Here’s a new building material that is not just carbon neutral, but is actually carbon negative. What makes it carbon negative? There is more CO2 locked-up in the process of growing and harvesting of the hemp than is released in the production of the lime binder.

Hemcrete® is 100% recyclable, is seven times stronger than concrete, weighs half as much, and is less prone to cracking. It’s also waterproof, fireproof, insulates well, and does not rot. Demolished Hemcrete® walls can actually be used as fertilizer.

Hemcrete® has been available in the UK for years but it’ll take a while before it hits North America since it’s currently illegal to grow the species of hemp used in the mixture (although I’m not sure if it’s illegal in Canada… hmmm). If the market in Europe becomes profitable though, it’s likely that lawmakers might re-access their own laws to consider this alternative building material as well.

I’ve been sitting on this blog post for a while now and it almost got left unpublished. I came across it just after getting back from San Diego Comic Con. I spent a week there, exhausting myself to new degrees of human fatigue… and I loved it! So, when I saw a new post in my RSS feed titled “Dark Horse Goes Green” supported with a comic strip promoting it, I was enthusiastic!

“Of course! why NOT?!” I thought. Comics are paper, right, so using recycled paper, or partly recycled paper might make sense–at least in concept.

I was wrong.

As I read the companion strip my enthusiasm turned to over-whelming disappointment. The concept of “greenwashing” has been a topic I’ve been talking to Nikki about for almost a year. I’ve wanted to write an article about greenwashing after collecting dozens and dozens of news posts over the last year. Then the topic seemed to loose some steam in the blogging world and I thought: “Hum… maybe companies are aware of their deceptive or ignorant practices and smartening up.”

Then this: Not only did a respectable company like Dark Horse take a leader step forward, commanding respect and encouraging others to follow… they also did it wrong and even backed up their reasons for NOT going green! Absurd! Especially when tied to a green PR stunt meant to draw the awareness of green enthusiasts.

Just to break down what “greenwashing” is for people who are new to the term (including those at Dark Horse marketing presumably), here’s a definition:

Greenwashing is a term used to describe the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly. It is a deceptive use of green PR or green marketing.

Let me breakdown the ways Dark Horse and the strip above wantonly stride with ignorant abandon into the land of greenwashing:

1. High-quality bags: At the con, “schwag bags” are handed out like Halloween candy to Con-goers with seemingly endless sweettooths to take EVERY bag they pass by. Dark Horse making “high-quality reusable bags” isn’t that big a deal. The argument that they aren’t “plastic bags that’ll go in the trash” doesn’t make them bags that WON’T go in the trash by those who have no interest in keeping a dozen bags from different companies with promo art on them after they get home from the Con. I, for example, have high-quality PLASTIC bags that I reuse constantly as grocery bags. Some of the plastic bags I saw being handed out at the Con were equally reusable by those with the mindset to REUSE them. It’s not the bag’s material–it’s the bag holder’s choice.
2. What else does Dark Horse do for the planet: They have their comics on Myspace and the iPhone. Congratulations. This isn’t being done to “help the planet”, so please Dark Horse, don’t lie to yourselves and don’t confuse consumers. These same comics are also printed. The online options are just that: Options. They don’t fully replace paper comics, they help reach new readers who might come into a comic store and buy paper comics. If they were series that were ONLY digital, then they win this point. If not… shame… moving on…
3. But Dark Horse still prints comics! What about all the waste!?: Comics become waste. Sure, there are collectors who will save them for decades (and eventually over a century when their kids take the collections over), but at the end of the day: Comics are a waste product. Just like G.I. Joe toys, He-Man toys, My Little Ponies toys, vinyl records, stamps, Bazooka Joe bubble gum strips–you get the point I hope. An object “being a collectible” doesn’t exempt it from eventually going the way of the trash bin, or recycling bin.
4. Trying recycled paper, but it’s not good enough quality: Thinking it’s OK to use virgin paper for comics because you THINK they aren’t “bound for the landfill” doesn’t mean that the possibility they WON’T end up in a landfill doesn’t exists. You’re ignorant otherwise.
5. Paper is recyclable: Congratulations for pointing that out. Defending the choice to print on virgin paper by saying it “is a renewable resource” does NOT make your actions green! You know what ELSE is a renewable resource? RECYCLED paper… oh right… too bad you aren’t happy with the paper stock. Fail.
6. At Dark Horse, they love the environment: This may be true… but don’t PR that you’re “going green”. This is not acceptable from a publishing company with such a great history in the industry. It’s disappointing to someone who considers this publisher to be one of the comic industry “lead voices”. Doing something like this is a huge strike against the company from my opinion–and that sucks for me to say.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to suggest that Dark Horse’s intentions weren’t good. They jumped onto the green choo-choo train without having a better strategy than the one above. As a comic book lover, I’m a fan of good quality books, sure–I love books that stay in good condition for as long as possible. Any book. Would I purchase a comic on less quality comic paper? Sure, just make it cheaper as well. Would I purchase ONLY digital comics if the right technology was out to support it–cough Quicksilver cough–abso-frikkin-lutley. But I’d still by the trades for the collections I liked.

There’s always going to be paper products for people like me. I wouldn’t want publishers like Dark Horse or any other to change their distribution model to 100% digital. What I would like to see though is companies of all kinds to STOP this kind of Green PR tactic just to be part of the trend train. Think before your market.

“Nike has set a great precedent for Timberland, Adidas, Reebok, and Clarks to follow,” said Greenpeace forests campaigner Lindsey Allen. “Brazil’s cattle industry, which supplies leather for shoes, is responsible for about 80 percent of all deforestation in the Amazon. In fact, the Brazilian cattle industry is the largest single source of deforestation anywhere in the world. And deforestation in turn causes one-fifth of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, more than all the world’s cars, trucks, trains, planes, and ships combined.”

You can read the detailed Greenpeace article on this topic on their website.

It always affects me negatively when I read headlines that seem to be degrading to the human race in general. I sit baffled at my computer reading and wondering: But how?! HOW can this be an issue considering what goes into STOPPING it from happening? It can’t be a question of organizations saying “we need more money”–I mean, it just can’t, not in my opinion–and I want to stress that this is all it is!

I’m not a professional statistician or world-wide animal activist or committee head. I’m just a guy frustrated at the human race. Most people spend their time concerned about themselves and getting ahead in life that they forget that parts of the world are in trouble until it’s plastered all over CNN or Fox News.

So let me start this blog post very simply, with statistics that are easy to scan over and consume. The short of it is that rhino poaching worldwide is poised to hit a 15-year-high driven by Asian demand for horns which for the most part are believed to have medicinal value. The report was presented by the WWF, IUCN, and TRAFFIC to the 58th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Standing Committee in Geneva (July 6-10, 2009) and further discussed at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, which will be held in Doha, Qatar March 13-25, 2010. The call to actions was for local governments to acquire “an accurate and up-to-date picture of the status, conservation and trade in African and Asian rhinoceroses … so that firm international action can be taken to arrest this immediate threat to rhinoceros populations worldwide.”

Here is a breakdown of other stats I’ve gathered online:

• An estimated three rhinos were illegally killed each month in all of Africa from 2000-05, out of a population of around 18,000. In contrast, 12 rhinoceroses now are being poached each month in South Africa and Zimbabwe alone (WWF)
• Growing evidence of involvement of Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai nationals in the illegal procurement and transport of rhino horn out of Africa. (WWF)
• Rhino poaching is also problematic in Asia. About 10 rhinos have been poached in India and at least seven in Nepal since January alone—out of a combined population of only 2,400 endangered rhinos. (WWF)
• Almost all rhino species are listed in CITES (the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in Appendix I, which means that any international trade of any rhino parts for commercial purposes is illegal. (WWF)
• Increased demand for rhino horn, alongside a lack of law enforcement, a low level of prosecutions for poachers who are actually arrested. (Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC)
  • In September 2008, a gang of four Zimbabwean poachers who admitted to killing 18 rhinos were also freed in a failed judiciary process.
• The biggest threat to the surviving five species of rhino in Africa and Asia is poaching for their horns to make into traditional Oriental medicine. It is also used for the handles of ceremonial daggers. (Save the Rhino Foundation)
• The current international moratorium on rhino horn trade did not prevent officially permitted hunts taking place – “but the hunters will not be able to sell these horns”. (Dr Dave Balfour, a senior official at the Eastern Cape Parks Board)
• In one case, the rhino horns are suspected to have been sold to the eastern market between R18 000 to R25 000 a kilogram with the horns weighing between 8 – 11 kilograms. (TravelWires.com)

There needs to be a proper punishment for poaching. Plain and simple. These animals are endangered species, none of this should be going on. I’ve read comments on some of the blogs posting the WWF news by individuals who are ignorant enough to believe it doesn’t matter and that people come first. Listen, this isn’t about starving people–that’s it’s own problem (mainly caused by crappy distribution models, not a lack of food in the world). This is about preserving life in the general sense to reflect on the positive aspects of what it means to be human. It’s about breaking laws, especially internationally accepted laws. And finally it’s about inhumane actions that have no place in this world, against people or otherwise. Period.

Rhino horn poaching persists because the punishment for getting caught still makes it a profitable opportunity. In January 2009, a joint operation by various disciplines of the South African Police Service including the Mpumalanga, Limpopo & North West Organised Crime Units, the Gauteng Provincial Task Team together with South African National Parks who have arrested and charged 11 suspects of various nationalities in connection with the poaching of black and white Rhino. With the assistance of a dedicated specialized prosecutor the team is attempting to securing convictions as well as the severest punishment possible for all the suspects.

Here’s to hoping that the upcoming discussions at the international meetup Conferences helps start a new trend in international laws that benefitthe preservation of endangered species.

Sources:

• World Wildlife Foundation
• International Rhino Foundation
• TravelWires.com

Creative Commons Attribution: “White Rhinos“, Flickr, Martin Pettitt

Indeed, 50,000 signatures–the petition’s goal–does seem small in that context.  Perhaps it will mean nothing.

But consider it in another context: It’s 50,000 people who are aware of the situation.  And if those 50,000 people care enough to sign, chances are they’re going to tell at least 1 other person.  Maybe they’ll talk about it over dinner, blog about it, twitter it, or spread the word over some other form of online media.  That suddenly becomes 100,000 people or more!

All the awareness has to do is hit the right person or people with the power to make this issue a trend for public consideration, and BAM suddenly the Icelandic Minister of Fisheries, Jon Bjnarason, WILL have something to worry about!   That is what happens when an issue becomes a part of the public eye.  That’s how the green movement picked up steam in the first place; hitting mainstream public consciousness.  Now look at how quickly the demand for change and the markets for eco-friendly products are expanding!

Of course the issue is a lot more complicated than just banning whale-hunting.  The commercialization of the industry allows Iceland to profit off of sale of whale meat domestically and to Japan, creating economic benefits that are hard to ignore.  However, it is fair to hope that the outrage at the bloody hunt will at least cause consideration of other alternatives, such as expanding the tourism industry with respect to whale watching.

In any case, a movement for change has to start somewhere, and I for one am encouraged by the idea of 50,000 people uniting on this issue.  It’s an example of how important one individual’s actions can be when it inspires many others to take action about a cause.  As these small, individual actions begin to aggregate, we start to change the world.

On that note, whether you’re on Twitter or not, check out Green Acts as an example of what I just said.  The site’s concept is to take all of the tweets on Twitter tagged #gract and aggregate them to show statistically how many people are taking action to care about the world–small or large.  Compiled, it’s pretty inspiring.

As Margaret Mead once said (and I’ve asserted before on The Green Rocket in a similar discussion (about being an agent of change):

Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Why hire a guy on a lawnmower when you can rent 200 goats to do the same job? I’d have to imagine going the gas-powered lawn mower route would b the cheaper option–but for Google, making a statement about the environment goes side by side with their company slogan of “Do no Evil”.

Google’s Mountain View headquarters is taking a low-carbon approach this spring by swarming their fields with a weed-chewing and bio-fertalizing alternative to lawn care. These rented goats come from California Grazing, where they drop them off for a week to do the dirty work of… well be a goat.

Hey, I have to respect their eagerness to be green friendly. Google just does not kid around! (Get it? “kid” around?… baby goat…? no…? Ya that was lamb lame.)

The legal term for these actions is: Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing… but the more mundane tern “pirate fishing” (with obvious negative connotations applied) is what gets the message across more rapidly. According to Greenpeace:

In the Southern Pacific, pirate fishing for the prized Patagonia toothfish (also known as “sea bass”) has driven the species to the brink of commercial extinction. Illegal fleets catching the remaining toothfish here are predominantly controlled by northern hemisphere transnational crime syndicates.

You can find out more about Greenpeace’s discoveries and research by reading the full Greenpeace article there.

A big story from last week–and an absolutely abhorrent one in my eyes–was Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Einar Gudfinnsson decision to increase Iceland’s annual quota to 100 minke whales and 150 fin whales; all in an effort to resolve Iceland’s financial situation. This choice comes just before the Icelandic government resigned, following widespread protests over its handling of the financial crisis.

It’s no surprise that this action would cause an uproar around the world. Greenpeace International Whales Campaign coordinator Sara Holden had the following to say:

The outgoing Icelandic government’s whaling quota increase is a shameless stunt that has nothing to do with use of natural resources, and everything to do with politics. Greenpeace joins the Icelandic tourism industry in urging that the new interim government reverses the quota increase and instead focuses on real solutions that promote the beauty of Iceland’s environment – such as tourism and whale watching.

Greenpeace International Executive Director Gerd Leipold has now written to members of Iceland’s new interim government with some facts concerning an alternative way of dealing with this misguided action. It seems that if the new government can focus on the tourism potential of their whale population, the financial crisis has a better (more reasonable) way of being solved.

Facts Against the Whaling Market:

• The minke meat imported from Norway, which accompanied the exported Icelandic fin whale meat, as of January 2009 has still not cleared customs. Part of the fin whale shipment remains unsold, seven months after it was air-freighted to Japan.
• Most whales caught by Japan in the North Pacific and all whales caught in the Antarctic are processed on board one factory ship, the Nisshin Maru. The company which operates the factory ship is in charge of marketing all whale meat from these operations and so controls the market. This company will not welcome competition from Iceland or Norway given that the market is already saturated and produce is hard to sell. The whaling company’s first priority is to sell its own product – it is clearly unable to do so, as the backlog and the scaling back of this year’s catch demonstrate.

Facts forWhale Watching Tourism:

• Even a small increase in tourists going to Iceland for whale watching will create and secure more jobs and more money than whaling. Last year about 115,000 people went whale watching in Iceland. Over 20 per cent of these stated whale watching as an important reason for coming to Iceland, spending millions of US dollars in revenue in the process. A further 115,000 people have signed a pledge stating that they will consider visiting Iceland if Iceland stops whaling.
• Tourism in general and whale watching in particular promote the beauty of Iceland’s environment, and are worth far more to the Icelandic economy than whaling is or ever can be. The image of Iceland as an industrial whaling nation, in the business of catching whales and shipping them around the world for consumption as luxury goods, will certainly not help promote tourism or Iceland’s image internationally.

Note: This is a blog post, not an article, and therefore is definitely one-sided–as can be gleamed from the title of this post.

When one considers the reluctance of the US to be anything close to a friend of ally against environmental policies on a world affecting scale, it’s tough to imagine President Obama has an easy path to walk ahead. Well, difficulties aside, it really DOES begin with actually taking the steps! [Below Points gathered from Globe-Net.com]

• He signed an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to re-examine whether states should be allowed to impose their own tougher auto emission standards.
• He has also announced a task force with a first order of business to find ways to create new jobs that pay well; reduce pollution; and lessen America’s reliance on foreign oil.
• He has ordered quicker and new efforts to make appliances more energy efficient.  The thinking is that more energy efficient appliances like stoves, lamps, dishwashers, washers and dryers will save consumers money and help with the stimulus of the economy.

[View Video on YouTube]

This giant tortoise was one of the four that went extinct over the last 150 years. The early extinction process was due to the early whaling expiditions of the 18th and 19th century. Buccaneers would harvest the tortoises as a way to replenish reduced food supplies or extract their fat for lantern oil. The log books of these early voyages records more than 250,000 tortoises where harvested for these purposes.

The remarkable part of this story of possibility is that the same ships unloaded their tortoise cargo on the island of Isabela, in the Galapagos, when sailing to plentiful whaling grounds. These giant tortoises then (luckily) found a biological match with one (or more) of the native giant tortoises, thus preserving their gene stock.

Scientists discovered this connection when they gathered DNA samples from 15 to 25 living giant tortoise samples. They then collected DNA samples from museums of the extinct giant tortoises that once inhabited the island of Floreana. The mysterious ancestry was answered paving the way for selective breeding to “reverse” the hybridization until the original stock was resurrected from the lonely void of extinction!

Wow, that`s dramatic isn’t it?

Creative Commons Attribution: “Giant tortoise 3” photo, Flickr, Mike Weston