This is not “Waste Management”, this is dumping and burnig.
The Maldives are known as an unspoilt, paradise island destination for upmarket tourists but the BBC’s Simon Reeve has paid a visit to a part of the Maldives that tourists do not see – a huge island waste dump.
He was accompanied by local conservationist Marie Saleem who explained how the country struggles with waste management.
The Maldives’ government told the BBC they were looking at ways to tackle their waste problem.
Saguaro National Park Says No to Bottled Water AND Soda Sales
Saguaro National Park has long been committed to recycling plastic and aluminum, saving 61,500 pounds of recyclable waste from landfills in 2010 alone. However, transporting disposable bottles to be recycled also costs money, time and gasoline. The park could eliminate up to 40% of what is currently recycled; about 15% of the park’s total waste stream. Saguaro conducted a thorough analysis of the potential impacts of eliminating the sale of disposable bottled water and soda, and determined that the more sustainable solution is to provide new water bottle filling stations for visitors to refill their own reusable containers.
“The use of disposable plastic bottles has significantly greater environmental impacts compared to the use of local tap water and re-fillable bottles”, said Superintendent Darla Sidles. “Implementing this action will help the park reduce its environmental footprint”.
There are new water bottle filling stations located at each visitor center as well as the Rincon Mountain District bike ramada. BPA free, reusable water bottles are available for purchase in either visitor center.
In June 2011, after purchasing the property located at 825 Berkeley Street, with his partner, Adam Corlin wanted to bring awareness to the impacts that are occurring in the world’s oceans. After much thought, Adam decided that installing a public art display would be a great way to impact the greater community by bringing the vision of Restoring and Protecting the World’s Oceans. In doing so, Adam Corlin contacted his friends at Heal the Bay and outlined his thoughts and ideas for the project, which would ultimately become, Oceans @ Risk.
Once Heal the Bay was on board, Adam set out to find the artist to complete the project. Through a mutual friend, Randy Wild, Adam was introduced to Kelly “RISK” Graval, who agreed to join in the project. Adam approached “Risk” after reading a disturbing interview about “Risk” and fellow artists facing resistance from city officials, to paint legally in Los Angeles. When Adam approached Risk about painting his home to make a statement, he was shocked when Risk replied “that’s cool but let’s do something for the greater good.” So the two formed the AT RISK foundation and committed to make a difference.
Since 1985 Heal The Bay is committed to protect Southern California’s coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay. Our rivers, beaches, and beautiful oceans are at risk. We are proud to bring light to this subject and make a substantial contribution via this Mural. All three of us are committed to helping Heal The Bay meet this incredible challenge.
Are you here to save face? Or are you here to save us?
On Wednesday 20 June, 2012 17-year-old Brittany Trilford of Wellington, New Zealand addressed 130 heads of state at the opening plenary of the Rio+20 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is her speech.
My name is Brittany Trilford. I am seventeen years old, a child. Today, in this moment, I am all children, your children, the world’s three billion children. Think of me for these short minutes as half the world.
I stand here with fire in my heart. I’m confused and angry at the state of the world and I want us to work together now to change this. We are here to solve the problems that we have caused as a collective, to ensure that we have a future.
You and your governments have promised to reduce poverty and sustain our environment. You have already promised to combat climate change, ensure clean water and food security. Multi-national corporations have already pledged to respect the environment, green their production, compensate for their pollution. These promises have been made and yet, still, our future is in danger.
We are all aware that time is ticking and is quickly running out. You have 72 hours to decide the fate of your children, my children, my children’s children. And I start the clock now… tck tck tck.
Let us think back to twenty years ago – well before I was even an inkling in my parents’ eyes – back to here, to Rio, where people met at the first Earth Summit in 1992. People at this Summit knew there needed to be change. All of our systems were failing and collapsing around us. These people came together to acknowledge these challenges to work for something better, commit to something better.
They made great promises, promises that, when I read them, still leave me feeling hopeful. These promises are left – not broken, but empty. How can that be? When all around us is the knowledge that offers us solutions. Nature as a design tool offers insight into systems that are whole, complete, that give life, create value, allow
progress, transformation, change.
We, the next generation, demand change. We demand action so that we have a future and have it guaranteed. We trust that you will, in the next 72 hours, put our interests ahead of all other interests and boldly do the right thing. Please, lead. I want leaders who lead.
I am here to fight for my future. That is why I’m here. I would like to end by asking you to consider why you’re here and what you can do. Are you here to save face? Or are you here to save us?
There’s a reason beer bottles are shaped like they are – they fit perfectly into the palms of our hands and are easy to pour without spillage. But their design only takes into account the short period in which they’re actually in use, rather than considering what will happen to them when their contents are all gone. Here are two unusual designs for beer bottles that would make it much easier to build glass bottle structures, from simple greenhouses to astonishingly complex Buddhist temples.
The Heineken WOBO (World Bottle) put the Cradle-to-Cradle design and manufacturing philosophy into use long before its creators, William McDonough and Michael Braungart, came up with the idea. Beer brewer Alfred Heineken was inspired to create it after witnessing both recycling problems and a lack of building materials in the Caribbean. The WOBO bottle is rectangular with a niche in the underside that fits the neck of another bottle, so they’re easy to stack. Unfortunately, the Heineken brewery didn’t support the idea and the bottles never took off.
Now, there’s the Heineken Cube by French industrial designer Petit Romain. Not only does this simple cube design eliminate the annoyance of bottles clinking together in a six-pack and make them easy to stack, it also has building potential. The only negative is that square would be kind of hard to get a grip on, especially when the bottle is wet with condensation, so it would probably be best to pour the beer into a glass before drinking.
Glass beer bottles have a lot of potential to create incredible, light-filled recycled structures. There’s an entire village made of beer bottles in Simi Valley, California, built by Tressa Prisbey. And who could forget the astonishing Buddhist temple made from bottles in Thailand’s Sisaket province? As these structures and many more prove, any kind of beer bottle can be upcycled into a colorful building material, but designs that make the process easier might just result in even more cool low-impact buildings.
by Stephanie – author on WebEcoist – her work tends toward the design side of things, covering everything from parks and scenic overlooks to dazzling futuristic eco-architecture. Here is a list of Archived Articles from Stephanie.
