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Rapanui is an Eco-Fashion company from the Isle of Wight, that makes Organic, Ethical clothing using Renewable Energy with award-winning traceability. Rapanui is about making eco-fashion cool.

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The Sail Loft

Category: Environment

Had a wicked night over at Ellen MacArthur Foundation's place in the Sail Loft last night.

One of Cowes oldest buildings, this place was built to make sails for Ratsey & Lapthorn, a world famous company whose history is pretty much the history of yachting.

From its origins in Cowes and early involvement with the Royal Yacht Squadron, the firm grew and for 100 years, Ratsey & Lapthorn were the sailmakers of choice for yachts competing for the America's Cup, and had a client base that included Kings, Emperors and tycoons.

Upstairs in the loft, Dame Ellen MacArthur and a team of academics, writers, thinkers and scientists are working on a project: to rethink the way our world works, and to help engineer more sustainable economies. This place is regarded as one of the most forward-thinking organisations on sustainable economies in the world, and is tucked away in a loft on the sleepy Isle of Wight. Awesome.

Ellen MacArthur set up this foundation to raise awareness and help accelerate the integration of Circular Economies amongst consumers, businesses and governments. Current economies are based on a "Take, Make and Dispose" model, or linear economy, where at each stage of the process there is waste. Current environmental thinking is based on reducing the impact of this model - of recycling some of this waste, or trying to encourage people to 'use less' - this doesn't change the outcome it just buys us time. If the system doesn't work, trying to optimise it is a waste. What if we just changed the system?

This is the focus of the work by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and they promote ideas based on a new economic model - the circular economy - where materials and resources in the economy perform a loop: Imagine that Waste is Food - and that products are designed to be easily taken apart and reformed into new products, and that this whole system is powered by renewable energy? This is a circular economy.

We've been doing a bit with the Foundation, recently going with their team to the World Responsible Economic Forum as guest speakers, and integrating some of their ideas into our product development.

Last night was a chance to have a beverage and some nibbles, and to stop and enjoy the year of progress of a bunch of people working to rethink the future. Cheers to that.

Why the Name? 7 Billion reasons...

Category: Environment

The collapse of the civilisation on Easter Island, or Rapa Nui in the native language, became very popular story after the film “Rapa Nui” (1994) and the book of the American biologist Jared Diamond “Collapse – How societies choose to fail or survive” (2005). In many ways, it has been generalised into a fable, but nonetheless one that is entirely relevant not least this week, when the world’s population reached 7 Billion...

In the scenario shown in both film and book (albeit a little hollywood-ised), the human population of the native Rapa Nui people grew too large for the Easter Island habitat to sustain. A fierce overexploitation of the limited natural resources of the island occurred during construction work for the Moai – the large statues that still remain on the island in vigil. These statues became a symbol of power and prestige on the small island and required a great deal of natural resources to build, specifically large quantities of timber to transport and erect the structures.

Trees are needed to hold soil in place and vice versa - it's part of their job in nature. So after clearing the forest of large grown palm-trees, the soil started to dissapear quickly, eroded by the heavy rain falls and strong Pacific winds. The barren volcanic rocks could no longer sustain the topsoil which supported all life on Easter Island– from bugs and insects, to mammals and birds - all flora and fauna in some way were connected to a habitat which had eroded away. On a young volcanic island, life is more precarious – deforestation can become an irreversible process, as young trees have neither the soil nor the protection of larger neighbours that is needed to establish this environment and restart the system.

The statues and structures that are now one of the Seven Wonders of the World may have come at the expense of the environment. This in effect meant that it became increasingly difficult, then near impossible, for farmers to grow crops and feed the population – and with the forest habitats gone, hunting options were slim.

In the resulting famine, chaos and civil war gripped one of the most developed cultures in the Pacific Ocean - with their own scripture and astonishing construction skill – the Rapa Nui civilisation rapidly collapsed.

Sir David Attenborough Explains...

This scenario is based primarily on the discovery during an archaeology expedition prior to 1961 of unknown palm-like pollen in sediments, plus comparisons with ecosystems of similar geography without human populations. The layer with pollen was found in various cores recovered from swamps, also root imprints in fossil soils and subfossil nuts, found in the lava caves, prove that Easter Island once supported large grown trees. Today the landscape of Rapa Nui is dominated by meadows instead and looks much like the moorland in the west country (which was created in the same way – deforestation, although to build ships to fight the Armada, rather than statues)  and this land now covers 90% of the island. The rest is shrub lands and planted forests of Eucalyptus trees, which host almost no native species, only invasive plant species and urban vegetation.

The metaphor is pretty clear. The society of Easter Island, either ignoring or unaware of the destruction of their environment, was finally doomed to extinction – valuing symbols of status over common sense and sustainability, their way of life could not be sustained by the small ecosystem at their disposal.

We should not be too harsh on the humankind and definitely not critical of the Rapa Nui people - modern civilisations have conveniently avoided this fate by moving around or trading once shortages become serious. The world is much larger than Easter Island and their culture would have had a better chance should their island have been four times the size, or less remote. But they couldn't move on once they'd used up their island's resources and life began to struggle.

This trait of overexploiting ecosystems is not exclusive to mankind. Humans have studied populations and population collapse for centuries – we even make use of it when we make beer (the yeast population booms until the barrel runs low on sugar, or the alcohol produced from their waste makes their habitat (the beer) impossible to survive in). In these processes, the system can’t be restarted; the changed environment is permanent.

The story of Rapanui is a grim fable, and entirely relevant to sustainability in the modern age – Earth cannot support 7 Billion people forever, yet this population is increasing and like the Rapanui, we are an island in space. It is likely the Rapanui did not know the error until it was too late, but for us there has been a clear early warning on climate change and sustainability, reaching out from the 9th century AD all along - it's hard to find an excuse why we wouldnt do anything about it. So we can’t choose to just ignore sustainability once we know.

And this is our challenge - a lot of people aren’t aware of why it’s so important. 

So why the name? Well, for a brand on a mission to raise awareness of sustainability, Rapanui is possibly the best real life example of what happens if you dont act, once you know.

 

Bibliography: (Climate, Overpopulation & Environment – Scientific American - The Rapa Nui debate By David Bressan, October 31, 2011)

CO2 and Surfing the Net

Category: Environment

Viral videos are getting a little bit cooler.

How much CO2 did you create by finding this site? How much will I have produced by  writing this article? Dunno to be honest, but it's becoming more apparent that the digital age isnt entirely the paper-saving godsend we first though.

We can all save a bit of power by switching off the computer, or adjusting the power settings (do it!) but beyond the energy consumption of your PC and other computer bits and bobs, very few people know just how the internet works, or is powered, or where it comes from. Just think.. all this data we get at the click of a button needs to come from somewhere, and has to be powered to be stored and sent around to get here. Thats a lot of stuff to store and send, after all, the internet is a big place.



But who gives a thought to the apparatus that makes the internet possible, that is powered up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Geeks maybe, yes, but thats not the point. The masses of servers and computers running algorythms for search engines and storing websites and data are there to serve normal people. We just dont really care.

But maybe we should - According to Jona Swaineas article in the Telelgraph recently, making two internet searches through Google produces about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle, and the search engine company has ‘a very definite environmental impact’ according to a recent study at Harvard University.

"Google are very efficient but their primary concern is to make searches fast and that means they have a lot of extra capacity that burns energy" the study said.

The massive growth of the internet, with users expecting large amounts of data on demand has a dangerously out-of-sight, out-of-mind environmental impact - something not particularly compatible with sustainability. Lets hope major search engines, like google, take the same lead-by-example approach to their energy bill that they have done to their technology, before it comes back and bites us in the rear.

p.s. On the subject of interesting bum-biting themes, we stumbled upon a shark surfing video, below. While you watch it, think of all that data, where it comes from and where that place gets its power from...

Find out more about Carbon in Clothing at Rapanui

China Traffic Jam

Category: Environment

Think your commute is bad? Try a ten-day, 100km long traffic jam in Beijing.

As China announced annual vehicle sales rocketing past the US, news broke of the mother of all traffic jams on Beijing's national highway - a boom in road building in recent years has been unable to keep up pace.

Authorities in China build two coal-fired power stations a week and energy officials say that even that this furious pace, they are only two weeks ahead of demand. The stalled traffic is made up mostly of  trucks and lorries transporting coal.

The road works which were obstructing traffic are necessary to repair damage caused by an increase in cargo lorries using the highway, the state-run newspaper said - they are not expected to be finished until mid-September.

State media on Tuesday reported that average driving speeds in the capital could drop below nine miles an hour if residents keep buying at current rates of 2,000 new cars a day. At that pace, Beijing will have seven million vehicles by 2015, according to the head of the Beijing Transportation Research Center.

The capital greatly expanded its bus lines and subway in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, and work continues to open even more stations. But public transport remains crowded and many who can afford it prefer to drive cars.

What happened to the Beijing, the bicycle capital of the world?

Chinese Oil Spill

Category: Environment

Workers resort to using their bare hands as the latest oil spill goes almost unnoticed...

Whilst the worlds media focus on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, another spill off China's northeast coast has gone largely unnoticed. Workers have resorted to using their bare hands and are struggling to contain the spill, investigators have said.

In response to warnings of a heavy long-term environmental impact, the Chinese government has mobilised hundreds of fishing boats and other vessels to clean up the spill that occurred in the port city of Dalian, but Greenpeace said many people thrown into the effort were reduced to using their bare hands.

The estimated size of the oil spill doubled Wednesday - just as dramatic photos emerged showing two men thrashing around in oil-clogged waters, trying to keep afloat. Whilst workers raced against the clock to contain a growing environmental disaster, Firefighters rescued the two men. But China's state-run newswire Xinhua reported that another firefighter died in a separate incident after a wave swept him away while he was trying to fix a boat's pump under water.

The disaster began Friday in the port city of Dalian, China's second biggest oil port, when an oil pipeline exploded and crude oil leaked into the Yellow Sea, then burned in a huge firestorm for 15 hours.

The affected Chinese province mobilized "all staff under the age of 50" at its maritime affairs office to join in the cleanup, Xinhua reported. Tourist beaches near Dalian were closed. As of Tuesday, 40 special "oil-skimming" vessels, 800 boats, and oil-eating bacteria had joined the fight, Xinhua said.

As of 2006, China depended on oil for 20 percent of its energy needs, the second-largest source after coal, at 70 percent.

It seems dependence on fossil fuels comes at a high price.

Two Weeks

Category: Environment

An introspective documentary about reconnecting humans with nature, mind games, rainforest chic and tent engineering from Byron Bays top binliner-wearing hitch-hiker nature man. Far out.

Johnny Abegg's blog is far out. His introspective stream-of-consciousness writing spins you out to the depths of the Tasmanian rainforest where he decided to spend two weeks in solitude, armed only with two 35kg sacks of supplies and a binliner poncho.

Johnny spent his two weeks in Tasmania alone and came out alive, his own down-under style 'into-the-wild' - and has decided to share his tale of swamps, pristine rainforest, battering weather and wilderness in his film Two Weeks.

It's about documenting being humbled - going back to nature's basics, standing in some of the world's most wild and untamed land purposefully under-equipped and scared -  a personal experiment to take the city-life guinea pig back to the jungle. The film is pretty far out - as can be expected of someone left on their own in the wild - and Johnny brings back some great shots of his 'rainforest chic' fashion style as well as highlighting a very relavent message - people are distancing themselves from nature at a rate faster than ever before. Are we going too far?

Environmental charity Still Wild Still Threatened will benefit from a share of the film's proceeds to contribute to their work in protecting some of Tasmania's pristine wilderness from the increased commercial activity on the island.

All good stuff. Johnny asked for Rapanui's help to get Two Weeks off the ground and running. It's been an interesting project looking into making custom Wholesale Organic clothing for his film and hope you enjoy the trailer on the right.

Hottest month on record

Category: Environment

Global warming and climate change, two different things that are also part of the same bigger problem - too many greenhouse gases make crazy weather, which is not good.

NOAA stands for the National-Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - it's a world-leading atmospherics research base in North America and they provide us with some very useful data for forecasting surf.

They also have a proper job and as part of that, this month they reported that June 2010 was the warmest month on record, judged by combined global and ocean surface temperature. The January-June and April-June 2010 periods were also the hottest observed, since records began in the late nineteenth century. Just using average land surface temperatures, June and the April-June period were also hottest, while January-June ranks second hottest globally, behind 2007.

During June, the combined global and ocean surface temperature was 16.2°C, 0.6°C above the 20th century average. Land temps rose above the 20th century average of 55.9°C by 1.07°C.

So is this global warming? Poignantly NOAA illustrated the concept that just because the overall trend continues steadily upward not every place is affected similarly; that cooler than average temperatures were felt in Scandinavia, southern China, and the northwest US. Furthermore, in Spain nationwide temperatures were 0.4°C above the long-term average, the coolest June since 1997.

The scientists point out that climate change is more than just global warming. The average temperature of the whole earth is increasing steadily due to greenhouse gas emissions, but the reality of climate change is that it's about increased entropy - randomness, in the climate, atmospherics and ultimately weather that are the risk. Greater changes in weather, cooler cool spots and hotter hot spells, downpours of rain, deep snows and hurricanes - the accelerated changes in climate are bad news for humans on a safety level, but fundamentally worse due to the struggles of many species to adapt to environmental change.

This confirmation of increasing climate change is another worrying reminder that it's probably time to start thinking about renewable energy before it's too late. Of course, this all depends on the scientists being able to communicate this effectively and the media to understand it. Easier said than done.

Easter Island Eclipse

Category: Environment

A total solar eclipse drew an 11,000-kilometre (6,800-mile) arc over the Pacific, plunging remote islands into darkness in a heavenly display climaxing on Easter Island, known to the locals as Rapanui.

A stunning solar eclipse on Easter Island that attracted thousands of tourists has been captured in these amazing photographs. The World Heritage island saw its population double on Sunday as tourists flocked to the site, eager to catch a glimpse of the rare and awe-inspiring sight.

The rare four-minute, 41-second eclipse came on World Population Day, at a time when the story of Easter Island's ancient population crash is being discussed more than ever as a case study so relavent to the sustainability challenges we face today, the same events that inspired our Malthus Organic Tee.

Cosmic as it is that that the Eclipse came on such a day, onlookers weren't phased, and danced, sang and played music alongside a number of scientists, researchers and photographers who joined the party for the momentous event.

The eclipse began at 7pm BST about 440 miles south-east of Tonga, reaching Easter Island by 9.11pm on Sunday.

Many feared that they would not be able to see the view due to overhead clouds, but luckily for the crowds the sky cleared just before the eclipse hit the island.

The total solar eclipse began its 6,800 mile arc over the Pacific on Sunday, with local official Francisco Haoa telling reporters: 'It was like being in the stadium at night with artificial light. It was like being in a dark room with a 10-watt bulb, it started with a shadow. The skies were perfectly blue, with lots of wind which chased away the clouds.

Applause erupted from thousands of stargazers who began gathering days ago on the remote Chilean outpost of Rapanui.

World Population Day

Category: Environment

The news that the biomass of fish in the sea has been reduced by 95% in 100 years, World Population Day is getting more and more topical each year.

On the 11th July 1989 the earth recorded 5 billion day – the estimated day on which the earth’s population reached 5 billion. 21 years on and population increase is set to become the human race's biggest challenge.

Now every 11th July World Population Day discusses our population - 'our' meaning all humans. There are now estimated to be over 6.8 billion of us and rising at a rate of one person per second.

Population is a bit of a taboo subject. Unfortunately though, it is one that we will have to open up about sooner rather than later - no matter how intelligent we are, we will never be more than a species of life and will always be reliant on natural resources.

The story of Easter Island, or Rapanui as the natives call it, is a great metaphor for sustainability. A remote island in the Pacific, the Rapanui people thrived on the rich rainforests, abundant food and fertile soil - flourishing enough to develop perhaps one of earths richest cultures. Yet despite sustaining their lifestyle for thousands of years, in a few generations their island was reduced to a barren, treeless landscape barely able to support the 111 impoverished Rapanui that were discovered by Jacob Roggeveen.

The Rapanui have tought us one of the most valuable lessons in all sustainability: They highlighted the fact that if populations exceed the carrying capacity of an ecosystem, the ecosystem will collapse. Cut down trees at a rate faster than the rate of tree growth, and there will be no trees. Eat animals faster than they can reproduce, and they will not be able to repopulate. This pattern has been compared to the life of yeast in Beer, the life of deer left without predators on a grassy island, and with Humans - with Oil and Water. And the pattern is the same - its called malthusean collapse. Left alone without predators with an abundance of resources, the species population grows exponentially until the resource is depleted. If the ecosystem has no boundaries, the population will move on and find new resources. If not, they will die.  The Rapanui, on their remote pacific island, had nowhere to go. Sustainability is about avoiding the fact that one day, if we carry on as we are, our own planet will be our remote island in the sea of space.

It really all comes down to population. Or overpopulation. We may wonder one day why we didnt see the signs. But Rapanui, or Easter Island, tought this lesson hundreds of years ago. The question is - when the message sinks in, will it be too late to act?

For more information on sustainability at Rapanui check out the Rapanui eco section.

Whaling Ban Unbanned

Category: Environment

Backtracking on one of history's most memorable international environmental acheivements? Or is it a diplomatic solution?

25 years ago commercial whaling was banned. Today the International Whaling commission is divided, with fears that it may collapse, as countries argue for a lift on the ban stating that whaling should resume in return for a gradual drop in kills.

Today 88 countries of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Morocco, in a closed session, to decide whether to allow Norway, Iceland and Japan to legally hunt whales for 10 years - in exchange for a gradual drop in the number killed. Yet commercial whaling has been banned for 25 years - some have suggested that international pressure from whaling nations is finally breaking down other member countries.

The EU, led by Britain, adopted a common position at the weekend which rules against the resumption of any commercial whaling, but it's not been enough. Whaling kills up to 2,000 whales a year, including species on the verge of extinction: Since the ban was introduced 25 years ago, approximately 33,000 whales have been killed, according to the Animal Welfare Institute (Washington).

The Whaling ban, like CFCs, is referred to as a case study that international environmental politics can work, so this backtracking on the agreement comes with some wider concerns... if the whaling ban can fail and Kyoto doesn’t work, is there a future for international agreements? Is there a future for sustainability?

Controversial stuff, and at Rapanui we're with the rest of Britain and the EU: Whaling should be banned. Lets move on, not back.

 

Cast your vote for Fish

Category: Environment

A year ago we were out spearfishing outside our house in Sandown Bay and heard the fizz of a propellor. Imagine the fear then when, on looking up to the surface, We saw a net being laid just in front of us. Lucky we carry diving knives.

Nobody bothers fishing in Sandown Bay anymore, there's just no point. Whilst rod and line fishing can be more about luck, with spearfishing you can actually see the marine life, and over time, see it change. And change it has - not one bass, bream or pollack has been caught by our crew of about 5 spearfishermen in the bay in 18 months, yet fish of up to 8lb used to be a fairly regular occurrence. The local fishing club told us that what used to be a 25-man strong club competition on Wednesdays has been reduced to two or three members who regularly catch nothing from the best fishing spot in the bay, Sandown Pier.

So what's happening? Having a net dropped so close to our diving buoys plus what appears to be the demolition of what was a healthy fish stock has left locals frustrated and angry, blaming the fishermen saying their nets are too close to shore. But the fishermen argue that they aren't doing anything illegal and that they believe the fish stocks are in good condition. It is true that the law allows set nets to be laid anywhere below the low water mark, which can be very close to the shore. We believe this local case highlights a bigger national problem -  if boats can fish so close to the shoreline and there are no areas that are protected from fishing nets, things must be going wrong. We're into conservation and support the marine conservation society's call to set up 'marine reserves' -  and why not in Sandown bay? It's time for a discussion on the subject.

We were interested to hear that a small group of Islanders have decided that they want to create a "conservation area" or no-catch zone in the bay too and have created the Sandown Bay Protection Forum. Their spokesman said "there are 12 miles of nets in Sandown Bay, which is only 3 miles across."

The MCS said "there are very few marine reserves in the UK, but fisherman report that fishing outside these reserves actually improves due to the more productive habitats in the protected no-take zone." It's like a win-win idea but local fishermen dispute the claims, arguing that the SBPF and other pro-conservation groups are "stirring up trouble and want to create a marine reserve simply for the benefit of local pleasure anglers." One of the Island's most profitable fishermen stated that the nets have "no risk to health and safety" and that he believed the fish stocks to be healthy.

We'll keep you posted on where this story goes...

Guatamala Sink Hole

Category: Environment

A cavernous and almost perfectly round sink hole has swallowed an entire crossroads in Guatamala City, it has to be seen to be believed...

One of those huddle around the screen 'have you seen this!' moments in the last couple of days that we felt we had to share with you.

This 66ft across, 100ft deep sink hole appeared in Guatamala City and swallowed up an entire crossroads. Small sink holes have appeared over the city and geologists are suggesting that a cave formation is to blame - formed as a result of a recent tropical storm Agatha and the underground rain run off.

A similar sink hole claimed three peoples lives in 2007 and it was around the same location that a clothing factory disappeared on Saturday, luckily workers had left for the evening before the factory went under.

With no scientific proof of the cause, only speculation, Geologists will have to venture down into the abyss to find it. The web is rife with conspiracy theories about UFOs and Gates to Hell.

Very strange.

 

Rapanui Tree Planting

Category: Environment

10 wild cherry trees planted in Peterborough on behalf of Rapanui

In partnership with Community Offset, Rapanui has dropped a few green shoots into a Peteborough primary school to liven up the atmos and do a bit of carbon soaking too.

Community Offset is a relatively new venture that goes around planting trees. When we burn stuff (like fuel in our cars, or coal in our powerstations - or tyres in your garden?)  you release carbon dioxide into the air. The carbon, ultimately, comes from the ground, i.e. from plants and animals mostly - old life forms. So whilst it's not technically creating more carbon, we're releasing it from one system (the ground, where it is trapped, 'in stasis') into another system, the atmosphere.

Thats a problem. Carbon in the ground might come up again to the atmosphere in time, but we're radically taking it all out of the ground and puffing it up into the air. This is causing some pretty serious issues with the ol' climate.

Fossil fuels are great as they are so energy dense that we can make and do loads of stuff with little effort. Change happens quicker. But the environmental issues associated with their use don't stop at the climate. Poorer air quality, increased industrialisation, decreasing biodiversity and more urbanisation have an impact on the environment, the economy and the community too.

So how about planting some trees? - yes they will soak up some carbon, and store it in their roots 'n leaves. But what if we plant it in a special place? Most carbon-offset tree schemes create massive tree farms out of sight. Why not give back to the community too?

Jon emailed us this morning - "We planted you 10 wild cherry which as well as attaining a weight of over 300kg has a double blossom so will look great for the kids when a bit older. They also attract the birds so will draw some wildlife into the area."

For every kg of carbon in the tree it has taken 1.65kg of co2 out of the atmosphere, so all being well these trees should offset up to 5 tonnes of co2 in there lifetime, a great contribution from everyone at Rapanui!!

Result. Thanks to the crew at Communityoffset.com for making it happen.

Have A Break, Have a Finger

Category: Environment

Greenpeace unleashes call to arms against Nestlé

We're not ones to point the finger, but it turns out ripping down rainforests for snackfood is bad for the environment...

With this in mind, Greenpeace have decided to turn their attention to Nestlé who have refused to give up purchasing palm oil from unsustainable plantations in the Amazon.

To raise awareness of this, Greenpeace have created a controversial viral ad style video which features an office worker 'taking a break' and having a Kit Kat which contains a chocolate covered orang-utan finger. And ends with ‘give the orangutan a break’.

Viewers of the video are then encouraged to email a letter to the CEO of Nestlé to stop destroying rainforests in their sourcing of palm oil.

Greenpeace say "We all like a break, so it's time to give orangutans one. Nestlé uses palm oil in Kit Kat and many other products which is bought from suppliers that destroy rainforests in Indonesia to grow their plantations."

This is not Greenpeace’s only actions towards Nestlé, some protesters have also protested outside Nestlé London HQ and scaled the buildings dressed as orangutans whilst others stood on the ground with Kit Kat font style posters and boards.

Nestlé’s reaction to this has been in the form of an official press release in which it states:

"We can assure you that Nestlé UK does not buy palm oil from the Sinar Mas Group for any of our products, including Kit Kat."

Sinar Mas Goup is the company in question who destroy rainforests in order to supply their clients with the palm oil they demand. One of these clients is Cargill who in turn sell their product onto Nestlé.

The video is somewhat gruesome and for some difficult to watch, but it can be argued that the subject matter it is dealing with is a highly unpleasant and gruesome one.

The fact is that it's not about Nestle, or this video. Its a demonstration that the public and charitable organisations are becoming more aware of the need for change, and companies need to change and adapt. Greenpeace have put Nestle in the stocks here. We're not throwing any tomatoes, but we wont deny we're having a good laugh at their expense.

Decide for yourselves and watch the video here:

Sea Shepherd Halts Whaling

Category: Environment

Say what you like about their tactics, but the efforts of Sea Shepherd to harass Japan's whaling fleet in the waters off Antarctica have yielded big results...

The Japanese fleet returned to port with half as many whales as they set out to catch. The goal was 50 humpback and 50 fin whales, but the fleet caught no humpback whales and one fin whale; of the 935 targeted Minke whales, 506 were killed.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation organization that has been protesting against whaling since the early 80’s, and have been controversial from the offset for their direct action tactics.

Currently sea shepherd vessels are off the coast of Japan disrupting the whaling industry, one of the three countries who continued to hunt whales in defiance of a ban, along with Iceland and Norway. Japan's whaling industry is managed by the Institute of Cetacean Research, who use the whales for research, they then sell the meat on to Japanese markets and restaurants.  whales are still being caught by Japanese pirates and sold at a lower price on the black market.

According to Sea Shepherd calculations, their efforts cost Japan's whaling fleet about $132 million, as the average value of each whale is a quarter of a million dollars. The same estimates show that this season the fleet lost money, as 700 whales need to be killed to meet operating expenses.

The Sea Shepherd organization has hit them long and hard last year and their efforts and risks seem to of paid off. There are now 528 whales swimming freely in the Southern Ocean that would now be dead if not for the fact that they intervened.

All this is not without a cost to the sea shepherd organization, since the start of 2010 the organization has lost the Ady Gil and damaged the Bob Barker in collisions with whaling vessels. In addition, Captain Pete Bethune is now in Japanese custody after boarding a whaler in a harassment operation.

Peru Disappears

Category: Environment

Can you find Peru on a world map? I'd hurry up if I were you, it's about to be mined to nothing...

As you can see from the images, the city of  is slowly being eaten away by an ever expanding open pit mine; a colonial church dating back to 1748 has disappeared, along with the town's centre square. History is fading away into the ground.

There's a mile-wide gash in the earth that grows almost daily, with each dynamite blast. The Peruvian government is pushing to extract vast mineral and oil reserves from the city of 70,000, and  is caught between environmental degradation and jobs, With the mine owner, Volcan Compania Minera S.A, threatening to close the mine, and bury 4,000 jobs, the government gave the company permission to take more of the town, including the historic church and centre square.

While mining in the region has brought employment and some infrastructure, the industry has also produced serious and irreversible environmental damage: waste from the mine seeped into the water supply and polluted the springs which run through the pastures, and fumes have polluted the air. The health of residents and livestock has been badly affected, animal numbers have declined and few farmers now make a living from herding alone.

The city is supposed to be condemned and relocated due to environmental contamination and the mine expansion, but funding and action are more than 10 years away, people have been leaving the city but the poor can’t afford to move, and at an estimated cost of 1,000 million soles, or $322 million who will foot the bill?

 

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