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From: Reuters
Published October 17, 2008 08:10 AM
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine officials said on Thursday theirs is the first government worldwide to require that companies engaged in potentially hazardous activities buy insurance to cover environmental damage.
Government officials said preliminary figures show that about 35,000 companies would have to comply with the new rules.
“Argentina is taking a leadership role in the region on this issue,” Sergio Chodos, an undersecretary at the Environment Secretariat, told Reuters.
“There’s a lot of environmental insurance sold in Europe, but it’s not obligatory because it doesn’t have to be. In Argentina, lawmakers understood that this had to be made obligatory,” he said.
Argentina’s Congress passed a law to this effect in 2002 and it was finally implemented last month.
The insurance policies will range in price from 120,000 pesos ($36,090) a year to 50 million pesos ($15 million), depending on a given company’s activities, output and the potential risk involved.
Only one insurance company is currently authorized to sell this type of coverage in Argentina, but others are applying to do so, officials said.
($1= 3.325 Argentine pesos)
(Reporting by Karina Grazina; Writing by Hilary Burke; Editing by Gary Hill)
Source: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/38434
From: , Earth 911, More from this Affiliate
Published October 2, 2008 11:40 AM
Toshiba’s Digital Products Division (TDPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., announced today that its free recycling program now accepts electronics that are not Toshiba products. TDPD, along with Toshiba America, has set a goal to recycle 12 million pounds of electronics by 2010 through the new program.
Toshiba now has one of the most comprehensive trade-in programs when it comes to e-waste. The program now accepts e-waste that has no market value for recycling without requiring consumers to purchase Toshiba products. A few of these items are:
“The growth of Toshiba’s free recycling program is a reflection of the company’s dedication to promoting responsible disposal of hazardous waste,” said Jeff Barney, general manager and vice president, TDPD. “Recycling items regardless of the manufacturer is a natural step for Toshiba, considering the value we place on environmental responsibility.”
Toshiba offers recyclers the option of trading in used products for cash, with no obligation to purchase a Toshiba product. Consumers can visit Toshiba’s product value estimator to determine the trade-in value of their unwanted electronics. You can also check out Earth911 for more information on recycling e-waste.
Source: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/38315
From: Live Science
Published September 11, 2008 09:37 AM
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — A tiny frog species thought by many experts to be extinct has been rediscovered alive and well in a remote area of Australia’s tropical north, researchers said Thursday.
The 1.5 inch-long Armoured Mistfrog had not been seen since 1991, and many experts assumed it had been wiped out by a devastating fungus that struck northern Queensland state.
But two months ago, a doctoral student at James Cook University in Townsville conducting research on another frog species in Queensland stumbled across what appeared to be several Armoured Mistfrogs in a creek, said professor Ross Alford, head of a research team on threatened frogs at the university.
Conrad Hoskin, a researcher at The Australian National University in Canberra who has been studying the evolutionary biology of north Queensland frogs for the past 10 years, conducted DNA tests on tissue samples from the frogs and determined they were the elusive Armoured Mistfrog.
Source: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/38156
Article Continues: http://www.livescience.com/animals/080911-ap-frog-found.html
From: Live Science
Published October 6, 2008 09:31 AM
As utility costs mount ever higher, Americans now have real options to take home energy matters into their own hands with “green” systems that can pay for themselves in as little as a few years.
Among the choices: wind, solar, geothermal and a “microhydro” option that is potentially cheaper than a year’s tuition at many state colleges.
Choosing the do-it-yourself route can offer the freedom of going partially or totally off the grid. And, if the energy generated exceeds your actual usage, you can even sell the excess juice to your utility company. But none of this is free. Here’s how much change you should expect to kick in:
Solar power
The economics of a small photovoltaic system depend not only on the cost of designing and installing the system, which can vary considerably, but also the expense of maintaining and operating the system over the course of its serviceable lifetime, which usually spans between 25 to 30 years. The cost-effectiveness of such a system also depends on how much sun you get where you live, your electricity usage, and the size of your system.
If you’re an average American household that uses 11,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, and you want to harness the power of the sun for 50 percent of your energy use, you can expect a 7.76 kilowatt (kW) peak power system to set you back about $35,000 to $52,000, according toFindSolar.com, an online calculator sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Solar Energy Society, and the Solar Electric Power Association.
You can probably shave off a few thousand dollars once state and federal rebates come into play.
Assuming a property value appreciation of $14,000 to $27,000, as well as average annual utility savings of $1,000 to $2,000, you can potentially recoup your investment in three to 14 years.
Source: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/38338
Article Continues: http://www.livescience.com/environment/081006-energy-costs.html
From: Heather Whipps,Live Science
Published September 8, 2008 09:43 AM
Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today.
He wasn’t the first, nor would he be the last, but the wiry, bespectacled man from Gujarat is certainly the most famous of the world’s peaceful political dissidents.
Mohandas Gandhi — also affectionately known as Mahatma — led India’s independence movement in the 1930s and 40s by speaking softly without carrying much of a big stick, facing down the British colonialists with stirring speeches and non-violent protest. For his troubles, he’s often named among the 20th century’s most important figures and remains revered in India as a father of the nation.
More than anything else, historians say, Gandhi proved that one man has the power to take on an empire, using both ethics and intelligence. Other peaceful resisters such as Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s civil rights movement and Tibet’s Dalai Lama have emulated his methods in years since, shaking up the dynamic of world politics in the process.
Source: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/38123
Article Continues: http://www.livescience.com/history/080908-hs-gandhi.html
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