According to a UK documentary, “Sweet Misery,” the National Cancer Institute identified a significant and impressive increase in brain cancer starting in about 1984. Why did brain cancer shoot up? It looks like it is because of articial sweeteners such as those found in diet drinks and food!

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Smith Electric Vehicles made its much heralded first U.S. Smith Newton electric vehicle deliveries to lucky Coca Cola and PG&E today.

But it delivered them on The Mall in hopes of snagging some attention from lawmakers on the Hill. In this debut it was following the example of Plug-In America that got some great EV legislation passed by publicizing to the Senate just what electric vehicles can do for America.

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In 2002 the Coca-Cola Company used 3.12 liters of water to produce every liter of poduct. The company, which has captured the taste buds of drinkers worldwide used .57 megajoules of energy and averaged 12.54 grams of waste per liter of product. It’s no wonder that the Coke Kingdom has been less than popular among environmental groups.

With concern for the environment rising among pop culture, however, Coke’s pop has begun to lose its fizz with more than just special interest groups.

Since 2002 the Coke Kingdom has made some changes in order to become more sustainable. In India, the company has worked to offset their water usage by establishing local rainwater harvesting facilities. Over the last two years, Coke has installed 320 rainwater harvesting structures across 17 states in India.

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In their ongoing efforts to achieve a more environmentally friendly image, the Coca-Cola Co. announced earlier this month that they will be launching new biobased plastic bottles for their Dasani water line later this year and vitaminwater next year. They’re calling their new packaging the “PlantBottle^TM.”

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As the Economist wages the largest debate about bio-fuels in memory, another market opportunity appears to be showing itself in the bio production space as well. Bio plastics have been sprouting up in various applications, but a recent study puts the total market of green packaging at $43.9Billion by 2013. The highest growth gains in this market will be in bio plastics for reasons of price stability and increased capacity the report said. Bio plastics will, it is reported, preform at an annual growth rate of thirteen percent. This spells big news for an industry which currently holds only about .1% percent market share.

Part of the reason for this growth will be due to policy changes which restrict the use of some of the most environmentally damaging materials, but the largest effect seems to be coming from packaging producers themselves. Corporate social responsibility leader Coca Cola has developed a new bottle which is composed of around thirty percent bio plastics with the intended goal of developing a one hundred percent renewable option in the future. Likewise, Wal-Mart has begun sourcing toys and children’s goods made from bio plastics.

The draw is that decomposition coupled with less petroleum based material seems to be better environmentally, but some counter this analysis. According to the Guardian Newspaper, foods producers in the UK such as Innocent Drinks have chosen to stop using bio plastics due to lack of recycling options for the products at present. Likewise there have been claims that bio plastics can be environmentally damaging on par with their petroleum based counterparts. Recent innovations have made it so less energy is needed to create bio plastics and thus it seems the growth of the sector makes environmental sense. Followers of Bill McDonough’s cradle to cradle concept often tout the re-usability and closed-loop life cycle of these products, while others derided their historically slow decomposition rates.  Some applications in the burgeoning bio plastics space are:

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Apparently, the cola wars spilled over into the green tech sector a few years ago. Coca Cola has placed vending machines that use hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) alternatives at the Olympic Games since 2004 as well as at several other international events. Not to be outdone, along with the machines Pepsi is testing in the nation’s capital, they are testing a few thousand other machines around the world that use other green refrigerant alternatives to HFCs. Moreover, the older models these green machines are set to replace are themselves improvements over models from 2003. Both companies have also joined with Greenpeace and several other corporations to form the Refrigerants, Naturally! coalition, a group determined to reduce the environmental impact of HFC refrigerants.

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My moon, my man’s a changeable land...

Former actor and survival instructor, creative writer and a recovering Type A, Mark Gerow is the founder of Lunarythms Yoga™, a combination of polarity-therapy, Ayurveda, Yin and Hatha Yoga that tailors asanas to complement specific chakras associated with the position of the moon. He likes McDonald’s French Fries, drinks one cup of coffee a day and does not relate to black and white photographs of women in leotards.

When I describe the idea behind Lunarythms, people look at me like I’m a crystal wielding nutcase. But every time I take your class, the pace feels just right. What led you to organize your practice around the lunar cycles?

My background in the metaphysical began with Polarity Therapy training.  My partner at the time had grown up with a mother who was into astrology and I would hear them speak to each other through astrology references– usually about a person’s personality or a general analogy about a situation.  I began to notice the effects and rituals that go along with the new and full moons (setting intentions, conserving or putting forth energy), and one day it dawned on me that if most everything in this world is changing to include the moon’s cycles and our own human cycles, that our yoga practice could reflect these ever changing tides of life.

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India’s fundamentalist Hindu political group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha (RSS) has taken yet another drastic step in its efforts to cleanse India of foreign influence and promote its ideology of Hindutva, or Hindu-ness: it has created a new commercial drink made from cow urine. (The Times)

The healing properties of cow urine have been referred to in the ancient texts of Ayurveda, India’s natural medicine. However ancient times were witness to happier grass fed cows. Drinking the urine of today’s cattle that feeds on plastics and other waste will likely translate to imbibing huge amounts of toxins!

Ironically though, the RSS’s objective is not medicinal, nor even spiritual but rather fundamentalist. Hindus revere cows and slaughtering them is illegal in most of India. The RSS takes advantage of this and turns it into a political motive.  Although the RSS has been promoting cow urine as a cure for ailments ranging from liver disease to cancer, its Ayurvedic healing aspect is but a pawn in RSS’s overall fundamentalist agenda.

Other tactics that the RSS has used to draw attention in the recent past include killing 67 Christians in the eastern state of Orissa last year, and assaulting women in a pub in Mangalore last month. It has also targeted foreign business in India, as in 1994, when it organised a nationwide boycott of multinational consumer goods, including Pepsi and Coca Cola.

Image Credit: Creative Commons
And there’s the key:

After a multi-state competition for the “new” business, Smith chose Kit Bond’s state; Missouri for its first American Smith Electric Vehicles plant; an 80,000 square foot plant in Kansas City, MO.

(The company is only “new” in America - - it has been building electric vehicles in the U.K. since the 1920’s, and supplies electric delivery trucks to grocery store chains and delivery companies. The Tanfield Group is the parent company.)

The Economic Development Corps of Kansas City, Missouri had more inquiries about the Smith Electric Vehicles than any company in 4 years.

“First of all, they represent a market opportunity that just hasn’t presented itself here before,”according to its director. “And No. 2, we’re in a recession. Companies are desperate for business.”

Perhaps it is no accident that Smith chose two Southern states to collaborate with in producing its electric vehicles here? We need Republican votes to pass legislation needed to grow the electric vehicle infrastructure that supports EV development, just like previous generations built the railroads and the highway systems.

“Washington is making many decisions on the future—emissions, climate change—and this is where the story needs to be told. What better place to showcase the future of transportation?” said a spokesman for the event, Sean McCabe.

So Missouri will build EVs, and Alabama is to put the extras on:

Alabama-based Altec Industries Inc is to partner with Smith to build America’s first all-electric utility truck with an aerial device. Altec is a leading provider of products and services to the electric utility and contractor markets; in this case it integrated the aerial bucket.

PG&E came all the way from Northern California to take possession of this gorgeous new blue electric line worker truck for fixing downed lines. This first test unit will be added to PG&E’s fleet, playing a critical role in the commercial development of this vehicle; the first all-electric aerial utility truck.

The Altec component is a telescopic articulating device used for electric utility line maintenance and installation with a maximum height of 37 feet and reach of 28 feet.

The Smith Newton is the world’s largest battery-electric-powered truck with a 120 kW induction motor and a lithium-ion battery. It uses regenerative braking to store energy during stopping. It is fuel emissions-free, runs without noise or vibration, and can manage a payload of up to 16,280 lbs.

Its maximum speed is 50 miles per hour, making this truck ideal for neighborhood utility routes. The 100-mile range of the Smith Newton will be put to the test by PG&E.

The battery can be recharged to full capacity within eight hours, which is perfect “for trucks that spend all night in company depots.”

But gas vehicles need to go out dancing all night, as you know, while you sleep. That’s why electric vehicles are so impractical and will just never work in this country. (Except for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Kansas City Power & Light, Coca-Cola, Staples, Frito-Lay and AT&T.)

Via PRS Newswire
Image from Vi Photography

How many colleges and universities are participating in the 2009 Recyclemania? 510

College sports fans will likely say “That’s not an accurate comparison, Jeff.” They’re probably right… but, the question remains: Have you ever heard of Recyclemania?

I hadn’t until checking my feed reader today.  Apparently, I’m not alone: I checked most of the other big green blogs, and found nary a mention in any posts. There was one passing mention of it on Ecolocalizer, but it was far from the focus of the post.

Now, I don’t bring up this lack of coverage (at least within the green web) to criticize anyone, but rather to express my amazement — this thing’s huge! Founded in 2001 “as a friendly challenge between recycling coordinators at two schools in Ohio, Miami University and Ohio University,” Recyclemania now coordinates participating colleges and universities from all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and, for the first time, schools from outside the United States.

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Watching out for Water

Coca-Cola’s Signature Contribution is in the area of water stewardship.  The company’s goal is to restore to the environment all water that is used to produce of its products.  It aims to achieve this through reducing the amount of water in the manufacturing process, recycling water back into natural systems, and locally relevant conservation projects.  With a new report predicting global water shortages by 2020, increased attention to water and natural systems seems increasingly imperative.  (Hopefully Coca-Cola includes the water needed to grow and process the sugar in its calculations - approximately 200 L of water per can in Europe.)

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The first time I saw the James Bond Coca-Cola ad, I didn’t think much about it. But now it turns my spit to bile.

It’s disgustingly ironic that the owners of the James Bond series would advertise Coke with a film about (spoiler alert) a greenwashing corporation stealing water from the third world. Because that perfectly describes Coca-Cola Inc.

For the past decade, Coke has invested heavily in bottled water. An increasingly health-conscious public, aware of the sickening effects of cola, drove down carbonated soft drink sales. Coke responded by bottling purified tap water and selling it under the name “Dasani.” Thanks to healthy sales of “healthy” drinks (which according to the New York Times are “still just sugar water”), Coca-Cola has enjoyed rising international sales.

Of course there have been setbacks. Coca-Cola recalled Dasani in the United Kingdom after they accidentally poisoned the bottled water with bromate, a possible carcinogen. At least it was only the Dasani that was tainted. In India, one of Coca-Cola’s fastest growing markets, problems ran deeper.

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…it’s the middle of day, and you’re running erands and you’re thirsty. You can buy a coffee or a cola but you want something healthy and refreshing, so you buy a nice cold bottle of water. Zero calories. Major hydration — it wakes you up! Any attempt by anyone to get people to drink less water is not in the public interest. Why are you targeting the packaged beverage with the smallest possible carbon fooprint? And it is clear people drink more water when they drink bottled water! At the end of day, there’s GREENSMOG…where anti-corporate types hide behind “saving the earth” to bash businesses because they hate capitalism.

First, I want to say that he has a point.  From a public health perspective it is better to promote water that coffee or soda.  But what about water fountains?  What about Nalgenes and Siggs? That said, I have to admit Tom’s response actually made me roll my eyes.  The Vice President of Communications for the bottled water industry thinks that we shouldn’t criticize…the bottled water industry.  Surprise, surprise.

However, the part that really got me was how he made one good point and then, given the paucity of reasonable defenses, devolved into grade-school, 1950’s rhetoric:  Anti-corporate types bashing businesses because they hate capitalism.  Anti-corporate? Hate capitalism?  Um, Tom, this is a blog about being an entrepreneur. 

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Green Power Conferences’ green policy includes a commitment to contribute 5% of its annual income to charitable causes, a vow to only work with eco-friendly industries, and a pledge to use environmentally sustainable strategies to operate its offices and conferences.

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Weird or wacky, you might say, but rumor actually has it that Snopes.com might soon bring down this link that debunked the long suspected (was it an urban legend until the Ig Nobel Prize?) but now confirmed sperm killing effects of the famous Coca Cola soft drink.

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What’s the truth about Santa Claus? Who is this large, jovial fellow with flying reindeer and hordes of merry elves? If the truth about Saint Nicholas can lay the commercial icon to rest, maybe it can also restore the true meaning of Christmas as a time of peace on Earth, love and goodwill toward all.

Santa as a commercial icon undercuts the ideology of benevolence and humble giving. See this video on the chain of consumption for an idea of who gets left out when Santa goes corporate. A truer idea of the real Saint Nicholas and his current image around the world might reconnect us with the greater feelings of compassion and caring that should symbolize this (and every) season.

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