Animal welfare
I really don't know how I feel about Pamela Anderson being a spokesperson for PETA. On the one hand I guess it's great publicity for a great cause, on the other it's someone who is most famous for running up and down a beach half naked, appearing in leaked sex tapes and soon to be making her panto debut in Aladdin at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Oh yes she is.
Last week Pamela Anderson became the latest star to appear in a "Save the Seals" T-shirt outside the Ontario Legislative Building in Toronto. The annual massacre of baby seals in Canada is the largest mass killing of marine mammals in the world. During the annual massacre, sealers shoot these gentle animals or bash their heads in, and the baby seals are often skinned alive while their wailing mothers helplessly watch. Nice.
The European Union and the US have banned seal products, and world leaders - including Russia's Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama - have spoken out against the massacre.
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Events and happenings
Tomorrow, October 24, 2009 is 350 day, a day of international climate action taking place across the planet.
According to scientists, 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. Currently the level we are at is 387 parts per million which means we need to get act quickly to get levels of CO2 down.
Some of the events going on to highlight the urgent need for climate action include rallies in big cities, mountain climbers on peaks with banners, underwater demonstrations in island nations threatened by sea level rise, churches and mosques and synagogues and ashrams engaged in symbolic action, star athletes organising mass bike rides and hundreds of community events to raise awareness of the need for urgent action.
Every event will highlight the number 350 with people gathering at some point for a big group photo depicting that all important message. You can see the visual petition at 350.org.
To see what events are going on near you click on http://www.350.org/map
Fashion & accessories
We can't get enough of eco conscious clothing and it seems we aren't the only ones, with many websites launching and offering this type of clothing, writes Andrea Petrou.
Hot off the eco press is Fashion-conscience, which has a range of clothes and accessories from a range of different eco companies. This includes Enamore Lingerie, which is made from bamboo jersey with silk detailing and is 100% organic.
Uncommonly Beautiful Recycled Jewellery, which uses waste materials such as scrap leather, clock parts and suitcases and transforms them into imaginative, beautiful and wearable jewellery. Each individual piece is handmade and completely unique. Earrings, bracelets and necklaces from £15.
Amongst the many other's the website also stocks Tamasyn Gambell's recycled paperback notebooks and Use UK's Bow bags, which are made from rescued leather from the furniture industry and have cute polka-dot lining.
With so many eco gifts and things for ourselves we know we're not going to have to look very far for Christmas presents this year.
Via ShinyStyle.tv
Galleries
If you watched Panorama recently you'll have seen just how dirty some of our seas and beaches are getting from water companies emptying sewage into them, especially after heavy storms.
Now approaching its 20th anniversary, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is Europe's largest environmental boardrider's campaign group and this year launched its brand new Protect Our Waves (POW) campaign. This campaign is dedicated to the protection of surf spots from unacceptable impacts on the environment, wave quality and right of access.
To support the new POW campaign, the not for profit organisation has produced a cool new organic t-shirt, for men and women, featuring a surfer standing up for his 'rights' (and lefts) against threats to the water environment. The 2009/2010 autumn/winter range also features luxuriously soft and breathable bamboo hoodies for women in two-tone colourways of turquoise or black with pewter contrast. The men's range includes a heavyweight hemp/organic cotton zip track-top in Sand/Grey Marl.
All of the clothing is made from eco-fibres that are sustainable and less polluting. Most importantly they raise essential funds to help protect the UK's beaches, waves, and coastline. You can visit the SAS online shop at surfers against sewage shop.
CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO SEE CLOTHING FROM THE LATEST RANGE
Transport & travel
It's all about zero-emission cars at this week's Tokyo Motor Show. With no US and European car manufacturers present, all eyes will be on Japanese car manufacturers, many of which be displaying their electric concept cars.
Toyota - the world's biggest car maker by volume - has said it aims to launch an electric vehicle by 2012 and will display a new version of its electric concept car, the FT-EV II, at the show. And from Honda there's the EV-N, a cute electric concept car that can store a one-wheel personal mobility device inside its door.
At the Tokyo Motor Show Nissan will also put its electric car, the Leaf on display to the public for the first time. The medium sized hatchback, which will go on sale in late 2010 in Japan, is billed as"the world's first affordable, zero-emission car." It can travel more than 160 kilometres (100 miles) on a single charge, at a top speed of 140 kilometres per hour.
Nissan will also show off a futuristic electric concept car that leans to the side when going around bends. Just 1.1 metres (3 feet 7 inches) wide, the Landglider (pictured) seats two people, one in the front and one in the back. Inspired by motorbikes and glider aircraft, it has tilting wheels that enable it to lean by up to 17 degrees.
According to estimates from JP Morgan, hybrid vehicles are estimated to account for about 13% of global sales by 2020 but electric cars will represent just 1% or 2% in that year. "What electric cars have a problem with is lack of a network of charging facilities like the current gasoline stations," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a luncheon meeting at the Japan National Press Club earlier this month.
Meanwhile back in the UK, transport secretary Lord Adonis has announced that the North-East is to benefit from the installation of up to a thousand electric charging points over the next two years, writes Paul Ridden.
Locations in Gateshead and Newcastle have been earmarked for the roll-out which is due to kick off in the coming months. Some of the forty points that will initially appear next to public buildings and shops, on kerbsides and in car parks as part of the pilot scheme will be free, with others requiring users to pay an annual subscription for unlimited use.
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Fashion & accessories
Organic and ethical fashion store Kuyichi, has launched its Autumn 09 collection.
The collection will use organic cotton, as well as new sustainable materials including bamboo, recycled polyester and vegetable tanned leather and consists of a huge range of clothes.
We love this puffa jacket, which has been made from 50% recycled PET (recycled plastic bottles) and 50% recycled polyester, meaning we can look and feel good at the same time.
There's also a range of checked shirts, super tight denim leggings and jumper dresses.
We've been having a scout around the company's website and we have to say we're impressed with what we saw. We especially love the Track & Trace service that tells you the story behind your Kuyichi garment through the code of the hangtag.
You can see where the raw materials grow, where they are turned into fabrics and how they are transformed into Kuyichi garments. You can also see where you're item was made and meet the people who produced it.
Designer Andres Duany, best known for his designs used in the southern parts of the US following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has been commissioned to turn local communities in Scotland into low carbon zones. Andres Duany is to work on projects in Dumfries, Aberdeen and Fife, holding design workshops in these areas to help the country move towards a greener future. The scheme has been backed by the Scottish government.
The Scottish Government
Britain is to move towards becoming a zero-waste nation environment secretary Hilary Benn has promised. Proposals outlined at a summit of local authorities and the waste industry earlier this work included bringing the UK's total landfill waste down by half in the next decade and using 75 percent of household waste for energy generation or recycling in this time.
COI
Sony Europe's engineers are working on a project with a group of children from California to develop a system to combat the devastating effects of wildfires.The team of six, whose Forest Guard idea won the recent Climate Actions contest, were recently invited to Sony's professional headquarters at Basingstoke in the UK to work with Sony engineers on making their idea come alive for the first time. For more information on the ongoing project go to Sony's YouTube channel.
Via LowCarbonEconomy.co.uk
I really don't know how I feel about Pamela Anderson being a spokesperson for PETA. On the one hand I guess it's great publicity for a great cause, on the other it's someone who is most famous for running up and down a beach half naked, appearing in leaked sex tapes and soon to be making her panto debut in Aladdin at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Oh yes she is.
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