‘Eco Future’ is a yearlong exhibition opened recently in Manarat Al Saadiyat. The exhibition aims to urge the society and especially young generations to live a sustainable life style. It focuses on increasing the awareness of global warming, pollution and the green lifestyle.

Manarat Al Saadiyat literally means “the place of Enlightenment.” It is a 15,400 square meter arts and culture center located in Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The exhibition is organized by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority with other governmental organizations such as Masdar, Abu Dhabi Education Council, Urban Planning Council, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Emirates Wildlife Society and Tourism Development and Investment Company.

The main teaching method in the exhibition is done by lectures, workshops, games, videos, trips with the illustrated paintings and distributed brochures. The exhibition uses interactive cartoon characters, which are taken from the local community of the UAE. The characters Ali, Moza, Yas and Sara are used to attract a younger audience, especially kids between 8 to 12 years old. It includes a large number of interactive games to teach the kids green lifestyle choices from eating and drinking to how to make eco-friendly cars.

The exhibition contains six different areas including Drinking, Eating, Enjoying, Moving, Building and Future City. In each area are environmental oriented artistic workshops. Also, they organize  kayaking trips for both kids and adults.

The 7days newspaper has published some environmental facts taught during the exhibition:

• The UAE’s energy use is seven times the global average.
• The UAE is the world’s largest generator of waste.
• At current rates, the UAE’s fresh water supply will be unusable in 50 years.
• One computer left on all day releases over 680 kg of carbon dioxide a year. It would take 100 to 500 trees to absorb that amount.
• It takes roughly 25 bathtubs of water to grow enough cotton to make a T-shirt.
• One per cent of the earth’s water is fresh. All the rest is salty sea water or frozen ice caps.

The exhibition is open daily from 10am – 8pm from September 27, 2012 to September 26, 2013. The admission to  Manarat Al Saadiyat is free , while the entrance ticket of the exhibition is  for  30 dirhams for adults and 25 dirhams for kids. Families of 4 members can enter the exhibition for 80 dirhams only. The exhibition can be reached by public buses, taxis and cars.

Image Courtesy of  Saadiyat Cultural District

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Chicago, U.S.A. – Just ahead of a major U.S. Senate vote on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to clean up mercury and other toxic air pollutants, a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report shows that the 25 worst coal-fired power plants account for more than half of the dangerous mercury pollution emitted by the total of 144 electricity generation facilities in the Great Lakes region. The report also finds that almost 90 percent of the toxic emissions could be eliminated with off-the-shelf technologies.

According to ”Poisoning the Great Lakes: Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants In the Great Lakes Region,” Ohio emits the largest amount of mercury from coal-fired power plants (21 percent of the total in the Great Lakes region), followed closely by Pennsylvania (20 percent) and Indiana (16 percent). The remaining five states in the region rank as follows: Michigan (14 percent); Illinois (11 percent); Wisconsin (9.5 percent); Minnesota (6.5 percent); and New York (2 percent). Plants from outside the region also contribute to mercury pollution in the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes region’s five worst coal-fired power plants for mercury pollution are: Shawville (Clearfield County, PA); Monroe (Monroe County, MI); Homer City (Indiana County, PA); Cardinal (Jefferson County, OH); and Sherburne County (Sherburne County, MN). (See the complete list below of the worst 25.) A dozen power plants in Ohio and Indiana – owned in whole or part by American Electric Power — accounted for 19 percent of all mercury emitted in 2010 from the total of 144 coal-fired power plants in the region.

U.S. Senator James Inhofe, R-OK, recently filed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to void health standards reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants and to permanently block EPA from re-issuing similar safeguards.

Thomas Cmar, attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council office in Chicago, said: ”Mercury is a dangerous brain poison that doesn’t belong in our Great Lakes. It puts the health of kids and pregnant women at risk and adds an unwelcome danger to eating what our fishermen catch. That’s why it is so important that we support the EPA’s standards to reduce mercury pollution by holding polluters accountable. Even more critical is that every single U.S. Senator from the region stand up for the Lakes by rejecting reckless attempts to derail the long overdue Clean Air Act updates that can help tame this problem.”

Cindy Copeland, report author and formerly with the EPA Air Program, said: “Mercury is poisoning the Great Lakes and the three states – Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania – that impose no rules are by far the worst offenders. Airborne mercury from coal-fired power plants in the Great Lakes Region harms our health, and the benefits of reducing mercury emissions are well worth the cost. With a reduction of health costs to the economy at up to $90 billion, it is hard to say no to this.”

In the Great Lakes region, there are more than 144 coal-fired power plants which pumped over 13,000 pounds of mercury into the air in 2010. Mercury pollution from these plants’ region accounts for close to 25 percent of the nation’s total. The Great Lakes region is comprised of the five Great Lakes (Erie,Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) and the eight surrounding states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin).

Eating poisoned fish is the primary cause of mercury poisoning of humans. Mercury is a neurotoxin that harms the brain, heart, central nervous system, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. Young children and developing fetuses are most at risk, and can suffer developmental problems from mercury poisoning.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued nationwide rules to require coal-fired power plants to limit airborne mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants by 2015. The technologies to meet the EPA’s mercury limits are widely available and effective.

Based on projected reductions in fine particulate emissions due to the combined benefits of various air toxic pollution controls, the EPA has projected that the benefits of its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs of pollution controls. The health benefits of the MATS are projected to be worth $37 to $90 billion in 2016 alone. The EPA has projected that the majority of the benefits would be reaped in the eastern United States, including the Great Lakes region.

Mercury emitted into the air from coal-fired power plants is by far the leading man-made source of mercury reaching the Great Lakes and the lakes, rivers, and streams of the Great Lakes region. This report lists the top 25 mercury emitting plants in the region. Mercury pollution from plants outside the region also contributes to the overall quantity of mercury found in the Great Lakes. When coal is burned to produce electricity, mercury is emitted into the air. The EPA estimates that coal-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury pollution, accounting for 50 percent of mercury air emissions in the United States.

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With micro-blogging becoming more popular than ever, people are going above and beyond simply reading about non-profit organizations on the internet and how they can get more involved in life-changing programs. Instead, people all over the world are taking matters into their own hands and creating websites themselves and blogging about a wide array of world affairs in order to reach readers on an international level. People are becoming more engaged in these types of blogs and as blog sites continue to reproduce and evolve, perhaps those in need will see change for the better themselves.

According to BestUniversities.com, the more we educate the youth of society, the more we can make a difference in this world. The site states, “you may have heard of the theory that education can change the world. This is undoubtedly true. Whether you are a high school graduate or a student pursuing a degree from traditional or online colleges, you are more likely to make a difference when you are an educated individual. In fact, the world is full of students and visionaries and people who want to make a difference in the world, and many of those people share their knowledge online through their blogs. Whether you want to change the world through environment, humanitarianism, business, or any other way, there’s a blog out there that can offer you guidance and inspiration.”

BestUniversities.com has compiled a list of some of the greatest blogs out there to help individuals become better educated and to inform others on the differences we can be making in this world right now.

Read on to learn more about the top three blogs that will change the world and how you too can get involved.

3. The Blog: What do you Stand for?

This blog is about recycling, pollution control and conserving the environment. The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness about the importance of ‘going green,’ while giving tips and advice of how the little things we do on a daily basis, if changed just a bit, will make a huge impact all over the world. According to the 2012 Green Gap Trend Tracker, “42 percent of consumers say they are most influenced by messaging related to the environmental impact of disposing of a product. Easy-to-read, on-pack symbols take the guesswork out of recycling at home, which should in turn bolster recycling rates, increase material recovery, reduce waste and perhaps even create a new industry standard.”

2. The Blog: A Volunteer’s Guide for Changing the World.

This blog comes in at number two because it not only informs readers about making a difference, but also allows them to volunteer for the site and programs to help others in their area.  The sites slogan is “empowering you to help others, one post at a time.” Mark Horoszowski , founder of the site and co-founder of MovingWorlds, also volunteers his time to the American Cancer Society’s National Relay Advisory Team. He blogs about everything, but specializes writing about communities coming together, collaboration, communication and leadership, in an effort for each organization to succeed to it’s utmost potential. To check out his blog, go to http://www.helpinghelp.org/

Coming in at the number one spot on our list is:

1.The Blog: United Nations Good Works

Yes, even the United Nations has created a blog site. This blog features inspirational true stories about life-changing experiences, miracles, saving lives and all around just greatly impacting the world. The site has up-to-date blogs around the clock from all over the world. Some of the topics, to name just a few, include blogs about poverty, women’s rights, third world country affairs, war, famine, HIV, world tragedies, among dozens of others. Each blog discusses how anyone that is interested in a particular topic can get more involved. From the blog, you can also access various associations, foundations, programs, funds and organizations related to the United Nations. The site’s slogan is, “Every day across the globe the United Nations is empowering millions of people to build a better life for themselves, their family, their community, and our world.” If you would like to become more hands on with this blog, please go to http://unworks.blogspot.com/.

““No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. And if everyone does something, then together we can change the world.” (Author unknown)

Image Courtsey of  Marisa Vasquez  &  Tolly Moseley

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Members of the appellate panel in Ecuador that affirmed the $18 billion judgment against Chevron for contaminating the Amazon rainforest were clearly outraged at the oil giant’s abuse of the judicial process even as it denied a request by the rainforest communities to increase the amount of damages, a reading of an unofficial translation of the decision reveals.

The judges also found ample scientific basis to uphold the damages award — including devastating evidence provided the court by Chevron’s own team of technical experts that proved levels of pollution hundreds of times higher than permitted by law. But citing a lack of evidence, the panel also rejected efforts by the indigenous communities to seek additional damages for the loss of their ancestral lands and for the spreading of oil on the dirt roads of the region.

Chevron has a right to appeal to Ecuador’s National Court of Justice (NCJ) in Quito, but might first be required to post a bond, said Pablo Fajardo, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. The right to appeal to the NCJ — the nation’s highest judicial authority — will not kick in until the appellate panel has a chance to respond to requests by the parties for clarification, which must be submitted by the end of this week.

The case was heard in Ecuador at the request of Chevron, which fought for almost a decade to shift the venue away from the U.S. federal court where it was originally filed in 1993.

“This decision confirms what we have been saying for years,” said Pablo Fajardo, the lead Ecuadorian lawyer. ”Chevron is guilty of extraordinary greed and criminal misconduct that has created a humanitarian crisis in Ecuador that puts thousands of people at risk.

“Whether people live or die depends largely on whether Chevron meets its responsibility to remediate a problem it created,” Fajardo added. ”Chevron broke the rainforest. It now must fix it.”

In a 16-page single-spaced decision, the three Ecuador judges noted that Chevron had “staged incidents that encumbered the process of the trial” and that it dumped 20,000 pages of largely redundant evidence on the appellate court to delay consideration of the case. The plaintiffs have long accused Chevron of trying to undermine the trial by filing frivolous motions and trying to intimidate judges.

Among the key findings by the panel, which reviewed the voluminous trial record of 220,000 pages for 11 months:

In response to Chevron’s complaints that it was “denied justice” in Ecuador, the appellate court noted on the second page of its decision that the only filings from the oil giant that were denied were those that were “abusive” and “clearly designed to obstruct the administration of justice.” For example, Chevron once filed 18 similar motions in the trial court in a 30-minute period, and tried to have the judge removed when he did not rule on them fast enough.

The court found that Chevron’s requests for proof that it needed to defend itself — including the tedious task of conducting 36 judicial inspections of the company’s former well sites — were “processed without exception.” It found that “hundreds of thousands of documents submitted by Chevron bloated the trial record with everything it considered relevant.”

Referencing Article 283 of Ecuador’s civil code, and citing a long list of examples of Chevron’s malfeasance during the trial, the appellate panel upheld a decision that Chevron should pay the costs of the plaintiffs due to the “flagrant bad faith it exhibited in the case.”

The panel wrote:  “Chevron was condemned to pay trial costs for manifest bad faith… so much so that now suffice it to say that the procedural conduct of the defendant, few times seen in the annals of the administration of justice in Ecuador, were abusive to the point that… the Court will not even dedicate any more writings to this portion of the decision.”

The panel also criticized Chevron for continuing to challenge the jurisdiction of Ecuador’s courts, even though the oil giant voluntarily agreed to litigate the case in Ecuador to induce a U.S. federal judge to shift the venue to the South American country.

“From the [initial hearing] up to the present appeal, it can be said that … Chevron has failed to recognize the authority, jurisdiction, and competence of Ecuadorian courts,” the panel wrote on page 15 of its decision.

The court also noted on page 11 of its decision that laboratory results confirmed that pollution existed at former Chevron well sites hundreds of times higher than permissible norms in Ecuador, which themselves are considered relatively lax by international standards.

The panel also noted many of the scientific results that proved the case against Chevron were submitted to the court by Chevron’s own technical experts.

Pierre-Jean Durieu / Shutterstock.com

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The American Lung Association applauds the Obama Administration for adopting public health safeguards to reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants.  The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants are long overdue and will reduce the harm from air pollution like mercury, lead, arsenic, and a host of other pollutants.

“Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health,” said Albert A. Rizzo, M.D., National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware.

“The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants.”

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants that are found in more than 40 U.S. states and are the largest producers of mercury pollution. Air pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants contains 84 of the 187 hazardous pollutants identified for control by the Clean Air Act.

Many of these pollutants, such as, dioxins, arsenic, and lead, can cause cancer and cardiovascular disease; harm the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system; and even kill. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce these pollutants and prevent 130,000 childhood asthma attacks and 11,000 premature deaths each year.

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required the tighter standards on power plants in an effort to reduce toxic emissions in communities across the country. However, big polluters have fought for and won delays for more than 21 years.

“Attempts to delay or dismantle the Clean Air Act, or rules like the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, reward industry polluters and punish those most vulnerable to dirty air,” said Dr. Rizzo. “These new standards mark a huge step forward in clean air protections and will be responsible for saving thousands of lives each year.”

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A new document reveals that Chevron officials ordered the destruction of key documents as part of a broad scheme to hide the extent of the company’s pollution in Ecuador’s Amazon, says Amazon Defense Coalition.

A company memorandum from Ecuador dated July 1972 ordered that all reports related to oil spills “are to be removed from the Field and Division offices and destroyed.” From 1964 to 1990, Chevron operated a large concession in Ecuador’s Amazon region that included an extensive network of pipelines, wells and separation stations.

Chevron operated in Ecuador under the Texaco brand.  In February, an Ecuador court found Chevron liable for dumping billions of gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon, decimating indigenous groups and causing a spike in cancer rates.

Damages in the case, which is under appeal in Ecuador, were set at $18 billion.  The extent and environmental impact of the disaster dwarfs the size of the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to experts.

The memo ordering the destruction of documents was written by R.C. Shields, at the time the director of production in Latin America for Texaco and Chairman of the company’s Ecuador subsidiary.  The memo directs Chevron personnel to report only oil spills that are “major events” which are defined as those that “attract the attention of press and/or regulatory authorities.”

The directive also orders that no reports are to be kept on a “routine basis.”

The Shields memo emerged via discovery in U.S. federal court.

Texaco reportedly caused hundreds of oil spills in Ecuador, many of which were “remediated” by setting them on fire, according to the book Amazon Crude, which was published in 1989 and which documented Texaco’s substandard operational practices. The company also has admitted to pouring sludge from the waste pits along dirt roads.

The Shields memo ordering the destruction of documents infuriated members of the legal team representing 30,000 Amazon residents who are suing the oil giant.

“This memo is a vivid illustration of the culture of deceit that characterizes Chevron’s destruction ofEcuador’s Amazon over a period of decades,” said Pablo Fajardo, the lead Ecuadorian lawyer.  “Deception remains the operating principle for Chevron in Ecuador even today as the company continues to flout its legal obligations to remediate toxic pollution that threatens thousands of innocent lives.”

Karen Hinton, the U.S. spokesperson for the Ecuadorians, said the memo was part of a “pattern of corrupt activities” by the company that include a fraudulent remediation in the 1990s, the fabrication of scientific evidence,  attempted entrapment of a trial judge and threats to put judges in jail if they didn’t rule in the company’s favor.

“Chevron acted like the Mafia in Ecuador,” she added.  “This repugnant memo is just a small piece of the company’s scheme to defraud Ecuador’s government and its people.”
Image Courtesy of  Clara / Shutterstock.com

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Universe Day is an annual event that starts each December 31st at noon and runs until noon on January 1st. Universe Day seeks to pick up where Earth Day leaves off and to effectively solve our planet’s evolutionary problems from a universe evolutionary perspective.

“Universe Day is similar to Earth Day in that individuals and organizations all over the planet are encouraged to self-organize their own events to forward the Universe Day message. Universe Day is a no-ownership, no-egos, get-the-message-out-now event. Imitate it, adapt it, improve it. Steal it, even, if it hastens the spread of its message,” says Lawrence Wollersheim, Director of the Universe Institute and one of the founders of Universe Day.

The message behind Universe Day is derived in part from the wisdom of Albert Einstein, who said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” As many are aware, the challenges we now face on a planetary scale – such as radically increasing temperatures, nuclear and traditional wars, pollution, environmental degradation, lack of sustainability and a troubled global economy – have serious consequences.

Rather than allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed by these challenges, however, we can, as Einstein suggests, adopt an entirely new way of thinking. Such is the impetus behind Universe Day: to expand our approach to these issues by adopting the much broader Universe Evolutionary Worldview.

“The progressive evolution of the universe as a whole system is the power that sustains our physical existence – both personal and planetary. We are embedded in the unstoppable flow of the evolutionary process, which is the most dominant factor in all of life and in everything around us,” says Wollersheim.

“Recent innovations in cosmology and evolutionary biology have revealed more about the evolution of life and the cosmos in the last twenty years than in all the previous eras of human history combined, and our ability to accumulate more of this essential knowledge is accelerating. Humanity is now capable of understanding the full evolutionary scope of the biggest playing field there is – the universe.”

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Since it is such a common element in nature, until recently, nitrogen was ignored as being a pollutant. Nitrogen is a natural part of the ecosystem and helps to increase the rate of plant growth. Because of this benefit, nitrogen has been used frequently, during the last decades, as an agriculture fertilizer. However, there are negative effects brought on by nitrogen that many people aren’t aware of.

Agricultural fertilizers and burning fuels are sources of nitrogen pollution. These occurances involve the predominance of nitrogen in the atmosphere which lead to the greenhouse effect, pollution of waters and soil, and to breathing and heart problems for living creatures. Calculating the impact on health, by respiratory problems, asthma and cancer; the nitrogen pollution reduces life expectancy of any European by six months.

Accordingly to a recent study on European Nitrogen Assessment, in Europe each person pays between £130 and £650 per year for the cost of nitrogen pollution, while on average, the total amount rises to €70bn-€320bn: costs of pollution on air, soil, water, increased greenhouse gases and damage to wildlife.

BBC News announced that 80 percent of the nitrogen in crops feeds livestock, not people. Meat consume is heavily increasing the nitrogen pollution, especially in Europe. Dr. Mark Sutton, from UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, one of the leaders of the study, according to the Telegraph: “Amazingly, livestock consume around 85 per cent of the 14 million tones of nitrogen in crops harvested or imported into the EU; only 15 per cent is used to feed humans directly.

European nitrogen use is therefore not primarily an issue of food security, but one of luxury consumption”. The advice is not to become all vegetarians, but at least to try a “demitarian” regime, to try a reduction of meat consumption. Other advice, to lesson the negative impacts seen by nitrogen, are being shared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Department said, in order to improve soil-management practices, using conservation-tillage, crop rotation, and cover crops as wheat, rye and other grasses will be neccessary. Among agricultural strategies through methods as “precision farming” (fertilizers calculated with precision for each surface), manure recycling, genetically modified crops (which absorb nitrogen from air), governments should adhere to a new set of policies, at least in Europe, said professor Bob Watson, Chief scientist at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Even though European Union statistics shows that the emission of nitrogen decreased from 13.84 million tones in 1997 to 10.94 in 2007, improvements are still required. “There have been and still are many attempts to control nitrogen but we believe the big challenge is to link existing policy areas and make them work together.” stated Sutton.

However solutions reside also in the hands of individuals by cutting down meat consumption, and choosing a responsible industrial and agricultural business.

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