NewsCloud.com Sustainability News

Christmas with No Presents :: No Impact Man enjoys the holidays without all the stuff

As Americans experience one of the worst financial crises since the Depression, the biggest shopping day of the year, November 28 (aka Black Friday) is just around the corner -- and the pressure's on, once again, to buy, buy, buy. But are our consumer traditions bringing us greater cheer or happiness? Author and blogger Colin Beavan ("No Impact Man") is on a personal mission to test that question. In what has been a 2-year family experiment in simplicity and sustainability in the heart of New York City, Colin has discovered that a Christmas without gifts is the merriest of all.

Victorian Premier Brumby fades to brown

Premier John Brumby has a vision for Melbourne in a climate-changed age, but sustainability experts fear that it is too wedded to coal and cars to match the scale of the environmental problem.

In U.S., Metal Theft Plagues Troubled Neighborhoods

These kinds of stories make me wonder whether our society is in the process of crossing a tipping point beyond even relative sustainability: This New York Times story reports, "So many houses have been stripped of siding and copper pipes that neighborhoods must be abandoned and turned into green spaces." Meanwhile, nearby, The Times reports, "As Price of Lead Soars, British Churches Find Holes in Roof". Also recently, Thieves Leave Cars, but Take Catalytic Converters and Rash of phone cable theft and vandalism in Longview-Kelso area. What does it say when we can't afford enough police to secure our lifestyle?

Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts. Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable.

Business struggles with sustainability

The good news is that sustainability is on the boardroom agenda. The bad news is that business doesn't know what to do about it. A new study shows business thinks promoting sustainability is great for reputation and public relations. The trouble is, it does not seem to do much for the bottom line.

2010 And Sustainability: On Your Mark, Get Set, Plummet

So what do you think about holding the greenest Games ever ? Well, there s a good chance that you haven t even heard of the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games being particularly green. And if you have, you probably realize that sustainability and Olympics have been associated more with being oxymorons than true companions. Plus, there s another unsustainable factor looming...

Sustaintability and insurance risks

Climate change might be the most serious environmental risk facing society and insurers but there are many other big ones ahead. They include insurance for the poor, protection of natural resources, health, lifelong income and emerging threats like nanotechnology.

Sustainability reporting: carrots and sticks

Once dismissed as fuzzy and meaningless work from greenies, sustainability reporting seems to be gaining some traction in boardrooms with the release of the latest Global Reporting Initiative. The new G3 guidelines have the support of business leaders who are calling on their peers to adopt them.