Tag Archives: Environment

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Thank you Hyatt

“Hyatt is the latest international hotel brand to ditch travel-sized toiletries from its rooms, following Holiday Inn-owner InterContinental Group and Marriott International.

Portable tubes of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel will be replaced with bulk-sized toiletries across Hyatt’s global chain of 220,000 rooms beginning in June 2021. The changes will affect Hyatt’s 900 hotels worldwide, encompassing 20 brands, including Park Hyatt, Hyatt Place and the Andaz.

“Plastic pollution is a global issue, and we hope our efforts will motivate guests, customers and, indeed, ourselves to think more critically about our use of plastic,” Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt, said in a press release.”

It takes everybody working together to reduce plastics….why all the packaging? Ever since Tylenol scare back in the 1980s, companies have gone packaging crazy…time to ease up on Plastics. Buying local is a starting point…

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Floating “Titanic” nuclear plant launched for St Petersberg

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/floating-nuclear-power-plant-russia-floating-chernobyl-nuclear-titanic-akademik-lomonosov-launch-a8327316.html
The floating plant, the first of its kind in the world, will then be loaded with nuclear fuel before being towed to the Arctic port of Pevek in the summer of 2019, where it will be put into service.

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Ryan Zinke Is Opening Up Public Lands. Just Not at Home. – The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/us/ryan-zinke-montana.html

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Mr. Zinke said he had little interest in the governor’s job, and believed his next step would involve floating down a lot of rivers, learning how fly-fish better, and “being helpful to groom and advise the next generation of conservationists.”

Jack Begg contributed research.

Follow Julie Turkewitz on Twitter @julieturkewitz.

There seems to be a lack of consistent principles behind Mr. Zinke’s DOE strategy.

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Oregon train derailment spills oil, sparks fire

https://www.yahoo.com/news/oregon-train-derailment-spills-oil-sparks-fire-204604432.html

Oil spills are preventable. Read excerpt:
“Including Friday’s accident, at least 26 oil trains have been involved in major fires or derailments during the past decade in the U.S. and Canada, according to Associated Press analysis of accident records from the two countries.

The worst was a 2013 derailment that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Damage from that accident has been estimated at $1.2 billion or higher.”

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GOP rep introduces bill to gut EPA | TheHill

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/240826-gop-rep-introduces-bill-to-gut-epa

Republican from Texas introducing bill dismantling EPA to do “right” by “hard working” citizens. Excerpt follows:

The measure would force the EPA to close all of its field offices, sell or lease certain properties, cut various climate change programs and stop its environmental justice activities.

It would also stop the EPA from regulating ground-level ozone and from limiting the greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and power plants, the subject of the most controversial EPA programs recently.

Posted from WordPress for Android

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Shipping discharge PIB most recent kills

This should never happen – a lubricant, polyisobutene (PIB) used to improve engine performance is still allowed to be discharged from ships and has record of killing thousands of birds. This is an excerpt from The Guardian UK report on this ongoing tragedy:

“It said PIB becomes strongly adhesive in the sea, coating the birds and restricting their movements and their ability to feed. Tony Whitehead, from the RSPB, said: “This is one of the worst marine pollution incidents in decades, bringing to mind other disasters going right back to the Torrey Canyon in 1967.” Adam Grogan, from the RSPCA, said: “The dumping at sea of this lethal chemical must be stopped. “It was heartbreaking enough after the first incident in February to see so many birds arrive at our centres in such a poor state. “The sticky substance coated their feathers and made it difficult for them to feed and move so staff had to work around the clock to wash it off and get them fit enough to survive in the wild again. “For it to happen twice in quick succession is inexcusable and unacceptable.” The charities have urged members of the public to sign petitions by Avaaz and 38 Degrees to support their call for a ban of dumping chemicals at sea. Post-mortem examinations have been carried out on hundreds of the dead birds by the British Trust for Ornithology and the results are due to be published within the next few weeks.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/03/birds-die-chemical-spill?INTCMP=SRCH

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New Democrats Motion Passes: Navigable Waters Protection Act

The NDP convention considered the following motion:

2-06-13 Resolution to Reverse changes to Fish Habitat Protection, to Navigable Waters Protection, and to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

Submitted by Gaspésie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour

WHEREAS, instead of strengthening habitat protection and environmental oversight, the Conservative government has: gutted the Fisheries Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act; weakened the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act; cut funding for science and research; and continues to ignore the threats of climate change to Canada’s oceans; and

BE IT RESOLVED that New Democrats call on the Conservative Government to reverse changes to fish habitat protection, to Navigable Waters Protection, and to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the federal government immediately implement the 75 recommendations identified in the Cohen Commission Report, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that cuts to funding for fisheries science and ecosystem management be restored

MP Robert Chisholm spoke in favour of this motion.

MP Philip Toone (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) spoke in favour.

Motion passed.

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Chinese Political Will to Clean up Water and Rivers lacking

A river in Rui'an, Zhejiang province, China

Gu Yongqiang explores the technology of remediation, quality of water and rivers, and the will of the people and politicians to make their waters “Boatable, fishable swimmable, drinkable” again. From my studies on the IJC and other organizations the key ingredient to getting anything done in politics is political will. This is lacking with many macro goals, e.g., finding clean energy, prevention of starvation worldwide, elevating the quality of life for many suffering in the world today, providing clean drinking water around the world. Here is a blurb from Tim Haab and a link to “In China You Don’t Dare Swim in much less Drink the Water” by

Tim Haab writes:

Boatable, fishable, swimmable, drinkable?

Local environmentalists say that China has enough money and technological prowess to clean up its rivers. The missing ingredient for an environmental campaign? Official motivation. Local governments depend on polluting factories to buoy local economies; local bureaucrats know their promotions are contingent on keeping growth rates high. Still, Chinese citizens are no longer sated simply by economic advancement and have taken to Weibo to express their dissatisfaction.

http://world.time.com/2013/03/06/in-china-water-you-wouldnt-dare-swim-in-let-alone-drink/?hpt=hp_t2