Green Ump

Make each purchase create livable, healthy and sustainable communities.

10/07/2014

TOXIC BEAUTY

When it comes to the products you put on your body, skin, or hair, one thing's for sure: most companies that makes those products don't have your back.

Heather White, Executive Director of the Environmental Working Group, explains why our lotions, makeup, and shampoos are loaded with dangerous chemicals, why babies are born with hundreds of toxins in their blood, and what you can do to make your immediate environment — and the world — a little bit safer.

Here is some of her organization's daunting research results that should make you think twice about how you choose to care for your body (and your baby):

The average woman is exposed to 168 chemicals used in personal care products every day

The average man is exposed to 85 chemicals from personal care products each day

34% of chemicals in these products are listed as possible carcinogens, causes of cancer

45% of the chemicals were associated with reproductive and developmental toxicity

60% had chemicals that are known endocrine disruptors

MindBodyGreen

Environmental Working Group

Posted at 10:54 AM in Advocacy, Benchmarking Sustainability, Health Product Declarations, Healthy Products, Precautionary Principle | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Body Health, Carcinogens, Developmental Toxicity, Endocrine Disruptor, Personal Care Products, Reproductive Disruptor, Toxic Chemicals, Transparent Ingredients

10/06/2014

TEN HAPPIEST COUNTRIES

More than three quarters of people in the developed world say they are happy, but a clear majority wish their life was simpler, according to a study of adults in 20 of the world's leading powers.

Confounding theories about the rising tide of depression and the withering effect of economic rout, an Ipsos Mori survey of more than 16,000 people worldwide found that 77% were happy, a rate that rose to 88% in Sweden, 85% in Australia and 83% in the US.

Even with the high rate of self-declared happiness, the report found large measures of gloom about the future, about the growing pace of globalisation and the effects of inequality.

People were more optimistic about the prospects for their families and local communities (59%) than they were for the world (22%).

Another interesting discovery was that people in emerging economic powers overwhelmingly agreed that globalisation was good for them (China 81%, India 71%, Brazil 68%).

However, in the richest nations surveyed, the view was quite the opposite: in France, only 24% of people approved of globalisation, a rate that inched up to 37% in the US and 41% in Britain.

The researchers questioned 16,000 adults in the autumn of 2013: 1,000 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Britain and the US, and approximately 500 in Argentina, Belgium, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey.

MindBodyGreen

Posted at 10:06 AM in Advocacy, Benchmarking Sustainability, Climate Change, Current Affairs, Green Business, Sustainable Apparel, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Food & Farming, Sustainable Infrastructure | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Climate Change, Developed Countries, Developing Countries, Globalization, Happiest Countries, Happiness Index

10/02/2014

ACCOUNTING FIRM RUNS THE NUMBERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE

With every year that passes, we’re getting further away from averting a human-caused climate disaster. That’s the key message in this year’s “Low Carbon Economy Index,” a report released by the accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The report highlights an “unmistakable trend.” The world’s major economies are increasingly failing to do what’s needed to to limit global warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. That was the target agreed to by countries attending the United Nations’ 2009 climate summit; it represents an effort to avoid some of the most disastrous consequences of runaway warming, including food security threats, coastal inundation, extreme weather events, ecosystem shifts, and widespread species extinction.

Grist

Posted at 08:00 AM in Advocacy, Carbon Economy, Climate Change, Small Island Nation States, Solar Energy, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Food & Farming | Permalink | Comments (0)

10/01/2014

SOLAR STATES LIST

The United States is witnessing a solar energy revolution with a massive, 120-fold increase in solar capacity over the last decade. Solar energy is not only good for consumers, but it is also extremely beneficial for the environment and the economy in the long run.

Highlights on the rise in the demand for solar energy in the U.S.:

The installation cost of solar energy systems has decreased considerably — by as much as 60 percent since 2011.
Solar energy is helpful in downsizing expensive investments in long-distance transmission lines.
Solar photovoltaic cells produce much less (91 to 96 percent) global warming pollution than coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants.
Solar power plants have played an important role in providing clean energy jobs to local Americans. Approximately 140,000 people are currently employed in this industry, and around half of these jobs, such as installation, are in close proximity to their hometowns.

Local governments, businesses and everyday homeowners in a growing number of U.S. states are taking note of these benefits and adding solar to their energy mixes. Here’s a look at the top 10 states for solar energy in the U.S. and what we can learn from their example.

Triple Pundit

Posted at 08:00 AM in Climate Change, Current Affairs, Electric Cars, Energy Efficiency, Solar Energy, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Infrastructure | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Renewable Energy, Rooftop Solar PV, Solar Power, Solar PV, Sustainability, Sustainable energy

09/30/2014

POP UP RETAIL COMING TO YOUR COMMUNITY?

Pop-up retail might have begun as an inspired necessity emerging from the global financial crisis, but the fun and efficacy of temporarily transforming a space is catching and quickly becoming a way to perk up abandoned warehouses and shipping containers or brighten up highly trafficked yet otherwise empty streetscapes. It began in the late 2000's and has now become a sustainable, exciting way for companies to refresh their brand – or for up-and-coming artisans who have little start-up capital.

The sentiment is echoed by ORE Design + Technology, an architecture firm that works closely with UrbanSpaces on commissioned pop-ups, including the Dekalb Market (where stalls came in the form of reused shipping containers) some years ago when pop-ups were first broaching the retail space. Spurred on by the global financial crisis, pop-ups sprung from necessity – using empty spaces at a minimal cost to retailers. “It’s almost like an event or a festival,” said architect Thomas Kosbau. “It needs to be built quickly and disassembled quickly. In no other form of architecture do you design for how quickly the structure has to be disassembled.”

Honest Buildings

Posted at 08:00 AM in Green Business, Innovation, Waste | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Cargo Containers, Disposable Stores, Pop Up Retail, Re-employable Disassembly, Reusable, Sustainable Design

09/29/2014

CLIMATE CHANGE CAN BE GOOD ECONOMICS

Businesses and governments can tackle climate change and improve economic performance, according to a report by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, a group of business and policy leaders from 19 countries.

Better Growth, Better Climate: The New Climate Economy Report was presented to governments and business and finance leaders at a global launch event at the UN headquarters in New York City, attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The report arrives just one week before the UN Climate Summit.

The report finds that over the next 15 years, about $90 trillion will be invested in infrastructure in the world’s cities, agriculture and energy systems. It says this presents an unprecedented opportunity to drive investment in low-carbon growth, bringing benefits including jobs, health and business productivity.

Environmental Leader

Posted at 08:00 AM in Advocacy, Climate Change, Current Affairs, Electric Cars, Energy Efficiency, Environmental Free Trade, Green Business, Green Schools, Solar Energy, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Food & Farming, Sustainable Infrastructure | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Carbon Economy, Climate Change, Climate Change Good for the Economy

09/28/2014

BIG BELLIES

The number of American men and women with big-bellied, apple-shaped figures — the most dangerous kind of obesity — has climbed at a startling rate over the past decade, according to a government study.

People whose fat has settled mostly around their waistlines instead of in their hips, thighs, buttocks or all over are known to run a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and other obesity-related ailments.

Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults have abdominal obesity, up from 46 percent in 1999-2000, researchers reported in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. Abdominal obesity is defined as a waistline of more than 35 inches in women and more than 40 inches in men. (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP)

During the 12-year period studied, the average waist size in the U.S. expanded to 38 inches for women, a gain of 2 inches. It grew to 40 inches for men, a 1-inch increase.

Seattle PI | Lindsey Tanner

Posted at 08:10 AM in Current Affairs, Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: American Diet, American Eating Habits, Fast Foods, Human Health, U.S. Health, US Bellies

09/27/2014

GIANT WYOMING WIND FARM TO SUPPLY LOS ANGELES

Within the next decade, some cities like L.A. are expected to see power needs increase by as much as 18 percent, and a lot of that energy needs to be clean. The state has some of the most ambitious renewable standards in the entire country: By 2020, nearly a third of its power has to come from renewable sources.

Though the wind project would be supplying power to Southern California, all of it would be sourced from outside the state. Bloomberg reports:

The project includes a 2,100-megawatt wind farm in Wyoming, a 525-mile (845-kilometer) power line and a $1.5 billion storage facility, the developers said today in a statement. Duke-American Transmission, a joint venture of Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) and American Transmission Co., Dresser-Rand Group Inc. (DRC) and two others will propose the project to the Southern California Public Power Authority by early 2015.

This project would be the 21st Century’s Hoover Dam — a landmark of the clean energy revolution,” Jeff Meyer, managing partner of Pathfinder Renewable Wind Energy, said in the statement.

Grist

Posted at 03:00 PM in Advocacy, Carbon Economy, Climate Change, Current Affairs, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Infrastructure, Wind Energy | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Climate Change, Drought, Global Warming, Hoover Dam, Los Angeles, Renewable Energy, Wind Farm, Wyoming

09/26/2014

CLIMATE MARCH LARGEST EVER

More than 400,000 people turned out for the People's Climate March in New York City on Sunday, just days before many of the world's leaders are expected to debate environmental action at the United Nations climate summit.

Early reports from event organizers are hailing the turnout as the largest climate march in history, far bigger than the Forward on Climate rally held in Washington, D.C., last year. High-profile environmentalists including Bill McKibben, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva marched alongside policymakers such as Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former Vice President Al Gore were also there, and more than 550 buses carried in people from around the country.

The rally came as 120 world leaders, including President Barack Obama, are expected to convene Tuesday at the United Nations in New York to discuss ways to tackle the growing threat of carbon pollution.

Huffington Post

Peoples Climate March

Posted at 06:06 PM in Advocacy, Climate Change, Current Affairs, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Food & Farming | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Peoples Climate March

BLACK GREEN SCHOOLS

There are over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in this country currently serving over 300,000 mostly African-American students. However, the Cool Schools of 2014 list in this month’s issue of Sierra magazine ranks the institutions of higher learning with the greenest policies and practices, and not one of them is a historically black college or university (HBCU). Princeton does the Sierra Club one better, literally: Of the 332 institutions in its Green Colleges guide, only the historically black Cheney University of Pennsylvania made the cut.

It could just be that while there is a lot of great green work going on at HBCUs, that they don’t scale up to the level of their Division I counterparts. They’d like to, but they don’t have the other kind of green needed to do it.

Only 37 percent of schools represented in the HBCU report have signed on to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, but 33 percent of them said that was because of a lack of resources to commit to the sustainability policies required in that covenant. Close to three-quarters of the schools reported not having access to financing for sustainability investments.