ?rst harvest is ready for the catwalk.

When Francesco Mugnaini, a 31 year old designer who had previously been working in the busy city of Milan, met Sebastian Runde, a 41 year old Scottish farmer running an organic farm in Umbria, Italy, they merged their different backgrounds and experiences to come up with a rather unusual fashion project: let's grow shirts. The unpredictability of nature was the seed for the idea, to plant and harvest shirts. The garments were exposed to nature's forces by planting them into the ground and give nature time to do her unpredictable design process. The result is stunning and every single design unique.

 

The T-shirt was considered ideal, as it is one of the most simple garments existing, there could be no better for the project. It is unpretentious, simple, like an empty canvas on which nature can create its designs. Francesco designed a shirt which truly complements the body, idealises it even. "We aimed for a focus on the aesthetics created by nature, to offer a perception of beauty man would never be able to create. We produce beautiful shirts, but it is nature who makes them truly unique» says Francesco Mugnaini.

 

The materials used had to be of a kind which would react with the soil, the water or sunlight. Naturally no synthetic yarns could be used, as not to create a thread of pollution. After many tests, a high quality organic silk proved best and gave the most interesting results.

 

The silk shirts are produced by local craftsmen with great expertise. Sebastian Runde, as an organic farmer, is very passionate about his concern for the environment: "Producing the T-shirts abroad in a country with low labour costs was out of question. We looked for local recourses and were very lucky, indeed. We manage to produce a garment, which is 100% made in Italy. The yarns are coming from northern Italy, the shirts are produced locally in Città della Pieve."

 

The ?rst collection of RIGHT AS RAIN™ is harvested and up for sale on www.right-as-rain.com. An array of utterly different silk shirts for men and woman. 100% designed by nature.

 

Melvin Wylie

Not All Incandescent Light Bulbs will be Banned Next Year

MOONACHIE, N.J., Sept. 16, 2011 - As many consumers are beginning to suffer from "light bulb anxiety" and are confused about replacement options for their traditional incandescent bulbs, Bulbrite introduces their Eco-Friendly Halogen A19 lamp. Bulbrite is a leading manufacturer and supplier of innovative, energy-efficient light source solutions and the premier educational resource for lamping technology. Bulbrite's Eco-Friendly Halogen A19 complies with the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), which takes effect January 1, 2012 and requires general service light bulbs to operate up to 30% more efficiently than current standards require. Consumers will gain the benefits of higher efficiency and superior lighting quality, giving them an alternative to CFLs (compact fluorescents) and LEDs (light emitting diodes). The Halogen A19, a recent winner of the Platinum Award for Design Excellence (ADEX), is fully dimmable and can last up to 1,000 hours. In comparison to its incandescent replacements, Bulbrite's Eco-Friendly Halogen A19 significantly reduces energy consumption without sacrificing light output, as shown below.

• 29-watt Halogen A19 equals 40-watt incandescent
• 43-watt Halogen A19 equals 60-watt incandescent
• 53-watt Halogen A19 equals 75-watt incandescent
• 72-watt Halogen A19 equals 100-watt incandescent

  This unique lamp is available in four different wattages with both clear and soft white finishes. The most common uses include chandeliers, outdoor and security lights, ceiling pendants, recessed downlights, portable table and floor lamps, and wall sconces. Bulbrite is a leading manufacturer and supplier of innovative, energy-efficient light source solutions. Celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, Bulbrite is a family owned business renowned for its commitment to innovation, education and outstanding service. Most recently Bulbrite President Cathy Choi received the 2010 Residential Lighting Industry Leadership Award and the Bulbrite Swytch LED Desk Lamp received the 2010 Home Furnishing News Award of Excellence. The company has introduced many innovative and design award-winning products, including its exclusive KX-2000®, Dark Sky, Purify 02, and Halogen R111 GU10, as well as ADEX award-winning GU24 Twist & Lock lamps, the 2012 EISA-compliant Halogen A19 and TURBO LEDs. Bulbrite offers an extensive line of light bulbs and lamping options including LEDs, HID, Compact Fluorescents, Fluorescents, Halogens, Krypton/Xenon, Incandescents, and a broad range of specialty lamps.

Melvin Wylie

Nestle Waters North America Recieves LEED Gold

STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 15, 2011 - Nestle Waters North America, the third largest beverage company in the U.S., today announced its headquarters in Stamford, Conn. has received the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) Gold certification, verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. This marks the company's 10th LEED-certified building. To date, Nestle Waters has the most LEED-certified facilities of any U.S. food and beverage manufacturer, with more than 3.7 million square feet designed and built to meet LEED standards. In 2003, the company became the first food and beverage manufacturer in the U.S. to receive LEED certification for its Stanwood, Mich. plant—one of the first-ever industrial facilities to earn the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) sustainability standard. In its 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report, Nestle Waters pledged to have all newly constructed buildings meet LEED certification. "Nestle is to be commended for earning LEED Gold for its own headquarters—the 10th LEED-certified project in the company," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. "Given the prominence of the Nestle brand, the Stamford headquarters will be a showcase for high-performance, energy-efficient, healthy buildings, and an inspiration for others. Congratulations!" More than 500 people employed at Nestle Waters' Stamford headquarters moved to this facility in October 2010. Two Stamford-based firms led the renovation of the building located at 900 Long Ridge Road. CPG Architects did the re-design and Pavarini led the construction effort. The building incorporates many "green" features, as well as attributes that encourage greater employee collaboration, including:

• A white roof to reduce use of heating and air conditioning
• Low energy/high efficiency lighting system and low-flow water fixtures in bathrooms
• Convenient recycling in logical locations, such as kitchens and coffee bars
• The first Cradle-to-Cradle-certified office chairs
• An employee shuttle from the Stamford train station to encourage use of public transportation
• Preferred parking spaces for low-emission vehicles
• Cubicles built with low partitions and ample seating areas for co-workers to discuss ideas
• High recycled content on furniture, fabrics, countertops, carpet and ceiling tiles

  "We feel good coming to work every day, being part of and showing visitors the innovative, green features of our office building," said Kim Jeffery, president and CEO of Nestle Waters North America. "We had a goal to achieve LEED when we took on a complete renovation for our new headquarters. As with our bottling plants, we created a facility that supports the environment, the employees who work here, and the surrounding community, and earning LEED Gold heightens that commitment." Beyond LEED-certified buildings, the company also works to reduce its environmental footprint by advocating for improved bottle recycling and preserving more than 14,000 acres of land near its spring water sites. To learn more about the company's sustainability initiatives in the areas of packaging, production, transportation, water use and recycling, click here. Since 2003, Nestle Waters' additional LEED-certified facilities have helped the company reduce energy use by 1.5 million kWh, carbon emissions by 2.1 million pounds, and water use by nine million gallons:

• Dallas, Texas (Silver, 2009)
• Kingfield, Maine (Gold, 2009)
• Breinigsville, Pa. (Gold, 2009)
• Hollis, Maine (Silver rating, 2009)
• Madison County, Fla. (Silver rating, 2006)
• Red Boiling Springs, Tenn. (Silver rating, 2005)
• Cabazon, Calif. (Silver rating, 2004) – first food manufacturing facility to earn a silver rating
• Hawkins, Texas (Silver rating, 2004)
• Stanwood, Mich. (LEED Certified 2003) – first food and beverage manufacturing facility to earn LEED certification

Melvin Wylie

Samsung Evergreen Raises the Bar by Earning Platinum Certification From UL Environment

DALLAS, Sept. 14, 2011 - Key Facts

• Samsung Evergreen™ earns platinum certification from UL Environment, a leading global science company, for meeting UL Environment's high Sustainable Product Certification standard.
• First Samsung device from AT&T* to receive sustainable industry certification.
• In 2010, as part of AT&T's handset sustainability efforts, it collected more than 3.7 million cell phones for reuse and recycling and over 1.8 million pounds of cell phone batteries and accessories.

  Customer Benefits Environmentally conscious AT&T customers will be pleased to learn that the Samsung Evergreen received platinum certification from UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories). Evergreen is the first Samsung product from AT&T to achieve the highest level of environmental performance recognized by new sustainable requirements established by UL Environment. Over past year, AT&T has been an active participant with UL Environment and other sustainability stakeholders in working towards the development of requirements to identify leadership mobile phones from an environmental and human health perspective. The UL Environment requirements set minimum requirements for "environmentally preferable" mobile devices by measuring environmentally sensitive materials, energy management, manufacturing and operations, impact to health and environment, product performance, packaging and product stewardship. Samsung Evergreen Launched in Fall 2010, the Samsung Evergreen is a quick messaging device constructed with 70 percent recycled post-consumer plastics and packaging that utilizes 80 percent recycled post-consumer paper. The device boasts eco-oriented wallpaper/ringtones not to mention a sleek, 2.4" display, full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 2.0 megapixel camera, video camcorder, AT&T Navigator and stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology v2.1. Evergreen also features dual-band 3G connectivity and quad-band GSM technology, which allows AT&T customers to make calls in more than 220 countries and download data in more than 195 countries. In addition to the UL Environment platinum certification, the Evergreen already meets strict RoHS standards (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive)(1), including being free of PVC(2), BFR(3) and Beryllium and powered by an Energy Star Version 2.0 qualified energy efficient charger (level V) with standby power loss less than 0.03W and an energy efficiency of less than 75 percent. Since launch, Samsung has donated $1 for every Samsung Evergreen device sold, with a maximum donation of $100,000, to the non-profit organization Cell Phones for Soldiers®. AT&T's Environmental Sustainability Initiatives and Offerings In 2010, AT&T collected more than 3.7 million cell phones for reuse and recycling and over 1.8 million pounds of cell phone batteries and accessories. Last year, AT&T launched the ZERO Charger which automatically senses when a mobile device is not plugged in to the charger and cuts the power supply from the wall socket. The company also challenged customers to make the switch to paperless billing through its One Million Mobile Eco Challenge. Recently, AT&T was included on the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America for the second year in a row. AT&T currently offers customers simple, convenient ways to donate old cell phones and accessories: drop-off bins in more than 2,000 company-owned retail stores; free, prepaid mailing envelopes available in the stores; and postage-paid mailing labels available via our web site at AT&T Reuse & Recycle. For more information regarding AT&T's overall sustainability initiatives, please visit www.att.com/csr. Quotes "We're honored to receive global recognition for the environmental performance of the Samsung Evergreen," said Michael Woodward, vice president, Mobile Phone Portfolio, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "This platinum certification from UL Environment is truly a testament to AT&T's ongoing efforts to provide effective, sustainable solutions for our customers." "We know the vast majority of consumers are looking for greener products in several categories(4) and we are excited that AT&T will now be offering the Platinum-certified Samsung Evergreen cell phone at their stores to help meeting this growing demand," said Steve Wenc, president of UL Environment. "We further congratulate AT&T and Samsung on demonstrating their commitment to sustainability with this superb device." (1) Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, 2002/95/EC as amended. (2) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). (3) Brominated flame retardants (BFR). (4) According to 2011 EcoPulse Report, Shelton Group. *AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Melvin Wylie