Inspirational and good news.
Scientists exploring in New Guinea have discovered dozens of previously unknown plant and animal species. Near the Foja mountain range in a remote jungle area of New Guinea, the researchers found twenty new species of frogs, four new butterflies, five plant species, a tree kangaroo that was thought to be on the brink of extinction, and spectacular birds.
More expeditions are planned to the remote jungle, and scientists are optimistic about discovering even more species.
In a step towards building sustainable urban infrastructure, Toronto is set to become a North American leader in the development of Green Roofs. Green Roofs help to insulate buildings from the elements, provide a natural animal habitat in the middle of urban development and help reduce a city’s environmental footprint. The City of Toronto has approved “Making Green Roofs Happen,” an initiative to put pockets of nature on top of existing public buildings. Just in case lower heating bills and cleaner air aren’t enough of an incentive, the plan also recommends financial incentives for private Green Roofs.
Richard wrote:
“President Bush announced something called the Advanced Energy Initiative to ween America off of its dependence on foreign oil in his state of the union address… it’s for maybe the wrong reasons, but it’s at least a small step in the right direction, from an environmental standpoint.”
Details can be found on the NASDAQ website.
Thanks, Richard!
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has a neat list on their best partners for promoting green energy. Together the top 25 partners consumed 3.3 million megawatt-hours of green energy.
The top 25 Partners are Partners whose annual green power purchase is the largest, and whose green power purchase has been completed. Their actions are helping drive the development of new renewable energy sources for electricity generation.
Number one on the list will surprise you.
The Suriname branch of the World Wildlife Fund is working thanks to a $150,000 grant awarded by the Inter American Development Bank to train small scale miners in environmentally friendly mining techniques. Miners currently seperate gold using chemicals such as mercuary, that are dumped into rivers once used. WWF is teaching miners about environmentally friendly techniques to seperate gold such as mechanical means. The program was designed to educate the affects of the miner’s behavior on the local ecosystem while providing alternative means in a hope to change social norms.