Bamboo

It seems that Ethiopia is about to leave its mark in the flooring industry along with the United States and Europe. However, Ethiopia will not be using the common resource like wood, instead it will be using bamboo. Apparently, Ethiopia is going to revolutionize the market by using bamboo, a very abundant resource in this country.

Acquired At: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/2006-10-01/The-Lowdown-on-Bamboo-Flooring.aspx#axzz2QksRGH2H

Currently, Ethiopia has one million acres of bamboo, making it the largest region of unexploited bamboo in East Africa. This has some bamboo industries wanting to invest for what seems to be a gold mine. A European partnership will plan to invest 10 million euros for five years, which will luckily supply flooring products to United States and Europe’s markets. This company will first try to export 100,000 square meters of flooring in 2014, then by 2016 it will export up to 500, 000 square miles (McKenna).

Acquired At: http://www.motherearthnews.com/biz-bulletins/teragren-bamboo-flooring.aspx#axzz2QksRGH2H

Presently, bamboo is becoming an important resource in the flooring industry because it surpasses wood for many reasons. First, bamboo matures much more quickly than wood. While wood takes 30 years to mature, it only takes bamboo 3 years, which is great for businesses because time is of the essence. The second and third reasons are, bamboo is much more eco-friendly and reduces the number of trees consumed, which is essential in Africa. According to McKenna, the carbon emissions released by burning timber will reach 6.7 million tons by 2050 in Africa, and this is somewhat due to 90% of the population located in Sub-Saharan because they cook with wood (McKenna). 

Africa as a whole, along with Ethiopia will try to reduce the use of timber and other non-renewable resources. Hopefully they will succeed with this eco-friendly and abundant resource, bamboo.

Works Cited

McKenna, Ed. "Ethiopia Leads the Bamboo Revolution." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/10/ethopia-bamboo>.

Peru: A Cleaner Forest

In a post before this one, I wrote about the Peruvian night monkey and the destruction of its habitat, due in part to human activity.

Peru has now indicated a “state of emergency” in parts of its northern rainforests where oil fields are located and operated by Pluspetrol, an Argentinian corporation. A new law was implemented this Monday requiring suitable standards for pollution in surrounding soils, and “officials” agree this will make a difference (Collyns).

 

Acquired At: https://www.theengineroom.org/mining-companies-are-contaminating-your-water-supply-what-do-you-do/

 

According to the Peruvian government, since 2001, when Pluspetrol started operating, contaminates released into the surroundings were never cleaned. In the Pastaza river basin, where the borders of Peru and Ecuador link, the indigenous Anchuar and Kichwa people have lived in poor conditions for too long. The environmental ministry of Peru has stated, from tests performed in February and March, that “[…] high levels of barium, lead, chrome and petroleum-related compounds […]” were found in Pastaza (Collyns).

 

The environmental ministry of Peru has given Pluspetrol 90 days to clean and reduce contaminates that were exposed to the surrounding public.  Fortunately, the government has finally decided to solve the issue involving the north, for for some time the government “[…] lacked the required environmental quality standards” (Collyns).

Andrew Miller (a Peru campaigner for Amazon Watch) states that thanks to the indigenous people and Congress, proper action was taken in time.

 

Works Citied

Collyns, Dan. "Peru Declares Environmental State of Emergency in Its Rainforest." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/26/peru-declares-environmental-emergency-rainforest>.

The Peruvian Night Monkey

It seems that the Peruvian night monkey is in danger of losing its home due to disappearing forests. “The FAO estimates that [Peru] loses somewhere between 224,000 and 300,000 hectares of forest per year […]”. Unfortunately, illegal logging is also a leading cause of deforestation, accounting for 95% of logging. Why is illegal logging so high in Peru? Well, it is mainly due to the valuable mahogany located in its forests (Peru).

Acquired At: http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/index.php/Tarantula-Habitats/Rainforest-deforestation-Peru

Due to the greed for valuable wood, the Peruvian night monkey is suffering the possible loss of its home. As stated by Jeremy Hance, the Peruvian night monkeys are not well known in the world, but recent research has allowed the world to understand the monkey’s natural behaviors. For example, these monkeys tend to not stay in a single location rather they travel from one location to another (Hance).According to Jeremy Hance, Peruvian night monkeys are “[…] capable of surviving in highly-fragmented forests”. Furthermore, researchers found that a family of 6 monkeys were capable of sustaining themselves in smaller territories, 3.4 acres (Hance).

Although this may be true, can this justify the destruction of the Peruvian night monkey’s habitat? Sooner or later these monkeys will lose their food supply and habitat, which will lead them to the point of extinction. 

Works Cited

Hance, Jeremy. "Peruvian Night Monkey Threatened by Vanishing Forests, Lost Corridors." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/19/peruvian-night-monkey-threatened>.

"Peru: Environmental Profile." Peru: Environmental Profile. Mogabay.com, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. <http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20peru.htm>.

The Coral Reefs

Did you know Coral reefs are currently endangered? Accounting for only about 1% of the marine environment, coral reefs provide a home to 25% of marine life. “Coral reefs are mostly found in clear, shallow, warm waters where sunlight can penetrate and provide nutrients to the algae that sustains coral” (Earthjustice…).Coral reefs provide humans with many benefits such as barriers to coastal communities, and chemical compounds extracted from corals provide medicine for cancer, AIDS, and other ailments, but we are not protecting them like we should (Earthjustice…).

Acquired At: http://reimaginingdisney.blogspot.com/2012/12/animal-kingdom-part-3-south-america-and.html

Humans have caused major damage to coral reefs, which may be irreversible due to pollution, climate change, and trash. Unfortunately, one fifth of the corals have been wiped-out and recovering them will be difficult. Some predications indicate that the remaining coral reefs will disappear by 2050(Endangered Corals). Coral Reefs are important to marine ecosystems and losing them will be a disaster that we will hopefully not witness.

As the human population grows so will our negative impact on coral reefs. However, if we act now we will be able to save the reefs and the organisms that depend on them.

 

Works Citied

"Earthjustice: Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer." Earthjustice. Earthjustice, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. <http://earthjustice.org/irreplaceable/coral_reef?gclid=CMSyw7_V4bUCFY6e4AodiEwAeA>.

"Endangered Corals." TakePart. Disneynatureoceans, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. <http://www.takepart.com/oceans/coral>.

Latro

In a post before this one, I wrote about a solar lantern that would help provide light through renewable energy. Now, I read an article about a lamp that has the ability to produce electricity through your water, algae, and your breath. Mike Thompson, the creator of the lamp Latro, states it is a living and breathing product, synthesized from both nature and technology (Alter). Furthermore, he states that cultivating the algae was a simple task that required only carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight.

Acquired At: http://www.designboom.com/design/mike-thompson-latro-algae-lamp/

So when does your breath come into play, you ask? Well, when you inhale oxygen your red blood cells absorb it and then those cells expel a waste product, known as carbon dioxide, a component needed to activate photosynthesis. So basically what you do is just offer a bit of your breath to the algae in the lamp, and then photosynthesis begins to produce electricity for the lamp to use.

Acquired At: http://www.designboom.com/design/mike-thompson-latro-algae-lamp/

Mike Thompson states that the owners of Latro should treat this lamp, which contain the algae, like pets because they have to be taken care of and fed. I believe this is a  great and very useful discovery, for it provides a new type of energy source.

 

Works Cited

Alter, Lloyd. "Amazing Lamp Powered by Algae, Water, and Your Breath." TreeHugger. Treehugger, 8 June 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.treehugger.com/interior-design/amazing-lamp-powered-by-algae-water-and-your-breath.html>.

Luci

In the United States some people take for granted the most basic necessities, such as electricity for lights. Unfortunately, many people in the world, approximately 3 billion, cannot afford this basic need, causing them to cook, study, and bath in the dark. The only resources they have to see in the dark are kerosene lamps, oil lamps, and candles which cannot compare to standard light bulbs. According, to MPOWERD this type of energy poverty is unacceptable in this century (Markham).

Acquired At:  http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/buy-one-give-one-solar-lamp-luci.html

MPOWERD, or Micro Power Design, has invented a solar-powered lantern, called Luci that provides clean, dependable lighting to those who are not connected to the grid (Markham). What is great about it is its ability to deliver up to 12 hours of energy in an 8 hour charge. Furthermore, it only weighs 4.5 ounces and can easily be hung on the wall or ceiling (Markham). The creation of this lantern will be greatly beneficial to people who cannot afford electricity, for it can be charged by solar energy and lasts half a day when charged. By the way, this lantern has other purposes too; it can be used as a flashlight or used while camping.

Being able to provide light to people who cannot afford it is great, and being able to provide it through renewable energy is even better.

 

Works Cited

Markham, Derek. "Meet Luci, the Solar Lantern That Shines a Light on Energy Poverty."   TreeHugger. Treehugger, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/buy-one-give-one-solar-lamp-luci.html>.

 

 

 

Floating Islands

Water pollution is becoming a clear problem in the United States, due in part to farmers planting and maintaining their crops. In Upper Mississippi, nitrogen and phosphate from crop fertilizer has seeped into rivers and streams without it being filtrated naturally by the surrounding environment. Furthermore, this problem is also critical in Iowa, where the polluted water can reach the Gulf of Mexico, causing anything within 6,700 square miles to die and costing fisheries 2.8 billion dollars a year(Palmer). What can we do?

                                      (Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico that spans 6,700 square miles )

Acquired At: http://www.louisianaseafoodnews.com/2011/11/02/dead-zone-affects-fisheries-in-the-northern-gulf-of-mexico/

 

Preservationists have filed lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency to create stricter standards for phosphate and nitrogen runoffs (Palmer). Resulting from these lawsuits, farmers have created their own solution to the problem: floating islands. Floating islands would be used for filtration; the contaminated water would go through the islands and filtrate all the nitrogen and phosphate before it enters rivers. According to Charles Theiling, a hydrological specialist for the Army Corps of Engineers in Davenport, Iowa, these floating islands will mimic wetlands, which have done this for many years(Palmer).

Acquired At: http://www.floatingislandinternational.com/products/biohaven-technology/

By the way these islands are built from recycled soda bottles and grown with native plants from the area. Additionally, these floating islands will only serve a temporary solution to water contamination; there still needs to be a definite solution for this problem. However, a company called Floating Island International is probably trying to make floating islands part of the solution. This business has created floating islands the size of a backyard, called BioHaven (Palmer). They serve the same purpose as a normal floating island, but they are much bigger.

Works Cited

Palmer, Lisa. "Floating Islands to the Rescue." Green Floating Islands to the Rescue Comments. New York Times, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. <http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/floating-islands-to-the-rescue/>.