Additionally she stated; “There is still no framework or system that provides some form of environmental security”

You know it is always interesting that people complain about Industrialization for killing the environment and fail to watch non-industrialization do the same thing, as Native Indians, Tribal People and secluded human groupings in the far secluded third world, do not take care of their environments, chopping down trees for fire wood, burning forests, littering, polluting their own water supplies with human waste and animal waste, as their human troops or groups get too large.

I recommend reading “Collapse” and “Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches.” I think that those are two of the books you should read first to really get a handle on the reality of such third world fixes. Additionally read some of the White Papers online at the World Bank and some of the research projects for agriculture, water, disease and food issues on the major NGO sites. Also the Gate’s Foundation and worthy of mention the reading list at;

http://www.WFS.org

Often has relevant information, however you have to be careful about the Utopia Liberal mentality, because you cannot have your Utopian Society or Island or Civilization, until someone breaks a sweat to build it and generally that takes hard charging, competitive, innovators and entrepreneurial types, the same ones many are busy condemning, You SEE? Consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Just look to our neighbors in the western U.S., specifically Las Vegas, Nevada, to measure just how important water is at this moment.

Water? The same valuable natural asset status as oil? Who would have thought that could ever be the case?

Actually, a hundred years ago President Theodore -Teddy- Roosevelt did. “The nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”

This famous quote by President Roosevelt in 1907 to the United States Congress was one of many oracle examples of a man ahead of his own generation’s individual and industrialized bad habits. His speeches unveiled an intellectual understanding of conservation and environmental stewardship. He was quite the motivator.

Paddle forward 100 years and the signs of increased water appreciation are rearing their head and peeking into your wallet.

Depending on what area of the United States you flip on the faucet determines if that is a good thing or a not-so good thing.

Let’s tackle the bad side of the issue first. One example of a not-so-good thing would be the email that landed in my inbox yesterday from a Central Florida homeowner, aghast that their water bill had jumped to $314.12 this month.

That’s more than I paid to fill my car with gasoline in the past three months.

Case In Point: Jack Daniels and Las Vegas

A quick look through your local and national news source and you’ll see a variety of water deficit indicators popping up across the US.

Tennessee’s low water table is threatening the Jack Daniel’s distillery where water conservation is in full swing.

Further out west in the sandy desert Nevada’s Hoover Dam is 107 feet below its traditional level. Higher residential populations in the Colorado region challenge as quick of a recovery experienced in the 1950s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, according to Bob Walsh, the external affairs officer for the lower Colorado region of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau manages the dam that includes services to southern Nevada, southern California and Arizona–the constituencies of the Lower Colorado River basin region.

Nevada, Arizona, southern California; I picture a sandbox. It’s in the desert. What did they expect?

And perhaps that sand-box scenario is why they are ahead of the curve in reshaping just how cavalier the end-user chooses to be and just how much of this valuable natural asset they consume. Would you believe a popular option is a turf-free lawn? Could you imagine?

Giving Up The Grass

Bob Walsh upgraded from his previous home of a “small” amount of grass to a home with “no grass” in Nevada. In our discussion of our vastly different cultures, Bob reminded me that in the U.S., the typical single-family suburban household uses at least 30 percent of their water outdoors for irrigation according to the EPA.

Some experts estimate that more than 50 percent of landscape water use goes to waste due to evaporation or runoff caused by over-watering according to the EPA.

A turf free landscape is a far cry from the theme of Michael Pollan’s book, Second Nature (Dell Publishing 1991), where “the democratic system can cope with the nonvoter far more easily than the democratic landscape can cope with the non-mower..” The popular water conservation way of life that Bob Walsh described for the western region was a vastly different model than I witness in the far southeast.

Policy on the local, state, and federal level can be crafted. But how do we truly motivate change on the user-end? Reward or punish?

Show Me The Money

Las Vegas rewards homeowners in cash for removing turf from their landscape. The Las Vegas Water Valley District website provides information on several rebates and coupons for their patrons. By upgrading existing grass to a new water-smart landscape, participants receive a rebate of $2 per square foot for the first 1,500 square feet of grass converted to xeriscape. Areas in excess of 1,500 square feet receive $1 per square foot.

Cha-ching. There’s a fine line between manipulation and motivation. Nevada has set a fine example for us to follow.

No matter where you live, it’s time to take notice of just how important water is to you and your landscape. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there’s a reason that water has become a national priority. A recent government survey showed at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. But by using water more efficiently, we can help preserve water supplies for future generations, save money, and protect the environment.

How do you engage people who have not felt the impact of this resource?

The answer: Cash.

Depending on where you live, that might mean cashing in on a very present environmental issue.

Kay’s Science Twitter: Science and Environmental updates and articles for you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kay_Borglum

India appears to be digging its own grave deeper and quicker than the rest of us, nearly 30% of India’s gross agricultural output is lost every year due to soil degradation, poor land management and counter productive irrigation. 7516 km of coastline have also come under attack from this environmental sabotage, overfishing remains a huge problem due to lack of legislation enforcement. Raw sewage from an awful lot of people is pumped endlessly into the ocean along with other industrial waste and chemicals.

India’s incredibly vulnerable water supply has also come under attack from every angle resulting in very dramatic drop in the national water tables. Air pollution remains a huge problem in India with the diesel used containing up to 200 times the amount of sulfur than our European diesel.

The quite rapid story if India’s deforestation is rather depressing. It is predicted that almost 5.3 Million hectares of forest have been destroyed since the independence. The government has been slow to recognise this problem and the solutions it has come up with involve unenforceable legislation mixed with wide spread corruption and a million poeple buring desire to survive

Land degradation, disease and a huge litter problem are some of the other problems which plague this great nation. It is however, not all lost…

Follow the link below for a complete view of the Environmental issues in India. http://www.all-about-india.com/Environmental-issues-in-India.html

Another Expert article from the web’s most comprehensive India resource.
Written by Oliver Wakefield of All-about-India.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Oliver_Wakefield

For those good stewards of the environment, I salute your efforts. I also believe that car wash owners who keep acids and chemicals to a minimum are indeed helping the industry. I applaud those that do not use acid in their wash process. I think illegal polluters who own car washes are very bad for the industry especially when it hits the newspaper. Yes it hurts us too, we run the CarWashGuys.com .

Our franchisees, which are mobile follow the rules, so do our truck washes and fixed car washes, as well as our aircraft wash units and boat cleaning units. Franchising is an Independent business relationship and no cases of environmental issues have come back to the franchisor, only one ADA case in the Hotel Industry was even close. Yet we still believe it is our duty to monitor our franchisee’s wash process.

The are still some rogue hold outs in the industry and are slowly being caught by environmental enforcement personnel, but unfortunately there is still a problem in the industry and these issues are serious and must be dealt with. Think on this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

1 – It requires more energy to manufacture a CFL than an incandescent lamp.

2 – CFL’s contain mercury which can potentially end up polluting the environment.

The first issue is fairly easily answered in that even though they do require additional energy to manufacture; this is soon offset as CFLs last a lot longer than incandescent bulb.

On this issue of mercury pollution I have summarized some of the for and against points of view below:

Arguments For CFL’s

* Overall mercury emission by compact fluorescent lamps is less than the mercury released into the atmosphere by coal-fired power generation for an equivalent incandescent lamp over the same period. This assumption is based on the electricity generated to run lighting in your local area being generated via coal fired power stations. While this currently (2007) the case in Australia many places in the world today generate their electricity by other more environmentally friendly means.
* Mercury from used CFLs in landfills is not released into air and with proper disposal will not be released into the subsurface or groundwater.
* The mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 6 mg per unit (this is proposed in the United States)
* Because CFLs longer life cycle, fewer bulbs and less packaging ends up in landfill.

Arguments Against CFL’s

* Many places in the world produce little energy from coal fired power plants (eg California). In the USA coal plants are now mandated to reduce their mercury emissions by between 70% and 90%.The issue of mercury is therefore likely to become more significant as electricity generation gets cleaner and CFLs become more widespread.
* The 6mg of mercury claimed for CFL’s is largely a goal at present and not the current reality.
* A lot of CFL’s are made in China with energy sourced from coal fired power plants.
* CFL’s are delivered here on ships using bunker oil, the worst mercury producer of the fuel oils.
* There are currently very few recycling program in place or planned to handle the number of CFL’s proposed.

Eco Friendly House (http://www.ecohousefootprint.com) – Making you home Environmentally Friendly. How to make your home more environmentally friendly and reduce your Ecological footprint. Information on Solar Power, Lights, Waste Water, Recycling, Garden, Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Green Energy, Saving Water, Environmental Issues and more. Help save the planet. http://www.ecohousefootprint.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dwayne_Hill

Well, for a couple of reasons, I see many companies that claim to be green, but in name only. I see many citizens who claim to be environmentally conscious and yet, do little more than recycle and probably only do that because someone provided them with colorful trash receptacles. Hey, don’t laugh, I am serious.

Regarding being dispassionate myself at times, let me tell you why. I have over the years worked hard to make our companies “pollution-free” and have gone out of my way, spent lots of money on R and D. Yet, I found myself constantly attacked by competitors, “environmentalists” and government environmental regulators. So, after a while it gets old and many entrepreneurs become less passionate.

The issue becomes; “why should I do good in the world if no one else cares and I am attacked for doing so?” The answer of course, is because it’s the right thing to do, still if you have to take hits for it, you can see that it takes strong will to not just say; “oh forget it!”

It’s like that old saying; “No good deed, goes unpunished.” Too often environmentalists are hypocrites and those accused of being demons are actually going out of their way to innovate, solve problems and really clean the air and water. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Blog Content Service

If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

In the Mobile Car Washing Business the Environmental issues are quite simple, no water is allowed to flow into a storm drain as per the NJDEP and the EPA Federal Clean Water Act along with the NPDES permits of townships, cities, counties and corporate properties. I have seen some people cleaning in office parks blocking storm drains and then vacuuming the water remaining that did not evaporate into waste wash water tanks either to take to a Coin-op car wash to dump (make a deal with owner-trade for pressure washing his location) or to the POTW sewer treatment facility.

Insurance is another huge issue and you will need 1-million completed operations insurance and Garage Keepers liability probably 100,000 per occurrence the cost will be based on your estimated annual income when you sign up, look for an Independent Insurance Agency handling commercial lines. They will be able to assist.

The mobile car wash business is a simple business model and a service, which everyone desires and it is for this reason that a savvy entrepreneur can in fact learn a lot from working in this sub-sector and enjoy it. It pays to think ahead on some of the more serious issues such as insurance and environmental concerns, as they must be addressed. Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Easy Green Tips for Protecting Groundwater

Although the average human being can last up to three months without food, it can only last three days without water. Climate change and unwise uses of water supplies have lead to massive droughts in Australia, Europe and North America. For example, Spain decided to cater to the tourist industry by building many golf courses. Unfortunately, grass golf courses require lots of water in order to maintain. Spain now is in the midst of its worst drought in recorded history.

Certainly by now you know about conserving water as much as possible. But you also need to protect the water we have left. Much of the drinking water supply comes from groundwater, which (as its name implies) means that it is located just underneath the ground. Because it is just under the ground means that it is very easy to contaminate.

The best thing you can do to protect groundwater is not to dump harmful chemicals into it. But you don’t do that, you say. Oh, do you really Do you add fertilizers and insecticides to your lawn. Those wash off easily and sink into the groundwater. And what about the cleaners and washing detergents you use. Many of these harsh chemicals are destroying groundwater.

Use only a fraction of the recommended amount of laundry detergent. You will still get the clothes clean but without dumping so many chemicals in the groundwater. Better yet, use environmentally safe cleaning products made of botanical oils, bleach or vinegar. Look for a label showing the word with the words Design for the Environment U. S. EPA on it.

Instead of using chemical foam drain cleaners, use a couple of cups of baking soda and a kettle full of boiling water. It may take longer to work than a foam or liquid commercially made pipe cleaner, but it won’t harm your pipes, the groundwater or your kids.

Polluting Yourself

There is no sense talking to your kids about environmental issues if you do not treat your own body with respect. You may not think that your body has anything to do with the environment, but it does. The way you treat yourself is often subconsciously reflected in the way we treat the environment.

Kids can easily recognize hypocrites. They will nod in agreement with you only to please you but then ignore all of your advice and teachings if they think you are a hypocrite. There is no sense preaching green tips if you drink, abuse drugs or smoke. Abusing alcohol, drugs and tobacco not only harms your body but also harms the environment.

How does smoking affect the environment Guess what the most prominently kind of trash is found on beaches all over the world Lighters, cigarettes, matches and tobacco pouches. Tobacco is poisonous to many creatures such as small dogs that can die from eating a few cigarettes.

Every little bit we consciously choose to do, is in some small way either helping or destroying our planet. Now is up to you to go the right way.

Visit What’s up Zone website to read about different topics to talk about, including environmental issues. Also learn how you can help with the quest of saving our planet from environmental destruction by using environmentally safe cleaning products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Hugi

How much energy is used in various sanitation approaches?

What kind of energy is used?

How much carbon emission is being generated?

From an environmental standpoint the issue is environmental impact:

How many and how much environmentally damaging emissions and by-products are created?
How much of the earth’s natural resources are being used or contaminated?
Can these resources be replenished?

On a continuum from worst to best, in this writer’s view, the worse would be waste treatment plants. The best would be non-discharge onsite systems. In the middle would be septic systems.

The worst: waste treatment plans use fossil energy, a great deal of energy. They use chemicals, a great deal of chemicals. The give out treated water that still has nutrients. Chemicals and nutrients being dumped into bodies of water are an invitation to environmental trouble.

Septic systems, on the other hand, use very little energy. They put nutrients into the ground but under ideal circumstances these nutrients are integrated by the earth and do not get into the groundwater.

The concern with septics is that when conditions are not ideal these systems can damage the environment as well as endanger human health. Floods and system malfunctions are the culprits. Reports of e-coli and sanitation nutrients leeching into creeks, streams, lakes and the ocean abound. These reports increase during times of heavy precipitation and flooding. Every state reports a certain percentage of failed or failing septic sytems. One east coast state (name no names) reports more than 80,000 failing septic systems.

Systems that treat water borne sanitation also use energy but they put nothing into the ground except safely treated water.

The best marks go to waterless systems. With the exception of incinerating systems, these use little energy and put nothing into the ground. The best types of these systems are evaporative. They harness the wind and sun for energy and require no electricity or fossil fuel.

Waste treatment plants are a necessary and very expensive evil for cities with large concentrations of people. Underground collection lines and plant construction pose environmental and financial costs. Operation and maintenance require energy. The emissions are environmentally undesirable. Improvement to the quality of treatment will increase the costs. But for the forseeable future we live with it. So long as our civilization uses water for sanitation these plants will be a necessity. Septic systems will also be with us as long as we use water for sanitation.

It is beginning to strike some people as odd that we would use perfectly good well water and very expensively treated rinking water to flush our urinals and toilets. Good water is becoming scarce and treated water is becoming increasingly expensive. So why do we then proceed to flush it down the toilet? ‘Makes no sense from the Green perspective or environmental perspective! About twenty percent of the water used in an average household in the United States gets flushed down the toilet. Somebody go figure!

The future, logically speaking, belongs with waterless sanitation. But culturally speaking we want to flush. How expensive that preference becomes is a guess. It certainly will become more expensive. And only time will tell how long cultural preference prevails over logic.

Losoncy is president of Clean Up American, Inc.. His company markets a new waterless evaporative sanitation system known as the Eloo. To learn more about Eloos go to : http://www.Eloo.US

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lawrence_Losoncy

Of all of the environmental issues facing Australia, the loss of our nation’s old growth forests are by far the most troubling. At the same time, the issue of unchecked deforestation is probably the one issue that we as Australian citizens can most easily impact by pressuring our government to take the necessary steps to stop the destruction of our nation’s natural resources in its tracks. The Rainforest Alliance intends to stand firmly in defiance to the continued depletion of Australia’s old growth forests. In keeping with this aim, Lipton has taken considerable steps toward bringing the tea industry into the 21st century’s environmental standards through the Rainforest Alliance.

Coal Energy

In Australia, coal mining continues to be one of the most controversial environmental issues in our country. While many environmentalists point out the contributions that coal burning make to global warming, it is difficult to ignore the fact that coal based energy is currently a major part of Australia’s energy infrastructure. However, allies of the Rainforest Alliance are quick to point out that modern energy technology has reached the point that the nation can now begin making the switch from coal energy to a more environmentally responsible energy infrastructure.

Air Quality

Like most of the modern world, our nation’s cities have developed some serious air quality issues. Air quality in urban areas is affected by a variety of influences to include automobile exhaust, industrial waste and byproducts of the production of herbicides and pesticides.

Climate Change

Recent studies have shown that our planet’s environment is warming at a much more alarming rate than scientists had initially predicted, and the dangers that rising sea levels pose to the Australian coast could prove to be devastating if current global warming trends continue.

Water Security

The continent of Australia is second only to Antartica in terms of scarcity of water, and irrigation and other water conservation issues have plagued our nation since it was founded. Politicians, environmentalists and farmers have been hashing out water security issues for decades, but increased pressures on our water supply by population growth and potential climate change have tipped the scales to critical mass. It is time for the nation to recognise the drastic effects that the diversion of natural water flows have wreaked on our nations environment and to recognise that unchecked irrigation expansion simply is not a viable option for an environmentally stable Australia. Thankfully, corporations such as Unilever’s Lipton and fast food joint McDonalds, have waken up to the necessity of finding lasting solutions to Australia’s water security concerns.

This article is written on the topic environmental issues in Australia and the projects which Rainforest Alliance have started to help preserve our natural land, air and water. With the support of environmentalists, governments and companies, we can make a difference!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hugh_McInnes