3 trillion dollars are enough!

I had earlier posted about The Artificial Wealth Gap in the world: "There is more than enough wealth in the world to comfortably take care of all 6 billion people on this earth."

Now, the US government & the EU are shelling out almost US$ 3 trillion to breathe life into failed businesses. THAT amount is enough to provide basic amenities to ALL the poor in the world.

It seems Dr. R. K. Pachauri's Dec 6 post echoes the above thoughts:

We certainly live in a strange world. There is reluctance among the rich, not only in the developed countries, but also among the growing numbers of the rich in the developing world, to support programmes of this nature. However, we are prompt in arranging the bailout of failed institutions like banks and industries that are now the reasons for the economic crisis facing the world.
... ... ...
One global estimate of all government funded bailout plans in the aggregate is put around US$ 2.7 trillion upto now.

... ... ...

A sum totaling US$ 2.7 trillion, if used judiciously, could wipe out poverty, eliminate hunger and disease, create new market opportunities, provide energy security, create solutions for meeting the challenge of climate change and possibly stamp out terrorism across the world.

Once the dust settles on the current economic crisis would we take a different view of worldwide poverty? Would we mount new strategies for balanced and equitable growth? A new approach can help in meeting the threat of climate change and create a wide variety of universal benefits and potentially eliminate the most serious problems facing humanity. But we would need fresh thinking and vision to make this happen.

There are a lot of fresh thinkers and visionary people out there. We just need some MORE support and resources to reach the Tipping Point.

Read Dr. Pachauri's entire post here.

Skip Eating Meat Once a Week to save Environment

Looking for ways to contribute your bit to the environment? Here is one powerful idea by Dr. Pachauri.

The European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA) has published the statement of Dr. Pachauri on meat consumption and climate change:

Dear reader,

Worldwide, livestock-farming is responsible for no less then 18% of total greenhouse gas emissions (Source: FAO, Livestock's long shadow, 2007). Greenhouse gas emissions through meat production and associated land-use changes are one of the most important causes of climate change/warming. Yet people, especially in high-income societies, continue to eat large amounts of meat. This high meat intake not only has negative effects on the climate and biodiversity; it is also harmful for our health because it increases the risk of cardio vascular disease, obesity, diabetes and other diseases of affluence. Hence, it is very important to limit our meat consumption. Eating less meat means less greenhouse gases will be emitted.

Because our food, and especially meat consumption is such a significant cause of greenhouse gas emissions, an essential means we have in the fight against climate change may very well be. our fork. Each time you eat a vegetarian meal instead of a meat based meal, you contribute to mitigation of emissions of greenhouse gases which cause climate change. Even if you would only skip meat once a week, you would still save 170 kilograms of CO2 every year. That is about the amount you emit by driving your car 1100 km. So skipping the meat now and then is a good recipe against climate change.

But of course one person can only do so much. It is also the responsibility of governments and industries to ensure that sustainable alternatives like vegetarian food are widely available and affordable. Several alternative policies and options could lead to lower consumption of meat and climate-friendly lifestyles, which a society may decide on with its own wisdom. EVA has provided a menu of actions that could be adopted as provided below, and it is for communities and governments to decide how to consider them.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri
IPCC President
Nobel Peace Prize winner 2007

Profitable & Environmentally responsible business practices

Recycline believes in striving to "combine socially and environmentally responsible business practices with groundbreaking design to create products that people feel good about having in their homes. We believe that choosing eco-friendly products doesn’t mean having to sacrifice quality, price, or performance."

Download their full plastic safety statement here.

Excerpts from Executive Summary:

Some additives in plastics are increasingly being shown to have interactions with the body’s hormone system (a.k.a., the endocrine system). While our plastics do not contain harmful additives, we follow the scientific research and debate closely, and think the precautionary principle should apply. Thus we do not introduce any possible endocrine disrupters into our plastics. Furthermore, our systems are designed to make all of our Preserve plastics from recycled products and packaging that have not had these chemicals introduced to them.

....

Recycled plastics have a variety of benefits. They decrease waste sent to landfills; reduce use of non-renewable resources, like natural gas and oil; decrease energy use; and decrease emissions of carbon dioxide. Preserve products are better for the earth for these reasons. And, because of the care we use in selecting and testing the materials we use for Preserve, we are confident that our products are BPA and phthalate free and safe for use by you and by our families.

21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle

21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle: This reports lists resources for Americans to reduce, reuse, and recycle all kinds of things one likes to dispose - including working appliances, Batteries, Cardboard boxes, CDs/DVDs/Game Disks, Clothes, Bulbs, Computers, Eyeglasses..upto Toothbrushes and razors...

To download the entire recycling issue of the Quarterly, visit archives page.

Any Business Ideas coming to your mind?

A Wet Bomb!

Wetlands, which contain an estimated 771 gigatonnes (771 billion tonnes) of greenhouse gases -- both CO2 and more potent methane, are in news as 700 experts from 28 nations meet at the 8th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference in the city of Cuiaba on the edge of South America's vast Pantanal, the largest wetland of its kind.

The concern is that evaporation and ongoing destruction of world wetlands, which hold a volume of carbon similar to that in the atmosphere today, could cause them to exhale billows of greenhouse gases.

If all the wetlands on the planet released the carbon they hold, it would contribute powerfully to the climate-warming greenhouse effect, said Paulo Teixeira, coordinator of the Pantanal Regional Environment Program in Brazil. He said:

"We could call it the carbon bomb.....

Humanity in many parts of the world needs a wake-up call to fully appreciate
the vital environmental, social and economic services wetlands provide --
absorbing and holding carbon, moderating water levels, supporting biodiversity
and countless others."

Prof. Junk, of the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology shares:

Wetlands act as sponges and their role as sources, reservoirs and regulators of water is largely underappreciated by many farmers and others who rely on steady water supplies. They also cleanse water of organic
pollutants, prevent downstream flood inundations, protect riverbanks and
seashores from erosion, recycle nutrients and capture sediment.

The US will spend $700 million over two decades to revive the Florida Everglades. It will include six artificial wetlands ("storm water treatment areas"), to receive and cleanse excess nutrients from neighbouring farm districts.
Sources:

• United Nations University (2008, July 21). Massive Greenhouse Gases May Be Released As Destruction, Drying Of World Wetlands Worsen. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/07/080720150209.htm
• http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKN1745905120080720

Mostly Convenient Truths From a Technology Optimist

In 2001, Vinod Khosla was named as "most successful venture capitalist of all time" by Fortune, and similarly felicitated by Forbes and Time.

Now, he is being labeled as "The King of Green Investing".

Richard Shaffer shares:

Over the past four years, Khosla has become the world's foremost investor in environmental startups. He has committed an estimated $450 million of his personal fortune to financing 45 ethanol factories, solar-power parks, and makers of environmentally friendly lightbulbs, batteries, and automotive components.

You may want look at Khosla's "Mostly Convenient Truths From a Technology Optimist".