Britain has passed legislation that allows gay couples in the country to be joined in a civil union. A civil union is slightly different than marraige, but it does grant rights to gay couples. A good step towards equality at the very least.
Mazda Pays to Walk
Japanese automaker Mazda will start paying employees to walk to work. The car company is promoting the pay to walk program to improve the health of their workers and to protect the environment.
All 20,000 of the company’s workers in Japan are eligible to receive the 1,500 Yen incentive each month.
16 Days of Activism
We’re in the midst of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. A campaign that began in 1991, the 16 Days is held annually between November 25 (International Day Against Violence Against Women) and December 10 (International Human Rights Day). The period also incorporates World AIDS Day and the memorial anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6. This year’s 16 Days theme is “For the health of women, for the health of the world: no more violence.”
The link provided above is a fabulous webpage that is well-worth exploring. Particular resources that stand out include, in PDF form, “Suggested Actions: 16 ideas for 16 days” as well as links that will provide you with more resources on both violence against women and on HIV/AIDS.
Take some time to explore these resources and learn how you can participate during the 16 Days, and also help educate people on these important issues.
Fake Trees Can Clean Air
Ironically, a plan for fake trees only exists on paper right now. Dr Klaus Lackner, from Columbia University, has proposed a “fake tree” that can clean the air of CO2. The tree can the air of 90,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Right now it is cost-prohibitve to build the fake trees because the filtering material is very expensive to recycle. Dr. Lackner sees making artificial ways to clean the air of car emissions ,and other CO2 sources, has a very important step in saving the planet.
Klarifying Kyoto
The UN climate conference being held currently in Montreal is proceeding very well according to many sources. The countries have decided on a way to measure greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions.
“Rules defining how Kyoto will proceed were outlined in the Marrakech Accords in 2001, and adopting them was a major achievement of the Montreal conference, according to delegates.”
Previously The Next Kyoto Protocol