The Waste Revolution Handbook Volume 1

The Waste Revolution Handbook Volume 1

Waste generation is a perfect example of how market forces are hugely impacting on our environment. Disposing of something costs very little or nothing and as a result we have created waste streams and products that are easily disposable.

However if the real cost of waste was actually borne by the generator of the waste thereby dramatically increasing the cost of disposal, the system would evolve to ultimately create less waste in order to minimise costs.

Such interventions are more accessible than we think and markets are adapting to extract profits from these changes - the evolution of the ‘waste system’ is actually upon us.

Climate change to hit Asia's poor hardest: W.Bank - Yahoo! News

Climate change to hit Asia's poor hardest: W.Bank - Yahoo! News

Asia's poor will bear the brunt of disasters sparked by climate change and rapid urbanisation, a World Bank expert told a regional conference Tuesday.

"More than others, poor people pay for disaster with their lives," the bank's director for sustainable development in East Asia, John Roome, told the Asian ministerial conference on disaster risk reduction.

Last year, he said in a speech, six of the 10 countries with the highest death rates and GDP losses from natural disasters were in Asia.

And since 1997, 82 percent of all lives lost in disasters were in countries represented at the meeting in the city of Incheon west of Seoul.

"Climate change, coupled with unprecedented rates of rapid urbanisation, makes the potential impacts of disasters much worse," Roome said, noting that the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters had quadrupled in the past two decades.

Citing OECD estimates, Roome said Asia is home to six of the 10 most vulnerable cities -- Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh, Mumbai, Kolkata and Osaka.

President Obama on Small Business and the Economy

President Obama speaks about the key role small business plays in moving the American economy forward and the steps his Administration has taken to help small businesses grow and hire new workers during a visit to Woonsocket, RI.

Scenes from Thailand - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Scenes from Thailand - The Big Picture - Boston.com

The last time the Big Picture focused on Thailand, the government crackdown on Red Shirt protesters was taking place in Bangkok. Since then, much of the damaged part of downtown Bangkok has been repaired, and the Red Shirts continue their protests both in the streets and online. Thailand has also been hit with severe flooding, struggled with terrorist attacks, and celebrated Queen Sirikit's 78th birthday. Collected here a a handful of recent photographs from around Thailand. (31 photos total)

IKEA Going Geothermal in Colorado | Tomorrow is greener

IKEA Going Geothermal in Colorado | Tomorrow is greener

The news about IKEA’s new store in Colorado is exciting but it is not just about furniture. Not everyone finds IKEA furniture exciting anyway, and the store will not begin operating till later in 2011. But it is already generating more interest than most IKEA store openings, and the cause for excitement here is that the store temperature will be regulated through a geothermal system instead of conventional heating and cooling systems.

Office Rice Paddy Turns Tokyo Salarymen into Urban Farmers | Popular Science

Office Rice Paddy Turns Tokyo Salarymen into Urban Farmers | Popular Science

Office workers in Japan are adding some rural relaxation, if you can call it that, to their usual workaday routines. In Tokyo’s bustling business hub of Otemachi, a 1,000-square-foot indoor rice paddy is providing office workers a way to get back to their horticultural roots – and 100 pounds of rice for the building’s cafeteria. That’s actually kind of a big deal for a country that grows only half of the food it requires.

The rice paddy is an experimental effort to get city-dwellers more interested in farming, but also to provide office workers with a rural respite from their crowded urban environs. It also aims to teach skills that have been lost even in Japan’s countryside, where many agricultural tasks have been taken over by machinery.

South Africa unveils plans for 'world's biggest' 5 GW solar power plant

South Africa unveils plans for 'world's biggest' solar power plant | Environment | guardian.co.uk

South Africa unveils plans for 'world's biggest' solar power plantGiant mirrors and solar panels in Northern Cape would reduce carbon emissions and generate one-tenth of the country's energy needs. Africa is to unveil plans this week for what it claims will be the world's biggest solar power plant – a radical step in a coal-dependent country where one in six people still lacks electricity.

The project, expected to cost up to 200bn rand (£18.42bn), would aim by the end of its first decade to achieve an annual output of five gigawatts (GW) of electricity - currently one-tenth of South Africa's energy needs. Giant mirrors and solar panels would be spread across the Northern Cape province, which the government says is among the sunniest 3% of regions in the world with minimal cloud or rain.

The government hopes the solar park will help reduce carbon emissions from Africa's biggest economy, which is still more than 90% dependent on coal-fired power stations. In April, the World Bank came in for sharp criticism from environmentalists for approving a $3.75bn (£2.37bn) loan to build one of the world's largest coal-fired power plants in the country

Shaw Industries and the environment | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Shaw Industries and the environment | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Among other initiatives, the company hopes to reduce energy use by 25 percent over the next seven years. The way forward is clear for flooring manufacturer Shaw Industries and the environment, with a multi-tiered sustainability effort that includes innovative new ways to minimize the company's impact on the planet during manufacturing, a massive carpet recycling effort and a range of new eco-friendly Cradle to Cradle-certified flooring products.

With the release of its 2009 Corporate Sustainability Report, Shaw Industries reveals its progress on crucial sustainability goals, which the company outlines on its green-themed website, ShawGreenEdge.com.

Shaw Industries has announced that it will reduce its energy usage by 25 percent by 2017, reduce its landfill waste 90 percent by the end of 2011 and further improve its water consumption by achieving an additional 25 percent reduction by 2010.