In Nicaragua Women Lead The Fight Against Climate Change

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2011 - Women are leading the fight against climate change and other urgent environmental issues that confront the planet, according to Dr. Sarah Otterstrom, Executive Director of Paso Pacifico, at the Clinton Global Initiative. In Nicaragua, women are leading reforestation efforts and have planted over 100,000 native trees. Their work has offset more than 150,000 tons of greenhouse gases and help protect watersheds that are crucial to the health of their communities. Paso Pacifico provides job training in entrepreneurship and forestry which enable women to build businesses and become leaders in their communities. "They are strengthened by our program," Otterstrom says, "but ultimately they are the ones who are making Paso Pacifico projects a success." Paso Pacifico also uses this training model to help women protect their beaches from turtle egg poachers. Local campesinas learn about the endangered turtle species and are trained to patrol their local beaches. For each hatchling successfully protected they receive an incentive payment. Their monthly income equals a rural laborer's salary, but the job is flexible because women can coordinate their schedules. More than 10,000 turtles have been hatched due to the efforts of these women over the past two years. For the first time in 25 years ,endangered turtle eggs are hatching along the beaches in Southern Nicaragua. As women in Nicaragua find their traditional roles expanding, they embrace new ideas and technologies to support themselves. For example, when the Portable Light Project and Paso Pacifico brought solar lamps to the communities, the women started to use the lights to patrol beaches, help their children with homework at night and cook for their families in predawn hours. "One woman told me how excited she was the first time she got up to feed her baby and make tortillas at four a.m." Otterstrom said. "She could do so in light instead of darkness. Something so inexpensive improves their lives dramatically." Having caught the entrepreneurial bug, women are now opening their own businesses with Paso Pacifico's support. In one coastal community, women have opened a sea kayaking business, in another an eco-tourism guiding company and in a third an eco-lodge. All of these endeavors are successfully bringing tourism dollars into their local communities. "This is what happens when you invest in women," says Dr. Otterstrom. "They are smart. We teach them how to use their skills to run a business and care for their natural resources, just as they care for their families and neighbors. Only now, they are earning money, empowering themselves, improving their community and helping the environment. It is win, win, win and we want to do more of it."

Melvin Wylie

Japanese Families Call for Protection & Evacuation of Fukushima Children

Japanese Families and Activists Call for Proper Protection - and Evacuation - of Fukushima Children and a Global End to Nuclear Power

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2011 - Two organic farmers from Japan, their children and fellow Japanese anti-nuclear campaigners made a plea for the safety of Fukushima's children at a press conference in Washington, D.C. today. "Our hearts have been torn apart in the Fukushima community because of the nuclear disaster," said Sachiko Sato, a natural farmer from Fukushima Prefecture, who evacuated four of her six children two days after the March 11, 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor catastrophe began. "The community is split among those who evacuated and those who stayed, creating a chasm between former neighbors. This is the first health effect of this catastrophe." Mrs. Sato described how, not trusting official figures, she herself measured radiation levels at local schools, finding that 75% of schools should be considered radiation control areas and therefore dangerous for children. Meanwhile, the government raised the allowable radiation dose rate by 20 times to 20 microsieverts per year including for children. "Do they imagine that people can suddenly withstand doses of radiation 20 times greater than were previously allowed?" she asked. Many people cannot evacuate as they would leave behind aging, frail parents, Sato said. "Or they don't want to lose their job or tear their children away from everything they know. Families have been ripped apart." She also described how the government misled communities about safety. "Some were evacuated from Fukushima to places where the radiation levels were even higher, but they were not told," she said. Yukiko Anzai, an organic farmer from Hokkaido 603km away from the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, saw her honey business destroyed and her family's livelihood wiped out by the multiple reactor meltdowns. "We stopped using the word 'safe' for our vegetables," she said. My husband said that if we find the chicken feed is radioactive, we will have to stop farming altogether." Sato's farm also shut down although many around her have continued to farm. Both women began farming traditionally without using chemicals to mirror "the old ways." But, with their land laced with radioactivity, their dreams - and farming livelihoods – are destroyed. "On March 11 our lives changed completely," Anzai said. "Yet the government continues to ignore the truth and expects us to continue farming like nothing happened." Sato's two children, Mina, 13 and Yuuki, 17, described how their lives were changed after March 11, 2011, leaving their home, their friends and everything they knew after being evacuated far from danger. "If only those nuclear power plants hadn't existed," Mina Sato said. "Things wouldn't have turned out this way." Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of Green Action, and Kaori Izumi, director of Shut Tomari (the first reactor to re-start after the Fukushima-Daiichi meltdowns), both called for a global ban on nuclear power as the only rational lesson to be learned from Fukushima. "Otherwise this will happen again, in Japan, at Indian Point or anywhere," Izumi said. "This is not Japan's problem, it's the world's problem. The radiation from Fukushima is everywhere. We cannot afford another Fukushima." Smith has submitted a petition to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights calling for the rights of children of Fukushima to evacuate. Only families living within the 12.4 mile official evacuation zone are supported financially if they evacuate. Those living beyond that range who choose to evacuate must do so at their own expense, which many cannot afford, Smith explained. "What the children of Fukushima need is safe food, a safe place to live, and somewhere where they can safely play outdoors," she said. Speaking on behalf of hosting organization Beyond Nuclear, Kevin Kamps reminded the audience that the Fermi 2 reactor in Michigan, the same GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactor design as those at Fukushima-Daiichi, "is the biggest of that design in the world, and stores more than 500 tons of radioactive waste in its fuel pool – far more than all four Fukushima-Daiichi reactors put together. The consequences downwind of a fuel pool fire at Fermi 2 would be multiple times worse than at Fukushima," he said. "What I learned about nuclear power," said Sato's son Yuuko, "is that protecting nuclear power plants is seemingly more important than protecting our lives." The group will travel to New York City on September 21, 2011 for public presentations and a 5 pm demonstration on September 22, 2011 at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza outside the United Nations building.

Melvin Wylie

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