Green Options

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Choi Seung-kuk, the Secretary General of Green Korea, one of South Korea’s largest environmental organizations, has officially bowed out as an Olympic torch bearer. In a press interview this morning, Mr. Choi cited China’s aggression in Tibet as his main reason for refusing to carry the Olympic torch when it arrives in Seoul, the capital city, on April 27.

For China, having one of the leaders of Asia’s environmental movement refuse to carry the Beijing Olympic torch must sting. After all, China is jumping through hoops to carry out the Beijing Olympics as the Green Olympics. They are decreasing pollution by planting trees, recycling wastewater, paying car owners not to drive, and more. In addition, the games themselves will be carbon neutral.

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Via: fashionindie

Welcome to Earth Day, crafters! Today, in honor of our one and only home, I’m taking a break from the Fabulous Fabrics series to address a serious dilemma.

If you’re like me, you have a decent sized fabric stash sitting around. In my case, it’s quilting cotton. Yards and yards and yards of it. If you’re like me, you also spend a lot of time thinking about how you can help avert ecological crisis. When the two collide, it can produce guilt about consumption of that much cotton - which uses a ton of water to produce - as well as dyes to make it pretty.

Don’t fret! While cotton is a thirsty crop, your stash can start to make up for its ecological footprint while it awaits that perfect project. Scientists here at Crafting A Green World Laboratories have been working diligently to evaluate all the possibilities and develop this list of the Top 5 ways your fabric stash can help save the earth. (We believe these tips are also applicable to other stash materials, such as yarn and possibly ribbon, but our research is still ongoing into these supplies.)

An introduction to how Earth Day 1970 got its start, and the framework of environmental policy it left in its wake [courtesy of Project Butterfly - running time is 4:41].

Following are the top international environmental news for during the week of April 13 - 20. See an archive of top international environmental news here.

Asia

Two “Extinct” Species Discovered

First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?

Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.

Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.

Arguably, April 22, 2008 will pass as a non-event in Africa, because celebrating Earth Day on this day will be a celebration of the ecological disasters and sustainability failures of a continent believed to be the cradle of mankind.

As a dual citizen of both the Earth and Mother Africa, I am inclined to think that 2008 AD should have heralded a better world for every single human being. But, sadly, that is not so. Earth Day 2008 will be a celebration of the ugly in Africa.

For we cannot justify the fact that majority of the world’s poor are Africans, surviving on less that US$ 1 a day, living in gigantic slum neighborhoods awash with tons and tons of filth, without adequate clean water, and without access to basic health care. A great irony for a continent so richly endowed with natural resources.

Some people are prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to promote environmental alternatives, demonstrating just what is possible in a world that has long been reliant on fossil fuels.

I recently wrote of a Swiss family who are at the half way point of an epic round the world eco journey travelling only by foot, bicycle and wind power. During this journey they aim to cross seven seas and climb seven of the world’s highest mountains.

Now, a Swiss doctor is undertaking an adventure of similar proportions. Matrin Vosseler, in a bid to raise awareness on climate change has walked across much of Europe and the Middle East, sailed a solar powered boat across the Atlantic, and is now walking across the United States from West to East.

On April 25, 2008, designated the first World Malaria Day, 3,000 children or more in sub-Saharan Africa, majority of them under the age of five years, will die from malaria, one of the deadliest preventable diseases on the planet, global health data indicate.

Malaria, the dreaded and life-threatening disease continues to kill between 1 million and 3 million people each year, many of them pregnant women in Africa.

A two-month long 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) expedition on the Zambezi, one of Africa’s longest rivers, that begun on 29 March 2008 led by two adventurers, Helge Bendl, a journalist, and Andy Leemann, a boating enthusiast, partnering with the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, covering six nations in southern Africa aims to put a spotlight on the plight of malaria-stricken communities on the continent which contributes 90 percent of the global annual death toll.

British actress, Dame Judi Dench, who played Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, protests building an eco-town Stratford-on-Avon.

The 73 year old actress is furious over British government’s plans of a carbon-neutral village about six miles (9.65 kilometres) from Stratford upon-Avon.

Photo Courtesy Miramax Films

Cida University is the first virtually free university in South Africa. Located in downtown Johannesburg, it serves young people from previously disadvantage backgrounds, but who are academically deserving. It offers a Bachelor of Business Administration and students can learn skills like bio-intensive farming.

This university has a special program, called the Nelson Mandela extranet. In this program, Students go back to their communities and teach them about HIV/AIDS , bio-intensive farming, and money management. Remembering your ancestors and going back to the community to raise the consciousness level of the society is a fundamental principle of ethical leadership.

As has been reported on the Green Options network in the past, enviros and music festivals go together like peanut butter and jelly. The synergy between the two may be no more evident than on July 4th weekend 2008, when the town of Rothbury, Michigan will play host to a “party with a purpose.” The four-day ROTHBURY music and camping festival is being promoted as a “cultural assembly; one where music fans, artists and progressive thinkers gather to celebrate much more than music.” It is Rothbury’s goal to harness the unique energy of the live music community into a durable social movement toward an important cause: Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives.

Promoters say that ROTHBURY is committed to producing a near zero-waste concert. The first to tackle a green program of this magnitude at an around-the-clock (camping) concert in the USA.