Environmental impact

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Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

By analyzing the life cycle and environmental impact of a product, SimaPro connects us to a wealth of information about real impacts, like the amount of energy needed to make a bathroom tap out of steel. It's not a stretch to imagine a locally based information system that supplies details like this—empowering us to get past the seemingly green and attain the truly green. HIHl resources Transmaterial by Blaine Brownell (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005) Indoors, soft forms cover the walls to clarify voices in a room.

A leading thinker in analyzing these factors is Mathis Wackernagel, who proposed that we view our personal environmental impact as a footprint. Our "ecological footprint" UUtil lUINIINb LUINiUnn IUN represents the ramifications of all the various components of our lives, from food and home energy use to transportation and where we live. Using a simple online quiz, known as the Ecological Footprint Quiz, we can measure our footprint by inputting details about our lifestyles and habits into a basic calculator.

Although cities do help us reduce our environmental impact on distant areas (in that we don't have to slash into forests or blast hillsides to create homes), the natural systems closest to cities often degenerate into shattered remnants of what they once were. This is tragic, because most cities have grown up where nature was particularly bountiful—where the farmland was rich, fishing was good, and water was abundant. So, as cities grow, the best land often ends up paved with asphalt or concrete, the best water polluted with sewage and runoff.

Smart home technology can reduce our environmental impact and increase home efficiency, home safety, and personal independence. With digitally programmed systems, homes can take care of themselves, making it easier for us to monitor and manage our living environment. Whether it comes in the form of windows that open remotely to allow overhead ventilation, electronics that shut off when not in use, or laundry machines that offer custom settings, technological innovation can conserve both the energy our homes use and the effort we spend to keep them safe and comfortable.

Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, And Fair Carlo Petrini See book keywords and concepts

Capital is not "patient"; people do not invest in businesses which guarantee social justice and the redemption of peasants, or which have a low environmental impact. A movement of money on the stock exchange can seal the fate of tens of thousands of small farmers at a stroke. We need a slower, more "patient" investment policy, which operates outside the classical framework of finance: sustainable models of investment for the agricultural communities, which give them time to grow without expecting immediate profits. Slowing down economics means bringing it down to earth, for the earth.

Digital cameras are good for the environment Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

There's also the question of the environmental impact of manufacturing digital cameras. I'm sure that's not inconsequential, but it's probably similar to the impact of manufacturing film cameras anyway. And even high-end estimates of this manufacturing impact are relatively tame compared to the repeated destruction to the environment caused by film developer chemicals. That's why I say the digital camera revolution is a net positive for the environment.

Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, And Fair Carlo Petrini See book keywords and concepts

Altieri continued: And in addition to the environmental question, there is also a socioeconomic one: nowadays in California there is a lot of organic agriculture which is unsustainable because, although it has a limited environmental impact, it exists at the expense of people who are paid very little, just as in conventional agriculture. Hosts of Mexican immigrants exploited like slaves, with no rights and earning a pittance. It is not fair, because the organic product is sold at a much higher price than the product of conventional farming.

Health from the Seas: Freedom from Disease John Croft See book keywords and concepts

A very important factor to be taken into consideration for such development will be the environmental impact of the farming processes. Environmental Factors in Marine Farming The term environmental factors covers a wide range of topics. These embrace environmental impacts that, on the one hand, might adversely affect the farming process and, on the other hand, might adversely affect the local ecology or even aesthetic value and public enjoyment of an area.

Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG See book keywords and concepts

However, in this case we are concerned more with environmental impact than with therapeutic factors. Regardless of the relative therapeutic merits of drugs and herbs, a clear picture emerges when one compares their respective ecological costs. The Impact of Herbs and Drugs on the Environment: A Comparison Tagamet and the Environment The drug Tagamet is manufactured in a process that is notoriously dirty and produces much waste. This waste must be disposed of.

Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet Jeremy P. Tarcher See book keywords and concepts

Ray underscored the enormity of the challenge and the need for clear measures of success when he explained that, despite his commitment to reduce his company's impact on the environment to zero, so far he's only achieved one-third of his goal of zero environmental impact. These varied initiatives suggest that, ultimately, the legal structure of the corporate charter will have to be remade, returning the corporation to its original purpose of service to the broad public good. Other emerging trends are working as well to reconnect economic life with community values.

That's when Interface founder Ray Anderson experienced his moment of dissonance, suddenly and painfully made aware of the environmental impact of his business— that carpets, for instance, will typically take 20,000 years to decompose in landfills. Dissonance triggered innovation: He started making carpets in sections so just the worn part can be removed— and recycled. Today, Interface even has a solar-powered factory.

Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism Marion Nestle See book keywords and concepts

Chapter 6 evaluates the benefits claimed for genetically modified foods, as well as their safety risks: allergenicity, antibiotic resistance, and environmental impact. In chapter 7,1 discuss the politics of government oversight of genetically modified foods and describe how the industry convinced federal regulatory agencies to use a strictly science-based approach to risk evaluation, thereby allowing companies to plant first, then deal with problems (rather than requiring premarket testing).

20 Years of Censored News Carl Jensen See book keywords and concepts

Despite protests of FAA engineers and Alaska bush pilots, the final environmental impact Statement gave HAARP the green light. Scientists, environmentalists, and native people are concerned that HAARP's electronic transmitters could harm people, endanger wildlife, and trigger unforeseen environmental impacts. SOURCE: Earth Island Journal, Fall 1994, "Project HAARP: The Military's Plan to Alter the Ionosphere," by Clare Zickuhr and Gar Smith. UPDATE: Despite critics and local public concern, testing of the HAARP prototype started in April 1995 (Alaska Journal of Commerce, 10/9/95).

Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism Marion Nestle See book keywords and concepts

Greenpeace found much to criticize without emphasizing safety issues but did raise one such issue—environmental effects: "GE rice, like other genetically modified organisms (GMOs) released into the environment, is a form of living pollution and its environmental impact is not only unpredictable and uncontrollable but also irreversible."24 Dr.

There are zero human health implications, zero environmental impact implications."35 Perhaps so, but the uncontrolled spread of genetically modified traits to plants where they are not supposed to be has 100% implications for public trust in the industry and its government regulators—and for generating outrage. To head off such reactions, industry supporters launched a remarkably nasty public relations campaign to discredit the Berkeley investigators. The campaign focused on their science and their politics.

Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating Jeffrey M. Smith See book keywords and concepts

This book also does not explore the most dangerous aspect of GM foods—the environmental impact. Once a genetically modified organism is released into the environment, it can never be recalled. Genes remain in the gene pool of a species, or pass between species for countless generations. The devastating environmental implications of GM foods are discussed in my forthcoming book, along with corresponding stories of government negligence and complicity. The second book also describes how the biotech companies have taken advantage of farmers.

These memos reveal that as the evaluators have less and less background in science and more political accountability, the foods, and their environmental impact, are regarded as safer and safer. In the end, it was the political, rather than scientific recommendations, that prevailed. The agency not only ignored its scientists, it claimed their concerns never existed. The official FDA policy proclaiming ignorance of any meaningful differences between GM and non-GM food became the rationale for eliminating any meaningful oversight.

Reinheriting the Earth: Awakening to Sustainable Solutions and Greater Truths Brian O'Leary See book keywords and concepts

Even printing this book, though on recycled paper, was an agonizing moral decision, yet well-researched in terms of its small overall environmental impact as opposed to taking fossil-fueled trips to advocate the same things. The point is, we must first restore sustainability to the Earth. The corporations aren't doing it, the governments aren't doing it, as we keep slipping away from the goal and hit the wall in the supply and quality of our greatest treasures. So the rest of us will need to do it. The technological and ecological solutions I propose here are not difficult to understand: 1.

Our choices among the renewables will require a careful look at each option and its environmental impact. Meanwhile, government subsidies and market manipulation have kept the fossil fuel industry in power, and the 18 per cent we use for renewables globally is not increasing. Only with a public awakening can these numbers change. The hydrogen economy. This is the middle ground. As I describe in a later section, hydrogen is clean-burning, abundant, feasible, and potentially economical.

This sort of "environmental impact statement" would need to address alternatives toward achieving the goal. We saw in Chapter 1 that the most effective progress in the environmental movement nowadays in America is court confrontations regarding the health hazards of toxic waste. This kind of action is not possible with global issues such as human-induced climate change. But eventually we shall have to move beyond the adversarial process and join together in civil responsibility for the environment under a global green republic.

Health from the Seas: Freedom from Disease John Croft See book keywords and concepts

Another example of a beneficial environmental impact from shellfish cultivation is enhanced fish populations surrounding the farms. Not only has this been good for the fish, but also for human anglers who have experienced excellent fishing in the proximity of shellfish farms.

Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call Doris J. Rapp, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

In spite of the initial assurance that there was no immediate danger from the many contaminants polluting the NYC air after the September 11, 2001 attack, there is much that needs serious consideration. The environmental impact of this additional, ongoing pollution, added to the years of extensive and repeated aerial spraying with malathion and other chemicals, can greatly increase the potential health concerns of all those living in the vicinity of NYC for many years.

Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism Marion Nestle See book keywords and concepts

Few such bills pass, however. By 2001, Maryland was the only state to ban a genetically modified food, in this case fish in waterways that connect to other bodies of water.55 Consumer groups, chefs, and some scientists have filed lawsuits and organized petition campaigns to compel the FDA to institute labeling and safety testing. The Alliance for Bio-Integrity (Iowa City, IA), led by Steven Druker, has filed such suits.

Nontoxic, Natural and Earthwise Debra Lynn Dadd See book keywords and concepts

A 1989 market-research poll reported that 89 percent of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of the products they purchase, and more than half of all Americans say they decline to buy certain products out of concern over their environment effects. Another poll, by Media General and Associated Press, indicated that the vast majority of Americans would accept mandatory trash recycling, higher electric bills, and other inconveniences to help clean up the environment.

Staying Healthy in a Risky Environment: The New York University Medical Center Family Guide Arthur C. Upton, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

It required all federal agencies proposing activities with possible environmental consequences to complete an environmental impact statement, detailing the likely environmental effects of the action. The Clean Water Act, 1972 (Amended 1977 and 1987) The Clean Water Act seeks to regulate, in cooperation with the states, the quality of all American surface waters. The act provides for technical and financial assis- (continued) Box 23.1 MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS (continued) tance to the states in developing water-treatment facilities and emissions-control technologies.

Viral Immunity J. E. Williams, O.M.D. See book keywords and concepts

More importantly, though Chinese medicine may take longer to have a symptomatic effect, it poses little environmental impact by using low-tech methods and nontoxic medicines, and leaves the patient with few or no side effects. Often Chinese medical therapies strengthen the individual, leaving one in better condition than before the disease occurred, and they provide a curative effect unavailable with the use of chemical drugs. improving their relationships and functions. It does not focus exclusively on pathology and the symptoms of disease.

Hemp Today Ed Rosenthal See book keywords and concepts

He explained the environmental impact of deforestation and predicted a time when further logging would be prohibitively expensive or even forbidden. At the end of the lengthy interview, it was agreed that Chase would travel to the Imperial Valley to further investigate the potential of the decorticator. On August 28, 1917, Chase presented his report to Scripps and McRae. It is an undisputed testimonial to the economics of Schlichten's machine: "I have spent many hours with G. W. Schlichten, the inventor of the decorticating machine.

The Politics of Cancer Revisited Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

The Act also established CEQ in the executive office of the President, where its primary duty is to give Congress an Environmental Quality Report each year, setting forth the status and conditions of the nation's environment, t Under the successive leadership of Russell Train and t The Act requires environmental impact statements when proposed projects within the jurisdiction of federal regulatory agencies may significantly affect "the quality of the human environment." CEQ has recently proposed extending Russell W.

Nontoxic, Natural and Earthwise Debra Lynn Dadd See book keywords and concepts

The health effects and environmental impact of products must be consideted throughout a product's entite span of existence, from cradle to grave, as the environmentalists say. Every product we use begins as a piece of the Eatth, be it mineral, plant, or animal. We must look at the methods by which these so-called "resources" are removed from the ecosystem (mined, grown, raised, or harvested) as well as the processes used to manufacture the products and distribution methods, as well as product use and disposal.

Product Ingredients In evaluating the ingredients a product is made from, we need to consider the environmental impact of obtaining the raw materials from which it is made, the impact of the manufacturing and distribution processes, possible toxic exposure while we use it, and what happens to the product once we've finished using it. HOW PRODUCT INGREDIENTS AFFECT OUR HEALTH While there certainly have been instances of unhealthy products throughout history, we live in a unique time, when potentially hazardous substances pervade almost every item we might purchase.

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ABOUT THE CREATOR OF NATURALPEDIA: Mike Adams, the creator of this NaturalNews Naturalpedia, is the editor of NaturalNews.com, the internet's top natural health news site, creator of the Honest Food Guide (www.HonestFoodGuide.org), a free downloadable consumer food guide based on natural health principles, author of Grocery Warning, The 7 Laws of Nutrition, Natural Health Solutions, and many other books available at www.TruthPublishing.com, creator of the earth-friendly EcoLEDs company (www.EcoLEDs.com) that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting products, founder of Arial Software (www.ArialSoftware.com), a permission e-mail technology company, creator of the CounterThink Cartoon series (www.NaturalNews.com/index-cartoons.html) and author of over 1,500 articles, interviews, special reports and reference guides available at www.NaturalNews.com. Adams' personal philosophy and health statistics are available at www.HealthRanger.org.