Brazil turning trash to cash

Brazil uses a trash dump to create energy for oil

Environmental Philosophy

All the buman beings shall respect the important balance between economic growth and environmental stewardship and work diligently to:

* conduct our activities with sound environmental management and conservation practices
* minimize the environmental impact of our operations
* prevent risk to community health and safety from our operations or our products
* transfer expertise in environmental protection to host communities

Eco-friendly furniture

In this One Simple Thing report, CNN's Randi Kaye talks to a Chicago furniture designer who is going green.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Global warming occurs because carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gasses released by the combustion of fossil fuels are building up in the atmosphere and preventing the sun's heat from escaping back into space. Many scientists, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are concerned that global warming could lead to serious changes in our climate, causing more dangerous storms and hurricanes, rising sea levels, and the spread of tropical diseases. In December, delegates from around the world will meet in Japan to determine ways their countries can reduce fossil fuel emissions. You can do your part at home:

Drive a fuel-efficient car. If your new car gets 10 mpg more than your old one, you can reduce CO2 emissions by 2,500 pounds a year.

Walk, bike, car pool or use mass transit. If you leave your car at home two days a week, you'll reduce CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.

Weatherize your home. Insulate walls and ceilings, caulk and weatherstrip around doors and windows, and wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 4,000 pounds a year.

Use energy-efficient appliances. If you replaced your existing refrigerator with a high-efficiency model, you'd reduce your CO2 emissions by 220 pounds a year. Energy-efficient appliances are now available for microwave ovens, stoves, dishwashers and computers, as well.

Reduce, reuse and...Recycle? You guessed it. Buying food and other products in reusable or recyclable packaging can reduce CO2 emissions by 230 pounds a year, while recycling all of your home's waste newsprint, cardboard, glass and metal can reduce emissions an additional 850 pounds a year.

At the office, consider these additional ideas:

Turn off the power. Flick off lights and turn off computers and other equipment when you leave your office for long periods of time.

Use e-mail. Use electronic mail and electronic faxes rather than paper and the postal system whenever possible.

Use a reusable mug. Choose reusable over throwaways as much as possible.

Support company programs to save energy. Participate in company carpools, waste paper recycling programs and environmentally friendly landscape strategies. Tele-commute if possible.

Maintain Your Vehicle to Save Money and Energy

Current high gas prices are giving people even more incentive to increase fuel efficiency. Plus, using less gas by following these tips will also help reduce smog and emissions that contribute to global warming:

Change your air filter. Cleaning your air filter regularly can improve your gas mileage significantly.

Don’t speed. Being a good driver can save you some dollars at the pump. Speeding uses extra gas. Rapid acceleration and hard braking are also inefficient and lower your gas mileage.

Cruise control. Using your cruise control will keep you driving at a more consistent speed and can generally improve fuel efficiency.

Turn your car off. Idling can use a lot of gas. Generally, it’s more efficient to turn the car off and restart when you are ready to go. If you are thinking of hitting the drive-through, consider parking and picking up food inside. For short waits, put your car in neutral to avoid burning gas.

Inflate tires properly. Car tires that are under-inflated will lead to poor gas mileage. You can often find the correct pressure for your car printed on the edge of the driver’s side door.

Mileage still too low? Consider getting a tune up. A tune up will generally make a modest, but sometimes significant, improvement in your miles per gallon.

The Latest on Global Warming & Climate Change

The extreme weather of Winter 2009-2010 -- with heavy snowfall in some places and unusually low temperatures -- is in fact a sign of how climate change disrupts long-standing patterns, according to a report by EarthShare member National Wildlife Federation. Climate Scientist Dr. Amanda Staudt previews her newest report on the weird winter weather we've been experiencing and explains how it's consistent with what we expect from Global Warming.

Green tips : Cutting Down on Junk Mail

Modernize your life by taking control of your stuff. Monitoring the mail you receive is a great way to cut down your clutter. You’ll have less to dispose of, you’ll feel less overwhelmed, and you’ll take a step towards helping to save our environment.。

The Patagonia retailer founder speaks to CNN's Richard Roth about his green pioneering ways.

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An independent review cleared scientists involved in the 'climategate' scandal, now what happens? CNN's Mary Snow reports.

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Saving Energy tips

In fact, we can help our world by saving energy! Greenhouse gases are released whenever we burn fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, and oil for energy. Cutting energy use cuts carbon dioxide.
Don’t fill the tub full when you take a bath.

Take a shorter shower, because a shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.

Don’t use electric light at all when natural light is sufficient. Windows higher on the wall will allow the light to penetrate further into the space.

Plant a tree or two or more.
Trees take in carbon dioxide from the air. A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your electricity bill by 10 to 15%.
Now it is our chance to change. We can start doing little by little, from one to another daily, and eventually we can help our world.>.。

Saving energy with blackout curtains

Whether it's summer or winter, blackout curtains can help you save cash on cooling and heating bills - and every bit of energy you save is a little less strain on the environment.


Blackout curtains just aren't for blocking light. 33% of home heating and cooling energy loss occurs via your windows. Blackout curtains can help insulate your home, saving you money in heating and cooling and the energy savings can also assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production. Additionally, as blackout curtains are much heavier than normal curtains, you can expect them to last a long time.

How do blackout curtains work?

Blackout curtains have a backing that is made from a very tightly woven fabric, usually multiple layered, which blocks most of the light; with some brands claiming up to 99.9%. reduction

How much energy can be saved?

According to the Eclipse Curtains site, their blackout curtains can reduce thermal loss by up to 25%; so if you're spending a few thousand dollars a year on heating and cooling, the savings add up quite quickly and can offset the cost of the curtains within a short space of time.

Other benefits of blackout curtains

I hate noise.. I mean really, really hate it. Noise pollution is a major problem for many people and is one of the most underrated environmental threats. Excess noise has negative physical and psychological effects on people and animals. It seems there's no peace in the burbs any more, even when we need it most - at night time when we're trying to sleep. Blackout curtains won't soundproof a room, but they will certainly help significantly reduce the noise level.

救救我们的地球！！！

聯合國的跨政府氣候變遷專家小組（IPCC）報告指出，人類的活動，包括土地利用、工業生產、城市化和生活型態，都排放大量溫室氣體（Greenhouse Gas），從而造成地球升溫。
地球升溫人類造成地球升溫的種種因素，超過90%是人類自己造成。
人類知道溫度上升會毀滅世界，但是，卻依照熱衷追求高排放的經濟成長模式，也習慣於高消耗的生活方式，樂此不疲，不會輕易放棄。
就好像一缸水裡的青蛙，水的溫度逐漸的升高，青蛙始終無動於衷，甚至愜意無比；直到溫度過了臨界點，它已經跳不出水缸，活活被煮死。
青蛙沒有意識到水溫上升，所以不會跳出水缸。人類呢？
美國和中國是世界兩大二氧化碳排放量最高的國家，在哥本哈根峰會上，不但無法攜手合作，反倒是針鋒相對，歸咎對方；在堅持本身利益的同時，要對方作出更大讓步。
哥本哈根大會沒有讓人類跳出水缸，大國之間相互扯後腿，逼使大家都留在水缸。
一紙“記錄在案”的氣候協議，只是同意減少排放溫室氣體，卻沒有制訂目標，也沒有執行方案。
窮國與島國皆大失所望。面對淹沒威脅的太平洋小島圖瓦盧代表說，這是對未來的背叛；非洲蘇丹的代表說，協議是判處非洲死刑，形同大屠殺。
救救我们的地球！！！

如果2012世界末日真的发生，请不要惊讶。
不只是因为玛雅传说，而是科学证明。
升2度C的温度将让地球被毁灭。

從1度C到6度C
英國作家萊納斯（Mark Lynas）閱讀了上千篇科學論文，走訪多位氣候和環境專家，以兩年時間，寫出《六度的變化》（Six Degrees）一書。
書中預測地球每升溫1度C，會帶來的後果；當升溫6度C，就是人類滅亡的臨界點。
升高1度C：
農業地帶會沙漠化，沙塵暴覆蓋城市；三分之一地表的淡水（河流和湖泊）會干涸；低窪的海岸地區將被淹沒；北極熊、海象和海豹絕跡。
升高2度C：
歐洲的夏天，像撒哈拉沙漠般火熱，人們死於熱浪；大火燒毀大量森林；格陵蘭冰原徹底消融，全球海平面升高7米；地球上有三分之一的物種面臨死亡威脅。
升高3度C：
亞馬遜森林死亡；超級颱風將肆虐沿海的城市；紐約市已經泡在水裡；印度次大陸和非洲發生大饑荒。
升高4度C：
永凍土解凍，雪水讓全球暖化加速；英國的大部份地區因為嚴重淹水無法住人；人類被迫遷出地中海區；全球爆發糧食危機。
升高5度C：
海底下的海床釋出的甲烷加速暖化；南北極的冰層融化；雨林已經燒光、變成沙漠；人類為了尋找食物開始大遷徙，過著動物一樣的生活。
升高6度C：
連北極也沒有冰了；歐洲是一片沙漠；地球大部份地區已經不適合人類居住；沿海城市成為廢墟。
超過6度C：
暖化完全失控，任何努力都是徒勞了；超級暴風雨、洪水、硫化氫氣體、以及甲烷火球摧毀地球；人類滅亡，地球只有黴菌能夠存活；地球回到1億5000萬年前恐龍滅絕的年代。

A school in Newark, New Jersey, is teaching sustainability, healthy living and respect for the environment.

Hybrid tugboat helps port cut emissions

One of the busiest ports in the world is becoming one of the most eco-friendly. Video by photojournalist Gabe Ramirez

Photojournalist David Allbritton shows us why letting your kids play with trash can be a fun, eco-friendly activity

CNN's Casey Wian reports on how some California businesses hope going "green" will put them in the black.

CNN's Casey Wian reports on how some California businesses hope going "green" will put them in the black.

HLN Money Expert Clark Howard visits a model home to show you how to save money and energy

Is the Recession Giving Earth a Break?

The lower manufacturing output associated with the recession has had a tiny curbing effect on global CO2 emissions, buying us a tiny amount of extra time in which to address the climate crisis. That's the good news, says paleontologist and extinction expert Peter Ward. The bad news is that severe climate change is happening anyway, and its likely impact keeps him awake at night.

Perhaps we shouldn't feel too guilty about our destructive potential; Ward has famously hypothesized that multicellular life as a whole is suicidal over the long term, and believes that intelligent life might actually provide the only loophole. It would be a shame, though, if we were to finish ourselves off: Ward believes that while other planets in the universe probably do contain intelligent life, they are also likely to be incredibly rare.

How can scientists better sound the alarm, and connect with the public in general? Ward has some ideas about that too, and fondly remembers a late scientist who was one of the best in the field at bringing science to a lay audience.

HLN Money Expert Clark Howard has the greenprints for your home that'll save you big on becoming more energy efficient

Can Obama Keep His Climate Change Promises?

EU Ambassador John Bruton thinks Obama’s stance towards climate change is encouraging, but says Europe won’t be impressed until Congress passes meaningful climate change legislation.

Toyota brings home the top prize at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. CNN's Cal Perry reports.

Gore Is Too Sunny on Climate Change

Stewart Brand

Author, "The Whole Earth Discipline"
One of the godfathers of green explains why “environmentalists grasp at straws a little with wind and solar,” and why Al Gore is too optimistic about our prospects of solving the climate crisis quickly.