The Pacific Island countries now have the support of the United Nations and Samoa Plan. The two bodies have come together with an Inter-agency Climate Change Centre that will help the Pacific Island countries to fight global warming. To appreciate the effort, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “I am glad that we are taking matters in our hands. Climate change is not science fiction. It is real and needs our attention.”
Reports suggest that there has been a rise in sea level in the Pacific Island region. This is not a very good news for the hundreds of people who depend on fishing for their livelihoods. A change in sea temperature can alter the temperature of aquatic species that people eat. For example, warmer waters can harm the rate of metabolism, growth, reproduction and immunity in shell fish.
Via ens

Anti-whaling activists are facing a hard time in Japan. Apparently, the authorities are miffed with the brouhaha they have created and have released arrest warrants for three of them (two Americans and a Briton from the Sea Shepherd group), who are believed to be a part of the heated clash with Tokyo’s whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean last year.
Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said, “Physical protests will not be tolerated by the authorities, no matter what you feel about whaling.” The three activists will soon be placed on the international wanted list once the arrest warranst are obtained. They are suspected of jamming a ship’s propeller with a rope to prevent whaling.
Environmentalists the world offer are troubled over the issue of whaling as it violates the 1886 global moratorium on commercial whaling. However, the Japanese say in defence that whaling is part of their tradition and they only perform it for scientific research.
Yep, the reasons are vague!
Via enn

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Nothing can beat the freshness quotient of a hot-water bath! Better still, if this bath is situated in natural settings in form of a thermal spring. Located in the womb of dense forest cover of the Villarrica National Park (Chile) the Geometric Hot Springs is one green destination which every one would love to visit atleast once in their lifetime! German del Sol have designed the whole hot springs complex in a manner that the architecture bearing the 17 pools (over a stretch of 450 meters) can bring you as close to nature as that fantasized by you in your dreams! The Geometric Hot Springs project got completed in 2005. Since then it has been open to visitors who love to gel in the abundant greenery of the region.

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Tourists are free to pick up any pool they wish to take a dip in and leading them to their destination are the red wooden paths and a ramp without steps. Intelligent lighting system ensures a well-lit path, one that is heated by the thermal water. The latter flows under these paths before being collected in the pools.
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 Post bathing one can enjoy a gossip session at the Quincho or the meeting place. The Quincho’s serene look comes from the native assembled wood that was used in its construction. The distinguishing architectural design employs geometrical shapes in its structure to highlight the natural bounty of the area and provide a calm recluse far away from the maddening city life. The photographs (taken by Guy Wenborne) are enticing enough for me to plan a vacation out there. I’m sure they will affect your senses too!

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Some more pics..
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Via: Archdaily

Waste-water management is the call of the day when there’s extreme pressure on natural water resources. Every place on earth, the traditional sewer treatment plants purify sewage slush to provide the cities with clean useable water. However, the entire process consumes a lot of energy besides requiring a heavy infrastructure and high costs. But now, there’s a cheaper and equally effective way to recycle waste water. Developed by biologist Dr. John Todd, LIVING MACHINES are half man-made and half natural systems that consist of a number of ecosystems within (working in synergy) to provide clean water from sludge. These LIVING MACHINES employ eco-engineered technology to restore, treat and conserve pure water from sewage.

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A living machine duplicates the water purification process found in nature in streams, marshes and ponds by using various colonies of microbes, bacteria, algae, small trees, green plants, snails and fishes.

In totality it resembles a mini tropical forest inside a tank. The waste water channels through 3 different separate natural eco-systems (each purifies slush in its own manner). The micro fauna and flora present in the living machine breaks down industrial pollutants present in sewage.

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The water so purified can be used for different household purposes even if it’s not fit for drinking. These bio-systems thus effectively reduce the overall treatment costs and are thus being currently used in several places like hotels& resorts and as an educational tool at some colleges. Moved by the efficiency of this concept, these LIVING MACHINES were recently awarded the Buckminster Fuller Award.

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The system has been utilized to effectively clean the water supply of Appalachia. With slight modifications these water purifying bio-machines can be used in private properties like farm houses and large residential complexes. The method also scales up the greenery quotient in areas where otherwise the land cannot support many green plants.

Via: Living Machines, John Todd.

Environmentalists the world over are perturbed over the breaking of a large ice shelf extending to about 8 square miles from the 150 square miles large Ward Hunt area in Canada. The cracks in Ward Hunt indicate chances of more breakage following later this year. One can imagine the catastrophe in store for the earth’s inhabitants as this 3000 years old mass broke up and began slowly drifting into the Arctic Ocean. Findings indicate that temperatures in the Arctic have risen faster than the global average in recent decades. Yep, the root cause is global warming. Very few of us know that the rise in temperature of the earth over the last 100 years has not been duplicated over a history of 650000 years. And the first to melt because of the heat are the ice caps causing a rise in the water level. Apparently, every year we are crossing new thresholds in environmental change which will lead to huge repercussions in the near future.

And people were carefree thinking that melting of the mammoth sized chunks would take ages but the Canada episode of ice suddenly slipping into the oceans has shaken those myths. Probability of sudden avalanches and submerging of icebergs have increased tremendously that will eventually devour cities altogether.

Via GreenDiary

Surface run-off of water is bad and extremely wasteful whether it happens on soil surface in natural settings or in our bathrooms and kitchens. To tackle with the wasteful procedures at least for the bathroom low-flow showers and taps have been introduced but what about kitchenware? Thanks to designer Ran Shnaper, now the previously wasteful dish drying racks gets a new eco-friendly design. This new green dish drying rack is designed in a manner that it can grow your leafy herbs and spices like mint, thyme or lemon verbena. The designer has drawn inspiration from traditional farming technique- channel irrigation.

Unlike ordinary dish drying racks in this one, the run-off water gets directed to a small section- the bed of your herbs. To add to the green quotient, even the dividers are tree-shaped. Cool concept it is. Only that let’s see when does this eco dish drying rack hits the market shelves. Whenever it does, I’m going to pick one for me definitely!

Via: yankodesign

Milan based Italian designer, Ernesto Messineo, has launched an innovative model in the ground of ecofriendly widgets. He has devised an unsullied water faucet named Guru Tap which would promptly rule the intact world of eco designs. Within this uniquely designed tap water would gush in an extraordinary manner. We could even watch the circulating water stream in the interiors as a dyed but lucid substance is employed to fabricate the taps crown. Inside this spout the up movement of water subsequently followed by down is intended to make available water diminution attribute. This characteristic of guru tap will amass valued water for us but would bring in adequate amount of water for drawing on.

This fantastic design has been precisely alleged as Guru Tap since it would definitely turn into the master (Hindi meaning Guru) in its field within no time.

Via TrendHunter

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Tired of a soaring electricity bill? Concerned for nature, want to reduce global warming but are a victim of lousy habits, always forgetful about switching off the lights or fans when you leave a room? For all those who are perfect example of “old habits die hard” notion but are willing enough to adopt greener ways, California based Agilewaves has come up with a smart device- The Resource Monitor. The device is native integrated system which functions in real time to monitor the electricity, gas and water consumption of your house. With the real monitor, you can carry out your chores without being worried about a hefty bill at the end of the month as you can set specific monthly targets for consuming these three facilities. The device uses behaviorally-driven quantitative feedback by the users for effective monitory. It is fit for use inside homes and offices. Resource monitor displays the consumption details and carbon footprint of a household/office via a built-in touchscreen interface or a password protected web page.

As I already said, the system is a real time analyst so now you can get hourly details about the eco-footprints of your daily activities inside your home/office. This well-structured monitoring approach helps in tightening the noose over reckless consumptions and wasteful activities. The company says its latest resource monitor tracks the performance of major appliances and then, calculated the resource consumption room/floor wise. Features like Standard browser application, real time data display, intuitive graphic UI, temperature data in key locations, budget setting and trend analysis and visualize time-series data to name a few, make Resource Monitor the ultimate watchdog device. The appliance comes from a responsible software company and it looks after your social, environmental and financial performance in a well–organized and efficient manner. Well readers, I m thoroughly impressed and would certainly go for it! What about you?

Via: agilewaves

An ecofriendly cleansing way out has been proposed by Green Graffiti - only one of its kind medium striving to create a greener world. It’s emphasizing the point ‘Clean is green’ by promoting this new-fangled model. Basically the concept behind this cleaning process is to employ high pressure water sprayer for clearing out the dust and stain. Remarkable end is that the water aerosol utilized in this technique does not bring into play any carbon content. By way of immense forcing action this Green Graffiti cleansing product would make our things sparkling with no biases of carbon. Bestowed with all the green value, this artifact would undeniably appeal our green lovers.

Via TrendHunter

Keeping abreast with times in an eco-friendly manner was never so much in vogue as it is now. Here’s a simple, cool-looking timepiece from Bedol to bright up your work place or study table. The aqua blue colored digital watch is the result of Bedol International Group’s philosophy. The company has an eye for the latest in traditional household and office items that have an innovative design and fun-to-operate spin to them.

This latest product from Bedol needs no batteries for being operational. All you need to get this one ticking is a cup of water! Yes sir, the clock is hydro-powered and in the long run wouldn’t cost you much in terms of money and time to go out and purchase batteries! For the beginners, the blue color seems good enough but I hope in future we get to see this clock in other eco-friendly hues!

Via WaayTV