Help us find ways to produce cleaner water.

The Art House computers and those at our various homes, donate their unused CPU time to benefit others and the planet. 80% of the energy a computer uses is in its manufacture, and only 20% is the energy it uses over it's lifetime.  Why not make the most of that computer and have it do what it's designed to do - compute!?


"World Community Grid brings people together from across the globe to create the largest non-profit computing grid benefiting humanity. It does this by pooling surplus computer processing power. We believe that innovation combined with visionary scientific research and large-scale volunteerism can help make the planet smarter. Our success depends on like-minded individuals - like you."

British garden birds are bouncing back

A national survey has recorded an encouraging rise in small bird populations in the UK.

In January, over 600,000 people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).  The results, published this week, show a promising increase in garden bird populations since last year.

[From "British garden birds are bouncing back" - BBC News]

Apple, Intel work to prevent use of conflict minerals mined in Africa

Apple, Intel work to prevent use of conflict minerals mined in Africa

By Slash Lane

Published: 03:50 PM EST
New rules related to electronic components are intended to stem the purchase of "conflict minerals" that fund wars in Central Africa, a measure supported by technology companies including Intel and Apple.

The terms of the Conflict-Free Smelter program apply to shipments of tin ore, tungsten, gold and coltan from the Congo and neighboring countries. The program was drawn up by the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition and Global E-Sustainability Initiative, in which both Apple and Intel play roles, according to Bloomberg.

World first for Scottish tidal power

ScottishPower Renewables' £40 million 10MW tidal array development will harness the power of the Sound of Islay and generate enough electricity for over 5,000 homes - over double those on Islay. Amongst other things, the electricity produced will power eight whiskey distilleries!

Read more

New wind farm for the Solent

MORE details about a giant offshore wind farm in the Solent will be given at a meeting at Lymington Community Centre between 2pm and 8pm on Thursday, March 24.

Dutch developers Eneco are holding a public information day for people to hear more about the wind park’s location and the planning process.

(From the Daily Echo)

The total wind power capacity installed [in Europe] by the end of 2010, in a normal wind year, produces 181 TWh of electricity (up from 163 TWh), meeting 5.3% of overall EU electricity consumption (up from 4.8% in 2009).

(From The Global Wind Energy Council)

Half The Sky movement

"Research shows, once you have satisfied your material *needs* there are very few things that elevate your level of happiness. One of those things is contributing to a cause larger than yourself... with our great good fortune, comes great responsibility"

Half The Sky

www.halftheskymovement.org

Half the Sky lays out an agenda for the world's women and three major abuses: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence including honor killings and mass rape; maternal mortality, which needlessly claims one woman a minute.

FITE is a global empowerment platform powered by Kiva.org, the nonprofit leader in microfinance, that is designed to foster Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship for women in the developing world.

FITE is a global empowerment platform powered by Kiva.org, the nonprofit leader in microfinance, that is designed to foster Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship for women in the developing world. Our mission is to provide women entrepreneurs access to small loans that will help them start or grow a business; and to help educate the public at large about the benefits of empowering women entrepreneurs so that they “can hold up their half of the sky.”


Sheryl WuDunn‘s book “Half the Sky” investigates the oppression of women globally. Her stories shock. Only when women in developing countries have equal access to education and economic opportunity will we be using all our human resources.  See the video below:

Bison Slaughter Averted

Bison Slaughter Averted (from the Defenders of Wildlife Blog)

Some of the last genetically pure bison in Montana could eventually be restored to the lands they once roamed.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has decided to take no action in response to the state’s proposal to kill wolves in on Unimak Island

Alaska’s Unimak Wildlife to be Managed by Scientific Understanding of Caribou Decline
(From the Defenders of Wildlife blog)

In the US, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has decided to take no action in response to the state’s proposal to kill wolves in on Unimak Island, a unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Algae converted to butanol; fuel can be used in automobiles

Algae converted to butanol; fuel can be used in automobiles

Thursday, March 3, 2011 - http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org/

A team of chemical engineers at the University of Arkansas has developed a method for converting common algae into butanol, a renewable fuel that can be used in existing combustible engines. The green technology benefits from and adds greater value to a process being used now to clean and oxygenate U.S. waterways by removing excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer in runoff.

The Fifth element .. an age-old botanical mystery

All flowers are made from four key elements - but new research suggests the daffodil's distinctive trumpet is, in fact, a new fifth element.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12615888

Also, interestingly, the daf also yields a drug, galantamine, that is used to slow Alzheimer's disease:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/8007175.stm

I find it amusing that the term 'herbal medicine' is used in such a derisory way.

Kew News - Smallest Waterlily Saved From Extinction

Kew News - Smallest Waterlily Saved From Extinction
Kew’s top propagation ‘code-breaker’, horticulturist Carlos Magdalena, has cracked the enigma of growing a rare species of African waterlily. The 'thermal’ lily (Nymphaea thermarum) is believed to be the smallest waterlily in the world, with pads that can be as little as 1 cm in diameter.

Campaigning brings HIV drugs to people who need them » Oxfam News Blog

Campaigning brings HIV drugs to people who need them » Oxfam News Blog
An Oxfam-funded radio campaign in Malawi has brought vital drugs closer to the people who need them.

Sudanese union fights for women’s rights » Oxfam News Blog

Sudanese union fights for women’s rights » Oxfam News Blog
Elizabeth Stevens meets Altoma Abdelrahim, who with an Oxfam partner’s help is fighting for and winning the rights of women market vendors treated unfairly by circumstance and the authorities in Souk El Sha’abe, Khartoum

Zambia: Taking 375 children to school » Oxfam News Blog

Zambia: Taking 375 children to school » Oxfam News Blog
Janine Woodward visits a school in Zambia that began life as one teacher under a tree and, with Oxfam funds and an Oxfam partner’s help, has grown to support more than 375 children.

Success: Peru acts to save uncontacted tribes - Survival International

Success: Peru acts to save uncontacted tribes - Survival International
Peru’s authorities have announced that they will work together with Brazil to stop loggers entering isolated Indians’ territory along the two countries’ joint border.

Chevron found guilty of Amazon destruction - Survival International

Chevron found guilty of Amazon destruction - Survival International
In a historic court ruling, US oil company Chevron has been fined $8.6 billion for polluting a huge area of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Botswana Bushmen win right to water

Botswana Bushmen win right to water - Survival International
The Bushmen of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve have won an historic legal case against the Botswana government, confirming their right to use a borehole to get water.

Green Machine: Split an engine in two to boost efficiency

Green Machine: Split an engine in two to boost efficiency
"The Tour design splits an engine cylinder into two separate but connected halves - one cold and one hot - connected by a valve.. the technology could increase efficiency by 50 per cent, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by one third."

Green Machine: solar street lamp feeds energy to the grid

Green Machine: solar street lamp feeds energy to the grid
A street lamp covered in photovoltaic cells, which can generate more energy from sunlight than it consumes to light the street, is being tested in the UK. And the lamp is already supplying electricity to the National Grid.

Guar: Food, Fodder, Fertilizer & More

Guar: Food, Fodder, Fertilizer & More
In the drought-prone state of Rajasthan in India, farmers struggle to grow nutritious crops. One vegetable, however, that thrives in the region is the indigenous guar or cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), a leguminous crop with a variety of uses.

Solar panels in the Sahara 'could power the whole of Europe' - Times Online

Solar panels in the Sahara 'could power the whole of Europe' - Times Online
All of Europe’s energy needs could be supplied by building an array of solar panels in the Sahara, the climate change conference has been told.

UK First to Make Green from Green

UK First to Make Green from Green
Energy from the wind will soon be used to make devices that capture the power of the sun, thanks to plans for a modern windmill at a firm in Wales producing the latest generation of solar cells. It will be the first time in the world that green energy is generated to create a product that also makes renewable energy.

Belize Bans Trawling

Belize Bans Trawling
In a monumental victory for ocean lovers, conservationists and campaigners, the Caribbean nation of Belize has permanently banned all forms of the destructive and controversial fishing practice of bottom-trawling.

Nourishing the Planet TV: Reducing Wastewater Contamination Starts with a Conversation

Nourishing the Planet TV: Reducing Wastewater Contamination Starts with a Conversation
Nourishing the Planet research intern, Evelyn Drawec discusses how the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is working with urban farmers in Accra, Ghana to identify simple ways to reduce crop contamination from irrigating with wastewater to improve health, diets, and livelihoods.

New Report Showcases Agricultural Innovations

New Report Showcases Agricultural Innovations
Drawing from the world's leading agricultural experts and from hundreds of innovations that are already working on the ground, State of the World 2011 aims to help the funding and development community reverse this trend.

Young people want renewable energy, says report

Young people want renewable energy, says report
A new report on UK energy policy, written by 16-25 year-olds, is calling for the rapid uptake of renewable energy and for greater youth consultation on energy and climate policy

LEDs Light up Tanzania's Homes

Positive News- LEDs Light up Tanzania's Homes
Illumination, a company selling solar LED lamps, are on a mission to replace the paraffin lanterns in Tanzania's 1.5 million homes. If they reach their goal, it could reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by around 800,000 tonnes.

Cornwall's Solar Plant is UK's First

Environment - Cornwall's Solar Plant is UK's First
Planning permission has been given for the UK's first solar power station. Energy company 35 Degrees was given approval for a 1.55MW solar park, situated across more than seven acres at the site of the former Wheal Jane tin mine, near Truro.

Avaaz - People Power in Brazil and Italy

Success stories from the Avaaz movement worldwide
People Power in Brazil and Italy - “I have never been as proud of the Brazilian people as I am today! Congratulations to all that have signed. Today I feel like an actual citizen with political power.”

Technology and protest: A town crier in the global village | The Economist

Avaaz - A cross-border fraternity that strives to be seen, heard and heeded
NEARLY four years ago, a web-based political movement set itself the modest task of “closing the gap between the world we have and world most people everywhere want”.

Defenders in Action: New Law Protects Parrots in Mexico - Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders in Action: New Law Protects Parrots in Mexico - Defenders of Wildlife
In a victory for the wild parrots of Mexico, President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa in October signed into law a bill that bans the capture and export of Mexican wild parrots.

Endangered Mexican gray wolf population grows for first time in four years - Defenders of Wildlife

Endangered Mexican gray wolf population grows for first time in four years - Defenders of Wildlife
The number of endangered Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico has grown for the first time in four years, federal wildlife officials announced.

Coal Plant Shutdown a Long-Awaited Step in the Right Direction

Coal Plant Shutdown a Long-Awaited Step in the Right Direction
It is a step towards victory for Massachusetts—a top official at Dominion Energy publicly announced the Salem power plant is expected to shut down in the next 5 years. 

Update on deforestation and palm oil

Nestle Update on deforestation and palm oil
"With regards to our pledge to achieve sustainable palm oil by 2015, we are making progress on certified palm oil and palm oil certificates even more rapidly, with 20 per cent of our purchases covered in 2010, and we expect to reach 50% by the end of 2011."

Oilgae Report - Algae Fuel Report, Algae Oil, Energy - Market, Data, Business

Oilgae Report - Algae Fuel Report, Algae Oil, Energy - Market, Data, Business
Algae are the fuel source of the immediate future. Little talked about in the media, research is going on apace and more and more companies are investing in it.