Going Green: 12 Simple Steps for 2012

http://www.worldwatch.org/going-green-12-simple-steps-2012-0

As we head into 2012, many of us will be resolving to lose those few extra pounds, save more money, or spend a few more hours with our families and friends. But there are also some resolutions we can make to make our lives a little greener. Each of us, especially in the United States, can make a commitment to reducing our environmental impacts.

The United Nations has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. Broadening access to sustainable energy is essential to solving many of the world’s challenges, including food production, security, and poverty.

Hunger, poverty, and climate change are issues that we can all help address. Here are 12 simple steps to go green in 2012:

(1) Recycle

Recycling programs exist in cities and towns across the United States, helping to save energy and protect the environment. In 2009, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to require all homes and businesses to use recycling and composting collection programs. As a result, more than 75 percent of all material collected is being recycled, diverting 1.6 million tons from the landfills annually—double the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for each pound of aluminum recovered, Americans save the energy resources necessary to generate roughly 7.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity—enough to power a city the size of Pittsburgh for six years!

What you can do:

• Put a separate container next to your trash can or printer, making it easier to recycle your bottles, cans, and paper.

(2) Turn off the lights

On the last Saturday in March—March 31 in 2012—hundreds of people, businesses, and governments around the world turn off their lights for an hour as part of Earth Hour, a movement to address climate change.

What you can do:

• Earth Hour happens only once a year, but you can make an impact every day by turning off lights during bright daylight, or whenever you will be away for an extended period of time.

(3) Make the switch

In 2007, Australia became the first country to “ban the bulb,” drastically reducing domestic usage of incandescent light bulbs. By late 2010, incandescent bulbs had been totally phased out, and, according to the country’s environment minister, this simple move has made a big difference, cutting an estimated 4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. China also recently pledged to replace the 1 billion incandescent bulbs used in its government offices with more energy efficient models within five years.

What you can do:

• A bill in Congress to eliminate incandescent in the United States failed in 2011, but you can still make the switch at home. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use only 20–30 percent of the energy required by incandescents to create the same amount of light, and LEDs use only 10 percent, helping reduce both electric bills and carbon emissions.

(4) Turn on the tap

The bottled water industry sold 8.8 billion gallons of water in 2010, generating nearly $11 billion in profits. Yet plastic water bottles create huge environmental problems. The energy required to produce and transport these bottles could fuel an estimated 1.5 million cars for a year, yet approximately 75 percent of water bottles are not recycled—they end up in landfills, litter roadsides, and pollute waterways and oceans. And while public tap water is subject to strict safety regulations, the bottled water industry is not required to report testing results for its products. According to a study, 10 of the most popular brands of bottled water contain a wide range of pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, fertilizer residue, and arsenic.

What you can do:

• Fill up your glasses and reusable water bottles with water from the sink. The United States has more than 160,000 public water systems, and by eliminating bottled water you can help to keep nearly 1 million tons of bottles out of the landfill, as well as save money on water costs.

(5) Turn down the heat

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that consumers can save up to 15 percent on heating and cooling bills just by adjusting their thermostats. Turning down the heat by 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours can result in savings of 5–15 percent on your home heating bill.

What you can do:

• Turn down your thermostat when you leave for work, or use a programmable thermostat to control your heating settings.

(6) Support food recovery programs

Each year, roughly a third of all food produced for human consumption—approximately 1.3 billion tons—gets lost or wasted, including 34 million tons in the United States, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Grocery stores, bakeries, and other food providers throw away tons of food daily that is perfectly edible but is cosmetically imperfect or has passed its expiration date. In response, food recovery programs run by homeless shelters or food banks collect this food and use it to provide meals for the hungry, helping to divert food away from landfills and into the bellies of people who need it most.

What you can do:

• Encourage your local restaurants and grocery stores to partner with food rescue organizations, like City Harvest in New York City or Second Harvest Heartland in Minnesota.
• Go through your cabinets and shelves and donate any non-perishable canned and dried foods that you won’t be using to your nearest food bank or shelter.

(7) Buy local

“Small Business Saturday,” falling between “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday,” was established in 2010 as a way to support small businesses during the busiest shopping time of the year. Author and consumer advocate Michael Shuman argues that local small businesses are more sustainable because they are often more accountable for their actions, have smaller environmental footprints, and innovate to meet local conditions—providing models for others to learn from.

What you can do:

• Instead of relying exclusively on large supermarkets, consider farmers markets and local farms for your produce, eggs, dairy, and meat. Food from these sources is usually fresher and more flavorful, and your money will be going directly to these food producers.

(8) Get out and ride

We all know that carpooling and using public transportation helps cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, as well as our gas bills. Now, cities across the country are investing in new mobility options that provide exercise and offer an alternative to being cramped in subways or buses. Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. have major bike sharing programs that allow people to rent bikes for short-term use. Similar programs exist in other cities, and more are planned for places from Miami, Florida, to Madison, Wisconsin.

What you can do:

• If available, use your city’s bike share program to run short errands or commute to work. Memberships are generally inexpensive (only $75 for the year in Washington, D.C.), and by eliminating transportation costs, as well as a gym membership, you can save quite a bit of money!
• Even if without bike share programs, many cities and towns are incorporating bike lanes and trails, making it easier and safer to use your bike for transportation and recreation.

(9) Share a car

Car sharing programs spread from Europe to the United States nearly 13 years ago and are increasingly popular, with U.S. membership jumping 117 percent between 2007 and 2009. According to the University of California Transportation Center, each shared car replaces 15 personally owned vehicles, and roughly 80 percent of more than 6,000 car-sharing households surveyed across North America got rid of their cars after joining a sharing service. In 2009, car-sharing was credited with reducing U.S. carbon emissions by more than 482,000 tons. Innovative programs such as Chicago’s I-GO are even introducing solar-powered cars to their fleets, making the impact of these programs even more eco-friendly.

What you can do:

• Join a car share program! As of July 2011, there were 26 such programs in the U.S., with more than 560,000 people sharing over 10,000 vehicles. Even if you don’t want to get rid of your own car, using a shared car when traveling in a city can greatly reduce the challenges of finding parking (car share programs have their own designated spots), as well as your environmental impact as you run errands or commute to work.

(10) Plant a garden

Whether you live in a studio loft or a suburban McMansion, growing your own vegetables is a simple way to bring fresh and nutritious food literally to your doorstep. Researchers at the FAO and the United Nations Development Programme estimate that 200 million city dwellers around the world are already growing and selling their own food, feeding some 800 million of their neighbors. Growing a garden doesn’t have to take up a lot of space, and in light of high food prices and recent food safety scares, even a small plot can make a big impact on your diet and wallet.

What you can do:

• Plant some lettuce in a window box. Lettuce seeds are cheap and easy to find, and when planted in full sun, one window box can provide enough to make several salads worth throughout a season.

(11) Compost

And what better way to fertilize your garden than using your own composted organic waste. You will not only reduce costs by buying less fertilizer, but you will also help to cut down on food and other organic waste.

What you can do:

• If you are unsure about the right ways to compost, websites such as HowToCompost.org and organizations such as the U.S. Composting Council, provide easy steps to reuse your organic waste.

(12) Reduce your meat consumption

Livestock production accounts for about 18 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for about 23 percent of all global water used in agriculture. Yet global meat production has experienced a 20 percent growth rate since 2000 to meet the per capita increase of meat consumption of about 42 kilograms.

What you can do:

• You don’t have to become a vegetarian or vegan, but by simply cutting down on the amount of meat you consume can go a long way. Consider substituting one meal day with a vegetarian option. And if you are unable to think of how to substitute your meat-heavy diet, websites such as Meatless Monday and Eating Well offer numerous vegetarian recipes that are healthy for you and the environment.

Who is Sabotaging Peace Talks?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Who is Sabotaging Peace Talks?

by Zalman Shoval

I don’t know whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was surprised when Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad failed to show up for their scheduled meeting on Tuesday, but perpetual Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat certainly was. Surprised and embarrassed. Those in the know noticed even before the meeting that Fayyad was making every effort to avoid it, apparently because he didn’t want to partake in the facade, which was doomed to fail.

The Palestinians (without Fayyad) came to the meeting with the usual list of preconditions: a commitment in advance that the Green Line would be recognized as the official border of a future Palestinian state and an absolute halt to all settlement construction beyond that line, including in Jerusalem. In other words, they seek to create facts on the ground, without discussing basic issues like security, or the rejection of the Palestinian “right of return” or the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

“Wait a second,” someone will surely remark. “The Israelis have preconditions too.” But that isn’t true. As opposed to the other side, Israel is saying, “Let’s agree on an agenda, and when we sit down to negotiate, each side will raise its demands and then we will either reach an agreement or we won’t.” It is safe to assume that the Palestinians know very well that it will never happen their way. Why, then, do they keep trying?

One of the possible explanations is that they are trying to reclaim the attention of Washington, where the Palestinian issue has temporarily (until November?) been supplanted in the headlines.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians are laying the foundations for another U.N. membership bid – this time not in the Security Council but in the General Assembly, where they enjoy a clear majority. The Palestinians seek U.N. membership for a non-state, which would grant them certain international advantages on the way to full membership as a state.

At the same time they are issuing warnings: If Israel doesn’t hurry up and implement the two-state solution, we will push for a bi-national state (to which all Palestinian refugees will be permitted to return), which will over time become home to an Arab majority. In other words – the end of the Zionist state.

Even those who promote the so-called one-state solution in political forums or in academic settings (like the recent Harvard “One-State Solution” conference) understand that it is not really a peace agreement, but rather an elimination of the Jewish state. Every intelligent being knows that, in practical terms, the Palestinian threat is an empty one. Israel has no intention of legally or effectively absorbing most of the Arab inhabitants of the territories or of abandoning its Zionist and democratic principles. Yet this “threat” continues to be heard.

One issue that cannot be dismissed is the position of the U.S. administration. Right now the administration is not pushing for progress in talks (the only thing worrying Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the moment is that his threats to step down or dissolve the Palestinian Authority are no longer making an impression on anyone, including U.S. President Barack Obama).

Jackson Diehl, the deputy editorial page editor of the Washington Post, harshly criticized Obama’s foreign policy in his editorial this week, arguing that on almost every issue, Obama’s aim is to “stop history until November.”

So, to conclude, the Palestinian moves are transparent, to everyone including Jerusalem decision-makers. But Israel keeps playing the game (it will submit its own list of demands to the Palestinians in two weeks’ time), just to make it clear for everyone who worked to advance peace, and who worked to sabotage it.

Zalman Shoval

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=1766

Libya’s ‘Committee of Wise Men for Negotiation’

Meet the roving, long-bearded dignitaries building peace among Libya’s many hostile factions. Toppling Gaddafi was the easy part.

OBARI, Libya — Inside a tent in this small southern village, Arab sheiks with long beards talked peace with Libyan officials from across the country. Outside, a group of black tribal women wearing colorful full-length burkas, played drums and sang.

Recognizing the need to bring all of Libya’s disparate groups under one flag, the country’s transitional government has dispatched a team of roving peaceniks — made up of local leaders, intellectuals and government officials representing all of Libya’s racial groups — to reconcile Libya’s various tribes and clans over the coming months.

They are known as the Committee of Wise Men for Negotiation.

Libya’s population is made up of about 140 tribes and clans, a mix of Arab and nomadic African tribes, including the dark-skinned Tabu and Tuareg, and the light-skinned Berber.

And they don’t get along.

More from GlobalPost: In Depth Series: Libya’s rebels after the rebellion

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi — who often used the violence to secure his rule — Libya has been consumed by tribal clashes, bloody reprisals and bids for local autonomy.

The effort to heal such divisions has proven difficult.

Here in the southern village of Obari, it is the Tuareg who are under attack. The black nomadic tribe is targeted because many of them fought alongside Gaddafi during the revolution.

 

 

A Tuareg tribal leader and member of the Committee of Wise Men, Fndyet Al Koui, said he had earlier led negotiations with some 2,000 Tuareg soldiers living in the region, asking them to give up their weapons in exchange for immunity. But as news of revenge killings against other black Libyans filtered through, the negotiations broke down.

Rejecting Al Koui’s pleas for unity, the Tuareg soldiers took their families, ammunition stocks and an estimated 300 to 400 heavily-armed vehicles, and fled to Mali, where they joined another armed Tuareg tribe. It was these combined forces that later claimed independence in northern Mali, Koui said, plunging the country into chaos.

As a nomadic people of the Sahara whose history knows little of borders and boundaries, many Tuareg living in Niger, Mali and Libya still have no official nationality.

“They are in a very critical position and each country is pushing them to another. This is why they are seeking a land of their own,” Koui said.

But many Tuareg, including Koui, can trace their roots in Libya back thousands of years and have no intention of leaving.

More from GlobalPost: The death of Muammar Gaddafi

As the Tuareg living in Obari welcomed the Committee for Wise Men, Sheik Ibrahim Binhasher from Misrata, an Arab, gave the opening speech.

“Many people asked me why we were holding a meeting here with these people,” he said. “I answered, because in the new Libya there are no outsiders. Gaddafi fueled divisions and hatred, but the new Libya is a complete brotherhood, and in the new Libya we can all be equal.”

While those listening appreciated the sentiment, they were quick to point out that it was going to take a lot more to diffuse tensions. After all, they said, whole families have been killed over the years. That’s hard to forget.

In one recent conflict, a tribal feud between the nomadic Tabu and an Arab clan claimed almost 150 lives and injured hundreds more. It began as a simple disagreement between two families. But with heavy weapons still readily available throughout the country, the conflict quickly escalated into a full-scale tribal clash.

One man became emotional as he found shrapnel in his living room from an RPG that had weeks earlier left his wife in critical condition. Blood still stained the dirt floor.

When the clashes began to spread to nearby villages, Amnesty International called for the government to intervene.

More from GlobalPost: Video: Uniting Libya

Tensions between black and Arab Libyans simmered during the Gaddafi regime because black migrant workers were often granted citizenship and other concessions that were not offered to Arab families. Those tensions only grew during the revolution because many black immigrants and mercenaries fought against the rebels. In the aftermath, black people were collectively labeled Gaddafi loyalists in many parts of the country.

In the south, however, the opposite is true. It was the dark-skinned Tabu that led the rebellion, while many Arab families remained loyal to the regime.

Their treatment as outsiders — and the lack of basic necessities under the old regime, including clean water, education and health care — fueled the Tabu’s revolutionary spirit.

“We led the fight against Gaddafi in the south so we could leave all these divisions behind and build a Libya where everyone gets their rights. But the new government has so far not offered us any help,” said Mohammed Seed Ibrahim, who is vice president of the National Tabu Congress and now a member of the Committee of Wise Men.

In the poverty-stricken Tabu neighborhood of Hajara, in the southern town of Sabha, the violence got so bad most of the people living there fled. A population of thousands dwindled to less than 200.

On a recent visit to Hajara, a young girl dressed in a soiled pink dress peered through the hole that had been blown through her bedroom wall. She surveyed the burned-out cars and shrapnel that littered the street outside.

The Committee of Wise Men has yet to come to her town.

“They come with RPG’s, tanks and bombs. We want peace but we have to protect our women,” said Ali Abohkar, the village elder, who has remained in Hajara with his 10 children.

Abohkar said a rival Arab clan repeatedly attacked the village.

“Before the tourists would come here with their cameras to see our ancient buildings, but now no one cares,” he said, standing in the ruins of his now roofless kitchen.

“They are holding peace talks, but they do not come here. The reporters write about the fighting but they do not come to see what is really happening. I am human! I am Libyan! Why does no one see what has happened to me? Look at my house, my family … please,” he pleaded.

Ibrahim, who represents Tabu villagers like Abohkar on the Committee, said the meetings were an important first step toward building a new Libya. But he admitted the obstacles were substantial.

“Before peace negotiations can go ahead, our families need help, and an investigation must be made to find those responsible for the attacks on our villages,” he said.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120518/libya-tribes-tuareg-peace-unity-wise-men-negotiation