Environmental Debt

E Magazine is reporting that Guatemala and the United States of America have signed a landmark agreement that switches debt into forest conservation.

“Environmentalists around the globe are toasting a deal announced last week in which the U.S. government has agreed to forgive $24.4 million in debt from Guatemala to free up the money for use in forest conservation efforts there. Two leading international conservation nonprofits, the Nature Conservancy and Conservation International, were instrumental in putting the “debt-for-nature” together, and each organization also provided $1 million toward Guatemalan conservation initiatives to help sweeten the deal.”

Disney Ditches Unhealthy Diets

The Walt Disney Company has said no to unhealthy food in marketing. No longer will Disney use foods that are too unhealthy and have created guidelines that define what they will sponsor and what they wont.

“For instance, added sugar in those foods will not exceed 10 percent of calories for main and side dishes and 25 percent of calories for snacks. Total fat will not exceed 30 percent of calories for main and side dishes and 35 percent for snacks.”

I guess that means no more Mickey Mouse for many fast food chains.

Google Goes Gaga for Solar

solared Google is going to power it’s corporate headquarters using solar power! The installation at the Googleplex will generate a total capacity of 1.6 megawatts which is “enough to supply 1,000 average California homes.”

The Googleplex has a lot of space on its roof it looks like. This is a great thing for any corporation to consider doing. I believe that Google is actually quite concerned about the amount of power an average PC uses because of the cost. Maybe this is their solution since computer makers are dropping the ball.

Wikipedia Uncensored

wiki ballWikipedia is no longer being blocked in China! After refusing to cede to Chinese demands to censor the community made encyclopedia the Chinese government blocked access to wikipedia from within China.

Last week, Chinese-forums.com members discovered that the blocking of wikipedia has ended!

Hopefully Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft will learn that they don’t have to self-censor to get into China.

TV 45 Light Years Away

Slashdot reported that a television company is broadcasting for an audience of alien species.

“The two naked hosts will present their own unclothed bodies as examples of our physical embodiments, and will tell about daily human existence. Music, art, and our own personal messages will be transmitted as well as discussions from sociologists, scientists, and space experts. This project is the brainchild of the French-based Centre National D’etudes Spatiales and is rooted in seriousness as a natural extension of the gold-plated ambassador disks of Pioneer 10. “