Green Options » Amiel Blajchman

Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize: Does his Climate Change Record Stand up to Scrutiny?

Amiel Blajchman — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:33:06 +0000

Yesterday the Nobel Peace Prize Committee awarded President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons… Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.”
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Qatar to Green the Desert, Opening Agriculture and Pastoral Lands

Amiel Blajchman — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:00:08 +0000

Qatar’s Ministry of the Environment is working with Damascus-based Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) to convert Qatar’s desert regions into pastoral and agricultural lands. Greening the Qatari desert is a priority for the government, attempting to undo the effects of modern rangeland management techniques.

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ROTEC’s Reverse Osmosis System Desalinates Brackish Groundwater

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:42:45 +0000

Traditionally, if you are in a water-poor region that has access to desalination technology and seawater, you were in luck. Israeli cleantechnology company ROTEC has developed a reverse osmosis system designed to remove salts from brackish groundwater. In other words, nowhere near the sea.

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Israel and Jordan to Partner with NATO on Inland Water Desalination Plants

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:47:45 +0000

NATO’s Science for Peace program and the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) have awarded a team of three universities, one Jordanian, one Israeli and one American a grant to set up two parallel water desalination plants at one site each in Jordan and Israel. This grant is meant to promote collaboration across borders and between the two neighbouring countries, in a region not known for its congenial ties between neighbours.

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Solar Panels Made from Human Hair?

Amiel Blajchman — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:45:11 +0000

In a story seemingly ripped from the pages of the National Enquirer, the UK’s Daily Mail reports that a Nepalese teenager has invented a solar panel that uses human hair instead of silicone as the conductor in solar panels. According to 18 year old Milan Karki, his solar panel design can be produced for as little as $38.

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Protecting Municipal Green Programs is the Smart Choice, even During the Recession

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:33:17 +0000

As the recession has forced municipal governments all over to tighten their belts, municipally run green initiatives have been some of the programs on the chopping block. While there are no programs that shouldn’t be looked at during these budget exercises, it is important for municipal leaders to ensure that they do not lose sight of the fact that while these programs have up front costs, many of these programs will have positive impacts on tax revenues and/or reducing municipal costs.

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New NGO Green Ramadan Links Month-Long Fast to Environmental Protection

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:38:37 +0000

As Muslims the world over celebrate Ramadan, a new organization called Green Ramadan is looking to turn one of the 5 pillars of Islam into a monthlong activity that helps the environment as well as fulfilling a religious obligation.

Targetting Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Green Ramadan’s mission is

To bring people from all over the world together, regardless of their faith. nationality or color, for one month every year, to care about our environment, the earth, animals and our health, practice positive and healthy habits, to make a positive impact and make a difference.
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New Biogel Fights Heart Disease Developed from Common Brown Seaweed

Amiel Blajchman — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:41:49 +0000

Yet another reason for protecting the seas and the biodiversity that exists (including nuisance species): scientists at Ben Gurion University in Israel have developed a biogel that helps fight heart disease. The source of this gel? Seaweed.

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Israeli Company Atlantium Develops Pathogen Water Purification System Without Chemicals

Amiel Blajchman — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:25:41 +0000

Have you noticed how all sorts of high end resorts and hotels have started converting their chlorine pools to salt water? And it’s not just the health and hospitality industry that wants to figure out a way to purify their water without resorting to chemicals. Other industries, including the food and beverage, dairy, aquaculture and municipal drinking water providers need to ensure that the water they use contain no micro-organisms or pathogens of any kind. A company based in Israel, Atlantium has developed what may be one of the first industrial-grade solutions to water micro-organism purification without chemicals.

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Russia and Jordan Sign Nuclear Cooperation Deal for Four New Power Plants

Amiel Blajchman — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:17:56 +0000

If you think your electricity bill is bad, you should see the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s. Having to import 95% of your energy makes for a fairly expensive monthly bill. In response to this ongoing electricity and energy challenge, Jordan has signed a 10 year agreement with Russia for the provision of four new nuclear power plants, desalination stations and related research facilities.

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Ford wants to Replace Sparkplugs with Lasers

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:23:57 +0000

Since its humble beginnings in the 19th century, the sparkplug has been a mainstay of the combustion engine.

Some engineers at Ford, in collaboration with Liverpool University researchers have decided to modernize spark plug technology. Since we’re in the 21st century, that replacement is going to be lasers.

Yes, I said lasers.

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Ontario Suspends Building of New Nuclear Plants

Amiel Blajchman — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:14:23 +0000

Earlier this month, the government of Ontario (Canada’s largest province by population) suspended the process for the building of two new nuclear reactors, citing skyrocketing costs and responsibility to taxpayers as the main deterrent.

“Emission-free nuclear power remains a crucial aspect of Ontario’s supply mix,” Smitherman said Monday. “Unfortunately, the competitive bidding process has not provided Ontario with a suitable option at this time.”

The proposed 10 year, multi-billion dollar project may eventually be restarted, but government spokespeople confirmed that all bidders have been asked to extend their proposals indefinitely.

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Genetically Engineered Viruses Remove Trace Metals

Amiel Blajchman — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:16:34 +0000

University of British Columbia Professor Scott Dunbar of the school’s Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering has pioneered a way to genetically engineer viruses to bind with minerals.

Along with colleagues, his team has developed a method to selectively “breed” a viral family to bind to specific minerals. In other words, they are developing viri that can find and bind to a chosen mineral in a sludge pile!

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Roof Shingles Made from Recycled Plastic and Rubber

Amiel Blajchman — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:35:13 +0000

Now, I’m no Bob Villa, but as a new homeowner who has to replace his roof, I have been looking into environmentally friendly alternatives to either asphalt or “premium” wood. And Enviroshake definitely falls into the first category. Made primarily of reclaimed materials, Enviroshake might just be the answer.

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What will be the Impacts as the Northwest Passage Opens due to Climate Change

Amiel Blajchman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:57:01 +0000

Last week’s confirmation of climate change by the White House has only further raised the stakes for the Arctic. As detailed in former posts, one of the significant effects of our changing climate is the thinning of the ice pack in the Arctic, and the subsequent opening of the Northwest Passage. As the Northwest Passage opens, so too will we see an upsurge in the demand for shipping and the rush to access oil, gas, and mineral resources. [More...]

Significantly for observers, commercial fleets are beginning to view the Northwest Passage as a viable option for getting from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

“The ice is more favourable than in past decades,” said Capt. Georges Tousignant of Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping, “It’s navigable, it’s not that high-risk.”

And it’s not just Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping that is interested in navigating the Northwest Passage, the Canadian Coast Guard has seen an increase in the number of ships that entered the Northwest Passage. The longer that good shipping conditions continue, the more companies that will view the Passage as a viable transit route.

Unfortunately for the polar bears and infrastructure built reliant on permanent ice in the north, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that ice melt rates have increased. In May of 2009, ice melted at a rate of about 54,000 square kilometers per day throughout the Arctic. Average May ice melt has traditionally been closer to 47,000 kilometers per day.

The implications of all this ice melt is that similar to the long-term melting of permafrost, there will be less of the dangerous multi-year ice that impedes shipping every year. And therefore every year there will be increased shipping, and increasing attention to the viability of the Northwest Passage.

With increasing attention being paid to the Northwest Passage, watch for its status under international law to become a point of contention along with other northern concerns such sovereignty and related territorial claims.

Image: ashatsea (Creative Commons)

Can We Use Multinational Companies to help Combat Climate Change

Amiel Blajchman — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:12:08 +0000

While multinational corporations are not the first thing that pops into mind thinking about climate change, chances are that they’re going to be part of the solution. So, how do we work with these organizations?

If we’re working with multinational companies to help them reduce their impacts on the environment, we have to make them see what’s in it for them. At heart, two things - a risk of greater costs, and an opportunity to generate new revenue streams. With the proliferation of local, inter-regional programs as well as federal programs designed to combat climate change, the most immediate implication for the multinational industry will be the cost of doing business.

One can see how regional cap and trade programs on carbon emitters, as well as carbon taxes in certain jurisdictions are without a doubt going to have an impact on the bottom line. The key challenge (and, more importantly from a business perspective, opportunity) is for multinational firms to plan for these changes, therefore giving them the opportunity to turn climate change related challenges into long-term competitive advantages.

Why is this of interest to the environmental community? The quickest way to move a business organization is by helping them determine that the path you are suggesting is one that will provide them with a business advantage, greater profits, and increased shareholder value. By speaking their language, “opportunity, risk, and fiduciary duty” environmentalists will have a much easier time working with the business community, instead of against.

Image credit: iStockPhoto

Water, Israel and the Palestinian Authority: the Next Explosion?

Amiel Blajchman — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:51:12 +0000

American President Obama’s outreach to the Middle East and the Arab world at large could not have come at a better point. As tensions ratchet over Iran and its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the ever-simmering conflict between Israel and Hamas, the World Bank recently released a report criticizing the water-sharing regime between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. While the report’s release is not a bombshell, it does serve to highlight how conflicts and competition over natural resources will only contribute to regional tensions.

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Jordan to Build Canal Connecting the Dead Sea with the Red Sea

Amiel Blajchman — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:29:56 +0000

In a region known for its deserts, water shortages and tension among neighbours, Jordan announced plans to build an eye-popping $10 billion desalination plant that would provide fresh water for the parched Jordanian population, as well as help replenish the shrinking Dead Sea. Due to up-stream irrigation removal and drinking water consumption from the Jordan River, the Dead Sea has seen its water levels drop by about a metre a year, and at current rates the Dead Sea will have disappeared in the next 50 odd years.

Tourist losses from people not being able to float in the Dead Sea notwithstanding, the Dead Sea forms an important link with humanity’s past, is a significant land form, as well as hosting a unique ecosystem. Saving the Dead Sea has therefore become an important regional initiative. Unfortunately, talks between Israel and Jordan to construct a “Red-Dead” canal linking the Dead Sea with the Red Sea have been fitful. The Red-Dead Canal has also not been without controversy, as environmental groups have raised concern with the dangers inherent to the Dead Sea’s coral life, its unique ecosystem, as well as potentially reducing the buoyancy of its water (to the consternation of multiple nearby resort operators).

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Ashoka Fellows Awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize

Amiel Blajchman — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:35:50 +0000

Over the past 3 years, Ashoka fellows Yuyun Ismawati from Bali Fokus (Indonesia), Ignace Schops from Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland (Belgium), and Orri Vigfusson from the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (Iceland) have won the Goldman Environmental Prize for innovative environmental work.

Incredibly prestigious, the Goldman Environmental Prize is considered the environmental Nobel Prize. It is the world’s largest prize honouring grassroots environmentalists. This trend of Ashoka Fellows winning the Goldman holds significance for both the Ashoka Foundation as well as the social entrepreneurship industry in general.
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Haiti’s Poverty is Directly Linked to Deforestation and Habitat Loss

Amiel Blajchman — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:50:37 +0000

Haiti continues to claim the dubious honour of being ranked as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80% of this Caribbean nation’s population living under the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty. Haiti’s sorrowful rank as the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world has been directly attributed to the degradation of Haiti’s natural environment (less than 1.5% of its original tree cover remains intact) as well as a lack of governance structures, underinvestment in social capital, obstacles to private investment, and a spiraling “poverty trap“.

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