In China, Hold the Cell Phone for Environmental Activism

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:50:43 GMT

A little text message can go a long way, it seems - especially if it's sent a million times. On Wednesday, the Chinese city of Xiamen announced that it was putting plans for a highly polluting petrochemical plant on hold. These are not minor plans: the plant was approved for construction by the national government, and it's supposed to generate revenues of 80 billion yuan (about US$10.45 billion) a year. But despite having passed an expert panel's environmental evaluation, concerns about the project aren't minor, either. Chronic exposure to paraxylene, which the factory is meant to produce, can affect the central nervous system and may even cause death. And benzene, a paraxylene production byproduct, is a well-known carcinogen that's linked to leukemia. The mayor's announcement came in the midst of a massive flurry - a storm, some might say - of oppositional texting activity. The plant's chemicals could "cover Xiamen in a nuclear bomb, causing the people... to live with leukemia and deformities. We want life, we want health! For the sake of our future generation[s], please forward the message to all your friends," read part of one very widely forwarded text message. Via the Wall Street Journal: "The uproar, and the government's decision to back down, underscores how the Chinese are becoming increasingly active over the environment and pollution. It also shows how technologies such as text messaging are allowing protestors to subvert government efforts to quash free speech." ::The Wall Street Journal, ::Forbes, and ::Xinhua See also ::Isn't It Ironic? China Calls For Citizen Activism, Detains Environmentalist and ::China's Green Revolution: How Far Will It (Not) Go?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China's Environment Getting Worse... Before It Gets Better?

Mon, 28 May 2007 09:32:26 GMT

Bad news from China last week. According to the State Environmental Protection Administration's (SEPA) first quarter report, pollution is worsening in many parts of the country. After checking out this post, you probably won't be surprised to hear that the situation in rivers is deteriorating. Drinking water quality is also declining in major Chinese cities, with just under 70 percent rated as "qualified" for consumption. Air quality was on the upswing in some locales - partially due to fickle spring breezes - but Pan Yue, SEPA's deputy director and one of our favorite government officials, warned that "[t]he improved air quality in some cities is absolutely no reason for complacency." At least the government isn't trying to put a good face on this worsening situation. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Dude! Where Can I Park My Car in China?

Fri, 18 May 2007 08:01:24 GMT

Look at the photo above, and you'll see just a few of China's 11.5 million private cars. (That 2006 number represents a one-third jump from 2005 levels.) Take a closer look, and you should be able to discern cars parked on sidewalks. And if you look really closely, you might be able to pick out cars double-parked on sidewalks, and even the guy whose job it is to direct cars into sidewalk parking "spots." What you won't see is that parking spots, for China's new middle class homeowners, are "one of the many modest causes that have brought a change in the urban mentality - beyond a consciousness of limited legal rights, to a growing awareness of the need for a more active 'civil society' as a balance against arbitrary officialdom." More after the jump. ::Economist.com... Read the full story on TreeHugger

More On China's Troubled Waters

Mon, 14 May 2007 10:04:29 GMT

We don't want to beat a dying river, here, but how is it that China's natural waters end up looking like Gatorade? Taken on March 22nd, this photo of industrial waste from a textile dyeing factory draining into the Yangtze is a partial answer. The textile dye, paper, fertilizer, chemical, and metal processing industries are major sources of point pollution in China's rivers. And all that industrial crap is joined by the real deal. The Yellow River, China's longest after the Yangtze, brings water to more than 155 million Chinese. It was recently reported that in the past year, some 120 million tons of household sewage - the vast majority of it untreated - have been released into the river by just one city along its waters. Ma Jun, champion of Chinese waterways and one of our favorite eco-heroes, said that wastewater now accounts for a tenth of the Yellow River's total volume. No wonder a third of the Yellow River's fish species are now extinct. Though it's hard to see beyond these troubled waters - they're far from clear, after all - government is aware of and attempting to address problems. And growing citizen awareness and activism, at least in theory, are being encouraged like never before. Photo courtesy of Reuters. See also ::Chinese Water: A Picture is Worth..., ::::Isn't It Ironic? China Calls For Citizen Activism, Detains Environmentalist, ::Restocking the Polluted Yangtze: Fishy?, ::China Wakes Up Thirsty and Worried, ::Dark Cloud Over China's Water... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China Goes Car-Free - For A Day

Fri, 11 May 2007 09:31:33 GMT

Good news for anyone struggling to breathe China's urban air! You can look forward to next September 22nd, when for a day the Middle Kingdom will put the brakes on its love affair with the automobile. For the first time, the national government is getting behind World Carfree Day. In proper Chinese fashion, China's first official urban car-free day will be big: more than 100 Chinese cities are slated to take part, including Beijing and (recent auto show host) Shanghai. Officials will be made to trade their trademark black sedans for public transport, and some roads will be closed to private cars.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China's Coal Industry: The Waste Has Us Gasping

Mon, 07 May 2007 10:37:20 GMT

Image courtesy of The New York Times. Turns out China's coal dependence not only fouls skies and waters at home and abroad, leads to deaths and injuries in mines, and pushes China ever closer to the World's #1 Greenhouse Gas Emitter spot - it's also appallingly inefficient. Last week, Xinhua News Agency called China's coal industry a story of "ghastly waste." The world's largest coal producer and consumer, China's "recovery rate" for coal resources is just 30% - less than half the world average. Via Xinhua: "Shanxi, China's largest coal producing province, is estimated to have consumed 20 billion tons of mineral resources since the late 1970s to produce only eight billion tons of coal... 1.2 billion tons of [already scarce] water resources [are] thrown away each year." After reading these figures, it's not just the smog that has us gasping for breath. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Journalists, Report! China Urges Media Supervision of Energy Consumption

Sat, 05 May 2007 14:01:01 GMT

Last year, China failed to meet ambitious national targets for reducing pollution and energy consumption. This year, the central government is calling on state media to serve as watchdogs on these issues, "assist[ing] the authorities' efforts to control pollution... arousing the public's awareness of energy-saving and exposing problems and irregularities." Reporters have been encouraged to report, in-depth, "on the issues that most concern the public and ones that receive the most complaints." There are plenty of pollution stories - and complaints - out there in China, and though the booming economy's energy intensity is a major concern for the authorities, last year the country fell far short of its annual goal for reducing energy consumption. (By 2010 the national government intends to cut energy consumption per unit GDP by 20% from 2005 levels, sticking to the target that was in place before last year's setback.) It's encouraging to see government calling on media to play an active role, and so soon after the promulgation of new transparency regulations. The more environmentally educated China's consumers are, the better. But it remains to be seen how helpful probing journalists can be in influencing China's energy consumption - or the industry and construction sectors, which are crucial. And we can't help thinking back just a couple of weeks to the government's call for more citizen activism, put out not long after the jailing of a prominent environmental activist. ::Xinhua News Agency. Also see ::China's Green Revolution: How Far Will It (Not) Go?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Beijing Green Drinks Returns, We Rejoice

Wed, 02 May 2007 13:42:40 GMT

TreeHugger loves Green Drinks, and we are excited to report that Beijing loves them, too! The first ever Beijing Green Drinks, held last month, was a resounding success. More than 100 people showed up to rock the Stone Boat Bar with green-tinted talk, including people from government (China's State Environmental Protection Administration was represented), from NGOs, and from the private sector. Organizer Jenny Chu is looking to turn Beijing Green Drinks into a regular monthly event, and the second one will again be held on the second Tuesday of the month. So if you're living in Beijing - or if you can make it here for the [social] good time this promises to be - come out to the Stone Boat Bar for round two: Tuesday, May 8th, 7-9 pm. If you're not in Beijing and can't make it here (we wouldn't want you to have to fly in), and if you don't have a Green Drinks in your town, why not start one? For more info and tips on how to get a Green Drinks going, and to find out if yours is one of the 223 cities where the concept has already taken off, check out the website. Photo courtesy of Brian Chang.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Big Bad News? China's Oil Discovery

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:03:39 GMT

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China's leading offshore oil producer, announced recently that it had made the nation's largest oil find in a decade. They've hit a jackpot: the new domestic source apparently has reserves of about 2.2 billion barrels. But for China, that's still just under a year's worth of black gold. Last year, the Middle Kingdom - now the world's second largest oil consumer after the US, as well as the #2 greenhouse gas emitter - imported just under 50% of its oil needs, and consumed 2.4 billion barrels. Concerns about energy security, local environmental pollution, and global warming, which is going to hit China hard, are driving an aggressive push for a sustainable energy future. The nation's leaders are emphasizing both improved energy efficiency and renewables, and they have set ambitious targets. (One such target? Quadruple national GDP by 2020, while merely doubling energy consumption from 2000 levels. China's done it before, and they aim to do it again.) But at the same time, the national authorities are also pushing state-owned oil and gas conglomerates to find new domestic sources for old energy standbys. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Restocking the Polluted Yangtze: Fishy?

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:28:03 GMT

The panda might be more charismatic - heck, even its poo is popular - but surely the Chinese sturgeon also deserves its place in the sun. Or, rather, in the dank, irreversibly polluted water of the Yangtze. Last week this massive river, source of 35% of China's total freshwater resources, was said by state media to be "seriously" and "large[ly] irreversibly" polluted. This week, 400,000 rare fish were released into the river in an attempt to save its fish stocks from extinction - and to follow up on Earth Day. Included in the masses of fish were about 110,000 Chinese sturgeon. "Weird" animals need protection, too, and the sturgeon is surely deserving. One of the oldest vertebrate species in the world, it's been around for more than 200 million years. Pre-release, the precise number found in the Yangtze was unknown, but placed at about 500. Now there should be about 110,500 - hopefully not all choking for breath, and hopefully not going the way of the adorable and functionally extinct Yangtze river dolphin. We can take comfort from the words of a researcher at the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute surgeon breeding center: "[The sturgeon] have been raised in a water quality similar to that of the river, and should adapt soon." (Lucky them!) Some of the fish have been implanted with devices for monitoring, and those that fail to adjust to potentially noxious freedom may well be brought back to the institute for "recuperation." ::Xinhua News Agency (April 15 and April 23)... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Isn't It Ironic? China Calls For Citizen Activism, Detains Environmentalist

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 13:11:36 GMT

Fishing in Lake Taihu. Today's big China environment story is an exciting one. While announcing new transparency rules, our favorite Chinese environmental official called for greater citizen involvement to curb the country's powerful polluters. Reuters quotes Pan Yue, reformist vice minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration: "Relying on the force of environmental protection and a few other agencies is far from enough; we need broad public participation, because the public are the biggest stakeholders in the environment." Sounds great to us, and the new transparency rules, which require officials to disclose often closely-held information about pollution and polluters, will surely be a boon for China's citizen activists. Unfortunately, one of Monday's big China environment stories casts a dark pollution-like pall over today's. Prominent activist Wu Lihong, named one of China's top ten environmentalists by the national government in 2005, was arrested and detained on April 13th. According to his wife, dozens of police descended on his home, ransacking it and taking his personal effects. The story of the arrest, reportedly for extortion and blackmail, broke on Monday, creating an unfortunate ironic backdrop for Pan Yue's remarks. More after the jump.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China: Make My Appliance Energy Efficient, Please

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:56:19 GMT

Summer's on its way, along with lazy days, melting ice cream, and that perennial favorite - air conditioning. In China, air conditioner sales are expected to hit 25 million units this year, "bringing tremendous pressure to bear on the nation's already tight electricity supply." Convincing people who hunger after cars and a first-world lifestyle to cool themselves off with ice is unlikely to go down smoothly. But there is hope for energy-efficiency. "[P]romoting energy-efficient home appliances ha[s] become an urgent task," according to the China Energy Label Center. That's where China's 2007 National Promotion Campaign for Energy-Efficient Home Appliances, launched last week, comes in. The campaign brings home appliance retailers and producers on board to educate consumers about China's already established energy-efficiency label system. Retailers hope to sell more energy-efficient appliances (they do cost more than the standard ones, after all), and the measures they're taking include giving discounts to treehugging customers and financially rewarding clerks who successfully sell the energy-efficient merchandise. With all these campaigns to educate consumers getting off the ground - see here and here for examples - this treehugger can't help but feel a little post-Earth Day optimism. ::China Daily... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Beijing Rocks Earth Day: Big Messages, Big Country, One Little Day

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 13:36:48 GMT

Earth Day is cause for debate in some locales, but this treehugger posits that in the developing world it's still cause for celebration. In a country like China, where government tends to determine the way forward and an expanding middle class is just beginning to be exposed to green consumer choice - and to lots of not-so-green choices, including cars - environmental education is key. Sure, shocking numbers of people in the Western world don't "believe in" global warming. But at least most have been exposed to the theory. In China, soon to beat the US at the greenhouse gas emissions game, awareness about climate change is just getting off the ground. No Car Days help. So does Earth Day.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China Cracks Down On "Extravagant" Government Buildings

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 11:23:26 GMT

Apparently, the Chinese people are tired of government funds being spent on official public building McMansion equivalents. In response to the many complaints incurred by "luxurious" government structures - and to central government concerns about local corruption - on Wednesday, China's leaders announced that they "will ban the construction of wasteful and extravagant official buildings." Indoor gardens, fountains, atriums, dance stages, and lobby areas higher than a single story are all on the new no-no list. Though government office buildings should still be "stately," officials are now required to "be frugal in spending public money because China is still a developing country." And what if they fail to stick to the cost limit of 4000 yuan (about US$518) per square meter that's been set for ministerial level government office buildings? Or the lower cost limits set for municipal and county-level government buildings? Or otherwise violate the new rules? The edict stipulates that excessive space can be confiscated and sold. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Indian Environmentalist Calls US on Climate Change Blame Game

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:43:31 GMT

The blame game can be fun when you're playing with your sibling or your significant other. But nobody wins when big greenhouse gas emitting countries play the climate change blame game. Last week, a well-known Indian environmentalist accused the US of using India and other emerging economies - China, for example - as an excuse for not cutting CO2 emissions. The Bush administration has opted out of the Kyoto Protocol on grounds of unfairness: if developed countries that sign on have to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, powerhouse developing nations should be required to make commitments, too. But "[f]or America to say they won't move unless India does, that is ridiculous," said Maneka Gandhi, a parliamentarian, former Indian environment minister, and tree and bear hugger. "They should do it anyway. You move because you need to save the world." The US is currently the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, and on a per capita basis, America's CO2 emissions are about twenty times higher than India's. But India's electricity demand is expected to double by 2015, and the vast majority of that power will come from dirty, greenhouse gassy coal. China, meanwhile, despite policies promoting energy efficiency and renewables, is poised to surpass the US as the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter any day now. All this posturing about who's to blame is leading up to a major conference in December in Bali, Indonesia, where an international framework will be created for controlling CO2 emissions post-Kyoto. Hopefully the romantic atmosphere will inspire some international political kissing and making up - for the future of the planet. Signs seem good. Last week, in the wake of the release of the latest IPCC report, China made its first commitment to anything to do with limiting CO2 emissions. And there's always the hope that more countries will follow in the EU's small footprint leaving footsteps. ::Associated Press Image of Maneka Gandhi courtesy of the UN Environment Program (UNEP).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Geothermal in China: It's Getting Hot in Here

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:51:14 GMT

While the Bush administration has dropped geothermal energy like a hot potato (to the chagrin of American environmentalists), China's program is picking up steam. Last week, TIME Magazine reported on an "ancient Chinese city [that] might just have the geothermal resources to become the Reykjavik of the East." (What is geothermal energy? Primer here.) Xianyang, not far from Xian and its famed terracotta warriors, is a regular coal burning bad air nightmare. But it's now poised for a major change. Designated as "China's official geothermal city," in December Xianyang saw completion of the first phase of a massive geothermal heating project. The project is being undertaken by Shaanxi Green Energy, a private sector Chinese-Icelandic/Nordic joint venture. If all goes well, the company's geothermal-powered heating system will be the biggest in the world, and Xianyang's air will be a heck of a lot cleaner. As Asgeir Margeirsson of the Icelandic/Nordic side of the JV puts it, "Every day that we utilize geothermal energy instead of burning coal is a good day."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Green Drinks Comes to Beijing Tuesday

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:37:35 GMT

Exciting news for treehuggers in the Chinese capital - Green Drinks is coming to Beijing, and just in time for spring! We've been a fan of Green Drinks for over two years, and since Jacob put out the call and started up a "chapter" in Nashville, TreeHugger has also gotten Green Drinks off the ground in Buenos Aires and Cincinnati. Elsewhere - now including China! - we're psyched to be in attendance. Green Drinks is an informal opportunity to meet up monthly with others interested in talking green. Tuesday April 10th, come on out to the first ever Beijing Green Drinks: 7-9 pm at Stone Boat Bar. (That's at the southwest corner of Ritan Park, south end of the lake.) We're not sure how many do-gooding drinks will be on tap, but bike/walk/[your fave form of transport here] on over to drink a little absinthe or apple martini, make a little history, and - if you're in the market - maybe even meet your very own treehugging Beijinger for makin' a little love. (It is spring, after all...) For more info and tips on how to get a Green Drinks started in your neck of the woods, and to find out if yours is one of the 214 cities where the concept has already taken off, check out the website. If you come out for drinkin' and thinkin' as a result of this post, be sure to let us know in the comments or at the Stone Boat. And please share your Green Drinks experiences below, wherever you rest your mug!... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Beijing Olympians Urged to "Go For Energy Gold": WWF Endorses Carbon Offsets

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:25:52 GMT

The WWF has stepped in the middle of the ongoing controversy about carbon offsets, providing new fodder for TreeHugger's healthy, keeping-it-huggy debate on the subject. (See Wikipedia for a primer, and check out Mike's recent cautiously optimistic comments, Mark's concerns, and your responses in the comments.) Last week, with just 500 days to go until the 2008 Beijing Olympics - which is gearing up to be green and hopefully carbon neutral - WWF urged all would-be Olympians to follow in the clean-as-can-be-(while still flying)-contrails of our own Sami Grover. WWF called on athletes "to be climate winners," asking that they offset the carbon costs of their travels by donating to Gold Standard climate-change offset projects, and pointing out that 2% of the world's yearly carbon emissions come from long-distance flights. According to WWF China Country Representative Dermot O'Gorman:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Greening the Almighty Yuan: Consumer Choice Comes To China!

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:45:31 GMT

You're reading TreeHugger, so you know that the green in your wallet can be leveraged for a greener globe. Eco-consumption, though something of a contradiction in terms, is an idea, a movement, and finally a market with deep roots in the Western world. (These are our roots, treehuggers!) Now, with consumption rapidly rising in China, the awesome power of consumer choice is finding its way to the Middle Kingdom's expanding middle class. "The conditions are ripe for consumers to support [green consumption in China]," says Ma Jun, a prominent Chinese environmental activist. "They have multiple options and the government is very open on the provision of environmental information." Last week, just in time for World Water Day, a coalition of 21 Chinese environmental groups called on consumers to pressure polluters using their purchasing power. The campaign, dubbed Green Choice (not to be confused with this Green Choice, which we'll be covering soon), has made use of the government's provision of environmental information to produce a blacklist of companies cited for violating environmental laws. So who's made it onto the Great Wall of Shame? Nearly 5000 Chinese companies and over 50 multinationals, including American-Standard, Dupont, Nestle, Panasonic, and PepsiCo. Much more post-jump.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Apply Now For Wild Gift: Carpe Opportunity, and Seize The Present!

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:55:34 GMT

If you're lurking around the quarter-life crisis range - anywhere from 21 to 30 - man oh man have we got a potential present for you! Wild Gift is a "nonprofit organization that supports leaders... building communities whose citizens live in harmony with each other and Nature." Specifically, they support five successful applicants a year in realizing their project ideas, which must "benefit the natural environment and the human community." Lucky recipients of the Wild Gift come into a package valued at $11,000 - $15,000, which includes leadership training, deep wilderness treehugging and trekking time, and cash to turn ideas into action. Recipients live, if not off-grid, at least off the beaten path for a year. The organization favors projects that will improve natural and social conditions in communities and serve as models that can be replicated - the Wild Gift is one that keeps on giving. This will be the program's third year in its current form, and past recipients have launched a nature writing program in California, a solar power firm in India, and a consultancy that helps establish community farm operations in the USA. Applications are due April 1, so if you have a project to propose, move fast! But if you're looking for a gift that's less of a commitment or you're in the proscribed age range, don't despair - check out TreeHugger's Green Gift Guide or How to Green Your Gifts instead! ::Wild Gift Image from X's album Wild Gift.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China's Tiger Trade Ban: It's Grrreat! But Will It Last?

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:58:51 GMT

These days in China, it's easy to get an eyeful of tiger. Visitors to the country's large-scale captive-breeding "tiger farms" may in fact get an eye fuller than they bargained for. In the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, for example, the Siberian Tiger Park at first seems like a lark. A smiling tiger with a bowtie stands in the parking lot and points visitors to the ticket vendor. Patrons are driven safari-style through fenced-in fields thick with tigers - specimens of one of the rarest species in the world. People chuckle about how cute the big cats are and snap photos. But then the driver encourages the crowd to buy a cow. Or if a cow's too dear, at $200, perhaps a chicken for $5. Suddenly the moment's cuteness - already threatened by the cats' cramped living conditions - dissipates. Tossing very-much-alive-stock to the cats is common practice in the park, so if gory spectacle is not your thing, you might want to give it a miss. Much more below the jump.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Know an Eco-Friendly Entrepreneur? Enter Them in The World Challenge!

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:43:12 GMT

Could you use $20,000? How about some great publicity, or a free trip to The Hague? The World Challenge 2007 winner will get these goods on top of good karma points, so if you or someone you know is an entrepreneur "making a difference without costing the earth," be sure to enter the competition! Sponsored by BBC World, Newsweek and Shell, the World Challenge started two years ago, and has been annually seeking out businesses that "put something back into the community" since. Last year, there were over 800 nominations, and we encouraged you to join the 30,000 voters who chose the winner from among twelve awesome runners-up. To add some inspiration to your day, just take a look - or another look - at those oh-so-treehuggable entries. You'll find a for-profit that's put the bright idea of off-grid solar power into practice in rural Laos (check out a couple of similar non-profit projects here and here), and a natural, juicy alternative to toxic chemical flame retardants from Sweden. The winner, Eco Maximus, is making conservation sustainable and profitable. How? The photo above might lend a clue. The company produces elephant poo paper - a TreeHugger favorite! - in rural Sri Lanka. Nominations are due in two months, so check out the rules and consider putting yourself or someone you know in the running. The Earth will surely thank your buddy for whatever it is he's up to, and it's probably been a while since someone thanked you to tune of $20,000... ::The World Challenge... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China's Local and Global Climate Change: Things Are Heating Up

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:33:16 GMT

The International Ice and Snow Festival is one of China's biggest winter tourist attractions - and one of its most wonderfully surreal. Put on annually by China's northernmost provincial capital, the Festival transforms the city of Harbin into an overwhelming winter fantasyland featuring ice and snow everything. There's an ice church, an ice bar, a giant snow Buddha, an ice lighthouse, and a mini Great Wall of Ice. You can have your photograph taken with a faun, watch Russian figure skaters, or approach the idle German shepherds waiting to take you for a dogsled ride. Thousands flock to the city each year despite the bone-chilling cold. Much more after the jump.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Contest Sows Seeds, Growing Green Business Trees

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:52:11 GMT

It always warms the heart to hear about entrepreneurs turning a profit as they protect the environment. And nothing says there's plenty of green to go around as well as eco-businesses that put some into the pockets of the poor. The Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (Seed) Initiative is all about promoting this sort of "business as unusual." A collaboration of inter-governmental organizations, governments, and the private sector, Seed supports innovative entrepreneurial partnerships that deliver real solutions in the field of sustainable development. The Initiative means business - business that improves local community livelihoods and contributes to environmental protection. Through its Seed Awards contest, the Initiative nurtures start-up seeds that will hopefully grow into super-huggable sustainable enterprise trees. Cows to Kilowatts, one of the previous winners, aims to provide cheap, clean energy to Nigerian households through biogas. Though the importance of biogas as alternative energy in developing nations is not to be underestimated, you might not actually want to get close enough to hug this one. The power source is literally cows, in the form of abattoir waste.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

TreeHugger Welcomes New Writer Rachel Wasser

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:02:40 GMT

Rachel M. Wasser traces her twin passions for the developing world and the greening of development to six months of rural research and antelope observation in Botswana. These passions have led her to China, where she currently works for ::IUCN-The World Conservation Union. Though Beijing's gritty streets are a long way from Botswana's open skies, Rachel continues to keep an eye on what's happening in Southern Africa. She loves innovative win-win solutions to environmental problems - and sharing them. You can reach her at "rachel at treehugger dot com".... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Rachel Wasser, Beijing, China