ENN: Environmental News Network -- Know Your Environment

Take-out food and sustainability - Is it even possible? Whether you pick up fast food for lunch or ice cream for dessert, the point of takeout is easy acquirement and disposability, not environment sustainability. But what happens to all the waste? If the waste is a plastic spoon it could take hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill. Luckily organizations like the National Resturant Foundation and innovative entrepreneurs are coming up with ways to make the food business more sustainable.

Peggy Cross, an entrepreneur and product packaging designer, founded EcoTensil as means to reduce “one taste plastic waste” (i.e. sample spoons used to taste test ice cream flavors or other in-store samples). Though carrying around usable utensils might be the most sustainable option, it is not always feasible. No one wants to be carrying around a dirty spoon in their bag. Plastic utensils can take hundreds of years to decompose and other bio degradable options like potato spoons can still take months to years to biodegrade. All four of EcoTensils products are made in the United States from renewable paperboard and are FSC certified as sustainably forested. EcoTensils are both recyclable and biodegradable making them easy and sustainable to dispose of.

EcoTensil’s smallest product, the EcoTaster takes only 3-5 weeks to biodegrade and won the award for Best Green Product at Natural Products Expo in 2010. The EcoTaster ,who’s texture resembles a milk carton, is a little trickier to use then a normal spoon but considering how much less of an impact it makes then a normal spoon is worth the trouble. Sustainability will be an important aspect to the future of the restaurant and food industry. According to the National Restaurant Association, 60 percent of consumers prefer to patronize restaurants that recycle, and 51 percent of consumers indicate that they are willing to pay more at restaurants that recycle. By using innovative products like the EcoTensil, not only will food related businesses be more appetizing to customers, but they will also be able to reduce their environmental footprint.

EcoTaster (top) vs. biodegradable spoon after 2 weeks

Image Credits : EcoTensil

by Maddie Perlman-Gabel

When reading about environmental news, you are  likely to find unhappy, unsettling and worrisome news much of time. Whether it be about a natural disaster that killed and/or injured thousands of people (did you hear about the man who lost his mother, wife and four children in Turkey’s earthquake? My heart breaks.) or about the annihilation of an animal species (Vietnam just lost its last Javan Rhino to poachers), there is plenty of sad news out there.

Luckily, I found a piece of news that made my day. A new study conducted by GFK Roper Consulting Greengauge reveals that Americans have become more knowledgeable about the environment. And not only do Americans know more  about environmental issues than they did two decade ago, but they are also more active in making ‘green’ choices.

The study, entitled “The Environment: Public Attitudes and Individual Behavior — A Twenty-Year Evolution,” is a follow-up to research conducted in 1990, which ”was the very first large-scale survey to measure both green attitudes and behavior,” according to the introduction. Two decades later, are Americans more informed about environmental issues - and are they more active in environmentally-friendly practices?

To answer the first question, yes. From the study:

Americans are in a much better place in terms of levels of environmental knowledge. Seventy-three percent of Americans say they know a lot or fair amount about environmental issues and problems - up 20 percentage points since 1995. In addition, fewer people now agree with the statement, -I am very confused about what’s good and what’s bad for the environment‖ (18% in 2011, down 21 percentage points since 1990).

From the study, via Gfk Roper

But before I get to the second question, I want to mention a point made in the study that I find to be very valid - despite the raised awareness about environmental topics, Americans now feel less empowered to take big steps in tackling or changing problems. The upside, however, is that more people feel like they can do small things to create change.

Americans are also doing more things to be green than they used to.

Over the past 20 years, there have been significant changes in specific behaviors. When compared to 1990, Americans are now much more likely to sort trash to separate garbage from recyclable material – 58% say they now do so on a regular basis. They are also more likely to buy products made from or packaged in recycled materials – 29% now say they do so on a regular basis. Lastly 18% of Americans cut back on their automobile usage on a regular basis.

I think that’s incredible, and I’m glad to see more people taking steps - no matter how small - to change many of our wasteful practices.

The study addresses other questions that I think are particularly relevant today, during tough economic times. For example, how do people feel about the trade-off between economic stability and dealing with environmental problems? Are they of equal importance, and/or should they be, in government policy?

To read the study, click here. A good summary can be found at PRWeb.

by Karina Grudnikov

When people are cooking at home, one would think that all you are paying for is the groceries to make the home-cooked meal. But, have you ever thought about how it actually costs to run your microwave or favorite espresso machine? Maryland-based firm Savenia Labs shows that some household technology cost more money to operate than other appliances.

The lab tested many common kitchen appliances from coffee makers to blenders based off of market research. The labs simply asked people, “What do you use to make food in your kitchen?” From there, the lab went and bought a whole bunch of appliances and tested it up to and past the code of the federal government’s Environmental Protection Agency. Savenia tests the machines for insulation, corrosion, and how much electricity is needed for the machine to run, among other things.

Courtesy of: SaveniaLabs.com

After the machines are tested, they are labeled with a sticker that notes the appliance’s carbon footprint, which measures the amount of carbon dioxide that the machine requires to run for its lifetime. The data for each product is also different because of the different power sources that are used to control items in various parts of the country. This testing goes along with the EPA’s testing for energy cost (the amount of energy used) over time, and how much a person’s financial cost will be to run the product.

When going out to buy a kitchen product, Savenia Labs suggests combining the actual cost of the appliance with its lifetime energy cost to determine whether to buy the product. Also, consumers can use more green technology from solar hot water heaters to wind-powered electricity. The lab also suggests that when going out to buy an appliance to think green, not in color, but in saving energy.

by Scott Sincoff

The dose-response relationship between physical activity and overall human health is not very well defined. That is, scientists are still unsure exactly how much physical activity any given person needs in order to keep their body healthy in the long term. To help shed light on this issue, a researcher in physical activity and public health, Guenther Samitz, based at the University of Vienna at the Centre for Sports Sciences and University Sports investigated this dose-response relationship involving more than 1.3 million people from Europe, Canada, the U.S., and Asia. Samitz and his colleagues used a meta-analysis, which combined the results of 80 individual studies over the course of about 11 years that addressed questions surrounding the dose-response issue.

As many of us already know, lack of physical activity could lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, depression, increased weight, and instances of cancer. With busy schedules, it can be difficult to find time or energy after work, school, or kids to dedicate to exercise. However, the study provides a good incentive to take the steps necessary to a healthy future.

What was found through the study by Samitz was that higher levels of physical activity were associated with lower all-cause mortality rates, and the more vigorously a person exercises, the lower their risk. Mortality is defined as chronic diseases and/or premature death. Of course, external factors like smoking, diet, social and educational factors also play a role in a person’s overall health and mortality. These factors were considered when reporting the results of the study.

What was also interesting about the results was that women tend to experience a greater benefit than men do when they incorporate light- to moderate-level leisure physical activity into their daily routines, such as gardening, biking, climbing stairs, or walking. Researchers were unclear as to why women benefit more than men do, but one hypothesis is that hormone levels and body fat distribution may play a role.  For both men and women, making the change from no activity to just one hour of light- to moderate-level physical activity per week showed a 4% reduction in mortality.

As expected, the more a person exercises per week, the lower the mortality rate they will experience. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 6% of deaths globally are attributed to physical inactivity. The WHO recommends 5 hours of activity per week for extended health benefits. These benefits, which were consistent with Samitz’s research, include a decrease in mortality risk by 19% for moderate-level activity, and 39% for vigorous-intensity aerobic activity and sports.

It isn’t that difficult to get started with increasing your daily physical activity. Simple activities like walking up the stairs rather than taking  the elevator, biking to the grocery store, joining an exercise class at a local gym or school, gardening, or taking the dog out one extra time per day can be beneficial.

Guenther Samitz explains, “…sedentary adults should start with moderate-intensity physical activities and slowly increase weekly dose and intensity, because in sedentary adults vigorous-intensity physical activity is associated with increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries and adverse cardiac events”

The results of the study have been published in International Journal of Epidemiology. You can read report’s abstract and full text here. More interesting and useful information can be found on the WHO website:  10 facts about physical activity.

Image Credits:

Andresr/Shutterstock

Warren Goldswain/Shutterstock

by Sara Stefanski

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans plan to spend 6.9 billion dollars this year on Halloween. Of this money about 2.5 billion will go to human costumes, about 300 million will go towards pet costumes, about 2 billion will go to candy and a little less then that will go towards Halloween decorations. That’s a lot of stuff that once Halloween is over will proabably never be used again.  But there are ways to reduce your eco footprint during Halloween. By reducing how much you consume you also reduce how much you waste.

Here is a short list of suggestions to reduce your eco imprint for halloween:

1. Costume Swap

-Instead of buying a new costume every year a costume swap would allow you to have a “fresh” costume without having to buy a new costume. Costume swapping is great for parents with kids of similar ages or if you are an adult who have friends with excellent taste but travel is different party circles for Halloween.  Though National Costume Swap Day already passed, it was scheduled for October 8th, it is still not to late to arrange on of your own.

2. Build a Costume from stuff you have around the house

-Homemade costumes can be simple or complex. Making a homemade costume can be as easy as taking an taking an stained shirt and splatter painting it so you look like a Pollock painintg or as complicated as taking old cardboard boxes you had been meaning to recycle and taping them together in order to make a transformers costume. For costume ideas I suggest the website Instructables.com, which includes a gallery of hundreds of creative home-made halloween costumes and the instructions on how to make them.

3. Buy Reusable or Recycleable Decorations

- By buying reusable Halloween decorations not only do you reduce your contribution to your local landfill but you also save money towards buying decorations next year. If you don’t plan on keeping your decorations instead use a more environmentally friendly decorations like a Jack-O-Latern (see next tip)

4. Get the Most Out of Your Pumpkin

- Your pumpkin can be used for more than just a Jack-O-Latern. Before you care your pumpkin use the insides for making toasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie,or pumpkin soup. And when Halloween is over the pumpkin can be used for compost.

These tips should help you have a fun, eco-friendly Halloween.

by Maddie Perlman-Gabel

Does going to bed on the early side make children healthy? A new study says that it does!

According to the October 1^st edition of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s journal, “SLEEP,” doctors recorded the bedtimes and wake-up times of over 2,200 youth and compared it with their weight and how they spent their free time over a span of four days.

Courtesy of:mychildhealth.net

The study, funded in part by the University of South Australia, said that mornings were more productive for youth than at night-time.

Youth do more activity if they wake up early, according to SLEEP, because it gives them energy for the day and also boosts their metabolism to live a healthier lifestyle.

The study shows that early sleepers/early risers said good night 70 to 90 minutes earlier than their counterparts. It also showed that they woke up about 60 to 80 minutes earlier. The early birds also received 27 minutes more of physical activity.

The study also shows that children who went to bed and woke up early received the same amount of sleep as the kids who went to bed late, and woke up late.

Even with this research, the study shows that youth are tempted to stay up late because they want to watch prime-time television shows. Also, the time period is when more youth hang out with their friends and not do productive physical activity.

The study also shows that late sleepers/late risers spend 48 more minutes playing video games or watching television than those who went to bed and awoke early. It also shows that their BMI (Body Mass Index) was higher, and are more considered to be overweight.

For more information on the SLEEP journal’s study, please visit the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s website at www.aasmnet.org.

by Scott Sincoff

On Saturday, Oct. 15, the Environmental Media Association held its 21st annual Environmental Media Awards in Burbank, Calif., sponsored by Toyota and Lexus. Since 1991, the EMA has honored the people and productions of Hollywood that are doing their part to share a ‘green’ message.

From the association’s website:

Producers, directors, actors, writers, musicians and celebrities nominated for an EMA Award share a passion for the environment. From serious documentary filmmakers to pop culture producers to socially conscious musicians and paparazzi-prone celebrities, they recognize the huge influence entertainment wields the public and use it to spread environmental awareness in ways both subtle and strong.

Awards are handed out in five categories: Feature Film, Television Episodic Comedy, Television Episodic Drama, Reality Primetime Program, Children’s Television Series and Documentary.

This year, Yogi Bear took the award in the Feature Film category, while Revenge of the Electric Car was the winning documentary. CSI: Creme Scene Investigation was the honored Television Episodic Drama for its episode “Fracked” and “The Futurama Holiday Spectacular” made Futurama a winner for Television Episodic Comedy.

Episode 188 of Real Time with Bill Maher and HGTV Green Home 2011 tied in the reality category. And in the last category of children’s programming, Bubble Guppies came out on top. (For a full list of nominees, click here.)

A special award called the EMA Futures Award was presented to musician and actor Justin Timberlake, for his eco-friendly Mirimichi golf course in Tennessee, according to Mother Nature Network. Other special awards included the EMA Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award, given to Marc Nathanson; the EMA Corporate Responsibility Award, awarded to Southern California Edison; and the EMA Green Production Award, won by PGA Green.

For a great recap of the 2011 Environmental Media Awards, visit Ecorazzi.

by Karina Grudnikov

Photo Credit: Green Mountain Coffee

OFFICES, HOMES, STARBUCKS and DUNKIN’ DONUTS NATIONWIDE — You’ve all seen them. You may have one in your home. Maybe there’s one in the breakroom at your workplace. They are easy to use, require almost no maintenance or cleaning and can have you sipping your morning joe before you can say “America Runs on Dunkin’.”

The Keurig single-cup coffee brewer is perhaps the best example of American lust — almost exclusively sated at the expense of the environment — for all things cheap and convenient.

Photo Credit: http://www.sustainableisgood.com/blog/2010/08/are-single-use-k-cups-responsible-packging.html

Keurig claims a pretty significant market share in the coffee world. According to its corporate profile, 2.5 million K-cup beverages are brewed in the homes and offices of North America daily, more than 2 billion of the tiny cups have been used since 1998 and 200,000 offices in North America have Keurig systems, boasting 6 percent of all coffee brewed in offices every day.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR, on its official letterhead) in Vermont is the exclusive distributor of the Keurig K-cups and it offers more than 200 varieties of coffee, tea, hot cocoa, cider, and iced beverages in wasteful one-serving cups. While the company enjoys a very “green” public perception, the K-cup seems to be the antithesis to sustainability. ecoRI News contacted GMCR’s vice president of corporate and social responsibility, Michael Dupee, to talk about the K-cup impact on our landfill and about the company’s green initiatives.

Dupee said that, when GMCR acquired Keurig, the sustainability of the K-cup became a high priority because, “We can’t ignore consumer perception, but it is a difficult technical challenge to create a package that is airtight, blocks light, and has the required thermal properties and rigidity necessary to function in the brewer.”

The company recently completed a life-cycle analysis on the K-cups, which is now being vetted by a third party.

For a continuation of this article and more information on GMCR’s green initiaves go to: http://www.ecori.org/front-page-journal/2011/10/11/the-keurig-k-cup-konundrum.html

By DAVE FISHER/ecoRI News staff

by Editor

This past Friday, California governor Jerry Brown announced the passing of a new law that many environmentalists (as well as sharp-toothed, finned ocean creatures) should be exuberant about: a ban on the sale or use of shark fins, starting on Jan. 1, 2012.

Shark fin soup

So what is shark finning? According to OceanicDefense.org, it is the “removal and retention of shark fins and the discard at sea of the carcass,” which is done so that the fishermen don’t have to be inconvenienced with transporting the entire shark. The shark is usually still alive after the finning process and as it falls to the bottom of the water, where it has no chance of survival without its fins. OceanicDefense points out that this happens to approximately 100 million sharks each year - no age or species spared.

This is clearly a brutal practice, one that Brown described well in a statement about the passing of California’s law, titled AB376.

“The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans,” said Governor Brown. “Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing. In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

California follows the lead of several other states (Hawaii, Oregon and Washington) with the ban. The practice is also illegal in Guam.

So what’s the point of torturing sharks for their fins? According to SharkSavers.org, “shark fin soup is served by well-meaning hosts at business dinners, banquets, and weddings in Chinese societies throughout the world,” as it is considered a “source of good health and a symbol of prosperity.” But along with how destructive its production is for the shark population, the soup is also quite unhealthy due to high levels of mercury.

I commend Gov. Jerry Brown for signing this new law; however, I must point out that it isn’t perfect. The Washington Post mentions:

Brown signed another bill… AB853, that allows existing stocks of on-hand shark fins to be sold until July 1, 2013. It also makes it clear that sport fishermen who catch a shark can still eat the fin or have the shark stuffed and mounted as a trophy.

It also clarifies that the ban would not affect stuffing and mounting of sharks, nor the donation of fins to research or medical institutions.

Still, this was a much-needed law and I hope that it makes a significant dent in the shark finning industry.

Image via Flickr user nyaa_birdies_perch.

by Karina Grudnikov

Courtesy of: Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand Government

It is always heartening to read about companies trying to improve the state of the world’s fisheries and thereby ocean ecosystems. Latest in the line-up of pro-ocean establishments is the Darden Restaurant chain that owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

At the Clinton Global Initiative’s (CGI) seventh annual meeting last week, the Darden company formally announced its three-year commitment to rebuilding troubled fisheries through Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs). The initial FIPs will be in the Gulf of Mexico in partnership with Publix Super Markets and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).

CGI’s Commitments to Action program encourages members to propose concrete ideas to address global challenges. Darden’s submission, entitled “Catalyzing Industry to Rebuild World Fisheries,” was chosen for its approach to addressing challenges in the environment and energy sector as well as commitments to combat illegal fishing, enhance productivity and reduce negative ecological impact.

Jim Cannon, CEO said: “As one of the largest buyers of seafood in the world, Darden is an industry leader in supporting healthy ecosystems for future generations. Through this commitment, Darden is taking action to create change within the seafood supply chain by building alliances with governments, conservation advocates, and communities to develop and implement fishery improvement. We hope others will look at what Darden has achieved and committed to, and as a result, take action.”

For more information, go to: http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/09/darden-restaurants-form-partnerships-improve-world-fisheries/

by Scott Sincoff