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60 Minutes Covers Global E-Waste Scandal this Sunday
2008-11-07 12:50:11 UTC
60 Minutes will be airing a segment on the global toxic trade in e-waste this Sunday.
Preview story and video online at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/06/60minutes/main4579229.shtml
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, CO USA
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax
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Re: Origin of CO2 in soda
2007-04-28 13:18:42 UTC
I hope I don't come across as a crank here, but there are more immediate social & environmental reasons to stop drinking soda than greenhouse gas contribution: -- poor recovery of soda containers for recycling everywhere (except maybe in bottle bill locales) -- depletion of complex natural habitats denuded to grow monocultural crops - sugar cane or sugar beet - and the underpaid labor issues associated with such crops -- adverse impacts on publicly owned wastewater treatment systems of private soda manufacturing (and that's in countries that control wastewater, think about China!) -- absolutely no nutritive value - in US, contributing to obestity/diabetes epidemic as folks get hooked (beer at least has B vitamins) -- some evidence that soda depletes nutrients from your bones -- diversion of water - a valuable natural resource - to non-nutritive uses
Anne Colorado,
USA -
Re: Positive vs. negative images
2007-04-19 10:32:19 UTC
Here's another observation to support this thread. In the U.S., during the Depression (1930s), unemployment was widespread, industrialization had stalled, and innovation was lagging. A US agency, the Works Progress Admin., commissioned large murals in many public buildings that depicted the world folks were longing for: busy, prosperous - roads, bridges, airplanes, trucks, cars & trains everywhere; abundant farms; humming factories; thriving cities - and the laborer proudly straddling these works of man, providing for his family. (It engendered a distinctive art style as well, for you art historians.) Just go through any big city in the past 30 years and you will realize those WPA murals came true - that vision became manifest. No one envisioned the dark side of this in the '30s however - widespread pollution, environmental injustices, etc etc! Now if we can only embed a well-embroidered vision of the world as green, sustainable, and equitable into public consciousness, to meet a longing for that experience! (And try to imagine the unintended consequences of this as well)
Anne Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, Colorado USA -
Re: thinking more about using television
2007-03-07 10:35:56 UTC
Paul, Re your last point: The advertising industry has very detailed data on exactly how people repsond to various ads. I don't work in that field but once saw a presentation (given to electric utility marketing executives, buyers of TV ad time) showing exactly how heart rate and other biometrics responded, second-by-second, throughout a TV commercial. This information was used to re-craft ads to get very very specific responses. Their tools are very sophisticated, drawing on all the social sciences, medical science, etc. Most of the huge ad agencies now have sub-practices called "socially responsible" advertising. An ad exec from one of the big ones spoke to the US National Recycling Coalition conference a few years ago (who are working on re-branding recycling here) and said "by being in this practice, I get to work in advertising but not go to hell," which says a lot about even how the ad world views its own work... It would be great to get more input on advertising & sustainability from advertising professionals who know exactly how to induce alpha states, desired aspirational behavior change, etc.
Anne Boulder,
CO USA Gracestone, Inc. -
Re: thinking more about using television
2007-03-01 09:15:27 UTC
Check the archives. I posted a link to a great article in the New Yorker magazine last fall on this topic - on how Mexican & South American social change folks were working behavior change messages into telenovelas (soap operas) - public health practices mostly - with great success. But same techniques could be used for enviro. behavior change messages.
Anne Boulder,
CO USA Gracestone, Inc. -
Re: eco footprint of computers
2007-02-18 20:47:07 UTC
Energy-wise, and wear-and-tear-wise, it's better to turn computers off at night, weekends, or whenver not in use. I think it was the energy group at Lawrence Berkeley Lab that did this study but don't have the reference - you could poke around their website to see if it's there. Note that for many computers, even when they're turned "off" they still draw some power. Many folks put them on power strips and then turn off the power strip to avoid that "vampire" power use. An experiment as you described is always a good idea. Remind them to check around the facility for all the other types of equipment that may not get fully turned off (TVs, printers, peripherals, etc.)
Anne Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, CO USA
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax -
Re: Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions (related to energy use)
2006-11-02 08:35:52 UTC
Analise,
These numbers didn't come out lined up well - can't really tell what's what - I've left some of this inline here -- maybe it's just my email client but others may have this problem too. Can you either send me directly a document with this information or send the specific web page? The general link at the end of your posting - could not find this on there. Looks like good data - I assume this is all Cn$$, right?
thanks,
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, Colorado USA
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax -
Re: Need information on glass recycling project as a social enterprise for a nonprofit
2006-09-27 17:53:09 UTC
Not to add a question to the original question but -- Has anyone done research on barriers to use of glass as a substitute for aggregate, in asphalt? "Glassphalt" is viable end market for glass. I am looking for this as part of a research project. The answers might be helpful to Melissa, who started this thread.
thanks,
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, Colorado USA
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax -
Re: environmental literacy
2006-08-29 07:17:40 UTC
And I thought it was a really good rant Bill! Thanks for going after imprecise & muddle-headed thinking. (We met maybe ten years ago when you did a round with RW Beck & came up to Denver, had lunch etc. I'm consulting on my own these days. I hope you are well.)
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc. Boulder, CO
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax -
Re: Bicycle lanes - and enviro/social benefits
2006-07-25 15:35:50 UTC
A professor at University of Denver in Colorado, USA - Dr. Bob Amme - is doing pilot tests and research on the use of rubberized asphalt in bike/pedestrian paths, with good successs. This would be another angle of social benefit to calculate on value of bike paths - creating an end market for scrap tires (which are very problematic when dumped illegally and a problem in landfills). His email is ramme@du.edu for more information. (Bob, read from the bottom up to see why I thought of you. FSB is a great listserve).
Anne Peters
Gracestone, Inc.
Boulder, CO USA
303.494.4934 vox
303.494.4880 fax
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