From
Paris Plageto New York's Summer Streets,
and Bogota's Cicloviato Portland's Sunday Parkways,
cities around the world are embracing the concept of liveable
streets. Special days are set aside and miles of city streets,
become car-free zones. Sidewalk cafes, special events, booths and stalls
of amazing variety create a festival atmosphere as cyclists and
pedestrians roam freely, and safely through the streets.
Donald Appleyard was a Professor of Urban Design at the University of
California, Berkeley. He had a strong interest in environmental
perception and community based planning. He studied the social and
psychological effects of traffic and neighborhood layout, devised
sensitive tools for the analysis of peoples’ environmental perceptions,
and took issue with the power conflicts inherent in mainstream urban
planning processes. Over the years, his interests became focused on the
livability of cities and neighborhoods, particularly upon streets. His
book Livable Streets was published in 1981.
In
the late 1960s Appleyard conducted a renowned study on livable streets,
comparing three residential streets in San Francisco which on the
surface did not differ on much else but their levels of traffic. The
2,000 vehicles per day street was considered Light Street, 8,000
traveled on Medium Street and 16,000 vehicles passing down Heavy Street.
His research showed that residents of Light Street had three more
friends and twice as many acquaintances as the people on Heavy Street.
Project
for Public Spacesis undertaking a major
initiative called “Streets as Places.”This initiative seeks to
engage citizens, policymakers and the transportation industry at-large
to reshape the planning and design of transportation networks and
streets to promote and support economic vitality, civic engagement,
human health, and environmental sustainability, while simultaneously
meeting peoples’ mobility needs.
Bicycles are commonly used by people seeking to improve their fitness
and cardiovascular health. In this regard, bicycling is especially
helpful for those with arthritis of the lower limbs and who are unable
to pursue sports such as running that involve more impact to joints such
as the knees. Furthermore, since cycling can be used as a form of
transportation, there can be less demand for self-discipline to maintain
the exercise because of the practical purpose of the activity.
Walkers have less incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes
and other killer diseases. They live longer and get mental health and
spiritual benefits. Research shows adults who are physically active in
their 50s and early 60s are about 35 percent less likely to die in the
next eight years than those who are sedentary. For those who have a high
heart risk because of diabetes, high blood pressure or smoking, the
reduction is 45 percent.
Gerontologist Thomas Glass thinks we should also be cognizant of the
importance of being sociable. "As a society, we should be finding more
ways for people, especially older people, to stay involved and active.
At any age, we need to begin to think beyond the boundaries of the
Stairmaster.
"Physical fitness is important, but social engagement is turning out to
be just as critical to longevity. What I tell people is, 'Find something
you really like doing that involves other people, whether it's playing
cards or walking in the mall.' Social engagement adds a sense of purpose
to people's lives. It also seems to add years to those lives."
Perhaps by creating more liveable streets, we will not only improve the
health of our planet by reducing emissions from motor vehicles, but we
can also improve the health of planetary citizens everywhere.
The Zero-Waste Town
In
Kamikatsu, Japan you will not find a garbage can in any of the town's
homes, and there is no dump anywhere around. This is because the
resourceful residents must compost all waste from their food, and sort
other trash into 34 separate categories, with sections for plastic
bottles, razor blades, Styrofoam, and various other items.
Interestingly
enough, the locals seem to like this extreme recycling process.
One resident, claims that the town's no-waste policy makes her more
mindful of what she's using, and helps her to take advantage of every
last scrap. When she cannot use the whole vegetable, or all of the
meat, she cooks it again, often making soup.
Most of us may not
be as ecologically-advanced as the residents of Kamikatsu, but the idea
that people on the opposite side of the world are separating their trash
into 34 categories may inspire people to recycle their cans and bottles,
at least. Check out Lime's
Guide to Recycling
to learn how to get rid of trash without heading to the dump.
International Year
of the Reef 2008
The ICRI
International Year of the
Reef 2008 is a worldwide campaign to raise
awareness about the value and importance of coral reefs
and threats to their sustainability, and to motivate
people to take action to protect them. All individuals,
corporations, schools, governments, and organizations
are welcome and actively encouraged to participate in
IYOR 2008.
IYOR 2008 will:
Strengthen
awareness about the ecological,
economic, social and cultural value of
coral reefs and associated ecosystems
Improve
understanding of the critical threats to
coral reefs and generate both practical
and innovative solutions to reduce these
threats
Generate urgent
action at all levels to develop and
implement effective management
strategies for conservation and
sustainable use of these ecosystems.
Corporations go public with eco-friendly
patents. IBM and World Business
Council for Sustainable Development Team with Nokia, Pitney Bowes, and
Sony to Establish Eco-Patent Common
ARMONK, NY & GENEVA,
SWITZERLAND - 14 Jan 2008: Leading members of the corporate
community have come together in a first-of-its-kind effort to help the
environment, unleashing dozens of innovative,
environmentally-responsible patents to the public domain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSnY3bO-kyY
From the outset FIGHTING GOLIATH:
TEXAS COAL WARS was intended to serve as a tool for raising
awareness, inspiring action, and creating a meaningful dialogue about
how to overcome one of the greatest threats to public health
contributors to global warming faced by the U.S.—conventional coal-fired
power plants. FIGHTING GOLIATH follows the story of farmers, ranchers
and Mayors fighting against the construction of 18 new coal-burning
power plants in Texas. TXU Corp. withdrew eight of the 11 permit
applications shortly before the case went to court, when it was
announced that shareholders would sell the utility to private equity
firms. The film was produced by the Redford Center at the Sundance
Preserve and Alpheus Media, and directed by Mat Hames and George Sledge.
Judy
Wicks, a
Philadelphia
restaurateur
who built
the founding
BALLE
network the
Sustainable
Business
Alliance of
Greater
Philadelphia,
around her
business,
the
White Dog
Cafe,
wondered
whether she
could spread
this
framework
for building
a
sustainable
local
economy to
the rest of
the country.
Through her
involvement
with the
Social
Venture
Network,
a community
of company
founders,
private
investors,
social
entrepreneurs,
and key
influencers
who share a
commitment
to building
a just and
sustainable
world
through
business,
she met
Laury Hammel,
owner of the
Boston
area's
innovative
Longfellow
health
clubs, and
other people
exploring
the idea of
a new
organization
to promote
sustainable
local
economies.
In late
2001, soon
after
September
11, they
formed
BALLE, which
has since
grown to
include 55
other local
business
networks
encompassing
more than
15,000
entrepreneurs
in the US
and Canada.
Kick
the Habit - World
Environment Day 2008 to be Hosted by New Zealand with Focus on
Fostering Low-Carbon Economies
Nairobi/Wellington, 1
October 2007 -
New Zealand, one of the first countries to pledge a carbon-neutral
future, will be the main host of World Environment Day 2008, the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today.
The challenge of climate
change and threats to polar regions and beyond were spotlighted in
Norway as part of World Environment Day (WED) 2007.
The focus of the global
2008 celebrations hosted in New Zealand will be on the solutions and the
opportunities for countries, companies and communities to "Kick the
habit" and de-carbonize their economies and life-styles.
Measures include greater
energy efficiency in buildings and appliances, including light bulbs, up
to a switch towards cleaner and renewable forms of electricity
generation and transport systems.
The focus will also be
put on the role of forests in countering rises in greenhouse gases. An
estimated 20 per cent of emissions contributing to climate change
globally are a result of deforestation.
New Zealand, where
forestry is an important industry and conservation of forests is a high
priority, plans to use WED to highlight the role technologies and
forestry management can play in achieving domestic and international
climate goals.
"As part of New Zealand's
drive for greater environmental sustainability, we've made a commitment
to reduce our emissions. But to overcome the challenge of climate
change, kicking the carbon habit must be a truly global goal. During
next year's World Environment Day events I look forward to learning
about how other nations are addressing this challenge," said Prime
Minister Helen Clark.
Achim Steiner, UN
Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "New Zealand
is among a pioneer group of countries committed to accelerating a
transition to a low carbon and carbon-neutral economy. We are therefore
delighted to be holding the main WED 2008 celebrations in Wellington and
in communities across this South Pacific nation".
He said developed and
developing countries stood to benefit environmentally, economically and
socially from more efficient low-carbon technologies and strategies.
"What we need is action
to slow, stop and then to reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas
emissions. A transition to a low carbon economy is essential to
achieving this," said Mr. Steiner.
"Along the way we will
see more rapid and widespread access to cleaner and greener energy, new
job opportunities and reductions in unhealthy urban and in-door
pollution. WED is about positive perspectives on change, and this is
what we hope to highlight in New Zealand," he added.
Much like eBay's approach to
online commerce, GlobalGiving is changing the way people give. They work
with a network of well-run organizations and carefully research their
projects - gathering detailed information on the project leaders, as
well as the projects' objectives and expected outcomes. Then, they make
it simple for people to give to these projects and track the impact of
their generosity.
GlobalGiving currently has 35 environmental projects ranging from
solar electricity for low-income families to restoring ancient forest
groves in Rajasthan.
Global Response
empowers people of all ages, cultures, and
nationalities to protect the environment by creating partnerships for
effective citizen action. At the request of indigenous peoples and
grassroots organizations, Global Response organizes urgent international
letter campaigns to help communities prevent many kinds of environmental
destruction. Global Response involves young people as well as
adults in these campaigns to develop in them the values and skills for
global citizen cooperation and earth stewardship.
The Save Our Environment Action
Center is a collaborative effort of the nation's
most influential environmental advocacy organizations harnessing the
power of the internet to increase public awareness and activism on
today's most important environmental issues.
Save Our Environment.org
is administered by the Partnership Project. One of their campaigns
is to Urge your representative to vote
for H.R. 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act.
The Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R. 2421 / S.1870) reaffirms
Congress' original intent in enacting the Clean Water Act – to protect
all waters of the United States from pollution. This bi-partisan
legislation was introduced by Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), John
Dingell (D-MI) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and is endorsed by over 450
organizations including the conservation community, family farmers,
hunters and anglers, surfers, boaters, faith communities, labor unions
and environmental justice advocates.
Clean Up the World partners with the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to inspire communities to "clean up,
fix up and conserve their local environment" through activities ranging
from waste removal and tree planting to water and energy conservation
projects. Clean Up the World mobilizes an estimated 35 million
volunteers from more than 100 countries annually. Getting
involved is simple. Groups in any city, town or village across the globe
can become a Clean Up the World Member. Membership is free* for non
corporate Members and renewable annually.
Under the Plant for
the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, launched by UNEP, people,
communities, business and industry, civil society organizations and
governments are encouraged to
enter tree planting pledges online with the objective of planting at
least one billion trees worldwide each year.
Izmet's Dream has pledged to plant 3 trees in 2008 as part of the
1. Which major retailer saw its New Dehli
factories
raided
in October 2007 by authorities acting on a tip from an undercover
newspaper reporter who found children as young as 10
sewing garments for a
children's apparel line?
2. Which fast food company (owner of KFC and Taco
Bell) received the dismally low score of 1 out of 100
in the "Climate Counts Company Scorecard," a report that that judged
companies
on their commitment to reversing climate
change?
3. Which popular retailer of apparel and toys got
busted for the ninth time
by Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM),
which uncovered sweatshop abuses (unpaid wages, illegal working
hours, unsafe working conditions)
at a producer factor in China in 2007?
4. Which electronics company was revealed in
November 2007 to be at least partly responsible for more than 100
current or former Superfund sites? (Superfund sites are locations
designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as being so
contaminated by toxic chemicals that
they are dangerous to
human health.)
5.
Which chocolate-maker, long under fire by social justice advocates
concerned about rampant child labor in the
cocoa industry,
has also become a dominating force in the bottled water industry,
generating tons of plastic-bottle waste, and drawing criticism for
polluting groundwater near its bottling facilities?
6.
Which popular catalog company was the subject of a 2006 National
Labor Committee report documenting abuses at its Saidan factory in
Jordan including:
human trafficking of guest workers,
confiscation of passports, 118-hour work weeks,
wages below the legal
minimum, no sick days, and unsanitary working conditions?
7.
Which chemical company was named the
number one polluter in America
by a May 2008 report from the Political Economy Research Institute
called the “Toxic 100 index”? (The index is based on EPA Toxics
Release Inventory data, and ranks the nation's largest companies
based on the quantity of their emissions, relative toxicity of
chemicals emitted, and
proximity to population
centers, among other criteria.)
to educate the public about climate
change through engaging and informative game play while encouraging
individuals to become part of the solution in their own lives. The
game also assists individuals - through simple tools and links - in advocating action by elected officials, business and community leaders.
