"Synthetic dyes are extensively used by industries including dye houses, paper printers, textile dyers, color photography and as additives in petroleum products," explains Benaïssa Houcine of the Laboratory of Sorbent Materials and Water Treatment, Department of Chemistry-Faculty of Sciences, at University of Tlemcen, in Algeria. "The effluents of these industries are highly colored, and disposal of these wastes into the environment can be extremely deleterious. Their presence in watercourses is aesthetically unacceptable and may be visible at concentration as low as 1 ppm (part per million).

In searching for an alternative to chemical treatment of waste water, Benaïssa has considered a common agricultural and food industry byproduct, orange peel. He has now tested waste orange peel as an absorbent for the removal of four acid dyes from simulated samples of polluted water.

The research demonstrates that absorption time depends on the initial concentration of the dyes as well as the chemical structures of the particular dyes being tested, but absorption can occur at just 25 Celsius rather than elevated temperatures. However, strong dyes including Nylosane Blue, Erionyl Yellow, Nylomine Red, and Erionyl Red were absorbed at between 40 and 70 milligrams per gram of orange peel from the samples.

"In laboratory-scale studies, the data show that orange peel has a considerable potential for the removal of dyes from aqueous solutions over a wide range of concentrations," Benaïssa says. "Orange peel may be used as a low-cost, natural and abundant source for the removal of dyes, and it may be an alternative to more costly materials. It may also be effective in removing other harmful or undesirable species present in the waste effluents."

Additional research is now needed in order to optimize and scale-up the process for the real-world clean-up of dye effluent. This will involve identifying the biochemical sites within the orange peel to which the dye molecules stick during absorption.

=> materials provided by Inderscience Publishers, via EurekAlert!

Labels: drugs, Pharmaceuticals, Water

1. Get a miswak
   
2. Scrape about half an inch of bark from the tip of the miswak
3. Chew the tip of the miswak until it becomes brush like
   
4. Brush as you would with a toothbrush (no toothpaste necessary)
5. Rinse the miswak
6. Place it somewhere where it won't get dirty
   
7. When the "bristles" become too soft, cut them off and repeat steps 2-7
   

1. No water or sink required
2. Its disposable
3. 100% biodegradable
4. You can carry it easily by just placing it in you pocket
5. It has stain removing and teeth whitening properties
6. Its Sunnah

Labels: bad breath, miswak, natural, toothbrush

• Cactus- needs less water and care


• Bamboo- rapid growing and needs little care


• Ferns- very common workplace plant

Note: For outdoor landscaping try to use natural vegetation as they are better adapted and needs less "special" care (ie. pesticide).

How does greenwashing look to the unsuspecting public? Here are some common traits:

• Potato chips have the same fat and calorie counts as regular chips, but they come in earthy-looking brown bags, rather than shiny foil bags.
  
• Happy-looking cartoon cows beam out from packages of string cheese, ice cream, and other dairy products.
  
• Wheat sheafs and grains are used to sell candy granola bars.
• Homey images, such as barns, farms, or footpaths leading out into nature are incorporated onto logos., along with a story about how the product came to be at a grocery store in the first place.

Labels: climate change, corporate, documentary, Frontline, PBS

Labels: great white shark, nature, planet earth, seal

Recently, the Swiss Parliament asked a panel of philosophers, lawyers, geneticists and theologians to determine the meaning of dignity when it pertains to plants.

Lo and Behold, the team published a treatise on “the moral consideration of plants for their own sake.” The treatise established that vegetation has innate value and that it is morally wrong to partake in activities such as the “decapitation of wildflowers at the roadside without rational reason.”

Over a decade ago, an amendment was added to the Swiss constitution in order to defend the dignity of all creatures — including vegetation — against unwanted repercussions of genetic engineering. The amendment was turned into law and is known as the Gene Technology Act. However the law itself didn’t say anything specific about plants, until recently, when the law was amended to include them.

The obvious question at hand: how does this new ruling affect the production of genetically modified organisms?

Beat Keller is a molecular biologist at the University of Zurich. Keller recently asked permission of the government to conduct a field trial of a genetically modified wheat bred with a resistance to fungus. In order to actually gain permission to go ahead with the trial, he needed to hash out the potential threats to the dignity of the wheat.

The majority of the panel agrees that genetically modified plants are ok, “as long as their independence, i.e., reproductive ability and adaptive ability, are ensured.” In other words, no forced sterility and terminator genes.

And Keller did, in the end, get to plant his GMO grain.

“Where does it stop?” asks Yves Poirier, a molecular biologist at the laboratory of plant biotechnology at the University of Lausanne. “Should we now defend the dignity of microbes and viruses?”

And even though I think it’s a great law, where does it stop? How humiliated is a boiled potato? A peeled carrot? Corn turned into a lowly, tortilla chip meant for dipping?

Source: Planetsave

Labels: America, consumption, footprint, lifespan, waste

ATTENTION COLLEGE STUDENTS!

National Geographic Channel has launched the 2nd annual Preserve Our Planet College Film + PSA Contest. The contest continues the Emmy Award-winning National Geographic initiative “Preserve Our Planet,” inspiring and empowering each of us to work together to preserve the world around us for future generations.

This year’s criteria include a new core idea — “Together We Can Make a Difference” — that the entries should reflect in some way. Preserve Our Planet is about working together to preserve the animals and wild places that make our world so spectacular. These living habitats can be found in your own backyard, in cities big and small, in the middle of our oceans or anywhere in the world. Films and PSAs should reflect this core idea, but how students do so is up to them. Most important, students should be creative and have fun!

PRIZES & CATEGORIES

Short Film – up to 5 minutes in length

• First-place winners will receive $5,000
• Audience Award winner to receive $1,500
• Both winners will receive an expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June 2009 to have their work screened at the kick-off event of the annual world-wide gathering of NationalGeographic Explorers.

PSA – up to 30 seconds in length

• First-place winners will receive $3,000
• Audience Award winner to receive $1,000
• Both first and second place winners will receive an expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June 2009 to have their work screened at the kick-off event of the annual world-wide gathering of National Geographic Explorers. Winning PSAs may air during National Geographic Channel’s Earth Day programming in April 2009.

JUDGING

• A panel of judges, including top National Geographic Explorers and representatives from National Geographic Channel, ecoAmerica and MonsterTRAK, will select the winners based on three criteria: creativity (50%); reflection of this year’s core idea, “Together We Can Make a Difference” (25%); and production value — visual and story strength (25%). The judges will select a first place winner for each category, and three runner-ups, who will then be eligible for the Audience Award, determined by online voting.

RULES, ENTRY FORM, AND MORE INFORMATION

To download the rules, entry form and find out more information go to
PreserveOurPlanet.com

Also, check out our facebook group where you can chat with other entrants and last year’s winners!

Labels: action, activism, contest, film, National Geographic

"ABC recently refused to run our Repower America ad, even though they run ads from oil companies that mislead the American people about the role fossil fuels play in the climate crisis."

• The project will take 10 years for completion and will feature: A car-free environment
• Electricity generated by solar photovoltaic panels
• Water supply from solar-powered desalination plant
• Electric light-rail system for transportation (linked to the center of Abu Dhabi)
• A city wall to reduce desert heat as well as the noise from the nearby airport
• Numerous research facilities to enhance clean technology

Labels: Abu Dhabi, architecture, green building, industrial design, Masdar City, plan, project, sustainable

H2Offenders: Starbucks gets blasted for leaving tap running at all locations

by Josh Loposer

When it comes to corporate greenness, there are plenty of surprise winners and losers out there. For example, IBM's business practices are more eco-friendly than Apple's. Or, that the once vilified Wal-Mart is now pursuing some of the nation's most ambitious sustainability goals. To add to the list, we now find that Starbucks -- one of the most successful and consumer savvy companies around -- has been pouring enough water down the drain each day to supply the entire nation of Zambia.

That's due to a strange health/cleanliness policy that mandates that a faucet over a sink called the "dipping well" must be kept running at all times. Apparently, Starbucks health officials believe that running the tap constantly prevents bacteria growth in the pipes -- or something like that. Most experts seem to believe that Starbucks' obsession with running water is pure superstition, and a wasteful one at that. According to The Sun, leaving one Starbucks tap running for just 3 minutes wastes "the amount of water one African needs to survive for a day in drought conditions."

The problem really spirals out of control when you take into account that Starbucks is operating 10,000 stores worldwide, pouring an estimated 6.18 million gallons of water down the drain per day.

Article: GreenDaily - H2O Offenders: Starbucks gets blasted for leaving tap running at all locations

Labels: starbucks, Water

The way it is now:
State law makes it illegal to be cruel to animals. For example, animals in enclosed areas must have shelter, food, water and room to exercise. People who break these laws may be fined or sent to jail or both.

What Prop 2 would do if it passes:
Make it illegal to keep certain farm animals in a way that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs. Prop 2 covers pregnant pigs, calves raised for veal and hens that lay eggs. The law would begin in 2015. People who break the law could be fined up to $1,000 or sent to jail or both.

Fiscal effect on government:
Possible small changes in costs and revenues to local and state governments.

People for Prop 2 say:

• Prop 2 will stop the cruel and inhumane treatment of farm animals that are now kept in cramped or overcrowded cages.
• This lowers the risk of spreading animal diseases and protects the environment from air pollution and waste from factory farms.
• http://www.yesonprop2.org/

People against Prop 2 say:

• Prop 2 is extreme and not needed. There are already laws in place to stop cruel treatment of animals.
• This will increase grocery prices of California eggs and other farm products, put farmers out of business, and cost us much-needed jobs.
• http://www.safecaliforniafood.org/