World's First Climate Change Festival

The city of Birmingham, an industrial city in west central England will play host for the world's first climate change festival. It will make a direct link between the issues revolving around climate change and the design of the city, because: you can't create a sustainable city without getting the design right!

The festival which will take place this summer (from 31 May to 8 June) is organised by CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)  together with the Birmingham city council. It aims to show how a successful response to climate change can completely transform and heighten the quality of life for the people who live and work in it. 

According to CABE, climate action is all about reinvention, the redesign of the way that out cities function. This of course does not mean that our ole' comfortable way of life will remain untouched; changes will be necessary. BUT, these will most definitely be worth making as the reward will be a completer transformation: a healthier, greener and more prosperous environment to live in.  

This new low carbon, sustainable city will consist of vast areas of beautiful public spaces which will make both walking and cycling safer and more enjoyable. Well designed homes, offices and community lots with clean air and more surrounding trees. Suburbs which will be more effectively integrated to the city centre. All of this will inevitably result in a less stressful and more efficient place to spend your life in. 

In order to reach the above long-term aspiration the upcoming Climate Change Festival week will consist from a number of well though of events. These will range from community-based projects to a hothouse event for professional working in the built environment sector and a green day for schools. Moreover, the festival will also include the launch on World Environment Day of Birmingham's first ever climate change strategy.

If all goes as green as planned, the  aim of making the festival an annual event involving at least eight cities in 2009 and going international in 2010 will be reached. Long live the Green Revolution! 

To read in more detail about  the upcoming Climate Change Festival click on the following link:

http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentutemid=2414

Arctic Paradox

Rising temperatures, melting ice caps, changing landscape and one emerging conflict. 

Ever since the 60's , the Winter sea ice around the Norwegian arctic island has thinned to less than one meter. It is this continuous melting that started to reveal a very different Greenland. 

The world's largest island has swiftly become the center of attention, a prosperous area of vast mineral wealth which is highly perspective for commercial shipping and  the exploration of both oil and gas. This sudden interest has given Greenland's small population a hope for independence from Denmark (even though the island has internal self-government, Denmark is still the one responsible for foreign policy and according to the BBC provides it with almost half of its domestic budget). 

Aleqa Hammond, the foreign minister in Greenland's home-rule government, like the majority of the 56,000 people living in Greenland hopes that the attraction of oil and mineral companies' will bring with it profits to the country and in turn help in making it economically self-sufficient. 

Yes, so it is what lies under the surface of Greenland that has triggered such a scramble, but putting economic dependence aside what about the fact that the once upon a time permanent ice sheets are rapidly disappearing? 

Global warming is affecting the Arctic more than anywhere on Earth as it continues to experience the fastest global temperature rise. A NASA high-tech aerial showed that: "more than 11 cubic miles of ice is melting along Greenland's coasts yearly, accounting for 7% of the annual global sea level rise." Additionally, measurement over the last century indicate that sea levels have risen 9 inches, enough to trigger floods in low lying areas.

Moreover, oil and gas companies' heavy industry will inevitably bring with them high levels of pollution. This will further contribute to the already existing problem of climate change and undoubtedly trigger further destruction...

So, can Greenland really gain independence by losing its country's identity and ignoring the well-know consequences of Global warming? 

Click on the following link for The Independent's feature on Greenland's debatable situation:

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/greenland-the-emerging-nation-402602.html

 

Green is the New Black

Ladies and gentleman, roll out the Green Carpet, it seems that the fashion industry is raring to create a new and a timeless trend. Haute Couture in all of its big sun-glassy glory started to develop a new wave of fashion followers: the Ecoture. Perhaps last season was all about mixing brights and stripes, the conscious Eco-fashion invasion is all about mixing ethics with aesthetics. 

In recent years the fashion industry has become very conscious of climatic change and the issues of environmental degradation, everything from Green spreads in magazines to clothing made from recycled materials are offered to consumers. This going-green trend puts environment in the spotlight and hence  is all about "identifying and promoting innovative techniques and technologies that restore the balance between human and natural systems" as announced by Earth Pledge, a nonprofit organization promoting sustainable development which originated as a United Nations committee in 1992. Earth Pledge is steadily working with the fashion industry with the goal of raising awareness and ultimately initiating change. 

Leslie Hoffman, Earth Pledge's Executive Director said: "We like consumers to learn about these issues but the real focus of our work is working with industries. We're doing the carbon footprint analysis on textiles in China, working with suppliers to source sustainable materials and really teach them about the issues and where they can reduce."

Perhaps many can claim that eco-fashion is far from perfection and won't save the planet tomorrow, nonetheless its impact over the popular culture cannot be denied: Ecoture is a starting point which can largely help by educating customers about the importance of ethical consumption. The fashion industry's immense impact can open the eyes of  its consumers not only to pretty polka dotted patterns but to the benefits of sustainable development. 

For more information about Earth Pledge and its future initiatives click on the following link:

www.earthpledge.org/mission.html

Butterfly World

A ₤25 million project was launched yesterday, nothing special indeed simply the world's biggest butterfly house. An immense attraction with a strong message: STOP butterflies disappearing!

The project is led by Sir David Attenborough and has gained the support of some of the key figures of Britain's conservation community. The project initiated due to our impact on the environment and its consequent effect on the butterfly habitat; three quarters of the British butterflies have declined in the past 20 years and many became extinct over the course of the century.

Sir David spoke of this alarming matter, he said: "These declines indicate an underlying deterioration of the environment as a whole. For the sake of future generations we must take action now. Butterfly World is doing just that. It is putting the issues on the agenda and is seeking to help reverse this environmental catastrophe."

Butterfly World will be built just off the M25 near ST Albans, Herfordshire and will consist of a 300-ft wide, walk-through dome where  10,000 tropical butterflies will  be able to flutter and spread their wings. Additionally, it will include extensive gardens and meadows for attracting other native British species as well as education and research facilities. 

If the project will go as planned and reach its target of attracting a million visitors a year (40% are expected to be children) it can gain the title of Britain's premier environmental tourist attraction. 

Butterfly World will open in stages between June 2009 and March 2011, so make sure to leave time in your schedule and pay a visit. 

For The Independent's  full article on this upcoming project click on the following link:

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/britain-to-build-worlds-biggest-butterfly-house-794997.html

The Greenmobile

Some 850 million cars are being driven in our fossil fuel dependent planet,  with its continuous discharges of C02 inflicting in return an undeniable burden on our environment.

Japanese maker Toyota's Prius hybrid electric car was the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle (went on sale in Japan in 1997 and then introduced worldwide in 2001) pioneered a change.  Today, Toyota's Prius car is one of the most fuel efficient mass produced gasoline vehicles and it's developed hybrid technology is considered as the core basis for the eco-cars of tomorrow. 

Now, the world's biggest car maker is working on taking their hybrids on another level with the future introduction of the third generation Prius model, which will "definitely" use improved nickel-metal hydride battery instead of a lithium-ion ones, as announced by Toyota's research and development Vice President, Kazuo Okamoto in Tokyo. 

Toyota's Prius undoubtedly has helped the company to raise the image of a maker of fuel-efficient cars and so to paint the town green, Okamoto said that Toyota will now give  all of its gasoline-electric cars a specific design which will make them instantly recognizable as a hybrid. 

Moreover, Toyota plans a green globe domination plan as it sets a goal of selling 1 million hybrid vehicles annually soon after 2010.

Introducing: La Vie en Green

Like dear ole Kermit the frog once wisely said, it is indeed: "not easy being green". However, it does seem that our 7.29211538×10-5 radians per second rotating world has finally started to slowly realise that in order to keep spinning around, we actually do need to have something left to spin (and shockingly enough, loading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, overusing natural resources and deforestation are not part of the guideline).

So, what is it that will help us guarantee that we as well as our future generation will continue to enjoy the ride? Clearly enough, development altogether cannot be stopped, as it will both prevent economic growth and lead to reduction in the quality of life, however, it can be altered. Sustainable development undeniably constitutes a part of the solution, as it is all about finding the balance between economic development, the environment as well as the social aspects involved. Unfortunately, it is time to finally realise that unlike the never-ending soap operas, nature's resources are finite. The constant damage to local ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole due to human activity is inevitably leading to environmental degradation...

On the bright side, various companies have started to act appropriately and so are now turning pro-green and underlining the importance of the environment in their campaigns. In these, both sustainable development and ethical consumption are being promoted. Accordingly, the emphasis on preservation by the expansion of environmentally friendly products is constantly growing. This is evident as industries ranging from automotive to fashion are continuously adapting their products to act in accord with the environment rather than against it, all with the goal of reducing the probability of the dangers of environmental degradation.

Hence, this blog aims to explore, present and help to raise the awareness of the current issues revolving around the importance of the preservation of our dearest planet earth. 

Yes, ladies and gents, La Vie en Green does not have to be just a grassy dream!