Inspirational and good news.
Europe will soon begin trial runs of the first European high-speed hybrid train. Compared to other trains there is an expected emissions cut of 50%!
“The system, which has been developed by Hitachi in Japan, consists of a battery-assisted diesel-electric traction engine. The traction unit uses the battery when the train is at rest and in the early stages of acceleration up to around 30 kilometres an hour (19mph), at which point the conventional diesel engine kicks in.”
One of my favorite dirty little pleasures is taking a nice warm bath with a good book. Preferably a book about the environment that inspires me. The best book I recently read and highly recommend is Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy of the Global Environment. I only wish it was waterproof. Well now it is with Durabook! They’re not much more expensive than regular books and, even better, they’re completely tree-free and 100% perpetually recyclable. The book lasts as long as you need it to, doesn’t use trees, isn’t too expensive, and can be melted down and reused perpetually. Wondrous!
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.”
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.
Red: the colour of love, anger … and now a symbol for an exciting product line, aiming to help people in Africa with AIDS. (Product) Red contains items from various companies, including Gap Inc., Apple Computer Inc., and Emporio Armani. Some of the eye-catching products include: a red MotoRazr from Motorola, vibrant red shirts from Gap, and a cute red iPod nano. A portion of profits will go to Global Fund, an organization that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.Â
Doug Piwinski, a spokesman for (Product) Red, says the initiative has raised more than $12 million for African AIDS programs, since starting last spring in Britain.
The (Product) Red website also features a gift registry. What a great way to let people know what you want for Christmas, and give to charity at the same time!