this is what’s right in the world

Ah…plastic bags. What luxury it is to take home so many from the grocery store. Not! In an age where people are trying to act in ways that are more environmentally sensitive, these bags are a constant reminder of what we are doing wrong. They pollute landfills and represent our consistent overconsumption.

One Canadian teen is working on a solution to the waste that these bags cause. For a school science competition, Daniel Burd chose to see what would make these plastic bags decompose. He has found a bacteria that can do the job. More research is being done to see how the process could be sped up. This can have pretty huge implications for landfill waste management.

Source: Student isolates microbe that lunches on plastic bags

Bamboo  has many purposes, but bicycle designer Craig Calfee has decided to use it to make lightweight bicycles. They are a bit pricy, but they are durable, strong, and lightweight.

Calfee is planning to teach craftsmen in Ghana how to produce these bikes so that they can make a living using their abundant bamboo.

Source: Bamboo bikes give athletes a lift

Dell has been making changes to both its campus and the technology it produces. They have produced a computer that will be wrapped in bamboo and made with mostly recycled plastics. It is smaller and lighter, providing for easier shipping.

Dell has other environmental initiatives–its campus is run with renewable energy and they have a computer recycling program.

Dell can serve as a model for other companies trying to become more ‘green,’ and as this happens, consumers will have more choice in the type of products they choose.

Source: Dell’s new environmentally friendly PC

More business travelers are demanding that hotels practice green behaviors. They are seeking out hotels that actively partake in sustainable behaviors. This can lead to industry wide changes as consumers let their demands be known.

A Deloitte spokesperson says that hotels are not quite up to par yet, but that those who make efforts to change will be the ones to thrive in the future.

Consumer voice and choice matters. If consumers continue to demand sustainability, the green movement can only go forward.

Source: Road warriors going green

The Amazon is one of the world’s richest source of unknown plants and animals. As loggers continue to slash down the rainforest, there is increasing concern about the effects of the carbon dioxide being released into the environment. The Brazilian government has had a hard time policing loggers and those who practice slash and burn.

The incoming environmental minister has promised to do something about all of this. The upcoming changes promise to be exciting–what happens there can have an effect on the environmental health of the rest of the world!

Source: Brazil’s incoming environmental minister vows to fight illegal logging in the Amazon

Green is a buzzword–everyone wants to do things that are more green, better for the environment. To a large extent, we are making improvements. There is so much more awareness about the need to protect the environment, but there are also a lot of people who claim that implementing new technology and policies would be too complicated or expensive.

Not so! Look at Germany–they have made massive green overhauls, both on the individual and the state level. Their percentages of pollution and air quality have greatly improved over the last years. There are several similarities between the United States and Germany, so the US can learn a lot from the policies put into place by the German government.

Change can and will happen, especially since the US has a successful model to emulate.

Source: Lessons from Germany

Organic, fresh, made from scratch. Sounds expensive, right? Not necessarily! Monique Dupre lives her gastronomical life by buying locally produced items from farms and preparing things like butter and other condiments herself. This seems like a daunting task, but she says that it takes no more time than the rest of her friends who cook ‘conventionally.’

This type of food preparation may seem hard at first. I know I am certainly not anywhere near doing this, but the long term impact that it has on the environment is a good one–this prevents food from being shipped hundreds, or even thousands, of miles to its final destination. The increasing support for organic growth should lead us to a more sustainable way of feeding everyone.

Source: Consumer skips grocery store to get food off the grid

We knew that trees add beauty to their surroundings, but now it looks like they add health. New York researchers are reluctant to make the claim that it is the actual trees that cut the rates of asthma, but there is a correlation between having lots of trees nearby and lower asthma rates. The causes could be many; for example, trees could encourage children to play outside more, thereby exposing them to microbes that can help them build stronger immune systems.

Whatever the cause, the trees have good effects and New York is planning to plant many more in the coming years.

Source: Tree lined streets cut asthma

Britain’s easyJet is preparing to come out with an environmentally sound jet that will help reduce carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide output. NASA says that this just might reduce the number of cirrus clouds, thus help stave off the trend of global temperature increases over time.

The technology to create these jets has been around for some time, but this airline is finally utilizing it, which is representative of a larger green trend. Hopefully in time, all new jets will be made from this technology.

Source: Environmentally friendly new jet planned

There is a green revolution happening before our very eyes. Is it any wonder that weddings have not been unaffected? Brides are starting the think consciously about how to make their weddings better and safer for the environment.

Of course there are many ways to do this, and this is a trend that seems like it will only grow. This shift away from materialism toward environmentalism can only portend the future good that will come from people incorporating green values into all aspects of their lives.

Source: The bride wore…green